2010-05-16

Warmup - ME, Run Prep

Run 1 Mile - 10:25

WOD:
4 rounds

Run 400m
12 kb clean/pp left 12kg
12 kb clean/pp right 12kg (8 kg)
21 situps

31:56
2:18.76; 4:34.80; 1:12.75
2:36.17; 4:06.05; 1:15.83
2:31.74; 4:17.38; 1:32.12
2:13.71; 4:36.94; 0:40

Probably should have kept separate times for left and right -the 8kg KB is a little on the light side for my right so the right side went much faster, but the green is too heavy. I should maybe have tried a 20# dumbell instead.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2010-05-09

WOD:
3 Rounds

30 Double-Under
20 Burpee
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead, two hands, using any kettlebell
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead left, using any kettlebell
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead right, using any kettlebell

Due to the blisters on my feet I skipped the DU and Burpees. I used 1P for the KB swings, 12kg for for the left handed hip 2 OH, and 8kg for the right handed hip 2 OH. My rep scheme was 15, 20, 30. I did clean and PP for both left and right. It's been so long since I did KB snatches, I just didn't feel comfortable keeping them stabilized.

9:56; 10:05; 9:29 = 29:31

AMRAP - Pushups, Cleans & Situps

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

5 push-ups
10 hang clean 95/65 (subbed 2 8kg KB)
15 sit-ups

Results:
14 rounds + 6 cleans.

Wow. I seem to have rediscovered my workout mojo, somewhere. YAY!!!

So - 75 pushups, 146 cleans, and 210 situps in 20 min. Not bad! Especially considering how sore I was going into it. I just focused on keeping moving the entire time. This beats my best Cindy score by about 2 rounds. But, since pushups were limited to 5, I never really had to fight muscular failure like I frequently do on Cindy - transition times were considerably shorter, too.

My fastest round (the first) was 1:10, my slowest was 1:29 - though that might have been the round i tried to offer advice to a newbie on how to do the KB cleans. My average was 1:22.

1:10, 1:15, 1:23, 1:23, 1:28, 1:20, 1:29, 1:27, 1:24, 1:24, 1:22, 1:26, 1:20, 1:26, 0:38 (5 pushups and 6 cleans)

Happily, I was able to stay pretty consistent.

Folks who did it RX (with the much heavier clean weight) mostly got fewer rounds, although Andrea - who did it Rx - got 16+ which is just rockstar performance, though 65# is not that heavy for a clean for her.

I definitely paid for the cleans the next day. 400m of walking lunges + 146 cleans (at any weight) = hammy and ass pain. Walking and sitting were definitely not fun.

But yay for 14 rounds! I'm pretty excited about this performance.

KB strength WOD

WOD 090903

Kettlebell Swing 18-15-12-9-6

Kettlebell Clean and Push-Press, each arm 15-12-9-6-3

Kettlebell Snatch, each arm 12-9-6-3-1

Results:
All weights in KG

Swing 12-12-16-16-(tried 24 - couldn't get it overhead)-16

Clean & PP
R 8-8-8-8-12(f)
L 8-8-8-12-12

Snatch
R 4-4-8-8-8
L 8-8-8-12-12

Kettlemania

Max got some new, heavier kettlebells, and celebrated with a WOD designed to let us play with them (if we could).

Kettlebell Swing 18-15-12-9-6
Kettlebell Clean and Push-Press, each arm 15-12-9-6-3
Kettlebell Snatch, each arm 12-9-6-3-1

Swing: 2p - 2p - 80# - 88# - 88#
Clean/PP: 1p - 1p - 1.25p - 1.5p - 1.5p
Snatch: 1.25p - 1.25p - 1.5p - 1.5p - 1.5p

My shoulders are fried, and my hands very tender - ripped a little bit, but didn't pull any callouses off.

The new 80 and 88# kettlebells are pretty tough to use. The handles are thicker, very rough, and the opening is smaller such that putting both my hands in there smashes my knuckles together. Definitely not something I can do a lot of volume with with any comfort level. There's also a 97#, but that beast is just too damn heavy to get overhead.

Strength Cycle, week 1 cont'd - and Fight Gone Bell

Today was an experiment, to see if Rebecca and I could do our strength workout directly before the Firebreather WOD. The answer, for today at least, was yes - we'll see what happens when the strength weight gets heavier. The CFSB protocol calls for short and heavy metcons (~10 mins) after lifting, so I'm thinking this could be similar.

Deadlift x 5: 185 - 205 - 225
Deadlift x 21: 185
Press x 5: 65 - 70 - 75
Press x 21: 65

The deadlifts were pretty much fine, although my back was surprisingly sore - maybe from Friday's 3x7. I was able to knock out the 185 unbroken, though, with only medium discomfort - I'll go up next week. The 21 shoulder presses, however, were 12-5-4: I'll keep it at this weight until I can do all of them.

