Friday

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

PM
A. Front squat w/no sleeves, 2-2-1-1, 20X1; 2:30 rest
B. Pendlay row, 4 x 2-3, 20X0; 2:00 rest
+
For 14:00:
Evens: 5 CTB pull-ups
Odds: 10 wall balls, 14 to 9'
+
1 time through steady:
100m light stone carry
100m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
100m prowler push

AM

(swapped with tomorrow's)
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:30 handstand hold - can be against wall
2:00 bike
:30/side plank or 3 wall walks
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM

A. 223(2), 233(2), 243(1), 253(1)

B. 153, 163, 173, 183(2)

+

complete

+

7:43 with 140 on the prowler


Today was great!  Except for being so freaking sore.  Holy shit, I feel like I've been hit by a train.  Lats/pecs (75 TTB) and glutes/hamstrings/adductors/quads (75 air squats).  Surprisingly, abs wouldn't even make the top 10 list of most sore muscles.

Happy to finally be back to hitting respectable squats.  243 was a really solid rep - depth was buried, and a little slow on the way up but no sticky points.  253 was very, very heavy - depth was right at parallel, and got stuck on the way up (which I could only get through by rounding my back in my signature style). Officially the most I've ever squatted without knee sleeves, and only 7# off my max.  Sweet.  Knee feels great.  (Wore Olys and a belt).

Pendlay rows were heavy.  Again, limited by grip.

EMOM was super easy, everything unbroken and felt like I had tons of time to rest.

Last piece was different.  The stone carry and FW were both very easy, I split these into 50m/50m.  Weight choice was perhaps slightly ambitious on the prowler, this took over half the total time to complete.  Made 3x 20m, then started stopping every 10m.

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, build to a tough single, then take off 15 and accumulate 5 more singles @ that weight; rest as needed
+
Every :60 for 10 sets:
1 muscle-up + 1 squat clean @ 125 + 1 front squat @ 125
+
1 time through, goal is no breaks:
:60/side plank
:40/side plank
:20/side plank

AM

32:00 of row, GHD sit-ups, run

+

15:00 of shoulder and calf pre/rehab

+

15:00 mobility @ home 

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. 125, 110x5

+

complete 

+

complete 

Well, today was the first day in a week that I didn't leave the gym close to (or in) tears, so that's already a success. Three more days. 

My shoulders are FRIED from Thursday. Holy shit. I don't know if it's from trying to do the muscle-ups and snatches cold, or the heavy benching, but they are so stiff and sore. 

I think I'm going to start using knee sleeves again for snatching and cleaning. My knee doesn't hurt but I'm babying it and being hesitant on explosive movements. I don't know if I'm just subconsciously protecting it because I'm expecting it to hurt, or I know it's going to pop (it does with every single squat), but I'm not lifting well and it's getting annoying. 

Technique felt better that it has in a while on the snatches, but the bar felt very heavy. 

I was worried about the muscle-ups considering how sore my shoulders are, but they were fine. Mostly pretty low catches, but never in danger of failing. Squat cleans went better than last week, but it felt like I was catching high and riding into the bottom. Metcons, no wrist wraps, no belt. 

Shoulders complained on the side planks, but no issues going unbroken straight through. 

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:30 handstand hold - can be against wall
2:00 bike
:30/side plank or 3 wall walks
+
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 from blocks (bar @ mid-thigh), 10:00 to build to a heavy single, then take off 20 and accumulate 3-5 more singles there according to feel
+
5 sets:
3-5 tough close grip bench presses
150m row sprint
5:00 walk rest

AM

3 sets complete

PM

3 rough singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 110, 5 @ 90

+

135(5), row in :29.8

140(5), row in :29.3

145(5), row in :29.3

150(5), row in :29.3

155(3), row in :29.2

Really not a fan of training in the morning, but we have our lab's Christmas party this evening. I think I might get drunk. It just sounds like a good idea. 

