Controlled Falling

Got moving pretty late this morning, but still made it to 9am, even though it was a few minutes late. I’ve never been late to a class. Legs are pretty tight today, either from the thrusters on Sunday or back squats yesterday.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 3×125#
  • 7x5x135#

Phew! Somehow made it through all the sets again.

Conditioning

5:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 10 American KBS (53#)

All unbroken for 5 rounds plus the 10 wall balls. Got to the kettlebell, but didn’t get it locked out in time for a rep.

Rested 2:00, then…

5:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Curtis P (95#)
  • 5 Burpees

Ugh, damn barbell. Finished 3 rounds and with only about 8 seconds left I didn’t pick up the bar.

At 6:30 I attended a running technique class. Dan recorded us, talked about running form, had us do a bunch of drills, and then recorded us again. My main problem was running too much on my toes, which is what I’ve always thought running on my midfoot. Apparently not. But at least I don’t heel strike like the majority of people. Felt weird to try landing more back on my foot. I’ll have to continue to think about it as well as concentrating on the lean, which I’ve already been trying to work on.

Started feeling my hamstrings a lot more in the afternoon and at night. I’m surprised I could run at all with my quads tight from thrusters and squats and now my hamstrings from the deadlifts.

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Attack

No issues with the back last night. 🙂 No golfing this week to stay away from twisting the back though, so in at the 9am.

Warm-up

Reverse Hypers

  • 10×70#
  • 10×100#
  • 10×120#

EMOM 10:00

  • 1/1 Turkish Get-up

Did 2 rounds with 26#, 4 with 35#, and 4 with 44#. I could feel I need to be doing these more often for my shoulder stability.

Skill

Pick your own adventure.

EMOM 10:00

  • 3 MU

I had to do 2+1 on the 10th round, so then switched to 2 every minute (no extra rest going to the next part).

EMOM 5:00

  • 2 MU

WTF! 40 muscle-ups in one day? On July 5th Kevin had me do a 10:00 EMOM and I was surprised to make it through doing 2 the whole way. Since then I’ve been working muscle-ups every week with some type of EMOM work. I’ve gotten 10x more comfortable with the movement in that time and have improved a lot. Attack a weakness for a month!

Conditioning

10-8-6-4-2

  • Burpees
  • Pull-ups
  • 30 DU

Was a little worried what the pull-ups might feel like after all of the muscle-ups, but I was able to do all unbroken sets of butterfly pull-ups. I missed on double unders 3 or 4 times in the last 10 reps of the 4th round. Ugh! Finished in 5:15.

1 Mile Run – Nothing crazy. But we did kick it in gear for about the last 300m and then sprinted out the last 80-100m or so.

My calves were on fire. Don’t remember them ever feeling like that before. I think the combination of sprints and box jumps together with dubs and the run today did not make them happy. I did a whole bunch of calve and hamstring stretching before leaving the gym. Getting a massage this afternoon.

Invested

This weather is terrible for a vacation in Northern Michigan. I’m not sure if it’s really July or if it’s October!

E2M 20:00

  • 10 Weighted Burpees (20# vest)
  • 10 Weighted Sit-ups (20# vest)

So that was 100 reps of each. Did the two movements back to back and it took about 50 seconds each round. The burpees weren’t as bad as I expected and took me about 25 seconds. The sit-ups got really tough in the last few rounds.

10 Rounds

  • 1:00 Bottom Squat Hold (20# vest)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Weighted Plank (20# vest)
  • 15s Rest

Doing weighted squat holds was a new one for me. Planks weren’t too bad, even after all of the sit-ups.

Did DDP Yoga Energy! with my sister in the afternoon. I need to start doing this stuff regularly.

In the afternoon I put the weight vest back on and went for a 2 mile walk. As soon as I got back I did some air squats.

  • 50 Air Squats (20# vest)

Leg burn! Took me 1:08.

