Spring Break WOD 12.4

Juls & I woke up early to get our last WOD in before hitting the road to head home. It's been a great vacation. The weather was perfect, Bubs hit two milestones (crawling Rx & pulling himself up to standing) this week, and we made many great memories as a family and with Opa & Oma. Along with all those things the last two days have been terrible on my stomach and the drive home won't be any better I'm sure so this WOD is more than needed. Plus it was a great wake up for the long drive to come.

Spring Break WOD 12.4
10 rounds FT:
 10 C2D push ups
 10 Sit ups
 10 Squats
= 9:27
- Pretty simple and straight forward. Moved pretty well through it considering I started it less than 10 minutes after getting out of bed. The push ups were all UB. The sit ups were burning after the 3rd round...my core is terrible. The squats felt great...a slight burn, but really started to squeeze the glutes and take the pressure off of my quads made it pretty easy to get through.

Lookin' forward to get back in the gym and toss some weight around.

Spring Break WOD 12.3

Juls & I got away with Pip for a running WOD at a local elementary school this morning. Took yesterday off and just relaxed. I enjoyed a nice evening at Downtown Disney with my two lovely ladies. They danced their butts off with the live DJ and had I blast watching em!

Spring Break WOD 12.3
4 rounds FT:
 450ishM run
 5 Strict HSPUs (all UB)
 25 squats (UB/UB/11-14/5-20)
 50 DUs (UB/??/??/9-41)
= 20:54
-This was a good one for me. The runs were a little tougher than I thought they would be. The first one felt great. The second was probably my longest because I zoned out and that round was pretty much a blur. My butt started to tighten up pretty good by the third. The fourth I started moving a little faster just because I wanted to be done already.
- The HSPUs were cake. I should have raised the reps to 8-10.
- The squats got tough in the 3rd and 4th rounds. I wanted to push through that lactic threshold as best I could. I was hoping to go UB on all 4 sets, but I needed to shake em out once in the last 2 rounds.
- DUs were good except for the 2nd and 3rd round. My 1st and 4th were no problem, but those middle rounds gave me all kinds of problems. The 2nd round I know I had 4 or more misses. The 3rd I struggled from 1-30ish and I remember ripping a 10 or more to finish the set. Legs were dead in the middle rounds, but came back to me in the 4th.

Got my 3rd WOD while on vacation so I'm pumped about that. I plan on getting one more in on Friday and then it's back home Saturday morning. Looking forward to getting under a barbell soon.

Spring Break WOD 12.2

What a great day it has been! The weather has been perfect! No humidity and a nice cool breeze with plenty of sun. We spent the morning at the pool with the kids, came back to the condo for nap time, and then took Pip to SeaWorld for the evening. She loved it! A little over five years ago, Julie and I came to Orlando and went to SeaWorld on our honeymoon. As we walked around pushing Pip in the stroller, we couldn't help but realize how fast things can change in such a short time. Pip enjoyed all the shows and animal exhibits and we are looking forward to going back later in the week with Sawyer, Oma, & Opa.
I still had quite a bit of energy to burn off when we got back from SeaWorld and I felt pretty gross from the sweat and sun block I'd accumulated throughout the day, so I decided to head to the pool for a night time WOD.

Spring Break WOD 12.2
12:00 AMRAP
 50yd Swim
 15 C2D Push Ups (UB/UB/9-6/6-4-2-3)
 15 Sit Ups
= 4 + 6 push ups
- I love to swim! I grew up in So Cal. The apartment building I grew up in til I was 12 had a huge pool with a 12ft deep end. I have great memories racing my dad from end to end and jumping off the second floor ledge into the deep end with my sisters. I don't get to swim as much as I would like now, but when I get a chance I try to take advantage of it.
- The 50 yd swim was a rough estimate. It was right around 25ish one way. I knew my swims were gonna be a bit rough since I didn't have any goggles. Constantly picking my head up to look forward so I could kinda stay in line from point A to point B (imagine a V...I was trying to swim from the bottom point to the top point) and trying to work around a few kids playing catch slowed me down a bit. I was hoping for 5 full rounds still, but that 5th swim was pretty tough on the shoulders. The push ups hit me in the 3rd round and made my arms feel like lead in the water. The sit ups started to burn a bit as well in the 3rd.
- I'm a little anxious that I'm missing my back squat session this week. I'm thinking about stopping in at a local affiliate just so I can get it in, but don't know if I will just yet. We will see. I've found some parks and HS tracks nearby and already have a WOD picked out for my next opportunity...we'll see!

