Strength/Power
Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x1, 340x5 (PR)
OH Press: 115x3, 155x3, 175x1, 195x1, 195x1, 195x1
Man, my squat strength days have been going damn well recently. Another new 5RM on the squat and I felt strong with the 195 singles on the press. I only did 3 sets instead of 4 as my right shoulder felt very tight today, but things are looking good for pressing 200lbs next week.
Metcon
Three rounds for time of:
21 L-Pull-ups
15 ft. L-rope climb, 3 ascents
This was my first time doing rope climbs, so I scaled it down to just one regular rope climb per round.
Time: 12:02
Well, lets add rope climbs to the long list of weakness I need to work on. My hands were torn up for my first few weeks at CF Sunnyvale, so I had avoided the rope, but they have healed up pretty well so I figured today was a good day to try it. I had never done a rope climb as part of a workout, so to ensure my safety (ie, avoid a 15ft fall), I scaled the workout way down. It was a good thing too, as rope climbs after L pull-ups are freaking hard. My forearms, biceps and back were absolutely demolished by this workout and the full version would have taken me forever (and been quite dangerous). Still, I really liked rope climbs as an exercise (about as functional/practical as it gets) and I'll try to toss some into my warm-ups the next few weeks. Hopefully, this will strengthen my grip and teach me to use my legs more effectively.
Thanks! I don't have any videos, but I might shoot some next week when I go for a 200lb press.Originally posted by: Koing
Nice totals!
You got any videos of your PC or over head press? I've rarely seen anyone strict press 180lbs thats around 180lbs let alone more! Very impressive!
Koing
Strength/Power
Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 410x3, 315x3
Not too happy with the 410 set: I had to take long resets in between reps and the bar speed was slow. Might need to repeat the weight next week. Also, the last set of 315 at the end was for grip work: I was at a Stanford fitness center today (see below) and the barbells had ridiculously smooth knurling (and no chalk allowed), so it was a nice challenge for my double overhand grip.
Metcon
Complete twelve (12) 110 yard (100 meters) sprints on the minute.
Start the clock on your first sprint. You perform a sprint at the top of every minute. You have one minute to complete the sprint. For example, If you run the sprint in 15 seconds, you have 45 seconds to rest.
Ran on a football field: 100 yards plus one endzone. The endzones looked a bit bigger than 10 yards. Had my girlfriend time me.
Round 1: 12.5
Round 2: 14.3
Round 3: 17.0
Round 4: 17.7
Round 5: 17.1
Round 6: 18.6
Round 7: 18.9
Round 8: 20.0
Round 9: 19.2
Round 10: 21.0
Round 11: 19.2
Round 12: 18.4
Holy crap, this workout is brutal. Even on the first round, I could feel my hamstrings were fatigued from the deadlifts and with each successive round, they only got more and more exhausted. However, even worse were my lungs, which were absolutely burning up by round 3. I desperately wanted to quit on this one halfway through, but somehow managed to keep going and get through the whole thing. I really need to run more.
Stanford
Being the "significant other" of a Stanford student, I got a Stanford courtesy card, which gives me access to all of the University's facilities for free. I checked out the fitness center today and was pretty impressed: a good number of squat racks, plenty of free weights, some plyo boxes, and a couple C2 rowers. No bumper plates, kettlebells, climbing ropes, chalk, or even normal pull-up bars - so it won't do as a replacement for CF sunnyvale - but I live on campus, so it's nice to have a free gym within walking distance that I can use for some stuff, like squats & deadlifts.
I also found out about a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class they have every Sunday at this fitness center and I think I'll try it out next weekend. I have no experience with BJJ (or any other martial arts), but I'm thinking some deadlifts followed by 2 hours of rolling on the mats would be one hell of a Sunday
Thanks! My BW is fluctuating between 185 and 190 these days. It's a bit heavier than I want to be (I even briefly hit a peak of 192 a few days ago before dropping back to 187) but I think it's helping me make some very quick strength gains. My year end goal is to be back at 185, but I shouldn't have any difficulty cutting 5-7lbs if need be.Originally posted by: gramboh
Wow, haven't been on AT forums for a few months, congrats on the progress Brikis, awesome total. What's your BW these days?
I would love to do CF at Catalyst Athletics, but they only allow it in a class setting during times I'd never be able to make because of work. Moreover, they are very expensive ($189/month with a 1 year contract, way more without) - I love Crossfit, but I don't know about dishing out well over $2k a year for it. However, I should look and see if they offer some kind of o-lifting seminars - even a few hours with a good coach would make a huge difference.Originally posted by: gramboh
You moved to the bay area right? You should check out Catalyst Athletics (Greg Everett's gym) if you are interested in weightlifting coaching, plus it looks like an awesome facility for CF in general (focused on strength and high power metcons).
Heh, yup. We live in the graduate housing and the apartments are pretty sweet: great location, affordable price, and fully furnished.Originally posted by: EvilYoda
hah, you live on campus?
Right on. I think I get guest passes to CF Sunnyvale in case you feel like working outOriginally posted by: EvilYoda
I'll give you a shout if I'm in SF anytime soon.
Originally posted by: brikis98
Heh, yup. We live in the graduate housing and the apartments are pretty sweet: great location, affordable price, and fully furnished.Originally posted by: EvilYoda
hah, you live on campus?
Right on. I think I get guest passes to CF Sunnyvale in case you feel like working outOriginally posted by: EvilYoda
I'll give you a shout if I'm in SF anytime soon.
Muay Thai
1.5 hours
It was supposed to be a rest day, but I instead took my first Muay Thai class today at Stanford. There were a lot of people, but also 4 instructors and considering I'm still in the very beginner stages, it seemed good enough for my needs. We worked on maintaining proper distance from the opponent, proper foot movement, some punching drills and some kicks. Every time I try out a new sport/activity, it's amazing just how much there is to learn.
I only have time to do the class once a week, which is far from ideal, but hopefully I can still use it to slowly develop some basic fighting skills. I just have to figure out how to fit it into my schedule. The actual skill practice I could definitely handle as "active rest" without any impact on my recovery, but the class also included an extensive warm up and cool down - including lots of running, jumping, push-ups, crunches, etc - that is probably more than I'd want on a rest day. I may need to tweak my schedule a bit to accommodate this.
One final note: the class is done barefoot in a gymnasium and my feet were not used to so much jumping and pivoting on the hardwood floor. I got some pretty painful blisters on the balls of my feet. Not sure if this is something I'll get used to or if should tape my feet up.
Strength/Power
Power snatch: 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 155x2, 160x2, 165x1, 170x1, 175x1(PR)
After a few weeks of technique work, my first and second pulls are feeling better, and I got a new power snatch PR. I'll go back to full snatches next week and am hopefully back on track to snatch my bodyweight before the end of the year.
Metcon
For time:
50 wall ball, 20lbs
40 KB swings, 50lbs
30 Knees to elbows
20 burpees
10 pull ups
60 double unders
10 pull ups
20 burpees
30 Knees to elbows
40 KB swings, 50lbs
50 wall ball, 20lbs
Time: 19:22
Joined CF Sunnyvale for this chipper workout. The second half, where you go back up the latter, is pretty damn brutal.
Strength/Power
Clean: 135x3, 185x2, 205x2, 225x1, 245x1, 255x1, 265x1, 270x1 (PR), 275xF, 275x1 (PR)
Looks like my 1st and second pulls have improved quite a bit on the clean as well. 275lbs is a 10lb PR for me and one of my goals for 2009. Interestingly enough, I'm generating a ton of power now in my 2nd pull and bar height is never an issue - if anything, the front squat was holding me back today and was the reason I missed my first attempt on 275. I almost never practice the front squat, but if it becomes a limiting factor in the clean, I'll have to work on it.
Metcon
Four rounds for time of:
100 ft Walking lunge, carrying 30 pound dumbbells
24 inch Box Jump, 30 reps
30 pound Weighted pull-ups, 20 reps
Could not find a dip belt, so I had to do the pull-ups unweighted.
Time: 14:45
Since joining CF Sunnyvale a month ago, I've found 3 flaws with the facility: their kettlebells only go up to 50lbs (although a guy I know there often brings his own 2 pood KB and they have lots of heavy DBs), you have to run ~35m to get to the parking lot for any running (70 meters round trip can add a lot to a multi round workout) and some of their equipment is locked away in an office. This includes the dip belts and microplates and you can only get them during CF classes, which I'm often late for. Still, it's by far the best gym I've ever used, so I can't complain too much. Anyway, this was a pretty tough workout after so many heavy cleans and I'm sure with weighted pull-ups would have been much much harder.
Heh, whoops, copy & paste error. It was definitely a 275lb clean. My snatch is nowhere near that goodOriginally posted by: EvilYoda
Did you clean or snatch 275? Big difference there! You mentioned the front squat, so I imagine you were talking about cleaning. Either way, great numbers.
Ooh, I love TGU's but never find time to do them. Maybe I'll do some during warm-ups tomorrow.Originally posted by: EvilYoda
As for the gym...a 2 pood KB shouldn't cost that much money, you could always just buy your own. I did a turkish getup with one the other day, both arms...for someone my size, I was pretty happy with it. I probably could've done a 75lb dumbbell, but I decided to stop while I was ahead.
