2/27/2015 (15.1- First attempt)

AM:
24 sets:
:30 airdyne easy
:30 airdyne even easier
+
15.1 movement prep

PM
15.1
AMRAP in 9:00
15 toes to bar
10 deadlifts, 75
5 snatches, 75
+
15.1 A
6:00 time cap
1RM clean and jerk
+
10:00 airdyne @Z1
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

AM
complete

PM
15.1- 155 (5 rounds + 5 TTB)
15.1A- 191
+
complete


The Open has officially started! 

I was a bit disappointed with my score on the 9:00 AMRAP. Grip was definitely the limiting factor, and my grip was shot by the second round. I think I had my hand wrapped too tight, I wanted to make sure that I felt nothing on the clean and jerk so I taped it up like three times. I also had my wrist wrap on over the tape, and I think both of those factors contributed to my grip going so quickly. I always have grip issues when I do toes to bar, but never that fast. Heather said she could tell after the first round that I was having trouble holding on to the bar. I did sets of 5 TTB for the first round, then 3s, then it was 3s or singles for the rest of the rounds. I did the snatches unbroken for the first 3 rounds then broke them up 3/2 on the last two. Same with the deadlifts, unbroken on rounds 1-3 then 5/5 on the last two sets. I was trying to save my grip a little bit. I was also using the gymnastics mat for the TTB so I didn't have to jump to the bar, but if I do it a second time I won't use it. It didn't help THAT much and I was still at an awkward height. Also, after the TTB on the third round I came off the bar and landed on the edge of the mat and took a spill. For a split second I thought I had rolled my ankle, but the pain went away immediately. False alarm. But still, I think the mat just caused more problems than anything else. If Stephen lets me do this again, I won't use the mat, I would break up the TTB sooner, and I would definitely rest less between TTB. Also, I will make sure my forearms are extremely warm. I think while I was warming up for this I was more concerned with how my hand was going to feel on the clean and jerks so I didn't warm up my forearms that much. On the plus side, breathing was never an issue. I was never once concerned about my breathing, so that's a good sign. If I get to do this again, I absolutely know I can get more reps. That's why we do it twice, to work out all the kinks and get a better strategy for Monday. 

I was REALLY happy with the clean and jerk. I was a little concerned on how this would go since my grip was shot by this point. I was breathing hard but it was manageable. My game plan was 125-155-175. I hit those three easily. I went for 186 and that was also very easy. I went for 191 with about :30 left and got it. It felt great! 191 felt the same as 155. I power cleaned everything because I knew it would be faster and it would save my legs from fatigue. My hand felt completely fine on the jerks! It was a little sore afterwards, but during the actual clean and jerks I felt nothing, so that's great! Taping it definitely helped (I just won't tape it as tight next time....). I felt like I had more in the tank for this part as well, I think I could have hit 195 if I started heavier. I wasn't anticipating to get anything over 175. I know part of the reason is because I only got 5 rounds on the first part so I wasn't extremely tired for the second part, but I'm really happy with this, especially because I was worried about grip issues and my hand problem. If I redo this, I would definitely start heavier and try to get up to 195. 

It was a great day in the gym, I love the energy during the Open. It's always fun to watch people do the workouts. I hope the rest of the workouts are like this one. 

Just hanging out after 15.1

2/26/2015

30:00-60:00 swim or around-the-world of choice, pick 4-6 easy pieces to cycle through every :60

around-the-world complete

2/25/2015

AM
3 sets @ easy pace:
2:00 ski erg
2:00 airdyne
2:00 row
2:00 airdyne

PM
A. Shoulder to overhead, 4-3-2-4 moderate/tough working of efficiency w/different methods (PP, PS, Split); 2:00 rest
+
For time @95%
15 burpee box jump overs, 20
3 rope climbs or muscle ups
12 burpee box jump overs, 20
2 rope climbs or muscle ups
9 burpee box jump overs
1 rope climb or muscle up
+
10:00 rest
+
1 set for calories:
:60 airdyne @97% 

AM
complete

PM
A. Cut out because of hand
+
6:02 w/rope climbs
+
34 calories


Today actually went a lot better than I thought it would. Let me just start by saying I came in to the gym in a pretty bad mood. I had a stressful morning and I was also pretty disappointed about not getting an invite to the combine. It was one of those rare days where I came in and just wanted to get the work done so I could leave. I was feeling frustrated because I had to completely cut out the first portion of my workout and I was bummed out I couldn't do muscle ups. I fully understand why I can't do shoulder to overhead or muscle ups right now, it would be the dumbest thing ever to fuck up my hand on the eve of the Open and I definitely don't want to mess with it. I was just feeling sorry for myself and wallowing in everything that was going wrong at the moment. In other words, I was being a Lil B. 

 As I was warming up for the rope climb workout, I tried to change my attitude. Instead of being pissed about not being able to do muscle ups, I decided to look at it as an opportunity to work on my rope climbs. I decided to use all my frustration and go HAM on my workout. I definitely went as hard as I could. The burpee box jump overs were pretty quick, I slowed down a little bit on the set of 9 but I thought the set of 15 and 12 were relatively fast. My transition from rope to box was very quick, I walked right from the rope to the box and immediately went into a burpee. I tried to cut down the rest between rope climbs, I think the only time I was resting too much was on the set of 2 because I was breathing pretty hard by this point. All the climbs felt really good, Heather said they looked fast so that's a good sign! I felt really good after this was over. 