Following that, we got to go outside on a gorgeous sunny spring day for the Firebreather WOD.

Fight Gone Bell
3 rounds, one minute each movement (1.5 pood) with a minute of rest in between, of:

• Swing
• Clean
• Goblet Squat
• Push Press
• Snatch

225 RX

My first thought, looking at this, was that 300 would be a good goal: 20 reps of each movement. Upon further reflection, I altered it somewhat to 25-25-20-15-15 per round. I almost managed to actually do that for the first round, too.

Exercise	1	2	3	Total
KB Swing	25	25	20	70
KB Clean	25	16	14	55
KB Goblet Squat	20	15	10	45
KB Push-press	5	4	4	13
KB Snatch	20	10	12	42
TOTAL	95	70	60	225

Clearly, push-presses were my downfall. (Well, that and my vaulting optimism that I'd be able to maintain that pace for three rounds.) I'm sure the press workout beforehand did not help, but 1.5 pood push-presses have never been particularly strong for me (in fact, doing them at all is a pretty recent phenomenon). This was a good workout, overall - not as nausea-inducing as Gita (who designed it) hoped, but a good combination of many key ways to torture yourself with kettlebells.

Baby Fire Breather

Strength WOD
Warmup - ME, stripper stretch, hip openers, 20 air squats.
DL 5x3
Warmup - 45# x 10
95-115-120
95# x 21 (had to break @ rep 13 and every 3-4 reps after that to keep form safe)

Press 5x3
Warmup - 25#x10
35-40-45
25# X 21 - unbroken - 30# next week

Fire Breathers WOD:



Warmup: run 400m, ME, 25 situps, 10 pushups, WOD skills practice KB(swing, clean, goblet squat, PP, snatch)

WOD:
FGB Rules
Men 1.5P/Women 1.0P

Swing
Clean
Goblet Squat
Push Press
Snatch

Results:

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
KB Swing	15	14	12	41
KB Clean	9	3R 6L	1R 8L	27
KB Goblet Squat	6	6	7	19
KB Push-press	0	2	1	3
KB Snatch	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	30	31	29	90

Comments:
Well - first of all, I can't believe my math was so bad. I originally though5 - for some unknown reason I cannot now figure out- that my score was 61. It was actually 90. Still less than half the next lowest score, but much better than 61!

I am extremely excited that I got 4 cleans total with the 1P with my right arm, and a couple PP with the 1P with my left. Both firsts for me :-) I think my form with the goblet squats was a bit better than on Wednesday - I did better at keeping my chest up.

In the first round i did some PP & Snatches with the 12kg KB, but in the second round Max told me just to focus on the stuff I could do Rx and to just rest for the rounds i couldn't get anything, so the reps that were done with the 12kg are not listed above. In the last round I was not ready to just rest for the whole last round, so I worked on KB highpulls (snatch progressions) with the 1P with my right arm (I didn't keep count). On a really good rep I could get it shoulder high, on a less good rep I got it a little less than boob high. I think this could be a really good exercise for me to practice to work on really strengthening my right arm & shoulder (and hip drive). I'll try to remember it whenever I am looking for "cash out" or even warm-up options.

Sleep:
12:54 - 9:45 Hooray for extra sunlight! A pretty sound night's sleep - think I woke up twice, but they were brief. Woke up with congested ears though :-( DO NOT WANT DANIEL's COLD. :-P

Food:
10:30 - 3 egg cheesy scramble w/ 2 pieces turkey bacon. 12oz coffee w/2/3 cup milk
11:00 - 1 multiv, 3 wellness formula, 2 glucosamine, 4 omega-3
2:15 - 16 oz milk
3:35 - 1 bowl orange curry, 16 oz milk
7:30 - House of Curries: Approx: 1 8oz cup chai tea, 1/2 order each of daal, chicken w/cauliflower, tandoori chicken tikka & paneer tikka masala.
11:15 - 2 zma

Good intensity - bad squat power

Warmup: run 800m (got a side stitch today :-( hasn't happened in a while) test thrusters, front squats, cleans

WOD:
Four Rounds

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. The stations are:

1. Thruster 95#/65#(Reps)
2. Power Clean 2p/1.5p KB (Reps)
3. Front Squat 2P/1.5P (Reps)
4. Clap Push-Up (Reps)
5. Pull-Ups (Reps)

Subs:
1. 45#
2. L 1P, R .75P
3. 1P
4. hopping pushups
5. kip attempts

Results:

	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Total
45# Thruster	6	5	6	5	22
1P/.75p Clean	10/4	8/7	6/6	5/10	29/27
1P Front Squat	9	8	5	7	29
Hopping Push-ups	14	13	14	13	54
Pullups	11	11	12	14	48
Total	54	52	49	54	209

Comments:
I worked really hard to get this score. I feel very good about my intensity/effort applied on this workout. Regardless. My thrusters and my front squats suck. I have no power coming up out of the squat. I need to find that. I thought I might be able to do my thrusters at 55# maybe even 60# - 45 was about all I could manage. And the thrusters were really more like front squat/presses. (see note re: NO POWER).

