Wednesday October 31st 2012

Good training day today. Still feeling some weird pain in my right shoulder but it became less of an issue as I loosened up.

A. Snatch Cluster @ 155#, 1.1.1 x 3 sets, Rest 4:00 between sets
     - These went pretty well and I had no misses. I'm developing more consistent form on these and I really think it's technique that's been holding me back more than strength on this lift.

B1. Front Squat, 200#: 3 reps @ 20x1 x 7 sets, Rest :45
     - No trouble with these.

B2. Muscle-Up Cluster, 1.1.1.1.1 x 7 sets, Rest :45
     - Much like last week, the first few sets felt pretty horrible on my right shoulder but got better as I loosened up. No misses on these. Had one bad rep that was a near catastrophe. I let my left arm get out away from my body a little bit in the transition but pulled it back in just before ripping my shoulder out of its socket! Really need to be careful on these.

C1. Hang Power Clean @ 115#, 12 reps x 3 sets. Rest 1:30
     - These were super easy.

C2. Strict Pronated Pull-Up Cluster, 4.4.4 x 3 sets, Rest 1:30
     - These started off pretty easy but by the end I was pretty fatigued. Failed on my very last rep of the entire workout. Not a good way to finish...oh well.

Tomorrow will be some shoulder mobility, pre-hab and maybe a light recovery piece like a run, row, bike or power walk.

Tuesday October 30th, 2012

Good workout today. All 3 of these intervals got tough right around the 7-8:00 mark. I feel like I moved pretty well through all of these and kept a consistent pace.

A. 10:00 of...
     - 10 Wall Balls
     - 10 Step-Down Box Jumps
     - 15 Double Unders

     - I did a lousy job remembering my rounds for all of these workouts but I think I got about 8 rounds on this one. Only messed up a couple of times on the Double-Unders (on 14th rep both times!).

B. 10:00 of...
     - 10 Burpees
     - 20 Walking Lunge
     - :30 Airdyne (subbed for rowing. It was a torrential downpour this morning!)

     - Again, can't remember how many rounds. Maybe 6??? I was happy with my pace on the burpees and lunges. Was a pain in the ass to go back and forth to the Airdyne. Would have preferred to run.

C. 10:00 of...
     - 300M Row
     - 10 Hand Release Push-Ups
     - 5 Toes to Bar

     - Not even going to guess how many rounds I got on this one. About 5 or so possibly.

Monday October 29th, 2012

Overall a mediocre training day. I definitely felt like I had a lot on my mind today between my workout, the hurricane and a couple big presentations I have to do for work today.

I was looking for a big PR on my Back Squat today. Instead, I had to settle for a little PR and a lot of frustration in the middle.

A. Hi-Bar Back Squat: Work to a heavy single
     - Last time I did these I hit 300# and it felt really good. Today I got 305# and it felt like 405. I made the mistake of making too big of a jump from my last warm-up set to my work sets. I did 1 rep @ 275# before my first attempt at 305#. What happened next was a very ugly miss where I dumped the weight forward and was lucky that I didn't screw my back or otherwise injure myself.....Brutal!!! I backed off to 295# before making one last attempt at 305. I made this attempt but had to fight through every inch. I had a spotter behind me and just knowing that I think that I did not let myself give up on the rep because I didn't want to injure my spotter!!
     - My form was horrible on these today. I could just tell because I could feel the weight shift to my toes on the way up. High Bar BS's are still miserable for me. Front Squats are feeling better and better but with the Hi Bar Back Squat, I almost feel like I'm going to tip over backward if I don't lean forward and it's the leaning forward that's screwing me up! I feel like I should be squatting every day but unfortunately, I know that I would never be able to recover right from that sort of program!

B1. Deadlift Speed Sets @ 12x1, 50% load, 12 sets of 2 reps, rest :30
     - These felt very easy even with the short rest. It allowed me to get my deadlift form dialed in really well which is something I've struggled with lately at heavier weight.

B2. Close Grip Bench @ 95# + 80# chains, 12 sets of 2 reps, rest :30
     - Same as above. These felt easy and I could tell my form was pretty good because I had very little pain in my right shoulder.

C. GHD Raises. 4 sets x 10-12 resp, rest as needed
     - It had been a few weeks since I last did these and the first 2 sets felt awkward as hell. Got better by the end.

Saturday October 27th, 2012

I was really looking forward to today's workout(s) because this is all stuff that plays to my strengths (aerobic work capacity).

