Great Weekend

Finished the month of August with another PR! I was pretty excited about coming into the gym today in hopes of following up Wednesday's Clean PR. Things went very well. September 1st marks the time of the year when things start to get a little crazy for me...HUNTING SEASON IS HERE!! It's a gonna be tough to get my workouts in during the next few months, especially once Oct.-Dec. come rolling around and the hunting gets good, but I'll do my best not to fall off. Stay tuned!

OWOD

Snatch - est. a new 1RM
bar progressions
75(3x3)-95(2x3)-135(3)-155(2) --- 175 - 185 - 205 - 215 - 215 - 225 - 225 - 235 - 245 - 245
- My hips and timing felt great from the start. Felt really fast and smooth the entire night. I kept my long sleeve on to keep the body temp up and I always think that helps to stay nice and loose. I was feeling really confident after hitting the 235# because it felt very fast. My bar speed on my lifts now compared to the beginning of the Summer is night and day. All the time spent in the gym and dissecting youtube clips of great lifters, reading this and that, and being super critical of myself is really starting to pay off. I should've stopped at 235#, but I was just too tempted. I'll just say 245# is very close!!

Snatch 235#

245# Miss

went home and got about 5 hours of sleep...walked to the bathroom and my hands and shoulders were just aching...laced up my boots and grabbed Mya and my shotgun...God rewarded me with this great morning!!

Lots of action, lots of laughs...can't ask for more!!

Snuck in this little at home WOD on Monday evening after some fun in the water...

WOD

3 rds FT:

 400m Run

 15 C2D Push Ups

 30 Squats

= 9:26

-  Nice little WOD to get me moving after a beer & meat filled night the evening before. Thighs were burning a bit on that last run. Those last 30 squats didn't feel good either! Gotta get a lot better.

Oh Tabata...

Track season is finally over and I woke up pretty excited to get back to a regular schedule again. Heading in early to get some Oly work in. Trying to fit in Oly more to regular schedule.

OWOD
Muscle Snatch --- bar(10) - 95(8) - 115(7) - 135(6)x3
- Goal was to get some volume on the shoulders and keep the punch snappy and aggressive. First 3 sets were from the hang; last 3 from the floor.

Snatch Balance --- work up to a heavy triple --- 135 - 155 - 175 - 195 - 215
- Goal was to get as heavy as I could handle and get as close to 225 as possible. I definitely think I could have done 225 just fine tonight, but I was running out of time and decided to call it with a solid set at 215.

Strength
Floor Press --- 5-3-1+@75-85-95% (no 1RM for this movement)
135(12) - 225(5) --- 275(5) - 295(3) - 315(2)
- With no 1RM to go off of I was just gonna try and push the most weight I could and I'll try and beat it next time. 315 felt a lot heavier than I thought it would.

WOD
"Tabata Something Else"
Pull Ups (61)
Squats (130)
C2D Push Ups (70)
Sit Ups (60)
= 321
- Screwed this one up right from the start. I was supposed to be counting my lowest scored round, but I thought it was total reps so game plan was all off. I was pretty happy through pull ups. My butterfly kip was pretty smooth for the first 2-3 rounds, than it went to an old fashioned kip. Squats felt pretty good pushing through. The wheels fell off during the push ups. My quads started to cramp midway through and I was hurting. I seriously wanted to wave the white flag for the sit up portion. I kept trying to push through, but I felt like I was gonna puke during the last 3 rounds. I felt extremely nauseous for about 20 minutes after the WOD. I just sat their worried I was gonna puke if I moved to much. I walked upstairs after a while to do some GHD work and it started right back up again. It was a definitely a good push day!

Cash Out
GHD Hip Exten. - 3x15(25#)

Getting Ahead

Feeling a little stiff today. I don't really know why because I pretty much lounged all day yesterday. This is the last week of the regular season for track. I got two dual meets and Conference meet to cram in this week so getting to the gym is gonna be rough. Lots of standing around so I'm sure I'll be feeling it by the end of the week. Gonna see how much I can cram in tonight at Prevail.

Strength
Power Snatch + OHS --- 65-75% x 1+1 x 7
Progressions - 95(3) --- 145 - 145 - 145 - 155 - 155 - 165 - 165
- I was coming in on a little bit of time crunch rushing to the gym from practice. For as stiff as I felt, my warm up was not as good as it should have been. I felt it during my first 3 sets. My first set, I was completely on my toes for the OHS. I descended too fast. It was just terrible. Second set was a little better. The third set I was finally feeling a good groove in my mechanics and my body temp was finally starting to rise. I was very pleased with my last 4 sets. The snatches had good snap at the hips and strong punch on the receive. I focused a lot on keeping that bar path closer with a tighter pull. On the OHSs, I kept control all the way down and paused for a 2 count at the bottom to get comfortable there and really focus on finding my heals and that last inch or two of depth. Felt good.

WOD 1
4 rds FT:
 20 Walking Lunges
 10 C2D Push Ups (all UB)
 10 Ring Dips (UB/UB/UB/5-2-1-1-1)
= 4:13
Rest 1:00
Bonus rd = 7:09 (push ups still UB, ring dips 2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1)
 -This was a decent WOD. It wasn't all that bad until the 4th round and it just slammed me on the ring dips. I was cruising through it at a pretty pace and then my ring dips just disappeared. I took a minute rest and was gonna try and squeeze 2 more rounds in, but my ring dips were just gone so I called it at one. I didn't see a point in continuing with that pace. My arms were pretty gassed up to say the least when I was done.

