5/23/2016

A1. Front squat, 3-2-1-1, 22x1; :60 rest
A2. Weighed false-grip ring pull ups, 1-1-1-1, 21x1; :60 rest
B. Close-grip bench press, 3-3-3, 20x1, no pause @chest, 2:00 rest
+
10 rounds easy:
1 dead hang to inverted w/:02 pause @top
10 wall balls, 14 to 9'
200m run
+
Crossover Symmetry recovery

A1. 155-175-195-205
A2. 5-10-10-10
B. 105-115-120
+
complete


Definitely came into the gym feeling very sore from the competition. Stephen told me to go real chill on everything. 

Front squats actually didn't feel terrible, my legs weren't as sore as my arms. I was happy about working up to 205 although I think if I was fresh I could have gone heavier. 

Weighted false-grip pull ups SUCKED today, I had no pulling power whatsoever. My shoulders were extremely fatigued from all the pulling/snatching we did on Saturday. 

I went lighter on bench press because my arms felt like shit. 

The ten rounds weren't terrible, breathing was actually pretty good. Wall balls were easy and the run wasn't bad. It just felt like it took forever, ten rounds is a lot. 

5/22/2016

Long, unplugged hike

DNS


I was exhausted from travel and competition so I slept in. No hike for me today. Had a nice time with all my gym friends at Austin's going away party. I'm going to miss that guy. 

5/21/2016- Trifecta Competition

THE COMPETITION WAS AMAZING AND COULD NOT HAVE GONE ANY BETTER! 

This was a great day. 

I went into this competition super relaxed, mostly because I wasn't sure how I would perform after four days of not eating clean and not exercising. I figured I would just do my best and see what happened. AND WE FUCKING KILLED IT. 

This was the type of competition where we executed every event exactly the way we wanted. I really don't think we could have done any better on any of the first three events. I'll write a quick summary of each one.

Event 1- Bear Complex
We all hit our planned weight on this so that was good. I'm actually glad we were in the first heat, a lot of people in the other heats were failing their complex and I think seeing that would have freaked me out a little. Emily got 120, Addi got 140 and I got 145. We actually finished with about five minutes to spare so I rested a little bit and then tried for 150. I got through two full rounds but the behind then neck jerk on the second round was veryyyyyyyy shaky and unstable so I just dropped it, I didn't think I would be able to get another set at this weight, especially going overhead. Emily really delivered on this one, most of the people failing were doing the set of seven. Addison and I each lifted the most for our complex category and we won the event. SWEET!

Event 2- Assault bike/KB snatches

This one hurt a lot, we basically sprinted the entire thing. We did 10/10 on the assault bike and 16/14 on the KB snatches. This one was about speed. At one point I looked over at the other teams in our heat and we were going much faster than all of them. I was in a lot of pain when this one was over, my glutes and legs were on fire. We took another event win on this one! At this point we decided we wanted to win everything.

BRB dying

Event 3- Row/Thrusters/Pull ups

This workout was by far my favorite event of the day, I thought it was so fun. Emily was the first on the rower and I thought she would be way ahead of everyone but a lot of people actually got off at the same time as she did. That was probably a mistake on their part because most of them stood there staring at the barbell while Emily started chipping away immediately. I was able to hold my row pace around 1:52 the entire time and when I got to Emily she had already done 40 thrusters. I did two sets of ten and then smaller sets after that. By the time Addison finished rowing we were at 90 I think? We all did sets of ten pull ups the entire time until the very end. We finished in 8:53, a full 40 seconds faster than our practice time. I was so hyped after this event because I had a feeling no one would be able to come close to our time, and I was correct. Another event win! 

