World O’ Hurt

I’ve been jotting down notes about my workouts the past few weeks, but I haven’t yet sat down to go in depth about any of them. That’s odd because I’ve set several important milestones for myself the past few weeks, and it’s well worth taking a moment and patting myself of the back for a job well done. If six months ago, someone had told me that I would be doing some of the things that I’m doing now, I would not believe them, and yet here I am today, constantly exceeding what I thought were my limits.

It’s been a busy and stressful few weeks for me, yet I have largely been able to continue my diet and workout routine, and I’m healthier, more productive, and stronger/faster/more flexible than ever.  This might not sound like a big deal, but it’s Crossfit and the desire to constantly improve that has given me the mental strength to overcome situations that might have broken me just a few short years ago.

I’m about to go into a period of time that’s going to be very difficult for me emotionally, and it will be the things like Crossfit, Kung-Fu, and the healthy, nurturing way of life that I’ve chosen for myself will form the bedrock of my life while it changes.

Monday (08/03)

For a month or two after I started Crossfit, on my drive from my house to the Gym, I would get a knot in the pit of my stomach. It was a foreboding feeling, like I was heading into a trap. I believe that it was my body’s homeostatic system attempting to dissuade me from doing such foolish things as putting myself under extreme discomfort in new and awful ways, or exceeding my limitations, or putting myself “out there”, or preparing to fail. It was my ego’s attempt at self preservation before it got crushed time and time again in my quest to remake myself.

I remember one workout where I was hit with a particularly acute bout of this feeling. I remember standing on the box, preparing for the start of the workout, listening to JDP count down from three to one, and literally thinking to myself :

“Oh my god, this is really happening. This is fucking brutal, but I’m already standing here and it’s too late to do anything about it. I’m really going to do this.“

Well, times have changed. Now I look forward to almost every workout with a sense of perverse glee and I anticipate competing against the lesser part of me that urges me to rest (and who still too often wins). However, there are still some workouts the fill me with that same sense of dread, and those are the monthly benchmarks.

It’s not so much that Crossfit Central’s monthly benchmarks (Total, Angie, and Fight Gone Bad) are incredibly difficult (well, Angie and FGB are true beasts. I find Total enjoyable as hell), it’s that the first class of the month is time to prove myself, to apply what I’ve learned and apply the improvements I’ve made to myself over the month. And sometimes it’s scary having no one but myself to hold accountable for my improvement.

This month’s benchmark was one of my favorite workouts: Fight Gone Bad:

Three Rounds:

• 1:00 Row
• 1:00 Wall Ball
• 1:00 Sumo Deadlift High Pull
• 1:00 Box Jump
• 1:00 Push-Press

The score is the number of calories burned on the rower plus the number of completed reps on the other four exercises. My very first Fight Gone Bad turned out very well, with a score of 259 over the three rounds (as RX!). The past few times I’ve done FGB, it was two rounds, due to not having enough time or equipment, as well as schedule changes at the gym. Don’t worry though, just go more intense.

Long story short, my score was 239 over two rounds. This was the first big milestone for me this week, and it puts me on pace for a score well over 300 for the fundraiser in September! More impressive to me was almost attaining my 3 round total in two rounds. Now THAT’S improvement! What made me prouder was the fact that it was the best score made that day up to my class time. Anyone wanna bet on a 300+ two rounder for me next time?

Wednesday (08/05)

Ah, now I remember why I didn’t blog this week in depth; it was the week that crushed me to dust with my worst exercises and skills, and the followed up those brutal workouts with brutal followups.

Overhead squats are probably my worst skill, and workouts ladders (where the reps go down but the exercises stay the same) probably exhaust me more than anything else. How about a WOD that combines them both?

For Time:

• 10 Overhead squats: 95lb, 30 Knees-to-elbows
• 8, 24
• 6, 18
• 4, 12
• 2, 6

I am not particularly good at high volume output of things like K2E or Pull-ups, and I’m bad at Overhead Squats. At 95lb I didn’t get anywhere near the RX weight of 135 on the squats, and ripped my hands terribly on the K2E. This was not a good day for me! I finished in 11:40 which was ahead of most of the field, but not exactly elite. However, it was the heaviest sustained series of overhead squats that I’ve done (my previous best was 65!) Therefore, my second big milestone of the week!

