Wednesday

AM
20:00 easy:
500m row
50m heavy reverse sled drag
5 strict knees-to-elbows
50m bear crawl
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Back squat (no chains), 8 x 3 @ 50% 1RM, 10X1 - emphasis on depth & speed; begin a set every :60
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 2-1-1, 31X0; 2:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 10:00:
135 double-unders
90 wall balls, 14 to 10'
max CTB pull-ups in remaining time
+
3 sets:
20m double KB/DB overhead carry
rest as needed

AM

snow day, subbed 45:00 mixed AirDyne and mobility

PM

A. complete @ 150

B. 45(2), 53, 63 @ 168.5 (PR)

+

21 CTBs

+

35, 35, 53, 53 


Sad to skip today's AM - hopefully I can make it up tomorrow.  I like this combo.

Back squats felt okay, it was weird to not have chains.

Weighted CTBs finally felt better this week.  The 63 was collarbone-to-bar, I think that's legit?

AMRAP was just okay - kind of disappointed with the whole thing.  Double-unders didn't really cooperate, mostly sets of 20-30, with a few smaller sets (took just under 2:30).  Wallballs in sets of 10 through 70, then a 7/6/7 to finish (at exactly 8:00).  Tried to butterfly CTBs, that didn't last long (3/3/3/2/singles).  The singles were way faster, I should have just done that the whole way through.  Meh. I took way too long picking up the ball (classic), and just overall feel like I should be scoring much better on things like this.  This doesn't bode well for the Open.

Did 4 sets of the OH carry, because the 35s were so easy it shouldn't have counted.  Had a hard time cleaning the 53s, but once they were in the front rack it was easy to get them overhead and walk with them.  

Wednesday

AM
20:00 easy:
500m row
50m heavy reverse sled drag
5 strict knees-to-elbows
50m bear crawl
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Back squat w/chains, 12 x 3 @ 45% 1RM on bar, 10X1 - emphasis on depth & speed; begin a set every :60
B. Axle overhead walking lunge, 3 x 20m @ 80; 2:00 rest
C. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 2-2-2, 31X0; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
75 double-unders
75 wall balls, 14 to 10'
75 double-unders
+
3 rounds not for time:
10 CTB pull-ups
20m 1-arm DB overhead carry

AM

2 rounds + 250m row, with 250 on the sled

PM

A. complete @ 135

B. complete 

C. 40, 45, 50(1) @ 166.75

+

7:27

+

complete-ish

75, 80, 80 overhead 

Enjoyed the morning piece a lot! 

Back squats felt fast and easy again, huzzah!

Axle lunge feels easier and easier each week. 

Weighted CTBs did not feel great. I knew I shouldn't have increased for the last set. 

Ugh, I was dreading the 75 wallballs all week. 10' is no joke. I actually missed the target on the first two attempts, so I dropped the ball and regrouped, then hit 15/10s. I took a reeeeeeeeally long time picking up the ball each time. Shoulders were tired but also I just was having a hard time pushing it. The second set of double-unders wasn't great, lots of trips (tripped at 31 and 67 on the first set).  Not my best effort, and I'm happy to hand this off to Emily for the competition. 

CTBs were rough today. Rhythm felt off and I had a few reps where my chest didn't actually touch the bar, but I didn't add on any extra reps because my hands felt 2 pulls away from tearing. Did 10 unbroken on the first and last set, 5/4/1 on the second. Ugh. At least I ended on a solid note with the overhead carry. I like these a lot. Side note: do we not have an 85lb? 

