Get the knees back!  Pull the lats back!  "Cover" the bar with your shoulders!

8th & I

Snatch 8 x 1 + 1 (rest 10 seconds between reps) (rest 2 minutes between sets)

115, 125, 135, 145(f), 145, 150, 155(f), 155(f)

5 rounds of:

1 halting snatch deadlift + 1 snatch pull (155)
Rest 90 seconds
10 T2B
Rest 90 seconds

Tabata double-unders

Score:  30

Notes:  Emphasis today was on positioning.  The photo at the top of the page is me holding my halting deadlift.  Unfortunately, my position is a bit off and it is causing me to miss some lifts.  The shins need to be vertical in this position.  My knees are too far forward and it's preventing me from fully accessing my hamstrings.  My shoulders are also getting yanked forward.  They need to be pinned back and down.  Also, my torso is too vertical.  The shoulders should be visibly in front of the bar with more of horizontal torso.  Here's a photo of what it should look like.  Most of my flaws can be attributed to lack of mobility.  I need to keep practicing this because it is holding back my Olympic lifts.  T2B were unbroken today and very clean.  Had originally planned to do 15 x 35 double-unders (OTM); however, I only had about 6 minutes left before I reached my 90-minute training session cut-off time.  Thus, I opted for tabata-style.  Used my old rope, which felt like I was swinging a battleship.          

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Row 5 x 1K (rest 3 minutes between intervals)

1.  3.49.3 (25) (170)

2.  3.49.2 (25) (174)

3.  3.49.9 (25) (176)

4.  3.48.5 (25) (180)

5.  3.48.3 (25) (180)

Notes:  Met goal of holding pace sub-1.55 throughout (1.54.5 average).  Did this same workout back in December and actually held an average pace of 1.51.9.  It's hard to believe that I was able to do that back then.  I'm stronger now and am scoring better on some WODs; however, I'm still struggling with the neurological adaptation on the rowing machine.  I feel like I'm cranking on the chain and drive against the machine with all of my power, yet the monitor simply isn't reflecting this effort.  I think it's just a matter of adjusting to rowing harder pieces.  In fact, my body came to life a bit on the 4th and 5th intervals tonight and it felt a bit more like it used to feel.  Limited myself to a 5-minute warm-up and a 5-minute cool-down in Z1.  Trying to tighten up the length on my training sessions.  Oddly, I felt amazing during my cool-down.  It felt as though I could've kept rowing for hours.  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

8th & I

3 rounds, not for time, of:

12 C2B
4 pistols/leg
15 GHD sit-ups

Clean & jerk 5 x 3 (must complete all three reps in less than 30 seconds) (rest exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds between sets)

155, 165, 175, 175, 175

AMRAP in 12 minutes of:

10 HSPU
15 WB shots
20 KB swings (24)

2 rounds + 9 KB swings

Notes:  Met goal of completing entire session, door-to-door, in under 90 minutes (15-minute warm-up/75 minutes for the actual workout).  Need to be more diligent about working mobility at other times so I don't have to worry about it as much before training sessions.  Had neither great rhythm on the C2Bs nor much "pop" on the GHD sit-ups.  Right ankle, as usual, was stiff as a board on pistols.  Loved the Invictus-inspired barbell segment.  Need to get back into doing more of their barbell stuff as I was really making progress with it.  The twist today was that each clean & jerk triple had to be completed within 30 seconds.  I utilized a power clean/push jerk and dropped each rep from the top.  May try tough-and-go next time around to see if that's more efficient.  These were actually my best ever push jerks, even though the weight isn't that impressive.  I'm slowly learning to drive myself under the bar with an aggressive re-dip of the knees.  Key for me is drive the barbell back through my chin rather than allowing it to get out in front of me.  The AMRAP turned out to be a lower-back special.  The old squat/KB swing combination got me again.  My kip is improving dramatically on HSPUs, which is good.  Unfortunately, I had to really slow down on this one due to tightness in the lower back.      

Monday, October 14, 2013

8th & I

Squat 1 x 5 @ 60%; 1 x 3 @ 70%; 1 x 2 @ 80%; 1 x 2 @ 90%; 1 x 1 @ 95%; 1 x 1 @ 103%; (1 x 1 @ 106%)

185; 215; 245; 275; 295; 315; (325(f))

Front squat 1 x 5 @ 60%; 1 x 5 @ 70%; 2 x 5 @ 75%

160; 185; 200

For time:  

Deadlift (255) 10-8-6-4-2
Double-unders 50-40-30-20-10

4.42 (video)

