Wednesday's Workout

In the five days since my last workout, the pain in my right wrist has persisted. It's more than just sore, and I'm beginning to suspect that I may have mildly (or not-so-mildly) sprained it. I can't do push-ups with my right hand flat against the floor -- though I can do 'em fine with my hands balled into fists. It hurts to clean a barbell right now, and I can't throw or catch a medicine ball worth a damn. Still, I was itching to get in the gym and get sweaty, and figured there was other stuff I could do.

Like pull-ups. And renegade rows. And dumbbell snatches. And double-unders.

It turns out I could do all of today's movements (though I scaled down the weight of the dumbbells in the metcon). We did one set of 5 weighted pull-ups every three minutes, which was a great way to keep us moving and in the groove. And the metcon was nice and fast; I got through everything without pausing (except to disentangle myself from the jump rope a few times). 

Result: 8:09. Or 8:15. I think. Oh, hell. I think my brain's melting.

Wednesday's Workout

Alright -- let's break the good news first:

I got a new Zercher squat PR today (225 pounds)! (It's about time -- my previous PR was set way back in December of 2010.) It made me puff up my chest for a few minutes -- that is, until...

The bad news: Today's Tabata-style metcon. It knocked me on my ass.

• Tabata grasshoppers (6 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest)
• Tabata shuttle runs (6 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest)
• Tabata dumbbell snatches (40# / 25#) (6 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest)
• Tabata ring rows

Take the lowest number of reps in any single 20-second round at each station. Add 'em up, and that's your score.

The first round of grasshoppers wasn't too bad -- I cranked out 30 of them in 20 seconds, and felt pretty good about myself. And then the second round came, and I managed only 23. The next round: 22. It was a struggle to stay above 20 -- and by the time my three minutes of grasshoppers was up, I was panting like a dog.

The shuttle runs and dumbbell snatches were interminable.

Finally, we came to the ring rows. By the time we started our second set of rows, Jake and I were loudly grunting and groaning in pain. My arms were on fire, and I never managed more than 10 per set.

Ugh.

Result: 47 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Pistols (5-5-5-3-3)

The same old story: I can crank out endless pistols on my right leg, and fall on my ass when I attempt 'em on my left -- unless I'm clutching a kettlebell as a counterbalance. I've always figured that this points to a strength imbalance, but after chatting with the Terminator this morning, I'm starting to think that a lack of flexibility in my left ankle could also be contributing to my utter suckitude when it comes to pistols on my left side.

More to work on, I guess.

Metcon:

5 rounds for time:

• 9 one-armed dumbbell deadlifts (each arm) (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 6 one-armed dumbbell snatches (each arm) (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 3 one-armed dumbbell overhead squats (45lbs / 35lbs)

This looked simple enough. As I warmed up, I found that the deadlifts and snatches were definitely doable with 45 pounds. But then I tried to squat while holding a dumbbell overhead with my left hand. That, my friends, was not easy. Feeling the strain across my back as my torso twisted on the way down into the hole, I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the RXed OHS weight. Instead, I went down to 30 pounds.

It was probably a little too light for me. I ended up whipping through the workout without pausing at all (except briefly to switch hands when necessary) -- though the Terminator still smoked me as usual. While the workout was more difficult than I'd originally anticipated, and the overhead squats remained the most challenging, I think I could've gone a tad heavier. C'est la vie.

Result: 7:14.

Monday's Workout: Flop & Sweat

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (3-3-1-1-1)

I'm not sure I was fully awake until I failed spectacularly at establishing a new 1 rep max squat clean this morning. The act of loading 20 extra pounds over my previous PR weight must have psyched me out; instead of using my legs to power me through the second pull, I yanked with my arms. The result: I pulled the barbell so far back that I landed flat on my back, with the barbell over my neck. (Don't worry -- there was plenty of clearance between my neck and the bar.)

