Tag: Shoulder Press

More Grace

Still unbelievably sore from Monday’s WOD, but I don’t think I’m anymore sore than yesterday. Went in for the 5:30pm and did an alternate WOD since the people who didn’t make it Monday were doing 30 reps of the Bear Complex.

Warm-up

30-20

  • PVC Pass-thrus
  • PVC OHS

Strength

5×5 Shoulder Press

  • 8 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 75#
  • 5 @ 95#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 115#
  • 5 @ 130#

Everything felt good and 130# was pretty easy. It would have been nice to know in advance what we were doing because I would have looked up what I did last time and known to go heavier.

WOD

  • 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
    • Russian KBS (53#)
    • Floor Presses (40# DBs)
  • “Grace”: 30 Clean & Jerks (115#)

Since I know I’ll be working on the clean and jerks tomorrow in OLY class I went a little easy on myself with 115#. Had also just done “Grace” with 125# on Saturday, so this seemed like an odd choice to put in the WOD. I probably should have went Rx with 45# DBs for the floor presses because I flew through them with the 40s. Finished everything in 9:42.

Finisher

100 Quarter Get-ups (40# KB)

Most of the challenge for me with quarter get-ups is in keeping a stable shoulder as I get up to 10 in a row with one arm. Towards the end of the 100 it did get tougher to actually get up off the ground though.

After class I jumped on the rings and did a kipping muscle-up for the first time since my very first one back in July. This one was actually pretty fluid and I didn’t have to reposition my wrists and arms.

Overtraining

I went to the 9am class this morning, feeling kind of blah.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

  • Mountain Climbers
  • Star Jumps

Strength

1RM Shoulder Press

Last week I set a new PR at 145# and even got it for 3 reps, so I was shooting for 155# on one rep today. I started out with 10 reps at 45# and 5 reps at 95# to get warm. Not sure what I was thinking next, but I went right to 135#. I nailed that, then 140#, and 145#. First attempt at 150# hit a spot about half way and died. I gave myself a few minutes to rest and made one last attempt before our allotted 15 minutes were up. It wasn’t pretty and I could immediately feel my back tighten up after, but I got 150# for a new PR. Expecting 155# was probably a bit much with the upper body work I’ve done this week already.

WOD

  • 100 HR Burpees

The WOD didn’t call for the hand release, but I wanted the practice, so made them harder. Finished in 6:48. That’s only 4 seconds slower than my 100 regular burpee time from a month ago, so I guess it’s not as bad as I thought.

My burpees have been getting slower over the last few weeks, when I seemed to really be getting good at them for a while. One of these days I may have to video myself to see if I notice anything.

Finisher

  • 50 Turkish Get-ups (35# KB)

I remembered we had done this not too long ago (turns out it has been a month and a half) and I could have sworn the Rx was 40# back then and I know that I dropped down from that, which would have been the 35# I used. Well, Rx back then and today was 35#, so I should have used 30# again. No wonder my time sucked so bad! Today it took me 11:49 and when I did it with 30# my time was 8:22. That’s a big difference in time for only 5#, but I could really feel the instability in my shoulders today after a few reps on an arm and I had to break down into some sets of 3 at the end and even rest a bit. Before I stuck to sets of 5 on each side and never stopped to rest.

I can feel the effects of hard training on my body today, so I’m glad I had already decided to rest pretty much the rest of the week. Tomorrow I hope to get out and walk a round a golf, Friday I’ll go in to the gym and do some rowing, and then Saturday is hopefully another golf day with a massage. No more WODs until the competition on Sunday. This old body needs to recover!

Jingle My Jangle

I went out and walked 18 holes of golf this afternoon and am feeling good after not doing a WOD yesterday. Went in for the 7pm class.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 10 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 30s Bottom Squat Hold

I mixed in some PVC Around-the-Worlds for some of the pass-thrus to help get my shoulders warmed up.

Strength

5×3 Shoulder Press

I was really disappointed in my performance with the 5×5 last week, so I was in it to win it tonight. I did a set of 10 at 45# and a set of 5 at 95# to get warmed up. For my working sets I used 105#, 115#, 125#, 135#, and 145# with no missed reps. BOOM! My previous PR was 140# and I got 3 reps at 145# today, so I have no idea why last week sucked.

WOD

5 rounds

  • 3:00 AMRAP
    • 3 Burpees
    • 6 MB Cleans (20#)
    • 9 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 1m Rest

Start each round where you ended the last round, which will most likely be in the middle of the cycle. This makes counting easier, as long as you can remember where you leave off. I did exactly 17 rounds with 1 second to spare. One minute is not a lot of rest time between these rounds and all that squatting really adds up.

Finisher

Death by Jingle Jangles (by 3s)

What’s a Jingle Jangle you ask? They are basically short sprints from side to side in the gym, which is about 16 feet wide. So for this “Death by” style, in the first minute you have to get side to side 3 times, then 6 times the next minute, and increase by 3 each minute. For the first 5 minutes it’s all walking to save energy, but then I had to start picking up the pace. I got through the round of 30, which is the 10th minute, and then got 21 of the 33 in the 11th minute, which in a new gym record.

A Pressing Rest Day

Still pretty sore in my lower body from Sunday and Monday. Upper abs are sore from the 210 sit-ups yesterday. Went out and walked 18 holes of golf this morning. As planned, no going in to Survival Fitness today for a WOD. I had to get in the strength work though, especially since my upper body is feeling fine.

Shoulder Press

At SF they called for a 5×5. I did the following in my garage, with about 2-3 minutes of rest between sets.

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 115#
  • 5 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 4 @ 135#

I was very disappointed with what was supposed to be my last set, by only getting 3 reps at 135 pounds. So I took a breather and came back to do 4 quick reps.

Upright Row

The accessory work usually calls for Kroc rows, but I don’t have anything heavy enough for low reps. I could try to balance the bar in one hand and do them, but that doesn’t sound like fun. So I decided to do upright rows.

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 95#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 2 @ 115#

Going in, I had no idea what I was capable of. The two reps at 115# were fucking ugly, but now I have something to go off of for next time.

Back to Survival Fitness tomorrow.

Designed for Me

Yesterday morning I walked 18 holes of golf but took a rest day from CrossFit. I really needed it after the hill sprints on Sunday. Went to the 9am class today.

Warm-up

  • 1m DUs
  • 20 1-arm Russian KBS (10 each arm)
  • 1m DUs
  • 20 Russian KBS
  • 1m DUs
  • 20 Goblet Squats
  • 1m DUs
  • 20 KBS

Right out of the gate I nearly set a PR for unbroken DUs. I get 43, just one shy of tying my PR. I think I get in my head and sabotage myself each time that happens. I had some pretty decent streaks throughout, but got worse as I got more tired. I used a 53# KB for everything.

Strength

Matt is starting to put more focus on strength work and shorter WODs finally. That is one of the things I loved about the box out in Phoenix. I was making big improvements each month in my squats and deadlifts. I haven’t even done a 1 rep max back squat since I came back to Michigan!

I grouped up with Brian and Rick for this.

3 sets

  • Max Reps Right Arm KB Shoulder Press
  • Max Reps Left Arm KB Shoulder Press
  • 2-3m Rest

Started out with a 35# KB and did 19 and 21 reps. Moved up to a 44# and did 11 reps on each side. For the last set I used a 49# and did 8 reps each.

WOD

  • 50 Box Jumps
  • 250m Run
  • 40 Box Jumps
  • 150m Run
  • 30 Box Jumps
  • 100m Run
  • 20 Box Jumps
  • 100m Run
  • 10 Box Jumps
  • 150m Run

If I didn’t know any better I’d say this WOD was designed for me to crush. We were allowed to rebound off the box and off the ground to work on the skills there. I used a 24″ box and finished in 8:54. I did some double rebounding to speed things up, but it really wears you out so I stuck with rebounding off the box most of the time.

