Rainy Day Muscle Ups

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

10 rounds for completion:

5 kb snatches each arm (24 kg)

10 second L sit hold

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

The Bear Complex

7 repetitions of:

Squat Clean to overhead + back squat to overhead

Complete 5 rounds adding load each set

Back extensions 10, 10, 10 (20#)

Rope pullups 10, 8, 6 (20#)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

For time:

800 meter run

30 muscle ups

800 meter run

Big Tuesday today. After Saturday and all the car push fun (pictured above), the last few days were easy off. So, I worked the skill component hard this morning, getting good practice at both kettlbell snatches and L sit holds. Honestly feel stronger every time I do the holds even though they make me want to piss myself by the end.

After watching the members at my gym go through the Bear yesterday, I was a little worried that this wasn’t going to go too well for me. I started with 95# on the bar and worked up 20# per set until I reached 155# on my fourth. After that went well I decided to jump to 185# for the last. It took me about 3 minutes to get my 7 reps, but I got em. This complex is valuable for a couple reasons… 1) You get a lot of squats in. 2) You spend a lot of time under tension. 3) It’s grip intensive. Each of these are reason enough in my book. Put them together and you’ve picked yourself a winner Bobby.

For the conditioning WOD today, I tackled a mainsite one from a few days back. 30 muscle ups sandwiched between 800 meter runs. Now, I don’t know why HQ is all over the 800s lately, but I love it. It’s a painful but fast distance… mostly about guts and breathing if you ask me. Pair that type of effort with something that is more about skill and patience (muscle ups) and it’s a recipe for a great WOD. This didn’t disappoint. And the fact that it was raining like it's December made things even better. I felt great throughout--both 800s took around 2:45 and the muscle ups just over 4 minutes. My total time was 9:42.

Last Saturday's Group WOD

Iceland in 7 weeks!

Hope everyone is training hard and getting ready. It's just around the corner!

Workout of the Day

100 yard sled drag (70#)

30 deadlifts (185#)

30 pushups

Rest and repeat

449 Fight Gone Bad

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

5 Pistol Squats each leg

20 hollow rocks

Repeat 4 times

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

DB kneeling strict press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Barbell walking lunge 10, 10, 10

Toe to bar + chest to bar 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

WOD 3 – in the evening…

“Fight Gone Bad”

3 x 1 minute rounds of

Wall Ball (20#)

Sumo DL high pull (75#)

Box Jumps (20”)

Push Press (75#)

Row

Needless to say, the volume was high today. Technically, the morning session was great practice for me with a skill I’m historically poor at. I’ve found that rolling from my back into the squat is proving the best method developing the ankle flexibility and balance needed to perform this movement. The afternoon WOD marked the return to a move that is sooo under-utilized in CrossFit. The weighted walking lunge is far and away the best developer of glute and high hamstring strength that I have ever found. Grab a barbell, load it up, and do this exercise. Then try to sit down in your desk chair for 3 days. It ain’t happening. I did my sets today at 135#, 155#, and 185#.

Finally, we were doing Fight Gone Bad at the gym today and it felt only appropriate that I throw my hat in the ring for my conditioning session. It’s been 2 years or more since I’ve done this monster, so I didn’t really have high expectations of eclipsing my previous best mark of 425. I gotta say though, it felt much better than anticipated. I didn’t get gassed until halfway through the 3^rd round, and by that time the end was so near that adrenaline was enough to carry me through. I finished at 449, 1 shy of a major milestone. Naturally, the 1 rep I needed to get 450 was left on the table during my last round of wall balls-my only missed target of the WOD. Wish I would’ve video taped it, but such is life.

Expecting major soreness tomorrow so I’ll be heading to the river for some much needed ice water and vitamin D.

Rest Day

Sunset Swim WOD

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

2 Muscle Up to HSPU/minute on the minute

Ring HSPU 4, 4, 4

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Power Clean 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Front Squat 20, 20, 20

Back Extension 10, 10, 10

Rope pullups w/ lateral swing 3 x max

WOD 3 – in the evening…

For Time:

250 yard swim

4 rounds of

100 yard farmers walk (45# db)

20 hand release pushups

Finish with 250 yard swim

I woke up tired today but slowly gained energy throughout the day. My technique and strength on the rings were a step back from last week, but I ironed out a few things and have some ideas about how to improve my form. Body tension is such a difficult thing to maintain when you get tired, but without it you have to work so much harder. Getting from a dip to a handstand smoothly requires body tension, coordination, and some speed.

This afternoon I trained at CF East Sac with Justin, working up to a new 3RM power clean at 265#. Not having done these in a while, I am way pumped to hit that number. Makes me think I might be able to get 285# for a single. Following a heavy explosive set with 3 x 20 front squats is a nice bit of contrast for those of you wanting to be powerful and have strength endurance. I hit 155#, 175#, and 185# for these with plenty of rest between. Pretty well jellied after that.

Finally, I got back out to the lake for this evening’s conditioning. I was smoked after the strength session so getting in the water proved just what the doctor ordered. The water temperature has increased dramatically over the past 2 weeks, hovering somewhere around 70 now. It felt like a swimming pool at sunset. The farmers walks and pushups were less psychologically rewarding, but I battled my way through them just the same. All told, this WOD took me 18:16 to complete. Happily, my respiratory conditioning felt great… no hyperventilation in the water, no sucking gas on the farmers walks. The only thing I was fighting was muscle fatigue and some minor quad cramping from the front squats J. Check the video clip below.

