Thursday, November 8, 2012

Change-Up


I still can't put any weight on my flexed wrist, which has put me in a sour mood. It's been more than a little frustrating; I can't even lift the strap of my work bag over my shoulder without discomfort, let alone clean a barbell up to my shoulders. I've done what I can to keep pressure off my wrist -- recovery requires rest -- but I'm also determined to keep going to the gym. After all, just because I can't perform certain movements right now doesn't mean there aren't a host of other things I can still do to stay active.

For example, last Friday, while the rest of the class at CrossFit Palo Alto practiced barbell cleans, I worked on bottoms-up kettlebell cleans. I had to modify the metcon, too. Here's what everyone else did:
  • 21 chest-to-bar pull-ups
  • 15 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
  • Run 400 meters
  • 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
  • 12 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
  • Run 400 meters
  • 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
  • 9 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
  • Run 400 meters
No chest-to-bar pull-ups for me -- too much wrist flexion. Instead, I did chest-to-ring pull-ups, using a set of Olympic rings set high. I didn't have to twist my wrists to get all the way up, though generating any sort of momentum was a challenge. (You can't push off the rings horizontally like you can with a bar to start a big kip.)

Result: 11:36.

I rested on Monday (mostly because I didn't have a babysitter to watch the kids in the morning, but also because everyone at the gym did "Nutts," and I was too damned tired to attempt it in my garage).

On Wednesday, the strength skill was weighted pull-ups. My doctor said that pull-ups are a good exercise for my wrist, so I did 'em, though I didn't load up with as much weight as I did in previous sessions. Better safe than sorry.

The metcon: 
  • 4 rounds: 
    • 10 overhead squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
    • 12 hang power cleans
    • 14 lateral bar jumps
No barbell for me. In place of the overhead squats and hang power cleans, I did single-arm overhead squats with a kettlebell, and double-kettlebell cleans. It bugs me that I can't do the same workout as my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs. It's weird how much I miss being able to just grab a barbell and clean it. Yet at the same time, I was happy to be able to join the gang in doing something -- and feeling just as exhausted and sweaty as I normally do after one of our workouts. The kettlebell OHSs and cleans were surprisingly good approximations of their barbell analogs, and I enjoyed a fine, ass-kicking workout without exacerbating my wrist injury. Win-win, right?

Result: 7:15.