Tag: Pull-up

Little Break

Damn time change. So dumb. Went to 10am open gym.

Warm-up

  • Monster walks (red band)
  • Steamboats

Put the band around my knees for the monsters walks and it was definitely easier.

Gymnastics

Did some handstand walking for about 10 minutes. After not doing any for a month since my back tweak, I was having a hard time getting comfortable just kicking up.I got one out to 25 feet, but was starting to feel some strain in my back so didn’t do a full 15 minutes of work like usual. I need to just start practicing throughout the week at the gym to gain comfort.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 25 cal Echo Bike
  • 20 Strict HSPU
  • 15 Strict Pull-ups
  • 10 Evil Wheels
  • 4:00 Rest

It was taking me about 1:15-1:20 on the bike and I was able to do 4×5 every round on the handstand push-ups. Pull-ups were all doubles with one triple each round. Had to limit the range of motion to be much shorter than I’d usually go for the evil wheels. My round times were 4:50, 5:16, 5:33, and 5:46.

PT

  • 15/15 Clamshells (4 positions)
  • 15/15 Fire Hydrants
  • 2x 15/15 Single Leg Step Downs (14″)

My left leg (the bad side) is so much weaker on those step downs. I’m feeling a little burnt out from doing the Big 3 every day in addition to all of the PT exercises, so I’m taking a little break for the rest of a the day. I have a session at the PT in the morning.

Half Ass Everything

Yesterday my glutes and arms were sore from Sunday, but both are better today. Yesterday morning I did the PT kegels and then before lunch I lubed up the treadmill and walked for 20 minutes, which was about 1.25 miles. Had my first full session of PT at 5 and it was great. I’m very impressed so far. We discovered my left glute isn’t activating. I would have bet you money it was working in the test we did; it sure felt like I was squeezing the muscle. Crazy how the wires can be all crossed up like that. Found some more weaknesses and got a bunch of new exercises to do. In the evening I did 6-4-2 of the McGill Big 3 and another session of the kegels.

Today I did all of my new PT exercises before lunch and went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2x 100/100′ Walking Side Shuffle
  • Steamboat PT exercises
  • 4x 100′ Walk Backwards
  • 30 cal Echo Bike
  • 3×10 Push-ups
  • Bottom Squat Hold

I tried a few kipping pull-ups and kicked up to the wall. Both felt good!

Conditioning

  • 0:00-10:00 (Solo)
    • 5 Rounds
      • 80′ Sled Push (180#)
      • 15 Pull-ups
  • 10:00-20:00 (Partner w/ Brandi)
    • 3 Mile Echo Bike (switch about every 30 seconds)
  • 5:00 Rest
  • 25:00-35:00 (Solo)
    • 30 DB Walking Lunges (35# DBs)
    • 30 Box Push-up Step Overs (24″)
    • 30 Seated DB Shoulder Press (35# DBs)
    • 30 Strict HSPU

A lot of subbed movements but it worked out well and I got in a great workout.

I did the five rounder in 7:40 with quick choppy steps on the sled but nowhere near a sprint pace. I was able to do 3×5 on every round of pull-ups with just a regular kip! Felt good for not having done any kipping in over a month.

It was written as a two mile bike but that would have given way too much rest compared to the people who were trying to do 3,200 meters on the rower (impossible). Bumping up to three miles was good and we finished in 8:11.

The lunges were fine and unbroken. I planned to use 40 or 45# but those dumbbells must be down in the basement. Worked out well though because the shoulders got blown later with the 35s! I didn’t want to have to go all the way to the ground yet, probably putting my back into flexion at some point, so the box push-up step over was a good alternate instead of burpees over the bar. I did 3×10 on the seated presses and could feel that the handstand push-ups were going to be rough. I barely got two HSPU to start and fought through a total of 5×2 before switching to singles. Ended up getting 15 singles, for 25 total, 5 shy of finishing.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 7-5-3 Curl-up
  • 7-5-3 Side Planks
  • 7-5-3 Bird Dogs

Been doing 6-4-2 for a week so it’s time to increase the reps. I also went side to side today on the side planks, passing through a regular plank instead of doing all 7 on a side before switching. So there was no true rest after each side plank like the few seconds I’d get the other way between reps.

Something I Can Do!

Sitting hasn’t been the most comfortable the last couple of days and there really hasn’t been any change in how my back is feeling. Went to the 3pm class.

Warm-up

  • 30 cal Assault Bike
  • 10 Bench Press (45#)
  • 10 Bench Press (135#)

Conditioning

E4M – 5 Rounds

  • 20 cal Echo Bike
  • 10 Bench Press (170#)

Oh boy those bench presses turned in to a struggle in round 3. Kept each round unbroken though!

Strength / Accessory

  • 10×2 Strict Pull-ups (2:00)
  • 13×5 Banded PVC Lat Pulldowns (green band doubled over a set of rings)

The workout was 10:00 to do 100 pull-ups, but with five dumbbell thrusters EMOM. My ass is not having anything to do with any type of squatting so I thought I’d see how many strict pull-ups I could do in 10 minutes. As I fatigued I was starting to arch and wanting to kip. That was no bueno, so I called an audible and had about five minutes of the pulldowns. Those created a nice burn.

