Worked everything this week, so I decide to do some power snatch and overhead squat work.
Did mobility first and stretched everything. Back, glutes, ankles, shoulders, aductors, the works.
Was having trouble getting a stable bottom postion. Seb helped me out, suggesting getting into an above parallel squat position to work the position before lowering down, and that seemed to work really well. I'll try doing more of that.
After than I focused on power snatch, and got up to 125# fairly easily (my current PR).
Tried for 135#, a step closer to that elusive 140# goal. But couldn't get it.
I told Seb about my 2 year old 140# goal, and he said go for it. So with him at my side I added another 5# and gave it a go.
Came so close. Tried 3 times. No doubt I could've hit 130#, maybe even 135# given what I did at 140#.
Good day.
Friday 28 November 2014
Thursday 27 November 2014
Strength log for Thursday, November 27th
Quick strength session.
Front squats, 3 sets of 5 at 80% of max. 205#. Worked up rather quickly, and it felt hard, but not unbearably hard. Worked through the 3 sets and got out.
Just needed to get it done. Laying bricks.
Front squats, 3 sets of 5 at 80% of max. 205#. Worked up rather quickly, and it felt hard, but not unbearably hard. Worked through the 3 sets and got out.
Just needed to get it done. Laying bricks.
Crossfit log for Thursday, November 27th
Coach must be trying to kill us.
Revisited the 50s workout (reduce to 25s for us mortals). Last time I did this was May 20th, but they also did this on July 17th, which I apparently missed.
Started with a 1 clean + 4 push press complex 4 times through, worked with Kamil. We did the first two sets at 135# and then upped it to 155#, I failed on the last push press of the last set. So good choice of weight.
Then the WOD, last time I did it Rx, but didn't remember it. Coach went on about how Games athletes were doing 185#, so scale appropriately. So being the smart person I am, I went with 155#. So now I can't really compare both performances.
Chipper for time:
-50 calorie row
-25 over the box jumps
-25 dead lifts 185#
-25 wall balls 20# ball
-25 ring dips
-25 wall balls
-25 dead lifts
-25 over the box jumps
I made it to 33 calories holding 1 cal per pull. Overall the row took me just over 2 and half minutes.
There were a lot of step ups for the box jump overs.
Even at 155# the dead lifts were not easy, especially on the way back through.
Wall balls were good. For the ring dips I did 5, 5, 5, 5, 3+2, 2+1+1+1. Arms are shot from all the work this week.
Finished in 21:36 better than last time, but lighter dead lifts. Glad it's over.
Revisited the 50s workout (reduce to 25s for us mortals). Last time I did this was May 20th, but they also did this on July 17th, which I apparently missed.
Started with a 1 clean + 4 push press complex 4 times through, worked with Kamil. We did the first two sets at 135# and then upped it to 155#, I failed on the last push press of the last set. So good choice of weight.
Then the WOD, last time I did it Rx, but didn't remember it. Coach went on about how Games athletes were doing 185#, so scale appropriately. So being the smart person I am, I went with 155#. So now I can't really compare both performances.
Chipper for time:
-50 calorie row
-25 over the box jumps
-25 dead lifts 185#
-25 wall balls 20# ball
-25 ring dips
-25 wall balls
-25 dead lifts
-25 over the box jumps
I made it to 33 calories holding 1 cal per pull. Overall the row took me just over 2 and half minutes.
There were a lot of step ups for the box jump overs.
Even at 155# the dead lifts were not easy, especially on the way back through.
Wall balls were good. For the ring dips I did 5, 5, 5, 5, 3+2, 2+1+1+1. Arms are shot from all the work this week.
Finished in 21:36 better than last time, but lighter dead lifts. Glad it's over.
Wednesday 26 November 2014
Strength log for Wednesday, November 26th
I don't know why I bothered, but what else was there to do.
I tried for a third time to hit 3 single strict press at 95% of max (140#) despite the handstand push ups this morning.
I did squats yesterday, and more this morning, so that was a non-starter.
Whatever. I gave it my best and same as last time, one and two were okay (more of a fight than last time), but three was going nowhere.
Meh.
I'll get there.
I tried for a third time to hit 3 single strict press at 95% of max (140#) despite the handstand push ups this morning.
I did squats yesterday, and more this morning, so that was a non-starter.
Whatever. I gave it my best and same as last time, one and two were okay (more of a fight than last time), but three was going nowhere.
Meh.
I'll get there.
Crossfit log for Wednesday, November 26th
And the rough works just keep coming.
Started with back squats. 4 sets of 7, alternating with rope climbs, legless if you were able. I was not.
Decided on 70% of max for the squats, 205#. Good choice. Tried legless on the last climb but was to fatigued by then.
WOD was cash in, 3 rounds, cash out format.
20 minute cap
- 10 front squats 155# (scaled to 135#)
- 5 burpee muscle ups (scale to chest to bat pull ups)
Then 3 rounds of:
-10 kettle bell send 24kg
- 5 handstand push ups
- 5 power cleans, same bar
- 5 toes to bar
Then
- 10 front squats
- 5 burpee ctb
Like I said, rough.
Cleans seemed really heavy. Hspu were hard even with an ab mat. T2b went well, and kettle bell was like active recovery.
The front squats at the end were Hell.
Sure glad that's over. Time was 15:46
Tuesday 25 November 2014
Strength log for Tuesday, November 25th
Another successful workout on the books.
Started with physio homework, getting my right hip into the socket and hanging out there for a couple of minutes.
Did some lazy push ups with a couple of 45# plates on my butt.
Added some bretzels and even got up into a wall facing handstand, trying to touch toes and nose. Close, but not quite.
Did some ankle mobility work that Duane from the Y showed me. Kinda like this:
Then I had to decide what to do.
The only thing that made sense was bench. I wasn't fresh enough for a press 1 rep max attempt, squats were yesterday. I just finished the bench cycle, so I didn't need to go heavy.
Decided to try for max reps at 185#. That didn't work out so well when I ran out of juice at 5. Decided to salvage it by doing week 2 of the next strength cycle. 80% of my new max (230#) just happens to be 185#, so I did two more sets of 5 and called it a day.
Pretty stoked that I can hit 3 sets of 5 at 185#.
Started with physio homework, getting my right hip into the socket and hanging out there for a couple of minutes.
Did some lazy push ups with a couple of 45# plates on my butt.
Added some bretzels and even got up into a wall facing handstand, trying to touch toes and nose. Close, but not quite.
Did some ankle mobility work that Duane from the Y showed me. Kinda like this:
Then I had to decide what to do.
The only thing that made sense was bench. I wasn't fresh enough for a press 1 rep max attempt, squats were yesterday. I just finished the bench cycle, so I didn't need to go heavy.
Decided to try for max reps at 185#. That didn't work out so well when I ran out of juice at 5. Decided to salvage it by doing week 2 of the next strength cycle. 80% of my new max (230#) just happens to be 185#, so I did two more sets of 5 and called it a day.
Pretty stoked that I can hit 3 sets of 5 at 185#.
Crossfit log for Tuesday, November 25th Double PR day.
Epic day at Crossfit today.
Started with Power clean, find 1 rep max. In my mind my current max was 191#, but that was for a full clean, my actual power clean pr was 185# (from 14 months ago)
Worked with Kamil again, built up quickly with 95#, 135#, 155#, I negotiated an incremental step to 175# (the difference between knowing I could do it and not being sure).
Then we hit 185#, no problem. Upped it to 195#, still thinking my PR was 191#, first attempt bailed on the second pull.
Walked away and tried again. Now the coach's advice paid off. He said anything above parallel is still a power clean. Get under the bar, I you fail, you still get a regular clean, I don't want to see a fail for trying to catch it too high.
So that's what I did. Pulled hard, full extension, and dropped under the bar. Caught it like 6 inches above parallel. It was awesome. 10lbs PR.
Looking forward to more power work in the new year.
Then we did Fran.
I was so anxious. Flip flopping between, go for it and just get through it.
Fran: 21-15-9 of
- thursters 95#
- pull ups
This was my third time doing Fran Rx. Last December 23rd, so nearly a year ago, and last May 14th. 9 minutes flat and 8:55 respectively.
