Quads and hamstrings

Back squats
95lb x 5, 5
135lb x 5
170lb x 5, 5, 5

Good, steady form, just breaking parallel.

Dumbbell sumo squats
100lb x 12, 12, 12

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10
100lb/62.5lb/37.5lb x 10/8/7

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg curls
75lb x 9, 8
75lb/50lb/25lb x 5/5/10

Straight leg dumbbell deadlifts, burn
40s x 40

Legs

Nice mixture of heavy weight/low reps and light weight/high reps this morning.

Box back squats
135lb x 5
185lb x 3
205lb x 3
225lb x 3
245lb x 2

Dumbbell sumo squats
60lb x 12
90lb x 15, 15, 15, 15

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10, 10
37.5lb x 12 single leg, per leg

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10, 10, 10
Went a lot lighter than usual, but that allowed me to lower the bar further and really stretch my hams.

Traveling lunges
40s x 10, 10, 10 per leg

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

Miranda

Personal training with Paul

I don't know much, but I know one thing: tomorrow morning, I'm going to hurt like a bitch.

Sumo deadlifts for time
185 x 10 - 19 sec
225 x 10 - 21
255 x 10 - 30
275 x 10 - 3:20 (!)
225 x 10 - 32

Both my quads and hamstrings gave out on me at the same time during the 275lb round. Shee-it.

======

Bench press for time
95 x 10 - 14 sec
105 x 10 - 18
115 x 10 - 1:02
120 x 10 - 3:02
105 x 10 - 59

With both the deadlifts and the bench presses, as soon as I needed to take a break my time dropped like a lead balloon.

======

10-8-6-4-2 rft
Dips
Neutral grip pull-ups
Time = 9:31

Sub-5 minutes my ass.

Because it was raining, Cher told me to call her when I finished training so she could pick me up. I swear, my neck and shoulders were so sore, it hurt to hold the phone to my ear.

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

======

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.

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.

======

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.

Legs and posterior chain

My lower back felt a little sore this morning - which hasn't happened for a long time - so I did a bit of stretching before I started the first workout.

Back squats (a2g)
(Warm up: two sets of 115lb x 5)
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 4

I actually did 5 reps in the last set, but on reviewing the video I noticed at least one wasn't full range of motion. No rep!

======

Perhaps it was the back squats, but I found the soreness in my lower back got a bit stiffer as the next routine progressed.

Sumo deadlifts
185 x 6
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 1
275 x 1

I could feel my back starting to bow in the last two sets, so I abandoned them after one rep. I finished well below my best scores, but it wasn't worth risking making my back any worse. This feels more like stiffness, rather than an injury, so I'm not worried that it's anything worse than that. Still, not worth pushing my luck today.

======

Did some arm work and a bit of skipping while Madi worked up a sweat in her spin class.

Full body: Heavy weight

Felt a bit bleh, probably because the time change has screwed up my body clock, but I still did okay today.

Complex: 1 power clean + 3 front squats + 1 squat clean (starting within 10 seconds)
95, 115, 120, 125, 125, 130 (F on squat clean), 130, 135 (F on squat clean)

So I equaled my PR. I think if I didn't have a 10-second limit to do the squat clean I might have done better with the final rep. Perhaps with 30 seconds rest I could have completed it.

======

Sumo deadlifts
185 x 6
215 x 3
235 x 2
265 x 1
285 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1
315 x 1
325 x 0 (lost my grip)
325 x 1
330 x 0

Last time I did these - with Paul - I used a close, overhand grip. Today I gripped a little wider so I could do a mixed grip to avoid using wrist straps. I was doing fine until the my first attempt at 325lb; I got the bar up and nearly straightened my back completely, then my right grip gave out on me and the bar dropped. I rested a bit, then went again, using an overhand grip with straps. This time I was successful, so I tried 330lb. The bar barely budged!

Full body

Seriously, dude?

Personal training with Paul.

I was about to type that this is my first day back at the gym after a short break, but I only missed 1 day due to illness! Physically, I feel almost 100% back to normal, but my head felt a bit groggy at the start of today's session. However, that cleared up pretty quickly and I was able to stay focused.

Sumo deadlifts:
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3

======

Alternate sets:
Push press: 85 x 3, 95 x 3, 105 x 3, 110 x 0, 110 x 0
Chin-ups (weighted): 25 x 3, 35x 3, 40 x 3, 45 x 3, 50 x 3

Okay, now I'm really getting frustrated at my lack of progress with push presses. At 110lb I was able to just about lockout overhead, but then the bar came straight down again. This is going to require some serious work to start improvement. It's compounded by my consistently increased strength with leg and posterior chain exercises. Some tips here that I might try.

======

Amrap 5:
5 x dumbbell hang clean and push press @ 35s
5 x pull-ups (strict)
Score = 5 rounds exactly

Bloody hell. Only 5 minutes, but it killed my forearms.

Full body

Annie Sakamoto and Samantha Briggs

Personal training with Paul

Yet another morning where I felt crappy through lack of sleep, but this time it was my own fault. I took Madi to a Firebirds game last night and I had bit of sinus pain so I took an antihistamine. As soon as I'd swallowed it I remembered that I shouldn't be taking them late in the day because they keep me awake - idiot! I didn't fall asleep until well past 1:00 a.m. Just as well that today was a strength workout without any fast metcons.

Sumo deadlifts
185 x 6
215 x 3
235 x 2
265 x 1
285 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1
315 x 1
325 x 1

That went better than I expected. When I started I felt a bit stiff, but I loosened up quickly and I think my form improved as I progressed. I've done a trap-bar deadlift at 335lb, but this is the first time at 325lb for the sumo variety. It looked even more impressive because I had 3 x 45lb bumpers on each side of the bar (plus some smaller weights). 325lb is 2.32 times more than my body weight.

Video shot by my trainer, Paul

======

Alternate sets:
Max reps neutral grip pull-ups, c2b: 10, 8, 7, 6, 7
Bench press @ 95: 5 x 10

======

That's it: simple but heavy today.

Full body: Heavy/moderate weight

Power clean and press:
65 (5), 95 (3), 105 (3), 105 (3), 110 (2), 115 (F), 115 (F)

That's a step backwards with my clean and presses; I should have got at least 1 rep at 115lb. Either I've overtrained my upper body and it needs more recovery time, my recovery nutrition isn't right, or I need to do more warming up before I start lifting. It may well be the latter because it only seems to be the first routine each morning where I'm not doing as well as I should.

Update: It's now 6:50pm and I'm feeling a bit drained, so perhaps this morning's clean and press performance is simply an indication that I need to have a break. I was planning on taking tomorrow as a rest day anyway, then an arm day on Thursday. That should leave me refreshed for Friday. 

======

Fran: 21-15-9
Thrusters @ 95
Kipping pull-ups
Time = 15:13

That's a 22 second improvement on last time, in August, which was 19 seconds quicker than the time before that back in May. Those thrusters felt tougher than I expected and I failed on one rep late in the first round. Kipping pull-ups went really quickly. I'm making steady improvement with Fran, but still a lot of work to do before I match hardcore CrossFit athletes! Clearly, my light weight is an advantage for the kipping pull-ups, but a disadvantage for 95lb thrusters.

Here's how my Girl's scores have improved.

======

For time:
20 deadlifts @ 135
20 sumo deadlifts @ 135

Time = 2:32

This is what Fran is supposed to look like.

46 (again)

Personal training with Paul; my second "birthday" workout of the week.

For time:
46 Sumo deadlifts @ 205
Every 10 reps do 10 otb jumps (lateral)
Time = 8:25

======

For time (broken any way):
46 bench press @ 95
46 pull-ups (no kip)
Time = 10:39

======

For time:
46 power clean and press @ 95
Every 10 reps do 20 sit-ups
Time = 13:28

I did better at these routines than I expected because I actually felt a bit tired this morning; not sure why. I also had a few aches. The only time I really pissed at is for the last exercise. The last 6 clean and presses were pretty much non-stop, although I did drop the weights each time. If I'd kept up that rhythm for the previous 40 reps I would have been much quicker. I was mentally lazy for those reps, but kicked it up a notch to finish.

At the suggestion of English blogger and potty-mouthed Paleo recipe guru, Finn Christo of Modern Paleo Warfare (many's the time I've had to "blitz that fucker"), I'll be taking monthly pictures as an "incentive". Here's the first one. Cher was pissing herself laughing while she took this shot, commenting my left arm looks bigger than my right. I'll be displaying all the photos here. Hopefully, I'll start to look less self-conscious.

Full body: Heavy/moderate weight

Exactly how I feel.

Good news - my hip flexor feels like it's completely healed! Bad news - I've fucked up my left knee. (What is it about my left side? Wrist, hip flexor, and now knee.) It started to hurt a little bit on the outside of my knee when I started running yesterday and got gradually worse. My hip flexor felt so good this morning that I was going to do some squat cleans; more on that below.

Anyway, I didn't plan a long session today, just because I ran a brisk 5k yesterday on what would have been a rest day.

Sumo deadlifts:
10 @ 135 (warm up)
5 x max @ 185: 8, 8, 7, 6, 6

======

Dumbbell flat bench press - max reps at:
40s (15)
45s (9)
50s (3 and a half!)
52s (3)
55s (3)
40s (10)

======

3 rft:
5 power cleans @ 95
10 pull-ups (no kipping)
15 hand release push-ups
Time = 7:15

Not a long metcon, but it proved I was right to take it easy today. I got out of breath pretty quickly during this routine, especially with the pull-ups. I felt tired about halfway through the first set, but not in a fatigue or overtraining kind of way. I think it was mental as much as anything because of the aforementioned loss of a rest day.

I had planned on doing hang squat cleans for the first movement. I tried a rep in order to test my hip, which felt fine. However, my left knee hurt quite a bit and started to buckle when I was at the bottom of the squat and I nearly fell over sideways. And this was with only 95lb, well within my capability. After a bit of swearing while massaging my knee I decided to do power cleans instead, which didn't cause me any problems.

Feels like bloody ages since I did any full rom squats.

Full body

Front squats 5 x max reps @ 115 (to parallel; no risers used)
12, 9, 8, 8, 7

======

For time: 40 x two-arm dumbbell ground-to-overhead @ 40lb dumbbells
Time = 7:29

This is part of one of the CrossFit Regional routines. I did a bit of a Goldilocks with the weights:I tried 30lb (women's weight) but they were too light, then 45lb (men's weight) which felt really tough. I settled for 40lb and I think I made the right choice. I started with 5 consecutive reps, then several sets of 4. The last 10 reps were 3, 4, 3.

======

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time
Sumo deadlifts @ 165
Box jumps @ 24 inches

Time = 14:38

A scaled version of one of Paul's routines. The last 5 rounds were quite painful on my lower back, the same pain that I had during my squats on Saturday.

======

Supersets - 4 x max reps; 1 minute rest between sets:
C2B chin-ups
Crossfit push-ups
9/10, 6/8, 6/7, 4/9

======

The last 3 days' workouts have taken their toll and I felt totally drained at the end of this. When I finished, I went to the locker room, opened my locker to take out my bag and saw my bike helmet. Then I remembered, "Fuck - I cycled here!"