Mini Cindy

Still feeling the effects of “Annie” on my core. Have been getting solid sleep lately and starting eating clean last Friday. Dropped 6 pounds already, down to 194#. I’d love to get back to under 190, which is golden for my conditioning.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Dynamic Toe Touches
  • 5 Inch Worms to Cobra
  • Zombie Kicks
  • 6×155# Deadlifts
  • 2 Box Jumps (30″)
  • 6×245# Deadlifts
  • 1 Box Jump (36″)

XWOD

  • 6-6-6-6-6-6 Deadlifts (335#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Box Jumps
    • 2s: 36″
    • 1s: 40″

Should have pushed it higher in weight and box height.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 3:00 “Cindy”
    • 5 Pull-ups
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 15 Air Squats
  • 1:30 Rest

We started each 3:00 where we left off the last one. I got exactly 4 rounds the first time through, 3 rounds plus 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 8 air squats the next time, and finally 7 air squats, 3 rounds, and 5 pull-ups. Push-ups started to go at the end of the second 3 minutes. They always get me.

We jogged an easy mile right after.

Another afternoon workout in the garage. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

3 Rounds

  • MAX Strict HSPU

I got 7-7-5. According to my records, over 2 years ago I got 10, but I tip the scales 20 pounds heavier these days. Not like I don’t know that overhead pressing is a weakness of mine though.

3 Rounds

  • MAX L-Sit on parallettes

Also a weakness. Not even true l-sits, but my feet were off the ground. I managed 14-21-15 seconds.

2,000m SkiErg

The fun part! First time trying long distance for time. From some rough comparisons with rowing I figured a pace of 2:10/500m would be a good place to start. That went out the window 5 seconds in after a 2:06-ish felt pretty good. I finished in 8:26.2 with 500m splits of 2:07.1, 2:07.0, 2:07.4, and 2:04.7 with a stroke rate of 35 for each split, so very consistent. I picked up the pace in the last 150m, which seemed like it should have gotten me more than a few seconds! Something to shoot for next time I guess.

4 Rounds

  • 30s Hollow Hold on hands/feet
  • 30s Rest

Wow! These were a bitch after the other stuff. They seemed pretty easy when I did them at SF before.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap.

Jump! Jump!

Ugh!! My shoulder got a little sticky yesterday. Felt it reaching for the garage door button in the Jeep and it definitely sticks when I go through the 90/90 movement. Must be those damn dumbbell snatches! Hopefully it doesn’t get worse or persist.

Feeling those GHDs for sure today. Went in early to get my presses done before the 9am class. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 2×135#
  • 10x3x145#

BOOM! Finished off the 3 week Smolov Jr. cycle. I’m so glad I decided to bump up the weights a little more for week 3. I don’t think I’ve ever done more than 145# for a triple, so this was huge. I was planning to take 3+ minutes of rest between sets but did about 1:45-2:00 for 8 and then not much more for the final 2. Thankfully I didn’t have any issues with the shoulder.

Did a little jump rope to warm up the legs since everyone else was already warming up on the rowers and I was late to the party.

Warmed up deadlifts with 4×155#, 2×245#, 2×315#, and 2×365#.

XWOD

  • 2-2-2-2-2-2 Deadlifts (385#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 PVC Jump Course
    • Heights were 12-14-18-24-30-42″

IMG_4733

I guess it’s roughly another inch for each to clear the PVC or dowel. A few times I got off my timing or spacing and bailed before jumping the last one. Those were fun!

Conditioning

  • 10-8-6-4-2 Russian KBS (62# KB)
  • 10-8-6-4-2 Burpees
  • Run 2 laps (~250m)

We did everything outside. Perfect day for it. Finished in 8:22.

My arms haven’t felt this dead in a long long time. Glad to be getting a massage this afternoon and a golf day tomorrow.

Double Morning

Out to the garage for an early lifting session. Warmed up with Crossover Symmetry Activation. Lighter than usual so I didn’t fatigue myself before presses.

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 6x6x125#

The final week of Smolov Jr. has begun! Bumping up the weights extra this week.

