3 a day

Front Squat 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2

Oh man, I made 2 attempts at 115# single rep. I failed bad on the first. I felt as if I was going to low and I wasn't staying active at the bottom of my squat. So I had Sean cue me as when to shoot out out of the bottom for my 2nd attempt. Coming up felt like slow motion. I think I even closed my eyes. Happy to make that attempt. I need to be more diligent about my Wendler 5-3-1; Diso said that a 135-140# front squat would be exceptional for my size. Plus it would probably guarantee me a bodyweight Clean. 

Flight Simulator was a joke. I'm going through that period again where I've lost my double unders. This only reinforces to me that I have to literally double under everyday or I'll forget how to do them. I hadn't picked up my rope in a couple of weeks, and this is what I get. My cadence was all fucked up and I couldn't get the rope under my feet. Gonna be diligent about making double unders part of my daily warm up. 

My third WOD was pulled from the Sectionals floater WODs: 3 Squat Cleans at 70-65%1RM, EMOTM until failure or 20 minutes(that stands for every minute on the minute)

On rep 12, my 3rd rep was a power clean; my legs would not drop down into a squat. Reps 17-20 I only did 2 reps vs 3. 

This really got my blood pumping. When tired, my form goes to shit. I can feel myself not using the entire jump, therefore causing me to catch the bar very forward. At the end I was drenched in sweat. 70#s is 85% of my 1RM of 85#. 

Friday, I felt really lethargic and overall sick. My sinus/chest infection really had me laying down all day. 

Old habits die hard

"Lynne"

Five rounds for max reps of:

Body weight bench press

Pull-ups

I did that bitch Lynne bareback last April; read nothing about it here.  Just kidding. Lynne is not a bitch and I didn't do anything to her bareback or otherwise. I actually like this WOD. I feel I've acquired a lot more upper body strength since April. I remember that at the time, I was working on a strict pull as a goal, so I was not kipping last April (with a band, mind you). I did move up to 50# and I did way more reps on average this time around. 

Much happy with marked improvement. 

BTW, I think 14 pull ups is the most I've ever done consecutively. Yay! 

Reflection

Five rounds for time of:

35 Double-unders

Run 200 meters

I came in dreading this WOD but afterwards I realized I loved/hated it. At 3-2-1 Go! I had this knot in my tummy anticipating that this was going to suck. The 10 minutes went by pretty fast. I don't really remember rounds 2 or 3. I do remember coming back from my 4th run and saw Martina on the ground resting. She gave me this look like, Finish this shit up, and I shot her my index finger saying I only had 1 more round left. 

My last set of DUs were spotty. I messed up 4 times to rep 8, until I finally got in a rhythm and finished out the remaining 27 reps in one fell swoop. Started on my run and was going as fast as I could, which wasn't fast. I just knew that I was almost done (and the finish line sounded like paradise) so I kept a nice steady pace; shit, it was fastest sprint I could muster with what gas I had left in the tank.

I collapsed on the concrete and felt my tummy convulsing, making me burp continuously. Dry heaving, a good sign that I pushed myself. 

This WOD was the cherry on top to a fun and grueling week of WODs. 

Striking out on my own

WOD – for time:

• run 800m
• 200 double unders
• run 800m

My time- ~18:10

I found this WOD by simply typing in run + double unders into Google search. This was the first return. The Main site WOD was 5x3 Deadlifts, and I've "vowed" to stay away from heavy lifting until 1.) my hip/back heals 2.) I get my food intake figured out, so that I can 3.) Get back to old strength levels. 

My time is an approximate. I didn't push start on the Stop Watch, so when I returned from my 800m, I started the clock :( My first run, I didn't stop and my pace was good. So I approximated a 5:20 800m. The Double Unders were tough. The problem is that when my rope stops, I get upset and I get in my head. It's all fuckin' mental, like all WODs. It took 6:57 to complete all 200 DUs, which seems really long to me. I went on my second 800m and I knew right away that my pace was considerably slower. I took this moment to concentrate on my breathing. I had just read the breathing series on the CF Southbay blog. Here is an excerpt that I tried to apply to my last 800m run:

Running is one of the few things that allows you to operate almost entirely in the aerobic domain while still going hard.  However, if your breathing isn’t correct, you will quickly transition into anaerobic (non-oxygen using) systems, start to build up lactic acid (what causes that burning feeling), and have to slow down.  One of the best ways to avoid going anaerobic too soon is to make sure you are breathing enough.  While there are lots of suggested breathing techniques out there, the simplest follow your feet.  3-2 works for me (breathe in for 3 steps, and out for 2 steps), although 3-3 and 2-2 also work.  You will know you have gone into a sprint mode (anaerobic, not sustainable, only a short period of time) when your breathing changes to a 2-1 count.  So, by trying to maintain a 3-2 (or 3-3 or 2-2) breathing scheme when you run, you will be able to run harder, longer, and faster while needing as little recovery as possible.

