Friday's Workout

For time, three rounds of "Barbara":

• 20 Pull-ups
• 30 Push-ups
• 40 Abmat Sit-ups
• 50 Squats

Between each round, rest precisely three minutes.

That doesn't sound too bad, right? After all, it's only three rounds -- not the full five. Plus, it's all bodyweight stuff -- my favorite.

I got off to a quick start, finishing all the movements unbroken in the first round. At the 3:15 mark, I paused to take my first three-minute break.

Weirdly enough, three minutes of rest felt like an eternity. Part of me wanted to just jump right back onto the pull-up bar and keep cranking, but instead, I paced around, feeling my energy sap away as the seconds ticked by.

By the time I started the second round, my momentum was slowing. Although I did my pull-ups, sit-ups and squats without stopping, my push-ups were...problematic. (In other words: SLOOOOOW.)

In the third round, after another three-minute pause between rounds, I was even more beat. Mentally, it was tough to get back to the pull-up bar and will myself to complete the third and final round. I did it, but once again, the push-ups were slow going. Although I was in the lead for most of the workout, the Terminator edged past me as I repeatedly paused for air during the last set of push-ups. I raced through the sit-ups and squats as speedily as possible, but the cyborg beat me by a few seconds. Argh.

Result: 19:13 as RXed (including 6 minutes of rest time).

Hoo, boy. I'm going to feel this tomorrow.

Friday's Workout

A lot can happen in two days.

Between Wednesday's workout and today's:

• We finished the Nom Nom Paleo iPad app after months of intensive work, and submitted it to Apple for review;
• I sat in a plane on the tarmac for an hour and a terminal for two hours before being told that my flight to Southern California (for work) was grounded.
• I was booked on another flight, only to be told at midnight that it, too, was canceled.
• I drove home and collapsed -- only to be jolted awake a few hours later by my wife, who had awakened to a the sounds of water gushing out from below our kitchen sink. Three-quarters of our house was covered by a half-inch of water.
• We bailed water like crazy.
• An emergency crew came over and started tearing out our hardwood floors and baseboards.
• We packed up our stuff and moved into a hotel. The insurance company has us booked here for a month.
• Oh, and Big-O had a Little League game.

I'm a little tired.

But I was looking forward to getting back in the gym so I could work off some of the stress I'd accumulated.

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3)

This morning, I didn't feel super-stable in my shoulders, and found my arm wobbling a bit. Perhaps my shoulders are still fried from Monday's and Wednesday's workouts, but then again, maybe I just need to get stronger.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 8 minutes:

• 21 chest-high kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 15 push-ups
• 9 toes-to-bar

The swings and push-ups weren't too awful, but my toes-to-bar were slow as mud. I need to figure out a better way to generate momentum at the finish of each rep; right now, I end up in a dead hang position, which forces me to initiate a big wind-up before continuing onto the next rep.

Result: 5 rounds + 1 rep as RXed.

I tried but ultimately failed to catch the Terminator, who ended up with 8 more reps than me. Such is the way of things, I guess. It's a comforting reminder that even when life throws you for a loop, some things never change.

On tap for tomorrow: The Whole9 Foundations of Nutrition Seminar at CrossFit Palo Alto! And another Little League game.

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: Three-Quarters Nicole

A fun one today.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (5-5-3-3-3)

The right side of my neck felt pinched this morning, but after grinding out a few ring dips, the tightness went away. I didn't go super-heavy today, but in my final set, I managed to eke out a few reps with a 44-pound kettlebell dangling from my weight belt. My goal is to get to 60 pounds by the end of this cycle.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 15 minutes of:

• Run 400 meters
• Max rep pull-ups

As soon as you drop off the bar, you have to run another 400 meters before coming back to do more pull-ups. To derive your score, add up the total number of pull-ups completed. In other words, this is a shorter (15-minute instead of 20-minute) version of "Nicole."

I love pull-ups, but running's not my strong suit, so I decided to employ a bit of strategy. When well-rested, I can usually string together close to three dozen pull-ups in a row, so my plan was to treat the running as active recovery, and to save my all-out effort for the pull-ups. It seemed to work; by conserving energy during the run, I was able to stay on the bar longer, and complete more reps in each set. Plus, I ended up running less, too -- I did the 400-meter run just 4 times.

Results:

• First round: 32 pull-ups
• Second round: 20 pull-ups
• Third round: 15 pull-ups
• Fourth round: 11 pull-ups

Total: 78 pull-ups as RXed.

