60:00 airdyne @Z1, off every 10:00 for 1 rope climb + 3 wall walks + :30 sorensen hold
complete
Hold the vision, Trust the process Program design by Stephen Flamm
Monday, December 15, 2014
12/14/2014
10 sets:
150m run @90% aerobic
:40 rest
+
AMRAP in 10:00
1 rope climb
Farmers walk to opposite wall, 70/hand
3 strict handstand push ups
Farmers walk back to rope
+
15 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%
complete
+
5 rounds + 1 Farmers walk
+
complete
Solid day. I really enjoy Sundays. Running felt good today, the first few sets were a little slower than usual, I think I was still getting warm but the pace was good overall.
I really enjoyed the AMRAP, rope climbs are getting much better! Strict handstand push ups are effing hard man. I was getting a bit frustrated on these. I did 2/1 the first two rounds then they were all singles. Strict HSPU are so frustrating because you have to rest until you know you can do another one. It's not like burpees or box jumps where you can just keep plugging away because you know you'll never fail a rep. On strict handstand push ups (and kipping as well) you HAVE to rest. I don't like that. But these are different and I enjoy doing new things in my training. Also, I need to be able to do these if they show up in a competition. So, keep them coming because I want to get better at these. Transitions were fast between movements and breathing was very good on this.
Airdyne was solid as usual. I am really enjoying the format of my Sunday workouts.
150m run @90% aerobic
:40 rest
+
AMRAP in 10:00
1 rope climb
Farmers walk to opposite wall, 70/hand
3 strict handstand push ups
Farmers walk back to rope
+
15 sets:
:30 airdyne @90% aerobic
:30 airdyne @50%
complete
+
5 rounds + 1 Farmers walk
+
complete
Solid day. I really enjoy Sundays. Running felt good today, the first few sets were a little slower than usual, I think I was still getting warm but the pace was good overall.
I really enjoyed the AMRAP, rope climbs are getting much better! Strict handstand push ups are effing hard man. I was getting a bit frustrated on these. I did 2/1 the first two rounds then they were all singles. Strict HSPU are so frustrating because you have to rest until you know you can do another one. It's not like burpees or box jumps where you can just keep plugging away because you know you'll never fail a rep. On strict handstand push ups (and kipping as well) you HAVE to rest. I don't like that. But these are different and I enjoy doing new things in my training. Also, I need to be able to do these if they show up in a competition. So, keep them coming because I want to get better at these. Transitions were fast between movements and breathing was very good on this.
Airdyne was solid as usual. I am really enjoying the format of my Sunday workouts.
12/13/2014
Opex Winter Challenge
A. Establish a max load in the following complex, unlimited attempts:
12 deadlifts
9 hang power cleans
6 shoulder to overhead
B. For time:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 unbroken CTB pull ups
10:00 time cap
C. For time:
40 back squats (75/45)
40 row calories
30 front squats
30 row calories
20 overhead squats
20 row calories
AM session (did this after the winter challenge)
5-7 rounds @ easy pace
:60 airdyne
20m/side 1-arm Farmers walk, 70
:60 row
3/side KB windmill
:60 FLR on ground
Opex Winter Challenge
A. 125 (started at 145 and failed with 2 STO to go)
B. 4:40
C. 11:47
AM
5 rounds complete
Fun morning in the gym. The first workout did not go as I expected. Originally I was going to go for 155 on the complex (ARE YOU INSANE) but the more I heard people talking about it, the less confident I became. I decided to start at 145. It felt horrible. I made it through the deadlifts pretty easily but the hang cleans got very rough. By the time I had to do shoulder to overhead, my grip was just so fatigued I was barely able to squeak out 4 shoulder to overhead before I had to drop the bar. Every jerk was shaky and the return to the shoulders felt like 1000 pounds. I have never felt like that on a jerk before, my arms had nothing left and they were extremely wobbly. It was the weirdest feeling, I felt like I was losing control of my arms. I had to drop the bar with two reps to go. DAMMIT. There's no way I would have been able to get it overhead 2 more times. I was pretty disappointed. I took 20 pounds off and went again. This time I made it through the whole complex but it was still pretty difficult because my grip was still very fatigued from the first attempt. Looking back, I wish I would have started at 135 and just done it once.
