Back Squat

Rep After Rep

Up early again for day 2 of the Club Championship. Ended up playing my best Sawmill round ever. Late trip to the gym at 6:30pm.

Back Squats

Pause 5 seconds in the bottom on the first rep of each set.

6×45#
6×135
2×205
2×245
6x2x265

Used the clock and went every 2 minutes. No belt but work knee sleeves the entire workout. Felt even easier than last week.

Snatch Balance + OHS

Pause 3 seconds in the bottom of every rep.

3+1 @ 45#
3+1 @ 75
3+1 @ 95
3+1 @ 125
3+1 @ 135
3+1 @ 145
2+1 @ 155
2+1 @ 165
1+AMRAP 125

My hands were really up against the sleeves of the bar so I stopped at 10 OHS in the AMRAP. Felt more comfortable this week with the snatch balances and getting more confident bringing the bar down to my back for multiple reps. Some of the pauses were probably a fast 3 seconds in the AMRAP.

Snatch

3×45#
3×95
3×115
3×135
2×135
3×145
2×145
3×155
2×155
2x2x165
1×165
5x1x175

A 3 second lift off on all reps. No chalk and no straps today. Was sticking the catch a lot, especially with 175. I can only remember one or two reps with 155-165 that I had to adjust the bar position in the squat before standing up. Could break up the 5 reps at each of the working weights however I wanted. Happy with being able to push some sets and not struggle.

Clean & Jerk

2×45#
2×135
2×155
3×170
3×185
3×200
3×215
3×225

Again with the 3 second lift off on all reps in addition to a 3 second pause in the split. Towards the end I wasn’t able to get the complete pause in the split so I held the bar overhead in recovery instead. My goal was to not break up any weight in multiple sets and goal accomplished.

So many reps! My hands take a beating with those tempo lift offs. I’m definitely getting a lot of time with the bar overhead.

Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. No lifting, no running, and no other exercise. A bunch of golfing planned though.

Will get in a 20 min ROMWOD tonight.

The One I Can Win

Out in the garage at about 10am for an accessory session.

E2M – 6 Sets

2 Strict C2B Pull-ups
4 Strict Pull-ups
10 Weighted GHD Sit-ups (20#)

The pull-ups were harder than I expected. Doing my best to keep all of these strict reps with a hollow body. No issue on the GHDs.

E3M – 6 Sets

10/10 Landmine Rows (80#)
30 Shoulder Taps (feet on jerk blocks)

Push Press

Pause 2 seconds in the dip and 2 seconds overhead.

5×45#
5×95
2×125
2×150
2×165
2x5x180
AMRAP 192.5

Used the assigned percentages. The AMRAP to finish was a nice twist. I got 6 reps, but couldn’t press out the 7th. The dip pauses really start to add up.

6×45#
6×135
2×205
2×245
2×275
3x5x295
AMRAP 295

Was a little worried with this volume since I had been off squatting. Really happy to get 10 solid reps in the last set.

Hang Snatch

Pause 2 seconds in the hang above knee and 2 more seconds in the OHS. End at no more than 80% of max snatch.

2×45#
2×75
2×95
2×115
2×135
2×155
2×165
1×175

I put on the straps for the last 3 sets, maybe it was even 4. Went miss, make, miss with 175#.

Part of the CrossFit class was programmed to do 50 burpees. It’s about the only workout I can beat one of my friends, Michelle, at. She was asking about my previous time, but was still unable to beat it. To be fair they just got done doing “Fran,” but it’s not something that affects her engine and she hadn’t been able to beat me last time fresh. I was in the middle of my squats when the 4:30 class did it, but was at a good time to jump in with the 5:30 class.

Conditioning

50 Burpees

Managed 2:16 for a PR by 2 seconds. Still have the 👑! I could improve if I can hold on to my speed burpees a little longer to start and if I could not fall of as much on pace during the middle. Beginning and end are pretty solid though, being able to get in a bunch of speed burpees to finish up.

