Year: 2016

Cold Shoes

I didn’t get in the ROMWOD Thursday night and didn’t do anything at all yesterday either. Legs are a little tight from Thursday’s lifting workout. This morning I did 40 minutes of ROMWOD and then headed to the track after 11am to close out the 11th “week” of Aerobic Capacity training. I jogged about 0.33 miles to the track and walked 100 meters to the start line. Should have taken my shoes out of the car yesterday, because my feet felt frozen!

Aerobic Capacity – VO2 Max

5x

  • 400m (target: 19-21s/100m)
  • 100m jog

An aggressive pace. Probably one of my worst days so far. I went 1:22, 1:27, 1:30, 1:37, and 1:40 with the jogs ranging from 0:54-1:07. So only a 20% success on hitting the target pace today. 😦

Walked a lap and then jogged 0.43 miles back (longer since I was on the far side of the track).

Hmmm… still no mile test in week 12. It better come up soon with this weather changing and I’m not going no renew for another month in November.

129 Is For Freedom

Did make it out on the course yesterday and took a cart for a quick 12 holes (back 9 was actually closed). In to the gym before 5pm tonight.

Snatch

  • 5x20kg
  • 3×40
  • 2×50
  • 2×60
  • 1×65
  • 1×70
  • EMOM
    • 5x1x75
    • 5x1x80
    • 5x1x85
  • Heavy Single
    • Miss 88
    • 1×88

I was forward with 65 or 70 and really pulled it in, feeling a little tweak in my back. Didn’t really affect me until I felt it in the bottom of the 88 make. Called it quits there. The singles with 85 were really shaky with some good saves. Didn’t have the feel today like I did the other day, so I was actually happy to go 100% on the EMOM.

Snatch Pull

  • 3x3x90kg

I wore straps for the pulls and deadlifts.

Snatch Deadlift

3 Segment Snatch Deadlift (knee) + 1 Floating Snatch Deadlift

  • 3 Sets @ 85kg

Back Squat

Spend 5 seconds on the eccentric portion of rep 1 for every set.

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129 kg = FREEDOM
  • 5x70kg
  • 5×95
  • 5×111
  • 5×121
  • 3x5x129

Little tougher this week with trying to protect my back. I put on the belt starting with 111 kilos.

Skipped the ab work and some other accessory stuff I had planned. Will give my back some rest. I’m heading out of town for the weekend anyway, so nice to get out of the gym early. Will try to do a 21 minute ROMWOD when I get up north. (Too late, so didn’t get it in.)

6k

Track workout after 10am. Great morning for it, though very breezy.

Aerobic Capacity – Lactate Threshold

2 Sets

  • 500m Fast
  • 500m jog
  • 400m Fast
  • 400m jog
  • 300m Fast
  • 300m jog
  • 200m Fast
  • 200m jog
  • 100m Fast
  • 100m jog
  • Rest 5:00

Fast intervals were assigned a pace of 24-26s/100m which was no issue. My slow jogs were around 45s/100m or a 12 minute mile pace in the 2nd set, slightly faster the first time through. Fast splits were:

  1. 2:05, 1:37, 1:12, 0:48, 0:22
  2. 2:00, 1:39, 1:13, 0:46, 0:23

Hoping to sneak out for some golf this afternoon because there may not be any other good days this year. Will get in 21 minute ROMWOD tonight.

Unbroken MU

My shoulders are still a little sore from Saturday, but my upper back is where the real soreness is from that gymnastics work on Sunday evening. Did a 20 minute ROMWOD during lunch today. The biggest issue with going back to work has been the right side of my back gets really tight after sitting for 2 hours. In the last month and a half I’ve noticed the same thing happening during any car rides over 90 minutes. Maybe I “deconditioned” myself out of my back imbalance a bit during the 3 month sabbatical. Anyway I hope things square away soon, because it’s really making the word days drag on when I have to keep taking forced breaks more often than I’d like. Got to the gym around the start of the 4:30 class.

Snatch

  • 5x20kg
  • 3×40
  • 2×50
  • 2×60
  • 1×65
  • 1×70
  • 1×75
  • 1×80
  • 3x1x85

I wasn’t sure how these would go with my back. In the early sets I really tried not to be too aggressive, which I think had a nice carryover to when it got heavier. Those singles at 85% felt really good.

