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. 

Thee Total

“The CrossFit Total“
Back Squat, 1 rep
Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo! 

What more can I say? Woo hoo! 

I'm really glad that I was able to PR on both the back squat and Press, but I am even more elated that I was able to deadlift 195 AGAIN! I set that PR in April of this year, then hurt my back in May-- compounded in June-- so I have been working to get back to that level of strength. In April I was 10# heavier at 105. So, I'm sooooo stoked that I am markedly stronger across all lifts and sub 100#s.

I'm soooo happy. Not to mention my upper body is trying it's best to catch up with the strength of my lower body. Just set that bench press PR 2 weekends (70#)... And pull ups and dips are done with ease now. 

These small improvements has totally blown away the argument that I have to gain weight to get stronger. This entire time I believed that I would have to get back to 105# to be as strong as I was prior to a.) my whole 30 cleanse b.) my back injury. Well, now that I'm even stronger than when I was 105#s then that just makes me fully embrace the possibility of loosing weight... To be specific, I currently eat like shit, yet I still hover at about 95#s. Come Jan 2, I'll more that likely embark on another strict 30 day cleanse (just eating meat, veg, high fat, minimal fruit, no alcohol, no sugar, dairy ok), which could equate to more weight loss. I'll accept it knowing that it doesn't mean a strength set back. I would just have to train harder (and slower) to have strength gains. 

So many words and theories, I know. 

So sleepy. Oh, which reminds me... I've been sleeping like 11 hours a night. I guess my body needs it. I wonder if this equates to my strength, or at least lends to it.... I definitely believe that since I no longer work in that shitty job I rest better. 

Ok, bedtime 

New PR dance!

2010 Northwest Regional Event 1

Three rounds for time of:

135 pound Overhead squat, 10 reps

50 Double-unders

Here is my performance of this WOD from July. The difference this time around was definitely my double unders. Round 1, it took me a second to get started, but I went straight to #49. Rounds 2 and 3 I jumped straight until #47. Woo hoo!

I'm stoked. Next time around I'm going to add 10#s to my bar :) Just wanted to play it safe with my back... Kind of like in July :) 

Not the Total

"Not the Total"- Find your 1 RM of Overhead squat, Bench press, Clean

New PR on the Bench Press. yay! The other two are not personal records but are my new maxes for those movements since my back injury. I'm short by 5#s of my PRs on both OHS and the Squat Clean.

Here is video of my 70# OHS. Can I tell you, 70#s was scary, which surprised me. I guess I have room to improve over the next 8 weeks. (I have no idea how to rotate the video. Sorry)

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! 

Exhilaration!

Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

You have no idea how happy I am that a.) that I am no longer suffering in pain with my back b.) that I am able to do heavy lifts c.) that I set a new split jerk PR!!

Here is a comment I left on the PCF blog over a year and half ago:

March 31, 2010, 2:33 pm - Sweet Assassin

15-20-25-30-35-40 (x2)
I liked the Split-jerk, now I've just got to build up to some heavy weight :)

And here is my blog entry for that March 31, 2010. 

I'm pretty close to my body weight. I know that BW split jerk isn't that big of a deal; it's not a huge marker for strength. I think 1.5x body weigh for split jerk might be something to be marveled at. Either way, super happy with the new PR. I did 80# twice cause on my first rep I didn't feel solid in my landing, and struggled with getting control of the bar. Joe D. noticed that when i dipped, my torso came forward so I didn't drive the bar in a straight line. While the rep counted, I wanted to do it again.

On my second attempt, I resolved to drive my elbows up while racked so that I wouldn't be pulled forward when I dipped. And it worked. I dipped and pushed myself under the bar and the lift felt easy, not heavy at all. 