The CTB pull ups went better than I expected. Going into this I was pretty nervous because my grip and forearms were blown up from the complex. I knocked out sets 1-5 pretty quickly, they were all kipping CTB. I switched to butterfly for sets 6-10 because it was faster and I didn't have to hang on to the bar as long. I made sure I was resting long enough between sets so I wouldn't fail any pull ups. I probably could have gone a little faster, but not by much. It was fun doing this with Michael, we pushed each other on the rest and it was nice to do this with a buddy. I thought my time was relatively solid on this, although I think I could have smashed this if I went in completely fresh with no prior grip fatigue.
I actually really enjoyed the last workout. I took the back squats at a steady pace and tried to push it on the rows. I sped up on the front squats but my legs were burning at this point. The only hard part was the overhead squats, my lower back was really tired and the last 5 reps were pretty shaky. My breathing was great on this and I thought I kept transitions relatively short between movements. I was able to really kick it up on the last row and finish under 12:00.
Overall, this was a really fun day. I wish I had done a bit better on the complex, but that's the tough part about complexes, you really just don't know where you will end up. I'm extremely happy with how much my CTB pull ups are improving and also very pleased with my breathing. It was really awesome getting to do these workouts with Duprie, Old Man McCarty, Michael, and Brandie. It's cool getting to work out with the gang every now and then.
A. Establish a max load in the following complex, unlimited attempts:
12 deadlifts
9 hang power cleans
6 shoulder to overhead
B. For time:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 unbroken CTB pull ups
10:00 time cap
C. For time:
40 back squats (75/45)
40 row calories
30 front squats
30 row calories
20 overhead squats
20 row calories
AM session (did this after the winter challenge)
5-7 rounds @ easy pace
:60 airdyne
20m/side 1-arm Farmers walk, 70
:60 row
3/side KB windmill
:60 FLR on ground
Opex Winter Challenge
A. 125 (started at 145 and failed with 2 STO to go)
B. 4:40
C. 11:47
AM
5 rounds complete
Fun morning in the gym. The first workout did not go as I expected. Originally I was going to go for 155 on the complex (ARE YOU INSANE) but the more I heard people talking about it, the less confident I became. I decided to start at 145. It felt horrible. I made it through the deadlifts pretty easily but the hang cleans got very rough. By the time I had to do shoulder to overhead, my grip was just so fatigued I was barely able to squeak out 4 shoulder to overhead before I had to drop the bar. Every jerk was shaky and the return to the shoulders felt like 1000 pounds. I have never felt like that on a jerk before, my arms had nothing left and they were extremely wobbly. It was the weirdest feeling, I felt like I was losing control of my arms. I had to drop the bar with two reps to go. DAMMIT. There's no way I would have been able to get it overhead 2 more times. I was pretty disappointed. I took 20 pounds off and went again. This time I made it through the whole complex but it was still pretty difficult because my grip was still very fatigued from the first attempt. Looking back, I wish I would have started at 135 and just done it once.
The CTB pull ups went better than I expected. Going into this I was pretty nervous because my grip and forearms were blown up from the complex. I knocked out sets 1-5 pretty quickly, they were all kipping CTB. I switched to butterfly for sets 6-10 because it was faster and I didn't have to hang on to the bar as long. I made sure I was resting long enough between sets so I wouldn't fail any pull ups. I probably could have gone a little faster, but not by much. It was fun doing this with Michael, we pushed each other on the rest and it was nice to do this with a buddy. I thought my time was relatively solid on this, although I think I could have smashed this if I went in completely fresh with no prior grip fatigue.
I actually really enjoyed the last workout. I took the back squats at a steady pace and tried to push it on the rows. I sped up on the front squats but my legs were burning at this point. The only hard part was the overhead squats, my lower back was really tired and the last 5 reps were pretty shaky. My breathing was great on this and I thought I kept transitions relatively short between movements. I was able to really kick it up on the last row and finish under 12:00.
Overall, this was a really fun day. I wish I had done a bit better on the complex, but that's the tough part about complexes, you really just don't know where you will end up. I'm extremely happy with how much my CTB pull ups are improving and also very pleased with my breathing. It was really awesome getting to do these workouts with Duprie, Old Man McCarty, Michael, and Brandie. It's cool getting to work out with the gang every now and then.
