Monday 4.30.12

Still testing my maxes in certain lifts today and tomorrow.  All maxes are without a belt, since I feel some weakness through the core causing a big disparity between max lifts with a belt and max lifts without one.  So no belts through the next training cycle, then I'll re-evaluate.


Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- 6 sets of 6 toes to bar, knees to bar, and knees to elbows in various combinations
- 6 sets of 6 reps of GHD reverse hypers
- Front Squats:  45x6, 135x4, 225x2
- Shoulder Press:  45x6, 95x4, 135x2

Strength Work:
Front Squats 1rm:
- 255x1
- 185x1
- 315x1- This rep was TOUGH, especially trying to keep my torso upright and mid-line stable.  I got the rep but decided to call it quits there.

Shoulder Press 1rm:
- 155x1
- 175x1
- 195x1
- 205x1
- 210x0- I was surprised how much a belt helped me in this lift in the past (my previous 1rm was 225).

Conditioning:
5 rounds of:
- 1:00 of handstand walk attempts (wall walk up to handstand, and I never got more than 4-5 feet)
- 1:00 of max reps of wall ball (25 lbs ball to a 10' target)
Total Wall Ball reps:  90

Friday 4.27.12

Warm Ups:
- Dynamioc Mobility Drills
- 3x5 GHD Reverse Hypers
- 3x5 GHD Sit Ups
- 3x5 Chin Ups
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Power Clean 1rm:
- 45x6
- 95x4
- 135x2
- 185x1
- 225x1
- 245x1
- 255x1
- 265x1
- 275x1- I stopped there because my technique was not great on this rep.

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds as Possible in 7:00 of:
- 3 Deadlifts @165
- 2 Cleans @165
- 1 Ground to Overhead @165
Score:  10 rounds even.

Thursday 4.26.12

Despite being more sore than I should be from yesterday's run I did the following....

Warm Ups:
- 500m Row
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Overhead Squats 1 rep max:
- 45x6
95x4
135x2
185x1
225x1
230x1
235x1
240x1
245x1
250x1
255x0

I went up in very small increments today because I had no idea what I was going to be capable of, since it's been many many months since I tested my 1rm.  I probably could have lifted 5-10 more pounds had I known my goal weight and went right for it, rather than wasting energy and strength working up over so many sets.

In between sets of squats I did:
- 5 reps of toes to bar, knees to elbows, and knees to bar in various combinations
- 5 GHD Back Extensions
- 50 jump rope single unders

Conditioning:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
- Overhead Squat @ 145 (snatched from the floor to start each set)
- Bar Dips
- Box Jumps @ 24"
Time:  16:49.

The dips wrecked my shoulders and triceps which, as it turns out, makes holding the bar overhead for overhead squats very difficult.  This was also my first conditioning circuit in over two weeks, so I can tell I have some ground to make up.

Wednesday 4.25.12

Conditioning:
- 5k run in 25:05.  That's my best 5k in a while so I'm making progress. 

Tuesday 4.24.12

Warm Ups:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Samson Stretch
- Reverse Hypers
- GHD Sit Ups

Strength Work:
Deadlifts:
- 45x6
- 135x4
- 225x2
- 315x1
- 405x1
- 495x0- Felt a groin strain on this rep, so I just dropped it.

Weighted Pull Ups:
- Body Weight x 6
- 20x4
- 40x2
- 50x1
- 60x1
- 70x1
- 80x1-

In Between Sets:
- 5 GHD Sit Ups
- 5 Reverse Hypers
- 50 single jump rope reps

Still testing my new maxes, but today did not go as planned.  I will probably count 495 as my new max (without a belt, which I will try and keep all my lifts to during this cycle).  I think I was probably good for 5-10 more pounds on the pull ups but I ran out of time.

Startin' on Monday!

Come at me, bro!

Seems like everyone always starts things they don't really want to do on Monday.  New diets, new exercise routines, quitting drinking, quitting smoking- it's always Monday when we start.  Maybe that's so we feel better about completely wrecking it over the weekend (it's okay 'cause come Monday things will change!). 

So in order to not be one of "those people" I got back to good eating and working out yesterday!  I had taken a break from the gym to heal up and recover, and I accidentally lapsed a little in the nutrition department as well.  But now it's Monday, and while most people are just getting started I'm two days in!

What I did today...

Warm Ups:

- Dynamic Mobility Drills

- 6x5 Knees to Bars

- 6x5 GHD Back Extensions

Strength Work:

Box Squats:

- 45x6

- 135x4

- 225x2

- 275x1

- 315x1

- 335x1

- 355x1- This will be my new 1rm I'll be working from for the next few weeks.  I did it with no belt on, which is what I want to work on.  I think I developed some over reliance on the belt and I want to break that and work on my core strength a little more.  I decided to work box squats back into the rotation because they were really effective last time I used them.

Bench Press:

- 45x6

- 135x4

- 225x2

- 255x1

- 275x1

- 295x1

- 315x1- I felt pretty weak on this.  I was supposed to be testing my max and this is nowhere near it.  I gotta figure that lift out because it's the only one I haven't been making progress in.

** I did 50 reps of single jump ropes in between each set of strength work.  I didn't do any other conditioning, but I plan to start working that back in this week too.

Prove Your Fitness

One Saturday June 9th The Compound Strength and Conditioning will be hosting their 1st annual "Prove Your Fitness" competition.  The event is open to anyone in the county and will have several events designed to test your fitness and see who comes out on top.  No specific experience is necessary (this is not a CrossFit competition) so come see how you compare to others in your area. 

