Last weekend was my birthday weekend. Unlike others, I kept it low-key and drama free. I invited a few guy friends out for cigars and to watch Nova vs Pitt on Saturday night at Wicked Wolf. In years past I had invited lots of friends out for bowling or a drink fest at the local pub. Wasn't really interested in that. The cigar store in Hoboken is cool because it's BYOB. So after four of us had some cigars and a few beers, we headed to the bar where a table was reserved to watch the game. Unfortunately the game was ridunkulously bad to watch - sloppy basketball all around. After the game, we said our goodbyes and I went back home.
Crossfit last week went well enough. In my last session, I learned the meaning of glamor muscles. If you aren't familiar with the term, then you must not watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In Episode 5.06: "The World Series Defense", Dennis explains to Mac that Mac's muscles aren't real muscles, but just for show:
Mac, Dee, and Frank arrive at the Park. Dennis notices their bleeding eyes. They desperately want to get into the Park, and Mac suggests he scale the wall.
Dennis: "Okay, I hate to tell you this bro, but you do not have the core strength to scale the façade of Citizen's Bank. You just don't."
Mac: "What!? I work out all the time!"
Dennis: "Yeah, but you only work out your glamour muscles, and you know it."
Mac: "I work out my core!"
Dennis: "No. You do not work out your core. You're totally arm heavy. You're all bis and tris and everything else is just... fat and ribs."
Mac: "Bro, I could do way more push ups than you and that's like 16 different muscle groups right there."
Dennis: "That is beyond retarded what you're saying right now. I could do way more push-ups than you even though I was just hit by a car."
They look at each other and get down on the ground to do push-ups.
What does this have to do with me? Well, I haven't lifted a weight since October. Crossfit was a cold splash of water last Thursday for me. Our first 30 minutes was all about technique of a deadlift and proper form.
I thought I knew how to do a deadlift. I have done them when I worked out, but they weren't part of my regular routine. But clearly after this workout, I had a lot to learn. We didn't lift heavy weights, we were just interested in getting the form right.
Once that was done we ended our sesson with the following:
Deadlifts w/kettlebell
Pushups
Situps
Not too hard, right? We started at 10 deadlifts, 10 pushups, 10 situps, then 9, then 8...all the way to 1 at our own pace.
Back to the glamor muscles - this is definitely me. I'm not ripped, but also not too flabby. Doing pushups my bi's and tri's were definitely standing out. Standing out and saying "YOU'RE WEAK!"
I knocked out the first 10 with no problem. Then I did the set of 9 without an issue. Once I hit 8...I also hit a wall. Crossfit is much different than lifting. When I lift, I can knock out 10 reps and 3 sets, get a good pump and do something else. Over the years that makes for decent arms and chest, but not much else. I rarely did situps in the gym. And it shows.
I was able to finish the workout, but I was dead last. I could have stopped when everyone else did (I was around 4 and gulping air), but I wanted to finish. I literally got to the point in the pushups where my muscles were giving out and I couldn't even hold myself up. To switch from pushups to situps, I couldn't even flip myself over right, it was like a half roll.
Yeah, I bet the girls there were impressed. LOL.
Anyhow, the good news is that I feel stronger and i'm also not very sore anymore. After winning my Super Bowl box pool last week, I figure I can take $800 of the money I won and put it towards 6 months at Crossfit. Happy Birthday, to me.
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