Invested

This weather is terrible for a vacation in Northern Michigan. I’m not sure if it’s really July or if it’s October!

E2M 20:00

  • 10 Weighted Burpees (20# vest)
  • 10 Weighted Sit-ups (20# vest)

So that was 100 reps of each. Did the two movements back to back and it took about 50 seconds each round. The burpees weren’t as bad as I expected and took me about 25 seconds. The sit-ups got really tough in the last few rounds.

10 Rounds

  • 1:00 Bottom Squat Hold (20# vest)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Weighted Plank (20# vest)
  • 15s Rest

Doing weighted squat holds was a new one for me. Planks weren’t too bad, even after all of the sit-ups.

Did DDP Yoga Energy! with my sister in the afternoon. I need to start doing this stuff regularly.

In the afternoon I put the weight vest back on and went for a 2 mile walk. As soon as I got back I did some air squats.

  • 50 Air Squats (20# vest)

Leg burn! Took me 1:08.

Hops

Was tough rolling out of bed this morning.

Warm-up

  • 2x Band Pulls and shoulder stretching
  • 2x 10/10 Leg Swings (F-B, S-S)
  • 20 Star Jumps

Strength

12:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 10/10 Kroc Rows (62# KB)
  • Evens: 10 Weighted Sit-ups (53# KB)

Focused on doing the Kroc Rows as strict as possible. Tried to keep a good back position with the sit-ups.

Conditioning

10 Rounds

  • 10 Box Jumps (30″)
  • 10 Burpees

I’m going to be feeling all of those jumps tomorrow. It’s been awhile since I did any box jumps higher than 24″ in a workout. Really had to focus on each jump after nearly landing on my face in the 2nd round. Finished in 15:50.

Midline

10:00 E2M

  • 10 Hip Extensions (on Roman Chair)
  • 30s Plank

I held the plank for a full minute in the last round.

Back on the Knee

In with Matt at 10am. Was exhausted all day yesterday after the SF Halloween party Saturday.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row
  • PVC Snatches

OLY

Hang Power Snatches

  • 2 x 3 @ 65#
  • 2 x 3 @ 95#
  • 2 x 3 @ 115#

Snatch Balances

  • 3 x 3 @ 115#
  • 3 x 3 @ 135#

The focus for both was an aggressive 3rd pull and really locking out the arms.

Back Squats

  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5 @ 185#
  • 5 @ 205#
  • 5 @ 225#
  • 5 @ 245#
  • 5 @ 255#
  • 3 @ 275#
  • 10 @ 225#

Didn’t want to go crazy with the weights today. Could definitely tell I haven’t squatted in over a week, but it felt good to get under heavy weight again.

Gymnastics

7 Rounds (I go, you go with each movement)

  • 5 Strict Pull-ups
  • 5 Strict Ring Dips
  • 10 Weighted Sit-ups (10# bumper on forehead)

Matt did GHD sit-ups, but I didn’t want to put any more stress on my knee. Lifting was enough for one day.

Conditioning

5 Rounds (1:1 work:rest as I go, you go using 2 rowers)

  • 500m Row at 1:45 pace

Tough! I’ve done 4 of these with 2:00 rest between. This was even harder than the 1,000m repeats.

Monday Morning

Went to the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 300m Run (before class started)
  • 4 Rounds
    • 15s Air Squats
    • 15s Zombie Kicks
    • 15s PVC Pass-thrus
    • 15s Jumping Jacks

Strength

Front Squats

  • 5 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5 @ 165#
  • 5 @ 195#
  • 5 @ 225#
  • 5 @ 245#

Squats felt good for the 2nd consecutive day. Didn’t try to get crazy and stayed below my 260 5RM from a couple of weeks ago.

3 Rounds NFT

  • 12 Lunges (135#)
  • 12 RDL(135#)
  • Rest 60s

Good burn with little rest.

WOD

20:00 Time Cap

  • 10 OHS (135#)
  • 10 Box jumps overs (24″)
  • 10 Thrusters (135#)
  • 20 Power cleans (135#)
  • 10 T2B
  • 10 Burpee C2B Pull-ups
  • 10 T2B
  • 20 Power cleans (135#)
  • 10 Thrusters (135#)
  • 10 Box jumps overs (24″)
  • 10 OHS (135#)

This is why it’s good for me to go to classes now and then. We rarely program this much barbell work in our WODs and ever more rare at this time domain. I decided to go Rx even though I knew it would suck. Finished in plenty of time at 19:56. LOL!

Double Day

Feeling good this morning. Hamstrings a little tight from squats on Tuesday, but body feels good. In at 10am.

Warm-up

1/2 Mile Sled Drag (115#)

Olympic Lifting

Every 1:30 to 2:00

  • Snatch
  • Hang Snatch
  • High Hang Snatch

I did it with 95#, 105#, 115#, 125#, 135#, and 125#. No misses on any of the lifts. I think 135# in a new high for the high hang, by 10#. Getting better!

Strength

5/3/1 Deadlifts – Cycle 2 Week 3

  • 5 @ 165# (40% of Training Max – warm)
  • 5 @ 210# (50%)
  • 3 @ 250# (60%)
  • 5 @ 315# (75%)
  • 3 @ 355# (85%)
  • 1+ @ 400# (95%)

Pulled 8 reps @ 400# for an estimated max of 505.5#. Booyah! Looking forward to testing 1RM next week. It won’t be close to 500# but I should see a nice improvement over 455#.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 10 OH Lunges (45# empty bar)
  • 10 Goblet Squats (53#)
  • 5 C2B Pull-ups

I used a clean grip on the OH Lunges. First time doing those with a barbell. Did everything unbroken and finished in 5:56. Not a killer WOD, but did make my legs shaky when I was done.

