"The Bear"

Five rounds of 7 reps of the following complex:
Power clean
Front squat
Push press
Back squat
Push press

No dropping the weight during a round, must touch and go.  Resting is possible, but the weight needs to be across your shoulders or thighs, in the rack position, or held onto in some other awful way. 

I partnered with Lance, which is a terrific way to feel inadequate. He didn't start to use substantially heavier weights than me until the later rounds, though when we were using the same weight, he made it look effortless 

I did it 75-95-115-130-95

With the Open WOD tomorrow, I was thinking I'd go lower than my PR of 130, but plans changed once I saw 125 on the bar.   

Honestly, this is one of the WODs I dread the most, and that's not gonna change. 

Mauled by "The Bear"

A. “The Bear”:
5 rounds of 7 reps of the barbell complex: Power Clean, Front Squat, Push Press, Back Squat, Push Press

Once through the barbell sequence = 1 rep, 7 reps per round. Add weight for the next round. Touch and go on the ground only once you start but you can find spots of rest where you can during the sequence.

My previous best for "The Bear" was 120, but I've felt for a long time I could do a bit more than that.  However, by the fifth set, I'm usually destroyed.  My plan was to go heavy in my third and fourth sets.

I did 95, 115, 125(PR), 130(PR), and finished with 95.  That final set of 95 was pretty damn hard.  I had mentally checked out by then, after getting a 10lb PR. 


B. 400m Run with Sandbag – 45/20lb 2 minute rest, Repeat

After killing myself on the Bear, this was awful, even if the rest between was longer than two minutes. 

1:55 and 1:57

.

The Bear and Weighted Pull-ups

I had another 5:40am conversation with myself this morning.

"You're awake. Get the fuck up and go to that 6am workout."
"Bed. Comfy. Warm. Tired."
"Don't give me that shit. You know damn well you can get up."
"I could go at noon."
"You always say you want to go at 6am, yet you hardly ever go. It will be a lovely start to your day."
"I was up past midnight last night."
"That's why scientists invented caffiene. Go. You won't regret it."
"But it's cold out there."
"Okay, now you're just being a pussy. Get the fuck up."


A. “The Bear” 5 rounds of 7 reps
1 rep = 1 each of:
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push Press
Increase weights each round.



75-85-105-115-120(PR)

Christian gave some good advice, which was not to increase our weight too quickly. I've felt for a long time that I could do more than my previous best of 115, but the Bear is really frickin' hard. Today at 6am, I just wanted to beat that mark, but not smash it.


B. Weighted Pull-ups 3-2-1-1-1


15-25-35-45F


***

Overheard at the gym:

"Now my family is me, a Japanese dog, and another dude."
.

"My Pet Rock"

Partner up and each person perform
3 rounds for time:
15 X Bear Complex -95lb/65lb
30 pull-ups
60 push-ups
400m run

The “pet rocks” are a pair of 45# plates for men, 25# plates for women. One partner holds the pets while the other does the exercise. You may switch when necessary, but they must not touch the ground. Pets hate to be left alone or worse yet dropped. If the “pets” are dropped or set down on the ground each partner must add 5 reps to the exercise they are doing.

Brief Rest

Partner Rutman Mile:
Pass the sandbag back and forth without touching the ground.

I originally did this WOD with Harlan like a year and a half ago and we only got through two rounds. It was awful, mostly due to the sheer volume of work and the requirement to hold those plates off the ground.

I've been wanting to erase the DNF off of my conscience for a long time, but the two or three times this WOD has come back up, I have not been able to go to CrossFit, much to Harlan's chagrin (although he did get paired with BrianB at least one of those times, so he actually traded up on the deal).

This time, I was able to make it, though Harlan couldn't come. Instead, I was in a trio with "The Yeast from the East" Kat and Leya. I basically did whatever Kat did at the same time as her, alternating work with Leya.

Due to a smarter way of holding the "pet rocks" off the ground (basically, squatting with the plates resting on our legs), this wasn't so bad this time. I mean, it was still absolutely awful, but it was something that we could deal with.

We were done the first part at 70:57

We rested a few minutes and headed out on the Rutman Mile. Because I didn't have a dude to partner with, I carried a 45lb sandbag the whole mile, rather than splitting the work on a 90lb sandbag. Kat and Leya split the work on their own. When we got back, the clock read 87:56

The Bear - Aw... F**K!!

The Bear calls for five rounds of seven repetitions of this sequence:
Power clean
Front squat
Push press
Back Squat
Push Press

It's not done for time. You go for max weight. The weight cannot rest on the ground, just touch and go.

I started with 95, and increased to 105, then 115.

Of course, looking across the gym at Blair and Shae tossing around 165 with ease made me feel like Kung Fu Panda on his first day of training with the Furious Five. Shae was shirtless and shoeless because, as he said, "I feel stronger when I'm naked." I guess he's eventually going to replace his gym shorts with a loin cloth.

Round four with 125 was going well and I had visions of 135 dancing in my head. Then I felt a strong pinch in my lower back. I ignored it and went down into my front squat in the sixth sequence repetition, and felt it again, worse, and knew that I had messed up what was apparently a still-healing back.

DNFF. You can probably guess what the other "F" stands for.