Very similar to the 7-5-3-1 work yesterday. Wasn’t feeling 82-83 RPM today though and it ended up being around 80-81. Did 237-239 cals and exactly 2.81 miles both intervals.
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
2 Rounds
200m Run
10 Air Squats
10 PVC Passes
10 Behind the Neck, Snatch Grip Sotts Press (PVC)
Accessory
4 Sets
12/12 Single Leg Hip Thrusts
25 Banded Pull Throughs (green)
Dumbbell Curls – 21s (25#)
Did this instead of OHS because of my back. Still doing the A version of the 21s.
Conditioning
15:00 AMRAP
30 Double Unders
15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
30 Double Unders
15 Pull-Ups
Missed a DU or two in almost every round. Had to go slower than normal on the wall balls due to my back, which I could feel on the jumping and the wall balls. I did 3×5 on every round of pull-ups. Got through 5+30.
Even though I was up late watching the games last night I got up and went in for 9am. Good crowd this morning.
Warm-up
Line Drills
Conditioning
Team of 3
Accumulate 6,000m Row
Rotate every minute. After getting off the rower:
15 Burpees
50 Double Unders
Teamed up with Tom and TJ. I started and averaged about 1:48/500m throughout, feeling good on the rower. I got through my 9th row and Tom finished off the 6,000, but I finished that round of burpees and my double unders at 25:41. I kept a nice steady pace on the burpees, but missed quite a bit on the double unders. Ended up getting 20-25 seconds of rest each round. Our team averaged just over 230 meters per turn.
Reminded me a lot of two workouts we did last year with these movements:
Started feeling some soreness in my hamstrings after sitting at home.
After lunch I did more rowing.
Engine Builder – Anaerobic
10 Rounds
20s Row
1:40 Rest
Didn’t bother to warm-up. My distances were 113-114-112-113-115-114-115-113-115-115 meters. I was under 1:30/500m by the third pull and kept it at about 1:27. My average pace for the workout was 1:27.7, which is also the pace when getting 114 meters. Recovered really well between intervals, so probably should have gone harder.
I guarantee I’m not going to any time soon, but I keep thinking I want to redo 19.5 to put in a better effort. Hopefully I stop thinking about it after today’s workout. I have to remember I got through these last three workouts with a significant injury, which prevented me from attending classes; I haven’t been able to squat at all or press any weight overhead. It will still be close to my best, if not the best, Open percentile ranking in the 8 years I’ve done it.
My quads and traps are incredibly sore today. Probably worse than post-Karen DOMS. Went to open gym at noon.
Warm-up
3:00 Assault Bike (33 cals)
Dead Hang & Stretching
Shoulder Passes
Conditioning
J.T. 21-15-9
HSPU
Ring Dip
Push-up
The first time I tried this hero WOD, we greatly underestimated it and had to scale back to 21-11. Then two summers ago I completed it in 10:06. My goal for today was to go sub nine. The plan was 3×7, 3×5, and 5-4 for both types of push-ups and all triples for the dips. Figured it would come down to the ring dips.
I ended up doing 3 equal sets for all HSPU. Ring dips were 7×3, then 2 sets of 3 and the rest quick singles. For push-ups I struggled through 3×7 and then did triples the rest of the way. Finished in 8:04 for a 2:02 PR!!
108-72-36 Double Unders
36-24-12 Goblet Lunges (53/35#)
12-8-4 Burpee Broad Jumps
Missed two dubs in the first round after 71 in a row and I don’t think I missed in the other sets. I thought the lunges were going to be harder than they were. Took me 8:01.
Accessory
3 Sets
Dumbbell Curls – 21s (25#)
10/10 Single Leg Glute Bridges (squeeze at the top)
30s/30s Single Leg Stand (squeeze glute)
Midline
4 Rounds
10/10 Side V-ups
20 Leg Circles
10/10 Wood Choppers (25#)
20 Plank Jumps
20 Flutter Kicks
Took 10:23, which is 2:17 quicker than about a month ago. Wonder if the plank jumps will fire up my hip flexors like last time.
