I'm Hating My Wrist Right Now

I don't know what I did to my right wrist, but for over a week now, it's felt like crap every time I flex it. On Friday, we were supposed to work on touch-and-go cleans at the gym (five sets of five, one set every three minutes), but when I attempted to warm up with just an unloaded barbell, my wrist started screaming at me to stop.

Tim suggested that I ditch the barbell cleans and work instead on bottoms-up kettlebell cleans to help rehab my wrist. I kept the weights light -- this was the first time I'd attempted bottoms-up cleans, and the last thing I wanted was to exacerbate my mysterious injury. It was a bummer that I wasn't able to practice touch-and-go barbell cleans, but on the plus side: New skill!

Next up: The metcon.

3 rounds:

• 1 minute max effort calorie row
• 1 minute max effort toes through rings
• 1 minute max effort wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 1 minute rest

The calorie row and toes through rings weren't a problem. With my right wrist wrapped tightly with a wrist strap, the calorie row and toes-through-rings weren't a problem. Neither required much wrist flexion. I actually had a fantastic time with the toes-through-rings -- I found 'em to be much easier on the hands than toes-to-bars, and it was pretty easy to maintain a good kipping rhythm throughout.

The wall balls, on the other hand, were murder. I plodded along slowly, relying on my left (weaker) arm to toss and catch the medicine ball. Note to self: One-armed wall balls are not a good idea. Each minute yielded fewer than 10 wall ball shots.

Result: 123 as RXed.

I was hoping a weekend of R&R (and a mind-blowing meal) would fix what ails me, but alas: No dice. My wrist isn't any better. When my alarm clock started buzzing at 4:20 a.m., I briefly considered turning over and going back to sleep. But I thought better of it: There would be something I could do at the gym that involves no wrist flexion. And after a sedentary weekend, I was ready to get off my butt again.

The strength skill was front squats. To save my wrists, I did back squats (five sets of three, one set every three minutes) instead. Again, I took it easy, going only up to 185 pounds. I focused instead on maintaining proper form -- in particular, keeping my knees from collapsing inward during my ascent from the bottom.

More good news: The metcon didn't involve a whole lotta wrist action.

For time:

• 10 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
• Run 240 meters
• 20 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 30 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
• Run 800 meters

Before the workout, I'd planned to go with the women's RXed weight, but Tim gave me a skeptical look. "Way too light," he said. He was right. I went with a pair of 40 pound dumbbells, but I probably would've done fine with the 45s. In fact, the dumbbell burpees were more fun than I'd anticipated, though my quads were burning by the third round.

Even all that running felt good in the cool, misty darkness.

Result: 13:23.

CrossFit Total (Or, The Barbell Method)

According to Mark Rippetoe, "[t]he CrossFit Total reflects an athlete's functional strength capacity more accurately than any other test."

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. All three lifts are done while standing on the floor. They require minimal and inexpensive equipment. They are not technique- dependent to the extent of the Olympic lifts, yet they require technical proficiency beyond mere passing familiarity. They are safe when performed correctly, since they can all be performed without spotters—alone in a garage if necessary.

We did the Total for the first time at CrossFit Palo Alto on Wednesday -- with a couple of slight modifications. Instead of having an indefinite period of time to establish a one-rep max for each of the three movements, we were allocated 15 minutes for each. And we subbed front squats for back squats.

Front Squat:

I was excited by the prospect of tackling this workout, but it didn't start auspiciously. My eagerness got the best of me, and I totally squandered my opportunity to set a new PR on my front squat by loading up too much, too soon. After matching my previous PR of 205 pounds with a couple of minutes left, I stupidly added another 20 pounds on the bar -- which I ended up dumping, of course. I'd like to blame it on the lack of sleep and the early morning hour, but frankly, I just got greedy.

Strict Press:

Thankfully, by the time I got to the strict presses, I had my head screwed on straight(er). With one eye on the clock, I managed to work up to a new PR of 130 pounds -- 10 more than my previous best.

Deadlift:

But the achievement that made my week? A new deadlift PR of 305 pounds! Okay -- objectively speaking, 305 pounds ain't much. But call me what you will (shrimp, weakling, lightweight, whatever); I'm still proud I FINALLY got over 300 pounds off the floor. My prior best was just 285 pounds, and it was set back in February of 2011. You can imagine how much I enjoyed smashing it in the face.

My CrossFit Total: 640.

Everyone had a blast doing the Total, and setting tons of PRs, too. After our post-workout coffee, I returned to CFPA in time to catch Kevin setting a new deadlift PR of about a gajillion pounds.

