January 30th, 2014

THURSDAY

A.  Hang Snatch clusters 1.1.1 from thigh.

I was able to work up to #125 for the 3 reps. Didn't feel especially light or fast or flexible today. 

Lactic Endurance

3 Rounds, individually timed. Short rest between

15 KBS 2pd 

5 burpee AFAP

20 seconds AD  all out

Round 1 - 1:05 - felt good, except for AD, that never does.
Round 2 - 1:00 - solid, I kept going American instead of Russian on the KBS
Round 3 - 1:05 - felt good

rest 5:00

3 Rounds, individually timed. Short rest between

5 Power Snatch #105, #115, #125

5 Box jumps

25 sec row, all out.

I held 50 seconds across all rounds. The power snatches felt light. I felt like I moved them pretty well. The row went well, I had it set to calories and was at the 1600-1900/hour range for all 3 sets.

rest 5:00

3 sets

30s row all out.

rest 3 minutes between

I rowed 171 meters, 174 meters, and 172 meters. These felt solid, form felt solid except for the last 10 sec of set 3.

I probably need to be more focused on my warm-up for my snatches. 

January 29th, 2014

WEDNESDAY

High Bar Back Squats- 3-3-3-3-3  2:00 rest between

Went 275-285-290-295-300 and failed after 1 rep at #305. Felt pretty solid on these. A year ago I was at #300 for a 1 rep max on back squat, so hitting 3 at that weight is a definite positive.

EMOM 18 minutes

  odds: 3 touch and go heavy deadlifts 

  evens:  4 strict deficit handstand pushups

The deadlifts felt solid at #315, not issues with back at all. All rounds of these went well. The deficit HSPU were a different story. I was unable to hit all four unbroken. For the first 4 rounds I broke them into 3-1, then into 2-2 for round 5, 6 & 7. Rounds 8 and 9 went 2-1-1. This was a very tough portion for me. I have not done many deficit HSPU, and even fewer strict. This is an area I in need of improvement.

Then

5 sets on AirDyne - 20 seconds all out effort - 2:40 minute easy spin on bike

This was solid, if difficult. I hit for 13-14 calories on the 20s efforts and finished with a total of 190 calories for the 5 rounds. I felt like I had a better feel for the efforts. I would still drop off around the 15 second mark. For the first 4 rounds I held the wattage in the 600s and round 5 saw a drop-off to the low 400s and high 300s.

January 28th, 2014

TUESDAY

Some days don't go exactly as planned. DUring yesterday's training, I tore a callus on my left hand during the last set of CTB pull-ups. The tear really hindered my grip for today's work.

Power Clean build quickly to a 5RM

I was able to get to #195 on this. I was able to hit 3 reps at #205 before not being able to maintain. I had hoped to go over #200, but I could get a solid grip with the tape covering the rip on my left hand. 

7 sets - focus on maintaining same time across all sets

3 muscle ups, 250m row, 9 WB #30, 50 DU. Rest 2 minutes. Try to hold the same time across all sets.

1 - 2:12, unbroken on the MUs, WBs, 1 miss on the DUs, row stayed in the mid-low 1:30s for 500 split. The #30 med ball was a whole new experience however.

2 - 2:12, another solid round, unbroken on everything this round, similar row. Recovery was slightly longer.

3 - 2:12, solid again, unbroken save for a single miss on the DUs, row ticked up to the high 1:30s recovery slightly longer

4 - 2:53 - missed on 3rd MU, tape come loose on the hand, rower reset and I had to bring up the monitor, stayed unbroken on the WBs and DUs. Row ticked up between high 1:30s and low 1:40s

5 - 2:19 - had a solid round, same split on the rower, unbroken WBs, a miss on the DUs

6 - 2:46 - came apart, singles and a couple of misses on MUs, row was high 1:40s, had a drop on 8th rep on WB, missed once on the DUs, recovery to a bit

7 - 3:41 - lost it again, singles and fails on MUs, 1:50 for the split, unbroken WB, a couple misses on the DUs, very spent after this round.