Notes:  Well, I went for it, but it simply wasn't there.  I included a "bonus" rep today in the program in an effort to set establish a new 1 RM.  I felt solid at 315; however, 325 was simply too heavy for my structure to handle at this point.  I have no excuses or anything -- it's just really difficult for me to squat down deep into the hole with 325 on my back and stand up with it.  I'm happy that this program has helped me reach my lifetime goal of 315 and will now shift my focus toward establishing a new 1 RM front squat in a few weeks.  I feel as though two things need to happen in order for my squat to improve.  First, I obviously need to continue squatting frequently.  Second, I need to improve my overall strength levels.  I believe that my structure will be able to handle more weight as my numbers in other areas continue to rise.  Things such as weighted pull-ups, heavy overhead work, clean and snatch pulls, GHD sit-ups, farmers' carries, etc.  These general strength movements will help me develop an better overall structure that will be capable of squatting with more weight on my back.  Metcon was solid.  I went 6 seconds faster last January, but hadn't squatted heavy beforehand.  Also, I'm getting fed up with my jump rope and am thinking about going back to my old one.  This newer wire rope is super-fast, but it always gets tangled and costs me seconds trying to straighten it out.  My old one is slightly slower, but it's much more reliable.              

Saturday, October 12, 2013

8th & I

Snatch (heavy single)

165

Clean & jerk (heavy single)

215

20 minutes (alternating OTM):

8 T2B
8 dumbbell push presses (50)

Notes:  Special guest visit from Ben Brown, my old workout partner, and it was fascinating to watch his approach to training.  There's no "listen to your body" or fancy aerobic heart rate workouts with him.  He still has this crazy fire/anger that fuels his workouts.  He simply refused to stop until he hit certain weights.  I hit a really clean snatch at 165, maybe the best pure snatch of my life.  I then failed three times at 175 and decided it was time to move on.  Ben, on the other hand, failed a bunch of reps along the way but kept on going until he hit a snatch at 195!  It was actually a power snatch as he caught it above parallel (but still maintained proper foot work).  He was slamming the bar all over the place in disgust after missed reps.  I loved seeing his fire.  I felt great on the clean & jerk today, which I usually don't train together.  I tied my PR at 215 and it was pretty clean.  However, I decided to call it a day since that was a lot of volume for me between the snatch and the clean & jerk.  Ben must've taken almost 10 more reps than me and worked all the way up to 260!  He was failing squat cleans, so all of a sudden switched to a power clean and made it look easy -- I couldn't believe it.  He has made such progress since we last trained together.  I suppose I have, too, but not as much as him in terms of pure numbers.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to move that much weight.  In any event, it was a great reference point to see where he's at and where I need to be to remain competitive.  I've been banging away in the more moderate ranges; perhaps I could use a bit more heavy loading in my programming.  

Thursday, October 10, 2013

8th & I

18 minutes (rotating OTM):

3 power snatches (135)
12 push-ups
36 double-unders

Squat 1 x 5 @ 60%; 1 x 5 @ 65%; 1 x 5 @ 70%; 1 x 5 @ 75%

185; 200; 215; 230

Front squat 1 x 5 @ 60%; 1 x 5 @ 65%; 2 x 5 @ 70%

160; 170; 185

Notes:  Textbook OTM-style session.  A pull, a push, and a jump.  Utilized a touch-and-go on the power snatches.  Getting better at "torque farming," as Kelly Starrett calls it, when stringing reps together.  This is where you try to get a rubber-band-like tension in the hamstrings on each rep as you touch-and-go.  Pretty happy with my ability to bang at 135.  Game plan was to go anywhere from 15-21 minutes on this one depending on how the push-ups went.  I went right to the brink of failure on the sixth round tonight, so called it quits at that point.  Heart rate stayed right in the money zone throughout the session.  Definitely breathing heavy, but never out of control and I always felt good moving from movement to movement.  Worked quickly through the squatting today.  Will be going for a new squat 1 RM on Sunday.  Will be going for a new front squat 1 RM in two weeks.  I don't want to put too much pressure on myself to reach specific numbers, but I'm hoping in the back of my mind for 335/285.    

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Row 5K

19.53.3; 1.59.3 (23) (184)

Notes:  Yikes!  This was a bit of a suck-fest.  Heart rate hit 170 only about 1,250 meters and hit 180 just past the 2K mark.  Sat in the 180-184 range for entire second half of the piece, which is quite a long time to be banging away at such a high intensity level.  Quads were really hot -- probably still filled with some lactic acid from yesterday's tempo "Grace."  Actually maintained negative splits on each 1K.  It wasn't a goal or anything, but I found it interesting.  Quality 10-minute warm-up in Z1, but it simply wasn't enough to make up for my lack of rowing last week.  I almost feel like I need to be rowing (or on the Airdyne) just about every single day in order to maintain my aerobic form.  I was in great form just a few weeks ago, but have regressed slightly.  Just need to stay consistent.