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CrossFit Progress: Overhead Squat PR!

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After weeks of heavy overhead squats, it was time to test my max. I wasn’t feeling confident going into today. I have been trying to get over a cold since Sunday but after last weeks 3rm PR, I was going to try my best. My target for today was 205 lb. and I was able to successfully finish the lift. I attempted 215 lb. but I wasn’t able to get the weight overhead. If I was able to get another attempt I would have done a split jerk instead of a push press. I am very happy with my result and I am looking forward to the next strength cycle. PR video below.

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My Week as RX (Probably Scaled): August 17 – August 23

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Monday

Started out with some mountain climbers, wall balls and lateral lunges to warm up our legs and hips before we started our strength portion for today.

Front Squat – 5 at 60%, 5 at 70%, 3 at 80%, 3 at 85%, 3 at 90% (1RM is ≈ 295 lb.)

I haven’t been doing front squats regularly and this was a challenge at 85% and 90%. I focused on getting my hips back and leading with my elbows. I hope more front squats are programmed down the line.

WOD (Partner) – AMRAP 25 minutes, 500m row, 40 Deadlifts, 30 HSPU, 20 Hang Power Cleans, 10 Muscle Ups. Every five minutes, 20 burpess

This was my dad’s first day after the on ramp and I decided to do this partner WOD with him.We used the same weights instead of getting two barbells out and I also scaled the muscle ups. I wanted to keep a pace that my dad could keep up with. He did great, scaling the movements so that he was constantly moving. It was a great experience and I’m happy that he’s getting some exercise.

Plank Holds – 3 rounds at 60 seconds each.

Used a 25 lb. plate and had a 30 second rest in between rounds.

Tuesday

Bench Press – 5 at 60%, 5 at 70%, 3 at 80%, 3 at 85%, 3 at 90% (1RM is 240 lb.)
Haven’t done heavy bench presses in a while but these were not too bad. Went a bit lighter than the posted percentages but I was more focused on form than the weight.
WOD – AMRAP 7 minutes – 1 Front Squat at 135 lb., 2 Ring Dips. Add 1 rep to front squat and 2 reps to ring dips each round. 
This WOD was difficult but I manged to make it up to the six front squat round. I decided to use a 135 lb. bar since it was close to my front squat 1RM and I would be able to speed through the front squats. I knew coming into this WOD that the ring dips were going to slow me down a lot. I’m not great with body weight movements and the bench press was taxing on the triceps. Also, my ring dip kip is not great which slowed me down. I need to work on more gymnastics.
Burpee onto Plate – For Time – 50 reps
My arms and chest were still recovering from previous workouts, making me hate the burpees that much more. Surprisingly I finished this in 4:53 which I’m happy with. I was shooting for sub four minutes but I have a goal to aim for next time. 

Wednesday

Overhead Squat –  5 at 60%, 5 at 70%, 3 at 80%, 3 at 85%, 3 at 90% (1RM is ≈ 200 lb.)

I hit a PR during this workout. My previous  3RM was 175 lb. and I managed to lift 180 lb. I can tell my form is improving, at heavier weights I have to fight for position but it’s becoming easier. Hopefully I can set a new 1RM next week.

WOD – 4 x RFT 400m Run, 10 Power Snatch (75 lb.), 15 Box Jumps. Rest for 2 minutes after each round.

This WOD was fun and challenging. I decided to use a 75 lb. bar since I wanted to get through the snatches and box jumps as fast as possible. Managed to be consistent with my time and finished all rounds under 4:20.

Friday

Thruster 1RM 
This was my first max thruster attempt. I was able to lift 205 lb. but it was difficult. I’m not sure if I could have went heavier.
WOD – 4x AMRAP 3 minutes – 6 Mountain Climbers, 9 Sit Ups,  12 Wall Balls (20 lb.). Rest 1 minute between each AMRAP.

My main goal was being consistent and I managed to finish at least two rounds every set. The wall balls were what slowed me down the most.

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My Week as RX (Probably Scaled): August 10 – August 16

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I wanted to keep track of my workouts and decided to add them to the blog. Now I have a written record of my training that I can reference.

Tuesday

Started off Tuesday with lat and shoulder warm up and then moved on to the skill portion of the day. The skill portion was a chest to bar complex and toes to bar.

6×2 – 1 strict chest to bar, 2 kipping chest to bar, 3 toes to bar (Unbroken)

I wasn’t able to complete this skill portion because my grip started to fail, my hands were starting to feel a bit raw and I wanted to save my hands for the WOD.

WOD – 3 Toes to Bar, 3 KB SDHP (Reps increase by 3 after each round)

I was a bit conservative during the WOD since I didn’t want to tear but managed to make it to the fifth round before time ran out. After the WOD, I spent about ten minutes on mobility.

Wednesday

Did a short five minute warm up of Double unders and overhead squats before we went into the strength portion.

6×3 – Overhead Squats at 80% of 1RM (165 lb.)

The overhead squat is not one of my strong lifts. I need to work on keeping my hips back and not bending at the knee first. I’m slowly improving and the lifts are becoming easier.

WOD – 400m, 50 burpees, 800m, 50 burpees, 400m

This WOD was rough. Two movements that I do not like, running and burpees. I managed to finish in 24 minutes but it was a grind. Finished the class with some mobility.

Thursday

Thursday was another skill day focusing on core strength and hand stand push ups. The warm up was a 500 m row and then four, fifteen second holds. The holds were a head stand, a hand stand, a L-sit from a bar and a ring support. The skill portion was broken up into two complexes.

6×2 – 1 Ring Push up, 2 ring plank

The ring planks are very similar to an “ab-wheel” plank.

6×1 – 2 Strict Deficit HSPU, 6 Kipping HSPU, Max Effort Kipping HSPU

I used two 45 plates for my deficit and managed to finish four of the six sets. I ran out of time since I took a longer rest period in between sets.

WOD: 4 RFT: 25 Bench Press at 75% body weight, 500m row, 4 minutes of rest between rounds.

Wasn’t able to do this WOD Rx since it would take forever for me to complete. 75% of my body weight would be 150 lb. I decided to scale down to 50% of my body weight. I manged to finish the WOD in 24 minutes. Finished the class with some mobility.

Friday

Started the class with 10 minutes of mobility and then started the strength portion.

6×5 – Back Squat at 75% of 1RM

Did the squats at 265 lb. and they felt great. I struggled a bit in the fifth set but other than that, manged to get through it without any issues. I realized it’s easier to get your hips back during back squats than overhead squats.

WOD –  Reverse Tabata: Row (Cal), Ski Erg (Cal), Box Jumps and Air Dyne.

This WOD is very deceiving. Manged to stay consistent throughout the workout and movements. Finished the class with some mobility.

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CrossFit Progress: Overhead Squat 3 Rep Max PR!

Nick PalomoLeave a comment

The last time I tested my three rep max for the overhead squat was five months ago in February. Since then, I worked on a lot of shoulder strength. From handstand push ups to strict press, the programming focused on the shoulders and it showed. I was able to add 20 lb to my overhead squat three rep max bringing my new three rep max to 175 lb. I didn’t have much time but I could have added another five to ten lb to that number. I missed my attempt at 195 lb, I was either too fatigued from the previous lifts or it was too heavy. I want to work on more accessory lifts, especially the overhead squat.

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CrossFit Progress: PRs!

Nick PalomoLeave a comment

This week is our “max out” week for CrossFit Gof Metgot. So far we had a max day for bench press, deadlifts, hand stand push ups and strict pull ups.

PRs from Monday and Tuesday:

  • Handstand Push Ups – 13, +5 reps 
  • Bench Press – 240 lb, +15 lb 
  • Strict Pull Ups – 10, +4 reps 
  • Fran – 7:07, -4:53 from previous time
I’m happy with all the numbers I put up and the progress I have made. I’m especially happy with my Fran time. I didn’t finish my last Fran attempt under the 12 minute time cap. Also, I didn’t finish all the thrusters in the last set. This time I manged to almost knock off five minutes from my last attempt and finish. Fran is one of those iconic CrossFit workouts and hopefully I make it under seven minutes next attempt. More lifts are coming, I recently hit a new PR on my clean and jerk but I’ll write about that next time. I want to max out my deadlift this week, wish me luck. 
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CrossFit Progress: Snatches, Snatches, Snatches.

Nick PalomoLeave a comment

My snatches need a lot of work. Last Friday I tried to hit a PR on my snatch. I attempted to lift 160 lb. which is 5 lb. over my current max. I failed all three attempts, but I almost made my last lift. I think with some more strength training and more practice I’ll be able ready. I need to work on some drills for speed  under the bar. I’ll talk to my coach and see if I can get some snatch balance work in. In other news I dropped 10 lb. and I’m finally down to 200 lb. Still have 30 – 40 lb. to go.

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CrossFit Progress: New Clean and Jerk PR!

Nick PalomoLeave a comment

I finally hit a PR on my clean and jerk. My previous PR was 205 lb. and today I lifted 215 lb. I learned that your mental state plays a big role in heavy lifts. I made two attempts at 205 and missed one of them. The difference between the two lifts were my mental state. I wasn’t 100% during my missed lift; I wasn’t focused. After reevaluating and some notes from my coaches I made the lift. I felt really good after and decided to try and PR.

Thankfully, it only took one attempt. My coaches were trying to get me to attempt 225 lb but I decided against it. I only had a few minutes left and I didn’t want to rush it. The next time a max clean and jerk comes up, I’ll definitely attempt 225 lb. I wanted to post a video but it didn’t come out well, next time.

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CrossFit Media Review: The Wodcast Podcast

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The WODcast Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by three guys who are knowledgeable in CrossFit. Armen Hammer is the one of the owners and coach of CrossFit 818, Eddie Ifft is stand up comedian and Scott McGee is a LAPD Officer. Each week they have different guests from the fitness world. CrossFit affiliate owners, CrossFit games athletes, nutritional experts and strongman athletes are some of the guests you will hear from each week.

The WODcast Podcast is one of the shows I look forward to every week. Each episode is packed with entertainment, laughs and knowledge. The episodes feel like conversations between gym members and not a lecture. The hosts do not take CrossFit or themselves too seriously which makes for a more relaxed atmosphere. The show segments are varied and depend on that weeks guest. Their is also listener participation in the form of “The Question of the Week (QDub)” and “The Lightning Round”. These segments relate to the weekly guest with the lightning round questions coming from listeners. If you would like to participate in these questions, like and comment on their Facebook page and Instagram. They usually post the questions right before the show every week.

If you’re looking for a great CrossFit podcast, check out the WODcast Podcast.

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New Strength Cycle: Deadlifts and Bench Press

Nick PalomoLeave a comment

For the next few weeks I will be on a new strength cycle, deadlifts and bench press. This is great since I need to strengthen my pulls. We tested our three rep max deadlift and bench press. My deadlift has increased by 10 lb to 325 lb and my bench press has stayed the same as 205 lb. Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll be able to hit new PR’s by the end of the cycle.

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