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.

Catch Up

Crap. I forgot to post last Friday's workout. I wish I could blame it on work (which has, in fact, exploded recently), but I had all weekend to write. It just slipped my mind -- probably because I was busy teaching the boys to dance Gangnam Style.

Come on -- I know you want to watch it again.


Anyway...

Having been knocked down with a fever and sore throat for a solid week, I was looking forward to getting back in the gym on Friday. We practiced weighted ring dips  before the metcon was announced:

• 15 toes to bar
• 15 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 15 box jumps (20")
• 12 toes to bar
• 12 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 12 box jumps (20")
• 9 toes to bar
• 9 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 9 box jumps (20")
• 6 toes to bar
• 6 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 6 box jumps (20")
• 3 toes to bar
• 3 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 3 box jumps (20")

Forty-five reps of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans? My wrists started weeping before the workout began. I decided to stick with the women's RXed weight because: (1) I am weak, and (2) I am not altogether stupid.

Result: 11:05.

This morning, I returned to the gym feeling like myself for the first time in ten days. (My voice still sounds terrible, but I feel fine.) Good thing, too, because I love me some kettlebell snatches. We practiced until my arms felt like they were going to pop off, and then:

"Elizabeth"

• 21 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 21 ring dips
• 15 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 15 ring dips
• 9 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 9 ring dips

Remember how I said I'm not altogether stupid? Well, that means I'm still somewhat stupid -- which explains why I decided to do Elizabeth as RXed today. The last time we did Elizabeth, I used a 115-pound barbell -- a smarter move. Cranking out consecutive reps of 135 pound power cleans is doable for me...for about a dozen reps. After that, I had to eke 'em out in mini-sets of two or three.

(Clearly, my math skills are nonexistent. On Friday, I blanched at the thought of doing 45 reps of 115-pound cleans, and opted for 85 pounds instead. But today, I decided that 45 reps of 135-pound cleans sounded just fine and dandy. I'm an idiot.)

In the second round, I started no-repping. Twice, I failed to get my elbows down and around the bar fast enough, and ended up splashing the bar. Strange sounds started coming out of my throat.

On the plus side? All the ring dip practice we've been doing paid off -- I got through those fairly quickly.

Result: 10:28 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

The one thing that got me out of bed this morning? Knowing that we're starting a new four-week cycle at CrossFit Palo Alto. Plus, after everyone in the gym did a crapload of rowing on Friday, I kind of figured the erg wouldn't be playing a major part in today's metcon. See? I'm using my noggin even at 4 in the morning.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Snatches (5-5-5-5-5 per side)

It still amazes me how much I can perspire while doing just a few brief sets of kettlebell work, and with plenty of rest in-between to boot. Still, I'm pleased to report that I'm no longer terrible at kettlebell snatches. "Not bruising my forearms" used to be my primary marker of success with KB snatches, but today, I actually got to focus on cleaning up my form.

As usual for the first week in a cycle, I kept it relatively light, but I managed to work my way up to 24 kilograms. Already drenched dewy with sweat, I would've been happy to pack it in for the day, but there was the little matter of the metcon.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time of:

• 20 lateral tuck-jumps over a parallette
• 15 handstand push-ups
• 400-meter run

This looked fun (except for the running, which never looks fun). The tuck-jumps reminded me of stuff I used to do in my garage back when I was bouncing around to P90X and Insanity DVDs -- and just like the good ol' days, my jumping was less than graceful.

Having just finished a cycle of HSPUs, the handstand push-ups flew by pretty quickly -- especially now that I've discovered the one-legged kip. For the past couple of years, I've been doing strict handstand push-ups, and finding that once I ran out of gas, I was done. With the extra little oomph provided by a single-legged kip, though, I felt like I could keep cranking out HSPUs for a good, long while. I was thisclose to finishing all the handstand push-ups unbroken, but right before my forty-fifth (and final) rep, I fell away from the wall. D'oh!

Let's not talk about the running. Suffice it to say, I remain sluglike on the running path.

Result: 9:12 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.

Friday's Workout

Back to the 5 a.m. class!

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

My left shoulder wasn't feeling it today; for the first time in a while, I had trouble keeping my arm locked out even while using a fairly light weight (16 kg). I think I need to drag my kettlebells to our hotel room (yes, we're still living in a hotel while our floors at home are getting ripped out) and practice, practice, practice. All of the rest of my garage gym equipment is buried underneath mountains of furniture and boxes at the moment, but my kettlebells are still accessible.

