VolkeFit - Cleans/Burpees; Wall balls/Slams/DUs

1.  30 power cleans @ 115lbs.  Every minute, do three burpees.

First minute (0:00 to 1:00) - 8 cleans
Second minute - 3 burpees, 7 cleans
Third minute - 3 burpees, 6 cleans  (It was about here that I got a little more comfortable with a touch-and-go during the cleans)
Fourth minute - 3 burpees, 5 cleans
Fifth minute - 3 burpees, 4 cleans

Finished at 4:46.



2. With 5:00 on the clock:
-30 Wall Ball
-30 Ball slams
-As many double unders as possible during the remaining time.

Rest five minutes.  Repeat.

First round:
 I did 100 DUs. (Sets: 40, 30, and 30)   

Second round:
I did 83 DUs.  My first set was 50, but I couldn't get a sustained series going after that.  Then I whipped myself and got pissy. 

Kelly Sprints

Back to CFR. 

For a warm-up, we did some upside down stuff (handstand push-ups, shoulder touches, wall shuffles)

Then, on a whim, I did a couple of muscle-ups.  My first ones in months, bringing my lifetime total to 8.  Good to know I'm still capable of doing them.  They were a bit ugly, and I had to work to get locked out, but felt pretty good overall.   I need to remember: One big swing, look up, then go!


“Kelly Sprints”
4 separate rounds:
300m Row
20 Box Jumps (24″/20″)
20 Wall Ball (20/14lb to 10′/9′ line)

Rest two minutes between rounds.

My rounds were  3:00, 3:15, 3:35, 3:38.

I thought that was pretty lousy, but looking on the whiteboard, it wasn't all that bad.  I felt slow on both the jumps and the wallball, though.

A Bucketful of Fail

Made it to another 6 a.m. class. 

A.Snatch Complex

Snatch push press + OHS + snatch balance, x2(reps) x3(sets), 65-75% of Snatch

I used 115, which falls nicely between 65 and 75 per cent of my max snatch of 165.   But it was probably too much for me to use today. 

First set - made it through until the snatch balance on the second rep. 

Second set - I think I dropped it on the overhead squat in the first rep. 

Third set - Completed

Fourth set - made it through until the snatch balance on the second rep. 

A bucketful of fail. 

I was a little pissed off about this right after it happened. Then I had to move on to the other parts of the WOD, so I didn't really think about it again until I was home in the shower.  I started to get mad again. 

Then I gave my head a shake and remembered that if I don't fail every now and then, then I'm probably not pushing myself as hard as I should.  It's actually probably a good thing that I failed. 

Hey you can just call me Little Johnny Brightside.

 

B. Weighted pull up 2-2-2-2

25-35-45-57.5(FAIL)

I was trying to break the 55lb PR I set recently.  I didn't have a lot of confidence, though, as 45 was a struggle.  I got one rep at 57.5, if you're feeling generous.  

C. “If Annie and Karen were sisters…”

AMRAP in 20mins:

30 Double-Unders

20 Situps

10 Wall Ball 20/14lb

  Not a lot of surprises on this one.  Because the reps in each exercise were pretty reasonable, there wasn't a lot of excessive resting.     

My DUs were fairly good.  I think there were only a couple of the rounds where I didn't do 30 straight, which is better than I would have expected.   

Sit-ups got tough.  Once that happened, I broke sets up into three-ish.   

Wall balls were done in sets of 10.   

Thanks to a strong push in the last round, I was able to finish my 10th round and get another five DUs in before the clock stopped. 

10 rounds plus five double unders 

  .

6am: Tabata or not Tabata...

A. 2 Position Snatch (Floor, Mid Thigh) 70% x 5

I did this with 115.  I had an issue catching my second snatch on reps 4 and 5.  I wanted to go out on a high note, so I did it one more time.  I had to catch it in a power snatch and go down for the squat, though. 

B. Tabata Mash-up

1 Tabata Round of 4min for max reps. In a series of 20sec on followed by 10sec off x8. Alternate between two movements for a total of 4 sets of each.

a. Wallball  (total of 61)

b. Double unders (Total of 153)

I figured out pretty early on that I should stop at 7 wall balls (not that I had time for any more anyway) so I could catch my breath in time for the DUs.  Trying to get one or two more WB would have severely compromised my ability to get even the small number of DUs that I managed to get. 

(after looking at this chart, I discovered a math error.  10 + 9 = 19, dumbass)

Total score is 214


BONUS: Wait 3 minutes then 20 Unbroken 24″ Burpee Box Jumps, not part of scored time

Did it.  Slowly.  Hey, unbroken just means that you keep moving, but it doesn't say how fast.   It took me 2:29. 

