Training March 30, 2015

Back to a more normal training schedule, and I couldn't be more excited about it!


CP Power
A. Build to Max Power Clean in 15:00, 245 lbs.
B. For Time: 20 Reps Power Clean at 77% of A, 1:52 with 195 lbs.
C. Clean Pull: 3 x 5, 195 lbs.

I think 245 is a PR for a power clean, and it wasn't bad.  A little wide on the catch, but I got my elbows through really fast, and slow elbows are usually my problem on heavy power cleans.

The 20 reps started out great.  I hit the first 10 reps in about 0:35, and then sh!t got real.  All that lactic acid in my legs from Saturday was just lying in wait because it attacked HARD on those last 10 reps.  Ouch!

I stayed a little bit lighter on the cleans pulls.  Still protecting my SI joint.


Gymnastics 
EMOM 12
M1: 3 Muscle Ups
M2: 8 UB TTB (Perfect form)
M3: 50 Double Unders

This all felt great.  No issues and everything unbroken.

Aerobic Power
2 x 500m High aerobic output
1:36.3, 1:36.0

Rested about 4 minutes between sets.  This hurt really bad, both physically and mentally.  Too soon, if you know what I mean.

Crossfit Open 15.5

Well, that hurt really, really bad!

I can honestly say that I had nerves before this one like I was getting ready to play in the Super Bowl or to give a speech in front of Congress or to meet the man, the myth, the legend Mr. Patrick McCarty himself!  

On paper, this is a workout that I should perform very well on.  If I have two good movements in my skill set, it is thrusters and rowing.  However, I also know how much both can hurt in the right workout.  Well, this was a collision of the two worst worlds for these movements.  I knew it was going to hurt very badly and that there be no excuses between me and a good result, other than being weak minded, and nobody wants to consider themselves weak minded!

Luckily, I was smart enough to follow Pat's warm-up suggestion exactly.  This helped a lot!  I hit a pretty heavy double thruster at 215, did some high paced rowing intervals and then got after it.

For Time

27 Calorie Row

27 Thrusters 95 lbs. (15/12)

21 Calorie Row

21 Thrusters 95 lbs. (12/9)

15 Calorie Row

15 Thrusters 95 lbs. (5/5/5)

9 Calorie Row

9 Thrusters 95 lbs. (3/3/2/F/1)

8:36

My original plan was to split the first rounds of thrusters into 3 sets, but I always say that thrusters are my jam so I decided that, if I was going to make a serious run at this workout, I needed to be able to hit bigger sets on the thrusters.  It may have cost me a little at the end, but I do know that getting those first two big rounds out of the way in the fastest time possible gave me some hope!  

The rows were super consistent.  Kept the pace between 1250-1400 on all four rounds.  Actually, I really don't have any idea what the pace was on the round of 9.  Other than that number at the bottom (calories rowed), the rest of the display looked like kaleidoscope.

I am a LITTLE disappointed about the failed rep in the round of 9, but hey, it tells me that I gave it everything I had!  I am pleased with the result, and I am hoping that it gets back into the top 100. Nevertheless, a top 200 finish should be almost guaranteed so I have something else to look forward to in a few weeks.

The last five weeks have been extremely stressful.  I have a lot going on in my professional and personal life at the moment, and the added stress of the Open put me to the brink a few times.  I am happy that it is done, but I will always have fond memories of the workouts shared with my guys and despite the life challenges, accomplishing something that most wouldn't even attempt.

Training March 25, 2015

Row 500m
1:38 (26 SPM)

Pace felt really good.  Definitely a moderate effort.

EMOM 18
M1: 3 Hang Power Cleans 185 lbs.
M2: 7 Bar Facing Burpees
M3: 12 KBS 70 lbs.

This got a little spicy, especially in the grip the last two rounds.  On the fifth round of hang cleans, I caught the third rep in a squat and on the sixth round, I caught all three in a squat because of my grip. Cleans took about 0:10 per round, burpees about 0:12 and KBS somewhere between 0:25 and 0:30.

Row 500m (Cooldown)
2:02 

No straps / no worries.


Tomorrow will be a rest day.  Today was the 10th day in a row.  Coupled with a crazy work schedule and the extra stress of the Open, my body is going all Roberto Duran on me.

