Not Fast Enough

My wrist is improving, but not fast enough.

During our warmups in class this morning, I managed to do a few push-ups from my palms for the first time in months (huzzah!), which made me think I could join the rest of the class in practicing barbell cleans.

No dice. A single rep with an empty bar was all I managed before my wrist started screaming bloody murder at me. (On the plus side: It's not screaming quite as loudly as it did just a couple of weeks ago.)

So: I practiced kettlebell cleans instead. Again. (I'm tired of kettlebell cleans. Can you tell?)

I had to lay off the barbell for today's metcon, too, which consisted of 7 rounds of:

• 7 thrusters (75lbs / 55lbs)
• 7 sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs / 55lbs)
• 7 burpees

I used dumbbells and did the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists. Happily, I still got my butt kicked.

Result: 11:38.

I'm not happy that this wrist is taking forever to heal. But I recognize that my recovery's taking longer than expected because I've been stupidly trying to do more than I should. I only have myself to blame. Argh. Self-knowledge drives me crazy.

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.

Monday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Push Presses (5-3-3-1-1)

I was still sore from Saturday's lifting class at Catalyst, but oddly enough, I found myself looking forward to getting more practice lifting a barbell overhead. Push presses have never been my forte, and I didn't come close to my max weight today, but it felt good to get in the groove anyway.

Metcon:

• Row 500 meters
• 30 burpees
• 10 shoulder-to-overheads (165# / 95#)

Result: 6:23

This was a quick one, but not quick enough. We last did this workout a year and a half ago, and I finished in 5:52 -- half a minute faster than my time today. I have no idea where the time went; my 500-meter row time didn't vary much, my burpees were steady and unbroken, and I used the same weight as before. Perhaps I'm just getting slow in my old age.

Catch Up

Crap. I forgot to post last Friday's workout. I wish I could blame it on work (which has, in fact, exploded recently), but I had all weekend to write. It just slipped my mind -- probably because I was busy teaching the boys to dance Gangnam Style.

Come on -- I know you want to watch it again.


Anyway...

Having been knocked down with a fever and sore throat for a solid week, I was looking forward to getting back in the gym on Friday. We practiced weighted ring dips  before the metcon was announced:

• 15 toes to bar
• 15 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 15 box jumps (20")
• 12 toes to bar
• 12 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 12 box jumps (20")
• 9 toes to bar
• 9 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 9 box jumps (20")
• 6 toes to bar
• 6 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 6 box jumps (20")
• 3 toes to bar
• 3 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 3 box jumps (20")

Forty-five reps of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans? My wrists started weeping before the workout began. I decided to stick with the women's RXed weight because: (1) I am weak, and (2) I am not altogether stupid.

Result: 11:05.

This morning, I returned to the gym feeling like myself for the first time in ten days. (My voice still sounds terrible, but I feel fine.) Good thing, too, because I love me some kettlebell snatches. We practiced until my arms felt like they were going to pop off, and then:

"Elizabeth"

• 21 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 21 ring dips
• 15 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 15 ring dips
• 9 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 9 ring dips

Remember how I said I'm not altogether stupid? Well, that means I'm still somewhat stupid -- which explains why I decided to do Elizabeth as RXed today. The last time we did Elizabeth, I used a 115-pound barbell -- a smarter move. Cranking out consecutive reps of 135 pound power cleans is doable for me...for about a dozen reps. After that, I had to eke 'em out in mini-sets of two or three.

(Clearly, my math skills are nonexistent. On Friday, I blanched at the thought of doing 45 reps of 115-pound cleans, and opted for 85 pounds instead. But today, I decided that 45 reps of 135-pound cleans sounded just fine and dandy. I'm an idiot.)

In the second round, I started no-repping. Twice, I failed to get my elbows down and around the bar fast enough, and ended up splashing the bar. Strange sounds started coming out of my throat.

On the plus side? All the ring dip practice we've been doing paid off -- I got through those fairly quickly.

