Full body

Dayum.

This week has consisted of a series of short workouts, but on five consecutive days. I have some doms - especially in my traps, following yesterday's rowing - but definitely no symptoms of overtraining.

Back squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
135, 155, 185, 200, 205 (2)

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7 rft:
7 cleans @ 115lb
7 pull-ups (kipping)
7 burpees
Time = 19:56

Heavy!

Only had time for two moves today.

Bench press - small bench, 6 holes; starting from top/rack
115 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 2
145 x 1
150 x 1 (PR)

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Partial back squats (11 holes)
5 x 30% = 100lb
5 x 40% = 130lb
3 x 50% = 165lb
3 x 60% = 200lb
2 x 70% = 230lb
2 x 80% = 265lb
1 x 90% = 295lb
1 x 95% = 315lb
1 x 100% = 335lb - F

It's been nearly 10 months since I did this last, so I felt like giving this heavy lift another try. I was doing well with these but got cocky on the last squat. The weight I'd planned to aim for was 330lb, not 335lb, but I figured what the hell and added an extra 5lb. I squatted down with plenty of control, but I could only get the bar back up about two inches from the safeties. Bollocks.

Legs

Yep, that about sums it up...

I trained after lunch today. Straight after, which was a big mistake. I took Mum to Blue Orchid hair salon on the Kiwanis bus, which picked us up about 20 minutes earlier than we expected. I'd only just finished a plate of sweet potato, bacon and chicken when the bus arrived, so by the time I'd walked to the gym after dropping off Mum, only about 45 minutes had passed. I should have rested a while because I had plenty of time and didn't need to rush my workout, but I started warming up almost straight away. Anyway, eating a full meal three-quarters of an hour before doing a2g squats put more pressure on my stomach than I wanted and I felt sure I would be losing my lunch pretty soon. I took longish rests between sets of my first routine, which helped the food settle a bit, but still...

Front squats
135 x 5, 145 x 4, 4, 150 x 3, 3

Not my best performance with front squats by any means. My wrists felt a bit sore, perhaps because of all the cleans yesterday. That was the cause of my failures, rather than the squats themselves.

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Deadlifts - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
225, 245, 255, 265, 270 (4)

Better...

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Back squats
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 3

This was going really well and my technique was really good - core contracted, knees out, chest up - but in the third rep of the last set I felt like I was going to topple forward, so I decided to rack the bar and leave it at that.

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Leg extensions @ 110lb - 9, 9, 9

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50 sit-ups
50 ab roll-outs

Not a great performance today, but at least I had enough time to fit a lot of reps in, so not a complete bust.

Full body - Conditioning

Personal torture with Paul.

I think this may be the toughest workout I've ever done. Hurt. Like. Hell.

3 rft; all at 95lb, no rack or dropping the weight
10 clean and press
10 floor press (bench presses, but on the ground)
10 thrusters
10 back squats
10 hang squat cleans
10 lunges (5 per leg)
Time = 37:27

I had to redo one rep - can't remember what it was - because I dropped the weight, rather than lowering it under control.

I "trained angry", which can sometimes be useful, but my focus wasn't 100% today because I had a lot on my mind. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference to my score, but I felt like I went as fast as I could from the start, rather than pacing myself as I usually would. Regardless of strategy, this was a frigging tough workout. It was my breathing that slowed me down more than anything, and the reason why I needed lots of rests. 

The technique on some of my hang squat cleans wasn't too pretty as my elbows were almost pointing down, rather than my arms being parallel to the ground. I can obviously do better at only 95lb, but damned if I can when I'm that bloody knackered. Still, I'm surprised Paul didn't call me on them!

It's now four hours after my workout and the pain is starting to set in, especially in my pecs. I might go swimming tomorrow, but I'm glad it's a rest day.

Full body: Conditioning

Personal training with Paul.

Bloody hell, I've got to stop suggesting workouts to Paul. Today's was a killer. I stumbled across a metcon on a Guelph box's website and sent it to Paul because I thought he might like to try it. But no; he made me do it instead (I'll be bloody pissed if he doesn't give it a go!)

