CFR: Rockin' Robin

Warm-up 

30-20-10 of:
Bell swings
Sit-ups

Not for time.  I did each set unbroken.



WOD

"Rockin' Robin"

Three rounds for time of:
1 rope climb from seated
10 clean and jerks (135lbs)
100 double unders

I finished in 15:40

Judging from the other times on the board from today, I'm happy with this.     Most times were 20-plus minutes,  I wonder if that was due to some congestion at the climbing ropes? Or maybe they did a different WOD.

I didn't feel like I was going that fast.  Actually, I deliberately didn't blast through my clean and jerks on the first round, not wanting to burn myself out for the DUs and the rope climbs.

I finished the first round in about 4:00.

The second round was tougher.  I almost failed on the rope climb.  The clean and jerks felt like they took forever, and I think I had a couple of premature fuck-ups on the double unders. It took me more than 6:00 to complete the round.

I took a good 30-plus second rest before attempting the third rope climb.  I didn't want to climb halfway up and then fail, wasting energy and time.

The third rope climb went easier than the second.  The clean and jerks seemed to go faster, after Leya told me to not bother with the split jerk and just do a push jerk instead.  She also gave me a good tip about my breathing.  Basically, I was treating the 135lbs like it was 175lbs and it was slowing me down.

The double unders were okay.  I think I did them in sets of 36-34-30.

Family Day "fun" - Dotcom 7-rounder

7 rounds for time of:
1 Rope Climb (sub 10 Pull-ups)
10 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
15 Kettlebell Swings – 55/35lb
20 Double-Unders

Took me 21:48 as rx'd. That is not a great time, but honestly I'm happy just to have done it rx'd. It's the most rope climbs I've ever done in a single WOD.

I may have tweaked my back on a wall ball in the fifth round, but it doesn't seem to be serious.

Rowing Sprints

Row for 2 minutes x 5. Record distance rowed.

Rest 5 minutes between each two-minute sprint.

Funny enough, I've had this tiny little voice in the back of my head for a little while now and it's been saying "You don't row enough." Maybe that voice was Robin, because this is the second WOD that had rowing in it this week that I've done.

I don't particularly like rowing, Tyler's CrossFit Rule #1 is that if I don't like doing something, I need to do more of it.

So, yeah, rowing sprints. Not a particularly stellar bunch of results for my first workday noontime WOD, but that's what I get for stuffing my face with Christmas goodies for the better part of a morning.

1. 590m
2. 562m
3. 557m
4. 542m
5. 554m
---------
Total = 2805m

Oh, speaking of stuff I don't like doing, I did a no-hands rope climb as part of my warm-up. I'm going to try to do that more often.

Bench Press x 5, GHDs, Plank Hold, Rope Climb

Bench press 5-5-5-5-5

115-125-135-145(2)-145(3)

I am weak. WEAK!!

Max GHDs in a minute: 31

Plank hold: 2:32

Hands-only rope climb from seated position: 9 seconds.

Gearing up for the Games

Today, participants in the upcoming Saskatchewan CrossFit Games (co-organized by the Regina and Saskatoon affiliates) were invited to do two workouts, one at 9am and the other at noon, in order to begin to get used to what it's going to be like in a couple of weeks.

9am

Three rounds of:

12 x 115 lb overhead squats
12 x 24" box jumps
12 x chest-to-bar pull-ups

We were given a 15 minute time limit to do this, and each competitor was assigned someone to count our reps and make sure our form was perfect. I was lucky to have Ferrah do mine. She provided just the right amount of steady encouragement throughout.

The worst part of this was the overhead squats. Actually, getting the 115 lbs overhead with a snatch was very tough, so it actually probably helped my time in a way, because it made me more reluctant to drop it. The first set of 12, I was able to do all of the squats uninterrupted. Getting low enough without losing my balance was a big challenge. I did end up falling on my ass during the second set. Always fun.

