Saturday

AM
30:00-60:00 round-the-world of choice or swim

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Squat snatch, 10:00 tech/speed work - you pick the loads according to feel, but nothing heavy
+
AMRAP in 10:00:
1 muscle-up
5 wall balls, 14 to 9'
+
3 sets not for time:
:15 L-sit on parallettes
4/side light/moderate DB upright rows, 3110

AM

30:00 of row, jog and freestanding handstand push-up practice

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. up to 113, 4 easy singles there 

+

11 + 2 wall balls 

+

complete 

30, 30, 35lb dumbbell 


Today was pretty good!

Snatching felt great.  Super solid.  

Muscle-up / wall ball thing was fun!  No misses on the muscle-ups, but a few in the middle were caught dangerously low, so I slowed down a touch.  Tried not to watch the clock, but I was probably taking about 0:20 transition time after each set of wall balls to chalk up and prepare.  Wall balls super easy, no issues at all.  

Friday

OFF

AM
25:00 AirDyne @ Z1

PM
mobility @ CSC

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:60 front leaning rest on ground
2:00 bike
:30/side plank
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch, 9 x 1 waveload (for ex: 95-105-115); begin a rep every :60
C. Split jerk clusters, 3 x 1.1.1; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
+
3 sets @ high effort:
:30 burpees
:30 rest
+
3 sets:
:20 row @ 97%
3:20 walk rest

AM

4 sets complete

PM

complete, 7 singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 105, 110, 115, 110, 115, 120, 115, 120, 125F, 125

C. 175, 185, 195(1.F.F), 190(1.F.F)

+

15, 15, 13

+

106m

106m

105m


Today was weird.  I felt really good overall, but only parts of the training matched how good I was feeling.

Muscle-ups didn't feel strong at all; I actually failed the first attempt, which hasn't happened in at least a month.  I thought these all felt like pretty low catches, but on video they don't look that low at all, most of them right around parallel.  Not even close for a double today.  No idea what the issue was here.

Power snatches felt super weird; for some reason, I wasn't moving my feet at ALL.  Caught the second rep 120 (8th rep) really low and with wobbly arms, and I guarantee my feet never left the ground, which has never been my style.  Missed the first rep at 125 (9th rep) just a little in front and didn't want to end on a miss so added the extra rep at 125, which I caught fairly well but walked forward a few steps with.  Meh.  Can I just go back to squat snatching from now on?  I hate power everything.

Jerks, however, felt AWESOME.  These were some of the crispest/easiest jerks I've ever done, until I started failing.  The 3 reps at 185 were totally solid.  The first rep at 195 was super easy, missed the second one just an inch in front and missed the third one two inches in front.  The first rep at 190 was also super easy, then missed the second rep wayyyy out front and dumped the third rep without trying.  Not really sure what that was about.  Sorry for being ambitious and messing up the rep scheme, but with how good they were feeling today, I don't know that I would have chosen lighter weights if I were to do it again.

Burpees were blazing fast on the first round, never slowed down and stood up the 15th rep at 0:29.  Second round felt just as fast as the first, but I didn't stand up the 15th rep until 0:30 was already on the clock.  Third round caught up a lot - never consciously slowed down, but the speed just wasn't there.  Felt great aerobically, even through I was breathing pretty hard.  

Bumped the damper to 8 on the row sprints but didn't really feel a difference from my usual 6.  Saw 1:29 on the first one, 1:30 on the second and 1:31 on the third.  

Wednesday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
15:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. 1 & 1/4 front squat, no sleeves, 3-3-3 w/:03 initial descent (quick on the rest of each rep); 2:30 rest
B. Weighted ring dip, build to a max (score as bodyweight + weight added)
C. Bar muscle-ups, 5:00-8:00 practice
+
4 rounds nice & steady:
4 strict rope pull-ups (top hand 4-6" above bottom hand)
8 glute-ham sit-ups
4 strict rope pull-ups (top hand 4-6" above bottom hand), opposite hand on top
12 unweighted hip extensions
200m jog

AM

complete

PM

A. 133, 153, 173 (video)

B. 221.5 (166 + 55.5) (video) (PR)

C. complete, several fails and one make

+

complete 


Brandie and Austin were both in early this morning, which was delightful!

Front squats felt good; probably could have / should have started a bit heavier.

Ring dips also felt really good, failed with an additional 2.5.

Missing something on the bar muscle-ups today... I kept trying to go through the bar instead of around/over it, which means my sternum is extremely bruised.  Finally made one, but it wasn't pretty.  I think I need to go back and watch some videos.