Wednesday

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

PM
A. Back squat w/chains, 10 x 3 @ 45% 1RM on bar, 10X1 - emphasis on depth & speed; begin a set every :60
B. Axle overhead walking lunge, 3 x 15m @ 80; 2:00 rest
C. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 3 x 2-3, 31X0; 2:00 rest
+
4 rounds:
10 CTB pull-ups
15 wall balls, 14 to 10'
2:00 walk rest
+
3 rounds not for time:
25m 1-arm Farmer's walk
25m 1-arm DB overhead carry

AM

skipped; early morning at work

PM

A. complete @ 135

B. complete 

C. 35, 40(2), 40(2) @168.5

+

0:56

0:46 

1:04 

1:12 

+

100 Farmer's walk 

55, 70, 70 overhead


Feeling a million times better than yesterday, but still not 100%.  Blah.

Back squats felt great, probably the best they have in this cycle.  All buried and fast.

Axle lunge felt a lot better than last week, too.

Weighted pull-ups felt heavy.

First two rounds of the CTB/wallball piece were AWESOME, with unbroken butterflied pull-ups.  Pull-ups on the third round fell apart, and I'm not entirely sure why.  Did 6 butterfly then dropped off the bar, then couldn't find the rhythm again and the remaining 4 were horribly out of rhythm with long hangs between reps.  The same thing happened on the 4th set except it was 5 butterflied, then 5 hanging / out of rhythm, even though I felt like I rested long enough before jumping back up.  I wonder if the same thing would have happened if I did 5/5 from the start?  I really want to be comfortable with bigger sets though... argh.  All wallballs unbroken, and no issues throwing the ball 10 feet in the air, but accuracy needs work.

Enjoyed the 1-arm stuff.  There's room to go a bit heavier overhead.

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 clusters, 5 x 1.1; :10-:15 between singles, 2:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 8:00:
1 muscle-up
1 front squat from the ground, 145
2 muscle-ups
2 front squats from the ground, 145
3 muscle-ups
3 front squats from the ground, 145
and so on...
+
3 sets not for time:
:10-:15 L hang from bar accumulation
:10-:15 L sit on parallettes
5 moderate DB upright rows (both arms at same time)

AM

35:00 of row, wallballs, run, FLR

+

shoulder pre-hab

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. 120, 120, 120, 125, 125(1.F)

+

4 + 4 MUs

+

complete
0:15 across for both
35/hand


Snatches felt better than last week, but still not crisp at all.  There was a couple of weeks where they were feeling great, I don't know what happened to that.  

Muscle-ups felt awesome again today!  I did the set of 2 unbroken, otherwise all singles with reasonably high catches.  Attempted a double on the very last set at the buzzer to close out the round of 5, but it wasn't even close.  Probably took just a hair too much rest between singles, I could probably push the pace a bit without risking failure.  But, here's why I didn't push it:

First time squat cleaning since pre-surgery, and it went terribly.  Warming up, 125 felt like 175 and I just lost all motivation to do this entire workout.  I just got really sad thinking that something that I have classically been good at is now a huge weakness and I don't have anything that stands out as a strength anymore.  Only squat cleaned the first 145, and I could barely stand up with it, so I ended up power cleaning then front squatting.  In metcons, no belt, and no wrist wraps (which was also challenging, I rely on those a lot but I didn't want to wear them on muscle-ups).  This blows.

Didn't even want to do the not for time stuff, I just wanted to go home.  

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 clusters, 5 x 1.1.1; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
+
5-4-3-2-1 for time:
Muscle-ups
Wall balls, 30 to 9
+
3 sets not for time:
:10 L hang from bar accumulation
:10 L sit on parallettes
5 moderate DB upright rows (both arms at same time)

AM

45:00 complete of row, handstand walk, jog, FLR

+ a little shoulder pre-hab

PM

MobilityFit clinic

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 115 across

+

9:32

+

complete
35/hand


Didn't want to rush through either the AM or PM session today, so opted to train after the mobility clinic.  Also, figured that would serve as most of my warm-up...

Snatches didn't feel very crisp today, so decided to stick with a moderate weight that carried no risk of failure.  Probably a 50/50 split of true squat snatch and low/parallel power snatch.

