Stupid Box

Today was a strength day!  Got a good, solid 5x5 on the deadlifts with 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90% of the established 1RM from the 5/3/1 program (that was 435# for me).  Then pulled 65% for max unbroken reps.  Got the final set of 390# very clean on the 5x5, then pulled 280# for 19 reps before stopping on account of the lumbar spine losing stability.  Felt very good all around though!

Phase two of this workout was 15 attempts at a max box jump.  So, we started at 24" and just increased the height as we jumped.  When we got to 36.5", I got 1 attempt, then, on the second, I smoked my shin like none other.  With a nice chunk of skin and hair lodged into a dent in the plyo box, I was limping around for a good 2 minutes in some pretty bad pain.  But, I would not allow this to stop me.  I went back, and after 3 nervous attempts where I needed to catch myself from tumbling over the box, I was able to bang out another 5 reps.  More on this below.

The last phase was:
3 rounds of:
15 yards farmers walk w/ 2 95# Barbells (out and back)
10 chest to bar pull ups
15 GHD back extensions

Got this in 5:07 and felt pretty good with that number for what I had in the tank.  I struggled with the C to B pull ups and realized I need to add these a bit more to my programming in the near future.  I have been relying purely on strict or kipping pull ups and need to practice other variations a lot more.

So, a note on overcoming mental blocks.  When attempting something like a box jump, the mind will convince you that you can not make a certain height.  When it does this, your body all of a sudden just stops working.  If you've ever had this happen to you, it can be one of the most frustrating things to experience.  I've had it before when trying to jump a crevasse out in Great Falls; I take my running start, get my speed up and then have to skid to a halt because my brain tells me I am not going to make it, and it shuts the physical body down.  From my experience, these are situations where anybody has the ability to overcome.  Usually it is something you actually know you can do, just for some reason (you feel tired, you just failed an attempt) you are being blocked.  The way I go about overcoming these situations is by taking a step back, visualizing a perfectly achieved attempt, then, the second I am finished with the positive visualization, go directly into the actual attempt.

There is something unbelievably gratifying about succeeding with something you just failed on.  That is something beautiful about fitness, you almost always have the ability to try again.  Then, once you have succeeded, you walk away with twice the confidence that anything CAN be achieved.

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage