3/9/2015 (15.2-Second attempt)

AM

15:00 airdyne @Z1

+

15:00 mobility & brief warm up for 15.2

PM

15.2

+

10:00 airdyne Z1

AM

complete

PM

139 (+7 reps from Friday, +26 reps from last year)

+

complete

Effffffffffff. This was definitely not the score I wanted on 15.2. I went in with a whole different plan but I still came up 5 pull ups short of getting to the 16s. My breathing felt a lot better this time but my forearms and grip were just shot by the time I got to the second round of pull ups in the 14s. My overhead squats were faster out of the bottom and I thought my transitions were pretty quick, I just don't think I could go any faster by the end. I had nothing left in my arms, I even failed a few CTB pull ups. I can't remember the last time I actually failed a CTB. I was pretty disappointed that I still didn't make it out of the 14s, but I really don't think there was a lot more I could have done, I was moving as fast as I could. Heather and Austin both said it looked like I was moving well throughout the whole thing, I just couldn't hold on to the pull up bar anymore. On the plus side, I didn't drop the bar during the OHS this time. And at least I didn't do worse the second time like I did last year. And it's 26 more reps from last year, so I guess that's not too bad. I'm still not happy with it, but it's over and done. I will just have to do my best to crush 15.3. 

3/7/2015

For 10:00
evens: 10-15 box jumps w/step down, 20
odds: 5-10 handstand push ups- will adjust if wrist is an issue
+
For 10:00
evens: 10 row cals hard
odds: 30-50 double unders
+
1 set:
:90 airdyne increasing effort every :30 so that last :30 is near all out

complete
15 box jumps/10 HSPU each set
+
complete
50 double unders each set
+
complete


I needed today to be a good training day, and it was. I was really excited to finally see some handstand push ups, and my hand didn't bother me at all! I went with 15 box jumps each time to prepare for those possibly coming up in the open. 10 handstand push ups each time, hand felt fine and they were fast every set. I'm getting a lot less fatigued on these which is good. 

Row cal/double under EMOM was pretty tiring. I did 50 double unders each time, I only tripped up once. I was breathing pretty hard by the time this was over.

The :90 airdyne was a lot harder than I thought it would be, I was lactic for awhile after this was done. I don't know how many calories I got on this, Betty was being used so I went with Cornelius. 

Today was a solid day, I was very happy with how everything felt. 

3/6/2015 (15.2-First attempt)

AM

24 sets:

:30 airdyne easy

:30 airdyne even easier

+

15.2 movement prep

PM

15.2

From 0:00-3:00

2 rounds of 

10 overhead squats, 65

10 CTB pull ups

From 3:00-6:00

2 rounds of

12 overhead squats

12 CTB pull ups

etc.....

+

10:00 airdyne @Z1

+

10:00 mobility work of choice

AM

complete

PM

15.2- 132

+

complete

+

complete

15.2....otherwise known as the Tale of the Littlest B

Let me just start by saying that when 15.2 was announced, my heart sank. 14.2 was by far my worst workout of the Open last year. Overhead squats have always been one of my weakest movements and I knew how much it was going to hurt. I tried to turn my attitude around because my chest to bar pull ups have drastically improved since last year, but I was still dreading it. 

Everything basically just went to shit right away. My first sets of overhead squats were pretty slow and they only got slower as the workout went on. I started my pull ups with 4/4/2 for the first set and maybe 3/3/2/2 for the second set? I can't remember. All I know is that I paced the pull ups completely wrong. I should have trusted myself more on the pull ups, my CTBs have gotten so much stronger over the past year and I can butterfly them easily, but I switched to kipping in the second set of 10. There was really no reason for me to do that, I just thought it was a good move. Spoiler alert: it wasn't. I should have just kept going with bigger sets of butterfly pull ups. By the time I got to the set of 12 pull ups I think I was down to singles. I had moved over to the bar with the gymnastics mat underneath it, but it was too low. I was using way too much grip strength to grab the bar and pull myself up, it would have been faster to stick with sets of 3 butterfly pull ups. I was also resting way too long between singles. When the set of 14 overhead squats came around, I was hurting. My shoulders were shot at this point, I could barely hold up the bar overhead. It was all I could do to do the first set of 14 OHS unbroken. I dropped the bar once in the second set and only got 2 pull ups before time ran out. My shoulders and arms were just completely fucked. 

I was so extremely disappointed when this was over. There's no reason for me to be happy or content with this score. It's 19 more reps than I got last year, but 132 is lower than the score I am capable of getting. I watched all my friends completely crush this, and I wanted to be able to say I had also done well. This is the hard part about the open. It's hard keeping one poor performance from completely derailing my sense of accomplishment and progress over the past year. I know overhead squats are one of my worst movements and I know not every workout is going to be good for me, but I also know I'm capable of much more than this. 

I felt better after talking strategy with Stephen today. Here are the things I'm going to change for Monday:

• stand on the jerk blocks for the CTB pull ups instead of the mat, that way I'm at the correct height and my grip won't get fatigued
• start the pull ups with singles and switch to larger sets of butterfly CTBs in the later sets
• faster out of the bottom in the overhead squats
• try a more narrow grip for the overhead squats to try and save my shoulders (I know that there's only so much I can do for these, I'm going to have to basically rely on my pull ups to get me through)
• have Stephen judge me
• go by myself or away from other people. I went right next to Heather and I was way too concerned about what she was doing. I would start to panic when she pulled ahead on the overhead squats and it took me out of the right mindset. If I go with someone else, I need to probably go a few bars over so I don't pay attention to what they're doing 
• don't be a lil B and don't be afraid to hurt 

I know I can make it through the round of 14 if I just push. All I want is to get through the round of 14 so I can prove to myself that I can do it. 15.2 will not get the best of me!