I don't think I've ever done cleans with the 1P before, so it was cool to be able to do those for at least one arm. I couldn't QUITE get them up with my right arm yet, but the .75 one was pretty easy so the 1P should be close.

The hopping pushups went pretty well ... I can't get enough height to warrant a clap yet, but I don't think they're too far off either. Maybe a month or two. Hopping is far easier than clapping, so I really made up in numbers here what I was missing in thrusters.

My kip attempts were ... pretty good. I think I really have the kip mechanics nailed - and I can string 5 or 6 together pretty easily, I just lack the strength to pull myself up the last few inches. The frustrating thing is I feel like I had that about a month ago. I don't know where it went. Not enough GtG? Need to work SDHP or rowing or ... something to get my pull strength up.

Sleep:
12:50 - 8:40 - only woke up 2 or 3 times.

Food:
10am coffee black
12:30 20oz 2% milk
1:20 8 oz chicken fried steak with 3/4 cup gravy and 2 eggs over easy. 1 small bite buttermilk biscuit. 12 oz coffe w/ 3oz half n half
3:30 2 oz spiced cashews
4:00 1 multiv., 3 omega-3, 2 glucosamine, 1 magn./zinc/calc.
8:15 1 svg/bowl veggie sausage w/ beans & kale, 16oz 2%milk

Fight Gone Sandbag

I had a difficult time getting out of bed this morning. My entire posterior chain, from hamstrings to traps, was screaming at me. After staggering and wincing around for a while, I forced myself to do some stretches and deep breathing, and felt more functional. I wasn't sure how to approach today's workout, but in the interest of not damaging myself further or rendering myself incapable of motion, I decided to take it really easy.

Four Rounds
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. The stations are:

1. Thruster 95#/65#(Reps)
2. Hang Clean 2P/1.5P (Reps)
3. Front Squat 2P/1.5P(Reps)
4. Clap Push-Up (Reps)
5. C2B Pull-Ups (Reps)

208 not-at-all-RX
(I did the women's weight for everything, and did regular pushups and pullups)

	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Total
Pull-ups	10	10	10	12	42
65# Thruster	10	10	10	10	40
1.5P Clean	10	10	10	12	42
1.5P Front Squat	10	10	10	12	42
Push-ups	10	10	10	12	42
Total	50	50	50	58	208

So I sandbagged the shit out of this one. The last round WAS hard, and I did have to push myself, but the first three rounds were only moderately uncomfortable, and since I could do all the reps unbroken, I usually wound up with ~30 seconds of rest between exercises.

I don't know how guilty I should feel about this. What is the appropriate level of intensity for a workout when you're already really sore? I still need to figure this out. My hunch is that it's better to absolutely kill yourself once or maybe twice a week and spend the rest of your time recovering than it is to maintain a doable rate across the entire week.

After showering I did some butterfly practice on the rings - I can consistently knock out a set of about five butterfly kips before my form fails and I lose the momentum. They are tiring and harder than regular kips, but they feel really good and FAST.

Rassafrassin' Double-unders

Only went half-volume for the morning workout, which is ultimately probably a good thing - though I always feel like a bum when I finish 10 minutes before everyone else.

AMRAP in 20 minutes
5 Push-Up
10 Sit-Up
15 Jump Squats

9 rounds in 10 minutes

After a long, pleasant lunch at Bacheeso's, it was back to the gym for the afternoon Firebreather WOD.

50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Swing, 2P/1.5P
50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Clean & Jerk 1.5P/1.0P
50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Snatch 1.5P/1.0P

16:21 RX

As expected, the worst part was the jerks. I did the swings and snatches 10-10-5, but the C&J's were sets of 5, and took much longer. It's technically the same amount of work as a snatch, but with less power, and I vastly prefer the snatches. I feel really solid with my KB snatches. It's gratifying to be really good at ONE movement, at least - particularly since everything else still needs so much work.

...speaking of which, my time on this would have been VASTLY better if I had reliable double-unders that I could chain together. Why, oh why will these not come to me?

