All Good Things...

So after two and a half years of waking up in the middle of the night to get ready for 5 a.m. CrossFit classes, our merry bunch of early birds is abruptly disbanding. Turns out the gym has residential neighbors who aren't super-jazzed about being woken up by the sounds of barbells and grunting.

When I joined CrossFit Palo Alto in the summer of 2010, Steph was the only other person crazy enough to stick to a 5 a.m. schedule. But after a few months, we were joined by the Terminator. And then Mint came (and left). And Jackie joined, and Jason, and Jay, and Jake, and on and on, until there were 15 of us "regulars" in the class. 

Three days a week, these were the folks with whom I'd start the day. Half-asleep, I'd stumble into the gym, bedheaded and bleary-eyed, and spend an hour sweating alongside my fellow sleep-deprived nutjobs. It's not like we spent a lot of time chatting in class -- I'm not nearly awake enough to engage in intelligent conversation before 5:30. But our class had a great, supportive vibe, and the friendly competition kept me on my toes.

Could I have attended class at a later (and saner) time of day? Sure -- but I always looked forward to seeing the 5 a.m. crew. It's hard not to like the people with whom you've spent hundreds of hours over the course of the past 30 months, and it's the primary reason why I always set my alarm clock for 4:20 a.m.

But at least for now, the 5 a.m. class is kaput. Most of us are moving to crashing other classes, and the rest are finding other ways to lift heavy and move fast. I'm joining the 6 a.m. class along with a handful of other 5 a.m. refugees, so the silver lining is that I'll get three extra hours of sleep each week. And hopefully, we'll get to drop our weights without fear of the cops getting called.

Last order of business? The 5 a.m. class's two final workouts:

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we practiced Zercher squats -- a favorite of mine. Even better: This is a strength skill that doesn't require the use of my wrists, so my injury was irrelevant. (And yes, I'm still -- STILL! -- on the mend.) We also got a metcon that I didn't have to modify: AMRAP in 7 minutes of burpees.

The workout required that we jump and stand atop of a 45-pound bumper plate at the end of each rep. I did the burpees on my fists, and kept a fairly steady rate throughout. I was aiming for 100 burpees, and despite my best efforts to accelerate towards the end, I ended up one short. 

Result: 99 as RXed. So close! Still, I'm pretty happy with my score -- especially given that it took me almost a minute longer to complete 100 burpees last year.

Friday

I had much more trouble with the assigned movements in our final 5 a.m. workout. While the class practiced strict barbell presses, I had to settle for kettlebell and dumbbell presses. And the metcon looked like this:

• 15 chin-ups
• 10 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 12 chin-ups
• 15 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 9 chin-ups
• 20 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 6 chin-ups
• 25 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 3 chin-ups
• 30 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)

I can't yet catch a wall ball without destroying my wrist, so I did thrusters with a pair of 15-pound dumbbells instead. And I did the chin-ups from a pair of Olympic rings to reduce the strain on my wrist, too. Looking back, I'm glad the chin-up ladder was descending; by the end of the workout, my chin-ups were ugly and slow.

Result: 7:48.

With any luck, the 5 a.m. diaspora will be short-lived. But who knows? I suspect I might get used to the extra sleep...

CrossFit Total (Or, The Barbell Method)

According to Mark Rippetoe, "[t]he CrossFit Total reflects an athlete's functional strength capacity more accurately than any other test."

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. All three lifts are done while standing on the floor. They require minimal and inexpensive equipment. They are not technique- dependent to the extent of the Olympic lifts, yet they require technical proficiency beyond mere passing familiarity. They are safe when performed correctly, since they can all be performed without spotters—alone in a garage if necessary.

We did the Total for the first time at CrossFit Palo Alto on Wednesday -- with a couple of slight modifications. Instead of having an indefinite period of time to establish a one-rep max for each of the three movements, we were allocated 15 minutes for each. And we subbed front squats for back squats.

