Box Squattin'

Box Squat 3-3-1-1-1

PushPress 3-3-3-3-1

Yesterday was my second Box Squat workout. Cullen at Crossfit Flagstaff has coached me into a good position - feet wide, butt back, shins vertical. The key to box squatting seems to be exploding out of the bottom position. Even though I was moving slow at heavy weights, the goal is maximum force production. Think about jumping the weight through the roof as soon as your butt touches the box. I hit a 1RM of 235# in the Box Squat, and 160# in the Push Press.

Jan 18 2010 - Snatch Form Review

I took some time this morning to work on snatch form. A couple of my lifts are worth watching.

Oly Practice
Catalyst Athletics Drill Progression (15kg x 5 reps ea.)
. Overhead Squat
. Pressing Snatch Balance
. Heaving Snatch Balance
. Snatch Balance
. Tall Muscle Snatch
. Scarecrow Snatch
. Mid-Hang Snatch
Snatch 35kg x 1 rep x 9 sets (on 1 min rest)

Three snatch attempts at 35kg. Reps 1, 2, and 8.
Rep 1 - watch how the bar ends up behind my heels in the squat.
Rep 2 - the bar gets in front of my toes as I over correct.
Rep 8 - I settle into a decent receiving position, but it's not quick.
(WARNING: there's cool music in the vid.)


3 hours Rest

GB WOD
50 Bar Dips (10 reps x 5 sets)
Back Squat 160# x 5, 185# x 3, 210# x 9 reps
AQAP: 15-12-9 [Front SQT (155#), Strict Chin-ups]

Today was a wonderful test of my new weightlifting shoes. They helped tremendously with the full-depth squat snatches in the morning. The Get Built workout had me back squatting heavy, then front squatting a reletively heavy weight for 36 reps. I felt like I got good depth in all of the squats. I only had trouble with 3 reps of front squat, where I was fatigued and not balancing well. I decided not to scale the front squats and ended up having to rack the bar after every 2 reps in the final set. My quads are no longer speaking with me.

Jan 11 2010 - Wendlerriffic Squats

This is my first day combining both the strength progression and lifting at Get Built. I probably should have started the deadlifts earlier to get a couple more hours of rest between workouts.


Strength
Deadlift 5 rep max (138kg/305#)

3.5 hours Rest

GB WOD
20 Strict Chin-ups
Squat 145# x3reps, 170# x3reps, 195# x17 reps
Reverse Lunges 75# x 12 reps x 2 sets
One-Leg Romanian Deadlifts 75# x 12 reps x 2 sets
Burpee Box Jumps 12 reps x 2 sets

The squats were 60%, 70%, and 80% of my one rep max. Two sets of three reps, then a set for as many reps as possible. Get Built is following the 5-3-1 program by Jim Wendler, a former competitive powerlifter. I'm curious to see how this works.

Jan 10 2010 - Scared of Letting Go

Strength
Power Snatch worked up to 55kg/121# for 2 singles
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (107kg/235#)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (39kg/86#)

Since I've been making good progress on my squats, I want to keep at it. On the other hand, I'm excited to do conditioning with the crossfitters down the hill. Mixing two programs is usually a pretty bad idea. But I can't let go of the strength gains I'm making yet. This means I'll have to pay a little more attention to my recovery. We'll see how well it works.

I've still got a delay between driving my hips up and lifting my chest. This causes me to have a pretty horizontal back angle. Anyone jogging by has my permission to shout "chest up" if they see me doing this again.

Jan 04 2010 - Where is my motivation?

I put off my workout until it was very cold and dark. Big mistake. I need to lift when the sun is shining and the bar temperature is above freezing.

Strength
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (105kg)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (35kg)

Conditioning
5 Rounds as Quickly As Possible
. 20 Ball Slams (20kg KB)
. 10 Broad Jumps

I'm de-loading the press and working back up to my current sticking point of 49kg. Hopefully the lower weight will let me recover fully and break through the barrier.

