15/1/10

Lazy Lifting on Saturdays!

Got in for some weightlifting work today, nothing heavy, just some technique work. 

Clean Complex up to 205 lbs of Power Clean, Hang Clean, Front Squat for three singles.

Snatch off blocks, above the knee. Triples up to 155 for three sets.

Split Jerk off blocks. Doubles up to 225 for 3 sets.

Then went and benched, because... bench. We're actually doing a Wendler cycle at my gym, so I needed to find my 5rm. Came away with 207.5, after getting stuck under the fourth rep at 215. I totally forgot how to bench... so sad. 

15/1/8

Just a perfunctory apology to all my google email friends out there who now get an email every time I update this blog. I have no idea how to disable that and am frankly too lazy to research it. So, suck it up and bask in my glory. 

Didn't actually do a class on the 8th, just went to workout with my competition buddy. We ran through the first two workouts from the competition, because that seems like a good idea to do in a half hour, right?

WOD 1: "14.2"
10 min AMRAP 3-6-9-12...OH Squats 95/65 Chest 2 Bar Pullups**Clean & Jerk @205/135 Buy/ inCash Out EVERY TIME you switch
8 min AMRAP
Max Rep Squat Clean and Jerk 165/110
8 burpee buy in/cash out with each switch


We made it through all of round 18 and got in another 8 OHS. This was a gut check as you pretty much just fall apart when you crawl back to the cash out clean and jerk. Still, I was happy finishing 18 on our first pass at this. 

WOD 2: 11.3 

This was awful. I'm fine running a ton of reps at this weight for C&J, but those burpees immediately jack up your heart rate and just piss all over any strategy you may have. We switched far too many times on this as well. Next time through, I'm planning on switching like twice at the most and just sitting on the bar and banging out more reps each. 

15/1/5 - 15/1/7

Monday : 
Squats up to 335x5
and then a 14 EMotM
Odd : 6 Toes to Bar & 4 Strict Pull Ups
Even: 4 Keg Ground to Overhead @ 75lbs and 105lbs

Wednesday : 
Deadlifts up to 405x5
and then 3 rounds of:
20 KB Swings @ 1.5 pood
20 Hand Release Push Ups
20 Box Jump Overs @ 20"

Squats felt easy enough. Didn't want to go too heavy, really put more effort into the cardio workout. Being able to string together 6 toes to bar for 7 rounds was a nice though. Especially as I'm supposed to be doing 9 reps for the rounds in the competition coming up. 

The next two days were a bit painful. I open up my hips so much to get a huge kip, and it's ripped apart my hips. Fine work there. 

Deadlifts were pretty heavy. Really quickly moved through the lockouts. Ugly reps. The workout itself was fun. 20 hand release push ups are stupid, just the moment of releasing pressure on the muscle when you pick your hands up makes it so much more of a strain. 

Getting into the gym tomorrow with my competition partner to go through a workout or two. Will be good to battle with/against someone who's stronger than me. You should see this dude, he's a goddamn beast. 

15/1/1 - 15/1/4

I seem to be doing more of these weekly updates, that's not a good sign. I was kind of tied up this week by holidays and friends. We had a situation where some friends needed to spend the week in our guest room, which threw off my gym schedule. 

On the first, Thursday, I was talked into "running the stairs" by my wonderful SO. This entails running up and down the flights of seats at the Harvard Stadium. There are 37 sections, I made it through about 25 before my quads started to just stiffen and give out on me. 

Could barely walk the next day, thanks. 

Saturday, the 3rd, went in to the gym even though my calves were still rocks. Worked up to a heavy clean and jerk. 275 felt great on the second attempt, the first one stayed forward the whole way. Hadn't been setting up properly. Hit 285 for an 8lb PR. 

Did a 15 minute workout afterwards where you work for 30 seconds then take 30 seconds off. Just speed work on clean and jerk at 105. Got 93 reps in 15 minutes, hello volume. 

