Deceptive

Tired this morning after going to see American Sniper last night and getting to bed really late. Needless to say, wasn’t going to make it for the 9am class, so I hit this in the garage around noon.

Air Dyne (AD2)

  • 12 minutes @ 95% of 10:00 pace (76 rpm)

On the edge of being uncomfortable. Racked up 7.3km.

Strength

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 4x5x135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×205#

When I got to 135# I set the clock and did the last 6 sets E2M. Deloading squats for a week after the Super Squats. Didn’t wear a belt or lifting shoes either for some variance.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 30 DU
  • 3 Strict Ring Dips
  • 6 GHD Sit-ups

Nice combination. Missed way too many dubs. Got through 8 full rounds plus 18 double unders.

3:00 Rest

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 5 Burpees
  • 10 Russian KBS (53#)
  • 1 Wall Walk
  • 30s HS Hold (Wall facing)

I was sweating bullets by the end of this one. Didn’t expect that, but the handstand holds were pretty rough. I had my hands in closer than usual due to the mat I was using. Finished 5 rounds plus 5 burpees, 10 swings, the wall walk, and 24 seconds of a hold.

Then I hit the bacon truck for some fuel. 🙂

IMG_5586

With Gloves

“Rest” day today. Out to the garage around noon.

Ski Erg

6 Rounds

  • 500m @ 2-4s faster than 2k pace (1:58-2:00)
  • 1:00 Rest

Not bad. Splits were 1:58.2, 1:58.4, 1:58.1, 1:58.1, 1:57.9, and 1:57.5. I thought my first one was 1:58.4 or else I would have went faster on round 2. Nice to get faster is it goes.

Didn’t preheat the garage since I wouldn’t be out there long, so wore gloves.

indoor-skiing-bw

8 Below

I woke up and checked my phone to see what the temperature was like.

negative-8

Almost went back to sleep, but got moving and went to the gym. Only one there this morning so adjusted to suit my liking. 🙂 Did some bottom squat holding and then 10×45#, 5×75#, and 5×95# shoulder presses to warm-up.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 5 Shoulder Press (115#)
  • Evens: 20s Row

Front squats were programmed but my legs are shot from Super Squats. Didn’t feel like going heavy so I kept the shoulder presses light. Went harder each round on the rower, getting 107-109-110-111-113 meters.

5 Rounds

  • 40 DU
  • 20 Sit-ups
  • 20 Russian Twists (45# plate)

Nice change of pace using a plate instead of a kettlebell. I had 2 stupid misses on dubs. After 1 rep in the first round and after 2 reps in the final round. I hate those kind of misses because it’s just a lack of concentration. Finished in 9:04. Was nice that this workout was pretty much just about moving. Was out of breath but didn’t really break a sweat.

Back in the evening to talk about the Open and then do some more work.

Row

  • 12:00 @ 5k pace (1:57)

Kept the average pace under and ended up around 1:56.4 I think for 3,099 meters.

Grabbed a bar and did 5 hang power clean and jerks (45#) and 5 power clean and jerks (95#).

7 Rounds

  • 5 C&J (115#)
  • 10 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 1:00 Rest

Finished at 9:40 with round times of 30, 34, 32, 31, 31, 31, and 31 seconds. Not sure why round 2 was so slow. The clean & jerks felt great and were all unbroken. I missed a box jump in the last round or I think it would have been the fastest round. Box jumps are quickly coming back, which makes me pumped. My calves are shot after super squats, double unders, jerks, and jumps.

4 Rounds NFT

  • 25 Back Extensions
  • 25 Shoulder Taps

Whoops, I had 20 back extensions per round written in my plan but never checked it. No wonder my low back was feeling so pumped at the end of each set.

275# Super Squats

Woke up with a headache, so went back to sleep and skipped the 9am class. Out in the garage around 3pm.

Warm-up

  • 1,500m Ski Erg

Felt good. Took me 6:47.6.

Gymnastics

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 10 T2B
  • Evens: 15 HR Push-ups

All unbroken. The push-ups got slow at the end of the last two sets, but I never stopped.

Strength

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 5×115#
  • 5×185#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×255#
  • 20×275# (PR)

Super Squats are brutal and make you dig deep. I have a love/hate relationship with them. This was a 15# PR over this summer.

