Tag: Handstand Walk

Thirties

Now it’s brutally cold after getting all of the snow. Plows came through a few hours before I had to leave for the gym so I was able to get out and go to the 4pm class. My forearms are tight today from holding the handles on the snow blower!

Warm-up

“Roxanne” by The Police

  • On “Roxanne” do an air squat
  • On “Red light” do a burpee

It turned into air squat burpees during two long stretches of the song and you couldn’t keep up.

8:00 AMRAP

  • Duck Walk (30′)
  • 20 Groiners
  • 10 Box Step-ups (24″)

Didn’t really need another warm-up after the first part and surely didn’t need to tax the legs more with plenty to come. Got through 2 rounds, the walk and the groiners.

Strength

I did a set of 6×95# before starting. No reason to get crazy when we were supposed to take the first five minutes to work up and then stick to a weight for the last five minutes.

10:00 EMOM

  • 3 Back Squats
    • 135#
    • 155
    • 175
    • 185
    • 195
    • 5 sets 205

Felt ok and was plenty with so much leg volume coming up. Didn’t wear a belt at all.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 30 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 30 cal Assault Bike
  • 30 Box Jumps (24″)

I’ve been asking for punishment by choosing the bike lately, especially in a leg dominant workout like this. My goal was to keep every set of wall balls unbroken. That’s not something I have ever tried for sets this large during my CrossFit history that I can remember. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad at all. I think I’ve found a relaxing pace on wall balls. I was money on hitting at/above the target today too. First round on the bike was around 62 RPM and the next two were around 58. People on the rowers were obviously kicking my ass. I never stopped on the box jumps and in the third round I jumped down (no rebound) instead of stepping down. Finished in 16:26.

I’m feeling good lately! Is it the weight I’ve lost, the macro counting, the increased water, or some combination?

Gymnastics

Stayed after for some volume and skill work.

6:00 EMOM

  • 10 T2B

I put on my grips and chalked them up. I did five rounds of 10 unbroken and then 7-1-1-1.

10-15:00

  • HS Walk Practice

My shoulders were pretty shot from the wall balls and toes to bars, but I felt really good with my balance and keeping my feet off the wall went I got up to it. Didn’t have much room with the class back squatting to work on many steps in to the wall.

Sandbag It

My hamstrings were getting sore yesterday too. My quads, hammies, and glutes are all still sore today.

Warm-up

  • 2 Rounds
    • 40 Jumping Jacks
    • 10 Deadlifts (45#)
    • 30 Mountain Climbers
    • 16 Elbow Punches
    • 20 Alt. V-ups
    • 10 Back Squats (45#)
  • 7 Hang Muscle Clean (45#)
  • 7 Hang Power Clean (45#)
  • 5 Hang Power Clean
  • 5 Back Racks (45#)
  • E90S
    • 8 Hang Power Cleans + 8 Back Squats (65#)
    • 6 Hang Power Cleans + 6 Back Squats (95#)
    • 4 Hang Power Cleans + 4 Back Squats (125#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (155#)
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans + 3 Back Squats (175#)

Quickly decided I didn’t want to try 155# for the workout.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 1:00 Run around gym
  • 10 Hang Power Cleans (135#)
  • 10 Back Squats (135#)

Since we’re obviously not running outside we did a minute run around in the gym instead of 200 meters. Generally I don’t like when a cardio movement is subbed in as a timed piece, because there is no real incentive (other than improving your running) to run faster because a minute will always take a minute. I’m really good at sandbagging runs. 🙂 I’d rather work on my endurance with the barbell anyway since the Open has never had any type of running.

I did eight hang power cleans, dropped it, did the other two and transferred it to my back for all ten squats. Wore my belt the entire time, so was tightening and loosening it. Got through 6 rounds, the run, and the cleans.

Midline & Skill

5 Sets

  • 6 Evil Wheels
  • HS Walk Practice

Got some good tips from another member. My hands are too wide, probably from being used to wider stance for HSPU. Need to keep practicing with the Open coming up.

Slammin’

Last night I started getting a headache before bed and then felt it when I woke up several times through the night. It was gone this morning. This has started happening as I’ve pushed hard in some workouts.

I’m still excited about how the wall balls felt yesterday. After losing 15 pounds last year, I could feel a huge difference in burpees, but hadn’t really thought about wall balls or maybe just hadn’t done enough large numbers of them. Makes sense though; being 20 pounds lighter per rep really adds up when doing 100+.

