Tag: Wall Ball

A Little Load

Damn my abs are sore today from those knee raises! Back is a little tight too. Went to the 5:30 class and tried adding a little loading.

Warm-up – 3 Sets

  • 8 Toe Touches
  • 8 Strict Pull-ups
  • 8 Burpees

Strength

Double Kettlebell Deadlifts

  • 2×10 with 35# KBs
  • 2×10 with 44# KBs
  • 2×10 with 53# KBs

I wasn’t going to try doing deadlifts with the bar so this was good to get in some reps.

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 3 Bear Complex (45#)
  • 18 Wall Ball (14#, 10′)
  • 8 Step-ups (24″)

Was thinking of substituting something but after I picked up the bar it felt fine so I went with it. Going light on wall balls is always nice. I did everything unbroken and quickly moved from one movement to the next. Finished 6 rounds, the bears, and 16 wall balls.

17.4 is 16.4

This week I remembered to check the leaderboard after score validations closed. Even though I didn’t improve on my redo, 17.3 may have been my best placing ever in an Open workout. After a weak 17.1, I’ve been able to make a nice climb up the overall leaderboards with the last two workouts.

17.3 Results

  • Open Division: 19,602/167,143 (11.7%)
  • Masters 35-39 Division: 2,268/31,768 (7.1%)

Overall Placing After 3 Weeks

  • Open Division: 26,201/201,248 (13%)
  • Masters 35-39 Division: 3,282/36,980 (8.9%)

*I only count athletes who have submitted at least one score.

Many people were predicting 16.4 as the repeat workout for this year. Since it was my best workout from the 2016 Open I was happy to see Castro select it. We’ve been working a lot on HSPU and I recently improved my score on 15.4 by 9 reps, so I wanted to do a retest on this one. Even last year I felt I left some reps on the table by pacing too much.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Airdyne
  • 2×10 Heel Drives
  • Deadlift
    • 10×45#
    • 5×135
    • 5×185
    • 3×225
    • 2x3x275
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder stretching

CrossFit Open Workout 17.4

13:00 AMRAP

  • 55 Deadlifts (225#)
  • 55 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 55 Row (calories)
  • 55 Handstand Push-ups

Last year I scored 192 reps, which is 27 HSPU after finishing the row at 8:34. Little bit of a strategy change this year…

  • Deadlift: 11 sets of 5 with short rests (count to 2 or 3 and go)
  • Wall Balls: 5 sets of 11 with about 10 second rests (I count to 8 and get going)
  • Row: 1,100-1,200 cal/hr
  • Handstand Push-ups: Sets of 3 with 10-15 second rests

Rests may have gotten a bit longer at the end of deadlifts, but wall balls were on pace. I needed to push on the rower as I was just under 1,000 cal/hr most of the way, which is not good. I picked it up for the last 10+ calories. Again like last year, I decided to camp out on the seat for probably a good 20-30 seconds before getting up. So much wasted time when I could have knocked out at least a set on the wall. For some dumb reason I decided to set the damper over 6, which I never row at. I usually am in the low 5 area, so not sure if that was enough to make any kind of difference.

I was done with deadlifts at 2:27, wall balls at 5:18, and rowing at 8:47. There weren’t tiebreakers except for finishing the row last year, so I only know that I was 13 seconds slower this year. Not good. 😦 When I finally got up on the wall I was having no problem with triples. Somewhere under 90 seconds I decided to do a set of 4 and it came back to bite me when I got 2 no-reps in the final minute. I didn’t have to do doubles until at the end. Even though I had less time this year, I still set a PR by 5 reps with 32 of the HSPU for a score of 197.

17-4.jpg

No Lungs

After cooling off and sitting at home last night I was feeling wrecked. My back wasn’t so bad but my body just felt beat up and exhausted. Woke up feeling good this morning and a little sore, but nothing compared to the day after my first attempt.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Pass throughs
  • PVC Good Mornings
  • Body Rotations

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 30 Double Unders
  • 12 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 3 Muscle-ups

Was feeling really good about unbroken dubs and I think I jinxed myself because then I missed 4 times in the final set after no misses. I made it through exactly 8 rounds with about 10 seconds left but didn’t feel like picking up the rope. All muscle-ups were unbroken without a problem.