2 rounds of max reps:

Burpees: 40 + 29 = 69
Chin-ups: 37 + 27 = 64

Push presses @ 95lb: 27 + 23 = 50
Back squat @ 45 lb: 52 + 40 = 92
Knees to elbows: 27 + 27 = 54

3 minutes per station; 30 seconds of "rest" to transition to the next station.

3 minutes of rest between rounds.

Total reps = 324

Score = 383

There's an option of doing knees to elbows or sit-ups instead, but the k2e reps count double, hence my total score is higher than the total reps.

The presses were the toughest, simply because of the weight. I was pleasantly surprised that my second set was only four reps fewer than the first. The back squats were surprisingly hard because they took my breath away. I took some long breaks during the second set because my head was spinning so much. There was only one failed rep in the whole routine - a chin-up - and the k2es, which were the last movement of each round, were done on auto-pilot. I shut off my mind and just concentrated on getting through the next rep. I've never know 30 seconds pass so quickly nor 3 minutes go so slowly.

I finished off with some sit-ups, none of which was timed.

Full body

I wanted to do some conditioning work today, but I had the most godawful headache. I don't know if it's related, but I decided to cut way back on my caffeine intake. For the past few weeks I've been having some heartburn in the morning, and I couldn't figure out why. I haven't changed from my usual breakfast - oatmeal, 1% milk, flax seed, raisins and apple sauce - so I didn't think it could be that. Then a couple of days ago I read a blog post where the writer said that he'd stopped drinking caffeine because it was causing GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), and one of the symptoms is heartburn. Decaf coffee is fine, so I've been only drinking that for the past two days. However - and I don't know if this is the cause - I've had a thumping headache for about a day and a half. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone cold turkey, so I'm going to allow myself some caffeine first thing in the morning, but a greatly reduced amount.

Anyway, I took an ibuprofen before I headed to the gym, and that helped somewhat, but there was still a residual ache at the back of my skull that I found distracting more than anything else, so I opted to do some weight work instead of some fast-paced metcons.

Back squats
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 4

That's one rep more at 195lb, plus I think my form was much better today (full rom).

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I copied part of Paul's workout from a short time ago, just to see how I measure up. Paul's scores are in brackets.

Push-ups - 34, 22, 16 (40, 21, 20)
Paul beat me by nine reps in total, but at least I managed one rep more in the second set!

Chin-ups - 15, 10, 9 (15, 10, 9)
I shouted the loudest "Shit!" when I tried and failed to get a 10th chin-up in the last set!

And to finish off...

Leg raises - 21, 17, 12

Full body

After Saturday's lung-burner, I wanted to start this week with some heavy squats.

Back squats, 1rm
5 x 30% = 65lb
5 x 40% = 90lb
3 x 50% = 110lb
3 x 60% = 135lb
2 x 70% = 155lb
2 x 80% = 175lb
1 x 90% = 200lb
1 x 95% = 210lb
1 x 100% = 220lb (new PR)
1 x 102% = 225lb (to parallel)

I videoed the 210lb squat and had my camera ready for the 100% 220lb squat. I addressed the bar and was getting ready to start the rep, when I realised I hadn't started my friggin' camera to begin recording! I think I completed the squat with good form, so that's a new PR. However, no video proof! Bollocks. Anyway, 220lb felt like I could do even more weight, so I rested 3 minutes then added just 5lb more. I was doing okay until I got down to about parallel, when I felt like I was starting to tip towards my right. I panicked a bit because I thought I was going to topple over, so I stood up. A 225lb back squat is still a decent weight, but it wasn't as low as I was aiming for. Oh, well.

By the way, in the video of my 210lb lift, a bit of black tape that was stuck to my butt fell off. It looks like I shat myself!

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Bench press (small bench, 6 holes)
115 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 1, 2
145 x 0

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Military press, rel max
65lb x 10, 8, 6, 6

That's a drop of one rep in the last set.

Full body

If you half-close your eyes and squint, that could be me getting out of the water.

