Year: 2014

Unbroken

Was definitely fatigued yesterday after all of the training on the weekend. Walked 18 holes on the golf course though. In to CFi early this morning to max out the shoulder press. Started off with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 8×75#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 1×135#
  • 1×150#
  • 1×165#
  • Fail 172.5#
  • Fail 170#

Damn! Matched my PR from last May and it felt pretty good. I was expecting more after the Smolov Jr. cycle, but I guess I have to remember that I went 3-4 months without working my shoulders. Maybe after vacation I’ll do another cycle.

Warm-up

  • 15 Russian KBS (44# KB)
  • 5 Burpees
  • 10x CS ATYT
  • 4×135# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 45# plate
  • 4×165# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 2×45# plates

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Pendlay Rows (185#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Kneeling Jumps
    • 2s: 2×45# plates
    • 1s: 2×45# + 35# plates

Shoulders and upper back are getting stronger. I used to struggle with this weight. Need to step it up more the next time I do the kneeling jumps.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 8 Deadlifts (225#)
  • 8 Burpees
  • 8 Pull-ups

Everything unbroken to finish in 6:44. Pull-ups are improving a lot with the shoulder work and focus on body positioning. Need to get up the speed of the burpees when fatigued though.

When I got home I took a bit and then back out in the garage for some quick work.

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10

  • Double Unders
  • Sit-ups

Anchored my feet under 50# DBs and tried to set my area so I wouldn’t be sliding back so much on the sit-ups, but that still happened. I finally got through this bitch without missing a DU and it made a big difference, giving me a 27 second PR with 6:28. If I’m going to get better I have to figure out how to do sit-ups without sliding backwards. By the time I get around 15 reps I have to move the AbMat back up and probably waste a second each time I do that. Really happy about this PR!

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap.

Later in the day I felt like getting in some intervals. Warmed up with 500m on the skierg in 2:34.

10 Rounds

  • 30s @ 90%
  • 30s @ 75%

* % based on 500m PR pace (90% is 2:03 and 70% is 2:38 for me)

My pacing was consistent through each half. Went 1,098m in the first 5:00 and 1,100m in the last 5:00 with an average pace around 2:16/500m. I was actually kind of hard to go as slow as a 2:38 unless I was doing just about nothing, so I was usually more in the low 2:30 range on the low intensity intervals.

New Toy

Yesterday afternoon I put up another sheet of panel board in the garage and installed my new Concept2 SkiErg. Isn’t she pretty?

ski-erg

I thought so, until I used it this morning. Out in the garage around 8am for the first training session of the day. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

SkiErg

  • 1,000m Warm-up (5:14)
  • 2:00 Rest
  • Max effort intervals
    • 60m (0:13)
    • 2:00 Rest
    • 60m (0:13)
    • 2:00 Rest
    • 100m (0:21.5)
    • 2:00 Rest
    • 100m (0:21.1)
    • 2:00 Rest
    • 150m (0:31.6)
    • 2:00 Rest
    • 150m (0:30.8)
    • 3:00 Rest
    • 150m (0:30.7)
    • 3:00 Rest
    • 200m (0:41.0)
    • 3:00 Rest
    • 500m (1:50.8)

Although this is programmed as a continuous series of intervals, it really should be treated as 2 sections. The 1st 3 intervals (2×60, 2×100, 1×150) and the 2nd 3 intervals (1×150, 1×200, 1×500). The 1st intervals are short and very explosive efforts that will recruit your fast twitch muscle fibers. The 2nd 3 intervals are all gearing up to that final 500m max effort. The final 3 intervals are focused on creating endurance while your fast twitch fibers are fatigued.

Holy shit! The skierg smokes your arms, especially the biceps. Walked 0.43 miles around the block to cool down.

Midline

10:00 EMOM

  • 10 Hollow Rocks
  • 10 Superman Rocks

Did them back to back, so had about 30-35 seconds of rest after the reps.

Kicked back and rested until noon, when it was back out to the garage. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation again and then did an easy 5:00 on the Air Dyne.

IMG_4746EMOM

  • Odds: 3 Weighted Chin-ups (increasing weight each round)
  • Evens: 2 Strict Pause Ring Dips (unweighted, 2s pause)

* Continue until failure at one movement and then do max reps for one final set with the other movement.

