Not-So-Gently Down the Stream

I completely get it when even elite Crossfitters complain about running.  Long runs are brutal...hell, even sprints aren't much of a party.  But I can get into some rowing bigtime, and I'm surprised that so many CFers also hate to hit the rower.

It was a pretty mellow Friday at the Black Box.  I was excited to see what rowing a 2k would be like.  I walked in to five empty rowers and a few folks milling about, either doing strength work or recovering from today's WOD:

WOD: Row 2K

I was lucky to see Tim, who clued me in on some tips for pacing.  He helped me visualize the WOD in steps.  I knew I was going to pace myself right out of the gate, but breaking it up in my mind into four separate 500M rows helped me gain some perspective on when to cut loose, when to keep a steady pace, and for the last 200M just go balls to the wall.

Rory and I were the only ones who showed up for the 7:00 class (very rare for a non-rest day).  Sara didn't have much to impart as this was a straight-forward as it gets.

3...2...1...Go!  I started out at a solid pace, just ahead of Sara's recommended pace of 2:00 (the rower paces according to 500m increments, and I've done as well as 1:45 when I'm all-out shredding).  I recalled Kelly Starrett's video on rowing technique, and his emphasis on staying "tall" and only hinging on the hip...no upper body motion.  I got so much more out of my strokes on this one piece of advice alone.  I felt an efficiency on the rower for the first time.

The combination of Tim's advice, my choice of pace, and Starrett's gems really put me in a confident space that I would oblierate my expectation of 10-15 minutes for this WOD.

Wod Time: 7:47

Whaaaaat???  I mean that is just a bit silly.  Rory and I actually clocked in at exactly the same time.  I couldn't believe it.  I mean I'm no firebreather but that is far above my expectation for this (or any other rowing) WOD.  I ended up doing five sets of five thrusters as a cashout because I had so much time left after I was done.  Craziness...

Well sometimes I surprise myself...today was definitely one of those days.  I'm happy that one man's goat is another man's strength, and it seems when it comes to both handstand pushups, thrusters and rowing, I'm having a much better time than most.

See you next week :)

Dumbbell Madness

Every once in a while the folks at Crossfit HQ throw in a random, uncommon exercise that leaves you apprehensive about the next day's WOD.  Typically anything with dumbbells falls into this category for me.  But I've been learning to push through and rise to the challenge.  I was pretty happy with today's results.

WOD
For time:
Row 1K
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 50 reps
Row 750m
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 35 reps
Row 500m
40 pound Dumbbell snatch, 20 reps

These are one-arm squat snatches, alternating arms.

Sara asked me if I wanted to scale the reps and I joked that I didn't understand her question.  I knew I had this one...my rowing has been solid lately and I figured I would get the dumbbell snatches down enough along the way to get all of them NOT easily, but I'd definitely finish.

Row times: 4:00 - 3:15 - 2:06

I was pretty psyched to power through the rowing as fast as I did.  I'm feeling great about that exercise.

WOD Time: 22:55

I mean when have I put up a sub-30 minute WOD time?  Have I?  I don't know. Seeing a "2" in front of a WOD time for me was crazy...granted as usual I finished last.  These two new ladies were adorable...they clapped after every rep in my last round.  Not that I don't appreciate it, but it was hard to keep a straight face.  Then again, maybe I'll start doing that for people when I can finally be better than last.  I sense that this day is coming sooner than I originally planned.  :)

Dope on a Rope

OK, so I can only imagine that the day I actually climb a rope...what a glorious day that will be...for now though I scale, and I scale hard...

WOD
Five rounds of:
15' Rope climb, max reps in 3 minutes

Scale to - Grab Rings overhead, start in squat position, jump & touch chest.  3 reps = 1 rope climb rep

Reps
42 - 35 - 33 - 36 - 34

So I imagined myself burning out by the third round, but I was actually able to power through this one OK.  Kevin gave us some amazing stretches to do afterward, which likely save my wrists, forearms, and chest.  He said we likely couldn't tell, but the compression of our chest to get up to the rings was intense, and without the stretch we would feel it hard (I'll likely be feeling it hard no matter what).

Also a great warmup today.  I feel more confident rowing, especially for shorter spurts like 500m.  I average around 1:50 per round, but depending on what else is in the warmup I easily go over 2 minutes (I didn't pay attention to the exact times today).  Here's what we did:
(2 Rounds)

500m row
10 Pushups
10 GHD Situps
10 Hip Extensions
10 Overhead Squats (PVC)
10 Pullups (Scale to Ring Rows)

All in all a decent Monday.  With tomorrow being a rest day I might ask to do one of the previous metcons, as I'm itching to tackle a big one that is way out of my comfort zone.

I need to get some bonus posts in about some amazing things I've been reading, on the web in general, but more specifically in the Crossfit Journal.  If you haven't subscribed yet it will be the best $2 a month you ever plunked down.  More on this soon...so many directions to choose from.  I've been nerding out on this shit hard.

For now...peace...

