Chest and triceps

This was my first session training on my own while following Cosmo's programming. There were a lot of different routines and I thought it would be difficult fitting it all in 45 minutes. However, because the weights were light and my rest periods were consequently shorter - no longer than 1:15 - I only just took a bit longer than three quarters of an hour.

Bench press
95lb x 10
105lb x 10, 6

I would have tried one more rep, but I didn't have a spotter.

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Incline dumbbell bench press
40lb dbs x 10
35lb dbs x 8, 8

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Dips - 11, 8, 6

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Cable crossover @ 20lb per side - 15, 12, 12

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Dumbbell bench press - 5 minutes burn

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EZ bar skull crushers @ 45lb - 12, 10, 9

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Two arm seated dumbbell extension
20lb x 8
17.5lb x 9, 8

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Cable tricep extensions - 5 minutes burn

There were some movements where it took me a while to figure out the right weight, but I think I got it right eventually. The only routine I struggled with was the seated dumbbell extensions. I had trouble keeping my elbows in and executing smooth reps. This might have been due to poor external rotation.

Upper body

I had to miss yesterday's PT session due to the bad weather, but I managed to get in an hour's swimming at the Stonecroft pool, plus shitloads of snow shoveling.

Power cleans (t&g) - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
95, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140 (1)

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Supersets - dips/neutral grip pull-ups
12/10, 10/7, 8/6, 9/6, 8/6

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Piston bench presses (per side)
37s x 10, 42s x 8, 45s x 5, 6, 6, 5

Pulling and pushing

My shoulders were feeling pretty knackered before I'd even started today, and I think that affected my performance. Also, I'd planned on doing cable rows, too, but ran out of time.

Supersets: Pull-ups (strict) and bench presses @ 95lb
10/10 - 11/10 - 8/7 - 7/7 - 6/8

The bench presses were without safeties; i.e. full rom.

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Alternate sets: Power snatches @ 75lb and dips
5/10 - 5/8 - 5/8 - 5/7 - 4/8

No press outs with any of the snatches. These were all relative maxes, so whenever I felt like the next rep would need some pressing, I stopped.

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Supersets: Barbell curls and military presses, both @ 65lb:
6/5 - 5/4 - 5/3

I think these were 65lb; I used the short, straight bar that is used for standing curls.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

"DT" - 5 rft:
12 deadlifts @ 115lb
9 hang power cleans @ 115lb
6 push presses @ 115lb
Time = 19:22

I went waaaay too fast with the first set of deadlifts, which left me breathless too soon. In subsequent sets, I used the light deadlifts as recovery time, taking them at a slowish pace. Also, I made the strategic mistake of not resting before the penultimate rep of each movement so that I could reserve it for the next movement. For example, I obviously needed to perform a deadlift to get to the hang clean starting position, so I should have rested after the 11th rep, then done the 12th as the precursor to doing the first hang clean. Similarly, the push press starts from my chest, which means I have to clean the bar to get it there. I only made that error in the first round. I think Paul was rather lenient on the presses, because the form for some of them was a bit ropey. It's clear I really need to work on my push presses.

Not that it means much, but with most upper body routines, I use approximately 55-65% of the weight Paul uses; with legs, it tends to be closer to 70-75%. This workout was with 115lb and Paul used 155%, so that's around 74%.

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21-style dips - Top half, bottom half, full rom
3-3-3, 4-4-4, 4-4-1, 4-4-1

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21-style bench press
75lb: 7-7-3, 7-7-2
65lb: 7-7-4, 7-7-2

Upper body

Short and simple today because of time constraints.

