Spaz(m) Out

I only had one back spasm through the night. On the mend. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • 3×15 Reverse Hypers (30#)
  • 15-10 Good Mornings (45#)
  • 10 Air Squats
  • Bottom Squat Holds
  • Wall Squat Stretch (laying on ground)
  • 5×155# Deadlifts
  • 5×245# Deadlifts
  • 2x25m Run
  • 2x25m Run @ 90%

XWOD

  • 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 Deadlifts (315#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Sprints
    • 2s: 25m Sprint
    • 1s: 50m Sprint

Kept the weight lighter and focused on speed of the lifts. Controlled every rep back to the ground.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1:00 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 1:00 Wall Balls (20#, 10′
  • 1:00 Sit-ups
  • 1:00 Rest

In the first round I went 26-17-27. Didn’t hear Kevin correctly and stopped wall balls early. Had time for a few more reps. Second round was better with 24-20-29, and busted ass for 25-23-29 in the last round.

Walked about 200m after and then did a bunch of hamstring stretching.

Afternoon session in the garage started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 10x3x135#

I set the clock and went every 2 minutes. Might have to rethink adding 10# to each workout for the 2nd week of the cycle.

8:00 AMRAP

  • 2 Chin-ups (Strict)
  • 4 HR Push-ups
  • 6 Air Squats

Stole this little gem with a modification of my own.

I got 16 rounds plus 2 chin-ups, 4 push-ups, and 1 squat for a 16+7. I did it on my little rack, so tried to get my feet out in front of me in a good hollow position so they’d have as little contact with the ground as possible at extension. Push-ups got a little slow on my towards the end but never stopped.

Jumped on the Air Dyne (AD2) for 10 easy minutes at about 50-55% and went 4.49km to cool down. Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics.

Like a Monarch

Back spasms throughout the night for the 2nd night in a row. Just feels tight the rest of the day. Tried to get in for a massage today, but got canceled, so might see a chiropractor tomorrow if it doesn’t improve. Otherwise massage on Friday instead. Went in to CFi early with Kevin for a shoulder press XWOD as part of my Smolov Jr. cycle. Did a bit of warming up with the Crossover Symmetry bands, but was pressed for time so not much really. Did sets of 5×45#, 5×95#, and 4×115# shoulder press to lead up to my working sets.

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Shoulder Press (127.5#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 of 5-10-5 Shuttle Drill
    • 2s: 10s rest between each run of the drill
    • 1s: Wearing 20# weight vest

Shoulder presses felt really good.

Midline

We worked on some parallette headstand stability stuff, going from the floor, to upside-down L, to straight body, and back and forth. Pretty fun!

Conditioning

Kevin asked me to come up with something, which is never easy on the spot so early in the morning. 🙂

5 Rounds

  • 6 Push Jerks (135#)
  • 8 Pull-ups
  • 10 Wall Ball Sit-ups (20#)

I kept everything unbroken. When I jumped up on the bar I figured I’d give butterfly pull-ups a shot since I’ve been talking about them and hadn’t tried any since getting the shoulder impingement back in January. I was able to do all 5 sets of 8 unbroken with the butterfly! Kept a nice controlled pace and was able to keep the rhythm going. Finished in 6:01.

10:00 Row (easy)

I kept around a 2:10/500m pace. Went 2,321 meters.

When I got home I did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap.

Since I didn’t get the massage, I had some time to go out to a track for some running. Went to Heritage but everything is all locked up because they are completely renovating their track. Looks nice from what I could see. They had a sign up telling people to go to White Pine Elementary, so that’s where I went.

IMG_4834.JPG

  • 400m Jog
  • 100m Walk
  • 6 Rounds (skip rest/recovery after the 6th 400m)
    • 400m Run @ mile PR pace
    • 15s Rest
    • 200m Jog (slow recovery)
  • 500m Walk
  • 400m Jog

I ran the 400s in 1:31, 1:32, 1:33, 1:32, 1:31, and 1:31. I wanted to keep them all under 1:35 since I ran just under a 6:20 mile a couple of years ago. Would still love to run a 6 minute mile one of these days.

