Originally posted by: katank
Are you also doing the abmat situps in the butterfly position (soles of feet together, knees splayed out almost touching floor)? That really prevents cheating with the hip flexors and are much slower than regular situps, esp. the anchored variety.
Originally posted by: enwar3
Ah I'll have to check out this "crossfit forum" you speak of. You don't read bb or tnation anymore?
Strength/Power
Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 270x20
Bench press: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 245x5, 265x4
20 rep squats went surprisingly well today. Although still highly unpleasant, my legs and back faired surprisingly well and I got through the set faster than usual. If anything, my lungs were the limiting factor. Bench press went slightly better than last time, but I still didn't get 5 reps of 265. Sad, but not surprising considering how rarely I bench. I think I'm doing a little too much volume before the heavy set, so I'll probably fewer lighter sets next time and see if that helps.
Metcon
"Twins"
Two rounds, of each couplet, for time of:
750 meter Row
20 Handstand Push-ups
115 pound Thruster, 20 reps
20 L-Pull-ups
Time: 27:21
Due to my inexperience with rowing, I screwed up the pacing on this one. I did the two 750m rows way too quickly and really burned out my legs (the 20 rep squats earlier prob didn't help either). By the time I got to the thrusters, I couldn't squeeze out more than 5 at a time. I also struggled, as usual, with stamina in the HSPU's. The last 10 took as long as the first 30.
Not sure, but next time I have a chance, I'll ask the CF coaches for some pointers anyway.Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Does anyone at your CF affiliate have a rowing cert? I found that once I had my technique corrected a few times my times dropped and my endurance skyrocketed. I think the key for me was not pulling too early with my arms and allowing sufficient rest between pulls. One count out, two count back in. No matter how you slice it, though, rowing sucks
I try to rest 10 minutes, but most of that is usually spent setting up the equipment for the metcon and warming up the new movements.Originally posted by: katank
How long do you rest between the strength and metcon?
Yea, that's the impression I had. I don't have a good "feel" for how fast I should row for various distances like I do with running. Hopefully, I'll develop that with practice and be able to pace myself better.Originally posted by: katank
You may want to hold back a bit on the rowing also as that will enable you to take on the rest of the WOD in better shape and finish faster overall.
iirc, 27-28 strokes per minute with an average 500m split time of around 1:50.Originally posted by: katank
How fast was your stroke rate? I see this in myself and many others the desire to rush the recovery which decreases efficiency significantly.
Strength/Power
Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x1, 330x5 (PR)
OH Press: 95x3, 135x3, 155x1, 180x1, 180x1, 180x1, 180x1
Felt good today after the extra day of rest. 330 is a new 5RM for me and I was shocked at how little I struggled with it. Solid bar speed all the way, good depth, excellent hip drive. For OH Press, I continued with my strategy of doing heavy singles so I can improve my 1RM. I felt very comfortable with 180, powering through all of the singles fairly smoothly. Hopefully 185 will go as well next week and I'll be ready for a new PR the week after that.
Metcon
Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
115-pound Hang clean, 15 reps
12 Ring dips
21 Sit-ups
Misread the workout and did hang power cleans. Did sit-ups on an abmat with feet unanchored.
Rounds completed: 7
In my CF schedule, I had two workouts listed back to back, one with hang power cleans and one with hang cleans. I mixed it up and did the hang power cleans in this workout but I'm guessing the "Rx'd" variety is supposed to be done with squat cleans. Seems like it would slow down the workout considerably and add a lot of extra work for such a light weight. Still, I got a good workout, even if I didn't do it quite as intended.
Strength/Power
Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 390x3
Decided to switch my deadlift training to sets of 3 instead of 5. I think working with a higher percentage of my 1RM will prepare me better for when I actually do singles. Moreover, it'll tear up my hands less and since I do my deadlifts as singles (ie, no bouncing, each rep totally dead), doing fewer reps will hopefully also reduce the stress on my CNS. At any rate, today's triple was very easy, so I might jump up to 400 for next week.
Metcon
"Erin"
Five rounds for time of:
40 pound Dumbbells split clean, 15 reps
21 Pull-ups
Time: 14:39 (PR)
Cut almost 6 minutes off my previous time on this workout, so I guess I've gotten much better at DB split cleans. Unfortunately, this workout is pretty rough on the hands, which only adds to the damage my hands have absorbed the last few weeks. I need to give them more time to heal, but every workout I do seems to heavily involve my hands, so the blisters & tears keep accumulating.
Strength/Power
Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I'm not going to have time for the gym tomorrow, so the rest day will be tomorrow instead. I was supposed to do snatches, but my hands are too torn up and blistered for it, so I decided to skip it.
Metcon
3 rounds for time:
row 500m
15 one-armed 45lb DB squat snatches on each arm (alternate arms as you like)
Time: 14:42
I joined the folks at Crossfit Sunnyvale for a class today and did this workout with them. Of all the times posted on the whiteboard from the day, I think I had the best one by a 4+ minute margin, so I guess it went pretty well.
Originally posted by: brikis98
Monday, September 14
Strength/Power
Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I'm not going to have time for the gym tomorrow, so the rest day will be tomorrow instead. I was supposed to do snatches, but my hands are too torn up and blistered for it, so I decided to skip it.
Metcon
3 rounds for time:
row 500m
15 one-armed 45lb DB squat snatches on each arm (alternate arms as you like)
Time: 14:42
I joined the folks at Crossfit Sunnyvale for a class today and did this workout with them. Of all the times posted on the whiteboard from the day, I think I had the best one by a 4+ minute margin, so I guess it went pretty well.
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Lol, so you're the new guy that just shows up and screws with everything, huh? How's the chin feeling btw?
Originally posted by: brikis98
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Lol, so you're the new guy that just shows up and screws with everything, huh? How's the chin feeling btw?
Heh, I guess so. The chin healed up pretty quickly and with no issues. There's a mark, but you'd only see it if I tilt my head way back (not something I do often) and am clean shaven (even more rare) and it'll probably fade with time. I think the biggest issue (other than the bill, which I should be getting soon) is that I'm afraid to do jerks now - I'm fine with OH press and push press, but I'm nervous about diving down and under the bar for a split/push jerk. Hopefully after a while longer I'll get over it.
Strength/Power
Cleans: 135x3, 185x2, 205x2, 225x1, 225x1, 245x1, 255x1, 260x1, 263x1 (PR), 265xF, 265x1 (PR)
Today's CF Sunnyvale workout started with us working up to our max clean. I got some good pointers from the CF trainer and was getting some solid pulls. I tied my old PR at 260 and then had an exceptionally good pull to set a new PR at 263 (using microplates). I then went up to 265, missed the first time (bar landed too far forward and I couldn't hold on) but got it on the second try, even though my technique was still pretty messy. I think if I could repeat the pristine form I had with 263, I could get real close to my 2009 goal of a 275lb clean.
Metcon
3 rounds for time:
3 skin the cat on rings
20 jumps (min. 1 foot above max reach)
10 v-ups
I'd estimate my jumps to be 15" above max reach.
Time: 3:20
After the cleans, the trainer just had us do this real short metcon. Only challenging parts were the jump, as the v-ups were very easy and doing skin-the-cats is just plain fun.
Skill/Gymnastics
Ring work: back lever, one foot front lever, iron cross
Since today's workout was short, I actually had time to work on some skills. I did a bunch of back levers on the rings and felt VERY solid with them. I then rotated between the back lever and one-legged front levers (as in this picture) with each leg. I could only hold the one legged front levers briefly (~3 seconds), but it's definitely still a nice improvement. Trying to smoothly shift from one lever to the other was a great workout. Finally, I tried a couple iron crosses. I'm definitely getting closer than ever before, though I suspect those last few inches are far and away the toughest part. It's amazing how much shoulder, chest and bicep strength it takes to lower yourself even part way into a cross.
Strength/Power
Snatch: 95x3, 135x2, 155xF, 155x1, 155x1, 160xF, 160xF, 160xF
Ugh, snatching is hard. My technique on the snatch was horrendous today. My second pull felt incredibly weak and I wasn't getting cleanly under the bar. I kept missing 160 forward (even though it's 15lbs less than my 1RM) and eventually just gave up. I had meant to do a deload on the snatch a couple weeks ago but skipped it because my form had suddenly fixed itself, but it looks like it has broken again, so I guess next week I'll have to do the deload after all.
