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Feeling pretty good. Upper abs were sore last night, but not really feeling much of anything anywhere on the body this morning.

Warm-up

  • Jumping Jacks
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Butt Kicks
  • Air Squats

Accessory

14:00 EMOM

  • 5x 3-Position Snatch Deadlifts (1″, knee, power, knee, 1″)
  • 30s Hollow Hold on Feet & Hands
Image from The Outlaw Way's 140416 Post
Image from The Outlaw Way’s 140416 Post

I expected the hollow holds to be much more difficult than they were. I used straps for the deads, with 115# for 3 sets, 135# for 3 sets, and 165# for the last set.

Conditioning

  • 50-40-30-20-10 Goblet Squats (35# KB)
  • 25-20-15-10-5 Box Jumps (24″)

Finished in 11:05. Hell of a leg burn. Low back pumped up too.

Midline

  • 3×20 Hip Extensions (on Roman Chair)

With that, I’ve filled up a full Field Notes with training logs. I think I started using that one last summer. Time to turn the page on a new one.

Going to see Joe, a chiropractor I know from the gym. Will see if he maybe comes up with something different to try for my shoulder. I’ve been giving it solid rest for two and a half weeks now and used it very little the 6 weeks before that. I want to be able to do all movements again! Falling behind.

On My Own

Not feeling the hip flexors as much today. The usual 9am, except not very usual today because I couldn’t do anything that was programmed for the day, so I completely did my own thing all hour.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

  • OH Stretching
  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • Arm Circles
  • Wall Shoulder Stretch

Mobility

2x Each Arm

  • 1:15 KB Shoulder Impingement Mobility (35# KB)

I was shaking after 30 seconds of the hold! My shoulders are so weak from not being worked. Here’s the Mobility WOD video I got this from.

Strength

  • 5×10 Barbell Curls (45#)

Conditioning

30-25-20-15-10-5

  • Row for Calories
  • Burpees

Took me 13:35. Never stopped during burpees and tried to keep at least a 1,200 cal/hr pace on the rower.

Midline

8 Tabata Rounds (alternating between)

  • Hollow Rocks
  • Arch Rocks

Skill

8 Tabata Rounds

  • Double Unders

No rounds unbroken and too many misses. Managed 220 total dubs though, which makes 820 for the week.

Training Week 1 Begins

Now that test week is over, Matt is starting a 12 or 13 week program for Survival Fitness. Looking forward to sick gainz bro! My hip flexors are sore from my low back down around my hip and up under my quads from all of those GHD sit-ups on Saturday.

Warm-up

  • Air Squats & Bottom Squat Hold
  • Zombie Kicks & Leg Swings
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Arm Circles

Strength

Back Squats 3×10 @ 65%

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×205#
  • 10×235#
  • 10×245#
  • 10×260#

65% would be 228# for me, which is too light. I’ve been doing more than that already, so I went heavier on my sets.

Midline

5 Rounds

  • 1:00 Weighted Plank (25#)

We partnered up, so there was about 1:15 of rest between each round. Matt and I were placing the weight right over our lumbar area, which I imagine is the toughest spot since that’s where we hinge. If you put the weight up closer to the shoulders it should be much easier to hold.

Conditioning

21-15-9

  • 135# Squat Cleans
  • MB Push-ups

Was supposed to be a full “Elizabeth” but I think the ring dips have been bothering my shoulder, so Matt suggested the push-ups. I did all singles on the cleans and finished in 9:18.

I have a feeling legs are going to be sore for a couple of days.

In the afternoon I did a quick one in the garage.

5 Rounds NFT

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups (touch floor)
  • 20 Hip Extensions
  • 40 DU

Leaves only 400 more DU to do by Saturday for me 1,000! Dubs weren’t the greatest today. Not even one set unbroken. I was moving quick between movements, but not a rush like I’d have if I was doing it for time. Boy, was my low back pumped up starting in the 3rd round of hip extensions. Touched the floor today with the GHDs since I barely felt sore from 150 of the parallel ones the other day. May back has been feeling good, so should be able to handle it.

Sunday Morning Run

After drinking my coffee I had the bright idea to go out for an active recovery run. Turned out to be depressing to realize how fucking slow I am now. I ran 3.28 miles in 36:28. I’m not sure I’ve ever run that slow. I really need to get my weight back under 190#. Sure it’s supposed to be kind of slow for active recovery but this was slow and felt hard. Also walked 0.54 miles to cool down. Nice morning for a run though.

