Tag: Air squat

Adjustments

Didn’t have a great time trying to sleep last night, but my back isn’t as bad as it’s been some other times. I was still able to roll over in bed relatively well. I did do e-stim and ice both last night and this morning. Made it to the gym at 10am.

Warm-up

7 Rounds (Strict “Cindy”)

  • 5 Strict *Chin-ups/Pull-ups
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

I switched every round, which came out to 4 rounds of chin-ups and 3 rounds of pull-ups.

Gymnastics

Yesterday I skipped out on what was supposed to be an EMOM up to 40 total muscle-ups, so wanted to get in some volume today. Decided to try bar muscle-ups, which I haven’t done in a long time.

  • E30S – 5 Rounds
    • 2 Bar Muscle-ups
  • E30S – 20 Rounds
    • 1 Bar Muscle-up

I had on my grips, but they turned out to be too grippy with as much chalk as I had on them. I still struggle stringing these together because I overgrip the bar on the swing down and do this weird thing with my knees up. After 5 sets I took off the grips and switched to singles. No problems getting up there, I just need to work on stringing them together and improving my kip cycle. As a comparison, two years ago I did 21 doubles going 45 seconds without failure. I had been working on the movement more back then though.

Conditioning

6 Sets

  • 400m Run Row
  • 1:1 Work/Rest

I fucked up looking at my average pace instead of time, so ended up taking an extra 20 seconds of rest each round. Whoops! My times were 1:21.4, 1:21.4, 1:21.3, 1:21.3, 1:21, and 1:18.8 with 500m/pace averages all under 1:42.

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

  • Assault Bike cals Weighted Step-ups (20”, 20# DBs)
  • Bar-facing Burpees

This was programmed with a 12 minute time cap and then do max reps 225# deadlift in the remaining time. Yeah…right! Took me 13:24 and pretty sure if we had an Assault Bike it would have taken me even longer. I picked step-ups at a substitute because I wanted something that would fatigue the legs similar to an air bike. It did the trick because the jumps over the bar were a lot tougher and never stopping on the step-ups kept the heart rate up.

Actually felt ok for me compared to what I remember 16.5 feeling like with the thrusters instead of step-ups. Kind of curious what I’d do in that workout now, but I don’t care to find out. Just like I said after doing it as 14.5, I never want to do that workout again. 🙂

That completes 5 weeks of the Hybrid Performance Method program and I’m still loving it. Thinking back on this week I did 86 (40 strict) handstand push-ups, 153 toes-to-bars, 60 (30 ring & 30 bar) muscle-ups, 174 bar-facing burpees, 140 push-ups, and 35 strict pull/chin-ups. My gymnastics should be better for the Open than they’ve ever been.

Sets of 5

Shoulders feel a little rough from last night. Doing the program by myself today with Bryan and Florida and Weston busy this morning. I got my DNA tested for 41 different fitness related genes and wrote about it on my main blog. Pretty neat.

Warm-up – 2 Sets

  • 5 Strict Pull-ups
  • 5 Strict Chin-ups
  • 20 Push-ups
  • 30 Air Squats
  • 40 Double Unders

No lifting today, but that sure doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1,000m Row
  • 1:1 Rest

The program called for runs, but I’m not going outside in this weather! My goal was a 1:50 pace, which I was able to do. Even got faster each interval. Far from what I’ve been able to do on the rower in the past when I focused on it. My times were 3:39.9, 3:38.6, and 3:32.8.

For time:

  • 3:00 Air Dyne (AD2)
  • 45 Wall Balls (30#, 10′)
  • 45 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 120 Double Unders

The workout called for 60 calories on the Assault Bike, which I know is a lot harder than the AD2. My 3:00 substitution is probably on the easier side, but was plenty hard enough. I kept about a 75-80 RPM pace and tallied up about 80 calories. It was supposed to be all 90 wall balls with 30 pounds, which I fully intended to do.

