Double Under Challenge Done

My back is still feeling "Christine" but, given that tonight is New Year's which means I may not feel like working out tomorrow due to excessive drinking tonight (plus, I'm not sure if CrossFit Regina is even open Jan. 1) I didn't want a stretch of four days or so when I was completely inactive.

Since I had fallen about eight days behind on the December Double Under Challenge, I thought a little skipping would be just what the doctor ordered. I only needed to make up 220 DUs, so I decided to do it for time.

It took 6:50. Not bad, but certainly not great.

"Christine"

Three rounds, for time, of:

500m row
12 bodyweight deadlifts (185 lbs)
21 20-inch box jumps

I think this was the first time I've done this benchmark, at least with bodyweight deadlifts. Back in February, I did it with 135lbs and it took me 13:14.

When I stepped on the scale this morning, it said 178.6, but the scale at CrossFit Regina said 183 and a bit, (though angdesj swears the scale reads heavy) so I decided to go a bit higher than my actual weight rather than a bit less.

Time was 13:41 or thereabouts. My DL technique needs work, as my back is pretty stiff right now.

Back Squats and Petranek Fitness Test

Back Squats: 5-5-5 using 85 per cent of your one-rep max for all three rounds.

My one-rep max is 265, so that means I had to do 225lbs. However, I had a math error so I did 215 for the first set and made up for it by doing an extra rep in the second:

215(5)-225(6)-225(5)


Petranek fitness test:

Row 500m
40 squats (after the back squats and rowing, my legs were none too happy about this)
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups

Time: 4:23. I'm pretty happy with that.

Do double unders without the "under"

Is that Shae at :08 in this infomercial for a ropless jumprope? I'd like to think so.

"Barbara"

God this WOD sucks.

Five rounds of:
20 pull-ups
30 push-ups
40 sit-ups
50 squats

Rest three minutes between rounds.

Round 1: 3:39
Round 2: 5:20
Round 3: 5:54
Round 4: 5:32
Round 5: 5:28

Total work time: 25:45.



(Times are approximate at the moment. I will change them to the accurate times when I find the piece of paper I wrote them on)

This WOD just made my bucket list

"CrossFit Disco"

Maybe for my two-year Crossfit anniversary in May, Robin will let me pick a workout. If so, here it is:


70 DUs
60 KB snatches
50 box jumps
40 wall ball burpees (why have we never done these?)
30 CTB pull-ups
20 clean and jerks
10 clapping push-ups.

Overhead Squats x3 then Rowing/DUs

OHS 3-3-3-3-3
125-135-145-155-160(PR)

Then, for time:
1km row
200 double unders

12:01

"Helland Back"

Did this yesterday.

21-15-9-15-21 of:

Sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs)
Russian twists (35lbs)
Push-ups

Time was 11:09

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.

"Kelly Overboard"

For time, five rounds of:

500m row
30 24" box jump
30 wall ball

A better name for this would be something like "Your Leg Muscles Will Hate You."

I took too many breaks, and for too long, during the WB and the jumps.

Time was 33:16.

.

"Josh"

21 overhead squats (95 lbs)
42 pull-ups
15 OHS
30 PLU
9 OHS
18 PLU

Time was 10:29.

Working out across from Leya helped. If I am keeping up with her, I know I am doing good.

Deadlifts x 5, then more Deadlifts and Box Jumps

First part: Deadlifts 5-5-5-5-5

Deadlifting guru Harlan says your five-rep max is supposed to be 72 per cent of your one-rep max. For me and my piddly little 315 max DL, that would be around 225.

Today, I also experimented with an alternate grip on the bar, and I think it helped.

185-205-225-245-255.

Then it was a metcon, for time:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of

Deadlifts (using 60 per cent of your five-rep max)
Box jumps

I did this with 155lbs and the 24-inch box, because we don't have enough 20-inchers.

I was neck-and-neck with the Janimal the whole time. That girl is relentless and just keeps coming like the Terminator.

I'm sure I sacrificed some form in the later rounds, which is why I'm not a huge fan of DL for time. I realize that you should worry about form first and time second, but that's hard for me to do in the heat of the workout.

Time was 6:08

AMRAP Burpees and Bell Swings

In 20 minutes, as many rounds as possible of:
20 burpees
20 55lb bell swings

I got 6 round, plus 20 burpees and 4 bell swings.

Strength Club: The Total

First time at Strength Club, and the first time doing a CrossFit Total. I had previous one-rep for back squats and deadlifts, but nothing in recent memory for shoulder presses.

Back Squat x 1: 265lb
Previous max was 235 from a month ago. I'm pretty happy with this number. I actually probably go a bit too low on these, which makes it harder to come back up.


Shoulder Press x 1: 125lb
For my previous warm-up, I did 105, so I was going to start at 115. Then Kurt yells, "Ah, do 125." I think, "What the hell," and I put another 10lbs on the bar.

Then I fail, and yell an impolite thing at Kurt before the bar is even back in the rack.

I taped my wrists for the second try, get myself a little pissed off, and get it overhead. I tried at 130 and got it overhead, but had to walk forward a bit to get it so it doesn't count.


Deadlift x 1: 315lb
I need to work on my deadlift technique BAD. I got 315, but I should be able to lift more than that.


Total: 705

It's a start.

Overhead Lunges and Burpees

Five rounds of:
20 overhead lunges (45lbs)
21 burpees.

I did them as walking lunges with a barbell plate.

Time was 14:37

"Wall Ball Annie"

50-40-30-20-10 of:
Double Unders
Wall Ball

This was yesterday's WOD, which I missed because I slept late. I thought I would go to CFR this morning and make it up.

Today's WOD was front squats and five rope climbs, which is really what I should be doing because those are the things I'm weak at, but I felt I needed to get my heart pumping after eating ice cream floats yesterday. (I only had one cup, but I "topped it up" numerous times.)

In the first round, for the first time ever, I did 50 DUs in a row. My previous best was 40, and I had only done that the one time and never more than 35 any other time that I can remember. I think the difference was that I was using a speed rope rather than the thicker, black ones.

Of course, after 50 DUs, wall balls just killed me. I think it took me at least six sets to get to 50.

In the second round, I wanted to have another big set of DUs. Instead, I got 3. It took two more sets to get to 40. Then wall balls were just brutal. My first set was 10, then it was in the 6-7 range for the rest.

It was pretty much the same story for the rest of the workout. DUs were over pretty quickly, but then the wall balls would brutalize me.

Before I started the WOD, I had set a goal of 15 minutes. I finished in 13:31.

Oh, Zuzana

CrossFit Regina was recently closed for the weekend, so OCD Chris very helpfully provided some workouts you can do at home.
If none of those strike your fancy, you could always do one of Zuzana's routines.

They, uh, seem to be working for her. Just sayin'.

"Cindy" makes Tyler forget how to count, again

"Cindy"
AMRAP in 20 minutes of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

I didn't see what the workout was going to be before coming in this morning. I think I'm going to do that more often.

I did all the pull-ups uninterrupted and almost all of squats that way, as well. I started partitioning the push-ups (FIXED; thanks, Kurt!)in the third round.

