patrickmeniru Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 13/10/2016 Warmed-up as usual, although not as thoroughly due to time restrictions. Still legged deadlifts (wasn't planning to do these but a friend asked me to join and not sure if I'll deadlift Saturday so decided to jump in): 2 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 5 w/140kg 1 x 5 w/160kg 1 x 5 w/180kg 1 x 5 w/190kg 1 x 3 w/210kg 1 x 2 w/220kg Did some mobility work for front squats between sets. Front squats: 2 x 6 w/20kg 1 x 3 w/50kg 1 x 2 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/90kg 1 x 3 w/100kg 1 x 3 w/110kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 2 x 3 w/125kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/124kg 1 x 2 w/120kg (second was a struggle so didn't try a third) Split squats: 3 x 10 w/40kg Burpees: 100 for time, finished in 7:18, was able to land with feet parallel for first reps although struggled to maintain this as fatigued because it's more demanding on abs/hip flexors to land in that position. However my conditioning has definitely suffered since I stopped crossfitting! Practiced double unders, was able to get 3-5 reps almost every attempt but didn't manage more than 10. Still a lot of work to do on these, would like to get 100 unbroken by the end of November. Finished with some rotator cuff work, need to do some stretching and tissue work on my pecs to help shoulder mobility and stop the elbow pain when back squatting as the inability to do pull-ups and grip work is really frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 15/10/2016 Lower back still pretty sore from the stiff leg deadlifts on Thursday so didn't deadlift heavy today, elbows still stopping me doing the upper body work I want to. Did mobility work and an hour of yoga. Overhead squats (2 sec pause): 2 x 5 w/20kg 3 x 5 w/40kg 1 x 5 w/50kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/80kg 1 x 2(1) w/80kg 2 x 5 w/70kg Did some light back squats (40kg) with band around knees to work medial glute activation to keep knees out, then three sets of three paused jumping squats straight into three non-paused. Did a few jumps for max height, vert is at 28 inches, would like to get over 30. Sumo deadlifts: 1 x 5 w/70kg 3 x 5 w/120kg Practiced double unders, felt like I made a good step today with the rhythm and managed a set of 27 which is a PR. Ran for 40 mins at a steady pace (not fast) (and got very wet as poured down), during the run did 30 dips, 10 L-sit pullups and 30 squats as well as some high knees and heel kicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) 16/10/2016 Haven't been doing anywhere near as much upper body work as I'd like of late because of elbows. Decided to do some bodybuilding type work with dumbells to get some training stimulus and to get some blood through the joints. Bit of a random session because just did whatever I felt like with whatever weights fell to hand. With fatgripz: Four rounds of: 10 alternating curls, 10 overhead press, 10 bent over rows w/12kg 3 rounds of the same with 16kg, no fatgripz. 3 x 10 pushups 30 tricep pushdowns w/21kg Three rounds of 10 curls w/12kg, 15 tricep pushdowns w/30kg. 1 round of 10 curls to shoulder press w/14kg. 3 x 10 rope pull downs w/25kg Some face pulls and rotator cuff work as well as a set of 3 frenchies. Abs: 2 x 10 crunches 2 x 40 decline crunches 1 x 30 second GHD plank 1 x 30 second GHD plank w/25kg 1 x 30 second GHD plank w/50kg 1 x 30 second GHD plank w/75kg 1 x 6 GHD crunches w/75kg Shoulders: 3 x (10 lateral raises, 6 front delt raises, 10 rear delt raises from bent over row position with straight arms) w/6kg 3 x 10 bent arm lateral raises w/12kg Finished with some double unders, managed a really good set at the end, didn't count the reps but pretty sure it was more than 30 and for the first time I felt like i was in control of the movement and that I could go to fatigue rather than failing because of a technical error that I didn't see coming. Edited October 17, 2016 by patrickmeniru 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 17/10/2016 Another really good Monday session, I felt pretty good on Sunday and through the day on Monday but by the time I actually got to the gym and into my clean and jerk practice I didn't feel strong at all, but ended up hitting good numbers despite the bar feeling heavy the whole time. Warmed up as usual (45 mins or so of stretching and mobility work). Clean drills and mobility with the barbell then: Clean and jerk: 2 x 3 w/20kg (two jerks each set, one right foot one left) 2 x 3 w/40kg (two jerks) 2 x 3 w/50kg (two jerks - but left shoulder started to feel awkward so decided to call it a day for the jerks, just