Saturday Double

In for the 10am. First weekend class in over a month, but it’s still testing week.

Warm-up

All kinds of leg stuff to get ready for sprints. Ran a couple of laps and did some warm-up sprints building up speed.

40 Yard Dash

I got exactly 5.03 seconds all three times. The chances of that happening with a hand stopwatch are crazy. Felt like I was getting faster each run, but I guess not.

30 Yard Shuttle (5-10-10-5)

There are 3 cones set 5 yards apart. Start at the middle cone and go either direction to begin. then to the far cone, back to the other far cone, and finish in the middle. It was tough sliding all over on the payment. I got a 7.22 and a 7.00 for fastest of the day.

Wall Balls

Next up was supposed to be “Karen” and I didn’t even think about the shoulder before we started. Wish it would have though. I did 25, rested for an 8 count, and then half way into the next set of 25 I started to feel it. Called it quits after 50 reps. Took me about 1:45 so I was on a pretty good pace if I could keep it up. I don’t like quitting!

5:00 Air Dyne (AD6)

This was supposed to be the original test today but Matt changed it up since there are only 3 machines. Figured I might as well do it to get some leg burn since I skipped out on 100 wall ball reps. I really had no idea how to pace it. Got 92 calories. Could probably start faster.

MAX Vertical Jump

I got 27″ standing and 29″ with a drop step. Still got the hops! I was able to touch the 10’6″ mark with the drop step.

Worked out in the garage around 4. Kevin bailed on me for lifting so I trained solo. Felt good to open up the garage door for the session.

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 7×135#
  • 7×205#
  • 7×225#
  • 7×245#
  • 7×265#
  • 7×285#

Figured I would try something different. Not too long ago I did sets of 10 starting at 205 and went up by 10# each set. Seven is a fun number. Started to get tough at the end of 265# and definitely had to take more breaths between reps with 285#.

Skill Work

20:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 40 DU
  • Evens: 15 GHD Sit-ups (to parallel)

I did the last 6 rounds of dubs unbroken which felt good since I was getting fatigued and they held up. That’s 40% of my 1,000 double unders for week 2 already done.

I think I might take a rest day tomorrow, since it’s been 8 in a row now.

Test Friday

Had thought about taking a rest day since I’ve been working out since Saturday. Not really feeling beat up though, so why not.

Warm-up

  • Air Squats
  • Zombie Kicks
  • Leg Swings
  • Sprawls

Deadlift

Supposed to be a 1RM test, but my back isn’t ready for that yet. Need to build it back up yet.

  • 10×135#
  • 5×225#
  • 5×315#
  • 5×375#
  • 3×405#
  • 1×435#
  • Fx455#

Last time I tweaked the back it was trying to do 5 with 375#, but dropping each rep. Doing it unbroken wasn’t a problem today and then the triple with 405# felt good too. I could feel my back starting to pull a little with 455# so I called it quits there. No point in risking injury.

MAX Pistols in 1:30

Really started to feel the burn half way through. Managed 42 reps.

2,000m Row

Was holding a good PR pace until 500 or 600m left. Then it started to get rough. Ended up with a 7:11.1 for a 2.7 second PR.

I was sick of looking out at nice weather all day, so I went back to the gym at 5 for open gym. I also had a pair of the Reebok CrossFit Sprint TR shoes delivered this afternoon, so had to try them out.

300 DU

Only took me 4:25 today. I knew the 6+ was a fluke the other day. That’s over 1,100 dubs since Saturday. Mission accomplished on getting at least 1,000.

Sled Drag

Loaded 135# of plates on to the 35# sled. Did 5 big laps around the parking lot, which came out to 0.57 miles in 14:04 according to RunKeeper.

Short Test Thursday

Back to the 9am class today. It just has a different vibe. I like working out in the mornings.

Warm-up

4 Rounds

  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Zombie Kicks
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Arm Circles

Snatch Positions

I worked on the positions of setup, an inch off the floor, above the knee, and pockets (power) with the 3-position snatch deadlifts. Did several reps along with holds at each position with each weight. Used lifting straps too. Went 45-95-135-165-185-195-215.

