Upper body: Heavy weight

Two consecutive heavy weight days, but today is all upper body (yesterday was mostly legs). Also, another early morning workout; this time, I felt quite tired so I stuck to just heavy lifting and pulling, without a metcon.

Hang power cleans @ 120
(Warm up: 5 reps @ 95)
4, 4, 4, 4, 3 = 19

Bollocks! I was so close to completing 20 reps for the first time. In the last set I attempted a fourth rep and got halfway up before my arms gave out on me. 19 and a half reps - so close (hence the barely suppressed "FUCK!" when I failed.)

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Bench press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (small bench, squat rack)
(Warm up: 5 reps @ 115)
135, 140, 145 (2), 145 (2), 145 (1)

The other squat rack, with safeties, was being used, so I had to make do with using the rack in the corner.

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Push press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 (1)

These were straightforward push presses, not keeping the bar overhead for 3 seconds. I completed all the reps in the planned fifth set, so I added on an extra set with 5lb more. Checking back, my PR is 2 reps at 120, but for some reason I started with a low weight today and didn't do as well as that.

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Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
130, 140, 150, 155, 160, 165 (2)

Again, I completed all the planned reps and sets, so I attempted one more with extra weight. 165 is a new PR.

Full body: Heavy weight

Yesterday's dinner: Baked squash stuffed with lean minced beef, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and black olives, all cooked in olive oil and mixed with a touch of red wine vinegar.

"CrossFit Total"

Back squat - 1 rep max:
135 (8), 165 (5), 185 (1), 205 (1), 215 (1), 220 (1), 225 (1), 230 (F)

Shoulder press - 1 rep max:
65 (5), 75 (3), 85 (1), 90 (1), 95 (F)

Deadlift - 1 rep max:
135 (10), 165 (6), 185 (5), 205 (3), 215 (1), 225 (1), 235 (1), 245 (1), 255 (1), 265 (1), 275 (1), 280 (F)

Total: 225 + 90 + 275 = 590

I had an early start today because I had to take Madi for a doctor's appointment. This routine was yesterday's main site WOD and is one of those where I knew I could do it, even if my score wouldn't compare with any hard-core CrossFitters. 

At 230 with the back squats, I only managed to get about halfway before I could feel my legs starting to go, so I straightened up and racked the bar. I had safeties set at 8 holes just in case I failed and dropped the barbell, but it never got to that. All completed reps were to parallel, just about touching the safeties. Not a great 1 rep max; 225 is only 20lb more than when I do a standard 5 set, 3 rep routine. Still, that's the heaviest I've squatted to parallel. I knew the shoulder press would be my lowest score, but I thought I'd do better with a 1 rep max. I'm pretty pleased with the deadlifts as I finally set a new PR of 275 - it's been a long time coming. At 280, the bar didn't move a single millimetre off the ground!

I'm guessing the squats that people on the CrossFit site did were full ROM, not parallel, but other than that my scores are respectable, but not spectacular. One thing this makes clear: I need to work on my shoulder presses.

Full body: Moderate/light weight

Thank you, www.facebook.com/GymMotivation!

I usually do a heavy weight workout on Mondays, but my last two sessions have been heavy - albeit with a rest day after each - so I decided to switch things up a bit.

Alternate sets:

Incline bench press: 5 x max @ 95
8, 7, 7, 6, 6

I used the white incline bench at the lowest setting and had safeties set at 8 holes. This means the bar was touching my chest at the lowest level.

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C2B pull-ups: 5 x max reps
7, 5, 5, 5, 5

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5 rft:
5 hang cleans @ 75
5 snatches @ 75

Time = 7:52

I was going to do 5 overhead squats at 75lb, too, but even in my warm-up I couldn't get a decent depth to make it worth doing. I need to practice them some more first. 75lb is obviously very light for me, but I wanted to use the same weight for both the cleans and snatches. Of course, I raced through the cleans and all rounds were unbroken.

In the first two rounds I went into the snatches too quickly without enough rest, and my form suffered because of that. My arms seemed to bend too often as I was bring the bar up, thus bring it too close to my body. I made sure I took a breather after the last three sets of cleans, which gave me enough time to recover, and my snatches were much better after that; i.e. my arms stayed straight all the way up and over my head.