Regional WOD #4: "The 100s"

For time:
100 Wall balls, 20/14 lbs to a 10’ target
100 Chest-to-bar Pull-ups
100 Pistols (one-legged squats), alternating
100 One-arm dumbbell snatches, alternating (70/55lb), do not need to squat
Time cap 25mins.

I was dreading this one all day.  Honestly, I was really re-thinking my rule about not cherrypicking WODs. 

Actually, the best thing about it was the time cap.  Knowing that it wouldn't go longer than 25 minutes, and being fairly certain I wouldn't get to the DB snatches, that provided some comfort. 

I was also mildly concerned about my ability to keep track of my reps, no joke.  I decided to do the wall balls in sets of 10 and mark each set on the whiteboard.  This had the added bonus of giving me a little rest in between sets. 

It wasn't the fastest way to do it -- I think it took me over 7:00, which is pretty slow -- but I also wasn't bagged when I moved to the C2B.

Going into this, I knew the C2B pull-ups were gonna be ugly.  My goal was to get through them without tearing my hands... and also just to get through them. 

I did the first set of 10.  Then sets of fives.  Then sets of three and two.  I finished it sometime after 20:00. 

For something I'm not real adept at, the pistols went better than expected.  I'm still much better with my left leg than my right, but the gap seemed closer tonight than any time previously.  Perhaps my legs were good and warmed up after the 100 WB. 

Whatever it was, I got through 33 of them before the time ran out, which is more than I expected.  

Final result: 100 WB +  100 C2B + 33 pistols. 

Partner WODS

Saturday at CrossFit Regina featured three separate Partner WODs.

I got Steve as my partner, so we could be Steve 'n' Tyler aka "WOD Looks Like A Lady."

A.  100 Wall balls for time. 

Steve and I did these in sets of 10 each.  After one partner threw his 10th WB, the other caught it so there were no pauses in the action. 

It took us 3:12.

 

B. 10-min AMRAP

Alternating rounds with a partner (each partner does all 20 movements and then switches)

5 burpee pull-ups
5 jumping squats
5 clapping push-ups
5 toes-to-bar

Then, some idiot* suggested that to make this more interesting, the partner not doing the work had to be in a handstand hold. 

(*It was me.  Obviously.)

That made things interesting alright, if you define "interesting" as "exponentially more fucking terrible the longer this goes."

We did 7 rounds plus 4 burpulls. 

 

C. Partner Rhiannon, switching every time someone stops doing double unders.

This was a good WOD to have Steve as a partner.  He did 84 double unders off the hop... which was probably unwise when you consider that 10 min is a long time and I'm not nearly as good as double unders as he is. 

He did the lion's share.  We ended up with 738 and I think I maybe did 200 of them... if that. 

HSPU Clusters / Pull-ups and Wallballs

A. Handstand PushUp Clusters:
3 on the minute for 10 minutes (uber with hands on 25lb plates)

I did it, uber-style. 


B. "Nameless Fun"
3 rounds for time:
5 Deadhang Pull-ups
6 Kipping Pull-ups
20 Wallball 20lb

4:21



Overheard at the Gym
"Were you... making fun of someone?"
-Matt, commenting on my somewhat... enthusiastic burpee technique




.

Volke Vikings Garage WOD: Squat cleans, Burpee Broad Jumps, Wall Balls

The mascot for Steve's garage gym.  I'm not sure if that counts as a hook grip.

"The thought of having to pick that bar up again makes me sad."
-Me, at the start of the second round.  Or maybe the third.  Whatever.

Steve Volke invited Rankin and me to his garage of discomfort (I can't remember... are we calling it VolkeFit?) for a Monday evening Volke Vikings workout.

The WOD was an adapted team version of the previous day's WOD at CFR.  I was acutally sorry I missed out on Sunday, so I was happy to get a chance to do it.  (Chalk this up to utter foolishness.)

3 rounds for time:
7 Squat Cleans (165/105)
9 Burpee Broad Jumps (we actually did them like this - broad jump, burpee, jump up to touch Steve's pull-up bar)
40 Wall Balls (20/14)

- 20 minute time cap


We started with a guy at each station and would rotate when the last guy had finished his quota.  When this was originally conceived, I thought maybe we should have each guy keep going until the last guy had reached his quota.  But Steve and Rankin did some warm-ups on the 165lb squat cleans and Steve informed me that my idea was fucking stupid. 

Steve is a very nice guy, so he was more diplomatic about it, but he was right.

This was way tougher than it looks, even with the brief respite you got whenever you were at the burpee broad jump station.

