Tag: Back Squat

Chilly Run

On Sunday night I started to feel my calves getting sore from Saturday’s 500 double unders. My shoulders and arms in general were feeling beat yesterday so taking a true rest day where I didn’t do much of anything was nice. My quads got sore from the wall balls too.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

42:00 Run

It was 53 degrees when I started my run during lunch. I’m starting to feel really good during these runs and soon it’ll be too cold out. I got stopped at a light for about 30 seconds in the middle of mile 4 and then picked up the pace from there on in since my heart rate wasn’t near zone 4 yet. Went until 42:30 because of the stoppage and made it 4.29 miles. Two months ago I only ran 3.83 miles over 42 minutes and with a much higher heart rate. Here are my mile splits today:

2019-19-15-run-splits

Kevin came over around 4pm.

No B.S. Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×185
  • 5×205
  • 4x5x225
  • MAX @ 225 – 7
  • 2×245
  • 1×255
  • 1×265

Starting this third cycle at the same base weight as the second cycle since it went so poorly. Just under two and a half months to get to 300. All three times I did a max reps set at 225 last cycle I got 7 reps and the 7th today was a struggle. The working sets were no walk in the park, but I did feel pretty beat in my shoulders and arms from the early sets. Adding in some heavier doubles and singles went well though and felt better than last week.

Back Squat

  • 8×45#
  • 8×135
  • 8×165
  • 8×195
  • 8×225
  • MAX @ 165 (12)

I liked the immediate drop set that was the class programming last week, when it was sets of three and I did 6×225 and 10×165 for two max reps sets. Decided to go for sets of 8 today and things were still feeling good, so I pushed the drop set more (not really a true max reps set). I’m hopeful I can build up my leg strength again. I may never come close to that 400# goal I had several years ago, but you never know.

Could Have, Maybe

My legs and hips are tight from the weekend. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

15:00 Airdyne

I did a much better job holding ~80 RPM, especially through the second half. Did 507 calories and 9.68 km, which are both improvements from a month ago.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 3 Sets
    • 15 Reverse Hypers (50#)
  • 2:00 Echo Bike (22 cals)
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10/10 Leg Swings
    • World’s Greatest Stretch
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • 5 Air Squats

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 6×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×195
  • MAX @ 225 (6)
  • MAX @ 165 (10)

I had no idea what to use since it was percentage based. I think I picked pretty good numbers though, not having squatted in so long. It wasn’t really a max set because I stopped well before I started getting out of position. Time to slowly work myself back to some lower body strength.

Midline

3 Sets

  • 1:00 Weighted Plank (45#)

These were done immediately after the final 3 sets of squats.

Conditioning

E3M – 5 Rounds

  • 10 Hang Power Cleans (95#)
  • 10 Toes-To-Bar
  • 10 Front Squats (95#)
  • 10 Burpees Over The Bar

I probably could have done the Rx 115#, but I didn’t want to push my luck after heavier squats. Maybe a good decision though because the front squats got slow and I tried to be careful on every rep. As my squats got slower, I tried to pick up the pace on the burpees. I had 1:14 – 1:17 of rest every round.

Blowout

Yesterday I walked 18 holes. I got almost 9 hours of sleep two nights in a row! Work has been really busy, so I didn’t have time to get in a Year of the Engine workout during lunch today. Went to the gym for the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 3 Sets
    • 15 Reverse Hypers (90#)
  • 400m Run
  • 3 Rounds
    • 5 HR Push-ups
    • 5 Kip Swings
    • 10 Air Squats
  • Squat Cleans
    • 5×45#
    • 3×95
    • 3×135

Conditioning

2 Rounds

  • 4:00 EMOM – 3 Squat Cleans (165#)
  • 4:00 EMOM – 10 T2B
  • 4:00 EMOM – 3 Back Squats (165#)
  • 4:00 EMOM – 12 cal Row

I haven’t squatted in months, so I wasn’t going to push it in a format like this. Wore my belt through both barbell movements and grips for the T2B, which I was able to get all unbroken today. I was pulling ~1,700 cal/hr for the first four minutes of rowing and then 1,800 for the second.

All Sevens

Up early to do the 9am heat at the gym.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 200m Run
  • Line drills

Conditioning

This workout was to honor State Trooper Timothy O’Neill, who died a couple of years ago.

