Upper body

Personal training with Paul.

This is my competition, now that I've introduced Cher to the CrossFit Games.
Every 5 minutes it's "How's Rich doing?"

Pull-up thingy:
Wide: 13-4-5-6-4-4
Narrow: 8-5-5-6-6-5
Neutral: 8-5-6-6-5
(29-14-16-18-15 = 101 / 17 sets)

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Db bench press - max reps at:
40s x 15
45s x 9
50s x 3
60s x 1 (hand off)
40s x 12

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Push press - 5 x max reps @ 75
12, 15, 13, 15, 16

No idea where the energy for those increasing reps came from.

Guess the Abs

All of the above turned out to be just a warm up for the rest of my day. I got home and had a snack, resting for 30 minutes. Then I spent 5 hours ripping the siding and shingles off the front of my house. The siding was easy, using a crow bar. However, whoever put up the shingles should have that crowbar shoved up their ass; each shingle was nailed to the wood wall underneath with at least 8 nails, which made their removal a total bitch. I had to use a shovel, wedge up under the bottom of the shingles, then power up to raise the nails out. 

Just. Like. A. Push press. 

And no, the goddamn irony is not lost on me, today of all days. I basically had a 6 hour upper body workout. I'm not looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning.

Vanity Day

Iceland Annie's swim test

I was going to start today with a kipping pull-ups/burpees routine, but my shoulders are really sore so I decided to give them a well-earned rest. Instead, I did  a version of Paul's Vanity Day; i.e. plenty of curls. 

Taken as a whole, this week has featured the toughest training I've done in a long time, if at all before. When I woke up this morning, I felt like there was hardly any energy left in my body - in a good way! I've found this new regimen extremely challenging, which is always a good thing.

Alternate sets:

Straight Bar Curls
40 (14), 45 (9), 50 (8), 55 (8)

DB Skull Crushers
20s (8), 22s (8), 25s (4), 25s (5)

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DB Preacher Curl - 3 x 8
25s, 25s, 25s (6)

French Press - 3 x 8
40, 45, 50

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Incline Curls - 3 x 12
20s, 22s (9), 22s (6)

Tricep Pushdowns - 3 x 12
40, 40 (9), 40 (7)

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100 decline sit-ups

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Rob Orlando offers some interesting insight into... whatever.

Full body: Heavy/moderate weight

Quite frankly, I don't care who the
strongest man and woman are, but
I'm looking forward to the new
swimming component at this year's
CrossFit Games.

Deadlift 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
185, 205, 215, 225, 235 (2)

The last few times I've done heavy deadlifts, I was aiming for a 1 rep max. This time, I went back to my previous 3 rep routine to see how I'd fare. The last time I did something similar - full rom deadlifts - was back in May, when I got up to 220lb.

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Alternate sets:

Bench press - 4 x max reps @ 125
(small bench, 6 holes - 1 hole lower than usual)
8, 8, 8, 6

Weighted pull-ups - 4 x max reps @ 35
5, 5, 4, 4

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3 rft:
10 Dumbbell rows @ 80 (per arm)
10 True push-ups
10 Traveling lunges @ 60 (per leg)

Time =16:03

The lunges killed me; they cost me a lot of time because I had to take fairly long breaks, albeit only 1 or 2 per set. With the db rows, I switched arms each time I got fatigued; for example, the first set was 6 reps left arm, 6 with the right, then 4 left and 4 right.

I was already exhausted before I trained today, and the bike ride between home and the gym was probably the slowest ever. Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, so I'll have to see how I feel when I wake up. Right now my arms are toast.

Something I've noticed over the past couple of days is that I can't seem to stop eating - I'm always hungry! Recently, I've been trying to cut back on starchy, processed carbs throughout the day, perhaps just as part of one meal. I've done this in the past, but not replaced the calories from those carbs with anything else, and thus lost weight (and energy). This time I'm making sure I have enough calories to fuel me all day. I'm still eating carbs - plenty of fruit and veggies - plus a lot more lean protein. My post-workout snack on Monday and Tuesday - at 10:00am - was a big bowl of plain 0% fat yogurt with two cups of mixed berries and a teaspoon of honey. By 11:00am, I felt more than ready for lunch. Today I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on two slices of wholewheat. Let's see if that makes a difference.

