Tag: burpee

Thanksgiving Sissy Test

I’m up at my parents for a few days so figured it would be a good time to do the Sissy Test. I missed out on it at Survival Fitness a couple of weeks ago. The only time I’ve done it was back in April, when I used a 55# KB and finished in 41:38.

“Sissy Test”

  • 25 -> 1 Burpees
  • 1 -> 25 Russian KBS (53# KB)

For clarification, you do 25 burpees and 1 KBS swing, then 24 and 2, and so on down until 1 and 25.

I made a ghetto KB using my 50 pounder, some duck tape, and a 2.5# plate. It worked for the most part. I finished in 38:16, which is an improvement of 3:22. Could have even been better, but the handle on my KB got so slick towards the end and I had to keep putting it down to wipe the sweat off my hands otherwise it would have went flying.

Bring on the Thanksgiving feast!

Update

Around 11pm I was bored and everyone was in bed. Death by Chest to Deck Push-ups sounded like a good idea. I got through the 18th minute and 16 reps of the 19th for a total of 187 reps. Not bad after doing 325 burpees earlier today. The only other time I did push-ups was last December when I completed 14 + 12 but was not getting my chest to the ground and had to resort to kneelers.

Mini Vacation

Took the next few days off work and will head up north later today. Went in for the 9am to get my WOD on.

Warm-up

50-40-30-20-10

  • Russian Twists (30# KB)
  • Flutter Kicks (x4 counts)

WOD

  • 12:00 EMOTM (do both)
    • 5 Thrusters (85#)
    • 7 Star Jumps
  • NO REST! Can start the next phase as soon as you are ready.
  • 5 Rounds
    • 9 Burpee Power Clean & Presses (85#)
    • 7 T2B
    • 5 Weighted Lunges for each leg (85#)

The thrusters weren’t as bad as expected, but the star jumps really got hard to jump in those last few minutes. I think I was completing the combo in about 21 seconds each minute. I did take a bit of rest before jumping into the next portion of the WOD. In the first two rounds I was doing the burpee power cleans one at a time, which was a waste and really sucked. In the last 3 rounds I figured out I could string them together and turn the clean and press into one motion pretty much without having to straighten my legs and then dip again. That worked better and I broke them down into 5 and 4 the rest of the way. The T2B and weighted lunges were pretty easy and like a break; all were done unbroken. My total time (with the 12:00 in there) was 30:34. Glad I went with 85# instead of the 95# Rx on this one too because it would have been hard to keep up any kind of intensity.

I walked a couple of laps around the 150m rectangle to cool down.

Barbell Complex

Up and at ’em for the 9am today. I’m sore from Saturday’s death by pull-ups and from bench pressing yesterday. We are stepping away from strength for the week to recover and confuse the body. Good timing since it’s Thanksgiving week. My cardio and endurance has been a bit lacking, so this is a good chance to kick it back up a notch.

Warm-up

21-15-9

  • Squat Jumps
  • HR Push-ups
  • Leg Raises

WOD

30:00 Partner AMRAP (alternating rounds)

  • 5 Deadlifts
  • 5 Bent Rows
  • 5 Hang Power Cleans
  • 5 Back Squats
  • 5 Good Mornings

I was paired up with Kevin and we had 115# on the bar. He had to bow out, switching to a lighter bar and slowing down around 10 minutes, so I switched to doing a round every other minute on the minute. I think I had 4 rounds in during the partner portion and then I worked the last two minutes in a row to end up with a total of 14 rounds plus 5 deadlifts, 5 bent rows, and 5 hang power cleans. It may have only been 13 full rounds because I’m not sure where we made the switch.

After the first couple of rounds I fell into a rhythm and was consistently getting 55 second rounds. I had never done a good morning in my life so that took some time getting used to. I smoked through the hang power cleans early on, but in those last few rounds it was a struggle to get that bar up. I’m left feeling sick after this WOD, that’s for sure.

Finisher

3:00 AMRAP of Burpees

I got 48 of them, with 16 in each minute I think, so pretty consistent. Not bad with only a few minutes of rest after the WOD.

Shoulders!

Up for the 9am today. My hamstrings started to get sore last night. I think from back squat Monday. My abs are still sore and the GHD sit-ups last night are probably contributing to that.

Warm-up

  • 30 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 10 HR Push-ups
  • 20 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 10 HR Push-ups
  • 10 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 10 HR Push-ups

Great warm-up for the shoulders. I mixed in some around-the-worlds with the PVC too.

Strength

Find 1RM Shoulder Press

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 4 @ 95#
  • 1 @ 125#
  • 1 @ 135#
  • 1 @ 145#
  • 1 @ 155#
  • 1 @ 160#

Just over a month ago, on October 3rd, I missed 150# once and then barely squeezed it out on the 2nd attempt. Going into today I was shooting to match that PR and see if I had anything left in the tank. I was feeling good, so didn’t even make at attempt at it and went right for a PR at 155#. Got it without much trouble so went for 160# and had to fight hard for it.