Result: 10:28 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

The one thing that got me out of bed this morning? Knowing that we're starting a new four-week cycle at CrossFit Palo Alto. Plus, after everyone in the gym did a crapload of rowing on Friday, I kind of figured the erg wouldn't be playing a major part in today's metcon. See? I'm using my noggin even at 4 in the morning.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Snatches (5-5-5-5-5 per side)

It still amazes me how much I can perspire while doing just a few brief sets of kettlebell work, and with plenty of rest in-between to boot. Still, I'm pleased to report that I'm no longer terrible at kettlebell snatches. "Not bruising my forearms" used to be my primary marker of success with KB snatches, but today, I actually got to focus on cleaning up my form.

As usual for the first week in a cycle, I kept it relatively light, but I managed to work my way up to 24 kilograms. Already drenched dewy with sweat, I would've been happy to pack it in for the day, but there was the little matter of the metcon.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time of:

• 20 lateral tuck-jumps over a parallette
• 15 handstand push-ups
• 400-meter run

This looked fun (except for the running, which never looks fun). The tuck-jumps reminded me of stuff I used to do in my garage back when I was bouncing around to P90X and Insanity DVDs -- and just like the good ol' days, my jumping was less than graceful.

Having just finished a cycle of HSPUs, the handstand push-ups flew by pretty quickly -- especially now that I've discovered the one-legged kip. For the past couple of years, I've been doing strict handstand push-ups, and finding that once I ran out of gas, I was done. With the extra little oomph provided by a single-legged kip, though, I felt like I could keep cranking out HSPUs for a good, long while. I was thisclose to finishing all the handstand push-ups unbroken, but right before my forty-fifth (and final) rep, I fell away from the wall. D'oh!

Let's not talk about the running. Suffice it to say, I remain sluglike on the running path.

Result: 9:12 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (5-5-5-3-3)

When the going gets tough, I evidently lift more slowly -- the exact opposite of what I ought to be doing. Note to self: Stay aggressive on the bar. I need to turn off my brain and just lift angry. Like this:

Metcon:

For time:

• Run 400 meters
• 15 burpees
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 45 wall ball shots (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 15 burpees
• Run 400 meters

It took a while for me to decide whether to run or row. For the past few weeks, I've been subbing in a 500-meter row every time a 400-meter run's been programmed, but my left Achilles has been feeling better of late, and to be honest, I just hate rowing. I chose to run.

And you know what? I was fine. That's not to say I flew like the wind; this was no Forrest-Gump-shedding-his-leg-braces kind of moment. Instead, I slowly, gingerly trotted out the gym to the marker and back. But: No pain!

The first set of burpees and kettlebell swings were smooth and fast. When I got to the wall balls, though, I crashed and burned. It took me forever to get through all 45 reps, and I was pretty cooked after that. I'm pretty sure the neighborhood retirees out walking their dogs could've passed me during my final 400-meter "run."

Result: 14 minutes flat as RXed.

Monday's Workout

A cardio-heavy workout today:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

• 400-meter run
• 50 double-unders

This doesn't look like much, but believe me: It was plenty -- especially for cardio cowards like me.

Knowing I'm still hobbled by my left Achilles, Tim instructed me to substitute 500-meter rows in place of the running, and to do 150 single-unders instead of the double-unders. It's frustrating to have to do single-unders instead of double-unders, and I'm no fan of rowing, but ultimately, I'm glad I scaled today's workout. Running would've wrecked me. My goal was to keep a steady, sub-two-minute split pace while rowing, and to go unbroken during the rope-jumping. I tripped up a couple of time while jumping, though, and my final stint on the erg was painfully slow, but I got through this one without having to curl up on the floor afterwards.

I did sweat a lot, though.

Result: 5 rounds plus 400 meters on the erg.

Monday's Workout

The pros of being back home after two and a half months of living in an extended-stay hotel due to a flood-damage:

• New floors that give our abode a "new house" smell!
• The joy of sleeping in our own bed and cooking in our own kitchen.
• The relief of being back home in time for our seven-year-old to recuperate from surgery.
• The fact that the WiFi connection is a bazillion times stronger here than in the hotel.
• Being reminded that bathroom towels aren't crispy like the ones at our hotel.
• No overpowering odor of powdered "eggs"in the morning, and no industrial cleaner smell in the hallways.
• No surly desk clerks!
• No de-magnetized hotel key cards that bar your entry to your room when you have two kids and three heavy bags of groceries with you.
• The dishwasher in my house actually works.

