San Diego Sunday

I arrived in San Diego last night for our yearly Automattic company meetup. Got up early this morning and hit up the fitness center in the hotel for a workout.

Warm-up

Did an easy 800m run on the treadmill.

WOD

  • 100 DB Hang Squat Clean Thrusters (30# DBs)
  • Every minute on the minute (except for at the beginning), do 5 burpees.

We did this a few months ago at SF from the ground instead of the hang position. Back then I took some rest minutes doing 0 clean thrusters and finished in 23:42. Today I did them from the hang starting position like the video done by Jason Khalipa where this WOD came from. Finished in 15:35 today without taking any “rest” minutes.

Finisher

  • 100 Russian Twists (25# DB)

I did these in sets of 50, 25, and 25, but didn’t time it.

An Easy-ish Deck

I made it to the 10am class which gives me enough time to pack and get ready for my trip. Flight leaves at 1:30.

Warm-up

4 rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s High Knees
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers

WOD

Deck of Cards

Suits:

  • ♣ – Russian KBS (53# KB)
  • â™  – 1m Plank
  • ♦ – Air Squats
  • ♥ – Burpees

Ranks:

  • 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace – 10 reps
  • 2 through 9 – Face value in reps
  • Joker – 150m Run

I finished in 32:36. Planks really sucked because they brought down the intensity and at one point I had 6 of 9 cards come up a spade. Usually deck of cards is pretty brutal but today it wasn’t bad with the selected movements and the fact that the highest rep count was 10.

Finisher

Prowler Sprints – 25m High Push followed by 25m Low Push

Casey A. and I did some prowler sprints at the end of class. The first sprint we had 135# loaded on the heavy prowler and it was pretty easy, so we added another 45# plate for 180# of load and did 5 more down and backs. My legs are getting stronger because the heavy pushes are getting a lot easier.

Disappointed With My First 100 Burpees Test

Abs are a little sore from yesterday’s WOD and I can just imagine what they’ll feel like tomorrow.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Back Squats
  • 1-2m Rest

I warmed up with a set of 8 using just the bar and then a set of 5 using 115#. I only managed to get in 4 working sets because everyone else was somehow done before I was even done with my 4th set and there was no time. I guess they must not have done warm-up sets. For my working sets I used 155#, 185#, 205#, and 215#. Easy stuff considering I got up to 220# for a set of 5 last week. Pretty bummed I didn’t have time to get in my last set.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Step-ups (40# DBs, 18″ box)
  • 1m Rest

I had to rush through because I was way behind the rest of the class.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Sit-ups
  • 1m Rest

Another rush job here. I felt pretty dumb actually. I used a 62# KB for the first set and then 35# DBs for the last two sets.

WOD

On less than a minute of rest (I was out of breath from trying to rush through my sit-ups) I had to jump right into the WOD and my performance showed it.

  • 100 Burpees

This is actually the first time I’ve done 100 burpees for time, which is surprising considering I’ve been doing CrossFit for over 10 months now. I knew it was going to be a grind when I barely got through 20 in the first minute. I knocked out my 50th rep before taking a rest, but then took 2 more short breaks after that. My finishing time was 6:44, which is extremely disappointing. In 5 minutes of burpees I knocked out 93 just about 2 months ago and didn’t need to take any breaks then. Under 6 minutes should have been easy, with a shot at breaking 5:30. 😦

Finisher

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 V-ups
  • 30s Boat

Let’s kill those abs some more! This got really hard after the first round or two. I think I got through 5 rounds plus the 10 V-ups. I was going for quality more than quantity here.

Just not my day the way the schedule of class worked out. Didn’t get up to a heavy enough weight for back squats and wasn’t rested enough to put in a good effort during the WOD. The problems really comes down to packing too much in the strength portion. We could have combined two of the movements so we would alternate back and forth between the step-ups and sit-ups for example. That would have saved a few minutes.

4 In A Row

So much for 3 on 1 off. I saw this WOD and really wanted to do it because I need the work with weighted pull-ups and the push-up reps. Tomorrow is a better day to take off for me anyway because I have the 2nd round of a golf tournament in the morning.

Warm-up

10:00 EOMOTM

  • 7 KBS
  • 12 Wall Balls

The goal was to pick a heavier KB each round. I used 48#, 53#, 62#, 71#, and 80#. That’s the first time I’ve ever swung the 80 pounder; hadn’t even done Russian swings that heavy yet. It felt pretty good. The wall balls were a good way to loosen up after all of the squat work yesterday.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5-8 Weighted Pull-ups

These were one of the reasons I wanted to come in today. Kind of disappointed with how I did.