I did two sets of 15 wall balls and started to hit a wall, even with longer breaks than I should be taking. Then I was down to sets of 5! I felt like quitting, so after 3 sets of those, I walked over and grabbed the 20# to finish the next 45, which I did 10-10-13-12. Getting started with the dubs was rough, but I settled in once I was able to get my breathing under control a bit. Finished in 12:06. Absolutely horrible. Wall balls after an air-type bike in nasty!

That finished my 4th week following the Hybrid Performance Method WOD program. It’s a pretty big time commitment, lot of volume, and a real gut check on days like today. It’s better than anything else I’ve ever followed though. The way the movements, days, and variety all work together has been really great. When the rest days come, I’m definitely ready for them, but at the same time I’m feeling really good and not running into back issues. Excited to see how we do in the Open.

Building

Rough night. Couldn’t get comfortable being so tired. In at 10am today and the other guys said the same thing. Good thing today was on the easier side.

Warm-up

5 Sets – Strict “Cindy”

  • 5 Strict Chin-ups
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

I did chins because I could use the extra bicep work.

Conditioning

16:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 12 cal Row
  • 9×24′ Shuttle Run

Supposed to be 20 minutes of row and Assault Bike, but we had to cut short so class could user the rowers and we obviously don’t have a bunch of bikes. Was a nice aerobic piece.

Diane-ish…

  • 5-10-15-20 Deadlift (225#)
  • 3-7-11-15 HSPU
  • 5-10-15-20 Step-down Box Jumps (24”)

Written as 5-10-15-20 for all of the movements, but I’m still building up my handstand push-up endurance so scaled back. Tried some different placement with the plates and AbMat too, going wider and further from the wall. Felt a lot better. I also tried to work on a better kip.

I went 5, 10, 10-5 (or maybe I did all 15?), 12-8 on deadlifts and 3, 4-3, 3-3-3-2, and 5×3 on the HSPU. Probably took too long of rests between handstand push-ups sets. Finished in 10:38.

Rest day tomorrow! Will be nice to be on track with the schedule this week.

What Max?

Switching weeks is horrible for the rest day schedule. Still have to wait until Thursday to get on track.

Warm-up – 3 Sets

  • 100m Row
  • 1 Legless Rope Climb
  • 10 Air Squats

It was programmed for 10 rounds (!!) and with running. If we did 10 rounds I wouldn’t have had anything left for the pull-ups.

Conditioning

  • 4 Rounds
    • 21 C2B Pull-ups
    • 15 cal Row
    • 90 Double Unders
  • 20:00 Ladder
    • 3 Squat Cleans (135#)
    • 3 Squat Cleans (165#)
    • 3 Squat Cleans (195#)
    • 3 Squat Cleans (225#)
    • 3 Squat Cleans (255#)
    • 3 Squat Cleans (285#)
    • …

I was going back and forth about scaling the reps for the chest-to-bar pull-ups but went Rx. Chalked up my hand grips and they stuck to the bar like glue. Wish I had done that yesterday for the interval pull-ups, though I’d be a lot more sore and fatigued today. Every rep was of the kipping variety, which I think has a lot more endurance for me compared to the butterfly. I started out with 3 sets of 4 C2B I think and then it was mostly triples the rest of the way, with some double here and there. I have a couple of tiny blood blisters but it would have been bad had I not wore the grips. 84 is a lot! Way too slow on the rower again. Turned out the C2B weren’t even my downfall in that metcon. My dubs were horrible through the whole thing. Finished in 22:08 and took my time getting over to my bar on the platforms. I knew I’d have plenty of time with the 20 minute cap.

Felt good with the first few levels and then I took my time with 225 and 255 so I wouldn’t burn out. Had the belt on, but stuck with the Nano 7s. Smoked the first 285 so much, when I caught it, I thought about sticking it for a power clean but remembered they had to be squats. Took my time and hit the other two reps pretty easily too. Didn’t get the exact time but I had about a minute left. I could have went a lot faster through the reps, but I was just hoping to be able to hit 285 pounds once since my PR is 130kg or about 287#. I’m coming for you 300!!

