Tag: Plank

Eat Like Shit

Feeling good. Went to the 10am class at CFi and then stayed for some open gym time to row. While Alex was teaching the class cleans, I took a spot on the platform.

Weightlifting

  • 3 Hang Muscle Cleans (95#)
  • 3 Muscle Cleans (115#)
  • 3 Muscle Cleans (135#)
  • 2 Power Cleans (155#)
  • 2 Cleans (175#)
  • 2 Cleans (195#)
  • 2 Cleans (205#)
  • 2 Cleans (225#)
  • 2 Cleans (235#)
  • 2 Cleans (245#)

Conditioning

EMOM 16:00

  • Odds: 5 Hang Power Cleans
  • Evens: 30s Plank

I had 155# on the bar for the first round and it was way too easy, so I went to 175# for the next 5 rounds, then 185# for a round and finished with 195#. I held the last plank for 1:15.

3 Rounds

  • 2,000m Row
  • 8:00 Rest

The goal was to try to keep a 1:45/500m pace and PR on the first attempt. Then hold a 2:00/500m pace for the other two attempts. I was holding the pace up until about 750m left. Managed a 7:01.6 for a 9.5 second PR. So close to sub 7! Probably didn’t need to take so much rest in between, but I wanted to make sure I was recovered enough. Rowed 7:58.6 and 7.54.3 on the other attempts.

2k Row History

I looked back through my records and put all of my 2k rows into BTWB so I could see the improvement over time. I’ve dropped nearly 40 seconds! Today my average pace was faster than my opening 500m pace when I first attempted this distance in December of 2012.

My shitty diet doesn’t seem to be negatively affecting my performance in the gym. Doesn’t make much sense. Or would I be performing a lot better with quality food?

Later in the afternoon I figured I’d test out a set of strict pull-ups. I got 13, which is actually a PR by 1 from May of 2013. Would be a lot easier if I was 5-10 pounds lighter.

Pain Travels

Left calf is still really sore, but I’m able to move around on it, so that’s a good sign. Went to CFi at 9 for some lifting. Started out with Crossover Symmetry Activation and some snatch positioning with an empty bar.

Muscle Snatches

  • 2×75#
  • 2×95#
  • 2×105#
  • 2×115#
  • 2×125#

Snatches

  • 1×135#
  • 1×145#
  • 1×155#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×175#
  • 1×185#
  • 1×170#
  • 1×180#
  • 1×190#
  • 1×175#
  • Fx185#
  • 1×185#
  • Fx195#
  • Fx195#

Figured I’d try out some waves today. I guess I’d count the first 6 lifts as one big wave since it wasn’t a drop, so didn’t have a miss until the middle of the last wave. Getting the bar plenty high enough as usual. Called it a day after 3 misses. Glad to have hit 185 a couple of times and 190 once. Calf didn’t seem to affect anything.

Front Squats

Warmed up with 5×135# and 3×205#. Then did the following sets every 2 minutes.

  • 2×240#
  • 2×255#
  • 2×270#
  • 1×290#
  • 1×295#
  • 1×295#
  • 1×285#
  • 1×285#

Harder than it should have been, which is why I didn’t keep going with 295#. Calf didn’t hold me back here either.

Went back for the 5:30 class. My low back started acting up again this afternoon. 😦

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 40 Mountain Climbers
  • PVC Pass-thrus

Skill

I tried a few bar muscle-ups and got up there on the first one. Need to work the skill soon like I’ve been doing on the rings.
3 Rounds NFT

  • 4 Wall Walks + 20s Handstand Hold
  • 2 Rope Climbs (13′)

Those wall walks are so deceiving. Always end up breathing hard after a couple of them.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 10 OHS (95#)
  • 10 Pull-ups
  • 20 Sit-ups

I have my butterfly down now! No problem getting all of the pull-ups. The EMOM work on muscle-ups and chest-to-bar pull-ups must be helping a ton. Finished in 6:07 with everything unbroken. Sit-ups got slow though.

More Skill

4 x Wall Walk + Handstand Hold each time

We all did it together. He had us go for a max hold on the last one and I got around 1:30 before I bailed.

Midline

4 Rounds

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

The hollow holds were not easy after coming right out of a long handstand hold!

Cool Down

2k Row

Nice and easy, keeping pace under 2:10/500m. Finished in 8:28.

