Swim (1000 yard)

Friday, May 27, 2022

Carmody Rec Center

1230

1000 Yard Swim

1x800 FR

1x100 BA

1x100 BR

--

27 minutes

Front Squat - Dips

Thursday, May 26, 2022

CFG - OPEN GYM

1430

Warm Up

row

air squats

lateral lunges

mtn climber t spine rotation

banded fire hydrant

banded side step

Front Squat

5x50

3x60

3x70

1x80

1x85

1x90kg (198#)

Ring Dips

EMOM style

3-3-3-3-3-3-3-2-2 = 25 total reps

Humble Beginnings

Back in April of 2015, I was enamored with a gentleman's garage gym which I thought was the Creme De La Creme.  At that point I thought $2000 was an outrageous budget and 1000# of weight was asinine.

Innocently enough, I started out with a barbell and plates, a bench, and some plate loaded dumbbells.

Flash forward 7 years later and I have nearly $8000 invested in a one car garage functional fitness gym with an overflow powerlifting gym in the basement.  I also have $1000 invested in vintage weight plates.  

I have 1 rack, 2 benches, 1750 pounds of plates, 6 barbells and 4 pairs of collars.

I have secured a plethora of functional fitness equipment including 2 kettlebells, 4 med balls and 2 sets of plyometric boxes.

The gym has morphed as my needs have morphed.  

In 2015, it was simply to have a few items at home to practice with.

In 2016, it was a functional fitness gym to complement a globo gym

In 2020, it became a primary gym

In 2022, it is in transition

What do I want to do in this space?

(1) Powerlifting

(2) Functional Fitness

I cannot accomplish both well in the space I have. 

I currently have a Crossfit Gym membership that feels permanent.  I use the Reverse Hyper and Glute Ham Developer; but do not have these at home.  I swim at Carmody Rec Center and cannot recreate this training at home.

Starting from scratch I would go with:

Powerlifting

• Half Rack with weight storage (I like the mobility of the Yoke for use at home)
• Bench
• 45# Barbell
• Bumper Plates (3) 45, (2) 25, (2) 15, (2) 10
• Change Plates 10-5-2.5-1.25
• Fractional Plates

I could get there by selling the Yoke, buying a half rack with storage and upgrading the Beater Bar to a Texas Power Bar

Functional Fitness

• Pull-up Bar
• 14# Med Ball
• 35# Kettlebell
• Climbing Rope
• Gymnastics Rings
• (2) Abmats
• Jump Ropes
• Strongman Sandbag
• Plyo Boxes
• Dumbbells - 15-25-35-50
• Timer
• Bands
• Flooring
• Gymnastics Mat
• Romwod stretching mat
• Crossover Symmetry

To get here, I would need to buy a strongman sandbag and a RomWod mat and get rid of my cheap foam mat

I like having a Concept2 Rower, but it is overkill for a home gym ($990)

That being said, I have some items that I like and am not parting with regardless of use including

• Atlas Stones (paid $60)
• Parallettes (paid $20)
• Brute Force Sandbag (paid $125)
• Battle Rope (paid $30)
• Bulgarian Bag (paid $100)
• Plate Carrier (net $55, sold heavier plates)
• Steel Mace (paid $40)
• Chains (paid $23)
• York Roundheads (ongoing 7-7-20-20-25-50 = $225)
• Vintage Iron Plates (ongoing = $930)
• York EZ Curl Bar, Curl Bar and Ironman Plates ($40 + $8 + $60)

I am attached to these as they are hard to find unique items that are not found in commercial gyms or micro gyms

I do have some oddball stuff that served me well, but now is not necessary

• Technique Bar and Plates (paid $140, sell $100?)
• 15kg Barbell (paid $210, sell $150)
• Standard Barbell Handles and Plates (paid $12, sell 50 cents/pound)

Really should sell ($870)

• Axle Bar - $20
• Back Extension - $200
• Ab Bench - $200
• Titan Silencer Pad - $100
• Mutt Bar - $50
• Hi Temp Bumper Plates - $300

I got a little carried away buying dumbbells and somehow have 15-20-25-27.5-30-35-40-45-50-60#

Push Press - Metcon

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 - 6 of us

Warm Up

deadlift jump

pvc pass through

pvc prone press and raise

inch worm

down facing scorpion

bootstrapper

pvc btn press

deadbug

lat stretch

front rack stretch

Weightlifting

Four sets of:

Push Press (4 reps)

Rest 30 seconds

Prone Plank (90 seconds)

Rest 2 minutes

I went 85-95-105-105 and went the full 90 seconds with prone plank on elbows.

Metcon

Against a 60 second running clock, for a total of five sets, perform as many reps as possible of:

10 Kettlebell Swings (32/24 kg)

Max Reps of Thrusters (75/55 lbs)

Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Score is max number of thrusters completed during the workout. Note reps performed each set as well so that you can track your consistency – or drop off.

This was tough.  I scaled to the 24 kg KB and did Russian Swings.  I was finishing the 10 reps in 18-20 seconds.  I used a 45# empty barbell and managed 11 reps each round in the remaining 40 seconds.

Lagniappe

2x10x90# Reverse Hyper

Rogue Echo Bike 50 Cal Challenge - 3:32

My max wattage was around 550 watts, but it fell off considerably.  My average wattage was around 270 watts.  I need to work on consistency and pacing for this shorter time domain.

