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 at 3:30 a.m. this morning, and couldn't get back to sleep. After another half-hour of tossing and turning, I got up, made myself some coffee, turned on the laptop, and started emailing our app development team in Bangalore. And in just a few minutes, I was hopped up on caffeine. By the time I got to CrossFit Palo Alto, I was wide awake.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Strict Pull-Ups (5-5-3-3-3, with 10 pushups after each set)

Even with just a 20 pound dumbbell jammed into my crotch, I struggled to get my chin over the bar this morning -- kind of pathetic given that my PR is almost three times that weight. I'm going to blame it on the lack of sleep, but the real culprit is my lack of practice. I used to do pull-ups whenever I walked into our garage, but I haven't even glanced at the pull-up bar lately.

I need more hours in the day.

Metcon:

J.Ho: This picture's for you.

AMRAP in 6 minutes of:

• 16 medicine ball snatches (20# / 14#)
• 16 medicine ball V-ups

Rest 1 minute, then:

AMRAP in 6 minutes of:

• 16 wall balls
• 16 medicine ball twists

It didn't look so bad on the whiteboard. I'd never done med ball snatches before, but they looked doable. So did the twists -- despite the fact that they reminded me of this unholy business:

The first 6-minute AMRAP was tiring, but I felt good. The V-ups slowed me down, but I quickly got the hang of the snatches.

The second 6-minute AMRAP? Horrible -- mostly because wall balls continue to magically suck the energy out of my body. Still, I was able to make up some time on the twists, which came fast and smooth (for the most part).

Result: 7 rounds plus 17 reps as RXed.

Wow. I just spent 30 minutes writing this post. My brain is shutting down. Time to sleep!

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.

Friday's Workout

Not a bad way to kick off a weekend.

Strength Skill:

• Muscle-Up Progressions

Yeesh. These aren't getting any easier. I almost regret having done that one solitary dead-hang muscle-up once upon a time -- and then never attempting them again. Now, all these months later, I'm starting to fear that it may have been a fluke.

But you know what'll banish that thought? ANOTHER MUSCLE-UP. That's my goal for next Friday.

Metcon:

Total points (reps & calories) in 3 rounds:

• 1 minute of calorie row
• 1 minute of 20-pound medicine ball cleans
• 1 minute of 75-pound barbell push-presses
• 1 minute of 20-pound medicine ball V-ups
• 1 minute of rest

Looks straightforward enough, right? But wait a second: What are medicine ball V-ups?

I shouldn't have asked.

You start by squeezing a 20-pound medicine ball between your feet. Lie down with your arms up over your head. Pike up with your legs and arms straight, passing the ball from your feet to your hands at the top of the movement. With your arms and legs outstretched, lie back down and touch the ball to the ground above your head. Then, do a sit-up while holding the ball up with straight arms until you're upright enough to place the ball between your feet again. That's ONE rep.

The push-presses weren't all that fun, either.

Result: 151 points (as RXed). It was fun, but my lack of physical coordination was a major hindrance today. Fumbling around with a medicine ball cost me a lot of time and reps.

On the plus side, at the end of the WOD, we got a visit from our buddy Mint. Aside from XFitMama and me, Mint's the longest-tenured member of the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto -- and an all-around amazing and inspiring guy. But he's been absent from class for over a month now; like the Terminator, he's recovering from surgery.

Mint probably wants me to shut up about him already, so I'll just say this: We have sorely missed his deadpan jokes, his penchant for singing along to Social Distortion during WODs, and his ugly green shoes. It's not been the same without him, so he better get his butt back in the gym soon.