A New Chapter

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 2:00 Bottom Squat Hold
  • 2x 30s/30s Couch Stretch
  • PNF Rack Stretching

Strength

Warmed up with 5×45#, 5×135#, and 3×185# front squats, with a 2 second pause in the hole on the last set.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 3 Front Squats w/ 2s pause (205#)
  • Evens: 3 Weighted Pull-ups (44# KB)

I’m terrible with the pauses, so it’s good to work on them. First time doing weighted pull-ups in a really long time.

Accessory

2 Rounds NFT

  • 5 Deficit HSPU
  • 10 Ring Rows

Did the HSPU at a much higher deficit than I’ve ever tried. It was rough. I’ve developed a bad habit of getting my shoulders on the wall for some reason. I need to push my head through at the top.

Conditioning

2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2

  • Goblet Squats (53# KB)
  • Russian KBS (53# KB)
  • Burpees

Finished in 6:45, going unbroken on everything.

Rope Climbs

Feeling a little sore in new places from climbing the trees Sunday night at The Adventure Park. Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • CS Activation
  • Arm Circles
  • 30 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 8x4x130#

Paired up with XWOD of:

  • 2s – 30″ Box Jumps
  • 1s – Broad Jump

The shoulder presses were a lot more of a struggle today. The final day of week 2 should be very interesting!

Skill

Put on the shin skins and finally tried some rope climbs while the newbs worked on kipping with Kevin. We’ve been talking about me getting on that rope for the last couple of weeks, so it was time. I was using the faster method which starts about halfway through this video…

I did 3 or 4 of them and then did one legless too. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting. Felt a lot different strain on my shoulders doing them, so points to a weakness I need to work on.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 10 Push Presses (115#)
  • 5 Burpees

Finished 4 rounds plus the deadlifts and push presses. Did all 10 push presses in round 1 but then had to go 5-5 every other round. Rough after the shoulder presses.

About 2-3 minutes after we finished, we went for a 1 mile jog.

93 Kilos

Didn’t get a ton of sleep last night after going to a 10pm showing of Transformers, but feeling surprisingly good today. Went over to CFi at noon to lift.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 45# Snatch Positions
  • 10 Snatch Presses @ 45#

3 Position Snatches

  • 40kg
  • 40kg
  • 50kg
  • 60kg
  • 60kg (missed high hang)

Snatches

  • 2x65kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 1x75kg
  • 1x80kg
  • 1x83kg
  • 1x85kg
  • 1x87kg
  • 1x89kg
  • 1x91kg
  • 1x93kg (PR)

Felt great! Had no intention of going for that, but was lifting with Alex, who said he was going to get up around 90 for the day. When I got close, it was feeling good, and I was making everything, figured might as well go for it. That’s 205# for a 5# PR. I haven’t attempted anything over 185 since the end of January. Took the PR and 100% day from the floor, then shut it down. All of the CS work is paying off in a big way. I’ve never felt so good receiving the bar with heavy weights.

Shoulder Presses

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 7x5x122.5#

Day 2 of week 2 for Smolov. Not any struggle, but I think the next 2 days in the program are going to get hard. I paired the working sets up with kneeling jumps for an XWOD:

  • 2s – 5.75″
  • 1s – 8″

Will have to go higher next time for more of a challenge.

I did some skin the cats and then Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

Hot & Sweaty GLBRT

Today was the 6th Great Lakes Bay Regional Throwdown, with it being hosted at Mission 1 – CrossFit Caro this time. I’ve competed in the last 3 and we won the belt for Survival Fitness at each one. The first two we competed in were one team takes the belt back to their gym and with the last one the format was switched up to make it more of a gym working together, where the top 2 scores from each gym count for each WOD.

Event 1

12:00 AMRAP

  • 200m Run
  • 21 American KB Swings 53/35#
  • 12 Pull-ups

2 teammates work at a time (1M/1F) to complete a round. When the first 2 teammates finish a round the second 2 teammates will begin a round. This pattern continues for 12 minutes. Score is total reps completed.

