One more day of rest tomorrow and then Friday morning its time for the 300. To reiterate, the 300 goes like this:
Pull-ups, 25 repetitions
Deadlifts with 135 pounds, 50 repetitions
Push-ups, 50 repetitions
Box jumps (24-inch), 50 repetitions
Floor wipers (135 pounds), 50 repetitions
Single-arm kettlebell (35 pound) clean-and-press, 50 repetitions
Pull-ups, 25 repetitions
I'm thinking those Deadlifts are going to be a lot easier this time around. I'll either have to substitute a dumbbell for the KB clean and press, or I'll up the reps to 60 for that- since my KB is only 30# - I haven't decided yet. Either way - this sounds easier this time around.
Unfortunately, my legs are burning from the tabata back squats yesterday - a burn I don't think I was feeling going into this last time. Still one day of rest though.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 92 - Last Chance Workout
Today is my last workout before the 300 challenge attempt 2. I'll do this on Friday, 10/30.
So what did I pick to get the most possible conditioning out of it? Tabata back squats!
This was a tough workout - and I will certainly do front squats in the future, which will allow me to unload the bar in between sets. Instead I kept the bar on my shoulders for the entire duration - which was killer. Actually, not the entire time - and it wasn't a true tabata. This is because after set 4, I didn't think I'd be able to stand up many more times with the weight I was working with - so I had to drop the weight down.
Foolishly, without doing much research on this first, I loaded 185 on the bar at the start and tried this in a back squat position, which as I said, meant that I didn't have enough time to dump the bar to the rack during my rest interval - so that made the workout all the more gruelling.
I completed the reps with 185# as follows:
12-10-7-6
I then dumped the bar - it took me about 1:10 to get the weight switched and the bar back to my shoulders - just had to dump the 25# weights - then I was back in it on 135#:
12-9-8-6
I think 135# would have been a good weight to do all the way through without the 1 minute pause - though if I was doing front squats, I may want to drop that as low as 115 or 95 - probably 115, since I would be able to dump the bar. Anyway - GREAT burn.
I ended up finishing off with AMRAP pull-ups in 1 minute - got 25 out kipping, which I'm starting to get okay at. This will help on Friday.
So what did I pick to get the most possible conditioning out of it? Tabata back squats!
This was a tough workout - and I will certainly do front squats in the future, which will allow me to unload the bar in between sets. Instead I kept the bar on my shoulders for the entire duration - which was killer. Actually, not the entire time - and it wasn't a true tabata. This is because after set 4, I didn't think I'd be able to stand up many more times with the weight I was working with - so I had to drop the weight down.
Foolishly, without doing much research on this first, I loaded 185 on the bar at the start and tried this in a back squat position, which as I said, meant that I didn't have enough time to dump the bar to the rack during my rest interval - so that made the workout all the more gruelling.
I completed the reps with 185# as follows:
12-10-7-6
I then dumped the bar - it took me about 1:10 to get the weight switched and the bar back to my shoulders - just had to dump the 25# weights - then I was back in it on 135#:
12-9-8-6
I think 135# would have been a good weight to do all the way through without the 1 minute pause - though if I was doing front squats, I may want to drop that as low as 115 or 95 - probably 115, since I would be able to dump the bar. Anyway - GREAT burn.
I ended up finishing off with AMRAP pull-ups in 1 minute - got 25 out kipping, which I'm starting to get okay at. This will help on Friday.
Monday, October 26, 2009
300 - Day 91 - Dead Lift
I wanted to make up the 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 Dead Lift posted on the main site on Saturday, so I did that today as the main site had a rest day anyway.
So I warmed up as usual and then stacked the weights. I decided to start out with 225, because I don't have bumper plates available, so its hard to get extra 45s on without racking the bar, which interrupts the workout. With 225, I can stack well over my previous PR using just the 35s, 25s, 10s, 5s and 2.5s. I actually got some lifting hooks for after my grip gives out on the bar. I lift as much as I can with a raw grip and then rather than switching to an alternating/mixed grip, I switch to the hooks - though I may go higher with mixed grips as well in the future, though usually I will workout with less than what I can lift with a regular grip.
That said, here was my progression -
225
275
315 (previous PR with regular grip)
335 - had to use hooks, failed without
345 - previous PR
365
375
390!!
The previous PR was with alternating/mixed grip and this time around it was hook from 335 up. Next time I go for heavy dead-lifts, I'll use a mixed grip at least to 345 - and I'll do at least 2 reps with mixed grip, one with left supine and right prone and one vice versa.
The 390 was HEAVY. This came up SLOW. But I was really happy to hit it. Next time around I plan to hit 400 - but I'll need to do a lot of lower weight work first! I can't wait until my next Linda, when I can do it as Rx'd (290)!
So I warmed up as usual and then stacked the weights. I decided to start out with 225, because I don't have bumper plates available, so its hard to get extra 45s on without racking the bar, which interrupts the workout. With 225, I can stack well over my previous PR using just the 35s, 25s, 10s, 5s and 2.5s. I actually got some lifting hooks for after my grip gives out on the bar. I lift as much as I can with a raw grip and then rather than switching to an alternating/mixed grip, I switch to the hooks - though I may go higher with mixed grips as well in the future, though usually I will workout with less than what I can lift with a regular grip.