By the way, if you've done a Total and want to see where you stack up against Rippetoe's basic strength standards, check this out.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

Diving into overhead squats this morning, I was actually pretty happy with my form. I made sure to drive my knees out and keep my chest up and armpits forward; as a result, my reps felt stable and strong. I cautiously worked my way up to 125 pounds today, but feel like I had more in me...

...but then I saw the metcon on the board:

"Air Force WOD"

For time:

• 20 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 20 push jerks
• 20 overhead squats
• 20 front squats

Plus: Every minute, on the minute: Drop whatever you're doing and do 4 burpees.

It took no time at all to get through the thrusters and sumo deadlift high pulls. But by the time I finished the push jerks, the burpees had taken their toll.

And then came the overhead squats.

It didn't matter that we'd practiced them just minutes before. At this point, my arms and legs were noodles. I snatched the bar up overhead to get in position for the OHSs, but almost fell backwards. By the time I stumbled through a handful of reps, it was time for more burpees.

Result: 13:50 as RXed.

It took me almost four minutes just to complete 20 overhead squats.

But hey: Better than last time, right?

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Strict & Kipping Pull-ups (6 sets of 5-10)

I mistakenly thought we were supposed progress to successive sets of weighted pull-ups, but the name of the game was to concentrate on form: Corkscrewing our arms to engage our lats, and driving our elbows straight down. When it comes to strict pull-ups, I've been sorely out of practice, so it was good to focus on technique rather than strain for maximum weight.

Metcon:

• 21 shoulder-to-overheads (135lbs / 95lbs)
• Row 500 meters
• 21 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 21 front squats (135lbs / 95lbs)

I went with 105 pounds, and decided to row 500 a second time rather than running. (My Achilles is still in less-than-spectacular shape, unfortunately.) But despite scaling the workout, I got smoked. Cranking out power cleans and front squats after a stint on the erg was mighty painful, and I ended up taking more mid-set breaks than I would've liked.

Result: 12:24. Molasses-slow. Argh.

Wednesday's Workout

Why did I hold off on posting about yesterday's workout?

(a) I was busy

(b) It kind of slipped my mind

(c) I was embarrassed by a subpar performance at the gym

(d) All of the above

(p) :ɹǝʍsuɐ

Yes, it's been crazy busy around these parts lately. There's been a flurry of activity at our house this week, with all of our furniture and belongings moved into storage and the floors sanded and finished. Work has been insane, with multiple projects and lawsuits exploding. Big-O's going into surgery in a few days. I'm assisting Michelle with the Nom Nom Paleo side of things. And we're still stuck in a hotel.

It was a relief to escape to CrossFit Palo Alto at the break of dawn yesterday for some me-time.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3-3-1-1-1)

I went for a PR...and failed. What's funny is that my first four sets of front squats felt almost too easy. My penultimate set was at 195 -- 10 pounds below my PR of 205 -- and it didn't feel like much of a struggle. So for my final rep, I thought I'd shoot for 210. 

And I had to dump the barbell.

For a split second, I contemplated giving it another shot, but by then, Tim had written the day's metcon on the board.

Metcon:

"Jackie" - for time:

• Row 1,000 meters
• 50 thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 pull-ups

I was first off the erg, but I had two knots in my quads, and spent too long rubbing my thighs and staring at the barbell before I got started with the thrusters. Then, instead of just powering through the lifts, I kept setting the bar down to catch my breath. Although the pull-ups went (relatively) smoothly, I'd already wasted a ton of time standing around, doing nothing.

Result: 9:51 as RXed. Utterly shameful, considering that I did Jackie 45 seconds faster last time. Ugh.

Wednesday's Workout

A good day at the gym.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

For the life of me, I couldn't remember my max front squat. It wasn't until after I was done with my sets that I found my previous PR: 205 pounds. Today, I failed to squat even 185. Not good. It goes without saying, but I need to squat more.

Thankfully, the second half of this morning's class went a little better.

Metcon:

"Annie" - for time:

• 50 double-unders
• 50 Abmat sit-ups
• 40 double-unders
• 40 Abmat sit-ups
• 30 double-unders
• 30 Abmat sit-ups
• 20 double-unders
• 20 Abmat sit-ups
• 10 double-unders
• 10 Abmat sit-ups

What's not to like about Annie -- especially given what a kick-ass athlete her namesake is?

