Upswing

Early morning

AMRAP 7 minutes
5 burpees
10 Deadlifts (80)
8 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Double Unders
10 OH Lunges (35)
5 High Low Planks
6 + 20 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Box Jumps
10 OH Presses (55)
5 Plank Jacks
7 rounds

Early afternoon

Short trail run with Chris and Paul this afternoon. Runs like today make you realize that you're body doesn't always perform like it's indicating it might. After this morning's workout, I was doubting running, but wanted to hit a certain weekly mileage total. Fearing my legs would quickly fill up with lead, I decided against better judgement to venture out onto the trails. The monsoon-like conditions had left the quarry and nature preserve a veritable swamp-fest. My "jump-right-in" mindset over the past few days came in pretty useful, as entire stretches of trail were submerged in over-flowing creeks and mud that surged almost up to my shins in a few instances.

Honestly, it was the best run all week. My legs felt better than they have in forever during a run. When you factor in this week's activities, I would say that I'm finally on the upswing of what has been almost a year-long cardiovascular depression. Maybe it's too early to make that call. Maybe I should knock on wood before my long run on Sunday. But it just feels good to feel good about running again.

Early morning

Farmer's Walk 65#
Squats

OH Lunges 35#
Situps

Pullups/Assisted Pullups, Body Rows
Burpees

Workout comments: Each pair of exercises was done in 45s intervals continuously for the 4.5 minutes. Any faults on the Farmer's Walk resulted in 4 negative pushups. No real way to keep track of the reps in each set.

Metcon, Short Run

Afternoon

So a while back I secured a used truck tire which isn't really big enough for flipping, but still has its uses. I also picked up a sledgehammer and was itching to use it, but since all the snow my garage has pretty much been inaccessible. The snow finally started melting during the past week and I was at least able to get the door open. I rummaged through some of the equipment I've been hoarding during the past year and came up with this workout:

4 Rounds for Time:

50 Sledgehammer Tire Hits (split between right and left handed)
15 Burpees (including jump over a parallette I had stationed in the middle.

*Wore a 20# vest during the workout.

2:55, 3:27, 4:05, 4:07
14:34

4.2 miles on this loop in about 36 minutes with a 2:05 cruise interval up North Lane. 10 seconds better than Saturday.

Workout comments: I have no heat in my garage, but it was sheltered from the wind at least. I was actually scrambling to get outside afterwards. A pool of sweat had formed at my burpee station and sledge station. I'll have to remember to wear work gloves in the summertime so I don't chuck the sledgehammer straight through the wall. The burpees were tough, especially with the vest. I really wanted a bigger tire for box jumps, above anything else really. I've seen people doing these and I think it takes some of the fear of falling and smashing my shin, as I've done many times in the past. Flipping would also be pretty cool too. I have a standing order in at Ardmore Tire in case they get any in. Once I get a barbell set, maybe it would be a good idea to have some of the other guys over. Start up a little group circuit.

Strength, Metcon

Afternoon

Strength

Max Pullup Test: 12

Squats 5 x 5
Load: 215

Cleans 5 x 3
Loads: 120, 140, 140, 140, 140

Metcon

3 Rounds for Time

20 DUs
30 Walking Lunges
25 Burpees
20 KB swings 44#
15 Push Press 35# DBs
10 Pushups
20 Box Jumps

Round 1: 6:37
Round 2: 8:43
Round 3: 8:58

Total: 24:18

Workout comments: I'm going to attempt a pullup program laid out by 50pullups.com. A few months ago I tried the Military Pull Program and it helped significantly with the number of strict pullups I could do. I believe in the course of 10 days I progressed from 8-10 max pullups to 15 pullups. I'm still average around 10-12 pullups over multiple sets, but I thought this seemed like a nice long term program that could easily fit into a normal workout schedule. I'm also going to be incorporating much more running into my schedule as the Spring rolls around, and with the numerous parks around my neighborhood, incorporating this into my routine shouldn't be too hard.

