I’m still posting old videos in an attempt to catch up to current stuff. We purchased this C2 rower right before the pandemic. Thank God we made that decision because the price of those things sky rocketed and the wait was a lot longer as well. We have it set up in our new place in the storage room and I try to row at least every other night. Thanks for watching and stopping by!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8bit_barbell/
I’ve been keeping up with the CrossFit weightlifting programming and today has a lot of overhead work. Overhead squats, which I’m weak at and snatches. I also do a small WOD at the end.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8bit_barbell/
My last post on this site was two years ago, TWO YEARS?! It’s mainly out of laziness and lack of motivation. The past two years have been crazy. I’ve gained some weight, moved back home and started working again. I will be posting my fitness vlogs to keep current and I hope to keep this blog running for the near future. I just started playing games with friends so hopefully I can post more stuff about that as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8bit_barbell/
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Check out my Instagram @8bit_barbell to see some lifts from this week.
Overhead Squat – Find a 3RM
I set a new 3RM at the end of April and I was determined to set a new one. My goal was to at least lift 225 lb. I warmed up to 226 lb. and started my lift. The jerk felt great and was able steady the weight overhead. I almost lost the first rep because I was slightly off balance. I was able to gain control of the weight and complete the rep. The last two reps were quick and had no issues with the reps. This lift was a multiple PR lift. I PR’d my overhead squat of 225 lb. by 1 lb. and my 3RM by 11 lb.
WOD – For Time, 20 Minute Time Cap
4 Rounds
25 Squat Cleans (75 lb.)
Run (400 m)
After that overhead squat PR, I was ready to take on this workout. However, I greatly underestimated this WOD. At 75 lb. I was sure I could get through all the squat cleans, and take it easy on the run. The workout started okay but I knew I was in trouble after the first round. My 3RM attempts caught up with me and I could feel the burn in my legs. I kept a steady pace during the cleans, doing fast singles but I had to change it up in round two. I decided to go with a 5×5 scheme with a short rest in between sets. This worked but I took too long during the rest. I finished this workout with two rounds, 25 squat cleans and 200 m.
Snatch Complex
Power Snatch + Hang Snatch + Overhead Squat
Haven’t worked on snatches in awhile but I was excited to try this out. The movements felt good and I can tell that I’m getting stronger. My technique still needs a lot of work after watching the replay. I’m pulling the bar too high and I’m slow to get under the bar. I was able to PR this complex at 165 lb. which led me to try any max out my snatch at 175 lb.
Snatch
This attempt was not programmed but I felt good doing the complex that I decided to try this out. After two failed attempts, I was able to successfully lift one at 175 lb. While I missed two tries, I felt very optimistic about future reps. Like the snatch complex I need to work on technique and my snatch suffered from the same problems. I’m pulling too high and moving too slow. This means that if I fix my technique, I could lift more weight!
Partner WOD – AMRAP 18 Minutes
Run (1000m)
Row (1000m)
Then in remaining time, AMRAP
30 Deadlifts (225 lb.)
90 Double Unders
This was a fun partner workout that wasn’t as bad as I though it was going to be. We split the run into 100 m sprints and split the row into 250 m sets. The deadlifts and double unders were split into sets of five and 45 respectively.
The run was not too bad since the distance was short. I was going at a quick pace but was not sprinting and the rest in between each run was enough for me to catch my breath. Towards the end of the run I slowed down a bit but it wasn’t too much. The row was much easier. I kept a quick pace (1:45/500m) and was not breathing too hard when we finished this part of the workout around minute 11 or 12.