Tried to remember all the lessons I've learned along the way. First round unbroken, breathe during the thrusters, a lot, don't put the bar down. Get through the pull ups fast. Do as many thrusters as you can in the round of 15. Last 9 pull ups unbroken.
Go time. After 2 thrusters I remembered to breathe. Taking 3 breaths for each rep (one at the top, 2 in the front rack before each rep). Don't rush, be systematic. Made it to 17 before I rested in the front rack for a couple of seconds.
Somehow couldn't find my rhythm on the pull ups, dropped after 7, tried again right away, still awkward at 11, dropped again, but took a step back then jumped up again and found it. for the last 10.
First back to the bar, almost the same time as Justin. Chest was heaving, told myself to just get through 5. Did that two more times. Trying to keep the breaks short. Pull ups went better, made to 11, then quicly back up for 4 more.
Had to drink a couple of times. Creatine leaves my throat parched as soon as the heavy breathing starts. That didn't really cost me any time, I wouldn't have been starting up any faster without the water.
Almost done. Clock already over 7 minutes. Grab the bar thinking: do 3. Made it to 5. Stoked, maybe I can break 8:00. A few deep breaths hammer out four more. 7:43. Jump on the pull up bar. Hammer out 9 unbroken. 8:06.
I'll take it! 54 second PR on Fran at Rx. That ain't nothing.
Next time. Warm up the pull ups. Find my rhythm. When my focus shifts to met con and power, this will definitely improve. My best Fran time ever was 6:36 at 85#. I want to break that. I want my fastest Fran time to be Rx.
Happy with the double PR. Great way to start a Tuesday.
Progress update:
Power Clean PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 195lbs Nov 25, 2014 (up from 185lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch*: 135# (up from 130#) Nov 21, 2014
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
*from the hang
Started with Power clean, find 1 rep max. In my mind my current max was 191#, but that was for a full clean, my actual power clean pr was 185# (from 14 months ago)
Worked with Kamil again, built up quickly with 95#, 135#, 155#, I negotiated an incremental step to 175# (the difference between knowing I could do it and not being sure).
Then we hit 185#, no problem. Upped it to 195#, still thinking my PR was 191#, first attempt bailed on the second pull.
Walked away and tried again. Now the coach's advice paid off. He said anything above parallel is still a power clean. Get under the bar, I you fail, you still get a regular clean, I don't want to see a fail for trying to catch it too high.
So that's what I did. Pulled hard, full extension, and dropped under the bar. Caught it like 6 inches above parallel. It was awesome. 10lbs PR.
Looking forward to more power work in the new year.
Then we did Fran.
I was so anxious. Flip flopping between, go for it and just get through it.
Fran: 21-15-9 of
- thursters 95#
- pull ups
This was my third time doing Fran Rx. Last December 23rd, so nearly a year ago, and last May 14th. 9 minutes flat and 8:55 respectively.
Tried to remember all the lessons I've learned along the way. First round unbroken, breathe during the thrusters, a lot, don't put the bar down. Get through the pull ups fast. Do as many thrusters as you can in the round of 15. Last 9 pull ups unbroken.
Go time. After 2 thrusters I remembered to breathe. Taking 3 breaths for each rep (one at the top, 2 in the front rack before each rep). Don't rush, be systematic. Made it to 17 before I rested in the front rack for a couple of seconds.
Somehow couldn't find my rhythm on the pull ups, dropped after 7, tried again right away, still awkward at 11, dropped again, but took a step back then jumped up again and found it. for the last 10.
First back to the bar, almost the same time as Justin. Chest was heaving, told myself to just get through 5. Did that two more times. Trying to keep the breaks short. Pull ups went better, made to 11, then quicly back up for 4 more.
Had to drink a couple of times. Creatine leaves my throat parched as soon as the heavy breathing starts. That didn't really cost me any time, I wouldn't have been starting up any faster without the water.
Almost done. Clock already over 7 minutes. Grab the bar thinking: do 3. Made it to 5. Stoked, maybe I can break 8:00. A few deep breaths hammer out four more. 7:43. Jump on the pull up bar. Hammer out 9 unbroken. 8:06.
I'll take it! 54 second PR on Fran at Rx. That ain't nothing.
Next time. Warm up the pull ups. Find my rhythm. When my focus shifts to met con and power, this will definitely improve. My best Fran time ever was 6:36 at 85#. I want to break that. I want my fastest Fran time to be Rx.
Happy with the double PR. Great way to start a Tuesday.
Progress update:
Power Clean PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 195lbs Nov 25, 2014 (up from 185lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch*: 135# (up from 130#) Nov 21, 2014
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
*from the hang
Monday 24 November 2014
Strength log for Monday, November 24th
Was supposed to do strict press PR attempt, but after the overhead squats and snatches this morning, I decided at the last minute to go with back squats and either do the press workout on a day I bail on Crossfit, or we have minimal overhead work that day.
We'll see.
So back squats. Plan is to hit 3 sets of 5 at 80% of max. So 235#, but I had to put a little extra and made it 240#. Don't know why. Well I do, the last two workouts I rounded up generously and was happy with the results.
This pattern held today.
Worked up rather quickly with 95#, 135#, 185# and 205#, then jumped to 240#
All three sets were up/down. Nice and deep. I remember one rep where I went forward onto my toes, but that was only once, everything else was gold.
Happy with that.
We'll see.
So back squats. Plan is to hit 3 sets of 5 at 80% of max. So 235#, but I had to put a little extra and made it 240#. Don't know why. Well I do, the last two workouts I rounded up generously and was happy with the results.
This pattern held today.
Worked up rather quickly with 95#, 135#, 185# and 205#, then jumped to 240#
All three sets were up/down. Nice and deep. I remember one rep where I went forward onto my toes, but that was only once, everything else was gold.
Happy with that.
Crossfit log for Monday, November 24th
Got to bed a bit late last night + Ate like crap all weekend = really didn't want to get out of bed this morning.
Clearly I did anyway and naturally I'm glad I did.
Once again we worked overhead squats, in a 4 sets of 3 format.
Warmed up as best I could. Working with Kamil we started out at 95#, that went well.
He upped it to 115#, I really struggled, got 2 and the third just wasn't deep enough. It was so hard to stabilize the shoulders, I went back down to 95# after that. Which was nice because I could count my last warm up set as a working set. Ha.
After that we did snatch grip dead lifts 4 sets of 4. Did 155# happy with that.
The WOD was only 2 rounds but wow. 20 minute cap.
- 10 snatches @ 115# (yeah, scaled to 75# after putting my shoulder through the wringer on the squats).
- 20 dumbbell snatches 70# (yeah scaled to 50#)
- 30 wall balls 20#
- 40 double unders
Almost didn't make the cut off. Snatches were okay, some were pretty wobbly. Dumbbell snatches were tedious.
Wall balls went really well, 15 and 15, really quick.
Double unders were a disaster. Kept missing, must've got 7 failed attempt in a row. My level of frustration was really really high. Somehow managed to get through them.
Round 2, the snatches were much nicer, solid. Did 5 the a break then 4 and 1.
Dumbbell snatches were the same, wall balls too, 15 and 15, nice and quick. The break between the sets was a bit longer.
With time running out, I got my double unders together enough to finished with 4 seconds left. 19:56.
Ugh. I hate double unders.
Clearly I did anyway and naturally I'm glad I did.
Once again we worked overhead squats, in a 4 sets of 3 format.
Warmed up as best I could. Working with Kamil we started out at 95#, that went well.
He upped it to 115#, I really struggled, got 2 and the third just wasn't deep enough. It was so hard to stabilize the shoulders, I went back down to 95# after that. Which was nice because I could count my last warm up set as a working set. Ha.
After that we did snatch grip dead lifts 4 sets of 4. Did 155# happy with that.
The WOD was only 2 rounds but wow. 20 minute cap.
- 10 snatches @ 115# (yeah, scaled to 75# after putting my shoulder through the wringer on the squats).