Front Squat:

I was excited by the prospect of tackling this workout, but it didn't start auspiciously. My eagerness got the best of me, and I totally squandered my opportunity to set a new PR on my front squat by loading up too much, too soon. After matching my previous PR of 205 pounds with a couple of minutes left, I stupidly added another 20 pounds on the bar -- which I ended up dumping, of course. I'd like to blame it on the lack of sleep and the early morning hour, but frankly, I just got greedy.

Strict Press:

Thankfully, by the time I got to the strict presses, I had my head screwed on straight(er). With one eye on the clock, I managed to work up to a new PR of 130 pounds -- 10 more than my previous best.

Deadlift:

But the achievement that made my week? A new deadlift PR of 305 pounds! Okay -- objectively speaking, 305 pounds ain't much. But call me what you will (shrimp, weakling, lightweight, whatever); I'm still proud I FINALLY got over 300 pounds off the floor. My prior best was just 285 pounds, and it was set back in February of 2011. You can imagine how much I enjoyed smashing it in the face.

My CrossFit Total: 640.

Everyone had a blast doing the Total, and setting tons of PRs, too. After our post-workout coffee, I returned to CFPA in time to catch Kevin setting a new deadlift PR of about a gajillion pounds.

By the way, if you've done a Total and want to see where you stack up against Rippetoe's basic strength standards, check this out.

Friday's Workout

With Tim on vacation, Trish led us through the workout yesterday. Afterwards, she remarked that the 5 a.m. class was extremely "coachable" -- i.e., we follow instructions well.

"It's 'cause we're not awake enough to fight back," I told her.

Strength Skill:

• Strict Presses (3-3-1-1-1)

Despite a couple of attempts at setting a new PR, I failed. It appears my max is holding firm at 120 pounds for a little while longer.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

• 9 deadlifts (155lbs / 100lbs)
• 12 Games push-ups
• 15 box jumps (24" / 20")

This was a reprise of the second workout of last year's CrossFit Games Open, and I did nowhere near as well as some of the firebreathers who tackled 11.2. The deadlifts were fine -- I made sure to tap 'n go to keep momentum on my side. The box jumps weren't too bad, either. But the push-ups? Not so much.  I cruised through the first few rounds, but early in the fifth round, I suddenly hit a wall and couldn't muster more than two or three push-ups at a time.

At coffee after class with Trish and XFitMama, I griped about my strict presses and push-ups. "Do a 100 push-up challenge," Trish suggested. It was a great idea, and we all signed on. The rules are simple: Do one push-up on Day One, two push-ups on Day Two, three on Day Three, and so on. One more wrinkle: I'm going to try to do 'em all at once rather than spacing out the push-ups throughout the day. This shouldn't get hard until Day 50 or so, but I'm fine with starting at 1 for now. I need a few weeks to get my stress levels down anyway.

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (5-5-3-3-3)

I paired up with the Terminator today, but I couldn't match the weight he was squatting. I couldn't even match my own PR of 205 (set over a half-year ago). In my last set, I eked out a few reps at 195 pounds, but ended up dumping the weight. New goal for this cycle: 215 or bust.

Surprise! No metcon today -- just lots of barbell work, which I loved. This was perfect for me; my metabolic conditioning's already pretty decent, but I'm nowhere near as strong as I'd like to be. I was excited to see a WOD pop up on the schedule at CrossFit Palo Alto today that prioritized strength and form over speed.

In place of the metcon, here's what we did:

5 rounds (not for time):

• 4 strict presses
• 3 push-presses
• 2 push jerks

I eventually made it up to 105 pounds, but this workout was harder than it looked. Just because the clock wasn't ticking didn't mean I wasn't getting fatigued by all the pressing and jerking.

Speaking of fatigue, I'm passing out as I type this. Not kidding. Must. Sleep. Now...

Monday's Workout: Fat Gripz & PTP

CrossFit Palo Alto's closed for Turkey Week, so for the first time in a long while, I got to play around in my garage with some of my toys. Some of them -- like my Fat Gripz -- have been sitting in a box for a month, waiting for me to get off my ass and try 'em out.

Now that my back's feeling better, I want to work on getting it stronger -- and so my plan is to start doing some low-rep sets of deadlifts and strict presses, mixed with some super-short metcons. Sound familiar?