Running, Another Double Metcon

Early afternoon

2.8 miles in 27 minutes

5 Rounds for Time

10 Plank Jacks

10 Straddling Depth Jumps

10 Burpees

10 Situps

10:27

3 Rounds for Time

30 Reverse Lunges (45#)

20 SDHP (45#)

10 Shoulder Press (45#)

Workout comments: I'm starting to feel some real soreness in my glutes the past few days. I also attempted some pullups today and while I still had over 10 on the first round, I could tell that there was no way I was going to sustain that 4 times. I guess the 2-3 weeks I took off from lifting weights is starting to catch up to me. After the long run this weekend I'll try to incorporate it back into the schedule, with more emphasis on cleans, jerks, and possibly snatches, since my shoulder has been feeling awesome lately. Other than a long run once per week, my running is going to have to mainly take the form of bi-weekly basketball games. I don't think I'm going to have any time with two classes per week.

Double Metcon, Basketball

Early afternoon

Metcon

Ladder
10, 9...1 Hang Clean (100#)
1, 2, 10 Burpees

10:11

AMRAP in 15 minutes

5 Push Press (100#)
10 Push Ups
15 Situps

11 full rounds + 28 reps

Late evening

About 2 hours of basketball. Manayunk league starts up next week, which coincides with the league that JNJ sponsors. See if I can keep myself injury free until the summer.

Double Metcon, Basketball

Early afternoon

5 Rounds for Time:

10 Jump Squats
10 Suitcase Deadlifts (50 DBs)
10 KB Swings (50)
10 Burpees
10 Situps

13:31

Short rest

AMRAP in 7 minutes:

7 Pushups (hands off the ground in between)
7 Push Presses (50 DBs)

8 full rounds completed

Evening

About 1.5 hours of basketball. Jammed my right ring finger about 2 minutes into the first game. It's pretty swollen and hurts today so no pulling exercises.

Strength, Short Metcon

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 195, 195, 195, 195, 205

Situps 5 X 20
*Superset

Squats 4 X 3
Load: 225

Pullups 4 X 8 (Neutral grip)
*Supersets

Metcon
Revised Annie

50, 40, 30, 20, 10

Double Unders
Burpees

12:45

I think my PR in the regular version of Annie is somewhere around 7 minutes. This was definitely a much tougher version, but I was dogging it during the burpees. I figured I need to make HSPUs, box jumps, and burpees a much more regular block of my workouts. They are the aspect of any workout I hate the most.

The bench press is getting better and better, while I'm continuing to make up lost ground on the squats.

Metcon

Early afternoon

1, 2...10 rep rounds of the following:

Push Press 100
Pushups
Front Squats 100
Double Unders
Power Cleans
Situps
Box Jumps
KB Swings 50
Pullups
Burpees

Workout comments: I didn't make it through to the 10th round. The 9th round took me close to 8 minutes to finish, and I was already at 38:30. I had a huge pile of sweat and aching hamstrings to show for it. Extremely tough workout to finish. Maybe a future goal of finishing in under 30 minutes? The pullups were also strict.

Squat, Incline Dumbbell Bench, Neutral Grip Strict Pullups, Metcon

Early Afternoon

Strength

On the minute for 10 minutes:

2 Squats (175#-60% 1RM)
5 Incline Dumbbell asdfasdfBench Press (55# DBs)
4 Strict Neutral Grip Pullups

Metcon

3 Rounds for Time:

10 OH Squats (77#)
20 DUs
5 HSPUs
10 Burpees
10 SDHPs

12:25

Workout comments: Need to work more on HSPUs. I would say I lost about 3 minutes of time doing these, probably more. OH Squats felt good without any pain in either shoulder.

Metcon

Late afternoon

10 rounds for time:

10 Burpees
15 Situps
20 Double Unders

19:47

Workout comments: Excellent weekend down in the Outer Banks, NC. Weather was a bit hot during this workout, hovering around the mid 90s. Nice dip in the pool after this one.

Squats, Long Metcon

Early afternoon

Strength
Squats 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Loads: 155, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275*, 285*
* Both PRs.

