Tag: Weighted V-up

Wasn’t Happy Going in to 21.2

Each year I update my own spreadsheet with my Open workout rankings and calculate percentiles. If you use the iOS CrossFit Games app they calculate percentiles based on the number of registered athletes in the division, which I think is quite dumb because some people register and never post a score. I’ve always done my calculations based on the number of submitted scores. Here’s how my placing looks after week one.

Open Division
25,571 / 116,559 (78.1%)

Masters 40-44
2,183 / 16,776 (87%)

One of my goals each year is to hit the 90% or in the top 10% of participating athletes. That’s well within reach for the Masters division and all I have to do is stick around that placement to get there. The top 10% move on to the Age Group Online Qualifier. I wasn’t sure how CrossFit would determine the %, but according to a video they posted yesterday, I’m right under the cut line. So their using all registered athletes.

Out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 SkiErg (630m)
  • 20 PVC Passes
  • 10 Toe Touches
  • 50 Double Overhead Band Tricep Lockouts (red)
  • Double Band Hang Out
  • Hip Openers
  • DB Snatches
    • 10×15
    • 10×25
    • 10×35
    • 6×45

CrossFit Games Open Workout 21.2

  • 10-20-30-40-50 Dumbbell Snatch (50#)
  • 15 Burpee Box Jump-overs (24″)

A repeat of 17.1, which I did twice that year. In my first attempt I got through 215 reps (10 short of finishing)
and then I finished in 19:15. When this was announced as a repeat I wasn’t excited at all; it’s horrible on my back and that’s a lot of dumbbell snatches for a bad shoulder. On the bright side I weighed in at 206 pounds this morning compared to the 214 I was for that redo in 2017.

My plan of attack was pretty simple:

  • With the dumbbell, switch hands from the top, if my shoulder allowed it.
  • Step back and up on the burpees, turn through the jump and on the box, and step down backwards.
  • Tape my thumbs.

I knew my first split was behind that 17.1 redo and felt like I was dying every round of burpees. Turned out I was also behind split after the second round, I started closing the gap in round three, and then really made up ground in rounds four and five. I did all sets of 10 snatches until the 50 where I did 14-12-12-12. Finished in 18:30! Brandi really pushed me through the second half of this workout. Here’s my scorecard as well as comparing my splits between all three times I’ve done this workout.

Analyzed the video for more splits…

Looking at how much time a round of each movement took and then in parens how much of a time difference it was compared to the previous round…

Snatches – 0:25, 1:03 (+0:38), 1:46 (+0:43), 2:16 (+0:30), 2:49 (+0:33)
BBJO – 1:29, 1:48 (+0:19), 1:57 (+0:09), 2:05 (+0:08), 1:31 (-0:34)

I was dead after I finished, but recovered pretty well and was able to do some ab work.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s Stability Plank (on stability platform)
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Weighted V-ups (20# KB)
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Heel Touches
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Hollow Flutter Kicks (20# KB)
  • 10s Rest

This was rough on the upper abs, holding the upper body up so much. B got it and modified a bit from DLB.

Last Before 21.1

I woke up with my body wrecked from yesterday. My shoulders and ass were really feeling it. Out in the garage at 4pm.

40:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Strict Chin-ups
  • 15 Weighted V-ups (20# DB)
  • 20 Single Shoulder DB Box Step Overs (24″, 50#)
  • 15 cal SkiErg
  • 25 Air Squats
  • 35 Hollow Flutter Kicks

I did sets of 2 chin-ups all the way through. For the step overs I held the dumbbell on my shoulder and switched sides after 10 reps. I worked on facing the box to start every step up and turned around as I went over and down. Worst movement of the workout. Took less than a minute to ski every round. Got through 6+32.

I hope the first workout of the Open is something I can do. I haven’t done a double under in a month because of the calf tweak. With my shoulder I haven’t done kipping toes to bars in two months and butterfly or kipping pull-ups in over three months. But maybe I won’t get hurt during the Open this year because I’ve been hurt for months. I can hope!

31 Seconds Better For 50 Reps

Out in the garage at around 4pm.

Conditioning

  • 50 Bar-facing Burpees

Went out hot, settled in to a pace, and turned it back on for the last 10. I was done with 25 at 1:20 and finished at 2:58. I’d done this once before in August of 2016 and it took me 3:29, so 31 seconds in a huge PR! No warm-up either!

Arms

3 Sets

  • 12 EZ Bar Curl (56-56-61#)
  • 12 Tricep Pulldown (rope, 60-65-65#)

3 Sets

  • EZ Bar 21s (45-51-51#)
  • 10 Underhand Tricep Pulldown (60-71-71#)

3 Sets

  • 10 Hammer Curls (35#)

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 40 Weighted Flutter Kicks
  • 20 Weighted alt V-ups
  • 20 OH Plate Crunches
  • 20 Russian Twists
  • 20 Seated Leg Lifts

15# plate for everything. Finished in 6:18.

