A. Work to a heavy snatch with great technique - #170, my technique is still shaky! I should have stayed around #135-#145 and got dialed today. Not a smart move on my part. I kept missing at #165 and added #5 to get to #170 and hit it to finish this off. I also notice I keep head whipping as I finish and try to pull under.
B. Build to a heavy double (not max) HBBS - #315 - got a bit stuck on the second rep so I shut it down.
then
EMOM 10
Odd - 50 DUs
Even - 7 bar facing Burpees
Solild on this one, 4 unbroken sets of DUs finishing around 25-27s, and 1 broken sets finishing at 30s. I was able to cycle the 7 bar facing burpees withn 12-13s each round.
Then
EMOM 5
5 HSPU 4" deficit
2 solid rounds (1&2 for 5), 2 absolute messes (3 & 4) and 1 ok (4reps). I was surprised how much these jumped on me after the second round today. Huge fail!
Strength:
A. Build to a heavy single Power Snatch - #165 - couldn't pull quickly under the bar for the catch on #170. I'm also not happy with my catch positions, I tend to pop my right leg out to get depth rather than dropping into that quarter-ish squat. Also the #17- felt like a million pounds coming off the ground.
B. Build to a heavy singles clean and jerk - #225 - the cleans were ok, just felt like I had not pop to drive under the bar on the jerks. Also my transitions from clean to jerk were not smooth!
3:20, wanted sub 3:00 but the #AirDyne stole my soul! I couldn't seem to push into the 400s and sustain it on the AD today.
Legs felt tired today, my right shoulder felt a bit tweaky on one of the snatches and in the C&J. I really had trouble getting into positions today in both of them.
A. Snatch Balance + OHS - 1 + 1, pause :02 in the hole. Rest as needed. Worked up to #145 on this, felt solid! B. Snatch, #125, 10 x 1 rep, begin a set every :30 - had a miss on round 6, otherwise felt good! C. HBBS: 2-2-2 rest, 31X1 - went #275 - #295 - #305, getting a bit more comfortable under the #300s
...yeah, like 20 since I have posted. I've still been putting in the work, and definitely riding my mountain bike more! MONDAY A. Snatch Balance: 1-1-1 - worked up to #135 on these, felt solid.
B. Snatch: EMOM 10 started at #95 and build to #155 - all of these felt solid.
C. HBBS: 5-5-5 #275 - felt off a bit, wanted to hit #300 for 5, I'm not quite there yet. Then: 8 min time cap: 1 muscle up, 1 deadlift #275. 2 muscle ups, 2 deadlifts #275, etc)
Finished 5 full rounds and 4 muscle ups on the final round. Couldn't string more than 2 together today. Didn't feel very powerful on the kip, nor do I have the strength right now for multiple strict. Deads were not an issue. Then: 10:00 Z1 of choice (first 10 minutes of my bike ride stayed in Z1 today).
#220 on these today, go a bit fatigued on the final couple of reps. Otherwise no issues.
B. Hang Snatch 5 sets of 3 @70% 1RM
#115 on these from the hang, felt pretty good.
C. Snatch Pull from a 2" riser. 4 sets of 3 at 90% of 1RM
#145 - forgot to raise them up. Pulled as high as I could, tried to get tight in the bottom.
D. 1 heaving snatch balance + 2 OHS - 4 sets
#125 - #135 - started with #125 and it felt fine, went to #135 and it went fine as well. I need to drive and drop low on the balance instead of riding it down!
Starting at #155, I worked up #155, #165, #175, #185, #195, #205, #210, #215 (w/ 1 fail), #220, #225, and then hit for #230 after the 10 minutes were up. These felt surprisingly good.
I went unbroken on these. I need to clean up my technique on the bar muscle ups, I was very right arm dominant. Also, cycling these, I began to initiate the swing more with my feet instead of my shoulder and driving my hips to the bar.
+
AD: 2 minutes for calories - I finished with 50 calories. This was BAD! I was at 29 after minute 1 and then struggled to push through to the end.
