My Week As RX

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): November 28 – December 4

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Strength

Monday – Back Squat

4 at 60% (225 lb.)
4 at 70% (275 lb.)
4 at 80% (305 lb.)
2 at 85% (325 lb.)
4 at 80% (305 lb.)
2 at 85% (325 lb.)
4 at 80% (305 lb.)

This was one of my favorite strength workouts for the week. I didn’t set any PR’s but I did reach a milestone. I haven’t been confident in my squat since I came back from Europe. It was kind of a bummer but I knew it was going to take a while for my body to get used to the heavy weight again. Thankfully, I can finally see some progress. A few weeks ago, I wasn’t able to complete a set of squats at 80%. I needed a spot and was only able to get 2 reps and then 1 rep after a short rest. Now, I’m able to complete 4 reps without a spotter and I was able to get 2 reps at 85%. I wasn’t able to complete the last set at 85% because I wasn’t feeling it and it was putting a lot of strain on my knees. It’s going to take time, but I will get there.

Friday – Thruster 3 Rep Max

I set a new PR at 195 lb. My previous PR was set more than a year ago at 175 lb. My first attempt was at 185 lb. I was extremely happy and pumped up that I decided to go for 195 lb. My first rep wasn’t too bad but the second and third were a challenge. The hardest part of the lifts was the breathing. I had to brace my core while trying to take in big breaths. The last rep was tough and I almost didn’t make it. I got stuck for a second on the press and I barely completed the rep. Hopefully with this jump in weight, I’ll be able to set a new jerk PR.

WOD

Thursday – CrossFit Games Open 11.1/14.1 Workout

10 Minute AMRAP
30 double unders
15 power snatches (75 lb.)

This Open workout was programmed about a year ago and I was able to complete four rounds. I was hoping this time around I would be able to finish five rounds. I started the workout at a good pace. I was able to complete the first round of double unders unbroken as well as the first round of power snatches. This took about a minute to complete. I started to fatigue and I was not able to keep up that pace but I was determined to hit a PR. My double unders were not consistent. I would go for a string of 10-15 reps before breaking and in the later rounds maybe 5-10 reps. This was the hardest part of the workout, trying to string together enough double unders quickly. The power snatches were broken up into sets of seven and eight. In the later rounds it would be a fast set of five.

After ten minutes, completed four rounds, thirty double unders and two power snatches, setting a new PR! It wasn’t the five rounds that I initially wanted but I’m excited, since it show improvement. With the open coming up soon, I may have to focus more on metcons so I can work on muscle endurance.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): New Format Changes

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Format Changes Going Forward

Hello everyone. It has been a busy few weeks and with the holidays coming up, it’s going to get more hectic. After thinking about this segment of the blog I realized that I didn’t like writing about everything I did during the week. Their would be one or two workouts and strength sessions that I would be excited to write about but everything else felt like busy work. Now I will focus on highlights instead of a daily journal. One strength and one WOD but I will include more if I can’t choose between a few. This way, I can stay motivated to share my journey. Thanks for reading.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): October 31 – November 6

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Wednesday

Partner WOD – For Time
50 pull ups
–then–
4 rounds of:
15 overhead squats (95 lb.)
9 burpees
6 toes to bar
–then–
Run (400 m)
–then–
4 rounds of:
15 overhead squats (95 lb.)
9 burpees
6 toes to bar
–then–
50 pull ups
This was a fun partner workout. Our goal for this workout was to finish under the time cap of 25 minutes. The movements that were going to be tough were the overhead squats and the pull ups. I was not concerned with the burpees or the toes to bar since the reps were low. We decided to split the reps as evenly each round. We were able to get through the pull ups fairly quickly. I was worried about the overhead squats but after a few reps, I was able to get into a rhythm. We flew through the burpees and toes to bar. We slowed a bit during the 400 m run but it wasn’t by much.I tore my hand on the toes to bar which screwed up the rest of the workout. I stripped the weight off the barbell and I did v-ups instead of toes to bar. I was a bit bummed during that second set since I knew I had it in me to finish all the movements. It was unfortunate that my hands tore but I wasn’t going to keep on doing those movements without scaling. It’s better to scale than to exacerbate the injury. We didn’t finish our last set of pull ups which I was okay with. We pushed ourselves pretty hard and we didn’t quit. I think we could have finished if my hand didn’t tear but we’ll never know. I’m happy with our performance.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): October 24 – October 30

