Whine, Whine, Whine

So when the doc said it would take "six to eight" weeks for my wrist sprain to heal, I chalked that up to him being a pessimist. Despite having zero medical knowledge or training, I was confident that I'd recover much more quickly. (See? I'm all about positive thinking!) It'll take four weeks tops, I told myself.

Not so much.

It's been over four weeks since my sprain (though it feels like four months), and I still can't put pressure or weight on my flexed wrist. Olympic lifts, push-ups, handstands, wall balls are all still on my no-go list. Consequently, I've had to modify most all of the gym's programmed workouts to accommodate my stupid, stupid wrist.

Here are our most recent workouts:



No snatches for me. I did kettlebell cleans and presses instead. Result: 10:29.

"Holleyman" looked like a fun one (well, except the wall balls). But I wasn't able to do any of the movements in this workout. I subbed out dumbbell thrusters for the wall balls, ring rows for the HSPUs, and a 70-pound kettlebell clean for the power clean. Result: 27:27.

On Monday, I attempted this run / ring dip / overhead reverse lunge workout as RXed, but after the first round, my wrist was aching. For the final two-thirds of the workout, I did ring rows (again) in place of the ring dips, and for the reverse lunges, I held a light kettlebell up overhead instead of a barbell. Result: 12:13.

I recognize that I'm overly impatient, and that in my eagerness to get back into the swing of things, I often bite off more than I can chew. (Also: I'm an annoying whiner. Obviously.)

But is it really going to take another two to four weeks for my wrist to heal? Really? Because I'm going to be totally insufferable until then.

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

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

A great one today.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Cleans & Presses (5-5-5-5-5)

Still love these, even though I could still use some a lot of practice. I slowly worked my way up to a 24 kilogram kettlebell without compromising my form, but I think I'm going to stick with 16 or 20 kilograms at home for now.

Metcon:

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

• 6 pistols
• 9 pull-ups
• 12 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)

I was tempted to do all the pistols with my right leg per usual, but decided against it. My left leg needs the practice, and besides, I'd prefer to be moderately sore in both butt cheeks than to be extremely sore on one side.

Result: 6 rounds + 8 reps as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

It feels like it's been forever since I last worked out. Sure, it was only a week and a half ago, and I've been engaged in a fair amount of strenuous physical activity (namely, carrying small children around Disneyland and the CrossFit Games in the sweltering heat). And I'm still dutifully cranking out push-ups every day as part of our 100-day push-up challenge. But it wasn't the same as pushing through a workout at CrossFit Palo Alto with the rest of the 5 a.m. crew.

I was particularly excited to get to the gym to check out the new Rogue pull-up rig that Tim and others installed last week. Would we get to do pull-ups today?

I hoped so. Pull-ups are infinitely preferable to box jumps or double-unders right now. Unfortunately, my left Achilles tendon and calf continue to bug me. Until further notice, I'm going to have to refrain from jumping off my left leg, and generally take it easier on myself. (For me, sadly, that's easier said than done.)

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Cleans & Presses (5-5-5-5-5)

This has quickly become one of my favorite movements. Before we left for SoCal, I'd practiced cleans and presses at home, and found myself missing my kettlebells while we were traveling. So I was happy that we kicked off our homecoming workout with KB cleans and presses -- even though I was sweating profusely by the time I wrapped up my final set. Twenty-five reps per side doesn't sound like much, but I certainly felt toasty afterwards.

Metcon:

No pull-ups!

For time:

3 rounds of:

• 20 medicine ball snatches (20lb / 14lb)
• 10 medicine ball V-ups

Then, 3 rounds of:

• 20 wall balls
• 20 Russian twists

Yeesh. The last time we did something similar, I wrote that the "wall balls continue to magically suck the energy out of my body," and today was no different. Tim noticed that my knees were collapsing inward during the squat portion of the wall balls, though, which may explain why I continue to be terrible at this movement. I tried keeping an image of Tommy Hackenbruck's Karen performance in my head for inspiration, but it didn't take.

Result: 10:52 as RXed. We'll get 'em next time.

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...