That said, here was my progression -
225
275
315 (previous PR with regular grip)
335 - had to use hooks, failed without
345 - previous PR
365
375
390!!
The previous PR was with alternating/mixed grip and this time around it was hook from 335 up. Next time I go for heavy dead-lifts, I'll use a mixed grip at least to 345 - and I'll do at least 2 reps with mixed grip, one with left supine and right prone and one vice versa.
The 390 was HEAVY. This came up SLOW. But I was really happy to hit it. Next time around I plan to hit 400 - but I'll need to do a lot of lower weight work first! I can't wait until my next Linda, when I can do it as Rx'd (290)!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
300 - Day 90 - APFT Test
Unfortunately yesterday's PT test was moved to today - so taking both Thursday and Friday off was kind of unnecessary - despite that I'm sure it helped the tight neck muscle. I ended up doing a little bit of light skill work last night, having not done any exercising in 3 days, I really just couldn't help it with a gym readily available - I was sleeping at the reserve center with a gym all to myself. I practised the snatch and cleans.
Anyway, I had my PT test today - back in April before starting CrossFit, I did 90 push-ups, 67 sit-ups and ran my 2 mile run in 14:06. I managed this score by basically focusing on these three movements (push-up, sit-up, run) for about 2-3 months prior to the PT test - greatly improving over my last score, especially in the push-up. Before this PT test, I was running 6 miles at least once a week, and shorter runs 2-3 times a week. I was doing lots of sets of max push-ups and max sit-ups and supplementing this with an average gym workout.
Today, without having emphasised any of these (I don't think I usually run once a week these days...) in the same 1:10 as I did before (I have 2 minutes, but don't use it) I completed 95 push-ups, which certainly could have been more - but I felt my abs getting tired and had the sit-ups to go. I improved my sit-ups to 74 repetitions in 2 minutes - and this felt a lot easier than my previous 67 which I struggled for - and my run actually slowed a little bit to 14:28. I partly attribute the run to not having anyone push me for most of the time. My last run, I was chasing two guys starting at about the 1/4 mile mark - this time I was out in front for almost the entire run - one of the guys that was out ahead of me last time around slowed his time and didn't catch me until the 1 and 1/4 mile mark - he had a much better second half than I did, keeping his splits within seconds of each other.
Anyway, it was an improvement overall, so I can't complain about the run. I will continue to work the CFE WOD into my routine to improve this - and in fact, I'll try to take another PT test in two weeks when I have drill again to see if supplementing the WOD with focus runs and sit-ups will help to get that 300 that I am now so close to obtaining.
Anyway, I had my PT test today - back in April before starting CrossFit, I did 90 push-ups, 67 sit-ups and ran my 2 mile run in 14:06. I managed this score by basically focusing on these three movements (push-up, sit-up, run) for about 2-3 months prior to the PT test - greatly improving over my last score, especially in the push-up. Before this PT test, I was running 6 miles at least once a week, and shorter runs 2-3 times a week. I was doing lots of sets of max push-ups and max sit-ups and supplementing this with an average gym workout.
Today, without having emphasised any of these (I don't think I usually run once a week these days...) in the same 1:10 as I did before (I have 2 minutes, but don't use it) I completed 95 push-ups, which certainly could have been more - but I felt my abs getting tired and had the sit-ups to go. I improved my sit-ups to 74 repetitions in 2 minutes - and this felt a lot easier than my previous 67 which I struggled for - and my run actually slowed a little bit to 14:28. I partly attribute the run to not having anyone push me for most of the time. My last run, I was chasing two guys starting at about the 1/4 mile mark - this time I was out in front for almost the entire run - one of the guys that was out ahead of me last time around slowed his time and didn't catch me until the 1 and 1/4 mile mark - he had a much better second half than I did, keeping his splits within seconds of each other.
Anyway, it was an improvement overall, so I can't complain about the run. I will continue to work the CFE WOD into my routine to improve this - and in fact, I'll try to take another PT test in two weeks when I have drill again to see if supplementing the WOD with focus runs and sit-ups will help to get that 300 that I am now so close to obtaining.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
300 - Day 86 - Tabata Treadmill pt II.
I didn't do yesterday's workout - which was Tabata Something Else - 8x20:10 for max reps of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and squats. I didn't do this for two reasons - one being that if I can gather the needed time, I will be putting my Army Reserve unit through this very workout this weekend. It'll be easier to do this if I don't have to try to keep my own time - and I get to torture my troops with a good workout, which is an added bonus.
The second reason being that my neck was still rather tight. I even ended up taking asprin - which is not normal for me - to loosen the muscles up to help heal faster.
So I skipped yesterday and made up for it today with my return to the Tabata Treadmill workout. I had already been planning to do this today - and then as luck had it, the CFE site had the same workout I had been planning. The minor variation was that instead of 20:10 intervals, it specified 30:20 intervals at a 12% incline. This sounded good to me - so that's what I did.
