Crossfit

4x8 Handstand Push up
Straight into…
16 Shoulder taps
0:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00

I did 4x6 strict HSPU, and 8-12 shoulder taps per round. HSPU was RPE 9 on the last set.

Metcon:
5 Rounds:
1 Minute Calorie Row/Bike/Ski
1 Minute Burpees
1 Minute Thrusters (42.5/30kg)
1 Minute Rest

I scaled to 30kg because I wanted this to be more cardio and less standing around staring at the bar. I did 50, 41, 39, 36, 37 reps. I definitely went out too fast and in hindsight should have aimed for 42 reps per round, which would have given me a better score with less suffering.

ATS2 - W2D1

Squat: 120, 97.5x4x5 120 video, Last set
OHP: 47.5x4x4, 47.5xAMRAP=10
Power Snatch: 42.5x3x5 (2nd set)
Pull ups: 4x7

There's always an option in ATS2 to work up to a single at RPE8. I did that for squats. Looking at the video, it looks more like a 5RM weight (or maybe even more, what do you think?). My prelockdown PR triple was 125x3, so it looks like my squatting is back to where it was. 97.5 for 4s were really easy, I entered RIR of 7.

OHP was true RPE 10. My prelockdown rep PRs were 50x9, 52.5x8, and 55x7, so 47.5x10 today is nice.

I stopped jumping forward in power snatches after getting my hips lower in my setup! I have no idea if my form is better or not, but it's a good start I suppose.

I did pullups at home, because I ran out of time. Not too difficult.

Another solid session.

Link to the last set of squats is messed up, so here it is instead

Crossfit

EMOM 10
1 Clean & Jerk
Build weight to a heavy single

40, 50, 55, 60, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 80

Every 4 Minutes x 5 Rounds:
30 Air Squats
15 Calorie Assault Bike/Ski/Row
7 Clean and Jerks (52.5kg)

Scaled to 40kg and finished in 2:12, 2:10, 2:04, 1:58, 2:00

Clean and Jerks in the EMOM were all power cleans. Cleans felt easy enough, but the jerks were shorter and shorter the heavier the weights became. This is an old habit. At 60, I'm splitting wide enough. At 80, I'm barely splitting. Any tips to overcome this would be helpful although I suspect this is a mental thing. C&J PR is 90, so 80 after a lockdown with bad form in a short EMOM with not much rest is promising. I really need to address my jerk technique at some point. Perhaps it's just a question of doing more singles at 85%+.

The metcon was really well designed. You had to go through the squats at a fast pace, row fast but not quite all out to have enough left to do the C&Js unbroken. Then recover and fee sorry for myself for a couple of minutes, and go again. I scaled to 40 to do them all unbroken and as fast as possible. A few reps were even strict presses to save some energy. I paced it a bit too much at first.

I noticed a bit of bicep tendonitis when I was done, but tomorrow is a rest day anyway.

Push harder and longer with your legs

Probably

ATS2 - W2D2

Bench Press: 60x4x4, 60xAMRAP=14
Face Pulls: 4x10
Power Clean: 62.5x3x5 (Last set)
Front Squat: 67.5x11x3, 67.5xAMRAP=16 (First set)
DB Rows: 24x10x3 (per side)

Another solid session. Body feels great with 5/week and no 2 a days. Bench Press was 55x14 from last week and 67.5x4 from linear progression. Big gains and nearly back to where I was already! I did face pulls after because there was no rack available so just did something easy.

I switched power cleans to before front squats because front squats are just so taxing. I changed my setup, but am still jumping forward. I know I need to finish my 2nd pull, but I am not exactly sure how and what cues to think off. I'll try just extending and jumping as high as possible next time. Edit - I just watched the video and I'm lowering my hips, but they rise before I pull, so it's back to square one. When I lowered them for snatches, they didn't rise and I didn't jump forward. I don't know what to do with this information.

Front squats were not fun. I did 65x16 last week, and stopped at 67.5x16 this time. I could have definitely done more but training max is going up. My legs better be growing.

DB rows were k.

Well yeah, that's obvious. I don't know how to actually do it when the weights get heavy.

Crossfit

EMOM 12
1 Power Snatch

30, 35, 40, 40, 45, 47,5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 57.5, 50

3 Rounds For Time (18 Minute Cap)
20 Power Snatches (35/25kg)
20 Box Jump Overs (24"/20")
20 Pull-ups
20/16 Calorie Row/Bike/Ski

Scaled to 30kg and 15 pull-ups per round. Scaled the last round further to 12 reps per round. Switched the box height to low after 12 reps in the 2nd round. I "finished" in 17:12.

