Pushing

That looks a bit more than 65lb.

Trifecta: military press, push press, split jerk, all @ 65lb
Do each move to failure, then move onto the next one
Set #1: 5, 6, 2
Set #2: 5, 7, 2
Set #3: 4, 5, 2
Set #4: 4, 4, 2
Set #5: 4, 5, 2

This is based on a Greg Glassman CrossFit video I found on my laptop at the weekend. I'd downloaded it ages ago, but didn't get round to watching it until Saturday. When I planned this morning's workout, I thought I'd warm up with 65lb, but do this routine with 80lb. However, it felt challenging enough with 65lb, so that's what I stuck with throughout. I'm not sure of the benefits of this type of workout, but at least it allowed me to get three types of press into a pretty short routine.

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Superset:
Incline dumbbell flies - 25s x 10, 30s x 7, 25s x 10, 8, 9
Incline dumbbell bench presses - 25s x 10, 30s x 3, 25s x 4, 5, 5

My pecs were still really sore from Saturday's bench presses, and that caused me some problems with this superset, especially the db presses. I failed pretty early with the 30s for both the movements - compared to last time - so I dropped down to 25s again, just so I could keep doing the workout. To (kind of) compensate, I added an extra set to increase the total number of reps.

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Bearing in mind how sore my chest felt, perhaps this wasn't a great idea.

Superset:
Dips - 9, 6, 4, 5, 4
Hand-release push-ups - 5, 4, 4, 3, 3

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Weighted decline sit-ups:
10lb x 22, 15lb x 10, 7

Full body

Hang power cleans @ 125
4, 4, 4, 4, 4 = 20

Even though I got 4 reps in all 5 sets, this still felt like a bit of a struggle. I don't think it was a problem with strength or power, but my grip felt a bit weak at times. It didn't affect the next routine, but I certainly felt it then, too.

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Superset - front squats/back squats:
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
160 - 3 & 3
165 - 2 & 3

It's been a few months since I did this routine, and I made a slight improvement. Last time, I only hit 2 reps for the front squats at 160lb; this time I got all 3, plus I went on to 2 front squats at 165lb. I used a conventional grip for all the front squats, making those 2 reps at 165lb the heaviest I've ever gone with the correct grip. However, looking at the video it's clear I didn't get a consistent depth on all my heavier squats. Not too bad, though.

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Split jerk:
65 (5), 75 (3), 85 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3)

I would have liked to do another couple of sets at 95lb, or even gone heavier, but I ran out of time as I had to take Madi for a scheduled eye test. Jeez - real life!

Upper Body

Photo day #5. Shame about the crazy-ass eyes.

Today's workout is the first part of my program to get back by upper body strength! I've spent too much time concentrating on my legs and posterior chain at the expense of pushing exercises. I'm going to try to do 2 days of pushing workouts per week, some of them heavy weight/low reps and some light or moderate weight/ high reps. It was clear from today's numbers that I've lost some of my upper body strength.

Alternate sets:

Dumbbell bench press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5:
40s, 42, 45s, 47s (4), 47s (3)

Dips - relative max: 10, 7, 5, 5, 5

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Military press @ 70: 4, 5, 4, 4, 3

Pull-ups (strict): 10, 9, 7, 6, 6

Last time I did military presses with 70lb, my reps were 6, 7, 5, 5, 5

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Overhead hold @ 85 x 4 sets (split jerks)

When I've done these before I used 95lb. I could feel that was going to be a struggle today, so I went lighter in the knowledge I could get the bar overhead and keep it there. In that regard, I was successful. 

Of course, I'm disappointed that I've lost some of the upper body gains I'd made. However, at least I know what the problem was - poor programming - and how to improve (thanks, Paul!)

Full body: Heavy weight

Overhead: Solid / Weak core / Tight shoulders

Split jerk:
65 (5), 75 (3), 85 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3)

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Complex: 1 x power squat clean and 1 x front squat
Update: It's probably more accurate to describe this as 1 x power clean and 2 x front squats
(Warm up: 95 x 1, 95 x 2, 95 x 2)
105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140 (F), 140 (F)



On both failed sets at 140lb, the failure was in getting the bar up to my chest (i.e. the power clean portion). Both failures - shown in the video - were close, but then dropped. I couldn't get enough power from my hips to get the bar up to my chest.

The last time I attempted a routine similar to this I did 2 front squats, not 1 like today. That time I failed to clean 135, so today was an improvement in that respect.

Upper body: Heavy weight

Josh Everett

I did much better today than I anticipated because I felt pretty tired (sleepy, not fatigued).

Hang power cleans @ 125
(Warm up: 2 x 5 @ 95; 4 @ 105)
4, 4, 4, 4, 3

Last time I did these I managed 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, so this is a significant improvement. Today I had much more power from my hips, and I took my time to prepare myself between individual reps (no more than a couple of seconds each time.) I'm sure that helped as I felt more relaxed mentally. I was convinced I was going to get the fourth rep in the final round, but was only able to get the bar up halfway, hence the loudly hissed "Shit!" when I failed.

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Split jerk: 65 (5), 75 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (3), 95 (2)

Nice and consistent, plus better than last time.

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Hang power snatches: 45 (5), 70 (3), 85 (3), 90 (2)

Again, an improvement; I failed at 90lb last time, so this is a PR.

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Weighted sit-ups - max reps @ 8lb: 10, 10, 9, 10

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Relative max push-ups: 32, 20, 13, 13

Overall, it feels like a good week's training. I didn't overdo it so even though I've made significant progress I don't feel like I've over-trained. Plus, I've learned some valuable lessons from my videos.

Full body: Heavy/moderate weight

Personal training with Paul.

Today was a triumph of willpower as I felt pretty crappy from the moment I woke up. It feels like I've overtrained again and I didn't have any energy. Even warming up with an empty bar was a struggle. The weird thing is, I felt a hell of a lot better at the end of the session than I did when I started.

Split jerk:
65 (5), 75 (3), 95 (2), 95 (2), 95 (1), 95 (3)

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Amrap 15:
10 x deadlifts @ 155
10 x box jumps @ 26"

Score = 8 rounds

I thought I was going to lose my breakfast during this routine. This is where the fatigue really kicked in.

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Superset - 4 sets:
Max rep dips - 10, 8, 8, 7
Leg elevated abs move - 12 per side