Finisher

  • 100 HR Push-ups

I finished in 6:21, beating my 7:48 time from just 3 weeks ago!

Finish with L-Hangs

Feeling good and my back is better each day. Walked another 18 holes of golf this morning. The walking is probably helping too.

Warm-up

  • 30 Air Squats
  • 20 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 30 PVC OHS
  • 10 rounds
    • 100m Run
    • 10 Suitcase Deadlifts (72# KB)

The runs were just a slow jog to loosen up.

WOD

5 rounds

  • 10 Ring Rows
  • 10 Burpees
  • 20 Goblet Lunges (53# KB)

I like this one because I need the ring row work, burpees keep up the intensity, and weighted lunges or good for the legs. I finished in 10:22.

Finisher

7 rounds

  • L-Hang (MAX)
  • 7 V-ups

Surprisingly my abs are sore today from the sit-ups we did yesterday. That rarely happens. I did mostly L-hang in the first round but after that it was a bent knee hang. The hangs sucked and I’m pretty sure I’ll be feeling them the next couple of days.

I stayed after a bit for open gym. Did some DUs and sucked so gave up on them for the day.

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 115#
  • 3 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 1 @ 140#

That’s a new PR, beating my old one by 5#.

My Favorite Burpees

I’ve been extremely sore from all of the wall balls yesterday. Ass, quads, hamstrings, you name it. I did make it out and walked 18 holes of golf this morning for the first time in nearly two weeks. I think that helped to keep things a little loose.

I’m using my standing desk station for the first time today while working. Hopefully I can get these back issues cleared up and get my spine back to normal.

Warm-up

10:00 EMOM

  • 10 Burpees

I loved this! I went all-out for my burpees in every minute and was done in less than 24 seconds each time. The rest period allowed me to catch by breath and go at it hard again when the next minute started. Pretty cool way to get 100 burpees in 10 minutes. Did I mention how much I loved this? 🙂

Strength

10:00

  • 10 KBS (55#) during the odd minutes
  • 10 Shoulder Press (30# DBs) during the even minutes

When you complete your reps for the minute, the rest of that minute is rest. We were supposed to go heavy for the KBS, but since they are so back intensive I took it easy. I probably should have started with the 35# DBs and had the 30#s handy, but by the end the 30s weren’t super easy either.

WOD

5 rounds

  • 15 Split Cleans (30# DBs)
  • 21 HR Push-ups

When we went to start this one, I was glad to have the 30# DBs, because I would not have been able to keep up the intensity with heavier ones. I had to take a short break around the half-way point of each round. I tried to get 11 reps of push-ups in at the start of each round and then do 5s to finish it off. By the end though, I was doing whatever I could to get them done. Finished in 14:31.

Skill

45s Rack Position Holds

We partnered up and switched off with the bar. I think I got in 3 reps. This was kind of weird, but maybe it’s just because my rack position is pretty good. I’m lucky enough to have good flexibility in my wrists and can keep my elbows up pretty good.

Sunday Morning in San Francisco

Yesterday was an incredibly long day. I was up at 5:30am and volunteered all day at WordCamp San Francisco, spending most of the day on my feet. I got a pretty good night of sleep and headed in to the hotel workout center at around 9:30am.

Warm-up

800m Run on the treadmill

Strength

I used a couple of the machines again today, but went back and forth between the machines instead of doing all sets at one machine before switching.

Chest Press

  • 3x 115#
  • 3x 130#
  • 3x 145#
  • 3x 160#

Shoulder Press

  • 3x 80#
  • 3x 95#
  • 3x 110#
  • 3x 135#

WOD

3 rounds

  • 20 Chest-to-deck Push-ups
  • 30 Russian Twists (30# DB)
  • 30 Air Squats

I finished in 6:20 and probably should have upped it to 5 rounds.

Finisher

20 minutes on a stationary bike set to the hills program. According to the computer I went 5.44 miles.