Friday, December 12, 2014
12/11/2014
A. Thruster, build to a max
B. Muscle ups, 2x max in :90, 4:30 rest
+
For 14:00
evens: 14 wall ball
odds: 7 unbroken toes-to-bar
+
3 sets:
:35 row @97%
4:25 rest
A. 165 (PR+15)
B. 11, 10
+
complete
+
176m
176
176
I was really happy hit hit a new thruster PR! I don't think I could have gone higher than 165, it was fast coming out of the hole but the press was tough. 165 is my max push press so I don't think I could have pressed 170. Very happy with this.
Muscle ups were kind of a mess today. On the first set I hit 5 in a row, then 3/2/1. I decided not to go for a max set this week because it totally wasted me last time but for some reason I was just taking a really long time between sets. MUs definitely did not feel as good as they did last week, I wasn't breathing hard but my arms were pretty tired. I was disappointed to only get 11, I got that same number last week and the time limit was :75. I had 15 extra seconds this week, I should have at least gotten 13. For the second set, I decided to try just jumping to the rings from the ground because I thought I wasted too much time stepping up on the box during the first set. It turns out jumping from the ground was a mistake and probably cost me some muscle ups. My plan going in was to just hit sets of 3 with very little rest. I got 3 right away but the rings were swinging all over the place. I got another set of 3, then 2/2. I shouldn't have gone from the ground, I'm not used to it and it ended up hurting me more than helping me. I guess it was good to at least try but I'm going to just go off the box from now on and just try to keep rest time shorter. Bleh. Disappointed with this. I would like another try next week if possible.
EMOM was much better this week, breathing felt great throughout the entire thing. This is probably because I wasn't as tired from muscle ups like last week so I didn't waste as much energy but I was still pretty happy with how I felt on this. Wall balls were very easy and toes to bar were fast.
Row sprints were good, consistent on every set, pace was 1:39 for each. Solid day.
B. Muscle ups, 2x max in :90, 4:30 rest
+
For 14:00
evens: 14 wall ball
odds: 7 unbroken toes-to-bar
+
3 sets:
:35 row @97%
4:25 rest
A. 165 (PR+15)
B. 11, 10
+
complete
+
176m
176
176
I was really happy hit hit a new thruster PR! I don't think I could have gone higher than 165, it was fast coming out of the hole but the press was tough. 165 is my max push press so I don't think I could have pressed 170. Very happy with this.
Muscle ups were kind of a mess today. On the first set I hit 5 in a row, then 3/2/1. I decided not to go for a max set this week because it totally wasted me last time but for some reason I was just taking a really long time between sets. MUs definitely did not feel as good as they did last week, I wasn't breathing hard but my arms were pretty tired. I was disappointed to only get 11, I got that same number last week and the time limit was :75. I had 15 extra seconds this week, I should have at least gotten 13. For the second set, I decided to try just jumping to the rings from the ground because I thought I wasted too much time stepping up on the box during the first set. It turns out jumping from the ground was a mistake and probably cost me some muscle ups. My plan going in was to just hit sets of 3 with very little rest. I got 3 right away but the rings were swinging all over the place. I got another set of 3, then 2/2. I shouldn't have gone from the ground, I'm not used to it and it ended up hurting me more than helping me. I guess it was good to at least try but I'm going to just go off the box from now on and just try to keep rest time shorter. Bleh. Disappointed with this. I would like another try next week if possible.
EMOM was much better this week, breathing felt great throughout the entire thing. This is probably because I wasn't as tired from muscle ups like last week so I didn't waste as much energy but I was still pretty happy with how I felt on this. Wall balls were very easy and toes to bar were fast.
Row sprints were good, consistent on every set, pace was 1:39 for each. Solid day.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
12/10/2014
AM
3 sets:
400m run @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
500m row @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
300m ski erg @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
PM
A. Split jerk from blocks, 10:00 tech/speed work, you pick the weights
B. Power clean, build very quickly to a heavy single for the day
C. Power clean, 15x1 @90% of B, begin a rep every :20
+
3 sets:
30 double unders
10 KB swings, 53
10 burpees
3:00 rest
+
10:00 airdyne increasing effort every 2:00 so that last 2:00 is 85-90%
AM
complete
PM
A. complete
B. 195
C. complete @175
+
2 rounds
2
2
+
complete
AM session went well, breathing was a little harder on the run this week so I slowed the pace down a bit. Breathing on rowing and ski erg felt better than last week, but I still feel very awkward when I'm on the ski erg. But then again, is it the ski erg that's awkward?