- 20 dumbbell snatches 70# (yeah scaled to 50#)
- 30 wall balls 20#
- 40 double unders
Almost didn't make the cut off. Snatches were okay, some were pretty wobbly. Dumbbell snatches were tedious.
Wall balls went really well, 15 and 15, really quick.
Double unders were a disaster. Kept missing, must've got 7 failed attempt in a row. My level of frustration was really really high. Somehow managed to get through them.
Round 2, the snatches were much nicer, solid. Did 5 the a break then 4 and 1.
Dumbbell snatches were the same, wall balls too, 15 and 15, nice and quick. The break between the sets was a bit longer.
With time running out, I got my double unders together enough to finished with 4 seconds left. 19:56.
Ugh. I hate double unders.
Friday 21 November 2014
Crossfit log for Friday, November 21st
Another tough day at Physics.
Started with hang snatch. Find your 1 rep max.
Haven't tested snatch in a long while. After 95#in warm up I jumped to 125#, 5#less than my snatch PR.
Went up easily.
Kyle and Pat were at 135# already so I borrowed their bar for essentially a snatch PR attempt.
It was a really good lift, but I caught it high, somewhere between a split jerk and a split snatch. So I felt confident going up in weight.
With that much power, if I could get deep like I have been lately, 145# should be doable.
First attempt caught my belt on the way up, which is why you don't wear a belt for snatch. At least it meant I was keeping it close to my body. I tried one more time, without the belt but it wasn't happening. Kinda wish I'd tried 140#, but hey, I'll take the PR.
WOD was a format we've done before, open with overhead squat combo, 3 rounds of something overhead and pull ups, close out with the same as the opener. This time it was:
- 15 ohs + 15 ctb pull ups
3 rounds of:
-10 thrusters
-5 muscle ups/dips
- 15 ohs + 15 ctb pull ups
Took a couple of tries to get started on the ohs, but the ctb went way better than expected, even chained a couple together!
After the first 10 thrusters I was completely out of breath. Thankfully I'm good at dips but that put me right back the bar for more thrusters.
Laboured my way through them and finally got back to the ohs. Ugh.
Managed 5. Then went all out to finish them off, but on the last one, I couldn't get out of the hole and bailed forward. Crap, I was done, now I had to snatch it up again and reposition for one lousy rep.
Again the ctb went shockingly well. Got 5 off the bat, then 4 and finally the last one.
Finished in 16:42, which is not great but a lot of things went really well in that workout. A good tough day at Crossfit.
Progress update: Strangely enough my last PR was also bench. Hmmm.....
Bench Press PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 135# (up from 130#) Nov 21, 2014 (from the hang position)
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
Started with hang snatch. Find your 1 rep max.
Haven't tested snatch in a long while. After 95#in warm up I jumped to 125#, 5#less than my snatch PR.
Went up easily.
Kyle and Pat were at 135# already so I borrowed their bar for essentially a snatch PR attempt.
It was a really good lift, but I caught it high, somewhere between a split jerk and a split snatch. So I felt confident going up in weight.
With that much power, if I could get deep like I have been lately, 145# should be doable.
First attempt caught my belt on the way up, which is why you don't wear a belt for snatch. At least it meant I was keeping it close to my body. I tried one more time, without the belt but it wasn't happening. Kinda wish I'd tried 140#, but hey, I'll take the PR.
WOD was a format we've done before, open with overhead squat combo, 3 rounds of something overhead and pull ups, close out with the same as the opener. This time it was:
- 15 ohs + 15 ctb pull ups
3 rounds of:
-10 thrusters
-5 muscle ups/dips
- 15 ohs + 15 ctb pull ups
Took a couple of tries to get started on the ohs, but the ctb went way better than expected, even chained a couple together!
After the first 10 thrusters I was completely out of breath. Thankfully I'm good at dips but that put me right back the bar for more thrusters.
Laboured my way through them and finally got back to the ohs. Ugh.
Managed 5. Then went all out to finish them off, but on the last one, I couldn't get out of the hole and bailed forward. Crap, I was done, now I had to snatch it up again and reposition for one lousy rep.
Again the ctb went shockingly well. Got 5 off the bat, then 4 and finally the last one.
Finished in 16:42, which is not great but a lot of things went really well in that workout. A good tough day at Crossfit.
Progress update: Strangely enough my last PR was also bench. Hmmm.....
Bench Press PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 135# (up from 130#) Nov 21, 2014 (from the hang position)
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
Thursday 20 November 2014
Strength log for Thursday, November 20th
Front squats.
Another meeting at 1pm, so went early and hurried through.
Hit 5 sets of 5 at 195# at bit more than 75% of max.
Felt good. Gonna set some new records this cycle, I can tell.
Another meeting at 1pm, so went early and hurried through.
Hit 5 sets of 5 at 195# at bit more than 75% of max.
Felt good. Gonna set some new records this cycle, I can tell.
Crossfit log for Thursday, November 20th
Yet another workout I had to take a picture of it because I wasn't sure I'd be able to remember it all.
Strength was a clean, press and jerk complex:
1 clean + 2 push press + 1 jerk 4 sets max weight possible to maintain for 4 sets. Rest as needed.
Planned on 155# and I was bang on. Might have been able to go a bit heavier but the push presses would have really sucked.
The WOD was a 15 min workout with a long cash-in and a short AMRAP with whatever time was left.
- 50 calorie row
- 40 double unders
- 30 box jumps 24"/20"
- 20 front squats 115#/75#
- 10 handstand push ups
AMRAP remaining time:
- 4 toes to bar
- 6 cleans 115#/ 75#
- 8 wall balls 20#/14#
Yeah.
Row took 3 minutes. 54 pulls. Two first pulls didn't register any calories, then 1 calorie per pull until 30cal where pull #31 didn't increase the calorie count. Again at 40 calories, lost another one. Kamil, who rows a lot, got off the rower maybe 15 seconds ahead of me.
Double unders, well, you can guess. A couple of strings of 10-12 saved the day, mostly 4 or less. Many false starts.
Box jumps, slow and steady.
Front squats did 5, and planned to do 3 more sets of 5, but in the second set I just kept going to 8, and finished off with 7.
Sadly only managed 5 hspu, my only scale of the workout.
Started the AMRAP with less than 4 minutes left. 4 t2b, no problem, 6 cleans, not fun. Coming out of the bottom sucked. Wall balls went okay.
The cleans had taken the wind out of my sails, took everything I had to get the last 3 t2b before the time was up.
Good workout.
Strength was a clean, press and jerk complex:
1 clean + 2 push press + 1 jerk 4 sets max weight possible to maintain for 4 sets. Rest as needed.
Planned on 155# and I was bang on. Might have been able to go a bit heavier but the push presses would have really sucked.
The WOD was a 15 min workout with a long cash-in and a short AMRAP with whatever time was left.
- 50 calorie row
- 40 double unders
- 30 box jumps 24"/20"
- 20 front squats 115#/75#
- 10 handstand push ups
AMRAP remaining time:
- 4 toes to bar
- 6 cleans 115#/ 75#
- 8 wall balls 20#/14#
Yeah.
Row took 3 minutes. 54 pulls. Two first pulls didn't register any calories, then 1 calorie per pull until 30cal where pull #31 didn't increase the calorie count. Again at 40 calories, lost another one. Kamil, who rows a lot, got off the rower maybe 15 seconds ahead of me.
Double unders, well, you can guess. A couple of strings of 10-12 saved the day, mostly 4 or less. Many false starts.
Box jumps, slow and steady.
Front squats did 5, and planned to do 3 more sets of 5, but in the second set I just kept going to 8, and finished off with 7.
Sadly only managed 5 hspu, my only scale of the workout.
Started the AMRAP with less than 4 minutes left. 4 t2b, no problem, 6 cleans, not fun. Coming out of the bottom sucked. Wall balls went okay.
The cleans had taken the wind out of my sails, took everything I had to get the last 3 t2b before the time was up.
Good workout.
Wednesday 19 November 2014
Strength log for Wednesday, November 19th
Bench day.
Had a 1:00pm meeting so I had to hurry. Freed from my physio work except for one stretch for only 2 minutes, I jump on the bench right away.
