It's amazing how much the olds affects sprinting. Until my mid 30s, I could get up off my couch cold, go play soccer, sprint around for 90 min with no warm up of any kind and be fine. I'd maybe gets some DOMS because of how infrequently I played, but I'd never actually get hurt.

Once I started approaching 40, I'd tweak an adductor or hamstring every ****ing time.

The groin is actually a lot better than I thought it was. I think stopping squatting when I did was prudent. I'm going to follow my physio's advice from ages ago and do any movement as long as the pain is not more than 2/10 during or 24 hours after. I think I'll be close to 100% next week.

Thanks, Monte!

That's the plan!

This one is on me. The program called for 10 bike sprints, which is not hard on your body at all. I don't have a bike, and you can't really sprint on the rower for 100m like you can on the bike or running, so I chose to run with a lingering thought in my head that it was a bad idea. The programming is actually great. Pat Sherwood is a programming nerd and I've listened to a lot of his youtube videos and podcasts on it. He is a big fan of sprinting (not necessarily running) and goes in depth on why it's beneficial for crossfit. All the reviews of people who have done his programming for a long time have been great. I'm liking it so far but my only doubt is if I can actually get stronger on it. If I do, then it might be linchpin + homegym for life.

Uh oh, do you think I'm approaching 40?

The timeline is different for everyone I'm sure. Also 10 full 100m sprints is probably more than what I would do in a soccer game. Nevertheless, I'm sure even as little as 5 yrs ago, it would have been nbd.

IIRC, you are approaching "approaching 40" status. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Crossfit Linchpin - D38

Main
7 rounds for time (or not):
21 Sit-ups
Handstand Walk, 7 m
3 Clean & Jerks, (60-70% 1RM)

18:41 - not for time/5 strict HSPU instead of HSW/55kg C&J

Accessory 1
Single Leg Stiff Legged Deadlift : 12-12-12

15kg

Accessory 2
Shoulder Press : 10-10-10

42.5kg - LS RPE 9

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

I'm back! I guess the strain was really minor and I was smart to stop when I did. It already feels 95% (very little pain even when I press on the exact spot), and 0 pain today. Approaching approaching 40 has its perks.

I went a bit lighter with clean and jerks today (61%), just to err on the side of caution. The metcon was very enjoyable because my HR was well under control. Round times were 2:17, 2:44, 2:58, 2:47, 2:45, 2:42, 2:23. Average HR 159, max HR 183. All HSPU were unbroken, which is a huge surprise. I don't think I would have done 7x5 unbroken a few months ago even with nothing else thrown in there. C&Js were quick singles (push jerks). The sit-ups were easy. At some point, I need to learn how to handstand walk - there are so many cool pictures to take.

SLSLDs were fine. My cues were to keep my back straight and DB close to my body.

OHP was promising after all those handstand pushups. The program called for 3x8-12 reps and I was planning on doing 42.5x8x3, but ended up doing 10. My overhead pressing is definitely improving on this, I wonder if I have a 70 OHP (PR is 68). BW is 75-76 right now.

My diet is terrible. There are too many desserts in the house and too little will power. I just threw out a bunch this morning.

Nice speed on the recovery!

My diet has been legit terrible the past few months, to the point that I am probably basic enough that I need to start logging food again in the new year. More infrequent cooking and late night dessert and booze aren't ideal!

Yeah but it doesn't matter for either of you when you are exercising that much. But beware when you get injured or start something low volume. Blow up like a fattie. I do very little for the four weeks after a marathon but I am used to the calories from the training, so I blow up like a balloon.

It is comforting to know that GOAT dieters with elite discipline are human as well. Makes me feel better about my own failings.

Now excuse me while I go demolish some leftover dessert from Christmas Dinner. It would be criminal to let it got to waste.