Still, there's room for improvement. The Terminator beat me by two reps at the very end, when I dropped off the bar with just a few seconds to go in the workout. My cyborg friend was losing his grip, too, but managed to adjust his hold on the bar and rip out a few more pull-ups before time was called. I should've hung on, but didn't.

Next time...

Friday's Workout: Taking It Easy

I was thisclose to staying in bed this morning. I'm scheduled to attend Patton Gleason's Flow Running Seminar at CrossFit Palo Alto tomorrow afternoon, so for a brief moment, I contemplated playing hooky today. But I'd seen the doctor at the sports clinic again yesterday, and he'd encouraged me to keep mobile, so I pulled myself out of bed. I figured I'd join my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs and see what I could do in the gym.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (5-3-3-1-1)

To make sure I didn't aggravate my back, I didn't add any weight today, performing only bodyweight dips. And I didn't follow the rep scheme; I settled for just three solid sets of three. The slow reps felt good and clean, and I'm glad I resisted the urge to throw on some weight just to appease my ego.

Believe it or not, I'm doing my damnedest to focus on active recovery rather than the usual all-out RXed craziness.

Metcon:

For time:

• 22 kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 500-meter row
• 22 burpees
• 100 double-unders
• 22 kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)

As soon as I saw the kettlebell swings, I knew I had to scale this one way, way down. In recent months, I've worked my way up to 32kg (70lb) overhead kettlebell swings in metcons, but I knew going anywhere near RXed today would result in a disaster of epic proportions. Heavy swings would surely exacerbate my back problem.

"What can I sub in place of the heavy swings?" I asked Tim.

"Light swings," he said. Right. Duh.

I picked up a 16kg kettlebell and cranked out a couple of practice swings. They felt light -- too light, I thought. But then again, maybe "too light" was exactly what I needed. It would get my back muscles moving without unduly straining them.

Even with a light weight, I wanted to be careful. "Am I going to wreck my back even more with the kettlebell swings?" I asked XFitMama.

"Don't go overhead. Stop at chest level," she advised. XFitMama is usually the first to go balls-out on WODs (remember when she did Kelly in her eighth month of pregnancy?), so when she suggests scaling down, I listen.

As a result, the kettlebell swings were easy and fast. I also rowed conservatively, bracing my core, making sure not to overdo the pull, and aiming for a slow 'n steady 2:00 time. The burpees and the double-unders were the movements I could do without worrying about my back, so I dove into those; I quickly learned, though, that burpees are no picnic after rowing, and the double-unders aren't easy after burpees. Nonetheless, I managed to consistently string together a couple dozen double-unders at a time, and got through the rope-jumping pretty quickly. And with a super-light kettlebell, the final set of swings were over in a flash.

Result: 8:14.

Admittedly, I felt a twinge of envy when I spotted Mark and the Terminator ripping out 70-pound kettlebell swings. But I didn't feel an ounce of regret.

Wednesday's Workout: Easier Said Than Done

A great one today.

Strength Skill:

• Zercher Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

Other than a little twinge when I dorsiflexed my ankle at the bottom of the squats, the Zerchers felt good today. I matched my previous PR of 205 pounds (1.5X my bodyweight), so I'm happy.

Today's metcon -- after the jump...

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.

Kick Ass

Be a pal and check out my latest SICFIT post, "Fight, Not Flight."

It features a cameo by this guy. (Sort of. But not really.)

[Image]

Friday's Workout

Not a bad way to kick off a weekend.

Strength Skill:

• Muscle-Up Progressions

Yeesh. These aren't getting any easier. I almost regret having done that one solitary dead-hang muscle-up once upon a time -- and then never attempting them again. Now, all these months later, I'm starting to fear that it may have been a fluke.

But you know what'll banish that thought? ANOTHER MUSCLE-UP. That's my goal for next Friday.

Metcon:

Total points (reps & calories) in 3 rounds:

• 1 minute of calorie row
• 1 minute of 20-pound medicine ball cleans
• 1 minute of 75-pound barbell push-presses
• 1 minute of 20-pound medicine ball V-ups
• 1 minute of rest

Looks straightforward enough, right? But wait a second: What are medicine ball V-ups?

I shouldn't have asked.

You start by squeezing a 20-pound medicine ball between your feet. Lie down with your arms up over your head. Pike up with your legs and arms straight, passing the ball from your feet to your hands at the top of the movement. With your arms and legs outstretched, lie back down and touch the ball to the ground above your head. Then, do a sit-up while holding the ball up with straight arms until you're upright enough to place the ball between your feet again. That's ONE rep.