Compressed the warm up, 65# for 8, 95# for 8, 135# for 5, 185# for 3, 205# for a single, the jumped right to 230#.
Was more than a bit scared. Got Seb to spot me, with strict instruction not to touch the bar unless I called for help or was clearly in trouble.
Wasn't needed.
It was a fight to be sure, left side struggled more, which is a bit surprising. Butt came off the bench a fraction of an inch, but I fought it through to lockout.
Very happy with that.
Progress update: Strangely enough my last PR was also bench. Hmmm.....
Bench Press PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 130# July 22, 2013
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
Had a 1:00pm meeting so I had to hurry. Freed from my physio work except for one stretch for only 2 minutes, I jump on the bench right away.
Compressed the warm up, 65# for 8, 95# for 8, 135# for 5, 185# for 3, 205# for a single, the jumped right to 230#.
Was more than a bit scared. Got Seb to spot me, with strict instruction not to touch the bar unless I called for help or was clearly in trouble.
Wasn't needed.
It was a fight to be sure, left side struggled more, which is a bit surprising. Butt came off the bench a fraction of an inch, but I fought it through to lockout.
Very happy with that.
Progress update: Strangely enough my last PR was also bench. Hmmm.....
Bench Press PR.
Strength:
Bench: 230lbs November 19, 2014 (up from 225lbs)
Dead Lift: 365lbs September 17, 2014 (up from 355lbs)
Press: 145lbs September 9, 2014 (up from 140lbs)
Back Squat: 295lbs September 12, 2014 (up from 285lbs)
Front Squat: 255# September 3, 2014 (up from 250#)
Overhead squat: 115# April 10th, 2014
Power:
Power Clean: 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs)
Power snatch: 125lbs Mar, 27, 2014 (up from 115lbs)
Push Press: 185# (up from 175#) Sept 15, 2014
Clean: 191# (up from 185#) July 29, 2014
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 130# July 22, 2013
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013
Physio log for Wednesday, November 19th
Green light given to resume squats and dead lifts.
As expected, my devotion to my homework has paid off. Next weakness revealed, which was technically already known but was made irrelevant until the greater weakness was corrected, aka now.
My new stretch look like this:
But I sag my bodyweight into the knee on the ground, to push my hip into the capsule then bring my body in the direction of my head to open up the hip a bit then lean towards the bent hip to stretch the glute while forcing the hip into the capsule. All while pulling with my abs to tilt my pelvis like doing an crunch with my abs.
Sucks. Need to accumulate 2 minutes in this position.
Also got some greate Oly lifting drill that Rob's associate Dominique learned at a movement seminar. Basically overhead squats and dead lifts in minimal shoes with all except the ball of your foot on a plate, preventing you fore foot from touching the ground. Looks incredibly difficult.
Can't wait to try them out. I also need to spend some time in a handstand hold to work my scapular muscles.
As expected, my devotion to my homework has paid off. Next weakness revealed, which was technically already known but was made irrelevant until the greater weakness was corrected, aka now.
My new stretch look like this:
But I sag my bodyweight into the knee on the ground, to push my hip into the capsule then bring my body in the direction of my head to open up the hip a bit then lean towards the bent hip to stretch the glute while forcing the hip into the capsule. All while pulling with my abs to tilt my pelvis like doing an crunch with my abs.
Sucks. Need to accumulate 2 minutes in this position.
Also got some greate Oly lifting drill that Rob's associate Dominique learned at a movement seminar. Basically overhead squats and dead lifts in minimal shoes with all except the ball of your foot on a plate, preventing you fore foot from touching the ground. Looks incredibly difficult.
Can't wait to try them out. I also need to spend some time in a handstand hold to work my scapular muscles.
Tuesday 18 November 2014
Strength log for Tuesday, November 18th
First successful squat workout of the post injury strength cycle complete.
After what may be my last physio homework day; follow up visit is tomorrow.
Did 5 sets of 5 at 75% of max (rounded up) 221# rounded to 225# because, yeah.
Felt great. Strong for all sets all reps.
Kiza showed up and made the last set even better than the others.
This week, bench, then front squats methinks, followed by second attempt at strict press 3x1@ 140#
After what may be my last physio homework day; follow up visit is tomorrow.
Did 5 sets of 5 at 75% of max (rounded up) 221# rounded to 225# because, yeah.
Felt great. Strong for all sets all reps.
Kiza showed up and made the last set even better than the others.
This week, bench, then front squats methinks, followed by second attempt at strict press 3x1
Crossfit log for Tuesday, November 18th
He just kept writing and writing and wouldn't stop!
This is called "The Open Test", throwing all the movements that typically come up in the Open, but all together.
20 minute AMRAP or rather AFAYCMI (As far as you can make it)
50 wall balls
50 double unders (Scale to 1/2 the reps)
40 box jumps 24" box
40 toes to bar (Scale to 1/2 the reps or knees to chest)
30 burpees
30 chest to bar pull ups (Scale to 1/2 the reps, or 20 regular pull ups)
20 power cleans 145# (scale weight, use same weight for all three)
20 jerks 145#
10 snatches 145#
16 muscle ups (scale to dips)
Wasn't a brutal as it looked. Mostly because I didn't get to the end.
Didn't expect to get to the barbell, so I put 95# on it just for show, in the unlikely event I made it to the snatches, 95# was the most I could do. Needn't have worried.
Wall balls were okay, did sets of 10
Double unders were the same as usual, some sets of 5 some of 10, some of 2. Grrr
Box jump, did step up, jump down. Steady pace.
T2B, did sets of 5, was going to scale to 20 reps, but everyone else seemed to be doing 40, so I manned up and did 8 sets instead of 4
Burpees were burpees. Took even more time than the double unders. Ugh.
Was going to do 30 regular, but Kamil was doing CTB, so I scaled to 15 reps and with less than a minute I shockingly had time for 3 power snatches.
203 reps
Wasn't rolling on the floor afterwards as I had expected.
This is called "The Open Test", throwing all the movements that typically come up in the Open, but all together.
20 minute AMRAP or rather AFAYCMI (As far as you can make it)
50 wall balls
50 double unders (Scale to 1/2 the reps)
40 box jumps 24" box
40 toes to bar (Scale to 1/2 the reps or knees to chest)
30 burpees
30 chest to bar pull ups (Scale to 1/2 the reps, or 20 regular pull ups)
20 power cleans 145# (scale weight, use same weight for all three)
20 jerks 145#
10 snatches 145#
16 muscle ups (scale to dips)
Wasn't a brutal as it looked. Mostly because I didn't get to the end.
Didn't expect to get to the barbell, so I put 95# on it just for show, in the unlikely event I made it to the snatches, 95# was the most I could do. Needn't have worried.
Wall balls were okay, did sets of 10
Double unders were the same as usual, some sets of 5 some of 10, some of 2. Grrr
Box jump, did step up, jump down. Steady pace.
T2B, did sets of 5, was going to scale to 20 reps, but everyone else seemed to be doing 40, so I manned up and did 8 sets instead of 4
Burpees were burpees. Took even more time than the double unders. Ugh.
Was going to do 30 regular, but Kamil was doing CTB, so I scaled to 15 reps and with less than a minute I shockingly had time for 3 power snatches.
203 reps
Wasn't rolling on the floor afterwards as I had expected.
Monday 17 November 2014
Strength log for Monday, November 17th
Okay, so three heavy single strict press at 95% of max on the same day as all those overhead squats maybe wasn't such a good idea.
Made the first one at 140#, but it took so much effort, there would be no more today. Peeled off to 135# for the last two.
Oh well. I'll try again when I'm a bit fresher.
Made the first one at 140#, but it took so much effort, there would be no more today. Peeled off to 135# for the last two.
Oh well. I'll try again when I'm a bit fresher.
Crossfit log for Monday, November 17th
Today started innocently enough.
2 power cleans + 1 jerk time 4 working up to a heavy set.
Did 145#, 155#, 165# and 165#
I tend to go up on my toes when I clean, but if I try to stay on my heels, I have no power.
