Back to it

First WOD at CFR in a month and a half, unless you count me overhead-squatting and then breaking the sloshpipe at the farewell party for Robin and Aaron.  (I sort of do, but I didn't record it on the blog so...)



A. Snatch Complex: Snatch DL, Snatch Shrug Snatch high Pull, Snatch (bar, +20lbs, 40%,50%)


I did the complex with:
-the bar (twice)
-65lbs
-95lbs
Power Snatch – 70%x3x5
95x5
105x5
105x5


B. "Some Synergy

1. AMRAP in 5 minutes

- wall ball (20/14)

- Pull-ups

one of each, two of each, three of each, etc.

I completed the round of nine each, and did an extra 3 wall balls

Rest 2 minutes



2. For time

DU’s 50-40-30-20-10
Inch worm push ups 10-8-6-4-2

Time cap of 10 minutes

My time was 8:07  (according to Shae.  I think I finished in under 8:00.  I note this because I am that much of a wanker)

 

Mahalo, Kahala CrossFit

Toward the end of a two-week holiday in Hawaii, I managed to hit one CrossFit, in the hopes of countering all the fast food, beer, chips and mai tais. (No dice; I'm still a fat bastard).

Despite my many personal shortcomings, Kahala CrossFit let me join in on an early morning WOD on Christmas Eve. 

We did a verson of the 12 Days of Christmas WOD.  This one was considerably harder than the version I've done previously. 

Here's what we did:

1 power clean (135lbs)
2 handstand pushups
3 front squats (135lbs)
4 barbell roll-outs
5 C2B pull-ups
6 box jumps (24")
7 burpees
8 push-ups
9 wall ball
10 bell swings (55lb)
11 deadlifts (135lb)
12 thrusters

Remember, this workout is patterned like the song:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: one power clean (in a pear tree, which sounds awkward as hell).
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two handstand pushups, and a power clean. etc.

So, just like the song, the workout got increasingly more difficult to perform.  After not having worked out in nearly a month, this hit me like a ton of bricks.  At one point, I laid on my back on the ground during the actual workout.

My spirits were bolstered, however, by the gym's sound system blasting modern versions of classic tunes, like this little ditty:

Thankfully, once we performed the 12 thrusters, we were done (ie. we didn't have to go back down through the movements again.)

I'm not sure of my actual finish time.  It may have been in the 37-minute range.     

I liked CrossFit Kahala and would recommend it to anyone going to Honolulu. After the WOD, the class was nice enough to pose for a pic with me (which I will post as soon as I can get Blogger to stop sucking so hard).  The owner, Shane, is a good guy who knows his stuff and prioritizes proper form over the RAWR WE'RE GONNA WORK YOU OUT TIL YOU MEET PUKEY CUZ WE HARDCORE mentality. 

I would love to go back to that gym and not only because it would mean I was in Hawaii instead of freezing my giblets in this goddamn Saskatchewan winter.  Seriously, why doesn't everyone just live in Hawaii? 

VolkeFit: "Getting Ripped n' Shit"

Not to be confused with "Getting Ripped and Shitting."

Three 8-minute AMRAPs - resting for 8 minutes in between.

#1

15 Wall ball
50 double unders
10 Hand-release push-ups
15 KB swings

#2
Airdyne, with 15 sit-ups after every minute of cycling completed

#3
5 pullups
10 ball slams
5 ring dips
10 squats

More Rowing

Back on the C2.  

I did about 600m as a warm-up.  It wasn't intended as a warm-up, but my daughter (age 3) took a tumble down a couple of stairs, so that interrupted things.  (She was fine, just a little upset about it)

Once that had been dealt with, I decided to do a couple sets of 1000m again with a two-minute rest between.  I also figured out where a stopwatch was on my new phone, so I didn't have to use the clock on the basement's cordless phone like I was some kind of reject. 

1. 1000m: 3:40   Not a PR, but a pretty good pace.  I think I started off a little slow. 
2. 1000m: 3:44   By the end, I was going hard, grunting, and looking for all intents and purposes like a total spaz.  I may have freaked out my in-laws (who live in my basement).