A. 5 Rounds of...
     -5 Toes to Bar
     - 10 Step Down Box Jumps @ 24"
     - 15 Overhead Squats @ 75#

Time was 6:11. Pretty happy with this. I crushed the Toes to Bars. The Step Down Box Jumps slowed me down because I couldn't get in a rhythm by rebounding. The Overhead Squats were unbroken and pretty consistent. Had to really focus on my breathing in later rounds because they got tough.

B. 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of...
     - Hang Power Clean at 105#
     - Burpees
This one was actually not as bad as it sounded. Of course the Burpees were slow and tedious to get through as always. I did really well with the Power Cleans. All sets were unbroken and FAST. Time was 7:23.

C. 7 Minute AMRAP of....
     - 10 KB Snatches (5 ea. arm) @ 24kg
     - 100M Run
     - 10 Russian KB Swings
This one was tough. My shoulders have been feeling worn out lately, especially after any kipping movements. The Snatches felt awkward. I am usually really good at these. Not today. I think I got 5 full rounds + 10 Snatches/

Friday October 26th, 2012

Quick one today....

8 Minute AMRAP
     - 100M Run
     - 8 KB Swings @ 70#
     - 6 Burpees

Score: 7 Rounds + 100M Run

This was harder than it sounded. I kept moving the whole time but the sprints definitely turned into a fast jog until the very last one. KB Swings are a good movement for me and I have no problem even at this weight. Only thing is I have a pretty slow cycle time on these for whatever reason. A lot of people I've seen have found a way to "game" these making them more of a high pull and press out kind of thing. For that reason I almost hate to see these come up in competitions.

Wednesday October 24th, 2012

I thought I was going to be a bit beat up from yesterday's workout but I actually felt really good this morning. Very happy with the way I recovered.

A. Squat Clean & Jerk Cluster, 1.1.1 x 3 sets
     - Weights used were 185, 195, 205. I did OK on these. I am still really looking forward to the day when these weights feel "light"!!

B1. Front Squat @ 20x1, 2 reps x 10 sets, Rest 1:00
     - I feel like I should have been doing 225# for these but I thought that I would get worn out by the # of sets and the short rest in between. I stuck with 215# and it felt just right.

B2. Muscle-Up Clusters, 2.2 x 10 sets, Rest 1:00
     - I wasn't worried about the # of reps per round but I was wondering how I would do with the overall volume of these. I typically have not been doing more than 30 muscle-ups in a single training session. I didn't have too much trouble with these but in later rounds I had to really focus on keeping my elbows in.
     - My shoulders felt a little dodgy when I started these but loosened up as I went along.

C1. Hang Power Snatch @ 105#, 10 reps - touch and go x 3 sets
     - These were kind of tough but I got through them OK.

C2. Pull-Up Clusters, 6.6.6 x 3 sets
     - Tried to do these all with a straight legged, toes pointed gymnastics kip. No butterfly pull-ups for me today. Especially since this workout was "all out assault on shoulders day"!!

Well earned recovery day tomorrow. Plan to do some stretching, soft tissue release and maybe ride the recumbent bike (while reading a magazine - like 99% of the people at the fitness center where I work) !!

Tuesday October 23rd, 2012

Today's workout was a long, long one! These days anything over 15 minutes I would consider "long". However; years ago when I was "programming" my own workouts I used to always gravitate toward the longer ones....'Fight Gone Bad', 'Murph', 'Eva'. The type of workouts that grind you down, beat you up and cripple you for days.

Lately, I have been focusing more on shorter, heavier workouts that have been somewhat of a weakness for me. Anyway, here is how things went....

5 Rounds for time of...

     - 1,000M Row

     - 15 Thrusters @ 75#

     - 15 Burpees

     - 15 Pull-Ups

I decided going into this that the key to getting through this was backing off on the row. My 1,000M pace is usually under a 1:40 (500M split time). My best 5k Row pace is about 1:45. I figured that under 2:00 would be a good pace to hold. I was able to do this for the first 2 rounds but then fell off to 2:05, 2:10 and then God knows what!

I moved really well through the thrusters. Burpees are what they are for me. Got through them unbroken but slow. Pull-ups were OK for the most part. Had to come off the bar a couple times in last couple of rounds.

My final time was 32:43. I felt pretty good about this because I kept a fairly constant pace and was able to keep moving. Key to a better time would be maintaining a faster pace on the rows I guess. This was a very tough WOD just to get through.