I couldn't help but bust out laughing. This is the second class in a row I've back-flopped; last Friday during warm-ups, I attempted a freestanding handstand and ended up flipping all the way over and crashing down on the floor.

If nothing else, I'm quickly becoming an expert in impressive displays of physical incompetence. My next goal: Learning to fall down the stairs.

Metcon:

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 10 minutes:

• 10 hang dumbbell snatches - right arm (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 10 clapping push-ups
• 10 hang dumbbell snatches - left arm (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 10 chin-ups

This looked fun and -- dare I say it -- easy! Clapping push-ups? No problem! After all, I did tons of 'em with P90X a bazillion years ago, right? And chin-ups? Piece of cake! Maybe the dumbbell snatches would prove more challenging, but I was confident I could bust 'em out, too.

And then, I had this exchange with Tim as I went over to grab a weight:

Me: "Hey, do we have more 45 pound dumbbells?"
Tim: [Pointing to my ankle] "Are you a hundred percent?"
Me: "Uh, no."
Tim: [Makes a face.]
Me: "Uh, okay." [Grudgingly picks up a 35 pound dumbbell instead.]

And of course, he was right. The light dumbbells were my saving grace, because the clapping push-ups and chin-ups ended up being a lot more challenging than I initially thought. The first couple of rounds went relatively smoothly (though in my excitement, I started doing the chin-ups out of order and didn't realize it until I was halfway through the first set).

But by the third round, I had to abandon my goal of going unbroken on the clapping push-ups and chin-ups. Each time I landed after a clapping push-up, my arms felt like jelly. And instead of flopping on my back, I now found myself flopping on my belly.

Result: 4 rounds + 23 reps.

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.

Wednesday's Workout

Another day, another sweaty workout on the island.

After a quick warm-up, the class got down to business.

Metcon:

For time:

• 50 Double-Unders
• 10 Pull-Ups
• 30 Dumbbell Snatches (30 pounds)
• 30 Overhead Kettlebell Swings (40 pounds)
• 30 Plyo Box Jumps
• 30 Dumbbell Push-Presses (30 pounds)
• 25 Double-Unders

Result: 11:59. The double-unders killed me -- I think I spent half the time doing nothing but struggle through the double-unders. At first, they were fine; I blazed through the first dozen or so in a row. But by then, I was winded, and had to huff and puff my way through the rest in mini-sets of three to six reps. The wet blanket of heat didn't help, either.

Strength Skill:

We finished off today with a grip strength move called Bottoms-Up Presses. I hadn't encountered this exercise before, but you basically grip a kettlebell tightly by its handle and invert the weight -- turn the entire kettlebell upside-down -- and press all the way up, straightening your arm, and balancing the kettlebell the entire way up and down. It's like a military press done with an upside-down kettlebell, and looks like this:



After a couple of sets of 5 reps with each arm, I called it a day. It feels damned good to work out the kinks before dedicating the remainder of the day to doing jack shit.

I happily spent the rest of the morning at the beach, where M went snorkeling, and I watched the kids giddily fling themselves into the ocean.

Monday's Workout

I'm a little under the weather, but not enough to justify scuttling my workout.

After some warm-up (I did 2 double-unders!), we practiced power jerks again -- and I think I tried to go too heavy. On my last rep, I attempted to heave a barbell loaded with more weight than my own bodyweight, and ended up awkwardly throwing it to the floor. I hope I didn't tweak my lower back.

As usual, the metcon was an ass-kicker:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:

• 10 Hanging Toes-to-Bar
• 20 Dumbbell Snatches (25% of bodyweight)
• 10 Push-Ups

I did 4 rounds and 12 reps before time ran out.

After I got home, I threw in my Tony Horton Killer Abs DVD for good measure, which was probably a mistake. Not only was my midsection wrecked from the toes-to-bars, I haven't attempted any kind of workout that isolates the core like this in a while. I used to whip through this workout with no problems, but by the end of today's session, I was wiped out.