WOD

2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20

  • Push Presses (40# DBs)
  • Burpees

Went unbroken with the push presses through the set of 12 and then broke the last 4 sets up, always getting just over half in the first go and then finishing off the rest after a break. Tried not to stop at all during the burpees and just keep going no matter how slow they felt. It was a struggle to push up off the ground for the last 5 reps. Finished in 16:15.

Finisher

5 Sets

  • MAX L-Sit
  • 60s Rest

I did these with my knees up, using the rings and got right around 30 seconds each round except for the 4th, where it was closer to 20 seconds. Good way to finish off the shoulders and get in the abs as well.

Friday Morning Partners

My quads are still sore from Monday! Better each day though. Went to the 9am class, which had 18 people so Matt had to switch it up to a partner workout.

Warm-up

  • Tabata Air Squats
  • Tabata High Knees
  • Tabata Bear Crawl

WOD

30:00 AMRAP with a partner

    • 50 Burpees
    • * Partner holds Bar OH (95#)
    • 75 OHS (95#)
    • * Partner holds Plank
    • 100 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
    • * Partner holds chin over bar

I paired up with Casey A. The Rx for men was 135# on this. At first we were going to try 115#, but as we were loading the bar had second thoughts. Good thing we switched to 95# because that was plenty hard enough. We got through one full round and then up to 31 wall balls in round 2.

Coming off a Cold

I started coming down with something on Wednesday night and yesterday was spent mostly in the napping position. Felt better and better today as the hours passed. Still somewhat tired, but went in to the 4:15pm and then stayed after a bit during open gym.

Warm-up

  • 30-20-10 Air Squats
  • 15-20-5 Burpees

WOD

  • 400m Run
  • 20 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)
  • 40 Plyo Lunges
  • 400m Run
  • 14 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)
  • 30 Plyo Lunges
  • 400m Run
  • 10 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)
  • 20 Plyo Lunges
  • 400m Run
  • 6 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)
  • 10 Plyo Lunges

My running was pretty terrible today due to being a little rundown, but I can fly through the Turkish get-ups so I made up some time there. Finished in 18:35.

Finisher

5 Sets

  • 10 Ring Dips
  • 2m Rest

Did each round unbroken.

Open Gym

6:00 EMOTM

  • 3 OHS (75#)
  • 20 DUs

I was going to go for 10 minutes but could feel myself getting tired and didn’t want to overdo it with this cold. I also did a few bar muscle-ups, which is pretty good after all of those dips. I don’t think I’ve ever done more than 1 in a day before, but I always try to do them after a WOD.

Froning Style

My hamstrings and glutes are a good sore from the RDLs. Need to do those more often.

Olympic Lifting Class

Went in at 6pm for the OLY class. We worked on snatches by doing progressions with the empty bar. Then we loaded up to a moderate weight and did:

5 Rounds

  • 1 Snatch
  • 2 Snatch Balances
  • 3 Snatch Grip Deadlifts

I started with 95# for the first three rounds and then 105# for the next two rounds. After that we worked on full squat snatch singles. I loaded 115# and tried to work on my technique. Then to finish the class we worked up to a heavy snatch grip deadlift triple. Wow is that a bitch on your thumbs! I did 3 sets, 2 @ 205# and 1 at 235# (I think). I don’t remember all of the weights exactly for any of the lifts.

Warm-up

4 Rounds

  • 15s PVC Pass-thrus
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s PVC Ground to OH
  • 15s Zombie Kicks

Was already pretty warmed up from the OLY work.

Strength

5 Sets of Kroc Rows – 10 each arm for 4 sets and then max reps in the 5th set.

Used KBs for each round and went 53#, 62#, 71#, 80#, and 88#. I got 17 reps with my right arm and 22 with my left if I remember right.

WOD

No extra rest in between each 10 minute block; the minutes keep going.

10:00 EMOTM

  • Evens: 7 Power Cleans (115#)
  • Odds: 15 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)

10:00 EMOTM

  • Evens: 5 Power Cleans (135#)
  • Odds: 10 Burpees

10:00 EMOTM

  • Evens: 3 Power Cleans (155#)
  • Odds: 10 T2B

A Rich Froning style workout and I loved it. The EMOTM stuff really allows you to go all out balls to the wall when it’s work time and the rest period is just short enough to recover.

The weight was almost perfect for me. Maybe could have gone 5 or 10# heavier because I flew through the 7 reps in those first 10 minutes, getting them done in about 12 or 13 seconds each time. After 2 rounds of burpees, I figured out why I’ve been so slow lately. I’ve been standing all the way up before jumping. It was taking me 30-31 seconds to get my 10 reps done, which is extremely slow compared to how I’ve done them before when doing 10 at a time. Well, I switched back to jumping as soon as my feet snap up to my hands and shaved 6 seconds of my 10 rep split, right back into my 24 second wheel house. Did all of the T2B unbroken and concentrated on a short kip at the bottom to cycle them faster.