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5 rft:
3 hang squat cleans @ 100
20 burpees

Time = 14:37

This is a version of yesterday's CrossFit WOD, where you get to choose the type of clean. I think I could have gone a bit heavier with the hang squat cleans, only because my form was perfect on every rep and all the sets - albeit short - were unbroken. Only the first round of burpees were consecutive. All subsequent sets needed one or two rests.

I checked my watch at the end of each round. Including all the rest breaks between sets - because I obviously didn't stop my watch between rounds - they broke down as follows:

1:51, 4:48, 8:05, 11:32, 14:37

Understandably, I got slower with each set, except for the last one, which was just over 3 minutes, nearly 25 seconds faster than the previous round!

Full body: Heavy weight

Damn it! This is where I'm going wrong.

Personal training with Paul

Front squats (with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 150

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21-15-9 rft
Deadlifts @ 185
Military presses @ 70
Time = 13:51

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Gironda dips - 4 x max: 5, 5, 6, 6
Inverted row (feet elevated; safeties @ 10) -
4 x max: 10, 8, 8, 9

In the last 2 sets of rows, there were a couple of reps where my chest was incredibly close to the bar, but didn't quite touch, so they didn't count.

I'm surprised at how well I did with the front squats today. Along with my partial back squats on Thursday, that's two squatting PRs this week. My one worry with the new style of training was that if I got the programming wrong, I'd start to lose the gains I'd made previously. Instead, in the past month I've gained a couple of pounds (hopefully, muscle!) and I'm lifting heavier weight in some cases, so definite improvement overall. On top of the change in training, I've also tweaked my diet for just over a week, without any deterioration in performance.

Full body: Heavy weight

I started today feeling a bit like I didn't have optimum energy; not fatigue or exhaustion, just one of those days when I feel a bit weak. For the second half of yesterday, for one reason or another I don't think I had as much nutrition as I wanted/needed, so I wonder if that had anything to do with it.

Alternate sets:

Bench press: Max reps @ 125 (small bench, 6 holes)
6, 5, 4, 3, 4

Weighted pull-ups: Max reps @ 30
6, 6, 5, 5, 4

For the bench presses I set the safeties at 6 holes so the bar was only about an inch from my chest. I tried to set them at 5 holes and it was just touching my chest, but I can't slide my big head under the barbell!

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Partial squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
210, 235, 255, 275, 290, 295 (F)

I PRed all 3 reps at 290 so I thought I'd give 295 a try; I didn't even manage half a rep! As I just started to squat, I could feel my legs start to buckle, so I stood upright and racked the bar. Still, I'm getting tantalizingly close to 300lb.


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Grace: 30 x power clean and press @ 100 (from the ground)
Time = 7:00

That's a pretty significant improvement. I knocked 1:04 off my PR. It was such a big drop that I was convinced I'd done the move incorrectly (e.g. I should have done a power squat clean, not just a power clean). But no, this was all done the right way! I even think my push press form was better than before, with my arms locking out on every rep.

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Leg extensions: Max reps @ 125
11, 12, 11

I spent the day with Madi today, taking her to see Spy Kids 4 at the new Empire at The Boardwalk in Waterloo. We were running late and didn't have time to eat a decent meal beforehand so all we could get were hot dogs, pop corn and Diet Coke. So much for a starch-free diet!

Arms

Thierry Henry

Alternate sets:

Straight bar curls:
55 (10), 60 (7), 65 (5), 65 (5)

Dumbbell skull crushers:
22s (10), 25s (8), 27s (4), 27s (5)

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Dumbbell preacher curls:
27s (9), 27s (8), 30s (4)

French press:
40 (8), 45 (8), 55 (8)

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Incline curls:
20s (12), 22s (10), 22s (8)

Tricep pushdowns:
40 (12), 40 (9), 40 (8)

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Arsenal has never replaced him...

Full body: Light weight

Felt much better than I expected today, as yesterday afternoon I was pretty exhausted. I think this might have been lack of sleep catching up with me, though. It occurred to me later that maybe my fatigue was due to me dropping starch from my diet for the past 5 days. However, looking at my performance today I don't think that's turning out to be the case. I'm still feeling really good.

Just 2 metcons today, both adapted from CrossFit Markham's website.

