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).
2 comments:
I was discussing with Nolan how his 100 days of training went for the finale. In the last 10 days he pushed himself daily for max reps before gassing which for him was a regular 35.
Did he even stop more than twice in the 100? Somehow I doubt it, that time is rediculous.
And I'm never going to do that again.
HB
What you did miss was the performance that Ang! put on after her Helen WOD. Ask her about hard boiled eggs and meatballs for breakfast, a nutritious and energy packed breakfast. I'll have to mention that to Robb Wolf at the nutrition cert.
And then the subsequent little asskicking that she took by my gentle hands. :)
HB
Good on you guys for finishing the wall ball challenge. Not one of the trainers (including myself) was man enough to finish it.
And a F-U-N rescue wod when I'm out of town???
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