Thursday August 29, 2013

A1. High Bar Back Squat @ 33x1, 3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes
     - 265#, Backed off just a bit out of fear of reaggravating this groin strain. Was fine at this weight.

A2. Weighted Mix Grip Pull Up @ 22x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes
     - Used 35# KB

B. On the Minute, Every Minute x 12 Minutes of the following:
Odd Minutes: Kipping Handstand Push Ups x 5 repetitions
Even Minutes: Wall Balls x 18 repetitions
     - For some reason I thought the WB's would get tough and the HSPU's would be easy. HSPU's actually got pretty tough toward the end. I failed my 5th rep in second to last round. Had to break my last set into 4 and 1. My technqiue on the kip was not so sharp today.

C. 20 Minutes of Light Airdyne Zone 1 Work+ Recovery Method

Wednesday August 28, 2013

Seem to finally be getting over this groin pull as I barely thought about it throughout this training session. My back however was feeling a little tweaked. Not that bad but just something I needed to be a little careful with.

A. Overhead Squat @ 20x1, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - 185 x3, 205 x 3 (2 sets), 210 x  3, 215 (f), 215 x 3
     - This was a big day for me with OHS's! 215 was my 1 RM not so long ago! 205 felt easy. 215 was tough so I know that I challenged myself today.
B. Clean and Jerk @ 75%, 1 repetition x 6 sets, rest 2 minutes
     - 2 sets @ 185#, 2 @ 195, 2 @ 205

C. 5 sets of the following:
10 Touch n Go Deadlifts @ 205 lbs
10 Lateral Burpees
*Rest 5 minutes between sets*

     - I cheated the rest a bit. Was more like 2:00 which seemed like more than enough.

Tuesday August 27, 2013

Still nursing a sore adductor muscle on my left side so being careful not to aggravate it. Took an unplanned rest day yesterday but I'm feeling pretty good today. Just a bit worried about how these front squats will go.

A. Front Squat, work to a heavy triple. Do this in limited sets. So for instance, do not do 4 heavy sets of 3, do one to two heavy sets of three. Build up quickly!
     - Didn't push it with these. 2 sets at 225# and call it a day. Didn't feel bad though. Just being careful.

B. Strict Press @ 20x1, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - Built up to 145# but only 2 reps. I still feel like I just never get better at these. Stuck at same weights for last 5 years, lol! So frustrating.

C. On the Minute, Every Minute x 12 Minutes of the following:
3 Power Cleans @ 155 lbs
4-5 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
*Goal under 35 seconds every set*

     - No trouble with these. Every round was about 18-19 seconds. My weakest link on this was my grip on the CTB pull-ups. Just can't get comfortable and always feel like I'm going to tear. I've tried lots of chalk, less chalk, false grip, no false grip. Don't know what my problem is.

** Just for fun
"Annie"

50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Sit-Ups

- Time was 5:00 flat. Pretty sure that this is a PR. I am almost positive I've never broken 5:00 before. Double unders were all unbroken and tried to crush the sit-ups since that's where all the cycle time is in this workout.

Saturday August 24, 2013

A. Back Squat, 1 rep max.
     - OK, no more screwing around with Low Bar BS. Today it's back to high bar. I was super psyched to get after this one today. I had a target # in mind and that was 315#. Last time I did a 1RM BS I hit 305....barely!! I knew I had it in me to blow that away and perhaps do even a bit more than 315. However; during my warm-up sets I reaggravated a strain in my Hip Flexor/Groin that originally flared up in last Sunday's competition. I probably should have shut it down but there was no way I was quitting before beating my PR!!!
     - I did get 315# and it didn't feel super heavy except for the fact that it was pretty painful to go to rock bottom depth. I think I stopped just short of that but I believe I did break parallel. I definitely want to retest this once I get over this annoying muscle strain.

B. For Time of the following:
Row 1000 meters, Airdyne 150 Calories, Row 500 Meters, Airdyne 75 Calories
Last Time was: 17:59
     - Today's time was 17:56. I guess I thought I would blow away my last time but it was not to be. I rowed the 1,000M piece at about a 1:40 pace. That used to be easy for me but didn't feel that easy today. The 75 Cal Airdyne seemed like it took forever. My strategy was to do :30 at a hard pace (between 300-350 watts) and then back off for :30 at about 150 watts. I think if I were to do this again and take significant time off, I'd have to suffer more on the Airdyne and just push harder.

Friday August 23, 2013

10:00 of Rowing @ Z1
+ 10:00 Mobility -Shoulders (External rotations, lacrosse ball work, 5 TGU's/side @ light weight)

+ 10:00 Rowing @ Z1

+ 10:00 Mobility - Spine

Thursday August 22, 2013

4.5 Mile Run (not for time)
    - Just wanted to stay active today without anything intense. Will do some more active recovery and mobility tomorrow.

