A little over a month ago I challenged myself to improve my Fran time as much as possible in only 30 days. As the legend goes, Fran is the original CrossFit workout. It’s also the most notorious. A cardiovascular onslaught secretly masked as a strength routine. The type of workout that makes grown men cry:

Fran

21-15-9

Thrusters @ 95 lbs

Pullups



Complete 21 thrusters (a front squat into a push press) followed by 21 pullups, then 15 of each, then 9 of each…as fast as possible.

I started the Challenge with a Fran time of 5:09. My goal was to improve my time by 30 seconds in 30 days. I created a comprehensive workout plan for myself that included some strength work along with heaps of interval training. Many times I worked out twice in one day, but on the weekends I completely rested. I had hoped to not miss a workout, but a couple weeks in I realized that I was overtraining and needed to back off a bit. That being said, I still feel like I put everything I had into my training, and I don’t feel like I slacked off at all.

The equipment and supplements helped. During my initial benchmark I only wore a pair of gloves. Once my training began I decided to wear sleeves to protect my knees, and I took a steady supply of Extreme Endurance to minimize lactic acid buildup and day-after muscle soreness. Eventually I found that the high training volume was making it difficult to sleep well at night, so I started taking ZMA right before bed.

In the third week I PRed all of my lifts, and I was glad to see my strength improve. Plus, frequent running interval workouts drastically improved my ability to work harder, longer, while my cardio system is in overdrive. Unfortunately, I got sloppy with the form during one of my last running intervals, leading to a pulled gracilis muscle in my thigh which is causing some lingering knee pain.

I spent most of my fourth week resting, recovering, and mentally preparing for what was about to come. On the day of my final Fran test it was super hot and super humid, making it difficult to breathe. Still, I felt strong, although I was still too nervous to begin the workout. I have learned that it’s very difficult for me to start the clock before a Fran workout. It’s much better if someone does it for me, otherwise I’ll procrastinate for a really long time. It’s hard to subject yourself to that much imminent pain. Luckily someone started a clock for me, and when it beeped 3-2-1 I gripped the bar, cleaned it up, and got to work. This time I had Ryne, one of my coaches, cheering me on. His yelling really helped me push through at the very end when I got stuck on pullups.

30 Days of Fran - Final Benchmark from Gil Hildebrand on Vimeo.

I ended up doing the second set of 15 thrusters unbroken, which was a huge mental block for me. That set is just so fatiguing, and I was stoked that I was able to complete it without dropping the bar. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do the subsequent pullups unbroken, saying goodbye to my goal of completing the whole workout unbroken. I still have a ways to go.

All in all I completed Fran in 4:30, which is a 39 second PR, or 13% faster. I’m absolutely thrilled with my progress, as I really felt that I gave everything I could give to this Challenge. My thrusters improved considerably, with less knee buckling and more explosion into the push press. My pullup form still looks yucky, and despite practice I didn’t feel confident enough in my butterfly pullup technique to use it.

You’ll notice that the video is over 7 minutes long: that’s because I decided not to edit out the few minutes immediately following Fran. If there’s anything I’ve learned about this workout, it’s that the real pain doesn’t begin until the workout is done, and that it takes several times as long to recover as it does to complete it. After I stopped the video I sat down for a few more minutes. Then I stood up and got that watery feeling in the back of my throat. A telltale sign that something bad was imminent. I strolled outside and kneeled in the grass. Moments later it all came bubbling up, and the excessive amount of water I drank after completing Fran was vomitted into the grass. Yes, that’s right, I threw up after doing Fran. It’s not something I’m proud of, nor advocate, but it did leave me with the sense that I gave it my all.

What’s next?

After the Challenge I took a solid week off. I love doing intensive Challenges like this, but I need some time to recover before I set a new goal. Until then I’m enjoying my box’s normal class WODs, and I’m hoping to maintain all of the incredible cardio endurance I developed. I’m ending the summer feeling accomplished and contented.

Stay posted for my next Challenge…