The rest of the workout was tough. After all that work, the deadlifts felt very heavy. Breaking up the reps into sets of five really helped and I was able to go unbroken on all my sets. The double unders however were not as smooth. I would do a few and then break because I hit my feet or my arms were too tired. This was the longest part of the workout since I couldn’t string a lot of them together. After 18 minutes we finished with 2 rounds, 30 deadlifts and 36 double unders.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
If you want to see some of the lifts I write about here, check out my Instagram @8bit_barbell
Overhead Squat – 3 Rep Max
My last overhead squat attempt was about a year ago. My lifts were done at 205 lb. and with all of the work that I’ve done in the past year I’m sure I could increase that number by 10 lb. I warmed up well, taking it slow and focusing on form and breathing. My first PR attempt was at 207 lb. The jerk to get the bar overhead felt heavy but I was able to keep it stable. I found a good pace and was able to get three reps without any problems.
My next attempt was at 215 lb. and was a lot harder. I almost missed the first rep, and had to take a short step to balance the bar. The next two reps were just as difficult but I was able to keep the bar straight and finish. It felt great setting two PR’s in the same day!
WOD – 10 Minute AMRAP
10 Power Cleans (135 lb.)
Run (100 m)
10 Front Squats
Run (100 m)
I wasn’t sure how I was going to do on this workout. The cleans would be easy but the front squat was going to kill my legs. The run was short so I wasn’t too worried. The workout started well. I did the power cleans in singles. The run was short and not too bad. The front squats were hard on the legs but that was expected. I did all the front squats unbroken. The first and second rounds were okay but the third is what killed me. The weight felt like 225 lb. instead of 135 lb. I kept the reps at singles for the cleans and unbroken for the front squats. I wanted to complete four rounds but I only finished three.
WOD – 12 Minute AMRAP
30 Handstand Push Ups
3 Rope Climbs (15 ft.)
20 Handstand Push Ups
2 Rope Climbs (15 ft.)
10 Handstand Push Ups
1 Rope Climb (15 ft.)
-then in the remaining time-
Max Burpees
This workout looked nuts. I’m okay when it comes to handstand push ups and bad when it comes to rope climbs. The handstand push ups will have to be broken into sets ten and five or whenever my arms give out. The rope climbs are just as hard since I have a fear that when I get to the top I’m going to slip and lose my grip. However, I wanted to give this workout a go.
The first set of handstand push ups were okay. I was able to get two sets of ten reps before having to switch to two sets of five. By the end of the first set of handstand push ups, my arms were “smoked”. Next I had to do three rope climbs. Which took a minute or two. I’m very slow when it comes to rope climbs since I hardly practice them and my fear of falling. However was able to complete three reps and was on to the next set of handstand push ups. My arms were very tired by this time and the reps were very slow. I would do sets three to five and have a short rest in between. It took forever but I eventually finished that round of handstand push ups. I was a bit quicker on my rope climb reps, I didn’t take a long rest.
I tried to sprint the last set of handstand push ups and rope climbs but my arms couldn’t take it. I was very slow on the handstand push ups and I was able to finish the rope climb quickly. I finished the first portion at 11:09. It took me a few seconds to catch my breath but I started on the burpees. I finished my tenth rep at time. I didn’t think I was going to die out that quickly on the handstand push ups, I need to work on my overhead strength and endurance.
Back Squat – 8×4 at 70% (286 lb.)
This was a good squat day. I the weight felt heavy but I was able to get in some quality reps. Around set six through eight, I started to have some sticking points. I would get stuck around parallel on the fourth rep but I always finished. My legs are slowly coming back.
