As of today, I have been on the planet for exactly 20,089 days, which makes today my 55th birthday!
A lot of women probably don’t want to turn 55 but I have been longing for 55. Two reasons: 1. My employer provides lifetime medical benefits to employees 55+ who have worked at the company for at least 20 years. 2. Weights and movements are scaled for 55+ Masters in the CrossFit Open.
In other words, I don’t have to lift as much weight or throw as heavy a damn wall ball as you do! Na-na-na-na-boo-boo.
The lifetime medical benefits are great. However, the odds of me ever retiring are pretty slim so I may never get a chance to use them. Still, I earned them and that’s all that matters.
As for the scaled weights and movement, I intend to take ruthless advantage of that advantage. Ruthless.
For example, here was the Week 1 WOD that I did last year:
WOMEN – includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
- 40 Burpees
- 45 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 30 Burpees
- 75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 20 Burpees
- 100 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 10 burpees
- 120 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible
And here’s the 55+ ladies’ WOD
MASTERS WOMEN – includes Masters Women 55+
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees- 35 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 30 Burpees
- 55 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 20 Burpees
- 75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
- 10 burpees
- 90 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible
See where I’m going here? There’s a big difference between a 55# snatch and a 75# snatch. Like a 20 pound difference. It gets better, I now get to use a 10# wall ball – which I didn’t even know we had – instead of the 14# wall ball. Four pounds makes a big difference.
I now get to do jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups instead of regular chest-to-bar pull-ups. I don’t know what a jumping chest-to-bar pull-up is but it can’t be harder than a regular C2B, can it?
It kind of feels like I’m getting a AARP discount on my lifts and movements and by-golly, I deserve it. So, to honor this special day I’m going to work on my 35# snatches and see what a 10# wall ball feels like. Ah, the privileges of age: wrinkles, gray hair and jumping C2Bs – whatever they are.
Maybe some non-paleo cake, too.