  • 8 @ 8#
  • 7 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 12#
  • 4 @ 12#
  • 3 @ 15#, plus a long negative on the last rep

WOD #1

5:00 AMRAP

  • 3 Plyo Push-ups
  • 6 Burpees
  • 9 HR Push-ups

This AMRAP was the other reason I wanted to come in. I need to increase my push-up strength and capacity. Lots of push-up movements here, so no break for the arms. I did 4 rounds plus 11 reps in the next round.

We rested 3 minutes before doing another WOD.

WOD #2

7:00 AMRAP

  • 7 Thrusters (35# DBs)
  • 7 Box Jumps (24″)

The Rx for men was 40# DBs and I grabbed them for about 10 seconds. After thinking about the WOD, I realized I would die so I swapped them for the 35 pounders and I’m so glad I did. In the first round I thought the 35# DBs were even going to be too heavy, but I stuck with it and did each round without putting down the weights. I really had to focus on the hip drive to get those suckers up overhead. The thrusters really wiped me out and negated my box jump advantage. I managed to get 6 rounds and 5 more thrusters.

Finisher

10:00

  • Hold the L-Sit as long as possible
  • 30 Russian Twists (30# KB)

I did the L-Sit on the rings to get that extra work on my upper body and I think it’s harder on the core as well. I was able to hold for about 25-30 seconds each time and surprisingly it was my arms that kept giving out. All of the Russian twists were done unbroken each round. I did 5 total rounds.

I’m glad I went in today because it allowed me to work on some weaknesses. I could tell I wasn’t all-in for today though; definitely not my best effort. Golfing the 2nd round of a tournament with the group of guys I play with in the morning, so it works out better for me to make tomorrow a rest day.

A Partner Ladder

Today I got to make up the WOD for Survival Fitness since Matt and Cora are out-of-town camping. I taught the 11am and then worked out with the noon class.

Warm-up

5 rounds

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

Nice easy warm-up to get the blood flowing.

WOD

Partner Ladder

  • 10->15 Burpees
  • 5->10 Ring Dips
  • 10->15 Wall Balls
  • 5->10 T2B
  • 500m Sandbag Run

* One partner working at a time for the reps. For example, partner A does 10 burpees, partner B does 10 burpees, partner A does 11, partner B does 11, and keep going until both have done the round of 15 reps.

Since we had an odd number of people in class, I teamed up with Marisol and Brian for a team of 3. Brian and I worked at the same time as partner A and Marisol was our partner B. It’s gotta be tough teaming up with two guys and getting shorter rest periods, but Marisol did awesome.

I did Rx ring dips through the round of 7. Then in round 8 I think I did 4 Rx and 4 with a purple band. In the round of 9 I maybe got 3 Rx and then in the round of 10 it was all with the band. I was really hitting a good rhythm with the T2B today and only had to break up the last 2 rounds so I didn’t rip my hands. When I finished the run, the clock read 29:40. I was a bit ahead of Brian and Marisol, so I’m not sure what our official team time would have been. I’m really happy with how this WOD turned out. I was planning for the top teams to be around 30 minutes which was pretty close.

Finisher

3 rounds

  • 1m Plank
  • 1m Russian Twists (35# KB)
  • 1m Table Top (30s each side)
  • 1m Rest

Not going to lie, this sucked after the WOD. Even the planks were hard to get through.

Push Pressin’

I went in to the 9am, which isn’t much recovery from 7pm last night, but I have a bunch of stuff going on later today. Rest day tomorrow, but I’ll probably go golfing in the morning.

Warm-up

2 rounds, 10:00 limit

  • 50 Jumping Jacks
  • 40 Air Squats
  • 30 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 20 Leg Raises
  • 10 Burpees

I didn’t make it through the 10 burpees at the end.

Strength

Find 1RM for Push Press. Shoot for 7 attempts with 2 minutes of rest between each.

  • 5 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 95#
  • 1 @ 120#
  • 1 @ 130#
  • 1 @ 145#
  • 1 @ 155#
  • 1 @ 165#
  • 1 @ 175#
  • 1 @ 185#
  • 1 @ 190#

The best I had done before was 2 reps at 175#. I did more sets than I was supposed to but I didn’t think I would get that high, so my planning for the early weights was off. I really got a good dip and drive with the legs and 190# went up pretty easily. Always good to leave a bit in the tank for next time on a 1RM max. It’s better than failing on a rep.

WOD

10:00 AMRAP

  • 1-Arm Snatches (45# DB)

I was doing 5 reps with each arm before switching. Started off well, but kind of hit a wall in the middle. Ended up with 155 reps. Probably should have gone with 40# and kept a higher intensity.

Finisher

7 rounds

  • 10 Kroc Rows (60# DB, 5 each side)
  • 10 V-ups

Nice finisher to work the midline and get in some more strength work.

Weighted Chins

Feeling good. I think I like this 3 days on 1 day off schedule I’m trying to stick to. Walked 18 holes of golf this morning and went to the 7pm class.