My previous Annie times have ranged from 9:11 (October 10, 2011) to 12:30 (March 14, 2011), and the last time I did this workout, I took 10:20 to finish. I was determined to match or beat my previous time -- I didn't want to lose more ground today.

At the very beginning of the first round, I landed awkwardly on my left ankle and felt a twinge in my Achilles tendon. But aside from that (and a couple of rope snags), the double-unders gave me no trouble today. The sit-ups were another matter; I'm used to flying through them, but this morning, I felt unusually heavy and sluggish as I struggled to finish each set.

Despite my crappy sit-ups, I somehow managed to set a new PR on Annie today: 8:25 as RXed. I'm happy with my progress, though I suppose I should work on my sit-ups some more.

In fact, I'm eyeing my Abmat right now.

Bear Complex!

What's a bear complex, you ask?

It's a barbell complex that consists of 5 rounds of 7 sets of the following sequence:

• Power Clean
• Front Squat
• Push-Press
• Back Squat
• Push-Press

You can't set the barbell down until each round is complete. Rest as needed between rounds, but keep increasing the load on the barbell until you find your max. Your score is the max weight with which you were able to complete a full round.

It sounds easy until you realize that this complex consists of 175 lifts in total.

Or until you watch others struggle through it.



Or until you try it yourself.

I tried it once before in my garage, but had forgotten how much I sucked at it, so I was excited to try it again with the rest of the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto. I was feeling giddy, and blazed through the first three rounds (at 65 pounds, 75 pounds, and 85 pounds). My plan was to lift 95 pounds during the fourth round and then jump to 115 for my final round, but Tim convinced me I was being a dummy. "Do the jump now, before you're too tired. Go for 105."

I finished (albeit just barely) the fourth round at 105. Good thing, too, because after I loaded the barbell up to 115, I crapped out before I could finish the final two sets of the fifth round. Was it disappointing? Yes. But I also enjoyed every second of this barbell complex, even as sweat poured off me in sheets.

I can't wait to attempt this one again. (And I will -- just as soon as I can move back into my house. I miss my garage gym.)

Wednesday's Workout

I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. More precisely: A monster truck named Murph.

Approximately 84.5 percent of me wanted to hurl my alarm clock against the wall and go back to sleep. But 12.5 percent of me recognized that my beloved iPhone was serving as my alarm clock, and stayed my hand. And the remaining 3 percent of me realized that today was my last chance to work out with the 5 a.m. crew until next Wednesday.

I staggered out of bed on legs that wouldn't bend, and pulled on my clothes with arms that refused to be raised more a few degrees. A slug of coffee later, I sprawled out on the floor of the hotel room, stretching and mobilizing as best I could. It was an unpleasant but necessary way to start the day.

After a creakier-than-usual warm-up at the gym, I paired up with Jay for some front squats. We got some decent weight on the bar, but both of us were feeling wrecked, and steered well clear of PR territory. I tried to focus on my form instead, working on leading with my elbows, pushing out my knees to generate torque, and keeping my gut tight.

Next -- the metcon:

• 5 rounds for time (with a 15-minute cap) of:

• 25 push-presses (75# / 55#)
• 50 double-unders

Surprisingly, my full-body soreness seemed to disappear once I got going. As soon as the clock started, my body somehow managed to crank out push-presses and double-unders without hesitation. (Well, for the first couple of rounds, anyway. After that, there was plenty of hesitation. I'm embarrassed to report that I took more than my fair share of mid-round rest breaks during the push-presses.)

Result: 14:48 as RXed. I snuck in under the wire by just 12 seconds.

And then I promptly went back to being sore.

Friday's Workout

Today's workout was a reprise of the one we did back on January 4:

• 5 rounds for time (or AMRAP in 20 minutes):
• 15 deadlifts (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 12 hang power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 9 front squats (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 6 jerks (135lbs / 95lbs)

Once again, I decided to go with 95 pounds. It felt a little light at first, and I blazed through the first couple of rounds. Frankly, I probably could have gone a bit heavier -- but by the time I got to the third set of front squats, the barbell felt plenty heavy.

Result: 16:37. Progress!

Barbells make me feel manly -- even when I'm lifting the women's RXed weight.

Friday's Workout

I'm doing the first CrossFit Games Open workout (7 minutes of burpees) tomorrow, so I was initially hesitant to show up for this morning's workout. Maybe it'd be better to get some rest, I thought.

