Team WOD - winner!

Warmup:
was quite late, missed the warmup.

WOD:
In teams of 2 or 3

Run One Mile

30 Box Jumps 24/20
30 Muscle-Ups (or 120 pull-ups + 120 dips)
30 Handstand Push-Ups
30 Back Squat 135/185
30 Deadlift 135/185
30 Push-Press 95/65
30 Thruster 95/65
30 Kettlebell Swings 2.0/1.5P
30 Burpees
30 Double-Unders

Run One Mile

Partition the movements as needed. Athletes may assist each other with movements, as long as they work through the full range of motion. Start and finish with a team mile run.

Results:
46:?? I failed to stop my watch properly. My team came in first!! I got split times for the miles, but that was it.

My first mile was actually a PR - despite having to walk a portion of the second lap due to a really horrible side stitch. I did two laps - no driveway - in 9:46. My previous no driveway record is 10:12 - a 26 second improvement! I finished the first lap in something like 4:34, and the running felt really strong and easy - I was doing really well at keeping up with the girls ahead of me - even felt like i might be able to pass one of them, and then the sidestitch actually just kind of surprised me. My energy still felt realy good, and my air even felt good - usually I feel like i can't get enough breath in when i start to cramp up, but that was not the case today. I even had enough energy - despite the impending cramp - to pour on a little extra gas for the last 50 meters or so.

My team split up the exercises where we could with each person doing all he reps of the exercises they could do. Fortunately, despite having two of the weaker girls in the class, our third member was probably the strongest guy in class, so it was a good break down. He was able to churn out all the heavy stuff like nothing.Half way through class Max switched the backsquats to 135/95 - but Robin had already done all 30 at 185.

I took on the burpees and the double unders on my own. The burpees were fine. I had to do the double unders 1 at a time, but i had a much lower failure rate than I have had with them in the past - I'd say I probably made about 80-85% of my attempts. That's MUCH higher than the 40-50% (maybe even less) successful attempt rate I've had before.

With the team, I helped with 10 assisted deadlifts, 20 assisted HSPU - Robin basically just lifted me up and down while offered what limited help I could. And I also did 30 assisted muscleups - I guess technically, they're my first ;-) - I sat on Robin's shoulders and he basically squatted me while I went through the motions of a muscle up. - I did do some of the work - but he really did most of it. He was an incredibly good sport, and probably got about twice or three times as much of a workout as either of the other of us, but it was a good team effort.

My second run was actually much more decent than I thought it would be - it was 10:37 - also no driveway.

Berkeley and Bro take on Potomac CrossFit

Upon the recommendation of our internet buddy Melissa Byers (whom we will hopefully someday meet), we went into Arlington today for a WOD at Potomac CrossFit, about a 40 minute drive from Rebecca's parents' house. Her brother Marc came along, but sadly did not elect to join us for the workout.



PCF is a really nice facility. It is much more the "traditional" CF box than the hybrid thing we have at CFEB, so while they have ALL the cool toys and a staff of trainers, they don't have the showers, sauna, 50-foot climbing walls, etc. But they clearly also have the strong, tight-knit community that we enjoy - everyone knew each other, they were planning on partying with each other for New Year's, etc. Jen Conlin, the trainer Melissa specifically recommended, was totally welcoming and a great trainer. She couldn't remember our names, apparently, and so called us "Bro" and "Berkeley" in her exhortations to work harder, which cracked me up. She also took pictures with our snazzy new camera, which was an unexpected treat! The WOD was a sort of two-way ladder of squats and muscle-ups:

“Jason”-lite
For time:
100 squats
3 muscle-ups (9 pullups, 9 dips)
75 squats
6 muscle-ups (18 pullups, 18 dips)
50 squats
9 muscle-ups (27 pullups, 27 dips)
25 squats
12 muscle-ups (36 pullups, 36 dips)

19:48
subbed Jen's knee muscle-up thingies

If that was Jason "lite," I don't think I ever want to meet regular or heavy Jason. My legs have been wobbly and barely keeping me up all day! Jen's recommended sub for the muscle-ups involved setting the rings quite low - approximately face-level when you are on your knees. Then, using the false grip, you pull yourself up to the dip position, using the tops of your feet to assist you. This winds up putting you in dip position with your feet on the ground, and you can use them as much or as little as needed to get you up for the dip. I was skeptical at first that it wouldn't be a lot of work, but it turned out to be quite tiring as long as I consciously tried to use my legs as little as possible, and it felt like great form practice. I intend to do this more.

The squats started strong, but got painful pretty quick. Her form was a little different, in that she wanted us to lift our arms up above our heads at the bottom of the squat (palms forward), which subtly changed the movement. It made it more full-body, which was good, and I think it helps keep the arch in the back, which is probably the point, but after a while I learned that you could use the arms to generate momentum to push you down and pull you up a little bit, which felt a little cheaty (a "kipping" squat?). But I used one of their med balls, so all my squats were full depth...although not all of them were in this "hallelujah" style.

Afterwards, we went into DC for what turned into a relatively unsuccessful tourist visit. On the recommendation of a friend, we went to a Capitol Hill flea market, which was somewhat anemic (we think because it was supposed to rain - although it never did). We had breakfast at a fancy french restaurant that, while delicious, was a bit too pricey and small-portioned for after a workout. After walking around the market for a while, it was quickly apparent there wasn't anything of interest there for us, so we wandered around the neighborhood a little, and then we got in the car and drove around DC looking at all the pretty buildings. Had we been more capable of walking, perhaps we would have done a museum or something, but after several years of trying we've come to the conclusion that we're just not really museumy types, so we just couldn't get excited about any of the options - particularly since we were both so wobbly from all the squats. So back home we went, and tomorrow morning we get back on the plane. I'm looking forward to being home. This place is hell on the diet.

Hopper WOD

So of course Max picked the hopper workout from CFO yesterday for today's class:

4 rounds
21 Jumping Squats
21 Front Squats 95#/65# (sub 35#x2/25#x2KB)
3 Muscle-Up (Sub 9 pull-up/9 dip or push-up)
Run 400 Meters
25 minute limit.

I got three rounds, using the 35#x2 KB and 9/9 sub. Killer workout - the front squats in particular were very painful, and after the first round quickly devolved into 3 sets of 7.

But I do feel like my squats are improving, which is good. Afterwards Max went over double-unders, HSPUs, and barbell Clean & Jerk, which was really helpful.

Nate

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:

8 Pullups
8 Dips
8 Pike Pushups
8 55# Kettlebell swings

My first Crossfit class at Ironworks, and it was a lot of fun. On the workout I did 4 rounds + pullups, but my ass was so kicked from the previous three days that I could barely move, so it's not surprising that I couldn't do better.

Nate

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:

2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings

Four rounds. Way too much waiting.

Well, this one was a lesson in frustration at my noobish technique. No rings at the Y, so I subbed 3:1 pullups/dips. Not a problem, except when waiting for the dip bars. The gym was so crowded I couldn't find a place to work on proper handstand technique, so after the first round I front-shoulder pressed 75#. Could go higher. For the KBs, I had to use dumbells and couldn't get a really satisfactory grip. Did 40# for the first round, 50# thereafter. Could do more when I get the form down. Mainly I just spent too much time waiting for spots to clear up, so it was very unsatisfactory.

Went to Noel's spin class, which was unusually hot. 840 calories.

Tracy clued me in that Ironworks has Crossfit classes, which has me very excited. Saturday mornings, and I totally want to be there.