Back Squat - 6 x 2 at 80% (285 lb.)

Started out the day with heavy back squats. I warmed up with a few sets and started on the back squats. I had a good day at the weight wrack, every set was great with the last two being the most difficult. I finished with enough time to set up for the days WOD.

WOD - For Time

21 toes to bar

15 deadlifts (115 lb.)

9 box jumps (24 in.)

21 pull ups 

15 power cleans (115 lb.)

9 box jumps (24 in.)

21 chest to bar pull ups

15 shoulder to overheads (115 lb.)

9 box jumps (24 in.)

At first glance this workout looks long but it goes by quickly. My concerns for this workout were the bar movements. 21 toes to bar, pull ups and chest to bars are going to suck. Mainly because I'm bad at them. Everything else didn't seem too bad. The barbell movements and box jumps were going to be cake next to the bar work.

As expected, the bar work was rough. I wanted to do most of the reps unbroken but I couldn't. I broke the toes to bar into sets of five or less. The pull ups were done in sets of five or a more and the chest to bars were in sets of two to five reps. I had to do singles by the end of chest to bar pull ups. The dead lifts and power cleans were not as hard. I finished the deadlifts unbroken and I finished the power cleans in two sets. The shoulder to overhead was also done unbroken, using a power jerk instead of a push press. I finished the workout at 11:44, under the 15 minute time cap. I was hoping I would finish under 10 minutes but the bar work was a lot harder than expected.

Tuesday

Gymnastics Skill Day

V-ups (3 second count)

Strict ring dips

Chest to bar pull ups

Worked on some strict movements and chest to bars. The original movement was strict toes to bar but since I can not complete those, I scaled down to v ups. The strict ring dips were not too bad. Was able to go unbroken on all sets. I tend to pull my legs up like I'm doing an L sit when doing dips, so I worked on keeping straight. The chest to bar pull ups were just as hard as Monday. I'm not able to string that many together yet and my form looks bad after a set or two. I took a lot of rest between sets. 

WOD 

CrossFit Open Workout 15.4 

AMReps in 8 minutes

3 handstand push ups

3 cleans (185 lb.)

6 handstand push ups

3 cleans (185 lb.)

Since the open is a month away, the gym is retesting last years open workouts. I was excited for this one since I didn't do that well last year. I wrote a post about it which you can read HERE. Last year I was only able to complete 21 reps but this year I was able to complete 51 reps, a PR of 30 reps! I was able to hit 21 reps at about three minutes into the workout. I was stoked. I didn't think I would be going this quick. I've been working on a lot of press work, mainly strict HSPU's and strict press. My cleans felt great as well. I struggled a bit last year but not this time.

The handstand push ups were the hardest part, as always. I started struggling during the last few reps of 12 HSPUs. I took a short rest before I started on the cleans but it wasn't enough. I struggled on the last few reps of my HSPUs before they called time. I was exhausted but I felt great. I knew I just smashed my old PR and I was riding that feeling. Hopefully I do better in this years Open. 

Thursday

Push Press 3RM 

Warmed up with the bar and slowly started adding weight. I didn't have a number in mind when loading the bar. My previous lifts were done at 165 lb. and I felt I had gained more strength since then. I worked up to 185 lb. and focused on my form. My right wrist was a bit tight so I stopped and stretched it a bit before the WOD.

WOD

CrossFit Open Wokrout 15.5

27-21-15-9

Row (cal.)

Thruster (95 lb.)

If you didn't do this workout last year, good for you. It was one of the worse workouts I've done. I remember laying on the ground for a few minutes before standing up. I wrote about it last year in this POST. This time around, I was determined to do better. After seeing my score from 15.4 improve significantly, I figured I would crush my new 15.5 time. I was wrong, very wrong.

The rows started great, I had a good pace and finished ready to get into my first round of thrusters. I broke up the first round into three sets, trying to set a good pace for these as well. I hit a wall after the second round. I kept repeating "finish" in my head, like a mantra to get through the rest of the workout. As the time cap loomed I tried to go faster but it wasn't fast enough. I finished the workout at 15:05, five seconds after the time cap. It was a small PR of 13 seconds but it was short of what I wanted. I've made some improvements over the year but I still have a lot more room to improve.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Back Squat

10 at 50% (195 lb.)
6 at 60% (225 lb.)
5 at 70% (255 lb.)
5 at 80% (275 lb.)
ME at 80% (275 lb.)

After last Mondays back squat episode and a few days of recovery, I was ready for heavy back squats. I didn't make the same mistake and warmed up with a few non working sets. The weights through all the percentages felt great. The last two sets were a bit tough but I was ready for it. On the max effort set I stopped at five reps to be on the safe side. I didn't want another repeat of last week.

WOD

Alternating EMOM - 15 minutes

8 - power cleans (135 lb.)
10 - burpees
12 - wall balls (20 lb.)

This workout was tough. I wasn't able to complete all reps of the cleans and wall balls. I've been trying to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself with heavier weights. The last two rounds were the hardest. I was gasping for air and trying to find the second wind but it never came. I only finished six reps on the the cleans and eight reps on the wall balls.

Tuesday

Back Squat 

10 at 50% (195 lb.)
6 at 60% (225 lb.)
5 at 70% (255 lb.)
5 at 80% (275 lb.)
ME at 80% (275 lb.)

We started a new squat cycle this week starting with back squats. I haven't done squats in awhile and I was excited to get back into it. I based all my weights off of my one rep max of 355 lb. The weights were a little higher than my actual percentage since I was working with other people. The weights are about 4% higher.

