Wednesday's Workout

I woke up achy and cranky. After spending two days moving back into our house, I probably should've slept in, but didn't.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Clean & Press (5-5-5-5-5)

Wow. I think I'm in love. From what I can tell, kettlebell cleans and presses -- done correctly -- are incredibly efficient (and effective) at developing power, strength, and coordination. Starting with your feet about hip-width apart and a kettlebell on the floor, you grip the handle with one hand, flexing your hips, knees, and ankles, and then use your legs to drive the kettlebell up to rack position in a straight line. "It's like zipping up your jacket," Tim cued us. With our core and lats engaged and elbows down and in, we were able to quickly and forcefully transfer the kettlebell up to a rack position before pressing it up into the sky.

Twenty-five reps with each arm were enough to get me toasty this morning, but I'd like to work this movement into my home workouts. They were fun, and deliver huge bang for the buck.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 10 hang power snatches (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 20 box jumps (24" / 20")

I scaled today's workout way down, snatching just 75 pounds and -- in light of my problematic left Achilles -- doing step-ups instead of box jumps. I could do the chest-to-bar pull-ups as RXed, but by the tail end of the workout, I had to bust them out one at a time. I can't imagine how long it would've taken me to finish the WOD if I'd gone heavier with the snatches and/or actually did some jumping.

Result: 10:11. 

On another note: As of today, the Nom Nom Paleo app has been available in the App Store for two months -- and it remains one of the top paid Lifestyle iPad apps! As of this moment, it's in the number 10 spot:

You can read more about the app here (and you can download it here), but for those of you who are interested in the backstory, I'm working on a series of blog posts about how Michelle and I created the app, from the inception of the idea and recipe development to working with a team of programmers and all the unexpected post-launch drama. Stay tuned...

Monday's Workout

A good one today.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans (5-5-3-3-3)

I started with full squat cleans, but it turns out I wasn't extending my hips all the way, so Tim had me practice power cleans.

When I switched over, I could immediately feel the difference. I'd been starting the third pull before completing the second, and not generating as much power as I could and should have.

By the end of my fifth set, though, I felt pretty good. This was a good start to the cycle.

Metcon:

For time:

• 50 double-unders
• 24 flag push-ups
• 50 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 24 flag push-ups
• 50 double-unders

The first 50 double-unders were fine -- not exactly lightning-quick, but not horribly slow, either -- but the flag push-ups took a lot out of me. By the time I got to the kettlebell swings, I was winded. After the first 25 swings, I had to stop for a breath, and ended up taking a couple more breaks, too. My arms were jelly by the end of the second set of flag push-ups.

I didn't think I'd be able to string together any double-unders at the end of the workout. My shoulders were on fire, and after a few clumsy reps, I tripped on my rope. A few reps later, I stumbled again. This looked like it was going to take forever.

But then I strung together 22 in a row -- and then another 19. I have no idea how I had enough juice to fuel those double-unders. Maybe it was just dumb luck that I didn't get tangled in the rope. But just like that, I was done.

Result: 6:57 as RXed.

Monday's Workout: Fat Gripz & PTP

CrossFit Palo Alto's closed for Turkey Week, so for the first time in a long while, I got to play around in my garage with some of my toys. Some of them -- like my Fat Gripz -- have been sitting in a box for a month, waiting for me to get off my ass and try 'em out.

Now that my back's feeling better, I want to work on getting it stronger -- and so my plan is to start doing some low-rep sets of deadlifts and strict presses, mixed with some super-short metcons. Sound familiar?

Yep -- I'm revisiting the Power to the People protocol.

Dallas and Melissa of the Whole9 have a PTP template from their CrossFit 603 days, so I decided to jump right in with their programming for Day One. First up: the "Buy-In":

3 rounds:

• 20-second handstand hold
• 15 Russian kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 10 box jumps (20″)

This was a fun way to kick off the morning and get the blood pumping rushing to my head. Once I was nice and toasty, I was ready for PTP.

Deadlift:

• Warm up: A few reps at a light weight
• Set 1: 60% of 1-rep max, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1 weight, 3-5 reps

Just to keep things interesting, I decided to wrap the Fat Gripz around my barbell -- I figured I might as well work on my grip strength, too. (Yes, I know that some folks say that increasing open-hand grip strength isn't necessarily going to help with support-grip moves like deadlifts or pull-ups, but I'm happy to settle for just generally increasing the strength of my hands.

