Push Press

Seriously?

Walked 18 holes yesterday and it was a quick round since the course wasn’t letting carts out. I was about the only person out there. Was pretty sore in many places, so it was good recovery. Got to the gym early this morning to do a couple more rowing tests. Warmed up with an easy 500m first.

Row

3:00 for distance at <= 24 s/m
Rest 10:00
250m for time

I’ve never paid much attention to my stroke rate, so that was an interesting challenge. I was able to keep it pretty steady with only one 30 second section missing. Managed 888 meters with an average of 23s/m and a 1:41.3/500m pace. Compare that to my 1,000m PR of 3:11.2 where I averaged 1:35.6 but at 33s/m. When I went to get up I felt my low back was really tight. The 250 meters was a good push and was just a half second off my PR time, getting 40.9.

Could really feel my back getting off after the time trial. What the fuck?!?

Strength

Push Press

6×45#
6×95#
6×115#
6×135#
6×155#
6×175#

I put on my belt for 115# and above. Was ok, but not the greatest on the back so didn’t push the weight. Coming in my goal was 195# which I’ve done for a set of 5 before.

Figured I shouldn’t do some of the other stuff programmed for class so I did 3 sets of 10 Reverse Hypers with 210#.

Conditioning

8 Rounds (Tabata)

20s Air Dyne (AD2)
10s Rest

Something I could do that wouldn’t put any stress on my back and still get me sweat on. Racked up 133 calories and 1.17 miles.

1 More Sleep

Stayed up late and up early this morning. Too excited watching the stuff roll in from California on social media. I fly out tomorrow! Out in the garage around noon to do work.

Shoulder Press

10×45#
5×95#
3×115#
2×135#
1×145#

Warmed up.

Pressing Complex

E2M 12:00

1 Shoulder Press (155#)
2 Push Press (155#)
4 Push Jerks (155#)

Was feeling rough in the first round! I wore the belt so I wouldn’t overextend. Really tried to tighten up my lower body before each set. Last couple of singles felt heavy! Here’s my last set…

Death by Clean

* Every 30 seconds instead of every minute!

1st 30 seconds – 1 Power Clean (115#)
2nd 30 seconds – 2 Power Clean (115#)
… increase by 1 rep every 30 seconds

Testing this one out before it’s used later this week at CrossFit Intuition. I set the over/under at 9, figuring that it all came down to how long you can go unbroken.

I probably should have done a few warm-ups because the first few rounds felt ugly as hell. Went unbroken through 8+7 and then singles. Barely had any rest before the 10th round started so just kept with the singles. Didn’t make it through. Final score of 9+7. It got nasty real fast. Wore the belt here too just to be safe.

Gymnastics

12:00 EMOM

2 Strict Pull-ups (40# vest)
+ 2 Strict Ring Dips (40# vest)

Was taking about 15 seconds to get the work in each round.

Conditioning

2 Rounds

75 Air Squats
25 Ball Slams (30#)

My air squats are slow, but I never stopped during either movement. Finished in 7:13.

Took a break from watching the Masters and Teens on the live stream because I had to go pick up a case of Kill Cliff so figured I’d stop at the gym for some more work around 6pm.

I did some bottom squat holds and stretching, then 3 sets of 10 Reverse Hypers (210#).

Out of the blue I went for a big set of muscle-ups even though I’d already done those weighted pull-ups and dips earlier today. Got 9 and dropped without attempting a 10th. Was at that point where you just know it’s not going to be close if you try another. That’s a PR by 1 from a year ago. Curious to see what I can do fresh now.

Was going to do some light and long prowler pushing. But a young kid who was a good football player wanted to join in, so did some sprints instead.

5 Rounds

25m Prowler Sprint (High, 180#)
25m Prowler Sprint (Low, 180#)

They always seem to be worse than you remember.

In vs Out

Stayed up too late. Only drank a Mountain Dew Live Wire this morning before heading to the gym. Not a good idea. I felt like shit until I started working up a sweat.

I warmed up my push press with 10×45, 5×95, and 5×135#. Only did 6 deads with 155# to warm-up the lower body.

Strength

12:00 EMOM (alternating)

5 Push Press + 10s OH Hold (155#)
6 Deadlifts (245#)

Class was doing front squats but I did some yesterday and squat heavy tomorrow. Substituted the deadlifts instead.