Somehow, I managed to finish with a time of 8:18, which was the best time of the day. I attribute it mostly to Brad Flood being next to me. I was finishing my squats a bit faster than him, but then we'd move to box jumps and he was popping up and down like it was completely effortless. (Note to self: Do more box jumps) It was everything I could do to just try to stay ahead of him.

12pm

At 9am, all we knew about the noon workout was that it would involve a salt bag. I joked, "Hey, after the 115 lb overhead squats, a 45 lb salt bag will feel light."

I should have known better.

With two saltbags in an oversized army surplus duffel bag:

400m run (yep, carrying the 90 lb bag anyway you like, without using the straps).

30 clean and jerks with the bag. ("Grace")

Climb the rope and ring the bell (thankfully, not carrying the two salt bags with you.)

I was placed in the second heat, which means I had to count for one of the competitors, James, who's an absolute animal and one of CFR's most elite athletes. That's when it hit home just how frickin' hard this workout was going to be. James's weighted 400m run was faster than a lot of people's regular 400m time, but he looked like he was going through Hell on the C&Js. He finished in just over 10 minutes, which was pretty incredible. Here's a video of BrianB doing C&Js with the bag. BrianB is in awesome shape, so watching this should tell you how tough this workout was.


After ripping up my hand on a rope dismount a few weeks back, I wasn't thrilled about the idea of a rope climb. But after seeing how the other competitors did in the first heat, I figured that I probably wouldn't finish the 30 C&Js before the 13 minute time limit, so it wouldn't be an issue.

When it was my turn, I had a pretty good time on the 400m, but it was very tough to get any kind of speed on the C&Js. I was taking way too long between the reps, but James was very good at keeping me going, making me aware of the time and giving me advice on the best way to keep the bag jerkable. He said my form got better and faster as I got toward the end. Part of that was just me wanting to get done so I wouldn't have to do it anymore.

I finally got done the 30 C&Js at around 11:00, so it was time to climb the rope. I took a quick drink, chalked my hands, and got on the rope. If I was fresher, I would have tried it no-hands, but today I needed my feet, too. Although I'm not sure how much spreading my knees out bowlegged and pinching the rope between my feet really helped. When I finally got to the top, it took a fair amount of willpower to get one hand off the rope to ring the bell at 11:50. This time, I climbed down and emerged free of any hand trauma.

How much ya bench?

In my case, not much.

The WOD was 5-5-5-5-5 of bench presses, followed by five rope climbs and 50 leg pistols.

I had never done bench presses as part of a workout, but I knew that I can't lift a lot that way. Plus, my left arm has been a bit sore since Saturday's day of hell.

So, my lifts went like this: 95, 115, 125, 135, 140 (1). Oh yeah, I was partnered with Harlan, who was lifting 100lbs more than me.

Afterward, it was time to tackle the rope climb. I was a little apprehensive, because I'd only done it once before. That time, it really hurt my sissy hands and I think it contributed to a temporary arm problem.

The first one went fine. The second climb went even better, and I barely had to use my feet. I got to the top, rang the bell and it was time to go down.

There are two ways to go down the rope: You can drop (we have a crashpad, though it's not huge) or you can climb (which takes more work). The problem is, I'm both chickenshit and lazy. So my instincts l tried to slide down it like a fireman's pole. Well, obviously that is not something you do on a rough, coarse rope. Naturally, I skinned a good-sized chunk out of the meaty part of my palm, below my thumb.

Fuck.

Actually, it could have been way worse, so I got pretty lucky.

But I didn't get to the other three rope climbs, and it was getting late so no leg pistols, either.

Day 100 and "Deep Rescue"

Did you do your wall balls today?!

I was pretty happy when I walked into CrossFit Regina on Saturday, because I was finally going to get the evil Wall Ball Challenge monkey out of my closet.

It was day 100 of the Wall Ball Challenge. I don't know how many people started, but only nine people were still in it at the end. Back when we did the 100-day burpee challenge, the people who finished all got t-shirts. Robin asked me for suggestions as to what they should do for the WB Challenge finishers, and I suggested a banner with the names of the people who finished that will hang in the rafters at CrossFit Regina.

