CrossFit workouts: February 2009 Archives

I told my coach, Dave, about the 20 squats with 70 kg, and how although it took less than a minute, it made me feel like I'd been carrying a backpack up a steep mountain for three hours. He said this shows that I wasn't using a true 10-rep max for 20 reps; doing so would have taken a lot longer. Doing ten would have been hard to finish, and each one after that would have been a "sheer, miserable act of pure will and struggle" or words to that effect. So what my endeavor actually was was a shot at homing in on my true 10-rep max, which might be more like 85 kg.

While I would have liked to think I really did something TOUGH, this information doesn't surprise me. I'm not a real risk taker, don't like to suffer (although that is relative--some people think I love to suffer!), and hate to even think about not completing a set. So, I did a set of 20 that basically I knew I could complete, though heavy. This weekend I'll try to find a 10-rep max for real.

On the other hand, the CrossFit workouts at the gym are getting so good that maybe I should just do whatever's on tap in the gym every other day like I've been doing lately, and let the results take care of themselves. We've fine-tuned our programming a bit and added a lot more joint planning of upcoming workouts. They're more intense as a result of that and of adding more of a consistent, serious strength component, pursuant to the CrossFit Journal article "Strong Medicine." I don't want to beat myself up too much at home in view of this!

Last week one of the workouts involved weighted pull-ups and rowing. I hadn't done weighted pull-ups in a long time because of my elbow tendonitis. It's so much better now (no symptoms 90 percent of the time) that I decided to try them. The heaviest and most I managed that day was 2 reps with 12 kg. Erika took my picture doing one with 8 kg. Photos and videos that I upload may seem vain; but now that I've had the elbow problem and felt like it was such a huge setback, I find it reassuring and empowering to see myself doing some of the difficult drills. So, I'll use the Internet to indulge myself.

Rowing 2000m, I finished in 8:33.5. Not in the top three women's times that day, but well under the women's Level 2 time benchmark of 8:50. It sure was a long eight and a half minutes!

We did this in Sean's 7 AM class today but I think Matt came up with it at six.
Body weight back squats, as many reps as possible in 30 seconds
Immediately row 250m
Rest a few minutes
Four rounds. Record the numbers of reps and the row times.

I used 50 kg for the first three rounds, but felt really solid so I switched to 60 (actual body weight) for the last round.

Reps/Times:
8 / 57.3
9 / 58.2
11 / 59.3
11 (heavier) / 58.8

Then we did a kettlebell workout that involved one-hand swings, figure 8's, clean and presses, halo, snatches, and lunges, and required not putting the kettlebell down for 12 minutes. I only used an 8. Felt great afterward, except for the migraine.