Conditioning

I haven't used a picture of a male athlete for nearly a month.
Oh, well...

For time:
50 skips (x 2)
50 burpees
50 thrusters @ 20s
50 sit-ups
50 push presses @ 20s
50 leg raises/hip raises
50 traveling lunges (50 steps)
50 dumbbell swings @ 30
50 dumbbell snatches @ 25
50 jump squats

Time = 32:41

Real life got in the way of my planned pushing workout today and I didn't have time to go to ABsolute Fitness this morning. It wasn't until 6:00pm that I was able to take a break from work, but I was only able to get to the Stonecroft gym. I spent a good 15 minutes stretching and warming up, especially as my right calf is still hurting from my cramp spasm after Saturday's PT session.

I adapted today's main site WOD by substituting some movements for the RXed ones; for example, thrusters with dumbbells instead of wall balls, and leg/hip raises instead of knees to elbows. Some of the changes were due to the equipment that was available, and some were because I don't have the skills (100 single skips instead of 50 double-unders).

Perhaps because it was later in the day, but I felt pretty lethargic at the start of this routine. However, I gradually felt mentally more energized as I progressed, although I was obviously becoming more fatigued. I was alone in the gym until the dumbbell swings, and I think I scared the crap out of the geezer who came in to use the machines. I was grunting and sweating my ass off, then I managed to gasp "Enjoy your evening" when I left. I'm probably the first person at Stonecroft who's done metcon training!

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: Heavy weight and conditioning

I decided to revisit a whole workout from about a year ago. This was originally done as a personal training session on November 26, 2011. Yeah, I know yesterday would have been more symmetrical, but I didn't think of doing this until this morning.

Clean and push press (t&g; 2 second lockout)
95 x 3
105 x 3 (only did 2 last time)
110 x 2
115 x 1
120 x 1 (but not a full 2 second lockout)

I only just checked out the video from last time and realized I did squat cleans back then. However, today I only did power cleans. A year ago I failed the press at 115lb several times, but I managed a single at both 115lb and 120lb today. The heavier lift stayed up for about a second before I had to drop the bar. Coincidentally and bizarrely, looking back on that video I noticed I wore exactly the same shorts and shirt today!

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Cindy on Steroids: Amrap 20
5 wide grip pull-ups
10 clapping push-ups
15 jump squats
Score = 10 + 1 pull-up

That's significantly better than last year, when my score was 9 rounds and 5 pull-ups. I can't remember if I used any type of strategy back then, but today I did a kind of "death by" technique. I would complete a round - which always took over a minute - then rest for the remainder of the two minutes. I would only get into position for the pull-ups when my watch approached the end of the second minute. This seemed to work quite well, hence the improvement. All of the pull-ups were unbroken, except for the 10th round, which was 3 and 2. The first round of all three moves was completed without any breaks.

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Each for time: 15 sit-ups (strict) and 30 bicycle crunches per side
59, 1:15

These were tougher crunches than a year ago, but I still beat both times, which were 1:05 and 1:25.

Overall, a decent workout today.

Full body

A bit more elegant than me

Personal training with Paul

Alternating sets
Bench press
95 x 5, 115 x 5, 125 x 5, 135 x 2, 135 x 3 (fourth rep was assisted)

Dumbbell rows
70 x 5, 75 x 5, 75 x 5, 80 x 5, 80 x 5

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For time:
50 hang power cleans and push presses @ 75lb
Every break (bar on the ground) do 10 pushups and 15 jump squats
Time = 10:57

I think I took breaks after the following reps: 14, 10, 8, 5, 5, 8. Edit: 14-10-10-8-8.

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50 strict sit-ups
40 straight leg raises
30 leg raises/hip raises
20 decline sit-ups
10 toes to bars

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At the end of today's workout I weighed myself on the gym's scale. According to that, I'm now 148lb, which is 6lb more than the last time I weighed on my home scale. There may or may not be a discrepancy between the two scales, but I think Paul might be exaggerating when he said I'm getting fat! The evidence in my favour...

Flexin' time

Looking back at all these photos, I can't see too much difference between them, although I do look a bit lighter in the early ones. Other than that, everything looks pretty consistent.

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