Getting My Groove Back

Took sometime off the typical WODs at the end of last week to try and let my shoulder rest. It seemed to have helped because I've had two of my best Oly sessions since the competition in the last few days. This is the last week of heavy Oly work since I go back to school next week so I'm looking forward to keeping the ball rolling and finishing Summer on a good note in the gym.


8.10.12

Strength
Front Squat - 5 x 3 @ 85% (375 1RM)
bar(8)-135(5)-185(5)-225(5)-275(3) --- 320

Push Press - 2 @ 80% (300 1RM) EMOTM x 10
135(5)-185(3)-205(2) --- 240

Weighted Glute Bridges - 2 x 10 @ 135#
- Solid strength session. Positioning in the squats felt really good. My shoulders were nice and loose for PP work, which helped a ton get into a solid rack position.


8.11.12

OWOD
Snatch Drilling - McCauley series - NHNF w/ empty bar - 65 - lots of triples
 - I woke up late this morning so I didn't have time to get my work in before class started. So I kept things very light and just drilled drilled drilled. Working hard to get more upright and on my heels. Loaded the bar to 65# and did Pendlay's NHNF drill in triples every chance I had.

Team WOD
Teams of 3: Beau, Alex, and Me

Start with...
   15 - 50m Sprints (1 person at a time)

Then...(everyone working at the same time)
   180 Push Presses (75#)
   240 KB Swings (53#)
   300 OH Walking Lunges (45#)
   360 Paralette Hops

Finish with...(passing ball down the line)
   90 Wall Ball Sit ups (20#)
- This will be the last team WOD I do for a very long time. I felt this WOD for several days after in my shoulders and quads. Weekends are for Oly and recovery...this one kicked the crap out of me pretty good and it doesn't help anything that I'm trying to accomplish at the moment.
  The PPs weren't that bad at all. The swings started to get easier as time went on. The lunges just destroyed me. My shoulders were burning at the time. I woke up the next day and my quads were a wreck for 2-3 days....the hops didn't help either.


8.13.12

OWOD
7 x 2 Clean off blocks (BTK) + 1 Jerk
bar progressions
135(3x2)-185(2x2)-225(2x2)-250 --- 265 - 275 - 275 - 285 - 295 - 305(fail jerk) - 305(fail jerk)
- YEA BUDDY! Back in business on this session! Best clean session of the Summer. All the drill work starting to pay off. Didn't have any catches on my toes today. Timing felt great and hips felt fast. Striking the bar really good today. All 4 reps at 305 felt fantastic! Struggled with the jerk a bit, but that is a whole other story. I actually felt very solid in my jerks all the way up to 305 and then it just fell apart. Part of it was probably because I wasn't very focused because I was so happy about the cleans.

305# Double (2nd set)

Back Squat - 5 x 3 @ 85% (460 1 RM)

225(5)-275(3)-315(3)-365(3) --- 395

- All reps were well earned. I will say I started to get into a little groove on the last two sets and they seemed much lighter than the first three sets. 

Clean Pulls - 2 x 3 @ 335#

- Pretty sloppy. Feeling a little fatigued at this point. Should have brought it down a bit. 

OH BB Carries - 4 x 75' @ 205#

- Needed to get some OH stability work in. Feels great on the shoulders and core. Good work on this one. Glad it dried up enough to get these in outside. 

Chinese Arches - accumulate 3:00 w/ 35#

1:10 (:50 rest) - 1:00 (1:00 rest) - :50

- Gotta keep building up the back side. Good posterior chain work!

WOD

4 rounds FT:

   5 Burpee Box Jumps (24")

   10 Ring Rows

   15 Sit Ups

= 6:11

- Not very good effort on this one. I just plugged along til I was done. Everything was UB, except last round of Ring Rows. I was drenched in sweat from all the previous Oly work and just drained all together. Couldn't get motivated to put a better effort in.    

Just Strip It All Down

Man the last week has just flown by. Body is banged up and achy from the strength & Oly work. Need to suck it up a little better and get the work done. Same aches and pains as always...sore back and tight shoulders...just need to take care of myself better in recovery times because bottom line is...the bar ain't gonna lift itself!

8.1.12

OWOD
7 x 2 Clean OTB (ATK) + 1 Jerk
bar progressions
135-155-185-225 --- 245 - 255 - 265 - 275(fail jerk) - 275 - 275  - 275 - 275(fail jerk) - 275(fail jerk)

Halting Clean Pulls - 4 x 3 @ 295#
- Terrible session. My timing was all off and my rack position didn't feel comfortable at all. Wrist is very tender in the rack position. I was forward in a lot of my lifts. Working to stay patient at the top before I pop. Frustrating session...first of many to come.


8.2.12

Strength
Push Press - 4 x 3 @ 75% (300 1RM), between sets...10 Strict T2B
bar(10)-95(5)-135(3)-185(3) --- 225

WOD
3 rounds FT:
  400m Run
  12 Ball Slams (30#)
  10 Ring Rows
   8 Pistols (4/leg)
= 9:59
- Pushed pretty hard on this one. Had to use a counterbalance for the pistols as always. Good effort.


