Friday

AM @ MobilityFit
10:00 Assault bike
+
3 sets:
Front rack kettlebell hold with scaps retracted, 5 x 0:60 with 12/hand, 0:30 rest
Banded external rotation with single orange band, 10
Banded shoulder press with orange band, 10
Banded tricep pull-down, 20 with cut red band
Earthquake bar, 2:00 hold with red bands and 20s, orange bands and 15s
Crossover Symmetry, rows (red), As (purple), Ts (thumbs up and palms up, green), single-side seated external rotation (green), 10 each
Z press, 10 with PVC pipe
Kettlebell screwdrivers, 10/side with 15lb
Quarter external rotations, 5/side with 2.5lbs
External rotation with elbow on knee, 10/side unweighted

Snow angel, 10 unweighted
Single-arm trap 3, 10/side unweighted
PVC pull-aparts, 10 with #1
3-way bicep curl, 10 each way with 5lb/hand


PM
A. Safety squat, 8 x 2 @ 70 on bar + chains, 10X1; begin a set every :60
+
5 sets:
7-10 controlled ring rows - slightly tougher than last week if shoulder allows
16 alternating reverse lunges, 30 med ball bear hugged to chest
:60 rest
15 Assault Bike calories
:60 rest
+
3 sets not for time:
5-7/side single-leg reverse hypers, 20X2
10-20 seated 1-leg band curls
:30 hollow rock

A. complete
+
complete
7 ring rows across
15 calories in 0:51-0:54
+
complete
unweighted, +10, +20 on the RH
15/leg with purple band


Drew was really happy to hear that after the week off (two, really), my shoulder has markedly calmed down. It's still a little more aggravated than it was two weeks ago, but not nearly as concerning as it was last week. Stayed extremely cautious on the rehab stuff this morning - reduced weight on everything, cut anything that even slightly felt off, and shorted ROM to completely, 100% pain free across the board. I'm still annoyed that I'm doing less 7 weeks out than I was 2 weeks out, but Drew assures me it's normal. Had a conversation about expectations and the road ahead, and we discussed that it might be months before I'm comfortable overhead (deadhang, kipping, snatching, jerking, etc). I can get close without pain, but as soon as I reach 180 degrees, I hit the anchors, and that's probably what caused the latest setback, so we're staying far away from that at the moment.

Squats felt great, really fast. Metcons, no gear.

5 sets got tough, mostly because of the pace I wanted to hold on the bike (66-70 RPMs). Ring rows felt totally fine on my shoulder, still very deliberate about scap engagement and definitely more challenging than last time. 

Wouldn't hate losing the reverse hyper from the program... it's so freaking awkward to get on to without boosting myself up with both arms, and I feel like I'm not even doing it right with the one leg. I know it's supposed to be good for many things, but I'm just not feeling it. On the other hand, once I figured out how to set up the banded curls, I really liked those!

And finally, did a BodPod this morning. Mike keeps asking me about body comp, and I can't tell objectively and I refuse to take a bathroom selfie. I'm a scientist and I like data, so I figured this might be interesting. I did one in December 2013 (I had played with ETP for a few months, and was on Invictus at the time), but I didn't like the result so I just ignored it and decided to focus on performance. Which was a great decision! But didn't get me very far on the scale. I weighed 167 in December 2013, and weighed 167 in May 2015, and while performance was greatly improved, I wanted to drop weight to improve gymnastics (we know this story). Mike wasn't very impressed with these results if you consider it's been 2.5 years, but I figure almost all of this change has occurred since I started working with Mike in July 2015. I was actually pretty pumped to see that those 7 pounds were 11lbs of fat lost and 4lbs of muscle gained, that seems pretty legit to me, especially with maintaining / increasing / prioritizing performance. And it's not like I'm surprised that progress is slow, I mean, come on, I've complained about how perfectly compliant I can be with minimal results since day 1. Although, I wish I had done this before I ate all the gelato and drank all the margaritas last week, because I was pretty solid at 158 for a minute there...

