Dumbbell Hell

Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:

5 Dumbbell deadlifts
5 Dumbbell hang power cleans
5 Dumbbell thrusters
The rx’d dumbbell weight is 45% bodyweight for men and 30% bodyweight for women (that is
both dumbbells combined).

Post dumbbell weight used, total minutes completed and total rounds completed thereafter.


My weights - 20's, finished all 20 rounds!


Oh, the love/hate relationship with this one continues.  I love dumbbell workouts in general.  This one forces you to step back and do a gut check. Rather than be creative and come up with a whole new blog, I'm going to reprise my blog from last time this one came around.  And without further ado....


Rounds 1-5:  I feel like a total bad ass, raring to go, finishing the rounds in about 21-25 seconds. I love this. 

Rounds 6-10: Reality sets in that I'm in for a long, grueling workout, but I'm still somehow finishing about 25 seconds in.  Starting to gasp for air like the fat kid on the playground and wishing for a longer recovery period.  Thrusters are starting to burn like Hell, but otherwise feeling pretty good.

Rounds 10-12: The mental battle begins.  Really,  I want to quit.  I want to puke.  I don't need CrossFit!  This is insane!  I am going to lay these dumbbells down and just leave!  Or puke.  Or maybe just lay down on this nice rubber mat for a few minutes, because no way can I walk out of here on so little oxygen.

Rounds 13-15:  Somehow I'm still finishing in under 30 seconds.  But I'm wheezing like an asthmatic kid sneaking a cigar.  I'm going to pass out.  I'm not sure how everyone else is still standing - are they even human? Some of these people don't even look like they're sweating!  They're walking around, talking, getting drinks of water like it's a damn picnic!  I vaguely hear, through the madness in my mind, "only five more rounds".  Since I can hear, I must still be alive. And if I'm alive, I have to keep moving!

Rounds 16-20:  Nothing is left in me except the sheer will to finish this bitch of a workout, and thankfully a little bit of muscle memory from having done these moves so many times.  I'm on some sort of oxygen-deprived, exercise induced high that feels like an out of body experience and the only coherent thought I can form is "please let this end".  I'm on auto-pilot.

Mercifully, the workout ended, and I made it through all 20 rounds.  I spent a good 3-5 minutes just laid out on the floor gasping for air, writhing in misery.

After a little recovery time, I felt like a total bad ass all over again.