Back on the Horse

Other than going on a run* every other day while vacationing in Hawaii, I've been laying low to give my wrist the time it needs to recover. It's still not 100 percent, but there've been signs of improvement, and I've been slowly reintroducing some light barbell work in the past week. Last Friday, I did a workout at CrossFit Palo Alto that involved overhead squats (I used an empty barbell), and yesterday, I practiced light (very light) split jerks before cranking out "Helen."

For what it's worth, the OHS workout consisted of:

• 50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
• 20 overhead squats
• 20 toes to bar
• 50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
• 15 overhead squats
• 15 toes to bar
• 50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
• 10 overhead squats
• 10 toes to bar

It was my first workout in a couple of weeks, and I felt a bit more sluggish than usual, but was happy that I was able to get a barbell overhead without discomfort. Result: 13:03.

Yesterday's "Helen" was an eye-opener, though. Helen, as you'll recall, consists of 3 rounds of a 400-meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (24kg), and 12 pull-ups. In August of last year, I completed this workout as RXed in 10:14 -- a new PR. No such luck this time around. Instead, I finished in 11:23 -- more than a minute slower. I'd like to blame my less-than-healthy wrist, but the truth of the matter is that I'm de-conditioned right now -- I was out of breath sooner than expected and got a side-stitch for the first time in forever.

This doesn't feel good. I need to jump back into the saddle.

*One time, I went running with Michelle. Before heading out, I asked her if she wanted to grab a pair of earbuds and listen to music while we ran. She said no. "I want to talk to you while we run," my wife said. I shrugged and we began our run through Kilauea. Michelle spoke throughout our run, but the only words that came out of her mouth were: "I HATE RUNNING. I HATE RUNNING. I HATE RUNNING."

Catch Up

Crap. I forgot to post last Friday's workout. I wish I could blame it on work (which has, in fact, exploded recently), but I had all weekend to write. It just slipped my mind -- probably because I was busy teaching the boys to dance Gangnam Style.

Come on -- I know you want to watch it again.


Anyway...

Having been knocked down with a fever and sore throat for a solid week, I was looking forward to getting back in the gym on Friday. We practiced weighted ring dips  before the metcon was announced:

• 15 toes to bar
• 15 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 15 box jumps (20")
• 12 toes to bar
• 12 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 12 box jumps (20")
• 9 toes to bar
• 9 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 9 box jumps (20")
• 6 toes to bar
• 6 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 6 box jumps (20")
• 3 toes to bar
• 3 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
• 3 box jumps (20")

Forty-five reps of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans? My wrists started weeping before the workout began. I decided to stick with the women's RXed weight because: (1) I am weak, and (2) I am not altogether stupid.

Result: 11:05.

This morning, I returned to the gym feeling like myself for the first time in ten days. (My voice still sounds terrible, but I feel fine.) Good thing, too, because I love me some kettlebell snatches. We practiced until my arms felt like they were going to pop off, and then:

"Elizabeth"

• 21 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 21 ring dips
• 15 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 15 ring dips
• 9 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
• 9 ring dips

Remember how I said I'm not altogether stupid? Well, that means I'm still somewhat stupid -- which explains why I decided to do Elizabeth as RXed today. The last time we did Elizabeth, I used a 115-pound barbell -- a smarter move. Cranking out consecutive reps of 135 pound power cleans is doable for me...for about a dozen reps. After that, I had to eke 'em out in mini-sets of two or three.

(Clearly, my math skills are nonexistent. On Friday, I blanched at the thought of doing 45 reps of 115-pound cleans, and opted for 85 pounds instead. But today, I decided that 45 reps of 135-pound cleans sounded just fine and dandy. I'm an idiot.)

In the second round, I started no-repping. Twice, I failed to get my elbows down and around the bar fast enough, and ended up splashing the bar. Strange sounds started coming out of my throat.

On the plus side? All the ring dip practice we've been doing paid off -- I got through those fairly quickly.

Result: 10:28 as RXed.

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.

The Jerk Store Called

I'm all kinds of miserable living in this hotel. The bed is lumpy, the kitchen's the size of a shoebox, and I'm allergic to the industrial perfumes that permeate everything in the place. We've been staying here for almost a month, and we'll be here for at least another month yet.

