No picture today.  Still sick, broke into a giant coughing fit after getting done with the MetCon this morning and feel like I haven't actually slept well in a week - and not from waking up, I've actually slept through the night every night recently.

Tuesday, 2/27/2013

Had this whole lifting workout set up, but got out of work a little later than usual and didn't feel good after, so just did squats:

Daily Squat
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x260

Hmmm... A little twist on this one, not sure if that was the camera angle or something funky with my feet positioning.  And yes, that is oldies on the radio while wearing long socks over compression tights.

Wednesday, 2/28/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

Warmup - 2 min tabata DUs, 15 squats, 15 situps, 15 pushups, mobility

Skill - Rowing - 2x200m uphill rowing
Rope climbs - for technique

//No point in any of this for me really.  200m isn't enough to do anything, and I know how to climb the damn rope.  Coaches also won't let me do anything different during these portions, they are being anal about a lot of things.  Getting close to just going once a week just to get competition in and do stuff I can't do in my garage.

MetCon - In teams of 2
10 50m shuttle runs
100 squats
8 50m shuttle runs
50 burpees
6 50m shuttle runs
50 pullups
4 50m shuttle runs
50 jack knives
2 50m shuttle runs

Something in the 20:00-21:00 range, they gave a 20 min time cap but we were almost done so we finished.  However, my partner was Mr. Can't Count (still not sure if he loses track or does it on purpose).  For example, he did 18 air squats and told me he was at 25 and it was my turn.  To his credit though, anytime I told him he miscounted he finished the reps up.

Not sure if I want to go to the doc again for this cough, etc. yet.  I don't want to be a hypochondriac but I also don't want whatever this is to turn into something serious like pnuemonia.

After Work

Garage Gym

Daily Squat
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x260

Maybe went a little deeper than usual, had to get past a sticking point.  But again, not too much trouble.

Deadlift - Just felt like picking up something moderately heavy.
5x135
5x225 (warmup)
4x3x330 (all the weight I have)

This is set #3:

Back to another week of work!

Monday, 2/25/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

Warmup - 1:30 of tabata double unders, 5 burpees, 10 pushups, mobility

Strength - Weighted Ring Dips
8xBW - 2x3x35 - 2x3x53

//This is why I do squats everyday and my own strength stuff on non-affiliate days.  Weighted dips is not a major strength exercise...

MetCon - semi-"Nate"
AMRAP 15
2 muscleups (bar)
4 HSPU
8 KB swings, 2 pood

10 rounds + 3 HSPU

//That was a good one.  Kept moving pretty constantly, no big breaks.  Felt good afterward, tired but not totally exhausted.

After Work

Daily Squat
8 x bar
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x260

First day at 260, didn't feel heavier :)

Ladies and gents, I might not be terribly good at them yet, and I never thought I'd say this, but... I LOVE SQUATS!

Quick entry today, mostly a rest day but got my squats in.

Sunday, 2/24/2013

Daily Squat 
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Easy and fun.  Think it's time to move up to 260 next week!

^ What my weekend looks like mostly.

Saturday, 2/23/2013

Garage Gym Workout

Warmup - Cleaning up around house :)

Daily Squat -
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Garage hadn't warmed up quite yet, it was chilly in there!  Not too bad a lift though.

Barbell Gymnastics -
Power Clean
Cal Strength progressions to power position (warmup)
1x5x135 - 3x3x185 - 2x3x195 - 3x1x205 - 3x1x215

Strength -
Speed Deadlifts
5x3x240

Shoulder/Push Press -
10 x bar (warmup)
Done as close to EMOM as possible
Strict - 3x85-3x90-3x95-3x100-3x105
Push - 3x135-3x145-3x155

^ How I feel so far this morning.

Friday, 2/22/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

OK, so disclaimer here:  I have been in a bad mood since I work up, I don't know why, I just know I am.  So that may color my post a little today.

