I hit Steve's garage to see what the mad scientist of home-exercising had cooked up.
Not for time... just for pain:
50 cal on the AirDyne
Then three rounds, increasing weight, of:
3 squat cleans
20 weighted lunges per leg (We used 95, 115, and 125)
50 cal on the AirDyne
3x250m sandbag runs
Buy-out: 15 deadhang pull-ups, in as few sets as possible. I did them in sets of 10 and 5.
Thoughts:
-God, that AirDyne is an awful/amazing thing. Three minutes or so was a nice little sprint. The fact that Steve does 15 minutes on it regularly astounds me.
-My first time doing weighted lunges with a weighted barbell. Almost fell over a couple of times, and really had to concentrate to get through the last reps.
A. 3 Position Clean (Floor, Mid Thigh, high hang) 70% x 4
These were squat cleans, just to be clear.
I used 155 for the first one, and 165 for the last three. That's a bit higher than 70% of my one rep max, but you can blame Brad Fo for that.
The trick to doing the high hang is pulling yourself under it really quick.
B. “Metabolic Mania”
5 rounds:
1 min of Double unders
1 min of plank Push ups (start in plank position on elbows, walk hands up to push up position then back down to plank. Alternate hands that push you up)
Rest 30 seconds
Plank push-ups were horrible.
Going from memory, here's how each round looked like for me:
When I read this originally, I thought every round ended with a 1km row. Even though that would be an insane amount of work, it didn't occur to me just how insane. If I had taken some time to think about it, I probably would have stayed home. Fortunately, thinking too much is something I rarely do.
Even as it was written, this was a very gruelling workout. I was doing this by myself, as well. The gym was full, but it was Strength Club on one side and a youth soccer team doing a training session with Keenan on the other. There was also the Sask Weightlifting Association guys, who - if they had paid any attention all - would have likely been amused by my struggles to squat clean and jerk a weight they would consider an inadequate warm-up weight.
Ah, yes, the clean and jerk. Before starting, I had to consider was whether to Rx this WOD with the 185lb squat clean and jerks or go with the 155lb intermediate weight. My general rule of thumb is that if I can do it, I do it. I can do a 185lb squat clean and jerk, but that's a fairly heavy single for me.
I went with the 185lb, realizing that it would take a significant amount of time. I may have underestimated just how much. Doing those four reps in each round took more time than either of the other exercises, due to the lengthy breaks in between lifts. I just couldn't bring myself to get back to the bar. Because I was doing a squat clean, I wanted to ensure that I was able to do the lift without failing every time.
In the first round, it took me around two minutes to do the set of four. I think by the later rounds, I was taking more than three minutes, maybe close to four to do those same four reps.
The C2B pull-ups were fine. I split them into two sets at the start, three sets at the end. The burpee lateral jumps were okay. I was moving pretty slowly by that point in each round.
I finished the five rounds in 28:11.
It probably took me at least another minute, maybe more, to get strapped into the rower, and then I rowed the 1000m in 4:02.
Doing a relatively high number of somewhat heavy squat cleans isn't easy for me, but I think I could have shortened my breaks and finished this sooner. I should have also double-clipped the plates on the bar.
The mascot for Steve's garage gym. I'm not sure if that counts as a hook grip.
"The thought of having to pick that bar up again makes me sad." -Me, at the start of the second round. Or maybe the third. Whatever.
Steve Volke invited Rankin and me to his garage of discomfort (I can't remember... are we calling it VolkeFit?) for a Monday evening Volke Vikings workout.
The WOD was an adapted team version of the previous day's WOD at CFR. I was acutally sorry I missed out on Sunday, so I was happy to get a chance to do it. (Chalk this up to utter foolishness.)
3 rounds for time:
7 Squat Cleans (165/105) 9 Burpee Broad Jumps (we actually did them like this - broad jump, burpee, jump up to touch Steve's pull-up bar)
40 Wall Balls (20/14)
- 20 minute time cap
We started with a guy at each station and would rotate when the last guy had finished his quota. When this was originally conceived, I thought maybe we should have each guy keep going until the last guy had reached his quota. But Steve and Rankin did some warm-ups on the 165lb squat cleans and Steve informed me that my idea was fucking stupid.
Steve is a very nice guy, so he was more diplomatic about it, but he was right.
This was way tougher than it looks, even with the brief respite you got whenever you were at the burpee broad jump station.
By the time I got to the wall balls each round, I was kind of wrecked so there were plenty of breaks. I don't think I did any group of 40 in fewer than five sets, which is pretty bad. It worked out okay for Steve and Rankin, though, because they got a bit more thanks to my lagging.
We got finished in 19:47. Originally, I didn't think you'd need anything close to 20 min for this workouts, but if I had done this individually, there's a good chance I wouldn't have had the motivation to finish this before the time cap.
