Thruster workout

So we had a really long, possibly heavy, metcon. After I was done I felt silly and a little mad at myself. But I'm getting ahead of myself:

400m run
9 Thrusters
9 Dips
400m run
12 Thrusters
12 Dips
400m run
15 Thrusters
15 Dips
400m run
12 Thrusters
12 Dips
400m run
9 Thrusters
9 Dips

Mellisa commented on how to in judging what weight for the Thrusters one should think about Fran. After a shudder, I figured I should go a bit lighter than Fran weight since Thrusters give me so much trouble. So I went with 75# and figured I should just make sure to do all of my thrusters uninterrupted and work on technique/speed. Mellisa saw the light weight and asked if I was sure that was what I wanted to work with, and I told her it was.

During the workout I had no real issue with the Thrusters, although I did drop the bar once while doing the 15's. I was also really, really impressed with how easy the dips were, at least in the beginning. Even when it did get difficult, however, I never switched over to using a band, and I made each dip to to lockout. The run was the most difficult part, but I didn't use up all of my speed on the first round like I did last time with Helen.

I still did this in 25:05, with plenty of people finishing before me, so it felt like I must've chosen a good weight.

Then I actually looked at the board and saw that the lightest option for thrusters was 95#. I was suddenly very embarrassed. I feel like I cheated. But I also wonder how much more difficult it would've been if I had used 95#, if the wod would've taken 35 min instead. My shoulder has been giving me some flack, so I also wonder if the heavier weight would've jacked it up as well.

I guess my main issue here is I'm left wondering "what if?", and I hate that feeling. I have always tried to push myself to do the heaviest weight possible so that I'm not left with any doubts or regrets. Here, the lesson is to really pay attention to the Rx'd weight (and I almost always do, this is a first for me).

Regardless, this was a great workout, I was sweating for like 90 minutes after I finished this wod.

Sun Wod

So pre-nutrition talk we had a wod. Given that I was waaaaay too tired to go to the Sat wod, I really wanted to hit this:

30 double unders
20 OHS (95#)
20 Pull ups
20 HSPU
20 snatch
400m run

This was one where I surprised myself. Kind of. I couldn't get all the DU's in a row; I stopped maybe 2-3 times. That put me near the back of the pack when it was time to over head squat, but this is where I knew I could do well. When we were introduced to Josh, I was able to do 21 OHS of 95# without stopping. Knowing this, I was able to push myself so that I banged them out pretty quickly. I had a hard time keeping active shoulder on this one, and it might stem from that knot in my trap that has been causing me pain. The pull ups were butterfly kip, and although I'm still not getting chest to the bar they were full-on butterfly. I think I have them figured out now. I did the Hand stand push ups with a 45 and 25# plate. I could only do them like 3 at a time, but I was able to do them. I think the 45 and 25 bumper is good for me right now, it's tough but not to the point where I lose intensity. The snatch was surprisingly tough, I really wanted to work on form. A problem with the snatch for me has been pulling myself under, and Jerry said something during the warm up, can't remember right now, that clicked. There were a few where I really felt myself pull under the bar. The run sucked, but when I saw that I was beating Harold I realized I HAD to book it, and I really started to run. So there were some great mental motivations going on here with the goal-setting on the OHS's and the competition with the run. That, and I got to hear some great info on the Zone, Primal, and Paleo diets.

FGB!!

So it's 15 weeks till FGB V, and I was totally psyched for this.

I remember my PR as 220ish, and my goal is still somewhere around 300. I've noticed that pretty much every successful crossfit competitor has FGB scores over 400, so 300 is a pretty reasonable.

Sadly, during the second round I developed a stabbing pain/knot in my right trap-back area. I pushed through it, but the pain was a distraction that lessened my focus on the workout. I noticed that everything felt a WHOLE lot lighter, the 95# push press really is something I can rep out, and the 70# kb high pull did not gas me like it used to. Wallballs still suck, but I feel like they don't take the wind out of me. So even though the weight felt lighter, I still had a tough time pushing through until the end. I got 244, two less than last time. Honestly I was surprised in a good way, but I seriously need to kick it up a notch to get to 300. ...I don't have my score subdivided, but I do remember that in the first round I rowed out 20 calories. That didn't feel like a lot, but I could only do 10 the next two rounds.

