Glad to make it in for another crush week workout. We skipped the standard warmups again and did this little number instead:
- 7 1-Arm DB Hang Snatches (35lb) each side
- 7 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Then, the WOD:
- 3 Muscle Ups
- 7 Thrusters (95lb)
Repeat 7x
Time: 11:03. I had two goals for this one: all thrusters unbroken and no failed MUs. I hit the first goal, but had two failed attempts near the end. First 3 sets of MUs were all unbroken. In the last few rounds I spent too much time looking at the damn rings and not enough time swinging. Still happy to complete this as Rxed.
Cold, night workout on the turf field at Washington Park. Crossed paths with a kindred spirit doing some sprints, which was cool. Started with my old standby, the official TWBS warmup:
- 15 Burpees
- 15 sec Samson Stretch (each side)
Repeat 3x, then:
- 20 Pushups
- Sprint 100m
- Walk back to start
Repeat 5x, not for time. Low sweat index due to the cold, but I came pretty close to puking. Note: on cheat days, do intense workouts before crap.
No standard warmup again this am, but we did a fair bit of rope skipping, joint rotations, and foam rolling. Then we warmed up a few of the movements from today’s WOD and got to work:
- 70 Double Unders
- 600m Row
- 50 KB Swings (24kg)
- 40 Burpees
- 30 Overhead Squats (95lb)
- 20 Pullups
- 10 Ring Dips
Time: 14:44. This workout played well to my strengths but I didn’t do as well as I hoped. DUs were unbroken, took the row nice and easy at about a 1:55/500m pace, KBS were partitioned 30/20, burpees were the hardest part - split em 15/10/15, OHS were 10/10/10, pullups were 10/6/4, dips were strict at 4/3/2/1.
I’ve been sticking to my 6 day savage™ diet plan for 2 weeks now: strict paleo combined with intermittent fasting 6 days a week, anything goes on day 7. Feeling pretty good so far. Sticking to the 8 hour feeding window hasn’t been difficult at all. I’ve had cravings, but it’s a lot easier to wait a few days to go nuts than it was during my 60 day no-cheat paleo challenge. I’ve also felt just fine after my cheat days despite indulging in cookies, pizza, and all sorts of crap. I feel like I can sustain this forever. Haven’t been weighing in, but I’ll start doing that tonight.
Good to be back with the 6am crew. It’s the start of crush week, so I’m hoping to hit the bulk of these workouts and ramping up the intensity this week. We started with an easy 3 min row followed by lots of foam rolling since most people totaled yesterday. Then we did some barbell warmups for the hang power cleans and thrusters to come.
WOD:
- 270m Sandbag run (45lb)
- 15 Hang power cleans (95lb)
- 5 Thrusters (95lb)
- 10 Hang power cleans (95lb)
- 10 Thrusters (95lb)
- 5 Hang power cleans (95lb)
- 15 Thrusters (95lb)
- 270m Sandbag run (45lb)
Time: 7:52. I would have done this at 135 if I was ready for full intensity. No issues with my back though, so I’m glad I kept it light. Tomorrow, we go heavy.
I’m not cleared to do anything as intense as the Crossfit Total, which was happening today, so I went in for coach Nick’s rowing workshop instead. I’d really like to improve my stroke and get more comfortable on the erg, so these should be great.
Today we focused on the recovery portion of the stroke. We warmed up with a 500m row, which I finished in 1:40, nice and easy. Then we did some light KB RDLs really slowly to stretch the hamstrings and feel the stretch reflex and moved onto the rower to transfer the same movement onto the rower. We focused on keeping the quads engaged (knees locked) during the initial recovery and paused there to feel the stretch. We paid attention to the back position too, making sure it stayed tight and all that. Then we did a drill to practice the stretch reflex at the very bottom of the stroke and reinforced how to make it effortless and smooth. After all that, we had to row an 8:00 piece with a stroke rate of 16s/m, which is really slow. It was tough to keep it that low and I averaged 17s/m for 2018m.
Really happy to learn these drills and tips for keeping the movement efficient and powerful. Look out, Zach.
Modified version of warmup 1 to start:
- 20 Hollow rocks
- 15 Squats
- 45 sec plank hold
- 10 Strict pullups
Repeat 3x
Yesterday’s WOD was the week 2 CF Games open workout from last year. Since my doc advised me not to do much deadlifting just yet and to keep the intensity submaximal, I modified it:
- 9 Ball Slams (30lb)
- 12 Pushups
- 15 Box Jumps (24”)
AMRAP 10 min
Finished 5 rounds + 6 pushups. The ball slams added a higher metabolic load than the prescribed deadlifts, so I was sucking wind pretty good. Back felt fine throughout though.
