I’m trying to convince myself that I’m getting used to this whole getting up at 5am to work out.
It’s not working yet.
But I did it again anyway.
Today’s torture, I mean, WOD, was another one with a name.
“Elizabeth”
21-15-9
– Clean (135/95)
– Ring Dips
First, though, we worked on some floor presses, an exercise I’d never done before. I’ve done bench presses, but with floor presses, you arms have a more limited range of motion, and the idea is to let your triceps hit the floor and then explode upward in the press. I also learned a new acronym with that workout – we did EOMOM for 16 minutes. Every Other Minute On the Minute. I pressed 65 pounds, 2 to 3 reps per set. Hard for me, but not impossible.
Then it was on to Elizabeth. I tested my clean with 45 pounds and found it to be easy. Too easy! So I added on 10 pound plates at each end. That was too heavy for me to do even 1 rep. So I replaced them with 5 pound plates. Heavy. Hard. A challenge.
I optimistically put a blue band on for the ring dips, and then we began.
I started with 21 of the hardest reps I have ever completed. I failed on a couple of attempts after the 13th, and forced myself to redo them properly before I counted them. I was yelling with each rep, grunting out a wordless roar to get myself to finish. The trainer came over, I think to tell me to take the 5 pound plates off, but I told him I had 2 more, and he let me finish.
I dropped the bar and jogged over to my rings. Yeah, about that blue band… after those killer cleans, the blue band was not enough to help me get any ring dips done, so I ran over to get a green band (the next step up, and the second heaviest gauge) before forcing my body through the 21 ring dips.
On the set of 15 cleans, the trainer told me we could take the 5 pound plates off if I needed. I nodded, but I knew I could do it. If I did 21, I could do 15. Screaming with every rep. Having to redo a couple. Watching other people get ahead of me, finish their own sets. I kept pushing. For the 15 ring dips, I actually used both bands to get through. My arms were already trembling and I had another set to do.
But I wasn’t the last one working. There was one other person (out of the 5 taking the class this early morning), who was also still going, pushing. I don’t know if she didn’t need to yell or if I just couldn’t hear her over the music. She finished her cleans before me, but once I dropped my bar for the last time, I was able to knock my ring dips out before she did – because she was doing them unassisted while I at least only used the green band.
My Elizabeth time, with 55 pounds, was 9:10. My arms were like noodles and I collapsed to the ground when I finished.
I finished my workout, and I went hard.
My arms are still sore and trembling, just a bit. I think you might have to be a masochist to get the most out of Crossfit – at least, a little bit of a masochist. Because pushing myself hurts, and the more I push, the more I’m beginning to see results.