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.

Scoreless

I don't think I've ever done a workout at CrossFit Palo Alto that hasn't been scored -- until today.

Here's what we did:

4 rounds of:

• 3 minutes to complete a 12-calorie row, 10 overhead kettlebell swings, and 10 ring dips; and
• 3 minutes to complete a 12-calorie row, 10 wallballs (I did thrusters instead), and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups.

The faster you crank 'em out, the more rest you get before the 3 minutes are up. And going balls-to-the-wall obviously yields a more intense interval workout. But after the first couple of rounds of this 24-minute workout, I finally figured out that it probably made more sense to pace myself, and to strike a better balance between speed and form. Knowing there was no score to target made it easier for me to focus on what I was doing.

But to be honest, I was still trying my damnedest to finish as fast as possible.

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...

Bottoms Up

I'm still here.

This past week has passed me by. I've been meaning to post, I've been busy with the kids while Michelle was at the 2012 Weston A. Price Foundation Conference. Blogging is fun and all, but so is running around the house playing Batman versus Iron Man and singing Weird Al Yankovic tunes at the top of our lungs.

Anyway, here's the latest rundown on my gym activities.

Friday

Strength Skill:

• Bottoms Up Kettlebell Cleans (5-5-5-5-5-5, one set every 3 minutes)

The rest of the class continued working on barbell cleans, and I wish I could've joined 'em. I've been feeling sharp pangs of envy whenever I watch other people practice cleans. So I did my bottoms-up kettlebell cleans in the back of the gym, and tried my best not to watch my classmates heave their barbells around.

Metcon:

• "Jackie" - for time:
• Row 1,000 meters
• 50 thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 pull-ups

It's only been a few months since we last did "Jackie," though this time around, I wasn't able to do the thrusters with a barbell. Instead, to ease the pressure on my wrist, I did double kettlebell cleans and presses, which approximated -- but didn't equal -- the experience of thrusting the barbell overhead.

Jackie still wrecked me (per usual). But the first squat after getting off the erg is the hardest, and once I pushed through the KB cleans and presses, the pull-ups went fairly quickly.

Result: 8:22 -- significantly faster than my 9:51 from June, but I did it RXed that time.

Monday

Strength Skill:

• Back Squats (3-2-1-1-1-1)

I was happy to hit a new PR at 245 pounds -- though I suspect I had some left in the tank.

Metcon:

• 21 burpees
• 21 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 21 Abmat sit-ups
• 15 burpees
• 15 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 15 Abmat sit-ups
• 9 burpees
• 9 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 9 Abmat sit-ups

Pretty straightforward stuff -- and a workout I didn't have to modify to accommodate my wrist injury! (Well, I did have to do the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists, but that doesn't really count, does it?)

The overhead kettlebell swings slowed me down a bit. Seventy pounds is half my bodyweight, and every time I swung that iron ball, it threatened to pull me off my feet.

On the plus side: No Abmat ass-crack rash!

7:49 RXed

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?

Friday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Handstand Pushups (5-5-5-5-5)

For me, strict handstand pushups are a funny thing: I can do 'em...until I can't. Usually, in a HSPU-centric metcon, I'll be humming along just fine, stringing handstand pushups together, and then suddenly hit a wall. Once that happens, I'm lucky if I can perform two reps in a row.

I know that kipping HSPUs are supposed to help give that extra oomph! needed to push through those situations, but I've found that when I tuck both knees to my chest, I tend to lose my balance and come off the wall entirely. Today, though, Tim demonstrated a one-legged kip, keeping the other leg up and against the wall. I gave it a shot, and it worked like a charm.

I'm looking forward to trying a one-legged kip the next time HSPUs show up in a metcon -- just to see if it makes a difference.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:

• 5 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 5 bar-hopping burpees

I could've sworn someone kept adding weights to my barbell between rounds. Damn, those thrusters were heavy.

Result: 4 rounds + 17 reps at 115 pounds.

Wednesday's Workout: "Daniel"

It's strange, but I have no recollection of doing the "Daniel" Hero WOD before yesterday. But according to my blog, we did Daniel at CrossFit Palo Alto on July 4th of last year, and finished in 20:22. I must've either: (1) blocked it out because it was so traumatic, or (2) forgotten about it because I'm getting absent-minded in my old age.

