Why on earth would any duscussion with Doucette be about nuts? I mean maybe shriviling them up to sport a baseball bat for the wife but otherwise just dont see it.

Crossfit Linchpin - D202

Main
4 intervals of:
7 Ring Muscle-ups
7 Push Jerks, 65% 1RM | 52.5 kg
20 Assault Bike Calories
Resting 5:30 between each round.

10:19 - 2:32, 2:09, 2:29, 3:09 (5 ring muscle ups per round, only 3 in round 4)

Accessory 1
Chin-ups: 3x6

Accessory 2
3 rounds: (2' rest)
4 TGU L, 16kg
4 TGU R, 16kg

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

I decided to be sensible and scale muscle ups to 5 per round to finish below the recommended finishing time of 2:45 per interval. The first round was so easy, I did 3+2 and told the coach during the rest that this was one of the rare workouts I overscaled. I was wrong. I then attacked round 2 and did the muscle ups unbroken. Still unbroken in round 3. And then the wheels fell off in round 4! I did 2,1, then failed twice, and moved on to the jerks. It seems like quite an unusual drop off, but I think I just wasn't aggressive enough with the fast sit up at the top. All jerks were unbroken.

Regardless, 5 unbroken is a PR! And I did it twice. And it was RPE 6-7 maybe. Huge gains here.

Chin ups were difficult because I didn't have much time left and because of all the pulling earlier. I bit off a bit more than I could chew with doing 4 unbroken TGU per arm. The last rep of the last set was iffy, but I was too stubborn to stop then.

Crossfit Linchpin - D203

Main - McGhee
5 Deadlifts, 125 kg
13 Push-ups
9 Box Jumps, 24 in

15+15 (85kg DL)

Accessory 1
Pull-up Bar Hang: 3 minutes (3x60s)

Accessory 2
Side Plank: 2 minutes per side

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

That was one of the better days I've had. Great scaling, pain-free, exceeded expectations. The scaling was meant to be 60-65% of 1RM DL which is 97.5 to 105.5 for me. But I couldn't do block deadlifts because I needed the extra plates for the box jumps. I decided to just go lighter. This meant that I did a lot more work than I would have done at 100kg, less stress on the body, and less standing around and resting. It's a lesson to scale more than I do.

80 deadlifts and no pain is good. 205 push-ups without bonking is good. My nutrition has been great for a week and I have more energy and feel lighter. Average HR 175, max 188. Round times were 1:40, 1:57, 1:50, 1:51, 1:55, 1:57, 1:54, 1:53, 1:52, 2:01, 2:03, 2:08, 2:07, 1:57, and 1:57. I slowed it down after 20 minutes because I didn't want it to be a maximal effort today. I broke the push-ups 4-3-3-3 from round 1 until the end. I think that was perfect. Quick breaks and I was never close to failure. The entire thing was a mental grind.

I decided to discuss nutrition rather than testicles, but each to their own.

Less off-topic, well done on the recovery, Arjun - sounds like it is going well.

Crossfit Linchpin - D204

Accessory 1
Back Squat: Work up to a heavy set of 10

85, did front squats instead, RPE 6-7

Main
3 rounds for time (or not):
40m Walking Lunges
30 V-ups
20 Push Press, 42.5 kg
10 Strict Chest-to-bar Pull-ups

24:52 - not for time

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

Pretty decent day. I kept everything at a moderate RPE and it was pleasant. 85x10 felt surprisingly easy for front squats. I could have done 15. I think my 1RM is 120+ now. There is no back pain whatsoever front squatting the day after lots of deadlifts.

The metcon was fun. I took my time and just worked my way through it. Push presses were 11+9 for 3 rounds, and 8+6+6 in the last round. They were the only movement that made my HR go up. Strict chest to bars were surprisingly easy. I've hardly done them and wasn't sure what to expect. I did them all in sets of 1s and 2s, but easily could have done 5+ after the last round, having already done 30. I've sorted out my post dinner indulging and have had quite a few days in a row where I've felt good and performed well. It makes it easier to stick to.

Thanks! I've not been logging the back stuff, but I do it before every session as a warm up. It seems to be working well so far. The biggest thing for me is knowing that the guy is an expert, which gives me the push to do whatever he says (as opposed to a random physio).

