Tag Archives: PR

My Thumb Hurts

I couldn’t think of a better title. Sorry. I think it hurts because I was really forcing the hook grip last night and I think I might have mashed it a little too hard. Anyway… it was another long night with some awesome programming, great PR’s, and lot’s of hard work by some good friends. Here’s mine:

  • 50 GHDs
  • 50 GHBEs (35#)
  • 3 minute KB complex (1.5 pood)

Then, we did the the following protocol for dead lift, clean & jerk, and front squats:

  • 5 @ 60%
  • 3 @ 70%
  • 2 @ 80%
  • 1 @ 90%
  • 1 @ Current 1RM
  • 1 @ Current 1RM + 2-5%
5@60% 3@70% 2@80% 1@90% 1@RM 1@RM+
DL

285#

315#

365#

405#

455#

465#

C&J

115#

145#

165#

185#

205#

205#

FS

165#

185#

215#

265#

315#

285#

A few notes on the fails… my grip totally went away on my dead lift. I think it was actually due to the again faster grip things. I was able to hold on to 465# just fine with just chalk. For the C & J, my hook grip psyches me out. It still feels really weak, so I’ll start to pull, then just drop it because it feel like the barbell is going to fly out of my hands. For the front squat, I really just don’t know my 1RM, so after doing 265#, which felt easy, I decided to jump up. A little too much, I think.

Then:

  • 1 set of max reps dips: 16 reps

In other news, little Miss Brenna has actually slept really well during the past 2 nights which has been absolutely phenomenal. The different in how I feel when I get sleep is completely night and day and affects almost everything about my daily life. I can handle things so much better. I am sure that this is true for everyone to some degree, but I do know some people that can operate just fine on 4-5 hours. I am not one of those people. Never have been.

At the suggestion of my good friend Ryon, I am experimenting with the lean gains protocol (http://www.leangains.com) and actually seeing some results. This is very exciting and after the first week of following it, I am compelled to continue on to see what it does for me. I can see (again, in just 1 week) difference both in the mirror and on the scale, which has not really budged for quite a while.

There are some things about this that are not “paleo”, like the use of supplemental protein, but I have always been OK with self experimentation as long as I see good results from it. Hell, I was skeptical about “the paleo diet” a few years ago and decided to give it a shot. If I were stubborn about trying that, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

At any rate, I have learned a few things about my particular eating situation over the past week that I think are really simple tweaks that might work for other people that aren’t seeing results on “paleo” aside from the 16 hour fast/8 hour eat window:

  1. I am eating just too much from a caloric standpoint. Robb Wolf talks about “not being a hoover”. As in, it doesn’t matter what eating diet/protocol you follow, if you are a normal size person that has a normal level of activity (i.e. NOT Michael Phelps @ 12,000 cals/day), eating 5000 cals/day of all paleo foods isn’t going to help you drop LBs. Lean gains requires that you count calories to some degree. While I am not neurotic about it, looking at how many calories are in certain things, especially fats/oils has been eye opening. I still use the same cooking oils, I’m just not as liberal with them. Which leads me to point #2.
  2. I was not getting nearly enough protein. Both Robb Wolf and Martin from lean gains talk about getting 1-2g/# of bodyweight of protein per day. For dude like, me, that’s A LOT. While I typically don’t like to supplement with whey and things like that, getting at least 200g of protein per day results in A LOT of meat and eggs, so I’ve started adding some whey in on workout days. The right tool for the right job, right?
  3. Timing of meals totally matters (for me, anyway). Lean gains is a protocol of timing your eating, not so much WHAT you eat. I suppose it’s not technically “paleo” although it can totally be. It sounds really complicated at first but after a week of working on it, it’s really not that bad. It’s really split in 2 columns:
Workout Days Non-workout Days
  • Eat a bit more from a caloric standpoint*.
  • Eat a bit higher carb.
  • Eat your largest meal of the day AFTER your workout.
  • Eat a bit less from a caloric standpoint*.
  • Keep the carbohydrate intake low.
  • Eat your largest meal as your breakfast.

*This requires finding your BMR and knowing approx. how many calories are in what you eat. I have pretty much ball parked it up until this point, but am slowly figuring stuff out.

Work Capacity

Do you haz it?