21-15-9 and Reverse It

Little sore in my arm pit and chest area. Not sure if that’s from the dynamic bench press work, snatches, or maybe from “Cindy”. Went in to the 9am so that I have a long rest before the 6pm OLY class on Tuesday.

Warm-up

5 Rounds

  • 30s Bottom Squat Hold
  • 30s Jumping Jacks

Strength

5×1 Low Box Squat

Two weeks ago when we did 5×5 I used 175# on my last 3 sets because it felt terrible. Last week I narrowed my stance and got up to 215# or the 5×3. This week I went another 40# higher! Did a warm-up set of 5 at 135# and then did 185#, 205#, 225#, 245#, and 255#. That’s more than my 1RM back squat, but to be fair, I haven’t attempted a 1 rep max since March, which is way too long. I think I could have gone 265# or more today if there was more time. Hopefully that means my back squat is over 275# now (goal for the year), instead of my old 240# PR.

WOD

  • 21-15-9
    • Over the Box Jumps (24″)
    • Weighted Lunges – each leg, so 42-30-18 (35# KBs)
  • 3m Rest
  • 9-15-21
    • Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
    • Burpees

I started out with an 18″ box with a couple of 45# plates stacked on it, but the new plates are so slick they were sliding all over the place and it was not safe. Thankfully Lisa offered to switch with me since she had one of the 24″ boxes. Even with the set back in time I still finished first in the class in 14:14, which includes the 3 minutes of rest. I went unbroken in the lunges, which made up a lot of ground on everyone else. Everything else was pretty easy to do unbroken, although I did want to break up the last set of wall balls, but fought through them. First half took me 6:32 (with the time to switch boxes) and the second half took 4:42.

Finisher

  • 50-40-30-20-10 Russian Twists (30# KB)
  • 20 AbMat Sit-ups in between each round

The only set I didn’t do unbroken was the set of 40, which I broke into 2 sets of 20.

Head Recovery

I got up for the 9am and was feeling light-headed and nauseous after having my coffee + protein. I’d blame it on Vicodin, but I hadn’t taken one since just after midnight. Luckily I felt better after eating some fruit.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

  • Burpees
  • Lateral Hops

Strength

5×3 Floor Press

Today’s sets were:

  • 3 @ 135#
  • 3 @ 165#
  • 3 @ 185#
  • 3 @ 205#
  • 2 @ 205#

Fought hard to get that last rep, just couldn’t get it past the halfway point. Tops my 5 @ 195# from last week though.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 250m Run
  • 30 HR Push-ups
  • 30 Box Jumps (24″)

Felt good. As I would expect, the push-ups slowed me down a lot. I started out with a set of 10 each round and then continued with sets of 5 until my 30 were completed. Box jumps were unbroken throughout except where I lost balance up top and couldn’t rebound off the ground properly or if I missed my jump which happened a few times. I finished in 19:51.

Time for some food so I can take a Vicodin to relieve this head pain!

Ankle Stinger

As planned, I took the weekend away from the gym. Went up north to my parents for a couple of days. All day Saturday was spent working in the garage with my Dad. We built a 18 x 24 x 40 plyo box, a weight rack, some risers for my squat stand, and another small platform that can be used under the box for higher jumps. I drove back home on Sunday morning so I could make it to Gym Jesters at 2pm. We worked on back tucks again, some cart wheels, and hand stands. I got a nice stinger in my left ankle doing back tucks on mats on the floor.

The rest from WODs felt good, but I was ready to get back at it today. I went in for the 9am.

Warm-up

4 Rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Jump Squats

Strength

5×3 Low Box Squats

Last week I only got up to 175# for the 5×5 and was pretty disappointed. They didn’t feel right at all. I think it was mostly because I was tired from Sunday’s competition. Today was a completely different story. Warmed up with a set of 3 at 95# and then my working sets were:

  • 135#
  • 155#
  • 185#
  • 205#
  • 215#

Last two sets were tough, but felt good. I used a narrower stance this week and really concentrated on pushing my knees out. That’s 40# above the weight I did last week.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 20 Pistols (alternating legs)
  • 20 Burpees

I started out doing Rx pistols but after 3 on my left leg I had to grab a box because the ankle stinger was killing me. Right leg was fine. With the delay to grab a box and get setup, I still finished first in 12:08. Last time doing pistols my low back gave out and I had to use a box and today my ankle couldn’t handle it because of hurting it yesterday. Some day I’ll get back to doing Rx Pistols!

Finisher

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

  • K2E
  • 4x Scissor Kicks

My grip and core strength is really improving because I was able to do every set of K2E unbroken. The scissor kicks seemed really easy today too.

Garage Strength

Later at night I did some upper body strength work in the garage. I did dynamic effort bench pressing which is all about speed in the reps and one minute of rest between each set.

  • 2×3 @ 45#
  • 1×3 @ 95#
  • 1×3 @ 115#
  • 8×3 @ 135#