I felt a bit awkward during the warm up and during my set of 50%. After warming up a bit, I started feeling more confident. I was focusing on being more explosive coming out of the bottom but I think I may have overdone it. My last set at 80% I managed to finish seven reps and failed on my eighth rep.

WOD

21-15-9, 7 minute time cap
Power cleans (115 lb.)
Strict ring dips
2 minute rest
-then-
5 rounds, 7 minute time cap
10 burpees
10 deadlifts (135 lb.)
2 minute rest
-then-
Max effort double unders, 2 minutes

This workout was terrible. I had a lot of fun, but I was laying on the floor for a few minutes after. I decided to scale the power cleans and strict ring dips on the first part of the workout. The original weight for the power cleans was 135 lb. and I did push ups instead of ring dips. Despite my scaling I wasn't able to finish the workout under time cap. I was about to start on the power cleans on the round of nine. I was confident in finishing under time cap but I hit a wall after the first round of 21.

During the second workout I was only able to finish three rounds. The two minute rest helped but it wasn't enough to give me that second wind. The burpees and deadlifts were a grind. I wanted to go faster but my arms were weak from the cleans and push ups. The deadlifts were not too bad since I broke them up into sets of five.

The two minute rest was not enough but thankfully the workout was almost over. I wasn't able to keep a consistent number of double unders going. I would complete a few then break. I was tired and couldn't keep a consistent jump. I completed 60 double unders in two minutes. It's not a great result but I did my best.

Tuesday

My legs were sore and my knee was also giving me trouble over Wednesday and Thursday. I went crazy on the squats and I paid for it. I'll be sure to warm up longer and increase the weight gradually. 

Gymnastics Skill

Worked on some gymnastics skills. Started out doing some handstand drills, 3 x 20 seconds each. Started with freestanding handstands with help from a spotter and shoulder taps. The shoulder taps were scaled to trying to lift each hand off the ground. I don't have the strength or the balance to do shoulder taps while hand standing. The next set of skills were 3 x 10 seconds each of handstand t's and handstand walks. Handstand t's are entry practice for handstand walks. Next up were actual handstand walks. I'm not able to do many steps on the handstand walks and decided to use the wall for assistance. I would be a few feet from the wall and then try to walk to it. I'm still horrible at it but I'm getting better. 

WOD  

Loredo - 25 minute time cap

6 rounds:

24 air squats

24 push ups

24 walking lunge

400 m run

This was my first time attempting this hero wod. I was worried about the run but it was everything else that killed me. It didn't hit me until the second round how much the air squats and the walking lunges were going to work my legs. The run wasn't too bad, since I kept a constant pace. My legs were on fire after the second round but I tried to stay consistent. It was tough, I had to break up everything. The air squats and lunges were done in tens and the push ups were broken up into sets of five or six. Surprisingly, I didn't walk during the run. I finished the workout with only four rounds completed at time cap.

I was only able to workout one day this week. I did a few hobby stuff with the guys from LFGG and I took some time off during the new year holiday. I hope everyone had an enjoyable new year!

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Sumo Deadlift - 7x5 at 70% (225 lb.)

My main focus was trying to find a better grip and to be more comfortable. The first few sets were good. I was able to maintain good form and the wider grip made it easier to stabilize the weight. The last few sets I tried to focus on doing some touch and go reps. The weight wasn't too heavy and I was able to string two to three reps.

WOD 1

EMOM - 10 minutes

15 wall balls (20 lb.)

This workout is Karen but EMOM. The last time I attempted Karen, I had to scale Karen the last time and it took me around 13 minutes. I was able to keep the 15 wall balls during the first five minutes. after that the reps would drop from 15 to 10 and then to 8 the last round. I could have finished all 150 reps if I had more time. I'm happy with my results.

WOD 2

AMRAP - 7 minutes

7 - chest to bar pull ups
7 - shoulder to overhead (115 lb.)

My biggest worry for this workout was the chest to bar pull ups. I'm still working on my gymnastics skills and my pull up skills are not great. I'm able to do a chest to bar pull up but I get tired fairly quickly. The shoulder to overhead weight was set at 135 lb. for Rx, but I scaled down to 115 lb. I was tired after the deadlifts and the wall balls so scaling seemed like a good idea. The workout started off okay. I was able to string five chest to bars together and finished with two more. I decided to do push jerks instead of a push press. I was able to finish the rounds unbroken. The last two rounds of chest to bars were slow. I had to do singles or at most sets of two. I finished with three rounds.

Tuesday

Strict Press - 7x5 at 65% (115 lb.)

I haven't done strict press in awhile and decided to go a bit lighter. The movement was hard on my wrists but I was able to get through it. I need to work on warming up my wrists a bit more before class. 

WOD

Alternating EMOM - 15 minutes

15 ring push ups

15 box jumps 

150 m run

I liked this workout but I under estimated the ring push ups. I thought I would be able to recover in time for the next rep but I was wrong. The last two rounds of ring push ups I was only able to complete eight reps. The other movements were okay. I was able to complete the box jumps unbroken and the 150 m run wasn't too bad, finishing in about 45 - 50 seconds.

Buyout

Tabata - Burpees

I was exhausted by the time we started the buyout. My triceps were on fire from the ring dips, and my legs were sore from the box jumps and the run. I was only able to do two to five reps each round. I tried to push myself to do more but my body couldn't keep up. At least I pushed as hard as I could.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!