5 rft:
5 back squats @ 165lb (a2g)
5 dumbbell bench presses @ 50s
Time = 7:59

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5 rft:
10 kipping pull-ups
10 plate push-ups
Time = 8:30

That's 1:46 slower than Paul. Bollocks! :-)

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30 straight leg raises

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All of the above was done at ABsolute Fitness in the morning. In the afternoon, I had a 45 minute swim at Stonecroft. It's the first time I've been in a UV pool, which uses ultraviolet light for water disinfection, rather than chlorine or salt. Actually, this was the first time I've been swimming since I started taking better care of myself. I forgot what a good workout it can be.

Legs

A short-ish workout today, but I know my legs are going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow.

Romanian deadlifts
95 x 8
115 x 6
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 3, 3

Searching my blog, I can't find any record of me doing Romanian deadlifts before, other than with the trap bar. I think this might be the first time I've done them, and I really wasn't sure what weight to use. With both sets at 185lb I could feel my form starting to break down, so I stopped at 3 reps each time, even though I might have been able to knock out another one.

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5 rft:
Back squats (a2g) - 10 x 135
Traveling lunges - 25 per leg
Time = 15:57

I pretty much made this up on the spot, and towards the end of the first set of lunges I knew it was going to be painful! The first set of both moves was unbroken, as were all the subsequent lunges. However, the squats had to be broken down into 5 and 5 for the remaining four sets. They weren't heavy, but the sheer number got the better of me. At the end my quads were burning like someone had poured acid on them.

Legs

Today's session was a bit later than I usually train, due to work commitments. I had a big lunch at a restaurant in New Hamburg - bacon cheese burger without the bun, but I treated myself to fries for a change. I probably eat one burger a week - always good quality meat - but it must be four months since I've eaten fries. The restaurant we went to is excellent, and we eat there all the time, so I know the food is good. However, after eating the fries I felt sluggish for hours; not a bloated belly like when I have wheat, but just...uncomfortable. Weird how food I used to eat all the time now makes me feel like crap. It's as if my body is rejecting unhealthy food, even if I eat it very rarely. Anyway, I don't think either the later workout nor the meal I ate four hours earlier affected my performance.

Back squats
10 x 105lb
Then 3 x 10 at 140lb

This was based on one of Paul's recent workouts, but scaled to roughly 75% of the weight he used (I rounded up to the nearest 5lb). I also went a2g.

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10 minute time cap:
1 deadlift @ 225lb, 1 jump squat
2 deadlifts, 2 jump squats, 3/3, etc. until time expires
Score = 8 rounds + 1 deadlift

This was loosely based on a routine I stumbled across on a CrossFit gym's website (although I've lost the address). Their WOD was deadlifts and burpees, but I wanted this to be pure leg work.There wasn't an RXed weight for the lifts, just a helpful "Go heavy". Before I started, I thought 225lb might be too light and considered 255lb, but in the end I think I got it right. The deadlifts were unbroken up to and including the fifth round; the sixth was three reps and singles; round seven and eight were all singles. Damn, these made my head spin!

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A quick finisher.

Leg extensions @ 110lb - max reps
8, 9, 9

Full body

Short and simple today, due to time restraints.

Alternate sets; 5 x relative max reps
Bench press @ 125lb: 6, 5, 4, 4, 4
Weighted pull-ups @ 35lb: 5, 5, 4, 4, 4

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Superset - front and back squats (a2g)
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
150 - 3 & 3
160 - 3 & 3
170 - 2 & 3

Legs

Only two routines this morning, but good results for both.

Back squats (a2g)
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 3 (PR)

My weight increase progression is usually quite erratic, simply based on how I feel. Today, I deliberately increased the weight by no more than 10lb each set (other than after the first one), and that seemed to work quite well because I didn't feel a sudden jump in weight at the start of each round.

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Similarly, I changed the way I approach weight progression for the next routine. I've struggled to increase my 1RM for deadlifts for a while now - which was 320lb - and I was starting to get frustrated by this because I didn't know what I could change. I googled "1 rep max deadlift" yesterday and found a forum discussion about how to warm up for a 1RM. I tried one of the suggestions today (the first answer in the forum), which is based on a 10% weight increase each set and the number of reps decreasing gradually, with the aim of hitting a specific weight. My target was 325lb.

