Bench Press

Wonder What My Push Jerk Is

Walked my first 18 holes of the year yesterday. Wasn’t really tired, though did feel some pulling in my left hamstring over the last 4 holes. Still really wet and soggy out there. Went in for the 10am class today.

Warm-up

3×15 Reverse Hyper (90#)
2x
- Couch Stretch
- Wrist Stretch
3 Sets
- 10 Weighted Lunge (45#)
- 10 Shoulder Press (45#)
- 10 Front Squat (45#)

Weightlifting

1 Squat Clean + 2 Front Squats + 1 Push Jerk

135#
185#
205#
225#
240#
250#

Alex lifted with me. Wasn’t planning on going too heavy, but it was feeling ok. The squats did feel a little heavy. I haven’t maxed out push jerk in years, but the most I’ve done is 255# back in September of 2014. I think it’s a lot higher now.

Conditioning

30:00 EMOM (alt)

Row calories
H2H KBS (44#)
Bicycle Crunches
Jump Rope (singles)
Side Plank

Worked for 40 seconds of each minute. This was a nice little sweat. Alternated sides for the plank every round so that they were longer holds.

Out in the garage in the evening to kick of week 2 of the Push Only program.

10×45#
10×95
8×135
4x8x175
3x12x190

Increased 5# on both the sets of 8 and the sets of 12.

Close Grip Bench Press

3x12x155#

Not knowing what I could do, I tried 135-150-165 last week, which was an average of 150, so a 5# increase over that seemed right for today and it sure was! High rep day is much harder with “strict” rests. I was doing about two minutes.

Accessory

3×12 Clapping Push-ups
3×12 DB Side Raises (15#)
3×12 DB Bent-over Side Raises (15#)

Performance Plus

3×15 PVC Lift Offs (video)
3×10 Banded Arm Circles – 10 in all 3 positions and also in both directions (video)
Rolling Teres Muscles – 30 seconds / side (video)

Also did some psoas release and the entire second session only took 70 minutes.

Better by 19

I posted an update on my personal blog about my back issues.

Out in the garage this afternoon.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
6×135
3×165
3×195
4x3x225

Push Press

10×45#
6×95
3×135
3×155
3x3x175

Both pressing movements felt heavy.

Accessory

3×15/15 Pallof Press (red band, 2s pause)
3×15 DB Side Raises (10#)
3×15 DB Bent-over Side Raises (10#)

I tried to point my thumbs up towards the ceiling for both types of side raises. Interesting angle.

Midline

100 Sit-ups

Flew through in 2:39, which is a 19 second PR! I was using my AbMat pad, but can’t imagine it would make that much of a difference. I’ve had trouble setting just a few second PR on this over the years, so not sure where this came from.

Conditioning

10:00 Airdyne

The plan was to do an aerobic 20 minutes, but after doing 75-76 RPMs for 7:00 I picked it up to see if I could get close to my 300 FY score of 358. Maybe if I had started a minute earlier. Pretty close at 338 calories (3.99 miles).

All done in 65 minutes.

Performance Plus

I’ll get this in tonight…

Lat Foam Roller – 30 seconds each side (video)
Overhead Opener – 2×30 seconds (video)
3 MAX effort sets of Wall-Walks with 1:00 rest (video)

Holy shit those slow wall walks were hard! I did 3×3 and took about 25 seconds for each rep.

Get To It

Warm-up

2×15 Reverse Hyper (90#)
2 Rounds
- 200m Run
- 10 Air Squats
- 10 PVC Passes
- 15 Jumping Jacks

Strength – Front Squat

10×45#
6×135
4×185
4×215
2x3x245

My back is definitely tight.

Warmed up cleans with 5×45, 5×95, and 5×135.

Conditioning

30:00 Partner AMRAP

10 Power Cleans (185#)
20 Burpees
30 Row Calories
40 alt Box Jumps (24″)
50 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
200m Run

Paired up with Weston and we evenly split everything. I did 5 TnG cleans each time. Did box jumps in the first round, but switched to step-ups because my back was getting a little tight. We recovered on the run. First round was around 8 minutes not knowing how to pace. Got a little faster and then we pushed it in the final round almost getting through in 6 minutes. Finished 3 rounds and about 120 meters of the 4th run.

Midline

Max Plank

With my mid back already tight I didn’t push it. Stopped at 3 minutes.

Pulled a double day because I wanted to get in the bench work and be able to rest tomorrow with the nice weather and the Masters on. Out in the garage after 9pm…

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×165
5×185
5x5x205
3×30 alt DB Bench Press (50#)

Those dumbbell presses get much harder on the short rest.

Shoulder Press

5×95#
5×115
5×120
5×125

I haven’t done a shoulder press in months.

Accessory

3×15/15 Half-kneeling Single Arm DB Press (30#)
3×15/15 OH Single Arm DB Tricep Extensions (15#)
3×15/15 Landmine Press (75#)
3×15 Z Press (65#)

Single arm for the tricep extensions was not good but I thought it would be better for unilateral work. Didn’t feel the tricep working much at all. Won’t be doing them that way again.

