Wendler Cycle 2

Strength: Back Squat 1RM + 5%
5 reps @ 40% (65#)
5 reps @ 50% (80#)
3 reps @ 60% (95#)
5 reps @ 65% (100#)
5 reps @ 75% (115#)
5+ reps @ 85% (135#): 6 reps

Metcon: 10->1 OHS (65# rx) / 10->1 WB (14# rx)
12:53

Post: 3x1 deadhangs!!!

In cycle 2 of the Wendler (what happened to deload week?) now. I was thrown for a loop when I saw the 1RM + 5% on the board and the 5:30pm class had tons of people so we were a little short on the smaller weights (2.5# and 5# plates).
Metcon time seemed pretty horrible. I haven't done rx'ed wall balls to 10 feet in forever and I was determined to get 'er done since I didn't realize last time that the line was not 10 feet (have to go over the line for rx). A lot of singles there.
OHS were slow and steady. This may be the heaviest OHSes I've done in a WOD and my back felt it. I didn't drop the bar because I didn't want to snatch it more than I needed to (all power snatches).

I was stretching out my back... hanging off the GHD, hanging off the pullup bar... then I thought I'd give a deadhang a shot (I shed 3-4 lbs since my last attempt) and I had one! Then, I got another! And another! I was pretty stoked! Made my day :)

Love Friday WODs!

Strength: DL (Week 3)
5 reps @ 40% (90#)
5 reps @ 50% (115#)
3 reps @ 60% (135#)
5 reps @ 75% (170#)
3 reps @ 85% (190#)
1+ reps @ 95% (215#): 5 reps

Metcon: 4 rounds of 6 C&J (95# rx) and 40 DUs
10:29

Post: Muscle up transitions on rings with fat red band (got 1!)
4x5 ring dips with skinny red band

I love Friday WODs because I get to DL and then I get to do a WOD that I like. Last week was FS and box jumps. This week was C&Js and DUs. Maybe it's not a coincidence that these fall on DL days.
DLs felt good. I had one more on the last set but my grip gave out. In the metcon, the 95# did not actually feel that bad. I had a few ugly power cleans but when I remembered to drop a bit lower, they worked out. No squat cleans necessary. Jerks were also better than expected. All singles though. DUs were broken up on purpose to catch my breath.
JJ has been working on muscle up transitions lately so I gave it a go. I was surprised to get one but couldn't get any more despite subsequent attempts. I probably spent too much effort pressing out that ring dip. As a result, thought I needed some ring dip work too.

Crossfit East Village!

Continuing my tour of CF gyms in San Diego, today, I hit up Crossfit East Village's Open Gym!

Place is big with a receptionist, some change rooms. Drop-ins are $10, first time is free. Main floor can accommodate lots of people but the 6pm class had about 12 or so. The back room is open gym all the time from 6am-9pm which is insane! I did like that this was separate from the classes so that we didn't get in each other's way.
I made up some Wendler work today.
Back Squat (Week 3)
5 reps @ 40% (65#)
5 reps @ 50% (75#)
3 reps @ 60% (90#)
5 reps @ 75% (110#)
3 reps @ 85% (125#)
1+ reps @ 95% (140#): 5 reps

Press (Week 3)
5 reps @ 40% (28#)
5 reps @ 50% (33#)
3 reps @ 60% (43#)
5 reps @ 75% (48#)
3 reps @ 85% (53#)
1+ reps @ 95% (58#): 5 reps

2x10 GHD sit ups and back extensions

Crossfit Invictus!

Dropped in at Crossfit Invictus today during my stay in San Diego (for work).

Nice facility with a receptionist, large bathrooms with change rooms, and two coaches to a class: one takes care of the people doing the Fitness WOD and the other one, the Performance WOD. I think the Competition class is run elsewhere but in this space, there are about 5 groups of people doing 5 different things at any one time. It's nuts! All the evening classes (4:30/5:30/6:30) were packed! 15+ people each!
Got to meet CJ and chatted briefly. Also saw a modern gypsy (Taylor) while I was rolling out before the WOD but he disappeared before I got a chance to chat. Drop-in fee is $20, but first time is free.