Running Bear

Not feeling it when I woke up this morning. Thought about staying home and hitting up a class later, but got my ass moving and made it to the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 4 Rounds
    • 30s Squat Hold
    • 30s Ring Hang
  • 10 Air Squats

Strength

  • 10×45# Back Squats
  • 5×135# Back Squats
  • 4×225# Back Squats
  • 4×245# Back Squats
  • 4×265# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips
  • 4×270# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips
  • 4×275# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips
  • 4×280# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips
  • 4×275# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips
  • 4×275# Back Squats
  • MU + 5 Ring Dips

The last rep with 280# didn’t feel so good on my low mid back, so I dropped 5# and did the last two sets instead of continuing to increase. Really focused on staying tight with my chest up on the last 2 sets. Decided to do my ring dips up in support after a muscle-up for an extra challenge.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Bear Complexes (115#)
    • Squat Clean Thruster
    • Back Thruster
  • 10 Burpees
  • 300m Run

I did 4 complete rounds plus 3 bear complexes. Dropped the bar on every rep during the 4 rounds and then did the final 3 unbroken as the clock was running out. Weight was perfect for this. Runs sucked! Walked about 200m after the workout.

Glad I made it in and got the workout done. Took an afternoon break out to the garage and started with Crossover Symmetry Activation to get the shoulders ready. Also did some shoulder press sets to get warm with 5×45#, 5×75#, and 5×105#.

XWOD

  • 5-5-5-5-5-5-5 Shoulder Press (120#)
  • Push-ups 2-1-2-1-2-1-2
    • 2s: 20# Weight Vest
    • 1s: Clapping w/ vest

Shoulder presses felt better than the first day back on a Smolov Jr. cycle. The push-ups weren’t that bad. Maybe not the greatest choice for the XWOD.

SkiErg

  • 500m
  • Rest 2:1
  • 5-8 Rounds *If you begin falling off pace dramatically then stop, minimum of 5 efforts*
    • 250m @ 85-95% of 500m pace (~2:02)
    • Rest 1:1
  • 500m

I set a PR on the first 500m with a 1:49.6 and really fell off pace in the last 200m. Would do better not going out so fast, but I was trying the technique improvements (see video below) and didn’t have any idea what I’d be able to do. My splits on the 250s were consistent, actually getting faster as I got more comfortable with the technique.

  • 1:02.4
  • 1:02.5
  • 1:02.0
  • 1:01.9
  • 1:01.0
  • 1:01.3
  • 1:01.3
  • 1:01.1

Then the last 500m my goal was to be able to hold the pace I’d been using for the 250m intervals since it was on the short rest coming off the last one. Did a 2:01.2, so goal accomplished.

Walked 0.44 miles around the block to cool down and catch my breath. Then did Crossover Symmetry Plyometrics.

Back Home

This morning before leaving the cottage I did DDP YRG Wake Up.

Went over CFi just before 2pm. Started with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

MAX set of pull-ups – 20

Shoulder Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 6x6x115#

Could tell I hadn’t moved any weight in a week. This starts a new cycle of Smolov Jr. for shoulder press.

Clean

  • 2x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 2x85kg
  • 2x90kg
  • 1x95kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x103kg
  • 3x1x105kg

Felt pretty good considering I hadn’t squatted in a week.

10 Rounds

  • 100m Row
  • 1:00 Rest

Fun! I hit a pace of 1:19/500m in some of the last intervals. Hadn’t been within a few seconds of that before. My splits were: 16.8, 16.7, 16.7, 16.4, 16.5, 16.7, 16.7, 16.7, 16.4, 16.6. I’ll take that consistency any day!

Quad Squad

My body is yelling at my for going off schedule and not taking a rest day yesterday. Quads and hamstrings are sore. In for the 9am class at CFi.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Various shoulder stretching
  • Shoulder Presses
    • 10×45#
    • 5×95#
    • 3×115#

XWOD

  • 5-5-5-5-5-5 Shoulder Press (132.5#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1 Explosive Movement
    • 2s: Burpee Broad Jump
    • 1s: Broad Jump to Height

Final rep on the last 2 sets of shoulder presses was a fight, so I’m glad I added the 2.5#. Turned out perfectly.

Conditioning

8 Rounds

  • 1:00 AMRAP
    • 5 Burpees
    • 10 Wall Balls
  • 30s Rest

* Continue each 1:00 AMRAP where you left off.

After 2 AMRAPs I had exactly 3 rounds and nearly kept up that same pace. Finished with 11 rounds plus 5 burpees and 1 wall ball, so was only 9 reps shy of getting 3 rounds every 2 AMRAPs.

5 Rounds

  • 25m High Prowler Sprint (90# + 45#)
  • 25m Low Prowler Sprint (90# + 45#)
  • Rest until 2 other people cycle through

Those low pushes really burn the legs. Good finish to the workout. Been far too long since touching a prowler.

My legs were telling me no, but I wanted to get in some OLY work so headed back to CFi for an afternoon session since tomorrow is going to be a golfing day.

