Olympic lifting

Hang cleans - 5 sets x 5 reps @ 115
5, 5, 4, 3, 3 = 20

Oops - When I got home I checked Paul's suggestion that I should attempt 5 sets of 3 reps, not 5. I actually had that written down, but for some reason I thought I'd made a mistake so I "corrected" it to 5 reps and aimed for a total of 20 reps. I just about managed that. Still, this means I worked harder than I needed to!

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For time:
100 x hang power clean and press @ 80

Time = 23:15

I've done this movement for Grace (30 reps) with 85lb, but my form on the press section has been a bit dodgy, so I dropped 5lb to ensure I kept good form. That seemed to work because I think all of my reps were decent. I started off doing 8 consecutive reps, then dropped to 3s and 4s. 

I rested the bar on safeties, which were two holes up from the ground.

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Incline bench curls
27.5s (3), 22.5s (5), 22.5s (5)

My elbows were all over the place with the 27.5s, so I dropped to a lower weight.

Pulling

Weighted chin-ups - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
30, 32.5, 37.5, 42.5, 47.5

I attempted an extra set with a 50lb dumbbell because 47.5 felt so comfortable and I wanted to see if I could do it. I managed 2 reps.

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Rack-supported dumbbell rows - 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
55, 65, 70, 70, 75 (3)

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18 wide-grip pull-ups
30 neutral-grip pull-ups
42 neutral-grip inverted rows (using parallettes)

Time = 10:53

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For time:
40 x single arm dumbbell rows @ 55 (40 per arm; complete left side before starting on the right)
40 x chin-ups

Time = 12:36

Recently when I've done db rows similar to this I keep switching arms so I can keep moving. This time I wanted to completely fatigue my arms rather than allow them too much time for rest, so I finished all my left-hand reps before I started the right side's rows.

Legs

Partial squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
190, 210, 230, 250, 265 (2)

That's a new PR - up from 260lb - albeit for only two reps. The last time I did partial squats I failed at 260, which was actually my PR from a few weeks before that.

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Front squats 5 x max reps @ 110lb to 4 risers
10, 7, 7, 7, 6

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Back squats 5 x max reps @ 110lb to 4 risers
20, 17, 14, 11, 10

Both the front and back squats in this section were a few reps lower than before, but using a slightly heavier weight. I think I could have done a couple more front squats here and there if my grip hadn't given out.

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5 RFT:
5 x dumbbell front squats @ 40s
10 x air squats
(Both full ROM)
Time = 3:14

More than half a minute quicker than last time.

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I would have liked to fit in some leg extensions to finish off, but the machine was busy. Still, a satisfying session overall.

Pushing

Trained a bit later today because of a late night yesterday watching a friend doing crazy stuff with hair. I was quite tired because I only managed a few hours of sleep, but I don't think it made any difference to my performance.

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Bench press (7 holes; small bench)
5 sets max reps to a max of 20 @ 135
5, 4, 4, 3, 4 = 20

Just managed to knock out the 20th rep in the last set, so I'll add 5lb the next time I try this.

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Military press: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
80, 80 (1), 75 (3), 75 (3), 80 (1.5)

I only managed one rep in my second set at 80lb, so I dropped down to 75lb for a couple of sets, then back up to 80. I looked back at earlier military press routines and this starting weight was significantly higher than I've attempted previously. Not sure why I decided to start with 80.

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20-15-10-5 reps for time
Dips
Clapping push-ups

Time = 13:31

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Machine shoulder press; 3 sets @ 60
4, 4, 4

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Mixed results today. The most challenging part was when Eric asked me to spot him while he was doing incline bench presses. Me. Spotting him. I asked him who was going to spot me while I was spotting him.

Video: Miranda Oldroyd does Fran

Love Miranda Oldroyd's comment at the end about re-eating her breakfast blocks.

Conditioning a.k.a. I Hate Kettlebells

Personal training with Paul

Row intervals:
500m - 1:54
400m - 1:44 (3:36)
300m - 1:18 (4:54)
200m - 0:48 (5:42)
100m - 0:18 (6:00)
500m - 2:13 (8:13) Compare

This was the first time I've ever had cramp in my left butt cheek. Plus my lower lip went numb! Hope that's not the sign of a heart attack...