Deadlift
5 x 30% = 100lb
5 x 40% = 130lb
3 x 50% = 165lb
3 x 60% = 195lb
2 x 70% = 230lb
2 x 80% = 260lb
1 x 90% = 290lb
1 x 95% = 310lb
1 x 100% = 325lb

Finally - a new deadlift PR! When I sat down afterward, I had a huge, goofy grin like the Cheshire Cat. Before when I've attempted 325lb, it's been a struggle to even get the weight off the ground. However, today felt much more comfortable. I can see in the video that my form isn't perfect; there's a bit of back arching, which isn't good, of course, but I don't think it was horrendous. I felt like I could have attempted another 5lb increase, but I didn't want to push my luck. Another change I made today was going back to lifting in my socks so that my feet were completely flat on the ground.

Like I said, only two routines today, but I'm very happy with the results.

Legs and Pulling

Yesterday was so busy I didn't have time to visit the gym, so I doubled up this morning. I had a bit of time to spare, so I didn't feel rushed.

Superset - front/back squats (a2g)
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
150 - 3 & 3
160 - 3 & 3
170 - 2 & 3

I used the correct front squat grip throughout.

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Dumbbell snatches for time; 5 per arm, alternating (previous times in brackets)
40lb - 25 seconds (25)
45lb - 24 (28)
50lb - 28 (30)
55lb - 32 (51)
60lb - 1:01 (2:03)

Only the 60lb set needed to be broken up. I failed the third rep with my left arm, but only needed a few breaths before going again.

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50 deadlifts @ 205lb
Time = 6:11

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Drop sets
Weighted pull-ups - 25lb x 6, 4, 3
Pull-ups - bw x 3, 3, 2

All pull-ups were strict, with exactly 60 seconds rest between each double set. Not my best performance with this routine, but by this point I was cream crackered.

Legs

Another post-lunch session. The gym was really quiet, which allowed me to feel more relaxed.

Complex: 1 squat clean + 1 front squat + 1 squat clean + 1 front squat
95, 115, 125, 130, 135 (1 sc + 1 fs), 135, 140 (1 sc + 1 fs)

My elbows look too low during the heavier squat cleans, but I think I corrected them for the front squats.

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Back squats - 1RM
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 1
220 x 0

I chickened out on the last attempt, when I should have just let myself fail. Arse!

Flexin' time!

47 (not 48)

This is how my chest felt today.

There's only one day each year when I regret getting older.

For time, breaking however I want
47 back squats @ 135lb
47 strict pull-ups
Time = 10:41

I can't believe Paul no-repped me on the last pull-up! I seemed to get more fluid with the squats towards the end as I became more warmed up. The pull-ups were much tougher than I expected.

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For time, breaking however I want
47 deadlifts @ 205lb
47 dips
Time = 12:19

As I expected, the deadlifts - while not easy - were by far the least challenging part of today ("least challenging" is the wrong phrase, but you know what I mean). I was able to move pretty quickly, and the last block of 7 reps were unbroken. However, that speed had a consequence as it left me out of breath by the time I went into the dips. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

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47 burpees (aiming for under 5 minutes)
Time = 4:47

Fucking hell, this was the toughest thing I did today. I must have looked like I was in slow motion by the end. When Paul told me what this part of the workout was going to be, I thought: No problem. I'll start off with about 20 consecutive reps. Five. I managed five fucking reps before I needed to rest. Jesus.

That was a fun, imaginative workout today, but I was damn pleased when it was all over. I collapsed to the ground after the last burpee, with my head spinning from hyperventilation. Paul was talking to me, but I have no frigging idea what he said. I didn't hear a damn thing!

Legs

This morning I decided to skip breakfast, and just shower before heading to the gym so I could train earlier (7:30am). I figured that would save me some time, as I could eat my usual oatmeal afterward while checking my email. However - and this seems bloody obvious now - I ran out of fuel halfway through today's session, and I got fatigued too quickly.