Could not get my shoulders warm at all for the muscle-ups. Caught these all very low and just felt like more of a struggle than it should be. The 3rd rep wasn't any easier than the first, so I just called it. 

Snatches off the blocks were also rough. I really think I'm missing some huge cue mechanically. The turnover at 110 was soft and slow, so didn't go any higher. The reps at 90 were fine. 

Bench felt really good. Couldn't pull any faster than 1:35-1:36. I like this combo. 

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:30 handstand hold - can be against wall
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. Hang power snatch, build to a 2RM
+
6 sets even:
1 split jerk from the blocks - your call on weight
35 double-unders
1 split jerk from the blocks
:90 walk rest
+
3 sets:
:45 row @ 97%
5:45 walk rest

AM

4 sets complete

PM

6 not-so-easy singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 115

+

0:45

0:44

0:43

0:43

0:42

0:43

all unbroken, with 165

+

231m

231m

232m


Thursdays are getting to be hectic days at work, and wouldn't have made it into the gym until 6:30-7pm today, so experimented with training in the morning before work.  I'm not a fan.  Looking forward to switching my schedule around a bit after Christmas... 

Muscle-ups felt terrible, all low catches and not aggressive at all.  I feel like I'm going backwards here; I was stringing together doubles fairly consistently, and today singles were a struggle.  

Hang snatches did not feel nearly as crisp as last week.  Attempted 115 twice, on the first attempt I snatched it once then just pulled it the second time.  The second set at 115 wasn't crisp or smooth at all, so called it there.  Mehhhhhhh.

Split jerk / double-under combo was the highlight of the day.  This was super fun.  Double-unders continue to cooperate, to my great relief. Wanted to choose a weight that I could walk up to without any hesitation, and I think I chose appropriately.  Most of these were crisp and easy, but a couple of the second jerks (after the DUs) were a little shaky.  

Row sprints felt as good as they can... held 1:35-1:36 throughout, no fading. 

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. Hang power snatch, build to a 3RM
+
6 sets even:
2 split jerks from the blocks, 165
35 double-unders
:90 walk rest
+
3 sets:
:40 row @ 97%
5:20 walk rest

AM

3 sets complete

PM

complete; a bunch of easy singles, one double 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 120

+

0:41

0:39

0:38

0:39

0:40

0:38

+

209m

209m

207m

Solid day! And it was really nice to do my normal Thursday stuff without feeling rushed. 

Muscle-ups felt great, but kept hesitating on the double for some reason. 

Pleased with the hang snatches today - these went much better than last week. Deadlifted 125 and it felt heavy, gave up. 

Split jerk / double under combo was really solid today. All split jerks crisp and easy, all double-unders unbroken. Huzzah!

Row sprints are getting gross. 0:40 is a long time. 

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. Split jerk, take your time and build to a heavy single for the day
+
5 sets even - focus on snatch quality:
2 power snatches (drop from the top & reset between reps)
10 bar-facing burpees
30 double-unders
2:00 walk rest
+
3 sets:
:30 row @ 97%
4:30 walk rest

AM

3 sets complete

PM

complete, just a handful of singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 210 (PR+5)

+

1:23 @115

1:20 @115

1:21 @115

1:27 @120

1:16 @120

+

157m

157m

155m

Continuing the trend of the best training week I've had in a long time...

Muscle-ups felt just okay.  Re-ripped a spot on the very first rep, so just did a few singles and decided to spend more time on the split jerks.

Split jerks felt so easy.  This is awesome.  Made bigger jumps than I usually do (125-155-175-190-200-210). Unracked 215 and chickened out, but with how easy 210 felt, I could probably get 215 soon.  Thumbs up.

5 sets went well.  Most of the power snatches felt really crisp; mentally "squat snatched" them, but didn't ride any of them below parallel.  Tricking myself is totally working.  Bar-facing burpees were nice and steady.  Double-unders all unbroken (or tripped at 29...grrrr) except for the 4th set, which had 3 trips and thus explains the time difference.