Afterward, I stopped by Starbucks to get my lovely wife a vanilla latte on the way home (because I'm sweet like that, yo) and my legs were so messed up I had to sit down while they made the order.
A minor illness, sick kid and other real-life stuff kept me out of the gym for close to two weeks. First WOD back is a classic.
"The Chief"
Five three minute rounds (one minute rest between) with an AMRAP:
3 Squat cleans (135lbs)
6 Push ups
9 Squats
At the start of each round, you start with the 3 squat cleans. I think we've done the "pick up where you left off" version in the past, too but since Aaron was the coach today, I'm going to assume without looking it up, that starting at the start of the sequence is the correct way to do it.
Leya did her best to correct my suspect form and shoddy footwork, and I actually had a couple of decent lifts at 185. Then the weight got heavy and I started spreading my feet way wide on the 205s. Got 'em up, though.
Squat clean 135-155-175 (3-rep PR)
2 rounds for time of:
1000m Row
30 Air Squats
15 Burpees onto a 45lb plate (guys)
We could have done a bonus third round, but I opted out, like most people. This was plenty.
I wanted to keep both my rows under 4:00. I was well under that for the first one, probably 3:35 or 3:40ish but was just over for the second one. Because the end was near, I think I completed the squats and burpees quicker in the second round, though.
A. Squat Cleans 3-2-1-1-1 then two sets of 2x85% of your one rep max
3x135
2x155
1x175
1x195 1x205 PR
I felt like there was maybe a bit more room at 205, but I'm really happy to get it.
I used 175 for the two sets of doubles at the end. My back was still a little stiff from the high-rep snatches on Saturday, and this movement aggravated that a bit on the first set.
Even though there was a little imaginary birdie on my shoulder telling me I should just skip the last set and avoid any chance of injury, I stupidly decided I needed to do it.
In fact, I would have to be a colossal pussy to NOT do it, wouldn't I? I mean, I should just quit CrossFit and make an appointment to get vajazzled.
Obviously, I failed on the second attempt and tweaked my back even further to boot. I'll probably have to sit out CrossFit until Thursday at the earliest, Because I'm a dumbass who doesn't pay attention to the warning signs his body is sending him.
But at least I'm not a pussy, right?
B. Handstand Push-Ups: 5-4-3-2-1
Done. I did them all strict, except for the set of three. I did those kipping, but I did extra to compensate.
“Klepto”
4 rounds for time:
27 Box Jumps 24″
20 Burpees
11 Squat cleans 145 lbs 26:23 rx'd.
Four rounds doesn't seem like much, but that is a lot of box jumps.
I actually sort of like WODs that have a lot of medium-weight cleans, because it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing a lot. It was sort of humbling to watch Anne-Marie, who is quite petite, busting out those box jumps like they were nothing.
“Elizabeth” for time 21-15-9 reps of: Cleans 135/95lb Ring Dips
Took me 12:49 as rx'd. Considering that's more than a nine-minute improvement over the last time I did this, I'm pretty happy about it. Basically, it's a result of me that me getting over my fear of 135-lb cleans following the strength work that I've been doing.
That's not to say there isn't room for improvement here. I still took too many breaks during the cleans and my ring dips could be better. But I'm in a really good mood (about this WOD and some other stuff not related to CrossFit) so I'm not going to dwell on the negative for once.
Speaking of negative, we also had to do a Tabata mash-up with pull-ups and 20" box jumps. Tabata is alternating exercises, 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest.
Here's how it went for me:
12 PLU rest 11 BJ rest 9 PLU rest 11 BJ rest 7 PLU rest 10 BJ rest 5 PLU rest 9 BJ rest 6 PLU rest 10 BJ rest 5 PLU rest 8 BJ rest 6 PLU rest 12 BJ rest 8 PLU rest 11 BJ
Total: 58 pull-ups and 82 box jumps for a combined score of 140.
Tabatas... they're just awful. 15 minutes after I was done the workout, I still felt like I might puke.
10 clean and jerks (135lbs, and the cleans are full squat cleans) 5 rounds of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats) 10 clean and jerks 5 rounds of Cindy 10 clean and jerks
As it turns out, that was the first day I was able to do unassissted pull-ups (I always thought it took me a few months to get those) and that was also the day I tore my hands to shit... which led to me wearing gloves and mummy-taping my fingers for a long time, which is the reason for the title of this blog.
Today, my time was 24:33.
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed in myself on this one. I really lacked some intensity this morning. I spent more time trying to figure out which shoes to wear than I did warming up and getting comfortable with the C&Js, and it showed in my shitty form. I'm not saying I should be getting a sub-15 minute time on this, but I could have shaved two or three minutes off of this.