Partner WOD – 16 Minute AMRAP
30 Double Unders
20 Wall Balls (20 lb.)
10 Cal. Row
This looked like a fun workout but the wall balls were going to crush us. Everything else was going to be manageable. The movements were alternated, giving us some time to rest. The workout wasn’t too bad in the beginning. I was able to get the double unders done unbroken until the last few rounds where I would trip up every few reps. My rhythm was off and I was exhausted but I finished all my double unders. I broke up my wall balls into two sets of 10 but that turned into four sets of five by the end of the workout. The rest was really on the row. I kept a consistent pace and tried to control my breathing. At the end of the workout we finished with eight rounds and 25 double unders. Our goal was nine rounds but we came up a bit short.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
Front Squat – Three Rep Max
I decided to try and set a new PR for this lift. My previous 3RM was 275 lb. and I wanted at least 10 lb. increase. Warm up felt good but the weight felt heavy around 225 lb. I haven’t been doing many front squats which is probably why it felt different. I loaded my goal weight 285 lb. and started my attempt. The first rep felt very heavy but I was able to stand it up. The second rep felt heavier and my breathing was not great. I tried to catch my breath and started my last rep. I made it to parallel before I had to drop the bar. After catching my breath and thinking about the lifts I needed to fix my breathing and my bracing. My core was a little loose on that last rep.
After a few minutes I grabbed the bar and tried again. Hopefully the adjustments would be enough. The first rep felt just as heavy but I managed to stand it up without too much issues. The second rep felt better than the last attempt, the breathing and core bracing changes worked. The last rep was the hardest and I barely made the lift. My elbows dropped and it felt like my biceps were stabilizing the weight. Thankfully, I made the lift but that last rep felt “ugly”. I need to work on form before trying this again.
WOD – For Time, 18 Minute Time Cap
Run (400 m)
21 Back Squats (185 lb.)
Run (400 m)
15 Back Squats (185 lb.)
Run (400 m)
9 Back Squats (185 lb.)
Run (400 m)
After my front squat max, I wasn’t feeling great about doing this workout. Heavy squats and running are not my strong suit. My concern for this workout was the back squats since we had to start from the ground. Cleaning the weight multiple times was not going to be efficient so I had to do the squats unbroken. The run was going to suck but that was a given.
The first round was okay. The run was normal but the squat took a lot of effort. I broke up the reps into 11 and 10. I probably should have went with sevens. After that first round my legs were on fire and my lower back was tight as well. The second round was almost the same. I broke up the squats into sets of five. The last round was the hardest. The weight was heavy and I missed the jerk. I had to reset and take a few breaths before trying it again. After the squats, I was exhausted and my legs hated me. I had to finish the run though and after 400 m I finished the workout in 17:30.
Back Squat – 6×6 at 60% (244 lb.)
Squat maintenance day, nothing crazy.
Partner WOD – AMRAP 20 Minutes
15 Burpees
20 Overhead Squats (115 lb.)
30 Sit Ups
Run (100 m)
I did this workout with my wife and it was a lot of fun. We broke up the reps in half for all movements and alternated on the run. We kept a good pace on the movements. The burpees and sit ups went by quickly. The overhead squats took a bit more time because we broke it up into sets of five. We did it at a steady pace and pushed each other until the end. We finished this workout with four rounds and 30 sit ups.
Strict Press – 8×4 at 70% (115 lb.)
I haven’t done much strict press lately and this weight felt heavy. I took a few minutes in between sets to rest. At the sixth set, it started getting very heavy. I was struggling on the third rep and almost missed the fourth rep on set seven and eight.
WOD – 18 Minute Time Cap
Ground to Overhead – 10,000 lb.
I did this workout back in 2014 and posted a short description of the workout on the blog. It was also my first POST! My previous time for this workout was 19:45, 15 seconds under the time cap. This time around, the time cap is 18 minutes. If I finish the workout, it will be a PR. My set up will also be the same. I’m going to do the workout with a 100 lb. bar and the sets will be 10×10. I will be doing the reps with a clean and jerk instead of a snatch. If I did snatches, I’ll definitely gas out.
The workout started well. I did 10 reps unbroken for at least four sets. At set five, I had to break up the reps into two sets of five. My shoulders and triceps were burning making the jerk harder to cycle. This slowed me down considerably and I stayed at this rep scheme until the end of the workout. At set nine I was getting very tired but I wanted to finish as quickly as possible. I decided to snatch the last five reps and managed to do them unbroken. I finished this workout at 16:10, 3:35 better than the last time!
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
Back Squat – 7×5 at 75% (275 lb.)
