Tuesday, June 30, 2015

CrossFit Isabel

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Coach Kyle

(6AM) Heather, Kris, T$$$, Matt, Nick and me

Warm Up

200M Run, 6 Samson Complex, DROM, 10 Passthrough, 10 OH Squat (PVC), 10 OH Squat (45#).  DROM – neck side to side, neck forward back, neck rotate both directions, roll shoulders forward back, roll wrists, hands up then down, push hips out in both directions, roll knees both directions, roll both ankles.

Burgener Warm Up

3 repetitions of each of the following movements:  Snatch Pull, Snatch High Pull, Muscle Snatch, Jump and Land, High Hang Snatch (2” dip), Hang Snatch (4” dip), Low Hang Snatch (6” dip).

Power Snatch (EMOM for 6 minutes)

2x45#, 2x55#, 2x65#

Isabel (Time)

For Time:  30 Snatches (135#/95#)

I used 55# for this workout and felt pretty good about the effort.  I finished in 3:59 and that forced me to consider whether I should have gone heavier.  Coach Kyle reinforced that 55# was probably the right weight for me.  When resetting, I had to be reminded to get my hips at the right height with a  neutral back.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

CrossFit White

Thursday, June 26, 2015

Coach Zach

(6AM) Matt, Matt, Ben and me

Warm Up

2 Rounds of 10 Samson Stretch with 3 second holds, 10 OH Squat with PVC, 10 GHD Sit Ups, 10 GHD Back Extensions, 1 Rope Climb, Push Up Pyramid.

This was a tough warm up.  Coach Zach clarified the GHD sit ups and back extensions.  Your hamstrings/thighs respectively should be on the pad to maximize hip mobility.  On sit ups you want to progress to touching the floor with your hands before locking your knees to pop back up.

In the interest of time, he told me to skip the last Push Up Pyramid

White (Time)

5 Rounds for time of:  3 Rope Climbs, 15', 10 Toes to Bar, 21 OH Weighted (45#) Walking Lunge Steps, 400m Run

I knew this would be tough going in.  I did not expect the OHW Lunges to be the worst part.

I did much better with the rope climbs this week.  A little bit of that was technique, a lot of that was confidence.

The toes to bar, I struggled with.  I did a couple and then was only getting about half way up.  I switched to leg raises after 6 reps of the first round.  Technique:  Keep your legs as straight as possible, lower your legs and just tap the ground.

Overhead weighted lunges.  I started with the 45# plate for the first 2 rounds.  I started getting wobbly and switched to the 15# plate, which Zach quickly replaced with the 25# plate.  Even with the lighter weight I was struggling with form and breaking the reps down into 4’s and 5’s. 

The 400m run was a bit of a reprieve, but not after the lunges.

I finished the first round in about 8 minutes.  I slowed progressively to finish the workout in 46:22.  Zach was kind enough to let me stay a little late as I was starting my last round at 7:02 AM.  I will have to make a point of stretching my hamstrings today.  The right is already feeling shot.

This was my first Hero workout and it knowing that U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ashley White was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2011 at the age of 24 provided a little extra motivation.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

CrossFit 5K – No Coach

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Coach – No Show

(6AM) Kayla, Lisa, Lanaia, Matt, and me

We ended up doing the 10 Samson Stretches, 10 Air Squats, 10 Sit Ups and 10 Back Extensions.  Then the consensus was to run a 5K.  It took me 35:31 (including a nature break).

Planned workout was:

Warm Up

10 Samson Stretch, 10 OH Squat with PVC, 10 Sit Ups, 10 Back Extensions, 10 Pull Ups, 10 Dips, 5 Muscle Up/Muscle Up Progression

Metcon


For time:  Buy In – 100 Double Under, 4 Rounds of:  5 Muscle Up, 10 Front Squat (135#/95#), 15 HSPU, 20 Burpee

Monday, June 22, 2015

CrossFit Paused Squats

Monday, June 22, 2015

Coach Arik

(6AM) Laura, Lisa, Ben and me

Warm Up

500m Row, 20 Bandy Good Mornings, 15 Bandy Side Step (L & R), 15 Passthrough, 10 KB Swing (53#), 10 Goblet Squat (53#), 15 Air Squats

Mobility

Couch Stretch (2 minutes each side), Elbow to Instep (2 minutes each side)

Bring Sally Up (Weight)

Challenge to the song “Bring Sally Up” by Moby with a 135# barbell on back.  Squat on “Bring Sally Down.”  Stand on “Bring Sally Up.”

