Wednesday
So the day after that CrossFit session, when my legs turned to lead after 180 squats and a steel rod ran through my back after 120 kettlebell swings, I thought that, like before, if I took one Alaxan (a muscle relaxant), I should be fine. I popped one then headed to the Phil. Kettlebell Training Center (PKTC). By the time I got there, it still hadn't kicked in, so I took another. By the time everyone showed up, my legs were still useless stumps.
Dindo was sympathetic and assigned me workout #71, an upper body workout.
In case you couldn't read that, that was:
A. Five sets of:
B. 100 REGULAR PUSH-UPS!!!
C. 4 sets of 15 crush curls
Abs:
Three sets of:
100 PUSH-UPS???!!! GAAAH! NOOOOOOOoooooooo!!! I can't count that high... Please?
Pfft. Of course, I didn't do them all in one go. And I was so wiped out by the time I was done that I totally forgot to do the crush curls and went straight to the ab workout.
Thursday
The next day, it was wishful thinking when I popped two Alaxans because, not only did I turn up at the PKTC with leaden legs and a sore back, this time, my chest and tricep muscles were aching as well. Did exercise #73 with Dindo telling me to do only half squats where required.
Two sets of:
A. Double KB clean to rack squat to alternate military press - 5x
B. Double KB swing to clean to rack squat to alternate military press - 5x
C. Double KB swing to clean to rack squat to alternate military press to regular push-up - 5x
D. Double KB swing to clean to rack squat to alternate military press to regular push-up to renegade row - 5x
Abs: Three sets of 50 leg raises
Of course I can't do renegade rows. I use heavy kettlebells to balance on but have light ones next to them that I row. :-)
Friday
I took the day off. My excuse was that I was undergoing LASIK enhancement in the afternoon, which meant I would have had to do the early morning CrossFit and I wasn't too keen on stumbling about blind after the operation and being in massive bodily pain at the same time. One misery at a time, please.
I first had LASIK on both eyes in 2006. I noticed my vision deteriorating quite a while ago but, on my last trip abroad, I realized that I could no longer read signs at the airport. So I finally contacted my doctor and he told me to come in for a check-up.
He found that my left eye is at -1.25 which, apparently, is the grade I now need to be able to read and see things that are close. My right eye, however, is only at -0.50, which means that it's what I've been using for distance. He recommended "monovision", correcting only one eye (the dominant eye which is my right eye) and keep the left eye as is. While I would be able to see both near and far, my vision for both wouldn't be as sharp as I'd want them to be but I would still be able to see without glasses.
After simulating monovision with a contact lens in my right eye for a few days and giving it much thought, I decided to have both eyes corrected and just get myself a pair of reading glasses.
However, on the day of the operation itself, as I was waiting for my turn in the holding room, I buckled as soon as I saw the first patient come out of the operating room, her eyes all bandaged up, looking like she was in pain. I immediately informed the nurse that I would go with the doctor's initial recommendation and have only the right eye lasered.
I must admit though that it wasn't as painful as the first LASIK procedure I had. There was no suction of the eye ball... It was still freaky and harrowing though, and I think it always will be.
Of course, two days after the operation, I am thinking of going back and having the other eye "enhanced". I was at the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) yesterday for Cinemalaya and I found that my vision for distance is still a little bit too unclear for my liking. It could be that my vision is still stabilizing though, which one of the doctors did mention. So I'll give it a few more days and, literally, see how it goes.
Saturday
By Saturday, the pain in my body had subsided to vague, dull aches. That wasn't right. It was time to bring it on. I chose to do the workout I skipped, workout #72 called "Traveling". I had already done it before and knew it would be a tough one.
Two sets of the following:
A. 1 KB side-step swings, wall to wall (Left hand going, then right hand returning.)
B. 1 KB snatch, walk two steps, to high windmill, wall to wall (Alternating arms.)
C. 1 KB side-step cleans, wall to wall (Left hand going, then right hand returning.)
D. 2 KB alternating press, wall to wall (Steps have to be in sync with the presses. You can step on the same leg as the arm you are pressing or step on the opposite leg.)
E. 2 KB bent rows 5x at 3 stations (First station is at one end of the wall, then do the farmer's walk to the middle of the room - second station - then farmer's walk to the far end of the room - third station - back to the middle of the room, then back to where you started.)
F. Kettlebell lizard walk, wall to wall. (It looks something like this but with kettlebells: Lizard Walk.)
So, of course, I did a modified lizard walk, which involves pushing-up on two 16 kilo kettlebells, jumping forward towards the kettlebells then moving one kettlebell forward at an angle, jumping back out and doing a push-up on both kettlebells, jumping forward towards the kettlebells, moving the other kettlebell forward at angle, etc., etc.
I was out of breath by the time I was done. I asked Dindo about the ab exercises. That's when he pointed out that I was supposed to do TWO SETS of the whole bloody workout! I screamed. It was 10 minutes to 10 AM and I had to be home by 10:30 to get ready for an appointment. Not to mention that I was out of breath and about to die.
I went down on weight for almost all the exercises. And since the 16-kilo kettlebells were all in use by the time I got to the lizard walk, I did it without kettlebells. I skipped the ab exercises and rushed home.
Sunday
Today, I can feel my back muscles from the rows, and the triceps and biceps are a bit sore. Well, some pain is better than none, I guess.
I've decided that yesterday was my last kettlebell class for the year. It's too difficult to do both CrossFit and kettlebells. Am always sore from one and end up not being able to do the other properly. It seems sacrilegious for me to choose CrossFit over kettlebells, but I am curious as to where CrossFit can take me and am willing to give it a shot till the end of the year.
Then next year, I will resume kettlebell training and combine it with Krav Maga. Will stick with it for a few months as well and not keep changing around as I have this year.
That's the plan for now, at least.