Thursday Before Regionals Road Trip

Legs are still feeling those back squats from Tuesday. In at 10am with Brad and Kevin for a quick workout. May hit up a box in Columbus later today.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row
  • PVC pass-thrus
  • Stretching

Strength

12:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 8 Ring Dips
  • Evens: 8 Ring Rows

Bench Press (Close Grip)

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5×5 @ 185#

This felt so much better for me than my benching has been lately. Kind of surprising considering the ring dips and rows we had just done before it.

WOD

  • 50 American KBS (53#)
  • 30 Burpees
  • 50 Goblet Squats (53#)

Nice little burner. Finished in 5:56, going unbroken in the KBS and burpees, then breaking up the goblet squats quite a bit due to quads burning up.

Now off to Columbus for the weekend to watch the beasts of the Central East.

Snatch Some More

Definitely feeling those high volume squats from yesterday! In at 10:30am today with a big focus on the snatch.

Warm-up

  • 3m Jump Rope
  • PVC Pass-thrus

Olympic Lifting

  • High Hang Snatch
  • Hang Snatch
  • Snatch

All squat snatches. Started at 75# and added 10# each set, finishing with 125#. Took about 2-3 minutes between sets.

5:00 EMOM

  • 2 Snatches (125#)

I missed the first one in the 2nd set, but they were feeling pretty good other that. Rested about 5 minutes and then weight for more weight.

6:00 EMOM + 1 more

  • 1 Snatch

I did 2 sets with 135#, 1 with 145#, and then 1 with 155#, which matches my PR. Things were feeling good, so I went for 165# on what I was planning to be my last set (originally wanted to do 5:00). Missed it, but felt I could get it, so tried again and missed.

Took about a 2 minute break because I know I could get it and figured a little extra rest would help. Tried to focus on being explosive and caught it overhead. Rode it down, just shy of parallel, and was able to come up with it. So doesn’t count as a full squat snatch, but I was literally like an inch away. I’ll take it though. First snatch PR since November, although my technique hasn’t been feeling good enough to try until today.

WOD

3 Rounds

  • 250m Row
  • 10 Box Jumps (32″)
  • 10 KBS (53# KB)

I’m not sure if my time was 5:43 or 6:43, because I started on a minute with a clock already running for other people and wasn’t paying enough attention when I finished. I think it was 6:43 because I finished the first round just under 2:00.

Max Test Week

Since the 6 week squat program ended last week, it’s a good week to do some max effort lifts. In at 10am with a bigger group of folks than we’ve had lately.

Warm-up

  • 400m Run
  • PVC Pass-thrus
  • Hip flexor stretch

Strength

Back Squats

  • 5 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 3 @ 225#
  • 2 @ 275#
  • 1 @ 300#
  • 1 @ 320# (PR)
  • 1 @ 315# (we messed up, thinking it was 325#)
  • 1 @ 325# (PR)

That’s a 10# PR. I’ll take it. My ability to do more volume has really increased with the program too.

Weighted Pull-ups

5×3 E2M – I used 25#, 30#, 35#, 44#, and 49#.

OLY

I did 6 sets of 2 snatch deadlifts, using 185# with wrist straps. I really wanted to work on rising with my hips and back at the same time instead of my hips first like I tend to do in my Olympic lifts.

WOD

3 Rounds (Road Circuit, so keep a low heart rate)

  • 1m Russian KBS (35# KB)
  • 1m Jump Rope
  • 1m Box Jumps, Step down (14″)
  • 1m Air Dyne
  • 1m Hang Clean & Press (25# DBs)
  • 1m Ball Slams (15#)
  • 1m Rest

Was supposed to be 5 rounds, but I was there long enough and suggested we cut it short.

On Short Rest

In at 10am on short rest after doing 8pm last night. Trained with Kevin and Monica.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row
  • PVC Pass-thrus

This has become my go-to warm-up when doing our own programming. Need to start switching it up some.

Strength

10:00 EMOM

  • Evens: 5 Weighted Dips
  • Odds: 5 Weighted Pull-ups

I went 20-25-25-30-35 on dips and 20-20-20-20-25 on pull-ups. The pull-ups were a real struggle today.

10:00 E2M

  • 4 Clean High Pulls
  • 6 Pendlay Rows

I stuck with 135# throughout and tried to work on some technique during the high pulls.