Both Partners run the 200m. The KB Swings may not start until both teammates have returned from the run to their area. Whoever chooses to start a set of KB Swings or Pullups must perform all the reps in that set, for that round. During the KB Swings the other partner must be hanging from a bar for the KB Swings to count. While the Pullups are being performed the other partner must hold the KB off the ground for the pullups to count. The 2 teammates that are not working must be touching the rig before they can be released for the run. They will be released after the working partners 12th pullup is completed.

Bre and I paired up with her doing all of the KBS and me doing all of the pull-ups. Brent and Laura started the workout and finished our 7th team round just before the time ran out. Wasn’t really that tough of a workout for me since it was just 3 runs and 36 pull-ups. I never dropped from the bar and went unbroken with kipping pull-ups on each set.

Event 2

There will be 8 stations for men and 8 stations for women.

  • Men’s weights = 75-95-105-115-135-155-165-185
  • Women’s weights = 55-65-75-85-95-105-115-125

Each athlete will have 20 seconds to work at each station and 10 seconds to transition to the next station to perform as many reps as desired. At least 1 rep must be completed at each station before moving to the next station. Score will be total pounds lifted per team.

Everyone knows the thruster. All bars will start on the floor. The athlete may complete the first rep as a full clean, receiving the bar in the squat position. The hips must clearly pass below the knee in the squat portion of the movement and the bar must end in a fully locked out overhead position with full extension of the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow. There may not be a pause between the front squat portion of the movement and the overhead portion. It must be a thruster and not a clean and jerk. If an athlete fails to complete a good rep at a station then they will leave the field at the next transition time.

When we did a run through I only did 3 reps at each weight. Today I went 7-7-5-5-5-3-3-3. Should have gone harder in the early and middle sets. Happy I was still able to get 3 at 185. I did 2, had to drop it, took a breath, and then got in another rep. Tweaked my back a little bit though. 😦

Event 3

Chipper!

  • 50 Wall Ball (20#/14#, 10’/9′)
  • 40 KB Snatches 44/26
  • 30 T2B
  • 20 Burpees
  • 30 Clean & Jerk 135/95
  • 40 Box Jump 24/20
  • 50 Deadlift 185/135

2 men start the chipper. After they complete the 50 Wall Ball and move to the 40 KB Snatches, the 2 women may start their Wall Balls. This pattern will continue through the entire chipper. There will be 2 scores. First score is men’s time and second score is total time. Work can be divided between partners however they choose. For example, if one woman cannot perform a 35# KB Snatch but her teammate can, then she may perform all 40 of them.

Each lane will have 1 barbell for cleans with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their clean & jerk they may load the bar for the women, however, if they choose to do this then the box jumps may not start until both men move off from the Clean station and on to the box jump station.

Each lane will also have 1 barbell for deadlifts with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their deadlifts they must leave the field and cannot change the bar for the women. The first score is recorded upon completion of the men’s 50th deadlift. The second score is recorded after the women complete their 50th deadlift.

Brent and I beat our practice time by over 30 seconds and the girls beat their time by about 1:30! I couldn’t believe it when we were doing our C&J and they were waiting on us to finish. In the practice run, we got done way ahead of them and even changed the weight on the bar for them. They crushed it!

Great day and a fun team to compete with. The weather was brutally hot and it was even worse inside the gym. Spent a lot of time outside in the sun.  After today and walking 27 holes of golf yesterday in the hot sun and humidity I’m exhausted!

glbrt6-sf

Get ScapJacked!

Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday and feeling good. First time since coming back from Spain that my legs aren’t sore. Headed out to the garage before the 9am Survival Fitness class to get in the Smolov Shoulder Press along with an XWOD.

Warm-up

  • 27″ Seated Box Jump
  • 5×45# Shoulder Press
  • 33″ Seated Box Jump
  • 5×75# Shoulder Press
  • 39″ Seated Box Jump
  • 5×95# Shoulder Press
  • Couple attempts at 45″ Seated Box Jump
  • 41.5″ Seated Box Jump

XWOD

  • 6x6x115# Shoulder Press
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Seated Box Jump

I did 2×39″ and 1×41.5″ for the jumps. Tried to get 45″ in warm-up but I couldn’t make myself get up there being alone at home in the garage and so early in the morning. Good challenge. This was the first day of week 2 for my shoulder press Smolov Jr. cycle.