Metcon - Strength

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

CFG - Lacey

1200 ~ 10 of us

Warm Up

run

down facing scorpion

quad stretch plus reverse lunge

banded skaters

scap push-up

table top stretch

banded 2-1-2

ankle driver

scap pull-up

Metcon

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:

10 Dumbbell Renegade Rows (50/35 lbs) (L Row, PU, R Row, PU =1)

20 Box Jumps (24″/20″)

Run 200 Meters

I was not sure how this was going to go as I did not feel really energetic during the warm up.  I grabbed 15# dumbbells and an 18" box, but had to scale further.  I ended up with knee renegade rows only performing 1 of the 2 pull-ups.  I finished the 3rd set of box jumps with 38 seconds to go and took off on a Hail Mary run.

Weightlifting

Four sets of:

Weighted Strict Pull-Ups (3-4 reps @ 21X0)

Rest 20 seconds

Strict Pull-Up (Unweighted Max reps @ 21X0)

Rest 20 seconds

Hollow Body Hold (Max effort)

Rest 3 minutes

Somehow I misread this and only did three sets.  I kept great tempo on the first set of pull-ups which were unweighted strict and I got 4 each round.  I did banded pull-ups for the second effort and got 6-6-5.  Finally I kept great from on hollow body holds, but only lasted 20 second.

Finished with Glute Ham Raises.

Garage Gym Competition - Preliminary Results

I love data and the garage gym competition certainly had no shortage of data, capturing and distributing participants by:

Data Captured

Sex

Age Range

Body Weight

Squat

Bench

Deadlift

1024 people submitted scores

193 women

829 men

2 non-binary

Of 829 men

33 were under 12

11 were 12 to 17

48 were 18 to 24

394 were 25 to 34

239 were 35 to 44

39 were 45 to 54

8 were 55 to 64

54 did not make this information public

Of 844 men

59kg - 52

66kg - 14

74kg - 41

83kg - 156

93kg - 238

105kg - 181

120kg - 100

120kg+ - 62

Less than 5% of the men would be in my age range, however the largest constituency (238 or 28% would fall into the 93 kg weight class).

93 kg Weight Class

Of the 240 athletes in the male 93 kg weight class.  

Average Squat was 332#, median was 335# (my 235# puts me at 20th percentile)

Average Bench was 242#, median was 255# (my 190# puts me at 20th percentile)

Average Deadlift was 386#, median was 405# (my 325# puts me at 28th percentile)

Pretty Impressive Numbers for the 93 kg men.  

I feel like the median numbers are outside my grasp.  However, I do have some room for improvement, especially on squat and bench.  I am targeting a 275# squat; 225# bench and 345# deadlift (845# total or 95# improvement).

28th percentile squat

30th percentile bench

32nd percentile deadlift

Ideally I would be competing at 83kg as well.  I am only 4kg away from that number as I am currently sitting at 87kg.

Historic Participation and Improvement

Year over year of 1050 scores, only 8 posted scores in 2018, 29 posted scores in 2019, 165 posted scores in 2020 and 235 posted scores in 2021.  The garage gym competition is growing.

Excluding the 38 folks who had improvements greater than 20%, the average change year over year was 7% over 192 athletes.  97 athletes lost 0-10% and 59 lost more than 10%.

Given that 7% I could reasonably expect a 250# squat; 205# bench; 345# deadlift.  However, I consider myself an experienced lifter with less room for improvement than novices.  7% represents a 50# improvement to an 800# total.

Equipment Discussion

632 used equipment in some form

407 did not

Specialty Squat Bar - 83

Specialty Bench Bar - 22

Specialty Deadlift Bar - 116

Knee Sleeves for Squat - 431

Knee Sleeves for Bench - 32

Knee Sleeves for Deadlift - 88

Knee Wraps for SBD - 46/2/3

Squat Suit/Briefs for SD - 5/5

Wrist Wraps for SBD - 162/352/30

Wrist Straps for SBD - 6/8/162

Elbow Sleeves for SBD - 19/97/9

Slingshot for Bench - 3

Deadlift Suit - 2

Other SBD - 60/18/63

I personally used knee sleeves (431) for squat.  I also used wrist wraps (352) and elbow sleeves (97) for Bench.

The most popular items were squat knee sleeves (431), bench wrist wraps (352) and deadlift wrist straps (162).  I was surprised that 116 (over 10%) of the community had a deadlift bar.  83 participants with a specialty squat bar did not surprise me as the Safety Squat Bar, Duffalo Bar and Transformer Bars are quite popular.  In retrospect, I could have used wrist straps, but I really only prefer those for higher volume sets (as opposed to 1RM efforts).