Thought I’d be feeling my quads more today, but not too bad so far. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

10:00 AMRAP

  • 1:00 Assault Bike
  • 5 Inch Worms + Down Dog
  • 10 Double DB RDL (20# DBs)
  • 5/5 Single Arm Half Kneeling Strict Press (20#)

Skill

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • HS Walk Practice
  • Assault Bike

Can tell I haven’t practiced in weeks. Need to get back on it before the Open.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 60 Walking Lunges
  • 40 Ball Slams (30#)
  • 20 HSPU

The lunges started to burn in the first round and the ball slams were tougher than I expected. Went 7-7-6 on the handstand push-ups each round. Finished in 15:39.

Gymnastics

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s T2B
  • 10s Rest

Stayed after class for a little extra credit. My goal was to hold sets of eight for as long as I could. I made five rounds, then did a set of five and three singles. Only four singles in round 7, but came back with five singles to close. 57 total toes-to-bars, which ties my best from 2014.

Feeling Squats

Last night I noticed my hamstrings and ankles starting to get tight from the squats, but my back has felt great. Not feeling any worse today.

Warm-up

  • 1:00 Row
  • 5x
    • Inchworm
    • 2 Push-ups
  • 1:00 Row
  • 10/10 Single Arm DB Shoulder Press (30#)
  • 1:00 Row
  • 40 Double Unders

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×75
  • 5×95
  • 2×115
  • 2×135
  • 2×145
  • 2×150
  • 2×155

Was hoping to get 150-155 after doing a 165 single a couple of weeks ago. Barely made the 155 and it was starting to look ugly. Nowhere near what I used to press!

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 250m Row
  • 40 DU
  • 5 DB Thrusters (50#)

Missed 4 or 5 double unders through the workout. The thruster reps were low enough to keep moving. Finished in 9:54.

Skill

The cash-out was actually handstand work, so I did some of my practice walking up in to the wall.

Deal With the Devil

My quads and hamstrings were even more sore yesterday, but it was a rest day anyway. Spent all day working in my basement shop, which wore me out. My back was really tight at the end of the day, probably from a combination of that work and all of the hang cleans on Friday.

12:00 AMRAP

  • 6 Burpee Box Jump Overs (24/20″)
  • 8 OH DB Lunges (Right arm – 50/35#)
  • 12 T2B
  • 8 OH DB Lunges (Left arm – 50/35#)

Was able to do 2×6 for every round of toes to bars and didn’t wear grips. Good combination of movements. Finished 5+2.

Took a good deal of rest to recover.

  • EMOM 20 DU
  • Until 50 Devil Presses (40#)

My goal was sub 10 minutes, but after only 6 in the first round that seemed out of reach. Especially since I was missing a double under in the first few rounds. Finished in 10:34.

Started doing some handstand walk practice, but my back and shoulders were too burnt.

Not an Olympian

Planned to go to class yesterday, but I could still barely straighten my arms and was extremely sore. Doing 10 rounds with 5 muscle-ups each round wouldn’t have been wise. Had a poor night of sleep anyway, so decided a rest day would be smart.

My lats and biceps are still extremely sore today. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row (without straps)
  • 10 Lateral Raises (5#)
  • 10 Front Raises (5#)
  • 10 Rotator Cuff (5#)
  • 10 Strict Press (5#)

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 5x
    • 100m Row (faster than 2k pace)
    • 20s Rest
  • 10 Tempo Dumbbell Bench Press (50#, 2s down, 2s up)
  • 5:00 Rest

I was thinking a 1:40/500m pace going in, but was able to go much faster than that without a problem. My first round was slower, with the first 100 being 19.6 I think. After that I was getting low 19 or in the 18 second range. The bench press was the hardest part. I finished in 31:30.

Skill

More handstand walk practice and feeling better each time. Really starting to push and start out further from the wall. I just need to go for it without the wall there as safety. I’m probably slowing down after a few step as I know the wall is coming up.

Mary

Decided to rest yesterday after driving home. Spent the time on some projects. In for open gym at noon today.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Dead Hang
  • Kip Swings
  • PVC Passes
  • Supported Pistols
  • Step-ups

Conditioning

“Mary” – 20:00 AMRAP

  • 5 HSPU
  • 10 Pistols
  • 15 Pull-ups

I’ve been wanting to try “Mary” for a long time. Going in I thought 10 rounds would be a good score for me.

The handstand push-ups were easy the whole way. Grabbed my foot on almost all of the pistols and probably should have stood up more before putting the other foot down on a lot of reps. Wasted too much time from rep to rep. I started out with a regular kip on my pull-ups and then I think it was the second round when I thought I’d try butterfly which I haven’t done since the Open last year. Felt pretty good. I was able to do 3×5 pull-ups all the way until the very last round when I was trying to finish the round. There were a few third sets where I reverted back to the kip because I felt like I wasn’t getting enough height after 10 butterflies.