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3 RFT:
10 x hang squat cleans @35s
10 x renegade rows @35s (each side counts as 1 rep)
10 x thrusters @ 35s

Time = 13:51

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3 RFT:
10 x burpees
16 alternating kettlebell swings @ 20kg (8 per arm)

Time = 7:56

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I must have scraped my knee earlier in the week at the gym, either from vigorous push-ups or deadlifts. The renegade rows and burpees today opened up the bruise and I ended up depositing plenty of blood on the carpet (I left it as a warning to others). Sympathetic as ever, Paul asked if I could do the burpees on the mat rather than the carpet because it's easier to clean up the blood.

Pulling

Weighted chin-ups 5 x 5 @ 25
4 reps on the last set

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Wide-grip neutral cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
100, 110, 110, 120 (4), 120 (3)

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5RFT:
5 x chest to bar chin-ups
10 x inverted rows (on bar across squat rack, not parallelettes)

Time = 7:33 (I remembered to start my watch this time!)

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Amrap 12:
10 x pull-ups
5 x db rows per arm @ 50

Score = 5 rounds in 12:04

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DB preacher curls 4 sets @ 25
7, 8, 7, 6

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Overall, a good week's training.

Legs

Front squat 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 (to 4 risers)
115, 120, 125, 130, 135

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For time:
60 x back squats @ 125 (to 4 risers)

Time = 7:46

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8 rounds:
10 x traveling lunges @ 30s (5 per leg)
10 x air squats

Time = 7:52

This is 23 seconds slower than last time. Thankfully, I just avoided the 25 burpees penalty if I failed to finish in under 8 minutes. I blame Eric - his client was distracting me.

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Leg extensions
25 x 95lb
25 x 65lb

Olympic Lifting/Conditioning

Hang clean 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
105, 110, 115, 120 (2), 125 (F)

Still disappointed with my lack of progress with cleans. Perhaps it's a failure of technique, rather than a lack of strength.

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For time:
30 x hang squat cleans @ 95 (to 4 risers)
40 x deadlifts @ 145
50 x dumbbell snatches @ 45 (25 per arm)

Time = 26:10

Bloody hell, this hurt more than I expected. I made up this routine, although the individual movements are obviously familiar. I did the hang squat cleans properly this time, starting my squats while the bar was moving up to my chest. 

I had planned to do 135lb deadlifts, which would have meant adding two 10lb plates to each side of the same bar I was using for hang squat cleans. However, all the 10s were being used so I had to quickly adapt and used one 25lb extra on each side instead. This was probably a better weight, anyway, as it was a bit more of a challenge. I consistently broke down the 40 reps into sets of five.

With the snatches I kept switching arms as they got tired, so four reps with my left and then four with my right. By the time I got to about eight reps I wished I'd chosen a lighter weight! 

This was a tough but fun workout and, I think, the first time I've made up my own rft routine. I usually repeat something I've done before or copy one of Paul's. No-one to blame but myself!

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100 x sit-ups

Pushing

Had a restful night's sleep and felt pretty good today.

Bench press - 3,3,3,3,3 (7 holes, small bench)
125, 135, 145, 150(1), 150(1)

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Single arm db push press
35 (5), 40 (5), 45 (5), 47.5 (5), 50 (4)

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For time:
30 db bench press @ 40s
30 military press @ 27.5s
30 dips
30 push-ups

Time = 20:07

The last time I did this I used a 95lb barbell for the first movement, but someone was using the cage today so I switched to two 40lb dumbbells. 80lb is obviously lighter, but the dumbbells are less stable than a barbell, so hopefully this balances out.

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And something quick I made up on the spot, just to finish off...

20 x bb push press @ 85
30 x push-ups

Time = 4:25

Legs

Personal training with Paul

Traveling lunges - 70 steps with 55s
Took 7 sets

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Front squats
115 x 25 (7 sets)
105 x 25 (5 sets)
95 x 25 (5 sets)

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4 rounds for time:
10 reverse lungs @ 115 (5 per leg)
10 back squats @ 115
Time = 12:05

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Legs extensions 95 x max reps
10, 7, 11

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Felt a bit bleh today. I took a new otc medication for my back pain, which might have been the cause. I don't think this limited my abilities in any way, but it was a distraction in the back of my mind. Still, I don't think I did too badly.