I was pretty pleased with the :60 airdyne calories. I think I could have gone out a bit harder in the beginning, I think I was a little slow the first :15 because I wasn't fully recovered from the first workout. I was hurting pretty bad afterwards, legs were blown up. 

I was definitely in a better mood after I trained. I need to remember to use situations like the combine as a motivator to keep training hard so I can reach my goals. 

2/24/2015

A. Back squat, 2-2-2-2-2 @65% 1RM, 10x1, begin a set every :60
+
6-8 sets:
500m row @85%- goal is tough but sustainable pace across all sets
:90 walk rest (5:00 after middle set)
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

A. complete @175
+
2:02.3
2:02.2
2:02.2
2:02.1
2:02.2
2:02.3
2:01.9
2:02.3
+
complete


Back squats were very easy. I was a little bummed I wasn't able to do front squats, I haven't done them in a long time and I was pretty excited to see them in my programming but it's not worth fucking up my hand. Front squats, we will meet another day.

The rows felt great. I was shocked at how good my breathing was on this. Before I started, I decided I would try to hold between a 2:03-2:05 pace since I had :30 less rest than last week. After the first set, my pace was a 2:02 so I was like okay well let's just do this and see how it goes. I made my new goal to hold a 2:02 for each row and I was able to do it. My breathing was excellent, the only sets that got tough were the 4th and 8th. I was pretty surprised I was able to bring the pace down this week, especially since I had less rest. I think a lot of it was mental, I knew I only had to do 8 sets and I would get to rest after 4 instead of 5. Either way, I am really happy about my numbers on this. I can tell my breathing has improved a lot and I'm just much better mentally as well. 

2/23/2015

AM
30:00 airdyne @Z1
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. 1 clean-grip deadlift + 1 clean pull + 1 power clean, cut the PC if needed, 5x1 building, :05 between movements; 2:00 rest
+
3 sets for even times:
50 double unders
10 alternating pistols
10 ring dips-cut if needed
10 KB swings, 53
10 CTB pull ups
3:00 walk rest
+
3 sets:
:30 airdyne @97%
4:30 rest

AM
complete

PM
A. (cut out the PC) 135-155-175-185-155
+
1:47
1:42
1:43
(cut out the dips)
+
complete


I saw Pete this morning, he said I irritated a ligament in my hand when I was doing thrusters last Wednesday. He worked on it a bit and it definitely feels better but he said it will probably take a few weeks for it to feel completely normal. He said to be very careful on power cleans, front squats, and HSPU especially. It feels a lot better but I will still continue to be very cautious through the open. 

Today was a pretty solid day of training. Stephen told me to cut the PC from the complex so I only did the deadlift and pull. Everything was feeling very light today. My hand felt totally fine up through 175, when I went to do the pull at 185 I felt a very slight tug in my hand so I dropped back down to 155 and that was completely fine. 

I really enjoyed the three sets for even times. Stephen had me cut out the dips due to my hand situation. I was a little nervous to try KB swings but I felt nothing in my hand so that's good! All double unders were unbroken and very fast. Pistols were slow as per usual, I'm really starting to dislike those. When I was warming up I tried doing a few without my knee sleeves but I just can't. It's just annoying because I waste so much time pulling them up after the double unders. Also, I really need to work on not going up on my toes during my pistols, it slows them down so much. I want to be able to do them completely flat. These are still a huge work in progress. CTB pull ups felt great today and they were all unbroken. I would really like to see some of these in the open. 

Airdyne sprints hurt as per usual. 

2/22/2015

20:00 airdyne @Z1
+
For 10:00
Evens: 10 row cals hard
Odds: 10 airdyne calories hard
+
20:00 mobility work of choice

complete
+
complete
+
complete


The EMOM was very tough. I was basically sprinting for :25-:30 and then resting for :30. I was hurting pretty bad by the time this was over. 

Making an appointment with Pete tomorrow, hopefully he can tell me what's going on with my hand. 

Good crowd in the gym today!

2/21/2015

Could not get to the gym because of the snow, will have to make it up tomorrow....

2/20/2015

AM
5 rounds @ easy pace:
3:00 airdyne
3:00 mobility of choice-prep the PM movements

PM
A. 1 squat snatch + 3 overhead squats, build to a tough set in 4 attempts from an empty bar
B. Back squat, quick build to a tough double
+
For time @open pace:
100 double unders
75 wall ball
50 CTB pull ups
25 burpees
+
10:00 airdyne @Z1

AM
complete

PM
A. 95-105-called after two sets due to pain in right hand
B. 225
+
9:34
+
complete


Merrrrr. The weird pain in my right hand is getting annoying. It's not really keeping me from doing anything, it's just really uncomfortable when weight is loaded on top of it for a long period of time. Snatching didn't hurt, but holding the bar while doing overhead squats was making it flare up so I called it after two sets. When I was warming up I kicked up into a handstand and it hurts to put all my weight on it. It just feels like it needs to be popped, it doesn't feel strained or pulled, it just feels "off". It's very odd. I'm going to make an appointment with Pete this week to see if he can fix it, I don't want to be dealing with any weird pains going into the Open.