  • 7 Rounds
    • 7 Thrusters (95#)
    • 7 Burpees
    • 7 Back Squats (95#)
    • 7 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
    • 7 Russian KBS (53#)
    • 7 T2B
    • 7 Box Jumps (30″)
    • 700m Run
  • 49 Push-ups

Instead of doing 135# for the back squats I used the one bar. There was already plenty of squatting. Didn’t do American swings with 70# either. This came down to how fast you ran because 7 reps of each movement wasn’t a big deal if you kept moving. After 2 rounds I had to start doing quick T2B singles because my hands were so sweaty and I was not going to risk flying off the rig.

2019-09-02-hr

My finishing time was 59:06 and my splits were:

  • 7:16
  • 7:56
  • 8:05
  • 8:47
  • 8:50
  • 8:32
  • 8:21
  • 1:15 (push-ups)

Not good consistency at all. I don’t remember the last time I did an hour workout. I need to push my running because it would have been nice to keep my rounds around eight minutes or less. I also think whatever is causing this cough and being stuffed up for 4 weeks is affecting me. I booked an appointment with my Doctor for tomorrow morning.

I really wanted to golf today or maybe hit an Engine Builder workout in the evening, but I was wrecked from that workout. I got a headache and everything, so it turned out to be a lazy rest of the day.

Pull-up Comfort Zone

I rested yesterday after coming back from the quick trip up north. Knowing it would be cold today and I wouldn’t golf was really the deciding factor. I did something to my wrist last week and have no idea when. My guess is one of the overhead barbell workouts after not having done anything like that in a month. It’s a little painful if I try to bend it too far either way. Out in the garage before lunch.

Engine Builder – Interval

5 Rounds

  • 2:30 Row
  • 30s Rest

Thought about a 1:50 pace, but settled on 1:48 after looking at previous workouts. Got exactly 695 meters each time.

2019-05-13-row.jpg

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2:00 Airdyne AD2
  • 2 Rounds
    • 20s PVC Pass Thrus
    • 10s Rest
    • 20s Air Squats
    • 10s Rest
    • Jumping Jacks
    • 10s Rest
    • Bottom Squat Hold
    • 10s Rest
  • 2 Rounds
    • 5 Good Mornings (PVC)
    • 20/20s World’s Greatest Stretch
    • 6 Plyo Lunges

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×35#
  • 10×65
  • 5×85
  • 5×105
  • 5×125
  • 20×145

I jumped in with Brandi and Ashley since I wasn’t going heavy. I haven’t had a bar on my back in over a month. Still not easy doing 20 reps even at a light weight though. Hard to believe I did 20×285 before!

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 30 Double Unders
  • 15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 30 Double Unders
  • 15 Pull-ups

We did this exactly four weeks ago and I scored 5+30 doing 3×5 pull-ups. My notes say I had to go slower than normal on the wall balls because it was only a couple of days after the last minor back tweak. I decided to try 8-7 on the pull-ups today to push my comfort zone like I was talking in a post last week. Just before starting I got an idea to start with kipping instead of butterfly, but they were so slow and my pull felt weak. I switched to butterfly after the first (or maybe second) round. Was able to do every round of pull-ups 8-7 as I hoped. Wall balls were unbroken and I missed in almost every set of dubs. I think it’s time for a new cable on my rope because the coating is wearing off in several places and it’s getting some permanent bends. My score was much better today, getting 5+82, so I only had 8 pull-ups left to finish the 6th round.

Update: I actually had a spare cable for my rope in the garage, so it’s already replaced!

Squat a Bit

Late morning row…

Engine Builder – Max Aerobic Power

5 Rounds

  • 3:30 Row
  • 2:00 Rest

Settled on a goal pace of 1:48/500m. Halfway through the first interval I knew it was going to be a battle. I was almost going to try 1:45! It was 73 calories each round and it’s hard to get more consistent than 973-973-974-973-973 for meters. I really had to hold on to the pace after the first one or two.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

Rowling

Rob and I smoked everyone.

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 6×95
  • 3×135
  • 3×165
  • 3×185
  • 3×205
  • 3×225
  • 8×185

I belted up at some point. Could feel my glutes working more, especially since they are still sore.

