Wednesday's Workout: Don't Be An Idiot

Another good one today.

5 rounds for time:

• 400-meter run
• 5 deadlifts (225lbs / 155lbs)
• 7 burpees
• 9 pull-ups

I love deadlifts, so when they show up in a metcon, it's a real struggle to keep myself from going RXed. But ultimately, the risk of exacerbating the muscle tear in my back keeps me scared straight. As a result, I went super-light -- 135 pounds (my bodyweight) -- and focused instead on maintaining smooth movements through all the exercises. With another 90 pounds on the bar, I'm sure I would've gassed out quickly on the burpees and pull-ups, but today, I managed to get through the entire workout with unbroken sets. In particular, the pull-ups felt crisp and tight. 

Result: 16:35.

Monday's Workout: Hallow-Bata

To kick off Halloween in style, the 5 a.m. crew at CrossFit Palo Alto threw ourselves into a devilishly challenging Tabata-style workout.

"Hallow-Bata"

• 8 rounds of Tabata "green, slimy" grasshoppers
• Rest 30 seconds
• 8 rounds of Tabata "headless horsemen" (a variation on kettlebell palm presses) (24kg / 16kg)
• Rest 30 seconds
• 8 rounds of Tabata "cauldron jumps" (jump over a plyo box and land on the floor on the other side for each rep)
• Rest 30 seconds
• 8 rounds of Tabata "deadly" double-unders

Score = Total reps.

With a lucky 13 of us in class this morning, we had to begin at different stations. I decided to start with double-unders, figuring I'd save my favorite -- the box jumps -- for last. Besides, I knew I had a better chance of cranking out more double-unders early in the workout, before I ran out of gas.

I was right. In the first 20-second set of Tabata double-unders, I ripped out 34. In the second set, I managed 28. But by the time the third set was done, I'd managed only 18. It wasn't exactly a shocker that my drop-off in movement efficiency, energy, and number of reps was exponential. I was pleased, though, that I was able to bust out almost 2 double-unders per second -- albeit only for the first 20 seconds of the workout.

• Double-under results: 34 / 28 / 18 / 18 / 17 / 17 / 16 / 15

As soon as I saw grasshoppers pop up on a CrossFit.com workout last week, I had a feeling we'd see it at the gym one day. That day came sooner than expected. Grasshoppers look simple enough: You start in a push-up position, and then kick a leg forward until your shin hits your opposite arm. That's half a rep. Repeat with the other leg for a full rep. In practice, though, grasshoppers are anything but easy -- especially with a lower back injury. But while I'd like to blame it all on my boo-boo and current lack of flexibility, the truth is that these are just plain hard.

• Grasshopper results: 15 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 6 / 

Next up were the "headless horsemen" -- a modified kettlebell palm press. Starting with the kettlebell on the floor, we lifted it up with one arm, palmed it with the other hand at chest level, and then pressed the weight overhead. To keep from straining my recovering back, I didn't even attempt the RXed 24kg -- but let's be frank: Even if I was 100 percent, there's no way I would've been able to get through 8 Tabata rounds of these presses at that weight.

• Headless horsemen results: 5 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 5 / 4

Last but not least: "Cauldron jumps." "Get over the box whichever way you can," Tim had instructed. "You can jump all the way over the box, or do a regular box jump and then jump to the floor on the other side. You can do sideways box jumps. Or step up and over."

Before the workout, I had planned on hopping like crazy over the box, but I thought better of it after two things happened: (1) One of my 5 a.m. pals took a nasty tumble off his box soon after the WOD started, and whacked his elbow something fierce; and (2) the double-unders, grasshoppers and headless horsemen left me too tuckered out to go nuts. Plus, I reminded myself of my current goal: Recovery, not PRs. There would be no attempt to jump clear over the box.

I did, however, start with lateral box jumps, which saved me a bit of time. I didn't have to turn around to jump back the way I came; instead, I just hopped sideways to change directions. But after three rounds, my lower back gave me a warning twinge, and I knew I had to dial it down some more. For the remainder of the workout, I stepped up and over the box -- which, oddly enough, allowed me to rack up more reps than I would've completed had I kept jumping.

• Cauldron jump results: 10 / 8 / 7 / 9 / 8 / 6 / 6

Total: 335

Happy Halloween, boys and girls. And take it easy on the candy tonight.

Friday's Workout

Resting for a few days did me a world of good. My achy back still has a way to go before it's 100 percent again, but it's significantly looser than it was just a few days ago. I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in over two weeks. "Stay active," the doctor had said. So I headed back to the gym at 5 a.m.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (3-3-3-1-1)

I worked my way up to a 28kg (62lb) kettlebell on the weight belt before calling it quits. For a moment, I considered trying to match my previous PR of 80 pounds...and then I realized I was just being a greedy idiot.

Metcon:

• Run 400 meters
• 21 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 21 push-presses (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 21 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)

We last did this workout almost exactly one year ago. Back then, I did it with the RXed weight of 95 pounds, and it took 12:39 for me to finish. (According to my blog post, I was dead last in my class.)