I started the chin-ups with 10# on the belt and went up 5# every round. Only managed 1 at 60#, but even the 3rd with 55# probably was a bit short if anyone had been watching. So that was 10 sets of 3 before failure. I managed to get 6 dips on the max round at the end to total 26 strict pause ring dips. Those were a nice challenge.

Warmed up my front squats with 10×45#, 5×135#, 3×185#, and 3×205#.

E3M

  • 2-2-2-2-2 — Front Squats (225#, 33X1 Tempo)
  • 2-1-2-1-2 — Standing Jump & Reach (both hands)

The movements were back to back, so after racking the bar, I walked out to the driveway and jumped up to touch the rim (basketball hoop) as high as I could. Maybe should have put on the weight vest for the single jumps.

Finished with a moderate paced 10:00 on Air Dyne for 242 cal and then Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics.

Muscle-up Triples

Walked 18 holes on the golf course yesterday and seemed to tweak my right elbow on one of the swings. In at 9am and then oversaw the 10am class since Kevin is out of town. Was at the gym for 3 hours. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Snatch

  • 45# Position Work
  • 3×75#
  • 3×95#
  • 2×115#
  • E30S 3:00 – 1×135#
  • EMOM 5:00 – 1×155#

Couple of sketchy ones for #3 and #4 with 155#, but no misses. Took everything down into the squat.

Clean

  • 2×155#
  • 2×175#
  • 2×195#
  • EMOM 3:00 – 1×215#
  • EMOM 5:00 – 1×235#

Felt great and super easy. 235# is 90% of my max and I’m never really in danger of missing it. Just shows how much more I have.

Back Squat

  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×260#
  • 3+ x290#

Got 9 reps with 290, which is an estimated max of 376.

EMOM 10:00

  • Odds: 3 MU
  • Evens: 5 GHRs

The most unbroken muscle-ups I’ve done is 3, so making all 5 sets felt awesome. I’m still terrible at GHRs.

IMG_4738

Sled drag

Loaded 180# on the 38# sled.

  • 25m down & 25m back
  • 140m Lap
  • 140m Lap
  • 25m down & 25m back

Took a minute or two rest between each portion. Finished with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap, using the blue and purple bands.

Jump! Jump!

Ugh!! My shoulder got a little sticky yesterday. Felt it reaching for the garage door button in the Jeep and it definitely sticks when I go through the 90/90 movement. Must be those damn dumbbell snatches! Hopefully it doesn’t get worse or persist.

Feeling those GHDs for sure today. Went in early to get my presses done before the 9am class. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 2×135#
  • 10x3x145#

BOOM! Finished off the 3 week Smolov Jr. cycle. I’m so glad I decided to bump up the weights a little more for week 3. I don’t think I’ve ever done more than 145# for a triple, so this was huge. I was planning to take 3+ minutes of rest between sets but did about 1:45-2:00 for 8 and then not much more for the final 2. Thankfully I didn’t have any issues with the shoulder.

Did a little jump rope to warm up the legs since everyone else was already warming up on the rowers and I was late to the party.

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 2×245#, 2×315#, and 2×365#.

XWOD

  • 2-2-2-2-2-2 Deadlifts (385#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 PVC Jump Course
    • Heights were 12-14-18-24-30-42″

IMG_4733

I guess it’s roughly another inch for each to clear the PVC or dowel. A few times I got off my timing or spacing and bailed before jumping the last one. Those were fun!

Conditioning

  • 10-8-6-4-2 Russian KBS (62# KB)
  • 10-8-6-4-2 Burpees
  • Run 2 laps (~250m)

We did everything outside. Perfect day for it. Finished in 8:22.

My arms haven’t felt this dead in a long long time. Glad to be getting a massage this afternoon and a golf day tomorrow.

Knotted Up

Woke up out of it and still wasn’t quite awake when I got to the box.

Warm-up

3 Rounds of “Cindy” NFT

  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

I did all strict pull-ups and a chin-up grip for the 2nd round.

Skill

E90S 15:00 (10x)

  • Rope Climb (13′)

Really getting the “hang” of it. Noticing these are going to be really good for grip strength as well as some extra biceps and triceps work.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 12 DB Snatches (40#)
  • 14 K2E

All step downs from the box and I went 6 in a row with each arm for the snatches. Started out with 5-5-4 for K2E, but was down to 5-4-3-2 in the last couple of rounds. Finished exactly 5 rounds just as time ran out.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 20s Hollow Hold
  • 20s Rest
  • 20s Russian Twists (53# KB)
  • 20s Rest

I stuck around for some extra work.