Muscle-ups felt terrible today.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong or differently.  All singles, no fails but almost all extremely low catches.  And no discernible kip on the dip, which made a few of these very, very slow lock-outs.  This is so aggravating.  30lb wallballs were challenging; hit myself in the face once, lost my balance more than a few times, but never dropped the ball within a set.

L-sit on parallettes was surprisingly challenging after the L-hang.  Normally 0:10 wouldn't be anything to write home about.

Really enjoyed Drew's clinic.  Honestly, my biggest take-away was that I've been doing a pretty good job keeping up with lower body mobility on my own.  None of the stretches was particularly unpleasant, and nothing felt tight or like it really needed stretching.  After the clinic was over, I asked Drew about that pesky trigger point on the outside of my upper calf (right below the knee) which has been bothering me the entire time that my knee had been injured, so... 16 months? I can't get to it on my own, and Balza has only been able to get it once, so Drew suggested dry needling.  Now that I have real health insurance, I might see if he can knock it out.  It's more of an annoyance than anything, but I'd be very happy to see it go.

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 clusters, 3 x 1.1.1.1.1; :10 between singles, 2:30 rest
+
For reps:
5:00 muscle-ups
:60 rest
3:00 wall balls
:60 rest
:60 double-unders
+
3 sets not for time:
:15 L hang from bar accumulation
6 moderate DB upright rows (both arms at same time)

AM

20:00 AirDyne @ Z1

+

10:00 mobility

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. 115, 120, 125(F#4)

+

12

70, 14 to 9'

74

+

complete with 35/hand


Everything felt great today!

Snatches felt really crisp for the most part; didn't video, but I'm guessing 90% of these were a low power, not full squat.  Don't really know what happened on that one miss, I think I just got a little lazy.  Took an extra 0:10 then hit the 5th rep, no prob.

Muscle-ups felt really good... don't think I can really score much higher than this until I'm stringing some together.  Did 3 in the first minute, then 2 in minutes 2-4, and 3 in the last minute.  No fails, no issues, but not confident at all to try for any doubles. 

Wallballs felt pretty good in the beginning.  Broken 20/15/15/10/10.  Shoulders got pretty fatigued in the last minute.

Double-unders cooperated for the most part; tripped at 41, then small sets after that.

Sad to see Kellie go... it was so nice having her around this week! 

LOVE

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. Snatch gauntlet, 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 tough but not maximal; begin a rep every :90-2:00
+
AMRAP in 12:00:
1 muscle-up
5 wall balls, 20 to 10'
+
3 sets not for time:
:10 L hang from bar
6 light DB upright rows (both arms at same time)

AM

skipped

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. 115, 120, 125x5

+

13 (+1 MU fail at the buzzer)

+

complete with 30/hand 

So happy Kellie is here! She landed at 5:40am, so skipped the z1.

Snatches didn't feel nearly as crisp as last week, but no misses. I didn't video these, but I have a feeling all were power except the very first rep at 125 which was decidedly squat, my knee told me so :/ Fuckkkkkkk.  It doesn't hurt like it used to, but it's not 100%.

AMRAP was just okay - wallballs were really tough, and had a few reps that didn't quite make it to 10'.  The first few muscle-ups were pretty easy, but had to slow down a touch in the middle when I started catching them really, really low.  Also I felt really crowded during these, there were so many people right around the rings that I felt a little less comfortable generating a big kip, which sounds stupid because I probably wouldn't have kicked anyone.  Had 0:10 left after the 13th round of wallballs, and I knew before I even jumped up to the rings that it wouldn't happen, but tried anyway.

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. Snatch gauntlet, 1 every :60 starting @ 85 and adding 5 every :60
+
AMRAP in 10:00:
90 double-unders
60 wall balls, 14 to 10'
max rope climbs in remaining time
+
3 sets not for time:
:25 L-sit on parallettes
6 light DB upright rows (both arms at same time)

AM
45:00 complete, just row, mobility and shoulder prep

PM
A1/A2. complete 

B. 140 (PR +5 for any snatch, and it was power!), 145Fx2

+

8

+

complete, 30/hand 

+

bonus 800m sled drag with Chels, 60

Another solid training day. 

