Thrusters AND Wall Balls?? My Lucky Day.

So I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in SIX MONTHS. It was a mixed experience, and I have ten days to decide if I want to start my membership there or not. I guess I’ll start by talking about the workout itself. We started with a dynamic warm up, mobility, and then we did strength conditioning:

3 sets of 5 back squats. I worked with two other ladies and did 65#, 75#, and 85#
Then we did 5 sets of 5 shoulder presses at 45#

I was nervous about doing back squats because of my back (duh) but the coach talked me through it and watched me and reminded me to use good form. He gave me a few tips, and it felt pretty good. I obviously stayed pretty light.

Then the WOD was:

400m run
25 wall balls (10#)
25 thrusters (45#)
400m run

Short and sweet. Except for the fact that it involves wall balls, my least favorite crossfit exercise of all time. And if you think about it, the wall ball and the thruster movement are pretty much the same thing (squatting down and then extending up). By the time we even started this workout, my legs felt like jello, I think from all the mobility stuff and maybe the back squats.

But I did it, of course, and it wasn’t terrible. I finished close to but just under 10 minutes. Afterwards I felt like I was going to fall over my legs were so jello-y. But I also felt GREAT. The endorphins you get from Crossfit are kind of unbelievable. It felt so great to get back into the gym, and once we were done with the workout, I spent just a few minutes on the bar, doing toes to bar and kipping pull ups. God, I miss them. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to get back into them. I thought I’d need to build up my strength again before I could do them, but I just climbed on and busted some out no problem.

Anyway, I went home feeling awesome and like I was definitely going to sign up for the gym but as the workout high wore off, I started thinking a bit more critically about it. There were a few things that really rubbed me wrong/strangely while I was there, and I’m not sure if I should do it…

• The people that I did meet were pretty nice, but I overheard and observed some fat-shaming/body-shaming talk by some of the members which was pretty disappointing.
• It didn’t feel like we got a lot of instruction before the workout, even though thrusters are a pretty complicated movement. The coach showed me specifically how to do them as a refresher, but we didn’t have any group time to practice/do drills before we started the WOD like we did at my old gym.
• Throughout the workout, the coach kept encouraging us to finish in under 10 minutes. I know coaches are supposed to be encouraging but felt a bit put off by his insistence that we needed to get a certain time. This is a big part of how injuries occur, in my opinion. People get pushed to go faster than they can really go and their form suffers and then you get injured.
• I was really surprised that at the end of the workout, most of the members (except me and one other person) just walked out of the gym and left without doing any mobility/foam rolling/stretching. The coach definitely didn’t direct us to do any rolling out, which was a big emphasis at my old gym as well.
• Part of the reason I was attracted to the gym was because there are lots of different kinds of classes there (kickboxing / grappling / boxing / yoga) but most of the people I talked to had never been to any of the other kinds of classes. It doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot of mixing between the people who do Crossfit and the people who do the other classes.
• The head Crossfit coach there didn’t seem to listen to me very closely. When I met him, he introduced himself and then ran off to print out the Crossfit fundamentals packet for me which is a nice gesture, but he didn’t even take a second to ask me if I’d ever done Crossfit before. I told him I had concerns and after he handed me the packet, he said “Read this and when you’re done, you can ask me any questions you have.” Which seemed kind of dismissive to me and obviously did not take into account the fact that I’d done Crossfit for a couple of years previously.
• I was really excited about the sauna, but it was kind of tucked back into the corner of the gym and the person who gave me the tour implied that it was really for the jiu-jitsu people to hang out in to lose weight, not really for relaxing/stretching, as I was imagining.

OK, I guess I should say some of the good things?

• It felt really good to work out. Period. Really really good.
• It seems like the classes are pretty small (10 people or less).
• They have open gym hours, so you can go and use the equipment on your own whenever you want, as long as you’re not in the way of another class.

I’m going to try and go to another class or two before I make my final decision, but looking at what I’ve written here right now, I’m not sure it’s the best fit for me…. I do have a lot of reservations and I’m afraid of hurting myself again without proper instruction, which I’m not convinced this place will give me.

As far as how my body feels, after the workout yesterday my back was hurting more than usual, and I was EXTREMELY sore in my legs almost immediately, which is understandable. I mean, this was definitely the most I’d worked out in many, many months. This morning my back feels fine (thank god) but of course I am extremely sore still. It’s hard to walk down stairs. My legs are really wrecked. But the fact that my back feels fine is really encouraging to me.

I’d like to check out a few more places before I make my final decision, including the community center near my house which is a lot cheaper and maybe has some good classes? I don’t know. We’ll see.

Diane

Went to the gym yesterday. The workout was Diane:

21-15-9
deadlifts
hand stand pushups

I couldn’t do deadlifts of course because of my back, so I did back squats instead. I stayed fairly light on them (83) so as not to aggravate my back. They weren’t terrible but definitely challenging. 