10 Rounds NFT

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups
  • 10 Back Extensions

Did each round quick, but took my time in between. Focused on explosiveness with each rep. Nice burn after the other midline stuff.

Fresh For Press

Really needed the day out of the gym yesterday. Walked 18 holes of golf and shot my best round of the year. 🙂

In to the 9am at CFi. Did CS Activation and then worked with Kevin trying to get him doing a kipping muscle-up. I probably did 5 MU or so to demonstrate.

Warm-up

  • 10x Squat to Stand Hold
  • 8 Snow Angels
  • 10x CS ATYT
  • 4x15s Hollow Hold
  • Shoulder Presses
    • 5×45#
    • 5×95#
    • 3×115#

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Shoulder Presses (137.5#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Push-ups
    • 2s: Clapping
    • 1s: Plyo on to three 45s + 35 stack of bumpers

Nailed all 8 sets! One more day and the Smolov Jr. cycle will be complete. My shoulders felt fresh after the day off.

Skill

DU Practice

I did a set of 50 and a set of 102.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 50 DU
  • 21 Russian KBS (62#)
  • 9 Pull-ups

First round of DU was unbroken but I screwed up once in the other two sets. Kettlebell swings and pull-ups (kipping) were all unbroken. Finished in 4:55. Did Crossover Symmetry Recovery when I got home.

In the evening…

Warmed up with some band pulls, 45# snatch position work, and 45# snatch presses. Did a couple of muscle snatches with 40kg and some snatch presses too. Then I started doing snatches. I have no idea how many reps I did at each weight though. Some I did one single and others I did a couple singles. Everything was a power snatch. Around 65-70kg I missed a bunch and then they got easier when I added weight after getting frustrated. Pretty sure the weights I got were 50-55-60-65-70-75-78-80-82-80. One attempt at 84, but was a miss and didn’t feel very good, so I dropped to end on a make.

Back Squat

  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 5×215#
  • 5×245#
  • 5+ x275# (got 11)

I was thinking about starting a Smolov Jr. cycle, but I’m going on vacation in less than 3 weeks so wouldn’t be able to finish. I’ll just take some squat sessions from 5/3/1 on extra squat days for the next couple of weeks, which is where this came from. The max set is a fun mental test.

Back to Back to Back

When you drink alcohol you are just borrowing happiness from tomorrow.

Went over to Survival Fitness Bay City for beering, grilling, and fireworks last night. Didn’t drink much but stomach was rolling a bit through the morning and I had to take a couple of naps. Trained with Kevin and Brandi at 5pm. Started off with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Presses

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 7x5x130#

Phew! Went up 7.5# over week 2’s day 2. Hardest struggle I’ve had yet. Glad tomorrow is a rest day.

To warm up snatches I did 2 muscle snatches with 95#, 2 power snatches with 115#, and 2 power snatches with 135#.

Conditioning

  • 3 Rounds
    • 3 Snatches (use 70% of 1RM, same bar for all 3 couplets)
    • 6 Burpee Box Jumps (30/24″)
  • 4 Rounds
    • 6 Front Squats
    • 12 T2B
  • 5 Rounds
    • 9 Deadlifts
    • 27 DU

This is an original I came up with yesterday. No rest between couplets. I used 145# and finished in 15:37. My T2B held me back a lot. I could definitely feel the fatigue in my hips from all of the MU yesterday. This would be nice at 75%, especially if you hadn’t been out drinking.

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap when I got home.

Double Morning

Out to the garage for an early lifting session. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation. Lighter than usual so I didn’t fatigue myself before presses.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 6x6x125#

The final week of Smolov Jr. has begun! Bumping up the weights extra this week.

Back Squat

  • 20×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×185#
  • 3x10x225#

Giving up on 315# yesterday pissed me off. Haven’t been squatting enough. Nothing crazy today. A little greasing the groove. I did the last set of 10 unbroken and should have done that for all 3 sets. Was resting and breathing too much in between reps on the first 2 sets.

In to CFi for the 10am class.

Warm-up

  • Cobra Stretch 2x30s
  • Arm Circles
  • T-spine Twists
  • Neck Rotations

Midline

10:00 EMOM

  • 1/1 Turkish Get-ups

Did 3 rounds with 25#, 2 rounds with 35#, 2 rounds with 44#, and 3 rounds with 53#.