I struggled with the temptation to go RXed today so that I could compare my performance against last year's. But this was just more idiocy on my part. I'm injured; recovery is the name of the game. Besides, even if I went RXed, my results wouldn't be comparable because I wasn't hurt last October.

In any event, I scaled the weight down to 75 pounds, and as a result, the barbell lifts weren't too bad. My SDHPs were unbroken. I took one quick break halfway through the push-presses, and two breaks during the thrusters. My running was slow as molasses, but I still managed to finish the WOD relatively quickly.

Result: 10:23.

Monday's Workout: "Jackie"

I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon mashed into an uncomfortable chair in an auditorium, watching my six-year-old (and dozens of others) perform at his martial arts studio's annual black belt show. My kid was onstage for two short segments, each lasting about a minute. Those couple of minutes were fantastic; I love watching my little man confidently punch and kick his way across a stage. But for the remaining 118 minutes of the kung fu recital, my mind was focused on the fact that the ache in my injured lower back was worsening. The longer I was scrunched in that chair (with my three-year-old squirming on my lap), the more miserable I got.

Interestingly, my back didn't feel better until 5 a.m. this morning, when I staggered into the gym, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and started foam-rollering the hell out of my back muscles. Finally, I felt the tension ease, and after joining the rest of the class for a low-impact warm-up (no awkward cartwheels today!), my back started to feel a whole lot looser.

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1-2-3-1-2-3)

No point in (further) destroying myself today. I stuck with a 1 pood kettlebell for my TGUs. They felt pretty solid, and even with a few minutes of rest between sets, I finished relatively quickly.

Metcon:

"Jackie" - For time:

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

I've done Jackie twice before, but the last time was over a year ago, and frankly, I have no recollection of these previous attempts. Tim asked me my PR on Jackie, and I shrugged.

This didn't look too bad, I thought as I scrutinized the whiteboard. The rowing would be miserable, but if I paced myself, I'd be fine. Doing thrusters with an empty bar seemed easy enough. And pull-ups are fun! If I pulled a leisurely 4-minute 1K row, I figured I'd need just another 4 minutes -- tops! -- to get through the light thrusters and pull-ups.

I was wrong. As usual. The only one of us at 5 a.m. who finished in less than 8 minutes was the Terminator (of course).

If I'd consulted my blog archives (see? they come in handy!), I would have seen that in July of last year, I finished Jackie in 10:03, and in September, I finished in 9:28. And perhaps I would have remembered how my legs turned to jelly right after stumbling off the erg, and how even 45-pound thrusters feel horrible when my thighs are on fire. Or, for that matter, how the thrusters were more than enough to fry my arms and make 30 unbroken pull-ups nothing more than a pipe dream.

On the plus side:

• I managed a new PR (I finished in 9:07 as RXed), and
• During the workout -- and for about two hours afterwards -- my back felt awesome. I didn't even need to spray Old School Horse Rub on it.

Sadly, once I came home and got the kids dressed, fed, and off to school, my back turned back into a pumpkin and started aching again.

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: 50% Off

Believe it or not, I managed to rein in my appetite this morning. It was a "50% off" kind of day.

My back felt okay as I stepped into the gym at 5 a.m., but I reminded myself to fight the usual urge to push myself. My goal over the course of the next month is simple: To recover. I'm going to focus on mobility, and resist the temptation to go heavy on strength work and metcons. Think I can do it?

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (5-3-3-1-1)

Instead of loading up the barbell, I cut my normal weight in half and did bodyweight deadlifts. And instead of five sets, I just did three sets of three. In other words: Super-light, super-short. It was just enough to get me moving a little bit, but not nearly enough to strain anything.

Metcon:

"Half-Cindy" -- in 10 minutes, as many rounds as possible of:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 squats

I'm a huge fan of bodyweight workouts, and Cindy's the queen of 'em all. We've done a number of different variations on Cindy -- including Murph -- and I've loved all of them. And today, with doctor's orders not to go heavy, a short 10-minute bodyweight metcon couldn't have been more perfect. Before the clock started, I gingerly tested out each of the movements. None of them bothered me in the slightest, so I happily joined the rest of the class.

The workout was fun -- my pull-ups were strong and smooth, and the push-ups felt good and fast, too -- at least for the first five rounds or so. Towards the end, I had to take brief pauses after every 4 or 5 push-ups and squats, but my pull-ups never slowed.

And best of all, my back felt looser afterwards than it has in days.

Result: 11 rounds + 16 reps as RXed.

Flesh, Not Bone

There's a sports medicine facility across the street from my office. I've passed it a million times, but I've never once peered inside or made any inquiries about the services it provides. Who needs it? I thought.

Turns out I do. 

I'd hoped that my lower back stiffness would've dissipated by now, but no dice. Lingering muscle soreness and occasional twinges of pain made me think twice before attempting to twist my torso or bend over. This was not good.

