Today was the first day of the gym’s Performance Challenge.  We had two different benchmarks, 1RM deadlifts, and a metabolic conditioning workout:

Run to Stop Sign (~700 M)
30 KB Swings (35# / 25# )
30 Burpees
30 Double Unders
30 Push Presses (45# / 35#)
Run to Stop Sign (~700 M)

I’ve never worked on my max deadlift before, so this was a real treat.  I worked my way up from a couple of warm-up sets,  177# to 265#.  I tried 288# and got it almost up, but the bar started rolling out of my hands and I wasn’t able to fully stand up before losing control of it.  I tried a second time with a mixed grip, but couldn’t stand up.  I probably could have played around with weights between 265 and 288, but decided that what I got was good enough.

The MetCon WOD was not fun.  I took it easy on the first run so that my breathing and heart rate weren’t completely blown away before I started the hard stuff.  While doing the KB swings, I learned a lot about how to do it correctly.  I finally got the “explosive hips” that everyone kept yelling at me for not doing in the past.  I got through everything else by breaking them into sets of 2-5.  The final run was a jog.  Yuck.  Final time: 18:25 Rx