Tuesday

OFF or Z1 active recovery of choice

AM
slept in

PM
softball, unless it's rained out, in which case I'll do some mobility

Monday

AM
1200m light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Barefoot back squat w/chains, 3-3-3 building to a tough set (same deal, still no risk of failing), 20X1; 3:00 rest
B. Alternating front rack reverse lunges, 3 x 8-10 total; 2:00 rest
C. CTB pull-ups, 8 x 5 unbroken; begin a set every :60
+
5 sets:
500m row @ 1:58.0-1:58.9/500m
2:30 walk rest

AM

complete with 45 on the sled

PM

A. 165, 185, 195 (videos)

B. 143, 153, 163(8)

C. complete 

+

1:58.6

1:58.6

1:58.3

1:58.3

1:58.0


Barefoot back squats feel better each week; compared to last week, depth was greatly improved.  I think all the reps at 165 and 185 were legit, and the first and 3rd rep at 195 were below parallel with the second rep right on the line.  I really wasn't happy with how heavy 195 felt, but Stephen told me the chains are about 70lbs, so that made me feel a lot better (I assumed they were closer to 40lbs).  That's by far the most I've ever squatted without a belt or knee sleeves (or shoes, obviously), so now I don't feel quite so bad about how heavy it felt.

Reverse lunges were fine.  Saw stars on all of these.

CTBs felt really tough today.  All butterflied and in rhythm, but not easy and it felt like way too much effort.  Also, Chelsea and Pat were talking in the background about butterfly pull-up technique, and Chelsea mentioned that it's all hips and your arms should be just there to keep you attached to the bar, and that's not how I feel at all.  I do think I'm using my hips, but my elbows/arms are definitely doing a LOT of work... 

Row repeats felt more challenging this week than they have yet this cycle.  I mean, obviously they would, they're getting faster.  But, I also felt like my energy was fading and I got a headache after the first one.  Last week (during my insane hunger phase), I took a few shot blocks before the row repeats and I felt amazing on the rows, so I'm wondering if I should start doing that... I'll run it by Mike, but I don't really see the harm, especially since I already did it last week. Even if it's just mental, I'll take any edge I can get.  Kind of excited (in a masochistic way) to see how fast these will get...

Sunday

AM
30:00-60:00 easy walk or hike

PM
A. Power clean, build to a max for the day
B. Double overhand Romanian deadlift w/straps, 3 x 4-5, 3010; 2:30 rest
+
8:00 @ 80% of [10 kettlebell swings @ 53 + 10 DB push presses + 40 double-unders]
4:00 rest
8:00 @ 80% of [21 ski erg calories + 7 wall walks]

AM

subbed 30:00 AirDyne @ Z1

PM

A. 175, 185Fx3

B. 155, 175, 195

+

3 + 5 DB push press @ 35/hand 

+

2 + 7 calories 


Meh, today was not the best.

I really hate power cleans.  I don't know how to use my legs, and I don't know how to get lower instead of wider.  Only pulled 185 twice, tried to catch it on one of the attempts but it was way forward.  I hit 185 18 months ago, so this is stupid.

Romanian deadlifts felt good.

I was breathing really hard on both 8:00 pieces; for some reason, I felt really out of shape on these.  May have been slightly ambitious with the dumbbell weight selection for the push press - only did 10 touch-and-go at the shoulders on the first round, but on the second and third rounds I was having to re-set at the shoulders after 5 reps.  Double-unders unbroken on the first round, tripped once in the 20's on the second and third rounds.  I'm pretty sure I cut my new cable too short, so I ordered another one.  Shoulders were fried by the time I got to the wall walks... 

Saturday

AM
30:00-60:00 round-the-world of choice or swim

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Squat snatch, 10:00 tech/speed work - you pick the loads according to feel, but nothing heavy
C. Muscle-ups, 12 x 1; begin a rep every :40
+
3 sets not for time:
:12 L-sit on parallettes
6/side light DB upright rows, 3110

AM

37:15 complete, consisting of:

5 sets:

500m row

couple minutes of mobility 

+

3 sets, easy:

10 wall balls, 14 to 9'

0:30 single unders with heavy rope 

5 kipping handstand push-ups 

PM

@ DSC

A1/A2. complete 

B. complete up to 103

C. complete 

+

complete 

20, 30, 30lb dumbbell 


Today was the Dynamic Nutrition seminar at DSC - so glad I was able to meet Mike while he was in the neighborhood, and that Chelsea and Emily came with me!  Plus, he gave me a shirt! I'm blown away by how knowledgeable Mike is about pretty much everything that has to do with fueling and nutrition, and how he is able to make really insightful comments and suggestions to a cross-section of people with widely variable goals based on pretty limited background.  Really happy that I made the decision to work with him!  I felt very lucky that I get so much one-on-one time with him every couple of weeks.  He's the best.  Speaking of, I told him how last week I was insanely hungry (beginning on Saturday), went over on macros on Monday (gelato) and Tuesday (1.5 quest bars), he bumped my carbs by 20g to 260g on Wednesday and on Thursday I felt the best in training that I have in months, and he said that's a pretty clear sign that I need more food.  He's having me add a second refeed day on Tuesdays, so now I'm hitting 150P/60F/260C on training days and 150P/55C/300C on off days.  I'm relieved and pretty excited there is more food in my future.  Being hungry sucks.