Friday

OFF

Skyped with Mike last night - I've gotten super hungry again over the past few weeks, which makes Mike think we've done a good job in fixing my metabolism.  He got rid of my refeed days, and is instead having me hit 150P/60F/300C daily, which scares the crap out of me...

Will someone please tell me if I start to get fatter?  The scale is almost useless, considering I've been bouncing between 159-162 for over two months now (161.2 today, which is annoying).  I'm hitting the panic button if I hit 164 again...

But, in the meantime, pancakes for everyone!

Tuesday

OFF or Z1 active recovery of choice

AM

25:00 AirDyne @ Z1

+

10:00 mobility

PM

softball - last game, for real this time canceled

Finally, finally, FINALLY broke into 159 today.  This is officially the hardest anyone has ever worked to lose 5lbs.  I can count the number of occasions I've been off by more than 1g on my macros since July on one hand, and I've become increasingly neurotic about being perfect.  With how slowly I was losing weight, I really felt like perfection was necessary.  This has been really tough, mostly mentally, but also figuring out how much hunger I can tolerate.  Feeling really good right now, and feeling like the numbers and hunger are sustainable (for now).  I'd like to lose another 5lbs by the Open, which seems an appropriate timeline based on how long it took me to get this far.  Let's see what Mike says when we Skype tomorrow!

Wednesday

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

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

AM

complete

PM

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

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

B2. 4 across 

C1. 320(8) across 

C2. complete 

+

complete 

Solid day!

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday

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

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

AM

59:00 complete with Chels @ Ault Park

PM

A1/A2. complete 

B. complete 

+

3 rounds + 20 calories 


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

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

Thursday

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

PM
10:00 muscle-up tech practice on fat rings - your technique is good right now, just need more touches...
+
A1. Bear crawl, 5 x 10' forward + 10' reverse, slow & controlled keeping hips level; :30 rest
A2. Deadbug w/hands pressed into wall, 5 x 10 alternating breathing out hard each rep; :30 rest
B. Power snatch clusters from blocks (just below knees), 5 x 1.1 @ 95-105; :10 between singles, 2:00 rest
C. Push press, 2-2-2-2, 21X1; 2:00 rest
+
Every 2:00 for 6 sets:
1 rope climb
5 strict handstand push-ups
+
3 sets:
4/side KB snatches, tough but fast - complete 4 consecutive on 1 side, then 4 consecutive on the other
150m row @ max effort
4:30 walk rest

AM

complete, but rolled the mobility into the 5 sets

PM

complete, 8 singles 

+

A1/A2. complete 

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

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

+

0:26

0:26

0:22

0:22

0:22

0:21
(what?!)

+

0:58 (0:29.4 row)

0:55 (0:29.6 row)

0:54 (0:29.7 row)

with 35lb kettlebell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sorry for the novel.  Just one of those days.

Sunday

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

PM
A1. Wrist flexion stretching, kneeling w/top of hands on ground and fingers facing toward feet, rotate locked elbows forward and lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
A2. Wrist extension stretching, kneeling w/palms on ground and hands supinated so fingers facing toward feet, lean back w/fingers pressed into ground, 2 x 10 reps w/short pause @ end range; :30 rest
B. Muscle-ups on fat rings, 10 x 1, but if no misses you can add another 5 reps; begin a rep every :60
C. L-sit, 5 x :12; rest as needed to ensure a solid :12
+
15:00 @ 85%:
max handstand walk
250m ski erg
40 double-unders
250m row

AM
29:00 @ Ault Park

PM
A1/A2. complete 

B. 15 complete, no misses

C. complete

+

2 rounds + 98m row

79', 39', 45' handstand walk 


Today was miles better than last Sunday's training, even with this lingering cold.

Muscle-ups were mostly good; a handful of low catches but no misses and some were fairly high (for me).  I fully credit the Game of Thrones/Lord of the Rings soundtrack.  

L-sit was fine.