Final- Isabel/Karen/Amanda

This was the only event of the day I didn't really enjoy. After they announced the final event we had about five minutes to get our gear on and warm up, so everything felt terrible. Isabel didn't go well at all, Stephen told me to start out with sets of six but it went downhill pretty fast. Sorry Stevo. Instead of going to quick singles I tried sticking with bigger sets but I was resting way too long between sets (classic). The snatches felt heavy and awful and I put us behind right out of the gate. I was pretty disappointed with this. Luckily Emily and Addison crushed Karen to put us in contention with the other team. Amanda was also pretty terrible, my muscle ups felt so bad. I can't remember the last time I actually FAILED a muscle up. My shoulders had nothing left. The squat snatches were actually not too bad, Addison was clutch in this workout with her touch and go sets. In the end we finished ahead of the other team to seal the deal and take first place!

I can honestly say this was the most fun I've had a competition and probably the best I felt physically throughout the whole thing. I think taking four days off was actually a really good idea because I had no aches or pains and felt totally refreshed. I was relaxed the entire time, probably because my teammates were both super chill about the whole thing. It's not like we weren't taking it seriously but we just knew we were going to do well and we were very confident going in to every event. It's like my boy Garrett Fisher would say- "Check it out. We went in, and we just killed it."

But in all seriousness, this was a great day! I had a blast competing with Em and Addi, I think we all complimented each other very well and worked well together as a team. Also, they're both hilarious and awesome people. It's a pretty great feeling to win every event and take first place overall. It definitely boosted my confidence and lit a fire. I want to replicate that at every competition. I want to dominate and win. Winning is fun, especially when it's with your friends! Looking forward to the next competition. Onward!

5/17-5/20: New York City, Baby

NEW YORK WAS THE BEST. It was nice to get out of Cincinnati for a few days. 

Tuesday highlights

-Dinner at Otto Enoteca & Pizzeria. We saw Judd Apatow standing there waiting for a table, so that was pretty cool. I also had the BEST Pizza I've ever eaten and also ate some amazing gelato. Plus it was good to see my brother!

I love this city

Salty peanut and dark chocolate gelato. The BEST.

Broski

The awesome view from my hotel room!

Wednesday highlights

-Tommy's graduation. It was long as hell (four hours) but it was exciting to see him graduate! It was held at Radio City Music Hall so that was pretty cool as well.
-Dinner at Bodega Negra. I'm not usually a fan of tacos, but these were the most delicious tacos I've ever eaten. Holy shit. I can't even describe how good the food was. We also got a really cool and delicious dessert that was a giant ball of white chocolate, then the waiter poured steaming hot chocolate on top and the ball melted and there was chocolate cake inside! Amazing. 

Tommy's graduation at Radio City Music Hall

The fam

Seen during our walk on the high line

Thursday highlights

-The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon! This was the best part of the entire trip. We woke up at 6:00 AM and got in line for standby tickets at 6:45. At 9:00 the NBC pages came out and handed us our tickets. It still wasn't a guarantee that we would get in. We came back at 3:30 PM to get in line and wait to find out just how many seats they needed to fill. We were numbers 20, 21, and 22 out of 40 people. They cut numbers 32-40 and then a few minutes later they said they could take numbers 1-22 up to the show! What are the odds! We were taken through security (my selfie stick got confiscated) and then we were directed to the holding area. After about thirty minutes they took us all into the studio. The Roots had a jam session before the show started to hype up the crowd, it was awesome. Then the show started and it was seriously amazing. It was so cool to actually watch it happening live right in front of me. The guests were Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and Corinne Bailey Rae. Jimmy Fallon was hilarious as usual and high-fived everyone at the end. It was an experience I will never, ever forget. 

-Waitress, the musical. We had bought tickets to Waitress just in case Jimmy Fallon didn't work out. After we got into Jimmy Fallon we decided we still wanted to see The Waitress, and I'm so glad we did! It was incredible. The music was written by Sarah Bareilles and I'm a big fan of her. The cast was outstanding and the music was beautifully written. I loved it. They also sold mini pies at intermission! 

Waiting in line for Jimmy Fallon tickets

WE SAW THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON!!!!

Loved this musical!