Skill

10:00 EMOM

  • 2 Muscles-ups

No misses! I thought for sure I’d be switching to singles by the 5th minute. I only hit 3 in a row for the first time 2 weeks ago and failed on a 3rd try at a double that day. Today I really focused on the hollow/arch/hollow swing, a big hip pop, and then a fast turnover. Never once got my wrists stuck in a bad spot on the turnover like I usually do. I’m excited! The XWODs are paying off in a big way.

Conditioning

Strapped on the 20# weight vest. Did about a 250m jog to warm up the legs.

5:00 EMOM

  • 20s Sprint @ 80% w/ vest

Took a couple of rounds to get a feel for running with that thing. Took it off for the next part.

E90S – 5 Rounds

  • 10s Sprint at 100%

My acceleration felt really good on these.

After a little break we jogged a little more than 1 mile. I finished out by doing Crossover Symmetry Plyo with the red and purple bands.

Freedom

Happy 4th of July! Lifted at 9am.

Warm-up

  • CS Activation
  • 45# C&J Positions
  • 10×45# Good Mornings

C&J

  • 3x40kg
  • 3x50kg
  • 3x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 1x90kg
  • 1x96kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x105kg

I was trying to work on making that back foot hit the ground first in my jerks, but it got tougher as the weights piled up. Straight up muscled the 105kg jerk with little drop under the bar. Figured that was a good time to stop with the jerks and save my shoulders for the last week of Smolov Jr. presses, which I’ll start tomorrow.

Cleans

  • 1x110kg
  • 1x115kg
  • Fx115kg
  • 1x110kg

I had my mind right for the first attempt at 115, but it crashed on my wrists and elbows a bit, so I got worried and didn’t really go for it on the next attempt. Decided to drop down for a make and end there. Alex said my back was very vertical on that last lift. The 115 clean (254#) was 97% and my max was just 255# until 2 weeks ago. I need to get more comfortable with the weight up in that range. The strength is there. I’m thinking 110kg might be a good place for me to rep out a bunch of singles.

Good Mornings

  • 5×135#
  • 2x5x155#
  • 2x5x175#

Explosive hips coming up.

Back Squats

  • 10×175#
  • 5×225#
  • 3×265#
  • 3×275#
  • 3×285#
  • 3×295#
  • 3×305#
  • 1×315#

It was feeling rough on the way up. I was hoping to get up to 325, but I gave up on 315 after struggling with the first rep. Shit, just a few weeks ago I hit 10 triples with that weight. Chalk it up to fatigue at the end of a 2 hour session.

Grinding Smolov Jr.

Headed in early before the 9am so I could finish up week 2 of Smolov Jr. shoulder presses.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 10x3x137.5#

Felt rough from the get-go, but I made it through every set. Rushed in and started right away too without any other type of warm-up. Was only taking about 90 seconds of rest between sets so I could finish before class started. The final week should be interesting. I think I’ll bump up the weights a bit over the recommended. My shoulders are feeling strong!

Warm-up

3 Rounds NFT

  • 300m Row
  • 15 Reverse Hypers on GHD

I worked up quite the sweat!

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 4×245#, and 4×315#.

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4 Deadlifts (365#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive movement
    • 2s: Split Jumps (2 each leg, sandbag on back)
    • 1s: Kneeling Jump (10.25″ – 45-45-25 HG bumpers stacked)

Haven’t done any heavy deadlifts for volume in quite some time. Felt really good!

Conditioning

5 Rounds (Tabata style)

  • 20s Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Sit-ups
  • 10s Rest

I did 10 wall balls and 11 sit-ups each round.

Midline

3 Round NFT

  • 20 Russian Twists (53# KB)
  • 45s Plank

After class I stayed to do some extra work. Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap with the blue bands for heavy and yellow for light. Burn baby!

4 Rounds NFT

  • 15 GHD Sit-ups
  • 15 Back Extensions

Focused on being as explosive as possible for both movements, which got me breathing pretty damn heavy. Took solid rest between rounds to recover.

In the evening I went for a walk. 3.22 miles in 48:29. During the summers my conditioning is always the best, which I attribute in large part to walking so much on the golf course. Felt like some fresh air tonight and the walk was perfect.