Day to Day with a Crossfit Athlete

Yes I know it has been a while so today might be a long post.

November 8th WOD.
I did this one in the garage because I was working nights. The idea behind this WOD is to do 2 sets and try and get similar numbers both times. So basically you do the 4 skills of each set without a break (just long enough to record your numbers) then you get a 2 minute rest. I found that the 2 minutes was plenty of time for getting your breathe back but not long enough for muscle recovery. This was a punishing workout, whenever you are doing As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) you are going to failure or your form breaks down. My numbers are to the right (all pull-ups had to be strict = no kipping)

"PUSH and PULL/abs"

1.) Push-up 30/11 (Last skills day I had 45 in a row)
2.) Wide Front Pull-up 8/4 (12 is PB)
3.) Military Push-up 10/6
4.) Reverse Grip Pull-up 5/4

2min Rest

5.) Dips any style 15/16 Box dips with feet on chair
6.) Knee ins 57/46
7.) Side Tricep Push-up 9/6
8.) Chair pose 37sec/38sec

2min Rest

9.) Close Grip Pull-up 8/6
10.) Diamond Push-ups 11/9
11.) Mix Grip Switch Pull-up 3/3
12.) Decline push-ups 5/5

November 9th WOD was "Quick and Dirty"

For time:
400m sprint row
15 Burpees
15 -115# Thrusters
15 Jumping Pull-ups
30 Sit-ups

I clocked 5:08 but should have been under 5 min. When I went from Burpees to Thrusters I paused way too long. I thought the Thrusters would be harder than they were. I warmed up with 115# and it seemed not too bad then either, must have just psyched myself out. Let me tell you Rowing, Burpees and Thrusters are 3 of the deadliest exercises there are. Coupling them together luckily there was only one round. Burpees for bodyweight is probably the best all around exercise there is, it has the furthest range of motion of any bodyweight movement. The rower, it looks innocent sitting there doesn't it?? What it does to people in just over a minute is devastating, when they say sprint row they mean SPRINT ROW!! Of course thrusters........well you are taking 115#, squatting down, squatting up and then thrusting the weight over your head to lock out. Need I say more?? I broke the thrusters up into 5's. Jumping pull-ups and Sit-ups I went straight through on but couldn't get sub 5min.

November 10th WOD

21-15-9 plus 30 double unders at the end of each round.

BWT deadlifts (for me my bodyweight is 165# it pays to be light sometimes!!)
Ring Dips
Ball-slams

I clocked 8:36

I'll explain how the 21-15-9 works. The first "round" you do 21 of each exercise then 30 double unders, the second "round" is 15 of each exercise then 30 double unders then the round of nine. Well I burned through this WOD like reckless abandon until I hit my friends the double unders. I've been struggling with these for a long time, my form is really bad. To remedy this I am going to do AMRAP double unders in 2 min every day.

Today's WOD was a "HERO WOD" for Remembrance day.

"MURPH" After Michael Murphy (US Navy Seal) who died in Afghanistan in 2005 age 29. (RIP friend)

For Time:

1 mile run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1mile run

The kicker to this one............wearing a 20# weighted vest to do it required.

We did it in teams of 3, when we were running we had to pass around a 25# plate between the team members. When we got inside we could split up the exercises the way we wanted to. Our team just took turns (only one person could go at a time) we went through in order doing 100 pull-ups,200 push-ups then 300 squats, as many as we could do then the next person would go.

A "COOL" thing our gym is doing right now to help with skill development is having a "50/50 challenge". Basically how it works is every month the coaches come up with 2 skills which they feel people need to develop and everyone has the opportunity to sign up. It costs $10 and the person that "IMPROVES" the most for that skill (%age wise) over the month takes 50% of the money. This month it is AMRAP pull-ups and AMRAP double unders. I joined the AMRAP double unders as more incentive to improve mine.

Now that we are updated, I will try and find something interesting to talk about next time I post. I have an idea for next time, it has to do with taking more supplements. I start back on days tomorrow so it'll be a late post if I am able.
Until next time..........Sean'O out!!

Well as far as I'm concerned a garage WOD doesn't get any better than "IRON" and "METAL"!! Lifting iron and blasting metal what an afternoon. Today's WOD was the Push Press 5sets of 5 reps working to a maximum weight. I raised my carcass out of bed about 1pm, turned on the garage heater (to warm up the iron) and made myself a protein shake. Headed to the garage turned on the tunes and warmed up. Did a few light sets of the push press because I didn't really know where to start for weight, Coach Brandt wanted us to go up by 5 or 10 pounds per set reaching our 5RM by the 4th or 5th set. So I started at 115# went by 10# increments and ended up getting to a 5RM of 165#. I took 4-5 minute breaks (Some people take longer) between sets which is a must when doing reps for maximum weight, you want to make sure you use everything you have each set. I tried 170# but could only squeak out 3 decent ones. It took me 6 sets instead of 5 to get to my 5RM but I got there. I'm happy with this, hoisting your bodyweight over your head 5 times with just a hip thrust is pretty decent.
I videoed myself today and need to concentrate on staying back on my heels a bit more. I had a tendancy to shift forward and push with my toes which causes the bar path to get out of the vertical plane. If you push your ass back while keeping a straight back and just using a slight hip pop the bar path should be straight up. Mine was a bit out front and then up. This wastes part of the hip pop and puts more strain on the shoulders as they are pressing more, basically the hip pop energy should be exerted straight up that way taking stress off the shoulders.
So this is night 2/3 for me, I will be doing another garage WOD tomorrow. I'm not sure which one I'll do, it pretty much depends on the weather.

We have had high winds the last couple days so if it is windy I will most likely be doing a WOD I missed last week which can all be done inside. Unless tomorrows tech day WOD is something I can do in my garage.
Before the WOD as part of my warm-up I worked on my circle kip for my pull-ups. I think I have the hang of it which is good because they look way more efficient than the ones I do now. Can't wait to see what happens when I get proficient enough to use them in WOD's.
Until next time Sean'O out!!