Warmup - CFE Warmup+ (extra plyos)

Strength - Zercher Squat 3s
3 x bar - 3x135-3x165-3x185-3x225-3x255 (f on 3)

//Pissed that there's only one strength move each workout and they waste on gimmicky Zercher squats.  Pissed that my "grip" gave out on the third rep of 255.

MetCon - "The Seven" (20 min time cap for me)
7 RFT
7 HSPU
7 Thrusters, 135# (did 115#)
7 knees-to-elbows
7 Deadlift, 245#
7 burpees
7 KB swings, 2 pood
7 pullups

Did 3 rounds + 7 HSPUs in 20 min.

//Pissed that they schedule a 40 min + MetCon when they know there will be only 20 mins left when we start, and that SOME people have to go to WORK on WEEKDAYS.  Pissed I sucked on the 20 min I could do.

Hopefully daily squat after work goes better.  Still have crap in my lungs from whatever cold I had.  Probably going to call the doc and see if I should get some antibiotics because this is a long time for me to have a cold.

Oh, and sorry to anybody who reads this for being depressing.  I'll attempt to cheer up by tomorrow.

Update - After Work

Daily Squat
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Felt (and looks) a little bit sloppy today, but not bad.

Much better mood throughout the day.  Got some antibiotics so hopefully this little bug I've still got will be nipped soon.  Also, my little bro is doing great at his meet:
http://www.ougrizzlies.com/livestats/c-swim/

Today doesn't need a picture! :)

Thursday, 2/21/2013

AM Daily Squat -
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Aaaaaaand the video is here too:

That's what you get for doubting me, Sara :)

Rest day otherwise - scheduled, but also woke up pretty sore.  I think my math mishap on the cleans yesterday is to blame.

Except, I wasn't so good with math today...

Wednesday, 2/20/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

Warmup - CFE Warmup, mobility

Barbell Gymnastics - Low Hang Squat Clean, work to 2RM + 4 banded push press

2x135-2x165-2x185-2x205 w/ bar + purple band push press for speed in between.

//Well, I'm not sure how that happened, that I did the exact same movement in my garage yesterday.  They called it "low" but said it was supposed to be above the knees, and of course they specified "squat" clean because most everybody would power if they were given a choice.

MetCon - 
EMOM 15
2 hang clean, 80% 2RM
10 DUs

//I'm a doofus and forgot how to multiply, so I did it with 185 (90%).  It was a challenge definitely, but I made it through and didn't hurt myself.

After Work

Daily Squat
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Not as pretty as yesterday, but not bad at all.

Little brother, Daniel, is on his way to Michigan for his last collegiate swim meet.  I couldn't make it because I couldn't take pretty much the week off work, but shout out to him to kick butt and have fun.

Also, Winter Storm Q is on its way here.  Hopefully doesn't hit too bad, I'd rather not be stuck in the office through the night tomorrow :)

Oh, and Speedo Daily Squat Day is tomorrow, thanks for the challenge Sara!

More puns from my favorite comic strip.

Tuesday, 2/19/2013

Garage Lifting

Warmup - mobility, air squats, bar cleans

Daily Squat - 
5x135
3x185
3x225
3x255

Easy today.  Felt awesome.

Hang Cleans -
5x45 - Cal Strength progressions to hang
3x2x135 - Pause at catch and then go to squat
3x2x185 - Full speed hang cleans

Bench Press -
10 x bar
5x135
3x155
2x175
2x185
2x190
drop to
10x135

Good Mornings - 3x10xbar

Not a bad day, for a Monday.  Though first:

Sunday, 2/17/2013

Daily Squat
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Decided I will video all my 1 rep daily squats for motivation, for form and ROM review, and so everybody else can see my terrible workout clothes combinations.

Monday, 2/18/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

Warmup - CFE Warmup

Strength (?) - Prowler Push/Pull 5 x 30 ft back and forth, 290# on prowler

MetCon(s) - Testing out Fittest Law Enforcement Officer WODs

WOD 1 -
2 min AMRAP row for calories - 51 cals
3 min AMRAP rope climb (had to do arms only, busted my shin the other day) - 4 ascents
4 min to get max deadlift - 395#, probably could have done a little more and PR'd but oh, well.

WOD 2 -
AMRAP 10
2 pood KB ground to overhead (can be swing with KB hitting ground between)
24" over-the-box burpee
15 yd shuttle run

1-1-1, 2-2-2, etc

8 rounds + 2 burpees

Well, that knocks out all my usual conditioning for the week.  Pretty constant movement with only a couple minutes between WODs.  Happy with the deadlift though, and that legless rope climbs were pretty easy.

After Work

Daily Squat - 
8 x bar (warmup)
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

^ This is why I am so far behind.

LOTS to catch up on here.

Wednesday, 2/13/2013
Garage Lifting

Warmup - Mobility, plyos

Strength - Daily Squat
5x135
5x185
3x225
3x1x245
1x255 (f)
1x245 (f)

//Hmm.  That was not the right way to do it.  Waaaay too much volume in hindsight.

Barbell Gymnastics - Snatch Pull + 3 Pos Snatch
2x95 - 1x115 - 1x135


Thursday, 2/14/2013
CrossFit Edwardsville Morning Workout

Warmup - CFE Warmup, shoulder mobility

Strength - Thruster (from ground)
3x45 - 3x95 - 3x115 - 3x135 - 3x155 - 3x165

MetCon - EMOM 12
3 Thrusters, 80% 3RM (used 135)
Ball Slams, 20# Ball

Completed all 12 minutes, 144 ball slams

Daily Squat
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x250

//Worked better, definitely.

Friday, 2/15/2013
CrossFit Simple Workout

Warmup - 400m run, shoulder mobility, 5 pullups - 10 burpees - 10 air squats, double unders

Barbell Gymnastics - 
5x1 Clean & Jerk @ 90% (used 185)

MetCon - Open WOD 11.4
60 bar facing burpees
30 overhead squats, 95#
10 muscle ups (used bar)

11:54

Daily Squat -
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x250

Saturday, 2/16/2013
CrossFit Edwardsville Workout

Warmup - CFE Warmup, shoulder mobility

Strength - Shoulder Press 5s
5x45-5x75-5x95-3x5x105-5x110 (f) (but 110 is 1RM since I max out on that so infrequently)

MetCon - AMRAP 12, teams of two each member completes
1 StO, 45# plate
10 DUs
1 pullup (partner-assisted if needed)

Then, go to 2-20-2, 3-30-3, etc.

Finished 7 rounds + 16 StO + 160 DUs

Daily Squat - 
5x135
3x185
3x225
1x255

Barbell Gymnastics - Snatch
Cal Strength progressions w/ bar and w/95#
3x1x95 - 3x1x135 - 2x1x155

//Failed a bunch at 175 and 165, not sure how I possibly got either of those weights up no problem two weeks ago.  Sorer than I would think I should be, hopefully I'm just still recovering from competition + being sick and not totally plateaued.

Recap of competition.  Feeling terrible with this cold/flu/whatever I caught on Friday that this is mostly a copy-paste job.

#1: "Air Force WOD"
At start and EMOM, 4 hand release burpees
20 Thrusters
20 SDHP
20 Shoulder-to-Overhead
20 OHS
20 Front Squat
All at 95#
12 min time cap.

Got through 10 front squats. Still placed in the 40s out of 60.

#2:
500m row
21-15-9
Box Jump, 30"
Toes-to-Bar
500m row

9:22. Was in the 30s for this one. Thought I would do better but missed on a few box jumps and apparently I'm still not very good at TTB.

#3:
EMOM 7
3 Thruster, 165#
Ball Slams, 40# ball

14 ball slams. Finished two rounds, was third to last. Here's where it got squirrely. The standard for RXd was to be able to do several reps at 145#. My most recent thruster 1RM was 165 and 3RM was 155, and both of those were from a rack-this was from the ground. I was actually pretty happy I got 2 full rounds even though I had to watch everybody go for 5 more minutes.

Bonus WOD: Obstacle Course
1 rope climb, 20ft
yoke walk (455#, about 20ft)
2 forward rolls
wall climb, 7ft wall
4 tire flips, 300ish lbs?
Then reverse

1:36

Best finish of the competition, 20th place. You could do it whenever you wanted to so me and a teammate raced it first thing.

Competition day 2:

Woke up sore, of course. And with a sore throat and stuffy nose. Stupid cold. Was pretty ready to go though.

WOD #4: In three parts - 
AMRAP 1.5 chest-to-bar pullups right into
AMRAP 1.5 KB swings, 2.5 pood (88 lbs) right into
4 minutes to find 2RM front squat, bar starting from ground.

25 pullups, 12 KB swings, 215 front squat. Was in the middle of the pack for the first two and near the bottom for the last one. Apparently I was actually doing my pullups as almost stomach-to-bar, they were stressing in the standard that they wanted the bar to hit under nipple line but they were giving people reps up at the collarbone. I wasn't sure if I could get any of the swings but I managed to do sets of 4. Then the front squat I got my 1RM for two, I think I should have gone for 225 in hindsight.

WOD #5:
AMRAP 9 - 7 power clean, 185#; 21 wall balls, 20#; 42 double unders
straight into putting weights on bar and
AMRAP 5 - 5 deadlift, 315#; 3 muscleups
straight into removing weight from bar and
AMRAP 3 - Snatch, 165#

Part 1 - 2 rounds + 21 DUs
Part 2 - 2 rounds + 1 DL
Part 3 - 4 snatch

This one was fun, 6 of my favorite CF movements. Couldn't get into a rhythm in the DUs at times, which sucked. DL was heavy, I can't rep out 315 but I got it without hurting myself. Got complemented on my muscleups too, which was pretty cool. As for the snatch, I was planning on changing into my Oly shoes and trying to get one rep, since my 1RM squat snatch is 175 and I'd never done more than 145 power, but I realized I just didn't have time so I said screw it and went for the power and managed four. Sprawled my legs a little bit, but no pressout, so I was happy with that.

Final finish, 41/60. Third from my box out of seven, and I know some things I have to work on (chiefly just getting stronger. Lots of squats coming up soon). Glad I did RXd even though it was maybe a little over my head, from what I saw I would have killed scaled.

Yes, I know.  TL;DR.  I'll try to spice it up a little bit, maybe add pictures, when I feel better.

Battle for the Cup next two days.  In the ZONE!

Friday, 2/8/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Tune-up

Warmup - CFE warmup, plyos

Barbell Gymnastics -
Snatch Progression: Tall Power Snatch, Hang Power Snatch, Full Snatch
45-75-95-115-135

Mobility - Foam Rolling, stretching

Skills - Handstands/walks, Butterfly pullups (relearning on bar that's high enough), rope climb, double unders (want to be able to do these unconsciously)

Thoughts:  Think I'm about ready.  Feel good, want to sand calluses again (third day in a row) just to make sure I don't rip.

Nothing caught my interest in the funny department today, so we'll just have a picture of a badass:



Wednesday, 2/6/2012

CrossFit Edwardsville Workout

Warmup - CFE warmup, shoulder mobility

Barbell Gymnastics - Hang Power Clean
5x135-5x155-5x175-2x5x185

//Kept it relatively light.  185 didn't feel too tough.  Just makes me think of weight training for swimming when I struggled to do 145 for two reps! :-)

MetCon - "Power Clean Hell"
125 Power Cleans, 95#
EMOM after first minute, 4 burpees

12:30

Thoughts:  Was going really well until my grip gave out after 105.  Was doing sets of 10 (besides the first set of 25) until then, then had to drop to 5 because I didn't feel like wearing myself out.

Body:  Back a little sore from high-rep cleans.  Other than that, good.

^ How I felt doing snatches today.  Not literally though.

Tuesday, 2/5/2013

Garage Lifting

Warmup - Plyos, mobility, squat - OH squat - cleans w/ bar

Strength/Barbell Gymnastics - 

Snatch Grip Deadlift
5x45-3x135-3x185-5x3x225

//Not sure how close to a real deadlift the technique for this is suppose to be.  Obviously my back wasn't moving like it would in a standard grip DL.

Snatch Pull + Hang Squat Snatch (lowering to hang per Cal Strength snatch drill)
3x1x95-3x1x115-2x1x135

//Hmmm.  That little bounce forward thing is a little weird.  Not sure what's causing it.

Full Snatch
1x135-3x1x155-5x1x135

Thoughts:  Started good, ended frustrating.  So many damn misses on the full snatches.  Missed so many times in between makes at 155 that I scrapped attempting 165 and did a bunch at 135.

Body:  Minor shoulder tweak somewhere during the full snatches, my bad shoulder so a little looseness is normal for me, still will keep an eye on it.  Back tweak from yesterday was fine when I woke up this morning, legs a little bit sore though from all the squats.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8904906/daring-ask-ped-question

^ Yet another reason Bill Simmons is my favorite sportswriter.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/joe-flacco-drops-f-bombs-national-tv-baltimore-050257110--nfl.html

^ I also really like Joe Flacco.  Not necessarily because of this, just in general.

Monday, 2/4/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville Workout

Warmup - CFE Warmup, plyos

Strength - HBBS
5x135-5x155-5x175-5x195-5x205-5x225

MetCon -
EMOM
5 Front Squats, 145#
10 Hand Release Pushups

Did 8 rounds, didn't really want to get to failure less than a week from competition.

Cashout - 50 DUs in as few sets as possible - Did in 1 set.

Thoughts:  Lots of squatting.  Not really sure what else to say about that.  Kind of blah.

Body:  Slept like crap last night.  Don't think it was Super Bowl food, my stomach didn't feel bad or anything.  Also, calves are still sore from Saturday (lateral jumps + double unders = lots of bouncing), and a tweaked the left side of my lower back a little squatting.  Neither should be much of an issue going forward though.

Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow!

Saturday, 2/3/2013

CFE Battle for the Cup Prep

Warmup - Mobility, Double Unders (PR 74 unbroken), warmup lifts + other movements, light rowing

WOD 1 - Power Clean Ladder
EMOM till failure:
10 Double Unders
2 Power Cleans
135-145-155-165-175-185-195-205-225 PR-235 PR-245 (f)

then, AMRAP 3 Hand Release Burpees

43 burpees

//So, they set up the weights wrong and skipped 215, which was my old 1RM.  So, what the heck... try 225.  Then 235.  The 225 was pretty legit, 235 was possibly the ugliest successful power cleans in history :)

In Between - Deadlift, 400#

//Really wanted to get this.  Old 1RM was 355 back in November.

WOD 2 - Battle for the Cup WOD #3

AMRAP 10
3 x Muscleup to 2 dips
16 lateral jumps, 24"

8 rounds + 2 MU/dips

Thoughts:  Was overall really happy with today.  Didn't really have any issues with the skills and the standards for the Battle.  Was obviously happy with the PRs, too.

Body:  Not sore yet!  Even with sitting in the car for awhile Friday and today.  We'll see tomorrow.  Shoulder actually feels pretty good too!

Friday, 2/1/2013

CrossFit Edwardsville WOD

Warmup - CFE Warmup, Plyos

Strength - Max Split Jerk

3x115-3x135-155-175-185-205-215(f)-215 PR

//I've got it if I can get it back far enough!  Definitely not strong enough to save the lift if my first movement doesn't get it over my hips.

MetCon - In teams of three

60-40-20
Row (calories)
Power Clean, 135#
Floor Press, 135#

I did:
1st round: 20-20-20
2nd round: 20-15-10
3rd round: 20-10-10

Did my last 20 calorie row in :35.  Thought that was pretty fast, not sure how many meters it ended up being though.

Thoughts:  Was really in the groove today.  Jerks were smooth, as were all the MetCon movements.  I'm figuring out how to work the rower just at the threshold of max so I can go all-out without hitting the wall 3/4 of the way in.

Body:  Very good.  Nothing really terribly stressful today.  Went to bed a little early due to boredom at home so got some quality sleep time.