Not Fast Enough

My wrist is improving, but not fast enough.

During our warmups in class this morning, I managed to do a few push-ups from my palms for the first time in months (huzzah!), which made me think I could join the rest of the class in practicing barbell cleans.

No dice. A single rep with an empty bar was all I managed before my wrist started screaming bloody murder at me. (On the plus side: It's not screaming quite as loudly as it did just a couple of weeks ago.)

So: I practiced kettlebell cleans instead. Again. (I'm tired of kettlebell cleans. Can you tell?)

I had to lay off the barbell for today's metcon, too, which consisted of 7 rounds of:

• 7 thrusters (75lbs / 55lbs)
• 7 sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs / 55lbs)
• 7 burpees

I used dumbbells and did the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists. Happily, I still got my butt kicked.

Result: 11:38.

I'm not happy that this wrist is taking forever to heal. But I recognize that my recovery's taking longer than expected because I've been stupidly trying to do more than I should. I only have myself to blame. Argh. Self-knowledge drives me crazy.

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

Diving into overhead squats this morning, I was actually pretty happy with my form. I made sure to drive my knees out and keep my chest up and armpits forward; as a result, my reps felt stable and strong. I cautiously worked my way up to 125 pounds today, but feel like I had more in me...

...but then I saw the metcon on the board:

"Air Force WOD"

For time:

• 20 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 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 took no time at all to get through the thrusters and sumo deadlift high pulls. But by the time I finished the push jerks, the burpees had taken their toll.

And then came the overhead squats.

It didn't matter that we'd practiced them just minutes before. At this point, my arms and legs were noodles. I snatched the bar up overhead to get in position for the OHSs, but almost fell backwards. By the time I stumbled through a handful of reps, it was time for more burpees.

Result: 13:50 as RXed.

It took me almost four minutes just to complete 20 overhead squats.

But hey: Better than last time, right?

Monday's Workout: Fight Gone Bad

I've been sick for the past few days (hence my absence from the gym on Friday), and was hoping to ease into the week with a nice little 5 a.m. workout.

No such luck. On the menu today: Fight Gone Bad.

Rotate through five stations, spending one minute at each:

• Wall ball shots (20lbs / 14lbs), 10 foot target. Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs / 55 lbs). Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Box jumps (20″ box). Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Barbell push-presses (75lbs / 55 lbs). Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Calorie row. Each calorie burned (according to the monitor) is scored as 1 point.

Rest one minute, and then repeat the five stations. Rest another minute, and then repeat all the stations again, for a total of three rounds.

The first time I did FGB was in September of 2010, when I eked out 209 points as RXed. It was ugly.

A year later, I attempted FGB again, and improved slightly, with 229 points as RXed. It was just as ugly the second time around.

But while Fight Gone Bad is certainly a grueling ass-kicker, it's really not much worse than any other grueling ass-kicker we've experienced at the gym. The difference is the nervous anticipation. We know months in advance that the Fight Gone Bad fundraiser is coming, so we end up psyching ourselves out. For a week before last September's FGB at CrossFit Palo Alto, I spent a few minutes each day working on my wall ball shots and push-presses in the hopes that the extra practice would pay off. I was excited about FGB, but I was also nervous about it.

A while back, Freddy Camacho wrote about "that anxiety you get when you first read what the workout is. We often experience what I like to call 'The Dread.' Nervousness, anxiety, making up excuses on why you don't need to work out that day...'The Dread' can kick your ass."

I suppose that points to another reason why I prefer going to the 5 a.m. class: The workout doesn't get written on the board until it's time to do it. All the subsequent classes eyeball the metcon as soon as they enter the gym, and I imagine they think about it as they warm up and complete their strength skills practice -- especially if the workout's particularly heinous. In contrast, those of us who show up at 5 a.m. are always surprised; after the WOD's revealed, we have just enough time to set up our equipment before the workout begins. We don't have the time to dwell on "The Dread." There's barely any "Dread" at all.

(Besides, we're barely awake enough to comprehend how challenging a workout's going to be until we're in the middle of it.)