Quad Squad

My body is yelling at my for going off schedule and not taking a rest day yesterday. Quads and hamstrings are sore. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Various shoulder stretching
  • Shoulder Presses
    • 10×45#
    • 5×95#
    • 3×115#

XWOD

  • 5-5-5-5-5-5 Shoulder Press (132.5#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive Movement
    • 2s: Burpee Broad Jump
    • 1s: Broad Jump to Height

Final rep on the last 2 sets of shoulder presses was a fight, so I’m glad I added the 2.5#. Turned out perfectly.

Conditioning

8 Rounds

  • 1:00 AMRAP
    • 5 Burpees
    • 10 Wall Balls
  • 30s Rest

* Continue each 1:00 AMRAP where you left off.

After 2 AMRAPs I had exactly 3 rounds and nearly kept up that same pace. Finished with 11 rounds plus 5 burpees and 1 wall ball, so was only 9 reps shy of getting 3 rounds every 2 AMRAPs.

5 Rounds

  • 25m High Prowler Sprint (90# + 45#)
  • 25m Low Prowler Sprint (90# + 45#)
  • Rest until 2 other people cycle through

Those low pushes really burn the legs. Good finish to the workout. Been far too long since touching a prowler.

My legs were telling me no, but I wanted to get in some OLY work so headed back to CFi for an afternoon session since tomorrow is going to be a golfing day.

Cleans

  • 2x3x50kg
  • 3x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 2x90kg
  • 2x95kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x105kg
  • 5x1x108kg

Worked with Alex, so it was kilo plates and ends up being more volume on the way up than I was planning. My goal was 5 singles with 235#, so made it about 238# in the conversion. Made every lift, which is huge for how rough my legs feel. Getting so much more comfortable with the heavy cleans.

Split Jerk

  • 3×95#
  • 2×115#
  • 2x2x135#
  • 2×155#
  • 2×175#
  • 3x2x185#

Trying to work on speed under the bar and footwork. Felt ok, but shoulders are pretty wiped out from the last couple of days so didn’t push it far or heavy. I held a bunch of the 2nd reps overhead for an extra 5 seconds to work on stability.

Midline

5 Rounds NFT

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups (10# bumper on chest)
  • 10 Back Extensions (10# bumper behind head)

Survive

2014-07-19-weight-chartWhen 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

IMG_4771

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.

Unbroken

Was definitely fatigued yesterday after all of the training on the weekend. Walked 18 holes on the golf course though. In to CFi early this morning to max out the shoulder press. Started off with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 8×75#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 1×135#
  • 1×150#
  • 1×165#
  • Fail 172.5#
  • Fail 170#

Damn! Matched my PR from last May and it felt pretty good. I was expecting more after the Smolov Jr. cycle, but I guess I have to remember that I went 3-4 months without working my shoulders. Maybe after vacation I’ll do another cycle.

Warm-up

  • 15 Russian KBS (44# KB)
  • 5 Burpees
  • 10x CS ATYT
  • 4×135# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 45# plate
  • 4×165# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 2×45# plates

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Pendlay Rows (185#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Kneeling Jumps
    • 2s: 2×45# plates
    • 1s: 2×45# + 35# plates

Shoulders and upper back are getting stronger. I used to struggle with this weight. Need to step it up more the next time I do the kneeling jumps.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 8 Deadlifts (225#)
  • 8 Burpees
  • 8 Pull-ups

Everything unbroken to finish in 6:44. Pull-ups are improving a lot with the shoulder work and focus on body positioning. Need to get up the speed of the burpees when fatigued though.

When I got home I took a bit and then back out in the garage for some quick work.

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10

  • Double Unders
  • Sit-ups

Anchored my feet under 50# DBs and tried to set my area so I wouldn’t be sliding back so much on the sit-ups, but that still happened. I finally got through this bitch without missing a DU and it made a big difference, giving me a 27 second PR with 6:28. If I’m going to get better I have to figure out how to do sit-ups without sliding backwards. By the time I get around 15 reps I have to move the AbMat back up and probably waste a second each time I do that. Really happy about this PR!

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap.

Later in the day I felt like getting in some intervals. Warmed up with 500m on the skierg in 2:34.