Cleans

  • 2x3x50kg
  • 3x60kg
  • 2x70kg
  • 2x80kg
  • 2x90kg
  • 2x95kg
  • 1x100kg
  • 1x105kg
  • 5x1x108kg

Worked with Alex, so it was kilo plates and ends up being more volume on the way up than I was planning. My goal was 5 singles with 235#, so made it about 238# in the conversion. Made every lift, which is huge for how rough my legs feel. Getting so much more comfortable with the heavy cleans.

Split Jerk

  • 3×95#
  • 2×115#
  • 2x2x135#
  • 2×155#
  • 2×175#
  • 3x2x185#

Trying to work on speed under the bar and footwork. Felt ok, but shoulders are pretty wiped out from the last couple of days so didn’t push it far or heavy. I held a bunch of the 2nd reps overhead for an extra 5 seconds to work on stability.

Midline

5 Rounds NFT

  • 10 GHD Sit-ups (10# bumper on chest)
  • 10 Back Extensions (10# bumper behind head)

Show Up

Went to the CFi 9am, but I should have stayed in bed! Didn’t wake up until almost 7:30, which is pretty rare, so I’m a little beat up. But I’m glad I got in for the workout and I’m going to push it a little this week since I’ll be away on vacation next week with a break from weights.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Sumo Bottom Squat Holds
  • Hip opener stretches

Strength

Back Squats

  • 5×135#
  • 4×205#
  • 3×245#
  • 6x6x265#

A struggle!

Conditioning

  • 10 Shoulder Presses
  • 15 OHS
  • 20 Push Presses
  • 25 Front Squats
  • 30 Push Jerks
  • 35 Back Squats

Kevin asked me to come up with something and I had planned on doing this one over the weekend, so figured why not. It’s a lunch time workout done by the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar Staff, which I did over a year ago in 14:03. Rx is 115/75#. I was definitely not feeling it today, but pushed through for a PR in 13:34. The overhead stuff all killed me and I was absolutely dying. Way too much rest between sets of the pressing movements. Front squats were 10-9-6 and I did the back squats without dropping the bar.

I jumped on the rower after catching my breath and did a 2k at a slow pace in 9:52 to flush out my legs.

Some days you just have to show up and do work.

Afternoon break in the garage…

SkiErg
10 Rounds

  • 150m @ recovery pace (~2:53/500m)
  • 150m @ 100%
  • 30s Rest

Total work time was 14:12.5 for the 3,000 meters. Not a terrible workout, which is probably good since I was beat this morning.

Survive

2014-07-19-weight-chartWhen I woke up yesterday I was glad it was a rest day from training. Walked 18 holes of golf. Shoulders are feeling a little sore in the front. Hit a class at Survival Fitness for the first time in over 3 weeks. Saturday at 10am is always good for a partner WOD. My weight continues to drop (check the chart) with clean eating and cooking all of my meals. I’m feeling great too! Today will be a cheat/refeed day though because I’m going to the Survival Fitness Luau to drink some beer and eat all kinds of food. Should be a fun day, but that means DO WORK first!

Warm-up

  • 10->1 Russian KBS (53#)
  • 1->10 Burpees

Strength

1RM Thruster

  • 2×95#
  • 1×135#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×185#
  • 1×205#
  • 1×225#
  • 1×240# (PR)

I could have sworn I did 235# before but it was 225#, which I found out when I got home and looked at my logs. 15# PR! Pretty soon my thruster will be the same as my C&J, which is pathetic.

Conditioning

14:00 Partner AMRAP

  • 3-6-9… Thrusters (95#)
  • 3-6-9… C2B Pull-ups

* One partner does both movements and then rests while the other person goes.

I paired up with Joe, who did every round of C2B unbroken! Fucker didn’t barely give me any rest. I started us off and got through 18 thrusters and 14 of the 18 C2B pull-ups. Rounds of 3-6-9 thrusters were unbroken, then 7-5, 6-5-4, and 7-6-5. Pretty much kept C2B in sets of 3 with the exception of the round of 6 and did 5 to start my last round. Need to figure out why I lose my kip on C2B but not on other pull-ups.

Sat around at home and then at noon it was back out in the garage.

  • 10×45# Back Squats
  • 5×45# Shoulder Presses
  • 5×135# Back Squats
  • 5×95# Shoulder Presses
  • 3×205# Back Squats
  • 3×115# Shoulder Presses
  • 10:00 EMOM
    • Odds: 5×255# Back Squats
    • Evens: 5×130# Shoulder Presses

IMG_4771

I’d already have squats and presses planned, but was second guessing it after the SF class workout with the thrusters. Decided to dial back the squats a bit from the 275# I had planned and go for it. Sucked, but made it through all of the reps.