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Monday

Snatch – 4 at 60% (45 kg), 4 at 70% (53 kg), 3×4 at 75% (57 kg)
I haven’t done much snatching since I’ve been back. It took a few warm up reps to get used to it and I started on my percentages. Overall, I felt great at these weights. I didn’t miss a rep and was able to get through this fairly quickly. It was a lot more reps than what I was used to however but I took some time in between to rest up.
4 Cleans + 1 Jerk – 1 at 60% (62 kg), 1 at 70% (72 kg), 1 at 75% (77 kg)
This was just as hard as the snatches but I was able to pick it up. I’m more comfortable with heavy cleans than snatches. I didn’t need much of a warm up and went right into my first set. This workout wasn’t as bad since I had cut out two of my last three sets. I had to leave early. Four cleans are tough especially at the higher weights.

Wednesday

Bench Press – 5×5 at a heavy set of 5
My previous weight for this workout was 185 lb. but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete a set. I warmed up and loaded 185 lb. on the bar. I was only able to complete three reps. This was not a big surprise since I haven’t been doing much bench presses.
WOD – For Time
Row (1000 m)
50 pistol squats
30 hang power cleans (135 lb.)
I wasn’t sure how well I was going to do in this workout. The pistol squats were going to be tough and would probably slow me down. I wasn’t too worried about the cleans or the row, I’m sure I would be able to get through them without much trouble. My pace for the row was about two minutes per 500 m. I finished the row at about 4:10. The pistol squats were tough but I broke the sets into 10 reps. I took some time in between each set so I could catch my breath but I took a lot longer than expected. The 30 hang cleans were not too bad. I broke it up into sets of 10 reps which were manageable. My goal was to finish within 15 minutes but I finished in 16:17.

Saturday

Power Snatch – 2 at 60% (45 kg), 2 at 65% (49 kg), 2×3 at 70% (53 kg)
This was easier than Monday. The heavier Monday session was just what I needed to get better at my Olympic lifts.
Power Clean + 2 Jerks –  1 at 60% (62 kg), 1 at 65% (67 kg), 1×3 at 70% (72 kg)
Started to feel the fatigue in my arms at the 70% weight but it wasn’t an issue.
Back Squat – 3 at 60% (225 lb.), 3 at 70% (275 lb.), 3×3 at 80% (305 lb.)
This was my biggest workout of the day. I haven’t squatted anything heavy in awhile. The last time I attempted a heavy back squat was back in July. I was a little nervous but I wanted to hit some numbers. My first set for the workout was okay, I wasn’t too worried about 225 lb. My second set however was a bit worrying. The three reps at 70% were a lot harder than what I remember. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the time between lifts or if my warm up was too short but I decided to move forward and go to 80%.

 

My July workout was 6×3 at 80% (305 lb.) and I felt great doing it. This gave me some confidence. I completed the first set but it was tough. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish the rest of the sets. I took a few minutes to get some air and rest before going on to set two. I was able to finish two reps before racking the weight. It was too much and I almost needed a spot. I decided to stop there and end the workout. After reflecting on the workout, I realized that I needed to slowly get back to squatting. I should have gone up to 75% instead but I wanted to see if I could handle my weights from only a few months ago. I’m confident that after a few more sessions in the squat rack, I’ll be back to my old self.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): October 10 – October 16

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Monday

Overhead Squat – 6×2 at 80%I was only able to work up to a set of overhead squats at 170 lb. I’m not at 100% yet but I’m trying to work up to it. Taking six weeks off is starting to take it’s toll.

Partner WOD – AMRAP 20 Minutes

Assault Bike (100 Cal.)

-then-
6 bar facing burpee
9 alt. pistol squats
12 power snatches (75 lb.)
Initially the WOD called for a 100 calorie row but their wasn’t enough rowers. I opted for the bike instead of the ski erg. The gym just added the bikes not too long ago and I was eager to test them out. The second portion of the workout would be alternating movements.We decided to split the work into 25 calorie sets but that changed after 50 calories. I was winded so we switched to a set of 15 and then a set of 10. The second portion of the workout was just as hard. The movements were alternating but I couldn’t catch my breath fast enough. I tried to keep a steady pace on the burpees and pistol squats. I had to break the snatches into sets of two. We finished with four rounds, six burpees and nine pistols.