79' handstand walk is a PR  by 19' (24m).  Probably could have gone a few meters farther if I had a longer straightaway.  Skiied at 2:25-2:35.  Rowed at 1:55-2:01.  Double unders were TERRIBLE today - each set was broken at least 4 times before 30, then on the last 5-10 of each set I was tripping after EVERY jump (so like, 33, trip, 34, trip, 35, trip, 36, trip, 37, trip, 38, trip, 39, trip, 40).  What the actual fuck.  There was a minute where I was decent at double-unders last year, but for the past several months they've been shit.  I ordered a new cable for my rope a few months ago, since the existing one got kind of bent, but haven't switched them out yet.  I should do that today.

Talked to Mike Kesthely yesterday - we're both frustrated with lack of progress. I've been working with him for 10 weeks and went from a very stable 165 to now a very stable 163.  I'll take the 2lbs, but it's just been an incredible amount of counting and calculating and stressing about perfectly hitting specific numbers for such a small weight loss.  I can't imagine that he has many clients more compliant than I have been.  He made a fairly dramatic adjustment - testing out 150P/60F/240C this week...

Wednesday

AM
3000m row @ Z1
+
20:00 hamstring/hip/quad mobility work - work on knee flexion ROM

PM
A. Barefoot front squat, no sleeves, 3 x 4-6, 42X1; 2:00 rest
B1. Good morning, 3-3-3-3, 22X1; :60 rest
B2. Close-grip bench press, 2-2-1-1, 21X1; :60 rest
C. DB weighted Peterson step-ups to box @ mid-shin, 3 x 12/side :60 between sides
D. Banded terminal knee extension, 3 x 20/side w/same band as last week; rest as needed
+
3 rounds easy:
50m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
20 unweighted Russian twists
12 moderate reverse hypers

AM

complete

PM

A. 83, 103, 123(4)

B1. 123, 133, 143, 148

B2. 154(2), 159(2), 164, 169, 174 (PR +4)

C. complete with 30/hand

D. complete with black band 

+

complete
160 on the RH

Able to get full knee ROM within the allotted 20:00 mobility today!  That's a relief, ain't nobody got time for 45:00+ each time you want to do an air squat.

SO HAPPY to squat with a barbell again!  Knee felt absolutely perfect on these, but that tempo is a bitch.  Got super lightheaded on the set at 123, just a long time to be crushing your trachea.  Decided to trust that the mobility this morning was enough to prep the ROM for the PM session, and it was!  Just did a quick hip/ankle stretch and I was good to go.  Great success!

It's been a looooong time since I've done barbell good mornings; I think I was doing these correctly (basically lowering until I felt a nice stretch and holding it there for the 2 seconds).  

Bench press felt excellent.  Went for a bonus rep because I knew I'd get it, wasn't even a question.  And with the same tempo!  Cool.

Peterson step-ups were very challenging with that weight.  I will not be sad if these go away soon.

Still like the banded terminal extensions.  This one's a keeper.

Farmer's walk was super easy (unbroken); first time with a Russian twist, that was neat.

Had a mandatory health screening at work today - we can repeat this every couple of months, so this might be cool to come back to later.

5'3" 165 (in jeans, 162.7 @ home)

BP: 120/82 (a little higher than normal for me)

pulse: 54

total cholesterol: 243 (errrrrrr)

HDL: 66

LDL: 166

TG: 55

glucose: 83

waist: 31" (this was 35.4" the day I joined CSC)

Skyped with Mike last night - scale has been completely stuck at 163 for the past 2 weeks (which is most likely stress-related, working blows), so we're making some changes.  150g protein, 80g fat, 190g carb, unless performance starts to tank.  He said "I'd like to see you under 160," and I'm like "ME TOO" with the unimpressed emoji face.  Trying not to get frustrated.

This may be the deepest squat I've ever done.

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.  

Sunday

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

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

A2. 9, 9, 9 (butterflied!)

+

4 rounds even with push-up burpees 

+

complete with 35lb kettlebell

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

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

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

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

AM weight @ home: 162.0

Friday - post-op day 9

Aerobic recovery 

3 sets:

10:00 AirDyne @ Z1

10:00 mobility/stretching

Hamstrings are still extremely tight, but getting a little better.  Knee is dramatically less swollen today than it has been!

Nutrition update:

• 2260 calories; 165g protein, 175g carb, 100g fat, with consistent calorie intake across the whole week
• super easy to hit these numbers on training days; I'm usually 10-30g short on carbs on rest days without the vitargo
• Shift some carbs to the AM, so that all meals have P/F/C
• done, easy - more consistent energy throughout the day
• Add BCAAs before all training sessions (Z1 and training)
• done, easy - don't really notice a difference
• Ditch the creatine in my PWO shake (probably for a total of 8 weeks)
• done, easy - don't really notice a difference
• Focus on quality/nutrient dense foods
• done, easy - don't even miss Quest bars, I knew those were too good to be true
• Surgery, 3 pints of gelato over 4 days, and weird/limited training this week did not completely derail me
• annoyed that as soon as I get into a good groove, something happens to throw me off - won't be able to track accurately while on vacation, but committed to eyeballing portions and maintaining quality

Weight:
July 16: 165.3
July 21: 163.2

July 31: 162.1

This is uncharted territory.  Officially at my lowest adult weight.

nutrition update

Not Skyping with Mike until Monday, but I'm not sure what I'll feel like eating/doing over the next couple of days, so I figured I'd just summarize the past week now.

Mike's recommendations:

Aim for 2260 calories; 165g protein, 175g carb, 100g fat, with consistent calorie intake across the whole week

Shift some carbs to the AM, so that all meals have P/F/C (for the most part)

Add BCAAs before Z1
Ditch the creatine in my PWO shake

Focus on quality/nutrient dense foods

Weight:

July 16: 165.3

July 21: 163.2 (!)

I feel awesome, training is going well, and I'm not stressing over hitting the numbers exactly, but am having fun rearranging things to make it close.

Looking forward to picking up right back here in a few days... 

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.  

Wednesday

AM
3 sets @ 70%:
5 ring dips, emphasize the kip
6 alternating pistols
250m row
2:00 walk rest
+
For time @ 70%:
400m run
15m handstand walk
100m Farmer's walk, 70/hand
10 wall walks
30 AirDyne calories

PM
10:00 light scap activation
+
10 sets:
500m row @ 85%
2:00 walk rest

AM
complete
+
12:16

PM
complete
+
2:00.1
2:00.0
1:59.9
2:00.0
2:00.2
2:00.0
2:00.1
2:00.1
2:00.1
2:00.0

Really enjoying the current trend of some different stuff in the AM! 

Trying to figure out how to kip... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Pistols were fine, I keep anticipating my knee hurting but the cortisone is still magic.  It's kind of like the TV is on mute, and you should be hearing the sound but you don't.  It's weird, but I'll take it.

Run felt good.  Handstand walk unbroken.  Farmer's walk felt heavy.  Wall walks were excruciatingly slow.  

Rows are getting pretty challenging.  Eeesh.  I kinda like it, though.  

On another note, I weighed myself this morning, and, for perhaps the first time in my entire life, I was disappointed to see that I had not gained any weight.  I was thinking that the only explanation for my new-found inability to dip out of muscle-ups was that I was up a few lbs, and I was okay with that, because that meant there was an easy explanation and a problem to be solved.  Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case, I've been steady at 163-165 since mid-November (164.6 today).  Sooooo... what the hell is going on?  Bueller?

Wednesday

AM
4-6 sets @ Z1:
300m ski erg
20 AirDyne calories
4 deadhang-to-inverted
10 unweighted hip extensions, 10X1

PM
A. 1 halting clean-grip deadlift (pause below the knees) + 1 clean pull, 5 x 1 starting @ 1RM clean and adding a bit/set; begin a set every 2:00
B1. Power clean clusters, 4 x 1.1.1; minimal rest between singles, :30 rest
B2. Ring dips, 4 x 5, 20X1; 2:00 rest
+
3 sets @ high effort:
20 kettlebell swings, 53
20 burpees
40 double-unders
3:00 rest
+
10:00 AirDyne increasing effort every 2:00 so that last 2:00 is very tough

AM

4 sets complete

PM
A. 200, 210, 215, 220, 225
B1. 145, 155, 165, 175(1.F.F)
B2. complete
+
2:07
2:53
2:45
+
complete


That's by far the most I've ever skiied... triceps and lats are feeling it already.  This is most welcome.

Clean-grip deadlifts felt super easy, but clean pulls felt terrible.  Even while warming up at lighter weights, the pulls felt awkward and hard.

Very happy to see power cleans after heavy deadlifts again - 145 and 155 felt EASY, and 165 felt the best it ever has.  Couldn't decide between 170 and 175 for the final set, and said "fuck it, just try it" and put 175 on the bar, which proved to be too ambitious.  Other than 175, where I took a few seconds between reps, the clusters at 145, 155 and 165 were all dropped and immediately reset with no pausing.  First time doing heavy-ish cleans in a LONG time (since Gobblers), very happy with how they felt.  And, while my form still leaves much to be desired, I don't think I was catching these as ugly as I have been known to do.  Huzzah!

Ring dips felt great today, too.  Was a little worried about keeping the tempo, but I was able to stick to it for all sets.  And, I think I did almost all of these strict.  That's interesting.

UGH these high effort sets are killing me.  Is it normal to drop off SO BADLY after the first one?  Double unders were unbroken on the 1st and 3rd sets, and broken horribly (4 or 5 times) on the 2nd set.  All KBS unbroken, easy through 16 or 17 reps, it was only the last few that started to get iffy.  Burpees were steady on the first round, but on the second and third rounds I started pausing, both at the top and on the floor.  Shoulders were fried by the 3rd round.  Yuck.

On the other hand, I really dig the increasing effort stuff.  I feel like I've done well with every variation of this we've tried (on the rower, and the mixed pieces, and today's AirDyne).  Paced this by cal/h; >415, >550, >700, >815, >1000 (with the final 0:30 >1100).  Could have started a bit faster, but the final 2:00 was very tough indeed.  117 calories total (702 cal/h average).  

-----

AM weight @ home: 165.3

Was just curious to take a peek at the scale, post-holiday and pre-locking down the nutrition for the foreseeable future.  Totally surprised to see that number, considering I was less than diligent with nutrition over past few weeks (I guess this is the power of stress reduction, and I'd put a hefty sum on the outdoor hiking) ... this is the lowest I've seen since Summer 2012, when I switched out of the class programming.  I feel like I've put on a bit of muscle since then (my clothes agree), so this is pretty cool.  It's even more cool that this has all happened after I stopped worrying about it so much.

Thursday

AM (from yesterday)
5-7 sets @ Z1:
250m ski erg if they have one, 500m row if not
15 AirDyne calories
3 deadhang-to-inverted
6 weighted hip extensions, 2021

PM
10:00 light scap activation
+
A. Push press, build to a max
B. Weighted supinated pull-up, build to a max
+
For 16:00:
Evens: 4-7 CTB pull-ups
Odds: :30 front leaning rest on the ground
+
2 sets:
:70 row @ max effort
6:50 rest

AM

7 sets complete with row, assault bike and +25 

PM

A. 160

B. 217.5

+

Complete; 4 CTBs across (5 on the last one)

+

1:43.2/500m avg; 339m

1:43.2/500m avg; 339m


Weight @ gym (including belt): 172.5

Really enjoying this AM combo!

Push press felt awful; 155 was a struggle, then failed 160 twice before getting it on the third try. I have a life-long struggle with the push press.

Weighted pullups didn't feel as strong as I was expecting, got +45, could barely even start the pull at +50.

