32 on the Rings

Had a blast at the Sky Zone Trampoline Park yesterday and managed to stay injury free except for a few dings on my hand from the obstacle course. Legs seem fine from all of the jumping too.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 8×45#
  • 8×95
  • 8×115
  • 8×135
  • 8×155
  • 8×175
  • 8×185
  • 8×195

That was 10 pounds heavier than a month or so ago. Might have been able to go up one more set.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 8 Muscle-ups
  • 50 Air Squats

Went infinitely better than I expected; I thought for sure I’d end doing singles in the 3rd or 4th round. I was able to do 2×4 every round with 20-30 seconds of rest! Dips got tough at the end. I held a controlled and steady pace for the first three rounds of squats, knowing I couldn’t jack up my heart rate for the rings. First round was done a little bit under 3:00 on the clock and slowly drifted off that pace for the next two rounds. Then I pushed the pace on the last 50 air squats to make up a lot of time and finish at 11:46.

Maybe there is something to the power of the Sunday pancakes!

Midline

  • 50 V-ups
  • 30s L-hang
  • 50 Twisting Crunches
  • 30s L-hang
  • 50 Lemon Squeezes
  • 30s L-hang
  • 50 Twisting Weighted Sit-ups

Pretty terrible with the high reps. I did all of the hangs in two sets of 15 seconds they were so bad after the V-ups that kicked it off. Took around 12 minutes.

Heading out to buy a used Concept 2 rower I found for $500. I’ve been keeping my eye out for a long time, but they rarely ever get listed for sale and even more rarely under $700.

More Tabata Gymnastics

My neck has been a little kinked all week after the wall balls on Monday and the HSPU on Tuesday. Legs and ass are still a little sore. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

6:00 AMRAP

  • 6 Good Mornings (45#)
  • 6 Samson Lunges
  • 6 Box Step-ups (16″)
  • 6/6 Walking Single Leg RDL

Strength

Deadlift

  • 6×135#
  • 5×205
  • 4×255
  • 3×295
  • 3×325
  • 3×355
  • 3×385

Slowly getting that deadlift back and haven’t pulled heavy in over a month when I did the single with 405. This was a good max triple for now.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1,200m Assault Bike
  • 12 Deadlifts (195#)
  • 21 Box Jumps (20″)

It was bodyweight deadlifts, so I was glad to weight in at under 197 this morning so I could round down to the 195. That bike is a dream destroyer. Started out feeling good at 75 RRM but the burn kicked in by the end of the first ride and slowed a bit. Fought just to keep above 60 RPM in the other two rounds. Deadlifts felt so light after the strength work and were no problem unbroken. Having the shorter box programmed was nice because it was a chore for those first couple jumps after the bike and deadlifts. I got faster each round of my jumps and started jumping down part way through the 2nd round. Didn’t rebound, but it seemed faster than stepping down. Ending round one around 3:30, two around 7:00, and finished at 10:22. Enjoyed that one!

Gymnastics

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s C2B Pull-ups
  • 10s Rest

Did this extra work instead of the hamstring stretching that was programmed. Was wearing grips on my hands and my grip started giving out due to all the deadlifting. My plan was to do 5-3 butterfly as long as I could. Starting feeling nasty in round three. Made it through four rounds of 5-3 and the next set of five. In the set of three I started struggling and didn’t come off the bar, but was kind of resetting each rep to get through the three. It was all singles from there, getting 5-4-5. So I totaled 54 reps. I’ll take that!

I’m going to keep trying to get in pull-ups and toes to bars like this leading in to the Open because we know those movements always show up in high volume.

This week was really leg dominant in the programming. Wonder what next week will bring.

Sandbag It

My hamstrings were getting sore yesterday too. My quads, hammies, and glutes are all still sore today.

Warm-up

  • 2 Rounds
    • 40 Jumping Jacks
    • 10 Deadlifts (45#)
    • 30 Mountain Climbers
    • 16 Elbow Punches
    • 20 Alt. V-ups
    • 10 Back Squats (45#)
  • 7 Hang Muscle Clean (45#)
  • 7 Hang Power Clean (45#)
  • 5 Hang Power Clean
  • 5 Back Racks (45#)
  • E90S
    • 8 Hang Power Cleans + 8 Back Squats (65#)
    • 6 Hang Power Cleans + 6 Back Squats (95#)
    • 4 Hang Power Cleans + 4 Back Squats (125#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (155#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (175#)

Quickly decided I didn’t want to try 155# for the workout.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 1:00 Run around gym
  • 10 Hang Power Cleans (135#)
  • 10 Back Squats (135#)

Since we’re obviously not running outside we did a minute run around in the gym instead of 200 meters. Generally I don’t like when a cardio movement is subbed in as a timed piece, because there is no real incentive (other than improving your running) to run faster because a minute will always take a minute. I’m really good at sandbagging runs. 🙂 I’d rather work on my endurance with the barbell anyway since the Open has never had any type of running.

