Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:
  • Single-Leg Deadlifts (3 sets of 3, and then 3 sets of 1, working up to a 1-rep max)
These continue to confound me, especially as I kept loading on more weight. I tried doing 'em with a straight lifted leg (the way everyone else seems to be doing this exercise), and found that it's a lot easier to maintain balance and power, but my coach told me to cut it out. "Keep your back knee tucked in," he instructed. "Kicking your leg out throws your hips out of alignment. And try not to put your back foot down."


Fine. I'll just keep wobbling. At this point, I'm able to hoist a barbell loaded with the equivalent of my bodyweight while balancing on one leg, but it ain't pretty.

Metcon:

A fun one today.

3 rounds for time:
  • 400-meter run (in my Vibram FiveFingers, as usual)
  • 21 Abmat sit-ups
  • 12 Renegade rows (using a pair of 45-pound dumbbells)
Result: 8:03. I'm happy with my time. I didn't take any mid-set or between-set breaks, and transitioned quickly from one exercise to the next. It's been a while since I last did renegade rows as part of a WOD, but they weren't that bad, even using the RX'ed weight. I could have run a bit faster, I suppose, but wanted some gas left in the tank for the sit-ups and rows.

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I'm able to fly through Abmat sit-ups without much trouble or effort. I'd suspected I was doing them wrong, but my coach watched me perform today's workout, and didn't seem to have a problem with my technique. Could it be that all my Ab Ripper X practice from last year is paying off?