My favourite meal at the moment is at Swiss Chalet - half a chicken with a side of mixed vegetables. So far, I haven't noticed any drop in my ability to train, especially this week, the first one following the new training program.

Full body: Light weight

Shana Alverson

I was sore from yesterday's heavy weight session, so today I really had to guts it out.

For time:
21 Front squats @ 95
21 CrossFit push-ups
15 Front squats @ 95
15 CrossFit push-ups
9 Front squats @ 95
9 CrossFit push-ups

Time = 8:35

It was a struggle to maintain the correct grip for the squats, and I didn't always manage it. However, when I did get it right - by picking up the bar from the rack, resting it further back on my shoulders - it did feel easier. As I got more fatigued and my chest wasn't at the right angle, I could feel the bar slipping forward, thus putting more strain on my wrists. Still, I did manage quite a few reps with good form, so that's an improvement. I just need more practice for this to feel natural.

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3 rft:
8 Dips
8 Thrusters @ 95lb

Time =11:01

The thrusters were probably the toughest part of today's workouts. I had to redo 2 reps because I couldn't lock out my arms overhead. Plenty of breaks for the thrusters, too, hence the slow time. I only managed 2 sets of 3 reps; the rest were doubles and singles.

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For time:
10 Dumbbell military presses @ 35s
20 Power cleans @ 95
30 Burpees
40 Sumo deadlift high-pulls @ 95

Time =14:32

I did a few warm-up military presses with 40s, but struggled with locking out my arms, so I dropped to 35s for the actual routine. The sumos were going to be with an 80lb barbell, but it made more sense to use the same weight as the cleans. The presses were 8 + 2, the cleans - from the ground - broke down into 4 sets of 5 reps, the burpees were 3 x 10, and the sumos started off with a few sets of 5 reps, then 4s and 3s.

Two good days of challenging workouts, but I know I'm going to hurt tomorrow!

Full body: Heavy weight

This is slightly adapted from one of Paul's routines.

Dumbbell bench press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
50s, 52s, 55s, 60s, 60s, 65s (F)

I could barely lift the 65s off my chest. I dropped them to the ground and picked up the 60s again - which I'd kept close by in case of failure - but I could barely move those, either.

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Back squats 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 - 4 risers
135, 155, 160, 165 (8), 165 (7)

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Cable row 8, 8, 8, 8
110, 120, 120, 130, 140 (6)

Yes, I know that's 5 sets, not 4! I accidentally did 2 rounds at 120lb, so I did an extra set at 140 at the end.

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Squat clean into thruster 3, 3, 3, 3
75, 80, 85, 95 (1), 95 (2.5)

Again, kind of an extra set at the end. During the second rep of the fourth set I lost my balance at the bottom of the front squat and dropped the barbell to the ground (with a very loud clatter). I rested a minute then tried again. In the third rep of the last set, I just managed to get the bar above my head, but didn't lock out my right arm, so I only counted this as a half rep.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't get the bar to land/rest on my shoulders, so my elbows weren't up as high as they should be. I was fine in my warm-up set with an empty bar, but as soon as I added weight the bar rested just below my shoulders.

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75 x push-ups
These took 3:21, breaking down as follows: 30, 10, 10, 10, 8, 4, 3.

Full body

Personal training with Paul.

This is my first personal training session following the new style of workouts.

Clean and press - aim for 3 rep, holding the bar in the air for 3 seconds
65, 75, 85, 95, 95, 105 (2), 105 (2), 105

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Box back squats 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
135, 145, 150, 155, 160 (8)

I started to lean forward in the last set, so I stopped before I fell over.