Also enjoyed the opportunity to train in a different space today, although I won't lie, I was very apprehensive about hitting muscle-ups on the clock on unfamiliar rings. Chelsea reminded me that it's good practice for competition, which is 100% true, but I'm still not as confident as I'd like to be with these yet. I actually liked their rings a lot, they were hung from the rafters but the ceiling was low, so the strap length was similar to what I'm used to.  I had a choice between skinny or fat rings, and you'll be proud to hear that I chose the fat rings.  The texture was very different from ours (smoother, but at the same time stickier, which sounds paradoxical but was quite nice), and these mostly felt pretty good.  A couple of high catches, but mostly medium and none very low.

Snatching also felt pretty good - I felt like I was hitting really solid positions, but the bar felt much heavier than it should.  No issues at all dropping into a squat (although I accidentally power snatched a few, just because that's what I'm used to now).  This is exciting; more snatching please!  I'd still like to hit 150 by the end of the year... 

By the way - sorry for the weird AM structure this morning - I intended to cycle through all those things as a RTW, but then I just didn't feel like doing anything other than rowing.  Rowing at a Z1 pace was much faster than usual though, which was very strange (2:18-2:22 pace, normally right around 2:30).  I'm crediting the carbs.

We brought our own microwave because we are that neurotic about hitting our macros

So grateful to be working with this guy!

Friday

AM
off

PM
mobility @ CSC

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:60 front leaning rest on ground
2:00 bike
:30/side plank
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch, 1-1-1-1-1 tough but not maxes; begin a rep every :90
C. Push jerk, build to a heavy single for the day
+
For time:
500m row

AM

only 4 sets complete

PM

complete, one single and 7 doubles (video of all)

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 110, 115, 120, 125, 125 (video of last two)

C. 185, 190F (video of both)

+

1:40.4 (PR by 0:03.4)


Today was one of the best training days I've had in a long time.  

Muscle-ups felt so good today.  Barely missed the first double, then hit 7 more doubles with no further misses.  Most of the second reps were caught super low, but one or two actually felt pretty decent.  Looking forward to working on 3's soon.  But, did you see how high I'm consistently catching the first one?  This is so cool.

Power snatches felt really crisp through 120; the first rep at 125 felt a little wobbly and I wasn't confident that I could hit 130 on the first try (my current 1RM), so I opted to stay at 125 for the final rep and I'm glad I did - it was much smoother.  I don't know why it's easier for me to drop lower instead of wider to get under a power snatch as opposed to a power clean.  Getting very, very antsy to squat snatch... pleeeeeeeeease?

Would have liked to get a little higher on the push jerk, but I was kind of rushing at this point because I didn't want to do the 500m row all alone in an empty gym (remember when I did the 60:00 row all alone in an empty gym and I quit with like 7 minutes left and laid down on the erg?  Not my finest moment.)

I knew I would PR the row; I realistically knew I could get 1:41-1:42 (previous best was 1:43.8 from April 2013).  My reach goal was 1:39.9, which sounded crazy this afternoon but now I completely believe I'm capable of.  Held sub-1:38 for the first 250m, then gradually creeped up a second per 500m every couple of strokes, but I never hit a wall and never faded.  When I passed the half-way mark, I was shocked that I still felt as good as I did.  I was able to get up and walk around right away without flopping on the ground, but the nausea hit about 2 minutes after I was done.  I'm 100% happy with the effort today, but I think I could get that half a second if I had someone in my ear.  I distinctly remember Kerry downplaying her impressive row sprints a while back, and I said "I'll never row a 1:39 500m" - ha!  While I still haven't done that, now I actually know it's possible.  This kind of progress is the best kind of progress. 

Skyped with Mike last night, and very much looking forward to his seminar on Saturday!  I've been insanely, distractingly, unsustainably hungry for the past several days, so he bumped my daily carbs (150P/60F/260C, keeping the 150P/55F/300C refeed on Fridays).  I think I finally believe there's a bit of body comp changing, and I'm very happy with performance, so that's taking a little of the frustration away from the scale not moving very much at all.  I mean, performance is why I started doing working with him anyway, and I'm getting better at the things I needed to get better at, so the hard work has been successful.  I'd still like to see 159, though... 

Wednesday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
15:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 2-2-1-1-1, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. Weighted ring dip, 3 x 1-2, 20X1; :60 rest
B2. Unweighted strict rope pull-ups (top hand 4-6" above bottom hand), 3 x 3-5/top hand; :60 between hands, :60 rest
+
3 rounds nice & steady:
10 glute-ham sit-ups
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
200m jog
15 unweighted hip extensions

AM

complete

PM

A. 183(2), 193(2), 203, 208, 213F

B1. 35(2), 42.5(2), 52.5(1) @166.5, including belt 

B2. 5, 4, 4

+

complete


Today was short and sweet.

Front squats felt okay - the 208 was definitely tough, but I lost a little tension in the 0:02 pause at 213, and couldn't recover it.  

Ring dips felt really good - hit the double at my old 1RM, and 219 is a 10lb PR.

Rope pull-ups felt good, but fingers started slipping on the last rep of each set.  Probably could have done 5 across if I fought for it, but I didn't.

3 rounds were nice and steady, as instructed.  Knee is still cool with jogging, so that's good.