Back Squat

  • 20×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×185#
  • 3x10x225#

Giving up on 315# yesterday pissed me off. Haven’t been squatting enough. Nothing crazy today. A little greasing the groove. I did the last set of 10 unbroken and should have done that for all 3 sets. Was resting and breathing too much in between reps on the first 2 sets.

In to CFi for the 10am class.

Warm-up

  • Cobra Stretch 2x30s
  • Arm Circles
  • T-spine Twists
  • Neck Rotations

Midline

10:00 EMOM

  • 1/1 Turkish Get-ups

Did 3 rounds with 25#, 2 rounds with 35#, 2 rounds with 44#, and 3 rounds with 53#.

Skill

10:00 EMOM

  • 2 Muscles-ups

No misses! I thought for sure I’d be switching to singles by the 5th minute. I only hit 3 in a row for the first time 2 weeks ago and failed on a 3rd try at a double that day. Today I really focused on the hollow/arch/hollow swing, a big hip pop, and then a fast turnover. Never once got my wrists stuck in a bad spot on the turnover like I usually do. I’m excited! The XWODs are paying off in a big way.

Conditioning

Strapped on the 20# weight vest. Did about a 250m jog to warm up the legs.

5:00 EMOM

  • 20s Sprint @ 80% w/ vest

Took a couple of rounds to get a feel for running with that thing. Took it off for the next part.

E90S – 5 Rounds

  • 10s Sprint at 100%

My acceleration felt really good on these.

After a little break we jogged a little more than 1 mile. I finished out by doing Crossover Symmetry Plyo with the red and purple bands.

Rope Climbs

Feeling a little sore in new places from climbing the trees Sunday night at The Adventure Park. Walked 18 holes of golf yesterday. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • CS Activation
  • Arm Circles
  • 30 Jumping Jacks

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×115#
  • 8x4x130#

Paired up with XWOD of:

  • 2s – 30″ Box Jumps
  • 1s – Broad Jump

The shoulder presses were a lot more of a struggle today. The final day of week 2 should be very interesting!

Skill

Put on the shin skins and finally tried some rope climbs while the newbs worked on kipping with Kevin. We’ve been talking about me getting on that rope for the last couple of weeks, so it was time. I was using the faster method which starts about halfway through this video…

I did 3 or 4 of them and then did one legless too. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting. Felt a lot different strain on my shoulders doing them, so points to a weakness I need to work on.

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Deadlifts (115#)
  • 10 Push Presses (115#)
  • 5 Burpees

Finished 4 rounds plus the deadlifts and push presses. Did all 10 push presses in round 1 but then had to go 5-5 every other round. Rough after the shoulder presses.

About 2-3 minutes after we finished, we went for a 1 mile jog.

Hot & Sweaty GLBRT

Today was the 6th Great Lakes Bay Regional Throwdown, with it being hosted at Mission 1 – CrossFit Caro this time. I’ve competed in the last 3 and we won the belt for Survival Fitness at each one. The first two we competed in were one team takes the belt back to their gym and with the last one the format was switched up to make it more of a gym working together, where the top 2 scores from each gym count for each WOD.

Event 1

12:00 AMRAP

  • 200m Run
  • 21 American KB Swings 53/35#
  • 12 Pull-ups

2 teammates work at a time (1M/1F) to complete a round. When the first 2 teammates finish a round the second 2 teammates will begin a round. This pattern continues for 12 minutes. Score is total reps completed.

Both Partners run the 200m. The KB Swings may not start until both teammates have returned from the run to their area. Whoever chooses to start a set of KB Swings or Pullups must perform all the reps in that set, for that round. During the KB Swings the other partner must be hanging from a bar for the KB Swings to count. While the Pullups are being performed the other partner must hold the KB off the ground for the pullups to count. The 2 teammates that are not working must be touching the rig before they can be released for the run. They will be released after the working partners 12th pullup is completed.

Bre and I paired up with her doing all of the KBS and me doing all of the pull-ups. Brent and Laura started the workout and finished our 7th team round just before the time ran out. Wasn’t really that tough of a workout for me since it was just 3 runs and 36 pull-ups. I never dropped from the bar and went unbroken with kipping pull-ups on each set.