I learned my lesson last time, stating at a 6:30 pace - so this time I put the speed at 8mph, or a 7:30 pace. This ended up being almost tolerable for the entire distance. I ended up needing to drop the incline to 10% for the last two rounds - but otherwise, it was a much better experience than last time. I grabbed the handles at the end of the last interval and it measured my heart rate at 189 - wow.
I'll use this same pace next time around until I can complete all rounds as Rx'd - and then I'll think about increasing the speed.
The second reason being that my neck was still rather tight. I even ended up taking asprin - which is not normal for me - to loosen the muscles up to help heal faster.
So I skipped yesterday and made up for it today with my return to the Tabata Treadmill workout. I had already been planning to do this today - and then as luck had it, the CFE site had the same workout I had been planning. The minor variation was that instead of 20:10 intervals, it specified 30:20 intervals at a 12% incline. This sounded good to me - so that's what I did.
I learned my lesson last time, stating at a 6:30 pace - so this time I put the speed at 8mph, or a 7:30 pace. This ended up being almost tolerable for the entire distance. I ended up needing to drop the incline to 10% for the last two rounds - but otherwise, it was a much better experience than last time. I grabbed the handles at the end of the last interval and it measured my heart rate at 189 - wow.
I'll use this same pace next time around until I can complete all rounds as Rx'd - and then I'll think about increasing the speed.
Monday, October 19, 2009
300 - Day 84 - Weighted pull-ups
Finally felt good enough to get back to the action today. A good day for it too - WOD is weighted pull-ups - 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
So I weighed myself in at 183.6# with my shoes and clothes - making note of this so that I can reference it for the same workout in the future. I then warmed up as follows:
1/2 mi run on 2% incline: 4:41
20 push-ups
40 sit-ups
15 dips
20 squats
2x5 pull-ups with body weight (strict dead-hang w/ full ROM)
I then strapped 2 10# ankle weights to my ankles - which I was really hoping I would need - and then grabbed my 30# kettlebell for rep 1.
Rep 1 was 50#.
This was fairly easy, so I got a 45# dumbbell, keeping the ankle-weights on and knocked that out. Again, fairly easy. My 7 reps ended up going like this:
50#
65#
75# (PR)
80#
90#
100# (f) - missed by 3-4 inches
100# - went neutral grip.
All strict, no kip, w/ full ROM:
I hung on for a good 5 seconds trying to muscle the failed rep out - but you know once you stop moving half-way up, you have no chance. Unfortunately, I strained a muscle in my neck trying to get that - as I spent those 5 seconds or so giving it everything I had from the muscle region - and my shoulders were still sore from the Hang Squat Cleans. Hopefully this feels better for tomorrows workout - but if not, then I'll have to rest again - I have a PT test coming up this coming weekend and only a few more days after that before I have my 300 test - so I don't want to exacerbate anything before either of those.
Anyway, hanging on to dumbbells with your feet is easier than expected - I only had up to 80# which ended up being my limit combined with the ankle weights - good thing I had those available - not sure what I'll do when I start being able to do more than 100... I actually think the ankle weights made it more awkward - though, they provided padding.
Cooled down with
5x20# weighted pull-ups
5 BW pull-ups
62 sit-ups - 1x max reps without rest - that 100% on sit-ups is in my reach.
500m row @ 2:03
So I weighed myself in at 183.6# with my shoes and clothes - making note of this so that I can reference it for the same workout in the future. I then warmed up as follows:
1/2 mi run on 2% incline: 4:41
20 push-ups
40 sit-ups
15 dips
20 squats
2x5 pull-ups with body weight (strict dead-hang w/ full ROM)
I then strapped 2 10# ankle weights to my ankles - which I was really hoping I would need - and then grabbed my 30# kettlebell for rep 1.
Rep 1 was 50#.
This was fairly easy, so I got a 45# dumbbell, keeping the ankle-weights on and knocked that out. Again, fairly easy. My 7 reps ended up going like this:
50#
65#
75# (PR)
80#
90#
100# (f) - missed by 3-4 inches
100# - went neutral grip.
All strict, no kip, w/ full ROM:
I hung on for a good 5 seconds trying to muscle the failed rep out - but you know once you stop moving half-way up, you have no chance. Unfortunately, I strained a muscle in my neck trying to get that - as I spent those 5 seconds or so giving it everything I had from the muscle region - and my shoulders were still sore from the Hang Squat Cleans. Hopefully this feels better for tomorrows workout - but if not, then I'll have to rest again - I have a PT test coming up this coming weekend and only a few more days after that before I have my 300 test - so I don't want to exacerbate anything before either of those.
Anyway, hanging on to dumbbells with your feet is easier than expected - I only had up to 80# which ended up being my limit combined with the ankle weights - good thing I had those available - not sure what I'll do when I start being able to do more than 100... I actually think the ankle weights made it more awkward - though, they provided padding.
Cooled down with
5x20# weighted pull-ups
5 BW pull-ups
62 sit-ups - 1x max reps without rest - that 100% on sit-ups is in my reach.
