Are You Fitter Than a 6th Grader?

9/13/12
Another game day, which means another missed day at the gym. Put my students through a WOD for fitness day so I decided to see how I measured up to their whiteboard.

School WOD
 3 rds for reps:
 1:00 DUs (I had 5 of 140ish students able to do DUs in the WOD, the rest did SUs)
 1:00 Sit Ups
 1:00 Wall Balls (12#..heaviest one we got)
 1:00 REST
= 392
- I took 2nd of the 6 for those who did DUs. I had a 6th grade girl gymnast, who whipped out 30 UB the other day when I introduced DUs in warm ups, beat me by 3 reps. Being a 60# gymnast...her sit ups were much faster than mine :( My DUs struggled in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. I got 90 something in the first round, but only managed to get in the 70s the last two. The wall balls are deceiving. The ball is just light enough to keep you moving for a long time and to really bring on that lactic burn. Proud of the effort my kids gave today on this one. Not everyone's technique was perfect, but the effort all around was outstanding! Looking forward to introducing more throughout the rest of the year.


9/14/12
 End of the week is here and I'm excited for the weekend. CF Prevail Anniversary WOD on Saturday and relax for the rest of the 3 day weekend. Need to get some OH maxes at the gym tonight...looking forward to it!

Strength
Press - est. a new 1RM
bar(10)-95(8)-135(3) - 155 - 185 - 205 - 215 - 230 PR
- Always happy with a 5# PR on OH work. Steady progress...I love it!
Push Press - est. a new 1RM
225 - 255 - 275 - 300 PR
- Haven't maxed in this one in over a year. My last PR was at 275, but I've been using 300 as a training max this whole cycle. So I was happy I was able to hit 300#! My buddy J is at 305#, so I gave 310# a shot twice and just couldn't do it...next time!!

1st FAIL @ 310#

WOD 

4 rds FT:

 5 Ring Dips

 10 Ring Rows

 15 HR Push Ups

= 4:33 (Bonus 5th round = 6:29)

- Breezed through until the 4th round. Ring dips started to fail and push ups were rough! Wanted to WOD a little longer so I added one more round. 

Cash Out

2 x 10 T2B 

 - UB on both sets. Had a real nice kip going. Again, extra core work and strict work paying off. 

A Time to Remember...

Had my first game of the season tonight so I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to Prevail so I tried to choose a good school WOD to do to make up for it. My students run the mile every Tuesday at Woodlawn. Typically, I have a standard running warm up on the board for them to follow before they run. Today I decided to offer Option B as well. I put up a little 3-5 minute "9-11" styled WOD for them to do before their mile run.
The WOD was...
9 rds of:
 5 Burpees
 6 Sit Ups
Was it terrible? No, not to most that took part, but it was bad enough. Try to think like a middle schooler for a second. Most dread running the mile and doing any amount of burpees...much less 45 of them right before running the mile. Most of the kids I have now were too young to remember that day or weren't even born yet. To hear the discussions that took place over whether to do the WOD or regular warmups was very uplifting to my heart as a teacher and adult who experienced that day.

I was in my last Fall of JUCO football in So Cal. I remember waking up for class and walking into the living room and the TV on replaying the crash into the towers. My roommates had been up watching for a while already. I can't remember if class that day was canceled or not, but I remember going to practice and reality setting in on the effects of what took place. My JUCO was close to Twentynine Palms marine base. A good third of our team were ex-marines or reservist that our D-Line (who was a marine) coach recruited from there. It was the second week of the season and we had a big rivalry game  coming up. A lot of guys had to stay home near a phone for the next few days because they were put on alert that they might be deployed. Football wasn't a focus for them at that point...if anything it was distraction of things possibly to come.

I won't ever forget how this country operated before the towers were taken down. I got to experience America and it's freedoms beforehand. I hope the generations to come will learn to respect it the same way as those that experienced it as well.