After not working out the whole week, I start up with back squats. The programming calls for 75% + 10 – 15 lb. increase from the last week. I haven’t been squating lately so I stay at my actual 75%. After warm ups I get to the bar and start my first set. I was able to control the weight on the decent but was slow on the ascent. I was trying to be more explosive but I could stand up quick enough. After a few more sets, my legs warmed up and I was able to be quicker. I was only able to finish six out of seven sets at 75% because of time limitations. Great squat day and I’m feeling more confident.
WOD – 10 Minutes
150 Double Unders
–then in remaining time, AMRAP:
15 Wall Balls (20 lb.)
15 Power Cleans (95 lb.)
After the squat session, I knew this workout was going to suck. My legs were going to be working hard for the next 10 minutes. The double unders were going to give me a hard time as well as the wall balls. The power cleans were going to be okay since it’s a light weight for me to cycle.
I was able to complete 75 unbroken double unders before my arms started to tire. It was hard to string reps after. I would be able to complete up to 10 reps before I would trip again or I would stop because my arms couldn’t keep going. I finished the double under, three minutes into the workout and started on the “hard part” of the workout.
I hate wall balls and they were the first movement after the double unders. My strategy was to break up the wall balls and power cleans into sets of two. The wall balls were slow and steady. I would take a few seconds between each set to catch my breath and try to get back to the movement quickly. The power cleans were the same. After the first round, I could feel the exhaustion catching up to me and would take more rest in between sets. It was tough and I finished with two rounds and 13 wall balls. I was shooting for three rounds but I wasn’t able to get there. Fun workout for the week.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
I haven’t been doing a lot of posts lately. I just got back from the Philippines and I have a lot of stuff to do for the holidays. I’m trying to catch up with all my posts and I’m starting with my workout week. If you want to see my workout week, check out my Beyond the Whiteboard profile.
Back Squat – 6×6 at 70% (275 lb.)
We started a new back squat cycle and I’m pumped. I really want to get my squat up to 400 lb. but I haven’t been putting in the work. At the end of the cycle I want to at least hit a new PR, even if it’s only five pounds.
I worked up to 275 lb. slowly. I haven’t been squatting heavy and wanted a good warm up before putting on some heavy weight. Surprisingly, the squats felt good but not light. It took a lot of focus and concentration. I did notice some hip shift in the later sets which is something that I’ll need to correct. Overall, great squat session.
WOD – 10 Minute AMRAP
10 Single Arm Thrusters (50 lb.)
Run (100 m)
10 Single Arm Thrusters (50 lb.)
Run (100 m)
I almost scaled this workout to 30 or 40 lb. The weight was a little heavy for my left arm but I thought I could get through it. The run was going to be the longest portion of this workout. I was able to go through the right arm thrusters unbroken. When doing the left arm thrusters, I had to break up the reps. Like my squat, I have to work on my muscle imbalance. The run sucked but I kept a good pace and tried to catch my breath during the run. I finished three rounds and two right arm thrusters.
WOD 1 – For Time, 6 Minute Time Cap
3 Rounds
10 Deadlifts (275 lb.)
50 Double Unders
Like most workouts, it’s the cardio that’s going to kill me and those double unders look scary. The deadlifts seemed a bit heavy but I should be able to get through it in two sets each round. I warmed up a bit for the deadlifts before the workout started. I forgot how heavy 275 lb. felt, I wasn’t worried however since this is only about 65% of my 1RM.
I was able to get through the deadlifts in sets of five and go unbroken on the double unders in the first round. It only took about a minute to finish. The second and third sets were a lot harder. I had to take a few seconds in between sets. I kept missing my double unders and it took a lot time to string more together. At the time cap I was ten reps into the last round of double unders.
