Failure to Fail

Up a little earlier than normal so I could get in some work before the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 2,000m Row – 8:13
  • 2×10 Reverse Hyper (210#)

Gymnastics

E45S

  • 2 Bar MU

I set the clock for 20 rounds and planned to go until failure, but never failed, so I did a 21st round when the clock ran out. It was about time for class to start anyway.

After that initial set in the video, I concentrated more on keeping my feet together and I’m constantly battling to trying to fight to keep the system tight.

I did some zombie kicks during warm-up of class and then deadlifts with 155-245-315 each for sets of 4. Mixed in a couple of box jumps too.

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4 Deadlift (365#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Power Step Box Jump (2s-40.5″, 1s-44″)

I hesitated on a few jumps, which is stupid at those heights. Afraid of this damn quad!

Midline

I was behind everyone else coming from the XWOD so only did one weighted plank with 45# for 2:00 instead of the programmed stuff.

Conditioning

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Pull-ups
  • 8 American KBS (62#)
  • 16 Step-ups (24″)

All unbroken. Pull-ups were rough on the hands after all of the muscle-ups, but held on and no rips. Step-ups were a little rough on the quad, but I still tried to evenly distribute the reps between the legs. Did 5 full rounds plus 8 pull-ups and 6 swings. Tried to minimize my kip on the pull-ups and keep the system tight. Can always be better.

Dead is Right

Went to the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 2×10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
  • Speed Toe Touches
  • Hip Circles
  • 5 Inch Worms

Strength

Deadlift

  • 5×155#
  • 5×265#
  • 3×315#
  • 3×355#
  • 1×385#
  • 1×425#
  • 1×455#
  • 5x1x425#

I actually pussed out on my first pull at 455#. Wow, last week I pulled 465# for a triple. Could definitely feel fatigue in the back from all of the heavy deadlifts yesterday. Took a few seconds to gather my head and made 455, then lowered the weight to get in reps. Nowhere near the prescribed 95%, but I’m ok with that. I’m sure I’ll be feeling these lifts tomorrow because even the 425s were no piece of cake.

Conditioning

  • Buy-in: 40 Sit-ups
  • 5 Rounds
    • 8 Thrusters (95#)
    • 16 American KBS (53#)
  • Cash-out: 40 Sit-ups

“Go unbroken. Go unbroken.” That’s what I kept telling myself even if I took a few extra breaths between movements. Finished in 9:34 and pushed the pace more in the last round. My sit-ups are so slow though. 😦

I was going to do a garage workout in the evening, but wasn’t feeling well. Body needed a rest I guess.

This was the 1,000th post on this blog!

Repping Singles

Got to the gym early to put in some extra work.

Row

  • 2,000m @ 1:55 pace

Half way through I wanted to cut back to 1:57, so I know it was a good pace to have. Held on and was just under with a time of 7:39.8.

Gymnastics

I took this slomo before getting started.

E15S until fail

  • 1 MU

Got through 23, or 5:45, before missing. Amazing how hard they get just doing singles. Back in August I got 21 at 5# lighter bodyweight.

I was going to do some C&J EMOM work, but Kevin told me he’d do a partner workout with me if I created it, so I threw them in the metcon instead. We worked on goats for 20-30 minutes.

HSPU

  • 3 @ 2.5″ Deficit (Strict)
  • 2×3 @ 3.5″ Deficit (Strict)
  • 2×3 @ 4.5″ Deficit (Strict)

Conditioning

20:00 Partner AMRAP

  • 20 C&J (135#)
  • 30 Burpees
  • 40 T2B
  • 50 Russian KBS (62#)

Kevin used 95#. We split the clean & jerks, burpees, and toes to bars up into sets of 5 each for the first two rounds and the kettlebell swings into 15-10 each. I did my sets of 5 unbroken in the first round and my first set in the 2nd round, then quick singles. He hit the wall in the 3rd round during C&J so I started doing more than half the reps and some bigger sets of burpees and T2B, then I did 30 swings before letting him finish out. We had 1 swing left when time ran out.

Cool Down

  • 10:00 Row

Nice and easy with a pace around 2:18-2:19. Went 2,157 meters.

In the month of January I went almost 145 kilometers or about 90 miles.

  • Air Dyne – 88,200m
  • Row – 38,377m
  • Ski – 18,214m

Rough Morning, Solid Night

Got plenty of sleep, but had a hard time getting out of bed. Made it for 9am though.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Arm stretching
  • Band pass-thrus
  • 2 Rounds
    • 20 Mountain Climbers
    • 20 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 6×45#
  • 6×95#
  • 6×115#
  • 6×125#
  • 6×130#
  • 6×135#
  • 6×140#
  • 6×145#

Meh. Would have liked to get 150 or 155.

