Where have I been?

I haven't updated this blog in a long time, but training has gone incredibly well.  Here are a few highlights:

I finished a cycle of my own programming 3 weeks ago.  This was around the same time Outlaw was starting their own cycle heading into the competitive season.  I decided to follow that blog to have some daily competition, improve my olympic lifting technique, and get plenty of heavy squatting.

My strength numbers are steadily improving, but I'm noticing I score higher on the conditioning workouts compared to the majority Outlaw athletes.  Pleased with that, and owe it to James Fitzgerald and OPT for teaching me pacing/effort/intensity focusing on what I CAN do, not what Should or Could do.  Here are some recent PR highlights in strength.

Back Squat - Hit 315# for a single
Front Squat - Hit 275#x3 after completing 150 burpees in a 1-hour competition
Muscle Ups - 9 in a row in a WOD, could have kept going but the workout only called for 9
Squat Clean - 255# x 1 (Have done a Power clean of 275#, but have never squatted with anything heavier than 235#)

I'm not updating the blog mostly due to time constraints.  Each day of Outlaw typically consists of 3 parts, plus I have my coaching/programming responsibilities for the gym.  CFA/SAC is very busy fortunately, so I've decided to prioritize training, coaching, programming, and discussions with clients/coaches ahead of training video's and blogs.  We recently found out we'll be kicked out of our current space because the Kmart we sub-let from is closing.  This means some extra time devoted to finding new space, negotiations with Sears Corporate on termination clauses, and negotiations with new land-lords.  Perhaps someday I'll get back to the blog.

Recent Competitions -
Mayhem in the Mountains - Sep 1st in Murphy, NC - Finished 5th/~50 in Open Male Rx'd Division.  Right behind a few Regional and Games level competitors.
Halloween Online Throw-down - Oct 30th - Finished 17th/122 in Open Male Under 40 Division.

Upcoming competitions -
Reindeer Games - Dec 15th in Augusta, GA
Carolina Fitness Challenge - Jan 12th in Durham, NC

I'll be competing individually in both competitions.  Looking forward to it.

Summary Wk 7/23-28

Monday - 

Back Sq - 7, 5, 270# x 3, 250# x 7, 260# x 5

Sh Press - 95# x 8, 100# x 8, 105# x 6
Kneel. Torso Row - 55# x 8 x 3

Tuesday - 


Games 2012 Chipper workout - Top CF athletes finished this in the 8-12 minute mark as part of full competition.  I was pleased with my effort, but was about 20:15.

http://youtu.be/iFTyZLk4e1o

Wednesday -
Some strength endurance work
Split Sq 55# x 12 x 2
Romanian DL 255# x 12 x 2
Bar Dip x 15, 11, 9
Pronated Pull Up x 9, 7, 6

Thursday - 
"Chief" - 3 Rounds - AMRAP in 3min with 1min rest: Power Clean 135# x 3, Push Up x 6, Squat x 9

Felt awesome in this.  1.5 years ago it was work to maintain 5 rounds, this time I hit 6 rounds, 6 rounds, 6 rounds + 3 power clean.  Felt easy on this.

Friday AM- 
6 Rounds - Rope climb x 1, Prowler push x 30m; Rest 4 minutes
Did pushes at 90#, 110#, and 130#

Friday PM - 
Overhead Squat x 5

Was set to do OHS x 21-15-9 with Toes 2 Bar but the 5 rep was limited by my overhead strength.  Being that is a slight imbalance for me, I opted to do DB Sh Press instead of the OHS.  Used 40 and 45# DB's with the 21-15-9 scheme with Toes 2 bar.

Saturday - 
Overhead strength was limited today by yesterday certainly.

Build to snatch single quickly - 155#
Then AMRAP in 6 min - Power Cln 185# x 4, Pull Up x 8 (Clean felt limited in catch from DB Sh Press and Prowler pushing day before
Rest 4 min
AMRAP in 6 min - Power Sn 135# x 5, Burpee x 10 (Snatch felt limited in shoulders overhead)
Rest 4 min

Row 1k - 3:39 (PR).  Had 500m splits of 1:50 and 1:49... felt great about knowing my output after 6 days of work and making it happen.