cleans from here, usually only re-gripped the last rep of each set, will look to address shoulder issue) 2 x 3 w/60kg 2 x 3 w/70kg 2 x 3 w/80kg 2 x 3 w/90kg 1 x 3 w/100kg 1 x 3 w/106kg (PR) 1 x 3(2) w/108kg - (PR) two misses here, on second attempt left elbow was very slow so didn't catch the bar properly on delts and lost it forwards, on fourth attempt missed by grip somehow on the left hand, fifth attempt felt solid. Slowly moving towards the point where my front squat is the limiting factor on my cleans, which is great, still an awful lot of technical work to do as I'm sure I'm not pulling very efficiently and am still way too slow but moving in the right direction I think. Back squat: 1 x 4 w/70kg 1 x 2 w/110kg (felt heavy, legs were tired from cleans) 1 x 2 w/140kg (felt better than 110kg) 1 x 2 w/160kg 1 x 4 w/170kg (rep PR - probably had another rep in the tank but would have lost form and didn't want to have to grind it out) Front squat (slight pause < 1 sec): 1 x 2 w/70kg 1 x 2 w/100kg 1 x 2 w/120kg (this felt really heavy so called it a day) Finished with some foam rolling and skipping practice, tried some footwork drills and then did a little double unders practice at the end, definitely starting to get the hang of them now, did two sets of approx. 20 reps, felt like I failed not because of a rhythm problem but because my forearms/wrists got fatigued - which is great, hopefully if I can consistently hit 10-20 reps my endurance will quickly improve and I'll be on the road to 100 unbroken, which is my immediate goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 (edited) 18/10/2016 Another good session, weights weren't the heaviest but everything moved well and body felt well recovered from Monday. Have lost sight of trying to be explosive in squatting movements in recent months - so trying to go back to making every rep as fast as possible (with good form). Split squats: 1 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/40kg 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 8 w/80kg 1 x 8 w/100kg Back squats (fast eccentric with 2 second pause): 4 x 5 w/20kg (two sets with bands around knees) 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/110kg 3 x 5 w/130kg Back squats (speed sets - up and down as fast as possible): 3 x 6 w/110kg (each set was 10 seconds - 10.1, 10.2, 9.8 - felt much faster than I have been recently) Did some squat mobility work (spending time in squat) between sets, and some work on stretching my shoulders/pecs. Pull-ups (elbows were sore from squatting so decided to just to very slow singles - 10 count up and 10 count down, these were surprisingly hard, especially at the top): 4 x 1 6 x 1 w/25kg Bench (focus on keeping bar centered and not letting right elbow flare out): 4 x 8 w/60kg Practiced double unders - another day of improvement, feeling much more consistent at getting into double figures before either losing rhythm or forearms fatiguing. Will try to get 50 in a row by the end of this week. Edited October 19, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) 19/10/2016 Did tissue work and mobility for about an hour - felt pretty stiff/sore and need to be as mobile as possible for snatch work. Snatch - did overhead squats with the bar and 40kg and then drills with the bar (mainly snatch balance variations). 2 x 3 w/20kg 2 x 3 w/40kg 2 x 3 w/50kg 2 x 3 w/60kg 2 x 3 w/70kg (PR for full snatch - best power snatch is 85kg) (NB first set had two failed reps, second rep got too much separation and then bar came back at me tipping me backwards - still not comfortable dumping weight behind - next rep was then way out in front, last two completed). Happy with the direction snatch is moving, feeling much more comfortable in the bottom position - points to work on: - consistent foot position (have a tendency to go a bit too wide and for my left foot to point out too much - keeping weight mid-foot in the catch - tendency to go onto my toes at the moment, although not jumping forward at all. - triple extending (tend to cut short in a hurry to get under) - keeping bar closer (getting better), helps when I think about the mechanics of a muscle snatch. - remembering to be slow from the floor and then smoothly accelerating rather than having two distinct stages below and above the knee. Messed about with some more drills including Sotts press, but the eccentric was aggravating my shoulder - think in future I'll just do concentric, stand in the overhead squat and then lower the bar - at least until my mobility and shoulder strength improve. Intended to do some overhead squats but elbow/forearm were getting sore so just did some abs, some bent over rows, pushups, handstand work and double-unders