  • Stretches
  • 50 GHD sit ups (1/2sies)
  • 50 GHBE weighted
  • 50 Heavy Russian KB Swings (40k)
  • 5x(2 Hang Squat Snatch + 1 Power Snatch with OH) – 75#, 95#, 115#, 125#, 135#(F @ 2)
  • 3×5 Back Squat – 285#, 295#, 315# (PR)
  • 1 set to failure of 4s down back squats – 12 reps @ 195#
  • 3×5 Barbell Row – 135#, 135#, 155#
  • 1 set to failure of 4s down negative pull ups – 9
  • 3x(20 DB lunges (30#), 10 Knees to Elbows)

TIRED.

Fit Test 03.14.2011

HOLY CRAP!?! Has it really been a year since the last fit test?! I guess so!

I will spare you the “I’m so tired” and “I didn’t feel like working out” spiel as you have seen it like 234702348023748 times already… Today’s WOD went like this:

Warm up

  • 30 squat snatches – whatever weight you wanted. I started with the bar then worked my way up to 125#. My squat snatches are getting A LOT better.
  • Stretches, during which time a wasp stung my hand. What!?
  • 100 double unders – took about 2:30. Pretty sure that’s a PR.

WOD – Fit Test

  • 400m time trial
  • 1 minute of push ups
  • 1 minute of sit ups
  • Tabata Squats
  • 1 minute of pull ups

My numbers this time were:

  • 400m run: 1:35, previously 1:42
  • Push ups: 44, previously 40
  • Sit ups: 36, previously 31
  • Tabata squats: 135, previously 104
  • Pull Ups: 20

I ran really hard on the 400, so I’m pretty happy with that. I think I can probably do a lot better on the pull ups and push ups. My sit ups… well, I have made peace with them. They are what they are…

Measurements

Big Dave asked me to come in today around lunch time to get my measurements done for the IDI challenge. Also, we wanted to see if we could maybe knock another goal off my list (snatch).

First, the measurements. I have to admit, I knew that I was losing body fat because of how my clothes have been feeling, but I was really surprised when I saw the results of my measurements. I will scan the paper and post it when I get it, but in a nutshell, here’s the skinny (no pun intended):

  8 Weeks Ago Today Delta
Overall BF % 22.6% 16.8% 5.8%
Weight 217lb 215lb 2lbs
Lean  Mass 167.96lb 178.88 +10.92lb
Fat Mass 49.04lb 36.12lb -12.92lb
Legs     +2″ each leg
Arms     +1″ each arm
Waist     -2″
Hips     -1″
Chest     -1″

 

I will fill in the blanks when I get my sheet back from Dave. I would say that the goal to “have a downward trend in body fat” is blown out of the water. If I divide by 8, that means that I shed .72% every week. I’ll take it. Additionally, take a look at the lean mass and fat mass. In 8 weeks, I gained almost 11lb in lean muscle and lost close to 13lb in fat mass. Whoa. Thank you, Mathematics!

In addition to the above, Dave helped me to get my snatch technique headed back in the right direction. In my last post, I was somewhat frustrated with the fact that I felt like I lost my technique on the snatch. Well, we did some work today and I was able to get passed my current PR of 155#. Although not a huge jump, a PR is a PR (now 160#), but more importantly, I started dropping under the bar again. This is only the beginning.

Last but not least, is my goal to run a mile in under 9 minutes. From my post a few weeks ago, I totally crushed that one.

Aside from my goals, I have also felt the following during the past 8 weeks:

  • Solidification of what I need to do personally as far as diet goes in order for me to lean out. FINALLY.
  • PR’d “Fight Gone Bad” by over 40 points. Maybe 300 is just around the corner? =)
  • Experienced increased recovery time both during AND after working out.

And so tomorrow morning is the “I Do The Impossible” challenge finals. We will do the same workout that we did when the challenge began. I am curious to see how I will do. All I can say is that I am slightly leaner and [thanks to work] meaner than I was 8 weeks ago.

I think that this challenge was absolutely fantastic. Even though I didn’t hit all 5 of my goals, I am absolutely blown away by the amount of progress that was made. The funny thing is, that it’s largely attributed by just adding more green veggies into my diet. To be completely honest, it’s not that hard… like… at all.