Stairs and Double Unders

Workout of the Day

For time:

10 story stair climb

100 double unders

rest 5 minutes, complete 5 rounds

Finish with bear crawls down 10 stories.

Headed to downtown Sacramento and met up with some buddies to run the 14^th and H parking deck. It’s the tallest such structure in the area and has thus become something of a training ground for local outdoor fitness enthusiasts. The idea behind the WOD was to pair an all out effort (stair sprint) with a skill movement (double unders). We were working on the ability to perform the skill while in oxygen debt and with pumped out legs… mission accomplished. My first split was 1:54, my second 1:52, the third 2:07, the fourth 2:07, and the last 2:04. By the 3^rd round my legs were giving way by the seventh floor, making the rest of the way and the doubles really uncomfortable. Overall, this really taxed me and tested my body’s bounce-back recovery, something that becomes really important in the middle of a workout. Best part about this is that all you need is a jump rope, a stopwatch, and some stairs.

Interval Deadlifts

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

4 rounds of

max HSPU, 20 pullups

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Deadlift

5 @ 315# on the minute for 20 minutes

WOD 3 – in the evening…

1.8 mile hill run for time

100 hollow rocks

Solid day today, ramped the intensity back up for the end of the week and felt strong doing so. Hopefully everyone out there is training hard and pushing their boundaries. Tomorrow I'm heading to downtown Sacramento to run stairs and do double unders atop the city. Literally can't wait. Stay tuned for updates later this weekend.

New Style KB Snatch

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

KB Snatch

50 each side

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

10 rounds for time:

5 floor press (225#)

18 foot legless rope climb

then…

2 minutes accumulated L sit on parrallettes

WOD 3 – in the evening…

2000 meter row for time

Today’s intensity level wasn’t the same as Monday’s, but some of that was by design. Fluctuating the volume, load, and intensity of a given training day is important to allow the body room to adapt and improve. The same level or style too consistently will lead to burnout or boredom.

This morning’s session was all about skill. Kettlebell snatches are a great movement that I’ve needed to address technically for awhile, and thanks to my friend Zvi in Israel I now have. Using a YouTube tutorial he sent me awhile back I’ve completely adjusted and improved this movement. The weight feels lighter, smoother, and, most importantly, I’m not banging the shit out of my wrists anymore. If you want to check it out, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qajlDsLFyk

WOD 2 was more muscular endurance, and 3 was obviously conditioning. The presses went unbroken until the 7^th round, then got pretty rough through the end. The rope climbs were never in question, and the whole thing took me 16:18 to finish. My 2k was much easier than anticipated, so I probably didn't go hard enough. Finished in 6:57 but my stroke rate was down at 22 for most of the middle 1000.

Hoping to log some good rest tomorrow and come hard on Friday/Saturday.

Rest Day

Training for the Games... Day 1

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

1 muscle up to handstand pushup on the minute until 20 minutes

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Front Squat

7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Toes to Bar x 50

Good Mornings x 50 (45#)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

400 meter tire drag for time (95#)

It was my first full day back training since regionals, so apologies for the recent absence of posts. In the spirit of returning to form, however, I really got after it today. I’ve been wanting to practice this morning’s skill for a while and doing single repetitions on the minute allowed me to practice a lot of technique while moderately fatigued. I was able to get all 20 minutes without a miss, but there’s definitely still some work to be done to make the transition more efficient.

The idea behind the front squats was to pick a rep range that I hardly ever work at. 7 seemed a nice balance between pure strength and some muscular endurance, and it turned out to be a great challenge. I completed sets at 225, 235, 245, 255, and failed after 6 reps at 265. All around solid lifting though.

Finally, I took my newly fashioned and eye bolted semi tire out to the lake this evening for some lower body domination. 400 meters of asphalt, no turns. The rules I gave myself were that the elbows couldn’t bend and the tire had to remain on the ground. Other than that, it was simply move the thing to the end of the stretch as fast as possible. I was running, walking, back peddling, side peddling, bear crawling… any which way I could lean to give the muscles most recently in pain a break I was willing to try. It took me 7:34 to complete the distance and I was spent. 95# of rubber doesn’t slide too well on dry asphalt; not like a metal sled does at least. This was all kinds of uncomfortable and challenging, and really not that difficult or expensive to manufacture. Those of you out there looking for a new wrinkle in your outdoor repertoire, get yourself a tire, an eye bolt, a washer and 3 nuts, and a tow rope. It’ll be worth the 50 bucks I promise.

Storyline Video Winner

With the CrossFit Games Regionals last weekend I feel a little behind with things here, including the announcement of the winner for the most recent video challenge. In what amounted to a pretty substantial landslide, the guys from Northern California took home the top prize with "The Great Escape." Congratulations to Ben and Logan for one of the coolest locations and workouts I've seen in a long time. They will each be receiving an Anywherefit shirt and a spot aboard the Sharlaun Family Tours Catamaran for its trip along the Eastern seaboard. If you missed their video, here it is one more time...

Reebok Profile

Big thanks to Reebok for their support.