Back at Work

Moving a little slow this morning. My back, shoulders, and arms are all sore from the weekend. Needed the rest day yesterday and was back to work after 2 weeks off. In for the 9am class.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×125#
  • 2×135#
  • 2×145#
  • 2×155#
  • 2×160#
  • 2×165#
  • 2×167.5# (PR)

Conditioning

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s Burpees
  • 10s Rest

Wanted to get 8 as long as I could. Made it through 6 rounds and then did 7 the last two. Maybe could have pushed it hard and made all 8. Next time. The most I’d done before was 4 rounds of 8 and then 7s, so I’ll take that improvement. Seemed to hurt less than the 6 rounds of 10 on Sunday. How does that make sense? More burpees in a lot less time.

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Ball Slams (25#)
  • 1:00 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 1:00 Sit-ups
  • 1:00 Plank

Holy shit that wall ball felt heavy in the first round. Nobody in class expected it and I think we all dropped it after 1 rep. I did 28-24 on the ball slams, 18-18 on wall balls, and 24-24 on the sit-ups. Was a fight to hold the second plank all the way.

Headed out to the garage at night. Warmed up with 5 minutes on the Air Dyne for 2.36km.

2015-01-16-heater

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×115#
  • 5×185#
  • 5×225#
  • 5×245#
  • 5×265#
  • 3×280#
  • 3×290#
  • 3×300#
  • 3×310#
  • 3×320# (PR)
  • 3×330# (PR)

Oh yeah! I’m liking the high volume and feeling good while doing it, though it might have something to do with how tired I’ve felt lately. Will keep an eye on it. My low back definitely feels like the weak point, especially as I get to the last few sets.

4 Rounds NFT

  • 10 MU Ring Pulldowns (blue, 7’3″ bar, 5.5″ seat)
  • 10 Back Extensions (45# plate behind head)

Over a 4″ difference from Saturday for the pulling distance so I dropped the reps. Once I got going they felt good with a focus on speed through the pull and sitting up into it. With my garage setup I can’t use a barbell on the GHD so I have to hold a plate behind my head. Much different! My back was feeling a pump after the second round.

Testing 14.1

Was in bed by 10 again and got over 10 hours of sleep.

Gymnastics

4x

  • Max Unbroken C2B Pull-ups
  • Rest 1:00

I did better than I expected, but it gassed me a lot more than I was prepared for. Did 14-12-11-10, when I don’t think I’ve ever done more than 10 in a row.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5 Pendlay Rows
  • 3 Evil Wheels
  • Rest 2:00

I did a set of rows with 45# and one with 115# before getting into the work sets. Could really feel the fatigue from the pull-ups here. I used 165-175-185-195-195.

Conditioning

CrossFit Games Open 11.1/14.1
10:00 AMRAP

  • 30 Double Unders
  • 15 Power Snatches (75/55)

My goal was simply to beat the score I put up in the Open last year, which was 5+41. I did it without even pushing too hard by getting 5+44, 1 rep shy of 6 full rounds. I only had 2 (maybe 3?) misses on the dubs and did my snatches 6-5-4 every round again. I’ll definitely take that knowing I’ll push a lot harder when it’s game time and won’t be fatigued from other work.

Rested 10 minutes, then…

6 Rounds

  • 10 Burpees AFAP
  • 1:00 Rest

Sucked more than I expected. My rounds were done in 18-18-18-19-19-20 seconds. Happy to be able to keep the times so close. I was having a hard time pushing myself off the ground for the last few reps in the final two rounds.

Feelin’ Slow

Why am I feeling so tired? Especially after a rest day. Went to CFI at 10 and spent almost 3 hours there.

Reverse Hyper

3 Sets

  • 10×210#

Clean & Jerk

  • Positons with 20kg
  • 2x40kg
  • 2x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 2x90kg
  • 2x2x100kg

Felt heavy and slow so I didn’t push it. I even “Clarked” one at 100kg, which I never ever ever miss. 😦

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×205#
  • 5×225#
  • 5×245#
  • 5×265#
  • 5×285#
  • 5×295#
  • 5×305#
  • 5×315#

Felt like I needed to redeem myself after the C&J performance. Last rep didn’t feel so great, so I knew that was a good place to stop. I think it’s a 15# PR for a set of 5 after looking at my records, so I’m pumped about that.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 500m Row @ 2,000m PR pace (< 1:45 for me)
  • 30s Rest
  • 100m Row (very easy)

Needed that. I wanted to quit after the second round though. No additional rest after the 100m, so it went right into the 500m. Pretty sure this is a Hinshaw workout.