to finish. Double-unders continue to improve although I've stalled at around 20 reps last couple of sessions, I can not get to 15-20 reps almost every set (occasionally I still mess up with a set of <5). Handstand went really well - after 10 or so awful attempts where I could barely balance, managed a couple of long holds - timed the second one at just over 40 seconds, which is a PR with no walking, also experimented with straddling, was able to hold balance fine, and shifting weight slightly side to side, left feels more comfortable than right. Edited October 20, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 20/10/2016 Warmed up as usual. Front squats: 2 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/50kg 1 x 4 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/90kg 1 x 3 w/110kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 3 x 3 w/130kg (rep PR) 1 x 2(1) w/130kg 3 x 5 w/100kg Front rack holds: 1 x 30 sec w/170kg 2 x 25 sec w/190kg 1 x 20 sec w/190kg 2 x 15 sec w/210kg 1 x 10 sec w/230kg Three rounds of: 10 strict pullups 20 pushups 30 double unders This made me realise that I still have a very long way to go on double unders. Although I'm getting better at them in isolation, as soon as I add metabolic demand and/or a forearm pump from pulling, I can barely do one - this took me just over 10 minutes because I basically had to wait for my forearms to completely recover before I could string together double unders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) 21/10/2016 Deadlift Friday rather than Saturday (all hook): 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 1 x 5 w/150kg 1 x 3 w/180kg 1 x 3 w/210kg 1 x 2 w/230kg 1 x 1 w/250kg 2 x 0 w/260kg 1 x 5 w/210kg 6 x 1 w/210kg + light bands Happy to hit 250kg, which felt pretty easy, so was confident that 260 would come up without too much of a struggle but failed to get it off the floor. Bench: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 42 w/60kg 1 x 16 w/60kg Chin ups: 1 x 3 1 x 1 w/25kg 1 x 1 w/50kg 1 x 1 w/60kg 1 x 0 w/70kg (close but no cigar, chin was slightly short of the bar) 1 x 3 w/50kg (3 sec hold at top and bottom of each rep) 22/10/2016 Mobility and yoga and some practice with just the bar for snatch positions. 23/10/2016 1000 double unders for time, finished in 39:45. First 100 took just over 2 mins, 500 took about 16 mins, 750 was 28 mins. Relatively pleased to have got through them, although far more sets of fewer than 3 reps that I would like! Bench: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg 3 x 10 w/100kg 1 x 9 w/100kg Barbell hip raises: 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 10 w/100kg 2 x 10 w/150kg Deficit HSPU: 1 rep at 0 mats, 1 mat, 2 mats etc. up to 5 mats. 4 x 2 w/5 mats Finished with singles down to no mats. Pull ups between sets - approx 6 x 10 total. Edited October 23, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) 24/10/2016 Warm up as usual. Clean and jerk: Warmed up with just bar, various drills/front rack stretches. 2 x 3 w/20kg 1 x 3 w/40kg 1 x 3 w/50kg 1 x 3 w/60kg 1 x 3 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/80kg 1 x 3(1) w/90kg (missed first rep out in front on clean) 1 x 3(1) w/100kg (missed first rep out in front on clean) 1 x 2 w/110kg (PR) second rep was hard work so decided against a third - elbow/forearm flexor also very sore for some reason, although felt fine after spending a few minutes with a lacrosse ball on it. Squats: 2 x 5 w/20kg (bands around knees to cue external rotation) 1 x 3 w/70kg (bands on knees) 1 x 2 w/110kg 1 x 2 w/140kg 1 x 2 w/160kg 2 x 2 w/170kg 3 x 3 w/110kg (paused) 2 x 5 w/70kg - no shoes Squats felt really slow and weak today, the sets at 170kg felt much harder than the 4 last week, but pleased to be able to squat well below parallel, back straight, heels on the floor and moderately upright without my shoes for the first time - will keep working on mobility and practice squats with no shoes more often. Strict press: 1 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/40kg 3 x 8 w/55kg Double unders: Managed to get to 100 reps in just 4 sets - 22, 24, 43 (PR) and 18. Also practiced some footwork drills and tried a few cross unders with mixed success - finished by trying a few triple unders - better than my last attempts, kept either having the rope hit my shins on landing on the rope on the third rotation, so getting closer! Edited October 25, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 25/10/2016 Shorter warm-up than usual as wanted to try and get in and out in less than 2 hours. Split squats in front rack (focus on being explosive): 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/40kg 