But I'm glad I joined the rest of the 5 a.m. crew. Not only did I get to work on front squats again, but we got to practice burpees, too. Plus, with Tim on the East Coast, we were treated to another 5 a.m. coaching appearance by Trish.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

On my fourth set, I matched my previous PR, and felt strong doing it. Sadly, we ran out of time and I didn't get to shoot for a new personal best, but I definitely plan on continuing to keep front squatting at home. My immediate goal: New PR by the end of next week.

Metcon:

3 rounds:

• 1 minute of overhead squats (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 1 minute of burpees
• 1 minute of knockdowns (a.k.a. deck squats)
• 1 minute of shuttle runs
• 1 minute of rest

Score = Total reps

I was psyched to get a little preview of how tomorrow's burpees will feel, and used the WOD to try to practice what I learned from Carl Paoli's videos. The "kipping" motion doesn't feel smooth and natural to me yet, but I bet that after 7 minutes of burpees tomorrow, muscle memory will kick in. Either that, or the wheels'll come off in spectacular fashion. Regardless of what happens, it should be fun, right?

Result: 183 as RXed.

Friday's Workout

Waking up at 4:20 in the morning isn't a picnic, but today was particularly bad. As soon as I stuck a contact lens into my bleary left eye, it tore into two pieces and lodged in the back of my eyeball. Even after a good ten minutes of fishing around with my fingers, I came up empty. My eyes were blood red. I needed help.

M had stayed up past midnight (blogging, of course), and I should've let her sleep in. But she was my only hope of getting the shards of plastic out of my eye. I gently shook her awake. Startled, she unleashed an ear-splitting scream directly into my face.

It was that kind of morning.

But after M realized that I wasn't a home invader, she gamely trudged into the brightly-lit bathroom to help dig the torn lens out of the deep recesses of my eye socket. Ah, love.

With a fresh contact lens in place and my wife back in bed, I joined the rest of the 5 a.m. crew at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

No PR today. My previous best was 205 pounds, and I managed to get to just 200 today. Squatting one-and-a-half times my bodyweight felt like a great accomplishment months ago, but I've been stuck at this weight for eons now, so I'm looking forward to pushing past this plateau soon. Maybe the secret to lifting heavier is to start eating like Steve Pan:



Or maybe I just need to keep practicing.

Metcon:

• 25 plate burpees / ground-to-overheads (45lbs / 35lbs)
• Run 400 meters with plate (45lbs / 35lbs)
• Run 800 meters without plate

The first part of this workout involved doing a burpee on a 45-pound bumper plate, and then lifting the plate off the floor and hoisting it overhead -- and repeating this two dozen times. It sounded horrible, but it wasn't bad. Aside from some slight trouble getting my dainty little fingers under the plate to pull it off the floor, the heavy burpees, this movement was pretty much problem-free.

The running, on the other hand, was a hell of a challenge. I was the second person out the door to start the run, but by the time the first 400 meters were done, two others had passed me.

Gaah.

Result: 9:52 as RXed.

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-5-3-3-3)

I paired up with the Terminator today, but I couldn't match the weight he was squatting. I couldn't even match my own PR of 205 (set over a half-year ago). In my last set, I eked out a few reps at 195 pounds, but ended up dumping the weight. New goal for this cycle: 215 or bust.

Surprise! No metcon today -- just lots of barbell work, which I loved. This was perfect for me; my metabolic conditioning's already pretty decent, but I'm nowhere near as strong as I'd like to be. I was excited to see a WOD pop up on the schedule at CrossFit Palo Alto today that prioritized strength and form over speed.

In place of the metcon, here's what we did:

5 rounds (not for time):

• 4 strict presses
• 3 push-presses
• 2 push jerks

I eventually made it up to 105 pounds, but this workout was harder than it looked. Just because the clock wasn't ticking didn't mean I wasn't getting fatigued by all the pressing and jerking.

Speaking of fatigue, I'm passing out as I type this. Not kidding. Must. Sleep. Now...

Wednesday's Workout

It's been a while since I faced a barbell-intensive WOD at the gym, so I was half-hoping we'd get one thrown at us this morning. Note to self: Be careful what you wish for.

5 rounds for time (or AMRAP in 20 minutes):

• 15 deadlifts (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 12 hang power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 9 front squats (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 6 jerks (135lbs / 95lbs)

There was no way I was going to attempt over 200 lifts at my bodyweight, so I opted for the women's RXed weight. 

As the WOD began, I wondered whether I should've put more weight on the bar; the deadlifts and cleans felt light, and I was getting through the sets unbroken. But a few minutes in, all thoughts of adding weight were banished. Ninety-five pounds was plenty for me, thankyouverymuch -- especially since I couldn't let the barbell come crashing down from overhead. (Our class was once again reminded that we aren't allowed to drop our weights -- our neighbors need their beauty sleep.)

