Caution: Not For the Faint of Heart

The irony is that I didn't run the 15K that I had signed up for this morning mostly because I was nervous about loosing a toenail.  I've been lucky so far, but my two middle toenails have been looking ever so slightly compromised lately, and I'm going away in a week and want to wear open-toed shoes. 

Instead, I met my friend D at the gym and did a 30 minute AMRAP* of five 115 lb deadlifts, 13 pushups and nine box jumps.  Somewhere around round seven, I slipped or tripped and scraped myself on the metal box.  Everyone does it at one point or another.  It hurt, and still hurts, like heck, but it's just a scrape.  The important thing is that I finished the WOD (12 full rounds, + five deadlifts and one pushup).

I'm sure there's a moral in here somewhere.  Maybe it will come to me when I'm sporting a bruise with my shorts next week.  At least my toes willl look pretty.

-Gym Belle-

* As many rounds as possible

Staying Centered

Last weekend I found myself at the CrossFit Level One Certification course in Brooklyn.  The two-day course covered both the theoretical underpinnings of CrossFit and the mechanics of executing and teaching the nine basic movements.  Those nine movements fall into three categories: the squats, the presses and the deads.  During the lecture on squatting, our instructed remarked that overhead squats are the best ab exercises you can do.  That surprised me.

When I thought about doing an overhead squat, I thought mostly about my shoulders.  To do an overhead squat, you first press, jerk or snatch the barbelle up overhead and then you squat, keeping the barbelle up.  The lift begins and ends with the bar overhead, and it is sustained there throughout.  The elbows have to stay locked, and you have to keep pressing the thing up.  Otherwise, of course, it might come down on your head.  That's a shoulder thing.  You also need to keep the bar centered above you.  If it's too far forward, in particular, gravity will win and you'll drop it.  Keeping the bar back to maintain balance requires a degree of openness in your shoulders.  My shoulders are pretty tight. 

Well, this week at the gym, we went for 15 rep maxes of the overhead squat.  I'd done one rep maxes, and workouts that involve a lot of light-weight overhead squats, but I'd never done something like this. 

I warmed up with 22 lbs, and was quickly reminded that this lift kills my grip, too.  I then did 15 reps at 32 lbs as fast as I could.  I toyed with the idea of doing 37 before 42, but it seemed like everyone around me was moving up pretty quickly.  I loaded a bar for 42 lbs.

42 lbs started out pretty well.  I tried to keep the pace up.  Coach's words of encouragement are usually commands to go harder; he urges us to be "explosive, to "get aggressive," to "drive the ground away with your heels," or to "make violent love to the kettlebell."  That night, he kept telling up to focus, insisting that this lift was mental.  I can see that.  It's a nervewracking lift and with each rep, making the decision to send my hips back and down got harder and harder. 

42 lbs got painful quickly.  Remembering the lecture, I tried to think about engaging my abs, but when your hands are screaming from the grip and your shoulders are straining, it's hard to focus on a part of your anatomy that doesn't hurt.  At rep number 10, I had to drop the bar.

A short while later, I went for it again.  I wish I could tell you that it all clicked, that I focused and used my core strength and did the 15 reps.  It didn't happen.  In fact, the struggle set in much faster the second time around.  My balance was shot and I was shaky.  By rep 10, I was actually shaking, and I dropped the bar. 

Before we began the workout, Coach commented that 15 reps of bodyweight overhead squats is something to strive for.  I weigh a smidge over 42 lbs, so this may take a while.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle- 

Warm and Fuzzy on a Cold Winter's Day

I was less than bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30 on Sunday morning when I woke up to go volunteer at the Joe Kleinerman 10K.  It was freezing out.  Missing out on my final requirement to qualify for the 2011 New York Marathon wasn't an option, though, so I got out of bed and put on as many layers as I could think of. 

There was a lot of downtime before the race started and the runners made it to Mile 4 where I was stationed.  My coffee had long since gone cold, but I clung to the cup anyway.  A group of speedwalkers passed by.  One of them looked right at me and my bright orange reflective vest and said, "I hate the Road Runners."  Lovely.

And then, the runners started coming.  I put down my coffee.  Suddenly, I was smiling and clapping.  I'm pretty sure I clapped for an hour straight, and I know I said, "you're doing great" at least 50 times.  I high-fived on request.  Despite the fact that 7,000 people were running, I managed to see two friends who I knew were running (including Jess), and several who I wasn't expecting (including Meghann and some of my sister's Tri2B teammates).

A surprising number of people thanked me as they ran by.  Many more smiled.  One lady even complemented my coat.  My favorite runner, though, was a woman who threw her hands up in the air as she passed me and proudly proclaimed that this was her very first race.  That was awesome.

Before I knew it, the race ended and I left the park ready to start my day.

-Gym Belle-