Conditioning

Not how I want to train.

Personal training with Paul

I woke up today, still sore from all my previous workouts this week. Quads, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders and abs were all hurting like a bee-atch. Plus, my right wrist and grip still feel somewhat stiff, but not too bad. So, of course, today's training session pressed all those pain buttons.

For time:
Row 1km
30 power cleans @ 115lb
50 burpees
Time = 15:14

The rowing, while far from being easy, was the most comfortable part of this routine. I started at a reasonable pace that I tried to maintain throughout the 1km, although I'm sure I must have slowed down as I became more fatigued. However, I quickened my reps in the last 100m. The cleans were tough just because of the number of reps at a medium weight, and the burpees kicked my ass due to the number of reps I had to do after everything else.

This workout is part of the 2012 CrossFit Games in the Masters Category, using the clean weight for age 55+. Shit, I didn't even make it through the 15 minute time cap!

Update: Here are the times for the Masters Games for the athletes who used the same clean weight as me. The quickest time was 5 minutes faster than me! Even 18th place was over a minute quicker. Bloody hell.

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12-10-8-6-4-2 rft
C2B pull-ups
Dumbbell push press @ 37s
Front squats @ 95lb (from ground)
Time = 19:10

C2Bs weren't too bad, although I failed on a few reps (my chest was about an inch from the bar). The push presses were the easiest, although they took my breath away. The front squats were tough as hell, mainly because of my wrist flexibility. I could feel the strain from the very first rep and that's why I dropped the bar on more than one occasion. To be honest, my performance with the cleans is due as much to my mental approach as the physical challenge. I talked myself into failing because I knew they would be the hardest part of this workout. In the early rounds, I was only capable of triples and doubles, but something clicked in the last three sets, and I was able to get through them unbroken.

It's days like this that make me realise how lucky I am. Perhaps I could have done better during today's training session, but I felt good about getting through it. This was hard work and even though I could have been mentally tougher in some parts, I still managed to tough it out. Today's workout isn't something I would have thought of on my own, and that's why I'm lucky to have a great trainer who knows how to push me. Without a trainer like Paul in a gym like ABsolute Training, I'd probably spend much more time on a treadmill and stationary bike. That's great if you're training to be a hamster, but not if you want to be fitter, stronger and healthier.