My lungs didn’t seem to want to function today after working so hard last yesterday.

Rested 10:00 and then…

7 Rounds

  • 10 Push Jerks (115#)
  • 10 Pull-ups

We scaled it and turned it into a 3 main follow-the-leader. As written it was supposed to be 10 rounds solo of 10+10 with 135#. This was plenty of work and hard as hell as it we did it anyway. I finished after about 10:15.

Had my grips on really loose due to the jerks, but then they bunch up so much on the pull-ups that they cause more harm than help. Tore them off after the 2nd round. Did pull-ups unbroken until the last set where I had so much sweat I was slipping off the rig and did 8-2.

Much harder day than it looked like. Bryan was beat too so not sure how much was due to my 2nd 17.1 try or that first 15 minutes.

How?

I did not sleep well and feel weak and tired as fuck this morning. In at 10:30.

Warm-up – 2 Rounds

  • 5 Strict Pull-ups
  • 5 Strict Chin-ups
  • 20 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats
  • 40 DU

E2M 20:00 (alt)

  • 15 cal Row
  • 15 Burpees

Whoa, regular burpees for once! Was taking about 40 seconds to row and 45 for the burpees.

12:00 Time Cap

  • 150 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • Max Muscle-ups

I did 3 sets of 25 and the clock was just over 3:00 when I peeked. Then I did 3 sets of 15 and finally 3 sets of 10. Until the final 2 sets I was resting with the ball between my chest and the wall so I didn’t have to do extra work picking it up. I tried to count so my rests were less than 10 seconds. Finished at 7:06. Somehow my PR was 6:14 from 4 years ago in the Open. That was actually the last time I’ve done “Karen” too. I tend to avoid it because it’s so boring and I can barely walk for 3 days after. I’m beginning to think my judge miscounted my reps in that PR because my notes said I only did 2 sets of 25 and then 20s, 15s, and 10s. I was 30-40 pounds lighter back then, so maybe that’s it. I don’t know.

I collapsed to the floor for some breaths and eventually made my way over to the rings. I don’t think I touched them until after 8:00 on the clock. I did 2-2-2-2-1-1-3 for 13 total reps.

According to BTWB this makes 100 muscle-ups on the rings in 2017 already, compared to only 86 in all of 2016.

Damn Back

Complete rest day yesterday, but actually felt pretty good after so much deadlift volume. Couple guys are sick and one out of town, so I was on my own today.

Front Squat

Add another 0-5-10# for 3×6.

  • 6×45#
  • 6×135
  • 6×185
  • 6×225
  • 6×255
  • 3×255

Anndddd I tweaked my back on that 3rd rep of the 2nd set. Maybe I worked up too quick or maybe the deadlifts took a toll on me from Wednesday. Tried to stretch it out, but was what typically happens so felt fine as long as I didn’t get in certain positions. So no more front squats and no working up to a 2RM C&J. Wanted to see if I could do some of the other C&J work so I warmed up the movement.

C&J

  • 4×45#
  • 4×95
  • 4×135

Felt fine, especially if I kept good positions, so I strapped on the belt.

Barbell Cycling

E90S – 3 Sets

  • 6 TnG C&J (155#)

Actually felt better than 155 ever has for cycling reps. Compared to 135 it still feels awkward and much harder to re-hook grip the bar between reps, which I did about for about half of them. Took me 20 seconds per set I think.

Conditioning

20:00 AMRAP

  • 15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 10 T2B
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 40s Airdyne (AD2)

Due to my back I took out the programmed 5 power cleans and put in the push-ups and Airdyne instead so I could keep moving for 20 minutes. All wall ball sets were unbroken without a problem. I did the toes-to-bars 5-5 every round and they actually felt really good. Push-ups were unbroken as well and I had an ok pace on the AD, but wasn’t pushing it. Finished with 7+18 and the AD said I did 106 calories. The WOD as written would have easily been 10+ rounds and it would have been nasty!