Row sprints were row sprints.  

Happy birthday to me!  The split jerk PR was definitely fueled by two cupcakes at work. Then, celebrated with dinner (and a margarita!) at Mazunte with Austin, Mark, Conner, Brandie, Emily and Chelsea.  I love these people.

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. Split jerk clusters, 5 x 1.1; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
+
Every :90 for 9 sets, score as total successful power snatch pounds:
5 burpees + 1 power snatch attempt
+
3 sets:
:25 row @ 97%
4:05 walk rest

AM

4 sets complete

PM

complete, 4 singles and 3 doubles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 155, 165, 175, 185(1.F), 185

+

1035 (115x9)

+

130m

130m

129m


Muscle-ups felt pretty good, all were easy reps except the second on the very last double (low catch).  Almost had a triple on the first double, but no cigar.

Split jerks weren't nearly as crisp as last week, but they still felt pretty good.  Didn't exactly fail that second rep at 185, but I picked up the bar really weird off the blocks and it just felt wrong on the dip so I dumped it.  Wanted to get a bit higher, but between how late it was getting and how less-crisp they were feeling compared to last week, I called it there.

9 sets thing was interesting.  90 seconds was a lot of time, even with very slow burpees and a very deliberate set up at the bar.  I almost put 120 on the bar several times, but the reps at 115 weren't really crisp enough for me to feel confident that I wouldn't miss an attempt at 120.  I couldn't decide if I was being too cautious, or if I was being smart.  I ended up telling myself that if I was in a competition and we're going for max total pounds, an extra 5lbs doesn't make that much of a difference compared to a missed 115lbs.  

Completely out of gas by the time I got to the row sprints - couldn't get below 1:33-1:34.  Had two interruptions to the training, which added about an hour to the time it took me to get through everything, and meant that it had been a very long time since lunch.  

One of those interruptions was Mike Kesthely - we were having a hard time scheduling a Skype call that worked for both of us, so we ended up just talking on the phone.  He's giving me an additional 20g carbs on Fridays :) (150P/60F/260C M/W/Th/S/S, 150P/55F/300C Tues, 150P/55F/320C Fri).  Pancakes for everyone!

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.  

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... 

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.  

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.

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. 

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.

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 from blocks (just below knees), 5 x 1.1 @ 95-105; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
C. Push press, 2-2-2-2, 21X1; 2:00 rest
+
Every 2:00 for 6 sets:
1 rope climb
5 strict handstand push-ups
+
3 sets:
4/side KB snatches, tough but fast - complete 4 consecutive on 1 side, then 4 consecutive on the other
150m row @ max effort
4:30 walk rest

AM

complete, but rolled the mobility into the 5 sets

PM

complete, 8 singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 105, 105(1.F.1), 105(1.F), 95, 100 - no hook grip

C. 145(1), 140, 140, 145

+

0:26

0:26

0:22

0:22

0:22

0:21
(what?!)

+

0:58 (0:29.4 row)

0:55 (0:29.6 row)

0:54 (0:29.7 row)

with 35lb kettlebell

Felt extremely stiff this morning on the first FLR, so decided to blend the mobility into the 5 sets... 

Totally rough evening session.  I feel physically exhausted from a month of the new work schedule, and mentally exhausted from trying to learn new things quickly, as well as from a demoralizing meeting with my new boss immediately before training this afternoon.  Things will get better, it's just been a bear of an adjustment.

I had been so excited to try out Austin's new muscle-up technique all week (looking up throughout the whole thing for a straight-arm catch), and I'm disappointed that it's not really helping me catch any higher.  A few of the singles were solid, and a few were still caught very low.  No misses, only one attempt at a double and it wasn't close.

Power snatches were slow, soft, and sloppy.  Blocks were set so the bar was mid-kneecap (lower than last week), which was a very awkward height to start from (I remember having this problem last time I progressed through the descending blocks).  Terrible, ugly reps. I don't know what the problem was, other than the awkward position. Tried to hook grip on one set, but thumb isn't ready for that yet.