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 10 w/80kg Back squat (no shoes, knees have been sore recently and feel like I can load posterior chain better without shoes plus less knee travel and good mobility practice): 1 x 8 1 x 8 w/20kg 1 x 8 w/60kg 1 x 8 w/80kg 1 x 8 w/100kg 1 x 8 w/120kg 5 x 8 w/125kg (these felt solid but not fast) 2 x 5 w/100kg (paused, stronger focus on knees out) Dips: 3 x 8 Dumbell rows: 1 x 8 w/22kg 2 x 8 w/36kg Wanted to do weighted dips and more rows but elbows were sore after squatting. Practiced a few sets of double-unders, not as good as yesterday, kept tripping on the rope after about 10 reps, managed one set of 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) 26/10/2016 Not sure if I've mentioned this before but have been doing ROMWOD, which is basically a very passive stretch/breathing focused yoga type exercise regime with lots of 20 minute routines that you follow on video with calming music, immediately before I go to bed and first thing in the morning for about 10 days. Been going well so far, although too early to tell how much benefit I'll derive from it. Deficit deadlifts (3"): 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/130kg 1 x 5 w/150kg 1 x 3 w/170kg 5 x 3 w/180kg Snatch: Worked on snatch balance drills - snatch balance, press balance (where you slowly press down into catch position) and drop snatch, then did all sets of snatch with a triple from power position followed by a triple from the floor. Did sets at 20kg, 40kg, 50kg, 60kg which all felt great. Set at 70kg from power position felt great but after an alright first rep full snatch 70kg felt awful, wasn't getting first/second pull right at all and kept failing so went back down to 60kg for some triples, which felt better. Think I need to work snatch more often and maybe do some heavier positional work. Overhead squats: 3 x 3 w/60kg 2 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 20 bodyweight rows. Snatch grip behind neck press: 1 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 6 w/30kg 3 x 6 w/40kg Did some double-unders between sets of this - pleased with how they went, sets of: 47(PR), 31, 1 (oops) and 48 (PR). Really feel like I'm getting the hang of them now. Once I can work my way up 100 unbroken and consistent sets of 50, I'll start adding some metabolic demand and grip-demanding exercises between sets so that I don't fall apart when I try and do a crossfit workout involving the rope. Also need to do some more met-cons, have been totally neglecting any kind of aerobic/endurance training recently with the exception of a few runs, which don't really count as running is very much in my comfort zone unless I really push the pace hard. Edited October 27, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 27/10/2016 Front squats (3 second pause): 4 x 5 w/20kg 2 x 3 w/60kg 1 x 3 w/80kg 1 x 3 w/100kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 2 x 3 w/122.5kg 1 x 2(1) w/122.5kg (lost thoracic extension during third rep) 1 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/110kg Front squats (no shoes): 1 x 3 w/60kg 1 x 2 w/90kg 1 x 2 w/110kg Handstand practice - some good holds, managed a solid 10 seconds or so facing backwards (i.e. not looking at the ground at all), which is a good step as normally I struggle for balance when I do that, also managed a 38 second static hold and beat my walking PR by getting around the bend at the top of the circuit I usually try which is a 'U' shape, just need to get back down the straight bit - which is basically just endurance, didn't manage it because it took ages for me to make the bend. Also did a few push-ups between chin up sets. Chin-ups: 1 x 3 1 x 3 w/25kg 1 x 3 w/40kg 1 x 3 w/50kg 1 x 2(1) w/60kg (just missed last rep at top) 1 x 3 w/50kg 2 x ~20 various grips on multi-grip pull-up station. Dips: 1 x 5 1 x 5 w/25kg 1 x 5 w/50kg 1 x 5 w/70kg (possibly a rep PR) 2 x 3 w/70kg 1 x 7 w/50kg Bent over rows: 1 x 20 w/60kg Finished with 100 double unders for time (2:55), found these hard as forearms still pumped from upper body work, going to have to keep practicing them both with and without fatigue to improve in both conditions. Quick flag holds each side (3 secs) and back-level hold and pull-out (3 secs) just to demonstrate to someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 28/10/2016 Deadlifts: 2 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/150kg 1 x 3 w/180kg 1 x 3 w/200kg 2 x 3 w/220kg 2 x 3 w/200kg 2 x 3 w/170kg Felt really weak today and struggled to get my lats to fire properly. Chin ups: 1 x 3 1 x 19(1) w/10kg 1 x 3 Pull-ups: 1 x 8 3 x 8 w/10kg Some handstand practice, working on not looking down. Finished with a WOD: 50 cal row 15 