Monday's Workout: Annie

Despite not getting enough sleep last night (as usual), it’s been weeks since I last walked into the gym feeling as good as I did this morning. As much as I hated missing class (and Nicole!) on Friday, taking a breather was just what I needed to recharge my batteries.

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1-2-3 on each side)

It’s been a year since we last practiced kettlebell TGUs in class, and I have to admit that this movement’s more challenging than I remembered. I stuck with a light weight today (1 pood), and focused on re-familiarizing myself with the proper form. For the most part, I did fine -- but I do need to work on resisting the impulse to plant my hand behind me when I’m on my way back down to the floor.

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

For once, I was excited to see a double-under workout on the whiteboard. It’s been over a month since I was last able to crank out a double-under WOD, and I’ve been antsy to get back on the horse. And while we’d done Annie in class a couple of times before, this was my first opportunity to try it again after watching the WOD’s namesake, Annie Sakamoto, kick some ass at this year’s NorCal Regionals and the CrossFit Games. My previous Annie time was 12:12, and I knew I could do better.

Ironically, my nagging ankle issues ended up improving my double-under form. Normally, I tend to jump high and stomp down forcefully during double-unders, needlessly expending exhausting myself in my efforts to clear the rope. But with a tender left ankle that can’t sustain hard impacts, I was forced to keep my jumps small and controlled. Using less energy meant that I could settle into a more consistent rhythm, and I was able to get through the rope-jumping fairly quickly (for me, anyway).

Visualization also helped. In my mind, I replayed videos of CrossFit Games athletes doing double-unders with their feet barely leaving the ground. And thirty feet in front of me at the gym, I could also see Kyle -- our resident double-under fiend -- lightly bouncing up and down as his rope whipped around him. I did my best to keep up with him, and though I didn't succeed, I PR'ed by three minutes. Not a bad way to start the week!

Result: 9:11 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

Five a.m. feels like eons ago...

Strength Skill:

Zercher Squats (3-3-1-1-1)

I matched my PR of 215 pounds (from back in December!), though my attempt at 225 failed. When my ankle is 100 percent, I'm definitely going to give it another shot.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 400 meter run
• 15 overhead squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 10 toes-to-bar

I'm sick of not being able to run properly. Skipping is fun and all, but it's not the speediest way to get around.

Also, looking back, I wish I'd gone with the RXed weight instead of scaling down to 75. The overhead squats felt pretty good, and even though it would've taken me a lot longer to complete the workout, I'm confident I could have gone heavier.

Result: 12:02.

Monday's Workout: Mr. Magoo

Loved this morning's workout for three reasons:

• My ankle continues to improve (I was able to run on it today -- kind of!);
• I got to work on squat cleans; and
• Today's metcon was bodyweight-focused -- my favorite!

But in part due to my exuberance, and in part due to the fact that in my rush to get out of the house, I forgot to put in my contact lenses, I screwed up the workout anyway.

More after the jump...

Fight Gone Bad 6

Yesterday, CrossFit communities across the globe participated in the sixth annual Fight Gone Bad fundraiser.

Our affiliate, CrossFit Palo Alto, did its part by hosting a blowout event, complete with prizes, food and even a mini-version of FGB for the kids. Eight heats of athletes -- from pre-schoolers to grandparents -- took part in the competition to benefit The Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the CrossFit Foundation.

The event -- expertly organized by Trish -- hummed along like a well-oiled machine, with assigned heats and starting stations.

M was in the second heat of the morning. Fueled with coffee and sporting her 4505 Meats tee, she tore through all seventeen minutes of the workout and managed to keep smiling through it all. (Except when she was grimacing.)

I wasn't slated to go until the second-to-final heat of the day, and watching everyone bust their butts getting through all the wallballs, sumo deadlift high pulls, box jumps, push-presses and rowing put me on edge.

Right before my heat was called, I applied more tape to my ankle (which, frankly, was feeling more decent than it had in the past couple of weeks), and got situated between Cesar and Vinny at the wallball station.