Accessory

5 Sets

4 Pendlay Rows (155-155-165-165-165#)
4 Good Mornings (135-155-175-175-175#)

Felt good. Didn’t push it.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

60 Russian KBS (70#)
50 Air Squats
40 Burpees
30 Ball Slams (25#)
20 OH Walking Lunges (45#)
10 Push-ups

I did the swings 40-20, unbroken on air squats, burpees, and ball slams. Then 10-10 on the lunges and unbroken push-ups. Second time through went 20-20-20 on the swings, unbroken air squats, and got through 21 burpees. Morgan pushed me to go harder than I really wanted to at the end to stay ahead of her. Good workout when I came in feeling like garbage.

Heavy Singles

Made it in early before the 9am to squat since they switched to Monday in the Intuition programming for a while.

Back Squat

20×45#
5×135#
5×225#
3×265#
2×295#
1×315#
6x1x335#

Set with 135# was done shoeless and it was quite an interesting feel. I did the 7 singles by the clock, every 2 minutes. Was harder than I expected. Haven’t done a bunch of heavy singles in quite some time.

10×45#
4×95#
4×115#
4×135#

8:00 EMOM

4 Push Press 155#
10s OH Hold

DAMN! Started getting rough after round 3. Held for about 20 seconds on the last round.

Conditioning

2 Rounds

30 Russian KBS (70#)
30 Burpees
30 Air Squats

Tried to keep a steady pace on the burpees. Finished in 6:56.

Midline

3 Rounds

20 Russian Twists (53#)
20 GHD Sit-ups

Didn’t go for time today, especially with the bigger sets of GHDs than I’m used to. Haven’t been doing enough of them lately so I substituted for AbMat sit-ups.

Run Every Day

Around 7pm I ran 3.1 miles in 27:53 for right at a 9 min/mile pace. Exactly one week left.

3 Overheads

I slept so solid last night. Never got up to piss either. In for the 9am class.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
400m Run

Strength

2 Shoulder Press + 2 Push Press + 2 Push Jerk

45#
95#
115#
135#
145#
155#
165#

I haven’t done a lot of vertical pressing for strength lately since I golf on Monday. The programming rotation time has come so it works out well for me, especially as I’m thinking to start a squat program instead of making shit up like I have been.

Conditioning

7 Rounds

30s Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
30s Rest

Felt easy actually. I got 14 for the first 6 rounds and then busted it a little more to get 15 in the last.

2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2

Deadlift (95#)
Power Clean (95#)

Wanted to hold on to the bar as much as possible. Went through the 6s and then dropped it. Did both movements for the rounds of 8-10-8-6 and then dropped it for a short rest. Finished with 4-2 unbroken. I really wanted to try the 6-4-2 but after the 6 cleans my grip needed a rest. Took me 4:27. It was a fun workout and would be a good challenge to push the limits and keep going until you really can’t hold the bar anymore.

Run Every Day

Left the house just after 6pm. Felt good and kept up a solid pace. Ran 3.31 miles in 30:20. After feeling pretty good the last few days I was curious if it would continue today. Seems like I crossed over some type of hump because it feels easier to keep a faster pace than the pace I had been going. Don’t want to push too much this week though with the competition on Saturday.

Almost Done

In to the gym at 9am for a squat session. Warmed up with 100 walking lunges.

Back Squat

10×45#
5×135#
4×225#
4×265#
4×290#
4×310#
4×325#
4×340# (PR)

Reps felt really good even though my legs are feeling trashed. Last set was a grind, but solid. I’m thrilled with the improvements I’m seeing in my squat positions. Didn’t have any forward lean at all when it got heavy. Ankles, knees, and leg muscles really starting to feel all of the volume though. One more day!

Didn’t have time to get in my bench accessory work so took the rest before class started.

Weightlifting

Worked on snatch stuff with complexes. Combination of 3 position pause snatch deadlifts, snatch pulls, power snatches, and an OHS here and there. Weights were 45-75-95-115-125-147#.