Tuesday

OFF or Z1 active recovery of choice

AM
off

PM

mobility

+

softball

Monday

AM
1200m light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Barefoot back squat w/chains, 5-5-5 building to a tough set (same deal, still no risk of failing), 20X1; 3:00 rest
B. Alternating front rack reverse lunges, 3 x 12-16 total; 2:00 rest
C. CTB pull-ups, 10 x 4 unbroken; begin a set every :40
+
5 sets:
500m row @ 1:59.0-1:59.9/500m
2:30 walk rest

AM

subbed:

30:00 AirDyne @ Z1

+

25:00 mobility

PM

A. 135, 155 (barely legit), 175 (questionable), 175 (still questionable)

B. 123, 133, 143(12)

C. complete 

+

1:59.7

1:59.6

1:59.6

1:59.4

1:59.1

Planning to make up the sled drag on a warmer morning... (I know, I know, I'm a Californian wimp).

Back squats felt so much easier without the pause at the bottom. Videoed all these again, and I'm still just barely riding the line, but the first set of 5 at 175 looked really questionable on video, so I made the executive decision to repeat the set and really focus on going as deep as possible, and on the second attempt at 175 I still only think the first two reps are legit. There's no pain or even stiffness, so I don't know what the deal is. I seriously feel like I'm going ATG.

Lunges were fine.

CTBs better than they have been, but still require a lot of focus. All butterflied and in rhythm.

Rows felt excellent, yet again. This is cool.

Sunday

AM
30:00-60:00 easy walk or hike

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Muscle-ups on fat rings, 15 x 1; begin a rep every :45
+
For time:
150 double-unders
90 row calories
30 strict handstand push-ups
+
3 sets not for time:
:10 L-sit on parallettes
4 barbell upright rows, 3110

AM

subbed:

30:00 AirDyne @ Z1

+

17:00 mobility

PM
A1/A2. complete
B. complete
+

13:59
+
complete, 73, 78, 78 


Today was pretty good! Chels came to keep me company during the PM, which was a real treat. Skipped the hike this morning because it was 29 degrees out and I'm just not prepared for that yet.

Muscle-ups continue to feel pretty good.  Catches weren't super high, but not that low either.

I actually kind of enjoyed the for time piece.  Double-unders were better than they have been, but still not great (mostly sets of 20-40).  Finished these at 3:14, which is still unacceptably slow.  Rowed at 750-850 for the first 75 calories, then bumped up to 900+ for the final 15 calories, to finish in 6:52. Strict handstand push-ups broken 5/5/5/5/4/3/3, took just under 3:30.  Shoulders are tired.

L-sits were easy, upright rows were not.  I've definitely been neglecting my shoulder mobility and pre/rehab exercises while trying to get my knee back to 100%, and it's starting to catch up with me... nothing hurts, I just can tell I need to add some stuff back in.  I've gotten too lazy thinking that the Crossover Symmetry can replace all the stuff from Drew Cook.

Saturday

AM
30:00-60:00 round-the-world of choice or swim

PM
A. Power clean, build to a tough-and-go 2RM
B. Double overhand Romanian deadlift w/straps, build to a heavy double, 4010
+
8:00 @ 80% of [1 rope climb + 30m Farmer's walk @ 70/hand + 4/side 1-arm DB shoulder-to-overhead @ 45]
4:00 rest
8:00 @ 80% of [12 ski erg calories + 20m moderate yoke carry (10m out & back)]

AM

30:00 of row, handstand walk, jog, wallballs

PM

A. 150, 160(1)x2

B. 240

+

5 + 15m FW

+

3 + 8 calories with 140 on the yoke 

I woke up with a very strong urge to do some wallballs.  First time with the 14lb ball since pre-surgery, and first time jumping right into squatting with zero mobility beforehand - great success, on both counts!  Can we pleeeeeeease start adding in some more stuff?  It's been 12.5 weeks.

Speaking of adding in some more stuff, I tested out some 105lb squat cleans - felt really good! I was a little hesitant at first, but got better a few reps in.

Power cleans were SHIT today.  The bar felt so heavy, and I kept catching very low on my chest, even at 135.  I did 5 at 160 two weeks ago... this is absurd. 

Both 8:00 pieces were fine, although I really dislike the yoke.  I picked it up ever so slightly off center on the very first carry and my back felt weird throughout the rest (totally fine now), but that's just something I'm not eager to mess with... 

Also, I got to the gym an hour earlier than Chels this afternoon, so to kill some time I played around with ring and bar muscle-ups - hadn't done any bar muscle-ups since I learned them back in the Spring, very happy that I can still do them! (video) As long as my hands aren't feeling like they're going to rip, I'd like to start practicing them more often...

Friday

OFF

AM
10:00 AirDyne @ Z1
10:00 mobility
x2

PM
off

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:60 front leaning rest on ground
2:00 bike
:30/side plank
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Push jerk, 2-2-2-2, 21X1; :90 rest
+
5 sets:
5 kipping handstand push-ups
5 power snatches, 75
15 row calories
5:00 walk rest

AM

only 4 sets complete

PM

complete, 3 singles, 3 doubles, 2 singles with a missed second rep

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 155, 165, 175, 175

+

1:09

1:07

1:09

1:08

1:12

Muscle-ups felt really good today.  All caught nice and high, and happy to hit a few doubles!  The two misses at the end were close - just an inch shy.  Still have a hard time generating as big of a kip on the second rep.

