2014/07/26

Made it in for a quick Lazy Lifting day. Haven't been in on a Saturday in a while, so it was good to be back in with the barbell. Sadly, the weight wasn't moving the way I would like it to. These days happen, you just kind of figure out what will work and move forward with that. 

Mainly worked on two different complexes today. A snatch and clean complex that worth both aimed at building speed under the bar. 

Snatch + ATK Hang Snatch + OHS
Clean + ATK Hang Clean + 2 Split Jerk

Worked up to two really ugly 2 reps at 165 for snatch and then completely lost one forward and moved on. 
The cleans went better, worked up to 205 for three reps and called it a day there. 

After that, hit a few front squats, just to burn off any leftover energy I had. Finished with 2x10 at 185. Just quick explosive bounces, getting those quads fired up. 

The rest of the day was spent picking up craigslist furniture. Not going to lie, I got more of a workout lifting desks and shit then I did at the gym. Was more sore around my traps from lifting things in odd shapes in odd manners. 

2014/07/25

Squat day. Well, kind of. I left work early and headed to the gym to get a double session in. The workout was going to lay out to be upper body and core intensive, so I figured I could sneak in a lower body portion beforehand. 

5x5 Squats @ 275. Went completely raw with these. I know the weight is easy enough, it just beat me down with DOMS last week. So, just went through the lifts and did my work. Nothing surprising here, just a good ol' fashion squat day. 

The class started and I jumped in for a GOAT day. For those of you who don't know, CrossFit refers to the exercise you suck at as your "goat". It "gets your goat". A phrase with an unknown origin that is hardly ever used in today's vernacular. Love it. 

My goats for the day were ring dips and stringing toes to bar. I just suck at ring dips, as I benched power lifting style for so long, super arched back and lat activation, that I never built my tricep strength. That I can barely bench anyway. And while I can bang out toes to bar with a weird little double kip, I have a hard time stringing together the fully strung together reps. 

So, EMOTM 20 alternating 5 reps of each. Needless to say, my chest was burnt the day afterwards. Otherwise, the legs weren't as burned from the squats as last week, which is definitely a plus. 

2014/07/23

Skill work was double unders, which I'm getting better at. And I only swore about 3-4 times in ten minutes, which is a definite improvement. Worked up through flight simulator to the 35 rep level and then screwed up on the 34th rep. Much swearing and throwing of ropes was had. 

The WoD was a non-time based Grace. Pick a weight and hit 30 clean and jerks with it, take whatever time you need just use perfect form on each. This was a ton of fun. The hardest part was probably not trying to race through it and not sweating all over the bar. 

I hit 28 of the same clean and split jerk and 2 power cleans and split jerk, all at 205# (bodyweight was 198 that day). They all felt great. This workout became about muscle memory. Hitting the same muscle sequencing on every pull and every jerk was paramount. I got to practice the same movement for ~23 minutes straight, it was a good time. 

I wished that some other people took more time with this. I actually sped up my last 12 because everyone else was almost done by then. I tried timing it for one every 45-60 seconds. Then I started to feel rushed so I bumped that down to every 25-40 seconds. And the last five I think I stayed at one every 15-20 seconds to sprint to the end. Same strict form, just faster. 

2014/07/21

Time 5k run. First time running more than a mile all summer.

Finished up in 29:27, with a 14:18 first split. Which is odd as the second half felt better than the first.

Quads and calves are already a bit sore. That's to be expected as I do t do high impact stuff like running too often.

Still it's a nice thought that I can finish a 5k when I have to in under thirty minutes.

2014 / 07 / 18

A good night in the gym. Went in super early because we were doing max effort lifts and those take a while for me to warm up. Especially at the moment when in super sore.

Worked up to done heavier dead lifts. Think I hit a triple at 405 and a double at 425. Was planning on a triple but the third one left me a little light headed, which means you should probably stop.

Next was a double for front squats. I knew exactly what mine I wanted to hit, so I chased after it. Hit my last warm up double at 275 then went for broke and jumped right to 315. I had hit that number for a single before and sadly that's all I had in me today.

Next was supposed to be a triple at push jerk. I'm not a fan of catching the bar for multiples, mostly because it hurts and I'm a big softie. Used the jerk blocks and hit threes in singles. Got three at 225 but only one good repo at 245. That's probably to be expected as I usually split jerk anything over 225.

Rolled out and then moved on with my evening. A nice safe max out day. Nothing spectacular but nothing that's going to leave me in shambles tomorrow.