School WOD
9 rds FT:
 11 Burpees
 11 Wall Balls (12#)
= 13:57
- Holy crap...I'm 32 and I hate burpees just as much as my students. It took a while to talk myself into this one. At one point I found myself pacing back and forth internally discussing how crappy this was going to be. By the 3rd round I was kicking myself for coming up with this WOD, by the 5th clarity hit and I was reminded of how terrible it was and why it should be. I finished seconds before the my next class came in. If I had more time I would have liked to add the 2001m run in before and after, but the way I run...I didn't have enough to get attempt it. 12# is the heaviest wall ball we have a at school. I'm ordering a 25# soon thanks to my bro in law's Bday gift! Plenty of suck and sweat to honor a day this country and it's people should never forget!

Tabata Blows!

Took a rest day yesterday from Oly work. Went to the gym to coach, but chose to get back to the fam and keep it a short night. Legs still a little tight, but feeling great overall.

School AM WOD
5 rounds for reps:
1:00 running clock
  200m shuttle run (:42-:50)
  AMRAP T2B (9-6-5-4-4)
1:00 REST
= 28
- Beautiful day out so I decided to work on some running and more bodyweight movements. Kip actually felt pretty good today.

Later that day...

Strength
Front Squat - 5 x 1 @ 80-85-90-95-90% (375 1RM)
bar(10)-135(8)-185(5)-225(3)-255(3) --- 300 - 320 - 340 - 360 - 340
- Posture felt very strong tonight. Legs felt good. Balance was good. Ready to roll for next week. Goal is gonna be 385-90...405 would make me extremely happy...we'll see!

WOD
Tabata
   Ring Push Ups -  14/12/10/10/9/5/4/5
   Wall Balls -  6/9/5/6/7/7/6/7
   DUs - 20/20/20/20/20/20/20/20
   Sit Ups - 11/11/11/10/8/9/9/10
= 4/5/20/8
- I was feeling strong in the push ups and then they were just gone. The first round of WBs killed me. I missed the wall or the short of the target 5-6 times. I had no accuracy at all. Legs were totally fine, arms were just flat gone. had a better 2nd round and then they were gone again in the 3rd. Evened off after that. My rope got all tangled to crap by the fan I think. So it ate up 8-10 seconds of my first round. I was able to whip out a fast 20 to save my score. I just stayed there the rest of the rounds. I was finishing with about 8-10 seconds left per round. Just tried as much as I could to keep moving on the sit ups. Abs were pretty sore from the sit ups and burpees on Tuesday and the T2B earlier in the day didn't help.

Cash Out
Strict GH Raises (w/ 10#) - 3 x 8/6/6

Slowly Recovering

 The increased volume and heavy loading leading up to the Deuce took it's toll on my body more than I thought it would. I compacted my wrist the weekend before the comp and the tweak of my shoulder at the comp really needed some R & R so that's what I gave it. I took two days off following the comp and decided to jump in for a light AM Oly session and a PM Back Squat max & WOD. Here's how that went...

7/11/12
OWOD (AM)
3 Pos. Clean (low to high) - 7 x 1
bar progressions
135-155-185---205 - 225 - 225 - 235 - 245 - 255 - 275
- Any type of OH movement was causing some serious pain so I skipped the jerk work that were supposed to follow the cleans. Externally rotating my right shoulder was tough. Every time I snapped my elbows under the bar I could feel a tight pull on the outside of my shoulder. It wasn't painful, but very tight. Cleans felt strong and fast considering how my upper body felt. I wasn't expecting to get up to 275, but I couldn't resist with how smooth everything was feeling. I failed the hi hang at 275, but picked the bar pack up instantly and nailed it.

Strength (PM)
Back Squat - Find 1RM
bar(10)-135(8)-185(7)-225(5)-275(3)-315(3)-365(1)-405(1)- 425 - 425
- Very disappointed. This is 30#s under my last max. My legs just felt dead. Don't know if it was from the clean work earlier or what, but I was very frustrated. I got under 425 and it felt heavy. It surprised me on the first attempt. I was ready for it on the second try, but I called it a day after that one.

WOD
3 rounds of:
   400m Run
   25 Wall Balls (20#)   [UB/UB/11-9-5]
   10 Pull Ups   (all UB)
= 10:00
  My buddy, Toolz, came to WOD with us tonight. It's always a good time when he comes around. I know he's a got great motor and can push through some serious pain so I know it's going to be a challenge to beat him. He's not running on all cylinders just yet because of a recent knee surgery...so I'm not gonna lie...beating him tonight was bittersweet. Goal was to go UB on the wall balls and beat Toolz. Since he's got a bum wheel our runs were about the same. We stayed neck and neck for the first two rounds for the most part. We got back to the wall balls in the third round and he broke first and I broke a few after him. I was able to stay ahead of him the rest of the way. My buttterfly kip was on point tonight! Wish it was this smooth at the comp last Sunday...I would have definitely got a sub 7 on WOD 2.


I took the family camping for a long weekend up North to Governor Dodge (beautiful place...you should really go if you have the chance and are into camping). We had a lot of fun in the Sun and relaxing with some beers and friends around the campfire at night. I got back to work Monday morning with an AM Oly session...

7/16/12
OWOD (AM)
Hi Hang Snatch (off the blocks) - 7 x 2
bar progressions, Muscle Snatch sets
95-115-135-145-145-145-145-155-155-155(1x)-155
- Kept the load light because my shoulder is still giving me problems. I was constantly working the lacrosse ball on it between sets to get it to loosen up a bit and it helped slightly. Most were power snatches due to shoulder mobility problems. Anytime I received low the pain would bring me right on to my toes. I tried to do a couple of sets power snatching and then lowering into the bottom under more control, but the same thing would happen. I would get about an inch or two above parallel and feel a twinge and go right to my toes. Frustrating for sure so I hope it works out soon. Other than that it was solid work.

Back Squat - 5 x 5 @ 70%
225(5) --- 320
- Adding some more quality volume to this strength cycle coming up and today was the start. This sets actually got easier as the sets moved on. Felt good. Focused on bar speed and engaging the hips throughout.

WOD (PM)
Diane
21-15-9
   Deadlifts (225#)   [all UB]
   HSPU   [18-3/6-2-2-1-1-1-1-1/2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1]
= 12:01
- Arrggg!! I was pumped for this one. I really thought I was gonna have a time around 6ish, but I was way off. I got through my round 21s at 1:30ish and feeling great. I blew through my 21 HSPUs, kipping all of them with only one break because I lost balance on my kip. Felt real good still going into my round of 15 and then BOOM...they were gone. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I was trying to pay attention not to take my shoulders to exhaustion, but I guess I missed it. I think I spent something like 5:00 on the round of 9 HSPUs. It was brutal and frustrating...2:00 slower than my time in October 2011. On the bright side...somehow my shoulder tweak loosened from all the work...I'm not kidding.


Legs were feeling the squats and deads from yesterday so I passed on the hill work this morning. Shoulder again felt a lot better getting out of bed this morning. Crazy considering what I put it through yesterday, but it felt better and better as the day went on.

7/17/12
Strength
Press - 5 x 5 @ 70%
bar(10)-95(5)-115(5) --- 155 x 3 sets, 160 x 2 sets
- Felt strong. No problems from the shoulder at all. Wrist is still tender, but okay once they're strapped up.

WOD
800m Run   (4:00)
150 DUs   (6:18)
800m Run  
= 10:41
- I really wanted a sub 10 on this one. I knew I would have to do something special on the DUs, but just couldn't get it done. I left for the second run thinking I still had a chance, but had to get moving and I thought I was, but according to the clock...I wasn't! Should have been better on the rope. Really having trouble stringing more than 50 together lately.

Taking Down the Giant

Busy busy busy! That has been theme of the week. I wasn't able to make it in to Prevail and do much this week. I skipped out on Friday. I woke up super stiff this morning, most likely from all the standing around on the field I did this week. I usually OWOD on Saturday mornings, but I just didn't have the time to get it done this morning. I did have the time to get a challenge WOD in finally that I've been putting off since Feb.

