Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Sneaky Sneaky...Cherry Bomber WOD

I do love learning days in CrossFit. Yowza was today one of those... :)

Gist of what is to come? My level of fitness could deepen were I to train more sprint/max-effort intervals. My body is spent from an E3MOM today that looked so very uneventful. Even when I heard others remembering their times, remembering their experiences, I paid little attention. I mean, how bad could 8 calories on the assault bike, every three minutes, for thirty minutes be? Yes, 10 rounds, and I knew it would stretch me in the middle rounds, but...

Oh for f**k’s sake. I had no idea what was coming. (Which is what makes me love this practice and container, of course)


I’ve returned my mind to the CrossFit Level 1 training manual, where the nuances of methodology and physiological research-supported practices are covered in detail. The three metabolic pathways–phosphagen, glycolytic, oxidative–and their time-durations–10-30 seconds; 30-120 seconds, 120-300 seconds. I’ve always been a grind kind of athlete, coming from long-distance running, etc. I may start slow but I keep a steady pace and do well for my sense of things. And I’ve always thought the middle pathway–the glycolytic–is my weakest. I still think it is. Classic WODs like Fran require the sprint-push-for-3-5 minutes effort, glycolytic. I’m a 5-7 minutes glycolytic girl. I feel like I’m gonna die, so I slow down and aim for the oxidative… But today made me wonder if pushing the phosphagen pathway would increase my glycolytic capacity...? I wonder...


So this morning, 12/8 cals on the assault bike, every three minutes for thirty minutes. The key words I had not considered were
max effort. 8 calories (for me) as fast as I possibly could. Then resting the 2:30 minutes (or so) until round 2. Repeat nine more times. How bad could it be? Round 2, I was like "This isn't gonna be that bad..."

I think nausea set in around round 7.


Yet I'm pleased with the power aspect for my 54-year-old body: 3:24 minutes total.


I heard some new things about using the bike, like body position, mental focuses (heel pushes, pushes, pulls, then alternating), feeling our way into the calories to aim for… And this was one I could do Rx, so 8 calories each round…first three rounds 18 seconds, then a couple at 19 seconds, then the slide down the scale to 22 to 24 seconds. Proud to have ended on 22 seconds, learning I’m a resistant starter inside. I didn’t set my mind to just do this until the last round, hence slightly faster than the 24 seconds’ rounds. Round 8 and 9 it took me 1-2 seconds to even commit to doing it again.


I could keep my heart rate low with nasal breathing, as I’d been taught. For three rounds. Then it was just “do your best” to slow your breathing. By round seven, I was lying on the ground, sometimes on my side. My Whoop band registered a 5.7 strain activity, which seems freakin' low for what my body endured, provided. Hmmm...


Regardless, this afternoon, I am living the life of the virtuous, fitter than I was.


Sitting is good.

Rehydrating is great.

Early to bed, I’m sure.


Any shame in being in bed before Brian gets back from his evening meetings? NONE, for the virtuous.


I admit I feel like I kicked this one’s butt, so I’m proud. I may have only ridden the bike for under three and a half minutes, but my body can feel the training difference.


The bike kicked me right back (of course).





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