Tag: Good Morning

Sunday at the Bar

Out in the garage after 11. Can still feel sore quads and for about a week I’ve been feeling something in my left leg which seems to be almost exactly like what I had when I couldn’t do pistols for the better part of a year. Good news is I was able to do them the other day after this had already started. Something to keep an eye on.

Snatch

jay-z-dirt

  • 5×45#
  • 3×75
  • 3×95
  • 2×115
  • 1×135
  • 1×145
  • 1×155
  • 1×165
  • 1×175
  • 1×185
  • 2x1x195

Tried to shut off my brain on the last three. Always a good day when I don’t miss a snatch.

Clean & Jerk

  • 5×45#
  • 3×95
  • 3×135
  • 2×165
  • 1×185
  • 1×205
  • 1×215
  • 1×230
  • 1×245
  • 2x1x260

Jerks felt weak and slow.

Front Squat

  • 3×225#
  • 3×255
  • 3x3x275

Good Morning

  • 3x5x155#

Stiff low back so didn’t increase. Decided to skip any extra work since I took my time today.

That’s a wrap on 3 “weeks” of the OTM program. Week 4 is a deload week, which I’m not sure I need since I’m only doing 2-3 lifting days a week instead of getting all 5 in. I’ll take it though. Will be nice to speed through the lifts and have some more time for abs and accessory work.

Unbroken MU

My shoulders are still a little sore from Saturday, but my upper back is where the real soreness is from that gymnastics work on Sunday evening. Did a 20 minute ROMWOD during lunch today. The biggest issue with going back to work has been the right side of my back gets really tight after sitting for 2 hours. In the last month and a half I’ve noticed the same thing happening during any car rides over 90 minutes. Maybe I “deconditioned” myself out of my back imbalance a bit during the 3 month sabbatical. Anyway I hope things square away soon, because it’s really making the word days drag on when I have to keep taking forced breaks more often than I’d like. Got to the gym around the start of the 4:30 class.

Snatch

  • 5x20kg
  • 3×40
  • 2×50
  • 2×60
  • 1×65
  • 1×70
  • 1×75
  • 1×80
  • 3x1x85

I wasn’t sure how these would go with my back. In the early sets I really tried not to be too aggressive, which I think had a nice carryover to when it got heavier. Those singles at 85% felt really good.

Clean & Jerk

  • 5x20kg
  • 3×60
  • 2×75
  • 2×85
  • 1×91
  • 1×98
  • 1×104
  • 3x1x111

Solid here as well. I didn’t even realize I wasn’t wearing a belt until after the first rep with 111 kilos. Usually I like to put on the belt when I get over 200 pounds. Made a big effort to stay off my phone and keep moving from set to set after loading the bar. Not quite EMOM, should have been close most of the time.

Front Squat

  • 3x118kg
  • 2x3x125

I did put on the belt here, because sometimes my core gives out a little and I start to cave forward. I think I was pretty upright for every rep though.

Good Morning

  • 5x60kg
  • 5×70
  • 5×75

Took just over an hour to finish all of the lifting.

Midline and Gymnastics

Decided to combine abs with some gymnastics today so it didn’t seem like I was wasting so much time. I swear the ab work takes almost as long as the lifting in this program.

5 Sets

  • 10/10 Side Bends (70# KB)
  • 5 Strict Ring Pull-ups

Big focus on keeping a hollow body through each pull-up.

4 Sets

  • 25 Lying Leg Raises
  • 6 Ring Kip Swings

I need get back to doing those swings more often and translate the high feet into my actual muscle-up, because I still do the big knee bend on my forward swing.

Two weeks of Catalyst OTM ✅

Conditioning

5-4-3-2-1

  • Unbroken Muscle-ups

I had the urge to do some muscle-ups, even after fatiguing my pull and swing with the other work. Originally thought of starting with 6 down to 1, but made the right call to do with 5. Finished at exactly 2:00, with having to double or triple kip my final dip. I guess my rests between sets were spot on.

Week 1 of Catalyst OTM

Out in the garage after 5. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation. No knee sleeves again today. This finished up the 5th workout of “week” 1 of the Catalyst program. I quoted “week” there because I’m spacing them out and shooting for 3, sometimes 4 lifting days a week. My body can’t handle 5 days per week and I want to continue with Aerobic Capacity as long as the weather holds up while also getting in 1 or 2 CrossFit classes.

Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 3×95
  • 2×115
  • 2×135
  • 1×145
  • 1×155
  • 1×165
  • 3x1x175

Focusing on a more controlled pull and not pulling higher than needed felt a lot better today.

Clean & Jerk

  • 5×45#
  • 3×115
  • 2×155
  • 1×170
  • 1×185
  • 1×200
  • 1×215
  • 3x1x230

Cleans felt easy. Tried to work on getting my jerk feel back.

Front Squat

  • 3x3x265#

After first rep of first set I wished I had the belt on. Low left side near the spine felt tight. Strapped on the belt for the other two sets and it was like night and day.

Good Morning

  • 3x5x135#

Kept it light due to my back feeling the way it was. Actually wore the belt too for the first time doing good mornings, which I think takes away some of the training effect, but gotta stay safe on days like this.

Skipped abs because of core work yesterday in class and my sinuses were going crazy from cleaning house so I wanted to be done. Will get in a 20 min ROMWOD tonight.

DT Struggles

Legs felt tired last night after the running workout. Felt pretty good this morning though.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 2 Sets
    • 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (10#)
    • 10 Reverse Hypers (140#)
  • 3 Sets
    • 5 Ring Rows
    • 5 Clean Thrusters (45#)
    • 30 Double Unders

Conditioning

“DT” – 5 Rounds

  • 12 Deadlifts (155#)
  • 9 Hang Power Cleans (155#)
  • 6 Push Jerks (155#)

Had been over a year and a half since I did this one. Old PR was 10:35. My plan was to try a new strategy of doing all 12 deadlifts and getting 5 cleans before dropping the bar. Then the final 4 cleans and the jerks. Followed it in the first round and it was way too fast. I think I was done at 1:07. I think the second round I did 11, 1+5, 4+6. Round 3 was the same or maybe 11, 1+4, 3, 2+6. I remember being done at about the 5 minute mark. Then the last 2 rounds were slow with too much rest. In round 4 I even dropped the bar with 2 jerks to go. Ugh! Finished at 10:02 for a 33 second PR.

The worst part for me, by far, are the hang cleans. They get so damn heavy and destroy me. Not so good when the final 2 rounds take just as long as the first 3. 😦

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 8 Pendlay Rows (115#)
  • 8 Good Mornings (115#)

Midline

6 Rounds

  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 20s Rest
  • 20s L-hang (knees up)
  • 20s Rest

Felt the burn. I have to do hangs due to my shoulder; L-sits on the rings don’t feel so good.

These last two weeks have been horrible from a diet perspective. I’ve been getting take-out every meal. Got lazy after Murph and I’ve been busing finishing up a bunch of projects at work before I go on my sabbatical. Had been avoiding the scale, so was scared to step on it this morning, but figured I should before I go on my trip. Was very surprised to see I was still under 204#. Winning! Looking forward to getting back on track when I get home from Washington, D.C. I can tell I’m not feeling as well or recovering as well with all of the junk and who knows what my macros look like.

Be a “Nancy”

Pancakes for PRs!

Worked last week so went with the pancakes again for breakfast topped with almond butter and maple syrup. These Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes are the bomb!

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 2 Sets
    • 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (10#)
    • 10 Wall Squats

Conditioning

“Nancy”
5 Rounds

  • 400m Run
  • 15 OHS (95#)

Exactly 2 years ago, to the day, I did 16:58. At the time I hadn’t done any overhead squats in months when I was coming back from a shoulder impingement. I lost the bar on the 12th rep in the final set too.

Tried to start out fast on the run to buy some time and still push the other runs too. They did slow down though and then I picked it up in the final 200 meters. Didn’t want to have any drops with the bar that was for sure. I went right into a squat snatch on the first rep of every set. OHS felt really good, which I think has a lot to do with all of the shoulder and upper back work I’m doing. If I could improve my cycle time on the squats that’s where I could make up some more time. Wish I had worn my Garmin to be able to know round splits. Final time was 13:35, a PR by 3:23!! Run, run, run, run, run! Another monster running WOD PR.

Strength

E2M – 5 Sets

  • 6 Pendlay Rows (145#, normal grip)
  • 6 Good Mornings (145#)

Gymnastics

  • 4 Tabata Rounds
    • 20s L-hang
    • 10s Rest
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 4 Tabata Rounds
    • 20s HS Hold (facing)
    • 10s Rest

Was on the rings for a L-sit in the first round but it was hurting my shoulder so switched to L-hangs. All done with bent knees up. Cart-wheeled up to the handstand holds since I did them facing the wall. Not much rest other than to quickly shake out the arms, but it kept me feeling fresh.  I felt really solid in the hollow with just my toes on the wall an my nose right up close.