I will continue to eat this way and hopefully continue to loose a bit of body fat every week. Perhaps in another 8 weeks, I will be even closer to where I want to be. This challenge has really given me the jump start that I needed.

Paleo works.
CrossFit works.

You just need to do it right and be smart about it. Might I also add, that I was able to get all of this accomplished while traveling for work 3 out of the 8 weeks of the challenge. Yes, folks, it IS possible to eat well while you are traveling. It’s really no excuse. Additionally, I ate a cheat meal or 2 every week and STILL lost body fat. I was skeptical, but the calipers don’t lie.

Thanks to all of the CrossFit Cedar Park coaches that helped the 30 of us though this past 8 weeks. I know it wasn’t easy for you at times, but the differences you are making in people’s lives are nothing short of amazing. A big, big thanks to Big Dave Tillman for looking at everyone of my meals, day in, day out and helping me stay motivated with my goals. Also, a shout out to Mike Fio for being an awesome coach in my day-to-day work outs. You guys rock.

CFCP Total Finals

The finals for the CFCP total challenge were today. I have to say that I was really apprehensive about it as I didn’t get 6 full weeks of working out in due to travel. Also, I haven’t really been working these lifts. On top of that, I slept horribly last night.

Anyway, I decided that I would just give it my best and do whatever I could do.

We started with back squats, my least favorite of the three lifts. I started with 335# which was where I ended last time. No problem. Then, I went up to 345#. Again no problem. For my last set, I was going for 355#. I grabbed the bar, racked it, stepped back, got down, the as I started pushing back up, I heard a very loud POP in my lower back.

Ouch.

Josh helped me dump the weight and I immediately laid down. Robin came over pretty quickly and had me do a few stretches, press ups, etc.

It didn’t feel horrible, but I was pretty sure I was done for the day. I could probably have done the strict presses, but there’s no way I was dead lifting 445# in that condition. I would have just injured myself further.

The worst part of this all is that my mother and grandmother came to watch this. In being a member of this gym and doing this stuff for about a year and a half, I have rarely injured myself. The worst that’s really happened to me thus far has been muscle soreness.

Oh well. It’s a sport, after all and sports will have injuries from time to time. I guess we will just need to see how long this one takes to get better. Right now, it’s iced.

I was really disappointed that I had to leave. I am really proud of the rest of
my friends that went on, finished, and showed incredible progress over the course of the 6 week challenge. You guys rock and inspire me.

Diane

I had mixed feelings when I walked into the box last night and saw this one. Dead lifts? Yay! Hand stand push ups? No!

Before all that though, we did a bunch of stuff which goes to show you that “our warm up is your workout”.

Warm up:

  • Jog 400m
  • Lunge Stretch
  • Lunge Cross
  • 10 burpees
  • 3x {6 power cleans, 10 GHD sit ups, 10 GHD back extensions}
  • 10 burpees

Skill:

“Death By Double Unders” – 10 – 20 – 30 – 40 – 50 unbroken. I PR’d again on these and did 20 consecutive. I never did make it to 30 though…

 

WOD:

21 – 15 – 9

  • Dead lift (225#)
  • HSPU (Green + Blue Bands)

Time: 9:24

There’s not really much to write about this one. The dead lifts were OK. I took breaks as needed and watched my form closely. The HSPU were interesting as it was the first time I had done them on the bands. I almost fell forward a few times, but eventually got used to catching the band with my feet.

Back Squats & Thrusters

I’ll keep this one short. Last night, heavy metal class, we did the following:

  • Max Back Squat 5×1
  • Thruster Breathing Ladder (45#)

My back squat lifts came out like this:

  • 135#
  • 225#
  • 315# (Not technically a fail. I came forward and had some bad form, but still got it.)
  • 335# (PR)
  • 350# (F)

The breathing ladder wasn’t so bad. Thankfully, I was able to remember my Yang Chi breathing from KF which REALLY helped. If you are unfamiliar, a breathing ladder is where you do pyramiding reps and get the number of breaths in reps that you just did.

Example:

  • 1 rep, 1 breath
  • 2 reps, 2 breaths
  • 10 reps, 10 breaths
  • 2 reps, 2 breaths
  • 1 rep, 1 breath

This was not timed.