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In the EMOM, my form felt good upto and including 55. The 2 reps at 57.5 felt bad and I was jumping way forward. It's weird how it magically changes once the weights get heavy-ish. I think I could power snatch an ugly 62.5 which is nice, since my snatch PR is 65. I can tell that including WL in my strength program is going to pay off since I am recording myself every session. That's how I end up improving, by looking at form and fixing it over time. It's what happened with rowing and every compound lift.

The metcon was brutal. There was no hiding except for the rower. Everything else spiked your heart rate. I probably should have started at 25kg and 15 pull-ups and I would have had a shot at finishing. Or perhaps just 15 reps of everything. I really need to be smarter about scaling these so I don't make every metcon a race pace effort. It is a lesson for next time, although I have been saying this for years now. Pull-ups were good, I know how to kip again.

Cardio and weightlifting, good session. I'm trying to pick crossfit sessions now that are mostly cardio and weightlifting, and maybe some gymnastics, since I'm doing a proper strength program.

ATS2 - W2D3

Deadlift: 110x4x3 (Last set)
Incline Bench: 47.5x11x3, 47.5xAMRAP=16
Paused Squat: 80x6x5
Weighted Pull-ups: 10x4x4

Good day in terms of lifting, but probably the most annoying session I've had. The slots are 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, etc. I arrived at 9:02 and both squat racks were taken. I then ****ed around for 20 minutes doing face pulls, DB romanian deadlifts and air squats. I had 30 minutes in the squat rack, and did the deadlifts and 3 sets of incline. You then had to go out and check in again and both squat racks were taken again! I did the pull-ups, then the last set of incline, and then the squats. It took me 110 minutes in total!

Deadlifts were really easy as you can see in the video. I'm keeping it light and progressing slowly. I tried to sit back in my setup and squeeze my glutes in the finish.

Incline Bench went from 45x14 last week to 47.5x16 this week. Good.

Paused Squats were easy enough. Form felt good. I tried a wider stance and hips back.

Weighted pull-ups were easy. I might have started a bit too light.

Nutrition update - my dog is now 11kg from 10kg. He is now on 450 calories a day, down from 480 (plus the usual treats).

ATS2 - W3D1

Squat: 107.5x3x4, 107.5XAMRAP=10 (rep PR!)
OHP: 50x3x4, 50xAMRAP=10 (rep PR!)
Power Snatch: 47.5x2x5 (Last set)
Pull-ups: 5x7

Great day, the session exceeded all my expectations. I decided to do an AMRAP with squats to accurately enter RIR and to see if I could set a rep PR. Prelockdown PR was 106.5x10 (woat lbs) and today wasn't RPE 10. I'm sure I could have grinded out a few more reps. It's my first post lockdown strength PR! I started getting a bit forward when tired and not thinking. I need to focus more and hips back and knees out because it felt so solid when I did that.

OHP has gone from 45x11 to 47.5x10 to 50x10. Pretty good. My previous PR was 50x9. I did not expect this, since I'm OHPing once a week and it's my strongest lift anyway. 2nd post lockdown PR!

I recorded every set of power snatches and think they got better and better. I focussed on the first pull in the first couple of sets, then noticed the bar was getting away from me in the second pull. I then only thought about keeping the bar close and I stopped jumping forward.

Pull-ups were RPE 9, but I completed all the sets. 3x8 next session.

Congrats on the reps PR!

Nice job! Strength is coming along nicely given that it's not really your main focus.

Crossfit

AMRAP 5:
Buy-In: 100 Double Unders
12 Power Cleans (52.5/37.5kg)
4 Burpee Box Jump (24"/20")

Rest 5 Minutes

AMRAP 5:
Buy-In: 100 Double Unders
8 Power Cleans (60/42.5kg)
4 Burpee Box Jump (24"/20")

Rest 5 Minutes

AMRAP 5:
Buy-In: 100 Double Unders
4 Power Cleans (70/47.5kg)
4 Burpee Box Jump (24"/20")

I scaled to 75 DU and 40/45/50kg and did 2+8, 2+1, and 2+5 rounds.

This was my first time using my new rope for large sets of DUs and it was weird. Once I got through 5 or 6 and got into a rhythm, I could bang out a large set and feel relaxed. I think I did a set of 30 in the 3rd round. But if I didn't get through 5 or 6, I kept failing. And I failed a lot. As a result, my heart rate spiked really high after the double unders in each round. It was a bit of a shitshow since getting through the 75 probably had my heart rate above 90% and then I just struggled through the rest. It defeated the point of this workout. I have already ordered a new rope which is an inch longer, since I don't want to struggle through relearning double unders.

