Weekly Training Log - 03/18/13
MONDAY - 03/18/13
Active rest, stretching, mobilization.
TUESDAY - 03/19/13
Pool (Lunch): 20x50m laps w/20 sec ri. 24:06. In the past, I have always done 30 seconds of rest in between laps when doing this specific workout. Today I tried 20 just to see what would happen and found it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Might try 15 seconds next time around just for fun.
WEDNESDAY - 03/20/13
Active rest, stretching, mobilization.
THURSDAY - 03/21/13
CrossFit (5:00am)
Games Open WOD 13.3. 12 minute AMRAP of 150 wall balls, 90 DUs, and 30 MUs. I wrote up more about this here, and really struggled with doing it over again. I resigned myself to being one and done on all of these. Last year I had people say they would never do them again and then turn around and do it the next day just for a few more reps. While I seriously under performed on this to what I feel like I am capable of, I know that I can best this score. Knowing that is enough for me and I don’t have to go through it again just to prove it.
FRIDAY - 03/22/13
After my quads locked up on me on Thursday, I had to rest. Not sure what was happening but my legs have never hurt that bad after wall balls. Not even after last year. I knew in the back of my mind that if I just sat around in my office chair I would be hurting more. So I hit the pool at lunch. 7x100m w/1min. ri. Not sure of my overall time but I was holding a 1:40-1:45 average on the 100s.
SATURDAY - 03/23/13
We were at the opening of a local CrossFit affiliate so no open gym work this morning. Probably good as my legs were still on the pain train. Later that day I figured I needed to do something to get them moving so I did some light elliptical to get loose. Then did 8 swings (88lbs) EMOTM for 8 minutes.
SUNDAY - 03/24/13
Strength, technique, strength, and more technique! Bench press and deads. With my legs STILL tight, I warmed up with some front squats (185) and a few pull-ups.
Bench: 5x135, 2x185, 1x205, 1x215, 1x225, 1x235, 1x245 (Going off memory here but I am reasonably sure of this).
Top Pull Deadlift: 1 deadlift + 3 top pulls. I want to say we started around 315. I know we jumped to 375/385 pretty quick which was basically our first working set. I stopped at 425 as I only got one dead + 1 top pull. I have never done this before and while I was way off of my max, it just felt good to be moving something heavy for a change.
I also got some excellent coaching on my deadlift technique. My buddy gave me very specific instructions on how to setup and told me when to lift, etc. I did not tell him, but just as a matter of perspective, the weight we used to work technique was kinda funny to me. He said “strip the bar down to something like 315 so we can work technique”. A little over a year ago that was getting near a 1RM for me.
I also worked pistols. Oddly enough, with my good right knee I had trouble getting to depth, though I was really freaking close. But on my jacked up left knee, I was able to sink it. Don’t care at all. Felt good to even come close to doing that movement.
Grazer
Today it really hit home… I graze.
I was making lunch for the family and it was almost instinct to go grab something out of the pantry while I cooked. Since we are doing this whole challenge thing, it caught me off guard big time because I am really paying close attention to what I eat. But this really got my attention. I feel like I have basically programmed myself to eat while I make something to eat.
Earlier in the day the girls wanted a snack and I went to get them something. I caught myself about to take a small handful of their crackers before I made theirs.
What’s the big deal, though, right? Well, for some folks, it isn’t. And that is perfectly cool if that is you. But for me, this grazing thing is holding me back. My meals are on point and I have always felt pretty good about them, but what happens in between is doing the damage. Grazing in the kitchen while I make food, for me, has to be something that I program out.
Having been home with the girls that past 2 days it has actually been good practice for me. The challenge is primarily responsible for keeping me in check because I have to log my day and I have been flawless with this so I don’t want to put a dent in it now. Will power is there, just got to get over this initial hump and all the shock that has come from the things I am discovering about myself.
Weekly Training Log - 02/11/13
This week is going to look a little different than previous ones. This past Saturday evening, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Seriously. I have not been in that much pain after a workout. That same soreness continued through Sunday and Monday morning, despite foam rolling and mobility. I felt sluggish, tired, and just beat down.
My wife told me that I have never really taken a break since I got started with CrossFit. That was 2 years ago. At the urging of her and some close friends, I opted to take it easy this week.
MONDAY - 2/11/13
Rest.
TUESDAY - 2/12/13
Pool (Lunch): Slow paced freestyle 800m (16:31); 4x25 breast stroke.
WEDNESDAY - 2/13/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m freestyle
THURSDAY - 2/14/13
CrossFit (5:00am)
WOD - “Grace”: 30 clean & jerks for time. New PR with time of 2:30 (Previous time was 2:43). Guess the rest paid off. Felt so refreshed going in to this that it actually felt strange.
Cash-Out: Rack pull deads - 3x315, 3x315, 3x275, 3x315, 3x315; 5x10 pull-ups.
FRIDAY - 2/15/13
Rest.
SATURDAY - 2/16/13
Rest. (Out of town working the Garage Games One)
SUNDAY - 2/17/13
Rest. (Out of town working the Garage Games One)
Weekly Training Log - 2/4/13
MONDAY - 2/4/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m w/1 min. ri. 28:43.
TUESDAY - 2/5/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
Warm-up: Don’t normally log these but thought this was good. 1500m row (4:43) followed by 6-5-4-3-2-1 of stretching mountain climbers, wall balls, and situps.
WOD - EMOTM for 12 minutes: 3 burpees, 3 push jerks (155lbs; bring weight from the floor), 3 burpees. When you fail to make it through the round, rest 1 minute, then cut the reps and finish. After this weekend, I just didn’t want to do another freaking burpee. I believe that I have narrowed down my knee pain to this movement, so I focused on bringing my feet out wide as I come off the floor and it really seemed to help a lot. I got into round 8 and just wiped out. No gas and no desire to take it to that dark place required to keep pushing.
Cash-Out: Wanted to keep working on pull-ups so I skipped the GHDs and did 5x10 pull-ups.
WEDNESDAY - 2/6/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
Strength - Overhead Squats: 3x135, 3x135, 3x155, 3x175, 3x185 (PR), 1x200 (PR)
WOD: 15-12-9-6-3 of overhead squats (scaled to 115lbs) and T2B. Time was 9:08 and not as bad as I thought it would be, but took it’s toll on me. Got some help on the kipping/rhythym of the T2B after the WOD which really helped.
Pool (Lunch): 20x50m w/30 sec ri.
THURSDAY - 2/7/13
Pool: Active recovery? 50m freesyle, 4x25m breast stroke, 50m freestyle, 4x25m breast stoke, 50m freestyle. Untimed; Just to keep moving.
FRIDAY - 2/8/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD - “Wittman”: 7 rounds of 15 KB swings (53lbs), 15 power cleans (95lbs), 15 box jumps (24”). Perhaps my friends are right and I am overtrained right now. All I know is that in round 4 I found myself standing there unable to do a box jump. I just stared at everyone and felt guilty for not moving, for not pushing through. I snapped out of it and finished the WOD, but this was absolutely horrible. I did all of the swings unbroken, which was good for me, but smoked my forearms for the cleans. On the cleans I did 10/5 the first round, 5/5/5 each additional round, and then singles in the last round. For box jumps, I tried to keep going. I was 29 minutes and some change. Absolutely horrible. This thing wiped me out for the rest of the day.
SATURDAY - 2/9/13
CrossFit (7:00a)
Strength: In pursuit of 5 bills on my deadlift, I worked the rack pulls which is the weakest part of my lift. After Friday, I wanted to work on things but also wanted to do something that I wanted to do to help get some confidence back. I thought it was amazing that I couldn’t pull 500 from the ground and lock it out but could bang out reps of 505 off the rack. 5x315, 5x375, 5x415, 3x475, 3x505, 3x505, 3x505, 3x505.
Conditioning: Untimed (but not resting) I did 5 rounds of GHD situps and 10 pull-ups. After the 5th round I did an extra set of pull-ups. All pull-ups unbroken. Started to really feel it on rep 8 and the last 2 were hard, but this was a major thing for me to be able to do.
SUNDAY - 2/10/13
Rest day.
Weekly Training Log - 01/28/13
MONDAY - 1/28/13
Rest.
TUESDAY - 1/29/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of dips, box jumps (24”), and GHD situps. Wanted sub 10 and came close (10:30). Dips slowed me down. If I could do those unbroken all the time this would have been sub-10.
Cash-Out: 6x8 pull-ups
WEDNESDAY - 1/30/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD: Row 350m, 21 thrusters (95lbs), 21 K2E, row 350m, 15 thrusters, 15 K2E, row 350m, 9 thrusters, 9 K2E. Basically some twisted version of Fran. I thought that this would take a lot longer than it did. Sticking point was K2E for me. Somehow in the set of 15 I lost my freaking mind and got out of rhythm. Row felt good and caught my breath there. 12:30 @RX.
Cash-Out: Hang power snatch work (3x5 @ 95lbs)
THURSDAY - 1/31/13
Pool (Lunch): Active rest, what? LOL. 4x50m hard freestyle; 2x25 breast stroke, 2x25 back stroke.
FRIDAY - 2/1/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x50m w/30 sec ri. 5 minute partner sprint (7x25m). 2x25m breast stroke.
SATURDAY - 2/2/13
I am going to write up some details about this later, but this was an informal CrossFit competition I did and it was certainly a new and challenging experience for me.
Workout #1: 21-15-9 of overhead squats (95lbs) and pullups. Workout #2 was 12 minutes to establish a 1RM deadlift. Workout #3 was 2 rounds of 4 laps (just under 600m), 15 ground to overhead (115lbs), 20 burpees, 30 situps, 250m row. Time cap on the first WOD was 10 minutes and the time cap on the second was 20 minutes.
SUNDAY - 2/3/13
Rest.
My wife was cleaning out a desk the other day and came across a small photo album from our daughter’s school. It was from 2010 and the photo at the top was in it. There are times when I get so frustrated about not being exactly where I want to be physically. But then I see old photos like that and feel better about how far I have come. Sometimes we need those reminders as they serve as great motivators for pushing forward.
Weekly Training Log - 1/14/13
MONDAY - 1/14/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
Strength - Back Squat: 5x185, 3x215, 3x265, 2x285, 1x315, 1x335. Given how my knee has been acting up, I didn’t want to push it too heavy.
WOD - 5RFT: 20 DB snatches (45lbs) and a 200m run. Time was 10:28 @ RX+ (RX was 35lbs). The running felt good. Lung burner WOD.
Cash-Out: 10x6 pull-ups.
TUESDAY - 1/15/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
WOD - For Time: 10 Front Squats (165lbs; from the ground), 50 DUs, 8 front squats, 40 DUs, 6 front squats, 30 DUs, 4 front squats, 20 DUs, 2 front squats, 10 DUs. Really wanted to skip this since my DUs are not dialed in, but needed to do this because my DUs are not dialed in. The set of 50 and 40 were totally out of rhythm and the weight felt heavy, but mid-way through I felt good. Managed to string together almost the entire set of 20 DUs and felt great about it. 8:25 @ RX.
Cash-Out: 50 GHD situps & 25 box jumps (30”). I had done 1 jump at that height in the past and failed at other attempts. Today I did 25 of them. Not fast, as the point was to focus on doing the jumps at a height greater than what we were used to. I was shocked at how I managed to get them all without any real effort, or more importantly, without completely destroying my shins.
Pool - Lunch: 20x50m laps w/30 sec ri. 28:12.
WEDNESDAY - 1/16/13
Pool (Noon)
Swimming ladder: 50m (rest 30 secs), 100m (rest 45 secs), 200m (rest 1 min), 300m (rest 2 mins), 200m (rest 1 min), 100m (rest 45 secs), 50m. Shoulders and back a little tight but held a decent average. Just felt good to stay active. Rested from CrossFit today as I went the past 2 days in a row.
THURSDAY - 1/17/13
Rest.
FRIDAY - 1/18/13
CrossFit (5:00a.m.)
Victoria - 5RFT: 10 thrusters (95lbs), 14 box jumps (24”), 12 SDLHP (95lbs), 12 burpees, 27 KB swings (53lbs). I prayed that Jesus, from high above, would come down and take me during the middle of this. It was seriously that bad. This will be filed away under the top 5 hardest WODs I have ever done. Since this is being labeled as a hero WOD, it felt wrong to scale it. Victoria Soto was a teacher for 5 years. When she was shot and killed, it happened in room 10 on 12/14/12 and she was only 27 years old, thus the rep scheme. For the first 2 rounds I did the KB swings unbroken, but broke them into 2 sets after that. The rest was a blur of me grinding through it. 36:05 @ RX. RIP, Victoria. As a parent I cannot thank you enough for such a sacrifice.
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m w/1min. ri. 28:49.
SATURDAY - 1/19/13
CrossFit (7:00a.m.)
Strength - 1RM Power clean: 5x135, 3x165, 2x185, 1x205, 1x225, 1x235, 1x240, 1x240
WOD: 8 min AMRAP of 8 pull-ups & 8 overhead squats (105lbs). Made it through 7 rounds. Working on preparing for that competition in a few weeks and wanted to do the same movements, but not the exact WOD.
WOD #2: It was a team WOD with tire flipping. Since I wanted to just flip the tires, I went out with one of the teams and stayed out, jumping in and out a few turns.
SUNDAY - 1/20/13
Rest.
The Real Biggest Losers?
I saw this pop up as I scrolled through my dash this morning and for some reason, it just struck a nerve. If you want to read my ramblings, fine. If not, I am OK with that as well since this is being written more to get it out of my system than anything else. I will put it behind the jump to save your dashboard.
Weekly Training Log - 1/7/13
MONDAY - 1/7/13
Rest.
TUESDAY - 1/8/13
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD - For time: 12 burpees, 12 thrusters (115#), 12 burpees, 12 snatches (115#), 12 burpees, 12 push-jerks (115#), 12 burpees, 12 hang squat cleans (115#), 12 burpees, 12 overhead squats (115#), 12 burpees, 12 thrusters (115#), 12 burpees, 12 snatches (115#), 12 burpees, 12 push-jerks (115#), 12 burpees, 12 hang squat cleans (115#), 12 burpees, 12 overhead squats (115#). Time Was 27:57. Wonderfully tough WOD.
WEDNESDAY - 1/9/13
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
Partner WOD: One works while the other rests. Complete 120 wall balls, 100 v-ups, 80 med ball situps, 60 burpees, 40 C2B pull-ups, 100m run together. Felt good about this. Had a great partner that pushed the pace and didn’t let me slow up. My C2B were more like regular pull-ups but I am working on it.
Cash-Out: 7x5 pull-ups
Lunch - Pool: 20x50m w/30 sec rest in between each lap.
THURSDAY - 1/10/13
Lunch - Pool: 10x100m w/1 min rest in between each lap.
FRIDAY - 1/11/13
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD - 4RFT: 10 C&J (135lbs), 15 pull-ups, 350m row. I was actually looking forward to pull-ups. For the first time ever I did not cringe when I saw a WOD with pull-ups. I have been working on them and this would be a great test. RX on the C&J was 115 but I bumped it to 135 and did singles as quickly as I could. The row was decent and was able to breathe better than I thought. The first 2 rounds I did 10 pull-ups unbroken, then a set of 5. That was a big accomplishment for me. Working on form and making sure I get my chin over the bar. I really don’t care what my time was compared to everyone else because I felt accomplished on the pull-ups. Time was 21:45 @ RX+.
Cash-Out: 5x10 GHD situps.
Afternoon - Swimming: Was at a pool with our family and brought my swimming gear. Got about 10 25m laps in with varied rest. Wasn’t really going all out, just trying to swim a bit.
SATURDAY - 1/12/13
Rest.
SUNDAY - 1/13/13
Rest.
Weekly Training Log - 12/16/12
SUNDAY - 12/16/12
Worked the Reindeer Games, representing Hurt Locker Apparel.
MONDAY - 12/17/12
Rest day.
TUESDAY - 12/18/12
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD - “Helen”: I was not too excited to see this. Not because of the pull-ups, but because I had just done this during open gym at the beginning of the month. I was 10 seconds slower this morning than before, but I really think that is where I setup. Last time I was right at the start of the run and had a KB and pull-up bar right next to each other to minimize transition. Doesn’t bother me one bit. After working the Reindeer Games all weekend and still being behind on my sleep, I was more than pleased to be able to do what I did this morning. Time was 12:31 @ RX.
Cash-Out: I subbed extra GHD situps for the man makers; 10x10.
Lunch - Pool: 8x50m w/30 seconds rest. 12x25m partner sprints.
WEDNESDAY - 12/19/12
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
Warm-Up: 6 min. AMRAP of 6 35lb DB thrusters, 12 body weight squats, 6 hand release push-ups.
Strength - Front Squats: 5x185, 5x225, 3x275, 1x295, 1x315 (f)
WOD: 21-15-9 of snatches (125lbs) and ring dips. Subbed bar dips for ring dips. Time was 10:11. Snatches felt pretty good this morning. Broke them into sets of 5 and tried to limit rest. Dips are harder on me than pull-ups. Perhaps I need to start working these into our open gym time.
Cash-Out: 7x3 hang cleans @ 175lbs.
Lunch - Pool: 5x100m. 12x25m partner sprints.
THURSDAY - 12/20/12
Pool (Lunch): 20x50m laps w/30 seconds rest. 26:52. Kept a pretty even pace on all of the laps. Normally a rest day but felt like relieving some stress.
FRIDAY - 12/21/12
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
Warm-Up: 1000m row (3:43)
WOD: “12 Days of Christmas” -This was done just like the song, so the suck factor dug in like a tick half way through. Shoulder and upper body slaughtered. I went beast and used 95lbs. Nothing really to say about this other than it felt like being dropped into a meat grinder. Time was 30:53.
Lunch - Pool: Had a little fun today and tried the breast stroke and butterfly for the first time. Amazing how those two new strokes totally kicked my butt. 2x50m warm-up; 5 minute 25m partner sprints; then some work on the breast stroke, butterfly, and kicking.
SATURDAY - 12/22/12
CrossFit (7:00 a.m.)
Strength - Hang Cleans: 2x185 EMOTM for 6 minutes; 2x205 EMOTM for 6 minutes
WOD: 10 minute AMRAP of 5 deadlifts (315lbs), 5 burpees, 20 DUs. Made it through 4 rounds + 5 DUs. We made up this WOD basically to force me to do DUs. I am getting better at stringing them together, just need as much practice as possible. I broke up the deads in one round but was pleased to do them all unbroken otherwise.
SUNDAY - 12/23/12
Rest.
2 Years
Yesterday around 10am I sent my wife a text that said:
This time 2 years ago you were buying the Biggest Loser book while I was sitting on the couch.
Two years ago today we started that book (The Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump Start) and neither of us imagined where it would take us. I look back on my first post here and am flooded with a range of emotions. Over that time so much has happened that I do not believe I could ever explain it all in one post so I won’t even try.
Two things stand out for me today. The first being in all of my previous attempts to lose weight, nothing ever stuck. The longest I made it was 6 months before caving again. Getting beyond that was huge for me. Looking back over 2 years seems surreal and at times I honestly cannot believe I am where I am.
The second thing that stands out, and easily the most important, is that I am not alone in my journey. My amazing wife is here, too. Through all the good and all the bad, she has been there. A constant source of encouragement and the reason that I am able to write this post today. When others doubted, friends bailed, and when others wished failure upon me, or made fun of our dedication to getting healthy, she was there. When I wanted to stop, got tired, became frustrated, or lost focus on the process, she was there. Without a doubt in my mind, I am the man I am right now because of her.
And while we both have been on this roller coaster ride, she has gone through changes as well, fighting her own battles. And as she was my rock I tried my best to provide the same support for her. I saw her go from struggling with weight to lifting weight. From worrying about how many pounds were on the scale to worrying about how many pounds were on the bar. I watched her take on a drastic new eating style that has changed how our family does things. I watched her become more beautiful before my eyes, not just physically but mentally. Ladies, it is a damn sexy trait to be more confident.
So on this 2 year anniversary of our decision to get healthy, it is awesome to look back and see how my wife not only saved my life, but hers as well.
Is this still a weight loss blog?
I would have to say no.
Back in December 2010 when this thing first got started, all I really wanted was to lose about 40lbs. I thought that would address all of my issues and life in general would be rainbows and unicorns. I never thought I would be in the position that I am in today.
Fast forward a bit to this year. After I hurt my feet I used that as an excuse to stop cardio and focus on lifting heavy things. I hate cardio. Still do. Lost just about all passion I had for running. But I continue to do it. I enjoy lifting weights. I feel like my body type is better suited for that. Maybe that is an excuse to do it.
My eating, whether I wanted to admit it or not, had gotten out of control. I was still chowing down healthy meals, but the in between stuff was killing me. I justified it all by the amount of working out I was doing. All the while wondering why I was not seeing the improvements that I wanted to see.
On August 25th, 2012 we did the CrossFit Total WOD (1RM on deadlift, back squat, and strict press) and I hit the number I wanted and then some extra. I felt like a champion. Then I looked at my photos from the day and was immediately depressed. You ever get that way? Make progress and then see a photo and feel like you are back at square one? In the photos, I did not see the weight I was lifting, I only saw my weight. It really bothered me. I was also seeing changes in my clothes. I had 2 belts where I had to punch a new hole in. In both of those belts I was back up a notch. Again, I justified it by saying that I was still in the right size belt, just not in the extra hole I punched.
So I talked to a buddy of mine about it and he helped me get back on track. The exercise thing is down pat. I no longer have to make myself get up and do something. It is just a part of me now. If anything, I am now on the opposite end of the spectrum where I am forcing rest days into the schedule. But my nutrition was off. I had tried strict paleo before but hated it. It just felt too restrictive and stupid. To this day I still believe that if a caveman walked into a pizza place he would end up in the best carb coma to have ever happened. But I opted to give it another shot.
This time it was different for me. I enjoyed it. My wife was picking out recipes for us to try. I had fun grocery shopping and cooking. It felt good to be in control of my body for a change. I did not take any before or after measurements. I have long since put the scale up. But I noticed I was back down into that new hole I had to punch. Clothes fit a lot better and looser. On November 10, 2012 we did the CrossFit Total WOD again and I dug out the old photos to compare just to see if I could notice a difference.
I was worried that I would lose strength, but that did not happen. In fact, my previous deadlift PR was 475lbs, which I hit twice on November 10th. I was much more pleased with what I saw in the photos this time around. And the coolest part was that it really did not take as much of an adjustment as I thought it would. But I learned the hard way that I cannot out train a bad diet and I am anxious to see what is in store by keeping this up.
Weekly Training Log - 11/25/12
SUNDAY
Last Sunday I felt pretty rough. So much so that I slept in and used the day to relax and recover. This Sunday was a little different. I have worked in some stretching at night before going to bed and I think that helped me when I got up.
10 minute run warm-up (1 mile). Then 8x400m run with 400m rest interval (I need to learn how to use my Garmin as I didn’t stop the watch on laps 4 and 5). Some pain in my left foot still but over all I felt pretty good.
MONDAY
Lunch - Pool: 20x50m laps w/30 seconds ri. Time was 28-29 minutes. Kept about a 50 sec/50m average.
Evening - Strength: 3x5 hang cleans @ 135lbs for warm-up. 2 hang cleans (175lbs) EMOTM for 5 minutes. 2 hang cleans (185lbs) EMOTM for 5 minutes.
Run: 10 minute run (1 mile @ 10:08)
TUESDAY
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
Strength - Bench Press 5x5 (5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x205, 5x205, 1x225)
WOD: 4RFT of 20 snatches (65lbs) & 400m run. Increased the load to 75lbs and tried to go unbroken every round. Did the first 2 rounds unbroken and went as deep as I could in the last 2 rounds (15 & 14 before breaking it up). Held a good pace on the run and feel like my cardio is improving. Time was 16:28 @ RX+
WEDNESDAY
Rest.
THURSDAY
Lunch - Pool: 6x100m laps w/45 seconds rest in between each round.
FRIDAY
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD: Benchmark with “Jackie”. I came off the rower at 3:35 which was a good pace for me and got right on the thrusters. My goal was to do them all unbroken. I never dropped the bar, but paused a few times. Pull-ups are still tough for me, so I broke them up into small rep counts and focused on really limiting my rest in between each. My time was 9:34, a vast improvement over the last time I did this (August 8, 2011; 11:01).
Cash-Out: 10 reps @ 225lbs on back squat followed by 6x10 GHD situps.
Lunch - Pool: 2x500m w/2 minutes rest in between. Averaged 10 minutes per 500m.
SATURDAY
CrossFit (7:00 a.m.)
10 minute run #5
Strength: 3x5 clean & jerks @ 135lbs to warm up. Then 1-2-3 (Power clean, 2 hang cleans, 3 push presses). Did 8 rounds with 185lbs. Also worked in a few doubles on snatches @ 135lbs to work form.
WOD - Helen: 3RFT of 400m run, 21 KB swings (53lbs), 12 pull-ups. First time using a 53lb KB during a WOD in several months and it was extremely light. My run felt better than it has in a while. Biggest sticking point was pull-ups which I broke up. I have not recorded a time for this WOD before so 12:20 is a PR for me.
Cash-Out: 3x10 GHD situps.
Weekly Training Log - 11/18/12
SUNDAY
Rest. Normally Sunday morning is spent at the track focusing on cardio. Saturday night I was feeling pretty beat up. Shoulders and lower back covered in BenGay and icing my left knee, I felt like getting up and pushing things on Sunday would have been too much, so I slept in and it was all I had hoped it would be and more.
MONDAY
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
Strength - Overhead Squats: 5x115, 3x135, 2x155, 1x165, 1x185. That last rep was sketchy. Having some mobility issues with my hips and some stability issues with my right shoulder. I have done heavier OHS and felt more confident than I did today. Spoke with the trainer about some exercises and movements to help work this weakness.
WOD - 10 minute AMRAP: 5 bar-facing burpees, 10 push presses (95lbs), 20 GHD sit-ups. RX called for regular sit-ups, but wanted the extra suck, so I did GHDs instead. 4 2/3 rounds.
Cash-Out: 3x10 front squats @ 115lbs.
TUESDAY
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD - 10RFT: 5 pull-ups, 10 KB swings, 100m sprint. Alternated weights on the KB swings using 88lbs and 70lbs. Finished in 20:52 with 6 rounds using the 88lb KB and 4 rounds using the 70lb KB. First time really using that 88lb KB in a WOD and felt good to be able to do it. It made the 70 feel easy.
Cash-Out: 2x10 Thrusters @ 115lbs
WEDNESDAY
CrossFit (5:00 a.m.)
WOD: “Holley Man” - 30RFT of 5 wall balls (20lbs), 3 HSPUs, 1 power clean (225lbs). Could not RX this one. I scaled the HSPUs to decline push-ups using a 20” box and scaled the weight to 195lbs. Time was 33:23.
THURSDAY
Rest day.
FRIDAY
CrossFit (10:30 a.m.)
Open gym time so we worked on strength. With some new and helpful coaching, I worked on snatches. I stayed around the 145-155lb range and worked single reps. My goal was to fine tune the movements as much as possible while also focusing on the hook grip, something I have been poor at using lately.
After I got home, I did 5 KB swings with the 88lb EMOTM for 20 minutes, followed by a 10 minute run. During the Whole Life Challenge my wife had one week where the extra challenge was to run 10 minutes every day. She saw huge benefits from this so I want to give it a shot. I might not go every day, but the plan is to begin each CF session with a 10 minute run.
Dealing with some pain in my left foot. Will see how that goes.
SATURDAY
CrossFit (7:00 a.m.)
Warm-up: 1 mile run
Strength: Clean & Jerks - 5x165, 3x185, 1x195, 1x205. Failed at 215. Dropped the weight back down to 195 and did 1 rep every 30 seconds for 12 minutes. I worked in a few doubles of hang cleans after this. I started to work on front squats but stopped and opted to do a WOD rather than focus on only strength. Finished with 5x185, 3x205, and 2x285.
WOD: 12 minute AMRAP of 5 deadlifts (315lbs) and an 80 yard sprint. 9 1/2 rounds. More of a gasser WOD than I thought. I had wanted to go with 375 on the bar but my back had something else in mind. I think 315 was a decent weight, enough to challenge me. Tried to keep a good even pace on the run and not slow down.
Cash-Out: 6x15 GHD situps
File This Under: Things I Don’t Understand
I pass this McDonald’s on the way to work every morning. Rarely is there ever a time when someone is not in the drive through. I got a kick out of their remodeling project recently. People were pulling into the parking lot with a puzzled and almost frightened look on their face upon realizing that McDonald’s was closed. After a few days, this giant sign appeared. I guess the orange construction cones and yellow tape circling the building were not enough clues.
Directly across the street from this McDonald’s sits a Wendy’s and Mrs. Winner’s, both out of business, buildings sitting vacant. For some strange reason, Wendy’s had their awnings all painted white after closing.
Anyway, a few days after this sign appeared, McDonald’s opened the drive through. Not the entire location, just the drive through. Immediately it was packed. It made me wonder how people knew it was open again so quickly. Within a few days of that the entire location was back to normal after the remodeling was finished. I find it truly sad that people swarm to a place like this yet our local community could not support a place like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or some place that actually served real food worth spending money on.