One of the only times I feel normal? When the alarm goes off at 4:20 a.m. and I throw my stuff into a gym bag and head out to CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Jerks (3-3-3-1-1)

I love starting the day with my lifting shoes on. My final rep wasn't pretty, but I managed to successfully lock out with 155 pounds overhead -- a new (non-split-jerk) PR.

Metcon:

• AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
• 20 kettlebell swings (10 with each arm - 24kg / 16kg)
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 20 air squats

I shot out of the gate on this one, blazing through the swings and squats, and did my best to stay in the lead -- but ultimately, my less-than-efficient toes-to-bar technique slowed me down. By the fourth round, my grip strength was gone, and the Terminator shot past me. The guy is relentless, which is why I love the challenge of chasing after him.

Result: 5 rounds + 43 reps as RXed.

Friday's Workout

A lot can happen in two days.

Between Wednesday's workout and today's:

• We finished the Nom Nom Paleo iPad app after months of intensive work, and submitted it to Apple for review;
• I sat in a plane on the tarmac for an hour and a terminal for two hours before being told that my flight to Southern California (for work) was grounded.
• I was booked on another flight, only to be told at midnight that it, too, was canceled.
• I drove home and collapsed -- only to be jolted awake a few hours later by my wife, who had awakened to a the sounds of water gushing out from below our kitchen sink. Three-quarters of our house was covered by a half-inch of water.
• We bailed water like crazy.
• An emergency crew came over and started tearing out our hardwood floors and baseboards.
• We packed up our stuff and moved into a hotel. The insurance company has us booked here for a month.
• Oh, and Big-O had a Little League game.

I'm a little tired.

But I was looking forward to getting back in the gym so I could work off some of the stress I'd accumulated.

Strength Skill:

• Turkish Get-Ups (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3)

This morning, I didn't feel super-stable in my shoulders, and found my arm wobbling a bit. Perhaps my shoulders are still fried from Monday's and Wednesday's workouts, but then again, maybe I just need to get stronger.

Metcon:

AMRAP in 8 minutes:

• 21 chest-high kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 15 push-ups
• 9 toes-to-bar

The swings and push-ups weren't too awful, but my toes-to-bar were slow as mud. I need to figure out a better way to generate momentum at the finish of each rep; right now, I end up in a dead hang position, which forces me to initiate a big wind-up before continuing onto the next rep.

Result: 5 rounds + 1 rep as RXed.

I tried but ultimately failed to catch the Terminator, who ended up with 8 more reps than me. Such is the way of things, I guess. It's a comforting reminder that even when life throws you for a loop, some things never change.

On tap for tomorrow: The Whole9 Foundations of Nutrition Seminar at CrossFit Palo Alto! And another Little League game.

Monday's Workout

The boys were up all night crapping their pants. M knew I was still recovering from a cold, so she looked after our sick kids, generously allowing me to sleep through the worst of the ass-explosions so I'd be (relatively) well-rested for the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto. I know I don't say it often enough, but my wife is all kinds of awesome.

Strength Skill:

• Single-Leg Deadlifts (5-3-3-1-1)

I'm tightening my gut and keeping my hips down low. I'm pushing off my heel, and I'm keeping my head in line with my body. But I still suck at one-legged deadlifts -- especially when I do 'em while balancing on my left leg. I'd make a horrible evil one-legged space pirate.

Metcon:

2 rounds for time:

• Run 400 meters
• 20 ground-to-overheads (75# / 55#)
• 15 box jumps
• 10 toes-to-bar

This was reminiscent of this year's Open WOD 12.3 -- you know, the one that murdered me. Thankfully, today's version was a lot more sane, but it was still a kick in the pants.

I'd like to say I held back because I'm not feeling 100 percent, but the truth of the matter is that I simply got my butt handed to me. The ground-to-overheads weren't a problem (I did a mix of snatches and clean & jerks), but the box jumps knocked the wind out of me today.

Result: 10:12 as RXed.

CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.3: Bring the Pain

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

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

As I said before: Gah.

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

Monday's Workout: Home (WOD) Alone

M's in the middle of her week of night shifts, and without a sitter, there was no way I could (legally) leave the kids at home to hit the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto this morning. Silver lining: I got two-and-a-half hours of much-needed extra shut-eye.