Today, we jumped right into Fight Gone Bad without a second thought -- and it was great. Yes, it still whupped my butt. But even without practicing sumo deadlift high pulls in my garage all week, and despite still recovering from a cold, I set a new personal best.

Result: 239 as RXed. But before I get too carried away with myself, I should point out that a good number of my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs beat my score this morning, including the Terminator, who competed in the NorCal 40s yesterday, where he finished in 13th place out of dozens of athletes. He found out we were going to do FGB today, and despite having completed 7 crazy WODs yesterday, he still showed up at 5 a.m. this morning. Clearly, the man is insane.

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.

Friday's Workout

A fast one today.

Strength Skill:

• Push-Presses (5-5-5-3-3)

We kept it light this morning (I started at 95 pounds and finished at 125), and focused on technique -- changing directions and exploding up with speed, and keeping our bodyweight back and on our heels.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 21 kettlebell sumo deadlift high pulls (24kg / 16kg)
• 15 kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 9 handstand push-ups

The kettlebell movements flew by, and my first round of handstand push-ups felt fine, but by the middle of the second round of HSPUs, I ran out of gas. It was a struggle to string more than three handstand push-ups together at a time, and my final HSPU rep took almost half a minute to complete.

I'll do better next time.

Result: 7:56 as RXed.

One More Time

I woke up less sore than I thought I'd be, so I headed back to Lahaina CrossFit to squeeze in one last workout before leaving the island.

Warm-Up:

• Row 500 meters
• 20 kettlebell swings
• 20 air squats
• 20 push-ups
• 20 push-presses
• 20 wall balls
• 20 pull-ups
• 20 lunges

We had fifteen minutes to complete the warm-up, which was plenty of time to finish all eight of the warm-up exercises. I was pretty sweaty by the end, though. And while I've never been a huge fan of the "Your Workout Is My Warm-Up" line, it felt apropos this morning.

Strength Skill:

• Push Jerks (5-5-3-3-1-1)

"We're not aiming for a one-rep-max today," Anthony said at the start of the workout. "We're just working on technique."

Nice. My form is rusty, and I couldn't remember my PR anyway. Once I got close to jerking my bodyweight, I called it a day.

Metcon:

"Baker's Dozen" - AMRAP in 13 minutes of:

• 13 kettlebell swings (53lbs / 35lbs)
• 13 kettlebell sumo deadlift high pulls (53lbs / 35lbs)
• 13 toes-to-bar
• 13 burpees

Lucky thirteen. This was a doozy; after ripping through the kettlebell swings and SDHPs, trying to hang on for the toes-to-bar was a special kind of hell. It was enough to make me almost -- almost -- look forward to the burpees.

Result: 4 rounds + 40 reps as RXed.

After class, I lingered to chat with S and K, a super-fit couple in the 8 a.m. class at Lahaina CrossFit. We ran into them last night at the Old Lahaina Luau, where they work. Our family was wowed by S's beautiful hula dancing, and bowled over by K's gregarious charm. (Photos from our luau experience are on M's blog.) They're also two of the most friendly and inviting folks we've met on an island full of generous, warm people, and it was great getting to know them better.



You wouldn't ever know it from looking at him, but K told me that not too long ago, he was over 40 pounds heavier. Then, he and S started doing P90X (8 rounds!) and Insanity, and then moved onto CrossFit. Now, they're looking into Paleo. Sound familiar? I wish I could say that I'm just like S and K, but that would be wishful thinking; I could only hope to be as fit and strong (and nice!) as these two.

Maybe it's something in the water here. Or maybe I should move here to Maui and see if some of the mojo rubs off on me.

Friday's Workout

Resting for a few days did me a world of good. My achy back still has a way to go before it's 100 percent again, but it's significantly looser than it was just a few days ago. I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in over two weeks. "Stay active," the doctor had said. So I headed back to the gym at 5 a.m.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Ring Dips (3-3-3-1-1)

I worked my way up to a 28kg (62lb) kettlebell on the weight belt before calling it quits. For a moment, I considered trying to match my previous PR of 80 pounds...and then I realized I was just being a greedy idiot.