Got to SF and warmed up with leg swings, bottom squat holds, and some other stretching.

Strength

Deadlifts w/ bigger red band

  • 5×95#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 3×225#
  • 8x3x255# w/ 30s rest

Accessory

Bulgarian Split Squats (3x 45# bumpers stacked as the box)

  • 10/10 53# KB
  • 10/10 60# DB
  • 10/10 71# KB

Really weird with such a low box and having to touch the knee to the ground. I’m used to doing these on a bench.

Conditioning

  • 100 DU
  • 80 Air Squats
  • 30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups
  • 40 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups
  • 20 Burpees
  • 30s Dead Hang + 12 Pull-ups

I got the 100 double unders unbroken! Wasn’t even a struggle and my shoulders felt fine the whole way. I guess that month of dubs really paid off, plus all of the Crossover Symmetry work I’ve been doing. My air squats wore slow and controlled, but I never stopped. Didn’t rebound on my box jumps, so all step downs, but again, no stopping. Burpees were pretty slow. I did the first two rounds of pull-ups unbroken without dropping, then dropped after 5 in the last round so I wouldn’t rip. Took a short break and got back up to finish out the last 7. Still doing all kipping pull-ups to build up muscle more than butterfly. Finished in 10:39.

Got home and did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap. Time to step it up! Rest day tomorrow to golf 27 holes and then we have a team competition Saturday against all of the gyms in the area.

Shoulder Smolov Jr. Week 1

I was exhausted yesterday. 9 hours in the gym over the weekend will do that I guess. Went to CrossFit Intuition for the 9am.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Arm Circles
  • Rapid Toe Touches
  • 20 Air Squats

Strength

Shoulder Press – Smolov Jr. Week 1 Day 4

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 10x3x127.5#

Yep, actually used fractional plates. Wasn’t too hard. Going up 10# for week 2 should be interesting.

Conditioning

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

  • Box Jumps (30″)
  • Burpees
  • Russian KBS (53#)

I lost track in the middle and ended up doing round 6 twice. Whoops! Finished in 9:49.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s Side Plank (L)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Side Plank (R)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Plank
  • 15s Rest

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Recovery. Definitely time to start doing the Plyo and Iron Scap on some days. I’ve been able to get the 90/90 move up to a band matching the other movements, so not having any issues with my shoulder there anymore.

Bruised

Feeling beat up today. Shouldn’t be surprising since I worked out for more than 3 hours yesterday, was doing all kinds of stuff for 5 hours Saturday, and did an hour of lifting stuff on Saturday night.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Holds
  • Leg Swings
  • Hip Stretches

Strength

Box Squats (14″ box)

  • 5×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 2×225#
  • Fx255# (whoa, wtf!)
  • 3x2x225#
  • 2×235#
  • 2×245#

I don’t know if I wasn’t warmed up enough or what, but I hit 285# for a triple a few weeks ago on the box.

Snatch Deadlifts w/ weight raised 3″

  • 10×135#
  • 10×145#
  • 10×155#

Sumo Dimmel Deadlifts

  • 20×155#
  • 20×185#
  • 20×225#

Conditioning

8:00 AMRAP

  • 4 HSPU
  • 8 T2B
  • 12 Am. KBS (71# KB)

Finished exactly 5 rounds. I did T2B in sets of 5-3 until the last round where I did all 8. Was unbroken on the KBS until the last round when I had to go 6-6.

Double Sunday

Feeling good after yesterday. Went to the 11am class at Survival Fitness.

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Plank
  • 1:00/1:00 Side Planks
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Dead Hang
  • 1:00 Bottom Squat Hold
  • 1:00 Jumping Jacks

I did a quick drop after 35 seconds of dead hang and jumped right back up to regrip. No need to rip my hands open with pull-ups and deadlifts planned for tonight.