Murph Training Bonus

8 Round Tabata

  • 20s Bottom to Bottom Air Squats
  • 10s Rest

I did 11 reps for the first 6 rounds and took the extra rest, which wasn’t much extra by the 6th time through. Then went faster with 13 and 14 reps in the final 2 rounds. 93 total for a 6 rep PR. I don’t know of anything else that gives this kind of burn in the legs. This little 4 minute grind is starting to grow on me.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap since I had skipped it a couple of times this week already.

Run

With golf tomorrow and feeling good, I ran in the evening with a single goal of going at least 30 minutes and keeping it close to a 10 minute per mile pace. When I finished up, it was 3.26 miles in 32:37, which Runkeper says is exactly a 10:00/mile pace! I never got much slower than that overall either, so maybe I’m starting to get the hang of run pacing for once in my life. Doubt it though.

Will ROMWOD yet tonight.

Sunday Extra

Still seemed a little sore this morning but didn’t feel it by the time I got to the gym and was moving around.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3:00 Jump Rope
  • 3 Sets
    • 5 ATYs (5#)
    • 10/10 Monster Walks (small red band)

Midline

8 Rounds

  • 20s Hollow Hold
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s HS Hold
  • 10s Rest

I expected this to get tough, but it was really no issue. My hands were up really close to the wall and felt like I was barely using the wall for any support.

Strength

Warmed up with 6 reps of each using 45# and then 95#.

5 Sets – Every 2:30

  • 6 Pendlay Rows (135#)
  • 6 Good Mornings (135#)

I was supposed to go with a supinated grip this week but once I got into my warm-up sets I completely forgot. Whoops!

Worked up the hang power cleans with:

  • 3×135#
  • 3×155#
  • 3×175#
  • 3×195#

Conditioning

6 Rounds – E3M

  • 3 Heavy Hang Power Clean (205#)
  • 100m Row Sprint
  • * Rest additional 4:00 b/t sets 3-4

Based off some OPEX stuff again. Wore my belt for these and loosened or threw it off while moving to the rower. In the second set I tried going too fast and didn’t get the bar high enough so had to bail. After that I took an extra second to reset between reps and do the hang closer to my knees instead of such a high hang. Didn’t have intervals set on the rowing monitor, but the rows were taking me about 16-17 seconds.

First day golfing with the guys tomorrow so had to restructure my week. Didn’t want to miss pressing strength so added in a PM session. Did a ROMWOD after lunch.

Warm-up

2 Sets

  • 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (8#)
  • 9 Shoulder Press (45#, 75#)
  • 6/6 OH Weighted Reverse Lunges (45#, 75#)

Strength

E3M – 6 Sets

  • 9 Shoulder Press (95#)
  • 6/6 Overhead Reverse Lunges (95#)

Haven’t felt any discomfort in my wrists with this combo and it’s now been 3 or 4 weeks. Press reps will keep increasing for a few weeks, but should still be ok. Imagine all of this overhead time should help with jerk stability too.

Murph Prep

  • E30S – 10 Sets
    • 8 Air Squats (40# vest)
  • E30S – 10 Sets
    • 4 Push-ups  (40# vest)

Set the clock for continuous intervals, so no extra rest going from the squats to the push-ups. Had no idea how this would go, so was a bit conservative with the rep counts.

That’s All?

My legs are a little more tired than I expected from the snatches. Got to the gym early and did Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Warm-up

2 Sets

  • 5 StrongFit Tricep Openers (10#)
  • 5 Scap Wall Slides
  • 5 Strict Ring Dips
  • 5 Wall Squats

Gymnastics

3 Cycles

  • 1:00 AMRAP – T2B
  • 2:00 Rest

Did 10-10-6-4 for 30 reps in the first cycle and could feel it was going to get really tough. Only managed 22 and 20 reps in the other two rounds.

Strength

Every 2:30 – 5 Sets

  • 10 Good Mornings (95#)
  • 3 Wall Walks

Ended up being about 1:1 work/rest. Everyone else was doing Pendlay Rows, but I just did them yesterday.

Conditioning

  • 4 Sets
    • 20s Row Sprint
    • 2:40 Rest
  • 5:00 Rest (additional to the last 2:40)
  • 4 Sets
    • 20s Row Sprint
    • 2:40 Rest

Looks easy on paper. It’s not. My meters were 130-130-128-127 and then 129-128-127-126. Should have tried a higher damper setting with the short sprints. I think this came from some OPEX templates.