A long overdue post, but here are my December goals:
- Strict 8 hour feeding window each day (usually around 1-9pm). I’m following the early morning fasted training protocol from Leangains when I get to train, supplementing with BCAAs as needed.
- Strict paleo 2.0 diet, which essentially means no wheat, no sugar, no alcohol, no processed foods. I’m allowing small amounts of rice and potato.
- Straighten out the issues with my back. I started seeing a chiropractor, but I also need to make some changes to my workspace (standing desk) and focus on sitting up straighter when I do sit. Regular foam rolling and mobility work every night at home.
Oh, and this all goes out the window on Sundays, which are my anything goes cheat day. Luckily xmas falls on a Sunday this year.
First day back at the box since I decided my back needed some serious rest and chiropractic care. Luckily there’s an awesome Dr. who trains at the gym and straightened me right out. I’m going to continue with some adjustments and massage and make some changes to my work station, but I already feel much better. I’m keeping things low-intensity and scaled down until I get the green light, but I need to move. The doc was in the same class today and helped me figure out exactly how to scale things down.
Started with warmup 1:
- 10 Ball Slams (30lb)
- 20 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 10 Strict Pullups
Repeat 2x
Then did some serious foam rolling on the glutes, back, and lats which felt great. Then onto the WOD:
- Run 660m (once around the block)
- 10 Single Arm Thrusters/side (25lb)
- 21 Box Jumps (20”)
- Run 400m
- 8 Single Arm Thrusters/side (25lb)
- 15 Box Jumps (20”)
- Run 270m
- 5 Single Arm Thrusters/side (25lb)
- 9 Box Jumps (20”)
Time: 8:39. I’m glad I scaled this down, but I’m also really glad I got moving. Feeling really good now.
On the Washington Park turf field this morning:
Repeat 10x
Rested as needed between sets. Pushups felt strong.
9am Sunday class with coach DO. Started with some light rope skipping and stretching, then warmup 1:
- 20 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 10 Strict Pullups
Repeat 3x
Every minute on the minute for 8 minutes:
- 2 Power Cleans (185lb)
- 1 Jerk (185lb)
The jerk was the limiting factor here. My jerk just isn’t a hell of a lot stronger than my push press (which isn’t that much stronger than my press). Ended up pressing out a lot of these reps.
The accessory WOD was “unbroken Fran” 21, 15, 9:
Score: one foul in 7:50. The goal was to take out the time component and focus on hitting all sets unbroken. I dropped the bar during the set of 15 thrusters, which continue to plague me. Pullups were nbd.
Still feeling crumby, but got a late workout in the basement in:
- Burpees x 30 sec (10)
- Jumping Jacks x 30 sec
- Mountain Climbers x 30 sec
- Pushups x 30 sec (12)
- Squats x 30 sec (22)
Repeat 5x, resting 30 sec between rounds.
Felt really sluggish. Numbers look really sluggish.
In the basement for a late-night quickie. Messed around with some HSPU practice but didn’t do any heavy volume. Then I tried to mix up some basic movements in a different way. Testing out a new timer app, which seems pretty solid:
- Pullups x 30 sec (13, 16, 15, 13, 13)
- Pushups x 45 sec (26, 22, 18, 16, 16)
- Squats x 60 sec (48, 40, 38, 36, 38)
Repeat 5x, resting 45 sec between sets
Muscular failure slowed me down on the pushups and I was sucking wind on those damn squats. Should have been more aggressive on the pullups.
Made it in for the 10am class today. We started with a jog around the block (.3 mi) and then did some foam rolling on the psoas and quads in prep for today’s work. No time for standardized warmup, Dr. Jones.
Front Squats:
Kept it nice and light since my back still isn’t 100%. These felt good though.
WOD - 21, 15, 9:
- Row (calories)
- Squat Clean Thrusters (95lb)*
Time: 9:55. I scaled down the Rxed weight (which was 115) again for my poor aching back. Heavy loads on my back (squats) and pulling stuff from the floor is what aggravates it the most at the moment, so I thought it was best to keep the weight light and the intensity sub-maximal. Glad I did because things feel gravy right now.
6am Wednesday class with coach Josh. Did some group warmups with jump rope and hollow holds, then onto warmup 2:
- 16 Reverse Weighted Lunges (35lb)
- 12 Single Arm DB Press (35lb)
- 12 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Worked some of the ring rows with the false grip as per Josh’s suggestion. Good idear.
Back Squats:
Was gunning for 275, but my back just didn’t feel right during the warmup sets so I cooled it off and went light and focused on form. Hopefully a few more days of rest is all I need. Did some foam rolling on the t-spine for accessory work, which really helped. Need to do more of this at home.