Jerks were good except the third, which is why I stayed at 165# for the fourth (which was the best one of all 4).
After that: dead lifts. 3 sets of 4. Did the same weight as the 4 sets of 2. Not a problem at 275#. Dead lift is coming along nicely, post injury.
The WOD was possibly the hardest thing I've ever done.
21-15-9:
-overhead squats 115# (scaled to 95#)
-burpees of bar
- 1 rope climb after each round.
My dilemma is this. I need my good lifting shoes with a 1" heel to do OHS, but I don't like to jump around in them doing burpees with their hard wooden soles, and climbing a rope in them is a non-starter.
Can't switch shoes each round, so my only real option is to attempt OHS with my Lift-trainers with only a 3/4" heel.
I shocked myself when I actually pull off 10 OHS, at a scaled 95#, in them. According to the coach afterwards, the first ones were nice and deep, then the started to get borderline, by the second round they weren't deep enough.
I managed only 2 rounds. The last OHS on the round of 15 took everything I had to keep from losing it behind me. And that was actually rep 14, I tried twice to get the 15th rep, but I wasn't happening. Time was well past 10 minute and class was almost over, coach came over and said to end it after round 2. Which I gladly did.
Burpees were same as usual, and rope climbs were rough with wrecked shoulders.
But I still did 36 reps, most of which were actually deep enough, with lower heels. Definitely progress, can't complain about that.
2 power cleans + 1 jerk time 4 working up to a heavy set.
Did 145#, 155#, 165# and 165#
I tend to go up on my toes when I clean, but if I try to stay on my heels, I have no power.
Jerks were good except the third, which is why I stayed at 165# for the fourth (which was the best one of all 4).
After that: dead lifts. 3 sets of 4. Did the same weight as the 4 sets of 2. Not a problem at 275#. Dead lift is coming along nicely, post injury.
The WOD was possibly the hardest thing I've ever done.
21-15-9:
-overhead squats 115# (scaled to 95#)
-burpees of bar
- 1 rope climb after each round.
My dilemma is this. I need my good lifting shoes with a 1" heel to do OHS, but I don't like to jump around in them doing burpees with their hard wooden soles, and climbing a rope in them is a non-starter.
Can't switch shoes each round, so my only real option is to attempt OHS with my Lift-trainers with only a 3/4" heel.
I shocked myself when I actually pull off 10 OHS, at a scaled 95#, in them. According to the coach afterwards, the first ones were nice and deep, then the started to get borderline, by the second round they weren't deep enough.
I managed only 2 rounds. The last OHS on the round of 15 took everything I had to keep from losing it behind me. And that was actually rep 14, I tried twice to get the 15th rep, but I wasn't happening. Time was well past 10 minute and class was almost over, coach came over and said to end it after round 2. Which I gladly did.
Burpees were same as usual, and rope climbs were rough with wrecked shoulders.
But I still did 36 reps, most of which were actually deep enough, with lower heels. Definitely progress, can't complain about that.
Friday 14 November 2014
Strength and physio log for Friday, November 14th
Two days of rest here I come.
Did my usual physio homework and mobility then hopped on the bench for three heavy singles at 95% of max
Hit 215# for 3 sets of 1. Felt good. I think I'm ready for 230# next week.
Hoo ya!
Did my usual physio homework and mobility then hopped on the bench for three heavy singles at 95% of max
Hit 215# for 3 sets of 1. Felt good. I think I'm ready for 230# next week.
Hoo ya!
Crossfit log for Friday, November 14th
Last workout of the week, thank goondess.
3 rep max push press. But. There's a but. Your heels must stay in contact with the floor.
That makes it really hard.
Worked with Kamil. We started with 95#, then 115# and 135#. So far so good. It was looking like a strict press with a slow drive.
I had hoped to hit 165#, but when Kamil struggled at 155#, I re-evaluated.
I got 155#, but barely, the press out on the last rep was slow and shaky, but it went up.
Scaled back to 145# and Kamil got his 3 reps. I knew I was done, but I put 165# and tried without worrying about my heels and it was way easier.
Kamil tried 155# again, but I had started setting up for the WOD and didn't see if he made it or not.
WOD was rough.
3 rounds for time
- 10 front squats at 185#
- 20 chest to bar pull ups
- 50 double unders.
185# was a nonstarter, I might be able to clean that on the first round but that would be it.
I was going to try 155# (and I really wish I had) but settled on 135# since I saw Kamil was doing that. I was able to go unbroken, with great effort on all three rounds.
Scaling for the pull ups were first half the CTB to 10 reps, then regular pull ups 20 reps, if that was a no do half the regular pull ups and add a band if needed.
I jokingly said I'd do all three scales (10 CTB round 1, 20 pull ups round 2 and 10 pull ups round 3).
I almost did that, started with 10 CTB, which I was glad to be able to do, but it was too taxing. The last two rounds I did 20 regular pull ups. All unbroken. Happy with that.
Double unders were a struggle as usual, but I got more streaks of 10 - 15 than I have recently, so bonus.
Finished in 13:40.
3 rep max push press. But. There's a but. Your heels must stay in contact with the floor.
That makes it really hard.
Worked with Kamil. We started with 95#, then 115# and 135#. So far so good. It was looking like a strict press with a slow drive.
I had hoped to hit 165#, but when Kamil struggled at 155#, I re-evaluated.
I got 155#, but barely, the press out on the last rep was slow and shaky, but it went up.
Scaled back to 145# and Kamil got his 3 reps. I knew I was done, but I put 165# and tried without worrying about my heels and it was way easier.
Kamil tried 155# again, but I had started setting up for the WOD and didn't see if he made it or not.
WOD was rough.
3 rounds for time
- 10 front squats at 185#
- 20 chest to bar pull ups
- 50 double unders.
185# was a nonstarter, I might be able to clean that on the first round but that would be it.
I was going to try 155# (and I really wish I had) but settled on 135# since I saw Kamil was doing that. I was able to go unbroken, with great effort on all three rounds.
Scaling for the pull ups were first half the CTB to 10 reps, then regular pull ups 20 reps, if that was a no do half the regular pull ups and add a band if needed.
I jokingly said I'd do all three scales (10 CTB round 1, 20 pull ups round 2 and 10 pull ups round 3).
I almost did that, started with 10 CTB, which I was glad to be able to do, but it was too taxing. The last two rounds I did 20 regular pull ups. All unbroken. Happy with that.
Double unders were a struggle as usual, but I got more streaks of 10 - 15 than I have recently, so bonus.
Finished in 13:40.
Wednesday 12 November 2014
Strength and physio log for Wednesday, November 12th
Physio drills are getting easier.
Mobility work went well. Working that spine and glutes and hips.
Couldn't figure out what to do. Arms were too sore form handstand push ups to even think about bench.
That left only squats really. So I did some back squats.
Did 3 sets of 4 at 225#. That will have to do.
Mobility work went well. Working that spine and glutes and hips.
Couldn't figure out what to do. Arms were too sore form handstand push ups to even think about bench.
That left only squats really. So I did some back squats.
Did 3 sets of 4 at 225#. That will have to do.
Crossfit log for Wednesday, November 12th
A bit more tiring than yesterday.
Started with a 16 minute EMOM of
- 3 power cleans (touch and go)
- 3 deficit handstand push ups (or harder than you normally do)
First 2 rounds did 135# on the power cleans. and 15# plates on the hspu.
Went well. So I upped the power cleans to 155# for two rounds. At this point Kyle and Justin dropped from 185# to 155# realizing the bit off more than they could chew, so I didn't feel so bad dropping back to 135# for the rest.
Also on round 4 the whole deficit thing wasn't working any more so I went to level (still harder than I usually do) for the second half and that worked well.
Then we did dead lifts, 4 sets of 2. Did 275# The heaviest I've done since my PR in September. It was tough, but not impossible. Ran out of time so I had to count my last warm up at 225# as a working set.
The workout was a partner WOD. Share the work, 12 minute AMRAP:
- 30 toes to bar (while partner hangs on bar)
- 40 front squats (bar cannot touch the ground or start over)
- 50 dead lifts (while partner hold lock out on dips bar)
Worked with Natasha.
