brikis98's crossfit journal

[brikis98]

Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3
Bench press: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5

It is remarkable how quickly my lower body gets de-conditioned from heavy lifting compared to my upper body. Just before getting food poisoning, a little over a week ago, I did 360x5 on the squat. Today, I intentionally kept the weight lower, but still struggled with 335x3 and even had my left quad cramp up. On the other hand, I almost never bench press, but found 255x5 ridiculously easy. What gives?

Power clean & Jerks: Perform 2 power Clean and Jerks on the minute for 15 minutes.
* Start the clock. At the top of every minute perform 2 Power Clean and Jerks.
* Use a maximal weight. 90% of 1 RM
* For every rep not completed, perform 5 burpees during rest time.

Weight used: 198lbs

This workout was a bit too much for my first day back. I managed to get through 10 rounds @ 2 reps per round, but after that, had to drop down to 1 rep per round for the last 5. My quad continued to cramp after squats and my right calf decided to join it in round 8. Not fun.

 

[brikis98]

Run: 5k loop around Stanford campus

Not a pleasant run. It was ~95 degrees yesterday and humid as hell, so I massively overheated. When I got back, I chugged a bunch of water, stuck an ice pack on the back of my neck and just lay on the ground for a while until the world stopped spinning.

 

[coreyb]

Is crossfit a good route to go if you want to learn and do the olympic lifts but have no other way to do that?

 

[brikis98]

Is crossfit a good route to go if you want to learn and do the olympic lifts but have no other way to do that?

It depends on the Crossfit gym, so your best bet is to try it out (many offer free trial classes) and see if:

* There is enough o-lifting in their programming for you needs. Some CF gyms do a lot of o-lifting, while others do far less.

* The instructors are good. O-lifts are a lot harder to learn than most other lifting moves so having a good instructor is pretty important.

* They have all the equipment. Pretty much every CF gym should have decent o-lifting bars, bumper plates and a flat/hard space where you can safely lift & dump the weight (such as an o-lifting platform).

 

[brikis98]

Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1, 435x1, 455x1, 455xF, 455xF

I was mentally drained today and could not focus enough on the deadlifts. I got 455 up once, rather slowly, but after that I couldn't commit to the lift and only budged it two inches off the ground.

15 rounds for time of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

Time: 10:20

An interesting twist on Cindy.

 

[coreyb]

nice deadlift man. and thanks for the advice, I will check out a free class sometime.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

So I was finally able to join a CF affiliate up here in Davis - DAC CrossFit. It's got a pretty good price and is connected to the DAC (Davis Athletics Center), which has a pool, free weight room, cardio equipment, locker room, etc. I went yesterday and today and I liked it. However, there's something missing when it comes to comradery. I know that, when visiting other CF affiliates, everybody was really interested in getting to know me. Here, I feel like the people are a bit more distant and work at a lower baseline level because of it. The affiliate didn't post results either, which was a bit irritating because I'm competitive as hell. What I'm getting to is this: in your time visiting other CF affiliates, did you experience lack of chemistry? And if so, did your workout suffer because of it? Today, we did a KB workout with 15 situps, 12 Russian KB swings, 9 KB power swings, and 6 American KB swings (AMRAP in 12 min with 1 pood for me). I felt like nobody was pushing each other and I was actually running the pace for the first 6-7min or so (and I'm out of shape). I like the facility and the trainer I've been dealing with. I just need some more intensity from the CFers.

 

[brikis98]

So I was finally able to join a CF affiliate up here in Davis - DAC CrossFit. It's got a pretty good price and is connected to the DAC (Davis Athletics Center), which has a pool, free weight room, cardio equipment, locker room, etc. I went yesterday and today and I liked it. However, there's something missing when it comes to comradery. I know that, when visiting other CF affiliates, everybody was really interested in getting to know me. Here, I feel like the people are a bit more distant and work at a lower baseline level because of it. The affiliate didn't post results either, which was a bit irritating because I'm competitive as hell. What I'm getting to is this: in your time visiting other CF affiliates, did you experience lack of chemistry? And if so, did your workout suffer because of it? Today, we did a KB workout with 15 situps, 12 Russian KB swings, 9 KB power swings, and 6 American KB swings (AMRAP in 12 min with 1 pood for me). I felt like nobody was pushing each other and I was actually running the pace for the first 6-7min or so (and I'm out of shape). I like the facility and the trainer I've been dealing with. I just need some more intensity from the CFers.

Most CF gyms I've been to have a good mix of camaraderie, competition, and interaction. People at my gym tend to push each other and there are two whiteboards to show off results: one for today's workout and one for gym PR's on a few of the named workouts (Fran, Grace, etc). The members get along very well and are generally friendly, have occasional meet ups outside of the gym, are friends on facebook, and so on. The "community" aspect of Crossfit is definitely one of its strengths. It's a shame that your gym seems to be missing it. Can you ask them to put up a whiteboard? Do they have a website where they list the WoD and you can post comments with your results?