The cons of being back home:

• The sawdust.
• Having to devote two solid days moving everything -- clothing, electronics, kitchen supplies, food, books, etc. -- back into the house after it had all been thrown haphazardly into storage.
• The sudden realization that we are pack rats, and that we accumulated an embarrassingly vast amount of utterly useless crap over the past six years -- all of which needs to be donated or thrown away.
• Not remembering how to hook up the speakers to the receiver to the TV to the cable box to the wireless router to the phone jack to the whatever.
• Paranoia about scratching the new floor.
• No more daily housekeeping.
• No free breakfast in the morning. (Of course it was crap, but IT WAS STILL FREE.)
• Being so exhausted from moving that I can barely type, let alone remember yesterday morning's workout.

(See what I did there? Nice transition, right?)

Strength Skill:

• Pistols (5-5-3-3-3)

I was happy to see pistols in this cycle -- I need the practice. When I'm doing 'em with my right leg planted, I can crank out pistols like no tomorrow, but I've always had trouble with my left (weaker) leg. Like a lot of other folks, I need to clutch a counterweight (like a kettlebell) to keep my balance when doing pistols from my left left. I suspect it's an ankle mobility issue for me, and it didn't help that I had -- and still have -- a left Achilles tendon that's been bothering me for a couple of weeks. That said, after massaging it with a lacrosse ball, I felt good enough to push through the sets.

Here's how I know I did 'em right: My butt cheeks are sore.

Metcon:

For time:

• 400-meter run with a medicine ball (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 45 medicine ball sit-ups (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 45 medicine ball overhead squats(20lbs / 14lbs)
• 400-meter run
• 45 Abmat sit-ups
• 45 PVC pipe overhead squats

The most challenging movement? Hands down, the med ball OHS. With your hands on either side of the ball, your shoulders and arms are in a much narrower position than with a barbell OHS, and you're pressing in on the ball instead of punching up on a bar. It's crazy-awkward, and I kept having to fight the tendency to bend my arms and let the medicine ball rebound off the top of my head.

The Terminator and I kept pace with one another until the very end. Although I started the final movement (PVC OHS) before him, he turned on the afterburners and zoomed ahead right at the end of the workout. He beat me by one measly second.

Dammit.

Result: 11:22 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Snatches (3-3-3-1-1) 

Ever have one of those days when you just kind of feel...off? That was me today.

I've been absent quite a bit from the gym lately, so I was excited to return this morning. Plus, I knew it was snatch day, and my snatch technique had been steadily improving since early this year. But for whatever reason, I JUST COULDN'T STOP SUCKING TODAY.

Instead of just emptying my brain and just lifting with aggression, I over-thought EVERY. SINGLE. THING. And as a result, I froze up. My movements were disjointed rather than fluid, and my arms and legs were all over the place. I bungled more reps than I stuck. Thankfully, with some helpful cueing from Tim, I managed a few half-decent reps towards the end, but I didn't come anywhere close to snatching what I know I'm capable of lifting.

I hate starting the day with frustration.

Metcon:

5 rounds for time:

• 10 kettlebell snatches (5 per arm) (24kg / 16kg)
• 10 goblet squats (24kg / 16kg)
• 10 burpees

Lessons from this workout:

1. Goblet squats are no joke.
2. I didn't end up with big, purple bruises on my forearms, so I must have done something right. 
3. Carl Paoli's burpee technique is a lifesaver.

Result: 10:27 as RXed.

Memorial Day Murph

Along with scores of CrossFitters everywhere, the crew at CrossFit Palo Alto did Murph today.

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

The workout must start and end with a one-mile run, but the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats can be broken up and done in whichever order you choose.

