No BS Bench

Morning garage workout.

Warm-up

  • 500m Ski – 2:08.6
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×185#
  • 5x5x195#
  • MAX @ 195 -> 10 reps

No squatting, so might as well start a new bench program. Today’s goal was to determine a base number that can be done for 5×5 without compromising form. I thought I’d use 205, but after the set with 185# I made the call to take it conservative and I’m glad I did because the last two sets were starting to get hard. I was taking just over 2 minutes of rest between the 5 working sets and then I took a 3 minute break before the max rep set.

It’s probably been 10 years since I concentrated on bench press, so I’m interested to see how my body reacts. I never had a goal to bench 300#, but I’m making it a goal for this year, since it’s actually within reach. Definitely won’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be a good goal then.

Conditioning

Ski Erg
5 Rounds

  • 500m at 2000m PR pace (<2:00)
  • 30s Rest
  • 100m very easy

I don’t remember where I got this from, but it looks like a Hinshaw workout. I did the rest and 100m after the 5th interval. The computer time said 13:34 at the end, but it keeps rolling a little once you stop moving and then doesn’t count up during rest periods. Call it an extra 2 seconds of time roll for each 500m, so 15:54 total.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Recovery because this damn shoulder is starting to get funky again. Need to take care of it before it turns into the issue I had last year.

Went to the 5:30 class at CFI.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Yoga

Weightlifting

Power Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×155#
  • 3×165#

I’ve done 155 for hang squat triple, but never a power from the floor that I can recall, so last two sets were both PRs.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 10 Power Snatch (95#)
  • 5 HSPU
  • 1:30 Rest

I was going to try to do strict handstand push-ups, but ditched that plan after doing 1 rep. Kipped the rest of the way and it was not easy. Shoulder burner! Did all sets of snatches TnG. Finished at 10:06.

Midline

  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s V-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank Push-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • MAX Plank – 2:57

I was sweating more from the max plank than from the workout. Was shaking so bad I couldn’t take it anymore and had to bow out before the 3 minute mark.

Fuck You Quad

Brrrr! When I checked the weather this morning it was -12 and felt like -29 with the windchill.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row – 2:16
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Stretching
  • 5 OHS (45#)

Open Workout 14.2

Every 3 minutes for as long as possible complete:

  • From 0:00-3:00, 2 rounds of:
    • 10 OHS (95#)
    • 10 C2B pull-ups
  • From 3:00-6:00, 2 rounds of:
    • 12 OHS (95#)
    • 12 C2B pull-ups
  • Etc., following same pattern until you fail to complete both rounds

I cruised through the first two rounds in about 1:30, doing both sets of OHS unbroken, the first 10 pull-ups unbroken, and then 5-5 on the second set. Loved all of the rest time. I started to feel my quad quite a bit in the second three minutes and pretty much gave up after that. Basically bitched out. 😦 Finished the second set of 12 overhead squats just before time ran out. I really wanted to give it a run to finish the rounds of 14 today. Honestly part of me was afraid of going to that dark place and this injured quad was just the excuse I needed. Disappointed in myself, but I also know it’s not worth it to make it worse. Sucks either way though!

I think I’m going to stay away from any squatting up until the Open and see if the quad can heal up.

Weightlifting

Warmed up with some reps at 95#, 135#, and 185#.

10:00 EMOM

  • 2 Hang Power Cleans + 1 Push Jerk (@ ~70-75% of 1RM C&J)

Started with 205# on the bar and damn was it heavy for that first round. In the second round I didn’t get the hook grip back after the first clean and knew I was going to lose it, so I just dropped the bar. Took ten off each side and went 185# for the last 8 rounds. Not my day!

Misc

2 Cycles

  • 4 Rounds Tabata
    • 20s Hollow Rock
    • 10s Rest
  • 30s Rest
  • 4 Rounds Tabata
    • 20s Row (cal)
    • 10s Rest
  • 30s Rest
  • 4 Rounds Tabata
    • 20s Plank
    • 10s Rest
  • 30s Rest

I made it through the first cycle of hollow rocks without stopping for 75 reps, but then really died when they came back around and only got 64 reps with several breaks in cycle 2. I got 40 and 43 calories on the rower and held all of the planks no problem. Had planned to do 1:30 of MB cleans with 1:00 rest for the 3rd part but with my quad made an adjustment to the planks since there were only a few of us.