I planned to do some rowing intervals tonight, but my WHOOP recovery is only 12% and Mom is visiting for the night, so cancel that. Tomorrow will probably be a complete rest day, unless I get back in the green. Either these Open workouts are really blowing me up or the cardio work is more taxing than I’d expect.
This right shoulder may have something going on. It feels like other times I’ve had an issue. I’m really hoping it’s a couple day thing that passes. Like other times I didn’t really do anything in a workout and I started feeling it on Monday when I only did cardio work. Maybe the cumulation of workouts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?
I got a great night of sleep. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but I got one of the WHOOP bands last week and I’m really liking it. Nice to have sleep tracking again and the recovery scores and data really push me to improve these other areas of my life. Before I got out of bed I was thinking I’d wait and row before lunch, but after I got moving I felt like getting it done.
Engine Builder – Max Aerobic Power
18 Rounds
30s Row
30s Rest
Tried to get down to 1:37-1:39/500m by the 5th pull and towards the end I realized I could be using my legs better in those first pulls to get up to speed sooner. My overall average pace was 1:41.6/500m and 1,446 cal/hr, which would be 216 calories. There isn’t a way to go back and see cals for each interval, but I saw that the last one was 12 so the maths work. Meters for each interval were 148-150-148-147-147-148-147-146-145-147-147-147-147-147-147-149-148-149 to total 2,654, for an average of 147.4 and a range of 150-145.
I thought this heart rate graph was interesting in several ways.
I think I’m actually liking the cardio to start the day! Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
5:00 Machine
10 Hang Power Cleans (45#)
10 Front Squats (45#)
10 Hang Squat Cleans (45#)
Weightlifting
2 Hang Power Cleans + 1 Hang Squat Clean
45#
95
135
165
185
205
215
225
Wore my lifters again and put the belt on starting with 185. Tried to drop under the heavier power cleans more instead of getting really wide with my feet like I normally do.
As I was wheeling out the Assault Bike, my back started to lock up and it felt like a tweak. I tried to stretch it and roll on the floor. Seemed good enough to do the workout and if it is a tweak I know it doesn’t gets worse after it’s already happened. I guess my body didn’t like the combination of squat snatches followed by 117 deadlifts yesterday and then the cleans today.
Conditioning
10 Rounds
6 Strict Pull-ups
10 cal Assault Bike
25 Double Unders
All single pull-ups. Obviously. I used a shorter bar than usual, got my arms in to extension and picked my feet off the ground. Did my pull-up, dropped from the top to skip the descent, and then right back on the bar for the next rep. There is no reason to do sets unless you can immediately jump on the bar and bust out every set unbroken.
I started out around 70 RPM, fell in a rhythm around 68, and then realized I could pick up the pace for the last 3 rounds. Am I getting better on the bike or was this just not a taxing workout on the lungs? Probably the latter. My dubs felt great and I never missed. Finished in 15:38.
Accessory
Dumbbell Curls – 21s
7-7-7 @ 25#
7-7-7 @ 20#
7-7-7 @ 20#
Tried a new route by increasing the dumbbells on the first set this session. Interesting that the end of sets two and three didn’t feel like as much of a struggle as it had been using 20s for every set.
I did some foam rolling on my back and will get on the inversion table tonight. Hopefully I wake up fine in the morning and I’m over the hump. Fingers crossed that this isn’t a back tweak and my shoulder feels better too!
Got Taco Bell yesterday for lunch on my rest day to remember a friend and I felt terrible the rest of the day. Got a headache stomach was rolling. It was almost 1,800 calories so I ended up skipping dinner.
With the close of scoring for 19.1, I ended up with a better ranking than any of my 2018 efforts. I always base my rankings on the number of men who have completed the workout, not sign-ups.