Push press felt AWFUL.  As soon as I unracked the bar each time, it felt heavy and I felt like there was no way I could get it overhead.  Almost had the second rep on the first set, but was maybe an inch away from locking it out.  There is no world in which I should be failing a 145lb push press.

But then that rope climb / strict handstand push-up thing happened, and I felt like a million bucks.  Rope climbs were fast and easy, and the descent was like fire-pole style.  Zero transition time kicking up at the wall, and all strict hspus unbroken.  This is insane.  Every time I looked up at the clock, I assumed that there was a mistake.

Had a hard time snatching the kettlebell when warming up for the final piece, which is why I stuck with the lighter weight.  I completely forgot the corkscrew method and was whipping it up and the kettlebell would slam into the top of my forearm each time, so I thought that there's no way I could go up in weight.  The first set also went like this, but then on the second arm on the second set I finally remembered the corkscrew and so the final set was a million times easier.  Only saw 1:33 on the first row, bottomed out at 1:34 on the second and third.  Felt like I just had nothing left by the time I got to this piece.

Skyped with Mike last night.  We're both frustrated, but he says he has a plan and he's still confident that we can find something that works.  He's like, "What's your goal weight again? 145?" and I laughed hysterically and said at this point I'd be happy with 159 (162.6 today).  He's assuming that there are some changes in body comp going on despite the plateau on the scale, which I may or may not agree with (depending on the lighting).  Keeping macros at 150/60/240 for a little longer, but adding a refeed day on Fridays (150/55/300).  His next ideas are messing with my PWO shake (currently 20P/40C) or dropping my daily macros just a hair to have a bigger difference with the refeed day.  I feel good (other than today) and it's not terribly difficult to hit these numbers, so I'll continue trucking along... I've been compliant for too long to just say "fuck it" this late in the game, although Mike said that I can eat all the pancakes and gelato I like on Fridays (within the macros), so that kind of helps with the monotony.

Sorry for the novel.  Just one of those days.

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 work 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 (these should feel easy, by the way, think of it as core activation similar to the bear crawls), 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch clusters from blocks (just above knees), 5 x 1.1 @ 105; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
C. Push press, 3-3-3, 21X1; 2:00 rest
+
For reps:
3:00 rope climbs
3:00 rest
3:00 strict handstand push-ups
+
3 sets:
7 kettlebell swings, 70
150m row @ max effort
4:30 walk rest

AM

complete @ home
forgot the mobility

PM

complete

+

A1. complete 

A2. complete 

B. complete - no hook grip

C. 135, 145(2), 140 - nanos, no belt

+

6 rope climbs 

30 strict handstand push-ups 

+

0:51 (0:29.2 row)

0:49 (0:29.5 row)

0:50 (0:29.7 row)


Totally mixed day.  Digging the higher volume though... 

Muscle-ups were better than they were on Sunday, but not nearly as good as they were last week.  Did 9 singles, no misses, but all with very low catches.  Tried getting some tips for a higher catch from Jeff and Austin, but nothing really clicked.  Thinking that I need some instruction for this tech work if I'm going to make any progress... 

Power snatches went well; for some reason my chest/scaps/lats were all a bit sore (DB bench?) so I didn't feel as tight in the set-up, but speed under the bar has gotten much better.  

Push press felt okay, but I was reminded that I don't know how to drive with my legs on these.

Completely bitched out on the rope climbs.  The first 3 were done super fast (under 0:60), and I mistakenly entertained the thought that I could get 8-9 reps. Then the next 2 took a full minute, and I looked at the clock with 0:50 remaining and decided that wasn't enough time for two climbs so I stood there for 0:35.  Fucking lame.  Should have been 7.  

But those strict handstand push-ups!  2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3, then all doubles plus one single at the buzzer.  At least I have measurably improved at something in the past 6 months.

