Consistency

Thursday, 4/15

AM:

Hang power cleans
95(8)-115(8)-115(8)-125(8)-135(8)

Unbroken. Couldn't hook grip the entire time because of a tear on my hand, but tried to hold it for as many as I could.

Weighted dips + OH Lunges w/ plate:
3 sets, 2 min rest in between
10 dips (+#40 dumbbell), 20 OH lunges (#45 plate)

Unbroken. Made myself redo a few lunges when knee didn't hit the ground. Practiced as if Jonny was there yelling "Does not count" at me.

Metcon, CF Endurance on C2 Rower
120:60x6, 2 min on: 1 min off x 6

1) 540 m
2) 520
3) 512
4) 505
5) 507
6) 535

Total: 3,119 m

Wasn't looking forward to doing this one but it was a good test. Tried to keep under sub-2:00 for all rounds. The 1 min rest periods flew by.

PM:
~5 mile tempo run, 35 minutes. Castaways and back. Hit it pretty hard, took a few breaks. Got from my place to Castaways in 18 min, usually around 20 min. Trying to cut down on my longer runs and do more interval / sprint work, but it was too nice to not run outside on Thursday.

Friday, 4/16

Back Squat 3x10 @ #155 (55% of #280)

Hip flexor, hamstrings, groin were tight all week but finally loosened up on the third set. Wasn't feeling explosive at the bottom / middle, but popped up pretty easily towards the top.

Weighted pullups w/ #25 weight. 3-3-3 (grip w/ palms facing each other)

50 double unders for time, ~30 sec rest 1) :28 2) :28 3) :45

First two rounds unbroken, wheels came off in round three and tripped up a few times.

Farmer's walk 3 sets x ~40 feet:
#60s in each hand-#70s-#70s

Double on Saturday, 4/17

Press: 3x5 @ #125
Felt solid.

Grace (30 C&J, Rx'd @ #135)
Time: 3:49

100 double unders for time: 1:22

Rested up, then did a Last Chance Qualifier workout w/ Erin, Chris, Nick, Emmitt and T.

5 rounds for time:
10 deadlifts (#225)
10 box jumps ("24)
10 toes to bar

Time: 8:11

Went better than I expected. I thought the DLs would be rough but got first round unbroken then every other one 5-5. Box jumps were fine, and got into a rhythm on toes to bar for a few sets. Tough but good workout, glad to have kept moving.

Sunday, 4/18

Deadhang pullups (palms facing each other), 3x5

Hang Power Cleans
5-8-5-5-5
115-115-125-135-145

Technique is feeling much better now, not just reverse curling it up anymore (most of the time at least).

Incline bench press, 5-5-5-3
135-155-165-175

3 rounds, 2 min rest in between each round
5 hang power squat cleans (#115)
25-30 double unders

Felt pretty solid. Worked on getting comfortable with transitioning in and out of the hook grip.


Workouts at the end of last week were all solid. Really working on consistently setting new PRs and being at somewhere close to the top of the leaderboard on each workout, no matter what the movements are. Getting my strength numbers up (particularly in the clean & jerk and snatch) is still the primary goal over these next few months.

A lot of updates...

Have been busy and slacking lately on posting workouts, so here goes starting with last Saturday:

Sat, 4/10

Did a double-WOD Saturday AM. Only get to come into CFC 3x per week right now so wanted to get everything in.

Power clean and jerk: 2-2-2-2-2

135-155-165-175-185(1) (+#10 PR)

+#10 PR on the power clean, tied PR on jerk although that part felt pretty easy. Need to get elbows through faster.

Metcon:

As many rounds as possible in 10 min of:
4 push press (Rx'd @ #135)
8 burpees
12 lateral jumps over cone
Rx'd @ #135

8 rounds + 4 push press

#135 push press got heavy quick. Would've liked to get 9-10 rounds.


Hopped in w/ the 10 am class and did backwards "Jackie"

30 Pull ups
50 Thrusters (45/33)
1000M Row

Time: 6:57

Considering I did this metcon with about an hour of rest I was happy. Could have been faster on the pullups and thrusters, although I strung 15 butterflies to start and only dropped the thrusters once. Row wasn't great at 3:53 but legs were gone by that point. Saturday was a good test of the gas tank.

Sunday: Rest!

