Bench Press - 8x3 at 80% (185 lb.)

Started out the day with bench presses. I was still sore from Tuesdays workout and I was glad the strength portion was bench. The weight was a bit heavy but thankfully it was only three reps. Made it through the workout and started to get ready for the days WOD.

WOD - AMRAP 20 Minutes

10 row (cal)

15 wall balls (20 lb.)

15 American kettlebell swings (54 lb.)

 This workout was a partner WOD. Only one person would work while the other rested. After you complete your movement, your partner will start the next movement and you will go to the following movement. This way, the work would be split evenly and you would have a short rest. I was paired up with someone who was more fit than me. I didn't want to drag him down so I decided to push myself harder than usual. 

The first eight minutes were great. I was transitioning well and I didn't take extra breaks. I was moving at the same pace as my partner. It was around nine minutes that I began to feel tired. I'm not sure if it was the adrenaline wearing off or if I hit my wall for that workout, but I was starting to take longer breaks. The hardest movements were the row and wall balls. I wasn't pulling as hard during the row and I wasn't able to string wall balls easily. I would miss reps and allow the ball to drop which slowed me down. Surprisingly the easiest part of the workout was the kettlebell swings. Even though I was very tired, I managed to do all the reps unbroken. We managed to finish 12 rounds.

Even though working out with a more advanced partner is intimidating, it also helps you in the long run. If I was with someone who was at the same level as myself, I wouldn't have completed that many rounds. I do well when I'm working out with better people since I push myself harder trying to keep up. I'll eventually get there, I need to work harder.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Gymnastics Skill Work

Worked on some gymnastics drills. Bridge rocks, Superman Holds and chin over bar holds. We also worked on strict toes to bar and muscle up drills. 

WOD - For Time

5 Rounds 

7 Toes to bar (unbroken)

21 Kettle bell swings (1.5 pood, unbroken)

penalty for going unbroken 100 m run.

At the beginning of the day I wasn't feeling it. During the warm up, I was moving very sluggishly. It was a rough day at work and all my energy had been zapped. I almost quit but I decided to push through, at least until after the workout.  After the skill work, I started feeling better. I got a second wind and was ready for the WOD.

Layout 

The course took us trough a variety of terrain with the first leg being mostly mud and dirt with some sections of gravel. The next section was a trail through the jungle with the final leg of the run being mostly gravel. The run took us trough a dirt bike course, through a ATV/MTB course and a rock quarry. The course could have been better however. The quarry was a bit confusing and lacked signs pointing in the correct direction. 

Obstacles

The obstacles were okay but could have been better. I was expecting a lot more mud and less of a gap between obstacles. Also, the course was missing a few obstacles from what was previewed. Some of the obstacles should have been bigger. A few of them were lack luster. The tire roll and "constipator" could have been better. The roll was too short and not difficult. The constipator was also too short and maybe too tall, I was expecting a crawl. 

Final Thoughts

Even with all the short comings of the race, I had a blast. The Xterra Guam team planned a great race and I hope they make the next one better. Running the race with people is what made this event fun. We had great teamwork, and helped everyone get through the obstacles. I hope we do it again next year. Shout outs to Metgot Mudders (my team) and Muddy Lions.

Pictures are taken from the Custom Fitness Facebook page.

Gymnastics Skill Work

Worked on handstand skill work. I started with a handstand walk drill. I used a 24 inch box as an anchor point and did two 360 degree rotations around the box. I did this for three sets. I made some improvements over last week, finishing both rotations before stopping. Last week I had to take a break in between rotations. I also did some ring work. I worked on my lock out position on dips and ring push ups. 

WOD - Partner Workout, 30 Minute Time Cap

For time

100 bench press (135 lb.)

--then--

3 rounds

1,000 m row

30 handstand push ups

1,000 m run

My main goal for this workout was to finish under time cap, but we didn't. We finished two rounds and halfway through the row on the third round. This was a great workout but it was harder than expected. I wasn't sure if I could complete all of the bench press reps at 135 lb. but my partner pushed me to finish. We decided to do it in sets of ten and then finish with sets of five. The rest of the workout was split evenly except the run. The row was split into 500 m the first round and the second round was 250 m. The run was done in 200 m intervals and I ended up doing 600 m total each round. I didn't do well in the run. I kept a slow pace because I was tired. The row and handstand push ups took a lot out of me and I didn't recover fast enough. Hopefully, I will do better next time.

Wednesday

Overhead Squat 3 Rep Max

I hit a new PR during this session. I was able to lift 195 lb. which is a 20 lb. increase. I think I could have went a bit heavier but the time ran out. My current 1 rm is 205 lb. and I can't wait to retest it. With all the heavy overhead work, I want to max my snatch and clean and jerk.

WOD - Fight Gone Bad

3 rounds, 1 minute per station

Wall Balls (20 lb.)
Sumo deadlift high pull (75 lb.)
Box jump (20 in.)
Push press (75 lb.)
Row, cals
Rest 1 minute

My goal for this workout was to be consistent in all the movements. I also wanted to do better than the last time I did this workout. I wanted to at least complete 80 reps each round as well. The first round wasn't great. I ended up completing 70 reps; short of my goal. The movements that slowed me down were the sumo deadlift highpull (sdhp) and the push press. I felt off balance during the sdhp, mostly because of my inexperience with the movement. My pull was not balanced and one side tilted  during each rep. The second and third round were better however. I was able to find a rhythm but I was too fatigued to do more reps. The push press felt heavy. I'm not sure if it was because of all the reps from the wall balls or the overhead squats. I was only able to finish about 10 to 15 reps each round.

My reps per round were 70, 71 and 69. I was able to stay consistent but I was hoping for more reps. On the bright side, I PR'd this workout by one rep.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!