Why not give it another try?

I coached a Running Clinic at CrossFit Wake Forest yesterday afternoon. As I knew I was going to be running — and running fast! — I didn’t complete any conditioning. Melinda, Marianne, and Jeff attended the 8:45 WOD and I partnered with Jeff for the strength section. His press 1RM is 120 and mine is 115#, so we both lifted the same weight for the reps.

Strength
Press
3 reps @ 80, 85, & 90%

I felt particularly strong, and didn’t struggle on a single rep. I like that! So, 110 is 78% of my bodyweight.

I had a tremendous amount of fun coaching the Running Clinic, and I was pleased to see immediate results. Again, I’m not sure why CrossFitters hate running so damn much.

I coached the 9:45 and 11 sessions at CFS this morning, and was delighted that Mandi and Rona attended a session! Mandi is strong. Very strong. Jay de Leon strong. I was, however disappointed that not very many Surmounties attended, and I fear that the WOD frightened many of them away. No need to be scared, folks! Those who did participate seemed to enjoy both the skill building and strength/conditioning. If you recall, I completed this WOD this past Thursday. Jay stated that it would’ve been better to do press, front squats, and then push press instead of push press after press. Uhm, I had done just that — but I finished with push jerks instead of back squats. So, there.

Folks practiced headstands, handstands, vertical ring holds, and skin the cats. Melinda is overcoming her fear of being upside down (and has the cutest scream), and Mandi skinned the cat on her first attempt!

Rona, with my assistance, got vertical on the rings. I said, “I’ve now been vertical with Rona and horizontal with Einar.” Einar is Rona’s husband. Ha! I’m kidding folks, so don’t get all up in my face, yo.

Strength/Conditioning
Within 20 minutes — but not as fast as possible. Instead, focus on executing proper form.
Choose a weight and complete all reps with this weight. In other words, you won’t be adding and/or removing weight from the bar. You should not be able to do any sets, with the possible exception of OHS, unbroken; thus, the weight should be challenging. No racks may be used.

10 overhead squats
20 shoulder presses
30 push presses
40 front squats
50 push jerks
60 back squats

I only lifted a mere 65# last Thursday, so I increased the weight to 75#. I could’ve possibly gone heavier and still completed within 20-min time cap.

This was, however, even more challenging than I recall. I’m glad that no one was at the box to hear my grunt. I do have digital evidence if you’d like to hear and/or see.

I completed: OHS unbroken; press in reps of 7, 7, & 6; push press in reps of 11, 11, & 8; front squats in reps of 15, 15, & 10; push jerks in 5 sets of 10 reps; and back squats in reps of 25, 20, & 15.

Presses were the most challenging and push jerks surprisingly easy. I had to dig very, very deep to complete the last 5 back squats. I finished with 4:03 remaining on the clock.

I was quite exhausted, but nonetheless rested only long enough to prepare for the metcon I’ve programmed for tomorrow. (No spoiler alert as the WOD is already posted.)

Conditioning
10-min AMRAP
5, 4-count slam ball squats (30#)
10 slam ball pushups (30#)
10 box jumps (30″)

Completing this after having just pressed 100 reps and squatted 110 times was, in two words, a bitch.

Okay, okay, I’ll explain. Clean the slam ball and complete an air squat while holding the slam ball close to your chest. Place the slam ball on your right shoulder and complete an air squat, holding the slam ball in place with your right hand. Move the slam ball to your back and complete an air squat, holding the slam ball with both hands. Finally, move the slam ball to your left shoulder and complete an air squat, holding the slam ball (even Michael Kelley’s smart enough to figure this out) with your left hand. That’s one rep. Yes, that’s just one rep. So, 5 reps of 4-count slam ball squats consists of 4 air squats each rep.

My goals were to complete 5 rounds and to complete all activities unbroken. I swore quite frequently, but did complete all activities unbroken and completed 5 rounds + 5 reps. I had just 1 second left on the clock, but I did complete the last of the 4-counts of the 5th slam ball air squat.