The cleans were the most challenging for me; with my hands in a hook grip, I had trouble readjusting my fingers on the bar without lowering the bar (ever-so-gently) to the floor. Also: My forearms were on fire. By the fourth round, I was seriously lagging.

Result: 18:13. 

(But it was fun.)

Wednesday's Workout

After a week of tossing and turning, I finally managed to get a decent night's sleep last night. I woke up at 4:20 a.m. feeling like  I could tackle the world -- but it turned out I couldn't even manage to tackle heavy front squats.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

Try as I might to hit or exceed my PR, I failed to front squat even 10 pounds below my previous best. This is another groove that needs grease. (But then again, all my grooves could use some greasing.)

Metcon:

• 100 double-unders
• 1K row
• 800-meter run

I usually hate cardio-heavy metcons, but after Monday's grip-killer, I was relieved not to see any pull-ups or toes-to-bar on the menu. And to be honest, I'm starting to look forward to double-unders now that I can string 'em together with some consistency. This morning, I didn't get tripped up until after I'd cranked out over 40 double-unders, and the rest didn't take long to complete. Then, it was just a matter of doggedly slogging through the rowing and the running.

Result: 10:17 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

Man, it's cold outside at 5 a.m. I almost crawled back into bed.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

Front squats are always fun. It's been almost a half-year since I practiced 'em in class, so I stopped a good 20 pounds shy of my PR -- but the reps felt nice and solid.

Metcon:

For time:

• 500-meter row
• 30 plate burpees
• 400-meter run
• 30 pull-ups

We did a very similar workout back in August (though we ran twice instead of running and rowing). Last time, I failed to go unbroken on the pull-ups, but still managed to finish in 7 minutes flat. Today, I cranked out all 30 pull-ups in a row without stopping -- I was determined to match the Terminator's unbroken set -- but finished almost a full minute slower. Go figure.

Result: 7:53 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout: Clean, Squat, Run

A fun, challenging, and surprisingly short two-part workout today:

• Part One - In ten minutes, establish your 1-rep max clean.

• Part Two – For time: Using 65-75% of your 1-rep max clean weight, perform 30 front squats and then run one mile.

I don’t know if it’s because: (1) I just finished a cycle of squat cleans, or (2) my legs were relatively fresh this morning, but I established a new PR by cleaning 10 pounds heavier than my previous effort.

For Part Two of the workout, I changed out of my lifting shoes and back into my trusty NB Minimus Trails. (I wasn’t about to awaken everyone in the neighborhood by clomping a mile down the street in my wooden-soled Adidas.)

The front squats weren’t a walk in the park, but I managed to get through the first 20 unbroken before dropping the barbell for a brief pause. The final few reps required a bit of extra strain, but it wasn’t until I tried to run that I really felt the impact of the squats. It took a good 20 yards of wobbling and weaving before I was able to steady myself and run in a straight line. (Still, it was infinitely preferable to the bottom-to-bottom Tabata squats plus 1-mile run workout we did back in January.)

Result: 9:23. I definitely wouldn't mind doing this one again sometime.

Wednesday's Workout: Keep Going, And Going, And Going

Another good one today.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

I tried to add another ten pounds to my PR from last week, but had to dump the weight. As it stands, my personal best remains 205 pounds. I managed to reach my goal for the cycle, but wish I'd been able to go even heavier. Next time.

Metcon:

5 rounds for time:

• 5 push-presses (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 15 deadlifts (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 25 lateral bar jumps

The rate-limiting step for me: Push-presses. The deadlifts didn't pose a problem, but I wasn't even going to try to go RXed with this one. Hoisting overhead a barbell loaded with the equivalent of my bodyweight TWENTY-FIVE times? Not gonna happen. (Not until I become less of a weakling, anyway.) I dropped down to 115 pounds instead. It was the right decision; even at 20 pounds less than the RXed weight, the push-presses were plenty challenging.

Surprisingly, though, it was the lateral bar jumps that gave me the most trouble. Hopping from side to side was an unfamiliar movement, and my legs were burning from the lifts; as a result, my jumps were sluggish and slow. (Plus, I'm horribly uncoordinated.) After a while, I broke 'em up into twos: I'd jump across the bar and bounce back to my starting position, pause, and repeat.