Sunday October 21st, 2012

Definitely woke up with a hangover from the disappointment of yesterday's events. My first instinct is always to get in the gym and punish myself after a bad workout. Today was no different.

This was supposed to be a rest day but that wasn't happening. Instead, I did some mobility/recovery work but I also did a workout that was aimed at testing my double under proficiency under fatigue....

15 Minute AMRAP of...
     5 Burpees
     10 30" Box Jumps
     20 Double Unders

Not sure how many rounds I did. At least 12 I think. Double Unders were no problem. I guess because I wasn't surrounded by spectators(??). Anyway, I guess I just had to affirm to myself that I don't suck at Double Unders....Mission Accomplished for now!

Saturday October 20th, 2012

Game Day: CrossFit New England Masters Competition

I woke up on Saturday feeling as physically prepared as I possibly could. All my various aches and pains - back, shoulder, knee - were not a factor and I had no muscle soreness from anything that I had done prior in the week.

Mentally, I was one big ball of anxiety. I've competed in many CrossFit competitions, some of which were on a much bigger stage. But with this comp. I think I had just heaped such big expectations on myself that the fear of failure was almost paralyzing. I had come so close to winning the last few competitions, in fact I felt like I dominated most of the events. However; there was always that one workout where something would suddenly, inexplicably go horribly wrong. I told myself this time would be different. The WOD's were all straightforward. Nothing tricky and nothing that I wasn't prepared to do well in. So here is how things went...

WOD 1: AMRAP Thrusters in 1:00 @ 95#
     - I had done this one last Saturday and was surprised and very pleased to bang out 30 reps. I knew that this number would keep me in the game and perhaps even be good enough for first. I hit 31 and it was good enough to tie for first! My form was great, my pace was great, my breathing was great and when I was done I did not feel destroyed to the point where I couldn't do the second workout.

WOD 2 (immediately after WOD 1): AMRAP 6:00 of 5 Pull-Ups, 10 Power Cln.@ 95#, 15 Double Unders.
     - Now when I look at this workout, the movement that would concern me the least is Double-Unders. D/U's are really one of my top 5 strengths and I was not concerned in the least having them  thrown into this WOD. Well remember how I said that in the other competitions, something would go horribly wrong? Well, the Double Unders were that something today. Got through the first rounds with the D/U's mostly unbroken. In round 3 I screwed up repeatedly and wasted precious time. After completing the Pull-Ups and Cleans in Round 4 I came to the D/U's with about a minute left. In this minute I managed 2.....2 (!!!!!) Double Unders. This was good enough for a score of 3.17 on WOD 3 which placed me 16th in this event. For reference, this score was almost 2 full rounds worse than what I did last Saturday!!
     - I have thought a lot about what caused my epic failure. Simple explanation is that my legs were smoked, my forearms were smoked and it threw my timing off. But I think it was more than that. I think it was the building frustration from each missed rep. I think it was not being able to relax. In short, it was the perfect storm and it could not have happened at a worse time. One friend who was watching said they read my lips and saw me say to myself "Why now?".

WOD 3: Work up to max load of 1 Snatch + 3 Overhead Squats in 2:00
     - This one was all about strategy and setting a good goal weight. 2:00 is not a lot of time and it takes at least :30 to load an empty barbell. 2:00 is barely enough time for 2 quality attempts with one weight change.
     - So my goal was to lead off with 165#, hopefully hit it on the first attempt and then go for 175#. 165 would probably place me in the top 5. 175 could place me in the top 2-3. Due to my brain fart in the second WOD, it was a longshot to think that I would win this comp. I could probably place with a strong performance on the last 2 WOD's. So I stuck with my original strategy, trying to salvage something out of the day.
     - I snatched 165 without much trouble and took my time on the 3 OHS's. So far so good. I changed out the plates and set up 175. Missed my first attempt due to lack of aggressiveness in the 3rd pull I think. Took about :10 to regroup and then got the snatch....now only about :20 remaining. I was painfully aware of how little time I had and I think that  I rushed a bit on the first OHS missing it coming out of the hole. So that was it. 165 was my score. Not bad, not great. I think that I could have gotten 175 if I had led off with it but I just wasn't willing to accept the risk of missing that weight and coming out with the big goose egg.