Clean & Jerk

  • 5x20kg
  • 3×60
  • 2×75
  • 2×85
  • 1×91
  • 1×98
  • 1×104
  • 3x1x111

Solid here as well. I didn’t even realize I wasn’t wearing a belt until after the first rep with 111 kilos. Usually I like to put on the belt when I get over 200 pounds. Made a big effort to stay off my phone and keep moving from set to set after loading the bar. Not quite EMOM, should have been close most of the time.

Front Squat

  • 3x118kg
  • 2x3x125

I did put on the belt here, because sometimes my core gives out a little and I start to cave forward. I think I was pretty upright for every rep though.

Good Morning

  • 5x60kg
  • 5×70
  • 5×75

Took just over an hour to finish all of the lifting.

Midline and Gymnastics

Decided to combine abs with some gymnastics today so it didn’t seem like I was wasting so much time. I swear the ab work takes almost as long as the lifting in this program.

5 Sets

  • 10/10 Side Bends (70# KB)
  • 5 Strict Ring Pull-ups

Big focus on keeping a hollow body through each pull-up.

4 Sets

  • 25 Lying Leg Raises
  • 6 Ring Kip Swings

I need get back to doing those swings more often and translate the high feet into my actual muscle-up, because I still do the big knee bend on my forward swing.

Two weeks of Catalyst OTM ✅

Conditioning

5-4-3-2-1

  • Unbroken Muscle-ups

I had the urge to do some muscle-ups, even after fatiguing my pull and swing with the other work. Originally thought of starting with 6 down to 1, but made the right call to do with 5. Finished at exactly 2:00, with having to double or triple kip my final dip. I guess my rests between sets were spot on.

Get Up To Get Down, Turkish Style

Was able to get in that long ROMWOD last night. The front of my shoulders were sore yesterday and today from the Saturday class. I guess one day a week of CrossFit isn’t cutting it. More lifting today though. This is the 4th day of the 2nd week of the Catalyst OTM program. Really enjoying it.

Power Clean

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • 3×135
  • 3×165
  • 2x3x185
  • 3x3x200

Never let go of the bar or my hook grip, but did take a second to reset on the ground at the heavier loads. Wore Nanos today for the light day and no accessories.

Push Jerk

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • 3×135
  • 3×155
  • 2x3x175
  • 3x3x190

Stiff-legged Deadlift

  • 5×190#
  • 3x5x225

Took the top off the jerk blocks and stood on that so that I could get more stretch in the hamstrings. All sets with two overhand grips.

Midline

5 Sets

  • 3/3 Turkish Get-ups
    • 2 sets – 40# DB
    • 2 sets – 45
    • 1 set – 50

My left shoulder is definitely the least stable one. Overall my shoulders seem a lot more stable though, guessing due to all of the holds in the Vaughn lifting program. I used to really struggle with the 53# kettlebell.

4 Sets

  • 30 GHD Sit-ups (parallel)

Decided to only go to parallel today for a change of pace.

Will do a 20 minute ROMWOD tonight.

Early evening update: Really starting to feel my back from the work yesterday. Been too long since I did those landmine rows. I’m sure some of the others, especially the chin-ups are contributing to the soreness as well.

Calm Sunday Morning

Completely forgot doing any ROMWOD yesterday while watching ALL THE sports. Big Ryder Cup day today! Went to the track just after 10am. Cool calm morning, which was great for running. Warmed up with an easy 400 meters and then rested 3 minutes.

Aerobic Capacity – VO2 Max

  • 4x
    • 800m (target – 3:31)
    • 2:00 Rest
  • 5:00 Rest
  • 4x
    • 200m (target – 0:36)
    • 2:00 Rest

Took a minute to catch my breath and then walked a lap.

Maybe my best track session yet. I hit the low part of the assigned pace ranges on every single interval. My 800 splits were 3:29-3:29-3:25-3:28 and the 200s were 35-35-36-34 seconds. Went out way too fast on the first 200 meters of the opening 800, but found a nice steady pace for the rest of them. No struggle to get appropriate times, even by the 4th one. Felt really good on the 200s too.

Hmm, still no 1 mile test in the coming week. Though with the 2nd workout of the week, I’m guessing that test may be the week after.

After the Ryder Cup I felt like doing something so headed out to the garage.

Accessory / Gymnastics

32:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 4 Strict HSPU
  • 4 Strict C2B Chin-ups
  • 6 Strict Ring Dips
  • 6/6 Landmine Rows (85#)

Hopefully will get in that 44 minute ROMWOD tonight.