The push-presses weren't all that fun, either.

Result: 151 points (as RXed). It was fun, but my lack of physical coordination was a major hindrance today. Fumbling around with a medicine ball cost me a lot of time and reps.

On the plus side, at the end of the WOD, we got a visit from our buddy Mint. Aside from XFitMama and me, Mint's the longest-tenured member of the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto -- and an all-around amazing and inspiring guy. But he's been absent from class for over a month now; like the Terminator, he's recovering from surgery.

Mint probably wants me to shut up about him already, so I'll just say this: We have sorely missed his deadpan jokes, his penchant for singing along to Social Distortion during WODs, and his ugly green shoes. It's not been the same without him, so he better get his butt back in the gym soon.

Friday's Workout

From the looks of our box at 5 a.m., you'd be surprised at how many folks are inside, ready to kill a workout.

Strength Skill:

• Muscle-Up Progressions

The last time we worked on muscle-ups was in July of last year -- just a couple of weeks after I started CrossFit. But it opened my eyes to what good coaching and a little practice can achieve. After a few brief sessions of playing around with progressions, Tim was able to coach me into pulling off a strict, dead-hang muscle-up in class. I'm still amazed I was able to do it. So amazed, in fact, that I haven't attempted to do another one since, for fear that I'll discover that my one muscle-up was just a fluke.

Today, I started at the beginning again, and worked my way through the various progressions. The jumping muscle-ups felt good, so with a little more practice, I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to crank out more dead-hang muscle-ups before the month is over.

Ironically, the Terminator tore a biceps muscle just last week while practicing muscle-ups. (He was WARMING UP with muscle-ups before starting a WOD at a CrossFit box in Virginia when he got hurt.) So today, he was forced to take it easy...or so we thought. (That's what we like to call foreshadowing, folks.)

Metcon:

We tore through the second CrossFit Games Open WOD today.

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

• 9 deadlifts (155/100)
• 12 Games standard push-ups
• 15 box jumps (24"/20")

Having done my mobility work for this WOD, I was more than pumped up about this workout. As soon as the clock started, I burst out of the gate at breakneck speed. The deadlifts came smooth and fast, and I made it through the first few rounds of box jumps without the slightest pause. Three minutes in, I'd completed over 2 rounds. If I could keep the pace going, I'd finish with over 10 rounds!

But of course, I couldn't keep up the pace. At all.

The deadlifts weren't heavy (just twenty pounds heavier than me!), but by the fourth and fifth rounds, they began to slow. My push-ups started looking like they were being done underwater; I had trouble getting my chest flush against the floor as required -- though I seemed to have no problem smashing my forehead on the ground with each rep. And for good measure, I took a fun little tumble off the plyo box in the eighth round. But as humbling as it was, I thoroughly enjoyed this workout.

Meanwhile on the other side of the gym, the Terminator was busy dominating. With an injured right arm, he had to scale the workout -- but he decided to scale it UP. The Terminator did 95-pound single-arm deadlifts and one-armed push-ups, and managed to complete five rounds. The guy's relentless, I tell you.

As for me, I completed 8 rounds + 1 deadlift (as RXed), for a total score of 289. Unlike my one-armed robot friend, I'm not exactly setting the world on fire, but DAMN: this stuff is FUN.

Monday's Workouts

Drizzly morning. Perfect weather for getting sweaty.

Strength Skill:

• Snatch Balance (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

Better than last week. Yes, I had to dump the weight once, and I still have a tendency to jerk the bar rather than explode under it, but my last few reps weren’t half bad. Besides, I managed to up the weight this week. (I’m still only at 2/3X bodyweight, but hey: Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. Patience.)

Metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:

• 10 overhead kettlebell swings
• 10 kettlebell sumo deadlift high-pulls
• 10 hanging knees-to-elbows

My forearms were on fire. And my legs. And my hands.

Before we began, I positioned myself next to the Terminator. He smokes me every time, leaving me choking in his dust, but that’s exactly the motivation I need to fuel my workouts.

To my surprise, I somehow managed to stay slightly ahead of the Terminator throughout most of the WOD this morning. But he’s a machine, and with less than two minutes left on the clock, he steadily closed the gap until he pulled in front. In the final few seconds, I caught up to the Terminator -- barely. We tied, each having completed 6 rounds + 24 reps.

On days like this, the benefits of working out alongside other CrossFit crazies are clear. There’s no way I would have pushed myself this hard if I’d done this WOD alone in my garage.

