Back Squat

Paying Off

I’m very surprised that my legs work today. Usually after doing “Karen” I can barely walk for 3 days, so was sure that the 260 training bar thrusters would be worse. In for the 9am class at CFi. I didn’t really warm up much today other than a 2:00 squat hold.

Strength

10×45# Back Squats
5 Push-ups
5×135# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
5×185# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×225# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×235# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×245# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×255# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×265# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups
6×275# Back Squats
5 Push-Ups

Taking it easy so I don’t tweak my back again. Focused on not bottoming out with a butt wink. Did nice and controlled descents on the push-ups with an explode up, trying to keep a vertical forearm.

Midline

10-20-30-20-10

Sit-ups
Russian Twists (35# KB)

Not for time, but all done unbroken.

Conditioning

21-15-9

Deadlifts (225#)
Over the Bar Burpees

Did my deadlifts in 12-9, 9-6, and 9. Didn’t stop on the burpees and had a little let to push on the last round. Finished in 4:41. If I were to do it again I think I’d go for the round of 15 unbroken.

Jumped on the rower for an easy 10 minutes and covered 2,045 meters.

Hit the garage in the afternoon to use the Ski Erg. Warmed up with 1,000 meters in 4:52 and then I hit the interval workout I did on the first day I got the machine, which wasn’t much more than a month ago. I didn’t just beat my times on everything, I destroyed them.

Max effort intervals

60m (0:12)
2:00 Rest
60m (0:12)
2:00 Rest
100m (0:19.7)
2:00 Rest
100m (0:19.3)
2:00 Rest
150m (0:29)
2:00 Rest
150m (0:28.4)
3:00 Rest
150m (0:28.2)
3:00 Rest
200m (0:37.2)
3:00 Rest
500m (1:45)

Although this is programmed as a continuous series of intervals, it really should be treated as 2 sections. The 1st 3 intervals (2×60, 2×100, 1×150) and the 2nd 3 intervals (1×150, 1×200, 1×500). The 1st intervals are short and very explosive efforts that will recruit your fast twitch muscle fibers. The 2nd 3 intervals are all gearing up to that final 500m max effort. The final 3 intervals are focused on creating endurance while your fast twitch fibers are fatigued.

Set PRs on every interval and if the distance repeated, I beat it again! I’ll keep track of the 100, 200, and 500 on the PR page. The first time I did this, it absolutely smoked my arms, but I didn’t get any of that today. Hopefully the improvement is a combination of hard work over the last month and improved technique, not just the latter. Walked a half mile to cool down.

Running Bear

Not feeling it when I woke up this morning. Thought about staying home and hitting up a class later, but got my ass moving and made it to the 9am class.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
4 Rounds
- 30s Squat Hold
- 30s Ring Hang
10 Air Squats

Strength

10×45# Back Squats
5×135# Back Squats
4×225# Back Squats
4×245# Back Squats
4×265# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips
4×270# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips
4×275# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips
4×280# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips
4×275# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips
4×275# Back Squats
MU + 5 Ring Dips

The last rep with 280# didn’t feel so good on my low mid back, so I dropped 5# and did the last two sets instead of continuing to increase. Really focused on staying tight with my chest up on the last 2 sets. Decided to do my ring dips up in support after a muscle-up for an extra challenge.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

5 Bear Complexes (115#)
- Squat Clean Thruster
- Back Thruster
10 Burpees
300m Run

I did 4 complete rounds plus 3 bear complexes. Dropped the bar on every rep during the 4 rounds and then did the final 3 unbroken as the clock was running out. Weight was perfect for this. Runs sucked! Walked about 200m after the workout.

Glad I made it in and got the workout done. Took an afternoon break out to the garage and started with Crossover Symmetry Activation to get the shoulders ready. Also did some shoulder press sets to get warm with 5×45#, 5×75#, and 5×105#.

