A PULL UP!!!

Thursday, August 27, 2009


I got my first unassisted pull up today!
I can not explain how happy I am. I have always the weakest upper body, never an ounce of definition on my arms. So when I started Cross Fit, I immediately decided a pull up would be one of my biggest goals because honestly, it seemed completely unattainable.
It happened when I dropped in at Cross Fit South Bay this afternoon. Forrest and I went in about 45 minutes before class started and did a really long warm up -- stretching, practicing double-unders, doing overhead sqauts against the wall with a PVC.
We had some time to kill before the WOD, so I practiced kipping. If you don't do Cross Fit, then you might think the way we do pull ups is strange. We swing on the bar, using momentum and core strength to help out our arms. Up to now, I've always used a rubber band to give me the extra help I needed to do WODs with pull ups.
Then today, after about 10 tries, it suddenly made sense. I kipped a couple times, then went for it, and my chin actually made it over. I was so surprised that I let out a yelp, then shouted, "I did it!" To a room full of mostly people I had just met. I didn't even care, though. I was so happy I could have cried.
So I've done my first pull up. Problem is, I couldn't do a second tonight. It's like when I was learning how to gleek as a kid. Every once in awhile I could get my mouth to do it right, sending a skinny stream of saliva onto who or whatever. But I never quite knew exactly what I was doing, and I could rarely do it on command.
Right now, for the pull up, it's the same. The difference is I'm not giving up on this. I know I'm close to getting the rhythm right. I know I have it in me to do one. And if I can do that, it won't be long till I'm doing two, then three.
This picture is from after the WOD today (we did 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 kettlebell snatch, kettlebell swing, goblet squat). I was determined to do just one more, but my hands were already raw from the kettlebells. Got close on two then ripped my hand. Which is another first.
The other two hands are Forrest's -- he effed them up doing power cleans yesterday and the snatches today. Tough love...

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