Conditioning

Lucas Parker: The Man. The Beard.

I had no idea what I was going to do today, even when I got to the gym. I didn't even think I'd have time, as this morning I'll be attending the funeral of a friend and neighbour who died suddenly at the weekend. However, I woke up quite early, showered, then cycled to the gym. I warmed up, then made this up on the fly.

5 rft:
10 power snatches @ 75lb
15 push presses @ 75lb
25 sit-ups
40 single skips
Time = 26:52

Legs

Superset - front/back squats
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
165 - 2 & 3

I did my warm up front squats - up to 95lb - with the proper grip, but I could feel a bit of straining in my left wrist and I didn't want to risk it, especially as it's so close to complete repair. All of the front squats above were with a crossover grip. From 155lb onward I struggled to keep my elbows up, so that affected my balance and the fluidity of my movement, especially upwards.

Also, my concentration was a bit wayward today, probably because my mind was on our new Stonecroft house, of which we took possession yesterday. Not my best performance by any means; just one of those days.

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Deadlifts
185 x 10
215 x 8
225 x 6
235 x 5
245 x 5

Pulling

Some trainers would be all over Christy Phillips' elbows. Tsk!

Complex: 3 power cleans + 3 hang cleans
85, 95, 105, 115, 125 (2 hang cleans)

As you can see in the video, I dropped the bar straight after I completed the second hang clean at 125lb. This wasn't because my grip failed; I simply knew I didn't have a third rep in me, so I thought "Sod it!" and let the bar go. Both wrists held out okay - my right is almost 100% better, but my left felt a bit sore during the heavier sets of the next exercise.

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Dumbbell rows 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 per arm
70s, 75s, 80s, 85s, 90s (4)

My grip gave out on me - with both hands - rather than failing because of my shoulders and arms.

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Wide grip pull-ups; max reps, strict
10, 7, 6, 5, 5

Pushing

Shana Alverson

Military press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
65, 70, 75, 80 (4), 80 (3)

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Bench press (large bench, 7 holes - small bench was being used) - max reps
95 x 13
115 x 7, 5, 4, 5
95 x 8

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12-10-8-6-4-2 reps for time
Push-press @ 85lb (from rack)
Push ups
Time = 9:35

I had planned on doing the push presses starting with a clean from the ground, but I wanted to protect my left wrist a bit more so I could do cleans during tomorrow's pulling day.

Full body

Mean trainer wants me to do box jumps. Don't wanna!

Personal training with Paul

Fuck my brain! I don't know what happened during the warm-up for the first routine today, but there was something in my mind that stopped me from doing box jumps at a height I know I can kill. I'd get ready to jump, but my thighs would start shaking and my feet would refuse to leave the ground. In the end, I had to remove some risers and do the jumps pretty low.

The weird thing is, I wasn't looking forward to my last PT session, but did quite well; this time, I was up for it and couldn't kick it into gear. WTF?!

5-4-3-2-1
Dumbbell clean and press @ 50s
C2B kipping pull-ups x 2
Box jumps @ 24" x 2
Over the dumbbell burpees x 2 (each side = 1 rep)
Time = 14:15

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3 rft:
10 knees to elbows
10 dips
20 sit-ups
Time = 11:25

Upper Body

The first routine is yesterday's main site WOD. I've been focusing on hang cleans recently, but I went with power cleans today - as per the WOD - just to see how I'd cope.

Power cleans 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps
95-115-125-130-135-140-150 (F)

Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks! I think I was doing pretty well with my form and technique, but I got too cocky with the last attempt, jumping from 140lb to 150lb. I'm pretty sure I could have cleaned 145lb, which would have been a 5lb PR anyway, so I didn't need to increase by 10lb. It was just a little bit too heavy for me to get my elbows up quickly enough. The video shows my last three reps.

By the way, I've been wearing a knee brace since yesterday, when it started to hurt while I was out walking. The brace certainly helps, as I didn't feel a thing throughout today's workout, including the next part.

