Fitness-7/31-deadlifts, tgu/hspu/run

Friday WOD-deadlifts

We continued with our strength phase and went after 5 x 5 max effort deadlifts today. As with squats on Tuesday, we emphasized a 2-0-1 tempos. 2 seconds down, 0 seconds at bottom, and 1 second up. This tempo continues to challenge. This was my first time hitting heavy deadlifts in some time and I was excited to get after it. My sets looked as follows:

-5 x 225

-5 x 275

-5 x 295

-5 x 315

-5 x 335 

Man that last set was a tough bugger but I got it. My deadlift is significantly decreased from a few months ago. But that's to be expected when you take a 2 month hiatus from heavy deads. At the Northwest Qualifier, I hit a pr 1 rep deadlift of 462#. At that time, my 5 rep max effort was 405#. So, I'm down about 70#. Seems like a lot when you say it, but really, it's not too far to come. So much of lifting heavy weight is neuromuscular and I'm confident in the next few weeks I will make some pretty impressive gains. I think my goal of a 500# pull before the year's up is still realistic. 

After the deadlifts, we went after a short met-con. It was amrap in 10 minutes of:

-5 r/l tgu, 24kg

-max rep hspu(set terminates when you can no longer press in your original handstand)

-run 100m

score=2 rounds +5 tgu's, 13 hspu's total

This little guy was tough, asked a lot out of the shoulders. After 5 heavyish tgu's on each side, the hspu's we're wicked tough. Even with bands, I was only able to get 8 before failure the first round, 5 the second. ll look forward to continuing work on these movements. 

Nutrition-7/31

Friday

SLEEP: 6 hours on the night (weaaakkkk)

7:45am(pre-workout)

-large banana

10:30am

-2 hardboiled eggs

-6 oz. lamb leg steak

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1/3 cup raisins

-12 oz. coffee, black

-2g epa+dha

8pm(el gitanos)

-chicken super nachos w/guac and sour cream

-small chicken enchilada

-too much chips and salsa

9:30pm

-wendy's large frosty

Fitness-7/29+7/30-Active Rest

Wednesday and Thursday

I took Wednesday and Thursday as rest days but was active with both of them and they ended up being very purposeful. On Wednesday, I went into the gym and went through a thorough warm-up until I was good and sweaty. I then put myself through a 5 round, 1min on/1min off wheel routine working knee tucks, pikes, crab walks, inch-worm and L-sits crawls. It was a surprisingly tough 10 minutes but light enough and with enough rest to keep the intensity down accordingly. After the wheel work, I worked the foam roller and stretched almost excessively. I left feeling good.

On Thursday, I went out and played 9 holes of golf. It was a great active rest, especially with the heat. I was sweating from hole 1 on and I felt it really helped me to loosen up quick and stay loose which is something I struggle with when I normally play. And just to get out and walk for a couple hours was worthwhile. It was refreshing to my legs and the good for my mind and soul. I'll be playing again before the weekend's out. 

Nutrition-7/30

Thursday

SLEEP: 7 hours on the night (still poor with the heat)

7:30am

-12 oz. coffee, black

-2 hardboiled eggs

-2 links isernio's extra lean chicken sausage

-large banana

-1 oz. dried apricots

-1g epa+dha

8:30am

-double 12 oz. americano, black

11:20am

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-5 oz. carrots

-medium apple

-1g epa+dha

3pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

-1g epa+dha

8:30pm-11:30pm(out with the boys again)

-chicken and shrimp pad thai w/light peanut sauce

-2 pints alaskan white ale

-1 pint new castle brown ale

-1 pint blue moon

-2 scoops cookies and cream ice cream w/waffle cone(Mallard's)

-140 oz. water on the day

Nutrition-7/29

Wednesday

SLEEP: 7ish hours on the night(sleep still very restless with the heat)

7:15am

-2 links isernio's extra lean chicken sausage

-2 hardboiled eggs

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1g epa+dha

8:15am

-double 16 oz. americano

11:10am

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-medium apple

-2 oz. dried apricots

3:10pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

7:15pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

9:30pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-8 tbspn guacamole 

-3/4 cup blueberries

-1 cup blackberries

-1 cup raspberries

-1g epa+dha

125 oz. water on the day

Fitness-7/28-back squats

Tuesday WOD-5 x 5 back squats

Not sure if I've mentioned it yet but this week we've started into a new programming as a gym that will take us all the way to next year's regional qualifier for the 2010 CrossFit Games. A few weeks back, if you would have asked me, I would've told you I had no desire to train hard for the rest of the summer. My full intention was to coast into the fall, training when I felt like it, not training when I didn't and just trying to spend more time outside staying active and in shape. I still plan on making the most of that outside part, but in the last month, my body has really started to feel good. I'm feeling refreshed and am chomping at the bit to start a planned preparation to become the fittest I can be. I'm stoked.

And we're coming out of the gates hard starting with a strength oriented phase that'll go the next 4 weeks. We kicked it off today with 5 x 5 max effort back squats at a 2-0-1 timing. 2 seconds down, 0 seconds hold, 1 second up. The timing made things significantly more challenging. My sets looked as follows:

-135 x 5
-185 x 5
-205 x 5
-225 x 5
-255 x 5


The 2 second controlled descent made these squats harder than I thought they'd be. In hindsight, I still should have finished higher. I started a bit too light for max effort. I wanted the first sets to be easy but they we're probably a bit too easy. I should have finished about 20-30 pounds higher. Will do next time. I'm looking forward to improving my squat as it's by far the weakest of the lifts for me.


We finished with a short but intense 3 rounder to get our met-con on. It was 3 rounds of 4 exercises at 45 seconds on/20 seconds off, moving to the next exercise during the rest period. Our score was the combined total of reps for each exercise, calories on the rower. My scores were as follows:


-kb abmat situp, 16kg, score=71
-doubleunders, score=151
-row, score=63
-ring dips, score=22

Everything went pretty well except for the ring dips. I had 10 my first round and then struggled to bang out 6 in each of the remaining rounds. I really need to improve that pressing strength, another weakness. Everything else was right in my wheel-house. I never stopped on the sit-ups, just couldn't physically perform them any faster, especially without cheating. The row was good and the du's were decent. The last two rounds of du's were rough because I was sucking wind but the skill is there and my conditioning will improve as we continue to amp up the effort.

Nutrition-7/28

Tuesday

SLEEP: 7 hours on the night (poor and restless)

8am
-3 hardboiled eggs
-3 links isernio's extra lean chicken sausage
-1/4 cup walnuts
-large banana
-2 oz. dried apricots
-1g epa+dha

9am
-double 12 oz. americano, black


12pm
-4 oz. turkey breast
-1/3 cup walnuts
-6 oz. carrots
-medium apple
-1g epa+dha


4pm
-3 oz. turkey breast
-1/4 cup walnuts
-large banana
-1g epa+dha




6:30pm
-3 oz. turkey breast
-1/4 cup walnuts
-large banana
-1g epa+dha


9:20pm
-4 oz. chicken breast
-2 hardboiled eggs
-8 tbspn guacamole
-8 oz. blueberries
-8 oz. strawberries
-1g epa+dha

-157 oz. water on the day

Fitness-7/27-Tabata

Monday-Tabata 

Today, we went after a pretty intense tabata that included a good amount of kb and core work. It was a great wod in the heat and to start the week as we begin to phase into a strength cycle as a gym. Instead of the normal 8 rounds of 20:10 work to rest and 4 different exercises, we did 6 rounds of each exercise at 20:10, work to rest. But we went after 7 exercises. Your score for each exercise was you lowest total reps for any round. In other words, even if you pounded out 10 reps the first 5 rounds but then only hit 5 reps on the 6th round, you're score for that exercise would be 5. Here are the exercises we did along with my low score for each:

-1arm kb thrusters, 24kg, score=10

-recline pullups, score=8

-kb snatch, 24kg, score=5

-pushup w/knees to bows, feet in rings, score=4

-1arm kb rack lunge, 24kg, score=10

-supine leg curls, feet in rings, score=8

I can't for the life of me remember what the 7th exercise was. Oh well, it'll likely come to me. I felt pretty good about this wod. I wasn't strategizing for a score, I was going as hard as I could from the start and just trying to hit the highest number possible each round. It was a good day. 

Nutrition-7/27 and "The Weekend"

The Weekend

Over the weekend, my nutrition wasn't awful but there were times where it wasn't great. Namely on Friday where a movie night led to the destruction of an ice cream bar and assorted candy; Saturday where my misgivings included an oatmeal raisin cookie, 2 chimichangas at El Gitano's, and a couple beers too many; and Sunday where the choice splurge was orange chicken, tortilla chips and guac, all from Trader Joes. But, I did well not to over eat on the splurge train and my weight is actually down. And I don't feel awful today either. My body feels pretty good and rested actually. Ready for a good week. 

Monday

SLEEP: 8 hours (not bad, but the sleep was restless with the heat)

7:30am

-3 hardboiled eggs

-3 links isernio's extra lean chicken sausage

-6 oz. blueberries

-6 oz. strawberries

-large banana

8:30am

-double 12 oz. americano, black

11:45am

-4 oz. turkey breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

-5 oz. carrots

3:20pm

-4 oz. turkey breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-3 oz. dried apricots

6:30pm

-4 oz. turkey breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1/3 cup raisins

8:30pm(out with the boys)

-6 oz. seared ahi tuna w/light soy and wasabi

-4 oz. mixed greens, no dressing

-1 pint organic golden ale

-2 scoop Mallard's ice cream, sugar cone

-5g epa+dha on the day

-160 oz. water on the day