Crossfit Linchpin - D39

Main
20 minute AMRAP:
12 Row Calories
10 Kettlebell Swings (American), 24kg
8 Burpees

8+17, RX

Accessory 1
Barbell Glute Bridge 10-10-10

80, 90, 90

Accessory 2
V-ups: 60 reps in as few sets as possible

2x15, 3x10

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

Phew, I severely underestimated the metcon. American KB Swings are one of the movements people make fun of in crossfit (up there with kipping and sumo deadlift high pulls), but I just followed what was written. Swings to overhead are SO much harder than regular ones. Looking at this on paper, it appears to be a 90% cardio, 10% strength workout. But, stronger people would crush this, since the swings would be easier. I did it all unbroken, but it spiked my heart rate. Average HR 174 and a new WR max HR of 192! Round times were 2:08, 2:26, 2:26, 2:23, 2:28, 2:21, 2:16, 2:12, and 1:15 (half round). I did the burpees faster towards the end to get that extra half round.

I figured out glute bridges in the 2nd set. I need to squeeze my glutes as hard and high as possible.

V-ups are hard. Probably effective.

I'm counting this week as a mini deload week, since I'm only doing 3 out of the 5 days. I skipped 8x200 intervals and Fran. I'm bookmarking the Fran day for when I can go to a gym because it is a great benchmark to measure progress and is probably the crossfit workout that has been done the most. I wanted to do the squat day on Saturday, but I don't think my groin is ready for that. I might warm up with squats on Saturday and continue if there is no pain. If there is pain, I'll stop and do the heavy day from next week instead (snatches).

Thank you!

Yeah same, minus the alcohol. I am great until the evening - regular sized meals, lots of protein, healthy snacks. I then either eat a huge dinner or binge eat sweets late at night. I have been going through 2kg bulk and cut cycles since March. I cut when I reach my threshold of being too fat. I then "bulk" when I don't feel too fat anymore and binge eat again. It's not the worst, because that time at night where I unwind, watch TV, and stuff myself, is pretty amazing. I need a competition for some serious motivation to cut properly and get everything in order. The crossfit open is in a couple of months which was my main training goal for the past few years, but gyms aren't likely to be open and it doesn't feel important now.

Very true. I've always found something to do when I've been hurt. There's a few short stints of swimming and cycling in this log. This obviously won't happen if there is a serious injury.

I threw 3 desserts out last morning and yesterday was my first good nutrition day in a while. I didn't even crave it because I had no options for anything sweet.

Crossfit Linchpin - D40

Main
Back Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

115, 117.5, 120, 120, 120, 122.5, 122.5

Accessory 1
Dumbbell Front Rack Walking Lunge : 1-1-1

2x22.5s, 16m (8 steps each)

Accessory 2
Side Plank: 2 minutes per side

Extra
Strict HSPU: Max reps

12

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



I was pretty nervous going into this because of my groin and was planning on stopping if I felt it. I felt 1/10th of the pain from Monday's rep at 80 in a couple of reps here and there, so I just went ahead with it. I was a bit cautious out of the hole and also cautious because there was no bailing. Still, I'm pretty pleased with this. 65th percentile. 135 is my PR and even my final set looks maybe RPE 8? Strength has been preserved. Injury gone. 'Twas a good day.

Lunges were a lot easier than I expected. I'll do 20m next time. Stuff like this is where I'm really experiencing gains. 100 pound lunges being easy was not happening a few months ago. Planks were k. A bit of suffering in the last 30 seconds.

I decided to YOLO and test my max strict HSPU. PR was 13, I got 12 today. 13 was done first in the session and a few kgs lighter, so it's not that bad. This is also maybe my strongest movement in crossfit relatively so holding it is fine.



Fat. Cut. I know. 2020 review and 2021 goals coming up soon and nutrition is a big part of it (after I eat some bacon now).

2020 Review

Cliffs: Improved cardio, maintained strength, maintained gymnastics. So overall better at crossfit. Weight 75.5 to 76.

PRs:
Rowing: 7:17 2k and 19:53 5k (from 7:51 and 22:41) (and lots of PRs in other distances)
C&J: 90 from 85
Pistols: Weighted pistol with 15kg and sets of 15+ pistols with ease, from 0.

There are probably a few others but I can't really remember. I was the strongest I had been in February before the lockdown, but didn't test anything. I set a few rep PRs (squat and OHP) towards the end of the year, before another lockdown. Cardio way up, and everything else constant is a pretty decent year. I'm definitely better at crossfit and since that is my only training goal, that works.

2021 Goals

Cliffs: Get better at crossfit - end the year stronger, with more endurance, and with better gymnastics. Better nutrition. Injury free.