Metcon

Row 800m
50 Box Jumps (18in)
50 Pullups
50 KB swings (35#)
50 Walking Lunges
50 Planks Holds with Knee to Elbow (50 per leg)
50 Push Press (35# DBs)
50 Supermans
50 Burpees
Row 800m

Bench Press, Central Bucks Cross fit

Late afternoon

Strength
Bench Press 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3

Loads: 155, 175, 195, 215, 220, 225

Metcon

4 Rounds
Push Press (75#)
Double Unders
Box Jumps (24in)
KB Swings (50#)
Burpees

23, 53, 16, 22, 14 = 128
22, 56, 13, 14, 13 = 118
24, 46, 13, 16, 11 = 110
26, 41, 10, 16, 11= 104

Total: 460

Workout comments: I was talking to Mike from Central Bucks Crossfit today and this workout basically is modelled after the "Fight Gone Bad" workout. This workout was one of the first few in the Crosfit era, given to a ultimate fighter who, after finishing the workout, said it was like a fight gone bad. The Fight Gone Bad workout consists of3 rounds of SDHP, Push Press, Wall Ball, Rower and Box Jumps. A good score is around 300 and Mike's best was 315. Since Malvern has a rower, maybe I'll give this workout a try soon. They are hosting this workout at CBC on Sunday at 11. If I didn't have tickets for the Phillies game, then I would defintely want to go to this.

PR for the 3RM in the bench press today. This follows a PR in the 3RM in the squat on Monday. Honestly, I was loading the bar without thinking and put 215 on the bar as if I were performing the squat, where I continuously move up in 20lb increments. I didn't realize I had 215 on the bar until the 3rd rep and by then it didn't matter. So I figured I'd go for it, adding 220 and then 225 to the bar. 225 was a struggle, but I got pressed out.

Short Metcon

Late afternoon

Workout: 3 Rounds for Time

21 Kettlebell Swings (53#)
15 Chest-to-Bar Pullups
9 Burpees
200m Run

10:25

Finish it off with 50 Partner Med Ball Situps (20#)

Workout comments: I guess I had one more workout left at Crossfit Inspire and I got a chance to meet the other co-owner, Darin. Seemed like a really nice guy, just like Matt. Both of them seemed to be from other backgrounds, but migrated towards Crossfit several years ago and liked it so much they decided to open their own gym. They defintely have the people skills to keep a gym like this going.

The workout was pretty much a compilation of all my "preferable" movements. Movements I do not like and should probably work on: box jumps, snatches and overhead squats (bad shoulders), and overhead walking lunges, just to name a few. I took a look at the leaderboard and saw that Darin had just pumped out a 9:52 earlier that day. I wasn't sure if it was doable, but I happened to listen in on a conversation he was having with another member on just how he broke up the workout. It went pretty much like this: First round was unbroken. Second round he rested once during the pullups. Third round he rested once during the pullups. And he pretty much ran to each station during the workout. No big deal. I figured if he was going to such lengths laying out how he went through this workout with this guy, then maybe I should keep him in the corner of my eye and go off his pace...Sounded like a good idea at the time.

I finished the first round unbroken and was pretty pumped. I came back in from the run in first and saw that another member, Lika, was pretty close behind. She was pumping out the KB swings like it was nothing and the guy I was pacing was catching up fast. I made it through the second round of KB swings with resting and pretty much took one break during the pullups. I couldn't catch Lika on the second run and tried to make a push during the third round but the pullups were just too much. I actually finished the run only 15 seconds behind her and about a minute ahead of the guy I was trying to pace. Not too bad. I should also mention that Lika finished the Med Ball Clean, DU, and Push Press workout as Rx'ed in 15:00 flat. This was a full 8:36 faster than me. Pretty gnarly.

I was getting some criticism on my KB swings. Apparently I bend too much at the waist and don't squat enough during these. The style I use is common during competition because they are quicker, but Darin suggested I emply more of a squat to save my lower back in the long term. Everything else went pretty well.

Bench Press, Short Metcon

Early afternoon

WU: Shoulder dislocates, squats, pushups, situps, back extensions, Samson Stretch, 10 bench presses (115)

Workout:

Strength: Bench Press 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1

195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245

Metcon: 2 Rounds for time:

10 Burpees

20 SDHP (77)

30 Box Jumps (18in)

40 KB Swings (40)50 DUs

12:59

Workout comments: It's about time I tried for a 1 rep max on the bench press. While I can't call this a true max effort because it was done on the Smith machine, I'll take what I can get. Will, a guy that I know from work was spotting me on this last rep and mentioned that I might want to try and exhale during the lift, and sometimes that helps him push over that wall where the weight sometimes get stuck. I'll have to try that next time. I have taken this 333111 routine from the Max Effort Black Box routine by Michael Rutherford. I have heard from various sources that this is a legitimate way to increase your 1 rep max for various lifts in an effecient manner.