Sunday, the 4th, went in to work out one last time with my weightlifting coach. She's moving for a bit for work, so wanted to get in and hang out with her one more time. Worked up to a heavy snatch. Hit 202, 207, and then 210.5 for a 5.5 lb PR. Got 215 up in front on attempt 1, then threw it over my head on attempt 2. Didn't want to take another attempt though, will save that for later. 
Hit some paused front squats and called it a day. 

Two PR's over a weekend is pretty good for me. 

14/12/26 - 14/12/28

After the holidays were over, I decided to stop being a fatty and get some of these cookies out of my system. Did a few different workouts over the course of the last week. I'll lay out a few of them here:

3-6-9-12
OHS @ 95#
C2B Pull Ups

Finished in just under 5 minutes. This was the first workout I did and went pretty slow and steady through the whole thing. 

12 AMRAP
15 Box Jumps @ 24"
12 Push Press @ 95#
9 T2B

Did this with the lady friend, we finished 6 full rounds, I think? On every switch of the partners, had to hit a triple of deadlifts at 275#. Almost puked during this, from over exertion and from trying to drink my protein shake mid-workout. Bad idea. Finished though.

Then, this workout: "Hump Day Mash Up". Brutal workout, with built in rest, that makes you think you're going to be okay... but really, you're not. 

Went in today for some lazy lifting stuff. Hit 3-5 reps at 165 clean and jerk, just to get used to that weight(as it's in a competition later) and some paused snatch + OHS complexes. 

14/12/19 - Update

Normally by now, I'd have up my W3:D1 workout. I actually haven't been to the gym since W2:D3. Coming out of that session, I had some tightness in my right lower back and it has not gone away. It's mostly just bothersome pain, but once in a while it goes to shooting pain mode and that's what worries me. 

So, I'll be out of the gym for not sure how long. Pretty much puts an end to my weightlifting cycle. But, on the upside, I signed up for a partner CF competition in early February. Now I have something to train towards. 

Will provide information on the competition workouts soon, as they've released them already. 

W2D3 : 14/12/14

Snatch Singles: 3 @ 60%, 2 @ 70%, 2 @ 75% 2 @ 80%, 1 @ 85%, 1 @ 90%
Clean and Jerk Singles: 3 @ 60%, 2 @ 70%, 2 @ 75% 2 @ 80%, 1 @ 85%, 1 @ 90%
Front Squats: 2 Doubles at 90%

Today was the first time I was able to get up to 90%. Starting to get up to the big numbers. Good times. Had a buddy in the gym with me today, it was good to have some lifting partners there. 

Snatches  went well. 90% was 195lbs and it went up super easy. Will put video of it up once it uploads. Felt too easy. Threw 205lbs on the bar and got that up pretty easily as well. That was nice as I haven't put over 200 up in a while. It didn't feel like a max either. PR hunting is going to be fun in a few weeks. 

Clean and Jerk went smoothly as well. 90% was 256. I hit that rather smoothly. Threw on some more weight just for the hell of it and then hit 277 without much trouble. Will put video down below as well. 

Front Squat hit the first double at 270. Which was great, as I failed rather hard on that on Friday. For the second set, I went to exhaustion. Got 4 reps at that weight before I had to drop the bar. 

Snatch Video

Clean and Jerk Video

W2D2 : 14/12/12

Clean and Jerk 5x2 @ 220-240lbs [75-85%]
Clean Pulls 4x3 @ 255-275lbs
Low Hang Snatch 3x2 @ 145lbs, 2x2 @ 155lbs [~75%]
Snatch Balance 4x2 
Front Squat 5x2 @ 240-270

Alright, this day didn't work out that well. I was off my game for some reason. Snatch Balances were just wiped off the docket, my shoulders were completely shot and I could not handle it. I actually lost the last hang snatch. It was up, I was down in the hole, and it just had to come down. My shoulders couldn't hold it up anymore. 

Lost the last set of 270 front squats. Just couldn't get out of the hole. It was bad. Got pretty upset with that one.

You miss lifts sometimes. It happens.

