Crossfit log for Friday, August 29th - but not.

Arrived a full 5 minutes before 5:30.  I'll hop on the rower to warm up before I do my bretzels.

Except no coach. Gym closed. Gen finally calls, waking coach up.  Argh!  Family issues the night before, I completely understand and don't hold it against him.

Arrived close to 6:00, so no time for strength work, only a WOD I really don't want to do. A repeat of June 27th.

- 20 overhead squats at 95#
followed by 3 rounds of:
 - 15 clean and jerks 95#
 - 10 chest to bar pull ups
followed by
- 20 overhead squats

So I started by hanging on the rings, passive hang, see if I could get to 2 minutes (a milestone for starting some more advanced drills). And I did it! So yay me.

Using my phone as a timer, I noticed a text from Kiza that I wouldn't normally have seen until after the workout, if at all.  "Come home soon, both kids awake. Grumpy mama".

Great. Not wanting to do OHS I looked at the strength work. Since my focus is strength and I'm not going to the gym at lunch, and Kiza wanted me home I decide to do that instead of the WOD.

2 front squats, 1 split jerk

But rack space was limited, so I had to clean the weight.  And it's a power move more than strength, everything about it was the wrong decision. I should've just done the WOD.  Or at the very least asked to use the rack in the back (yet to be launched area), but I can guess what the answer to that would've been.

Made it to 165#. At 175# I failed to lock out the jerk.  I didn't even leave any earlier. 

Whatever. 

I should've done the WOD.

Strength log for Monday, August 25th

Well they can't all be good days can they?

Tested my strict shoulder press today.  Everything was going peachy up to 135#.

I jumped my PR of 140# and went right to business after unhesitatingly hitting 135#. 

Got the bar to my forehead and it would go no further.  Crap.

Dropped it to 140# and after a short fight, I locked out my current best.

I tried for a second single at 140# after a couple of minutes but it wasn't happening. I'll try again soon.

Did a bit of hanging.  1 x 1:30 and 2 x 0:45 for 3 minutes total so far.

Enjoyed the steam room.

Mobility log for Wednesday, August 20th

Well I'm feeling much better now.

Not so much that my legs are any more functional, but one of the coaches posted a complaint about her legs still being sore after Monday's workout.  I'm not alone!

Misery does love company.

So I went to the Y and torturously rolled my quads to encourage their self-knitting repair, then I did some hanging.

Managed a full 90 seconds first go. Then 60, then 30, then I managed another 60 seconds for 4 minute for the day.

Done for today.

Strength log for Friday, August 15th

Was going to just do mobility. Maybe try some hanging if my hands were recovered from the toes to bar from this morning.

However, I got sucked in to a bench press challenge.  20 reps at 135#. There was a time not too long ago I know I wouldn't have been able to do this.

I wasn't sure going in I would be able to now.  I did 10 reps rather quickly, and held it at the top for a rest, the did 5 more, much more difficult. Then 2 more, and one, and one more. It was getting really hard, but i managed the last one, and did it! 

I was pretty happy.  I don't know how big of a challenge it was, the guy that issued the challenge hasn't been able to do it yet.

Felt pretty good.

Managed to hang for two 1:00 sets for a total of 4:00 today so far. 

Crossfit log for Friday, August 15th

We did power cleans to 1 rep max for strength/skill work.  Took two tries to hit my current max of 185#.  Tried 195# but seeing as I just hit 191# in a squat clean, I didn't expect to make it. And I didn't.

The WOD was 12.3. Not my favourite.  Did it last on March 11th, but this time I did it Rx.

Open WOD 12.3:
18 minutes, AMRAP
- 15 box jumps
- 12 push press 115#
- 9 toes to bar

I didn't chain the box jumps very well.  Shared a two boxes between Justin, Kamil and myself.  Only the first round was problem.  Justin and I alternated, which was fine, it's a long workout.  Within the first 5 jumps we had each nearly wrecked once. Had a good chuckle. After that, one of the two boxes was free, and once I had started on Justin's and he showed up, so I just turned around and continued on Kamil's who had just finished on his.

