Monday, July 8, 2013

Row 4 x 5 minutes (rest 3 minutes between intervals)

1.  1,254 meters; 1.59.6 (24) (164)

2.  1,251 meters; 1.59.9 (23) (171)

3.  1,252 meters; 1.59.8 (24) (173)

4.  1,251 meters; 1.59.9 (24) (175)

Notes:  Great to be back riding Mikko, my rower!  Paul and Bobby gave me some guidance in terms of heart rate and it worked just about perfectly.  The goal was to settle into the first piece at a rate of 162-165, which I did.  And then the goal was to settle into the rest of the pieces at a slightly higher rate of 172-175, which I did.  It was very interesting to watch because I kept the stroke rate and pace per 500 meters exactly the same throughout the entire workout, yet my heart rate would continue to creep up.  Basically, I would start each piece at 110, and then I would get up to 150 fairly quickly.  Then, it was a slow climb on each piece up until I touched my max heart rate at the very end of each piece.  I would get to about 160 at the half-way mark of each interval and then really settle in with the rate slowly creeping up.  Spent a lot of time on the last two intervals in the low 170s, which felt fine.  I feel very refreshed after this workout and know that I will feel good tomorrow.  I believe that this type of smarter training will allow me to make steady progress without beating down my body or spirit.          

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Rest day.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

8th & I (am)

5-minute tempo "Grace" (1 clean & jerk every 10 seconds)

Squat 1 x 10 @ 60%; 1 x 8 @ 70%; 1 x 6 @ 75%; 1 x 4 @ 80% 

185; 215; 230; 245

Front squat 1 x 5 @ 60%; 3 x 5 @ 70%

160; 185

The Amelia Gym (pm)

20 minutes (alternating OTM):  10 KB swings (70) & 10 push-ups

Notes:  The last 10 clean & jerks really rocked me.  My quads started to fill up with lactic acid and I could really feel it on the last few jerks.  It took me a good 20 minutes before I was recovered for squatting.  Part of this is being out of shape, but I also think doing the workout out in the sun on a 95 degree day wasn't the smartest idea.  In any event, it was a nice wake-up call for the body and a good reminder that there's a long way to go in terms of building an aerobic base.  Squats and front squats went well, but the higher rep sets are definitely an adjustment.  I've been doing triples, double, and singles for the last few months -- sets of 10, 8, and 6 are no joke!  I can already tell that this squat program is going to be difficult, but I know that I will come out on the other end with a massive base for all movements.  

My heart monitor finally arrived this afternoon and I used it on the conditioning piece!  It was really interesting to monitor.  My heart rate went to 156 after the first set of swings, and it continued to creep up each set until finally reaching 175 after the 10th set of swings.  It was interesting to watch it go from 156 to 160 to 163 to 166, etc.  It would drop about 10 beats by the time I would start my push-ups.  The push-ups wouldn't jack my heart rate as much.  For the 20-minute segment, my average heart rate was 158 and my max, as I mentioned earlier, was 175.  I'm excited about putting this to use again soon, particularly on rowing.                 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

8th & I

Seated box jumps 5 x 2

Front squat 3 x 1 @ 104%+ (rest 3 minutes between sets)

250(pr), 255(pr), 260(pr), 265(pr)

Notes:  Today was the culmination of my 12-week Burgener squat cycle.  I have followed the program to a "T" over the last 12 weeks and it definitely paid off today.  The program called for three singles at 250; however, I told myself that, if I was feeling good, I could increase weight so long as I maintained decent form.  I absolutely blew myself away by hitting 265, which is a 30 pound gain over the course of the 12-week program!  There's not much more to say.  I'm going to enjoy this one for about 48 hours before moving into the next phase of my training cycle.  I'll use 265 as my 1 RM front squat on my next squatting program and 305 as my 1 RM squat.  Time to start building an engine to go with this new-found strength.  

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Rest day.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

8th & I

Muscle-up 10 x 1 (OTM)

Push press (heavy single)

195(pr)

For time: 21-15-9:

Kettlebell swings (53)
Push-ups (HR)

5.14

Notes:  Not great energy today.  Perhaps a bit of a "hang-over" from pulling the heavy deadlifts on Sunday.  Set up my rings for the first time outside at 8th & I and it worked okay.  My rings are terrible, though.  I'm going to buy some wooden ones from Rogue tonight.  I struggled to maintain the false-grip on my rings and I felt really heavy.  Extra bodyweight is great for squats and deadlifts, but not so great for gymnastics movements.  Set a personal record on push press, which is cool.  I've handled 185 for reps in the past, but I don't believe I've ever actually performed a rep at 195.  I enjoyed watching the video of my conditioning.  I've never seen myself perform swings before and I was happy with my form.  I could also see a bunch of wasted time transitioning between movements.  And, obviously my push-ups are weak.  Time to rest up and end this 12-week cycle in style with a big front squat on Thursday.   

Monday, July 1, 2013

Rest day.