Jan 08 2010 - Transition

Happy birthday to me! Well, it's not really my birthday, but a kind and caring couple has given me an early present - a gym membership! Not only is the gym warmer than my front porch, it's run by CrossFit trainers! So I'll be shifting my programming to take advantage of the warmth, both physical and emotional, that comes from working out with the group of crossfitters at Get Built Chattanooga. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)

GBC WOD:

Overhead Squats 95# x 21 reps
Bench 115# x 5, 135# x 5, 155# x 17

As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 minutes:
1 Round =
. 5 Hang Power Snatches (75#)
. 7 Overhead Squats (75#)
. 9 Hang Power Cleans (75#)

Those who despise or are confused by the metric system will be happy to know that I'll be back to expressing most of my lifting in pounds. The exception will be any supplemental lifting I do on my front porch.

DEC 20 2009 - Travel Workout

We were on the road for the holidays, so I made up a kettlebell workout. The heavy lifting will have to wait until I get near a gym.

Conditioning
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
1 Round =
. 2 KB Thrusters (1 per arm)
. 5 KB Swings
. 4 KB Thrusters (2 per arm)
. 10 KB Swings
. 6 KB Thrusters (3 per arm)
. 15 KB Swings

I used a 24 kg kettlebell, which felt very heavy. I spent more time catching my breath than I would have liked, but it was probably good for me. I finished 3 complete rounds and got all of the fourth except the last 15 swings.

I spent yesterday driving, and I'll do the same tomorrow, so it was great to have a workout. If you're travelling by car a kettlebell or dumbbell is a handy impromptu workout tool. Bring it along. For a wide variety of workout options google "kettlebell complex" for a host of different workout schemes. My travel kit consists of a kettlebell, rings, a jumprope, and a programmable timer.

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.

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 09 2009 - How To Trick Yourself Into Lifting More

Had you asked me yesterday if I could push-press 45kg (99#) 55 times and do 55 strict pullups in 15 minutes, I'd have said "No." But it's amazing what one can do by breaking things down into smaller sets.


Today's Workout:

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps at 69kg (on 2 min rest)
Press 3 sets of 5 reps at 39 kg (on 2 min rest)
Rest 5 min
As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 minutes:
1 Round = [1 Push-Press, 1 Pullup, 3Push-Press, 3 Pullup, 5 Push Press, 5 Pullup]


For the Push-Presses I used a 45kg bar. I was able to get 6 full rounds completed, plus 1 more push-press and one pullup. Very tricky.

Here's a short vid - the last 2 reps of my press at 39kg. I tried to keep my head more in line with my spine. I'm pretty happy with this, I have no doubt that I'm locking out overhead. If anyone has feedback, I'd like to hear it in the comments section.