What my home gym looked like:

What my home gym now looks like:

Plus, a number of great fitness minds agree: Turkish Get-Ups (and other kettlebell movements) are among the best exercises you can do.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• Run 400 meters
• 20 kettlebell snatches (10 with each arm, 24kg / 16kg)
• 20 Abmat sit-ups

The sit-ups weren't a problem for me, but I felt like I was running in super-slow-motion today. And the kettlebell snatches were rough -- especially when I was using my left arm.

I know I say this a lot, but I need to get stronger.

Result: 11:29 as RXed.

Monday's Workout

For a good ten minutes after I woke up yesterday morning, I lay snug under the covers, contemplating whether to play hooky. But after missing Friday's class, there was no way I was going to skip another workout -- especially now that the fog of the past couple of weeks is finally starting to lift from my head.

By the time I pulled into CrossFit Palo Alto's parking lot, I was ready to dive into whatever WOD awaited us. The bracing chill of the pre-dawn air made me want to move. After our warmup, Tim wrote the workout on the board.

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

• 15 wallballs (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 30 kettlebell snatches (24kg / 16kg)
• 60 double-unders

I can do these movements, and I can handle the RXed weights. So now that I've been injury-free for a few weeks, there's really no reason not to tackle this WOD with gusto, right?

Unfortunately, I hadn't considered:

1. How exhausting it might be to try to string all these gut-busting exercises together for 20 minutes straight;
2. How damned heavy a kettlebell can get after dozens and dozens of snatches; or
3. Whether my back might seize up in the middle of launching a big iron ball above my head.

It took me 10 minutes to get through the first two rounds, but they were decent. I felt fresh at the wallball station, and the double-unders didn't give me too much trouble. The kettlebell snatches were more challenging -- especially when I used my weaker left arm -- and they took forever, but I managed to slog through them. 

The third round, however, was hell. After a sluggish set of wallball shots, I picked up the kettlebell and pounded out more snatches. The reps came slowly, and by the end, I found myself struggling to crank out more than a couple at a time. With four left reps remaining in the set, I decided to push hard and finish them all at once. But as I snatched the kettlebell up and over my head for the last rep, I felt an all-too-familiar twinge in my lower back. 

Did I re-tear my back muscle? Or was it just fatigue?

I shook it off. The double-unders didn't bother me, so I kept going. I started my fourth round at the wallball station, and felt better. But as I finished my wallball reps, the twinge came back. Uh, oh.

Tim saw the concern on my face, and asked what was up. "My back again," I mumbled as I bent down to pick up the kettlebell. 

"Then don't be an idiot," Tim cautioned.

He was right. (Obviously.) After 90 kettlebell snatches, I was done. There was still a minute-and-a-half left on the clock, but I wasn't about to risk re-injuring my back just to post a few more reps, so I stopped. Raising a white flag can be an ego blow, but sometimes, it's the only reasonable thing to do.

Result: 3 rounds + 15 reps as RXed -- but I DNFed.

Today, I feel absolutely fine. My back is sore, but so is the rest of my body -- and there's none of the telltale pain that accompanied my previous injury. Normally, I'm not a big fan of quitting, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was the best thing I could have done for myself.

Monday's Workout

This morning was all about knockin' off the rust, as Tim would say.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Snatches (Each arm: 5-5-8-8-10-10)

Although we kicked off the week with almost a hundred kettlebell snatches, breaking them up into bite-sized sets of 10 to 20 reps helped a lot. This movement is starting to feel natural; the pull-and-punch technique seems to be working for me -- though I need to work on hinging at the hips more and squatting less.

Metcon:

"Sumo Fran" - a.k.a. Fran but with SDHPs instead of thrusters.

For time:

• 21 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 21 pull-ups
• 15 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 15 pull-ups
• 9 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 9 pull-ups

Result: 5:49 as RXed.

Hoo, boy. My grip was completely gone by the second round of SDHPs. I didn't even manage to go unbroken on my final two rounds of pull-ups. And I finished 14 seconds slower than I did the last time we encountered this little lady.

Regardless, it felt incredibly satisfying to finally get off my ass and release some stress. I just gotta do it a little faster next time.

Monday's Workout: Home Sweet Home

A week of vacation on Maui has left me well-fed, tanned, and happy, but there's nothing like coming home to sleep in my own bed, cook in my own kitchen, and work out with my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Kettlebell Snatches (5-5-5-8-8-8)

Today, my kettlebell snatches felt tight and controlled; I was able to punch out effectively and string the reps together without banging the weight down on my forearms. For me, the lack of bruises is a sign of progress. Pathetic, right?

Metcon:

4 rounds for time:

• 10 power cleans (155lbs / 115lbs)
• 20 ring rows
• 30 running jump-ropes

The men's RXed weight was beyond my reach; I would've put myself in traction trying to clean 155 pounds forty times in a metcon -- even if my back was 100 percent. I went with the women's RXed weight instead, and found that it was plenty heavy. But it wasn't the cleans that killed me today.