Back squats
95 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 10
135 x 10
145 x 10
155 x 9

I had originally planned on mirroring Paul's routine from last week, scaling his weights by roughly 70%. That would have meant three sets using 95lb, 135lb and 155lb. However, after the first set I remembered that I had done a five set routine with Paul, with 10 reps per set. I decided to switch to that instead. Last month I got to 7 reps at 155lb, so there was a slight improvement today. All reps were a2g. During the heavier sets, I took a brief pause at the top - a couple of breaths - then squatted down again.

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Bulgarian split squats (small bench) 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 115, 130

It's been a long time since I've done BB split squats and it's time I added more variety back into my leg days. At 130lb I was wobbling all over the place and I really struggled to keep my balance, especially when I had my right foot back on the bench. I was so unstable that it actually felt unsafe, so I decided to quit after three sets. I rested a while, then attempted a few reps with 60lb dumbbells instead, but I still didn't feel stable. I think this was due to the aforementioned fatigue. Of course, the 69 barbell squats I did earlier might have contributed to this.

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30 traveling lunges @ 55s

The workout started well, but I'm very disappointed with the poor performance during the split squats. My morning schedule is still inconsistent since the house move, but I don't want that to interfere with my training progress. Maybe I need to reevaluate how I train. I remember reading that Angie Pye simply does the main site WOD each day, and that's all. Perhaps I should do something similar, and train for less time each day, but with more intensity.

Legs

Best use of the Union flag ever!

I should preface this with a note that I cycled for a total of 40 minutes this morning - to and from McD's - about two hours before today's leg session.

Back squats (a2g)
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
180 x 5
190 x 5 (PR)

Pretty pleased with that. Last time I only managed 3 reps at 190lb. I did a couple of warm-up sets, which felt harder than I expected. I thought I'd put a 25lb bumper on each side, but I'd absentmindedly used 45lb plates! Muppet. Still, that means I did two warm-up sets using the same weight as my first work set.

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50 x deadlifts @ 185lb
15-11-8-8-8 reps = 5:16

I had a pounding pain at the base of my skull during this routine, and it definitely slowed me down. I think it was probably stress and lack of sleep.

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100 x traveling lunges
Time = 3:06

Full body

I'm sorry... what?

Felt pretty wiped out from an active weekend, so I wasn't trying to set an world records today.

Bear complex x 3
1 power clean, 1 front squat, 1 push press, 1 back squat, 1 rack press
65, 75, 80, 85 (2), 85 (2)

With both sets at 85lb I failed with the third rack press. So close!

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Power snatches
65 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 1

That's one less rep at 95lb than last time, but I think my form was better today. It felt like there were fewer press outs than I often resort to.

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Amrap 12
5 military presses @ 70
10 push presses @ 70
15 push ups
Score = 4 rounds + 5 military presses

I did this a long time ago, improving by only 5 military presses today. Usually, I would be pissed off or frustrated by this but, like I said, I'm bloody exhausted from Saturday's workout and the 5k yesterday. I think I'm going to need a rest day tomorrow.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Alternate sets

Back squats - 115 x 10, 125 x 10, 135 x 10, 145 x 10, 155x 7
Military press - 65 x 10, 10, 8, 7, 7

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Wide grip pull-ups - 10, 8, 7, 6
Incline dumbbell bench press - 10, 10, 10, 9

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3 rft:
10 knees to elbows
15 sit-ups
Time = 5:59

Legs

Even though I didn't set the world on fire today, it still hurt like hell.

Superset - front squats/back squats, breaking parallel
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
165 - 1 (regular grip)
165 - 2 (crossover grip)

Just couldn't get my act together today. I started off going a2g, but couldn't maintain the depth when the weight started increasing. By 155lb, I was still breaking well below parallel, though. During the first front squat at 165lb, using the proper grip, I felt like I was losing hold of the bar, so I racked it. After resting for a minute, I tried again with a crossover grip, but my balance was off and I started to fall forward coming back up from the third rep. I had to drop the bar on the safeties. I didn't video this, so I can't assess where it started to go wrong.

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Deadlifts (deficit)
140 x 10
185 x 5
210 x 5
230 x 5
255 x 4
270 x 2

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Superset
Leg extension - 3 x 12 @ 95
Traveling lunges - 3 x 6 per leg @ 35s, 40s, 40s