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.

All Good Things...

So after two and a half years of waking up in the middle of the night to get ready for 5 a.m. CrossFit classes, our merry bunch of early birds is abruptly disbanding. Turns out the gym has residential neighbors who aren't super-jazzed about being woken up by the sounds of barbells and grunting.

When I joined CrossFit Palo Alto in the summer of 2010, Steph was the only other person crazy enough to stick to a 5 a.m. schedule. But after a few months, we were joined by the Terminator. And then Mint came (and left). And Jackie joined, and Jason, and Jay, and Jake, and on and on, until there were 15 of us "regulars" in the class. 

Three days a week, these were the folks with whom I'd start the day. Half-asleep, I'd stumble into the gym, bedheaded and bleary-eyed, and spend an hour sweating alongside my fellow sleep-deprived nutjobs. It's not like we spent a lot of time chatting in class -- I'm not nearly awake enough to engage in intelligent conversation before 5:30. But our class had a great, supportive vibe, and the friendly competition kept me on my toes.

Could I have attended class at a later (and saner) time of day? Sure -- but I always looked forward to seeing the 5 a.m. crew. It's hard not to like the people with whom you've spent hundreds of hours over the course of the past 30 months, and it's the primary reason why I always set my alarm clock for 4:20 a.m.

But at least for now, the 5 a.m. class is kaput. Most of us are moving to crashing other classes, and the rest are finding other ways to lift heavy and move fast. I'm joining the 6 a.m. class along with a handful of other 5 a.m. refugees, so the silver lining is that I'll get three extra hours of sleep each week. And hopefully, we'll get to drop our weights without fear of the cops getting called.

Last order of business? The 5 a.m. class's two final workouts:

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we practiced Zercher squats -- a favorite of mine. Even better: This is a strength skill that doesn't require the use of my wrists, so my injury was irrelevant. (And yes, I'm still -- STILL! -- on the mend.) We also got a metcon that I didn't have to modify: AMRAP in 7 minutes of burpees.

The workout required that we jump and stand atop of a 45-pound bumper plate at the end of each rep. I did the burpees on my fists, and kept a fairly steady rate throughout. I was aiming for 100 burpees, and despite my best efforts to accelerate towards the end, I ended up one short. 

Result: 99 as RXed. So close! Still, I'm pretty happy with my score -- especially given that it took me almost a minute longer to complete 100 burpees last year.

Friday

I had much more trouble with the assigned movements in our final 5 a.m. workout. While the class practiced strict barbell presses, I had to settle for kettlebell and dumbbell presses. And the metcon looked like this:

• 15 chin-ups
• 10 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 12 chin-ups
• 15 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 9 chin-ups
• 20 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 6 chin-ups
• 25 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 3 chin-ups
• 30 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)

I can't yet catch a wall ball without destroying my wrist, so I did thrusters with a pair of 15-pound dumbbells instead. And I did the chin-ups from a pair of Olympic rings to reduce the strain on my wrist, too. Looking back, I'm glad the chin-up ladder was descending; by the end of the workout, my chin-ups were ugly and slow.

Result: 7:48.

With any luck, the 5 a.m. diaspora will be short-lived. But who knows? I suspect I might get used to the extra sleep...

Bottoms Up

I'm still here.

This past week has passed me by. I've been meaning to post, I've been busy with the kids while Michelle was at the 2012 Weston A. Price Foundation Conference. Blogging is fun and all, but so is running around the house playing Batman versus Iron Man and singing Weird Al Yankovic tunes at the top of our lungs.

Anyway, here's the latest rundown on my gym activities.

Friday

Strength Skill:

• Bottoms Up Kettlebell Cleans (5-5-5-5-5-5, one set every 3 minutes)

The rest of the class continued working on barbell cleans, and I wish I could've joined 'em. I've been feeling sharp pangs of envy whenever I watch other people practice cleans. So I did my bottoms-up kettlebell cleans in the back of the gym, and tried my best not to watch my classmates heave their barbells around.

Metcon:

• "Jackie" - for time:
• Row 1,000 meters
• 50 thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 pull-ups

It's only been a few months since we last did "Jackie," though this time around, I wasn't able to do the thrusters with a barbell. Instead, to ease the pressure on my wrist, I did double kettlebell cleans and presses, which approximated -- but didn't equal -- the experience of thrusting the barbell overhead.

Jackie still wrecked me (per usual). But the first squat after getting off the erg is the hardest, and once I pushed through the KB cleans and presses, the pull-ups went fairly quickly.

Result: 8:22 -- significantly faster than my 9:51 from June, but I did it RXed that time.

Monday

Strength Skill:

• Back Squats (3-2-1-1-1-1)

I was happy to hit a new PR at 245 pounds -- though I suspect I had some left in the tank.