WOD 4 (immediately after WOD 3): 6:00 ascending ladder of Burpee Box Jumps, Wall Balls, Toes to Bars
     - This WOD was changed at the last minute so I never got to practice this version. I had gotten over 6 rounds with one less minute and a different variant of the BBJ's (old one had us jumping over the box and coming down in a second burpee...much harder!) so I figured I'd get at least 7 on the newer version.
     - My score was 7 rounds plus 17 reps. I moved pretty well through this but lost my kipping rhythm on the TTB's the last 2 rounds. Aside from that, I was pretty content with how I did on this. There were some good scores on this one and I ended up in sixth place.

So after all this, I ended up placing third overall in the 40-44 division. I was in 8th place after the 2nd WOD so I did battle back and salvage something. Still though, I walked away disappointed. My goal was to finish first and dominate. I didn't do either and that is partly a testament to the level of competitors. This field was the deepest of any Masters comp. I've been in, just solid guys top to bottom. But I also feel that in a sense I beat myself. If I hadn't choked on those double-unders, I could have taken this thing. Somehow I've got to get stronger mentally and be more confident in these competitions. I feel like I can perform great in an empty gym with just me and a barbell. But throw 50 people in there with crowded quarters and loud music and I tend to lose focus. I will chalk this up as another tough learning experience and try to be the better for it. Bottom line is always to get my ass back in the gym and work harder.

Wednesday October 17th, 2012

A. Snatch: 10 singles, working up to 80%
     - Did 3 sets @ 135, 3 @ 155, 3 @ 165 and then 2-3 at 175
     - Did OK with these today. Missed a couple of attempts at 175. This is the point where the weight is unforgiving of technique flaws!

B. Overhead Squat: Work up to a moderately heave set of 3 (not max)
     - Worked up to 175 and didn't have much trouble at this weight.

C. Pull-Ups: 8 reps on the minute for 5 minutes

D1. Wall-Ball x 15 Reps x 4 sets

D2: Burpee Box Jumps: 8 reps x 4 sets

Tuesday October 16th, 2012

A. 500M Row
     - Time = 1:24.1
     - Disappointed in my time but not that surprised. I have not done an all-out 500M Row in almost 2 years. Although I have done a ton of rowing recently, it mostly been longer time domain at lower intensity. The last time I did a 500M Row I crushed it with a PR of 1:22.5. I knew that it would be very tough to improve on that time but I hoped to be a little closer.
     - This actually started out pretty good and I was rowing at a 1:20 pace through the first 300M. I think the wheels fell off with about 150M to go. I fell way off my pace rowing slower than a 1:30 pace during the home stretch.

** 10:00 Rest **

B. 10 sets of Row :20 at 500M pace (rest 1:00 between sets)
     - Rowed each of these below a 1:30 pace which was my goal.

C. 10:00 of 8 Toes to Bar on the minute
     - Have not done these yet. Will hit these later on today.

Monday October 15th, 2012

A. Snatch: Work up to 1 rep 90%
     - I worked up to 175#. Did 3 successful attempts @ this weight but each one was preceded by a miss. I'm still disturbingly inconsistent. Seems that my issue is not being aggressive enough on the first attempt. Then I get pissed off and nail the second one!!

B. Power Cleans: Perform 5 reps on the minute for 10 minutes @ 115#
     - These were super easy. Good opportunity to work on reducing cycle time.

C. 2 sets of the following...
    - 8 Thrusters@ 95#
    - 8 Burpee Box Jumps
    - 8 Pull-Ups
    - 8 Thrusters @ 95#
    - 8 Burpee Box Jumps @ 95#
    - 8 Pull-Ups

    - This one was tougher than I thought. Short and painful!! First time through took 2:20, second time about 2:30.

Saturday October 13th, 2012

Master's Competition WOD's

WOD 1: AMRAP Thrusters in 1:00 @ 95#
     - 30 Reps! I was very, very happy with this. I did these unbroken with no pauses. This weight has never felt so light to me!

WOD2 (Immediately after WOD 1): 6:00 AMRAP of
     5 Pull-Ups, 10 Power Cleans @ 95#, 15 Double Unders
     - I got 5 rounds plus 5 pull-ups. This was tough but only because I did it right after the Thrusters. Pull-ups weren't so bad because there were only 5 per round. Pwr Cleans were tough only because I was so gassed. Coming into this I figured that the D/U's would be the only place to recover and I was pretty much right. Took some focus to get through the Double-Unders but most sets were unbroken.

