snatch

Friday Night Throwdown

Got another solid 9 hours of sleep last night. In at 10am.

Warm-up

300m Run
PVC Pass-thrus

Olympic Lifting

7:00 45# Snatch Position Drills
2:00 Rest
E20S 2:00 95# Snatch
3:00 Rest
E30S 3:00 125# Snatch
3:00 Rest
EMOM 7:00 155# Snatch

I missed the first rep at 155# simply because my head wasn’t in it and I wasn’t ready for it yet. It’s only 10# under my max snatch so it was a little intimidating to go at for the first time getting my hip into it. After that it felt solid though so I kept going longer than the planned 4 minutes. I’ve definitely never done 6 snatches of 155# in a day before. 165# next week and then on to the PR zone!

WOD

“Flight Simulator”
5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5

Unbroken DU

I finally finished this fucker today! 13:35 with only a handful of misses. I had a miss at 49 on my set of 50, which sucked. I felt like I figured out a more relaxed and paced tempo on my DU today because having to go unbroken really forces you to concentrate on not missing.

We took it easy in the morning because we went over to 989 CrossFit in Midland for their first Friday Night Throwdown at 7pm. We had no idea what the workout would be until we got there. After it was announced, I wanted to head home.

3 Rounds

800m Run
40 Pull-ups
60 HR Push-ups

OMG FML! I am horrible at big sets of push-ups. I was the last guy to finish and Matt and Kevin were the guys in front of me, so we took the last 3 places for men. Michelle won the women and beat all of us. My time was 31:44. I’m just happy to have finished. It was good because I’d never program something like that.

friday-night-throwdown-1

Too Far Forward

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Olympic Lifting

7:00 45# Snatch Position Drills
2:00 Rest
E20S 2:00 95# Snatch
3:00 Rest
E30S 3:00 125# Snatch
3:00 Rest
EMOM 5:00 145# Snatch

Movin’ on up! Felt good at 145#. I missed my first attempt in the final minute due to lack of concentration, but stepped right back up and nailed it. As long as it keeps feeling good, 2 more sessions and I’ll be at my max snatch weight of 165#.

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squat – Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 120# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 150# (50% – warm)
3 @ 180# (60% – warm)
3 @ 210# (70%)
3 @ 240# (80%)
3+ @ 270# (90%)

Warming up felt good, especially since I was already warm from the squat snatches. 270# felt super heavy lifting off the rack though. I got 5 reps for an estimated max of 314.5#, below my actual max of 325#. Afterwards Kevin mentioned that I’m really leaning forward on my back squats. Now it makes sense why I’ve been struggling so much. Will have to work on fixing that next back squat session.

Pullovers

Did a couple of quick sets while waiting for Matt. 2 Sets of 20 with a 45# DB.

WOD

10 Rounds

150m Run
7 OHS (75#)

Scaled down the OHS from 95# so I could do them all unbroken and not have the WOD take forever. Finished in 11:27.

Finisher

Slow 8:00 on the rower.

Little Victories

When I rolled out of bed I was feeling beat up all over, but that went away after moving around. Maybe it was from the sprints last night.

Headed over to Kevin’s garage for some work.

Warm-up

5:00 on the Air Dyne (AD2)

Olympic Lifting

I worked of the blocks set to about mid-thigh. Was doing a series of 2-3 snatch deadlifts to get the feel of knees coming back under the bar and hips meeting the bar, with knees still bent. Then I took that into 3 snatches on the blocks.

Started light and moved up really well. 35# for multiple sets, 65# for multiple sets and then I think it was one set each of 85#, 95#, 115#, 125#, and 135#. I just started meeting the bar with 135# on Thursday and it felt better off the blocks. I like the progress!

Strength

Bench Press – 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 1

5 @ 85# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 110# (50% – warm)
3 @ 130# (60% – warm)
5 @ 140# (65%)
5 @ 160# (75%)
5+ @ 185# (85%)

I didn’t use the Reactive Slingshot at all today. Much harder without it, but I didn’t have too much of a problem with my right arm until the end and was still able to push through the reps. I was able to get 9 reps with 185# for an estimated max of 240#. Much more realistic than when I had used the slingshot.

Reverse Hyper

3 x 10 with 120#

I should really get over there more often to do these.

Then we headed over to Survival Fitness Bay City for open gym.

Gymnastics

Worked on muscle-ups. First I wanted to see if I could do a MU without needing to 3 swings in. Was able to get them on the first swing. Then my next goal was to finally string 2 MU together and I knocked that out too! I did three doubles over the course of the work I think, but never tried for 3 in a row. I probably did about 15 total muscle-ups and was trying to help Kevin get his first one kipping. He gets plenty high enough, but doesn’t attempt to get his head through. He’ll get it soon!

WOD

“Fran”
21-15-9

Thrusters (95#)
Pull-ups

I had yet to do an Rx “Fran” which was a little embarrassing considering I’m coming up on 2 years of CrossFit. Shit, the last time I did any “Fran” was at the Level 1 Cert last year in September. I used 75# there and did it in 5:36. Did a 4:50 today without a problem. I now know that I don’t have to pace and rest as much as I did. I was worried I’d burn out on the thrusters or pull-ups by the round of 9.

Later at night I went out to the garage for some more training since I’ll be golfing tomorrow in the first round of our end of the year tournament.

Snatch Balance & OHS

Weight	Snatch Balance	OHS
45#	5	5
95#	5	5
115#	3	3
135#	2	3
155#	1	2
175#	F	–
175#	1	–
185#	F	–

I’m not sure what happened but my OHS has gone shit. I could do a 175# snatch balance back in the winter too. Weird.

Bottom Squat Snatch Presses

I figured these would help my stability overhead.

5 x 45#
5 x 55#
5 x 65#

Wow, these are ~~different~~ difficult.

Snatch Presses

MOAR!

5 x 65#
5 x 75#
5 x 85#
5 x 90#

Shit balls I’m weak in these positions.

Conditioning

I did a really easy 15 minutes on the Air Dyne.

Leg Day

Still sore in the legs from Tuesday and now sore in the core and upper body from yesterday. In at 10am.

Warm-up

PVC OHS and pass-thrus
450m Run

Strength

5/3/1 Deadlifts – Cycle 2 Week 1

5 @ 165# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 210# (50% – warm)
3 @ 250# (60% – warm)
5 @ 270# (65%)
5 @ 315# (75%)
5+ @ 355# (85%)

Felt really solid. Focusing on being more explosive with my legs and hip drive is helping a lot. I did 10 reps at 355# for an estimated max of 472#.

Did this following ladder after the snatches. Not for time. Go through once until failure and then start over from 1 and do it to failure again.

1 Strict Chin-up, 2 Strict Ring Dips, 3 Sit-ups holding 10# plate behind head
2-4-6
3-6-9
…

I got 5 + 15 and 3 + 10.

OLY

Warmed up with 45# snatch position drills, wearing wrist straps, for 7-8 minutes.

E20S 2:00

95# Snatch

3:00 Rest

E30S 3:00

125# Snatch

3:00 Rest

EMOM 3:00

135# Snatch

The 125# snatches felt really good. I started jumping forward a little on the 135# snatches though and wasn’t hitting quite as good on the hips. Better than I ever have hit though and it’s my first try at 135# so I might stick to this for the next session before going up another 10#.

WOD

3 Rounds

10 Backwards Front Rack Walking Lunges (155#, no rack)
10 OHS (75#)

Yuck! Those backwards lunges were brutal at 155# and I’m glad I didn’t go with 95# for the OHS. Originally thought about doing 5 rounds, but legs were thrashed from the deadlifts and snatches. Finished in 5:47.

5/3/1 Cycle 2

Walked 18 holes yesterday and recovered from the Sweat & Steel team competition at CrossFit Deviate on Sunday. In at 10am this morning. First day back in the box after the week in Vancouver to deload. Was really looking forward to lifting today.

Warm-up

Did a 450m run and not much else.

Strength

Back Squats – 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 1

5 @ 120# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 150# (50% – warm)
3 @ 180# (60% – warm)
5 @ 195# (65#)
5 @ 225# (75%)
5+ @ 255# (85%)

I wasn’t feeling that great during the last set and started to get to the “dark place” way too early. Felt my left side lagging behind on some of the reps. Managed to knock out 9 before I had to dump the bar on the 10th. Disappointing because in week one of the first cycle I did 12 at 250#. I seem to be going backwards with my squat since that week. I figured I’d be able to hit it hard after not squatting for a week. Maybe the pistols from the competition had me fatigued or maybe I’m not using the bounce enough. Something is definitely whacked!

Olympic Lifting

I warmed up with about 5 minutes of snatch position work with 45# on the training bar.

3:00 EMOM

3 Snatches (95#)

3:00 Rest

3:00 EMOM

2 Snatches (115#)

3:00 Rest

3:00 EMOM

1 Snatches (125#)

Last time I did 5 minutes of the first two and was hitting good positions, so stepped it up a notch and tried 125# today. Felt pretty solid. I’m going to continue building up slow each session like this to make sure I’m really enforcing the change. Next thing I need to work on is not throwing my head back so violently. I tried to stay focused on a spot on the wall today during some reps and it actually felt better overall. All reps were squat snatches.

WOD

8 Rounds

30s Row
30s Rest

I tried to really push my pace and was able to stay very consistent, within 10 meters for every interval. Stroke rate seems too high though.

I actually felt a little out of sorts today. Not sure why with a light week and then a rest day yesterday.

Later at night I loaded up the sled with a total of 160# and went for a walk in the neighborhood. It was 0.84 miles in 22:23. The streets here are absolutely terrible for dragging a sled around.

Heading to Vancouver

My abs are still a little sore, which tells me I’m not doing enough sit-ups. Next week I’m in Vancouver for work and it’ll be all running and body weight stuff, so I’ll make sure to get in a bunch. Trained at 3pm for a couple of hours. Hit the barbell hard since it’ll be a week without it.

Warm-up

1,000m Row

Strength

5/3/1 Shoulder Press – Cycle 1 Week 3

5 @ 60# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 75# (50% – warm)
3 @ 90# (60% – warm)
3 @ 110# (75%)
3 @ 125# (85%)
1+ @ 140# (95%)

Knocked out 5 reps on the last set for an estimated max of 163#, which is just under my 165# PR.

5/3/1 Front Squats – Cycle 1 Week 2

I wanted to get in an extra squat session for the week so decided to just pick this even though I hadn’t done week 1.

5 @ 105# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 135# (50% – warm)
3 @ 160# (60% – warm)
3 @ 185# (70%)
3 @ 210# (80%)
3+ @ 240# (90%)

Trying to do a big set of front squats isn’t the easiest because it get’s really hard to breathe with the bar there for so long. I managed 6 reps, putting my estimated max at 287.5#, shy of my 295# PR. Felt good to get in some more squats for the week though.

Olympic Lifting

Trying to put a lot of time into snatches. Kevin’s help with some position stuff to work on meeting the bar with my hips and it’s really paying off.

Did about 10 minutes of position work with 45# on the training bar.

5:00 EMOM

3 Snatches (95#)

Rested for 5:00.

5:00 EMOM

2 Snatches (115#)

Felt great at 95#, so I wanted to see if I could keep it going with more weight. I was able to! I was getting such explosion behind some of them the bar got so high that I didn’t even have to drop under it and I ended up doing a power snatch. I did have one miss on the 2nd set, but stepped right up and ripped off two makes. I think I hit the hips on every rep in both EMOMs, which is probably more times hitting my hips than total before today. Need to keep doing this. Here’s one of the 115# lifts…

WOD

3 Rounds

150m Run
20 Pull-ups
5 Curtis P (95#)

Wore the gymnastics grips to protect my hand. Felt pretty good. I split pull-ups down to 14-6, 10-6-4, and 10-6-4. Definitely need to add in more high rep pull-up sets. Finished in 9:06.

Solo Session

My abs are sore from deadlifts and “Annie” on Tuesday, otherwise feeling good. Trained at 10am, but all alone today.

Warm-up

600m Run
PVC Pass-thrus
3:00 Air Dyne
Bottom Squat Hold

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squats – Cycle 1 Week 3

5 @ 115# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 145# (50% – warm)
3 @ 175# (60% – warm)
5 @ 220# (75%)
3 @ 250# (85%)
1+ @ 280# (95%)

Squats felt better than Saturday. Recovery is crucial and hit the legs way too much last week. I stopped after 3 reps at 280# because the last one was a slow rep and I didn’t want to push it with nobody else there to spot or help me if something happened. On that last set it was the first time I’ve ever felt my hamstrings engage like that. Pretty cool! The 3 @ 280# puts my estimated max at 307.5#, which is low but I’m ok with that for this week, considering the situation.

5 Rounds NFT

8 Font Rack Walking Lunges (155#)
5 RDLs (205#)
5 Strict Chin-ups

Felt really good. On my chin-ups I really tried to accelerate during the 2nd half and got my chin way above the bar.

Olympic Lifting

10:00 of Snatch Position Work with 45# training bar

It didn’t feel as good as yesterday overall, but I did get some really good hip pops in there. My timing seemed really off. Maybe it had to do with my legs being fatigued from the strength work.

WOD

4 Rounds

500m Row
2:00 Rest

Went all out on the first 500 and set a new PR with 1:34.4. Obviously couldn’t maintain that but kept consistent on the next 3 with 1:44.9, 1:45.5, and 1:44.6. I need more of this stuff because I was really dying. Jason Khalipa rowed a 6:31 2k in the Games and I couldn’t even hit that with two minutes of rest between each 500m.

While tearing out a stump, the landscaping crew snapped an AT&T line that went right though the stump. So without Internet, I headed back to the box at 6pm for open gym. Warmed up with about 3:00 on the Air Dyne.

OHS

5 @ 95#
4 @ 135#
3 @ 155#
F @ 180#
F @ 180#

I was actually going to do 5 with 135# but lost it in the bottom of the last rep. I should have known right there it wasn’t going to be good. My abs are still wrecked from the deadlifts and “Annie” so I think that may have been a big part of it. This is 2 OHS sessions in a row that have been terrible though, with the last one being while I was still recovering from the Tough Mudder Crud.

Did a 1.02 mile sled drag with 115# in 26:14. Switched directions 3 times I think and took a minute or so to help Ellen strap up a sled.

A Big Retest

My low back isn’t feeling the greatest from yesterday’s deadlift session. Otherwise feeling good though. In at 10am.

Warm-up

5:00 Air Dyne
PVC Pass-thrus

Strength

5/3/1 Bench Press – Cycle 1 Week 3

5 @ 85# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 105# (50% – warm)
3 @ 135# (60% – warm)
5 @ 160# (75%)
3 @ 180# (85%)
1+ @ 200# (95%)

I used the Reactive Slingshot again for the working sets. I got 8 reps on the last set, but had a little issue with my right arm flaring out again. Gives me an estimated max of 253#, down from the 271.5# last lift.

Pullovers

3 x 15 with 60# DB

Olympic Lifting

I loaded up a training bar so it was only 35# to work on my snatch technique. Worked on keeping the bar close on the first pull and then getting to the hips on the second pull. I need to do this type of stuff a lot more often. I think we did 5-10 minutes of work.

WOD

10 -> 1 HSPU
10 -> 1 Ring Dips
30 DU

Kevin had planned out just the first two movements and I remembered an almost identical WOD I did back in Phoenix, so we modified it for a retest. Back in January it took me 24:24 to finish. It’s the only WOD to ever put me in bed for the rest of the day and make me think I had rhabdo. I’d never done that many HSPU in a day before. Today I finished in 17:49 and feel great! Broke the HSPU up into 2 sets each round until I got to 4. Ring dips were 3 sets for most of the way and then some sets of 2 before doing the last 3 sets unbroken. Too many misses on middle rounds of DU. Huge improvement though and shows how far my strength has come.

PR Fails

My left calf is tight, either from push presses on Friday or all of the double unders yesterday. Went to the gym at 2 with Kevin and Ellen.

Warm-up

DU
3:00 Air Dyne

Knocked out a streak of 81 DU in a row. Thought maybe it was the day I finally join the century club, but it was not to be.

Strength

Bench Press – 5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 1

5 @ 85# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 105# (50% – warm)
3 @ 125# (60% – warm)
5 @ 135# (65%)
5 @ 160# (75%)
5+ @ 180# (85%)

* Used the Reactive Sling Shot for the working sets.

Still trying to force that right elbow to stay in, but in the last set it still kept leaking out. The Sling Shot is a pretty weird feeling. I got 13 reps with 180#, which I’m pretty damn happy about.

Weighted Dips

Did 3 sets of 8 with 30# hanging from a belt.

Olympic Lifting

Kevin helped me with my setup and some drilling to work on meeting the bar with my hips. Worked on this for awhile with a 45# loaded training bar. Then started going at snatches.

2 @ 95# (power snatches)
115#
135#
145#
155#
165#
3 Failed attempts @ 175# (PR)

I had 175 on my first two. Just didn’t lock out my arms when I received it, but get under it and down to the bottom of the squat without a problem. On the 2nd attempt I had the weight there and in the hole, but then started losing it backwards, saved it, then lost it forward. Third attempt was pretty poor. Hit 165# easy though, which is only the 2nd time I’ve made it. I’ll get 175# next time.

Clean & Jerk

155# (power clean)
185#
215#
245#
2 Failed attempts @ 260# (PR)

I got the weight much higher than needed and got my right elbow under the bar really fast. My left just didn’t want to get under for some reason and so I lost it in the hole. It was pretty scary too since one arm was under and one wasn’t, I couldn’t bail on it safely. Bounced off my right knee a bit, which is sore and stiff now. My second attempt I didn’t commit because the first was in my head too much. Glad I got the 245# without much trouble though, which is only 5# below my max.

Conditioning

0.5 Mile Sled Drag (135#)

Felt really good. I put the sled straps through the belt I use for weighted dips and pull-ups, which was much better than looping the thing over or through my shoulders.

A Morning Run

Hard to sleep at the cottage because it’s so hot and there is no AC.

Went for a run before 8am to beat the heat. Wasn’t going for any 5k records, just an easy jog to get the heart beating. Didn’t expect to go as ow as a did, but I’m okay with that because the goal was to build up aerobic capacity, not kill myself for the rest of the day. Ran 3.01 miles in 33:09.

Just before noon I started some OLY work and strength stuff.

Snatches

2 x 3 @ 95#
3 @ 115#
5:00 EMOM of 2 @ 135#
2 x 1 @ 145#
1 @ 155#
F @ 155#
1 @ 155#

I felt good early and got a little shaky after 135#. Noticed in the 155s that I started jumping forward. First time ever hitting 155# twice in one fay though! Here’s the final snatch.

Back Squats

10 @ 135#
10 @ 155#
10 @ 175#
10 @ 195#

No rack made this tougher than it needed to be. Having to clean the bar and get it to the back uses a lot of extra energy. Not sure I’ve dropped more than 165 on my back before.

3 Rounds NFT

8 Front Rack walking lunges (135#)
12 Weighted Sit-ups (two 5# plates behind head)
8 Front Rack reverse walking lunges (135#)
12 Air Squats

Solid 2 hours of work without killing myself.

Jumped on the Air Dyne at 8pm for some sprint intervals. Warmed up with 5:00 at a solid pace.

6 Rounds

30s @ 100%
4:30 slow to recover

I was going around 34mph and 110-115rpm during the sprints and 15mph and 50rpm when recovering. Including the warmup I racked up 614 cal and went 9.73 mi in the 35:00 (did the final recovery as a cool down).

I’m definitely feeling much better because that’s 3 hours of training on a day when it was about 90 degrees out.