The usual strategy is to do 20 rounds of Cindy -- 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats -- but I decided to take another approach today. I inserted some squats between the pull-ups and push-ups to give my arms a breather, and also told myself I'd pop up and do more squats once my push-ups began to fail (rather than waste time struggling to eke out singles).

Did it work? Sort of. It felt good to keep moving, and it helped stave off the frustration that comes with trying (and failing) to string together a few push-ups. On the other hand, all the transitions between movements were a huge time-suck.

Result: 41:20 as RXed. Or was it 42:10? Either way, my time was several minutes slower than my last go at Memorial Day Murph, which is disappointing.

Still, this workout is one of my all-time favorites -- especially given that it's one that everyone at the gym can experience together.

(Note: I may be singing an entirely different tune when I wake up tomorrow and find myself unable to move.)

The Jerk Store Called

I'm all kinds of miserable living in this hotel. The bed is lumpy, the kitchen's the size of a shoebox, and I'm allergic to the industrial perfumes that permeate everything in the place. We've been staying here for almost a month, and we'll be here for at least another month yet.

One of the only times I feel normal? When the alarm goes off at 4:20 a.m. and I throw my stuff into a gym bag and head out to CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Jerks (3-3-3-1-1)

I love starting the day with my lifting shoes on. My final rep wasn't pretty, but I managed to successfully lock out with 155 pounds overhead -- a new (non-split-jerk) PR.

Metcon:

• AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
• 20 kettlebell swings (10 with each arm - 24kg / 16kg)
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 20 air squats

I shot out of the gate on this one, blazing through the swings and squats, and did my best to stay in the lead -- but ultimately, my less-than-efficient toes-to-bar technique slowed me down. By the fourth round, my grip strength was gone, and the Terminator shot past me. The guy is relentless, which is why I love the challenge of chasing after him.

Result: 5 rounds + 43 reps as RXed.

Balancing Act

It’s now been almost three weeks since a plumbing disaster forced us to hole up in a hotel -- and we’re still weeks away from being able to move back home. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world, either. We’re coping pretty well, all things considering. But there is one thing that annoys me to no end: We no longer have room for our designated babysitters (read: parents) to spend the night, which means I’m now unable to regularly attend the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Major bummer.

Still, there is one silver lining: I get to sleep in.

I missed Friday’s workout, and this morning’s, too. Five days without exercise makes me a dull boy. I was antsy to get back into the gym, so I scrambled to wrap things up at work today so I could squeeze in an evening workout. Tim promised that today’s WOD was “gooooood” (with six -- count ‘em: SIX -- o’s), so I raced down to the gym in time for the 5 p.m. class.

And here’s what we were treated to:

For time:

• 30 sandbag floor-to-shoulders
• 400-meter run with sandbag
• 30 wall ball shots (20lbs / 14lbs, 10-foot target)
• 400-meter run with medicine ball (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 30 plate ground-to-overheads (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 400-meter run with plate (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (70lbs / 53lbs)
• 400-meter run with kettlebell (70lbs / 53lbs)

As Trish instructed us about each of the movements and standards, the only thing going through my mind was: “Really? Six o’s?”

The sandbags were fine, though I can’t say I ran with lightning speed with the floppy weight draped across my right shoulder.

The wall balls were, well, wall balls. They’re not my favorite, but I survived them. But I’d never run with a medicine ball before, and had a difficult time trying to find a halfway-decent way to hold the sucker. I tried carrying the ball in front of me -- but it was too cumbersome and draining. I tried carrying on my shoulder -- but again, I found it too awkward.

Finally, I stuck the damned thing on top of my head, kept it steady with my hands overhead, and ran. I’m not saying it was easy -- my arms lost feeling after a while -- but it was less uncomfortable and imbalanced than the other methods I tried. The ball is soft(ish) and weighs only 20 pounds. Besides, people all over the world carry stuff on their heads, right?

I was actually feeling pretty decent as I grabbed a bumper plate and started my ground-to-overheads. The first 10 felt pretty good and strong. But after that, the 45-pound weight began feeling increasingly heavy. And running with the thing was not fun. I tried to stick the plate on my head, but it felt like it was going to crush my skull, so I opted for the good ol’ cradle carry.

