K2E

Finally back at the gym after almost a week without being able to train… moving chairs for a workshop at work doesn’t count.

Tonight was a good full body workout. We started with power snatches 8-6-4-6-8, going heavier with less reps and lighter afterwards. At my heaviest, bearing in mind the higher number of reps, I did 105lbs. I’m happy, and gradually moving towards my goal – 135lbs. I couldn’t do it on 13.1, I want to change that.

We then moved on to the WOD. 17min AMRAP – 10 thrusters 75lbs, 10 knees to elbows. This one, I liked. 75 lbs is a good working weight where I can do many rounds while still struggle a bit, and I’m good at K2E. Ever since I figured out how to kip them, I’ve been cranking them. Every now and then, something does work for me. I ended up doing 7 rounds +5 thrusters Rx. I’m happy about this overall. I did have some shoulder issues in round 3-4, but it went away somehow. Could’ve been something silly as posture/technique. What I found also helped what figuring out shortcuts/efficiencies. For example, with the thrusters, one usually cleans the bar, then squats and does a push press. There’s nothing stopping you (unless stated, obviously) from squat cleaning the first one. You’re saving a little bit of energy as you don’t have to lift as high.

Paleo challenge update: We still don’t know who won – the coahc is just letting us stew some more…

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Pose Method

Over the weekend, the MRs and I went to a run clinic given by our resident ultra-runner – my running coach as I called her back in September. She still is.

During the clinic, we didn’t run all that much, but we went through drills to help us with the pose method. The pose method is basically hitting mid-sole first when you run, instead of heel first. The theory in this is that man was made to run – we’re build to run, most likely from 250lbs snarling beasts who though we’d make a nice dinner, or us after said beasts for the same reasons. Hitting mid-sole is a more natural way of running, where ankle, knee and hips align. Less strain, less possibilities of injuries and a lesser impact on the whole leg than when you run heel first.

So, today, instead of gong to the box for a clean and jerk extravaganza, the Mrs and I decided to stretch our legs and put theory to pavement. The method on longer distances is new to me, as I only applied it to shorter, sprint-like distances like an 800m. It’s odd, and slow, and uncomfortable, but I was expecting it… learning and practicing and such. To make my lie easier, I downloaded Map My Run to keep distances and times. Having a new phone also helps with GPS signal and precision. We took it easy-ish for the first one, to see how things went. We did 3.59km in 23:12. I’d say it’s an ok time. My goal, though, is to do my 5k under 25 minutes. I’m a patient man, so I’vwe given myself the whole summer to achieve that goal. At the pace I had, it would’ve taken me some 32 minutes. My running coach did tell me I’m be slower, as I’m “relearning” how to run, so no worries.

Now I know where I’m starting from. Let’s improve on it.

End benchmark 2

Poison Friday, but I had to do my second paleo challenge benchmark. Had to if I want to win.

My second benchmark was the classic dirty girl, Fran. After doing the Super Fran in the Open, I wasn’t really scared of it. Again, because of the healing shoulder in January, I did the WOD scaled, at 65lbs. Super Fran was 105lbs…

In January, I did it in 6:34. This time around, I crushed it, at 4:45. I shaved almost two minutes off my time!

Next time will be Rx, but will most likely take more time.

And even though it rains outside, I’m also very happy, and proud to say that I’m slowly getting my head wrapped around the mechanics behind the butterfly pullup. I can do two in a row, but not 3. I tried, and tried, and tried – before and after Fran, so muscle fatigue doesn’t quite play a big role in there – but I just can’t seem to string a third one in there. I’ll practice on my birthday resent from the Mrs, a pullup bar. 🙂

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Chest up!

Today was a Skillz day – and an okay day for me… Not bad, but not all that good either.

We worked on snatches again this week. I don’t mind – it’s one of those skills that’s hard to get, and even harder to master. And mine are.. not that great.

We first started with the power snatch, 6-6-6, from the ground. No need for a squat. I sort of see this one as the less skill-oriented of snatches, where muscling it works, too. It not how you should do it, and I’m sure there’s a world of details to the move, but it’s how I perceive it. I went up to 105lbs. Biggest issue at almost every lift was keeping my chest up, pushing it out and up, and looking upward to get a momentum while lifting.