Metcon:

• 21 burpees
• 21 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 21 Abmat sit-ups
• 15 burpees
• 15 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 15 Abmat sit-ups
• 9 burpees
• 9 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 9 Abmat sit-ups

Pretty straightforward stuff -- and a workout I didn't have to modify to accommodate my wrist injury! (Well, I did have to do the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists, but that doesn't really count, does it?)

The overhead kettlebell swings slowed me down a bit. Seventy pounds is half my bodyweight, and every time I swung that iron ball, it threatened to pull me off my feet.

On the plus side: No Abmat ass-crack rash!

7:49 RXed

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.

This Week's Workouts

Upon returning from the Rockies, I figured I'd kick some butt in the gym. After all, I did all sorts of high-altitude training, like carrying our luggage from our room to the trunk of our rental car, and slowly walking to breakfast. Returning to an oxygen-rich environment should make me a beast, right? Right?

Wednesday's workout began with touch-and-go deadlifts, which felt pretty good. But then came the metcon:

5 rounds for time:

• 12 kettlebell cleans and presses (6 with each arm - 24kg / 16kg)
• 12 box jumps (24")
• Row 200 meters

I probably shouldn't have gone with the 24 kilogram (53 pound) kettlebell, because I spent the duration of the workout suffering. The box jumps and rowing didn't bother me (too much), but the presses left me gasping for air. And we're at sea level.

Result: 15:47 as RXed. I'm pretty sure I came in last in my class -- in large part because I bit off more than I can chew with the heavy KB cleans and presses.

Today's workout was much more my speed -- well, most of it. Here's what Tim wrote on the board:

• 800 meter run
• Then, 7 rounds of:
• 7 burpees
• 7 pull-ups
• After that? Another 800 meter fun run.

Sounds like a blast, right?

Actually, I was fine with the burpees and pull-ups; after all, bodyweight exercises are my bread and butter. But sadly, my running remains atrocious, and I nursed a side stitch throughout my final 800 meters. Fun!

Result: 15:43 as RXed.

Okay -- no mas. Must. Sleep. Now.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

Diving into overhead squats this morning, I was actually pretty happy with my form. I made sure to drive my knees out and keep my chest up and armpits forward; as a result, my reps felt stable and strong. I cautiously worked my way up to 125 pounds today, but feel like I had more in me...

...but then I saw the metcon on the board:

"Air Force WOD"

For time:

• 20 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 20 push jerks
• 20 overhead squats
• 20 front squats

Plus: Every minute, on the minute: Drop whatever you're doing and do 4 burpees.

It took no time at all to get through the thrusters and sumo deadlift high pulls. But by the time I finished the push jerks, the burpees had taken their toll.

And then came the overhead squats.

It didn't matter that we'd practiced them just minutes before. At this point, my arms and legs were noodles. I snatched the bar up overhead to get in position for the OHSs, but almost fell backwards. By the time I stumbled through a handful of reps, it was time for more burpees.

Result: 13:50 as RXed.

It took me almost four minutes just to complete 20 overhead squats.

But hey: Better than last time, right?

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Handstand Push-Ups (5-5-5-5-5)

My new favorite way to do handstand push-ups: Kip with one leg. Kipping keeps me from fatiguing too quickly, but I've found that when I kip with both legs, I tend to lose my balance and fall away from the wall. Keeping one leg up against the wall and kipping with the other leg is the perfect compromise: I can generate some additional pop with a strong kick while still maintaining a good amount of stability. Also, I've found that placing my hands a few inches outside of shoulder-width makes it a lot easier to push off without exhausting myself.

Between sets of HSPUs, we played around with rope climbs. A number of us were able to pull ourselves up to the top of the rig using just our hands, though it was murder on our skin.

Metcon:

6 minute AMRAP of:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...! burpees
• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...! pull-ups

Rest one minute, and then:

6 minute AMRAP of:

• 200-meter row
• 20 dumbbell push presses (10 with each arm, 45lbs / 35lbs)

I sped through the first six-minute AMRAP as fast as I could. My goal was to go at a quick, steady clip and avoid pausing, and finished with 10 complete rounds for a total of 55 burpees and 55 pull-ups.

But then came the rowing and push-presses.

The rowing wasn't bad, but the 45-pound dumbbell was too heavy for me, and slowed me down immensely. I finished only two rounds of the push presses, for a total of 40 reps.

Result: 150 total reps 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

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.

Wednesday's Workout

Crap. Totally forgot to log yesterday's workout. I'm getting forgetful in my old age.

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (3-3-1-1-1)

"Get angry," Tim said as I failed to get the bar up past my knees on my final set. I was attempting a double-bodyweight deadlift, which would match my previous PR (set waaaay back in February of 2011), and I'd gassed out after barely getting the plates off the ground.

