USAWA Nationals Prep

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Home Gym

1130

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Teeth Lift

25

50

75

100

85 slipped when carabiner shifted, lower tooth tug

80

75

Side Press

33

39

44

Fulton Clean Complex

Clean-Press-Jerk

75

105

115

Hack Lift, Fulton

115

165

215

With the Fulton lifts, I am at 122 of 192 lifts attempted.

Treadmill - Push-ups

Monday, June 24, 2024

CDOT Fitness Center

1200

Treadmill (0.5% incline)

2 min @3mph

12 min @5mph

1 min @3mph

6 min@5mph

2 min@3mph

Push-ups

10x5 EMOM

Good to get moving again after a four day layoff due to travel and lack of motivation

Open Water Swim

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Bear Creek Lake

0800

800 Yard Swim

4x150

1x200

--

800 yards total (24 minutes)

It was overcast, but a pleasant 59 degrees so I decided to go through with my swim.  The water was chilly, but warmer than a couple of weeks ago and I had my old Zoggs, latex swim cap and vivid sleeveless.

First length, less than 5 second pause

Second length, 1 minute rest

Third length, 30 second rest

Fourth length, 1 min rest

Then sighted on buoys out to 100 yards and back

Good swim but a little anxious.  The overcast conditions and my shaded goggles made for rough sighting.  Also breathing a little heavier than usual. 

Hosting Feather Crush?

19mm Crimp Plate - $41 + $22 shipping - $63

Add Roussin Twister - $82 (5% discount) and shipping is only $25 - $141.85 (works out to $78.85 more for the twister)

I could probably get Kim to come out and maybe some of the Wyoming crew for a fun little throwdown.

If I had more than 10 people it could get crazy.  Otherwise, I think it would be OK.

Need to order Zolex hand cleaner also

Grip Workout

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Basement Gym

1200

2-3/8" Napalm Nightmare

150

195

220

230 pounds

then 4 reps at 208

Vertical Bar

53

78

88

88 pounds

Shallow Inch Pinch

14

16.5 - made left, missed right

Grippers

Standard Tin - 49

COC Trainer - est 54

GHP Level 2 - 59

Standard Zinc - 59

COC 0.5 - est 66

Programming based on Elite Grip Society comp on the napalm nightmare.

Followed by prep for Dub's Grip Classic on Vertical Bar and Shallow Inch Pinch.  I am looking forward to getting the actual implement, because surface area matters a lot on this one.

I did do Apollon's Axle using a Axel Bar yesterday and got up to 225 pounds.

Dub's Event will feature Ironmind & Standard Grippers with ratings of 51, 60, 66, 73, 77, 80 and up all the way to 212 pounds.  I will probably take all 3 attempts and go with 51, 60 and 66 pounds.  It is unlikely that I will make 73 pounds.

Could have added 3x4 Saxon work.

USAWA Nationals Prep

Monday, June 17, 2024

Garage Gym

1800

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

115

165

205

255

225

Felt pretty good about this, will probably open at 225 and then go up in 10 or 15 pound jumps.

Snatch, One Arm

33

44

55

65 (right ok, left miss)

This was tough, especially in terms of the balance.  I will declare right arm and probably open at 45 or 50 pounds.

Zercher

135

165

185

I like this lift, but felt a little beat up.  I will open at 185 and go up from there.

USAWA Nationals Prep

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Garage Gym

1800

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Pass Throughs

Clean & Press Fulton Bar

25 (empty bar)

55

115

125

135

Clean was fine, but could not press 135#

Pullover & Press

75

This put a strain on my elbow during the pullover.  Press was OK.

Hack Squat

135

185

225

255

225

Moved my feet at 255, need to work on set up and positioning

50 minutes total workout

Tribe WOD Dark Elf Hybrid Bells

On Amazon, these things are going for about $5/pound individually and are surprisingly out of stock from Tribe WOD where the whole set could have been purchased for $600.  These are being listed on Facebook Marketplace for $400 for the set 10-15-25-35.  170 pounds for $400 works out to about $2.35 per pound.  Not bad, but not great either.  