As if that workout were not hard enough, the followup sucked out of me any energy I had left: an 800m run followed by three sets of Burpee Broad Jump Relays (up and down the gym floor).

Thursday (08/06)

The Texas Hand Skin Massacre continues with a pullup-centric slice o’ hell:

The clock continuously runs; each minute do:

• ‘n’ pullups during minute ‘n’.
• On pullup failure, do ‘n’ kettlebell squats during minute ‘n’.

I got to n = 11. The heart and body were willing, but the hands said “fuck no”. Starting at the 12th minute I did kettlebell squats and gassed on minutes 19 and 20, completing minute 18. I still owe JDP 39 kettlebell squats.

I feel that had my hands not ripped, I could have gotten to round 15. I felt strong, but I was bleeding like a stuck pig on the bars. Nasty.

Of course there was a followup; It was more bodyweight relays:

• 3x Rabbit relay
• 3x Spider relay

My martial arts and kata training came through for me again; The rabbit relays were trivially easy for me. It seems that on at least two or three of Crossfits 10 physical skills, I get high marks (agility, coordination, flexibility).

Monday (08/10)

Another killer. The volume has been relatively low lately but the weight has been high.

5 Rounds for Time:

• 21 KB Swings @ 24kg (32kg RX)
• 14 Burpees
• 7 Back Squats @ 155lb

My time: 18:42, one of the better finishers that day (almost no one did it as RX. It seems that given my time and the 20-minute cutoff, 24kg was just right for where I’m at. I’m impatient to move on, but smart enough to avoid injury. I have my whole life to do this).

Wednesday (08/12)

A truly horrendous WOD.

3 Rounds for Time:

• 10 Man Makers @ 45lb
• 500m Row

The order was originally inverted, but because we didn’t have enough rowers, some of us started on the Man Makers. This marks a personal record on weight for the Man Makers for me (for those of you playing at home, that’s three milestones set!)

18:45 RX (how I love typing “RX”!)

Thursday (08/13)

Deadlifts are my favorite movement. They just feel right and powerful and I love the big numbers I’m able to put up, yet today I just didn’t feel strong at all. The 225 I pulled felt more like 350, and I felt sluggish in general. Yet I showed up and persevered. When I saw the workout, I groaned inwardly; Muscle-ups are one area where I just don’t feel competent. I feel like a fish out of water, and like the muscles required to do them just don’t exist on my body. Meh! Well, I surprised myself…

For time:

• 25 Deadlifts @ 225lb
• 500m Row
• 15 Muscle-Ups
• 25 Deadlifts @ 225lb

My Time: 15:59 Almost-RX.

What does “Almost-RX” mean? Well, it means that on that day, I did more muscle-ups in a single WOD that I had cumulatively done previously in my 30 years of life. That is a huge milestone and I was thrilled to have done what I did, which was 10 real, genuine muscle-ups! I did 5 by scaling various ways (knees, jumping), but 10 muscle-ups was a huge achievement for me. I still have form work to do (such as locking out fully between reps, and doing some reps unbroken), but I am very happy with what I accomplished.

Friday (08/14)

As fellow Crossfitter and Kung-Fu instructor Cindy came to my class, I decided to make the workout Crossfit’s benchmark “Cindy”, which also happens to be one of my favorite workouts in general:

AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 5 Pullups
• 10 Push-ups
• 15 Squats

A workout deceptive in its simplicity. and devastating in its effect! My record is 12 rounds with bar pull-ups, but all we have at the Kung-Fu school is the ability to hang rings for pullups, etc (more difficult!). I did 13 full rounds and one scaled round (jumping pull-ups). That’s yet another milestone set for this series of workouts! I am not sure what inspired me, but in spite of being tired and stressed, I’ve felt like a million bucks and ready to take myself on. What will tomorrow bring?

As a last note, we should always appreciate the special people who add color and meaning and beauty and happiness to our lives, and let them know how much they mean to us. We sometimes take them for granted, and when they depart, their absence is palpable.

