Nice early 6am class with the morning crew. Started with warmup 2 today:
- 16 Reverse Weighted Lunges (30lb)
- 12 Single Arm DB Press (30lb)
- 12 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Back Squats:
I borrowed some weightlifting shoes and felt really solid today. Didn’t have to worry about my feet at all, so the only cue I had to focus on was knees out. Will pick up a pair for sure.
The accessory WOD was the same as last week. 3 rounds, NFT:
- 10 Romanian Deadlifts (135lb)
- 10 Paloff Press each side w/band
Early morning class again. Pre-warmup was 21, 15, 9 wall balls with a 130m med ball carry run after each round. Then, warmup 1:
- 20 Hollow Rocks
- 15 Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 10 Strict Pullups
Repeat 2x (short on time)
Back Squats:
Tougher than I expected today. I need more squatting in my life.
The accessory WOD was 3 rounds, NFT:
- 10 Romanian Deadlifts (135lb)
- 10 Paloff Press each side w/band
RDLs felt good, the band presses are some sort of anti-rotational training and were harder than they looked. Nice accessory work to close out the morning.
Noon class on this fine, autumnal Saturday. Kicked things off with warm up 2:
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Back Squats:
Had a few reps that were borderline depth on the first couple of sets, but I felt like I settled down and felt solid by the last two sets.
The accessory WOD was 3 rounds, NFT:
- 30 sec handstand hold
- 30 sec L-sit hold
- 5 pistols/leg
Handstand holds were unbroken and felt good. First l-sit was unbroken, second was split in 3, last set was split in 2. It’s been a while since I’ve done any one-legged squats and they felt wonky. I held a 25lb plate for the last set for some extra stability and they felt best of all.
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.
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.
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.
Jogged to the box, then did a light 500m row before the official warmup.
Warm up 2:
- 30 sec Front/Supine Plank (alternate each round)
- 10 Reverse Lunges / Leg
- 10 Ring Rows
Repeat 3x
Back Squats:
NFT circuit after that:
- 15 Strict Toes-to-bar
- 15 Single Leg Romanian Deadlift / leg (1.5pood)
Those squats were harder than they should have been. Need to get better acquainted with the bottom position so I can get that bounce out of the hole.
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.
Shit, I haven’t been to the box in a dog’s age. Headed in for open gym and decided to do my own thang:
Turkish Getups
- 3 x 65lb
- 1 x 85lb
- 1 x 105lb
- 1 x 125lb *FAIL*
I actually failed 3x on that last attempt. Just couldn’t get the bar into that first position. More TGU practice is needed. Then I went for a max rep set of pullups to satisfy my curiosity. I got 37 (PR). The first 34 were easy peasy and the last 3 were really hard. I’d like to get this number up a bit…maybe Fox’s advanced pullup program is in order.
Haven’t made it to crossfit at all this week, so I headed to the Y for a swim and made up the heavy front squat work from the other day.
Front Squats
- 2 x 245lb
- 2 x 255lb
- 2 x 265lb
I was supposed to do 4 sets of 2 but since there was a chance, a small one, that I might fail on 2 x 275, I just skipped it. Sucks, but there’s no way to fail gracefully in the weight room at the Y.
Friday morning with Shane, which is always a treat. Warmed up with some light rope skipping and then some hollow rock / v-up concoction. Then we grabbed some bars and got ready for today’s lift.
Push Jerks:
- 2 x 165lb
- 2 x 175lb
- 2 x 185lb
- 2 x 195lb *FAIL* (1)
WOD:
- 75 Double Unders
- 15 Push Jerks (135lb)
- 65 Double Unders
- 9 Push Jerks (135lb)
- 55 Double Unders
- 6 Push Jerks (135lb)
Time: 7:31. I’m so bad at fucking push jerks. My technique is garbage because I can’t jerk more than I can push press. Too much fatigue from improper form during the WOD, so it was slow.
3 minutes of rowing followed by some always appreciated hip capsule work for today’s warmup.
Deadlifts:
WOD:
- 5 Knees-to-Elbows
- 10 Reverse Lunges (each leg)
- 20 Double Unders
AMRAP in 12 minutes
Score: 10 rounds + 2 lunges. This was a good one - very different movements that allowed me to keep chugging at a pretty good clip. The only place I slowed down at all was on the lunges, but I never stopped. All DUs unbroken except for one trip up in round 6.
My deadlifts are still ugly and my back keeps fucking rounding. I can go much heavier, but what’s the point if I’m not doing it right? I need to focus more on keeping my upper lats engaged, which seems to help. Not sure what else I can do here. I really want to go heavy.