Going out golfing with Dad and will hit some ROMWOD tonight.

Aerobic Sunday

Body feels good today. Little sore here and there. The ROMWODs are definitely hitting and opening up areas that have been tight for ages. I did a short little 10 minute shoulder video this morning before getting ready for the gym.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 3 Sets
    • 5 ATYs (5#)
    • 30s Plank (with forward lean)
    • 10 PVC Pass-thrus (sticking point)
    • 10 Supermans (holding PVC)

Gymnastics

5 Cycles

  • 3×5 T2B
  • 1:00 Rest

One more cycle than last week. Last week didn’t seem bad, but I couldn’t make it this week with the extra cycle. Had to split my final set of 5 into 3-2.

Strength

E3M – 5 Sets

  • 10 Pendlay Rows (supinated, 95#)
  • 10 Good Mornings (95#)

Good weight for the sets of 10s. I worked up a nice little sweat.

Conditioning

30:00 Aerobic Circuit

  • 200m Run
  • 100m KB Front Rack Carry (2 different weights)
  • 100m Farmer’s Carry (same KBs)
  • 1:30 Row or Air Dyne

Perfect day to be outside for this and just move without having to worry about the pace. I made a mistake and picked up 2×35# the first round since they were different styles. Used 26+35 the next round and then 35+44 for the rest. Made it through 5 full rounds, plus a run and the carries. Really enjoyed that one, but the front rack carry was much harder than I expected.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap and heading to King Par to try out some new irons! Will do a 20 minute ROMWOD tonight.

I’m Broken

Holy Fuck! My lower body doesn’t work today and my left hip feels like it constantly needs to pop. I forgot what it feels like to take a week away from the weights. Didn’t even think yesterday was that bad. Boy, was I wrong! Needless to say I didn’t feel like leaving the house and having anyone see how I’m walking. :-O Out in the garage around 1:30 again.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Air Dyne (1.53 miles)
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Shoulder Press
    • 5×45#
    • 5×75#

Strength

E3M – 5 Sets

  • 10 Shoulder Press (95#)
  • 10 Good Mornings (95#)

Will my upper body be wrecked tomorrow from the same 5×10 that I used for squats yesterday? I was going to do some EMOM split jerks next, but thought better of it. Didn’t feel like moving the car out of the garage and not a smart idea to use the blocks so close to the ride.

Gymnastics

16:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 35s Handstand Hold (facing wall)
  • 25s False Grip Hang (fat bar, holding Fat Gripz, feet on ground)

Conditioning

21-15-9

  • GHD Sit-up
  • Goblet Squat (30# MB)

Quick one, done in 3:37. The squats were at a controlled pace with how I’m feeling. Sit-ups were starting to slow down so that was the right amount for today. Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Plyo.

Starts with a G, ends with an E

Nasty storm rolling through and everything is shut down. They didn’t even send kids to school this morning and the snow didn’t start until after 10am. Out in the garage. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Accessory

6 Sets

  • 5/5 Bulgarian Split Squats (25, 35, 45, 3×50)
  • 5 Good Mornings (45, 95, 115, 3×135)

Nothing crazy with the Open starting this week. Don’t need any more injuries. Warmed up clean & jerks with 5×45#, 5×95, and 3×1153

Conditioning

I started the clock and started everything at set times. At 0:00…

“Grace”

  • 30 C&J (135#)

My last Grace was a 2:17 done by going 10 unbroken and then all singles. After that I thought of a new strategy I haven’t seen anyone try. Everyone always goes for a huge unbroken set and then singles. But If you go with some smaller sets for longer you can eliminate a bunch of bar drops. I was hoping to get 4 sets of 5 but after 2 reps in the 4th set it was time to go with singles. Those first 17 reps were done in exactly 1:00. Ended up with 2:04 for a 13 second PR so I guess my strategy worked!

…at 10:00…

  • 20-16-12 Ski Erg cals
  • 10-8-6 Burpee Box Jumps (33″)

This was much worse than I expected. When I got into the second round I had no gas. It was taking me 2 pulls per calorie. 😦 Finished in 6:45.

…at 20:00…

  • 2:00 DU

Thought about skipping this after the previous part took so long. Fatigued practice is good though. Was pretty good in the first minute with 2 sets totaling 96. Hit a wall then and was missing a lot more. 164 total reps.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Recovery.