7.31.10 - Back Squats

243.2

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I got it in my head that I wanted to go to the gym and work on Squats, so that's what I did.

Strength:
Back Squats
5 reps at 95
5 reps at 135
5 reps at 155
3 reps at 185
3 reps at 195
3 reps at 205
3 reps at 215
1 rep at 220
1 rep at 225
1 rep at 230
1 rep at 235
1 rep at 240
1 rep at 245
Fail at 250
1 rep at 250
3 reps at 255 with partial ROM

Obviously did pretty good here today. One key I think was making sure I waited several minutes between sets, especially as the loads went up. It was surprising though, even though it was heavy, how light the bar felt even up at 235 and 240.

Next workout, I'm thinking maybe 3 x 3 at 215 then 2-2-2 starting at 220. This Thursday might be a good night to do that. Then we test the following week and hopefully I can knock out 255.

Something to research is that on the heaviest loads, it felt like it was my back that was failing, not my legs. That might just be perception though.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Pork Quesadilla
Jerky
Salmon
2 slices of pizza
peanut butter
2 drinks

7.30.10 - Rest Day

242.8

Rest Day

Taking today as a rest day. Tomorrow I may walk Discovery Park. I may also hit LAF and do Bench Press, which I haven't done in about two weeks. It all depends on how I'm feeling though. I need to make sure I get actual rest in this weekend so that I can perform better next week. This is the plan.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
Taco Salad (too much food - need to get the smaller size next time)
Grande Latte
2 Diablos
6 drinks

7.29.10 - "Double Helen" or "Helen"

243.4

The plan today, originally, was to take a rest day. This was mostly because when I looked at the website, I saw that Scott had not put today in as a Strength day. But, towards the end of the afternoon, I had shifted my thinking towards going in today and trying to get Deadlifts in either before or after the WOD and then taking tomorrow as a rest day. This is what I ended up doing. I got in about 15 minutes early, did a quick stretch and warm-up, then did Deads while everyone else was warming up. Then I did Helen with the group. Double Helen is interesting, but I didn't have a recorded Helen time and I wanted to get that in.

Strength:
Deadlifts (wk3)
Set 1: 5 reps at 230 (75%)
Set 2: 3 reps at 260 (85%)
Set 3: 5 reps at 290 (95%)

Goal was 8 reps on the final set but I decided not to push it since I was doing Helen afterwards.

Metcon:
"Helen"
3 rounds of:
400m run
21 KB Swings (#44)
12 Pull-ups (blue band)

17:12

There was also an option to do "Double Helen", which only 1 person did. Here it is:

"Double Helen"
1200m run
63 KB Swings (#53, #35)
36 Pull-ups
800m run
42 KB Swings (#53, #35)
24 Pull-ups
400m run
21 KB Swings (#53, #35)
12 Pull-ups

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Coffee
2 Chicken Breasts
Salad
Apple
Muscle Milk
Steak
Yogurt
Peach

7.28.10 - Back Squat (wk3) + 100 Burpees for time

243.4

Strength:
Set 1: 5 reps at 155 (75%)
Set 2: 3 reps at 175 (85%)
Set 3: 7 reps at 195 (95%)

Metcon:
100 Burpees for time

16:17

Food:
Grande Latte
Chili Colorado (beef, black beans, rice, sour cream, jalapenos, salsa)
Coffee
Muscle Milk
Tri-Tip Steak
cheese
chicken
3 slices of salami

7.27.10 - Press (wk3) + Death by Clean & Jerk

243.2

Strength:
Standing Military Press (wk3)
Set 1: 5 reps at 90 (75%)
Set 2: 3 reps at 100 (85%)
Set 3: 6 reps at 115 (95%)

The numbers listed above aren't really the percentages listed because we accidentally used the one 35 pound bar in the box.

Metcon:
Death by Clean & Jerk (#135, #95)

Got to 4 reps in round 5 and I was done. Did an additional 16 reps afterwords for extra credit.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Skirt Steak Burrito
Ice Cream Bar
Tri Tip Steak
Corn on the cob
2 drinks
1 beer
ice cream

Ice Cream wasn't worth it.