WOD
2000m Row (7:44)
 50 Wall balls (20#)
1000m Row (3:56)
 35 Wall balls
500m Row (1:57)
20 Wall balls
= 21:10
- So one of my best friends challenged me to a main site WOD a while back. I've been pretty busy since than so it's been hard to make the time to get it in, that and it's a tall man's WOD. My buddy stands about 6'4ish with tree trunks for arms. Rowing and wall balls are a walk in the park for him. This challenge wasn't exactly in my favor.
 I kept the 2k pace in the 1:50s as best I could. I did it while keeping my s/m around 20-24 (got the idea after watching Matt Chan talk about it at Regionals). The pace was great. My legs felt good getting off the rower and heading into wall balls. I wanted to get a big chunk of wall balls done off the bat. I started my 50 with 25 straight, then broke the rest up into the chunks. 1k row was more of the same. Started the 35 wall balls off with 15 straight, then 9, then 6, then 5. Legs at this point were getting pretty heavy. Walking up the stairs to the rower was rough. I picked the pace up on the rower a little bit as far as s/m goes. I just didn't have the big strong pulls anymore. With time quickly running out, I hustled down the stairs and ripped off 10-15 walls balls, then finished the remainder. When I finished, I rolled around in my sweat on the floor for a while until my thighs stop burning enough for me to walk regularly again.
 The giant finished in 21:27....I WIN SUCKER!!!

Overall, great WOD for me. I got to work on some weaknesses, got to mentally push through some lactic pain, got to do a main site WOD(which I love to do every once in a while, but don't get to do nearly as often as I would like), and got pushed by a great friend (even though he wasn't there...the text conversations are awesome on the drive home).

Looking forward to getting back to a regular schedule here as track finishes in a week or two, especially once Summer finally arrives in June.

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.

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!!

Lift Off

Woke up pretty excited this morning to hit the DP! I knew Snatch was the strength and I was eager to work on some things I learned over the weekend. Went bed early in hopes to get a good night rest, but my little buddy had other plans with midnight interruption. I felt good and rested still though.

Strength
Snatch 3-3-3-3-3@63-70-77-85-93%
bar (5 pos) - 65 (5 pos) - 95 (3 pos) - 120 - 140 - 155 - 170 - 187 - 205
- I'm starting to feel like old man river. Everyone is usually on their 2nd or 3rd set by the time I'm starting my first. I'm having to rush through my last sets so we can start the WOD or I have to start later. Gotta get their a little earlier and hit the platform a good 10 minutes before everyone else.
- During the cert, Pat worked with me on my Snatch lift off and bar path during a break. I felt the difference in the changes instantly and how much smoother everything was on the light bar. I was very curious to how it feel over some weight today.
- First 4 sets went up real smooth. Had no problems getting on to my toes. Made every rep clean and they felt easy. I was excited to go to 205, but I lost everything in front. Bar came up easy still and I got under everything no problem, but just couldn't settle it in and lost them forward on two attempts. I used straps for the first two attempts and I felt the straps just weren't letting me set my shoulder back properly. Took em off for the 3rd attempt and made one rep and called it...I basically did the rep out frustration of the straps with no intention of doing all three because Cannons had already been waiting to start the WOD. I dropped a knee, but still stood it up. I think part of the reason as well was just weakness overhead still. Singles next week so I better figure it out.

WOD
500m Row
3 rounds of:
5 Ring Dips
10 T2B
15 Wall Balls
500m Row
= 9:53

- Pretty taxed before starting this WOD. I had to let Cannons start on her own so I could finish strength. I jumped in at 4:00. I rushed up to the rower right after my last rep of Snatch.
- First row was 1:51. Not blazing, just steady. All ring dips unbroken and strict. T2B were 8-2, 6-4, 5-5. Wall Balls I was hoping to do all unbroken. I felt fine, as I should, through all the rounds. I went unbroken, missed the 9th rep, missed the 6th rep. On each miss, the ball literally missed the wall. DOH!! I let it drop and picked it right back up and continued.
- Forgot to check the time on the 2nd row. I was more focused on making sure I finished under 10:00. Which I did barely, but I'll take it. That last row took a lot out of me.
- All in all...good day at the DP!!

