Too Far Forward

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Olympic Lifting

  • 7:00 45# Snatch Position Drills
  • 2:00 Rest
  • E20S 2:00 95# Snatch
  • 3:00 Rest
  • E30S 3:00 125# Snatch
  • 3:00 Rest
  • EMOM 5:00 145# Snatch

Movin’ on up! Felt good at 145#. I missed my first attempt in the final minute due to lack of concentration, but stepped right back up and nailed it. As long as it keeps feeling good, 2 more sessions and I’ll be at my max snatch weight of 165#.

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squat – Cycle 2 Week 2

  • 5 @ 120# (40% of Training Max – warm)
  • 5 @ 150# (50% – warm)
  • 3 @ 180# (60% – warm)
  • 3 @ 210# (70%)
  • 3 @ 240# (80%)
  • 3+ @ 270# (90%)

Warming up felt good, especially since I was already warm from the squat snatches. 270# felt super heavy lifting off the rack though. I got 5 reps for an estimated max of 314.5#, below my actual max of 325#. Afterwards Kevin mentioned that I’m really leaning forward on my back squats. Now it makes sense why I’ve been struggling so much. Will have to work on fixing that next back squat session.

Pullovers

Did a couple of quick sets while waiting for Matt. 2 Sets of 20 with a 45# DB.

WOD

10 Rounds

  • 150m Run
  • 7 OHS (75#)

Scaled down the OHS from 95# so I could do them all unbroken and not have the WOD take forever. Finished in 11:27.

Finisher

Slow 8:00 on the rower.

Pack It In

Upper legs are really sore from yesterday. I did a heavy sled drag at night that I’ve updated yesterday’s post with, but Louie Simmons says they don’t make you sore, so I guess it has to be from the squats and snatches I did. It was over a week since my last squatting session so maybe it was all from squats. Went in at 10am this morning and trained with Kevin. We really packed everything in and finished in well under 90 minutes.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Air Dyne

Strength

5/3/1 Shoulder Press (Cycle 2 Week 1)

  • 5 @ 60# (40% of training max – warm)
  • 5 @ 75# (50% – warm)
  • 3 @ 90# (60% – warm)
  • 5 @ 100# (65%)
  • 5 @ 115# (75%)
  • 5+ @ 130# (85%)

Felt good today and I was able to get 10 reps for an estimated max of 173#. I was only able to get 8 @ 125# in the first cycle, so that’s a big step up.

3 Sets

  • 20 Pullovers (45# DB)
  • 10/10 Side Bends (62# KB)

WOD #1

10:00 EMOM

  • 10 Burpees

Did the first round in 20 seconds and got a little slower each round until about round 5 and then was able to keep pace at 25 seconds per round. We definitely don’t do enough burpees. They are great for conditioning and this is a fun little interval workout.

WOD #2

  • 100 DU
  • 50 T2B
  • 30 HSPU
  • 30 Over the Box Jumps (24″)
  • 50 Sit-ups
  • 100 DU

My hips held me back after 37 reps on the T2B, having to go to sets of 3s and 2s or I would start failing to get my feet up to the bar. I hit the wall on HSPU even though I never did a set of more than 4. Had to do singles for the last 4 reps, which was super slow. Box jumps and sit-ups were unbroken. Double unders weren’t my greatest today. Took me 18:10 to finish.

Really solid training session.

A Big Retest

My low back isn’t feeling the greatest from yesterday’s deadlift session. Otherwise feeling good though. In at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Air Dyne
  • PVC Pass-thrus

Strength

5/3/1 Bench Press – Cycle 1 Week 3

  • 5 @ 85# (40% of Training Max – warm)
  • 5 @ 105# (50% – warm)
  • 3 @ 135# (60% – warm)
  • 5 @ 160# (75%)
  • 3 @ 180# (85%)
  • 1+ @ 200# (95%)

I used the Reactive Slingshot again for the working sets. I got 8 reps on the last set, but had a little issue with my right arm flaring out again. Gives me an estimated max of 253#, down from the 271.5# last lift.