Back squats were alright, 225 was definitely tough but looking back I think I had a bit more in the tank. Back squats have been feeling heavy these days, I can't believe my 1RM is 270. 

The chipper was good and bad. All the double unders were unbroken. My plan for the wall ball was to knock out a large set right away and then go from there. I hit 21 in a row and then the sets were smaller after that. I did 15, then 12, then I think it was like 8-10 from there? I can't really remember. I was resting a bit too much between sets once I hit 50, but I was still happy with my pace on this. The CTB pull ups......eeeeeeesh. Before the workout started, I thought to myself "I'll just do the pull ups in 5 sets of 10" like a CLASSIC McCarty. Once I actually got to the pull ups, I knocked out an easy set of 10 but quickly realized I would not be able to do 5 sets of 10. I did a few sets of 5 and then they were smaller sets after that. I was definitely resting way too much between sets of pull ups. I started out with butterfly pull ups but switched over to kipping a few times. A few of them were singles. I was being a baby on this, my muscles were never tired, I was just breathing really hard at this point. I definitely could have gone faster on these. I felt pretty shitty by the time I got to the burpees, I think I blacked out the entire time. All I remember is slobbering everywhere and looking at the clock at one point and thinking "Fuck, Stephen said sub-10, I have to go." I ended up finishing in 9:34. I thought I was keeping a pretty steady pace on the burpees but I asked Heather if they were slow and she said yes. DAMMIT. I still pushed pretty hard on this workout, after it was over I had to go to the bathroom and collect myself because I thought I might puke and/or shit my pants. I'm happy I was able to do this sub-10. 

I have a few thoughts. First of all, I can tell that mentally I have gotten so much better about just accepting the workout as it is given to me. 6 months ago, seeing 75 wall balls come up during a workout would have sent me into a tailspin. Now, I look at that and think "okay." Large numbers do not scare me anymore (unless it's a large number of rope climbs, still working on that one). But overall, I think I have gotten so much better about looking at my work and saying "okay, let's do that." because I know complaining and worrying about the number of reps isn't going to change anything. I can complain all I want, but when it comes down to it I end up doing the work anyways. I think even if Stephen gave me a workout that had 100 wall balls in it, I would have that moment of "jesus" but then just accept it and do it. I feel like I'm rambling. Oh well, it makes sense to me.  

Also, I was watching the documentary CrossFit.com just posted that followed the athletes from the Open through the Games. They were interviewing Camille about a week out from the Games, and she made a comment along the lines of "A lot of it is mentally preparing myself to really hurt on every single workout. If you want to win, you have to be willing to go to that dark place." This really resonated with me, especially since the Open is less than a week away. I want to give every workout my all, and I need to push myself to that dark place if I have to. I have to prepare myself to hurt because I want to contribute some solid scores for my team. I'm ready to do it! 

2/18/2015

AM
3 sets @ easy pace:
2:00 ski erg
2:00 airdyne
2:00 row
2:00 airdyne

PM
A. Shoulder to overhead, 6-4-2-6 moderate/tough working on efficiency w/different methods (PP, PS, Split); 2:00 rest
+
For time @95%
21 deadlifts, 175
15 bar-facing burpees
9 muscle ups
+
4:00 @95%
15 thrusters, 75
15 toes to bar

AM
Skipped, could not make it to the gym in the AM due to the snow

PM
A. 125-145-160-135
+
3:41
+
2 rounds


I had to skip my AM session for a second time this week because of the snow. I'm getting really sick of your shit, winter. WRAP IT UP.

The PM session was pretty good. Shoulder to overhead felt easy, 145 and 160 were actually easier than 125 and 135. I couldn't really find a good rhythm on the set of 6 at 135. I wouldn't mind seeing some heavy shoulder to overhead in the open. 

The 21-15-9 workout was fun, I really enjoyed it. I broke up the deadlifts 7/7/7, I don't think I could have done those any differently. I almost dropped it with 2 reps left because my hands felt like they were starting to tear but I just held on to it. Burpees were steady and not bad at all, I don't really mind bar facing burpees anymore. Muscle ups were 4/3/2. The first two sets were very easy, the last 2 reps were a bit of a struggle, I caught both of them really low in the dip. I was also resting a bit too long between sets of MUs but overall I was pretty pleased with this. 

The thruster/toes to bar workout was rough. I did not enjoy this. I haven't done thrusters in a workout in awhile. During the first round I put the bar down after 10 reps and I immediately regretted it. There was really no reason to do it, I just felt like I should break it up for some reason. Toes to bar were 5/5/5 the first round then 5/4/2/2/1/1 the second round, I think. I broke them up a lot. I broke up the thrusters 8/5/2 on the second round. I felt terrible on this, breathing was bad and transitions were slow. I was standing around too much. I also started having this weird sharp pain in my right hand while I was doing thrusters, I'm not sure where that came from. I couldn't feel it on the toes to bar, only the thrusters. It's still kind of lingering, if I bend my hand all the way forward I can feel it. I'm hoping it goes away in the next day or two. I was pretty disappointed on how I felt on this workout, I don't want to feel that bad one week out from the open. 