WOD:
AMRAP* in 20 minutes

12 KB deadlift
3 KB clean left arm
3 KB push-press left arm
9 KB swing
3 KB clean right arm
3 KB push-press right arm

Results:
12 kb used for everything except right arm PP used 8kg.

Round	Time	Rest
1	1:43
2	2:04	0:25
3	2:00	0:29
4	2:11	0:32
5	1:54	0:25
6	1:54	1:01
7	1:52	0:20
8	1:31
9	1:36
Total	16:45	3:12

Comments:
Really wish i could reliably manage the PP with the 12 KG KB with my right arm. Other than that, this went well. I don't think i was working hard enough since i was able to make my rounds so much faster as the 20 minutes wore on.

The video is of my second to last round, i think.

Learning my lesson

OK, ok, I get it. Working out twice a day, multiple days a week, is bad for you. Unless you're very careful to eat enough, sleep enough, and be young enough, it's a recipe for overtraining. And yet...I keep doing it, lately.

It's not even that I feel particularly DRIVEN or anything. It's just that there are all these opportunities, and sometimes it's hard to say no, and they add up. So I was pretty exhausted last night, but I got a solid 10 hours' sleep, and woke up feeling pretty good. I went to this morning's class, but vowed to take it easy and just treat it like a warmup, basically, in anticipation of this afternoon's firebreather class.

AMRAP* in 20 minutes
12 KB deadlift
3 KB clean left arm
3 KB push-press left arm
9 KB swing
3 KB clean right arm
3 KB push-press right arm

Men: 1.5 P

I did 6 rounds in 10 minutes with 1 pood. It felt almost like goofing off. I spent the rest of the time taking pictures of folks who were actually working.

Then we went to Rudy's for lunch, where the poor waitress was VERY proactive about meeting our no-sugar requirements. She even got the cook to yell at her, she was asking about so many things. It's pretty difficult to get a meal together there without sugar, but we figured out the burgers (on sourdough) are OK, as are some of the omelets. It took the typical Rudy's long time, though, so that by the end of lunch I just went back to gym rather than going home.

The skills we worked on in the advanced class were pistols, muscle-ups and L-pullups. I'm actually kinda close on pistols - I can get down if I hold my foot, I just can't get back up again. Similarly, I can do an L-pullup if you're generous with the obliqueness of the angle on the L. I am hopeless with the muscle-up. I can't even maintain the false grip, and as soon as I start to try and kip my fingers slide back into regular pullup position. I really need to just practice holding the false grip, I think.

The workout was, as it turns out, a typo:

100 KB Hang Cleans, 1.5 pood

4:42 RX

He meants to write "Hang Snatches," which, obviously, would have put the workout into the same "oh, shit" category as last week's. As it was, it was difficult, but not inordinately so, and many of us suspected he meant to say snatches so practiced those for a while afterward. I can do 1.5 pood snatches, but not well, and the idea of 100 scares me. He's said that's what we'll do next week, though, so I guess I better suck it up.

My biceps have the telltale deep ache of potential overtraining, so I think I should lay off arm-intensive stuff for a little bit. We're going to miss class tomorrow, but could maybe get in some 5x5 deadlifts. Or maybe not.

Perhaps a Bad Idea

I was pretty sore yesterday, after Murph. But it was manageable. Enough that we decided to take a rest day, but not so much as to cause concern. This morning, however, was worse. The DO in DOMS seems to be a little longer than usual, this time. However, that did not stop me from doing the WOD, mostly because it looked like a lot of fun and would give me a real opportunity to practice my kettlebell snatch form, something I've been wanting to do (I've got my eye on that level II 60 x 1.5 pood KB snatch).

For time:
Buy-in: Run 800 meters
Get 10,000 pounds/7,000 pounds from the ground to overhead, anyway anyhow.
Cash-out: 25 Burpees

Rules of engagement:

• Object must begin at a point of contact with the ground.
• Object must be held overhead in a stabilized position.
• At the top of the movement, the knee, hip, shoulder and elbow joints must be at full extension.
• At the top of the movement an observer looking from the side must be able to see some portion of the athletes ear.

37:00 RX
Performed as:
240 x 1pood KB snatch
30 x 2pood KB clean & push-press(two-arm)
=10,500 pounds. Oops!

Math on the fly in these sorts of circumstances is not my strong suit, so I overshot the mark by 15 reps or so. Oh well.

I really like KB snatches, actually. Done correctly, the weight just floats up there. My forearms are not banged up at all, but the skin on the palms of my hands is really thrashed. I went through half a roll of tape today, and still have a nice little collection of ripped calluses and blood blisters to show for it. It was really the clean & push-presses that did it, though - which is why I didn't do anywhere near as many of them as I expected to do. After a while, I figured out a method with the snatches to sort of flip the weight back and forth from the saddle of my thumb to the top of my fingers, so it didn't stress out the top of the palm, where all my rips are.