The hand stand push ups were similar. Not terrible but challenging. I was able to do them in sets of 5ish. 

I finished this in 7:44. 

Not sure if I’m going to make it to the gym today – I have my first physical therapy session this afternoon. If I feel OK/have time, I might try to make it to the gym after that, but I have no idea if that’s a realistic proposition for me since I have a pretty busy day going on already. 

I’m also heading up to Mt. Hood at the end of today, so I probably won’t make it to Crossfit for a good long while (maybe Thursday? Friday? Or possibly not until next Sunday depending on how things go…)

Very excited to start physical therapy. My back is still very sore and hurts a lot. 😦 

Ladies Day!

Made it to the gym today. It was cool because it was ALL LADIES. Even our coach today was a woman. Pretty sweet!

Anyway, I’m really glad I missed yesterday’s workout (it fell on my rest day) because it looked horrible. Today’s workout was considered a “recovery workout” because of it.

We started by working up to a heavy three movement snatch, which meant doing a hang snatch, a snatch starting from the top of the knee, and then a snatch from the ground. I worked up to 63#, trying to take it really easy because of my back. (If everything goes well, I’ll be seeing a physical therapist for my back on Monday!)

Next was our WOD. It was:

800 m run
50m broad jumps (yuck)
15 ring rows
30 russian twists (25# for ladies)
15 ring rows
50 m broad jumps
800 m run

This took me 14:52 to do. Not bad! The runs were OK. On my first run I got a cramp in my side, but my second run felt really nice, actually. It’s beautiful outside and I was really enjoying it.

The worst part about this workout (for me) was the broad jumps. They always hurt my shins (I will probably have shin splints from them tomorrow.) This time they also hurt my back quite a bit. My knees have been feeling pretty sore/weak today, so that didn’t help. I was doing tiny broad jumps the whole time, but just kept moving and doing what I could…

Ring rows were OK. I did them in sets of 5. And the Russian twists were OK although 25# is fairly heavy. We used plates and (not sure if this is cheating or not) but when I twisted the plate over my body and brought it down on the other side, it would bounce back up, so I used the bounce to grab it and twist it to the other side of me. A lot easier than muscling it up every time.

This felt like a good workout. Not too hard, not terribly easy, and just the right amount of sweat.

To the Brink

Made it to the gym yesterday for my third day in a row (woot!) It was another day with a crazy “warm up” that was more like a workout. We did four rounds of:

5 deadlifts (90 percent of your 5 rep max)
rest 20 seconds
20 box jumps (as fast as possible)
rest 2 minutes
3 push presses
rest 20 seconds
max reps for handstand push ups
rest 2 minutes

I didn’t do the deadlifts because I was afraid for my back. My coach had me do good mornings instead, which I could only do with 25#. I initially picked up a 45# to do them with, and I couldn’t even bend forward at all because of the pain.

The box jumps were OK. Trying to do them faster is hard. They were trying to get us to rest on top of the box, then jump down and spring back up immediately. It’s an effort to get us to improve our times, I suppose, but it’s difficult and exhausting.

Push presses were fine. I stayed light on them – 55#.

And the handstand push ups were OK too. I did 8 for my first two rounds, then 5 for my last two rounds.

The workout was a Tabata-like situation although we didn’t count it like a Tabata. It was:

6 rounds of:
20 seconds of max reps of KB swings (35 was RX, I used a 25# KB)
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of max reps of burpees
10 seconds of rest

To count the reps, we were just supposed to keep counting the whole time (if you do 6 KB swings and then 4 burpees, you would be at 10, and then you just keep going.) I ended up with a score of 85. I went really light on my KB because those also hurt my back quite a bit. The burpees were fine, just exhausting.

After my workout today, I talked with both of my coaches about my back problems, and they referred me to a physical therapist who works with a lot of the people at my gym and actually has his own room in the gym for his practice. He and I talked for a bit, and I’m going to go see him on Monday. I’m kind of stoked because he’s in my insurance plan and I’m really hoping he’ll be able to help me. He specializes in Crossfit stuff, so he’s really knowledgeable about it, and I know him somewhat just from seeing him around the gym all the time. He’s given me some advice and stretches to do in the past that have been really helpful, so I have high hopes.

A Sweaty Taste of Summer

It was HOT yesterday when I went to the gym, which is lame because our gym is unairconditioned, like most places in Portland. It doesn’t normally get too hot here (hence the no AC) but it has been unseasonably warm, reaching almost 90 degrees yesterday. Which means that the gym is sweltering. Even with fans blowing and the garage doors rolled up, it’s still gross and hot in there.