3/4/2015

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

PM
A. 1 clean-grip deadlift + 2 clean pulls, 3x1 @100% clean 1RM, :10 between lifts; 2:00 rest
B. DB shoulder to overhead, 3x7-10 if the wrist isn't aggravated; 2:00 rest
+
For time @95%
50 double unders
10 burpee box jump overs
20 CTB pull ups
10 burpee box jump overs
50 double unders
+
10:00 rest
+
1 set for calories:
:60 airdyne @97%

AM
complete

PM
A. complete @210
B. 20-30-40(7)
+
4:11
+
31 calories


Merrrrr. Today was just not a good training day. I did my AM session at 7:00, ate breakfast at the gym, then started warming up for my PM session around 9:00. I really don't like training in the morning because I always feel sluggish but I wanted to get it done before the snow hit. 

The clean pulls felt pretty heavy. The deadlift was very easy but the pulls weren't getting very high. 

My hand felt fine on the DB shoulder to overhead, so that's a good sign! I started pretty light just to test it out. No pain whatsoever. Maybe I test out some muscle ups soon? Ehhhhh?

The burpee box jump piece was way too slow, I felt pretty bad on this. Double unders were unbroken both times. I was moving slower than usual on the burpee box jump overs. Before I started the workout I figured I would do the CTB in two sets of ten. Nope. I did 8, 6, 4, then 2. I  was resting way too long between sets of CTB pull ups. They just felt slow and I didn't have any energy. Mehhhhh. This definitely should have been under 4:00. 

I was a little disappointed that I got 3 less calories than last week on the :60 sprint, I started out a bit too slow. 

Overall, not the best training day. Hoping all the snow is officially done after this so it doesn't eff up my training schedule anymore! 

3/3/2015

A. Back squat, 3-2-1 all moderate, 20x1; 2:00 rest
+
6 sets:
500m row @85%-goal is moderate sustainable place across all sets
:75 walk rest
+
10:00 mobility work of choice

A. 175-195-215
+
2:01.6
2:01.4
2:01.3
2:00.9
2:00.8
2:01.1
+
complete


Back squats felt really good today, I think I started a bit too light.

Rows went really well, the pace is getting faster even though the rest is getting shorter each week. Errrrr.....I don't understand how I'm doing this. My goal today was to hit a 2:02, but the the first row was a 2:01 so I just made that my new goal. The fifth and sixth sets were tough, :75 isn't a very long rest but overall this wasn't too bad. 

3/2/2015 (15.1- Second attempt)

AM
30:00 airdyne
+
15:00 mobility 

PM
15.1/15.1A
+
10:00 airdyne @Z1 

AM
complete

PM
15.1- 175 (+20 reps from Friday)
15.1A- 191
+
complete


WOW. Today was awesome. I knew I was going to improve on 15.1 but I didn't think I would be able to get 20 more reps than I did on Friday. My original goal was to just finish the toes to bar. There were a few differences today that really helped my performance. First of all, I made sure to tape my hand moderately instead of wrapping it tightly in tape three times like I did on Friday. That definitely helped my grip, I wasn't even really concerned about grip this time. Also, I broke up the toes to bar a lot less and also rested less between sets. I did sets of 5 for the first set, 4/4/4/3 on the second set, then 3s and 2s the rest of the time. I only went to singles the last 4 reps of the last round. On friday, I was doing singles by the 4th round. I also didn't use the gymnastics mat this time and that made a huge difference. I was just jumping to the bar like normal and I didn't have to worry about where the mat was. I broke up the snatches less this time and also didn't break up the deadlifts at all. Stephen being my judge also made a huge difference. I basically just shut off my brain and did exactly what he said. He told me when to jump to the bar, when to go down to doubles, how fast to transition, etc. He definitely pushed me to go a lot faster. I ended up getting 20 more reps than when I did this the first time. It was awesome. Thanks Stevo! I call dibs on you being my judge for the next four weeks. 

By the time I got to the clean and jerk, I was definitely breathing a lot harder than I was on Friday. I decided to start heavier this time, my first lift was 155. I took about two minutes before I went for it, I wanted to make sure my breathing was under control a bit. The clean was easy but the jerk was a little surprising, I think because I was pretty tired. I put 175 on the bar (or so I thought) and pulled it, but it turns out I loaded it unevenly. I forgot to put 10 pounds on the left side. Idiot. I loaded it correctly and hit 175 very easily. Stephen told me to go for 191 so I did and hit that easily as well. I had about :40 so I put 195 on the bar and tried pulling it with about :07 left but I didn't have the energy, it was basically just a deadlift. Oh well. I'm very happy that I was able to hit 191 again! And it felt great! 

This was a great first week of the Open. I'm looking forward to finding out what the second workout is. Fingers crossed for some muscle ups or chest to bars. 

Between the two of us we clean and jerked 392 pounds

2/28/2015

For 10:00
Evens: 3-5 moderate axle pendlay rows
Odds: 6 alternating pistols 
+
For 10:00
Evens: 15 unbroken wall balls
Odds: 30-40 double unders
+
For 10:00
Evens: 10 row calories tough
Odds: 10 airdyne calories tough

complete w/100# on axle 
+
complete
+
complete


Solid day. Pistols were slow only on the first set, other than that they were pretty quick for sets 2-5.  

40 double unders on sets 1-4 for the second EMOM, I tripped up on 30 on the last set. Also, the new wall ball targets are really nice. Two thumbs up. 

When I saw I had to do the row cal/airdyne cal EMOM again this week I died a little inside. It hurt pretty bad last Sunday. It was slightly better this time, it didn't start really hurting until the fourth set. Still not fun though.