OLY

10:00 EMOM

  • High Hang Squat Clean
  • Hang Squat Clean
  • Squat Clean
  • Split Jerk

This was pretty brutal doing the 4 reps every minute. Not much rest time. I used 135# for the first set, then 145# for 4 sets, 155# for 3 sets, and finished with 2 sets at 165#.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 8 HSPU
  • 12 American KBS (53#)
  • 400m Run

Went unbroken on everything, but my running kind of sucked after the 2nd round. Finished in 12:01.

Planning to take a rest day tomorrow and go golfing as long as the weather is nice.

Heating Up

In at 10am to train with Brad, Cora, Matt, Kevin, and Kinde.

Warm-up

  • 400m Run
  • PVC Pass-thrus

Strength

Back and forth between the two movements. I didn’t quite do it EMOM style, but was pretty close to every minute.

Bench Press

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 8 @ 95#
  • 8 @ 135#
  • 4×8 @ 155#
  • 8 @ 160#

Tried to focus on keeping my right elbow in, but was still having some issues with it. Wonder if I’ve developed some typo of mobility issue. Will have to check if there is anything in Becoming a Supple Leopard about it.

Pendlay Row

  • 8 @ 115#
  • 8 @ 125#
  • 8 @ 135#
  • 8 @ 140#
  • 8 @ 145#

Doing sets of 8 got pretty heavy.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 15 HR Push-ups
  • 15 American KBS (53#)
  • 15 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • 15 Box Jumps (24″)

Finished in 14:21, but was able to keep a pretty steady pace through this one. Push-ups slowed me down after round 2, but I was able to do all of my wall balls and KBS unbroken. The increased heat and humidity is something we’re not used to though.

Finisher

Did 5 sets of 50m high walk and 50m low walk with a 90# prowler and 90# of bumpers on it.

Running in the Snow

2013-out-for-bloodThis morning I was up early and drove over to Mount Pleasant. It was supposed to be for the Out for Blood Duathlon, but due to rain, slow, and sleet they had to cancel the bike portion of the race. Much of the running and biking courses were flooded and many other parts were covered in snow and slush, making it very dangerous to be racing on bikes.

I’ve competed in this race the last two years (winning my age group for the mountain bike division both years) and the weather has always sucked, but this year was the worst. They had to rush to come up with the alternate course, but thy could have easily had someone shovel off the snowy areas of the 5k course. They also didn’t correctly map out a course because it ended up only being about 2.65 miles instead of 3.1 for a real 5k. Oh well, nobody was setting any time records with the condition of the paths and the slick wooden bridges. I finished in about 21:11 after starting out way too fast. I placed 3rd in the 26-35 year-old group for today’s run. At least I can still be competitive as the old man. 🙂

Went in to the gym at 4pm with Matt, Cora, and Kevin to do some training.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 4 Power Snatch (115#)
  • Evens: 12 Pull-ups

Got 12 unbroken butterfly pull-ups each round! I’m really finding the groove with the butterfly.

3 Rounds

  • 15 American KBS (53# KB)
  • 15 Burpees
  • 50 DU

I did the first round of DU unbroken, but started hitting the wall after that. Finished in 7:34.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 30s Handstand Hold
  • Evens: 12 T2B

I made a discovery of how to cycle my T2B a little faster. Being able to do 5×12 unbroken is a huge improvement for me.

10 Rounds

  • 15s AirDyne max effort sprint
  • 1:45 Rest

This is the worst thing I’ve done in a year and a half of CrossFit. I thought I was going to puke from the 3rd round on. We even went 20s on the last round just for fun and I could barely move in those extra 5 seconds. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that I pretty much had to crawl off of the AD after each round. Kevin and I used the same AD and we totaled 269 calories.

After that high effort, I figured it would be a good idea to get some easy rowing in. Did 6 minutes at an easy pace for just over 1,200m I think

2013 CrossFit Games Open Workout 13.5

Yesterday my body was absolutely wrecked after training for a total of about 6 hours Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I took the day off and even took an hour nap around 4pm. After 13.5 was announced last night I figured I’d give it a go today as long as I didn’t feel like shit. At 4 minutes, how bad can it be? So I went in around 4:30 to warm-up and hit it at 5pm.

Warm-up

  • 750m Row
  • 10/10 Leg Swings (F-B, S-S)
  • Light thrusters

Open Workout 13.5

4:00 AMRAP

  • 15 Thrusters (100#)
  • 15 C2B Pull-ups

* If 90 reps (3 rounds) are completed in under 4 minutes, time extends to 8 minutes.
* If 180 reps (6 rounds) are completed in under 8 minutes, time extends to 12 minutes.
* If 270 reps (9 rounds) are completed in under 12 minutes, time extends to 16 minutes.
* Etc.

