Our gym started its performance challenge about two months ago.  Today was our final exam. I felt like I did pretty well last time.  Let’s see if I’ve gotten any better.

1RM Deadlift

I’m still lifting too much with my back and not my legs.  I was surprised that my back wasn’t sore the next day though.

Deadlift: 288#

For time:

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 been working on my double-unders, but the burpees had taken so much out of me that I wasn’t able to string them together at all.

Time: 15:03

Since last time, I added 10 k to my deadlift, and took 3:22 off of my WOD time.  I’m pretty happy with that.

No strength workout today.  Just a simple WOD.

“Helen”

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
21 Kettlebell Swings 56#/35#
12 Pull-ups

I’ve done this workout twice before.  Actually my first CrossFit workout was Helen.  I never scaled my workouts, so getting through 12 pull-ups was a chore.  It’s amazing what an effect “being in shape” has on my WOD times.

Prescribed weight is 56#, but I used a 35# kettlebell.  I had tried using a 45# KB in a recent workout and couldn’t do any more than 10 swings.  I guess I could have tried to get as far as I could with 45# before switching, but I was lazy.  My body was really blown about halfway through last time.  I wanted to be able to go strong the entire way through today.

My hand is still a little torn up from last week’s pull-ups.  I found a great video online that shows how to tape your hands so that you can still do pull-ups when they’re torn.  I tried it tonight and, while it didn’t remove all the hurt, I was able to get through the WOD without causing more damage.  I was able to do kipping pull-ups for the first round, and did three on the second.  The rest of my pull-ups were jumpers.

• 1:37 running / 1:30 KB + PU
• 1:52 / 1:23
• 2:11 / 1:10

Total Time: 9:43

For future reference — my average running pace was 1:53.

The workout named “Nicole” is supposed to be 20 minutes: as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of 400m run and max rep pullups.  Today, we did “Mini Nicole”.

As many rounds as you can do in 10 minutes of:

run to truck and back (~200M)
max kipping or jumping pull ups

We did max rep pull ups last week, so I had a good estimate of how I’d do on this WOD.  I figured I could do six or seven rounds, with an average of three pull ups per round.  I can’t kip, so the strict pull ups would wear me out pretty quickly.  I occasionally will do a kipping pull up as part of my warm up, but I’ve never been able to link two in a row.  I think a lot of the problem was that I just wasn’t committing to it.  Just before the WOD, I claimed my pull up bar and did two kips in a row.  Landon saw me and said basically “if you can do two kips, you’re doing all kips”.  Damn it!   I’m glad I did though.

Here are my splits.

• 0:46 running / :29 pullups (9 reps)
• 1:00 / :30 (8)
• 1:23 (6) [forgot to hit the split button on my watch]
• 1:28 (6) [forgot to hit the split button on my watch]
• 1:02 / :22 (5)
• 1:08 / :16 (3 jumping)
• 1:07 / :16 (3 jumping)
• 0:52

I surprised myself on the first round when I got the nine kipping pullups.  Wow!  It felt great!  I tore a callous during the 5th round of pull ups, and I tried to do a dead-hang on my 6th, but couldn’t get up, so I did jumping pullups on the 6th and 7th rounds.  I need to remember to chalk my hands when I do pull ups.

Total: 10:39. 7 rnds + sprinting. 33 kipping + 6 jumping pull ups

The trainers have been busy the past few days, making new toys to torture us with.  They stuffed a bunch of army canvas with wood chips to make an uneven heavy sack.  Today we had to use them in a workout.

First, though, we had a strength workout.  Three sets of 15 shoulder presses.   I did 35# and that was pretty easy, so I stepped up to 67#.  This was a bit too aggressive.  I did 10 reps and this was all I could do.  After a bit of a rest, I did 5 more reps with this weight, then stepped down to 50# for a final 15 reps.

3 Rounds of:

10 Alternating Sandbag Cleans (5 each arm)
Run to Truck with Sandbag

Kyle suggested that I use a 42# bag and decided to stick with it after a couple of trial reps.  I though that the workout would catch up with me even though it felt easy at that time.  I should have used a heavier weight, since I cruised through it.  The running was difficult though.

Time: 4:27

Today’s workout was long, but didn’t leave my body blasted like yesterday’s did.

