Oh the my pull-up and hang wall

I left work this afternoon with anticipation of what Stave had in store for me, made a quickly girlie stop (eyebrow waxing) a A Signature Day Spa, Deanna is the best and makes the time to fit me in with my crazy schedule. After a few minutes there I headed off to Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center for my weekly power hour with Steve.

When I arrived at the gym, he was just getting in from training the VT State Police Academy Cadets today. He went from the VT Police Academy to me. As he was finishing up with them he went over to the Commander and explained his “Climb-Fit Challenge.” (I am sorry if I am using the wrong terms for people in the police force or other armed services, I am a civilian I do my best.) He was talking about all the elements and how its really tough and not many people have finished it. The Trainer from the academy was impressed.

Come to GMCC try it yourself

Then… Steve turned to me and said we are doing this for warm-up. He added no woman has successfully completed this to date. He came up with it over a year ago. Today it would be my warm up. Big effing gulp, deep breath, here we go!

PART 1

Climb-Fit Challenge
15 Minutes to complete:

1 Minute Hang. (Hold yourself on the wall)
800 Meter row in under 4 minutes (Men’s 1000)
100 hanging Knee-ups (arms in straps)
35 Physio Ball Push-ups (Men’s 50)
5 Negative Pull-ups (Men’s 10 Full Pull-ups)
3 Minute Plank

Doesn’t sound too hard right, well I dare you to come to the climbing center and try it! Each thing individually isn’t hard but all together against the clock another story. Oh is you fall in the hang, you have to start the minute over. If you fall off the ball with the push-ups, have to start from the beginning. Collapse on the plank, start over. Still think it’s easy, I double dare you to try it, doesn’t count unless you do it at our gym!

Drumroll please, for my first attempt I finished in 16:18. Just over a minute from the 15 minute mark. Still to this day no woman has successfully completed the task. Steve said I maybe the closest woman yet to getting my name on the wall. New goal, I will be the first woman to do it. Yes Steve, you heard it here first.

Love Log

Part 2

A “Run” With Steve

Warm-up is over time to go for a “run” with Steve. I use the word “run” in quotes as this was so much more than a run. We jogged over to a field behind the gym to find the logs and tired on a flatbed. We pulled one log off the trailer and flipped it for a tenth of a mile up a slight hill. I did three flips, then Steve would do two, we switched on and off until we reached the top of the hill. Next time we will shoot video.

Figure 8 Time, step 2 of the run. There is a figure eight loop with equals .23 miles, at the intersection of each loop we did either 10 push-ups or 10 sit-ups. For 10 sets, lots of tens in there. Each lap Steve put a coin down to mark how many we had done. After the first four of five I didn’t think I would make it the whole way. But I pushed on, trying to keep up with Steve, remember that warm-up well I was starting to really feel it. Around lap 6 I felt like I had to poop my pants, yes that’s right poop my pants. I know too much information. If you are a runner you know this feeling. Luckily, I it was just a feeling, uncomfortable one and I did not soil myself. Now that would be embarrassing. All of a sudden we were at lap 8 and my brain turned off and I was in go mode. Then lap 10 was done, completed, the doubts at lap 5 gone. I did it, drenched in sweat, feeling exhausted but exhilarated at the same time. I accomplished something new today, a new challenge.

You want me to flip it up that

Oh but the workout wasn’t over yet, oh no. Last part, remember that log. Partner carry back to the trailer, every 10 steps switching it to the other shoulder. We reached the trailer, set the log down, and Steve said to me, “I can’t believe you just did all that.” My initial reaction was you dished it out so I should just take it, I was just doing what you told me to do. But what I actually said was, “I didn’t think I was going to make it, but just kept going. Then it was over.”

Steve’s Run
Total Distance: 2.3 Miles
Total Sit-ups: 100
Total Push-ups: 100

The Junction

Thanks Steve and Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center for another solid ass kicking. I look forward to it each week. For the next two weeks I am in Grad School again so I won’t have another session with him until the middle of August, some solid time for him to think of something to put me to the test with physically and mentally. I left the gym today totally on a high going into the rest of the week of training. Total workout time, 1 hour.