Some days you’re the bug. And some days you’re the windshield. Today I was a bit of both.

Woke up this morning, my head full of crud from allergies and all the smoke in the air. Took some allergy meds and shuffled off to the 8:30 workout with Ev & AJ. We were far from alone – this was one of the most crowded classes I’ve seen in quite a while. Todd, Melissa, and their daughter; Dave; KB; Sarah; and a bunch of other folks. It was busy!
Coach Drea had us start quickly with a warm-up that was a workout in and of itself…
- EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) for 6 minutes
- Odd Minutes: 10 band pull-aparts + 10 push-ups
- Even Minutes: 10 Russian kettlebell swings + 10 goblet squats
- Equipment used: thin blue band, regular push-ups, and 35# kettlebell for swings and squats
It was the push-ups that got me by the 5th minute. And then we went from there straight into trying to figure out how to structure the workout with so many people. I worked with Todd. Ev worked with KB. And AJ worked with two other kids.
The workout? Linda:
Score Type:: Total Time
- Competitor:
- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
- 1½-body-weight deadlift
- Body-weight bench press
- ¾-body-weight clean
- Performance:
- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
- 1¼-body-weight deadlift
- ¾-body-weight bench press
- ½-body-weight clean
- Fitness:
- 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
- ¾-body-weight deadlift
- ½-body-weight bench press
- ⅓-body-weight clean
Todd and I set up with:
- 225# deadlifts
- 135# bench press
- 115# squat cleans
First of all, everything felt heavy today. Second of all, I knew breathing was going to be a challenge due to conditions outside. And third, I couldn’t get my head in the game.
Todd started with squat cleans. I started on deadlifts.
I got through my round of 9 and quit the workout. Body-wise it didn’t feel good. Breathing-wise it didn’t feel good. I felt like I was slowing down Todd (and I was). And I think there was so much going on everywhere that I was just mentally blitzed.
Instead, I chose to bow out of the workout, let Todd do his thing, and just spotted for him, Melissa, and Dave as needed. Honestly I wasn’t needed. They all kicked butt.
Physically, the warm-up today added more stress to my body than it felt prepared to take after three workouts in a row. And afterwards, I was definitely wondering if we should have knocked down the deadlift weight a bit.
Last time we did Linda was a few years ago… And I did 275# deadlifts, 165# bench, and 155# cleans in 55 minutes. Damn I’ve lost some lifting strength somewhere.
Today, weight-wise, I probably should have done:
- 212# body weight
- Performance:
- 265# deadlift (1.25x weight) – would not have happened, since 225# felt heavy
- 160# bench press (.75x weight) – also would not have happened
- 105# squat cleans (.5x weight) – sounds awesome
- Fitness
- 160# deadlift (.75x weight) – probably too light, might have done 195#
- 105# bench press (.5x weight) – might have been better
- 70# squat cleans (.33x weight) – probably too light, might have done 95# or 105#
Rather than beat myself up over it, I’m just accepting it and moving on. I didn’t inconvenience anybody but myself, so no harm no foul.
Todd did awesome. Sounds like Ev got pushed by KB a bit and did awesome. And AJ was doing great as well. Life is good.
Great work everybody!