Interestingly timed video by Barbell Shrugged as a trainer and I were just talking about this yesterday.  He is convinced that many of the athletes at the elite level are all taking PEDs as there is no other way to explain their gains.

I have to admit that I am pretty uneducated about PEDs.  The trainer I was talking to said you can get them anywhere.  Maybe they can.  I wouldn’t know where to look even if I wanted to.  Our discussion was pretty interesting to me.

What do you think?

hurtlockerapparel: “Bar Don’t Lie” is part of a line of new designs we just released for EatToPerform.com. Go get on that pre-order with the quickness at www.eattoperformstore.com #hurtlocker #cbl #eattoperform #e2p #hurtlockerapparel #crossfit Hell yea!
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hurtlockerapparel:

“Bar Don’t Lie” is part of a line of new designs we just released for EatToPerform.com. Go get on that pre-order with the quickness at www.eattoperformstore.com #hurtlocker #cbl #eattoperform #e2p #hurtlockerapparel #crossfit

Hell yea!

At Tuesday nights presentation Emily’s class did 2 songs. Not really knowing what to expect from her I really thought she would just stand there arms crossed. What we saw was totally the opposite! She was so animated and full of personality it had us cracking up the entire time. As you can see, she was not at all shy on stage.
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At Tuesday nights presentation Emily’s class did 2 songs. Not really knowing what to expect from her I really thought she would just stand there arms crossed. What we saw was totally the opposite! She was so animated and full of personality it had us cracking up the entire time. As you can see, she was not at all shy on stage.

Good days, bad days

Normally Thursdays are rest days for me.  However, given our schedule this weekend I opted to go in, but go lighter than normal.  I did some snatch grip deads, snatch complex (snatch, hang power snatch, 3 OHS), and some push presses.  Nothing heavy and I felt like I had not really done anything at all.  By the time I was cooking breakfast I felt like a truck had hit me.

Coffee is helping.

I am slowly adapting to this lifting schedule.  I feel bigger, if that even makes any sense.  My hands and joints are all moving better and not as sore.  That first week my hands hurt so bad. 

Getting better.  Getting stronger.

This is going to sound strange, to the point where I almost don’t want to admit it, but I have had to force myself to hook grip.  I have just never done it before and never made myself.  The first 2 weeks of this oly cycle I made myself hook grip.  Man my thumbs hurt so bad.  But the strange thing is how quickly you adapt.  It feels so natural now.  Much stronger.

The biggest struggle right now for me is the extreme shift from a good day in the gym to a bad one.  On Friday everything might feel light and on Saturday 200lbs might feel like 300.  All of this has caused me to try and take a step back and look at the big picture in terms of goals, short and long term, and how I need to cycle training to meet that, not destroy my body in the process, and still be able to have fun outside of the gym.

This has been a post.

For the past 3 weeks I have struggled with feeling old.  Not really sure why, but I have.  Last night my 6 year old graduated kindergarten which certainly does not help me feel any younger. During the presentation/ceremony she had a solo song that she did great in.  Really blew me away watching her shine on stage like she did.  She also recited the alphabet in Spanish in front of everyone.  I was so proud of how well she did and how she carried herself.  The whole night was one of those sappy, proud dad moments that comes and goes all too quickly.
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For the past 3 weeks I have struggled with feeling old.  Not really sure why, but I have.  Last night my 6 year old graduated kindergarten which certainly does not help me feel any younger.

During the presentation/ceremony she had a solo song that she did great in.  Really blew me away watching her shine on stage like she did.  She also recited the alphabet in Spanish in front of everyone.  I was so proud of how well she did and how she carried herself. 

The whole night was one of those sappy, proud dad moments that comes and goes all too quickly.

Weekly Training Log: 130513 - 130519

MONDAY - 130513
Rest day.  Did some yard work to stay moving and extra mobility at night.

image

TUESDAY - 130514
Power snatch + snatch
4 sets @ 95#
7 sets @ 115#

Clean pull
5x4 @ 185#

Jerk
2x5 @ 215#

Back squat
5x2 @ 275#
4x3 @ 295#

Conditioning: Pool - 20x50m w/15” ri at a moderate pace. 24:17. 