Monday, 4/12

Had the day off from work to study for my big test, so didn't work out in the morning. Can't wait for June 5 to get here, although I need to be cranking out the studying alot more.

Strength:

Clean (must pass through full squat) 3-2-2-1-1

Cleans: 135-155-185 (+#5 PR)-a lot of fails at #185

PR is a PR, but considering my PR on a power clean is #185 I should be up higher. Still not trusting myself to throw my body under the bar.

Then, as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
5 Pull ups
7 Push ups
9 Squats

Metcon: 21 rounds + 1 pushup

Solid metcon. Squats were pretty terrible at the start but fixed them up after the first few rounds. Just tried to keep moving the entire time.

Tues, 4/13

Warmup: 500m row (1:53), 0.5 mi run

Bench Press: 5-3-1
Warmup: 135(6)-155(3)
Work: 185(5)-205(3)-225(1)

#225 went up ok. Think I could go +#10-#15 next time. Chest was still sore from Monday's ~150 pushups.

Front Squats: 5-5-5-5-5
135-155-180-190-200 (5RM PR)

Tough, but got it. +#5 from last week.

Made up a metcon
3 rounds
20 box jumps (~"24)
20 double unders
15 situps
3 HSPU

Time: ~5:30

Wed, 4/14

40 yd dash: 5.56 (best out of three)

Haven't run these this freshman year of high school and it showed. Off the line speed is not one of my strengths.

Metcon for time:
15 Power snatches (135/95 or 70-75% of 1RM)
30 Box jumps (24"/20")
10 Power snatches
20 Box jumps
5 Power snatches
10 Box jumps

Metcon: 5:15 (#115 scaled down to #95)

Didn't scale properly. Started w/ #115 and started failing on about the 6th rep. Stripped down to #95 which was probably lighter than I should have been at--#105 would've been a nice medium. Head wasn't in it today, need to get back in it.

Did a bunch of sets of 10 wall balls afterwards, and attempted some muscleups. Almost got one...almost.

Finishing up the week

Wednesday, 4/7

AM

Warmup, 2x1 min row

1 mi run (7:25)

CF Endurance Workout

12 x 20 sec intervals
Rx'd was 2 min rest, did 1 min

20 sec on, 1 min off x 12

Row for meters

1) 104 m 2) 103 3) 102 4) 99 5) 101 6) 100 7) 99 8) 101 9) 100 10)99 11) 100 12) 103

Goal was to get 100m for each, and came up short a few times. Not a big fan of rowing, for 1) Not great at it 2) I'm short as hell. It's more of a mental toughness issue than anything else, so trying to force myself to learn to love it. I used to hate running, so maybe I'll come around eventually.

PM @ CFC:

Overhead Squat: 5-3-2-1-1

95-115-135-135-135 (#10 PR)

Could have gone higher but technique still needs some work. A little disappointing since I thought I had improved more on this, but need to focus on pushing butt back first and locking in the active shoulders. Weight felt very doable. If I ever want to have a respectable squat snatch this will need to come up in the months ahead.

Metcon
5 rds for time,
5 thrusters (Rx'd @ #135)
30 double unders

Time: 6:20

Got 2 rounds of thrusters unbroken but still way too slow with the higher weights. Wanted to get around 5:00 on this, but my thruster motion needs to be smoother and more fluid. My speed on the explosion up remains nonexistent--front squats, front squats, front squats...


Thur, 4/8

2x250m row

Press:
95(5)-115(5)-125(5)-135(3)

I've been stuck here for awhile now.

3 rounds, 2 min rest in between:
10 hang power cleans (#115)
3 laps around track

HPCs unbroken, just trying to work on form here and making sure I stick my butt out when I get into the rack position. Working on getting to the point where throwing #135 feels relatively easy. Rounds were untimed.

Ladder workout:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Regular dips (unweighted)
Pushups
Situps

Untimed, but goal was to get unbroken which I did. Had some rests in between exercises, kept a steady pace. Muscle fatigue began to set in around the round of 6.


Fri, 4/9

Active rest day. Chest, shoulders, and triceps all feel pretty fried from yesterday's ladder, so just went for a run early this morning. Not sure what happened to Spring, as it was around a chilly 30 degrees. Ran the usual 5 mile route at a easy pace, ~35-40 minutes.

Back in the box tomorrow, Friday's workout looks pretty solid, although I'm interested to see what fun pain Alex has in store this weekend as well.

