CrossFit Eva - Again!

Eva is a b*tch!

I wrote about Eva here the last time we did this workout.

The workout is named for Eva Twardokens.  Eva spent about a dozen years on the US Ski team. She is in the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.  She was one of the original participants in what became CrossFit.  She is still a trainer at CrossFit Santa Cruz Central.  She also works as a personal trainer.  Besides the workout that bears her name, along with two other CF legends (Annie and Nicole), she is one of the original CF Nasty Girls:



In short, the real Eva is a bad-a**.

The Eva workout is very simple:

5 rounds, as quickly as possible
Run 800 meters
30 kettlebell swings
30 pull-ups

I first did this workout on 5/7/2012.  I used 35# kettlebells (the prescribed weight for men is 70#), and I used assistance bands for the pull-ups.  I don't do kipping pull-ups.  It took me 51:36 to finish the workout that day.

I did the workout again on 10/17/2012.  I used the same kettlebells and assistance bands.  I improved my time to 45:31.  My comment in my training log for the next day was short and sweet: "Eva trashed my arms.  Needed a rest day."

In the last six months, I've been using 53# kettlebells for most workouts.  Last Saturday, I did 120 reps at that weight as part of the workout, so I decided it was time to use the heavier kettlebells for Eva.

My first round took just about 8:15.  I tore a callus on my hand during the first set of pull-ups and knew this would be an issue for the rest of the workout.  My second round took just over 10 minutes and I had to use a lot of chalk to cover the open skin on my hand.  At this point in time, it was clear that my best time was not possible using the heavier kettlebell.  But, I was sure I could beat my slower time and maybe I could get under 50 minutes.

The third round took just under 10 minutes.  The fourth round took almost 11 minutes.  And, as I started my last 30 pull-ups in the 5th round, I had about 100 seconds to complete those pull-ups to finish under 50 minutes.  I made it by 4 seconds.

I'm guessing my workout log for today will say something like this: "Eva trashed my arms.  Needed a rest day.  Went fly fishing with my son".