THURSDAY
A. Snatch tech work. 15 minutes.
This one felt rusty as I haven't really snatched since early in the Open. I was able to build to #155 today.
Lactic Endurance segment of today's training was a repeat of a series that I hit in late February.
3:10, this was a bit longer than February (2:45), but I used #155 instead of #135. The weight felt heavy on the first round and then I was able to find a bit more of a groove on the second rounds. I started to slow near the end of the TTB, and on the final set I went 5-4 to cycle more quickly.
rest 4:00
3 Rounds 2 Bar Muscle ups 7 KBS - #88 30 double unders
2:45 which was 7 seconds faster than February. The muscle ups are still not as smooth as I'd like them. Using my right arm too much to push up and over, I need more hip drive. The 7 heavy KBS were ok, I really didn't want any more than the 7! I went unbroken on the first 2 sets of DUs and missed at 24 on the final set. overall not bad.
rest 4:00
30 Squat Cleans, #95
2:54 (31 seconds faster than February) This one really spends me. I went 10-5 and then doubles and singles. I was getting smoked in the lower back and my hamstrings were fried, not allowing me to reset low. I need to get more solid on the technique for this movement!
The first WOD of the 2014 CrossFit Games season was announces Thursday night, and it is a repeat of the very first Open workout from 2011. A 10 min AMRAP of 30 Double Unders and 15 Snatches (#75). I did not participate in that first Open as I had yet to find CrossFit. As part of my training leading up to the Games Season, I performed a 7 min version of this one at the beginning of February. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on this workout leading into it.
I decided to hit it after school on Friday. All of my morning workout crew have signed up for the Open this year, and most decided to hit it up then as well. We setup and warmed-up. I ended up going last and post a score of 355 reps. Very solid. I was hoping to be over 350 for it. The bump in the road came after the workout. After uploading the video and posting my score, It became evident that the last 40 seconds of my video was missing. So the online judges, correctly noticed this and informed me of it. In addition, I missed a DU rep during one of the rounds, and my score was reduced to 330. Below is the original attempt at 14.1.
On Saturday morning, less than 14 hours since my previous attempt, I was not ready to do this workout again. I hit some mobility and then went on a 10 mile mountain bike ride (trail and gravel combo) to spin out my legs and get the blood flowing.
Sunday came and I decided to redo the workout. I go with the guys around 11 and began warming up and prepping for the workout. We set-up 2 iPads, an android tablet, and an iPhone to ensure that the video would be there and in it's entirety.
I decided to approach the workout in much the same manner. i hit the first 3 rounds of snatches unbroken, and then switched to 8-7 for two rounds before finishing out with 5-5-5. I hit mostly 31 DUs to ensure that I didn't come up short in this one, and I mistakenly hit an extra snatch during the 3rd round. I finished with a total of 358 reps. I did miss on one round of the DUs. Overall, there are a few places in which to improve my work in this setting. First, I need to make sure I am hitting the prescribed reps and not more. Also, when I put down the bar, I need to be sure to only drop from the wait, no more super-starring it. This caused the bar to travel too far during from my spot during the workout spending precious time and energy recovering it. There are some technique ares to improve as well with bar path and hip contact during the snatch proton to speed up cycle time and shorten the bar path from a swooping one to a tighter line. Below is my 14.1 redo.
I also need to thank my friend for helping film and motivating me to push through this workout. There are with me every morning at 5:30 and have helped keep me motivated and pushing everyday. I can;t say enough of how much that means to me.
A. 15 minutes snatch tech work. 1 power snatch, 2 OHS, 1 hang snatch. Weight to allow for fast under the bar. Speed over load.
working sets were 75-95-100-105-115-125
The power and OHS felt pretty solid, the hang still feels off. I did hit power snatches at #155 and #165, failed at the #170 attempt, but kissed the bar. The power snatches felt solid. I still need to work on a focus point and not pulling early with arms.