Cleans - Metcon

Monday, May 23, 2022

CFG - Janet

1200 - 10 of us

Warm Up

fast mountain climbers

good mornings

banded squat with thoracic twist

banded single leg glute bridge

banded side step

pigeon stretch

Weightlifting

Every 2:30 minutes, for 15 minutes (6 sets):

Clean (1.1.1)

(rest 10 seconds between singles)

I went 95-105-115-125-135-135# and felt like all were quality reps with a good receiving position

Metcon (Time)

Three rounds for time of:

15 Deadlifts (155/105 lbs)

12 Hang Power Cleans (155/105 lbs)

9 Front Squats (155/105 lbs)

6 Jerks (155/105 lbs)

I scaled this aggressively to 85# and it was still tough

Round 1 - 2:30

Round 2 - 3:30 (6:00)

Round 3 - 3:15 (9:15)

Finished with (3) sets of 10 reps at 95# on the Reverse Hyper

Rogue S-1 Bench and Squat Rack

Listed for $400 in Broomfield, Tammy Castenada Schauer is listing this Rogue Squat Rack and Bench.  She has screen grabs of a 2.0 Flat Utility Bench and an SM-1 Monster Squat Stand, but this looks more like a an S-1 Squat Stand (current retail $395), but it does have the spotter arms (current retail $155).  The bench could retail $210.  Total retail $760 with shipping, a retail buyer would be looking at $938.  I really do not need this hardware, but it feels like a good deal.

This sold within 2 days.  Hopefully it found a good home.

I would still like to find a premium squat rack/squat stands and feel like I should be able to find something in the $250 price range.

Murph Prep

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Home Gym

1700

Murph Prep

Wearing a 14# vest:

Buy In:  200 meter run

Every 1:30 for 15 minutes

(10 rounds) 

1 Pull-up

5 Push-up

10 Air squat

Cash Out:  200 meter run

Finished in 18:25

Since I don't break out the vest very often, I had my daughter film a round after I was done:

Snatch Balance - EMOM

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Home Gym

1200

Warm Up

Jumping Jacks

Crossover Symmetry

Pass throughs

Snatch Balance + 2 OHS

Build to heavy

35

45

55

60

65

-

70

75

80

85

75

EMOM 20

5 Thrusters (75#)

10 Push-ups

Finished with 50 sit-ups on ab bench

EMOM

Friday, May 20, 2022

Home Gym

1500

EMOM 20

(5 sets)

1 HSPU

4 Pull-up

5 Box Jump (24")

6 Single Leg Squat

Rogue Fitness Pump-N-Row Challenge

Friday, May 20, 2022

Basement Gym

1100

Warm Up

2000 m row

bench warm up

Pump-N-Row

Body Weight 192#

2000 meter row

first 500 meters = 2:10.3

full 2000 meters = 9:02.1

Completed 1 rep at 190#, failed second rep; Subtract 10 seconds

Total Score 8:52

#roguefitness

#ryourouge

118 results submitted in Men's Middleweight Rx (I was 116th)

Apex Crossfit - Gym Liquidation

Apex Crossfit is liquidating the gym.  They obviously have a tone of equipment and the prices are fair, but by no means a bargain.  Overall a good mix of commercial equipment from Concept2, Rogue, Rep, Titan and other retailers.

Rep Colored bumpers

55# pair - $200 (current retail $310)

45# pair - $170 (current retail $240)

25# pair - $110 (current retail $140)

about 66% of current retail, but more expensive then they were a couple of years ago.

Rogue chalk stand with wheels for $170 (retail is $245 + tax and shipping)

Point One Sandbags

50# - $50

75# - $55

100# - $60 (retails for $85 without sand)

125# - $65

150# - $70

175# - $75

200# - $80

Nothing really caught my eye.  I considered a 100# sandbag, but would be in the mood to pay around $40.  I do not need any more bumpers (but they are a good benchmark for overall pricing).  The chalk stand would be so choice and I may inquire.

Being offered by Austin Rowe.  Everything must go by 6/13 and pick-up on weekends or appointment basis.

Getting Scooped

Rogue Monster Lite Squat Stand - Contacted Seller 5 hours after listing, already pending (asking $250, retail $415 + tax and shipping)

Contacted the seller 7 hours after listing, was available, then pending.  Looks like a Maxicam Bench (premium, commercial grade), 45-35-35-25-10-10-5-5 pairs of Cybex Plates (vintage), 45 CAP plates (still worth $0.75/lb), and the Maxicam Plate Holder.  Looks like 370# of plates, plus a $200 bench and $100 plate tree.  Seller was asking $300.

I do not "need" any of this stuff, but it would make for some nice upgrades.

Swim

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Carmody Rec Center

1530

1x750 FR

1x100 BA

1x100 BR

1x50 FR

--

1000 total

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Carmody Rec Center

1300

1x800 FR

1x100 BA

1x100 BR

1x25 FR (breath ever fourth stroke)

1x25 KICK (mix of free and breaststroke kick)

--

1050 total (30 min)

Back Squat - Metcon

Thursday, May 19, 2022

CFG - Lacey

0930 - 4 of us

Warm Up

hip hammy flow

squat thoracic rotations

glute bridges

wall sit

arm circles, seal swings, etc

dead bugs

"Bring Sally Up" with barbell

Weightlifting

Take 10 minutes to build to 85% of your 1-RM Back Squat

Back Squat 

45-95-135-165-185# (79%)

Weightlifting

Then 10 Minutes - Three sets of:

Back Squat ( 3 reps @ 85% of your 1-RM)

Rest 30 seconds

Dumbbell Death March (10 Reps @20X1)

Rest 30 seconds

Used 185# and 20# dumbbells.  Good hamstring exercise.

Metcon

For time:

Row 1000 Meters

followed immediately by . . .