XWOD

5-5-5-5-5-5-5 Shoulder Press (120#)
Push-ups 2-1-2-1-2-1-2
- 2s: 20# Weight Vest
- 1s: Clapping w/ vest

Shoulder presses felt better than the first day back on a Smolov Jr. cycle. The push-ups weren’t that bad. Maybe not the greatest choice for the XWOD.

SkiErg

500m
Rest 2:1
5-8 Rounds *If you begin falling off pace dramatically then stop, minimum of 5 efforts*
- 250m @ 85-95% of 500m pace (~2:02)
- Rest 1:1
500m

I set a PR on the first 500m with a 1:49.6 and really fell off pace in the last 200m. Would do better not going out so fast, but I was trying the technique improvements (see video below) and didn’t have any idea what I’d be able to do. My splits on the 250s were consistent, actually getting faster as I got more comfortable with the technique.

1:02.4
1:02.5
1:02.0
1:01.9
1:01.0
1:01.3
1:01.3
1:01.1

Then the last 500m my goal was to be able to hold the pace I’d been using for the 250m intervals since it was on the short rest coming off the last one. Did a 2:01.2, so goal accomplished.

Walked 0.44 miles around the block to cool down and catch my breath. Then did Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics.

10 Too Much?

Wasn’t very sore yesterday, so I guess on Tuesday my legs were still feeling the thruster work from Saturday. Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. Didn’t get my usual fill of sleep last night due to watching the OHS event of the CrossFit Games. Still in for the 9am at CFi though.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Box Shoulder Stretches
15# Good Mornings
Bottom Squat Hold
Arm Circles

Strength & Skill

5×155# Deadlift
3×245# Deadlift
3×315# Deadlift
3×365# Deadlift
3 MU
3×385# Deadlift
3 MU
3×395# Deadlift
3 MU
3×395# Deadlift
3 MU
3×395# Deadlift
3 MU
3×395# Deadlift
3 MU
2×405# Deadlift
3 MU
3×365# Deadlift
3 MU

Ugh, I had to try and go for 405# on the last two sets. Felt it in my back after the 2nd rep. Dropped weight and did 3 slow singles trying to keep a perfect back on the end. It was only an extra 10#, but maybe the same thing would have happened if I had stayed at 395# for that set. Who knows. Can’t change it now.

New PR for muscle-ups in one day with 8 sets of 3! Getting more and more comfortable with them every time I do them. This combination was pretty brutal though. I was sweating my ass off and completely out of breath.

Conditioning

10-8-6-4-2

T2B
Burpee over the Box Jumps (30″)

Damn near biffed it on the first jump to the box. Did all of the toes to bar unbroken and finished in 4:57. My burpees were slow.

Midline

100 Russian Twists

Grabbed the 35# KB with the goal of getting some big sets. Did it in 60-40.

Guess what, another afternoon break session in the garage! Did Crossover Symmetry Activation to get my shoulders ready.

Bear Complexes

If you don’t know what a bear complex is…

Clean
Front Squat
SH to OH
Back Squat
SH to OH

Usually condensed down into…

Squat Clean Thruster
Back Squat Thruster

I warmed up with some “bears”:

5×45#
2×95#
2×115#
2×135#

E45S for 8 Rounds

2 Bear Complex 155#

My original (ambitious) plan was 16 rounds. Haha!! I wanted to quit after 4! Pushed through to 8. Dropping to my back was starting to get sketchy and I could barely get the bar locked out overhead. Good time to take a breather. I think I made it through the first 2 (maybe 3) rounds without dropping the bar in between each complex.

Rested about 5:00.

E45S for 8 Rounds

2 Bear Complex 115#

Never had to drop the bar in any round. Too easy.

SkiErg

10:00 @ 2:30-2:40/500m

Nice cool down and recovery pace. Made it 1,909 meters.

Finished up with CS Iron Scap.

Show Up

Went to the CFi 9am, but I should have stayed in bed! Didn’t wake up until almost 7:30, which is pretty rare, so I’m a little beat up. But I’m glad I got in for the workout and I’m going to push it a little this week since I’ll be away on vacation next week with a break from weights.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Sumo Bottom Squat Holds
Hip opener stretches

Strength

Back Squats

5×135#
4×205#
3×245#
6x6x265#

A struggle!