Spring Break WOD 12.1

After a two day 19+ hour car ride from Chi town to Orlando with 2 children under the age of 3 and all the junk food consumed in the process, I needed to get a WOD in...BADLY!!! We settled in last night, slept in late this morning, and checked out the pool this morning with Pip. The weather has been awesome and it looks like it will continue to be for the rest of the trip. We got SeaWorld coming up tomorrow with some more pool time before we go. I love Spring Break!!
My goal is to sneak in 3-4 WODs this week. Have to wait and see how I do.

SB WOD 12.1
FT:
 100 DB thrusters  (30/10)
 5 Burpees OTM
= Me - 10:48, Juls - 11:38
- I saw Khalipa do this on youtube once except he used 40-45lb DBs. I thought about using that weight, but remembered I'm not Khalipa. The Open showed I suck at burpees and it's never a bad thing to work on your weaknesses right?! This was a terrible idea! The best part was through the entire first 5 minutes Julie kept reminding me how dumb it was and how much she hated me! I loved it! She did an excellent job by the way...I was very proud of her! Shoulders and quads were just smoked by the end. Successful WOD!

I brought my rings and portable pull up bar so I'm hoping to maybe sneak away to a track or local park and get some running and sun involved in the next WOD....stay tuned!


If anyone who reads this has any bright ideas of torture you would like to see us go through...post a WOD to comments! 
Equipment available:
Fitness Center - DBs up to 50lbs and a treadmill...yep..that's it!
Outside - portable rings & pull up bar (only one can be used)

Open WOD 12.5

Totally different feeling going into this one. I've been anxious all weekend to get this over with partly because I wanna be done with the Open WODs and mostly because I wanted it to be 2:31p on Friday afternoon so my SPRING BREAK can officially began!! I've been doing all the Open WODs on Sundays and I had a nice routine going. I felt rested on those mornings and focused from the start. Doing it Thursday evening had a different feeling to it to say the least. I was thinking about it while at school. Felt good about getting it done on the way to Palatine to pick up the kids, but by the time I got to the gym from Palatine I was pretty wiped and had lost all enthusiasm to WOD. Charlie decided to suffer with me instead watch me,  which I was very grateful for.

Open WOD 12.5
7:00 AMRAP
 3 Thrusters (100#)
 3 C2B Pull Ups
 6 Thrusters
 6 C2B Pull Ups
 9s, 12, 15, ....
= 111 reps (Completed round of 15 + 18 thrusters + 3 pull ups)
- Last year, I only completed 55 reps. I did all the my thrusters UB, but spent a ton of time trying to do pull ups. I had no goal, except to do better. I gave no thought to a game plan because I just wanted to move and I didn't want to think. Moving is just what I did! I felt great. I kept my thrusters UB til 15 (broke it into 2 sets) and broke up 18 into 3 sets (should have been 2). I saved my energy on C2B from the jump and broke em into quick doubles and triples. The round of 15 I think was almost entirely singles. I felt great throughout this entire workout for the most part. The pain didn't set in til I stopped moving. As soon as the WOD stopped, my quads just swelled and that hurt! My heart rate took quite awhile to slow down. In the end, I was extremely pleased with the result. My only regret is that I didn't attack some of the other WODs the same way. I hate game planning WODs. Just something to think about for next year.
I signed up last year so that I would be able to see how much I improved in a year. Last year I finished some where in the thousands. This year I finished 502 and Prevail finished 64th as a team after only being open for a few months.  I couldn't be more happy with my progress. I can't wait to see what another year brings!

Doubles

Got some much needed rest last night. Had an institute day at school so I got to sleep in a little more and see my kiddos before I went to work this morning. I sat around all day at work in meetings...by the end of the day I was dying to be outside and moving around. I was pretty excited heading into Prevail tonight because it was heavy back squat day. My quads are feeling a ton better after running on them yesterday (still thankful for the lessons I learned in solid high school lifting program). Still had a little lingering stiffness, but nothing horrible.

