Crossfit Open-Week 3

This was the third week of the Crossfit Open workout. The workout for the week is something I'm indifferent about:

AMRAP 5 minutes:
Clean and Jerk (165)

I feel comfortable doing clean and jerks. What I mean by that is that no part of the movement hurts any joints/muscles in an unnatural way. Simply accelerate the bar off the ground, catch it, stand, and jerk overhead. I thought I had fully recovered from the squat workout on Monday, but I guess my legs were still slightly fatigued. Consequently, I had the most trouble with the front squat portion of the exercise and several people commented on my lack of leg strength being my limiting factor. But they also mentioned that it's better to have to improve on leg strength, since they noted by presses/jerks were no problem. I had set a goal of 40 reps (clean + jerk=2 reps), but fell just short, only getting 17 total reps and I had to work for that. Maybe I could have beaten that if I came back on Saturday morning for another shot, but I wanted to rest up for the Toughmudder on Sunday. Not bad overall. I think it puts me in 4th place on the team.

Strength, Uphill walk

Early afternoon

Pullups 8, 11, 8, 8, 11
Squats 5 X 3
Load: 195, 235, 235, 235, 235

Clean and Jerk 4 X 3
Load: 120, 140, 160, 160
Incline Situps 4 X 15

Uphill treadmill walk 1 mile @ 10% grade
17:22

Workout comments: Again feeling very tired and sluggish. Aspirations of a metcon quickly disintegrated.

Body: My left shoulder has been feeling twinging recently and I can't figure out why. I didn't do much shoulder work last week and don't remember hurting it during basketball or anywhere else. It's not a painful thing, just a weird sensation. The pullups were not a struggle to complete with this issue.

My knee has been feeling much better in the morning, which I think is a pretty good sign. Usually my injuries are pretty stiff in the morning. I'm convinced that this one pair of dress shoes I own has been contributing to both knee and ankle aggravation. Each time I wear them, both injuries tend to flare up. I got rid of them today.

Sleep: About 8 hours.

Strength, Tabatta Bike

Early afternoon

Pullups 7, 10, 6, 6, 10
Squat 5 X 3
Load: 195, 215, 225, 235, 245

Clean and Jerk 8 X 2
Load: 120, 130, 140, 140, 150, 150, 160, 170

Weighted Reverse Lunge 3 X 10
Load: 80, 90, 100
Dumbbell Press 3 X 5
Load: 55, 55, 65

5 minute WU and CD
Tabatta Bike

Workout comments: Cleans felt pretty good today. Starting with lower weight and gradually working up to heavier weights builds confidence in form. Squats felt tough but not overly strenuous. I'm keeping with a lighter lifting regiment at least for another week to make sure my knee is OK.
Body: Some soreness in my knee, otherwise all OK.
Sleep: About 7.5 hours.

Strength

Early afternoon

Clean and Jerk 5 X 3
Load: 140, 140, 160, 160, 170

Squats 10 X 2
Load: 165
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 10 X 5
Load: 120
*On the minute

Skills

2 X 10 Reverse Lunges
2 X 20 Calf Raises

Workout comments: Failed the 5th rep of the 9th set of incline dumbbell presses. They started getting to me towards the end. The last set of cleans turned into power cleans. I realize these might be harder than normal cleans, but they feel more comfortable than catching the bar so close to the ground.

I tried running a few miles on the treadmill. I made it half a mile before stopping. No serious pain, but it felt a little odd and I thought it best to stop. Maybe the fact that I was running on the treadmill had a little to do with it.

Body: Chest a little sore today. It has been almost a month since I worked a bench press. Some grogginess upon waking this morning.
Sleep: About 8.5 hours. Started using melatonin supplements for better quality sleep. Seems to work well at helping me dose off, but I still seem to be waking sporadically throughout the night and having trouble waking in the morning. I will try adding protein shakes before bed and see if this helps alleviate some of the muscular soreness.
Nutrition: Whey protein, fish oil, multi-vitamin in the morning, whey protein post-workout. Another whey protein shake just before bed. Combined with steak for dinner, this added up to about 180g protein throughout the day. I've read various articles claiming 0.7-1g per pound of body weight is a good amount depending on physical activity. After today, I realized how hard it is to get the required amount of protein. This is most likely the reason for my chronic soreness each morning.

Clean and Jerk, Bench Press, Central Bucks Crossfit

Early afternoon


Strength
Clean and Jerk 5 X 5
Loads: 117, 137, 157, 157, 157


Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 205

Late afternoon

Metcon
5 Rounds for Time:
15 Squat Clean Thrusters (45# DBs)
10 Renegade Rows/Arm (45# DBs)
5 Turkish Get Ups/Side (45#)*

*Last three rounds performed with a 35# DB, otherwise I would have slipped in my own sweat and the dumbbell would have smashed me in the face.

31:06

Workout comments: Wanted to try to dig myself into a hole during the strength workout to test my recovery limits for the metcon workout, especially after the moderately long metcon from yesterday. Had salad with turkey, a protein shake, and plenty of water after the first workout from approx 1-2PM. Second workout started 3 hours later with a light warmup and water throughout. After reading the article on the crossfit website about pacing yourself for faster times (and initially scoffing), I decided to give it a try by breaking the SQT into groups of 5, the RR into groups of 5, and the TGU into groups of 4 (or 2). I feel like the workout would have taken a ridiculously long time anyway, so I'm not really sure it worked. I'll have to try it again with a workout I have previously done several times in the past.