Turns out Rebecca caught one of my sets-of-10 on video, so might as well throw it up here for posterity...

Worse, I am really. fucking. sore. Between this workout and Murph two days ago, I've done a LOT of volume. We're going climbing in a few minutes, but I don't think I'll actually climb. Just hang out and belay. Even if my muscles let me climb (a big if), I don't think my hands would.

...Edit to add:

OK, yeah. The climbing was brutal. Stuck with mock leading, since I was too tired to climb anything harder than a 10a.

ML10a(o), ML10a(f), ML10a(o)

The first 10a followed an arete up a bit of negative, and had a couple interesting moments of holds all going to one side of the arete, or only having one handhold. Still fine, though, and pretty short. The next one was a LONG 10a on the lead wall, about 60' with a long stretch of negative and a little roof. I got a bad clipping stance and could not get the rope into the damn carabiner, and my hand was slowly slipping off the hold - wound up falling, but could have done it if my hands weren't so weak. That climb made me want to weep. So I did another one - a fairly straightforward 10a complicated by the fact that the quickdraws were all about 2' to the left of the route, which made finding clipping stances awkward. That one ended on a sharp bit of negative and clearly was not meant to be led, as there were no feet for a stance at the top - Blake and I both fell almost immediately and didn't bother clipping the chains.

Rebecca and I are totally wrecked, and have elected to take tomorrow as a rest day. Max has posted two grueling options for the WOD, and while I might otherwise be interested in running 10k, my body is telling me in no uncertain terms that it needs a break.

A headache, some pullups, a WOD and a free* watch!

I woke up with a headache this morning. I don't know if it's the beer I had last night, or dehydration, or perhaps the onset of my period(?), but it feels like the same familiar icky headache I get just before my period starts, that throbs based on the position/movement of my head, and makes me feel downright queasy - which sucks, because the whole reason I stopped taking birth control it seemed to make these stupid headaches go away. I guess I'll just have to see if my period starts in the next few days to see if that's the cause. If so, I might as well start taking birth control again. Maybe then my skin will clear up, again. Stupid hormones :-|

Fortunately, this headache feels better when I am upright, and today's headache is only moderately bad, so I'm mostly ok except for occasional waves of nausea/head throbbing. (fun right?)

Headache and nausea aside ... Sometime last week I found this article posted on the main boards for National CrossFit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6371554/Foot-Drills. 6 easy, fast drills to do mostly barefoot to strengthen the muscles in your feet, calves, and knees. I've started doing them every morning before I put my shoes on.

Our condo is configured in such a way that I can do "laps" from the bedroom through the kitchen to the living room and back to the bedroom. Our place is pretty small, so a full lap might be anywhere from 50 to 75 feet - not super far. Our pullup bar is in the doorway between the bedroom and the kitchen, so yesterday I decided to add the step of doing a pullup after every lap.

I should state here that currently, a pull-up, for me, means starting from standing with a very slightly bent arm, and going up as high as I can make it. So even though i usually make it pretty far up, it's not quite a full deadhang, because I don't start from full "dead" hang. For some reason, that first like 1-2 inches totally eludes me. Though I think I might be close to getting it, too.

Usually, when I work on pullups, I can get maybe 1 all the way up: clavicles to hand level, and any subsequent attempts might get as high as nose to bar. I won't get another good full ROM one for at least 15-20 minutes. A couple weeks ago I might get 1 really good one once a week. and only if I hadn't been working on pull exercises.

Today, i got ALL SIX pullups at the end of each lap face-to-door frame/hands-to-clavicles!!! All six! And there couldn't have been more than 1 or maybe 2 minutes in between. Woo-hoo! And I had even been working on my pullups the night before. Now if I can only get that first 2 inches, I'll actually have an honest to goodness deadhang pull up! Somehow, a kipping pullup still eludes me, too. ... Soon, though, I think I may have BOTH!

So, off we went to class. The last day of a strength focused week. Max was late, so Daniel led folks through the warmup, and sent everyone off to run a mile - since that's what Max had us doing every day this week. I've only been doing half a mile all week - either due to poor running shoes or a desire to conserve my strength for the strength workouts, but I had thought that I was going to try the whole mile today. Ha! It took about 25m for me to decide that a mile was not going to happen today. Every step made my head throb. As it was, it took me 3 minutes just to run 400m, and I decided that was plenty.

The rest of the warm up max had us do was KB swings - both russian and american, two handed and 1 handed. I worked with the 8kg KB to try to keep things light and focused on form.