Excited I was able to do 14 sets of 5 T2B with no fatigue setting in. Didn’t wear any grips either. Granted it was a much longer workout so the time between sets was much more than the Tabata or EMOM volume work. It was a fight to try and stick to more of a straight leg kip; my body kept wanting to my do bicycle version. With the 73 reps and 80 the other day it’s over 150 T2B this week!

Skipped out on muscle-up work because everyone was leaving the gym and I didn’t want to do too much with my back. Will try to get them in tomorrow.

Sets of 5

Shoulders feel a little rough from last night. Doing the program by myself today with Bryan and Florida and Weston busy this morning. I got my DNA tested for 41 different fitness related genes and wrote about it on my main blog. Pretty neat.

Warm-up – 2 Sets

  • 5 Strict Pull-ups
  • 5 Strict Chin-ups
  • 20 Push-ups
  • 30 Air Squats
  • 40 Double Unders

No lifting today, but that sure doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1,000m Row
  • 1:1 Rest

The program called for runs, but I’m not going outside in this weather! My goal was a 1:50 pace, which I was able to do. Even got faster each interval. Far from what I’ve been able to do on the rower in the past when I focused on it. My times were 3:39.9, 3:38.6, and 3:32.8.

For time:

  • 3:00 Air Dyne (AD2)
  • 45 Wall Balls (30#, 10′)
  • 45 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 120 Double Unders

The workout called for 60 calories on the Assault Bike, which I know is a lot harder than the AD2. My 3:00 substitution is probably on the easier side, but was plenty hard enough. I kept about a 75-80 RPM pace and tallied up about 80 calories. It was supposed to be all 90 wall balls with 30 pounds, which I fully intended to do.

I did two sets of 15 wall balls and started to hit a wall, even with longer breaks than I should be taking. Then I was down to sets of 5! I felt like quitting, so after 3 sets of those, I walked over and grabbed the 20# to finish the next 45, which I did 10-10-13-12. Getting started with the dubs was rough, but I settled in once I was able to get my breathing under control a bit. Finished in 12:06. Absolutely horrible. Wall balls after an air-type bike in nasty!

That finished my 4th week following the Hybrid Performance Method WOD program. It’s a pretty big time commitment, lot of volume, and a real gut check on days like today. It’s better than anything else I’ve ever followed though. The way the movements, days, and variety all work together has been really great. When the rest days come, I’m definitely ready for them, but at the same time I’m feeling really good and not running into back issues. Excited to see how we do in the Open.

Fear the Friday

Feeling alright through the day. Can feel the SDLHP in my upper back and my low back is tight. In at 5pm with the boys. No real warm-up since we had enough shit on the menu.

Front Squat

Work up to 3×6 @ 70%

  • 6×95#
  • 6×135
  • 6×185
  • 6×215
  • 3x6x235

Felt a little rough early but was no issue when I got loosened up.

C&J

Work up to a daily 3RM.

  • 3×135#
  • 3×185
  • 3×215
  • 3×245
  • 3×265 (PR)

Getting so much more comfortable at working up in fewer sets. Felt pretty solid today so went 5# over the last time. If my back wasn’t so beat up from the week I would have gone another set, but I was already starting to feel the jerks.

Kind of crazy today is exactly 3 years since my infamous “pretzel clean” (see post for video) miss with 260#. Doing a triple clean and jerk with more than that was no problem today.

Barbell Cycling

E90S – 3 Sets

  • 12 TnG C&J (115#)

Knew the first set wouldn’t be a problem, but wasn’t sure how the other 2 sets would feel. Was able to hold the same pace throughout. Clock was at 36-36-35 seconds when I looked after each set. This and the snatches have been my favorite part of the week. Legs were feeling like Jello after this.

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 25 cal Row
  • 25 Thrusters (115#)
  • 50 DU
  • 50 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

Planned on trying with the Rx 135#, but the 115# that was already on the bar looked just fine. We were all starting to feel the work going into this. It ended up being plenty of weight. I went 10-9-6 on the first round of thrusters and probably should have pushed for 15-10. Missed twice on the double unders and did 20-10-10-10 wall balls. 10-5-7 on the thrusters to finish with a score of 1+47.

Gymnastics

Accumulate 80 T2B
* Each minute should be within 2 reps of the first round.

