Tag: Back Squat

Well Rested

Needed that complete rest day yesterday, which was the first one in two weeks. I’d taken days with only some light cardio, but not any complete days off during that span. Was also in bed early last night for over 9 hours of sleep. 🙂 In for the 9am class.

Strength

Push Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×155#
  • 5×175#
  • 5×185#
  • 5×195# (PR)

My shoulders felt a little fatigued, which must be from Sunday. Pretty good speed through all of the reps, which felt good, especially for a 5# PR. Could have spent more time and gone heavier, but it would have been a struggle.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 10/10 Kroc Rows (62# KB)
  • 10 HR Push-ups

Easiest the rows have ever been. I think the muscle-up pulldowns are paying off in multiple ways. Tried to be explosive on my push-ups since 10 is no problem.

Conditioning

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

  • Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • Sit-ups

No reason to break anything up here. Sit-ups are essentially a rest period in this workout. I started going for a pipe on the wall, which is probably a little more than 10.5 feet. Finished in 6:31. I wish I could figure out how to speed up my sit-ups and not slide backwards through a set.

Was nice to get out early so I had more time and energy for a second session. Out to the garage later in the day. Warmed up with 3:00 on the Air Dyne for 1.36km.

Air Dyne

6 Rounds

  • 2:00 @ 120% of 10:00 max cals pace
  • 1:00 Rest

The way I’ve been calculating percentages for AD work is flawed. I knew it seemed really high when 120% came out to 96rpm and it didn’t take longer than a minute at that pace to realize it would be impossible for 6 rounds of double that length. I took some readings of speed (km per hour) to rpms and will try to come up with something more useful. So, needless to say, my pace how a lot slower after round 1. My distances were 1.48, 1.4, 1.32, 1.29, 1.27, and 1.33 kilometers.

Update: After doing some speed to rpm calculations and looking at the average speed for my 10:00 PR, I’m not sure where to go. It says I averaged 38.8km/hr and 120% would be 46.6 which is about what I was trying to hit with 96rpm. My guess is that if there was a calories per hour number it would not follow a progression that the speed or rpms do, but on this cheaper model of the Air Dyne, who knows. The percentages less than 100% I’ve used seem to work fine, so I guess I’ll continue as I have been and when it’s over 100% I’ll just have to adjust and play a little guessing.

squat-deload

Back Squats

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

Started focusing on exploding out of the hole and really using my hamstrings. No lifting shoes or belt again, but will go back to them for heavy lifting later this week.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 20 MU Pulldowns
  • 15 Back Extensions (20# Vest)

Damn those last 5 pulldowns in each set were as struggle, even more so probably after having done the Kroc rows this morning. Good work though! Glad I bumped up from 15 per set for the challenge.

Bear Struggles

In for the 10am class.

Warm-up

Dynamic for 11 rounds of 15s I think. Combination of jumping jacks, mountain climbers, plank, push-ups, and squat jumps.

Gymnastics

Front squats were on the board, but I’m deloading squats this week, so did my own thing here. I was planning to stay after class and do these, so worked out even better.

E2M 16:00

  • 4 Muscle-ups

I missed the final rep on the 8th set! Then I missed a single 2 more times and called it quits before I tore up a shoulder. Was feeling good, so was kind of surprised I missed, but when I hit that point it’s just done. Most sets of 4s I’ve ever done though.

Conditioning

11:00 AMRAP of 1-2-3-4… Ladder

  • Bear Complex (115#)
  • Burpee

Paced myself right away. Not the kind of day where I want to kill myself going into Super Sunday. I dropped the bar after every bear complex and took a few breaths. Ended up completing the round of 7 and then 1 bear complex of the 8s. Glad I didn’t go with 135#. Using 95# would have been interesting.

Midline

3x with a partner

  • 6 Chest MB Passes
  • 6 OH MB Passes
  • 6/6 Side MB Passes
  • 6 Up MB Passes

Each person goes all the way through before switching out. Used a 20# ball. Those side passes were not bad at all compared to when we do 10 reps.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Squat Tools

I’m a little beat up this morning in a fatigued way. Mid back near the bottom of my scaps is sore. In for the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 3x10x210# Reverse Hypers
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 10 Toe Touches
  • 25 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×205#
  • 5×235#
  • 5x5x255#
  • 5×275#
  • 5×285#

The last 7 sets were done every 90 seconds. I used a belt and my weightlifting shoes today. The weight felt really heavy but started to feel better as I got into the sets of 255. I think I had to get used to a new position with the shoes on. Could feel myself leaning to the left side on some reps due to this weird knot in my right leg that I’ve had for a couple of months now. Need to figure out how to fix it.

squat-tools

Accessory

4 Sets NFT

  • 6 Weighted Push-ups
  • 6 Weighted V-ups

Used a 40# sandbag for the push-ups. 20# DB for first set of V-ups and then 30# DB for the other 3 sets.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 2:00 AMRAP
    • 3 Bear Complex (115#)
    • 8 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 1:00 Rest

The bear always wins. Gave myself a push at the end though. The wall balls really surprised me. I could barely throw the ball up in my last round. We continued each AMRAP where we left off. I got 2+1, then through 4, and finished with 6+1.

Jumped back on the reverse hyper for 3x10x210# after cooling off.

Christmas Couplets

I’ve been excited about this one since I finished making it last Sunday. Probably made at least 10-15 changes to the met-cons until if felt right.

2014-12-21-couplets

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3x10x210# Reverse Hyper
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Stretching

XWOD

  • 5-5-5-5-5 Bench Press
  • 2-1-2-1-2 HSPU
    • 2s: Kipping HSPU
    • 1s: Kipping Deficit HSPU (6″)

Including warm-up sets, I benched:

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×185#
  • 5×195#
  • 5×205#
  • 5×215#
  • 5×225#

It was actually programmed for 6 rounds, but our group was a little slow with Kevin helping out some people, so I cut myself a round short. Still hit a new 5RM on my bench press after not benching in over a month.

Conditioning

“Christmas Couplets”

  • @ 0:00 – 3 Rounds
    • 3 MU / 6 C2B / 9 Pull-ups
    • 6 Snatches (95/65)
  • @ 10:00 – 5-10-15
    • Back Squats (135/95)
    • Bar-facing Burpees
  • @ 20:00 – 15-10-5
    • Deadlifts (205/135)
    • Ring Push-ups / Push-ups
  • @ 30:00 – 3 Rounds
    • 10 T2B
    • 100 DU

The goal for the first 3 parts was to scale appropriately to finish each part under 5:00. Then make the 4th section a challenge and keep fighting since there was nothing else to rest for.

I screwed up my first muscle-up again, but didn’t need to come off the rings and as able to get my 3 in. Got 3 in the second set, then hit the wall on my third set and kept missing them. I should have rested more. Probably missed 5 or 6 times before I got in my 3. Held on for all of the snatches. Still was able to finish in 3:28 but could have been close to 2:00 if my muscles-ups hadn’t given out.

Part 2 was just a grinder that you had to fight through once you got into the 2nd and 3rd round. Took me 4:10 to finish.

I had actually programmed the 3rd part to have push-ups first, but we messed up. Worked out fine though. Everything unbroken and finished in 1:53. Quick one but a nice little burn.

The 4th part sucked with the double unders. Was lucky to get sets of 15 or 20 in and eventually started stopping myself at those numbers to try to keep from burning out. Was a ride on the struggle bus and the middle of my back was cramping up during the dubs. I did all sets of toes to bars unbroken though. Took me 7:19 to get done.