Days 51-56:

Day 51: or, why must we deal with stupidity?

The prescribed workout: Skip once, do a crossword puzzle, chew a raw root vegetable 71 times, climb a ladder with your teeth, say the Hail Mary twice, throw a Hail Hary pass once, trim your big toenails. Repeat, following the pattern of cutting toenails biggest to smallest, until all toenails have been clipped.

Actually, it was three rounds for time of:
60 seconds L-sit
45 pound barbell Good mornings, 30 reps
60 Abmat sit-ups
25 pound plate Back Extensions, 30 reps

But considering that this seemingly simple workout requires three sets of mobile gear for each person doing the workout, my version would have been easier to pull off.

Instead, we did skill work on the rings (dips and muscle up progression) and parallettes (l-sits to handstands [Ha!]). I was so sore the next day, that I almost wished I had been clipping my toenails and climbing a ladder with my teeth.

Day 52: Rest

Day 53: Deez Nutts

Apparently somebody else died, because we got to do a hero workout today. It is called "Nutts" after a Canadian (what's that all aboot?) Lt. who died in an IED attack. In crossfit, when a dead hero's name pops up, it means it's going to be a bad day.

For time My numbers in parentheses:
10 Handstand push-ups
250 pound Deadlift, 15 reps (I did 185#)
25 Box jumps, 30 inch box (25 @ 24")
50 Pull-ups (35)
100 Wallball shots, 20 pounds, 10' (70 @ 14#)
200 Double-unders (60)
Run 400 meters with a 45lb plate (25#)

This hurt, but most of all, I let my cockiness get the best of me (shocker!) I tried double unders instead of jumping over an obstacle, and it took long enough that I actually felt myself age. I should keep working on them, I suppose.

Day 54: Goin' off the res again.

We, except Scott, all went off the main site today, and back to one of the most basic beginner Crossfit workouts: 7 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible), 7 burpees and 7 thrusters (65#) I got 4 rounds and 10 reps. That was pretty painful and humbling, and reminded me that "much to learn, have [I]."

Day 55: Resting up for this week's blue belt test.

Did a little skill development (double unders) while Petra and Scott suffered through a disgusting excuse for exercise, called "The Seven." Look it up on crossfit.com, because it hurts even to write it down.

Day 56: My blue belt test should be either today or tomorrow. The academy was closed for the entire three day weekend, so there is more rust on top of an already impressive accumulation of rust on my Jiu Jitsu skills. The gist of the test is supposed to be as follows: Do and explain (are they searching for teachers, perhaps?) your main go-to moves from each fundamental position. I should be able to attack from the mount, feet, guard (the sexiest of Jiu Jitsu positions, almost, but not quite rivaled by the "gift wrap") and back, and also to defend from the opposite of all these positions. Then we train for an hour, and I am sure that this is where the professor, affectionately known as "The Wet Blanket" will crush us for extended periods of time. I am not sure if I will like that part yet, because, as you might have guessed, it feels like a wet down comforter has come to life, and no matter what you do, there is still an inescapable, oppressive presence everywhere you go. Wish me luck. (fade in main theme from Rocky)