First round we did sets of 5 t2b each but only dropped off the bar after we had both done our 5. And for the squats we did 10 each, then the dead lifts we did 15 each then 10 each.
Yeah, that wasn't sustainable. T2B we still did sets of 5 each, but dropped off the bar after each 5. Squats dropped to sets of 5, and that was still horrible.
Time was running out, and came off the dip bar after only 12 reps by Nat, so I jumped on the bar hand hammered out 11 before the buzzer.
So 1 full round and 93 reps. Can't complain. Really worked those t2b, having someone hanging on the bar waiting for you to finish is motivation enough to power through sets of 5.
Started with a 16 minute EMOM of
- 3 power cleans (touch and go)
- 3 deficit handstand push ups (or harder than you normally do)
First 2 rounds did 135# on the power cleans. and 15# plates on the hspu.
Went well. So I upped the power cleans to 155# for two rounds. At this point Kyle and Justin dropped from 185# to 155# realizing the bit off more than they could chew, so I didn't feel so bad dropping back to 135# for the rest.
Also on round 4 the whole deficit thing wasn't working any more so I went to level (still harder than I usually do) for the second half and that worked well.
Then we did dead lifts, 4 sets of 2. Did 275# The heaviest I've done since my PR in September. It was tough, but not impossible. Ran out of time so I had to count my last warm up at 225# as a working set.
The workout was a partner WOD. Share the work, 12 minute AMRAP:
- 30 toes to bar (while partner hangs on bar)
- 40 front squats (bar cannot touch the ground or start over)
- 50 dead lifts (while partner hold lock out on dips bar)
Worked with Natasha.
First round we did sets of 5 t2b each but only dropped off the bar after we had both done our 5. And for the squats we did 10 each, then the dead lifts we did 15 each then 10 each.
Yeah, that wasn't sustainable. T2B we still did sets of 5 each, but dropped off the bar after each 5. Squats dropped to sets of 5, and that was still horrible.
Time was running out, and came off the dip bar after only 12 reps by Nat, so I jumped on the bar hand hammered out 11 before the buzzer.
So 1 full round and 93 reps. Can't complain. Really worked those t2b, having someone hanging on the bar waiting for you to finish is motivation enough to power through sets of 5.
Tuesday 11 November 2014
Crossfit log for Tuesday, November 11th
Happy with my workout today.
Except the close grip bench we started with. I really don't like close grip.
4 sets of 3 constant weight.
Worked with Kamil and I figured we'd get up to 185# or 195# for triples, and jokingly he said: 205# it is.
Well we warmed up with 95# and 135# and jumped to 185#. That wasn't happening!
I really struggled to get three, had to lift my butt off the bench to do it. Kamil got one and said: nope.
So we peeled back to 155# and that was way better. He stayed there and I added a couple of fives for 165#.
The WOD was crazy
10 rounds of
- Shoulder to overhead (push press or push jerk) 115#
- Pull ups
- Box jumps 30" box
10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5
So decreasing reps in the STO and increasing pull ups.
I committed to doing Rx however long it took. It wasn't til I started the the notion of going unbroken occured to me. The pull ups wouldn't be an issue, but the STO might.
The first 10 went really well. Even the 9 went well. 8 was harder but I rested in the rack position after 6. At that point I knew I could do it. My breaks were a bit longer the the others but I had my plan.
I did it, in 15:45 completely unbroken. Gotta be happy with that.
Except the close grip bench we started with. I really don't like close grip.
4 sets of 3 constant weight.
Worked with Kamil and I figured we'd get up to 185# or 195# for triples, and jokingly he said: 205# it is.
Well we warmed up with 95# and 135# and jumped to 185#. That wasn't happening!
I really struggled to get three, had to lift my butt off the bench to do it. Kamil got one and said: nope.
So we peeled back to 155# and that was way better. He stayed there and I added a couple of fives for 165#.
The WOD was crazy
10 rounds of
- Shoulder to overhead (push press or push jerk) 115#
- Pull ups
- Box jumps 30" box
10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5
So decreasing reps in the STO and increasing pull ups.
I committed to doing Rx however long it took. It wasn't til I started the the notion of going unbroken occured to me. The pull ups wouldn't be an issue, but the STO might.
The first 10 went really well. Even the 9 went well. 8 was harder but I rested in the rack position after 6. At that point I knew I could do it. My breaks were a bit longer the the others but I had my plan.
I did it, in 15:45 completely unbroken. Gotta be happy with that.
Monday 10 November 2014
Strength and physio log for Monday, November 10th
Very successful session at the Y today.
Started with physio homework. I even tested myself with the drill that Rob makes me do, lying on my side, hips stacked, using a bench instead of his shoulder to elevate my upper leg. I am able to lift the foot if the lower bent leg to my knee, then raise the knee off the ground and then raise my hips off the floor.
I think I may graduate next session, in a week.
So after my bretzels and lazy push up, I moved to the rack to work on 3 sets of 3 strict press at 130#
Did 45#, 65# and 95# for 4 or 5 reps. Hit 105# for 3, 115# for 2 and a single at 125#.
Hit my 3 sets of triples at 130#, last rep of last set was rough, but never in doubt. Solid work.
Friday, go for 3 heavy singles at 95%, next week go for 150#.
Happy with that workout.
Started with physio homework. I even tested myself with the drill that Rob makes me do, lying on my side, hips stacked, using a bench instead of his shoulder to elevate my upper leg. I am able to lift the foot if the lower bent leg to my knee, then raise the knee off the ground and then raise my hips off the floor.
I think I may graduate next session, in a week.
So after my bretzels and lazy push up, I moved to the rack to work on 3 sets of 3 strict press at 130#
Did 45#, 65# and 95# for 4 or 5 reps. Hit 105# for 3, 115# for 2 and a single at 125#.
Hit my 3 sets of triples at 130#, last rep of last set was rough, but never in doubt. Solid work.
Friday, go for 3 heavy singles at 95%, next week go for 150#.
Happy with that workout.
Crossfit log for Monday, November 10th
Now that was a Monday workout I could get behind.
Started with a snatch complex: 2 x snatch from high hang, 1 x snatch from low hang, 1 snatch from the floor (touch and go)
6 sets of the above.
Did 2 at 65# and 4 at 95#.
Wasn't getting low enough in my split, but caught it in the slot almost everytime.
I'm starting to look forward to working on my Olympic lifts more. Soon.
Next we did 8 sets of 3 back squats at 60% of max: Felt strong enough to use 60% of my actual max plus a bit more, 185# (62% of 295#)
Went really well. Good base building for starting up next week with squat work.
WOD was a 12 min AMRAP with a chipper cash in:
- 45 cal row
- 35 double unders
- 25 box jumps
- 15 burpees
with time remaining do AMRAP of :
- 10 toes to bar
- 30 double unders
Only the AMRAP of the last two items counted for you score.
Row went fine. Focused on keeping my knees inline with my hips and ankles, I find I get more power that way, unlike spreading my knees in a squat.
Double unders were lame as usual. Then out of the blue I get a string of 12. So they weren't a complete disaster.
Box jump were a bit slow, but systematic, like the burpees. Finished with around 6 minutes left.
T2B were a bit harder than expected, surprisingly so.
Double unders again, struggled but then got a good string.
Made it back to the t2b and started the double unders. Finished with 1 full round and 18 reps.
I'll take it. At least I wasn't exhausted, felt energized.
Started with a snatch complex: 2 x snatch from high hang, 1 x snatch from low hang, 1 snatch from the floor (touch and go)
6 sets of the above.
Did 2 at 65# and 4 at 95#.
Wasn't getting low enough in my split, but caught it in the slot almost everytime.
I'm starting to look forward to working on my Olympic lifts more. Soon.
Next we did 8 sets of 3 back squats at 60% of max: Felt strong enough to use 60% of my actual max plus a bit more, 185# (62% of 295#)
Went really well. Good base building for starting up next week with squat work.
WOD was a 12 min AMRAP with a chipper cash in:
- 45 cal row
- 35 double unders
- 25 box jumps
- 15 burpees
with time remaining do AMRAP of :
- 10 toes to bar
- 30 double unders
Only the AMRAP of the last two items counted for you score.
