Rx

Rx'd; as Rx'd: As prescribed; as written. WOD done without any adjustments.

Sometimes Rx'ing the WOD happens with tremendous effort and other times it only comes with herculean perseverance. Or damn near not at all. Case in point. Picture a man walking up to the loaded barbell and eyeing it up for the rounds ahead. Noting the weight, he looks at the WOD penned on the whiteboard. 100 shoulder presses with 95lb. Every time the weight hits the floor, run 200 metres. Holy. Cow.

I must break in at this point and say that Mia did warn me. Smiling like a Cheshire cat, she said, "Lift that and see if you think you'll be able to do one hundred of those". I did. It was heavy, but I was feeling confident and I was able to press it smoothly. "It will be difficult at about fifty, but I can finish". I had resolved that when I start with a weight, I finish with it – no matter how ugly it gets. I was about to test that resolve.

My plan was to break it up into sets – 20 presses at first, dropping to 15 and then to 10 when things got tough. 10 rounds in total, I reckoned. That would also add up to a nice 2 kilometre run. I began with 20 shoulder presses and I barely squeaked them out before dropping the weight and heading into my first 200-metre run. That was a little rough, I thought, but the first round usually is. When I returned from the run and continued the presses, I was dismayed to find that I could only muster 15 this time. Then, a second 200-metre run. Another lift of just 10 reps. There was trouble afoot. I revised my plan to press 10 for the remainder of the 100. What followed was a breathless, puke-inducing teeter-totter of 5 presses of maximum effort and a sloppy 200-metre death march. The weight was too heavy. If it wasn't obvious by now, the bar reminded me with its cold smugness every time I heaved it to my shoulders. Unforgiving bastard. What kept me going forward were Leanna and Mia giving me encouragement when I was able to make a good strong press. I felt like if I got sloppy, I would be letting them down. They had already done this WOD earlier and I figured that if they could do it, I could do it. Afterwards, I could go home, curl up in a ball and rock back and forth, moaning.

But wheezing and creaking to the finish line, I did press 100 times and I did run 200-metres each time I set the weight down – with a bonus run after my last press because I was too twitterpated to realize that I'd finished. Rx? Yes. Not exactly a clean fight, but I didn't give up.

The following Saturday, I was back at it again. This time the mission was to partner up for a 20-round extravaganza. 5 power-cleans, 7 burpees, and a 200-metre run, each partner alternating an exercise. So by the end each person will have done 50 power cleans, 70 Burpees and run 2km. I had Leanna as my partner and that was good fortune. Both of us were fired up to "do this thing" and have an awesome morning. I started first with 135lb cleans then high-fived Leanna to start the burpees. When she knocked them off, she high-fived me and off I went for the run. When I ran back to the box, I marked off one of our checkmarks and high-fived Leanna. She then cleaned 95lb like a champ. This girl can lift the iron! Another high five and I'm doing burpees while she rests. Then it's her turn to run and when she returned it's another check marked off on our round list. This went on and on. Rinse and repeat. At the 10 round mark, we were both pretty pooched and it was daunting to think that we had just reached halfway. With sluggish limbs and dogged determination, we kept on going, round after round, horrible burpee after horrible burpee until that final glorious round when we reached the magic number 20. I still feel good when I think about that last round. I bet Leanna does too. Partner rounds are fantastic. They pull the very best out of you because now you have someone to be personally accountable too. That person is sweating their heart out right next to you and when it's your turn, you give it your all.

So, I Rx'ed both of these WODs. I consider the first one a deposit into the bank of stubborn determination because that was the only thing that got me through. No first prize at the county fair for that performance. The second one I was high on a burn of zone-fuelled energy and a good night's sleep. I also tested the weight first and made sure (this time) that I could go the distance. I'm getting better at this and I know my limits, having discovered them frequently.

Work out of the Day

100 - Shoulder presses 95lb
Every time you put down the weight run 200m.

Partner Work out of the Day

20 Rounds
5 -Power cleans 135lb
7 - Burpees
200m run