Later in the day, Tim shot me an email entitled "Today's WOD" with a link to this video from CrossFit Central:

It looked awesome, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I had to do it.

Metcon:

• 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:

• Toes-to-bar
• In-and-outs
• Jumping lunges

After dinner, I tucked the boys into bed, took out the garbage, changed into some raggedy shorts, and set up a pair of homemade parallettes. By the way, here's a handy tip: If you're making your own parallettes with PVC pipe, use a racheting pipe cutter instead of a hand saw. I got one at Home Depot for $10, and it made pipe-cutting a lot easier (and less messy, too).

But first: Warm-up. I got my 15-foot Rogue climbing rope in the mail today, so after securing it to a rafter in the garage, I clambered up and down a half-dozen times.

I love new toys.

Anyway, once I got loose, I started a timer and got going.

The pull-up bar in my garage is mounted a bit too close to our washer and dryer, and I kept banging my heels against the door of the washing machine, but otherwise, the toes-to-bar were fine. The jumping lunges, too, flew by quickly. (They brought back not-so-fond memories of doing endless "Mary Katherine" lunges from P90X Plyometrics a bazillion years ago.)

The in-and-outs, however, proved more challenging for me. I'd underestimated their difficulty, or perhaps I'd overestimated my level of physical coordination. Either way, by the middle of the WOD, I found myself struggling to keep my legs and body straight once my heels hit the ground. But despite my wobbly legs, I kept moving, and managed to get through all the reps without stopping.

Result: 9:10 as RXed.

Friday's Workout: Feeling Chipper?

A long chipper today -- and I almost managed to complete it as RXed. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and not CrossFit.

For time:

• 100 air squats
• 80 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 60 walking lunges holding a bumper plate overhead (45lbs / 35lbs)
• 40 toes to bar
• 20 headless horsemen - a variation on kettlebell palm presses) (24kg / 16kg)

The air squats felt fantastic. I got through all of them unbroken, and quickly transitioned to the kettlebell swings.

The swings felt a little less awesome. Swinging the 24-kilogram kettlebell, I managed to only get through 25 reps before having to take a breather. After that, I didn't manage more than 15 swings in a row before having to set down the kettlebell and wheeze.

The walking lunges were exhausting. After the squats and swings, my legs were like jelly, and my brain turned to mush, too. I was keeping track of my lunges by counting backwards from 60, and with 12 left, Tim asked me which rep I was on. I tried to do the math in my head: 60 - 12 = ?

"51," I sputtered. "Uh, wait, no -- um, 48?"

The toes-to-bar weren't horrible, but then came the headless horsemen. I'd performed this movement in a WOD once before, back when I had a bad back. I didn't try the RXed weight of 24 kilograms that time, and I didn't think I could do so today -- especially after fifteen minutes of an ass-kicking chipper. On the other hand, all that stood between me and the completion of an RXed workout was 20 one-armed ground-to-overheads. How hard could that be?

Pretty hard, it turns out. I couldn't do it. After several attempts, I think I managed just one completed rep at 24 kilograms with my right arm, but I used my left hand to support the handle of the kettlebell. Clearly, the quest for RX today was going to be futile, so I traded in my kettlebell for a lighter one (I had a 16 kilogram kettlebell on standby) and finished the WOD. So close, and yet so far.

Result: 18:49.

Monday's Workout

I'm a little exhausted. Work has been crazy, and the holidays (and multiple birthdays in our family) have ratcheted up my stress levels. Vacation's still a week away, and my to-do list is as long as my arm. To top it off, M and I have been insanely busy cooking up some Nom Nom Paleo-related stuff. But I'm keeping my priorities straight: Come Monday morning, I'm at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (5-5-5-3-3)

My back's feeling fine, but given how I felt just a few weeks ago, I was much more tentative than usual. Rather than shooting aggressively for a new PR, I started light and stayed light, lifting just a fraction of my personal best. I'll eventually work my way back up, but for now, I'm going to play it safe, and settle for watching my classmates set new benchmarks. (Jake's new deadlift PR: 405 pounds!)