W2D1 : 14/12/11

Snatch 5x2 @ 158-178lbs [75-85%]
Snatch Pulls 4x3 @ 195-215lbs [~100%]
Clean Complex @ 205
Pause Squats 5x2 @ 275-300 [~75%]

So, I think my week one numbers were low. My phone's google sheet doesn't update when I change the formulas. It's kind of annoying. On the plus side, this week's weights felt much better than week one's. 

Snatches felt great. I hit the first rep of the last double as a power snatch, it just went up so easily. I reset and hit two more full snatches to make sure I was getting everything out of the workout. 

I subbed in a Clean Complex that our stength coach had programmed into the class instead of just doing the power cleans. It was more volume work than pure intensity work(which is what the power clean is supposed to be, I think), but it was still a little fun stuff to sub in and get some class time. 

The complex was : 2 hang power clean, 2 power clean, 2 hang clean, 2 front squat. Hit 135, 185, 205 then called it a day. 

 Pause Squats were much better than last week. I don't think my legs were anywhere near as tired as last time. The 275 was easy. I sat down there with 300 for a good 3-4 seconds before firing up. Only the last rep was anything close to difficult. 

W1D3 : 14/12/7

Snatch Singles: 3 @ 60%, 3 @ 70%, 2 @ 75% 2 @ 80%, 3 @ 85%
Clean and Jerk Singles: 3 @ 60%, 3 @ 70%, 2 @ 75% 2 @ 80%, 3 @ 85%
Front Squats: 2 Singles at 90%

Wasn't really feeling too motivated to get into the gym today, after a long night of hard cider drinking last night. But, finally got in before dinner. 

The weights went up rather easily today. Not going to lie, 85% felt great on both Snatch and Clean and Jerk. I walked out the last attempt at each lift, which had to be rather hilarious to see. They weren't pretty. But, they went up smoothly, it was just the lockouts that seemed to give me a bit of trouble. 

Front Squats were cake. I think I lowballed my numbers here. I hit the first single at 270 with no effort. Actually took the second single for a double, because it just felt that good. 

The only thing bothering me today is my hands. The cold and dry weather is affecting them as I spend more time on the barbell. I've bought some hand recovery lotion that I've been applying nightly, so let's see how they feel next Friday. 

Back to CF classes for a few days now. 

W1D2 : 14/12/5

Clean and Jerk 5x3 @ 205-225lbs [70-80%]
Clean Pulls 4x4 @ 245-265lbs
Low Hang Snatch 5x2 @ 145lbs [~75%]
Snatch Balance 4x3 @ 135-155lbs
Front Squat 5x2 @ 245-265

Clean and Jerk, man, the first set and last set felt pretty rough. The middle ones were fine, once I was warmed up to the weight and everything. But the first set felt heavy(at 205) and the last set felt heavy(at 225). 
Clean Pulls are being treated the same way as the snatch pulls. Slow off the ground with a pause at position two. 
Hang Snatches were dreadful. By this point, my hands were shot and the winter was ripping at my skin. Kept my straps around for these, but ended up just dropping between reps to save my hands more.
Snatch Balances have never been an easy exercise for me. For some reason, I just never could figure these out. Today was a lot better though, was dropping directly into the hole and these didn't feel too awful. Progress!
Front Squat went about as well as it could have. The last set of 265 was tough as I had expected it to be. 

Pretty sore and tired from last night's training session. Looking forward to tomorrow's recovery day. About to shower and try out some new hand lotion I bought to see if it helps my cracked paws.

W1D1 : 14/12/4

Snatch 5x3 @ 145-165lbs [70-80%]
Snatch Pulls 4x4 @ 185-205lbs [~100%]
P Clean & P Jerk 5x1 @ 205 [75%]
Pause Squats 4x3 @ 275 [~75%]

Snatches were feeling pretty good. My chest/shoulders are a bit tired from a goat workout last night with a ton of ring dips, but they held together alright under the light weights. 
Snatch Pulls, I kind of changed the programming here. I did slow pulls to the knees and then paused for a two count and then finished the pull. So, it's more of a technique + strength exercise. These are bruuuutal. Just really focusing on staying on the heels, stretching the hams and glutes. Buuuurning.
Power Clean and Power Jerk are always fun. I hate power variations, because I think they're lazy. Truth is that power variations of these movements teach you to move the bar in a different manner. You have to pull the bar to a particular height that is a lot further than your usual receiving position. Variation is key sometimes in these uber technical classic movements.
Pause Squats were depressing. I'm still riding a couple miles each way to work and to the gym on the bike, which fries my legs. I try to tell myself it doesn't, but at 275, this first set was a struggle. They got better and I may have survived at 315, but I was not ready to try it out. The 3 other sets went better and better, as I haven't done pause squats in a while. 