500m row @ 2:03
Saturday, October 17, 2009
300 - Day 80
So I ended up taking some more days off - still more sick than I thought and Fran didn't help the situation at all. Either way, the way I see it, its better to take a few days off to recuperate so that you can work at full intensity than it is to work a few days at less-than-your-best.
So I took my time off and waited for a good day to return. I thought today's workout sounded good - I even almost recommended it as a nice easy workout for someone at the office who is wanting to get into Crossfit - but keeps hesitating, being a little intimidated.
It's probably a good thing it slipped my mind. The WOD:
Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Hang squat clean, 15 reps
30 Push-ups
It didn't sound bad - but I should realise by now that those are the worst ones.
This was a brutal, brutal workout. I tried to do it as Rx'd - but after round 3, I knew I wouldn't be able to grip the bar long enough to complete another HSC - my forearms were that destroyed. So I lowered the weight to 115 and continued. To give you an idea, here are my times for each round:
Round 1 - 4:56
Round 2 - 12:18
Round 3 - 23:00
Round 4 - 31:00 (didn't stop the clock while I changed weights)
Round 5 - 37:50
With push-ups being a strong suit for me - I finished all my sets unbroken - you can tell how much work I need at the hang squat clean. I just didn't expect this to be as demanding as it was.
As I post this now (2 days later) my shoulders are BURNING still. I needed to ask my wife for a massage earlier - and even that was excruciating. My forearms are still sore and even my legs, which are my most powerful muscles are quite sore.
When I finished this workout, my pulse rate was about 160 - borderline on the cardio zone for my age - which just goes to show how demanding Crossfit is - nearing 40 minutes of cardio work with full-body heavy weight exercises.
If this workout comes up again any time soon, I'll definitely consider modifying the weight at the beginning of the workout until I can do this exercise less broken. I took both yesterday and today off because of the soreness - no symptoms of rhabdo yet though! Today though, I did do some running and monkeying around at the playground with the kids. Something to get the heart rate going anyway.
So I took my time off and waited for a good day to return. I thought today's workout sounded good - I even almost recommended it as a nice easy workout for someone at the office who is wanting to get into Crossfit - but keeps hesitating, being a little intimidated.
It's probably a good thing it slipped my mind. The WOD:
Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Hang squat clean, 15 reps
30 Push-ups
It didn't sound bad - but I should realise by now that those are the worst ones.
This was a brutal, brutal workout. I tried to do it as Rx'd - but after round 3, I knew I wouldn't be able to grip the bar long enough to complete another HSC - my forearms were that destroyed. So I lowered the weight to 115 and continued. To give you an idea, here are my times for each round:
Round 1 - 4:56
Round 2 - 12:18
Round 3 - 23:00
Round 4 - 31:00 (didn't stop the clock while I changed weights)
Round 5 - 37:50
With push-ups being a strong suit for me - I finished all my sets unbroken - you can tell how much work I need at the hang squat clean. I just didn't expect this to be as demanding as it was.
As I post this now (2 days later) my shoulders are BURNING still. I needed to ask my wife for a massage earlier - and even that was excruciating. My forearms are still sore and even my legs, which are my most powerful muscles are quite sore.
When I finished this workout, my pulse rate was about 160 - borderline on the cardio zone for my age - which just goes to show how demanding Crossfit is - nearing 40 minutes of cardio work with full-body heavy weight exercises.
If this workout comes up again any time soon, I'll definitely consider modifying the weight at the beginning of the workout until I can do this exercise less broken. I took both yesterday and today off because of the soreness - no symptoms of rhabdo yet though! Today though, I did do some running and monkeying around at the playground with the kids. Something to get the heart rate going anyway.
300 - Day 77
I took a few days off because of a cold. It was a real shame too - I would have liked to have run the 5K - I'm going to try and work it in on a day when I don't have the proper equipment available.
Today I decided to make up yesterday's WOD - after missing the 5K, the next day was a rest day and yesterday was Fran. I've seen people post times for Fran recently and wanted to give it a shot. I've done Fran before with a time of 7:37. I've seen times posted as low as 4 minutes or so - so I wanted to make a fairly drastic improvement.
Fran sounds quick and easy:
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups
The trick though is doing the Thrusters in a full squat. Thinking back, I'm sure my first Fran was probably closer to a push-press, where instead of going into a full squat, you simply do a power position. This severely decreases the power output.
So with that in mind, this time around, I was doing full ass-to-grass squats - still hoping for a time improvement. But today wasn't the day. I was apparently still more sick than I thought as my respiratory system just wasn't cooperating and I finished with a time of 8:34. Almost a full minute slower.
Oh well - I'll get it next time around.
Today I decided to make up yesterday's WOD - after missing the 5K, the next day was a rest day and yesterday was Fran. I've seen people post times for Fran recently and wanted to give it a shot. I've done Fran before with a time of 7:37. I've seen times posted as low as 4 minutes or so - so I wanted to make a fairly drastic improvement.
Fran sounds quick and easy:
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups
The trick though is doing the Thrusters in a full squat. Thinking back, I'm sure my first Fran was probably closer to a push-press, where instead of going into a full squat, you simply do a power position. This severely decreases the power output.
So with that in mind, this time around, I was doing full ass-to-grass squats - still hoping for a time improvement. But today wasn't the day. I was apparently still more sick than I thought as my respiratory system just wasn't cooperating and I finished with a time of 8:34. Almost a full minute slower.
Oh well - I'll get it next time around.
300 - Day 73 - Sumo!
The WOD for 10/8/09:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Row 250 meters
Sumo deadlift highpull 95 pounds, 21 reps
Pull-ups 15 reps
I have gotten in the habit of reviewing the older posts - the "compare to" date to see what I'm up against and to find an approximate average that I can strive to beat. In doing so, many of the workouts that I have compared, it looks like the average Crossfit athlete has improved. So for today's WOD, after reviewing the results from 05/25/2004, where the average rounds of completion was 4, I expected to see today's Crossfitters achieving 5-6 rounds on average.
After round 1, I realised I was sorely mistaken. I finished my second 250m row at the 5 minute mark. It's amazing just how quickly the Sumo deadlift high pull can crush your pull-up performance. Usually I can start my pull-ups off with sets of 15. Not today. After punishing my muscles with the SDLHP, I was only able to knock out 5 at a time. And that was kipping. I quickly realised it would be a feat to even finish 4 rounds - as while I was still fresh, I was barely ahead of schedule to do that.
However, I muscled through and finished round 4 with 19:43 on the clock - not even enough time to get my feet clipped in to start a new round of rowing. 20 minutes of punishment.
It's still amazing that nearly 3 months of this - and still, each workout is as demanding as was the first.
Crossfit is a way of life.
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Row 250 meters
Sumo deadlift highpull 95 pounds, 21 reps
Pull-ups 15 reps
I have gotten in the habit of reviewing the older posts - the "compare to" date to see what I'm up against and to find an approximate average that I can strive to beat. In doing so, many of the workouts that I have compared, it looks like the average Crossfit athlete has improved. So for today's WOD, after reviewing the results from 05/25/2004, where the average rounds of completion was 4, I expected to see today's Crossfitters achieving 5-6 rounds on average.
After round 1, I realised I was sorely mistaken. I finished my second 250m row at the 5 minute mark. It's amazing just how quickly the Sumo deadlift high pull can crush your pull-up performance. Usually I can start my pull-ups off with sets of 15. Not today. After punishing my muscles with the SDLHP, I was only able to knock out 5 at a time. And that was kipping. I quickly realised it would be a feat to even finish 4 rounds - as while I was still fresh, I was barely ahead of schedule to do that.
However, I muscled through and finished round 4 with 19:43 on the clock - not even enough time to get my feet clipped in to start a new round of rowing. 20 minutes of punishment.
It's still amazing that nearly 3 months of this - and still, each workout is as demanding as was the first.
Crossfit is a way of life.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
300 - Day 72
I did two workouts today - the CF main site WOD and the CFE WOD.
I came in early after seeing the two short workouts posted last night so I could do the CF workout this morning and to the CFE during lunch.
I warmed up with:
500m Row (2:28)
30 anchored sit-ups (explosive and fast!)
30 push-ups
15 squats
5 pull-ups
5 dips
I then moved into the WOD - Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
I started out nice and easy at 95# and moved up liberally:
95-125-145-155-160(f)-160-170-185-195(f)
I did an extra rep at the end because the 160 was an accident. I had 45# and 10# plates loaded for the 155 and went to switch into 170 by adding a 5# and a 2.5# to each side.
Well, on the left side I accidentally unloaded the 10# plate first - so the weight was a little unven, causing me to fail the first time. I noticed that it felt off - but didn't heed my judgement. I just tried again with success. Once I put the bar back on the rack, I realized what was wrong!
The 170 felt good, but I didn't want to jump directly to 200, which is what I was aiming for today - so I decided to add the extra rep and knock out a 185 interim rep - which is probably a good thing, as I ended up decided between trying 190 or 195 (went for the 195 and failed) - but that gives me a lower failure to try to acheive for next time.
The CFE workout was a tabata treadmill run. This was my first tabata, which consists of 8 rounds of 20:10 (20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest). To do this run, you take your best 5K pace and add 30 seconds to the pace, run at that speed with the treadmill set at a 12% incline.
Being a fool and underestimating the workout, I used my best high school 5K time of 18:00 and set the treadmill for a 6:30 pace. I knew after 2 reps it was a mistake. After the 3rd rep, I had to slow it down. Again after the 4th, and 5th (resting 20 seconds after #5!) and finally stopping after the 6th rep when my pace was down to about 7:20. This was a seriously intense workout. I'll try this again in the future with a more conservative pace - probably more along the line of my current 5K pace, which is probably around 7-7:30/mile. I think I'll try a 7:30 pace.
Before this workout I warmed up with:
1/2 mile run (5:04)
5 pull-ups
30 sit-ups (again explosive)
20 push-ups
20 squats
5 dips
20 KB swings (30#)
I came in early after seeing the two short workouts posted last night so I could do the CF workout this morning and to the CFE during lunch.