The WOD:
Kettlebell Hang Clean and Push-Press 7-7-7-7-7-7 each arm

Results: (in kg)
8-12(R-PR)-12-12-12
Clean - 16

Comments:
Max kept changing his mind about whether we should do 5 or 7 sets of 7. I kept getting struck with headrush-y waves of queasiness, so I did 5.

I warmed up with and did my first set of Clean & PP with the 8kg KB. There wasn't much challenge on my left, and it even felt pretty easy on my right, so I decided to try the 12kg. I could clean 12kg just fine, but the first time I tried to PP the 12kg with my right I got it up about 6 inches before deciding it just wasn't going to happen. So I went ahead and did 7 with it on my left, and decided to try again with my right. To my astonishment, it actually went up! All the way! I couldn't do 7 unbroken, and it wasn't always pretty, but with some rest in between reps I managed to get through the rest of the workout only using the 12kg KB! This is certainly a milestone for me.

I found that I could only get the KB up with my right if I was properly and powerfully using my hips as a propellant. And if I was, then it was practically easy. If I got lazy or tired and didn't fully drive with my hips, that KB was not going to get all the way up. It was pretty exciting on those reps when it did, though :-)

When the workout was over, I tried the 16kg KB, and I was actually able to clean it with both arms, but I couldn't PP it with my left, so I didn't even try with my right. Still - that was pretty exciting too. It'd be nice if there were little mid weights you could add to the KB handles, or something to get intermediate weights since the intervals between KB's are so huge. - Especially at the lower weights - you get jumps anywhere from 100%-33%


After the workout, we went to REI - Daniel was in dire need of a belt - and I got distracted by the watch counter. I've been watching SteepandCheap.com pretty closely, hoping a good watch would show up because mine seems to utterly freak out after 16 laps - even though it has 26. And I thought it would be really fun to have a watch that could do Tabata intervals, too. That's where I found this little beauty. It's lovely, and slender, has a 50 lap memory, the ability store multiple workouts (up to a total of 50 laps1), 2 interval timers, 3 alarms ... no idea why I might ever need three separate alarms - but still - it has them. ... I do have 1 complaint, and that's that the chime between the first and second intervals, is just a single, short, relatively quiet beep. However the chime after the second interval is much louder and more robust, so I figure for tabata, I can just set the 10 second rest to be the first interval, and the second interval to be the 20 seconds of work since I am much more likely to hear the quiet beep while resting, and will need the louder chime for the end of work sets.

I was going to put it on my Christmas list, but the lady @ the store told me that that this is an older version of this model watch, and she wasn't sure how long it would be available. The new model is NOT this attractive, and I totally fell in love with THIS one, so I decided to just get it for myself. The decision was made much easier knowing that we had a $120 REI dividend that needed to be spent. Also - REI was having a deal where you could get $20 off any purchase of $100 or more. Between the two of us Daniel and I managed to purchase $170 worth of merchandise today @ REI, and yet we only spent $32. SWEET!

The end to heavy lifting week

Well, it was a nice change of pace to something a little less ass-kicking, but it's come to an end. Max has promised something brutally punishing tomorrow, so today we got our last little bit of slow reps with long rests:

Kettlebell Hang Clean and Push-Press 7-7-7-7-7 each arm

12kg - 16 - 16 - 20 - 20 - 24(f)

It was exactly this movement that infamously fucked up my shoulder a couple months ago, so I approached it pretty cautiously today, starting at a weight that was far too light. The 1 pood was enough to wind me, and it got hard once I went up to 1.25 pood. By the time I tried the black 1.5 pood, I was pretty tuckered out, and couldn't get more than 3 reps on my left side and none on my right (this movement is, oddly, easier on my left side). I do think I was better about form, though, keeping the weight towards the center of my body - but my form definitely deteriorates at higher weights. 20kg is really where I need to be for a little while longer, at least until I can dial in all the efficiencies of the form and get the 1.5 pood.

Also: Farmer's walk, 140 pounds each arm, maybe 100m?

Rawr. Sell it!

They said the weight carriers weighed 90# each, but I'm not sure I believe them. That would essentially mean I deadlifted 280# and then walked two basketball courts holding the weight. Maybe that's true, but my 1RM max deadlift was 285# last time I tried it, so I'd be surprised. I think it would make more sense if they weighed 45# each.

Death due to Tuck Jump (not quite the same as 'by')

Warm up: ME, Run 800m, 5 KB swings, 5 pushups, 5 KB cleans

WOD:
For Time:

7 Rounds

Run 100 Meters
5 Kettlebell Swing 2P/1.5P *1P
10 Push-Up
15 Kettlebell Clean 1.0P/.75P
20 Double-Under *Tuck Jumps

Results:
33:21

4:06 | 4:24 | 4:46 | 5:00 | 5:05 | 5:30 | 4:30

Comments:
I was seriously only going to do 3 - maybe 4 rounds of this. But I kept remembering that i was going to stop after doing the run - and i couldn't stop part way through a round now could I ... Jeez.

