Crossfit Day 3

It was probably a bad idea, but I couldn't help myself. I checked out what today's workout of the day would be online last night. And I was scared:

AMRAP in 20 minutes
- 2 MU
- 4 HSPU
- 8 Deadlifts
- 16 Burpees over the bar
- 32 Double Unders

I didn't know what half of these things were, but there was a picture of muscular men hanging from gymnastic rings, so I had a clue. Turns out, an "MU" is a muscle up, which involves getting up like a pull up, and then pushing up so that the arms are extended. I can't even do a pull up, let alone something more, so I just hoped that there would be something I could do as a substitute. "HSPU" is a hand stand push up - again, not something that I know myself to be able to do. I wasn't even sure I could do a hand stand.

I knew deadlifts from weights classes I'd taken at the rec center, and I knew what a burpee was, but I had to look up the over the bar part. It's really just what it sounds like, stepping over the bar you had set up for the deadlifts between each burpee. I looked up double unders and that sounds kind of easy, doing jump rope and getting the rope under your feet twice on one jump. At least, I know how to jump rope.

For some reason, it didn't occur to me to look up AMRAP.

It means pain.

No, it means, "as many rounds as possible."

On second thought, yes, it does mean pain.

I did a morning class this time, and it was the least crowded class I've attended so far, which was nice in a way, because there was plenty of room and I didn't feel too intimidated by everyone else. Not that there weren't some very fit people there - they just didn't make me feel intimidated.

After warming up, we spent some time working on the technique of the muscle up, starting with ring dips - or, in my and some others' cases, band-assisted ring dips. And then some practice movements. And then the AMRAP.

Since I couldn't do a muscle up, I got to grab a set of rings and lean back with my heels on the ground in front of me to do an assisted pull up of sorts, and then do band-assisted dips. The equivalency came out to either to 2 muscle ups or 4 each of the ring pull ups and dips.

Then there was the modification of the hand stand push up. I got one of the jumping boxes and arranged myself so that my head was down and did the push up that way - not a decline push up, which would have been more extended, but a straight up and down, mimicking the hand stand push up. Thankfully, the equivalency was 4 even with the modification.

Once I saw the deadlift movement, I remembered how to do that. I put 30 pounds on my 15 pound bar and was able to do those just fine. The burpees also didn't need any modification, though the trainer did let me know that I didn't have to do strict push ups at the bottom of the burpee. Instead, I just had to make sure my hips went down and my chest touched the ground.

The substitute for 32 double unders was 64 singles.

Ready, set, go!

The first round I went a little slowly. I was getting the hang of the movements and figuring out how I could do them. The first set of jumping rope, I tried a few times to do doubles, but I just didn't have the technique, even though I'd viewed an instructional video online when I looked them up. I finished the first round and marked it down on the little chalkboard and did it again.

I managed 2 rounds in the first 10 minutes and pushed myself to do at least 2 more before the 20 was up. It was odd to me how I was able to go faster on the third and fourth set than I did on the first and second. I was getting more tired, but I was also getting more determined, more used to the motions, more confident in my execution. The fourth round jumping rope, I actually managed to do all 64 singles at a decent pace without stopping and then I tried to get as far as I could into the next round before time ran out.

The clock caught me after the sixth burpee of my fifth round.

I joined the rest of the class on the floor for a few moments, and then began to put my equipment away.

I didn't do the least number of rounds and reps, which I like, even though it's not really a race against anyone but myself. I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my life, and it's letting me get even fitter.

I took a few moments after the class was over just to try a hand stand and see if I could do it. I managed to get myself in the hand stand up against the wall, but I couldn't make my trembling arms go down in a push up attempt.

I'm going to do it again tomorrow. I might be crazy...