Metcon:

• Run 400 meters
• 21 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 21 push-presses (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 21 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)

We last did this workout almost exactly one year ago. Back then, I did it with the RXed weight of 95 pounds, and it took 12:39 for me to finish. (According to my blog post, I was dead last in my class.)

I struggled with the temptation to go RXed today so that I could compare my performance against last year's. But this was just more idiocy on my part. I'm injured; recovery is the name of the game. Besides, even if I went RXed, my results wouldn't be comparable because I wasn't hurt last October.

In any event, I scaled the weight down to 75 pounds, and as a result, the barbell lifts weren't too bad. My SDHPs were unbroken. I took one quick break halfway through the push-presses, and two breaks during the thrusters. My running was slow as molasses, but I still managed to finish the WOD relatively quickly.

Result: 10:23.

Monday's Workout: Fight Gone Badder

On today's menu: Task Priority "Fight Gone Bad."

"And just what is that?" you ask. Well, it's just like the regular, garden-variety Fight Gone Bad, but instead of cranking out max reps for a minute at each station, you have to bust out 20 reps before moving on. In other words:

Three rounds for time:

• 20 Wall Balls (20lbs - 10' target)
• 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (75lbs)
• 20 Box Jumps (20")
• 20 Push Presses (75lbs)
• 20 Calorie Row
• 1 Minute Rest

I've never experienced great success with Fight Gone Bad; my all-time high score (set back in January) is a measly 229. But here was my big chance to score 300! (Because, well, everyone scores 300 in Task Priority FGB.)

I started at the push-press station today, and they weren't so bad. Neither was the row (which is a surprise, given how much I hate rowing). But the wall balls? They're still a big speed bump for me -- try as I might, I wasn't able to do 'em unbroken. Heck, by the third round, I was lucky if I could string together five in a row.

Result: 23:18 as RXed. Not great, but not horrible. At the end, I was a sweaty mess, but I didn't feel like dying or anything. Progress!

Best line of the morning was from Jay, who scraped his shin bloody with a barbell during the "Fight": "Yeah, but you shoulda seen the bar," he grinned.

Friday's Workout: Overreaching

After practicing strict and kipping pull-ups in class this morning, we were treated to "Air Force WOD":

• 20 Thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Push Jerks (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Overhead Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Front Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Plus: Start with 4 burpees -- and every minute thereafter, on the minute, drop whatever you're doing and bust out 4 burpees.

When we did this back in November, I'd used a 95-pound weight for all the movements EXCEPT the overhead squats. It was the first time we'd encountered overhead squats in a workout, so when we got to them, we stripped the weights off and squatted with the bar. Afterwards, we loaded the plates back on to finish up our front squats. It took a whopping 15:27 for me to finish.

But that was eight months ago. After eyeing the whiteboard for awhile, I decided to try to go RXed. Ninety-five pounds is just Fran weight for the thrusters, right? And I can easily sumo deadlift high pull, push-jerk and front squat 95 pounds. Yeah, the overhead squats'll be challenging, but I got this, I told myself. I got this.

I REALLY need to stop listening to myself.

More after the jump...

Wednesday's Workout: Sumo Fran

There's no better way to start a morning than with a workout named after a 1930s strongman, the national sport of Japan, and a nasally-voiced nanny from Queens.

Strength Skill:

• Zercher Squats (3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 1)

By the end, I thought I'd PR'ed, given the effort it took for me to complete the final rep. But then I checked my notebook and saw that I managed to squat 30 more pounds back in December. I guess that's the target for next Wednesday.

Metcon:

Time for some Sumo Fran -- essentially Fran, but with sumo deadlift high-pulls in place of the thrusters.

For time:

• 21 SDHPs (95lbs)
• 21 pull-ups
• 15 SDHPs (95lbs)
• 15 pull-ups
• 9 SDHPs (95lbs)
• 9 pull-ups

In a word: Awesome. I can't feel my forearms any more, but it was totally worth it.