2/17/2015

10 sets:
500m row @85%- goal is tough but sustainable pace across all sets
2:00 walk rest (5:00 after set 5)

2:03.4
2:03.3
2:03.3
2:03.1
2:03.7
2:03.5
2:03.5
2:03.0
2:03.1
2:03.0


Rows felt much better than last week. I ended up getting the same pace this week as I did last week even though today I had :30 less rest, so I'm not sure if I was going too slow last time? The only rows that started to get uncomfortable were the 5th set and 10th set. Pretty happy with this.

I finished pretty early so I worked on some handstand walking, it's getting faster! 

2/16/2015

Unable to get to the gym today due to the snow....

Winter is dumb.

2/15/2015

60:00 Z1 hike or airdyne

airdyne complete

2/14/2015

AM
5 rounds @easy pace:
30 airdyne calories
2:00 mobility of choice-different piece every set
10 CTB pull ups

PM
A. 1 halting clean-grip deadlift + 2 clean pulls + 1 power clean, 5x1 building, :05 between movements; 2:00 rest
+
For times:
1000m row @85%
2:00 rest
3 rounds of (5 clean-grip deadlifts @205 + 5 burpee muscle ups)
2:00 rest
1000m row @85%
+
6 sets:
:60 airdyne @90% aerobic
:60 airdyne @ 50%

AM
complete

PM
A. 125-145-165-175-180
+
4:20.0/2:10.0
+
6:45
+
4:18.0/2:09.0
+
complete


Today started out pretty well and then went sort of downhill. I really enjoyed the lifting portion, that was a cool complex. Weight was feeling very light today, clean pulls at 180 felt the same as the pulls at 125. When I went to power clean 180 I actually pulled it a lot higher than I expected and I dropped under the bar before it even hit my shoulders, so it kind of came crashing down on me. Stephen said I looked like I wasn't expecting to pull it that high and I kind of surprised myself. My legs were still extremely sore from the wall ball/ double under workout from yesterday and they were dragging on the power cleans. I felt like I wasn't driving my feet into the ground very aggressively, my legs seemed to be on a two second delay from the rest of my body. Even so, lifting still felt great today. 

The first row was kind of a mess, I was pulling so slow but for some reason I couldn't make myself go any faster. The second row was better, I was able to find a good rhythm. Again, legs were feeling sore from yesterday. 

The deadlift/muscle up workout was pretty bad. I thought I was going to just smash this and that was not the case. Deadlifts were not the problem, they were easy and all unbroken. It was the muscle ups. My hands were in a lot of pain during this, as soon as I jumped up to the rings to do the first muscle up I knew I was in trouble. I'm not sure why my hands hurt so much today but it was very uncomfortable to grab the rings. This was the worst my muscle ups have been in a long time, they felt like shit. I'm not used to jumping to the rings from the ground so my kip was extremely off. Also, I could only go so fast on the muscle ups because I had to steady the rings each time I came off. I was just going SO slow between each rep and they were sloppy. These were just really off today and I was pretty bummed after this was over. I was pretty disappointed with my performance on this. Not my best weekend of training. 

2/13/2015

A. 1 squat snatch + 3 overhead squats, 5x1 light/moderate without moving feet, begin a set every :90
B. Back squat, 3x3-4, 22x1; 3:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 8:00
30 double unders
15 wall balls, 14 to 9
+
15:00 airdyne @Z1

A. 95-105-115-125-135
B. 175-195-205
+
accidentally did this in opposite order. errrr oops. 7 rounds + 15 WB
+
complete


Snatches felt good today, all of them were really easy. Overhead squats were a bit shaky, especially at 135. Not being allowed to move my feet between the snatch and overhead squats has really made me realize how wide my feet land during my snatches. I definitely need to try and fix this, I'll have to work on it when Chelsea Kyle comes to CSC in a few weeks. 

Back squats were a bit better than last week, 195 was easier this time and I only struggled on the last rep of 205. 

The 8:00 AMRAP........oh boy. You know that thing when you glance at your programming and you think you know what the workout is and then you do the workout and then you find out you did it in the wrong order? Arggggg. I was supposed to do double unders first but I thought it was wall balls then double unders. DAMMIT. Stephen said it really didn't matter but I was still frustrated with myself for messing it up. Putting that mistake aside, I was still pleased with my performance on this. There were a few things I was annoyed with, like the fact that I dropped the wall ball with 30 seconds left. THIRTY SECONDS. There was no reason for that. If this was the open, I would never do that. I don't know why I did it. My transitions were pretty good overall, although at round 5 I started taking too much rest before I started the wall ball. I was breathing hard but I can tell I've improved a lot in that area because I never really stopped to bend over and rest in the middle of a set like I used to. I just don't enjoy it when there's only two movements in a workout, I would much rather do a chipper. Also, this was more muscle fatigue than anything. My shoulders were toasted, the last round of wall balls hurt so much. My quads were also extremely sore after this. Happy with my performance but I definitely could have done better. 

2/12/2015

30:00-60:00 swim or around the world of choice, pick 4-6 easy pieces to cycle through every :60

around the world complete 

2/11/2015

AM
3 sets @ easy pace:
2:00 ski erg
2:00 airdyne
2:00 row
2:00 aidyne

PM
A. Shoulder to overhead, 8-6-4 moderate/tough working on efficiency w/different methods (PP, PJ, Split); 2:00 rest
+
For time@95%
30 deadlifts @175
20 alternating pistols
10 bar-facing burpees
+
5:00 @95%
3 ground to overhead, 85
3 toes to bar
6 ground to overhead, 85
6 toes to bar
and so on...

AM
complete

PM
A. 115-125-145
+
3:09
+
68 


AM session was cool this morning, I enjoyed doing everything without any rest. 

PM session was really fun! The shoulder to overhead felt so easy today. I did push jerk for all sets because I think realistically that's what I'll be doing in the open and it's also more efficient. I started at 115 since 105 sucked so much last week but it was way too easy. 125 was also really light so I jumped to 145 for 4 and that was no problem. 

The deadlift workout went really well. I broke up the deadlifts in sets of 5 until the last 5 reps, I had to break those up 3/2. 175 was pretty easy, it didn't start getting tough until 20 reps in, and even then it was mostly breathing. I never felt like the weight was heavy. I really wish my pistols were faster. They are getting better but they're still too slow. I was able to do them on my right leg without holding my opposite foot but I still had to hold my right foot when I was doing them on my left leg. Merrrr. Progress I guess. I just need to keep working on these so I can do them faster and without knee sleeves. 

The ground to overhead workout went pretty well, although I wish I would have gotten a few more reps. This one was tough to do after the deadlift piece because my grip was still a bit fatigued from the deadlifts. I did the first 3 GTO unbroken, then 4/2, then I switched to singles.  My TTB were unbroken the first set and then all smaller sets after that. My transitions could have been better, I would go directly from the TTB to GTO but I was resting too much before I started my toes to bar. I need to just drop the weight and then jump right up on the bar. Even if I have to do singles, it's still better than standing bent over for 3 seconds before starting. I was pretty happy with my breathing on this, I never felt like I couldn't do another rep. I remember two years ago during the open this workout felt like shit, especially the ground to overhead. I don't remember my score from two years ago but I'm sure it was close to what I got today. It was really fun working out with Duprie, Lauren, and Pat! Those guys are the best. 

2/10/2015

500m row @85%- goal is tough but sustainable pace across all sets
2:30 walk rest, 5:00 after set 5

2:03.7
2:03.7
2:03.7
2:03.8
2:03.9
2:04.4
2:03.5
2:03.5
2:03.4
2:03.1


Today really brought me back to when I used to have row sprint Wednesdays, I would drag a rower in the corner and stay there for an hour and a half. Good times. The 10 sets of 500m were not nearly as bad as I thought they were going to be. My goal was to keep it between a 2:03-2:05 for every set. The first five were pretty easy. I'm not really sure what the hell happened on my sixth one, I thought that would have been better seeing as I had just rested a full 5:00. For some reason I just couldn't hang on to a good pace, I was all over the place on that one. I was able to reign it in for the next four. I was having major stomach cramps during the last four rows, it was actually really distracting. I don't know if I should have eaten earlier in the day or what was going on, but my stomach was really hurting for the last half of the session. I had to chew some gum to distract myself from whatever was going on in my stomach. It eventually went away after I stopped rowing but it was really frustrating. 

Since today's session was on the shorter side, I decided to work on some gymnastics with Heather. I haven't done any handstand walking in awhile so that's what I worked on first. It felt great! My handstand walk is actually getting pretty quick. I'm no Val Calhoun but I would like to be able to walk on my hands with that kind of speed eventually. I also did a few freestanding handstand push ups. 

2/9/2015

AM
30:00 airdyne @Z1
+
15:00 mobility work of choice

PM
A. Hang squat snatch, 5x5 unbroken @85, begin a set every :90
B. Front rack alternating reverse lunges, 3x4-6; 2:00 rest
+
AMRAP in 5:00
1 rope climb
3 squat cleans, 155
5 burpees
+
3 rounds not for time:
10 unbroken handstand push ups
10 unbroken CTB pull ups

AM
complete

PM
A. complete
B. 160-165-170
+
3 rounds + 1 burpee
+
complete


Really solid training day. Snatches felt excellent today, much better than last week. I didn't really start breathing hard until the fourth set. My speed under the bar is improving a lot. I still had one or two sloppy reps where I didn't punch under aggressively enough and caught it loose in the squat, but for the most part all of these were really solid. 

Reverse lunges were so much better than last week. I was able to get 170 for 6 and it wasn't too tough, I think I could have done 175 but now I know to go for that next week. 

