Double WOD with Subry and company

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…
Complete as much as possible of the following in 7 minutes:
20 deadlifts (315#)
20 handstand pushups
20 overhead squats (135#)
5 legless rope climbs (18 feet)

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

¼ mile open water swim
¼ mile run
20 rounds of:
5 burpees
10 situps
15 walking lunges
¼ mile open water swim
¼ mile run

Gabe and the crew were up from Stockton on what turned out to be the hottest weekend of the year so far.  We also had Ben Alderman from CrossFit Gold and Clint Milusnic from Village Fitness.  Not to say that 106 feels much different than 99, but it’s still 106. 

The first workout was a short effort, the goal being to move heavy weight quickly and without stopping.  I knew the legless rope climbs at the end would be a bitch, and they were.  Gabe and I both went through the first 3 exercises unbroken and headed to the ropes just under 3 minutes into the workout.  But after all the grip and shoulder exertion that preceded it, the rope felt like it was 50 feet long rather than 20.  Giving yourself enough rest to make it all the way to the top is the key point here… burning out halfway up doesn’t do you any good.  But it’s a much different feeling trying to do these without the help of your legs, something I don’t practice that regularly anymore.  It took me until 6:28 to finish my last climb, and it took every ounce of energy I had. 

Afterwards we refueled quickly and started hiking out to the lake for WOD #2.  On the walk out we could definitely feel the heat bearing down on us.  But the promise of lake water and a small breeze kept us marching.  The WOD itself was interesting.  We knew going in that it would be a long effort, but the part between the swims ended up being done at a fairly high pace.  At no point was muscle failure an issue: 5 burpees, 10 situps, 15 lunges isn’t going to slow most people down from there set pace.  But the heat was definitely a factor.  By the end of the 20 rounds I wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to get back in the water, to be honest.  My head was spinning a little bit and I could definitely feel myself light on hydration.  As soon as I hit the lake, however, I felt instantly better.  The cooling effect of the water made me feel almost immediately recovered and I was able to swim the final ¼ mile without much difficulty.  My final time on this WOD was 37:15. 

Discussing the feel of this workout afterwards with everyone, we agreed that doing something this long and repetitive is an area of crossfit that is largely ignored in most boxes either due to time constraints or the simple fact of being too daunting for most members.  I submit that programming these types of WODs should not be reserved for SEALfit or bootcamp style classes, but I find myself guilty of avoiding it as well.  We need to feel what it’s like to push ourselves for longer than 20 minutes at a time.  Members at CrossFit Anywhere can expect some more of this in the near future…