Crossfit Linchpin - D205

Main
Clean and Jerk: 2-2-2-2-2-2-2 (3 second pause in bottom of jerk)

70, 70, 72.5, 72.5, 72.5, 75, 75

Accessory 1
OHP: 10-10-10

40, 40, 40 (2-2.5 min rest)

Accessory 2
Clean Pull: 5-5-5-5

90, 90, 90, 90

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

Fun day - all lifting and no cardio. The 3 second pause really made me brace well at the bottom. The cleans felt really good and easy. The jerks felt harder, a few reps were forward. My bicep tendonitis showed up in the 5th or 6th set and I decided to not up the weight too much. Still, 75x2 was fairly comfortable. I really want to try a 1RM soon and beat my 90.

Everything else was a bit rushed, but happy to get through it. I'm plodding along and loving training. It's super nice and motivating to set little PRs everywhere and just be fitter overall. Decent (debatable) at everything, good at nothing.

Crossfit

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1:
Thrusters, 42.5kg
Toes to Bar
Lateral Barbell Burpees

14:43

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

I did a class because I felt like it. It was similar enough to tomorrow, which was Linchpin Test 1 (400m run, Fran 34kg, 400m run, Fran 34kg, 400m run). I might start doing this once or twice a month because it's nice to do something different. There was a 15 minute time cap and I knew it would be close for me to make it. I'm really, really happy to have completed it because this is something I wouldn't have ever come close to finishing in the past. Increased fitness confirmed. 2nd on the whiteboard so far today.

The thrusters were all unbroken except for the rounds of 9 and 8. The toes to bar were all unbroken except for the rounds of 10, 8, and 2. The burpees were really slow and I used them to take a nap and get my heart rate down. Toes to bar were great today and were actually pretty easy. It took a lot for me to finish under the time cap. I didn't wear my strap, but I am sure my heart rate was over 190 at the end.

Tomorrow is a 30 minute EMOM, which I will try and not go crazy on.

Crossfit Linchpin - D206

Snatch S7 - A
Snatch Pull + Snatch + Overhead Squat + Snatch Pull + Hang Snatch + Overhead Squat: 1-1-1 (55-65%)

40-40-40

Main
30 minute EMOM, alternating between
1 - Double Under, max reps
2 - Rest
3 - Burpee, max reps
4 - Rest
5 - Hollow Rock, max reps
6 - Rest

590 - (Double unders - 65, 70, 75, 70, 70, Burpees - 17, 18, 18, 18, 19, Hollow Rocks - 30, 30, 30, 30, 30)

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

Another good day with nailing the overall RPE and leaving the gym feeling good. I felt a bit sluggish going into the snatches, but they really clicked somewhere in there. My cues now are - relaxed until hips, then explode up and drop under fast while keeping the bar close. It felt snappy and fast.

I didn't go crazy on the EMOM and I actually did more reps as the rounds went on. I could have done this for a while. I am recovering so much faster in the minute now. Look at those double unders! 350 reps in 5 minutes without going crazy! It was all in 2-3 sets. Burpees were hard but not all out. Hollow rocks were not easy towards the end. 85% effort, 61st percentile.

It's now pretty clear that my cardio and gymnastics are improving rapidly. If I don't tweak my back again, then I need to see if my lifts are going up. If they arent, I will need to think about how to address that.

Crossfit Linchpin - D207

Main
Run: 8x200m, 2:30 rest

4:46.6 - 33.5, 36.4, 35.8, 36.0, 36.1, 35.6, 36.7, 36.5

Accessory 1
Pistol Squat: 5x8 (per leg, WL shoes)

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

Another fun day at the track with a crossfit friend. And more cardio gains. I went out too fast as usual with running, but didn't deteriorate too badly. Nearly 1.5 seconds faster per interval is nice. My calves are feeling it a little after all those double unders 2 days ago, but nothing to worry about. 71st percentile to 78th.

When pistols are in accessories, it always calls for 40L and 40R and I always do less. I finally did them all and it wasn't too bad because I did smaller sets and took shorter breaks. There is clear progress here as well.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, which is a heavier not for time day with some strict work.

200m in 36 seconds is slower than Kipchoge's marathon pace. That is the one thing in sports I can't get my head around.

when I ran my marathon, the course had an out and back section where you emerged from this park onto a large road at 14km and ran a loop before you ran back along the other side of the road before running all the way out to the Olympic stadium. So I emerged at 14k and ran south, just as the leaders were running north opposite us at 21k and they were ****ing sprinting. Difficult to describe it in any other terms. Pushing hard with every step, aggressively running almost as fast as they could, doing something totally different to what the rest of us were doing.