So, as I usually do for this, I set up one of the portable whiteboards near my station and put 20 notches on it. It makes for quicker marking if I just rub out (heh, I said "rub out") a notch with my finger when I complete a round, rather than un-cap a marker and write one.

But, like happened the last time I did this, there was a point in the workout where I wasn't sure if I marked a round down. I wasn't sure, but didn't rub out another notch, so I decided to go with the lesser result.

So, in the end, the whiteboard says I got 17 rounds, plus 5 pull-ups, plus 10 push-ups, plus 4 squats.

If you compare it to my previous Cindy result, I improved by only four squats. But I may have shortchanged myself this time by one round, so I might have improved by one round and four squats. And, if I double-counted a round the last time I did Cindy, I may have improved by as much as two rounds and four squats. I'm going to not give myself the benefit of the doubt here, and just go with the result above.

Robb Wolf

My spotty nutritional habits don't exactly qualify me to be a Robb Wolf disciple (why yes, as a matter of fact I did have two ice cream floats today, thankyouverymuch), but the whole saga of how he got fired from CrossFit HQ is strangely compelling.

My connection and subsequent loyalty to CrossFit has always been to CrossFit Regina, not CrossFit HQ, and I'm not planning on taking any certifications (for my goals I don't see a lot of point in it) so this doesn't really affect me at all.

But it sure sounds like Dave Castro is an asshole. Before today, I wouldn't have known him if I had walked past him on the street, but I even get a dickhead vibe from him just from this video... and I agree with most of what he says.

Anyway, these do-it-yourself cartoons never cease to amuse me.

Tyler almost bails on "Fran-ish" (a.k.a. "C2B Fran") but eventually discovers his testicles

Kind of a weird morning.

When I signed up online for the 6am class, I saw that there was only one other person registered for the class. I figured that at least a couple more people would show up, but when I got there, it was just Franz (who was coaching) and MichelleD.

Then I looked on the board and saw that the WOD was C2B Fran.

21-15-9 of:
95lb thrusters
Chest-to-bar pull-ups.

Fuck.

While this isn't what I consider to be a benchmark WOD, it's close enough that I would have liked to know I was doing it a little more in advance than 15 minutes. With benchmark WODs (basically, the ones with girls names) I usually prefer to do them in the evening so that I can come in, see what people have done, and feed off some of the energy in the gym. This morning, I was going to be doing this one alone because MichelleD was going to be doing yesterday's WOD.

Also contributing to my foul mood was the fact that when I looked on the whiteboard, my results for the first part of yesterday's WOD (skips and pushups/mountain climbers) were in the bottom third of everyone that did it yesterday. It pisses me off because that's the kind of stuff I'm supposed to be good at.

So, during a half-hearted warm-up, I started looking for reasons why I shouldn't do Fran-ish. I thought about maybe trying to improve my score on the first part of yesterday's WOD. I even seriously contemplated just going home and going back to bed.

Basically, I figured I was going to completely tank on this and I really didn't want to have the whiteboard displaying a substandard time under my name for the next week. (When I'm thinking rationally, I know most people couldn't give two shits about my results, but those moments of rational thinking are rare).

While the little devil on my shoulder was telling me, "Go on, bail on Fran-ish... you can go home to your nice warm bed," the little angel on the other side took a break from kettlebell swings to say, "This is what CrossFit is all about: getting you physically prepared for the unexpected. In real life, you don't always get to choose what challenges you will face. Man the fuck up, douchey."

The devil was the reason I got fat and stayed that way for years, so I listened to the angel.

Speaking of angels, Franz provided some good coaching throughout.

The last time I did regular Fran was one of my better days ever at CrossFit. That day, I had the benefit of a cheering crowd, a week's notice of the workout being Fran, and, because I did it in the evening, I had a whole day's worth of results to compare to.

Today, I probably managed to summon up about 85-90 per cent of the intensity and focus I had during Fran last time. There were three or four pull-ups I didn't get all the contact I wanted between my chest and the bar, and the breaks I took were probably too long and too frequent, but I got through it.

Time was 7:00 which is a little under two minutes more than my regular Fran time. I'm not sure if the C2B pull-ups should really have that kind of an impact on my results, but I gave just about everything I had this morning.

One other thing: I was no longer in a pissy mood.

I actually don't know if that 7:00 time is "good" for a person at my level, or how well it will hold up against the people I usually compare my results to. At that point, I didn't really care. I had done it. I didn't listen to the devil on my shoulder who wants me to stay in bed when that alarm goes off at 5:30 in the morning, and who tries to talk me out of doing a workout because the result might bruise my fragile ego.

Fuck you, little devil. I refuse to be your bitch.

As I attempted to recover from Fran-ish, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was only 6:40am. So I started looking forward to getting home a bit earlier than normal, and maybe even rousing Tracey for a morning quickie. Then I found out that I wasn't done.

I hadn't noticed the bonus work was to do 75 GHD sit-ups in as few sets as possible.

Fuck.

I was shooting for three sets, but figured I'd probably end up doing it in four.

Turns out it took me five sets: 20-15-9-16-15.


Here's a video of a guy doing C2B Fran a lot quicker than me.

"If Tomorrow Never Comes"

I'm not sure what that WOD name is supposed to mean.

This is a two-part workout.

Part one, at the top of the hour, is two rounds of:
250 single skips
10 x (1 push-up and 4 mountain climbers)

My time was 9:56. I was actually a little faster on the second round than the first. It's probably because I had figured out the skipping a bit better.


Part two, at half past, is two rounds of:
30 wall ball
30 75lb squat snatches

My time was 14:56. I wanted to get sub-15 on this, but with less than 90 seconds to go, I still had to do 8 snatches, which seemed like a ton. I managed to get the last one in just under the wire, though.

"Angie"

For time:

100 pull-ups
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups
100 squats

I'm sure I've done Angie before, but I can't find when. Last month, we did "Age Adjusted Angie" - which for 33-year-old me was basically two-thirds of the full version - and it took me 14:something.

100 pull-ups in a row isn't fun. It's pretty tough on the hands. I was spending far too much time late in this round just trying to convince myself to grab the fricking bar again. I jumped up to the 8-foot bar for the first 45 or so, then moved to the 7-footer. I wonder if I stepped up like the guys in the video below, if it would allow me to get a better grip and bang more out? Perhaps I will try that the next time I have a WOD that calls for a ton of pull-ups.

100 push-ups reminded me that I need to work on doing push-ups more. I did 20 consecutive off the start, and then the sets quickly became 4s and 3s.

I feel like I've actually gotten worse on sit-ups and squats.

Time was 22:25. I was harbouring delusions of a sub-20 time, but it was not to be.

Here's a video of some guys doing Angie.

Power Snatch and Push-ups, Then 400m Run

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:

12 65lb power snatches
10 push-ups

AMRAPs are always tough. Your only reward for getting a bunch of work done quickly is having a bunch of time left to to a bunch more work. How messed up is that?

Anyway, this one starts out easy, but starts to get tough really fast.

I think my technique on the power snatches was getting kind of sloppy, despite repeated corrections from Crystal. Because the weight was light enough to fling it overhead, I did that without focusing on getting under the bar. But doing so may have burned out my arms and shoulders a little more than I needed to.