WEDNESDAY - 130515
Power snatch
5 @ 65% | 120#
4x2 @ 70% | 130#
3 @ 75% | 135#

Snatch grip deadlift
5 @ 105% | 225#
4x5 @ 150% | 275#

2-position power clean (floor & hang)
2 sets @ 75% | 175#
2 sets @ 80% | 185#

Front squat
4x3 @ 80% | 260#
4x2 @ 85% | 275#

Push press
7x5 @ 65% | 135#

Conditioning: Pool - 5x100m rest to recover.  I was not trying to go all out for the full 100, but held a decent pace.  Buddy said we were around a 1:35-1:37 average on these. Felt good to stretch out after all the volume from earlier in the morning.

THURSDAY - 130516
Rest day. For mobility I did a very light 10 minutes on the elliptical followed by 10 minutes of stretching, foam rolling, lacrosse ball, etc.

image

FRIDAY - 130517
Snatch push press
5x5 @ 75% | 135#

Snatch pull
5x5 @ 95% | 185#

Back squat
5x2 @ 75% | 295#
5x2 @ 80% | 315#

2-position snatch (power & below the knee w/2 sec pause)
5x1 @ 115#
5x1 @ 125#

Conditioning: Pool - 50m slow warm-up; 1/2 mile; 50m cool down. I am pretty sure I swam an extra 50 in the middle and lost count, despite using the poker chips to try and track laps.  I am going to scratch the time I got and test this again using the Garmin.

SATURDAY - 130518
RDL @ 50% of 1RM back squat
3x4 | 195#
3x4 | 225#
2x4 | 275#

Jerk (off the blocks)
3x135; 2x165; 2x185; 1x205; 1x215; 1x225

Various snatch complex work with light weight.  Working on a snatch into a hang snatch.  Had something entirely different on the schedule today but my knee was hurting and my whole body was just tight.  Really threw me off because of my good day yesterday.

SUNDAY - 130519
Took more time to warm-up (1.5 miles on the airdyne, push presses, air squats, good mornings, etc.) which helped.

Snatch push press
3x5 @ 135#
3x5 @ 165#

Snatch pull
5x5 @ 185#

Front squats
6x4 @ 225#

Conditioning: 4 minute AMRAP of 8 OHS (95#) and 8 pull-ups.  Rest 3 minutes.  4 minute AMRAP of 10 wall balls (30#) and 10 GHD situps.  Rest 3 minutes. 400m walk with 95# barbell in the back rack.  4 rounds even in the first AMRAP and 3 rounds + 7 wall balls in the second.  That 30# wall ball sure was different!  I thought the walk around the building would be easier than it was given how light the barbell was.  Found myself picking up the pace just to get done with it and get the barbell off my back!

Summary
Overall, a pretty good week.  Had a struggle on Saturday but you can’t expect every day to be rainbows and PRs.  Still good to test my conditioning and feel confident about it while at the same time pushing the strength work.  Week 4 of the strength cycle is over. 8 more to go.

{ Previous training logs }

With the transition to a more heavy lifting exercise schedule and less conditioning than I am used to, I feel bigger. So I was a little worried this afternoon when trying on shorts. But relieved when I was able to put on a 36. My quads are bigger but waist still the same. That’s a great feeling.

GPOY, cleans from a couple weeks ago.  I was at 235 here.
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GPOY, cleans from a couple weeks ago.  I was at 235 here.

The stars aligned

Ever have one of those days in the gym that felt like everything was off?  175lbs felt like 275?  I have had some of those recently.  I try and shake it off and stick to the program.

This morning the stars must have aligned.  While the weight didn’t feel light, it didn’t feel heavy either.  I worked around 80-85% of my 1RM on the lifts I had on tap this morning and it all just felt good. Back squats were toward the end of the schedule and I normally don’t look forward to working on those for some reason.  I had 5 sets of doubles at 80% and 5 sets of doubles at 85% but it all felt so good.  Especially when one of the guys came over and said “Uh, Jason… Your bar is bending.” 

When you have tough days that you grind through, days like today are just amazing.

Off season?

For those of you who are strictly CrossFit, do you have an off season?

This came up a while back in a discussion about being burned out and it really hit home.  At CrossFit, we are almost programmed to come in year round and go 110%.  Most sports have an off season but for us normal folks who won’t make it to Regionals/Games, it is a year long activity.

I guess my question is, do you cycle it on and off, take breaks, go 110% all year long, or what?

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Somehow, I ended up in the CoreFit CrossFit Games Sweepstakes - Final Round where the winner gets an all expenses paid trip to the 2013 CrossFit Games in California. I just need the most votes on my photo.  It would be extremely awesome for all you Tumblr folks out there to hit this page up with a vote for yours truly.  Promise to bring you back something cool if I win. EDIT: Fixed the link
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Somehow, I ended up in the CoreFit CrossFit Games Sweepstakes - Final Round where the winner gets an all expenses paid trip to the 2013 CrossFit Games in California.

I just need the most votes on my photo.  It would be extremely awesome for all you Tumblr folks out there to hit this page up with a vote for yours truly.  Promise to bring you back something cool if I win.

EDIT: Fixed the link

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Weekly Training Log: 130506 - 130512

MONDAY - 130506
Rest, recover, stretch, and mobilize.  Try not to feel old.

TUESDAY - 130507
2-Position Clean (floor, mid-thigh)
2 sets @ 75% | 175#
2 sets @ 80% | 185#

Clean deadlift
1x5 Warm-up | 225#
5x5 @ 105% (of clean) | 255#

Front squat
5 @ 75% | 245#
4 x 2 @ 80% | 265#
3 x 2 @ 85% | 270#

Tough morning.  Felt old, tired, and generally beat all to hell and back.  I started with the clean deadlift to get really nice and warm.  Front squats felt like I was trying to lift a car.  Knee was really tight.  Just out of rhythm the entire morning and my shins paid the price.

Conditioning: 10 rounds of 25m freestyle followed by 25m breast stroke;  75-80% 300m.  The morning suck continued over into the pool.

WEDNESDAY - 130508
Woke up and it all hurt.  All of it.  Rest day.

THURSDAY - 130509
Clean & Jerk
2 @ 75% | 175#
1 @ 80% | 185#
1 @ 85% | 200#
1 @ 85% | 200#
1 @ 80% | 185#

Snatch Push Press
5x5 @ 75% | 135#

Bottom squat position static sit
95# for 2 mins

3-position snatch (power, hang, below knee w/pause)
5 sets @ 95#
4 sets @ 115#

FRIDAY - 130510
EMOTM for 5 minutes
2 hang power cleans + 1 power clean
2 rounds @ 165#
3 rounds @ 185#

Conditioning: EMOTM for 20 minutes.  Odd minutes 5 hang squat cleans, even minutes 5 burpee pull-ups.  If you cannot make it through a round, rest 1 minute.  RX was 135# and I went with 155# which wore me out.  Just wasn’t feeling it today.  Form felt like crap and I was on my toes too much.  Dropped the weight to 135# and finished the WOD.  I think I had 3 rounds which I had to rest the minute.  Great WOD for me though as I need the squat clean work as well as the burpee pull-ups.

SATURDAY - 130511
3-position snatch  from the low blocks (power, hang, full)
7 sets @ 95#
7 sets @ 115#

Bench press
5x135
5x185
3x225
5x185

5 minute partner snatch duel.

Push jerk
2x185# EMOTM for 8 minutes

image

SUNDAY - 130512
2 miles on the airdyne to warmup (6 minutes).

Front squats - EMOTM for 8 minutes
3x185 for 4 minutes
3x205 for 4 minutes

Rest 2 minutes then work up to a heavy power clean single in 7 minutes.  Worked up to 225.

Conditioning: 12 min AMRAP
90 ft prowler push (450lbs)
5 power cleans @ 185#
15 GHDs

Got 6 rounds + 5 power cleans.

Summary
Only spent one day in the pool, which I did not really mind.  Kinda needed a break last week.  Very quickly figuring out that I need more time to warm up and more focus on mobility throughout the week.

{ Previous training logs }

Power clean + jerk work at about 75% of my 1RM from the other day.  I want to start using some videos to see where I need to improve.  I think I am doing well with regards to the bar path.  As the weight goes up I seem to have trouble dropping into the split.  Not sure if it is my left knee that I am worried about or what.  I failed a 245lb jerk a few times and I really believe that if I was more aggressive with the split I could nail it.
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Power clean + jerk work at about 75% of my 1RM from the other day.  I want to start using some videos to see where I need to improve.  I think I am doing well with regards to the bar path.  As the weight goes up I seem to have trouble dropping into the split.  Not sure if it is my left knee that I am worried about or what.  I failed a 245lb jerk a few times and I really believe that if I was more aggressive with the split I could nail it.