Crossfit Linchpin - D208

Main
15 rounds for time (or not):
3 Power Cleans, 84kg (or 70% of 1RM)
4 Strict Ring Dips
5 Strict Toes-to-bars

29:35 - not for time, 60kg power cleans

Accessory 1
Wall Walks: 15 reps (slow and controlled)

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

Another really fun day, I enjoy these long not for time grinders. I was just aiming to keep it under 2 minutes a round, and my HR didn't get too high. Dips and toes to bar were all unbroken. I maybe did 5 or 6 rounds of unbroken cleans and the rest were singles. Every time a round would take me over 2 minutes, I would do the next round of cleans unbroken to get it back below 2 minutes. It was a fun, sweaty, grind.

The wall walks were harder obviously because of the metcon, but still fine. A good week of training in the books. There is Nancy and Jackie next week which I will go after, heavy deadlifts, a day at the track, and a longer not for time day.

Crossfit Linchpin - D209

Main - Nancy
5 rounds for time of:
400m Run
15 Overhead Squats, 43 kg

17:42

Accessory 1
Front Squat: 7-7-7

80, 82.5, 85

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

I was a bit overwhelmed with today, because all 3 things were so important to me - a benchmark, squatting, and a snatch complex. I ended up starting quite late and skipping the snatches. There is no point in working on technique after a metcon, so I'll do it another day.

I way surpassed my expectations in Nancy. I wanted sub 18, but thought the OHS might get pretty heavy at the end. The plan was to do 9+6 throughout, but it felt easy enough in round 1 so I then decided to stay unbroken as long as I could. I ended up doing all 5 rounds unbroken! The runs weren't too fast because I needed to recover for the squats. Round times were 3:09, 3:29, 3:34, 3:39, and 3:50. It's nice to do another benchmark RX and it's pretty neat to look at the improvements over 4 years. 1 second quicker with 43% more weight on the bar!

I rested quite a long time before squatting. The 85 actually felt really, really easy. It's the best my front squats have ever felt, and I think I need to test my 1RM soon. I had back pain vibes from Nancy which was similar to the metcon that I quit (air squats and running), but it didn't get too bad and didn't slow me down. It then didn't show up at all during front squats. Farewell back squats.

Crossfit Linchpin - D210

Main
10 rounds for time (or not):
40 Double Unders
15 Hand Release Push-ups
5 Strict Chin-Ups
5 Knees-to-elbows

34:25 - not for time, strict pull-ups instead of chin-ups (easier on tendonitis)

Accessory 1
Assault Bike: 5x10s, 1 min rest

Between 4 and 6 calories per round from standing start (would tick over to 8-10)

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

It was another really fun training day. I think I nailed the RPE by going at a really comfortable pace after an intense benchmark yesterday. I only tripped 3 times in 400 double unders! The first 6 rounds were all unbroken, and then 20+20 in the last 4 rounds where the 3 trips happened. My double unders feel great. Push-ups were all 4+4+4+3 except for 1 round in the middle where I did 5+5+5. It wasn't too difficult. Pull-ups were all unbroken and really easy! I need to test my max pull-ups soon, I can smell 20. Knees to elbows were unbroken and easy as well.

Bike sprints were k. I need to write down my calories so I know exactly what I get.

Crossfit Linchpin - D211

Main
Deadlift: 3-3-3-3-3

115, 120, 125, 127.5, 130 (off 20s)

Accessory 1
Barbell Glute Bridge: 70x10x3

Accessory 2
Single Arm DB Row: 22.5x12x4 (per arm)

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

Deadlifts + back in one piece = win. The last time I worked up to 120x5, so I thought these weights were sensible. I was feeling my back just a little during my warm up (unsure whether it is from Monday or if it's from hip airplanes from McGill) so I forced myself to be cautious. The weight moved really fast though and there was no back pain. I finished itching to lift more, but I didn't. 145x3 and 162.5 are my maxes, so I think the strength is still there if I were to test it.

Crossfit Linchpin - D212

Main
Run, 800 m
40 Burpees
-- Rest 5 mins --
Run, 600 m
30 Burpees
-- Rest 5 mins --
Run, 400 m
20 Burpees

13:00 - 5:45, 4:24, 2:51

Accessory 1
Box Jumps: 25 reps (33 inch box)

Accessory 2
Farmers Carry: 3x100m (with 22.5s, 1:15 rest)

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

It was another day at the track with my coach. I am currently 1/16 and 100th percentile! But that's fake because I did the no equipment version, which was also the scaled version for today (full equipment was with burpee box jumps instead of burpees). So everyone who did the version I did either scaled it or didn't have a box. That would make it a less fit subset of people. Still, number 1 so far!

