8/14 - presses and lunges and burpees... oh my!

Well, today’s WOD wasn’t as killer as yesterdays but feeling the effect of yesterday didn’t make it any easier. 

We had a ‘fun’ warm-up utilizing the boxes – variations of stepping onto them, jumping on them, squat box jumps and burpee box jumps – they got increasingly higher starting from a 20kg plate all the way up to a 28” box.  Pretty sure the 28” jump is a new PR for me – and very intimidating – it’s almost half my height.  We then did a few relays in teams of three on the two sets of boxes which was fun and changed it up a bit.

Following that – likely sensing the agony we were all already in from the previous day – Coach Tim had us do some mobility work on our pecs and glutes.  That was very good though I probably could have continued that for the rest of the class and still not worked out all the knots.  I need to start making mobility more of a priority.

WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Chest to overhead with bumper plate (10/20kg)
Lunges with bumper plate
Burpees with jump onto bumper plate

16:12 Rx

I have no idea how Tash and Kirst and others finished within the 12 minute range – they smashed it.  I think when I saw 12 minutes on the clock I was still on the round of 9’s.  I still managed to finish well within the 20 minute cut-off though.  The first few rounds of chest to overhead hurt, a lot.  I started with the 20kg plate just to see and managed about 5 reps before dropping down.  As I progressed through I got better at doing more of a jerk movement focusing on locking out my arms overhead in one smooth motion rather than half pushing the plate with my arms which was exhausting.  It really did work better but I had to definitely think about it.

The lunges were okay though I definitely felt them as I was walking around the grocery store on my way home (ouch!).  When I was working out at Crossfit Kits, one of the coaches there taught me how to efficiently carry a med-ball when doing runs which involves resting it on your upper back and holding it there with your arms bent over your shoulders.  It looks awkward but it uses very little muscle and actually provides a nice stretch on your triceps.  It feels a little precarious – like it could drop at any minute but if you get the tension just right it’s great.  We also tended to utilize this strategy there when having to carry plates long distances or do step-ups with plates in hand.   I used it last night and though Coach Tim gave me funny looks and an ‘I’ll take your word for it’ (that it was easier), when he tried it after class he was actually surprised at how easy it did feel.  This gave my arms a bit of a rest during the lunges and I did them all as full walking sets. 

The burpees were (as always) awful.  They never actually seem to get any easier.  Once again it was just a mental battle to keep moving – not going exceptionally fast but just dropping to the ground and getting up over and over without stopping. 

When I’d finished most of the boys were still at it.  Glen looked to be struggling the most so I went over to try and encourage him – it ended it seemed in me trying to kill him – sorry Glen, not my intent.  I did the round of 9 with him before time ran out – he was done, definitely gave it all he had to get through it – nice work bud!

I’m really happy that today is a rest day for me.  Getting back into the swing of things at work – and starting earlier than I can ever remember to beat traffic is starting to catch up with me though I am enjoying getting back into a more productive routine.  I’m already looking at other activities that I can jump into as we move into summer, namely ultimate pick-up games near work at lunch times and hopefully some beach volleyball – I remembered how much I loved playing doubles when we were just hitting RT’s ball around at the Gorge.  My surfski is also feeling a little lonely and while I had every intent of taking her out on Sunday is was just a little too cold and wet for my liking.  Anyone want to come out and play sometime?

Oh, another note – now that I’m back on a regular schedule and starting to eat better I am realizing how much I need to eat to keep my body adequately fueled.  I’ll save the details for another post but basically it entails me now bringing three ‘lunches’ to work rather than just two.  Heh.