10 Rounds

  • 30s @ 90%
  • 30s @ 75%

* % based on 500m PR pace (90% is 2:03 and 70% is 2:38 for me)

My pacing was consistent through each half. Went 1,098m in the first 5:00 and 1,100m in the last 5:00 with an average pace around 2:16/500m. I was actually kind of hard to go as slow as a 2:38 unless I was doing just about nothing, so I was usually more in the low 2:30 range on the low intensity intervals.

Jump! Jump!

Ugh!! My shoulder got a little sticky yesterday. Felt it reaching for the garage door button in the Jeep and it definitely sticks when I go through the 90/90 movement. Must be those damn dumbbell snatches! Hopefully it doesn’t get worse or persist.

Feeling those GHDs for sure today. Went in early to get my presses done before the 9am class. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 2×135#
  • 10x3x145#

BOOM! Finished off the 3 week Smolov Jr. cycle. I’m so glad I decided to bump up the weights a little more for week 3. I don’t think I’ve ever done more than 145# for a triple, so this was huge. I was planning to take 3+ minutes of rest between sets but did about 1:45-2:00 for 8 and then not much more for the final 2. Thankfully I didn’t have any issues with the shoulder.

Did a little jump rope to warm up the legs since everyone else was already warming up on the rowers and I was late to the party.

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 2×245#, 2×315#, and 2×365#.

XWOD

  • 2-2-2-2-2-2 Deadlifts (385#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 PVC Jump Course
    • Heights were 12-14-18-24-30-42″

IMG_4733

I guess it’s roughly another inch for each to clear the PVC or dowel. A few times I got off my timing or spacing and bailed before jumping the last one. Those were fun!

Conditioning

  • 10-8-6-4-2 Russian KBS (62# KB)
  • 10-8-6-4-2 Burpees
  • Run 2 laps (~250m)

We did everything outside. Perfect day for it. Finished in 8:22.

My arms haven’t felt this dead in a long long time. Glad to be getting a massage this afternoon and a golf day tomorrow.

A New Chapter

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 2:00 Bottom Squat Hold
  • 2x 30s/30s Couch Stretch
  • PNF Rack Stretching

Strength

Warmed up with 5×45#, 5×135#, and 3×185# front squats, with a 2 second pause in the hole on the last set.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 3 Front Squats w/ 2s pause (205#)
  • Evens: 3 Weighted Pull-ups (44# KB)

I’m terrible with the pauses, so it’s good to work on them. First time doing weighted pull-ups in a really long time.

Accessory

2 Rounds NFT

  • 5 Deficit HSPU
  • 10 Ring Rows

Did the HSPU at a much higher deficit than I’ve ever tried. It was rough. I’ve developed a bad habit of getting my shoulders on the wall for some reason. I need to push my head through at the top.

Conditioning

2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2

  • Goblet Squats (53# KB)
  • Russian KBS (53# KB)
  • Burpees

Finished in 6:45, going unbroken on everything.

Rope Climbs

Feeling a little sore in new places from climbing the trees Sunday night at The Adventure Park. Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • CS Activation
  • Arm Circles
  • 30 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 8x4x130#

Paired up with XWOD of:

  • 2s – 30″ Box Jumps
  • 1s – Broad Jump

The shoulder presses were a lot more of a struggle today. The final day of week 2 should be very interesting!

Skill

Put on the shin skins and finally tried some rope climbs while the newbs worked on kipping with Kevin. We’ve been talking about me getting on that rope for the last couple of weeks, so it was time. I was using the faster method which starts about halfway through this video…

I did 3 or 4 of them and then did one legless too. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting. Felt a lot different strain on my shoulders doing them, so points to a weakness I need to work on.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 10 Push Presses (115#)
  • 5 Burpees

Finished 4 rounds plus the deadlifts and push presses. Did all 10 push presses in round 1 but then had to go 5-5 every other round. Rough after the shoulder presses.

About 2-3 minutes after we finished, we went for a 1 mile jog.