After getting 82 reps Monday on the 12.5 Fran ladder with 95#, I figured 60 was a realistic number to shoot for in this 4 minute WOD. With all sets being 15 reps there is a lot less transition time so pacing should overall be faster.

I planned to do 8-7 or 9-6 on the first 15 thrusters but felt good, so went unbroken. I stuck with my plan to go 5-5-5 on the first round of C2B and it worked well, keeping me away from the point of failure. I think my first round was done in around 1:20. In round number 2 I planned to go 5-5-5 on the thrusters, but again felt good so went 9-6. I didn’t have a plan for the C2B because I knew I’d be feeling the burn at this point. I did 5-4-3-3. I hit my goal! Then back to thrusters to go 5-6 and that last rep was a struggle. I don’t think I could have done a 7th if I had time left, so I think I attacked it pretty well. 71 reps in total, 11 more than my goal!

When I hit that point of muscle failure I’m pretty much dead from there on out, so I’m not sure trying to stretch out my sets would have helped me at all. Probably would have caused me to be hitting singles in that second round of C2B and wasting a lot of time dropping off and jumping back on the bar. I’m thinking I won’t hit this one again, but may give it a go on Sunday just for fun and try to push closer to failure to see what happens since it’s only 4 minutes.

The did some work with Kevin…

Warmed up bench press with 10 @ 45#, 5 @ 135#, and 5 @ 165#.

Strength

10:00 EMOM

  • Odd minutes: 5 Bench Press (165#)
  • Even minutes: 5 Weighted Pull-ups (15# DB)

I was a little fatigued from the WOD, so went easy on the weights to make sure I could get all of the reps in.

Conditioning

5 Rounds each

  • 20 cal Air Dyne
  • DUs until partner completes their 20 cal

Boy that Air Dyne is a bitch.

Finisher

10-8-6-4-2

  • HR Push-ups
  • Pistols
  • American KBS (71# KB)

Went unbroken on everything and finished in 4:06. Nice little WOD and some more good conditioning.

A Fresh Look On Monday

Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you are insulting yourself.

Bill Gates

As time has gone by, I’m feeling better about my performance in 13.1. I looked back at my placing after 12.1 and 12.2, compared to 13.1. I’m ranked higher in the world and there are twice as many registrations. I’d say that’s a win. I’ll know more about exact placement and percentile Tuesday night after score validation closes.

My disappointment in not getting a score of at least 150 is nearly gone. I know there will be workouts that play more into my strengths and I can make up ground. I gave 13.1 my best shot and honestly don’t know where I could have gone any faster to pick up the 45 seconds I would have needed to get the final 8 burpees.

It’s a new week and back to training until the next workout is announced. My body feels good, just a little sore in the upper back. I went in for 9am and there sit Gayle and Adam, just having got done with Saturday’s WOD. They’re starting some 2-a-days, so I did that same workout on my own.

Warm-up

  • 750m Row at 20s/m

I kept right around a 2:15/500m pace.

WOD #1

2 Rounds

  • 400m Run
  • 25 HSPU
  • 400m Run
  • 30 Pistols (alternating)

I finished in 17:10. HSPU were broken down into 10-5-4-3-3 and 5-5-5-4-3-3 I think. I’ve improved my strength for them so much in the last 2 months. My second round of pistols was a lot faster than my first round and felt good. Out of there in well under an hour and home to rest for later.

This wasn’t really too bad because I had quite a bit of rest during HSPU while breaking them up. Solid strength work though with cardio in the mix.

I jumped on the scale after the WOD and was 189 with shoes and clothes on. I ate really bad yesterday as my cheat day after the workout. Usually those kind of days put me up 2-3 pounds on the scale, so I’d say I hit my first goal of leaning out and getting down to around 185 for the Open.

Back at 4:15 for round 2!

Warm-up

  • 600m Run
  • 3 Rounds:
    • 5 Pull-ups
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 15 Air Squats

I did strict pull-ups to work on strength and chest-to-deck push-ups.

WOD #2

5 Rounds (Similar to the “Chief” WOD)

  • 3:00 AMRAP
    • 3 Ring Dips
    • 6 Plyo Lunges
    • 9 American KBS (53#)
  • 1m Rest

* Start each 3:00 round where you left off.

