Deth

We had to run down to Target today to pick something up, then got the grocery store with better produce done on our way home since we were passing by anyway. It was a hot day and sunny, but there was a nice enough breeze.

When we got home, I was debating on what I wanted to do for a WOD today. The other day I did one with power snatches and used my bar and that was really fun to change things up and get back to the bar. That got me itching to use the bar again today.

The other thing that got me wanting to use the bar was watching some Crossfit games last night and the night before. Seeing them do “squat” cleans got me thinking about how much fun power cleans are with the bar. I settled on one that was a 100-meter sled pull, then max power cleans for the rest of the time period. It was every two minutes for ten rounds.

I went with just ninety pounds on the sled. Part of the reason was laziness and not feeling like bringing out more weights, but the main reason is I wanted to really focus on the cleans since it’s been so long. I was already going to have to do the cleans and sled pull in the hot sunshine.

For the power cleans, I kept it a more moderate one hundred and forty-five pounds. They wanted the cleans to be fairly heavy in the WOD, but I also knew I was doing them in the wet grass and the pretty uneven ground in our backyard. I kept it at singles, dropping the bar after each rep and resetting, so I didn’t get any sloppy cycling with the stones and bumps in the grass. The last thing I needed to do was slip. The flattest part of the yard where I would have preferred to do my power cleans hand a smashed tomato that I threw out there when it was split. I stepped on it while bringing the bar out. I didn’t need the distraction of a besting.

I did not make the goal in the WOD for the number of reps but that was just out of a bit of extra caution with the conditions. What mattered to me more than the count was that my power cleans felt great and looked even better. It’s been a long time since I’ve done heavier ones under fatigue in a WOD setting. It was a good feeling to know that I haven’t really lost anything without practicing the movement other than once a week with strength. I guess if there was one thing that I miss from doing this stuff in a gym is the ability to drop the bar and obviously have a bit more space to work in. I don’t miss the people getting in the way or the shitty music, though.