3 Rounds:

800M Run
50 Situps
50 Good Mornings

Last time I did 3×800, my average split was 3:26 and I tried to keep my pace as close as I could to that time today.  The good mornings were a new movement for me.

Splits:

• 3:21 run / 3:27 sit-ups & good mornings
• 3:35 / 3:17
• 3:27 / 3:06

Total: 20:12

My average 800 time was slower by 1 2/3 sec compared to last time, which surprised me.  I thought I would be slightly faster.  I kept each round much closer to my average though.  I felt unsure about the movement on the first round of good mornings, which slowed me down.  I didn’t know if I was keeping my lumbar curve as I bent over, and also didn’t know if I was bending over deeply enough.  Landon assured me that my form was good and I sped up on the second and third rounds.

It was a longer workout than many, but I felt good afterward.  Most 20+ minute workouts have been killers.  This one was long, but pretty easy.  We’ll see how tomorrow goes.

“Kelly”

Five rounds for time of:
Run 400m
30 Box Jump (24″/20″)
30 Wall Ball (20#/14#)

I didn’t know what to expect from this workout. I knew it would be long; the running alone would take between 10 and 15 minutes. There would be no way I’d be able to finish this workout with a 20# ball, and I was hesitant to use a 14# ball since I had to switch from a 14# to a 10# the last time I did wall balls (10 days ago). I also haven’t been good with 24″ box jumps. I always would jump all the way up with straight legs instead of jumping and landing in a squat, then standing up.

I made it through the whole thing. Wall balls were slow, but good; box jumps too. During the third round, I decided that I would do only four rounds.  I was just too tired; the workout sucked.  After the fourth round, however, I was too tired to remember that I had made that decision until about 10 steps after I started running. I couldn’t really stop now. I struggled through the last round with Darren finishing a couple of minutes before me.

Splits:

• 6:16
• 2:02 run / 4:41 box jumps & wall balls
• 2:13 / 5:20
• 2:24 / 6:09
• 2:36 / 5:15

Time: 36:56

We had a fairly brutal workout today.

WOD for Time:

Run 800 Meters
21 Kettle Bell Swings (45 # / 35 #)
21 Knees to Elbows (or leg raises)
Run 800 Meters
15 Kettle Bell Swings
15 Knees to Elbows
Run 800 Meters
9 Kettle Bell Swings
9 Knees to Elbows

I was able to do about 10 strict knees to elbows, then the rest were done while standing on the short box. My arms were a little bent and they were a bit easier. Next time I’ll stand on a 20# bumper plate instead so my arms aren’t as bent.

I went with a 35# kettlebell and I’m glad I did. My form broke down a bit at the end and I would probably have a lot of back pain from a 45#.

Splits:

• 2:57 run / 3:22 kb & k2e
• 3:31 run / 2:11 kb & k2e
• 3:50 run / 1:05 kb & k2e

Total: 16:56

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

4 Rounds of:

4 Deadlifts at 85% of 1 Rep Max (If you don’t know your max, we’ll find a weight that works)
Sprint to Truck (300M)
7 Burpees

When I looked at today’s workout, I knew that I’d be able to push through it pretty quickly.  On the 10th, we did a 5×3rep deadlifting skills workout.  I did two reps at 221#, but stepped it down because Kyle didn’t like my form.  I don’t know my 1RM.  So, I could have probably done 187# on this workout, but Ben didn’t like my form when lowering the bar at 133# so I went with 155#.   I tried to pace myself on the sprints.  In the past, I’ve gone out too quickly from the gate, and then my last rounds are really slow.  I felt like the burpees were really efficient.  I was able to do a hop and drop myself on the floor without incurring the energy wasting penalty of lowering myself to the floor.  I was really happy with my performance today.

Time: 7:05 @ 155#

Today’s workout was a fun one – running and barbell work.

4 Rounds of:
Sprint 250M
6x Hang Power Clean (155# Men / 95# Women)
3x Push Jerk/Press (155# Men / 95# Women)

My time was 6:12 using 77# for the HPC and PP.

Times for each round:

• :41 run / :40 weights
• :51 run / :37 weights
• :54 run / :50 weights
• :58 run / :41 weights

The first and third barbell sets were slower because I accidentally lowered the bar to a hang after the 6th rep and had to re-clean it before starting the presses.  I’ll have to throw a little more weight on the bar next time, since I wasn’t having to dip much at all when catching the bar for the clean, and was doing straight push presses. Adding a little more weight will force me to shrug more explosively to get the bar up when cleaning, and make me catch the bar lower on the press.  I’ll probably move up to at least 89# next time.