Back At It

So, umm, remember when I used to update this thing regularly? Yeah, me too. Sorry that I've gone off the grid. I've kind of stopped caring about my training and was just doing it. 

That's not to say that things have gone off the tracks or anything. I've been doing some decent things since last I updated. I ran a Spartan sprint. I power snatched 200lbs. I back squatted 385. I've been riding my bike in the bloody freezing cold temperatures. I've competed in an inhouse throwdown at our gym. I went on vacation in the Caribbean and got fat and then came home and realized I suck at being fat. 

But, it's time to get back into it. A buddy at the gym is starting up a Catalyst Athletics weightlifting cycle, so I figured I'd join in. I have my old 3 day adapted programming from the last cycle I ran, I'm just going to run that on a weekend sprint. I've taken off Fridays for the rest of the year, which gives me a pretty good run in the gym of "leave work early on Thursday" through Sunday. 

I'll add a link to the spreadsheet in my google drive, for anyone who is interested. I'll do Day 1 on Thursdays, Day 2 on Friday, rest Saturday, and then Day 3 on Sundays. Monday-Tuesday will be optional CrossFit metcon days and we'll see what this gets me, or how long I can keep with it. 

Should be fun. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18jkZqDOj3SQOg_4thP_knUKdkMVRiVaUuuHe8x8VAmQ/edit?usp=sharing

2014/10/29

Back in action, still achy, but that's becoming the new norm. 

Strength Portion:
2 Push Press + 4 Push Jerk
Took it off the blocks and worked up to 195 for a heavy set. Nice to know I can push press bodyweight overhead for a double. 

20 AMRAP
400m run
9 strict pull ups
12 box jumps @ 24"
15 KB swings @ 1.5 pood

RX was 2 pood, but I pinched something crunchy in my shoulder earlier, so I stuck light and only did Russian swings. No KB overhead for me tonight. 

Finished up 4 full rounds, then the run, pull ups, jumps and 3 swings in the 5th round. Was pretty stoked at not wanting to die during a long cardio workout. 

Improvement!

2014/10/27

Note to self, running three "girl" workouts within as many days is not a great idea. Pretty sore and achy a few days afterwards. I'd attribute a lot of that to my lack of sleep in the past few days though, I've been missing out on an hour or so a night. 

Anyway, went in on Monday for a rather brutal workout. I thought it was going to be tough, but I severely underestimated how bad it really was. 

10 sets of front squat doubles, every 90 seconds
Worked up from 185 to 275. Each set felt good. Only the last set even slowed down at all. 

Then, another "girl" workout. Elizabeth. I've actually never done this one before, but half of it looked awesome and the other half looked shite. So, 50/50, right?

21-15-9
Cleans @ 135 lbs
Ring Dips

First off, I suck at dips. My triceps are horribly under developed in relation to the rest of me. I had to scale back the rep pattern to 15-12-9 because I was falling too far behind. 

To be honest, I don't remember my time. It was somewhere over 10 minutes. But I forget the actual number. Needless to say, this one was brutal and I've found my new GOAT movement. 

2014/10/25

Barbells for Boobs!

Dressed in far too much pink, that I stole from the lady friend's wardrobe, I went in today to do the workout for the charity "Barbells for Boobs". We did Grace, a very short fast workout... 

I RX'ed it at 135 lbs for 30 reps of clean and jerk in 2:42. 

Then, feeling like a sub 3 minute workout was not enough for the day. I took a 10 minute break and recharge with a shake before doing it again, only this time with my bodyweight on the bar. 