Yep -- I'm revisiting the Power to the People protocol.

Dallas and Melissa of the Whole9 have a PTP template from their CrossFit 603 days, so I decided to jump right in with their programming for Day One. First up: the "Buy-In":

3 rounds:

• 20-second handstand hold
• 15 Russian kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 10 box jumps (20″)

This was a fun way to kick off the morning and get the blood pumping rushing to my head. Once I was nice and toasty, I was ready for PTP.

Deadlift:

• Warm up: A few reps at a light weight
• Set 1: 60% of 1-rep max, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1 weight, 3-5 reps

Just to keep things interesting, I decided to wrap the Fat Gripz around my barbell -- I figured I might as well work on my grip strength, too. (Yes, I know that some folks say that increasing open-hand grip strength isn't necessarily going to help with support-grip moves like deadlifts or pull-ups, but I'm happy to settle for just generally increasing the strength of my hands.

I had trouble wrapping my thumbs around the width of the Fat Gripz -- my grip felt much more awkward than I expected -- but the starting weight was light, so I managed just fine. We'll see what happens as the weight on the bar starts creeping up.

Press:

• Warm up: A few reps at a light weight
• Set 1: 60% of 1-rep max, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1 weight, 3-5 reps

I used the Fat Gripz on the strict presses, too, though I don't think it made much of a difference. Presses don't rely much on finger strength, so I'll probably skip the Gripz for this movement next time.

Cash Out:

3 rounds for time:

• 30 double-unders
• 15 knees-to-elbows

This sounded easy, but the KTEs rocked my world. I cranked out the double-unders without much trouble, but they wiped me out enough to make the knees-to-elbows a royal pain in the butt. Also, to be consistent, I'd stuck the Fat Gripz on the pull-up bar, too -- and it didn't take me long to start regretting it. Getting a handle on the bar was much more challenging than I anticipated, and my hands kept slipping off. Ugh.

Result: 4:27 as RXed.

I need bigger hands. My teeny little baby hands aren't cutting it.

Friday's Workout: Exactly What It Sounds Like

The quick-and-dirty on this morning's workout:

Strength Skill:

• Strict Presses (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

I'm not even close to pressing my bodyweight overhead. It's amazing how much less power I'm able to generate without the use of my legs.

Metcon:

For time:

• 21 deadlifts (225lbs / 185 lbs)
• 21 burpee-to-box jumps (20")
• 15 deadlifts (225lbs / 185 lbs)
• 15 burpee-to-box jumps (20")
• 9 deadlifts (225lbs / 185 lbs)
• 9 burpee-to-box jumps (20")

What are "burpee-to-box jumps"? Exactly what they sounds like: Do a burpee, and then jump up on a box.

This workout was brutally fun. After some internal debate, I loaded up the barbell with the RXed men's weight of 225 pounds. It was a stretch for me, but I'm glad I pushed myself today -- even if it meant that I had to take a breather between each lift in the last set.

The burpee-to-box jumps weren't particularly fluid, either -- with each rep, I had to take a step towards the box before jumping, and I never established a good rhythm.

Still, it felt great to knock this one out, and the endorphin rush fueled me for hours afterward.

Result: 12:53 as RXed.

Wednesday's Workout: Sweet Bali Hai

More evidence that I've become hardwired for the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto: My eyes popped open at exactly 1:20 a.m. Hawaii time -- 4:20 a.m. Pacific time. It took me a second to remember that I wasn't in California, and that I could conk out for another three-and-a-half hours. Ah, vacation.

Still, at 5 a.m., M and I hauled our sleepy butts out of bed, threw on some clothes and drove down to Kauai CrossFit.

Today, Jerome started us off with some light stretching, and then we transitioned into a nice, blood-pumping warm-up consisting of a 400-meter run (again, along a path with ridiculously beautiful views of the Pacific expanse), and then three rounds of:

• 7 push-ups
• 7 knees-to-elbows
• 7 medicine ball cleans

And then the workout began. No long chipper today -- instead, we did something a bit more familiar to us: Some strength skill work and a short, intense triplet.