Took a little rest before finishing up my lifting.

Snatch Lift Off

5×215#
3x5x235

Wore lifting straps for all sets.

20 minute ROMWOD at night.

Back For Sunday

Yesterday I was up early to play in a charity golf tournament. Fun day but I was exhausted when I got home. Took a 2 hour nap! Did a 19 minute ROMWOD late at night. Felt much better this morning. First time back for Sunday after missing 3 weeks.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
2 Rounds
- 5/5 Bar Taps
- 10 Pass thrus
- 15 Push-ups
- 20 Squat Jumps

Gymnastics Strength & Barbell Cycling

14:00 EMOM (alt)

5 Strict Chin-ups
5 Power Cleans (135#)

14:00 EMOM (alt)

5 Strict Ring Dips
5 Power Snatches (95#)

Originally I thought I’d do sets of 4 chin-ups but I went with 5 and had no problem hitting every set. Surprised the dips felt so easy after not doing any in quite a long time.

Conditioning

50 Bar-facing Burpees

Had an epiphany with my rhythm right off the bat. Was a lot quicker and used less energy with less movement. Took me 3:29.

Decided to squat after class since I wasn’t feeling tired and the lifting I needed to do later in the day looked like a lot of volume.

Back Squat

First rep in each set has 5 second pause in the bottom. Did the pause with each double. No special shoes, belt, or sleeves today.

6×45#
6×135
2×205
2×235
6x2x265

My traps were already sore (probably from the cleans) and it did not feel great with the bar on my back. First squat session without cutting back the sets.

Evening session to finish up the first week of the Vaughn program. In the garage around 6pm. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Snatch Balance

Three second pause in the bottom.

3×45#
3×75
3×95
3×115
2×135
2×155
1×165

Missed first try with 155, but then got it right after with a little patience. Need a lot of improvement with these.

Snatch

With a 3 second lift off.

2×95#
2×115
1×135
1×155
12x1x165

Did the 12 singles on an every 90 second clock. Missed attempts 3 & 4, but did 2 more at the end of the clock. Fell into a nice rhythm after those misses.

Clean & Jerk

Three second lift off in the clean and then a 3 second pause in the split.

2×135
2×155
1×175
1×195
10x1x215

Did the final 12 every 90 seconds again. Missed the full 3 second pause in the split a few times as I was off balance, but never missed a clean or jerk. Hands were really feeling beat up in the middle of those 10. Perhaps I shouldn’t have programmed so many lifting reps during class today. 🙂

That ends training for the 1st week of the program. It turned out to be a lot more volume than I originally thought. All of the pauses and tempo work really add up. I think I will stick to a 2 off 1 on schedule and not try to push 3 days in a row unless I really need to. Will keep to very limited WODS too, but try to get in 2 Aerobic Capacity workouts each week.

Did a 21 minute ROMWOD late in the night.

Get It In Early

Yesterday I was so sore! Walking 18 holes and squatting down to line up putts was not comfortable. The heat and humidity was some of the highest of the summer, which didn’t help either. I did a 46 minute ROMWOD later in the evening.

This morning I was out in the garage at about 8am to get in day 3 of week 1 before heading to the golf course and to beat the heat.

Push Press

Pause in dip for 2 seconds and pause overhead for another 2 seconds.

5×45#
3×85
3×115
3×145
4x5x175

Pausing in the dip is tough and it was hard not to do a very small extra dip to drive back up. I work my knee sleeves all workout this morning and put on my lifting belt for the working sets due to bringing the bar back down so many times. I used the assigned weight, but cut the sets down from 6 to 4 due to time constraints and still easing back into it.

Back Squat

5×135#
5×205
5×235
4x5x265

Felt much better than the front squats on Monday. Was able to go with the assigned weight, but again cut it 2 sets short.

Hang Snatch

Pause 2 seconds above knee and 2 seconds in OHS.

