Scrat Roars

My gym is different from your gym. Not to say that my gym is better.

Except that it’s better.

Ha ha. OK, fine. I’ll add one tiny prepositional phrase: it’s better for me.

I never thought I would look forward to going to a gym, but I do. I actually look forward to going to my gym. I’ve documented how much I love CrossFit here, here, here, and here. But there are myriad other reasons. For one thing, I love that they tell me what to do and I don’t have to think about it. I dig the fact that there are no mirrors—it’s never about how you look; it’s about what you can do. And I get all giddy about seeing the friends I’ve made there.

In some ways, though, my gym is just a gym. Dudes call each other pussies. “Sweet Cherry Pie” is on heavy rotation. There’s dropping of barbells and grunting.

And, I have to admit, I have surrendered to the siren call of dropping a bar with a bunch of bumper plates on it. First of all, often it’s absolutely necessary—you’re lifting an amount of weight that would be dangerous to lower to the ground. But more importantly, when you’ve just hit a new clean & jerk PR and you drop that heavy-ass barbell, it makes the most satisfying sound when it hits the floor. My friend Steve once wrote to a bunch of us about his emergency medicine internship. He told grisly tales of gunshot wounds to the head and shit, but the image that has stuck with me all these years later was of him and his cohorts standing in line in the cafeteria when a chorus of beepers sang out from their belts. All those white coats dropped their trays in unison and bolted for the ER.

Come on. That is some badass shit.

Dropping a heavy bar two feet in front of me is about the closest I’m ever gonna come to being that much of a BMF.

I always drew the line at grunting though. I mean, I make little runty-pig noises when I do push-ups and stuff, and when I’m trying to crack up my friend Erin, I’ll make this belabored “Eeeeeeeee!” sound

that she likens to the squirrel in Ice Age.

But never during lifts. No this-is-Sparta crap at the top of a front squat.

Well…

See, the WOD today involved a bunch of front squats, wall ball shots (pitching a medicine ball 9′ up a wall with a full squat at the bottom), and kettlebell swings.

One could argue that I sometimes go too light on WOD weights. It’s not that I’m afraid I’ll be last. I’m always last. I’m used to that. It’s that I’m afraid I’ll be so far last that people’s children will be at home sobbing from hunger pangs. Or worse, I’ll have a DNF. I’ve hated a lot of WODs; I’ve cursed a blue streak; I even kinda puked in my mouth once. But I’ve never logged a Did Not Finish.

So sue me, I go a little light on the weight, just to be sure.

Tonight, I was supposed to front squat 75% of my bodyweight. Ha! That’s, like, 130 pounds. My one-rep max is 115. I went for just under 75% of that: 83 pounds.

It was hard. It was so hard. The workout was a 21-15-9, which meant that you did 21 of each movement, followed by 15, then 9. I was breaking up the first round of front squats into 4 to 5 reps at a time. When I came up on about the twelfth rep, my lungs and throat emitted this great “Uhh!”…and I realized why people grunt.

It feels good.

It makes the lift easier too.

But mostly it makes you feel like a mythical beast.

I probably sounded like the squirrel from Ice Age, but I felt like a dragon. Rarrrr!

I love my gym.

2,046 thoughts on “Scrat Roars”

  1. Hi! This post couldn’t be written any better!
    Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
    He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this
    write-up to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read.

    Thank you for sharing!

  2. Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog thus i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to
    improve my website!I suppose its ok to use a few of your
    ideas!!

  3. Excellent beat ! I wish to apprentice at the same time as you amend your website,
    how can i subscribe for a blog website? The account helped
    me a appropriate deal. I were a little bit familiar of this your broadcast provided vivid clear idea

  4. Greate article. Keep posting such kind of info on your blog.
    Im really impressed by your blog.
    Hello there, You have done a fantastic job. I’ll definitely digg it and
    for my part recommend to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from
    this website.

  5. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.

    The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish.
    nonetheless, you command get bought an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following.
    unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you
    shield this hike.

  6. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I
    in finding this topic to be actually one thing which I think I would never understand.
    It seems too complicated and extremely wide for me. I am taking a
    look ahead to your next submit, I’ll attempt to get the hold of it!

  7. I have been surfing online more than 4 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all
    site owners and bloggers made good content as you
    did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  8. I savor, lead to I discovered exactly what I used to be taking a
    look for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man.
    Have a nice day. Bye

  9. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a doubt donate to this outstanding blog!
    I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS
    feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about
    this website with my Facebook group. Talk soon!

  10. Link exchange is nothing else however it is only
    placing the other person’s web site link on your page at appropriate place and other person will
    also do similar for you.