Pulling on the CTBs felt strong, but the bars are so slippery that I couldn't keep my grip or rhythm for more than 4 reps.  Tried making tape grips and that may have made things worse, because I stripped them off with one round to go and then got 5 pretty easily on the last round, so I dunno.  FLRs felt very easy.

Went out too hot on the first row sprint - was holding 1:38-1:40, but then faded to 1:46-1:48 in the last 0:15.  Was more consistent on the second one, holding 1:42-1:44 the whole way.

So.  On Wednesday about 10:00 after I finished the Assault bike, I got a horrible, horrible headache, got very nauseous and sensitive to light - was absolutely 100% miserable.  Went home, immediately took a 4h nap, and felt better.  I wasn't going to say anything because I thought it was a one-off from being dehydrated or something.  BUT THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.  About 10:00 after finishing the row sprints, I felt the same exact headache coming on, and it was so much worse.  I went home and immediately to bed and woke up 12 hours later, and I'm still not feeling right.  I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm legitimately concerned.  This has never happened before.  I used to get migraines, so I'm pretty sure that's what they were, but never after training like this, and haven't had one this severe in years, and now I've had two back to back.  And I ate and drank exactly normally, with an emphasis on tons of water on Thursday, so that's not it.  I'm scared to do anything at this point... can't even describe how awful it was.  And my family is quite concerned, to say the least.  What the hell?  My only thought is that it might be a weird side effect to the cortisone shot??

Thursday

10:00 light scap activation
+
A. Push press, 3-2-1; 2:00 rest
B. Weighted supinated pull-up, 3 x 1-2, 21X0; 2:00 rest
+
For 14:00:
Evens: 4-7 CTB pull-ups
Odds: 10 box jump w/step-down, 20 - if the jump/land aggravates you knee switch it back to 14 alt step-up/step-downs
+
2 sets:
:60 row @ max effort
6:00 rest

Complete 

+

A. 155(3), 160F, 160F, 160(1)

B. +35(2), +40(2), +45(1)

+

Complete with step ups; 7 CTBs across 

+

298m, 1:40.6/500m avg

299m, 1:40.3/500m avg

AM weight @ home: 167.4

PM weight @ gym: 173 (including belt) 

Mostly great day! Everything was awesome except for the stupid push presses. 155 felt really good, got the 3 pretty easily (PR). Then failed 160 twice before finally getting one, and it was a struggle. What the hell? I could not tell you what I did differently...

Same deal as last week with the supinated pull-ups.  Felt awkward hanging, but very strong pulling. 

CTBs were the best they have ever been, hands down. All sets of 7 in rhythm (regular kip) and super easy to connect with the bar. Very, very happy with this. Tried one box jump, but that was a no-go.  Grrrrrr. So over this shit...

Um, the rows felt amazing. Shocked that I was able to hold that pace for a whole minute without dropping off. Very appreciative that it was only 2; don't think I could have hung on to that pace for a third. Breathing felt great! Hooray! 

Thursday

(scap prep + upper vertical push/pull ME + EMOM SL/upper pull + AnLP->E row)

10:00 light scap activation
+
A. Push press, 3-3-2 adding each set; 2:00 rest
B. Weighted supinated pull-up, 3 x 2-3, 21X0; 2:00 rest
+
For 12:00:
Evens: 4-7 CTB pull-ups
Odds: 14 fast alternating box step-up/step-downs, 20
+
3 sets:
:50 row @ max effort
5:40 rest

Complete

+

A. 135(3), 150(3), 155(2)

B. +20(3), +30(3), +35(2)

+

Complete; 7 CTB across 

+

250m; 1:40.0/500m avg

250m; 1:40.0/500m avg

250m; 1:40.0/500m avg

AM weight @ home: 167.5

PM weight @ gym (including belt): 172

Solid day.  Push press felt great; 150 is a PR +5 for a triple and 155 is a PR +5 for a double.  155 felt much easier than 150 for some reason... but happy to hit heavier weights relatively easily two weeks in a row.