Result: 5:35 as RXed. My Sumo Fran time's about a minute faster than my regular old Fran time -- probably 'cause I suck at thrusters. But I also prefer Sumo Fran because: (1) I can dump the bar between reps without losing a ton of time, and (2) it gives me an excuse to poorly Photoshop Fran Drescher's head onto a female sumo wrestler's body.

Friday's Workout

Another good one today.

Strength Skill:

• Muscle-Up Progressions

My goal was to pull off another dead-hang muscle-up by the end of today's class (to add to my grand total of one muscle-up from all of last year), but since I managed to crank out a few of them at home earlier in the week, the pressure was off.

Still, I got a chance to practice some more at the gym this morning -- and also add to my lifetime total (which remains in the single digits -- for now).

Metcon:

For time:

• 21 jerks (135#/95#)
• 400-meter run
• 42 box jumps (24"/20")
• 400-meter run
• 21 sumo deadlift high pulls (135#/95#)
• 400-meter run

This one made me smile when Tim wrote it up on the board. Forty-two box jumps with a 24-inch box? Fun, fun, fun.

Four Fridays ago, we suffered through a similar workout involving -- among other things -- 21 jerks and 21 SDHPs. I was wrecked from using a 95-pound barbell that day, so even though I was tempted to try the RXed weight of 135 for this morning's WOD, I ultimately stuck with 95. It can be difficult to keep oneself from making stupid, ego-driven decisions, though; I kept having to remind myself that this is supposed to be a training session -- not a balls-out competition to see who can get injured the fastest.

Verdict? It was challenging, but so much more pleasant than a swift kick in the nuts. I actually enjoyed the jerks. And while my running form could use some work and my SDHPs were all over the place, I noticed that during the last 400-meter sprint, I had a big grin plastered on my face.

Result: 10:52.

Friday's Workout

Call me a masochist, but when the alarm goes off at 4:20 in the morning, I'm already buzzing in anticipation of the early-bird class at CrossFit Palo Alto. It's not 'til I arrive in the parking lot that a little bit of rationality fear creeps in.

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Pull-Ups (2 sets of 3, 3 sets of 1)

Horrible. I've lost about 15 pounds off my PR. I'm either getting weaker or heavier. Or both. Plus, I almost strangled myself with the weight vest. All in all, my pull-ups were kind of a disaster this morning.

Metcon:

For time:

• 500-meter row
• 21 sumo deadlift high-pulls
• 500-meter row
• 21 push jerks
• 500-meter row
• 21 barbell thrusters

The RXed weight for men is 95 pounds (65 for women), so I loaded up the bar without pausing to consider that we'd be finishing with thrusters. More on that later.

The rowing was surprisingly un-terrible today. No one's going to mistake me for having blazing speed on the erg, but at the very least, I was able to keep a consistent pace and reasonable stroke rate.

The lifts, though, were tougher than I expected. When I got to the sumo deadlift high pulls, I felt like I was still on the rower. With SDHPs, the full-body pulling movement is very similar to rowing -- down to the hand positioning and sequencing -- only it was heavier and much less smooth with a weighted barbell. 

I found the push jerks to be slightly better, and was able to crank out more than a dozen in a row before having to drop the bar. (I still need to work on consistently and fully locking-out at the top, though).

In the end, it was the thrusters that did me in. I went in thinking that 95-pound thrusters were totally doable. It's no worse than the first round of Fran, right? But after over 10 minutes of explosive hip-driving movements, I was spent. I reeled off a half-dozen reps at the start before dumping the bar, and then I managed another four in a row, but then had to eke out the rest in dribs and drabs -- three here, two there. My form was disastrous: I was jumping off the ground to heave the bar up, and landing on my toes. By the end, my brain was fried; I lost count twice, and had to dust off my crappy math skills to calculate how many thrusters were left in the set. So while I think I did 21, I honestly wouldn't be shocked if I actually did 19 or 23.

Even as I sit here now, I can't remember my time. 14:30, maybe? 14:20? 14:50? Whatever it was, it felt like forever.

T.G.I.F.

[Image]

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.

Friday's Workout

Even now, my right ass cheek is sore from Wednesday's pistols.

