Partner Grace & Helen / Parner Rhiannon

A. “Grace and Helen back to back…”


For time:
30 Clean & Jerks (135/95)

then:

3 rounds:
400m Run
21 Bell Swings (55/35)
12 Pullups

Only one partner can work at a time; all work is split. Partners do not have to run together, but no other work can be performed until the last partner enters the building.

I partnered with Nathan. 

For the 30 clean and jerks, I believe I did 13 of them and he did 17, so when we transitioned to Helen, I wanted to give him a bit of a break, so I did 15 of the KB swings in the first round and all of the PLU

Then I was bagged for the second round, so he did 15 of  the swings and half the PLU. 

For the final round, I did maybe 12 (?) of the swings and 7 PLU. 

We finished in 11:37


B. Partner Rhiannon

For shits and giggles afterward, we did 10 minutes of double unders. 

We ended up with over 600... I think 640-something.  Nathan did more of the work on this one, I think. 

What in the "Helen" am I doing here at 6am?

Every weekday morning,  I set my alarm to wake me up at 5:33am so that I might go to CrossFit for 6am.  Even if I hit the snooze button, I'm usually awoken around that time by the persistent yipping of my Yorkshire terrier, Yoda, demanding to be fed. 

He will not shut up and there is the implied threat that if I don't immediately respond to his demands, I will come down to my kitchen and find a puddle of canine piss on the floor. 

"What did you expect, human? I have NEEDS."

Working out at 6am has a number of advantages over doing so 12 hours later.  It frees up my evening so I can spend time with my family. The gym is never overcrowded, and I am able to focus better on what I'm supposed to be doing. There's a sense of camraderie among the hardy souls who get up that early to put themselves through whatever exercise hell has been programmed that day.  It's a beautiful time of day, especially when I walk out the door invigorated by the workout, breathing in the crisp morning air, with the morning sun shining warmly as the promise of a new day awaits me. 

Despite all this,  I get to maybe one 6am class every two weeks in the non-winter months when my job permits (some times of the year, I have to be at work at 7:45, with some prep work done at home beforehand, so those times are a write-off). and mostly because I don't go to sleep early enough

Today, though, I managed to get up, eat a spoonful of Nutella, and get to the gym in time to do a classic benchmark girl WOD...

Helen

Three rounds for time:
400m run
21 bell swings (55lb)
12 pull-ups

9:30. 

It's six seconds slower than my PR, but more than a minute faster than when I last did it just over a year ago. 

So that was a pretty good way to start the morning. 

Good news / bad news

A. Overhead Squats 3-3-3-3-3

185 (PR)


B. Benchmark Girl “Helen”
3 rounds for time of:
400m Run
21 KBS – 55/35lb
12 Pull-ups

10:39. That is about a minute and a half slower than my PR. Shows what 12 extra pounds and a winter without running can do.

Squat Snatch and "Helen on Water"

A. :00 Oly = 3 position Squat Snatch 65% (High Hang, Mid-thigh, floor) x3
Then Squat Snatch heavy single 1-1-1

Used 85lbs for the first part, then went 115, 135, 145(PR)

I didn't catch the 145 in a full squat. I was maybe about halfway there when I caught the weight. I completed the squat and then stood up. I'm fairly sure that I was closer to a pure squat snatch than I would have been during my previous PR.

B. :30 Metcon = “Helen on water” 3 rounds for time of
500m Row
21 Kettlebell Swings 55/35lb
12 Pull-ups

Took me 12:32. I would have liked to do everything without stopping, but that wasn't happening. Still, it's more than a minute better than the last time I did this (though I wasn't at 100% back then).

Overhead Squats / Rowing Helen

I am so pleased with myself for being able to avoid the temptation to hit the snooze button for the first time in two weeks and actually make it to CFR for a 6am WOD.

As it turns out, everything we were doing today was stuff I like.


A. OHS 5-5-5 starting with 81 per cent of one-rep max.

The best one-rep max I could find of mine was 165, so I started with 135. After the WOD, I found that in December, I did 3 x 175, so I probably should have started higher. But I've also lost some strength due to the baby-induced break from CFR and being sick.

135-145-160 (5lb PR, I think). The 160 should barely count, because I walked it out a bit on the last rep. Jeff said it counted, but he's a generous soul. As it turns out, I used just enough weight.