Metcon:

• Row 500 meters
• 50 air squats
• 40 Games standard push-ups
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 20 pull-ups
• 10 toes-to-bar

Despite my antipathy for the erg, the 500-meter row wasn't too bad. I quickly settled into a steady rhythm, and finished with enough pep in my step to get through the air squats unbroken. (High five!) The push-ups proved to be a bigger challenge; try as I might, I couldn't string together all 40 in a row. I had to break the last 15 or so into mini-sets of a few at a time.

The kettlebell swings weren't any easier, but I was determined to blaze through 'em. After 20 or so, I desperately wanted to drop the kettlebell, but didn't. I hit my goal of 30 swings in a row -- but as I grabbed the pull-up bar, fully intending to crank out the last two exercises, I realized that MY GRIP STRENGTH WAS GONE.

As a result, the pull-ups took a bit longer than usual, and so did the toes-to-bar. My forearms were on fire by the end of the WOD.

Result: 9:07 as RXed.

Later in the day, I popped into a local health center for a much-needed massage. My masseuse spent a good chunk of time on my forearms, kneading them with her (insanely strong) hands and knuckles.

"Your hands and wrists and forearms are all knotted up," she said. "You're spending too much time at the computer. Try doing some exercise -- it might help."

Haw, haw.

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.

Wednesday's Workout

Five a.m. feels like eons ago...

Strength Skill:

Zercher Squats (3-3-1-1-1)

I matched my PR of 215 pounds (from back in December!), though my attempt at 225 failed. When my ankle is 100 percent, I'm definitely going to give it another shot.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 400 meter run
• 15 overhead squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 10 toes-to-bar

I'm sick of not being able to run properly. Skipping is fun and all, but it's not the speediest way to get around.

Also, looking back, I wish I'd gone with the RXed weight instead of scaling down to 75. The overhead squats felt pretty good, and even though it would've taken me a lot longer to complete the workout, I'm confident I could have gone heavier.

Result: 12:02.

Friday's Workout: Slow Burn

M and I woke up late this morning. By the time we arrived at Kauai CrossFit after a long drive down the Kuhio Highway, it was a couple of minutes after 6, and Jerome had already begun leading the group through some light stretching.

Thankfully, we didn't miss any of the scheduled warm-up:

Jump rope for 3 minutes, and then three rounds of:

• 30 seconds of handstand hold
• 30 seconds of chin-over-bar (basically, a static hold at the top of a pull-up)
• 30 seconds of L-sit
• 30 seconds of mountain climbers

Yes, the warm-up was just 9 minutes long, but by the end, I'd already worked up a nice sweat. (Which, by the way, isn't hard to do while exercising outside in the warm, muggy air.)

Next: the main event.

Metcon:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

• 5 handstand push-ups
• 10 dumbbell ground-to-overheads (35lbs / 25lbs)
• 15 toes-to-bar
• 20 bent-over dumbbell rows (35lbs /25lbs)

I knew I could do all these movements using the RXed weights (i.e., a pair of 35-pound dumbbells), and I wasn't concerned about the toes-to-bar -- but I also recognized from past experience that the HSPUs would take me forever to finish. (And possibly cause facial hemorrhages to boot.) All of this was expected.

What I didn't expect was that the dumbbell moves would take me as long as they did. I especially struggled with the bent-over rows; although I have a vague recollection of doing similar exercises in P90X, I'm rusty. My form was ugly, and I stopped for more breaks than I'd like to admit.

During one of my breathers, Jerome walked over and shared with me that the original workout as listed on the Main Site was "an 8-minute AMRAP" incorporating similar movements -- not a 20-minute one. "But there's no way the other gym members would go for that," he continued. "So we threw this one together last night."

On the one hand, I REALLY wish Jerome hadn't told me that he'd extended the length of the WOD by 250 percent. But on the other hand, I felt like a badass (albeit a slow one) every time I flipped upside down against the wall to eke out another HSPU or five.

Result: 3 rounds plus 39 reps as RXed. I was the only person in our class to do this workout RXed -- but I was also the slowest. Ugh. I'm determined to do better next time, but I guess "next time" will have to wait -- we're flying back home tomorrow.

Nonetheless, mark my words: You'll definitely see both of us back at Kauai CrossFit again.

Friday's Workout

As part of our warm-up, the 5 a.m. class took a slow 400-meter jog while Tim wrote the workout on the whiteboard. When we got back to the gym, he was still writing. Even when the pen started running out of ink, he kept going.