Push-ups are push-ups. I did pretty good on them, but they suck. They just do.

I did 12 rounds plus 8 snatches.

As a bonus, we did a group 400m race. I would have come in second in my group, but the dude in first place ran way past the turnaround point. That'll teach you for not paying attention, newbie.

Took me 1:17. I would have liked to beat 1:10, but I nearly puked as it was.

Painstorm XXXVI

10-8-6-4-2 front squats, push press, thrusters
10-20-30-40-50 pull-ups
10-15-20-25-30 burpees

I woke up stiff and had a pretty good internal debate with myself this morning about whether to take a rest day, knowing what I was in for with this one.

I mean, that's just a shitload of pull-ups, any way you slice it.

I probably would have elected for a rest day, but I stupidly wrote,"This Painstorm terrifies me" on the CrossFit Regina website, so everyone would have known that I pussied out. See, it's not being a pussy that I'm ashamed of, it's people knowing I'm a pussy.

So I rediscovered my testes and headed to the gym.

Then, just seconds before we started, Robin casually mentioned that when she did this in January, it took her 55 minutes.

What the hell was I supposed to do with that information? Good thing my bowels were empty or I might have shat my pants.

37:54

Cleans/Rope Climbs

Four rounds of

7 x 3/4 bodyweight cleans (I did 135lbs, which is slightly more than 3/4)
2 rope climbs, hands only, from seated

After the four rounds are done, finish with an 800 run

I could only climb the rope three times, then my sissy hands stopped cooperating so I switched to the substitute of pull-ups. With sore hands, those weren't much better.

22:54.

Max Squats / weighted PLUs / "Nancy"

Squats and PLUs were:
1-1-1-1-1

For squats, I did 185-205-215-225-235(f)-235 (PR)

For PLUs, I did 25-35-45-55 (all dumbells) and then got out the chain belt to do 60.


Then, it was time for yesterday's WOD "Nancy."

For time, five rounds of:

400m run
15 95lb overhead squats.

I managed to do all but one round of the OHS without putting the bar on the ground midway through. (I'm not counting the failed snatch to start round three.)

I did it in 15:47 and am pretty happy with that. Doing the max back squats before was a pretty good warm-up for this one.

Here's a video of Nancy. Only difference is these dudes take the weight from the rack, and Harlan and I snatched it from the ground (which is slightly more manly).

"Another Chipper"

For time:

1500m row
50 power cleans (65lbs)
25 ring dips
50 wall ball
25 GHD sit-ups
The rowing and wall balls were the toughest part of this one. I was sort of dreading the dips, but they went okay. I would have liked to string together more cleans in a row, but I was also trying to keep my form good.

Time was 17:02. The last time I did this was back in January, and it took me 20:05 with assisted ring dips.

As I mentioned, I couldn't string together too many wall balls in a row. Harlan was training today and at one point he said, "C'mon, you said yourself [on your blog] you're taking too many breaks."

Well, that'a a good point, actually. Still, there's nothing like someone throwing your own words back in your face at 6:30 in the morning.

If any other trainers or CrossFitters are looking to motivate me mid-workout by reiterating something I've said on either blog, here are some approved suggestions (by putting them here, they have technically been on the blog):

"Tyler, you are both witty and handsome."

"I had heard you were Saskatchewan's sexiest blogger, but I never believed it until now."

"I never realized someone could wear Lululemon gear and still be so uber-manly."

"All those people who finished this quicker than you were probably cheating."

"You are so awesome."

"5K Plus"

Five effing rounds of:

1km run
10 pull-ups
20 push-ups
30 24" boxjumps

The Good:
I ran okay. I never stopped on any of the 1kms

I did all the pull-ups unbroken on the eight-foot bar. It improved my time, and it's something I think I should still be doing when the workouts head into deep water.
The Bad:
Boxjumps just killed me and cost me a ton of momentum. I would pass Blair or Shae on the run, and they'd pass me on the boxjumps. Shae passed me on the last set and it cost me third place. I finish fourth so often it is not even funny.

Push-ups. I need to start doing them at home on rest days.

Breaks. I feel like, midway through the WOD, I was taking too many breaks and for too long.


Time was: 40:23

Tyler does Push Press, is reminded how weak he is

Push Press

3-3-3-1-1-1

At the Saskatchewan CrossFit Challenge, we did "Anyway Overhead" and I got 185lbs overhead once using a push press with barely any warming up and felt I could have gone a bit heavier. So I had visions of improving on that here.

Nope.

3x135, 3x155, 3x165, 1x185(f), 1x185(f), 1x175(f).

Damn.

By this point I was downright pissed. Harlan encouraged me to end on a positive note, so I did 1x165lb and then failed at 170. (I think. It was early.)

Bonus was to run 800m for time. I got it done in 2:57, which felt okay.

Deadlifts and Double Unders

Three rounds of:
15 185lb deadlifts
50 double unders

Time was 10:49.

I'm not a huge fan of "for time" that contain relatively heavy deadlifts, but that's probably because I know I need to be more vigilant about keeping my form strict and less worried about the clock. It's tough, though.

The actual workout was supposed to be using 10 x 275lb DLs, but my single rep max is 305. We had the option go with with a lighter weight and more reps, either 12 x 225lb, 15 x 185, or 18 x 155. My back just started feeling better after the 50 x 200lb DLs on Saturday, so I thought I would go a bit on the light side, though it didn't feel very light to me.

I still need to bring more intensity to my workouts.

Tyler becomes zombie meat

Today's WOD was "Zombieland":

800m run (Run from the zombies)
50 55lb bell swings (Hit zombie in the face with something heavy)
50 24" box jumps (Jump and stomp on zombie)
50 200lb deadlifts (Pick up dead zombie)
50 20lb wall ball (Throw zombie's head)
50 walking lunges w/45lb plate overhead (Carry buddy to safety)
800m run (Shit! More zombies)

I tried to catch D3 on the run, and even got up to his heels. Then he sped up and I gassed out. I actually stopped on the final 200m. Meaning, I didn't just stop running, but I briefly stopped moving at all, bent over with my hands on my knees, cursing my utter worthlessness. I can't remember the last time I did that mid-run.

I deserve to be eaten.

Time was 30:07.

YAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGH!

Great video explaining Paleo/Primal lifestyle

I saw this on Leya's Dechubbing blog a while back. I really like it, and wanted to be able to find it quickly, so I'm putting it on here.

It sums up, more eloquently than I can manage, why Tracey and I are trying to eat a lot healthier now (Tracey moreso than me), and how we are attempting to do so.

Tyler falls for "Fran"

"Fran"

For time, 21-15-9 of:

95lb thrusters
Pull-ups

Sounds simple, right? And, as far as the amount of work being called for, it isn't that much, at least not on the CrossFit scale. I mean, there are motherfuckers in the world that can finish this in around two minutes.

But in our gym, and for untold thousands of CrossFitters elsewhere, there isn't a single other workout that evokes such strong emotions from so many people. (See my previous post.)

There aren't any other workouts that would pack a gym with spectators and people who are an hour removed from their scheduled workout time on a Thursday evening (Hell, 30 Rock is on tonight, people!). For cryin' out loud, Shae had a homemade "I love Fran" T-shirt.