With that in mind, I tackled the next set of snatches, hang squat snatches. So from the hip, and with a squat,  4-4-4.  This time, I kept the weight at 65lbs, and tried to concentrate solely on the technique, keeping my chest up, jumping and diving/pulling under the bar. It’s hard to explain… I didn’t feel like I would be breaking records today, or that I could go heavy – might as well get decent-ish technique.

Last was power+squat snatch 2-2-2-1-1-1, each rep it’s actually 2 movements in touch and go: power snatch and a full squat snatch. For the sets of ones, I added some weight, and lifted at 85lbs. Again, not much weight, but enough to feel it and be able to concentrate on the technique.

I like to think it’s improved a little bit and that I’m looking more often up. I had one fall, and the coach was looking. He said he knew why I fell, but wanted me to try and explain to see if I knew why, too. “Didn’t look up” Yep, that and I dove early which got me off-balanced.

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Body Metrics and End benchmark 1

The 90 days are done, now we collect our winnings or bragging rights. Sort of. First we have to redo the benchmark we first did before the challenge started, in January.

According to the rules, I had to do at least 2 benchmark WODs at the beginning and redo them at the end. In my case, it was Jack and Fran – you can check the January 7 and 10 posts. The results were used as a baseline to determine the winner and improvements, among other things. In my case, I’m number 1 equal with another athlete, so the benchmark will separate us. Obviously, for the comparison to be fair, it means I have to do this week’s WODs at the same weights as last time. Those that I’ve been reading my blog for a while will remember that I got a shoulder injury at the end of October that left me on the bench for a while, and that it took forever to heal and regain my strength. At the benchmark time, I wasn’t back up to full strength for Jack.

After the skill, we went straight on to Jack: 20min AMRAP – 10 push press 115lbs, 10 KB swings 1.5pood and 10 box jumps 24in. In January, I scaled at 75lbs and finished with 7 rounds and 2 push press. This time, with the same weight (no choice), I finished with 11 rounds and 2 box jumps! Holy crap! It’s a 50% improvement, more or less.

I guess the paleo, the training and the Open help. 🙂  Pretty proud of myself.

Speaking of pride, we also took my measurements to compare. In January, I weight 199lbs and had a body fat percentage of 20.1. Today, at about the same time, I weight 180lbs and had a body fat percentage of 15.1. 15.1! Again Holy crap! I think back then I was aiming at 10% body fat loss and some 20lbs. Half of my goal – not too bad. 🙂

And yes, the Mrs is happy with the results. 😀

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

 

P.S. My thoughts are prayers go to the runners and folks of Boston.

Tabata That

Friday is upon us, and again I get to actually chose my hurt. I went with yesterday’s WOD: A tabata. I wanted to do the Murph, but it’s really crappy outside, and I’d rather not run in snow/freezing rain/hail.

Tabata is many  rounds of various exercises for short periods of time, and with even shorter periods of rest. After a while, though, the rest seems even shorter and rounds longer.

So tonight, eight 20s rounds of each of the following, with 10s in-between: pull ups, push ups, sit ups, squats. I started pretty strong, but as rounds went on, it got harder. Most of my reps I actually made in squats. I finished with 65, 70, 66 and 133 reps for each respectively, for a total of 334Rx. I’m pretty happy with the results, though I think I could do better. Got to learn the butterfly pull ups!

Also, tomorrow is my last day of the paleo challenge! 90 days without even cheating once! The only points “lost” were bonus for training or sleeping. And I’m still neck to neck with a fellow athlete at the gym. We both know we’re not going to give up at this point. 🙂

It also means I can have 2 coffees Sunday, and waffles! I still have the benchmarks to go through, though. Jack and Fran next week, taken at the same weight/settings as when we first did them in January. Because of that, I’m hesitant about cheating, or cheating a lot at the very least. I want to perform for the benchmarks, get a real reading of my progression. Guess I’ll stick to almost strict for that week.

Overall, it’s been a great experience. I was amazed at how easy it was to “quit” the bad stuff. Having a meal plan, planing ahead and a very comprehensive Mrs (also 5 years with her today) helped a lot. At time, it was a pain to stay strict… birthdays and special events made things complicated. I got funny stares, but generally, people around me were very understanding. Some told me they admired my willpower. The funniest comment remains my mothers: “You managed to do this with easy, yet you struggled so much to quit smoking”. I plan on keeping the paleo diet lifestyle; it’s given me great results and a nice body, I guess. It won’t be this strict – I’ll cheat every now and then… 😉

Thanks to all who supported and encouraged me. Tanks to my box, coach and fellow athlete for pushing me.

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Snatch PR

Tonight was Skillz night. It’s been a while since I went to one… On the menu, snatches.

 

We had 3 types of snatches: balance snatch (5-5-5), hang power snatch (4-4-4) and full snatch (4-2-1-1-1-1). After warm up and prep, we got to our first movement, the balance snatch. You basically start on the tip of your toes, with the bar resting on your shoulders, and you drop into a squat position for the squat/lift part of the full snatch. This was with lighter loads, and I went up to 55lbs.

For the hang power snatch, the bar is an mid-thighs (power position). You bring it up over the head and squat. Going heavier I finished at 85lbs, my max 1 rep from a previous workout.

Last came the full snatch: bar on the floor, straight to overhead and squat. We were supposed to start at about 85% of our max, and go up to get our max 1 rep. In my case, that meant a PR at every lift, as I was starting form my max. Now, I know from WOD 13.1 that I can power snatch 95lbs, though without the squat part, and that I can’t power/split snatch 135lbs. So I knew my range, more or less. The only variable being my shoulder strength, as my issues with the OH Squat have underlined. I did my first 4 at 85lbs, no problem, it went up “smoothly”. My set of 2, I did at 95lbs. Not as smooth, but went up pretty well. I was pushing it, as I wanted to break the 100lbs mark tonight. It took my 6-7 tries, and almost that many bails, but on my last one, I managed to do a 105lbs snatch. It was horrible, almost uncontrolled at the top, but it was good! I am happy about breaking that mark, but my shoulders aren’t. 🙂

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

 

Burpee Pullups

That’s right, because burpees are no longer fun enough.

Last week of the paleo challenge, and I’m feeling pretty good. We started out with shoulder mobility exercises, to loosen everything up after the 5 weeks of Open. There was a lot of groaning and pain as we rolled and stretched the knots out of there – even us folks who roll (almost) every night.

Once that was done, we setup for the WOD. 5 rounds for time, 20min cap: 3 thrusters 165lbs and 10 burpee pullups. Yes, you read correctly, 165lbs… which is waaaaay above what I dream of lifting. During the Open, I cleaned and I overhead pressed 135lbs, and I know I can also front squat that weight, so I figured that would be a good yet challenging weight. And it was. Most reps weren’t pretty and I was not a happy camper lifting, but they got done. Now, the burpee pullups. It’s exactly what you think they are. You do your burpee, and with the jump at the end you grab the bar overhead and do a pullup. Most people have to jump 3-4 inches, maybe. But because of my height, my arm length and the bar height, I’m stuck at the highest bar, and have to jump close to a foot.  Fun.

Nonetheless, I finished in 14:56. It ain’t Rx, but it’s another PR in lifts.

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Last Week

This week is my last week for the paleo challenge. Last score sheet is handed next Saturday, and we redo the benchmark WODs next week.

It’s been quite fun, and surprisingly less hard than I thought it would be. But it’s time to end it. I think this week will be the hardest, your mind knows you’re almost done, willpower could slip, and fried food smells awesome.

Nonetheless, I have the Mrs and my friends who support me, and I find comfort in that.

Today, I ended up training at home, with Bodee fit. I’m still sweating from it. The dirty dozen: 12min AMRAP – 12 squats, 12 burpees and 30s push up holds. I ended up doing 5 rounds and 3 burpees. And yes, I still hate them. 🙂

6 days left!

Supplements

1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training

Helen 2

Ah, pick your poison Friday, where you have a degree of control on where you want to feel pain. I decided to go with yesterday’s actual WOD, Helen.

I did Helen a while back, 6 month ago to be exact. Helen is 3 rounds for time: 400m run, 21 KB swings 1.5 pood and 12 pullups. Last time, I did it in 14:23Rx. SO I figured I’d do it again to see if I’ve improved, or at least to push my limits. It went pretty well, actually. I did slow down in the third round, but my running’s still not too bad. I finished it in 13:07Rx this time

Beat my previous score by more than a minute! A nice way to start the weekend.

Supplements

1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training