Up until the kettlebells, I’d gone RXed, but I knew that hoisting a 70-pound kettlebell over my head wasn’t in the cards for me today. Even with a 53-pound kettlebell, I found myself pausing a few times between swings to catch my breath. With my grip strength shot, I wasn’t relishing the thought of lugging that thing with me on that last 400-meter jaunt. I farmer-carried it as best I could, and made it out of the parking lot before Kerry shouted out that it was easier to shoulder it. With the kettlebell pressed against my ear, I finished the course and collapsed just inside the gym’s open rolling door.

“Uh, you may not want to be sitting there when the next person comes in and drops their kettlebell,” Trish advised.

Result: 22:38.

(And yes, I’ll admit it: It deserved six o’s.)

Cardi-Oh-No

After five rousing sets of jerks this morning, I was feeling pretty good for someone who hasn't slept more than half a wink per night in a week. (I hate hotel beds. Also: I thought developing an app was tough, but that was a piece of cake compared to actually managing a product launch. Remind me to never, ever do this again. Ever.)

But then came the metcon:

3 rounds:

• In 4 minutes, row 400 meters and then max double-unders. 
• Rest 1 minute. 

Total score = the number of double-unders completed after three rounds.

That's right: ROWING. And DOUBLE-UNDERS. For a split second, I contemplated jumping into my car and speeding off.

On the plus side: During the first round, I managed a stretch of 51 consecutive double-unders. I'd like to think I could've kept going, but when I got over 50, I was so excited that I got myself tangled up in my rope. I'm nothing if not smooth.

When this one was over, I spent a good few minutes flat on my back. I think I hate cardio more than I hate hotel beds.

Result: 242 double-unders as RXed. Not super-shabby, though Mark beat me by a few reps. And by "a few," I mean over a hundred.

Crunch Time

No, this isn't about crunchy milk chocolate candy bars.

Years ago, when I was still working at a law firm, one of my clients was a company that developed video games. They introduced me to the concept of "crunch time" -- a concentrated period of endless work and sleepless nights immediately prior to the launch of a new product. Workers essentially sleep at the office for days on end, subsisting on stale junk food and cleaning themselves with baby wipes. Yum.

I'm sort of in that mode right now. My days are crammed with meetings and the responsibilities of my "real" job -- i.e., the one that pays -- while my nights are spent pounding away at the final phase of the Nom Nom Paleo app. Whoever said that the last 10 percent of a project takes 90 percent of the effort wasn't kidding. Every time we think we're done and we can finally get a decent night's sleep, we discover another pending issue or task. Even after the app itself is ready to go (and we're so, so close now -- just hours away from giving it the final sign-off), we have a crapload of work to do to get ready for the launch. I've spent every spare minute of the past three days working on a demo video of the app, for example. (You'll see it soon, I'm sure.) And we still need to finalize the web page for the app, and get our marketing materials in order.

I am pooped.

I missed the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto last Friday because we were up late dialoguing with our development team. But today, I was determined to get into the gym. And I'm glad I did, because it was a good one.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (3-3-3-1-1)

I still need practice, but my cleans are feeling stronger. I'm cleaning more than my bodyweight now, and think I have more in me. And I like the sensation of sticking an explosive, solid clean. If I can free up some time at home (ha!), maybe I can sneak in more sets in the garage during the week.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:

• 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 2 badger crawl laps

Chest-to-bar pull-ups are self-explanatory. As for the badger crawl laps, we basically got down on our hands and feet and scurried across the length of the gym and back for each lap. I like badger crawls -- in small doses. But after a few laps, they're murder on the shoulders and wrists.

I blazed through the first round, cranking out a set of unbroken pull-ups and racing around the gym on all fours. But by the third round, I had hit a wall with my chest-to-bar pull-ups, and couldn't string more than three or four together at a time. By the fifth round, I had to wind up with a huge kip in order to touch my chest to the bar.

Result: 6 rounds + 3 reps as RXed. It was ugly, but it was awesome.

