8/1/2015- Gemini Games

Brandie and I competed in the Gemini Games today, and we killed it. It was awesome. 

We were confident going in that we were going to do well, and our goal was to make the podium. GOAL ACHIEVED. But first, a quick recap of the events. 

Event 1- Back squat ladder
6:00 Time cap
Women start at 95#. Each partner performs three back squats and then adds 20#. Keep adding until time runs out/you fail a rep.

Placement overall- 10th

I was excited for this event, I love a good ladder. Brandie and I had to do a bit of math before the workout started, I thought we were just going to be stacking tens (classic) but they had two pairs of tens, a pair of fives, 2.5s, a couple pairs of 45s and a pair of 25s. Before the event we made sure to run through the order of adding/subtracting the weight so we knew exactly what was going on when it was go time. I went first, then Brandie did her reps and added/took off weight (I would have helped, but one partner had to always be at the start line, sorry buddy!). We both hit 215 for three reps! It was easy and fun.

Event 2- Max pull ups
Partners have 3:00 to do one max set of pull ups each. Once you drop off the bar, you're done. 

Placement overall- 2nd

We had one minute between the back squat ladder and the pull ups. I went first and really screwed the pooch on this one. The judge asked me if I had my pull up bar picked out and I told her which one I was using, my mistake was not asking the other teams around me which bars THEY were using. It was just sort of every man for himself. I jumped up on my bar but at the same time a girl from another team jumped up to the bar perpendicular to mine. We started our butterfly pull ups at the same time and were basically kicking each other every rep, it was extremely distracting and I felt like I wasn't able to kip as much as I normally do. After 10 reps I stopped and shuffled down a bit but at that point I had been hanging for too long and my grip was getting tired. I managed to get 12 more reps before I had to drop off the bar with a measly 22 pull ups. LAME. Brandie went next and crushed it with 41 pull ups. She carried us on this one. 

Event 3- Climbing Chief
AMRAP in 15:00
3 power cleans (85-95-105-110-115-125-135)
6 hand release push ups
9 air squats
Weight increases every 5 rounds
Partners alternate rounds

Placement overall- 3rd

I was actually looking forward to this workout the most. During the briefing they told us partners don't have to alternate every round but Brandie and I decided that would be the most efficient plan, and it definitely was. We had an excellent transition system. After the first partner did the cleans, the other partner would roll the bar back and stand directly in front of it. As soon as partner 1 was done with the air squats, she would tag partner 2 while walking to the right of the bar as partner 1 stepped over the bar to begin the power cleans. One person was always working. When it was time to change weights, partner 1 would take the clips off and as soon as partner 2 was done with air squats she would grab the weights and we would both put them on. EFFICIENCY. Our goal was to get to 135 and we did. We moved extremely well during this event. The only confusing part was keeping track of when the weight was supposed to go up, the rounds were flying by so quickly it was hard to remember what round we were on. I kept asking Brandie during her push ups if we would be adding weight the next round. Overall we kept moving and had great transitions. 

Event 4- 6-5-4-3-2-1 AMRAPS
On a running clock:
6:00 AMRAP of 1 stone over shoulder (75#) & 1 wall climb
5:00 AMRAP of row cals
4:00 AMRAP of hang power snatches (65#)
3:00 AMRAP of burpee box jump overs
2:00 AMRAP of overhead squats (65#)
1:00 AMRAP of shuttle run (10m down/back)
one person working at a time

Placement overall- 2nd

Brandie and I definitely did not go into this workout in the best of moods. After the climbing chief event the heats were switched around so the top 5 teams went last, which meant we had to wait for almost four hours before we did the descending AMRAP event. By the time it was our turn to compete it was 4:00 PM, we were tired from being in the sun all day and sort of just wanted the day to be over. We were in fourth place sitting a few points out of third. We wanted to get on the podium so we knew we had to just stay moving the entire time, someone always had to be working. The stone over shoulder/wall climb event was actually pretty enjoyable, hopping over the wall was fun. Since the clock never stopped running between AMRAPS, one partner always had to be ready at the next station. I started the row and we rotated between 15 cals each. As soon as the 5:00 was over, I started on the hang snatches. Apparently our cycle speed was much faster than the other teams, that's what Heather and Pat told me. My hands tore pretty badly during the hang snatches, we had a really rusty bar and every time I turned the bar over it would rip my hands more and more. The burpee box jump overs were definitely the worst part. We broke these up in sets of 2 each. The gravel was really hot and it was pretty painful to stick my freshly torn hands on the searing hot gravel. Yeeeesh. I was moving pretty slowly at this point, but we always stayed moving. Brandie started on the overhead squats and KILLED IT, she knocked out a set of 20 in a row, I did 13, she did about 13-15 and I did 10 before time ran out. Pat said our cycle time on the OHS were much faster than the other teams. By the time we got to the shuttle run, I wanted to throw up. The run was more of a wobbly jog, our legs were smoked and we were drained from being in the sun. When this event was over we both collapsed in the grass. 

