There Will Be Sweat

CFSB Day 173

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:04:38 -0500

Open gym. Kicked it off with a quick warmup of 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 pullups / pushups / squats, then started working on clean and jerks.

Clean & Jerks:

5 x 95lb
3 x 135lb
2 x 155lb
1 x 175lb
1 x 195lb
1 x 205lb
1 x 215lb *FAIL*
2 x 3 x 135lb

My left elbow started bothering me during some of the lighter sets and I knew I wasn’t gonna get too heavy today. Couldn’t even clean 215 which is weak. My jerks need a lot of work too. I ended up pressing out everything I got overhead. Need to DROP under that bar. Keep working on this.

Frustrated, NFT circuit after:

10 GHD Situps
20 Squats
30 Double Unders

Repeat 5x

Goal was no stopping, all unbroken. Tripped up on the rope with 3 left in the last set. Oh well.

CFSB Day 172

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:44:00 -0500

Did a short version of Nick’s rowing warmup today and then some group DROMs and the lovely pre-squat hip opener that I’ve been doing every day.

Squat:

5 x 235lb
3 x 265lb
4 x 295lb*

The rep-out felt pretty weak today. I actually failed on the 5th rep and had to bail, so I know there wasn’t any more in the tank.

DB Fran - 21, 15, 9:

Thrusters (40lb)
Pullups

Time: 4:10. Got the first sets unbroken and then had to partition the second 8/7. Last set of pullups was also partitioned 6/3. Too much rest. Should’ve been around 3:30, I think.

CFSB Day 171

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:52:00 -0500

Nice little warmup of 3 sets of 20 KB swings (24kg) mixed in with some DROMs and stuff. Then some barbell drills to prep for the WOD.

The Chief

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:

3 Power Cleans (135lb)
6 Pushups
9 Squats

Repeat 5x, resting 1 min between rounds.

Score: 23 rounds + 6pc + 6p (5, 5, 5, 4 + 3pc, 4 + 3pc + 6pu). Was shooting for 5 rounds even throughout but it fell apart at the end. Squats were surprisingly difficult near the end. Damn close to finishing out that last round though. Awesome workout.

Core Workout

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:39:00 -0500

A quiet, low-intensity home workout while the little one slept.

20 Bird-dogs
10 Supermans
20 Situps

Repeat 3x

Not for time, not for sweat. Just doing something every day.

Sprint Intervals

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:03:00 -0500

On the turf field at Washington Park while the rest of the country was eating corn chips and watching TV:

Sprint 50m
Backwards jog 50m
10 V-ups

Repeat 8x

Not for time. I kept minimal rest after each interval to make sure I could hit the sprints at max intensity. Added the V-ups to give my upper body a rest.

Hybrid Tabata Intervals

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:59:00 -0500

Out on the turf field at Washington Park. Originally intended to do some sprints, but it was jam packed so I found a corner and did Tabata intervals (20 seconds work/10 seconds rest) for the following exercises, circuit style:

Burpees (9, 9, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8)
Mountain Climbers
Pushups (16, 15, 14, 12, 12, 12, 12, 11)
Squats (18, 16, 18, 18, 17, 18, 18, 18)
Chinnies

Repeat circuit 8x for 20 minutes total.

Burpees were right on par, squats were down due to fielding some questions from curious toddlers, pushups were down 10 reps from the last time (which was a poor pushup performance to begin with), but after lots of pushups and burpees the past few days I’m not too upset. Tomorrow - no pushups or burpees.

Previously: 10/9/11; 3/21/09; 11/22/08

CFSB Day 170

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:02:54 -0500

Kicked things off with some good old fashioned rope skipping before some basic DROMs. Then competition warmup 2:

5 Muscle Up transitions (low rings)
10 GHD Situps
10 GHD Hip Extensions
10 One Legged Squats (alternating legs)

Repeat 3x. Only hit the MUs in the last round (no time)

Deadlifts:

3 x 300lb
3 x 345lb
1 x 390lb
3 x 375lb

Got called for back rounding after the first rep of my heavy set, so I knocked the weight down and focused on form. Gotta keep those damn shoulders locked and tight once I start the pull. Then a dreaded WOD came up.

