Full body

Sarah Hopping: Jerking, not pressing, which is what I did.

I decided to try Gwen today, which didn't leave any time to do much else afterward. The weather was so crappy that I couldn't stay at the gym too long so I'd get home at a decent time.

Gwen: 15-12-9 clean and press

This is not a timed workout, so there isn't a score to speak of. I did lots of warming up with an empty bar and then 65lb until I felt ready to go. I used 85lb for the 15 rep set, and 90lb for the 12 and 9. In retrospect I was a bit conservative with the weight I used; I probably could have gone 5lb-10lb heavier. That being said, after reviewing my video, I think too many of my presses were a bit dodgy, and using more weight probably wouldn't have helped. It looks like I'm leaning back too much and my head isn't "going through the hole" between my arms. On top of that, my legs clearly don't lockout too well when the bar is overhead, although I don't know if that would count as a no-rep. 

As many people noted on the CrossFit site, my grip and forearms were fubar at the end of each round. I rested 6:30 after the first set and 7:00 after the second. That's a total of 13:30 minutes of rest time, so no wonder I didn't have much time for a longer workout session.

The camera position for the first set is bloody ridiculous!

======

Leg presses
8 x 160lb, 180lb, 200lb, 210lb, 210lb

Not a great workout today, as I would have liked to do more, but a combination of the weather and the rests during Gwen meant I had to rush off.

Pulling

Totally loving this video.

Power snatches
65 x 3
75 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 2
90 x 3

Didn't do too well with these, but I think that's probably because I'm out of practice. I need to get more barbell snatches into my workouts (I've been doing plenty of db snatches).

======

Drop set pull-ups - 35lb weighted/bodyweight
6/6, 4/4, 4/4, 3/4, 2/3

======

Dumbbell rows
70 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 3

Pushing

Mikko. What ever happened to him?

Felt just a little lacking in energy this morning, but perhaps that's because I didn't have my usual 24 hours rest as I trained yesterday evening at 6:00pm.

Bench press
95 x 5
105 x 5
110 x 5
115 x 5
120 x 5
125 x 3

These were done on a proper bench press setup, not using safeties. Perhaps I could have tried another rep at 125lb, but I didn't want to risk it as there was no-one to spot me.

======

Military press, relative max
65lb x 10, 8, 7, 7

======

Amrap 15:
10 dips
10 dumbbell bench presses @ 45s
Score = 3 rounds + 6 bench presses

Not a great score by any means, but the db benches were tough. I had to take several long rests just to string two or three reps together. The dips weren't too bad, although only the first set was unbroken.

Two ripped male athletes in one post!

Conditioning

I haven't used a picture of a male athlete for nearly a month.
Oh, well...

For time:
50 skips (x 2)
50 burpees
50 thrusters @ 20s
50 sit-ups
50 push presses @ 20s
50 leg raises/hip raises
50 traveling lunges (50 steps)
50 dumbbell swings @ 30
50 dumbbell snatches @ 25
50 jump squats

Time = 32:41

Real life got in the way of my planned pushing workout today and I didn't have time to go to ABsolute Fitness this morning. It wasn't until 6:00pm that I was able to take a break from work, but I was only able to get to the Stonecroft gym. I spent a good 15 minutes stretching and warming up, especially as my right calf is still hurting from my cramp spasm after Saturday's PT session.

I adapted today's main site WOD by substituting some movements for the RXed ones; for example, thrusters with dumbbells instead of wall balls, and leg/hip raises instead of knees to elbows. Some of the changes were due to the equipment that was available, and some were because I don't have the skills (100 single skips instead of 50 double-unders).

Perhaps because it was later in the day, but I felt pretty lethargic at the start of this routine. However, I gradually felt mentally more energized as I progressed, although I was obviously becoming more fatigued. I was alone in the gym until the dumbbell swings, and I think I scared the crap out of the geezer who came in to use the machines. I was grunting and sweating my ass off, then I managed to gasp "Enjoy your evening" when I left. I'm probably the first person at Stonecroft who's done metcon training!

Full body - Conditioning

Personal torture with Paul.

I think this may be the toughest workout I've ever done. Hurt. Like. Hell.

3 rft; all at 95lb, no rack or dropping the weight
10 clean and press
10 floor press (bench presses, but on the ground)
10 thrusters
10 back squats
10 hang squat cleans
10 lunges (5 per leg)
Time = 37:27

I had to redo one rep - can't remember what it was - because I dropped the weight, rather than lowering it under control.

I "trained angry", which can sometimes be useful, but my focus wasn't 100% today because I had a lot on my mind. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference to my score, but I felt like I went as fast as I could from the start, rather than pacing myself as I usually would. Regardless of strategy, this was a frigging tough workout. It was my breathing that slowed me down more than anything, and the reason why I needed lots of rests. 

The technique on some of my hang squat cleans wasn't too pretty as my elbows were almost pointing down, rather than my arms being parallel to the ground. I can obviously do better at only 95lb, but damned if I can when I'm that bloody knackered. Still, I'm surprised Paul didn't call me on them!

It's now four hours after my workout and the pain is starting to set in, especially in my pecs. I might go swimming tomorrow, but I'm glad it's a rest day.

Full body

A typical Vancouver mother of two.

I think this might be the last day I do full body workouts for a while, as I'd like to get back into the pushing, pulling, legs and conditioning split.

Front squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
95, 115, 135, 155, 165, 170 (1)

Been a while since I did heavy front squats. After the single rep at 170lb, my wrist felt like it was straining, so I decided to rack the bar. I could have tried another rep, I guess, but I didn't want to risk failure due to my grip and have to release the weight quickly.

======

Supersets

Neutral grip pull-ups - 12, 8, 8, 7
Pull downs @ 50lb - 6, 4, 5, 5

Lateral raises - 20s x 10, 9, 8
Military presses - 20s x 12, 9, 6

Feet elevated push-ups (18") - 12, 12, 10
Cable fly curls @ 30s - 10, 9, 6

Upper body

Short and simple today because of time constraints.

Hang cleans 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 115, 120, 125, 130 (3)

======

Dips; maximum 60 seconds rest between sets
14, 8, 7, 6, 6

======

Amrap 12
5 x push presses (from ground)
5 x clapping push-ups
Score = 9 rounds exactly

Full body

Alternate sets; 5 x relative max reps
Bench press @ 125lb: 6, 5, 5, 5, 4

Weighted pull-ups @ 35lb: 5, 5, 5, 4, 4

Exactly 60 seconds rest between sets.

======

3 rft:
15 dumbbell snatches @ 30lb, left arm
15 sit-ups
15 dumbbell snatches @ 30lb, right arm
15 toes to bar
Time = 18:15

This is a modified version of yesterday's WoD. I tried a light db squat snatch - 20lb - but I didn't have enough external rotation to allow me to squat at a reasonable depth. My arm was too far forward, which meant I couldn't get enough weight in my heels and I felt like I was going to topple over. I decide to go with a straight db snatch at 30lb, but, in retrospect, I could have gone at least 5lb heavier. The level of difficulty for each of these movements was exactly as expected - sit-ups were easiest, all unbroken; snatches were okay, with the first set unbroken for each arm, then with one break in the other two rounds. Toes to bar, however, included quite a few no-reps and several breaks in each set. That cost me a tremendous amount of time.

Full body: Conditioning

Personal training with Paul.

Bloody hell, I've got to stop suggesting workouts to Paul. Today's was a killer. I stumbled across a metcon on a Guelph box's website and sent it to Paul because I thought he might like to try it. But no; he made me do it instead (I'll be bloody pissed if he doesn't give it a go!)

2 rounds of max reps:

Burpees: 40 + 29 = 69
Chin-ups: 37 + 27 = 64

Push presses @ 95lb: 27 + 23 = 50
Back squat @ 45 lb: 52 + 40 = 92
Knees to elbows: 27 + 27 = 54

3 minutes per station; 30 seconds of "rest" to transition to the next station.

3 minutes of rest between rounds.

Total reps = 324

Score = 383

There's an option of doing knees to elbows or sit-ups instead, but the k2e reps count double, hence my total score is higher than the total reps.