Strength
Back Squat --- 6@70%, 6@80%, 3@90%, 2@95%
bar(8)-135(8)-185(8)-225(6)-265(6)---300-340-385-405
- Felt friggin' GREAT tonight!! Had a ton of explosion out of the hole through every rep. No back pain! Plenty of depth! 405 felt great! I thought about hitting a 3rd rep, but was mindful enough to curb my enthusiasm and save it for max day in a few more weeks. Body is definitely acclimating to the stress of the cycle. Seeing a lot of good squats and numbers from others too. Got to rotate under the bar with Alex and Chris tonight. Chris is getting better and better under the bar.

WOD
21-15-9
 Hang Power Snatches (95#)  (UB--10-5--9)
 Row (cals)
 Sit ups
= 6:31
- Fun WOD. Alex, Chris, and I stayed together and pushed each other. They used the GHD for sit ups (unfortunately, I believe the GHD messes with my back so I stayed on the Abmat). Felt strong thru the snatches. My grip started to go in the round of 15 so I had to put it down just long enough to re-grip. Rows were slow and powerful. Cranked the damper up to 10 and tried to crank out a cal/pull. I was pretty close for most them. Sit ups were sit ups. Good moving WOD and fun with the fellas.

A Good Running Partner

Woke up this morning and my quads felt like crap! As the day went on though, they got a little better. Headed to Prevail a little early so I could throw Mya in the water a bit and Pip could throw rocks in the pond. Really feeling good by this point and excited to WOD. Gotta work this soreness out and for heavy squat day tomorrow!

Strength
Weighted DH Pull Ups      --- 5 x 3    (3-3-3@44#, 3@49#, 3@55#)
Weighted Strict Ring Dips --- 5 x 3   (3-3-3@44#, 3@49#, 3@55#)
- Got to WOD with Chris & Charlie tonight. Those guys always provide a good push and a fun atmosphere. Felt strong out of the bottom on the pull ups. Ring dips felt just as good and worked on rotating externally at the top, which is really making a difference. Great work overall.

WOD
10:00 Running Clock
  1 mile run
  ME HSPUs
= 15
- I usually get pretty bored on runs so I ran with Mya tonight. Running with Mya keeps me moving a little faster and my mind from focusing on the monotonous task I find myself in. I made a little challenge to Chris on whether or not he could still get more HSPUs than me with his 1:00 head start on them. I was pretty close. I finished my mile at 8:30 and he had already been done for about a minute. The run wasn't my best. I felt pretty good still when I finished and think I probably had a lot more left in me. Chris had 10 done already when I walked through the door. I dropped down and hit 15 UB (kip & strict). When I got up there was about :40ish left on the clock and Chris was now at 20. I tried to shake it out real quick and get back at it, but I had nothing left. I came down and tried one more time and still had nothing left as time ran down. Chris finished with 26. He won :(
- Looking back I should've shut down my first set at 10-12 and rested and then I should have had enough juice to go in 2s or 3s.
- Overall, a fun WOD with friends and I set out to do what my main goal was...loosen my legs up a bit to prepare for heavy squat day tomorrow!

Cash Out
30 C2B Pull Ups (in fewest sets possible)
= 15-10-6
- Another challenge Charlie, Chris, & I made to have some fun tonight. Originally, cash out was only 15, but we took it up to 30 in the fewest sets possible. It took Chris 4-5 sets, Charlie 3 sets, I did 31 reps in 3 sets just so I could say I beat Charlie :)

Open WOD 12.4

Had friends over for a bonfire last night. Woke up feeling very rested. Nothing is more relaxing than chillin' under the stars next to a good bonfire...unless it's on a camping trip..only way it could get better actually. It felt good to feel so relaxed. This wod has given me some angst this week. Wall balls just kill me. I've worked so hard on my muscle ups and DUs this year,  I was really worried that I wouldn't even get a chance to do them, the muscle ups especially.