2×45#
2×75
2×95
2×115
2×135
2×145
2×155
2×165

Not supposed to use more than 80% (175), but I was happy to hit 165. I almost lost my grip on the 2nd rep with 155, so I dropped the bar between reps with 165 to reset completely.

Snatch Lift Off

5×200#
3x5x220

Supposed to use 90-100% of full snatch 1RM. First set at 90% felt good so I went to 100% for the others. Much better than the snatch deadlifts felt the other day, but I think the pauses probably had something to do with how heavy it felt that day. I did use lifting straps for all sets of these.

Decided to ride in the cart today on the golf course with another hot day; two in a row would have been a bit much. Headed out to the garage a couple of hours after getting home for a 2nd session. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Accessory

6 Sets

3 Strict Chin-ups (knees up)
6 Evil Wheels
8/8 Landmine Rows (80#)

As you can see I also had a 25# plate holding down the end of the bar, which added some more weight. Played around with different grip positions for a few sets too.

Conditioning

1,000m Ski Erg

My previous best was 3:45.6 almost 2 years ago. Number in my head was a 1:45/500m average but 20 seconds in I knew that would be a bad idea. Early on 1:47-1:48 was feeling good. Then things started to take a turn similar to how they do on the rower. Managed 3:36.9 for a nice PR.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap and then a 22 minute ROMWOD later.

Home For Less Than A Day

Drove back home this morning. Got some things done and got to the gym before 6pm.

Back Squat

10×45#
4×155
4×205
2×245
2×285
2×315
2×325
2×335

Squats have not felt great the last couple of weeks. Too inconsistent with all of the travel and stuff lately. I wore my belt for the last 3 sets. No close to the assigned percentages for this week but it wasn’t feeling great so I wasn’t going to get hurt before leaving on the trip in the morning.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
6×75
4×95
2×115
2×135
2×152.5
2×162.5
2×170
1×180 (PR)

Now the presses were a different story today, even though the last couple of weeks didn’t feel great. I hit the 65-75-85-90-95% and it felt good so I went for the PR since I’ll be gone. No issues with it. PR by 5#; always a win with shoulder press.

Warmed up with 3×95 and 3×135. I really didn’t want to do this after the strength work but Bryan was patiently waiting for me.

Open 15.4 – 8:00 AMRAP

3 handstand push-ups
3 cleans (185#)
6 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
9 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
12 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
15 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
18 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
…

I haven’t done this since the 2015 Open, when I got through 15+6 (66 total reps). I can’t remember the last time I did a HSPU though. I tried a different strategy today. Wanted to go unbroken on cleans as much as I could. I had done all singles back then. I was able to get all of the sets of 3, then went 2-1-1-1-1, and 4 unbroken to finish. On the HSPU I only did a 3 for the round of 3 and to start the round of 9, then all other doubles except in the set of 15 I went to singles for the last 6 reps to try to shorten my rest time. So got through 15+4 today, which I’m really happy with.

I control my descent in HSPU way too much though, fatiguing my shoulders a lot. I need to work on dropping like a rock. I also need to utilize a bigger kip earlier because I’m using too much of the press early on.

Midline

5 Sets

12 Weighted GHD Sit-ups (20#)

Might be time to go heavier.

Flying out to the CrossFit Games in the morning!

No Quitting Today

My back is still pretty rough for an hour or two in the morning and tightens up when I sit around, not moving. Out in the garage in the morning before golf. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Strength

E3M – Shoulder Press

6×45#
3×75#
3×95#
3×110# (62%)
3×130# (72%)
3×147.5# (82%)
3×156.25# (87%)
3×165# (92%)

I tried to stick as close as possible to the correct percentages (note the odd weights). When 130 was feeling heaving I got worried, especially with my back. But I strapped on the belt after that to help stabilize and prevent over-extension. Made every set.

