anywherefit

Friday, February 3, 2012

Pipe Flips and Battling Ropes

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

3 x 10 shinbox switch 3 point isometric handstand holds on parallettes

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

3 dead stop floor press every minute on the minute @ 245# until failure to complete. 10 minute cap. 10 minute AMRAP: 1 pipe flip (330#) :30 battling ropes (alternating techniques)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

3 rounds for time: 100 yard individual medley (fly, back, breast, free) 100 walking lunges

If Tuesday was light on volume, today made up for it. I began the day with a new exercise pulled from Evolution Kettlebell Groundwork, a great program recommended to me by my man Zvi in Israel. My hip flexibility is way lopsided so this wasn’t easy for me to handle, but I could definitely see improvement by the end of the sets. For a sample of this move without hip extension, watch this..

I crushed the floor presses in the afternoon, making all 10 rounds without much trouble, and really enjoyed the assistance workout that followed. Pipe flips, the indoor cousins of log flips, are a cold blooded killer of an exercise, and SO MUCH FUN. I’ve had this apparatus in my gym for the past few months, thanks to the guys at Steelfit, but haven’t got it on tape until now. You can find some footage at the bottom of this post.

I wrapped up the day hitting the pool for the second week in a row, this time doing a more classically “CrossFit” workout than before. 3 rounds for time of a 100 yard individual medley and 100 walking lunges. The air was a little brisk, so hopping out of the pool to do those lunges each set wasn’t exactly inviting. But it provided the break from the brutality of the IM that I needed to keep working. 100 yards in the pool doing that combination of strokes takes your air in a hurry. And your arms as well. So pairing it with a relatively slower and lower body exercise like lunges is a good call. My pace during the WOD was pretty consistent, and I finished the whole thing in 12:44. Heading snowshoeing on Saturday so probably won’t get to deadlift or condition as planned, and I’m totally fine with it. Really looking forward to this trip.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Recovery Icebath

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Death by… 1 muscle up, 2 handstand pushups, 3 muscle ups, 4 handstand pushups… etc. until failure to complete.

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Snatch 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 3 back squats every minute on the minute @ 80% 1RM until failure to complete. 10 minute cap. 10 minutes glide kip practice

WOD 3 – in the evening…

5 minutes max wall ball shots (20#)

Pretty low volume day today, with the exception of the 137 wall balls I did for conditioning (this didn’t suck as bad as I anticipated, by the way). Even with that last bit, though, my body doesn’t feel like it did too much. Maybe this is because I only made it through the 9^th minute of the muscle up/hspu sequence before failing. Being decently disappointed with that number, I continued on til 15 minutes doing pullups instead of muscle ups. On the up side, kipping handstand pushups continue to feel easier and easier.

For the snatch doubles I made 225# cleanly, then attempted 235# but was only able to stick one of them. Probably a bit aggressive to try and make a double just 5# under my PR, but it gave me confidence to go for more weight next week. The back squats felt good at 355# for all 10 rounds-should be set for singles at 415# next go around.

The details for Munich-Vienna-Prague are set and Iceland 2012 is being ironed out as we speak. In case you’ve forgotten how sick this trip was, here’s a reminder.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Trail Running Rules

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

10 minute AMRAP: :10 L sit from the ground 5 strict handstand pushups

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Deadlift 15, 15, 15, 15 @ 315# 2 x 60 foot pulley hoist (106#) 2 x 200 meter sled drag (255#)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

4 mile trail run

Great training day to cap off the week, highlighted by the perceived improvement in handstand skills. 5 strict presses isn’t anything special, but the way they felt and the lack of pain in any part of my shoulders is. Usually after that many handstand pushups (10 rounds worth) my left shoulder would get a little creaky. This time, however, I was able to keep the scapula down and back as it’s supposed to be and, lo and behold, no pain. This is no doubt the result of all the isometric holds I’ve been doing in the mornings at different heights in the press.

The deadlift session was equally as positive, as I was able to knoack out 15 unbroken reps at 315# on 3 of the 4 sets (only did 12 the first set because I’m a pussy). The best part was that my grip turned out to be the weakest link in the chain, not my back. Hallelujah for that. The sled pulls destroyed my legs… I write this from a day full of foam rolling, but not so bad that I couldn’t get out on the trail for a good old fashioned back country run. I took it easy considering the loaded work earlier in the day, but damn was it enjoyable. Perfect weather, and the prospect of 2 days of rest do a lot for the psyche. Don’t doubt the importance of looking forward to your next session. I can’t wait til Tuesday. But I’m gonna :-)