Looking back, i'm not sure if my grip was the biggest factor, or if it was the wear from the first time doing heavy WBs coupled with MUs and rowing that had the most affect on the failed MUs (which is where this one is made). 

January 27th, 2014

Monday

A. Snatch Balance 3-3-3-3-3 

75-95-95-100-105

This felt better today than previous.  

B.  Squat Snatch - 15 minutes to build to a max. 

I was able to get under #140, but looking at the video, I was only able to just reach parallel.  I'm still getting a bit wide.  I need to invest more time in mobility at the bottom and footwork to get there.  Also, I didn't feel smooth on my pulls today.  I felt like my hips were coming way high.  

C1.  Shoulder Press  3-3-3-3 rest 10 sconds

C2. 4 x 15 CTB Pullups -  Rest 2 minutes 

#140-#145-#150-#155

I was abler to hit all of these for 3. They felt pretty solid, but I'm not sure I could cycle #160. 

9-6, 9-6, 9-3-3, 7-3-3-2, 5-5-5

CTB felt good for the first 7-8, then fell apart. Breaking the last set up into 5s, I was able to cycle and stay solid.  I need to check my cycle time for these pieces. 

then

For time: 30 burpees jumping to a target 6" above reach, 30 power snatch, #95

I finished this in 3:18. The first 20 burpees felt good and I fell into a rhythm. The next 10 were not as smooth, but I kept moving.  I came off these around the 1:15ish mark and moved to the power snatches.  I cycled the first 10 unbroken and felt solid.  I dropped and neede (what felt like) a quick second to recover. The next 10 I broke into 5s.  These felt ok.  I didn't get my hands set quit right on the second 5 and felt a little unbalanced.  I broke the next 10 into 3-3-4.  These felt ok.  I didn't video, but I think I was using more arms tha legs in this movement.  I need to be more efficient.  

January 31st, 2014

Mobility

I invested some time on mobility this morning. I'm trying to get some of the positions (bottom of overhead squat especially) feeling better. In addition I had a deep tissue massage after work today. I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning's work too.  

Saturday January 25th, 2014

SATURDAY

May not have been the smartest thing I've done, but I wanted to get this workout in today! Roads were very sketchy on my way to the school. I unlocked the gates and was treated to a pristine hill to climb, and I am so glad I have an AWD vehicle. S






8:00 15 Thrusters #95, 15 pullups

4 rounds - This was tough for me. I made it through the first round unbroken on the thrusters and the pull-ups, and finished it in around 1:20. The remaining rounds I broke the thrusters and pull-ups into 3 sets of 5, and was able to stay under the redline. This couplet always smokes me. 

4:00 rest - recovery went well

8:00 200m run + 3 bar muscle ups

5 rounds plus 200 meter run - I felt ok on the runs, still pretty slow (40ish seconds each and probably slower as it progressed). I'm still not comfortable on bar muscle-ups since busting my ribs up on a missed one a few months ago. The first round went in singles, second and third was in 2 - 1, and I hit 3 unbroken in rounds four and five. I was out of sync when coming down and pushing my feet and hips very far forward and losing the rhythm. I fixed it a bit as this one progressed.

4:00 rest

8:00 3 clean and jerks #135, 3 TTB then 6, 9, etc. 

12 + 12 reps - As this portion was similar to Open 13.4 (a minute longer), and I had hoped to make it through the round of 15. I finished the round of 12 and was able to get through 12 clean and jerks. This one really knocked me down. My plan was to hit the clean and jerks in 3s, and do the toes-to-bar unbroken. I stayed with the plan through the round of 9 and then began run out of juice, and had to break up the clean and jerks into doubles and singles. I was able to keep the T2B unbroken, and then had to drop to all singles for the round of 15 clean and jerk. I really felt hammered by this one. 

4:00 rest

8:00 50m farmer carry heavy (#100 each hand) + 3 wall walks + 15 air squats

5 rounds + 3 air squats - This was a repeat of the final 8 minute session from last Saturday. I felt very good on the first farmer carry with the #100s, much better than last week and I was able to not set them down the first two rounds. The first two rounds felt very solid. My grip was starting to go on round 3 so I set the #100s down at the turn around point from here on out.  My wallk walk for rounds 3, 4 , 5 felt round on the way down, they were not pretty. The air squats were fine, no issues. Overall this portion felt a lot better than last week.