Midline

4 Sets

  • 5 Evil Wheels
  • 10/10 Side Bends (62# KB)

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 50 Burpees
  • 50 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 50 American KBS (53#)
  • 50 Air Squats

Settled into a pace of 15-16 burpees per minute, which got me finished around 3:15. Did my wall balls in sets of 10. Too much rest between the sets. Moved on to the swings around 6:10. Did two sets of 15 and two sets of 10. Then the air squats unbroken but slow. Had about a minute left and managed 15 burpees for 215 total reps. Not sure why, but I did not feel very good after this one; I didn’t even push hard. Maybe it’s a nutrition thing or having a hard time waking up was a sign.

Break at night to get in some work in the garage. Warmed up with an easy 5:00 on the Air Dyne for 2.63km.

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×185#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×255#
  • 3×275#
  • 3×295#
  • 3×315#
  • 3×330#
  • 3×340# (PR)

After 100 squats this morning I was unsure how I’d feel tonight. Wasn’t feeling very good as I worked up and even at 315#. Knew I had to change my attitude after that and just attack each rep. Could definitely feel my quad, though it obviously didn’t hold me back. Hopefully I can walk tomorrow.

Accessory

5 Rounds

  • 30s OH Holds (15# Training bar w/ 15# plates on bands)
  • 30s Rest
  • 30s Hollow Rocks
  • 30s Rest

Big difference from using the earthquake bar, but not a bad substitution. Still get some movement out of the bar and weight. Was able to go non-stop through each set of hollow rocks, which I wasn’t expecting.

Damn Quad

My quad is very angry after the squats yesterday. Played in a cornhole tournament last night, but I doubt that has anything to do with it.

cornhole-courts

Warm-up

  • 1,000m Row – 3:59
  • Stretching

Gymnastics

4 Sets

  • Max T2B
  • 1:00 Rest

I did 25-13-11-10, which is a new max set PR and better than the 22-12-12-10 I did last time.

Conditioning

A fun MAP training session today.

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 150m Row
  • 10 HR Push-ups
  • 10 Russian KBS (53#)

Did 6 rounds plus 140 meters. The push-ups started to get slower each round.

3:00 Rest

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 5 Burpees
  • 7 Box Jump, step down (24″)
  • 9 Deadlifts (135#)

I thought I was going to cry after the first box jump it hurt my quad so much. It seemed to loosen up or I was favoring the other leg a ton after a few reps. Completed 6 rounds plus the burpees and box jumps.

3:00 Rest

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 30 DU
  • 5 Strict Ring Dips
  • 10 Plate Russian Twists (35#)

Felt the quad a bit when I started double unders, but turned out fine. Finished 7 rounds plus 12 dubs.

I really wanted to OHS but I couldn’t do an air squat without wincing and transferring most of my weight to my left leg.

Skill

3 Sets

  • 40 Shoulder Taps

Deceptive

Tired this morning after going to see American Sniper last night and getting to bed really late. Needless to say, wasn’t going to make it for the 9am class, so I hit this in the garage around noon.

Air Dyne (AD2)

  • 12 minutes @ 95% of 10:00 pace (76 rpm)

On the edge of being uncomfortable. Racked up 7.3km.

Strength

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 4x5x135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×205#

When I got to 135# I set the clock and did the last 6 sets E2M. Deloading squats for a week after the Super Squats. Didn’t wear a belt or lifting shoes either for some variance.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 30 DU
  • 3 Strict Ring Dips
  • 6 GHD Sit-ups

Nice combination. Missed way too many dubs. Got through 8 full rounds plus 18 double unders.

3:00 Rest

10:00 AMRAP @ 80%

  • 5 Burpees
  • 10 Russian KBS (53#)
  • 1 Wall Walk
  • 30s HS Hold (Wall facing)

I was sweating bullets by the end of this one. Didn’t expect that, but the handstand holds were pretty rough. I had my hands in closer than usual due to the mat I was using. Finished 5 rounds plus 5 burpees, 10 swings, the wall walk, and 24 seconds of a hold.

Then I hit the bacon truck for some fuel. 🙂

IMG_5586

Happy 2015!

I was wiped out all day yesterday and in bed by 10. Slept for 9.5 hours! Little sore today, but otherwise feeling good. Happy not to have a hangover from New Year’s Eve. 🙂 Opened up the gym at 4pm and got there early to jump on the rower.

3,500m Row

Held around a 2:05 pace and finished in 14:28.

Did some bottom squat holding and light stretching.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 10 Walking Lunges (5 out, 5 back)

Went 95-125-155-175-205# and held the bar in the front rack. Pretty heavy at the end!