Why You Listen to Your Coach

So, I haven't been able to walk much since Monday. Yeah, one of those kind of squat days. I hadn't done a heavy 5x5 day in a long time and it took a lot out of me.

Coach said to take it easy as we'll be doing this cycle for 4-5 weeks straight. Start light. What did I do? Not light. And I payed for it. 

Next time, I need to put my ego behind me. I've been thinking that I'm training the same way that I used to. 5x5 was my bread and butter for so long, I think I can still do it. I can't. I'm old and decrepit now. 

Your coaches are smarter than you. You should listen to them. This isn't much of a ramble. It's more of a "stop being an idiot" note to myself. 

2014 / 07 / 17

Back in the gym, finally. It's been a long few days. Thankfully, today was a nice light bodyweight movement workout that I can get away with after the beating I took on Monday. More on that later. 

Cache in :
3 rounds of 
  30 second ring hold
  3 skin the cats(weird ring things)
  10+ toes through rings

WoD :
3 rounds with a minute break inbetween, 1 minute rounds of each
  1 pd kb swings
  30' shuttle sprints
  1 pd kb turkish getups
  24" box jumps

Fun workout. Didn't keep track of numbers. Was supposed to but I'm not good with the numbers. Ehh whatever. Felt good doing a few muscle ups to the rings for the ring holds. Still got it(kind of). 

Good Bail

An interesting thing happened tonight. No one hit any huge numbers, no one got seriously injured, nothing spectacular happened. But still, there was brilliance. 

I finished my set in the rack, turned around and watched two people chatting behind another girl struggling through her set of squats. The girl was quite obviously stuck in that spot we all get stuck in sometimes on the squat, you've finished your bounce, you've made it up a good couple inches to the hip hinge, and then.. it all falls to shit. 

Rather than freak out or look for help, she nonchalantly opened her hands, shrugged her shoulders and let the bar fall. She then turned to the two people chatting behind her who asked if she was okay and informed them that they were in more danger than she was because they weren't paying attention.

I walked over, cleaned her bar off the floor for her and back into the rack before giving her daps on a good bail. If you're going to lift, you better know how to fail correctly and she did just that. 

Sometimes you have to pay the iron price when you're going heavy. You've got that weight on your back, but you can't let it keep you pinned down. Always know the fastest and safest way out. If you don't respect the weight enough to build a contingency plan, then you're not ready to get underneath it to begin with. 

Always know your escape route. 

2014 / 07 /14

Squat day.

I actually didn't feel bad today, so I went into the gym. It's a squat day, can't miss that. Coach has programmed us doing 5x5 squats and 2x10 front squats for the next 4 weeks to see some linear progression. Crossfitters love gains. 

Hit 275 2x5, 285 1x5, then 295 2x5. All felt great. Came forward on the third rep of the last set at 295, just a bad bounce. Readjusted and finished up strong. 

Hit 185 and then 205 for the front squats. Cardio squats... it's weird. 

Did 4 minutes of tabata double unders afterwards. Went pretty well, only severely whipped myself twice. I'm getting to be decent at these. Which is nice as they're like a main stay for CF competitions. 

Baystate Competition

Well, the competition has come and gone.  I think it went rather well. 

Weigh in was supposed to start at 1, so we went over at about 1:15 and then sat there til 1:45 or so waiting for someone from the organization to come into the room to weigh us. All 17 of us 85+ kg lifters just sat around and shot the shit with each other till the one guy showed up.

We were supposed to start lifting at 3, so we started at 4:30 or so. After we started, it went pretty well. We all got scolded when someone had the audacity to bleed on the bar. Oh the bars, if you have no lifted on an Eleiko bar, you really should. The difference is amazing, it spins so beautifully. Starting your third pull is just a brilliant thing. 

Snatches were... eventful. First attempt at 88 was too far forward, but I walked it out. 90 was too far backwards, but I dropped deeper into my squat and locked it out. Two ugly lifts. Third one though, oh, the third one was what you look for in a lift. It felt beautiful. 92 never felt so solid. Sadly, that is the only lift my lady friend did not video tape. Gods bless her. 

Clean and jerks were far too light. I sold myself short here. I wanted to go 6 for 6, I said that. Coach J told me to. Coach Everett says to do it. So, I did it. But, I went really low on my first attempt at 108. I literally stood up with the bar and threw it over my head with ease. Second attempt was 110. Still pretty easy. By this point, I was getting upset with myself. My books said to go for 112... I went up to 114 just to get a little more difficult. Still easy. The jerk was a bit challenging, but that's it. Just challenging. 