This was the only day I was able to make it to the gym. I had a lot of things I had to do and wasn’t able to make it for the rest of the week. I’m still getting back into it and hopefully next week will be better.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): August 8 – August 14

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Wednesday

Overhead Squat – Find Your 1RM

I was able to PR this lift! I warmed up to 155 lb. and worked up to 210 lb. The weight wasn’t bad and I probably could have went another 5-10 lb. heavier but we ran out of time. Also, my wrist and forearm were starting to hurt so I took a break and stretched it out.

WOD – Open Workout 13.4

AMReps in 7 minutes

3 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
3 toes to bar

6 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
6 toes to bar
9 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
9 toes to bar
12 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
12 toes to bar
15 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
15 toes to bar
18 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
18 toes to bar
 
I heard this workout was tough and I could see why. The clean and jerk weight wasn’t too heavy but the toes to bar were going to kill me. I was able to keep a steady pace until the round of nine. The clean and jerk were getting heavier and I had to do them in sets of three. I would take about 15 to 30 seconds of rest in between sets. The toes to bar were a lot slower. I would do about two reps at a time. My abs would cramp up and it was harder to string more than two reps together. I finished 9 toes to bar by the end of seven minutes. 


Friday

Snatch Complex – Find heavy 1 rep
 
Power snatch + 2 overhead squats
 
I was still a bit weary of this workout since my wrist and forearm problems have been flaring up. I also do not like doing overhead squats with my snatch grip. Thankfully, I didn’t have any issues during this workout and I managed to PR my snatch. I was able to complete this complex at 165 lb. which is a 10 lb. PR. I attempted to snatch 175 lb. but was unable to get under the weight. I can feel another PR coming!

Partner WOD – 15 Minute AMRAP

9 push press (115 1b.)
6 front squat (115 1b.)
3 power snatch (115 1b.)

We broke up the work into alternating rounds and I started first. The original weight was 135 lb. but I wasn’t able to power snatch it. I was too tired so we stripped the weight down to 115 lb. which was manageable. The first few rounds were great. The push press, front squat were unbroken and the power snatch were done in fast singles. I started to slow down on the push press and power snatch. I would do about six reps and then rest the bar on my shoulders before finishing the reps. I would take more rest between snatches. It was tough but we managed to complete 10 rounds in 15 minutes.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): July 25 – July 31

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Tuesday

Partner WOD
 
Jack, 20 Minute AMRAP
10 push press, (115 lb.)
10 kb swings (Russian, 54 lb.)
10 box jumps (24 in.)
Alternating rounds.This was my first time doing Jack with a partner. I’ve done it by myself but I scaled the push press to 95 lb. We started great, finishing most rounds under a minute. The hardest movements were the box jumps. After the first two rounds I was able to complete all the reps jumping but I had to do step ups after that round. Since my partner was just as fast on the movements, I didn’t have a lot of recovery time after. We pushed each other and eventually finished 15 rounds. Hopefully the next time I do this solo, I’m able to complete at least eight rounds Rx.

 

Wednesday

Snatch – 1×2 at 60% (95 lb.), 1×2 at 70% (110 lb.), 1×2 at 80% (125 lb.) x2Breezed through this workout. I was able to hit all my numbers without much issues. I feel a lot better doing snatches.

Clean and Jerk Complex – Every 1:30 for 9:00 Minutes
2 clean + 1 jerk at 75% (165 lb.)I was able to hit all my lifts within time. It’s a continuation of previous workouts.

Clean High Pull – 4×3 at 85% (185 lb.)This workout was fun. I’m starting to enjoy high pulls.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): July 18 – July 24

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Tuesday

Bench Press – 5×5 at a heavy set of 5

I haven’t been doing much bench work lately. My range was probably going to be between 165 lb. – 185 lb. After warming up to 165 lb. I was able to complete five reps without much resistance so I went up to 185 lb. The weight was heavy but I was able to complete five reps each set. I ran out of time and stopped at four sets.