I'll tell you one thing: I don't love Fran. Not one fucking bit. It had been more than half a year since I had last done this workout and in the days leading up to it, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't gonna be so bad. It's a total of 45 reps of each exercise... what's the big deal?

Well, it's a big deal because we make it a big deal. For a lot of CrossFitters, your Fran time says a lot about where you are in your CrossFit journey, and when you walk into a gym on Fran Day, you know there's something in the air that's a little more intense.

I felt it when I showed up at CFR tonight. A group of the firebreather CrossFit chicks (Robin, Kelly, AngDesj, Lexi, Julie, Mandy, Leya and Leah) were four minutes into Fran, and they looked like they had been put through hell. The place was noisy with people screaming encouragement, telling them to pick that weight back up, get their hands back on that pull-up bar, just a few left, c'mon, you can do this.

I love that shit, because it gets me psyched and a little scared about what I'm about to put myself through.

I had booked myself in at the 6pm class because I decided that I needed to have time to warm up properly and that I wanted to see how others had done on the workout during the day, which are a couple of luxuries that I don't get when I sign up for an early morning class and show up five minutes late.

I tried my best to warm up and I felt alright when it was time for the 6pm class to step up. We were divided up into guys and gals. The guys were going first and we were each assigned a counter. Poppy was mine.

3-2-1 GO!!

21 thrusters

I did all of these without putting the bar down. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to do that, but I did want to get through the first big set of thrusters as soon as possible and get on the pull-up bar. Kurt later said that I was going really fast, but I remember that I did have to pause a couple of times to breathe.

21 pull-ups

I jumped up to the 8-foot bar, because I'm usually reluctant to drop off it before my sets are done. I figured, for the first set of pull-ups, I could do them all unbroken. I did, but it was ugly. First of all, instead of a clean hook grip, some of the skin of my palm was trapped between the bar and my fingers, so my grip wasn't great and I was worried about tearing. At the start, I couldn't get a good rhythm on my kipping pull-ups happening, but I was able to correct it. However, I got so distracted doing that, I lost count of my reps. "What rep am I at?!" I asked Poppy, praying that she was still counting for me. "Ten," she replied. Good... she was still counting. Fuck... I thought I had done a few more than that. I did the last 11, though I had to will myself up for that last one. It's always the last one.

15 thrusters

I glanced over at the clock before picking up the weight. 1:44. Not bad. I thought two minutes would be a good time for Round 1. People are cheering me on because it looks like I'm going to end up with a pretty good time. I can sort of hear them and it really helps, but at the same time, I'm pretty focused and can't really hear much of anything. I pick up the barbell... What the fuck... the weight was a whole lot heavier this time. Did someone add 30 lbs while I was doing pull-ups? Fuckers. I went from doing 21 straight, to three sets of five, dropping the bar after each set.


15 pull-ups

No fucking around on the 8-foot bar this time. I headed straight to the 7-footer. The advantage here is that I don't have to jump for it, and I can touch my feet to the ground briefly after each pull-up, giving my hands and arms a quick but much-needed respite. I realize this makes me less of a man, and it's something I'm working on.

9 thrusters

I can fucking taste it now. Almost done. I think it's at this point that someone, probably Chris T or maybe Franz (both of whom were giving steady encouragement and coaching through the whole time and I've gotta thank them for that the next time I see them) tells me I'm four minutes in. I do the thrusters in two sets, maybe three, I'm not quite sure. I think it takes me around 30 seconds.

9 pull-ups

Sub-five minutes is within my chalky grasp as I get over to the pull-up bar. I can't get any rhythm on these fuckers but it doesn't matter. I can do sets of one. I'm not too proud. It's me and a race against the clock, which - stupidly - I have my back to. I'm getting updates on my time and people are shouting encouragement, practically willing me to get my chin over that bar. I've got to do nine pullups. One pull-up, two... I'm chugging through them... three, four... it's gonna be close, but I've got a real shot at beating five minutes, something I used to think was superhuman... five, six, seven... and it's taking everything I have... eight... I barely got over on that one, but I've only got one more...ni... and I lose my grip mid-kip and fall to the fucking ground.

Seriously. Can you believe this shit?

I think I landed mostly flat on my back and a little on my right elbow. I'm sure it looked ugly, and it didn't feel great, either.

Chris rushes over to check on me. I push him away. "I'm fine," I tell him. At that point, I wasn't entirely convinced that I actually was, but I had one pull-up left and the clock was still ticking. I get my chin over the bar in what was probably the ugliest pull-up ever and collapse on the ground.

Time was 5:06.

After an extended period in the post-WOD roadkill position, I determine that I am not injured, though I am completely exhausted and am probably gonna have a nice bruise on my upper right ass cheek and my right elbow is a little raw from scraping. So, don't worry, Mom. The fall was probably a result of fatigued forearms and hands and a mental lapse by me not ensuring I had a firm grip on the bar. I may have been using a more aggressive kip than normal to over-compensate for my arms, which were just spent.

I'm very happy with the time. Going in, I thought I could maybe get sub-6:00, and I did quite a bit better than that. I took 2:22 of my previous Fran time and came within a sniff of getting sub-5:00, which would have put me in some very elite company in the gym. As it is, I exceeded my own expectations, though I definitely see some room for improvement.

I still don't love Fran. But I do love CrossFit.

Here's a video of some CrossFit Chicks doing Fran last February. I figure all of them would have improved on their times this go around.

Franxiety

I've got to do "Fran" in less than five hours and my head is filled with nothing but questions:

-What time should I reasonably expect? I'm hoping to take a minute off my previous time of seven and a half minutes. Is that too optimistic? Too cautious? Chris T and Brian B were both sub 5 minutes... I'm not quite in their league but should I be shooting for sub-6? Maybe I should just stop thinking about times and go balls-out?

-I ate chili at lunch and some sugary treats in the morning. Is that gonna fuck me over?

-Since when do I pay that much fucking attention to what I eat?

-Why the fuck does Fran make me feel like this? Originally, when it was supposed to be last Friday, I started having Franxiety on Wednesday. I'd be in a meeting at work and my thoughts would drift to the upcoming Fran, and then I'd start getting all nervous and excited and twitchy. I mean, more than normal. What's the big deal? Hell, if I don't like my time, I can come in on a Sunday and do it again, right? Yeah, right, Tyler. Fran is not a big deal at all. Nosiree.

-When is this feeling going to end? Actually, I know the answer to that one: When this fucking thing is done.

"Kodiak"

It was actually Tracey's day to go, but the alarm went off at 5:45 and she didn't think she could make it to the gym on time. I missed yesterday morning, so I said I would go in her place.

"Kodiak"

Seven rounds of:

3 power snatch (touch and go)
6 overhead squat
9 back squat

Do this all in a sequence, with no breaks in between. This isn't for time, but you increase your weight each round.

My numbers:
75-85-95-105-110-115-120

I'm fine with this and it's heavier than I thought I would end up doing, likely due to trying to keep up with Christian.

My snatches were looking pretty sketchy by the end, but I got that shit overhead and that's what counts.