The first push jerk of each of the sets at 175 was nice and crisp, but the second rep was wobbly with a press-out on both sets.  Returning the bar with a tempo is pretty terrible.  

The first 3 sets of the 5 sets started off great - felt good, and recovery between sets was good.  The 4th set started to really hurt, and couldn't hold on to the last row.  All HSPUs easy and unbroken (thankfully), all snatches unbroken and easy for 4 rounds, struggled with grip on the 5th round but didn't drop the bar.  Rowed at >1500 cal/h across, except faded to 1200 in the last 5 calories of the last row.  Grip was 100% shot after the 4th round, my forearms were completely blown up.  

Wednesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 4 x 2-3, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. Weighted ring dip, 3 x 2-3, 20X1; :60 rest
B2. Unweighted strict rope pull-ups (top hand 4-6" above bottom hand), 3 x 2-4/top hand; :60 between hands, :60 rest
C1. Reverse hypers, 3 x 5-8 tough; :30 rest
C2. Banded terminal knee extension, 3 x 25/side w/same band as last week; :30 between sides, :30 rest
+
3 rounds:
25m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
200m jog

AM

complete

PM

A. 163, 173, 183, 193(2) last two sets

B1. 20, 25, 30(2) @165, including belt 

B2. 4 across 

C1. 320(8) across 

C2. complete 

+

complete 

Solid day!

Barefoot front squats are going MUCH better than the barefoot back squats.  The last rep at 193 was ugly, but didn't have the near-blackout experience that I did last week.  No issues going well below parallel, even at very heavy weights, compared to just riding the line on back squats.  Chelsea said she also feels able to get into a deeper front squat than back, based on where the weight is distributed.  What can I do to improve my back squat depth?  Do I need to?  I don't want someone saying that my 300lb back squat doesn't count because it's not ATG (if I'm ever strong enough to do that again, which, at the moment, seems unlikely).

Ring dips felt good.  My previous best 2RM was 194lbs (20lbs @ 174lbs), so it's pretty cool to basically match the total, but with 10 less pounds of body weight and 10 more pounds on the belt.  I guess this stuff is actually working, and while I'm getting impatient at slow progress on the scale, I can't forget that the trend over time is decent. (160.4 at home today... 159 is taunting me so much).  

Strict rope pull-ups were kind of fun!  No issues getting all 4 reps on both hands, but I did rotate/twist quite a bit through each set...

Okay, reverse hypers are getting tough.  Didn't go up in weight because 320 seems ridiculous.

Knee was completely, 100% fine on the jogs! I'm guessing that we were just a little ambitious in adding this back in before, while there was still some residual fluid in there.  Totally fine now, which is a relief.

Tuesday

OFF or Z1 active recovery of choice

AM

31:00 swim, easy - 1200 yards

PM

mobility @ CSC

+

softball

Monday

AM
1200m light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Barefoot back squat w/chains, 3-3-3-3 building to a tough set (still no risk of failing, though), 21X1; 3:00 rest
B. Alternating front rack reverse lunges, 2 x 16-20 total; 2:00 rest
C. CTB pull-ups, 10 x 4 unbroken; begin a set every :45
+
5 sets:
500m row @ 2:00.0-2:00.9/500m
2:30 walk rest

AM

complete with 45

PM

A. 155, 165, 175, 180(2) video

B. 103, 123(16)

C. complete, sets 8 and 9 out of rhythm 

+

2:00.7

2:00.7

2:00.6

2:00.5

2:00.3


Solid day - felt much better than the last two days, which is totally weird since it's day 3.

Continue to be disappointed at how heavy the back squats are feeling.  This makes me sad. The second rep at 180 was so slow that I wasn't confident I could get the 3rd.  Videoed all these, and depth is juuuuuuuuust barely legit... I don't know if it's (still) a mobility issue, because I have no issues with greatly improved depth on front squats...? Or is this how my back squats have always looked?  I really need to start videoing a lot more of regular training than just PR attempts.

Lunges felt good; limited mostly by time in the front rack.  Probably could have gotten the last 4 reps at 123, just didn't feel like crushing my trachea any longer.

CTBs mostly good; I don't really know what happened on those two sets, other than the very first rep was already off, and then I couldn't save it.  I still have to focus a lot to maintain rhythm.  Looking forward to the day when these are second nature.

Row repeats were the highlight of the day (what?!).  These felt really good.

Sunday

AM
30:00-60:00 easy walk or hike

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Muscle-ups on fat rings, 12 x 1; begin a rep every :40
C. Upright row, 2 x 6-8, 3110; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
30 row calories
90' handstand walk
30 row calories
150 double-unders
30 row calories
90' handstand walk
30 row calories

AM

55:00 complete @ Ault Park with Chels

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. complete 

C. 63, 73(6)

+

16:56

Merrrrr another kind of rough day.  Feeling a little beat up, especially shoulders.

No misses on the muscle-ups, but a handful were very, very low catches.

