Pistols

Yesterday's workout at CrossFit Metropolis involved 65 ring dips and 65 ring dips done in sets of 25 each, then 20 each, then 15, 10 and five.   I arrived at the gym early, while the previous group was finishing up.  It was great.  There's nothing like seeing a room full of strong athletes falling on their butts over and over again.  I knew I wouldn't fare much better with the pistols, but it was still pretty entertaining.

A pistol is essentially a one legged squat.  You stick one leg out straight in front of you, and down and up you go. 

When I first tried pistols at CrossFit, I expected to be pretty good at them.  As a little kid figure skating, we did basically the same thing except that you'd glide forward throughout the movement.  The skill was called shoot the duck, and I remembered it being really fun.  I don't know if it's the lack of forward momentum, my age or both, but doing pistols on dry land as a grown up is not exactly "fun."  I can get down, but once I'm there, gravity kicks in and I fall back on my butt.  Every single time.

To make last night's workout doable, I put a medicine ball behind me.  Squatting back towards the ball kept me from going down past where I can't stand up again.  In the past, I've done pistols while holding on to a pole.  I definitely felt like using the ball was a more effective way for me to scale.  When I use the pole, I end up using my arms to pull me up, even when I try not to.  With the ball, that's just not possible. 

It should come as no surprise that I am super sore today.  But maybe next time they come up in a workout, I'll be able to do pistols unassisted.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-