Death by Burpees:

With a continuously running clock do one burped the first minute, two burpees the second minute, three burpees the third minute…continuing as long as you are able.

My score: 14 rounds + 10. We had a 20 min cap on this one, so I started over at 0 after the set of 15 and then went all out on the last minute (20 reps). Looks like I was damn close to my score from the last time I did this a couple of years ago. I’m going to do this again after I complete my 30 day paleo challenge and see if the numbers improve.

Core Workout

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:59:00 -0500

As part of my “do something every day” goal, a quiet little home workout:

60 sec Front Plank
30 sec Side Plank (each side)
60 sec Supine Plank

Repeat 5x

CFSB Day 169

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:00:13 -0500

With the 8pmers at the gym tonight. Warmed up with some DROMS and a run around the block, followed by warmup 1:

15 sec L-sit (rings)
10 Muscle Snatch to OHS (2 sec pause at bottom, pvc)
10 Games-standard Pushups
5 Strict pullups to 10 Kipping pullups

Repeat 2x (this got cut short)

Squat:

3 x 215lb
3 x 250lb
7 x 280lb*

The last set was a rep-out. It felt alright. I could have battled out another rep or two but it didn’t seem worth it.

WOD - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1:

Deadlift (185lb)
Pushups

Time: 3:31. No real rest in there, I just tried to keep a steady, safe pace on the DLs so I wouldn’t throw my back out of whack. Happy with my overall positioning, though I did get soft a few times.

A New Paleo Challenge

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:54:33 -0500

My gym started another 60 day paleo challenge in Jan, but I didn’t sign up for a number of reasons. Yesterday I threw my hat into the paleo ring for 30 days so I’ll finish with everyone else at the end of February. The rules:

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 hit the 6am crossfit class, 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 limited amounts of rice and potato.
Supplement with Royal Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend, vitamin D, multivitamin.
Do something every day. Get to the gym as much as possible, hit some quick home-based workouts when I can’t.

My goal isn’t weight loss, but for the record my starting weight is 188lb.

CFSB Day 168

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:52:16 -0500

Started with some DROMs and jumping jacks this morning. Then a warmup of 3 rounds of :30 hollow hold, :30 handstand hold (from wall walk-up). Then to the bar:

Floor Press:

3 x 185lb
3 x 205lb
3 x 225lb
3 x 245lb
3 x 255lb *FAIL*

Just didn’t have it on the last set. Probably should have tried it again after a bit of rest.

WOD:

15 KB Swings (24kg)
15 Box Jumps (24”)

AMRAP 7 min

Score: 5 rounds + 8 BJ. I have a hard time cycling 24” jumps so I had to break them up into sets of 5 after the first few rounds.

Then, Nick’s rowing cooldown: start rowing at 2:00/500m pace; at 300m decrease the intensity to 2:10/500m pace; at 600m go to 2:20/500m pace until 900m; and so on and so forth. I got 1500m in before I had to split.

CFSB Day 167

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:55:00 -0500

Got in a little bit early so I hit the erg warmup: start rowing at 3:00/500m pace; at 300m increase the intensity to 2:50/500m pace; at 600m go to 2:40/500m pace until 900m; until I hit 2:20 and the whistle blew. Then some DROMs, PVC dislocates, and a whole mess of barbell warmups for the snatch.

WOD:

40 Burpees
20 Power Snatches (95lb)
20 Pullups
20 Burpees
10 Power Snatches (95lb)
10 Pullups

Time: 9:15. This was pretty tough. I tried to pace the first set of burpees so I wasn’t totally gassed, but I’m not sure it helped. Those snatches got tough to string together after the first set. I was really disappointed with my performance today and though some of it could be chalked up to a terrible night’s sleep, I gotta make some changes to my diet too. I got derailed by the holidays and too much abuse has gone on for too long.