Conditioning

21-15-9
- Deadlifts (225#)
- Push Press (95#)
75 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

It was “Diane” but I just got stitches out of my head on Thursday so bouncing on my head isn’t a good idea yet. The push presses were a good substitute and that weight allowed me to go unbroken with some hurt. A heavier weight would have been more comparable to HSPU, but that’s ok. I did the deadlifts unbroken too. Finished the 9s in 4:10. Going into the wall balls was a bit of a surprise with dead arms. I did 3 reps and dropped the ball to rest. Got to 10, then lets of 10 until finishing with 13-12. Total time was 9:49, which is pretty damn slow for wall balls.

PR Triple

Slept well and feel good. Out to the garage around 8:30. Warmed up with 5:00 Air Dyne (2.32 km).

Coffee Squats

Back Squats

10×45#
5×135#
3×225#
3×265#
3×295#
3×315#
3×335#
3×345# (PR)

Was definitely time to start lifting inside the squat cage to be safer since I’m alone at home. I feel like the confined space also forces you to concentrate more so that you don’t bang into the rack. I did 3×340# back in January when I was getting back into squatting frequently, but then shortly after took the 2 month break for my quad. Oh, by the way, I haven’t really noticed the quad much lately, so I think all of the squatting and lunging has helped it heal. Probably had some muscle imbalances.

I haven’t had 345# on my back since setting the 360# PR last June, so really happy with this. Was definitely heavy, but looks pretty good in the video. 45 days in, 4 to go.

Lunge University

250 Walking Lunges (40# vest)

Strapped on the vest, fired up the latest Barbell Shrugged episode on adding mass to the ass, and headed down the street. Fuck doing laps inside the closed garage. I went out down the road 130 steps and then had 120 back. It was much more “enjoyable” that way. Took me 13:09. Fifty more steps than I’ve done with the 40# and maybe even 20# too.

At the gym at 6:30 for bench and weightlifting night. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation and a 500m row.

No B.S. Bench Press

10×45#
4×135#
4×175#
4×205#
4x4x225#

Weight felt light in the warm-up sets. I actually paused for a split second on my chest with 135# and 175#. No danger of missing any of the work sets.

Tall Snatch

5×45#
5×65#
3×95#
3×105#
3×115#
3×125#
3×135#

Felt pretty good. Tried to get good lockouts when it was getting heavy on the last two sets. I somehow did 145# for a triple back in December. Maybe could have done the same today, but didn’t want to push it since I was starting to feel these in my low back.

Push Press

5×95#
5×135#
3×165#
3×185#
2×205#
2×215#
2×225# (PR)

Would have liked to go one more 10# jump, but my low back was feeling tight from the snatches after squatting heavy this morning. I knew I’d start to overextend with any more on the bar.

Reverse Hyper

2x20x210#

Huge back pump with that big of sets! I haven’t been doing these at all lately. Haven’t been stretching either. My back hasn’t had any issues, but I do think it’s looking forward to the end of Squat Every Day.

Did a round of Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap before leaving.

Annie Are You OK

Legs felt a little weird this morning getting out of bed. Maybe a result of smashing my knees yesterday. Out in the garage just after 7:30 and warmed up with 3:00 Air Dyne (1.38km).

Coffee Squats

Pause Front Squats (5s in the hole)

10×45#
5×135#
5×185#
2×225#
2×245#
2×265#
2×275#

I don’t have anything insightful to say, though do I ever? Was hard breathing in the hole on that last rep so started to lose position coming up.

Lunge University

200 Weighted Walking Lunges (40# vest)

An extra 20# came yesterday for my weight vest, so had to try it out today. Damn that thing is heavy now. Took me 9:47.

I had an appointment at the chiropractor before hitting the gym tonight. Only going once a month now since my back has been doing well. When I got to the gym I did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then jumped into one of my favorite girls since I haven’t done her yet this year.

Conditioning

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10

DU
Sit-ups

I knew I was doing well when I felt good at the end of the 50 sit-ups. Didn’t miss any dubs and finished in 5:59, for a 29 second PR! Did anchored sit-ups with some DBs over my feet.

No B.S. Bench Press

10×45#
5×135#
5×185#
3×205#
5x3x225#

Felt strong.

Tall Cleans

5×45#
2x5x95#
2x5x115#
2x3x135#
2x3x155#
3×165#
2×175#
2×185#
2×195#
2x2x205#

Workin’ on that speed under. Rough on those last 3 sets. I didn’t realize how many sets I was doing at the time.

