12/20/2011 Official Weigh In

269 lbs

29.9% Body Fat

Well, it’s not great but its progress.  The last time I weighed in was two weeks ago, so I lost about a 1lbs a week for the last two weeks.  I guess that’s okay.

As I have stated before I find myself in a strange place, not content at the rate at which I am losing weight, but I am happier with how I feel.  A testament to my improved physicality was the WoD this morning.

Crossfit has these benchmark WoDs which are named after fallen Military Personnel, Police Officers, or Firefighters, and some are named after women’s names, then they have a handful of Workouts of the Day with cute names like “King Kong”, “Nasty Girls”, and what I learned today the “Filthy Fifty”.

When I read this WoD the night before, I thought to myself, one I’m glad I took a rest day, and two this is going to suck.

The filthy fifty is 10 exercises each with 50 reps.  Here is the prescribed progression you are supposed to follow:

1. 50 Box Jumps with 24” Box
2. 50 jumping pull-ups
3. 50 kettlebell swings, 1 pood (35 lbs)
4. 50 walking lunges steps
5. 50 knees to elbows
6. 50 push presses 45 lbs weight (the bar)
7. 50 back extensions
8. 50 wall ball shots 10’ target 20” medicine ball
9. 50 burpees
10. 50 double unders

Doesn’t that look like a great way to start the morning?  My gym substituted the 50 back extensions with 50 straight leg deadlifts with 95 lbs because there isn’t enough equipment for back extensions. 

I substituted the 24” box for the 20” box; I also did trunk tucks instead of knees to elbows, and 100 single unders.  The other 7 movements I did as prescribed.  My goal when I started was to maintain the volume of work. 

This is not a workout you can just keep pushing through, there is just too much work, you reach muscle fatigue in the middle of your fifty, and then waste time recovering.  I had to break down each exercise into smaller pieces.  Through the first 4 movements I tried to break them into sets of 10, then take a 10 second break and push again.  The kettlebell swings were the only motion which I did all 50 straight.

What was interesting on the swings was that with the lighter weight, you have to use your upper body to stop the upward momentum, and then use your chest to pull it back down.  This is also the reason that I ended up smacking my thigh with the kettle bell on the last rep.

The push presses and dead lifts in lieu of back extensions weren’t so bad, yet the final three movements made life miserable.  Starting with the 50 wall ball shots my mind started to fatigue, my body was getting tired, but it was my mind that started to break down.  I was getting pissed every time I missed a wall ball target.  I tried to do sets of 10, but I could only do 5 at a time.  Not wanting to bend over to pick the ball up between sets I placed the medicine ball on a couple of boxes.

When I finished I had fucking 50 burpees to do…I HATE FUCKING BURPEES…it is like the truest indicator of the amount of excess weight that I am carrying.  Every time I have to get to the deck, I feel fat, then pushing myself up I feel fatter.  It sucks. 

I had to break the burpees into sets of 5, then somewhere at 30-35 reps I broke them into sets of 3 and then 2, taking short 5-10 second rests.  I was able to finish the last 10 reps with two sets of 5. 

When I did finally get to the jump rope, my mind was done.  It’s the first time I’ve been chided by Ericka to finish a WoD.  I was starring at the door, I’m sure subconsciously my brain wanted to stumble out of it as fast as possible. 

I did 100 single unders, but it’s clearly not the same as doing 50 double unders. 

The workout finished nicely because I got a bit of entertainment from a Southern Gent Joe, who is an extremely nice guy but has the mouth of a harden biker.  He was doing the WoD Rx, but the Christmas party from the night before was clearly hindering his work.  He finished it Rx but in a style all his own…Nice Work Joe!!  I learned today that you can curse like a motherfucker during Crossfit.

The new name of this WoD should be called the “Fuck Me 50”, because that’s what you will be telling yourself the entire time…based on your personality it may come out as “Fuckmefuckmefuckme50”, or “FUCK! ME! “50”, or even “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucking meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 50”.