Men’s Open Division
18,894 / 178,021 – Top 10.6%
Men’s 35-39
2,854 / 36,083 – Top 7.9%
A group of us went over to CrossFit Bay City to throwdown tonight at 6pm, which is later than I’m used to for a workout.
Same as 16.2, but everyone gets at least eight minutes this year instead of possibly getting cut off after 4 minutes.
Beginning on an 8-minute clock, complete as many reps as possible of:
25 Toes to Bar
50 Double Unders
15 Squat Cleans (135#)
25 Toes to Bar
50 Double Unders
13 Squat Cleans (185#)
If completed before 8 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes to Bar
50 Double Unders
11 Squat Cleans (225#)
If completed before 12 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes to Bar
50 Double Unders
9 Squat Cleans (275#)
If completed before 16 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
25 Toes to Bar
50 Double Unders
7 Squat Cleans (315#)
Stop at 20 minutes.
In 2016 I had about five minutes to work on the 3rd round and I finished the double unders with 6 seconds to spare, so I didn’t even touch 225 pounds. Back then I did 11-8-6 T2B, round two was 5-5-??, and round three was mostly slow singles which killed my chances. I completely blew up. I’ve been doing mostly sets of fives toes to bars in training, which allows me to go deep in workouts, so that was the plan this time. Even if it takes an extra 10-20 seconds in round one I figured I’d get it back in round two and hopefully have some hip flexors left in the tank for round three. My T2B endurance is a lot better now and I’m 10 pounds lighter.
I was a lot more worried about the squat cleans this time because we haven’t been squatting heavy at the gym. Maybe the 135# thruster workouts we’ve done on Sundays will help though. On the bright side hopefully this means we don’t have squat snatches this year. 🙂
In 2016 there wasn’t a 35-39 master’s division yet, but according to the BTWB data for 16.2, finishing the 3rd round of double unders should get a top 10% ranking. I really wanted to hit that 225 pound bar this year.
Felt good starting off with 5×5 T2B and did them in under a minute, which surprised me. I think I missed once on my dubs. The cleans felt ok and I was done with them at 3:25 I think, so about 30 seconds slower than 2016. I was hoping for something near 3:30 so that went according to plan. 5×5 in round two felt good again. My double unders weren’t so great. I think I had just over 2 minutes left for the cleans and finished them 10-15 seconds to spare, which is slower than I wanted. Those cleans wiped me out! My hip flexors were shot and I couldn’t do anything more than single toes to bar in round three. My hips were hurting to just stand! Finished them at 11:01, missed a bunch of double unders, and finished them right as time expired.
So I got 253 again, with a tiebreak six seconds worse. Still didn’t get to touch the 225 pound bar. I did not feel good and quickly got a headache. I had my belt on loose and then tightened it up for the 185. Didn’t wear any grips.
A bit disappointed, but I need to be fitter. Simple as that. My T2B felt great, but those 185 pound squat cleans blew me up. Need to start hitting heavy weights again.
My neck and low back are a little tight from looking up at the wall for 152 reps. My shoulders are a little sore too, but my lower body seems fine so far. I set an alarm to get up for the 9am class since my rest schedule is changed for the Open.
Warm-up
5 Rounds
1:00 Run
3 Strict Pull-ups
5 Push-ups
10 Air Squats
I started to feel my legs more every set of squats.
Strength
Bench Press
10×45#
5×95
5×135
5×165
5×195
5×215
5×230
I hadn’t looked at my logs since the workout went up after getting to the gym, so I couldn’t remember what I’ve been lifting. Nice surprise to smoke the 5×215 I did a month ago. Gains baby! We were on a clock, so maybe working up with fewer sets made a big difference.
Conditioning
6 Rounds
50s Double Unders
10 Push Jerks (115#)
30s Plank
10 Ring Rows
20s Hollow Hold
10s Bent Hollow Hold
This was really an alternating EMOM with 3 stations, but it was easier to record on BTWB like this. I started with a nice set of 75 double unders, but missed a couple of times in most rounds, so was usually getting 65-75 reps in about 45 seconds due to transition time. The push jerks weren’t too bad and the ring rows felt really solid. This workout got a lot sweatier than I was expecting because there really wasn’t any rest with the holds.
