My day started off like I was starring in a bad sitcom. I forgot my breakfast at home, I got on the metro and realized I forgot my badge, turned around to get my badge only to realize I didn’t need it to get in our building, turned back around to get on the metro, and then, after arriving late to work, I proceeded to spill my entire much needed triple-shot latte ALL over my desk giving it a fresh new sticky scent. I almost cried. Okay, maybe I did tear up a little bit. But only because the secretary gave me a big mama bear hug and I couldn’t help it. Anyways, the world was not on my side. I thought for sure I was going to be struck by lightning on my way home or washed away in the “severe weather” we were supposed to have. Even though I was hesitant as I prepared myself for the next disaster, I decided I would still go to the gym that night and let my body uncoil and stretch out after the massive amount of work we had at the office all week.
It was one of my favorite “themes” for the week: bars & climbing. We started with an intense warm up including something called Russian death squats. They lived up to their name. Afterwards, we started our workout which was based off a couple of different stations. One station was focused on wall runs. Then wall climbs and top-outs at another. And the third station was over at the bars where T had a number of different challenges waiting for us. I started with the challenges. T would propose a path, each one a little harder than the one before it, and we took turns finding our way through. These challenges allowed for a variety of creative bar movement including monkey swinging from bar to bar, clinging onto vertical bars as we moved from A to B... trying not to fall as our chalky grip slipped away with our sweat and of course, the sloth climb. It's exactly what it sounds like, but maybe a little faster. In case you're having trouble picturing it, watch the adorable video of a baby sloth learning to climb below. It's a pretty good depiction of some of us learning to climb...although I don't think I've reached the point where I can take a nap in that position.
Baby sloths aside, my workout continued at the wall run station. This has not always been my specialty as it requires strength that I did not have when I started training. It also requires technique in terms of foot placement, and body awareness as you try to use your momentum to get yourself up and on top of the wall as smoothly as possible. The last time I really focused on wall runs in the gym, I usually got myself halfway up with my arms still bent, and from there it was a serious struggle pushing myself up to a position where my arms were straight and I was leaning over the edge of the wall – without using my elbows to scramble onto the top. This time, it was entirely different. I was going straight up the wall to that straight-armed position. It was so smooth. I felt amazing. Even as my hands continued to rip into pieces from all the bar/climbing work that week, I was so excited by my newly noticed strength. This was even more exaggerated when I got to the wall climb/top out station. Here, we started in a cat hang on the box, and then the "wall climb" part is basically doing a pull up from that position, and then a top out using our legs to pop up on top of the box. Again, doing static wall climbs from a cat was an extreme struggle for me even a few weeks ago. I could barely get up. Now, I could do it in one smooth movement. I wouldn’t necessarily get the easy button out, but I could do it. And it’s incredible how excited I was just for being able to do a wall climb without feeling like I was going to die. I wanted to keep doing them all night. I felt so good, so accomplished. It was exactly what I needed to improve my day.
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