Row went fine. Focused on keeping my knees inline with my hips and ankles, I find I get more power that way, unlike spreading my knees in a squat.
Double unders were lame as usual. Then out of the blue I get a string of 12. So they weren't a complete disaster.
Box jump were a bit slow, but systematic, like the burpees. Finished with around 6 minutes left.
T2B were a bit harder than expected, surprisingly so.
Double unders again, struggled but then got a good string.
Made it back to the t2b and started the double unders. Finished with 1 full round and 18 reps.
I'll take it. At least I wasn't exhausted, felt energized.
Friday 7 November 2014
Crossfit log for Friday, November 7th
Well that was rough.
After 3 sets of 3 heavy front squats, (I'm almost back on form) which I did 185#, 205#, 205# we did 14.5.
Ugh.
Relentless, no mercy, 14.5
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
- thrusters @ 95# (scaled to 75# smartest thing I did all day)
- bar facing burpees.
Horrible, horrible workout.
Enjoyed it for the first 10 thrusters.
Shoulders were on fire from round 2 onwards.
Finished in 24:32
After 3 sets of 3 heavy front squats, (I'm almost back on form) which I did 185#, 205#, 205# we did 14.5.
Ugh.
Relentless, no mercy, 14.5
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
- thrusters @ 95# (scaled to 75# smartest thing I did all day)
- bar facing burpees.
Horrible, horrible workout.
Enjoyed it for the first 10 thrusters.
Shoulders were on fire from round 2 onwards.
Finished in 24:32
Thursday 6 November 2014
Strength and physio log for Thursday, November 6th
My arms are still toast from yesterday, so I spent more time on my physio and mobility work.
Rolled out my glutes and hips before starting. Did my drills, then some bretzels an lazy push ups, and my rounded supported squat drill.
Then I decided to do some back squats. Nothing too heavy, but enough to test my limits. My back is feeling much better, even after that dead lift work, so I figured now is the time to start pushing more than I have been.
I won't start serious work until the week after next, but I don't want to be starting from scratch.
So I warmed up with the empty bar, holding at the bottom, trying to get as deep as I could for a good 30 seconds.
Did the same with 95# and 145#.
At 195# did 5 reps. 215# did 4 reps. And finally did 2 reps at 245#. Felt good. Braced well. Happy with that.
Rolled out my glutes and hips before starting. Did my drills, then some bretzels an lazy push ups, and my rounded supported squat drill.
Then I decided to do some back squats. Nothing too heavy, but enough to test my limits. My back is feeling much better, even after that dead lift work, so I figured now is the time to start pushing more than I have been.
I won't start serious work until the week after next, but I don't want to be starting from scratch.
So I warmed up with the empty bar, holding at the bottom, trying to get as deep as I could for a good 30 seconds.
Did the same with 95# and 145#.
At 195# did 5 reps. 215# did 4 reps. And finally did 2 reps at 245#. Felt good. Braced well. Happy with that.
Wednesday 5 November 2014
Strength log for Wednesday, November 5th
Bring your kid to work day meant bring you kid to the Y at lunch day for me.
She warmed up on the treadmill while I did my physio homework.
We had a great time working on cleans.
I wanted to give Clarisse a chance to try cleaning 65#. This is a key weight for working out at home since the lightest bar I can set from the floor is 65# (10# plates plus 45# bar).
So unless we work from the hang, 65# is bare minimum.
She cleaned 65# like it was nothing. So naturally she wanted more. We did clean plus front squat. Still easy. So tried 70#. Bam. Even adding the front squat.
This time, after the squat she said that was hard. But she still wanted to try 75#. So we did. And she nailed it. No front squat this time but still awesome.
I made her do it again so I could film it. Nailed it again. Her catch was a bit off on the second, but it was a solid clean.
She went off to work on some of the machines while I did bench.
After this morning's dips I wasn't feeling 100%, the goal of 3 reps at 215# didn't happen. Struggled at 205# so I called it a day.
Really enjoyed it.
She warmed up on the treadmill while I did my physio homework.
We had a great time working on cleans.
I wanted to give Clarisse a chance to try cleaning 65#. This is a key weight for working out at home since the lightest bar I can set from the floor is 65# (10# plates plus 45# bar).
So unless we work from the hang, 65# is bare minimum.
She cleaned 65# like it was nothing. So naturally she wanted more. We did clean plus front squat. Still easy. So tried 70#. Bam. Even adding the front squat.
This time, after the squat she said that was hard. But she still wanted to try 75#. So we did. And she nailed it. No front squat this time but still awesome.
I made her do it again so I could film it. Nailed it again. Her catch was a bit off on the second, but it was a solid clean.
She went off to work on some of the machines while I did bench.
After this morning's dips I wasn't feeling 100%, the goal of 3 reps at 215# didn't happen. Struggled at 205# so I called it a day.
Really enjoyed it.
Crossfit log for Wednesday, November 5th
Note to self, don't work with Kamil on dead lifts.
It was fine, but I pushed myself harder than I would have on my own. Which I guess is the point. Thankfully my back is feeling better so it was probably a good workout.
Did 6 sets of 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 8 - 8
Did 225# for the first 2 sets, then 245#, then down to 205# for the eights.
Couldn't bounce, had to start from a dead stop. A bit harder that way, but it went okay.
The WOD was a partner WOD, so I teamed up with Natasha again.
18 minutes of
- 12 wall balls 20#/14#
- 6 push press 135#/85#
- 3 ring dips
alternate partners do a complete round.
I scaled the push press to 115#, it was meant to be a sprint so 135# unbroken wasn't likely. It was a good call.
Nat scaled the dips to bar dips.
The first 6 rounds we were bang on 2:00 for both of us to get through the round, that's 3 round each.
After that the push press got harder and the dips got really hard.
12 wall balls is a good number, you can't really stop since by the time you start to fatigue you're almost done.
We finished with 12 rounds (6 each) and Nat was one rep short of round 13.
We did good.
It was fine, but I pushed myself harder than I would have on my own. Which I guess is the point. Thankfully my back is feeling better so it was probably a good workout.
Did 6 sets of 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 8 - 8
Did 225# for the first 2 sets, then 245#, then down to 205# for the eights.
Couldn't bounce, had to start from a dead stop. A bit harder that way, but it went okay.
The WOD was a partner WOD, so I teamed up with Natasha again.
18 minutes of
- 12 wall balls 20#/14#
- 6 push press 135#/85#
- 3 ring dips
alternate partners do a complete round.
I scaled the push press to 115#, it was meant to be a sprint so 135# unbroken wasn't likely. It was a good call.
Nat scaled the dips to bar dips.
The first 6 rounds we were bang on 2:00 for both of us to get through the round, that's 3 round each.
After that the push press got harder and the dips got really hard.
12 wall balls is a good number, you can't really stop since by the time you start to fatigue you're almost done.
We finished with 12 rounds (6 each) and Nat was one rep short of round 13.
We did good.
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Strength and physio log for Tuesday, November 4th
Wasn't sure what to do. Was planning on doing overhead squat, but this morning's workout took care of that.
So I put off making a decision while I did my physio homework.
Finally found the video for the left aductor drill and the one for the right glute.
Then I did some bretzels and lazy push ups. And finally the rounded lumbar, feet together supported squat.
Finally I decided to do some front squats, I felt I could go heavy, for a front squat, without going that heavy.
Ended up doing 3 sets of 5 at 185#. It was hard. Usually I'd do this at 205#, which doesn't seem impossible, but not today. I'm happy with that workout.
Afterwards I stretched my hams and was able to get my butt all the way to the wall. Need to stay on top of that.
So I put off making a decision while I did my physio homework.
Finally found the video for the left aductor drill and the one for the right glute.
Then I did some bretzels and lazy push ups. And finally the rounded lumbar, feet together supported squat.
Finally I decided to do some front squats, I felt I could go heavy, for a front squat, without going that heavy.
Ended up doing 3 sets of 5 at 185#. It was hard. Usually I'd do this at 205#, which doesn't seem impossible, but not today. I'm happy with that workout.
