Academy Run 2-6-09

My 1st workout with the newest Academy.

2.5 mile run with the recruits in 17 min.  

Crossfit prepared me reasonably well for the run.  But really if you wanna run long distances well you simply have to train for them by well, running.  Thats ok, I hate running and I don't want to spend too much time doing slow long distance (relatively) runs.  Its good for me to go there once and a while and spend time doing something I don't enjoy and that I'm not great at.  But I feel as though strength/power work, metcons (especially heavy metcons in the 5-10 min range) and some sprints mixed in does a much better job conditioning me for my job (the classic foot pursuit and fight scenario).

Then we did a number of sets of pushups and situps.

Max Pullups -  34 (PR +4)

Grip failed more the anything else.  Didn't help my grip that I did the heavy KB and heavy sandbag workout yesterday.  I think I might have had one or two left in me.

Front Squat and KB Swing/Sandbag Clean/Tire Jump 2-5-09

Front Squat

155 x 5

170 x 5

185 x 5 (PR +10lbs)

Could have gone heavier, but followed Jeff's advice by taking the PR and walking away.  I'll PR next week, the week after and the week after that.  I agree that you are able to make greater PR's in the long run with this method of lifting within the program and really pushing hard for a single rep max at the end of week 6.

5 Rounds for time:

5 Kettlebell Swings 88lb (2.5 Pood)

5 Sandbag clean, shoulder, and slam onto ground 90lb

10 Tire Jumps 35"

10:33

What a brute!  First time I had the pleasure of using my 2.5 pood KB in a metcon.  That is a beast to swing 'american/crossfit' style and get it overhead!  Its definitely getting put into more programming.  First 4 rounds of KB swings were unbroken, last was 2-2-1.  Sandbag cleans were done as singles and reset grip everytime.  Tore my outer sandbag (a generic duffel bag) in the second round. Apparently it didn't enjoy getting slammed into the ground. Will popped the pad off the KB when dropping it. A day of destruction which just goes to show the stuff is getting some good use in.

Cash Out:
10x3 of:
3 second Ring L-sit and 3 Ring push-ups going as deep as possible.  2 of the rounds were done with 40lb weight vest.

Dips and Hill Sprints 2-4-09

My left wrist is still hurting.  Anything where I am holding weight at the rack position and/or putting it over head.  So any pressing movement, Snatch/Cleans and their variations, pushups, handstands, hspu and KB variations of the above.  A bit frustrating, but I'm confident it's not going to last for too long.  In the mean time I'm going to switch weighted bar dips to take the place of shoulder press in my CrossFit Strength Biased program.  Dips are the only upper body pushing movement I've found that I can do right now.  It'll be good to work on a weakness right now anyways.  Hoping to make some good progress on them and that this will take me to the first step of doing WOD's with ring dips as RX'd.  Once I get some more strength I'll switch over to ring dips as the second/final step.  

Weighted Bar Dips

10 lbs x 5

20 lbs x 5

35 lbs x 5 (PR)

Hill Sprints

5 - 65 meter Hill Sprints with 2 min rest in between.  All sprints were run in 12-14 seconds.

That hill was good and steep!  As in widely known as one of the steepest streets in town (a town full of hills).  Uggh.  Running.  Not just running, but hill sprints.  Whose idea was that!??  Actually I have to give the credit to Dan John.  I've been reading a lot of his stuff and he's got some great articles.  He is a big fan of hill sprints so I thought I'd give them a try.  The suckage was high but not as high as it should have been.  Should have done more like 10 of them but we ran out of time.  My runner buddy said 2 min was far too much rest.  Oh well, it was a good first of many dates with the local hill.  

Deadlift and Pullups/Dips/Tire Jumps 2-2-09

Warmup: 

3 rounds- 7 toes to bar, 7 Pushups, 20 Lunges

Deadlift

225 x 5

255 x 5

275 x 5

Could have gone heavier on the last set but want to take it slow and build back up (again) to make sure my form is dialed in and that I have the strength to hold my lumbar extension.  

5 rounds for time:

5 Weighted Pullups on Rings w/ 25lbs

7 Dips

10 Tire Jumps 35"

9:53

This was a pretty good one, especially because of the C2B pullups yesterday and the 30 muscleups the day before.

Cashout: 18 Toes to Bar before my grip died.

KB Swings/C2B Pullups 2-1-09

21 - 15 - 9

Kettlebell Swings - 2 Pood

Chest to Bar Pullups

8:42

Pretty good one because they both hit hip drive.  Tougher on the grip then I thought it would be too.

1 min Front Plank 110lbs on back. 

1 min Left Side plank - 35 seconds with 35lbs and finished off the minute with bodyweight only.

1 min Right Side plank 25lbs

30 Muscleups 1-31-09

Started off doing some snatch drills I found in the Xfit Journal:

with 45#, 65#, then 95# - 3 Shrugs, 3 High Pulls, 3 Muscle Snatch, 3 OHS, 3 BTN Snatch grip Push Press, 3 Snatch Balances, 3 Snatch.  On the 95# Snatch Balance I felt a tweak in my left wrist.  I backed off to a few 45# snatches and snatch balances, didn't feel it with that weight, stepped back up to 95# and felt it again so I decided to stop there.  I had planned on stepping up to 115 after that and then going for a 3 rep max in the snatch, but oh well.  Trying to work on my confidence and comfort in the full squat snatch.  Gotta practice that puppy some more. 

30 Muscleups for time:

14:56

Not turned and locked out.  Tried to do 3 every minute, hoping I'd come in at just over 10 minutes, but that just wasn't happening.  Oh well.  I'm relatively pleased with my time.  1st time I've ever tore my wrists doing muscleups.  Tore them just below the palm of my hand due to the false grip.  I think I now have the false grip down and will tape my wrists from the start (instead of half way through after the tears) to try and prevent this.  Missed about 5 attempts...doh!

