I wish every weekend could be a long weekend. I sometimes think I would be more productive at work if I had an extra day to myself. I’m convinced I would get more work done in 4 days than I currently do in 5. That’s probably because an hour of my day is wasted talking about how there is just not enough time in the day to get things done. Which is actually pretty ironic if you think about it..
Anyways, I hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend! I don’t know about the rest of the country, but the weather up in Boston was phenomenal. Unfortunately, my weekend fun was cut short after I accidentally swung myself off the pull-up bar during the Murph WOD on Saturday. For those of who aren’t familiar with Murph, it’s a 1 mile run followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 air squats and ends with another 1 mile run. We broke the workout into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups and 15 air squats which I thought was a lot more manageable. Naturally, I was on my 20th round when I landed flat on my back. Perfect timing! I believe my trainer even made a joke about there being easier ways to get out of a 1 mile run. It was funny, I laughed. And then I got in my car and bawled my eyes out the whole way home. You know, how any rational person would handle the situation. Whoever said there is no crying in CrossFit is crazy.
But I’m fine! It ended up being only a muscle sprain. Which was great since I was more or less convinced that I broke my back (or had kidney failure like WebMD suggested). I also somehow managed to get a swollen ankle and imprint of the gym floor on my arm. Please excuse the crappiness of the pictures and the fact it looks like I have a kankle. Oh, and that bit of dirt on my leg. If you think I was going to bend down and wipe that off, you’re crazy. Thank you for not judging me.
Anyways, the moral of the story? Wrap your freaking thumbs around the bar when you’re doing a pull-up. And, if your hands are dripping in sweat, it’s probably a good idea to chalk up first. So, that’s all I got for your guys! If you know any good back stretches I would be forever grateful!
-Erica
Not sure how you swing yourself off the pullup bar but that imprint is SO MUCH WIN
Hey Erica – sounds like you’ve had a fun weekend! A great back stretch for the lats is an overhead lat stretch – its like a triceps stretch, except you bend to one side (http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/LatissimusDorsi/Overhead.html). You can also do something similar to stretch your lats and your hip flexors – step into a deep lunge, put one arm overhead, and bend to the opposite side. Another great one (and my personal favorite!) is a bent over stretch – its hard to explain, but here’s a link (http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/LatissimusDorsi/BentoverFloor.html). With that one I also like to push my hips to one side and hold for a couple seconds, go back to the middle, and repeat on the other side. And try to keep your butt on your heels, and “walk” your hands forward with your fingers to make it a little more intense. Good luck, and glad you’re ok!
-J
Hey Erica – sounds like you’ve had a fun weekend! A great back stretch for the lats is an overhead lat stretch – its like a triceps stretch, except you bend to one side (http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/LatissimusDorsi/Overhead.html). You can also do something similar to stretch your lats and your hip flexors – step into a deep lunge, put one arm overhead, and bend to the opposite side. Another great one (and my personal favorite!) is a bent over stretch – its hard to explain, but here’s a link (http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/LatissimusDorsi/BentoverFloor.html). With that one I also like to push my hips to one side and hold for a couple seconds, go back to the middle, and repeat on the other side. And try to keep your butt on your heels, and “walk” your hands forward with your fingers to make it a little more intense.
-J
Wow thank you so much! Will definitely be checking these out!
If you’re going to wipe out… go big, or go home my friend.
Hope you’re quickly recovering! Murph sounds like it is no joke. I cried a little just thinking about it.
My thoughts exactly! I dont think Murph and I will be friends anytime soon.
glad you’re alright…looks like you tried to iron your arm!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to your blog before but after going through some of the articles I realized it’s
new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly pleased I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking
back regularly!
Hi! So glad you found us!