I was steady, but not fast.  No bouncing back up, land and jump again, which is slow but takes much less focus and intensity.

Push press was much harder at 115# than 95#, maybe 105# would've been a smart option.  Did them all in two sets of 6 with varying length of break between sets.

Toes to bar went really well.  Grip was a bit of an issue with all the hanging.  Hopefully in a week or so my hands will have toughened up.  Did them in 6+3 for 3 rounds then 9 unbroken the fourth. Didn't make it to the fifth.

Score was 4 rounds + 20 reps (so 5 push press) or a total of  164.  Not bad for Rx. 

Did two hangs for 1 minute each (1 on rings, 1 on bar).  Tried again after the WOD but the T2B kill my hands.  Lasted less than 15 seconds!!

Strength log for Thursday, August 14th

Bench.

3 sets of 3 at 195#.  Wow. That was rough.  155# was a snap, 185# was hard, 195# was a fight.

Got it done though.

Did some hanging, two sets of 1:00 each, for my first day of 7 minutes accrued. Took me 3 days to reach that volume.  Crazy.

Crossfit log for Thursday, August 14th

Finally back at Crossfit, two days off, for different reasons.

Started with alternating jerks and back squats.

5 sets of 3 jerks @ 75% of max clean and jerk.
5 sets of 10 back squats @ 75% of max clean and jerk.
1 min rest after each set.

I did 135# instead of 138#, meh.

I was worried about the jerks with my groin discomfort, but at that weight it apparently wasn't an issue.

I could still feel it in the bottom of the squat though, but at 135# is wasn't too bad.

Around this I managed to hang for 2 sets of 1:15 on the rings, and another 1:00 also on the rings.  Then added a 0:30 on the pull up bar and finished off with 1:00 on the pull up bar.  So 5:00 accrued so far today. I'll do some more at lunch.

The WOD was an 8 minutes AMRAP of:
- 12 handstand push ups (scaled to 6)
- 6 power snatch 135#/95#

Started with one abmat, ended up with two after the first round.
Opted for women's weight at 95# and that was plenty!

Only made 2 full rounds and 10 reps, 6 hspu and 4 snatches on the last round.

Strength log for Wednesday, August 13th

I think my max dead lift is more than 325#

I just hit 3 sets of 3 at 90% (295#) and it was way too easy.  Compared to the struggle on the back squats, strict press and even bench from 2 weeks ago, that was too easy.

Week after next I'll be testing some 1 rep maxes and I think I'll test dead lift a week earlier, so I'm testing everything at the same time. (and I think I'll wait an extra week for bench).

Also did 5 minutes and 45 seconds of hanging.  Much better today, was able to hit 1 full minutes 5 times. I look forward to trying tomorrow at Crossfit on a real pull up bar.

Strength and mobility log for Thursday, February 20th

Had a really good workout at lunch.

I didn't bring my lifting shoes or belt, so planned on doing strict press and at the last minute decided to super set that with strict pull ups.

Worked up with 5 reps of empty bar, 65#, 95# and started 5 sets of 3 reps at 115#, which is 90% of my max.  I did 5 strict pull ups immediately after each set of presses.

Worked really hard. 

After that I worked on my physio homework (appointment is tomorrow) and stretched my hamstrings. 

Taking a break from the 30/30 squat challenge, knees are sore.

Crossfit log for Tuesday, February 18th

After three days off, it was nice to get back at it this morning.

Gotta get back on the clean eating. I've been lazy lately and just ate whatever the rest of the family was eating.  I've kept up my supplement regime, except I've run out of the TestAlpha (d-aspartic acid/fenugreek/maca supplement), which it is apparently good to take a week off every 90 days.

That being said strength work was push press, 1 rep max, and I hit a new record.  A clean lift of 175#. No hesitation, no struggle.

Which means I could've gone heavier.  Tried 185# but that was a non-starter.  Maybe 180#.  Next time.

Surprised myself actually.

WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP.
70 double unders (blue: 35 reps)
40 over the bar burpees  (blue: 30 rep[s)
20 squat clean thrusters  115#  (blue 95#)
10 muscle ups.  (blue: chest to bar pull ups)

I did the 70 double unders, but I scaled the burpees (down to 30 reps) since I was scaling the muscle ups anyway, and the clean/thrusters to 95#.

The over the bar burpees sucked. I was so winded that the thrusters took for bloody ever.

I got to the CTB pull ups with only a minute left and manged to get only 6.

Wow. Well I worked hard, and I got a PR.

Cash out was strict pull ups vs double unders, 4 sets for max reps.  Pull ups were 5, 6, 5, 4 for 20, double unders were 27, 13, 23 ,34 = 97.  Not bad I guess.

Then I spend 10 minutes in my deep squat:

So much more relaxed in the shoes than barefoot. But I really need to get my pelvis in tighter toward my shins. Not sure if it's my quads, hams or aductors.

Work in progress.

Progress update of revised weightlifting goals. Derived from intermediate level for my body weight (at the time the goals were set!) at www.exrx.net

New Push Press PR. 
 
Lift / target weight / current PR
Bench / 190lbs / 195lbs Jan 10, 2014 (up from 185lbs) !!!!!!
Dead Lift / 300lbs / 300lbs Jan 22, 2014 (up from 285lbs) !!!!!
Press / 130lbs / 125lbs Oct 30, 2013 (up from 120lbs) 5lbs away
Power Clean / 185lbs / 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs) !!!!!!
Power snatch / 140lbs / 115lbs Aug, 15, 2013 (up from 105lbs)
Back Squat / 255lbs / 265lbs Jan 14, 2014 (up from 245lbs) !!!!!

Other lift PRs:
Front Squat 215# Sept 11, 2013
Push Press: 175# (up from 165#) Feb 18, 2014
Clean: 185# (up from 180#) Dec 23, 2013
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 130# July 22, 2013
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013  

Strength and mobility log for Wednesday, February 12th

Feeling much better today.  Slept in until 6:30ish. Didn't go to Crossfit.

Was going to just do mobility but once I got to the Y I couldn't.  I was feeling pretty strong.

I still spent the lion's share of the time on the orb, rolling my glutes, hips and calves.

Then I decided to do weighted pull ups.  Warmed up with my band and just body weight, then I got the chain belt from the desk and loaded up a 25# plate. 

Go big or go home right?

I did 4 sets of 3 (maybe 5, I lost count chatting). I was impressed. I had trouble at 15# last time. Inbetween sets I worked on my ankle flexibility.

Then I sat in my squat for 10 minutes and it sucked. It's day 14 of the 30 day challenge and I'm really sore along the sits bone or the ridge of the pelvis that runs along the sits bone. I guessing one of the aductors (longus or brevis), but I'm really not sure.

It's just really sore.  I may take a break, or try just in my shoes rather than barefoot for a couple of days.

Strength and mobility log for Tuesday, February 11th

Thinking tomorrow will be a complete rest day.  (well maybe just mobility at lunch).  So I went to the Y to do some heavy squats.

Worked up to 225#, doing 135#, 185# and 205# for 5 reps each, then 225# for 3 sets of 3.  I should have been able to do 5 reps, but 3 took everything I had.

Then I did my mobility homework for physio.  Teres major stretch.  Rolled around on my new Orb 5" massage ball, and tried to squat in the steam room.  Only got 3 minutes and gave up.

I'm done.

Crossfit log for Tuesday, February 11th

Jury is still out as to whether it was a good idea to go to Crossfit this morning or not.

I'm still not 100%, but I slept well.  I figured I'd do what I could, and call it a day.

It was hard.

Strength work was 12 minutes to establish 1 rep max power clean + power jerk.

Maxed out at 175#, with less than a minute left, there was no time to even attempt 180# or 185#.

Following that, we did 3 sets of 1 power clean, 2 hang power cleans, 1 power clean at 70% of max clean and jerk. 70% was 130#, 75% was 139#, so I went with 135# for the sake of easy barbell math.

