Monday, January 25, 2016
Self Coached
(11:30 AM) Fit@Oracle
Started with 15 minutes of jump rope drills. Then 10 minutes of hand stand kick up attempts.
Front Squat
6x5 @45#, 65#, 85#, 95#, 105#, 115#
Then 50 push ups in sets of 2-5
500m Row while waiting on pull up bar
Then 5x1 strict pull-up
Then 3x3 knees to elbows
Monday, January 25, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Gymanstics
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Coach Amy
(9AM) Kat, Andrew, Ben, Rich, Anke, Mandy several others and me, around 10 of us
Warm Up
400m run followed by high kicks, front splits, seal drag, duck walk, hops with high hips, forward rolls with frog hops, cartwheels, handstand walk (I did kick ups), handstand into roll (I did kick ups).
Skills
Chest to Bar
Rope Climbs (legless)
Bar Muscle Ups
Handstand Walking
Dips on Big Boy Rings
I worked on chest to bar pull ups and got to the point of doing a couple of singles. Then I worked on legless rope climbs. I could get hand over hand a few times. Finally I worked on ring dips and did a few singles. We had 20 minutes to work on skills.
Skills WOD for Quality
10 minute AMRAP
15 foot handstand walk
10 C2B
10 High Dips
10 C2B
15 foot handstand walk
I did this workout with 30 foot bear crawl, regular pull ups and parallel bar dips. I finished 1 round and got through 11 reps of the second round, stopping right before dips.
6 minute AMRAP
1 legless rope climb / half legless rope climb
1 skin the cat
1 bar mu
1 cartwheel
I did regular rope climbs, swing to roughly toes to bar, chest to bar pull up and my interpretation of a cartwheel. I did 3 + 1 round and felt really good about the effort.
Later in the afternoon, I spent 10 minutes on jump rope drills.
Coach Amy
(9AM) Kat, Andrew, Ben, Rich, Anke, Mandy several others and me, around 10 of us
Warm Up
400m run followed by high kicks, front splits, seal drag, duck walk, hops with high hips, forward rolls with frog hops, cartwheels, handstand walk (I did kick ups), handstand into roll (I did kick ups).
Skills
Chest to Bar
Rope Climbs (legless)
Bar Muscle Ups
Handstand Walking
Dips on Big Boy Rings
I worked on chest to bar pull ups and got to the point of doing a couple of singles. Then I worked on legless rope climbs. I could get hand over hand a few times. Finally I worked on ring dips and did a few singles. We had 20 minutes to work on skills.
Skills WOD for Quality
10 minute AMRAP
15 foot handstand walk
10 C2B
10 High Dips
10 C2B
15 foot handstand walk
I did this workout with 30 foot bear crawl, regular pull ups and parallel bar dips. I finished 1 round and got through 11 reps of the second round, stopping right before dips.
6 minute AMRAP
1 legless rope climb / half legless rope climb
1 skin the cat
1 bar mu
1 cartwheel
I did regular rope climbs, swing to roughly toes to bar, chest to bar pull up and my interpretation of a cartwheel. I did 3 + 1 round and felt really good about the effort.
Later in the afternoon, I spent 10 minutes on jump rope drills.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Back Squats
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Self coached
Fit@Oracle Gym
I started with jump rope and did most of the drills covered in the seminar. I spent about 20 minutes on this and got back to my PR of 3 double unders. This time they were very clean. I felt really good about my singles as well.
The next 20 minutes were on handstand kick-ups. I started with headstands and then warmed up my shoulders with bear crawls and crab walks. I made several attempts and felt a lot smoother and more engaged from my core. I popped up one time, but could not hold it for even 1 second. It was still a very successful outing.
Then 50 push-ups starting in sets of 5 and finishing in sets of 1.
Then 15 pull-ups starting with 3, then 2, then singles or doubles.
Finally, Back Squat, 6x5 reps at 45#, 65#, 85#, 95#, 115#, and 115#
Self coached
Fit@Oracle Gym
I started with jump rope and did most of the drills covered in the seminar. I spent about 20 minutes on this and got back to my PR of 3 double unders. This time they were very clean. I felt really good about my singles as well.
The next 20 minutes were on handstand kick-ups. I started with headstands and then warmed up my shoulders with bear crawls and crab walks. I made several attempts and felt a lot smoother and more engaged from my core. I popped up one time, but could not hold it for even 1 second. It was still a very successful outing.
Then 50 push-ups starting in sets of 5 and finishing in sets of 1.
Then 15 pull-ups starting with 3, then 2, then singles or doubles.
Finally, Back Squat, 6x5 reps at 45#, 65#, 85#, 95#, 115#, and 115#
Jump-N-Rope
Saturday, January 26, 2016
I had the opportunity to attend a clinic by Jump-N-Rope hosted at MBS CrossFit. There were about 25 of us at various levels of double unders from those like me who could do a couple to those who could do 20+ and were looking for some technique improvements.
We started out warming up with single unders and variations (straddles, straddles forward/back, and skiers). We were then introduced to speed jumping where you hop on one foot and then the other. My one minute attempt worked out to 49 steps (measured as the right foot coming down).
The majority of the session was on position. It is important to be light on your feet and jump with your ankles, knees and hips straight up. Elbows should be back, shoulders relaxed, hold the entire handle and pop it down when you jump to accelerate the rope underneath you. Popping the handle occurs when the rope is approximately parallel to the ground in front of you. A double under is exactly the same except that you pop the rope twice.
We then did some drills jumping rope between two stacks of boxes, jumping and moving forward, and sequences of single-single-double.
In all we worked with beaded ropes, 2.5 (dense coated rope) and speed balls. Sizing was an interesting story as well. There is no set height to rope length ratio. Depending on technique and fatigue level, your rope length will vary. It should pass about 10 inches above your head when skipping. At the end of the seminar, I had my beaded training rope sized and purchased a 2.5 training rope. Both are adjustable with either a slip knot on the beaded rope or knots in the training rope. I did not purchase speed balls as they are not size specific and I figured I could grab them later.
I was very impressed by both Molly and Katie. The class moved at a good pace and I have a much better handle on fundamentals.
I had the opportunity to attend a clinic by Jump-N-Rope hosted at MBS CrossFit. There were about 25 of us at various levels of double unders from those like me who could do a couple to those who could do 20+ and were looking for some technique improvements.
We started out warming up with single unders and variations (straddles, straddles forward/back, and skiers). We were then introduced to speed jumping where you hop on one foot and then the other. My one minute attempt worked out to 49 steps (measured as the right foot coming down).
The majority of the session was on position. It is important to be light on your feet and jump with your ankles, knees and hips straight up. Elbows should be back, shoulders relaxed, hold the entire handle and pop it down when you jump to accelerate the rope underneath you. Popping the handle occurs when the rope is approximately parallel to the ground in front of you. A double under is exactly the same except that you pop the rope twice.
We then did some drills jumping rope between two stacks of boxes, jumping and moving forward, and sequences of single-single-double.
In all we worked with beaded ropes, 2.5 (dense coated rope) and speed balls. Sizing was an interesting story as well. There is no set height to rope length ratio. Depending on technique and fatigue level, your rope length will vary. It should pass about 10 inches above your head when skipping. At the end of the seminar, I had my beaded training rope sized and purchased a 2.5 training rope. Both are adjustable with either a slip knot on the beaded rope or knots in the training rope. I did not purchase speed balls as they are not size specific and I figured I could grab them later.
