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.

Full-Strength Five Tribe

Hauling our butts out of bed and into the gym for a 5 a.m. workout isn't the easiest task in the world to accomplish. Given work schedules, family obligations, travel, and the temptation to hit snooze and catch a few extra Zs, it's rare that the entire Five Tribe is in attendance at CrossFit Palo Alto before the crack of dawn.

But we did it again today. A full house of 15 sleepy CrossFitters showed up to get some strength on. It was my first 5 a.m. workout in a week, and it felt great to be back with all of my fellow nutjobs.

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (3-3-3-1-1)

A number of folks hit PRs this morning, but I wasn't one of them. My hammies are still fried from Monday's scorcher of a workout, and I struggled to pull 255 pounds off the ground. Ack.

On the plus side, I got to partner up with Jay, whose consistently sunny presence in the wee hours of the morning never ceases to amaze. (In contrast, I'm usually a sullen zombie for the first half of class.)

Metcon:

• AMRAP in 10 minutes:
• 20 mountain climbers
• 10 ring rows
• 5 dumbbell squat cleans

The mountain climbers felt great. Throughout the 10-minute workout, I was able to crank out the mountain climbers quickly and smoothly. The ring rows were tougher: The first few rounds flew by, but I hit a wall about halfway through the WOD, and ended up having to take a mid-set break or two.

But it was the dumbbell squat cleaning that floored me. Even though I'd scaled down the weight (I ended up using a pair of 35-pound dumbbells instead of the RXed 45 pounders), and despite the fact that we were only required to complete 5 reps per round, the squat cleans murdered my legs. A few rounds into the workout, my hamstrings, glutes, and quads were already on fire. And we still had another 7 minutes to go.

Result: 6 rounds + 20 reps.

I'm secretly happy that time ran out just as I was supposed to start another set of squat cleans.

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.

Friday's Workout

Gah -- 115-pound push-presses are on the menu for the Open WOD 12.3 at CrossFit Palo Alto tomorrow, along with a crapload of box jumps and toes-to-bar. That's a purdy heavy weight for me. I have a feeling that those eighteen minutes are going to be a punch in the face.

Good thing we had a chance to practice today.

Strength Skill:

• Push-Presses (5-5-3-3-3)

I paired up with the Terminator, who has a bum shoulder, and therefore at less than full cyborg strength. We did the presses from a rack, and finished with 115 pounds on our final set. Tomorrow, we have to do 'em from the floor. Twelve at a time. Between box jumps and toes-to-bar. For eighteen minutes straight.

Again: Gah. Guess who's going to be doing some jerks tomorrow?

Metcon:

At least we had a nice barn-burner of a metcon today.

2 rounds for time:

• 40 double-unders
• 30 kettlebell transfers (24kg / 16kg)
• 20 Abmat sit-ups
• 10 ring rows

I tripped up a few times with the jump rope, but otherwise, this one blazed by.

Result: 5:04 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout

Despite the rowing, today's workout was a good one.

For time:

• Row 500 meters
• 25 ring rows
• 5 deadlifts (315lbs / 225lbs)
• Row 400 meters
• 20 ring rows
• 4 deadlifts (315lbs / 225lbs)
• Row 300 meters
• 15 ring rows
• 3 deadlifts (315lbs / 225lbs)
• Row 200 meters
• 10 ring rows
• 2 deadlifts (315lbs / 225lbs)
• Row 100 meters
• 5 ring rows
• 1 deadlift (315lbs / 225lbs)

Since my back injury a few months ago, I've been careful not to overdo it with heavy deadlifts during metcons, so I went with the women's RXed weight today. It was plenty -- I certainly felt enough of a strain that I'm glad I didn't try to bite off more than I could chew. The real challenge, though, was doing ring rows immediately after a stint on the erg. Even after breaking my sets into 5-rep segments, I had trouble stringing my ring rows together.

On the plus side: The rowing actually didn't feel so bad in comparison. Progress!

Result: 14:51.

Monday's Workout

Holy moly, I'm tired. Forgive the brevity of tonight's post; I'm drifting in and out of consciousness at the moment.

Strength Skill:

• Thrusters (5-3-3-1-1)

I love max effort work. Despite some lingering achiness from the weekend, the thrusters felt good.

Metcon:

• Total cumulative reps (and calories on the erg):
• Tabata calorie row (6 rounds)
• Rest 30 seconds
• Tabata ring push-ups (6 rounds)
• Rest 30 seconds
• Tabata shuttle runs
• Rest 30 seconds
• Tabata ring rows (6 rounds)

Again: I'm tired. This workout may have had something to do with it.

The running and rowing were fine. The ring push-ups and ring rows? Ha!

Total score: 184 as RXed.

Passing out now.

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: 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

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

At long last: Double bodyweight deadlift PR! Woo hoo!

I know that's not saying much (especially considering these strength standards), but it's not bad, right?

Wait -- WHAT? An eight-year-old can do this? And a 115-pound girl can deadlift 2.6x her bodyweight? YOU ARE KILLING MY BUZZ, MAN.

Metcon:

Rotate through four stations, spending one minute at each:

• Burpees-to-Bar: Do a burpee, and then jump up to touch the pull-up bar. Each rep is scored as 1 point.

• Ring Rows: Simple, straightforward, hard. Each rep is scored as 1 point.

• Calorie Row: Each calorie burned while rowing on the erg is scored as 1 point.

• Dumbbell Ground-to-Overhead: Use one arm (doesn't matter which one) to get a heavy dumbbell from the ground to a locked-out position overhead. Dumbbell snatches and jerks worked pretty well with this one. Each rep is scored as 1 point. (RXed weight for men: 45 pounds.)

This was done Fight Gone Bad- style -- meaning we rested for one minute after completing all four stations, and then repeated everything again twice, for a total of three rounds. The entire workout takes just 14 minutes, but it's a LONG 14 minutes.

Results (as RXed):

• Round 1: 72
• Round 2: 53
• Round 3: 44
• TOTAL: 169

Tim calls this WOD "Not Quite Gone Bad," but I'm not sure I agree with the "Not Quite" part.

Wednesday's Workout

It's kind of sick how easy Pavel Tsatsouline makes pistols look:



Steve Cotter, too.



Needless to say, I don't look anything like this when I'm attempting pistols...

Want the full skinny on today's workout? It's over at The Five Tribe.