Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Forgive Me Father, I have Sinned

Tonight at Crossfit I almost cheated on Fran. First, let me explain. Fran isn't a who, she's a what. A benchmark workout in the world of Crossfit. Periodically we do these benchmark workouts to measure our progress. Tonight we did Fran. This ecard says it all:

This is what Fran involves:
21 reps of barbell thrusters. (Men's weight 95lbs/women's weight 65lbs)
21 pullups
15 reps of barbells thrusters
15 pullups
9 barbell thrusters
9 pullups.

Of course, this is all for time. You're supposed to be doing this as fast as you can. No lollygagging or water breaks! Some folks at the gym did Fran in less than 5 minutes. Absolute insanity. If you're wondering what a barbell thruster is, take a look:


Now, back to the cheating... During the second set of thrusters I got to #13 and had the thought that I should just stop there. No one would know I didn't do the last 2. But then I remembered, I was trying to improve my previous time and if I didn't do the same number of reps for each set I wouldn't be able to make a true comparison. Not to mention that *I* would know I had cheated. So, I didn't.

Let's review my history with Fran:
June 13, 12: I scaled the weight on the barbell to 55lbs instead of the prescribed 65. Pullups done with band assistance. Time: 9:09

Oct 06, 12: I used the prescribed weight of 65lbs (pullups still with band assistance). Time: 10:38. My time had increased but I lifted more weight, so this was okay.

Jan 23, 13: Prescribed weight of 65lbs, pullups with band assistance. But my time...drum roll please... 8:57!


I was pleased. Especially since during the workout, when the clock reached 4 minutes thirty seconds I had only just started the second set of thrusters. I wasn't sure I'd even break 10 minutes!

I know I'm getting stronger in terms of my overall strength (my deadlift is now 260lbs, back squat 210lbs, bench press is 120lbs and power clean is 115lbs), but it's nice to see progress in other ways as well.

I may have to get this shirt: