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.

Wednesday

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

PM
A. Back squat w/chains, 8 x 3 @ 45% 1RM on bar, 10X1 - emphasis on depth & speed; begin a set every :60
B. Axle overhead walking lunge, 3 x 20m @ 75; 2:00 rest
C. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 3 x 3-4, 31X0; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
75 toes-to-bar, 30 double-unders every time you come off the bar
+
3 rounds as cool-down:
250m row
25 air squats

AM

complete with 45 on the sled

PM

A. complete with 135 on the bar

B. complete 

C. 20, 25, 30(3) @ 165.5

+

9:20

+

complete


Meh.  Today was rough.  Felt more beat up than I was expecting.

Back squats felt better than last week, but still felt heavier than I would like.  

Axle lunge was fine.  Didn't wear any gear, would probably prefer to wear at least wrist wraps next time.  

Weighted CTBs felt excellent.  Extremely relieved to find that my two weeks of not counting, drinking a fair bit, and dozens of Christmas cookies didn't show up on the scale.

TTB/DU went about exactly as I thought it would (terrible).  My grip felt fatigued before I even started, and no amount of rolling or stretching helped.  Did 9 sets of double-unders, all of which were unbroken which was a happy surprise.  Stopped at: 15/25/32/37/42/47/52/57/64/75.  I lost my ability to kip more than 5 reps early, but it didn't occur to me to hang on and do a few strict after the kip was gone until closer to the end (explains why the last two sets were bigger). I don't know how to do better - grip fatigue is still such a big weakness.  Probably could have snuck out with 8 sets of double-unders if I added just one or two strict to each set of 5 kipping in the middle, but it still wouldn't be a good score.  (Edited to add: remember when 75 TTB for time in sets no smaller than 5 took me 22:57?  One of my first SHE testers in September 2012.  Sigh.  Progress.  Still not satisfied.)

I have a feeling I'll be more sore from the air squats than from everything else combined.  Some cool-down.

Wednesday

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

PM
A. 1 & 1/4 front squat w/no sleeves, build to a 1RM
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, build to a 1RM (score as bodyweight + load added)
+
6 sets @ high effort:
1 bar muscle-up
5 burpees
1 bar muscle-up
:60 rest
+
3 sets @ high effort:
10 toes-to-bar
200m run
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
:90 rest

AM

complete

PM

A. 223

B. 229 (60.5 @168.5)(PR +14); pull-up PR at 231.5, but not CTB

+

7 sets attempted 

1/F

F/F

1/1

1/F

1/1

1/1

1/F

+

1:58

2:02

2:00


1&1/4 front squats felt really good.  The 223 felt extremely ugly, but didn't video.

Big PRs on the weighted CTB and weighted pull-up.  That's cool.  These felt super strong.

Missed several bar muscle-ups while warming up for the 6 sets, and started to get a little nervous.  When I finally hit one, I just counted that as the first set.  All burpees were high effort, and tried to jump back up the bar as quickly as possible with a reasonable chance of hitting the second bar muscle-up.  Overall, I guess I'm pretty happy with hitting the second one on 3 sets, considering that I thought this might be a little ambitious for my current level of bar muscle-up proficiency.  I think if I took an extra breath on those fails, I would have had more success - the "high effort" forced me to push the pace before I was certain I would get one.  And added an extra set because of the one set where I missed both.

3 sets felt awesome.  All TTB easily unbroken, FW easily unbroken, and felt really good to open up a bit on the runs - it's been a long time (June?).

Wednesday

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

PM
A. 1 & 1/4 front squat w/no sleeves, build to a 2RM
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 2-2-2, 31X0; 2:30 rest
+
6 sets:
1-2 bar muscle-up
200m easy jog
:90 rest
+
3 sets:
10 burpee toes-to-bar
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
:90 rest

AM

subbed 15:00 AirDyne @ Z1

PM

A. 203 (ugly)

B. 35, 40, 45 @167.5

+

complete, all singles 

+

complete, FW unbroken 

Happy to train today, there was a minute there this afternoon when I thought I wouldn't be able to.  Woke up feeling generally ill and like I got punched in the kidney, which got worse throughout the day.  Long story short, I have a kidney stone.  Fan-fucking-tastic.

1&1/4 front squats felt just okay; not happy with how heavy the bar felt.  193 started to get a little ugly, and probably should have stopped there considering how ugly 203 was...

Weighted CTBs felt really good.