An important week for me! Saturday is the Spartan 300 Challenge finale. I’ve made some huge leaps and hit many of the goals for which I was aiming. The 400lb deadlift felt really good to hit. Not only was it a 30lb PR, but it was a specific goal of mine for the 6-week period! I also wanted 30 consecutive pullups, and I did get 20 last week, so I do believe that with a concerted effort, I could get 30! We’ll see if I reached my <8% body fat goal (which isn’t incredibly important to me, just a “let’s see if I can do it” sort of thing) during the weigh ins and measurements.

This week I really have to keep the diet under control and get adequate sleep and rest/recovery. I am signed up for the Level 1 challenge on Saturday (10:30, if anyone wants to watch…). I did sub-15 minutes on the level 2 during the beginning of the challenge, so I just don’t have too much more to prove there. I am going to enter the level 1 challenge with a little trepidation. I feel that it’s MUCH more difficult than the level 2, and I am going to take JDP’s advice and pretend like I already have it. I can’t afford to second-guess myself!

Monday

Crossfit workout. Brutality defined and refined. Three rounds for time:

• 100ft Lunge with Kettlebell (24kg)
• 15 Burpees
• 25 Kettlebell swings (24kg)

I finished in 13:45 I believe, maybe a minute quicker. Better to assume slower than faster, and try harder next time! This was a brutal workout. Kettlebell swings leech the life and vitality from you like nothing else.

Tuesday

Spartan 300 Challenge Workout:

• 50 Squats 2 Pull-ups
• 40 Squats 4 Pull-ups
• 30 Squats 6 Pull-ups
• 20 Squats 8 Pull-ups
• 10 Squats 10 Pull-ups

More difficult than it looks but also quick. I finished in 6:35, with all pull-ups on rings. My time was too slow for my liking but I have an unfortunate penchant for not pushing myself as hard when I’m solo. I must overcome this. I wanted 5 minutes on this workout. I saw several areas for improvement. Over the 6 weeks after this challenge, I will be going through all the workouts again, to try and get more out of them than I did this time around. This was my first Crossfit challenge, so I’ll do better on my next one. Fight Gone Bad IV, anyone???

Wednesday

“Heavy, Running Grace”. This was a beastly workout. It was a “Heavy” (20lb extra on the bar) “Running” (phases punctuated by a 400m run) “Grace” (30 Squat Clean and Jerk) for time. This challenged both my metabolism and strength to the extreme. On a side note, we had the priviledge of having Crossfit Central Affiliate Team member Kris Kepler work out with us. It’s humbling seeing a master at work. He finished the workout 4.5 minutes faster and 40lbs heavier than I did. Pretty amazing stuff. Three Rounds for Time:

• 10 Squat Clean and Jerk @ 155lb (I did 115lb, a 20lb personal best on the movement. I am moving cautiously forward due to my shoulders)
• 400m Run

I finished in 15:43, completely exhausted.

There was an interesting question posed to the class over whether it is better to do a workout lighter and with perfect form, or heavier with compromised form. I responded on Central’s blog entry like this:

It seems to me that the optimal weight is just enough to finish the workout in time.

I think there was an article about scaling in Crossfit Journal a week or so ago. As it turns out, if you go with a lighter weight and complete the workout faster, your energy expenditure is actually more than if you had done full or RX weight and taken a longer time to finish the workout.

In terms of form vs. Weight, I consider proper form to be very important. If you constantly increase your weight without considering your form and technique, you are not only reinforcing bad habits, but as above, you might not even be getting as good a workout.

I think the correct answer is to increase weight just until the point your form begins to break down, then remove a little. At some point it becomes impossible to increase weight without compromising form and correctness. I don’t think that is a bad thing, but it should be an informed decision: “You have to know the rules well enough to break them”.

To elaborate on my thoughts there, I believe there is a point where adding more weight is a long-term detrement in exchange for short-term gains.  as we see in this Crossfit Journal article, it is often a faustian bargain to always go RX weight, as this can compromise both the safety and efficacy of a workout. There is no question that for those capable of getting the most out of an RX workout, those persons should do an RX workout, but for many, including myself, the greater gains are made from scaling down the weight and concentrating on form and maximal energy output per unit of time.

I believe that since my shoulder injury, I have been just a touch too conservative with the weight, but I am still new at this, and exploring my boundaries.

