Ah, home sweet CrossFit Zeal. As a favor to my BFF, I coached both the 6 and the 7:15am sessions, and attended the 8:30am session. I arrived at CFZ and checked into Facebook posting, “Coach, coach, hug, WOD.”
There were quite a few people at both of the sessions I coached, and both the coaching and the musical selection were both spectacular. I saw some amazing squatting, and stellar performances on the metcon – far too many to mention, so please don’t be upset if you don’t get a shout-out. Here goes…
Lauren continues to impress me with just how damn strong she is. Timmy looks good with the 10 lb. weight loss. Michelle’s Abmat sit-ups were the most consistent. Nathanael and Brooke demonstrated the most consistency with squats, and Johanna the most improvement, particularly with depth.
Michael Kelley (yes, my BFF) led the 8:30am session, and he looked resplendent wearing his CF908 tee shirt. As we were warming up, he was, of course, talking about himself. “I measured my waist and it’s 33 inches,” he said, “but my ass is 40 inches.” I replied, “And your penis is 2 inches. Add those measurements and divide by 3 and you have your I.Q., Michael Kelley.”
I was delighted that, having read my check in, Michael Kelley gave me a big hug. I at first resisted, but then gave in to his charm. He is quite huggable. Many fat people are.
Strength
Front Squat
Take 15 minutes to work up to a set of 3, heavier than last time.
I lifted 185 last week so my goal was 190# this week. I lifted sets of 3 reps @ 155, 170, 180, and 190#; 83% of 1RM and 131% of bw. I recorded last 2 sets to ensure that I broke parallel. With Michael Kelley as my witness, I most can assure you that I did.
High Bar Back Squat
1×20, heavier than last time
I lifted 170 last week, so I knew I had to but 175# on the bar today. I focused on achieving proper depth. As soon as I completed the set I said, “That was heavy.” I then fell to the floor. I felt like I had just completed a metcon. 175# is 78% of 1RM and 121% of bw. No wonder if felt so freaking heavy.
I had seen Michael Kelley watching me, and after the set he said, “A few of the reps were questionable.” I just reviewed recording, and I agree that 4 of the reps could have been lower. I said, “Call me out on it, Michael Kelley. Don’t wait until after the set. Tell me to squat lower.” “But you said you didn’t want me to coach you when you’re lifting,” he replied. “No,” I said, “I don’t want you cheering for me, but I do want you correcting my form.” Duh.
Conditioning
For Time:
15 Dumbbell Hang Clean & Jerks
50 Double Unders
50 Sit-Ups
15 Dumbbell Hang C&J
30 Double Unders
30 Sit-Ups
15 Dumbbell Hang C&J
10 Double Unders
10 Sit-Ups
Having coached the two earlier sessions, I knew what was in store. I knew I wanted this to be a fast and furious metcon, so I did not complete GHD sit-ups as I had originally planned. I used 30# dumbbells. My goals were to complete C & J unbroken, as I knew this was going to be the most challenging part of the metcon for me, and to finish in 7 minutes or less.
I completed all 3 rounds of C & J unbroken, and it was a struggle – as well it should have been. I was doing fine with round of 50 double unders, that is until my rope hit the pull-up rig. As I have a tendency to move backwards, it was my own damn fault. I did the round of 30 unbroken, but the last round of 10 was a mess. I should’ve waited a moment to catch my breath before beginning. All rounds of Abmat sit-ups were, of course, unbroken. I completed in 6:43.
