Strength - Workout A

Back squat - Three sets of 5 x 230 lbs

Still heavy. The idea that I will one day be able to do 5 x 300 lbs seems almost absurd to me at this point.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 125 lbs

I failed on the fifth rep of my first set. I'd like to say that I did it to make Kurt happy, but that would be untrue. It did make Kurt happy, though. He received an extremely warm and satisfying feeling from watching someone else struggle with shoulder press; I wish I could find an appropriate metaphor that would accurately describe how happy this made Kurt. I was just unable to get my head forward on the last rep. I but got all five up on the next two sets. So I did an extra set and got all five reps on that, too. While exhaling on the last rep of the third set, I accidentally hocked a loogie six feet in front of me, which was pretty funny.


Power clean - Five sets of 3 x 160 lbs

These felt pretty good, too. I'm getting more comfortable with the hook grip.

Saturday Happy Fun Time

I can't remember what this WOD was called.

I partnered with Nathan and we split the non-running stuff, one partner working at a time.

21 pull-ups
200m run
21 push-ups
200m run
21 135lb squat clean and jerks
200m run
21 burpulls
200m run
21 handstand push-ups
200m run
21 calorie row
100m run.

The 9am class did this solo. I would like to give it a shot when I get my mojo back. It doesn't seem that much harder on paper, but then you remember that you get far less rest time and are doing a lot more work.

I couldn't get a smooth rhythm going for my pull-ups, so I probably looked like a spastic monkey up there. Thankfully, I only had to do 11.

I was a bit worried about how my back would handle the C&Js but it was good. My first three reps, I didn't get under the bar with a squat (I basically power cleaned it, front squatted, then jerked), but I got my shit together for reps 4-11 and it felt awesome.
Burpulls were better for my second set than they were for my first. I think I was just trying to keep up with Kurt and John.

My HSPUs have fallen off a bit, but I can still do them. Kipping ones anyway.

Time was 18:07 or 18:09. Can't remember.

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.

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.