Today's WOD
A.
Jerk 1RM
Warm up sets with bar
I don't remember my sets exactly so this is a guess:
68#(5)-83#(4)-103#(3)-118#(1)-123#fx2
3# off PR
The 123# jerk was so close. I lost it because I didn't keep my back and core tight. Good tips from Cody and Nicole to 1) rack higher / closer to neck, 2) dip straighter (but it was mostly good... should be fixed with higher rack), and 3) tighter core.

B.
For Max Reps:
3 Minutes of Box Jumps (rx 18″)
1 Minute of Rest
3 Minutes of KBS (rx 16 kg - swing to forehead level)
1 Minute of Rest
3 Minutes of Thrusters (rx was 83#, I used 73#)
80+75+13=168

I already knew that my thrusters were going to be awful but this was really awful. I scaled because I thought I could keep moving but after the first set of 3, I hit a few doubles before resorting to singles. I can't breathe during these things!

Iron Horse Trail

No CF today but took advantage of the beautiful afternoon. We went for a 16.4 mile out and back bike ride along the Iron Horse Trail. Gradient was quite nice as I could have biked forever on the way up because it wasn't too taxing. The downhill back down was real nice too though the packed gravel had large lumps making our ride quite bumpy. My bike's a hybrid so not the best shocks. Great scenery along the Olallie State Park stretch (pictured). Next time, we'll pick up where we left off (Garcia Road) and continue west.

Wheelhouse

Strength: DL (Week 2)
5 reps @ 40% (90#)
5 reps @ 50% (115#)
3 reps @ 60% (135#)
3 reps @ 70% (160#)
3 reps @ 80% (180#)
3+ reps @ 90% (205#): 5 reps

Metcon: 11 min AMRAP
6 FS (75#, BM) / 8 Box Jumps (20")
10 rounds + 2 FS

Post: Made up the Press
5 reps @ 40% (25#)
5 reps @ 50% (30#)
3 reps @ 60% (40#)
3 reps @ 70% (45#)
3 reps @ 80% (50#)
3+ reps @ 90% (55#): 7 reps

Got the weights right for the DLs this week and noted that even though I did a little less weight on the last set than last week's, I got the same number of reps. My excuse would be that my blisters / ripped hands from the pullups made the grip so much more taxing. I also thought my back started to round a bit on the 5th rep.
If I had a wheelhouse, this stuff would be in it (as well as double unders). I went 75# instead of the rx'ed 65# as I thought I had strong front squats. They were unbroken but the 5th and 6th reps in the last 4 rounds were a fight to not drop. Box jumps were pretty good even though I didn't have the best rhythm.
I surprised myself with 10 rounds so obviously, I was pretty happy with how this went.
Made up the Press that I missed earlier in the week. 7 reps felt good and focused on keeping core tight. Need to keep back tighter.

Pull up fun

Metcon: 4 rounds of 15 pullups, 30 KBS (1 pood, rx)
19:57
Post: None

I went three rounds rx'ed and they felt strong. First round was in two sets. Second round was in 3 or 4 sets. Last round I was still managing some 2s and 3s but singles towards the end. Blood blisters again on both bands, non-blood blisters on parts of fingers, a rip in the pinky finger... ended up having to use a black skinny band on the last round because my hands hurt too much to hang on to the bar. I think I had plenty of strength left.
JJ thinks that I don't grip and end up relying on friction to stay on the bar. Next time, grip harder without over-gripping because that causes other problems for me!

TGUs in a WOD

Strength: Back Squat
5 reps @ 40% (65#)
5 reps @ 50% (75#)
3 reps @ 60% (90#)
3 reps @ 70% (105#)
3 reps @ 80% (120#)
3+ reps @ 90% (135#): 6 reps

Metcon: 10 min AMRAP
20 jumping lunges / 2 TGUs (12kg KB. Rx was 16kg KB)
7 + 20 lunges

Post: None

Failed on the 7th rep for the BS. Last week, I got 13 at 125#. I suppose my muscles are feeling taxed.
First time ever doing TGUs in a WOD. My left shoulder was too weak to even hold the 16kg KB so I resorted to the 12kg. That wasn't even the hard part. Had to break up the lunges into 4s or 5s starting in the third round.

New CF Home!

Today, I stop tracking the days I'm at Sasquatch Crossfit because we've decided to make this our new CF home! Look out for a full review of Sasquatch CF in a different post.

