CFR: Rockin' Robin

Warm-up 

30-20-10 of:
Bell swings
Sit-ups

Not for time.  I did each set unbroken.



WOD

"Rockin' Robin"

Three rounds for time of:
1 rope climb from seated
10 clean and jerks (135lbs)
100 double unders

I finished in 15:40

Judging from the other times on the board from today, I'm happy with this.     Most times were 20-plus minutes,  I wonder if that was due to some congestion at the climbing ropes? Or maybe they did a different WOD.

I didn't feel like I was going that fast.  Actually, I deliberately didn't blast through my clean and jerks on the first round, not wanting to burn myself out for the DUs and the rope climbs.

I finished the first round in about 4:00.

The second round was tougher.  I almost failed on the rope climb.  The clean and jerks felt like they took forever, and I think I had a couple of premature fuck-ups on the double unders. It took me more than 6:00 to complete the round.

I took a good 30-plus second rest before attempting the third rope climb.  I didn't want to climb halfway up and then fail, wasting energy and time.

The third rope climb went easier than the second.  The clean and jerks seemed to go faster, after Leya told me to not bother with the split jerk and just do a push jerk instead.  She also gave me a good tip about my breathing.  Basically, I was treating the 135lbs like it was 175lbs and it was slowing me down.

The double unders were okay.  I think I did them in sets of 36-34-30.

Sandbag Shitstorm / MUs #2 and #3

The programming at CrossFit Regina called for a strength segment and metcon, as per usual.

I was looking forward to doing back squats for the first time in a while, but got hung up at home so completely missed that part.

I did get there in time for the metcon, though. 

 

A. "Sandbag Shitstorm"*

*not the official name... but it's an awesome name and if you think otherwise, I will fight you. 

10min AMRAP:


30 Sand bag walking lunges 45/20
30 sand bag shouldering (15 each) +5 squats with bag on left shoulder, 5 squat with bag on right shoulder
100 sand bag carry

I got 2 rounds, plus 30 lunges plus 15, uh, shoulderings and 4 squats.

I guess that's okay.  But I think I was without inspiration due to a lack of appropriate WOD music.

Given the sandbaggy nature of this WOD, they should have played "Darube" by Sandstorm on a constant loop. (Please enjoy this timeless techno classic, accompanied by visuals of legendary MMA fighter Wanderlei Silva mauling people by punching, kneeing, and stomping.  Oh so much stomping)

Really, this song should be the soundtrack for all of our lives.  It would make us all a minimum142% better. 

 

B. Muscle-Up practice

So I figured that I'd do the backsquats with the 7pm crowd, after doing the metcon at 6:30.  When I mentioned this to Aaron, he replied, "Your backsquats will be severely compromised by the metcon."
While I am the #VoiceOfReason for my Neanderthal buddies on our upcoming UFC roadtrip to Winnipeg (a group which includes Aaron), I have to admit that he was right.   It's reassuring to know I have someone who can step in as a #SubstituteVoiceOfReason should I get stabbed by a Winnipeg ne'er-do-well or throttled by Harlan. 

Instead of doing backsquats, I thought I'd work on muscle-ups, since I hadn't been able to get a second one since the day I finally knocked the MU monkey off my back. 

I got some tips from Ann-Marie and Leya.  After a few frustrating attempts and walking away, I did a few jumping MU's and then came back to the rings with no one around. 

Nailed it.  I was so happy, I just stayed up there and waited until Leya noticed from across the gym, since it seems like the only time I can do these fucking things is when she's present. 

I then made a less than graceful dismount that ended up with me falling down on my ass. 

A few minutes later, I decided I wanted to try for a second one.  I got it, though it was a bit more of a struggle to push myself up.  No one-legged eggbeater move though. 

So, in the course one evening, I managed to increase my lifetime total for MUs by 200%. 

VolkeFit Harbour Village Throwdown!

Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Squat, and you squat alone.

Steve hosted another CrossFit get-together in his garage on Saturday.  (Oh shit, I hope by me calling it that, I'm not getting him in trouble with CrossFit HQ.  Gotta protect the brand, y'know.)

There were 11 people taking part, I think.  We split up into teams, and I ended up on a stacked team consisting of Matt, Leya, Shae, and Uncles.  It was kind of like being a journeyman left-winger for the Moose Jaw Warriors who somehow ends up playing on the mid-80s Edmonton Oilers dynasty team.

I didn't record results, so I'll just talk about what we did. 

WOD #1

Teams of three, conga line.  Two rounds of: 

10 burpees

15 squats

200m-ish run 

(Joel, Leya and me)

This was fine.  I like doing all of this stuff.  This was the first time I ran outside in my new, minimalist Innov-8s, so I may have gone a little slower as I was more conscious of where I was stepping. 

Or maybe I was just running that slow because I haven't actually run anywhere in five months. 

WOD #2 

Teams of three, one person working at a time 

-Three minutes of OHS for max reps (95lbs)

-Two minutes of hand-release push-ups 

(Matt, Shae and me)

I think I mostly held my own on the OHS, doing a couple sets of 15.  Let's not talk about how I did on the push-ups, mmkay?