Rower Projects

This morning I picked up two Concept 2 Model C rowers I “won” in an auction from a local college. They aren’t in as good of shape as I was hoping, especially for what I paid. Thought I might be able to make a nice chunk of change off them, but they’re just going to be a project to break even now.

My abs are more sore and my triceps are getting a little sore. Got to the gym at 1:30. Did an easy 30 calories on the Echo Bike to warm up. Then I practiced handstand walking for 15 minutes or so and it was a shit show. Maybe I’m fatigued from the last few days.

Strength-ish

2 Sets

  • 2:00 Banded Bear Hug March (30# MB)
  • 2:00 Rest

Used a green band and my hips were on fire!

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 10 cal Echo Bike
  • 5 Bench Press (165#)
  • 10 Pull-ups

Warmed up with 10×45 and 5×135 on the bench press. Originally I wrote down 185 but I could feel my triceps in the warm-up sets and didn’t want to miss or have to break up sets. Smart move. Wore grips the whole time and did 2×5 for every round of pull-ups. It’s probably been over a month since I’d done kipping pull-ups. I finished 9 rounds and 10 calories.

Gymnastics

5 Sets

  • 30s Handstand Hold (facing wall)
  • 1:00 Rest

I need to improve my shoulder mobility for the walking, so may start doing a lot of this.

60 Strict

My back is feeling pretty good, but my legs and ass are getting sore. Out in the garage around 10:30.

Intervals

4 Rounds

  • 4:30 Airdyne
  • 4:30 Rest

I tried to average around 85 PRM, doing 169, 169, 166, and 169 calories and 3.04, 3.02, 3.01, and 3.04 km.

Back in the garage around 4pm.

Conditioning

30:00 EMOM (40s of work)

  • Strict Pull-ups
  • Double Unders
  • HS Hold
  • Step-ups (20″)
  • Ski

I did 5×2 pull-ups, about 55 dubs, the full handstand hold, 5-5-3-3 step-ups, and 10 calories on the Ski Erg. Got shitty after about three rounds. Felt good about the consistency though, especially being able to do 60 strict pull-ups.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 40 Hollow Flutter Kicks
  • 30 Plank Jumps
  • 20 Alternating V-ups

After the first round I did 20-10 plank jumps and 10-10 on the V-ups. Finished in 7:15.

I may rest tomorrow.

Get Out All of the Gear

Around 9pm last night I started falling asleep and my body was feeling completely wrecked. Crawled in bed around 10 and got some solid recovery. My glutes are pretty damn sore and my upper back started to get sore through the day. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2:00 Row (34 cals)
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10 Air Squats
    • 10 DB Shoulder Press (20#)

Strength

2 Front Squats + 2 Jerks

  • 45# (5 reps of each)
  • 95 (5 reps of each)
  • 135
  • 165
  • 185
  • 205
  • 225
  • 235

I haven’t front squatted that weight in almost two years, when I did 2×245 on December 14, 2017. It felt pretty good, all things considered. I did all push jerks except for the last set where I split jerked both reps. I think I started wearing my belt with 165. I also had knee sleeves on just because I’d want them for the lunges.

Conditioning

17:00 AMRAP

  • Buy-in: 5 Rounds
    • 10 Thrusters (95#)
    • 15 Pull-ups
    • 30 Double Unders
  • AMRAP in remaining time…
    • 10 Front Rack Lunges (95#)
    • 15 Russian KBS (70#)
    • 30 Double Unders

I broke the thrusters 5-5 from the start, hoping to keep my heart rate down, and did 5-5-5 on all pull-ups. My first round was just under 2:00 and round two was right at 4:00, but then I started resting way too much between movements. I think I was on the AMRAP right around the 13:00 mark, so I averaged three minutes for each of the last three rounds! Missed 3 double unders all together I think. Got through 2+10 of the AMRAP.

4th Class This Week

My hip flexors have been wrecked all week from those 120 toes to bars. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

2 Sets

  • 10 Lateral Raises (5#)
  • 10 Front Raises (5#)
  • 10 Bent Over Lateral Raises (5#)

3 Rounds

  • 10 Jumping Jacks
  • 10 Air Squats
  • Worlds greatest stretch
  • Front rack stretch
  • 5 Ring Rows

I also did 10×45# front squats.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 10 Front Squats (95#)
  • 10 Hip Thrusts (50#, 4 @ 60#)
  • 2:00 Rest

These were supposed to be max rep sets at about 50% but these days I don’t like doing max reps with anything that’s going to affect my back. So I took it easy, especially with the squats cleans coming up in the metcon.

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Squat Cleans (95#)
  • 10 Pull-ups
  • 20 Double Unders

All single cleans export two at the end. Kept picking the bar up without extra rest though. I did 5-5 on every round of pull-ups and was having a hard time getting the rhythm of my butterfly. Didn’t miss any dubs until two in the last round! Finished 8+2 and slowing down on the cleans like that turned out to be a nice steady pace.