I wasn’t excited about moving so early, but it feels good to have a workout done for the day.
My back did seem to loosen up for the rest of the day yesterday. Legs were feeling a little tired from the machines.
Warm-up
Bottom Squat Hold
Dead Hang
Shoulder Stretching
Thruster
5×45#
5×95
3×115
Conditioning
4 Rounds
7 Thrusters (135#)
14 Bar-facing Burpees
My goal was unbroken on the thrusters, keep a good pace on the burpees and not stare at the bar too long. Probably took more rest before each set of thrusters than I should have, but I almost got stuck in the last set, so maybe I wouldn’t have been able to stay unbroken. This had the feel of an Open workout and I’m very happy with a 6:25.
Can we get some heavy thrusters in this year? I’m extremely proud of how I’ve converted bar-facing burpees from a weakness to a strength over the last 11 months. It was always a movement I dreaded and led to some of my lower Open placements.
Was surprised how well I recovered and was able to start the accessory work 10 minutes after.
Accessory
3 Sets
10 Supinated Pendlay Rows (95#)
10/10 Single Leg Deadlifts (95#)
10/10 Half Kneeling Bottoms Up KB Presses (26#)
Single leg deadlifts burn! The kettlebell presses were more stable than I ever remember them. Could have been because I was really warm from the thrusters or maybe not that my shoulders are healthy and I’ve been able to work them pretty hard.
Only 6 floor wipers each round was too few if you ask me. Didn’t think I would be able to hold the hollow for 30 seconds every round, but I was able to suffer through it.
Skill
Worked on my handstand walking again. First I did some holds near the wall, trying not to touch it. I feel like that gets me warmed up and used to the positioning. Then I did some walks up to the wall and finally some on the open floor. I came close to getting five feet a couple of times. Still work to do!
8 Rounds (Tabata)
20s Double under
10s Rest
Had one miss in round four or five. I feel like I’ve gotten slow with my dubs and that was evident when I only got 32 in the first round. After that I worked on speeding it up. Finished with 280 reps, which is a common number for me in this. My best is 286.
I started getting a headache on Monday night and still had a bit of it when I woke up on Tuesday. This seems to be happening now that I’m pushing myself harder in workouts. My body definitely told me it was a rest day yesterday, though I did get exercise clearing snow several times throughout the day.
Today I decided to stay home and do a garage workout instead of being out on the roads. We got a lot of snow.
Warm-up
3 Rounds
200m Ski Erg
10 Good Mornings (45#)
5 Inchworms
Strength
Deadlift (Build to Workout Weight)
10×45#
10×135
6×185
3×225
3×255
Conditioning
5 Rounds
3 Deadlifts (275#)
15 Thrusters (45#)
12 Bar-facing Burpees
Came up with this based on the gym’s programmed workout which is an alternating EMOM of 3 heavy (athlete choice) deadlifts, 20 wall balls, and a 200m run (or 50 seconds of shuttle runs). Figured I’d get rid of the extra resting by making it a straight 5 rounds. No place for wall balls in the garage so empty bar thrusters sounded like a good swap. Obviously not running in the garage and wanted to get in more bar-facing burpees before the Open anyway.
I didn’t wear a belt in the warm-ups or the workout because it would get in the way for the burpees. Had thought about doing 315 when I first saw the gym’s workout, which probably would have been fine in the EMOM, but glad I cut back for this. I was resting too much before picking up the deadlift each time. Thrusters were at a controlled pace each round because the burpees were really jacking my heart rate. Was able to stick to my burpee technique and keep a pretty good pace every round on them. Finished in 11:01.
Accessory
DB Curl 21s
Remembered to stick to 7 reps for each part today. Did two sets with 15s and a set with 20s.