So I picked up the phone and made an appointment at the place across the street. Luckily, there was an opening today, so after a long day behind a desk and a computer, I walked over to the clinic. The facility was bigger than it appeared from the exterior, and housed specialists in sports medicine, physical therapy, medical neurology, chiropractic care, and medical massage. 

The doctor who examined me poked and prodded at my back while asking questions about my exercise regimen ("CrossFit"), pain levels ("low"), type of discomfort ("extreme soreness, occasional pinching or shooting pain"). As part of the exam, my spine and pelvis got x-rayed and ultrasounded (is that a word?) to rule out certain possible conditions that I couldn't pronounce, like "ankylosing spondylitis."

And then, as the x-rays were being developed and reports were being prepared, I was escorted into a room where I lay on my stomach and got hooked up to some wires that delivered an electric current to my back muscles. It's called "electric stimulation therapy," and for the most part, it was pleasant -- like sitting in one of those massage chairs at the Brookstone store in the mall. Of course, once in a while, the electricity did some weird things to my back muscles, causing my right lat to seize up involuntarily a few times. I'd like to think it was akin to getting very, very mildly tased by a cop.

After my back muscles were sufficiently tenderized by electricity, the doctor returned and told me that my spine looked A-OK. "You have a very healthy spine, with just some osteoarthritis developing. Normal for a guy your age who exercises a lot." (My age? Damn, I'm feeling old.)

He explained that my vertebrae were just peachy, and my discs looked fine, too. "So the good news is that there's no damage to your spine. You're just suffering from a muscle tear. Do some mobility work as it heals to make sure you don't build up too much scar tissue, and take it easy for the next month or so. And we'll do an adjustment to make sure your spine is in alignment."

All I heard were the words: 

• "OSTEOARTHRITIS"
• "MUSCLE TEAR"
• "TAKE IT EASY FOR THE NEXT MONTH"

None of which were particularly awesome-sounding.

On the other hand, the spine adjustment felt fantastic. After a chiropractor contorted me into various pretzel shapes ("I'm gonna get all up in your area," he warned me beforehand), he suddenly yanked and twisted me until loud popping sounds exploded from my back. "That's supposed to happen," the chiropractor assured me. "I'm not breaking your back." Good to know.

I have to admit that I felt significantly better after the spinal adjustment, and so I made an appointment for another adjustment later this week.

Before I left, I had a very important question for the doc: "So does this mean I can't work out until this heals?"

"No, you can work out," he said. "You're a healthy, fit guy, and I'm sure you'll go work out even if I told you to take a break. But start with light weights, don't overdo it, and listen to your body. Stop if your back doesn't like what you're doing. And remember to do plenty of stretching and mobility work."

He had me at "No, you can work out." 

(But I promise I won't be an idiot.)

Monday's Workout: Shin vs. Barbell

This blog is quickly turning into a catalog of my injuries.

For a couple of months now, my body's been in a perpetual state of disrepair. Some of my injuries have been relatively minor (e.g., a bee sting on the bottom of my foot, a gash on the back of my calf, torn hands from Mary), while others have been more of a pain in the ass (e.g., an ankle sprain, a groin pull). Finally, after many slow and frustrating weeks on the mend, I started feeling pretty damned good again. I woke up last Monday with renewed energy, and had a blast tearing through Annie.

But just when I thought I was in the clear, my body decided to revolt once again. A day or two after last Wednesday's session of deadlifts, my lower back stiffened up. I figured the soreness would go away after a couple of days, but even now, the discomfort remains.

Given my decrepitude, I decided to take it easy today. The strength skill today was Turkish Get-Ups, and I chose to stick with the 1-pood kettlebell for all but the final set -- and even then, I went only a few pounds heavier.

And then Tim wrote today's metcon on the board:

"DT" -- 5 rounds for time of:

• 12 deadlifts (155lbs / 115lbs)
• 9 hang power cleans (155lbs / 115lbs)
• 6 push jerks (155lbs / 115lbs)

"Go lighter than normal," Tim instructed. "I don't want any dropped weights." At five a.m., he reminded the class, we need to be quiet as mice, or risk incurring the wrath of the neighbors.

Frankly, I was relieved to have an (additional) excuse to go light today. I'd hoped that my back would loosen up during warm-ups, but the soreness lingered. Ninety-five pounds sounded good to me.

As the workout began, I actually felt fine. I raced through the first round unbroken, and quickly moved on to the deadlifts again. The weight was light -- even numerous reps of power cleans weren't super-difficult at 95 pounds. But I started to flag midway through the workout, and had to put down the bar (quietly) several times for mid-set breathers.

And then, at the end of the fourth round, as I lowered the weight from overhead, I lost my grip on the barbell. To keep it from clanging on the floor, I instinctively stuck out my leg. That's right: MY LEG. TO CATCH A FALLING BARBELL.

Needless to say, the barbell won, and my shin lost. (Wanna see?)

After a brief visit to the Pain Cave in my head, I finished up the final round.

Result: 8:56.

At this rate, I swear I'm going to be in a full-body cast soon unless I invest in a full-body protective suit.

Snazzy!