WOD 2 – AMRAP 6 Minutes
5 Pull Ups
7 Burpees
9 Double Unders
We had a two minute break before starting this workout. I am more comfortable with these movements and I wasn’t too worried. The hardest movement was going to be the burpees. I was still tired from the previous workout but I was able to get an okay start. I went through all the movements without much trouble but I had to take a few seconds in between movements. The burpees were the worst part. I moved at a very slow pace but I didn’t stop to catch my breath. I was able to go through all the pull ups and double unders unbroken. I was shooting for six rounds, trying to do this workout like an EMOM, but that didn’t go as plan. I finished this workout with four rounds and two pull ups.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
The last few weeks have been busy. I was not going to the gym consistently, and I was able to go five days out of the last three weeks. Now that things have calmed down, I can get back to documenting my CrossFit journey!
Strict Press – Find your 1RM
After missing the past few weeks, I knew this was going to be tough and my chance of setting a new PR were slim. However, I was going to give it my all and try my best. I loaded up some weight and started the warm up. The coaches suggested some percentages for the warm up that I followed until I reached 85% of my 1RM. 145 lb. felt good and I was able to complete two reps at that weight. I loaded 155 lb. and I was not able to get the bar past my eyes. I took a few minutes rest and tried again but ended up with the same result, no rep. I felt defeated but I know, I need to work more. If I was more consistent, maybe I would have been able to get it. Next time, their is always next time.
WOD 1 – 8 Minute Time Cap
15-9-6
Thrusters (135 lb.)
Chest to bar pull ups
After failing at my strict press PR, I knew I had to redeem myself. I decided not to scale the thrusters and attempt the workout Rx. The chest to bar pull ups were going to be hard but that’s to be expected. The first 15 reps of thrusters were not bad. I broke it up into two sets of ten and five making the work manageable. The chest to bars were broken up into sets of five. The last two rounds were a lot harder but I was able to grind through it. I Finished the workout at 7:17.
WOD 2 – 6 Minute AMRAP10 burpees
50 double unders
We started only a minute after finishing the first WOD. I was exhausted and tried to catch my breath before starting the next workout. What followed was the slowest burpees I’ve ever done. I would hit the deck, and rest at the bottom for a second before standing up. It was a snails pace but it was the best I could do. The double unders however went a lot better than expected. I finished two rounds unbroken and had to break up the other rounds into three or four sets. It was a great workout but I wish I had more energy for the burpees. I finished the workout with two rounds and three burpees.
Power Clean Complex
1 Power Clean + 3 Push Press
My power cleans have been consistent lately. I’ve been able to complete some complexes at 205 lb. but the push press would be tough at that weight. My last three rep max attempt was at 200 lb., a new PR. I was hoping I would be able to complete this complex at 205 lb. At the beginning of the workout the clean and push presses felt great. As the weights increased the push press became more difficult but I was able to complete the lifts without any misses. At 205 lb. the clean wasn’t hard but the push presses were very heavy. I was able to get one good rep and two “ugly” reps. I was able to lock out my arms and not re dip like a jerk. They were not the nicest looking lifts but I got them done. Complete one complex at 205 lb.
Snatch Pull – 3×3 at 110% (205 lb)
205 lb. was 10 lb. over my 110% but I wanted to try out pulls at this weight. I took the first set to get used to the weight. It was heavier than what I’m used to but I tried to focus on form and completing the pulls. After the first set, the other two went smooth. The weight still felt heavy but I’m sure I will be able to snatch this one day.
Back Squat – 3×10 at 65% (245 lb.)
Ten reps is no joke! I was confident going into the workout but as the warm up went on, I started to have doubts. Doing five reps at 225 lb. was a lot harder than what I expected. Ten reps at 245 lb. was going to be terrible.
I psyched myself up and started on my first set. I felt good until the ninth rep where I started to feel tired. I barely made it up on the 10th rep. The next set was just as hard. I barely finished the set, getting stuck on the eighth rep. The last set was the most difficult. I made it to five reps before I had to re rack the bar. I took about 30 seconds of rest and finished the last five reps. It was a very challenging squat workout.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!
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