Warm-up

4 rounds

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

Strength

Weighted Chin-ups with 90 seconds of rest between sets

  • 8 @ 8#
  • 8 @ 10#
  • 6 @ 12#
  • 5 @ 15#
  • 4 @ 15#

I’m not entirely sure about the rep counts for the 10# and 12#, but I think they are right. Man, when you hit that wall, there is no way you’re doing another rep.

WOD

15-14-13…3-2-1

  • Burpees
  • Russian KBS (53#)

This is all about pacing yourself so you can keep going without resting. I finished in 11:42. Should have went heavier but I’m still taking things easy for my low back. I didn’t miss out on any intensity that’s for sure. That was 120 reps of each movement.

Finisher

Death by AbMat Sit-ups (by 2s)

Just like every other “death by” it doesn’t seem bad starting out, because it isn’t, but it sure does get tough. I managed to complete the round of 26 with about 2 seconds left in the minute and then got 25 out of 28 in the next minute. That’s a total of 207 sit-ups.

Sunday Partners

Went in for the 11am this morning. What a beautiful day!

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 1m Bottom Squat Hold
  • 1m Plank

WOD

I was teamed up with Brett and we destroyed (I think) this WOD.

  • 100 Burpees
  • 100mm Prowler (50m high and 50m low)
  • 100 Air Squats
  • 400m Sand Bag Run (40#)
  • 100 HR Push-ups
  • 5 minutes of Plank
  • 100 Wall Ball Passes
  • 150m Farmer’s Carry (45# DBs)
  • 100 Pull-ups
  • 100mm Prowler (50m high and 50m low)

Both partner could be working on rep counts at the same time, so that’s burpees, air squats, push-ups, and pull-ups. We split the prowler pushes in half so we each had equal time at the high and low pushes. The sand bag run and farmer carry were done together. For the planks we each did a minute twice and then each did 30 seconds. Our total time was 27:56. My time for the 50 burpees at the beginning was 2:33, a new low.

Finisher

I had no idea what weights to grab for the farmer’s carry but found out the girls had more than me when I got out there. So after a couple of minutes off I picked up the 60# DBs and did a 130m walk with them, which was a struggle. Next time I have to do a farmer’s carry I’ll know.

Odds and Evens

I was up bright and early (before 6am) to head to Gladwin for a golf scramble. Got back to Saginaw around 6pm, relaxed a bit and then did a garage WOD.

20:00

  • 10 Burpees (odd minutes)
  • 5 DB Front Squats (50# DBs, even minutes)

I loved the 10 burpees every minute for 10 minutes so much I thought I’d reuse that. My sweet spot for 10 burpees seems to be around 24 seconds and 21-22 seconds if I push extra hard. I was experimenting with some stuff to increase my turnover. Seems promising, but I’ll have to keep at it to see. I should have done 7 or 8 reps for front squats, because 5 went by pretty fast. Over the 10 minutes that was 100 burpees and 50 front squats.

I took a 5 minute rest before moving on.

10:00

  • 10 AbMat Sit-ups (odd minutes)
  • 10 HR Push-ups (even minutes)

I planned on doing 20 minutes of that, but the reps were going by too fast and it was too easy. For the next 10 minutes I bumped up the rep counts. No extra rest in between; the 20 minute timer kept running.

10:00

  • 15 AbMat Sit-ups (odd minutes)
  • 15 HR Push-ups (even minutes)

In the last 2 sets push-ups after the 10th rep it was a struggle to get the rest, so it workout out perfectly. Over 20 minutes that was 125 reps of each. I took a minute or 2 of rest and then ran a 7:20 mile around the neighborhood.

Finish with L-Hangs

Feeling good and my back is better each day. Walked another 18 holes of golf this morning. The walking is probably helping too.

Warm-up

  • 30 Air Squats
  • 20 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 30 PVC OHS
  • 10 rounds
    • 100m Run
    • 10 Suitcase Deadlifts (72# KB)

The runs were just a slow jog to loosen up.

WOD

5 rounds

  • 10 Ring Rows
  • 10 Burpees
  • 20 Goblet Lunges (53# KB)

I like this one because I need the ring row work, burpees keep up the intensity, and weighted lunges or good for the legs. I finished in 10:22.

Finisher

7 rounds

  • L-Hang (MAX)
  • 7 V-ups

Surprisingly my abs are sore today from the sit-ups we did yesterday. That rarely happens. I did mostly L-hang in the first round but after that it was a bent knee hang. The hangs sucked and I’m pretty sure I’ll be feeling them the next couple of days.

I stayed after a bit for open gym. Did some DUs and sucked so gave up on them for the day.

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 115#
  • 3 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 1 @ 140#

That’s a new PR, beating my old one by 5#.