Three rounds of:

30 Double-Unders

20 Kettlebell Swings (32/24 kg)

10 Strict Handstand Push-Ups

Time cap = 15 minutes

I worked on double unders for 30 seconds each round - 21-24-14

I used a 20kg KB for RKBS - 12/8-10/6/4-10/6-4

I did knees on 20" box HSPU - 6/4

I finished in 12:16 and felt like I scaled it appropriately.

Lagniappe

EMOM 

4 sets of 5 RKBS with 72# KB (2 POOD)

2 sets of 1 HSPU to 2 abmats

Reasonable Gym Equipment Prices

Great offering from Antwun Baker in Englewood.  Everything was sold within 6 hours.

Spring is here! I’m making some room in my garage gym. Here are the items for sale:

1.) Fringe Sport Weight Vest with 4 plates (Two 9lbs and two 6lbs) - $30.00 (SOLD)

2.) REP Fitness 30ft battle rope - $40.00 (SOLD)

3.) REP Fitness Sand Bag (holds up to 75lbs, currently has roughly 60lbs total in sand inside) - $30.00 (SOLD)

4.) Rogue HG Bumper Plates - set of two 10lbs - $30.00 (SOLD)

5.) REP Fitness Bumper Plates - set of two 45lbs - $100.00 (Sold)

6.) REP Fitness Bumper Plates - set of two 25lbs (these have more wear than the 45lbs plates) - $40.00 (SOLD)

7.) REP Fitness 3-Barbell Gun Rack Holder (needs bolts) - $10.00 (pending)

8.) Rogue Parallettes - $35.00 (SOLD)

9.) 80lbs CSU Dumbbells - $120.00 (SOLD)

10.) 40lbs Kettlebell - $40.00 (sold)

11.) 4kg Kettlebell with rubber bottom - $1.00

12.) REP Fitness Weight Horns for bumper plates storage (For a REP PR5000 rack) - $35.00 (sold)

13.) REP Fitness front-foot extensions for REP PR5000 rack - $60.00

14.) REP Fitness Dip Attachment for PR5000 rack - $85.00 (sold)

15.) REP Fitness Pin Pipe Safeties for PR5000 rack - $45.00

16.) Rogue Flat Bench - $85.00 (SOLD)

**Cash or Venmo**

I am willing to sell items individually, in sets, or the full package - make me a reasonable offer!

Push Press - Metcon

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 - 10 of us

Warm Up

trunk twist

pass through

around the world

front rack stretch

wrist stretch

cat cow

behind the neck press

pause push press

lat stretch

barbell warm up

Weightlifting

Every 3 minutes, for 15 minutes (5 sets):

Push Press (Goal is to establish today’s 5-RM.)

Felt a little beat up today.  I started 75-85-95-95-95# (well under previous 1x5 best of 115#)

Metcon

Every minute, on the minute, for 16 minutes (8 sets):

Station 1 – 10 Burpees

Station 2 – 10 Box Jump Overs (24/20")

Round 1 - 10/10

Round 2-5 - 8/8

Round 6-8 - 7/7

--

126 total reps

I finished the first round right at a minute and then went 8 reps to give myself 10 seconds rest between rounds.  The BJO were slightly faster, but not enough to add a rep every round.  Felt good to work on a 24" box.

Lagniappe

400m walk

3 sets of 5-5-4 banded glute ham raise

Core - Metcon

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

CFG - Lacey

1200 - 14 of us

Warm Up

burpees

scorpions

mountain climber thoracic spine

shoulder swimmer

Kang squat

plank rotations (good movement)

quad stretch plus lunge

Weightlifting

Three sets of:

Front-Racked Alternating Lunges (8-10 reps each leg @ 2011)

Rest 30 seconds

Turkish Get Up (2 reps each arm)

Rest 30 seconds

Prone Plank (60 seconds)

Rest 30 seconds

I used a 45# empty barbell and got through 8 reps each leg.  Did not pay much attention to tempo aside from not slamming my knee down.

I used a 12 kg (26# kettlebell and moved well.  2 reps each side was a lot of time under tension.

60 second elbow plan was my chance to rest.

Metcon

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes of:

Dumbbell Weighted Burpees x 3 reps

Dumbbell Alternating Plank Rows x 5 reps (Left Row + Right Row =1)

Dumbbell Front Squats x 7 reps

*Choose a weight that challenges you, but each movement stays unbroken

I opted for 20#.  It felt light on burpees and front squat, but heavy on alternating plank row.  I got through 3 full rounds + 9 reps.

Round 1 - 1 minute

Round 2 - 1:30

Round 3 - 1:30

Round 4 - burpee + plank row + 1 FS in 1 minute

Finished with reverse hypers and back extension.  My back is tight on the right hand side.  Feel like a neck crick.

Just the Essentials - Home Gym

I recently visited a friend of mine who had set up a bare bones home gym and then saw an Alan Thrall video with the same theme.

Staring with my buddy in Arvada:

Rogue 2x3 squat stand with spotter arms

Rogue Flat Bench

Rogue Boneyard Ohio Power Bar - great knurling

Rep Fitness - Bumper Plates - 45-35-25

Standard Barbell - Change Plates - 10-5-2.5

Dumbbells in a few different sizes

Heavy Bag

Alan Thrall's Home Gym:

Rogue Squat stands

Deadlift Platform

Marcy Flat Bench

Beater Bar (20kg)

Beater Bar (15kg)

Axle Bar

Dumbbells (5-10-15-25)

Adjustable Dumbbell Handles

Concept2 Rower

Schwinn Airdyne

Steel Plates ~500 pounds

Plate Tree

Barbell holder

Gymnastics Rings

Pull-up Bar

Long story short is that you do not need a large space or a lot of money to set up a great supplemental or primary gym space.