Cheryl had a fish-and-chips craving in the afternoon, so we headed to a restaurant she used to go to when she was a kid. We both had haddock and chips (actually, they were fries - you can't get real chips in Canada!). This was the first time I've eaten them since I left England when my diet was very different to now. I removed most of the batter - although I did eat some just to find out what it tasted like - and I ended up with heartburn for the rest of the day. Not that my diet is perfect, but it's so much cleaner now that I guess I've lost my immunity to deep-fried food!

Conditioning

Today I did a slightly modified version of the Filthy 50-style workout from a few weeks ago.

For time:
50 x kipping pull-ups
50 x box jumps @ 24"
Cycle half a mile
50 x burpees
25 x traveling lunges per leg
25 x dumbbell snatches per arm @ 35lb
50 x sit-ups
50 x jump squats
50 x push press @ 45lb
50 x bench-supported lateral hops @ 24" (25 per side)

Time = 36:35

This is a much quicker time than when I did Paul's version. I switched cycling for rowing (this took about 1:45) and dumbbell snatches instead of kettlebell swings. I don't know if that would have account for the big difference, although I remember in February I had to take several fairly long breaks during the 45lb push press round, whereas today I was able to knock out at least 9 in a row (mostly got up to sets of 10). Also, the kb swings were a killer back then. Today the burpees were the toughest; traveling lunges felt pretty easy.

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1 mile(?) run

Time =  7:55

To finish off this week's training I decided to test my ankle with a short run. It's been a while since I did the one and a half mile run - which is one long loop and one short loop - but I opted for just the long loop, which I think is about a mile. I started with a bit of a jog to see how my ankle felt and gradually picked up the pace the further I went as there wasn't any pain. In the end my ankle held out, but my lungs were burning! I completed the run in 7:55, which isn't that impressive on its own, but (a) I deliberately started running slowly, and (b) I'd completed a tough conditioning workout less than five minutes before I started running.

Pulling

Wide grip pull-ups - 4 x max reps

8, 7, 6, 5

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Wide neutral grip cable row - 5 x 5 @ 90

I'll need to increase the weight next time. I managed 5 reps in each set.

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DB row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

70, 75, 80, 80, 85 (4)

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5 rounds for time whatever:
5 x chest to bar chin-ups
10 x inverted rows using parallettes

I was aiming to beat Paul's time when he did a similar routine and I think I was moving quite well. Until, that is, I checked my time at the end of the fourth round and realized I HADN'T STARTED MY FUCKING STOPWATCH!! What an idiot.

Just as well, really, because some guy kept jumping onto the chin-up station when I was doing the inverted rows. After I'd finished my fourth round of rows I had to wait for him to finish doing pull-ups.

Conditioning

I hope the good weather holds out. I started my day with a 20-minute bike ride which was fun, except for the patches of ice that I didn't notice in the dark.

My back is a lot better than yesterday but still a little sore, so I didn't want to push my luck. I'll probably stay away from any heavy lifting this week so that I can handle my scheduled leg session on Saturday.

100 x burpee pull-ups

Time = 17:36

That's a 4:19 improvement on my PR back in February. As with last time, the hardest part was the set up! I nearly fell off the bench when I was trying to slide the bar onto the safeties near the top of the rack. I thought I'd got away with it until I heard Cher on the treadmill, pissing herself laughing.

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21-15-9 reps for time:
Burpees
Box jumps @ 24"
Bench-supported lateral hops @ 24" (per side)

Time = 13:01

This is supposed to have hang squat cleans as the first movement but I didn't think my back could handle front squats with 105lb 95lb, so I dropped that part. Still built up a sweat, though.

I finished today's training with 10 minutes on a stationary bike.

Pushing

Rack bench press (7 holes, high bench) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
115, 120, 125, 130 (2), 135 (1)

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Flat db press:
40s (10), 45s (8), 50s (4), 50s (3), 40s (10)

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5 RFT:
3 x db bench press @ 50s
6 x barbell push press @ 100

Time = 18:07

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Today's training sucked quite badly. I had planned to do either a leg session or Olympic lifting but when I woke up my back was really painful. I'd spent half of Sunday ripping up the carpet from our damp basement, so that was probably the reason why. Anyway, my back wouldn't have coped with my original plans, so I switched to a pushing day instead. I decided to train a little bit later so that my back could loosen up a bit.

All that being said, I don't know why my scores today were so poor. The first routine - rack barbell bench presses - were a little different than usual because I had to use the taller bench, not the smaller (lower) one. With the large bench the bar comes closer to my chest so that I have a greater range of motion. Because of that the weights tend to be lighter.