Catching Up - Sunday, Jul 22, 2012

Haven't updated in a couple weeks.  Spent last weekend in California watching the Finals of the CrossFit Games (games.crossfit.com).  Inspiring in both watching elite athletes compete and support each other, but also in being with 12,000 other spectators who must all CrossFit themselves.  I've never been close to a larger, healthier area of people in my life.  My hope is that the more our taxes go towards supporting the health care of others, that we all take care of ourselves as well as those 12,000 people do.

Here are some highlights of training the last two weeks and I'll get better at updating.

Squatting and depth drops from before the trip.  I have increased my 8 rep back squat x 40# in 2.5 months... very pleased.

This is beats any previous training session Power Clean x 15#.  Had 1.5x body weight to my shoulders but couldn't keep it.  The squats will keep climbing and so will this.

This is the second training session of the day... felt great at the start but the rest periods were not long enough to keep the effort up throughout the sets.

June 28-July 1, 2012

Did a Neera Cleanse on Friday and Saturday.  No calories except combo of water, palm syrup, cayenne pepper, and fresh lemons.  First time doing it.  Energy felt stable, hunger non-existent (I have really honed my fat-burning engine with intermittent fasting), but the emotional "I like eating" feeling was heavy in afternoons/evenings.

Took rest days Friday to Monday and have had great energy!  I think I'll plan to do this every two months.  I was feeling just a bit run down with training and now am back in action!

Changing my training template around as follows:

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Squat; Vertical Push Strength density; Vertical pull strength maintenance; Trunk flexion strength/endurance
Wednesday - Mixed Mode aerobic starting with 20-30 minutes work for a few weeks, then attempting to build volume here
Thursday - Alactic Endurance to Lactic Power circuits with emphasis on O-lift work
Friday - Off
Saturday - Squat Speed Strength; O-lift CP Battery (No TnG reps); CF-style Tester of 12 minutes and under
Sunday - Single leg, push, pull strength endurance; Pick up basketball in afternoons

Really need to improve breathing endurance and am excited to start playing some afternoon ball again.  Haven't played regularly in years.

Below was last meal before the cleanse.  It has: Grassfed Beef Filet from Hickory Nut Gap; Avocado, cooked squash, bacon, bing cherries, green leaf lettuce, lacinato, red kale, fresh fennel, red chard, chopped curry cashews, local goat cheese, and topped with extra virgin olive oil!  This is a pretty standard meal around our house!

Wednesday June 27, 2012

6 sets @ 95%: (75 seconds of work)
Front Sq 175# x 5 185, 195, 205, 205, 205
Muscle Up x 5 UB all sets
Run x 200m straight out Steady/fast

rest 7 min b/t sets

Energy felt great for this... perfect rest for high efforts

Tuesday June 26, 2012

Noticed in my box jump workout last week that I had lost a little spring... gonna implement some jump training to get it back. Moving to west asheville and gonna have the opportunity to play some ball again, would like to feel quick for it.

A. Test Vert Jump standing to wall 24”/side
B. Back Sq (30X2)  8, 8, 6; 205, 215 (+5), 240# (+5)

B2. Depth Drop 40” x 4; Rest 3 min Done

C. Sh Press 1 every 60 seconds (115#, x 5# as long as able) Up to 155# PR, nearly blacked out again... gotta fix “twitch” at beginning of press... quite a blooper reel at the end!

D. FLR on Rings Accumulate 5 min Not done due to time

Sunday June 24, 2012

This was my aerobic/breathing day. I think I'll need to up this as a priority as I struggle to breathe considerably beyond 12-14 minutes... and often can't make it much past 20 min with heavy breathing. All in due time

amrap in 8 min @ 95%:
row 200 m
15 push ups
(rest walk 2 min)
amrap in 8 min @ 95%:
15 double unders
10 lunges
5 chin ups
(rest walk 2 min)
amrap in 8 min @ 95%:
10 sit ups
10 wall balls
5 ring dips
(think high speed cruise effort, no grunts)

Only made it through first two sets.  Breathing fell off dramatically but no muscle fatigue