Super happy with the snatch PR!!! I have video, but it's too ugly to post (just kidding, I posted it here: 125-130-135-140-145F-145F).  Everything up to 135 was pretty crisp, all power (this is so weird). Soft elbows on the catch on the 140, and feet were pretty wide, but the pull felt really good. Two nice pulls at 145 to chin level, this will come soon. I love gauntlets. 

10:00 piece was tough. Double-unders cooperated for the most part, tripped at 60 and 79. Wallballs to the 10' target got tough, broken 15/15/10/10/10, and really focused on depth.  Arms/shoulders were pretty tired when I got to the rope (4:30ish), and grip got completely blown up after the first 2 or 3 climbs. Finished the 7th climb with 1:10 to go and completely bitched out and decided that wasn't enough time for 2, so rested until the 9:30 mark then did the 8th climb. Way better than it used to be, but still not satisfied. 

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. 1 hang squat snatch + 1 squat snatch, 1-1-1-1-1 starting moderate and adding a bit each set; :10 between movements, 2:00 rest
+
For time:
5 muscle-ups
15 wall balls, 14 to 9'
4 muscle-ups
15 wall balls
3 muscle-ups
15 wall balls
2 muscle-ups
15 wall balls
1 muscle-up
+
3 sets not for time:
:20 L-sit on parallettes
8 light DB upright rows (both arms at same time

AM

40:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off twice for a few minutes of mobility

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. 115, 115, 120, 125(1.F), 125 (videos)

+

10:47

+

complete 

20, 25, 25lb dumbbells

+

bonus 800m sled drag with Emily and Chelsea, 45 on the sled 

Today was great. I have some fun stuff this week, this is very exciting. 

Snatches felt off today, I don't really know what the issue was. I videoed all these to watch technique, and noticed that hip extension seems kind of pathetic, and also noticed that every single one of these reps was power. Errrrrr yeah, I have absolutely zero sense of this while I'm snatching, I just try to get under it and then stand up without really paying attention to where parallel is. I knew none of these reps was a super deep catch, but I was really surprised to see how high some of them were. Can I just think of snatching as snatching, and not distinguish between power and squat? 

Muscle-up / wallball thing was really fun. All singles on the muscle-ups, a few really low catches but no misses; toyed with the idea of trying a few doubles, but I wasn't catching any of them high enough to feel confident for a double. Wallballs all unbroken, no issues at all. 

0:20 L-sit is about the limit of making these pretty.

Added the sled drag because I was done early, it was a nice day, and all the cool kids were doing it. 

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.  

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!

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...

Saturday

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

PM
A. Power clean, 10:00 to build to a tough single - stop before feet move out
B. Clean pull w/drop from top, 1-1-1-1-1 @ 110-115% of A; 2:00 rest
C. Barefoot single-leg Romanian deadlift, 2 x 6-8/leg, 31X1; :90 between legs
D1. Shoulder press, 3 x 3-4, 21X1; :60 rest
D2. 1-arm DB row w/straps, 3 x 3-4/arm, 21X0; :30 between arms, :60 rest
+
3-5 attempts:
best row pace in 5 pulls (recommend damper @ 10 and long, very aggressive pulls right from the start)
full recovery - go again when you feel like you can rip it
+
1500m easy row cool-down

AM

60:00 complete with row, mobility, 20" box jumps and 6lb wallballs

PM
A. 145, 155F - nanos, no belt, no hook grip 

B. complete @ 165

C. 85, 95(7)

D1. 100, 105(3), 105(3)

D2. 65, 70, 75(3)

+

1:28

1:27

1:26

1:26

1:26

+

complete

Cycled through row and mobility a few times, then switched the mobility for air squats and step-ups, then graduated to box jumps and wallballs.  Box jumps felt great, no issues whatsoever. Wallballs also felt great, I didn't video these today but I know I'm definitely going as deep as I always have, and if that's not ATG, I'm not going to stress over it.  Tried one wallball with the 14lb ball, and while I think my knee would have been fine, my thumb was not.

