kettlebellguy

Whiteboard for 4-26-2010

Will and I worked on the bench press prior to class.

I went to bed about 8 last night. My back and hips were really sore from self defense class and I was afraid that I would not be able to move this morning. I was really surprised that I was moving pretty good when I got out of bed, a big difference from this time last week.

One of the things that keeps me going with CrossFit is the once a year WOD that I am almost guaranteed to get the fastest time. For my birthday WOD Brian was kind enough to have the class do “Respect Your Elders” again. This is one morning where being the old bald guy is not a bad thing.

Here is how the numbers worked out this morning.

Here are the results from last year:

I was OK with my results. I came in 11 seconds slower than last year but this year I was wearing a 12 pound vest. I really was not going fast at the beginning of the WOD because I did not want to get done so far in advance of everyone else. About 1/3 of the way through Brian called out my time from last year and I started putting on the gas to beat that time.

As far as progress from last year I still can’t do a real burpee with the vest, my sit ups are still slow as hell, my wall balls suck, I have to hold onto something for the lunges, and I have given up on doing double unders (sub’d with 2X singles). On the bright side I used a 12 pound weight vest this year and my KB Swings, Push Ups and Squats were acceptable. Also, with just a few minutes of recovery I am good to go again.

It’s been just over three years that I started my fitness journey with a membership at a gym and a Kettlebell class. I am positive that if I had not made that change three years ago I would be between 300-350 pounds, totally out of shape and impacted by weight related disease. Although my weight continues to be a constant concern for me I am able to hold it to manageable level and I am on no medications. My doc does not even want to see me more that once a year. I guess I started my own health care plan before the most recent one was passed.

I have come to understand that there are certain things that I sill have the potential to get better at, i.e., my recent overhead squat with a 45 pound bar and working on the bench press or pull ups with Will in the mornings. There are other things that I just need to work hard to hang on to what I already have and battle against the impact of passing years.

I also accept that there are things I will never accomplish. I look at many things now and compare the amount of effort and energy I have to expend and the actual functional result I will obtain. Rope climbing is a good example. I am jealous of those that can climb the rope and I wish rope climbing was something that came easily to me but the amount of effort and energy I need is more than I am willing to spend on that one activity. As I have said before, if my life depends upon me getting to the top of the rope then it’s my time to go. My hope is that I know enough strong people that are already at the top of the rope that they can pull me up. That’s a possibility.

Another issue is injury avoidance. I look at movements and think about the potential for injury. For me there came a point in time where I started thinking more about how much an activity could hurt me vs. how cool it might look for me to do it. I don’t think that is a sign of weakness or fear, I think it is just smart.

36 inch box jumps is a good example. Am I every going to do one? Am I ever going to even try? I doubt it. The potential for injury is too great. I would rather step up or jump up on my 8 or 18 inch box everyday than try 36 inches one day and get hurt and be out of action.

My goal right now is that this time next year I can do this WOD again, get around the same time, maybe wear a heavier vest and maybe even do better on some of the moves and do the same thing when I am 67 and 77 and even more.

I know this WOD really sucked for everyone. Conner had to do 74 reps of everything and he did that without complaint. Conner is an incredible athlete for 11 years old and never lets going up against big numbers or big adults hold him back. It was really cool to see him and Will going at it side by side. Most 11 year olds would have ran the other way against a challenge like this. I am glad you were there this morning Conner.

Will did the entire WOD with a 20 pound vest. He was not liking the burpees. He really suffered this morning but he made it clear that this was the only WOD where I would beat him. Seeing him work so hard felt good at the time but then I realized I would be back in the box with him at 5:40AM in the morning and he might not be in the best of moods. This may backfire on me.

My man Eric was wearing his vest and put in a really impressive time. Everyone worked really hard and I know that Nick was never so glad to see something end as he was to see this WOD end. He put in a tremendous effort for only his second week doing regular CrossFit WODs. Thanks to everyone that shared my birthday WOD with me.

One Year Ago—

July 16-18, 2010 at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.

Read the story here