Anyway, our “warm up” yesterday was ridiculous. It was 4 rounds of:

20 push ups
rest 60 seconds
20 wall balls
rest 60 seconds
20 walking lunges
rest 60 seconds

I don’t know about you, but that looks more like a workout than a warm up to me. No weight was prescribed, so I did a 10# ball for my wall balls and I used two 15# dumbbells for my walking lunges (we didn’t have to put the weight overhead, just by our sides.) This wasn’t for time, but it took about 25 minutes or so to complete.  I was in a pretty sour mood about it because I was kind of in a hurry and needed to be out of the gym on time to make it to my next appointment, and I didn’t think we’d make it through this and our workout in time. Plus our coach got stuck in traffic on the way over so we started about 5-10 minutes late.

But of course I did it anyway. It wasn’t bad. The wall balls weren’t terrible because I just took them slow. I was able to do 10-15 in a row without stopping.

The WOD was:

30 pull ups
400 m run
20 pull ups
400 m run
10 pull ups

I don’t remember how long this took me. I think it was around 12 minutes. I did my pull ups kipping which was a challenge for me. I was having trouble getting my swing going. Not initially, but the part at the end of the pull up where you push away from the bar to swing yourself into your next pull up. I got it for a couple of the sets I did, but I had a hard time with that aspect, which is kind of strange because normally it comes pretty naturally to me.

I had to do the pull ups in sets of 5 or so. It took a long time. But the runs were easy.

And I made it out in time for my next meeting after all. (Although I did skimp a bit on my rolling out/mobility stuff.) BUT I rolled out again later that night before bed.

Today my back is feeling tight, and I know deadlifts are on the schedule, so I’m not sure about that. I don’t think I feel comfortable doing deadlifts right now, but I might try to go anyway and do the other movements.

(Squat) Clean It Up

Hit the gym this morning, woot woot. Today’s workout was Klepto. It was 4 rounds of:

27 box jumps (20 inches RX for women)
20 burpees
11 squat cleans (100# RX for women, I did 53)

This was tough. I purposely went SUPER LIGHT on my squat cleans because I was afraid for my back. (Squat cleans are again one of those movements that starts with you pulling the weight from the ground.) I tried a few out to see how my back was faring, and it didn’t seem to bother me, so I decided to try the full movement during the workout.

The box jumps were OK. I mean, 27 box jumps is a lot, but they don’t hurt too badly. And then the burpees were also just a slog. They take so long and they’re exhausting, but they’re not “hard.”

The squat cleans were HARD. In every sense. It’s such a dynamic movement that requires a lot of core strength. And after the third round, my form did suffer. I had to realllllly focus on bringing my chest up FIRST before my butt (which is where my back pain comes in). I could only do sets of 3 squat cleans in a row before I had to rest.

I finished this workout in 24:12. Yay! This was one I was just really glad was over. Also, slow and steady wins the race.

Building It Up

Went to the gym yesterday (Friday.) We started with 10-15 minutes of skill work of our choice. Some people worked on double unders, but I’m fairly proficient with them, so I worked on kipping pull ups. I felt like I had gotten to a good place with them a month/month and a half ago, but feel that that has slipped away a bit because of injuries and lots of sporadic periods where I haven’t been able to make it into the gym and maintain my strength/callouses/technique.

Worked on it independently for awhile, then our coach came over and worked with a group of about four of us on it. We did some drills to teach us how to swing, how to use our momentum, and how to propel yourself up in a continuous motion. I could already do kipping pull ups, but it was really nice to go through it step by step. And even though I can do them, they’re pretty hard, and I can only do a few in a row before I have to jump off the bar. I probably did 20 or so pull ups as well as a bunch of drills during our skill work session.

Next we did our WOD, which was 5 rounds of:

5 power cleans (RX was 95!! I did 63)
5 thrusters (same weight)
10 lateral burpees

This was one of those workouts that looks easier than it actually is. I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal, but once we started I was like, oh snap. Anyway, I was nervous about the power cleans because I realized that my back pain is triggered specifically by lifts that start from the ground. I’m OK when we’re doing overhead squats, front squats, etc, but when I pull from the ground (deadlifts, power cleans) I have a lot of pain. And now that I’m writing this I realize that snatches don’t bother me either, but it’s a much different lift. I think it’s just that power stance pulling from the ground position that bothers my back.

Anyway, I told my coach (finally – I had been wanting to talk to him about it forever but haven’t worked out in one of his classes in awhile), and he told me to just do hang cleans instead of power cleans, which I thought was brilliant.

Anyway, the hang cleans were OK. The thrusters were brutal. OMG they hurt. And then the burpees were just a slog. (lateral burpees are when you do one burpee then jump laterally over your bar and do another one, etc.) I can’t imagine trying to do this workout RX.