1 Year of CrossFit: A Review

To those who are new to CrossFit and the other CrossFit addicts like myself, I thought you might find it interesting to read about my 1st year of CrossFit…

What a year, what a year.  Its been quite an experience for me to discover CrossFit.  Little did I know what I was in for when my cousin first told me to check out crossfit.com in mid January of 2008 for some workouts he thought would be good for a Cop like me.  I then completed my first workout on 1-23-08.  First a little backstory to give the setting…

I’ve had a number of injuries and setbacks to my fitness over the last few years including a fractured wrist snowboarding (in a cast for 8 months), and a dislocated shoulder mountainbiking (required surgery and 3 pins).  During my Police Officer hiring process Dr’s physical exam I came to the shocking discovery that I only have the lung capacity of about 65-75% of the average person which Doctors have yet been able to explain/diagnose and which came very, very close to preventing me from getting hired as a Cop.  I dislocated and fractured my right ankle in a dirtbike accident in January of 2007 and hadn’t worked out a day since then.  Before my dirtbike accident I mountainbiked 1-3 times a week and did a little bit of pushups and situps sporadically.  To give you an idea how bad my fitness had sunk to after the dirtbike accident, I went mountainbiking for the first time in Oct of 07 and threw up after riding up a hill which I had previously considered a warmup.  Sad and pathetic, especially considering that is the first time I can ever remember throwing up during or after a workout…

After hearing about CrossFit I dove into crossfit.com and started reading everything in sight.  I was immediately drawn in by the sound fitness philosophies I found and the killer workouts which from the videos it was obvious developed an elite level of fitness.  It all just rang very true to me.  I found Brand X that first day and found a home here.  That first day I read about the importance of scaling the workouts down to a level where the intensity was high and you were able to stay within the intent of the workout (most workouts are NOT a long, slow grinding effort of muscle fatigue with no metcon hit.  I see many, many people miss this crucial point).  I got the bug big time and was instantly hooked.  Within that first month of hearing about CrossFit I bought a rower, rings, Pendlay bar and bumpers set and my Garage Gym was up and running.  I’ve now spent a total of somewhere in the ballpark of $3700 on my garage gym, and 26 people have worked out there, 17 of which experienced CrossFit for the first time.  I convinced my Wife this summer to a vacation in San Diego in large part so I could sneak over to Brand X for a couple of workouts.  What a privilege that was.  Along with my Level one Certification visiting Brand X was the CrossFit highlight of the year.  I now have 2-4 regular workout partners.  Very, very rarely do I workout alone anymore.

The following is a before and after snapshot to help paint the picture of what CrossFit has done for me:

From 12 deadhang pullups to 17

From not knowing what a Kipping Pullup was to 30

From a high bar back squat 145lbs x 5 with improper form to learning how to low bar back squat with 235 x 5 and 285lbs x 1 which is just over 1.5 times my bodyweight.

From never doing a Front Squat to Front Squat of 230

From 0 Double Unders to 14

From Deadlift 210 to 365

From not having the slightest idea how to Clean correctly to Squat Clean 190 and squat clean and jerk 185

From not having the slightest idea how to Snatch correctly to Snatching 155

From not knowing what an Overhead Squat was to OHS 165

From not knowing what a Muscleup was to 4 consecutive arms locked and hands turned out Muscleups

From never having rowed anything in my life to getting a C2 rower and a 500m row in 1:35

From getting anywhere from 3-7 hours of sleep a night to 7-8 hours a night

From being embarrassed and self conscious about my lack of fitness because I knew the importance of a high level of fitness and knew how far short I was living off that mark to it being one of the highlights of my day and one of the most enjoyable parts of my career to be able to share what I’ve learned with others.

From having a piss poor diet to being on an eyeball measured zone and paleo friendly diet

From starting as a Buttercup to being a Pack/Porch half the time and a Big Dawg the other half

From not being able to do a single WOD as RX’d to having a 9:59 Underdawg time on Helen, a 5:44 Fran, Grace with power cleans of 4:50 (couldn’t clean 135 once when I started and my first RX’d Grace attempt with squat cleans took 21:19) and completing a number more WODs as RX’d. 

From knowing very little about the wonderful world of fitness to getting my Level 1 Cert and working as a PT Instructor at my Police Department’s Academy.

I’m thrilled with my progress thus far, but the way I see it, I have little to brag about.  Instead I have a TON to work on and improve.  I’m far from where I want to be, but now I can see myself eventually getting there.  Attaining elite fitness before discovering crossfit just seemed like an unattainable lark, but now I know I’m on the right path to do it.  I love to track my workouts and examine what I’m doing and what can be done better.  I’ve discovered how crucial this is to a successful program, so in light of that I wanted to include details for you guys to help assess one person’s progress that was made in a year.

Looking back there are a few things I would have done differently, namely getting in to see a coach sooner to square away the fundamentals on the core lifts.  I still have a need to do this on a few lifts (deadlifts and O-lifts come to mind).  If anything though, any and all success has been because I’ve simply showed up.  Consistency is king.  I’ve been consistent with crossfit and crossfit has been consistent with giving back to me what I consider some substantial results that I wouldn’t have reached with the other fitness programs out there.

I have a nice long list of goals for this next year and beyond, and I’m excited to continue hitting it hard.  I truly look forward to being at the solid big dawg status.  When I first started it bothered me a lot to not be there.  I’ve certainly learned how to check my ego at the door and know that one day if I do my part, staying consistent and putting in the hard work, I will be living out the elite level of fitness which CrossFit forges.  There are not many things that I can apply myself to that could potentially save my life at work, but CrossFit is one of them!  Not only has CrossFit filled the niche of being my workout program, it has also become my sport which I just plain love to do. 

Its been an incredible ride so far and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.  A huge thanks to all those here who have helped, taught, private messaged, coached, inspired, and sweat along side with or via the web.  I truly appreciate the Brand X crew that runs the Forum and is so welcoming to complete stranger newbies like all of us start out as.  Thanks specifically to Coach Glassman and Coach Martin!! 

As so many others have said before I only wish I had discovered CrossFit many, many years ago!  Here is to the next successful year of CrossFit for all of us…. I can’t wait to see what it has in store!!!

Weighted Dips 1-29-09

Weighted Bar Dips

3 x 3 35lbs

Then max no weight bar dips - 11

Had very little time so did this on Jerrod's suggestion before I took him to the airport.  It was a lot of fun working out with you bro!  Wish we lived closer so it could be a regular occurrence.  