Hello Helen

Posting for Monday and Tuesday's workouts.

Mon, Bally's, 4/5

AM

Row, 2x1 min

Incline Bench: 135x6, 155x5, 160x5, 165x5

Toes-to-Bar: 3x10

Unbroken but slow. Trying to work on fast kips here.

5 min bike, 10 min elliptical

Double unders: 50 for time, 3 rds
1) :28
2) :31
3) :29

Got Rd. 1 / 3 unbroken, tripped up on my first jump during Rd. 2 like a goof.

Starting to have more of a gameplan with my AM workouts. Try to incorporate as many CF movements as I can, along with extra strength work.


PM, CFC

Deadlift, 15 sets x 1 rep (30 sec rest in between reps)

Tempo: Pull as fast as possible

Rx'd by using 65% of 1RM (#380): used #255 (~67%)

All of these felt very solid, could have gone up in weight.

Metcon--CF Benchmark workout "Helen"
3 rds,
400 m run
21 kettlebell swings (1.5 pood / 24 kg / #53 lbs)
12 pullups

Time: 8:50

Pretty happy with the time, first time doing this workout. This one plays to my strengths, although still need to get better at my KB swing technique. Was in a great heat with Glenn and E-Diesel, and both of them shot out of the gates at the start. Started in the back of the pack so I need to push harder on the runs next time. Big goal was to get KBS unbroken, which I got. Pullups weren't unbroken but short rests during rounds 2 and 3--butterfly w/ kips at the end. Still having trouble stringing more than 10 together at a time.


Tues, 4/6

Warmup: 500 m row

Front Squat: 5-5-5-5-5
135-155-175-185-195 (5RM PR)

Did 3x3 @ #190 on Friday, so happy with this.

Intervals (1-2 min rest in between):
8 Sumo deadlift high-pull (#105), 2 laps around track
8 Hang power clean (#105), 3 laps
8 HPC (#115), 2 laps

Dips:
6
10 (+#40)
10 (+#40)
10 (+#40) dropped weight, 10


Congrats to the winners of the Paleo+ Challenge, as well as everyone else who participated. Definitely changed my perspective on what it means to keep the diet / nutrition dialed it, and the improved performance results certainly back it up.

AllDay Chipper and Sushi Sake Friday

Last week was a great series of tough workouts, and overall I felt I did well. Still learning how exactly to pace myself on each workout depending what's on the menu, but didn't feel too worn out this weekend.

Thu, 4/1

AM

500m row

Press:
95x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x3

Weighted Dips:
5, 10 (+#40), 10 (+#40), 10 (+#40)

PM

200 double unders: 3:02

Metcon @ #95: 15:36

From NY/NJ Sectional (17 min cap at Sectional)
30 Overhead squat (95/55 or 40-50% of 1RM of average lift in series)
30 CTB pull ups
30 Power snatches
30 Toes-to-bar
30 SDHP
30 Air Squats
30 Kettlebell swings (1.5/1 pood)

Had been shooting for sub-15. Felt like I was moving in slow motion the entire time.

OHS: 15-8-7
CTB: 10-5-5-all over the place
PS: All singles
TTB: All over the place
SDHP: 5-5-5-5-5-5
Squats: Unbroken
KB: 4 sets?

This was a good/tough one. Didn't feel all that great, so I'd like to try it again sometime.

Ring pushups: 20-15-15

CFE Row w/ Dan and Chris:
4x375m, 3 min rest (instead of 5)

1) ~1:20
2) 1:16
3) 1:14
4) 1:18


Fri, 4/2

AM

Front squat 3x3
#190 for all sets, no fails. Think I could do #5-10 more.

Then, for time:
20 Hang cleans (must pass through full squat) (135/95 or 45-55%)
40 Box jumps (20")
15 Hang cleans
30 Box jumps
10 Hang cleans
20 Box jumps

Time: 12:06

Had trouble transitioning from squat clean back into hook grip, so did these as all single full squat cleans instead of hang cleans. Cleans are feeling better so just getting used to the heavier weights.

PM

Had the day off from work, so went out for some sushi with Skins Scott, Jonny, Kurt, and Rudy. Ended up spending more than two hours demolishing some 1/2 priced sushi and sakebombs. Good times. Went home and took a nap.


30-min run. Legs were dead before I started, but wanted to see what it felt like running fatigued. Nothing left at this point.


