Remember that rhyme from when you lost things as a kid? You’d taunt the winner by telling them they were actually the worst … maybe that was just my childhood, where you also got taunted for being a girl wearing a Ninja Turtles shorts + t-shirt combo that looked EXACTLY like the turtle shell sported by Michelangelo, my fave (one of my early forays into things girls “shouldn’t” do but I did anyway).
I finished first in the workout today, so that’s what made me think of that. BUT I only did the cleans at 124# instead of women’s RX 135#. BUT no one did women’s RX. Which isn’t a good excuse. But I was having trouble cleaning 135 before the workout, and I didn’t want to fail repeatedly during the workout, so I dropped weight.
Pre-WOD: 2-2-2-2-2 Overhead Squat
Me: 65-75-85-95-105 … yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely should have gone heavier. Didn’t struggle through any of those. But the good news is that 95 used to be really, really hard for me, so working on OHS has definitely paid off. Whoohoo!
WOD:
5 Rounds
5 Cleans (124#)
15 lunges w/ 25# plate overhead
My time: 7:07
2 rounds in, I ripped my shirt off totally Cal-style. Swear to god I cleaned the next five in a row without dropping the bar because I lost the 2 ounces of weight on my back.
What is the Cal?
Cal’s assertion is that the shirt should only be removed if the WOD moves you to do so. As we all know CrossFit workouts are epic battles, so much so that you most definitely gain a distinct advantage from shucking off those cumbersome threads.
From CrossFit Austin‘s Wes’ hilarious two-part post on when it’s appropriate to take your shirt off here: Part 1, and Part 2.
If you’re too lazy to click around, here’s my other favorite gem:
I need to get something off my chest…. It takes allot of cigarettes, cocaine, and vomiting to look like the fine ladies of US Weekly and Cosmo. Whew that felt good, you ladies are bombarded with negative body images on a daily basis, and since its been established in this fine article that topless tabatas are a strictly utilitarian venture. I implore you ladies to join in on the fun. Let go of the preconceived notions of what you “should” look like and embrace what you are DOING. CrossFit workouts are terrible, your heart is pumping something like 56575 BPMs, your lungs are on fire, and you can’t see straight. Why subject your self to the additional pain of lugging around a 15 lb shirt soaked in sweat, this shit is hard enough. Liberate yourself ladies, everyone of you is beautiful, no matter where you are in your fitness journey.
Love it.