Keeping it overhead was another thing. Overhead squats are always challenging, but they felt pretty good today, and my shoulder isn't bothering me like it did the last time we did these.

On the transitions to the back squat, I was trying my damndest to not bash the hell out of my neck, but I was pretty eager to let the weight down.

Fun with Press? Not exactly

Five rounds of:

1 shoulder press
3 push press
5 push jerk

We were supposed to start with 80 per cent of our maximum (I'm assuming maximum shoulder press) and increase the weight each of the five rounds. I'm not sure what my maximum is, so it went like this for me:

95lbs

115lbs

125lbs

After the shoulder press on the last one, I felt like I had a muscle pull or something on the left side of my neck, and I didn't think it was a good idea to fuck around. Three hours later, it's still painful to tilt or turn my head. I wish I could have finished the workout, but I doubt I could have pressed much, if any, more weight. The 125lbs was feeling pretty heavy.

I did one more cool-down set with just 95lbs and called it a day. Before the neck-thing happened, I got some good coaching from a visiting CrossFitter, Sean from DC.

"Grindy"

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

The last time I did Grindy, it was back in June of 2008, about a month after I joined CrossFit. Back then, I did it with 95lbs and it took me 34:29, and I'm pretty sure I wanted to die afterward.

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.

"Tiger"

Second workout in 12 hours. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not.

"Tiger"
Using a 75lb barbell, AMRAP in 20 minutes:

5 deadlifts
5 hang power cleans
5 front squats
5 push press
5 back squats

The killer part of this is that you can't put the bar down once you start the sequence until you're done your last back squat, otherwise the round won't count.

14 rounds, plus 5 deadlifts and 1 hang power clean.

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.

Willpower? What the fuck is that?

I've been eating pretty clean lately. I won't rate it on the Paleo scale, but it's been mostly meat, fruit, veggies (spinach and red peppers), Tracey's homemade chock-full o'goodness berry-banana-protein powder smoothies, almond butter, and even the odd bit of fish oil.

I haven't been perfect, though because the people who employ me prefer it when I do work at my desk rather than fall asleep, I've been getting through the afternoons with the help of either a Diet Pepsi or an energy drink (FYI: AMP does not work, so don't buy it even though it's on sale at Shoppers). Plus, I have a fair amount of beer in my fridge, and it's not gonna drink itself, so I'll have one or two in the evening while playing Mario Kart Wii with the Boy. You get the fun of driving with an open container without the guilt, shame or legal consequences.

However, on the balance, I've been pretty good about what I put into my body. Part of it is because Tracey is eating really healthy and she prepares most of our meals. As a result, I'm consistently weighing in at 175, or even a few tenths of a pound lower. This would have been a pipe dream before I started CrossFit when I was north of 210 (I think; weighing myself back then was depressing).

Because I apparently enjoy sabotaging any of my personal gains, I was actually thinking of rewarding myself with some 7-11 nachos today, but when I got to work, there were Girl Guide cookies on the break room table, and we were having cheesecake (two different kinds!) for a co-workers birthday.

Tally so far today:
- two pieces of cheesecake
- five cookies.
Last time I checked the breakroom, there was one cookie and half a cheesecake left.

**UPDATE
I got the nachos. Details at Tyler Has Nothing to Say.

Overhead Squats and Ring Dips on the Minute

OHS 5-5-3-3-1-1-1

135-145-155-160(2)-160-165(f)-165

Ring dips: 8 min plus 3

"Partner Pumpkin Pie" and adventures in Vaseline with D3

"Partner Pumpkin Pie"

With a partner, perform the following:

AMRAP in 25 minutes:
50 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
40 Double-Unders
30 Bell Swings – 55/35lb
20 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups

I partnered with BrianB and we got 5 rounds, plus 30 WB. This was pretty tough, mostly because BrianB was done his share of the reps so fast I didn't get much of a break in between. At least I was courteous enough to take my time with my share.

Afterward, the bonus was do do five minutes of situps. I just knew this was gonna suck. BrianB, with his ridiculous abs and cardio, never stopped, kept a nice steady pace, and actually sped up in the last 30 seconds, and got 178.

Then it was my turn. Because I didn't want to get "monkey butt" from so many sit-ups, I headed over to my bag to get some Vaseline to put on my ass. D3 asked me if he could have some, too.

"Sure," I said. "But you have to get all you need with the first scoop." D3 is one of my favourite guys at CrossFit Regina, but I'm just trying to keep my Vaseline free of assy contamination. (The same "one-scoop" rule applies to myself).

We each took a scoop and ducked into the bathroom to apply it. To ourselves, of course. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Y'know, before I joined CrossFit, I probably would have thought it was weird to go into a public bathroom with another dude and emerge with Vaseline on my ass.

By the way, I got 120 sit-ups in five minutes. Not great, but at least my ass doesn't hurt.

Hero WOD "Daniel" - Let's see how far we've come

This is the workout:

50 Pull-ups
400m Run
21 95lb Thrusters
800m Run
21 95lb Run
50 Pull-ups

There was snow in the back lane and a cold Prairie wind blowing, so trainer Paul started to write the substitute rowing version on the whiteboard.

Fuck that.

"We're running!" I said. Everyone agreed. Even the guest CrossFitter Paul from Edmonton who was running in those Vibrams (fixed)Five Fingers things that are basically like gloves for your feet.

The runnng in the cold air was pretty shitty. The thrusters were tough, and the last set of pull-ups were brutal.

Time was 19:37.

As far as I can tell, this was only the second time I've done "Daniel" and the first time was back in July of last year, which was about two months after I joined CrossFit.

Back then, my time was 37:29.

I love CrossFit.

If you wanna be a big dog, you gotta run with the big dogs

That was a line I used to explain why I decided to sign up for Division 1 at the Saskatchewan CrossFit Challenge.

In CrossFit, the biggest competition is within yourself. How much did I improve from the last time I did this? Did I go faster? Did I lift more?

It makes sense that those are the victories you focus on and chase, because you will see progression, and that progression will motivate you to keep coming and to keep improving. Especially when you first start out, and the WODs seem impossible and the people who can do them all as rx'd seem like impossibly athletic cyborgs.

This article from Again Faster reminds us that it's not such a bad thing to look at those around you who are stronger and/or faster than you. And, rather than accept the fact that they are better at CrossFit (or at least certain aspects of it), and they always will be... why not try to catch up?

Rather than look at the fastest guy or gal in your class and say, "She's amazing, I could never do what she's doing," maybe look at what they are doing and realize that it is possible for a human to perform at that level.

There will be times that you surprise yourself. It happened with me when I did "Helen" and you know the real reason why? I was trying to come close to Robin's score.

Look, I know there are limits to what a human body can do, and as a 33-year-old, three-or-four-day-a-week CrossFitter who likes to drink beer and eat shitty food on occasion, I might not ever get 23+ rounds of "Cindy" like James. I might not ever get a 346 on Fight Gone Bad like Franz. I might not ever run a 5K in 21 minutes like Nick.

But you bet your ass I'm gonna try.

"Age-Adjusted Angie" and a new Pull-up PR

Take your age, subract it from 100 and that's how many reps you have to do of:

Pull-ups
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Squats

I'm 33, so I had to do 67 of each, so it was basically "Two-thirds Angie".