With 188 pounds for 30 reps of clean and jerk in 9:20. 

Needless to say, that extra 50 pounds made this quite a bit more difficult. That and the fact I was a bit tired was enough to make this workout interesting enough. 

Now, I'm going to eat and decompress from approximately 12 minutes of work.

2014/10/23

Back in for two days in a row. Feeling better. Though I'm sore in quite a few random areas: upper back from the KB Swings, hips from high rep power snatches. Fun times. 

We worked on a snatch complex today, fun one. 

Power Snatch + 2 Hang Snatch + 2 OHS
Worked 135, 155, 170, and then failed on 185. 

The workout was a good one as well. 

90 seconds on/90 seconds rest for four rounds
2 Muscle Ups
Power Snatch @ 115(95) lbs

RX was 4 muscle ups, but I can't be sure that I can string 4 reps for four rounds. The first 2 rounds were at 115lbs but my partner forgot to switch my weight back on for the last 2. Physical fatigue lends itself to mental fatigue.  Almost threw the first rep through the roof, hilarious. 

Finished 48 reps. Lot more cardio than I thought it would be. 

2014/10/22

Hey, remember when I said that the creatine and fish oil had staved off the soreness from that 20 rep squat day? I was wrong. It got worse and worse. I legit didn't walk properly for days. 

Today was the first night in the gym in almost a week. Went in for a doozy as well, and did some extras. The gym's challenge ended, so I went in to do some of the benchmarks. 

Finished a 1 mile run in 7:21. That's 20 seconds off the time last attempt. 
Finished 12 strict pull ups, compared to the 10 the first time around. 

Didn't do the other ones, didn't have the time. One other benchmark was my weight, it's down below 190 now. I haven't been this light in years. Even at the end of my last cut, I wasn't around here. And I feel good. 

So, went and did the partner workout afterwards. 
Between the two(three, we had a shadow) we split the following reps:
60-50-40-30-20-10
Calorie Row
1.5 pood KB Swing
Double Unders

Partner(Coach Rick) and I finished in 18:03. Then promptly tried to died on the floor.

2014/10/16

I've been sick all week, but finally got back into the gym. As I'm an idiot and love punishment, I did an abridged version of the night before's workout and then tonight's workout back to back. Cause that seemed fun. 

Last night's workout "warmup":
3 rounds of 
6 hang snatch @ 95 lbs
8 pull ups
10 box jump overs @ 30"

Finished that up in a little over 3 minutes and was just covered in sweat. I can see why the full workout of 5 rounds would have sucked as my legs were starting to hate the box jumps by the end of round 3. Butterfly pull ups are coming along nicely though, that's a plus. 

The actual warm up consisted of : WidowMakers (aka 20 rep squats). Dear gods, do I love a good widowmaker session. We did them quite a while ago, but I haven't done them in probably 6 months. So, strapped on 275 and then barreled through.
First ten went smooth enough, then it was singles the rest of the way. Last rep was a doozy. Came forward a bit and strained the hammie a touch, but it's warmed up this morning and feels alright. 

Afterwards was some work on dips, which turned into muscle ups and dips. Then, because I couldn't walk all that properly, I had the lady come pick me up and went home to stuff my face with steak. 

Interestingly enough, the recovery formula is : 12oz steak + 3oz monohydrate creatine + 6oz fish oil. I feel great this morning, was not expecting that to be honest. 

2014/10/10

Started off with some block work for power cleans from high blocks. Worked from a 5 set at 205 to a heavy single at 250. All felt good. Worked on staying back and not getting pulled forward.. I say "worked on", but I was still getting forward on some of the pulls. Or so says the video I took. 

Afterwards, we did walking front lunges. Got up to 205 lbs this week. Ass is on fire still.

Then there was 4 minutes of tabata with whatever goat item you wanted. I did pull ups that immediately turned into a shit show. Finished a minute and a half butterflying 10+, then had to scramble to keep 7 for the rest of the time. 

After that... was some prowler pushes and tire pulls. Just more stuff to get the heart rate up. Fun times on the astro-turf.