Monday

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. Clean thruster, build quickly to a heavy single
+
AMRAP in 6:00:
1 muscle-up
3 heavy thrusters - you pick the weight
+
3-6-9-12 for time:
Hang squat snatches, 65
Toes-to-bar
+
10:00 easy cool-down of choice

AM

45:00 of Assault bike, shoulder pre-hab, row, handstand walk

PM

A1/A1. complete 

B. 153

+

7 with thrusters @ 105

+

3:20
+
Assault bike complete


Feeling pretty beat up from Saturday, even with being off yesterday.  Back is tight and shoulders aren't happy.

The clean part of the clean thruster felt good, but the push-press part of the thruster was tough at 153, so called it there.  Definitely qualified as heavy for today.

AMRAP was tough.  Muscle-ups were just okay, only caught one rep on the high side, the rest were fairly low catches.  Had 0:10 to attempt a muscle-up at the buzzer, and couldn't turn it over (not surprised).  Not super happy with this, was hoping for 8 rounds.

For time piece was great through the 9's (all unbroken), then the 12's fell apart.  Broke the snatches 6/6, and broke the TTB 6/3/3, with the final 3 without a kip.  Happy that I was able to cycle the bar pretty fast, I wasn't sure if you could bounce the bar at the hips like you can for hang cleans, but turns out, you can!  I could tell my shoulders were just done though, they were turning over at different speeds from each other... that shouldn't ever happen, but especially not with 65lbs... 

Saturday

AM
3 sets:
1200m row @ 85% effort - moderate, sustainable, high-breathing pace
5:00 walk rest
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

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, 10:00 to build to a heavy single
C. Close-grip bench press, build quickly to heavy single
+
w/partners (comp group has the same training):
Barbell Blitz 6:00 AMRAP 1
rest as needed
Barbell Blitz 6:00 AMRAP 2
+
For total time:
250m row
:60 rest w/feet in straps
250m row

AM

5:00.7 (2:05.2/500m)

4:59.8 (2:04.9/500m)

4:59.1 (2:04.6/500m)

PM

shoulder clinic 

+

3 rough singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 135, 140Fx1

C. 180 (PR +6)

+

with Leah 

30 KB snatch + 17 pistols 

(1:00 rest)

18 S2O + 7 BBJ

+

2:41.3
(0:49.7 + 0:51.6)


Oy.  Today was a lot.

Rows at 85% were challenging.  That felt like the upper limit of sustainable, at least for right out of bed... 

Surprised at how cold my shoulders felt on the muscle-ups despite the 2 hour shoulder clinic... not nearly as good as they felt last night, so I called it early.

The snatch at 130 was one of the crispest heavy snatches I've ever done (it even sounded good!).  135 was a little wobbly, but super relieved to get it today (I think only the 3rd time ever?). (Video of both). I wasn't sure if these were actually power snatches or squat snatches, and I still can't tell on video, but after I hit 135, McNaughton said "and it was power, too!", so take that for what it's worth.  I think I'm just good at snatching at exactly parallel.  Had a nice pull at 140, then chickened out.

Kind of surprised that I hit that bench PR today - 170 wasn't as easy as I was hoping, but went for 180 just for the hell of it.  Pretty slow on the way up, and McNaughton had to yell at Leah who was spotting not to touch the bar, I think she was about ready to save me, haha.  That's cool.  180 sounds pretty legit for a chick.

The two 6:00 AMRAPs were tough.  Eeeesh.  Leah suggested that we only take the 1:00 transition like we'll have in the competition, which I wasn't super excited about but went along with because I didn't have a good reason not to.  This was unpleasant.

Leah did all the pistols and I did all the kettlebell snatches.  Through 18 was no big deal.  I don't think I slowed down at all, even in the rounds of 24 and 30, but I was starting to get pretty fatigued, and my back was getting a little blown up.  It doesn't take long for Leah to do 24 pistols, which was sad for me personally but good for us as a team.

My shoulders were wrecked going into the second AMRAP.  This is how we broke it up:
3 S2O: Leah
3 BBJ: me
6 S2O: Leah
6 BBJ: 3 for me, 3 for Leah
9 S2O: 5 for me, 4 for Leah
9 BBJ: alternated 3's
12 S2O: 6 for Leah, 3 for me, 3 for Leah --> not planned, I thought we would do 4's, but she did 6 and I couldn't match her
and we alternated 3's on everything after that
I was a hot mess on this.  I legitimately thought I might fail some reps, which was a strange and unpleasant feeling.  They were all fast, with no re-setting at the shoulders, but got pretty ugly. I even ended up split jerking in the last set.  The BBJ weren't an issue at all, my shoulders were just completely toasted.  We might need to work up a better game plan... 

Did not feel recovered at all before doing the row, but felt pressed for time at this point.  Held back just a hair on the first one, intending to empty the tank on the second, but hit a wall with 100m to go on the second one and completely lost it.  Disappointing.

Friday

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
A. Front squat (sleeves!), 3-3-3-3, 40X1; 2:30 rest
B. Axle Pendlay row, 3 x 4-5, 20X0; 2:00 rest
+
For reps:
2:00 cleans, 105
2:00 ring muscle-ups
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 4 CTB pull-ups + 4 toes-to-bar
Odds: 8 overhead squats, 75

AM

4 sets complete

subbed 0:60 FLR for side planks

PM

A. 183, 203, 208, 213

B. 120, 130, 140(3)

+

25 cleans in 1:33

5 muscle-ups

+

complete


Most of the stressful shit over the past two weeks is finally behind me, thank God.  I felt like a completely different person today, like a huge weight was lifted.

Tempo on the front squats was rough by the 3rd rep.  I don't think these were too ugly, though?

Grip was the limiter on the axle (surprise, surprise).  

Felt so much more comfortable with the lighter cleans and ring muscle-ups than the medium cleans and bar muscle-ups.  Did all quick singles on the cleans (not sure if that's what I was supposed to do?  It didn't occur to me to string any together until after I was done) - had 20 done in the first minute, then slowed down a LOT, and only accumulated 5 from 1:00-1:30.  Wanted to have the full 2:00 on the rings, so stopped early again.  Ring muscle-ups felt great, super happy that I felt able to push the pace on these and jump up and successfully get a rep before I was 100% confident it would happen.  Hoping that Leah doesn't mind doing the bar muscle-ups... it probably won't matter a ton in the grand scheme of things, and I'll do the bar muscle-ups if that's what works out better, but I felt much more confident and happier with my performance on this piece today than last week.  

EMOM was just okay.  I don't know what's going on with my CTBs this week, but the butterfly isn't feeling so hot.  Dammit.  And sorry for shorting the depth on some of the OHS - I really can't tell at all! They felt like the same depth as when I was doing the 20 squat snatches from the other day, and on video those were all super legit, not even a question, so it doesn't make sense.  Blah.

Monday

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
+
Every :90 for 8 sets:
1 muscle-up
4 unbroken thrusters, 85
+
For time:
20 squat snatches, 85
+
10:00 easy cool-down of choice

AM

40:00 mixed AirDyne and mobility

PM

A1/A2. complete 

+

complete

+

1:49

+

row complete

Today was super quick, which actually worked out well since I'm working back to back to back 11 hour days... Ugh. 

Muscle-ups felt awesome yet again. All high catches without much effort. Thrusters were fine. Had about 1:15 to rest each time. Today, I felt like I could have done doubles throughout. 

I feel like I should have moved faster on the snatches. 5/5/2/singles. I videoed the whole thing to make sure I was actually squat snatching (I was!), and what I thought were "quick singles" were not as quick as they felt, and I kept taking two steps back then reapproching the bar. The two sets of 5 were done at 0:40, so stringing reps together was a lot faster. Blah. 

Saturday

AM
4000m row @ Z1
+
10:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work

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 just below knees), 10:00 to build to a heavy single
C. Close-grip bench press, build quickly to a tough double
+
For time:
10 touch-and-go power snatches, 85
30 unbroken double-unders
8 touch-and-go power snatches, 85
30 unbroken double-unders
6 touch-and-go power snatches, 85
30 unbroken double-unders
4 touch-and-go power snatches, 85
30 unbroken double-unders
2 touch-and-go power snatches, 85
+
3 sets:
150m row sprint
5:00 walk rest

AM

complete

+

shoulder stuff

PM

1 single, 4 doubles, 1 single 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 123, 128F from mid-shin

C. 165 (PR +5)

+

4:47

+

0:28.8

0:28.8

0:28.7

Muscle-ups felt good today, huzzah! 

Power snatches felt slow and soft. Only deadlifted 128, didn't even pull. 

Bench press felt good! Considered going for 170, but decided to be happy with the PR and move on. 

Touch and go power snatches were AWFUL. The last 2 reps on all sets were a real struggle to hold on to. Grip was tired but more than anything my technique was just shoddy, these were some of the ugliest starfished power snatches in history. Took about 5 breaths before the double-unders each time, no issues hitting 30 unbroken on the first attempt. Felt Open-ish, and not in a good way. 

Row sprints were fine. 