Bozman teaches Deadlift & Snatch then Tabata Shuttle Run/Pushups, Bench Press, KB Snatches

Forgot to mention that I went Snowboarding for two days over the weekend at Bear Valley in the Sierras.  Not too shabby of a view:

Treated myself today with some personal coaching.  My cousin and I drove over to San Francisco Crossfit and got an hour and a half of coaching from Adrian Bozman.  He's super sharp and an excellent coach, not to mention a firebreathing crossfitter himself.  Worked on deadlifts and snatches.  Learned a few good cues for each lift that I'll start integrating.  Then he ran us through a short metcon of 8 rounds each of tabata (20 sec work, 10 sec rest = 1 round) 5 yard shuttle runs and pushups.   It was as usual much more brutal then it sounds.  Thankfully I didn't keep track because those pushups got pretty pathetic.  Jerrod and I had a great time at SFXfit, and I highly recommend seeking out a good coach to help you work through new lifts/weaknesses that you might have.  Amazing how fast it accelerates the learning curve.  No replacement for good coaching!  Thanks Boz!!

Then came home, had dinner and on a whim joined Josh and Alex in a search for a new 1 rep max...

Bench Press 

120 x 5

135 x 3

155 x 1

175 x 1 (PR + 10lbs)

185 x 1 (PR +20lbs)

Then

Max 53lb Kettlebell Snatchs in 5:00 min:  85

Boy was that a suckfest.  Probably did too much volume today, but oh well it was fun.

Back Squat/Push Press 1-27-09

21 - 15 - 9

Back Squat - 135lbs (75% bodyweight)

Push Press - 95lbs

6:06

This was a good one.  Felt a lot like Fran.  Short and Brutal.

OHS and Elizabeth 1-23-09

Overhead Squat

65 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 3
145 x 3(PR)
155 x 2 PR (failed on 3rth rep)
155 x 3 (PR)

Elizabeth

21 - 15 - 9
135lb power clean
Bar Dip

10:50 (PR)

Compare to 11-21-08 with 115lb power cleans and bar dips.  Most dips I put my foot down for help out of the bottom: 8:34

Very pleased with my dips today.  I didn’t put my foot down once.  Thats the first time ever in any named WOD.  All reps were clean and full ROM.

Heavy Bag 1-19-09

Uggggh  Felt crappy tonight.  Shouldn't have waited to workout so late at night.

Warmup:  3 rounds: 10 box jump, 7 toes to bar, 10 pushups

Ended up just doing 4 min of work on the Heavy Bag Tabata style.

Did about 20 handstands and then 1 min 30 sec total of handstand holds against a wall and called it a night.  Wrists are feeling it a bit.  Going to take 2 rest days...then my Cousin Jerrod and brother Jake fly into town for a nice long weekend of working out and 3 days of snowboarding.  Wahoo!  I'll start my 2nd CFSB cycle after that.  Stay tuned for a Fran battle on Thursday!

Snatch and Row 1-18-09

Warmup:  50 jumping jacks.  20 Handstands, 15 squats

Power Snatch

65 x 5

95 x 3

105 x 3

115 x 3

125 x 3

135 x 3

145 x 1 (PR)

155 x 1 (PR + 15lbs)

160 Failed twice

Compare to my previous PR of 140 x 1 on 1-1-09.

Taught my brother Josh and Alex how to Snatch.  Had planned on doing a real metcon after, but just felt out of it after how long it took with the snatches.  So just did a sluggish row.

500m row:  1:37  

10 min of Handstands

Handstand PR of 4.35 seconds.  I'm no good with handstands, but hopefully they will come along.

California Strength Academy and Tire flips/Pushups 1-17-09

Spent an hour and a half in a private lesson working on power clean technique at the California Strength Academy located in San Ramon where San Ramon Crossfit shares the gym space.  The trainer/lifter who I was privileged to learn from was Martin Pashov "Squat Specialist".  He is Bulgarian and has a 660lb Olympic style back squat.  His father was the bronze winner in Olympic Lifting in the 1980 Olympics.  Enough said!  Learned a couple of good things to start implementing into my clean.  Unfortunately its a bit too expensive for me right now to get private training, otherwise I'd be all over it.  Its definitely a high caliber gym.  6 or so lifting platforms with Pendlay Elite bars, werksan and eleiko bumpers.  Very nice setup with some top notch lifters training there including Donny Shankle "The Giant Killer" who is one of the best 105kilo lifters in the US.  He was built like a nasty cross between a mack truck and king kong.  What a beast!  And a nice guy to boot.  When I met him he said "You've come to train with the best!"  There was also a high school kid who was back squatting 445 with a belt.  Some serious muscle walking around that place.

HERE is their website.

I ended up working on my form half the time with 55lbs and half the time with 115lbs.  Did somewhere around 50-70 power cleans.  Uggh.

Then went to a local park and did a fun metcon.

With a partner did:

5 Min AMRAP:

1 300lb tire flip

2 pushups

28 rounds

5 min rest while Josh and Alex did their tire flips

5 min AMRAP

1 300lb tire flip, 2 pushups

1 Pushup shy of 31 rounds

While I flipped the tire my partner was doing 2 pushups and while he flipped the tire I did my 2 pushups.  The timing of that rep scheme worked out well.

Grace 1-15-09 Squat Clean and Thruster/C2B Pullups 1-14-09

1-15-09:

Warmup Up:  10 K2E's, 20 Handstands, 10 squats, Burgener warmup, 95 Pwr Clean & Push Jerk x 10

Grace

30 Power Clean and Push Jerks 135lbs

4:50 (1:43 PR!!)

Woah!  Smoked this one!!  Sub 5!  Felt solid throughout the entire workout.  I'm super excited about this PR on probably my favorite workout. I was looking forward to do this one, thinking about it all day.  Was a little nervous right before the workout, as I felt the adrenaline tingling in my hands just like before a big playoff game.  It helped to be the last of 4 guys to go.  The anticipation built up and was ready to roar at the call of 3-2-1-Go!

Cashout: Pushups 30 - 25 - 20 ~2 min rest in between

12 Muscleups broken/untimed

Compare Grace to 12-21-08 at 6:33

1-14-09:

Warm Up:  10 Toes to bar, 10 air squats, 15 handstands, 10 Cartwheels then Burgener Warmup

Squat Clean

95 x 5

115 x 5

135 x 3

155 x 3

165 x 3 (PR)

175 x 3 (PR + 20)

7 Rounds for time:

5 115lb Thrusters

5 Chest to Bar Chinups

8:00

I've never really do any chinups and what better way to introduce them into the repertoire then chest to bar chinups?  This was a good heavy metcon.  Plenty of pain filled fun.  Got my second large tractor tire today.  It weighs 275-300lbs.  My other tire weighs 375-400lbs.  Stacked on top of each other they stand 34" high and make for a great tire jump.