Hang cleans 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
95, 115, 120, 125, 130 (3)

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Dips; maximum 60 seconds rest between sets
14, 8, 7, 6, 6

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Amrap 12
5 x push presses (from ground)
5 x clapping push-ups
Score = 9 rounds exactly

Upper body

I'd planned on doing Fran today, to see how my time compares to the reverse Fran I did a few weeks ago. However, I had a really crappy night's sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep, so read some Sherlock Holmes stories for a couple of hours. That did the trick, and I eventually fell asleep again. When I woke up this morning - around 7:30, which is late for me - I felt exhausted, but I thought this would pass after a few coffees and a long shower. When I got to the gym and started warming up with some light squat cleans/thrusters and pull-ups, I was sweating so hard I knew there was no way I'd get through a routine as demanding as Fran. In the end, I decided to do some simple heavy-ish upper body work.

Bench press; 6 holes, small bench
115 x 5
120 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 5
135 x 2, 3

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Supersets, relative max reps
Inverted rows, feet elevated - 12, 11, 10, 9, 9
Dips (strict, no swinging) - 12, 8, 8, 7, 7

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Cable fly curls, drop sets
30s - 10, 10, 9
20s - 8, 7, 6

Full body

Personal training with Paul

10 rft:
5 front squats @ 115lb, starting from the floor
5 pull-ups (strict)
Time = 12:00

I'm very pleased with this time, even though I've never done this routine before. All the rounds of squats were unbroken - the first rep each time was a squat clean - although a couple of times near the end I paused for a few seconds at the top in order to catch my breath. I think the first six rounds of pull-ups were unbroken, too. The best part about this routine is that I didn't rush and I was disciplined, controlling my breathing between sets and between the squats/pull-ups. I've been using this technique a lot recently, slowing down my breathing when necessary. It feels like I'm taking too long while I'm doing this - breathing in through my nose, then out slowly through my mouth - but it always seems to pay off with decent finish times. Basically, I don't think I could have done this routine any better, and that's always a good, rewarding feeling.

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4 rounds, each for time; 1 minute's rest between rounds
15 dips
20 push-ups
2:19, 4:02, 4:03, 3:55

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Cable fly curls; 30lb each side
10 with hold
9 with hold
8 with hold

Bloody hell, this burned my shoulders during the hold.

Upper body, because my lower body is so fubar it isn't funny.

My ass hurts. Nuff said.

All relative max alternating sets today.

Hang power snatches @ 65lb - 8, 7, 7, 8

Dumbbell military presses @ 30s - 8, 7, 7, 6

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Underhand pull-downs - 90 x 10, 100 x 10, 9, 8

Dips - 9, 8, 7, 7

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Barbell curls @ 65lb - 8, 7, 7, 6

Push-downs @ 45lb - 8, 7, 8, 6

Upper body

I ate a hell of a lot of food yesterday, but it was all "clean". I would have treated myself and eaten some apple pie IF SOMEONE HAD BOTHERED TO BRING SOME!

Push press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
85, 95, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125 (2)

I've put that I managed two reps at 125lb, but - to be honest - they weren't great. I got the bar overhead, but it came down pretty quickly both times. I was doing pretty well up to that point, too, and I felt like I got plenty of power from my hips and shoulders up to 120lb.

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5 rft:
5 power cleans @ 115lb
10 dips
Time = 8:59

All of the cleans were unbroken, although they weren't all t&g. About halfway through this routine I found that my form improved significantly by keeping the bar close to my body during the cleans. However, this new-found knowledge came at a price; when I brought the bar up my shins, I ripped off the deadlift scab on my right leg from a couple of weeks ago. I could feel the blood dripping down and pooling on my top of my sock! Also, I noticed that there were spots of blood on the carpet by the dips station. Ew!

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Chin-ups (strict), max reps
10, 7, 5, 5

Last flex of 2012!

Full Body

Personal training with Paul.

Reverse Fran
Time = 12:24

That's a damn sight quicker than my regular Fran (15:13), which surprised me. I thought I'd be slower because I'd become more fatigued as I progressed. Perhaps the earlier, shorter rounds allowed me to warm up my muscles more, though.

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The rest of today's session actually felt tougher by comparison.