Thursday

I will let this workout speak for itself:

• 50 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 50 Burpees

Gross! This workout was a nightmare. I have been working on my pullups, but chest-to-bar is a whole other ballgame. I stalled out rather early, dissappointingly enough (much to my chagrin, I was the last off of the pull-up bar), but I made up a lot of time on the burpees, finishing a close second or third with 10:10 RX. For a comparison, this was a workout at the “Hell’s Half Acre” qualifiers, and I believe that the best time was a stunning 3.5 or so minutes. Amazing.

This workout examplified some of the great things about CrossFit for me, it scales to fit all fitness levels, and there’s always room for improvement. In my case, 7 minutes worth, and that’s just for this workout.

Friday

I sat out this conditioning class workout, since I wanted a rest day before the Spartan 300 Challenge workout on Saturday. I’m pretty proud of this workout, and I think it’s very representative of what kung-fu conditioning workouts should be. It’s very metabolic but has a good strength component, and was easily scaled for different skill/conditioning levels. The after workout was one of my favorite stand-bys. The strategy was to exhaust the core during the main workout, and then finish the job after a little rest.

AMRAP 20 Minutes:

• 10 Knees-to-Elbows
• 15 Push-ups
• 20 Lunges

I gave the option of stationary or walking lunges. I was pleased to note everyone mixed it up, and received the feedback that the walking ones were easier on peoples’ knees. Interesting.

After workout. Three Rounds:

• 1 minute front plank (on elbows)
• 1 minute front plank (high push-up position)
• 1 minute side plank (each side)
• 1 minute max reps sit-ups

This is an instant classic. I will have to tell my Crossfit coach about it . It does take more time than we usually have for Crossfit after workouts, but might be idea for a shorter WOD day.

My shoulder is feeling significantly better. The swelling in my AC joints is significantly less, and I am feeling pain only when I pull my arms across the centerline of my body. I am a few short weeks away from being able to do full WODs again. No need to rush though, JDP has been giving me plenty to work on without involving my crippled shoulders

Monday

Shoulder is feeling a little wonky today; Better than in the past. It doesn’t hurt per se, it just feels weird. My entire body is tired and crappy from all the bad food I ate. It is amazing how it affects me!  I actually felt worse after 4-5 days off than I did immediately after my last workout! My Psoas has been bothering me a little too. The WOD was another ass kicker:

Four Rounds for Time:

• 400m Run
• 50 Squats
• 30 Box Jumps (24″ Box)

My Time: 24:33. not the best time in the world, and not the worst time in the world. It is a supremely difficult workout, and seemed to work the aerobic and both anaerobic systems. I am not sure whether to attribute my exhaustion to the workout, the fact I was on a fast day after half a week of carb fests, or the fact that I actually felt a little dehydrated. At any rate, I didn’t perform my best, but I did the best I could!

I went to Kung-Fu and taught class as well, and did quite a bit of Warton active-isolated stretching. I am trying to make my teaching more engaged and hands on. When I got home, I did Triggerpoint, which seemed to have somewhat of a magical effect on my psoas. Weird.

Tuesday

A Kung-Fu day. I mainly hung out in the back room. I did a full compliment of Wharton stretching, and a nice long Triggerpoint session, and a little mini workout with pal Andy:

135lb Deadlift x 25, 20 Ring Rows, 185lb Deadlift x 15, 20 Ring Rows, 205lb deadlift x 5, 20 Ring Rows.

Just a little diversion.

Wednesday

When will I learn? My shoulder hurts a wee bit more from all the ring exercises I did on Tuesday (I admit to doing some ring dips). Anyway, another day another dollar. At Crossfit:

For time:

• 2000m row
• 2″ rest
• 1 mile run

My time: 20:04 including the rest period. I had an 8:14 (or so) split on the row, where 7:30 is considered pretty good. I admit to phoning in the run somewhat, but I also admit to my legs being paralized after the row. Whatever that muscle is on the front of the shin, it was numb. Yikes!

The rower is a beastly contraption and I hate it (but in a loving way).

Thursday

Guest torturer coach, Lance Cantu! What a bad dude he is. Everywhere you look at Crossfit Central, there’s someone to look up to.

