12/25/2013

1500m row @ 2:05.0 pace
+
8 sets of:
:30 row @ 100%
4:30 rest (8:00 rest after set 4)
+
5:00 row cool-down, keep it Z1

6:09.2/2:03.1
+
158 meters
156
156
156
154
154
155
152
+
complete

12/24/2013

A. 1 squat clean + 1 front squat, 1 set every :60 starting @ 125 and adding 10 every :60
+
For time:
15 muscle-ups
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 3 tough close-grip bench press
Odds: 15 heavy Russian kettlebell swings

A. 185 (195 Fx2)
+
6:14
+
complete
bench @110, 70# KB


Squat cleans felt tough today, I was hoping to get to at least 195 but I failed it twice. That was frustrating. My lifting technique was off today, I was rushing the lift instead of being patient. I'm not sure why I was doing that. Not my best lifting today. I am pleased with how the muscle ups went, all of them were in sets of 2 until the last two reps. I think I was waiting just a bit too long in between sets, I was trying to focus more on stringing two together instead of getting a fast time and I wanted to have enough rest so I didn't fail any sets. But I am still happy with my time. I would like to try 30 muscle ups for time soon, the last time I did it, it took me 23 minutes so I know I could do much better now. The bench press/KB workout was tougher than I expected, I was breathing relatively hard by the end. Bench press felt good but KB swings got tough. This week has been a little frustrating so far. 

12/19/2013

A. Power clean, build to a moderate/tough single in 10:00 from an empty bar

B. Split jerk from blocks, 9 x 1 waveload 135-145-155, emphasis on speed under lockout @ catch; begin a set every :60

C. Weighted ring dip, build to a max

+

For time:

20 alternating Turkish get-ups, 45

60 toes-to-bar, mandatory sets of 5

100m heavy prowler push, grind effort

A. 190

B. complete

C. 45#(PR+5)

+

23:45

70# on prowler

I am pleased with the power clean number, although they didn’t feel great today. I think I am used to squat cleans now so the power cleans felt a little off. Split jerks felt really good, I was focusing on speed and punching myself underneath the bar. I never felt like I was pressing out and had no wrist pain, so that’s a good sign. I am happy with a PR on the weighted dip! I figured I might PR that today since I have been doing so many weighted dips lately. The TGU workout actually took me less time than I thought it would. My turkish get-ups are pretty slow, especially with 45 pounds. I figured it would take me closer to 30 minutes. On the TGU I tried to keep the rest between reps very short. It still took me awhile, 11 minutes. The toes to bar felt really good, those were never a problem. The prowler was how I expected, I was able to push it for the first 25 meters without stopping, then I had to stop once during 50 meters and once again on 75 meters but I was able to push it the last 25 meters with no break. Overall I am pleased how I did on this.

12/18/2013

1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace
+
7 sets of:
:30 row @ 100%
4:30 rest
+
1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace

2:03.6/4:56.6
+
158 meters
155
156
155
156
150
151
+
2:03.4/4:56.1


Puke.

12/17/2013

A. Squat clean, build quickly to a tough single
B. Muscle-ups, 10 x 2 unbroken; begin a set every :90
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 10 hand-release push-ups
Odds: 6 alternating DB snatches, 45

A. 195 (205 Fail)
B. complete. Failed the second muscle up on 9th and 10th set but all unbroken up until that point
+
complete


Squat cleans felt GREAT today. I was able to get to 195 relatively quickly. I went 125-145-165-185-195. I had a feeling I might be able to PR my squat clean so I put 205 on the bar and went for it. I was able to get under it easily but I couldn't stand it up. FUCK. So disappointing, I really thought it was going to happen today. Oh well, next time. The muscle ups went well, all sets were around :10. I failed the 2nd muscle up on the 9th and 10th set which was a little frustrating but I think I was just fatigued. The push up/db snatch workout was good, db snatches were really fast. Good day today. 