I thought we did a great job on this event. Our transitions were quick and one person was always accumulating reps at all times. Apparently our cycle speed was pretty awesome too. The last two events of this competition were all about putting your head down and just grinding through the work. Usually I'm not very good at that, but I can tell I'm getting better. When I started to breathe hard I would tell myself not to panic and to keep moving. Brandie and I always had great communication and never left the other one hanging. 

When it was all said and done, we ended up on the podium in third place! We were both very surprised, it was impossible to tell how many reps the other teams were accumulating during the last event so we had no idea if we had scored enough points to bump us up to third. A second place finish in the last event was enough, and we clinched third place. 

I am so proud of our performance during this competition. We had a plan for every event and stuck to it. We never stopped moving, we were there for each other, and we just did the work. We also got to watch Duprie compete, I met Brandie's friends from OTR, and our CSC buds came to cheer us on.  It was a great day. Now it's time to get ready for the Tri-State Throwdown this weekend with Alex, Brandie, and Conner. Onward!

7/31/2015

AM
30:00 airdyne @Z1, off every 5 for 5 box jumps w/step down

PM
A. Power snatch, build to a single @85% of 1RM
B. DB bench press, 3x3-4, 20x1; 2:00 rest
+
10:00-20:00 very easy movement prep for tomorrow
+
8 sets:
:30 airdyne @very high aerobic effort
:30 airdyne @50%

AM
complete

PM
A. complete @130
B. 45-50-55(2)
+
complete
+
complete


Enjoyed the box jumps during the AM session. 

Power snatch was super easy, it took about four minutes to build up to 130. I went 105-125-130. These are getting really crisp.

DB bench press was alright. It's always the first rep that's really difficult, then the other three aren't as bad. I was only able to get two reps at 55. 

Comp prep with Brandie was cool, we worked on transitions with the bar, pull ups, and figured out a plan for breaking up the reps between the two of us. 

7/29/2015

AM:
7-8 sets easy:
:60 row
:60 FLR 
:60 airdyne
:30/side plank
:60 single unders

PM:
A. Overhead squat, 2-2-1-1, 20x1; 2:00 rest
B. 1-arm DB row, 3x3-4/side, 20x1; :60 between sides
C1. Barbell farmers walk (both arms) 2x20-25m; :60 rest
C2. Bear crawl, 2x15' forward + 15' reverse; :60 rest
+
3 sets:
:35 prowler sprint w/straight arms, outside loaded for very fast foot turnover
5:25
+
3 rounds not for time:
4-8 weighted glute-ham raises, 20x1
5 freestanding handstand push ups
10-12 unbroken toes to bar

AM
7 sets complete

PM
A. 155-155(switched to nanos)-160-170
B. 60-65-70(3)
C1. 65#/side both sets
C2. complete
+
complete with 40# on prowler
+
complete-ish
12# for GHR
TTB were between 4-7, could not get it together after prowler sprints


AM session started off slow and stiff but warmed up and felt better after a few sets.

PM session was the worst. It was so hot. This was how I felt during my entire PM session:

HUMIDITY IS THE LITERAL WORST

I'm gonna be honest, I was in a terrible mood today because of the heat and humidity. Everything felt 100 times more difficult. I know there's nothing I can do about it and I was being a huge baby but that's just how it went today. 

I started my overhead squats in lifting shoes with no knee sleeves. I didn't even bother putting on my knee sleeves because it was so humid and I figured I wouldn't be able to even pull them up. I did my first set at 155 and realized I did in fact need knee sleeves. I went to the back room and untied my lifting shoes, and somehow the laces on one of them ended up in a huge knot. I was too annoyed to try and untie it so I just switched to my nanos for the last three sets. It actually wasn't bad at all, I don't think I've ever done heavy overhead squats in nanos but I didn't mind it.