Originally posted by: brikis98
Heh, whoops, copy & paste error. It was definitely a 275lb clean. My snatch is nowhere near that goodOriginally posted by: EvilYoda
Did you clean or snatch 275? Big difference there! You mentioned the front squat, so I imagine you were talking about cleaning. Either way, great numbers.
Ooh, I love TGU's but never find time to do them. Maybe I'll do some during warm-ups tomorrow.Originally posted by: EvilYoda
As for the gym...a 2 pood KB shouldn't cost that much money, you could always just buy your own. I did a turkish getup with one the other day, both arms...for someone my size, I was pretty happy with it. I probably could've done a 75lb dumbbell, but I decided to stop while I was ahead.
Strength/Power
Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x1, 345x5 (PR)
I am psyched to see my squat numbers continuing to increase consistently, though I'd be surprised if I didn't hit a sticking point next week. The 5th rep of 345 was VERY slow today and I barely managed to squeeze it out. Still, I've added 20lbs to my squat in the last few months - if I can maintain anything close to this pace, I actually have a small chance of getting my squat close to 400lbs before the end of the year.
Metcon
2 rounds of sprints:
100 yards
80 yards
60 yards
40 yards
20 yards
10 yards
*Rest 30 seconds between sprints.
*Rest 2 mins between rounds.
Round 1 times: timing errors
Round 2 times:
100 yards: 14.7
80 yards: 12.3
60 yards: 9.9
40 yards: 6.7
20 yards: 3.8
10 yards: 2.6
These CF Football sprinting workouts are pretty damn hard. I had my girlfriend time me, but we were on a football field with no numbers (just the lines) and on the first round we messed up the distances and timing. Anyway, I'm going to keep tossing in running workouts as I desperately need to get better.
Shoulder Injury
I was supposed to do OH press today, but for the last week or two, I've had a weird issue with my right shoulder. It feels swollen in a VERY localized spot, very close to the point mentioned on this page, so I suspect it's some kind of shoulder bursitis. Icing it the last few nights made it feel much better, but when I did push-ups during my warm-up today, it hurt pretty bad. Worse yet, I got the sensation that the swelling pinched a nerve and both of my upper traps cramped up and got very tender/sore. I've never had that symptom before, so I'm going to lay off any pressing exercises for a few days and continue icing it. Might use some ibuprofen as well.
Strength/Power
Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 410x3, 315x8, 315x7
Repeated 410 this week and it definitely felt better. The resets between reps were shorter and bar speed was better. My back rounded slightly on the 2nd rep, but that was a mental failure rather than a physical one and I corrected it on rep 3. After that, I just did a bunch of reps with 315 while experimenting with different stance widths. Still can't decide whether I like a slightly more narrow stance more.
Metcon
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Took my first BJJ class today. I got nasty mat burns on my knees, feet and the insides of my biceps (the latter are particularly gross looking, my gf was horrified), stubbed (maybe broke?) a toe, got bruises on my ear and chest, and got cuts on the inside of my lip and the top of my feet. I also saw stars for a while after the coach demonstrated an "anaconda choke" on me. My whole body hurts. And I think I love it
I was amazed at how much of a mental game BJJ is and really loved the challenge of learning something totally new and foreign to me. I was definitely the biggest newbie in the class, but thanks to the strength/conditioning I built with Crossfit, I did surprisingly well against other relative newcomers (ie, those with < 6 months experience). I even somehow managed to get a rear (naked?) choke on a guy during the free rolling we do at the end. However, against anyone who knew what they were doing, I was utterly dominated in seconds. Fortunately, the guys were extremely nice and helpful and by rolling with far more experienced people, I learned a ton in my first class. I even had some brief practice against the instructor and could only laugh at how utterly he dominated me. We were roughly of equal height/weight and I'm probably stronger, but the guy threw me around - all while calmly explaining what he was doing - as if I weighed nothing.
Anyways, I'm not a fan of the massive amount of (superficial) damage my body has absorbed, but hopefully with some proper clothing - a shirt with long sleeves, some knee pads, maybe some ear protection - I'll fare better next time. I am a huge fan of the enormous amount of technique involved and judging by how sore I am now, it was definitely one hell of a workout.
Originally posted by: brikis98
Monday, October 19
Rest day. I'm in even more pain today: bruises appeared on my forearm, my neck is really sore, and my hips are very sore/tight as well (is that normal after BJJ?). However, the worst injury has nothing to do with BJJ: the shoulder pain I had earlier (possibly bursitis) still hasn't gone away, even after a few days of icing it. Today and tomorrow are rest days, which I hope will help, but I doubt 2 more days will be enough for it to heal.