This workout is based on a challenge by Rich Froning.  It is tough not just because of the number of squats, but also because you are typically paused in the down position.  The only saving grace is that it is only 3:30 seconds long.  There are 30+ squats during the challenge.

I warmed up with 45#, 65# and then 95#.  After feeling 95# in the down position, I decided to back off to 75# for the challenge.  It started off OK, but I was starting to lose pace about a minute into the song.  After the first long pause, I really had to think about form to get the weight back up.  After the second long pause, the weight was not coming up.  I dumped it and finished with air squats, which felt relatively easy, but the burning in my quads never went away.  Thank goodness for foam rollers.  Only Laura finished with her challenge weight.  I did not feel good about my first DNF, but I was in good company.


As the challenge was relatively short, I finished with ring dips and double unders.

Friday, June 19, 2015

CrossFit Atlas Stone

Friday, June 19, 2015

Coach Arik

(6AM) Lisa, Nick and me

Warm Up

500m Row, 20 Bandy Good Mornings (keep back tight), 15 Bandy Side Step (Left and Right), 15 Pass Through, 10 KB Swing (35#), 1 Rope Climb

Technique:  Atlas Stone

Get legs on either side of stone, arms straight, cradle stone, get hips low and deadlift stone.  Step legs together and wrap stone with forearm, engage hips and pop/roll stone onto adjacent shoulder. 

Metcon: 

5-7-10-7-5 Repetition Sets for Time:  Stone 2 Shoulder, Rope Climb, Box Jump (30”)

This was a brutal workout from yesterday with only 4 Rx performances among 32 people participating.  After seeing the rope burns and stone bruises on Arik and Nick, I nearly bagged the workout.  I did end up giving it a go with a 5-7-10-7-5 rep count on Stone 2 Shoulder with a small stone (~30#) and 3-4-5-4-3 rep count on the rope climbs and a 3-4-5-4-3 rep count on a 24” box.

The Stone 2 Shoulder was OK, but I would definitely favor my left arm.  Due to limited forearm mobility in my right arm, I cannot cradle the stone at the top of the sequence.  With a heavier stone, this would have been a real issue.

The rope climb was by far the worst part.  On the second round I was already taking 30-45 second breaks between trips up the rope to shake out my arms.  My technique improved significantly and when I could shimmy the rope over my foot correctly, I was making quick progress.  Coming down the rope was horrible, and my inner thigh will be paying a price for a few days.

The box jumps were fine and in retrospect, I probably could have gone 5-7-10-7-5, but I am still conquering some box demons.  If I had opted for a 20” box, I would have done the full rep count, but the 19 rep count was fine for me.  

I ended up finishing in 33:48 which was middle of the pack for the scaled efforts.  Some folks were pushing 40 minutes, which is a long time for the intensity of the exercises.

I also tweaked my back on the middle right hand around the rhomboideus.  I really need to freshen up my anatomy skills.  It is painful and I intend to foam roll it and take it easy.

Friday has been continuing the tradition of Open Gym.  The default workout was Karen (150 Wall Balls 20#/14#).  Nick and Lisa worked on Back Squats.  I like this format as it allows me to get in my favorite workout from Tuesday or Thursday.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

CrossFit Clean and Jerk

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Coach Arik

(6AM) Kayla, Lisa, Nick, Matt, Matt, and me

Warm Up

500m Row, 10 Goblet Squat (35#), 10 KB Swing (35#), 10 Press (45#), 10 Tricep Press (Behind neck, 45#), 10 Front Squat (45#)

The triceps press was aggravating my right tricep, but I finished the warm up by breaking it down into two sets.

Technique:  3 Position Clean + Jerk

With hook grip, start in dip position, drive and rotate elbows forward, dropping into the squat position.  For a hang clean, start just above the knees raise bar and drive.  For the low hang clean, start with bar about mid-shin (practically on the floor) with hips back, raise over knees and begin to drive.  I opted for the split jerk since we had done that before.  This is an explosive movement and my right foot needs to be well forward and my left foot needs to be far back.  Jump and land with toes pointed in.  Stick the landing, hold and then lower.

I warmed up with 65#, 75# and 95#

3 Position Clean + Jerk (5 minutes to establish max)

1 – High Hang Clean
1 – Hang Clean
1 – Low Hang Clean
1 – Jerk (Split or Push)

First attempt was at 115# and I failed on the low hang clean and dumped the weight.  Second attempt was at 105#.  Third and final attempt was at 115# and I was successful.  After the warm-up, I considered sticking at 95#, but am glad that I pushed for the other 20#.

3 Position Clean + Jerk Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) for 10 Minutes at 85% of max

This was brutal.  85% works out to 98# and I opted for 95#.  The first few rounds were OK, but by the fifth round doubt and uncertainty began to creep in.  I lost it on one rep and did not get into a good high hang clean squat on another rep.  Although I was physically wearing down, focusing on technique made the weight more manageable.  Moving into a longer jerk position helped considerably.  Of the minute round about 30 seconds was used on the sequence and 30 seconds was rest.

Upon completion of EMOM, begin 1 Mile Run on the 10 minute mark.

My legs were Jello the first 400 yards of the run.  Everybody took off and I just couldn’t get moving.  At the top of the hill, my breathing became more steady and my legs seemed to get under me.  I feel like I held a pretty good pace for the last 1200, but did not catch anybody.  The last time we had a mile run and it was a buy in which I covered in 8:08.  Losing around a minute/mile or 14% seems reasonable, but I would have liked to finish in under 9 minutes.  I did give it my full effort and maybe had an extra 5 or 10 seconds in the tank.

Monday, June 15, 2015

CrossFit – Hang Squat Snatch

Monday, June 15, 2015

Coach Zac

(6AM) Karly, Kayla, Nick and me

Warm Up

800m run, 10 Samson Complex, 9 Pull Up (7 strict + 2 jumping), 8 Ring Dip (2 + 6 bar dip), 7 burpees, Push Up Pyramid, 5 Muscle Up/Muscle Up Progression

The Push Up Pyramid starts with feet in a wide base, walk hands forward keeping the heels on the ground as long as possible, do 5 Push Ups then walk the hands back, lowering the heels as soon as possible.

I do not have muscle ups and was doing the progression.  Grab rings with inverted grip, pull up from hips, drag hands across chest to ring dip position, raise yourself up.

Technique

Burgener Warm Up – (1) Dip and Shrug, (2) Dip, Shrug, high elbows, (3) Dip, shrug and raise arms overhead.

Hang Squat Snatch – Feet shoulder width apart, grab bar pretty wide a couple of inches beyond last mark, from hang position, dip jump, swing weight overhead and lower into squat, rise up for 1 rep.

This was really tricky for me.  The hook grip in the snatch hold is pretty tough on the thumb.  My right thumb was in worse shape than the left.  The snatch was not tough in terms of weight, but it was difficult to get it steady overhead.  Dropping into a squat was even trickier.  My knees had a tendency to flay wide and did not feel stable. 

We started with a few air squats and finished with a progressively lower squat.

Metcon

20 Minute AMRAP of 12 Hang Squat Snatch (75/55#), 7 Muscle Up

I used 45# for the snatches and did a muscle up progression.  20 minutes is a long time and I could never get a rhythm.  I was breaking the snatches into 8/4, then 6/6, then 4/4/4.  The muscle up progressions never felt quite right.  I finished with 4 + 11 and am lucky I did not hurt myself on the snatches.

I finished with a few efforts on the rings.  I could not get much higher than the pull up position with my kip. 

Friday, June 12, 2015

CrossFit Back Squat

Friday, June 12, 2015

Coach Arik

(6AM) Esther, Lisa, T$$$, Nick and me

Warm Up

2 Rounds of 10 Reps of Samson Stretch, Overhead Squat with PVC, Sit-ups, Back-extensions, Pull-ups, Dips.  I did the sit-ups and back-extensions on the ground (versus GHD).  For the first round I did 5 strict and 5 jumping pull-ups.  On the second round I did 4 strict and 6 jumping pull-ups.  I had to break up the dips into two sets.  Arik mentioned using a lacrosse ball to loosen up adhesions in my right elbow.  This could be contributing to mobility issues on overhead squats.

Back Squat

After 5 Rep Max has been established, immediately rack your barbell and begin your wall ball shots.  Absolutely no stopping your momentum in the wall ball shots to catch your breath.  At the moment you stop you are done and those reps are recorded.

I was actually looking forward to the back squat and warmed up with 45#, 95#, 135# and finally did a couple of reps at 165# and felt confident that I could make 5 reps.  It was a struggle to get low enough, but instead of trying to keep my knees back, I focused on an upright torso and let my knees move forward slightly.

The wall balls were a different story.  I tried a few at 20# and started to have doubts.  I tried some at 14# and that felt more comfortable, but I wanted to Rx the workout.  This was a mistake.

I managed the 1x5 at 165# and could not have managed any more.  On the wall balls, I dropped it after the rep 5 and tried a couple of more before I flopped over.  After catching my breath I did 14 reps with the 14# medicine ball.

Open Gym

I spent time working on ring dips and double unders.  I was able to do 1-2 ring dips several times and am gaining some confidence.  The double unders are another story.  I can do one in between skips, but as of yet, I am not stringing them together.


Wednesday, June 10, 2015

CrossFit – 5K

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Coach Zach

(6AM) Lisa, Karly, Matt, Nick and me

Warm-Up

200m run, 200m of a modified high knee/butt kick, 8 Samson Complex

Mobility

Couch stretch & knee to instep lunge.  Both positions 2 minutes each leg

5K Run

If I hadn’t run yesterday, I would have been looking forward to this more.  I don’t know if it was the stretching or the cool, misty weather, but I was really moving this morning.  I set off at a steady pace and was able to turn it up a little bit after the first half mile.  I ended up with 27:32 for the course which was a bit short at 2.87 miles per my Garmin 305.  Even taking that into account, I was still clipping off 9:35 miles, which is pretty darn good for me.

Monday, June 8, 2015

CrossFit Kip Swings

Monday, June 8, 2015

Coach Arik

(6AM) T$$$, Esther, Matt and me

Warm-Up

500m Row, 25 Bandy Good Mornings, 10 Bandy Side Step (L&R), 15 Passthrough, 10 Kip Swing, 10 KB swing (35#), 5 Kipping Knees to Elbow (did swings), 5 Kipping Toes to Bar (did swings).
When you cannot Rx the warm-up, you know the workout is going to be tough.

Mobility

Banded Shoulder.  Hook wrist through band and step back into a good morning position.  After 1 minute, cross adjacent foot back behind lateral foot, providing a more generous latissimus dorsi stretch.  Switch arms and repeat.

Metcon

8 rounds for time of 200m run, 10 KB Swing (53#), 10 Toes to bar.  Rx Plus = Unroken KB Swing (72#).

I was dreading this workout going in.  The 200m run provided a nice jogging recovery.  KB swings (35#) I did well with.  I need to remember to get the knees back and really engage hips to pop the weight up.  For the toes to bar, I did kip swings and even struggled with those.  I would get the first one and the second one would have me relaxing my shoulders and engaging my core incorrectly resulting in an out of control swing.  Nevertheless, I finished in 24:23 and felt pretty good about the effort.

Friday, June 5, 2015

CrossFit Open Gym

Friday, June 5, 2015

Coach Arik

(12:00 PM) Kel, Heather, Todd and me – Birthday Burpees

Warm-Up

2 Rounds of 10 Reps:  Samson Stretch, OH Squat with PVC, Sit-ups, Back Extensions, Pull-ups, Dips

On the first round, I did AbMat and Supermans.  On the second round, I used the GHD.  On both rounds I did 5 strict and 5 jumping pull-ups.

