1/21 - Yoke Carry and Barbells

Back at the box tonight.

One thing that Southern does – that I think I like – is post their WOD late the night before so you know what to expect when you get there.  This is similar to the Crossfit Open format as well and I think I like it.  Some people might pick and choose which days they then show up but anyone truly wanting to get better will be there regularly and perhaps even try to make the days with their weaknesses programmed even more so (hello, that’s running for me).

Actually, come to think of it… another thing I’ve noticed and only after the fact and not during the moment is that Southern doesn’t blast music during the WODs.  I really don’t miss it which is funny because at Cooee I always heard the music and when it was too bubbly or poppy it annoyed me and probably took more of my focus during the workout than I realized.  It’s not until I’m driving home or now as I sit and write this that I even realize that it was ‘quiet’.  And by ‘quiet’ I mean there were only grunts and groans and drops of sweat hitting the floor.  You could clearly hear the coaches and when they were giving cues to someone else you could still hear them and do a self-check as well.  I think I like it.  That’s not to say there aren’t times where loud and angry music pumps me up but still, the change is refreshing.

Yoke Carry

3 rounds - 15m yoke carry (150/100kg) 

This was fun – we were all out in the alley beside the box with two yokes and basically just rotating through the carries – this was something I’ve never done before – a bunch of new toys to play with so that was good.  I did two carries with just the empty frame (70kg) and then one at 100kg which was tough.  Considering my deadlift PR is 102.5kg this was pretty taxing.  Once I got it going I kept a slow and steady pace as the rails on the bottom weren’t that far from the ground (downside of being short?) and I was afraid I’d catch a corner and face plant.  It was intimidating to many of us at first but by the end we were all very motivated to keep at it.  It was fun to just play – no time being kept or anything but just something new and outside our comfort areas that we became comfortable with (as much as you can) in the 20 minutes spent playing and cheering each other on.

WOD
15, 12, 9
Push Press 50/35kg
Back Squat 50/35kg

6:29 Rx

This was a good one.  Jase told us when explaining the WOD that if the Rx weight was within 10kg of our max to go for it.  If we didn’t finish then it’d be a strength WOD for us but otherwise it’d be a bit more metcon.  This was tough – 35kg was the weight that I did a set of 3 with on Saturday at ASG.  Looking back through my archives the last time I logged a max push press was in late August and it was 40kg for 5 reps.  I still really struggle to not push jerk the lift – Jase called me out on this a few times and it was good – I got a bunch of ‘no reps’ at the Affiliate cup for the double bend on in my legs so it’s good to focus on the proper form for the lift.  Definitely felt the difference in my shoulders though – heavy. I broke up the 15’s into 9-6 then went unbroken in the backsquats. 

I struggled through the round of 12 though Tarrsha was awesome in that she was right behind me and told me to get on it which made me pick up the bar again after a rest.   Probably ‘wasted’ most time resting on the round of 12 – broke up the pushpress into 5 (wanted 6 but when I only got 5 my mental game plan fell apart – oops)- 3-2-2 then put the bar down once on the backsquats. 

We had a 7 minute cut-off so I knew that I had to push the round of nine to get it done – think I only had a minute and a half or maybe a bit more when I started the round of 9.  Pushpress was I think 6-3 and then unbroken backsquats.  I still struggle though to keep my knees out and have a lot of work to do on my squat form namely engaging my posterior chain rather than relying solely on my quads.

Mobility

Spent a ton of time rolling out/ squirming on the floor/ trying not to cry/ laughing to keep from crying/ moaning/ breathing/ relaxing

Rolled through my quads (ouch) and IT band (double ouch)

Sat on the ball for quite a while and found some really painful points in my glutes

Continued to be lazy by working the ball through my pecs/ shoulders/ biceps while lying on the ground

Pigeon pose/ close to falling asleep

Luke was funny when I had just gotten up from pigeon pose to put my stuff away – he said something about how I looked really worked over and I told him I was basically just waking up – completely relaxed from pigeon.  Love it.

Hung out at Cam’s for a bit before we went and met up with a bunch of the Cooee kids – Sarah, Angie, Shonelle, Vini, Tim and Jack (and a random bump into Kosta at Foam) for burgers (and frozen yogurt) in Leederville.  Was a ton of fun.  It was almost 10pm by the time we left Leederville and almost 11 before I got back to Freo – the drive was a bit crazy as I was trying not to pass out.  I pretty much dropped into bed when I got home and slept hard – still really tired though, could have done with a few more hours.  Hopefully I’ll get to play a  bit of catch up tonight if I can get to the 4:30 class and then home for a chilled out night.