From my spot at the back of the room, I could see everyone hopping around like mad: Jay, J-Ho, Colleen, Rachel, Jake. I spotted XFitMama gamely hopping over the bar. Despite being super-pregnant, she was definitely jumping faster than me. Next to me, Kyle was a blur, bouncing up and over the bar nonstop like a rabbit on speed. And across the room, Bob was hopping back and forth even faster. He ended up finishing the workout in something like five-and-a-half minutes. I'm surprised he didn't vibrate out of this plane of existence and back to his own dimension.

My result? 8:47. And although XFitMama beat me, I'm proud to say that I was thisclose to catching up with a woman who's due to give birth in a matter of days.

Friday's Workout: Overreaching

After practicing strict and kipping pull-ups in class this morning, we were treated to "Air Force WOD":

• 20 Thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Push Jerks (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Overhead Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Front Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Plus: Start with 4 burpees -- and every minute thereafter, on the minute, drop whatever you're doing and bust out 4 burpees.

When we did this back in November, I'd used a 95-pound weight for all the movements EXCEPT the overhead squats. It was the first time we'd encountered overhead squats in a workout, so when we got to them, we stripped the weights off and squatted with the bar. Afterwards, we loaded the plates back on to finish up our front squats. It took a whopping 15:27 for me to finish.

But that was eight months ago. After eyeing the whiteboard for awhile, I decided to try to go RXed. Ninety-five pounds is just Fran weight for the thrusters, right? And I can easily sumo deadlift high pull, push-jerk and front squat 95 pounds. Yeah, the overhead squats'll be challenging, but I got this, I told myself. I got this.

I REALLY need to stop listening to myself.

More after the jump...

Wednesday's Workout: Highs & Lows

Today's morning workout started off great, but ended on a frustrating note.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 1)

My front squats felt GREAT today, especially after Tim suggested that I move my feet closer together for more stability. It helped me stay tight, and I reached a new PR (205lbs -- about 1.5X my bodyweight). I think I have more in the tank -- let's see if I can go even heavier next week.

Metcon:

"Annie":

50-40-30-20-10 of

• Double Unders
• Abmat Sit-Ups

The last time we did "Annie," my time was 12:30; at the time, I hadn't yet figured out how to string together more than a couple of double-unders at a time. But since then, I've managed to whip through plenty of unbroken double-unders in WODs, so I figured I'd absolutely murder my previous time. Before class today, I warmed up with some double-unders, and had no problems cranking out a dozen or more at a time. They felt fine. My goal was to go sub-10 minutes on Annie.

Didn't happen. At all.

My first round of double-unders were an unmitigated disaster. For whatever reason, I couldn't bust out more than 3 or 4 reps before getting myself tangled in the rope. And the harder I tried to force it, the more frustrated I got -- and the harder it was to get into any kind of rhythm. As my impatience took over, my suckage got even suckier. Getting through my first set of double-unders took FOREVER.

The sit-ups were fine. But then it was back to more double-unders. And my second round with the jump rope -- while slightly better than the first -- wasn't exactly pretty, either.

Thankfully, I made up some time during the third round. Maybe it's because I finally settled into a groove, or perhaps I was looser 'cause I was tired, but I got through the third set of double-unders pretty much unbroken. But it was too little, too late.

Result: 12:12 as RXed. Better than last time, but not good enough. My goal is to one day finish Annie within spitting distance of Kyle, who killed this workout in 8:23 this morning. Sick, right?

Wednesday's Workout: Take a Hike

Completely slammed with work, which explains my conspicuous absence from Twitter lately. (No, blogging is not my day job.)

Today’s workout in a nutshell:

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

Notes:

• Love ‘em. They make me feel strong.

• Tried to focus on technique today, so I didn’t even try to match my previous PR.

• But I want to hit a new PR by the end of this cycle.

Metcon:

For time:

• 10 -> 1 pull-ups

• 1 -> 10 overhead kettlebell swings (70 lbs / 53 lbs)

Notes:

• In case you're counting, that's 55 pull-ups and 55 swings.

• 70-pound swings = not easy. Took lots of breaks, especially towards the end. Glad I went heavy, though. Felt better than last time.

• Before I get too full of myself: The Terminator also used a 70-pound kettlebell. And he's still nursing an injured arm.

• Also, at one point, as I hiked the kettlebell back between my legs, it slipped out of my grasp and shot several meters behind me, hitting the wall. (Yeah, I'm kind of a disaster.)

• Did all the pull-ups unbroken, except when I lost my grip during my round of 5 reps. They felt good and fast.

• Hello, blisters.

Result:

• 8:37 as RXed.

Okay -- back to work.