Strength Skill:

• Strict Shoulder Presses (3 sets of 5)

Yeesh. Strict presses have never been easy for me, and I still haven't yet hit my goal of pressing my bodyweight overhead without using my legs to boost up the barbell. But I think I've figured out why I can crank out a good number of handstand pushups but remain unable to press the equivalent weight on a barbell above my head: It's 'cause strict presses demand a greater range of motion. I think. I haven't tested out this theory yet, but I'll bet that I can press a heavier weight with my hands starting at top-of-head level than I can when the weight starts in rack position across my shoulders.

Metcon:

Three rounds for time:

• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (53lbs / 35lbs)
• 25 wallball shots (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 20 pull-ups

At first, even with the RXed weights, this seemed pretty manageable. In the first round, I managed to crank out all 30 kettlebell swings unbroken, and felt damned good as I walked over to my medicine ball. But as I began hurling that ball up against the wall, my hammies caught on fire. After the first 15 reps or so, I paused to stretch out my legs -- and for the remainder of the WOD, I'm not sure I strung together more than 5 wallball shots in a row again. Some of the folks in class got through all the wallball reps without stopping(!); they were already well into their pull-ups by the time I stumbled over.

Thankfully, my arms were fresh enough to get me through the pull-ups quickly. But then it was back to the swings and wallballs for Round Two. As M later put it: "Before I was done with the second round, I was already thinking about how the fuck I was going to get through Round Three."

It was a doozy, but on the whole, this WOD was right up my alley. I've always found wallballs to be challenging, but they're also a fantastic full-body movement -- and one I need to practice more anyway. And kettlebell swings and pull-ups are two of my favorites.

Result: 16:10 as RXed.

Over on the other side of the box, M went RXed with the kettlebell swings. It was great to see her heaving around the 35-pounder like a pro -- especially considering that just six months ago, she was tentatively swinging a half-pood (18 lb) kettlebell and declaring that it was "HEAVY!"

Given our schedules, M and I hardly ever get a chance to exercise together these days, and I've really enjoyed sharing this experience with her here on Kauai -- from the pre-workout protein-and-fat fueling to the post-workout breakfast of sweet potatoes, eggs and meat.

And that's not the only great thing about CrossFitting on vacation: Today, once we got back to the house, my recovery protocol consisted of sitting in the hot tub and sharing copious amounts of beef jerky with my six-year-old and then watching him practice underwater handstands in the pool.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Wednesday's Workout: 3 Minutes Is A Long Time

My quads haven’t stopped aching since Murph, so I’ve been squeezing into a pair of compression pants before bedtime for the past few nights. As I’ve written before, multiple studies suggest that this body-hugging gear does appear to help reduce post-exercise trauma and muscle soreness when worn during recovery.

So did I notice a difference? Hard to say. I still woke up with stiff, sore legs. But hey: It’s deadlift day at CrossFit Palo Alto. I wasn't about to let a little achiness get in the way of another chance to work towards a new PR.

Strength Skill:

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

PEE ARRR, baby! My previous best was precisely 2X my bodyweight, but today, I managed to yank 5 additional pounds off the ground. Granted, I didn't exactly set the world on fire, but it still felt pretty friggin' heavy. It took everything I had to stand up with the weight. And just as soon as I hoisted up the bar, I lost my grip on it, and the plates dropped with a resonant KA-CLUNK!

From across the room, Tim admonished me for splashing the weights before getting set. "In a weightlifting meet, you gotta hold it ‘til the white light goes off!”

“Oh, I saw a white light all right,” I responded.

Metcon:

As many reps as possible:

• 3 minutes of strict presses (75lbs/55lbs)
• 3 minutes of rest
• 3 minutes of push presses (75lbs/55lbs)
• 3 minutes of rest
• 3 minutes of jerks (75lbs/55lbs)

There was a nasty twist to this one: During each 3 minutes of activity, the penalty for resting the bar -- either across the shoulders or on the ground -- was 5 burpees. Clearly, the objective was to keep moving for three minutes straight. Still, with 75 pounds on the bar, this didn't sound too hard. After all, what's three minutes?

