Working on the snatch

Today we were to find our one rep snatch max. However, Melissa said I needed to ride every snatch down to a squat, which made things a little more difficult. My speed strength just wasn't there for diving totally under the bar, but I got up to 115 which is 5#s short of my PR.

My technique is very rusty, only now as I'm writing this do I realize I totally forgot about the rebend after the bar clears the knees. The snatch is the most technically challenging lift to me, but I love it. My biggest problem is getting proper hip extension (which involves the knee re-bend), after that, I think I'll have a better time getting under the bar.

I also have a HUGE knot now in my right shoulder blade. I saw Dr. Bills and he gasped in surprise at the size of the trigger point.

I'm flying up to Chicago tonight and will be driving back to DC. I might get a chance to re-visit Crossfit Bloomington, should be interesting to see how those guys are doing.

Double unders Galore!!

I approached today as more of a skill day, I'm still not fully recovered from Saturday, but I really, really, really want to work on double unders.

5 rounds
400m run
30 double unders
10 toes to bar.

I see some definite inspiration here from the hopper challenge. I decided to force myself to do this exercise Rx'd, so I had to learn the double under or die trying. I have had some recent success, so I'm hoping to keep it up and get proficient at it in no time. The clock read 1:45 when I finished my first run, and by the time I finished 30 DU's I think it read 12:something. So it looks like it took me about ten minutes, or 20 seconds a double under. ...I'm glad I scaled it for the last workout Saturday! I was starting to get a good pattern of one on, one off, with DU's but when I messed up it would then take me like 10 tries to get back into the groove. I kept getting whipped on my forearms by the rope when I messed up, and sometimes (ok, many many times) the metal tip of the rope would bang against my left hand's knuckles. It's like getting rapped in the knuckles by a ruler but more painful. Afterwords I iced my hand to try to reduce any swelling, but as you can see I've got some nice bruises now on my hand. Seems like I need to find myself another type of rope, one that doesn't hurt as much.

After the third round it was 33 minutes, and I had had enough of this "skill work" workout. My shoulders were shot, and holding the rope in the right place was starting to be simply too painful. Not pain as in injury pain, but as in muscles burning pain. My shoulder hasn't given me any trouble since like last month. Yay for recovery!!!

I also figured out how to hold onto the bar and bang out a lot of toes to the bar. That movement is a tough one, and caused many athletes problems in the last workout at the Hopper.

First wod post hopper

After taking Sunday and Monday off, I was only slightly sore in my quads and shoulders, and thought it might be a good idea to return to active duty. So here's a wod that I was looking forward to:

21 pullups, 9 hang clean and jerk (95#), 400m run
15 pullups, 15 hang clean and jerk, 400m run
9 pullups, 21 hang clean and jerk, 400m run

Coming off of two DNF's I think I've found some mental game plan to really push myself. My goal was to try to get it under 15 minutes, and I was able to harness some of Saturday's urgency to really push myself on that last set of 21 C&J's. Near the end I felt my stomach muscles really start to weaken, causing my back to bend back kind of funny, so I racked the bar for two breathes and really tightened the core for the last couple of C&J's. I think this is something I really need to work on, and will be the secret to getting a great six pack.

My run felt very slow, I keep trying to figure out how to go faster, but my pose style still needs some work. I was very happy with my pull ups, I taped up nicely so there were no tears, and I am starting to really figure out what I need to do for keeping a good grip on the bar after rep 5.

I also noticed some asymmetry with my shoulder mechanics on the pull. I think this stems from the tendonitis preventing me from really using my left shoulder, so I really focused on working both equally and I think I succeeded at that.

My time was 17:30, over my goal of 15, but I can say that I never really stopped for breath on this one, and I was very successful in pushing myself.

Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge: Epilogue

This story may require a little back story so bear with me if you already know this stuff. I have femur-acetabular impingement, which basically means there is a bump in the femur head that rubs the hip socket the wrong way. The impingement causes pain when I'm active (such as squatting or running), and the condition may eventually lead to osteoarthritis and may require a hip replacement way down the road. I saw the same surgeon I talked to earlier a few weeks ago, and he said I should stop doing stuff that hurts while I do it (deep squats). I told him about the MAHC and asked if he recommended participating or not.

He said it was probably not a good idea, and wrote up some doctor's orders prohibiting me from competitions. This wasn't done because he actually thought I would hurt myself, but was done so I could back out of the competition if I wanted to and could possibly recoup the registration fee.

So here I am a week before the competition. Nervous as hell and fairly certain that I will be one of the weakest/slowest there, and I have a get-out-of-jail card, a medical reason for bailing out at the last minute so I wouldn't seem like a wuss. The idea of just going and playing camera man is tempting.

Now here I am a few days before the competition. I'm now no longer nervous but excited. Even if I earn last place I earned it. I worried about looking weak, but to not show up due to nerves is to be truly weak. I'm no longer concerned with how I do relative to others, I just want to give these three workouts everything I have and see how I respond. I joke about my goal, "I just don't want to be dead last."