Training March 24, 2015

Thruster
Build to a heavy single
225 lbs.

Failed 235 a few times.  225 goes up easy and then I can't get 235 locked out overhead.  So frustrating.  235 will be mine someday soon.

AMRAP 3
7 Thrusters 95 lbs.
7 Box Jumps 24"
5 Rounds + 1 Thruster

I rebounded the box jumps so I cheated a little.  My legs were a quivery mess after this one.

1000m Row at 85%
3:43

This felt pleasant.  Worked on maintaining a consistent split and SPM rate.

Crossfit Open 15.4

Well, that wasn't good.

I went into the week ranked 73rd and I am somewhere around 120 right now (seems like I keep dropping, and at this point, a few spots are not going to matter).

I would never say that I handstand push-ups were a strength, but I never knew they are such a weakness.  I know that I go to muscle failure pretty quick, but I have managed that in the past by going to smaller, quicker sets.  For some reason, that did not seem to help this go around.  Maybe, it was the standard (which I did my best to adhere to, and it seems like I did not do enough research on how to "crack the code"), maybe it is that I just really have horrible muscle endurance in my shoulders, maybe my kip is crap or most likely, it was a combination of all of those factors.

Nevertheless, I gave it my best (three times!) and I found out my best was worth about 550th place in the Masters Men 45-49 category.

I still have a solid chance of getting into the MQ, but unless a miracle happens, like a top 5 finish on 15.5, my chance at the Games ended Monday night around 8 p.m. EST.  If it does happen, I will be extremely honored and proud to have a chance to continue for one more weekend.  However, this workout is going to sting for a while.

Here is breakdown of my activities over the weekend.

Friday, 03/20
15.4 Attempt 1
54 Reps
2:48 Tiebreak

Split the HSPU into 3's and singles on the cleans.  Made it through the round of 12 okay, but came to a screeching halt on the round of 15.

After finishing, I got some advice about my kip from my workout partner.  Apparently, I was bringing my legs down and exploding my legs up without ever getting my head off the ground.

So I decided on switching from a "frog leg kip" to a more traditional kip by bringing my knees down into my chest.  That lead to this...

Saturday, 03/21
15.4 Practice
EMOM 12
M1: 5 HSPU with new kipping technique
M2: 3 Power Cleans 205 lbs.

New technique really felt great and the cleans felt pretty good.  I was pretty excited at this point.

I finished with a little eight minute conditioning piece.

Felt great.

Sunday, 03/22
15.4 Attempt 2
53 Reps
2:08 Tiebreak

I was super pumped for this.  I had a great warm-up and felt really locked in. Even invited my family to come watch.

HSPU felt so great that I decided to speed up the pace a little.  Went unbroken on the round of 6 and really fast singles on the cleans.  First three reps in the round of 9 felt good, came off the wall for a small break, back up and uh oh.  That loving feeling had left the building.  I was right back to where I was on Friday.  Complete muscle fatigue in my shoulders.

By the time I got to the round of 15, I still had 3:20 left on the clock, but absolutely nothing left in my shoulders.  Then, I made a huge mistake by going for 3 right away.  I got them, but it was game over at that point.  With that much time left, I should have gone to singles immediately to at least have a chance to get back to the cleans.  I didn't and I paid for it.

Monday, 03/23
15.4 Attempt 3
51 Reps
2:58 Tiebreak

At this point, I just hoped to get one or two more reps to pick up a spot or two on the leaderboard so I decided to just slow everything down and try to stay away from muscle failure.  However, by now, I was just super fatigued and disappointed.

Finished up and entered my score.  Free falling commenced! Haha!

At least, I will something (among many others) to focus on for the next 11 months.

Training March 18, 2015

Had a little fun and worked some goats today.

Squat Clean Thruster 
3-Man Conga Line
14:00
165 lbs.

This was fun.  Estimated that we did about 25 each.


AMRAP 14 (75-80% effort)
4 Power Cleans 185 lbs.
6 HSPU
12 Pistols
Didn't keep track of rounds.  Maybe 6 or 7.

Just in case any of these items are coming up, I needed to work on them (ok, maybe not the power cleans, but ...).  HSPU felt pretty good, but I am VERY slow on these.  I just can't cycle them fast. As usual, the pistols started horrifically, but they got a lot better by the end.