Today’s Workout is a new one.  I’m kinda surprised that they’re doing this on a non-free day.

“Pace Yourself”

50 pull ups
Run to Stop Sign on Market (800M)
50 push ups
Run to Guard Rail (400M)
50 burpees
Run to Truck (~250M)

I scaled it down to 30 reps instead of 50.  I got six or seven good pull-ups in, but then switched to jumping pull-ups.  My 800m sprint was 3:44 (pretty good for me).  I got almost all of my push-ups, only having to do 4 knee push-ups.  My next 400m took me 2:01.  I was drained from the push-ups, so I did my burpees on my knees.  Final sprint was  51 seconds.

Total time: 15:52.

Today’s workout was one of the benchmark “girls” workouts named “Nancy”.  First time doing this one.

“Nancy”

5 rounds for time of:
400 meter run
95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps

My time today was 16:01, with a 15# bar on the OHS.  The “sprint” turned almost to a stroll in the 4th and 5th rounds.  I was so tired.

Times each round:

• 1:44/:41
• 2:07/:48
• 2:16/1:01
• 2:31/1:18
• 2:40/:56

I’m pretty sore from two days in a row.  We’re taking tomorrow off, Thursday on, then off for a few days while we’re at the outer-banks.  I’m sure I’ll be sorry I took five days off once I do that first workout next week.

It’s been a while since I’ve crossfitted. I haven’t done this workout since the very first time I tried a crossfit workout.

“Helen”

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

Post time to comments.

The scaled down “pack” workout calls for 35 pound dumbbell swings which is about 1 pood, and I just happen to have a 1 pood kettlebell. I got to the AFC at about 9:10 and did the standard warm-up sans pullups. My sit-ups were on the floor instead of in the GHD because I think I’ve lost a bit of flexability. I can’t do dips, so I could only do 5, then 3 of them. It was 9:30 and I still had to do my last set of dips for the warm-up, but I skipped them so that I could start on the workout. I finished two rounds and didn’t think I could complete the third before they closed, so I skipped it.

Total time: 20:54 for two rounds.

I plan on running either a 5 mile or a 10k race in about a month and I haven’t been a consistent runner in about a year.  Yesterday I decided that I had to get in shape.  I ran about 3 miles, but felt so out-of-shape.  I hadn’t felt that bad running that short of a distance since I started training for my first marathon in the spring of ‘02.  I plan to continue running about three miles every day until I feel like I can kick it up to four or five.

Today’s crossfit workout is Angie and I may do a scaled-down version of it in addition to my running.

Most of the workouts on crossfit have female names, but there are a small number of men’s workout and they are tough.

“Michael”

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

I didn’t think I could even do 50 back extensions, much less a total of 150, so I scaled it down to 35 back extensions and sit-ups. I skipped the back extensions on the last round too. Total time: 32:31 or so.

It’s been a while since I worked out, with the holiday travel and all, but Hillary and I got into a nearby gym this morning. The Rxed workout for today was a 5k run. Running is one of the only crossfit workouts I can do as prescribed. Yesterday’s workout was a straightforward one named Barbara – 5 * (20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 squats). I planned to do Barbara-lite by subtracting 10 reps from every exercise. I ran the 5k in 29:30 ish, and got through one set of Barbara in 6 minutes before giving up.

I can’t do olympic lifts yet, so I did a workout that I missed last week – a 5k run. I was able to do it in just under 30 minutes. I plan to schedule a session with a UVA trainer this week to get on the road of learning the lifts.

I don’t remember where I first read about Crossfit. I think someone mentioned it in a thread on Lifehacker.  After reading their website I was hooked. Their style of intense scheduled workouts caught my attention. Yesterday I did my first crossfit workout, although slightly modified. The workout was named Helen (most of their workouts have women’s names) which consists of a 400m run, 21 1.5 pood kettlebell swings, and 12 pullups all done three times, and timed. I didn’t have access to any kettlebells so I did 45 lb. squats instead. After the workout, which took me 32 minutes, I could barely walk down the stairs because my legs were so weak.

This morning, my legs, biceps, and shoulders are pretty sore. I thought that I might do today’s workout, but it’s 120 pullups and 120 dips. Not gonna’ happen.