Specific goals:
Strength: Squat 145, Bench 95, Deadlift 170, OHP 70, Snatch 70, C&J 95 (from 135, 87.5, 162.5, 68, 65, 90)
Cardio: 7:10 2k row (from 7:17)
Gymnastics: 20 pull-ups, 15 strict handstand pushups, 8 muscle ups (from 15, 13, 4)

This year, I don't want to focus so much on one thing that everything else lags. I want to always be slightly better at everything compared to before. I am not naive and I know my training motivation will change. I know I might really want to do a PL program for a while. The goal when I do that, is to still do an acceptable amount of everything else so that I don't lose all my gains. Each individual goal above seems fairly easy to do on its own. The biggest challenge is to do all of them together. I don't want to do a 7:10 2k, then lose that fitness while hitting the other goals. That's what I have been guilty of in the past.

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

One of the things I love to do is to open random logs on here, go back in time, and just read. Before I found H&F, I would do the same thing but with blogs. I really like following anyone's fitness journey. Even without fitness, most of the books I read are non-fiction. I think I read all of G4S's log in 3-4 days! A few days ago, I did this with loco's log and started (I think) on page 51. He was going through a phase where he was logging food and saying how easy it was to become full with good food. It really hit home how bad I have been with nutrition. My main weaknesses are carbs and desserts. Starting 2 days ago, I am eating way less carbs with main meals and lots more protein. I am not eliminating desserts, but simply cutting down on them. When I feel like snacking in the middle of the day, I am now just going to eat protein or fruit. When I get delivery, there are so many delicious options that aren't 1200+ cals like I'm doing now (1/2 chicken from anywhere, smart chipotle, smart lebanese, smart anything really). I am now going to commit to better nutrition, and a slow cut. It's so easy for me to look good with how much exercise I do. If I haven't lost weight by March, please call me out.

k.

Will do, fatty!

In all seriousness, your point about diet quality is well taken; I tend to be an all or nothing kind of guy, which is why I kind of have to cut myself off from certain things completely (chips, desserts, booze) that I could theoretically fit into my diet in moderation. It's easy to just kind of be lazy diet-wise when you're as active as we are and "not notice" it, but at the same time my body composition is definitely worse than two months ago so that's not really true. I'm probably going to log weekly weigh-ins on Mondays for accountability and see how that goes, and simple changes like the ones you've posted will hopefully do the trick.

One thing I'd suggest is to take baby steps with cooking your own food a bit more - maybe start with once a week? You might even find you enjoy it.

Incoming three cans of tuna for breakfast diet!

I have no governor when it comes to sweets. Chocolate chip cookies and ice cream being my two biggest soft spots. I could eat chocolate chip cookies every day.

Because of this I've had to basically stop it all. Once I start I just can't do it like a normal person. I'm able to somewhat quench that thirst for sugar by making smoothies but it's by no means the same thing.

I have a wife that is pretty thin and two teenage daughters too and they are constantly baking ****. It's a struggle but gets easier with time for me.

Good luck

I should have seen this coming! I actually think the 7:10 2k is the toughest goal of mine because of how little rowing I'm doing. My endurance is better now than when I was rowing only, but my rowing times are going to be worse. To illustrate this - I am probably going to do better on a 10 minute AMRAP of burpees and KB swings, but my 2k time is going to be worse now. That is because I'm doing lots of endurance work, but not rowing (down to 20k meters a month from 250k). So for me to now set a 2k PR on 20k a month might be pretty difficult. But perhaps all the other work will organically bring my 2k down. It remains to be seen.


Yeah, we're in pretty identical situations. My body composition is definitely worse than 6 months ago. I also have no excuse with cooking. I hate cooking, but my girlfriend loves it and cooks everyday. She lifts (she's doing the beginner reddit powerlifting routine now) and cooks healthy food as well as pretty amazing Greek food. I have perfect macro meals waiting for me, but I still haven't been good, which is really weak sauce. I've realized that it's all about finding a sustainable diet for me. And that involves making a lot smarter choices with meals (way more protein and less carbs), and then still indulging a tiny bit at night.

A can of tuna with a little bit of mayo (like 50 cals) is one of my snacks now. Pretty tasty and filling.

