brikis98's crossfit journal

[brikis98]

Thursday, November 20

Workout of the Day

For time:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

My numbers

Did 55lbs dumbbell swings instead of kettlebells swings.

Time: 27:20

I started the workout by banging out 7 consecutive reps of handstand push-ups and felt pretty damn good. After a short break, I was expecting to do at least 7 more, got in the handstand... and was done after just 2 more reps. For whatever reason, my shoulders were really burned out after the first set and I had to battle my way to 30 by doing sets of 2 or 3. I'm not sure what the issue was as I've never had such a sharp drop-off in performance, but I spent ~8 minutes on the HSPU's alone.

After that, things went pretty well. Pull-ups and kettlebell swings were all pretty easy, although my hands, still pretty raw from yesterday's marathon of deadlifts and cleans, hurt like crazy. Sit-ups went better than usual and burpees... Well, 70 burpees are never fun, especially at the tail end of a workout, but I got them done in ~8 minutes.

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Soccer socks, dude! They will save your shins for this or wear some crappy sweats if you can manage it, if your thighs get too raw.

I probably should get some as they would probably prevent me from actually getting cuts on my shins, but I don't think they'd do much about the giant bruises I get on my shins, knees and thighs from 110 reps of deadlifts and cleans.

 

[brikis98]

Friday, November 21

Rest day.

 

[brikis98]

Saturday, November 22

Workout of the Day

Squat
OH Press
Deadlift

My numbers

Squat: 225x5, 255x5, 295x2, 185x20
OH Press: 115x5, 135x5, 145x4xmissed
Deadlift: 315x3, 385x1

Blah, fell short across the board today. I was planning on doing 295x3 on the squat, but the second rep was very very slow and there was no way I was going to eek out a 3rd. I'll redo this weight next time. After that, one of my friends was doing a CF workout that involved max rep BW squats, so on a whim, I decided to give it a shot. I got to 20 reps relatively easily and probably had 10 more in me, but stopped there to avoid ruining the rest of my workout (and to avoid debilitating soreness the next couple of days). However, it makes me wonder just how much weight I could do for a set of 20...

My OH press continues to get worse and worse. No idea why. I deloaded 10lbs from last week, but apparently that wasn't enough. It's sad, as I used to do 165x5, but it looks like I'll need to deload even further and work my way back up with microloading. Sigh.

The goal for deadlift was 385x3, but with my glutes/hamstrings still very sore from this past week (esp. the 55 reps of deadlifting on weds and the kettlebell swings on thur), it wasn't happening. I did one rep, which went up quickly, and decided not to push it anymore after that. I'll repeat this weight next time as well.

 

[brikis98]

Sunday, November 23

Workout of the Day

"Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

My numbers

Ran on a treadmill and did 55 pound dumbbell swings.

Time: 11:48 (PR)

This was my second time doing Helen - the first time was back on October 9 and took 11:58. It's a 10 second PR, but I had been hoping to get under 10:00, so I'm a bit disappointed. I started off very well too, doing all the dumbbell swings and pull-ups in one unbroken set in the first round. However, I faded towards the end, with the running seeming to really tax my lungs more than I remembered. It's a bit odd, as I ran at the same pace as last time - 11 mph for all 3 rounds. I guess I just need to keep busting my ass to get my work capacity high enough to do this workout faster.

 

[brikis98]

Monday, November 24

Rest day.

 

[brikis98]

Tuesday, November 25

Workout of the Day

"The Chief"

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
135 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
6 Push-ups
9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

My numbers

5 rounds
4 rounds + 3 power cleans
4 rounds + 2 power cleans
4 rounds
3 rounds + 3 power cleans + 6 push-ups + 1 squat

Total: 20 rounds + 8 power cleans + 6 push-ups + 1 squat

This was a great, fast paced workout. I don't think 3 minutes has ever gone by quite so fast. While the push-ups were easy, I was surprised to find my legs (especially the quads) getting really burned out by the power cleans and it made squats a lot more difficult than I expected. I guess all that explosive motion and jumping really gets to ya.