Nor was it the stationary-running/jump-roping movement, though I have to admit that at the start of the workout, I was all left feet. For whatever reason (*ahem*lackofphysicalcoordination*ahem*), I couldn't get my legs to hop over the rope one at a time without tripping after every five or six jumps. It took until the third round for me to get into a decent rhythm, and it wasn't until the final round that I went unbroken. Still, I got through 'em fine, and they didn't take long.

Nope -- what really got me were the ring rows. We positioned the rings so that when our arms were extended, our backs were parallel to (and just an inch or so off) the ground; with most of our body mass directly under the rings, the struggle against gravity was no joke. The first round flew by, but each of my last three sets of ring rows were interrupted by long pauses, during which I lay on my back, stared at the ceiling, and wished I was still sunning myself on an island beach in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Result: 12:19

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill: 

• Deadlifts (5-5-5-3-3) 

Yeeeeah, booooy. I love deadlifts, even though:

1. I didn't even come close to my PR today (I topped out at 265 pounds this morning), and
2. I was sweating sheets of perspiration despite lifting slowly and getting plenty of rest between sets. "Time under tension," Tim proclaimed.

Metcon: 

• Run 400 meters 
• 20 kettlebell snatches (10 with each arm, 24kg / 16kg) 
• 20 box jumps (20") 
• 20 kettlebell snatches (10 with each arm, 24kg / 16kg) 
• 20 box jumps (20") 
• 20 kettlebell snatches (10 with each arm, 24kg / 16kg) 
• 20 box jumps (20") 
• Run 400 meters 

We hadn't done kettlebell snatches since December 1 of last year, but I still remember Mint's words of advice from that day: Wear a sweat wristbands down around the middle of your forearms to keep the kettlebells from bruising the crap out your arms. Ever since, I've kept a pair of terry sweatbands in my gym bag, waiting for the day I'd need to bust 'em out for a kettlebell snatch workout. Ten months later, here we are.

I didn't go RXed today. I gave the 24kg kettlebell a shot, but I felt like I was going to put myself at risk of further injury, so I set it down and picked up a 16kg kettlebell. In retrospect, I should have stuck with the RXed weight, or at least split the difference and gone with 20kg -- the 1-pood KB felt way too light.

Thanks to my stupid fracking ankle, my gimpy running remains agonizingly slow (I got passed by just about EVERYBODY during the first 400 meters), and my box jumps didn't exactly set the world on fire, either. But overall, this was a fun one, and thanks to my handy-dandy wristbands: No purple bruises.

Result: 10:44.

"I don't use sweatbands, and I've never gotten bruised doing kettlebell snatches," Tim told me as we strolled over to coffee after the workout.

"Yeah, but you don't have crappy, sloppy form like I do," I replied.

Monday's Workouts

Drizzly morning. Perfect weather for getting sweaty.

Strength Skill:

• Snatch Balance (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

Better than last week. Yes, I had to dump the weight once, and I still have a tendency to jerk the bar rather than explode under it, but my last few reps weren’t half bad. Besides, I managed to up the weight this week. (I’m still only at 2/3X bodyweight, but hey: Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. Patience.)

Metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:

• 10 overhead kettlebell swings
• 10 kettlebell sumo deadlift high-pulls
• 10 hanging knees-to-elbows

My forearms were on fire. And my legs. And my hands.

Before we began, I positioned myself next to the Terminator. He smokes me every time, leaving me choking in his dust, but that’s exactly the motivation I need to fuel my workouts.

To my surprise, I somehow managed to stay slightly ahead of the Terminator throughout most of the WOD this morning. But he’s a machine, and with less than two minutes left on the clock, he steadily closed the gap until he pulled in front. In the final few seconds, I caught up to the Terminator -- barely. We tied, each having completed 6 rounds + 24 reps.

On days like this, the benefits of working out alongside other CrossFit crazies are clear. There’s no way I would have pushed myself this hard if I’d done this WOD alone in my garage.

Wednesday's Workout

It was a good one this morning.

Strength Skill:

Zercher Squats (3 sets of 3, followed by 2 sets of 1)



I hit a new PR of 205. It wasn't by much, but I'll take it. My final rep actually felt pretty good -- my form didn't wildly degenerate, and the weight didn't crush me -- which suggests that I may be able to go heavier next week. We'll see how that goes.