WOD
 
Elizabeth – 15 Minute Time Cap
21-15-9
Cleans (135 lb.)
Ring dips

It has been a year since I’ve done this workout. I scaled the cleans and ring dips but this time, I decided to Rx the cleans. I have been doing a lot of work at 135 lb. thanks to the barbell club. I would have to be smart about how I broke up the sets. My plan was going to be to break up each round into three sets.The cleans were manageable for the first round. I broke up the reps into sevens and the ring dips were the same. I tried to do the first round Rx but I gave up after rep 14. I haven’t been doing much dip work lately and it shows. The second round wasn’t too bad but I was a lot slower. The last round of nine, was hard. One of the coaches was pushing me to finish, making sure I would do at least one rep before resting. After finishing the cleans I felt light headed. I tried to do ring dips but I stopped after the first two reps. I couldn’t finish the last seven. My breathing was horrible and I just sat down and caught my breath. I had about two minutes left before time cap but I couldn’t get up and finish. That was the first time I felt that bad during a workout. My lack of conditioning shows and it sucks. I need to find a way to balance both.

Friday

WOD
3 Rounds Of:
Run (400 m)
21 kb swings (54 lb.)
12 hand stand push ups
This was a fun workout. I knew the run was going to suck, and the handstand push ups were going to be a lot harder after the skills work we did earlier. The first round was okay, I was able to complete the run at a good pace, the kb swings were done unbroken and the hand stand push ups were done in two sets of six. The second round was where I started to slow down. I was slower on the run but not by too much. I was able to finish the kb swings unbroken but I hit a wall at the handstand push ups. I was able to do five reps then three then four. I was considerably slower. The last round was the worst. The run was hard. I had to push myself mentally to stay focused and not walk. I finished the run and took 15 seconds to catch my breath. I picked up the kb and managed to complete 11 reps before dropping it. I was hoping to do it unbroken again but it was too taxing. After a short rest I picked it back up and finished the remaining 10 reps. The last round of hand stand push ups were slow I was able to complete maybe two or three reps before resting. Other members were cheering me on and I found the energy to complete the last few reps. I finished the workout at 15:48.

 

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): July 11 – July 17

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Tuesday

WOD – Every 1:30 for 15 minutes
100 m run with medicine ball (16 lb.)
10 wall balls (16 lb.)

When I read the workout I thought it was alternating movements. I thought it was a piece of cake until the coaches explained the workout. It was a lot of work and since I haven’t been doing much cardio, this workout was going to hurt. I decided to use a 16 lb. medicine ball but I should have went lighter. 14 lb. or 8 lb. would have been more manageable. The first few rounds went well. I was getting my run done under 30 seconds and I would finish the wall balls with about 40 seconds of rest. At the half way mark, my performance went downhill. I would finish the run around 40 seconds and only do about five wall balls or less. It was very tough and I wanted to finish but I didn’t have it in me.I learned a few things from this workout. The first lesson was read the workout carefully. My mindset going into it was a lot more relaxed and I should have mentally prepared for it. The second lesson was that I need to do more than just barbell club. I’ve noticed my lifts have gotten better but my endurance have gotten worse. I need to find a good balance. Lastly, I should have went with my gut and got a lighter ball. I’m not sure how much of a difference it would have made but I shouldn’t have gone that heavy if I couldn’t finish all the reps.

Shoulder Taps from High Plank – 3 Minutes

After that brutal workout, this wasn’t too bad. I was able to finish 76 reps at the end of three mintues.

Wednesday

Deadlift – 6×3 at 80% (350 lb.)

I wasn’t sure how these deadlifts were going to go. I haven’t been doing conventional deadlifts lately and all my pulls are done at lighter weights. I worked up to my 80% and managed to not break my form. I made sure my form wasn’t compromised for all sets and it felt great to deadlift relatively heavy again.

Partner WOD – 25 Minute TC
3 km Row
150 sit up with med. ball (4 lb.)
200 air squats
100 kb swings

This was fun and I partnered with my fiance. I wanted to split the row into 500 m sets but she advised against it saying 250 m would be a better distance. We used a light medicine ball (4 lb.) for the sit ups. *Spoiler Alert* we did not make it to the kb swings so the weights are not important.The row started off great. 500 m sets would have sucked and thankfully she had enough foresight to only go 250 m. I was able to catch my breath between sets and it wasn’t too bad. The sit ups were more difficult than the row. My abs started to cramp up around rep 80 or so. I would need to take a short rest before resuming. The air squats is where we stopped at the time cap. We made it through 160 air squats at time. We had to take short breaks since the rest between sets were not enough. I’m happy with our score since we pushed eachother to work hard.

