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.