Enjoyed the mixed sprinting, as per usual.  The row started off feeling excellent and faded a bit with each set (although I did see 1:33 for at least one pull on all sets).  I don't know why I let the 70lb bell intimidate me, because these felt awesome.

Tuesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1, off every 1000m for 3/side moderate/tough KB windmills

PM
A. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :60 rest
B1. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 3 x 4-6; :60 rest
B2. 1 toes-to-bar + 1 CTB pull-up, 3 x 4 (so 8 reps total, 4 of each, goal is unbroken); 2:00 rest
+
10:00 @ 80%:
10 alternating shoulder taps facing wall (top of wall walk)
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
5 perfect ring push-ups
10 moderate Russian kettlebell swings, nothing above 53
+
3 rounds not for time:
:30/side plank
200m jog

@ Active

AM

complete with 53lb windmills

PM

A. complete 

B1. 168(6), 173(4), 173(4) on fat bar

B2. complete on fat bar

+

5 rounds even with 53lb swings 

+

complete


Today was much better than yesterday! Much less demoralizing.

Supinated pull-ups are so uncomfortable for my wrists/elbows, but it's crazy how strong and easy the actual pulling is with that grip. Limited by the amount of time holding the supinated position, could have probably gotten 4 reps with a bit more weight.

The TTB/CTB combo was really fun!  I was able to butterfly out of the CTB right into the next TTB, then a normal gymnastics kip out of the TTB.  Cool beans.

Pushed the 10:00 piece closer to 90% - just kept a steady pace throughout, with smooth transitions.  Hard to find a place to slow down on this.

Ready to add some different stuff in the mix... (insert grimace emoji with all the teeth).

Friday

AM
5000m row @ Z1, off every 1000m for 4 alternating Turkish get-ups, light

PM
A. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :60 rest
B1. Weighted pull-up, 3-2-1; :60 rest
B2. CTB pull-up clusters, 3 x 4.4.4 (each 4 must be unbroken; short rest between 4s, 2:00 rest
+
15:00 @ 80%:
3 wall walks
50m tough Farmer's walk
10 burpees
25 row calories
+
3 rounds not for time:
10 light kettlebell swings
:30/side plank
200m jog

@ Active

AM

complete; subbed 4/side kettlebell windmills @35

PM

A. complete 

B1. 26(3), 35(3), 42.5(1) @167.8, pronated on fat bar

B2. 2 sets complete, 4.3.2 on 3rd set, all butterflied on fat bar 

+

3 rounds + 3 wall walks with 70/hand for Farmer's walk 

+

complete with 35lb kettlebell swings 

Knee is still a little too bruised/tender to kneel on it, so opted out of the TGUs. 

Bear crawls were easy. 

One of the coaches tipped me off to grippier bars - they are homemade bars hanging from the garage door frame made of aluminum pipe from Home Depot. They're fat, but nice and grippy! The bars on their rig are seriously useless.  Weighted pull-ups felt good, did the extra rep at 35 because I knew I could get it (PR for 3). All CTBs butterflied and smooth, until I almost ripped on the last set and dropped off early. 

15:00 piece was fine, felt good to breathe. Burpees are back to normal. 70/hand is the heaviest they have, more moderate than tough. 

No issues with the NFT piece. Jogging is totally fine, and now that the swelling is 99% gone, knee doesn't even have that weird feeling. Huzzah!

Extremely relieved with how well the knee is coming along! 

Sunday

A1. Weighted pull-up, 3 x 2-3; :60 rest
A2. CTB pull-ups, 3 x 5-10 unbroken; 2:00 rest
+
10:00 @ 80%:
15 row calories
9 burpees
3 strict dips
+
2 rounds not for time:
10 light kettlebell swings to feel it out
:30/side plank
200m jog

A1. +20, +30, +40(2) @166.5

A2. 9, 9, 9 (butterflied!)