Core

  • 100 Sit-ups

Was hoping for a sub three and was on pace, but died a bit in the 3rd minute to finish at 3:06, 4 seconds off my best. I need to figure out how to stop moving backwards because I have to adjust the AbMat every 10-15 reps.

3 Rounds NFT

  • 10 T2B
  • 5/5 Side Bends (80# KB)

Grip may have been the toughest here after deadlifts and C2B pull-ups.

Went back at 8pm. Warmed up with 3:00 on the Air Dyne.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

  • 40 yard Prowler Sprint (High, 210# total)
  • 60s Rest
  • 40 yard Prowler Sprint (Low, 210# total)
  • 60s Rest

We took this from a challenge posted by Jim Wendler, but 3 rounds (6 sprints) was too easy so we doubled it. Ended up being pretty perfect.

I also did 3 sets of 10 wall squats to work on my vertical torso.

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.

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.

Two and a Half Hours

Had a well-deserved rest day yesterday and walked 18 holes on the golf course, playing one of my best rounds ever. Went in at 2:30pm today for some open gym time.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 Air Dyne
  • 3:00 DU
  • PVC Pass-thrus

XWOD

5:00 EMOM

  • 3 Hang Snatches (95#)

Working on speed of getting under it and warming up the CNS.

Olympic Lifting

Did the jerk footwork drill for a few minutes.

Split Jerks

  • 3 @ 95#
  • 3 @ 115#
  • 3 @ 135#

Again, working on speed and really driving down under the bar.

Then Casey and I decided to try out part of the lifting WOD from the team competition we’re doing next Sunday. We did an I go, you go for 5:00, increasing the weight by 10# each set for clean and jerks. Started at 135# and got up to 225# just under the time limit. No misses and had to change our own weight, so will be fun to see how fast we can get the girls done and then on to us. Maybe we can get up to the 250#, which is the max weight we’ll have for the workout. Will be fun!

Strength

  • Back Squats: 20 @ 225#
  • Pullovers: 2 x 20 @ 45# DB and 20 @ 60# DB

Little something from the Super Squats program. Pretty brutal taking a 10 rep weight and trying to go for 20. Was not easy and thought I was going to pass out on those squats.

Did some more DU, getting a streak of 73 before my rope hit the Air Dyne behind me! I wanted to get that 100.

WOD

Ladder, 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
  • 2-4-6
  • 3-6-9

I got through the 5th round plus 6 chin-ups and 6 of the dips and then only got through round 3 plus 4 chin-ups and 6 dips. Not as intense an a normal metcon but great strength work and still got the heart pumping.

Solid 2.5 hours in the box. 🙂

Switch It Up Tuesday

On Tuesday’s I usually go to the OLY class at 6, but it’s time for a week off that much snatch work, especially with 1RM shoulder press tomorrow. I went to the 9am and will probably do some rowing intervals later tonight.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

  • Mountain Climbers
  • Burpees

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5 Weighted Pull-ups
  • 20 Weighted Sit-ups

I went with the weight hanging from my feet for pull-ups and used 8#, 10#, 15#, 20#, and 25#. That’s a new high for the weight at my feet and I got all 5 reps. I just recently got up to 20# the last time we did this, so my pull-ups are getting a lot stronger. I only had time for 4 rounds of the sit-ups. Used two 25# KBs, 62# KB, two 35# DBs, and 39# + 40# KBs. The weighted sit-ups never seem to get any easier, partly because it’s so awkward.

WOD

20:00 EMOM

  • 7 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • 7 Kroc Rows (60# DB, alternate arms each round)

Tougher than it looks. Good workout, but you aren’t left dying on the floor, so it was a nice change of pace after yesterday. I almost took the 71# KB for Kroc rows, but glad I didn’t because I’m not sure I would have been able to get all the reps.

Finisher

3 Sets

  • MAX L-Hang
  • 60s Rest

I held the L as long as I could and when my feet started falling, I held knees up as long as I could. I think I averaged about 30 seconds of hold each round and fought for extra on the last round.

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Cleaning Up

Feeling good today after getting a good night’s sleep in my own bed. Went in at 10am for another Kevin WOD.

Warm-up

4 Rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Lateral Hops

Olympic Lifting

Find 1RM Clean & Jerk

  • 2 @ 135#
  • 165#
  • 185#
  • 205#
  • 225# (missed the jerk)

Felt pretty good so I went for it on my last attempt. After catching the clean I sat in the bottom of the squat for at least a second or two and felt like I nearly choked myself. I powered through the squat, which is only 10# below my last 1RM in the front squat. Set myself up for the jerk, but the clean took a lot out of me. I’ve only done 205# once in the jerk and never even attempted 225#, so confidence probably played a bit into the miss too. Next time! That was another 10# PR in the clean over the 215# that I just hit last weekend.

OLY WOD

10:00 EMOTM

  • Power Clean
  • Hang Power Clean & Jerk
  • 20 Lateral Bar Hops

After finding the 1RM we used 70% of that so I went with 155# on the bar. Tried to concentrate on keeping my shoulders back and using good form in all of the cleans.

Plate Shuttle

2 Rounds

  • 25# – 35# – 45#
    • 50y Weighted Run with a plate
    • 50y Sprint back
  • 45# – 35# – 25#
    • 50y Sprint
    • 50y Weighted Run bringing the plate back

It was only 35 degrees outside, but it didn’t take long to warm up and not even think about cold.

WOD

12:00 AMRAP

  • 10 MB Sit-ups (20# MB)
  • 10 MB Cleans (20# MB)
  • 10 Russian KBS (44# KB)

I did 7 rounds plus the 10 sit-ups and 9 of the cleans.

Really good WOD today with a lot of different work packed into the hour.