HSPU (kipping) 40 cal row 15 HSPU 30 cal row 15 HSPU 20 cal row 15 HSPU 10 cal row 15 HSPU Time cap was 15 mins, got to the last set of HSPU but only managed 10 for a total of 70 HSPU and 150 cals. Broke each set of HSPU into sets of 5. Reasonably pleased but still a lot of work to do to improve both kipping efficiency in HSPU and all around shoulder strength and endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 29/10/2016 Did ROMWOD and then went to yoga for an hour. Bench: 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 5 w/90kg 2 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/104kg 1 x 5 w/114kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/125kg 1 x 1 w/130kg 1 x 1 w/135kg 1 x 0 w/138kg 1 x 5 w/100kg Tried to do some front squats but worked up to 110kg and it felt terrible so decided to call it a day. Practiced some double unders, which were awful, felt like I'd lost the rhythm totally, eventually managed a set of 20. Also practiced some handstands and handstand walks across the gaps in the platforms (made it from one platform, across the first gap, across the second platform and second gap and onto the third). 30/10/2016 Hungover all day, eventually dragged myself out to do a quick session. 5 rounds (strict) of 10 pull-ups, 20 pushups, 30 situps - finished in 10:15. 2 x 5 dips 2 x 5 chins 2 x 10 dips 2 x 5 chins 2 x 15 shrugs w/70kg 2 x 8 shrugs w/120kg 2 x 10 leg raises from support 1 x 10 toes to bar (strict) 1 x 10 toes to bar (kipping) 1 x 10 ab-wheel roll-outs from knees Some rotator cuff work, then ran a leisurely 5km, didn't time it - probably approx 25 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 31/10/2016 Did a slightly more thorough warm up than I have been doing of late. Was a bit late to the gym because work went on longer than usual so didn't get the chance to do the accessory work and double unders practice I would have liked to do at the end. Clean and jerk - did some drills with the bar, then some simple complexes - power clean to front squat, full clean and two split jerks (one right leg one left). Did the following sets: 2 rounds w/20kg 4 rounds w/40kg 4 rounds w/60kg 4 rounds w/80kg 3 rounds w/100kg 5 rounds w/80kg Back squats: 1 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/110kg 1 x 1 w/130kg (3 sec pause on all reps from here) 1 x 1 w/150kg 1 x 1 w/160kg 1 x 1 w/165kg 2 x 1 w/170kg (these felt very solid - had at least 5kg more in the tank) Overall these reps felt good, still have a problem with dropping into the hole quite fast, don't feel strong controlling the weight down smoothly the whole way (feels like I'm fatiguing myself to the detriment of the eccentric). Front squats: 1 x 1 w/70kg 1 x 1 w/100kg 1 x 1 w/120kg 1 x 1 w/130kg 1 x 1 w/135kg (lost a bit of tightness/position going into the hole so ended up with a significant pause (probably a full second or so) whilst I go organised, didn't expect to be able to recover the rep, but came up pretty smoothly, which was a nice surprise! Think I'm almost back to where I was pre-Amsterdam with my front squats in terms of numbers, but technique is better now I think). Practiced some double unders but was awful (lots of sets of 3-10 where I wasn't unexpectedly tripping, but just losing the rhythm in my wrists and jumping timing), really need to start doing more of these because I've regressed since the previous week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 01/11/2016 Thorough warm up with some more ankle mobility drills than usual. Clean and jerk: Some drills with the bar. 2 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean and jerk) w/40kg 1 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean and jerk) w/60kg 1 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean and jerk) w/80kg 1 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean and jerk) w/90kg 1 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean - no jerks from here, left elbow pain) w/100kg 1 x (1 power clean, 1 full clean) w/110kg 1 x 0 w/115kg - got way too much separation, then the bar was coming back at me and knocked me backwards. 1 x 1 w/115kg (PR) - felt pretty easy, although the bar keeps landing a bit far forward on my left side, think it's related to the shoulder/elbow issues that I've been having. Squats: 2 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 3 w/110kg 5 x 5 w/130kg - focus on being controlled on the way down (not slow just keeping tension), being tight throughout and explosive on concentric and driving straight up through mid-foot - a friend noticed a few sessions ago that I have a tendency to drive the weight back slightly. Squats felt really good, had something of a mental breakthrough in regard to tightness and bracing, I basically haven't really been getting tight at all for squats since crossfit - not intentionally, I think it's because when you crossfit you want to minimise exertion while achieving a given workload and getting really tight for squatting takes a lot of energy (the sets of 5 with 130kg felt pretty taxing, even though the weight moved very well) - so i'd been neglecting that because the weights you typically move in crossfit training don't require maximal tightness as they are usually pretty light. Hopefully now I've twigged on to this it will help my squatting a lot. Front squats: 1 x 10 w/70kg (as fast as possible) 1 x 10 w/90kg (18 seconds) Did a bunch of pistol squat singles - probably around 10 each leg, practiced a few handstands and some pull-up exercises (1 min top hold, short single arm top hold right arm), practiced overhead plate hold in squat (was actually able to do this with 20kg to my surprise!), messed around with jumping from kneeling position to squat position - could do this easily, but not quite straight into pistol (kept falling backwards). Bench: 1 x 300 w/20kg (challenged by a friend to do this, rested in lockout position every 10 reps for 1-2 seconds once I got past 250). Bent over row: 1 x 50 w/20kg Face pulls: 1 x 50 w/12.5kg Practiced some skipping, both single and double unders were awful - really need to set aside some time to work on this as I'm regressing fast! Could barely manage 100 single unders and doubles just weren't happening at all. As a note, still doing ROMWOD each morning and before bed (most sessions are approx 20 mins). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 02/11/2016 Thorough warm up and ankle mobility drills (banded distraction for talus plus plate on knee), able for the first time to feel my hamstrings on my calves when sitting in a full squat, feet together in lifters with a 60kg barbell on my knees. Snatch - snatch has been going badly for a couple of weeks now, although I'm getting more comfortable in the bottom position, my first and second pulls seem to have been getting worse and I've really been struggling with timing and getting the bar to contact my hips rather than mid-thigh (have long arms), was told to try keeping my shoulders fully retracted and back tight as possible from the floor through the full movement - although this felt odd the bar also felt much closer through the pulls and made contact higher up - will definitely persevere with this as I think and hope that it will be the way forward so that I can keep progressing. Just went up to 50kg for a series of triples (maybe 5 sets). Plan to do snatch again on Sunday as once a week isn't enough to make the progress that I want. Overhead squats: 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/70kg 2 x 3 w/80kg (2 sec pause) 1 x 5 w/70kg (1 sec pause) 1 x 10 w/60kg With the overhead squats, 70kg feels really solid, 80kg felt a bit wobbly - I think partly because my shoulders were fatigued from yesterday but mostly because of lack of practice, need to start doing these at least twice a week. Practiced double unders - still not happy with where these are at but much better than last few sessions. Managed to do 5 sets of 20+ reps (although none more than 25 and still quite a few 0-5 rep sets). Also think that my rope is damaged, which is annoying as only bought it recently, will write to vendor to complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 03/11/2016 Very truncated warm-up, no foam rolling, very brief dynamic stretches as had to be in and out in an hour. Split squats: 2 x 10 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/40kg 1 x 10 w/60kg 1 x 10 w/80kg Front squats: 2 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 5 w/60kg 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/110kg 4 x 5 w/120kg (form was good with these with exception of very last rep of last set where started to lose thoracic extension and elbows came down quite a bit but just about hung on to finish the rep) Practiced some double unders, still not going very well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) 04/11/2016 Warmed up with some rolling and stretches (not as thorough as for oly work) Deadlifts (focus on keeping core braced): 2 x 3 w/70kg 2 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 3 w/170kg 1 x 2 w/210kg 1 x 2 w/230kg 1 x 2 w/240kg 1 x 2 w/210kg 8 x 1 w/210kg (slight pause below knee) 3 x 3 snatch grip w/170kg Handstands: Practiced a few freestanding HSPU singles and holds between deadlift sets Reverse band deadlifts with straps (not planned but a friend who pulls 330kg was doing them so jumped in): 1 x 1 w/170kg 1 x 1 w/220kg 2 x 1 w/270kg (second rep with 20 sec hold at top) 1 x 0 w/300kg (didn't break floor) Used 1 blue band from safeties, gave about 50kg of assistance from the floor and assistance ended just at/below the knee. 3 x 10 chins from a strip of material looped over the bar Practiced a few double-unders to finish. Edited November 6, 2016 by patrickmeniru 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Impressive stuff Pat. I struggle to balance on one leg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) 8 hours ago, Chez said: Impressive stuff Pat. I struggle to balance on one leg Thanks Chez! I've been working on my handstand balance for a long time, it's literally taken me 6 or 7 years of practicing on and off to get to where I am, and I still have so much to learn and improve on! Just getting to the stage now where I really feel a good level of balance and control and can start to play around with my head position and moving my legs to straddle and shifting weight side to side etc. I feel you on the single leg balance though, I had a lot of ankle injuries as a kid and my ability to balance on one leg is pretty poor - although it is slowly getting better. I can imagine that with what your poor old ankles have been through balancing is tough! You ever practicing on a wobble board or anything? I quite like just trying to stand on one leg when I do my teeth. 05/11/2016 Did ROMWOD and went for a walk with my dad for 3 hours, otherwise rested. 06/11/2016 Overhead squats: 2 x 5 w/20kg 1 x 10 w/40kg (first 5 paused) 1 x 10 w/50kg (first 5 paused) 2 x 5 w/60kg (first set paused) 2 x 5 w/70kg (first set paused) 1 x 3 w/75kg (paused) 1 x 5 w/75kg 1 x 3 w/80kg (paused) 1 x 5 w/80kg 1 x 1(1) w/85kg - paused - first rep felt really solid, second rep also felt solid but must have just lost tightness during the pause because suddenly lost balance and lost the weight out in front. 1 x 8(1) w/70kg - wanted 10 Snatch practice with 40kg afterwards, practicing keeping back really tight and shoulders retracted, realised that I need to try and be more upright in the first pull and after a bit of practice the bar was meeting the hips nicely. Still need to do a lot of work to get this consistent and also on keeping the bar close in the second pull - but quite happy with this step forwards. Did a bunch of triples - maybe 10 in total, ended on a set where all three reps met the hips in the right place. Double unders - rhythm coming back thankfully, no big sets but mostly over 5 reps, just felt tired overall. At home: 2 x 10 handstand pushups (rep PR - hands a little wider than usual) 2 x 10 pull ups - 1st set leaning back, 2nd L-sit 2 x 20 situps Ran hard for 13 mins. Edited November 6, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 3 hours ago, patrickmeniru said: You ever practicing on a wobble board or anything? When I first got the surgery on the ankle, the doctor said I wouldn't need physical therapy but he was wrong and I ended up going a few months down the road. That PT had me do lots of balancing and it was super tough. Eventually we graduated to standing on that blue pad which makes you more unsteady and then tried it with my eyes closed. He also had me use those boards which go back and forth and side to side where you have to fight to keep the board from tipping. My current gym has the pad and those boards also. Balancing was def the hardest part for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 On 11/6/2016 at 10:22 PM, Chez said: When I first got the surgery on the ankle, the doctor said I wouldn't need physical therapy but he was wrong and I ended up going a few months down the road. That PT had me do lots of balancing and it was super tough. Eventually we graduated to standing on that blue pad which makes you more unsteady and then tried it with my eyes closed. He also had me use those boards which go back and forth and side to side where you have to fight to keep the board from tipping. My current gym has the pad and those boards also. Balancing was def the hardest part for me. Ah yeah that sounds familiar, I'm still absolutely hopeless with my eyes closed on one leg - something I need to work on for sure! I've been doing some yoga recently and I find the balance poses such hard work, I feel like my whole lower leg/ankle gets so physically tired after just a minute or so. 07/11/2016 Disappointing session in some ways today, but some positives to take from it. Started with some double unders to warm up - find them much easier at the start of a session, attempted three sets, first one tripped after 3 reps, but then managed 25 and 30 reps, failing because my forearms/wrists got fatigued. Pleased with this, need to skip more to get used to the movement and avoid getting tight so quickly. Squats (did these first because gym was packed and no platforms but rack freed up so seized my chance): 2 x 5 w/20kg 2 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 3 w/120kg 1 x 2 w/140kg 1 x 2 w/160kg 1 x 1 w/170kg 1 x 1(1) w/180kg - first rep was a grind but felt fairly solid, and much better than the last time I hit this weight, lost tightness and balance in the hole of second rep and lost the weight backwards before I could even try and grind it. Frustrating because I was confident of hitting this for at least two. Clean and jerk (very low energy, felt drained after squats): Some drills with the bar 1 x 3 w/20kg 1 x 3 w/40kg 1 x 3 w/60kg (left shoulder felt awkward and painful so decided to stop the jerks here - need to fix this) 1 x 3 w/80kg 6 x 3 w/100kg (focus on being fast under the bar but smooth in the catch, trying to let the bar take me down into the hole and bouncing out, rather than focusing on being fast under but then fighting the bar once it contacts my shoulders - felt pretty good, will persevere with this, still need to work on being patient in the first pull). Left shoulder felt a bit funny after each set but nothing that made me think i needed to stop. Finished with a few chin ups, one arm hang each arm for a minute, some rotator cuff work (2 x 10 w/6kg external rotatiosn) and some double under attempts, which were awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 08/11/2016 Started with some double unders and then warmed up as usual - double unders were poor, couldn't manage more than 17. Squats (2 sec pause): 2 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/100kg 1 x 5 w/120kg 5 x 5 w/145kg (very happy with how these felt but were very tiring, worked on keeping tension throughout movement rather than relaxing a bit in the hole) Split squats: 3 x 5 w/70kg Finished with some ab work, pullups, rotator cuff and one arm hangs - managed 5-10 seconds each arm with 50kg dumbbell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) 09/11/2016 Again, double unders before the workout - feeling the rhythm slightly more, so far fewer immediate trips, but still struggling to get back to consistent sets of 10+ often fail after 8-9. Very frustrating! Warmed up thoroughly as usual for snatch days. Some snatch drills, although fewer than normal because I had to wait ages for a platform so was a bit impatient to get started. My Sotts press is feeling much better with just the bar, although I still cant do the eccentric without my left shoulder flaring up, so just press up and then stand up. Also find doing the sotts press for a few reps helps my overhead position a lot in the warm-up. Snatch - bunch of reps at 40kg, trying to get the hip contact down with the tight back. First rep smacked my pubis bone hard so was a bit tentative from here but eventually got it out of my mind and had a really good session. After the reps at 40kg, went to 60kg for a triple, 70kg for a triple and then 80kg, which is a PR for full snatch. Reps at 80kg went - Miss, Hit, Miss, Miss, Miss (break) Hit, Miss, Hit. Spoke with one of the trainers who suggested I keep my shoulders slightly further forward in the start position (over the bar) and than I sit slightly higher to achieve this. Felt much better and did a really nice power snatch at 80kg, which he said was miles better than the work I had been doing with full snatch (controlled from the floor, nice contact and extension, kept bar fairly close and solid catch in a quarter squat with feet at the right width and angle to full squat if I wanted to). Had been advised by one of the crossfit coaches, who is a very good oly lifter, that I should power-snatch and then overhead squat and just work on making it more and more fluid, although I mentally understood what she meant, it's only now that I can physically feel that movement making sense - so future snatch sessions will focus on being explosive into a higher catch, then transitioning into the squat. If I want to work specifically on getting under the bar, will use accessory exercises like tall snatch/snatch balance. 3 sets of power snatch to 10 overhead squats w/50kg. Practiced handstands a bit (didn't go that well) and some thickbar deadlifts up to a failed single at 140kg (left hand couldn't hold on long enough to finish lift), so did some singles at 130kg. Bench (working on holding better arch/having force transfer from my legs after watching a christian anto vid on barbell shrugged- felt good): 1 x 5 w/70kg 1 x 5 w/90kg 1 x 5 w/110kg (paused) Edited November 10, 2016 by patrickmeniru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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