Thanks! One of my goals with all this is to start craving fruit again. I'm having so much dessert that fruit tastes like cardboard to me. When I was on a multiyear cut from fatty to thin (pre log), fruits were incredible.

I obviously realized that when posting it, but the temporal concurrence of your two posts made me want to bust balls.

There's no way you can add in a one or two extra steady state sessions per week? Seems like lolCrossFit programs enough random sprints that you should get a decent amount of interval work.



Of all the responses I was expecting, "my girlfriend cooks awesome food but I spend the money to order random unhealthy takeout 2x/day" was not near the top. Obviously you know that's lol, but to your other point, ordering a whole chicken, rice, and veggies from Nando's (that is the only lolBrit fast-ish food place I know and have eaten at) when you just have to have something not from your own stove is loads better then deep fried blood sausage or haggis or fish and chips for the eighth time or whatever it is floats your boat.

"Fruit doesn't taste good anymore" is approaching MLY/YTF territory, so a general reset is absolutely in order. Friendly weight loss/body comp bet?

Crossfit Linchpin - D41

Main
4 rounds of:
15 Strict Pull-ups
1 minute of max rep Dumbbell Squat Cleans, 2x22.5 kg
Rest 2 mins

41 reps RX (12,11,9f,9)

Accessory 1
SLIPS
Scales - Front and back, 2x20s each
L-Sit - 3x20s
Inversion - Handstand hold practice
Plank - 1 arm plank on palms, 1 minute each
Stretching - yes

Accessory 2
For time: 100 double unders

1:36



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

DB Squat Cleans are a vile, evil movement. This session was reminiscent of the worst Pete's Plan intervals. 41 reps puts me at 72nd percentile, which is nice. Pull-ups were all in sets of 3, except for the last round where it was 3,2,2,singles. Pull-ups took 1:39, 2:03, 2:48, and 2:58. Squat cleans were 5+7, 4+4+4, 4+3+2f, 3+3+3. I failed the last rep in the 3rd round - I just couldn't get my elbows high fast enough. Diabolical. Pull-ups felt good enough until the 3rd round where I just wanted to take a nap.

SLIPS was fine. I added a few seconds to L-sits and scales.

1 second PR on double unders is actually really nice, because I fell apart today. I fell apart when I did 2:00, and I paced the 1:37 really well. So pretty good technique gains here. I wanted to do 2x20, 4x15. I ended up doing 20, 18, 17, 23, and then lots of trip ups trying to get it home. I'll stick to the plan next time.

I've been recording my percentiles for all workouts I do as prescribed. I separated them into combinations of monostructural (M), gymnastics (G), and weightlifting (W). Results so far (Type - Percentile - Number of workouts):

GW - 72 - 1
MG - 63 - 2
W - 60 - 6
M - 60 - 3
MGW - 57 - 2
MW - 55 - 1
G - 51 - 1
Overall - 59 - 17

59th percentile overall. Getting to 70 by the end of the year seems like a reasonable goal. This is among the average user of btwb, which tends to be the crossfit fanatic. At my gym, I'm probably top 10%. I think I got 7th in the open last year at my gym, with really terrible cardio at the time. Regardless, btwb percentiles seems like a good way to measure progress.

Whoops, sorry for the mansplaining then. Re: steady state, there's usually 1 session a week that's longer and I am going to make a conscious effort not to race it just to get a better percentile, and rather treat it as UT2. Tomorrow for instance has a likely finishing time of 35-50 minutes with either 4k of running or 5k of rowing. I think going slower here would lead to better gains because like you said there's so much interval stuff.


What's even worse than the fruit thing is that I have hardly been hungry at dinner time because of the overeating. So then obviously chicken and rice isn't going to sound good. I tend to then order really shitty high calorie food, because that's the only thing that sounds appealing when I'm not hungry. Then add the binge eating dessert. So there's 1500 calories when I'm not even hungry!!

I'm up for the body comp bet! I don't want to go crazy with weight loss. I had visible abs at 70 and am 76 now. I would hope I've built a little muscle and can have abs at 72-73. How do we do this? Before and after pics?