I warmed up with:
500m Row (2:28)
30 anchored sit-ups (explosive and fast!)
30 push-ups
15 squats
5 pull-ups
5 dips
I then moved into the WOD - Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
I started out nice and easy at 95# and moved up liberally:
95-125-145-155-160(f)-160-170-185-195(f)
I did an extra rep at the end because the 160 was an accident. I had 45# and 10# plates loaded for the 155 and went to switch into 170 by adding a 5# and a 2.5# to each side.
Well, on the left side I accidentally unloaded the 10# plate first - so the weight was a little unven, causing me to fail the first time. I noticed that it felt off - but didn't heed my judgement. I just tried again with success. Once I put the bar back on the rack, I realized what was wrong!
The 170 felt good, but I didn't want to jump directly to 200, which is what I was aiming for today - so I decided to add the extra rep and knock out a 185 interim rep - which is probably a good thing, as I ended up decided between trying 190 or 195 (went for the 195 and failed) - but that gives me a lower failure to try to acheive for next time.
The CFE workout was a tabata treadmill run. This was my first tabata, which consists of 8 rounds of 20:10 (20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest). To do this run, you take your best 5K pace and add 30 seconds to the pace, run at that speed with the treadmill set at a 12% incline.
Being a fool and underestimating the workout, I used my best high school 5K time of 18:00 and set the treadmill for a 6:30 pace. I knew after 2 reps it was a mistake. After the 3rd rep, I had to slow it down. Again after the 4th, and 5th (resting 20 seconds after #5!) and finally stopping after the 6th rep when my pace was down to about 7:20. This was a seriously intense workout. I'll try this again in the future with a more conservative pace - probably more along the line of my current 5K pace, which is probably around 7-7:30/mile. I think I'll try a 7:30 pace.
Before this workout I warmed up with:
1/2 mile run (5:04)
5 pull-ups
30 sit-ups (again explosive)
20 push-ups
20 squats
5 dips
20 KB swings (30#)
Monday, October 5, 2009
300 - Day 70 - Muscle Ups?
Today's workout was 30 muscle-ups for time - or 120 pull-ups and 120 dips in any order.
I haven't done a muscle up before, but I figured I would try and if I could do any, I would just subtract 4 of each of the other exercises for each muscle up, and then finish the rest of the reps on pull-ups and dips.
But this didn't happen. It turns out that the bar at work (yeah - a bar, no rings!) was too close to the ceiling, so even if I could have done a muscle up, it wouldn't have been there. Next, the way the bars are set up was also not conducive to muscle ups - one set of 4-5" neutral grip bars, inconveniently spaced and a set of wide-grip, angled bar that only sticks out about 2-3 inches off the supporting bar.
So I had to opt for the pull-ups and dips.
I warmed up with a 1/2 mile run on the treadmill (5 mins even) followed by 15 GHD sit-ups, 20 push-ups and 20 squats.
I used more strategy in this than I usually have been. I started out doing sets of 10 for the first 4 sets of each. Then, I felt like I needed to drop down to 5, so I did. I did sets of 5 for quite a while. I ended up breaking this workout up a little bit - I had brought my KB in to work, because a co-worker had asked about them - and he happened to show up to the gym when I was about 80 reps of each in. So I showed him some basic KB moves while "resting" and then got back into my routine while he tried them out. I don't know how much time this took up, but it was probably a few minutes. Enough that my muscles were rested enough (when I hit 95 reps) that I was able to knock out a set of 15 and a set of 10 to finish up.
Even with the distraction, I finished at about 23 minutes - I didn't have my stop watch with me, so I was watching the wall clock. In the gym at work, the dip bars are also quite a way away from the pull-up bar, so I spent a lot of time walking too.
I'd like to do this again, re-positioning things and without distractions. I think I can do much better.
I haven't done a muscle up before, but I figured I would try and if I could do any, I would just subtract 4 of each of the other exercises for each muscle up, and then finish the rest of the reps on pull-ups and dips.
But this didn't happen. It turns out that the bar at work (yeah - a bar, no rings!) was too close to the ceiling, so even if I could have done a muscle up, it wouldn't have been there. Next, the way the bars are set up was also not conducive to muscle ups - one set of 4-5" neutral grip bars, inconveniently spaced and a set of wide-grip, angled bar that only sticks out about 2-3 inches off the supporting bar.
So I had to opt for the pull-ups and dips.
I warmed up with a 1/2 mile run on the treadmill (5 mins even) followed by 15 GHD sit-ups, 20 push-ups and 20 squats.
I used more strategy in this than I usually have been. I started out doing sets of 10 for the first 4 sets of each. Then, I felt like I needed to drop down to 5, so I did. I did sets of 5 for quite a while. I ended up breaking this workout up a little bit - I had brought my KB in to work, because a co-worker had asked about them - and he happened to show up to the gym when I was about 80 reps of each in. So I showed him some basic KB moves while "resting" and then got back into my routine while he tried them out. I don't know how much time this took up, but it was probably a few minutes. Enough that my muscles were rested enough (when I hit 95 reps) that I was able to knock out a set of 15 and a set of 10 to finish up.