Conditioning

10 Shoulder Presses
15 OHS
20 Push Presses
25 Front Squats
30 Push Jerks
35 Back Squats

Kevin asked me to come up with something and I had planned on doing this one over the weekend, so figured why not. It’s a lunch time workout done by the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar Staff, which I did over a year ago in 14:03. Rx is 115/75#. I was definitely not feeling it today, but pushed through for a PR in 13:34. The overhead stuff all killed me and I was absolutely dying. Way too much rest between sets of the pressing movements. Front squats were 10-9-6 and I did the back squats without dropping the bar.

I jumped on the rower after catching my breath and did a 2k at a slow pace in 9:52 to flush out my legs.

Some days you just have to show up and do work.

Afternoon break in the garage…

SkiErg
10 Rounds

150m @ recovery pace (~2:53/500m)
150m @ 100%
30s Rest

Total work time was 14:12.5 for the 3,000 meters. Not a terrible workout, which is probably good since I was beat this morning.

Survive

2014-07-19-weight-chart When I woke up yesterday I was glad it was a rest day from training. Walked 18 holes of golf. Shoulders are feeling a little sore in the front. Hit a class at Survival Fitness for the first time in over 3 weeks. Saturday at 10am is always good for a partner WOD. My weight continues to drop (check the chart) with clean eating and cooking all of my meals. I’m feeling great too! Today will be a cheat/refeed day though because I’m going to the Survival Fitness Luau to drink some beer and eat all kinds of food. Should be a fun day, but that means DO WORK first!

Warm-up

10->1 Russian KBS (53#)
1->10 Burpees

Strength

1RM Thruster

2×95#
1×135#
1×165#
1×185#
1×205#
1×225#
1×240# (PR)

I could have sworn I did 235# before but it was 225#, which I found out when I got home and looked at my logs. 15# PR! Pretty soon my thruster will be the same as my C&J, which is pathetic.

Conditioning

14:00 Partner AMRAP

3-6-9… Thrusters (95#)
3-6-9… C2B Pull-ups

* One partner does both movements and then rests while the other person goes.

I paired up with Joe, who did every round of C2B unbroken! Fucker didn’t barely give me any rest. I started us off and got through 18 thrusters and 14 of the 18 C2B pull-ups. Rounds of 3-6-9 thrusters were unbroken, then 7-5, 6-5-4, and 7-6-5. Pretty much kept C2B in sets of 3 with the exception of the round of 6 and did 5 to start my last round. Need to figure out why I lose my kip on C2B but not on other pull-ups.

Sat around at home and then at noon it was back out in the garage.

10×45# Back Squats
5×45# Shoulder Presses
5×135# Back Squats
5×95# Shoulder Presses
3×205# Back Squats
3×115# Shoulder Presses
10:00 EMOM
- Odds: 5×255# Back Squats
- Evens: 5×130# Shoulder Presses

I’d already have squats and presses planned, but was second guessing it after the SF class workout with the thrusters. Decided to dial back the squats a bit from the 275# I had planned and go for it. Sucked, but made it through all of the reps.

Loaded up the sled (25#) with 75# of bumpers and took off around the neighborhood. Went 1.04 miles in 22:22. I fucking hate the pavement on these streets. Makes it feel twice as heavy as it is.

Muscle-up Triples

Walked 18 holes on the golf course yesterday and seemed to tweak my right elbow on one of the swings. In at 9am and then oversaw the 10am class since Kevin is out of town. Was at the gym for 3 hours. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Snatch

45# Position Work
3×75#
3×95#
2×115#
E30S 3:00 – 1×135#
EMOM 5:00 – 1×155#

Couple of sketchy ones for #3 and #4 with 155#, but no misses. Took everything down into the squat.

Clean

2×155#
2×175#
2×195#
EMOM 3:00 – 1×215#
EMOM 5:00 – 1×235#

Felt great and super easy. 235# is 90% of my max and I’m never really in danger of missing it. Just shows how much more I have.