Gimpy Calf

Yesterday I played 18 holes of golf (rode in a cart) in the morning and did DDP YRG Diamond Cutter at night. Body felt pretty beat up all day. My low back felt pretty tight last night when I’d wake up and roll over in bed. In for the 9am at CFi.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Squat Hold
  • Rapid Toe Touches
  • Zombie Kicks
  • Inch Worms w/ Cobra
  • 5 Deadlifts (155#)
  • 3 Deadlifts (245#)
  • 3 Deadlifts (315#)
  • Couple of jump course runs

XWOD

  • 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 Deadlifts (335#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 PVC Jump Course

We had about 6 different PVC heights setup. I tried to get through them all each time, but would often miss the last one once during the double rounds because my spacing was off. I tweaked my left calf on the last jump in the 6th round of the course so didn’t jump again after that. Same area where it was really tight last week. Hopefully nothing serious.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Push-ups
  • 15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 20 American KBS (53#)

Kept everything unbroken with an extra breath or two between movements. Finished 5 rounds plus 5 push-ups, 15 wall balls, and 3 swings.

Midline

4 Rounds

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

Strength

Since we switched it up with deadlifts today I needed to get in my shoulder press since I’d already taken 2 days off from last doing them on Saturday. Stayed after class for week 2 day 2 of my 2nd Smolov Jr. cycle.

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 7x5x127.5#

Little rough after the shoulder work in the WOD. Made it through though.

Kevin had me do a bunch of mobility and SMR work on that left calf. Ouch!

Went out in the garage for an afternoon session around 3. Started with an easy 1,000 meters on the Ski Erg in 5:19 and then rested about 4 minutes.

E2M 30:00

  • 250m Ski Erg

The original plan was to go as long as I could without the time getting over 1:00. I quickly realized that could take all night so I settled on 12 rounds. Got there and said I need the push so did 15. I’d say if your speed starts to drop a couple of seconds, stop anywhere after 10 of these. My splits were 58.6, 58.2, 58.1, 58.1, 58.2, 58.6, 58.2, 58.4, 58.4, 58.4, 58.2, 58.2, 58.1, 58.2, and 56.6. So I had two at 58.6 and all of the rest were 58.1-58.4, with the exception of the 15th, where I pushed through to the end. My shorts and socks were soaked all the way through. Gets hot and humid in the closed garage.

I did a real slow 5:00 on the Air Dyne to cool down since it had started raining outside. Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics.

Punch to the Gut

As expected I can feel the 150 sit-ups from “Annie” yesterday. She always gives me DOMS in the abs. In to CFi for the 9am class. Got Crossover Symmetry Activation done before class started.

Warm-up

3 Rounds

  • 300m Row
  • 1:00+ Bottom Squat Hold (while someone else rows)

Skill

4 Rounds NFT

  • 3 Wall Walks + 10s Handstand Hold w/ each
  • 5 Push-ups

OMG, I worked up a sweat like it was a metcon. Wall walks are so deceiving.

Conditioning

  • 1:00 Box Jumps (31″)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Thrusters (75#)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Burpee Over the Box Jumps (31″)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Thrusters (75#)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Air Squats

I did 21 box jumps, 20 thrusters, 10 burpee box jumps, 15 thrusters (horrible), and 43 air squats. Never put the bar down during the thrusters. In the first round of them I held in the rack position for a couple of breaks and in the second one I even put it on my back a couple of times. Those air squats were a hell of a burn in the last 20 seconds.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 20 Russian Twists (53# KB)
  • 45s Plank

Pushing myself with the 53# KB is making them a lot easier. I used to always go for something in the 30-40# range.

Knocked out Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics before leaving the box.

Took an afternoon break around 4pm for a garage workout. Warmed up with 3 minutes of jumping rope.

Cleans

Every 90 seconds a new set started:

  • 3×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 2×135#
  • 2×155#
  • 2×185#
  • 1×205#
  • 1×225#
  • 1×235#
  • 4x1x245#

12 sets total. I really like using the clock for pacing rest time when weightlifting, otherwise it can drag on for longer than it needs to. Made every lift. Those singles at 245# are over 94% of my 1RM. Getting more confident up in that range with the 235# singles EMOM on Saturday and this work today. I hope to continue it. Obviously I’m well below my potential max since I don’t really ever miss below 95%. Fucking mental game!

Just look how high I’m under the bar with those weights at the end. Well above parallel. I’m excited to keep working it and see the XWODs pay off too.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 3:00 Air Dyne (AD2)
  • 2:00 Rest

Went out way too hard in the first round and fell off before a minute was up. Had much better pacing in the 2nd and 3rd intervals. Racked up 123, 113, and 116 calories.

Grinding Smolov Jr.