Monday's Workout

I'm typing this on my iPhone while camped out in a hospital waiting room, so I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet tonight.

Today's 5 a.m. class feels like eons ago, but it was the highlight of an otherwise kind-of-miserable day. (There are times I wish I still worked out late at night, if only so I can end my day on a high note.)

This week, we're back to O-lifts.

Strength Skill:

• Snatch balance (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 3)

This was my first attempt at this move (a snatch progression/assistance exercise), and it showed. My technique left a lot to be desired. For one thing, I kept jerking the bar up forcefully, rather than pushing myself under the bar. And Tim kept yelling "Ninja!" at me, which is his way of signaling to me that I was landing on my toes rather than with my weight on my heels. (The problem is that I think know ninjas are super-cool, so it took me a couple reps to figure out that he was trying to tell me my form was crap. Sooner or later, CrossFit Palo Alto's going to have to publish a Tim-specific glossary of terms.)

Still, the overhead squat portion of the move felt okay, and I didn't jack up my shoulders, which is always a big plus.

I'll get the hang of this snatch balance business eventually. I currently suck at this, but that doesn't mean I don't love working on it.

Metcon:

Three rounds for time:

• 400 meter run
• 20 burpees
• 30 Abmat sit-ups

I was thisclose to catching up with the Terminator towards the end of today's WOD -- I'd gradually closed the gap as the rounds progressed, and wound up just a couple of reps behind him when he finished all three rounds. He beat me by less than five seconds. I missed my shot today -- I love bodyweight-focused metcon sessions, and they're the only ones at which I have a decent shot at finishing faster than my cyborg classmate. Once again, I gotta tip my (sweat-drenched) cap to my robot friend.

Result: 13:02

Friday's Workout

Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean I'm skipping my WOD today. And it was a doozy today.

Last night, M and I started watching the video of Mat Lalonde's Nutrition Seminar (which he delivered back in June at CrossFit Academy of Lions in Toronto). (I'll post a review soon, but suffice it to say that I'm learning a TON. You can check out a 10-minute preview of the video here.) At one point (close to the 6-hour mark), Lalonde discusses the benefits of fasted training and his conclusion that post-workout carbs aren't necessary -- provided you're not doing a super-long session of metabolic conditioning work.

So what did we do this morning at our CrossFit box? A super-long metcon.

This is atypical for our gym. Ninety-nine percent of the time, we stick with a strict Max Effort Black Box program, with our time split between warm-up, strength work, and a short (sub-15 minute) metcon. But once in a while -- usually near holidays -- our coach decides to "work a different metabolic pathway." In other words, he beats the shit out of us with a meat grinder of a workout.

Metcon:

"Whitten" - 5 rounds for time:

• 22 overhead kettlebell swings (I used a 53 lb. kettlebell, but RX'ed is 70)
• 22 plyo box jumps (24" box)
• 400 meter run
• 22 burpees
• 22 wallball shots (20 lb. ball, 10' target)

In other words, 440 heavy reps of explosive, full-body movements. Plus, a mile run. As fast as you can.



Seven other masochists showed up for the morning class today, so we had a full house. A few folks scaled the workout down, using lighter weights, fewer reps and/or shorter distances. For example, one person used a 16-inch plyo box, and another ran 200 meters each round instead of the full 400. Half of the class used wallballs of less than 20 pounds, and aimed for an 8-foot target.

The Terminator and I, however, tried to do the WOD as close to RX'ed as possible -- though after trying out the 70 pound kettlebells, we ultimately decided to go with 53 pounds instead. I matched his pace for the first couple of rounds, but he pulled ahead during our third set of wallball shots, and I never quite caught up. I'm getting better at wallballs, but due to my short stature and light bodyweight, I end up having to jump off the floor with every rep in order to heave the 20-pound ball ten feet up the wall. With my shitty hand-eye coordination, this is no easy task.

Result: 42:51. The Terminator beat me by a minute and a half. Everyone was hustling; with proper scaling, even the slowest among us were done by the 52-minute mark.

As soon as I was finished, recovery was on my mind. I did this metcon in a fasted state, and by the time I wrapped up my last set of wallballs, I'm sure my muscle glycogen stores were at zero. So after a quick pitstop at a nearby supermarket, I drove home to gobble up a bag of carby, starchy chestnuts. And for good measure, I chased 'em down with a plate of M's breakfast frittata and some broccoli.

Santa better bring me some extra fish oil, yo.