I really wanted to set a new personal record tonight. I was nervous at the thought of 85#s over my head. Sometimes I think about Arbel failing at a split jerk lift, dumping and breaking his foot in half. Ya, awesome. All I kept replaying in my head was Diso saying Technique! Technique! Technique! That technique is the key to a successful lift for small people, that what you lack in strength will only be amplified in lack of technique. Racking the bar on my shoulders, it felt heavy, even though it was only 5#s more. I took a deep breath and went for it. Success! 

I'm back in the lifting game. I still have hopes to compete. The sub 47kg weight class.... I got to build my strength back. I may have to 

Fly Robin Fly! Up, up to the sky!

My decision to try my hand at Flight Simulator once again was completely random. This was at LAXCF, after the kids had finished their WOD. Last time I attempted FS, I only got to 35. So this is a PR! Heeeeyooo!

My body is sooo wrecked and tired. I'm probably going to take the day off tomorrow. Actually, I'm probably lying to you. 

I am ready

"Mini JT"

12-9-6 reps NOT for time of:

Handstand Pushups

Ring Dips

Pushups

Rest as needed, then

"Annie"

50-40-30-20-10 reps for time of:

Double Unders

Situps

New PR by 1:02!!!!

While i'm super stoked about my PR I can't help but think if I had not messed up like 5 time during my 40 round I would have at least done a minute better... Aaaaaand, this is not to talk shit buuuuuut I should not have jumped rope next to Viola, whom was frantically/spasmatically Double Undering, which really fucked up my "calm" that I need to get into a groove. I really had to concentrate on not absorbing his energy and tune him out. 

My sit ups were lightening fast. I know that Smidty started his 50 set about 5 seconds fast than I, yet I managed to finish about 5 seconds faster than he. I didn't take a calculated rest at this point and went straight into my 40 set of DUs, and failed several times. I then took a deep breath and told myself to relax. 

Rounds 30-20 and 10 were without incident. 

So I worked out 3 days in a row and I am so sore. My body is pretty beat down. I plan to take the next couple of days, probably go a back in on Sunday. 

I'm strangely calm. I got some very good "advice" and comfort from close friends. It has me refocused and serene about what I have to do. 

Loitering

"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.

Wowsers! I just checked the last time I did this WOD in March and I PR'd by over 3 rounds, which comes out to 460 meters! I'm happy for the new PR. Yayayayayaya! Oh, by round 8-9 I had already broken form. And I realized that I should have done some pose drills before I started the WOD. Next time, for sure. 

I ended up sticking around the box and cheering on the On-ramp class. When 13 showed up for the 8:30 and I felt inspired to do another WOD. 

2011 CrossFit Games Regional Workout 3

21-15-9 reps for time of:

315 85 lb Deadlift

30" 20" Box Jump

I really pushed myself on this. I went light on the DL cause I def wanted to keep intensity up and I was trying to be mindful of my hip. When I called time, I had that post WOD body-heartbeat-glow that I haven't felt in a while cause all the WODs I've been doing for the past week have all been 40+ mins, endurance workouts that haven't pushed me to that edge... But today made up for that. I had expressed wanting to do some sub 10mins WODs to Smidty earlier this week. 

Now I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight :)

PS- I can still do strict pull ups :)

Wrecked

Power clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

55-65-75-80m-80-85m-85PR-90m

I've never done 1RM for Power Clean, so this is my baseline, but I do not for sure that I've never clean a bar over 80#, power nor squat, so I'd say that 85#s is a PR. My attempts at 90 where I failed I think is due to me being tired, not cause I'm not strong or fast enough to successfully complete the lift. So 90 is completely in my sights. 

Went LAXCF and continue practicing cleans. Dan wanted to record me to doing it and here it is:

I initially was doing power cleans, but I think as I get into the higher weights I need to do it as a squat clean. This was 83#s. I like it. I'm sure I could drop under the bar faster, but I'm happy over all. I felt my explosion in my jump shrug was powerful and I'm getting the bar pretty high, it's just swing my elbows around and dropping into that squat. 

I really want to record myself more so I can work on tweaking my technique. 