Front of shoulders/upper arms felt a little "pinchy" on the upright rows - not painful, just very tight in a strange spot.  

Double-unders continue to be absolute garbage.  I don't know what my deal is.  No set bigger than 20.  I think it took somewhere around 5:00 to accumulate 150 reps, which is unacceptable.  Ughhhh.  Both handstand walks broken 45/45, no prob.  Rowed at 800ish cal/h for the first 3 rows, then >1100 cal/h on the final row.  

Saturday

AM
30:00-60:00 round-the-world of choice or swim

PM
A. Power clean, build to a tough-and-go 3RM
B. Double overhand Romanian deadlift w/straps, 3-3-3-3, 4010; 2:30 rest
C. DB shoulder press from seated on floor position, build to a 6-8RM
D. 1-arm DB row w/straps, build to a 5RM/side
+
10:00 @ 80%:
250m ski erg
:30 top of axle deadlift hold, tough

AM

42:00 complete with AirDyne, mobility, FLR and side plank

PM

A. 165(2)

B. 185, 195, 205, 215

C. 35(8), 40(6)

D. 70

+

4 rounds + 66m

with 90, 100, 100, 100 

+

bonus 800m sled drag with Chels, 45


Today was the worst.  Nothing felt good.

Power cleans were not nearly as crisp as they were last week, but figured I could get the triple at 165 since I did 5 at 160 last week.  On the second rep, my feet slipped on the platform and I ate it pretty bad, which scared the shit out of me.  Moved to the rubber mats and attempted 165 again a few minutes later, but I psyched myself out and had a hard time being aggressive - missed the 3rd rep forward, but the first two reps were pretty ugly.  I don't think I'll be lifting on a platform again, I tend to sustain enough injuries without additionally using dangerous equipment.  Chelsea and Matt both said that they've slipped recently as well... can we sand down the wood, or something?  This was not cool.

Romanian deadlifts are getting heavy.  The last rep on the last two sets may have been slower than a 0:01 ascent.

Surprised myself on the seated dumbbell press - probably could have gotten 10 reps at 35, so figured I'd give 40 a shot.  Much easier without a tempo, and much easier using a bench as a rack.

I'm getting so bored with dumbbell rows.  I feel like I'm never improving at them, and it's all limited by grip strength, even with the straps.

Speaking of grip strength, the axle holds were awful.  (Sidebar - pretty sure last week I had 140 on the axle (so 160 total), and did the final 0:20 hold with 110 - as I was loading the axle this week, I'm 99% certain that I had 45s and 25s on the axle, and stripped the 25s to do the final hold last week, so my results didn't account for the 20lb axle).  Started with 90 (35s + 20lb axle), and didn't really have an issue holding the 0:30, so bumped it up for the remaining sets, and then started to really struggle around 0:25 or so with 100.  Skiing was fine.

Gorgeous day for a sled drag, didn't want to waste it.

Friday

OFF 

AM

10:00 AirDyne @ Z1

20:00 mobility 

5:00 AirDyne @ Z1

PM

90:00 massage 

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:60 front leaning rest on ground
2:00 bike
:30/side plank
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings - your technique is good right now, just need more touches...
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch, build to a heavy single for the day
C. Push jerk, 3-3-3-3, 21X1; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
25 strict handstand push-ups
25 kipping handstand push-ups
+
3 sets:
1 rope climb
5 burpees
20 row calories @ max effort
5:00 walk rest

AM

only 3 sets complete - short on time again

PM

MUs complete, 6 easy singles and two doubles  https://youtu.be/k7EI0BmjcJY

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 125  https://youtu.be/mxdukkZuq1A

C. 155, 165, 165, 165

+

6:15 (strict done at 1:46)

+

1:21

1:23

1:37 / death

I got up 45:00 earlier than normal this morning, and still felt crunched for time (had to be at work by 9).  Prioritized the mobility, so cut two of the sets... sorry, Stephen.  I can make up the planks Saturday morning if you give me RTW.

Felt really good going into the PM. 

Muscle-ups felt fantastic. I'm extremely relieved that I am now having more muscle-up good days than bad days. All the singles were caught with arms right around parallel, and finally hit the double on the fat rings, twice! Although that second double was rough, I've NEVER caught a muscle-up that low and been able to save it. So, so happy with these today. 

Power snatches felt pretty good. 125 qualified as tough for today - pretty proud of myself that I recognized this was a tough rep and didn't get greedy as usual and subsequently fail 130 three times.  I videoed all of them to watch technique, because I am pretty frustrated that this is significantly lagging behind all the other progress I'm making across the board. What I notice from the videos: I don't seem to bend my arms on the pull, I've gotten very patient with waiting until the bar connects with my hips, but then the bar is bouncing away from me instead of up and overhead. All other comments, tips, critiques, advice, etc. welcome. Also, please enjoy my sad walk away from the bar after the 125 snatch. I thought that was hilarious. 

Push jerks also felt pretty good, but the tempo was the limiting factor. I was only able to control the initial descent, but once the bar was about at face level, it crashed onto my shoulders without control. I tried to make the initial descent as slow as possible to compensate for this...