Instead of only doing straight up ring dips, I put the rings up at about eye level, got down with my legs bent under me and on my toes, looking up at the rings. Took a false grip and worked on the MU transition by doing a jumping/strict MU type move from there. Once I got up above the rings I did my 3 dips each time. Now that I’m thinking about it I should have put the rings higher and just done jumping MU or even tried doing a kipping MU each time.

This was a solid WOD and those KBS really started to hurt in the last two 3 minute rounds. I finished with a score of 18+3. To make this a little better, I think I would swap the rep counts for the lunges and the KBS.

Those were two solid WODs today, but not the kind that knock you out for 2 days.

Killed by Tempo Deadlifts

It was nice to skip a day from WODs yesterday and taking a longer rest today as well. Went in for the 5:15pm.

Warm-up

  • 3 min Jump Rope
  • 2 Rounds
    • 3/3 World’s Greatest Stretch
    • 5 Pull-ups
    • 10 Am. KBS (35# KB)

Went 3 minutes straight on the jump rope without a single miss.

Strength

5×5 Deadlifts at 2-1-2-1 Tempo

Pushed it to the limit and it was absolutely brutal. Went 225#, 275#, 305#, 335#, and 365#. It was heavy and I started to round the lower back just a little at the end. Fought to get all 5 reps in and that was definitely the max weight for the tempo. Then not much of a rest before starting the WOD. Forgot to take off the shoes for the deadlifts too.

WOD

  • 50 Am. KBS (53# KB)
  • 25 Pull-ups
  • 150 DU
  • 25 Pull-ups
  • 50 Am. KBS (53# KB)

Went 35 reps and then 15 KBS to finish off at the beginning and worked on butterfly pull-ups. DU were a struggle today, but got through them. The last 50 American KBS were really tough. Finished in 12:05 overall. Was done with the warm-up, strength, and the WOD is less than 45 minutes.

Got home and started to go into a tunnel vision and a headache. I think it was from the tempo deadlifts, which really killed the WOD as well. This is only the 3rd time a CrossFit class has hit me like this. Should have probably gone lighter on the deadlifts, but really pushed them to the limit.

I Can Do Butterfly Pull-ups!

Last night while watching TV I knocked out 5 sets of 60 air squats. I didn’t time them or the rest periods. Tried to go as fast as I could for each set and still use good form. I could start to feel fatigue setting in at the end of the 3rd set. I had plans to improve my speed and endurance for air squats and wall balls starting at the beginning of the year. I figured it couldn’t hurt my thrusters either. Then I never put time into it other than workouts in Hawaii, where I had limited equipment anyway. No better time than now with the Open just two and a half weeks away. I’m going to do my best to can get in some fast squat work 2-3 times a week for at least the next few weeks. I could do Tabata squats, minute on/off, throw on the 20# weight vest, and come up with other interesting twists to vary the work. I’m looking forward to see what kind of improvement I can make.

My shoulder area is pretty sore from yesterday and I’m feeling all those air squats in my knees since I did them barefoot on hard tile flooring. I got up and went to the 9am. Another day of 3 WODs with a 10 minute cap on each one and a running 30:00 clock. I’ve really liked this style each time we did it.

Right arm after yesterday's 100 ring push-ups
Right arm after yesterday’s 100 ring push-ups

Warm-up

  • 3m Jump Rope
  • 100 Mountain Climbers
  • 80 Bicycles
  • 30 Supine Knees to Elbows
  • 40 Russian Twists (no weight)
  • 1m Plank

Long warm-up. I made it all 3 minutes on the jump rope without a single miss.

30:00 running clock with a 10:00 limit on each WOD. Finish early and rest until the next 10 minutes start.

WODs

20130218-103022.jpg

  • 21-15-9 Deadlifts (185#)
  • 75 DUs

Not much of a problem here, although deadlift reps did slow down in the last two sets. My double unders were pretty good. Finished in 5:26.

21-15-9

  • American KBS (70#)
  • Row (calories)

Worked on better form for my American swings, especially with the heavy weight. Tried to keep a steady pace during the first two rows so I wouldn’t burn out and then went hard in the last one. Time was 5:02.

  • 21 Pull-ups
  • 400m Run
  • 15 Pull-ups
  • 400m Run
  • 9 Pull-ups

Emily told me to go with butterfly pull-ups for this WOD. I wasn’t convinced I should, but you gotta go for it at some point. I made it through the entire WOD with them and got into a rhythm here and there. Definitely could feel less effort getting up over the bar. Need to keep working on them now and they’ll improve. Took me 7:14 to finish this one.