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5 rft:
5 x deadlifts @ 225lb
10 toes to bar
Time = 11:07

This video is of the first and fifth rounds.

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Alternate sets:
Preacher curls @ 65lb - 7, 5, 6
Push-downs - 40lb x 10, 45lb x 7, 8

Legs

Jenny Lebaw

Fifties

50 traveling lunges @ 52s (25 per leg)
Time = 4:08

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50 back squats @ 125lb, a2g
Time = 7:34

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50 trap bar deadlifts @ 185lb
Time = 5:24

Short, but not very sweet, today; lots of reps with fairly light weights. I was also going to do 50 single leg extensions (25 per leg) but ran out of time. In retrospect, I probably should have sandwiched the lunges between the back squats and trap bar deadlifts so that I did a hamstring and glute dominant routine between two quad dominant ones.

As the times show, the back squats were the toughest, and were the routine that required the most rest breaks. I nearly toppled over at the end because I was so dizzy.

Pulling

The Unicorn

Hang cleans
95 x 6
105 x 5
115 x 5
120 x 4
125 x 3

I attempted a fourth rep at 125lb, but couldn't move the bar. This was because of lack of strength, rather than any problem with my wrist.

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Wide cable rows
70 x 10
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 10
115 x 8

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Weighted chin-ups; max reps @ 35lb
5, 5, 4, 4, 4

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12-10-8-6-4-2 rft
Hang power snatches @ 70lb
Dumbbell swings @ 55lb
Time = 10:47

At the end of the 6-rep round, I dropped the bar on my head instead of in front of me. Ouch!  

142lb of bulked up manliness

Pushing

Greatly underrated director. RIP Tony Scott.

I felt really sluggish from the moment I woke up this morning, even though I thought I got a decent night's sleep. While walking to the gym I really wasn't in the mood for training, but this was a PT session so there was no way I could slack off! Even during my warm up and stretches I felt meh. However - as is often the case - once I got going, I felt more energized as the adrenaline kicked in. Also, the dynamic of having someone watching over you as you train causes the ego to take over, so minimum effort and failure aren't viable options. It's an hour after I finished training, and I feel more awake now than two hours ago.

Bench press
95 x 8
115 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 4(a)
135 x 3

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Dumbbell seated shoulder press
30 x 10, 35s x 5, 37s x 5, 5, 5

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21-15-9 rft
Push press @ 85lb (from the floor)
Dips
Time = 12:25

Couldn't find my old time to compare.

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Dumbbell skull crushers
22s x 8
20s x 6
20s x 6

Pretty light on the skull crushers, but the last time I did them I hadn't punished my arms as much beforehand.

Upper body

Alternate sets

Bench press:
95 x 10
105 x 10
115 x 8
125 x 4
130 x 3

Cable row:
100 x 10
110 x 10
115 x 10
120 x 10
125 x 8

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Hang power snatch 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
65, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95

This is the main site WOD from a couple of months ago. I videoed all the sets - shown below - and some of them are repeated in slow motion to show how my form changes as the weight increases. 

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Supersets: Military press/push press, max reps @75lb
4/7, 4/6, 2/4, 2/4

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Amrap 5 - single skips
Score = 289

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Barbell curls
55 x 10, 60 x 6, 4, 3

Upper body and snatch technique practice

Christmas

I felt exhausted this morning because I woke up at 3:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. Consequently, I didn't have much energy and my concentration was practically non-existent. Bollocks.

Military presses
65 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 3, 3, 3

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The photo on Tuesday's blog post was taken from a Facebook Olympic lifting group, hookgrip. They have some amazing sequential photos that demonstrate accomplished athletes in various stages of a lift. The ones of Zhang Wanqiong snatching 90kg shows that the bar travels in a perfectly straight vertical line from the floor to above her head, with her body leaning back slightly as the bar passes her hips. That means her arms remain straight and she doesn't push the bar above her. I tried my best to practice this technique at very light weights - broom handle, empty 45lb bar, then a 10lb bumper on each end - and I think I did ok by getting plenty of speed and power, until I tried to increase the weight. I simply couldn't maintain decent technique and started to press out. I then did a short routine, using light snatches that enabled me to continue to focus on decent form.

5 rft:
5 x hang power snatches @ 70lb
10 x dips
Time = 10:11

No spectacular results today, but I definitely feel I benefited from the snatch practice.

Legs

Front squats to parallel (crossover grip)
135 x 3
155 x 3
160 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 2

Felt a bit meh this morning, which might account for failing the third rep at 170lb. My PR for three reps is 175lb, but my leg just didn't have enough strength this morning. When I failed, I dropped the barbell onto the safeties. Of course, it wasn't the best preparation to cycle to the gym really hard; just over five minutes from door to door. 

I tried the proper front squat grip and while there wasn't any pain in my wrist, I did feel some stress and stretching (probably due to the hang cleans yesterday). I decided to use a crossover grip instead, just to be cautious.

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Sumo deadlifts
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
310 x 1

Rubbed a lot of skin off my right shin, and left some DNA on the barbell. I think I managed to clean it all off.

Pulling

18 year old Zhang Wanqiong (-53kg, China) snatching 90kg at the 2012 Junior Worlds.

Because my wrist felt pretty good after yesterday's pushing routine, I decided to test it with some cleans, which I haven't done for several weeks. I spent some time ensuring my wrist and shoulders were warmed up and flexible before starting the routine. Also, I didn't go quite as heavy as usual, but did considerably better than I expected.

Hang cleans
95 x 6
105 x 5
115 x 5
120 x 4
125 x 3

On all the reps I caught the bar cleanly on my clavicle. I didn't use just two fingers to keep it in place, but I was able to hold it there with my whole grip and bend my wrist back without any discomfort. Consequently, my elbows were well up and my forearms were parallel to the ground. With the last two sets, I could feel my grip starting to strain a bit, but other than that I felt good. Again, not my heaviest cleans, but I'm very happy with the results given the context.

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Rita Benavidez

Dumbbell snatches for time; 5 per arm, alternating
40lb = 25 seconds
45lb = 28
50lb = 30
55lb = 51
60lb = 2:03

The last time I did this I went too light, but this time it felt more of a challenge. The first time I took a break during a set was at 55lb, after the third rep for my right (second) arm. I really slowed down in the final set, failing with the third rep on my right side. After that, I took what I thought were short rests after each rep, but I was still surprised at the slow time for the 60lb set.

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Underhand lateral pull-downs @ 100lb
12, 10, 9, 8

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Horizontal leg raises (on the dip rack)
14, 13, 11

Pushing

For some reason - and it seems so bloody obvious now, I don't know why I didn't think of it before - I haven't been doing any exercises to improve the condition of my wrist. On Friday, I did a search for "tendonitis" and found some simple stretches for the ligaments in my wrist and thumb. I've been doing them throughout the day ever since, and the improvement has been remarkable. I'm not completely pain free, but because I did plenty of wrist stretching before and during today's workout, I had virtually no discomfort.

Military press - 5, 5, 3, 3, 2
65, 75, 80, 80, 85

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Dumbbell bench press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
42s, 47, 50s, 55s, 60s (3)

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Push press
85 x 3
95 x 3
100 x 3
105 x 3
110 x 3

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Dips, relative max reps
10, 8, 6, 5, 5

Pulling

Christy Phillips

I did some leg work on Thursday and was going to do some upper body training yesterday, but my shoulders still felt a bit dodgy, so I rested instead. I felt much better this morning, albeit a bit sluggish, so I tried some pulling movements, but nothing too taxing.

Hang power snatches
65 x 3
75 x3
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 0

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Dumbbell high pulls 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
25s, 30s, 35, 37s, 40s

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Death by pull-ups
Score = 9 + 8 reps

That's a big improvement on last time - 7 + 6 reps - so I'm well pleased with that to end this morning's session.