 

[brikis98]

Wednesday, November 26

Workout of the Day

"Fran"

Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups

My numbers

Time: 5:58 (PR)

This was my third time taking on Fran and it went reasonably well. First time, back on July 16, I took 10:50. Second time, on October 4, I took 6:45. I don't think I was at my best today, especially with my pull-ups (just couldn't get a nice rhythm going), but it's nice to see even more improvement.

Having said that, I find my performance on Fran does not stack up very well against many other CFers. For example, when Fran comes up on the main site, there are tons and tons of people with 5:00 or faster Frans. Hell, the sheer number of people under 4 minutes amazes me. On other workouts, I'm typically much closer to the average, but after 3 tries, I'm still towards the slow end with Fran.

 

[brikis98]

Thursday, November 27

Rest day for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

[brikis98]

Friday, November 28

Workout of the Day

The workout today was "Hero workout of your choice", so I decided to try "Nate" for the first time:

"Nate"
Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:
2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings

My numbers

Did muscle-ups on a pull-up bar and did 70lbs dumbbell swings. Lost a minute or two waiting for other people at the gym who were using the pull-up bar.

Rounds completed: 8

Good workout. All the muscle-ups and dumbbell swings were done in straight sets. However, I think I must be doing something wrong with handstand push-ups, as I once again fatigued on them very quickly. The first two rounds, I did all 4 in a row with no trouble, but after than, I was struggling to do more than 2 in a row, even doing singles for a few of the rounds. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but this is where I spent most of the workout, so I need to improve.

 

[conorvansmack]

When you do the handstand push-ups, are you free standing or do you rest your feet against something?

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: conorvansmack
When you do the handstand push-ups, are you free standing or do you rest your feet against something?

As in all the CF videos, I kick up into a handstand so I end up with my back to a wall and rest my heels on the wall a bit for balance. Usually as I do the actual push-up, my feet come off the wall and it's more or less free standing, but as I'm still learning the balance, this can vary.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: conorvansmack
When you do the handstand push-ups, are you free standing or do you rest your feet against something?

As in all the CF videos, I kick up into a handstand so I end up with my back to a wall and rest my heels on the wall a bit for balance. Usually as I do the actual push-up, my feet come off the wall and it's more or less free standing, but as I'm still learning the balance, this can vary.

I don't think I could complete any Crossfit workout with free-standing HSPUs. My body gets too tired to balance itself without the heel-on-wall help.

 

[HN]

brikis, starting from the post on 11/25/2008 09:21 PM, the dates are off by one day (ahead)

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: HN
brikis, starting from the post on 11/25/2008 09:21 PM, the dates are off by one day (ahead)

Good catch, thanks! Just went back and fixed it all up

 

[brikis98]

Saturday, November 29

Workout of the Day

"Michael"

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

My numbers

Ran on a treadmill, did back extensions on a 45 degree back extension machine and did sit-ups on a decline sit-up bench.

Time: 25:15 (PR)

I think this was my 4th time doing Michael and my 4th PR on it. My previous best was 27:58, so this is a decent improvement. Back extensions and running went well today (10mph on the first 2 rounds, 9mph on the third), but I was once again held back by sit-ups. They were a bit better than before - I'm finally seeing at least a little improvement in sit-up ability - but I still fatigue fairly quickly on them.

To better pace myself, I tried doing back extensions and sit-ups in groups of 10 with very brief breaks in between. It worked out great for back extensions, but not as much with sit-ups. In round 2 and 3, each time I got to around 30, I was having trouble banging out 10 more and had to break it down further into 4's and 5's. It's frustrating, but the fact I beat my previous PR by close to 3:00 means I am making progress, so I guess I'll keep at it.

 

[brikis98]

Sunday, November 30

Workout of the Day

Doing a Bill Starr 5x5 style workout today.

Squat: 2x5, 1x3, 1x8
Bench: 2x5, 1x3, 1x8
Deadlift: 1x5, 1x3

My numbers

Squat: 225x5, 255x5, 295x3, 225x8
Bench: 205x5, 245x5, 275x2xmissed, 205x8
Deadlift: 315x5, 385x2xstopped

Squats felt great today. I got 295 up with very decent bar speed for all 3 reps and am looking forward to going for 5 reps next time around.

Bench was also pretty solid. I missed the 3rd rep of 275, but only in the strict sense that my spotter had to give the bar a slight tap to get me unstuck. I'll redo the weight next time and am pretty confident I'll get it.

Deadlift was not meant to be today. My hamstrings were VERY sore from the last two workouts, which included dumbbell swings and back extensions, and the 315x5 destroyed whatever was left. The first rep of 385 went well but the second was agonizingly slow, so I didn't even attempt a 3rd. I'll redo this once more next time.

 

[brikis98]

Monday, December 1

Rest day. Back is very very sore from the last 3 days.

 

[gramboh]

Check out logsitall.com - it's a decent size sample of CF workout results (self-reported of course). I don't have an account setup so I can't see the data now, but I'd be surprised if the mean time for Fran was 5minutes, that is pretty fast. Sub 4 is elite I think. I think a lot of the people with sub-4 have been doing CF for years.

When you do Fran now, how do you break it up? I mean do you take any rest breaks and if so when?

Random question, what type of squats do you do, high bar or low bar?

With the sit-ups, when I did orientation sessions at a CF affiliate, we were taught to do them as fast/powerful as possible, by placing hands back near the side of our head and then throwing hands forward to start the motion (kind of kipping I guess). I found I could do more reps this way than how I previously did sit-ups. Not sure if you are doing this or something but it might help.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Check out logsitall.com - it's a decent size sample of CF workout results (self-reported of course). I don't have an account setup so I can't see the data now, but I'd be surprised if the mean time for Fran was 5minutes, that is pretty fast. Sub 4 is elite I think. I think a lot of the people with sub-4 have been doing CF for years.

Cool website, thanks. I'm not sure if it's different if you sign up, but I was only able to see the top performances on Fran, which are all, well, impressive. It would be cool to see mean/median numbers though.

Originally posted by: gramboh
When you do Fran now, how do you break it up? I mean do you take any rest breaks and if so when?

I don't remember the exact numbers, but the last time I did Fran it went something like:

Thursters: 10, 6, 5
Pull-ups: 11, 8, 3
Thrusters: 8, 4, 3
Pull-ups: 8, 7
Thrusters: 5, 2, 2
Pull-ups: 4, 3, 2

I've found that my body performs far better if I break things up into smaller sets and take very short breaks in between than if I go straight through. That is, doing 11-6-5 is faster for me than 11-10 and much faster than all 21 straight, even though the breaks between each set are only a few seconds. However, in retrospect, I think I would do even better if I broke the sets up more evenly. My plan for next time is 7-7-7 for round 1, 5-5-5 for round 2 and 5-4 for the last round.

Originally posted by: gramboh
Random question, what type of squats do you do, high bar or low bar?

Low bar with an athletic stance. Pretty much what Rippetoe explains in Starting Strength.

Originally posted by: gramboh
With the sit-ups, when I did orientation sessions at a CF affiliate, we were taught to do them as fast/powerful as possible, by placing hands back near the side of our head and then throwing hands forward to start the motion (kind of kipping I guess). I found I could do more reps this way than how I previously did sit-ups. Not sure if you are doing this or something but it might help.

Huh, didn't know that. I think I start to do that as I fatigue anyway, but maybe it'll help to make it more official.

 

[brikis98]

Tuesday, December 2

Workout of the Day

"Grace"

For time: 135 pound Clean and Jerk, 30 reps

My numbers

Time: 9:55 (see notes below)

I really enjoyed this workout, but the crappy barbell at the office gym definitely didn't. I would drop the weight after each rep, and not a full minute in, one of the big screw-thingies (sorry, don't know the name, it seems to hold the sleeves on) came out of the end of the left side of the barbell. I screwed it back in, but for the rest of the workout, each time I dropped the weight at the end of a rep, these big screws on both sides of the bar would start to loosen. As a result, I had to constantly pause to tighten them back in by hand, which cost me several minutes.

The bar is definitely not built for olympic lifting - it's a generic, cheapo chrome bar and makes a loud clangy noise each time I drop it - but I expected it to last longer than this. Oh well, I guess I'll need to dish out some money and order a Pendlay CF bar soon.