The broad jumps tired out my low back in a hurry. Kettlebell slams in the garden in winter are less than joyous. Once the bell broke through the frozen layer of ground and started sticking in the mud beneath I had a slippery, colder kettlebell to deal with. Again: work out in sunshine, be happy!

Jan 01 2010 - New Year, New Order of Magnitude

OK, so I haven't made a huge jump since the last workout, just the usual 2kg increase. But I've passed the 100 kilogram mark. It's not magic. It's only a nice, round number because I've been using kilograms the past couple months. But I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, and I'm happy about it.

Looking back through my training logs, I see that two months ago 95kg was my 1 rep max, and now I'm doing 101kg for reps. A year ago I had no idea what my 1RM squat was - I'd just returned from a month in Australia and two weeks of franticly moving my belongings across the country and catching up with family. Training wasn't a priority.

It doesn't have to be around the new year, but it's a good idea to take some time to look at one's training in longer spans than the current week or cycle. A bit of review lends perspective, allows one to appreciate how long progress can take, and celebrate aspects of improvement.

When asked about the intensity of his training, Greg Lemond once said "It never gets any easier, you just go faster." It's the same with weight training. It doesn't magically become easy, but the way we keep progressing is by pushing beyond comfort. Because it's always difficult, we can get discouraged. Keeping track of workouts in a log or journal lets us see how far we've come.

So keep a training log. Record your workouts. Once in a while, look back and celebrate the progress you've made. Have a safe and happy new year!

Strength
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (101kg)

Conditioning
5 rounds for time
1 Round =
. 4x20m shuttle run
. 8 Kettlebell Swings (24kg)
. 16 Pushups
. 60 sec Rest

Happy with the squats. Pressed only 4 reps at 49kg. Scrapped it and moved on to conditioning for time management & mental health purposes. Conditioning rounds took from 52 to 56 seconds. Fast, fun workout.

DEC 29 2009 - Back in Chattanooga

Yesterday was a bonus rest day. My recovery has been poor due to lost sleep from travelling and lots of sugary holiday food. Now I'm on a one day delay from the CF FootBall site. I'll stay on the delay until the end of the week, rest Sunday, and be back in synch on Monday.

Strength
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (99kg)
Press 3 sets (5,3,5 reps at 49kg)

Conditioning
As Many Reps As Possible
10x [1 min Sumo DL High Pull (20kg), 1 min Rest]
Goal = 300 reps

My pressing irked me. I don't know why I missed 2 reps on the 2nd set. The last rep of set 3 was ugly, too. The squat went fairly well, I'm starting to get the hang of the belt and shoes.

The conditioning workout got scary reviews in the CFFB comments section yesterday, so I thought I'd be well below 300 reps. Turned out I got 342. I'm guessing there's a disconnect between using the C2 rowing machine and my sumo deadlift high pulls with a kettlebell. I'd love to do this workout on a C2 and compare my score.

DEC 23 2009 - Why I hate Mirrors

No, it's not 'cause I'm ugly, but nice try. I hate mirrors in the weight room because they mess with my balance. I learned to squat by reading Mark Rippetoe's excellent book Starting Strength, and he is vehement about looking at a spot on the ground six to ten feet ahead while squatting. His reasoning is that it makes balancing a little easier to have a fixed reference point at about that distance. Since reading that I have not squatted at a facility with mirrors right in front of the squat rack. Until today.

When I squat at home I have a little water mark on the wall that I like to focus on. At the YMCA, the mirror stopped at about the same height as my happy little water mark, so I picked a spot just below the mirror as a point of reference. As soon as I started squatting, I saw myself move in my peripheral vision and couldn't stop from looking up. I wound up with my weight too far back and wobbled a bit in the bottom. Fortunately, this was my first warm-up set, and I had about four more sets to correct my tendency to look up.