Even with the distraction, I finished at about 23 minutes - I didn't have my stop watch with me, so I was watching the wall clock. In the gym at work, the dip bars are also quite a way away from the pull-up bar, so I spent a lot of time walking too.
I'd like to do this again, re-positioning things and without distractions. I think I can do much better.
300 - Day 69 - Self Rx
Another home workout today - but that meant I couldn't do the main site WOD which was:
21-18-15-12-9-6 and 3 rep rounds of:
Power clean 95 pounds
Sit-ups
Back extensions
Of course, at my gym at work I don't have a back extension station, so being there wouldn't have helped much - but I could have subbed good mornings, or KB swings, etc.
So I decided to get in some much needed work toward getting a better score on my PT test.
I decided on 75-50-25 of push-ups, sit-ups, KB swings (30#) in that order.
I thought this sounded easy, but I was wrong. I found out on my last set of sit-ups that this was because my dumbbell anchors just weren't cutting it. The 20lb dumbbells weren't tall enough to allow me to place them on the ground and put my feet under them, so I had them propped up on 2x4s to give them a good height. This made them unsteady and I had to be careful not to pull them off their platforms. This ended up making workout harder, which I guess is a good thing.
So anyway, I warmed up again with an 800m or so run, 10 swiss ball sit-ups, 10 dips and 20 squats and then started the clock.
I finished my first 75 push-ups (good form, mind you) in 50 seconds. I was more tired than I usually am with 75 push-ups in - a testament of my letting them slide - the last few were even a little difficult. The first 75 sit-ups were another story, taking over 3 minutes - which I later attributed to my bad anchoring - but probably also from the day before and having already done push-ups and using my abs for stabilisation.
The KB swings got difficult to - something in the way of 40, followed by 20 more and then a final 15 push.
On the second set of push-ups, I actually had to rest around 30 reps before knocking the rest out. The sit-ups were again painful and I ended up knocking my platform over toward the end. As I was looking at that quickly, deciding if I wanted to fix it then, or wait until after my sit-ups were over, I noticed my freshly removed air conditioner sitting on the floor behind them, with a lip on it that was perfect height for anchoring my feet. I pushed the dumbbells and x4s out of the way and finished my sit-ups on that. Much better.
KB swings still took another 2-3 sets and I was off into my final set of everything. I was able to knock the push-ups out in one go. The sit-ups, not quite - my abs were burning at this point and I had to stop after 15 before finishing.
I pushed as hard as I could through the last 25 KB swings - amazed to find my time at 19:59.
I expected about a 15 minute workout - which may have happened if my feet were anchored properly at first, but its hard to tell. Either way, I am again going to need to work more sit-ups into my warm-up or workout. The GHDs have been good, but in all honesty, they don't prepare you for the quick and explosive action you need to do really well in the APFT.
21-18-15-12-9-6 and 3 rep rounds of:
Power clean 95 pounds
Sit-ups
Back extensions
Of course, at my gym at work I don't have a back extension station, so being there wouldn't have helped much - but I could have subbed good mornings, or KB swings, etc.
So I decided to get in some much needed work toward getting a better score on my PT test.
I decided on 75-50-25 of push-ups, sit-ups, KB swings (30#) in that order.
I thought this sounded easy, but I was wrong. I found out on my last set of sit-ups that this was because my dumbbell anchors just weren't cutting it. The 20lb dumbbells weren't tall enough to allow me to place them on the ground and put my feet under them, so I had them propped up on 2x4s to give them a good height. This made them unsteady and I had to be careful not to pull them off their platforms. This ended up making workout harder, which I guess is a good thing.
So anyway, I warmed up again with an 800m or so run, 10 swiss ball sit-ups, 10 dips and 20 squats and then started the clock.
I finished my first 75 push-ups (good form, mind you) in 50 seconds. I was more tired than I usually am with 75 push-ups in - a testament of my letting them slide - the last few were even a little difficult. The first 75 sit-ups were another story, taking over 3 minutes - which I later attributed to my bad anchoring - but probably also from the day before and having already done push-ups and using my abs for stabilisation.
The KB swings got difficult to - something in the way of 40, followed by 20 more and then a final 15 push.
On the second set of push-ups, I actually had to rest around 30 reps before knocking the rest out. The sit-ups were again painful and I ended up knocking my platform over toward the end. As I was looking at that quickly, deciding if I wanted to fix it then, or wait until after my sit-ups were over, I noticed my freshly removed air conditioner sitting on the floor behind them, with a lip on it that was perfect height for anchoring my feet. I pushed the dumbbells and x4s out of the way and finished my sit-ups on that. Much better.
KB swings still took another 2-3 sets and I was off into my final set of everything. I was able to knock the push-ups out in one go. The sit-ups, not quite - my abs were burning at this point and I had to stop after 15 before finishing.
I pushed as hard as I could through the last 25 KB swings - amazed to find my time at 19:59.
