Week 15/4/13 – 21/4/13

Tuesday 16/4

Training at Base in Tuggeranong.

Snatch Pull + 3 hang snatches. Good, form is getting much better, just have to work on being more consistent. Light weight (40kg).

Jerk – Behind Neck. 4×5. Good. Jerks were feeling great, fast, solid, even and balanced. Tried my max (currently 50kg – 70kg total). Broke it by 5kg on a second attempt. Then went back to 70kg and did it comfortably.

Front Squats. 4×5. Did these at a fairly light weight, 50kg. Felt good.

Stayed for the wod after which was a 12 minute amrap of 100 Double under’s, and 12 OHS’ @ 60kg.

Have never done a double under before i tried them, after a while i got my timing right and managed some, although i could only do 1 at a time. I scaled the OHS’ down to 40kg since my current max is 50kg. Mostly did single skips (200 per round). Lost count of these cause i broke them up with attempts at DU’s in between. Still this was a fun WoD.

Thursday 18/4

Deadlifts; 3@105kg, 3@120kg, 3@130kg. Got 2 reps out at 130kg. Good. New PR. 130kg lifts were pretty bad form but i got them up anyway.

Single Leg Standing Dumbbell Deadlifts; 4×10. 14kg x2, 18kg x2. Good. These are basically a single leg RDL, using dumbbells.

Weighted Barbell Squat Jumps; 3×6. 30kg, 35kg, 40kg. Good. Did better with these than i thought i would.

single Leg Hamstring Curls; 3×4. @38kg, 40kg, 42.5kg. Good. 2 reps less on last set for left leg. Otherwise all full sets. Liking these. 

Bent Over Rows; 3×5. 60kg x2, 65kg x1. Fairly average form on the last 2 sets. Beginning to have trouble bending over enough with these at this weight.

Sunday 21/4

Squats; 3@90kg, 3@105kg, 3@115kg. Had a very poor day with these. Did 2 reps at 95kg and was gassed.. Racked it up to 105kg, shouldered it then pulled out before a single rep… Felt very unstable and weak. Felt tight in the hips and hunched over, couldn’t open my chest and get a proper curvature of my spine. Went back to 90kg and pushed out a couple of reps and left it at that.

Thinking about this later in the day i might not have been in the correct mindset. Since i am having good success with my deadlifting over the last couple of weeks i may have been expecting my squats to increase at the same rate, but not applying as much mental effort.

Fran; 21,15,9 Thrusters, Pull Ups.

This is my first attempt at the crossfit workout named Fran !

Did it at 32.5kg (total). Looking about online for the “normal” fran weight for men it seems to be 95lbs (about 43kg) or 55% body weight. 32.5kg is closer to 55% of my body weight than 43kg is !

My time for this was 6:45. Don’t know if this is a good first attempt time or what ?!

I didn’t rush this too much, paused a couple of times to have a sip of water and catch my breath. Although my breathing was good throughout the WoD.

Thrusters were good, but i couldn’t really chain my pullups for many more than 5 reps at a time, even though i was kipping. I could benefit from more pullup practice.

Still, was fun. And now have a bench mark to, hopefully, improve upon.

Week 1/4/13 – 7/4/13

Tuesday 2/4

Back Squats; 4×6 @85kg. Did all 4 sets of 6 at 75kg’s. Good. Up 5kg from last week. Paused briefly at about the 4th rep of most sets.

Single Leg Hamstring Curls; 3×8-10. @26kg. Good. Will go heavier next week.

5 Cone Drill; 3 sets. Tried this, but was awkward. Think i was doing it wrong. Ill check it out for next time.

Barbell Lunges; 3×8-10. Moderate weight. 1st set @20kg, 2 sets @30kg. Good. Have to keep tension in my glutes.

Bent Over Rows; 3×8-10. @50kg. Good, got 10 reps on all sets. Ill keep it at 50kg for now and work on form. Have to focus on a nice tight squeeze at the top and releasing slow.

Thursday 4/4

Deadlifts; 5@105kg, 3@115kg, 1@130kg. Couldn’t quite do the 130kg lift. Other weights fairly good. Have to work on keeping my lats on and shoulders down, currently lifting these with a rounded back.

Complex: 1) Dumbbell Push Press: 3×15 @15kg. Good, easy.

2) Pushup Burpees: 3×15. Good. Had a sore chest for a couple of days after.

Weighted Pull Ups; 3×10 @2.5kg. Good. Did these as strict as possible, used minimal knee assistance.

Dumbbell External Rotations; 3×10 @10kg. 10kg was too heavy for left shoulder, dropped back to 6kg’s. Will try 8kg next time.

Saturday 6/4

Olympic lifting at crossfit base in tuggeranong.

Snatch @ 40kg’s 5×3. Good. Snatch was much better this week. Opened hips well, shrugged well, caught the bar a little higher and rode it down. Good. Happy.