21-15-9 rft:
24" box jumps
70lb hang power snatch
Pull-ups

Time = 16:18

The RXed version calls for power snatches, but because snatches are a new move for me I did the same style as on Saturday; i.e. from the standing hang position. The pull-ups were the hardest part of the routine and needed the most breaks. I started off with kipping, but more controlled strict pull-ups felt easier as I got more tired. The kipping also started to hurt my lower back a little, but that was just due to not warming up properly this morning.

It's been a while since I've done any box jumps, so I warmed up by doing lower ones, gradually adding steps until I got to 24" (10 risers per side plus the top step).

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8 rft:
5 deadlifts @ 165
10 elbows to knees

Time = 16:38

The RXed version is 225lb deadlifts for men and 165lb for women. I did the girly version, and that proved to be challenging enough for a total of 40 reps. My form started to waver around set 6, but from that point onward I kept my head and chest up and the good form took care of itself. I think my form was good for the elbows to knees, with minimal swinging/kipping and my arms were fully locked out. I remember when I used to do these in my basement I would sometimes cheat by bending my arms, so my knees wouldn't have to move as far!

Full body: Heavy/moderate weight

Jenny LaBaw

I'd planned on making today a heavyweight routine, but due to some of the workout stations being used and my pecs being incredibly sore from Saturday, I switched some of the exercises to moderate instead.

Military press: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
65, 70, 75, 80, 85 (2)

I actually failed the second rep @ 85 halfway up, but managed it on the (immediate) second attempt.

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Back squats: max reps @ 140 to parallel
14, 12, 11, 12, 11

This was one of the routines I changed at the last moment. I'd wanted to do partial heavy squats, but the rack with adjustable safeties was being used by Liliana and her client, so I used the adjacent rack. I have no idea what they were talking about, but during my fourth set I could see Liliana wiggling her ass in my peripheral vision, which distracted me and I nearly lost count of my reps.

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Dumbbell flat bench press: max reps @ 37s
12, 12, 8, 8, 7

I was going to use progressively heavier weights starting with 50s, but my chest was so sore I opted for lighter weights and more reps. I think it actually helped to stretch my pecs because they were less sore when I finished.

I was surprised at how much my reps dropped after the second set.

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10 rft:
5 front squats @ 105 (to parallel; clean from floor to start)
5 wide-grip pull-ups
Time = 13:51

This is a significant improvement on the previous (first) time I did this routine, but I don't think I did the front squats the same way today. A month ago, I did a power clean from the ground to get the bar to my chest; today, I deadlifted the bar, then did a hang clean to move the bar up before doing my first squat. I'm not sure if that makes any difference to how challenging this is, but all the squats were unbroken.

Not the workout I'd planned for today, but tough nonetheless. I was exhausted and drowning in sweat following my last routine.

Upper body

Spencer Hendel

Personal training with Paul.

Incline rack bench 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
115, 125, 130, 135 (2), 135 (2), 135 (2)

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Superset:
Cable row 4 x max @ 130: 9, 7, 6, 6
Neutral pull-ups 4 x max: 5, 4, 4, 3

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Amrap 12:
Dips - every time I drop from the bars, do 10 push-ups
33 dips; 9 breaks/sets of push-ups

The low number of dips is a bit disappointing. I should have rested longer, thus doing more dips and fewer push-ups. Still, something I can aim to improve the next time.

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Snatch (hang power):
45 x 8
55 x 5
65 x 5
70 x 5

Not heavy weight by any means, as this is a new move for me, but it actually felt easier than expected. My improved form with power hang cleans - specifically my foot positioning - definitely helped.

Legs

My shoulders felt a bit sore this morning, so today was all legs.

Deadlifts:
135x10
165x6
185x5
205x3
215x1
225x1
235x1
245x1
255x1
265x1
270x1
275 (F)

Still stuck at 270. The bar barely moved at 275.

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Front squats: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (to parallel)
75, 95, 105, 115, 120, 130, 135 (2)

A bit disappointed to fail at only 135. I'd hoped to at least equal my PR weight, although that was doing box front squats. On the plus side, I think my grip was much improved, although far from perfect with each rep.

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5 RFT:
5 x dumbbell front squats @ 40s
10 x air squats
(Both full ROM)
Time = 2:49

The last time I did this was back in March and I wanted to see how much I'd improved. I could have increased the dumbbell weight, but I stuck with exactly what I did last time. My time improved by 25 seconds.

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Leg extensions - max reps @ 110
15, 14, 13

15lb heavier than before, so - as expected - a lower number of reps.