I expected about a 15 minute workout - which may have happened if my feet were anchored properly at first, but its hard to tell. Either way, I am again going to need to work more sit-ups into my warm-up or workout. The GHDs have been good, but in all honesty, they don't prepare you for the quick and explosive action you need to do really well in the APFT.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
300 - Day 68
Day 67 was a rest day at the main site. For Day 68, the WOD was as follows:
For time:
Run 800 meters
15 left-legged pistols
15 right-legged pistols
25 sit-ups
12 left-legged pistols
12 right-legged pistols
25 sit-ups
9 right-legged pistols
9 left legged pistols
25 sit-ups
Run 800 meters
As Rx'd this workout is done with a 55# (1 1/2 pood) KB - which I didn't have available and so swapped for my 30# KB. I did this at home in the "gym" I have set up in my shed - which consists of a cardboard box on the floor for a sit-up/push-up mat, my KB (30#), 2x20# DumbBells, a work bench that I can kitty corner in for dips, and an exercise ball that I use for a more full-range sit-up.
After a general warm-up of a 1/2 mile run (un-timed), 20 push-ups, 15 swiss-ball sit-ups, 10 dips, and 30 Jumping Jacks I kicked this off.
I ran my first 800m in 2:56 - a far cry from the 2:20 or so repeats I did in high school - around the ball park of 2:05 or sometimes better on race day.
The pistols were a little sloppy, and quite broken up - this is a move I definitely have to work on. The sit-ups were tiring, but at least unbroken.
My second 800m was about 3:30 or so - big slow down.
Overall time 17:46.
For time:
Run 800 meters
15 left-legged pistols
15 right-legged pistols
25 sit-ups
12 left-legged pistols
12 right-legged pistols
25 sit-ups
9 right-legged pistols
9 left legged pistols
25 sit-ups
Run 800 meters
As Rx'd this workout is done with a 55# (1 1/2 pood) KB - which I didn't have available and so swapped for my 30# KB. I did this at home in the "gym" I have set up in my shed - which consists of a cardboard box on the floor for a sit-up/push-up mat, my KB (30#), 2x20# DumbBells, a work bench that I can kitty corner in for dips, and an exercise ball that I use for a more full-range sit-up.
After a general warm-up of a 1/2 mile run (un-timed), 20 push-ups, 15 swiss-ball sit-ups, 10 dips, and 30 Jumping Jacks I kicked this off.
I ran my first 800m in 2:56 - a far cry from the 2:20 or so repeats I did in high school - around the ball park of 2:05 or sometimes better on race day.
The pistols were a little sloppy, and quite broken up - this is a move I definitely have to work on. The sit-ups were tiring, but at least unbroken.
My second 800m was about 3:30 or so - big slow down.
Overall time 17:46.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
300 - Day 66
I stayed home from work yesterday (Day 65) because my wife wasn't feeling well and didn't manage to workout. The WOD had been 3x (400m, 21 1.5 pood KB swings, 12 pull-ups) in the least possible time. I'll have to find a location that I can do this at - as I don't currently have a measured 1/4 mile near a pull-up bar - and besides, my KB is less than 1 pood.
So either way, my body really felt like it needed a rest anyway. Its probably good to rest so I can put 100% in going into the final month of this challenge.
Today the WOD was again something I couldn't really participate in, due to lack of gear:
For time:
25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents
I could have brought my 24" box in - but I haven't learned double unders; don't know what a knee to elbow is; don't have a 2 pood KB; no back extension station; no wall ball; and no rope (anyone know the standard height?)
So I decided to sub in a CFE (CrossFit Endurance) workout from within the last week. I decided on 2X10 minutes - basically, take 10 minutes, run as far as you can; rest 3 minutes and repeat.
I haven't yet measured the distance that I made it - I'll measure on the way home - but it was about 1.4 miles each way - or just about a 7 minute mile. This is slower than I had hoped - especially for the first one - I was aiming for about a 6:40 mile - though my 2 mile goal time is averaging 6:30s.
Looks like I really ought to start putting more runs in - so I'll either have to work a couple CFE days in combination with my WODs, or I'll have to replace some days - days like today when I don't have equipment.
So either way, my body really felt like it needed a rest anyway. Its probably good to rest so I can put 100% in going into the final month of this challenge.
Today the WOD was again something I couldn't really participate in, due to lack of gear:
For time:
25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents
I could have brought my 24" box in - but I haven't learned double unders; don't know what a knee to elbow is; don't have a 2 pood KB; no back extension station; no wall ball; and no rope (anyone know the standard height?)
So I decided to sub in a CFE (CrossFit Endurance) workout from within the last week. I decided on 2X10 minutes - basically, take 10 minutes, run as far as you can; rest 3 minutes and repeat.
I haven't yet measured the distance that I made it - I'll measure on the way home - but it was about 1.4 miles each way - or just about a 7 minute mile. This is slower than I had hoped - especially for the first one - I was aiming for about a 6:40 mile - though my 2 mile goal time is averaging 6:30s.
Looks like I really ought to start putting more runs in - so I'll either have to work a couple CFE days in combination with my WODs, or I'll have to replace some days - days like today when I don't have equipment.
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