I was really gassed from the DUs going into my run, so I knew I had to get my breathing in line if I was going to make sure that I don't stop to walk at all... I was too tired to get my head in order to count my steps, but I knew I had to slow and deepen my breath, which is what I did. It totally helped. Also, it helped my panicky feeling that I get when I'm running tired. 

Getting back to the box, the clock read 12:50, which means my last 800 took 5:50 seconds. made sense for the pace I was keeping. I was cooked. I liked it. 

It's encouraging to know that I have improved my endurance. The half Marathon is in my sights for January. 

Today made up for yesterday

"Death By 10 Meters"

Run 10 meters the first minute, 20 meters the second minute and 30 meters the third.  Continue to run an additional 10 meters until you can no longer finish the prescribed number of meters within the minute. Score is complete rounds and meters run in last round.

I did better than I expected of myself. I'm a little upset that I missed the 11th round by just 10m, but I'm satisfied with my work. I was being very mindful of my form. After each round I expounded what I was feeling in my body and Diso let me know what I was doing wrong in my form to result in that feeling. Like whenever I run I have ankle "pain"--- not really pain but shocks of electricity. It happened yesterday during the 200m running drills; I got this shock in my ankle and it felt like I could put weight on it, but only for second. I was getting that same shock today. Diso explained that my ankle was not "loose" but tense and I was striking the ground with the tense ankle, making it sore... I think. So the next round I would take heed to Diso's assessment and try to correct it. 

By round 7 I was starting to feel the shock in the balls of my feet. In my class, I was the only one wearing barefoot shoes (Vibrams), so I wonder if they were feeling the fatigue in their feet like I was. 

(SIDEBAR: I cannot wait until my NB Minimus shoes get here! My Vibrams are literally coming apart at the seams)

I really liked this WOD, and I HATE running, so good job G for making a believer out of me! Lol!

Soooooo, I know that I want to set a new Clean & Jerk PR. After the 2 week intensive of squat cleans, I isolated the fact that I have to work on getting stronger in my front squat, because in the high rep WODs, I found myself not staying active at the bottom of my squat. I would "sit" down completely then fire up, which isn't the most efficient use of energy.  I set up to do a Front Squat complex with the intention of hopefully building strength.  Here it is: 

This was crazy. The first 10 @ 65#s was challenging already. The 8 @ 75#s even more so. The round of 6, I took long breaks between each rep, but with the bar racked on my shoulders. @ 95#s I banged out 3, then racked the bar on the stand, took a 15 sec. breather and completed my 4th rep. (BTW, my 3RM PR is 95#s which I set in January).  I was definitely seeing stars and my hearing went "out" after that set. After about 2 mins I attempted 2 reps @ 105#s and I FAILED at the first rep. I think I went into it too soon. I took about an 8 min break and stepped up to the bar and got aggressive. 105# is my 1RM set in November,  so this 2 rep attempt would technically be a PR. I went down, felt I was below parallel and fired up. It was good. I was seeing stars. Took a big breath in, tightened up my mid-line and went down. At the bottom, I had an inkling of doubt, but it took all my energy to hold on to fire up. It was like in super slo mo. I had to be mindful to keep my elbows up. I could feel my legs bowing in, trying to utilize any and all muscles in my legs. I did it! It completely drained me, but I was happy. 

So with 30 heavy squats under my belt, I half committed to attempting a new 1RM PR of 110#s. I probably didn't rest long enough and of course just plain leg fatigue, I failed at 110#. I'm ok about it. I feel this FS complex has built up more strength and tomorrow, I will probably work on my C&J if my hamstrings will allow. With the pose running + all those squats, my legs are pretty beat right now. Trying to stay hydrated and doing a lot stretching my living room floor. 

Games site WOD still not up. It is 11:11PM. Great.