Loaded up the sled (25#) with 75# of bumpers and took off around the neighborhood. Went 1.04 miles in 22:22. I fucking hate the pavement on these streets. Makes it feel twice as heavy as it is.

Unbroken

Was definitely fatigued yesterday after all of the training on the weekend. Walked 18 holes on the golf course though. In to CFi early this morning to max out the shoulder press. Started off with Crossover Symmetry Activation.

Shoulder Press

  • 8×75#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 1×135#
  • 1×150#
  • 1×165#
  • Fail 172.5#
  • Fail 170#

Damn! Matched my PR from last May and it felt pretty good. I was expecting more after the Smolov Jr. cycle, but I guess I have to remember that I went 3-4 months without working my shoulders. Maybe after vacation I’ll do another cycle.

Warm-up

  • 15 Russian KBS (44# KB)
  • 5 Burpees
  • 10x CS ATYT
  • 4×135# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 45# plate
  • 4×165# Pendlay Rows
  • Kneeling Jump to 2×45# plates

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Pendlay Rows (185#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Kneeling Jumps
    • 2s: 2×45# plates
    • 1s: 2×45# + 35# plates

Shoulders and upper back are getting stronger. I used to struggle with this weight. Need to step it up more the next time I do the kneeling jumps.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 8 Deadlifts (225#)
  • 8 Burpees
  • 8 Pull-ups

Everything unbroken to finish in 6:44. Pull-ups are improving a lot with the shoulder work and focus on body positioning. Need to get up the speed of the burpees when fatigued though.

When I got home I took a bit and then back out in the garage for some quick work.

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10

  • Double Unders
  • Sit-ups

Anchored my feet under 50# DBs and tried to set my area so I wouldn’t be sliding back so much on the sit-ups, but that still happened. I finally got through this bitch without missing a DU and it made a big difference, giving me a 27 second PR with 6:28. If I’m going to get better I have to figure out how to do sit-ups without sliding backwards. By the time I get around 15 reps I have to move the AbMat back up and probably waste a second each time I do that. Really happy about this PR!

Did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap.

Later in the day I felt like getting in some intervals. Warmed up with 500m on the skierg in 2:34.

10 Rounds

  • 30s @ 90%
  • 30s @ 75%

* % based on 500m PR pace (90% is 2:03 and 70% is 2:38 for me)

My pacing was consistent through each half. Went 1,098m in the first 5:00 and 1,100m in the last 5:00 with an average pace around 2:16/500m. I was actually kind of hard to go as slow as a 2:38 unless I was doing just about nothing, so I was usually more in the low 2:30 range on the low intensity intervals.

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.

Fresh For Press

Really needed the day out of the gym yesterday. Walked 18 holes of golf and shot my best round of the year. 🙂

In to the 9am at CFi. Did CS Activation and then worked with Kevin trying to get him doing a kipping muscle-up. I probably did 5 MU or so to demonstrate.

Warm-up

  • 10x Squat to Stand Hold
  • 8 Snow Angels
  • 10x CS ATYT
  • 4x15s Hollow Hold
  • Shoulder Presses
    • 5×45#
    • 5×95#
    • 3×115#

XWOD

  • 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Shoulder Presses (137.5#)
  • 2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1 Push-ups
    • 2s: Clapping
    • 1s: Plyo on to three 45s + 35 stack of bumpers

Nailed all 8 sets! One more day and the Smolov Jr. cycle will be complete. My shoulders felt fresh after the day off.

Skill

DU Practice

I did a set of 50 and a set of 102.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 50 DU
  • 21 Russian KBS (62#)
  • 9 Pull-ups

First round of DU was unbroken but I screwed up once in the other two sets. Kettlebell swings and pull-ups (kipping) were all unbroken. Finished in 4:55. Did Crossover Symmetry Recovery when I got home.

In the evening…

Warmed up with some band pulls, 45# snatch position work, and 45# snatch presses. Did a couple of muscle snatches with 40kg and some snatch presses too. Then I started doing snatches. I have no idea how many reps I did at each weight though. Some I did one single and others I did a couple singles. Everything was a power snatch. Around 65-70kg I missed a bunch and then they got easier when I added weight after getting frustrated. Pretty sure the weights I got were 50-55-60-65-70-75-78-80-82-80. One attempt at 84, but was a miss and didn’t feel very good, so I dropped to end on a make.

Back Squat

  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 5×215#
  • 5×245#
  • 5+ x275# (got 11)

I was thinking about starting a Smolov Jr. cycle, but I’m going on vacation in less than 3 weeks so wouldn’t be able to finish. I’ll just take some squat sessions from 5/3/1 on extra squat days for the next couple of weeks, which is where this came from. The max set is a fun mental test.