Category: Crossfit WOD Type Workouts

I realized when I tried to sub my workout yesterday that I was replacing a cardio workout with a weight workout which was not smart. So instead of my planned handstands and stuff I went back to DVD and did a Tapout XT Muay Thai workout. It’s a pretty good cardio workout and if you do it with a heavy bag instead of just on the floor it gets even harder. That was followed this morning by the good news that today’s workout has handstands…

I am somewhere between Rx and Foundation on this one, I can’t actually do HSPU but I can do chest to bar and lunges. My hip is painful again today so I may actually sub the lunges for squats since I know for a fact that lunges will aggravate the hell out of my hips.

After 2 weeks of waiting the treadmill guy finally showed up and surprise surprise we need a new motor. I could have saved them a trip but there you go. 7-10 weeks for a shipment they said. What a load of bullshit I should have said…

At gymnastics it’s the last week of summer training and I need to work on some of the warmups and conditioning that we have been doing. There is too much time being taken with stuff that’s not body shape specific and the splits that we took out a while back need to be put back at the end of the night. It’s also almost time for my little girl to go to big school, JK starts next week so things are going to be a bit busy around here!

Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
RX’D

16 min AMRAP

5 HSPU
10 C2B Pull-ups
20 Walking Lunges
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
Foundation

16 min AMRAP

5 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups
20 Walking Lunges

I think it’s the milk again but I have been strangely boated the last few days without much of a change in my diet. I don’t usually drink a ton of milk but recently I have been indulging and I think I may not be tolerating it as well as I once did. I shall buy some lacteeze and see if that helps, or maybe I will just cut the milk for now and see what happens.

Yesterday was a welcome return for cleans and I enjoyed the workout. I didn’t do exactly what I was supposed to but instead did some clean practice to start and then did:

10 rounds

3 Power cleans @135
6 pushups
9 Squats

I thought about trying to get to 15 sets at the start but believe me half way through I was sucking air pretty hard. This getting back into cardio shape is tough! I am really starting to wonder about the wisdom of trying to regain some of my mass this summer, not only had it made me heavier and less able cardio wise but it has also added bulk where I didn’t really need it, on my shoulders and traps. It seemed like a good idea at the time and for an ex powerlifter / bodybuilder TYPE, it’s a hard thing to let go.

Today is something I am not going to be able to tolerate I think. It’s more KB swings and fairly long runs that I am simply not ready for at this point. Historically I have had issues with my shins and even now I get huge shin pain if I am not extremely careful with my running. Given that I will not have a lot of time for today I think I will lean towards a clean free complement of lifts and pullups. Something like this:

Deadlift
Squat
Strict Press

With a sprinkling of

Handstands
Pullups

So, maybe something like 5 rounds of:

10 deadlifts
5 pullups
3 handstands
10 Squat
5 pullups
3 handstands
10 Press
5 pullups
3 handstands

But the good news is that it’s cleans today!!

The Chief (AMRAP – Rounds)
Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
3 Power Cleans, 135#
6 Push-ups
9 Squats
Rest 1-minute.
Repeat for a total of 5 cycles

I really need to get more sleep, I think that drinking milk at night is causing me to sleep badly, I may have to switch to milk at dinner and water later.

I had to take yesterday off, I just didn’t have time and also my back (presumably from the KB swings) was very sore and I didn’t want to aggravate it.

But YAY for power cleans!!!

I seem to have got a bit mixed up with my days again but not to worry the two things I know for sure are that online yesterday was a day off so I did bench and Friday I was short on time before coaching so I took a rest day. On Thursday I wanted to do a little cardio workout, I wasn’t feeling great so I did a short DU practice and skipping workout with some pullups. On Friday I was off like I said but Saturday I had a chance to do the workout I was supposed to do on Thursday and it was a beast.

5 pullups every minute for 10 minutes.

5 rounds of:
20 KB swings with 55lb
80 skips
9 pullups

I have to admit it was a lot harder than I thought , mostly because of the pullups at the start. By the time it came to doing the 9 for each round I was out of pullup gas… I did manage to make it through but it was not the quickest workout ever.

Sunday I went online to find that Sundays the Ark is closed so no workout. I immediately gravitated to my wheelhouse and decided I would do a bench day:

50 x 135
40 x 185
30 x 225
20 x 275

This was not as easy as I remember however I was able to handle the weight, albeit with strenuous effort. 140 reps doesn’t sound like much but once you get past 200lbs there is a lot of work that goes into that bar. Every time I do bench I feel hugely inadequate about my deadlifts. I would think that I should at least be able to match my bench with my DL but then I remember having 2 back surgeries and surprisingly that doesn’t make me feel any better at all…

By the way, my feet hurt like hell and I have found that I hate, and I mean HATE skipping practice.

And then there is today, another running WOD of which I am SOOOOOO fond….

Metcon (No Measure)
5 Rounds

30 sec Hollow Body Hold
30 sec rest
If you fall short of the 30 sec hold then rest the remainder of the 30 sec and then the full 30 sec as well
Metcon (Time)
7 RFT

400m run
12 T2B
There will be a 21 min time cap

I did have to take 2 days off this weekend due to the wedding although I did get a short KB workout in on Saturday. Friday and Sunday were shot and so today which is Monday I went to the Ark site and was faced with this:

Front Squat (3-3-3-3-3)
Take 20 min to build to a 3 RM
Metcon (Time)
3 RFT

15 Front Squats @ 95#/65#
10 Power Snatches @ 95#/65#
500m row / 400m run

Since I was interested in the Squats and Power Snatches but also realise that my Double Unders really REALLY need work I decided on the following:

5 rounds

10 Squats
5 Power snatches 95#
10DU

Given that my DUs suck so bad it actually took about 3 minutes for each set of 10 with lots and lots of singles mixed in. At my best I was able to string together about 8 reps of 3 singles plus one double. I was really sucking wind after the first 3 sets but at the same time very happy at the high intensity I was able to maintain throughout. I will also say that I don’t work out with shoes on and each time I failed on a DU i smashed my toes with the heavy rope which was massively unpleasant but also provided suitable motivation to get it right.

The title is a misnomer because today and tomorrow I am off work. I also got a call from Crossfit Ark informing me that they have been trying to put through my payment and it’s not going through but if I want to quit or stay I should go and tell them. I should do that…

I will say one thing for this 30WOD, it’s entertaining and that takes away a lot of the pain and suffering of having to do some of the work. That said, I am constantly concerned about the bodypart cycling but as of yet I haven’t really had to sub anything due to that reason.

Yesterday was a light day, only 50 squats plus front squat practice which I admit I skipped due to the fact that I can’t do front squats yet and I needed something that I could manage. So, not having a rope to climb I improvised and pulled my 55lb 100ft rope over my chin up bar 10 times for each 5 rope climbs. It’s harder than it sounds, let me tell you. I then coached all night and today before coaching again I have to do something resembling the following but enough to make it a heavy day since I may not get the chance to work out tomorrow or Saturday. I have a wedding to go to, it’s my cousin / Goddaughter so it’s a pretty big deal but the opportunity for working out may not present itself.

So… the push press will be 95, I don’t have a rower so I will have to do a 3 minute run, which for me, sadly is around 400m.

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)
RX’D

3 min AMRAP
Push Press @ 75#/55# Sub 95#
1 min rest

3 min AMRAP
Box Jumps @ 32″/24″
1 min rest

3 min AMRAP
Calorie Row – sub 400m Run
1 min rest

3 min AMRAP
DU – Sub singles
1 min rest

3 min AMRAP
Push Press @ 75#/55# – Sub 95#

Score Total Reps

The workouts have been pretty good since coming back from Cuba, varied and intense like I wanted. I just don’t want to get into a place where I have to skip 3 days because of a wedding…

Handstands, as has long been the case, are not easy for me. My balance while inverted is not something I have a great deal of control over. I think it’s because my control of my body is largely restricted to large muscle groups rather than the fine motor control it takes to achieve and maintain an inverted stance. That and getting 250lbs upside down is a massive undertaking. I mean how many guys my size do you see doing handstands? Not many I bet. Anyway, I was not to be defeated before starting so I diligently coached myself into a handstand in the basement before going out onto the deck to do some handstands against the wall. I noted the lever position, the arms high, the head position while inverted and even the force from an arched position into a straight body. But the chance of anything like a pushup happening was absolute zero. I did get a bit of a thrill from holding the handstand away from the wall, if only for a second or two, however the pain it brought across the top of my back and into my neck was not welcome. So I moved to the WOD and ended up doing the squats and the deadlifts and kick to handstand instead of handstand pushups. It was still a pretty good workout and I can now say that I have started on the journey to mastering a skill that (like pullups once upon a time) was something I considered beyond my reach.

Day 6 I decided to do some running, and because my distances were a little messed up I ended up doing almost 3k. I was supposed to do the following:

100m run 100m walk
200m run 100m walk
300m run 100m walk
400m run 100m walk

then repeat for a total of 2k. I actually ended up doing an extra 500m at the end of each round to get me to 3k. It was not bad, my legs are sore from the handstands which is weird and I skipped the posted WOD which I will do tomorrow as show below:

Front Squat (3-3-3-3-3)
Take 15 min to find a 3 rep max Front Squat
Metcon (Time)
RX’D

For Time

5 Rope Climbs
50 Front Squats @ 95#/65#
5 Rope Climbs

I managed to get to grips with the power snatch, I was seriously afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to handle the overhead position with any kind of weight but after some no weight and low weight reps doing the motion I actually managed to do 5 sets of 5 with 95lbs. I know it was supposed to be 115 but since I had already overextended myself by deadlifting the 200lbs the day before I thought it best just to try and take the fact that I actually did the power snatch as good enough. I did find it a bit tough getting into the full extended position, not really because of the weight but rather the tightness across my upper back in that arched pinched position. I have to admit I was a little impressed with myself, but I also know that getting to the point of doing a proper squat snatch is not something I can see myself doing. I do have a mobility issue with the overhead squat deep position, I just can’t get my body into position under load. I can get there with a 45lb bar and probably even with 95lbs but any more, any kind of actual weight and my positioning is too badly compromised due to my poor shoulder mobility and back fear / mobility. Anyway, never to say never, I know that I should work on my overhead squats and my front rack squats because they are both pathetic.

Today promises to be tough too. It’s handstand pushups. as you can see from the Rx weights I am a VERY long way away from doing these lifts as Rx’ed. My deadlift has maxed out at 205 and I have yet to learn how exciting it is to do a handstand pushup. So I will do what I can, my kids at gymnastics will be filled with mockery I am sure to learn that I have been “working on” my handstands. I still also need to get my kip, ring muscle up and bar muscle up, all things that I think I really should have.

So today will be interesting, hopefully I will get to do a handstand pushup of some kind and will then be able to boast 2 new skills this week!

Metcon (No Measure)
15 min Handstand Practice
Holds
Kipping
Strict
Free Standing
Shoulder Touches

Metcon (Time)
RX’D

5 RFT

7 DL @ 275#/185#
30 Air Squat
7 HSPU
Metcon (Time)
Foundation

5 RFT

7 DL @ 185/135
20 Air Squat
10 Push-ups