Conditioning

Partner workout

  • 1,600m Run
  • 2,000m Row
  • 100 Burpees

 

Only one person working at a time, even on the running, which was nice. The alternate option from a 4k bike was supposed to be a 2k run, but we cut the course short and were a ways behind the guys that used the Assault Bike anyway. I felt good on the runs, each doing a lap at a time, which was probably about 160 meters instead of 200. We alternated 500m rows to eliminate too much switching. I probably was sub 1:45 on the first one and right around 1:45 on the second one. We started out alternating sets of 10 burpees through 60 and then sets of 5 to finish at 18:41.

Side V-ups from Kari Pearce

My quads are a little sore, but still feel pretty good.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Dead Hang
  • 10 Walking Lunges
  • Back Squat
    • 10×45#
    • 5×95
    • 5×135
    • 5×165
    • 5×185

Strength

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 5 Back Squats (205#)
  • 50′ Single Arm Overhead Dumbbell Walking Lunges (50#)

That got the heart rate up!

Conditioning

30-20-10

  • Dumbbell Power Snatches (50/35#)
  • Toes to Bars
  • Pistol Squats

Unbroken on the snatches and all sets of five for toes to bars. Pistols were shaky and slow with my back a little tight and just having done back squats. Can tell I haven’t done them in a long time. Grabbed my foot on each rep to help with balance. Squatting on my right leg actually felt fine, but I was unstable on the left. Finished in 10:19.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 10/10 Side V-ups
  • 10/10 Leg Circles
  • 10/10 Wood Choppers (25#)
  • 20 Plank Jumps
  • 20 Flutter Kicks

B came up with this. The side v-ups were an idea from Kari Pearce.

The combination wasn’t as tough as I expected because the movements didn’t interfere with each other and we could keep moving. Good to hit more side action though because we don’t do much of that for our core in Crossfit. I finished in 12:40.

Accessory

Dumbbell Curl – 21s

  • 7-7-7 @ 15#
  • 7-7-7 @ 20#
  • 7-7-7 @ 20#

Felt a little easier than the other day with these same weights. All 20s next time.

Skill

Did a few handstand walk attempts. Got over 10 feet for the first time and ended there since it was already 90 minutes at the gym.

Barbell Chipper

Went out to a Brazilian steakhouse last night and ate so much meat that I still felt full this morning. I knew I needed the carbs though so I powered through my Sunday pancakes.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Dead Hang
  • Various barbell reps
    • 45#
    • 75#
    • 95#

Conditioning

  • 10 Shoulder Presses (115#)
  • 15 Overhead Squats
  • 20 Push Presses
  • 25 Front Squats
  • 30 Push Jerks
  • 35 Back Squats

I definitely have a love/hate for this workout. I love the beauty of its design and effectiveness, but I really hate the mental battle during the workout.

My strength is down, but my cardio seems to be up, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I started with 8 presses. Then did 2 presses, put it on my back for a grip reset, and 10 overhead squats. Then 5 OHS and dropped it for a quick breather instead of trying a fancy grip reset. I think I did 12 push presses, then 8 plus 5 front squats. Two sets of 10 front squats with 5 push jerks tacked on to the 2nd set. The push jerks seemed much harder than they should have been and I think I went 7-5-6-7 for the rest of them. I didn’t stop on the back squats, but they were pretty slow. Finished in 10:07 to keep the PR streak going on this one. Really happy with the effort.

  1. 4/15/2013 – 14:03
  2. 7/21/2014 – 13:34
  3. 9/3/2015 – 10:33
  4. 2/10/2019 – 10:07

Screen Shot 2019-02-10 at 2.11.41 PM

I programmed an 8:00 rest before starting a bodyweight metcon.

10 Rounds

  • 7 Burpees
  • 7 Knees to Elbows

This felt much worse than I was expecting. It seems like I always say that when K2E are involved; I’d rather do toes to bars. All the shoulder fatigue really carried over to the burpees. Took me 8:59 to get done. Wouldn’t mind trying this one again sometime when I’m fresh, especially since I got it from the BTWB Bodyweight Fitness Level workouts.

Midline

Stacked Plate Passes

The five of us lined up and passed plates down the line and then back. We went through it three times rotating positions to make sure everyone sat on the end at least once. I took double duty. The plate stack was 10-10-15-25-10-25-15-10-10.