The presses were the toughest, simply because of the weight. I was pleasantly surprised that my second set was only four reps fewer than the first. The back squats were surprisingly hard because they took my breath away. I took some long breaks during the second set because my head was spinning so much. There was only one failed rep in the whole routine - a chin-up - and the k2es, which were the last movement of each round, were done on auto-pilot. I shut off my mind and just concentrated on getting through the next rep. I've never know 30 seconds pass so quickly nor 3 minutes go so slowly.

I finished off with some sit-ups, none of which was timed.

Full body

I wanted to do some conditioning work today, but I had the most godawful headache. I don't know if it's related, but I decided to cut way back on my caffeine intake. For the past few weeks I've been having some heartburn in the morning, and I couldn't figure out why. I haven't changed from my usual breakfast - oatmeal, 1% milk, flax seed, raisins and apple sauce - so I didn't think it could be that. Then a couple of days ago I read a blog post where the writer said that he'd stopped drinking caffeine because it was causing GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), and one of the symptoms is heartburn. Decaf coffee is fine, so I've been only drinking that for the past two days. However - and I don't know if this is the cause - I've had a thumping headache for about a day and a half. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone cold turkey, so I'm going to allow myself some caffeine first thing in the morning, but a greatly reduced amount.

Anyway, I took an ibuprofen before I headed to the gym, and that helped somewhat, but there was still a residual ache at the back of my skull that I found distracting more than anything else, so I opted to do some weight work instead of some fast-paced metcons.

Back squats
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 4

That's one rep more at 195lb, plus I think my form was much better today (full rom).

======

I copied part of Paul's workout from a short time ago, just to see how I measure up. Paul's scores are in brackets.

Push-ups - 34, 22, 16 (40, 21, 20)
Paul beat me by nine reps in total, but at least I managed one rep more in the second set!

Chin-ups - 15, 10, 9 (15, 10, 9)
I shouted the loudest "Shit!" when I tried and failed to get a 10th chin-up in the last set!

And to finish off...

Leg raises - 21, 17, 12

Full body

Push press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
85, 95, 105, 110, 115 (4)

======

Yesterday's main site WOD.

Deadlift - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
225, 245, 255, 265, 270 (3)

At last - an official demo video that actually emphasizes good form and technique for a lift. I followed the advice of the trainer and leaned back once I had a good grip of the bar, because that put the weight firmly in my heels. Besides, there's no danger of me toppling backward, which gave me confidence with my posture. Plus, this helps to avoid "stripper's butt"! Also, I was strict about not letting gravity pull the bar on the way down, so I ensured that I had control when I lowered the bar. 

I used a one-rep max calculator to guesstimate what I should be aiming for with my final set. As my 1RM is 325lb, the target came out as roughly 280lb, which is 10lb more than I managed. However, when I do a 1RM routine, my form is usually dodgy for the final lift, whereas today I was being ultra strict with my technique. Therefore, I'm not disappointed with "only" hitting 270lb for three reps. I was very pleased with my form today, so that's a good trade-off.

I wore long jogging pants today to try and protect my shins, but when I was squatting to address the bar for my last set I could see some blood showing through!

======

Wide cable rows; max reps @ 80lb
20, 15, 12

I don't want to overtrain again, so tomorrow will be a rest day. I'd forgotten that when I trained like this before, I worked out on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (PT session), so that's what I'm sticking with for a couple of weeks. I'll probably switch back to the previous pushing, pulling, legs and conditioning split at the end of the month.

Full body

I want those arms and shoulders!

I feel much better today, and all the symptoms of overtraining have passed. Even though I only took one extra rest day - last week - and I had a PT session on Saturday, it feels like I've had a long break because I'm so refreshed. Weird. Anyway, kept it fairly short today because of a morning meeting.

Complex: 1 squat clean + 1 front squat + 1 squat clean + 1 front squat
95, 115, 125, 130, 135 (1 sc + 1 fs), 135, 140 (1 sc + 1 fs)

Identical outcome to last time I did this complex.

======

Lynne
Five rounds for max reps of:
Bench press @ 120lb (scaled from the RXed bodyweight)
Pull-ups
7/12 - 6/10 - 6/8 - 4/6 - 5/7

This was yesterday's main site WOD. The first set of pull-ups were all strict, and I gradually added more kipping reps as the workout progressed. I took as much rest as necessary between each set, and went to failure every time. If I couldn't complete a rep, that was it for the set. I don't know why I did it, but for the fourth set of bench presses I gripped the bar too wide, and that affected the number of reps I could manage. Here's the official demo video, with some seriously crappy pull-ups.

Upper body

Personal training with Paul

I've been feeling the symptoms of overtraining the past couple of days, and even a bit this morning when I got up. As before, it manifests itself with a flu-like ache in my chest, arms and shoulders. To be honest, I really wasn't looking forward to today's session because I didn't have much energy. However, I thought I might start to feel better once I got warmed up. I actually felt much better after this workout than at the start, and I barely have any of that aching feeling now.

For the record, it's well established that Paul's memory is better than mine, and I did actually train on Wednesday, contrary to what I'd suggested. However, he can't count for shit. Rather than paying attention to the reps I was doing, I think he was picking his lotto numbers.

======

Supersets

Incline bench press - 35s x 10, 40s x 10, 8, 8
Push-ups - 16, 12, 8, 6

===

Pull downs - 100 x 10, 10, 8, 7
Straight arm pull downs - 70 x 10, 7, 7, 6

===

Lateral raises - 20s x 10, 9, 7
Military presses - 20s x 11, 8, 5

===

Chest supported row - 100 x 10, 10, 10
Reverse lateral raise - 40 x 10, 7, 5

=====

For time:
50 sit-ups (strict)
50 Russian twists with 25lb plate (total)
25 sit-ups
25 Russian twists
Time = 7:53

Upper body

I'd planned on doing Fran today, to see how my time compares to the reverse Fran I did a few weeks ago. However, I had a really crappy night's sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep, so read some Sherlock Holmes stories for a couple of hours. That did the trick, and I eventually fell asleep again. When I woke up this morning - around 7:30, which is late for me - I felt exhausted, but I thought this would pass after a few coffees and a long shower. When I got to the gym and started warming up with some light squat cleans/thrusters and pull-ups, I was sweating so hard I knew there was no way I'd get through a routine as demanding as Fran. In the end, I decided to do some simple heavy-ish upper body work.

Bench press; 6 holes, small bench
115 x 5
120 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 5
135 x 2, 3

======

Supersets, relative max reps
Inverted rows, feet elevated - 12, 11, 10, 9, 9
Dips (strict, no swinging) - 12, 8, 8, 7, 7

======

Cable fly curls, drop sets
30s - 10, 10, 9
20s - 8, 7, 6

Full body

Post-lunch session today.

Sumo deadlifts; resetting
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3
310 x 2

I shredded both my shins and knees during the deadlifts, so at least both legs match now.

======

Cable rows
150 x 5
140 x 5, 5, 5, 5

I've done a full routine with 150lb before, but my form was a bit crappy with my first set today. I leaned back too much, and I couldn't pull the handles close enough towards me. I dropped down to 140lb because some decent reps at a lighter weight are better than lousy ones at 150lb.

======

Leg raises (dip station); max reps
25, 19, 13

Full body / Cindy

I don't usually train on Sundays, just because I take rest day after my Saturday personal training sessions. However, because I trained with Paul on Friday, I rested yesterday and was itching to do something today. I started with power cleans, but I tried a different strategy to normal.

Power cleans, t&g
95 x 3
120 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 2
140 x 1

I wanted to try getting to the heavy stuff more quickly than usual. Last time I did power cleans, I went from 95lb to 115lb, then 125lb, 130lb, 135lb, finishing with 140lb. I thought that perhaps I might save my strength for the later sets by taking heavier jumps between sets, but it didn't work out that way. Oh, well - it was worth a try and it was only an experiment, so I'm not going to get too frustrated by the result.

======

I felt like doing a girl WOD today, and - coincidentally - Cindy came up on the main site.

Cindy - amrap 20:
5 x pull-ups
10 x push-ups
15 x air squats
Score = 16 rounds + 3 pull-ups

The last time I did this was back in July, when I tried a "death by" type of strategy. For as long as I could manage, I would only start the pull-ups on the minute, and when I finished the last squat I would rest for the remainder of that minute. Today's score was identical to July's, which was a PR. However, back then I started my workout with Cindy, whereas this morning I started about three minutes after I'd completed the cleans. I didn't use the "death by" technique today, opting for just going when I felt ready. I rested with the slow breathing method I've been using for recent metcons, and I definitely felt comfortable with that. I know that kipping pull-ups are allowed with Cindy, but I started off by doing strict ones and only really resorted for a slight swinging motion about halfway through the routine. That meant I didn't get out of breath too quickly, which seems a bit smarter than attempting to sprint all the way through; that never works out well. 

I didn't improve on my previous score, but a big positive for me was that all of the rounds of pull-ups and air squats were unbroken, except for the last three pull-ups, which I knocked out as singles straight after completing round 16. It's a good thing I did, as I hadn't made a note of my PR, so I didn't realise until now that I'd matched it. I would have been pissed if I'd missed out by one or two reps.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

10 rft:
5 front squats @ 115lb, starting from the floor
5 pull-ups (strict)
Time = 12:00

I'm very pleased with this time, even though I've never done this routine before. All the rounds of squats were unbroken - the first rep each time was a squat clean - although a couple of times near the end I paused for a few seconds at the top in order to catch my breath. I think the first six rounds of pull-ups were unbroken, too. The best part about this routine is that I didn't rush and I was disciplined, controlling my breathing between sets and between the squats/pull-ups. I've been using this technique a lot recently, slowing down my breathing when necessary. It feels like I'm taking too long while I'm doing this - breathing in through my nose, then out slowly through my mouth - but it always seems to pay off with decent finish times. Basically, I don't think I could have done this routine any better, and that's always a good, rewarding feeling.

======

4 rounds, each for time; 1 minute's rest between rounds
15 dips
20 push-ups
2:19, 4:02, 4:03, 3:55

======

Cable fly curls; 30lb each side
10 with hold
9 with hold
8 with hold

Bloody hell, this burned my shoulders during the hold.

Full body

First heavy lift for the year; first PR.

Trap bar deadlift, 1rm
6 x 30% = 105lb
6 x 40% = 140lb
4 x 50% = 175lb
2 x 60% = 210lb
1 x 70% = 245lb
1 x 80% = 280lb
1 x 90% = 315lb
1 x 95% = 335lb
1 x 100% = 350lb (new PR)

This actually felt pretty comfortable, although it's clear from the video that my form was starting to go south (curved back). Still, I think I managed to start with my butt low down, which helped me to push up through my heels. This is the heaviest weight I've ever lifted, so felt pretty good. It looked pretty cool, too - three 45lb bumpers on each side!

======

Bench press, relative max @ 130lb (large bench, 7 holes)
4, 4, 3, 4, 3

======

Pull-ups, max with strict form - 11, 7, 6

Upper body

I felt a bit bleh this afternoon, which is when I had planned to train at the Stonecroft gym. I had an upset stomach after eating a few almonds, which I'd forgotten sometimes make me feel ill. I never used to like the taste of them until a few months ago, some time after I started eating much better. Ironically, I soon discovered that just a handful of almonds would give a wobbly tummy. I ate one this morning, and it tasted sooo good, I just had to eat another dozen or so. Big mistake. Anyway, this consequently affected my concentration a bit while I was working out, so no major successes today.

Alternate sets

Incline dumbbell bench presses @ 35s: 10, 10, 9, 8, 7
Incline dumbbell flies @ 25s: 10, 10, 10, 9, 9

===

Incline reverse flies: 15s x 10; 20s x 10, 10; 25s x 10*
Dumbbell snatches @ 35s: 5, 5, 5, 5 (per side)

* I've done these before with Paul, but I can't remember what the proper name is for this exercise.

======

Row 1,000m
Time = 5:29

That's 32 seconds quicker than last week. I think I was rowing angry while watching the Southampton vs Arsenal game live on the gym's TV. God, the Gunners were friggin' awful.