WOD 3: Max weight of 1 Snatch + 3 OHS
     - This one is all about strategy. I know that I can easily OHS any weight that I can get over my head at this point. Just have to be smart about what weight I start with and end with since I will only be able to get 2 quality attempts at this.
     - I have planned to start off with 165# because I can usually Power Snatch this weight without too much trouble. However; I WAS having trouble with this while warming up so backed off to 155#. I got that no problem. Then attempted a squat snatch with 165. I was sloppy and missed the rep but had enough time to regroup and get a successful attempt. The OHS's were not bad. I think that I will stick with my original strategy of starting out with 165.

WOD 4: AMRAP 5:00 of Ascending ladder of...
     - Burpee Box Jump-Overs @ 20", Wall Ball, Toes to Bar
     - Got 6 rounds + 7 BBJ's + 3 Wall Balls
     - Not gonna lie, this got tough. The Burpee Box Jumps were pretty taxing.

Friday October 12th, 2012

Decided to change things up today and deviate from this week's programming. I've been feeling a bit overtrained and my back is still a little beat up. I also need a little something in the tank for tomorrow as I will be doing the WOD's from an upcoming competition on Oct. 20th.

20:00 Recovery Row
     - Rowed at a comfortable 2:00 pace throughout.

Thursday October 11th, 2012

Woke up this morning feeling like I'd been run over by a bus. Back still sore from tweaking it the other day during GHD sit-ups, knees sore, right shoulder still feels a bit screwed up from one of my workouts last week. Thought of many excuses not to do this workout today but in the end my conscience won out.

Today definitely wasn't a great day in the gym though. Felt tired and lethargic throughout my workout. Don't know why but rest days have that effect on me.

A. Split Jerk: 185# x 3, 195# x 3, 205# x 2, 225 x 1, 235# x 1
     - These have been going really good for me lately but today I was a bit sloppy. Had to press out a few reps in the beginning because I was being slow and lazy getting under the bar. Once I focused on really driving myself down and under the bar I was fine.

B1. Power Clean @ 135#, 10 reps x 5 sets, Rest 1:00
     - These were fine. Usually have no trouble at this weight.

B2. Toes to Bar, 12-15 reps x 5 sets, Rest 1:00
     - Uggh. Did great with these last week. Today, not so much. 12 reps the first set. All others were 8-10 reps. Don't know what happened here. Just tired I guess.

C. 21-15-9-6-3 Thrusters @ 115#, Rest :45
     - Never a good thing to see this at the end of your workout! I really wasn't sure whether I'd be able to get through these sets unbroken. I made it through the set of 21 but had to pause in the rack a couple of times. Took me about :55 to bang out the 21 reps. I failed miserably on the set of 15. Dropped the bar after only 6 reps!! This was more mental than anything else. I pussed out on this and I'm still really pissed at myself. Took about :45 before I picked the bar up and finished the set.

     - All other sets were unbroken but they were a grind to get through, especially the set of 9. I think that the whole purpose of this part of the workout is to make 95# feel light as a feather. Hope it works.

Tuesday October 9th, 2012

A. Row x 1000 Meters @ 80%, for every 500 meters, take off 10 seconds of your best 500 meter pace

     - Rowed a 3:13 which ties my PR! Pretty happy with this. This took definitely more than an 80% effort and I paid the price (we'll get to that in a second!)
+
Rest 5 minutes
+
B. 10 sets of the following:
30 seconds of double unders/ 30 seconds rest

     - I have been failing miserably at Double Unders lately. Used to be able to consistently hit close to 100 with no problem. Lately I have been struggling to do sets of 30. Have experienced a lot of tightness in my Achilles (both feet) which I just can't understand. Anyway, today went OK with these. For the most part, I was going pretty much unbroken on each :30 set.
+
Rest 5 minutes
+
C. Row x 1000 Meters @ 80% effort, for every 500 meters take 10 seconds of your best 500 meter pace

     - Here is where I paid the price for going out too hard on that first row! I rowed a 3:29 which is a pretty slow pace for me at this distance. Oh well...at least I get to feel good about that 3:13!
+
D. GHD Sit Ups x 10 fast reps x 5 sets

     - This will be the last time I do GHD sit-ups for a long, long time. The last few times I've done these, they have felt uncomfortable because of the back issues I've been having. Today they felt miserable and I just hope I didn't really screw myself up. Kind of ironic because I feel like my back has improved a lot from doing Back Extensions and GHD raises. But then I turn upside down on the same piece of equipment and it destroys me!! Off to the Chiropractor later today!