Strict handstand push-ups went well, broken 10/6/5/4. Kipping handstand push-ups did not go well. All sets were 3s or 4s, with a handful of fails (failure to lock out or falling off the wall). In what universe is strict easier than kipping? I was definitely fatigued from the 25 strict, but I think the problem is really poor kipping technique. I definitely don't lower my knees all the way to my chest because it feels like it takes so much time, but when I do ocasionally have a good kip it feels a million times easier. Bahhhh, I need lots of practice here before the open. 

Speaking of the open, I got myself pretty messed up on the row sprints, reminiscent of 15.5. Didn't really realize how long it was going to take to get 20 calories and basically emptied the tank on the first 15 calories of the first row (>1700 cal/h). Faded to 1200 in the last few seconds. Wasn't even close to being recovered by the second set, and held 1400-1500 for the majority, but still faded to 1200 by the end. Dug myself into a pretty big hole and almost just scratched the 3rd set altogether, then almost convinced myself to just stop after the burpees and skip the row, but during a very long transition to the erg I talked myself into just seeing what I could do and testing it as if it were a competition. Held 1200-1300 cal/h, then collapsed on the floor, then crawled to the garage door and tried not to vomit for approximately 30 minutes. 

I love this shit. 

Wednesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 3-4, 22X1; 2:30 rest
B1. Weighted ring dip, 3 x 3-5, 20X1; :90 rest
B2. Reverse hypers, 3 x 6-9 tough; :90 rest
C. DB walking lunges, 3 x 20m moderate; 2:00 rest
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 2 x 30/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
15m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
15 unweighted hip extensions
15 weighted Russian twists, hold a 6 lb med ball @ chest (L + R = 1)

AM

complete

PM

A. 163, 173, 183(2)

B1. +10, +20(4), +20(3) @166.5 (including belt)

B2. 230, 280, 300(9)

C. complete with 35/hand
+
complete


Today was not the best.  I had a relatively stressful morning at work, and came into the gym just not excited about training and in an annoyed mood altogether. Merrr.

Front squats were tough.  That 0:02 in the bottom is really terrible.  Saw stars on the last rep on all the sets, and the second rep at 183 was so slow on the way up that I didn't even try for a 3rd rep.  I'm starting to feel like squats are no longer my thing, and I don't like it.  Stupid knee, ruining everything.  Well, not ruining handstand push-ups.  Maybe that can be my new thing.

Ring dips felt okay.

Reverse hypers weren't really all that tough, but I ran out of room to add more weight, and I also felt like 300 was a lot of weight, so... I don't know if I'm doing the reverse hypers wrong, or I'm really just that strong? Ha.  I definitely feel everything in my posterior chain working (not just using momentum), but I could have probably done 15-20 reps at 300lbs before these felt tough.

Chose a much more appropriate weight for the walking lunges today.  

Last part was fine.  

Skyped with Mike; we're both happy with how the last few weeks have gone, so we're not changing anything for the time being.  Happy to keep my refeed Fridays, and looking forward to seeing 159 hopefully within the next week.  Eeeeeeek! 

Tuesday

OFF or Z1 active recovery of choice

AM

25:00 swim, easy - 1000 yards

PM

softball

I missed swimming.  It should work pretty well on Tuesday mornings... 

Monday

AM
1200m light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Barefoot back squat w/chains, 5-5-5 building to a tough set (still no risk of failing, though), 21X1; 3:00 rest
B. Front rack box step-up, 3 x 4-5/leg to 10", control descent as much as possible; :90 between legs
C. CTB pull-ups, 6-8 x 5 unbroken; begin a set every :60
+
5 sets:
500m row @ 2:01.0-2:01.9/500m
2:30 walk rest

AM

complete with 45 on the sled

PM

A. 115, 135, 155

B. 133, 143, 153(4)

C. 8 sets complete 

+

(4 hours rest)

+

2:01.6

2:01.5

2:01.5

2:01.3

2:01.1


Today was pretty solid!

Back squats got to be tough.  I don't like this.  Again, I'm really hoping that the weight of the chains is respectable.

Step-ups felt great; I like these.

CTBs all butterflied and in rhythm, no hand tears.  I'm still finding it easier to maintain rhythm with a higher / more vertical pull, which seems opposite.

Took a break to take Austin to the ER (poor guy), and pop back into work for a couple of hours.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back for the row repeats, and with different meal timing than I've gotten accustomed to, but I actually felt AWESOME.  I went out way too hot on the first 3 (1:55-1:57) before I was able to settle in to something closer to 2:01.  If we're going to keep the row repeats in the program, I actually wouldn't mind always separating them from the rest of the training session and doing them in the PM... it was quite nice to see my friends, too, without stressing over needing space.

