Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday's Workout

I'm used to exercising first thing in the morning, but as luck would have it, my workout took place at noon today.

The problem with CrossFitting at lunchtime? I couldn't decide whether to eat beforehand -- which might make me puke up my heaping portions of salad greens, carnitas and eggs during a crazy metcon session -- or wait until after I exercise, and risk being completely gassed out before the hour's end. (Yeah, yeah: I could eat a little something prior to my workout, but that just means I might barf out a little something rather than a big something. Maybe it's just a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of vomiting even a small volume of acidic, chunky, semi-liquefied gack.)

One more thing I found to whine about: I discovered that my tiny neighborhood CrossFit gym can't really accommodate a lunchtime crowd -- at least not comfortably. The fact that my regular 5 a.m. class starts before dawn helps ensure that only one or two other early birds show up to share space in the gym. (Did I mention that the gym is the size of a two-car garage?) At today's midday class, the gym had to accommodate a half-dozen CrossFitters -- not a huge crowd by any means, but there were enough bodies (and squat racks and barbells) crammed in there to make you wonder whether someone would get clocked with an errant barbell or bumper.

There is, however, a big plus to working out with more people: More support and encouragement by fellow gymgoers, and a more competitive energy. CrossFit's weird in that way -- the workouts are structured to encourage competition, but people are incredibly supportive of each other, shouting out encouragement and sharing training tips and advice. God, I'm sounding like a cult member again.

Anyway, we practiced jerks today. Three sets of 3, followed by three sets of 1. I had to dump the barbell during my last rep -- it was too heavy, and I tried sticking in a split/lunge position and failed spectacularly.

The metcon was hard, but in an oddly fun way:

5 rounds for time:
  • 110-meter sandbag sprint (i.e., run 110 meters while carrying a 50 pound sandbag)
  • 20 kettlebell swings
By the fourth time I had to heave that sandbag up off the ground to take off running, I was pretty much spent -- but I still had a shit-eating grin on my face. This stuff makes you suffer, but it's also a blast.

In the end, I finished in 6:35 -- faster than I expected. I tied with another guy who calls himself "Danimal." I'm pretty sure that's not his real name.