Soooooo tired. My body is super sore and probably is dying for sleep so it can heal. 

24 hours of epic

Workout of the Day 5/25/2011

Strength.
Thruster 2-2-2

Met-Con.
“Annie” – 50-40-30-20-10:
Double Unders
Sit-Ups

PR'd Annie by 2:30. Sub 10 mins!!!! yaaaahooooo!

Graduated to a wire/cable jump rope. Finally! And boy do DUs go way faster with a lighter rope. 

GOT MY FIRST STRICT PULL UP. My puny arms are getting stronger. 

The set of numbers before my time are my thrusters... Can I tell you, my 1RM is 75 and my 3RM is 70... and today when I did 2 @ 73#s it felt doable. I could have totally added more weight and went for a 2RM PR. 

Day 25 of the whole 30 and shit is finally starting to come together, make sense... I think I'm done "detoxing." I don't feel crazy and neurotic. I just wish my sleep would get in order. 

I have to admit that these gains are from my clean food intake. I don't think it perchance that I saw so many gains in such a short window. All the strict PU practice came together, all because of eating well I believe. 

I'm sooooo beat... But I have an amazing next few days lined up with a wedding, some "Top" secret stuff, reggaefest, and just plain ole good company...

Life is good. 

With a sense of calm

The last time I attempted OHS 3x5 was about 7 months ago. See here.  I'm happy to PR a 3RM @ 65#s. I would have attempted 70#s but the powers that be were closing up shop for the evening. 

This workout set me up for an interesting time with today's WOD... 

Giant among us!

This post is dedicated to Chris Sherwin. 

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

This story is just crazy.... Only in Assassin's world :D

So Martina does Games WOD 11.6. At her completion I claim her 65# bar. I slap on 2-35# plates on it. I lift it. I do not record this on the whiteboard. I add 2-10# plates. I lift successfully and with ease. 

I go to the whiteboard and record my last 2 reps: 125-145-

Add 2 more 10# plates. Lift. Done. 165#.

Add 2 more 10# plates. Liiiiiiiiift really slowly, but complete the rep with "ease" once the bar was off the ground. I was mindful to also do the eccentric movement back down to the ground, knowing it aids in making me stronger. It wasn't bad. 185#. Done. This felt very heavy, which kinda already put in a bad mood, cause I thought, If it was soooo difficult to do my current PR, how the heck am I gonna set a new one at 190? I was discouraged and thought, Maybe I'm not that strong today. 

I scout for 2 and half plates to add another small increment of 5# total. I pulled as hard as I could, but the bar would not even budge off the ground. I knew it was my head. 

I took a long rest and was determined to PR. I went to ZEb and said I HAD to lift this off the ground. On my 2nd and final attempt, I set up strong and pulled. NOthing. 

I got really down on myself. I just laid on the ground with CR and had this running loop of disappointment in my head. We goofed off long enough for the 6:30pm class to start. I decided to FINALLY strip my bar and put it away. AND that is when I found out that the 2 innermost plates were 15#s, not 10#. So this entire time I was recording my reps, I was off by 10#s. 

THEREFORE, I DID SET A NEW PR BY 10#s: 195#s!!!! I'm only 5#s away from DL'ing double my body weight. 

So my last 2 missed reps were actually attempts at 200#s. 

It totally turned my blah class into pure elation. I'm even giddy about it now, 6 hours later :)

200#s is my goal my birthday. Which is totally doable. 

For no particular reason I just want to say that I really appreciate my Coaches, Diso and Zeb. Now that I'm coaching, I have a greater respect for what they do, and I hope that I can be in a place to touch lives like they have mine. 

A monday.

Ok, this picture is not correct.  The 105x3 is NOT  PR. The 100#s is technically and PR @ 4 reps.

After that I did...

"Tabata Something Else"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

My totals listed are not in order of how we did the Tabata intervals. I think 39 is my pull up score. 93 is my squat score. 82 is my sit up score and 50 is my push up score. I'm happy with my work. 

