Made it in for the 9am class on Sunday and started with warmup 1:
- 15 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Air Squats
- 10 Ring Pushups
- 8 Strict Pullups
Repeat 3x. Then we had Sumo-Deadlift Highpull 101, which was hugely helpful. A slightly wider stance, a slightly wider grip, and thinking of it as a 2 part movement (like the clean) made a huge difference in my stability and overall confidence with this movement. Then we did a 1 minute pressure test with 75lb. I completed 40 reps.
Today’s WOD was a barbell complex, so we warmed up with light weight and drilled the individual movements before going heavy:
Barbell Complex
- 5 Power Cleans
- 5 Push Presses
- 5 Front Squats
- 5 Power Cleans
- 5 Deadlifts
I completed 3 sets at 115lb, 135lb, and 155lb. Tried for a 4th at 165lb, but gave up after the third push press. I just didn’t have much left at that point.
Third private session with coach Fox tonight. After some hip capsule and chest mobility work with the lax ball, we got down to business. Started by practicing some muscle-up kips swings using a true (non-false) grip. I had a really hard time putting this together, but when we switched back to false grip, I got a few tips to really make this movement more efficient. I need to pull my knees to my chest, then throw my head down to turn over. Then I need to get my legs to full extension and kip the dip. We did some practice on kipping ring dips to reinforce this. Then we did some deadlift work:
Deadlifts:
- 5 x 135lb
- 5 x 185lb
- 3 x 225lb
- 2 x 275lb
- 2 x 295lb
Same cues apply: chest up, deep belly breath to tighten up, then lift from the shoulders. I moved my grip in a few inches, but I’m not sure this really helped. Still needs work. Then a WOD to reinforce these movements:
- 2 Muscle-ups
- 5 Burpees
- 2 Deadlifts (295lb)
Repeat 8x, resting 1 min between sets. I made some serious progress on the MUs today - I was able to string them together for the first time! All but 2 or 3 sets were strung together using my new, efficient kip. It’s amazing how easy the movement felt once I started doing them right. Deadlifts were hit and miss - definitely got soft on a few reps.
I got to the gym for a rare Saturday appearance today at 8am. Back to warm up 1, but we did it 5x today:
- 15 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Air Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 8 Strict Pullups
- 6 Kip Swings
Repeat 5x. Then we were tasked to complete 1,000 rope turns with a cut-off at 7 min. I finished 913, which was disappointing. I wonder how many people finished in the allotted time.
Box Squats
- 5 x 155lb
- 5 x 165lb
- 5 x 170lb
- 5 x 170lb
- 5 x 170lb
Box squats were feeling good today. Great tips from Margie about bending more at the waist to reach back with my butt. I’ve only done this a few times but I think today was the first time I actually did the correctly. Kept the weight low so I could explode out of the hole.
Made it in for open gym today and decided to stick with the standard warmup (#2 today):
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Deadlifts
- 5 x 135lb
- 5 x 225lb
- 3 x 5 x 315lb
Just wanted to do some submaximal deadlifts to reinforce the new cues that I got from coach Fox. After that I practiced some Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls, which are just really sloppy right now. I loaded the bar to 95lb and did 20 reps/minute 3x, with 1 min rest between each set. Lots of room for improvement.
Good to be back at the 6am class. Started with warm up 1 today:
- 15 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Air Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 8 Strict Pullups
Repeat 3x, then onto the back-off week workout:
Dumbbell Press
- 5 x 35lb
- 5 x 35lb
- 5 x 35lb
- 10 x 35lb
- 10 x 40lb
- 10 x 45lb
Partner Workout
- Row 25 Calories
- 20 Overhead Walking Lunges (45lb plate)
- 10 Strict Toes-to-Bar
- 20 sec hold Inverted Pike on Box
Repeat 3x. Since I was the odd man out, I rested 4 minutes between sets (while my ghost partner completed each round). Each row took me less than a minute, which I was pleased with.
At the turf field in Washington Park, not even in workout clothes since I have no time:
- Sprint 50m
- 10 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 9 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 8 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 7 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 6 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 5 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 6 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 7 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 8 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 9 Pike Pushups
- Sprint 50m
- 10 Pike Pushups
Rested as needed between sets. Was originally planning on doing 10…1, but these were too easy, so I laddered back up at 5 reps. Probably should have done 10 reps in each set.
Some joint rotations and the link before going into warm up 2:
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Then we spent some time reviewing the KB swing and the ring pushup before this little ditty:
AMRAP 15 min:
- 15 KB Swings (70lb)
- 10 Ring Pushups
I finished 7 rounds, but not quite in the allotted time. After that I did some GHD work with a med ball as prescribed by Fox.
Had a less bumpy day at sea so I did some GPP:
- Burpees x 30 sec (11)
- Jumping Jacks x 30 sec
- Mountain Climbers x 30 sec
- Step Ups x 30 sec
Repeat 5x, resting 30 sec between rounds.