But the mirror made it so hard to not look up. It seemed there were two types of distracting thoughts runnning through my head. One is the visceral "look out for danger" response that I have to anything moving in my peripheral vision. The other is more cerebral. I want to check my form. Are my knees staying out? Is my chest up? Did my lower back round at the bottom? It was actually easier to ignore the distractions caused by the mirror once the weight got heavy. The last two reps of each work set were hard enough that all I could think about was driving up.

But I still hate the mirrors. The only reason they're in the weight room is so the boys doing their alternate dumbbell bicep curls can 1) make sure they're flexing their glutes or 2) make sure someone else in the gym is looking at their glutes.

Strength
Squat 3sets of 5 reps (210# / ~95kg)

Conditioning
As Quickly As Possible: 100 Pullups
(7:35)

DEC 18 2009 - My First CF FootBall Total

CF FootBall Total:
The total is the combined weight from 1 rep max lifts in each of the following 4 lifts : power clean, back squat, bench press, and deadlift. The lifts are done in that order, with 3 attempts allowed in each lift. Only the best 1RM weight counts toward the total.

Lacking a bench, I substituted the press, which brought down my potential score. On the positive side, I can compare my strength gains to previous CF Totals (squat, press, deadlift) more easily, since that workout uses the press.

Power Clean - 75kg / 165#
Back Squat - 111kg / 245# PR!
Press - 55kg / 121#
Deadlift - 149kg / 328# PR!
Total - 390kg / 859#

I've cleaned 170# before, and pressed 130#. I think my press would have progressed more if I had been able to bench press when the CFFB program called for it. Nevertheless, I'm a lot stronger than I was at the beginning of November, when I started following the CFFB site. On November 1st I squatted a 1RM of 95kg (209#); I'm happy with a 16kg (36#) increase. It's a 15# increase over my previous PR back in April. The deadlift is a 13# increase over my previous PR, also from April.

I'm pleased with the effect that CrossFit Football has had on my body, and will stick with the programming once I return from Christmas travels. Blog posts may be sporadic until the first week of January. Thanks for following, and have a merry Christmas!

DEC 14 2009 - Press Progress

Strength
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (91kg)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (49kg)

Conditioning
4 rounds As Quickly As Possible:
. 5 Clean Pulls (90% 1RM Clean=65kg)
. 10 Strict Pullups
. 15 Back Extensions (Superman)
. 27 Sumo Deadlift High-Pull (20kg)

Even though I didn't get all 15 reps up on the press (missed the last one), I feel that I'm making progress on form. Heavy weights force improvements in form - you weed out inefficiencies or miss the lift. The head-bob that I was doing earlier is much diminished. I'm pretty happy with the lockout position. Also, watch the change in elbow position between when I clean the bar up and the first rep of press.

press 49kg 12 14 2009 from Scott Francis on Vimeo.

The conditioning workout required me to make some substitutions. The original called for back extensions in a roman chair or GHD while holding a 25# weight. I had to make due with Superman back extensions on the ground without the extra weight. The posted workout also called for rowing, which I replaced with 27 reps of Sumo Deadlift High-Pull with a 20kg kettlebell. It took me 13:17.

DEC 10 2009 - Monster of Another Sort

Conditioning
7 rounds As Quickly As Possible:
. 6 Back Squats (115%Bodyweight = 85kg)
. 8 Broad Jumps (6ft. minimum)

It doesn't look too awful, does it. Trust me, it's a beast. Something about the broad jumps makes everything harder. My thought is that the back & abs get a double whammy from stabilizing the explosive jump, then the landing, and it leaves them whining when it comes time for another round of heavy squats. 85kg was a 15 rep (3sets of 5) PR for me, just a couple weeks ago. Now I got to do 42 reps! Super-happy-fun-time! I finished in 19:30 and went to bed.

DEC 07 2009 - Press Trouble

Strength:
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (89kg)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (49kg)

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes
1 Round = [10 Ring Rows, 10 Ring Push-ups]

I felt good on the squats. The press was hard, I got 4, 3 & 3 reps. Didn't complete any of the sets. If the pattern holds, I'll get all 15 reps next week. If not, I'll have to re-think what to do for the pressing exercises. CrossFit Football prescribes press on Mondays, bench press on Thursdays. Since I have no bench, I've been playing around with different substitutions. At first I also pressed Thursdays, but hit a wall trying to increase the load twice a week. Next I tried 5sets of 3 split jerks, on the theory that supporting a heavier load than I can press would drive improvement on my press much like the bench press would. It'll be interesting to see how that works out.