Pullovers

3 x 15 with 60# DB

Olympic Lifting

I loaded up a training bar so it was only 35# to work on my snatch technique. Worked on keeping the bar close on the first pull and then getting to the hips on the second pull. I need to do this type of stuff a lot more often. I think we did 5-10 minutes of work.

WOD

  • 10 -> 1 HSPU
  • 10 -> 1 Ring Dips
  • 30 DU

Kevin had planned out just the first two movements and I remembered an almost identical WOD I did back in Phoenix, so we modified it for a retest. Back in January it took me 24:24 to finish. It’s the only WOD to ever put me in bed for the rest of the day and make me think I had rhabdo. I’d never done that many HSPU in a day before. Today I finished in 17:49 and feel great! Broke the HSPU up into 2 sets each round until I got to 4. Ring dips were 3 sets for most of the way and then some sets of 2 before doing the last 3 sets unbroken. Too many misses on middle rounds of DU. Huge improvement though and shows how far my strength has come.

Double 5/3/1 Day

Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf in the morning and took the rest of the day off. Really needed it. In at 10am this morning to train with Kevin and Ellen.

Warm-up

Ran 450m and felt really good.

Strength

Doubling up on the 5/3/1. Going to try and squeeze 3 weeks into 2, since I’m heading out of town the next week and can use that as my deload.

5/3/1 Shoulder Press (cycle 1 week 1)

  • 5 @ 60# (40% of training max – warm)
  • 5 @ 75# (50% – warm)
  • 3 @ 90# (60% – warm)
  • 5 @ 95# (65%)
  • 5 @ 110# (75%)
  • 5+ @ 125# (85%)

I got 8 reps on the last set, which is kind of disappointing. It estimates my max at 158#, which is below my PR of 165#.

5/3/1 Back Squats (cycle 1 week 1)

  • 5 @ 115# (40% of training max – warm)
  • 5 @ 145# (50% – warm)
  • 3 @ 175# (60% – warm)
  • 5 @ 190# (65#)
  • 5 @ 220# (75%)
  • 5+ @ 250# (85%)

I was thinking about trying to hit it as Super Squats and go for 20 reps since I’d done 245# for 20 before I got sick. Went by feel though and cut it off at 12 reps because I could feel my form getting ugly. It estimates my max at 349#, which I think is high since I haven’t put 25# on my back squat in the last 6-8 weeks. Once you get past 8 or so reps, the max rep calculators seem to be off. Happy with the work though.

Accessory

4 Rounds NFT

  • 10 Front Rack Lunges (135#)
  • 5 Strict T2B
  • 10 Pullovers (60# DB)

I did everything unbroken and went from one lunge right into the next one without putting my feet together. Our T2B weren’t exactly strict, but we weren’t kipping was the key point I guess.

WOD

4 Rounds

  • 10 Push Presses (35# DBs)
  • 90s Air Dyne
  • 2:00 Rest

I sped through the push presses each round. My calories were 35-30-30-33. The AD6 is so much different (harder) than the AD2 I have. World’s of difference. There is no way I could do 300 FY on the AD6 and it was easy on the AD2.

Morning Air Dyne

Golfed with a buddy yesterday, so took a rest day.

Conditioning

Did 20 minutes on the Air Dyne at about 9am. RPM was steady at an average of 72. Never saw a number lower than 69 or higher than 74. Totaled 520 calories and 11.41km. Felt good!

Went to Survival Fitness at 8pm for open gym and worked out with Brent.

Warm-up

  • 300m Run
  • 2 Rounds
    • “Cindy” round (strict and quality reps)
    • 3/3 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)

Strength

Super Squats! I warmed up with 8 @ 45#, 5 @ 135#, 3 @ 185#, and 3 @ 215#. Then I used 245# for the set of 20, up 20# since starting 2 weeks ago. That first week was definitely the hardest though. Really taxing today on the breathing. A couple of hours later I’m feeling tight in my lower back and my neck.