Here's what the workout looks like:

• 50 pull-ups
• 400-meter run
• 21 thrusters (95 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 800-meter run
• 21 thrusters (95 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 400-meter run
• 50 pull-ups

I didn't make it to the gym at 5 a.m., but showed up for the noon class, where I was joined by two other hearty souls with no July 4th lunch plans. After warming up, we set up our barbells and got to work.

My first 50 pull-ups went fine. I did 30 in a row, and then broke up the remaining reps into sets of 10 and 10. And the first 400-meter run wasn't too bad, either. I finished the first set of thrusters without much trouble.

But as I finished the 800-meter run and started cranking out my second set of thrusters, the fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. My quads and hammies were burning, and I had difficulty ripping out more than 4 or 5 thrusters at a time. And when I headed out for the final 400-meter run, I was reduced to shuffling slowly out the roll-up door. Yeesh.

The 50 final pull-ups at the end were a sight to see. I think I did the last twelve as singles; not surprisingly, it took forever to get through them.

Result: 21:11 as RXed -- 49 seconds slower than last year. 

Crap.

Wednesday's Workout

Why did I hold off on posting about yesterday's workout?

(a) I was busy

(b) It kind of slipped my mind

(c) I was embarrassed by a subpar performance at the gym

(d) All of the above

(p) :ɹǝʍsuɐ

Yes, it's been crazy busy around these parts lately. There's been a flurry of activity at our house this week, with all of our furniture and belongings moved into storage and the floors sanded and finished. Work has been insane, with multiple projects and lawsuits exploding. Big-O's going into surgery in a few days. I'm assisting Michelle with the Nom Nom Paleo side of things. And we're still stuck in a hotel.

It was a relief to escape to CrossFit Palo Alto at the break of dawn yesterday for some me-time.

Strength Skill:

• Front Squats (3-3-1-1-1)

I went for a PR...and failed. What's funny is that my first four sets of front squats felt almost too easy. My penultimate set was at 195 -- 10 pounds below my PR of 205 -- and it didn't feel like much of a struggle. So for my final rep, I thought I'd shoot for 210. 

And I had to dump the barbell.

For a split second, I contemplated giving it another shot, but by then, Tim had written the day's metcon on the board.

Metcon:

"Jackie" - for time:

• Row 1,000 meters
• 50 thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 pull-ups

I was first off the erg, but I had two knots in my quads, and spent too long rubbing my thighs and staring at the barbell before I got started with the thrusters. Then, instead of just powering through the lifts, I kept setting the bar down to catch my breath. Although the pull-ups went (relatively) smoothly, I'd already wasted a ton of time standing around, doing nothing.

Result: 9:51 as RXed. Utterly shameful, considering that I did Jackie 45 seconds faster last time. Ugh.

Deja Vu All Over Again

I love that the final workout of this year's CrossFit Games Open was identical to that of the final workout of last year's open:

A 7-minute ladder of:

• 3 thrusters (100 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 6 thrusters (100 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 9 thrusters (100 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 12 thrusters (100 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 15 thrusters (100 lbs / 65 lbs)
• 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• ...and so on until time runs out. You get the idea.

When I did this Backwards Super-Fran last April, I eked out just 60 reps, and didn't expect to do much better this year. In fact, I didn't expect to do this workout at all.

The CrossFit Palo Alto community's been doing the Open workouts together every Saturday at 1 p.m., but Big-O's Little League season opener was scheduled for the same time. And although I've thoroughly somewhat enjoyed getting my butt handed to me by the Open WODs, I have my priorities straight. (Usually.)

So yesterday, after packing down a big bacon, spinach, and mushroom scramble and a couple of cups of coffee, I packed the kids in the car, and got ready to watch a bunch of first- and second-graders slide around a muddy field for a couple of hours. (It had been raining, but according to the city's Little League rainout hotline, the games would go on as scheduled.) 

But of course, the game was canceled by the coaches upon our arrival. I don't think anyone wanted to spend an afternoon in the rain. 

