Month: February 2014

Blood on the Battlefield

Big storm dumped a bunch of snow on us last night, so the gym was closed this morning and I wouldn’t try to drive down my street anyway before they plow it out. Trained in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 50 Jumping Jacks

Strength

5×5 Shoulder Press @ 70-80%

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 5×120#
  • 5×120#
  • 5×125#
  • 5×130#

All sets in the zone again.

Conditioning

E3M 15:00

  • 10 C&J (135#)

Worked out even better than I planned. My goal was to complete at least the first 3 rounds in under a minute, but I did all 5! Great to work on cycling and there was enough rest to be able to push hard each round. I wasn’t quite ready for the 2nd rep in round 1 because I hadn’t done a single warm-up rep, so it was a no rep and slowed me down a lot for the round.

Round Time to Finish Rep Breakdown
1 :40 10
2 :35 10
3 :48 7-2-1
4 :50 5-3-1-1
5 :47 5-2-1-1-1

20140218-112752.jpg
10:00 EMOM

  • 40 DU

Not the greatest day but all rounds were done in less than 30 seconds. Managed to slice my finger open in the first or second round and spray blood everywhere for the rest of the workout.

Midline

  • Tabata Hollow Rocks

I alternated each round between hands at my sides and hands overheard. OH is infinitely harder, especially since my abs are still sore from the 100 GHD sit-ups I did Saturday. I couldn’t even get full rounds in for the last 4 that’s how tough this got; I had to keep taking a second or two break.

Keep It Simple

Still pretty sore from Saturday’s back squats and GHD sit-ups. In for the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 10/10 Leg Swings (F-B, S-S)
  • 20 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 20 Air Squats w/ pause
  • :30/:30 Lunge Stretch
  • :45/:45 Couch Stretch

Strength

5×5 Back Squats @ 70-80%

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×205#
  • 5×245#
  • 5×250#
  • 5×255#
  • 5×260#
  • 5×270#

All sets in the range today, even based on my old 340# back squat. Well shy of my 5RM of 305#, but the total for the 5 working sets smashes the day I did that by 75#, plus I did 135# and 205# today warming up. More work done = progress!

2014-02-17-5x5-back-squats

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 5 Burpees

Finished 13 rounds plus 1 wall ball. The wall balls weren’t really a problem, but the burpees slowed down a lot again. Was able to hold a pretty good pace trough the entire workout.

Did a little mobility and worked on my kip.

Max Push-ups

Out to the garage around 9:30 for some recovery-ish work.

5 Rounds

  • 5:00 Air Dyne @ 55% (AD2)
  • MAX Hand Release Push-ups

Calories were 80-80-80-81-81 and push-ups were 30-25-25-25-25. The last 5-10 push-ups of each set were a slow grind. My focus was on keeping a tight midline so I wouldn’t snake them.

Got the heart rate up, sweated a bit even though I didn’t heat up the garage, and worked on my push-up weakness. I’ll call that a successful Sunday morning.

Back Squats and GHD Sit-ups

Originally I was going to go to the 10am class today, but after being up until 1 watching “House of Cards” and having been to classes 5 days in a row, I thought it best not to go. I went out to the garage around 4pm.

Warm-up

Nice and easy 5 minutes on the Air Dyne (AD2).

Warmed up with some back squats:

  • 20×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×185#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×255#

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 3 Back Squats (275#)
  • Evens: 10 GHD Sit-ups

Rest 1:30

E30S 5:00

  • :00 1 Back Squats (275#)
  • :30 5 GHD Sit-ups

Dropped the weight down to 225# for 3 sets of 5 back squats. Then over to the GHD for a straight set of 25 more sit-ups to make it 100 total. Maybe the most I’ve ever done in a row.

Cooled off with a slow 5 minutes on the AD again.

Quad City

I guess I’m just getting old or getting used to the early bed times. 9am for the 5th day this week. Feeling good though.

Warm-up

“Whip It!”
Play the song by Devo. Do jumping jacks throughout and then a burpee each time they say “whip it” during the song. Be careful not to mistake “whip”, which they say on its own several times. We were definitely warmed up after this.

Strength

Bench Press 5×1 @ 90%+

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 1×205#
  • 1×215#
  • 1×225#
  • 1×235#

Davy, Shaun, Matt, and I rotated through on the same bench. Ran out of time, but I think we were all pretty much done at the end there. Just 5# shy of my PR, so I’m happy with that. Didn’t have my right arm lagging behind like I used to, but my right elbow issue went away in the last couple of months too, so maybe it was related. My left arm actually was a bit behind on that last lift today.