I did quite well with the db bench press. The first two rounds were PRs, and the only round that was lower than before was the second one with 50s (3 reps, not 4). The third and fifth rounds were the same as before.

Where I really stank was the last routine. The last time I did this was with 45s, not 50s, and it made a big difference to my score. The first round was unbroken; in the second I failed twice, so wasted some energy and had to redo the reps anyway. After that I had to take long rests between single reps, which used up lots of time. The push presses were broken down into rounds of 3 + 3 or 3 + 2 + 1. I was almost too embarrassed to post my time because it was so bad, but everything goes on this blog.

Oh, well - just one of those days. I don't think I can blame it on the clocks going forward or having to train a couple of hours later than usual!

Pulling

Personal training with Paul

Chin-ups - 5 x max reps
13, 9, 7, 7, 8 = 44

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Wide-grip pull-ups, max reps
6, 5, 5, 6, 6

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For time:
60 x wide neutral grip rows @ 90
Every time I set down the bar perform 5 x neutral grip pull-ups

Time = 17:45

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Preacher curls (machine)
40 x 4
30 x 6
30 x 6

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Before this morning's session Paul measured my body fat at 12.5%. I'm trying to find my old measurements to see how I've changed.

Chest and traps

Missed training yesterday because I had no energy following a nearly sleepless night due to Madi kicking and squirming. A good night's sleep last night seems to have helped.

Rack bench press (7 holes, small bench) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
125, 135, 145, 150(1), 150(1)

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50 x rack bench (same set up) @ 105
Time = 7:21 (PR @ 105 = 8:04; PR @ 100 = 7:04)

I took what felt like long rests during this routine so that I could string together a decent number of reps between breaks. I started with 11 consecutive reps, followed by 5s and 4s until I got to 40 reps, then did doubles and singles with short breaks. I didn't check my watch until the end because I didn't want to panic and try to do a lift too soon, thus causing me to fail and waste energy. That strategy seemed to work well.

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Max reps chin-ups @ 25lb
8, 5, 5, 4

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For time:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of kipping pull-ups; 8 inverted rows between each set

Time = 13:29

In the first round I did 8 pull-ups, then the remaining 2 after a very short rest. I only failed once while doing the pull-ups - the last rep of the 6 rep round. The rows got tiring very quickly and none of the rounds were unbroken. For the first 3 rounds I did 5 and 5; after that it was pretty much all doubles until the last round, which were mostly singles. Despite all that, I was able to move pretty quickly, thus a decent score.

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Max b/w dips:
10, 7, 5

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Felt good and full of energy today, probably because of such a restful night's sleep.

Legs

Partial squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
190, 210, 230, 250, 260 (F)

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10 RFT:
3 x front squats @ 130
5 x back squats @ 130
Both to parallel (5 risers)

Time = 13:10 (PR = 13:18)

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For time:
50 x stationary lunges @ 55s
Every time I drop the dumbbells do 15 air squats and 10 max air jump squats

Time = 15:51

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Strange day today because the whole of my back feels sore after yesterday's 300 workout. It's just doms, not injury pain, but today I felt like it was limiting my range of motion. My lower back is sore because of the deadlifts and my upper back is just as bad, perhaps because of the combined pull-ups, floorwipers and DB clean and presses.

The heavy partial squats fell short of my PR. I've squatted 3 reps at 260lb quite comfortably before, but couldn't manage a single rep today. I got down to the safeties, then my legs buckled.

My lack of ability to move freely really showed with the third exercise. This is the first time I've done it with 55s (the last time I used 52.5s) and I could feel my lower back tensing up whenever I did a lunge. My time today is much slower than when I did this with 52.5s and traveling lunges in December 2010.

Certainly not a waste of time today, but I could have done better. At least I beat my PR for the second routine - just!

Conditioning: The 300 Workout

Just one routine today, but it was challenging.

The 300 Workout:
25 x pull-ups
50 x deadlifts @ 135lb
50 x push-ups
50 x box jumps @ 24"
50 x floorwipers (each side) @ 135lb
50 x single-arm clean and press @ 35lb dumbbell (25 per arm)
25 x pull-ups

Time = 34:17

According to Paul, my previous time was 39 and change. Although I can't remember doing it before, apparently it was some time ago. A 5-minute improvement is still an improvement, but I would have hoped/expected for a better one. Not sure if I did 24" box jumps back then, as I've only started doing that height in the past couple of months.