Metcon:
4 rounds: 15 goblet squats (1 pood, rx) / 30 sit ups / 45 DUs / 400m run
19:27

Post: 3 x 10 max holds on rings (10s/10s/6s)
Post-post: butterfly kip work
Post-post-post: 33-ish" max box jump (PR)

Back still fried from the DLs last Friday but this WOD was what I needed to loosen things up and still get a good workout. Sit ups were the worst part for me... I'm so slow! DUs unbroken today... I'm real proud of that one! I sprinted the last 100m run back because I got a good push from someone on the run telling me I could get sub 20. I did it!
I did a lot of post WOD today. It wasn't planned but I had enough energy today. Having trouble chaining butterflies but I have one for sure. Kip needs lots of work. I stared at the 36" box jump for a while but just kept mentally bailing on it. I did get a 36" one-step box jump PR though!

Press and BBQ

Saturday July 14, we celebrated Sasquatch's first birthday with a BBQ.
I didn't WOD at 9:30am but made up the press post-BBQ.

Strength: Press (Week 1)
5 reps @ 40% (30#)
5 reps @ 50% (35#)
3 reps @ 60% (40#)
5 reps @ 65% (45#)
5 reps @ 75% (50#)
5+ reps @ 85% (55#): 8 reps

Started off wrong but realized quickly I messed up the weights (I calculated this the same day as the incorrect DL weights).

Tabata x3

Day 17 at Sasquatch CF

Strength: DL (Week 1)
5 reps @ 40% (100#)
5 reps @ 50% (125#)
3 reps @ 60% (150#)
5 reps @ 65% (165#)
5 reps @ 75% (187.5#)
5+ reps @ 85% (212.5#): 5 reps

Metcon:
Tabata sit ups, 30s or 60s rest
Tabata push ups (knees), 30s or 60s rest
Tabata squats
Score: 11+5+16= 32
Sit ups: 12/11/11/11/11/11/11/11
Push ups: 13/10/.../5
Squats: 17/16/16/16/16/16/16/16

Post: None

Yes, I completely messed up my weights on the strength. Forgot to take 90% today. I knew everything felt super heavy. Four days later and I am still feeling it!
I paced the tabatas but I just couldn't fight to keep the push ups at a decent number. Drop off is ridiculous!

Wendler

Day 16 at Sasquatch CF

Today, we started the Wendler strength program.
Back Squat
5 reps @ 40% (65#)
5 reps @ 50% (75#)
3 reps @ 60% (90#)
5 reps @ 65% (95#)
5 reps @ 75% (110#)
5+ reps @ 85% (125#): 13 reps

14 min AMRAP of 14 KB SDHP (1 pood) / 14 WB (14#)
7 rounds + 1 SDHP
Post: 3 per side TGU with 15# DB and then 3 per side with 20# DB

My low-bar back squat is 175# but since I'm working off of my high-bar back squat max of 165#, I think that's why I ended up with 13 reps on 125#. Was sore for three days after this!

Post Vacation

Day 15 at Sasquatch CF

4 rounds of
3 DL @ 165# (rx was 185#)
6 HSPU on 20" box + ab mat for knees
12 diamond push ups (on knees)
36 DUs
9:34

Post: 3x10 GHD sit ups, 3x10 back ext

Last week, we took a 5 day long weekend to Vancouver/Whistler. Did some epic hikes (all three peaks of The Chief in Squamish and then an 18km to Garibaldi Lake) which were really fun. Gorgeous weather.
It was nice to come back to movements that are in my wheel house (DL and DUs). Could have probably suffered through rx weight but would have seen stars. Been having some weird headaches lately and I just wanted to lay off the stress from a super heavy DL. HSPUs felt better than last week. I also did 6 extra HSPUs on the third round because I got confused. Oops. Diamond push ups started to aggravate my left elbow. A handful of trip ups on the DUs but not really a problem.

Bear Complex!

Day 14 at Sasquatch CF

4 rounds of
5 bear complex at 65# (rx)
10 bar facing burpees
5 HSPUs (on knees from 20" box... as vertical as possible)
14:42

In the bear complex, limiting factor was the push press. Bar facing burpees were ok... first round was quick but wish I went faster on the rest. HSPUs... switched the mod to get full range of motion without entire bodyweight. Fun WOD. Where was my gas tank today?!
Afterwards, played around with some one-armed dumb bell lunge walks (20#), one-armed dumb bell snatches (up to 30#), and turkish get-ups (15#).