Friday

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
A. Front squat w/no sleeves, build to a tough single in 15:00
B. Axle Pendlay row, 3 x 5-7, 20X0; 2:00 rest
+
For reps:
2:00 cleans, 135
2:00 muscle-ups
+
6:00 rest
+
For reps:
2:00 thrusters, 95
2:00 toes-to-bar

AM

4 sets complete, but sat on the bike until 30:00

subbed 0:60 FLR for the side planks

PM

A. 245, 255F

B. 100(6), 100(7), 120(6)

+

18 cleans in 1:35

2 BMU (+3F)

+

22 thrusters in 1:45

29 TTB


This week has been simply the worst.  The last 2.5 days were the most stressful work days I've had in a very long time, and I have 4 very large tasks on my to-do list for the next 6 days, and somehow all 4 are equal priority.  Also, I still don't feel 100%.  This is stupid.

My right shoulder is starting to bug me a little - side planks are always the first things they complain on.  Going to religiously start doing all the Drew Cook stuff and nip it in the bud before it becomes an issue.

Front squats felt good.  The 245 really wasn't that tough.  Didn't fight very hard for 255, as soon as I started to get stuck I just dumped it.  Anxiously looking forward to the triumphant return of knee sleeves.

Axle pendlay rows were limited by child-sized hands.  I find it much easier to hold on to with my thumbs on the same side as my fingers.

Chose the bar muscle-up piece today, mostly because I haven't done bar muscle-ups since before Christmas.  Hit two easily while warming up.  The cleans at 135 felt really easy, and I moved really quickly through the first 10-12, then started to panic that I would be useless for the bar muscle-ups.  Slowed down the last 6, then walked over to the bar at 1:35 and borrowed the rest time from the cleans.  I'm guessing it will be a little different with a partner... but I felt ready to hit the first BMU as soon as the 2:00 clock started, and made the first one!  Then I got a little cocky, and barely rested at all before attempting another one, and failed.  Then I said to myself "well, I didn't make it, so I didn't really expend any energy, so I'll just go again now" and of course, I failed that one too.  So then I made myself take a full 0:15 rest and hit the second one, then rested until 1:50 on the clock and failed at the buzzer.  Meh.  I've spent so much more time working on ring muscle-ups, so I'm interested to see if that will go any better.

Thrusters started off feeling great; did 5/5/5/5/2.  Took way too much time before picking up the bar after 15, and that last set of 5 was rough.  Had time on the clock but decided to eat the transition time from the thrusters.  Forearms were fried almost immediately on the TTB.  Opened with 5, then 4's, then 3's, then 2's, there was a 1 in there somewhere, and lost the kip at the end.  Ugh.

Monday

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 gauntlet, 1 every 2:00 starting @ 75 and adding 10 every 2:00
+
Every 2:00 for 7 sets:
1 muscle-up
5 unbroken thrusters, 75
+
1500m row easy

AM
30:00 AirDyne @ Z1
+
10:00 mobility

PM
A1/A2. complete
B. 125, 135Fx2
+
complete
+
complete


Meh.  

Snatches felt super easy through 125.  Videoed the whole thing, and observed that these were entirely power snatches.  I even wore knee sleeves, just in case I was subconsciously shorting the depth, but it didn't seem to make a difference.  If I dropped into a full squat, I would have had the first attempt at 135, it was just an inch in front.  Set up weird on the second attempt and just deadlifted.  This makes me sad.  One of my goals for 2016 is to seek Oly instruction.  This is getting ridiculous.  I snatched 125 in 2013.  2013!  It's 2016!  Fucking A.

Muscle-ups were just okay.  Only caught the first one pretty low, the rest were better than last week, but still not great.  They're not difficult, I just don't know what to change to catch them higher consistently, and I don't know what's different on the days where they feel super easy.  First time doing thrusters since May, and I didn't miss them.  Although, I found it comical that 5 thrusters at 75 were specified to be unbroken...

Saturday

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 just above knees), 10:00 to build to a heavy single
+
Death by touch-and-go power snatches @ 85
+
5 sets:
2-3 tough close grip bench presses
150m row sprint
5:00 walk rest

AM

(made up yesterday's)

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

PM

complete, several rough singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 118 from mid-thigh

+

9 + 6

+

135(3), :29.4

145(3), :29.2

150(3), :29.3

150(2), :29.4

150(3), :29.5


Merrrrr today was rough.  Feeling incredibly beat up - because of the week off?

Muscle-ups were awful, all very low catches (but no misses).  Didn't push it, just accumulated a handful of singles and moved on.

Snatch off the blocks was just okay - the bar felt heavy, and speed felt slow.  Surprised to get up as high as I did.