Looking forward to the big reveal tomorrow night.

Training March 17, 2015

I am really happy how this week went.  Moved up 24 spots from last week, and I know there is still a thruster workout in there somewhere that I hope I can have a similar result on.  Really pushing for a top 50!

The partners wanted to get on a barbell today, and I didn't object at all.

Power Snatch
3-Man Conga Line
Worked up to 145 lbs.

Kept it pretty light.  Started at 135 and after some cycles, we bumped it up to 145.  I have absolutely no idea how many snatches we did.  It was just about in the middle of just enough and way too much.

3,000m Row (Moderate, but consistent)
+
3 RNFT
25m Bear Crawl
10 GHDSU
1 Rope Climb

The first 1000m row felt pretty awful.  Legs were a little DOMS-ish from the wall balls yesterday. Split average was right around 2:00/500m.  Picked it up a little the last 2k.  Finished at 1:58/500m.

The three rounds were done at a relaxed, but determined pace.  Felt nice.  Perfect programming for the day.

Looking forward to the rest of the week!

Crossfit Open 15.3 Take 2

I was really happy with Saturday's effort, but after watching the video, I thought a left a few reps out there.  I really wanted to get the third round of wall balls done so I could get back on the jump rope and pick up some magic coins.

Originally, my re-test plan was to pick up the pace a little, but after remembering how much pain I was in during the end of round 2 on Saturday, I decided to slow it down a little bit in the first round and try to maintain 5:00 splits on rounds 1 and 2.  That would give me 4:00 to bang out the muscle ups, wall balls and hopefully get back on my jump rope.

Finished the first round at 4:40 and rested until the 5:00 mark.  Finished the second round at 10:04 and I wasn't quite as tired as I was on Saturday.  So, I decided to push the pace on the muscle ups. Unfortunately, I failed on my fourth muscle up.  Usually, that would set me off, but I was able to keep my composure and not let too much time fall off the clock, but I did have to go to singles and that cost me.  I got back to the wall balls with approximately 1:45 left and hit 15 right out of the gate and went to fives until 30.  I was able to eek three more out before time.

A whole bunch of work (and pain!) to get three more reps, but I am so happy I did it.  I didn't feel nearly as strong physically as I did Saturday, but I was mentally stronger today and that is where I usually fall short.  Good day overall.  Hopefully, my result will move me up a little this week.

AMRAP 14
7 Muscle Ups (3-2-2)(3-2-2)(2-1-F-1-1-1-1)
50 Wall Balls 20 lbs./10' target (5x10)(5x10)(15,5,5,5,1,2)
100 Double Unders (4x25x4)
354 Reps (10:04 Tiebreaker)

Video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z630ptm6yk&feature=youtu.be

Crossfit Open 15.3

I was pretty happy when I saw this one announced.  I knew that I wouldn't be at the top end of the leaderboard on it, but I thought I would have a solid score.  Maybe even enough to move me up a few spots this week.

After the announcement, my original goal was three full rounds, but after looking at my results on 13.3, my enthusiasm was tempered a little.  I was still shooting for three full rounds.  However, I knew it was going to be a huge challenge.

I think I had a really solid plan going in.  I had my rep schemes and my pacing all figured out.  My result was all going to hinge on if I could keep my heart rate under control and not have any misses on the muscle ups.  I was aiming for an 85-90% pace on the first 11:00 and then really trying to pick-up the pace the last three minutes, but in order to do this, I had to be done with the muscle ups by then because I can't just pain cave my way through those.

Unfortunately, I was right in the middle of them at my go time so I had to wait until I got to the wall balls, and it just didn't leave me enough time to get through them.

I might re-test Monday and just try to push the pace a little more and see what happens.  Overall, I am pretty pleased with the result.

AMRAP 14
7 Muscle Ups (3-2-2)(2-2-2-1)(2-2-2-1)
50 Wall Balls 20 lbs./10' target (15-15-10-10)(10-10-10-10-10)(10-5-5-5-3-2)
100 Double Unders (50-30-20)(25-25-25-25)
351 Reps (10:24 tiebreaker)

P.S. Pat: I am super happy you programmed the Burpee/Wall Ball workout this week.  This one didn't feel nearly as bad because of it.  Thanks!