I felt really beaten up afterwards, like after a 5k TT. Doing power cleans and burpee box jumps for a few minutes after near max heart rate is not fun. A disappointing session, but I picked this for cardio and to test out my new rope. Mission accomplished, I guess.

Thanks, Rich! It's surpising how fast strength comes back.

Thank you! It is actually my main focus now, although only since 2 weeks ago when I started ATS. I really want to smash through some PRs and add 10-15kg to all lifts.

Good stuff in here. I'm starting to get the itch to lift again, but given everywhere is spiking or about to spike right now, it seems pretty clear that gyms aren't going to be a thing around here for the next five months, at least not for me. I'll just have to continue to cardiobunny it up, I suppose.

Thanks, Monte! It was a case of out of sight, out of mind for me when gyms were closed. I also tend to get addicted pretty easily, so rowing became my summer fling. But once gyms opened up, it rapidly became evident to me that it was never going to last.

Here in the UK, it seems like there is a chance gyms might be open through winter. We have a three tier system and they announced yesterday that even in the highest tier (for cases), gyms will remain open. That all might change if this thing gets properly exponential though.

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Completely unrelated, I had a blood test done, and my Vitamin D levels were really low (45 when the normal range was 80-150 IIRC). Hopefully that explains my lethargy and lack of energy. I asked the doctor if I could have my testosterone measured after all the fuss, and he pretty much lol'd in my face. So that's that.

Crossfit

3 Supersets
4 Weighted Pull ups
4 Weighted Ring Dips
0:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00

Pull-ups - BW, 5, 10, 15
Ring dips - BW, 5, 10, 10

AMRAP 20:
500m Row
15 Pull Ups
15 Hand Release Push-ups
15 Toes to Bar

RX - 3+501

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I took it slightly easy and built up in weight in the first part, because of the metcon to follow. Pull-ups were really easy until the last set, which was probably RPE 7.5. On October 1, we built up to a heavy set of 3 ring dips with lots of rest and I did 12.5x3. Today was so much easier! The third set was RPE 7. Definitely progress.

I loved this metcon, just gymnastics and a row to get the heart rate back in control.

Row - 2:15, 2:20, 2:20, 2:02 - I used it as a recovery so I could go straight into the pull-ups. There was no point pushing it and gaining 10-15 seconds when I'm resting 5-10 seconds between sets of the other stuff. I really pushed the last row so I could get 1 extra pull-up at the end. I'm not certain why I did that.

Pull-ups - Mostly sets of 3, with some 2s and 1s at the end. I need to remember to keep my legs together to be more efficient and push away from the bar at the top.

Push-ups - Sets of 3-5. Pretty easy.

Toes to bar - 5,5,3,1,1 in the 1st round, then 5 followed by singles in the last 2 rounds. The second linked toes to bar is always the toughest for me; once I get that I can keep doing them. So when I get tired, I don't bother and just do quick singles. It's strange why that happens, I have no idea why.

ATS2 - W3D2

Power Clean: 85, 67.5x2x5
Incline Bench: 50x10x3, 50xAMRAP=12
Front Squat: 72.5x10x3, 72.5XAMRAP=16
DB Rows: 26x10x3 (per arm)
DU practice

I switched some exercises around to avoid clashes with crossfit. I used it as an opportunity to move power cleans first and work up to a heavy single. My heaviest power clean (I think) is 85 and clean is 95. This 85 wasn't too difficult, I think I can do 90. I recorded every set and still noticed I was still jumping forward, sigh. After tinkering with a lot of things, I thought solely about keeping the bar close after contact with my thigh. The last rep of the last set at 67.5 had no jumping forward and I thought of keeping the bar close. It looks like I just need to have that in my mind for cleans and snatches. I wonder if I could clean 100 now.

The heavy power clean flared up my bicep tendonitis and incline bench was not fun. I went from 45x14 to 47.5x16 to 50x12. Not good. I took a video though, thoughts?

I was really annoyed after incline. Front Squats were 65x16, 67.5x16. So I decided I was going to do 72.5x16 no matter what, to make myself feel good about the session. The last 4 reps were not pretty - losing shape on the way up. I need to be more sensible and stop when my form goes bad. Too much heart. Light weight though.

DB rows are still easy.

I got my new rope and did a few double unders. Since they are always in the open, I need to actually become decent at them. They gas me out way more than they should because I grip it too hard. Every now and then, I relax and do them and they feel great. I am thinking about adding structure to it. 5 minutes per session. I could start off with 10 DUs every 30 seconds. Add 1 until I get to 15DU/30s. Then reduce the time. 10DU/25s. Then go up until 15DU/25s. And do this until I am happy with my form. It's only 5 minutes per session so I can easily add this on at the end.