8.3.12

OWOD
Hang Snatch - 7 x 1
bar prog.
95(3)-135(3)-155(2) --- 165 - 175 - 185 - 195 - 195 - 205 - 205

Snatch Pulls - 4 x 2 @ 225#
- Another frustrating session. Timing again was all off. Mobility made it very difficult to get into a full catch so most reps were power. I made 205 on the first go, but it was way forward so I tried it again and didn't have it. Patience and timing...frustrated once again.


8.6.12

Skill
Muscle Ups EMOTM x 10, then GH Raises - 4 x 8
1-1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-0
- Frustrated. You could choose how many ever reps you wanted to shoot for. I've tried this back in the Spring with doubles and it didn't go well. I was hoping to make it through all the rounds on singles today. I was just fine til round 7...then they were just gone. Dean told me my hips were barely being used. WTH!! I don't frickin' know.

WOD
3 rounds FT:
   500m Row (1:41.5, 1:45.5, 1:46.0)
   40 DUs
   2:00 REST
= 11:23
- Felt terribly slow on the rower tonight. Had the damper @ 6 and it felt like 10. The DUs weren't a problem. Had a few misses in the 3rd round, but other than that it UB or one miss in the first two rounds. 


8.7.12

Strength
Back Squat - 2 @ 80% EMOTM x 10 (460 1RM)
bar(10)-135(8)-225(5)-275(2)-315(2) --- 370

RDLs - 3 x 3 @ 225 - 315 - 315 - 315
- All squats were done at :8-:10 (bar off rack to bar on rack). Focus was to move fast and recruit as many motor units as possible in doing so. Legs felt real good afterwards. RDLs provided some much needed PC work.

WOD
4 rounds FT:
  10 HR Push Ups
  10 Power Cleans (135#) [UB, UB, UB, 4-3-2-2]
= 3:18
- Fun WOD. A young kid put up a sub 4 time earlier in the day. Wasn't quite sure if I had that much in me after squatting, but I knew I could at least come close. I fought to go UB on that 3rd round. Once I got through that it was smooth sailing. I lost count in that last round of cleans. I believe I did 11 reps though...did an extra one just to keep the conscience clear.


8.8.12

OWOD
Snatch off blocks (BTK) - 7 x 2
bar progressions
65(4)-95(3)-135 --- 145 - 155 - 155 - 165 - 165 - 155 - 155 - 155

Press  - 5 x 3 @ 85% (225 1RM)
bar(10)-95(5)-135(3) --- 190

BB Rows - 4 x 3 @ 190-205 --- 225 - 225 - 225 - 225
- Early morning session started out pretty stiff. PC was just blown to bits over the last few days Again, I've been working hard on fixing my technique and getting my weight back. This one started out very very rough. Thank goodness for good training partners. Brandon noticed somethings early in the session to keep me cool enough to finish out. Troubleshooting my problem towards the end of the session he came up with a big cue that will hopefully help me get back on the right path to 250#.
   Press was tough tonight. The 3rd rep was hard fought on every set. Felt good to get through all sets though without a fail.

Oly Work

After a disappointing Snatch singles session on Friday morning I decided to drill some progressions and keep the weight down for the sake of my shoulder. I visited Optimum Sports & Spinal Rehabilitation on Friday afternoon with Dr Sing to get some work on my shoulder. During his torture therapy...I mean ART...I always seem to ask myself why I pay him to inflict pain on me. Once he is done and my shoulder feels a ton better, I quickly remember why.

Felt pretty good this morning. Had a horrible night of sleep with one kid catching a cold and the other in the late stages of it. Felt better once I got moving at Prevail. After a solid warm up and lots of rolling out...

Snatch Progressions
4 Pos. Progression
PVC x 2 (5s) - Bar x 2 (2s) - 65 x 3 (1s)
3 Pos. Progression
95 x 2 (1s)
- Shoulder was painless, but still a little tight. I didn't want to wear it out too much and risk locking it up again so I stayed pretty light in weight. I finished with 9 sets and thought that was definitely enough for the morning. Had some solid reps and creating a better lift off is gonna take time. It's getting better though. I'm gonna have to continue to limit the amount of weight I put overhead in a Snatch position until this thing goes away completely I think. At this point, I can drop under a Snatch and receive it, but I cannot do an OHS without pain because of my  lack of shoulder and thoracic flexibility being exploited through this nagging injury.

Z Squats
4 x 5 @ 95lbs
- Came across this exercise on T Nation a while back. I was doing some research, when my back was in bad shape, on ways to develop the posterior chain. I came across the usual, RDLs and Good Mornings, but Z Squats kept popping up and everyone kept raving about them. It's basically a Goblet squat with a barbell. I liked them a lot. I went with relatively light weight, compared to what I've read, and they definitely had my POS lit up. Looking forward to adding these to my lifts to mix things up a bit.

BTN Jerk
Bar (pro.) - 95(5) - 135(3) - 175(3) --- 70%(195#) x 2 x 5
 - It's crazy how just a few inches in grip width changes how my shoulder feels. I can go over head all day with a narrower grip, but take it out to Snatch position and it gets unstable and shaky.
- Focus was on a consistent landing and speed in my drop. I had one bad set where I wasn't focused completely because I was watching all the team wod, but everything else was great. Felt very comfortable and fast.

-- I rarely team WOD because weekends are my only real chance to work on my strength and lifting specifically. I was very tempted today though with the Team Grannie Fran that Alex found. WOD sounded and looked like a lot of fun, but I was definitely happy that I stuck to my routine. Solid session overall.