Thankfully, this morning's gymnastics practice at CrossFit Palo Alto didn't require much in the way of butt action. Instead, we played around with skin-the-cats, L-sits, and pass-throughs -- you know: Stuff that my six-year-old likes to do in our garage when he's bored.

But after goofing off on the rings and parallettes for a while, we got down to business.

Metcon:

4 rounds of 3 minutes each (with a one-minute rest in between rounds):

• Round 1: Run 400 meters, then as many 95-pound barbell thrusters as possible;
• Round 2: Run 400 meters, then as many pull-ups as possible;
• Round 3: Run 400 meters, then as many 95-pound sumo deadlift high pulls as possible;
• Round 4: Run 400 meters, then as many burpees as possible.

This was surprisingly fun (and not-so-surprisingly exhausting).

Despite my attempts to apply all the stuff I learned at last month's CrossFit Endurance running seminar, I'm not exactly quick on my feet. (I mean that literally, not figuratively.) So after finishing each quarter-mile run in each round, I didn't have much time left on the clock to crank out as many reps as I would've liked. But on the plus side, I knew I could dive headlong into the max-rep sets knowing I wouldn't have to keep up the pace for very long.

Result:

• Round 1: 17 thrusters
• Round 2: 26 pull-ups
• Round 3: 15 sumo deadlift high pulls
• Round 4: 16 burpees

Total: 74 as RXed.

It's always good to start the weekend flat on my back. And clearly, I wasn't the only one who ended up horizontal after the workout:

(In fact, M did this workout, too, as part of her first-ever CrossFit class.)

Wednesday's Workout

We were jumping around like jackrabbits today.

Strength Skill:

• Pistols (2 sets of 5, 2 sets of 3, 2 sets of 1)

Still a work in progress. Staying balanced on my left leg remains a challenge.

Metcon:

For time:

• 50 double-unders
• 1 sumo deadlift high pull
• 10 plyo box jumps
• 2 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 9 plyo box jumps
• 3 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 8 plyo box jumps
• 4 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 7 plyo box jumps
• 5 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 6 plyo box jumps
• 6 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 5 plyo box jumps
• 7 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 4 plyo box jumps
• 8 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 3 plyo box jumps
• 9 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 2 plyo box jumps
• 10 sumo deadlift high pulls
• 1 plyo box jump
• 50 double-unders

Full description and results here.

Friday's Workout

Last workout of 2010!

Strength Skill:

• Weighted Dead Hang Pull-Ups (3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 1)

Feeling rusty today. I started with just 20 pounds in the vest, but it felt heavy already, which sucked because I knew I'd be increasing the weight with every set. For my final one-rep set, I strapped on 50 pounds, but couldn't quite get my chin to clear the bar. If my neck was just a couple of inches longer, I'd be all over this.

I bet these ladies could rock some max-effort weighted pull-ups like nobody's business.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 400-meter run
• 20 sumo deadlift high pulls (with a 95-pound barbell)
• 11 handstand push-ups

My sumo deadlift high pulls were a bit wobbly, and I need to work on stringing together more consecutive reps of handstand push-ups. Also, my range of motion suffered as the HSPU reps increased; my coach had to put an Abmat under my head to help me scale this move a bit. 

Still, this workout wasn't bad at all, and I felt great afterwards (i.e., I didn't feel like collapsing in a pool of sweat and tears). Result: 13:36.

Monday's Workout

Back to work.

Strength Skill:

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

I'm slowly creeping my way back up towards deadlifting 2X my bodyweight.

Metcon:

For time:

• 400 meter run
• 20 push-presses (RX'd is 115 pounds, but I used a 95 pound barbell)
• 20 toes-to-bar (I did 'em strict, but want to try the kipping version the next time around)
• 20 burpees
• 20 sumo deadlift high pulls (using the same 95 pound barbell)
• 400 meter run

Result: 11:13.