Edit - On rewatching the 85 power clean video, I don't think I am jumping forward. The line on the floor is a good reference. I still am looping the bar away from me though.

ATS2 - W3D3

Bench Press: 65x3x4, 65XAMRAP=11
Deadlift: 120x3x3
Paused Squat: 85x5x5
Weighted Pull-up: 10x3x5

65 minutes including warm up. Bench Press was about as expected. 60x14 last week to 65x11 this week. Linear progression ended at 67.5x4, so definite progress on my poverty bench (this might be an insult to poverty benchers)

Deadlift is the same old ****. I really tried hinging and getting my weight back, but the video looks the same as always. If someone would give me a cue that would then make my deadlifts look pretty, you would be inducted into this log HOF. I have 2 videos of today's deadlifts but my arms look bigger in this one, so it got the nod.

Paused squats and weighted pull-ups were easy enough. I did a couple of weighted pistols somewhere in there just to see if I could still do them, and they actually feel easier.

That's 3 weeks of ATS2 done. 6 weeks is a cycle after which there is a deload. I will give myself the option of taking an extra rest day anytime from now until the end of week 6 in case I'm feeling run down. I feel fine now, but not the great 100% after my previous deload. There is definitely some fatigue being built up.

I think you're starting with slightly low hips, probably because you do WL. Also, not a big fan of the way you camp out at the bottom for the first rep. Just get your breath at the top, bend over, set your dominant hand, then your off hand, quickly set your back and rip the bar.

Also, remove your shoes or wear chucks. Def do not lift in heeled shoes if you're not confident in your DL setup. I think your pulls look overall pretty fine, but hard to tell with such low weight.

I think Renton is right about the low hips. Your knees are in front of your arms when they should be right in line. It's an easy adjustment, though:


It looks like it's happening because the bar ends up too far forward. Set it so it's mid-foot (the center of the whole foot, not just the part you see that's in front of your shin. Then, as Rip says, don't move the bar.

You set up okay but then pushed the bar forward with your shins as you dropped your hips.

I also think you'd be better with a shoe with flat, solid soles.

Yes, your hips are too low and you're pulling around your knees. Just follow Rip's setup.

The shoes are fine.

Yeah you definitely see the bar move forward as you start the pull.

This is right when you contact the bar with your shins:


I didn't cherry-pick this for your knee position. It's really right where the plate started rotating, and you can see your knees are exactly where they should be relative to your arms.

So, that's basically your starting position, given your body structure. Simply brace your core and pull the slack out of the bar while imagine you're putting your ribs and shoulder blades in your pockets.

[aspergers]
I stipulated "if you're not confident in your DL setup", which he isn't since he's asking for input. I think pulling in squat shoes can be good for some people, but for most they make it (slightly) harder to get in the right position. You might be able to double dog asperg me and say that he should pull in heels for more transference to the olympic lifts, to which I'd say touche except that practically nobody in WL trains the DL as an accessory to the clean.
[/aspergers]

Thanks everyone.

Rich, the pictures really helped. The first one looks so bad and the second one looks all right. The challenge for me is to get into that starting position without kicking the bar forward.

Renton, I usually DL barefoot, but I was a bit self-conscious of doing it at my crossfit gym. But I don't think it really matters - I kick the bar forward barefoot as well.

CB, I will try to give Rip's setup a go. I remember trying it and getting chest up without lowering my hips seemed impossible to me.

Spy, yeah. I've always done that.

Basically, I know I'm kicking the bar forward. I know my my hips are too low. I just don't know how to have a solid lower back with higher hips. I'll try following Rip's setup again and try to brace everything before I kick the bar forward (Rich's 2nd picture).

Crossfit

Power Clean
On the 1:30 x 6 Sets:
3 Power Cleans

40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80

AMRAP 15:
15 Power Cleans (42.5/30kg)
30 Double Unders
15 Wallballs (9/6kg)
30 Double Unders

3+10 RX

I'm really pleased with 80x3 with power cleans. My only thought was to keep the bar close to my body and they felt easy enough. It was RPE 8. I'm not calling it a rep PR but it's certainly the first time I've done 3 reps at that weight.

The metcon was pointless again with how terrible my double unders are. I tried to really pace it so that I could get quality reps of DUs in, but they fell apart. I should have scaled them to 2x20 reps per round or even 2x15. I would have then done them with good form and not been so winded for everything else. More practice needed.

I'm going to do a mini-deload now. 2 days off, then ATS, then another day off and that should hopefully have me ready for weeks 4 to 6 of ATS.