Having said that, I rarely make it to CF classes these days due to my work schedule and usually just do my own thing. The classes are definitely more fun, but I'm very self motivated and use my own programming, so the main thing for me is having access to all the CF equipment that you can't find at most other gyms (bumper plates, rings, kb's, etc).

 

[SociallyChallenged]

They actually have two white boards up and one specifically to post the WOD's results. They just haven't been using them lately. I asked the trainer about it and he said they just forget to do it. He said he'd remind the other trainers and he'd start putting them up again as well. I just feel like they should be doing this in the first place... and who knows if the trainers will actually remember. And yes, they have a website. I've already posted my results there just out of habit I've dropped posting on my journal quite a bit, but I want to focus on actually getting in shape rather than posting to educate. I sure hope we have a strength day coming up (without press, lol). I haven't been lifting much lately since I lost privileges to the university's gym after graduating.

 

[brikis98]

Power snatch: 88x3, 108x2, 128x2, 148x2, 168x2, 178xF, 178x1, 178xF, 178x1, 183xF, 183xF, 183x1

For some reason, the snatches totally destroyed my lats today. They were still sore from the pull-ups & deadlifts a couple days ago, but after the snatches, they became downright tender. Not sure why. Other than that, the power snatches felt great. O-lifts are fun when they go well.

Row: 2k

Time: 7:17 (PR)

Yay, another 2010 goal done: a sub 7:20 2k row. Maintaining a 1:49 pace was very easy for the first minute, but man, this workout gets tough for the second half. Anyways, I'm glad to see my rowing improving. Perhaps if I bust my ass, I can dip under 7:00 for the 2k and 1:30 for the 500m before the end of the year. If only my running would improve at the same rate...

 

[brikis98]

Clean: 128x3, 178x2, 218x2, 238x1, 258x1, 268x1, 278x1, 288x1, 293xF, 293xF
Push jerk: 128x3, 178x2, 218x2, 228xF, 228x1, 238x1, 248xF, 248xF

A bit of a mixed day. I felt strong and tied my PR's on both lifts (288 clean, 238 push jerk) but missed all my attempts to set new PR's.

Row: 5 rounds of 1 minute on, 3 minutes off

Round 1: 339m
Round 2: 324m
Round 3: 302m
Round 4: 297m
Round 5: 301m

My quads were pretty tired after the o-lifts, so this sucked pretty bad.

 

[brikis98]

Run: ~5.5k loop around campus

Beautiful day, so I just stepped out of my apartment building and went for a jog. Running technique felt great and my breathing was very easy & relaxed. Unfortunately, my quads were heavy & stiff from yesterday and slowed me down quite a bit.

 

[brikis98]

In Europe for a 2 week vacation. This usually means tons of food, beer and wine with no exercise other than lots and lots of walking. Coming back to lifting after this is always rough, but the trips are always worth it.

 

[brikis98]

Got back from Europe last night. As expected, we spent 2 weeks doing TONS of walking, eating enormous quantities of food and drinking plenty of beer & wine. It was a very fun trip - the thermal baths in Budapest were especially fun - but my body took a surprising beating. First off, the walking was a bit absurd: we walked all over Budapest on the first day and when I plugged the route into Google Maps - not including the many zig zags and tiny streets we checked out - it added up to nearly 12 miles. Other days weren't quite as bad, but I'd guess that we averaged ~6 miles per day. Sadly, my body was not happy about this and I felt like an old man as my left hip and right knee were both sore for most of the trip. Despite the heaping portions of food we ate, the walking resulted in some more weight loss, so I'm just under 190lbs again. Finally, I slept oddly on my shoulder the second night and it has been feeling weird since then.

So, due to vacation and food poisoning before the vacation, I've missed 3 out of the last 4 weeks at the gym, am injured and have probably lost lots of muscle mass. I think it's going to be a long & painful road back, starting with a light workout later today.

 

[brikis98]

Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 275x5
Press: 95x5, 135x5, 155x5
Strict pull-ups: 4x10

My first workout back in a while, so I kept it light. My squat technique felt good, but the weight seemed heavy: 275 felt like 315 and 315 felt like 345. My squat strength always drops off quickly, but comes back quickly too. Oh, and, as usual, my quads cramped up a bit. Press and pull-ups were both easy.

Burpees: 50, for time, jump and touch a pull-up bar 1 foot above max reach each rep

Time: 3:31

Didn't push too hard today, just kept a slow & steady pace through out.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Welcome back, man. I just got back from a fourth of July weekend celebration and I suffered terribly from the change in diet. I can't imagine what a few weeks would feel like.

 

[brikis98]

Welcome back, man. I just got back from a fourth of July weekend celebration and I suffered terribly from the change in diet. I can't imagine what a few weeks would feel like.

Thanks. Right now, missing a few weeks feels like a lot of soreness

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thanks. Right now, missing a few weeks feels like a lot of soreness

I can imagine it feels like tomorrow will for me 5 rounds of heavy deadlifts in a metcon really hammered me today.