Wall Balls and Baggo = GOOD TIMES!!

Oh boy Oh Boy!! Woke up this morning and my legs were hurting pretty bad. I had some serious DOMS going on. Felt like I was walking on lead trunks all day. Found out what the WOD was early in the day and was a little worried as to how I was gonna hold up. During my breaks at school I got my back and shoulder rehab work done. The back has been pretty tender at times lately so I really need to be aware of it during WODs and continue to work on strengthening and ice to keep the flare ups tolerable.

CORE @ school
Skin the Cat 3x5
Ring Static Hollow holds 3x30s w/ 30s Rest

Showed up for the 6:30p class at Prevail and was glad to see a big crowd coming to WOD and hang out for the Bags Tournament. My goal for this WOD was to do all the pull ups unbroken. I knew I was gonna struggle with wall balls, I always do. Such a simple move and I absolutely hate it. I lined up between Harvey and Charlie. I figured they would keep me moving through the wall balls since they toss the thing around like a rag doll. Zachamole put up a blistering 2:56 so I had a good time to chase.

Strength
Cleans 5-5-5@40-50-60%
115-150-180

-these were all full cleans and done tap and go. All the cleans felt real smooth getting into the full squat, which really surprised me.  My back winced a little coming out of my 2nd set. Initial thought was I butt winking again. Had Charlie watch on the third set to make sure it wasn't. He said reps were fine, but so was my back that round too. Should of taken advantage of him and had him keep an eye on all three sets. I got a little jerky and bumpy off my thighs in the first set, but as I settled in that went away.

WOD
21-15-9
    11' Wall Balls (20#)
    Pull Ups
= 3:30

  Another WOD that I'm feeling pretty good about. I moved real well during both movements. All the "re-grooving" to my squat seems to be paying off. Despite how crappy my legs felt beforehand, the squats felt effortless. Usually, I'm struggling to stay back and find my balance with the ball in front, but not today. Every rep felt solid in depth and control. I accomplished my goal of doing all pull ups unbroken (this was a goal because this is what slows my Fran time down...letting go of the stinkin' bar!) I was pretty pumped about that.
  Harv and Charlie definitely kept moving during the wall balls. I beat them off the first rd of pull ups and 4-5 reps into the 2nd set of wall balls they were both right back on the wall with me chasing me down. Wall balls got ugly in the 2nd & 3rd rounds. I must have had at least 8-10 no reps in those two rounds after having none in the first. Very frustrating, but I knew it was coming. The last 2 reps in the third I was literally jumping off the ground to get the frickin' ball up to 11'. Overall...solid WOD...really has me looking forward to doing Fran again and trying to get that sub 3 time.

The Baggs
Partnered up with Charlie for the tournament. We were paired against the Roberts family in the 1st round. Charlie, Dean, and I just got done with the WOD moments ago. My arms still haven't completely straightened out yet by this point, mind you. Charlie threw against Dean and I through against Michelle (who didn't WOD and was completely fresh and no physical impairments to her throwing motion). We had rough start, trailing 9-1 after the 2nd inning. We gained our composure and rallied back to a 20-19 game. After a few scoreless innings, they finally got lucky and won off of a hanger.
So down to the consolation bracket we go. Wouldn't luck have it...we were paired up against another set of "fresh" competitors, Kristy and Tim. Again, we trail 9-0 after the first innings. Avoiding the skunk and pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament (we beat Tim & Kristy on there own set of boards), winning 22-20.
For the Consolation Championship match, and a chance at redemption against the Roberts duo, we went against Team Red, Lenny & Joe. This was a walk over in my book (but don't tell Joe I said that because he really wanted to try and tackle me at the end of the game). We won by a landslide of 21-3.
Just when we thought revenge was within our grasp. Team Roberts tucked their tail and went home before we could take their title away! Til the next time suckers!!