Wednesday August 21, 2013

A. Close Grip Bench Press, build to a 1 RM.
     - Got 235#. Failed at 245#. A little disappointed but not that surprised. I've never been great at bench pressing, even when I was doing it every week sometimes twice a week! Lately, I've been experiencing some impingement in my shoulders and not sure if it's from bad technique or something going on in my rotator cuff.
B.  Pendalay Barbell Row Cluster, 1.1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 1:30
     - Used 155#

C. 500 Double Unders for time
Last Time: 10:00 on the dot.
     - Time was 8:23. Obviously big improvement but I know I can do better. I'm really not good at knowing when to rest and how long to rest when doing double-unders. All I know is that I have done the OPT "Flight Simulator" workout (which has 500 double unders) in just over 7:00 so that's a number I feel like I should be able to hit.

Tuesday August 20, 2013

A. Front Squat @ 20x1, plus 40 lbs of chains, load 215 lbs, 3 repetitions x 5 sets.

     - Did 2 sets @ 205 then 3 sets @ 215# (not including the 40# of chains) still feeling pretty sore from Sunday's competition

B1. Clean Deadlift Cluster @ 30x1, 1.1.1.1 @ 275 lbs x 5 sets, rest 10 seconds

B2. Kipping Handstand Push Up Cluster, 2.2.2 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.

     - No problem with these

C1. Chest to Bar Pull Ups Cluster, 5.5.5 x 3 sets, rest 1:30

     - Felt really good on the pull-ups today. I decided to mess around with a false grip on the bar and it felt so much better than the closed grip that I typically use on pull-ups. Need to try this technique with butterfly CTB's!!

C2. Thruster Cluster @ 95/65, 6.6.6 x 3 sets, rest 1:30

     - Thrusters felt terrible today. I got through them but my reps seemed slow and not smooth at all.

Sunday August 18, 2013

"GAMEDAY"

Garage Games Team competition at CF Newton 

Training has been going really well lately and I felt very ready for this comp. If anything, I was overconfident as I didn't think that doing 4 workouts in one day would be a big deal physically. I have to admit that this day was much tougher than I ever would have imagined!

First, the mental fatigue of being at this event for almost 13 hours was pretty draining. Second, the programming for the workouts was....interesting. I'll leave it at that!

WOD 1: All 4 members complete 50 Cal Row/25 Front Squats/75 Double Unders
     - For some reason I thought this one would be harder. It may have actually been the easiest WOD we did all day. I led off for my team and finished my Double Unders somewhere between 4:30 and 4:45. Messed up only once on D/U's which cost me maybe :05. My team finished somewhere in the middle of the pack overall.

WOD 2: 30 Heavy KB Swings/25m walking Lunge/50m sprint/25m walking lunge/Heavy KB Swings
     - Almost everyone who did this described it as a "bloodbath" and the "toughest WOD" of the comp. I guess I'd have to agree. That last 25m of lunges was pretty miserable. It was even more miserable because I was paired with She-beast Bridget Constantino who was flying through the lunges! I thought that I would finish my lunges before her and have at least :10 of rest before starting my swings!! Boy was I wrong. My team did well on this one and finished top 10.

WOD 3: 25m sled pull x 2 / 60 Deadlifts / 25m sled pull x 2
     - This one worried me a little bit because I just didn't know how it would feel to drag that sled over rough and uneven terrain. My first few steps were all over the place as I struggled to get control of the sled. I also had a mental FUBAR when I forgot to turn the sled around for my partner and cost us a few seconds. The deadlifts really weren't bad. This one seemed all about the sled pull and the teamwork required to change plates. Again, we did real well on this one. The ladies especially did great!

WOD 4: 20 Burpee Box Jump Overs @ 24" box / 40 Toes to Bar / 20 Burpee Jump Overs / 40 Snatch or Cleans
     - Not much strategy required here other than to break the reps into manageable sets. If anything slowed us down it was probably the TTB's. Those are tough if you don't have a solid kip or if you lose your kipping rhythm in the middle of a workout! Strict TTB's are 10x harder! Everything else went as planned and we placed well enough to qualify for the final WOD. Not sure if that's a good thing(???)

WOD 5 Finals: 10 Rope Climbs/ 75 HSPU/ 75 Pistols / 75 Pull-Ups / 75 Thrusters @ 135/95 / 10 Rope Climbs
     - My first reaction to this workout was "you've got to be F-ing kidding me!!". My second was giving serious consideration to just calling it a day. I could tell some of my teammates were pretty worn out as well and I thought if I planted the seed, everyone else would quickly fall in line! Glad I sucked it up though. The workout was nowhere near as hard as it sounded. We would have had a shot to finish except for the fact that the HSPU's and Pistols exposed some team weaknesses (and I am DEFINITELY counting myself as one of those weaknesses!).

