Month: September 2012

WOD at CrossFit PB and an Automattic Bootcamp

I’m trying to stay on Eastern time for the most part this week because it allows me to get up in the morning and workout before work stuff starts. I got up at 5am this morning and went to the 6am class at CrossFit PB. There was 7 of is class which I thought was surprising for so early.

Warm-up

2 rounds

  • 5 Front Squats (45#)
  • 10 V-ups
  • 20 DUs
  • Samson Stretch

We also did some PVC work and stretching before getting started.

Strength

Back Squats

  • 5 @ 45#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 3 @ 155#
  • 3 @ 175#
  • 3 @ 195#
  • 3 @ 195#
  • 6 @ 215#

The idea here was to warm up for a few sets. Then do 2 sets at about 65% of 1RM. For the last set use 85% of 1RM and do max reps. I didn’t do any strict calculations, but I think my weight choices worked out pretty well.

Thrusters
Do a few sets of 3 to get warm for the WOD. I did 45#, 65#, and 95#.

WOD

  • 12-9-6 Thrusters (115#)
  • 24-18-12 T2B

I picked a pretty perfect weight on the thrusters and broke each round into 2 sets. Did well stringing T2B together in round 1, but my hips were shot in the 2nd and 3rd rounds so it was tough to get a kip going. At the end I was actually only doing 1 or 2 at a time. Finished in 8:02.

I rushed back to the hotel where I was putting on a Bootcamp for my coworkers at 7:30am. I skipped the warm-up, but did the rest with them.

WOD #2

8:00 AMRAP

  • 5 HR Push-ups
  • 10 Sit-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

We did this on the wet grass outside the hotel. Not the greatest of locations, but hey, this is CrossFit and we have to be ready for the unknown. I managed to get 7 rounds plus the 5 push-ups.

Finisher

2 rounds

  • 1m Plank
  • 1m Side Plank (30s each side)
  • 1m Rest

I think the Bootcamp went pretty well and ended almost exactly after 30 minutes like I had planned.

San Diego Sunday

I arrived in San Diego last night for our yearly Automattic company meetup. Got up early this morning and hit up the fitness center in the hotel for a workout.

Warm-up

Did an easy 800m run on the treadmill.

WOD

  • 100 DB Hang Squat Clean Thrusters (30# DBs)
  • Every minute on the minute (except for at the beginning), do 5 burpees.

We did this a few months ago at SF from the ground instead of the hang position. Back then I took some rest minutes doing 0 clean thrusters and finished in 23:42. Today I did them from the hang starting position like the video done by Jason Khalipa where this WOD came from. Finished in 15:35 today without taking any “rest” minutes.

Finisher

  • 100 Russian Twists (25# DB)

I did these in sets of 50, 25, and 25, but didn’t time it.

An Easy-ish Deck

I made it to the 10am class which gives me enough time to pack and get ready for my trip. Flight leaves at 1:30.

Warm-up

4 rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s High Knees
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers

WOD

Deck of Cards

Suits:

  • ♣ – Russian KBS (53# KB)
  • ♠ – 1m Plank
  • ♦ – Air Squats
  • ♥ – Burpees

Ranks:

  • 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace – 10 reps
  • 2 through 9 – Face value in reps
  • Joker – 150m Run

I finished in 32:36. Planks really sucked because they brought down the intensity and at one point I had 6 of 9 cards come up a spade. Usually deck of cards is pretty brutal but today it wasn’t bad with the selected movements and the fact that the highest rep count was 10.

Finisher

Prowler Sprints – 25m High Push followed by 25m Low Push

Casey A. and I did some prowler sprints at the end of class. The first sprint we had 135# loaded on the heavy prowler and it was pretty easy, so we added another 45# plate for 180# of load and did 5 more down and backs. My legs are getting stronger because the heavy pushes are getting a lot easier.

Waiter’s Walk

Feeling good this morning even though I only got about 6-6.5 hours of sleep last night. Went to the 9am class.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Deadlifts
  • 2m Rest

Warmed up with 10 at 135# and 5 at 185#. For my working sets I used 225#, 255#, 285#, 310#, and 330#. The last set actually went up really easy. Matt was yelling at me to be explosive, which really helped, because I often get too slow in my deadlift. The lifts really felt great and my back didn’t act up at all.

Accessory

3 Sets

  • Kroc Rows
  • 2m Rest

For the first two sets we did 12 reps on each arm and then went to failure on the last set. I used 62#, 71#, and 80# KBs for the sets. On the failure set I got 14 with my right arm and 15 with the left.

WOD

450m Sandbag Waiter’s Walk

Instructions: Get the sandbag overhead so it’s only supported by the arms. Do not rest it on your head or shoulders. We used two hands because the sandbags are pretty heavy and awkward. Every 10 steps, drop the bag down from overhead and perform a sandbag burpee.

I loved this one because I need to build up my shoulder stability strength for things like the OHS and having long strides is a big advantage. I crushed it, finishing in 6:44.

Midline

25 Turkish Get-ups (for quality)

I grabbed the 44# KB, but after one rep I could tell my shoulders weren’t going to be able to handle it. They were absolutely wrecked from doing OHS last night and the waiter’s walk in the WOD. I dropped down to a 40# KB, which was still challenging.

Finisher

I stayed after class since Matt was doing a 1-on-1 with a client. Loaded up the prowler and did some pulling. First I did about 50m with 135# and then I did a 150m loop in the parking lot with 180# loaded on. I had to take 3 breaks while doing that loop. You wouldn’t think it would do much for conditioning, but I was breathing pretty heavy when I got done.