Finally, it is the day of the competition. I start to truly understand how crossfit is designed to expose any weakness in an athlete so that they may improve in every aspect of fitness. I start to really understand what it's like to workout with a clock counting down, working out with a time limit. By seeing how I "failed", I start to see what it takes to succeed. To be honest there are moments, right after the time expired, where I feel disappointment, but I have nothing to be ashamed of.

So I'm done, I've done three very difficult workouts and have come out stronger. After everything I have found some motivation/focus that should help me keep the intensity up for these crossfit workouts. I want to prepare for the next crossfit competition, and I guess that just means keep doing what I'm doing.

I've been waiting to post this peice until after the hopper's final results were posted online. Turns out I did reach my goal. I didn't come in dead-last: I came in second to last. If I had been only 5 reps faster on the toes to bar I might've moved up by like ten spots, but if you get a DNF you can't place higher than anyone who finished the workout, scaled or not. I was one of three guys who DNF'd both time workouts, but I was middle with regards to deadlift.

As I see the results over a week after the competition, I just kind of mentally shrugged and said, "Oh well, gotta start somewhere." And I am only starting. I've been doing this for only a little over a year, and I forget that I'm still considered a noob relative to all that is crossfit. Since I'm considered a "vet" by many in the pm classes it can be easy to forget that I'm still new to all of this. I mean, in January '08 if you had told me that I'd be able to do a muscle up in about a year I wouldn't have believed you. ...Well, my real reaction would've been "What's a muscle up?"

It's also easy to forget how much stronger I've become. My deadlift max has increased by about a hundred pounds in a year, and I think there's a lot I can do to improve in that area. My olympic lifts are much sturdier now, especially after attending the oly cert back in March. I've been unknowningly trying to push through tendonitis in the shoulder, and now I've figured out what's wrong, got the necessary treatment, and now I'm pain free and the sky's the limit. Everytime the girlfriend comes to visit she notices an improvement in my musculature. If I keep improving while working out the kinks in my body, I should be in a position to place much higher in next year's competiton: like third to last :)

Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge, Part III

So I'm done with the first two, and now it's one last workout, comprising of seven different exercises. After some discussion, this is what the last one turned out to be:

30 double unders (ugh)
7 back squat (135#)
30 GHDs
7 snatch (135#)
30 wall balls
7 push jerk (135#)
30 toes to bar

Well, I doubt I can do 30 double unders in 30 minutes, let alone 15 minutes, and my 1 rep snatch max is 120, so I doubt I could muster 7 reps of 135#. This meant I had to scale the workout. Scaling is difficult to admit because it means admitting that you're not capable of doing the workout as is. Scaling is also hard to admit to because in the competition the best scaled time can not be scored higher than an RX'd time.

However, I can't do double unders yet or snatch 135, so scale it is. This is what Crossfit, and especially crossfit competitions, is all about: exposing your weaknesses and showing how you suck. To be a great crossfitter you have to be great at EVERYTHING. Great runner, great olympic lifter, great rower, great with body weight exercises, etc. etc. etc. If there's one chink in your armor, crossfit will find it.

I, however, don't have a chink, I have all kinds of chinks. I have chunks. I was the only one at the hopper that coudln't do double unders (my feet still showed the lashing marks from the learning lesson three days earlier). Guess I will have to put in a lot more skill work into muscle ups and double unders.

Back to the workout. I did singles instead, and thank God my judges forgot that I had to do 120 singles because when I hit 30 they said I was cool to go to the squats. Squats were easy, the GHD's made me light-headed, the snatch was a piece of cake, and the Wall balls were hell. The wall balls were simply awful, requiring a lot of power from my body. The push jerk was easy (thank you DT), but I had a real tough time with the toes to bar.

I looked up at the clock, 14:50, with ten more toes to bar left. I gritted my teeth, tried to summon the energy, grabbed the bar, and tried to will my feet up to the bar. Everyone was cheering me on, trying to help me.

..As time expired, I was only 5 reps short. Chest heaving, I sat down on the nearest box jump, leaned back, and breathed/panted while waiting for life to re-enter my body. I felt that sense of shame start to creep back into my mind, but again, I felt like I gave it my all, I just wish "my all" was more. I guess the shame comes from the thought that I haven't been training hard enough, that my DNF of a scaled workout is the result of not zoning strict enough, or not pushing myself hard enough in the gym. It makes me question my commitment to crossfit. I try to stay as close the zone as possible, I measure everything out for every meal I eat. I try to attend CFOT as much as humanly possible, and have been consistent for quite some time now. Perhaps it is my mental game that's been keeping me back, I don't know. But I was definitely feeling some frustration.

As I was trying to recoup, Jerry came over and gave me a fist pound. I feel that I made him proud, and that motivates me to try to do better for the next competition.

Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge, Part II

So after the first workout, I had to participate in the strength workout: 2 rep deadlift. There was no specific time to do this, but I had to do it before noon. After finishing the first workout at 8:35, I had plenty of time to recoup and snack on some wonderful (paleo?) cookies (Shout out to Laurie who provided all kinds of snacks and wonderful things. She made us feel like sponsored competitors!)