Back squat ing with chains 3 rep

Ok so after the bench press club meeting I decided to stick around for the 9:15 class, which was back squatting again:

Find your 3 rep Back Squat max with 80# of chains

So this went pretty smoothly. I kept upping the weight, and I kept hitting it. I wasn't going as far down as I feel like I should, which means I'm hitting it just right. It really was difficult for me to keep my knees out, it felt like I was really fighting myself.

I eventually got up to 225, and when I tried 245 I couldn't do even one. ...As I write that out I realize what kind of jump that was, next time I need to just add 10 total or something.

Then Danya noticed I was using the 33# bar.

Kind of embarrassed that I didn't figure this out. I kept looking at the bar and wondering why it only had one ringlet. Never entered my mind that it could be a 33# bar. So anyways, my real weight was 213. Still not bad, and to be honest I think I pushed myself pretty good today.

Bench press club meeting

So Jerry's started this bench press club that meets every Wednesday morning. I decided to attend, and it was so weird bench pressing. I haven't benched in over two years, and this was a very strange experience.

We found our 1 rep max using bands. The heaviest I ever remember benching was 185, and I hit that today 2 times. I then tried 195, but needed a wee bit of assistance from Mark Davis who was spotting me.

It was really fun, and after like four hours my chest was sore. I really liked this.

Handstands and pull ups

I've noticed Jerry likes to couple handstands with pull ups, and this was such a day:

7 rounds
hold handstand for as long as you can
do XX pullups

I held each handstand around a minute, although my wrists were always the first to give out on me. I tried to work on my free standing handstand, trying to keep as rigid as possible. I was having difficulty keeping the core tight. I kept piking a little from not being able to keep my quads and abs tight. I think I'm getting closer to a free handstand though, a couple of times I think I had it, freaked out, and then collapsed.

The pull ups were a great chance to work on the butterfly kip, and I think it really is starting to come together. I'm still not getting chest to the bar, but there's always something to strive for.

Coming back to Xfit from what feels like 2 weeks off really feels strange. The athlete in me is soooo glad to be back it's not even funny, but the coach in me feels aweful for being gone so long. I'm starting to feel the responsibility of what it means to be a coach. I still don't think of myself as a coach really. I mean, I'm just a guy like everyone else.

But I am a coach now, and people look to me for guidance. I really, really love coaching, so if I want to do more of this, to make it a higher priority, I need to do a few things.

First, I need to get certified. Funny that I haven't been certified yet, but only recently did I start to feel ready for certification. Now I need to figure out a way to find $1k for the class, and I think after some figuring things out on mint.com, I think will be able to do this.

Second is to figure out a schedule where I will be able to coach more classes. It's hard to figure this part out since I'm working 56 hours a week now, but I will figure out a way.

First Friday: DT revisited

So it's been a year since I did a scaled version of DT, so I decided to do it again, see how much better I am.

This was not the best experience.

Throughout the whole time I felt weak, tired, and confused. After finishing the first round, I suddenly couldn't remember if I had done the Jerks or not. So I did them again. I then suddenly had issues remembering the hook grip. Was it thumb over fingers? Fingers over thumb? Early on I tore the skin off my right thumb. Stopped to tape up, but it just added to the frustration I was experiencing. I kept getting distracted, and it wasn't good.

I couldn't find that desire, that need to finish asap. I seem to only find this with Fran, and Fran scares me to death.

I video taped it, and when I saw it to be honest I was expecting a whole lot more. Then I did research and I found out that a year ago I did this at 125, and the weight I did for the anniversary was 115.

Just seemed like nothing went right with this wod. Will probably try this again next month.