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10 rft:
5 front squats @ 105 (clean from floor to start)
5 wide-grip pull-ups

Time = 14:09

It wasn't the squatting but my grip and wrists that seemed to tire first. By round 5 or 6 I realised that the faster I did the squats, the quicker I could drop the bar.

There was a young lady who was working out near me while I was doing the squats/pull-ups. When I was walking up Hincks Street on the way home, she jogged past me on the road. She looked at me, shook her head, and said: "Oh my God - well done!"

Perhaps due to the front squats, I started to get cramp in both calves while I was walking home. I had to stop for a few minutes, lean against a tree and stretch them out. I must have looked a weird sight, especially with my trademark constipated training grimace.

Full body

Partial squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
210, 235, 250, 275, 285

First time I've hit all 3 reps at 285.

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Rack bench press (small bench, 7 holes) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
135, 140, 145, 150, 155 (2)

I hoped I'd get at least all 3 reps at 155lb, if not even 1 at 160, because I managed a 1 rep max full bench press at 150lb in Saturday's fitness challenge.

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Dumbbell rows - 5 x max reps @ 75lb per arm
10, 7, 6, 5, 4

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Military press 3, 3, 3, 3
65, 70, 70 (F)/65 (1), 65 (2)

I've managed 85lb before, so this was pretty disappointing. However, back then it was my first routine of the day, plus I did clean and presses yesterday, so perhaps my shoulders just didn't have the strength.

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The next two routines were really just to kill time while I waited for Cher.

Preacher curls @ 20s, max reps: 16, 11, 9

50 x sit-ups (decline)

Full Body

Results were a bit mixed today - some really good, some very disappointing.

Deadlifts:
135x10
165x6
185x5
205x3
215x1
225x1
235x1
245x1
255x1
260x1
265x1
270x1

I improved my PR by 10lb, so I'm very pleased with that. However, I usually do this routine until I fail, but today I stopped at 270lb because my form was starting to worsen. On that last set my back started to arch and I didn't use my legs as much as I should. Technically, I didn't fail - I got the weight off the ground and stood up straight - but at the cost of proper form. 

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Hang cleans 5 x 5 @ 120
3, 3, 3, 2, 2 = 13

This is by far the worst I've done with this style of cleans. I just didn't have any energy for fast movements today, perhaps due to the heat. It's really making me feel sluggish. Then again, about a month ago I did deadlifts and cleans back to back, but that time I did the cleans first. Not sure if that would have made a difference.

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Grace: 30 x power clean and press @ 100 (from the ground)
Time =  8:04

I'm surprised at how well this went, considering the disappointing results with the previous exercise. The last time I did this, I used 95lb and finished in 8:40, so this was 5lb heavier and 36 seconds quicker.

Full body

Mikko Salo during the chipper event that made
him CrossFit Games Champion 2009

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 RFT:
Pullups
Crossfit pushups
Time = 15:50

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6RFT:
8 burpees
8 box jumps @ 24"
Time = 10:43

For some reason, I lost confidence with the box jumps and I stood staring at the steps for what seems like ages before attempting the first rep of each round. Once I got going I was ok, but those first jumps cost me a lot of time. And this was only 24"!

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Overhead travelling lunges with black medicine ball
10 jump squats each time I put down the ball (except at the end)
Time = 21:26

This was done in the parking lot, going from one end to the other - from where Saturday's fitness challenge started to the lot entrance/exit near the building site - and back again. That's approximately 200 yards. I had to put down the ball and do 11 sets of jump squats (i.e. 110 jump squats). 21:26 seems like a long time to me, but this was tough and I think I gave it everything, especially in the hot, morning sun.