I finished the conditioning work with 11 full rounds and 2 more ring rows.

DEC 03 2009 - Substitutions

Sorry for the delay in getting these posts up.

Strength:
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (87kg)

Conditioning:
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
1 Round = [3 Handstand Pushups, 5 Strict Pullups, 7 Knees-to-Elbows]

I made two substitutions: I did incline push-ups (feet 4' off ground) as I don't yet have a handstand pushup, and I counted pullups where my chin rose above the bar but where my chest failed to touch the bar. Since this Summer I've been doing chest-to-bar pullups and feel that it's been a tremendous aid in getting my first muscle-up, and improving pulling power all around. But I have a hard time getting chest-to-bar without kipping. So I still do strict pullups to the chin-over-bar standard.

10 rounds + 2 incline pushups.

NOV 30 2009 - Press Progress

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (85kg)
Press 3sets of 5 reps (47kg)
Rest
5 Rounds As Quickly As Possible:
. 7 L-Pullups
. 14 Ring Dips
. 100m Sprint

I was able to complete all 15 reps of the press at 47.2kg today! Last time I only got 11 reps. My squat feels strong, but heavy. I come up slowly. The conditioning workout took me 14 minutes, 30 seconds. The ring dips really slowed me down.

NOV 26 2009 - Sluggish Turkey Day

I lacked motivation. The squats went well, but the split jerks and conditioning were less than my best.

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (81kg)
Split Jerk 5 sets of 3 reps (55kg)
Rest
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
5 Pullups
7 Push-Press (45kg)
9 Knees-to-elbows

I managed 7 rounds, plus one pullup.

NOV 23 2009 - Security

The workouts after rest days are always special. Today's was no exception:

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (79kg)
Rest
3 Rounds As Quickily As Possible:
. 4x 53m Sprints (out,back, out,back)
. 12 Power Cleans (55kg)
. 6 Push Jerks (55kg)
Rest
As Many Rounds As Possible in 3 minutes:
. Medicine Ball Throw (20#)
. Broad Jmps to Med Ball
. Return to start carrying Med Ball Overhead

I finished the conditioning workout in 10:55. Looking at the CF Football site, maybe I scaled it too light. I chose 55kg because 65 seemed too close to my 1 rep max (70kg). If I'd used 65kg it would have turned into a 20 minute strength workout. At 55kg it was good for power production. I only had to set the weight down during the last round of push-jerks. Overall, this was an excellent workout. Lots of power production, a pull, a push, and sprints. Hits everything an athlete needs.

Today I added my first "Finisher" workout. I made a deck of cards with very short workouts that address one of my limiters or add core work. Today's turned out to be a fun combination of medicine ball throws and broad jumps.

Midway through my first round of power cleans a couple of door-to-door salesmen started asking me questions. I had no inclination to slow down my workout in order to more politely shatter their dreams of making a big sale. One guy was shouting what I think was encouragement as he approached. Fortunately (for them), before they could get within throwing range of my barbell, my lovely fiancee explained what I was doing and fielded all their questions. After I was done with the workout, I asked her what they were selling. Security systems. "Does it look like we need a security system?" she asked. I agree, it's much more fun to chase down criminals and beat them with a kettlebell. I wonder if there's a "Beware of CrossFitter" sign I can put up in the yard?

NOV 21 2009 - Burner!

Chin-ups weren't on the CFFB website, but I noticed that yesterday's were supposed to be strict (no kipping), so I did them strict today.