Skill
3:00 AMRAP
Double Unders
Started with 83 unbroken and had one or two other decent sets, but too many misses. Ended up with 253.
Had planned an active recovery day yesterday, but when I woke up I could tell right away it should be a rest day. Even though the pump session on Saturday wasn’t intense it worked some muscles I don’t give much attention. I was due for a rest day because my last one was the 26th. I’ll do active recovery on Saturday this week.
Big ice storm last night, but roads were clear enough to make it to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
Line Drills
High Knees
Butt Kickers
Karaokes
Single Leg Hops Forward
Single Leg Hops Backward
Bunny Hops
Burpee Broad Jumps
20s Work / 20s Rest
Single Unders
Backward Singles
10s/10s Single Leg
Alternating Legs Singles
2 Singles + 1 DU
1 Single + 1 DU
DU
I don’t get how people can practice alternating from singles to doubles. The rhythm is completely different and fucks you up.
Weightlifting
5 High Hang Snatch High Pulls (45#)
5 High Hang Muscle Snatch (45#)
5 Above Knee Muscle Snatch (45#)
5 Above Knee Power Snatch (45#)
5 Below Knee Power Snatch (45#)
Power Snatch (work up to moderate/heavy set of 5)
75#
95
115
135
155
Did those sets of power snatches all touch-n-go. Felt good and would have gone for more if we didn’t have so many snatches coming up.
Conditioning
10:00 AMRAP
2-4-6-8-10… Power Snatch (95#)
20 Double Unders
Went unbroken through 6, then 2×4, 2×5, 3×4, 5-5-4, and 4×4 I think. My thumbs felt ready to fall off. I missed two dubs in a round and only did two rounds unbroken I think. So many misses! Finished the 16 snatches and 17 double unders.
Butt Stuff
3 Sets
20/20 Single Leg Hip Thrusts
1:00 Glute Bridge Hold
Feel the burn!
Gymnastics
8:00 EMOM
5 Bar Muscle-ups
Like some of the other stuff I’ve been doing my goal was to go until I had to break a set and that would be my last one. Well… I was able to stay unbroken and stopped there before my hands tore open. Part of me really wanted to get in two more for that 50 total reps, but I think I made the smart move. Took grips off after 3 or 4 rounds because they were bunching up too much and the straps were pulling on my wrists.
This establishes both 30 reps and 40 reps for time, which were 5:17 and 7:16. Feeling really good about my gymnastics endurance! I still haven’t attempted more than 6 unbroken bar muscle-ups, which I could obviously crush now. Maybe I’ll hit a max set in a week or two.
Midline
At 9pm I got the brilliant idea to do 100 sit-ups and this was barely an hour after I ate dinner. Was able to set a 9 second PR by doing it in 2:30.
Much needed rest day yesterday after nine in-a-row, with two of those being active recovery days. My shoulders were a little sore, but felt fine this morning.
Strength
Bench Press
10×45#
8×95
4×135
4×165
4×185
4×195
4×205
4×215
4×225
Barely made it on the last set. Improvement over the 5x5x215 from last week.
Conditioning
10-8-6-4-2 Thrusters (135#)
50-40-30-20-10 Double Unders
I got this one from Beyond the Whiteboard in the Heavy Fitness Level category. Warmed up with 5×45, 5×95, and 3×115. My goal was to go unbroken, but I had no idea what the thrusters would feel like. I just remember being the EMOM with 3×155 a few weeks ago being nasty. I made it through everything unbroken and probably could have picked the bar sooner after each set of double unders. Finished in 4:57. I’m pumped I was able to do those unbroken.
Midline
2 Rounds
30 V-ups
60 Bicycles
30 Weighted Sit-ups (30# slam ball)
60 Flutter Kicks
30 Leg Raises
60 Mountain Climbers
These higher rep core movements get so bad in the first round. Took about 14 minutes to finish.
Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs 