Wednesday March 11, 2015

A. Split Jerk off Blocks, 80%, 1 rep x 2 sets, 85%, 1 rep x 2 sets, 90% x 1 rep x 1 set, rest as needed between sets
     - Worked up to 235
B. Strict Handstand Push-Ups, 8-10 reps x 4 sets, and/or Clusters of 3.3.3.1 x 4 sets, rest as needed between sets.
     - Kipping sets of 8-10
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C. 30-20-10 of the following:
Cal Assault Bike
Wall Balls
     - Don't remember time. 6 something??
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Rest 8-10 Minutes
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12-9-6 of the following:
Push Press @ 165/110 lbs
Box Jumps @ 30/24 inches
     - Think my time was somewhere around 2:38

Monday March 9, 2015

Opens Workout 15.2 (second attempt)

My last attempt was 172, a huge improvement from last year and a score that I felt very good about for about 24 hours, After that, my competitive juices kicked in and I was determined to post a higher score than some of my training partners as well as some of the guys in the Masters division I'm competing against.

I re-did this workout against my better judgment which told me that the tank was just about empty the first time around, plus the fact that my hands were pretty beat up and might not hold up real well through another onslaught of 80+ CTB Pull-Ups.

Well, I did re-do the workout and I crashed and burned in the round of 14 just like last year. My grip was toast going into the round and I had a lot of difficulty just stringing reps together. The OHS's on the other hand felt great. This was all about my lack of ability with BF CTB Pull-Ups. Didn't help that I wore grips to preserve my palms. The grips did their job as far as saving my skin but hanging on to the pull-up bar was wayy more taxing.

Don't even know what score I ended up with and it really doesn't matter. I knew it was over when I saw that I had just a minute left going into last round of pull-ups.

This was just a really humbling, demoralizing experience. Starting to doubt whether I will ever have a real shot to make the Games.....just way too many weaknesses.

Friday March 6, 2015

Opens WOD 15.2 (First Attempt)

So, this was a repeat of last year's 14.2 workout which happened to be my 2nd worst finishing position of the 2014 Opens. I finished in 100th place worldwide in my age group and was just 3 reps shy of breaking into the next round of the ladder.

3:00 of
2 Rounds....
10 OHS @ 95#
10 CTB Pull-Ups

3:00 of
2 Rounds....
12 OHS @ 95#
12 CTB Pull-Ups

3:00 of
2 Rounds....
14 OHS @ 95#
14 CTB Pull-Ups

3:00 of
2 Rounds....
16 OHS @ 95#
16 CTB Pull-Ups

My goal was to do whatever it took to get out of that goddamn round of 14 reps!! Last year I had a minute left to grind through 14 single reps which I failed to do. I was determined to find a manageable pace that would allow me to hang on as long as possible and do just enough to make it through.

This time I did it!! And with about 5 seconds to spare. Granted I was pretty blown up and had to rest 20-30 seconds before picking up the barbell. I got through 10 of the 16 OHS and dropped the bar. I picked it up and finished the remaining reps. I got back to the pull-up bar with probably close to 2:00 left but could only manage 12 pull ups.

I have no regrets from the standpoint of knowing that I gave my best effort and could not have squeezed out much more. I need to continue to work on CTB Pull-Ups but I certainly have gotten better. Whether this score is good enough to keep me in the game, I won't really know until Monday evening. All I know is that the first 2 workouts have featured movements that are big time weaknesses of mine and I am still standing!

Here's hoping for some rowing, wall-balls and muscle ups in next workout!!!

Wednesday March 4, 2015

A. High Bar Back Squat, 90% x 1 rep x 3 sets, rest as needed between sets.
     - 300#. Felt like a PR weight!!
B. Strict Handstand Push Ups, 8-10 reps or Clusters of 3.3.3.1 x 4 sets, rest as needed between sets.
     - Did sets of 10 but kipping
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B. 4 Sets of the following @ 85%:
20 Cal Row
15 Box Jumps @ 24 inches/20 inches
10 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups or Burpees-Athlete Choice
Rest 60 Seconds between sets
     - Got all sets unbroken on everything. Moved pretty well through pull-ups.

Tuesday March 3, 2015

Airdyne 15 Minutes @ Zone 1
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3 Sets for time of the following @ 80%:
60 Double Unders
20 Wall Balls
5 Muscle-Ups
     - I stuck to the recommended intensity level going for unbroken sets while pausing long enough between movements to make sure my H/R didn't spike. I really became aware of the effect that big sets of Double Unders have on me. After the first round my H/R was soaring after the 60 dubs. Have to be aware of this in workouts that have them. Got 2/3 sets of Muscle Ups unbroken. Last set broke into 4/1.

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Airdyne 15 Minutes @ Zone 1

Monday March 2, 2015

10 Minutes of Airdyne @ 75%
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5-7 Muscle Ups
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10 Minutes of Airdyne @ 75%
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5-7 Muscle-Ups
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10 Minutes of Airdyne @ 75%
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5-7 Muscle Ups
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10 Minutes of Airdyne @ 75%
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5-7 Muscle-Ups

- Attempted 5 M/U's the first 3 rounds then did 6 the last round. My kip got progressively better as I warmed up. Was pretty brutal when I started out!

Sunday March 1, 2015

Opens Workout 15.1 and 15.1A (second attempt)

9 Minute AMRAP of
15 Toes to Bar
10 Deadlift @ 115#
5 Snatch @ 115#
followed immediately by....
In 6 Minutes work to a max load of Clean and Jerk

Strategy here was to move faster through the D/L's and Snatches and pace the TTB's as efficiently as possible. I knew it would be tough to get 6 full rounds but that was the goal. Unfortunately, I fell just short but I did improve by reps for a score of 174. In the later round I just couldn't maintain my pace on the "fast singles". The people who crushed this workout were people who could maintain sets of kipping TTB's through at least 5 rounds!

On the second part, I wanted at least 255, maybe more. I hit 250 without too much difficulty but surprisingly, I couldn't even make the clean at 255. I guess all that grip stuff really did take it's toll on my forearms.

All in all, I have no reason to feel too disappointed. On the first part, I dealt with one of my weak areas in TTB's and still managed a "decent" score. On the 2nd part, I hit over 95% of my 1RM despite being fatigued. This was good enough to keep me in the running for now but I'm going to have to do better to have any real shot going into the Top-200 workouts.