WOD 090814

Back Squats 3,3,3,3,3 record top load
55, 85, 105, 105, 115, 115, 120 (PR)

Lots of challenges to overcome this morning. My recovery from yesterday is slow. The lower legs feel tight and the forward part of my shoulders is hurting from the pushups yesterday.
My first few sets I had a LOT of trouble getting a decent rack position around the bar. I even had to just lay on the floor a bit, hands clasped behind my head with elbows back to slowly get things opened up. I was able to get a better, albeit not fantastic, position after that. It is really hard to concentrate on the squatting - core, heels, back angle when you are still contemplating the bar placement on your back.

I also think the sleep has really caught up with me, because I just felt mentally foggy... more than just the usual math troubles counting plates at 0515. I don't think I had the quick mental focus to process the coaching cues I was getting.

And then something happened that never has in the box. I got really annoyed with the music. Not the usual, I don't really like rap, type feeling that I can ignore. More of the I really hate this song (Poker Face) and I don't want it or what it represents stuck in my head all day. Catchy tune/beat sure with a bit of edgy attitude, but I really hate the message it delivers. Jerry was nice to skip it for me. Now before you think me a prude, I really don't like Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" for the same reason... great music that makes it hard to see the not so great message that is getting wired into your brain. Unfortunately the next song in the play list was actually worse... something about being "retardo", which regardless of whatever the current vogue connotation is, really hurts anyone who lives in a world with the learning disabled.

So, Jerry has always said, if the music bugs you, better have a play list. So I subjected my box mates to Foreigner, Styx, Kim Wilde, Bryan Adams, Bonnie Tyler, Cold Play, The Romantics, and if we had made it through, it would have been the best of lifting songs.... Queen's "We Will Rock You" It's a play list really suited to a strengthcon, but it sort of worked to at least wake people up. Talk about brain death though... I couldn't remember that "Holding Out for a Hero" was from Footloose (before it was remade for "Shrek", anyway)

I love music and what it does for mind, body and soul. It can drive a mood and create great achievement for athlete, whether it is setting a pace or just generating positive energy. For me, these older classics drag me back to feeling a little younger and vibrant, tearing a hole in a dancefloor somewhere in my 20's. This morning, with my shoulders fighting to wrap around that barbell, I needed to turn on that youthful feeling again.

But this also tells me that I am due for my week off from CF, both physically and mentally. If you need the music to move you in the right direction, by all means do it. But it is just an analgesic, and doesn't really fix what's not right. Time to rest a few joints, sleep the noggin, and start reflecting on the big picture again.

Vacation next week. Hopefully there will be many salads on those menus!