Supersets:
Incline dumbbell bench press - 35s x 10, 10, 7, 6
Push-ups - 5, 7, 5, 6

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Dips - 7, 5, 5
Push downs - 30 x 8, 6, 5

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Cable flies/curls, drop sets
30s - 10, 7, 6
20s - 6, 5, 4

Pushing

The first thing I thought was: "Nice quads."
What's wrong with me?

Decent start to the week.

Push press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
85, 95, 105, 110, 115

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Bench press plus 20 push-ups
95 x 5
105 x 5
110 x 5 (4 + 1)
110 x 5 (3 + 2)

I decided to do standard bench presses - i.e. not using safeties - and went with fairly light weights that I was confident of controlling. As soon as I felt a bit of a struggle to lock out with the weight, I racked it and rested a few seconds. That only happened in the third and fourth sets.

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Alternate sets, relative max reps:
Dumbbell flies @ 27s - 12, 9, 7, 7, 7
Dips - 10, 7, 6, 6, 5

I rested exactly 60 seconds between each set/exercise.

Pushing

Team Poppa and the Moo at Saturday's Santa Pur-Suit in Waterloo.
This was so much fun - we finished the 3k in 31:59, 26th in the parent and child division.

A busy day ahead, so an early training session.

Military press - 5, 5, 3, 3, 2
65, 75, 80, 85, 90 (0), 90 (1)

I failed at my first attempt with 90lb - early start, so a bit rusty. I rested a couple of minutes, then tried again.

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Bench press (small bench, 6 holes)
Warm up: 95 x 8, 8
115 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 2
145 x 1

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4 rft:
10 push press @ 85lb (starting each set from the ground, as well as after a break)
10 dips
Time = 8:00

This went a bit quicker than expected. The first round was completely unbroken, and all the other push presses were 6 and 4.

Pushing

Damn easy - and delicious - pulled pork.

Yesterday, we had a surprise party to celebrate my Mum's 80th birthday. There were about 30 guests, so I cooked a big batch of pulled pork, with a recipe from a Paleo cookbook Cher gave me for my birthday. The recipe is sooo easy, but tastes frigging amazing. The meat was juicy and tender, even though you don't add any liquid to it. It's just pork, a seasoning dry rub, and onions. It was one of those gratifying occasions when I cook something really healthy and everyone loves it!

Military presses 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
65, 75, 80, 85, 90 (0), 85, 85

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Supersets

Dumbbell bench presses; rel max @ 50s - 8, 5, 4, 3, 3
Push-ups - 10, 8, 6, 7, 7

Push presses @ 105lb - 5, 6, 4, 5
Dips - 6, 5, 5, 4

Full body (mostly upper)

Personal training with Paul

Note to self: The next time I see a workout online that I'd like to try, shut the hell up.

Rowing Helen
3 rft:
500 metre row
21 kettlebell swings @ 24kg
12 pull-ups (kipping)
Time = 19:11

I saw a CrossFit main site video yesterday, which showed some top level athletes doing a metabolic analysis. All the data was based on their reactions to a workout called Rowing Helen (the standard Helen uses running sprints, not rowing). Anyway, I thought it looked like an interesting challenge, so I asked Paul if I could do it with him sometime, as the rowing machines and kettlebells can only be used in a personal training session.

The kettlebells were the hardest part, and I no-repped a few times because I didn't get the weight overhead. In all three parts of the routine, it wasn't the weight that challenged me the most; it was my lack of breath. (Come to think of it, I can see why they chose this for a VO2 test). In the third round of rowing, I started off really slowly because I could hardly breathe, but I wanted to get moving. About halfway through, I started rowing 50 metres slowly, then 50 quickly, up until the end.

Not basing this on anything, but I thought I might get a time of circa 15 minutes. Still, I think I gave it everything to get 19:11, and it definitely required a lot of mental strength.

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4 rft:
10 incline dumbbell bench presses @ 40s
10 dips
Time = 16:47

Pushing

A decent start to the week.

Bench press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (small bench, 6 holes)
105, 115, 125, 135, 140, 145 (2), 145 (1)

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Push press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
85, 95, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125 (2)

I didn't PR on the benches nor the push presses in terms of weight, but I increased the number of reps - by one - of the heaviest I've managed with both routines.