The first interval was pretty good. I did the run in 3:30 and was paced. 40 burpees in 2:15. That seemed like a good time. I then just couldn't recover during the 5 minutes rest. It seemed like an off day and something was up. You can see that by my times in the second and third intervals. They should have been a lot quicker because the reps were shorter.

I bought more unnecessary gym equipment - a box. I put it to use. Farmers carries continue getting better. It was my shortest rest yet and was fine.

It is now 8 weeks since I came back from Scotland. While I don't HAVE to deload, I can feel a few small aches and niggles and I think it would be wise to force myself to do one next week. I was thinking of doing 3 days instead of 5 and only do the accessories that I really need. 2 of the days will be low intensity and 1 higher.

Crossfit Linchpin - D213

Main - Jackie
For time:
1000m Row
50 Thrusters, 20kg
30 Pull-ups

8:37 (42 second PR!)

Accessory 1
Front Rack Lunge: 50x5, 55x5, 57.5x5 (per leg)

Accessory 2
Strict Pull-ups: 3x7

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

Pretty decent day, but I really need a deload. I had this dull pain in my arms (tendonitis) after 40 burpees yesterday! Today my arms were done after Jackie. I went in hoping for somewhere close to 8 minutes, which would be 75th percentile, but I'll take 8:37 while pretty tired. It is 62nd percentile and there is a lot of room for improvement.

I rowed at 2:05 or so and it was fairly comfortable. It took 4:15 because I slowed down in the last 80m so I could go straight into the thrusters. Thrusters were 15-15-10-10 with a short break in between. They took 2:35. Pull-ups were 10-7-4-3-3-1-1-1. They took 1:46.

The biggest way for me to bring this closer to 8 minutes (besides being fresh) is to sort out my pull-up form. While warming up, they were great. Legs together and extended, solid hollow and arch positions, and in control. I just can't do that when my HR is 180+. That's why I took the row easy and the thrusters easy-ish, because I knew I had to have my HR in control to knock out those pull-ups. If I can maintain my form under fatigue, I can push the row and thursters more and that would bring down my time. It is something to work on.

I did barbell lunges instead of DB and it was nice to do lower reps with a heavier weight. It was still pretty light, but I was just so tired after Jackie. It was the same with pull-ups. Tired. I need a deload as much mentally as physically. I just couldn't get myself to do extra snatches this week because I was dreading the extra work.

Crossfit Linchpin - D214 (Deload week)

Main - Linchpin Test 5
For time (or not):
20 Back Squats, 102kg
2 mile Run
20 Back Squats, 102kg

28:20 - very not for time, 70kg front squats, 4km row

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

I took 2 days off after ages and I already feel fat and unfit. I have issues. I cherry picked 3 days to do this week and this seemed ideal - some squats and some easy cardio. I did the squats in 8-6-6 in both sets and rowed at 2:21. Average HR 156, max 170 - very pleasant and easy. First sets of squats were in 2:51, second set in 5:35 where I just took my sweet time. My resting HR has already dropped to an 8 week low after 2 days off. Mad.

Nothing ever hit me harder than high rep stuff in the front rack position. Doing that for time would have been horrible

Crossfit Linchpin - D215 (Deload week)

Main
30 minute EMOM:
1 - 6 Bar Muscle-ups
2 - 20 V-ups
3 - Rest
4 - 10 Strict Ring Dips
5 - 50 Double Unders
6 - Rest

BMU - 6,6,4,4,4, Ring Dips - 10,10,10,10,8

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

I knew I should have scaled the numbers down a little even if it wasn't a deload week, but I couldn't get myself to. No HR strap, but I don't think my HR went above 175. It was still very hard on my upper body.

Muscle ups felt incredible in round 1. They were unbroken and I was flying up and not having to dip at all! Round 2 was 4+2 and a bit harder. Round 3 was 3+1f. Rounds 4 and 5 were 2+2. In the latter rounds, it was a struggle to get up there, I had to do a very deep dip. It's still good to get this volume under fatigue.

V-ups were surprisingly hard. I had to fight in the last few rounds to get them done under a minute. Ring dips started off as 7+3 and then a lot of 1s 2s and 3s. I failed the 9th rep in the last round. I should have scaled this down to 8 per round. Double unders were the easiest of the lot.

Regardless, it was a pretty ideal day for a deload. I'm leaning towards taking the next 2 days off and then doing a class on Sunday where we are doing Grace. It would be nice to do another benchmark RX.