Before starting, my goal was to avoid taking any mid-set breaks -- especially during the push-presses (I hate cleaning the bar up off the ground). I failed spectacularly, taking one break during the push-presses, one during the toes-to-bars, three during the burpees, and two during the sumo deadlift high pulls. Still, in the end, I think that breaking everything up into mini-sets of 5 to 10 reps was definitely the way to go. I doubt I could have finished this workout otherwise. (Even launching right into burpees immediately after finishing a long set of toes-to-bars was crazy-difficult; it took a few reps before the feeling came back to my hands and forearms.) By taking a breather here and there, the wheels never came off, and I still had some gas at the end.

Besides, as my coach proclaimed: "If you don't need to break up your sets, you're not lifting enough weight."

(Photo: Amber Karnes)

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.

Fight Gone Bad

So much for resting on the weekends. This is what I did today.

Fight Gone Bad is a WOD that also doubles as CrossFit's signature annual charity fundraising event. It started five years ago, and has since raised over $2 million. This year, the three nonprofits supported by Fight Gone Bad 5 are LIVESTRONG, The Wounded Warrior Project and the CrossFit Foundation.

And why's it called "Fight Gone Bad"? Because after finishing this workout for the first time, UFC champ B.J. Penn said: "That was like a fight gone bad."

Here's the workout: You rotate through five stations, spending one minute at each:

• Wall ball: 20 pound ball, 10 foot target. Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Sumo deadlift high pull: 75 pounds. Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Box Jump: 20″ box. Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Barbell push-press: 75 pounds. Each rep is scored as 1 point.
• Row: Your butt off. Each calorie burned (according to the monitor) is scored as 1 point.

Rest one minute, and then repeat the five stations. Rest another minute, and then repeat 'em all again. Three rounds in total.

The clock isn't reset or stopped between exercises; someone just calls out “rotate,” and you immediately stagger from one station to next.



Almost two dozen of us packed into our little CrossFit box for Fight Gone Bad (and for the post-workout birthday barbecue for Tim, our coach). Many of us dragged along family members and friends, too. I brought my kids (ages 2 and 5), who watched (with almost zero interest) as multiple heats of sweaty men and women jumped, rowed, and frantically heaved medicine balls and barbells around the gym.

You may not believe this, but my plan was to just watch everyone else pummel themselves with Fight Gone Bad. It's not that I didn't want to join in, but M's working this weekend, so I was supposed to be keeping an eye on the kids -- something I wouldn't be able to do if I were in the middle of a long WOD. But a few of the other adults volunteered to watch the boys, so at the last minute, I changed out of my khakis and into a pair of shorts and grabbed a score sheet.
I won't lie: Fight Gone Bad kicked my ass. I went into the workout hoping I could score at least 15 points per station, so my goal was to hit 225 in total. But by the time the third round started, I was running on fumes. Screw 225 -- my goal was just to finish without passing out in front of my kids.

In the end, I was happy to eke out 209 points -- and pleased that I did it without scaling down the difficulty of any of the exercises. (I stuck with the standard RXed weights for men.)

But the next time I do this? 225, baby.

Friday's Workout

Finally -- a (sort of) easy CrossFit skills workout!

At the friendly neighborhood CrossFit gym this morning, we worked on dead hang chin-ups by doing 3 sets of 5, and then 3 sets of 3. Thanks to months of chin-ups in various P90X workouts, this was a breeze. Noticing the ease with which I cranked out my first set, Coach T started adding weights. But even with a heavy dumbbell jammed into my crotch, this wasn't much of a challenge. I know the point of today's session was to develop neuromuscular connections and to master the technique, but three chin-ups per set are nothing compared with the high-rep sets in Chest & Back, Back & Biceps, and 30-15 Upper Body Massacre.

Thank you, Tony.

On the other hand, today's metcon was a killer:

• 10 ascending-rep sets (i.e., 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10) of Sumo Deadlift High Pulls

alternating with

• 10 descending-rep sets (i.e., 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) of Barbell Thrusters

Here's what a sumo deadlift high pull looks like:



I finished in 10:54, but I barely put any weight on the barbell (75 pounds). Also, the girl in my 5 a.m. class who usually SMOKES me in metcons finished over a minute after I was done, which leads me to suspect that I miscounted my reps/sets and ended up doing less than I should have.

Or she miscounted and did too many.

Or I am awesome. Which is highly unlikely.