So, I thought the Saturday WOD would be us doing the 100 wall ball for time, and then something else afterward. And that would have been the case, if I had come at 11. I showed up at 10, and the workout for that time was positively scary.

Aaron was the trainer on duty and I can see how, as a firefighter, this workout would have appealed to him. It was called "Full Mission Profile - Deep Rescue" and was adapted from Brass Ring Fitness.

The workout involves a scenario that simulates us rescuing a group of youths caught in landslide and trapped in a mineshaft. The scenario included simulating getting to rescue site, bringing equipment, accessing mineshaft, and transporting patients.
Phase I - 1000m Farmer's Carry with 45lb plate (25lb women)
Phase II - 5 rounds of 15' Rope climb and 10 (L&R=1) Renegade Rows 35lb (25lb women)
Phase III - Deadlift a sum of 5000lb (3000lb women) ie. 50@100lb
Phase IV - 5 Rope Climbs (75 Pull-ups), then 1000m Farmer's Carry with 45lb plate (25lb women)

Had I looked on the website, I would have known that the Wall Ball Challenge finale wasn't until 11. But I didn't. Now, I could have decided that I wanted to save my energy for the wall balls, and come back at 11. But I don't think that would have been very CrossFitty of me. Kim Fe, the only other Wall Ball Challenger who showed up at 10 decided to go for it and I were partnered up. We agreed not kill ourselves trying to finish quickly.

Phase I - 1000m Farmer's Carry with 45lb plate
I thought the best way to do this would be to walk with the plate on my head, using my folded up shirt to pad. It was good for walking, but if you wanted to jog (which I guess we did) it didn't work that good. A 45lb plate is pretty awkward to carry while jogging, and my arms aren't particularly long. I was happy when this was done.

Phase II - 5 rounds of 15' Rope climb and 10 (L&R=1) Renegade Rows 35lb
I have done precisely one rope climb and it tore my hands and hurt my arm, so I thought I would do pull-ups. 75 pull-ups is a lot. Renegade rows involve you holding yourself in a push-up position, but with a 35lb weight in each hand. Instead up pushing up, you pull one weight to your shoulder, then the other. When you've done both arms, that counts as one rep.

Phase III - Deadlift a sum of 5000lb (3000lb)
This was probably the quickest phase. I did 38 reps of 135lbs. I think I did it in four sets.

Phase IV - 5 Rope Climbs (75 Pull-ups), then 1000m Farmer's Carry with 45lb plate
The pull-ups just sucked. I started off doing in bunches of eight or six, which quickly became sets of two and then ones. Around the 35 mark, I was able to re-discover my testicles and start doing fives again. Still, this took a hell of a long time. Fortunately, my sissy hands didn't tear, so maybe they're toughening up.

Nah.

The final Farmer's Carry, we walked, and I kept the weight on my head the whole time. I noted to Kim that in my pre-CrossFit days, if I had been in the area and I saw a pasty white guy walking around with a dumbbell plate on his head, I would not have thought it was an area in which I should leave my car unattended.

Our final time was 54:33. Aaron said, according to the scenario, about a minute later, the rescuers and the people they were trying to save would have been buried alive.

100 Wall Ball for Time

I served as a counter for my big German CrossFit lifepartner, Harlan. The guy did 50 before he needed a break, which is insane, and completed the whole thing in 4:03.

I was actually feeling pretty good, when it was my turn to do the wall balls. I can't really remember how many I did consecutively off the bat, but it was less than 30. I did have to take a few quick breaks, and I think Harlan was pretty generous when it came to judging which ones hit the 10-foot line. I only had to re-do one.

My last set, I think I did 17 in a row, which I thought was going to kill me, but once I got over 90, I didn't want to waste any more time catching my breath.

Final time was 4:43, which is a big improvement from the 6:20-something that I scored when we started this thing. Of the six people who showed up on Day 100, it was good for third place, behind Harlan and Nolan, who got an amazing 3:28 (something I wouldn't have believed possible).