7.26.10 - Overhead Squats w/bodyweight stuff

242.6

Metcon:
5 Rounds
10 Overhead Squats
20 Pushups
30 Situps
40 Squats

28:19

I actually managed to do some overhead squats today using the 45 pound bar. This is awesome because now I finally have a base I can work from and build on with this movement. I'm sure my form wasn't awesome, but just doing the movement was a big step.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Taco Salad
Chicken
Decaf Latte

7.25.10 - Rest Day

244.0

Not sure yet if this is a complete rest day or not. I do have some little aches and pains. But, I need to get Bench Press in for the week. Discovery Park is also an idea.

Food:
2 Tacos
Latte
Chicken
Veggies
Mac Salad
Beer
Mac and Cheese
Donuts

Not a good day for the food.

7.24.10 - Rest Day

244.2

Rest Day - pretty sure I'm not doing anything physical today.

Food:
Burger
Grande Latte
Chicken Burrito
Grande Latte
4 drinks
Quesadilla
Ice Cream

7.23.10 - 3 x 1 mile runs

242.2

Conditioning:
3 X 1 mile runs
3 minutes rest between each set

7:41, 8:10, 8:30

Not bad times for 39 y.o., 6'1", 240 lbs. As usual, endurance is the big issue for me. A year from now, each of these splits should be under 7 minutes.

Food:
Grande Latte
Taco Salad
Burger w/Salmon Patty

7.22.10 - Back Squats (wk2) + Tabata

241.8

Strength:
Back Squats
Set 1: 3 reps at 145 (70%)
Set 2: 3 reps at 165 (80%)
Set 3: 7 reps at 185 (90%)

Focused as much as I could on depth, making sure my butt hit the ball so I may not have gotten as many reps as I could have, but that's fine. I'm in this for the long haul - for life. It's funny, it really hit me on my second set (3 reps at 165) how much stronger I am now than when I started CrossFit 8 months ago. Then I think about where I'll be in another 8 months, or this time next year, and I actually feel optimistic. A year from now, I should be under 200 pounds. My back squat will be around 300 and my deadlift should be well over 400. I should be able to Power Clean 180 or better (correctly) and my "Grace" time should be solidly under 6 minutes. Seriously, Grace in under six minutes is fit by anyone's standards. My 3 mile run should be down around 22 mins. My standing press should be better than 170 and my bench should be around 275. I'll be approaching my 41st birthday and I'll be in the best shape of my life.

I'm shifting my focus away from pure strength and more towards building up my endurance. As an example, I would like to get in a back squat workout where I do max reps at something like #145 and then follow that up the next week with max reps at #155. Then in week three go heavy with sets of 3 at 90%. Then maybe deload in week 4. Essentially, what I want to do is take the 5/3/1 concept and lower the loads so that max reps are drastically increased, but then also add in the occasional pure strength gain workout as well. The idea is that the 3rd week workout should lift overall capacity, so that when you start the next cycle at #150, you can equal or exceed the number of reps you did in week 1 of the previous cycle.

On the other hand, the most important thing, long term, is to just keep working on squats in a progressive manner, whether it's with lower loads and more reps or higher loads and fewer reps.

Metcon:
31 burpees followed by:
Tabata
Squats (bottom to bottom)
Kettlebell Swings (#53/#35)
Ring Dips
Push-Ups (static hold)

I didn't count any of the tabata reps. The static hold push-ups went really, really well though.

Food:
Grande Latte
Salad w/lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onions, blue cheese, flank steak
Yogurt mix
Pork Quesadilla
Tall Decaf Latte

7.21.10 - Rest Day - missed "Kelly"

241.6

Scott is programming "Kelly" today, which is a real bitch. Kelly is 5 rounds of a 400m run, 30 box jumps, and 30 wall balls. Last time we did this, on 4/14/10, I scaled it down to 25 box jumps and 22 wall balls, and it still took me 37 minutes. I could go in an do this, and the benchmark would be somewhat useful, but it would also leave me blown for the rest of the week. So, I am taking a rest day instead, which hopefully will result in better performance Thursday and Friday.

I'm not opposed to doing Kelly. I just don't want to do it today.

Food:
Grande Latte
Salad - lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumbers, blue cheese, flank steak
Yogurt Mix
Pork Quesadilla
Grande Decaf Latte
Yogurt mix

7.20.10 - Deadlifts (wk2) + Power Cleans, Pike Pushups, and Burpees

240.6

Strength:
Deadlifts
Set 1: 3 reps at 215 (70%)
Set 2: 3 reps at 245 (80%)
Set 3: 8 reps at 275 (90%)

Metcon:
AMRAP 12 Minutes
4 Power Cleans (#155, #115)
8 Pike Pushups
8 Burpees

4 Rounds + 1 Power Clean

Extra Credit: 10 Power Cleans at 155

155 was really heavy, but I went with it since it was only 4 reps each round. Afterwards, I felt like I needed to work on the Power Cleans more, so that's why I did the extra credit.

Considering taking tomorrow off. Wednesday as a rest day makes sense to me.

Breakfast

• Yogurt Mix

Lunch

• Chicken Crema stuff
• 2 small flour tortillas
• Black beans
• tomatoes, onions, jalapenos
• sour cream and guacamole
• small amount of mexican rice (est. 3 tablespoons)
• 4 oz flank steak (estimate)
• Coffee

Snack

• Banana
• Muscle Milk

Dinner

• Pork Quesadilla
• Grande Decaf latte

Weight reading this morning was pretty encouraging. If I can avoid the bad snacks tonight, I might find myself under 240 tomorrow morning.

7.19.10 - Standing Military Press (wk2) + "Fran"

243.6

Strength:
Press
Set 1: 3 reps at 95
Set 2: 3 reps at 105
Set 3: 8 reps at 115

Metcon:
"Fran"
21-15-9
Thrusters (#95, #65)
Pull-ups

Last time we did Fran was on 4/19/10 and my time was 9:11 scaled to #65. My notes don't include which band I used for the pullups, but it was probably either the green or the blue and red combined. This time I'll probably use the blue and red combined. For weight, I'll probably use #75. Ideally, I get my time down into the low 8-minute range.

Update: 7:44 at #75. Used the blue and red bands for the pullups. With 3 or 4 endurance-oriented thruster workouts, I should be able to take off 90 seconds or so fairly easily. This actually has me excited to find some time to work on thrusters this week. Pull-ups will continue to be the limiting factor but should get way better in the next few months as I continue to get stronger and as my body weight goes down.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Coffee
Salad w/Salmon
2 Pork Tacos
Tall Decaf Latte
2 oz flank steak
Yogurt Mix

Now if I can only get myself to go to bed early without any serious snacking, I should wake up and find my weight down around 242.0.

7.18.10 - Rest Day

244.8

Taking a rest day today. I'm still feeling it in my calves from the sprints last Monday. Extended recovery time seems to be one of the issues I'm fighting, which of course is an argument for more rest days.

I'm considering resetting my 5/3/1 loads for the Back Squat to something that will allow me to pump out 20 or more reps on set 3. Right now, I'm just toying with this idea in my head. This last week, I did 11 reps at 180. My guess is that something like 150 is where I would need to be to get 20+ reps. Also, at 150 (or even lower), I should get a little bit better ROM, which would help with all sorts of things - power cleans, snatches, box jumps, double unders, deadlifts, running, wall balls, etc. Another way to go would be to simply repeat the week 1 loads in week 5 when we max out. Then maybe do an endurance bias with lower loads in the next cycle.

On the other hand, I KNOW that the bulk of my issues with endurance are linked directly with my body weight. Right now, I'm at a baseline of 242-245, which is still really heavy for 6'1". Even at that weight, I've seen flashes of higher performance and better endurance when I've had sufficient rest and recovery time beforehand. The sprints last Monday are an example of that. So, as my body weight moves down, and my strength gets better, performance should improve. This is the mantra I've been preaching to myself for the last eight months. It will be interesting to chart what my performance looks like around Christmas time, when my weight should be in the 215 - 220 range. Then, a year from now, I should be solidly under 200, ideally somewhere between 190 and 195. At that point, my body should be working like a machine and I'll probably be in the best shape of my life.

But, in the near term, I need to hop back on the diet bandwagon and get my baseline down to the mid-230's. There's still time to get this done by mid-August. If I can get that done, I'll have six weeks until the end of September, when I need to be under 230. So, the goal for this week (starting today) is to be really, really careful with what I eat. Last week wasn't the end of the world, but it wasn't ideal either. I need to stay away from grains, sugars, and alcohol. No late night donuts and pizza, and no burgers unless it's with a salmon patty or something like that. No Diablo next Friday night.

Food:
Two Pork Tacos
Tall Latte

7.17.10 - Military Press & Bench Press (wk1)

244.4

7/19/10 - note: Looked at my spreadsheet and realized that my numbers were wrong when I put these loads in. Since the loads were only off by #5, I'm going to stick with these numbers for now, which means I am incrementing by #10 this cycle instead of #5, which was the intended amount. I know a #10 increase is unsustainable in the Press, but it shouldn't matter for one cycle. I can always regress if necessary. #10 is probably more sustainable for the Bench, at least for a few cycles, so I may stick with that for now.

Strength:
Military Press
Set 1: 5 reps at 90 (65%)
Set 2: 5 reps at 100 (75%)
Set 3: 8 reps at 110 (85%)
Bonus: 3 reps at 110

Bench Press
Set 1: 5 reps at 130 (65%)
Set 2: 5 reps at 145 (75%)
Set 3: 11 reps at 165 (85%)
Bonus: 5 reps at 165

Dumbell Rows:
3 X 8 at #50

This is makeup for the missed strength, plus wk 1 of bench press, which I'm doing on my own.

Food:
Bacon Cheeseburger
Chicken Coconut Curry stuff
white rice
5 drinks
2 slices of sausage pizza
2 maple bars

7.16.10 - Wallballs and Kettlebells

245.0

Metcon:
5 rounds of
25 Wallballs, #20/#12
25 Kettlebells #53/#35

22:40

Food:
Oatmeal
Chicken
Pork
Beans
Coleslaw
Cornbread
Diablo
3 drinks
1 beer
2 slices of sausage pizza

7.15.10 - Missed WOD - Standing Military Press (wk1) + double unders and push-ups

245.4

Not sure if I am working out tonight. Last night was super tough to run since I still hadn't recovered from Monday's 400m sprints and my calves were just really, really tight. Also, I really don't want to get shin splints. So, it's questionable if trying to do all these double unders is a good idea. On the other hand, I want to get the strength portion done. But, if I miss it, I can just go into LAF and get that in. I guess I'll just see how I feel around 4 pm this afternoon. I also need to go mow my Mom's lawn, so that might be a good thing to do instead of working out.

Update: missed the workout. Need to try and make up the strength portion on Friday.

Strength:
Military Press
Set 1: 5 reps at 90 (65%)
Set 2: 5 reps at 100 (75%)
Set 3: 5+ reps at 110 (85%)

Metcon:
100 Double Unders
50 Push-Ups
100 Double Unders
50 Push-Ups
for time

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
2 chicken breasts
small salad
Coffee
Apple
Jerky
nut cluster things
stew and meatloaf
Burger
2 beers

Diet went to shit in the evening.

7.14.10 - Back Squats (wk1) + Nancy

244.4

Strength:
Back Squat
Set 1: 5 reps at 140 (65%)
Set 2: 5 reps at 160 (75%)
Set 3: 11 reps at 180 (85%)

Metcon:
"Nancy"
5 rounds of:
400m run
15 OH Squats, #95/#65

21:27 (note: scaled to 30 OH squats using a PVC)

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Skirt Steak Burrito
Corn Chips & Salsa (small portion)
2 Pork Tacos from the Taco Truck
Grande Decaf Latte

7.13.10 - Walking Lunges, Pullups, Situps

242.0

Metcon:
21-18-15-12-9-6
100 ft Walking Lunges
Pullups (blue and red, except for rd 1 which was all blue)
Situps

18:04

I was super stiff today after yesterday's sprints. The lunges actually helped with this quite a bit. Pullups were the main thing holding me back in today's workout. Six months from now, I'll probably blow right through this thing. As it was, I was probably 90 seconds or so behind the pack. Then again, a lot of the better people were there tonight.

Food:
Yogurt Mix - blueberries, jam, honey, walnuts, granola
Prime Rib
Brussel Sprouts
Potatoes (5 halves of the little red kind)
cup of coffee
nut cluster things
jerky
Salmon Burger
5 onion rings
chicken wings


Not a horrible food day, but certainly not optimal. Oh well.

7.12.10 - Deadlift (wk 1) + 5 x 400m conditioning runs

244.0

I eased off the low carb last week, but still, the baseline is a bit lower than before, so that's good. I'm going to jump back on the bandwagon this week and try to get a reading under 240 as soon as possible. 235 by August 10th is the new goal, which shouldn't be a problem if I can manage an ounce of discipline.

Strength:
Deadlift
Set 1: 5 reps at 200 (65%)
Set 2: 5 reps at 230 (75%)
Set 3: 10 reps at 260 (85%)

This is the second cycle of 5/3/1. For the Deadlift, I am incrementing by 10 pounds. Scott seems to have it in mind that the thing to do is recalculate off of your new max, but this is what the Wendler e-book says to do, so that's my plan. Next cycle, I may only go up 5 pounds but we'll see. It will depend how many reps I get to in Wk 3.

Metcon:
X 5 repeats
400m run
60 seconds rest

1:51, 1:49, 1:53, 1:53, 1:51

I really kind of killed it with this WOD. Definitely one of my better ones. One note: since I was at the head of the pack, my average rest time was probably on the order of 80 - 90 seconds instead of 60. I'll take it though.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
2 chicken breasts
small salad
Jerky
Apply
nut cluster things
Teriyaki chicken w/small salad and white rice
Tall Decaf Latte
4 chocolate almonds cluster things

7/11/10 - Rest Day

244.2

Rest Day

Food:
Bacon Cheeseburger
Onion Rings
Grande Latte
Fruit Salad
Crackers
Chicken
Cheese
Salami

7/10/10 - Rest Day

244.8

Rest Day

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
Two Tacos
Cheeseburger
3 drinks

7/9/10 - Push Jerk + "DT"

244.0

Strength:
Push Jerk
5-5-5
Loads: 115-135-145

Metcon:
"DT"
5 rounds of
12 Deadlifts  (#155/#115)
9 Hang Cleans (#155/#115)
6 Push Jerks (#155/#115)

19:42 with #115

Food:
Grande Latte
Beef Brisket
Smoked Pork
cornbread
beans
macaroni salad
Two Diablos
2 Drinks
Two scoops of gelato w/waffle cone

7/8/10 - Rest Day

243.4

Rest Day - maybe it's the hot weather, but I just do not feel like going to CrossFit today. I may go running though, so we'll see.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Skirt Steak Burrito
Corn Chips
Pork Quesadilla
2 scoops of Gelato w/waffle cone

7/7/10 - Power Snatch

243.4 

Strength:
Power Snatch
1-1-1-1-1

#120 (PR) 

Metcon:
10 Power Snatch #95
15 Pullups
complete 4 rounds for time

12:30 

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
Prime Rib
Squash
Asparagus
Avocado
Cheeseburger (homemade)
Grande Decaf Latte

7/6/10 - Squat Hops, 400m run, Med Ball cleans

242.6

Metcon:
Complete 4 Rounds:
50 Squat Hops
400m run
20 Med Ball clean (#12)

~28:30 (forgot to note the exact time)


Food:
Yogurt Mix
Carnitas
2 tortillas
rice
beans
banana
10-piece chicken wings
2 maple bars

7/5/10 - Rest Day

242.8

Rest Day

Food:

7/4/10 - Rest Day

241.6

Incredibly stiff from the run last night so today is definitely a rest day. 


Food:
Double Cheeseburger
Tall Latte
Popcorn
2 pieces of pizza

7/3/10 - Firecracker 5000

243.0

Running the Firecracker 5000 tonight at midnight. No other workout planned other than some stretching beforehand. I could change my mind though and either go to LAF to get in some Bench Press or to Discovery Park to run or walk the loop trail.

30:56

Food:
Indian Buffet
Talle Latte
Salmon Burger
Fries
Banana
Apple
Donut

7/02/10 - Light Workout - Military Press

241.8

Strength:
Military Press
Set 1: 5 Reps at 100
Set 2: 3 Reps at 110
Set 3: 6 Reps at 120

Also did some stretching and practiced jump rope.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
2 cheese sticks
Grande Latte
Burger & Onion Rings
Bowl of Chili
Popcorn


Kind of a bad day on the food.

7/1/10 - Rest Day

241.6 (Yay!)

Today is a rest day, for sure. If I'm feeling especially ambitious, I might go for a walk or go to LAF and do some stretching and ab work and maybe sit in the hot tub for a while. No weights though and nothing especially strenuous, that's for sure.

Food:
Yogurt Mix
Grande Latte
Chicken Breast
Salad
Bowl of Sausage Chili w/Saltines
cheese, peanut butter, salami