Bosu Breakout Breakdown

All I knew about Bosu Breakout was that it was a conditioning class involving the Bosu ball.  But really, what more did I need to know?  The Bosu makes everything fun. 

If you're not familiar with the Bosu, it's basically a big rubber ball that's been sliced in half.  Some exercises are done with the curved part up, some with the flat part up; hence the name, Bosu, which is a truncation of "both sides up."  There are lots of different ways to work with a Bosu, but most commonly it's used to provide an unstable surface.  If you stand on either side, you need to engage your core to balance and keep from falling off.

I had been wanting to try Bosu Breakout for a while, but 8:30 am on Sundays is rarely ideal, even though Equinox is just down the block.  I have no idea why I was awake in time this weekend, but I was, so I went.

The class was solid.  We didn't do as many fun Bosu tricks as I would have liked, but I got a good workout.  We did a lot of weighted squats, lunges, bicep curls etc., all using the Bosu to test our balance.  I worked with a 12 lb bar, and 5 and 8 lb free weights.  The music was somewhat lacking, but the instructor, Terrell Pruitt, had incredible energy, so I barely noticed. 

Bosu Breakout was fun, and I'd totally go back.  While I'll was there, though, my thoughts kept drifting to CrossFit.  More on that soon.

-Gym Belle-

On Benchmarks

Some of my best friends are men.  I drink beer.  And, while football baffles me, I have learned to cheer for the Yankees.  Still, by no stretch of the imagination could I be considered "one of the guys."  This isn't something I think about often, but last night at CrossFit I kept tripping over my sex and my gender. 

The workout of the day ("WOD") was the Total, one of CrossFit's benchmark workouts which involves a back squat, a shoulder press and a deadlift.  You warm up, and then you have three shots to hit your maximum for each move.  Because it was crowded, we split up into groups of three people per rack.   

The guys in my group were about the same height and lifting the same weights, so we had to adjust the rack height and the plates between their sets and mine.  They were the shortest men present, but still significantly taller than my 4'11".  I managed to use the men's bar for the back squats, but had to switch to the lighter ladies' bar for the presses, which just meant more hassle between their sets and mine.   Despite my efforts, I wasn't much help lugging the 45 lb plates around and I couldn't spot their 225 lb lifts.  I wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I could, and it seemed like a pretty silly risk to take.  It also didn't help that I was the newbie who didn't know where the equipment was etc.  I couldn't pull my own weight, literally, and that sucked.

Putting aside my physical limitations, I discovered that I really don't speak guy.  I'm learning clean, snatch, jerk and all the other lifting terms a girl just doesn't pick up at Equinox, but I can't encourage someone by yelling or cursing at them.  I don't mind that kind of thing directed at me.  I actually appreciate being included, and when the weight is really heavy I mostly tune out what's going on around me anyway.  Still, I can't reciprocate.  It wouldn't come out right.  I can fist bump and "nice" and "good job."  That's the extent of it.

The actual lifting went pretty well.  I didn't know where to start, so I figured I should err on the conservative side.  For my back squats, I did 64, 74 and 94.  For the presses, I did 43, 48 and 48 again.  For the deadlifts, I did 113, 123 and 128.  The numbers mean very little to me right now, but the next time we do the Total I'll have something to compare.  That's the whole idea behind the workout.

I have a hunch, though, that the next time the Total or something comparable comes around, it won't just be the weights that I'm using as a benchmark.  Of course, I'm hoping to gain physical strength.  Perhaps more than that, though, I'm hoping to feel more at ease.  I'm not expecting to be totally at home in that environment, but the next time we do this, I want to be able to deal with my rack setup unapologetically.  That, and pressing at least 53 lbs, will make me one proud chickie.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-

Fight Gone Bad

Tonight, my group "graduated" from Elements at CrossFit.  Our final rite of passage was Fight Gone Bad, which is said to be one of the toughest CrossFit workouts.  The workout was designed to challenge some famous mixed martial artist (don't ask, the name meant nothing to me).  At the end of it, he was asked what he thought.  His response was "fight gone bad."

Fight Gone Bad goes as follows: one minute rowing, one minute wall balls, one minute sumo dead lift high pull, one minute box jumps, one minute push presses, one minute rest.  Repeat 3x.  As many reps as you can.  Your score is the number of reps you get in total, except that for rowing you count calories instead of reps.  (Videos of most moves available here.)

Those 17 minutes are brutal.  I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that the version we did was scaled down.  The women did 33 pounds on the sumo dead lift high pulls and push presses instead of the usual 55; the men did less than the 75 pounds that's standard.  The ball was also lighter than usual, I believe.  While we're being honest, a lot of my wall balls fell short of the prescribed height, and I mostly did step ups in place of box jumps.  The box is high, though.  Or, I'm pretty short.  Either way, it hits about two inches above my knees.  I'll get there.  I just need some practice.

I got through 259 reps, for whatever they were worth. 

I don't have any deep thoughts to share on this.  About an hour after we wrapped up, my throat was still on fire.  My arms are still somewhat jelly-ish now.  It was kind of awesome.

On that note, I'm going to call it a night soon.  Sweet dreams.

-Gym Belle-