Full Body

Felt a bit bleh today for a number of small (silly) reasons: (1) It's humid as hell, which feels like it's draining my energy. (2) Last Thursday, following my conditioning workout, I did a few minutes' stretching on the pull-up station to help get rid of some stiffness in my shoulders. I hit my right pinky as I went to grab the bar and it hurt like fuck. It's nothing more than a bruise, but it's still painful enough to be a bit distracting, even now. (3) Yesterday, I went to the beach in Bayfield. Because the weather was so hot I decided to dangle my pecs in the sun for a couple of hours. That was long enough for much of my upper body to get sunburned, especially across my shoulders and upper back. It's not too bad, but bad enough feel like someone is rubbing a cheese grater across my back when my shirt rubs against it. That becomes 100 times worse when I'm doing 50 squats with 145lb resting on my back.

Alternate sets:

Incline rack bench press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (safeties set at 8 holes, so the bar is just above my chest)
105, 110, 115 (3), 115 (3), 115 (3)

Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
130, 140, 150, 150, 160

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Dumbbell snatch 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 per arm
40, 45, 47, 50, 52

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For time:
50 box back squats @ 145
Time = 8:35

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Hang squat cleans 3 x 6 @ 105 to parallel (didn't use risers)
6, 6, 3 (failed to lift the bar to start the clean)

I usually take the blame when I don't do as well as I expected, but the main problem today was the heat and humidity in the gym. Less than halfway through my workout my shirt was so drenched in sweat that it looked like it had changed colour.

This must be how Graham Holmberg felt

Today was my third annual How Fit Are U Challenge at the gym, and by far the toughest. I won my age group - men 40+ - which, admittedly, was a pretty narrow group! That being said, I was much happier with my performance today than in previous years. I know this is only a fun challenge, but last year I let nerves get the better of me and, consequently, I didn't do nearly as well as I should have. This year I was much more relaxed and gave it everything. When I crossed the finish line, my glutes were toast and my chest was burning. I had to lie down on the grass for a few minutes; I've never had to do that before! (I had a phlegmy wheeze for the next 3 hours.)

The course was:

Sprint
15 burpees
Sprint
15 box jumps onto a tire
Tire flip
Sprint
Lateral skips x 2 widths
Sprint
15 push presses @ 45 (empty bar)
Sprint
Lateral skips x 2 widths
Sprint
Tire flip
Sprint to finish line

The tire flip was physically the most demanding movement, but it was the box jumps that cost me time. It would have been piss easy on a flat surface - I'm guessing this was only about 18" high - but my landings on the slightly curved tire weren't very clean. On one rep I almost fell into the hole (hence the loud "Fuck!")

I think I paused a couple of times during the push press, but only very briefly.

This is how it should be done!

I can't remember my time (3:16?) but I know it was far off the overall winning time. However, I'm pleased with my result because I know I couldn't have done any more.

Likewise, the bench press contest. I knew beforehand I wouldn't come close to winning my category - Lightweight (under 170lb) - but I wanted to see how well I would do with a one-rep max. My PR - during a personal training session - is 135lb. My 3 attempts were 135lb, 140lb and 150lb, a PR increase of 15lb.

Today I probably did a total of 4 minutes' exercise, but I feel as exhausted as I did following Thursday's retribution training session!

Conditioning

Ouch!

Personal training/vengeance with Paul

Angie - for time:
100 kipping pull-ups
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups (feet anchored)
100 squats
Time = 29:04

This was definitely challenging, but - surprisingly - not as punishing as I expected. However, to put my time in context, the quickest score I could find was by Matthew Smith on the CrossFit site from 2008. No skin rips, but 2 lovely new blisters on my right hand and one on my left. Even though they were the easiest movement, I still surprised myself with how quickly I was able to get through the squats.

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Preacher curls - 3 x drop sets:
30-20-10

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Front raises to military press @ 12s

Full body

Front squats 5 x max reps @ 115 (to parallel; no risers used)
12, 9, 8, 8, 7

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For time: 40 x two-arm dumbbell ground-to-overhead @ 40lb dumbbells
Time = 7:29

This is part of one of the CrossFit Regional routines. I did a bit of a Goldilocks with the weights:I tried 30lb (women's weight) but they were too light, then 45lb (men's weight) which felt really tough. I settled for 40lb and I think I made the right choice. I started with 5 consecutive reps, then several sets of 4. The last 10 reps were 3, 4, 3.