Legs

Canada scores in the 92nd minute to beat France in the bronze medal game, London 2012

Today was my first time back in the gym since Saturday. This morning's routine depended on what healed first: my hip flexor and Achilles tendon; my shoulders; or my wrist. In the end, it was my legs. The shoulders aren't too bad now, but I'm still fucked off with the masseur on Friday for screwing them up. Do I sound pissed? That's because I'm pissed.

Back squats a2g
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
180 x 5
190 x 3 (PR)

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Deadlifts
165 x 6
185 x 4
235 x 1
260 x 1
285 x 1
305 x 1
315 x 1
325 x 0
325 x 0

Ouch

North Korea's Yun Chol Om lifting three times his bodyweight. Son of a bitch.

I was supposed to have a pushing workout this morning, but my right wrist has been quite painful since yesterday afternoon. No idea why it should flare up, because I didn't do anything to make things worse. Anyway, that would have made any heavy overhead movements difficult.

Both my shoulders are still hurting after my massage on Friday evening, so that ruled out any extensive vertical pulling motion.

My left hip flexor started hurting after Saturday's workout, specifically the sit-ups. Even a gentle bike ride this morning caused some pain.

So: no pushing, no pulling, no squatting. That pretty much put the kibosh on any type of exercise for today. It's unusual for me to have injuries in three different areas of my body, but there was no way I could safely work through any of these without causing further damage. I was tempted to try, but that would have been pretty stupid. I felt so restless this morning as this meant an unplanned change to my usual Monday routine. I hope I'm capable of at least something on Tuesday.

Upper body

You're welcome.

Personal training with Paul

Supersets

Incline bench press - 40s x 10, 45s x 9, 8, 6
Incline bench press - 25s x 10, 6, 6, 6

Neutral grip pull-ups - 10, 8, 6, 7
Wide pull-downs @ 80lb - 10, 7, 6, 6

Military press @ 25s - 10, 10, 9
Push press @ 25s - 10, 10 ,10

Cable row @ 100lb - 10, 10, 10
Chest supported row @ 100 - 10, 7, 6

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30-25-20 rft
Sit-ups, bicycle crunches (per side), leg raises
Time = 9:39

Upper body

Most of today's workout was made up on the spot, depending on what I felt like.

Bench press - small bench, 6 holes
105 x 2
115 x 2
125 x 2
135 x 2
140 x 2
145 x 1

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Military press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
25s, 27s, 30s, 32s, 35s (4)

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Supersets, max reps @ 25s
Incline flies - 10, 11, 9, 9, 9
Incline bench presses - 10, 9, 6, 7, 7

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Barbell curls
45 (17), 55 (10), 60 (7), 60 (6), 60 (6)

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Decline sit-ups x 30 (not timed)

Legs

British divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield.
Their strength and conditioning coach, Richard Husseiny, used to be my sports masseur.

Front squats (a2g with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 105, 120, 130, 140, 150, 155, 160, 170

I used a crossover grip today because of my injured wrist. Other than that, I still tried to keep good form and technique: my head was back, with my chest and elbows up, which helped with my balance with the heavier weights. I've sometimes had problems with my heel coming up, too, but today I found that if I turned my toes in a little bit, it was easier to keep my weight back.

It's been a long time since I did this routine - November 2011 - and back then I got one rep at 160lb. After I managed two with that weight today I was going to add jut 5lb, but I went a little heavier as it was my last set.

Here are my last two sets.

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3 rft:
20 deadlifts @ 155lb
20 trap bar deadlifts @ 185lb
Time = 11:52

I had planned on doing dumbbell hang squat cleans with the deadlifts, but while I was warming up I could feel a slight pain in my left shoulder when I swung the weight up. It wasn't too bad - and doesn't hurt now - but I think this might be because of the 150 pull-ups I did yesterday.