DB row was fine. 

The first set of the double barbell carry went really well, I wasn't sure how heavy to go so I just put 30# on each bar to test it out. I ended up just doing that weight for my first set and I was able to do it easily without the bars tipping or becoming unbalanced. I added 10# on each side for the second set and all of it went to hell. I attempted to pick up the bars four times and couldn't do it, it seemed like no matter where I put my hands it was still unbalanced. After the fourth attempt I was like 

I dropped back down to 55# per side and was able to carry it easily. Merrrrr.

Prowler sprints were pretty terrible, :35 is a very long time. As soon as I took all the equipment outside, it started pouring rain. I actually didn't mind at first, it felt really nice and it definitely cooled things off outside. However, by the second set it was raining pretty hard so I left the prowler outside and rested inside. By the third set the rain had stopped but I was pushing the prowler through huge puddles which made it a little more difficult, but it didn't really matter because it would have been difficult regardless. These were pretty tough. 

The not for time stuff.....ehhhhh. Here's what happened. I felt nauseous after the prowler sprints and it never went away. The freestanding HSPU were really difficult after the prowler sprints, and I wasn't able to get more than 7 toes to bar. I had to drop off the bar because I had no energy and felt nauseous. This was just a bad showing all around, I felt terrible after the prowler sprints and felt drained from the heat. Heather even told me I looked terrible. Today was not the best. 

7/28/2015

AM
15 sets:
:30 airdyne @weird speedometer pace
:30 aidyne @50%
+
5 rounds:
:15-:20 hang alternating between passive and active every few seconds
20m double overhead KB carry, moderate
+
15 sets:
:30 airdyne @weird speedometer
:30 airdyne @50%

PM
A. Power clean and split jerk, build to a 2RM- must be completed within :20 window
B. Behind the neck shoulder press, 3x3-4, 21x1; 2:00 rest
+
45 row cals @80:
3:00 rest
For time @80%:
20 deadlifts, 125
10 wall walks
15 power cleans, 125
30 ring push ups
20 deadlifts, 125
3:00 rest
45 row cals @80%
+
800m walk cool down

AM
complete
35# KB/side

PM
A. 185
B. 80-85-90
+
3:18
+
8:53
+
3:13
+
complete


Was the hang from the bar during my AM session supposed to be with two hands? I only did it with one arm like all the previous weeks, then looked at my notebook again and realized it didn't say 1-arm hang from bar. Oops. Either way, I was hanging from the bar. Passively and actively. 

2RM clean and jerk felt great today, this was needed after my snatching shitshow yesterday. I wore my nanos for this and I think I'm going to start lifting in those more often, I really liked it. Cleans were really easy today and so were the jerks, I stopped at 185 because I had a slight press out on the second jerk and I barely made it in the time cap. I didn't think I had enough left in the tank to attempt 190 twice in that short amount of time. 

Behind the neck press was fine, I'm becoming indifferent about these. 

The 80% piece felt much harder than it was supposed to....I was moving at an 80% pace but I was breathing really hard. I think it was the humidity. The only movement that felt smooth was the row. Deadlifts were broken into 10/10 both times. Wall walks were fast for the first 5 then slowed way down after that, my forearms were blowing up. Power cleans were too slow, they were all singles and I was resting too much between reps. I just couldn't catch my breath. Ring push ups weren't terrible, broken into sets of 10/5/5/5/5. Overall this was harder than it should have been. 

The first 400m of my cool down walk were pretty uncomfortable, it was really hot outside. Once I turned around to come back the sun had sort of gone behind the clouds so it was a bit better. I'm ready for this humidity to end. 

7/27/2015

AM
6000m row @Z1

PM
A. Squat snatch clusters, 3x1.1 heavy- goal is 145+, :20 between singles, 2:30 rest
B. Back squat barefoot, 5x2-3, 42x1; 2:30 rest
+
For 24:00
1st: :10/side bottom of pistol hold- in nanos, foot flat on ground, use as little support as possible
2nd: 3-4 unbroken muscle ups
3rd: 45 double unders
+
3 rounds not for time:
4/side powell raises, 30x0
12 moderate reverse hypers

AM
complete

PM
A. 145-145-145
B. 155-165-175-185-190(2)
+
complete
+
complete
20# for first set of PR then dropped to 15#
55#/side for RH


Z1 row felt excellent this morning!