B. Rowing Helen
Three rounds for time of:
500m row
21 bell swings (55lb)
12 pull-ups

Took me 13:44. I'm sure I've done Rowing Helen before, but couldn't find a time. It was probably better than this. I've been away from CFR so much, my pull-up callouses had disappeared, so this was even harder on my sissy hands. With my reduced cardio, this kicked my ass. Norm said I sounded like a smoker, the way I was coughing and hacking during and after.

"Helen"

Three rounds, for time, of:

400m run
21 55lb bell swings
12 pull-ups

Took me 9:24 (PR)

I wanted to beat my year-old PR of 9:42 SO bad. I figured the key would be to attack each run with a sense of urgency and not waste time with unnecessary breaks on the swings and pull-ups.

That strategizing was all well and good, but what really got me through this in a hurry was having Leya right on my ass the whole time. There aren't many WODs I can match her on these days, as she has taken her dedication to fitness and nutrition to a whole other level (23 rounds on Cindy; I mean, that's just insane). However, Helen is short and stocked with runs and pull-ups, so it's as well suited to my strengths as any of the benchmark girls.

Tonight, every time I thought I'd opened up a bit of a lead on the runs, she'd come in and close the gap right up on the bell swings. I got so pre-occupied with wondering how she was able to do them so fucking fast, I lost count during the second round, so I may have done an extra one (I try to err on the side of caution).

Afterward, my forearms and grip were totally shot for close to 20 minutes. Thank God the feeling came back because I was starting to worry about how I'd drive home.

Deadlifts and "Chipper From Helen"

Back at CrossFit after a week off. The week off wasn't really intended, but I slept in a couple of times and missed 6am WODs. Taking a rest week wasn't a bad thing, as it turns out, but I was glad to get back there tonight.

Did max deadlift singles. For me, it went like this:

285 lbs (PR)
300 lbs (PR)
305 lbs (PR)

I need to get stronger. I wish I could figure out a way to join strength club, but it's only open to unlimited members and evenings are pretty tough anyway.

The worst part about the deadlifts wasn't my inability to lift any more weight off the ground. It was the fact that we had to listen to that crap Miley Cyrus song, "Party in the USA" which is the last thing you want to hear when trying to pick heavy things off the ground. I rant further here.

Then it was time for "Chipper From Helen":

1200m run
63 55lb bell swings
36 pull-ups

The run went really good. I wasn't really sure how to pace myself, but I never got tired and finished it under 5:20.

Bell swings, I did 35-15-13.

Pull-ups, I would have liked to sting together a few more at the start but I only did 12-9-5-5-5.

Time was 10:22.

Better than I expected. Still have some work to go to match machines like Chris T, Nick, and Franz, who were all sub-10.

I love both pizza and CrossFit, but...

...watching this almost made me hurl.

"Hands Off Helen"

I've been having these weird pains, first from my right arm and then from my left, mostly in the biceps and triceps. So I've rested since Tuesday, and did a workout that didn't involve arms today.

"Hands Off Helen"

For time, three rounds of:
400m run
21 GHD sit-ups
12 24" box jumps

My time was 11:46.

I used to do GHDs as part of my warm-up, until I did a stupid, self-designed workout that involved 150 of them and fucked up my back for a couple of months. I need to re-introduce them into my routine, because they were way harder than they should have been here. My box jumps sucked, too.

Deadlifts/"Helen"

Deadlifts 1-1-1

255-275-285 (f)

Fuck.

I like to think that I could do a bit more than that, but my right hip wasn't in the mood. I'm amazed that there are gals at Crossfit Regina who can deadlift 400lbs. Hell, Brad Flood did more than that tonight, and he probably weighs 15 lbs less than me. So jealous.

Helen:

Three rounds for time of
400m run
21 55lb bell swings
12 Pull-ups

9:42 as rx'd. When I went in tonight, I was hoping to get less than 12 minutes, but sub-10 seemed like a pipe dream. I took almost four minutes off my time from when we did it in April. I'm very happy with that. Thanks to Harlan and Franz for yelling at me.

Before I get all proud of myself, here's a video of Calgary-based world-class CrossFitter "OPT" getting a sub-7 minute Helen.



Fuck.