Not a crazy Super Sunday, but some solid work.

Strict Morning

Low back is still pretty spiced up from the back squats. That weight vest walk wiped me out yesterday. In bed by 10 and got over 9 hours of sleep. Out in the garage at 9am.

Conditioning

Air Dyne (AD2)

  • 17:00 @ 80% of 10:00 pace (68-70rpm)

Kept a consistent pace and went 9.34km.

Gymnastics

8 Rounds

  • 3 Strict HSPU
  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups
  • 3 Strict Ring Dips
  • 6 GHD Sit-ups (parallel)
  • 6 Back Extensions

Tried to pick rep counts that wouldn’t kill me and nailed them pretty well. The handstand push-ups were the only thing that were close to failing. Didn’t want to stress the back by touching the ground on the GHD sit-ups. Walked from station to station and kept moving. Finished in 13:09. Good way to get in some strict work with a decent heart rate pumping.

Had a chiropractor appointment at 4, so went to the 4:30 class after. We warmed up with some bottom squat hold, shoulder pass-thrus, PVC snatch progressions, etc.

Weightlifting

  • 5 Muscle Snatch (45#)
  • 5 Muscle Snatch (95#)
  • 3 Muscle Snatch (115#)
  • 2 Power Snatch (135#)
  • 2×2 Power Snatch (155#)

I was just not feeling it after the 135# kind of lit up my low back. Made me not commit to the lifts because I was a little scared.

6:00 EMOM

  • 3 Power Snatch

Coming to class, I planned to go with 155#, but because I felt off, I figured I’d use 135#. Started feeling good with TnG, so after 2 rounds I bumped up to 145# for the next 3 rounds, and then went 150# for the final round. All touch-n-go reps. Felt good too! Confidence can be such a weird thing with the lifts.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1:00 Sit-up
  • 1:00 Burpee
  • 1:00 Row (cal)
  • 1:00 Slam Ball (20#)
  • 1:00 Thruster (75#)
  • 1:00 Rest

I got 107-108-97 for reps. Not entirely sure that last round is correct because I kind of lost my thought process during the burpees. Felt like I might have made up some reps in the later movements, so if anything the count is low. No biggie.

Since missed out on most of the plank work, I got some it at night.

3 Rounds

  • MAX Plank Hold
  • 3:00 Rest

I did them on my hands with arms extended for a change of pace and so it would work the wrists. Went 3:15, 2:15, and 2:15. Damn, it’s a different ball game on your hand; wrists and shoulders really start to burn.

Gettin’ Bar Muscle-ups

Quad is a fired up again after the squats last night. 😦 I was in before the 9am class to get in some rowing and bar muscle-ups.

Row

  • 14:00 @ 5k pace (1:57)

Was on pace until I took off my hoodie, which sent my average up to 1:58.5. Got it back down to 1:57.7 by the end so should have been pretty close during actual rowing time. Crazy what 10-15 seconds can do. Went 3,569 meters.

Gymnastics

E90S for 12:00 (8 sets)

  • 2 Bar MU

I did 2 singles in the second round because my hands were sweaty and I was going to fall off the bar. Chalked up the rest of the way and had no problems. Decided to go for it in the last round and got 5! I’ve never attempted 3 before. Stopped because it felt like my thumbs were going to peel off. These are definitely a different feel from ring muscle-ups. Less energy used, but much harder on the hands.

We did some light stretching and shoulder warm-up to start class.

Muscle Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×75#
  • 5×95#

Power Snatch

  • 3×115#
  • 2×135#
  • 2×155#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×175#
  • 1×185#

Definitely wasn’t going to get down into the squat with any today. It was hard enough just getting into the setup position without favoring the left side too much. More than happy to hit 185 on basically one leg.

Conditioning

10:00 EMOM

  • 3 Power Snatch (115#)
  • 3 OHS (115#)

All touch-n-go reps. The overhead squats were definitely a challenge with the leg.

Midline

Tabata Mash-up 5x

  • Hollow Hold
  • Plank
  • Russian Twist (45# plate)

Plus a bonus 20s of Russian Twists at the end. The hollow holds got pretty rough since I just did all those hollow rocks last night.

Reverse Hypers

3 Sets

  • 10×210#

Figured it would be good to do some after the squats last night and OHS in the workout. All that in about 90 minutes. That’s enough for today.

