Cindy | The Log of B

I was admittedly apprehensive about going to class last night, but sucked it up and dragged my ass there. It was actually kind of cool because one of the other guys who goes to the gym owns a media company and was taking video of a bunch of us working out. This will eventually be part of a commercial, I am told.

Anyway… if you don’t know what “Cindy” is, it’s a 20 minute AMRAP of:

5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 air squats

According to my last blog about this (about 1.5 years ago), I got 15 rounds, which I am pretty sure isn’t right. I think I got 17 rounds, but whatever.

Last night, I got 18 + 4 pull ups. Here’s the math (geeky, I know):

18 * 5 + 4 = 94 pull ups
18 * 10 = 180 push ups
18 * 15 = 270 squats

OUCH! That’s almost a MURPH (20 rounds)!!

The kicker is that the pull ups were almost all butterfly kipped which is a huge accomplishment for me. Kindel was there helping Fio to coach and she really helped me out. It’s interesting how different coaching styles can help or hinder you.

There are some coaches that I respond really well to. They tell me to do something and my inner dialog says “yes, I will do that”. There are some coaches that just get tuned out. I don’t do this on purpose or out of disrespect, it just happens.

Anyway, I am really happy with my results last night. Even though I didn’t make the board (or even come close), I think I put forth a really good effort. Plus, I am really sore today =)

Today marks a HUGE physical accomplishment for me. I wasn’t planning on it happening and I didn’t even think it would once it started.

V and I started Crossfit on August 19th, 2009. That was the day we did our baselines. That was just a few days over three months ago. I had to do jumping pull ups on that workout.

Today, our workout was “Cindy” which is an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 minutes of:

5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

I got 15 rounds in (that’s 75 pull ups, 150 push ups, and 225 squats… damn!)… and I did all of my pull ups without a band. I am still sort of in shock to type that and realize that it’s actually about me. If you ever doubt the strength and endurance gains that crossfit can deliver, this is in fact testament. In just 3 months, I went from not being able to do more than 3 unassisted pull ups to now 75 unassisted in 20 minutes. THAT is amazing to me.

Here, tonight is yet another reason why although you CAN do crossfit in your garage, you (most people) really can’t. I can guarantee you that if I were in my garage tonight, I would have taken longer between rounds, taken more frequent breaks, and probably would have gotten in 8-10 rounds.

The difference here is that we all had a whole room of people encouraging us, counting for us, and pushing us to get every ounce of whatever we had out of us. THAT is worth every penny you pay and possibly more.

I am looking forward to more gains, more progress, and just great overall health.