Basically, from almost the beginning, I was in the "Let's just plod through this mode" rather than saying "I'm gonna attack this fucking workout like a pack of crazed dogs." I'm not going to blame the music this time, even though Taylor Swift was playing at one point, because Franz quickly addressed that situation.
Other ways I sucked:
-Resting too much in between reps on the C&Js. BrianB flew through his and actually looked back at me as he was going through his first round of five Cindys and said, "You only have to do 10." Yeah, I know. I just suck, alright?
-My squat cleans came around toward the end, when I remembered to hold my breath and keep my core tight. But there was a point earlier in the workout where I basically did a power clean, front squat, ugly push press/half-jerk hybrid.
-I apparently have forgotten how to do a split jerk. My push jerks felt and probably looked completely amateur.
-I took breaks during the squats in Cindy. I took a break during fucking squats.
Anyway, enough of me whining like a little bitch. Everyone's entitled to a less than stellar workout once in a while... the key is to figure out what made it shitty and fix that for next time.
I'm gonna take a rest day tomorrow and come back with a big fucking smile on my face on Friday.
Here's a video of some guys doing a Grindy, but with 3 x 5 rounds of Cindy, and only 2 x 10 C&J. They also only do a power clean, which makes me think that maybe we didn't have to do squat cleans. Oh well, a little more hard work never killed anyone. Check out the nice butterfly kips they're using, and notice that they're basically doing push presses.
Sometimes, you gotta get humbled by the CrossFit gods. This WOD combines two of my weaknesses into one neat little package. But I guess you can't get better if you don't try, right?
It took me 22:11.
I definitely wasted too much time between reps, especially on the cleans. I'd do one, ditch it, and have to re-psych myself up for the next one. I'm still a little freaked out by the 135lbs. Going in, I knew it was going to take me a long time, but I could have increased my intensity level. I'd like to try this again in a month or so.
This is one of those times I wish I hadn't looked on YouTube for an example video, because I see a bunch of dudes with 5- and 7-minute times.
Afterward, we had to do 6 x 15 Double Unders. The 15s had to be unbroken, or you start that set again. I managed to do them all unbroken. For people who did that, they then have to do a bonus set of max DUs. After a couple of "warm-ups" of 2 and 3, I managed 16.
Overheard at the Gym... Tyler, the last one to finish his workout, is the last one packing up to leave.
Franz: "Alright, get out of the gym. I want to get home. I've got a beautiful woman sleeping in my bed."
It's probably not an entirely healthy thing that one of the things I was most looking forward to about my first ever trip to Vegas was the chance to try out the CrossFit there.
CrossFit Las Vegas has a pretty sweet facility, probably about 5000 square feet. (Pictures later, once they're downloaded). The clientele that I saw there was a lot less demographically varied than what we have at CrossFit Regina. Most seemed to be in their 20s and 30s, and all seemed to be starting at a reasonably good level of fitness. Everyone was very welcoming and patient with me when I asked to take a few post-WOD group photos.
I was told they have around 130 members, which surprises me, given how big Las Vegas is, and this is the only official CrossFit affiliate there that I know of. Does everyone else train MMA or something?
The owner, Zach, definitely knows what he's doing and ran us through a good warm-up, which included a breakdown of each component of the squat clean. I liked this because when the time came to lose the PVC and pick up the actual weight, it seemed like second nature.
The workout was five rounds, for time, of 9 Hang Squat Cleans - 135lb is the rx'd weight, though I did 115. 7 Handstand Pushups - Most people used an abmat or two, I managed to do it to the floor with kipping HSPU.
11:00 was my time.
I am very much looking forward to going back, and any CrossFitters who pass through Vegas without stopping in for a workout are really going to be missing out.
Plus, doing a CrossFit workout helps relieve some of the buffet-and-beer-related guilt that Vegas begets.
This is basically a workout journal that I use to keep track of my workout results. I started Sissy Hands in 2009, a few months after I started going to CrossFit Regina. I find this is better organized and more convenient (for me, anyway) than a notebook. I'm under no illusion that this blog would be interesting to anyone else, except perhaps for the people I work out with.
These days, I work out when I can at B Squad Fitness , the Regina Boxing Club and OPEX Regina. I regularly do workouts with my buddy Nickin my basement or one of our garages. When motivation strikes, I also exercise on my own as a weird grunting loner.
I'm not an elite athlete or a certified fitness professional. I'm just a dude who learned that exercise had a place in my life, and then became less fat and weak than I was. However, I still binge on crappy food and skip workouts more than I should. Yes, I really do eat 7-11 nachos on a semi-regular basis.
If you came to this blog because you're a spambot, please achieve sentience and then die painfully. At the very least, don't leave a comment on my posts.