January 23rd, 2014 Objects on the board are tougher than they appear

Thursday
A.  Hang Snatch from below knees.

Worked up to #135 successfully, 10 pounds better than last week. Positions felt better, I'm still jumping my feet too wide and missing some depth. I need to invest some time on my footwork.  Bar path felt better on second and third pulls. I failed at #145, looks like I get it high enough, but I can't seem to drop under and lock it out. 

B. Lactic Endurance

3 Rounds for time

15 AD Calories

10 Burpees

Round one felt good, then things got real. This was the start of the "tougher than it looks" work that often occurs. Back on the AirDyne and it felt like I was drowning. I struggled to keep the wattage in the high 300s/low 400s for this calorie set. Stepping off, I had to pause for a second to get my bearing before dropping into the burpees. Cycling them felt very slow. The third bout with the AD and I felt like I would never get to the 15 calorie mark, I kept waiting on the life preserver to be tossed, it felt like I was drowning. I managed to finish the burpees, they felt bad, no rhythm. I told myself to just keep moving. I finished this round in 3:28.

rest 5:00 It took almost a minute before I got my breathing under control. I felt like I had my legs back under me before I started the next set.

3 Rounds for time

15 CTB pullups

10 Box jumps

I stayed on the bar for the first set of 15 CTB pull-ups, and cycled the first 11ish well. The first round of box jumps I was bounding pretty solidly. I had to break up my second round of pull-ups into 4 - 4 - 4 - 3, form went south and I could not cycle these. The second round of box jumps was a mash-up of bounding and stepping down. The third round was a grind to get through. CTB fell apart, it felt like Open 13.5, I struggled on each of these. 3-2-4-3-3 on these. I hit the first five box jumps with step down and then bounded out the remaining five to finish at 3:44.

rest 5:00 It took a bit to get the breathing to calm down, but I felt solid going into the last set of work. 

3 Rounds for time

5  Power cleans #185

7 bar facing burpees

The #185 felt heavy the first round, and felt better for the last two rounds. I definitely had high hips on this and stayed high as fatigue creeped in during the sets. Burpees were ok across all the rounds.

I definitely needed this today to see how my body responded. 

January 22nd, 2014

WEDNESDAY

A. High Bar Back Squats - 4-4-4-4-4  2:00 rest between

#275 - #275 - #285 - #285

Felt pretty solid on these today. I think I can go a bit heavier. I'd like to get where #300 would be doable for 4.

B. EMOM 18 minutes

  odds: 4 touch and go heavy deadlifts #305

  evens:  4 strict handstand pushups

I went for 305 on the deads today, kept the bar close, stayed tight, and had zero back issues with this weight.

I stayed unbroken on the HSPU until the last round, and I hti for three and had to come out and go back for the final rep. The first few rounds felt solid, and I could feel the extra rep taking it toll as the rounds progressed. Also, my back may have started to fatigue a bit from the deads and I started to get real "archy" in the later (6-7-8) rounds.

Then

AD - 20 second all out effort - 2:40 easy spin on bike. 4 sets

WOW. I am quickly gaining a new respect for the AirDyne. I hit between 15-16 calories during the max effort and "glimpsed" (as I was struggling to breathe!) the wattage climb into the 600s. I hit for around 140+ calorie total for the whole 4 rounds. I felt strong through the first 12-14 seconds of the push then struggled to hold. I finished with 140+ calories total over the whole 4 sets.

January 21st, 2014

TUESDAY

Squat Clean build quickly to a 3RM

I went for #185, #195, then finished at #205. Felt good, looking at the video, I need to pull-myself under the bar quicker. I got a bit stuck in the bottom on the #205 on the third rep.

then

7 sets - focus on maintaining same time across all sets

2 muscle ups

6 burpees over bar

9 Hang power cleans, #115

50 DU

Rest 2 minutes between sets.  

