Saturday, June 5, 2010

Thursday Squats

So we got to worked on the front squat.

7 rounds
2 minutes do 2 reps of front squat with chains

I really like the front squat, but it felt a bit rusty on the hips. I know with 80# of chain my 1 rep max is 205, so I started off with 155#, then bumped it up to 165# after the third set.

I was thankful my re-intro was a strength day, I don't think I could've done a full out met-con very well.

However, I was able to do the "after-party" for two rounds

500m row
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 kb swings

I liked this one, but my lord the second round was tougher than the first round. Both were somewhere around 5 minutes.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Almost a week without crossfit...

It's been six days of not crossfitting. And I am really chomping at the bit here. I was in NYC for memorial day weekend, and Tues/Wed required me to attend to other matters. This is going to suck, but thank God today's wod isn't a met-con.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

body roll class FTW!

So I found out the PTO's gym offers free body rolling massage classes like two-three times a week.

Attended one on Friday, and it was pretty awesome. I'm used to using tennis and lacrosse balls, and they had these some rubber balls. I think next time I think I might bring my own. I have a HUGE knot in my right shoulder blade that I've been working on, but it's still there. Will prop see Olga next week.

Max 1 rep Power Clean

On Thursday, my usual rest day, we did Power cleans. I couldn't ignore that, so I made Friday my rest day instead.

Def wasn't feeling pumped. I got up to 205 fairly easily. I then tried 215 and failed, then 210 and failed that as well. At first I thought that was a PR but then realized that 205 was actually my PR.

I left feeling.... strange. I never really worked up a sweat, I just didn't feel like I had pushed myself hard. Well, I think I pushed myself pretty hard, I just didn't have much in the tank.

All in all, feel really good.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

partner wod and mastering the butterfly kip

So we had a partner wod, lots of running, some handstand push ups, and pull ups as well.

The run was good, found a good pace

The HSPU were good, I still use a full 45# plate with a 10# on top of that, but I got in a lot of reps in so it was a good workout. Damn I hope I get stronger with this exercise.

But what I want to talk about is my pull ups. I tried to use the butterfly kip, but it just wasn't coming very easily. I kept getting these stop-and-go's, so most of the time I did the standard kip. However, near the end and near exhaustion, I found the butterfly. I got in around four reps, and these were really easy, smooth, Danny-esque reps. A visiting Xfitter, commented on how I was nailing it. I think those four reps were better than anything I've done before, and I remember thinking, "gosh, my arms are a lot closer than I thought they should be." So maybe I should try a narrower grip, I don't know. But what I do know is that on Wednesday I felt, for the first time, that I truly had the butterfly kip.

Back Squat with chains

I don't know why, but I feel like I'm starting to get weaker, not stronger.

Tuesday was find your 5 rep back squat max with chains, and I only got up to 205#. This is the same as my front squat a week ago. I got one rep in of 225#, but that was it. I think my issue is finding proper depth with the chains. Because it's so much lighter at the bottom, it's easy for me to dip 3" below parallel. Regardless, had a good time, and had an even better time coaching.

Snatch WOD with lateral burbees

Another variation on the first WOD at the MAC hopper last year:

12, 9, 6, 3 of
Snatch
lateral burpees

The Rx'd weight was 135, but since that's my 1 rep max I went down to 105#. My technique isn't as near as good on this one as it used to be, I have difficulty diving under the bar and catching it. But I think I chose a good weight, it took me 9:39 and Melissa said my first set looked good, but by the time I got to the last set it was kind of ugly.

I think one factor for the plateau is not just technique but core strength. I think 135 was as high as I could get without really engaging my core, and now my core is finally starting to catch up with everything else. Now I feel like it's more technique. Just need to keep practicing.