  11. Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
    Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!

    Thanks

  12. Thank you for some other informative web site.
    The place else could I am getting that type of information written in such a perfect method?
    I have a undertaking that I’m simply now operating on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such information.

  13. Hi would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re
    utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different browsers and
    I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
    Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a fair price?
    Cheers, I appreciate it!

  14. When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked
    the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from
    now on every time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with
    the exact same comment. There has to be a way you can remove me from that service?
    Appreciate it!

  15. I’m extremely pleased to discover this great
    site. I wanted to thank you for ones time due to this
    fantastic read!! I definitely savored every bit of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to see new things in your site.

  16. Singapore’s meritocracy highlights t?e importance of secondary school math tuition f?r building y?ur child’s academic portfolio f?om Secondary 1.

    You see lah, Singapore ?lways first ?n international math, ?ery gao lat!

    Moms and dads, empower knowledge t?rough Singapore math tuition’s analysis.
    Secondary math tuition constructs expertise. Enroll ?n secondary 1 math tuition fo? conversions.

    Seconbdary 2 math tuition integrates approach ?f numbers.
    Secondary 2 math tuition questions principles. ?hought-provoking secondary 2 math tuition deepens gratitude.

    Secondary 2 math tuition promotes minds.

    Secondary 3 math exams ?re essential, preceding O-Levels,
    whe?e spaces can ?e damaging. Standing out enhances
    creative expressions ?ia geometry. In Singapore, ?t aligns with development centers.

    Secondary 4 exams celebrate skill ?n Singapore’s ?ystem.
    Secondary 4 math tuition art ?ork archive. Th?s
    disciplines combine O-Level. Secondary 4 math tuition commemorates.

    Mathematics transcends exam boundaries; ?t’s
    a cornerstone talent ?n the AI era, powering blockchain analytics.

    ?o excel ?t math, build ? love f?r it and u?e mathematical principles ?n real-worl? daily routines.

    Practicing ?ast math papers f?om multiple Singapore schools ?s
    important for mastering data interpretation questions.

    Online math tuition ?-learning in Singapore boosts ?esults ?? integrating parental
    involvement tools ?ike shared dashboards.

    Eh ?ia, chill leh, secondary school in Singapore safe, no extra
    pressure ?lease.

    Exploratory modules ?t OMT urge innovative p?oblem-solving, helping trainees discover math’? artistry ?nd
    feel motivated f?r test accomplishments.

    Discover t?? benefit of 24/7 online math tuition ?t OMT,
    w?ere interesting resources make discovering fun ?nd effective f?r all levels.

    Singapore’? focus ?n ?mportant thinking through mathematics highlights t?e ?mportance of math tuition, ?hich helps
    trainees develop t?e analytical abilities required b? the country’s forward-thinking syllabus.

    ?hrough math tuition, trainees practice PSLE-style questions ?n averages ?nd graphs,
    improving accuracy ?nd speed under test conditions.

    Tuition cultivates advanced ?roblem-solving abilities,
    important fo? fixing the complex, multi-step concerns that ?pecify ? Level
    math obstacles.

    ?? u?ing comprehensive exercise w?th past ALevel test documents, math tuition acquaints trainees ?ith concern styles ?nd marking plans
    f?r optimum efficiency.

    Distinctly tailored tto complement t?e MOE syllabus, OMT’s personalized math
    program integrates technology-driven devices f?r interactive
    understanding experiences.

    Taped sessions ?n OMT’s system let you rewind and replay lah, ensuring you comprehend every concept fo? excellent
    test ?esults.

    By integrating technology, online math tuition involves digital-native Singapore students f?r interactive exam revision.

    ?lso visit m? website psle math tuition centre singapore

  17. Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your website, how can i subscribe for a weblog website?
    The account aided me a acceptable deal. I were a little bit familiar of
    this your broadcast provided vibrant transparent concept

  18. I was extremely pleased to discover this website. I wanted to thank you for
    ones time just for this wonderful read!! I
    definitely savored every part of it and I have you bookmarked to see new things on your blog.

  19. I think that everything posted was actually very logical.
    But, what about this? suppose you added a little information?
    I ain’t saying your content isn’t solid., but suppose you added something that makes people desire more?
    I mean Scrat Roars is kinda plain. You could glance
    at Yahoo’s home page and see how they create post titles to grab viewers to open the links.
    You might try adding a video or a related pic or two to get people interested about what you’ve
    written. Just my opinion, it would bring your blog a little bit more interesting.

Leave a Reply to Ucanpack Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *