Sn, FS, FP, Dead 8-28-10

Snatch - worked up to 135lb 2 x5
Front Squat - 135x3, 185x2, 205x1, 220 3 x 3
Floor Press - 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 205x1,m
Deadlift off 3" blocks - 225x3, 275x3, 330lb 3 x 3



The usual pain in my right anterior deltoid flared up so went with Floor Press instead of bench. The background on this: I dislocated my shoulder and tore my labarum in a mountain biking fall in July of 2005. Had surgery with 3 pins put in. Sometimes this rears its head when I do a lot of overhead and/or bench work.

Snatch felt light. However I still wasn't receiving it as deep as I should. I can't put my finger on it, but I think I struggle when I get my hips through well, I don't drop under the bar well and receive it as low as I should. I'm trying to work on this. Any thoughts on this would be great.

Front Squats felt good and not too heavy. Definitely have more in the tank there. I noticed while warming up with a wider stance that I wasn't getting good depth nor a bounce out of the hole, both of which was confirmed by my workout partner. So I switched to a narrower stance which is my usual Front Squat stance and was able to get my depth along with a good bounce out of the bottom. Felt much stronger like that. Do you see any issues with my Front Squat that I need to work on? The one thing I think could be improved is to work on keeping my chest/elbows up and not let them drift forward/down. Do you agree?

Snatch and C&J 8-27-10

Max day. Didn't go so well.

Snatch - 135, 145mx2, 145, 155, 165m, 165, 175mx5, 145 2 x 3
Clean & Jerk - 155, 175, 200, 215, 230m, 230, 245mx2

Frustrated with my performance. Stopped there. See today's video in 8-28 post.

Snatch - Regarding failures at 175lb - 1st and 5th looked close, but didn't get under the bar enough to fully lock out and receive it in a strong enough position. 2nd attempt bar wasn't received far enough back/my weight was a bit forward. 3rd and 5th attempts I came up on my right toe indicative of my weight being too far forward.

On the plus side, I've made a lot of improvement this week in the area of jumping forward.

Clean - I'm landing up on my toes, specifically my right foot. My weight must be forward for this to happen, but not sure what is causing that? Its a recipe for failure.

Jerk, PC+FS, Chins 8-26-10

No workout yesterday because my Grandpa took a turn for the worse and went to visit him. He's a tough old bird though and he's holding on at this point.

Jerk - 95x5, 135x4, 155x3, 175x2, 190x1, 200 3x5
Power Clean + 2 Front Squat 135lb 1x6
Chinup - 35lb 7, 7, 5 f



Jerks felt quite doable. Not bad at all. The PC and FS were silly easy. Nothing tough about today and didn't have to squat heavy which I'll be happy about tomorrow when I'm going for a max Sn and C&J.

PS+HS+OHS, HC+CJ, BS 8-24-10

Power Snatch + Hang Snatch + OHS (2 sec pause at bottom) - bar 2x3, 55lb, 65ln, 85lb, 100lb, 110lb 1x5 (60%)

Hang Clean+Clean&Jerk - 115lb, 135, 150, 165 1x5 (66%)

Back Squat - 220lbs 5 x 5

Stretch between each set of Sn, C&J - hold bottom of squat position, pushing knees out and lifting chest up.

Notes:

Snatch felt light. Was receiving the bar much deeper as the sets wet on. Progress made. I don't know if I went heavier today if I would have been able to keep it up, but I'll take it.

Clean&Jerk was light. But I kinda suck at high hang cleans. Haven't done them in a long time. They got better as time went on.

At work gym by myself so no video today.

1st SKYPE w/ Donny, Snatch, CJ, FS 8-23-10

First skype meeting with Donny. It went real well. So today begins a new journey. I'm embarking upon the pain-train that is programming by Donny Shankle. He is going with primarily Olympic Lifting (obviously) with a dash of generalized strength training thrown in to keep me a bit more well rounded.

I chose to share this video today because I'm in for some hard work with Donny as my slave driver. Maybe you've seen it before. Watch it again. And redefine in your minds what it means to attack heavy weight over and over again. In case there is anyone actually reading this blog and you don't know who Donny Shankle is, he's the lifter in the first two frames of this video.



So .. I'm looking forward to attacking heavy weight!! Then getting under the bar and doing it again. And again!

Snatch - 30 2x2, 40 2x2, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70k
C&J - 50 2x2, 70 2x2, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100k
Front Squat - 85, 93, 100 1 x 10
Back Ext - 2x10

I apologize for the funky sideways view. I recorded all of these with my new iphone and its the first time I've uploaded iphone video into imovie and this was the lovely result. Not sure how to remedy that because when I viewed them on my computer originally they were right side up. I'll look into it. If any of you would like to chime in, now is the time.



Notes:

Donny wants me to improve my flexibility by sitting in the bottom of the squat position and shoving my knees outward while lifting my chest as high as possible and sinking my hips in as low as possible. He wants me to do this between every single rep of snatch and C&J. He also suggested I have a spotter help me by pushing down on my low back lightly and up on my chest in this position. I had Matt do this a few times and I did it about 60% of the time. Need to stay consistent and take the flexibility work more seriously.


Sn- Felt pretty good. Was able to eliminate the hop forward just by drawing the line on the platform and thinking about staying behind the line. I think this helped me stay off my toes a bit too. Was pretty happy with the Snatch today except for the last rep I didn't receive it at full depth and power snatched it instead. I think its going to take some time working through this issue as I'm now realizing that I've developed a bad habit of doing a power snatch a good majority of the time especially when it gets heavy. I've noticed this is a very common issue with crossfiters. Or maybe anyone who doesn't take the time to learn the lifts well. I'm not sure in the future if I should redo a lift that I complete but I'm not happy about because of an obvious technical flaw?

C&J - low back was getting fatigued. I was worried at 85 that 95 and 100 cleans and the front squats might be too much on my back. I soldiered on and the cleans ended up feeling fine. Overall the C&J's felt ok, not too heavy, though it didn't feel as though I had a lot of pop in me today.

Looking back at my notes I now realize there were a bunch of things I didn't work on that he mentioned. I did address a few of them, but will continue trying to address some of the other issues. Obviously some of these things will be ongoing and/or will take time to improve on.

FS - The front squats didn't make my low back feel any worse. Donny pointed out that my low back was probably fatigued on Sunday from Monday's deadlifting, and I believe this is still me feeling the effects of this. I'm hoping this doesn't rear its head later this week seeing how much work I have in front of me. I'll be foam rolling and icing it to be sure.

Back Ext - Felt a good pump from these and they are designed to aid in recovery as well as strengthening the spinal erectors. I'll slowly work up into using weight on this exercise.

Skype Sesssion with Donny - I thought it was a very useful meeting. We covered a bunch of issues that I can work on in the coming two weeks. We talked technique. Programming. Technique. Flexibility. And some more technique. He answered all the questions I currently had for him. Good stuff. I'm a happy client. It is however a bit frustrating to realize how much farther I have to improve on the lifts before I become proficient in them. Compared to most crossfitters or your average shmoe I'd say I've got very solid technique. Compared to Olympic Lifters however I'm a newbie. A rookie who has a long, long ways to go and some pretty ugly lifts. On the other hand this is encouraging in a way. As I continue to improve on my technique with the lifts, my numbers will just continue to climb. I'll become more efficient which is always good. And of course all this time I'll be building strength and power. So its encouraging to realize how much I have left in the tank. I'm nowhere near hitting a wall or plateauing or my genetic potential or anything like that. This makes me happy to know that a 300lb C&J is only a matter of time and one day, I'll look back on a 300lb C&J and laugh, because I've progressed much further past that! Onward and upward!

Program called for Push Press 5x4 but I took them out. I took them out because I benched yesterday and I'm feeling overall very smoked. My legs are done! I should have taken a rest day or two before starting this program. I fully realize that. But I'm going to give it a whirl anyways and see what happens. If I can eat enough to recover, get some good sleep and take out a lift here and there I think it should work. I do know however that the program Donny wrote for me is a truckload of work. More then I'm used to. Time to buck up and go to work!

Question - On the snatch, one cue that Donny gave me is that I should point my biceps towards the ceiling when receiving a snatch. I played around with that a little bit, but its not clicking yet. I'll work on it some more, but so far as simple as it sounds its not making sense. When I do that it seems to loosen my back up and pull my shoulder blades apart. Also puts the weight in a different spot in my hands and stresses the wrists differently. Need to explore this some more.

C&J, Bench 8-22-10

Clean & Jerk - 155, 175, 195, 205, 215
Bench - 150x5, 170x5, Max w/ 190x6

Lower back not feeling good, so stopped at 215lb. Hopefully its nothing big.

FS, Dead 8-20-10

Front Squat - 185x3, 205x3, 215x3, 235x1, 255x1, 270x1, 255x2
Deadlift - 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3, 365x3, 410x2

Sn, Push Press, Weighted Chin 8-19-10

Snatch On the Minute for 20 minutes 85% - 155lb
Push Press - 155x5, 175x5, 190x5 (5lb PR)
Weighted Chinup - 3x10 25lb



Notes:

Didn't get my hips through as consistently as I'd like. Some pressout here and there. MIssed recording the last rep.

Snatch, C&J, BS 8-17-10

Check out this inspiring documentary about overcoming the obstacles in your life!

'A Fighting Chance' ... http://www.hulu.com/watch/170590/a-fighting-chance

Snatch - 135, 135, 145, 155, 165f, 165, 175f, 175f, 175f, 155, 165, 175f
Clean Jerk - 155+1 Jerk, 155+1 Jerk, 175+1 Jerk, 195, 215, 230, 240f on clean, 240
Back Squat - 135x4, 185x3, 225x2, 245x2, 265x1, 285x1, 300x1



Notes:

Snatch - Was feeling good today. But 175 just didn't want to go. Between loosing it forward and just not sticking it, letting the momentum of the bar on its way down get the best of me when receiving it, it was a no go.

C&J - 240 was ugly. Came on my toes and let my back round in the hole. On Jerk, I didn't get my head through and had some pressout with my right arm. But at least I got it up.

Squat - 300 was sloooow and HEAVY!

First day of a new training venture. Donny Shankle will be coaching me via reviewing my recorded my lifts, email, and skype discussions. Its the next best thing from being in the gym with him. Its a new coaching approach for Donny as well. I'm hoping it will be a prosperous endeavor for us both.

So I'll be recording my lifts on a regular basis and throwing them up here for Donny to examine.

We've agreed that my number one short term goal is to hit a 300lb Clean & Jerk. Bodyweight, composition, a bodyweight Snatch, flexibility, Squat #'s, cardio, etc etc will all be addressed, but the priority is a 300lb C&J. First things first. 300lbs from ground to overhead! It will be mine, and soon!!


Questions ...

Snatch:

I'm jumping forward. Whats causing this and how do I fix it?

I feel as though I need to be able to receive the snatch at a lower position then what I am currently able to do. Is this a flexibility issue? And/or a positional strength issue (am I too weak in a low receiving position to handle a heavy snatch?)

When receiving the weight it doesn't feel heavy. But the momentum of the bar just makes me collapse under it for some reason. How do I overcome this? Stay tighter. Spread the bar apart. Those things aren't working as well as it should. I think I'm missing something here and it seems like a key component that will lead to much greater success with the lift once I figure it out and dial it in.

One thought in regards to this is that when snatching relatively light 70-85%, I notice I ride the weight down even though I receive it high. Should I not do that? Will that help me stay tight and resist the bar's downward travel when the weight gets heavier?

Clean & Jerk:

I think I know what I need to do, just a matter of doing it. Stay back on my heels for pull, receive the bar tight. Head through!!

Squat:

In my squat should my torso be more vertical? If so is this a flexibility issue and how should I address it? Should I be dropping my hips more straight down at the start of the squat rather then sending my hips back as much as I do at the start? How is the width of my feet? Are they wide enough? This is a question I have for Front Squat, Snatch and C&J as well.

Squat, Bench, GHR, Plank

Front Squat - 175x5, 195x5, 215x5, 235x2, 255x1, 270 f, 250x2 f on 3rd
Bench - 140x3, 160x3, max out 180x9 f on 10 2nd week 5-3-1
GHR - 3x15
Weighted Plank 1:00min with 138lb 17 y/o trainee standing on my back

Notes:

Still feel weak on FS but back felt good


Taught my cousin Tim to squat. He's going to try and lift regularly with me and wants to get 70s big. Nice.

Snatch 1 min rest - 65x4, 85x3, 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 145x2, 155x2, 165x2(92%), 175xf (97%)
Clean & 2 Jerk - 135x2, 155x2, 175, 205, 225 f on 2nd jerk (90%), 235 f clean x 3 (94%)
Front Squat - 205x1 planned for a heavy single but stopped there. Back feeling not 100%

Need to start olifting more regularly again. Regression sucketh.

FS, Run/Mu/dead/pwr cln/jrk prowler 8-10-10

Jason Khalipa was gracious enough to have a group of us from work hit a wod at Crossfit Santa Clara which is now actually in San Jose. Very cool stuff. An awesome box, good trainers and a great wod.

Front Squat - 185x3, 205x3, 225x3, 245x3, 265x1 then fail on 2

3 Rounds:

200m Run
3 Muscle Up (turned and locked out)
5 Deadlift 185lb
3 Pwr Clean 185lb
2 Jerk 185lb

10:25

Cash Out:

2 man team prowler relay race. Loaded prowler weighed ~275lb

5 Rounds each of ~30m Out and Back Prowler 'sprint'/push/slog/crawl ...

Forgot to stop the time.

Notes:

Prowlers are not nice. I gotta figure out how to logistically use one at my garage gym in a convenient manner. The street is too busy to push them there. The sidewalks are all buckled and gnarly from the many trees lining the street. That would mean a special trip to a nearby parking lot, and I just don't see that happening very often. Hmmmm

Missed 2 MU's in 2nd round and 1 in the 3rd which slowed me down a good 1:00+. Doh!

Prowlers are nasty. The front squats before didnt help things.

I'm wrecked.

Prowlers are the D E V I L

Deadlift bx jump/kb snatch 8-9-10

Deadlift 315 x 3, 335 x 3, 355 x 3, 375 x 3, 395 x 3, 415 x 3 (PR)

20 box Jump 32"
5 KB Snatch 1.5 pood
10 box jump
10 KB Snatch
5 box jump
20 KB Snatch

3:59

Dip, Push Up 8-8-10

Ring Dip 3 x 10 with 25lb pack (dropped down and rested a second once on set 2 and twice on set 3)
Ring Push Up 4 x 10 with 25lb pack (might have been 3 sets, I can't really remember)

My weighted pullups and hill sprint intervals got the axe due to time constraints. Need to make sure that doesn't become a regular thing.

Bench, Chin, KB PP 8-5-10

Starting 5-3-1 again. 1st week reset. Bench working 1RM 200lb

Bench 135x5, 150x5, Max w/ 170x11
Weighted Chins - 25lb 9, 7, 6
KB Push Press - 3x53lb, 3x70lb, 4X88lb

Notes:
Bench = blahh
Meant to do a metcon but ran out of time. Will hit up 12,9,6,3: 185lb Clean and Dips (from CFFB) another time.

Squat, SP, MU/Burp

Pussed out on a workout last night. Ended up doing a max plank hold - 3:00min and max pushups in 2:00min - 54

Squat - 205x5, 225x5, 255x2, 275x2, 285x2
Shoulder Press - 105x5, 115x5, 135x5

5 Rounds:

2 Muscleups
10 Burpees

7:41


Notes:

Last time I back squatted was 6 weeks ago. Good news is my knee didn't hurt. Bad news is 6 weeks ago I did 300x2.

Its been about a month since I pressed. I've regressed there too. Go figure.

Got this wod from Joel. First scaled it in half from 10 rounds to 5. Then during the 2nd round had to switch to jumping muscleups.

A sad and pathetic showing.

jerk/kb swing/ghd su 7-31-10

From CF W Santa Cruz 7-28-10
7 Rounds:

3 Jerks 185lb (from jerk blocks)
5 KB Swing 2 Pood
7 GHD Situps

8:00

Jerk, Bench, Muscleup/Clean 7-29-10

The real reason we all train ...



Jerk - 195x2, 215x2, 235, 250 Fx2, 235, 235 F
Bench - 135x5, 155x5, 175x4, 195x2, 210x2

Very underwhelmed ... so punished myself and scaled up from the 2009 Norcal Regional which used 185lbs ..

Max reps in 10 min (minimum 10 muscle-ups and 10 Cleans):

Muscle-Up
Ground to Shoulder 205lb

Total: 33

12 MU's (not locked out at bottom)
21 Pwr Cleans

Dead, GHR 7-28-10

Deadlift - 335, 365, 405, 430 (+5lb PR), 460 F, 450 (+ 25lb PR compared to 4-11-10), 415x2 (PR)
GHR - 3x12
2x1:00 Plank hold w/ 50lb

460 came off the ground a couple inches but I dumped it because back was rounding. 450 was heavy but it went up.

Hike. SP/situp/pushup/pullup 7-25-10

Hike 7 miles. Get sunburned. Dive off cliffs. Good fun in the mountains.



For time:

10-8-6-4-2
Shoulder Press 2 35lb KB's
20-16-12-8-4
Sit-up
10-8-6-4-2
Pushup
10-8-6-4-2
Pullup off staircase

7:10

Kind of dumb wod but better then nothing considering limited equipment and chose a wod that Josh could do despite his knee injury.

OHS, Chin, Dip, Run/SP,/situp

OHS - 135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 185x1, 205x1, 220 fx3, 215 f, 195 f grrrrr

All failures because I couldn't lock out any weight overhead to save my life.


1a) Chin 45lb 3x5
1b) Dip 45lb 3x5

On set 2 only got 4 dips. On set 3 got 3 dips

3 Rounds:
400m Run
7 KB Shoulder Press each hand 53lb
10 GHD Situp

14:07

Yes you read that right. I ran today. Though it resembled more of a slow zombie shuffle. Maybe one day I'll attain fast zombie status. But .... probably not.

If you don't recognize 90% of the clips from this montage its time for a movie night.

HHPSn, Dead, GHR 7-20-10

Check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xFm9q1HBKY&feature=related

High Hang Power Snatch - 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 140x2, 145x2, 150x2, 155x2, 160 fx2, 1, f
Deadlift - 205x3, 245x3, 275x3, 315x3, 345x3, 365x3, 385x3, 405x5 (+20lb PR compared to 6-18-10)
Eccentric GHR - 2 x 10

Still don't quite trust my knee in the bottom of the receiving position so did the hang power snatches. Was planning on RDL's but knee felt good when warming up for them so switched to deadlifts. Thinking back I could have done power snatches..oh well. Was planning on 405 for 3 but was inspired by Dan last night and figured I should push and shoot for 5. Also I think Lisa wouldn't have laughed at me if I pulled it for 3 when dan hit 420 for 3 and had some left in him too.

Push Press, Floor Press Box Jump/KB Snatch/Pullup 7-19-10

Went to the 2010 Crossfit Games in Carson, Ca this weekend. Had a great time hanging with the Brand-X crew. Got to meet Metric and TexasPatrick from the Brand-X forum who've I've known via the internet for the last 2.5 years. Had a blast with them and catching up with the others who I haven't seen in a year. Enjoyed the Games and saw some impressive performances. Congrats to all who made it that far and put on a fierce competition.

---------------------------------------

Push Press - 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 185x3, 195x3, 205x3, 210x3 (PR .. compare to 185x5 on 6-8-10)
Floor Press - (all sets includes 40lbs of chain) 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 215x3, 235x2 (PR),f

3 Rounds:
12 Box Jump - 21"
6 KB Pwr Snatch R - 63lb
6 KB Pwr Snatch L - 63lb
12 Pullups

6:44

As RX'd from Crossfit Football is with 100m sprint instead of box jumps, 5 rounds, and 70lb KB. I scaled/modified it to fit my needs. Box jumps were done with all of feet on the box. Had a few pressouts on the Snatch especially in the last round. Was a potent little screamer. Best of all this is the first metcon I've beat Dan in probably 10 months. He finished in 7:29 largely due to an inability to get all of his large feet onto the box. Still a good job of pushing hard.

Knee is getting better but still not 100%. Felt it while doing OHS with dowel.

Grace, Jerk 7-15-10

Grace - 3:44 PR compared to 3:54 on 5-8-09

Jerk - 215, 225, 235, 245, 255m, 255, 265 (+5lb PR), 270mx3

Some press out would have red lighted the 265 in competition. But counts for a gym PR. Locked out 270 twice but just missed it. I'll get it soon.

Happy with the Grace PR. Been averaging 1 or 2 metcons a week for the last 6 weeks. If I bump that up to 3 that Grace should fall. Sub 3 should be doable before the end of the year.

RDL, GHR, Sledge/Lateral tire jumps

RDL - Sets of 5: 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 255, 275, 295, 325
GHR - 3 x 12

3 Rounds:

1 Min Sledge Strikes Right
1 Min lateral jumps into middle and out other side of large tractor tire = 1 rep
1 Min Sledge Strikes Left
1 Min Rest

250 total reps

Left knee is still bothering me a bit from Front Squats a week ago. So worked in RDL's which I'm new to. Good stuff.

Bench, SP, Curl, Dip 7-12-10

Bench - 135x12, 165x5, 185x5, 195x5
Shoulder Press - 95x5, 125x5, 135x3, 140x3
Curls - 95x16, 95x18, max 95x30
Dip - 3x12

Worked out at a firend's house. For the most part he chose the workout because otherwise he wouldn't have done anything. He didn't want to do shoulder press so I told him I'd do curls if he did shoulder press. His rep scheme choices are pretty silly. For bench he wanted to do 135lb for 20, 18, 16 and on curls with 95 for 16, 18, 21 and he has no clue why, its just what he normally does. I convinced him to work up to a heavy set of five for bench. He also insisted on doing 3 sets of 10 crunches. He's not a super weak guy, but he'd be a lot stronger if he'd follow any kind of reasonable program. For me it wasn't what I wanted to get accomplished today, but better then nothing.

Bench, Chin 7-10-10

Bench - 185x3, 205x2, 220, 235 (+5lb PR), 215x3 (PR), 215x2
Weighted Chinup - 25x5, 35x5, 45x5, 50x5 (PR)

Ran out of steam after that. Was too busy coaching and farting around tonight to get more work in. Need to figure out my programming.

Snatch, FS, DB Sn/Tire Flip 7-6-10

Snatch - 65x3, 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 145x1, 155x1, 165mx2, 155m .. punch heavy bag 30sec in a rage of craptastic fury
Front Squat - 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 225x3, 270x1, 295m, 265x2x2

AMRAP 12 min:
10 Dumbell Snatch 50lb (5 each hand)
5 Tire Flips 375lb

8 rounds even

Sn, FP 7-5-10

Taking it a bit easy after the meet ...

Snatch - 65x3x2, 85x2, 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 145x1x10 (80%)
Floor Press - 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 195x5, 215x5 (includes 40lb of chain)

Redwood Empire Championships!!! 7-3-10

Pacific Weightlifting Association: Redwood Empire Championships

My lifting in its entirety for your viewing displeasure:


Might want to click on the video to open it up to fullsize.

My first meet. Its long past time that I get out on the platform to compete. Before you start you never feel quite ready. You are too weak. You won't do well compared to others. Blah blah blah Everyone says to just get out there and start. But when I compete I want to win. And yet as a novice weightlifter you won't be winning. You'll be competing against yourself. And I can live with that. There is a lot of room for improvement for me in this sport and I believe I can make some big strides forward. It won't be easy and it will take many years but I think it'll happen. But that doesn't mean I should wait for some type of undefined 'success' before I start competing. Everyone starts somewhere. Journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step ... and all that good stuff. I started working out for the first time with Crossfit 2.5 years ago. I started focusing more on Oly lifting and trying to get bigger and stronger a year ago. Doesn't seem like its been that long. I've taken a few steps forward already and to finally compete is another big one. Speaking of competition its been a good 7 years since I've competed in any kind of sport. Faar too long.

3 weeks ago I had a PR bodyweight of a soft 216lbs. Then I got sick for a week and lost 3lbs. When I signed up for this meet I figured it would make more sense to cut down to the 94kg (207lb) weightclass rather then be at the bottom of the 105kg (231lb) class. I weighed in at 93.19kg (205lbs).

An hour and a half drive to the meet with Glenn Pendlay and Jon North. Talk of lifting, guns and big game hunting. A good start to the day. I'm very very fortunate to have the company of these guys. To be coached by Glenn who is one of USA's best lifting coaches. Wow. And coached by Jon who in the meet today reclaimed his #1 ranking in the USA as a 94k lifter with a PR 155 Snatch and 177 C&J (missing the jerk of a 185 PR attempt) for a 323kg total! Are you kidding me?

I only spent 3 months training at California Strength Academy at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately had to stop due to financial woes. But CSA was generous enough to let me tag along and lift for the team. Glenn broke down how he figures out the warmup and the timing of it all. Very helpful info. If I had been on my own I would have warmed up too much and too early. I saw some of that from other lifters. He has the system down pat. He entered my warmup numbers in his leather bound little coaching notebook. A few pages before is the warmup and competition numbers from his lifters at the Pan Am games in Guatemala. Sweet. I didn't have to think about my warmup. I just did as I was told. Lift that bar. Yes sir. Sit down. Sir yes Sir.

I believe my warmup was: 30x2x2, 40, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65 missed it behind me (I always miss in front so I wasn't too concerned), 70x1 since it was my first meet I warmed up with 70 even though it was my opening lift. Usually Glenn doesn't have his lifters warmup with what they'll lift on the platform. I hit all my Snatches save 1. Not bad since I've been struggling with the Snatch. Before I walked up there to lift I was a bit nervous. Some adrenaline coursing through me. A few tactical breaths to calm me. But I didn't want to go up too relaxed. I wanted to use the controlled excitement. I opened with a 70kg Snatch. 90% of my 1RM. Hit it easily. Now that I had my first lift out of the way I became much more confident. It was going to be a good day of Snatching. Had planned on a 75kg 2nd lift, but Glenn bumped me to 76. Its a constant game of checking what the other lifters are doing and making small adjustments on the fly to get the highest lift and the proper amount of rest in between lifts. Successful lift at 76 (96% of my 1RM). I was feeling strong and confident. Ready to tackle the PR attempt. My PR is 175lbs (79.5kg). Glenn called for 82kg (180.4lbs). I nailed it! I was getting my hips through with an explosive 2nd pull, hitting that bar of my hips and finishing better then ever. Jon said these were the best Snatches he has ever seen from me. Cool! 3 for 3 in the morning.

About an hour later, Clean & Jerk warmup: 50x2, 70, 80, 90, 100. Opened with 102 (224lb). Easy. Felt light. Then 108 (237.6 lb). Not bad. Though I thought I had a small pressout with my right arm, but got 3 whites. I was ready for 114 (250.8 lb). I had goofed with my math somehow and told Glenn my PR was 113. 114 would be a PR attempt but only by 0.8 of a pound. I probably should have gone for 115. Training with lbs and competing with kgs sucks balls. Need to remedy that. Pendlay elite colored bumpers are coming out shortly and I'd really love to get a set. The clean was out front a bit and wasn't super tight in the bottom which made it pretty rough. Ground it out though. Pretty much locked the Jerk out but it was in front and I was leaning back some instead of head through. Missed it. Doh! 5 for 6 with a Snatch PR. 200kg total. Kinda cool benchmark.

The meet was separated into two divisions. Sub 190kg total and above. I lifted with the boys in the sub 190kg total. When I signed up for the meet my best lifts put me at a 187 total. Since then I had hit two PR's in the C&J. In the last month and a half I've had 2 PR's totaling a 16lb improvement on the C&J. The last of those PR's was 9 days prior I nailed a 250lb C&J. Whereas on the Snatch I've been stuck at 175lb for a long time and had some very close attempts with 180lb on multiple occasions. So I was due for a Snatch PR whereas I'm a bit more topped out at the moment on the C&J.

Thanks to Glenn and Jon for coaching me. That was a true privalege for me.

What a great experience! A humble beginning but I'm happy with my performance. I'm very excited to continue to improve and compete in the sport.

Snatch, C&J, Burp 6-29-10

Snatch - 65x2x2, 85x2, 95x2, 115x2, 135x1, 145x1, 155x1x1, 165x1, 175x2m, 177.5m, 155x1, 165x1
Clean & Jerk - 155x1, 175x1, 195x1, 215x1, 225x1, 245x2m, 225x3m arggg

50 Burpees - 3:12

Didn't want to push it too hard today with the meet 4 days away. Still got in a good amount of work. Snatches felt decent. Jerks felt good. Cleans were awful. That weird. I'm usually real consistent on them. Wasn't aggressive enough with my pulls and then when I was, I pulled it too high and out front.

My current plan for the meet is:

Snatch with 155lb (90%), then 165 (95%), then go for a PR of 180 (103%)

Clean 225 (90%), 237.5 (95%), 255 (102%)

My current goal is to go at least 4 for 6 and to try and PR if (when) the first two lifts are successful. All of this is subject to change if Jon helps guide me towards a different plan.

And Jon North offered to coach me on Saturday. How cool is that!!! Oh by the way, had he lifted in the US Nationals there is a good chance he would be the current men's 94kg National Champion. Instead he competed Internationally at the Pan Am games and helped the US get a bronze. Humbling to think we are at the same weight class. What a complete animal. Here he is tearing it up!

Bench 6-26-10 Sn, SP, Burps 6-27-10

6-26-10 Bench 185, 205, 230 (+5lb PR), 245m, Max 185x11 (PR)

6-27-10
Snatch - 65x2, 85x2, 95x2, 115x2, 135x2, 145x1, 155 (90%), 155, 155, 155, 155, 165(94%), 177.5m, 180mx2 (soo close..+5lb PR attempt), 155, 165, 175 m, 1 matches PR
Shoulder Press - 135x2, 155x1, 160 (+7.5lb PR)

50 Burpees - 3:02

Snatches felt pretty solid today. Glad I hit so many at and above 90%. Its a real confidence booster for the meet on Saturday. 180 will happen any day now. Just need to stick the receiving position.

Snatch, C&J 6-24-10

Snatch - 115x2, 135x2, 145, 155xm,1, 165, 175 m, 155 m,1,m,1, 135x2
Clean & Jerk - 135x2, 155, 185, 205, 225, 250 (+8lb PR)

I signed up for the Redwood Empire Championship Olympic Weightlifting meet on July 3rd. My first meet.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

Front Squat 6-23-10

Front Squat - 185x3, 205x2, 225x2, 250 dumped it at the bottom. Was planning on trying for 295 as a PR. My left hamstring is feeling hinky. Felt it in the 225 set but did the set anyways. On 250 felt it more. At the bottom the hamstring was tingling and felt like it was ready to pop. Weird feeling that I haven't felt before. Didn't want to risk it so called the workout there. Frustrating, but gotta listen to your body and live to fight another day.

Bench, Pullup, Push Press 6-22-10

Bench 165x3, 190x1, 210x5 (PR), 5x5 190
Weighted Pullup 25x5, 3x5 44lb
DB Push Press - 50x5, 70x5, 90x4, 90x4 with R, only 1 with L

Sn, C&J, FS 6-17-10 Deads, FP 6-18-10

6-17-10

Snatch - 135x2, 145, 155mx2/1, 165, 180 mx4 (+5lb PR attempt) close to sticking it twice.
Clean & Jerk - Missed a bunch of cleans at a silly light weight and quit before shots were fired
Front Squat - 205x2, 230x1, 250x1, 275
Weighted Dip - not today

What the crap is with my ugly cleans… Pulled too low. Pulled too high. Jumped forward. Lost it in front. Ugly and weak.

Then the 275 FS felt like it was 375. So much for a 295 PR attempt. Maybe being sick for the last week has had an effect.

My corner then threw in the towel before the workout TKO’d my lame ass.

6-18-10

Deadlift - 225x5, 255x5, 295x5, 335x3, 365x1, 385x5 (PR), 345x5, 345x5
Floor Press - including 40lb of chains - 175x3, 195x3, 215x3, 230x5 (PR)

Cash Out 50 Wallball - 2:03

Bench, Chin 6-15-10

Bench 135x5, 155x3, 185x1, 205x5 (PR), 5x5 185
Weighted Chin - 5x3 53lb
Bench Press Lockout - 225x5, 245x3, 265x2/f
DB Row - 3x10 118lb

Squat, PP, GHR 6-14-10

Squat - 285, 305, 330 (+5lb PR), 335/F 300x2 (PR)
Snatch Grip Push Press - 185x3, 205x3 (PR), 215x2/F (PR)
Eccentric GHR - 4 x 8

Sn, C&J, FS @ CSA 6-12-10

Went into California Strength Academy today. Donny and Jon coached me to some PR's. So much fun to lift there!

Snatch - 40x2, 50x2, 60x1, 70x1, 75xm, 77.5 mx3/1
Clean & Jerk - 70x2, 80x1, 90x1, 95x1, 100x1, 105x1, 110 m the Jerkx2/1 (thats 242lbs .. + 7lb PR)
Front Squat - 120 x1, 125x1, 125x1, 120x1, 120x2 (thats 264lbs ... PR)

Cleans felt good ... jerks didn't feel heavy, just a bit sloppy. 250 will fall very soon. Donny guaranteed me if I come back and train at CSA he'll have me hit a 300lb C&J by OCt 3 at the California Strength Open. WOW that is tempting! Need to figure some things out and think about competing in my first meet. I think its time.

FS, FP 6-9-10

Feel like crap. Lifted anyways.

Front Squat - 250x1, 270x1, 290x1 (+5lb PR from 6-5-10), 260x3 (+5lb PR from 6-5-10) 290 was a true limit lift.
Floor Press - including 40lb of chain 200x3, 225x3 (+ 30lb PR compared to 5-4-10), 225x2f

Bench, Chin, PP 6-8-10

Bench - 200x5(PR), 10x5 180
Weighted Chin - 35x5, 50x1, 70x1, 80x1, 8x3 50lb
Push Press - 135x5, 155x5, 180x5, 185x5(+10lb PR)

Jerk, 'Strongman' fun 6-7-10

First time using my new custom Jerk Blocks. Very beefcakes indeed. I'm quite pleased I can finally do Jerks for reps. A paint job and a mat on top to polish them off and these puppies will be nails!

Jerk - 175x3, 195x3, 205x3, 225x3 (PR)

Dan talked me into more 'Strongman' fun tonight



AMRAP 2:00 min at each station. 1 min rest between stations ...

185lb Clean w/ fat bar - 11

95lb Dumbell Overhead - 11

400lb Deadlift - 6

90lb Sandbag Ground to 5' shelf - 13

2 95lb Dumbells 12" box step ups - 19

Total - 60

Boy that was rough on the low back. Dan got 67, Matt got 53

Cash out - Max 45lb iron plate hold (1 in each hand): 1:18

FS, SP, DB Row 6-5-10

Front Squat - 235x1, 255x1, 275x1 (+5lb PR), 300 F (greeeedy), 285x1(+15lb PR from 4-3-10), 255x3 (+7lb from 1-21-10 PR) had a bit more in me on that last set
Shoulder Press - 140x6 (+5lb and 1 rep PR from 5-29-10), 125x5, 125x5, 125x4, 2x5 115
DB Row - 3x8 118lb need to buy more plates for dumbells ... woot!

Dip, Row, DB Bench, 6-3-10

Weighted Dips - 35lbx2, 45x3 (PR), 55x3(PR), 65x2 (PR), 55x3, 5 x 3 50
Bent Row - 135x5, 175x3, 205x3, 3x5 225 (PR)
Incline fat DB Bench - 8 x 3 61lb (one at a time due to equipment logistics)
Shrug - 135x12, 225x6, 275x6, 2x6 315

Need to buy some straps

Bench, Chins, PP 6-1-10

Bench - 95x5, 135x4, 150x3, 165x2, 180x1, 195 x 5(PR), 175 x 5, 10 x 5 155 .. felt strong, will progress to 200 x 5 next week
Weighted Chins - 35lb x 5, 2 x 5 45lb barely hit the second set of 5
Snatch Grip Push Press - 135x3, 155x3, 175x2, 190x5 (+10lb PR), 170x5 ... 190 was rough, barely made it.
DB 'Power Cleans' - 3 x 10 30lb

Jerk, Squat 5-31-10

Jerk - 195/2, 215/2, 230/2 (PR), 250/F,1, 265/Fx3
Squat - 135/5, 185/4, 225/3, 255/1, 275/1, 285/5 (PR), 255/5, 3 x 5 227.5

Left knee bothering me so stopped at the third set at 227.5. Planned on 5 sets. Low back super tight. I guess the combination of yard work, jerks and squats and its pooped. Need to strengthen that sucker up.

Body weight 213

RUSSIAN BEAR 5-29-10

Start of a new bulking cycle where I'll be doing a program called the Russian Bear for Shoulder Press, Deadlift, Bench and probably Squats. You work up to a heavy set of 5. Then do 90% of that for 5 (2-3 min rest). Then 80% of the original heavy set of 5 for 5 to 10 sets of 5 (30-90 sec rest). The first two sets of 5 is the strength work, the last 5-10 sets of 5 is the hypertrophy/strength work. Dave Williams S&C Coach at Liberty University highly recommends the program and has seen great results in his athletes on it. Pavel wrote the program. Should be an interesting 2 months. I have a spreadsheet breaking down all the percentages if anyone is interested.

Weighed 209 today.

Shoulder Press
135 x 5 (PR compare to 117.5 x 5 on 2-19-10)
122.5 x 5
10 x 5 107.5

DB Row
90 x 5, 95 x5, 100 x 5 (PR) ran out of standard DB so had to use 2" fat bar DB on last set which made it a good deal tougher

Floor Press
175 x 5, 195 x 5, 205 x 5 includes 40lb of chain (PR)

Deadlift, GHR 5-27-10

Deadlift - 320 x 5, 340 x 5, 365 x 5 (+65lb PR)
GHR - 3 x 10

Bench, Chin, PP 5-25-10

Bench Press - 135 x 3, 155 x 3, 175 x 3, 5 x 3 185lb + all sets w/ 40lb of chain (225lb total) PR
Weighted Chin - 3 x 5 40lb
Push Press - 135 x 5, 155 x 5, 175 x 5 (+15lb PR and 1 rep from 2-25-10)

Jerk, BS, 'Gorilla Madness' 5-25-10

Jerk - 135x3, 155x2, 185x2, 205x2, 225x2, 245x1, 260x1 (+5lb PR)
Squat - 225x3, 250x3, 265x3, 295 x 3 (+ 20lb PR from 1-25-10)

Implements of destruction:





'Gorilla Madness'

3 Rounds for time:

5- KB Swing 88lb
4- Tire flip - 475lb
3- Sandbag 90lb from ground to over top crossbar of 7' power rack
2- Deadlift 2" fat bar - 400lb
1 - 115ft Farmer Walk w/ 88lb KB and 70lb KB

11:55





That was the most fun I've had in a wod in a long time. Everything taxed our grip. My buddy Dan was lying on the ground after killing the wod in 8 min and change and coined the name for the wod. I'll have to try this again when I get some metcon capacity. Will be able to get it down around 9.

SP, Row, Dip 5-22-10

HSPU to 25lb bumper 3 x 3
Shoulder Press - 5/100, 3/115, Max 130/8 (+2.5lb PR compared to 127.5/8 5-4-10)
DB Row - 65/10, 70/10, 80/10 (PR)
Weighted Dip - 3 x 5 40lb (5lb PR)

Cash Out: Kneeling Jump Squats - 3, 3x45lb, 3x65, 3x85, 1x95

Never tried kneeling jump squats before. Should have more in me. I think I'll do them inside the cage next time.

Snatch, Dead, GM 5-20-10

Split Snatch - 135/2, 155/2, 165/1, 175/1, 180/1 (+10lb PR)
Deadlift - 275/3, 305/3, 325/3, 345/3, 365/3 (+60lb PR)
Good Morning - 135/5, 150/5, 160/5, 170/5 (5lb PR)

First time in loong time trying split snatch. Done very little of them. Decided to try something different and see how I did with them because I feel real comfortable splitting when Jerking and I have a strong pull and a weak receiving position at the bottom of the standard snatch. And wham! 10lb PR. Saweet! The 180 wasn't competition legal, had a press out with my right arm, but I'll count it as a gym PR. Here is the video, including Bergen who is my first official client as a personal trainer outside the Academy which is kinda cool. Bergen is a 17 y/o novice lifter who I've been working with for a month on Starting Strength: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9lWstnExc

Bergen is doing great. Steadily adding 5lbs to his 3x5 squat 3 days a week for the last month. It'll be fun to see how he progresses. Just needs to learn how to EAT!

Slight tweak on the outside of my right elbow (supinated grip side) after set of 365 so stopped there. Was going to go for 385 which I would have gotten then 400 which I'm not sure if I would have pulled off...next time.

Chin, Bench 5-18-10

Weighted Chinups - 5 sets of Max with 25lb Tactical Vest - 8 (deadhang), 11, 10, 10, 10
Bench - 3 x 5 190lb (5 rep PR ... compare to 175x4 on 2-3-10)

On pullups I regripped the bar once each set since my grip was the limiting factor and I wanted to get in the work. Probably rested too much between the last few sets.

PC and Jerk for 15 min 5-11-10

From Xfit Football:

Perform 2 Power Cleans and Jerks on the minute for 15 minutes ... I used 185lbs

*Start the clock. At the top of every minute perform 2 Power Cleans and Jerks
*Use a maximal weight 90% of 1 RM Power Clean
Post rounds completed to comments

185lbs is 82% of my 1RM power clean of 225. I realized doing it with 200lbs (90%) wasn't going to go so well. 1st round Power Jerks. After that Split Jerks.

Finished all 15 Rounds.

This was a tough but good one. Next time I'll bump it up to 200 and see what I can get. 2nd day in a row of doing a metcon. Yeah it played to my strength, but a metcon nonetheless. I'm impressed with myself.

Thruster, Deadlift/HSPU/BJ 5-10-10

Inspired this weekend by the Crossfit Masters Regional, I worked up to a 1RM Thruster. Haven't tried it in well over a year.

Thruster - 155/1, 175/1, 195/1, 205/1, 215/f1, 220/1 (~65lb PR), 225/f

Happy with that effort because it beat my Push Press from 3-11-10 of 215. Theoretically one's Push Press should be just a hair stronger then a thruster, right?

Josh was over today and brought his Australian buddy James who is on holiday. Dan gave Josh and I this wod to do. Josh got 12:40ish. He really should have scaled the weight down on the deadlifts, since his back was rounding, but he ground through it.

7 Rounds:

3 Deadlift 275lb
4 HSPU - to abmat with a spotter assisting
9 Box Jump - 24"

7:48

Deadlifts were broken up with quite a few singles. Felt pretty heavy which I think is because I'm so out of cardio shape. 1st two rounds I did 6 HSPU, then dropped it to 4 to match what Josh had just done because he started failing in his 2nd round of HSPU. All my HSPU unbroken. I got a lot of assistance on them, probably more then Josh did. Box jumps were 1st, 2nd and last rounds unbroken the rest were jump up and step downs with 1 or no breaks.

Fun wod though, legs felt like jelly on those box jumps. Metcon madness baby.

Bench 5-8-10

Rest Week

Bench 175 x1, 195 x 1, 215 x 1, 225 x 1 (+25lb PR compared to 3-10-10), 230 f

Deads, GM 5-6-10

Deadlift - 235/5, 265/5, Max 300/17 (+ 25lb PR compared to 4-3-10)
Good Morning - 95/5, 115/5, 135/5 got interrupted and had to stop the workout there

SP, FP, Chin, DB PP 5-4-10

Shoulder Press - 100/5, 115/3, 127.5/8 (PR)
Floor Press - 155/3, 175/3, 195/3
Weighted Chins - 40lb 5,4,4
DB Push Press - 5 x 5 70lb

Did floor press 3 x 5 190lbs including 40lbs of chain last week. 195x3 without chains was considerably more difficult. Makes me realize using chains is definitely easier then the same corresponding weight with all plates. In other words it works as intended, stressing the end of the movement much more.

Boxing 5-2-10 Squat, Jerk 5-3-10

5-2-10

30 min of boxing. Jump rope. Heavy bag. Lots of focus mitt work.

Qualifies as a metcon methinks.

5-3-10

Squat - 220/5, 250/3, Max 280/5 (+ 4 rep PR)
Jerk - 185/2, 205/2, 225/f2, 245/f

On the 5th rep Josh was spotting me and my left elbow hit his knee at the bottom of the lift, causing me to fail. I was feeling good for that rep and maybe one more. I re-racked the bar, did one more and then failed on the 6th rep. Mentally it screwed with me, but I would have only gotten 5 maybe 6 anyways.

The jerks felt heavy today. Haven't failed at 225 in a long time.

Thats all she wrote today.

Bench, Row, Dip 5-1-10

Bench - 125/3, 145/3, Max 165/16 (+2.5lb and 2 rep compared to 4-24-10)
Bent Rows - 135/5, 165/5, 185/5, 205/5, 3x5 215
Dip - 3 x 10

Double date with wife and a buddy his wife. We were able to sneak in a workout at his place afterwards while the wifeys talked. Didn't have access to my log and on bench should have done 5, 3, 1 with the max set of 170 instead of 165lb, but forgot. Oh well, still a PR and only 5lb difference from what I should have done. Did the bent rows much less strict then I've been doing them allowing me to use a lot more weight.

Snatch, Dead, GM, 4-29-10

Leonidas showed up today. I don't know where he's been the last week, but glad he's back.

Snatch - 95/3, 115/2, 135/2, 145/1, 155/1, 165/f x 4 then got 1, 170/f x 3 then got 1 (+5lb PR), 175/1 (+10lb PR)
Deadlift - 225/3, 255/3, Max 285/21 (+ 9 rep PR compared to 3-10-10)
Good Morning - 3 x 10 - 115, 125, 135
Parallets h -Sit 3 x max - 44 sec, 30 sec, 33 sec

Snatch - FINALLY. My 165 PR has stood since Oct 16th, the first day I lifted at California Strength Academy. While my form improved at CSA, I was never able to PR in the 3 months I lifted there. That caused a great deal of frustration, so I haven't been working on them. Haven't Snatched in almost 2 months. Glad I stuck it out and just kept trying for a PR today. Improved strength overhead and heavier BW is what made this PR happen.
Deadlift - Felt strong today. I'm thinking doing the explosive movement first is a good primer for the nervous system before the strength movement. Landing a big PR before is rather helpful too. Working off 350lb 1RM for %'s (which is 75lb under my current PR).

Shoulder Press, FP, Chin 4-27-10

Shoulder Press - 95/3, 105/3, Max 120/10
Floor Press - 135/5, 3 x 5 150lb + 40lb of Chain (PR)
Incline DB Bench - 10 x 50lb, 3 x 5 56lb
Chins - 10, 10, 9

Squat, GHR 4-27-10

Squat - 205/3, 235/3, Max 265/8 (Technically a PR but compare to 270 x 9 on 4-7-10 and I'm not going to call this a PR)
GHR - 3 x 10
Jumping Step Ups - 3 x 10

Legs felt dead on the squats. Had no explosiveness and no strength out of the bottom today. Specifically feeling it in my quads. Weird. Don't have my GHR dialed in yet. Moved it forward a notch tonight which made it more difficult and I think is a better position for me. But the leg pad is super crappy and pushes forward out of position during the set causing the plywood base to dig into the bottom of my quads making it not too much fun. Yukon GHD's suck.

Bench, Row, Sn PP, Jerk, Ring Push Up 4-24-10

Bench - 125/3, 145/3, Max 162.5/14 (+4 rep PR compared to 3-3-10)
Bent Over Rows - 135/5, 155/5, 170/5, 3 x 5 185
Snatch Grip Push Press - 135/5, 145/5, 165/5, 180/5 (+ 10lb PR)
Jerk - 185/2, 205.2, 220/1, 230/1, 245/1, 255/1
Ring Push Up - 3 x 15

Dead, GM 4-22-10

Cossack Squat - 7 x BW, 7 x 35lb KB, 7 x 53lb KB
Deadlift - 195/5, 225/5, Max 250/23 (PR)
Good Morning - 95/5, 115/5, 135/5, 145/5, 155/5, 165/5

SP, FP, Chin, Dip 4-21-10

Shoulder Press - 85/5, 100/5, Max 115/11 matches PR on 4-1-10
Floor Press - 115/2, 135/2, 155/2, 175/2 (+10lb PR), 185/1 (PR) + 40lb of chains
Weighted Chin Up - 3 x 4 40lb
Dip - 40lb x 3, 35lb x 4, 10, 7

Felt like crap today.

Squat, Jerk, GHR, Box Jump 4-19-10

Squat - 185/5, 220/5, Max 250/13 f on 14 (PR)
Jerk - 165/3, 185/2, 205/2, 225/1, 245/f
Eccentric Glute Ham Raises - 3 x 8
Seated Box Jumps - Did about 6 sets of 3, working up to a max of 3 x 43.5"

Forgot to mention the other night I made a wager with my buddy Dan from work: The one with the highest Crossfit Total at the end of the year, wins. Loser buys the winner a steak dinner and a westside barbell t-shirt.

He's a bit ahead of me on all the lifts, so I figure I'll lose, but it'll give me some good motivation to go after him (don't worry I'm far too competitive to have thrown in the towel just yet). His current shoulder press is 160 compared to my 152.5. His squat is 330 compared to my 325 (he almost got 340). His deadlift? Not sure, but near mine. Earlier this week broke 455 off the floor, but failed on it. He Front Squatted 285 tonight (15lb over my PR). We are the same height and he weighs 200, I'm at about 210 right now. He is doing a program similar to CFSB, guided by Jason Highbarger, so he has very solid programming. Should be a fun little competition.

Bench, Row, KB PP, Push Up 4-18-10

*** Begin 3rd Cycle of 5-3-1 ***

Bench - 115/5, 135/5, 155/15 (+ 5 rep PR from 2-25-10)
Bent Over Rows - 95/5, 115/5, 135/5, 3 x 5 155lb, 165/5
KB Push Press - 5 x 1.5pood, 3 x 2 pood, 5 x 3 - 2.5 pood
Ring Push Up max 1 min rest - 13, 6, 5

OHS and Tabata KB Swings 4-15-10

**Rest Week**

OHS - 175/2, 185/1, 200/1, 210/1 (PR +15 lb) 185/4 (+ 15lb and 1 rep PR) Bodyweight OHS Oh Yeah!!! Second time I've gotten BW OHS, but the last time was in October and I weighed 185lbs.

8 rounds of Tabata 20 sec on 10 sec off ... Double 35lb Kettlebell Swings (Russian Style) ... averaged 12 reps until the 6th and 7th rounds of 9/8 and the last round of 11.

First metcon in quite a while and it showed. Youch. That sucked. I think it might just be time to get back into something resembling 'in shape'. Stop the mass gain with the 3/4 gallon of milk a day and excess caloric intake. Trim the extra adipose off and get fit again with an emphasis on continued strength/power development. Weighed 210lb this morning on an empty stomach. I'm thinking I'll level out at around 200lb give or take in a month or two.

Rest Week

**Rest Week** End of 2nd 5-3-1 Cycle

My right shoulder is feeling a small twinge on the anterior deltoid with certain movements so decided to not do any upper body work. Since its a rest week I figured I would just fart around with some different stuff and take it easy.

Toes 2 bar - 3 x 10

Cossack Squats - 3 x 10, 20lb of chain x 10, 40lb of chain x 10 ... In order to add weight, I'll try these in the future while holding a kettlebell in a goblet style position. They clicked for me today. Couldn't do them at all the first time I tried them they other day. Still need to fine tune it by staying on my heels and work on keeping my torso more erect, but a marked improvement.

Weighted Box Jumps - 40lb of chain: 30" 3 x 5, 33" x 3, 36" x failed ... caught my toes on the lip and bit the dust .. tweaked my left outer hip a little bit in the process.

Called the 'workout' there. So much for doing a much needed metcon that I had planned.

CFT 4-11-10

As part of my warmup I worked on Cossack Squats. Wow I suck at them.

CROSSFIT TOTAL

High Bar Back Squat - 295 x 1, 315 x 1, 325 x 1 (+22.5lb PR)
Shoulder Press - 140 x 1, 152.5 x 1 (+2.5lb PR), 155 x f
Deadlift - 385 x 1, 405 x 1, 425 x 1 (+60lb PR)

Total - 902.5 Lightweight baby! My twin came over and lifted with me. Good fun today.

The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y4tTqJJqxk (wfs)

Critique of my lifts ...

Squat - Went deep enough on the 325 squat for it to qualify for the CFT, but not as deep as I'd like to go. Definitely shallower then the 315 squat.

Shoulder Press - Can you say UGLY! Let it get waaay too far out in front of me. Had a lot of lean back. According to the rules of the CFT excessive backward lean of the torso is identified by:

"A) the position of the most anterior aspect of the armpit, B) the most posterior aspect of the buttocks, C) the plane formed by a straight line between these two points, and D) the movement of that plane to a position behind the vertical"

I believe this lift just barely counts. But its so close, I'm not 100%.

Deadlift - Need to work on my set position because its too low. The dynamic start is a carryover from Oly lifting. Probably not the best approach.

SP, Chin, Ring Push Up 4-9-10

Shoulder Press - 95/5, 112.5/3, Max 122.5/10 (PR) - compare to 115/11 on 4-1-10
Chinup - 10, 10, 10
Weighted Ring Push Ups - Max x 3 w/ 40lb of chain - 7, 6, 4

Squat, Jerk, Dip 4-7-10

Back Squat - 210/5, 240/3, Max 270/9 f on 10th (+ 10lb and 2 rep PR)
Jerk 215/1, 225/1, 240/1, 255/f, 255/1 (+5lb PR)
Weighted Dip - 3 x 5 35lb

I have now officially put more weight over my head then my older, stronger cousin Jerrod. Thats the first lift I have ever beat him on, ever. And such an important one too. Thanks for the motivation of chasing you for all these years J-rod. This is finally the beginning of a little competition for you in the weight room. For those who don't know us, Jerrod is the one who 1st inspired me to ever pick up a weight when I was a junior in high school. I never got serious about it until 2 years ago when I started crossfiting. Funny enough, he is also the one who introduced me to crossfit. Monumental day for this kid to catch up in a small way to my mentor in the game of strength and fitness.

Bench, Clean, C&J, SP 4-5-10

PR day ...

Bench - 135/5, 150/3, Max 167.5/10 (+ 5lb PR)
Clean - 195/1, 215/1, 225/1, 235/1, 245/1 (+ 14lb PR) the video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX4_DmP0P6U
Shoulder Press - 140/1, 145/1, 150/1 (+ 12.5lb PR)

Clean and Jerk 235/1 (+ 4lb PR) ... When doing the above cleans, for some reason I decided to try and jerk 235 because my previous C&J PR was 231 and I figured I could hit it. Hadn't done any jerks at lighter weights. Not the smartest approach, but smoked 235 easy. Tried to jerk 245 too, and it didn't feel too heavy, but missed it out front. I'll get it soon.

Happy with the Clean PR, and thrilled with the Shoulder Press. Its finally coming along nicely. This is the 3rd week on my second month long cycle on Wendler's 5-3-1 and I couldn't be happier with my progress.

Thats 43 PR"s in the last 32 days. Something is working.

Dead, FP, FS, Dip 4-3-10

Deadlift - 205/3, 245/3, Max 275/17 (PR)
Floor Press - 135/5, 155/2, 175/2, 185/2, 195/2 (+5lb PR)
Front Squat - 205/3, 225/2, 245/1, 260/1, 270 (+3lb PR)
Dip - 11, 11, 10

SP, Chin, Row 4-1-10

Shoulder Press - 90/3, 102.5/3, Max 115/11 (2.5lb PR)
Chinup - 10, 10, 9
DB Row - 3 x 10 60lb

Jerk, Squat, Dip, GM 3-30-10

Jerk - 195/2, 210/2, 220/2 (PR), 235/1f Jerk Blocks would make this mo better
Squat - 195/3, 225/3, Max 255/11 (PR)
Dip - 11, 10, 10
Good Morning - 3 x 10 115lb

Taught Bergen how to squat and press. His first day lifting.

Bench, DB PP, Chin 3-29-10

Bench Press - 125/3, 145/3, 160/12 (+ 5lb and 2 rep PR)
DB Push Press - 65/3, 75/3, 85/3 (failed on 3rd rep right arm)
Weighted Pullups - 35lb/3 x 5

5 x 3 min heavy bag working boxing technique. Coached by Chris

SP, Dead, Dip 3-26-10

Shoulder Press - 85/5, 95/5, Max 110/12 (+ 5lb and 1 rep PR)
Deadlift - 200/5, 230/5, Max 265/20 (+ 5lb and 11 rep PR)
Weighted Dip - 15lb/5, 25/5, 35/3 f, 35/4

Deads were brutal .. had to fight hard on them. Back rounded towards the end. Shouldn't have pushed through but wanted 20 bad for some reason. Last comparable high rep set June of '09 21 x 225lb.

I'll be judging at the Northern California Sectionals this weekend. Looking forward to it!

Jerk, BS, GM 3-23-10

video of my Jerks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8blA75C4VI

Jerk - 155/3, 175/2, 195/1, 215/1, 225/1, 235/1, 245/1, 250/1 (+10lb PR)
Back Squat - 180/5, 205/5, Max: 235/10 (+ 8 reps PR)
Good Morning - 2 x 15 115lb

Great day for Jerks, bad day for squats. Mentally crumbled under the bar when squatting. Had a handful left in me if I wasn't such a weenie. A month ago I did 230 x 18, so that puts things in perspective.

Bench, DB PP, Chin 3-22-10

Begin 2nd Cycle 5-3-1

Bench Press - 115/5, 130/5, Max 150/16 (PR + 6 reps and 5lbs on 2-10-10)
DB Push Press - 60/5, 70/5, 75/5
Weighted Chinup - 10lb x 5, 20lb x 5, 30lb x 5

Bench, OHS 3-17-10

Bench Press w/ 40lbs of chains - 155/2, 175/2, 185/2, 195/2, 205/2, 215/2 (PR)
OHS - 155/2, 175, 185, 195 (PR + 10lb), 200 f

The 200lb OHS felt good, went real deep, but lost it at the bottom. I'm happy with my improvement on OHS, since previously my one rep max was limited by what I could lock out overhead. Split jerks instead of push presses worked well and felt solid. Bodyweight OHS is just around the corner.

Rest Week SP, Chin, Dip 3-16-10

**Rest Week**

Shoulder Press - 65/5, 75/5, 85/5
Chinups - 10, 9, 9
Dips - 3 x 5 w/ 5lbs

Felt retarded doing such light weight and not working hard. Hopefully it'll help the gains to keep coming long term.

Squat, Floor Press 3-13-10

Squat - 205/5, 230/3, Max 260/7 (PR + 5 reps) drifted forward a tad out of the hole and bailed on 8th
Floor Press .. includes 40lbs of chains - 165/3, 185/2, 195/2, 205/2
Good Morning - 135 - 2 x 10

Using chains adds 10 points of coolness to any work out. Look it up.

Next week is supposed to be a deload week, even though I feel like hitting it hard.

PushPress, Dip 3-11-10

Chinups - 9, 9, 9
Push Press - 155/3, 175/1, 185/1, 195/1, 205/1, 215/1 (PR), 225/F
Weighted Dips 5lb x 5, 15lb x 5, 25lb x 5, 35lb x 4 F on 5th

30lb PR on Push Press. But haven't tried a single rep max in 9 months. Was supposed to go Snowboarding today but didn't make it, so this was a bit of a hodgepodge workout day.

Jerk, Bench, Dead 3-10-10

Jerk - 175/1, 195/1, 205/1, 225/1, 235/1, 245/m x 2
Bench Press - 155/1, 175/1, 195/1 (PR), 205/m, 200/1 (PR +10lb)
Deadlift - 255/5, 270/3, Max 285/12 (PR + 15lb)

The bar speed on 200 wasn't quite a true limit lift. I should have tried benching 205 again. Or better yet got it the first time. 200 has been a goal for a long time though. So I should be happy. But I'm not. 200 is pathetic. Don't even have a bodyweight bench. Lots and lots of room to improve.

SP, Dip, Chin, Row 3-8-10

Shoulder Press - 87.5/3, 100/3, Max 90% 112.5/11 (7.5lb PR from a week ago!)
Dip - 10, 9, 9
Chinup - 9, 8, 8
DB Row - 55lb 3 x 15

Kinda shocked by the SP PR. Thanks Mr. Creatine!

Squat. Floor Press, Good Morning 3-6-10

Squat - 190/3, 217.5/3, Max 245/12 (PR)
Floor Press - 135/2, 155/2, 170/2, 190/2 (PR)
Good Morning - 95/5, 115/5, 135/5, 155/5, 175/5

First time doing good mornings.

Started taking 3g of kre-akalyn creatine in pill form and glutamine everyday this week. Last time I tried creatine monohydrate powder was when I did Starting Strength in Oct of '08 and had diarrhea like nobody's business! Should be interesting to see how a cycle of this works.

Sn, Dead, Chin, GHR 3-4-10

Snatch - 65/2, 95/2, 115/2, 135/2, 145/1, 155/1, 165/m x 3
Deadlift 210/3, 240/3, Max 270/12 (PR)
Chins - 8, 8 , 8
Glute Ham Raises - 7, 10, 15

First time doing GHR's. Took a little fiddling with the GHD to figure out the best set up.

Bench, C+J, Sn PP 3-3-10

Bench Press - 127.5/5, 145/3, Max w/ 162.5/10 (+7.5lb PR)
Clean and Jerk - 95/2, 115/2, 135/2, 155/1, 175/1, 195/1, 215/1, 227.5/fx2,1 2.5lb off my PR, very happy with that considering I've only C+J once in the last two months!
Snatch Grip Push Press - 135/5, 155/5, 170/5 (PR)
Turkish Get Up - 62lb/1, 70/1, didn't even try 88lb
Plank w/ ~50lb Sandbag on low back - 30 sec x 2

SP, DB Row, Dip 3-1-10

Shoulder Press - 65% - 80/5, 75% - 92.5/5, Max with 85% - 105/11 (PR)
DB Rows - 50lbs 3 x 15
Dips - 10, 9, 8 couldn't lock out #9
Barbell Rollouts - 3 x 10 from knees .. 10 narrow, 10 medium, 10 wide grip these were tough and super sloppy

Chin, Squat, FP 2-27-10

Chins - 7, 8, 8
Squat - 175/5, 205/5, Max reps -230/18 (PR)
Floor Press - 135/2, 155/2, 175/2, 185/2 (PR) - Butt came off the floor on last rep. Not sure if thats a DQ or just frowned upon?
Windshield Wipers 3 x 20 - 135lb

Felt real strong today. Very pleased with the squats since I did 20 reps with 190lbs 3 weeks ago. I figured I'd end up around 10, but just kept charging. Stopped because my low back was screaming and was starting to lean forward those last 2 reps. I had another 2 reps in my legs, but didn't want to risk the old low back injury. It was still some quality tough work.

Bench, Dip, Push Press 2-25-10

Bench - 120/3, 135/3, Max 155/10 (+10lb PR)
Ring Dip - 5, 5, 5
Push Press - 135/5, 145/5 (+ 2.5lb PR), 155/5 (12.5lb PR), 160/4 (PR)

These PR's seem bigger then they should be. I'm not complaining!

Dip, Chins, Squat, Jerk 2-23-10

Dips - 9, 9, 9
Chinup - 8, 7, 7
Squat - 2 reps, 1 minute rest - 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 260, 265 ...Average - 238lb
Jerk - 175/3, 195/2, 210/1, 220/1, 230/m x 2

Dead 2-21-10

Deadlift - 195/5, 225/5, 260/9

Just glad I got something in.

Dip, Chin, SP, FS 2-19-10

Dip - 8, 8, 9
Chinup - 7, 7, 7
Shoulder Press - 95/5, 105/5, 117.5/5 (2.5lb PR)
Front Squat - 205/1, 225/1, 245/1, 270/M

Puts things in perspective that my previous PR on this was done 14 months ago. Lack of consistency working SP would be the major reason here. Though I'm glad to be making progress, its awful slow coming.

Dip, Chinup, DB SP, Squat 2-13-10

Dips - 8, 9, 8
Chinup - 7, 7, 6
DB Shoulder Press 3 x 10 50lb (PR)
Squat - w/ 40lb of chains at the top the weights were: 205/2, 225/2, 245/2, 265/2, 285/2, 295/2 (PR)

1st time using chains. For Valentines day Kate got me 40lbs worth. Best Vday gift I can remember. Ever. Now that is love!

Dip, PU, Bench 2-10-10

Dip - 7, 7, 10
Deadhang PU - 7, 6, 5
Bench Press - 110/5, 127.5/5, Max 145/10 (PR)
Hollow Rocks 15 sec x 15

Start of Wendler's 5-3-1 for bench ... start SP, Squat, Deadlift the following week. As of now my numbers look like this:

Bench Press - 190
Shoulder Press - 138.5
Squat - 302.5
Deadlift - Working off a 305 max even though I can pull more, I'm using this as a reset to dial in my form and strengthen the lift. See if I can't improve my back rounding issues by starting low, doing a slow build up and taking a run at my previous PR of 365. Also haven't deadlifted in something like 6 months, just been doing lots of cleans, so I didn't want to overestimate where I'm at right now.

Dip, PU, FP, FS, Row 2-6-10

Dip 7, 7, 7 Deadhang Pullup - 5, 5, 6
Floor Press - 115/5, 135/5, 155/5
Front Squat - 185/3, 215/3, 235/5 (+ 50lb PR)

Row Intervals 4 rounds: 1 min work, 1 min rest
500m pace was 1:44, 1:45, 1:47, 1:46

First time doing Floor Press. I like it. Should address my weak triceps, helping my SP, bench and everything overhead.

I was planning on doing 235 for 3, which would have been a 2.5lb PR, but it wasn't bad so I kept going and knocked out 5. I've been doing all singles, doubles or triples with FS recently. Last time I did a set of 5 was 6 months ago when my 1 rep max was also 235. So if my progression on FS stays the same I'll have a 300lb FS in 6 months. My guess is it'll slow down a bit, but time will tell. Back felt tight on the last set, but no pain.

Squat and SP 2-4-10

Squat - 190 x 20

KB Shoulder Press - 44lb 4 x 10 (PR)

Tied the last time I did a 20 rep set of squats which was a year ago. Chose the high reps to keep the weight low and give my back a break.

Bench, Dip, Pullup 2-3-10

Bench - 135/3, 155/1, 175/1, 195/m, 190/1 (PR +5), 175/4 (PR)
Deadhang Chinup - 6, 5, 5
Dip - 7, 6, 6
Med Ball abmat frog Situp Throws 3 x 15

The good news about my sissy bench press is there is lots of room for linear progression there. The chinup and dip numbers are pathetic. Really need to work those back up.

SP, Single Leg Squat 2-1-10

Shoulder Press - 75lb/10, 80/10, 85/10
Single Leg Squat - 135/3, 150/3, 170/3 PR
Vups w/ 20lb Med ball 3 x 15

I skipped the workout on Saturday because my usual back issue was firing up on friday ... not sure what set it off exactly .. saw the back mechanic twice on friday which helped. FIgured I'd do single leg squats to keep the stress on my back lower because of the lighter weight ... and my back proceeded to tell me post workout that it was a dumb idea. Grrrr I really need to keep squatting. I'm hoping this will clear up soon.

PP and metcon 1-28-10

At work with Highbarger ...

WU:
5-4-3-2-1
C2B Pullups
Burpees Jump as high as possible
Run 400m
60' butt kicks
60' high knees
30' Spider Man Crawl
3/10 Shoulder dislocates PVC
3/10 Good Mornings PVC

Push Press

138/3, 158/3, 178lb/3 PR

5 Rounds:

5 Burpees - Jump as high as possible
10 KB Swings - 53lb
Run 200m
7 Pullups
14 Wall Ball - 20lb

Rest ~2 min between rounds

Averaged about 3:00-3:30 on each round. Runs were sloow. Nothing quite feels like trudging back into metcon shape after a hiatus. Oh except when you are in shape and you keep hitting metcons hard. Good clean fun. I liked this metcon better this week then last ... while the amount of work was the same, with the rests thrown in the intensity level was higher.

Deadlift/PU 1-27-10

15 - 12 - 9

Deadlift - 225lb
Pullups

6:39

First round of pullups were C2B ... after that I switched to standard PUs. Weak sauce. This gaining weight thing is like wearing a weight vest. Definitely not gaining mass in order to be a metcon killer.

SP, C&J, Squat 1-25-10

Shoulder Press - 95/5, 115/1, 125/1, 130/1, 135/1, 140/F, 137.5 (PR +10lb) 135 practically flew up, so I thought 140 might go. No luck. But a 10lb PR. First PR in SP in 7 months.
Clean and Jerk - 185/1, 205/1, 225/m the jerk, 235/m ... its been a while and it showed
Back Squat - 225/2, 245/1, 265/1, 285/1, 302.5/1 (PR + 2.5lb), 275/3 (PR)

I weighed 207lb (PR) when I got home from work this morning. Happy with all these PR's.

Box Squat and Situps 1-23-10

Box Squat

155/3, 175/3, 195/3, 205/3, 225/3

Medicine Ball Situp and Throw

3 x 15 - 20lb ball

Shoulder tweak, Clean Rack Support 1-20-10 FS, metcon 1-21-10

1-20-10

Tweaked my left anterior deltoid last night. Same injury that hit me at the beginning of last year. I don't think its too bad and hopefully it won't slow me down much. Unfortunately I think it may stop me from competing in my first ever OL meet which is coming up in 9 days. Doh! Some buddies from work came over to workout and so I dorked around with them and did Clean Rack Supports - 3 sets of 415lbs for 10 seconds.

1-21-10

Front Squat - 207/1, 227/1, 247/1, 267/1 (PR), 247/3 (PR)

Lifted at work with an odd sized bar that weighs 37lbs .. weird.

Got coached by Jason Highbarger a Coach at Crossfit North Santa Cruz. He was mentored by Coach Glassman himself and has been coaching for 10 years. Good stuff! I was happy that he didn't have any cues for my FS, must be doing something right. He cooked up this wod for me:

20 FS 115lb
40 Abmat situps
Run 200m
15 FS 115lb
30 Abmat situps
Run 200m
10 FS
20 situps
Run 200m
5 FS
10 situps
Run 200m

15:01

Wheels came off during the second run. I don't think you can call what happened after that running. Quads are trashed.

FS, SP, metcon 1-19-10

Front Squat - 200lb/3, 220/3, 232.5/3 PR
KB Shoulder Press - 44lb/8, 44/9, 44/10

4 Rounds for time:
7 Pullups
7 KB Swing 1.5 pood
7 Burpees

5:19

Jerk, Squat, Grace, OHS, Dip 1-17-09

1-16-09

Been a little busy but mostly a lazy sack of lard and missed a week of workouts ... err I mean boy was that a much needed rest week. Yeah thats it.

In the a.m. after work...
Jerk - 165/1, 185/1, 205/1, 225, failed 245/f x 4 (PR attempts) - came real close to locking it out on the 3rd attempt

Squat - 225/1, 245/1, 265/1, 285/1, 295/f. Felt heavy

Grace - 5:29 - First metcon in 4 months and it showed. Geez that was a suckfest. I chose my first metcon to be probably my best wod that is in my wheelhouse, but it sure felt like I was standing around a lot sucking wind. It was a minute slower then the last time I did Grace (6-12-09 = 4:28) and a minute thirty 36 seconds off my PR (5-8-09 = 3:54). Not too horrendous I suppose, and it'll be interesting to see how long it takes to get my metcon back and surpass my old PR.

Thinking through making some programming changes. Due to a financial setback, I'm going to have to stop going to California Strength Academy. That really takes the wind out of my sails to continue with the sport of Olympic Lifting. I've REALLY enjoyed my experience at CSA. Great group of guys and got excellent coaching. To go from that to Olifting in my garage by myself would bite. I'm bummed by the thought. I'm also fat and out of metcon shape which has been wearing on me. Not that I didn't know it was going to happen with this type of training and going up a weight class, but it kinda sucks. I was hoping to stick with the Olifts specialization for a bit longer before making the switch back to CF, but now it looks like thats not going to happen. I'm considering some type of Catalyst Athletics/CFSB hybrid type program. Gotta think it through.

In the p.m. after a 'nights' sleep ...

Snatch Balance - 115/3, 135/2, 155/1, 165/1, 175/1 (PR +10lb)
OHS - 190/m, 185/m - Failed to lock it out overhead on push jerk because I'm a retard.
Dips - 6, 6, 6 Definitely regressed on these

Technically I consider these workouts as two separate days. I'm not sure my body agrees.

1-5 and 1-8-09

A tough week where I didn't get much done ... pathetic

1-5-09:

Snatch 40/2 x 3, 50/1, 55/1 x 3, 60/1 x 3, 62.5/1 x 3, 65/1 x10
Clean and Jerk 50/2, 60/1, 70/1, 80/1, 90/1

Ran out of time, stopped there

1-8-09

Snatch 65lb/2 x 2, 85/2, 115/1, 135/1, 145/1, 155/1, 167.5/m x 3

CSA 12-31-09

Happy New Year!!!

Donnie says New Year's Eve is a day for PR's. Last day of the year to make a PR. Another wonderful day at CSA, as Jake and Lisa came back. Jake squatted, Lisa learned the Jerk from Donnie and made a big PR, then tied her Snatch PR from Tuesday, and I hit 3 PR's. I really enjoyed lifting with Jake and Lisa.

Snatch - 50/1 x 5, 55/1 x 5, 50/2, Hang Snatch 50/2
Clean and Jerk - 75/1 x5, 80/1 x 2, 85/1 x 5
Front Squat - 90/1, 105/1, 115/1, 122.5/m, 115/2 (PR)
Muscle Snatch - 40/5, 45/5, 50/5, 60/5
Jerk - 90/3, 95/3 (PR), 97.5/2 (PR) missed the third rep 3 times

Might have been cheating on the muscle snatches a bit. No one was around to verify if I was doing them wrong. Never really done them before.

CSA 12-29-09

Snatch - 50/1 x 3, 55/1 x 3, 57.5/1 x 3, 60/1 x 3
Clean and Jerk - 60/1, 70/1, 80/1 x 3, 85/1 x 3, 90/1 x 3
Front Squat - 90/3, 100/3, 105/3 (PR)
Snatch Grip Push Press x 3 + OHS x 3 - 50, 55, 60 ran out of time so had to stop

Lisa and Jake came to CSA with me tonight. Jake observed, Lisa lifted. Dave Spitz walked her through the Snatch step by step and she did really well! Made a Snatch PR and a Clean PR. Nice work Lisa!

CSA 12-26-09

12-26-09

Snatch - 40/2 x 3, 50/2, 55/1, 60/1, 65/1, 67.5/1, 70/1, 72.5/m x 3
Clean and Jerk - 50/2, 60/1, 70/1, 80/1, 90/1, 100/m x 3
Front Squat - 90/2, 100/1, 110/1, 122.5/m, 110/2 (PR)
Snatch Grip Push Press - 70/5, 75/5, 75/5
Back Extension - 3 x 10 w/ 20kg

Not much go in my lifts today. I did manage to lose the bar behind me, drop it, bouncing it off the base of my neck and down my back on the first 72.5kg Snatch attempt. Good fun.

12-27-09

Back Squat at work: 225/3, 245/1, 265/1, 285/1, 305/m, 280/1 and decided not to go for a double at 280 because there was no way that was going to happen. Should have gone with a higher volume rep scheme instead of the heavy single.

Squat and Jerk 12-24-09

Back Squat - 205/3, 235/1, 255/1, 275/1, 300lb/1 PR (+10lb), 275/2 PR
Jerk - 185/2, 205/1, 225/1, 240/m, 240lb/1 PR

Woohoo 3 0 0 !

CSA 12-19-09

Snatch - worked up to 70 (90%), missed 3 times at 72.5
Clean & Jerk - worked up to 100 (95%), missed the clean 3 times at 107 (2 kilo PR attempt)
Back Squat - 100, 110, 120, 130 (tied PR), 132.5 needed a good amount of help with a spot to make it

I tried for the first time to use a belt while Snatching today just for the heck of it on the final couple lifts. I was hoping it'd make an awe inspiring magical difference causing an anti gravity storm and a huge PR ... No dice.

12-21-09

Ran out of time on the 19th to do Jerks, so I did them today.

175lb/1, 205/1, 215/1, 225/1, 235/1 PR, 240/m x 2

CSA 12-17-09

Snatch - 30/2 x 3, 40/2 x 2, 50/1, 60/1, 65/1, 67.5/m
Clean & Jerk - 50/2, 60/2, 70/1, 80/1, 90/1, 95/1, 100/m
Front Squat - 100/1, 110/1, 120/1 PR
Block Jerks - 90/1, 100/1, 105/m, 107.5/m, 95/1

Happy with my FS PR of 264lbs (+ 11.5 lb). I weighed 200lbs for the first time ever (middle of the day after lunch yesterday).

So in the 2 months that I've now been at California Strength Academy, I've gained 13-15 lbs, my front Squat has gone up 30lbs, High Bar Back Squat + 55lbs, Snatch + 10lbs, and Clean and Jerk + 26lbs. My form has also improved a good deal. I'd call that some quality gains that I'm very pleased with. It'll be interesting to see how long I can continue making similar jumps.

CSA 12-15-09

Snatch - 40/2 x 3, 50/2, 55/1, 60/1, 65/1, 70/m, 60/1, 65/1, 70/m
Clean and Jerk - 50/2, 60/1, 70/1, 80/1, 90/1, 95/1, 100/m
Back Squat - 105/3, 110/3, 115/3 (PR)
Snatch Grip Push Press - 70/5, 75/5, 77.5/4

Sn, C&J, FS 12-12-09

Snatch - worked up to 170lbs/1, Failed at 175lbs
Clean and Jerk - 135lbs/1, 155/1, 185/1, 205/1, 225/m
Front Squat - 205lbs/1, 225/1, 245/1, 260/m

CSA 12-10-09

Snatch + Snatch Balance - 40/2, 50/2, 55/1, 60/1, 65/1, 67.5/1, 60/2
Clean and Jerk - 50/2, 60/2, 70/1, 85/1, 95/1, 100/m, 90/2
Back Squat - 100/1, 110/1, 125/1, 135/1 *needed a small spot to push through the sticking point*, 120/1, 120/1

Squat and Press 12-6-09

Easy day today at home:

Front Squat - 200lbs/1, 200/1, 200/1
Shoulder Press - 95lbs/10, On 2nd set I stopped at 4 because of a twinge in my left anterior deltoid. Finished it off with kettlebells since that didn't aggravate it - 35lb/12, 35/12

After lifting yesterday my shoulder felt a little weird, but didn't think much of it because minor annoyances like that pop up regularly. I've felt that same shoulder twinge before and its never developed into a real problem, so I'm not worried about it. Hopefully by tuesday it'll be good to go.

CSA 12-5-09

Snatch - 30/2, 40/2, 50/2, 55/1, 60/1, 65/1, 70/got it on 2nd attempt, 75/1, 77.5/M x 3
Clean and Jerk - 50/2, 60/1, 70/1, 80/1, 90/1, 100/got it on 3rd attempt, 105 PR
Snatch + Snatch Balance - 40/1, 50/1, 55/1, 60/2, 60/2
Front Squat - 90/1, 100/1, 110/1, 115/m, 105/1, 110/m

Had an issue diagnosed that I think will be key in fixing my snatch. The culprit is upper body weakness in the bottom of the overhead squat position. The good news is we figured it out and its quite fixable. Get stronger! My pulls at 77.5 were strong enough, I was finishing my pull, was quick enough under the bar (all issues I've been working through), just need to strengthen my receiving position. I did the Snatch Balances in order to strengthen that position. On a good note, I got lower then I think I ever have before when doing those snatch balances because he kept yelling at me to get lower. Just felt like I sunk an extra couple inches that I didn't know I could. Kinda weird to just 'find' that extra depth.

At 100 I made the cleans but missed the jerk twice, before coming back a third time and nailing it. The jerk definitely felt lighter that time because I squared away my form. Funny how that works. Hitting 105kg (231lbs) felt really good. It was just a lot of fun to lock it out and stand up with that puppy. It was some hard work with the 3 attempts at 100 immediately before, but I'm glad I pushed and went for 105. Donnie thinks I'll have 110 in 2 weeks. Snatching 75 (matches my PR), and C&J 105 also gives me a meet total PR of 180. =) Best day at CSA so far.

I was worn out for the front squats, so not surprising they were nothing special.

CSA 12-3-09

AM Session:
Snatch - 55/1 x 7, 60/1 x 3
Clean and Jerk - 50/1, 60/1, 70/1, 80/1, 85/1, 95/1
Back Squat - 100/5, 105/5, 105/5

Should have pushed the back squat a bit heavier. Thought I'd be more worn out from squatting 3 times already this weak. Glad to see I wasn't.

PM Session:
Front Squat - 40/3, 60/3, 80/2, 90/1, 100/1, 110/1, 120/m x 2

Grrrrr I was hoping to hit 120kilos (265lbs) so I'd be on track for a 105 kg Clean on Saturday. Just couldn't grind through it.

Talked with Donnie about some changes to the programming. Set up a schedule and it looks to be some tough work is coming down the pipe.

Mon: FS 5x5 *at home*

Tues: Sn, C&J, FS, and if time Block Jerks *at CSA*

Wed: PP: 5x5 - alternating weekly between Clean grip and Snatch Grip *at home*

Thur AM: Sn, C&J, FS, if time Block Jerks *at CSA*
PM: FS *at home*

Fri: Rest

Sat: Sn, C&J, BS heavy single, if time Block Jerks or other accessory strength work *at CSA*

Sun: FS (moderate) *at home*

The priority in this program is given to the three days at CSA. The other work done at home is as of secondary importance as my job/life will probably fairly regularly get in the way. He wants me doing Block Jerks 2 to 3 times a week if possible. Need to double check with him what he means by a moderate FS day on Sunday. This program also takes into account that I'm attempting to gain weight and move up to the top of the 94 kilo (207 lb) weight class. It also attempts to take into account my nutty work and sleep schedule by being a little flexible.

Squat and Push Press 12-2-09

Squat - 95lbs/3, 155/3, 185/2, 205/1, 225/1, 245/1, 270/1, 290lbs/1 (PR)
Snatch Grip Push Press - 120lbs/5, 130/5, 140/5, 155lbs/5 (PR)

Most I've ever back squatted including Low Bar Back Squat! Thanks Dan for coming over, that was fun like the good ol' times in the gym.