 

[brikis98]

Wednesday, December 3

Unintentional rest day. My gf got "doored" while riding her bike today, so I was taking care of her. She has a pretty nasty bruise & swelling on her shin, and she's obviously shaken up, but she seems to be ok otherwise. Given what happened, she got pretty lucky.

 

[brikis98]

Update

I reached my weight loss goal today, weighing in at 180lbs this morning! I started cutting back in mid April at 223lbs and have lost 43lbs during this long journey. I never thought I'd actually make it to this body weight, as I had been over 190 since early high school and over 200 for most of college, but overall, the weight loss was easier and quicker than I expected. Only the last couple months were actually difficult as I battled to lose the last 5 or 6 pounds, but with perseverance, it finally happened.

Even better, I've managed to do it with fairly little strength loss. In fact, most of what I lost was due to a back injury back in May/June, and I've been steadily regaining it ever since. Moreover, since I started Crossfit in July, I've actually gotten stronger in a bunch of areas, learned a ton of new skills, and have improved all other parts of my fitness, such as endurance, speed, power, etc.

I'm now going to just eat maintenance calories for a month or two and continue doing CF. My primary goal for this period will be to improve my CF performance across the board. I'm happy with my current body weight, so a far less important secondary goal would be to stay the same weight but lower my body fat percentage a bit more. However, I'm guessing that progress on this will be very slow while eating maintenance, so I might do some very short bulk/cut cycles in the future.

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: brikis98
Update

I reached my weight loss goal today, weighing in at 180lbs this morning!

Applause!

 

[brikis98]

Friday, December 5

Workout of the Day

Squat: 3x5
OH Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 2x5

My numbers

Squat: 225x5, 255x5, 295x4
OH Press: 115x5, 135x5, stopped due to minory injury

Damn it, another frustrating OH press workout. Even though I've reduced the weight on the exercise a lot, 135x5 was still tough and I think my form broke down. After I racked the bar, I noticed that the lower part of my left trap was feeling a fairly sharp pain. Several years ago, I had a pretty nasty injury in this exact spot, so I decided not to risk it at all and just cut the workout short. I was really upset, as I didn't even get to deadlift, but the last time I hurt this area, I couldn't turn my head - at all - for a week. I think I made the right decision as now, an hour later, it feels much better and I don't think it'll be an issue tomorrow.

Squats went pretty well today, although the 4th rep of the last set was very slow, so I didn't attempt the 5th. I'll go for it again next time. Hopefully, as I switch myself from a caloric deficit to eating maintenance, I'll be making strength gains slightly faster, although since I only lift heavy once a week as part of CF, I can't expect too much.

Moreover, since I so rarely go heavy, I'm wondering if it really makes sense for me to alternate bench press and OH press each time. Since each one only gets worked once every two weeks, I feel like neither is making too much progress. I'm considering just focusing on bench press during these strength workouts for two reasons:

(1) We do a decent amount of OH press as part of normal CF workouts, but virtually no bench press.
(2) A stronger bench press does produce a stronger OH press. The reverse is true as well, but to a much lesser extent.

 

[brikis98]

Saturday, December 6

Workout of the Day

"Filthy Fifty"
For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

My numbers

Had to make several substitutions based on available equipment: did 35lbs dumbbell swings instead of kettlebell swings, did back extensions on a 45 degree back extension machine, and did thrusters with a 20lb dumbbell in each hand instead of wall ball.

Time: 31:50 (PR)

Boooyaaa. I think this was one of the last few CF workouts I couldn't finish as prescribed and I was psyched to get through it today. I had tried it once before on 09/28 and had only done half the burpees and double unders and still took around 40 minutes. Today, I got through the whole thing in under 32 minutes, a very solid improvement.

Most of the exercises went pretty damn well and I've finally figured out how to effectively chain knees to elbows together with a kipping style motion. You have to use your abs a LOT to stabilize yourself and not swing during it, but it let me get through 50 reps much quicker. The 50 burpees at the tail end of the workout were an absolute torture, but I battled through them 5 at a time. My double-under form has become very efficient, so even after all the other exercises, I did them in 3 sets of 20, 20 and 10.