Accessory

3 Sets NFT

  • 15 MU Pulldowns (blue, 7’3″ bar, 5.5″ seat)
  • 15 GHD Sit-ups
  • 15 GHD Reverse Hypers

In just 2-3 weeks the pulldowns have improved a ton. I smacked myself in the forehead on one today I was being so explosive with them. Excited to try a strict muscle-up again now. Only went to parallel on the sit-ups and didn’t use a band for resistance on the reverse hypers. After the squats I didn’t want to put much more stress on my back.

Air Dyne Twenty

My legs were feeling fatigued as the day went on yesterday. Overall I’m feeling pretty good today with nothing too sore. Out in the garage shortly after waking up.

Air Dyne

  • 20:00 @ 80% of 10:00 max effort pace (67 rpm)

Kind of an estimation game to get the rpm pace, but it felt right. RPMs were between 67-71 each time it came around on the display and total distance was 11.01km on the AD2. It’s nice getting the workout in early for the day.

Going Overhead

Another Super Sunday! Only 45 days until the first Open workout is announced. Warmed up with a lot of stretching and mobility stuff.

5 Sets

  • 3 Strict HSPU

Didn’t use a deficit on the first set, but then went 1.5″, 2.5″, 3″, and 4″ or the other sets.

E2M 12:00

  • Thrusters (95#)
  • C2B Pull-ups

I did 12 thrusters and 10 chest-to-bar for the first two rounds and then adjusted to 10 and 8 the rest of the way because I wasn’t getting enough rest time. This was so much worse than I planning it to be. Would have been more of what I wanted by going every 3 minutes. That’s ok though; it was hard!

10:00 Rest

3 Cycles

  • 2 Rounds
    • 5 Push Jerks (115#)
    • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
    • 15 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 2:00 Rest

This comes from Open Workout 13.2. Changed from 5 cycles to 3 after the thrusters and pull-ups. Ended up being perfect and kept up the intensity. I need to get my box jumps back so I forced myself to jump everything instead of bitching out to step-ups when I got tired. Box jumps used to be one of my strengths and lately I haven’t been able to keep knocking them out in workouts. There were only a few reps during the second cycle that I didn’t rebound before kicking my ass to man up. The second round of deadlifts each cycle were a surprising burn on the hips. My round times were 1:45, 1:57, and 2:05. Happy I was able to do everything unbroken and not rest other than a few breaths between movements after the first cycle.

2x with a partner

  • 10 Chest MB Passes
  • 10 OH MB Passes
  • 10/10 Side MB Passes
  • 10 Up MB Passes

Each person goes all the way through before switching out. Used a 20# ball. Those side passes are always horrible.

A lot of shoulder work today. I only have some Air Dyne work planned for tomorrow so no worries.

No Kip For You

Went to the gym around 11.

Row

  • 12:00 @ 5k pace (1:57)

I made it 3,062 meters. Would have been under the 1:57 pace (Was 1:57.7 I think) if I didn’t stop and take off my hoodie in the middle.

Gymnastics

4 Sets

  • Max T2B
  • 1:00 Rest

Stopped to hang and get some more reps during each set. Didn’t stay on the bar long enough to cause any hand rips though. I did 22, 12, 12, and 10 reps. Not very happy with the first set (even though it’s a PR) or the big drop off for the remainder of the sets.

Conditioning

Took a little break to catch my breath and then did 10 hang power cleans (45#) and 5 power cleans (95#) to get ready for the next piece.

E3M 30:00

  • 20 DU
  • 5 Power Cleans (135#)
  • 200m Row

I missed a double under in the first round after 8 and one in the last round after 2. Lack of concentration for both. All other sets were unbroken. All power cleans were touch-n-go reps, though I did feel like they were slowing down around the 5th round. My pace goal was to stay just under 1:45/500m for each row and then I pushed harder on the last one with about a 1:35 pace. I was getting about a minute and 40-45 seconds of rest each round which was plenty to recover. Should have done 250m rows.

More Gymnastics

I wanted to try a real gymnastics kip on the rings, but couldn’t come close to getting over the top. They make it look so easy!

Then I setup a PVC pipe with green bands around a bar to help build some strength for bar muscle-ups.

