Skill Work - Turkish Get Up

Worked on some Turkish get ups.

Weightlifting Complex 

1 power clean + 3 front squats (115 lb. - 215 lb.)

With the deadlift cycle ending last week, the new cycle will be focused on Olympic weightlifting (Oly). Usually the gym has an Oly fundamentals class on Saturdays but I'm not able to make it most weeks. Incorporating more Oly work into weekly classes is exactly what I need to improve my lifts. The next few weeks are going to be fun, and todays weightlifting complex was a great start to the cycle.

I haven't done heavy power cleans since April with my heaviest lift at 205 lb. I hit a PR on my power clean at 215 lb and I think I could have gone a bit heavier. I was surprised I was able to clean it since the lift didn't feel great. The pull was okay but the extension and catch was a bit sloppy. Hopefully I will continue to get better over the next few weeks.

WOD

AMReps 9 minutes

3 thrusters (75 lb.)
3 lateral burpee over barbell
Add three reps every round

The burpees were my speed bump. The thrusters were not too bad. I was able to go unbroken until I hit the round of 12. I finished this workout with 15 thrusters and four burpees for a total of 79 reps.

Weighted Plank Hold - 3x60 seconds, 35 lb.

Finished the day with some weighted plank holds. I was able to hold the first round of 60 seconds. I had to take a five seconds rest during the last two rounds

Tuesday

Started Wednesday with a short medicine ball warm up that consisted of sit ups, cleans and Russian twists. After the warm up we started on warming up for the days skill/strength workout, jerks. 

Jerk Complex

1 push press + 1 power jerk + 1 split jerk

I think the first half of this weightlifting cycle is going to be focused on clean and jerks. We started with power cleans and front squats and on Wednesday we did jerks. I've been wanting to practice more jerks since I'm not proficient in that movement. My goals for this workout were to practice heavy jerks and work on my rack position. Started with a weight of 75 lb. and worked up to 185 lb. I think I could have gone a bit heavier but I was on my seventh set and the reps caught up with me.

My split jerk felt good, but I need more work. My drive could be better as well as my foot work. I will try to do some footwork drills at home to see if it helps. I worked on my rack position, mainly keeping a full grip on the bar. I need to work on my mobility to make it easier to grip the bar.

WOD - Tabata, 8 rounds

Knees to elbows
Box jumps
Dumbbell snatch (40 lb.)

My main goal for this workout was to push the intensity and stay consistent. The intensity portion of that goal went out the window after the first round of knees to elbows. I completed eight reps in the first round but I knew that was not sustainable. My hands were feeling raw and my abs started to tighten up but by the last round I was down to three reps. During the box jump set, I kept a pace of five reps per round. I was still tired from the knees to elbows and I was doing step downs instead of rebounding. I was starting to feel fatigued by the time I reached the dumbbell snatch set. I wasn't happy with my pace but I don't think I could have pushed myself harder. I was keeping a four rep per round pace but it was becoming more difficult towards the end.

Friday

I didn't do as well as I wanted in this workout. I wanted to at least finish 60 reps on double unders, and 15 on wall balls and hand release push ups. After the first three rounds I was able to finish 45-50 reps on the double unders and 10-15 on the wall balls and hand release push ups. The last round had my lowest reps. I couldn't string many double unders together, tripping up every 5 - 15 reps. Fatigue played a factor in the wall balls and push ups. I finished the workout with 282 reps.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Warm Up - 8 minutes

Run 400 m
--then--
AMRAP:
10 pull ups
20 push ups
30 ab-mat sit ups
40 air squats

We did a quick 8 minute warm up to get the blood moving. We were going to need it since, the rest of the workouts looked rough. I didn't focus on trying to get more rounds instead just making sure I was performed quality reps.

Deadlift -  2x2 at 100% 1RM (395 lb.)

Last weeks deadlifts took a toll on my body. I wasn't able to lift my 80% on Wednesday but I took a few days off and let my body recover. I haven't established my 1RM yet but the heaviest weight I lifted up until now was 385 lb. I decided I wanted to at least lift 395 lb. if not more. I warmed up to 335 lb. and started my sets at 365 lb. and finished with 395 lb. It was difficult but I was able to power through it. Afterwards I was confident in my deadlift, I knew I was going to break 400 lb. on Friday.

