2011-12-03

3x3 or 3-3-3This is our final exposure of Front Squats for this cycle.  Novice and Intermediate lifters should add 2.5-10lbs from their previous exposure.  Advanced lifters can take three attempts at a 3RM. Happy Lifting!

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Tabata Mash Up:
Kettlebell Swings
Push-Ups

Alternate :20 of work and :10 of rest between both movements for 16 total rounds.

___________________

Front Squats: I did 30# x 4

Tabata:
I got 10 KB swings - at 1P (!!! first time since being pregnant i didn't feel like swinging that bell was going to injure me.) almost every round except the last 2

I got 7 pushups(full plank down, knees up) for the first 3-4 rounds and then they steadily declined to 4 over the last 4 rounds.

2011-10-10

3 rounds
400m row
21 kb swings (12 kg - Russian)
15 burpees (CFSBK style)

16:23 (I think)

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. CFSBK burpees are a LOT harder than CFEB. They require strict pushup form on the way down and the way up.

David made us run around the block afterwards. brutal.

The warmups are getting easier - I still have a lot of remedial form issues to work out.

2011-10-6

As Many Rounds As Possible In 20 Minutes of:
45 Double-Unders
3 Hang Power Cleans 155/95
1 Push Jerk 155/95

The barbell couplet must be completed without putting the bar down. Any bailing before finishing the jerk nullifies that entire round. "Finishing the Jerk" means that the bar must be locked out overhead and stable for a 2 count before dropping it.
For example, if you perform 45 doubles, 3 Cleans and then miss your jerk you'll have to start over at the first double under again.

Subbed 20 KB swings for DU. Used a 25# barbell. Per Shane, subbed muscle cleans and push-press.

11 rounds + 3 KB swings

25# was too light. This workout was all KB swings, with the barbell movements feeling like a rest. Even with the light bar, though I got sloppy towards the end about keeping my knees out. Which was the reason Shane wanted me to skip the dynamic power moves. Bleah.

2 PRs

3 short workouts today:

42-30-18
Double-under
21-15-9
Pull-up

4:59 (subbed 2pd KB swings for pullups, due to ab injury)

Work to a 1RM Clean

150# (pr)

Truly awful form, but it got there.

Run 1 mile

5:47 (pr)

4:59
150
5:47

Ripped ab

I seem to have an injury in my abdominal muscles. I Couldn't do the WOD I had planned, so instead did:

10 rounds for time:
10 double-unders
10 KB swings (2 pd)
10 pistols (medium band assisted)

21:21

A bit nervous due to the injury, so I only went about 80% intensity on this. I liked incorporating the pistols into the workout- should do that more often, hopefully get to a reliable pistol sooner.

Off the menu for now: pullups, box jumps, sit-ups...

200-06-24 Dirty Thirty

WOD:
For time:
50 Box jump, 24"/20"
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.0P/.75P (25# Dumbell)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45/30
50 Good Mornings 45/30
50 Wall ball shots, 20/14
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

Scaling:
Did 30 reps of every exercise instead of 50. Box jumps were about 12" (1 45#, 2 25# and 1 15#) K-t-E were more Knees to chest and used the 10# wall ball.

33:22

2:55.87; 2:30.92; 1:51.28; 2:22.23; 5:57.86; 1:59.13; 2:02.94; 5:48.51; 3:35.56; 4:18.59

I apparently scaled this way more than necessary. I expected to be lagging way behind even at 30 reps to everyone else's 50. Instead I was consistently one of the first 2 or 3 people to any given exercise.

This is a 13 minute PR over the last time I did the dirty 30 in July of 2008, and I remember it as being very hard. And this time it never really felt THAT hard - particularly not for the first four exercises or so. I should have done the full volume.

2010-05-09

WOD:
3 Rounds

30 Double-Under
20 Burpee
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead, two hands, using any kettlebell
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead left, using any kettlebell
320KG/240KG from below hip to overhead right, using any kettlebell

Due to the blisters on my feet I skipped the DU and Burpees. I used 1P for the KB swings, 12kg for for the left handed hip 2 OH, and 8kg for the right handed hip 2 OH. My rep scheme was 15, 20, 30. I did clean and PP for both left and right. It's been so long since I did KB snatches, I just didn't feel comfortable keeping them stabilized.

9:56; 10:05; 9:29 = 29:31

2010-05-05 - certainly intense - not as short as expected.