Took me 14:00.

Since we started with pull-ups, I thought I'd see if I could beat my personal record of 25. Today, I got 30. The downside was that hanging on as long as I could hurt my sissy hands, so the last 37 took a while.

Burpees/Push Press/Pull-ups

For time, six rounds of:

12 burpees
12 dumbbell push press (2x30lb)
12 pull-ups

Time was 13:07

Saskatchewan CrossFit Challenge

It was held at CrossFit Saskatoon on Saturday and it was a hell of an event. I started shitting bricks about Thursday.

There were more than 80 athletes from Regina, Saskatoon, and a handful from Alberta.

WOD 1
800m run
50 45lb sandbag thrusters
30 burpee pull-ups to an 8'5" bar.

12 minute time limit.

Here's a video explaining in detail.



I just wanted to get done this. With the time limit, there were plenty of good athletes who didn't get done in the earlier rounds, and I really didn't want to get a DNF. 12 minutes isn't a lot of time for this. There's no shame in a DNF, but I really, really wanted to finish this one.

I was one of the first ones in from the run, did the thrusters in sets of 25, 10, 5 and 10.

The last part was the worst. Burpulls to a fucking 8-foot-5 bar. That's like Nature taunting me for being short. I'm 5'9" with no vertical, and actually missed my first fucking jump, and at least a couple others.

I finished in 10:57, I think. That was good for 9th place out of the Division 1 men.


WOD 2
Anyway Overhead

You get three lifts. The heaviest weight you can take from the rack, onto your shoulders and then overhead counts, whether it's press, pushpress, push jerk or split jerk.

Demo video:

I haven't done enough weightlifting to know my max, and I didn't warm up because I'm an idiot who doesn't pay attention enough to know when it was almost our time. First lift was 135. Second was 165. I almost asked for 180, but went to 185 on the third and got it. I may have been able to do a bit more, but not much. There were some really strong dudes in Division 1, so 185 was only good for 14th in that event.


WOD 3
Three rounds of
1 minute Row for Calories
1 minute 95lb Snatch
1 minute Double Unders
1 minute 75lb KB swings
1 minute Rest

Demo video:


It's scored like a Fight Gone Bad, so maximizing reps was everything. The way this was structured, if someone is good at DUs, they were going to do well... as long as they had something left in the tank by the time they got there. Good news for me, who can do them, bad news for awesome athletes like James who just don't do them that much. I borrowed Hardcore Ange's speed rope and did okay on them.

Those 75lb KB swings were just inhuman. See the picture at the top of this post. The rest was basically just enough time to get back into the rower. It was good for 5th place in this round.
After everything was said and done, I finished in 8th place out of 19 guys. I have absolutely no problems with that, and feel lucky to have finished that high. Hell, Robin and Flood finished in 8th in their divisions, and I'm flattered to be in the same company as them.

Christian was the top CFR rep in Division 1, coming in fifth place. We had five guys in the top 10, though. Kelly and AngDesj were 1 and 2 in the women's podium. BrianB got third in Division 2, though he should have been in Division 1, and probably would have finished higher than me.

I was so grateful to have my wife Tracey and the Boy cheering me on in events 1 and 3, taking pictures and making sure I got plenty of good nutrition before and after. I am sure that I wouldn't have done nearly as well without her coming with me. Tracey was completely supportive and she was on "Mom" duty for the better part of the weekend so I could focus on the SCFC events (and then the afterparty). Yeah, I'm not sure what I did to deserve someone so awesome, either.

The Boy (two years old) even showed off his burpee technique in between events and won a few fans.

I also consider myself fortunate that I was able to go to this great event with an awesome group of people from CrossFit Regina. There were no assholes and no egos, just strong, supportive people who cheered on their fellow athletes. We even got visited by Nick and Christine, awesome CrossFitters themselves, who drove up just to cheer us on.

It was a great weekend.

Ring Dips/Box Jumps/Double Unders

I would have liked to do the benchmark "Helen" again at CrossFit Regina last night. There were a lot of people were getting PRs after a month of Paleo dieting, including Tracey, who shaved two minutes off her time from a month ago. But with the games on Saturday coming up, I didn't want the bell swings in Helen to re-aggravate my back, which is still bothering me a bit from the sumo deadlift high pulls on Saturday. Though, part of me wonders if sitting in an office chair is doing more damage than anything else.

Instead of Helen, I rolled out to CrossFit Creekside to do a made-up workout.

For time, five rounds of:

7 Ring Dips
15 Box Jumps (24" box)
25 Double Unders

I chose dips because it's something I need to work on, and to go Level 1 at this weekend's games I'm going to need to work on them. Plus, I bought the rings, I better use them.

With the way that Robin has been including double unders as a "Games Bonus" following workouts lately, it doesn't take a genius to suspect that DUs are going to be part of one of the workouts. Unfortunately, I have let my DU skills slide. I used to include them as part of my warm-up, but have slacked off. I figured 25 is a good reasonable number, but hard enough to get to if you're already fatigued from box jumps.

My time was 13:50. This is another one of those cases where I think doing the workout solo resulted in me not pushing myself as hard as I would if I was trying to keep up with (or ahead of) someone.

25 ring dips

Tonight, it took me 3:45ish. I did 10 straight off the bat.

"GI Jane"

This was Sunday's workout at CrossFit Regina, but I did it today, because I'm resting my back after tweaking it during Fight Gone Bad. I need to heal up for Saturday.

100 burpee pull-ups, or "burpulls" for time.

Basically, you drop down, do the push-up part of the burpee, and when you get up for the jump, you jump up to the pull-up bar and do a pull-up. To do it rx'd, you do it to the 8-foot bar, and that's a bit of a leap for me, since I'm only 5'9". I usually take a step back and do a step into a two-footed jump. I have to jump to grab the bar, and then do a kipping pull-up. If I was taller, I could just do a jumping pull-up, which would knock a bit of time off.

It took me 18:25. I think I took like three minutes off the last time I did it, but there's still lots of room for improvement there. The worst part was that I couldn't keep track of my reps, even though I was marking off every set of ten. I may have done a few more than 100, or possibly a few less, though I try to not give myself the benefit of the doubt.

I didn't use any tape, but hands didn't rip, which I'm glad about.

Fight Gone Bad: Well, THAT'S a bit of a surprise

318. Previous best was 291. A year ago, I did 256 on Sept. 27.

That score is a bit of a because we had some people over last night and there were Jell-o shooters (I lost count) and cheese fondue. I wasn't super hungover today, but I did feel a bit off.

I also did the workout solo. Everyone else who showed up to do it all went in the first round. Some of their scores may have suffered a bit because of the gym's configuration and some confusion about which station to hit next.

When it was my turn, I made sure the barbell and boxjump were nice and close to the rower and wallball to make sure the transitions were quick, since I didn't have to worry about getting in anyone else's way. That helped a bit, but it was the steady encouragement from Christine, Julie and Leya that really drove this score. I'm pretty happy with it.

"Friday With No Two Pizzas" and Vaseline on my ass

The name of the WOD comes from a quote from an episode of "Friends," which is Robin's favourite show. You can see the full quote on the second comment here.

