Closing in on a Power 200

My HRV recovered back up to 109 this morning and my resting heart rate was down 10 beats to 43. When the HRV was in the orange on Thursday morning, I should have probably held back a little in the workout that day. Active recovery to the rescue! I was up earlier than normal so chilled with my coffee before hitting the garage. Warmed up with 3 minutes on the Ski Erg (616 meters).

Coffee Squats

Pause Back Squats (5s in the hole)

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×155#
  • 3×175#
  • 3×195#
  • 3×215#
  • 3×235#
  • 3×255#

I only planned on hitting 235#, but it was feeling so good I had to go another set. I first put 245# on the bar, but bumped changed my mind before going and was glad I did. Felt good!

Then to CFi for the 10am class.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • PVC Pass-thrus
  • 5 Hang Muscle Snatch (45#)
  • 5 Snatch Press (45#)

Power Snatch

  • 3×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 2×155#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×175#
  • 1×185#
  • 1×195# (PR)

Knew I wanted to go for that PR today when I saw snatch work on the board. Felt solid.

Conditioning

14 Rounds (Partner)

  • 12 Burpees
  • 12 Air Squats
  • 12 Pull-ups

Killed it with Bryan by going 6-6-12-6-6 every round. We picked up the pace in the last 2 rounds to finish at 13:51. Great workout and was nice to be able to knock out quick air squats.

Midline

2x with a partner (20#)

  • 10 Chest MB Passes
  • 10 OH MB Passes
  • 10/10 Side MB Passes
  • 10 Up MB Passes

Before heading home I did Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap for those shoulders.

How Much Ya Bench?

Okay, this morning I can feel a little fatigue in my shoulders from that shoulder press work I did Monday night. Crawled out of bed by 7am today. Might as well get in those squats early. Warmed up with a quick 3:00 on the Air Dyne (1.47km).

Coffee Squats

Pause Front Squats (3s in the hole)

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×155#
  • 5×175#
  • 5×185#
  • 5×195#
  • 5×205#

Those last two sets sucked! I couldn’t hold a breath in the hole after the first two reps. Wore a belt for the last 3 sets to help keep tight. That’s the 10 day of squatting. Didn’t feel the quad at all in this session, but I did feel something odd on the inside of my right knee as I descended on some of the reps. Did 15 minutes of stretching after I was done.

Got to CFi at about 6pm. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then a little warm-up workout.

2 Rounds

  • 500m Row
  • 50 DU

Got a new coated cable for my RPM rope so replaced the frayed bare wire one before heading to the gym. Wanted to try it out so came up with this. I didn’t attack the rower at all; just under a 2:00/500m pace I think. Finished in 5:29. Was a little worried the coated cable would be too slow for me but it felt pretty good. Had one miss in each set and it was after 48 in the second round.

No B.S. Bench Press

Test Day!

  • 10×45#
  • 8×115#
  • 5×155#
  • 3×185#
  • 1×215#
  • 1×240#
  • 1×260# (PR)
  • 1×265# (PR)
  • F @ 270#

Damn, I thought I had that last one. Got it pretty far up and thought for sure I was going to fight through it before stalling out. That’s a 15# PR though, probably 10 of which can be directly attributed to the 9 week program. My estimated max was 255# from a set not too long before we started. New cycle starts next week. 🙂

Weightlifting Wednesday

The plan is to make 7pm class on hump day all about weightlifting. Should be fun.

  • 5 Hang Muscle Snatch (45#)
  • 5 Snatch Press (45#)
  • 5 OHS (45#)
  • 2 Snatch High Pulls, 1 Snatch
    • 3 sets @ 75#
    • 3 sets @ 95#
    • 2 sets @ 115#
  • Snatch
    • 2×135#
    • 2×145#
    • 2×155#
    • 1×165#
    • 1×175#
    • 3x1x185#

I missed one at 145# before hitting it a second time. Catches were kind of shaky with some of the heavier weights, but the final one was locked in the best of them all. I think the Crossover Symmetry has really helped with my shoulder stability because I was able to manipulate the weight overhead for some good saves.

Sprint

Felt like a quick row so went for 500m. Was killing it and then hit a wall with under 200m to go. Was able to hold on for a 0.3 second PR – 1:24.8!
500m-row

The last two times I’d done 500 meter time trial it’s been an afterthought on the way out of the gym after a long session. Maybe I should try it fresh some time. 🙂

Pork Gainz

Wasn’t feeling as motivated to get out of bed for the squat rack this morning, but I made it. I bet the beers I had last night have something to do with that. 🙂 My legs are still pretty sore from the week. Warmed up with 3:00 Air Dyne (1.4km).

1-1/4 Front Squats

  • 10×45#
  • 3×125#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×145#
  • 3×165#
  • 3×185#
  • 3×205#

Might have felt something in that right quad doing these. Will need to keep an eye on it. That makes 5 days in-a-row at the squat rack. Nothing heavy, but greasing the groove.

Went to the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • PVC Pass-thrus
  • Air Squats
  • PVC OHS

Weightlifting

Hang Muscle Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×75#
  • 5×95#

Gotta be careful bringing them down. Felt some pinching in my left shoulder if I got sloppy.

Snatch

  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 2×145#
  • 1×155#
  • 1×165#
  • 1×175#
  • 1×185#

Second rep of 145# and the 185# were power snatches. All the others I rode down. No misses. I haven’t attempted any weight in well over a month. That 185# power snatch was the easiest, by far, that I’ve ever done one.

Accessory

4 Rounds

  • 8/8 Kroc Rows (70#)
  • 5 Weighted Push-ups (sandbag – 40#?)

It’s nice to have my 70# kettlebell at the gym now. I’d never used it once at home so figured I’d get more use out of it at CFi.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 5 Burpees
  • 10 Plate Snatches (55#)
  • 15 Air Squats
  • 200m Run

I tried to keep my pace up on the runs. Finished in 8:54. Walked a 200 after.

Accessory 2

Reverse Hyper

  • 10×210#
  • 10×260#
  • 10×300#
  • 10×320#

Knocked out Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap and then 15 minutes of stretches. Picked up some gainz from the Makin’ Bacon Truck on the way home.

bacon-truck-pig

Retest After 2 Years

I am feeling those wall balls from 15.3 in my hamstrings and ass! Good turnout today even with several people away and some running St. Patrick’s Day races in Bay City.

Warm-up

  • 1,000m Row
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Cleans
    • 3×95#
    • 3×135#
    • 3×165#
    • 3×185#

Conditioning

7 Rounds

  • 3 Cleans (205#)
  • 21 Unbroken DU

Did this one 2 years ago at CrossFit Full Strength and it took me 9:14. Today it only took 5:24 and I had a miss on 2 sets of dubs! Did all singles on the bar, but never really took a rest.

5:00 AMRAP
2-4-6-8…

  • Hang Power Snatch (95#)
  • Box Jumps (24″)

Got nasty pretty quick! I finished the 10s and then 12 snatches.

Gymnastics

10 Sets

  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups
  • 3 Strict Pause Ring Dips (5s)

Really focused on keeping a tight hollow position in both movements. Wanted to be explosive with my pull-up. Got tough with the longer pause on the dips.

Midline

3x

  • MAX Weighted Plank (45#)
  • ~2:00 Rest

I went 2:15, 1:30, and 1:25.

Bench Day Bro

Rough getting out of bed this morning for some reason. Can feel those 100 wall balls in my quads.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

  • 250m Row
  • 15 Rapid Toe Touches
  • 5 Inch Worms

Strength

Deadlift

  • 5×155#
  • 5×265#
  • 3×315#
  • 3×365#
  • 2×385#
  • 2×405#
  • 1×415#

Took it easy so I don’t tweak my back again during Open season.

Mobility

Took about 10 minutes to work on stuff for overhead squats. I did some shoulder stretching with bands.

Conditioning

16:00 EMOM (alternating)

  • 4 Power Snatch (135#)
  • 10 Box Jumps (30″)

It was supposed to be 8 OHS, but I didn’t want to push it with my right quad after all the wall balls yesterday, so I did the snatches instead. Did them all touch-n-go. Since it was only 10 box jumps, I went with the 30″ height. Didn’t rebound them, but did quick transitions.

Bench Bro

Week 3 of the bench program. Stayed after class to get it done and a few people joined me.

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 5x3x215#

Felt solid.

Midline

Did some planks at home at night.

3 Rounds

  • 2:00 Plank
  • 1:30 Rest

Shorter rest than I’ve been doing for long holds.

CrossFit Games Open Workouts 15.1 & 15.1a

Had the day off work today since House of Cards season 3 was also released and I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on getting any work done along with that and thinking about the Open. Got to the gym just before 5:30 and started warming up.

Warm-up

  • 1,000m Row
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Stretching
  • Empty barbell work
  • 10 Sit-ups
  • 2 C&J (115#)
  • 1 C&J (145#)
  • 1 C&J (165#)

Open Workouts 15.1 & 15.1a

9:00 AMRAP

  • 15 T2B
  • 10 Deadlift (115#)
  • 5 Snatch (115#)

Immediately to…
6:00

  • Establish a max C&J

I came up with a strategy and couldn’t have executed it any better. Went 4-4-4-3 on all rounds of T2B except at the end when I went 5-3 to finish. I’d drop from the bar, take a step, turn around, and get right back up. I did all of the deadlifts unbroken, but slow and with controlled breathing as almost a rest period and so that I wouldn’t spike my heart rate. I did all single power snatches, but was right on the bar as soon as it settled on the ground. Grip didn’t become an issue and my hips were just starting to fatigue in the last full round. I think if I had gone 5-5-5 like I was thinking last night, I would have had to break them up more than that in about the 4th round. I ended up getting 5 full rounds plus 8 toes to bar for 158 total reps. My goal was to get 5 rounds, so I’m really happy with that.

I quickly put my shirt back on for the grip on the bar on my chest. Loaded up 207#. After waiting almost 2 minutes, I power cleaned it, and push jerked to get on the scoreboard. Then I changed up my original plan because I knew the jerks were going to be shaky. I had planned on doing 227-237-247, but wanted to make one less attempt than that. So I went right to 237#, which was the minimum I wanted to hit. I quickly changed into weightlifting shoes and put on the belt. Made that attempt with about 2 minutes left on the clock. Power clean again, but split jerk. Put 247# on the bar for the last attempt and waited until 20 seconds left. Power clean again and a pretty shaky split jerk, but I controlled it and made the lift. Success!

Really happy with my scores for week 1. All of the gymnastics work we’ve been doing on the bars has paid off. My grip wasn’t an issue at all and my T2B didn’t die out like they have in past years.

2015 Open Goals

I beat 26.1% of the men in 2012, 80% in 2013, and 82.9% in 2014. It’s been a nice climb. My goal for this year is to beat 86% of the men. I’m not sure how the percentages might end up being different due to the scaled division, but that may not be a high enough goal. If that’s the case, I’ve had the number of beating 88% in my head. We shall see what the leaderboard looks like after week 1, especially with 2 very different workouts in the scoring mix.

15.1 Eve

Had a chiropractor appointment in the afternoon, so went to the 5:30 class. Was there early so started early. I did Crossover Symmetry Activation to get started.

Weightlifting

Muscle Snatch

  • 5x20kg
  • 5x34kg
  • 3x40kg
  • 3x50kg

Power Snatch

  • 3x60kg
  • 3x70kg
  • 5x2x75kg
  • 5x1x80kg

I did the set of 60 as touch-n-go, but dropped the rest. For the doubles with 75 I was going about every minute and probably close to that for the singles with 80 too, but wasn’t paying as much attention to the clock.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 6 Evil Wheels
  • 7 Power Snatches (95#)
  • 8 Burpees

This was programmed with OHS, but still not squatting so I substituted the snatches and did them all unbroken. Finished in 7:56. Evil wheels are slow for me because of my length and reach.

10-20-30-20-10

  • DU
  • Sit-ups

My double unders are hot! Wasn’t close to missing any. Finished in 4:06. Probably would have been a good day for an “Annie” PR.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 4×95#
  • 4×135#
  • 4×165#
  • 4×185#
  • 6x4x205

Second week of the bench program. Stayed a little conservative with a 10#, when it said to do 10-15#. Felt good. May make a bigger jump next week.

Can’t wait for the big 15.1 announcement tomorrow! Will probably do an easy 20 minute row before watching it at the gym.

Crushing it for Kristin

Today we did a benefit workout to raise money for a 22-year-old student from CrossFit Bay City. She had a stroke a couple of weeks ago.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Rumble Roll my low back
  • 2×10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
  • 45-95-115# C&J and Snatch

5 Rounds

  • 6 C&J (135#)
  • 6 Snatch (135#)
  • 10 Over the Bar Burpees

Did all singles on the bar and tried to get back on it for the next rep. Finished in 13:34.

No BS Bench

Morning garage workout.

Warm-up

  • 500m Ski – 2:08.6
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×185#
  • 5x5x195#
  • MAX @ 195 -> 10 reps

No squatting, so might as well start a new bench program. Today’s goal was to determine a base number that can be done for 5×5 without compromising form. I thought I’d use 205, but after the set with 185# I made the call to take it conservative and I’m glad I did because the last two sets were starting to get hard. I was taking just over 2 minutes of rest between the 5 working sets and then I took a 3 minute break before the max rep set.

It’s probably been 10 years since I concentrated on bench press, so I’m interested to see how my body reacts. I never had a goal to bench 300#, but I’m making it a goal for this year, since it’s actually within reach. Definitely won’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be a good goal then.

Conditioning

Ski Erg
5 Rounds

  • 500m at 2000m PR pace (<2:00)
  • 30s Rest
  • 100m very easy

I don’t remember where I got this from, but it looks like a Hinshaw workout. I did the rest and 100m after the 5th interval. The computer time said 13:34 at the end, but it keeps rolling a little once you stop moving and then doesn’t count up during rest periods. Call it an extra 2 seconds of time roll for each 500m, so 15:54 total.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Recovery because this damn shoulder is starting to get funky again. Need to take care of it before it turns into the issue I had last year.

Went to the 5:30 class at CFI.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Yoga

Weightlifting

Power Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×155#
  • 3×165#

I’ve done 155 for hang squat triple, but never a power from the floor that I can recall, so last two sets were both PRs.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 10 Power Snatch (95#)
  • 5 HSPU
  • 1:30 Rest

I was going to try to do strict handstand push-ups, but ditched that plan after doing 1 rep. Kipped the rest of the way and it was not easy. Shoulder burner! Did all sets of snatches TnG. Finished at 10:06.

Midline

  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s V-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank Push-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • MAX Plank – 2:57

I was sweating more from the max plank than from the workout. Was shaking so bad I couldn’t take it anymore and had to bow out before the 3 minute mark.

Better at the End

Just the 10am class for me today. I’m starting to cut back on volume and try to push my intensity leading in to the Open.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Calf stretching
  • 6 Rounds
    • 20s DU
    • 20s Rest

I got 200 DU.

Skill

I was helping out some people with MU swings and got in a few sets of my own. Did 6, 1, and 4 I believe and should have had a strict one I was so damn close.

Conditioning

14:00 AMRAP – Partners
4-8-12-16-20-24-28-32…

  • G2O
  • Box Jumps

Split up the reps however you want. I used 95# and did all snatches. We did 2s, 4s, 6s, 8s, 10s, 8-4, 8-6, 8-8. I split up my snatches on the round of 8 into 4-4 and my 10 into 6-4 I think with a quick breather before picking the bar back up. Everything I did in unbroken sets. Box jumps were easy. We finished the round of 28 and the 32 reps on the bar. For the first time I can ever remember, I actually felt better with snatches as the rounds went on and doing 8 unbroken wasn’t an issue for me, so something must be working.