Headed in early before the 9am so I could finish up week 2 of Smolov Jr. shoulder presses.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 10x3x137.5#

Felt rough from the get-go, but I made it through every set. Rushed in and started right away too without any other type of warm-up. Was only taking about 90 seconds of rest between sets so I could finish before class started. The final week should be interesting. I think I’ll bump up the weights a bit over the recommended. My shoulders are feeling strong!

Warm-up

3 Rounds NFT

  • 300m Row
  • 15 Reverse Hypers on GHD

I worked up quite the sweat!

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 4×245#, and 4×315#.

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4 Deadlifts (365#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive movement
    • 2s: Split Jumps (2 each leg, sandbag on back)
    • 1s: Kneeling Jump (10.25″ – 45-45-25 HG bumpers stacked)

Haven’t done any heavy deadlifts for volume in quite some time. Felt really good!

Conditioning

5 Rounds (Tabata style)

  • 20s Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Sit-ups
  • 10s Rest

I did 10 wall balls and 11 sit-ups each round.

Midline

3 Round NFT

  • 20 Russian Twists (53# KB)
  • 45s Plank

After class I stayed to do some extra work. Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap with the blue bands for heavy and yellow for light. Burn baby!

4 Rounds NFT

  • 15 GHD Sit-ups
  • 15 Back Extensions

Focused on being as explosive as possible for both movements, which got me breathing pretty damn heavy. Took solid rest between rounds to recover.

In the evening I went for a walk. 3.22 miles in 48:29. During the summers my conditioning is always the best, which I attribute in large part to walking so much on the golf course. Felt like some fresh air tonight and the walk was perfect.

Shoulder Smolov Jr. Week 1

I was exhausted yesterday. 9 hours in the gym over the weekend will do that I guess. Went to CrossFit Intuition for the 9am.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Arm Circles
  • Rapid Toe Touches
  • 20 Air Squats

Strength

Shoulder Press – Smolov Jr. Week 1 Day 4

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 10x3x127.5#

Yep, actually used fractional plates. Wasn’t too hard. Going up 10# for week 2 should be interesting.

Conditioning

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

  • Box Jumps (30″)
  • Burpees
  • Russian KBS (53#)

I lost track in the middle and ended up doing round 6 twice. Whoops! Finished in 9:49.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s Side Plank (L)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Side Plank (R)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Plank
  • 15s Rest

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Recovery. Definitely time to start doing the Plyo and Iron Scap on some days. I’ve been able to get the 90/90 move up to a band matching the other movements, so not having any issues with my shoulder there anymore.

Double Sunday

Feeling good after yesterday. Went to the 11am class at Survival Fitness.

2 Rounds

  • 1:00 Plank
  • 1:00/1:00 Side Planks
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Dead Hang
  • 1:00 Bottom Squat Hold
  • 1:00 Jumping Jacks

I did a quick drop after 35 seconds of dead hang and jumped right back up to regrip. No need to rip my hands open with pull-ups and deadlifts planned for tonight.

20:00 Partner AMRAP

  • 12 Sit-ups
  • 12 SDLHP (53# KB)
  • 12 Squat Jumps
  • 6 Burpees
  • 250m Run

Partner 1 does all of the sit-ups, partner 2 does all of the SDLHP, and keep alternating each movement. Since partner 1 will be doing the run in the first round, the 2nd time through the movements will be switched for each person.

I paired up with Joe and we kept up a solid sprint pace. We were about 130m from finishing 8 rounds.

Over to CrossFit Intuition around 5:30 for another workout. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then figured it was a good time to try doing a “ninja get-up” since it’s been a long time and maybe the Explosive Seminar taught me a few things. Nailed it on the first try!

Clean & Jerks

  • 2x40kg
  • 2x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 1x75kg
  • 1x80kg
  • 1x90kg
  • 1x95kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x105kg
  • 1x115kg
  • 1x118kg (Clean PR, missed jerk)

Used all kilo plates in the Mid Michigan Barbell Club part of the gym, which is a first for me. It’s weird not knowing exactly how much is on the bar. I’ll call that a 260# clean I guess, for a 5# PR. I had the jerk locked out, but was probably a bit forward on me. I really need to work on getting under the bar after I extend, instead of extending some more.

XWOD

Warmed up shoulder press with 5×75# and 5×95#.

  • 8x4x120# Shoulder Press
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive Push-ups

For the 2s, we did clapping push-ups and for the 1s we did a plyo push-up from the ground on to four 45# bumper plates.