Warmup: run 1 mile, ME

Original WOD:
3 Rounds

Run 800 Meters
30 Kettlebell Swings 1.5P/1.0P
50 Double-Unders

Modified WOD:
3 Rounds

Run 400 Meters
15 (Russian) Kettlebell Swings 1.25P
25 Double-Unders

26:02
Round 1: 2:04, 5:08
Round 2: 2:49; 1:51; 4:45
Round 3: 2:57; 2:09; 4:15

The reason I cut the volume in half and increased the weight of the KB is that I wanted to make this a quicker, more intense workout, and to really try to keep the effort/intensity high the whole time. It was certainly intense, but it wasn't exactly quick. I underestimated (ie didn't even consider) how hard DU would be after heavy KB swings. That's definitely what ate up most of the time.

I didn't completely succeed at keeping the intensity up the full time. I actually had to walk part of both the second and third runs because i couldn't get my breathing under control and it felt like i was about to start hyperventilating. And all the time with the double-unders - it's a really fine line between resting long enough that you won't fail the next rep, and resting longer than necessary. It's such a waste of energy to fail a rep. Most of my reps were singles - i did get a couple strings of more than 1 - a very few times i got as many as 4 or 5.

Gratifyingly, Max said my KB swings were looking really solid. I got several of them as high as my forehead - they were all at least chin level, though, and I was able to do the first set straight through, and rounds 2 and 3 were done in a set of 8 and a set of 7.

But the real victory of the day was my running (which might also have been my downfall). I didn't realize when I set out that the warmup run was supposed to be a mile. it's usually just 800m. A class mate passed me by and asked whether i was on lap 1 or 2 and helpfully told me that the warmup was supposed to be a mile when I looked confused. Yay. I knew I was going to cut the running in half for the workout, so i decided to go ahead and run the whole mile. It's been a while since I've run one. I managed to time the second lap, and I came in at 5:11 - which is actually quicker than I've been running lately, and - assuming that my second lap was not faster than my first, would put it in PR range since my best full mile time on record is 10:34. I really wish I had gotten the time for the full thing.

I also managed to get 2:04 on my first 400 - which is only 5 seconds off my PR for the 400. I was definitely booking it, but that good a result was unexpected. I've been working on lengthening my stride and running slightly less on the balls of my toes (someone told me it looked more like i was leaping than running). I guess maybe it's working? :-)

Burner

3 rounds:
800m run
30 kb swing 1.5p
50 double-unders

20:05rx

I can think of a dozen places I could have lost 6 seconds, mostly in double-unders. Goddamnit.

2010-04-17

Warmup: Run 400m, burpees, pushups, piked pushups, jumping C2B pullups

WOD:
Run 800 Meters
100 Double-Unders (only did 50)
Run 600 Meters
50 Kettlebell Swings 1.5/1.0P
Run 400 Meters
25 Burpees (stepping, not jumping - for the record, just as hard.)
Run 200 Meters
13 Thruster 115/75 (45# front squats)

Results:
36:45

800m: 5:13
50 DU: 7:50 (included bathroom break)
600m: 4:04
50 1P KB swings: 6:46
400M: 2:54
25 burpees: 4:07
200m: 1:33
13 45# front squat: 4:15

Comments:
This is the hardest I have worked in months and I am certainly paying for it now - but it's the good kind of "I worked hard" sore, and not the "I think I damaged myself" sore which is pretty awesome.

It's the first time I've run instead of subbing rowing in months, too, and it actually went just fine; not fast, or anything, but not problematic for any of my stupid nagging injuries.

My original goal for the double-unders was only 25 - i was afraid that all that jumping would really aggravate my knees, but they were going so well - I got several consecutive (Jump, skip, jump style)- I decided to go for 50. I think that was the right number - because by the time I was done with them just about everyone else was done with theirs, too. I was pretty pleased with how well these went.

When I got to the KB I didn't know whether i was going to just do 25 and stick to 50% volume for all the exercises, or do the whole thing. I decided to tough it out.

I did not jump my feet back or forward on the burpees - I've found that jumping them forward to that really low squat is one thing that is guaranteed to aggravate my knee. I did do a jump and a clap once i was on my feet. I thought these would be easier than regular burpees. they were not. Because I was not jumping forward, they were a lot more like pushups, and between the pushups from the warmup, and the largish quantity of pushups the day before, my arms were not interested in helping out. I found them to be at least as winding as regular burpees. Maybe I'm just out of practice.

The front squats were also just about as hard as I could manage and still pretend to keep any sort of decent form. I opted for them over thrusters again because of my knees. I probably should have incorporated a push-press component - but just the front squats felt plenty hard enough.

2010-04-12

Warmup: 8 min or so on the eliptical bike - i was late to class and had to find my own thing out of the way.

15 Overhead Squats 115/75
21 C2B Pull-Ups
12 Overhead Squats 115/75
15 C2B Pull-Ups
9 Overhead Squats 115/75
9 C2B Pull-Ups

I subbed 15# OHS and 1P KB swings - again - i was late and I didn't have time to set up a band at a bar and I could do KB swings outside out of the way.

8:54

They're calling it "the Gauntlet"

I put two classes through this on Sunday, and it looked like hell. So, when it came time to decide what to do today, I figured "what the hell, I haven't done a big WOD in a while," and jumped in. Surprisingly, Joe D, Brandon, Andre and John all signed on as well.

In 30 minutes...
Run 1 mile
50 KB Swings (2P)
50 Burpees
In remaining time, perform AMRAP
5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

Score is number of rounds completed.

7 rounds + 3 pull-ups RX
(Splits: mile 6:16, KB 4:20, burpees 5:50, round 1-2:10, round 2-2:37, round 3-2:30, round 4-1:35, round 5-1:44, round 6-1:37, round 7-1:08)

That was satisfyingly horrible. For only being 30 minutes, it lasted forEVER, and the Cindy rounds were brutal. It's nice to see I generally sped up on them (really pushed that last round hard) rather than the other way around, but (as always) it was the pushups that really held me back.

3 hours in the gym

Another marathon Wednesday in which I did not manage my time well

Warmup workout:

20 double-unders
10 KB swings (1.5P)
20 double-unders
9 KB swings
...
20 double-unders
1 KB swing

11:10RX

I was able to get about half the double-under rounds as a single set, which is gratifying. At least one skill seems to have come together. I credit the new rope.

Workout workout:

High-hang snatch x 3: 75-75-75-80-85
Squat snatch x 1: 90 - 95 - 100 (PR)
High-hang clean x 3: 95-95-100-105-110
Squat clean & jerk: 115-125-135 (PR)

Jim and I have started doing triplets from the high hang on both the snatch and the clean. I'm REALLY liking these. They put all the focus on the final pull and the dive, which I find to be the hardest part. I've noticed that they present a temptation that must be avoided: using hip thrust to send the bar out in front of me and then diving under to catch it. I have to work hard to focus on pulling the bar UP with high elbows and not OUT.

Another side effect seems to be that it has introduced a jump forward in my snatch. Here's a video of me doing a full squat-snatch at 100#, something I never could have done 10 weeks ago. The video reveals a lot of problem, but the biggest one I see is the forward bar path and jumping WAY forward to catch it. Must fix that!



The cleans were OK - my back is still a bit sore and complained about the heavy weight, but I did at least GET a 135# squat clean, which (combined with the 95# snatch) was my goal for this cycle. My back was rounded all to hell on the recovery, though, so I'm not really counting it until I can get it prettier.

Finished up with some muscle-up practice, which was a miserable failure, and some stretching.

3-12-2010

Amrap 20 min

5 pushups
10 1P kb swings
15 situps

11 rounds + 8 KB swings




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12-4-09

Decsending ladder 10-9-8-...-2-1

1P kb swings
Situps
Air squats

1:35, 1:34, 1:40, 1:24, 1:19, 1:13, 1:40 (4&3), 0:37, 0:24

11:29


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KB/Pullup ladder

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Kettlebell Swing (2P/1.5P)
Chest-to-bar Pullup

8:41 RX

Fastest time! Granted, the classes were REALLY small. Max was out competing in Walnut Creek so I led the classes, and the folks that showed up did not have great kips.

What a difference a day makes

Today went very differently than yesterday.

Yesterday I had huge heaps of energy and enthusiasm.  Today I found myself on the edge of tears, pre-workout and nearly quit the workout after round 1. Round 2 I managed to pull myself together, and the workout went pretty much fine after that, but it was an EXTREMELY rocky start, and there was definitely no energy left at the end for a finisher.

There are only a couple things that were different from the day before. I woke up at about the same time, got about the same amount of sleep, ate almost exactly the same food and even at approximately the same times. The only things that were different was that my luch was carnitas and beans instead of chicken and yams, I was slightly sore from the workout the day before, and the warmup was far less rigorous.

Until just this moment, I had been thinking that it was the reduced warmup that was part of the problem, because once I got going I was ok - but I just remembered that I did not have nearly as much fat in my lunch as the day before - I didn't add much extra because I thought the fat in the meat would make up the difference. Conversely yesterday, when I did so amazingly well, I probably had an overabundance of fat because my lunch was accidentally swimming in 'gravy', which was essentially just rendered chicken fat because we were out of flour when Daniel made it.

Based on this accidental experiment, I am going to switch to 2x fat immediately, and see what sort of effect it has on my moods, constant hunger, and overal performance.

And now on to the actual info about the WOD:

Warmup:  ME
WOD:
Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Hang squat clean, 15 reps (subbed russian swings with the 1.5P/55# KB)
30 Push-ups

Results:
25:21

I forgot my usual stop watch so I don't have the exact splits, but I kept an eye on the watch when I could. The first round took my about 5:10, I managed to keep each consecutive round until the last round under the 5 minute mark - round 2 finished a bit before 10:00, round 3 a bit before 15:00, etc. the KB swings generally took a little less than 2 minutes, the remaining 3 min was the pushups.

The first round - as I've said - was terrible. i couldn't figure out how to swing the bell - i only got it up in singles, and only barely chest high. i couldn't string any swings together. I actually did the last 5 swings of round 1 with the 1P KB because I got so frustrated. The pushups were similarly difficult.

When I finished the pushups from round 1 I thought about quitting, I thought about switching to the 1P KB, I contemplated trying the 1.5P bell again. It took 10 or 20 seconds for my stubborn nature to kick in to gear, and I picked up the 1.5P bell. And managed to string a couple together at a decent height. From there it was just a matter of finishing it 1-5 reps at a time.

Several people commented on how good my KB swings looked - they were not full ROM - not anywhere near full overhead, but most of them got as high as my chin, and it was definitely as a result of hip power because the only way I could get it that high was in the moment of 'weightlessness' from a full body launch. In that regard they were a lot like SDHP.

In the last round I managed to finish the KB swings in the allotted 2 min, but my pushups just completely ran out, and I just barely missed my goal of 25 min or less. :p

AMRAP - Pullups, KB Swings, Pushups

WOD:
As Many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 C2B Pull-Ups
10 2.0/1.5P Kettlebell Swings
15 Push-Ups

Results:
5 rounds + 10 pushups

Comments:
I subbed kip attempts for pullups and 1P for 1.5 KB swings.

I have to say that this was not a 100% effort - I probably gave this about 85% and got a pretty good workout out of it. Some of my kip attempts got pretty close. The thing I was happiest about with this workout was the KB swings.

Except for the first round and the last round which each had 1 little break when I sort of lost my balance, all the KB were unbroken w/ full ROM - KB all the way overhead. That's certainly new territory for me. The 1P KB has been pretty easy for me for he first 5 swings or so for a while, but they quickly fall apart, and it's unusual for me to get long strings of unbroken reps.

The pushups sucked. I tried to keep myself as tight as possible for them because they really put a lot of strain on the place in my back tat was feeling tweaked. They were definitely the limiting factor in the number of rounds I was able to complete.

Terrible Team WOD

WOD:
In two teams:

Break up into squads of 3 people.

Each squad must perform the following as a relay:

Row 1500 Meters #4 - 500m
Run 1200 Meters #2-400
105 Pull-Ups #5 - 35 green band assisted
150 Push-Ups #7 - 55
150 Box Jumps #9 - 60 (step ups)
105 Burpees #10 - 30?
75 KB swing 2.0/1.5P #8 - 25 (1P)
105 Wall-Ball 20/14 Pounds #3 - 20
75 Ground-To-Overhead 75/55 #1 - 15
75 Front Squat 75/55 #6 - 12

- Each athlete may only perform each movement once.
- Only one squad may do an event at one time: another squad cannot start the event before the currently performing squad is finished.
- There are no additional rules.
-The winning team is the team with the lowest cumulative time across all squads.

Results:
78 minutes - or so. Would have been a great deal longer except that for the last 4 exercises we all worked in tandem. we just wanted to be done.

Comments:
I knew I would hate this WOD as soon as I heard about it. I REALLY resent workouts where the structure is such that it becomes necessary for other athletes to do more work to make up for my inability to keep up. REALLY. I appreciate the theory - I'll work my ass off to try to make my weakness as little of an impact on the team as possible - but in practice it just makes me feel shitty and inadequate.

I was paired - based on the rankings of a pre-WOD warmup - with two very strong, but not super fast people. For every exercise, I went first and did as many reps as i could, and then the rest was up to them. I'm afraid I made our time even slower, because the few reps I could do for the strength based exercises - like front squats and ground to overhead, were done quite slowly, and since I couldn't go back to an exercise after resting they had to wait for me to rest in order to be able to do more reps before giving my turn over to them - and even with the extra effort, my total reps were usually well short of a third of the total reps. They were extremely nice and very supportive, but even with 'cheating' for the last 4 exercises, we were still the last squad to finish.

Yuck.

Two, Two, Two Workouts in one!

100 double-unders
25 burpees
75 double-unders
25 KB swing 2.0/1.5P
50 double-unders
25 dead-hang pull-ups
25 double-unders
25 Thruster 115/75

46:18RX

I think this was intended to be a solid mid-length chipper, but for me it was really two workouts: a twenty-five minute metcon followed immediately by a twenty-one minute strength workout. Yep: the thrusters alone took me nearly as much time as everything else combined. This just goes to show how poor my thruster strength is (hardly news).

The new jumpropes are nice, though - I was pretty consistently able to get sets of 10 double-unders, even when really tired.