Hot & Sweaty GLBRT

Today was the 6th Great Lakes Bay Regional Throwdown, with it being hosted at Mission 1 – CrossFit Caro this time. I’ve competed in the last 3 and we won the belt for Survival Fitness at each one. The first two we competed in were one team takes the belt back to their gym and with the last one the format was switched up to make it more of a gym working together, where the top 2 scores from each gym count for each WOD.

Event 1

12:00 AMRAP

  • 200m Run
  • 21 American KB Swings 53/35#
  • 12 Pull-ups

2 teammates work at a time (1M/1F) to complete a round. When the first 2 teammates finish a round the second 2 teammates will begin a round. This pattern continues for 12 minutes. Score is total reps completed.

Both Partners run the 200m. The KB Swings may not start until both teammates have returned from the run to their area. Whoever chooses to start a set of KB Swings or Pullups must perform all the reps in that set, for that round. During the KB Swings the other partner must be hanging from a bar for the KB Swings to count. While the Pullups are being performed the other partner must hold the KB off the ground for the pullups to count. The 2 teammates that are not working must be touching the rig before they can be released for the run. They will be released after the working partners 12th pullup is completed.

Bre and I paired up with her doing all of the KBS and me doing all of the pull-ups. Brent and Laura started the workout and finished our 7th team round just before the time ran out. Wasn’t really that tough of a workout for me since it was just 3 runs and 36 pull-ups. I never dropped from the bar and went unbroken with kipping pull-ups on each set.

Event 2

There will be 8 stations for men and 8 stations for women.

  • Men’s weights = 75-95-105-115-135-155-165-185
  • Women’s weights = 55-65-75-85-95-105-115-125

Each athlete will have 20 seconds to work at each station and 10 seconds to transition to the next station to perform as many reps as desired. At least 1 rep must be completed at each station before moving to the next station. Score will be total pounds lifted per team.

Everyone knows the thruster. All bars will start on the floor. The athlete may complete the first rep as a full clean, receiving the bar in the squat position. The hips must clearly pass below the knee in the squat portion of the movement and the bar must end in a fully locked out overhead position with full extension of the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow. There may not be a pause between the front squat portion of the movement and the overhead portion. It must be a thruster and not a clean and jerk. If an athlete fails to complete a good rep at a station then they will leave the field at the next transition time.

When we did a run through I only did 3 reps at each weight. Today I went 7-7-5-5-5-3-3-3. Should have gone harder in the early and middle sets. Happy I was still able to get 3 at 185. I did 2, had to drop it, took a breath, and then got in another rep. Tweaked my back a little bit though. 😦

Event 3

Chipper!

  • 50 Wall Ball (20#/14#, 10’/9′)
  • 40 KB Snatches 44/26
  • 30 T2B
  • 20 Burpees
  • 30 Clean & Jerk 135/95
  • 40 Box Jump 24/20
  • 50 Deadlift 185/135

2 men start the chipper. After they complete the 50 Wall Ball and move to the 40 KB Snatches, the 2 women may start their Wall Balls. This pattern will continue through the entire chipper. There will be 2 scores. First score is men’s time and second score is total time. Work can be divided between partners however they choose. For example, if one woman cannot perform a 35# KB Snatch but her teammate can, then she may perform all 40 of them.

Each lane will have 1 barbell for cleans with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their clean & jerk they may load the bar for the women, however, if they choose to do this then the box jumps may not start until both men move off from the Clean station and on to the box jump station.

Each lane will also have 1 barbell for deadlifts with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their deadlifts they must leave the field and cannot change the bar for the women. The first score is recorded upon completion of the men’s 50th deadlift. The second score is recorded after the women complete their 50th deadlift.

Brent and I beat our practice time by over 30 seconds and the girls beat their time by about 1:30! I couldn’t believe it when we were doing our C&J and they were waiting on us to finish. In the practice run, we got done way ahead of them and even changed the weight on the bar for them. They crushed it!

Great day and a fun team to compete with. The weather was brutally hot and it was even worse inside the gym. Spent a lot of time outside in the sun.  After today and walking 27 holes of golf yesterday in the hot sun and humidity I’m exhausted!

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