Uh, oh. Not a good sign.

The gory details, after the jump...

The Two Final CrossFit Games Open Workouts

Which do you prefer: CrossFit Games Open Workout 11.5 or 11.6?

Here's 11.5, which is a 20-minute AMRAP of:

• 5 power cleans (145 lbs / 100 lbs)
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 15 wallball shots (20 lbs - 10 ft / 14 lbs - 9 ft)

And here's 11.6 -- 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.

Both look painful, but 11.6 looks like one helluva Super-Fran on steroids, doesn't it?

Monday’s Workout

My alarm went off at 4:20 a.m., jolting me out of a dream. And in that dream, I was blogging.

I need to get a life.

Today's WOD -- after the jump...

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

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

I love deadlifts (f.k.a. "Health Lifts") even though I'm still a few pounds shy of lifting 2X my bodyweight. And I love this tip on proper deadlift form.

Oddly enough, I struggled less with my final set than I did on my penultimate one -- despite having added more weight. The last set was almost easy, while the second-to-last made my right knee shake and buckle. Weird.

Metcon:

• 50 double-unders
• 5 rounds of:
  
  • 10 barbell snatches
  • 10 toes-to-bar
• 50 double-unders

After checking my workout log at the gym, I was surprised to see that in the eight months since I joined CrossFit Palo Alto, I'd never practiced snatches before. (It showed, too.)

On the plus side, I'm stringing together increasing numbers of double-unders. (Current PR, established today: 23 before getting tangled up in my rope.) Unfortunately, I'm still doing single-unders between each double-under, which is slowing me down significantly. I finished today's workout in 9:48, but Tim thinks I could have cut at least another 30 seconds off my time if I'd managed to eliminate the unnecessary single-unders. I agree -- but I have a feeling it's going to take a long while (and a ton of practice) before my double-unders even begin to look like this:

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)

Monday's Workout

I woke up earlier than I should have. Tried to go back to sleep, but just tossed and turned, still sore from Saturday's high-volume craziness. Finally, I decided to haul my creaky ass out of bed to try to work out the kinks.

Strength Skill:

• Cleans - 3 sets of 5, and then 3 sets of 3

I haven't practiced cleans in a couple of months, and they've never been my favorite, but definitely feel like my form is getting smoother and faster. My landings are (for the most part, anyway) nice and hard -- I love the solid THUNK! that resonates when the wooden heels of my weighlifting shoes slam into the floor. I don't know that I'll ever become a huge fan of cleans, but I'm happy that I'm not totally sucking at them anymore.

Metcon:

For time:

• Run 400 meters
• 24 Toes-to-Bar
• 24 Plyo Box Jumps
• Run 200 meters
• 16 Toes-to-Bar
• 16 Plyo Box Jumps
• Run 200 meters
• 8 Toes-to-Bar
• 8 Plyo Box Jumps
• Run 400 meters

I know some folks have trouble with toes-to-bars -- especially those with relatively shorter torsos and longer legs (and therefore less favorable leverage). Thankfully, I'm built like a typical Asian male -- stretchy torso, stubby legs -- so I can use the length of my core to quickly kick my little legs up for a ton of reps. Also, I don't weigh very much, and I've been diligently working on improving my grip strength (Captains of Crush, holla!), so I'm able to comfortably do two dozen toes-to-bars without having to drop off the bar.

As for the box jumps: I'm a jackrabbit. I love 'em.

Result: I kind of blazed through the toes-to-bars and box jumps. The running slowed me down a bit -- that's where having short legs doesn't help -- but I still managed a respectable time of 10:23. Not bad for an old guy!

Wednesday's Workout

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts

I'm getting closer to hitting my September goal of lifting 2X bodyweight, but I'm still 10 pounds shy.

Metcon:

4 rounds for time:

• 22 Wallball shots (14-pound ball, 10-foot target)
• 11 Toes-to-bar

Result: 7:29.

I wish our gym had a 16- or 18-pound ball -- the one I used this morning was a bit too light. Still, I'm glad I didn't pick the 20-pound ball. I don't have a problem throwing it ten feet up, but I'm sure that if I had to catch it 88 times, I'd end up looking like this: