Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The One That Did Me In, Almost

So I took a look at the gym's website last night and was really struggling to decide if I was going to go in or not this morning. The workout was almost the same as the one I had hurt my back on a few weeks back and to be honest I was more than a little nervous about it. I went in anyway. The warm up was 300 single jump ropes followed by 3 rounds:

  • 10 sit-ups
  • 10 push-ups
  • 10 air squats
No problems so far but then the workout. This was a 20 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)

  • 30 box jumps (24/20)
  • 20 push press (115/75)
  • 30 pull-ups
This differs in numbers from the one where I got hurt and we did toes to bar instead of pull-ups but it was pretty damn close. I did step ups on the box instead of the jumps as I did last time we had box jumps. I also dropped the weight on the push press to 75#. When I did the injury I got hurt on I had 95# on the bar. I also, as usual was doing jumping pull-ups with a slow negative pretty early on. I am still trying to avoid any type of kipping and I think I will keep it that way possibly forever. I completed 2 rounds and made it up to 18 pull-ups on the third round. I took it pretty slow and stretched a few times in the middle. I noticed on the push press that after about 6 reps or so I could feel some breakdown in form that was causing some pressure in the back. I talked to the coach about it a bit and I think my core was not tight enough. It seems that I start out with it tight and then as I fatigue that goes first and causes some over extension in the lower back, there is a good description of this problem in an article I read here. I think there may need to be a bit of work on my part to get my core and glutes more engaged in this exercise and I possibly want to add some side core work to my routine along with some stretching. I have been thinking on what kind of changes to make to avoid future injury and this may be part of it. I also may be changing where I workout soon but more to come on that in the future.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Box Jumps, YIKES!!

If you recall a couple weeks ago I hurt my back while doing box jumps. I have been dreading a workout with box jumps and this morning it arrived. We did the "filthy fifty."

  • 50 box jumps
  • 50 jumping pull-ups
  • 50 kettlebell swings (35/26)
  • 50 walking lunges
  • 50 knees to elbows
  • 50 push press (45/33)
  • 50 back extensions
  • 50 wall balls (20/16)
  • 50 burpees
  • 50 double unders
Last time I did this, November 4th, I completed it in 34:37. This time I did it in 34:36 so the time really did not change but I did not push myself as hard as I probably did he last time due to concerns of my back. I did the second half of the wall balls with a 16# ball because the 20# just got to be too much. I also did 150 single unders instead of 50 doubles as prescribed, just as last time. This time I did box step ups instead of jumps, could not bring myself to jump and probably better that I wait on that anyway. I also substituted supermans for the back extensions to avoid over extending my back at this point, still want to be careful. I started complaining about not being able to do the jumps prior to the workout and coach Brent put me in my place. He told me to do step ups, it isn't worth hurting yourself just to get an Rx next to your name on the board and he is right. It was good to hear him say that too because I am sure some coaches would not.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Saturday Workout

I did not get to the gym Wed or Fri since I had hockey games both Tue and Thur nights. I went back in Saturday and they were doing a special St. Patty's Day WOD. The 11:00 version even included beer drinking, I did not participate in that one. Three rounds for time:

  • 400 meter run
  • 17 burpees (22 if not wearing green)
  • 17 kettlebell swings (53/35)
  • 50 meter sandbag carry (45/25)
  • 17 sandbag squats
  • 50 meter sandbag carry (45/25)
  • 17 tire flips
  • 17 pull-ups
  • 17 abmat sit-ups
For the drinking version each round included 3 beer chugs of 6 oz following the kettlebell swings, the second sandbag carry, and the sit-ups. I scaled a bit and did 35# on the kettlebells and was doing jumping pull-ups pretty early on. I ended up using a lighter tire than usual as that move did seem to cause some feelings in my back I was not liking. I finished in 34:16 and I don't think there is any way I could have done the beer version without puking. That is 4.5 beers and I don't normally drink that many if I go out let alone during a workout. I still took it a bit slow on this one and concentrated real hard on protecting my back. I was particularly worried about kettlebell swings but I paid close attention to form and kept my core tight throughout the move and it worked out. I have still been doing some stretching regularly and probably should be sure to keep that up. I have hockey this week Tue, Wed, and Thur so another week with not too many gym workouts.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Back In

So I have not posted anything for a while... because I have not been to the gym for a while. Last time I was at the gym was Feb 25th and it did not end well. My back had been a little sore the week before although nothing major. That morning it was fine and I went in and knocked out the warm up which started with an 800 meter run followed by 3 rounds of:
  • 20 walking lunges
  • 10 PVC arm circles
  • 5 pull-ups
I then started the workout which was an 18 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible):
  • 15 box jumps (24/20)
  • 12 push press (115/75)
  • 9 toes-to-bar
I only loaded up 95# for the push press and went to work on the workout. Knocked out round one no issue. On the first box jump of round 2 my back just seized up before I made it to the box. I fell out of mid air and hit the floor in a heap. I ended up doing a bunch of stretching and such for a while to get myself moving again and then went home. I ended up in bad shape and taking 2 days from work because of inability to do things like walk and sit. I went to the doctor and got some muscle relaxers and NSAIDs and tried to stretch as much as able. After 4-5 days or so I was feeling significantly better. I did play hockey one day last week but was still feeling very nervous about going to the gym. I have had back issues in the past and even ended up on my ass with no feeling in my legs before but this was different. There was no warning. In the past it would get sore and then get worse and worse but not this time. Finally I decided I need to get back to the gym today, gotta do it sometime and it worked out well. I took it slow but I feel good.

I did the warm up but substituted abmat sit-ups for GHD to protect my back. The workout was 5 rounds for time:
  • 20 bench press (135/85)
  • 20 pull-ups
  • 400 meter run
I started out with 115# on the bar and dropped to 10%3 during the 3rd round and 95# in the 5th round. I also used a band for the pull-ups pretty early on so I could make sure to not revert to kipping since I want to avoid that if at all possible. I completed the workout in 35:48, slowest of all 4 of us there but I did it and remained uninjured, SUCCESS!!