Friday's Workout

I showed up to the 5 a.m. class still sore from Wednesday's upper-body-intensive WOD.
(It doesn't help my recovery that I've gotten less sleep than usual, but it's my own damned fault. I've had this irrational compulsion to blog and tweet instead of hitting the sack. It's crazy, but I've also contemplated staying up late just to read more of "Lights Out" -- a book that's all about the critical need to sleep more.)

So what was on tap this morning?

Strength Skill:

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

Despite my achy arms and back, I was able to crank 'em out with a fully-loaded 50-pound weight vest on and an extra dumbbell clenched in my crotch. I was feeling pretty good about myself. And then I saw the metcon written on the dry-erase board:

Metcon:

5 rounds for time:

• 240-meter sprint
• 10 dumbbell thrusters
• 10 24-inch plyo box jumps

One or two rounds: A piece of cake. Three rounds and you're starting to falter. Four and it totally sucks. Five? On the floor.

To do this as RXed, guys are supposed to use a pair of 45-pound dumbbells for the thrusters, and gals are supposed to use a pair of 25-pound dumbbells. I split the difference and used 35 pounds because (1) the Terminator grabbed the only pair of 45-pound dumbbells in the gym, (2) see my comment above regarding lingering upper body soreness, and (3) I'm not that much stronger than a girl. But thrusting 70 pounds 50 times was plenty, thankyouverymuch.

Result: 12:45. I came in first, beating the Terminator by 9 seconds. He used heavier weights, but that's totally appropriate in light of the fact that he's a relentless homicidal cyborg with a metal endoskeleton. (Okay, he's actually an accountant. Same difference.)

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

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

PR -- finally! On my last set, I squatted 215 pounds -- a little over 1.5X my bodyweight -- and I think I still had some gas left in the tank. I'm already eyeing the next milestone: 1.75X bodyweight Z-squat.

Metcon:

A doozy.

3 rounds for time:

• 45 single-arm kettlebell swing transfers -- using a 1.5 pood (24 kg / 53-pound) kettlebell
• 30 flag push-ups (just like the one-arm balance push-ups from the P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps routine)
• 15 pull-ups

Result: 12:22.

Still on a high from my Z-squat PR, I nailed the first round. I did everything unbroken, and finished in less than three minutes.

The problem? I'd misread the WOD, and thought there was only one round to do, so I hadn't bothered to pace myself or reserve any energy. Instead, I'd gone full-throttle. When I looked up at the board and realized I had to repeat what I'd done twice more, I almost keeled over.

Rounds two and three were a struggle. The push-ups and pull-ups weren't a big deal, but the kettlebell swings wore me down. The more I did 'em, the more exponentially difficult they felt.

So although I'd shot out the gate, by the end, my machine-like classmate, the Terminator, had once again pulled ahead, finishing almost a half-minute before me. (He is, after all, a machine.) The two of us were the only ones in the 5 a.m. class who finished under the 15-minute cap.

I'm definitely going to feel this tomorrow.

Friday's Workout

My workout ended over a half-hour ago and I'm still winded.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

The last time around, I was able to do 'em with 70 pounds -- half my bodyweight -- strapped to me (50 pound weight vest plus 20 pound dumbbell). But that was months ago. This time around, I decided to go lighter, adding just 35 pounds to my bodyweight for my last set today. Ring dips are fun and quick, but having to squeeze heavy dumbbells between my thighs was somewhat less than awesome, especially on a cold morning. (The mathematical formula for this: Cold Metal + Crotch < Awesome.) 

Metcon: 

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 12 minutes:

• 20 Walking Overhead Lunges (holding a 45-pound plate overhead) 
• 15 Plyo Box Jumps (20 inch box) 
• 10 Abmat Sit-Ups (with a mat underneath to prevent ass rashes)
• 5 Pull-Ups

Result: I'd made it through exactly 5 rounds when time ran out.

The sit-ups and pull-ups were a breeze, but the walking overhead lunges and box jumps (back-to-back, no less!) wore me down. The first round didn't seem particularly challenging, but after a few minutes, my legs began shaking. For the first four rounds, I managed to stay in the lead, with one of my classmates -- the guy we call The Terminator -- close behind. But about 8 lunges into my third round, my legs and arms gave out. I dropped the plate, and by the time I managed to hoist it back up, The Terminator had surged ahead, and I wasn't able to close the distance. He got through 5 rounds plus 8 lunges in the 12 minutes.

Secretly, I'm relieved I didn't have time to start a sixth round. The lunges were murder.