Crossfit Linchpin - D42

Main
Run, 1 mi
50 Jumping Air Squats
50 Hollow Rocks
Row, 1000 m
50 Hollow Rocks
50 Jumping Air Squats
Run, 1 mi

36:26 RX (but not for time)

Accessory 1
500m row

1:35.5 (43spm, 187 max HR)

Accessory 2
Pistols: 20L, 20R

4x5 each leg

Accessory 3
Dot Drill 1: 3x30s, 1' rest

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

I did what I said yesterday and tried to keep my HR down for the main part. Runs were just under 10 minute miles and the row was at 2:20. My HR strap didn't connect until a few minutes in. Jumping air squats raised my HR, there was just no way around it. Still, it was pretty enjoyable to just go slow. The 100 hollow rocks were not that easy, but not too hard.

The plan called for a hard 500m row, but I couldn't resist and just went all out. My PB is 1:34.4, so I'm pretty happy with being a second off after doing a long metcon before. I also had no plan and paid the price for it with terrible pacing. 100m splits were 1:37.5, 1:32.5, 1:33.0, 1:35.0, and 1:39.5! I might have had a shot at breaking my PB today if I had paced it correctly. I have no doubt I can break it when fresh, with correct pacing. Promising. I decided I am going to deviate from the programming once a month and pick a PB to beat or set a new benchmark (whether it's rowing, lifting, or a crossfit benchmark). A 500m row is calling me. I would target 1:33.5 if fresh.

I searched my log for pistols earlier and saw that I had written I figured pistols out when I held the opposite leg with my hand. I did that today and indeed, I have figured them out. They were so much easier! Boring logging ftw.

Dot drills seems like FPS but it only took a few minutes and I was terrible at it, so who knows.

I went full asp and ordered 0.5kg and 1kg change plates so that I can do benchmark workouts as prescribed and not have to worry about my score being fake if I lift 42.5kg and not 43kg (for Fran). As I typed this out, I realized I still can't get to 43 with the 0.5 plates. BRB, ordering more.

Groin is 100%.

Lol yeah not ideal. I've been in a rut with respect to food selection too and, as basic as it sounds, the wife and I are treating the new year as an opportunity to get back into the groove.

Doesn't need to be that formal, just a friendly weight loss pact to keep me motivated and honest. I'd like to get down to a non-dehydrated 180-182, stay there, and see how I feel; I weighed in at a (bloated) 188.2 yesterday, so I need something to motivate me to get down to a reasonable number and stay there for some defined period of time. When I made this suggestion I was thinking of including waist measurement in some way, but between then and now the kids have lost the measuring tape again so I'll just have to have "not fat" be the goal.

Crossfit Linchpin - D43

Main
30 minute EMOM: 1 Hang Power Snatch

45x2, 47.5x4, 50x9, 52.5x12, 55x2, 55f, 50

Accessory 1
OHP: 45x8x2, 45XAMRAP=10 (RPE 9)

Accessory 2
Farmer's Carry: 3x80m with 2x22.5s

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

Fun session. I took a lot of videos and tried to correct my form. There were a lot of things going through my mind - tight upper back, weight forward, keep the bar close. After looking at the videos, it seems like I'm receiving it with soft shoulders and pressing out when the weights get heavy. One big win is that I am not just bending my elbows and yanking it like I usually do when I hang snatch. Any form feedback would be helpful. I am guessing lots of drop snatches, snatch balance, etc to fix the receiving position. I failed 55 in the last minute and quickly did 50. 42nd percentile, which is my worst so far, but snatches and bench press are big weaknesses of mine. Bench doesn't really matter since it's not important in crossfit, but snatches are. I am thinking about adding a 2 day a week snatch program to this.

OHP was good. 47.5x11 is a rep PR, and today was RPE 9 after lots of snatches and 2 toughish sets before.

I added 10m to my last 2 laps of farmer's carry. Solid progress. I'm turning every 5m in these.

I did some of the fake Sotts press and the real Sotts press as well with the bar. Real (clean grip) was actually pretty easy. My fake one was a lot harder.




You're on! It seems like we both want to lose 3-4kg. You got me in the last 2k handicapped bet, so revenge must be had. I'm calling my starting weight 76 (could actually be a bit higher), let's weigh in April 1. I've been good with my diet the last few days.

I was excited about a possible nood-off, but now I see it's a lose 3kg challenge.

Lol.

I'll commit to nudes April 1.

Me too.