My bare bones gym would include:

Crossover Symmetry - Red and Purple Bands $50 new

Folding Rack with Pull-up Bar - $300-$400 used

20kg Barbell ($50 used) and 6x45, 2x25, 2x15, 2x10 bumper plates (370#, $500 used) and 2x5, 2x2.5 steel plates (15#, $40 used)

2 Stall Mats - $100 new

35# DB pair - $100 used

Flat Bench - $100 used

2 abmat - $50 new

--

$1390 and I could park a car in the garage.  

I could get away with less weight for a supplemental gym.  I could substitute a variety of items for a rack.  I just need to be able to bench and squat.  Everything else takes up very little room.

My garage gym feels tight due to the Back Extension, Ab Bench and Titan Storage Unit (which holds bumper plates, wall balls, ab mats and dumbbells.  I am not ready to part with any of those items.

Kang Squat - and other interesting names

Described by Coach Don McCauley in his 2010 book Power Trip page 178 ($17.95 on Amazon).

"I call this the 'Kang Squat' because my friend Shin-ho Kang, former head weightlifting coach of the Korean national and Olympic team first showed it to me.  Maybe it has another name but I never saw or heard of it before he demonstrated for me."

Kang was highly influential on Team Savannah during the early 2000's

Anderson/Cohen Weightlifting Center is the home of Team Savannah, one of the largest Olympic Weightlifting Team in the United States.  Name after Howard Cohen and Paul Anderson.

Cuban Press - Popularized by Charles Poliquin (and has nothing to do with Cuba).

Romanian Deadlift - In 1990 Jim Schmitz, US Olympic Weightlifting Coach was in his Sports Palace gym in San Francisco attending a clinic.  Romania weightlifter Nicu Vlad and his coach Dragomir Cioroslan were holding the clinic.

Jefferson Curl - Developed by Team USA Gymnastics' Coach Sommer

Bulgarian Split Squat - Assistant Coach of the Bulgarian Weightlifting National Team Angel Spassov toured the US in the 1980s.  Never used by the Bulgarian Weightlifting team, but promoted by Angel Spassov for unknown reasons.

Bench Press - Metcon

Monday, May 16, 2022

CFG - Lacey

1200 - 14 of us

Warm Up

row

face down scorpion

scap push-up

shoulder swimmer

hand release push-ups

1-2-3 bench pulls

stretch triceps and wrists

Weightlifting

Every 3 minutes, for 18 minutes (6 sets):

Bench Press 

*Set 1 – 3 reps @ 75%

*Set 2 – 2 reps @ 80%

*Set 3 – 1 rep @ 85%

*Set 4 – 1 rep @ 90-94%

*Set 5 – 1 rep @ 95-99%

*Set 6 – 1 rep @ 101% or more

Having just done a total yesterday, I did not have high hopes for today.

3x150

2x160 

1x170

1x185

1x195 (100%)

1x190# (97%)

Metcon

Three rounds for max reps of:

60 seconds of Rowing for Calories

Rest 30 seconds

60 seconds of Dumbbell Floor Press (50/35lbs)

Rest 30 seconds

60 seconds of Strict Pull-Ups

Rest 30 seconds

This felt really good

Row - 17-15-15

DB Floor Press (40#) - 17-17-17

Strict Pull-Ups - 7-7-6

118 total reps

Lagniappe

1x12 banded face pulls

2x8x180# reverse hyperextensions

#GarageGymCompetition

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Home Gym

1500

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Back Squat

45

95

135

165

225

235#

Bench Press

45

95

135

165

185

190#

Deadlift

135

185

225

275

295

315

325#

This was a nice effort and set me up with a 750# total.  I was very pleased with this result.  I had done the Crossfit Total and the Other Total, but had never set out to do the Big 3 in the same workout.  It took me a little over an hour.  235# matched my recent best back squats, 190# was a shade under my recent 198# PR, 325# matches my lifetime best deadlift.

Crossfit Total - Back Squat - Shoulder Press - Deadlift:

545# 5/26/2015 (185# - 125# - 235#)

635# 1/4/2017 (225# - 135# - 295#)

Other Total - Clean - Bench Press - OH Squat:

464# 4/1/2022 (167# - 198# - 99#)

Powerlifting Total - Squat - Bench - Deadlift

750# 5/16/2022 (235# - 190# - 325#)

Metcon (45 minutes)

Saturday, May 14, 2022

Home Gym

1200

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Deadlifts - 135, 185, 225

Metcon

AMRAP 45

1000 meter run

10 deadlift 225#

1000 meter run

50 sit-ups

This was modified from main site programming which called for 800 meter runs and deadlifts at 315# for men and 215# for women.  Rather than doing an out and back course, I opted for the 1000 meter loop in my neighborhood.