I had trouble wrapping my thumbs around the width of the Fat Gripz -- my grip felt much more awkward than I expected -- but the starting weight was light, so I managed just fine. We'll see what happens as the weight on the bar starts creeping up.

Press:

• Warm up: A few reps at a light weight
• Set 1: 60% of 1-rep max, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1 weight, 3-5 reps

I used the Fat Gripz on the strict presses, too, though I don't think it made much of a difference. Presses don't rely much on finger strength, so I'll probably skip the Gripz for this movement next time.

Cash Out:

3 rounds for time:

• 30 double-unders
• 15 knees-to-elbows

This sounded easy, but the KTEs rocked my world. I cranked out the double-unders without much trouble, but they wiped me out enough to make the knees-to-elbows a royal pain in the butt. Also, to be consistent, I'd stuck the Fat Gripz on the pull-up bar, too -- and it didn't take me long to start regretting it. Getting a handle on the bar was much more challenging than I anticipated, and my hands kept slipping off. Ugh.

Result: 4:27 as RXed.

I need bigger hands. My teeny little baby hands aren't cutting it.

Monday's Workout

After waking up sore from head to toe (thanks, MovNat!) and a throbbing left sole (thanks, bumblebee sting!), I thought twice before hauling my butt out of bed for the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto. But who am I kidding? I can't stay away.

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (5-3-3-1-1)

After playing around with asymmetrically-loaded weights (a.k.a. big-ass rocks) yesterday, it felt good to hoist a perfectly balanced barbell overhead and just squat. But I didn't press my luck shooting for a new PR today. Just like last week, Kyle and I got up to 105 pounds; next week, we can try for more.

(I keep forgetting to ask Tim about the new rep scheme. I like it, though.)

Metcon:

"Helen" - 3 rounds for time:

• 400-meter run
• 21 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 12 pull-ups

I love Helen, and I wish I wasn't feeling like crap this morning during the WOD. The pull-ups felt great after the overhead squats loosened up my shoulders, and the kettlebell swings were fine -- I did 'em all unbroken -- but my running was painfully slow. I'd like to pin the blame on the swollen bee sting on the bottom of my foot, but the sad truth is that I'm an awfully slow runner regardless.

Result: 10:28 as RXed -- a half-minute slower than my last encounter with Helen. Crap.

Monday's Workout

Is there anything better than an early morning workout?

No, there is not. The fact that thirteen of us arrived before dawn at CrossFit Palo Alto to get our butts handed to us is a testament to how much we love this stuff.

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (5 sets of 3, 2 sets of 3)

Kyle and I paired up this morning, and we methodically moved from squatting light (65lbs) to moderate (105lbs) weight on the bar, taking care to focus on our technique above all else. It's amazing how difficult it is to overhead squat even a fraction of what we typically load onto a barbell. To hit my goal of cranking out a full bodyweight overhead squat by the end of this three-week strength cycle, I'm going to have to work at it.



The beauty of properly-executed overhead squat? It's a crazy-good full-body move that demands strength, balance, flexibility, and keen attention to form. The lack of any one ingredient will result in a missed rep and a dumped bar. It's virtually impossible to compensate for bad form; change the angle of your arms by a couple of degrees, and the weight's coming down. I love that there's no way to cheat this move.

Metcon:

Three rounds for time:

• 20 flag push-ups
• 25 Abmat sit-ups
• 30 kettlebell transfer swings (24kg / 16kg)

This one was awesome. But then again, I love all bodyweight workouts -- they're right up my alley.

What made this one even more enjoyable was that the Terminator and I were neck-and-neck the entire way through, just like old times. The guy is unstoppable: He never once even paused during the WOD. I took a knee twice during the last round of flag push-ups to catch my breath, but luckily, I was able to make up time by going balls-out through the Abmat sit-ups. In the end, I edged him out, but only by a few seconds.

By the way, I used the Danimal 24kg kettlebell. It's pretty fantastic, but would be even better if it sported the patented Danimal moustache and possibly some old-timey striped shorts.

Result: 7:39 as RXed.