Back at Work

Moving a little slow this morning. My back, shoulders, and arms are all sore from the weekend. Needed the rest day yesterday and was back to work after 2 weeks off. In for the 9am class.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×125#
  • 2×135#
  • 2×145#
  • 2×155#
  • 2×160#
  • 2×165#
  • 2×167.5# (PR)

Conditioning

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s Burpees
  • 10s Rest

Wanted to get 8 as long as I could. Made it through 6 rounds and then did 7 the last two. Maybe could have pushed it hard and made all 8. Next time. The most I’d done before was 4 rounds of 8 and then 7s, so I’ll take that improvement. Seemed to hurt less than the 6 rounds of 10 on Sunday. How does that make sense? More burpees in a lot less time.

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Ball Slams (25#)
  • 1:00 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 1:00 Sit-ups
  • 1:00 Plank

Holy shit that wall ball felt heavy in the first round. Nobody in class expected it and I think we all dropped it after 1 rep. I did 28-24 on the ball slams, 18-18 on wall balls, and 24-24 on the sit-ups. Was a fight to hold the second plank all the way.

Headed out to the garage at night. Warmed up with 5 minutes on the Air Dyne for 2.36km.

2015-01-16-heater

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×115#
  • 5×185#
  • 5×225#
  • 5×245#
  • 5×265#
  • 3×280#
  • 3×290#
  • 3×300#
  • 3×310#
  • 3×320# (PR)
  • 3×330# (PR)

Oh yeah! I’m liking the high volume and feeling good while doing it, though it might have something to do with how tired I’ve felt lately. Will keep an eye on it. My low back definitely feels like the weak point, especially as I get to the last few sets.

4 Rounds NFT

  • 10 MU Ring Pulldowns (blue, 7’3″ bar, 5.5″ seat)
  • 10 Back Extensions (45# plate behind head)

Over a 4″ difference from Saturday for the pulling distance so I dropped the reps. Once I got going they felt good with a focus on speed through the pull and sitting up into it. With my garage setup I can’t use a barbell on the GHD so I have to hold a plate behind my head. Much different! My back was feeling a pump after the second round.

Alarming Morning

I actually set my alarm to wake up this morning to make the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 3×15 Reverse Hypers (140#)
  • Air Squats
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 30 Mountain Climbers
  • 500m Row

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 4×205#
  • 2×245#
  • 2×265#
  • 2×285#
  • 1×305#
  • 1×315#
  • 1×325#
  • 1×335#

No pops or tweaks! That’s the most I’ve done since setting the PR in June. Hopefully it continues. I focused on pushing my butt back first and not bottoming out.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 10 OH Walking Lunges (45#)
  • 10 MB Cleans (20#)
  • 5 Burpees

Took me 5:11. Nice leg burn during the last two sets of medicine ball cleans.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 20s Hollow Hold
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest

Jumped on the reverse hyper for 3x10x140# after class.

A little afternoon double in the garage. Warmed up with 5:00 on the Air Dyne, but didn’t record the distance.

6 Rounds

  • 250m Ski Erg
  • 15 GHD Sit-ups

With the Jeep in the way, having to walk around to the other side of the garage provided some nice rest in between movements. Took me 12:18 to finish. My splits on the skier were: 58.7, 57.9, 59.6, 59.4, 59.3, and 58.9. According to the monitor my time to get the sit-ups done and get back was 1:00, 1:10, 1:05, 1:10, and 1:10.

A lot of times when I workout alone in the garage I want to quit early or switch up the workout when I get uncomfortable. Glad I stuck this one out.

Hold that Plank

Still recovering from the trip and staying up late playing new iPhone games didn’t help. Woke up later than I’d like, but made it in for the 9am class. Didn’t really do any specific warm-up today.

Strength

6 Sets

  • 8 Seated Good Mornings (45-135-155-155-165-175)
  • 8 Pendlay Rows (45-135-165-165-165-175)

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 50 DU
  • 15 Burpees
  • 10 Deadlifts (185#)

Messed up dubs once in the 2nd round and once in the 4th round, both right around half way. Finished in 7:44.

Midline

  • 30s Plank
  • 30s Rest
  • 45s Plank
  • 45s Rest
  • 1:00 Plank
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:15 Plank
  • 1:15 Rest
  • 1:30 Plank
  • 1:30 Rest
  • 1:45 Plank
  • 1:45 Rest

Afternoon break to hit some back squats in the garage.