In the first round, despite babying my left ankle and going painfully, frustratingly slow on my box jumps, I managed to hit two of my targets: 30 wallballs and over 100 total points. (I busted out exactly 30 wallball shots in the first minute, and at the end of the first five minutes, had acquired 101 points.)



And then, I hit a wall. In the second round, I cranked out only 16 wallball shots -- half of my total from the first round. Everything else was just as bad. My legs turned to jelly, and even with my wife and kids cheering me on from the sidelines, I felt like there wasn't enough air in the room to breathe.



Result: 229 points as RXed -- the same as my previous FGB score in January.



Not terrible, but not stellar, either. I wish I could chalk it all up to wonkiness from my ankle sprain, but honestly, I just bit it in the second and third rounds. I was probably a little more careful with my ankle than I would have otherwise been, but it didn't hurt during the workout. Or maybe it did, but the rest of my body was in too much pain for me to notice my foot.

Still, this was hands-down the most raucously enjoyable event I've attended at CrossFit Palo Alto. Families and friends and even folks from other gyms were on hand to cheer and compete, and to share an excellent potluck lunch afterwards.

And did I mention the kids' mini-FGB? Because it was awesome.

A few more photos from Fight Gone Bad, after the jump...

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Strict Weighted Pull-ups (5-5-5-3-3)

I went no further than 30 pounds over my bodyweight today -- it's nowhere close to my PR from New Year's Eve, but I wasn't about to go crazy today. Fight Gone Bad is just a day away!

Metcon:

• 50 double-unders
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 40 double-unders
• 25 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 30 double-unders
• 20 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 20 double-unders
• 15 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 10 double-unders
• 10 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)

I grabbed a 24kg kettlebell, but I knew that with my ankle sprain, the double-unders remain a no-go. I experimented with some one-legged double-unders before the WOD began, but heeding Tim's advice to not be stupid, I decided to go with single-unders on my right leg instead. Scaling, however, meant having to do 3 singles for every double.

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to attempt 450 single-legged rope jumps, and not surprisingly, it took forever.

Result: 13:03

Wednesday's Class: Back to School

It felt good to return to the 5 a.m. class.

Strength Skill:

• Zercher Squats (5-5-5-3-3)

Mark and I paired off to tackle the Zerchers. I only made it through four sets; I dumped the bar on my final rep, even though I was squatting 30 pounds lighter than my 1RM from last December. Ankle permitting, my goal for the cycle is to hit a new PR -- which means I have a ways to go.

Metcon:

• In 3 minutes, run 240 meters and then max reps of pass-throughs;
• In 3 minutes, run 240 meters and then max reps of wallballs (20lbs / 14lbs);
• In 3 minutes, run 240 meters and then max reps of dumbbell ground-to-overheads (45lbs / 30lbs);
• In 3 minutes, run 240 meters and then max reps of box jumps (20").

Score = Total reps.

Sadly, I'm not yet able to run on my ankle, so I rowed 250 meters each time instead. I'm not a huge fan of the erg (to put it mildly), but it was better than trying to hobble around the block.

This workout was clearly intended as a tune-up for this Saturday's Fight Gone Bad (and if you haven't donated yet, shame on you, you big mooch). My at-home attempts at wallball shots and box jumps didn't go so well last weekend -- my ankle didn't appreciate the pounding -- so I was hopeful that I'd see marked improvement during today's WOD.

Not so much.

The wallballs didn't feel too bad, so long as I didn't jump up into the throw. But prior to spraining my ankle, I'd been able to string together over two dozen unbroken wallball shots -- something I couldn't come close to replicating today. And my box jumps were just miserable. I winced every time my left foot smacked down on the box and on the floor. After a few reps, I started slowly stepping off the box after each jump.

Result: 80 (using RXed weights but rowing instead of running). As a point of comparison, the Terminator beat me by 58 reps. In other words, I got schooled -- but it sure beats sitting at home.

K-Star on Training Through Injury

WHAT?!?

According to super-guru Kelly Starrett, an ankle sprain takes -- without exception -- FOUR TO SIX WEEKS to heal. As K-Star says: "That four to six weeks sort of has a natural place in the healing cycle, the healing timeframe. We are superhumans. We're CrossFitters. I do superhuman shit every day. I can do anything...EXCEPT I cannot outrace my tissue healing times or my own physiology."