Round 1 ~ 20:30

Round 2 ~ 42:15

Round 3 - Hail Mary run coming in at 50:15

Score = 2 scaled rounds + 1 rep

Tough workout and a mental win.  The deadlifts quickly became singles.  The sit-ups started in sets of 10 and ended in sets of 3.  The run segments started at 7:30 and slowed to 8:00+

Hang Snatch - Metcon

Friday, May 13, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 - 8 of us

Warm Up

couch stretch

wall slide

squat hold

pvc pass through

pvc back rack Kang squat

banded 2-1-2 jumps

banded slow OHS

side lying windmill

barbell warm up

Weightlifting

Every 2 minutes, for 16 minutes (8 sets):

Hang Snatch (3 Reps )

Build in load over the course of the eight sets.

I worked up from 55-60-60-60 / 65-65-65-65.  Failed a rep on the last set.

Metcon

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 7 minutes of:

7 Hang Power Snatches (135/95 lbs)

14 Toes to Bar

*Alternative –Dumbbell Hang Power Snatch 14 reps

I scaled to 55# and abmat sit-ups and finished 5 rounds + 3 reps.

This was good scaling for me.  I went unbroken on the hang power snatches and good do the abmat sit-ups in 2-3 sets (very brief pause holding at top).

T2B Coaching Cues

Lucas spent some time coaching T2B efficiency during the last 15 minutes of class and my biggest takeaways were hang loose and keep head between arms.  Kip from sternum.  He used tactile cues which I could somewhat replicate by slipping between a band at chest height.

Gymnastics - Metcon

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Home Gym

1900

Warm Up

Crossover Symmetry

Wrist Mobility

Kip Swings

Gymnastics

Every two minutes, for 18 minutes (3 sets of each):

Int-1: Muscle-ups (3-8 reps)

(or Strict Pullups x 6-8 reps @ 2111)

Int-2: Arch to Hollow Rolls (20 reps)

Int-3: Handstand Walk (45 seconds)

I did pull-ups at good tempo 6-6-5 on the 3 rounds respectively

I did 10-12 rolls per round

HS Hold - 30 seconds facing away; 30 seconds facing wall, 20 seconds facing away

Metcon

Against a 2-minute running clock, complete a total of four sets of the following:

Row 300/250 Meters

Hand Release Push-Ups x Max Reps

Rest 2 minutes between sets.

I scaled to 250 meter rows and managed 18+15+14+15 = 62 reps

Deadlift - Metcon

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 - 10 of us

Reverse Hypers

Warm Up

run

Jefferson curl

hamstring sweeps

arm circles

glute march walk out

arm circles

pigeon / cat cow

barbell warm up

Weightlifting

Deadlift 

*Set 1 – 5 reps @ 75-80%

*Set 2 – 3 reps @ 80-85%

*Set 3 – 1 rep @ 85-90%

*Set 4 – 5 reps @ 80-85%

*Set 5 – 3 reps @ 85-90%

*Set 6 – 1 rep @ 90+%

Rest 2 minutes between sets

Based on a 325# 1RM, I used

5x245 (75%)

3x260 (80%)

1x275 (85%)

5x260

3x275

1x290 (89%)

All of the sets felt really solid

Metcon

Three rounds for time of:

400 Meter Run

15 Box Jumps (24″/20″)

10 Deadlifts (225/155 lbs)

Time cap: 12 minutes

I scaled this aggressively and still missed the cap.  400m runs (2:10-2:30), 12 box jumps to 20", 10 deadlifts at 155# (6/4).  I had 4 reps remaining which I finished at 12:09 (so close).

Lagniappe

2x8x110# reverse hyperextension

Strict Press - Metcon

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

CFG - Lacey

1200 - 10 of us

Warm Up

rope skip

pvc around the world

pvc behind the neck press

band shoulder flexion

banded side step

banded pvc front squat

mobility

Weightlifting

Six sets of:

Strict Press (2 reps @ 20X1)

Rest 2 minutes

I kept good tempo and worked up 85-95-105-110-110-110#

Metcon

Metcon (AMRAP - Rounds and Reps)

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 8 minutes of:

10 Pull-Ups

15 Thrusters (95/65 lbs)

30 Double-Unders

I scaled to 5 Pull-ups; 65# thrusters and 60 single unders per round.  I completed 3 rounds + 5 pull-ups + 2 thrusters.

R1 ~ 2:00

R2 ~ 2:30

R3 ~ 2:40

R4 ~ 0:50

Lagniappe

4 rope climbs

3x5 banded glute ham raise

New members from Lakewood - Matt and Amanda

Home Gym 3.0.2 - Functional Fitness

A little bit of re-arranging in the home gym.

Essentials based on frequency of use:

• Open space to actually train in
• Pull-up bar
• 20kg Barbell
• Bumper plates - 360# (3 pairs 45s + 25s + 15s + 10s)
• Change plates 
• Crossover Symmetry
• Bands
• Ab Mats
• PVC
• Gymnastics Rings
• Parallettes

Next tier

• Concept2 Rower
• Wall balls
• Kettlebells
• Dumbbells
• Plyo boxes
• Squat box
• Bench
• 15lb Barbell
• Climbing Rope
• Steel Mace

Need to reconsider

• Ab Bench - hard to come by, but takes up a big footprint
• Back Extension Bench - hard to come by
• Titan Silencer Pads - easy to come by
• Atlas Stones - hard to come by
• Weighted Vest - easy to come by
• Sandbag - easy to come by
• 15kg Barbell - easy to come by

Would buy if I had room

• Glute Ham Developer
• Reverse Hyperextension

Cleans

Monday, May 9, 2022

Home Gym

1200

Warm Up

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy

Wrist Mobility

Pass Throughs

Weightlifting

Every 90 seconds, for 18 minutes (6 sets of each):

Int-1: Hang Power Clean + Power Clean 

Int-2: Banded Overhead Triceps Extension (20 reps @ 1111)

Felt pretty good today and worked up from 105-115-125-135-145-155#.  I should probably start heavier next time and take smaller jumps.  Used red band for triceps extension.

