Good workout today besides the horrible cold/cough I've got. Thought I was going to cough up a lung a few times.

2min bike
power snatches + OHS
little stretching

Snatch:
5x95 hang power
1fail + 3x95 hang x 2
3x115 hang
1f + 1xhang
1x125 hang fail
2 + 1 OHS x 125 hang
2x125 hang
1x130 hang x 2
1x135 hang
1x135 hang fail

Pretty solid session, I'm just doing snatches from the hang for simplicity's sake and to save my knees. Something is up with my 1st pull (less so with my clean as well) and I keep banging to bar on my left kneecap every so often.

Clean and Split Jerk:
warmups at 95 and 135
1x185 x 2
1x195
1f + 1x195 - technique laps on first attempt, bar slid off forward
1x205 fail jerk
1x205 x 2
1x205 - elbows hit knees bottom of clean, didn't attempt jerk
1x185 power clean + power jerk (PR power clean)
1x185 power clean fail power jerk

Good c&j session. I'm a little concerned with my clean technique - I keep drifting forward and standing up with a round back. Need to pull the bar back toward me more during the 2nd pull. Power clean PR was easy even at the end of the workout - should be able to do 195 maybe 200.

What do you think biggest problem is between power Clean and squat clean... I assume SC should be much higher, but 3rd pull is very crucial. Your thoughts?

I think the squat clean should begin to exceed the power version when the 2nd pull is precise enough that you can receive the bar roughly where you want to each time. For the power clean it's pretty easy to adjust for bar movenment forward-back just by jumping forward/back or bending at the hips. If you are catching in a full squat then there is much less room for error - the problem I'm running into. If the bar drifts forward just a little it is very difficult to adjust the catch. At high loads I am forced to lean forward, lose the back arch and I either muscle it up in an ugly squat or bail.

For the 3rd pull flexibility and speed/skill is much more important in the squat version. Got to get down quickly and precisely-for advanced lifters I think this becomes the limiting factor, for elite lifters it is the front squat. Right now if I catch in a deep squat my hamstrings are too tight to prevent my butt from tucking under - for most other guys this would probably happen even shallower - around parallel or even higher.

Just my thoughts - I originally thought my limiting factor was getting under quick enough, but I think my pull and catch technique, and flexibility are what's the trouble.

500m row 1:40 @22pm - tried a 7damper setting as opposed to 5 this time
10 dips
15 kipping pullups, back extensions, incline situps
5 HSPU FR
some box jumps
OHS and Power Snatches

Back Squat
8x135
5x185
3x240 x 10

Total Load = 9,205

Push Press
5x95 x 2
5x135
5x145 x 3

Barbell Bench
10x45
8x95
8x135
8x160
6x160 x 2

Total Load = 5,490

God I hate bench. I'm going to try and add an extra bench/shoulder press type day each weak. My jerk is farther behind my clean than I'd like, hopefully some improved shoulder/chest strength will help that out.

"But how much can you bench?" should be the new "But how much did you lose?" I'm sure your power, explosiveness, and GPP more than make up for whatever deficiency you may see with your bench.

Ha, thanks skunks!

Not a great day in the gym today, shoulders still really sore.
2min bike
OHS Power Snatches
stretching

OHS:
8x95
5x135
5x155
5x160
2x160 - quit after 2 reps, shoudlers really tight and sore

Chins:
8 unweighted
5x45
5x50
5x55 x 3

Hanging inverted pike
8 palms facing
8 palms away
7 palms facing
6 palms facing

Worked out around 8pm today. Was good to get an extra 6 hours or so rest, and tomorrow is a rest day so it works out well.

2min bike
10 dips
8 pullups
15 back extensions, incline situps

Barbell Bench
10x45
8x95
5x135
8x160 x 3
2x185 x 2

Load = 6,465

I seem to be responding better to higher rep ranges on bench - maybe I am slow twitch fiber dominant in my chest or something.

Deadlift
10x135
5x225
5x295
5x315
5x325 x 2
5x275
5x225

Load = 11,275

Good dl workout. Worked out with a friend and he brought his new digital camcorder so we took some video of most of our dl sessions. My technique looks ok - I definitely lift mostly with my back and with a rounded upper back at heavy weights. I do a pretty good job of not rising too fast with my hips and my lower back stays nice and flat. Not the prettiest form by any stretch, but it confirmed in my mind that it's certainly safe. Having gazelle legs is just an extra hurdle for me. Hopefully I can upload some of the clips when I get them.