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row
  • 1:00 Jump Rope
  • 1:00 Step-ups (18″)
  • 1:00 Shuttle Jogs
  • 1:00 Russian KBS (35#)
  • 1:00 Rest

Just something easy with it being a holiday and kicking off the new year. Low intensity and low impact on everything.

2015-new-year

I did some extra work afterwards.

4 Sets

  • 20 MU Pulldowns (red band)
  • 15 Weighted Back Extensions (15-15-33-33#)

Time to go to a harder band next time.

Figured why the hell not do another row…

3,000m Row

Pace was in between 2:05 and 2:10 for this one. Took me 12:41.

I did some foam rolling on my low back after.

I Missed Sundays

Wasn’t going to miss a 3rd Sunday in a row. Had to head up north for our family Xmas since my brother flew home early to save money. Made it a one day trip, going up and back.

Warm-up

  • CSA Activation
  • 3×10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
  • Shoulder stretching
  • 45# OHS, OH warm-up

Strength

5 Sets

  • 10 OHS (95#)
  • 10 Back Rack Lunges (95#)
  • Rest 2:00

Nothing crazy, but some quality work. Warmed up C&J with some reps at 95# and 135#.

Conditioning

24:00 EMOM (6 Rounds)

  • 1st: 2 Cleans + 2 Front Squats + 2 Jerks (165#)
  • 2nd: 10 C2B Pull-ups
  • 3rd: 150m Row
  • 4th: 20 Push-ups

The barbell work was the easiest part, push-ups always end up socking for me, but the row was the most deceiving. Rested about 15 minutes before moving on.

5 Rounds

  • 40 Double Unders
  • 30 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 20 American KBS (53#)

Missed once on dubs in the 4th round after 28. I nearly took a header into the box on my first rep. Did box jumps in the first round, but nearly all step-ups the rest of the way. I think I did the swings in 12-8 for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds with 20 unbroken in the first and last. Took me 15:57 to finish.

Needed that after not doing much for the last week. Hadn’t touched a weight since the competition last Saturday. Shoulders got a lot of work.

Cases of Kill Cliff

18 Long Months

drink-coffee-work-outEarly to bed again. Just so tired with the time difference here. Went to the 8:30am class at CrossFit Intersect again.

Warm-up

5 Rounds

  • 1:00 DU
  • 1:00 7-10 T2B

I was doing 3 sets of 20 double unders every minute, unless I missed twice in a set, which only happened once. So I totaled 289 dubs. I did 10 unbroken toes to bars every round.

Strength

Strict Press

As a guide they suggested 5-5-3-3-3-2-2-1RM.

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×125#
  • 3×135#
  • 2×150#
  • 2×160#
  • 1×170# (PR)
  • 1×175# (PR)

Finally! After a year and a half I get a 10# PR. So happy!!

Conditioning

5 – 1:00 Rounds

  • 150m Row
  • Max Burpees

I’m not sure if we were supposed to keep a cumulative count of the rowing meters or get 150m every round. I did the latter and ended up with 816m on my erg. Didn’t bother strapping in after the initial round since it would waste too much time for such a short distance. Did 36 burpees.

5:00 Rest

5 – 1:00 Rounds

  • 100m Run
  • Max American KBS (53#)

Had to deal with a little traffic a few times. Managed 56 swings.

Really fun workout from top to bottom. The metcons were really interesting because they were working a lot different muscles and you could still push on each piece.

In the afternoon I knocked out a max set of push-ups while sitting around. Got 54 which is a 2 rep PR. Talk about an arm pump after that! Did another set of 40 maybe 20 minutes later.

Don’t Cherry Pick

Kind of wanted to skip the workout today because I hate the long ones. I hate cherry pickers more though, so don’t want to be one. Went to the 4:30 class. We did a dynamic warm-up for a few minutes.

Gymnastics

6 Rounds NFT

  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups (20#)
  • 3 Strict Ring Dips (3s pause)

I didn’t get my chest to the bar every time.

30:00 AMRAP (Partner)

  • 20 Air Squats
  • 20 Burpees
  • 20 American KBS (53#)
  • 20 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 20 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

I partnered up with Jared. We simply alternated movements through the first 4 rounds. Then the rest of the way one person did all 20 air squats and we evenly split up the other movements 10/10. We finished 8 full rounds plus 20 air squats, 20 burpees, and 13 kettlebell swings. Grinder!

Midline

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s Plank Push-ups
  • 10s Rest

Damn! Felt like I was working shoulders more than core.

Weightlifting

Did the jerk footwork drill a bunch as I was cooling down from the workout.

Jerks

  • 5x20kg
  • 3x40kg
  • 3x50kg
  • 3x60kg
  • 3x70kg
  • 3x80kg
  • 3x85kg

Starting to get a feel for a better back leg position and dropping under the bar instead of pushing it up so high.