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!

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

Post-lunch session today.

Sumo deadlifts; resetting
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3
310 x 2

I shredded both my shins and knees during the deadlifts, so at least both legs match now.

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Cable rows
150 x 5
140 x 5, 5, 5, 5

I've done a full routine with 150lb before, but my form was a bit crappy with my first set today. I leaned back too much, and I couldn't pull the handles close enough towards me. I dropped down to 140lb because some decent reps at a lighter weight are better than lousy ones at 150lb.

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Leg raises (dip station); max reps
25, 19, 13

Full body

Clever advertising campaign by Nike

Supersets:
Bench presses, max reps @ 125lb - 5, 4, 4, 4, 4
Cable rows, max reps @ 125lb - 8, 7, 7, 7, 7

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For time:
30 x hang clean and presses @ 95lb
10 x burpees whenever I drop the bar (not at the end)
Time = 10:57 (5 breaks/sets of burpees)

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50 strict sit-ups
30 leg raises/hip raises
40 straight leg raises
20 decline sit-ups

A couple of things: I did the leg raises/hip raises before the straight leg raises because the dip station where I do the former was being used. Also, I didn't do any toes-to-bar because all the benches were occupied, so I couldn't get up there! Stoopid short legs...

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.

Pulling

18 year old Zhang Wanqiong (-53kg, China) snatching 90kg at the 2012 Junior Worlds.

Because my wrist felt pretty good after yesterday's pushing routine, I decided to test it with some cleans, which I haven't done for several weeks. I spent some time ensuring my wrist and shoulders were warmed up and flexible before starting the routine. Also, I didn't go quite as heavy as usual, but did considerably better than I expected.

Hang cleans
95 x 6
105 x 5
115 x 5
120 x 4
125 x 3

On all the reps I caught the bar cleanly on my clavicle. I didn't use just two fingers to keep it in place, but I was able to hold it there with my whole grip and bend my wrist back without any discomfort. Consequently, my elbows were well up and my forearms were parallel to the ground. With the last two sets, I could feel my grip starting to strain a bit, but other than that I felt good. Again, not my heaviest cleans, but I'm very happy with the results given the context.

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Rita Benavidez

Dumbbell snatches for time; 5 per arm, alternating
40lb = 25 seconds
45lb = 28
50lb = 30
55lb = 51
60lb = 2:03

The last time I did this I went too light, but this time it felt more of a challenge. The first time I took a break during a set was at 55lb, after the third rep for my right (second) arm. I really slowed down in the final set, failing with the third rep on my right side. After that, I took what I thought were short rests after each rep, but I was still surprised at the slow time for the 60lb set.

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Underhand lateral pull-downs @ 100lb
12, 10, 9, 8

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Horizontal leg raises (on the dip rack)
14, 13, 11