Today was the last day of the Open. I definitely didn't set the world on fire with my performances the past 5 Saturdays, but I am still really glad that I did it.
This morning driving to the Box, I felt uncharacteristically tired. For the life of me I couldn't psyche myself up. I dragged myself out of bed this morning at the last minute and ate some chocolate-covered coffee beans and it didn't work. I got more concerned when I was warming up when I got to the box. Not only was I tired but I was stiff. I wanted to lay down on the mat and take a nap.
The first few workouts for the Open I had so much energy when I arrived that by the time it came for me to work out, my adrenaline felt like it peaked. Not today. I didn't have any adrenaline.
Anyway, today's workout for the Open was a thruster/pull-up ladder: 7 minutes of the following: 3 100-pound thrusters and then 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups, then 6 100-pound thrusters and 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups, and then 9 thrusters (Same weight as before) and 9 CTBs, and so on; get as far along as you can on the ladder in 7 minutes and your score is the number of reps (number of thrusters you do plus the number of CTBs). (A thruster is the following: The barbell starts in rack position resting on your front shoulders. You then front-squat the weight, and then as you are driving up to the top on the squat, you press the weight from off your front shoulders to locked out overhead, so that the barbell goes from on your front shoulders shoulders with you standing to start, to on your front shoulders with you in a full squat, to pressed out overhead with you standing out, in one smooth motion.)
So I did some zombie squats with the 45-pound bar to loosen up. After about 5 reps my knees could flare and I got lower and lower. I then did a couple kettlebell squats and on the bottom, drove my knees out even more with my elbows. I was hoping there would be more than one heat and that I could wait until the second heat to go.
Nope.
Anyway, at 3-2-1 Go I do the first 3 thrusters. Honestly things felt a little foggy, like I suddenly was on adrenaline that wasn't there before. The weight felt light. Then the 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups. I was concerned--I wasn't kipping, but I was slamming my chest against the bar. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but adrenaline doesn't last long--so I also was thinking I was going to soon hit the wall. Then it was onto the set of 6 100-pound thrusters. I get through those easily but I really had to remind myself to breathe during the set. Then 6 more chest-to-bar pull-ups. I take a break, and then go onto the 9 thrusters and then 9 CTBs. Only a few minutes in and I did 36 reps total by this point. I tried this workout once last year and I got 39 reps total. By 4 minutes in I did the set of 12 thrusters and now had 48 reps. I then get the 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups and get to 60 reps. I then start the set of 15 thrusters--now the weight is feeling pretty heavy to me--and only get 4 more reps for 64 reps total.
I really learned a lot these past 5 weeks. I know that if I work on some things, I will do much better next year. My list so far:
--Wall-balls. They are a little tougher for those of us shorter people with shorter arms because we have to throw the ball higher to reach the target because the target is that much higher than the top of our (shorter) reach. The ball also comes down a little harder on us, because it has a little longer to travel to our reach. And the 20-pound ball's weight is a higher percentage of our body weight. But still, that's absolutely no excuse. Lots of short people are good at wall-balls. Also, tall people have to do a lot more work to do a squat (longer legs so they move the weight a longer distance per rep) and especially pull-ups (longer arms AND more body-weight). And they don't gripe. Anyway, getting good at those will increase cardiovascular capacity for other movements.
--Snatches. They came up big-time this year, and even though I don't think they will come up like that again next year, getting good at that olympic lift should translate well to a powerful clean. Getting the weight from the thighs to overhead with arms locked out in one smooth motion is definitely easier than getting weight to the front of the shoulders. Besides, I'm pretty close to a body weight snatch. That's just something cool to have for bragging rights.
--Squats. I need to get stronger, and the squat is a big part of where it all begins. I will work on overhead squats when I do snatches, but I also need to do back squats and front squats.
--Strongman stuff. We did Zercher carries and Atlas stone squats, and I love those movements. They challenge you and build you up in ways that barbell movements cannot.
--Double-unders.
--Muscle-ups. I just feel so much stronger in my upper-body thanks to these. Even those I have good muscle-ups, I can get better.
This sounds like a lot, but I think it is doable. A couple times a week, I will do a set of 30 wall-balls after class. Shouldn't take more than a minute and a half, literally, of work. I can also do a set of muscle-ups right before/during the warm-ups. Depending on the workout scheduled, I can also do snatches, squats, and maybe some strongman stuff before class. Double-unders I can work on at home on my patio.
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