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While I was waiting for Cher to finish her training session with Liliana, I tried to do some handstand holds against a wall. Without someone to watch what I was doing, I couldn't tell how high up my feet got, but I'm guessing not very high! Because my head was upside down I could feel myself getting dizzy, which is a condition I've noticed since my road accident nearly 20 years ago. Still, it didn't feel so bad that I wouldn't try it again. Perhaps it's just something I need to get used to.

Bloody starving by the time I got home, so I scrambled a couple of eggs with some leftover diced sweet potatoes and onion, seasoned with black pepper and rosemary. Yum!

Arms and Active Recovery

Big deal - I can do 40lb.

I wanted to take it easy today, so I did a mish-mash of different things, none of them too taxing.

Alternate sets:

Straight bar curls: 45 (10), 50 (8), 55 (7), 60 (5)
Dumbbell skull crushers:  22s (8), 25s (7), 27s (6), 30s (3)

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Dumbbell preacher curls: 3 x 8 @ 25s
Tricep push-downs: 3 x 12 @ 40 (only 10 on last set)

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Dumbbell flies: 2 x 12 @ 22s
Dumbbell rear lat raises: 2 x 12 @ 15s

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Lateral raises: 15s (12), 20s (9)
Underhand pull-downs: 70 (12), 80 (10)

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Decline sit-ups: 3 x 15

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Overhead squats:
5 @ 25 (empty small bar)
5 @ 35
4 @ 40

I squatted to just above parallel and couldn't get any lower. With the first set I could feel stiffness in my lower back; in the second and third sets, it started to feel quite painful when I tried to go down low. I don't know if this is because overhead squats put more stress on the lower back than other types of squat, or if my form was wrong, thus causing me pain.

I wanted to try some other movements, such as handstand holds and skipping, but there wasn't enough free space in the gym this morning. The ideal place would be the yoga room, but there was an aerobics class at the time. I particularly need the room for handstands in case I fall over!

Nothing too stressful today, which is good because I didn't get enough sleep due to being kicked and elbowed all night long by a 7-year-old. Still, I started the day feeling a bit sore and stiff, but left the gym feeling refreshed, so the light weight exercise definitely helped today. Back to heavy weights tomorrow.

Full body: Moderate/light weight

Alternate sets; 1 min rest between each

Thrusters: 4 x max reps @ 95
5, 6, 5, 6

Dumbbell rows: 4 x max reps @ 75 (per arm)
6, 6, 6, 6

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Every minute on the minute:
5 hang power cleans @ 95
10 CrossFit push-ups
Score = 10 rounds

I can't remember where I got this from, but I know I didn't make it up. I'm pretty sure I came across something similar a while back and made a note of it, but I subbed the hang cleans for something else (probably snatches or overhead squats). Still, this was challenging and a lot of fun. 

The first 4 rounds took me between 24 and 26 seconds each, and they were all unbroken. I sat down between rounds to rest, gripping the bar in preparation from around the 55 second mark. From that point onwards, I slowed down dramatically. I think rounds 5 to 7 took between 40 and 45 seconds, so I wasn't left with much time to rest. I had enough time to put a check mark on my notebook to indicate which round I'd just completed, but not to sit down and rest. Rounds 8 through 10 didn't even leave me enough time to check my notebook - I simply got up from the push-ups and then gripped the barbell, ready to go again. At the end of round 10 I checked my watch and it said 10 minutes 1 second, so that was the point where I stopped. The cleans were all unbroken and pretty quick, but I slowed down and had to break up the push-ups from round 5 onwards.

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3 rft:
10 kipping pull-ups
10 front squats @ 85 (racked)
10 burpees

Time = 9:33

Left plenty of sweat on the ground with this one! However, I think I went too light on the front squats; I probably should have gone up to at least 95. I managed to rest the bar comfortably on my shoulders, but my elbows probably should have gone up higher. I broke the squats up into 4s, 5s, or 6s. More weight would have been a better challenge.

I felt pretty good at the end of this workout - tired, but not drained. Hopefully, that means I'm back to full strength and not exhausted anymore.

Full body: Heavy weight

My first day back in the gym after a few days' break due to exhaustion. Felt pretty good when I got up this morning, even though didn't get much sleep over the weekend. I managed to catch up a bit last night.