Event 2

There will be 8 stations for men and 8 stations for women.

  • Men’s weights = 75-95-105-115-135-155-165-185
  • Women’s weights = 55-65-75-85-95-105-115-125

Each athlete will have 20 seconds to work at each station and 10 seconds to transition to the next station to perform as many reps as desired. At least 1 rep must be completed at each station before moving to the next station. Score will be total pounds lifted per team.

Everyone knows the thruster. All bars will start on the floor. The athlete may complete the first rep as a full clean, receiving the bar in the squat position. The hips must clearly pass below the knee in the squat portion of the movement and the bar must end in a fully locked out overhead position with full extension of the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow. There may not be a pause between the front squat portion of the movement and the overhead portion. It must be a thruster and not a clean and jerk. If an athlete fails to complete a good rep at a station then they will leave the field at the next transition time.

When we did a run through I only did 3 reps at each weight. Today I went 7-7-5-5-5-3-3-3. Should have gone harder in the early and middle sets. Happy I was still able to get 3 at 185. I did 2, had to drop it, took a breath, and then got in another rep. Tweaked my back a little bit though. 😦

Event 3

Chipper!

  • 50 Wall Ball (20#/14#, 10’/9′)
  • 40 KB Snatches 44/26
  • 30 T2B
  • 20 Burpees
  • 30 Clean & Jerk 135/95
  • 40 Box Jump 24/20
  • 50 Deadlift 185/135

2 men start the chipper. After they complete the 50 Wall Ball and move to the 40 KB Snatches, the 2 women may start their Wall Balls. This pattern will continue through the entire chipper. There will be 2 scores. First score is men’s time and second score is total time. Work can be divided between partners however they choose. For example, if one woman cannot perform a 35# KB Snatch but her teammate can, then she may perform all 40 of them.

Each lane will have 1 barbell for cleans with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their clean & jerk they may load the bar for the women, however, if they choose to do this then the box jumps may not start until both men move off from the Clean station and on to the box jump station.

Each lane will also have 1 barbell for deadlifts with 2 45# plates, 2 25# plates, 1 45# barbell, and 2 spring collars. It is the responsibility of the team to load their barbell with the appropriate weight. When the men complete their deadlifts they must leave the field and cannot change the bar for the women. The first score is recorded upon completion of the men’s 50th deadlift. The second score is recorded after the women complete their 50th deadlift.

Brent and I beat our practice time by over 30 seconds and the girls beat their time by about 1:30! I couldn’t believe it when we were doing our C&J and they were waiting on us to finish. In the practice run, we got done way ahead of them and even changed the weight on the bar for them. They crushed it!

Great day and a fun team to compete with. The weather was brutally hot and it was even worse inside the gym. Spent a lot of time outside in the sun.Β  After today and walking 27 holes of golf yesterday in the hot sun and humidity I’m exhausted!

glbrt6-sf

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.

Spanish Hills for Hammys

Got up and went out for a run in the Barcelona streets. Went about a half mile before stopping at a good hill for sprints. Sprinted up it 10 times, walking back down to recover after each one. Here’s a picture from the bottom looking up.

20140613-091834-33514799.jpg

This next one is from the top looking down. You can’t even see the bottom of the hill it’s so steep.

20140613-091835-33515927.jpg

Before bed I got out the red band and did some work with it.

3 Rounds

  • 50 Band Pulls
  • 10 Shoulder Presses

2 Rounds

  • 10 Chest Flyes
  • 10 Standing Bench Press/Push-up

Kinda weird for those 2 movements, but got in some stretching and resistance work.

Barcelona Hills

Got up this morning and ventured out for some running. Saw a park on the map that looked like it had some views of the city.

100 Band Pulls (red)

Ran 0.96 miles out to the park. Lots of stopping at street crossings and damn is it hilly here! When I got to the park, I walked up and found an area with some benches and flat-ish ground.

20140611-095343-35623713.jpg

3 Rounds

  • 40 Air Squats
  • 20 C2D Push-ups

The air squats seemed harder than they should have, but the push-ups felt easier. Took me about 5:58.