Rowing

My seldom used, practically brand new C2 rower got put to use yesterday.  Everyday, I see it and I feel guilty that it doesn't get used more.  It wasn't cheap and it takes up valuable real estate in our rec room. 

This week, for one night anyway, it got used a little bit.  Because of some stuff going on at home, it's been tough to make it to the gym lately.  But that's no excuse for not exercising. 

I don't like long rows.  I like them nasty and short. 

So I did 5x500m, resting two minutes between each one.

I wasn't attempting to go balls out, but I did want to keep my time for each under 2:00 consistently.  I did that.  I actually think I was between 1:40 and 1:50 for all of them, except for maybe the first. 

Judging from the amount I sweated, and the fact that I was just a touch lightheaded afterward, it seemed to do the trick.

VolkeFit: "Ground and Pound"

5x 5minute rounds, one minute at each station.

Mountain Climbers - I should probably be quicker; if I was climbing an actual mountain at the pace I use, a Yeti would easily catch and eat me. At least I'm paleo. 
Ball Slams - I still fucking love these.  UNLEASH THE HATE, TYLER. GO AHEAD.
Burpees - I am sort of slow on these now because the jumping up with hands above my head irritates my leg.
Ropes - I don't look nearly as impressive or intense as Steve when he does this.
AirDyne - I was trying to keep the pace above 200 watts. I go a little faster at the end.

I got one minute rest after the first and second rounds, and three minutes after the third and fourth. 

I didn't keep score, and I didn't have a result in mind that I wanted to hit, but my goal was just to do as much as I could and keep moving. 

I mostly did that, except on the burpees. 

Nautical Nancy

I've done variations of this but tonight was the first time I've done Nautical Nancy in the strict, "Five rounds, for time" way. 

Five rounds for time:

500m row
15 overhead squats (95lb)

16:59 rx'd

Nicole wrote down 17:00, but I made her change it, because I made sure to lock out before that second was up, and also because I'm a wanker. 

I'm happy with that time.  Hell, I was only 20 seconds slower than Shae, and anytime I'm in the same neighbourhood as him on a WOD, I'm not gonna complain. 

I took it relatively easy on the rows (all were between 1:50 and 2:05, plus transition time)

As a result, I was able to do all but one of the OHS sets unbroken, or at least without lowering the bar.  I did pause a bit or adjust my balance.  I also did the squats fairly quickly.  That's really the key to doing well on this.  Putting the bar down, picking it back up, re-setting your feet... those things will all cost me far more time than if I row the 500m in 1:40 vs. 1:55.  Plus, the more time you hang out with the bar above your head, the more fatigued you get, and the more you wear out your shoulders. 

Snatchy Snatch Snatch / "Breathless"

A. Snatchy Snatch Snatch*

*Not the official name. But it should be, amiright?

1. Snatch Complex: Snatch DL, Snatch Shrug, Snatch high Pull, Snatch (bar, +20lbs, 40%,50%)
2. Snatch 60% x 3, 65% x 3, 70% x3x3 – build into with snatch with complex, focus on bar positioning and ending up on toes in full extension. Do not set bar down in between each rep, lower the bar so it is about 1 inch from floor (completing 3 reps not 3 singles). 

I did 95, 105 and 115. 

Uncles gave me a good tip on the snatch.  He said I could be opening my hips more.  I kept that in mind and noticed an immediate difference. 


B.  Metcon = “Breathless”
AMRAP in 12mins:
15 Burpees
35 Double Unders

Note to self: When doing a WOD that has double unders, ensure that your shorts are laced sufficiently tightly so they don't start falling down around your ass in the first fucking round, forcing you to drop the rope and waste precious seconds retying your shorts so that you preserve some shred of modesty.

Other than that, things went just swimmingly.  Meaning, I sucked wind like this one as much as I did when swimming* at Spring Fling.

*Fuck swimming, amiright? Fuck it in its ear.

In addition to the near self-pantsing, my first attempt at double unders also featured a couple of sets of five or less.  Somewhat less than efficient. 