Training March 10, 2015 & March 11, 2015

Since the training yesterday and today was only separated by a very few (short!) hours, I have combined them.

I had to travel Monday and yesterday for work so I wasn't able to get into the gym until almost 7 last evening, and I had a very short amount of time to get everything in.  I was able to do it, but it really isn't my style, plus I was STARVING!

Power Snatch
7:00 One snatch every 0:30
145 lbs.

These felt great!  The bar felt so light and everything was snappy.  I was very surprised by this.

AMRAP 9 @ 90%
Ascending ladder 3, 6, 9, 12, etc.
Burpees to 6" target
Wall Balls 30 lbs. (3)(6)(9)(6-6)(5-5-5)(6-6-6)
140 reps

Just tried to find a good pace and stay there.

Airdyne Z1
8:00


After a few hours at home, back at it bright and early this morning.

I didn't deadlift.  I am still trying to protect the issue I am having with my SI joint.  So, I substituted power cleans for the deads.

Power Clean
Heavy TnG triple
225 lbs.

This shocked me.  I was not expecting this at all.  Normally, a 225 power clean is pretty heavy.  I don't think I have ever even tried to do more than a single at that weight.  Very, very happy about this.

AMRAP 8 @ 90%
10 Power Cleans 145 lbs.
10 Burpee Box Jump Overs 24"
4 Rounds + 8 Power Cleans

Box jump overs got pretty dicey in the last round.  I could really feel the wall balls from yesterday.

Airdyne
1:00 @ 97%
51 Calories

Egads, even at 97% (?), this was awful!

Training Monday, March 9, 2015

Well, despite my better judgement, I decided to give 15.2 another go this a.m.  Bad idea.  Hands were mess and my mental game was in shambles.

The good: my OHS were AWESOME today.  Fast and deep and good.  The (REALLY, REALLY) bad: pull-ups.  Just horrible.  I should have just tried to do singles the whole way, but really didn't have the mental focus to get that done.  So I will live with the 141 and hope that the 6,000 people who have not posted to the leaderboard yet all had similar experiences as me.  As if...

So, I trained and it felt good!

Squat Clean Thrusters
3 sets of 1:00 work / Rest 2:00 between sets
125 (11), 145 (10), 175 (8)

I climbed on these because I didn't have a lot of time to prepare before we started.  I should have gone touch and go on the lighter weights since I spent most of the time chasing the damn bar around (our weights are extremely bouncy).

3 Rounds (at 80%)
400m Row
60 Double Unders
15 Burpees

I didn't even look at the clock, but the rows splits were 1:42, 1:48 and 1:50.  Double unders in rounds 1 and 2 were unbroken and I tripped on rep 2 in round 3 and went unbroken after that.  I just kept moving on the burpees.

Crossfit Open 15.2

15.2 is 14.2, and 14.2 was my worst workout from last year.  Going into 15.2, I felt pretty confident. I really worked hard on my CTBPU this last year, and I even put together a pretty decent butterfly in the last few weeks.  Plus, my OHS was WAY better this year than it was this time last year.  So I was excited at a chance for revenge!

Well, the best laid plans...15.2 DID go better than 14.2, but I still failed my goal of reaching the round of 16's.  Massive disappointment.  Again, my grip endurance failed me and I had to go to singles way too early.  And...I got two nasty hand tears for my troubles!

I don't even feel like typing out the workout, and since I will always remember what it was, I am not going to.

15.2 141 reps

Training March 6, 2015

I did a little pre-game work today.

3 RNFT
1 Power Snatch 135 lbs.
2 OHS 135 lbs.
3 Cleans 135 lbs.
4 CTBPU
5 Wall Balls 30 lbs.
6 Burpees to 6" target
7 KBS 70 lbs.
14 Air Squats
28 Double Unders

Just kept moving through each movement and rested 3:00 between rounds.

Training March 4, 2015

EMOM 5
3 Thrusters 185 lbs.

I wanted to get some thruster work in this week since we all know they are coming up eventually (lord I hope so and please make them more than 95 lbs...)