MAX Unbroken DU (3:00)

I screwed up after 29 took a break, calmed myself down and then went crazy! Was feeling a little fatigued when I got in the 60-70 range, but got a second wind somehow and fell into a better rhythm. Blew past 100 reps (my old PR) and ended up with 139. BOOM!! Got an instant headache after that. There was probably a minute or so left on the clock but there was no I was beating that.

Conditioning

21-15-9

  • Front Squats (95#)
  • Burpees

Broke up the set of 15 front squats into 8-7, did everything else unbroken, and pushed hard through the 9 burpees. Took me 4:26.

Test Wednesday

Third day of test week. I went to the 5pm for a change today to workout with Brent and a different crew.

Warm-up

  • Air Squats
  • Star Jumps
  • Arm Circles
  • Zombie Kicks

1RM Front Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 2×225#
  • 1×265#
  • 1×285#
  • 1×305#
  • Fx320#

Damn! Wish I had done 315#. Got stuck not far above parallel and had to dump it. 305# was no problem.

MAX 45# Barbell Curls in 1:30

It was ring dips, but all of other stuff from this week has aggravated the shoulder a bit. Managed to get either 36 or 39, so I guess I’ll say 36.

MAX V-ups in 2:00

We were also supposed to start with a max effort set. I did 27 to start and 50 total. Hips just shot by the end. Couldn’t even lift my legs.

1,000m Row

I rowed 3:25.3 in February, so was shooting for close to 3:20. My goal was to keep my pace at 1:40-1:42 until the last 100-150m and then give it everything left. I managed to hold that until I got inside 400m to go and then it was a battle. Ended up with a 3:21.7, so almost a 4 second PR. We were absolutely destroyed after that.

Test Tuesday

My low back has never been so sore. Has to mostly be from the deadlifts on Sunday, but I don’t think the middle portion of that back squat PR yesterday helped either.

Warm-up

  • Foam-rolled my back
  • Rocket Ships
  • Arm Circles
  • Zombie Kicks

Cleans

  • 45# Positions
  • 115#
  • 155#
  • 185#
  • 205#
  • 225# (Switched to power cleans)
  • 235#
  • 245# (PR)

I haven’t worked on my cleans since the pretzel incident so I’m not mentally ready to go chasing a full clean PR, but the 245# power clean felt good. My feet didn’t even have to go super wide to receive it, which often happens with a heavy power clean. Wasn’t expecting that lift going into today.

2:00 of Pendlay Rows

I did 29×135#. The test was for muscle-ups but I can’t do those with my shoulder.

2 Mile Run

I was really hoping to be somewhere close to 14:00, which is lofty goal for a first run of the year and carrying this much weight on my frame. I ran 15:58. Yuck!

MAX Broad Jump

We got 3 attempts. I went 108.5″ and then got 115.75″ on the next two.

Test Week

We’re doing a shit ton of tests this week. I’m already sore from getting back after it the last couple of days.

Warm-up

  • High Knees
  • Butt Kicks
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Bottom Squat Hold

Back Squat 1RM

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×205#
  • 2×275#
  • 1×295#
  • 1×315#
  • 1×335#
  • 1×350# (PR)

Yeah!! Smoked 335# so much easier than I did on Saturday.

Strict press was up next, but I took extra time with my squatting since I can’t do anything overhead. 25 minutes is not enough time to max out in 2 lifts.

MAX Ring Rows in 1:30

Can’t do C2B pull-ups, so I did ring rows instead. Got 26. I still suck at these.

MAX HR Push-ups in 1:30

Did 39 of them. I should start hammering a lot of HR push-ups each week to help with chest size and tricep strength.

500m Row

My PR was a 1:34.4 so I tried to keep around a 1:35 or less early on, then started to kick it in with 150m left. Pulled off a 1:32.2 for a PR by over 2 seconds. Keeps getting better, but after that one I know I can go harder out of the gate next time.

Conditioning

Supposed to be a 1/2 “Cindy” but no pull-ups for me.

10:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Pendlay Rows (95#)
  • 10 C2D Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

I did 9 rounds plus 5 rows, 10 push-ups, and 4 squats.

My weight is up to the heaviest I’ve ever been, at 202.5# this morning. Starting a body fat challenge today and I measured at 15.4% on the device at the gym. I think I have a bit of an unfair advantage after gaining 8# in a week on vacation. I’ll be able to drop back to 195# in less than 2 weeks.