Another Brutal 30 EMOM

My shoulder seems to be getting worse.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3 Rounds
    • 5 Burpees
    • 10 Kip Swings
    • 20 Jump Rope Singles

Conditioning

30:00 alt EMOM

  • 20 cal Row
  • 50 Double Unders
  • 15 Weighted V-ups (20# DB)
  • 25 Push-ups
  • 25 Air Squats

Going from roughly 40 seconds of 1,800+ cal/hr rowing to double unders was brutal. I was dying in the last two rounds. I missed at least once on the rope in every round. I was able to do every round of push-ups unbroken, but that last round was a struggle with slight pauses at the top. Felt good on the air squats taking about 28 seconds to do them each round.

Midline

4 Sets

  • 12 Low-Pulley Knee-In (pause, 27#)
  • 12 OH Plate Crunches (pause, 55#)
  • 5/5 Hip Abducted Evil Wheels
  • 160′ Goblet Carry (53#)

Was supposed to be sandbag carry but I subbed in the goblet instead after the rowing and so many squats.

Damn Shoulder

I took a full rest day yesterday. My left shoulder is really starting to bother me.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 SkiErg (678m)
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 2 Sets
    • 10 Toe Touches
    • 10 PVC Passes

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 1:30 DB Burpee Box Step Overs (24″, 35# DBs)
  • 1:30 Rest
  • 1:30 cal SkiErg
  • 1:30 Rest

I chose a good weight to keep moving with intensity, even though I started out too slow. I did 12-13-14-15-16 step overs and 25-25-26-27-28 ski calories.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 20 w. Hollow Flutter Kicks (10# plate)
  • 20 w. alt V-ups (10#)
  • 20 w. OH crunches (10#)
  • 20 Russian Twists (10#)
  • 20 Seated Leg Lifts

We’ve done this one from Ibex two other times and my best was 7:20. Today I smoked it in 5:57.

Chipper Sunday

I’m feeling good after those Devil Presses yesterday, though my lats are still pretty sore. I thought the time change was tonight for some reason, so after getting out of bed and seeing my phone I was a little shocked. In the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 80′ Lateral Monster Walks
  • 80′ Monster Walks
  • 20 PVC Passes
  • Wrist Warm-up
  • 5 DB Push Jerks (35#)
  • 10 alt Renegade Rows (35#)
  • 20 H2H KBS (30#)

Handstands

  • 4×2 Handstand Split to Stacked
  • 5×5 Kick-ups (balance)

Conditioning

  • 100 cal BikeErg
  • 50 DB Push Jerks (50#)
  • 100 Air Squats
  • 50 HR Push-ups
  • 100 H2H KBS (53#)
  • 50 alt Renegade Rows (50#)
  • 100 cal Row

I was done with the bike in about 4:50 and then went 12-11-10-9-8 on the jerks around 8:20-ish. Didn’t stop on the Air squats, which took about 4 minutes. The push-ups were hard and I struggled through 10×5. I went 50-30-20 on the swings and 14-14-12-10 or the rows. The row was slower than I’d like, taking almost 5:20 to finish at 27:55.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s Weighted Single Arm Cross Body V-up (20# DB)
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Weighted Single Arm Cross Body V-up (20# DB)
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Weighted Hollow Body Tuck-up / Jack Knife (25# KB)
  • 10s Rest
  • 30s Pike-up and Over
  • 50s Rest

This was a good core workout. Came from DLB, though we have different names for the movements.

Dialing in Kick-ups

My inner thighs are still a bit sore and my shoulders need some rest. In the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 10:00 BikeErg (4,845m)
  • 80′ Lateral Monster Walks
  • 80′ Monster Walks

Handstands

  • Wrist Warm-up
  • 2×10 Kip Swings
  • 3×20 Wall-facing Handstand Sponge Shifts
  • 2x45s Handstand Shape 45° Hollow
  • 3×5 Kick-ups (finding balance)

I still find it amazing how much the sponge shifts improved since the first time. Today I was even keeping my feet together instead of a big spread to help with a stable base up at the top. I’m starting to really dial in my kick-ups and think it’s time to just do them in the open floor from now on so I don’t kick the wall when I overshoot and can play around with saving some of those more.

Strength

  • 8 alt Back Rack Reverse Lunges (45#)
  • 8 Pendlay Rows (supinated, 45#)
  • 4 Sets
    • 12 alt Back Rack Reverse Lunges (135#)
    • 12 Pendlay Rows (supinated, 95#)

Straight up cardio-ish!

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Russian KBS (53/35#)
  • 10/10 Lunge Pulses
  • 10 Weighted V-ups (15# DB)

No place to rest here. Got faster as we went. Finished 7+40.

Accessory

3 Sets

  • 30 Band Pull Aparts (blue)
  • 20 Band Tricep Pulldowns (red)
  • 8/8 Parallette Supported Renegade Rows (50#)

This was a rough combination and didn’t really rest between sets.