And now: Back to work.

Monday's Workout

D’oh! I forgot to post yesterday. Memory loss: It’s a side effect of adrenal fatigue and lack of sleep. To the best of my recollection, here’s what we did yesterday at the gym.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (5-3-3-1-1)

My shoulders and arms are still reeling from Friday’s 101 push-presses. The silver lining? This helped keep me from relying on my arms while doing cleans. I will say, though, that in my present state of soreness, getting my elbows up in the rack position didn’t feel especially awesome.

Metcon:

• 21 dumbbell burpee snatches – right arm (45# / 30#)
• 21 ring dips
• 21 dumbbell burpee snatches – left arm (45# / 30#)
• 21 ring dips

I went with 35 pounds instead of the RXed 45, fearing that the dumbbell burpee snatches would annihilate me. They didn’t look fun when Tim demonstrated the movement: We were to drop down while holding a dumbbell in one hand, perform a push-up while holding onto the dumbbell, jump up into a squat position, and then snatch the dumbbell from the floor to an overhead position with a locked out arm. (They look sort of like this, but with a push-up at the bottom.)

Yuck.

But when the workout began, I found that the burpee snatches weren’t so bad after all. I was able to find a decent (though not particularly quick) rhythm, and got through the first 21 without stopping.

The problem was the ring dips. I hit a wall very early on in the workout: After my first 8 or 10 ring dips, my arms were fried. I spent the rest of the workout struggling to string together more than a couple of ring dips at a time.

Again: Yuck.

Result: I can’t remember. It’s only been 36 hours since I did this workout, and can’t recall my time. Sad. I desperately need more sleep.

Monday's Workout

A good one today.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (5-5-3-3-3)

I started with full squat cleans, but it turns out I wasn't extending my hips all the way, so Tim had me practice power cleans.

When I switched over, I could immediately feel the difference. I'd been starting the third pull before completing the second, and not generating as much power as I could and should have.

By the end of my fifth set, though, I felt pretty good. This was a good start to the cycle.

Metcon:

For time:

• 50 double-unders
• 24 flag push-ups
• 50 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 24 flag push-ups
• 50 double-unders

The first 50 double-unders were fine -- not exactly lightning-quick, but not horribly slow, either -- but the flag push-ups took a lot out of me. By the time I got to the kettlebell swings, I was winded. After the first 25 swings, I had to stop for a breath, and ended up taking a couple more breaks, too. My arms were jelly by the end of the second set of flag push-ups.

I didn't think I'd be able to string together any double-unders at the end of the workout. My shoulders were on fire, and after a few clumsy reps, I tripped on my rope. A few reps later, I stumbled again. This looked like it was going to take forever.

But then I strung together 22 in a row -- and then another 19. I have no idea how I had enough juice to fuel those double-unders. Maybe it was just dumb luck that I didn't get tangled in the rope. But just like that, I was done.

Result: 6:57 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

The boys were up all night crapping their pants. M knew I was still recovering from a cold, so she looked after our sick kids, generously allowing me to sleep through the worst of the ass-explosions so I'd be (relatively) well-rested for the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto. I know I don't say it often enough, but my wife is all kinds of awesome.

Strength Skill:

• Single-Leg Deadlifts (5-3-3-1-1)

I'm tightening my gut and keeping my hips down low. I'm pushing off my heel, and I'm keeping my head in line with my body. But I still suck at one-legged deadlifts -- especially when I do 'em while balancing on my left leg. I'd make a horrible evil one-legged space pirate.

Metcon:

2 rounds for time:

• Run 400 meters
• 20 ground-to-overheads (75# / 55#)
• 15 box jumps
• 10 toes-to-bar

This was reminiscent of this year's Open WOD 12.3 -- you know, the one that murdered me. Thankfully, today's version was a lot more sane, but it was still a kick in the pants.

I'd like to say I held back because I'm not feeling 100 percent, but the truth of the matter is that I simply got my butt handed to me. The ground-to-overheads weren't a problem (I did a mix of snatches and clean & jerks), but the box jumps knocked the wind out of me today.

Result: 10:12 as RXed.

Monday's Workout: Balls to the Wall

First up at CrossFit Palo Alto this morning: Single-leg deadlifts. We hadn't done 'em since November of 2010, and in that time, I've evidently lost all ability to pull off this maneuver. Sixteen months ago, I was able to pull the equivalent of my bodyweight off the ground while balancing on one leg; today, I struggled to get even 115 pounds up while wobbling back and forth on my unsteady left leg. I'll just chalk it up to the rust that needs to be knocked off.

Metcon:


3 rounds for time:

• Run 400 meters
• 15 burpee-balls-to-the-wall (20# / 14#)

The balls-to-the-wall move entailed doing a burpee with one's hands on a medicine ball, and then doing a wallball shot by popping the weighted ball up to a 10-foot target.

I only have two things to say about this workout:

• I am a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad runner.

• I should've initiated each of my wallball shots from a deep squat, but instead, I stood up after each burpee and did this awkward push-press-like movement to get the ball up to the target. It was inefficient and exhausting. I would've generated a lot more power had I started from a full squat.

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

Result: 10:42 as RXed.

Monday's Workout: Home (WOD) Alone

M's in the middle of her week of night shifts, and without a sitter, there was no way I could (legally) leave the kids at home to hit the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto this morning. Silver lining: I got two-and-a-half hours of much-needed extra shut-eye.

Later in the day, Tim shot me an email entitled "Today's WOD" with a link to this video from CrossFit Central:

It looked awesome, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I had to do it.

Metcon:

• 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:

• Toes-to-bar
• In-and-outs
• Jumping lunges

After dinner, I tucked the boys into bed, took out the garbage, changed into some raggedy shorts, and set up a pair of homemade parallettes. By the way, here's a handy tip: If you're making your own parallettes with PVC pipe, use a racheting pipe cutter instead of a hand saw. I got one at Home Depot for $10, and it made pipe-cutting a lot easier (and less messy, too).

But first: Warm-up. I got my 15-foot Rogue climbing rope in the mail today, so after securing it to a rafter in the garage, I clambered up and down a half-dozen times.

I love new toys.

Anyway, once I got loose, I started a timer and got going.

The pull-up bar in my garage is mounted a bit too close to our washer and dryer, and I kept banging my heels against the door of the washing machine, but otherwise, the toes-to-bar were fine. The jumping lunges, too, flew by quickly. (They brought back not-so-fond memories of doing endless "Mary Katherine" lunges from P90X Plyometrics a bazillion years ago.)

The in-and-outs, however, proved more challenging for me. I'd underestimated their difficulty, or perhaps I'd overestimated my level of physical coordination. Either way, by the middle of the WOD, I found myself struggling to keep my legs and body straight once my heels hit the ground. But despite my wobbly legs, I kept moving, and managed to get through all the reps without stopping.

Result: 9:10 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

A good day. After practicing snatches (5-3-3-1-1), we were treated to Fran:

For time:

21-15-9

• Thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Pull-ups

Last April, I finished Fran in 6:32 (and in August, hampered by a groin injury, I did it in 6:56). We don't encounter Fran very often, so I reallyreallyreally wanted to establish a new personal best.

The first round was awesome. I got through all 21 thrusters without pausing, and despite my forearms catching on fire, I made it through the pull-ups without any problems either. But after a couple of thrusters in the second round, I had to drop the barbell and take a breather. My legs felt like they'd been smashed with a two-by-four.

In the end, Fran wrecked me -- I had trouble getting up off the floor afterwards -- but I PRed by more than half a minute today! Of course, there's plenty of room for improvement: I took too many mid-set breaks, and I'm pissed off that I failed to clear my chin over the bar on my final pull-up of the workout. By forcing myself to re-do the rep, I missed my shot at finishing under 6 minutes. There's always next time, I guess.

Result: 6:00 as RXed.

(Bonus: This afternoon, I dropped by the Firehouse -- Tim's workout space away from CrossFit Palo Alto -- and learned to climb a rope. I've now decided I want need one for my garage.)