5k: Run for the Cure

Today I ran the CIBC Breast Cancer Run for the Cure for the fifth consecutive year. I wasn't expecting to run too quickly today because my legs were pretty damn sore following yesterday's personal training session. We got to the run site pretty early, so I had plenty of time to warm up and stretch. That helped tremendously, so I decided to do my best and try for a decent finish time.

I let the main crowd of runners get going for about 10 minutes, so I wouldn't be stuck in the crowd. The first part of the run is the most challenging as it involves a winding, step hill. For some reason I started out pretty quickly - too quickly - and I was already out of breath by the time I got to the top of the hill. I had to slow right down much sooner than I intended, and I thought I'd blown my chance of having at least one decent 5k this year. When I'd got my breath back, I sped up a bit and set a pace that I thought I could maintain consistently. It actually felt so comfortable I wondered if I was running too slowly. Because of the heavy overnight rain, I opted for the road course as it was less likely to b slippery.

I got to the halfway/turn around point and felt like I was in control. (By the way, I didn't check my watch until I crossed the finish line.) I was surprised when I saw the 4k marker because I thought I had much more than only 1k remaining. At that point, I really opened up. For the last section of the run, I went as fast as I could. My strides were really long and my arms were pumping like a friggin' lunatic. God knows what I must have looked like. That hill that felt so tough on the way up proved a different type of challenge going back down. I almost felt like I was going to end up somersaulting down the road as I pounded the asphalt.

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, finally checking it to see how I did: 25:47. That's nearly a minute faster than last year, and much quicker than I expected at the start of the day. My memory being as poor as it is, I can't recall what my best time was from previous years, but I'm really pleased with how I ran today, especially after the punishment my legs took yesterday morning. Of course, I'm not looking forward to trying to get out of bed tomorrow...

Full body

I come from a culture that abhors firearms,
but fucking hell...

R-band bench press (blue)
75 x 8, 85 x 8, 95 x 8, 105 x 5

Romanian trap bar deadlift
150 x 8, 170 x 8, 190 x 8, 6

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Glute ham raise
10 (eventually!), 6, 6, 5

Wide pull ups
8, 9, 8, 7

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Amrap 12
Hang power clean and push press @ 75lb
Every time the bar is racked, do 10 burpees
Score = 42 clean and press

Whacked myself in the mouth during the push presses, and now my gums are bleeding. Stupid sports injury #168...

Conditioning

Picture of me - with one-year-old Madi - taken in July 2005. Man boobs!
Compare this to a couple of days ago...

Short of time today - again - so I made up a quick routine that I could do in Stonecroft's gym.

In 20 minutes:
Buy-in - Row 1km

Amrap in remaining time:
10 x sit ups
10 x burpees
10 x air squats (a2g)

Score = 7 rounds + 10 sit ups and 9 burpees

Legs

Lindsay Valenzuela. Dayum, strong girls are hot!

Haven't done this in a while.

Complex - 1 squat clean, 2 front squats (a2g)
95, 105, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140 (F), 140

The last time I did this routine was nearly 11 months ago, when I got up to 130lb but failed at 135lb. Even though I didn't video this, I could tell my form wasn't great for the squat cleans at the heavier weights; my elbows were too low. However, that's difficult to correct midway through the motion, so when I got to the top of the squat clean, I shrugged to correct the position of the bar, which allowed me to improve my grip, then did the front squats with better form. The failed attempt at 140lb was due to my lack of concentration more than anything else, which meant I couldn't power the bar up to my chest and I dropped the bar on the way up. I rested 2 minutes, collected my thoughts, then tried again. Not great, but at least that's a 10lb PR compared to last year.

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Trap bar deadlifts, touch and go
170 x 10
220 x 8
250 x 6
270 x 6
290 x 3

My grip failed during the attempt at a fourth rep at 290lb. Other than that, I was doing okay.

Pulling

Not much time today, so had to keep it short.

Strict pull-ups - 9, 7, 7, 6, 5

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Wide cable rows
100 x 5
110 x 5
120 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5

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Isabel
30 power snatches @ 85lb
Time = 7:40

September 25, 2012

Pushing

Push press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
85, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 (2)

This felt surprisingly comfortable up to 115lb as I got plenty of power and strength into the press. It got tougher from 115lb to the end, though.

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Bench press - 6 holes, small bench. Max reps @ 120lb.
6, 6, 5, 4, 4

As usual, I lifted the bar to and from the safeties. All of these reps were kind of touch and go; the bar didn't bounce, but as soon as I heard a "clink", I started punching back up.  

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For time:
50 dips
50 push ups, feet elevated on Swiss ball
Time = 15:35

The push-ups were much harder than expected, and I never got more than 5 consecutive reps.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Alternate sets

Back squats - 115 x 10, 125 x 10, 135 x 10, 145 x 10, 155x 7
Military press - 65 x 10, 10, 8, 7, 7

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Wide grip pull-ups - 10, 8, 7, 6
Incline dumbbell bench press - 10, 10, 10, 9

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3 rft:
10 knees to elbows
15 sit-ups
Time = 5:59

Legs

Even though I didn't set the world on fire today, it still hurt like hell.

Superset - front squats/back squats, breaking parallel
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
165 - 1 (regular grip)
165 - 2 (crossover grip)

Just couldn't get my act together today. I started off going a2g, but couldn't maintain the depth when the weight started increasing. By 155lb, I was still breaking well below parallel, though. During the first front squat at 165lb, using the proper grip, I felt like I was losing hold of the bar, so I racked it. After resting for a minute, I tried again with a crossover grip, but my balance was off and I started to fall forward coming back up from the third rep. I had to drop the bar on the safeties. I didn't video this, so I can't assess where it started to go wrong.

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Deadlifts (deficit)
140 x 10
185 x 5
210 x 5
230 x 5
255 x 4
270 x 2

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Superset
Leg extension - 3 x 12 @ 95
Traveling lunges - 3 x 6 per leg @ 35s, 40s, 40s

Pulling

It's a bloody girl!

Today I felt a bit blah due to lack of sleep. As a consequence, I wasn't expecting too much from this morning's session, but I think I did surprisingly well.

Power cleans, t&g
95 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 3
135 x 2
135 x 3
140 x 2
145 x 1 (PR)

I had planned on only adding weight if I'd completed 3 reps in the previous set, which probably would have meant stopping after 140lb. However, I just felt like going for my max at 145lb, and I'm glad I did. My elbows were up nice and high, but on some of the heavier reps my legs were a bit wobbly before I straightened up. Not very elegant, but I got the weight up to my chest cleanly.

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Cable rows:
120 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5
150 x 5
160 x 5

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21-15-9 rft
Power snatches @ 75lb
Neutral grip pull-ups (strict)
Time = 14:55

Did better than I expected today, so I'm pretty pleased overall.

Pushing

Not a bad start to the week.

Military press - 5, 5, 3, 3, 2
65, 75, 80, 85, 90 (1)

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

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21-15-9 rft
Push press @ 85lb (from the floor)
Dips
Time = 10:45

I did this a few weeks ago with Paul. Today's time is a significant PR by 1:20. The key was the timing and length of my rest breaks. The dips were the toughest, but my push presses were nice and controlled. The first round broke down into 10, 6, 5; the second was 6, 5, 4; and the third was 4, 3, 2. Limiting myself to only three sets per round meant only three cleans to get the bar up.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Today's session felt a lot tougher than it should have. Because my training has lacked focus this week, I walked to the gym just so I had a chance to relax my mind and not feel rushed, which can sometimes happen when I cycle. Rather than use my bike as a mode of transport, I often try to ride as quickly as possible, which, of course, can be counterproductive. 

Sumo deadlifts from deficit
185 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5
265 x 3
265 x 2

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20-15-10-5 rft
Dumbbell thrusters @ 35s
Pull-ups
Between each round and at the end, do 20 box jumps @ 20"
Time = 21:07

Man, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I was breathing so hard during this routine and was one of those rare occasions when I seriously wanted to quit. Perhaps yesterday's impromptu conditioning workout took more out of me than I thought. Still, I was disappointed in myself because I felt like I lacked mental discipline and strength today.

Conditioning

My workouts this week have been a bit half-assed, so I wanted to throw in a quick conditioning routine in the Stonecroft gym on what would usually be a rest day. Well, it was supposed to be quick...

4 rft:
40 strokes on the rowing machine @ 10 resistance
40 hand-release push ups
40 skips
40 sit ups
Time = 28:14

I don't know if this is particularly slow, but I expected my time to be quicker.

Upper body

I am soooo tired this morning. Who would have thought that moving a few streets away would screw my daily routine? I woke up early today, showered, then cycled to McDonald's for coffee and oatmeal. After I was suitably caffeinated, I cycled to the gym and did a short workout.

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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Power clean and press
85lb x 3
95lb x 3
105lb x 1
115lb x 0
115lb x 1

After the bench presses - which were okay, but nothing special - I felt like I had no energy left. I've got to sort myself out quickly and get my training back on track.

Legs

After yesterday's 25lb dumbbell workout, I was eager to do some heavy lifting today. That being said, my daily schedule is all over the place this week while I adjust to living further outside town, and I felt a bit groggy when I got to the gym after getting up earlier than usual.

Front squats (a2g with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175 (1)

I think 175lb equals my heaviest a2g front squat, so while it isn't an advance, there was some cause for celebration. All of the sets except the last one used a conventional grip. I could feel my wrists stretching a bit at 165lb, so I switched to a crossover grip for 175lb. That's a significant improvement in wrist flexibility from a few months ago. It certainly feels like both wrists are back to 100%.

What certainly helped with both grip techniques was getting my head way back with my chin up high. That made it easier to keep my elbows up.

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Deadlifts:
175 x 6
195 x 4
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 1
295 x 1
310 x 1
325 x 0
325 x 0

My 1RM is 320lb, so I had two attempts at beating that, but failed both times.

On balance, not a bad day.

Upper body and Conditioning

Not a fellow resident

Time ran away from me this morning, as I'm still getting used to living a bit further away from the downtown core, thus taking longer to get around town. Consequently, I couldn't make it to ABsolute Fitness and had to settle for a workout in the Stonecroft gym. I don't think I'll be doing that too often.

Supersets

Seated shoulder press @ 25s - 14, 10, 10, 7, 8
Upright dumbbell rows @ 25s - 14, 11, 10, 8, 8

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Push presses @ 25s - 20, 18, 14, 14, 14
Push ups - 12, 8, 7, 6, 7

I thought the heaviest dumbbells in the gym were 50lb, which would have given me a significant challenge, but I was mistaken: they only go up to 25lb! My shoulders started to burn during the routines above, but - as is apparent from the high rep numbers - it took a long time to get there!

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2km on Concept 2 rowing machine @ 8 resistance
Time = 11:02

There were a couple of much older people in the gym while I was training, and they kept giving me funny looks while I was rowing. I don't think they've ever seen someone sweating and grunting in there before! When I stepped off the machine, I nearly keeled over when both my hamstrings started to cramp up. That wouldn't have impressed the neighbours.

Upper Body

This is how my forearms felt at the end of today.

Personal training with Paul

I asked Paul to take it easy on me today because I would be doing plenty of heavy lifting during our house move. Of course, he ignored my request. @#$*!!

Bench press
95 x 10
115 x8
125 x 5
135 x 2
135 x 2

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Pull-ups
10
25 x 7
30 x 5
35 x 4
35x 4

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Supersets
Incline dumbbell bench press - 35s x 10, 10, 10, 10
Incline dumbbell flies - 25 x 10, 10, 5, 5

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Neutral pull-ups - 10, 6, 5, 4
Cable rows - 80 x 10, 9, 10, 10

All of the above was simply a warm up for five hours of lifting heavy boxes and furniture. Bloody hell. It actually wasn't too bad, other than the fact our schedule over the whole weekend meant I ate plenty of crap I wouldn't usually.

Legs

Back squats a2g - Smith rack
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
170 x 5
180 x 5
190 x 0

Both the free weight racks were being used this morning, so I went with the Smith rack again. This time, I took into account that the bar weighs 30lb. I've done 3 reps at 190lb before, so I was disappointed that I couldn't even manage one today. In fact, I've felt pretty tired all week. More about that below.

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21-15-9 rft
Deadlifts @ 185
Weighted lunges @ 35s (per leg)
Time = 13:29

I probably could have used heavier weights for each of these movements, but I wanted to do a routine that enabled me to move as quickly as possible, rather than simply heavy. 

Earlier this week, I thought that Saturday's back-to-back metcons had taken more out of me than I expected, but that's probably a stretch. Then I realised that although my gym sessions haven't been anything too unusual, I've been spending two or three hours every day moving boxes and furniture to the new house. Try deadlifting a heavy sofa, then carrying it up and down stairs!

Pulling

How I felt this morning.

My arms felt a bit knackered today, plus the gym was pretty humid. On top of that, I felt really old this morning, as it was Madi's first day in Grade 3. GRADE-BLOODY-THREE!? Jesus - where did the years go?

Power snatches (from the ground)
65 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 2

Bit of a press out on the last two sets.

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Chin ups (weighted)
35 x 3
40 x 3
47 x 3
52 x 3
55 x 3
60 x 2

Same as last time.

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Supersets
Wide pull downs @ 80lb - 10, 10, 10
Chest supported rows @ 100lb - 10, 8, 6

Pushing

Lucas Podolski tucks one away for the Gunners against Liverpool

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

Exactly the same number of reps as last time. Bearing in mind the punishment my shoulders endured on Saturday, I'm not too bothered.

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Bench press - Smith rack, safeties on third hook; small bench
110 115 x 3
120 125 x 3
130 135 x 3
135 140 x 2
135 140 x 1

These weights are based on the assumption that the bar weighs 35lb 30lb, but I'm not sure if that's the case. I would have used my usual set up, but both the squat rack and the cage were being used. Of course, I could have opted for dumbbell bench presses, but I wanted to try something a bit different.

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Dumbbell incline shoulder press
32s x 10, 37s x 5, 5, 5, 4

Conditioning

Personal training with Paul

This video sums up today's workout.

A DVD extra from the hilarious thriller, "In Bruges",
with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason and Ralph Fiennes. NSFW!

21-15-9 rft
Squat cleans @ 75lb
Dips
Time = 12:46

Rest 1 minute

30 power snatches @ 75lb
Time = 8:59

Rest 1 minute

21-15-9
Thrusters @ 75lb
Kipping pull-ups
Time = 18:01

I thought my heart was going to burst through my chest during the pull-ups in the last routine. When I'd completed the whole workout, my head was spinning, I thought my breakfast was returning, and I collapsed in a puddle of sweat. I know I've worked my ass off when another gym member asks me if I'm okay!