Strict Chin-ups, 3 sets for max reps (11,8,7)

Rest
As Quickly As Possible:

30 Back Squats with bodyweight (75kg)

200m Sprint

30 Burpees
Rest
Tabata Push-Press (25kg) - (12,11,10,9,8,9,8,9)


First time doing this workout with full bodyweight squats (I weighed 71kg this morning). Finished in 8:58. My goal was under 10 minutes. I broke the squats into sets of 5. The "sprint" felt like a slog. I had to stop for breath 3 times during the burpees. In Crossfit beware anything that's "only" one round. They burn!

I added Tabata Push-presses as a finisher, since I have a rest day tomorrow. Tabata intervals are 8 rounds of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. Do as many reps as possible. I use a weight that lets me go fast. Tabata work is great for building muscular endurance.

NOV 19 2009 - "The Ensign"

Any time a named workout comes up on a CrossFit web page I worry. In the short time I've been following CrossFit Football, this is only the second named workout I've done. It's a modification of another workout I have done called "The Chief," which left me gasping on the deck. For me "The Ensign" was harder due to the substitution of ring dips every other cycle.

I feel that I got the scaling about right for the power cleans, but perhaps I should have done fewer ring dips, or dips with a band assist. After cranking out 6 fast pushups I was struggling to do more than 3 dips in a row. They really slowed me down.

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (77kg)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (47kg - 5 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps)
Rest
"The Ensign"
Six cycles of 4 minutes each:
. 3 min As Many Round As Possible where
. 1 Round = [3 Power Cleans (55kg), 6 Pushups, 9 Air Squats or Ring Dips*]
. 1 min Rest
*on cycles 1,3,&5 do 9 Air Squats per round;
on cycles 2,4,&6 do 9 Ring Dips

My results:
Cycle 1 - 4 rounds + 3 power cleans
Cycle 2 - 2 rounds +3 power cleans, 1 pushup
Cycle 3 - 3 rounds + 3 power cleans, 6 pushups, 1 squat
Cycle 4 - 2 rounds + 1 power clean
Cycle 5 - 3 rounds + 3 power cleans, 6 pushups, 5 squats
Cycle 6 - 2 rounds + 2 power cleans
16 total complete rounds.

Nov 18 2009 - Bouncing Back

After addressing some serious weaknesses the past two days, I'd like to review one point of progress I've made this year. I have become better at using the "bounce" in the bottom of a squat. I'd read about the hamstring stretch-reflex which can help propel an athlete out of the bottom of a full-depth squat, but hadn't been able to feel it until this Autumn.

I think it took me a long time to develop the back strength and hamstring flexibility necessary to use the bounce. Until recently I had a "butt wink," or loss of lumbar curve, in the bottom of my squat. My hamstrings were pulling my back into flexion. Essentially my tight hamstrings and soft back were absorbing the bounce.

Here is a video of my overhead squat this March. Look for the quick rounding of my back in the bottom of each squat. Also, note that my heels come off the ground in the bottom of each squat - another sign of tight hamstrings.


Next is a video of my squats two days ago. Watch me start up fast, due to the stretch-reflex, then grind up slowly through the middle.

Now, if I can just keep my knees all the way out to the sides....

NOV 12 2009 - Slightly More Solid Squats

Strength work today went well. The depth is good and I feel like I was a little better at controlling my back angle in the bottom of the squats. But here's a vid so you can judge for yourself.



Well, maybe not. Reps #2 & 3 are good, but in #4 & 5 my hips come up first and I lean forward.

Presses were OK, though I felt some imbalance between my right and left arms. I wonder if I got one hand farther out when I shifted my grip after the clean.

The conditioning workout was a bear! I was breathing hard and shedding clothes in no time. The CrossFit Footbal folks have nailed the art of intensity. Doing two sets of the gymnastics movements instead of one big set of 6/12/18 kept me moving the whole time. Wicked.

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (71kg)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps (41kg)
Rest 6 minutes
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
1 Round = 3 Power Snatches (45kg) + 2 sets: [3 Pullups, 6 Pushups, 9 Box Jumps]

I finished 6 rounds and missed the seventh by 5 box jumps.