Legs

Because of a lack of time, I felt really rushed today, which caused me to lack focus. Also, a combination of a poor night's sleep and feeling hungry seemed to drain my energy a bit.

Complex: 1 power clean + 3 front squats
95, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145 (F), 145

I didn't get a decent grip with my first clean at 145lb, and I was leaning too far forward, causing me to drop the bar halfway through the first squat.

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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 - F and F

At 310lb I could feel my back arching when I had the bar about six inches off the ground, so I dropped it rather than try to complete the reps. Much too risky with that much weight. It just wasn't happening today.

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

A typical Vancouver mother of two.

I think this might be the last day I do full body workouts for a while, as I'd like to get back into the pushing, pulling, legs and conditioning split.

Front squats 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
95, 115, 135, 155, 165, 170 (1)

Been a while since I did heavy front squats. After the single rep at 170lb, my wrist felt like it was straining, so I decided to rack the bar. I could have tried another rep, I guess, but I didn't want to risk failure due to my grip and have to release the weight quickly.

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Supersets

Neutral grip pull-ups - 12, 8, 8, 7
Pull downs @ 50lb - 6, 4, 5, 5

Lateral raises - 20s x 10, 9, 8
Military presses - 20s x 12, 9, 6

Feet elevated push-ups (18") - 12, 12, 10
Cable fly curls @ 30s - 10, 9, 6

Full body

I want those arms and shoulders!

I feel much better today, and all the symptoms of overtraining have passed. Even though I only took one extra rest day - last week - and I had a PT session on Saturday, it feels like I've had a long break because I'm so refreshed. Weird. Anyway, kept it fairly short today because of a morning meeting.

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)

Identical outcome to last time I did this complex.

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Lynne
Five rounds for max reps of:
Bench press @ 120lb (scaled from the RXed bodyweight)
Pull-ups
7/12 - 6/10 - 6/8 - 4/6 - 5/7

This was yesterday's main site WOD. The first set of pull-ups were all strict, and I gradually added more kipping reps as the workout progressed. I took as much rest as necessary between each set, and went to failure every time. If I couldn't complete a rep, that was it for the set. I don't know why I did it, but for the fourth set of bench presses I gripped the bar too wide, and that affected the number of reps I could manage. Here's the official demo video, with some seriously crappy pull-ups.

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.

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

Full body

I decided to try something different from my usual Monday pushing workout today, just for a change.

Diane: 21-15-9 rft
Deadlifts @ 225lb (sets broke down as 11, 5, 5 - 5, 5, 5 - 5,4)
Push presses @ 95lb (5, 6, 5, 5 - 5, 5, 5 - 5, 4)
Time = 12:54

Because I can't do handstand push-ups, I substituted presses instead. The last time I did Diane - with Paul - I used military presses, but today I went for push presses with more weight. The reason for trying this is because a few of the YouTube Diane videos show some athletes doing a kipping type of motion for the handstand push-ups, and I thought push presses might be a good approximation of that movement. My time ended up being quicker by 6:45, so perhaps I could have gone heavier on the push presses (the deadlifts were RXed).

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The second routine was yesterday's main site WOD.

For time:
5 front squats @ 125lb
25 pull-ups
4 front squats
20 pull-ups
3 front squats
15 pull-ups
2 front squats
10 pull-ups
1 front squat
5 pull-ups
Time = 13:14

The demo video stipulates using 65% of a 1RM for the front squats. I can't recall ever going for a 1RM, so I used my heaviest ever weight - 175lb - and did a little over 70% of that. That would have been 122.5lb, so I rounded up. The front squats were just breaking parallel and actually felt quite easy. This enabled me to do all the reps with good form; i.e. elbows up. The pull-ups, however, really took my breath away and slowed me down.

Overall, a good, sweaty workout today!

Legs and pulling

Cool - yet disgusting - pants design

Another combination day because I missed yesterday's pulling workout, due to attending a funeral in Toronto.

Complex: 1 power clean + 5 front squats
115, 125, 135, 140, 145 (4)

Video of the last two sets (forgot to subtitle the video). My elbows are too low after catching the clean, but I corrected them for the squats. For the 145lb clean, my legs are all over the bloody place.

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10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 rft
Deadlifts @ 185lb
Pull-ups
Time = 11:16

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21-15-9 rft
Traveling lunges with 25s (per leg)
25lb dumbbell snatches (per arm)

I got as far as completing the 21 lunges per leg and then I got the a frigging painful cramp in both quads. It was the type of cramp where I thought I was going to puke, and I was hoping from leg to leg - both of which were equally bad, so that wasn't helping - then collapsed on my ass. It was bad enough that two people came to ask if I was okay! When I finally felt good to go, I started doing the snatches, but it still felt like the cramp would come back at any moment (I got to a total of 12 db snatches). I decided to abort as the time I'd spent trying to recover was longer than I'd actually spent moving, so whatever time I finished with would have been meaningless, anyway. I don't like walking away from an incomplete or poorly executed workout - or, in this case, staggering away - so I'm going to start with this tomorrow morning and make sure I finish it.

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

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!

Legs

Nothing really clicked today. The mind was willing, but the energy just wasn't there.