Most of the bar muscle-ups felt good, but I still have no idea how to string two together.  Failed one rep in the middle somewhere, but rested 0:30 then hit it.

First set of burpee TTBs were awkward and slow, but found a better rhythm as the sets went on.

Wednesday

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

PM
A. 1 & 1/4 front squat w/no sleeves, 3-3-3-3 adding so that only last set is tough (no slow descent this week); 2:30 rest
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 3 x 2-3, 31X0; 2:30 rest
+
5 sets:
1 bar muscle-up
200m easy jog
:60 rest
+
5 sets:
1 rope climb
8 glute-ham sit-ups
25m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
:60 rest

AM

complete

PM

A. 123, 153, 163, 183

B. 25, 30, 35(2) @166
+
complete
+
complete

Another good day!

Front squats felt kinda heavy, and actually had a hard time getting much below parallel without the tempo on the first rep of each set.

Weighted CTBs continue to feel really strong.

Missed the first 3 or 4 attempts at a bar muscle-up, but once I made one, no further misses and, again, each rep got smoother and smoother.  

Rope climbs were nice and fast.  Walked between stations, but otherwise moved pretty steadily through everything.

Wednesday

AM
4500m row @ Z1
+
15:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

PM
A. 1 & 1/4 front squat, no sleeves, 2-2-2-2 w/:03 initial descent (quick on the rest of each rep); 2:30 rest
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 3 x 3-4, 31X0; 2:30 rest
C. Bar muscle-ups, 5:00-8:00 practice
+
For time:
7 rope climbs
35 glute-ham sit-ups
100m Farmer's walk, 100/hand
+
3 sets:
300m easy jog
2:00 walk rest

AM

complete

PM

A. 163, 173, 183, 193 (video)

B. 20, 25(3), 25(3) @165.5

C. 5/5 (video)

+

6:58 (RC in 2:49)

+

complete 

Felt kind of stiff coming into today's training, but everything actually felt pretty decent.  

Front squats felt heavier than they looked.  Form started to go a little bit at 193.

Weighted CTBs felt really strong, that's cool.  Still not very comfortable in a supinated grip, but the pulling feels easy.

Bar muscle-ups went so much better than last week!  Definitely feels like one of those things that just needs continued exposure.  No misses, and each rep got smoother and smoother.  Would have liked to keep going, but ripped.  Please enjoy Chelsea's cameo.  Spoiler alert: she's dancing.

For time piece went well, I was moving pretty steadily but not really sprinting at any part of this, so maybe I could have gone faster (but I don't really know where - FW, perhaps?).  Rope climbs felt the best they ever have, definitely slowed down on the last two reps but really don't feel like I wasted too much time staring at the rope like I usually do (5 done under 2:00, which is a PR by 1, and one more than the 3:00 tester from a few months ago).  Wanted to break the GHSU into 20/15, ended up doing 20/9/6, with the last 6 being extremely dizzy.  FW was fine, broken 25x4.

Thursday

AM
1600m very light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired

PM
A1. Bear crawl, 4 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 4 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, build to a max
+
5 rounds for time:
1 muscle-up
5 strict handstand push-ups
9 Russian kettlebell swings, 70
+
2-4 sets:
200m run @ 90% aerobic
:06 walk rest

AM

complete with 45 on the sled

PM

A1. complete 

A2. complete 

B. 215 (47.5 @167.5)

+

8:28 (missed the first attempt on round 2)

+

4 sets complete 

assumed that was a :60 rest 

Sled drag was quite enjoyable, once again.

My abs were already a little sore from yesterday's GHDs, so I felt the deadbugs just a smidge more than last week. These are still so easy that I assume I'm doing them incorrectly...

Supinated CTBs felt really good. Attempted one more with an additional 2.5 but couldn't make contact. 

5RFT piece went about exactly as I expected. Muscle ups were all caught pretty low (fat rings). Missing that one attempt cost me about 0:45. Grip was weird on that attempt, I should have jumped down and re-set. Strict hspus broken 3/2 for 4 rounds, then 2/1/1/1 in the 5th round. Pretty excited that I can sprinkle muscle ups in a piece like this, and pretty excited about those strict handstand push-ups. Progress! The coolest. 

Knee still felt like there was a little extra fluid in it on the runs (even the first one) but it doesn't hurt, so I did all 4 sets. 

Don't mind training late when it's quiet in the gym, and also while it's light out. Things may change in the winter... 