WOD #3
7-minute AMRAP:
Teams of three, one person at each station:
-Sit-ups
-20 power cleans (135 and 95lbs)
-handstand hold

(Matt, Leya and Uncles)

Score was the max sit-ups.  You switch whenever one teammate has completed the 20 cleans. And -- here's the nasty part, which I'm proud to say was my idea -- you can only work when the one teammate is in the handstand hold 

I sat this one out... which made it way more entertaining. 



If your face doesn't look like this when you CrossFit, you're doing it wrong



WOD #4

5-minute AMRAP (I think... I could have the time wrong)

Teams of three - Each person at a station, rotate when everyone's done.



Keep in mind, the camera adds a good 50-60 lbs



-20 overhead lunges - 45lbs 

-20 front squats - 135lbs

-20 kettlebell snatches - 55lbs

The front squats were a special kind of awful, especially when you (meaning me) are the last person to finish at your  station in a garage full of hyper-fit people and your team is waiting for you to hurry the fuck up, fatass so they can get back to exercising. 

WOD #5

Everyone does this, going through one at a time. 

One minute at each station:

-Wall ball

-Box jumps (20")

-Pull-ups

-Battle ropes

Battle ropes are one of those things that look not so bad, but then you do them and you are just praying for the sweet release of death. 

***

Driving with Arnold:

I saw this on Fuck Yeah CrossFit and I liked it so I stole it and put it here. 

 

A Spaz with a Muffin Top - What's not to love?

A. Power Snatch Double 2-2-2-2-2

95-115-125-135-145

Leya was coaching and was doing her best to remain positive about most of my form while being diplomatic about the fact that I'm jumping and stomping way too much. 

Let's face facts:  In life, and in CrossFit, I'm a bit of a spaz.  I'm always gonna be a bit of a spaz.  And when I snatch, I snatch as a spaz would.

As I stepped up to the bar for the last set, it occurred to me that I was stuck on a single snatch at 140 for the longest time.  Now, I wasn't even all that nervous about two at 145.  Truthfully, I probably would have attempted to go heavier afterward if it wasn't so late.  We had to move on to the metcon.

  

B. “Open 12.3″

AMRAP in 18 minutes:

• 15 Box Jumps 24″/20″
• 12 Push Press 115lb/75lb
• 9 Toes to Bar

I got 6 rounds + 15 box jumps + 12 push press  + 2 T2B

Not quite as good as my results last year when I got 7+ rounds, but it's not too far off.  Last year, I think there would have been more a competition feel to it, and I was probably a little more warmed up.  I also think I surprised myself with how good I did last year, so this was okay. 

After seeing some pictures from the Volke's garage WOD and thinking I looked a bit silly in a pair of excessively baggy shorts, I decided to wear some shorts that were more reasonably sized. 

As it turns out, the tighter waistband on those shorts accentuated my already considerable muffin top.  That was unfortunate for bystanders at CFR last night, as I decided I needed to ditch my shirt for the last part of the metcon. 

Max Clean and Jerk / Angie to the Max

A. Max Clean & Jerk 3-2-1-1-1

 

135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1, 210x1(PR)

 

 

B. “Angie to the Max”

 

2 rounds of 2 minutes AMRAP each of:

• Pullups
• Pushups (not exactly modified, but, as Leya pointed out, they were substandard and shitty ... though I don't really blame her*)
• Situps 
• Squats

I really need to pay better attention.  I thought this was two minutes of Tabata for each of these exercises and didn't realize that it wasn't until I looked up at the clock. 

Then when I fiinished the squats on the first round, I thought I was done.  I sat down and started adding up my results, glad it was over.  Then I realized everyone else was back doing pull-ups. 

Knowing I had to do another eight minutes of this was a very unpleasant wake-up call.

 

Total reps, if I did the math right, was 363. 

Overheard at the Gym:

"My God, Leya, your shins! You should wear socks.  Not to protect your shins.  To protect me from having to see your shins."
-Me.

.

800m runs, Cleans/WB, Burpee surprise

The gym was originally going to be closed today but some bellyaching from me and others resulted in Leya opening it up.

That was the good news.

The bad news was the fact that the WOD she selected was some nightmare Hero WOD involving a bunch of back squats and a total of 15 bloody rope climbs.

While I have preached in the past about people who trade WODs, I did just that today. I justified it because my sissy hands were still a little raw from the pull-ups in Saturday's Tabata Angie. I tried doing one rope climb in the warm-up and couldn't reach the top.

So I did the Thursday WOD instead:

A. 800m Run for time

I did it in 3:19. I just checked the benchmarks on the side to see what my best ever time for an 800m run is and I have a time recorded from 2009 of 2:57.

I can only assume that I was being chased by a puma at the time because holy crap that seems unattainable right now. I was probably a good 15 lbs lighter back then.


B. Dot Com 120517 5 rounds for time of 10 Power Cleans – 135/95lb 15 Wall Ball – 20/14lb

11:26


C. 800m Run for time (400m route x2)

3:29

Before the run Leya told me that there was a surprise: for every second you were slower on the second 800m run, there was a one-burpee penalty. I'm actually surprised my second time was that close. I was worn out from Part B and my left shoe felt like it was about ready to come untied. Not a bad Sunday, though.


Bonus: 10 burpees, not for time.

.

"My Pet Rock"

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

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

Brief Rest

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

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

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

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

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

We were done the first part at 70:57

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

"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.

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.

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.

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.