Lunges, C2B Pullup, Dumbell HPC 1-12-09

Warmup Cacophony:

5 one leg 20" box jumps each leg, 10 Handstands, 30 sec L-sit progression on parallettes, 5 dips, 10 Handstands, 5 KB bottoms up clean and press 35lb, 10 HPC with 2 45lb Dumbells

3 Rounds for time:

30 Lunges with 50lb Sandbag on back

10 Chest to Bar Pullups

10 Hang Power Clean 2 45lb Dumbells

8:26

Rd1 - 2:48, Rd2 - 2:55, Rd3 - 2:44

Still going easy on my back so I didn't want to do any heavy metcons or heavy lifting.  This was a decent one.  Could have gone a little heavier on the HPC.  This is designed to be done with 1/2 your bodyweight but I didn't have 45lb dumbells.  It was more taxing on my grip then I was expecting.  Somehow this is the first time I've ever done C2B pullups.  A little harder then I thought.  Thats not good.  They will definitely become a regular part of my CrossFit diet.

Cashout: 10 Handstands, 1 bar muscleup, 10 Parallettes Handstands, Bear Crawls

OHS 1-11-09

Warmup:  21 Hanging Straight leg raises (waist high), 15 Dips, some air squats

Overhead Squats

45 x 5

65 x 5

95 x 5

115 x 5

135 x 4 (PR)  Failed on 5th rep - Dropped on the way up

145 x 1

155 x 1

165 x 1 (PR)

170 x 1 - Josh called the depth as parallel

170 x 1 - Failed - Dropped on the way up

Annoying to get called on depth on the first 170 attempt.  I felt pretty solid on it and could have gone deeper.  Coulda, shoulda, woulda.  Oh well.  Next time I'll have it and maybe 175.  Creeping up on my goal of bodyweight x 1 (180lb)!!

500m Row - 1:42  I was shooting for 1:32 to hit my goal.  I went out hard, holding the pace at the 1:32/33 range.  With about 175-200m to go I had slowed down a lot and had a major character failure.... I knew I wasn't going to hit 1:32 and was on track for 1:35-1:37 range.  Josh and Alex started yelling at me so I finished up sheepishly.  Truly pathetic.  Once again underestimated how difficult a 1:32 row would be for me, especially since I haven't been rowing much at all.  I think next time I should set the pace boat at 1:35, try and hold it there and kick it hard at the end to try and sneak in under 1:35.

Kettlebell Shenanigans 1-9-09

I got some new Kettlebells yesterday.  Another 35lb and 53lber.  Also got a 62lb, 70lb and 88lber.  Saweeeet!  Still on my CrossFit Strength Biased rest week so I just played around with the new iron.

Turkish Get Up - from floor to standing and back down to floor with each arm = 1 rep

35lb x 2

44lb x 2

53lb x 2

62lb x 2

70lb x 2 Got it right handed. Got it once with my left arm then failed twice on the way down with left arm

88lb x 1 with right hand stood up but failed on the way down.  That sucker was heavy!  Almost got it.  Didn't try with left arm.

Two 53lb KBs Power Clean 3 sets of 5

KB Power Clean and Jerk

53lb x 2

62lb x 2

70lb x 2

88lb x 2 -  Right arm only.  Failed twice with left arm at the rack.

KB's are good, clean fun for all you hard living comrades.  If you don't have any you should go out and get a truckload of them.  It's official... I have the Kettlebell bug!

Death by Pullup 1-8-09

With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute . . . continuing as long as you are able. Use as many sets each minute as needed.

14 rounds + 14 pullups.  Missed 15th rep by one second!  Doh!

Compare to 7-3-08 where I barley got 14 rounds in with 3 seconds to spare

Not real pleased with this.  Was hoping for a better performance here.  Pullups used to be a strength of mine.  But I haven't included them in nearly enough workouts recently.  For a year of Crossfit under my belt I should be further along with them.  

Tabata Squats/Muscle Ups 1-7-08

Taking it easy this week before the start of 2nd Cycle of CFSB

Chose to do a workout from the CrossFit Journal Issue #08 - April 2003 article [i]How Fit Are You[/i]?:  

4:00 min Tabata Air Squats - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 19 - 18- 16 

10 Sec rest 

4:00 min max Muscle-Ups* - 10  

*Muscle-Ups were done with bent arms, not completed with arms locked and hands turned out  

Score is found by multiplying lowest number of air squats by muscle-ups  

16 x 10 = 160  

This didn't even rank on the Journal article's ranking system. The lowest score recognized was 180. Had I gamed the squats and paced myself at 18 or 19 throughout, I would have fared better according to this scoring system and I'd have made it on the board with a score of 18 or 190. But I ended up with a greater overall number of squats and I was pleased with my effort at going for broke from the gates and not looking back. Nearly there. On the last set of squats I started letting my upper body lower at the bottom of some of the squats far too much due to what I believe was midline fatigue. Anyone else noticed this as a common issue? 

What a brute!

Check out the article for 4 other killer workouts that when combined are as good a test as any in determining one's fitness level. Pretty brutal to even get to the point where you make it onto the ranking system.  

Cash Out - Max Toes to Bar - 22 .... Weak sauce. Break in character caused me to stop there.

See the article here:  http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/08_03_How_Fit_Are_You.pdf

Weighted Ring Pull Ups 1-5-09

Taking it easy for a recovery week.  And chose a workout to not stress my low back.

Warmup:

2 Rounds

2:00 min jumping jacks

10 Handstands

10lb x 1

20lb x 1

30lb x 1

35lb x 1

40lb x 1

45lb x 1

50lb x 1

55lb x 1

60lb x 1

65lb x 1

70lb x 1 - Failed...Got 90%, just not the last final couple of inches

Missed my straight bar pullups PR by 5lbs which I got on 7-30-08

2 sets of 30lb x 5

Cash Out:  Max Skin the cats on Rings - 34

Front Squat and Deadlift/Dips/Box Jumps 1-4-09

End of CrossFit Strength Bias (CFSB) Cycle 1 Week 6

Front Squat

45 x 8

95 x 5

135 x 5

155 x 3

170 x 1

185 x 1

200 x 1 (PR)

210 x 1 (PR)

225 x 1 (PR)

230 x 1 (40lb PR)

5 rounds for time:

7 Deadlifts 225lb

7 Bar Dips

7 Box Jumps 36"

10:02

This was a pretty good one.  First round unbroken in 54 sec.  Finished third round at 4:32.  Last two rounds took 5:30.  Tweaked my low back on the second to last deadlift.  Hopefully its not too bad.

Shoulder Press and KB/Sandbag 1-3-09

Shoulder Press

45 x 10

65 x 5

95 x 5

105 x 3

115 x 1

125 x 1

130 (failied twice)

127.5 (failed)

Ughhh.  Was really hoping for a PR in this.  Its so hard for me to improve on my shoulder press.  After 5 weeks of focused work with it and some PR's in the 5 rep range, I was thinking I might hit 130 today.  Nope.  Bar stopped at about my nose and refused to budge.  Attempt at 127.5 was even weaker.  

1 Min max 1.5 Pood one armed Snatch (either arm)  - 24 reps

1 Min max 35lb Sand Bag halfmoons - 21 reps

1 Min max 1.5 Pood one armed Snatch (either arm) - 10 reps

1 Min max 35lb Sand Bag halfmoons - 16 reps

1 Min max 1.5 Pood one armed Snatch (either arm) - 10 reps

See a video of what a Sandbag halfmoon is HERE.

That metcon completely sucked.  I didn't bring it to the gym today.  Emotionally drained and tired from a lack of sleep from being at the hospital for 3 days.  I don't know if it was just a lackluster day or if the movements were too similar, or if the KB weight was too heavy, but I died hard in the second round of snatches and didn't recover.  Thats also the risk when you make up your own WODs.  Its fun, but a bit risky.  I'd like to keep working in some different types of movements like sandbag work and different KB work that isn't your standard mainpage crossfit material.  A little more focused towards MMA fitness that prepares you well for a fight.  Working my grip strength is a good idea.  Some rounded back type work is a good thing.  Training for the real world when you aren't going to be able to use 'proper' form when lifting a 250lb stoopid drunk off the ground in cuffs who is refusing to stand up while drooling chunky barf all over himself with wet piss stains in his pants.  Should probably peruse the crosspit stuff and use some of it.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the barbell work, but its good to mix things up.  Its all about the Black Box baby.

Power Snatch 1-1-09

Power Snatch 

65 x 5

95 x 3

105 x 2

115 x 2

125 x 1

135 x 1 

140 x 1 (PR)

Didn't have much time at all today.  Planned on doing a metcon, but didn't have enough time.  The program called for front squats, but yesterday did those heavy squat cleans and 190 was a 15lb front squat PR as part of the squat clean.  Didn't think I should try front squats after that.  Attempted shoulder presses but at my first work set of 95 x 5, felt weak and decided to just snatch instead.  At least I got some work in today.  The last snatch was the ugliest thing you ever did see as I caught the bar with arms totally bent over my head and just then muscled it up from there.  Wow was it pathetic.  Really need to keep on working on these and develop the ability to commit to getting under the bar into a good OHS when it is heavy.  That is just not clicking yet.

Squat Clean Jerk and Pullups 12-31-08

Squat Clean and Jerk

95 x 5

115 x 3

135 x 2

155 x 2

165 x 1

185 x 1 (25lb PR)

190 (Failed Twice.  Failed on the jerk)

Failed on the jerk portion of the lift.  So that makes it a Squat Clean PR of 190lbs x 2.  Cool.  Just barely missed the second jerk attempt by not quite locking out my elbow.  Doh!  I'll definitely get it next time.

Inspired by TexasPatrick from BrandX:

7 Squat Clean and Jerk 135lbs

21 Pullups

5 Squat Clean and Jerk 145lbs

15 Pullups

3 Squat Clean and Jerk 155lbs

9 Pullups

6:37

That was a fun heavy metcon.  A little different by adding weight with each set of clean and jerks.  Good way to bring in the new year with a big Squat Clean and Jerk PR which is also 5lbs over my bodyweight.  Sweet!

Deadlift and Boxjumps 12-29-08

Deadlift

255 x 5

285 x 3

315 x 1

335 x 1

355 x 1

375 (failed)

365 x 1

150 Boxjumps 20"

5:23

First time Josh has ever beat me in a workout.  He got 5:04.  Good job brother.  But I have to point out that I squatted heavy yesterday and deadlifted right before the box jumps...so obviously that's the only reason he beat me, right?  Nah...you are doing great and making good progress.  I gotta keep working hard so you don't overtake me.

Tied my best deadlift while keeping a reasonably straight back.  I wasn't expecting too much with my single rep max because I haven't been PR'ing recently in the 5 and 3 rep range due to a reset caused by form.  Hopefully it will come after the next 6 week cycle of CFSB.  Attempted a HSPU against a wall but that soo wasn't going to happen.  Need to work some negatives into my cashouts.

Squat and The Chief 12-28-08

Week 6 of 1st cycle of CFSB:

Squat

225 x 5

235 x 3

245 x 3

255 x 1 (PR)

265 x 1 (PR)

275 x 1 (PR)

285 x 1 (+ 40lb PR)

See the video HERE.

The Chief

Max rounds in 3 min of:

3 Power Cleans 135lb

6 Pushups

9 Squats 

Rest 1 minute.  Repeat for a total of 5 cycles

1.  5 rounds 

2.  4 rounds 

3.  4 rounds 

4.  1 squat short of 4 rounds 

5.  4 rounds

I'm stoked with my squat PR.  That is a little more then 1.5 times my bodyweight which is a pretty cool benchmark.  2 times my bodyweight is going to take a while to hit.  265 felt good, 275 felt solid, with slower bar speed, 285 was slow and getting a bit sloppy so I stopped there. Can't complain about a 40lb improvement.  300lbs feels within reach now.  Will post a video of it tomorrow.

Shoulder Press 12-26-08

Shoulder Press

95 x 5

105 x 5

115 x 5 (2.5lb PR)

115 went up with good bar speed.  Not as tough as I thought.  Sweet!

10-7-4 

95 lbs - about 1:30 break in between sets.  Meant to have much shorter rest, but had to work it in between my brother and sister-inlaw's metcon.

3 RFT:

400m Run

10 OHS 95lbs

10 box jump 36"

10 bar dips

14:06

1st 4:00 2nd 4:35All 3rd 5:31  

OHS unbroken.  Dips 1st: 5-5, 2nd: 5-5 3rd: 4-2-2-2  All dips were done full ROM without putting my foot down or jumping.  First time I've done that in a metcon, so I'm pretty pleased.  I was on pace with Josh (who did 55lb OHS, and put his foot down on dips) until the last run where I really slogged along at a crawl.

Front Squat and OHS 12-25-08

Front Squat

140 x 5

160 x 5

175 x 5 (PR)

Overhead Squat

95 x 5

115 x 5 (PR)

135 x 3 (Failed on #4)

Somehow that is a OHS PR for reps of 5.  Only because I haven't done these much in the 5 rep scheme.  Called it quits after I failed.  Just wasn't in it mentally.  Definitely had more in me but the weight drifted forward on about half way on the way up and I dropped it.  Weak sauce.

Played with Turkish Get Ups (TGU) for the first time ever.  Started with Kettlebells and did 1 from the floor to standing with both arms. My long term goal is to eventually do a TGU with my wife.  That'll be pretty cool.  I think I'll start practicing on my niece, and see how that works.

TGU

35lb KB x 1 

44lb KB x 1

54lb KB x 1

65lb Barbell x 1 

75lb Barbell x 1 (PR)

Only got 2.5 hours of sleep last night.  Felt kinda crappy and quite under-motivated.  Wasn't feeling a metcon or the high rep backsquats so I nixed them.  Took forever to get warmed up.  Had to do an extra 1000m row and a fair amount of dynamic stretching and air squats to get there.  Far from my best day, but hey, I still PR'd in front squats.  And any day you PR is a great day.

Helen 12-24-08

Helen

3 Rounds for time:

400m Run

21 KB Swings 1.5 Pood

12 Pullups

9:59 (1 min PR)

Huge PR for me!  I recorded the workout in order to show the trainers at Brand X.  I was gunning for sub 10 to earn the privilege of an Underdawg T-Shirt from Brand X.  See the challenge here: http://www.crossfitbrandx.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/1100/  Just barely nailed it!  I thought about having one of my buddies film the run, but they weren't up to following me on the run after just finishing Eva which is a real brute.  That also explains some of the shaking in the video.  Alex couldn't even close his hands into a fist, let alone hold the camera steady.

1st round:   2:45    2nd Round:  3:24   3rd Round:   3:52  All KB Swings were unbroken, 1st and 2nd round Pull-ups unbroken, and 3rd round broken briefly with 7-5.  I tried to rest during the running if that makes any sense.  Didn't feel too much like rest, but allowed me to stay fast on the swings and pu's.  

That's a 1 min PR in the last month.  Very, very cool.  CFSB is awesome.

HERE is the video.

Squat Clean Thruster/Pullups 12-22-08

15 - 12 - 9

Squat Clean Thruster 95lbs

Pullups

7:20

This was a fun one.  I need to do more heavy squat cleans.  I was able to move 95lbs around pretty easily, just a matter of getting winded.  I do so many power cleans, but the full squat cleans are great.  I'm real happy with my time.  I pushed pretty good throughout, having my twin brother hollering at me is a good motivator.  My cousin who lives across the country in Virginia got 8:57 and that was my time to beat.  He was on the phone listening in on speakerphone during the workout, getting a play by play by my older brother.  It was a fun way to do the workout.  All pullups were unbroken.  Squat Clean Thrusters were done mostly as singles with a fairly quick reset each time.  Decided not to deadlift today because the squats yesterday wiped out my low back.  

Squat and Grace 12-21-08

Squat

185 x 20 (PR)  

Grace

30 Power Clean and Push Jerk 135lb 

6:33 (33 sec PR)

A vicious Anti-Gravity storm descended upon my gym today.  I believe it was caused by wearing for the first time my early Christmas gift, a pair of Adidas Ironwork II size 11's.  These puppies are snarky!  They will be replacing my partially chewed by a full grown German Shepherd white leather Dowins.  Much nicer quality, tighter more solid construction and far better looking.  Also the heel isn't as tall.  I really like them. Very pleased with my Grace PR.  Grace has to be one of my favorite WODs.  Killer WOD to do fast and keep good form while the heart is jackhammering and you are panting for breath.  Squats felt good except my low back really got hit hard.  Legs had plenty left in them to push heavier reps or more weight, it was just a matter of my low back getting worn out and tired and screaming as I was panting heavily in the last handful of reps. High rep heavy back squats are awesome!

HERE is the partial video of Grace.

Shoulder Press and Nasty Girls 12-19-08

Shoulder Press

95 x 5

100 x 5

112.5 x 5 (PR)

95 x 12 (PR)

Glad I got the shoulder press x 5 PR.  Slowly inching my way upwards with that lift.  If I can continue to PR 2.5lbs every other week on this lift, then I'll be at 177.5lbs for 5 reps by this time next year.  That puts things in perspective, and would be huge!  Slow and steady wins the race.  

Nasty Girls, Porch Scaling

3 Rounds for time of:

50 Squats

14 Jumping Muscle-ups

115lb Hang Power Cleans, 10 reps

12:19

The dips in the jumping muscle-ups were the main thing to slow me down in this workout.  The dips were also a big reason why I chose to do this workout.  Gotta work on those weaknesses.  Its the crossfit way.

100lb sandbag Front Plank hold - 1:00 (PR)

One armed Snatch with Barbell

45 x 3

55 x 1

65 x 1

75 x 1 - Left Arm PR

85 x 1 (failed 3 times before I got one rep) - Right Arm (PR)  

Didn't even try 85lbs with my left arm.  First time I've played with one armed snatching with a barbell.  Kinda fun.  Really have to get under the bar and make sure your arm is locked out when catching the weight.

Front Squat and Diane 12-18-08

Front Squat

135 x 5

155 x 5

170 x 5 (PR)

Diane (Porchish scaling)

15 - 12 - 9

225lb Deadlift

Hand Stand Pushup bridged to shins

4:52 (PR)

Did the first set of 15 deadlifts unbroken (PR).  

Porch scaling is barrier HSPU's or full HSPU's.  I did the HSPU 1st: 6/9, 2nd: 6/6 3rd: 9 Unbroken.  I tried to get as vertical as possible, but was a bit too on the horizontal plane.  Should have have done them on a higher box, or bridged to feet.  Would have been a little bit harder, but not that much and my time was pretty solid for the first time I've ever done Diane.  I need to get better at HSPU's.  Yet another exercise to continue working into my programming.  