Squats on Squats

Needed the rest day yesterday and got a bunch of stuff done around the house on my last day of break. Went to the 6:30 class but squatted instead of doing shoulder press.

Strength – Back Squat

  • 10x20kg
  • 5×60
  • 5×80
  • 5×90
  • 5×100
  • 5×110
  • 5×120
  • 5×130

Not real great on the back between sets. I wore Nanos but used the belt for 100+.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 5 Front Squats (60kg)
  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 5 Hang Power Cleans (60kg)
  • 10 Hand Release Push-ups
  • 5 Push Jerks (60kg)
  • 15 Air Squats

Stuck with kilos since I had them on a bar for the squats already. Unbroken on everything. Going from air squats into front squats was teh suck! Push-ups were the most annoying part of the workout. Finished in 9:42.

Midline

3 Sets

  • 10/10 Side Bends (53# KB)

When the KB was in my left hand I could feel a tug on my back.

Double Dubs

My low back was feeling it a little today from over-extending in the shoulder presses yesterday. Funny how something so innocent can irritate it just a little. Went to the 5:30 class, but was the only one to show.

Warm-up – 3 Sets

  • 10 PVC Pass thrus
  • 20 Air Squats
  • 30 Jump Rope (singles)

Strength – OHS

  • 3×45#
  • 3×75
  • 3×95
  • 3×115
  • 3×135
  • 3×155
  • 3×175
  • 3×185
  • 3×195 (PR match)

Wore the belt with 155 on I think. After 185 I looked up my best triple and decided to go one more set to match it. Had been November of 2014! It was an ugly set but I got the reps.

Conditioning

14:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Sit-ups
  • 15 cal Row
  • 10 Burpees
  • 5 Ring Rows

Made it through 5+6.

Skill Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 15 Zeus Double Unders
  • 30 Double Unders

Wasn’t as bad as I expected. Made it through every set unbroken in 4:15.

More Tabata Thrusting

Slacked off for a rest day yesterday. My legs are sore to the touch again from tabata thrusters. Went to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up – 2 Sets

  • 15 Pass Thrus
  • 10 Air Squats
  • 10 Push-ups

Strength – Push Press

  • 6×45#
  • 6×95
  • 6×125
  • 6×155
  • 6×175
  • 6×195

Conditioning

9:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 14 cal Row
  • 8 Deadlift (225#)
  • 10 Toes to Rings

Nice and easy.

8 Rounds

  • 20s Wall Balls (14#, 10′)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank (hands)
  • 10s Rest

I didn’t really need more tabata thrusting movement, so I went light, which made this a cake walk.

Heading to Iceland

Wanted to get in something before I head to Iceland this afternoon, especially since I don’t plan to do much during the week. Out in the garage to try something different…

Interval Weight Training

I’ve been hearing about IWT for about a year now and have looked it up a few times. Has always looks nasty from the few examples I was able to find and the science/theory behind it makes sense. After seeing it come up again last week I did a little more digging and found an article on Breaking Muscle of all places with some great info and what looked like a good way to get started. I warmed up with some power cleans, 5 touch-n-go each with 45-95-135 pounds.

  • Part 1 – 3 Rounds
    • 8 Power Cleans (155#)
    • 2:00 Ski
    • Rest 2:00
  • Rest 5:00 (total)
  • Part 2 – 3 Rounds
    • 8 Back Squats (205#)
    • 2:00 Air Dyne
    • Rest 2:00
  • Rest 5:00 (total)
  • Part 3 – 3 Rounds
    • 10 Mountain Climbers
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 10 Burpees
    • 10 Air Squats
    • 10 Box Jumps (24″, step down)
    • Rest 1:00

Something I really struggle with is steady state cardio, when fatigued, like the working this week with running. As soon as I got into round 2 of part 1 that couldn’t have been more clear. My meters on the ski erg went from 554 to 530 to 509. I think there is a lot of room for improvement there. All of the cleans were TnG.