Cooled down with the opposite of the rowing warmup: start rowing at 2:00/500m pace; at 300m decrease the intensity to 2:15/500m pace; at 600m go to 2:30/500m pace until 900m; at 900m go to 2:45/500m pace; at 1200 go to 3:00/500m pace. That’s it.

Density Training: Pushups

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:47:00 -0500

Getting back on track with improving my pushups. Goal is to get 80 in a row:

13 x 12 reps (+4)

Total of 160 pushups in 13 minutes. Started splitting em up into 6/6 after the 7th set. Not too bad.

CFSB Day 166

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:05:00 -0500

Just me and coach Nick at the 6am today. We scrappd the standardized warmups in favor of Nick’s erg warmup: start rowing at 3:00/500m pace; at 300m increase the intensity to 2:50/500m pace; at 600m go to 2:40/500m pace until 900m; and so on and so forth until you get to 2:00/500m pace. The first few 300s felt excruciatingly slow, but they were great for getting really detailed feedback on my form from Nick. I need to focus on pulling with my arms as soon as my heels touch, keep my back position throughout the catch, and keep everything nice and smooth. I also bumped my feet down to the ‘4’ notch and Nick suggested maybe even trying a 5 to get a better angle.

Press:

5 x 100lb
5 x 120lb
7 x 135lb*

This was my first press exposure for the Wendler cycle, so I’m using an estimated 1RM of 175 to calculate my numbers. Disappointed with only 7 on the rep out, but I really haven’t been pressing much.

WOD:

10 One Arm DB Hang Clean and Push Press/arm (40lb)
30 DB Swings (40lb)

Repeat 5x

Time: 12:12. Really, really slow. Not sure if I went too heavy on the weight or if it was just an off day. Limiting factor on this one was my GD grip.

Cooled down with the opposite of the rowing warmup: start rowing at 2:00/500m pace; at 300m decrease the intensity to 2:10/500m pace; at 600m go to 2:20/500m pace until 900m; and so on and so forth. I got 1500m in before I had to split.

CFSB Day 165

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:25:52 -0500

Good morning with the 6am crew today. Started with DROMS and warmup 2:

5 Muscle Up transitions (low rings)
10 GHD Situps
10 GHD Hip Extensions
10 One Legged Squats (alternating legs)

Repeat 3x. Got everything but the last set of OLS.

Squats:

5 x 200lb
5 x 235lb
9 x 265lb*

Since I hit all my reps for the last 3 weeks, I upped my estimated max 10lb to 345 and recalculated my work sets based on that. Felt pretty good. Was gunning for 10 on my rep out (which is what I got last time with 255).

WOD:

Power Cleans (185lb) x 20 sec (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4)

Repeat 8x, resting 40 sec between rounds.

Score: 32. This felt like the right weight - it was heavy but I was able to keep moving in every set. Can’t imagine getting more than 4 reps unless I controlled the weight down each time (I just dropped it). My collarbone took a real beating, honey.

CFSB Day 164

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:23:49 -0500

Quick DROMS and right into warmup 1 today:

15 sec L-sit (rings)
10 Muscle Snatch to OHS (2 sec pause at bottom, 45lb)
10 Games-standard Pushups
5 Strict pullups to 10 Kipping pullups

Repeat 3x (ran out of time on the OHS in round 3)

Deadlift:

5 x 315lb
3 x 360lb
3 x 1 x 400lb

We did three singles for our heaviest set in lieu of the rep-out. Everything felt good today.

WOD:

50 Double Unders
40 Squats
30 Situps

Repeat 3x

Time: 6:54. I moved pretty steadily through this one, only had a couple of trip ups on the DUs when my rope hit the cage (it was crowded) and only took 2 short breaks on the last set of squats, which ate me up.

CFSB Day 163

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:23:00 -0500

Squat day, baby! Started with some light foam rolling and then right into warmup 2:

5 Muscle Up transitions (low rings)
10 GHD Situps
10 GHD Hip Extensions
10 One Legged Squats (alternating legs)

Repeat 3x.