Thursday

AM
1600m very light sled drag, alternate forward & backward as desired

PM
A1. Bear crawl, 3 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :60 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 3 x 12 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :60 rest
B. Weighted supinated CTB pull-up, 4 x 2-3; 2:00 rest
+
3 rounds for time:
6 strict handstand push-ups
3 rounds of [2 toes-to-bar + 2 CTB pull-ups]
18 kettlebell swings, 53
+
2-4 sets:
300m run @ 90% aerobic
:90 walk rest

AM

complete with 45 on the sled

PM

A1. complete 

A2. complete?

B. +15, +20, +25, +30(2) @166

+

7:26

+

3 sets complete 

Loved the AM sled drag! Wouldn't mind doing this every week, while the weather is nice.

Bear crawl continues to be very easy, but I have absolutely no idea if i was doing the deadbugs correctly. I watched a number of videos and they all pretty much said the same thing, but this felt like relaxing yoga hour, not one of the "best abs exercises EVER". 

Weighted CTBs felt very strong. 166 includes belt (161.7 @ home). 

3RFT was fun! Shockingly, the strict handstand push-ups were the easiest part of the whole thing...! All broken 3/3 with minimal rest. Did all the TTB/CTBs unbroken (so 12 total), all in rhythm until the very last 2 CTBs on the 3rd round, but didn't drop off. That was fun. Definitely hesitated picking up the kettlebell - this was the hardest part of the whole thing, but all unbroken.  Thumb was fine on the swings until just about vertical, so most of the reps were about 1" shy of completely overhead.  First round was done in 2:04, so definitely slowed down a bit as the rounds went on (all in the transitions).

Knee felt great on the first two runs, then as soon as I started the 3rd, it started to feel like it was getting a little swollen.  No pain, but I'm still hesitant to push through it if it's not feeling great, so I finished out the 3rd run and called it there.  The easy jogging from the RTW on Tuesday morning bugged it a little too, but it seems like running is the only thing that is aggravating my knee right now, and it goes away pretty quickly, so I'm not worried.

Also - I noticed something, as I continue to work back into squatting.  When I'm setting up for a squat, I flare my right foot out more than my left.  I *can* squat with my feet both pointing directly forward, but what feels more natural to me is to flare my left out maybe 10-15 degrees, and right maybe 20-25 degrees.  Now that I think about it, I know that I've always done this - I distinctly remember setting up for heavy back squats, unracking the bar, taking two steps back, then adjusting my feet and flaring only my right foot, it became almost a ritual.  Anyway, while I was in CA, I went with Kellie one day to her recovery/PT guy (like a one stop shop for Drew Cook, Balza and Pete, except none of the fancy degrees), and he noticed that when I walk I flare my right foot out more than my left, and suggested that was contributing to my left knee issues, and almost certainly originates from when I fucked up my right ankle in back high school.  Since then, I've made a conscious effort to walk with both feet pointing forward, but it wasn't until today that I realized I squat with my right foot flared out too, and I wonder if that's how I tore my left meniscus.  

Tuesday

AM
5000m row @ Z1, off every 1000m for 10m single-arm overhead DB carry (switch hands @ 5m)

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 3-4; :60 rest
B2. 1 toes-to-bar + 1 CTB pull-up, 3 x 5 (so 10 reps total, 5 of each, goal is unbroken); 2:00 rest
+
10:00 @ 80%:
3 strict handstand push-ups
15 unweighted hip extensions
25m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
+
3-5 sets:
200m run @ 90% aerobic
:60 walk rest

@ Active 

AM

complete with 65lb dumbbell 

PM

A. complete

B1. +9, +14, +18(3) on fat bar 

B2. complete on fat bar

+

6 + 3 strict handstand push-ups 

+

3 sets complete 

DB overhead carry was pretty easy, but 65 was the heaviest they have. 5m felt like too short of a distance before switching... 

Pull-ups felt good. Added in a lot more of the wrist stretching, this helped. Not sure on total weight pulled, their scale was missing. Same deal as last week on the TTB/CTB combo - regular kip out of the TTB, butterfly out of the CTB and right back into a TTB. This was fun!

Felt like I was doing hip extensions for the full 10:00. Lower back got a little bit blown up toward the end. All strict HSPUs unbroken! Lots of walking between stations but no hesitation as soon as I got to the next movement. 

Knee complained quite a bit on the runs, and started to swell up within the first few steps. Pushed the pace on all 3 runs, but only did 3 just to be safe. It hasn't been this swollen in weeks, which pisses me off. Tim said to expect this to happen for a while, but it's still annoying. Blah.

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.