Everything here was really manageable - except the Tuck Jumps. OMG do tuck jumps really really suck. A lot. I MUST figure out how to do a double-under because tuck jumps will kill me. My left ankle feels a little bruised from the repeated heavy landings - i am not a graceful jumper, and I know my abs are not going to let me off lightly for punishing them further - they barely agreed to be on speaking terms with me this morning.

The one bright spot where these are concerned is that they look a lot better than they used to - most of the time I can get my feet reasonably far off the ground and my knees reasonably close to my chest - instead of the wimpy little jumps that used to pass for tuck jumps. But holy hell do I dislike this exercise.

I checked my time on my runs and they were all within the 35-45 second range. My last one was about 36. I spent a lot of time between exercises just trying to catch my breath. I know on at least one round I accidentally did more than 5 KB swings - i think there might have been a round of cleans that went over, too. And I lost count on my tuck jumps in round 6 - so i may have done a few extra of those f**ers too.

The KB swings felt pretty solid - though I didn't always get them all the way overhead. I counted them if hey were above eye level, but I definitely got several full ROM reps.

The pushups felt really solid. I definitely feel like these are one exercise I can really do now. I think only maybe the first round or two were unbroken. Typically it was a set of 7 and a set of 3. I was very consciously trying to make sure every rep was strict form, keeping my core solid. (another cause for my abs to exact revenge upon me).

The cleans were ... well they were fantastic on my left side. I was struggling with my right. I always started off with my right hand and got as many as I could with it, and then would finish out on my left. It was so easy with my left though, that I had ample time to try to figure out what it was that I was doing with my left that I was missing on my right, and after the workout was over (doh!) I took the opportunity to figure it out. There's the hip pop, and then this slight jerk back with the elbow - sort of like starting a lawnmower that keeps the KB close to the body. And I was missing the 'elbow jerk' on the right side. This causes the KB to really whack ya when it lands. I'll have to play with it some more. My right side tends to forget stuff if I don't work it repeatedly and often. >:-p (lame.)

I think that if i hadn't done every CF workout this week, this workout would not have been such a killer, but, I did, and it was. Not sure how I am going to accomplish any climbing tomorrow. Maybe just low nuimbers focused on form and technique. And lots of belaying ...

And Thus Endeth Skill Week

Max promised us a combination of all the skills we focused on this week as the culmination workout, and it proved to be a nice mid-size metcon:

For Time:
7 Rounds

Run 100 Meters
5 Kettlebell Swing 2P/1.5P
10 Push-Up
15 Kettlebell Clean 1.0P/.75P
20 Double-Under

30:35 RX

Splits: 3:15 | 3:53 | 4:49 | 3:53 | 4:38 | 6:04 | 4:03

Not sure what happened in round 6. I don't remember it as taking particularly long. The killer (for me) on this one was the double-unders. Since I can usually only do them two or three at a time, it takes forever for me to get through twenty. I'm seriously considering buying one of those Byers-recommended speed ropes, though I have no idea when or how I'd practice. But like the kipping pullup, a solid double-under is really critical to those workouts that call for it.

The 2-pood swings were not as bad as I feared, and the pushups, cleans and runs were fairly utilitarian. Took a few too many rests, but overall I'm just happy that I did a double-under workout RX'd.

Death by KB Clean

Warmup: ME, Burgener Warmup, run 800m

WOD:
With a continuously running clock do one 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell clean the first minute, two 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell cleans the second minute, three 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell cleans the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed. Switch hands as often as you wish or not at all.

Results:
19 Rounds + 15 12KG
(205 reps!)

Comments:
Well - considering I had expected to use the 8kg KB and just focus on form for this workout I am pretty impressed by my performance on this one too.

Much to my surprise and delight, when I tried this movement, I pretty much had the form dialed, so my excuse for using a lighter weight was kinda gone. I didn't try a clean with the 1P weight - and I probably should have at least tried it, but my form when using my right arm did not hold up particularly well under large numbers of reps, so I think I really picked the right weight.

Since we could switch hands as often as we wanted, and my form was super solid on my left arm, I started with my right, and id as many reps as I could - usually between about 5 and 7, and then finished the rest off with my left.

I've decided that I am really starting to like kettle bells - there's something really satisfying about KB cleans and snatches when you get the form just right, and it goes up smooth and just fits where it should instead of flopping around and clobbering you when it lands.