I never thought of it that way, but you're right. Front squats, jerks, push presses all are horrible in a metcon. I saw one guy in the Linchpin group who did the 2nd set of squats unbroken and faster than my air squats!! He is a big guy though, I don't think he can do a lot of bodyweight movements.

I kind of meant the squatting movements - thruster, front squat, squat cleans tbh, as push press/push jerk stuff was never a problem for me.

all our bodies are different I guess but all of my worst ever crossfit experiences seem to have been with thrusters or high rep FS or squat cleans. there was a hero wod called Badger with 3x30 95lb squat cleans, 30 pull ups and 800m run that I did rx once and it took me about a week to recover from. Kalsu is the worst wod I ever did. Fran used to really sap me etc etc.

Weightlifting (Deload week)

3 Muscle Clean + 3 Tall Jerk + 3 Pause Dip + 3 Jerk: 20, 40, 45

1 Clean Pull + 1 Clean and Jerk: 60, 70, 75, 77.5, 80

OHP:
5 reps @ 80% - 45
3 reps @ 90% - 50
1 rep @ 95% - 60
5 reps @ 85% - 50
3 reps @ 95% - 55, 55x10 BTNPP
1 rep @ 95+% - 60f, 55, 55x7 BTNPP
3 reps @ 90% - 45, 45x6 BTNPP

* superset the last 3 sets with 12 behind the neck push press

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

I decided to do a weightlifting session at my gym for my last deload session of the week and the programming is just poo. 45 minutes to cram all that in after taking away time for a warm up and cool down. Everything felt rushed. And what are those OHP percentages? We went every 2:30. How is anyone supposed to do a single at 95%+ after doing 3 reps at 95% and 12 BTN push presses just a minute earlier?! The 3 sets of 12 push presses also seems impossible at those percentages and going immediately after the OHP with no rest. Blah. I even went lighter than the percentages said since my 1RM is 68. Anyway, rant over. The 1 rep at 60 before all the supersetting shenanigans seemed pretty easy though.

Even the weightlifting portion was rushed. I had to jump from 45 to 60 after the first complex and suddenly it was my first time going below parallel and squatting. WTF. Tall jerks were hard. The clean and jerk at 80 felt really solid, which was the only good thing about today.

My nutrition has gone a bit astray during this week, but the good news is that I am chomping at the bit to get back to regular training and eating well again. It was a much needed lighter week.

Crossfit

10 rounds for time: (20 minute cap)
10 Toes-to-bars
10 Burpees
125m Row

19:55 (last 2 rounds were toes to wherever)

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

The Linchpin workout was 21-15-9 of deadlifts (102kg), toes to bar, and box jumps and I decided it would be more fun to jump into a class. I finished the first 5 rounds in 9 minutes or so with all toes to bars unbroken. The next 3 rounds took 7 minutes because the toes to bar became harder. They were in 2-3 sets. I had 4 minutes left for the last 2 rounds, so I just got my legs as high as possible to finish under the time cap. The row was very slow to recover.

This modifying my schedule to jump into class every now and then just doesn't work for me. I left feeling like I missed something (mainly the heavy deadlifts and accessories). I think I get more satisfaction out of just doing Linchpin strictly. I also fell awkwardly after a toes to bar and my ankle is hurting a little. Hopefully it is like last time where an ibuprofen works and I don't have to take a day off. Overall, a bit of a blah day but back to grinding Linchpin.

Crossfit Linchpin - D216

Main
OHP: 1-1-1-1-1
Push Press: 3-3-3-3-3
Push Jerk: 5-5-5-5-5

60, 62.5, 62.5, 65, 65
65, 67.5, 70, 70, 72.5 (rep PR)
62.5, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 65

Accessory 1
Wall Walks: 15 reps (slow and controlled)

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

My ankle was swollen quite a bit yesterday so I took a day off. Not ideal after a deload because I was really looking forward to getting back at it. I was unsure about today because it was slightly swollen, but there was no pain at all.

All the pressing felt pretty solid. The first single at 65 went up at a decent speed and the second one was a grinder. PR is 68, so I might have an outside shot at 70. Push presses felt really good. 72.5x3 is a rep PR and nowhere close to RPE 10. I actually failed my first rep at 72.5 a minute earlier. The bar just got forward. It was a good reminder not to drop my elbows during the dip. When I did that, the presses and jerks felt so good. Push jerks were good as well and a huge improvement from January when I did 60x5x5.

I cannot wait to get stuck in again and to keep making gains!