I put on my best Hulk scowl, got set, grabbed the barbell, and pulled the hell out of it. My legs shook as I struggled to clear my knees, and as I finally stood upright with the bar, my head started to swim. I dropped the bar and plopped my butt on the floor. But I was smiling. No new PR, but close!

Metcon:

For time:

• 240-meter farmer's walk with a pair of 53-pound kettlebells
• 45 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
• 240-meter farmer's walk with a pair of 53-pound kettlebells
• 45 burpees

I'm glad I was able to complete the first 240-meter course without once putting down the kettlebells, but I had less success with the rest of the WOD. Wall balls are not my forte, and I ended up repeatedly stopping for rest breaks during the second farmer's walk. Plus, the burpees completely kicked my ass, despite doing my best to stick to Carl Paoli's burpee pointers.

Result: 12:17 as RXed.

Still: It's good to be back.

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.

Seven Minutes of Heaven

Holy moly. That was no joke.

I'm not exactly in love with burpees, but I was looking forward to the first CrossFit Games Open workout nonetheless. A seven-minute AMRAP of burpees was a perfect way to start the Open -- a super-accessible, no-equipment, bodyweight-only test of conditioning.

At CrossFit Palo Alto, about two dozen of us showed up this afternoon to tackle the WOD. We took turns judging, counting, and cheering for each other, and a number of spectators came to show their support as well.

Some of the firebreathers in the group absolutely killed this one. My partner, LaHo, tore through his reps like a beast on fire. So did a number of others, including Graeme and Trish.

Shane busted out 121. Insane.

Me? I shot out of the gate, and was happy to match Blake rep-for-rep for the first 80 reps or so. But then the wheels inevitably flew off, and as he peeled away, I stumbled and slowed. Usually, when I do burpees, my chest and arms are wrecked -- but today, my quads caught on fire and stayed that way. Jumping up to touch a bar just six inches beyond my outstretched arms turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected, especially given my jelly legs.

Result: 93 burpees.

After we were done, Big-O and Lil-O got in on the act, too. Oddly enough, they didn't seem to think this workout was a big deal at all.

Overall: Awesome fun with some awesome folks.

Friday's Workout

I'm doing the first CrossFit Games Open workout (7 minutes of burpees) tomorrow, so I was initially hesitant to show up for this morning's workout. Maybe it'd be better to get some rest, I thought.

But I'm glad I joined the rest of the 5 a.m. crew. Not only did I get to work on front squats again, but we got to practice burpees, too. Plus, with Tim on the East Coast, we were treated to another 5 a.m. coaching appearance by Trish.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

On my fourth set, I matched my previous PR, and felt strong doing it. Sadly, we ran out of time and I didn't get to shoot for a new personal best, but I definitely plan on continuing to keep front squatting at home. My immediate goal: New PR by the end of next week.

Metcon:

3 rounds:

• 1 minute of overhead squats (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 1 minute of burpees
• 1 minute of knockdowns (a.k.a. deck squats)
• 1 minute of shuttle runs
• 1 minute of rest

Score = Total reps

I was psyched to get a little preview of how tomorrow's burpees will feel, and used the WOD to try to practice what I learned from Carl Paoli's videos. The "kipping" motion doesn't feel smooth and natural to me yet, but I bet that after 7 minutes of burpees tomorrow, muscle memory will kick in. Either that, or the wheels'll come off in spectacular fashion. Regardless of what happens, it should be fun, right?

Result: 183 as RXed.

Hacking the Burpee

Yep -- it's that time of year. The CrossFit Games Open has started, and we're all doing a bazillion burpees this week, right? 

When I saw that the first workout is a 7-minute AMRAP of burpees, I flashed back to the 100-burpee workout from last September. It was painful. To streamline my burpees and minimize the pain, I'm going to need some help.

Thankfully, the amazing Carl Paoli of GymnasticsWOD and San Francisco CrossFit has shot an entire series on proper burpee technique -- along with a summary of tips for getting the most out of this year's first Open workout:















Good stuff, right?

Go get 'em.

[Source: OldSkoolBoarder]

Monday's Workout

Happy Monday, y'all.

Strength Skill:

• Snatch (5-5-3-3-3)

I did my best to pick up where I left off a couple of weekends ago at the Catalyst Athletics Oly lifting seminar, but I'm already rusty. Something tells me I need to grease this groove more.

Ideally, I'd like to get the point where snatching's like second nature, but right now, I still find myself running through a lengthy mental checklist before each rep. Hook grip? Check. Feet in pull position? Check. Knees back? Check. Elbows turned up? Check. Back arched? Check. Deep, tight breath? Check. It's a bit exhausting even before the weight leaves the ground.

Metcon:

For time:

• 21 kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 21 burpees
• 21 wallball shots (10' target, 20lbs / 14 lbs)
• 15 kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 15 burpees
• 15 wallball shots (10' target, 20lbs / 14 lbs)
• 9 kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 9 burpees
• 9 wallball shots (10' target, 20lbs / 14 lbs)

Ouch. This looked easy enough when Tim wrote it on the whiteboard, but by the start of the final round of burpees, it felt as though someone had poured hot lava in my shorts.

Result: 8:05 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

This morning, when I craned my neck from the pillow to peer at the alarm clock, the display read: 5:09 a.m.

Crap. I'd overslept by almost an hour, and the 5 a.m. class was already underway. I should've just gone back to sleep, but what the hell -- I was already awake, so I threw on some clothes and headed off to the gym.

The penalty for being 25 minutes late to class? Burpees and Shake Weight. The burpees were a decent way to warm up. The Shake Weight: Not so much. I think I would've preferred the Tug Toner:

I had enough just time to practice a set of pistols with the rest of the class before the metcon began.

3 rounds for time:

• 50 double-unders
• 21 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 12 pull-ups

My Buddy Lee rope has gone to jump rope heaven (it snapped in two, as did M's), so I grabbed one of the speed ropes at the gym. Unfortunately, the one I used today was fraying, and the jagged steel cable kept snagging on my shoelaces. After tugging it away from my laces a few times during the metcon, I ended up with an untied shoe -- which meant having to stop in the middle of the workout to bend down and tie my shoelaces.

After the first round of double-unders, I settled into a rhythm -- and although I had to put the kettlebell down a few times to catch my breath, I finished with a decent time.

Result: 10:14 as RXed. 

I was pretty out of it this morning, though. It felt like I'd been shot out of a cannon. Diving right into a metcon (albeit a quick one) less than a half-hour after waking was probably not among the smartest things I've ever done.

Thursday's Workout: Family WOD

On this warm Mexican morning, "Death by Burpees" sounded like a good idea.

Here's how it works: Start a timer, and with a continuously running clock, perform one burpee at the start of the first minute, two burpees at the start of the second, three burpees at the start of the third minute, and so on. You're done when you can't finish your required number of burpees in a minute's time.

Once again, the kids decided to work out with us. Big-O went full-on beast mode...

...as did Lil-O.

M got through 10 solid rounds of burpees before tapping out.

I managed to eke out 15 rounds before collapsing.

The last time I did "Death by Burpees," I failed to complete fourteen rounds, so I was pretty happy about today's PR.

So happy, in fact, that I decided to indulge in some heavy-duty taco consumption.

Mmm...tacos...

Wednesday's Workout

Man, it's cold outside at 5 a.m. I almost crawled back into bed.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

Front squats are always fun. It's been almost a half-year since I practiced 'em in class, so I stopped a good 20 pounds shy of my PR -- but the reps felt nice and solid.

Metcon:

For time:

• 500-meter row
• 30 plate burpees
• 400-meter run
• 30 pull-ups

We did a very similar workout back in August (though we ran twice instead of running and rowing). Last time, I failed to go unbroken on the pull-ups, but still managed to finish in 7 minutes flat. Today, I cranked out all 30 pull-ups in a row without stopping -- I was determined to match the Terminator's unbroken set -- but finished almost a full minute slower. Go figure.

Result: 7:53 as RXed.

Visiting Lahaina CrossFit

After three days of lazily snorkeling, sitting by the pool, and stuffing my face, I was glad to get back into a CrossFit gym.

Lahaina CrossFit sits on a hill just east of the little shopping area around the Cannery Mall on Honoapiilani Highway. It's smack-dab in the middle of a number of spots that we regularly hit when we visit Maui: Star Noodle, Mala Ocean Tavern, Aloha Mixed Plate, the big grocery store that used to be called Lahaina Farms -- West Maui's version of Whole Foods -- but was later sold and is now just a gussied-up Foodland. Hence, getting to the box from our place in Ka'anapali is no sweat.

Anthony Bianucci founded Lahaina CrossFit about a year-and-a-half-ago, and for me, the timing couldn't have been better. I had started doing CrossFit at roughly the same time, so when we made our annual trip to Maui, I was on the hunt for the closest affiliate. I found Anthony's place -- at the time, the box was so brand-spankin' new that it didn't even have bars and bumper plates yet -- and threw myself into a number of WODs during my vacation:

• Monday: Power cleans, floor presses, kettlebell swings and running.
• Tuesday: Pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, squats.
• Wednesday: Double-unders, pull-ups, dumbbell snatches, kettlebell swings, box jumps, push-presses.
• Friday: Overhead squats, clean & jerks, box jumps. (This workout still stands as my fastest-ever metcon, with a time of two-and-a-half minutes.)

In four workouts, we got the kitchen sink. It was fun and challenging, and Anthony's positive energy helped get me through the humid weather and ass-kicking WODs. When I finished my final workout at Lahaina CrossFit last November, I knew I'd be coming back.

More after the jump...

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.