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5 rft
10 x dips
15 x push ups
Time = 12:08

The dips station was being used when I started, so I used the unsecured pull up rack instead. It feels a bit different (a) because it doesn't have grips, and (b) the horizontal bars slant inwards. Even though the proper dip bars became vacant midway through this routine, I stuck with the same type of dips for the sake of consistency.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

A lot of relative maxes to start...

Squat cleans
95lb x 8, 8, 5, 7

I lost concentration during the first set and my grip failed, causing me to drop the bar. That pissed me off; there was no reason for me to fail.

Military press
65lb x 10, 8, 6, 7

Neutral alternating pull-ups
10, 8, 6, 5

Dips
12, 8, 9, 7

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Amrap 10
10 x traveling lunges @ 20s (per leg)
10 x burpees
10 x sit-ups (strict)
Score = 4 rounds + 3 burpees

After a disappointing first set of squat cleans to start the day, I was quite pleased with how I finished with this short amrap. The lunges burned my quads, but I kept going and never broke them up. The burpees burned my lungs and I had to take a rest during the first three sets, but not the fourth. I wanted to, but I kept telling myself that this was only a short metcon, so just keep going! The sit ups weren't too bad. They started to hurt, but not enough to force me to take a break, other than a couple of breaths in the final set.

Full body

Lots of supersets today.

Front squats - 135 x 5, 145 x 5, 150 x 5, 5
Jump squats - 4 x 15

The first two sets of jump squats were unbroken, but my quads burned like feck!

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Incline dumbbell bench press - 40s x 6, 45s x 6, 47s x 6, 50s x 5
Dips - 4 x 8

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Pull-downs - 100 x 8, 8, 8, 8
Wide pull-ups - 4 x 5

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And to finish...

50 sit-ups
Time = 2:26

Pushing

I still feel damn sore from Saturday's workout. My lower back doms have almost gone, but my pecs hurt like hell. Oh, well...

Push press 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
85, 95, 105, 110, 115, 120 (1), 120

Both racks were being used, so these push presses were preceded with a power clean to get the bar to my shoulders. I don't think that affected the presses too much, as my 1RM for cleans is 145lb. I got the bar overhead with my first attempt, second rep at 120lb, but didn't lock out with my right arm.

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Dumbbell bench press
45s x 5 plus 20 push-ups
50s x 5 plus 20 push-ups
55s x 5 plus 20 push-ups
55s x 5 plus 20 push-ups

I did this using rack bench presses a few weeks ago as part of a PT session. Both racks were being used - by a personal trainer whose name rhymes with "Derek" - so I went for straightforward db benches instead.

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Amrap 12
5 db military presses @ 35s
10 db push presses @ 35s
15 dips
Score = 2 rounds exactly

I completed the second round with about 30 seconds remaining, but I couldn't complete another shoulder press without resorting to a dip and push motion. This was a damn sight tougher than I expected. The push presses were the only movement that felt comfortable.

Full body

Miranda

Personal training with Paul

I don't know much, but I know one thing: tomorrow morning, I'm going to hurt like a bitch.

Sumo deadlifts for time
185 x 10 - 19 sec
225 x 10 - 21
255 x 10 - 30
275 x 10 - 3:20 (!)
225 x 10 - 32

Both my quads and hamstrings gave out on me at the same time during the 275lb round. Shee-it.

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Bench press for time
95 x 10 - 14 sec
105 x 10 - 18
115 x 10 - 1:02
120 x 10 - 3:02
105 x 10 - 59

With both the deadlifts and the bench presses, as soon as I needed to take a break my time dropped like a lead balloon.

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10-8-6-4-2 rft
Dips
Neutral grip pull-ups
Time = 9:31

Sub-5 minutes my ass.

Because it was raining, Cher told me to call her when I finished training so she could pick me up. I swear, my neck and shoulders were so sore, it hurt to hold the phone to my ear.

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!