Row, Row, Row on the Rings

After doing 210 KBS yesterday in the WOD, I can feel it in my posterior chain like I haven’t in quite some time. My back still has issues. I made it out to walk 18 holes of golf this morning.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 10 Single-leg RDL (62# KB)
  • 45s Rest

5 rounds

  • 8 DB Shoulder Presses
  • 45s Rest

I started off with 45# DBs, moved to 40# during the 3rd set and even had to go down to 35# to finish out. Not sure why I was so weak with these.

3 rounds

  • 20 GHD Sit-ups
  • 1m Rest

The GHD at the gym is whack! Doesn’t even adjust, but we make due I guess. 20 in a row was tough.

WOD

21-15-9

  • Thrusters (30# DBs)
  • Ring Rows

I’ve decided it’s time to start scaling weights more so I can increase power output. Again Faster has a great article you should read. I’m just not strong enough to do many WODs Rx that involve heavy weights, so why try, when it means I have to go slower and can’t keep up the intensity. I almost went with the 35# DBs, but switched to 30s at the last-minute. Ring rows were the real struggle of this though. I finished in 6:02.

Finisher

Work on HSPU.

I did 3 sets with a minute or two of rest in between. My arms and shoulders were already fried at this point. I managed to get 5, 6, and 4 reps. Terrible!

Double Me

Last night I went for a 3.65 mile brisk walk to break in the Nike Free shoes and just relax. This morning I had the first round of the Saginaw District Golf Association Invitational Tournament, so walked 18 holes on the course. I shot terrible!

Warm-up


8:00 AMRAP

  • 10 PVC Shoulder Pass-thrus
  • 40 Lateral Hops (20 each leg)
  • 30s Plank

I have no idea how many rounds I did. Didn’t count since it was the warm-up and the pass-thrus are not something to rush through.

WOD

4 rounds

  • 20 Pull-ups
  • 30 KBS (53#)
  • 40 Box Jumps (24″)

I finished in 21:50. I’ve really been struggling with my pull-ups lately, but they came back around today. I concentrated on really snapping my hips and pushing away from the bar at the top, which I’ve been forgetting to do. For the box jumps I rebounded off the floor on well over half of the reps.

Finisher

Death by Burpees

I finished off the round of 12 with over 30 seconds left in that minute and then Cari turned off the clock for the end of class. Not exactly sure why since it was open gym right after. Would have been nice to see how far I could get, but I guess I won’t complain about doing less burpees since I did 115 of them yesterday and that’s another 78 today.

Open Gym

First thing on my agenda was to set a deadlift PR. I did the following:

  • 10x 135#
  • 5x 225#
  • 5x 265#
  • 3x 305#
  • 1x 335# (matching PR)
  • 1x 355# (new PR)
  • FAIL at 365#
  • 1x 365# (new PR)

BAM! That’s more that twice my body weight and a 30# PR. Hell yeah!

After that I worked on snatches for a while, doing some small sets with 85#, some small sets with 105#, and a few singles at 125#. Then I moved back down to 85# and worked on the squat snatch for a while. I have no idea how many sets or reps I did of any of this. I was more concerned with working on some technique.

I was going to start some work on butterfly pull-ups, but my hands were already pretty sore from the 80 pull-ups and deadlifting. With the 2nd round of the tournament tomorrow, I need to be able to swing a golf club. So I got out the prowler instead. Loaded it up with four 45# plates and did a 30 yard (?) high push followed by a low push back. Did that 5 times, with plenty of rest in between each down and back, before my legs just couldn’t do the low push anymore.

I was ready to head home, but Casey was doing some strict shoulder presses, so I jumped in with him.

  • 3x 85#
  • 3x 105#
  • 3x 105#
  • 3x 125#
  • 3x 125#
  • 1x 135#

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was a 10# PR! Looking back at my posts, I had done 125# for 5 reps, but never more than that. I mistakenly thought I had done 145#, but it was the push press. (I had to update this section of the post 4 times because I kept getting the weights wrong)

I’m spent! I got to the box just after 4 for the 4:15 class and left open gym just before 7pm. Three hours of solid work. Tomorrow is going to be a rest day for sure.