WOD

Time Cap: 25 minutes

30 pull ups
--then--
Run 400 m
21 Thrusters (75 lb.)
21 Burpees
Run 400 m
15 Thrusters (75 lb.)
15 Burpees

Tuesday

Wednesday

Warm Up

Alternating EMOM:

Deadlift - 6x2 at 80% (335 lb.)

Deadlifts at this weight are starting to get a lot easier. My setup is quicker and my rest in between sets is a bit shorter. I hope I can keep this up until next week when we test our 1RM.

WOD 

For Time:

Run 400 m

Max Rep Wall Balls (20 lb., 11 ft)

Rest 1 Minute

Max Rep Wall Balls (20 lb., 11 ft)

Rest 1 Minute

Run 400 m

Rest 3 Minutes

--then--

4 Rounds:

5 Power Cleans (115 lb.)

10 Later Burpee Over Barbell (115 lb.)

15 Deadlifts (115 lb.)

--then--

Max Effort Air Squats

Decided to use a new format for the WOD section of the blog since it would be easier to read as a list instead of a continuous line. The hardest part of the WOD was the wall balls, burpees and deadlifts. The wall balls were difficult because of the Rx requirements. Height and weight are listed above but their was a rep requirement as well. I was able to reach the Rx minimum for the first set of wall balls but not the second. The requirement was 25 reps and I was able to barely able to make 27 the first set and 15 the second set. I tried to hold on to the wall ball as long as I could but I gave into fatigue.   I was confident with the weight, it was was the reps I was unsure about. I wasn't expecting it to be a max rep attempt instead thinking it would be max reps in a given amount of time.

I wanted to use 135 lb. for the second part of the workout but I decided to go down a bit more. The weight was supposed to be light enough that the deadlifts would be done unbroken. I was only able to do the first round unbroken. I was feeling the effects of the deadlifts from earlier and had to break up the deadlifts into two or three sets. The burpees were difficult because, burpees! Finished the workout with max effort air squat. After all the work we did earlier, these air squats were tough. The Rx reps were above 75 reps which is not hard for me when my legs are fresh. I only did 35 reps after two minutes.

Tuesday

Deadlift - 5x5 at 85% (335 lb.)

335 lb. is a little lower than my 85%. I'm trying to be a bit conservative on the deadlift, making sure I have better form on my lifts. My form has improved a lot, and my lower back doesn't tighten up as much.

Partner WOD - 4 RFT: 25 cal row, 20 chest to bar, 15 handstand push ups

This WOD was challenging, but thankfully my partner was able to push me. We split most of the work evenly except for the row. I rowed 10 cals and he did 15 since he was a better rower. The chest to bar was done in 5 rep sets which allowed some rest and we split the handstand push ups 7 - 8 with me taking the 7 reps.

The hardest part of this WOD was the chest to bar pull ups. I'm still working on my strength and kip. I was able to do five straight and broke up the rest into smaller sets of two or three. At round three and four I was doing singles. My hands were starting to become raw and I was trying to avoid a tear at all costs. Thankfully I was able to finish the workout with no tears. On the last round, I was able to do 15 straight handstand push ups to make up for my slow rowing. We finished the workout out at 13:01.

Wednesday

Deadlift - 6x2 at 80% (335 lb.)

After the deadlifts on Monday, I'm more confident lifting 335 lb. It's still feels heavy but my grip is getting better and my back feels better as well. Will start increasing the weight on Friday.

Three Headed Dragon - For Time: 400 double unders, back squat 40,000 lb. and row 4,000 m.

This is my first time attempting this WOD and thankfully it was a team WOD. Our team of three decided to split the work evenly. The double unders would be done in 50 rep sets until finished while back squats were going to be done in 10x10 sets at 135 lb. The row section was divided into threes as well. While one person squats, one person rests and the other is on the rower. We would rotate until we hit 4000 m on the rower and then focus on the back squats.

The double unders were a breeze, breaking them down into sets of 50 was a smart choice. The hardest part of the workout was the back squat. The weight becomes heavy, very fast. The first few rounds were not too bad but after set six it takes a toll on your quads. After the row was finished we focused on the remaining squats and finished in 28:46.

Friday