Also: Once tissue's been injured, it'll never be quite the same again.

Kill me now.



On the plus side, Starrett is emphatic that acutely injured individuals can't just sit on the sidelines until they're 100 percent. It's important to get back into the gym as soon as possible: “You had a surgery on Friday? Okay -- take a couple of days off. See you on Monday.”

WODs can (and should!) be modified, not shelved. Use dumbbells or scale down the weights. Do movements on one leg. But whatever you do, don't plant your ass on the couch and munch on ibuprofen. For a whole host of reasons, athletes should train through and around injuries:

Continuing to work out reinforces tissue and keeps systems intact. The metabolic and anabolic cascade and neurendocrine response lead to increased growth hormone, increased testosterone and increased insulin growth factors—all good things. And the psycho-social factors are also important. Athletes should not be isolated from their workout buddies or allowed to give up. They need to get back into action...

The recovery phase is when athletes need CrossFit most. When it comes to fitness, it’s a case of use it or lose it. Workouts should be modified, not abandoned. Do a workout on one leg, if necessary. Or consider Tabata intervals on day one of the recovery program, and let the intensity find you. Working out increases blood flow and promotes healing. It drives insulin sensitivity, restores proteins and gets the whole system looking for anabolic enzymes. 

Bottom line: "Injured athletes are still athletes. They need to avoid feeling sorry for themselves and get their butts back into the gym. And quickly."



More at the CrossFit Journal.

Monday's Workout: 9/11 WOD

After five long days away from the gym, I was looking forward to joining my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs at CrossFit Palo Alto today. Alas, M was at work, and my in-laws weren't available this morning, so I was grounded again. I wish I could say I slept in, but like clockwork, my eyes popped open at 4:20 a.m. Groaning, I pulled the covers over my head and tried to go back to sleep.

Another bummer: I missed the triumphal return of XFitMama. Despite giving birth less than two months ago, she's already in full-on beast mode: She did the WOD as RXed on her first day back at the gym. (Not a surprise, considering that this is the same firebreather who was doing WODs with unassisted pull-ups while nine months pregnant.)

Despite missing the 5 a.m. class, I was determined not to skip another day at the gym. I'd considered (for about a half-second) being a smart, reasonable person and resting my ankle, but I'm pretty sure I would've gone stir crazy if I'd stayed away. So in the end, I moved heaven and earth (otherwise known as a meeting and a conference call) in order to hit the noon class at the gym. 

The class was packed with familiar faces; it was great to hang out with Lawyerhands (who thoughtfully brought me a bag filled with OldSkoolBoarder's various ankle braces), Carol (who occasionally pops in at 5 a.m.), Alma, Carmela, Jimmy and others. It was also oddly gratifying to see that I wasn't the only one with a bum foot in class today. Two(!) others were hobbling around due to extracurricular injuries, and during warm-ups, the three of us formed a sad little group in the corner, unable to do jumping jacks and high-knees.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (5-5-5-3-3)

Jimmy (who also has a sprained ankle) and I paired up and got through two ankle-jarring sets of cleans before we hung it up. Tim had us practice kettlebell cleans instead, which -- while a nice change of pace -- aren't quite as fun as squat-cleaning a barbell. Then again, I'm biased: I discovered today that I kind of suck at kettlebell cleans. Another skill to practice!

Metcon:

"9/11" - 5 rounds for time:

• 9 push-presses (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 11 knees-to-elbows

I did a few push-presses yesterday in the garage, and they were less than comfortable whenever I dipped and forced my ankles to flex. But for whatever reason (maybe because I took Tim up on his offer to treat my ankle by yanking on my foot before class?), my push-presses were surprisingly decent. This isn't to say that I was particular fast or graceful during today's WOD. On more than one occasion, I tipped forward at the top of my presses, which lifted me awkwardly onto my toes. And starting in the third round, I had to dump the bar a couple of times mid-set, which slowed me down considerably. My knees-to-elbows weren't super-fast, either -- but on the plus side, I didn't further wreck my hands. 