5×135#
5×165#
3×195#
3×225#
3×260#
3+ x290#

Got 9 reps with 290, which is an estimated max of 376.

EMOM 10:00

Odds: 3 MU
Evens: 5 GHRs

The most unbroken muscle-ups I’ve done is 3, so making all 5 sets felt awesome. I’m still terrible at GHRs.

Sled drag

Loaded 180# on the 38# sled.

25m down & 25m back
140m Lap
140m Lap
25m down & 25m back

Took a minute or two rest between each portion. Finished with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap, using the blue and purple bands.

Fresh For Press

Really needed the day out of the gym yesterday. Walked 18 holes of golf and shot my best round of the year. 🙂

In to the 9am at CFi. Did CS Activation and then worked with Kevin trying to get him doing a kipping muscle-up. I probably did 5 MU or so to demonstrate.

Warm-up

10x Squat to Stand Hold
8 Snow Angels
10x CS ATYT
4x15s Hollow Hold
Shoulder Presses
- 5×45#
- 5×95#
- 3×115#

XWOD

4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Shoulder Presses (137.5#)
2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Push-ups
- 2s: Clapping
- 1s: Plyo on to three 45s + 35 stack of bumpers

Nailed all 8 sets! One more day and the Smolov Jr. cycle will be complete. My shoulders felt fresh after the day off.

Skill

DU Practice

I did a set of 50 and a set of 102.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

50 DU
21 Russian KBS (62#)
9 Pull-ups

First round of DU was unbroken but I screwed up once in the other two sets. Kettlebell swings and pull-ups (kipping) were all unbroken. Finished in 4:55. Did Crossover Symmetry Recovery when I got home.

In the evening…

Warmed up with some band pulls, 45# snatch position work, and 45# snatch presses. Did a couple of muscle snatches with 40kg and some snatch presses too. Then I started doing snatches. I have no idea how many reps I did at each weight though. Some I did one single and others I did a couple singles. Everything was a power snatch. Around 65-70kg I missed a bunch and then they got easier when I added weight after getting frustrated. Pretty sure the weights I got were 50-55-60-65-70-75-78-80-82-80. One attempt at 84, but was a miss and didn’t feel very good, so I dropped to end on a make.

Back Squat

5×135#
5×165#
3×195#
5×215#
5×245#
5+ x275# (got 11)

I was thinking about starting a Smolov Jr. cycle, but I’m going on vacation in less than 3 weeks so wouldn’t be able to finish. I’ll just take some squat sessions from 5/3/1 on extra squat days for the next couple of weeks, which is where this came from. The max set is a fun mental test.

Double Morning

Out to the garage for an early lifting session. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation. Lighter than usual so I didn’t fatigue myself before presses.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×95#
3×115#
6x6x125#

The final week of Smolov Jr. has begun! Bumping up the weights extra this week.

Back Squat

20×45#
5×135#
5×185#
3x10x225#

Giving up on 315# yesterday pissed me off. Haven’t been squatting enough. Nothing crazy today. A little greasing the groove. I did the last set of 10 unbroken and should have done that for all 3 sets. Was resting and breathing too much in between reps on the first 2 sets.

In to CFi for the 10am class.

Warm-up

Cobra Stretch 2x30s
Arm Circles
T-spine Twists
Neck Rotations

Midline

10:00 EMOM

1/1 Turkish Get-ups

Did 3 rounds with 25#, 2 rounds with 35#, 2 rounds with 44#, and 3 rounds with 53#.

Skill

10:00 EMOM

2 Muscles-ups

No misses! I thought for sure I’d be switching to singles by the 5th minute. I only hit 3 in a row for the first time 2 weeks ago and failed on a 3rd try at a double that day. Today I really focused on the hollow/arch/hollow swing, a big hip pop, and then a fast turnover. Never once got my wrists stuck in a bad spot on the turnover like I usually do. I’m excited! The XWODs are paying off in a big way.

