2.29.12

Today was a rest day, but since I coached muscle ups today I had to see how many I could get.  It had been months since I last tried any.  I was able to tie a PR a 3 muscle ups strung together. 

2.28.12

Damn, son!  Smoked!

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Snatches:
- 45x5
- 95x4
- 135x3
- 185x2
- 225x 4 misses!  I was just pulling the bar too far out in front of me.

Deadlifts (75%, 85%, and 95% of 540):
Warm Up Sets:  225x4, 315x2
Work Sets:
- 405x1
- 460x1
- 513x2- I wanted 3 reps but my back started to round on rep 2 and I didn't wanted to sacrifice form too much.

Weighted Chin Ups:
- 35x1
- 45x1
- 55x7- Huge rep PR here!
- Body weight x 13, 8 to complete 30 total chin up reps.

Conditioning:
2-4-6-8-10-12 reps for time of:
- Power Snatch @ 165
- Box Jumps @ 24"
Time:  9:57

My legs were done today thanks to no rest days this weekend, tons of burpees, heavy squats yesterday, and heavy deadlifts today.  Hence my recovery position in the picture above.

Do you log your workouts?

How's your workout log looking?

This is a great article on keeping a workout log called "Powerful Reasons To Use a Workout Log".  Everyone serious about their training and making gains should be logging what they did each session so they know what they've done and where they can improve.  It helps with goal setting from session to session, as well as long term goals.  If you don't keep track, how do you know you've gotten better, or stronger, or faster?  And what is the point of working so hard if you don't know if you're improving?  Keep track!
Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:

Back Squat (1 rep at 75%, 85%, and max reps @95% of  395):

Warm Up Sets:  95x6, 185x4, 275x2

Work Sets:

- 290x1

- 335x1

- 376x3

Bench Press (1 rep @75%, 85%, and max reps @95% of 370):

Warm Ups Sets::  45x6, 135x4, 225x2

Work Sets:

- 275x1

- 305x1

- 342x1- My shoulders are smoked from doing the CF games burpee workout two days in a row, so I just got my 1 rep today and called it good! 

Weighted Dips:

- 30 reps @ 65 lbs:  8, 8, 7, and 7.  

Because I skipped my rest day this weekend I decided to keep it to strength work only today. 

2.26.12

I didn't get to do this strength workout on Friday as I normally do so I thought I would come in on a normal rest day and put in the work.

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Warm Up Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Cleans (3 @70%, 80%, and 90% of 275):Warm Up Sets:  45x5, 95x4, 135x3, 185x2
Work Sets:
- 195x3
- 225x3
- 248x3, 2, 1- The bar was moving fast today.  Felt like I was able to get some frustrations out on these!

Weighted Pull Ups:- 30x3
- 40x3
- 50x6
- Body Weight x 14 (PR!), 4

Conditioning:
I decided to re-attempt the 7:00 burpee workout from yesterday with a strategy of hitting a target number of reps per minute, rather than going all out fromn the beginning.  I decided if I could do 15 reps in each of the first two minutes, and then 14 each minute after that, that I could get 100 reps.  That strategy worked really well...until round 3.  I then realized that my shoulders were VERY sore from yesterday's burpees, which is something I had not noticed until around rep 20.  I finished it out and ended up with 83 burpees, 4 worse than yesterday.

CrossFit Games Open

Today is the first of several weeks of open workouts CrossFit holds to determine the top atheltes in each area worldwide to go to the next level of CrossFit Games qualifying events.  While I have NO dillusions of making it there, I decided I would compete weekly just to see where I stand.

CorssFit Games Open Workout 12.1:
As Many Reps as Possible In 7:00 of burpees.  Chest must hit the florr on each rep, and you must jump and touch a target six inches above your max reach with both hands.

Score:  I got 87 reps.

I was hoping to get 100 but I think I went out of the gate too fast and burnt out early.  Also in the beginning I was wasting energy by jumping to far over my 6 inch target.  I may try this again tomorrow.  In the open, the workouts come out on Wednesday and you have until Sunday afternoon to complete it and post your score on the games site.  You're allowed to do it as many times as you would like within thoat time frame.

I had to get to work a little early today so I did what I had time for...

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Samson Stretch
- Jump Rope
- Thrusters:  55x6, 145x4, 235x2

Strength Work:
Front Squats (70%, 80%, and 90% of 340):
- 240x3
- 275x3
- 306x3

Shoulder Press (70%, 80%, and 90% of 215):
- 155x3
- 175x3
- 194x3

1-Arm KB Presses
30 reps @ 70 lbs in sets of: 11, 10, and 9

Hollow Rocks:
3x10 in between sets of KB presses

2.22.12

Today was a rest day.  I thought about going for a run, but then I thought better of sleeping more.  Recovery is important too, kids.  Write that down.

 This guy easily does what I have been working up to for a while and almost got today.  And he makes it look easy.

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
 - Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Snatches:
- 45x5
- 95x4
- 135x3
- 185x2
- 225x0- I pulled it forward and couldn't recover once the weight was overhead.  It was close though!

Deadlifts (70%, 80%, 90% of 540):
Warm Up Sets:  225x4, 315x2
Work Sets:
- 380x3
- 435x3
- 486x3- 3RM PR!

Weighted Chin Ups:
- 30x3
- 40x3
- 50x7
- Body weight x 14 (PR), 3- enough reps to get 30 total.

I'm still hesitant to do a hard conditioning workout while I get over this head cold.  I'm mostly done with it already, but I don't want to spend weeks being mostly better when I could be all the way better by taking it easy!

I stole this from a friend's FaceBook page, which he stole from somewhere. else.  These things are getting out of hand, but I thought this one was pretty funny.

2.20.12
Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:

Back Squat (3 reps at 70%, 80%, and max reps @90% of  395):

Warm Up Sets:  95x6, 185x4, 275x2

Work Sets:

- 280x3

- 315x3

- 356x3

Bench Press (3 reps @70%, 80%, and max reps @90% of 360):

Warm Ups Sets::  45x6, 135x4, 225x2

Work Sets:

- 255x3

- 290x3

- 324x3

Weighted Dips:

- 30 reps @ 60 lbs:  11, 10, 9.  Finally got it in three sets, so I'm moving up 5 lbs next week!

Mid-Line Stabilization:

5 sets of 10 reps each of:

- GHD Sit Ups

- GHD Hip Extensions

I came down with a head cold over the weekend, which I'm already coming out of but I thought it better not to push my luck with conditioning today and probably tomorrow depending on how I feel.  I hate being sick!

2.19.12

Rest Day.  I had a head cold so I spent the day resting.  I needed the sleep catch-up.

2.18.12

Rest Day.  I had hoped to get a run in, but I started feeling a cold coming on and figured that was my body telling me to take some time off. 

2.17.12

Warm Up:

- Dynamic Mobility Drills

- Jump Rope

- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:

Power Cleans (5 @65%, 75%, and 85% of 275):

Warm Up Sets:  45x5, 95x4, 135x3

Work Sets:

- 185x5

- 210x5

- 234x5

Weighted Pull Ups:

- 25x5

- 35x5

- 45x6

- Body Weight x 12, 2

I skipped the conditioning today because it was my 5th training day in a row without a break and I could tell my body needed a break!

2.16.12

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch
- Thrusters:  55x6, 145x4, 235x2

Strength Work:
Front Squats (65%, 75%, and 85% of 340):
- 225x5
- 265x5
- 289x5

Shoulder Press (65%, 75%, and 85% of 215):
- 140x5
- 165x5
- 183x5

1-Arm KB Press:
- 30 reps @ 70 lbs:10, 9, 8, 3

Conditioning:
10:00 to do as much as possible of the following:
- 60 Bar-Facing Burpees (Face a barbell and jump over it each rep)
- 30 Overhead Squats @ 120 lbs
- 10 Muscle Ups
Score:  I made it through all the burpees and 21 of the overhead squats in 10:00.  I had hoped to at least get all the overhead squats finished, but my shoulders were smoked by then!

SWAT Training Day

Today was SWAT training and I did the following workout with my team:

Conditioning:
In teams of two complete the following circuit as many times as possible in 15 minutes:
- 4 Burpee Pull Ups
- 8 KB Swings
- 12 Situps

One partner works at a time, while the other partner completes a 250m row.  When the row is over, the team member who was rowing picks up the circuit where the other left off, and so on for 15:00.  My partner and I completed 12 full round + 4 Burpee Pull Ups and 7 KB Swings.

If you're still doing concentration curls in front of a mirror you're missing out.