I did eight hang power cleans, dropped it, did the other two and transferred it to my back for all ten squats. Wore my belt the entire time, so was tightening and loosening it. Got through 6 rounds, the run, and the cleans.

Midline & Skill

5 Sets

  • 6 Evil Wheels
  • HS Walk Practice

Got some good tips from another member. My hands are too wide, probably from being used to wider stance for HSPU. Need to keep practicing with the Open coming up.

Slop Shoveling

Last night my quads started to feel more sore. In case I forgot, my ass is letting me know I lunged yesterday. Out in the garage in the late afternoon for some active recovery.

15 Rounds
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  • 1:30 cal Ski Erg
  • 1:30 cal Airdyne (AD2)

There was about 10 seconds of transition time between machines, especially writing down my ski calories. I totaled 314 there (each round shown in the picture) and 520 on the Airdyne. I really enjoyed that actually and it’s refreshing to do cardio like that in the cold garage; I haven’t been heating it up for these sessions.

Headed outside after and shoveled the sloppy driveway after 3″ of snow last night and rain during the day.

Slammin’

Last night I started getting a headache before bed and then felt it when I woke up several times through the night. It was gone this morning. This has started happening as I’ve pushed hard in some workouts.

I’m still excited about how the wall balls felt yesterday. After losing 15 pounds last year, I could feel a huge difference in burpees, but hadn’t really thought about wall balls or maybe just hadn’t done enough large numbers of them. Makes sense though; being 20 pounds lighter per rep really adds up when doing 100+.

Thought I’d be feeling my quads more today, but not too bad so far. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

10:00 AMRAP

  • 1:00 Assault Bike
  • 5 Inch Worms + Down Dog
  • 10 Double DB RDL (20# DBs)
  • 5/5 Single Arm Half Kneeling Strict Press (20#)

Skill

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • HS Walk Practice
  • Assault Bike

Can tell I haven’t practiced in weeks. Need to get back on it before the Open.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 60 Walking Lunges
  • 40 Ball Slams (30#)
  • 20 HSPU

The lunges started to burn in the first round and the ball slams were tougher than I expected. Went 7-7-6 on the handstand push-ups each round. Finished in 15:39.

Gymnastics

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s T2B
  • 10s Rest

Stayed after class for a little extra credit. My goal was to hold sets of eight for as long as I could. I made five rounds, then did a set of five and three singles. Only four singles in round 7, but came back with five singles to close. 57 total toes-to-bars, which ties my best from 2014.

Finish with Isabel

Last night my legs felt heavy going up and down stairs. Today my upper and middle abs are sore. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

9:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 2x – 3 Wall Balls + 3 Burpees
  • Row
  • 2x – 3 Snatch DL + 3 Muscle Snatch (45#)

Then I did 3×95# and 3×115# power snatches.

Conditioning

  • 5:00 AMRAP
    • Wall Ball (20#, 10′)
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 5:00 AMRAP
    • cal Row
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 5:00 AMRAP
    • Power Snatch (135#)

Started with three sets of 25 and was feeling good. Planned to go to 15s next, but got math screwed up in my head and stopped after 10 reps at 85. So then I did 15 to get to 100 and looked at the clock. Took an extra breath knowing I would have to hold on to the buzzer. Got through 17 more for 117 total wall balls. I might have been able to keep going with a fourth set of 25. Makes a big difference being 20 pounds lighter than when I last did Karen almost 2 years ago. I definitely need to clean up the height on some of my throws though.

I thought I’d be able to hold a pace better on the rower, but after starting out > 1,100 cal/hour I slowly drifted down to around 950, before picking it back up in the final minute. Racked up 83 calories.

I thought it would be pretty cool if I could do “Isabel” after the other 10 minutes of work. Even though I was seeing stars with every rep through the first five I was on a good pace through 10 reps. The weight was getting heavy, but I kept picking it back up and really tried to generate power through my hips. Definitely did singles the entire way. With about a minute remaining I realized I still had a shot, but I had to really get back on the bar after each rep in the final 40 seconds. Got number 30 with about three seconds to spare and collapsed to the floor. I immediately got the taste of blood in my mouth, which I don’t ever remember before.

230 total reps!

Accessory

3 Sets

  • 10 Romanian Deadlifts (135#)
  • 40 Glute Bridges

Don’t Break

Much needed rest day yesterday after nine in-a-row, with two of those being active recovery days. My shoulders were a little sore, but felt fine this morning.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 8×95
  • 4×135
  • 4×165
  • 4×185
  • 4×195
  • 4×205
  • 4×215
  • 4×225

Barely made it on the last set. Improvement over the 5x5x215 from last week.