Rest/hugnover day today. Yesterdays workout:

500m row 1:39 @24
10 dips
6pullups
15 back extensions, incline situps
OHS and power snatches

Front Squat
10x45
5x135
3x185
3x220 x 10

Load = 8,280

Barbell Shoulder Press
10x45
5x95
5x115
4x115 fail 5th
5x115 x 2
4x115 fail 5th

Load = 3,570

10 muscle ups in 6 mins.

Front squats were very tough, but good. Shoulder press still feels like crap, I just don't seem to be improving much at all. Tried to finsih up with 30 muscleups, but I ran out of tape and couldn't properly protect my wrist. Plus the AC was turned off or something in the gym and my hands were too slick to get a consistent grip on the rings so I gave up early.

Drunk friday and saturday night so took the whole weekend off. Either my body still isn't over the alcohol/empty calories or I'm just in need of a light week. Didn't feel 100% today, see how the rest of exam week goes. I'd like to keep going strong because I probably won't have access to a good gym for the rest of the summer.

2min bike
Power snatches + OHS

Hang Snatch
5x95 power
3x95
3x115 power
2x115 x 2
1f + 3x115

C&J
warmups with 115 and 135
1x185 power clean + split jerk x 2
1x195 power clean + split jerk (power clean PR)
1x205 " " fail
1x185 full clean + split jerk
1x195 " " + fail split jerk

A bunch of friends were in the gym so we were messing around with rings, teaching some guys how to snatch/kip/deadlift etc. Wasn't really focused at all.

Back Squat:
8x135
3x225
3x250 x 10

Load = 9,255

Finally got around to uploading deadlift videos from last week. Clips got squished somewhat - I'm not actually that skinny.

5x325 set 1
5x325 set 2

Smiley, I'm not sneezing at the weight you deadlift, but it does look like you start your lift with your hips too high.

I used to start lower, but my hips ended up just rising before I got the weight off the ground. Thats why I feel like I do more of a romanian deadlift than anything else. Long legs/short arms? Either way I don't think it's a big deal (although I could be convinced otherwise). I think I also get more of a crossover to 1st pull clean/snatch.

Rest day yesterday, probably last day in the gym for a week or so. Going to be writing a paper all day tomorrow, and Atlantic City and then N. Carolina for a week.

500m row 1:44 @ 23
10 dips
8 pullups
15 back extensions, situps
5 HSPU FR
OHS and Power Snatches

Overhead Squat
8x95
5x135
2x155
1x185 (PR)
1x200 (PR)
1x175
2x175 x 2

Deadlift
5x225
3x315
3x335 x 2

Alternated with barbell bench:
10x135 x 3

Sweet 25lb OHS pr, deadlifts didn't feel very good. Hamstrings were sore so depended on my back too much.

First real day back in the gym. Was in Atlantic City for a night, then the Preakness in Baltimore (greatest shitshow ever), and on the beach in north carolina until friday. Went to the gym saturday, but hardly did anything - just a little o-lifts. Considering around half my calories last week and half have been from alcohol I felt pretty good today.

did slightly modified crossfit workout Linda.

10-9-8...2-1 reps each of .75xbodyweight clean, 1.5xbodyweight deadlift, bodyweight bench press.

I scaled the deadlift up slightly to 275, and the bench down to 155. Kept the cleans at 135. However, after the round of 9 I switched to power cleans because my back just wasn't keeping an arch at all in the deep squat. Weighed myself after-about 177lbs so I'm happy with the loads. Total time: 44mins, absolutely brutal.

Been meaning to get back into the habit of posting in this again. School finished around 2nd week of may, and ended up taking about 2 and a half weeks off from the gym culminating in this sweet road trip home. Definitely gained a few pounds of fat and lost a little strength on a diet of beer, cocktails, and way too much fast food.

Since getting home I've started a Bill Starr 5x5 progression which is MWF. Once a week I'm going to be running a 400m(ish) interval program out of Christian Thibedeau's (sp?) book. Yesterday it was 3x400m with 120sec rest intervals. times were 0:58, 1:04, 1:07. Pretty brutal, but the total distance was probably more like 350-375m (I ran a 1:10 first lap 400 of an 800m on an actual track last fall), although the "course" I set up has some tight turns. Whatever, it will work.

On Tuesdays/Saturdays I'll also be either running a 5k or something, or doing crossfit style metcon workouts. I've set my rings up in a tree next to my house so those are getting a lot of work too: muscle ups, dips, lever progressions.

Todays workout was back squat, bench, bent over row, weighted dips and chins. The program calls for bicep curls instead of the chins and also tricep extensions but couldn't bring myself to do them. Maybe next week.

Squat:
sets of 5 up to a triple at 250
8x190

Bench:
sets of 5 up to a triple at 170
8x135

Row:
sets of 5 up to a triple at 155

Dips:
5x45
5x50
5x55

Chins:
5x50 x 3

I've also been much more diligent about stretching after lifting. I finally got around to getting a new jumprope and my calves have been killing me ever since. Hopefully that should go away in a couple weeks as they get back up to speed.

Smiley two things:

1- Good log

2- How many people live in your hometown?

thx rearden.

Bout 5000, the key is however...the nearest population centre with more than 15,000 is 5 hours away.

Nice roadtrip. How long did it take?
5000 pop wtf!

And quit being a baby about bicep curls.

that drive is ridic

Stayed in kingston for 2 nights, then saw a jays game in TO and stayed the night as well. Bulk of the drive was 11am to 3:30am straight from toronto to Thunder Bay. Fun!

Did a 5k run today (actually it was probably a hundred metres short but hilly route so f the nits). Little less than 10mins out which I was very happy with, but had to slow to a walk for about 30 seconds on the way back because of a killer stitch. Total time: 21:00 for 7:00 miles. The thing I hate about running is what kills me is not the exhaustion, but the stitches. I try to breathe out every left foot stride which helps a little. Oh well, I'd be happy to get a solid <20min 5K by the end of the summer.

So after my workout last monday my left shoulder went out for 3 days. Couldn't lift my arm without pain, chugging ibuprofen, icing constantly. Did squats and deadlift on friday, and back to the regular workout today. Back to normal, hopefully these severe tendinitis relapses don't happen more than twice a year. Also ran 4x400m on thursday - was brutal.

Squat - worked up to set of 5 at 255 (very tough)
bench - worked up to set of 5 at 172.5 (tough)
power clean - worked up to set of 5 at 155 (not bad)

I was doing power cleans + push press on mondays, but I'm going to just stick to the cleans - I think it was the PP that set my shoulder off last week.

I rule at updating this log. Been sticking with Starr's 5x5 progression. This was the last week of "accumulation" so in theory every 5rep lift has been matching a PR. In reality I think my strength has improved because usually my predicted 1rm from 5rm or whatever is lower in reality and vice versa. On Tuesday I did 3x400m and 30 muscle ups for time (17min).

Bench: Worked up to triple at 185. Felt very easy even though I added 3lbs to the prescribed weight. This was a former 3rep PR so bench has def. improved.

Back Squat: Worked up to triple at 270. Very tough. Hopefully I can get the 5 reps called for on Monday.

Pendlay Row: Worked up to triple at 165. Not bad.

Dips:
7x45
7x50
7x55

Barbell Curls (mixed in with dips):
8x95
7x95
6x95

The program calls for 3x8 of dips and barbell curls, but I don't like that rep range too much. I started 3 weeks ago with 5x45 etc. on the dips and added a rep for each set each week. If next week is successful at 8reps I'll bump every set up 5lbs and start over at 5 reps. Barbell Curls I just guessed a weight as I've never done them before. Figure I'll work until I can get 8 on all 3 sets and then add some weight.

Pendlay Row? What is this

Here's a youtube video of a guy doing them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIUg8nDVEFs&mode=related&search=

Thanks those are sweet. I have been doing regular rows then switching it up and doing some static row I think they are called which is like a half deadlifts half row kind of thing. They are sweet too. You should try them sometime.

Ran a 5k on saturday although it ended in permatilt. Ran the first half in <10min then immediately cramped up and had to walk half the way home finishing in another 16mins. I'm so sick of having to stop running not because of exhaustion but pain. Runners have any tips? I get stiches in my right side EVERY time I run, long before I'm too tired to stop. I've tried breathing on my left step only, hands on my sides etc. etc. Nothing works. Anyway.

Squat:

Worked up to set of 5 at 270. Incredibly tough, but finally getting into respectable numbers.

BP:

...5 at 185. Very tough.

Power clean:

...5 at 165. Hard

Assistance was weighted situps and hypers.