That went fine.  I did 4 sets because the first set I only did 1 from the hang, so I didn't count it.

The would have been awesome if I wasn't so weak from the infection.

4 minute AMRAP:
- 3 chest to bar
- 5 squat cleans  115#  (Rx was 135#)
2 minutes rest
8 minute AMRAP:
-5 push press  same bar
-9 toes to bar
12 box jumps 24" box

3 rounds + 5 reps (3 ctb, 2 cleans) for the first part
3 rounds + 9 reps (5 push press, 4 t2b) for the second part.

Was completely winded the whole time. Just brutal.  Tomorrow will be a rest day, back at it on Thursday.

Spent 10 minutes in a squat with my Asics lifting shoes on.

Strength and mobility log for Monday, February 10th

Amoxil is taking it's time to kick in.  Advil and Tylenol are helping. Didn't go to Crossfit this morning.  Heard they worked on snatch and power snatch.

So I worked on power snatch. Tried a couple of overhead squats but it wasn't happening. 

I would've tried some split snatch but I was feeling kinda weak, so I did some power snatch from the floor and some from the hang. 

Worked up to 115# from the floor, dropped back to 95# from the hang.

Snatch need a lot of work.

Then I sat in my deep squat for 10 minutes in my racing flats (4mm drop) and was very comfortable.

I did an extra 5 minutes in the steam room afterwards.

This day 12 for me, although some days I only did 15 or 20 minutes, but it's definitely helping

Health and mobility log for Sunday, February 9th

Well it had been almost a year since I may had strep throat, hopefully this is a one off and it won't bug me again for many moons.
Although we are starting with plain old Amoxil, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. We'll see how it goes.

I still managed to get 25 minutes in a relaxed squat (8.5 minutes, 6.5 minutes and 10 minutes) 5 to go for the day. All barefoot, but my heels are on the carpet and tired on the floor. Gives me about half an inch grace.

Hoping I'll feel better by tomorrow. morning

Strength and mobility log for Monday, February 3rd

Started with mobility.  Did my homework on shoulders and hips.

Sat in a squat in my good lifting shoes for 10 minutes.

Finally decided to do push press.  Three sets of 3 at 135#-155#-155#.

Last rep on the last two sets was a real fight to lock out. So good.

Finally stretch my calves and did another 10 minutes in the squat, with no shoes. Much, much harder.  Only lasted 9 minutes.  Plus I had to reset at 5:00, which cost me 30 seconds or so.

It'll do.  I think I'll stick to shoes for the next little while and then try barefoot again later.

Strength and mobility log for Friday, January 31st: Squat challenge day 2

Much better workout than yesterday.

Stuck to my plan.

Strength was bench press.  5 sets of 1 heavy.

Worked up to 185# which is 95% of my 1 rep max.  for 5 singles, about 2 minutes between sets.

Very happy with this.  I need to stick to my plan more.

For mobility, since I went to physio this morning, I didn't do my homework (I'll start that on Monday), I did the couch stretch for my quads then spend some time on the squat challenge day two.

I did a 10 minute stretch and a 5 minutes stretch, so with this morning's effort I'm up to 22.5 minutes for the day, 7.5 minutes left.

Strength log for Thursday, January 30th

I should have stuck with my plan.

Not that I had much of a plan, but it was a plan and I let my ego change it.

I debated doing behind the next snatch grip push press, but decide to do snatch pulls followed by strict press.

The pulls didn't go very well, I seemed to have no power in the hip extension.

Then I was going to do 5 singles at 125#.  As I worked up, I still had that 130# PR in the back of my mind.

I decided, well my ego decided, if 125# went up without hesitation, I go for the PR instead of staying at 125# for 4 more sets.

You can guess what happened.  Two failed attempts at 130# then I was too fatigued to get 125#.

Then time was up!  I need to go back to one exercise.  Not for exhaustion, but so I can still do mobility!

I managed to get 5 or 6 minutes in a squat while waiting for the bus, and just before bed, I work my old lifting shoes (0.75" lift) and did two full 10 minutes sets.  It was rough, but I did it.