Garage OHS

I figured it was time I use the weights I bought at Rouge Fitness last weekend. I haven’t done any OHS in a long time so they sounded like a good idea. Especially as they are listed as the WOD on the main site for Friday. I decided to go for a 1RM. Warmed up with the bar and then a few at 75#. Knocked one out at 95# and then one at 115#. My previous PR was 130# so I went up to 135# and it felt good. I don’t have any small plates so the next weight I could put on was 145#. It wasn’t pretty on the way up, but I got it done for a 15# PR. Then I got greedy and decided to go for 155#. Wasn’t stable and lost it at the bottom of the squat. Here’s a video of the 145# lift.

I need to get a rack because it was way too much work getting the bar into position. Not to mention I won’t be able to do any heavy front or back squats until I have a rack.

Even more exciting than this PR… I just got the email that I passed the test, so now I’m officially a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer! I scored a 40 out of 45 on the test.

Getting Better at Thrusters

My abs are a little sore today, but not really any more than yesterday, which is surprising. We really blasted them on Monday and Tuesday. I walked 18 holes of golf this morning and went to the 7pm class.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Push Presses
  • 1-2m Rest

I warmed up with a set of 8 at 45# and a set of 5 at 95#. For my working sets I used 115#, 135#, 145#, 160#, and 170#. Had some left in the tank for next time too.

Accessory

3 Sets

  • MAX Ring Push-ups
  • 90s Rest

I knocked out sets of 28, 15, and 9 (I think). Honestly can’t remember the last set.

WOD

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

  • Thrusters (35# DBs)
  • Box Jump (28″)
  • 150m Run (length of run is the same each round)

Thrusters actually felt pretty good today. I think learning to properly scale my weights is really helping out. I did each set without putting down the DBs. The 28″ box was a bigger deal than expected. I finished in 13:50.

Finisher

DU Tabata

I did pretty good with me DUs today. Got quite a few unbroken strings of around 20.

Disappointed With My First 100 Burpees Test

Abs are a little sore from yesterday’s WOD and I can just imagine what they’ll feel like tomorrow.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Back Squats
  • 1-2m Rest

I warmed up with a set of 8 using just the bar and then a set of 5 using 115#. I only managed to get in 4 working sets because everyone else was somehow done before I was even done with my 4th set and there was no time. I guess they must not have done warm-up sets. For my working sets I used 155#, 185#, 205#, and 215#. Easy stuff considering I got up to 220# for a set of 5 last week. Pretty bummed I didn’t have time to get in my last set.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Step-ups (40# DBs, 18″ box)
  • 1m Rest

I had to rush through because I was way behind the rest of the class.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Sit-ups
  • 1m Rest

Another rush job here. I felt pretty dumb actually. I used a 62# KB for the first set and then 35# DBs for the last two sets.

WOD

On less than a minute of rest (I was out of breath from trying to rush through my sit-ups) I had to jump right into the WOD and my performance showed it.

  • 100 Burpees

This is actually the first time I’ve done 100 burpees for time, which is surprising considering I’ve been doing CrossFit for over 10 months now. I knew it was going to be a grind when I barely got through 20 in the first minute. I knocked out my 50th rep before taking a rest, but then took 2 more short breaks after that. My finishing time was 6:44, which is extremely disappointing. In 5 minutes of burpees I knocked out 93 just about 2 months ago and didn’t need to take any breaks then. Under 6 minutes should have been easy, with a shot at breaking 5:30. 😦

Finisher

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 V-ups
  • 30s Boat

Let’s kill those abs some more! This got really hard after the first round or two. I think I got through 5 rounds plus the 10 V-ups. I was going for quality more than quantity here.

Just not my day the way the schedule of class worked out. Didn’t get up to a heavy enough weight for back squats and wasn’t rested enough to put in a good effort during the WOD. The problems really comes down to packing too much in the strength portion. We could have combined two of the movements so we would alternate back and forth between the step-ups and sit-ups for example. That would have saved a few minutes.

Labor Day

I’m a little tired today, but it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. Still coming off the high from the Level I Course.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Jump Squats

WOD

“Erin”
5 rounds

  • 15 DB Split Cleans (35#)
  • 21 Pull-ups

The last time I did this I used 40#, which is Rx. Decided to step it down a bit today and try to keep intensity higher. I finished in 16:10, compared to 21:13 with the 40s. I could have got by with the 40s and probably broke 20 minutes today with them.

Finisher

50-40-30-20-10

  • AbMat Sit-ups
  • Lying Leg Raises
  • Plank (seconds)

This was killer. I finished in between 19 and 20 minutes.

Strength

Matt was going for his 1RM, so I worked in with him on some sets.

Deadlift

  • 5 @ 225#
  • 5 @ 265#
  • 3 @ 315#
  • 3 @ 315#
  • 10 @ 225#

In that second set at 315 I felt it a bit in my back so shut it down and did the fallback set.

CrossFit Level I Certification

This weekend I was down in Columbus, OH at Rogue headquarters for the CrossFit Level I Trainer Course and Certification. What an amazing experience. Kevin and Brent from Survival Fitness also went down for the weekend. We got to learn from some of the best trainers in the world. Words cannot express what the weekend meant to mean and how much I got out of it. Do one for yourself.

We did two WODs over the weekend. On Saturday, we ended the day with:

“Fran”
21-15-9

  • Thrusters (75#)
  • Pull-ups

We all know this bitch. I’m getting smarter about scaling my weight down and made the right choice here. My time was 5:36.

Then today, we did a triplet:

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Chest to Deck Push-ups
  • 10 MB Cleans (20#)
  • 12 Sit-ups

I completed 5 rounds plus 8 more push-ups, 10 cleans, and 1 sit-up as time expired. The MB cleans don’t seem like much but they really add up.