I think it was around ten where I decided to go for the DL. I wasn't worn out from the first workout, but I wasn't cold either.

I warmed up a little with some light weight. The rules concerning the 2 rep deadlift was we could Touch-and-go; meaning we could not let go of the bar, and could use the bounce off the ground to assist with the second repetition. Jerry doesn't really approve of this because the bounce renders the second rep a non-deadlift, so I had to learn how to do a heavy touch-and-go. With like 175, I learned how to breath while standing up straight, hold my breath, and then drop the weight and bounce the weight back up.

I figured I didn't want to really wear myself out, and there was a long line for deadlifts, so I stopped after I figure it out with light weight. Once I got a chance to lift, I decided to use the first set as a get-used-to-heavy-DL (300#), the second to tie my one rep max (345#), and if that worked then go for a PR (365#). Like Chriss always says, if you trying to find your max, then you should try to go for a weight you might fail at.

The first set was easy, the second set was doable, and the third was just right. For the third set, the first rep was fairly easy, but the second rep was very tough. I felt my back bending all kinds of bad ways, but I focused on keeping the core tight and held my breath against my stomach as hard as I could, and I got it.

The judge (who was uber-cool) commented that he was worried when he saw my back, but I told him I just kept the core tight and "although my back did bend, it did not break."

I was very happy with the new PR, even though I knew it wasn't going to get me very far. That's one aspect about these crossfit competitions. It really is all about what you do, and not what others do. There might have been a guy who deadlifted 595 twice, but who cares because I just beat my 1 rep PR by 20#s!

I should also note that Sean was lifting at the same time, and he managed to lift 405 once. Damn, looks like he won the bet and I owe him some Chipotle now. Congrats Sean!

After this there was a definite lull in the CFOT group. Many of us were finished with both workouts early, and just sat around and napped/ate/meditated. It was also at this point in time I learned that Adrienne owns and uses a Snuggee. Pure Awesomeness.

It was also around this time we had the most supporters. Judy, Nikki, Hazen, Patrick, Rachel, Lauri, and a few others were there to see how we were doing. Not only did CFOT had one of the largest showings with regards to athletes, but we also had the largest support group.

I got to see (and record) Harold's first workout, and it was a great performance. I like to try to help the group out in my own way, and that includes being the gym's historian.

By this time the intimidation factor of the hopper had worn off, and I was just wanting to get this thing over with. Again, I just prayed it didn't have muscle ups, hand stand push ups, or double unders.

The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge, part 1

At 7pm on Friday I took some Tylenol Simply Sleep, allowing me to fall asleep at around 9:30. That, in turn, allowed me to wake up comfortably at 4:50 (a full 10 min before my alarm was set to go off). Showered, did my hair, dressed, made my typical Oatmeal dish, and put all the food I made last night into a cooler. Drove over to CFOT and actually got there at 5:45 am! I viewed this as my greatest challenge, everything else was downhill.

Drove with Stuart and Blain, and after a starbucks stop we showed up at Crossfit BWI at 7:05, and they have a nice new box. They moved in the night before, so it took them a while to set everything up. I was starting to get nervous, but I was with friends and there wasn't anything else to do now except to wait. They announced the wod, and after a little confusion they finally decided on the first workout. Lo and behold, what I like to call the "MAC Attack":

3 rounds, 21-15-9 of
Overhead Squat 95#
Lateral Jump burpees (BWI called them Bastards)
Pushups



At first I was excited because there wasn't an exercise I couldn't do, no double-unders or muscle ups or handstand push ups.

I didn't bother to think about the fact that pushups and burpees are my weak points, but that was illustrated quite clearly to me as I went through the workout.

...Those 15 minutes were a real wake up call. I don't know if I can accurately describe the pain that went on during that workout. Near the end I was breathing so hard I was slobbering on myself and the ground. My shoulders simply did not have anything left in them. Once when I attempted a OHS I dropped the bar on my neck (thankfully I didn't hurt myself). I ended up having to step down to the plank for the burpees. I look at the video and I am amazed that I was unable to do this workout. My chest is so weak, this is something that I've always known, but the hopper really brought this to my attention.

Near the end, I could hear everyone cheering me on. As I heard my name being called, I tried to draw strength from this, and I think it helped some. But I could not find a way to push any more than I did. As I heard time expire, I just felt sad, like I had let myself, and everyone else, down. I know that I gave it my all, and I am proud of that. I am simply not satisfied with where I am, I want to be strong enough so that I can be proud of not only my effort but also the result. I want to be strong enough to be satisfied with my performance, and right now I'm not. There is a simple and beautiful truth to these contests. Either you are strong enough to do these workouts within 15 minutes or you are not. Currently, the truth of the matter is I am not, and while that may not be what I want, I do take comfort that it is the truth. Also, this situation can change. I believe I have the ability to get strong enough to do these workouts, and I really don't feel anything will stop me until I do get to that level of the playing field.


After time expired, I tried to turn to the crowd to show my appreciation, and after that I just needed to get off the competition floor and collapse and recuperate. This was only the first workout, and I needed to get my act together and prepare for the next two.