The AMRAP was a lot harder than I thought it would be. This was an instance where relying on my lifting shoes/knee sleeves hurt me a little bit. Before the workout started, I decided I had to make a choice between wearing my knee sleeves or wearing a belt because I knew it would take too much time to pull up my knee sleeves AND put a belt on. I went with the knee sleeves. Wearing my lifting shoes for the rope climbs definitely slowed me down a bit, I wasn't able to grab the rope with my feet very well and the slide down was also slower than if I were to wear nanos. The squat cleans didn't start feeling heavy until the fourth time through. I was mostly breathing hard because of the rope climb. I think I need to get thinner knee sleeves or start trying to use them less because I wasted too much time pulling them up and down. I really wanted to get four rounds but as soon as I started the squat cleans on the fourth round I knew I wasn't going to finish in time. Dammit. It was fun doing this workout with Lauren, she definitely pushed me. I know I would have rested longer before each rope climb if I had been doing this alone. 

I really enjoyed the three rounds not for time. My handstand push ups are getting so fast! When did that happen? Who knows. Now I just need to be able to do them that fast under fatigue. CTB pull ups were fast the first two rounds but slowed down a bit during the third round, I could feel my hand starting to tear so I slowed down the cycle time. Overall a really good day of training!

2/8/2015

60:00 Z1 hike or airdyne 

complete 

2/7/2015

3 sets @easy pace:
:60 freestanding handstand hold attempts
:60 rest
250m row
:60 rest
+
For times:
750m row @85%
2:00 rest
3 rounds of (9 ski erg calories + 12 handstand push ups + 15 russian KB swings @70)
2:00 rest
750m row @85%
+
15 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%

complete
+
3:13.8/2:09.2
+
9:13
+
3:13.8/2:09.2
+
complete


Training was not the best today. I felt a bit frazzled, I think it's because there were so many people in the gym this morning and I couldn't really find a place to settle. Freestanding handstand attempts were all pretty bad, I only had one or two good ones. 

The ski erg/HSPU workout was a real dooz. My breathing was felt terrible on this, worse than it has in awhile. I'm not really sure what was going on. I was able to do the first set of HSPU unbroken but had to break them up 6/4/2 on the second round and 6/4/1/1 on the third round.  KB swings were all unbroken. I don't think I could have gone much faster on this but my breathing was just not good at all. I was pretty happy about my rows, they were exactly the same! That's pretty neat, especially since I didn't feel great on the second row. 

2/6/2015

AM
5-7 rounds @ easy pace
:60 airdyne 
20m/side 1-arm farmers walk, 70
:60 row
2/side turkish get ups
:60 FLR on ground

PM
A. 1 squat snatch + 4 overhead squats, 5x1 light/moderate without moving feet, begin a set every :90
B. Back squat, 3x4-6, 22x1; 3:00 rest
+
6:00 @70% of [1 rope climb + 10 hand release push ups + 10 alternating pistols]
3:00 rest
6:00 @70% of [7 burpees + 5 toes to bar + 3 CTB pull ups + 1 bar muscle up)
3:00 rest
6:00 @70% of [15 row cals + :30 front leaning rest on rings]

AM
5 rounds complete, 35# KB for TGU

PM
A. 85-95-105-115-125
B. 155-175-195(4)
+
complete
+
complete
+
complete


Good day today. The snatch/overhead squat was definitely interesting, it made me very aware of where my feet were landing in the snatch since I wasn't allowed to move them for the overhead squats. My feet are landing farther apart than I would like, I'm definitely going to have to work on this. I liked this complex. Snatches felt good and overhead squats were the best they have been in a long time. 

It was nice to back squat again! I haven't done that in months. The tempo got a bit spicy, especially the 2 seconds in the bottom, but I didn't feel any pain in my SI joint which is a good sign!

The three 6:00 pieces were all really cool. Rope climbs are getting better. I'm also trying to work on doing pistols without holding my other foot on the way down. It's so much more efficient to not have to hold my foot. I was able to do it every time, they were still a bit slow but they're getting there. After I master this, the next step will be doing pistols with no knee sleeves. I don't want to have to rely on my lifting shoes and knee sleeves to do pistols anymore. 

2/5/2015

30:00-60:00 swim or around the world of choice, pick 4-6 easy pieces to cycle through every :60

complete

2/4/2015

AM
3 sets:
300m ski erg @90% aerobic
:60 rest
20 airdyne calories @90% aerobic
:60 rest
500m row @90% aerobic
:60 rest
20 airdyne calories @90% aerobic
:60 rest
:60 freestanding handstand hold attempts

PM
A. Shoulder to overhead, 10-10-10 moderate working on efficiency w/different methods (PP, PJ, SJ) 2:00 rest
B. Deadlift, 3-5x10 touch and go @135; begin a set every :60
+
AMRAP in 5:00
5 unbroken double unders
10 unbroken double unders
15 unbroken double unders
20 unbroken double unders
and so on
+
15:00 airdyne @Z1

AM
complete

PM
A. complete @105
B. 5 sets complete
+
complete through 55, no misses
+
complete


Weight is still feeling really tough for some reason, I don't know if it's because I'm still tired from Pro Day or if my body just knows it's a deload week and doesn't want to wake up. Either way, the shoulder to overhead was tougher than I would have liked. When I looked at my programming I originally thought I was going to do this at 125. NOPE. I was warming up and 105 felt "moderate" today. Merrr. Push jerk was definitely the most efficient and easiest movement, push press got too fatiguing and split jerk took too long. Push jerk was JUUUUUST right. 