As expected, the floorwipers were the most challenging component. The first 20 reps were broken down into 2 sets of 10 (left and right counts as 1 rep), then 3 sets of 5, followed by triples and doubles.

For the one-arm clean and presses I switched arms each time one arm needed a rest. So, for example, I would do, say, 6 reps with my left arm, 6 with my right, then switch back again. That way I could keep moving.

Pushing

Personal training with Paul

Bench press 5, 5, 3, 3, 2
105, 115, 125, 130 (A),130 (1 + 1A)

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Single arm db push press
35 (5), 49 (5), 45 (3), 47.5 (3), 50 (2)

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For time:
50 x bench press @ 95
10 x push-ups every time bar is racked

Time = 25:55
(Bar racked 12 times)

Legs

Dumbbell Bulgarian split squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
52.5s, 55s, 60s, 65s, 65s

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Front squats 5 x max reps @ 105lb
12, 9, 8, 9, 7

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Back squats 4 x max reps @ 105lb
20, 17, 14, 14

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Leg extensions 50 x 95lb
Broke down into four sets: 15, 15, 10, 10

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Today's workout felt a bit easier than I expected. Based mostly on one of Paul's sessions from a couple of weeks ago I scaled the weights to roughly 75%, which is what I usually do. However, I think I could have gone a little heavier on the front and back squats, even if it was only by 5 or 10 pounds more.

I used a bit of spare time at the end to practice doing hang squat cleans properly; i.e. not clean and then squat. I think this went okay. I did a few reps with an empty 45lb bar, then added 15lb to each side (75lb total), ending with a few reps at the RXed 95lb.

While I was waiting for Cher I tried a few overhead squats with an empty 25lb bar, trying to get the overhead grip right while keeping my balance and squatting low. A grip of just past shoulder width seems to work best for me. I started to do overheads months ago and for some reason never went back to them. I'll try them again next week with some weight.

Pulling

Dumbbell row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
70, 75, 80 (4), 80 (3), 80 (4)

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Weighted chin-ups @ 35lb max reps
6, 4, 3.5, 3

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For time:
18 wide-grip pull-ups
30 neutral pull-ups
42 inverted rows

Time = 11:02

The last time I did this I used the dip bars on the pull-up rack, with my feet on a bench. When I was setting this up all the benches were being used, so I used the parallettes instead. No idea if this makes the rows any easier, but I knocked 58 seconds off my PR. That includes 3 or 4 reps that I didn't count (i.e. did again) because I didn't come up high enough.


For the wide-grip pull-ups I held the bar right on the curve. Before, I gripped just past the curve, which is obviously more challenging, but back then I felt some pain in my shoulder joint for a few days after. This felt like an injury, rather than doms, so I played it safe and went for a slightly narrower grip (a couple of inches each side).

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Dumbbell incline curls @ 22.5s
8, 5, 3

I put 8 for the first set, but I think my form was a bit off on at least a couple of reps because my right elbow was moving. I was more strict with the other two sets.

As I was leaving the gym someone commented that this was a short workout for me. Checking the clock I noticed that I'd trained for just under 45 minutes. No idea why this went so quickly.

Conditioning

21-15-9 reps for time:
Hang squat cleans (to 5 risers) @ 95lb
Burpees
Box jumps @ 24"
Bench-supported lateral hops @ 24" (per side)

Time = 24:15

This was over 10 minutes longer than Paul's time using the same weight for the hang squat clean. It's not a spectacular time, but respectable. I actually thought I'd do a lot worse, especially with the 95lb barbell (45lb bar with 25lb plate on each side). They were challenging but easier than I expected. 

However, when I've watched videos of this movement (see below) people have been doing them with one fluid movement. When I did them, I performed a clean, then let the weight settle for the briefest moment before squatting. Perhaps this was because of my size, or perhaps I need to work on the mechanics of the movement as I get stronger.

I completed 7 reps of the hsc before I rested, then the rest were broken down into 4s and 3s (got down to 2s in the last set). I didn't fail on any reps, but I don't know if this means I judged correctly when to rest or if I could have pushed myself harder.


The next routine was an amended version of Paul's.

25 reps for time:
Over-the-box jump each way plus 1 burpee = 1 rep

Time = 7:19



Hang Squat Clean