Metcon:

For time:

• 21 kettlebell snatches - right arm 
• 21 kettlebell snatches - left arm 
• 21 pull-ups
• 15 kettlebell snatches - right arm 
• 15 kettlebell snatches - left arm 
• 15 pull-ups
• 9 kettlebell snatches - right arm 
• 9 kettlebell snatches - left arm 
• 9 pull-ups

Fun!

I used a 1 pood (16 kg / 35 lb) kettlebell instead of the RXed 1.5 poods, but it was plenty for me, and certainly enough to destroy my forearms and hands -- in a good way. I hadn't done kettlebell snatches in a while, but found 'em easy to pick up again, like riding a bike. And although this workout appears to be all about the arms, kettlebell snatches are actually a full-body exercise; your hips generate the power for your swings and punch-outs. 

Result: 8:40.

The only problem? Kettlebell snatches + pull-ups + icy-cold bars and handles = Risk of tearing up your hands. I've developed some leather-tough skin on my palms over the past few months, so I didn't rip any skin, but I can see some blood blisters under the surface. Take care of your hands, folks.

Wednesday's Workout

I felt great this morning when I showed up at my CrossFit affiliate, but my sunny disposition was quickly pounded out of me.

After a quick warm-up (I did a bunch of dumbbell snatches to knock off another Level One testing requirement), we practiced doing single leg deadlifts. I figured I could just cut my normal deadlift weight in half and crank out a bunch of these babies. Sounds logical, right?

Not so much.

Doing deadlifts on one leg challenges not just your strength, but your balance as well. (Duh.) I ended up lifting only about 115 pounds, which is kind of embarrassing. (I kid you not: The 105-pound girl next to me pulled more weight than me.)

I tried to make up for my suckage during the metcon. On today's menu:

3 rounds for time:

• 15 Hanging Knees-to-Elbows
• 15 Handstand Push-Ups
• 20 Kettlebell Snatches

I finished in 7:08, though to be perfectly honest, my handstand push-ups (HSPUs) were actually pike push-ups, and I only used a 35-pound kettlebell. But I'm committed to practicing until I get better at this -- especially HSPUs.

Thursday's Workout

I wanted to put my CrossFit toys to good use (without killing myself in advance of tomorrow's workout), so I did a little bit of everything I could think of, and put together this mini-Chipper:

• Jump Rope: 3 minutes
• Kettlebell Snatches: 1 pood, 10 reps per arm
• Jumping Muscle-Ups: 3 reps
• Ring Dips: 10 reps
• Medicine Ball Cleans: 20 pounds, 10 reps
• Dead Hang Pull-Ups: 5 reps
• Wallball Throws: 20 pounds, 8-foot-high target, 10 reps
• Barbell Thrusters: 10 reps
• Plyo Box Jumps: 24" box, 10 reps
• Push-Ups: 20 reps
• Ring Rows: 20 reps
• Air Squats: 50 reps
• Kipping Pull-Ups: 10 reps
• Abmat Sit-Ups: 30 reps
• Barbell Hang Clean & Press: 10 reps
• Renegade Rows: 10 reps per arm
• Hanging Knees-to-Elbows: 10 reps
• Row: 500 meters

Saturday's Workout

I overslept this morning, so I didn't have time to squeeze in my workout until tonight, after the kids were tucked in bed. It's tough trying to find the energy to exercise after a full day of herding two small children around, but I knew I'd kick myself if I didn't do something.

So I got off my ass. I recently stocked up my little home gym with -- among a ton of other fun things -- an Olympic barbell and a set of bumper plates (from Rogue Fitness -- I can't give high enough marks for its online store and customer service), so I put 'em to good use this evening:

5-5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1 Deadlifts (maxing out at about 1.4x bodyweight)

5 rounds:

• 5 Front Squats
• 10 Burpees

And then I finished with three rounds of 5-rep kettlebell snatches.

Who doesn't enjoy a quick and dirty workout before bedtime?

Monday's Workout

Some people leave their DNA in hotel bedsheets and at crime scenes. I prefer to leave mine on the pull-up bars and kettlebells at my CrossFit gym.

On the menu for today:

Kettlebell snatches (6-6-6-8-8-8)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Pull-Ups
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Plyo Box Jumps

It took me forever (7:33) to finish -- mostly because a bunch of my pull-ups were crap and I had to repeat 'em.

Monday's Workout

I rolled out of bed at 4:45 a.m. this morning and popped into my friendly neighborhood CrossFit gym.

Skills/Strength: 5-5-5-7-7-7 kettlebell snatches (from the looks of my forearm bruises, I'm not yet proficient at this yet)

Metcon: Modified half-Kelly -- as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

• 200-meter run
• 15 plyo box jumps (using a 24-inch box)
• 15 wall balls (using a 16-pound medicine ball)

I made it through only five rounds. God, this is tough.