Yoke Walks let you know if you have any weakness in your core stability.

In the article Exercises Saved From The Dumpster posted on T-Nation.com, Mike Boyle covers several exercises that don't appear in your traditional gym workouts, but have frequently appeared in Tactical Operator Conditioning workouts.  Why?  Because they build total body strength and conditioning, which every tactical operator, every athlete, and every human needs.  Check out the article and see what you think.  Here's what I did today...

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Snatches:
- 45x5
- 95x4
- 135x3
- 185x2
- 220x1- Finally!  On to 225!

Deadlifts (65%, 75%, and 85% of 540):
Warm Up Sets:  225x4, 315x2
Work Sets:
- 350x5
- 405x5
- 459x5

Weighted Chin Ups:
- 25x5
- 35x5
- 45x7

Conditioning:
As many rounds as possible in 10:00 of:
- 30 Double Unders
- 15 Power Snatches @ 75 lbs
Score:  I completed 5 full rounds + 26 double unders into round 6. 

2.13.12

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:

Back Squat (5 reps at 65%, 75%, and max reps @85% of  395):

Warm Up Sets:  45x6, 135x4, 225x2

Work Sets:

- 260x5

- 300x5

- 336x5

Bench Press (5 reps at 65%, 75%, and max reps @85% of  360):

Warm Ups Sets::  45x6, 135x4, 225x2

Work Sets:

- 235x5
- 270x5
- 306x5

Weighted Dips:

- 30 reps @ 60 lbs:  10, 9, 8, and 3 reps

Conditioning:

As Many Rounds and Reps as possible in 5:00 of:

- 1 Clean @ 165 lbs

- 1 Jerk @ 165 lbs

Score:  I completed 23 reps of each movement, 46 total reps.  

I went at this workout the wrong way I think.  I tried to do one clean and jerk, drop the weight, and then go again for the whole 5:00.  I would've completed more reps if I held onto the bar and got several reps at a time.

2.11.12

I finally decided to use my Nike+GPS app to record my actual run distances.  I went out for my second run in forever of 20:00 and I covered 2.32 miles.  According to the good folks over at Nike my pace was 8:31 per mile.  It would be nice to get that down to 8:00 for 20:00 and then increase my duration from there.  I may start doing some intervals at the track as well.

2.10.12

Woke up early and tired this morning but for the life of me I could not go back to sleep!  Even though I'm exhausted I still got to the gym, though, and this is what I did...

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills (hips felt tight so I did a lot of work there)
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Cleans (75%, 85%, and 95% of 270):Warm Up Sets:  45x5, 95x4, 135x3, 185x2
Work Sets:
- 205x1
- 230x1
- 257x0, 1- Not feeling very explosive today so I missed the first one, got pissed and then hit the second one.

Weighted Pull Ups:- 30x1
- 40x1
- 50x5
- Bodyweight x 10, 9, and 4

Conditioning:
3 Rounds for Time of:
- 10 Deadlifts at 275
- 50 Double Unders
Time:  I finished at 5:00 even.  I felt very uncoordinated on the double unders after the deadlifts so all those sets were broken into 2-4 sets, which added some time.

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Reverse Hypers
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch
- Thrusters:  50x6, 140x4, 230x2

Strength Work:
Front Squats (75%, 85%, and 95% of 350):- 265x1
- 300x1
- 333x2

Shoulder Press (75%, 85%, and 95% of 225):- 170x1
- 195x1
- 214x1

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds as Possible in 5:00 of:
- 7 Burpees
- 14 Box Jumps @ 24"
Score:  I completed 3 full rpounds + 7 burppes and 8 box jumps into round 4. 

I had hoped to get a round per minute, but my calves are still tore up from my run 3 days ago and I couldn't string box jumps together today!

2.08.12

Wednesday is usually a rest day but something came up earlier in the week, causing me to push everything back a day.  So I took a rest day yesterday and here's what I did today...

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Snatches:
- 45x5
- 95x4
- 135x3
- 185x2
- 220x0- I almost had it, just lost balance in the bottom!

Deadlifts (75%, 85%, and 95% of 535):
Warm Up Sets:  225x4, 315x2
Work Sets:
- 405x1
- 455x1
- 509x1- This felt heavy today for some reason.

Weighted Chin Ups:
- 30x1
- 40x1
- 50x6
Body weight x 13, 9 to complete 30 total chin up reps.

Conditioning:
Tabata Rounds of the following exercises:
- Kettlebell Swing @ 70 lbs:  My score was 8
- Push Ups (chest to floor):  My score was 10
- Row for calories:  My score was 6

Tabata rounds are 20 seconds of all out work as fast as you can followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 6-8 times.  In order to keep my conditioning circuit to 10:00 total time, I performed 7 rounds for the kb swing, 7 rounds of push ups, and 6 rounds on the rower.  The score is your lowest number of repetitions in any one of the 20 second periods for that movement.

2.06.12

As a start to training for the Tough Mudder I went on a 20:00 run today.  It wasn't fast and it wasn't far (2.3 miles or so) but it was a start.  I haven't run anything longer than a 400m sprint in a while!  I consider today a rest day but I think I will be feeling it tomorrow!

Tough Mudder!

The powers that be at Tough Mudder have decided that this blog counts as me being a member of the press, and have graciously offered me free entry into the event in Tahoe in September 22nd!  Guess I need to start running every now and again!  If you haven't seen or heard of Tough Mudder, check it out here!  I'll be posting my training for it here, of course, and I will have a detailed write up after the event.

Today is normally a rest day for me, but since I know later my nutrition will be somewhat lax during the Super Bowl, I figured I'd better do something to put those extra calories to use.  Here's what I did....

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jump Rope
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:

Back Squat (1 rep at 75%, 85%, and max reps @95% of  405):

Warm Up Sets:  95x6, 185x4, 275x2

Work Sets:

- 305x1

- 345x1

- 385x2- Felt good here since last week I BARELY got 2 reps at 365.

Bench Press (1 reps @75%, 85%, and max reps @95% of 355):

Warm Ups Sets::  45x6, 135x4, 225x2

Work Sets:

- 265x1

- 305x1

- 338x2- I felt pretty strong here today.  If I had a spotter I would've gone for 3 reps here, but I was a little nervous to get pinned under it by myself!  Safety first, kids!

Weighted Dips:

- 30 reps @ 60 lbs:  8, 8, 8, 6.  Last week it took me 5 sets to do 30 reps.  I take the progress!

Conditioning:

As many reps as possible in 10:00 of the following:

- Wall Ball (30 lbs ball to an 11' target)

- Chest to Bar Pull Ups

I did one rep of each, than two reps of each, then 3, then 4, etc. until 10:00 had elapsed.  I'd hoped to finish up to 10 of each before the time ran out, but I got to 10 wall balls and 6 chest to bar pull ups.  The pull ups were the limiting factor because if my chest didn't touch, it didn't count.

2.03.12

Didn't know if I was going to work out today or not, but I ended up getting in to the gym around 3:00 pm, which is pretty late in the day for me (more like nap time than workout time) plus I hadn't eaten all day. That said, I feel like I was able to get some good work in...

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Jumpe Rope
- Samson stretch

Strength Work:
Power Cleans (3 @70%, 80%, and 90% of 280):
Warm Up Sets:  45x5, 95x4, 135x3, 185x2
Work Sets:
- 195x3
- 225x3
- 252x3, 2, 1

Weighted Pull Ups:
- 20x5
- 30x5
- 40x7

Conditioning:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
- 70 lbs KB Swings
- Strict Pull Ups

I tried to do as much of the above work as possible in 10:00. Of the 55 total reps of each lift, I completed 45. I was hitting failure on the pull ups!

2.02.12

I was worried I might not get to train today due to having to be at work early, but I was able to get in and do some work...

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Samson Stretch
- Jump Rope
- Thrusters:  50x6, 140x4, 230x2

Strength Work:
Front Squats (70%, 80%, and 90% of 350):
- 245x3
- 280x3
- 315x3

Shoulder Press (70%, 80%, and 90% of 225):
- 160x3
- 180x3
- 203x1.  I felt my back almost cramp up on rep two.  Weird.

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds as Possible in 10:00 of:
- 5 Push Jerks @ 185 (cleaned from the ground on each set)
- 7 Toes to Bar
- 9 Push Ups
Score:  I completed 7 full rounds and up to 4 toes to bar into round 8.  I wanted to get to 8 rounds at least but my grip was starting to give out on the bar.