Accessory

12:00 EMOM

  • Odds: MAX unbroken strict ring dips
  • Evens: MAX unbroken strict pull-ups

Went 15-10-6-7-5-5 on dips and 9-5-5-5-5-4 on pull-ups. Pathetic numbers for pull-ups.

Conditioning

21-15-9

  • OHS (95#)
  • OH Lunges (95#, total reps – not each leg)

Fuck! Fuck! Looking at this I figured wrists would be a limiting factor, but that was the least of my worries during the workout. I did the first 21 OHS unbroken with my shoulders shaking all over the place for the last 5 reps, and holy shit was that a mistake. I’ve never felt a burning in my quads during a metcon like this one. I’d get down into a toes squat to rest when taking breaks and that even felt horrible. Brutal brutal workout. I managed to power through the sets of 9 unbroken with a short break between movements and finished in 9:25.

Midline

7:00 EMOM

  • 12 V-Ups

Good core burn in the last 2-3 rounds.

Gettin’ My Squat Groove Back

Another early night and another 9am for the 4th day in a row. Not feeling too beat up though.

Warm-up

  • 3×20 second Wrist stretch on ground
  • 10/10 Leg Swings (F-B, S-S)
  • 15 Squats Jumps
  • 20/20 second Lunge Stretch
  • 1:00 Bottom Squat Hold

Strength

Front Squat 5×1 @ 90%+

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 2×225#
  • 1×255#
  • 1×265#
  • 1×275#
  • 1×285#
  • 1×300#

Still working my way back into the swing of strength, so this was really only 2 reps over 90% of my old PR, but I haven’t hit 300# in about 3 months. Felt pretty good too.

Conditioning

7:00 – Alternate between movements every 15 seconds

  • 2 Power Snatches (115#)
  • 5 Box Jumps (24″)

Starting to feel better cycling reps, but could feel the 2nd rep start to be a struggle during the second half. Box jumps were no big deal and no missed reps today.

5:00

  • Row for calories

Tried to stick close to 1,200 cal/hr and then poured it on during the last minute to end up with 102 calories.

Early to Bed

I was exhausted early again last night so went to bed shortly after 10 and then in for the 9am class again.

Warm-up

  • 3 Rounds
    • 20s Bear Crawl
    • 10s Rest
    • 20s Zombie Kicks
    • 10s Rest
    • 20s Air Squats
    • 10s Rest
  • 10 Burpees

Strength

Deadlifts

  • 5×135#
  • 5×225#
  • 5x3x315#

Was programmed to be 5×1 @ 90+% but my back is still jacked from trying to do heavy triples on Friday. First set at 315 started to feel tight in that area, so I just stuck with that weight for every set.

Accessory

12:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 8 Pendlay Rows (135#)
  • Evens: 15 Band pulls (purple band)

Supposed to use 40% of max deadlift for the rows. Haha! I’m not sure I could row that much for 1 rep. 135# was plenty and still a struggle for the last couple reps each set.

Conditioning

20:00 EMOM

  • 4 Thrusters (75#)
  • 4 Pull-ups
  • 4 Burpees

Another choose your own adventure between 3-5 reps of each. Matt tried it with 5 yesterday and was terrible, so 4 it was for me. Was finishing rounds in 30 seconds at the beginning, but up around 43 seconds by the end. I was getting done with my thrusters in 8 seconds from start to finish. With a tighter kip and using the hips, pull-ups didn’t fatigue and felt good through all 20 minutes. Transitioning between movements slowed and my burpees got slow, which brought my times down. Rough workout; a real mental grind in the second half.

Shoulder to Overhead Volume

Almost stayed in bed this morning. I woke up in the middle of the night with sore hands from the rowing and was a little beat. But I hauled my ass in for the 9am to get it done.

Warm-up

  • 20/20 Arm Circles (10 forward, 10 back)
  • 20 Behind the Neck Band Pull Downs
  • 20 Diagonal PVC Pass-thrus
  • 15 HR Push-ups

Strength

Shoulder Press 5×1 @90%+

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 1×130#
  • 1×135#
  • 1×140#
  • 1×145#
  • 1×150#

Scaling all of my lifts back to make attempts. Hopefully the strength will come back soon.

Accessory

20:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 30s Hollow Rocks
  • Evens: 10 Push Jerks (115#)

I was shaking in the first round of hollow rocks, but hung on and made it through every round without taking any breaks. That gymnastics class is paying off big time. The push jerks were easier than I expected. Was able to go unbroken every round in 15 seconds.