Finished just shy of 10 rounds with 9+28! Wore grips, but I got a blood blister under each pinky and the one on the right hand popped right at the end. Hope my shoulders are ok after so many butterfly pull-ups and not doing them for 9 months.

Midline

5 Rounds (holding 5# plates)

  • 10 Hollow Rocks
  • 10 Scissor Toe Touches
  • 10s Superman Hold
  • 45s Rest

Cut the rest back from 1:00, which had taken me 6:57. Nearly the same pace with the shorter rest today, for a time of 5:56.

Skill

I did 15-20 minutes of handstand walk practice up in to the wall again.

Get Negative

Feeling good after the heavy work yesterday. Went to the 9am.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row (no foot straps)
  • 100/100′ Single Arm Overhead Walk (44#)
  • 15 Hand Release Push-ups

Conditioning

2x

  • 1,200m Row
  • Rest while partner goes

The goal was negative 400 meter splits based on a 2k time. I’ve been basing mine off 7:00 (1:45/500m), so today I was supposed to do the first 400 meters @ 1:47/500m, then 1:45, and finally 1:43 for the final 400. The middle chunk of each row was definitely the hardest to keep a steady pace. I was pretty close to my targets and actually averaged just under 1:45 overall for both of my intervals. I did a 4:11.7 and 4:11.4. That second one really sucked.

Strength

  • 10 Bench Press (45#)
  • 5 Bench Press (95#)
  • 5 Bench Press (135#)
  • 2 Bench Press (175#)
  • 2 Bench Press (205#)
  • 5 Sets
    • 2 Bench Press (225#)
    • 10 Ring Rows

The benching wasn’t easy, but I made it, so I guess I picked the right weight. Ring rows are getting easier than they ever have been.

Skill

Worked on my handstand walking for 15-20 minutes again. I’m able to start making some corrections if I stall or start to lose balance. Still did walks up to the wall, but I’m getting a lot more comfortable with them.

Dumbbell Thrusters are the Devil

My neck had been kind of sore after Wednesday’s workout. Today my traps are really sore, probably from all of the pulling with those 50 power cleans. I did get a much better sleep last night. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

Team Rowling to 1,000 meters

I got 100-100-99-100-100. 🙂

Conditioning

10 Rounds

  • 30s Row
  • 30s Rest

I got 166, 161, 160, 160, 159, 156, 155, 155, 155, and 156 meters. The workout summary on the rower added that up to 1,584 for some reason, which is a meter off. Should have been 1,583!

21-15-9-6-3

  • DB Thrusters (40# DBs)
  • T2B

Wasn’t really recovered for this. I decided last night when I saw the workout that I was not going to attempt with the 50s. I went 12-9, 9-6, 9, 6, and 3 on my thrusters and took too much time looking at the dumbbells. The thrusters definitely affected my hip action on the toes to bars, but I was able to get 6-5-5-5, 5-5-5, 5-4, 3-3, and 3. Finished in 7:14, which I’m not very pleased with. Too much resting.

Accessory & Skill

4 Sets

  • 10/10 Kroc Rows (44#)
  • HS Walking Practice

After the 4 rounds I worked for another 10-15 minutes all walking up to the wall. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with it and will probably see what I can do on the open floor on Sunday.

Here is a quick video I took of some of the practice. These weren’t my best attempts, but even these are a huge improvement from what I could do before this week.

Ready for a rest day!

Baby Steps

Took a rest day yesterday, though I should start doing an active recovery day once a week again. Middle of my back, or just below my shoulder blades, especially on the sides of my spine, is was really tight. Not as bad today. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2 Minute Row (28 s/m)
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 10 Air Squats
    • 10 American KBS (35#)

Conditioning

  • Buy In: 3,000m Row
  • 5 Rounds
    • 15 Push Jerks (95#)
    • 15 Sit-ups
    • 15 American KBS (53#)

Started out around 1:51/500m and then slowed closer to 1:55 after about 1,000 meters with a stroke rate around 25-26 most of the way. I got off the rower around 11:20-ish and was feeling good, so I know I didn’t go too hard. When I saw this workout I knew I wasn’t going to try 115# and 70#. I made the right choice with scaling. Still had to break up the last two rounds of push jerks because I couldn’t straighten my arms! I went 8-7 and 9-6 on those rounds. Tried to catch my breath on the sit-ups and did the swings unbroken every round. Going from the swings to the jerks was horrible. Finished in 22:21.

Skill

Worked on finding balance in a handstand hold and some walking again. My shoulders were wrecked, but I figured it would be good practice when fatigued. The band across the rig was feeling good, so I went over to the wall and started taking a few handstand steps into it and was even able to hold in a freestanding for a little bit. Felt like a huge breakthrough today!