Open WOD 12.4
12:00 AMRAP
150 Wall balls (20#)
90 DUs
30 Muscle Ups
= 241
- Original game plan was to break up the wall balls into 10 sets of 15 with 10 seconds rest in between. I think we stuck to that plan for the first 75 reps (5 sets). After that we took it to sets of 10s I think towards the end it even got to sets of 5s...can't quite remember. After the 3rd set of 15 I remember stepping away from the wall to rest and saying I'm feeling good to Chris. I got back under the ball and the first rep I could feel the acid building up in my legs. It was all down hill from that point. My shoulders felt great, but man my quads just blew out. Got done with the wall balls with around 3:30ish on the clock.
- DUs felt good for the first half. I think I hit 8-9 then missed then went on a run to around 45-50. I think I did 10-15s from there . I think I got to the rings with about a minute left.
- With limited time left I wanted to make sure every attempt counted so I took sometime to gather myself. First attempt I missed, not enough hip to get me fully on top of the rings. Didn't want to rush back to the bar and waste time with another miss so I took a few seconds to rest again. Second attempt was solid. Only had enough time for one more attempt. Third attempt got up on top of rings, but I was wide armed and couldn't bring it back together.

--Overall, extremely happy with my score. A year ago, MUs showed up in an Open WOD and I had absolutely no hope of getting one. This year, I got at least one and I'll take it!

Closing thoughts...I'm ready for the Open to be over. I'm mentally exhausted from all the anticipation, the game planning, and having to frickin' pace myself every week. I just wanna get back to my regularly scheduled programming and Oly lifting.

Inspiration award goes out to all of the Prevailers this week that completed 12.4! Lots of gutsy performances all around, some Karen PRs, some DU PRs, all around great job!

Missed One

Some how I forgot to add this workout in last week. Here it is...

Strength
RDLs --- 5 x 5
225-275-275-275-275
Static Ring Holds
1:00 - :45 - :45 - :45 - :45
- Solid work on the low back and hamstrings today. I felt these for days after. If you read the latest Talk To Me Johnnie blog, he talks about Louie Simmons belief in weak hamstrings and low back problems. Love to use as prevention and recovery.
- Static holds added a change of pace to work on some stability and strength on the rings. Goal here is to find your hollow and rotate externally for more efficient hold. Being able to externally rotate was extremely difficult for most.

WOD
2 rounds FT:
400m Row
 10 Box Jumps (24")
 20 KB Swings (24k)
 30 DUs
400m Run
= 12:15
- Wanted to get a WOD in that I could keep pushing the pace, but wouldn't damage me for 12.4. This was a good one to do it. I just kept moving trying to build the engine as much as I could. Jumps and swings were all UB. Can't remember exactly about DUs. Again I felt very comfortable on the rower and the run was decent. All in all a good WOD.

Loving The Weather

 Woke feeling good this morning! Actually I was lucky to wake up at all. I was pretty comfy in bed and I got a FB update on my phone that woke me up. DP was the only option today for working out so I had to get up and go. Weather was great outside...low 60s at 5am in March in Northern IL.....LOVING IT!!!

Strength
Front Squats --- 5@70%, 4@80%, 3@85%, 3@90%
bar(8)-135(8)-185(5)-225(5)---255 - 292 x 3 - 310 - 330
- Had a tightness in my lower back that I just couldn't get rid of. I stretched and did my back exercises and just couldn't loosen it up. I felt it at 225 at the bottom. It got worse at 255. At 292 it wasn't any worse then 255, but I knew it wasn't right and I was losing a little power out of the hole so I threw in the towel at 3 reps. It's just not worth it.
- I have felt fine throughout the rest of the day. I think it was just one of those things that has been making it hard for me to workout in the morning. My body just needs a little more time to get loose after jumping out of bed.

WOD
750m Row
3 rounds of:
  15 wall balls (20#)    (all UB)
  10 C2D Push Ups     (all UB)
  200m Run
= 8:44
- Don't know what my row time was exactly. I got off the rower and headed downstairs and it was two minutes and some change on the clock. Row was nice and smooth. Held my s/m at 28 with some good powerful pulls and felt great leg and lung wise coming off.
   Rx was 10 wall balls. I added 5 more just to get a little extra work in on them. Tried to keep a nice steady pace and make sure my depth was unquestionable and hit the stinkin' wall every time, which I did. Felt pretty good about these today.
   C2D had my shoulders burning by midway through the 2nd round. The 3rd round was tough and I was happy I pushed through it and didn't break them up.
   Shoulders were pretty tight on all the runs, but my legs felt great. Really tried to stay loose and pick the pace up on these. Deb and Michelle were right on my tail during these, which was great to push me a little faster.
   All in all a good WOD for me.