The metcon was origially supposed to be 3 rounds, although I started running out of time and had to get back to work. Can you believe it? The reps for all stations were pretty much unbroken during the first round, but it was a different story for the second round. Ironically, double unders were giving me trouble in the first round. I found that I could hardly string together 5 reps before faulting. In the second round, I made it through 40 DUs unbroken before I failed. The box jumps were also pretty tough, something I'll have to spend some time working on.

Bench Press, Hang Clean/Burpee Metcon

Early afternoon


WU: Shoulder Dislocates, Quad Stretch
2 Rounds: 10 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 10 Squats, 10 Situps, 10 Back Extensions


Workout:
Bench Press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (load=195#)


Crossfit WOD: 3 Rounds for Time
135# Hang Power Clean-15 reps
Burpees-15 reps


8:03


Workout comments: Felt very strong for these workouts, until I checked the times on the crossfit main site and saw that some of the elite times were under 3 minutes. Kick a guy while he's down... I had no heart rate monitor today, but I still felt like I was totally gassed afterwards. My lungs were burning during this one. Had to break up the second and third sets of the hang power cleans. I think the limiting factor was my traps, I was having a hard time shrugging the bar.
Paleo faults: None today

Thrusters/Burpees

Morning
Easy jog over to Sutcliffe Park for:

4 X Max rep Pullups
9, 7, 7, 6

Late evening
WU: 2 Rounds
15 Squats, 15 Pushups, 15 Situps, 15 Back Extensions, Samson Stretch

Workout: For time
100 Thrusters (45# DBs)

*Every minute on the minute: 3 Burpees
13:56

1 Mile Uphill Treadmill Walking: 15% Grade
18:16

Workout comments: Continuously frustrated with the pullups. I'm wondering if the thick bar at the park has anything to do with the strict pullups I've been doing. I did the thruster workout a while back at Central Bucks Crossfit with 40# DBs and I think my time was a bit faster. Still I was pretty happy with this workout. My average heart rate was close to 180 for the entire workout and I don't think I could have forced it any higher than that. I rested during the 10th minute without doing any thrusters.

Paleo faults: Some cream in my coffee, salad dressing, a few pieces of chocolate. Otherwise good.

Hand Stand Practice, DL/Burpees

Late afternoon

WU: Shoulder dislocates, quad stretch

10 minutes Hand Stand Walking Practice

Workout: 5 Rounds for Time

5 Deadlifts (227#)
10 Burpees

Should have chosen a different workout that would not accentuate the lower back muscles as much as this one did. My back was a little sore from yesterday and this was more than apparent after one round. Tried my best to keep form proper.

Nutrition: I recently bought and am in the process of reading the Paleo diet. There' s a few good programs that outline several levels of commitment to the program. Personally, I think adhering to a specific diet program is almost impossible in today's society. While I think it's ideal for the human body to eat natural, organic foods, I think that a little wheat here and there won't do any harm. Regardless, I'm pretty open to new ideas and this seems like the most beneficial program that doesn't take aim at the Agricultural/Beef/Sugar industry. So I'm going to try reporting as many "Paleo faults" as I can throughout the day or week. We'll see how it goes.

Paleo faults: White roll on a sandwich from WaWa. Clif Bar. Slice of wheat bread with butter.

Short Cindy, OH Lunges/Burpees

Morning

WU: Short Cindy
5 Rounds:
5 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 15 Squats

3:57

Workout: 5 Rounds
OH Walking Lunges 40 steps (45#)
20 Burpees

21:15

• Workout comments: Didn't have a 45# plate so used a recycling bin with various weights piled into it. Backyard was pretty short. Honestly think the walking lunges would have gone much quicker if I didn't have to stop and turn around so many times. Getting into a rhythm in this kind of workout is essential. My shoulders were defintely the limiting factor during this workout.
• General comments: Legs and glutes were defintely shocked quite a bit during this workout and for several hours afterwards.
• Body: Feeling pretty good. Legs were only slightly sore.