Cleans @ 50kg, 70kg 5×3. Cleans were from mid thigh (after a 2 position hold). Struggled a couple of reps @70kg as i was pulling back on the bar a little, instead of straight up high and tall. Although this is about 90-95% of my previous clean and jerk 1rm (75kg).

Push Jerk @50kg 3,2,2,1. Good. Have to push under the bar more. Also have to land with my feet in a similar position to the jumping pos, not wider.

Back Squat @50kg 3,2,2,1. Took it easy on these since i’m working hard on back squat with my regular programming.

Snatch Grip RDL @50kg 3,2,2,1. Same as above.

Sunday 7/4

Hang Snatch; 3×8-10 @40kg. Was a bit inconsistent, pull was ok, but catch was awkward.

Snatch Balance Wave; 5,7,9,12. Started with bar only, then 40kg. Good. Left shoulder got tight after a while.

Death March; 3×8 @12.5kg dumbbells. Good, easy. Have to make sure to keep front leg as straight as possible and not do a lunge. Bend at torso, don’t keep torso upright.

Cardio;

Row 12 mins, rest 2 mins,

Ride 2 mins, rest 2 mins,

Row 12 mins, Rest 2 mins.

Should have done another ride for 2 minutes and row for 12 minutes, but was gassed and had been in the gym for almost 1.5hrs already.

Week 25/3/13 – 31/3/13

Monday 25/3

Deadlift; 3@90kg, 3@100kg, 3@115kg. Good. New pr.

Complex;

1) Single Leg Hamstring Curls: 3×15 moderate load.  19kg x2, 21.5kg x1. Good.

2) Single Leg Dumbbell Deadlifts: 3×10 18kg x2, 20kg x1. Good.

Amrap – Box Jumps; Didn’t do.

Bent Over Rows; 3×8-10 40kg x2, 50kg x1. Good.

Tuesday 26/3

Squats; 4×6 @85kg. 1 set @80kg, but had poor form and struggled through the set. Dropped back to 70kg for the other sets. Next week ill try a minimum of 75kg right throughout.

Thrusters; 3×8-10. 1@20kg, 2@30kg. Keep core tight, wrists were a bit sore afterwards.

Pulldowns; 3×8-10. 2@40kg, 1@47kg. Good.

Dynamic Push Ups; 1×15. On to 20kg plates. Easy.

Overhead Squat Technique; 20kg, 30kg, 20kg, bar only. Keep weight on outsides of feet, armpits forward, lock out hard.

Week 18/3/2013 – 24/3/2013

This is the first week of a new program. This next program is a squat and deadlift strengthening program. Squatting and deadlifting are 2 of my favorite types of lifts and are fundamental in advancing olympic lifting, which is my main goal.

Coming off my last program i have had this last week off. The last cycle was an upper body strengthening program – in particular shoulder strength, which i achieved good gains from.

Monday 18/3

Deadlift; 5@60kg, 5@65kg, 5@70kg. Good.

Barbell Good Mornings; 4×12, bar only. First time using a bar for good mornings, went well.

Box Jumps; 3×15. Onto a bench (low).

Walking Lunges; 2×30 @7.5kg dumbbells first set, 10kg dumbbells on second. Good.

Butt and hammies were quite sore and tight for a few days after.

Tuesday 19/3

Squats; 3@65, 2@75, 6@85kg. Did the last set at 80kg. Bar felt heavy and form wasn’t great. Had my knees coming right in and weight was way forward on my toes..

Complex; 1) Dumbbell Push Press: 3×10-12 @17.5kg for first set, 15kg for last 2 sets. Can push more weight than this, but generally used less reps over the last cycle.

2) Amrap Push Ups: x3 sets. 12,12,10. (Leaving 2 reps in the tank, not to complete failure).  Felt a bit gassed while doing these, and was surprised the numbers were as low as they are.

Lat Pull Downs; 3×10-12. @30kg first set, 37.5kg the rest. Good.

Dumbbell Swings; 4×15. @17.5kg. Good. Had not done these before. Focused on pushing hips hard.

Overhead Squat Tech work; Did 30 reps over 3 sets, bar only. Was good, felt great, strong lock out, good balance etc.

Thursday 21/3

Snatch Balance; 5×5 – Light weight – 10kg on the bar. Good, i’m getting much more comfortable with having the bar overhead now.

Rack Jerk Wave; 8,5,3 (x3). No suitable racks at my new globo gym so i had to clean it up to my shoulders for each set and therefore partly defeats the purpose of rack jerks… However i managed 2 rounds with a weight range of 10kg – 30kg.

Aerobics; Row 5 mins, rest 2 mins, ride 5 mins, row 5 mins, ride 5 mins. Was to be another round of rowing and riding but ran out of time.