And frankly, it just felt great to move around.

Result: 7:00 as RXed.

Whine, Whine, Whine

It's been over a week since I sprained my ankle, and the slowness of the healing process is really pissing me off. Yes, the groin pull was annoying, and the torn hands weren't fun. But they're pretty much behind me now, which clears the way for me to obsess over my left ankle.

I can't run. I can't jump-rope. I can't even descend stairs without looking like an elderly Asian gentleman. (Not because Asians walk down stairs funny, but because I'm Asian. Duh.) I can't push off with my left foot, and anything that requires a decent amount of ankle flexion -- deadlifts, box jumps, push-presses, etc. -- is uncomfortable.

After two grueling workouts last week -- neither of which demanded too much ankle action, thankfully -- I benched myself for Friday's WOD to give myself a chance to recover. (And it's a good thing I did, because Friday's workout was 5 rounds of 500-meter rows and 400-meter runs. In other words, hell on earth.)

And after 5 days off, I am mentally ready to go now. Rest is awesome, but I've been itching to move around for days. I literally can't sit still anymore. This morning, when M got home from work, I ducked into the garage to do a bunch of sumo deadlift high pulls and push-presses and box jumps and wallball shots. (One must prepare for Fight Gone Bad this Saturday, right?)

Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that my ankle does not get along with push-presses. Or box jumps. Or wallballs. And when I grabbed my jump rope tonight to go practice double-unders, I came to the realization that I can't even do single-unders right now. And now, as I head off to bed, my ankle is aching again.

This is driving me crazy.

Wednesday's Workout: Hand in Glove

I got up a little earlier than usual this morning to make sure I had enough time to tape up my hands before the 5 a.m. class. The skin of my left ring finger was torn in a couple of places, but it's my right hand that's been bothering me. During Monday's workout, I'd pretty much flayed several layers of skin off one section of my palm, and two days later, the flesh underneath remains red and raw. So this morning, I carefully applied more Neosporin to the wound, covered it with a big bandage, and wrapped it all up with athletic tape.

Tim had shot me a message last night, advising me to wear gloves to the gym today, so I scrounged up a pair of cycling gloves and pulled them over my mummified hands. I stared at my black-gloved hands. If these don't protect me, I thought, nothing will.

I'm glad I wore them. Tim had mercifully modified the previously-scheduled WOD, removing the pull-ups and knees-to-elbows and substituting ring rows and med ball V-ups in their place, but the workout still involved gripping various things.

For time:

• 30 deadlifts (225lbs / 135lbs)
• Rest one minute
• 50 ring rows
• Rest one minute
• 30 dumbbell snatches on each side (60 total reps - 45lbs / 30lbs)
• Rest one minute
• 50 medicine ball V-ups

Oddly enough, I'd been so focused on the sorry state of my hands that I almost forgot about my sprained ankle. It wasn't until today's warm-up -- when I realized I still can't run properly -- that I remembered I needed to be smart about not putting too much pressure on my left foot. So I went with a relatively light barbell (205 pounds) and dumbbell (35 pounds), figuring I'd have trouble pushing off using my left leg.

I was right. The deadlifts felt uneven; I couldn't drive through the bottom of my left heel without feeling a twinge of discomfort shoot up from my ankle. And the snatches were lopsided, too. I winced each time my left foot stomped down onto the floor. To be honest, it's not that it hurt -- I winced in anticipation of the pain, and ended up favoring my left leg by shifting more of my weight to my right side.

The ring rows and med ball V-ups weren't affected at all by my hands or ankle -- but they were tough nonetheless. The first 30 ring rows came fast and smooth, but then I hit a wall, and was unable to string together more than 5 at a time. The V-ups, too, seemed easy at first. I kept me legs straight while transferring the ball from my feet to my hands, but with just two-thirds of the set completed, I found myself unable to continue without slightly bending my knees to shorten the lever.

Result: 16:08 (not counting the three minutes of rest between movements).