I was very impressed by both Molly and Katie. The class moved at a good pace and I have a much better handle on fundamentals.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Front Squats
Friday, January 15, 2016
Fit@Oracle - Self coached
Warm Up
Arm circles, 500m row, 10 air squats, 10 lunges
Workout
Front Squats - 4-5 reps at 45#, 65#, 95#, 115#, 115#
15 strict Pull-ups - 1-2 reps at a time
Jump Rope Drills followed by 100-80-60-40-20 single unders
Practice kicking up into a handstand
Cash out with 1 mile treadmill run (1% incline, 5.6 mph)
Fit@Oracle - Self coached
Warm Up
Arm circles, 500m row, 10 air squats, 10 lunges
Workout
Front Squats - 4-5 reps at 45#, 65#, 95#, 115#, 115#
15 strict Pull-ups - 1-2 reps at a time
Jump Rope Drills followed by 100-80-60-40-20 single unders
Practice kicking up into a handstand
Cash out with 1 mile treadmill run (1% incline, 5.6 mph)
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Goat Day
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Coach Meriah
(11AM) Sam, Ashley, Steve B, Ilian, Reva and me
Warm Up
1300m Row
Workout
Work on a Skill
I chose kipping pull-ups and handstand holds.
I spent 20 minutes on kipping pull-ups starting with kip swings, tight kip swings and several attempts at linking pull-ups together. Key points, key feet flexed quads tight, core tight, superman and hollow body from shoulders and push away from the bar instead of collapsing down.
I spent 20 minutes trying to kick into a handstand. Keep biceps by ears, tuck chin and pull rib cage down, lower foot acts as a pivot only and top foot leads hips into a handstand hold. I got one short one before collapsing.
Coach Meriah also showed me a drill for cartwheels. Hand-Hand-Foot-Foot in a square pattern. Right hand down, then Left hand down, then Left foot down, then Right foot down and repeat.
Coach Meriah
(11AM) Sam, Ashley, Steve B, Ilian, Reva and me
Warm Up
1300m Row
Workout
Work on a Skill
I chose kipping pull-ups and handstand holds.
I spent 20 minutes on kipping pull-ups starting with kip swings, tight kip swings and several attempts at linking pull-ups together. Key points, key feet flexed quads tight, core tight, superman and hollow body from shoulders and push away from the bar instead of collapsing down.
I spent 20 minutes trying to kick into a handstand. Keep biceps by ears, tuck chin and pull rib cage down, lower foot acts as a pivot only and top foot leads hips into a handstand hold. I got one short one before collapsing.
Coach Meriah also showed me a drill for cartwheels. Hand-Hand-Foot-Foot in a square pattern. Right hand down, then Left hand down, then Left foot down, then Right foot down and repeat.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Gymnastics - Handstand Fundamentals
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Coach Amy
(9AM) Gavin, Andrew, Ben, Kat, several others and me, about 10 of us
Warm Up
500m Row followed by crab walk hands pointed backwards and then forwards, seal drag, forward roll (remember to tuck chin and get back of head on mat), cartwheel (2 on good side, 2 on bad side)
Bars
Kip swings (3x5) then Tap swings (3x5). Tap swings - start swinging and then lift hip high going backwards and pop hips up going forward.
Handstand Fundamentals
Downward dog push up, touching head beyond 5# plate. Headstand to roll (5X up and down, then roll). Headstand 5X tuck, 5X straddle, 5X pike (these are in order of difficulty). I could kind of do tuck but needed wall for the others and I still was not successful.
6 Minute AMRAP
1 wall walk up and 2 touches
2 wall walk up and 4 touches
3 wall walk up and 6 touches, etc.
I did the wall walk ups, but not to perpendicular. Instead of touches, I did lifts. I did 2 of the wall walk ups for the round of 6 (5 + 2 rounds).
Coach Amy
(9AM) Gavin, Andrew, Ben, Kat, several others and me, about 10 of us
Warm Up
500m Row followed by crab walk hands pointed backwards and then forwards, seal drag, forward roll (remember to tuck chin and get back of head on mat), cartwheel (2 on good side, 2 on bad side)
Bars
Kip swings (3x5) then Tap swings (3x5). Tap swings - start swinging and then lift hip high going backwards and pop hips up going forward.
Handstand Fundamentals
Downward dog push up, touching head beyond 5# plate. Headstand to roll (5X up and down, then roll). Headstand 5X tuck, 5X straddle, 5X pike (these are in order of difficulty). I could kind of do tuck but needed wall for the others and I still was not successful.
6 Minute AMRAP
1 wall walk up and 2 touches
2 wall walk up and 4 touches
3 wall walk up and 6 touches, etc.
I did the wall walk ups, but not to perpendicular. Instead of touches, I did lifts. I did 2 of the wall walk ups for the round of 6 (5 + 2 rounds).
Friday, January 8, 2016
Annie
Friday, January 8, 2016
Self Coached at Oracle Gym
(12:30 PM) just me
Warm Up
Started with arm swings and then sat in a squat for a bit. Ran 400m on the treadmill and then did around 15 walking lunges and 10 banded Good Mornings. I did a few kips swing and then started working up weight for Deadlifts (45#, 95#, 135#, 185#).
Workout of the Day
Strength
OTMx10, alternating
Even: 8 Straight leg deadlift
Odd: 4-6 Strict pullups or 2x ring rows
I overshot a bit and only did 5 reps at 185# before dropping down to 135# for the rest of the workout. I also did normal deadlifts rather than straight leg. I was able to manage 4 pull-ups per round.
Conditioning
“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10 reps for time of:
Double unders
Situps
If you don’t have double unders, do 2x singles with beaded rope.
This was pretty good and I was really pleased with myself for doing all of the sit-ups. Last time I modified to half sit-ups. I still did single unders and finished in 11:44
Finished with mobility - Squat against wall and couch stretch.
Overall impressions. It is creepy quiet at the Oracle Gym compared to a CrossFit box. The combination of music, yelling, grunting and weights dropping is really energizing. That said, I did pretty well with this workout. I could have used an ab mat and chalk, but all of the other equipment was perfectly acceptable.
Self Coached at Oracle Gym
(12:30 PM) just me
Warm Up
Started with arm swings and then sat in a squat for a bit. Ran 400m on the treadmill and then did around 15 walking lunges and 10 banded Good Mornings. I did a few kips swing and then started working up weight for Deadlifts (45#, 95#, 135#, 185#).
Workout of the Day
Strength
OTMx10, alternating
Even: 8 Straight leg deadlift
Odd: 4-6 Strict pullups or 2x ring rows
I overshot a bit and only did 5 reps at 185# before dropping down to 135# for the rest of the workout. I also did normal deadlifts rather than straight leg. I was able to manage 4 pull-ups per round.
Conditioning
“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10 reps for time of:
Double unders
Situps
If you don’t have double unders, do 2x singles with beaded rope.
This was pretty good and I was really pleased with myself for doing all of the sit-ups. Last time I modified to half sit-ups. I still did single unders and finished in 11:44
Finished with mobility - Squat against wall and couch stretch.
Overall impressions. It is creepy quiet at the Oracle Gym compared to a CrossFit box. The combination of music, yelling, grunting and weights dropping is really energizing. That said, I did pretty well with this workout. I could have used an ab mat and chalk, but all of the other equipment was perfectly acceptable.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Overhead Squats
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Coach Jeremy
(11AM) around 10 of us including Val, Ashley, Reva, Tim, Tom, Ben, and me
Warm Up
500m row followed by pass throughs and pass throughs in squat position. Warm up for OH Squats with deadlift, jumps with straight arms, shrugs, high elbows, then hang snatches. Really focus on shoulder position and external rotation. There will be some internal rotation in the squat, but return to externally rotated with elbows pointed down and arm pits pointed forward.
Workout of the Day
Strength
OTM x 10:
2-3 OHS (from ground). Start light and build up
I started with a 15# training bar and went up to 25#, 35#, 35#, 45#, 45#, 55#, 55#, 65#, 65#. They felt pretty good, up to 55# and then it got tough.