Today i started training in a new gym. I changed from Club Lime Gungahlin to Club Lime Gold Creek. I had enough of the messy state of Gungahlin, the management and clients there seem to not care at all of the cleanliness and tidyness of the gym.. The counter staff only tidy the gym once a day. I was beginning to feel like i did not want to go and do a work out, so i put some time into thinking about what i wanted to do. The only couple of things i liked about Gungahlin were a few familiar faces (only a couple of guys i had officially met), and a lovely yoga instructor. Unfortunately the pro’s do not out weight the con’s so i went over to Gold Creek – which is about the same distance to travel. Gold Creek is smaller and more crowded with gear. Although the gear is a lot newer than Gungahlin. There isn’t much room for free bar work, but ill see how i go.

Saturday 23/3

Olympic lifting training at Crossfit Base.

2 Position hold with 3 Hang Cleans: x5 sets. First set at a light weight as a warm up – 40kg. Then 3 sets at 60kg, last set @70kg. All were reasonable, although i may have had loose lats, was not pushing hips back far enough and didn’t have my chest out over the bar quite enough. Also my shrug is too small, have to use a big shrug.

Split Jerk: Behind neck. 5,4,3,3. 40kg, 50kg, 60kg, 70kg. Worked a lot on foot work. Need to get into the habit of splitting wider, keeping back leg bent, keeping back foot straight, and keeping shoulders actively pushing the bar up.

Clean Pulls, with 5 second RDL Lower: 5,4,3,3. @40kg. Light. Good. Have to actively push hips back on the deadlift.

Overhead Squats: Holding bottom position for 5 seconds. @40kg total. Light. 5,4,3,3. Good. Keep shoulders actively pushing the bar up. Knees follow toes. Getting much more comfortable under the bar now !

Week 8/10/12 – 14/10/12 *New Program*

Sunday 7/10

Started on sunday as i was bored and feeling energetic and enthusiastic about beginning a new program !

Snatch; 15 minutes of technique practice. Just used a small alloy aerobics bar for this, still finding the groove. Patience….

Complex 1;

1) Straight Leg Deadlift With Snatch “Pull”; 5×5 (x3). Used an empty olympic bar. Focused on feet placement, jumping and landing. Also concentrated on proper hip thrust.

2) Dumbbell Cleans; 10-12 x3. @12.5kg. Misread my program on this one, should have been Dumbbell Snatch. Ill catch this up later..

Complex 2;

1) Inverted Dumbbell Lift; 10-12 x2. @7kg. Good, although i found i had to stop mid set to re adjust my grip.

2) Plate Curls; 10-12 x2 @5kg. Good.

3) Thick Grip Dumbbell Holds; 3 reps x2 sets. @17.5kg. I did these at 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off. Worked out ok. Hands were sore afterwards.

Yoga. Yoga was good, been a few weeks since i had done a session.

Monday 8/10

Power Cleans; 12×3. @20kg for first set, then 25kg for last 2 sets. Did all sets from high hang. Used light weight to work on perfecting form, i feel that my form is getting better. Focused on hip drive and can now feel when my hips aren’t being fully utilised. Forearms gave way on last set and had to do it as 6,4,2.

Complex;

1) Front Squats; 5×4 (x2). Did light weight on this exercise as its been some time since i have squatted. First set @25kg, then 35kg for second. All @ tempo: 3,0×1. Next front squats ill do at a minimum of 40kg.

2) Dumbbell Clean & Press; 5×4 (x2). @15kg. 1 arm at a time. Good, could maybe have done  this at 17.5kg.  That said, however, the entire complex had me feeling hot, sweaty and a bit gassed by the end of it.

I did this as one set of 5 squats, then 1 set of 5 (right arm clean and press) then left arm clean and press. Then back onto squats etc.. Only had a brief pause at the beginning of each squat set of maybe 10 seconds.

Jerk Tech Practice; Empty olympic bar for 10 minutes. Good. Maybe need to work on splitting my feet further and faster. Some reps felt very strong, and some not so much.

Thursday 11/10

Bench Press; 6-8×8 @40kg. Good, i got 6 reps on all sets.

Decline Bench Press; 10-15×3. Tempo – 3,0×1. Did 20kg on first set, 30kg on second set, 35kg on last set. Haven’t done decline bench at all in the past.

Complex;

1) Push Ups; 20×2. @ Tempo – 3,0×1.

2) Dips; 20×2. @ Tempo – 3,0×1.

Towel Fly’s; 10-15 x3. Couldn’t do these as the gyms dumbbells have the plates bolted tight onto the handle. Ill do normal fly’s from here in.

Chest was tight and sore for a few days after this workout. Good to be back doing some chest work since i haven’t done any in many months.

Saturday 13/10

Aerobics workout;

1 Hill Sprint and 5 Kettle Bell Swings on the minute, every minute for 25 minutes.

At each 5 minute interval add one rep of each IE; 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes.

Was ok up until 15 minutes (3 sprints + 8 swings). Managed 3 sets here, but at this many i didn’t have enough of a break between to each set catch my breath. Breathing was pretty much out of control.

At this point we went back to one sprint but still kept with the program of swings.

Today showed that i have an imbalance between power and cardio – breathing in particular. Hoping this corrects itself in the future with more aerobics stuff.