Metcon

Metcon (3 Rounds for reps)

Against a 3-minute running clock, complete as many rounds through the following ladder:

Hang Power Clean + 1 Front Squat

Hang Power Clean + 2 Front Squats

Hang Power Clean + 3 Front Squats

Rest 3 minutes between sets, and complete a total of three sets – each round you start back over at hang power clean + 1 FS (175/115)

I am not sure if I did this correctly, but I was working with 115#

Round 1 - 2 rounds of the ladder - 18 reps

Round 2 - 2 rounds + 2 rungs of the ladder - 23 reps

Round 3 - 2 rounds + 1 rung of the ladder - 20 reps

--

61 reps?

This was tougher than I thought and I was really winded after the 3 front squats and was taking big pauses between sets.

Murph Prep

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Home Gym

1130

Warm Up

foam roll

wrist mobility

HSPU

2 abmat - 2-2-2-2-2

Murph Prep

Every 2 minutes for 20 minutes (10 Rounds)

3 PU

10 Push-up

15 Air Squat

Cartwheel Conditioning

5 x 5 reps reach behind in each direction

Swim - Ride

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Carmody

1250 yard swim

2x200 FR

1x100 FR

1x150 FR

6x100 FR

--

1250 total

Bear Creek Lake Trail

13.17 mile ride

10.9 mph

Walking Lunges - Metcon - Accessory

Friday, May 6, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 ~ 10 of us

Warm Up

row

pigeon stretch

hurdler stretch

tempo split squat

bootstrappers

face up scorpion

cobra down dog

lunge matrix

plank

Weightlifting

Every 3 minutes, for 12 minutes (4 sets):

Walking Lunges (20 reps with Dumbbells or Kettlebells)

Go as heavy as possible each set.

I went with single DB overhead and worked up from 15-20-25-25#

Metcon

Metcon (AMRAP - Reps)

Tabata Row for Calories

Rest 60 seconds

Tabata Wall Ball Shots

Rest 60 seconds

Tabata Burpees

Rest 60 seconds

Tabata Hollow Holds

This was as tough as expected.

Row 5 calories every 20 second interval = 5

Wall Ball Shots 9 reps then 7 reps with 12# wall ball = 7

Burpees 3 reps each 20 second interval

Hollow Hold stayed in tuck (progressively aggressive tuck) but maintained 20 seconds - 1

--

Total = 16

Metcon (No Measure)

Two sets of:

Reverse Snow Angels x 10 reps @ 2121

Rest 30 seconds

Single-Leg Glute Dumbbell Bridges x 10 reps each side @20X2

Rest 30 seconds

I used a 25# dumbbell, but did not get much out of this.

Lagniappe

3 times handstand holds

Bench Press - Metcon

Thursday, May 5, 2022

CFG - Greg

1200 - 9 of us

Warm Up

rope skip

table top stretch

face pulls with rotation

banded pass throughs

close grip push-ups

tempo leg raises

Weightlifting

Five sets of:

Bench Press (5 reps @ 20X1)

Rest 2 minutes between sets and use that time to work mobility and prepare for part B.

I worked through these well and did straight sets at 135# (70% of 1RM) with good tempo.

Metcon

Four rounds for time of:

10 Ring Dips

20 Toes to Bar

30 Double-Unders

I scaled to matador dips (4/3/3 each round), kipping knee raises (10/10 then 10/5/5), and 60 single unders (unbroken) per round and finished in 8:45.  Not bad, but did not feel like I got much of a stimulus.  Time domain was good, but I should have selected harder scales.  

Lagniappe

Cartwheel technique

Pull-ups - 5-5

Strict Butterfly circles - 5

GHD Sit-ups 8-8

Ab Wheel roll outs 5-5

Deadlift - HSPU negatives - Metcon

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

CFG - Lucas

1200 - 11 of us

Warm Up

short run/row

90/90

hamstring sweeps

single leg glute bridge

wall slides

wall climbs

pigeon

thread the needle

with barbell

single leg rdl

rdl

Weightlifting

Four sets of:

Deadlift (6 reps @ 21X1)

(remove hands from bar to reset each deadlift)

Rest 30 seconds

Strict Handstand Push-Up (12 reps (consecutive or accumulated))

Rest 30 Seconds

Deadlifts felt good.  I used 215# for straight sets.

I substituted 3 negatives for 12 HSPU and kept really good slow controlled form

Metcon

In teams of two, partners alternate rounds to complete five each of:

5 Hang Power Cleans (155/105 lbs)

100 Meter Run

I partnered with Synthya and used 95# for the HPC.  I actually felt more comfortable than usual cycling the bar and we both rowed.  We finished in 7:55 and were pretty evenly matched.