Make Up Strength
Find a 1RM Weighted Pull Up
58#

Cash Out
50 T2B (fewest sets possible)
11-6-10-11-5-5-2 = 7
- Continues to be work in progress, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable in the kip.

WOD 2
3 rds FT:
 150' OH Carry (snatch grip; 135#)
 150' Tire Flip
= 10:33
- This was a fun one. I won't be able to make it in tomorrow and I was still feeling good so I decided to throw this one together. I haven't gotten to use the tire yet so why not, right? The OHCs felt good. The last carry was starting to get tough, especially the last 75'. The tire flips weren't bad, until the last 75' of the second round. My legs started to go, then my back started to tighten, my lungs were pushing it. I was having some fun with it that's for sure. The third round of flips got me! I stopped and bent over on the tire 2-3 times to get my wind back a bit. I did this one solo. If I was being pushed, I bet I could get inside the low 9s, maybe high 8s. Definitely a fun WOD. Gonna have to play with both movements some more.

A Little Closer

Feeling well rested today. I didn't get a chance to OWOD last night. Instead I had the pleasure of watching K Tuck perform some pretty sweet looking barbell gymnastics and almost PR! I had a blast watching her lift and I'm sure my legs enjoyed the rest. Still feeling strong...no kinks in the armor showing yet. Got two more PRs to hit still this week!

Strength
Find Front Squat 1RM
bar(10)-135(10)-185(8)-225(3) --- 275 - 315 - 335 - 355 - 375 PR - 385
- I was feeling good when I hit the gym this evening. Didn't take me long at all to loosen up and get into it. I built up like I usually do. Felt really good coming out of the hole and had a lot of snap. I hit 335 and knew 375 was going up today. I hit 375 and thought 385 was doable...I was wrong! Once again...just gotta keep chipping away. I got another step closer today!

Front Squat 375#

WOD

12:00 AMRAP

 200m Run

 10 Box Jumps (24")

 5 Thrusters (95#)

= 7

- My goal was to beat the runners today. All the runners got somewhere in the 6s today. I knew run was short enough I could move fast through it and weight was light enough to not be a problem. The question was could I fight through enough to keep moving on the box jumps. Every round was UB on everything. I used the run to catch my breath. Coming in from the run, I would walk from the door to the box just to calm down and then I'd start jumping. I lost my groove every once in awhile, but I wouldn't call it a break...rebounded just about every dang rep. Thrusters were fast and didn't start to burn til the 5th round. I finished the last thruster, to complete 7 rds, at the buzzer. 

I was very pleased with my effort tonight. Fought through some suck. Made the decision to keep pushing, instead of dropping. Never looked at the clock..stayed focused on my goal! Chalk one up for the Clydesdale crew!

Cash Out

1:00 ME C2D Push Ups

= 43

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 12.2

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!

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.

Rest Periods Are Never Long Enough

Happy Monday baby!! Woke up feeling great today! Got plenty of rest last night. Actually made it to bed before 11p and think I was asleep even by 1115ish. The sickness is finally on it's way out of the house and the kids are back to sleeping through the night...just had to deal with Mya trying to sleep on my side of the bed so she could catch the breeze coming through the crack in the window. Got to the gym on time...might have been a minute or two early even...it's BACK SQUAT DAY FOLKS...SO YOU KNOW I"M EXCITED!!

Strength
Back Squat --- 60%x10x1, 70%x8x1, 75%x6x1, 80%x4x1
bar(10) - 135(10) - 185(5) - 225(5) --- 255(10) - 300(8) - 320(6) - 340(4)
- Focus was initiating with the hips back, big chest, flat back, getting as low as possible, and keeping the knees out while driving out the hole.
- Felt very strong throughout all sets. Everything felt light on the back. The higher rep counts are gonna take some time getting used too. Definitely had to work for some reps in the last two sets. Kept a good pace in all the sets.
- Excited to start this new squat cycle and see where I end up at the end of the next 8 weeks.

WOD
3 rounds of:
:45  Row (cals) [20-15-13] *Damper @ 10 for rds 1&2, 7 for rd 3*
:15   REST
:45  C2D Push Ups [38-24-22]
:15  REST
:45  Lateral Hops [56-47-52]
:15  REST
:45  T2B  [13-12-11]
:15  REST
1:00 REST
= 323
- This was a good one. That 15 seconds of rest just disappears as you are walking down the stairs after the row and I swear it never existed whenever I finished my lateral hops. Felt like I turned around to walk to the bar and buzzer blew. I'm getting better at T2B, but I still suck at em. I couldn't find a stinkin' groove in the kip at all. It was terrible. By the third round I found it very difficult to even breath while hanging on the bar because I was so winded. My biggest mistake was moving the damper down to 7 on the last row. I thought this might help since I was getting tired. It did not! All it did actually was slow me down because I was so used to pulling with more resistance that I felt slightly off balance pulling the whole round.
- Good effort...definitely left hurting a bit.

Cash Out
10 TGUs (20k) *alternate arm every rep*
- Needed to work on my shoulder and mid-line some more. Thought about going heavier, but 20k wound up being just right for my shoulder. Gonna continue to work these in after WODs. My shoulder felt great throughout the day afterwards.

Extra Credit (Lunch Time work)
3 rounds of 3:00 running clock
ME UB Strict HSPUs
30 Sit Ups
Rest the remainder of the round
= 10-7-5
- HSPUs were supposed to be the cash out at Prevail this morning, but I chose to do them later at school. My sit ups are super slow so I figured they would be good to toss in there. This was nothing more than just getting in some work on my weaknesses. It did just that.