12/16/2013

35:00 airdyne @Z1

My session with Lindsey Valenzuela

For the people that don’t know, I am a huge Lindsey fan. Ever since I saw her dominate the clean ladder at the 2012 CrossFit Games, I have always had an immense respect for her. Watching her on that ladder was what really kickstarted my interest in wanting to be successful in Olympic Lifting. I am a fan of her because she is an amazing lifter, has great form, understands and respects the sport of olympic weightlifting, but is also a very talented CrossFitter. She is extremely strong but also very well-rounded in all other aspects of the sport. This year she took 2nd place at the CrossFit Games and it was very well-deserved. Watching her compete is always very inspiring.

When I found out she was going to be coming to CrossFit Conjugate, I was pretty jealous. I thought it was very cool that she traveled to Ohio to work with the Sweatts and Sam Briggs. I figured she would be way too busy to have time to meet me so I never asked. Then last Thursday my dad and I left for what I thought was going to be a lifting session at Cincinnati Strength. I noticed my dad drove past the exit and he said we were going to take a different route. I didn’t think anything of it and didn’t really notice anything weird until we were pulling up to the street where Conjugate is located. Then it finally clicked that we weren’t going to CSC, and he told me he set up an private hour lifting session with Lindsey. To say I was excited would be an understatement.

Yep, this is totally normal. I'm not freaking out AT ALL. 

I met Lindsey and she was super cool. Very chill and very down to earth. I was pretty nervous when she was having me warm up for snatches. I didn’t want to completely choke and have it be a “I swear I’m really not that bad” situation, or even worse have her get really frustrated with me not being able to pick things up fast enough and just say “yeah I can’t help you”. I think she could tell I was nervous because she told me to relax and that she’s a normal person like everyone else haha. Also by some weird coincidence I happened to be wearing my Dogtown CrossFit shirt (Lindsey’s gym), which probably made me seem like an even bigger goob. After about ten minutes I finally calmed down and started to focus. After I warmed up with the bar she watched me snatch a few times and immediately noticed my bar path is going too far away from my body. She pointed out that I am not really shrugging at all and that is resulting in dropping under the bar too slowly and it’s also causing the bar to move away from me. She had me do one shrug and then one full snatch, a few reps and then I would add a little more weight. My first few reps weren’t great, I was trying to think about keeping the bar close, shrugging, driving my feet into the ground, all that. But once I did more reps I started getting the hang of it, and by the time we finished the first part I was keeping the bar in much closer and getting under faster, it felt a lot easier. Lindsey said to think about it as making each lift as easy as possible for myself. She also noticed that when I snatch, I tend to throw my head back which also causes the problem of bringing the bar too far out in front of me. She told me to focus on one thing in front of me and said I couldn’t take my eyes off of it the entire lift. I decided to focus on a white paint spot on the wall. When I first tried it I fell really far forward but then it became much easier and worked so well, my snatches drastically improved when I kept my eyes on one focal point for the whole lift.

After that she had me do some heavy pulls with straps. I have never really used straps before so she had to show me how to wear them and how to wrap them around the bar. It took some getting used to at first but after the first few sets it was starting to feel more normal to use the straps. I was trying to focus on pushing my feet into the ground on each pull. After that, she had me do sets of snatch balances, increasing in weight each time. She told me to focus on punching quickly underneath the bar. By the end of the session I felt like my snatches had drastically improved in just that one hour.

Just shootin the shit with my new pal

I learned so much from Lindsey. I have to work on keeping the bar in close, being patient with the lift, keeping my focus on one point throughout the whole lift, and work on dropping quickly underneath the bar instead of letting it push me down. She had a lot of insightful things to say about lifting. I told her how I tend to get really frustrated if one week everything feels great and then the next week I come in and all my lifts feel like shit. She said that is why Olympic lifting can be so frustrating, you can have a three hour session and out of one thousand reps, maybe only one or two will feel perfect. She said to learn to appreciate those perfect reps and that when my lifts are going poorly I need to break them down to the basics, then put everything back together. She said I have a lot of potential, and that was really awesome to hear. Coming from her, that meant a lot. She is an awesome person, very patient and down to earth, and my respect for her grew even more. Thank you dad for the best surprise Christmas gift ever! Thanks Stephen and my mom and whoever else helped keep it a secret. It was really one of the coolest experiences ever.

what an awesome day!