Burgener Warm-Up

Shrugs – torso tall
High Elbows – keeping bar close to body
High Hang Clean – rotate elbows when bar is weightless/stationary
Clean from above knee – keep bar close to body and jump/pop the bar up
Clean from the floor – sit low and back, bringing knees forward after the bar has cleared

I started with 45#, then went to 75# and finally 95#.  I felt pretty good at this weight.

Metcon:

3 rounds of 5 power cleans, 10 burpee pull-ups + 5 power cleans at the end (~7:30).  This was adapted from the Wednesday WOD which was 5 rounds of 3 Power Cleans (#225) and 10 burpee pull-ups.

Finished with 8 minutes of ring work including some dips and locking the triceps out and pressing the rings in.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

CrossFit Overhead Squat

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Coach Kyle

(6AM) Lisa, T$$$, Matt, Dalton, and me

Warm-Up

Dynamic Range of Motion (DROM, head to toe) start by slowly rocking head forward then back, slowly twist head left then right, slowly roll head in a circle in one direction then the other.  Roll shoulders forward then backwards, pivot hand up then down, move hips in a circle in both directions, move knees together in a circle in each direction, roll ankles in a circle.  All of the motions should be slow and stable.  This routine took about 8 minutes

10 goblet squat stretch (35#) hold for 3 seconds at the bottom and push knees out, 10 side lunge (left to right and back is 1 rep), 10 pass through, 10 Snatch Grip Press (PVC), 10 OH Squat (PVC), 10 Snatch Grip Push Press (35#), 10 OH Squat (35#).

Thoracic Mobility – With arms extended overhead and grabbing a bar, lay thoracic vertebrae on foam roller and roll back and forth.  This actually felt like a really good stretch.

Mobility:  Ankle Distraction

Wrap band around cage near the floor, step into band low around the ankle, step forward and reverse lunge down so that band is around the lead ankle.  Keeping the heel on the floor, push lead knee forward and down and rock knee left to right.  Repeat on opposite ankle.  This is supposed to open the space in your ankle.  I felt it more in my hamstrings. 

Overhead Squat (3-3-3-3-3-3-3)

Build to the heaviest 3 OH Squats you can do for 7 sets.

Overhead squat starts from the rack, step back, feet wider than shoulder width apart, toes pointed out about 30 degrees, push press weight overhead in snatch grip, wrists tipped slightly back.  Squat down with elbow sockets pushed up and pushing out against the bar.  The bar will track slightly behind your head, but stay over your heels.  Keep the torso high and push knees out to improve hip mobility.

I was dropping my right arm.  My proprioception is a bit off and when Coach Kyle corrected me, it felt like I was shifting the weight to the right.  It was also reinforced to push my knees out and keep the arms locked out.  It was also pointed out not to shrug the shoulders but allow the shoulders to rest back and open the scapulas.  This workout was much more taxing on my wrists and shoulders than my legs.

I started with 35#, 45#, 55# and finally 65# and felt like this was as high as I could go while focusing primarily on technique.  I successfully completed the 7 sets, but struggled to maintain form on all of them.  I can understand why some folks will stick to mobility and technique during today’s workout.  It felt more comfortable today than when we were doing 15 rep sets for Nancy.

Monday, June 1, 2015

CrossFit HELEN

Monday, June 1, 2015

Coach Zac

(6AM) Karly, Laura, Nick, Dalton and me

Warm-Up

2 rounds of 10 reps of Samson Stretch, Overhead Squat with PVC, Sit-ups, Back-extensions, Pull-ups and Dips.  For the pull-ups, I did 4 strict pull-ups and 6 jumping pull-ups in each round.

Mobility:  Couch Stretch

HELEN:  

3 rounds for time of 400m run, 21 KB swings (53#), and 12 pull-ups.

Based on last week’s metcon, I knew I would struggle with the KB swings and opted for a 35#KB.  This was a wise choice with a good effort required without breaking down from.  I managed the 12 pull-ups in the first round 5-3-3-1 and had to break them down further in round 2.  In the last round I was doing them 1 at a time.  I felt really good about not having to switch to jumping pull-ups.  I finished the workout in 14:03 which is not impressive, but the best effort I had.  The order and the exercise really work together to create a challenging benchmark workout.