I'm pretty fried. I did my best to hang in there, but the nagging injuries -- however minor -- are starting to add up. I hate missing class, but I think I'm going to have to sit out Friday's workout. Boo.

Monday's Workout: Bloody Mary

As soon as I popped out of bed this morning, I tested my right groin and my left ankle. The groin felt pretty spiffy, all things considering. It was a little sore, but nothing a little stretching couldn't handle. The ankle, on the other hand, felt like crap. I still couldn't get up on the toes of my left foot, flex properly, or put much weight on it.

Yes, it's Labor Day in the U.S. Yes, I have the day off of work. Yes, I have a pulled groin and a sprained ankle. Yes, I still hauled my butt to the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Why? Because I'm insane. But I'm not the only one. Five of us nutjobs showed up before dawn to get our WOD on. And it was a doozy:

"Mary" - As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

• 5 handstand push-ups
• 10 pistols
• 15 pull-ups

I knew I wouldn't be able to do the pistols with my left foot. I've always been terrible at single-legged squats on my left leg -- and with a bum ankle, it was a no-go. But my right groin felt okay, so I decided to crank 'em out exclusively with my right leg. I knew I'd pay for this decision with a super-sore right butt cheek, but what's one more pain in the ass (literally)?

The Terminator and I set up next to each other, and when the clock started, we went head-to-head. That man robot is fast. Every time I pulled slightly ahead, he'd close the gap. I did my damnedest to stay a few reps ahead of him, but we traded leads a couple of times.

It wasn't until the seventh round that I noticed that the pull-up bar was slick with blood.

The skin surrounding the calluses on both my hands had torn off. I've torn my hands doing pull-ups before, but this is the first time I've ever noticed it in the middle of the workout. I was leaking DNA everywhere.

My right hand was particularly bloody, so when Tim handed me a paper towel, I used it to sop up some of the blood. I then wrapped it around the bar so I could get a better grip to finish my pull-ups. I was determined to finish nine full rounds, but in the end, I was one rep short.

The funny thing is that during the WOD, nothing hurt. Not my ankle (except the one time I came off the wall after a set of HSPUs and landed awkwardly on my left foot), not my groin, not my right butt cheek, and not my hands. When the 20 minutes were up, I was more pissed about not hitting my goal of 9 rounds than anything else.

The pain didn't hit until a few minutes after the workout. Others in the class had torn hands, too, and one by one, we marched into the restroom to rinse off the blood and yelp as the water stung our hands.

(Want to see a barftastic photo of one of my hands post-workout? No you don't. I'm pretty sure you don't want to see this.)

As I type this, my hands are bandaged up like mummies. I feel like an absolute idiot for not taking better care of my hands and letting my calluses build up enough to tear my skin. My butt cheek has been seizing up all day, and my left ankle is still throbbing. But on the plus side, my groin feels like a million bucks!

Result: 8 rounds + 29 reps as RXed.

Special thanks to Rachel for cleaning the blood off my pull-up bar for me, and to Graeme for picking up the bloody paper towels I'd strewn across the floor.

Tomorrow: A post on hand care.

This Sucks

What luck.

It's taken over a week, but yesterday, my groin was feeling halfway decent again, so I joined M and the kids for an afternoon at the playground. We had lunch outside, swung around on the jungle gym, and found other ways to incorporate some MovNat into our play. While the kids ran around with a couple of their friends, I climbed poles and pulled myself up and over an 8-foot wall, and M worked on her jumping and balancing skills. We took turns scrambling up a big pine tree; I jumped off a high branch and landed unscathed, and helped M off the tree, too, by having her hop onto my shoulders. After a week of taking it easy, it felt good to feel healthy and capable again.

But a few hours later, as I was on my knees beside the tub giving one of my boys a bath, the other one executed a running jump into the bathroom and landed directly on my Achilles tendon. My left ankle rolled and twisted, and I hopped up in pain.

And now, I have a sprained ankle. It's not a major sprain, but I can't put weight on it without discomfort. I've been icing and elevating it intermittently today, and gobbling ibuprofen.

Whoever heard of getting injured giving a child a bath?

I hate this. A lot.