Conditioning

  • 10-8-6-4-2 Thrusters (135#)
  • 50-40-30-20-10 Double Unders

I got this one from Beyond the Whiteboard in the Heavy Fitness Level category. Warmed up with 5×45, 5×95, and 3×115. My goal was to go unbroken, but I had no idea what the thrusters would feel like. I just remember being the EMOM with 3×155 a few weeks ago being nasty. I made it through everything unbroken and probably could have picked the bar sooner after each set of double unders. Finished in 4:57. I’m pumped I was able to do those unbroken.

Midline

2 Rounds

  • 30 V-ups
  • 60 Bicycles
  • 30 Weighted Sit-ups (30# slam ball)
  • 60 Flutter Kicks
  • 30 Leg Raises
  • 60 Mountain Climbers

These higher rep core movements get so bad in the first round. Took about 14 minutes to finish.

It’s Coming Back

My shoulders felt tight through the night, but seemed fine today. This morning I posted a recap of my second week of calorie counting.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Step-Ups (24″)
  • 8 Behind the Neck Shoulder Presses (45#)
  • 4 Inchworms
  • 4 Vertical Jumps

Strength

Push Press

  • 6×95#
  • 6×125
  • 3×155
  • 3×175
  • 3×195
  • 3×205
  • 3×215

Did 3×205# in August so I wanted to beat it today. Still not my best, but getting my strength back. I wore my belt for the last three sets.

Conditioning

16:00 AMRAP

  • 15 Push Press (115#)
  • 15 Box Jump (24″)
  • 15 cal Row

We did the push presses from the rack today, though I’m not sure it helped because you have to control the descent and rack it. I did 9-6 for 5 rounds and then 6-4-5 at the end trying to go on short rest. All jump and step-downs on the box. Tried to keep above 1,100 cal/hr on the rower. Finished 5 rounds, 15 push presses, and 4 box jumps. My calves may feel this one for the next day or two.

Not counting calories today, because I’m headed to Brew Ha-Ha.

Winter Nancy

My shoulders felt a few tugs in bed last night, but no issues today. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2 Sets
    • 20 Jumping Jacks
    • 10 Arm Circles Forward
    • 10 Arm Circles Backward
    • 10 Arm Crosses
  • 3 Sets
    • 100m Run
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • 10 Behind Neck Wide Grip Push Press (45#)
  • 3 Sets
    • 5 OHS (45#, 3131 tempo)

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 1,200m Assault Bike
  • 15 Overhead Squats (95#)

Winter version of “Nancy” for us here in Michigan, though most everyone did 500m rows. I figured the AB and OHS combo would blow up my quads and right away in the first set of squats I broke, doing 9-6. Continued that until I did the last 15 unbroken. I should have fought to do them all unbroken and recovered on the bike. I guess I was the Nancy today. I probably averaged around 60 RPM and was dipping under that in the last two rounds. Finished in 15:56, which is about 30 seconds faster than my time with the 400m runs this summer when I did all of the squats unbroken.

For some reason I originally recorded 16:56. When I saw my friend’s time on the whiteboard only 20 seconds off mine and knowing I beat him by over a minute, I remembered pushing to get those final reps done under 16 minutes. Now I feel better about my effort. That’s what happens when I don’t have my notebook on the floor and record it right away!

Strength

We had plenty of time again, so I pulled out a barbell. The NCFit programming is cutting back on the strength work a bit to focus on conditioning with the Open coming up.

Deadlift

  • 10×45#
  • 10×135
  • 10×185
  • 10×205
  • 10×225
  • 10×245

All sets with a neutral grip.

Ripe from the Rope

Glad I did the active recovery yesterday with more gymnastics pulling today. People are messed up from so much grippy stuff. My hamstrings are actually feeling a little sore today. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2:00 Assault Bike
  • 5 Rounds
    • 3/3 Worlds Greatest Stretch
    • 7 Hand Release Push-Ups
    • 10 Air Squats

Conditioning

18:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 12 cal Assault Bike
  • 20 V-Ups
  • 2 Legless Rope Climbs (13′)

Held 75-78 RPM on the bike without any trouble. Could have reached higher with my legs on the v-ups, but didn’t stop during any set. The rope climbs weren’t programmed legless, but with only two every three minutes I went for it. After the first three rounds, the second rep started to get tough. Made it through them all.

Gymnastics

We had plenty of time left over, so I wanted to get in some pull-ups since I missed 100+ of them yesterday.

5:00 EMOM

  • 10 C2B Pull-ups

Was able to do all unbroken butterfly except two regular kipping chest-to-bars at the end of the last 2 sets. I didn’t come off the bar though. Hands were feeling pretty ripe after the rope climbs and I didn’t want to rip, so 5 sets was enough. I did wear grips for the pull-ups.