Thursday

Push Press – 6×3 at 80% (165 lb.)

Heavy push press session was great. I’m still learning some techniques but it felt great. It was heavy but I managed to get through all the reps.

Back Squat – 6×3 at 80% (305 lb.)I remember when 305 lb. was around 95% of my 1RM now I’m doing them for three. The last half of the set I had some sticking points but I was able to get through them. My legs felt great.

Snatch Pull – 3×3 at 85% (135 lb.)
Ended the day with some heavy pull work. I started working without straps since I wanted to get used to holding the weight again.Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): July 4 – July 10

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Tuesday

Overhead Squat – Find a 3 rep heavy
I haven’t done heavy overhead squats in awhile. With my grip and shoulder issues, I’ve been staying away from the movement. After doing a lot more mobility before class and at home, my grip and shoulder issues have improved. My 3RM is 195 lb. and I wanted to come close to that weight.
Started out light to warm up. Lately, behind the neck push presses were hard to do. It would put a lot of strain on my shoulders and I would barely complete the lift. It wasn’t too bad however. After a few reps, I felt normal again. I loaded up the bar to 185 lb. and completed three reps. I decided to stop since we had to get ready for the workout. We only had four minutes left in the session. Surprisingly, the weight wasn’t too bad. The first rep was easy and quick. The next two were not too bad either. I could feel my grip slipping a bit but that’s probably because I didn’t have chalk. I didn’t finish at my 3RM but I came within 95%, which I’m happy with.
Partner WOD – 12 Minute AMRAP
50 kb swings (Russian, 54 lb.)
100 double unders
50 overhead squats (95 lb.)

This was a fun partner workout. My goal for this workout was at least two rounds. My biggest issue would be the overhead squats. The work was split equally. The kb swings were not too bad. The reps were broken up into sets of 10. The double unders went well. I was able to complete 40 reps before breaking. The overhead squats were broken up into sets of 10. I had to break it up into sets of five during the last two sets.The second round did not go as well. I was gassed by this point and I wasn’t moving very well. I was able to keep up with the kb swings but I lost it at the double unders. I would do around 5-10 reps before tripping. I was exhausted and my timing was horrible. I think we could have finished more reps if I didn’t mess up this section. The overhead squats were not as bad as the double unders but we started running out of time. We finished 1 round and 192 reps at time. We were so close to two rounds!

 

Wednesday

 

Snatch – 1×2 at 60% (95 lb.), 1×2 at 70% (110 lb.), 1×2 at 80% (125 lb.) x2

My snatches are starting to feel better. I had to adjust my pulls at the lighter weight because I was catching the bar high. As the weight became heavier, it was easier. The second round felt better than the first. It was probably because I was warmed up. Most of the reps felt really great and I didn’t make huge mistakes or any misses.

Clean and Jerk Complex – Every 1:30 for 9:00 Minutes

2 clean + 1 jerk at 75% (165 lb.)This workout was rough since I tried to keep the reps under 30 seconds. This way, I would have enough time to rest. The first few rounds, the cleans were not too bad but became harder as time went on. The jerks were the easiest part and I decided to focus mostly on form. I was able to get in good reps even though I was tiring out from the cleans. I’m still having some issues with grip but hopefully the stretches alleviate the discomfort. I may want to try and lower the bar on the first clean instead of dropping it before the second clean. This way I can also work on grip strength as I lower the bar.

Clean High Pull – 4×3 at 85% (185 lb.)

Did these reps quickly without resting too long. I took about a minute between sets.

Front Squat – 5×2 at 80% (245 lb.)

This was a fight. 245 lb. felt a lo heavier than 80%. The first two sets were great. My breathing was on point and I manage to keep my elbows up and back straight. The third set on was a struggle. I couldn’t keep a full grip on the bar and it would eventually go on my finger tips. My breathing was a bit harder to control and I felt like I was collapsing in the bottom position. It wasn’t too bad but I know where my weaknesses are in the squat. Not sure how I strengthen it either, hopefully doing more squats and midline work will make it easier.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!