So let’s talk a little bit about the past few week, workout wise.
I started Crossfit exactly seven days ago, on 2/11. I have two months to make this into something magical, “drink the kool-aid” so to speak. Since that day, I’ve been to three more “on-ramp” classes, and they’ve definitely been enlightening.
Lifting has never really been something I’ve done. I’ve always been athletic, from kiddie soccer, ballet (short lived), softball (even shorter lived), gymnastics, up through high school and college where I played volleyball and co-ed ultimate – I’ve always been active. But, even on my collegiate volleyball team, we focused more on the machines in the gym than the free weights. I don’t think I’ve ever deadlifted anything in my life in the gym, other than maybe my gym bag, and I certainly haven’t done a clean and jerk or a snatch.
We’ve been focusing a lot on different techniques and basics the past three classes, going over all kinds of skills that we’ll need to safely join in for the regular WOD (workouts of the day) at the “box”. There are so many nuances, both to help you lift more weight and also to just simply do it without injury that it’s really a nightmare to learn when I think about it everything I’ve committed to memory since last week…. but it really all came together for me at class tonight when we focused on the snatch.
Yep, you heard me, snatch.
My trainer made us say it today in a group, out loud.
We spent the entire 1 hour class (after a surprise run around the block in the 17 degree weather o.m.f.g.) working on what the coach touted at the start as the hardest thing we would learn at the gym. Honestly, he’s dead on. Learning the snatch has so many of those nuanced movements I mentioned, and it’s all got to be done in the right order with speed, accuracy, balance, and really, confidence. While we were working today, we spent the entire class working with the pvc pipe, starting with baby steps of just a straight deadlift, and progressing closer and closer to the full snatch. It was excruciating. Squat, lower the pipe, wait wait wait lift, thrust your hips forward, shrug, elbows up, squat under the bar, flip your wrists, lock your elbows, holdholdholdholdhold stand. Over. And over. And over. And over.
I completely understand the muscle memory repetition. And I’m grateful for it – it’s going to save my ass later when I’m tired and lifting some max weight, I know it. But it was SO painful. Especially the squats. Lots of squats. I think I’m going to have the sickest quads in the universe after these two months of crossfit+derby.
We were coming to the end of the class, and our coach told us to put our pipes away, so I figured we were going to go and have some kind of chat about fitness or nutrition for the last ten minutes. But, no. I was wrong. So, so wrong. Out comes the REAL weight bar. Not just the bar, the bar with 10 pound weights on each side. I know that it doesn’t sound like a lot, 65 pounds, but to me it sounded terrifying. The coach then let us know that we would each be going up in front of the class and doing a full snatch, and the class would critique us.
WHAT?!
FML.
So of course first he calls up the guy in the class with the best form, and he goes like 3 times until the coach is satisfied. Then he grabs the next best guy, same thing. Then, he asks for a volunteer. So, my deluded brain decides, “Well, Dara, if you sit here and keep thinking about it, you’re going to keep panicking about the whole thing, so why don’t you just go next?!” Annnnnd before I know it my mouth is saying, “I’ll go.” And the trainer, I swear, is looking incredulously at me (I’m sure that part was in my head), and I’m walking towards this terrifying bar. So I grab hold of it, and I try to use the form I use for the pvc, holding it close to my shins and start to pull up… and it stalls on my knee brace.
(For those of you who don’t know, I have a DonJoy Defiance III knee brace currently, because I sprained my MCL in derby last summer. Yuck.) Said brace isn’t required for exercise, it’s for my support and general safe-feeling, as I’m over the prescribed mandatory usage my doctor recommended. I like to play it safe though, so I’ve been wearing it to crossfit since we’ve been doing a lot of air squat workouts. Hoooowwever, in this particular scenario, I decided it was best to take the brace off (I’m going to speak to the trainers the next time I go in about how to proceed in the long term) so I could perform the lift. I kind of laughed at the situation, and went to take the brace off. Of course, my trainer checks if that’s safe, and he actually asked if I would die if I took the brace off. So, finally, I’m ready to do the lift. I grasp the bar and my coach helps adjust my grip. He counts off. I hesitate. Then I just shut off my brain and do the lift. I feel myself rock back a tiny bit, but the bar is in the air. I repeat, the bar is IN THE AIR. I’m locking my elbows and waiting for critique from the group… but there’s none. My coach goes, “Nice job!” And that’s it. It’s over. I don’t have to go again.
I JUST SNATCHED A REAL BAR WITH REAL WEIGHTS ON IT.
Ok, it was a babylift but it was all mine.
Questions/Comments?
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Hahah! Love it.