Metcon
3 sets:
15 Calorie Row
15 Shoulder to Overhead, 42.5kg
20 Toes to Bar
15 Shoulder to Overhead, 42.5kg
15 Calorie Row
-Rest 3:00 between sets-
19:16 - 4:03, 4:18, 4:55 - 35kg/15 toes to bar
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Bench was RPE 10 on the last set. I don't think I'm going to set a PR if next week is test week. The metcon was really fun and grippy. STO was unbroken in the first bit and 9+6 in the second. Toes to bar were 6/5/4 for 2 rounds, and 6/4/1/1/1/1/1 in the last.
I'll end up 60th percentile overall and 92nd percentile in the 35-39 age group in India. 75th percentile (overall) and above makes it to the quarterfinals, so I wasn't even close. I am going to make it a concrete goal to reach it next year. I need to keep it simple was well.
For next year:
1. Get stronger
2. Keep improving cardio
3. Be lean for the open
My cardio wasn't at its peak because I stopped cycling. And I wasn't lean for the Open. I am the strongest and heaviest I have been, but I just have to accept that I have a bad relationship with food and that I have to really commit to a cut to be able to do it. So this year, I'm not going to do a big 6 month bulk and then a cut. I'm going to do mini bulks and cuts, so I am never too fat. The first cut starts now, so I can be somewhat respectably not fat.
Squats actually felt really strong. Next week is test week. I think I am a underdog to set a PR (currently 127.5). 130 would be very cool though.
I've realized my double unders are fine. I suck at large sets because of my engine.
I went to the physio yesterday. He said it is most likely a shoulder impingement. I have some stuff to do. If it doesn't get better in a month, then it's a steroid injection. He said 70% chance it should get better without it.
2+6 - 26 TTB in first round, 20 in second round, 60 double unders
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Meh, fine. Shoulder is still bothering me. I am coming up with a plan for the next 2 months. I need to lose some weight and get my shoulder better. Keep lifting and hammering out the cardio. Then when my shoulder is fine, back to weightlifting finally!!
Utter dogshit. I'm the heaviest I have been and am 5kg under my bench PB. I suspect it has something to do with my shoulder. My motivation is waning a little with not being able to do olympic weightlifting and with heavier bench bothering me.
I've eaten well for 5 days now and all I can do is to keep cutting and do the rehab for my shoulder. Then hopefully in 1-2 months, I can be lean and can get back into weightlifting and get stronger.
Another bad day. Previous PR was 127.5 and I knew I wasn't beating it early on. I think I had 125 in me if I had a bit more WIM, but I didn't feel like grinding and doing an ugly rep for not a PB.
I'm in a bad place in training. Quite heavy, shoulder hurt, and not the strongest I've been. BUT, I've had a week of eating well. I've been cycling to and from crossfit. So I'm going to keep doing this for 2 months - cut, increase my cardio. And hopefully lift enough to get a bit stronger. Then we bulk and set PRs, without getting fat this time.
Metcon
At easy pace:
5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5
Wall Walks
30m Farmers Carry (2x32.5 KBs) after each set
22:12
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A good day. Deadlift was RPE 7.5 maybe. The last rep slowed down a bit, but zero back rounding. I think if I were to gut out 2-3 more reps, my form would have broken down a bit. So perhaps RPE 10 with good form.
I did yesterday's metcon at an easy pace. Quite pleasant.
Metcon
Every 4:00 (4 sets)
10 Hang Power Cleans (70/47.5kg)
15 Strict Handstand Push-Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans (70/47.5kg)
1:55, 2:30, 2:35, 2:45 - 55kg/7 strict HSPU for 2 rounds, 50kg/7 kipping for 2 rounds
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Okay, I'm starting to feel optimistic about training again. It's been 10 days of good eating. I am weighing myself everyday to keep it measurable and keep myself accountable. I got that initial weight loss whoosh. I can enjoy days like today and not feel like I need to do a double session because I'm cycling to and back.
Cardio is sorted with the cycling. I can focus on strength and WL when my shoulder is better.
Metcon
Teams of 4:
5 sets (each)
20 Calorie Bike Erg
10 Back Squats, 82.5kg
1:26, 1:33, 1:41, 1:44, 1:42 - 65kg front squats
Accessory
Overhead Press: 30x10x3
DB Lateral Raise: 5sx12x3
Curls: 10sx10x3
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Fun day. Intervals were absolutely brutal. I think I've managed to avoid these sprinty intervals, so I need to make sure to do more of it. Teams of 4 basically just means 1:3 work to rest ratio, but a fun way to do it.