3 Sets

  • 10 Bar MU Pulldowns (green banded PVC)

I kept the PVC up against the rig supports to simulate it staying in the same plane like the bar does. I don’t think the exercise is going to transfer as well as it does for the ring pulldowns, but it should help some. I did one bar muscle-up pretty easily just to see if I still could. It’s been at least a few months since trying one. I just need to work on the skill to create comfort with it. We might see them in the Open this year.

Snowy Day

Had to shovel the driveway for the first time this winter. All schools were canceled (though it doesn’t affect me) for an inch of snow! Fitting day to jump on the Ski Erg.

12:00 Ski Erg @ 90% of 2k pace

Makes a target of about 2:16 for me based off a recent ski, but I know I can do a better 2k than I did in that one. Went 2,714 meters for an average pace of 2:12.6. My 3 minute splits were 675m (2:13.3), 675m (2:13.3), 678m (2:12.7), and 687m (2:11). Nice little aerobic workout for rest day.

Plans Change

My hips were feeling pretty rough all night in bed. So I decided to switch up my plan for the week and get on the Air Dyne for 40 minutes before doing anything else. Went 19.4km. Felt pretty good through the day after that.

Back to the garage later in the day…

Warm-up

1,500m on the Ski Erg in 6:54.4.

XWOD

  • 10 Front Squats (45#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps
  • 5 Front Squats (95#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (1.5″)
  • 5 Front Squats (135#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (5.25″)
  • 5 Front Squats (175#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (11.5″)
  • 5 Front Squats (205#)
  • 1 Kneeling Jump (12.75″)
  • 5 Front Squats (225#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (11.5″)
  • 5 Front Squats (245#)
  • 1 Kneeling Jump (13.75″)
  • 5 Front Squats (255#)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (11.5″)
  • 5 Front Squats (265#)
  • 1 Kneeling Jump (13.75″)
  • 5 Front Squats (275# – PR)
  • 2 Kneeling Jumps (11.5″)

Front squats felt heavy. Looked back at my logs in between sets and found out I’d done 265# for 5 before, so set my goal at 275#. I guess it felt heavy because it was! Was really getting out of breath in those last few sets. The 10# PR was a good stopping point. Not the greatest doing the kneeling jumps in lifting shoes, but it worked out. Definitely had to take the belt off after missing one at 11.5″ trying to keep it on. I did miss my 13.75″ the last time, but went again and made it with more focus.

Accessory

  • 15 MU Ring Pulldowns (blue, 7’3″ bar, 5.5″ seat)
  • 20 Back Extensions (20# vest)
  • 15 MU Ring Pulldowns
  • 20 Back Extensions
  • 15 MU Ring Pulldowns
  • 20 Back Extensions

Bumped up to 15 reps from the 10 the other day. Fast-fast-fast was the focus and getting into that deep ring dip position. My upper back cramped up after the first set of back extensions. I thought it might have been something with the vest so I did the next set without it. Nope, happened again, so I didn’t do a third set. May have been a result of the front squats.

Bench Day

Went to the 9am again. Lats are still sore and I bet the muscle-up pulldowns have something to do with that.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×115#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×195#
  • 5×210#
  • 5×220#
  • 3x8x195#

We worked up to a heavy set of 5 and then did some drop sets. Was supposed to be around 85% as a guide, but I went heavier since I didn’t hit what I wanted to in the final set. Perfect weight because I might have missed if I had gone much heavier.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 5 Pendlay Rows (165#)

Didn’t go crazy with these today. Focused on speed and quality reps.

Conditioning

8:00 AMRAP

  • 5 OHS (95#)
  • 10 Over the Bar Burpees

First round was done in 45-50 seconds and then everything got progressively slower. Finished 6 rounds plus the overhead squats and 8 of the burpees. I was not expecting my legs to feel like jello, but must be from the squats last night. They started burning pretty good about halfway through the workout.

Night garage session again. I’m really enjoying these.

Warm-up

Did 1,500m on the Ski Erg in 6:57.5.

Weightlifting

Muscle Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×75#
  • 5×95#

E90S for 12 Sets

  • 5 Power Snatch (115#)

Originally planned for 6-8 sets, but was feeling it. All touch-n-go reps on every set.

Midline

4 Sets

  • 10 Weighted GHD Sit-ups (20#)

Could feel my low back working on these too.