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10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time
Sumo deadlifts @ 165
Box jumps @ 24 inches

Time = 14:38

A scaled version of one of Paul's routines. The last 5 rounds were quite painful on my lower back, the same pain that I had during my squats on Saturday.

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Supersets - 4 x max reps; 1 minute rest between sets:
C2B chin-ups
Crossfit push-ups
9/10, 6/8, 6/7, 4/9

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The last 3 days' workouts have taken their toll and I felt totally drained at the end of this. When I finished, I went to the locker room, opened my locker to take out my bag and saw my bike helmet. Then I remembered, "Fuck - I cycled here!"

Full body

Today was scheduled to be a leg day, but I enjoyed yesterday's mixed-up session so I tried another one today, with quite a few compound movements. It's not that I've been getting in a rut with my training, but trying a different schedule this week is a way of avoiding boredom before it happens.

Lunges @ 115; 5 x max reps
7, 6, 6, 6, 6

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Thrusters 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (4 risers)
75, 85, 95, 100, 105 (2)

It may not look like much, but I think 105lb is the heaviest I've done thrusters. My version of Fran uses 95lb.

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5 RFT:
8 hang squat cleans @ 95 (4 risers)
8 bent over rows @ 95

Time = 12:43

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Supersets - max reps of dips/inverted rows (parallettes)
10/10, 8/8, 6,7

Pushing and pulling

I left plenty of DNA on the barbell today.

I saw Paul's deadlift/push-up routine and wanted to give it a go, so I decided to do a pushing/pulling workout. Felt a bit sluggish today - perhaps because of the humidity - which accounts for the low early numbers, but the timed section was pretty much what I expected.

The first two routines were alternating between sets.

Incline db bench press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
40s, 42s, 45s, 47s, 50s

Chin-ups - 5 x max reps
12, 10, 8, 7, 6

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50 x rack bench press @ 105 (7 holes, large bench)
Time = 12:35

I would have used the small bench, but someone stole it as I was walking toward it. Naming no names...

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10 RFT:
15 deadlifts @ 135
15 push-up
Time = 28:00

The first round was unbroken. I used up a few seconds after it so I could clean up the blood on my right shin! It took me longer to disinfect the bar at the end than to set up the barbell at the beginning. At first I did quick deadlifts and took plenty of rests as I needed them. About halfway through my reps were slower, but the breaks were fewer (never more than 2). Plenty of blood and sweat, but good fun! Paul kicked my ass, though.

Legs

Personal training with Paul

Box front squats 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (small bench, wooden step)
115, 125, 135, 145 (4), 145 (5)

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Bulgarian split squats 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 115, 125, 135, 140

A bit wobbly due to balance, but still quite a comfortable PR.

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Amrap 20:
5 jump squats @ 95
10 back squats @ 95
15 squats

Score = 7 + 5 jump squats

Annoyingly, my back felt pretty stiff and painful during many of the weighted movements. It wasn't my typical spasm pain, more like an "old man" stiffness! Consequently, many of my weighted squats - jump and back - weren't full rom. Also, I felt like I took more rests than I would have if my back wasn't hurting; not many breaks were because my legs needed a rest.

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Leg extensions - max reps @ 95:
16, 14, 16

Olympic lifting

Hang cleans @ 120
(Warm up: 5 reps @ 95)
3, 3, 4, 4, 3 = 17

I would have got 4 reps in the second set but I lost concentration for a split second and failed jut as the bar was coming up to my chest. Someone walked behind me and for some reason that put me off. No, it wasn't a girl; actually, that doesn't sound any better! I nearly completed the 4th rep in the last round; I got the bar close to my chest, but couldn't get my elbows up and the bar dropped back down.