Power cleans felt super crisp and easy through 145, although it felt super weird to do these without a hook grip (I hook gripped these while in CA when I thought it was just jammed and I told myself to just suck it up). Pulled 155 plenty high, but wasn't able to get my elbows around fast enough and caught my thumb a little weird, so I called it there. Clean pulls were okay. I'm really digging doing some of this stuff without all the gear. 

Single leg RDLs went much better this week, perhaps because I was barefoot? Not nearly as wobbly. 

Shoulder press and dumbbell rows felt great. 

Kind of annoyed at the row sprints - pretty sure that with practice and better technique, I could get below 1:25. 

Tuesday

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

PM
A. Split jerk, build to a heavy (not max) single
B. Power snatch clusters from blocks (mid-thigh), 5 x 1.1 adding a bit from 08.16 :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
C1. Weighted walking lunge steps, 3 x 15m moderate; :60 rest
C2. Ring rows, 3 x 5-8 in challenging set-up, 20X2; :60 rest
+
5 sets:
5 burpees
5 heavy Russian KB swings
100m row @ high effort (whatever that means for you now)
3:30 walk rest
+
800m walk cool-down

AM

35:00 complete with jog, mobility, ski erg and 6lb wallballs

PM

A. 185

B. 100, 100, 100, 105, 105 - no hook grip

C1. 40/hand across 

C2. 8 across 

+

0:48

0:47

0:46

0:46

0:46

with 88lb kettlebell
+
complete

Air squats were feeling pretty good this morning, so tested out some 6lb wallballs - no pain at all, but video revealed that depth continues to be a problem.  I seriously feel like I'm going ATG, but I'm barely breaking parallel, if at all.  Is this how my wallballs have always looked? My knee doesn't even feel that tight anymore, and with all the time I've been spending on lower body mobility, I don't really think that's the problem... Grrrrr.....

Split jerks felt pretty good; wore Olys and a belt, but after I was done I was thinking that I might have preferred jerking belt-less.  Something I might play around with.  

Power snatches were really, really tough.  This is a challenging weight for me in this set-up already, but then not being able to hook-grip made these feel even tougher.  No fails once I started, but missed 100 on the very first attempt then re-started the whole thing a few minutes later.  I took exponentially longer in my set-up for each attempt (so much that the 0:10 between singles drifted toward 0:20), making sure the bar was exactly where I wanted it in my hand and concentrating on tight lats.  I just don't feel aggressive at all when I feel like the bar is going to fly out of my hands.  Now that I'm writing this, this is how I was feeling when snatching with the men's bar, but I was able to tie my 1RM without a hook grip, so maybe I should just grow a pair.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me to just HOLD the weights for the weighted lunges last week... this was so much easier.  Similar set-up on the ring rows as last week, just an inch above horizontal at the bottom position, arms straight underneath the rings.  Last couple of reps on each set were definitely tough with this tempo.  I guess adding a box under the feet is the next progression?

Loved the 5 sets - this is definitely my favorite type of unpleasant training.  Considered the 100lb kettlebell, but I'm glad I didn't... no hesitation picking up the 88, but I think I might have taken an extra breath to pick up the 100.  Never broke under 1:35/500m today.

Tuesday

AM
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off every 5:00 for 2 dead hang to inverted

PM
A. Paused front squat, build to a max, 22X1
B. Weighted pronated CTB pull-up (include body weight in score), build to a 1RM, 21X0
C. Wall balls, 1 x max unbroken @ 14 to 9
+
2000m row @ Z1

AM
complete

PM

A. 235

B. 186

C. 54
+

complete 

AM weight @ home: 165.7

What an underwhelming first day of testing.  