Striking Out

The Clean & Jerk is a lift that is NOT part of the CFSB template. Oh well! I've been wanting to attempt to set a PR on this movement since I set new PRs on both the split-jerk and front squat. I knew I've gotten stronger since I set my former PR in Oct. '09. 

It wasn't by much (not to say that I couldn't put up more weight, I just thought I'd stop while I was ahead)... 80#s was my 8th attempt, so I knew there wasn't much gas in the tank. My first clean, I felt the bar was a little out in front of my so I caught it forward, but I was able to recover and catch the bar at the bottom of my squat. I stood up and reset. I could feel the stars swirling about my head. I took 4 big breaths and split jerk the bar up and I got under. My left shoulder felt weak and tired and I felt my core "slack." It took me a second to stablize the bar over my head and complete the movement with complete control. I drop the bar, and think "Oh shit, I have to do another one!"

My second rep was waaaaayy better than my first. I knew I had to commit to each movement. I jump shrugged was quicker and with much more force than my first rep. I felt that bar get weightless, and I immediately through myself into the bottom of my squat, and swung my elbows around the bar. It felt so doable---I stood up without effort. No stars about my head. I did take an extra second to reset and catch my bearings before I jerked the bar. I again focused on my speed on getting underneath the bar. There was no way I could press 80#s so I had to rely on my speed to get the bar overhead. And I did!

Super excited. I feel like I definitely could Clean & jerk 85#s, maybe even 90#, but I'm going to take some time before I attempt again. I'll work on my press to get my upper body stronger; work on my front squat so I can "receive" the bar with proper strength; and work on my explosive speed. 

For Met-con dessert I did Games WOD 11.6

As many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:

3 Thrusters (100/65)

3 Chest to Bar Pull ups

6 Thrusters

6 Chest to Bar Pull ups

9 Thrusters

9 Chest to Bar Pull ups

...if you complete the 9 reps, continue to 12 of each, then 15 and so on until the time is completed.

I'm gonna do this again with more weight. I don't really like my performance. Just glad that I got my met-con in. My left shoulder was acting stupid and I had to stop a few times. I forgot to ice it or roll it out. I hope my shoulder isn't jacked. 

Enlightened

Pretty straight forward. I hit my new 3RM PR by 5#s. Super stoked. Felt strong. I liked it. Of course, I <3 back squats, so not a big surprise. 

I knew this morning, I was planning to do a 10 min version of Jack. Not really sure what the RX'd weight is for ladies, but I kept it light. My left shoulder was acting all wonky during the shoulder prep, so I was a bit concerned, but it warmed up by the 2nd round in. 

(I JUST NOTICED THAT I FORGOT TO WRITE THAT I GOT 3 PUSH PRESSES- HA!)

For push press I used 45#s, for KB I used 3/4 pood and a 18" box. I'm happy with my results. I went hard the last round. I really wanted to complete 4 rounds and get some PP in, and I did it, but not without taking myself to that edge of "Oh shit!" I collapsed at the end of the 10 mins. I started to walk around and clean up, but found out too prematurely. I had a strong desire to "puke." I went outside by the bushes and just sat there. I felt the blood rushing to my face and heat just coming off of my body. I stayed like that for about 10 mins. 

Now, I'm home completely gassed and relaxed. Not really excited about working tomorrow. But I do have something to look forward to: Coaching the KIDS!

PS- the hip flexor strain seems to have worked itself out. 

This is the most sure I've ever felt

I ran 400m for warm up. Came back and jumped right into DROM. During my leg front kicks and side kicks, something tweaked in my hip. I felt fine at extension, but when flexed it was painful, at 90 degrees or less. I decided to continue with the classic warm up. Doing the squats were painful. I did some stretches and some mob-wod movements to see it would "work itself out." I was determined to do deadlift today. 