Deadlifts were really fast and easy, 5 sets was no problem. 

The double under AMRAP was actually pretty fun, I enjoyed it. It was definitely very tiring on the shoulders, my breathing was never really a problem. I had about :15 left and I asked Stephen if I could start my set of 55 and just keep going even though time was going to run out. I was happy to not trip up/break on any of the sets. My double unders are getting much faster. This one was cool, I would like to retest this another time and try to end up closer to 70.

Rest days have officially been switched over, THE OPEN IS COMING. 

Boston Pro Day Recap

It's hard to believe Boston Pro Day weekend is already over. This was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I got to work alongside a group of amazing athletes and learned a lot about the process of what it takes to become a Grid athlete. 

Day 1

We arrived at CrossFit Southie in South Boston at noon on Saturday. We checked in, got our numbers and score cards, then Josh Plosker (GM and Head coach of the Boston Iron) gave us a run down of how the day was going to go. There was a representative/coach from every team and the members of the Boston Iron would be our judges for the weekend. We would be re-testing all of the workouts from our Grid Score in a two hour period because the coaches wanted to see how we would perform in a Grid match time frame. This made me a bit nervous seeing as I had done the five Grid score workouts over a period of a few weeks. We had about 45 minutes to warm up for every event. This also made me a little nervous, especially for the 2 rep clean and jerk and muscle ups. I wanted to make sure I worked up to a heavy weight while also being really warmed up for muscle ups. Josh said the order of events would be rope climbs, clean and jerk, metcon, muscle ups, then thrusters. 

Four rope climbs for time
Grid Score- 1:13
Pro Day- :38

I was nervous for this one because I just don't enjoy rope climbs but I was glad this was first so I could get it over with. Spencer Hendel and Lindy Barber were my judges on this, so that was pretty neat. I told myself to push it and to not wait until I felt "ready" before every rope climb. I actually felt really good on this event, I was using my legs properly and sliding down the rope easily. When I finished, I was shocked when Lindy told me my time was :38. WHAT. I was so happy with this! This was a great way to start the day! 

2-rep clean and jerk in :20 
Grid Score- 180
Pro Day- 185

First of all, we got to use new Eleiko bars fresh out of the plastic, so that was awesome yet also terrifying. As I was warming up for this, the weight was feeling very heavy. I cleaned 155 and was shocked at how heavy it felt. I don't know if I was fatigued from travel the day before or what was going on, but the weight was not feeling as comfortable as it usually does. They told us that if we failed anything on this event we didn't get a second chance, but if we easily hit our first weight then we would get another attempt to add weight and go again. I decided to start with 175 because I wanted to make sure I hit both clean and jerks in the time frame. We had to start on the ground, just like the original Grid score. I hit my two clean and jerks very easily at 175 so my judge asked me if I wanted to go again with a heavier weight. I rested a few minutes then decided to just go for 185. It wasn't pretty, but I got it! I hit the second jerk with three seconds left. 

Set up for the 2 rep clean and jerk

For time: 15 ground to overhead @95/10 burpees over bar/15 ground to overhead
Grid Score: 3:23
Pro Day: 3:04

I was dreading this one the most because I knew how badly it was going to hurt. As I watched people do this, a lot of them did the first 15 reps unbroken but then did the second 15 in mostly singles. I tried not to worry about what other people were doing and just stick to my own strategy. When I did this for my grid score, I did 5/3/3/2/2, then all singles for the second 15. When I did it at Pro Day I did 8/4/3, then all singles. The burpees definitely should have been faster and I could have shaved off a bit of rest between some of the singles but I was happy to improve on this one. Spoiler alert: It hurt just as bad as the first time. 

Max muscle ups in :80
Grid Score: 12
Pro Day: 9

This was the only test from Day 1 where I walked away feeling disappointed. I was looking forward to the muscle ups because I do those really well. When I was warming up, I did a few muscle ups and I immediately knew it was going to be harder than I thought. My arms were pretty tired from the previous testing and the rings were the really thin rings. I always do muscle ups on the thick wooden rings and haven't done an MU on thin rings in a very long time.   It was extremely hard for me to get a good grip on the rings and my turnover didn't feel as aggressive as usual. I did 5/2/1/1 then failed a rep right as time ran out. I was definitely disappointed with getting three less muscle ups than my original Grid score, and I was also bummed out about how terrible they felt. Lesson learned: start doing more muscle ups on the skinny rings. 

For time: 20 thrusters @95
Grid Score: :47
Pro Day: :37

Since the muscle ups went poorly, I wanted to crush this one. This was the last event of the day, I was tired but I knew I had to just suck it up and go. I was about 8 reps in when the feeling of "I want to put this down" kicked in, but I told myself to just stop being a Lil B and finish. I ended up beating my Grid Score time by 10 seconds, I was very happy with this. I walked away from Day 1 feeling tired but very proud of my overall performance.