To see me write about stuff other than burpees and pull-ups, you'll have to follow me on Twitter
Annie: 8:04, (Feb. 24, 2012) Previous was 8:53 Angie: 22:25 (Nov. 18, 2009) Barbara: 3:39, 5:20, 5:54, 5:32, 5:28 = Total work time of 25:45 (Dec. 22, 2009). Previous was 26:44 total work time on Sept. 9, 2009 Christine: 13:40 w/185lbs (Aug 1, 2012) Cindy: 17 rounds plus 5 PLU + 10 PU + 4 SQ (Nov. 30, 2009) Diane: 10:47, with 185lb DLs and kipping HSPU (August 24, 2009) Elizabeth: 12:49 (August 4, 2010) Fran: 4:50 (Sept. 14, 2012) Previous 5:03 (Sept. 10, 2010) GI Jane: 18:25 (Sept. 29, 2009) Helen: 9:24 (Sept. 27, 2010). Previous: 9:42 (Aug. 31, 2009) Isabel: 6:45 (Aug 22, 2012) Previous: 8:16 Jackie: 8:16 (Dec. 12, 2011) Previous: 8:35 Karen: 8:15 (October 22, 2010. ) Previous: 9:55, (June 17, 2009) Kelly Overboard: 33:17 (Dec. 2009) Nancy: 15:47 (Nov. 11, 2009) Rhiannon: 420 (Dec. 30, 2014) Tabata This PLU, PU, SU, SQ: 333 (Dec 10, 2011) Petranek Fitness Test: 4:16(July 22, 2013) Previous 4:23 Filthy 50: 31:33 (July 2, 2012) Previous: 33:14 Fight Gone Bad: 318 (Sept 26, 2009) Previous: 291 (July 18, 2009), 256 (Sept 27, 2008) Bear: 130 lbs. (May 16, 2012) Tiger: 14 rounds + 5 DL + 1 HPC (Oct 20) 400m run: 1:17 (Nov 16, 2009) 800m run: At CrossFit Regina 2:57 (Nov 6, 2009), On puddle-spotted Usher track 2:55 (May 26, 2012) 1km run: 4:01 (Sept. 3 2010) Previous: 4:17 (May 15, 2010 - post-workout) 5km run: 24:55 500m row 137.7 (Oct. 18, 2011) 1km row: 3:30. 2 (Nov. 16, 2010) 100 calorie row for time: 5:34 (Oct. 10, 2015) Consecutive Kipping Pull-ups: 33 (May 4, 2010) Consecutive Deadhang Pull-ups: 16 (Nov. 9, 2013) Consecutive Double Unders: 98(Nov. 5, 2014) CrossFit Total: 705 (Dec. 7, 2009) Bench Press: 190x1 (April 7, 2015) 165 x 3 (Aug. 17, 2012) 155 x 5 (July 12, 2010) Deadlift: 315lbs x 1 (Dec. 7, 2009) 295x5 (Jan. 8, 2013) PowerClean and Jerk: 215lbs (July, 8, 2013) Squat Clean and Jerk: 205lbs (Jan 14, 2013) Power Clean 225 x 1 (Jan. 19, 2013) 205 x 3 (Sept 10, 2012) Hang Power Clean: 175x3, 205x1 (July 5, 2011) Squat Cleans: 185lbs x 3, 205lbs x 1 (June 11, 2012) Power Snatch: 165 (May 26, 2012) Hang Power Snatch: 135lbs x 3, 155lbs x 1 (Oct. 24, 2011) Squat Snatches: 135lbs x 3 (April 23, 2012) 150lbs x 1 (April 23, 2012) Back Squats: 280 x 5 (June 20, 2012), 290 x 3 (March 14, 2012) 300 x 2 (March 6, 2012) 310 x 1 (Oct. 25, 2012) Front Squats: 225 x 5 (Jan 10, 2012) 225 x 3 (May 11, 2011), 255 x 1 (Sept. 12, 2012) Overhead Squats: 165lbs x5 (July 13, 2011) 180lbs x 3 (Feb. 3, 2012), 190lbs x 1 (May 14, 2012) Push Press 190 x 3 (Jan. 8, 2013) 200 x 1 (Jan 16, 2013) Rack Jerks 195 x 2, 215 x 1 (Oct, 2011) Shoulder Press: 135lbs x 1(Nov 4, 2011), 130 x 5 (May 10, 2010) Weighted Pull-ups 55lbs x 2 Total Muscle-Ups (Lifetime): 32 (Most recently: 2 on April 23, 2015.) 30 Muscle-Ups, Vol. 2 Start Date:April 23, 2015
World-Class Fitness in 100 Words:
Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc hard and fast. Five or six days a week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