Supinated pull-ups are weird, I've gotten so used to always doing pronated.  I feel like my wrists/elbows don't rotate all the way around, so it's fairly uncomfortable to hang from the bar.  The actual pulling felt really strong though.  Pretty sure those are some PRs for a triple and a double as well.

CTBs done with a regular kip.  Again, first two sets were a little rough but got into a nice groove as the sets went on. 

Felt like energy was fading by the time I got to the row sprints, but happy with consistency across all sets here.  Was holding 1:38 for the majority, which was definitely max effort for today.  

Thursday

10:00 light scap activation
+
A. Thruster, 3-3-3 adding each set - cut if knee still limits you; 2:00 rest
B. Weighted pronated pull-up, build to a max
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 4-7 CTB pull-ups
Odds: 14 fast alternating box step-up/step-downs, 20
+
3 sets:
:45 row @ max effort
5:15 rest

complete
+
A. subbed push press: 125, 135, 145 (PR for 3)
B. 219 (+45 @ 174) (PR +11)
+
complete; 5 CTB across
+
228m; 1:38.6/500m avg
229m; 1:38.2/500m avg
228m; 1:38.6/500m avg


AM weight @ home: 168.6
PM weight @ gym (including belt): 174

Everything felt excellent this morning.  I like the occasional morning training session - it's a nice change of pace.

Push presses felt better today than they have in a very, very long time - maybe ever.  Today, 145 would have qualified as moderate - never really felt heavy.  I only got 1 at 145 in August when going for a double, so I don't know what I was doing differently today. Wore nanos, maybe that's the secret.

Weighted pull-ups were great! Tried for +50 but didn't get very far.  +45 was legit! That's awesome.  Very happy with progress here.  A little disappointed that I seem to have gained back the 3lbs I thought I lost a few weeks ago.  Ate out Sat/Sun/Mon, which is not normal for me, so hopefully now that I'm back on track, it will level out again closer to 165-166.  Not super upset about it, just noting.

When warming up, tried to butterfly the CTBs and couldn't find the rhythm.  I think that's partially because I tend to slam my boobs into the bar instead of a gentle graze, which throws off the kip, so I did these with a regular kip.  Felt easier as the sets went on - it's been a while since I've done these.  Step ups felt awkward and dumb - I felt like I was in an 80's aerobics video.

Very happy with consistency on the longer row sprints.  When I did these in July, I dropped from 1:36 on the first one to 1:44 on the third one.  I think a lot of it is mental - I decided I was not going to drop off, and I didn't. Success.

Thursday

10:00 light scap activation
+
A. Squat clean, build quickly to 175
B. Weighted pronated pull-up, 3 x 1-2, 21X0; 2:00 rest
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 4-6 alternating pistols
Odds: 5-7 toes-to-bar
+
3 sets:
:40 row @ max effort
5:00rest

complete
+
A. complete
B. +25(2), +30(2), +35(1)
+
complete
+
206m; 1:37.0/500m avg
206m; 1:37.0/500m avg
206m; 1:37.0/500m avg

AM weight @ home: 166.9

PM weight @ gym (including belt): 173

Squat cleans felt good today - very happy that 175 is a weight I can hit confidently every time.  Built very quickly: 85, 125, 155, 175.  

Pull-ups did not feel as easy as last week, but I think +35 is a PR (208).

Discovered I could do pistols on my bad knee if I wore both knee sleeves at the same time... did 4 total (alternating) each round, but it was probably a bad idea because, while it didn't hurt much at the time, it's swollen now.  Ughhhhh. Shit.  I know I need to think of the bigger picture and not worry about not contributing to that part of the event this weekend, but it's still frustrating because I've gotten relatively decent at pistols and we could have done fairly well here.  7 TTB across, pretty easy.  I think Cody and I are going to split the TTB in 5s the whole way, and unfortunately he's going to have to be responsible for the pistols.  I hate this.

So, 0:40 is where I started to fall off and/or hit the wall in the last cycle of row sprints, which I did not do today!  Was conscious to pull back the pace just a hair (held 1:35) and pull all the way through the finish.  Very pleased with that!