For time, four rounds of:
400m run
50 sit-ups
50 sumo deadlift high pulls (45lbs)

That's a lot of sit-ups. And the problem with me and sit-ups is that once I do a certain amount, I get a blister on my inside right buttock, just outside the crack, at the point where the tailbone makes contact with the floor, causing friction. The technical CrossFit term for this is "Monkey Butt."

200 sit-ups would normally mean a few days of really uncomfortable sitting, along with occasional urges to throw my feces at people who anger me.

However, for the first time, I used a trick that Simon passed on a while back. He said the trick was to reduce the friction between your ass and the floor using Vaseline or something like that. It worked pretty well, I gotta say. No Monkey Butt.

As for the workout, it was tough. After the first round, I knew it was going to suck bad, as my running, sit-ups, and SDHPs all slowed down considerably. I had the Janimal on my tail the whole time.

25:56. We didn't have time to do the "Three Minute Fran" that was also on the books. Oh well.

"Elizabeth"

For time:

21-15-9
135lb cleans
Ring dips

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."

Tyler: "Don't you live with your aunt?"

25 Ring Dips... and then another 25

On days I don't go to CFR I am going to work on my ring dips.
Tonight, I started slowly, with 25 for time. It took me 5:30, which is fucking terrible.

I walked the dogs (not for time), then gave it another shot. On the second go-round, it took me 6:35.

I just checked the CrossFit Regina website and tomorrow's WOD is "Elizabeth" (21-15-9 ring dips and 135lb squat cleans) which is gonna suck.

I love both pizza and CrossFit, but...

...watching this almost made me hurl.

Have CrossFit, will travel

The guys at CrossFit Las Vegas have posted a link to a PDF document that has all kinds of exercises you can do without equipment. Here's the link.

Overhead squats, Tabata mash-up, falling on my ass

Today, we started off with OHS, in 3-3-3-3-3.

After Saturday, I wasn't sure that I could do much more OHS than the 115lb we were prescribed. The good part was that we could take it from the rack and not have to snatch it to get it above our heads.

I did 135lbs, and probably could have gone a little heavier, maybe five or 10 pounds more, but we were already running late. At least I know for next time.


Then it was time for the Tabata mash-up, alternating with 20-inch box jumps and push-ups.

As I was doing a couple of box jumps to warm up, I managed to kick the box out from underneath me on the jump-off and land on my ass and elbow. The landing didn't feel great, but the only thing that was really hurt was my pride. The box in question is the one at CFR that has a base that isn't much wider than the top.

I switched to a 24-inch box for the Tabata. Ended up with 72 jumps and 68 push-ups, for a total of 140.

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.

New Pull-up Benchmark

Last night, a bit before bedtime, I was out in my garage to grab some Milkbones for our dogs Yoda and Chewie. I glanced over at my rings and then my pull-up bar and felt a twinge of guilt for neglecting them lately.

My upper arms were still a bit sore to do any ring dips, so I hopped on the pull-up bar and started doing some pull-ups cold. I managed to hold on long enough to do 25, which is a new personal best for me (previous was 23 at CrossFit Regina) and beat by five my previous best of 20 in the garage.

The best part is that I know it's possible for me to do even more. My hands didn't hurt at all, and I might have done more with a better warm-up.

"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.

"Hip Hip Hooray"

Four rounds of:

30 overhead lunges w/ 45lb bar
15 burpees
15 weighted sit-ups w/ 45lb dumbbell

15:21.

After, we were supposed to do 3 rounds of 3 reps of our 80% max clean and jerk. I'm not sure what my max is, but I did do a 165lb hang clean once, so I thought 135 would be okay. I did a couple rounds of 115 and a couple of 135. I didn't want to push it anymore than that, as I barely got the last one at 135.

My right arm is still bothering me a fair bit from Saturday's Painstorm. I may have to sit out Thursday if I'm going to do the infamous "My Pet Rock" Painstorm on Saturday.

36 Hours Later

It's been a day and a half since I finished the Olympic Bar Mile and I am still sore pretty much everywhere. Rest day tomorrow, I think.

Painstorm: Olympic Bar Mile

This was requested by Pam, who wanted to do a Painstorm for her birthday. Crossfitters come up with crazy ideas like that.

It consists of:

Run 400m

Using a 45lb bar:
50 back squats
50 front squats
50 overhead squats

Run 400m. God, this sucked after all those squats. I actually had to rest after 200m.

Using a 45lb bar:
50 shoulder presses
50 push presses
50 push jerks

Run 400m. Took another rest at the 200m turnaround.

Using a 45lb bar:
50 hang cleans
50 hang snatches

Run 400m

My time was 30:33

I sprinted as fast as I could on the final 200m run, mostly in a desparate attempt to stay in front of D3 (he tends to pass me right at the end of workouts). I stuck my head in the gym to yell "Time!" then immediately ducked back out so I could vomit behind a dumpster.

I didn't actually throw up, but that was only because my stomach was empty. I did spend a few moments dry heaving, trying to do so quietly, to not disturb Leya, who was doing her reps a few steps away in the alley.

I guess my first meeting with imaginary CrossFit mascot Pukey the Clown will have to wait.


BrianB set a new gym record at just over 28 min. That dude is an animal. Christian and Chris T. were both under 29 min as well.

Back Squats and half-"Cindy"

5-5-5 80 per cent max back squats.

I did 175. Probably could have gone 10 or 20 heavier. Then again, I didn't, so maybe I should just shut the fuck up and stop talking big.

Then 10 minutes of "Cindy":

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats.

I did 9 rounds plus 5 PLU, 10 PU and 8 SQ. Push-ups slowed me down bad, and my hands were a little raw from Wednesday, so I wasn't eager to get back on the bar for pull-ups. That could have cost me the full ten rounds I was aiming for. Or maybe I just suck.

Yeah... well, let's see them do burpees

Every day YouTube recommends a bunch of great stuff for me. It either has to do with CrossFit, UFC, large predatory animals eating even larger prey, pro wrestling, the movie "Anchorman," or "The Office."

What can I say, YouTube gets me.

Here's something that was recommended for me today. I gotta say, it pisses me off a little the way these guys make this look so easy.

"Barbara"

For time, five rounds of:

20 pull-ups
30 push-ups
40 sit-ups
50 squats

Rest three minutes in between rounds.

Total time, including the 12:00 in breaks was 38:44. My round times were:
4:23
5:14
5:39
6:04
5:24
_____
26:44 total work time.

The problem with this one is the math. If you think about the total number of reps you have to do, it's pretty daunting. Of course, since looking on the CrossFit Regina website last night, it's pretty much all I could think about.

During the workout, my pull-ups were fairly bad and my push-ups were atrocious. By the third round, sit-ups were like torture.

AngDesj was chasing me the entire time, and she kept letting me know about it. The last round, despite my head start, she made up a lot of time on the pull-ups and then passed me on the push-ups. But she's got an issue with sit-ups, so I thought I could catch her.

