Wednesday 8.6: Barbara

Wednesday. Benchmark workout Barbara. Time, 34.36.

This has been in my plans for some time and was thinking about doing it earlier this week too. Got to say the day wasn't ideal as my core was smashed from Monday's ghd's and hip flexors were aching too. However, that's life and you just have to deal with it. Don't bitch about it, just do it.

Barbara. Compare to 19.3.2014

• 5 rounds of:
• 20 pull-ups
• 30 push-ups
• 40 sit-ups
• 50 air squats
• 3min rest between rounds

At first I thought pull-ups and push-ups would be the deal breaker here, and sit-ups and squats would be the easier part. It turned out to be quite the opposite. Those were the easier parts of these 4 elements. First two rounds were unbroken on the pull-ups, then 15-5, fourth round started with 13-4-3 pull-ups and the last one was 10-4-3-3 reps.

On the push-ups I got through mostly something like 10-15 reps on the first try, then 5's before relaxing the tension, until I reached 30 reps. This was the plan which I was able to carry through alright.

Rounds 1-3

But the sit-ups and squats. Damned they got me. And usually any kind of sit-ups are my strong part so this was not cool to witness. My core was still sore from Monday's ghd's so that definitely had an effect. The first round went okay but already on the second one I had to start breaking them up. And lost a ton of seconds / minutes in the long run because of that.

Rounds 4-5

Sit-ups also made my hip flexors tight. It was awkward trying to get up from the floor right after sit-ups =) Squats got tough too. Legs were burning for sure but those hip flexors were the issue. Wasn't able to keep going, felt so nasty in there. This is a good benchmark workout, as they all tend to be. Haven't found a benchmark wod that would be a waste of time. Bad ass workouts all around.

Wednesday 19.3: Barbara

Wednesday. Benchmark workout Barbara, 5 rounds of: 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 air squats, 3min rest between rounds. Time 32.51 (including rest).

I thought it would be a good time to go purely at bodyweight for a while. This benchmark workout has been on my mind for about a week so I decided to hit it. The memory I have from previous time I did this one is that it took me 3 days to recover. That was a good starting point =)

Barbara. Time 32.51. Compare to 28.1.2013

• 5 rounds of:
• 20 pull-ups
• 30 push-ups
• 40 sit-ups
• 50 air squats
• 3min rest between rounds

It felt horrible! After 3 rounds of this workout it felt very challenging. My strategy was totally different today compared to the first Barbara I did. Maybe today's version was not the best one I suppose. At least as I compare the total time. Last time I did first rounds unbroken on the pull-ups and then as many reps as possible later in the workout. This time I intentionally broke it already on the first round. I did something like 13+7. I thought breaking the sets in the beginning would save my upper body and then it would be easier to work on the push-ups. That's because they are my goat, a weakness I haven't put enough focus on to get them rolling well.

Breaking the sets didn't help at all. Maybe I should have just gone through the sets unbroken for couple of rounds. I know I could have done it. My body was a little smashed and tired in the beginning but I still believe I could've done it. The push-ups were tough already in the beginning. In the later rounds it was a little pathetic how challenging they turned out for me. I tend to do push-ups with very narrow grip.

Sit-ups were the easiest part of the workout. No doubt. I completed them unbroken each round, the last 2 rounds were a bit tough but it was manageable all the time. It felt like a vacation after having done pull-ups and push-ups.

It turned out my legs were tired because I had to break the squats each round. I remember having nailed the squats unbroken last time, at least in the beginning. Now they felt like lead all the way. My legs barely carried me after the workout. In fact, they were so weak I thought I might fall any minute, and my calves and thighs were cramping.

Crossfit Games Update, Malleolo dominated 14.3

Sit-ups were the easiest, then pull-ups. Squats smashed my legs but the most difficult part was push-ups. I think I'll just add the movement to my metcon routines. Got to be better at them. I checked what I wrote last time on Barbara. It seems the sit-ups brought some issues then, but not today. Push-ups were toughest then as well. And squats were easier back then. On the pull-ups I had a different strategy.

This lady is a bad ass. There was a total of 700 reps, 100 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 200 sit-ups and 250 squats. Hopefully I'll be able to recover faster than last time. That would be recommendable! My pal Toni was thinking about going after Barbara soon too. I'd like to hear how he nails this.

Monday 28.1: Barbara

Monday. Barbara. Rounds between 3.06 and 4.47.

I wanted to start my CF week with own bodyweight workout and make it a tough one. My solution was one of the benchmark workouts: Barbara. She was nasty and made me gasp for a while after the workout. It consisted of four movements, pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Toni called in sick today so he naturally took a rest day.

Barbara. Rounds between 3.06 and 4.47.

• 5 rounds of
• 20 pull-ups
• 30 push-ups
• 40 sit-ups
• 50 squats
• 3min rest

The rounds were as follows:

• First round, 3.06
• Second rounds, 3.35
• Third round, 4.11
• Fourth round, 4.47
• Fifth round, 4.43

There were a total of 100 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 200 sit-ups and 250 squats, total of 700 reps. It's been a while since I've done pull-ups or cleans to strengthen my upper back so going for 100 pull-ups today was magnificent. My elbow has been screaming for the start of this year in pain, which is the reason for falling back on pull-ups and cleans. Therefore it really boosted my confidence a lot as I was able to do first and second round unbroken, 20 each round. On the third one I did 15 at first attempt and 10 reps on the fourth and fifth round. Very pleased about that!

My push-ups are my goat, as I've told you guys before. I had troubles with them from the very beginning, especially going for them after pull-ups isn't easy for me. The number of sit-ups caused me to go slower from the mid-workout on. In the beginning it was easy but as the reps grew over 100, they started to become slow. Squats weren't that bad. It hurt my legs but I was able to keep on going.

As a summary, my pull-ups and squats were near to perfect but my pace with push-ups was pathetic and I also got slower in sit-ups towards the end, which actually surprised me somewhat. But hey, there were 200 of them so I guess that should have been predictable =) This was a cruel workout but worth doing. Desperation crawled in just before the middle of the workout. I was able to push those feelings aside and continue to push forward. It would have helped to have a buddy to shout and cheer, no surprise there. Still, I want to emphasize that there were 100 pull-ups, c'mon!