For whatever reason, there were only 5 and 6 athletes who attended the 9:15 and 10:30 sessions, respectively, at CFZ. And I liked it. Quite a few are at a competition in Winston-Salem, it’s a rainy day, and the metcon was 75 burpee pull-ups. I suppose it isn’t any wonder, then, that so few people attended. And I liked it.
One of the people competing is my BFF, Michael Kelley. I sent him the following email message early this morning:
Subject: Good Luck!
Don’t embarrass yourself. Or me. I don’t have enough time to look for a new BFF.
♥
P
I arrived before 8 and did the WOD solo. And I liked it.
Strength
Dynamic Effort Bench Press
3, 3, 3 at 75% of Floor 1RM
This is the same weight as last week, but the very first rep was sloooow and felt heavy. Thus, I decreased the weight from 135 to 115, and focused on form and speed. And it was good.
RS Press
Work up to 5 heavy reps
I did sets @ 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, and 110. Yes, I focused on form; thus the high number of reps.
I seriously considered not doing today’s conditioning, as 75 burpee pull-ups provide little challenge. I decided instead to challenge myself, so I completed dead-hang pull-ups.
I had one SMART goal: to complete within 10 minutes.
It’s somewhat difficult to complete a metcon like this by myself, as I’m completely dependent upon myself for direction and support.
Conditioning
AFAP
75 burpee pull-ups
Here’s what transpired…
I completed burpee pull-ups in reps of 15 & 10, and then all remaining burpee pull-ups in reps of 5. All reps were completed with full range of motion, i.e., chest to the floor for burpees and dead-hang pull-ups with chin well above the bar. No chicken necking for me! I also rested no longer than 5 seconds between rounds. Most importantly, and no time did I feel like I was reaching muscle failure.
Completing dead-hang pull-ups certainly added an extra challenge!
Time = 9:47. Yes, I achieved my goal. Are you the least bit surprised? You shouldn’t be.
I finished the day with 3 x 12, 135# barbell bent-over rows.
I had much fun coaching today, and was pleased to see people push themselves.
Just before the 10:30 session metcon was to begin, Jeff asked, “How many pull-ups and burpees do we do if we can’t do all of the 75 burpee pull-ups?” I didn’t hesitate a moment before responding, “You’re either in or you’re out. You’re either doing burpee pull-ups or you’re doing burpees and pull-ups.” He looked surprised, as did Kristin. I said, “It’s similar to what I say about double unders. What’s the substitute for double unders? Double unders.” I think it was Kristin who asked, “How long do we have, then?” I thought for a moment, considered how long it took me, and added 5 minutes. “Fifteen minutes. If you’re doing burpees pull-ups, do as many as you can in 15 minutes.”
It appears that this was all of the motivation that both Jeff and Kristin needed, as they both finished well within the 15-minute time cap. Kevin, who just last week did his first set of unassisted pull-ups, completed 65 burpee pull-ups in 15 minutes. Awesome job all of you — and that includes Craig, Margie, and Colleen from the 10:30 group and Tom and John (who completed Rx) as well as Nicole and Rochelle from the 9:15 session.
Today’s Community WOD was also challenging.
12-minute AMRepsAP
OTM 5 burpees
Max reps kb swings
Max reps box jumps
Max reps toes to bar or knees to elbows
That’s 65 burpees plus as many reps of the remaining activities as possible. Fun times!