Not sure exactly where we ended up placing but it really doesn't matter. Everyone on our team had their one shining moment. I'll never forget the look on Jessi's face when she completed her first rope climb! And Bridget was cranking out the Pistols as if she'd been doing them for years. Dillon did about 50 of our team's HSPU's, lol!

So, as with all CrossFit competitions, all the anxiety and suffering that happens before and during are forgotten and what you remember is the sense of accomplishment and the great friendships you take away!

Saturday August 17, 2013

Did a walkthrough of the first Garage Games team event which was...

     - 50 Cal Row
     - 25 Front Squats @ 135#
     - 75 Double Unders

     - Did this in about 5:09. Rowed at a moderate pace. Did the FS's unbroken and also went unbroken on Double Unders. Stopped after the FS's to change out plates for Heather. Can definitely push the pace on this more.

Friday August 16, 2013

AMRAP 20:00 of ...
     - Run 500M (??)
     - 7 Double KB Clean & Press @ 35# KB's
     - 7 Double KB Front Squat
     - 7 Double KB Snatch
     - 28 Double Unders

Thursday August 15, 2013

AMRAP 15:00 of...
     - 15 KB Swings @ 70#
     - 15 Burpees

     - Score was 8 rounds + 16 reps. This was 7 reps short of the last time I did it. Pretty disappointed but I think mentally it just wasn't there today. I just wasn't willing to suffer more in those last 3-4 minutes. Had a great pace through first half of the workout but felt pretty miserable after about round 5. KB swings were all unbroken but burpees became ridiculously slow. Oh well....guess I'm just in vacation mode this week!!!

Tuesday August 13, 2013

A. Team comp. prep
     - Mixed team of 2 complete 2 rounds of...
            - 30 KB Swings @ 70#/53#
            - 25 Yard Walking Lunge w/ KB
            - 50 yard sprint
            -25 Yard Walking Lunge w/ KB
            -30 KB Swings @ 70#/53#

      - One person works at a time on swings. Everything else is simultaneously.
      - Heather and I did 4:07 first round and 3:50 the second round. We rested approximately 4:00 between rounds.

B. 3 Rounds of.....
     - 400M Run
     - 15 Hand Release Push Ups
     - 20 Double KB Push Jerks @ 35#
     - 25 Air Squat
     - 30 Double Unders
     - Finished in 12 something. Just wanted to get a sweat on and burn some calories

Monday August 12, 2013

20:00 of...
    - Every minute on the minute - 10 KB Snatches (5 each arm) @ 53#

    - Wanted to do a 10:00 tester of AMRAP snatches but was worried about tearing the shit out of my hands before an upcoming team competition this weekend. My technique on KB snatches is a bit rusty as it has not been a big part of my training program as it was last year preparing for RKC.
 

Sunday August 11,2013

30:00 run, nice and easy

Saturday August 10,2013

A. Back squat:5 sets of 2 reps, rest 3:00 between sets
    -worked up to 300 but still doing low bar. Felt good and could have gone for more.

B. Complete the following for time: “Tombstone"

50 calorie row
40 pistols (20 each leg)
30 box jumps@30"
20 GHD sit ups
100 double unders
20 GHD sit ups
30 box jumps@30"
40 pistols (20 each leg)
50 calorie row

Time was 18:48. This one was tough. Lots off pistols and lots of high box jumps.

Friday August 9, 2013

A. Snatch on the minute, every minute x 3 repetitions @ 115 lbs x 10 minutes. Concentrate on technique.
     - These went fine except that my left shoulder was absolutely on fire my first few sets. I was feeling major impingement in my RC...no idea why. For some reason, it got better as I did more sets. I guess it loosened up.

B. Overhead Squats @ 30x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - Worked up to 200# for 4!! I was surprised that I was able to do this and I actually felt like I had more in me. Really, really happy with this.

C. Back Extensions, hands on chest, 12-15 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
D. 50 Handstand Push Ups for time:
Last time was over 12:00 minutes.
     - Well I still suck....but I guess I suck a little less than last time. Time was 10:17. I actually blazed (well, for me) through the first 25 reps in under 4:00 and was feeling decent. Started to fatigue and fail reps after 30. That 30 rep threshold is where the wheels usually come off for me.
     - If I were to guess what helped me improve my time, it was breaking sets into 2 reps and not going to failure too soon.
     - This was of course pretty humbling having to take an eternity to do 50 HSPU's. Especially after watching guys my age at the Games bang out 30 in :45 !!! It's kind of good though because it lights a fire under my ass to train harder if I want to have any prayer of competing at that level.