Front squats
135 x 3
155 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 1
170 x 2

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Deadlifts
175 x 6
195 x 4
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 1
295 x 1
310 x 0
310 x 0

With my first attempt at 310lb I nearly completed the lift, but lost my grip when I was almost standing upright. My second attempt barely left the ground, even after a three minute rest.

I felt tired today, and I'm not sure why. Not exercise fatigue - i.e. overtraining - just sleepy. I sometimes get frustrated, not because of inconsistency, but not knowing why my training ability is inconsistent.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Complex: 1 power clean + 5 front squats
115, 125, 135, 140 (4 squats), 140 (3)

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Alternate drop sets

Weighted pull-ups - 25 x 9, 5, 4, 4
Pull-ups - bw x 3, 4, 3, 3

Military press - 65 x 9, 7, 7, 5
Push press - 65 x 7, 8, 6, 6

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Death by burpees
11 rounds + 9 reps

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.

Legs

Lindsay Valenzuela. Dayum, strong girls are hot!

Haven't done this in a while.

Complex - 1 squat clean, 2 front squats (a2g)
95, 105, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140 (F), 140

The last time I did this routine was nearly 11 months ago, when I got up to 130lb but failed at 135lb. Even though I didn't video this, I could tell my form wasn't great for the squat cleans at the heavier weights; my elbows were too low. However, that's difficult to correct midway through the motion, so when I got to the top of the squat clean, I shrugged to correct the position of the bar, which allowed me to improve my grip, then did the front squats with better form. The failed attempt at 140lb was due to my lack of concentration more than anything else, which meant I couldn't power the bar up to my chest and I dropped the bar on the way up. I rested 2 minutes, collected my thoughts, then tried again. Not great, but at least that's a 10lb PR compared to last year.

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Trap bar deadlifts, touch and go
170 x 10
220 x 8
250 x 6
270 x 6
290 x 3

My grip failed during the attempt at a fourth rep at 290lb. Other than that, I was doing okay.

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

Legs

After yesterday's 25lb dumbbell workout, I was eager to do some heavy lifting today. That being said, my daily schedule is all over the place this week while I adjust to living further outside town, and I felt a bit groggy when I got to the gym after getting up earlier than usual.

Front squats (a2g with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175 (1)

I think 175lb equals my heaviest a2g front squat, so while it isn't an advance, there was some cause for celebration. All of the sets except the last one used a conventional grip. I could feel my wrists stretching a bit at 165lb, so I switched to a crossover grip for 175lb. That's a significant improvement in wrist flexibility from a few months ago. It certainly feels like both wrists are back to 100%.

What certainly helped with both grip techniques was getting my head way back with my chin up high. That made it easier to keep my elbows up.

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Deadlifts:
175 x 6
195 x 4
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 1
295 x 1
310 x 1
325 x 0
325 x 0

My 1RM is 320lb, so I had two attempts at beating that, but failed both times.

On balance, not a bad day.

Legs

Superset - front/back squats
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
165 - 2 & 3

I did my warm up front squats - up to 95lb - with the proper grip, but I could feel a bit of straining in my left wrist and I didn't want to risk it, especially as it's so close to complete repair. All of the front squats above were with a crossover grip. From 155lb onward I struggled to keep my elbows up, so that affected my balance and the fluidity of my movement, especially upwards.

Also, my concentration was a bit wayward today, probably because my mind was on our new Stonecroft house, of which we took possession yesterday. Not my best performance by any means; just one of those days.

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Deadlifts
185 x 10
215 x 8
225 x 6
235 x 5
245 x 5

Legs

Front squats to parallel (crossover grip)
135 x 3
155 x 3
160 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 2

Felt a bit meh this morning, which might account for failing the third rep at 170lb. My PR for three reps is 175lb, but my leg just didn't have enough strength this morning. When I failed, I dropped the barbell onto the safeties. Of course, it wasn't the best preparation to cycle to the gym really hard; just over five minutes from door to door. 

I tried the proper front squat grip and while there wasn't any pain in my wrist, I did feel some stress and stretching (probably due to the hang cleans yesterday). I decided to use a crossover grip instead, just to be cautious.

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Sumo deadlifts
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
310 x 1

Rubbed a lot of skin off my right shin, and left some DNA on the barbell. I think I managed to clean it all off.

Legs

British divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield.
Their strength and conditioning coach, Richard Husseiny, used to be my sports masseur.

Front squats (a2g with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 105, 120, 130, 140, 150, 155, 160, 170

I used a crossover grip today because of my injured wrist. Other than that, I still tried to keep good form and technique: my head was back, with my chest and elbows up, which helped with my balance with the heavier weights. I've sometimes had problems with my heel coming up, too, but today I found that if I turned my toes in a little bit, it was easier to keep my weight back.

It's been a long time since I did this routine - November 2011 - and back then I got one rep at 160lb. After I managed two with that weight today I was going to add jut 5lb, but I went a little heavier as it was my last set.

Here are my last two sets.

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3 rft:
20 deadlifts @ 155lb
20 trap bar deadlifts @ 185lb
Time = 11:52

I had planned on doing dumbbell hang squat cleans with the deadlifts, but while I was warming up I could feel a slight pain in my left shoulder when I swung the weight up. It wasn't too bad - and doesn't hurt now - but I think this might be because of the 150 pull-ups I did yesterday.