Accessory

  • 15 MU Pulldown (blue band, 7’1″ bar, 8″ seat)
  • 15 Back Extensions (33#)
  • 10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
  • 15 MU Pulldown (blue band, 7’1″ bar, 8″ seat)
  • 15 Back Extensions (33#)
  • 10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
  • 15 MU Pulldown (blue band, 7’1″ bar, 8″ seat)

Oh boy, that blue band is no joke. I tried it at first by just sitting on one 45# bumper. NO BUENO! Manageable on two bumpers, but had to cut to 15 reps instead of the 20 I had been doing with the red band. Trying to keep the pull fast and work the quick sit-up into it too. My low back was starting to feel a pump so I only did 2 times through the back extensions and reverse hypers. Did some rolling on my back before heading home.

Happy 2015!

I was wiped out all day yesterday and in bed by 10. Slept for 9.5 hours! Little sore today, but otherwise feeling good. Happy not to have a hangover from New Year’s Eve. 🙂 Opened up the gym at 4pm and got there early to jump on the rower.

3,500m Row

Held around a 2:05 pace and finished in 14:28.

Did some bottom squat holding and light stretching.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 10 Walking Lunges (5 out, 5 back)

Went 95-125-155-175-205# and held the bar in the front rack. Pretty heavy at the end!

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row
  • 1:00 Jump Rope
  • 1:00 Step-ups (18″)
  • 1:00 Shuttle Jogs
  • 1:00 Russian KBS (35#)
  • 1:00 Rest

Just something easy with it being a holiday and kicking off the new year. Low intensity and low impact on everything.

2015-new-year

I did some extra work afterwards.

4 Sets

  • 20 MU Pulldowns (red band)
  • 15 Weighted Back Extensions (15-15-33-33#)

Time to go to a harder band next time.

Figured why the hell not do another row…

3,000m Row

Pace was in between 2:05 and 2:10 for this one. Took me 12:41.

I did some foam rolling on my low back after.

Sayonara 2014

Didn’t sleep well and I was feeling pretty rough when I rolled out of bed. Ran the 9am class.

We warmed up with a game of Rowling for something different.

2014-12-31-rowling

I did a cycle through with an empty bar and then with 95#.

25:00 AMRAP – Teams of 3

  • 5 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 4 Hang Power Cleans (115#)
  • 3 Front Squats (115#)
  • 2 Push Press (115#)

* One person does an entire round at a time, while the other 2 rest.
* If you don’t do your round unbroken everyone on the team has to do 3 burpees after you finish your round before the next person can start. Incentive for people not to go too heavy.

Felt good after getting moving. Michelle, her sister, and I got about 23 and a half rounds. I was last so did 23 full rounds. Glad I decided to go with 115# instead of 135#, which allowed me to bust ass. The burpee penalty worked; people picked appropriate weights, and no burpees were done.

I had planned on doing some intervals on the Ski Erg at night, but I was exhausted. With all of the lifting last night and over 300 reps with the barbell today, my body is tired!

It was a good close to 2014. I’m feeling good and am happy with the change to CrossFit Intuition in the middle of the year. Looking forward to the Open and getting fitter in 2015.

Where Did 2014 Go?

Had a great massage yesterday and got adjusted at the chiro. Ran the 9am class (and worked out) since Kevin is traveling.

Warm-up

2 Rounds NFT

  • 300m Row
  • 10 Shoulder Pass-thrus
  • 10/10 Arm Circles

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 10:00 EMOM – 3×145#

Turned very rough is the last few sets, especially the first rep of each set.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 8 Weighted Push-ups (60#)
  • 15 GHD Sit-ups

Talk about a tricep burn after the presses!

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 10 OH Walking Lunges (45#)
  • 10 KB Deadlifts (62#)
  • 20 Mountain Climbers

The deadlifts were deceiving and burned my legs more than the lunges. I did 8 rounds plus the lunges and deadlifts.

Skill

3 Sets

  • 20 MU Pulldowns

Thought they might be extra rough after the arm work, but they weren’t any worse than the other day.

Headed out to the garage around 5:30 or so. Warmed up with 500m on the Ski Erg in 2:10 and then some 45# snatch position work.

Tall Snatch

  • 3×45#
  • 3×75#
  • 3×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 1×125#
  • 1×135#
  • ✘ 140#
  • 1×140#
  • 1×145#
  • 1×150#
  • 1×155#
  • ✘ 160#
  • 1×160#
  • ✘ 165#

I had determined the weights ahead of time up to 135# and then wanted to keep adding 5#. When I failed 3 times I was done. So I was pissed when I missed at 140#, especially since I hit 145# for a triple last week. I was also holding the last rep of each set for 5 second is the bottom before standing up. Had a couple of big saves in there and was happy to hit 160#.

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 4×155#
  • 4×205#
  • 4×225#
  • 4×245#
  • 4×265#
  • 2×275#
  • 2×285#
  • 2×295#
  • 2×305#
  • 2×315#
  • 2×325#
  • 2×335#

Hell yeah! My original plan was to maybe hit 315#. Was feeling good so I kept going and the last set even felt really good. Didn’t want to push it more since I just hit 345# for a single a few days ago. Slow and steady progress works for me. Lots of volume!

I strapped up a green band on the GHD and did 3 sets of 15 reverse hypers. Will do some rolling on the low back and hit it with the e-stim too.