This took me 10:44, and by the time I was done, I was exhausted and shaking. Took me awhile to gain control of my arms, and afterwards while I was rolling out my coach gave me some suggestions for stretches that would help with my back pain. I tried them out but am not convinced that’s going to be enough. We shall see.

I did feel pretty good after this workout, though. Not much pain but I felt very challenged in a good way. I also feel like all the pull up work helped me a lot.

I rolled out again last night before I went to bed, and today (a day later) I have some soreness in my shoulders/lats/back/arms, etc. It all seems pretty par for the course, though, not scary painful.

One thing that is a little weird is how badly the callouses on my hands hurt today. I’ve never really had that before. When I woke up this morning and picked up my phone to see what time it was, my callouses felt like blisters. While I was doing dishes, it was really hard for me to grasp objects because of how badly it hurt for my callouses to touch things. Ick. I wonder if there are tiny blisters on my callouses? Not sure how it works.

The bar is pretty much my favorite thing but it’s brutal.

Try, Try Again

Back to the gym today. My back feels a lot better after a one day rest. I wasn’t super active yesterday, although my partner Eric and I did find time to ride our bikes to the park (3 miles roundtrip, NBD) and toss a frisbee for awhile. A long while. I forgot how much I love a good friz toss.

Anyway, I went back to the gym today, and luckily there weren’t any terribly heavy or back-straining movements. We started with our strength component, which was working up to a heavy overhead squat. I worked up to 73#. I felt like I could’ve done more, but our coach called time, so I didn’t have a chance.

Next we did our WOD, which was a 12-minute AMRAP of:

200 m sprint
10 hand release push ups
20 meter bear crawl
10 hand release push ups
20 meter bear crawl

I did 3 rounds and a 100 m run in the 12 minutes. I ran/walked the last 100 meters of the run.

This workout wasn’t bad. I was able to do everything RX. It was just mostly tiring because of all the cardio. I really hate bear crawls, and they take a lot out of you. Combined with the push ups, and my arms were pretty beat.

Anyway, this wasn’t bad and probably a good workout for me to come back to. I feel good!

Sore Back

Writing this quickly right now because I didn’t have time to post it yesterday and I’m about to go hit up Crossfit again!

Yesterday I made it into the gym. We started by warming up with back squats and chin ups. The back squats were SUPER PAINFUL for me. My back is really sore. I had terrible form and felt like I was going to break in half when I did them. We were supposed to work up to 80% of our 1RM, but I only worked up to about 105#. Also, we were supposed to do four sets, and I only did three because I was so beat from them.

The workout itself was

35 snatches (45# was RX)
400 m run
50 sit ups
400 m run
35 snatches

Not actually that bad. I finished in 14:40, taking it pretty easy the whole time. The snatches were definitely the most challenging part, but they were pretty light, so it worked out OK.

I am definitely having trouble with my back which is causing some serious problems for me. I understand why I’m having this problem but don’t quite know what to do to fix it. I’m hoping to be able to talk to my coaches about it today. Ugh.

Daniel

Back to the gym today, despite my mopey concerns about everything. It wasn’t bad. I was nervous when I came in and saw the workout because I thought it would force me to overextend myself, but it turned out OK. Today’s workout was Daniel:

50 pull ups
400 m run
21 thrusters (I did 43#, RX was 65)
800 m run
21 thrusters
400 m run
50 pull ups

For my pull ups, I used an orange band. For the last set of 25 on my last set of 50, I used an orange and red band. These felt OK, although definitely painful, and I was the last person to finish them in the first round. I tried really hard just to go slow and steady, though, and keep up a good pace.

The runs were OK. A little bit painful for the first 400 meters, but after that I acclimated pretty well and was able to do the 800 without too much hassle. I think I may have picked up a bit of time here since I was able to pass a few people during the running parts.

I took these thrusters REALLY slowly. And I did them with an empty (45#) bar. I really didn’t want to hurt myself, and my back was hurting already from some gardening work that I did yesterday, so I went super light. They were still uncomfortable, but at least I was able to get through them without too much pain. I broke them up into three sets of 7.

I finished this workout in 24:57. The last time I did Daniel was about a month ago, and it seems like I was able to do more weight, use less assistance with the bands, and finished about a minute or so after my current time, which is kind of crazy. I think, though, about a month ago I was kind of at the top of my game and since then I’ve slid back a little bit in terms of what I’m doing at Crossfit, partly because I haven’t been able to keep up a regular schedule and partly because of my own ideas about how far and hard I should push myself.

Even though I didn’t push myself quite as hard this time around, I was still sweating like crazy and out of breath and definitely tired. My goal is to get my heart rate up, give myself a good workout, and push myself to the point where I am maintaining and potentially getting stronger without completely killing myself either. Tough, but hopefully do-able.