Conditioning

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Basement Gym

1530

Conditioning

EMOM 25

160 meter Ski Erg

20 Abmat sit-ups

320 meter C2 Bike

8 Alt Rev RAM lunges (44 pound)

8 push-ups

This was a tough little mover loosely adapted from Vintage CrossFit "Midline Blitz" which called for ski erg, abmat sit-up, echo bike, single kb front rack tall kneeling to standing,and hollow hold along with rest intervals.

Ski Erg, sit-ups and bike took about 50 seconds, lunges took about 30 seconds and push-ups took 10 seconds allowing for a little rest before starting the next round.  Originally programmed as 4 rounds, but added a 5th round mid workout

Conditioning

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Garage Gym

1600

Conditioning

4 Rounds for Time of:

6 burpees

400 meter run

Finished in 15:43 and felt good about the effort, pre-exhausting the runs with burpees was a fun challenge.  

Finisher

6x1 pull-ups on 40 second interval

Elite Grip Society - Online Comp

Week 1:

3x4 Saxon Bar:

Max Lift - 103.5 pounds * I did not officially enter this, I needed to send a separate video

Max Reps at 50% Bodyweight (207 x 0.5 = 103.5) - 3 reps

Load - Max/Min - 275/151.5 pounds (12 entries); Reps - Max/Min 32/3 (7 entries)

Week 2:

IronMind Hub:

Max Lift - 25 pounds

Max Reps at 20% Bodyweight (207 x 0.2 = 41.5) - 0 reps * no entry

Week 3:

2 3/8" Napalm Nightmare

Max Lift - 220 pounds

Max Reps at 100% Bodyweight (207 x 1 = 207) - 4 reps

Week 4:

Any registered gripper from a credit card set

Max Close - 64 pounds

Max Reps - 49 pounds x 16 = 784 pounds

Conditioning

Monday, June 10, 2024

Garage Gym

1700

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Conditioning

Every 4 Minutes, 4 Sets

6 Hang Power Snatch (65#)

12 Box Jumps (20")

60 Rope Skips

This workout was adapted from a Vintage CrossFit workout (Dos Amigos) which called for Every 6 minutes, 4 Sets:  200 m run, 12 power snatch 95/65, 24 box jump 24/20", 12 T2B, 48 DU.  As that was clearly, not happening, I picked a good volume for today and modified the interval length finishing in:

2:22

2:25

2:31

2:33

I like these movements and have been neglecting them.

Finisher

EMOM 5 min

1 pull-up

5 decline sit-up (on new bench)

Nice bit of core volume and pulling strength

USAWA Q2 Postal and Clark's Gym Record Day #3

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Garage Gym

1000

Warm Up

minimal, some movement prep

Push Press From Racks

115

125#

Hack, One Arm, Left

115

125

135#

Bent Arm Pullover

70

80

90#

Jerk From Rack Behind Neck

115

125

135#

Anderson Squat

225

255

275# (had more in the tank, this is an interesting partial squat)

Hackenschmidt Floor Press

165

175

185#

Zercher, One Arm, Left

75

85#

Zercher, One Arm, Right

75

85#

Jarrod, Elijah, Diya and Nisha lifted with me.  Overall 15 Stars of Tomorrow lifts, 15 Q2 Postal lifts and 9 record day lifts = 39 lifts took just over 4 hours.  8 lifts per hours sounds slow, but is probably correct if rack heights need to be set and folks need a rules briefing (13 different lifts were contested).

Calisthenics - USAWA

Friday, June 7, 2024

Garage/Basement Gym

1230

Calisthenics

Every 90 seconds for 10 rounds:

8 air squat

6 push-up

1 pull-up

This was good volume that I was finishing in about 40 seconds and had a 50 second break each round.  Next time add some reps and go every 75 seconds.

USAWA

Squat - Lunge

PVC

25

44

55

75

95#

All lifts were performed on left and right leg and I still had a little bit in the tank.

Pullover Straight Arm

15

25

30#

Allen Lift

15

25#

Really need a judge to make sure arms are straight and bar does not go in front of head.

This takes me to 118 of 192 lifts attempted.*

I did Weaver Stick 2 lb and Weaver Stick facing backwards 1.5 lb.

The 2024 swim/bike/run gear I use list

I last put a list like this together in 2012 and a few things have changed.  After active racing through 2015, I took a hiatus until 2012.  New items highlighted.

The biggest changes have been retiring the power meter and adding the Garmin Fenix 6.  All on the technology side.  I tried some different goggles, but nothing earth shattering.  I got a great deal on a Cervelo P2, but have not raced it.  Just a few training rides.

Nearly all of my gear is holding up well and aside from me being a little heavier, there was no need for replacements.  I did the Littlefoot sprint distance triathlon in 2022 and 2023 and have registered for this year.  Late season racing is always a little exciting given the unpredictability of the weather.

Swimming:

Swimsuit:  Speedo Square Leg Drag suit (no change still have green and red pairs).

Goggles:  Tyr Nest Pro Performance.  Got these in 2022 and they are fine.  I hate that my pool goggles always fog up.  I still have the Sable goggles as my primary backup.  For open water, I switched to Zoggs Predator Polarized.  Love these.  I still have the Aquasphere Kaiman as a back up pair.  I ordered the Zoggs Predator Titanium and will give those a try this season.

Swim Cap:  Race caps from events

Swim Watch:  I retired the swimsense and now use my Garmin Fenix 6.  It records well for pool and open water swmming.

Drills:  Finis Pull Buoy, Finis Agility Paddles, Tyr Crossblade.  No change.  I never use these

Open Water:  Westsuit - Xterra Vivid Sleeveless.  New in 2022 as my old wetsuit was too tight.  Blue Seventy Swim Socks and Gloves.  Tyr Warm Wear Cap.  Body Glide.  Tyr was ear plugs  (No change to accessories)

Swim Bag:  I still have the same Speedo Backpack

Bike:

The bike:  I still race the Gios Compact Pro.  I bought a Cervelo P2 ($600) on the secondary market, but I am not really fast enough for it.

Power Meter:  I removed this and do not train with power.

Race Wheels:  Still NA, I am 35 pounds over my "race weight" of 170 pounds.

Regular Helmet:  Giro Aeon

Aero Helmet:  Giro Air Attack (free with Cervelo P2)

Bike Clothing:  No change, I bought some CDOT logo'd gear from Pactimo and a Liberty logo'd jersey.

Bike Case:  Still NA

Bike Trainer:  TravelTrac 2000 still going strong.

Bike Computer:  Still using Cateye Strada Wireless, but not wrist is Garmin Fenix 6.

Run:

Running Shoes:  Saucony Guide 13 is the latest iteration.  I still have the Saucony Fastwitch 5 race flats, but rarely wear them not that I am over 200 pounds.  I have an older pair of Saucony Guide with the racing stretchy shoelaces.

Running Shorts:  UA (wearing for about 5-6 years now)

Running Socks:  UA phenom crew (wearing for about 5-6 years now)

Running Watch:  Garmin Fenix 6

Long Run Hydration:  Still have the Nathan and Fuel Belt, but rarely use

Cold Weather:  Still have Saucony, but added GoLite top; Still have Under Armour pants, but added GoLite pants as well.  Running Gloves, still use jersey gloves, but also added fleece mittens (convertible to fingerless).

Misc:

Rudy Duffle Bag - Great bag, keeps me organized

Rocky Mounts car roof rack - Great for getting my bike to races

I still always race with a visor and Oakley sunglasses.  I wear gloves on the bike.  With sketchy weather, I have thrown on a rain jacket and added toe covers.  

810 yard OWS

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Bear Creek Lake Park

1300

Open Water Swim

270 yards out and back

135 out

135 back

135 out

135 back

--

810 yards total (~25 min)

I spent an hour trying to find my OWS goggles and eventually settled for pool goggles.  As Coral Sea was unseasonably warm, I took a chance at Soda Lake with just my Vortex3.  I was comfortably, but my left ear was getting angry about the cold water.  I should have thrown in ear plugs.