Conditioning

Strapped on the 20# weight vest. Did about a 250m jog to warm up the legs.

5:00 EMOM

20s Sprint @ 80% w/ vest

Took a couple of rounds to get a feel for running with that thing. Took it off for the next part.

E90S – 5 Rounds

10s Sprint at 100%

My acceleration felt really good on these.

After a little break we jogged a little more than 1 mile. I finished out by doing Crossover Symmetry Plyo with the red and purple bands.

Freedom

Happy 4th of July! Lifted at 9am.

Warm-up

CS Activation
45# C&J Positions
10×45# Good Mornings

C&J

3x40kg
3x50kg
3x60kg
2x70kg
2x80kg
1x90kg
1x96kg
1x100kg
1x105kg

I was trying to work on making that back foot hit the ground first in my jerks, but it got tougher as the weights piled up. Straight up muscled the 105kg jerk with little drop under the bar. Figured that was a good time to stop with the jerks and save my shoulders for the last week of Smolov Jr. presses, which I’ll start tomorrow.

Cleans

1x110kg
1x115kg
Fx115kg
1x110kg

I had my mind right for the first attempt at 115, but it crashed on my wrists and elbows a bit, so I got worried and didn’t really go for it on the next attempt. Decided to drop down for a make and end there. Alex said my back was very vertical on that last lift. The 115 clean (254#) was 97% and my max was just 255# until 2 weeks ago. I need to get more comfortable with the weight up in that range. The strength is there. I’m thinking 110kg might be a good place for me to rep out a bunch of singles.

Good Mornings

5×135#
2x5x155#
2x5x175#

Explosive hips coming up.

Back Squats

10×175#
5×225#
3×265#
3×275#
3×285#
3×295#
3×305#
1×315#

It was feeling rough on the way up. I was hoping to get up to 325, but I gave up on 315 after struggling with the first rep. Shit, just a few weeks ago I hit 10 triples with that weight. Chalk it up to fatigue at the end of a 2 hour session.

First WOD at CrossFit Intuition

Couldn’t wait to get under some weight today. Went over to the box my buddy Kevin is opening this week and worked out with him.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Holds

Kevin has a set of the real CS bands and I went pretty heavy with them.

Strength

Back Squats

10×45#
5×135#
5×185#
3×225#
7x5x265#

He’s going through a cycle of Smolov Jr. so I plugged in 350# for 10# shy of my max and did it along with him.

Accessory

GHRs

2×5
5 w/ 2kg plate
5 w/ 5kg plate
5 w/ 2kg plate

I should have just done bodyweight for every set because I was cheating so bad on the 4th and 5th sets to get them done. I could immediately feel them in my calves (after the cheater sets) and my hamstrings. Need to get these in more often.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

5 C&J 185#
30 DU

Didn’t cycle any C&J together, but tried not to rest much between reps. Did most of them as the clean right into the jerk, but stood up and took a second on a few of them and it was actually harder. Did all 3 sets of DU unbroken. Took me exactly 4:00.

Rested 5-10 minutes and then did 50 burpees for time.

Beat my old PR by 4 seconds with a 2:29.

Skill / Midline

Accumulate 3:00 in a handstand hold (facing the wall)

I wanted to hit 3 sets of 1:00, but couldn’t stay up on the last one. Came down after 40 seconds before I had to crash and took a short rest before finishing the last 20 seconds.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Recovery with heavier bands again and it was rough. My shoulders are pretty shot after all that.

Went back a course of hours later. Put 90# on the sled and pulled it on the pavement barefoot for 0.25 miles. I figured going without shoes would help work out all of the muscles in my feet and work on my sick tan line at the same time. Not one of my smartest ideas! I think I burnt the balls of my feet. 😦 Then I took 45# off and pulled it another 0.35 miles on the grass, which is infinitely harder to pull on.

Did 6-5-6 GHD sit-ups while holding a 15# slam ball behind my head. Holy shit! Hard as fuck! Then did 5×10 regular GHDs.