Rode in the cart golfing since my back has been bothering me, they were calling for rain, and I didn’t want to exhaust myself with shit to get done before leaving town in the morning. Went to the gym just before 7pm. Warmed up with 3 sets of 10 Reverse Hypers using 210 pounds.

Back Squat

6×45#
6×135#
3×185#
3×225#
3×265#
3×295#
3×315#
3×335#

Rested about 3 minutes between sets, maybe 4 on the later ones. Had to really concentrate on positions to keep my back safe. Happy to be able to hit the 335 triple I made last week, especially with my back. Below our prescribed percentages (same as shoulder press) for the week but I wasn’t going to push it.

Accessory

6 Sets

8/8 Landmine Rows (80#)
2:00 Rest

Really really liking these.

Conditioning

Row 1,000m

In my last attempt, a couple of months ago, I ended up quitting when I went out too hard. Might have been the only time I’ve ever quit a workout. Today I got under 1:35, which would give me a 1 second PR, and tried to hold there. I was still on pace through 600 meters but started dying. Finished with a 3:13.4, which is just over 2 seconds off my best. Been a long day, so I’ll take it.

400 & 200

Played 18 at a nice course yesterday, so rode a cart. Was tired so stuck with the planned rest day. Got my lazy ass moving this morning and went to the track for a few tests to get my BTWB Fitness Level back up to near where it should be.

Running

400m Jog (2:42.8)
3:00 Rest
400m Run (1:08.3)
400m Walk (7:11.1)
400m Run (1:04.3)
600m Walk (10:08)
200m Run (0:29.9)
400m Walk (6:57.9)
800m Jog (6:19.6)

Was disappointed with that first 400, but redeemed myself in the second, getting a PR by over 2 seconds (previously 1:07). When I was coming down the stretch I actually didn’t think I was faster, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the split after crossing the line. The 200 was a PR by a tenth of a second. Should be able to do better when not done after a couple of 400 meter sprints. Having to reach over to start and stop my watch slows things down too, but close enough.

Went to the driving range in the afternoon and figured out a big swing problem. Hopefully it translates over to the golf course.

Got to the gym around 5.

Warm-up

Bottom Squat Hold
10 Reverse Hypers (210#)
10 Back Squat (45#)
10 Reverse Hypers (210#)
6 Back Squats (135#)
10 Reverse Hypers (210#)
3 Back Squats (185#)

Strength

Back Squats – E3M

3×225#
3×265#
3×305#
3×320#
3×335#

Prescribed % was 60-70-80-85-90. The 320# was a little rough and I had in my notes to go to 340# after, which seemed like a big jump, so I pulled it back to 335#. Actually if I had done 322.5 to be correct the jump wouldn’t have been as bad. haha! I might have been able to get out the prescribed 342# for a triple, but nothing wrong with solid makes. Still getting used to the weight and would rather keep my back safe. Marathon not sprint.

Midline / Accessory

6 Sets

10 Weighted GHD Sit-ups (20#)
6/6 Landmine Rows (37kg)

Might be time to try out 25# on the GHD sit-ups. The landmines felt good too at about 81.5 pounds, which is the heaviest I’ve tried.

Conditioning

400m Sled Drag (115#)
400m Sled Drag (backwards, 115#)

Forgot to start my watch until about 125m in. My hips were burning before the first 400 was done.

Go Fast

Walked 18 holes yesterday and enjoyed the rest day. In to the gym before the 10am class. Had to get some shit done before leaving town to golf.

Pause Back Squats – E3M

10×45#
8×135#
6×185#
3×225#
3×255#
3×275#
3×295#
3×305#

Short one second pause in the hole. Felt really good.

Rowing Sprint

250m Row

The fitness level on BTWB dropped off a good time and started using an interval 250m, which was a really low ranking. I usually do pretty well when I go for a hard row after lifting and today was no exception. I used the sprint rowing start and nearly set a 100m PR in the process. My goal was a sub 1:19/500m pace to beat my 0:39.7 best. Smoked it with a 38.3!! Didn’t expect that. It was less than a year ago when I set a goal of breaking 40 seconds for the first time.

