HOPE

Workout of the Day

“HOPE”
3 rounds for repetitions:
Burpees
Power Snatch (75#)
Box Jumps (24”)
Thrusters (75#)
Chest to Bar Pullups

I actually did this workout on Saturday with a large group of people over at CF East Sacramento but haven’t had the chance to write about it until now.  We had the opportunity to do it either outside or inside the box… naturally I chose to do it outside.  We had a nice breeze so the heat wasn’t much of a factor, but doing it on uneven ground made things a little more interesting.  Overall I felt the workout was more difficult than Fight Gone Bad, mostly because the movements were longer and required more power to execute.  I found burpees and power snatches to be WAY more challenging than wall balls and sumo deadlift high pulls.  Box jumps were obviously harder due to the 4” increase in height and thrusters instead of push press is a substantial increase in difficulty.  Finally, the chest to bar pullups don’t allow the same kind of total body rest pattern as the rower.  All in all, this is a bitch of a WOD.

I went through the first round with a score of 115 reps. I was trying to keep my heart rate down throughout, but could definitely feel it starting to creep up towards the end of the thrusters.  Starting the 2^nd round with burpees is where this workout truly starts.  This is a gut-check moment where you can either be defeated mentally or press on with the pace you’ve set for yourself.  Making this simple decision—to push on at your current pace—is where so many people fail.  My numbers dropped in the second round as they naturally must, but I still managed to get 102 reps. The 3^rd round is easier than the 2^nd because you have the end in sight.  You know it’s not getting any worse than it already is and all you’ve got to do is hold on to the finish.  Not quitting becomes my strongest motivation.  The last round I score 97, for a final total of 315.  If done a few more times, I think I might be able to get close to 350.  I see room for improvement on the thrusters and pullups by a few reps per round.  Other than that, I think this is all I got.