Monday's Workout

I hate it when my body quits on me.

It's the final week in our strength cycle, and I wanted to join the rest of the 5 a.m. class as they practiced overhead squats today. But thanks to my pulled groin, I still can't properly squat without pain.

Grudgingly, I sat this one out. I certainly don't want to tear up my adductors even more, but being sidelined annoys me to no end. I tried to stay productive by working on my handstand holds this morning, but it wasn't the same.

Thankfully, our metcon today didn't require any squatting:

• "Grace" - 30 clean-and-jerks (135lbs / 95lbs) for time.

After my last encounter with Grace (when I used a too-light 95-pound barbell), I'd promised myself I'd go up to 115 pounds the next time we faced this workout. But I already got a good taste of my stupidity on Friday, so to be safe, I went up only to 105 -- in other words, just a few pounds more than 17-year-old Kallista Pappas clean-and-jerked during the "Heavy Grace" event at the 2008 CrossFit Games.

During the WOD, I felt slightly more tentative and restrained than usual, and babied my right leg more than probably necessary. Still, the power cleans felt good, and my lockouts overhead were strong. I finished in 4:41 -- a half-minute slower than the last time around -- but frankly, I was just happy I got to play.

Friday's Workout: Full of Grace

If nothing else, today's workout offered proof that endorphin-generated exercise-induced euphoria is very, very real.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

 PR! On my final rep, I stuffed all 50 pounds into the weight vest, jammed a 30-pound dumbbell into my crotch, held my breath, and cranked out a fairly decent ring dip. It felt mighty fine, and for a second, I was tempted to go heavier...but it was time for the metcon.

And it was a doozy.

More after the jump...

True Grit

Kallista Pappas, who finished 25th at the 2008 CrossFit Games at the age of fourteen, is competing again this year. She's still only 17, but already has two Games appearances under her belt. Plus, she's a professional CrossFit trainer and competitive Olympic weightlifter. (When I was 17, my greatest accomplishment was appearing on a local TV station's "70s Dance Party" show, shimmying around in a green velour shirt and white bell bottoms with cars printed on them.)

Kallista is best known for the grit she showed at the final event of the 2008 Games in Aromas, when she struggled through "Heavy Grace" (100-pound 30 squat clean-and-jerks for time -- men's RXed weight was 155 pounds), falling in the dirt but getting up to finish the WOD.

Kallista said it was there at the Ranch in Aromas, Calif., that she “really felt like a true CrossFitter.” She says that she had a great year of training and decided she’d try to complete all the workouts as prescribed, knowing that she was setting herself up with, in her words: “quite a challenge” given she weighed “only 100lbs. at the time.”

On the final event, 30 squat clean and jerks for time at 100 lbs., Kallista faced that year's biggest hurdle for an athlete of her size. Her well-trained technique helped her through the first few reps, but by the middle of the workout she was clearly struggling. On rep 22, she made the clean but apparently lost focus heading into the jerk. Just as she was locking the bar out overhead, she teetered backwards and lost her balance. Kallista fell backwards into the dirt and her bar landed on top of her knees, bouncing off her body. Clearly shaken, she sat on the ground for a few moments before being helped back to her feet by her judge. At that point, she got up, dusted herself off and performed a few air squats to see if she could continue. Kallista proceeded to get back on the bar and clean and jerk nine more times, completing the workout as prescribed in 10:47.

Holy crap. If she can do that at age 14 (and weighing 100 pounds), you and I have no excuse for whining about our workouts. Ever.

Friday's Workout

Ten people in class this morning -- a 1000% increase in just eight months!

All of us took turns messing around with skin-the-cats on the Olympic rings and L-sits and pass-throughs on the parallettes, and then it was time to say Grace. Literally.



Metcon:

• "Grace" - 30 clean & jerks for time.

The RX'ed weight for men is 135 pounds, but the last time I did this, I opted for the ladies' RX'ed weight of 95. Today, after some goading and peer pressure, I decided to go heavier -- by a whopping 10 pounds.

Yep, I'm a wimp. I finished Grace in 4:06 today -- more than a half-minute faster than the last go-round -- so in hindsight, I could (and should) have gone with at least 115 pounds.

Nonetheless, even with just 105 pounds on the bar, Grace is no walk in the park. After the first half-dozen cleans and jerks, I was no longer able to string 'em together, and resorted to dumping the weight from overhead rather than controlling the bar all the way down. (I'm sure the good folks at Planet Fitness would not be happy with me.) Grace may look simple on paper, but it's brutal.

On the plus side: Grace is also really, really fun. There's something incredibly primal and satisfying about picking something heavy off the ground, thrusting it over your head, and sending it crashing back down -- over and over again. (HULK SMASH!!!)

Besides, unlike a lot of other CrossFit WODs, it's over so quickly that you don't even have time to break a sweat.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats

Some experts -- like renowned strength coach Mike Boyle -- aren't fans of front squats, but I like 'em. Maybe it's because I'm still relatively new to O-lifting, but I've seen steady improvement over the past few months, and I'm gradually inching towards a 1.5X bodyweight front squat. (I do, however, need to be more mindful of my form; I've noticed that I tend to favor my right leg, especially when going heavy on squats.)

Metcon:

• "Grace" -- for time: 30 ground-to-overheads

Basically, you throw a bunch of weights onto a barbell -- then, by hook or by crook, you hoist it from the floor to an overhead position, with your arms locked out at the top. Most people accomplish this using a clean-and-jerk technique. Others clean the barbell up to their shoulders, and then push-press the bar up.

This guy finished in less than 90 seconds (which, by the way, is pretty darn good -- he's right there with top CrossFit Games competitors):



Me? I used just 95 pounds (instead of the men's RX'ed weight of 135) and it took me 4:40 to finish. Clearly, I have quite a bit of room for improvement.