Without feeling any relief I jumped into lifting some weight. I started at 115#, then 145#. I wanted the my 165# to by my first official number on the board (In January I set a 4RM PR @ 165#). I got it the new PR!!! It was actually "easy." I did not release the bar at the top of the deadlift, but did the eccentric movement back to the ground. Probably a bad idea for my strained flexor, which at the time I didn't isolate it to be that muscle. 

For 175#, I did release the bar at the top after each rep. The first 3 reps felt great; #4 was tough. Rep #5 was very difficult, breaking the 5RM PR I just set 5 mins prior. After dropping the bar, I fell to my knees feeling the stars swirling about my head.  It really gassed me. I laid there, rotating my hip, feeling the tension building up. At that point, I thought I would do my last set of 5 reps at the same weight of 175#. 

The pain was starting to be too much. Tyler recommended that I throw in the towel and be satisfied with the numbers I put up. I'm glad I took his advice. I immediately rolled out my hip and iced it. It felt sooooo good. 

I have a strong feeling that sleep isn't going to be so comfortable tonight. My hips bother anyway when I'm injury free. 

Instead of back squat tomorrow, I may have to work on push-press and do an upper body couplet, maybe like the Main site WOD, hmmmm. 

Testing my inner strength

Five rounds for time:

7 Front squat (185/135#)

10 Burpee pull-ups

What a day. So much on my mind, and in heart, trying to listen to my gut, still not trusting my intuition.... With all this, I really wanted to unload all this "heaviness" at the box. Just lay it all out. 

With this in mind, I attacked my 1st Strength WOD with lofty goals. My 1RM max, set in November is 105#s. In the past 3 months I've attempted to set a new 1RM of 110# twice about a month ago, failing both times!!!

I remembered being discouraged. I just kept thinking, "What's 5#s more over my current PR of 105#?"

Fast forward to today, and I thought, I'm going to set a new PR. Of course, I actually thought, I'd be happy if I did just one rep, but successfully completing a 3 reps, that just sent me over the moon!!! :)) It was difficult, but doable. I'm sooo happy. Setting a new PR is so satisfying.  

Following the CFSB (that's Strength Bias) template, I proceeded to prepare for a high intensity WOD, taking today's WOD and modifying it so that it would fall under 10 mins and keep the intensity high. I dropped down to 65#s and lessened the reps to 5 & 7 vs. 7 & 10, respectively. After lifting those heavy loads, this WOD was definitely brutal. I just kept thinking, I just want this to be over, I just want this to be over!

End of round 2, I felt hopeless. My legs were so fatigued at that point. My burpee pull ups felt so slow. When I got to the burpees in round 4, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and put into high gear and went all out. 

I finished my last set of front squats and Diso called "9 mins in!" I knew I wanted to be under 10 mins so I pushed through the last 7 burpees and called time at 9:29. I collapsed and writhed on the floor, feeling my stomach convulsing. My head was reeling... Burpees do that to me. 

This was exactly what I needed. 

4 hours later and my legs are just killed. 

Hang Man

Hang Power Clean + Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

My PR is bullshit. I just searched my blog history and I've never attempted a 1RM Hang Clean, power nor squat. Soooo, while all those are PRs, it's mostly a baseline. Going off memory, I don't think I've ever attempted to hang clean anything over 65#s. I mean, maybe I have, but unsuccessfully. So I'll take the 70#s as a triumph. Especially since I attempted on my 3rd round and failed. I backed off, got my confidence back up and knew it was my head that was stopping me from completing the lift. Lifting all that weight above head is "easy." I pretty sure that I can do into the 80+ overhead. I think I will be attempting jerk from the rack position on Wednesday as my strength day. 

I think I've made the decision to alternate met-con wod with strength conditioning every other day. I want to get stronger so I need to give it more attention. More than what the main site gives it. 

I'm thinking 2 days a week Met-con and 3 days/wk strength. I'm just not seeing the gains that I think other folks I see at other boxes whom do their own programing are accomplishing. 

We'll see. 

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.