Faster Recovery

Yesterday’s workout was a lot more intense than I had planned. Need that every so often though. Getting a massage and have a trip to the chiropractor today. Headed out to the garage after waking up for same active recovery.

30:00 Air Dyne (AD2)

My recovery pace is getting faster without any trouble. I even thought of going for 40 minutes today as I approached the last few minutes. Went 15.22km.

“Death” is Appropriate

I’m feeling those banded ring pulldowns through my back and arms. Legs feel the squats a bit too.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Rolling lower back
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder mobility

Death by C&J

With a continuously running clock…

  • 1 Clean & Jerk (135#) in the first minute
  • 2 Clean & Jerks (135#) in the second minute
  • 3 Clean & Jerks (135#) in the third minute
  • Continuing this for as long as you are able.

I’ve only done this once, 2.5 years ago, and I only got 4+4. Today I did touch and go through the 4th round and switched to singles in the 5th minute. Ended up getting 10+9. Almost a full “Grace” in the last 3 minutes. Gets so brutal at the end. My goal was to be able to make it through 10 so I’m really happy with that.

Skills

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s T2B
  • 10s Rest

2:00 Rest

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s DU
  • 10s Rest

I got 57 toes to bars and 209 double unders.

Conditioning

21-15-9

  • Deadlift (185#)
  • Box Jump (24″)
  • Wall Ball (20#, 10′)

Was feeling pretty beat early on with this. Took me 7:06. Huge leg burner!

Accessory

  • 100 Shoulder Taps

Did them in 4 sets: 30-30-20-20.

Back in the Garage

In the afternoon I put the new handles on the Ski Erg and felt like working out. I haven’t hit a garage session is way too long. Warmed up with a 500m ski in 2:10.6.

Ski Erg Handles v2

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×155#
  • 3×205#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×245#
  • 3×265#
  • 3×285#
  • 1×295#
  • 1×305#
  • 1×315#
  • 1×325#
  • 1×335#
  • 1×345#

Rectus Femoris CompressionFeeling good! Getting more used to the shoes and belt each time I wear them. Only 15# shy of my previous best and decided that was enough since it’s 10# more than I’ve done since the back tweaks. No need to rush it. I can feel some squat PRs coming in January for sure.

Used the new Rogue training plates finally. I can fit 295# on the bar where 205# of Hi-Temps would fit before.

I’m 95% sure I’ve narrowed down my leg issue to the rectus femoris of the quad muscles. Starting to try some compression (too 3 bands!) and e-stim to see if that’ll make it feel better. I could definitely feel it at times when squatting, but didn’t seem to affect me.

Accessory

Banded MU Ring Pulldowns

  • 20 Red band @ 7’3″ bar
  • 2×20 Red band @ 7’3″ bar, sitting on 55# bumper

These come from CrossFit Training via Vivendi Lab. I’m an inch or so away from being able to do strict muscle-ups, so these should really help me out. Sitting on the bumper plate allowed me get full extension through the ring dip portion or else I would hit the ground with my knuckles.

Conditioning

  • 3,000m Ski Erg

Pretty sure that is the longest distance I’ve done at a high intensity. Even beat my 2,000m PR in the process, which goes to show I had no idea what I was doing when I first got the machine. My last 1,000m was the fastest of the 3 too. The 500m splits were 2:04.9, 2:06, 2:04.2, 2:04.5, 2:02.8, and 2:00.2. Not sure what I was doing in the second 500m. My 2,000m time was 8:19.6 and 3,000m was 12:22.6.

That was fun! Need to hit some solo stuff every week again. The quiet is nice, I can do whatever I want, and it’s a good time to think.

35

It’s my birthday!

Headed to the gym at 4 for a bro session.

Warm-up

  • Rolling and Stretching
  • 500m Row
  • 3x10x210 Reverse Hypers
  • Bottom Squat Hold

Clean & Jerk

  • 2x3x40kg
  • 2x50kg
  • 2x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 2x90kg
  • 1x97kg
  • 1x102kg
  • 1x105kg
  • 1x108kg
  • 1x110kg
  • 1x113kg
  • 1x115kg
  • 1x118kg (PR)
  • 1x120kg (PR)

My jerks still got pretty terrible in the last few as I knew it was getting heavy. Almost more of a push jerk really, without much dropping under the bar. Cleans were easy. My shoulder started to feel a little funky so I stopped the jerks there and did a couple more lifts. 120kg is about 265#, which is a 10# PR on my C&J as well as my jerk. Damn that was a lot of lifts! Alex and I were going lift for lift, which was a lot of fun and a good push.

Clean

  • 1x123kg (PR)
  • 1x125kg (PR)

Had never even attempted more than 265# before so these were both first tries. Not much trouble. About 275-276#. I’ll take PRs in 3 lifts in one day. 🙂 Didn’t chicken out on any of the weights either for a 100% day.

Jumped back on the reverse hyper for 3x10x210 to protect my back.