Split jerks were good today, worked up to an easy 165. I focused on punching under the bar and just being more aggressive on the lift in general.
I feel like my power cleans are getting worse. I definitely do not have the same confidence on these as I used to, I'm not sure why. Everything up to 175 was very easy, then I caught 185 VERY low on my chest, that hardly ever happens. I went up to 195 and caught it much higher on the chest but caught it right at parallel. I don't think I have ever had to receive a power clean that low before. I'm not really sure what's going on, the pull off the ground on 185 and 195 felt extremely heavy. The cleans at 175 were shockingly heavy, it was actually bumming me out. 175 is usually nothing, I can do that touch and go 5 times! Today it felt very heavy and I just wasn't being aggressive on the pull off my thighs. Some reps were good, some were bad. I can't believe I actually prefer squatting to power cleaning now. I'm hoping this is just a weird rut, I just need to get more aggressive on these.
The 3:00 piece went well, I got 2 rounds each time. My transition probably could have been faster between double unders and KB. I tripped up once on double unders during the first set but then they were all unbroken after that. I was breathing pretty hard on this. Burpees felt a bit slow today but tried to just stay moving. When I do these types of workouts I try to imagine it as an open workout.
Airdyne was good, I think I'm getting better at mentally pushing myself on this.
3 sets:
400m run @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
500m row @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
300m ski erg @90% aerobic
2:00 rest
PM
A. Split jerk from blocks, 10:00 tech/speed work, you pick the weights
B. Power clean, build very quickly to a heavy single for the day
C. Power clean, 15x1 @90% of B, begin a rep every :20
+
3 sets:
30 double unders
10 KB swings, 53
10 burpees
3:00 rest
+
10:00 airdyne increasing effort every 2:00 so that last 2:00 is 85-90%
AM
complete
PM
A. complete
B. 195
C. complete @175
+
2 rounds
2
2
+
complete
AM session went well, breathing was a little harder on the run this week so I slowed the pace down a bit. Breathing on rowing and ski erg felt better than last week, but I still feel very awkward when I'm on the ski erg. But then again, is it the ski erg that's awkward?
Split jerks were good today, worked up to an easy 165. I focused on punching under the bar and just being more aggressive on the lift in general.
I feel like my power cleans are getting worse. I definitely do not have the same confidence on these as I used to, I'm not sure why. Everything up to 175 was very easy, then I caught 185 VERY low on my chest, that hardly ever happens. I went up to 195 and caught it much higher on the chest but caught it right at parallel. I don't think I have ever had to receive a power clean that low before. I'm not really sure what's going on, the pull off the ground on 185 and 195 felt extremely heavy. The cleans at 175 were shockingly heavy, it was actually bumming me out. 175 is usually nothing, I can do that touch and go 5 times! Today it felt very heavy and I just wasn't being aggressive on the pull off my thighs. Some reps were good, some were bad. I can't believe I actually prefer squatting to power cleaning now. I'm hoping this is just a weird rut, I just need to get more aggressive on these.
The 3:00 piece went well, I got 2 rounds each time. My transition probably could have been faster between double unders and KB. I tripped up once on double unders during the first set but then they were all unbroken after that. I was breathing pretty hard on this. Burpees felt a bit slow today but tried to just stay moving. When I do these types of workouts I try to imagine it as an open workout.
Airdyne was good, I think I'm getting better at mentally pushing myself on this.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
12/9/2014
A. Hang squat snatch from just above knees, build quickly to a heavy triple
B. Front rack walking lunge, 3x10-12 steps; 2:00 rest
C1. Close-grip bench press, 1-1-1-1 building to a max, 20x1; :60 rest
C2. Axle pendlay row, 4x3-4, 20x0; :60 rest
+
5:00 airdyne increasing effort :60 so that last :60 is hard
+
6 sets:
:15 airdyne sprint
2:15 walk rest or airdyne spin very easy
+
5:00 airdyne @Z1
A. 125
B. 105-115-125
C1. 125-135-145-150(FAIL x2)
C2. 110-120-130-140
+
complete
+
complete
+
complete
Snatches are continuing to improve. The bar never felt heavy today. 125 was extremely easy and fast for the first two reps (I got a compliment from George so I know it was legit) but on the third rep I lost my grip a little bit returning the bar to the hang, which caused me to rush my set up. I still made the lift but I took a few steps forward with it so I called it. The weight never felt heavy, the return to the hang is definitely the limiting factor on this. It just takes so much energy. I wish I had stronger thumbs. I'm noticing that lately every rep is feeling the same, which is what I want. I'm very happy my snatches are starting to get better, hopefully it stays this way for awhile.
Front rack walking lunge was much easier than last week.
As far as bench press goes, I have just accepted the fact that I will be stuck at a 145 bench press until the day I die. This is starting to get discouraging. I was very confident today that I would hit 150. 145 was easy. I tried for 150 and thought I had it but it got stuck halfway up. DAMMIT. I rested a few minutes and tried again but the second attempt was worse than the first one. I'm not sure if this is a mental block or just pure weak sauce on my end. I think I need to load the weight differently next time. I was talking to Heather afterwards and she made a good point, she said I should try jumping from 140 to 150 next time instead of going from 145 to 150. I always forget that powerlifting is a bit different than olympic weightlifting. On olympic lifts, the jumps get smaller once you start getting close to your max but on back squat/bench press/deadlift the jumps can be a little bigger. Heather said "I wouldn't back squat 295 and then go for 300, that would be a waste of energy". So I think next week (if I have this again next week) I'm going to go 120-130-140-150. If I STILL can't hit 150 after that then I'll know I'm cursed to be bad at bench press forever.
Airdyne felt good today. Even with the bench press fail, today was a good day. My training sessions lately have been very solid overall.
B. Front rack walking lunge, 3x10-12 steps; 2:00 rest
C1. Close-grip bench press, 1-1-1-1 building to a max, 20x1; :60 rest
C2. Axle pendlay row, 4x3-4, 20x0; :60 rest
+
5:00 airdyne increasing effort :60 so that last :60 is hard
+
6 sets:
:15 airdyne sprint
2:15 walk rest or airdyne spin very easy
+
5:00 airdyne @Z1
A. 125
B. 105-115-125
C1. 125-135-145-150(FAIL x2)
C2. 110-120-130-140
+
complete
+
complete
+
complete
Snatches are continuing to improve. The bar never felt heavy today. 125 was extremely easy and fast for the first two reps (I got a compliment from George so I know it was legit) but on the third rep I lost my grip a little bit returning the bar to the hang, which caused me to rush my set up. I still made the lift but I took a few steps forward with it so I called it. The weight never felt heavy, the return to the hang is definitely the limiting factor on this. It just takes so much energy. I wish I had stronger thumbs. I'm noticing that lately every rep is feeling the same, which is what I want. I'm very happy my snatches are starting to get better, hopefully it stays this way for awhile.
Front rack walking lunge was much easier than last week.
As far as bench press goes, I have just accepted the fact that I will be stuck at a 145 bench press until the day I die. This is starting to get discouraging. I was very confident today that I would hit 150. 145 was easy. I tried for 150 and thought I had it but it got stuck halfway up. DAMMIT. I rested a few minutes and tried again but the second attempt was worse than the first one. I'm not sure if this is a mental block or just pure weak sauce on my end. I think I need to load the weight differently next time. I was talking to Heather afterwards and she made a good point, she said I should try jumping from 140 to 150 next time instead of going from 145 to 150. I always forget that powerlifting is a bit different than olympic weightlifting. On olympic lifts, the jumps get smaller once you start getting close to your max but on back squat/bench press/deadlift the jumps can be a little bigger. Heather said "I wouldn't back squat 295 and then go for 300, that would be a waste of energy". So I think next week (if I have this again next week) I'm going to go 120-130-140-150. If I STILL can't hit 150 after that then I'll know I'm cursed to be bad at bench press forever.
Airdyne felt good today. Even with the bench press fail, today was a good day. My training sessions lately have been very solid overall.
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