Since our strength cycle is over, and I am guessing the next one is a weightlifting one, I decided to run 531 for a while. I feel like my body responds well to sub-maximal volume, so my supplement volume will be -
Squats - first set last, 5x5
Bench Press - boring but strong, 10x5 (85% training max vs 90% for everything else)
OHP - second set last, 5x5
Deadlift - making it up as I go along. Once every 2 weeks
Basically I'm ramping up the pushing volume and seeing what happens. I won't lie, I felt really jacked walking out of the gym today.
Accessory
Bulgarian Split Squat: 10sx10x4 (per leg)
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I'm really enjoying everything again. Cycling to and from crossfit has freed up my mind from trying to find ways to add cardio and double sessions/extra volume. V-ups were the limiter today and took forever in the second and third rounds.
Metcon
75 Bench Press, 60kg
*Every time you break, complete 10 Bent Over Dumbbell Rows (2x22.5kg)
-Rest 5:00-
75 Ring Rows
*Every time you break, complete 10 Bench Dips
9:55, 7:42 - 50kg for 48 reps, 40kg for the remainder, 20kg rows
Accessory
10 Minute EMOM:
:40 of Rower Hamstring Curls, :20 rest
:40 of Feet Elevated Glute Bridges, :20 rest
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Really fun. Good old upper body pump. My muscular endurance with pushing is terrible. People with similar/worse bench always do better than me at these high rep ones.
I went 15-12-9-6-5, then dropped down to 40kg. Rows with the 20s were really easy. Ring rows were 15 and then 6x10. I made them easier after a while by changing the angle.
That was a full day including biking to and from there. I was meant to do 47.5x5x5 for OHP but 54x5 felt so heavy! I have never really spent much time on OHP and it always kept going up, but this might be the first time it's gone down. So my strength is 5kg under all my maxes everywhere. I am bringing back the 1 heavy day per week and hopefully I smash through them.
Metcon
AMRAP 7:
5 Box Jumps, 30"
7 Toes to Bar
9 Wall Balls, 9kg
6+2
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It's my 4th day in a row going, which I almost never do and I definitely feel beat up. It's not aches and niggles, but just overall fatigue and tiredness from cardio. Tomorrow is a day off and day after is only lifting, so I should be good after that.
No pain during weightlifting! 35 felt SO heavy though. I am excited to grind back up to my previous PRs. The metcon was a short and sharp and fun. Toes to bar were unbroken for 5 rounds and then I lost it in the 6th where it was 4,1,1,1. Round times were 0:52, 1:03, 1:08, 1:10, 1:14, 1:26. I always wonder if I would go faster if I started a round every 1:05 or something. Probably.
Front Squat: 70x5, 81x5, 92.5x5, 70x5x5
Bench Press: 50x5, 60x5, 67.5x5, 50x5x10
Ring Rows: 5x12
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It was a big mistake to stop doing 1 heavy day a week with no cardio. I just feel so much better and stronger and it's a nice break mentally from metcons/classes.
531 goes medium/light/heavy across 3 weeks, then add weight to your training max. This week is the light week. All those lighter sets at the end are AMAZING for form. I got sloppy over the last few months with not recording myself and not thinking about any cues. It's all coming back to me now. I think that alone could add a few kgs to my PRs (that I had lost). Feel good.
The big cue from front squats today was to keep my feet screwed out throughout. Weight distribution felt great.
Metcon
5 sets:
50ft Dumbbell Front Rack Walking Lunge, 2x22.5s
12 Dumbbell Front Squats, 2x22.5s
-rest 2:00 between sets-
1:26, 1:49, 2:05, 2:54, DNF
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A bad session after a while. My lower back blew up, but I quit before it became too bad. This used to happen very frequently before, but now not so much. I don't think I did any damange by how early I stopped.
Really fun. The only negative from today is my grip/biceps/elbows feels like it isn't okay. It's not my usual tennis elbow. It just feels a bit off. I felt it during the 51x5 and during the eccentric part of pull-ups. I am travelling in 3 weeks and hopefully some rest is what it needs.
Another takeaway is that I need to come up with a structured plan to test things. A cardio test and a strength test every 2 months just to see where I'm at. It was a bit of a wake up call last week to see my strength was down a bit and I never actually know where my cardio is at.
Hungover, sleep deprived, ate McDonald's for breakfast and may or may not eat it again for dinner. A Chicken burger and chicken selects though, lots of protein. I squeezed this in just now. Now to shower, walk the dog, and Masters Sunday!
I thought 102.5x5 was RPE 9 and was so slow, but it looks more like RPE 7 on the video. That's one cycle of squats and bench done. I'm going to up the training max by 2.5kg on both. It's meant to be 5 for lower body, but squats felt a lot heavier than bench.