I used a beach chair on the sun deck to do the step ups.
The stationary bike seemed like a safer option than the treadmill at sea, so I did some timed intervals:
Repeat 8x
I did a ladder with the resistance to keep things interesting. So nice to be able to take a dip in the pool to cool down after this one.
Catching up on posting some vacation WODs from my Bermuda cruise.
- Run 1 mile (6:00)
- Tabata Burpees (8, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 6)
- Half Tabata Pushups (10, 8, 8, 6)
It was a rough day at sea. I was sorta feeling odd when I ran the mile on the treadmill, but those burpees were crazy. Some jumps felt like I weighed 300lbs, some felt like I was on the moon. The numbers are my best estimate, but it was a weak showing due to the waves. Felt green around the gills for a while after this one.
Jogged to the 6am class and then did a 400m group run to pre-warm up. Also worked some hip stuff since I knew I’d be squatting.
Warm up 2:
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Back Squats:
I thought I made a 5lb jump from the ast heavy squat, but it was actually 10. The first two sets felt kinda wonky, the third was ok, but he last two sets felt really clean. I was getting good depth, keeping my knees out, and keeping my core tight throughout. KNEES OUT!
No time for the accessory work today. Hey, I’m a deliberate squatter.
Had my second private training session with Coach Fox tonight. Started with a warmup of 8 reverse lunges with pvc disclocates/side, 8 shoulder blade-contracting mini pullups, 30 sec supine plank, 3x. This was to prep for the deadlift, which went under the microscope tonight. We really focused on form and slowly worked up to semi-heavy singles.
Deadlifts:
- 5 x 135lb
- 5 x 185lb
- 3 x 225lb
- 1 x 275lb
- 1 x 315lb
- 1 x 345lb
- 1 x 365lb
The weight felt easy since I have no clue when my back starts to round, but apparently the flaws started to show at 275lb. It’s not my lower back that tends to round, but my mid-back. Fox gave me some cues to help: chest up, take a deep belly breath, and push the tops of my shoulders up towards the ceiling on the way up. All of those cues really improved my form and I felt pretty good. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue with this and go heavy. Then an on-the-minute WOD to practice form and assess my muscle-up technique:
EMOTM for 10 min:
- 1 Deadlift (275lb)
- 1 Muscle-up
This felt pretty good on both ends. I failed on my last rep of the muscle up, but I think it was mainly because my hands were really sweaty. Once I chalked up, I hit it. I got some good tips on exaggerating my kip on the MUs, but it wasn’t really the focus for today. We also did some static holds on the GHD and practiced some standing barbell rows, both of which should help me strengthen my erector spinae and make me more aware of proper back position in the DL. Gotta work these every time I make it to the gym. I’m really getting a lot out of these sessions and I’m glad I booked em.
Late night class tonight, started things off with warm up 1:
- 15 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Air Squats (band around knees)
- 10 Pushups
- 8 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Weighted Chinups:
- 5 x 50lb
- 3 x 80lb
- 1 x 120lb
- 1 x 120lb
- 5 x 80lb
Brought my trusty belt but still had a hard time loading enough weight. The sets at 120 were using an 80lb dumbbell and a 40lb vest. I wish I could have gone a bit heavier. Then we did a non-scored 20 minute circuit of:
- 2 x 65m Farmer’s Walk (2 x 80lb DB, 185lb, 235lb)
- 5 Wall Walks with a :08 sec hold at top
I only got to two rounds of wall walks, but 3 full rounds of the farmer’s walk. Had to put down the weight on the last sets of 235. Rough on the hands, fella. This was a really fun day though.
Worked from home, so got a lunch break workout in today with Shane and the noon crew.
Warm up 2:
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Back Squats:
Double Half Jackie:
- Row 500m
- 25 Thrusters (45lb)
- 15 Pullups
Repeat 2x
Time: 9:16. About 90 seconds slower than my plain old Jackie time! I went out way too hard on the first row (1:30) and was totally gassed for the remainder. Pretty dumb. Squats were pretty easy.
Made it in for the good old 8pm class tonight. Since we’re sticking with two standard warmups for this cycle, alternating each workout, I hit warm up 1 today:
- 15 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Air Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 8 Strict Pullups
Repeat 3x, then onto the real WOD:
Bench Press
- 5 x 205lb
- 5 x 205lb
- 5 x 215lb
- 5 x 225lb *FAIL* (3)
Row to 25 calories
- 40 sec
- 40 sec
- 39 sec
- 42 sec*
Rows immediately followed the BP sets then we rested as needed before the next set of BP. Total bench press poundage: 3,125lb (no points for the failed set at 225). Total rowing time: 2:41. I fucked up on the last rowing set and stopped pulling after the monitor showed 24 cals (around 38 sec). I thought I would coast to 25, but apparently it doesn’t work that way. After I realized, I pulled a baby pull and finished out at 42 sec.
