The Crossfit Shake

Monday, May 19;

You've heard of the protein shake, the shimmy shake, the harlem shake, but have you heard of the Crossfit shake? It's that "I can't feel my arm" feeling you get after an intense workout. You've worked a part of your body out to a point where it's so afraid of you it's shaking. Okay, maybe you call it muscle fatigue, but I call it the Crossfit shake. If you're a die hard Crossfitter you know it well. It keeps you at your Crossfit gym a little bit longer. You wait there until you regain the feeling in your hands so you can safely drive home. Or maybe you collapse on the floor or in a chair after a workout until you think your legs can once again support the weight of your body. It makes it difficult to soap up your hair in the shower, to hold the hair dryer and forget putting on eyeliner!!

Well, that's what I felt after yesterday's class. It was setup like a Fight Gone Bad with only 3 stations and going 5 rounds for time. There was enough rest time built in that you could literally go crazy with the put out for three minutes and then rest. A perfect mixture for the Crossfit shake! Saturday's bike ride and last week's work have brought back some old pain in the shoulder, so I'm staying off of it for now. That means my right arm suffered the brunt of yesterday's abusive workout.

Workout:

Front Squat work:
workup to front squat for 5 reps: 75lb x 5
(I'm working on technique and keeping the butt down on the way up, so I stopped at 75lbs)

Max effort of 65lb front squat: 65lb x 30

FGB style - AMRAP for 5 rounds:
1 min. R arm Push Press
1 min. Box Jumps
1 min. R arm KB High Pull
1 min. Rest

Total reps: 424

I've also been working on my KB High Pull technique. At the Cert I kept getting corrected for swinging the KB instead of pulling it straight up and dropping it straight down. You can see it in this video. Notice the arch the bell takes in a lot of the swings. Jack has a really nice high pull. He uses his strong hip power to drive the KB straight up and then comes all the way back down to the ground. My technique is kind of funky. It's different doing the High pull with just one arm on the Kettlebell, or maybe I'm just going too fast. Notice the position of my elbow. It's a little low for my liking. Ideally it should be higher than the bell. Oh Crossfit.. you always give me things to work on! If we were in high school, you'd be be my 11th grade Science teacher.