So I turned the car around and drove to the gym to watch people do 12.5. But when I got there, I knew there was no way I could resist joining the fun, even though I was dressed in a button-down shirt and a pair of slacks. Thankfully, I keep a pair of Oly shoes at the gym and a do-rag in the car. I rolled up the cuffs of my pants, took off my button-down, pulled on my lifting shoes, and threw my lucky sweat rag on my head.

I was ready to go.

Result: 64 reps. In other words, I'm still terrible at this. I took too many breaks, I'm still way too weak, and I completely lost my chest-to-bar pull-ups by the end. But with minimal warm-up, a churning stomach full of food, and a pair of dry-clean-only pants on, I managed to beat my score from last year by a few reps. Progress!

(Honestly, I'm just happy I didn't vomit all over the barbell.)

Monday's Workout

A good day. After practicing snatches (5-3-3-1-1), we were treated to Fran:

For time:

21-15-9

• Thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Pull-ups

Last April, I finished Fran in 6:32 (and in August, hampered by a groin injury, I did it in 6:56). We don't encounter Fran very often, so I reallyreallyreally wanted to establish a new personal best.

The first round was awesome. I got through all 21 thrusters without pausing, and despite my forearms catching on fire, I made it through the pull-ups without any problems either. But after a couple of thrusters in the second round, I had to drop the barbell and take a breather. My legs felt like they'd been smashed with a two-by-four.

In the end, Fran wrecked me -- I had trouble getting up off the floor afterwards -- but I PRed by more than half a minute today! Of course, there's plenty of room for improvement: I took too many mid-set breaks, and I'm pissed off that I failed to clear my chin over the bar on my final pull-up of the workout. By forcing myself to re-do the rep, I missed my shot at finishing under 6 minutes. There's always next time, I guess.

Result: 6:00 as RXed.

(Bonus: This afternoon, I dropped by the Firehouse -- Tim's workout space away from CrossFit Palo Alto -- and learned to climb a rope. I've now decided I want need one for my garage.)

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

It was freezing cold this morning, but I got warm fast.

Strength Skill:

• Thrusters (5-5-3-3-1)

I paired up with Jay today, and managed to work my way up to 135 pounds (my bodyweight). Still, I didn't match my previous PR -- and I think I had a bit left in the tank. I guess we'll see how much I can put up next week. Jay's looking strong, too -- it was his first day back in a while, but he got a lot of weight overhead.

Metcon:

4 rounds for time:

• 250-meter row
• 10 Games-standard push-ups
• 10 box jumps (20")
• 10 deadlifts (225lbs / 155lbs)

A few months ago, I decided to stop pushing myself to go RXed on heavy, high-rep deadlift WODs. Back in August, I cranked out close to 50 deadlifts at 245 pounds during a metcon, and literally saw stars. I wrote that I was "damned proud" of finishing the workout in under 25 minutes -- but that was before my back seized up. And then in October, after chasing a deadlift PR, I tore a muscle in my lower back. I love deadlifts, and I want to work at getting at them, but right now, I need to be smart about this. I can still challenge myself with a gut-puncher of a workout without going RXed and possibly putting myself out of commission -- right?

Well...I can't say I wasn't tempted to put 225 pounds on the barbell today. I think there's something wrong with me.

Thankfully, I snapped out of it. I put on 165 instead, figuring that the rowing would be bad enough.

And it was.

On the plus side, I got through everything unbroken. On the minus side, I still felt like I'd been hit by a truck afterwards.

Result: 9:54.

Monday's Workout

Let's get right to it.

Strength Skill:

• Thrusters (5-5-5-3-3)

I stuck with relatively light weights today -- I'm no Danny Nichols -- but I was happy to work on my form. It's been a half-year since we worked on thrusters as a strength skill, and I certainly need the practice. I'm feeling a little rusty. Maybe I'll spend some time this week working on thruster mobility. Then again, maybe I'll just get more sleep.

Metcon:

"Helen" -- 3 rounds for time:

• Run 400 meters
• 21 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 12 pull-ups

I hung back on the first 400-meter run, figuring I'd conserve some energy for the later rounds. Big mistake. Even though I got through all the kettlebell swings and pull-ups pretty much unbroken (until the final round, when I lost my grip on the pull-up bar with a few reps remaining), I didn't PR. We've done Helen many times before, so I should've remembered that this WOD's a relatively short one; there's no point in leaving gas in the tank.