Lactic Endurance
3 Rounds
5 shoulder to overhead #135
7 burpees, AFAP
9 TTB
I finished in 2:45. This was a tough triplet for me. I didn't seem comfortable on the movements. After the first round, I could not cycle the T2B. I didn't fall into a good rhythm pattern on the STO, weight was not an issue, more of a movement pattern problem.
rest 4:00
3 Rounds
2 Bar Muscle ups
7 KBS - #88
30 double unders
I finished in 2:52. This felt better than I thought it would. The bar muscle up were a bit rougher on rounds two and three. I had a fail early on the last set of DUs.
rest 4:00
30 Squat Cleans, #95
I finished in 3:25. I came apart on these. My form went south after the first 9. i had high hip sand really started to smoke my lower back. I was very rounded and caused myself to dump the bar twice. I'm not real happy about my performance on this portion of today's work. I really need to step back and regain form when movements like this come up.
A. Snatch tech work. 10 single reps with rest as needed. 1 snatch, pause in the hole for 3-4 seconds with bar stable overhead.
75-85-95-105-115-125-135-140-140-145
The idea was to get comfortable in the hole. THis went ok. I probably should have started heavier and stayed at a heavier weight. I wanted to keep the technique solid. I must say the 4 seconds feels a lot longer with any weight overhead! As the weight got heavier, I was coming up with my hips early, and breaking in my arms. I was catching a bit high and needing to drop lower after the lock-up. I need to pull myself under the bar more quickly!
Lactic Endurance
3 Rounds, individually timed. Short rest between
5 PC start at 135(round 1), #165 (round 2), #185 (round 3)
As usual for the weather prognosticators, they will spend a week hyping a snow that doesn't amount to anything and then scrambled during the day yesterday to update the forecast to a close approximation of what we had dumped on us overnight! I woke up to about 8 inches of snow this morning, so I delayed by usual trek to work (and train) for an hour.
I went away form my normal dynamic type warm-up.
Warm-Up
1 min easy AirDyne
4 rounds tabata DUs (hitting 30 unbroken each round with no shoes, which was not smart, but definitely an incentive not to miss!)
Worked on opening up my hips and shoulders using PVC and Swiss Ball
Spent some time in couch stretch
Band distractions
then the "Outlaw" Snatch Progress Warmup (seen here in Spencer Arnold's video - http://vimeo.com/61238640) - I completed this once with PVC then with empty bar. On a side note, I was introduced to this warmup by Alana Richey, head coach and owner of Palmetto Crossfit. If you're ever in Charleston, SC drop-in and check them out, cause like we say in Southeast Ohio, she is good people!
I felt ready to invest some quality time!
A. Snatch Balance 1-1-1-1-1
#75 - #95 - #105 - #110 - #115 - these felt very good today. I feel like I was able to get under them and keep my feet (relatively) closer than last week.
B. Squat Snatch - 15 minutes to build to a max.
These felt very good today. I hit a new PR by #20 pounds! Excuse the yell during the video, I was pretty hyped! While #155 is not a huge number for most, I am very pleased with where my snatch has come in the past 3 weeks.
C2. 4 x 15 CTB Pullups - mandatory sets of 5 - Rest 2 minutes
1st Set - #155 felt good and fast, CTB were ok, I'm still trying to keep from tearing my hand again (theme on these pulls today)
2nd set - #165 still felt solid, CTB went fine in the 5 sets
3rd set - #170 felt heavy, focused on pushing through and not jerking, CTb were a bit more difficult, but still good in the sets of 5
4th set - #175 actually felt better than the #170, but I could definitely feel the added weight on my shoulders when the CTB came. I was glad to finish those in the sets of 5 and still have my hands intact.
then
7:00 clock: AMRAP 30 double unders, 15 power snatch @ #75
This one got spicy! I planned to treat this one like an EMOM and try to get 7 full rounds, and that plan went downhill after round 2. I went unbroken a couple of rounds, and a miss on the others. I was glad to be able to go unbroken on the DUs at the beginning of round 6. I was able to stay unbroken on the snatches for 3 full rounds, round 4 went 8-7, round 5 went 10-5. Watching myself on the power snatches made me cringe, rounded back and high hips will smoke my back and bleed me of energy if I don't clean that technique up!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