Day 2

We had to be at the gym a lot earlier on the second day. We showed up at 8:00 and Josh said everything was going to run the same as the first day, five tests in two hours. I had practiced all the tests already so I was pretty calm going into Day 2, the only event I was nervous for was the snatch ladder since the weight was feeling so heavy during the clean and jerks. We warmed up the same way, basically hitting every single movement for every test in one hour. 

Max 5" deficit handstand push ups in :30
In practice: 13
Pro Day: 17

I was pretty happy about this test, I was looking forward to this one. The HSPU felt very easy, I started slowing down around the 14th rep but I knew I couldn't afford to come off the wall. When I practiced at CSC I think I did max in :20 so I was happy I was able to go the full :30 with no breaks. 

For max reps- :30 CTB pull ups/:30 rest/:30 pistols/:30 rest/:30 toes to bar
In practice: 20/11/17
Pro Day: 20/13/19

I was really hoping to get some more CTB pull ups during Pro Day. Alas, I did not. I got no repped on two of them (oops). I also felt like I wasn't cycling them as fast as I usually do. I did them all unbroken (that's a CTB PR for sure) and came off the bar with the intent of doing more but time ran out before I could jump back up. Pistols were the same as usual- reaaaal slow. I was wearing my lifting shoes and knee sleeves so that made it a bit easier but I still wasn't going very fast. I definitely need to get better at these. I think I did 14 TTB before I had to come off the bar but I was able to get 5 more before time ran out. I wish I would have done a little better on this one. 

For time: Sprint 50 meters then 10 deadlifts @225
In practice: :37
Pro Day: :21

VERY happy with this! When I practiced this at CSC I broke up the deadlifts 5/3/2. When I told Stephen, he said I would absolutely have to do them unbroken at Pro Day and he was right. There wasn't a single person who broke up the deadlifts. The speed differed between athletes but no one set it down. 225 for 10 unbroken actually wasn't that bad, some of it was probably the adrenaline but I was able to bang them out pretty fast. The sprint was cool too, I always enjoy a nice sprint. 

Max reps in :20 of hang cleans @155
In practice: 7
Pro Day: 11

Best event of the day, hands down. This one was awesome. I mentally prepared myself for the possibility of the eleiko bar ripping my thighs to shreds but I actually walked away unscathed! Josh told us we could power clean the first rep and then go from there. The weight felt very light on this, I was never in danger of failing a rep and I was able to bounce the bar immediately off my thighs every single time. This one was fun! 

Snatch ladder (:30 to complete)- 105/120/135/150/165
In practice: 150
Pro Day: 135

This event was a bit disappointing, I really wanted to hit 150. The snatch ladder was the very last event and I was pretty fatigued at this point. As I was warming up, I snatched 85 pounds and my arms felt like jelly so I knew this could potentially not go very well. I warmed up to 125 before we got started. A lot of people looked tired on this. Out of all the females, only one was able to hit 150. A few got pretty close but most of us ended up at 135. I also wasn't pulling myself into as deep of a squat as I should have but I still don't think I would have been able to snatch 150 even if I did completely squat everything, my arms were fried and I'm just not used to making large jumps like that in such a short amount of time, especially under fatigue. But that's the point of testing and now I know what I need to work on. 

Overall, I am so proud of my performance this past weekend. If I'm being completely honest, before I went to Boston I kept fighting with the idea that getting a Pro Day invite was a fluke. I was worried I would get there and completely bomb out and not live up to my original Grid score. I tried to push that thought out of my mind. As soon as I arrived at CF Southie on the first day all those feelings went away. My goal was to trust myself as an athlete and lay it all out there, and that's what I did. I ended up improving on 4/5 of my original Grid test results and also improved most of the Day 2 tests as well. I proved to myself that I did belong there and that my hard work was paying off. If I don't end up getting invited to the combine it will certainly be disappointing, but I know I did my best and that's all I could do. I came away from Pro Day with more confidence in myself as an athlete and a better understanding of what I need to work on over the next year. Hold the vision and trust the process, it works! 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who sent me an encouraging message while I was in Boston, I really appreciated it! I'm also very grateful to my parents for making it possible for me to get out to Pro Day, you guys are the best. Also, I had a great experience because the event was so well-run. Josh Plosker made sure everything started on time and always kept the athletes informed of what was going on. He was always available for questions and was very helpful. The members of the Boston Iron were awesome judges, they were very fair and I could tell they wanted to see us do well and have fun. Justin Cotler, thanks for the constant encouragement all weekend and for being an all around really cool guy. Stephen, thanks for coaching me through all my Grid score tests and for making sure I was prepared for everything. As far as coaches go, you're the tops. I also met some really neat people while I was there-Amanda, Oscar, Liz, Carolyn, Katrina, it was fun hanging out with you guys and it was cool watching all of you kill it throughout the weekend!

Boston Pro Day was a great experience. Now it's time to set my sights on the Open. I'm excited to see what will happen in the next few months! Onward! 

Thanks for the good times Boston