Cash Out
Rested about 1:30-2:00 after finishing the WOD and started chipping away at 90 DUs. Missed 3 times at 9, 56, and 70ish. Felt good though despite the misses. Walked upstairs and worked on M Ups a bit with Deb & Michelle. Pulled out a couple of doubles, which I was pretty happy with after yesterday's AMRAP.

Gettin' It In

Soreness is finally all gone, but I can't make it to the gym because I had to supervise a volleyball tournament at school. Volleyball tournament was awesome! Our girls team played great and upset the number 1 seed to win it! I knew I wasn't gonna be able to make it the gym so I put together a little workout during lunch.

WOD
10:00 AMRAP - Muscle Ups
= 12 (4-3-2-1-1-1)
- With 12.4 being announced tonight and 12.5 right around the corner I wanted to get some more work in on MUs because I knew it was only a matter of time before they came up. 12.4 announced and looks like I was dead on!
- I was really hoping to get 15, but just couldn't hold it together in bottom of the dip position for the last few minutes. My hips were a lot better this go around. Hand positioning is getting a little better, but still gets way too far out as I wear down.
 - Pretty excited about the announcement of 12.4. If you look at my blog, I've trained DUs & MUs quite a bit in recent months. Karen worries me a bit because I flat out suck at wall balls, but I've never done Karen, which is nothing but wall balls. I'm hoping to be able to hold it together during the wall balls and get to those MUs. Last year when MUs were in the OPEN WOD, I had never even done one, I don't think at that point I had even attempted one yet. This year I feel pretty ready and believe I can gain some ranking on this one. Time will tell!

Car Wreck

Once again I missed the DP :( I woke up this morning and felt terrible. My neck and traps feel like the morning after the first day of pads in Fall football camp. My calves are tight as heck. I got up out of bed to get dressed and knew it just wasn't gonna happen today. Plus knowing that my wife is okay with me going at night,  really takes the motivation away needed to wake up that early.

Headed into the 530p class. It was a good group. I got to WOD with Tara, Kristy, CT, and John. I was happy to see CT show up. Usually we are chasing each other on the board and rarely get to WOD together anymore.

Strength
Back Squat --- 8@65%, 6@75%, 4@85%, 4@90%
bar(8)-135(8)-185(5)-225(8)---277 - 320 - 365 - 385
- I was so happy to see the reps finally come down! I was very pleased with bar speed out of the hole on every set, even the last. The last set was heavy, but felt a ton easier than some of the other sets in recent weeks. My hinge is getting a lot better, at least it feels and seems that way. I'm not driving past my toes as much and am sitting back a ton more. I haven't had any problems with my back since making the change a few weeks back, which tells me it was the right decision. Gaining more and more confidence every time I get under the bar again. Feels good!

385 x 4

WOD

10:00 AMRAP

  15 Wall Balls (20#)

  10 Burpees

   5 Clean & Jerk (135#)

= 4 + 17

- WOWZER!!! That sucked! I probably no repped an entire round of extra wall balls because I hit too low or stinking missed the wall altogether...just terrible. My arms were shot after the first round. I came back to the wall balls and my shoulders were on fire and they didn't stop burning til a few minutes after the WOD was over. 

- CT and I came off the wall balls and burpees at the same time the first round. I pulled away at the C&J. He caught up and passed me on the wall balls and I caught back up on the C&J again in the second. We repeated this back and forth on the 3rd and 4th rounds as well. It made the WOD fun and I'm sure it's the only reason I did as well as I did. Gotta love friendly competition!

Cash Out

DUs --- 3 x 1:00 ME w/ 1:00 REST b/n rounds

80 something, 60 something, 70 something

- Tara, CT, and I had a little competition to see who could get the most DUs every round. Just a fun little game to pick up the intensity a little bit. Loved it! The work was awesome! My legs were hurting by that 3rd round. Love the work!