Answer: An eternity, it turns out.

In the first round, I managed only 25 reps, and dropped the bar three times, which meant having to crank out 15 burpees. I expected the strict presses to be the most difficult of the three exercises, so I didn't freak out too much about my crappy performance. Still, I vowed not to drop the weight in the second round.

Didn't happen. In the second round, despite accumulating 31 push presses, I dropped the bar three times again. Another 15 burpees. Crap.

In the final round, I was determined to not only surpass my Round 2 results, but also keep the bar moving. No more burpees! No more burpees! No more burpees! I managed to eke out 32 jerks, but of course, I dropped the bar three times again -- the last time, just A HALF SECOND before time was up, which meant I had five final burpees to complete even after the clock had stopped.

Results:

• Round 1: 25 reps
• Round 2: 31 reps
• Round 3: 32 reps
• Total: 88 reps (and 45 burpees) as RXed.

The best thing about today's workout? I didn't once think about the soreness in my legs. The worst thing about today's workout? I'm going to have to wear a compression shirt to bed tonight.

Friday's Workout

Eight people showed up for the 5 a.m. CrossFit class this morning -- a new attendance record! -- and that number doesn't even include the longest-tenured member of our tribe, who had mommy duty and couldn't make it to the gym. Until I joined the gym last summer, she was the only member of the 5 a.m. class. Then, in the fall, we were joined by the Marine, and later still, the Terminator. Other than the occasional visitor, the four of us were the flower shop mainstays. But all of a sudden, in January, interest in the 5 a.m. class has exploded. In three weeks' time, the class has doubled in size. The more, the merrier. It's great to see so many folks ready and willing to get their WOD on before the crack of dawn.

And today's WOD was pretty damned good.

Strength Skill:

• Strict Presses (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

I'm getting incrementally better at this, but I haven't yet hit my goal of pressing my bodyweight, which is still a head-scratcher for me. Why is it that I can crank out a good number of handstand pushups but can't press the same amount of weight on a barbell straight above me?

Metcon:

Like last Friday, we had some fun with the Tabata protocol today.

Continue reading over at The Five Tribe.

Friday's Workout

Do you even care about what I did today? Or where I did it?

If so, check this out. And this, too.

Tomorrow: CrossFit Endurance One-Day Run & Performance Seminar with Brian MacKenzie at CrossFit San Francisco. Can't wait!

(I'd write more, but I'm literally nodding off as I struggle to type this...)

Friday's Workout

I woke up feeling great. For the first time in over a week, my joints didn't feel rusty and my muscles didn't ache. Evidently, a little rest does a lot of good. Despite the early hour, I had no problem popping out of bed and hustling over to the gym.

Good thing, too -- given the ass-kicking workout in store for us today. (And I mean that in the best possible way.)

Strength Skill:

• Strict Presses (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

No bent knees or hip drive to assist in jerking the barbell overhead -- just strict muscle presses, engaging the lats, shoulder girdle and core to force the bar overhead. Yeesh.

But if this kid can do 'em, what's my excuse?

Metcon:

AMRAP in 12 minutes:

• 10 renegade rows (the RX'ed workout calls for two 53-pound kettlebells, but I opted for a pair of 35-pound dumbbells instead)
• 10 walking lunges (holding the same pair of dumbbells)
• 30 plyo box jumps (20" box)

I sometimes wonder if others at the gym think it's weird that I routinely excuse myself to go pee before I start a metcon. But trust me: It's better for everybody. When I'm going balls-to-the-wall, the loss of bladder control is a distinct possibility -- especially after guzzling about 32 ounces of water.

Although today's metcon was a barn-burner (and the lunges made my quads want to scream), I loved it. Plyo box jumps are just plain fun. There's nothing like hopping up and down on stuff like a crazed jackrabbit on meth.

Result: 5 rounds plus 10 renegade rows and 10 walking lunges. I was hoping to complete the sixth round before time ran out, but didn't quite manage to do it. Still, I'm pretty happy with my time, and can't wait to do this one again.

