If you’ve been following my story, you know that I started CrossFit at CrossFit Hays a little while back. I have purposely been taking it easy to avoid injury so have either reduced the reps required or the weight prescribed. At this point, if I were to just do what is written up for the daily class, I would be unconscious before the warm-up completed. Yes, I have a long way to go.

A typical class includes a warm-up, a strength segment and a Metcon (Metabolic Conditioning.)

Wednesday’s class consisted of:

Warm-Up (THREE ROUNDS OF THIS – not for time)

  • 200 meter run
  • 10 dumbbell presses
  • 10 kettle bell squats
  • 10 kettle bell lunges

Strength  (AHAP – As Heavy As Possible)

  • Push Press 5×3

This is using a barbell and weights. You do 5 sets of 3 raising the weights extended over your head. Each set you put on progressively more weight with the goal of finishing at failure.

Metcon (FOUR ROUNDS OF THIS – for time)

  • 20 Alternating dumbbell snatches (lifting the dumbbell one arm from the floor to overhead and alternating arms)
  • 12 Wall balls (tossing a medicine ball from just in front of your face to high on the wall and catching it to repeat)
  • 12 Alternating pistols (one-legged squats with the other leg extending in front of you, alternating each leg)

The real breakthrough for me though was that I completed all the movements in the time allotted. In previous workouts, I would run out of time in the class before completing everything. It was a first for me and I felt the need to celebrate that.

I can’t stress enough what a great environment this is for working on your fitness. The folks at Cross Fit Hays are becoming less like the strangers I work out next to and more like friends. It was this group of friends that got me through the final 6 pistols. (They had all finished and were cheering me on and encouraging me with comments like “finish strong,” “almost there,” “you got this!” That little extra Adrenalin boost certainly help on the last few.

by Chris Doelle