Wednesday August 7, 2013

A1. Fat Bar Close Grip Bench Press @ 22x1, 3-4 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - Worked up to 205.
A2. Weighted Pronated Pull Ups, 5-4-3-2-1, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - Started at 53# but felt too heavy today. Dropped down to 35#
B.  - 50 Step-Down Box Jumps
     - 25 Burpees
     - 50 Swings @ 24kg
     - 25 Burpees
     - 50 Wall-Balls
     - 25 Burpees
     - 50 Double Unders
     - 25 Burpees
Last Time was: 14:55


Compare to January 26, 2013
     - Time was 14:03!! Pretty psyched about this. Mainly because I haven't really been focusing a lot on Met-con stuff lately. This one wasn't easy and definitely got harder towards the end. Only thing I'm disappointed in is that I shit the bed on the Double Unders. Had to break several times because I kept messing up. Just the same, I'll take my :52 PR and call it a good training day!

Tuesday August 6, 2013

A. Front Squat @ 20x1, work to a heavy set of 2 reps. Goal weight is 245 lbs.

     - Worked up to 245 for a double. Really want to get 3 reps at this weight!!!! Wasn't happening

B. Deadlift on the minute, every minute x 3 touch no go repetitions x 10 minutes @ 315 lbs.

C. Row 350 Meters for Time. All Out Effort.

     - time was :58. This was a 1:22.8 pace. My rowing has really gotten so much worse from where I was 4 years ago. Can't figure out why since I'm on the damn thing almost every day!

D. Romanian Deadlift @ 135 lbs, 6-8 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.

Monday August 5, 2013

A. Mid Thigh Snatch off Blocks, work to a heavy single. The barbell on the boxes should come up to your mid thigh region. Your goal weight should be 160 lbs or more.
     - Worked to 160 and stopped there. Technique was really solid today. Did a much better job of bringing my hips to the bar.

B. Above Knee and Split Jerk Cluster @ 215 lbs, 1.1.1 x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes.
     - Did better on these as well but they did get tough. The 3rd clean rep was a little sloppy on each set. Jerks were no problem.

C.  Strict Press @ 20x1, 2-3 repetitions x 3 sets, rest 2 minutes.
     - Worked to 145

D.  Every Minute on the Minute x 10 Minutes of:
3 Power Cleans @ 185 lbs
5 Pull Ups(Butterfly)
     - These were fine but my weak link on butterflies is grip. Always feel like I'm about to tear the shit out of my hands (and they're pretty well conditioned!!). Don't know if there a better way I should be gripping the bar?? Never found any gloves that I like to use for pull-ups.

Friday August 2,2013

A. Push Press Cluster off blocks, 1.1.1, work to a heavy cluster.
     -195
B. Overhead Squats @ 30x1, 4-5 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     -only 185 on these and only got 4 reps
C. Back Extensions, hands on head, 12-15 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 2 minutes between sets.
D. On the Minute, Every Minute x 20 Minutes of the following:
7 Push Press: Odd Minutes @ 95 lbs
7 Toes to Bar: Even Minutes

     - went unbroken on the TTB's. Was just enough work to not tear my hands!

Sunday August 4,2013

30:00 easy run. Beautiful day for it.

Saturday August 3,2013

A. High Bar Back Squat @ 85%, 3 reps x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     290 on these. Did Low bar BS but still pretty happy.

B. Airdyne Sprint 20 seconds, every 3 minutes x 21 minutes.
C. 20 Minute AMRAP of the following;
2 Muscle Up
Run 400 Meters
2 Muscle Up
Row 500 Meters
     Did pretty good on this one. No problem with the muscle ups.I think I did about 4 1/2 rounds

Wednesday July 31,2013

A1. Close Grip Bench Press @ 20x1, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     Worked up to 225
A2. Weighted Pronated Pull Ups, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     - 63#
B. 3 Sets of the following:
30 seconds of Squat Cleans @ 115 lbs
rest 30 seconds
60 seconds of Lateral Burpees
rest 60 seconds
90 seconds of Airdyne
rest 90 seconds

Tuesday July 30,2013

A. Front Squat @ 20x1 plus 40 lbs of chains, load barbell with 205 lbs, 3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.

B. Deadlift @ 30x1, 2-3 repetitions x 5 sets, rest 3 minutes between sets.
     Worked up to 355
C. Row x 125 Meters x 10 sets, rest 1 minute and 20 seconds between sets.
D. Russian Kettlebell Swings @ 88 lbs, 15 repetitions x 4 sets, rest 1 minute between sets.