18.4 was deadlifts, handstand pushups and handstand walks. It started with a benchmark workout called Diane, which is 21-15-9 of deadlifts and handstand pushups, followed by 21-15-9 of even heavier deadlifts with each round followed by a 50 foot handstand walk. The weight for women for the Diane portion was 155 pounds, and the heavier weight was 205 pounds. The heaviest I've ever deadlifted is a 2 rep set of 165 pounds, so I wasn't anticipating the deadlifts would be easy, or, in the heavier weight's case, possible.
However, with a 9 minute time cap, I didn't really have to worry about the heavier deadlifts or the handstand walk. If I was going to go Rx, then I would not likely make it past Diane.
I did consider scaling. The scaled version had lighter deadlifts (95 lbs for the first section, 135 for the second), hand release pushups instead of handstand pushups (basically a regular pushup but you have to put your chest on the ground and lift your hands for a rep to count). And instead of handstand walks, you had a bear crawl.
But I can deadlift 155 pounds, albeit slowly. And, just this week, we practiced handstand pushups and I got a set of 5 kipping handstand pushups. I might be slow, but I had the ability to complete reps. I wanted to see how far I could go with the Rx standard, so I did that on Friday and Sunday.
One of the coaches said that if an athlete can push press about 15 pounds more than their body weight, then they can do a handstand pushup. I do not have that lift, but somehow, I have the ability to do a handstand pushup. Not consistently or well but to standard. So I felt that I owed it to myself to try and do the best that I could within the time cap.
On Friday, I did the first set of 21 deadlifts as singles. Pick up the bar, drop it. I finished the 21 in 2:46, which is pretty slow. And then I got to the wall and got 9 handstand pushups before time ran out for a total of 30 reps. I felt pretty good about it, but I definitely wanted to get more.
On Sunday, I managed sets of three for the deadlifts and finished in 1:31. Then I got 12 handstand pushups. I tried so hard for that 13th, but my arms and shoulders gave out.
12 is exciting for me. By all rights, I shouldn't be able to do 1, but I did 12. I've gained weight since last year, but I'm performing better. And, to be perfectly honest, I was stoked to realize that my 12 beat several other women who couldn't get 1 or more than 2. Women who kick my ass regularly in ALL workouts. I wasn't the best at the handstand pushups by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt like I had found a strength.
I want to be able to finish Diane someday now. In under an hour, preferably, which is how long I'm estimating it would take me now. Okay, okay, I'd probably take 45 minutes. So, finishing it in under 30 would probably be a good goal for me. Though once I really get the hang of the handstand pushups, it will probably go faster than I think.
One more week of the Open. I'm a bit sad that it's ending. Especially because I won't be able to go to the Sunday throwdown this time. I'll workout Friday morning and be done. Unless I decide I maybe could do better if I go back Friday evening...
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