Compare to Diane on 5-11-08 Pack version: 21-15-9 185lb Deads and bridged to feet: 4:58

Fran 12-17-08

Fran

21 - 15 - 9

Thrusters 95lbs

Pullups

5:44 (1:50 PR)

Cashout:  50 Windshield Wipers with 95lb bar

A 1:50 PR!!!  Compare to 7:34 a month ago on 11-12-08.  I'd say that this crossfit strength program is more then working!  What a great day in the gym.  Took a brief rest in the 1st round of thrusters at 13 and 17 while still in the rack position.  Broke pullups 15-6.  2nd round of thrusters broken 8-7 (I think) and pullups 9 - 6.  3rd round of thrusters and pullups unbroken.  Last time I did Fran I did the first set of 21 thrusters unbroken and then 15 pullups.  I think that is a good way to shoot your wod, so I tried to break it up a tad more and take the first round of thrusters at a little slower pace to keep something in the tank for the rest of the workout.  Seems to have worked.  1st round - 1:58 2nd - 4:28.  

I'm stoked with this time!!  45 seconds away from hitting one of my biggest goals.  Who knows?  Maybe in another month I'll break the 5:00 mark.  If I keep progressing as I have been then I'd say thats going to happen.  A portion of this PR comes from getting my metcon back (and then some) after finishing my SS cycle 5 weeks ago.  Combine that with steadily increased strength gains, an increased amount of heavier overhead work in metcons and you've got a winning recipe for taking on the nasty beast of a girl that is Fran.  This programming has been awesome and I've got to give all the credit and props to Jeff Martin of Brand X and his crew of trainers!  Thanks Coach!!  I couldn't be happier with my progress!

Deadlift and HPS/BJ Burps 12-15-08

1 min front Plank with 90lbs of bumpers plates on my back

30 sec side Planks with 25lb sandbag on hip

Deadlift

255 x 5

275 x 5

295 x 5

10 min rest

215 x 20 (PR)

15 min rest

AMRAP:

7 Hang Power Snatch 75lbs

7 Box Jump Burpees - 36" box

5 rounds + HPS + 3 BJ Burps

Deadlifts felt better this week then the prior couple of weeks.  The last few weeks just felt silly heavy.  Like I was getting roughed up and pushed around by the weight.  This week not so bad.  Focused on taking a nice deep breath and setting my core which I think really helped. Those box jumps really take it out of you in a metcon when trying to cycle through them quickly.  Forget about that, I just tried to survive and ground through them. 

Squat, OHS, and Annie 12-14-08

Squat

210 x 3

230 x 3

245 x 3 (PR)

OverHeadSquat

45 x 10

95 x 5

115 x 3

125 x 3

140 x 1

155 x 1 (PR + 10lbs)

160 x 1 (PR + 15lbs)

Annie - 

50-40-30-20 and 10 rep rounds of

Tuckjumps (subbed for Doubleunders)

Situps - frog abmat feet unanchored

9:09

A great day in the gym for OHS.  Felt real good after the squats so I figured I'd throw in some OHS.  I was confident I would PR even though I haven't been working on them.  I think its been the increased overhead work I've been doing.  Still had some left in me too but ran out of time.  Can't really complain about a 15lb PR!  But I'm confident I'll hit 165 the next go around.  I think the back squats warmed me up well for the OHS.  The weak link is still my shoulders, which I'm working on.  Felt real strong in the bottom position.  Getting closer to my goal of OHS my bodyweight.  It is soon going to be an issue of not being able to push jerk the weight over my head in the first place.

The back squats...well the weight went up.  However it was ugly.  I slouched over at the bottom, markedly dropping my chest.  Not good. Pretty sure its a weakness of my core thats causing it.  Need to start working in more core work in my warmups like weighted planks,GHD situps, KNE's and GHD back extensions.  Gotta think hard about whether or not I'm going to go for 250 x 3 next week. Josh thinks I shouldn't.  Maybe I should try for 240 x 5 instead.  I'm not sure because that is still pretty heavy and only 10lbs less, so my 3 and 5 rep numbers are getting real compressed.  The week after that is week six of the program and my single rep max PR attempt.  For that reason I was planning on doing the 3 rep scheme next week as I figured that would prep me better for the single rep max the week afterwards.  Any thoughts?

Annie was a decent workout.  Toughest on the abs.  Didn't feel good enough about my double under skills to do them in this WOD.  They'd slow me down too much and decrease the intensity to an intolerable level.

Shoulder Press and Snatching Fran 12-13-08

Max Box Jump:  44.25"  (PR)   - Could have hit a bit higher, but it was getting pretty hairy.  I stacked bumpers on top of my 20" box jump. So it was 24" of stacked bumper plates.  I think I stacked 4 45's, 4 35's and 1 25lber.  Its not the biggest target to land on top of and even with spotters holding the bumpers its a bit sketchy.

Shoulder Press

95 x 5

100 x 5

110 x 5 (PR)

95 x 11 (PR)

The 110 lbs felt easier today then the 107.5 lbs a week ago.  Probably helped that I stomped on the ground like a bull and got psyched for it.

Sntaching Fran

21 - 15 - 9

Power Snatch 95lbs

Pullups

9:57

That was a fun one.  Cycle rate is definitely slower then with thrusters because my grip was getting hit too hard after lowering the first 7-10 or under control, So I just started dropping the bar from overhead after finishing a rep and having to reset on the bar every time.  Add to that that I stink at snatching and you have the recipe for a slow time.  Some of the ugliest flopping fish out of the water Snatching you ever did see.  Need to get some coaching in order to improve on this lift.

Front Squat and KB Swing/Burpee/Situp 12-11-08

Front Squat

135 x 5

150 x 5

165 x 5 (PR)

Then:

Back Squat 

185 x 15 (PR)

Then:

5 RFT:

10 Kettlebell Swings - 1.5 Pood (53lb)

9 Burpees

8 Ab Mat Situps

7:26 (PR by 23 sec)

All KB Swings and situps were unbroken.  1st round of burpees were unbroken.  2nd 3rd and 4th round burpees were 3-3-3 and 5th round of burpees was 6-4.  Definitely have more left in me in front squats.  But on back squats I don't know, just felt heavy for some reason.  Was planning on a set of 20, but from the beginning just felt like I was getting slapped around.  So had a character fault and dropped it at 15. Still a PR though so it works out.  A day of PR's in fact.  Thats always fun.  