Rest 3:00, then…

Conditioning

7:00

  • 4 Wall Balls every 15s (10′, 20# MB)

We choose from 3-5 to do. 4 was tough and I’m not sure I would have made it with 5. I didn’t drop the ball at all; rested it between my chest and the wall. Total of 112 wall balls.

Rest 1:00, then…

1:00 AMRAP

  • Burpees

Had 10 with 25 seconds left and then put the pedal to the metal to get a total of 19, just a split second shy of getting #20 under the buzzer.

I didn’t realize how much shoulder to overhead work that was.

Sleepy Monday

Got really tired last night and was in bed at 11. Slept over 8 hours, but still feeling tired this morning before heading in to the 9am class. My low back is still tweaked, even with the rest day yesterday.

Warm-up

Strength

Back squat 5×1 @ 90%+

  • 10×45#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×225#
  • 2×275#
  • 1×295#
  • 1×300#
  • 1×305#
  • 1×310#
  • 1×315#

No misses today! Stayed in a better comfort zone and felt pretty good. Just Nanos again; no lifting shoes.

Olympic Lifting

Backwards MB throws overhead to work on hip extension. Then work up to a heavy power clean.

The throwing drill was messing up my timing, so I quit doing it. Did some cleans aw 135# and 155#, then went 185#, 205#, 220#, and 235# to match my power clean PR. I landed with really wide feet so decided not to go higher after that. My dropping under the bar kind of sucks.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

  • 7 T2B
  • 14 HR Push-ups

Used the new stuff we learned in the gymnastics class to keep my legs as straight as possible in the T2B and my hip flexors didn’t fatigue like they normally do. I broke one round down to 5-2, but every other round was 7 unbroken, even the last round. I finished 5 full rounds plus 7 T2B and 6 push-ups. We had the option of doing hand release if we wanted and I figure if they are going to be in the Open they’ll definitely require the hand-release, so might as well work on it.

Back to the gym at 8 for open gym. Another rowing workout from the NCLab.

  • 5:00 mod, 3:00 rest
  • 5:00 hard, 3:00 rest
  • 4:00 mod, 2:00 rest
  • 4:00 hard, 2:00 rest
  • 3:00 mod, 1:30 rest
  • 3:00 hard, 1:30 rest
  • 2:00 mod, 1:00 rest
  • 2:00 hard, 1:00 rest
  • 1:00 mod, 0:30 rest
  • 1:00 hard, 0:30 rest
  • 0:30 mod, 0:15 rest
  • 0:30 hard

Row Pacing Template

  • Hard: 2000m PR pace + 0-5 sec (1:47-1:52 per 500m)
  • Mod: 2000m PR pace + 5-15 sec (1:52-2:02)

Oh my! What a fight just to stay on the slow end of the pace ranges. I think I messed up and only took 30 second rest after the hard 2 minutes, but it wasn’t so bad at that point. Going for 5 and 4 minutes hard was the worst. Racked up over 8,200 meters!

Saturday Hangover

Woke up with a little headache this morning from having a few beers with my brother last night. Went to the 10am class.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row
  • Band stretching

We warmed up on our own today.

Olympic Lifting

Work up to a heavy squat clean.

  • Did a little position work with 45#
  • 2×135#
  • 165#
  • 185#
  • 205#
  • 225#
  • 235#
  • 245#
  • F 255#
  • 255#

Was in nanos, which felt different. Didn’t commit to the first try at 255#, but got it on the 2nd try to match my PR. Was up on my toes a bit but hung on. Need to get the confidence up with these weights. I’ll take it today with the tweaked low back from deadlifts.

Conditioning

20:00 AMRAP w/ partner (each does an entire round and then switch)

  • 6 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 6 Thrusters (95#)
  • 6 Burpees

Cora and I were together. We used the same box and she had a bar with 65# for thrusters. Our game plan was to keep a nice steady pace and keep working, then kick it in high gear in the last 20% of the workout. Worked well for us. We each finished 12 rounds and she got a few box jumps in at the end. Every other team came out of the gates hot and I think we were the last team to finish a round each. But by the end of the workout, we’d passed every team but 1, maybe 2.

That’s 233 burpees for me in the last 3 days!

Back to the box at 1 for some gymnastics work taught by Joe.

He took us through the two basic shapes of the hollow and reverse hollow (superman) that translate into pretty much everything. Then we worked on handstands, kipping, bar stuff, and some ring MU stuff. I felt better doing the straight leg T2B than I did the last time I tried. Worked a bit on keeping the legs tight and in good position for my butterfly pull-ups. Joe helped me to get 2 unbroken bar muscle-ups for the first time. One of the biggest take-aways for me was understanding how to come down from the top and get into that hollow position in order to transition into the next rep. Need to put some time into working on it now.