Monday October 8th, 2012

A. High Bar Back Squat @ 40 lbs of chains @ 22x1, 2-3 tough reps x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes.
     - 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 200 x 3, 205 x 2, 210 x 2

B1.  Squat Clean @ 205 lbs x 1 rep x 10 sets, rest 1 minute.
     - No misses but this felt pretty heavy today

B2.  Close Grip Bench Press @ 30x1, 2 tough reps @ 195 lbs x 10 sets, rest 1 minute.
     - The weight was fine but right shoulder not feeling good today

C1. Front Rack Walking Lunges x 15 reps @ moderate weight x 3 sets, rest 1:30
     - These seemed to go on forever. 75#

C2. Single Arm DB Press @ 8-10 reps x 3 sets, rest 1:30

     - 45# x 10 reps, 50# x 7. See comment above about shoulder

Saturday and Sunday October 6th and 7th

Saturday:
   15:00 on Airdyne
   Alternate between 2:00 at 32 kph and 1:00 at 20 kph

Sunday
     Light 5k run

Friday October 5th, 2012

A. Work up to a heavy one rep snatch
     - 180#: At last a PR on the Snatch. I really wanted to see 185 but I'll take 180 for now. I definitely have it in me. Just have one major flaw I have to fix and that's pushing up against the bar in the receiving position.

B1. Deadlift @ 30x0, 2 tough reps x 8 sets
     - All sets at 335#. Pathetic!!...Still awful at deadlifting. Used to be able to pull 375 for 3 reps without much difficulty.

B2. Pronated, weighted pull-up, 1 heavy single x 8 reps
     - Worked with a 50# weight vest and a 44# Kettlebell. Not sure if 94# is a PR or not. It's been forever since I maxed out on weighted pull-ups.

C. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1: Wall Ball, Pull-Ups
     - Time was 3:43. I feel like I killed this one. My butterfly pull-ups were a little bit hit or miss but other than that I moved fast and didn't feel tired. Wall Balls are my bitch!!! :)
   

Wednesday October 3rd, 2012

Definitely experienced some highs and lows with today's workout!

A. Split Jerk, Work to a 1 rep max

     - 260# - This was a 10# PR and felt great!! I feel like I had a bit more in me but decided to quit while I was ahead. I don't feel like my overhead strength has gotten much better but my Jerk technique and speed under the bar has definitely improved.

B1. Squat Clean Cluster, 1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 1 minute
     - Meh...I did shitty on these today. Something just felt a little off.

     - 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 2 (missed on third rep),  205 x 2 (missed on third rep), 195 x 3

B2. Kipping Handstand Push Up Cluster, 2.2.1 x 5 sets, rest 1 minute.

     - These were AWFUL today. I don't know what was wrong with me. My technique was poor and I felt incredibly weak in my shoulders. Lots of misses on these. HSPU's remain my biggest "Goat" in CrossFit.

C1. Barbell Good Mornings @ 50x1, 6-8 reps x 3 sets, rest 1:30
     - 95x8, 135x8, 155x6

C2. Toes to Bar x 12-15 reps x 3 sets, rest 1:30

     - I did really well on these. Got 15 reps each set and felt fast and fluid with my kipping.

Tuesday October 2nd, 2012

Love Tuesday workouts. Always feels good to do light aerobic work after a tough day of heavy lifting.

Today's workout...

20 sets of 250M Row @ 85%, :45 rest
     - All sets were below :50 which was the goal. Tried to row at a sub 1:40 500M pace. This definitely felt like an 85% effort. Not easy but not ass-kicking either.

Monday October 1st, 2012

Feel pretty good today. Little tight in the hammies from all the heavy KB Swings on Saturday but other than that feel pretty well recovered.

A. Front Squat @ 31x1, 2.2.1.1 @ 40# Chains
     - (All weights not incl. chains) 195 x 2, 195 x 2, 205 x 1, 205 x 1
     - All sets felt tough but form was pretty good. I can feel how much better my core stability has gotten when Front Squatting!

B1. Overhead Squats @ 20x1 x 3 reps x 10 sets @ 155#, rest 1:00
     - No misses and all reps felt pretty solid. I power snatched first rep from the ground on each set as that will be the standard for a Competition later this month.

B2. Chest to Bar Pull-Up Cluster, 4.4 x 10 sets, rest 1:00
     - These felt tough today for some reason. Shoulders were smoked from the OHS I guess

** Did a few Split Snatches @ 165# to feel these out. I have not been doing much power snatching lately. This is just heavy enough that I can't get away with sloppy form. Need to practice these some more before the comp.