 

[EvilYoda]

Oh waaaaah. I'm on the road working a tour so I've been to two CF boxes in 6 weeks. I'm a fat fat fatty. Already at 172lb!



(Although, I am hoping to drop by Rogue Fitness tomorrow, w00t!)

 

[brikis98]

Run:

* 1 mile, rest 2 minutes
* 3x400m at the 1 mile pace with 1 minute rest between rounds

Ran on a treadmill.

1 mile: 9mph
3x400m: 10mph

My legs have been really sore the last couple of days, so the first 400m were pretty rough, but after that my legs loosened up and it was a very easy run - in fact, I accidentally ran 1.2 miles, zoning out & forgetting I was supposed to stop. I then bumped up the speed for the 400m repeats to make things slightly tougher, but still got through it pretty easily.

 

[brikis98]

Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1, 425x1, 435x1, 405x1

First time doing deadlifts since the vacation and it was rough. My glutes and hamstrings are already sore.

GHD sit-ups: 3x10
Push-ups: 3x30
Pull-ups: 3x11
Air squats: 3x40

Instead of doing a metcon today, I just did a circuit with a bunch of bodyweight exercises, rotating through each one with minimal rest. My rationale is that doing these moderate intensity exercises will help me ease back into CF workouts and hopefully help prevent debilitating DOMS when I ratchet the intensity back up. It was a fairly easy workout, but with little rest between sets, it still got my heart rate up nicely.

 

[brikis98]

Run: 1.5 miles

Very busy day, so all I could do was sneak in a run: I threw on my VFFs and ran fast out of my apartment building, around all the graduate housing and back, a 1.5 mile loop according to Google Maps.

 

[scootermaster]

Dumb CF-related question:

My CF gym has a daily blog, and the WOD is listed like this:

A. Back Squat 1 Rep Max

B. “Nancy”
5 Rounds for time
15 Overhead Sqauts (95/65)
400M Run

What's with the "A" and the "B"? You pick one? Alternate? Do them both? One's a warmup for the other? I've been looking and I haven't seen any answer for what's up with that.

I start in 18 hours. I'm already tired just thinking about it. =]

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Dumb CF-related question:

My CF gym has a daily blog, and the WOD is listed like this:

A. Back Squat 1 Rep Max

B. “Nancy”
5 Rounds for time
15 Overhead Sqauts (95/65)
400M Run

What's with the "A" and the "B"? You pick one? Alternate? Do them both? One's a warmup for the other? I've been looking and I haven't seen any answer for what's up with that.

I start in 18 hours. I'm already tired just thinking about it. =]

That looks kind of like a CrossFit Strength Bias workout. You do the back squat, PR, and then complete the metcon Nancy. If you're just starting, doing both is probably going to be a bit much. Hopefully they just have you do some back squat form drills and then the WOD.

 

[brikis98]

Dumb CF-related question:

My CF gym has a daily blog, and the WOD is listed like this:

A. Back Squat 1 Rep Max

B. “Nancy”
5 Rounds for time
15 Overhead Sqauts (95/65)
400M Run

What's with the "A" and the "B"? You pick one? Alternate? Do them both? One's a warmup for the other? I've been looking and I haven't seen any answer for what's up with that.

I start in 18 hours. I'm already tired just thinking about it. =]

Many CF intermediate trainees find the following to be true:

1. Increasing strength has a lot of bang-for-the-buck, improving fitness across the board. It obviously helps strength & power, but also helps muscular endurance, work capacity, muscle mass, speed, coordination, etc. For example, if you take your OH squat 1RM from 150lbs to 250lbs, Nancy - a "conditioning" workout - becomes MUCH easier.
2. "Standard" CF programming (such as the mainsite) is not enough to make fast strength gains for many intermediate/advanced trainees. As the body adapts, it gets harder and harder to keep getting stronger, so some extra strength work is usually tossed in.

Because of this, there are numerous CF routines out there that have a "strength bias: Crossfit Strength Bias, Crossfit Football, MEBB and the programming at many CF affiliates. This is what you are seeing with the workout above: it starts with some pure strength work (back squat) and then moves onto regular CF programming (Nancy). The "A" portion of the workout is probably on some sort of cycle (ie, Mondays are always squats of some sort, Weds are always Presses, and so on) while the "B" portion is completely different every workout.

If you are a beginner, this sort of programming is not entirely necessary as novices can usually make plenty of strength gains from just "normal" CF programming. Moreover, this type of routine typically includes more load & volume than mainsite CF, so you need to work up to it to not overwhelm your body. Talk to the CF instructor about it, but my general recommendation would be for beginners to do "skill work" during part (A) and do a scaled version of whatever workout is in (B). For example, you could practice your back squat technique with light weights during (A), enough to improve your form, but nowhere near your 1RM. Alternatively, you could practice your OH squat form in preparation for (B). After that, do 3 rounds of (B) with whatever weight allows you to maintain good OH squat form.