Skill

Worked on my balance and handstand walking. Shoulders were very fatigued, but that’s some of the best time to work on it if you ask me. I think I just need to get away from the wall and get on the open floor because I’m probably adjusting knowing that I have the wall coming up since I’m only doing a few steps out.

Thirties

Now it’s brutally cold after getting all of the snow. Plows came through a few hours before I had to leave for the gym so I was able to get out and go to the 4pm class. My forearms are tight today from holding the handles on the snow blower!

Warm-up

“Roxanne” by The Police

  • On “Roxanne” do an air squat
  • On “Red light” do a burpee

It turned into air squat burpees during two long stretches of the song and you couldn’t keep up.

8:00 AMRAP

  • Duck Walk (30′)
  • 20 Groiners
  • 10 Box Step-ups (24″)

Didn’t really need another warm-up after the first part and surely didn’t need to tax the legs more with plenty to come. Got through 2 rounds, the walk and the groiners.

Strength

I did a set of 6×95# before starting. No reason to get crazy when we were supposed to take the first five minutes to work up and then stick to a weight for the last five minutes.

10:00 EMOM

  • 3 Back Squats
    • 135#
    • 155
    • 175
    • 185
    • 195
    • 5 sets 205

Felt ok and was plenty with so much leg volume coming up. Didn’t wear a belt at all.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 30 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 30 cal Assault Bike
  • 30 Box Jumps (24″)

I’ve been asking for punishment by choosing the bike lately, especially in a leg dominant workout like this. My goal was to keep every set of wall balls unbroken. That’s not something I have ever tried for sets this large during my CrossFit history that I can remember. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad at all. I think I’ve found a relaxing pace on wall balls. I was money on hitting at/above the target today too. First round on the bike was around 62 RPM and the next two were around 58. People on the rowers were obviously kicking my ass. I never stopped on the box jumps and in the third round I jumped down (no rebound) instead of stepping down. Finished in 16:26.

I’m feeling good lately! Is it the weight I’ve lost, the macro counting, the increased water, or some combination?

Gymnastics

Stayed after for some volume and skill work.

6:00 EMOM

  • 10 T2B

I put on my grips and chalked them up. I did five rounds of 10 unbroken and then 7-1-1-1.

10-15:00

  • HS Walk Practice

My shoulders were pretty shot from the wall balls and toes to bars, but I felt really good with my balance and keeping my feet off the wall went I got up to it. Didn’t have much room with the class back squatting to work on many steps in to the wall.

Sandbag It

My hamstrings were getting sore yesterday too. My quads, hammies, and glutes are all still sore today.

Warm-up

  • 2 Rounds
    • 40 Jumping Jacks
    • 10 Deadlifts (45#)
    • 30 Mountain Climbers
    • 16 Elbow Punches
    • 20 Alt. V-ups
    • 10 Back Squats (45#)
  • 7 Hang Muscle Clean (45#)
  • 7 Hang Power Clean (45#)
  • 5 Hang Power Clean
  • 5 Back Racks (45#)
  • E90S
    • 8 Hang Power Cleans + 8 Back Squats (65#)
    • 6 Hang Power Cleans + 6 Back Squats (95#)
    • 4 Hang Power Cleans + 4 Back Squats (125#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (155#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (175#)

Quickly decided I didn’t want to try 155# for the workout.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 1:00 Run around gym
  • 10 Hang Power Cleans (135#)
  • 10 Back Squats (135#)

Since we’re obviously not running outside we did a minute run around in the gym instead of 200 meters. Generally I don’t like when a cardio movement is subbed in as a timed piece, because there is no real incentive (other than improving your running) to run faster because a minute will always take a minute. I’m really good at sandbagging runs. 🙂 I’d rather work on my endurance with the barbell anyway since the Open has never had any type of running.

I did eight hang power cleans, dropped it, did the other two and transferred it to my back for all ten squats. Wore my belt the entire time, so was tightening and loosening it. Got through 6 rounds, the run, and the cleans.

Midline & Skill

5 Sets

  • 6 Evil Wheels
  • HS Walk Practice

Got some good tips from another member. My hands are too wide, probably from being used to wider stance for HSPU. Need to keep practicing with the Open coming up.