When I got to the Air Dyne I was able to stay consistent or maybe I paced too much in the first two rounds. I got 63-62-63 calories on my AD2. The body weight circuit was pretty consistent two with splits of 1:30-1:30-1:33.

Other than trying to keep up a pace on the erg, the hardest part was the first box jump each round. Hopefully I can repeat this each week for a month or two (maybe switch up the movements after a month) and see where it takes my conditioning.

I better shower and pack so I can make my flight!

Legs On Fire

Warm-up

  • Ladder Footwork Drills
  • 20 PVC Pass Thrus

Accessory

  • 5 Pendlay Rows (45#)
  • 5 Pendlay Rows (95#)
  • 5 Pendlay Rows (125#)
  • 8 Evil Wheels
  • 5 Pendlay Rows (155#)
  • 8 Evil Wheels
  • 5 Pendlay Rows (175#)
  • 8 Evil Wheels
  • 5 Pendlay Rows (185#)

Used an underhand (supinated) grip on the rows. I have a feeling I’m going to have sore abs tomorrow. Usually stick to sets of 4-5.

Grip / Carry Work

  • 400m Pinch Plate Carry (2×25#)

Getting easier to go longer without having to rest.

Conditioning

4 Cycles

  • 20 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 20 Air Squats
  • 200m Run
  • 3:00 Rest

My rounds were 1:57, 1:55, 1:57, and 1:58. That final round of air squats was getting me and I had to take 2-3 brief stops instead of busting them out non-stop. Was able to pick up the pace since it was the last run to make up for the lost time. This was exactly the leg burner I planned it to be; did not want to head out the door running after the 40 squats.

Played 18 holes of golf, but rode in the cart. I’m going to skip ROMWOD today and make it up tomorrow.

In Early

Got to the gym just after 10 to get in the strength lifts from the next lifting day since the workout I programmed for class didn’t have any weights involved.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3 Sets
    • 10 Reverse Hypers (210#)

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95
  • E3M
    • 10×125
    • 8×135
    • 6×145
    • 4×152.5
    • 3×160

I put on the belt after the set of 10. Was really over-extending a lot today, which is not great for my back. It was a struggle so I cut back 2.5# off the final set too.

Front Squat

  • 6×45#
  • 6×135
  • 3×205
  • 3×235
  • E2M – 7 Sets
    • 3×260

Put on the belt with 205 maybe? Felt solid. Could tell my power draining in the last few sets. Glad those lifts are done. Hopefully tomorrow I can knock out the other half of the week 4 day 1 work.

Class Warm-up

  • Ladder Footwork Drills
  • 20 PVC Passes

Gymnastics / Accessory

21:00 EMOM

  • 3 Muscle-ups
  • 12 V-ups
  • 8 Box Jumps (30″)

Felt a lot more fluid on the muscle-ups today. Slower and controlled on the v-ups so they wouldn’t aggravate my back.

Conditioning

  • 20 T2B
  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • 30 Air Squats
  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • 20 T2B
  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • 30 Air Squats
  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • 20 T2B

Nice little chipper. I put on my new-ish grips to save my hands since the lifting has really been beating them up. Did all sets of 5 on toes to bars except finished with 5 singles. Took me 8:55.

Finisher

  • 400m OH KB Carry
    • 200@70#
    • 200@53#

The seventy pounder was way too heavy!! Went inside quick and swapped it out. Still not easy. I think I should be doing something like that more often because it was a struggle, though hard to say how much all of the other work affected it I guess.

Golfing this afternoon in a cart and will do a 20 minute ROMWOD tonight and probably e-stim my back a few times too because it’s already feeling tight.