So this is going to be hard to admit after I just wrote that big "expose" on Crossfit and how form is so important etc, etc, etc.
I might have told Bruce to forget about form during the competition and just concentrate on getting it up.
What? I'm not a coach! This is what happened . . .
So it's time for the men's competition. All the guys are in the back and warming up for 10 minutes then starting with our lifts.
We're all trying to get the bugs out and Bruce comes up to me and says . . .
"Ho what cuz, how my form?"
And then proceeds to do a power clean that looks awful. I know because I was doing awful cleans last year.
Except that Bruce is so freaking strong that he just lifts it. It's off the ground and on his shoulders.
Right there in my mind I start drawing upon everything that I learned from Bump and Kristi, you know, keep the arms loose, don't pull until you're fully extended, explode and get under the weight as soon as possible.
Except there's no time. We had 10 minutes but that was 6 minutes ago and what the hell am I going to teach Bruce in four minutes? Bump and Kristi are busy running the competition and the rest of the guys are working out.
Soooooo . . . this is what I tell him.
"Screw it brah, forget about technique. You can learn that next year. Just concentrate on getting that weight up doing whatever you have to do."
Immediately after I say this Bruce looks at me, with one eyebrow raised higher than the other, and replies,
"Yeah brah you right, I just going power 'em up. Shoots."
So he resumes warming up and so do I. After that I completely forgot what I had said to him.
Of course, I did notice during the competition that he had no form whatsoever. Check it out:
Basically Bruce did three really heavy sets of reverse curls from the floor. But he got all three of his lifts, I only got two.
Fast forward to today and we're warming up at the gym. I'm minding my own business when I hear Kristi say,
"Wait, WHAT did Rod tell you?"
Uh oh.
Okay, so YES, form is super important and YES if you don't do it right you can get injured and YES I know I'm not a coach.
I was just giving out advice to a friend that I thought best suited the situation. Kristi wasn't buying it though.
"I'm telling Bump what you said," she threatened.
Awww, come on. Sheesh.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Anyway, let's talk workout.
We had to run a 200 meter, do 10 overhead squats and end with as many toes to bar as possible before 2 minutes and 30 seconds ran out.
These sort of WOD's are kinda cool because it's up to you how hard you want to push it at the end. Plus we get like a minute to rest between sets so it's easier to go all out.
In fact, my 200 today was was better than yesterday. My back wasn't hurting at all and I was ahead of the pack for the first 100 meters. The second 100 was not as good but I still felt good coming back into the gym.
The overhead squats were a little tough because we had just done heavy back squats earlier. And the toes to the bar at the end were challenging to say the least.
But three rounds is better than six any day and we all pushed it pretty hard knowing it would all be over soon. I got a total of 36 toes to bar, Bruce got 50. I don't know where he gets it from, he seems to just ignore pain and exhaustion.
Wish I could do the same, but I'll take 36 reps for now.
Good WOD today folks, nice to have a rest day tomorrow. I'll be on Oahu Friday so no RFM for me.
But maybe I might just make it down to Hardass Fitness . . . maybe.
Later guys,
Rod
I might have told Bruce to forget about form during the competition and just concentrate on getting it up.
What? I'm not a coach! This is what happened . . .
So it's time for the men's competition. All the guys are in the back and warming up for 10 minutes then starting with our lifts.
We're all trying to get the bugs out and Bruce comes up to me and says . . .
"Ho what cuz, how my form?"
And then proceeds to do a power clean that looks awful. I know because I was doing awful cleans last year.
Except that Bruce is so freaking strong that he just lifts it. It's off the ground and on his shoulders.
Right there in my mind I start drawing upon everything that I learned from Bump and Kristi, you know, keep the arms loose, don't pull until you're fully extended, explode and get under the weight as soon as possible.
Except there's no time. We had 10 minutes but that was 6 minutes ago and what the hell am I going to teach Bruce in four minutes? Bump and Kristi are busy running the competition and the rest of the guys are working out.
Soooooo . . . this is what I tell him.
"Screw it brah, forget about technique. You can learn that next year. Just concentrate on getting that weight up doing whatever you have to do."
Immediately after I say this Bruce looks at me, with one eyebrow raised higher than the other, and replies,
"Yeah brah you right, I just going power 'em up. Shoots."
So he resumes warming up and so do I. After that I completely forgot what I had said to him.
Of course, I did notice during the competition that he had no form whatsoever. Check it out:
Basically Bruce did three really heavy sets of reverse curls from the floor. But he got all three of his lifts, I only got two.
Fast forward to today and we're warming up at the gym. I'm minding my own business when I hear Kristi say,
"Wait, WHAT did Rod tell you?"
Uh oh.
Okay, so YES, form is super important and YES if you don't do it right you can get injured and YES I know I'm not a coach.
I was just giving out advice to a friend that I thought best suited the situation. Kristi wasn't buying it though.
"I'm telling Bump what you said," she threatened.
Awww, come on. Sheesh.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Anyway, let's talk workout.
We had to run a 200 meter, do 10 overhead squats and end with as many toes to bar as possible before 2 minutes and 30 seconds ran out.
These sort of WOD's are kinda cool because it's up to you how hard you want to push it at the end. Plus we get like a minute to rest between sets so it's easier to go all out.
In fact, my 200 today was was better than yesterday. My back wasn't hurting at all and I was ahead of the pack for the first 100 meters. The second 100 was not as good but I still felt good coming back into the gym.
The overhead squats were a little tough because we had just done heavy back squats earlier. And the toes to the bar at the end were challenging to say the least.
But three rounds is better than six any day and we all pushed it pretty hard knowing it would all be over soon. I got a total of 36 toes to bar, Bruce got 50. I don't know where he gets it from, he seems to just ignore pain and exhaustion.
Wish I could do the same, but I'll take 36 reps for now.
Good WOD today folks, nice to have a rest day tomorrow. I'll be on Oahu Friday so no RFM for me.
But maybe I might just make it down to Hardass Fitness . . . maybe.
Later guys,
Rod
You SHOULD stop by Hardass Fitness!!! They're cool like that!!
ReplyDeleteLearning technique in olympic weight lifting, then fine tuning it, takes years of hard work and practice. We don't expect anyone to do a perfect lift after only learning it a few weeks earlier. Bruce did a damn good job at applying what he had learned up to that point. We're proud of him and ALL who stepped up to the platform! You are an inspiration to all of us!
ReplyDelete