In subsequent rounds, I did them in 20 and 15.  In the last one, though, I was trying to maximize my score, so I did 35 straight.  Not sure if that was smart, because I wanted to complete 15 burpees and get back on the rope, but I was pretty gassed.

No dice.  I only got to 12 burpees. 

Final score: 5 rounds + 12 burpees.

Partner AMRAP: Box jumps, Thrusters, Pull-ups

I didn't think this one would be that bad. 

Stupid me.  Those are ALWAYS the ones that get you. 

Partner AMRAP in 30 minutes:

15 box jumps
10 thrusters (95lbs)
5 pull-ups

One partner completes a round while the other one rests.

I partnered with Rankin. 

He went a lot faster than me on this.  The thrusters slowed me way down.  When it was my turn for rest, I would sprawl out on the floor, praying that he would just slow the fuck down.  I mean, c'mon dude, what is your fucking rush? 

We got 18 rounds, plus 15 box jumps plus 3 thrusters. 


* * *

On another front, I've written before about my personal rule against cherrypicking WODs. 

In this article, which I found thanks to my pal Paul Park, a guy who makes a case for doing just that:


Stupidity Spreads Like a Cold Sore at a Christmas Party

Excerpt:

I’ve always had a problem with this idea that CrossFitters shouldn’t cherry pick their WODs. At some point, there is going to be a workout on the whiteboard that your gut is telling you NOT to do. You need to decide right then and there if you are going to be a lemming or not. Maybe it’s not in line with your goals. Maybe you think the risk of injury is too high. Maybe it’s your birthday and you hate running and would rather deadlift. Maybe it’s a sumo deadlift high pull and therefore, not even a real thing.
The point is, when you ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?,” an intelligent coach will be able to give you an answer. If they cannot tell you why they program the way they do, then take your money elsewhere and find a coach who can.
...
To quote myself, “If more people had the balls to cherry pick WODs, I think some Crossfit coaches would stop being so stupid about programming. When a room full of people finally looks at the whiteboard and says, ‘You know what? This is just fucking idiotic. This isn’t a productive use of my time and it doesn’t help me reach my goals. I refuse to do this,’ then I shall celebrate.”


Truthfully, I don't disagree with any of this.  Well, maybe not the "I don't want to run because it's my birthday" thing.  Don't be such a pussy. 

When I wrote about not cherrypicking WODs, it was more targeted at people like myself who could find a good reason not to work out.  For me, skipping the gym is a first class ticket back to Fatfuckville. 

My fitness goals have never been well-defined, other than "Be less of a fat fuck."

However, in light of a few injuries, I would probably amend that to add "and try not to cripple yourself, idiot."

With that addition in mind, I will probably be a bit more selective in what I ask my body to do.  Ideally, this would not mean skipping a workout, but rather simply modifying it.   

VolkeFit: Awesomesauce

I think Steve actually does name his WODs, but I can't for the life of me remember what he called what I did on Saturday.  For the time being, let's just call it "Awesomesauce":

12 minutes, rotating through three different one-minute tasks:

First minute:
-6 ball slams
-6 pull-ups

Second minute:
-5 burpees over kettlebell
-20 double-unders

Third minute:
-Ten calories on the AirDyne

Repeat this four times. 


A few notes:
-I was able to do everything in the time allotted. 
-I was worried I wouldn't get done the DUs in time, but I didn't have any problems there other than a couple of times my rope hit something.
-I managed to have a good 20 seconds left over to rest after the pull-ups.  I also had some time left over in each minute after the AirDyne. It's funny how 20 seconds can seem so short when you're resting, but so very long when you've already been holding a "hollow rock" pose for 40 seconds.  
-I find ball slams very cathartic. There was something uniquely satisfying about picking up something somewhat heavy and slamming that fucker down as hard as I can. Steve, if you're reading this, make me do more of those.


Afterward, Steve had Tracey do alternating four-minute stints on the AirDyne.  For the first two minutes, we'd go at a reasonable pace (I tried to keep my "watts" between 160 and 180) and then a bit faster in the second two minutes (I was over 200).

We each had three shifts.   I was happy when it was done.