Conditioning

  • 3 Rounds
    • 5 C2B Pull-ups
    • 10 Deadlifts (185#)
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 2 Rounds (same movements and reps)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1 Round (same movements and reps)

I wanted to make something short and fast, but still really intense. This worked out really well. I start losing my kip on C2B after 3 or 4 and was swinging all over the place a few times. I finished 3 rounds in 1:50, 2 rounds in 1:12, and 1 in 0:27, with a total time of 6:29 on the clock.

Did 4 sets of 10 reverse hypers with a green band on the GHD. Then I did Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

Old School Sundays

Sundays at Survival Fitness have turned into old school days, back to before we had any good barbells. There were 23 people in class today! I was read to go after only back squats Friday and no workout yesterday.

Midline

8 Rounds – Tabata Mash-up

  • 20s Ring L-sit
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Ab Wheel Rollout (“Evil Wheel”)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest

I’m not sure why, but even the first round of hollow rocks was killing me. I would only get 4-5 rocks in at a time and eventually had to switch to doing them with my hands at my sides so that I wasn’t resting most of the 20 seconds. Everyone was complaining about the ab wheels, but I could have done those all day long.

6 Rounds

  • 250m Run
  • 120m Waiter’s Walk (35# DB OH)
  • 30 1-Arm DB Snatch (alternating, 35# DB)

There was no way in hell I was going to attempt this with the 45# DB. Single-arm snatches may have been what caused my shoulder impingement to begin with. The 35# DB allowed me to go unbroken each round. I switched arms each quarter of the way on the waiter’s walk so that I didn’t fatigue the shoulders too much. Finished in 23:37.

Did some shoulder stretching and a squat hold after class. When I got home I made sure to get in the Crossover Symmetry Recovery after that one. Stepped up to my normal light band for the 90/90 which is the one move that I had to go lighter on because of pain, so things continue to move in the right direction.

Knock Knock Noggin

Woke up wish a pounding headache in the middle of the night and it didn’t start going away until late afternoon. So I didn’t make it to the 9am. The workout was bench press and a bunch of bear complexes, so instead of going in for a night class and having to modify everything, I decided to do some stuff in the garage around 5pm.

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Conditioning

Running Clock…

  • 0:00 – 0:30 Air Dyne (:30)
  • 0:30 – 1:15 Rest (:45)
  • 1:15 – 2:15 AD (1:00)
  • 2:15 – 3:45 Rest (1:30)
  • 3:45 – 5:15 AD (1:30)
  • 5:15 – 7:30 Rest (2:15)
  • 7:30 – 9:30 AD (2:00)
  • 9:30 – 12:30 Rest (3:00)
  • 12:30 – 14:30 AD (2:00)
  • 14:30 – 16:45 Rest (2:15)
  • 16:45 – 18:15 AD (1:30)
  • 18:15 – 19:45 Rest (1:30)
  • 19:45 – 20:45 AD (1:00)
  • 20:45 – 21:30 Rest (:45)
  • 21:30 – 22:00 AD (:30)

Notice how the work rest just goes backwards after the 3:00 rest in the middle. I used my AD2 and accumulated 456 calories.

Midline & Mobility

5 Rounds NFT

  • 60s Plank
  • 90s Bottom Squat Hold
  • 30s Shoulder Box Stretch

Shoulder Box Stretch?

shoulder-box-stretch

Place your arms shoulder width apart on a 20″-24″ box. Keeping your head neutral (look at the floor, don’t bury your chin in your chest) push your shoulders open as far as possible driving your head and chest to the floor. The stretch should come from your shoulders and thoracic spine, not your lumbar spine. Again, be patient. You’ll probably look more like the lower image than the upper image when you start out.
Image and description via The Outlaw Way – Connectivity 140418

While watching TV at night I did 3 long bottom squat holds of about 2:30-3:00 each to total 15 minutes for the day. I also did some of the couch/hip stretch, though I missed the first part now that I watch the video again.

I’m going to shoot for at least 15 minutes a day of the bottom squat hold and some of the hip stretch while watching TV at night. I don’t have any serious problems with these areas, but I could be better. Might as well do something useful while watching TV and I need to take breaks from work during the day.

Costa Rica Tuesday

Went for a long walk on the beach yesterday afternoon, but that’s about it the last two days. Weather us beautiful here!

Was up early this morning and went for a 30 minute run of about 2.5 miles. Really hilly in this area.

After a post-lunch nap I hit the fitness center. Did 30:00 of bike hill intervals with a 5:00 cool down. I also did 5 rounds of 1:00 plank with 1:00 rest between. Need to do long planks more often because 30 seconds ain’t shit; the benefits come after you start shaking.