Metcon
"Mary"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Handstand Push-ups
10 One legged squats, alternating
15 Pull-ups
Rounds completed: 10 (PR)
Just 4 rounds in, I tore open two more blisters, and had to really break up the pull-ups as hanging on the bar just freaking hurt. My poor poor hands. These last few weeks have been so bad that I'm contemplating getting gloves. Ugh. The good news is that my pistols and HSPU's have improved, so despite the massive slow down on pull-ups, I still set a PR by over 1 round. I think without the torn blisters I could've gotten 11 rounds or more.
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Sucks that your hands are messed up. Instead of getting gloves, have you tried throwing a t-shirt over the bar? It can really reduce friction and there are a few guys at my gym that swear by it.
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Also, there is nothing wrong with subbing out pull ups for a week to let your hands heal.
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
To be perfectly honest, if I consistently did CF, I would probably just wear the gloves on high rep pullups. If it makes it harder, it makes it harder. My grip will adapt, but at least I'd be able to finish the workout.
Originally posted by: brikis98
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Sucks that your hands are messed up. Instead of getting gloves, have you tried throwing a t-shirt over the bar? It can really reduce friction and there are a few guys at my gym that swear by it.
It seems like the t-shirt would just make the bar thicker, but then again, I could see the shirt absorbing lots of the friction as your hands rotate around the bar, so maybe it would help. I might try that next time.
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Also, there is nothing wrong with subbing out pull ups for a week to let your hands heal.
True, subbing out pull-ups wouldn't be a big deal, but the problem is that my hands are so torn up that I'd also need to avoid deadlifts, cleans, snatches, kb swings and tons of other exercises. In short, avoid CF entirely, which would suck.
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
To be perfectly honest, if I consistently did CF, I would probably just wear the gloves on high rep pullups. If it makes it harder, it makes it harder. My grip will adapt, but at least I'd be able to finish the workout.
Looking at my right hand now:Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Originally posted by: brikis98
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Sucks that your hands are messed up. Instead of getting gloves, have you tried throwing a t-shirt over the bar? It can really reduce friction and there are a few guys at my gym that swear by it.
It seems like the t-shirt would just make the bar thicker, but then again, I could see the shirt absorbing lots of the friction as your hands rotate around the bar, so maybe it would help. I might try that next time.
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Also, there is nothing wrong with subbing out pull ups for a week to let your hands heal.
True, subbing out pull-ups wouldn't be a big deal, but the problem is that my hands are so torn up that I'd also need to avoid deadlifts, cleans, snatches, kb swings and tons of other exercises. In short, avoid CF entirely, which would suck.
I didn't realize they were that bad!
I had been taping my hands all week, which helped prevent the same injury tearing twice. However, the location of the first few injuries meant the tape would modify my grip just enough and lead to a new tear. For example, taping up my thumb screwed up my hook grip so that I was placing more pressure on my palm just below the pinky, which led to that tear. In my next few workouts, I taped up both areas, but that just transferred the pressure to my middle finger, which was the next tear. Fortunately, the tears on the fingers themselves are pretty easy to deal with: a very skinny circle of tape is enough and doesn't interefere much with anything else. So, as long as I can get the first two injuries to heal fully, I think I should finally be able to recover.Originally posted by: katank
Hey brikis, have you tried using some gymnastic tape? It's not too thick and might help.
http://www.crossfitla.com/cms/...ur_hands_for_pull-ups/
I've been also dealing w/ a bunch of hand tears lately. Have you ever gone the route of corn husk oil or something to specifically increase skin toughness?
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
To be perfectly honest, if I consistently did CF, I would probably just wear the gloves on high rep pullups. If it makes it harder, it makes it harder. My grip will adapt, but at least I'd be able to finish the workout.
In my experience my hands are fine unless we're doing something truly ridiculous. I remember the last time we did 100 pull ups for time and my hands got destroyed. As long as you don't catch any unlucky tears, I think your hands get used to the abuse.
Brikis sounds like he got unlucky with a tear and is trying to adapt to new bars. When my gym installed a new pull up apparatus, my hands were awful for about two weeks.