Front squats felt really tough with the extended pause.  Can't believe I front squatted 260 last year (and with a pause! only 0:01, but still).

I've never done weighted CTB pull-ups, so I didn't know what to expect here.  Failed to connect twice with an added 2.5.  Score of 186 is total scale-weight of me, Oly shoes, belt, and 15lbs of plates.

I also wasn't sure what to expect on the max wall balls - I've never done more than 25.  Going into this, I was pretty confident I could hit 50, but wasn't sure where I'd end up beyond that.  These felt great through 35 then started to get a little rough.  In the upper 40's I was really struggling, and reps 53 and 54 BARELY hit the target.  My shoulders were just smoked; I tried jumping with my legs more so that my arms wouldn't have to work so hard, but then accuracy of hitting the target was off.  The ball never felt heavy, I think it was just the repetitive motion without a break that got to be fatiguing.  I also thought 50 would have been a reasonably good score, but apparently not... dammit.

Here's hoping the rest of testing is a little more exciting.

PS - I've been eating super strict lower carb paleo for 12 days and my weight has. not. budged.  This is why I gave up dieting.  

Tuesday

AM
shoulder prep
+
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off every 5:00 for 2 dead hang to inverted

PM
A. Squat snatch gauntlet, 1 every :90 starting @ 95 and adding 5 every :90
B. Handstand walk, 1 x 100' for time
+
3 rounds for even times:
400m run hard
21 wall balls, 14 to 10'
3 rope climbs
4:00 walk rest
+
10:00 AirDyne @ Z1

AM
complete

PM

A. 135 (PR +5), 140Fx2

B. 1:01 (50/40/10)

+

6:04

7:15

7:41 

+

complete 

HOORAY FOR A SNATCH PR!! Gauntlets are the best. These felt great today. I spent a little extra time doing some scap work this morning that I've neglected a bit over the past few weeks and I think that made a big difference in staying tight through the turnover. Really hope I don't have to wait another 12 months for the next 5lbs. 

Handstand walk has gotten faster; I really tried to kick up before I felt ready at the turn around. Lost track of where I was, I thought I was at the 30' mark on the way back and I knew I didn't have another 20' in me, so I came down on purpose, but it was actually the 40' mark and I coulda/shoulda just finished it. I kicked back up really quickly though and this didn't add any significant time. 

First round of the run/wallball/rope climb thing felt great - ran in 1:50, wallballs unbroken, and deliberate rest on the rope climbs (STILL not confident doing these under fatigue, but they are objectively much better). Ran the second 400m in 1:49 and came in and promptly hit a wall. I don't know if it was the humidity or what, but I just died. Wallballs still unbroken, but the resting at the rope got to be ridiculous. Third round was awful; run in 2:01, wallballs still unbroken but took a really long time before picking up the ball, and lots of staring at the rope wishing it was over. 

One more training day, then a much-needed break. This is the first time in 4 years that I really feel like a break is needed from a mental standpoint. 

Tuesday

AM
shoulder prep
+
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off every 5:00 for 5 thrusters @ 85 + 5 CTB pull-ups

PM
A1. Snatch, 1-1-1; 2:00 rest
A2. Handstand walk, 3 x 50'; 2:00 rest
+
3 sets:
400m run hard
20 wall balls, 14 to 10'
3:00 walk rest
+
10:00 AirDyne @ Z1

AM

complete; CTBs were butterflied!

PM

A1. 125, 130F, 130F

A2. complete, unbroken 

+

2:53 (1:56)

2:52 (1:54)

2:52 (1:53)

+

complete 

I've gotten fairly proficient with sets of 5 kipping CTB pull-ups, so I wanted to use this morning to practice butterfly - great success!  4 sets of 5 in rhythm, plus a 4/1 and a 3/2 (without dropping off the bar, just reset the kip). This is very exciting.  Just like everything else, it's all about patience and using the hips.  Funny how this is the recurring theme.