I wasn’t sure if I did the landmine presses correctly the last time so I found a T Nation article. Yep, I had been leaning forward too much, effectively turning it into a shoulder press. Much harder when stand up straight and press out at an angle!

The Z Press was from the Performance Plus program. It was recommended to use about 33% of a max shoulder press. Focus on upright posture and fully opening the shoulders.

Because it was so decided to keep my rests at about 1:30. It helped me to prep the next movement ahead of time to keep rolling through. Finished all of that in 57 minutes!! It created a nice pump too. Short rest, Arnold style.

Still have 2 pieces of the Performance Plus to do, but will do them in the living room while watching TV.

Mobility

Thoracic Spine Extension
3×12 Downward Dog

Performance Plus

Traps and neck are sore from yesterday. Legs seem fine from the squats though. Had a last chiro appointment to make sure everything was smooth sailing. Wanted to get in workouts at home, but while I was out figured I might as well just walk over to the gym. I started the Push-Only program for real today.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
8×135
4x8x170
3x12x185

It seems weird to do the working sets of 8 and then what seems like should be drop sets (supposed to be to failure in 10-12 reps) have to be heavier. I was too light on them.

Close Grip Bench Press

12×135#
12×150
12×165

These were supposed to be the same failure in 10-12 reps but I wasn’t really sure what I was capable of. When I did sets of 12 with 115 and 120 recently I wouldn’t call it easy. These weights were no issue though.

Accessory

DB Tricep Rollback
- 15 with 20#
- 15 with 25
- 15 with 30
3×15 DB Side Raises (10#)
3×15 DB Bent-over Side Raises (10#)

Definitely hit failure on that final set of JM Press! The last 5 were some ugly reps.

Performance Plus

Last week I saw Pamela Gagnon of CrossFit Gymnastics was pairing up with The Barbell Physio to launch a new prehab program. Only being a 10-20 minute time commitment caught my eye.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSRuUPxjfOU/

The program dropped already on The Barbell Physio site! Couldn’t believe it came out so quick, unlike the Brute Gymnastics program which they’ve been promising for about 2 years. They’re giving a 14 day free trial so I’m going to add it in the days I do this Hybrid Push-Only program and see how it goes.

Pec Minor Soft Tissue Mobility: 2x 20-30 seconds each side (video)
Crab sliders: 3:00 Tabata (video)
Overhead Snatch Shrugs: 3x10x45# (video)

Pretty simple stuff and easy to get through. I paused for a quick 2 count in each shrug.

Conditioning

20:00 Airdyne

Wore my Garmin to keep an eye on my heart rate and keep it aerobic but it was only reading 101 for some reason. I’ll have to try a software update. I kept the RPMs at about 72-73 based off the pace that worked for my 30 minute “ride” last week. Did 11.59km.

New Accessories

Quads are getting sore from yesterday and my abs are still feeling those knee raises. Got to the gym before 5. My back is feeling really good.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×165
5×185
5x5x205

Accessory

3×30 alt DB Bench Press (50#)
3×12/12 Half-kneeling Single Arm KB Press (26#)
3×15 Banded Triceps push down (red)
3×12/12 Landmine Press (70#)

All kinds of new stuff! Those bottoms-up kettlebell presses are hard! My left side fatigued much faster and was more unstable than the right.

Conditioning

Just a 20 minute aerobic Row for 4,880 meters. I bit harder to find the heart rate sweet spot on the rower. It was right around a 2:00/500m pace.

Do What I Can

Did seem to feel a bit tighter when I woke and through the morning. Maybe from the air squats? Went to the chiro at 5:15 and then to the gym. Planned to modify and substitute a lot and I needed to with what was programmed.

Strength

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
8×135
4x8x165
3x12x140

Close Grip Bench Press

3x12x120#

Class was doing OHS so I was happy to be able to bench. Should have bumped up the 4×8 too, but increased 5# on both 3x12s with no problem.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

10 Ball Slams (15#)
20 Walking Lunges
20 Knee Raises (rings)

The workout was ball slams, 10 deadlifts, and 10 T2B so I had to change a lot. Never stopped or had to break any sets but didn’t seem to work up much of a sweat on breathe too hard. Finished in 8:23.

Accessory

3 Sets

15 Triceps Push Downs (red band)
10/10 Prone Rows (50# DB)

I propped a bench up on a couple of short boxes and laid down on that.

Fresh Moves

My morning was infinitely better today. I got out of bed and got dressed mostly normal. Went to the gym at noon to watch the final Open workouts and do my own thing on the side.

Warm-up

Five minutes on the Airdyne to loosen up the back more.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
6×135
3×165
3×195
3×215
3x3x225

Accessory

3×15 Pallof Press (15 reps facing each way, 2s hold at extension, red band)
3×15 DB Side Raises (10#, thumbs up)

The Pallofs are interesting. I had to fight the twisting on my back a little more than probably is normal. Have never done either of these movements.