Even worse? I've made this same mistake before.

Result: 10:15 as RXed. Faster than my previous Helen time, but slower than the first time I did it (albeit scaled). Hopefully, I'll remember to go all-out from the start next time.

Tired. Must. Go. To. Sleep.

Friday's Workout

Ouch.

For time:

• 30 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• Run 1 mile

"Go heavier than your Fran weight," Tim called out as we got ready. "Challenge yourself. These should be heavy enough that you can't go unbroken for more than five reps."

So I did as he said -- but just barely. Instead of my Fran weight of 95 pounds, I threw two teeny-tiny change plates on the bar and went all the way up to 105. Hey, as far as I'm concerned, Fran is enough of an asskicker.

I got through the first eight thrusters just fine, but as expected, the rest came in sputtering mini-sets of just a few reps at a time. And certainly, I wouldn't have won any points for style or technique. But I got through 'em, and the run in the frigid morning darkness was almost an afterthought.

Result: 13:52.

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: "Jackie"

I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon mashed into an uncomfortable chair in an auditorium, watching my six-year-old (and dozens of others) perform at his martial arts studio's annual black belt show. My kid was onstage for two short segments, each lasting about a minute. Those couple of minutes were fantastic; I love watching my little man confidently punch and kick his way across a stage. But for the remaining 118 minutes of the kung fu recital, my mind was focused on the fact that the ache in my injured lower back was worsening. The longer I was scrunched in that chair (with my three-year-old squirming on my lap), the more miserable I got.

Interestingly, my back didn't feel better until 5 a.m. this morning, when I staggered into the gym, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and started foam-rollering the hell out of my back muscles. Finally, I felt the tension ease, and after joining the rest of the class for a low-impact warm-up (no awkward cartwheels today!), my back started to feel a whole lot looser.

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1-2-3-1-2-3)

No point in (further) destroying myself today. I stuck with a 1 pood kettlebell for my TGUs. They felt pretty solid, and even with a few minutes of rest between sets, I finished relatively quickly.

Metcon:

"Jackie" - For time:

• Row 1,000 meters
• 50 barbell thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 30 pull-ups

I've done Jackie twice before, but the last time was over a year ago, and frankly, I have no recollection of these previous attempts. Tim asked me my PR on Jackie, and I shrugged.

This didn't look too bad, I thought as I scrutinized the whiteboard. The rowing would be miserable, but if I paced myself, I'd be fine. Doing thrusters with an empty bar seemed easy enough. And pull-ups are fun! If I pulled a leisurely 4-minute 1K row, I figured I'd need just another 4 minutes -- tops! -- to get through the light thrusters and pull-ups.

I was wrong. As usual. The only one of us at 5 a.m. who finished in less than 8 minutes was the Terminator (of course).

If I'd consulted my blog archives (see? they come in handy!), I would have seen that in July of last year, I finished Jackie in 10:03, and in September, I finished in 9:28. And perhaps I would have remembered how my legs turned to jelly right after stumbling off the erg, and how even 45-pound thrusters feel horrible when my thighs are on fire. Or, for that matter, how the thrusters were more than enough to fry my arms and make 30 unbroken pull-ups nothing more than a pipe dream.

On the plus side:

• I managed a new PR (I finished in 9:07 as RXed), and
• During the workout -- and for about two hours afterwards -- my back felt awesome. I didn't even need to spray Old School Horse Rub on it.

Sadly, once I came home and got the kids dressed, fed, and off to school, my back turned back into a pumpkin and started aching again.

Wednesday's Workout: Appetite for Destruction

I don't know why I thought I could finish "Coe" as RXed within the 20-minute time limit this morning. When Tim wrote the workout on the board, I knew it was going to be an butt-kicker, but I was eager to give this a shot.

10 rounds for time:

• 10 thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs) 
• 10 ring push-ups 

As I loaded the barbell, I thought to myself: This can't be much worse than back-to-back Frans, right?