Sat, 4/3

Bench Press: 5-5-5
185-200-210

I think this is a 5RM, so happy here. Haven't been benching as much lately so good to see some improvement. Worked on powerlifting technique, keeping back arched but butt down on the bench, with heels digging into the ground.

Then, 5 Rounds for time of:
3 Jerks (165/105 or 65-75%)
6 CTB Pull ups
9 Burpees

Time: 7:42

Could have gone a bit faster but wanted to make sure I didn't fail any jerks. Pullups and burpees unbroken for the most part. Need to grip the bar less tightly on pullups and not regrip mid-movement, left hand ripped and bleeding pretty badly during the 3rd round. Didn't hurt but was kind of annoying. Also want to work on lowering my jerks back to the rack position better.

Max handstand pushups: 5-6-5 (shoulders were toast)


Sunday, 4/4

Running day:

2 mile warmup

I tried to find the hill by Diversey Harbor but didn't see it, or I may just be a dummy and not have noticed it.

Did some timed intervals on the small hill by the LP Zoo parking lot.

1: Ran from parking lot median up hill, touched fence, 5x
2: Ran to top of hill, 5 burpees, 15 situps, 2x
3: Ran to top of hill, 5 burpees, 15 situps, 3x

Ran another 25 min total (to Castaways then back home). Running south along the Lake against the wind blew (literally and figuratively), but felt good coming back up north. Tried to break this up into 3 8-min rounds w/ a finishing kick at the end of each one. Legs felt pretty good all the way through.

Cleaning Up & M-O-M!

Pretty solid week of workouts thus far, and got a great boost on Wednesday by being named Member of the Month for March. I started back at CFC at the end of July, and time seems to have flown by. I can remember one day during the summer when I was walking home, debating on buying a road bike or joining a CrossFit gym--I'm glad I made the right decision. Starting CF has given me a different perspective on not only working out, but also nutrition and my general lifestyle. I've also made a number of great friends in the process. Anyways, enough with the cheesin and on to the lifting.

Tues, 3/30

AM:

500m row x 2

Metcon:
3 rds
10 DL (Rx'd #275, went #230 @ 60% of #380)
20 squats (#45 plate)

Time: 4:33

DL: 10, 2nd set all over the place, 5-5
Squats: Took rests but never dropped the plate all sets

Scaled this back as I didn't want my back to be out of commission for the next few days. Could have gone faster. Need to get more comfortable at high-rep, heavy-weight DLs within workouts. Should have felt easier than it did.

Post-WOD:
Inverted Row / Situps 3x10

Dips
Warmup: 5
Work: 10 (+#20), 10 (+#30), 10 (+#40)


PM @ CFC

Squat Cleans (working up in weight):

2-2-2-2-2

135-155-165-175 (got one, failed one, did another)-180 (PR)

These have come a long way. Since I wasn't jerking took Randy's advice and tried a wider grip. Proving Grounds goal is #200+ C&J so good progress, but more to go. Hard to believe back in the fall I couldn't do even a solid power clean at #135. Starting to get more aggressive with the bar and thinking about getting under ASAP.

Metcon:
3 rounds,
20 wall balls
15 burpees
400m run

Time: 10:24

Great workout. Watched a video on wall ball technique that day which helped big time.
Got first round unbroken, second 12-8, third split into 3 sets. First two rounds of burpees unbroken, last one took two quick rests. First two runs were ok, last one was awful. Almost caught big Mike T at the end but my finishing kick turned into mush. This was one where I think everyone wanted to quit at the end, but of course pushed through.


Wed, 3/31

Just went for a run on Wednesday, felt beat up from the deadlifts on Tuesday. Had been planning to do a easy, non-timed run, but know I need to get faster if I ever want to catch up to guys like Brett R. More sprint / interval work and less fun runs.

Run:

1 mi warmup

CF Endurance 20 min time trial: 2.68 mi

Not great but back was been tight all day, so just wanted to push through it. 7:30/mi pace most of the way, Awesome weather but ran into a headwind going south towards Castaways. A sub 20:00 5k is the long-term goal here.

Ran back home, didn't use the watch--probably around 1.5 mi or so.

Did some strength work early this Thu. AM, going to do the my chipper tonight. Starts off right with 30 overhead squats...always gotta work on the weaknesses right?