Lagniappe

3x8x90# reverse hyper

3x5 banded glute ham raise (better range of motion today)

Pamela Gagnon - Performance Plus

I have been somewhat enthralled with Pamela Gagnon and have been following her Instagram feed enthusiastically.

She offers easily digestible coaching advice for teaching, seeing and correcting gymnastics movements.  I really like the drills that she offers.

For example with Build Better Kipping - Athlete starts straight with box at heels, activate lats and hold hollow position.

I have a crib sheet on my desk which lists

• 3 Position Bar Muscle Up
• Deficit Box HSPU
• Toe Assisted Pull-up
• Strict Butterfly Circles
• Russian Push-up

I had a skill list working that was geared towards the Crossfit Open

• 95# Thruster
• 115# OHS
• C2B
• HSPU
• T2B
• Walking Lunges

Thruster needs technique, stamina, mobility

OHS needs mobility, strength

C2B technique, reduce body weight, strength

HSPU reduce body weight, mobility, strength

T2B technique, mobility, strength

Walking Lunges stamina, strength

Now I have to somehow add building strength in the false grip to that list.

My original Crossfit Goals as documented December 11, 2015 were to execute a Cartwheel, Snatch and Clean & Jerk.  My Olympic movements are looking better.  I am a far cry from Virtuosity, but I have snatched 95# and Clean & Jerked 155#.  My speed under the bar and stability in the overhead position is lacking.  I have been working haphazardly at a Handstand Push-up and can currently manage a rep to an abmat.  I need to start working on cartwheels again.  I will probably start with drills to a box and then expand from there.

Gymnastics - Metcon

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

CFG - Lacey

1200 - 6 of us

Warm Up

mountain climber

banded shoulder stretches

banded hamstring stretch

pvc pass through

pvc back rack lateral lunge

reverse snow angel

hollow rocks

pvc thruster

Gymnastics

Every 2 minutes, for 18 minutes (3 sets of each):

Arch to Hollow Rolls (20 reps)

(alternate from holding hollow body to a superman without your hands or feet touching the floor)

I would roll from hollow to superman to hollow and then rest.  I went each direction 5 times.  10 reps each round.

Cossack Squats (20 reps)

I never appreciated this stimulus.  Coaching cue to keep chest upright and press through leg before pivoting to center.  Went unweighted, 4kg and then 8 kg

Handstand Walk ( 45 seconds)

(OR 45 second Nose-to-Wall Handstand Hold)

Round 1 - 45 second hold (nose to wall)

Round 2 - 40 second hold (nose to wall)

Round 3 - walk around box - only managed about 30 seconds in a good pike position

Metcon

Complete rounds of 21, 15 and 9 reps for time of:

Thrusters (135/95 lbs)

Pull-Ups

Burpees Over the Barbell

With a 20 minute time cap, I scaled to 65# thrusters, ring rows and stepover bar burpees.  Round 1 about 6 minutes and the whole metcon in 14:49.  I moved the the reps well going 8/7/6 and then 6/5/4 and 5/4 on the respective rounds.  My thrusters were really good and I kept good positions.  Going heavier or harder would not have been a good idea.

Back Squat - Pull-up - Metcon

Monday, May 2, 2022

CFG - Lacy

1200 - 12 of us

Warm Up

inch worm + left right scorpion

slow Kang squat + bottom pause

left right center toe touches

pvc pass throughs

prone raise

prone press

foam roll spine

burpee broad jump

banded squat + thoracic spine rotation

banded glute bridge

banded squat at tempo

banded shoulder flexion***

scap pull-up

foam roll glutes

barbell strict press

barbell push press

Weightlifting

Four sets of:

Back Squat ( 5 reps @ 30X1)

Rest 60 seconds

Strict Supinated Grip Pull-Up (@ 21X0 x Max Reps)

Rest 60 seconds

Kept good tempo on Back Squat and went 105-115-125-135#

Kept good tempo on Pull-ups (pronated) and went 5-5-5-4+1

Metcon

Five rounds for time of:

12 Push Press (95/65 lbs)

12 Kettlebell Swings (32/24 kg)

Scaled to 65# and 20kg Russian KBS and finished in 6:23.  Unbroken first 3 rounds, paused on push press going 8/4 on the last two rounds.

Lagniappe

3x8x90# Reverse Hyper

3x6 Banded 30ish degree Glute Ham Raise

Deep Dish Plates

The current market for Deep Dish Plates include:

Rogue - $180 ($263 delivered)

Lemaster - $270 ($335 delivered)

Both are expensive, but not prohibitively so.  $2 and $3/lb respectively is more expensive than secondary markets for "iron."  Tax and shipping are also a bear at $83 and $65 respectively.

Lemaster

25#

10# - $100

5# - $65

2.5# - $48

I imagine the smaller plates could end up being quite collectible as few individuals will buy full sets.

Rogue Fitness

100# - $357

35# - $167

25# - $118

10# - $69

5# - $42

I would not say the same for Rogue Fitness.  The smaller plates are not terribly unique and are reasonably priced if buying a full set.

Murph Prep

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Home Gym

1600

Murph Prep

Every 90 seconds for 15 minutes (10 Rounds)

2 Pull-ups

10 Push-ups

15 Air Squats

I was finishing these in around 55 seconds and getting 35 seconds rest.  I was able to go unbroken every round.