Back Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×205#
  • 5×245#
  • 6×275#
  • 4×290#
  • 2×305#
  • 6×285#
  • 4×300#
  • 2×315#

Tougher than it should have been.

No Hike

I kept staying in bed this morning and then finally around 7:30 got moving. Decided I should get out for a hike. Got downstairs and saw it was raining, so I hit the fitness center instead.

Warm-up

400m speed walk on treadmill

Gymnastics / Midline

5 Rounds NFT

  • 7 Strict Pull-ups
  • 7 Strict Bar Dips
  • 1:00 Plank

On the ghetto stand again, almost tipping over, but it worked. I pulled my hands in to a normal grip today.

Thruster Attack (Week 6)

4 Rounds

  • 4 Rounds
    • 20s Thrusters (25# DBs)
    • 10s Rest
  • 1:00 Rest

I stuck to 8 reps all the way again and seemed to have a lot more time left in the 20s when I got done with them. Did 11 reps in the final interval. I think I’ve adjusted pretty well to the altitude.

Conditioning

Ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill in 14:40 and then walked about 200m.

Trying Jerk Dips

Feeling pretty great. Mid back is a little sore, but not sure why. In for the 10am at CFi and then some extra lifting after class.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Holds
  • Wrist Stretching
  • Rack Position Stretching

Strength

Front Squats

  • 5×45#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 3×205#
  • 3×225#
  • 3×245#
  • 3×265#
  • 3×275#
  • 3×285#

Felt really good! Would have liked to try another set or two if there had been time.

Conditioning

20:00 AMRAP (Partner)

  • 20 Power Cleans
  • 30 Burpees
  • 40 American KBS

* One person working at a time. Split up reps any way you want.

I paired up with Raymond and we used different equipment. Split up reps for the most part but a few rounds in I started doing more burpees. I used 135# for the cleans and a 53# KB for the swings. We got 4 full rounds plus 20 cleans, 30 burpees, and 6 kettlebell swings. I was sweating more than I can remember in a long time and the weather has shifted to fall, so that was weird.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 10s Rest

Right into…

4 Rounds

  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest

I could not keep up with the hollow rocks for all 8 rounds after doing that workout. Fought hard to get through just the 4.

Weightlifting

Jerk Dips & Split Jerks

  • 5×45#
  • 3×95#
  • 3×125#
  • 3×145#
  • 3×1653
  • 3×185#
  • 3×195#
  • 3×205#
  • 3×215#
  • 3×225#

Have seen Catalyst Athletics using the jerk dips with a few of their athletes and figure it would be useful for me to try some in order to reinforce that positioning and body path. I was doing the jerk dip reps and then going right into the first rep of the jerks. They also fatigued my legs a bit, forcing me to think about dropping under the bar, which was much better today.

Felt pretty solid overall and didn’t have any misses. My wrists have built back up too. I didn’t wear wrist wraps at all, but I could start to feel it some in the last few sets. Pretty stoked though. I’ve never hit triples that heavy before.

Hose Off

Originally today was going to be a rest day, but since I didn’t get much done in the gym yesterday I figured I’d play it by how I felt. Was still exhausted last night at the movies from the fire truck pull, but feeling pretty good today. Went to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

3 Rounds

  • 30s Bottom Squat Hold
  • 20 Jumping Jacks
  • 30s Plank
  • 5 Push-ups

Strength

  • 6×155# Deadlift
  • 6×245# Deadlift
  • 6×315# Deadlift
  • 6 Rounds NFT
    • 6×345# Deadlift
    • 6/6 Side Bends (62# KB)

Keep pushing the weight/reps on the deadlifts. Little by little. 345# is the same weight I recently used for 8×3 and then 7×4. Back has still been feeling good. Chalked up after the first work set and it made a huge difference without the bar starting to slip in my hands.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 10 HR Push-ups
  • 20 Air Squats
  • 30 Russian Twists (35#)
  • 40 Flutter Kicks
  • 50 DU

Too many misses (2 every round I think) on double unders. Haven’t been doing them enough and it showed. Finished in 7:05. Everything else was unbroken.

6 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row
  • 1:30 Rest

The rest time is approximate since Andrew and I were alternating on the rower. I went 310, 309, 309, 308, 310, and 319 meters. I guess I won’t row tomorrow like I was planning. Will be able to work on my jerk instead.