Sunday

AM
30:00-60:00 easy walk or hike

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Muscle-ups on fat rings, 15 x 1; begin a rep every :45
+
20:00 @ 70%:
20 ski erg calories
40' handstand walk
60 double-unders

AM

59:00 complete with Chels @ Ault Park

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. complete 

+

3 rounds + 20 calories 


Today was the best that muscle-ups have ever felt on the fat rings.  Coincidentally, today I also weighed in at the least I've ever weighed (160.7, and getting so, so antsy to see 159!).  I have a hard time believing that 2-3lbs really makes that much of a difference, but I'll take it.  I felt like I could have strung two together today, but I stuck to the rep scheme and didn't try.  Didn't video these, but feel like almost all were caught with upper arms right at parallel, and no low catches at all.

Getting much more comfortable skiing.  All handstand walks easily unbroken.  Double-unders continue to be shit, which is concerning because I am working on a brand new cable now.  So it's definitely me, and not the rope.  WTF.

Saturday

AM
30:00-60:00 round-the-world of choice or swim

PM
A. Power clean, build to a tough-and-go 5RM
B. Double overhand Romanian deadlift w/straps, 4-4-4, 4010; 2:30 rest
C1. DB shoulder press from seated on floor position, 3 x 3-4, 20X1; :60 rest
C2. 1-arm DB row w/straps, 3 x 3-4/arm, no tempo but still ensure a high elbow @ the top; :60 between arms, :60 rest
+
2000m row @ Z1, off every 500m for 2 touch-and-go double-overhand axle deadlifts + :20 top of deadlift hold after the rest rep

AM

30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off once for a few minutes of stretching and once for a 0:60 handstand hold against the wall

PM

A. 160 (PR +20) - with olys, belt, and hook grip! video

B. 175, 185, 195

C1. 40(4), 45F, 40(2), 40(3)

C2. 70, 75(3), 75(3)

+

with 140, but only 0:20, 0:15, 0:10, 0:12 holds

bonus set at 90 with the full 0:20 hold

Saturdays are so chill. Love it. 

So, so happy (and relieved) that I can hook grip again!! It still hurts, but I think I'm beyond the point where I'm doing additional damage. Power cleans felt great; did all 5 reps at 145, 155, 160. The last two reps at 160 were pretty ugly (wide), but I'll take the 20lb PR. 

Romanian deadlift was fine.  195 might be the limit to keep the 0:01 ascent tempo.

Figured out how to use a bench as a dumbbell rack for the shoulder press, which helped immensely.  Tried twice to get a rep at 45/hand, but it didn't go far.  DB rows were tough.

The axle holds were AWFUL.  I just couldn't do it.  Even the bonus set at 90 was very, very challenging to hold for the full 0:20.  Stupid child-sized hands.

Friday

OFF

AM
10:00 AirDyne @ Z1
10:00 mobility
x2

PM
OFF

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:60 front leaning rest on ground
2:00 bike
:30/side plank
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings - your technique is good right now, just need more touches...
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch clusters, 5 x 1.1 @ 95-115; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
C. Push press, 2-2-1-1, 21X1; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
12 rope climbs
+
3 sets:
max unbroken strict handstand push-ups
175m row @ max effort
5:00 walk rest

AM

only 3 sets complete, short on time

PM

complete 

+

A1./A2. complete 

B. 95, 105, 105, 110, 110 - in nanos, but with a hook grip!

C. 140, 145, 150, 155Fx2

+

6:27

+

16, row in 0:34.8, 1:39.5/500 avg

14, row in 0:35.2, 1:40.7/500 avg

12, row in 0:34.9, 1:39.9/500 avg
+
bonus set of 12 strict handstand push-ups video


Today. Was. Awesome.

Well, not all of it was awesome, but it ended really well.

Muscle-ups felt really good - caught a couple right at parallel-ish, which is about as high as I've ever caught them on the fat rings.  Went for the double a couple of times but chickened out (for no discernible reason).

Power snatches felt okay - technique felt decent, but the bar just felt heavy today.  But, I hook gripped!! It hurt a little bit, but not as much as last week and no more than with some of the other movements (pull-ups, etc) that bother my thumb.  Feet went a little wide at 110, but not too bad.

Push press felt awful.  I really don't know how to drive with my legs at all.  I basically dip then strict press.  This is extremely annoying.

Rope climbs went very well.  Wanted to do one every 0:30 - which I did through 8, then took an extra 0:15, then just went when Angel told me to go.  Lats and grip got super fatigued, but no real issues until the very last climb when I basically only took 0:05 rest before jumping back up and got stuck one pull from the top for a few seconds.  Super happy with this, considering October 2014 I did 10 in 7:41.  (Today, 10 done in 5:15).

And then those strict handstand push-ups.  OMG.  I knew I would PR these, considering I've had no issues hitting sets of 5 consistently.  I got to about 8 on the first set and thought to myself that these were stupid easy, and didn't really feel any struggle until 13 or so.  I think I was too excited about these to sprint properly (only saw 1:34 on the first one, 1:35 on the second and third rows).  Just wanted to hit 10 on the second set, and surprised myself with 14.  Then just wanted to hit 10 on the final set, and surprised myself with 12.  Then I did a bonus set just to catch this phenomenon on video, and just wanted to hit 10, and surprised myself with 12.  This is the coolest thing, ever.  Well, maybe not ever.  But this is certainly the coolest thing to happen since I got my first muscle-up.  Holy shit.