It was weird, something came over me during the sit-ups. It wasn't really a second wind, but more like I was suddenly filled with an inner peace that relaxed me and let me just do the work without feeling a lot of pain from my abs. I just closed my eyes, went to work, and was able to do 25 straight, and finish the rest pretty quickly. I also did better on the squats in the final round than any other round, doing 30 straight, quick breather, then two sets of 10.

Afterward, I felt like death. I was semi-concerned that I was going to pass out on the drive home.

Michele and BrianB kicked ass on this one.

I found a video of a "Babara" workout on YouTube. I particularly enjoyed how the dude in the muscle shirt isn't doing full pull-ups. Full extension on the arms, fucker!

Oh, are they anchoring their feet for the sit-ups? Yes they are. Are they sitting all the way up? No they are not. Someone needs to yank this gym's affiliation.

"B-1"

Three rounds of:
400m
21 bell swings (55lb)
15 knees-to-elbows
9 ring dips

I went out to the completely unauthorized and woefully underequipped rogue affiliate CrossFit Creekside (aka my garage) for this one, as we had plans in the evening. I don't have a kettlebell, so I put 55lbs on a dumbbell. For the 400m runs, I just ran around the block, and from what I remember when I measured it via Google pedometer (that word always makes me thing of a machine that can detect pedophiles) think it's closer to 450m. Also, as discussed, my pull-up bar, "Harley," has a slightly wider diameter than the bars at Crossfit, which made maintaining the grip on the K2Es a little harder.

Working out by myself, I find there's definitely a different vibe than being in a gym full of people. I try not to get too competitive, but for me it is helpful motivation to try to catch up to (or at least not fall too far behind) someone, or to try to stay ahead. It sure reduces the amount of time I spend on breathers and pushes me to push forward when my body is just begging for a few more seconds of rest.

This was the first workout I ever did with unassisted ring dips, though by the end, there were a few on which I probably didn't get enough extension to pass muster. That's one area I still need to keep working on.

Time was 19:56.

"Griff"

Run 800m, 400m backwards, 800m, then 400m backwards.

This was a lot worse than it sounds. Of course, the massive four-plate brunch I had at Alredo's didn't help matters. I got a stitch in my side on the first 200m and it didn't let up. Running backwards really sucks.

12:57.

"Gates of Fire 2"

UPDATE - I had mistakenly thought the name of this WOD was "Gates of Hell 2"

Apparently, they do a lot of weighted squats in Hell. After yesterday's Heavy Fran thrusters, this one was a little tough.

50 sit-ups
50 push-ups
25 front squats
25 back squats
25 overhead squats
25 front squats
50 pull-ups
50 sit-ups

Rx'd weight for the squats is 65lb.

I was doing fine on the sit-ups until the last 10. The push-ups started to suck really early, like after 20 of them.

On all of the squat variations, the most I ever did consecutively was 12, and there were sets of 3 and 4, too.

My sissy hands were a bit raw from yesterday's pull-ups, so after a couple of sets of 10, it was 5s, 4s, and - by the end - 1s.

The last 50 sit-ups sucked HARD. After 10, I was starting to question whether I could do it. I turned to face the clock to give me a bit of motivation. I was hoping to beat 16:30, but I had like 9 left at 16:35. I managed to squeak in under the 17:00 mark, though.

16:57


We were supposed to wait five minutes after the last person was finished, then do a 400m sprint. I got a bit more of a rest than others, but my thighs were still threatening a mutiny when we lined up. Right off the start, Janimal kept a pretty good pace in front of me. That girl is in shape. I found a little bit of energy on the final 200, and managed to push myself pretty hard in the last 100m.

1:24

After this, I wondered what Gates of Hell 1 is like. I found a video on YouTube. If this is true, it looks truly awful. It would also be impossible for me, because I can't deadlift 315 once, let alone three times every other minute. And don't get me started on rope climbs.

Fran puts on 40lbs, becomes a real bitch

"Fran" is one of the most signature of CrossFit workouts. More CrossFitters know their Fran time than know their Mom's birthday.

"Fran" is:

21-15-9 reps

95lb thrusters
Pull-ups

The workout today was "Heavy Fran."

Heavy Fran is the same number of reps but with 135lb thrusters. 135lbs is a lot of weight for me. To put it into perspective, I just HATED doing salt bag thrusters during the Wall Ball Challenge, and this is with three times the weight.

I could have scaled it back, but I didn't want to do just regular Fran today, because the next time I do it, I want to significantly improve upon my current score, and I didn't feel like today was the day to do that. I could have gone with 115, but then I'd spend the rest of the day wondering if I should have just sucked it up and gone for the full 135. I figured with this, I would just slug my way through it and accept whatever the time ended up being.

I had gotten there late, and should have probably done a better warm-up, but I just wanted to get on with it.

The first set of 21 thrusters was awful. I think I did 6 straight off the bat, but from then on it was 4s and 3s. It's pretty bad when you start thinking of pull-ups as a break, but that's what they were. Pull-up sets were 11-10.

The second set of 15 wasn't much better. It's fewer, but at this point, I was already feeling it. I think the sets went 3-4-3-2-3. Pull-ups were 10 and 5.

Third set, 1-3-2-3. The last three was basically just me wanting so bad to be done, I didn't want to put the bar down. Pull-ups were 6-1-1-1.

Time was 13:55, which is probably at least twice what my regular Fran time would be if I did it today.

Fuck.

When I was done, I curled up in the fetal position for a few minutes, then I felt like I wanted to yak, so I went outside. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so nothing came up.

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.

Ring update

I haven't done a full-fledged workout on the rings yet, but I occasionally wander out to the garage and mess around with them a little. So far, I have done 6 consecutive ring dips and a 64 second support hold.

If ya like it, then you shoulda hung some rings from it

I just hung my brand spankin' new Rogue Fitness rings in my garage.

Time to start getting serious about dips and working toward a muscle-up. The latter, I figure, is a long-term project, but I am not in any rush.

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.

Burpees/Run

Burpees/Run
For time:

25 Burpees, 400M run
20 Burpees, 400M run
15 Burpees, 400M run
10 Burpees, 400M run
5 Burpees, 400M run

Burpees and 400m runs. I don't hate either of these things, until I'm actually doing them.

My time was 15:38. I've never done this workout before so I was a bit unsure how to pace myself. I liked that the burpees decreased in number, rather than increased, but at the end, it meant less time between runs.

I commented to Aaron that I think I'd prefer this to a version in which the number of burpees increased from 5-25. Of course, it being Aaron, he said I had just given him a great idea.

Fuck.

Anyway, I could have probably pushed myself a little more on the runs, but I would be "resting" during the first 200 or 300 metres, and then try to pick up the pace on the home stretch.

Diane

For time:
21-15-9 reps of
Deadlift 225lb/155lb
Handstand Push-ups.

I didn't do this one rx'd, but neither did anyone else in the 6am class. I deadlifted 185lbs and did kipping handstand pushups.

10:47. Couldn't catch the Janimal, who finished five seconds quicker.

I shouldn't have gone on YouTube, because I found a video of a guy doing this workout in under two minutes.


Fuck.

This week's gym challenge is doing levers on the pull-up bar. I tried doing that after the workout, but my shoulders remembered the 180+ pull-ups I did on Saturday and were all like "Fuck you, pal."

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).