Afterwards I stretched my hams and was able to get my butt all the way to the wall. Need to stay on top of that.
Crossfit log for Tuesday, November 4th
Epic day at Crossfit.
Ironically, the day after physio, where I went in worried about my back and told not to worry, my back feels fine today. Not perfect, but better than it has in ages.
Still did some bretzels and lazy push ups after rowing 500m to warm up.
Started with a barbell complex: 1 power clean, 1 hang power clean, 2 push press.
Worked up to 155# for 4 sets. Happy with that.
Did a couple more bretzels and lazy push ups before the WOD.
Today we revisited 14.2
In 3 minutes perform 2 rounds of
- 10 overhead squats @ 95#
- 10 chest to bar pull ups.
At the end of 3:00 if you have finished the 2 rounds you have 3 minutes to do 2 rounds of
- 12 overhead squats @ 95#
- 12 chest to bar pull ups
You must wait until the 3 minute interval is finished before starting the next interval. If you don't make the first cut off, keeping going making it a 6:00 AMRAP at the very least.
During the Open in March I did this workout twice. First time I took 13 attempts to get a single overhead squat. The second I took 10 attempts to get 7 overhead squats.
We revisited in July and I was unable to get a single squat going so I opted for scaled (front squats and regular pull ups).
Thanks in part to the recent physio work I've been doing for my back and hips, today I took 10 attempts and hit 10 overhead squats in less than a minute completely unbroken! I did 10 chest to bar pull ups in sets of 5, with just under 1:30 left. No way I'd finish the 2 rounds as round 1 took everything I had and took more than half the time allowed. Especially when I tried to do the next set of OHS. Wow, I managed 3 reps in four attempts and I knew that was it. Switched to scaled (front squats and regular pull ups) and got an additional 27 reps.
So from a 7 rep PR to a 23 rep PR. Pretty stoked. 10 unbroken OHS at 95#, that isn't in my regular play book.
So total 50 reps. Can't be anything but happy about that.
Ironically, the day after physio, where I went in worried about my back and told not to worry, my back feels fine today. Not perfect, but better than it has in ages.
Still did some bretzels and lazy push ups after rowing 500m to warm up.
Started with a barbell complex: 1 power clean, 1 hang power clean, 2 push press.
Worked up to 155# for 4 sets. Happy with that.
Did a couple more bretzels and lazy push ups before the WOD.
Today we revisited 14.2
In 3 minutes perform 2 rounds of
- 10 overhead squats @ 95#
- 10 chest to bar pull ups.
At the end of 3:00 if you have finished the 2 rounds you have 3 minutes to do 2 rounds of
- 12 overhead squats @ 95#
- 12 chest to bar pull ups
You must wait until the 3 minute interval is finished before starting the next interval. If you don't make the first cut off, keeping going making it a 6:00 AMRAP at the very least.
During the Open in March I did this workout twice. First time I took 13 attempts to get a single overhead squat. The second I took 10 attempts to get 7 overhead squats.
We revisited in July and I was unable to get a single squat going so I opted for scaled (front squats and regular pull ups).
Thanks in part to the recent physio work I've been doing for my back and hips, today I took 10 attempts and hit 10 overhead squats in less than a minute completely unbroken! I did 10 chest to bar pull ups in sets of 5, with just under 1:30 left. No way I'd finish the 2 rounds as round 1 took everything I had and took more than half the time allowed. Especially when I tried to do the next set of OHS. Wow, I managed 3 reps in four attempts and I knew that was it. Switched to scaled (front squats and regular pull ups) and got an additional 27 reps.
So from a 7 rep PR to a 23 rep PR. Pretty stoked. 10 unbroken OHS at 95#, that isn't in my regular play book.
So total 50 reps. Can't be anything but happy about that.
Monday 3 November 2014
Strength and mobility log for Monday, November 3rd
Since my new homework was fresh in my mind, I jumped on that at the Y at noon.
Two side lying drill to activate the right glute and the left aductor plus the new one feet together knees together squat with flexed lumbar (pelvic tilt). Need more ankle flexibility. No problem in my lifting shoes, but I have to do them barefoot.
I didn't do my bretzels or upward dog, not sure why, I guess my mind was busy with the new exercises and I was eager to get to my strength work.
Strict press on the menu. Goal was to do 3 heavy singles or 1 triple at 135# (93% of max).
First two went up nicely, third was a bit of a fight. Felt good about it.
That is until I read last Monday's log and I realize I did the wrong workout! Crap.
Was supposed to do 3 sets of 3 at 90% or 130#.
New plan. Wednesday: bench. Friday, strict press 3x3 at 130#. Next Monday 3 heavy singles at 140#, following week, new max attempt at 150#.
Salvageable.
Now if I can just remember that for next time.
Two side lying drill to activate the right glute and the left aductor plus the new one feet together knees together squat with flexed lumbar (pelvic tilt). Need more ankle flexibility. No problem in my lifting shoes, but I have to do them barefoot.
I didn't do my bretzels or upward dog, not sure why, I guess my mind was busy with the new exercises and I was eager to get to my strength work.
Strict press on the menu. Goal was to do 3 heavy singles or 1 triple at 135# (93% of max).
First two went up nicely, third was a bit of a fight. Felt good about it.
That is until I read last Monday's log and I realize I did the wrong workout! Crap.
Was supposed to do 3 sets of 3 at 90% or 130#.
New plan. Wednesday: bench. Friday, strict press 3x3 at 130#. Next Monday 3 heavy singles at 140#, following week, new max attempt at 150#.
Salvageable.
Now if I can just remember that for next time.
Crossfit and Physio log for Monday, November 3rd
Even with the time change, still struggled to roll out of bed at 5:00 this morning.
Still taking it easy on my back. Well trying to.
We did 3 rep max back squat, but I stopped at 225# despite wanted to go heavier.
I paused the first rep in the bottom for 30 seconds, working the bottom position. Getting pretty deep.
Then it was 4 sets of 3 dead lifts, which are harder on my back than squats. I settle on 185# and even that felt hard.
The WOD was a 21-15-9 triplet of
- toes to bar
- box jumps 24" box
- dead lifts @ 155#
I scaled to 135# using 35# plates with 10# added in case I needed to scale further.
Ended up not peeling the 10s, but I'm not 100% sure it was wise.
Finished in 12:20. Was steady and systematic. t2b are really good until they fall completely apart.
Done is done.
Physio afterwards. Rob is happy with my progress. He's not too worried about the continued discomfort in my back, according to him, soft tissue takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal and I'm on week 4. (Which works out nicely with my current strength program, I should be able to start up in the next cycle).
I've graduated to the next level of homework for my glute/aductor activation. I'll see if I can find videos for these.
Needled my erectors, glutes and hip as well as my piriformis on the right, once again a bolt of electricity right down to my foot. Freaky.
Couple more weeks of homework and hopefully that will be it.
Still taking it easy on my back. Well trying to.
We did 3 rep max back squat, but I stopped at 225# despite wanted to go heavier.
I paused the first rep in the bottom for 30 seconds, working the bottom position. Getting pretty deep.
Then it was 4 sets of 3 dead lifts, which are harder on my back than squats. I settle on 185# and even that felt hard.
The WOD was a 21-15-9 triplet of
- toes to bar
- box jumps 24" box
- dead lifts @ 155#
I scaled to 135# using 35# plates with 10# added in case I needed to scale further.
Ended up not peeling the 10s, but I'm not 100% sure it was wise.
Finished in 12:20. Was steady and systematic. t2b are really good until they fall completely apart.
Done is done.
Physio afterwards. Rob is happy with my progress. He's not too worried about the continued discomfort in my back, according to him, soft tissue takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal and I'm on week 4. (Which works out nicely with my current strength program, I should be able to start up in the next cycle).
I've graduated to the next level of homework for my glute/aductor activation. I'll see if I can find videos for these.
Needled my erectors, glutes and hip as well as my piriformis on the right, once again a bolt of electricity right down to my foot. Freaky.
Couple more weeks of homework and hopefully that will be it.
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