Cramping in the Upper Abs

Not a great night of sleep. Workout at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 BikeErg (2,527m)

Handstand Balance Breakthrough

  • Wrist Warm-up
  • 40 Bottoms Up KB Press (25#)
  • 12 Handstand Kick Up Against Wall (~10s + pull feet away)

Got 2-3 solid holds with my feet off the wall. Progressing!

Conditioning

35:00 AMRAP (Partner)

  • 8 HSPU
  • 12 Sumo KB Deadlifts (53/35#)
  • 16 Plyo Lunge
  • 12 HR Push-ups
  • 12/8 cal Row
  • 4 Power Cleans (185#)

The work is done by each person before moving to the next movement. I went first and got through 8 full rounds plus row. Handstand push-ups felt really smooth. My balance and cycling were feeling much improved from the handstand work.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 20s Weighted Hollow Flutter Kick (10# plate)
  • 20 Weighted alt V-Ups (10#)
  • 20 Weighted OH Crunches (10#)
  • 20 Russian Twist (10#)
  • 20 Seated Leg Lifts

A good one from Ibex Training.

My upper abs felt like they were cramping in the middle of round two. I forgot to note the exact time but it was around 7:10-7:30.

18.2 Redemption

Out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 BikeErg (2,535m)
  • 160′ Lateral Monster Walks
  • 160′ Monster Walks
  • 20 Air Squats

Conditioning

CrossFit Games Open 18.2: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

  • DB Squats (50/35# DBs)
  • Bar-facing Burpees (w/ jump back and up)

This was one of my most hated Open workouts. It seemed so simple on paper; 55 squats and 55 burpees. For whatever reason it destroyed me though and I got a very disappointing time of 9:44. I’ve been wanting to redo it for a long time. I found a nice rhythm with the burpees. When I jumped up out of the bottom I didn’t try to do too much and was ok with taking two short steps and then jumping over the bar. I think this really helped to pace me out. After the front squats didn’t feel very good yesterday I was worried. These squats felt great and I got faster and faster with them. At the end I busted ass through the final 10 burpees and finished in 7:50!!!! I’m so happy with that. I was surprised at how good I was feeling through the second half of the workout and even when I got done. Still not a great time compared to scores around the world but a huge improvement for me and I feel like I could push the pace more. I really didn’t know how hard to go early on because something like that can hit you out of nowhere (and did in 2018!).

Strength / Accessory

Warmed up bench press with 8×45, 8×95, and 8×125#.

4 Sets

  • 8 Bench Press (155#)
  • 8 DB Chest Fly (35#)
  • 8 Bench Press (155#)

Being smart with choosing my weight today instead of going for it in the early sets. Wanted to be able to have something left for shoulder presses. That’s a decrease on the bench and in increase on the fly. Every time I got to the second bench it was a fight.

3 Sets

  • 5 Shoulder Press (115-125-135#)
  • 12 Lateral Raises (15# DBs)

Shoulders were tired!

4 Sets

  • 20s Ski Erg Triceps
  • 12 OH Cable Tricep Extensions (35#, rope)

This was so hard after the first set. We weren’t taking much more rest than letting the other person do their set.

Midline

4 Sets

  • 12 Knee-ins (5# ankle weights)
  • 12/12 Side Plank Bounces/Pulses
  • 24 alt Weighted V-ups (5# ankle weights)
  • 12/12 Partner Banded Rotations

Another great ab workout. Those ankle weights were a good purchase.

A Decade of Use

My legs are tired and my hands ache. Out in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 10:00 Airdyne (192 cals, 4.94 km)
  • 160′ Lateral Monster Walks
  • 160′ Monster Walks

Strength

5 Sets

  • 8 Front Squats
  • 16 Kossack Squats

I used 45-95-115-115-115# for the front squats and unweighted Kossacks. Keeping it light to go easy on my back, especially after so much sandbag work yesterday.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 12 Goblet Curtsy Lunges (35#)
  • 8 Burpees
  • 6/6 Reverse Lunge Step-ups (24”, 35#)
  • 8 HSPU

Took a couple rounds to get the hang of the reverse lunge step-up. Got it from Ibex and you lunge and step up with the same leg. The opposite knee drives up over the box and you hold the weight on the same side as that knee drive. Produces a lot of quad burn. I messed up and did 8/8 on the first round of reverse lunge step-ups. 😦

This was a good little workout, but could be bumped up to a 6-8 rounder with slightly heavier weight. I was able to turn up the pace in the second half of the workout and finished with 3+31 (was stepping up on that final rep of the movement.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 30s Handstand Hold
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s alt Weighted V-ups (25# DB)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s OH Side Bends (25# DB)
  • 15s Rest
  • 30s Hollow Hold
  • 15s Rest

I got 12-14-14-16 on the V-ups and 18 each time on the bends. I was worried about the long hollow holds, but did them all unbroken.

After lunch I sold my adjustable dumbbells, since I no longer have a use for them. Got $350 and I had paid $300 new about a decade ago. The market for fitness equipment is wild right now!