It is clear that I am just getting better at everything. I am frequently less sore than I think I should be (although today is something of an exception to that rule. My abs aren't really speaking to me anymore as of this afternoon.) and I frequently do more than I think I will be able to. It's all super exciting!

Death by Kettlebell Clean

In the final installment of his "Death by..." skill-work series, Max chose KB Cleans. I have a rocky history with these. They were part of the workout that killed my shoulder (though it was really the push-jerks that were responsible). And there's just no getting around the fact that 1.5 pood is pretty damn heavy.

With a continuously running clock do one 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell clean the first minute, two 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell cleans the second minute, three 1.5P/1.0P kettlebell cleans the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

17 rounds + 12 RX. (165 reps)

I alternated hands on each round, but it still rubbed my palms raw. Max frequently chided me that I was "too far out in space" on the cleans - which eventually I translated to mean I was sending them out too far in front of me on an arc like a KB swing. On the reps that FELT right, the kettlebell acted like it simply being pulled up on a string in a straight line. I was able to get this sometimes. Other times it bashed the hell out of my biceps and forearms.

After I was knocked out of the running, I watched others and realized that they seemed to be twisting their bodies and using their lats more than I think I was. I tried to practice a few more after taking a break to trying using more of my back, but was too tired and raw. I'll have to try again later.

Tomorrow is the culmination of all four movements, plus a little sprinting. It looks horribly brutal. Should be fun.

Kettlebellinda: DNF

Some days, it's just not there.

* 17 hour fast *

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

(Beg./Int. version)
Kettlebell Clean & Push-Press 1.5 pood left
Pull-up
Kettlebell Swing 1.5 pood
Push-up
Kettlebell Clean & Push-Press 1.5 pood right

DNF. Sort of made it through round 3 (8).

Here's a recreation of my inner dialogue during this workout. 3-2-1 go!

Round 10, starting with the C&J:
Shoulder: "Whoa! That's really heavy. This is Shoulder to Brain. Brain, are you sure this is the right weight?"
Brain: "Brain to Shoulder. Kettlebell is black. 1.5 pood. Proceed."
Shoulder: "Uhm. OK..."

C&J. Pullup. KB Swing.

Shoulder: "Brain, it's Shoulder again. We're getting some weird clicking noises down here, and some signals that could be pain..."
Brain: "Bad pain?"
Shoulder: "Negative, just some aching. And clicking."
Brain: "Probably just needs to warm up. Proceed."
Hands: "Uhm, hey Brain? This kind of hurts."
Brain: "Are you bleeding?"
Hands: "No, but..."
Brain: "Proceed."

Pushup. C&J.

Shoulder: "OK, wow. Brain, this is too much weight."
Brain: "No it isn't. Proceed."
Shoulder: "Uhm, you do realize you're asking me to put this weight directly above you, right?"
Brain: "So be careful."
Shoulder: *mutter*
Hands: "Ow."
Brain: "What's wrong?"
Hands: "Well, I think it's 'cause it's really humid, what with the rain and all, and.."
Brain: "It's humid? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Hands: "No, well, it's that and those bar kips plus climbing yesterday, I think I may have..."
Brain: "Hands. You're being a little bitch. You don't want to be a little bitch, do you?"
Hands: "...no..."
Brain: "So shut up."
Hands: "...ok."

Round 9:
Shoulder: "Really, this is bad, here. I'm not kidding."
Brain: "FINE. If you're going to be an asshole about it, just do half volume on the jerks."
Shoulder: "ok, I can try that."
Ankle: "Hey, guys?"
Brain & Shoulder: "Shut up!"
Ankle: "uh...ok."

C&J, Pullup, Swings

Shoulder: "Pain signals are pretty frequent now. This shouldn't be happening on swings. I know how to do swings."
Hands: "Yeah, I'm getting pain signals, too."
Shoulder: "Shut up, Hands. You don't count."
Hands: "Fine, jeez. Asshole."
Brain: "Just work through it. It'll be fine."

Pushup, C&J

Shoulder: "OK, no. Even half volume. Just no. "
Brain: "What about just cleans. Can you do that?"
Shoulder: "Yeah, that should be ok."
Hands: "Cleans hurt, too."
Brain: "Quit bitching, hands."

Round 8:
Shoulder: "Cleans are not so bad."
Brain: "Great. Maybe we'll get through this in under an hour, at this rate."

Cleans, Pullups, Swings

Shoulder: "Ow! Shit! Really, Ow! Abort!"
Brain: "Really?"
Shoulder: "Really."
Brain: "OK, I'm calling it. DNF. You guys suck, you know that?"
Shoulder: "Fuck you, Brain."
Hands: "Yay!"