I felt great today -- both before and after the workout. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that I finally got some quality shut-eye last night. Which begs the question: Why am I still up and blogging instead of going to bed?

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

Strict Presses (3 sets of 3, then 3 sets of 1, working up to a 1-rep max)

I'm kind of terrible at these. Sadly, this movement doesn't allow for any lower body movement; with my legs straight and knees locked, I can't use my hips to help drive the barbell above my head. My one-rep max? A measly 115 pounds. Let the mocking laughter commence.

Metcon:

You'd think that after a max effort press workout, our metcon would focus on something other than hoisting and pressing barbells. But then you'd be wrong.

For time:

"Air Force WOD"

• 20 Thrusters
• 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
• 20 Push Jerks
• 20 Overhead Squats
• 20 Front Squats
• Plus: Every minute, on the minute: Drop whatever you're doing and do 4 burpees.

It looks like this:



I decided to do it RXed with a full 95 pounds on the barbell, but it took me forever and a half (15 minutes and 27 seconds, to be exact) to get through this hell. (Point of comparison: Some guys can finish this workout in less than 4 minutes.)

The overhead squats sucked big time, which didn't come as a total surprise, given that I'd never done overhead squats before. But the worst were the front squats. I usually have no trouble with 'em, but after doing 80 reps of various O-lifts and God-knows-how-many burpees, I thought my wrists were going to snap off during the final round.

Plus? Even though they're not listed, you end up doing a ton of cleans, because after each round of burpees, you gotta get the bar up off the ground.

Note to self: Next time, blaze through this workout as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the extra burpees and cleans'll kill you.

Friday's Workout

The strangest thing about getting up to exercise and finishing my workout before the break of dawn? By the end of the day, I've mostly forgotten what happened in my early-morning CrossFit class. The details get hazy, as if everything at the gym actually occurred in a dream. As a result, it sometimes feels like I've gone days between workouts.

I'm looking forward to forgetting about today's session.

Strength Skill:

• Presses (3 sets of 5, followed by 3 sets of 3)

We're not talking about push-presses. No bending of the knees, no hip drive, no jerking the barbell -- just strict muscle presses, engaging the lats and core to force the bar overhead. A pure upper-body exercise -- one that's vastly superior to the bench press. As Mark Rippetoe points out, unlike the bench press:

Pressing a bar overhead develops core strength, and somehow manages to do so without a Swiss ball. Since the kinetic chain -- the parts of the body involved in the transmission of force from the places where it is generated to the places where it is applied -- in the press starts at the ground and ends at the hands, everything in between these two points gets worked, one way or another. This includes pretty much everything. Specifically, the trunk and hip muscles have to stabilize the body while the force being generated by the arms and shoulders gets transmitted between the bar and the floor. This can get really hard when the weight gets up close to 1RM [1-rep max], and heavy presses require and develop a thick set of abs and obliques.

Sadly, I don't have a "thick set of abs and obliques" (yet?), and my current 1RM is a puny 110 pounds. (I ought to be able to go heavier, given that I don't seem to have any trouble with handstand push-ups.) Nonetheless, I gave it all I got, and managed to accrue a ton of time under tension -- mostly because I wasn't able to quickly power the bar up.

Metcon:

This was the part of today's workout that fried me. It triggered traumatic flashbacks to Fight Gone Bad.

AMAP (As Many As Possible):

3 rounds:

• 1 minute of push-ups
• 1 minute of deadlifts (using a 135-pound barbell)
• 1 minute of pull-ups
• 1 minute of rowing
• 1 minute of rest

The entire workout takes 14 minutes (if you don't count the final minute of rest). Your score is comprised of the total number of push-ups, deadlifts and pull-ups you can crank out, added to the total number of calories you row.

Result: I blazed through the first round (50 push-ups!) but was gassed for the final two rounds. My totals:

• Round 1: 93
• Round 2: 77
• Round 3: 76
• Total: 246

The good: My last set of deadlifts was unbroken. I didn't let go of the bar, and I didn't rest. Thirty-one reps in less than a minute! Plus, I was the point leader in my class today, which helps make up for my last-place finish on Wednesday.

The bad: I can't move my arms.