CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.3: Bring the Pain

All I can say is: Ouch. This workout -- an AMRAP of 15 box jumps, 12 push-presses, and 9 toes-to-bar -- was indeed a punch in the face. And gut. And crotch. Simultaneously.

My box jumps and toes to bar weren't too bad, but my push-presses stunk up the place. I resorted to split-jerking most of my reps because I'm evidently still too puny to push-press dozens of reps at 115 pounds. Even so, I lifted at a glacial pace and no-repped a half-dozen times. In the end, I managed to only get through 4 full rounds and 10 additional box jumps.

As I said before: Gah.

But look at all the fun we all had at CrossFit Palo Alto!

Catalyst Athletics Weightlifting Seminar: Day 2

The boys spent the night at their grandparents' last night, so we weren't awakened at 7 a.m. this morning by shouting and running down the hall. Instead, we had the rare luxury of sleeping in...until 7:15. Yes, sleep is paramount, but there was no way we were going to be late to Day 2 of the lifting seminar at Catalyst Athletics. After M whipped up a quick breakfast, we packed our lunches and hitched a ride with Kristen to the gym.

As the rest of the CrossFit Palo Alto gang trickled in, we got loose and stretchy. 

And then it was time to get started. We did a quick review of the snatch progressions we learned yesterday, and then dove right into jerks. I was eager to learn how to split jerk today; the only time I'd ever attempted it before was about a year-and-a-half ago, and I had no idea what I was doing. If I remember correctly, I promptly fell over and was told to stick with power jerks.

Before getting to split jerks today, however, we went through a number of progressions -- push presses from behind the neck, push presses from the rack position, tall power jerks, jerk balances -- all of which we got to practice until we found our groove. 

And before lunch, I found myself split jerking. Yes, it was with an empty bar, but simply sticking the technique made me feel accomplished. I did my best to get the bar overhead with aggression and confidence, and with a few pointers from Greg, Aimee, and Steve, I successfully performed my first split jerks.

After lunch, Greg covered various clean progressions until we were cleaning from off the floor. And by mid-afternoon, we were cleaning and jerking with weight. 

Graeme and I paired up all weekend, which was awesome; he has exacting form, and I picked up a lot just by watching him lift. The trainers frequently stopped by to scrutinize our technique and to offer encouragement and guidance. I was amazed by their ability to instantly diagnose and adjust my sloppy form with just a few words and cues. 

Despite using light weights, we probably ended up doing hundreds of reps over the course of the weekend. With fifteen minutes left before the end of the day, I was spent. But what the hell -- I decided to do one more.

It was ugly as sin. But hey: I didn't fall over. Progress!

Friday's Workout: Barbell Tabata

No better way to kick off the weekend than with a good thrashing.

Strength Skill: 

• Strict Weighted Pull-ups (5-3-3-1-1) 

I finished with 40 pounds on the weight vest, but I'm not even remotely close to my previous PR. The groove needs grease!

Metcon:

"A Lotta Tabata":

• 6 rounds of Tabata muscle snatches (45lbs / 35lbs - 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)
• Rest 1 minute
• 6 rounds of Tabata back squat to push-presses (45lbs / 35lbs - 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)
• Rest 1 minute
• 6 rounds of Tabata deadlift to bar push-ups (135lbs / 95lbs - 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)
• Rest 1 minute
• 6 rounds of Tabata split jerks (45lbs / 35lbs - 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)
• Rest 1 minute

For each of the four movements, count the lowest number of reps achieved in one 20-second set. Add up the four numbers for your score.

Hoo, boy. Who knew lifting an empty bar could be such a punch in the gut?

The muscle snatches weren't so bad. I did ten reps in each of the first few rounds, and I tried my damnedest not to dip below that number. But towards the end, I managed only nine muscle snatches in 20 seconds.

After a too-short one-minute breather, I had the same experience with the back squat to push-presses (which, for all intents and purposes, is just like a behind-the-head barbell thruster). I started with ten reps in each of the early rounds, but dipped down to nine by the end.

Even with exhaustion beginning to set in, I had a great time with the deadlift to bar push-ups (do a deadlift, then set the barbell down and do a push-up with your hands gripping the bar, touching your chest to the barbell). This is an unbelievably awesome full-body movement. It takes a while to do, though, and I managed only four full reps with each round.

Last up: Split jerks. Not having done these before, it took me a while to get accustomed to the movement. My natural inclination was to plant my right (dominant) foot forward and shoot my left leg back, but dorsiflexing my left ankle still makes me wince. After attempting that once, I switched it up, jumping my left leg forward so I could land more flat-footed. Unfortunately, my experimentation cost me a rep, and in my first set, I managed only seven split jerks. I was able to crank out eight in each of the next three rounds, but the extra rep didn't count, so in the final two sets, I decided to stop when I reached seven.

I got tired. Sue me.

Result: 9 + 9 + 4 + 7 = 29 as RXed.