Friday highlights

-Breakfast at Sullivan St. Bakery

-Walked to a bookstore and my brother showed us two books with his photos published in them! Neat. 

Delicious breakfast at Sullivan St. Bakery

Bye New York! 

Overall, this trip was the best. I ate a lot of really good food, hung out with my brother, saw two amazing shows, and got some much needed rest. I can't wait to go back! 

5/16/2016

A1. Front squat, 3-3-3-3, 22x1; :60 rest
A2. Weighted false-grip ring pull up, 2-2-1-1, 21x1; :60 rest
B. Close-grip bench press, 4-4-4, 20x1; 2:00 rest
+
5 sets:
250m row
10 thrusters, 65
10 pull ups
2:00 walk rest
+
Crossover Symmetry Recovery

Bear complex- 145#
A1. 165-175-185-195
A2. BW-5-10-15
B. 105-115-125
+
1:57
2:07
2:01
2:23
2:13
+
complete


Tried the bear complex again and hit 145 for three, same as Saturday. This is officially competition weight. 

Front squats were good today, the only tough set was 195. 

False-grip pull ups were so much easier than last week! 

Bench press was good, although the set at 125 was tough. 

I really took a shit on the thruster/pull up workout. The first few sets were okay but after three sets I couldn't catch my breath and I wasn't recovering at all. On the fourth set I probably waited a solid ten seconds before picking up the bar for the thrusters (hence why my time is so long) and on the fifth set my pull ups totally fell apart. My breathing was just really bad throughout this entire thing and I felt awful. 

5/15/2016

Long, unplugged hike

70:00 hike @Cincinnati Nature Center w/Heather 

5/14/2016

A. Bear complex, build to a tough triple- goal is 155 today
B. Strict handstand push ups, 15x3 unbroken; rest as needed
+
Partner work TBD
+
Bis, tris, and abs of choice

A. 145 (155x2, lost it overhead)
B. complete
+
complete w/Cody, no idea how many rounds
used 45# DB
+
complete
hammer curls and hollow rocks/flutter kicks 


Oh my gosh, today sucked real bad. I was really low on energy when I came into the gym, I didn't sleep super great the night before so maybe that was the reason? I was feeling very drained and lethargic. 

The bear complex was so much harder than I thought it would be. I thought I got off easy by just have to do three reps and I arrogantly asked Stephen if I could go higher than 155. I'm such a b-hole sometimes. I definitely underestimated this. I did one set at 145 and was shocked at how hard it was. The first two sets weren't bad but the third set was rough, I almost didn't lock out the last shoulder to overhead. I rested a few minutes and tried for 155. I got through (almost) two full sets, I tried resting with the bar on my back but couldn't lock out the last shoulder to overhead from behind the neck so I just dropped it without doing a third set. Then I basically pouted for twenty minutes. I feel like I should definitely be able to do three reps of this complex at 155. What the heck! I was surprised at how bad I felt during this whole thing. Legs and shoulders were exhausted even though I had a rest day Friday. I asked Stephen if I could redo this Monday and he said yes. This shook my confidence a bit, I thought I would easily be able to hit 155. I guess we will find out Monday. 

Strict handstand push ups were fine, I slowed down on the last few sets but overall I thought my cycle time was pretty good on these. They're definitely getting better, that's for sure. 

The partner workout was rough. The actual workout wasn't bad, I thought it was a cool workout. I just sucked at doing it. I was going to do it by myself but Cody graciously offered to be my partner because he's the best. I felt fatigued almost immediately and couldn't catch my breath at all. I was rowing pretty slow, probably between 1050-1150 cals/hr. The dumbbell snatches also got really hard by the end. I was just extremely tired and fatigued throughout this whole workout, and I'm sure I looked terrible as well. Legs and arms were toast. 

Bis and tris are getting better, Austin said my curls actually looked like real curls. Did some hollow rocks and flutter kicks while watching regionals on the big screen, then got the eff out of there because today was poop.