50 HR Push-ups

Could probably classify these push-ups as conditioning as well and they allowed me to get a little core work. Set a PR by 12 seconds with a time of 1:40!

Conditioning

“Airdyne Hell”
10 Rounds

15s Sprint
1:45 Rest

Never easy but wasn’t as bad as I remember from previous attempts. I got through 252 calories. The last time I did this with Bryan, and the only calories number I have for the AD2, we combined for 512 so I was pretty much on the same pace unless I was doing a lot more calories than he was. No idea. Overall felt pretty good.

I did a few air squats here and there throughout the time in the gym and then I did some bottom squat hold against the wall while the workouts were finishing up.

Wobble Wobble

I wasn’t feeling any better yesterday except for when I went back to the chiropractor and for a short time after the adjustment. Needed a rest day from the Airdyne though.

Mornings are especially rough getting out of bed and then for quite some time after. I couldn’t even get a pair of socks on this morning, but when I went to put them on this afternoon I didn’t have a problem.

I’ve been sitting on an exercise ball from time to time yesterday and today, as suggested by my chiro. It’s the same idea as the wobble chairs they have in the waiting room at their office. It does feel much better for me to keep moving around, but my legs get sore after a while even though I have the ball on a couch cushion to higher it.

Super bummed I have to skip out on 17.5 but there is just no way possible I could do it since I still cannot air squat and I don’t want to regress and extend this discomfort longer. Went out to the garage this afternoon for a workout.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×160
5×180
5x5x195

I was getting on and off the bench much smoother today and moving around the garage much better. Good sign because I wasn’t feeling much improvement throughout the day. Weight felt a little heavy. Keeping rest at 2-3 minutes between sets.

Accessory – 3 Sets

15 Banded Tricep Press-downs (blue)

Conditioning

4 Sets

3:00 Airdyne
1:30 Rest

My goal was to hold 85+ RPMs. After the 1st round I didn’t think it was going to be sustainable. After nearly the same calories in round 2, I got the confidence to gut through and suffer. Then I got more confidence and pushed harder. Funny how the mind works some days. My calories were 117 – 115 – 119 – 120. My legs were wobbly for quite a while after.

I did another 5 minutes to cool down and went 1.38 miles.

It’s Spinal

No change today. Called the chiro and was able to get in this afternoon. Things adjusted well, but were definitely tight and tender. I felt better there and for a bit, but as soon as I got back home and sat to work again it was back to pretty much the same. They told me to keep icing throughout the day and night so I have been. Supposedly should start to feel better tomorrow around the 72 hour mark, like DOMS I guess.

Went out to the garage after I got done with work. Had to pay for 3 months of Hybrid to start off and I have a month left so I switched to their Push Only program so I could start saving the workouts and get more bang for my buck before I cancel once my 3 months are done. Stole some of the bench stuff for today. Might as well get a head start and it’s a movement I can do. Getting down and back off the bench was pretty comical though.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
8×135
4x8x165
3x12x135

Close Grip Bench Press

3x12x115#

Thought I was staying on the lighter side with both the sets of 12s with both styles, but that was a lot of accumulation of reps.

Conditioning

10 Rounds

30s Airdyne (Fast)
30s Airdyne (Slow)

More time on the bike! I was keeping RPMs at 95+ for the fast rounds and around 55 for the slow ones. Then with 3 rounds left I stopped looking and tried to push a bit, so I have no idea what my pace was at then. Tallied up 313 total calories.

Did a slow 5 minutes more on the AD to cool off and went 1.39 miles.

Quick Redo

My ass has been sore from the 55 deadlifts and my shoulders have been a bit fatigued. Had some plans to get through the wall balls quicker by doing 15-15-15-10 and not be a pussy on the rower for the redo of 17.4

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne
Shoulder stretching
2×10 Heel Drives
Bottom Squat Hold
Deadlift
- 10×45#
- 2x5x135
- 5×185
- 2x3x225
- 3×245

Well, I did my first set of 5 reps and then tweaked my back when I picked up the bar for my next set. Shortest Open workout ever! 😦 Glad my first attempt was a PR.

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
8×125
6×155
4×185
4×215
4×235
3×255 (PR)

Figured I could still bench since it doesn’t require moving my back. Had to gingerly lay on the bench each time. Didn’t realize it, but that was a 15# PR for a triple! Maybe I’ll do a bunch cycle or two after the Open and try to get to 300.

Conditioning

“300 FY” – 10:00 AMRAP

AirDyne Calories

Been a long time since I’ve tested this. Wanted to breathe hard in something since I didn’t workout yesterday and who knows how much I’ll be able to do over the next few days with this damn back. I started out at a much better pace than my previous PR and did well at holding above 80 RPMs, then picked it up in the last 60-90 seconds. Ended up with 357 calories (AD2 model), which is only 1 calorie under my best. Seemed much easier than my previous attempts.