+

4 rounds even with push-up burpees 

+

complete with 35lb kettlebell

Went up with Mark, Lea and Emily to watch Chelsea, Brandie and Duprie yesterday - super proud of my fit friends, and a little (ok, a lot) antsy to do a competition soon.  Ended up going 10 hours without icing or elevating my knee... which I'm feeling today. Not painful, just a lot more swollen today than it has been in a few days.  Lesson learned. 

Pull-ups felt AWESOME. Those are PRs for a triple and a double, pronated. Butterfly CTBs were on point today, really, really excited about this. A little nervous that I'm going to forget how to do these while I'm in CA on their shitty, slippery bars.

ROM on the erg was a lot better than the other day - almost back to normal, still shorting the return just a hair, but barely noticeable, and none of that sharp pain. Kept the pace moderate, around 800cal/h. My normal burpee style is pretty hard on my knees (they always get bruised), and my incisions are still tender and my knee cap feels like it's still deeply bruised from surgery, so I modified these to controlled push-up burpees. Felt good to breathe a bit. 

No issues at all with the kettlebell swings. I was very nervous for the jogging, but this ended up being totally fine. The impact felt weird with each step, but not painful. Shocked that I'm running 11 days post-op. Cool. 

AM weight @ home: 162.0

Saturday

AM
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off every 5:00 for :30 front leaning rest on ground

PM
A. Deadlift, build to max for the day
B. Close-grip bench press, 3 x 5-8, 30X1; 2:30 rest
+
5 sets:
:10 AirDyne @ max effort
2:20 rest
+
3 rounds not for time:
:30/side plank
:30 Sorensen hold

AM

complete

PM

A. 295, 310F, 305F

B. 115(8), 125(6), 125(6)

+

complete 

+

complete 

Deadlifts were shockingly heavy - 295 felt very slow. Barely broke 310 and 305 off the ground.  Stephen tried to talk me off the ledge afterward, asking whether I'd rather do 5 unbroken muscle-ups or deadlift 340 - and the clear answer is the muscle-ups.  Logically, I understand that some things need to be sacrificed to make improvements in others, and I'm so, so happy with the gymnastics and aerobic improvements over the last year.  It's just hard to not even come close to matching something I did 2+ years ago. I've always felt confident knowing how strong I was, until now - I agree that I don't need to get stronger, but I don't really want to get weaker... 

Everything else was fine.  Nice casual afternoon in the gym :)

Sunday

A. Good morning, build to a tough but perfect triple, 32X1
B. DB external rotation, 1 x AMRAP up to 8/side @ 10% of tested CGBP, 30X0
C. Powell raise, 1 x AMRAP up to 8/side @ 10% of tested CGBP, 30X0
D. Trap 3, 1 x AMRAP up to 8 @ 10% of tested CGBP, 30X0
E. Side plank, 1 x max hold/side up to :90
F. Sorensen hold, 1 x max hold up to 2:00
+
Not for time:
1200m moderate sled drag outdoors

A. 125

B. 8/8 @ 15

C. 8/8 @ 15

D. 8 @ 15/hand with questionable height 

E. 0:90/0:90

F. 1:28

+

complete with 70 on the sled 

EVERYTHING HURTS. I am so freaking sore... 

Have very limited experience with good mornings, so I'm not sure if 125 was lame orrrrr.... The tempo got tricky on the 3rd, so I called it there.  

No issues with the external rotation or the Powell raise, but I couldn't even do one trap 3 to an acceptable height with 15/hand. I don't know if I had the incline bench to the wrong level (first notch on the black one)? I know I've gotten much stronger with the scap stuff over the past year, so there's something fishy going on. 

0:90 side plank was an absolute max on both sides, barely made it and was pretty shaky for the last 0:20. Limiter on the right was wrist discomfort and shoulder stability on the left. 

Sorensen hold was tough - I think I've only done this once right when I started. Low back got super tight and hamstrings started cramping. I know for sure that this score is embarrassing...