After yesterday and today...tomorrow is definitely gonna be a rest day!!

Open WOD 12.3

Feeling great! Spent the last 2 days at NIU coaching one of my wrestlers in the IESA State meet. Had a blast! It was a great experience for my wrestler and for myself. My back is pretty irritated from sitting in bleachers and driving in a car for the the majority of my last 48 hours, but I feel a lot better than I thought I was going to. Got plenty of rest despite the time change and was looking forward to getting this WOD out of the way.

Going into this WOD my goal was 8+. I would have loved to seen 9, but I was pretty sure T2B wasn't gonna allow that to happen. A little friendly competition has been going on between a good friend and me through the Open. 8 rounds would finally give me a win so that was really my only concern. I invited some buddies out to Prevail to enjoy the post WOD cookout and help push me through this one. It was great to have em around. I've learned through the years of being in a weight room that there are voices that you just learn to block out during a workout and there are voices that you could hear even if they whispered. It was great to have another voice I could hear this weekend on this WOD.

Open WOD 12.3
18:00 AMRAP
  15 Box Jumps (24")
  12 Push Press (115#)
   9 T2B
= 8 + 15 (303)
- Felt a lot better going through this then I thought I was. My first few rounds were right around 1:45-55ish. I remember looking up at the clock and it read 9:01 and thinking to myself I'm right on track and I still felt pretty good. I looked back sometime around 4:50ish and thought this is going to be the longest 5:00 of my life.
-I had several no reps on the box jumps during the first 2-3 rounds because of losing my balance standing it up. I sucked some wind here and there on these. I only had to step down on one somewhere in the early rounds. I felt a slight twinge in my back and then it went away. I got into a solid groove in the later rounds.
- Push press was pretty easy. I went all UB, which I am extremely happy with. There were several times the thought popped into my head of dropping the bar right around 9 reps in, but Toolz kept me on track and gave me the right cues when I needed them. That and the thought of cleaning the bar back up seemed way worse than repping it out at the time.
- T2B...you win! I broke them up into 5-4 the first 3 rounds, after that it was a variation of 1s, 2s, 3s, and an occasional 4. I did the best I could and just kept plodding through them. For the last 4 reps for at least 2 rounds it was all singles, which basically was like the STC ring exercises I do. If I fell off, I got back up as fast as I could.
- I finally met a goal on one of these stinkin' WODs so I'm pretty happy about this one. I always wish I could've done more, but that was all I had that day and I'm happy with it.


Inspiration Awards this week...
- Dean Roberts...I don't know how this guy is as small as he is carrying around the frickin' heart he's got! I got to watch Dean go in the first heat and man he makes it hard to quit on yourself! The 115 push press is a little over 80% of his total body weight...that's a heavy 12 rep lift for 18:00 minutes! By the third round his legs were literally trembling and we're only 7-8 minutes in at this point. It looked as if he could barely stand at some points because they were wobbling so bad. He kept moving though and I don't think quitting ever crossed his mind.

- Michelle Roberts & Kelly Witt...my two DP crew members (although I hear I might be getting kicked off the crew soon if I don't start showing up more...yikes!!). These two ladies were awesome! I've had the pleasure of watching them both work their tails off over the last year weekly to get where they've gotten today. I'm very stoked by the performances they put in and glad they both got to shine this week! Way to rep ladies!

- Kristina Harvey...now she went at the same time I did so I didn't get to watch whatever was going on over there, but the cheers I kept hearing for her...man it was cool!! It was that sound that makes your ears perk up because you know it only happens when something special is going on in the gym (and by special I don't mean an amazing score, but a physical and/or mental break through). Again...when you hear someone breaking through like that...it's hard to stop short of that line yourself...definitely helped me keep moving!

- Mama Bear...although she may not know it (because I don't let her know nearly enough) she has been amazing to watch through out this entire competition. I knew going in her T2B were not that great and that they would probably give her problems really early, which they did. I was proud of the way she kept her emotions in tact and continued to push through, instead of giving in and letting defeat take hold. She has come along way since September when she first started and her mental toughness continues to get stronger and stronger...which pays dividends in our lives together outside of Crossfit, which is what really matters.

12.3 Primer

Finally made it to the DP this week! Woohoo! It sucks getting up this early, but it feels great once you get there and even better once your done! Had a pretty good sized crew going this morning...lots of estrogen! Back is a little tight because I didn't stretch at all yesterday. Gonna work on some mobility later today.

Strength
Weighted DH Pull Ups --- 5 x 5 w/ 35#  (5, 5, 5, 5, 4-1)
Weighted Strict Ring Dips --- 5 x 5 w/ 35# (5, 5, 5, 5, 3-1-1)
- Felt strong this morning. Had some good strong fast pulls out of the bottom. Finally lost it on the last set.

WOD
4:00 AMRAP
 12 Push Press/Jerk @ 115# (UB, UB, UB, 9-3)
 6 T2B (UB, UB, UB, 5-1)
1:00 REST
2:00 AMRAP
 Box Jumps (24") *games standard
= 4 + 30
- Knowing T2B were gonna slow me down, my goal was to stay UB on the Push Press/Jerk. I tried PP and PJ. Both have their pros and cons. The PP I felt wore out my legs a little more and PJ I felt really took a toll on my shoulders as I received the bar and maintained lockout. I had a real nice compact kip the first set of T2B, but couldn't find it on the last 3 sets. Wound up hanging on and doing some double swing thing to get up.
The Box jumps were pretty slow today too. I tried rebounding, but the landing was causing quite a bit of pain in my back. I started stepping down after about 3 or 4 and was fine. No need to aggravate my back a few days before I actually do 12.3.
- Overall, this weight is gonna get heavy quick. With as slow as I'll have to move through the T2B, if I can scrounge out 9 plus rounds in 12.3 I'll be pretty happy.

I Love Spring!

Snoozed right through the DP this morning...literally! I hit snooze for a straight 45 minutes before I realized how long it had been going off. I guess I was a little tired. Woke up for work feeling great though. The weather was awesome when I got out of work and at that point I was a little disappointed I didn't go to DP because then I could go home with kids and hit the park up with everyone. Either way, family night at Prevail is pretty fun too! Bubs started crawling for the first time while I was doing strength. It was pretty neat that some members of our Prevail family got to share that with us.

Strength
Back Squat --- 8@65% - 8@70% - 6@80% - 6@85% *425 1RM*
bar(8) - 135(8) - 185(8) - 225(6) --- 277 - 297 - 340 - 365
- Well after two weeks of struggling with the BS I finally decided to back down my 1RM to where I originally started the program on. I have to say it was a very good decision. The sets were still tough, but I'm able to stay in a much better position through out the squat. Changing 1RMs after starting a program was a dumb mistake. I knew better and it will not be done again. Solid workout tonight. Really focused on using the glutes more and definitely felt the difference on the way up. My form is getting better as well. I'm hinging better and am more stable with the knees at heavier weight. Gotta love progress. Best part about form getting better is when I get done with squatting and I can actually stand up right because my back wasn't surrendered at all.

WOD
15:00 AMRAP
3 HSPUs     (all strict and UB, except for 1)
6 SDHPs (85#)  (all UB)
9 Goblet Squats (53#)  (all UB)
200m Run
= 7 + 9
- Very excited about this WOD for several reasons. 1) pretty excited it was altered for the great weather and the run was added in and 2) I needed a good long WOD to push through.
My back and hamstrings were already pretty tight and starting to stiffen up from the squats so I knew I had to be very careful with the SDHPs involved. After the first two runs I'm sure I was looking pretty funny because I wasn't in pain, but I was pretty locked up in lower back. The runs were great and terrible. The last 50ft or so before the turn around point you come around the building and just get hit by a wall of gusting wind. Once you turned around though it was awesome to have at your back. All the HSPU work I've been doing paid off in this one. Everything rep was strict and UB. I fell off once because I lost my balance a bit. Reps were very fast too and they never felt fatigued. SDHPs were slow and precise to make sure my back was good. Goblets they were a burner. Felt good though. I paused once or twice in the early rounds as the lactic acid started to build really quickly, but once CT & Jon started to pull ahead on the runs that wasn't an option anymore. It was good thing they did. It really helped me push through and get a little mental toughness in. I finished behind CT by 9 reps and managed to catch Jon C on the last run in and pulled ahead on the HSPUs.

It's nice to see Matt K & Jon C really stepping up their game lately at the gym as they get in better shape. There is gonna be some good competition this Spring & Summer at Prevail. I can't wait!

More Snatch

Had the day off today and felt pretty good. I was pretty tight throughout the morning. Found some time to do some rehab exercises and ice and started to feel a lot better. Got some things done around the house and spent some much needed time with the family. Off to Prevail with the family for the evening...

Strength
Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
PVC pro.-Bar pro.-95 pro.- 135 - 145 - 155 --- 165 - 175 - 185 - 195 - 205 - 205 - 215 - 215 - 215
- Wasn't expecting much after the Open WOD yesterday. Lockouts still felt good. Shoulders feel good still, but pretty fatigued. My legs were pretty stiff just going through the progressions with the bar and PVC. I was forward on the miss at 205. The make at 205 felt great in the catch. My first miss at 215, my right elbow couldn't hold out. The next one was the same. The last one I compensated on the pull and pulled the bar way back and myself forward. Three strikes...I'm out!

WOD
(was supposed to be a 1000m ME Row)
4 rounds of:
250m ME Row (46.2 - 47.1 - 46.7 - 47.0)
1:00 ME Muscle Ups (1-1-0-1)
1:00 Rest
= 3:07.1/1000m; 1:33.5/500m; 31 s/m
- Just didn't have the mental capacity to sit in front of rower for a straight 1k today so I got the mileage in, but just did it a little differently. Smoothest I've felt on the rower in a long time. Those were pretty good pulls for me. Tried to keep the s/m at or under 30 as best I could. I wasn't expecting a huge number on the MUs, but I was hoping for better than 1s and Zeroes. My pull was pretty shot and the ones I did get were pretty ugly. I have to work on some progressions to really seal my handwork in better when I'm fatigued.

Open WOD 12.2

Woke feeling great! Back was a little tight, but nothing some moving around couldn't fix. Kids spent the night at Opa & Oma's place so I got plenty of rest. Showed up to Prevail ready to do work! Signed up for Heat 5. Took me all 4 heats to get ready. Between cheering and warming up I was feeling really good.

Open WOD 12.2
10:00 Snatch Ladder AMRAP
30 Snatches @ 75#
30 Snatches @ 135#
30 Snatches @ 165#
ME @ 210#
 = 73
- Initially, I was very frustrated! I walked out the back door of the gym and blew up. My initial goal was 75, after tinkering around with the weight the last few days I thought 80 was definitely doable. I had a good game plan. I got through the first 30 right where I wanted to be at 1:40-45. Weight switch and started the 135 with 8:00 left. I went out at 5-5 and either 5 or 3-2 for the first 15. The plan was to do steady singles originally. The multiples wore me out pretty good. I lost time on the last 15. My plan was to start the 165 by 4:00, but I didn't get started til 3:00. At that point I was going for 75, trying to push for 80 just wasn't gonna happen. I missed 2-3 reps and those reps eventually cost me the goal.
After cooling off, I feel a little better about my score, but still not satisfied. Glad I was able to at least be a scorer for our team on this one. I was very happy with my technique though. All the reps felt solid. Not a whole lot of pressing out, some, but not a lot. Legs were too shot to even attempt a full drop on any of them. Not blaming this one on my back. I just didn't have what I thought I had.


**Best part of this WOD was watching some amazing performances by other members of CF Prevail!!

Dean Roberts set it off in Heat 1 snatching 135#s 9 times, which happens to somewhere near 90+% of his bodyweight! It was amazing! He only had 3-5 misses at that weight...very inspiring!!

Kirsten Glaw was just as impressive in Heat 4. She hit 72. Her technique is awesome and her last second rep to hit 72 was frickin' sweet!

Brandon Harvey's 65 was all guts! Each rep at 165# was a perfect Snatch to bottom with a tough squat out!

Hannah Friedel's 79 topped the night off! She came in later in the day after work and put on a show! That girl turned into a machine at 100#. She just kept grinding and grinding and grinding!

Hannah and Kirsten continue to put Prevail on their back and keep us climbing up the leaderboard. Hopefully, the boys can step up and help out through these last 3 WODs.