1 - 1:12 - felt solid, missed on DU # 4 then unbroken
2 - 1:09 - felt better, muscle ups were a bit sketchy before lockout, burpees went well, broke at 42 on DUs
3 - 1:10 - solid round, broke twice on DUs
4 - 1:03 - good round, hit my stride, unbroken DUs

5 - 1:07 - solid, unbroken on all reps
6 - 1:08 - solid again, felt a bit more winded when I started than previous rounds, unbroken
7 - 1:11 - went out fast and slipped up twice on DUs a couple of times, rushed them too much

Overall this was a positive training morning. I think I can go higher on the squat cleans. On the conditioning portion, I'm not sure where I can can some speed. There is a fine line with redlining it and being able to cycle the DUs at the end. 

January 20th, 2014

MONDAY

A. Snatch Balance 2-2-2-2-2 (#75, #95, #100, #105, #115)

I felt good during the lifts. I was too aggressive on the #115 so I went back and hit two good reps at #105. When I looked at the video, I realized I was (at most) parallel and not below. I really need to focus on getting lower!

B.  Squat Snatch - 15 minutes to build to a max. Focus on speed under the bar and successful reps only.  

This felt better than last week, and I was able to lock out on #130, and felt like I came closer on #135. I had #135 up, but didn't catch at depth. I am still having trouble with the position on the second and third pulls, and I need to focus on not jumping my feet as wide. Lots of room for improvement on this lift.

C1.  Shoulder Press  4-4-4-4-4 rest 10 seconds

C2. 5 x 10 CTB Pullups -  Rest 2 minutes 

1 - #135 - felt good on the press (a bit archy), and very good through 7 reps on the CTB.
2 - #135 - felt better than round 1, very good through 8 on the CTB.
3 - #135 - felt good, same as round 2, very good through 8.
4 - #140 - felt good, good through 8 CTB.
5 - #145 - felt tough, good through 8 CTB.

I felt pretty good with the #135 - #145 today, I think I can push into the #140s to start multiple reps in stead of a lighter weight. The CTB felt better than previous, I am starting to find my kipping rhythm on these, but I seem to loose focus/fall apart toward the end. I am probably bleeding off some energy in the early parts of these, I am pulling pretty high to start. I need to learn how to preform the butterfly to be able to move through these at a quicker and smoother pace.


then

For time: 40 burpees jumping to a target 6" above reach. 

I finished this in 1:43 and felt pretty strong when I finished, I think I could have pushed it a bit closer to the redline. I fell into a pretty good rhythm as I progressed. 

Saturday January 18th, 2014

SATURDAY

8:00 15 AirDyne cals + 3 ring dips on high rings + clean and jerks @ 185

I was able to get through 5 full rounds.  The AirDyne started to take my legs on round 3.  I went for singles on the #185 and did not miss any reps.  Felt very solid at that weight.  

4:00 rest

8:00 200m run + 10 hand-release push ups + max effort L-sit (on rings)

I got through 5 rounds on this as well. The first four runs felt solid, the 5th I felt slow! (Of coure I am on the runs anyway) the push-ups went quickly and I struggled on the L-Sit, only being able to hold for 15is seconds. 

4:00 rest

8:00 50 double-unders + 25m bear crawl w/low hips + 12 toes-to-bar

I went for 5 full rounds again. I went unbroken on the DUs the first 3 rounds, and broke at 38 in round 4 and 42 in round 5.  The first bear crawl was ok and the remaining rounds felt tough.  I was able to stay unbroken for all 5 on the toes-to-bar.  Very pleased with that as I usually lose it at 10 and have trouble on the additional rounds. 

4:00 rest

8:00 50m farmer carry heavy (#100 each hand if possible) + 3 wall walks + 15 air squats

I made it through 4 rounds and carried the dumbbells for another 25 meters. The #100 dumbbells went draining.  I hit the first 50 without sitting them down, and for the next 3 rounds I set them down at the 25m turn around. My grip was getting smoked! The wall walks felt solid and I used the air squats to get ready for the farmer's carry again.  