Bench press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (small bench, 6 holes)
135, 140, 145 (2), 145 (1), 145 (F)

I usually set the safeties at 7 holes, but I want to start doing benches with the bar closer to my chest, thus giving a fuller range of motion. As expected, I didn't hit the same numbers as I would with the bar set higher at 7 holes. Still, I'm a bit disappointed to get an F in the last set. Perhaps I should have started at a lower weight and worked up from there. 135lb is my starting weight when the safeties/barbell are at 7 holes.

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Back squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3,3
155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 200, 205 (2)

That's 1 rep more than before. Not majorly impressive in itself, but my form was much better than last time. I'm pretty sure I managed to get to at least parallel - sometimes lower - with each squat. I'm still staying away from using risers to guide me.

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Push press, holding the bar overhead for 3 seconds
75, 85, 95, 100 (2), 100 (2), 100 (F), 85 (3)

The second set that I lifted 100lb I actually managed to get the bar overhead 3 times. However, on the third rep I couldn't hold it up, so I only counted the first 2 reps when I held the bar for 3 seconds.

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For time:
50 c2b chin-ups
Time = 8:50

These were strict chin-ups, without kipping. I did swing going up a couple of times, so I didn't count those reps in my total. I also seemed to swing a few times when I was moving down, but I did count those. I only excluded reps where I was using swinging/kipping to help me get up. 

Not a great workout today, but it felt good to be back in the gym anyway.

Jogging, kayaking and self-indulgence

Cher and I went away for a few days at a friend's cottage in Kearney, ON. This was our annual "Round the World" weekend, attended by four couples, including the hosts. Each couple chooses a country and prepares a meal from it. This year we did Spain; other couples did Italy, France and Greece. It's the one weekend each year when I have to completely ignore my diet and just indulge myself. That being said, this year's meals weren't too bad - not too heavy on the fat, and only some of the desserts had too much sugar for my taste.

Our meal - Sunday brunch - consisted of tapas: red peppers stuffed with minced pork, onion and Spanish rice; boiled asparagus wrapped with salmon, Spanish omelette (eggs, of course, potatoes, onion and herbs), plus an apple and walnut salad with mayonnaise dressing (half fat olive oil mayo). A little starchy - due to the rice and potatoes - but plenty of protein, healthy fat and fibrous carbs.

I always try to balance the culinary indulgence with some exercise. As I expected, I was awake long before everyone else in the cottage, so I went for a run around town. It's pretty small - population: 800 - so I pretty much covered every street, which took me about 45 minutes. Because I've been trying to take it easy the past few days, I didn't really run as fast as usual, but there are plenty of hills, so they were challenging.

Lake Perry, Kearney, ON

When I got back, I had some oatmeal - oats, milk/water (my usual semi-skim wasn't available), raisins, ground flax, and apple sauce - then one of the other guys wanted to go kayaking. I've never done this before, which was obvious due to my complete lack of direction with the oars. I'm also scared shitless of water because I'm a weak swimmer. Even though I was wearing a life jacket, whenever the kayak wobbled slightly from a slight wave, I thought I was going to roll over (never even got close to happening - just my fear) and it was then that I realised I had no idea what to do if I ended up under water. We were kayaking for about an hour and even though I wasn't paddling quickly, I must have done some work as my pecs were pretty sore the next day. Perhaps I might start kayaking down the Nith!

I started to go for another early morning run on Sunday, but about 10 minutes in, my left knee started to hurt a bit (OMP), so I walked the rest of the route.

Overall, the weekend was a good balance of culinary treats and self-discipline.

Full body: Light weight

I didn't feel like I had too much energy this morning, but I thought that might change once I got going with my workout. Today's main routines are adapted from WODs I found on the CrossFit Markham website.

Amrap 20:
10 power cleans @ 105
10 burpees

Score = 7 rounds (19:55)

This felt like I definitely should have got a better score. All the reps felt as if they were in slow motion. I've never done this routine before, so perhaps I'm being hard on myself. All 7 rounds of burpees were unbroken. 

I took a 5 minute rest break before starting the next routine.

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5 rft:
5 front squats @ 105
10 kipping pull-ups
15 push-ups (regular chest to floor, not hand release)
Time = 12:32

The front squats weren't too heavy, so all 5 sets were unbroken. The pull-ups were surprisingly difficult, given they're one of the movements I find quite easy. Still, the overall time was respectable - 150 reps in just over 12 and a half minutes. Throughout this routine I felt like my whole body was aching, quite dizzy, and a bit nauseous.