For Time:

• 50 – 40 – 30 – 20 – 10 Kettlebell Swings @ 1.5pd/Situps

My Time: 11:51. This was the first time in quite a while I’ve done the recommended WOD, and it felt good to do so. I scaled down to 1 Pood because of the kettlebell, but also scaled up to my new AbMat. Not quite making up for the half pood difference, but it’s something

There was also a supplementary workout:

Five Rounds:

• 25 Air Squats
• 100 yard farmer walk with two 1.5pd kettlebells

I initally thought that we’d have to do the squats with the kettlebells, so I picked out 1pd kettlebells. After receiving clarification that they were air squats, I upgraded Mark and I managed three rounds before time ran out. That is an exercise that truly challenges the grip strength!

Friday

Conditioning class time! I continue to inflict primarily lower-body workouts on my class due to my shoulder. I will likely discontinue this in the next few weeks and start inserting upper-body and core workouts into the programming of the class, and just not do those exercises. My shoulder NEEDS to get better and I am not helping out the process.

For Time:

• 250 Squats
• 250 double-unders

My time: 11:40 (I think, didn’t write down times today. I will do it and update Monday)

Tabata:

• Farmer Walk (selection of 55lb dumbbells and 35lb kettlebells, as well as 20lb dumbbells)
• Body Blasters
• Medball Slams
• In-Outs (paralellettes)

The Farmer Walk is a truly excellent finisher. I will keep that in the rotation regularly!

This is going to be a good week, I can feel it. I suffered a slight setback with my shoulder on Monday, but it actually feels a little stronger. It’s only a matter of time!

Monday

I hope my shoulder gets better soon, since my substitute workouts are harder than the actual ones!

Three Rounds for Time:

• 50lb Kettlebell Swing (1pd)
• 25 Goblet Squats (1 1/2pd)
• 500m Row

My Time: 24:48. JDP let me finish past the 20 minute cutoff. This was an incredibly difficult workout. I think it was much more metabolic than the prescribed workout. The Goblet squats hurt my shoulders a little bit, but didn’t set me back to square one. I will be more careful. They felt OK at first…

After Crossfit I taught class at Kung-Fu. Everyone is looking incredibly sharp and skilled. It’s always that way after a tournament/test. Everyone steps up to the plate, especially those people who tested!

Tuesday

Some Wharton-style active-isolated stretching, along with a test run of my new Elite Rings II at the Kung-Fu school! I did some body rows, and a few pushups, which did not do my shoulder any favors. The good news here is that I have provisional permission to put rings up in the school! I need to figure out a plan to have them accessible and easily moved out of the way/dismounted, as well as purchase them. This is a mid-term project that I will probably implement in August.

My shoulder is bugging me again. I need to just let it rest.

Wednesday

Crossfit day! JDP offered me up an incredibly shitty (in terms of absolutely destroying me) midline stablilization workout:

Five Rounds for Time:

• 15 Kettlebell Deadlifts (2pd each hand = 64kg = 141lb wow that is a lot of weight now that I calculate it out)
• 30 Hip Extensions on the GHD
• 30 AbMat Situps

My time: 18:4x. This was a motherfucker of a workout. Maybe even harder in some ways than the real WOD (5x(5 HSPU, 10PJ, 400mrun)). My hamstrings have been aching in a “you really really challenged yourself” way ever since (I’m writing this on Sat). It’s hard to explain how much I look forward to the Crossfit WODs, even though when I’m doing them, it feels like absolute hell. I am greedily awaiting my shoulder to return to normalcy, so I can do the great lifts again.

I had my second body composition done as well. You have to take these things with a grain of salt; things like hydration and fasting can really throw off the measurements, but it gives a good general feeling of progress. Anyway, my stats (calculated via scale weight, calipers, and tape measurement:

• 187lbs (+3)
• 8.0% Body Fat (-.5%)
• 4″ muscular gain circumference-wise across my body:
  • +.5″ each bicep
  • +1″ across shoulders
  • +.5″ waist
  • +.5″ each thigh
  • +.5″ chest

All-in-all a successful month; I can imagine what would have happened if I had been able to work out my upper body at all! Moving my shoulders, there is still a lot of clicking and popping, but the pain is less and less every day. I have to be careful though. I think I set myself back almost a week or so on Monday (Goblet squats are hard on the shoulders!).

