This morning, I had to walk the walk... or, more accurately, thrust the thruster.
This was the WOD on the whiteboard today:
5 rounds:Coach Tristy said to start at the weight we used for the workout last week, which put me at 60#. I placed two of those itty-bitty 2.5# plates next to my weight lifting platform and planned to add them to the bar sometime during the workout.
5 thrusters
10 unbroken burpees
100m sprint
:30 rest
First round. Awesome! Thrusters felt good and I flew through the burpees. My feet have wings! I thought, as I headed out for the first sprint.
But 30 seconds rest was entirely too short.
Rounds two, three, and four were like a being smacked with a giant discomfort stick that had been sharpened to a fine point of misery. So I focused on form: elbows high on the thrusters, head through at the top... chest tall on the end of the burpee... up on the balls of my feet on the sprint. I yelled the cues so loudly in my head, there was no room for thinking or whining. The extra weight plates laid forgotten on the floor.
On round 4, I didn't pull my head back out of the way fast enough on the thruster, and the bar smacked the underside of my chin hard enough to rattle my teeth. I soldiered on.
Round 5. I felt like I was thrusting the barbell through semi-hardened cement. Elbows up, I screamed inside the noggin. After the fifth and blessedly final rep, I dropped the bar and threw myself into my first burpee.
"Nice job on those 65# thrusters," Tristy said.
"I [huff] only [puff] have [gasp] 60 [wheeze] on [cough] the [pant] bar [grunt]," I replied.
"Nope... it's 65," she said. "I added weight to the bar while you were running."
And that is how my super awesome coach Tristy ensured I didn't cheat myself at solitaire.
My time: 9:53
Best weight: 65#
Tristy also informed me that I will always do 65# thrusters now, so next time we do Fran, I'm jumping up the weight. Hooray! I now have that to
Go Coach Tristy for the mind f%*k!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that amazing when the mind and body don't communicate about what's possible? We all knew you could do 65# and your body did too. You just needed your mind to catch on! What an awesome story :)
That is an awesome surprise, and good for you!
ReplyDeleteWe hhave 1 RM Power Cleans today, eek! I'm trying not to underestimate myself!
Good for Tristy! That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteSweet!!! Great way to start the day!
ReplyDeleteAnd, Catherine...LOVE the "mind f%*k" reference! :)
woooot!!! We love to hate you, Fran! Congrats, Mel. That is a big one!
ReplyDeleteWoot!!!! 65# thruster nice!!!!! You coach knows your goals!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!
ReplyDeleteHow's the chin? I think I have a permanent knot on mine from one of my recent Graces. :)
NICE job on the WOD and those thrusters!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was so inspired after I read your post that I made my hubby teach me how to do a thruster after the kids went to bed. Wait a minute, that sounds so obscene...
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you are badass!
It's hilarious how we want to go harder but we dread it at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE checking in with your blog for motivation. You're my role model. When I feel like whining or slacking, I think of your 'never cheat, never quit' and on our wall it says Punish Your Weakness so I try to get angry and determined instead of
"being smacked with a giant discomfort stick that had been sharpened to a fine point of misery."
Catherine --> Tristy is pretty awesome. And yes, I think I could lift a lot more if someone else loaded the bar, and I didn't look at it or do weight calculations. I tried to do that this morning -- it's going to take practice.
ReplyDeleteLauren --> How did the power cleans go? I always find 1RM so intimidating -- which means I should do them more, I guess ;-)
JEN! Hi, pumpkin. Happy New Year!!!
JenCereghino -->It was a pretty great way to start the day. Nothing like a big win right outta the gate!
Anna --> You are SO right. Fran is a bitch. I've only one it once in my life... and next time, I'm going big. GAH!
Marianne --> Yes, Coach Tristy is very badass. She really pays attention to us and knows what we're capable of doing.
Meghan --> My chin is a slightly tender and there's a small gray-blue smudgy bruise... it looks like a dirt smudge. Very pretty.
Kelly Alice --> Thank you! I wish I could learn to like thrusters, but as long as I push through them, I guess I don't have to like it :-)
Nom Nom Paleo --> YOU are badass for voluntarily doing thrusters. And way to make it sound naughty!
Marcy --> "Punish your Weakness."
ReplyDeleteI like it! Thanks for sharing... and I'm glad my stubbornness helps you out. I am a glutton for punishment, it seems... most of the time, it works out OK ;-)
That's awesome. I sneak weight to my clients all the time to prove to them they can do it. people definitely have the tendency to talk themselves out of things they can actually do. I'm going to ask my coach at CATZ tomorrow if we can learn how to do those thrusters.
ReplyDeleteMellisa your blog rocks!! Its in my favs now for sure. Check out Wod Stack if you havent already. Sweet for recording your workouts. Dont know why i added that just thought you and your readers would find it useful!
ReplyDeleteWod Stack looks really fun. Thanks for pointing us to it!
ReplyDeleteYour thruster is my box jump. I'm TERRIFIED to go up on the height of my box jump for workouts. I'm dreading the day our coaches make me go up a size....d r e a d i n g.
ReplyDeleteIt was great meeting you yesterday by the way!! :)
jlautry --> I HEAR you on the box jumps. It took me a year and a half to get over being scared of that damn box. I wrote about it on my blog, of course...
ReplyDeletehttp://theclothesmakethegirl.blogspot.com/2009/02/gotcha-box-jumps.html
My current PR on box jumps is 22.5 or so and I'm pretty anxious about trying higher, too.