I should have gone heavier, but as it stands, I hit my gym total in a legit competition. I went 6 for 6 with my lift attempts. And I had an amazing time. The camaraderie with gained amongst the other lifters was awesome. Having some folks from our gym come out to cheer for us was just a great show of support. I can't thank my coaches and the lady enough. I had a great time and I can't wait for the next one. 

Pre Competition

It's the day before my competition. Trying to take it easy, thankfully I'm not exactly nervous. I've been through a few cross fit competitions, so I'm used to the idea of competing in front of people. I'm not entirely sold on the idea of competing in my singlet, but I'll get over it.

I'm no where near my weight limit, so I'm not at all worried about that. I'm at like 200, and the weight classes are 187 and 207. There was no way I was dropping so much to get to 187, pretty easy decision.

I plan on going for 88/90/92 kilos for the snatch and 108/112/116 for the clean and jerk. Nothing ground breaking there. I keep hearing that you should shoot for making six of your six attempts at your first meet. I kept thinking that I'd go for it and chase some big numbers, but I think that the safe bet is the best bet here.

So. Go in. Strap into my singlet. Hit my 200 kilo goal. Then go eat some celebratory ice cream. Should be a good day.

2014/07/09

It was a long week. Was only in the gym for one real workout because work was a real stressor this whole week. But, really wanted to get in one good workout before the weekend.

Today, we benched. It was hilarious. Haven't benched in ages. We were working heavy triples to a 3RM. Got up to a comfortable set at 225. Then could only get 2 good reps at 235. Nice to know I can still rep two plates though.

WoD was a burner.
7 AMRAP
4 hang cleans
5 chest to bar pull ups
6 clapping push ups
Rest 7 minutes then...
Do it all over again.

Had to switch to ring rows halfway through the second round. Hands were slipping on the bar and I wanted nothing to do with a torn hand before this competition. Either way, got 6+11 and 6+13. Then promptly laid down and wanted to die.

2014/07/06

Today was a nice quiet morning in the gym. I wanted to get in as it was a week out from my competition. Lady friend went out on a run, so I had the place to myself. That means heavy metal and heavy weights.

Worked up in weights to three singles at a weight between my first and second attempts for 3x1. So, an 88 kilo snatch and a 113 kilo clean and jerk. Both felt extremely comfortable and I'm liking my attempts going into the competition.

Did a few sets of front squats to kill time afterwards. Worked up to a triple at 125 kilos. Nice and easy. Just spent the whole day with weights that were heavy but comfortable. Building that confidence layer.

Nutrition Challenge End

Another nutrition challenge had ended. I enjoy these things, I tend to always do the same thing. I lose 10-15 pounds and then gain back 75% with in the next few weeks after it. The lady friend and I are going to try and change that this time.

The challenges are all super strict paleo for an extended amount of time. The problem with that it's that it's hard to keep up that life style in the real world. So, we're planning on doing like an 80/20 deal. I think we're going with two or three cheat meals a week. Hopefully that will induce further weight stabilization for me and weight growth for her.

Anywho, my results for the challenge from 06/09 - 07/03 we're:

Neck : 15.5" >> 15.5"
Chest : 43.5"  >> 40"
Waist : 37.5" >> 36"
Weight : 205 >> 195

Over all, was a pretty good challenge. Lost a lot of mass off my back and chest. Photos look pretty good for progress, can see changes in non flexed body shots. May post later.

2014/07/04

Did the second benchmark from our nutrition challenge today. Improved on two of the three categories, kind of odd that I didn't improve on the third.

Double Unders in 3 minutes
113 >> 136

Plank Hold
2:10 >> 1:36

2 Pood KB Swings
30 >> 36

I apparently have a really weak core. The plank started hurting almost immediately and instead of arch to beat my time, I just dropped. My favorite improvement was the double understanding. I hit 48 in a row right out of the gate. After that it was just strings of 10-20, which is the normal amount I can string together.

2014/07/02

Today was the first benchmark test for our gym's challenge. Will post results from the weigh in when I remember them.

Workout was :
600m run
25 pull ups
10 hang thrusters at 135

My calf cramped about halfway through the run, made things a little difficult. Also started doing regular thrusters instead of these weird hanging ones... Besides all that, still took 22 seconds off my first time and finished in 4:38.
Butter fly pull ups really do just destroy your time on workouts. I go through all 25 in like 40 seconds. That's just silly. They are no doubt terrible for your shoulders, but their risk reward is pretty high when you want a better time.