By the time I got to the wall balls each round, I was kind of wrecked so there were plenty of breaks.  I don't think I did any group of 40 in fewer than five sets, which is pretty bad.  It worked out okay for Steve and Rankin, though, because they got a bit more thanks to my lagging. 

We got finished in 19:47.  Originally, I didn't think you'd need anything close to 20 min for this workouts, but if I had done this individually, there's a good chance I wouldn't have had the motivation to finish this before the time cap. 
Afterward, I stopped by Starbucks to get my lovely wife a vanilla latte on the way home (because I'm sweet like that, yo) and my legs were so messed up I had to sit down while they made the order. 

Front Squats, "A Dozen Minutes"

A. Front Squat 1-1-1, heavy single

225, 245, 260F, 260F

This isn't the first time I've failed miserably trying to break my PR of 255.  I've gotta stop thinking that 255 was easy and I should just go up from there.  From this point on, I'm gonna pretend that 245 is my PR. 

B. “A Dozen Minutes”

 

 

AMRAP in 4 mins – wall ball 20/14lb

1 minute rest

AMRAP in 4 mins – row (for calories)

1 minute rest

AMRAP in 4mins – double unders

 

Did fairly well on the WB (77) and the row (64) and then underperformed with my new speed rope on the double-unders  (125) for a mediocre score of 266

"Lawless"

For time:


40-30-20-10 reps of:

Wall Ball – 20lb
Box Jumps – 24″
Pull-ups
Double-Unders


So that adds up to 100 reps of each exercise, which is decidedly un-fun.

Thankfully, I didn't tear my sissy hands on the pull-ups.  That's probably because I took way too many breaks. 

D3 blew past me somewhere in the 20s and ended up finishing more than a minute ahead. Considering the 20s and the 10s were supposed to be the quick rounds, that shows just how slow I was moving at that point.  He was pounding out multiples of pull-ups and box-jumps while I was doing singles. 

27:27, rx'd, and I'm not unhappy with that time. 

Gotta earn that Serburger

I knew I was going to the Serbian Club for lunch today, so when the alarm went off at 5:30a.m., I got up and went to the gym. 

What do these two things have to do with each other? 

Well, the Serbian Club's specialty is a garlic-laden monstrosity known as the Serburger.  It is so enormous they don't even give you the option of fries on the side.



No, this is not an illusion and I don't have a teeny-tiny face.  That is just one big frickin' burger.  


Obviously, one session of CrossFit wouldn't be enough to counter the total impact of a Serburger, but it's at least putting up an effort. 

Today's WOD was an eye-opener.   

A. “Kettleballs”
50 Wall Ball
15 Kettlebell Swings
35 Wall Ball
30 Bell Swings
20 Wall Ball
45 Bell Swings

Took me 12:32.  That felt like a long time.  I took too many breaks and the breaks were too long.  Please excuse me as I go hang my head in shame for a moment. 

. . .

Okay, I'm back. 


B. 1200m Run (600m x 2)

"Hey, you know what would feel awesome after 100+ wall balls?  Running 1.2km!"
-No one, ever

I kept up with Dana for maybe 100m before my legs were like, "Yeah... that's not happening, pal.  Sorry."

6:05. 

Okay, no more wall balls for the rest of 2012

I went to CrossFit Ottawa this morning.

My legs just started sort of working again after a protracted mutiny resulting from Saturday's 12.4 nightmare.
A. Warm-up:
Run 500m then 50 burpees.

6:08


B. Squat cleans 5x3

Ended up with 165. I may have been able to go heavier but that was enough for this morning



C. 7 minute AMRAP

25 wall balls
3 wall climbers

Two rounds plus 25 more fucking wall balls and two wall climbers.

Family Day "fun" - Dotcom 7-rounder

7 rounds for time of:
1 Rope Climb (sub 10 Pull-ups)
10 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
15 Kettlebell Swings – 55/35lb
20 Double-Unders

Took me 21:48 as rx'd. That is not a great time, but honestly I'm happy just to have done it rx'd. It's the most rope climbs I've ever done in a single WOD.

I may have tweaked my back on a wall ball in the fifth round, but it doesn't seem to be serious.

Back squats and "Karen"

A.  Back Squat 3-3-3, start at 81% and increase

225x3, 255x3, 275x5(PR)

I decided to do the two extra just to finally do it. 270 had been my five-rep squat number since 2010. Back when I was doing Strength training, I worked up to 275 twice and each time I hurt my back doing the warm-up (225 both times). Since then, I have been reluctant to put more than 265lbs on the bar.

Well, reluctance isn't gonna make me any fucking stronger. Putting more weight on the bar is. Some days it will go up and some days it won't. I need to remember that it's okay to fail. The trying is the thing.