Skill Day - Snatch Balances

So the skill days have proven to be very helpful in really getting a sense of where my strength is at with each exercise.  A lot of them are still my first attempt, so I've been starting slow with the weight.  With the exception of push jerk and front squats I haven't been going too high in weight, which is fine by me.  But when I'm able to push a little bit without getting crazy, I welcome the challenge.  I realize that as long as I can maintain solid form I can comfortably explore higher weight and really get a ton of benefit.

The last time I did snatch balances was part of my second vacation WOD in Morristown, and in retrospect I didn't really do them very well because I didn't get nearly the amount of immediate speed on the way down that I should have.  It was more of a slow descent, and it seems the essence of the snatches is an explosive, near immediate shift to get the bar over you, or in the case of snatch balances get under the bar.  Kevin said the entire purpose of the snatch balance is to build confidence and strength getting immediately under the bar.

We started with a warmup:
2 Rounds:
500m row (moderate pace for form)
10 GHD situps
10 hip extensions
5 Handstand Pushups (scale to pike pushups)
10 OH Squats (pvc)
10 ring rows (feet elevated)

I got a decent sweat going, and had to scale ring rows because I can't get full reps when my feet are off the ground.  These 500m rowing warmups have been getting easier. Had a nice chat with Anthony (one of the CF regulars) WHILE we were rowing.  If you came up to me in November and tried to talk to me while I was rowing I would have vomited all over you.

WOD
Snatch Balances
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

45 x3 (warmup w bar)
55 - 65 - 75 - 75 - 85 - 85 - 95

I feel great about getting 95 lbs.  The movement was a lot easier with the weight than actually getting the bar in position on my upper back...I was fighting to not have the bar position take away from the movement itself.  This time I was mostly successful...

Onto tomorrow.  I feel a nasty metcon coming on...bring it!!!

Getting Easier...

Shout out to my good buddy Elliot from the 6:00 class...an inspiration to say the least...

Warmup (x2):
500m row
20 PVC Overhead Squats
8 Handstand Pushups (scale to pike pushups)
10 GHD situps
10 Hip Extensions

I finished the rowing in 1:59 and 2:11 respectively.  I'm really starting to be able to feel the warmups as exactly that.  I used to feel like I would do two workouts per session, but now my body is starting to gain strength and capacity I didn't have before.  Two months ago this warmup alone would crush me.  Today it got my blood pumping and I broke a sweat, but it was completely manageable.  I stopped the 2nd round of GHD situps because I used my upper body too much 1/2 way through, and paid the price...almost pulled something.  I think I'm going to ask for more help on form with those.  I'm most excited to get GHDs happening almost daily.

WOD (as RX'ed):
3 rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Overhead squats, 75 pounds
21 Pullups

I scaled to 65 lbs. for the squats and ring rows for the pullups. I walked some of the way on the runs, once after I ran through a random lady's cigarette cloud...nice...good morning to me...

Time: 32:05

Sometimes it's the smallest changes that make the biggest impact.  I completed today's metcon, scaling and all.  Was it one of our hardest?  No.  Did I give it everything I had?  Yes.  Did I finish and collapse to the floor like a weeping, sweaty pulp like after most of the past metcons?  No.  I didn't.  I just took a knee for a few seconds, got up, grabbed my bag and hit the showers.  There...that was IT.  Did you see that?

I'm getting stronger.  I can feel it as I get deep into the WOD.  The ring rows were hard for sure.  But I did five at a time in the third round...even a month ago on the third round of anything I would be doing one at a time.

It feels great to really start seeing the difference.

More to come tomorrow...

"Come in from the Cold" - WOD 2010-12-08

WOD
Three rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
15 Pull-ups
50 Squats
15 Pull-ups

Scaled running to rowing 500m (hurt my knee last week)
Scaled pullups to ring rows

Completed two (2) rounds

23:18

Last 11 ring rows were with crowd support...thanks folks...you made all the difference!

"Cool Runnings"

One thing I've been petrified of is the amount of time we'll spend running at Crossfit.  So when I saw today's WOD on the board I struggled with the thought of even attempting this one:

Run 1600 meters
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters
 
...but I've also been in a strong mindset of just getting out there and making SOMETHING happen.  SO I showed up, and lo and behold we had the option to either run OR row the full WOD.  While my rowing form is basically crap, I was far more willing to go the distance rowing vs. running.  So row I did, and boy was this a tough one.

Jeff Yan was on hand to coach us in form, and we even went about 500 meters or so going over all of the pitfalls of my form that were causing me to waste excess energy.  That warmup combined with my shaky form cause Jeff to scale this one for me, so after we went over form he told me to start at the 1200 interval and skip the 1800.  Winded as I was before I even started, I was nobody to put up a fight there.  I was still psyched I finished, and it seemed along the way I improved my rowing skill tenfold.

Time:
1200m - 5:35
0800m - 3:55
0400m - 1:53

I have so far to go before my rowing form is optimal, but Jeff's tips really helped me conserve enough energy to get through this one without crushing my arms or my lungs.

word.