Accessory

I wanted to do some kind of pressing and hadn’t benched in a long time so went by Prilepin’s Chart and combined with the rows.

10 Bench Press (45#)
5 Bench Press (135#)
4/4 Landmine Rows (45#)
5 Bench Press (165#)
4/4 Landmine Rows (60#)
5 Sets
- 5 Bench Press (185#)
- 4/4 Landmine Rows (75#)

Could have gone heavier on the landmine rows. Bench was easy but was enough and based on the chart anyway.

No feels in my left shoulder. 👍🏻 Going to stay away from gymnastics work on the bar for a couple more weeks and then hopefully I should be good to go with all movements again.

Dubbin’

3:00 AMRAP – Double Unders

I planned on 2:00 but was missing so much I went an extra minute. Only got 215 reps compared to 187 I’ve done in 2:00. Horrible.

Under Tension

Out in the garage this morning to squat before golf. Also wanted to test out the percentages before classes made their attempts.

Pause Back Squats

3 seconds in the hole

6×45#
6×135#
3×185#
3×225#
3×245#
3×265#
3×285#
3×295#

We had 50-60-65-70-75% set after originally having the last 3 sets at 70-75-80. I made our picked percentages so added 10# more (78%) for a final attempt. Made it but that was definitely my limit for the day, so glad we didn’t go with 80%.

Those were some legit pauses, as far as timing if I do say so myself. 🙂 None of that bounce shit to get out of the hole either. 😉

Was a good warm-up before going golfing; walked 18 holes. Chiro appointment in the evening and then went over to the gym.

Warm-up

Bottom Squat Hold
Squat Clean
- 5×45#
- 5×115#

Conditioning

10-8-6-4-2

Squat Clean (135#)
Bar-facing Burpee

On April 18th I used 115# for this same thing and it took 5:25. I did break the 8 into 5-3 that day. Today I went unbroken every round with the heavier weight and finished in 5:13. Burpees slowed me down again.

50 GHD Sit-ups
2 mile Run
50 GHD Sit-ups

Not fun. I averaged about a 9:25 pace. Finished everything in 25:17. I was not feeling good afterwards. A lot of time out in the sun today since I got to the course early to hit some balls. Having McDonald’s about an hour before getting to the gym didn’t help either.

On Sabbatical

Flew home from D.C. yesterday. Ten days is a long time for me to be away from home. Didn’t get in much exercise at all due to working a lot and going to a conference. Did go about 60 miles on foot, walking a lot! Didn’t touch a barbell the whole time away, so figured this garage workout would be interesting.

I’m actually on a 3-month sabbatical from work starting today, which is pretty sweet.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Shoulder Press
- 10×45#
- 5×65
- 5×85
Back Squat (after finishing press working sets)
- 10×45#
- 5×135
- 5×185

E3M – 5 Sets

5 Shoulder Presses (56-66-76-81-86%)

I went 100-120-135-145-152.5#, which is a PR. Hell, my best 4-rep was 150#. Was scheduled to do 155# on the last set, but scaled it back due to how I was feeling. Probably a good thing I did.

E3M – 5 Sets

5 Back Squat

Same percentages as the presses. I went 210-250-285-305-325#, but did break the final set into 3-2. I knew I wasn’t going to make it and my back was feeling pretty ugly. Took about 30 seconds before getting back under the bar and barely made them. In the video my back doesn’t look at bad as it felt.

Power Cleans

2×45#
2×75
2×95
2×115
2×135
2×155
2×175
2×195
2×205
2×215
2×225
1×235

I was feeling very cautious after the squats. Even though 225# felt solid, after a wide stance catch with 235#, I pre-Clarked the 2nd rep. Will take me a few days to get back in the swing of things I guess.

Hitting the golf course tonight.