Prowler Push
100m (10m shuttles)
240 lbs.
4:00-ish

I didn't really time this, but I did take video just to see everyone's pain faces and there was ALOT of it.

AMRAP 6 (Open Pace)
25 Double Unders
15 Push Press 95 lbs.
232 Reps (5 Rounds + 25 DU + 7 Push Press)

Immediate transition into

AMRAP 2 
Muscle Ups
5

First part felt pretty good.  Obviously, the shoulders became boulder-like somewhere at the end of round 3.  No misses on the doubles.

Failed my first muscle up.  That set me back a little.  I didn't hit my first until under a minute left and then finished up with two doubles.

EMOM 10
3 Muscle Ups

Maybe I overtrain these, but man, these things piss me off.  I love to do them yet I suck at them...a very dysfunctional relationship.

Again, I have some video that I will get up eventually.

Training March 3, 2015

Happy to be back training with the crew.  I am a little disappointed with my 15.1 result and extremely pleased with my 15.1A result.  Overall, I am happy with the effort and the quality of my workout.  I just wished it put me up a little higher on the leader board.

Snatch
Build to a heavy single
183 lbs. (2 lbs. PR)

Considering I was a little run down from my re-do on Monday (more mentally than physically), I really can't believe I hit this.  I got some good advice from one of my training partners about being patient with the lift to find a good position at the bottom before standing it up.  It really helped on this lift.  It wasn't a textbook lift, but it wasn't my worst!


AMRAP 12 (at 90%)
Ascending Ladder 3, 6, 12, ...
Burpees to 6" target
Box Jumps 24"
Power Cleans 165 lbs.
132 Reps (15 burpees into the round of 18)

I rarely, if ever, stray from Pat's programming, but KBS have a tendency to jack up my back and I am finally getting it back in order so I substituted power cleans instead and added two minutes because I figured power cleans would be slower than KBS.  Good reasoning?  I don't know...

This was super fun though and got me sweating like a hostage.

I have some video that I will get up eventually.

Crossfit Open 15.1 Take Two

My original plan this season was not to re-do any of the workouts, unless I completely flamed out on one due to bad strategy, sickness or something catastrophic happening.

Well, after watching the video from Saturday, I was really disappointed with the inefficiency of my toes to bar.  It was really just a lack of concentration, and I thought maybe, if the TTB were more efficient, I would be able to maintain my grip longer and hopefully get six full rounds.  Additionally, I thought I might try a few different things to see if I could get there.

I figured I was going to work out today regardless and I already had a decent number so why not give it a shot.

I had a great warm-up.  I felt strong and rested and the nagging back issue I have been experiencing for the last two months or so was under control.  I hit some heavy-ish snatches and really zoned in on my TTB technique.  However, I did notice that my forearms were already blowing up.  Not good.

Got set-up and went at it.  First round felt great, second round felt pretty good, but by the third round, my forearms were on fire and grip was becoming an issue.  Kept a decent pace and then had the first snatch in round 5 fall out of my hands due to complete grip failure.  I knew then that I wasn't going to hit the number I had Saturday and was a little deflated.  Finished as strong as I could and focused on getting a better number on the clean and jerk.

I had already decided that I was only going to attempt two lifts so I took a lot of rest before the first lift.  Sat down, changed my shoes, put weight on the bar, got about three drinks and put my weight belt on.  First lift was at 227, which was my second lift on Saturday.  The pull was hard, but I was able to get underneath and stand it up without much of a problem.  The jerk was solid.

Put another 20 lbs. on the bar and waited until there was 25 seconds on the clock before I attempted the 247.  Pull was non-existent.  I had no grip at all, but I was able catch it (very low) and stand it up. Once I stood it up, I knew it was going over my head.  Hit the jerk. 10 lbs. improvement.

I think this will move me up a couple of spots.  So, even though I am super disappointed about losing those five reps on 15.1, I am incredibly stoked that I was able to hit that clean and jerk.  That was a prove something to myself moment that is WAY bigger than how I finish on the leaderboard.

AMRAP 9
15 TTB
10 Deadlifts 115 lbs.
5 Snatches 115 lbs.
156 Reps (5 Rounds + 6 TTB)

6:00 to Establish a 1 RM Clean & Jerk
247 lbs.