So, the original plan for today was to get up at the crack of dawn (6am for me), do my scheduled workout (It was t-handle swing day!), go try and learn something at work, come home and head to a Crossfit skills building class.
Thank god that got a bit derailed my by Insomnia and resultant inability to consistently crawl out of bed at an early hour. Why is that good? WELL, it turned out to be Kettlebell day in Crossfit land, too. Not sure two swinging workouts in one day would've been awesome. Although, whatever. haha. I'm kind of enjoying the constant challenge of seeing how far my body can go before it really hates me.
Anyway, today's class was kettlebells skill building - aimed to be part of a series to get you ready to participate in a in a full fledged CF WOD. Which meant, we did a LOT of moving around of kettlebells. How to do a good swing. How to do a better swing. An over head swing. A KB thruster. A KB clean. KB around the world's... the list goes on. We were only doing them in chunks of 10-15 at a time, for instruction purposes, but if you do it fast enough, or with a heavy enough weight, that adds up over the course of 50 minutes!
All things considered, I enjoy kettlebell workouts, though. Somehow, swinging stuff around still seems "fun" whilst proceeding to kick my ass.
Today's WOD: (I'm going to detail the class, too... this particular trainer made us do a lot more hands-on learning...)
- 500m ski (OW. ABS.)
- 500m row (Helloooo back.)
- 5 min jump rope (SO glad I've been practicing. Proudly claiming the honor as the only one who went the whole 5 min without tripping. Yeeeah!)
- 50min KB training: swings, overhead swings, squat cleans, thrusters (...and?)
- Official WOD
- 8 min: EMOTM (every min. on the min.)
- 3 KB Thrusters
- 6 KB Around the World's
- 9 KB Overhead Swings
So, today, I got through that hour of stuff with a 22# KB. No problem, at all. It was really gratifying to do that, particularly seeing the lack of strength in many of the other beginners. Not because they are weak (hell, they are in that class, working to change themselves! That is a strong thing to do!), but it was gratifying to remind myself.. of myself. Why I'm doing this, why I continue to push hard, sweat harder (more on that in a min.), and smile through the stiff/sore days. I've come a long way, damnit... and despite having a LONG way to go, I know I won't go back.
Now, we need to digress for just a minute, on the topic of Sweat. I may have prompted a bit of a discussion among the Spartan Chicks on the topic of sweat. Mostly because I want to know why Me and Random Cheerleader Chick (RCC) can be in the same class and a few things happen: I work faster, with heavier things, carrying significantly more weight on my body, but upon finishing the workout am back to normal breathing WAY quicker than Ms. RCC, and still good to go for more. However, *I* am drenched. Sweat Puddle (ew. I know.). I may have blinded the poor man next to me, as my pony tail flung sweat into his eyes. It might've happened. Meanwhile, RCC, who ostensibly 'worked' harder than me - as in doing the same/less work was more exhausting for her (she can't continue) - is "sparkling." I'm toweling. LOL.
Somehow, this seems counter intuitive. However, I have a very limited knowledge base around the physiology of what's happening, and leave that to the educated ones (that's you, GT.) to answer my incessant "... but, WHY.." questions. My theory? It probably has something to do with the added muscle mass I have, the ridiculous amount of water I drink, the fact that I'm still carrying a significant amount of extra "insulation", random genetics, or some combination of the lot.
Today's lesson: I'm a girly, ruffle-wearing, stiletto loving, martini-drinking woman... and I sweat puddles when I exercise. It may not be 'pretty', but at the end of the day, the guns/quads/ass I've got to show for those sweaty pushups/wall balls/squats/whatever, are WAY hotter than your dry brow and still-perfect ponytail.
.... Although, I will still have to consult the great Google Oracle for why exactly that is. Hmm. I'll keep you posted.
Embrace the sweat, Ladies. Consider it a badge of a job well-done.
actually - there may be a better reason for it - from what I understand, you actually sweat *more* as you get more in shape, because your body becomes more efficient and better at cooling itself down, etc. Basically the "coolant system" needs to be tuned up to full performance, same as the rest of the body. Which is why my horse not sweating much during workouts was a sign that she was *out of shape* not in it - and as she got in better shape, she began sweating a lot more..
ReplyDeleteAnyway that's just a theory but I do believe I've heard some scientific backing for it somewhere ;) So consider it a sign that you're actually in way better shape than Miss Cheerleader ;)