Snatches were TERRIBLE today, oh my gosh. It's amazing how lifting can differ from week to week. Last Monday everything felt great and I hit 155 with no issues. Today I never made a lift over 145. I think the issue today was total lack of warm up in my shoulders. I was able to do the first cluster at 145 so I went to 150 for the second set and failed it twice. The pull was always extremely easy and I was getting it overhead, but for some reason my shoulders and arms weren't locking it out, I would catch it and then fall forward every time. Austin told me the pull looked fast and easy, but my turnover wasn't aggressive. For some reason I was being very timid about turning over, and I think it's because my shoulders were still cold. I went back down to 145 and failed the first attempt. I was pretty frustrated by this point. I made the lift the next two times and just kept it at 145 for the third set. I was pretty mad about this, especially since last week 155 felt like nothing. Also, the lifts I made today were extremely easy and pretty. I was basically just being a bitch on the turnover on the lifts I failed. EFF. Lifting is the worst. I don't mean that. 

Barefoot back squat is definitely getting better. 

The 24:00 EMOM went really well. My pistol holds are getting more comfortable, I'm still holding on to the rig for the most part but I don't feel like I'm going to fall backwards constantly. Muscle ups were so easy today, I think this is the best they have felt in weeks. I was catching them SUPER high, almost no dip. I'm going to keep messing around with this. I was able to do 4 unbroken for the first five sets, then I had to drop to three because my hands were starting to slip since it was so muggy and humid in the gym. I had to drop down to two muscle ups on the last two sets because I literally could not hold on to the rings. My hands and the rings were wet. I kept trying to wipe my hands with my shirt, I even rotated the rings to see if that would make a difference but I had to drop off after two reps because I was afraid I was going to slip off mid-kip. Seriously, I could not hold on to the rings. Shit was real wet in there. 

Not for time stuff was okay, at this point I just wanted to be done because it was so hot. I started out with 20 pounds for the powell raise but I realized that was probably a bit aggressive, I would not have been to keep up with that for two more sets so I dropped down to 15. 

7/26/2015

Long, unplugged hike

errrr.....I did not complete this today, I'm sorry. Time got away from me.

I woke up later than usual and headed to the gym where I witnessed the Bike Incident of 2015. Then I had to run home and shower before I met up with Brandie, Heather and Emily at Nation to watch the CrossFit Games. It was a fun afternoon of hanging with my buds while eating good food. I was a little bummed to see Mayhem end up in first place, I was pulling for CrossFit Milford. I met a few of their athletes at the Pro Day/Combine and they're all really nice. I was also a little disappointed to see Mat Fraser end up in second place. However, I was very happy Katrin won! I have always really liked her. 

An afternoon of fit people watching fitter people do cool stuff

7/25/2015

A. Front squat, 12x3 @55-60% 1RM, 10x1, begin a set every :60
+
10 rounds for time:
5 unbroken CTB pull ups
+
10:00 @80%
1 rope climb
5 wall balls, 20 to 10
5 burpees
+
8-10 sets:
200m run @90% aerobic
:60 walk rest

A. complete @140
+
4:31
+
complete
+
8 sets complete


Front squats felt good today, although I should have worn my knee sleeves. 

10 rounds of CTB pull ups was right where I expected to be. When I did 20 sets for time it took me 9:00, so 4:30 is pretty consistent. Thankfully I did not rip! 

10:00 piece was actually pretty enjoyable, rope climbs felt great today. 

Running was actually the most difficult part of the day, for some reason I was just not doing well on this today. I felt really heavy and slow. Merrrrr.


Tonight I went to Washington Park with my friends/old college roommates (we all ended up in Cincinnati after we graduated) to listen to some live music. The band was just okay, it was a jazz quartet. The piano player was probably the best out of everyone, the horn player was definitely not very good. His solos were way too long and very uninteresting. If you don't have anything interesting to say during a solo, keep it short or don't say anything at all. It was fun though, the weather was perfect. We also walked to Graeters and got some ice cream. It was a fun night with my pals. 

My college roommates! We had some crazy times together. And by "crazy times" I mean we never went out because we were always studying for a music exam. We were nerds.