Squats:

5 x 225lb
3 x 255lb
7 x 285lb*

Last set was a rep-out. I gave up on the prescribed warmup sets (too much math) and just did 2 sets with the empty bar, then 135, and 185. Nice round numbers. Squats felt really good today. Maybe I should’ve fought for another rep or two on the last set, but it felt solid.

Partner Chipper WOD:

75 Shoulder-to-overhead (165lb)
100 Power Cleans (165lb)
125 Pushups

Time: 15:30. Worked with Allen and Isaac and ended up not quite pulling (pushing?) my share of the weight. The first few sets of the push jerk were 5 reps, as planned, the last few were 3 reps. Power cleans were strong - hit sets of 5 throughout and then a set of 10 to close it out. Pushups were 20, 10, 5.

CFSB Day 162

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:28:00 -0500

Got in a few minutes early so I rowed an easy 3 minutes (20 s/m) then did a little foam rolling. Once class started, I got sent back to the rower for another 3 min, but pushed it to 30 s/m for the last minute. Then we did some PVC drills to warm up the OHS. THEN, warmup 1:

15 sec L-sit (rings)
10 Games-standard Pushups
5 Strict pullups to 10 Kipping pullups

Repeat 3x.

Overhead Squats:

3 x 95lb
1 x 135lb
1 x 155lb
1 x 175lb *FAIL*
1 x 175lb
1 x 195lb *FAIL*
1 x 195lb (PR)

I had more in me, but I ran out of time. Wasn’t sticking my butt back enough for a lot of these reps and once I got the cue it felt much stronger. Also need to focus on externally rotating my femurs to keep my feet from rolling in.

10 min AMRAP:

30 Double Unders
15 Overhead Squats (95lb)

Score: 4 rounds + 4 OHS. I’m really rubbish at OHS. First set was unbroken, the rest were broken in 2. Had lots of fails when I lost my position, which gets frustrating.

CFSB Day 161

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:52:00 -0500

Hit my first deadlift exposure for this Wender cycle. Competition warmup 2 for the first time:

5 Muscle Up transitions (low rings)
10 GHD Situps
10 GHD Hip Extensions
10 One Legged Squats (alternating legs)

Repeat 3x. Got everything but the last set of OLS.

Deadlift:

5 x 135lb
5 x 225lb
3 x 275lb
5 x 295lb
5 x 335lb
3 x 380lb

We’re not doing rep-outs on deadlifts for this Wendler cycle. Glad I got paired with coach Fox for this since I had a trained eye on my form throughout. My position felt really good today and I liked deadlifting in my weightlifting shoes for the first time.

WOD:

Wall Ball (30lb) x 1 min (24, 16, 18)
Box Jumps (24”) x 1 min (24, 28, 18)

Repeat 3x, resting 1 min between rounds.

Score: 128. This was scaled up from the Rxed 20lb/20” and it really took its toll. I don’t cycle 24” box jumps that well (got in the groove on round 2 for a bit though) and I felt the extra 10lbs on those wall balls, I’ll tell you what.

CFSB Day 160

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:50:47 -0500

New warmups, y’all! These even have modifications geared toward more competitive athletes. Warmup 1 for the first time:

15 sec L-sit (rings)
10 Muscle Snatch to OHS (2 sec pause at bottom) with PVC
10 Games-standard Pushups
5 Strict pullups to 10 Toes-to-bar

Repeat 3x 2x. Started late and ran out of time. Not sure about going right from those TTB to the L-sits - might make more sense to try kipping pullups on top of strict pullups. I should have used an empty barbell instead of a PVC too.

Squats:

5 x 120lb
5 x 150lb
3 x 180lb
3 x 210lb
3 x 240lb
8 x 270lb*

First three sets were warmup sets. Second Wendler squat exposure. Felt pretty good today. Then onto the WOD.

12 min AMRAP, resting 1:07 between sets:

3 Man-Makers (35lb)
5 Box Jumps
7 Ball Slams (30lb)

Score: 6 rounds. The first round took me 1:07, so I used that as my rest throughout. Finished subsequent rounds in 1:00, so I should have just made it easier on myself and rested 1 min. Really liked this since it was short, explosive, and with built in rest so I could go max intensity each round.