B. Benchmark Girl “Karen”
150 Wall Ball for time

8:15

Lunchtime hypocrisy: Front squats and "Every Rep Counts"

Overheard at the Gym

"You should post that rule."
-Dude from Saskatoon, good-naturedly complaining about the 10-burpees-for-swearing rule after saying "Fuck you, OPT" during the course of the OPT metcon.

"Hey, it's not written anywhere that you're not supposed to pee on the floor, but we don't want you to do that, either."
-Tyler the Hypocrite, who actually inspired the burpee punishment for profanity.

A. Front Squat 3-3-3
*Start at 85% of 1RM and increase

I did 205 and 225, then failed at 250. Well, I got one at 250, so I can claim that as my new one-rep max, I guess. It's five pounds more than my current one-rep PR. See, if I had realized that, I would have gone for only 235 for the three-rep PR, but I convinced myself that my three-rep PR was not properly recorded on the sidebar.

It's alright. It's good to fail sometimes. If you never fail, you're probably not challenging yourself enough. I think I am sometimes guilty of that. I have a fragile ego and CrossFit is one of the ways I am able to convince myself that I am utterly awesome despite, yknow, everything else I do.


B. “Every Reps Counts” 2009 Qualifier WOD
As many rounds in 20 minutes of
10 Wall Ball 20/14lb
10 Box Jumps 20″
10 Deadlift 205/145lb
10 Speed Burpees

My score was 221, which equates to 5 rounds, plus 10 WB, 10 BJ, and 1 deadlift. No matter what, I was gonna get that one fucking deadlift.

Holy shit, though, I thought the deadlifts were awful on this. I am weak. WEAK!

Tyler gets run over by "Volkswagen"

A. “Volkswagen”
21-15-9
- Bench press (Intermediate weight of 135lb)
- Pullups

The rx'd version of this calls for bodyweight bench press. Well, I can't bench my bodyweight, and I certainly can't do it 45 fucking times. I actually should have swallowed my pride and gone with the beginner's weight of 95lbs, rather than the 135lb weight I used, because the goal of this is to do it fairly fast.

Then again, I generally feel it's best to go as heavy as you can and take a bit longer than blaze through with an easier weight.

This took me 12:51.

Most other people were getting this in the 5-8 minute range, so this shows how deficient I am in the bench press. (I say this, yet I probably won't do much to correct the situation. That's me in a nutshell.)

You hit a wall on the bench for this one really quick. I wasn't even midway through the 15 round when I was doing singles.


B. 30-20-10 of
Wall Ball (20lb) and Bell Swings (55lb).

I did this one on my own, it wasn't part of the day's official curriculum. It was one of several WODs from the CrossFit Ladies of Canada challenge, but I did the men's weights.

After Volkswagen, my shoulders were starting to mutiny. Actually holding the medicine ball was a challenge. Throwing it repeatedly in the air was decidedly unpleasant.

It took me 7:01

Squat Snatch and Dot Com WOD

A. Squat Snatch 3-2-1-1-1


"Keep your friends close and your barbells closer."
-Sage advice for Olympic lifting and life in general.

95-115-135(F)-135-145
The weight went up fine on the failed rep, but I threw it too far back and lost my balance.

On the last two successful reps, it wasn't a true squat snatch, as I didn't catch the weights in a squat, but I did go down into a squat and stand up with them.

B. Today’s Dot Com
AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
10 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
10 Toes to Bar (sub straight leg raises)
10 Box Jumps – 24/20″

8 rounds, even. It wasn't until I was into my second round that I realized it was a 15 minute AMRAP. I had thought it was 10. Not that it made a difference to my game-planning or anything.

Oh, and I've realized that I hate Toes to Bar a bit less than I hate Knees to Elbows. But only slightly.

"Kettle Balls"

A. Push Press
5-5-5 (start at about 75% of max overhead, push press or jerk)

135-155-165

B. Deadlift
1×5

It had been forever since I deadlifted. I only did 225. The official reason is that I didn't want to go heavy and hurt my back before Sunday's Frisbee playoffs. The unofficial reason is that I'm a giant pussy.

C. ‘Kettle Balls’

50 Wallballs
15 Kettlebell Swings
35 Wallballs
30 Kettlebell Swings
20 Wallballs
45 Kettlebell Swings

Took me 15:02. It was not fun and I took too many breaks.

"Surprisingly Brutal"

That isn't the official name, but it's how Nolan described it.

Three rounds for time of:

20 wall balls
15 hang power snatch (75lbs)
10 ring dips
400m run

Took me 14:42

Double Unders and Wall Balls

Double Unders 10-20-30-40-50
Wall Balls 50-40-30-20-10

Took me 14:07