Walked back down to the streets and went a shorter way back for a 0.61 mile run. I guess I should have reported those in kilometers since I’m outside the United States. πŸ™‚

Did 200 band pulls back in my room. I also brought a jump rope with me, so I could take that out one morning. I think I’ll do some hill sprints one day for sure. Use what you got!

Team Practice

In to the 10am class. Last time at the gym for over a week since I’m heading to Barcelona tomorrow. πŸ™‚

Back Squats

It was choose your own strength day, but is there really a choice? You fucking squat! Or at least I do.

2014-06-07-back-squat

  • 5×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×225#
  • 3×255#
  • 2×285#
  • 1×315#
  • 1×335#
  • 1×345#
  • 1×355# (PR)
  • 1×360# (PR)

That’s a 10# PR. I’ll take it.

Then we practiced some workouts that are part of an upcoming team competition where team scores count towards a gym score to determine top gym in the area. We’ve won the last 3. πŸ™‚

12:00 AMRAP (Partners)

  • 240m Run
  • 21 American KBS (53# KB) while other partner hangs from bar
  • 12 Pull-ups while other partner holds the KB

I paired up with Luke. We finished 4 rounds plus a run and 11 KBS I think. I thought that hanging from the bar would be taxing for the pull-ups so we broke the KBS down to 12-9 for a quick drop from the bar each round. Could have gone unbroken because the grip didn’t really become an issue. Did pull-ups unbroken. Holding the KB was no big deal.

Tabata Thruster Ladder

  • 20s AMRAP Thrusters
  • 10s move to next bar and rest

The weights were 75#, 95#, 105#, 115#, 135#, 155#, 165#, and 185#. I went conservative and did just 3 reps at each station, but made it the whole way. I had to rest a second or two in the rack position between each rep at 185# but the rest were all one rep right into the next. Could push it a little more at the beginning weights.

Got home and did Crossover Symmetry Recovery.

C2B and American KBS Back in Action

Surprisingly I’m not all that sore from the leg killer workout yesterday. I can feel some in my upper glutes, but my scaps are more sore than anything.

Warm-up

  • CS Activation (at home)
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Arm Circles

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 3×95#
  • 3×95# wide grip
  • 3×95# close grip
  • Speed Bench w/30-35s rest
    • 3x3x135# wide grip
    • 2x3x135#
    • 3x3x135# close grip
  • 8×185# close grip

First time putting any significant weight on the bar for that set of 185# and it felt pretty good. No struggle with the weight.

Conditioning

  • 20 C2B Pull-ups
  • 30 American KBS (53# KB)
  • 40 SDHP (53# KB)
  • 50 DB Push Presses (35# DBs)
  • 20 C2D Push-ups
  • 30 American KBS
  • 500m Run
  • 20 Burpees
  • 30 V-ups
  • 15 Ring Dips
  • 50 DU
  • 20 C2B Pull-ups

First time doing C2B and American KBS. My kip kept turning into a swing after about 4 reps in that first set of 20 though. Scaled down the push presses from the Rx 45# since I’m still trying to take it a little easy, especially with adding back in 2 movements in one day. Got my 50 DU unbroken, which is sweet at that point in a workout. Finished in 21:34.

Went back at 8pm for barbell club. Did CS Activation again before leaving home.

45# Snatch Position Work

  • Snatch Deadlifts
  • Muscle Snatches
  • Snatch Presses

5:00 EMOM

  • 135# Snatch w/ 3s pause in the hole
  • 2 OHS

Was supposed to go 10:00 but my wrists couldn’t take it. Not used to holding weight overhead yet.

Power Snatches

  • 2×145#
  • F-1×155#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×175#
  • 3x1x155#
  • 1-F-1-1×165#

Feet were getting too wide, which really sucks for squatting with it. After 175# figured it was more worthwhile to drop down and work on some fixes. Also allowed me to work on keeping my arms relaxed and try not to bend my elbows early. When I don’t pull early with my arms, the bar just flies up. I nearly lost a few reps behind me.

Grabbed the empty bar and did 5 OHS with a jerk grip. Lost some mobility with the time away from OH.