Snatches felt great, even with a men's bar! 125 was easy (jumped 95, 115, 125); caught the first 130 but lost it behind; just pulled the second 130 and chickened out on getting under it. 

Handstand walking was totally easy, even with lifting shoes and wrist wraps on for the first 2 sets. 

Paced the run slightly better than I did on Saturday, this was maybe 90-92% effort. This definitely qualified as hard, but I could have run a little faster (story of my life). All wallballs unbroken and fairly easy. Other than pulling up my knee sleeve, I had no problems immediately picking up the ball. 

Nice day :)

Saturday

AM
For time:
800m run - this is the important piece here, go as fast as possible while still being able to hit 50 wall balls under 3:00
50 wall balls, 14 to 10

PM
:60 to establish a max snatch (mandatory men's bar, you can load to your desired starting weight before the clock starts)
6:00 rest
100' handstand walk for time

AM
complete; run in 4:04

PM
125, 130F
+
1:20

Today was so much fun!  I LOVE doing these team-style workouts.  I know I said I was fine being the alternate, but I'm going to be super jealous of the team training together without me next weekend :(  I really hope that Stephen pairs me up with whoever the male alternate ends up being and we can participate throughout the next few weeks, too.  Also, I would really enjoy some team pieces sprinkled in throughout the year... it's just a really refreshing change of pace.

The run/wallball workout was actually pretty easy - I did not follow directions and paced the run quite a bit.  I'd call this a nice 85% - if Stephen has me repeat this, I can run quite a bit faster.  I haven't run much at all since last summer, and what I have done is all at a Z1 pace, so I was way too cautious. Wallballs broken 25/10/8/7, and I coulda/shoulda hung on for a bigger opening set.  I could probably do 35/15 without a problem.  The 14lb ball felt light as a feather after all the 20lb wallball shots over the past several weeks!  (I didn't get my total time, I knew Stephen was timing us all, but I have no idea where I finished.)

I was very concerned about snatching with a men's bar - snatching isn't my best move to begin with, and I've never done any Olympic lifting with a men's bar.  My hands are too small to hook grip it, so I was pretty shocked that I was able to snatch 125.  For me, I feel like the 0:60 window is too short for to add weight and make a second attempt - 2 attempts at the same weight would work if I miss the first lift, but adding the plates today ended up being really stressful and taking up too much time, and I wasn't focused for the 130 lift at all.  I really didn't mind the men's bar when all was said and done!

We split the 100' handstand walk into 2x 50' - the first 50' was easy and unbroken, and felt pretty fast.  I definitely could have kept going.  Coming down and kicking back up made the second 50' much more difficult - I could feel my form getting really shitty and my arms just felt really heavy.  Speed slowed way down, and I fell at either the 30' or 40' mark, not sure which.  If we repeat this, I'd prefer to try to go the maximum distance unbroken that the size of the gym allows (maybe 70'?) with a shorter second leg.

Anyway, super fun day with awesome teammates!

Tuesday

AM
shoulder prep
+
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1, off every 5:00 for 7 thrusters @ 65

PM
For 12:00:
Evens: 1 muscle-up
Odds: 4 tall box jumps
+
For 12:00:
Evens: 2 strict handstand push-ups
Odds: 6 alternating pistols
+
For 12:00:
Evens: 8 tough kettlebell swings
Odds: 8 wall balls, 20 to 10

AM

complete

PM

complete
30" box
+
complete
+
complete
70lb KB


Solid day! Everything felt great.  

Kind of a rude wake-up call to have thrusters first thing in the morning, but after the first set, these were fine and easy.

No fails on the muscle-ups, and these felt better on the fat rings than they have in a while.  Box jumps were really tall on the first couple of jumps, but got used to it once I got into it.

Strict handstand push-ups continue to improve.  2 sets of 2, and only one fail (trying to go for a 3rd set of 2).  Pistols were mostly great.  Knee continues to behave.

Kettlebell swings were tough but no issues.  Wallballs felt pretty easy for the most part.