Fall is Here

Went to the 10am class. Haven’t been to class or done a metcon since last Friday and was up late drinking wine.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • PVC Pass-thrus
  • 2x
    • 10 PVC Good Mornings
    • 200m Run

Strength

Romanian Deadlifts

  • 8×45#
  • 4×155#
  • 4×205#
  • 5x4x235#

Got out the 4″ platform to stand on with 205 and above. With all of the ROMWOD my hamstring flexibility is improving a lot.

Conditioning

16:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Push-ups
  • 10 Wall Balls
  • 10 Deadlifts (155#)
  • 200m Run

About 20 meters short of finishing a 7th round. Need to push the pace on the runs more with something like this especially when I wasn’t struggling with the other movements and they didn’t interfere with each other.

Midline

30s Weighted Plank

  • 55#
  • 2×80#
  • 100#
  • 125#

Relatively easy today. Should have done longer holds since it was programmed at 30-60s.

Will do a long 44 minute ROMWOD today. Update: completely forgot about it with a packed sports day.

Sled & Run

My traps are a little sore to the touch. Break in the weather this morning so headed in during the 9am class.

Aerobic Capacity – Strength Endurance

6 Sets

  • 100m heavy sled walk (160#, target – 75-90s)
  • 400m run (target – 1:59)
  • 3:00 rest

Pretty good selection on the sled weight. I did an out and back 50m so there was some time to turn around and then get the belt off, but every sled walk was in the 1:26-1:31 range. Started out way too fast on the 400s and was still well under the target pace at the end. My splits were 1:33-1:45-1:48-1:49-1:48-1:51. Wore sweat pants and shirt so was sweating up a storm.

After the jerk PR the other day and the clean feeling good last night, I’m happy to see that my strength is still going up while putting time into the aerobic side of things. I’m also losing weight in the process, down to under 204# this morning.

I’ll get in a 20 minute ROMWOD tonight.

Other Plans

Not sore at all from yesterday’s lifting. I did a 23 minute ROMWOD during lunch. Wanted to do the strength endurance Aerobic Capacity workout, but the rain had other plans when I got to the gym before 5pm. Lifting it was…

Clean

  • 5x20kg
  • 5×40
  • 3×60
  • 2×70
  • 2×80
  • 2×90
  • EMOM
    • 5x1x97
    • 5x1x104
    • 5x1x110
  • Heavy Single
    • 116
    • 121
    • 126

Felt pretty good. Only 4 kilos under my best clean.

Clean Pull

  • 3x113kg
  • 2x3x126

Clean Deadlift

3 Segment Clean Deadlift (knee) + 1 Floating Clean Deadlift

  • 1 Set @ 106kg
  • 2 Sets @ 113

Pause Back Squat

Spend 3 seconds in the hole on every rep.

  • 3x70kg
  • 3×90
  • 3×104
  • 3x3x112

Positioning felt really solid with these, through every rep of every set.

Midline

5 Sets

  • 12 Weighted Sit-up (2×40# DB)

4 Sets

  • 10 Evil Wheels

I used the Rogue Oly bar for these and wow, what a difference it makes using a bar that spins well!

Three Hundo

Back to work this week! I took a couple of rest days to start the week. I did do a 22 minute ROMWOD on Monday though and today I did a 20 minute during lunch. Out in the garage around 4pm

Jerk

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • 3×135
  • 2×165
  • 2×185
  • 2×205
  • EMOM
    • 5x1x215
    • 5x1x230
    • 5x1x242.5
  • Heavy Single
    • 255
    • 265
    • 275
    • 285
    • 300 (PR)

I was working on a shallow dip (still gets deep the heavier the load is) and getting under the bar instead of pressing out too much. The reps were feeling snappy and had no issues with the EMOM, where I started to struggle in the first week of the program and this was heavier. I almost stopped at 275 but it was feeling so good and looked smooth on video that I went again. After 285 I actually loaded 295 on the bar. But said fuck it and threw on the 2.5s. Why go for a PR of less than 2 pounds (133kg or 293+ pounds) when I was so close to that big number. Even after all of the volume it felt so much better than a couple of weeks ago when Alex and I tried. Excited!!

Push Press

  • 2x5x178.75#
  • 3x5x191.25

Squeezed out every last pound of the % by using my fractional washer plates. 🙂 These didn’t crush me either this time around, heavier. Wonder if I’ll be sore again though.

Back Squat Jump

  • 3x3x95#

Midline

5 Sets

  • 20s L-sit (rings with bent knees)
  • 40s Rest

4 Sets

  • 16 K2E with twist (alt)

I will try to get in the next 23 min ROMWOD tonight to make up for yesterday. Could probably use it after throwing my body under so much weight.