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Push press - 5 x max reps @ 75
12, 10

I only completed 2 sets because I was dizzy and I thought I was going to fall over; and that's during the rest breaks when I wasn't actually holding any weight. The last time I did this routine I got 12 reps in the first set and 15 in the second. I could tell there was no way my scores were going to improve because I felt so drained of energy.

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Update:
I've been doing online research into the symptoms of overtraining and I'm certainly experience several of them, including:

• Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance 
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity 
• Loss of enthusiasm for sport/training
• Exhaustion

 There are other possible symptoms, which, thankfully, I'm not experiencing: weight loss, appetite loss, increases in injuries, and increased susceptibility to colds and flu.

Anyway, a rest is definitely called for, so - other than my early morning bike ride - I won't be training again until next Monday.

Total rest day

The real reason - I hate cats. Hate 'em.

Yeah, I know I've only trained once since my last rest day (Sunday), but when I woke up this morning I had several niggling pains in different parts of my body. My right ankle is still a little sore, but much better than it was, so maybe yesterday's split squats helped. On top of that:

• My left knee hurts when I bend it.
• Both shoulders are quite painful and still feel like they don't have much strength.
• My glutes are sore - probably from the aforementioned split squats - but my right one also feels like it's been strained.
• My left forearm is a little painful and my grip feels weak.

None of the above feel like an injury, but collectively it feels like my body is telling me it needs a break. Other than my scheduled rest days - usually Fridays and Sundays - I haven't taken a break from training since Fall last year.

I was planning on doing Murph today, which is a total of 2 miles running, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats. At least one of these movements would be affected by areas of my body that are causing me discomfort, so it wouldn't be a good idea to push my luck, (a) because I wouldn't be able to perform at my best, and (b) it would make the problems worse. (The pissing rain doesn't help.)

I considered doing something less challenging than Murph, but I can't think of any type of routine that wouldn't be made difficult by the various pains.

That's when I decided to just listen to my body and take it easy for a day. As difficult as it is not to be doing a workout on a Tuesday, I think it's for the best. Besides, I enjoy going to the gym because I look forward to the challenge of seeing how far I can push myself each day; if I go today it will only be out of feeling guilty for missing a session, which is the wrong reason.

Full body: Heavy weight

I googled a picture of "weighted pullups", expecting an image from the Crossfit Games, and this was one of the results.

Rack bench press (small bench, 7 holes) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160 (F)

Because I got all 3 reps in the fifth set I attempted 160lb, but failed.

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Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
130, 140, 150, 155, 160 (4)

The bench presses and cable rows were supposed to be alternating sets, but someone jumped onto the rowing station just as my 1 minute's rest after the first round of presses was coming to an end.

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Bulgarian split squats 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 115, 125, 135, 140, 145 (3)

Again, because I completed all the reps in the last set I had planned, I tried another set. I could only manage 3 reps with my left - weaker leg - so did the same number with my right.

Since yesterday morning I've been suffering from OMP in my right ankle (Old Man's Pain). No idea what brought it on; I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything I did during Saturday's training, unless it was a severely delayed reaction! For that reason, I wasn't sure if I should do these split squats, but I know that when I've had pain in my ankle before, split squats seems to help by stretching it out.

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Weighted chin-ups - 4 x max reps @ 40
5, 5, 4, 4

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Leg extensions - max reps @ 95:
18, 15, 17

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Military press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
75, 80, 85, 85 (F), 80

My shoulders felt so exhausted from the past week's activities, which, I think, is why I didn't do as well as expected with this. This routine seemed to loosen me up, though.

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Neutral grip pull-ups - 5 x max
13, 10, 8, 7, 9

Recently I've found that slow, controlled movements for pull-ups allows me to do more reps, rather than racing through them as quickly as possible. The control also prevents me from kipping.

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Amrap 15:
5 hang squat cleans @ 105
20 push-ups
Score: 5 rounds (12:18); 6 rounds (14:45)

This would have been better if I'd got my form right in the second round (the first round was unbroken). When my feet landed as I was powering up with the bar, I had too much weight in my toes - rather than my heels - which left me off balance for the front squat. I knew what I was doing wrong, but a temporary lack of concentration meant I repeated the mistake a couple of times. Once I got this right the reps were much smoother and the challenge came from moving the weight, not getting the technique correct.



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Rowing test: 30 second intervals
165m, 158m, 150m

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Jeez - if I felt tired before today's workout, I know I'm going to be a lot worse tomorrow! When I'd finished, anything that wasn't hurting felt numb. My shoulders and arms were already toast; now I can add my legs and butt to the list.

I was so hungry when I got home, I scarfed a 100% peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat in about 5 minutes.

Full body: Light weight

CrossFit hand-release push-up

An adapted version of one of Paul's routines. I can't do handstand push-ups, so I subbed push-presses. Also, I felt like I've been a bit light on leg work and horizontal pulling this week, so I added jump squats and inverted rows.

8 minutes of each exercise with 1 minute's rest in between:
Push-press @ 75 = 71
Jump lunges = 184 (92 per leg)
CrossFit push-ups = 110
Jump squats = 131
Overhand inverted rows = 98  

I struggled in vain to get to 100 rows! I'm used to leaving a little sweat behind when I train, but when I got up after the last inverted row there was literally a small puddle from the back of my head.

That was a pretty cool workout. I did a total of 502 reps in 40 minutes (if you count both sides of the jump lunges as a single rep). With all 5 exercises I was surprised how quickly the 8 minutes passed.

Pretty pleased overall with this week's training.

Full body: Heavy weight

I was bloody sore before I even started today. I'm sure tomorrow won't feel any better. However, I must be a masochist because I'm enjoying this type of pain - it's like a badge of honour!

Hang cleans @ 120
(Warm up: 3 reps @ 95)
4, 4, 3, 4, 3 = 18

Slight improvement by 1 rep.

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

For that last attempt the bar moved about an inch off the ground before I had to drop it, so I finished by equaling my PR.

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Fran: 21-15-9
Thrusters @ 95lb
Kipping pull-ups

Time = 15:35

That's a 19 second improvement on my PR in May. I didn't check my watch during the routine, but I thought my time was going to be faster because I did the kipping pull-ups really quickly. In the 21 round, as soon as I racked the bar I moved the bench into place, got into position, then knocked out 8 consecutive pull-ups straightaway. It was all the breaks - and their length - during the thrusters that did me in. I managed 5 consecutive reps to start, but all the rest were 3s and 2s.

Full body: Light weight

I haven't done any running for some time, so I worked in 1.5 miles into the middle of this workout. It's not based on anything I've seen before, so hopefully this is a decent, light weight full body routine.

For time:
20 db thrusters @ 35s
30 dips
40 air squats
50 sit-ups

1.5 mile run

50 sit-ups
40 air squats
30 dips
20 db thrusters @ 35s

Time = 39:00

When I finished, my watch said 39:02; allowing a couple of seconds for picking up/putting down the dumbbells at the start and end, I rounded down to 39:00. This was longer than I expected - not based on anything I've done before, just a feeling. Unsurprisingly, though, it was the run that took the most out of me. Today was a good day for a run: reasonably warm and sunny, but not humid. This must have looked strange to other people in the gym because as soon as I'd finished the first round of sit-ups, I ran out of the gym. I told Cher what I was planning on doing today so she wouldn't worry about me when I suddenly disappeared!

Full body: Heavy weight

Respect.

I planned out today's workout this morning, but when I got the gym (a bit later than usual - even Jason said he wondered where I was) it was pretty busy, so I had to wing it. I'm not a very spontaneous person, so it felt a bit like my workout was quite random. However, looking back at my numbers now, they're quite respectable, even if they're not spectacular (especially as I'm still fucking sore from the weekend.)

Weighted chin-ups; keep increasing weight for max reps until total failure
35 (6), 37 (5), 40 (4), 42 (4), 47 (3), 50 (3), 52 (1)

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Back squats (to parallel; didn't use risers) 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 200, 205 (1)

The last time I did back squats to parallel I got up to 190lb, so this is a decent improvement. I probably could have got at least 1 more rep, but I could feel with the last one that I was just above parallel; i.e. not quite getting low enough.

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Dumbbell bench press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
50s, 52s, 55s, 60s (3), 60s (2)

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Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
130, 140, 150, 160 (3), 160 (2)

It felt like every time I was about to move onto the next routine I'd planned someone had juts started working out there before me! Still, I did the best I could in a busy gym.