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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Push Press – 6×2 at 80% (165 lb.)

The push press didn’t feel too heavy and I was able to get through it quickly. I focused on my front rack position and my dip and drive.

Snatch Complex – 2 at 70% (110 lb.), 2 at 75% (115 lb.), 2 at 80% (120 lb.)

Snatch pull + power snatchThis was a different snatch complex then the previous weeks. The snatch pull felt great while, the power snatch was a little off at the 70% and 75%. My shoulder have been sore for the past week or two and my shoulders didn’t feel as strong. Thankfully, I felt great at 80%. I may need to warm up longer in the future.

Power Clean – 5×2 at 80% (187 lb.)

Power clean was easy compared to the power snatch. Worked on my first pull since I tend to rush it.

Back Squat – 6×2 at 80% (300 lb.)

I haven’t moved 300+ lb. in a few weeks but these back squats felt great. I had a few reps where my weight shifted to my forefot and toes but I was able to correct it in later reps. I’m starting to feel more confident in heavier back squats.

Snatch – 2×2 at 60% (95 lb.), 2×2 at 70% (115 lb.), 2×2 at 80% (125 lb.)

I started doing Burgener warm ups before every snatch session and it helps a lot. The lifts started off a bit rocky but felt a lot better as the weights increased. The two sets at 125 lb. felt easier than the two sets at 95 lb.

Clean and Jerk Complex – Every 1:30 for 9 Minutes at 75% (165 lb.)

2 squat cleans + split jerk

This was fun but was tiring. I would finish the round under 30 seconds, just to make sure I had enough time to rest. The squat cleans felt great and I was able to get through them without much trouble. I focused on my split jerk form since a few reps didn’t feel great. I was able to complete all lifts but it could have been a lot better.

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

After doing the clean and jerk complex, these were easy. My pulls feel a lot stronger now.

Front Squat – 5×2 at 80% (245 lb.)

Started the day off with front squats. I warmed up a bit but I wasn’t comfortable with the squat until the second set. I worked on my front squat issues mainly my breathing. I’m not close to being comfortable with my breathing but it’s getting better. I also worked on staying active in the bottom and keeping my chest and elbows up.

Snatch Pull – 3×3 at 85% (135 lb.)

The snatch pulls went well. I focused on not rushing my first pull and finishing in a good postion.

FGB style, 5 rounds

Kettlebell swings (Russian, 72 lb.)

Chin ups

At first glance, I knew this was going to be hard. I didn’t know what my goals were going to be for each movement. Kb swings were going to be tough especially at 72 lb. I had a feeling my grip would start to give out in the later rounds. The chin ups were going to be tough as well. I haven’t been doing gymnastics movements since I started doing more Oly lifts so this would be interesting. I decided to throw some numbers as goals. I wanted at least 10 kb swings and 5 chin ups.

During the first round I was able to get 15 kb swings and 5 chin ups. The kb swings were not bad but the chin ups were difficult. I was doing them strict since I’m not sure if their is a way to kip a chin up. The first round set the pace for the last four and I was determined to keep up with the number. I dropped to 19 reps during rounds two and three. I would complete 15 reps of the kb swings but I would drop to four chin ups. During round four I was only able to do 10 kb swings but I was able to complete four chin ups. I was able to complete 20 reps during the last round.

It was a great workout and I’m happy that I got to complete some gymnastics work. I have been slacking in the gymnastics department but I plan to do more work and get better. Need to find that balance between CrossFit and Oly lifting.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!