Sadly, I misjudged how much of a punch in the face this Hero WOD would turn out to be. By the third round, I already found myself physically unable to perform more than 3 or 4 thrusters or ring push-ups at a time. The ring push-ups were particularly -- and unexpectedly -- tough. With the rings just an inch or so off the ground, the added instability required the recruitment and activation of a whole 'nother set of muscles (that I don't appear to possess).

When my 20 minutes were up, I wasn't even halfway done with my ninth round. I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach.

Result: In 20 minutes, 8 rounds + 4 reps as RXed.

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.

Wednesday's Workout

Woke up feeling tired but happy. Last night’s tasty dinner at Marlowe with M and the kids might have had something to do with it. Plus, I’m just one day away from driving down south for the CrossFit Games. (Y'all are going to be there, too, right?)

Strength Skill:

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

I worked my way up to a 53-pound kettlebell, but my left leg still feels substantially weaker than my right.

The women’s class at CrossFit Palo Alto is starting a pistol challenge in August: Each member is picking a doorway in their home, and every time they pass through it, they have to grab the doorframe and crank out an assisted pistol with each leg. I think I’m going to do it, too. My left leg certainly needs the practice.

Metcon:

For time:

• 12 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 50 double-unders
• 10 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 40 double-unders
• 8 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 30 double-unders
• 6 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 20 double-unders
• 4 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 10 double-unders

I didn’t have much trouble with the double-unders today. I was facing Kyle during the WOD, and it helped to try to match his cadence. (He’s crazy-good at double-unders.)

The thrusters, on the other hand, were another story. At first, everything seemed fine. I went with just 105 pounds (rather than the RXed 135), and the first round felt great; my punch-outs at the top were pretty strong, and I managed to finish the first nine or ten reps without pausing. But completing my first 50 double-unders and heading back to the thrusters, I hit a wall. I wasn't able to bust out more than three or four thrusters at a time without dropping the bar. And towards the end, I found myself taking them one or two at a time.

Who knew that thrusters and double-unders could combine to form such a potent punch to the guts?

Result: 13:09.

Wednesday's Workout: 5-4-3-2-1

After missing Monday's class, it was good to get back in the gym this morning.

Strength Skill:

• Pistols (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

I love practicing pistols (a.k.a. one-legged squats). This deceptively simple movement forces us to work simultaneously on a number of physical skills -- including balance, coordination and flexibility -- and the full-body-tightness/control required is considerable. The deep butt-cheek soreness notwithstanding, I always feel great after a few sets of pistols.

Sadly, my left leg's still much weaker than my right. Pistols highlight my strength imbalance like nothing else. Clutching a kettlebell as a counterweight helps, but I clearly need to spend more time squatting with my left leg.

Metcon:

• 5 minutes of overhead kettlebell swings (70/53)
• 4 minutes of pull-ups
• 3 minutes of barbell thrusters (45/35)
• 2 minutes of Abmat sit-ups
• 1 minute of push-ups

Total up all the reps to arrive at the final score.

This WOD's the same as one that Bob, Jason and I did in March (except that when the three of us tested this out last time, we did 3 minutes of push-ups and 1 minute of thrusters instead). I used a 53-pound kettlebell that day, and my score was 238 total reps (77 swings + 53 pull-ups + 55 push-ups + 35 sit-ups + 18 thrusters).

Although I've recently been getting used to swinging a 70-pound kettlebell, I grabbed the 53-pounder today to see how I'd match up against my previous score.

So how'd I do today?

• Kettlebell swings: 94 reps
• Pull-ups: 54 reps
• Thrusters: 30 reps
• Abmat Sit-ups: 38 reps
• Push-ups: 22 reps

Total score: 238. In other words, I got the EXACT SAME SCORE.

I was happy that I ripped out a lot more kettlebell swings than the last time around (though I'm now convinced that 53 pounds is no longer heavy enough), and that I beat my previous marks in pull-ups and Abmat sit-ups, too. But switching around the thrusters and pull-ups didn't agree with me. I struggled mightily with the thrusters, and had to set down the bar after every five reps. And the push-ups were pure agony. In the end, everything evened out; while I got better and faster with some movements, I totally disappointed myself on some others.

The glass-half-full part of me wants to call this consistency. The glass-half-empty part of me wants to call this a plateau. I'm not sure which half of my brain to believe.