Today I decided to do an easy 5k run to get started back after a long break from training.  I did the run in a pretty easy 27:31, which is about an 8:51 mile pace.  Definitely not setting any land speed records here, but it felt good to get out in the sun and move a bit.  Tomorrow I'll be back in the gym seeing how much strength I've lost over the last 12 days without lifting anything over 150 lbs.

420, son!

In honor of 420 I did my first workout (albeit a VERY easy one) in 9 days.  I'm gonna need it to burn off the calories from the munchies today, feel me?

Today I did the following:
10 Rounds, not for time of:
- 5 Pull Ups (all strict)
- 10 Push Ups
- 15 Air Squats

Tuesday 4.10.12

Rest Day.  There's going to be a lot of these coming up.

Monday 4.09.12

Tested my maxes today in the power snatch and power clean.  It went like this:

• Power Snatch:  215x1 (failed at 225 and 220, down 10 lbs from my best of 225).
• Power Clean:  285x1 (failed twice at 295, down 20 pounds from my best of 305).

I'm hoping to stay within 90-95% of my best maxes while dropping body fat.  If I can do that while drastically improving my conditioning I'll be happy.  So far so good.

Sunday 4.08.12

There are two types of people who work out:  those who recognize their limitations when they're sick or hurt and rest to come back strong, and then there's me.  I continue to train through illness or injury, causing poor workouts and prolonged recovery times.  Step 1 is admitting I have a problem.

Despite being still beat up from Thursday at the police academy, and having a swollen right foot from what could be a stress fracture, I came in to do the CrossFit Total, which is a one rep max in the back squat, shoulder press, and deadlift.

Besides being injured, it turns out losing weight is stupid and makes you weak.....

Back Squat:  I worked up to 425x1, which is 50 lbs under my my best of 475.
Press:  I worked up to 215x1, down 10 pounds from my best of 225.
Deadlift:  I worked up to 495x1, which is 55 lbs under my best of 550.
Total:  1135.  Terrible.

I'm going to try and max out this week still on the power clean, power snatch, front squat, overhead squat, and bench press.  Then I'm going to take a week off (which I haven't done in over 6 months), then use these maxes to base my training off of when I resume lifting.  Gotta get better at recovery.

Saturday 4.07.12

Rest Day.

Friday 4.06.12

I attempted to lift today, but my body is literally beat up from yesterday.  I warmed up to front squat and called it a day when everything hurt.

Thuirsday 4.05.12

I would call today a rest day but I hardly rested.  I didn't do a gym workout, but I did go work at the police academy where I had to grapple with around 25 police cadets for 2-3 minutes each over the course of about 2 hours.  I was punched, scratched, and hit with batons.  It was pretty fun.

Wednesday 4.04.12

Today is typically a rest day for me, though I had planned to start doing some interval work at the track on Wednesdays in preparation for Tough Mudder.  However my schedule this week is a little different so I had to hit a strength training day today instead...

Warm Up:
- 500m Row
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Samson Stretch

Strength Work:
Deadlift (90%, 80%, and 70% of 530):
Warm Up Sets:
- 45x6
- 135x4
- 225x2
- 315x1
- 375x1
- 425x1
Work Sets:
- 471x3
- 425x4
- 375x5

Weighted Pull Ups:
- 30x1
- 45x1
- 60x6
- 45x7
- 30x9

** In between all sets I did 70 single unders, 6 GHD sit sups, and 6 reverse hypers.

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds as Possible in 8:00 of:
- 14 Kettlebell Swings @ 88 lbs
- 7 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
Score:  I finished 4 complete rounds and 14 swings into round 5.

Grip was the factor here.  I never used the 88 lbs kb in a workout before and that, with the pull ups, along with all the other weighted pull ups and deadlifts I had already done made it so my grip fatigued pretty quickly.

Tuesday 4.03.12

Warm Up:
- Dynamic Mobility Drills
- Hip Extensions
- Hollow Rocks
- Jump Rope

Strength Work:
Back Squats (70%, 80%, and 90% of 390):
- 45x6
- 135x4
- 225x2
- 275x1
- 315x1
- 351x3

Bench Press (70%, 80%, and 90% of 350):
- 45x6
- 135x4
- 225x2
- 245x1
- 280x1
- 315x3

** I did 70 single unders, 6 hip extensions, and 6 hollow rocks between all sets.

I ran out of time and had to get to work.  I hope to get some conditioning in tomorrow, because I need it.

Monday 4.02.12

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

Strength Work:
Power Snatches (85%, 75%, and 65% of 210):
Warm Up Sets:
- 45x6
- 95x4
- 135x2
- 140x1
- 160x1
Work Sets:
- 179x5
- 160x5
- 140x5

Weighted Chin Ups:
- 25x1
- 40x1
- 55x5
- 40x8
- 25x10

** I did 70 single unders, 6 GHD Sit Ups, and 6 Reverse Hypers in between every set of strength work.  I didn't get more than 3-4 hours of sleep last night so I was moving slow and ran out of time to do anything else today.

Sunday 4.01.12

Today I went for a 5k run, which I completed in 26:18. It was not an all-out run, I went just to complete the distance almost as more active rest than a workout. I do have two fitness events coming up in the next 6 months that will require long distance running (SWAT Fitness Challenge in May and Tough Mudder in September) so I will be trying to add one long run and one interval day each week in order to prepare.