I felt good in the first set so pushed to 12 unbroken. I know better. Was able to get the next 2 sets of 12, but then I started to hit my wall and only managed 10 broken into several sets in the 4th minute. Got on the bar in the 5th minute, did 1 rep, and called it quits at 47 of the 80 reps. My hips were done and I wasn’t going to do singles the rest of the way. Should have stuck to an original plan of doing 5-5 every minute, which now I don’t even know if I would have been able to finish.

After setting down and watching the guys finish, I could barely walk when I went to git up. Hips were all locked up and everyone else was hurting too. These Friday workouts are rough!

Hybrid WOD

Starting some Hybrid Performance Method programming with Bryan and Weston. Figured I’d jump in with them and give my routine some structure.

Power Clean + 5 Push Press

  • 45#
  • 95
  • 135
  • 165
  • 185
  • 205
  • 225

Big PR on the push press! I’ve done 198 for 5 and 205 for 6 before. In the 2nd or 3rd rep of the final set I could feel myself over-extending so I braced hard and kept much better positions to finish the set. Barely. I could feel my back tight on the left side for the rest of the workout, but not a painful tightness, which is good.

Snatch Pull

  • 3×135#
  • 3×185
  • 2×205
  • 2x1x225
  • 2x1x235
  • 1×245

Odd doing singles, but was able to go heavy. Didn’t use straps at all.

Back Squat

  • 6×135#
  • 6×205
  • 6×235
  • 3x6x265

The working sets were at 70%, which felt good.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 5 Muscle-ups
  • 15 Hang Power Cleans (135#)

Scaled down the wall balls from 25# since we don’t have that. Tried slam balls but the ones we have for that weight don’t bounce off the wall at all. Was not going RX+ with 30#. I also dropped the muscle-ups down from 7 to keep intensity up and be closer to Bryan’s time.

I went 3-2 on each set of muscle-ups and 6-5-4 on the cleans. Finished in 9:24 about 30 seconds behind Bryan so scaling was the right thing to do. I really need to start pushing sets more instead of playing so safe all the time. Should have gone unbroken on the first set of muscle-ups and tried to do the cleans in 2 sets each time.

Update: None of us realized the cleans were 135/195#, probably because we are so used to seeing 135/95 our eyes didn’t pick up the difference. Looking at the other days for the week it seems these metcons are programming for Regional level athletes, which is definitely not us. Will be scaling back a lot or just sticking to the women’s weights. Using 70% of the assigned men’s Rx seems appropriate.

Eights

Dragging a little today after being up until almost 3am. Went to the 5:30 class to get out of the house.

Warm-up: 3 Sets

  • PVC Triangle Stretch
  • 5 False Grip Ring Rows (legs under me)
  • 10 Mountain Climbers
  • Pigeon Stretch

Strength – OHS

  • 6×45#
  • 6×75
  • 4×95
  • 4×115
  • 3×135
  • 3×155
  • 2×175
  • 2×195

Conditioning

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Burpees
  • 8 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 8 C2B Pull-ups

Went 4-4 on the chest to bar pull-ups, but unbroken on the rest. Wall balls were like a rest and burpees were slow throughout. Tried to push at the end. Finished 5 rounds plus 6 burpees.

Midline

5 Sets

  • 15 Sit-ups
  • 30s Plank

In Lifters

Planned rest day on Monday, but then lazy yesterday and didn’t do shit. Completely forgot about my chiro appointment today until I was on my way out the door to the gym and the reminder went off on my phone. So I got some more work done before heading out and then going to the 5:30 class instead of 4:30.

Warm-up

  • 3 Sets
    • 7 Ring Rows
    • 7 OHS (15#, close grip)
    • 7 Jumping Jacks
    • Spidey Stretch
  • OHS
    • 5×45#
    • 5×95#

12:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 5 OHS (115#)
  • 10 Wall Balls (30#, 10′)

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Ball Slams (30#)
  • 8 T2B
  • 8 MB Cleans (20#)
  • 10 Lunges

Kept a pretty steady pace. Went 4-4 on every set of toes to bars. Finished exactly 7 rounds.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 2 Wall Walks (5s HS Hold)
  • 10 Sit-ups