The WORKOUT
Our box owner programs the Lullaby WOD from time to time (he came up with it). If you are unfamiliar, it is as follows:Buy into each minute with 5 power snatches at 95lbs and complete 100 burpees. Then after you've accumulated the 100 burpees, you must accumulate 500 Double unders. This time you have a buy in on the minute of 5 overhead squats with 95lbs. There is a 40 minute time cap.
The ATHLETES
I started crossfit at 40 and prior to that was an ultramarathoner and adventure racer for 13 years so I had an abundance of aerobic capacity. The first 2 times I tried this WOD I didn't finish itMy buddy Cory is a former Collegiate soccer player and is a lumbersexual.
The ENERGY SYSTEMS
ATP-This is what we use for energy.
Phosphagen system. Used for durations of up to 10 seconds. Neither uses oxygen nor produces lactic acid. Primary system behind very short, powerful movements like a golf swing, a 100 m sprint, or powerlifting. Replenished by creatine phosphate in the muscles. Glycolitic system. Known as anaerobic glycolysis. Used for exercises that are performed at maximum rates for between 30 seconds and 2-3 minutes without enough oxygen. Refers to the breakdown of sugar to supply the necessary energy from which ATP is manufactured. However when sugar is metabolized anaerobically, it is only partially broken down and one of the by-products is lactic acid. As a result, muscles lose their ability to contract effectively, and muscle force production and exercise intensity ultimately decrease.
Aerobic system. Used for long durations. By 5 minutes this is the dominant system. Requires oxygen to give a lot of ATP, but...you have to wait for it. Steady work where breathing stays under control.
Aerobic and anaerobic systems usually work concurrently. When describing activity it is not which energy system is working but which predominates.
The APPROACHES
Cory. Finished just after the 29th minute. Cory planned to get 10 burpees a minute. He also planned to take a few "Barbell Only" minutes when at RedLine (which mostly happened because planned reps took him to the end of a minute)
He had about 3 barbell only minutes during the Burpee portion and finished at about 14 minutes.
He would start his DU's at the 30 second point of each minute and do as many DU's as he could until the top of the minute then do his 5 OHS and then wait till the middle of the minute to do more DU's.
He had another 3 barbell only rounds during the DU's.
Travis. Finished just after 30th minute.
The last time I tried this WOD, I set out average 7 burpees a minute hoping to finish in 15 minutes. It killed me and I finished burpees in 24 minutes. So this time I knew I had to do something different because my HR was jacking up too much last time and I could barely do 4 burpees on some minutes and I HAD to take barbell only minutes.
So out of the gate I chose to front load my burpees and go for 10 burpees in the 1st minute, then 9 the next, then 8, 7, 6 and on down to 5 per minute. Once I got to 5 per minute I held that pace until 80 reps and then adrenaline got me to do 6,7,7. Done in about 17 minutes.
Now I KNEW I was likely to finish if I stuck to the plan. I decided to just do DU's until I had 20-25 seconds left each minute (like the burpees) and then I would rest. I averaged 35-40 per minute and got done at 30:40. Not only finishing but KILLING my last 2 tries at this WOD.
The ANALYSIS
Cory's ability to work anerobically made his strategy of pushing hard for 3-4 minutes and then resting for a 1 minute to recover work fantastic for him. When I tried that last time, it didn't work at all because I just could not come back from 3-4 minutes of hard work.
I on the other hand turned it into small intense bursts of work in the beginning when I had the capacity and then turned it into a very slow controlled grind with built in recovery periods. I take creatine supplements daily and I'm very good at working at 80% for a loooong time. But ask me to work in that anerobic system and I suck.