My back has held up well this week and I’ve been to 4 classes.

Pull-up PR

Didn’t sleep well at all and got out of bed around 6am. My back is really tight from 20.2. Went to the gym during the morning 8 and 9am classes to do my own thing, so I could use the 60 pound dumbbells.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Assault Bike (45 cals)
  • 3 Sets
    • 5 Scap Pull-ups
    • 10 DB Bench Presses (30-40-50#)

Strength / Accessory

5 Sets

  • MAX Strict Pull-ups
  • 10 DB Bench Presses (60#)
  • 3:00 Rest

I got 15-12-10-10-10 on the pull-ups, which sets a new PR set! I haven’t maxed out strict pull-ups since 2014 when I did 13. I weighed about 200 pounds back then and I’ve been around 202 lately. The bench started to feel pretty heavy in the last two sets.

E20S – Until Failure

  • 3 Strict HSPU

I wrote numbers up to 20 on the board kind of joking and ended up maing it through 17 rounds. My first idea was to do a 5:00 AMRAP, so this was just an extra 40 seconds and made sure I didn’t blow up too early. In round 12 I made the mistake of stopping in the bottom on my second rep. I eventually was able to press out of it, but it ruined me for the rest of the way. I had to do three singles in my last two rounds and barely made it so didn’t attempt the 18th round.

5 Sets

  • 10/10 Single Leg Lateral Step-ups (30″)
  • 30s/30s Single Leg Standing Balance (70#)

Then I was out in the garage around 11.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

36:00 Airdyne
**Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 8, 16, 24, 32

976 calories and 20.88 km.

Time for some food and a nap.

Gym to Garage

Yesterday I walked 18 holes on a very sloppy golf course from all of the rain. When the conditions are like that it really takes a lot more out of me than you’d think. Went to the 4pm class at the gym.

Warm-up

3 Sets

  • 15 Reverse Hypers (50#)

4 Rounds

  • 10/10 Leg Swings
  • 10/10 Arm Circles
  • 10 PVC Passes
  • Front Rack Stretch

Hang Power Snatch

  • 2x3x45#
  • 3×75

Hang Power Clean

  • 3×95#

Conditioning

  • 7:00 EMOM
    • 7 Pull-Ups
    • 3 Hang Power Snatch (95#)
  • 7:00 EMOM
    • 7 Burpees
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans (125#)
  • 5:00 Rest
  • 7:00 EMOM
    • 7 Pull-Ups
    • 3 Hang Power Snatch (125#)
  • 7:00 EMOM
    • 7 Burpees

I was able to get all 14 sets of pull-ups unbroken! I was starting to feel my back when bringing the bar down between reps during the 125# snatches. When I’m resetting like this is when it’s bothered me the most over the last year or so. Then I almost lost my grip on the barbell during the last two sets of that second round of snatches. I went to pick up 165# for the hang cleans, deadlifted it, and decided not to push my back, so I just did the burpees to finish. Lifts from the hang and especially stringing them together affects my back a lot more; I probably should have done singles from the ground.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

10:00 Airdyne

Jumped on the bike when I got home from the gym. Could I beat 400 calories? Close, but no cigar. I got 396 calories and 6.95 km. It was the middle section again where I start to really slow down. Solid effort after being at the gym.

My Take on Frantasy Land

Had great night of sleep and didn’t wake up until ten after 8. Went to open gym at 10am.

No B.S. Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×175
  • 5×205
  • 5×225
  • 4×240
  • 2x5x235
  • MAX @ 225 (7)

I’ve been struggling through this entire second cycle of the program. I couldn’t even hit one full set of 5 at the recommended 240-245 and then the max reps was seven again, which is what I got during the first two times of this cycle. Maybe it’s time to try benching in the evening. Or maybe I’m not eating enough. Or maybe all of the cardio is affecting my ability to get stronger.

Conditioning

  • 9-6-3
    • Thrusters (95/65#)
    • Bar Muscle-ups
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 12-9-6
    • Thrusters (75/50#)
    • C2B Pull-ups
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 15-12-9
    • Thrusters (55/40#)
    • Pull-ups

This is my take on Frantasy Land for an everyday CrossFitter. When I came up with the rep schemes I was wondering if I could go unbroken through the entire thing. Hahahaha!! I did go unbroken (very slowly) on all of the thrusters, but the dream was crushed early when I had to go 5-4 on the first muscle-ups. I went 3-3 on the 6 and did the final 3. First part took me 3:46. I almost quit the workout right there. I started with a set of 7 C2B, but after that I don’t remember. I do know I was doing a bunch of singles to end the 9 and then all of the 6. Took me 5:09! I felt better for the final couplet doing 3×5, 3×4, and 5-4 for my pull-ups. That took me 4:47 to finish. End time on the clock was 17:42. I am just not comfortable with a bunch of barbell work in a metcon right now. 😦 Stood around resting way too much in between sets and movements.

I don’t know if I’m coming down with something or what, but I wasn’t feeling great the rest of the day and skipped out on an engine workout again.