I felt pretty good with all if these movements and didn't get myself to the point where I lost it. I will be feeling this one for the remainder of the day!

Friday January 17th, 2014

Mobility

Today was a rest day, so I came in and spent some time working on my mobility.

• rumble rolling
• lacrosse ball work
• band distractions
• squat position

Felt really good after the work. I am a bit tired from the week and need to make sure that I get more adequate rest throughout the week. I have been running on between 5.5 and 6 hours per night, and I can feel the fatigue creeping up on me. My nutrition has been pretty solid this week, and I need to maintain that for the weekend and into next week.  

Thursday January 16th, 2014

Thursday:

A. 10 x 1 hang snatch

I was able to work up to #125 on this. Still didn't feel comfortable on the catch.

B. 3 Sets.

  10 KBS at #70

  10 Burpees as fast as possible

  20 double unders.

  3:00 rest

These sets felt pretty good. I did the DUs unbroken for each set. I finished each in 49 seconds. I was fully recovered by the end of the 3 minutes. Cycle time on the KBS felt a bit slow, but I'm not sure how to increase the efficiency of this movement. 

10:00 Z1 on Airdyne

I kept the pace to around 15-185 watts for the duration. Felt like a good flush of the whole system.

Wednesday January 15th, 2014

A. High Bar BAck Squats - 5-5-5-5-5
 I was able to go 225-245-255-260-265 on these. Reps felt pretty good. Last set was tough, 270 for 5 may be doable. I did have some popping in my knees, just noisy not painful. I need to get better at getting out of the pocket.

B. EMOM 16 minutes

  odds: 5 touch and go #275 deadlifts

  evens:  3 strict handstand push-ups

I held the #275 for the whole sequence, felt pretty solid. I had absolutely zero back issues on these. Looking at the video, I need to cycle them faster.  

The 3 strict HSPU felt solid and easy, not sure how fast I was moving on them, but these felt good. The volume was easy to handle. I did loose focus on round 6 and did not keep my core engaged and felt off after the 2nd, but went right back to hit number 3. All other rounds were completed unbroken.

C. AirDyne - 3 sets -  15s all out effort - 2:45 easy spin on bike. 

Wow. The 15 seconds was tough! I felt good through the first 10-11 seconds and then felt like I was fighting against the current. I was able to hit for 12 - 14 calories each of the 15 max effort segment, and held the pace to around 125 watts on the 2:45 easy spin. I definitely felt the AirDyne when I stepped away from the beast.

I feel pretty good after the work the past three days. No major issues. 

Tuesday January 14th, 2014

Squat Clean:

Building quickly to a 5RM.

 I was able to hit #175 on this.  I felt like I was getting knocked back on my heels toward the end of the cycle. I definitely felt my hips being high.  I need to focus on getting lower and moving the bar straight up. I think I can get #185.

Then 

6 rounds

2 muscle ups, 6 burpees over box (24"), 9 wall ball (10'/20lbs), 40 DU. Rest 2 minutes. 

1 - 1:25 - MUs felt good, BOB felt good, I don't feel like I can cycle Wall Balls very well.  Started doing my double unders on the turf, the extra drag always pull-s me out of my rhythm.

2 - 1:20 - felt good, stayed unbroken, DUs we 15 & 25

3 - 1:20 - recovered well, missed 2nd muscle up, but didn't drop off the rings. DUs went unbroken this
round

4 - 1:20 - MUs felt like I was getting high n the rings before turning over, DUs unbroken again. 

5 - 1:23 - Everything went smooth until I got the DUs, dropped my rope, and was off for the first 15 or so. 

6 - 1:20 - felt pretty fresh, went unbroken on the DUs.

I felt I was able to keep it under the red line and was ready to tackle each successive round. The wall balls are something that seem tough for me to cycle much faster. Overall I felt this session went pretty well. 

Monday January 13th, 2014

Later this week registration begins for the 2014 CrossFit Games Open. Today begins a training cycle that will prepare me for February 27th and beyond. Today was definitely a focus on my weaknesses. Being a bit of a cardio-jockey, I need to focus in being more proficient in the technical aspects if the lifts.  