Thursday-Sunday

I am going to give myself a rest for the rest of the week. I am also thinking about taking off Monday’s Crossfit as well. It is important for me to slide back a few squares on the fitness gameboard than risk chronic injury. I want to be 100%.

For the hell of it I decided to see how much of a Crossfit workout I could do at my Kung-Fu school. Since I am doing four days of Crossfit next week (to make up for missing Thursday last week), I decided to do it this week as well as a comparison. I tried to approximate the workout that day on the XFit Central site:

Five Rounds for Time:

• 10 KettleBell Swings
• 10 KettleBell Push-Press each arm
• 20 Box Jumps

Unless otherwise specified, the standard Crossfit KettleBell weight is 1.5poods (about 24 Kilograms). The heaviest Kettlebell at our school is 20k, but I used an 18k one for the swings. For the push-press, I substituted a 95lb push jerk, and lacking plyo boxes, I decided that 10 squat-jumps was a good equivalent (all the way down, explosive on the way up). So I ended up with:

Five Rounds for Time:

• 10 KB Swings (18kg)
• 10 Push-Jerk (95lb)
• 10 Squat Jumps

11:15.

Not bad, but I could have gone faster, and I would have been much much slower if I had done the workout proper. I subbed the push-jerk in because I am not 100% sure of the pushpress form with a Kettlebell. It was a nice little workout!

I have a pretty tough Crossfit schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. Doubling up like that is gonna hurt, I can feel it. Indeed, today it sure did!:

Three Rounds For Time:

• 50 jumping pullups
• 15 1 1/2 pood Kettlebell swings
• 9 burpees

But wait, there’s more! Sixteen Tabata rounds, alternating between:

• Full Situps (shoulderblades to floor, chest to knees)
• Russian Twist with 12lb medicine ball.

I completed the first part, which was the main WOD in 9:54. I was happy that I got a sub-10-minute time, but I do feel I could have done better.

I think one thing that threw me off was the weight of the kettlebell (I’m used to the 1-pood, or 16kg or 35lb model), as well as the fact that Crossfit utilizes a full overhead swing (I’m used to the more standard chest/forehead height). The 1.5-pood kettlebell is a harsh mistress, and I lost control of it several times. I also almost lost control of my bowels and stomach several times, but just managed to keep it together. Whew!

The second part should have been cake for me (it’s similar to some of the stuff we do in conditioning class), and yet there seemed to be a difference. Like I’ve said before, it’s a completely different experience being the person who is being pushed along by a coach/teacher/trainer than is is being the coach/teacher/trainer. Have I been shortchanging myself for that long? I did not count my reps for the second part of the workout, but I acquitted myself adequately (but again, could have done better!)

The great thing about Crossfit is that I’m able to step back and let someone else do the programming for me. It really lets me evaluate my own performance honestly, and during the workout, concentrate on surpassing my own limits, rather than wrangling students. Superb!

All of the above fun ensured that I was a complete wreck for Kung-Fu. I haven’t had to phone in katas like that in a long, long time, added to which, Master Joe decided today would be a fantastic day to do a shitload of pushups and crunches. I believe we did somewhere in the area of 300-some pushups and 200-some crunches, but I didn’t keep track. Right now I’m pretty much unable to lift my hands above head level. Ow!

I’m hoping that this is a transitionary period for me of sorts (what actually got me was a twinge in my groin muscles, as well as soreness in my calves). I don’t mind being tired, but feeling injured? That’s another story. I want to be superb in the fitness and Kung-Fu areas of my life. I suspect this is just my body ramping up for new challenges. We’ll see. So far though, I’m enjoying the ride!

Ah yes, I almost forgot to mention: Dinner! I sliced up the last of the wonderful tri-tip I grilled up a few days ago, over a mountainous pile of salad greens and spinach. It was absolutely wonderful. I also enjoyed a bowl of Kiwifruit, which are my new fruit obsession.

A few meals over the next few days will probably consist of the Pork Chili that I have in the slow cooker right now. The aroma is wafting around the house now, and it smells wonderful. Let’s see if the taste lives up to that promise…

By the way, a shout out to the indomitable Edgar Garcia for helping me get pretty permalinks working!