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Deadlifts:
135x10
165x6
185x5
205x3
215x1
225x1
235x1
245x1
255x1
260 x 1
265 - failed

My form was pretty crappy at 260lb because I started to round out my back. I fought to maintain good form at 265lb but could only get the weights about a centimetre off the ground!

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30 x clean and press @ 100 lb
Time = 8:16

My time was 8:07 at 95lb, but that was a long time ago so I'd hoped to do significantly better than this. I probably took longer rests than I needed to. As I've been doing a lot recently, I've been trying to gauge how much rest breaks my body needs by how I feel, rather than looking at my watch or counting to, say, 10 before starting again. That's an artificial measure of how much rest I need, but sometimes I overestimate and take too long.

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3x10 of each
Overhead sit-ups - 15lb dumbbell
Sit-ups

Pulling

Workout was a bit shorter today, but still set some new PRs.

Resistance band neutral grip pull-ups (purple); max reps
3, 4, 4, 3, 3 = 17

A few reps more than last time.

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Wide-grip cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
100, 120, 130, 135, 140 (3)

New PR by 10lb.

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For time:
40 single arm db rows @ 60 (40 per arm)
40 chin-ups

Time = 10:33

58 seconds off my PR.

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Standing db curls @ 25s (alternating with each rep); 4 x max reps
10, 8, 9, 6 (all per side)

Legs

Didn't get my usual ride to the gym today, so I cycled. On leg day. Idiot.

Partial squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
200, 220, 245, 275, 285 (2)

I was pretty shaky on the way up for that second rep at 285. This actually felt less comfortable than the last time I did the same routine. Also, I failed the first rep at 275 and had to reset the bar, rest a little longer, then go again. Perhaps my jump from 245 to 275 was too much; last time the 4th set was 270, 5lb less.

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Front squats (previous # of sets in brackets); 1 minute rest between sets:
115 x 25 - 5 (7)
105 x 25 - 4 (5)
95 x 25 - 3 (5)

I think the last time I did these I squatted to 4 risers. I forgot to set that up this time and it wasn't until I'd done about 6 reps at 115 that I realised. Still, I'm pretty sure I squatted to at least parallel - if not a bit lower - today. As usual, my grip was pretty lousy, except in the 95lb set, when I found it easier to keep my elbows up and my thumbs out of the way. Pleased about the fewer number of sets.

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For time:
20 bs @ 135
30 bs @ 115
40 air squats
20 traveling lunges @ 50s (total)
30 traveling lunges @ 35s (total)
40 traveling lunges (total)

Time = 14:09

That's 1:03 quicker than last time, but it bloody hurt! I remembered to set up 4 risers as my target for this routine.

Pushing

Military press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
65, 70, 80, 85 (2), 85 (1)

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Rack bench press (7 holes, small bench) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
135, 145, 150 (2), 150 (2), 150 (2)

The last time I did bench presses with this set up I got up to 155 for 2 reps, so a little disappointing to not hit that today. However, I usually start with bench presses; perhaps starting the military presses today left me just fatigued enough to limit how heavy I got.

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Incline db bench press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
40, 42s, 45s, 47s, 50s, 52s (3)

I was only planning on doing 5 sets, but I completed all 5 reps in the 5th, so I added another with 52s to see how many I could do.

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6 rft:
5 db military presses @ 30s
5 dips
10 push-ups
 Time =14:50

The military presses were much tougher than I expected, especially at only 30lb. The first round was completely unbroken, but it took me a while until I was able to do the first military press of the second set.

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Db fly to press combo @ 22s
10-12, 10-9, 10-6

Pulling

Personal training with Paul.

Chin-ups - max reps
14, 11, 8, 8, 7

New PR!

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Bent over row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 105, 115, 120, 120

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6 rft:
8 cable rows @ 110
8 neutral grip pull-ups

Time = 12:34

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Kipping pull-ups - max reps
5, 6, 6

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Dumbbell preacher curls @ 20s
12, 8, 9