My least favorite thing in all of CrossFit are light touch and go power snatches.  Seriously hate them so much.  I was surprised that the sets of 5, 6, 7, 8 felt as crisp as they did.  The set of 9 was tough, and when I was looking at the clock waiting to start the round of 10, I knew I wasn't recovered enough to get all 10.  I probably could have squeaked out one more rep, but I don't think I could have finished the round of 10 today.  I don't even know what the limiter was, everything was just tired and I didn't want to do any more.  Didn't rest at the top or the hang at all until the last couple of reps on the unfinished set, and never lost my grip.  

Bench press felt impossibly heavy today.  I did 150 for 5 two weeks ago in this same set-up, and today I don't think I could have done 135 for 5.  Felt strong on the row, but almost tossed my cookies on the last two sets.  Gross.

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. 

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.  

Thursday

AM
5 sets very easy:
2:00 bike
:30 handstand hold - can be against wall
2:00 bike
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. Hang power snatch, build to a max for the day
+
10:00 @ 80%:
1 split jerk from blocks, 145-165
5 kipping handstand push-ups
30 double-unders
+
2 sets:
:50 row @ 97%
5:40 walk rest

AM

complete (minus last set of wall walks)

PM

complete, 2 singles, 4 doubles, 1 more single 

+

A1/A2. complete 

B. 120, 125F

+

6 + 3 hspus, with 165

+

254m

253m


So...I really appreciate the change of pace, but... errr... it was super awkward doing wall walks in my apartment.  If the Assault bikes ever come, I can do this at the gym next week, or else... could we try a different movement?  

Today was the best that muscle-ups have felt in many, many weeks.  Consistently caught the first one very high, and the doubles felt super easy today.  Went for a triple on one and was close, but not quite there.  This is a big relief.

Hang snatches didn't feel great.  I really don't like the hang position; it's really hard for me to remain patient and bring the bar all the way into my hips.  120 was pretty crisp, but caught the 125 with bent elbows and lost it behind.  Considered going for 125 again, but wasn't confident I'd make it, so called it there.

10:00 piece started off great and went downhill.  Jerks were very easy, 165 has become a weight I don't even have to think about.  First 3 rounds of HSPUs unbroken, but not easy at all.  Fell off the wall on the first or second rep on all remaining sets (so 1/4, 2/3, 1/4 and 1/2).  This is super annoying.  Why are strict so much easier for me?  Double-unders all unbroken except one early trip on one round, which was just a fluke.

Couldn't quite get to the pace I wanted on the row sprints.  Hung out at 1:36-1:38 throughout, no fading.  I could just tell that the output wasn't as high as it could be, but I couldn't do anything about it, which was kind of a weird feeling.

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.

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. 

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

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. 

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.

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. 1 power snatch + 1 hang power snatch, build to a tough set for the day
+
5 sets even:
3 split jerks from the blocks, 155
40 double-unders
2:00 walk rest
+
3 sets:
:35 row @ 97%
4:55 walk rest

AM

3 sets complete

PM

failed 2, made 2, moved on 

+

A1/A2. cut to 3 sets 

B. 105, 115FHPS

+

complete, a little over a minute if I tripped (sets 1-3) and a little under a minute if unbroken (sets 4-5)

+

183m

182m

178m (handle flew out of my hands in the middle)


Today was pretty terrible.  I got to the gym after 6pm, which is way too late for this much volume.  I hate this - Thursdays have all my fun stuff, I enjoy higher volume training days, and I really hate deviating from the program.  But after the rough couple of days I've had, the last thing I wanted was to be in an empty gym at 9pm all by my lonesome.

Barely warmed up at all, which explains the fails on the first 2 muscle-ups.  These felt horrible today, and I didn't feel like spending 10 minutes here.

Cut the A1/A2, and didn't rest at all between movements.  Again, didn't feel like spending 10 minutes doing this.

I was excited for the snatch complex, but these felt terrible.  My shoulders were super tight (again with the lack of warm-up), and I completely forgot how to hang snatch.  I did okay at 105, but when I brought the 115 back down to the hang, I just held the bar and felt like I had no tension at all in my body.  Worked on hang snatches alone for a few minutes, and Austin even commented that I didn't look comfortable.  I don't know what the deal was.  Dropped back down to 105 and couldn't do that again either, so... wtf? 

No belt on the split jerks, but did wear Olys.  Bar felt much heavier than it should have, but most of the reps were pretty crisp anyway.

Row sprints actually felt pretty good, until the handle flew out of my hands.  I'm surprised I didn't lose more than 4m with this mishap.

Shitty couple of days.  Busy day tomorrow, then Kellie comes on Saturday!

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.

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.