Conditioning
AMRAP 12:
12 OHS
12 Lateral burpees over bar
L3 – 115/75
L2 – 95/65
L1 – 75/55
I used 55# and still struggled to get close to parallel on some of my squats. The burpees were a real lung buster and it took me a while to set up before lifts. I ended up getting 3 + 18 rounds.
Cooldown
2 minutes easy row and squat against wall
Coach Jeremy
(11AM) around 10 of us including Val, Ashley, Reva, Tim, Tom, Ben, and me
Warm Up
500m row followed by pass throughs and pass throughs in squat position. Warm up for OH Squats with deadlift, jumps with straight arms, shrugs, high elbows, then hang snatches. Really focus on shoulder position and external rotation. There will be some internal rotation in the squat, but return to externally rotated with elbows pointed down and arm pits pointed forward.
Workout of the Day
Strength
OTM x 10:
2-3 OHS (from ground). Start light and build up
I started with a 15# training bar and went up to 25#, 35#, 35#, 45#, 45#, 55#, 55#, 65#, 65#. They felt pretty good, up to 55# and then it got tough.
Conditioning
AMRAP 12:
12 OHS
12 Lateral burpees over bar
L3 – 115/75
L2 – 95/65
L1 – 75/55
I used 55# and still struggled to get close to parallel on some of my squats. The burpees were a real lung buster and it took me a while to set up before lifts. I ended up getting 3 + 18 rounds.
Cooldown
2 minutes easy row and squat against wall
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
New Directions
I let my CrossFit membership end as of December 31st. I really enjoy CrossFit, but the test of time shows that it didn't always love me. Over the course of 10 months in 2015, I lost 41 days of training due to tweaks/injuries. These were not due to CrossFit or even my technique. Some were being clumsy. Some were pushing too hard without a good warm up. Some were being more aggressive than a beginner should be with 1RM, etc.
I also got the perception that this would not necessarily get better over time. Kind of like when you drive a certain car, you notice every other similar model on the roads, my shoulder aches, lower back pain, etc got me to realize that I could spot lots of CrossFit enthusiasts who had gone through a shoulder surgery, had one planned, had a knee surgery, etc. CrossFit caters to this and the movements can scale to accommodate everyone from those without limbs to those with very low muscle mass or very low strength relative to body weight.
I still believe in the model of high intensity training. I still believe in the 100 words and never lost my excitement in regards to Olympic lifts and traditional gymnastics movements.
While I never did a cartwheel and the technique on my snatch can be argued, I did have some incredible firsts like a rope climb, a forward roll, and I now have the vernacular to begin barbell training. I worked towards a handstand, but that has not yet materialized. I can do a lot more pull-ups than I ever could before, but I never got a chest to bar or a muscle up. My kip progressed nicely, but not to the point that I could do a toes to bar or knees to elbow.
I visited a couple of boxes around the country and appreciate the power of the CrossFit community.
In 2016, I am going to focus on mobility and core strength while keeping a toe hold in CrossFit.
I also got the perception that this would not necessarily get better over time. Kind of like when you drive a certain car, you notice every other similar model on the roads, my shoulder aches, lower back pain, etc got me to realize that I could spot lots of CrossFit enthusiasts who had gone through a shoulder surgery, had one planned, had a knee surgery, etc. CrossFit caters to this and the movements can scale to accommodate everyone from those without limbs to those with very low muscle mass or very low strength relative to body weight.
I still believe in the model of high intensity training. I still believe in the 100 words and never lost my excitement in regards to Olympic lifts and traditional gymnastics movements.
While I never did a cartwheel and the technique on my snatch can be argued, I did have some incredible firsts like a rope climb, a forward roll, and I now have the vernacular to begin barbell training. I worked towards a handstand, but that has not yet materialized. I can do a lot more pull-ups than I ever could before, but I never got a chest to bar or a muscle up. My kip progressed nicely, but not to the point that I could do a toes to bar or knees to elbow.
I visited a couple of boxes around the country and appreciate the power of the CrossFit community.
In 2016, I am going to focus on mobility and core strength while keeping a toe hold in CrossFit.
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