Fight Gone Bad 12-10-08

“Fight Gone Bad!“ - Puppy version:

Three rounds of:
Wall-ball, 10 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps) - 29, 25, 25
Sumo deadlift high-pull, 45 pounds (Reps) - 37, 25, 25
Box Jump, 20” box (Reps) - 24, 20, 20
Push-press, 45 pounds (Reps) - 29, 24, 22
Row (Calories) - 17, 12, 18

358

For some reason I decided to do this workout at the puppy level.  I wanted to see how I would compare with my brother and my friend Alex who also did the puppy workout.  Josh got 295 and Alex got 306.  Good job guys.  I figured its good to do some lower weight higher metcon stuff now and then.  Such a tough workout no matter how you cut it.  Compare this to as RX'd at 236.  Would have done this as RX'd, but I need to get a 20lb medicine ball.  

Cashout:  2 sets of 10 Jumping Muscleups and then one muscleup just to remind myself that I can do one.  Tweaked my left shoulder (anterior deltoid) just a bit while doing one of the muscleups.  Hopefully it doesn't stick around very long.  

Deadlift and HSPU/HPS/BJ 12-8-08

Deadlift

255 x 5

275 x 5

290 x 5

AMRAP 10 min:

4 HSPU Bridged to feet (didn't put my hands quite as close to the box as I should have.)

5 Hang Power Snatch 75lbs

6 36" Box Jumps

7 Rounds on the money

I started the 7th round with a minute to go, and pushed hard to hit all 7 rounds.  Other then the last round a pretty uninspired day in the gym. Deadlifts especially so.  But I got the work done.

Was reminded how much I enjoy having someone to workout with.  Its been a while since I worked out alone.  My gratitude to my workout partners!!

Squat and Freddy's Revenge 12-7-08

Squat

205 x 3

225 x 3

240 x 3 (PR) - This is my previous one rep max

The final set was heavy.  Final rep was ugly.  The femur/back angle opened up waay late as I slowly ground it out and stayed horizontal too long.  It went up but it was far from pretty.  Need to be careful there.  I think I held my core fairly tight and didn't roll my shoulders/drop my chest too much, but still, I was nearing injury land.

Freddy's Revenge:

5 RFT

5 Push Jerk - 155lbs (185 as RX'd)

10 Burpees

12:30

First round was 1:00, Done with the third round in 6 something.  Should have scaled down a bit...probably drop the burpees to 7 so I'd have hit a sub 10 min time.  That was not easy.  It was quite rough on the shoulders.

Shoulder Press and Squats/Muscleups 12-5-08

Shoulder Press 

95 x 5

105 x 5

107.5 x 5  -  PR by 2.5lbs. I took the baby step cause its getting real tough. After another 2.5lb step next week, I'll switch to sets of 3.

95 x 9 - Just failed to lock out 10th rep

Almost went with the pack scaled down version on the squats but decided to push the envelope and do the squats as RX'd.  Subbed Jumping Muscle-ups for Muscle-ups:

100 squats
2 Jumping muscle-ups
80 squats
4 Jumping muscle-ups
60 squats
6 Jumping muscle-ups
40 squats
8 Jumping muscle-ups
20 squats
10 Jumping muscle-ups

13:15

Thats the most squats I've ever done in a workout.  I have a feeling I'm going to be more then a little sore for the next two or three days after 300 of those beauties.  In the second round of squats I realized I was in for some misery.  Quads locked up sometime in round 2.  Squats:  1st Rnd 50-15-10-10-15 2nd Rnd 20-20-15-15-10 3rd Rnd 15-15-15-15 4th Rd 20-20 5th Rd 20.  All Jumping Muscle-ups were a breath or three pause at the bottom and go except for the last round which was broken 4-2-2-2.

Front Squats and Grace 12-4-08

Practiced Double Unders for my warmup.  Really haven't done these much at all.  I think I'll keep working on them in my warmup.  13 consecutive Double Unders - PR

Grace - 1st time as RX'd!

30 Power Clean and Push Jerk- 135lbs

7:06

Compared to 4:18 with 115lbs 3 weeks ago.  I'm pretty happy with this time.  Not too shabby for my first go at Grace as Rx'd.  Broke it up as:  10 - 5 - 6 - 4 - 5 though none of them were touch and go.  Dropped it from the top, got in under control a couple breaths and go.  I did Grace before the front squats because I knew the squats weren't going to be too tough and didn't want my time on Grace to suffer because of them.  Weighed myself at 179 today.

Front Squats

135 x 5

145 x 5

160 x 5 (PR)

OHS/Pushup/Box Jump 12-3-08

Almost time to hit the slopes!!!

"You can either live your life like a lamb, or live your life like a lion. We have a choice in life". - Jean-Marc Boivin.. Extreme Skiier, Mountaineer, Paraglider, Parapenter (Photo of Boivin skiing the Matterhorn)

15 - 12 - 9

Overhead Squat 95lbs
Decline Pushup
36" Box Jump


11:42


I did the first round of OHS unbroken. 2nd Rd of OHS 6 and 6, 3rd Rd 6 and 3. When I thought up this workout, I planned on doing ring pushups. I did my first two in the first round and knew that I couldn't cut it for the whole workout. My shoulders were shot from the OHS. Also I think I'm still feeling the pushups from Cindy two days ago. So I quickly adjusted to Decline Pushups with my feet propped up two feet on my tractor tire. It was good to do some bigger box jumps again. Hadn't done them since I was at Brand X back in July. Need to keep working them into the programming.

Forgot to mention I got my Promaxima Squat stands in today. So now I have 2 squat stands (one is a squat rack), 2 Pendlay Bars, and 2 sets of bumpers...I'm ready to start having more races in the gym! Should be good fun to do WOD's side by side and try and beat the guy next to me.


I for one only want lions surrounding me in my gym. How have you been attacking your training? With a roar that shakes the very ground you walk, or with the pathetic bleating bahh of a little lamby? With teeth made for lazily munching some grass or with teeth ground sharp for tearing into flesh and crushing bone to dust? With the weakness of a helpless lamb, or with the strength of might that is a Lion?

Deadlift and Half Cindy 12-1-08

Deadlift

5 x 275

5 x 280

5 x 285

10 min break

Deadlift

20 x 210 (PR)

10 min break

Half Cindy-

As many rounds as possible in 10 min of:

5 Pullups

10 Pushups

15 Squats

9 rounds + 5 Pullups + 6 Pushups

My goal was to hit 10 rounds.  Just missed it.  All pullups and squats were unbroken.  The pushups were the only thing that slowed me down. First 3 rounds of pushups unbroken but by the end rounds I was doing sets of 3's and 2's.  Squats felts strong and quick.