Out and back felt pretty good so I recovered for a minute and took off again.  This was a little tougher and I decided to do lengths of 135 yards just to get some yardage in.

After going through all of my swim totes, triathlon totes, looking through bags and boxes in the basement, closets and even the garage, I finally found my OWS gear hanging on a hook behind my disc golf stuff.  Beyond frustrating.  Even worse, I dropped $40 on new Zoggs Predators.  Fortunately, I went with titanium instead of polarized and they might be better in certain light conditions.

This is the earliest I have got out in the past few years.  2023 opener was June 15.  2022 opener was June 18.  But the water was definitely warmer.  In years past, I definitely needed gloves and booties.

Odd Pick-up

I am a sucker for unique, vintage and occasionally homemade equipment and physical culture items. 

Rick had listed the bench a few weeks ago for $50 on Craigslist.  He has developed spinal stenosis and can no longer use it.  I confirmed that it was homemade about 30 years ago based on a design him and his training buddy saw.  They made four of them for different people.  It is stable and has a remarkably small foot print for what it does.  He took $40 for it.

When I casually asked if he was selling anything else, he pointed out this wacky rotating massager.  I propped my calf up on it and was immediately impressed.  It felt like Swedish body work.  When I asked what he was looking to get, he said he was not sure, but paid $225 for it (most of that was shipping).  I offered him $60 and am excited to incorporate it into my recovery.

Arriving home, I researched Vita Master and the brand is still trademarked.  They made fitness equipment starting in the 1930s including the crazy Boss Hogg belly vibrating deal, stationary bike, steam machines where your head sticks out.  The massagers trade hands on secondary markets for between $50 and $100.

I current iteration of the concept is being offered by Roller Original for $5,849. The Vita Master version only has one speed, but is a rock solid very simple design.  It would work well to help clear a forearm pump also.

Rick was an interesting guy who worked for the phone company designing high speed self healing circuits.  He trained with his special forces friend and also had stonemason and carpentry skills.  They are selling their place and moving to Florida.

Row House

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Row House - Ken Caryl

1630

Signature Class

I arrived about 15 minutes early and got checked in with Cassie and introduced to Samantha.  There was one other new person in the class of 10 athletes.

Prior to the start I was given some coaching cues.  Feet should be lower in the blocks at the 3 pegs.  Do not engage body until the handle is past my knees.  Hold the handles wider.  Keep the elbows higher.  Keep my toes engaged on the platform (this was the most difficult).  Finally, the damper setting is recommended between 3 and 5 (I set to 3.5).

During the workout we rowed as one boat with all of us maintaining the same strokes per minute and initiating the stroke at the same time.  We had 3 paces including paddle, push and power.  Paddle was supposed to be a 60% RPE cruising pace, push was around 75% (0:20/500 faster) and power was 85%+ (another 0:20/500 faster).  For me that looked like 2:50, 2:30, 2:10.  All of this while remaining in synch so it is really power driven by the legs.

We started with pick drills and then went into paddle pace.  After some paddle pace, we stepped up into interval efforts and push and power.  Then we did body weight movements with arm circles and trunk twists for about 5 minutes.  Back on the rower we did sprint efforts without staying in synch, but collectively as a class trying to hit x:xx/500 targets.  The next 5 minute block of movements were with medium dumbbells (I appropriately selected 8 lbs; they had them from 3 to 20 lbs.  We did lateral raises, front raises, rear delt raises and after two rounds of those finished with reverse lunge twists.  Our last round on the rower included distance efforts for 1  minute, 1 minute and 2 minutes.  Then we finished with the reverse pick drill.

The class wrapped up in 45 minutes.  It was very engaging and fun.  The music was good and the room goes dark for the sprint intervals.  Glancing at some of the other rowers screens, I have a lot of room for improvement rowing.  She passed out wet wipes to wipe down the rowers which looked brand new despite mine having 13M meters on it.

