With the 6am crew today for the much-dreaded Bear! Did some basic DROMs and light barbell warmups, then right to it. The Bear Complex is: a power clean, to a front squat, to a push press, a back squat, and a push press. Repeat that complex 7x for one round without putting the bar down. My attempts:
- 95lb
- 135lb
- 155lb *FAIL* (3)
- 155lb *FAIL* (2)
- 95lb
No wonder this thing is so feared among crossfitters. You can rest as needed in between and during sets, but you can’t let go of the bar, which makes this a real bitch. The hardest part for me was controlling the weight after the last push press, back down to the starting position (touch and go). Grip was fried, I was gassed, and just couldn’t finish the set of 155. Next time I’ll try two super light warmups (65, 95) and then right into an attempt at 155.
Packed 9am class on Sunday. After intros and DROMs, went for 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
Repeat 3x
Rohoi:
- 12 Box Jumps (24”)
- 6 Thrusters (95lb)
- 6 Bar-facing Burpees
AMRAP 12 min
Score: 7 rounds + 6 BJ. Those box jumps got tough, fella. I stuck with my strategy of not resting between movements and taking short breaks at stations as needed (mostly on box jumps). All thrusters were unbroken, which was great.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