Push Press

3×135#
3×146#
3×157#
3×168#
3×179#
3×190#
3×201#
3×212# (PR)

I missed out on PP triples that CFi did Monday so they fit in well today, especially since I did sets of 5s a week ago. I had 45# plates on and then just kept making 5 kilogram jumps. Felt a little fatigue from the bench press, but I’m liking overloading the upper body with two pressing movements on Wednesday. Need to start putting some work into my jerk though. Gotta keep those shoulders working well, so did Crossover Symmetry Plyometric.

Two Dozen

Pretty early to bed again last night, was up by 7, and in the garage by 7:30. Warmed up with 50 walking lunges.

Coffee Squats

10×45#
5×135#
5×185#
5×225#
6:00 EMOM
- 4x3x255#
- 2x3x265#

Wanted to kind of take it “easy” today, but usually an EMOM like this is anything but easy. I was going to use 255# the whole way, but when I got done with the 4th set I went straight for the 5# plates and threw them on. Maybe not the best idea because in that 5th set I felt a pull in my upper back from holding the rack position. Same area that I tweaked a couple of weeks ago. Took a couple of hours before I really felt it last time, so will see how it feels this afternoon.

24 days of squats…check!

Lunge University

200 Weighted Walking Lunges (20# vest)

Relaxed pace since my heart rate was already up from the EMOM work. Finished in 9:29.

Damn I look like death in that picture. Can you tell I just rolled out of bed? Done by 8am. How did you start your day?

Was able to get tennis stadium tickets for all 3 days of the CrossFit Games when they went on sale today. So excited!!

Got to the gym at 6pm. Hit Crossover Symmetry Activation and then jumped on the rower.

Conditioning

8 Rounds

1:30 Row @ 1:48-1:50/500m
1:00 Rest

Meter counts were 412-413-414-415-415-414-413-413. Not hard, just putting in work.

No B.S. Bench Press

Cycle 2 Week 2

10×45#
4×135#
4×165#
4×195#
6x4x215#

Feeling solid. I cycled my reps pretty quickly.

Weightlifting

I did some warm-up with the empty bar.

Power Clean + Hang Power Clean

3×1 50kg
60kg
70kg

Clean + Hang Clean

2×1 80kg
2×1 90kg
2×1 95kg
100kg

Started squatting all of these. Got rough at 95+.

Push Press

5×135#
5×155#
5×175#
5×185#
5×195#

Felt brutal. Looked back and I did the same working sets back in January. Here I thought that might be a PR for a set of 5. I would have gone 5# heavier! 🙂 Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Plyometric.

Pressing Combo

Did a bunch of yard work yesterday and was feeling pretty beat up from the workout. My body isn’t used to those heavy clean and jerks. Got to bed early for a good night of sleep. My HRV is way down to 93 this morning, but only orange not red. Tomorrow is going to be my “rest” day this week because of plans I have today. Will take it a bit easy in the 9am class today. Out in the garage at 7:30 in the morning. Warmed up with 3:00 Air Dyne (1.42km).

Coffee Squats

Front Squats

10×45#
5×135#
5×175#
5×205#
5×225#
5×245#
5×265#

Had to fight a little and concentrate on positions. Not so much that I felt compromised though. Wore a belt for the last 2 sets.

Body lies so much. Last rep felt much tougher than the video shows. Happy to be keeping pretty good positions throughout the set.

In for the 9am class…

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
PVC Pass-thrus

Accessory

5 Rounds

30s Air Squats
30s Rest

I got 24-26-27-28-29 for a total of 134. Burned, but pretty good.

Strength

2 Shoulder Press + 2 Push Press + 2 Push Jerk

45#
75#
95#
115#
125#
130#
135#
140#
145#
150#

Fun complex to get in extra work with the weight.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

7 Deadlifts (135#)
14 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

Didn’t step on the gas and kept the load light. Did 6 rounds plus 7 deadlifts and 4 wall balls. 8+ is doable.

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap and the back/leg stretches before taking off. I’m interested to see what my HRV will end up being tomorrow. The front squats weren’t actually too far off the most I’ve done for a set of 5 and the pressing complex was pretty heavy, but I only went about 80% at the metcon.