A. Snatch Balance 1-1-1-1-1

95-95-100-100-100

Felt hard to drive under the bar without a dip. This is not a movement that I have done a lot. 

B.  Squat Snatch - 15 minutes to build to a max. 

I was able to successfully work out to #125, but could not get #135 locked out. I need to get smoother in the technique, keep the bar close, and work on my catch position. I need to invest some time with hip and shoulder mobility every day!

C1.  Shoulder Press  5-5-5-5-5  - rest 10 seconds

C2. Amrap CTB Pullups - 5 sets.  

Rest 2 minutes 

1 - #125 and 6 CTB - starting weight was probably too light, probably needed to hit a better warm-up, which would have let me connect more CTB.

2 - #130 and 10 CTB - weight was easy, form broke after 4 and the last 6 were a struggle. 

3 - #135 and 11 CTB - reps were solid, same issues with the form. 

4 - #145 and 10 CTB - really tough to get these with no dip/drive, tried a closed grip and felt stronger connection with the bar, but cycling did not feel as smooth. 

5 - #150 and 11 CTB - first 3 reps felt solid, struggled with rep 4 and could not get rep 5 up with out a dip, was able to cycle through the first 5, then had to reset to keep going. I don't drop off the bar, and barely got my chest to the bar on rep 11. 

This was a very different workout for me. I struggled with some of the position in the balance and squat snatch portions. I fell I should have been a bit more aggressive in my starting and initial weights on the third portion.  I need to invest time for getting smoother on my pull-up technique. 

January 6th, 2013 Training

10 min EMOM

3 power cleans

3 front squats

3 jerks

All of these were preformed at #155. These felt very heavy today. I'm not sure my warm-up was sufficient to get my blood moving and ready to perform these movement at this weight. My sleep was frequently interupted last night, and I may have been felling some fatigue from it as well. I was able to maintain the 3-3-3 for the full 10 minutes with usually 20-24 seconds to recover before going again.  

The second portion of this mornings work was another EMOM, this time for 12 minutes. 

12 min EMOM

7 toes to bar

35 double unders

I felt better on this than the first, these movements are more in my comfort zone. I was able to go unbroken on all of the toes to bar, and unbroken for the first 8 rounds of the double unders, and missed in the high 20s on the next 3 rounds, but was able to finish unbroken on the last round. I finished the work with around 24 - 26 seconds left on each round. 

Accountability

It's been quite a while since I posted to my blog. I am going to try to keep this going a bit longer than last year. I have been following Patrick McCarty on his training blog (Training & Stirring) have have felt more motivated to share and reflect on my own training. Lately I have been following Ben Bergeron's Competitor's WOD blog to get outside of programing for myself, where I tend to avoid movements at which I don't necessarily excel.


Today's work:
Clean and Jerk
AMRAP in :20, rest 1:40 between rounds


3 rounds #195 hitting 3 reps, 3 reps, and 2 reps, first round felt solid, second round I went a bit fast on the 3 rep and felt loose in my lower back, the third round I was able to clean the third rep, but ran out of time to get it overhead. Overall pleased with the #195. I need to push this to establish my upper end on this lift. 

3 rounds #175 I was able to hit 4 reps on each. These felt pretty solid and light overall. 

3 rounds #155 I hit 5 reps each. Again these felt good, and I was able to cycle them and hold technique. 

3 rounds at #135 felt really good at this weight, I was able to hit 6 reps pretty clean. 

3 rounds at #115 I felt like I was not as solid on the reps, felt very light, and I was muscling it up to hit the 7 reps. 

Overall, this was a needed push with some reps at heavier weight and technique focus, I need to see how heavy I can go in the coming weeks. 

Metcon
21-15-9:
C2B
Burpee
400m run

I finish just over the 10 minute mark at 10:41, and I felt very off on the chest to bar pull-ups, I need to invest time in working on cycling these outside of a metcon. I tend to flail after 4-5 reps. The burpees were ok, and the runs felt better than they had in a few weeks.