20:00 Partner AMRAP

  • 12 Sit-ups
  • 12 SDLHP (53# KB)
  • 12 Squat Jumps
  • 6 Burpees
  • 250m Run

Partner 1 does all of the sit-ups, partner 2 does all of the SDLHP, and keep alternating each movement. Since partner 1 will be doing the run in the first round, the 2nd time through the movements will be switched for each person.

I paired up with Joe and we kept up a solid sprint pace. We were about 130m from finishing 8 rounds.

Over to CrossFit Intuition around 5:30 for another workout. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then figured it was a good time to try doing a “ninja get-up” since it’s been a long time and maybe the Explosive Seminar taught me a few things. Nailed it on the first try!

Clean & Jerks

  • 2x40kg
  • 2x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 1x75kg
  • 1x80kg
  • 1x90kg
  • 1x95kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x105kg
  • 1x115kg
  • 1x118kg (Clean PR, missed jerk)

Used all kilo plates in the Mid Michigan Barbell Club part of the gym, which is a first for me. It’s weird not knowing exactly how much is on the bar. I’ll call that a 260# clean I guess, for a 5# PR. I had the jerk locked out, but was probably a bit forward on me. I really need to work on getting under the bar after I extend, instead of extending some more.

XWOD

Warmed up shoulder press with 5×75# and 5×95#.

  • 8x4x120# Shoulder Press
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive Push-ups

For the 2s, we did clapping push-ups and for the 1s we did a plyo push-up from the ground on to four 45# bumper plates.

Conditioning

  • 3 Rounds
    • 5 C2B Pull-ups
    • 10 Deadlifts (185#)
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 2 Rounds (same movements and reps)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1 Round (same movements and reps)

I wanted to make something short and fast, but still really intense. This worked out really well. I start losing my kip on C2B after 3 or 4 and was swinging all over the place a few times. I finished 3 rounds in 1:50, 2 rounds in 1:12, and 1 in 0:27, with a total time of 6:29 on the clock.

Did 4 sets of 10 reverse hypers with a green band on the GHD. Then I did Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

Explosive Training with Ryan Moody

Today Kevin and I went over to 989 CrossFit in Midland for The Explosive Seminar with 9-time world record holder, Ryan Moody.

ryan-moody

http://vimeo.com/56433138

We learned a ton and hot a lot of fun. Can’t wait to put some of the stuff into practice and watch results. Here are some of my highlights from the day.

The seated box jump was huge for me. I’ve had this mental battle with high box jumps for quite some time. I fear getting injured even though I know I can jump plenty high enough for a lot more than I’ve done. Ryan taught us a cool mental technique to get out of our mind, which allowed me to get that 47.5″ on my first try when I’ve never been able to even attempt anything higher than 44″ from standing. The kneeling jump stuff was a lot of fun. Oh, by the way, I’ve never done a single seated box jump in my life before today.

box-jumping

I was feeling inspired from the day, so got in some good work in the garage.

Box Squats

I used one of my 12″ jerk blocks as the box. Warmed up with 5×45# and 5×135#.

E50S for 12 sets

  • 2 Box Squats for speed (155#)

E2M for 4 sets

  • 5 Good Mornings (175#)

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 5 GHR
  • 12 Russian Twists (53# KB)

I used the clock for everything, not as a form of intensity, but as a way to manage rest periods so that I wouldn’t take all day. Did the GHRs unweighted since I struggled with them so much on Monday with Kevin. These did plenty for me until I can build back up.

Press Before Golf

My legs are still sore as hell, but the front squat volume last night sure didn’t help. Rest day today, but wanted to get in day 2 of Smolov pressing before golf.

20140620-083059-30659446.jpg
Always wear proper footwear!

I did Crossover Symmetry Activation first.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • E2M for 7 sets
    • 5×115#

Used the clock to push it along since I had to shower, eat, and get to the golf course. Harder than yesterday, even with the much shorter rest, but still not terrible.

Going to an Explosive Training Seminar with Ryan Moody tomorrow. Should be fun!