I would go back again, but it seems pricey.  Not more expensive than any other boutique gym whether that be CrossFit, Yoga or Orange Theory.

$89/month for 4 classes

$149/month for 8 classes

$179/month for unlimited classes

Cassie offered me a buy 1 get 2 free deal which would be 3 classes for $29.

After class they sent me an e-mail with some data.  Apparently, I rowed 5860 meters in class, average split was 2:54 and best split was 1:58.

Littlefoot Triathlon - REGISTERED

Well it is somewhat official and I plunked down my $105 entry + $15 USA Triathlon 1 day license + $10 tax to compete in the Littlefoot Triathlon hosted by Without Limits.  

Last year, I registered before the April 1st price increase so I was only in for $85 + $15 + tax.  This year, prices were up $10 across the board and I waited until June to register.

While I do have a potentially busy September, I did not want to let the multisport season come and go without participating in an event.  

It seems like there used to be more events in Colorado with run-bike duathlons sponsored by Racing Underground and a swim-run series at Cherry Creek Reservoir.  The big events like Stroke & Stride and Boulder Triathlon Series (sprint, Olympic, 70.3) are still contested along with Steamboat and Loveland Lake to Lake.

The open water swim calendar is still pretty good with the Mountain Swim Series.  One can still train at Union Reservoir, Boulder Reservoir, Bear Creek Lake and Chatfield Lake.  New for 2024, you do not need to be a member of COMSA or another organization to swim at Chatfield.

The bike racing calendar is going gang busters and it seems like there are more events now than there have ever been.

The running calendar has been pretty stable with some new events and some classics.  My own racing is limited to local 5K events.

This will be my 3rd year entering the Littlefoot Triathlon.

Arm Blast

Monday, June 3, 2024

CDOT Fitness Center

1200

Arm Blast

Alt DB Biceps Curls

10x15

10x20

8x25

Triceps Press Downs

3x10

Cable Shoulder External Rotation

3x8

Med Ball Sit-ups (10#)

15-12-9

After running I like mixing things up with a 15 minute accessory workout.  These are fun and add a little variety to my training.

Jujimufu at Big House "Joe Kenn" Power

Joe Kenn coaches athletes and his two single bay garage gyms are a testament to that.

In his first bay he has a power rack, variety of barbells, dumbbells (including roundheads and globes), kettlebells and center of mass bells.  He also has strongman logs, bamboo poles for oscillating kinetic energy and a lat pull down / low row.  Finally there is a mess of bands, chains and cable attachments on the walls.

In the second by is lower body machines featuring a Kell standing leg curl, GHD, Reverse Hyper, leg curl, leg extension, assisted Nordic curl and a pendulum squat.  Another highlight is a massive pair of 100 pound chains.

In addition to coaching athletes, Joe Kenn is also getting into grip sport and has a variety of grip implements scattered throughout the gym.

One word of advice is getting to know a local fabricator.  Custom equipment is an expensive joy, but certainly fun to get exactly what you want.

Joe piecemealed his gym over the decades by purchasing equipment from other gyms, new from Dynamic Fitness & Strength, receiving equipment in exchange for coaching services and finally secondary markets like Facebook Marketplace.

The athletes he has supported in addition to his own career are reflected in the decor which is a testament to his knowledge and methodology.

Thick Necks Cash Checks!

USAWA Lifts

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Garage Gym

1500

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Hackenschmidt Floor Press

8x75

3x125

155

165

175#

This kind of felt like a 2 board press, but without any leg drive.

Jerk, From Rack, Behind Neck

75

95

115

125#

A little sketchy using the York Squat stands, but a fun little lift.  I might have had some more in the tank.

45 minutes total workout.

This takes me to 115 of 191 USAWA lifts.  It is still really fun to try the new lifts and see where I am at, especially for lifts that are rarely contested.

Track Workout

Saturday, June 1, 2024

D'Evelyn High School Track

1800

Track Workout

800 m easy run

6x200 in 1:05 on 2:00 (finished between 1:01 and 1:06, felt sluggish)

400 m walking cool down