Then I did 3 sets of 20 pullovers with a 60# DB to stretch out the ribs, with the added benefit of working on my chest.

WOD

3 Rounds

  • 10 Ring Push-ups
  • 10 T2B
  • 10 Weighted Step-ups (24″ box, 45# DBs)

Originally planned for 5 rounds, but decided to keep it shorter after the super squats which are pretty taxing. Right before we upped to 20 step-ups too, but as soon as we got into them, I quickly made the executive decision that was a bad idea because of the big box. I finished in 4:59. Was able to do all of the push-ups and T2B unbroken, but had to break up the 2nd set of step-ups into 6-4 because of grip, but then powered through the last round. Could barely squeeze my water bottle after.

More Super Squats

I went golfing this morning and then went in to open gym at about 5:30pm.

Warm-up

5-10 minutes of DU work. I got a streak of 65 and some others over 40.

Strength

Back Squats

Warmed up with 45#, 135#, and 185# for 5 reps each. Last week I did 225# for a set of 20 and originally was just going to try 230# this week, but figured I might as well make it tough so went for 235#. It actually felt easier than last week and I didn’t get that pass-out feeling. Maybe I can try 245# next week!

Pullovers

I did 3 sets of 20 with a 60# DB and they were tough.

WOD

Row 5k

Kept a consistent pace at 20s/m and right around 2:05-2:10 per 500m. Finished in 21:13.8 by upping the pace a bit in the last 1,000m. Good aerobic work heading into the weekend and the competition on Sunday.

Two and a Half Hours

Had a well-deserved rest day yesterday and walked 18 holes on the golf course, playing one of my best rounds ever. Went in at 2:30pm today for some open gym time.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 Air Dyne
  • 3:00 DU
  • PVC Pass-thrus

XWOD

5:00 EMOM

  • 3 Hang Snatches (95#)

Working on speed of getting under it and warming up the CNS.

Olympic Lifting

Did the jerk footwork drill for a few minutes.

Split Jerks

  • 3 @ 95#
  • 3 @ 115#
  • 3 @ 135#

Again, working on speed and really driving down under the bar.

Then Casey and I decided to try out part of the lifting WOD from the team competition we’re doing next Sunday. We did an I go, you go for 5:00, increasing the weight by 10# each set for clean and jerks. Started at 135# and got up to 225# just under the time limit. No misses and had to change our own weight, so will be fun to see how fast we can get the girls done and then on to us. Maybe we can get up to the 250#, which is the max weight we’ll have for the workout. Will be fun!

Strength

  • Back Squats: 20 @ 225#
  • Pullovers: 2 x 20 @ 45# DB and 20 @ 60# DB

Little something from the Super Squats program. Pretty brutal taking a 10 rep weight and trying to go for 20. Was not easy and thought I was going to pass out on those squats.

Did some more DU, getting a streak of 73 before my rope hit the Air Dyne behind me! I wanted to get that 100.

WOD

Ladder, not for time. Go through once until failure and then start over from 1 and do it to failure again.

  • 1 Strict Chin-up, 2 Strict Ring Dips, 3 Sit-ups holding 10# plate
  • 2-4-6
  • 3-6-9

I got through the 5th round plus 6 chin-ups and 6 of the dips and then only got through round 3 plus 4 chin-ups and 6 dips. Not as intense an a normal metcon but great strength work and still got the heart pumping.

Solid 2.5 hours in the box. 🙂

Open Gym Friday

It’s been awhile since I did an open gym session at Survival Fitness. First I started with a WOD they did on Wednesday, which I had missed out on.

21-15-9

  • Box Jumps (24″)
  • HR Push-ups
  • T2B

The box jumps were easy and all done unbroken with rebounding off the ground. Hand release push-ups went better than expected, but I had to take some breaks in the rounds of 15 and 9. I set a new PR with 21 unbroken toes to bar, but that ended up hurting me. I couldn’t string them together very well for the next 2 rounds because my hips wouldn’t snap shut. They were one at a time in the round of 9. Finished in a time of 5:07, but was hoping to go sub 5. Great little WOD though.

8:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Push Presses (75#)
  • 20 OHS (75#)

I got 2 full rounds plus 20 push presses and 11 overhead squats, which is 3 reps shy of when I did it a couple of months ago in San Diego. I screwed up in round 2 though and for some reason started doing back squats, so lost valuable time and reps there. This is a great shoulder burner.

8 Rounds

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups
  • 10 Pullovers (45# DB)
  • 20 DUs

Didn’t do this for time, more to get in some midline work and some random DU practice.

More Box Jump Stupidity

My abs are sore from the massive number of back squats yesterday and probably the finisher as well. My legs aren’t really sore at all though. A bit fatigued.

Went to the 6pm Olympic lifting class and worked on snatches.

  • Snatch
  • Hang Snatch
  • Snatch Balance

Worked on these one round at a time without putting the bar down. Took a rest after each time through and added some weight. I started with the bar for a few rounds, then went 75#, 95#, 105#, and 115#. I missed the snatch balance on my first attempt at 105# so I did that one again. I’ve never done a hang snatch before. It’s a lot tougher than starting from the floor.

  • Snatch Grip Deadlift
  • Snatch Pull

I started with 125# for a couple of sets, then went 145# for a couple of sets, and finally some at 165#. Not sure how many sets I did at each but it was probably 2 or 3.

After class I headed over to Kevin’s for some garage work.

5×5 Weighted Chin-ups

We almost always do pull-ups weighted at the gym so we figured we’d switch it up a little. I used 10# for the first 2 sets and then 15# for the last 3 sets.

5×3 Weighted Dips

I went 10#, 15#, 20#, 25#, and 35#. Had a few more pounds left in the gas tank too.

Then, the geniuses that we are, we decided to do some high box jumps. After each doing 1-2 jumps at 34″ and 40″, we decided on the 44″. This was a bad idea after so many back squats yesterday. I landed my first jump, but the second one was bad news. My right foot got up, by my left nailed the box and it tumbled off to the right. Scraped up my leg in two places and got a nice bruise that instantly swelled up. Ouch! At least I didn’t get scraped up a ton with this spill.

Finally, did some ab work.

8 Rounds

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups
  • 10 Pullovers (40# DB)

Skip the Intensity

I haven’t been this sore in a long time. My quads, hamstrings, IT bands, and glutes all feel like they’re getting stuck with needles as I walk and especially going up or down stairs.

Had Olympic lifting at 6pm. Worked on snatch triples tonight. Worked up to 115# and then did a lot of sets there. Really concentrated on keeping my shoulders back and lats engaged. Felt more comfortable with it as I kept repping. Then did some snatch grip deadlifts, again concentrating on keeping those shoulders back. Settled in at 215# to work on the form.

My legs felt better after warming up and getting them moving. I bet tomorrow isn’t going to be very fun though. Day 2 always seems to be worse.

After class, I went over to Kevin’s and we did some work in his garage.

5 Rounds

  • 10s Ring L-hang
  • 20s Rest

Sort of a reverse Tabata.

8 Rounds

  • 10 Pullovers (40# DB)
  • 10 GHD Sit-ups

Pullovers are a new movement for me and I could definitely feel them working. Was good to get in a bunch of GHD sit-ups since we don’t have a real GHD at Survival Fitness.

I just bought a weight belt, so took that over with me and did some strength work.

Weighted Pull-ups (with belt)

  • 5 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 15#
  • 5 @ 20#
  • 3 @ 25#

I’ve always done these with a DB or KB in my feet, which is supposed to be harder because the weight is farther away from the center of mass. The first set didn’t feel good, but later sets felt ok. Shoulders were a bit fried from all of the snatch work though.

Weighted Dips

  • 5 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 15#
  • 5 @ 15#
  • 5 @ 20#

First time doing weighted dips of any kind, so had no idea what I could do. The first 4 sets felt good, but that last set at 20# was a little rough.

Needed a break from intensity after doing a WOD 4 days in a row, but got in a lot of good work.