Pain

Just one of those days where I couldn't even get under the bar, shoulder Hurt to much. Doctors appointment next week, let's see how it goes.

Lost.....

The Low bar back squat (LBBS) is lost!  Since November when we attended the Starting Strength Coaches Certification I had the LBBS down.  It felt right, as a matter of fact it felt like the only way to squat correctly.  Enter the Outlaw Way and Catalyst Athletics.  First I changed my programming to strict O-lifts with two conditioning days a week with the normal accessory work of front squats and high bar back squats (HBBS).  After getting a solid base of O-lifts under my belt, our programming changed the Outlaw Way (off season), got to do a lot of HBBS here, and it felt good.  I liked it.  With that, we are on our third bias (gymnastics), so I decided last night that I was going to put some work in on my LBBS and move some weight.  Long story short that was not the case.  I couldn't get it right, as the weight went up, I felt like I was going forward, it was just a mess.  So, I went back to HBBS and did 7 sets of 3 working up to a 3 RM, my sets looked like this:  225/245/255/275/300/315/325.  I used 225-255 as  my warm up sets because I didn't feel like doing a very thorough warm up "dick dance" so I decided to squat :).  After that, like Scott my left shoulder has been bothering me (noticed in CF Williamsburg B4B Oct '11) and I have noticed a huge imbalance during snatches and jerks on my left side.  I decided to do 7 sets of 3 in the shoulder press to find my 3RM there as well.  My sets looked like this:  115/125/130/135/14/145/150.  Those pretty much sucked.  Weak sauce, I will say the grind was only on the left side.  I'm going to keep a regular pressing regimen going and see if I can catch it up.

Ouch

Today I got a boo boo. I was doing Front Squats 5x5 @225 and I dumped my very last rep and it went straight into my knee (should probably leave myself more room to dump the weight). Other than that the weight felt good and the shoulder is still feeling better, the hard part now is to still leave it alone for a few more weeks to let it completely heal.

For a workout I did 5 rounds of 12 t2b and 100m sprints. I was so fast it could not even be timed.

I finished with 3x20 on the GHD. Still a little sore from Nutts and about to rap myself up like a human icepack for the knee and shoulder.

I see CR is still not a follower of our blog, hurtful.

Memorial day weekend

Wow!  What a weekend....Above are a few pictures from this weekend.  After I finished work on Friday, it was a tranquillo evening.  We had a spirited MMA practice and then a protein heavy dinner of barbeque chicken and kalbi style ribs.  The evening culminated with the viewing of The Ultimate Fighter semi-finals.  This was a good night cap since I was pretty amped up to watch the Frank Mir v JDS fight.

Saturday

Holly and I woke up a bit early and drove about 40 minutes away to do a little hike.  It was about a 3 mile hike over medium terrain.  The pic above to the left is a natural bridge made by years of water passage.  The pile of rocks was there a-la "Blair Witch" when we got there so we just added one to it, seemingly the point in my estimation lol.  Felt good to start the day with a little active recovery.  Later that day Todd, Holly and I went and saw the Men in Black 3 (not in 3D), enjoyed that a lot.  By the end of the night Is settled in to watch the fight.  It ended how I expected but I thought it would have lasted a bit longer.

Sunday

Barbeque with friends day.  Holly spend most of the morning preparing meat for the BBQ, we went to Dan and Julies around 1PM.  In order to earn your meal, there was a Memorial Day
WOD that had to be completed.  It is called "21 Gun Salute" from the WOD for Warriors program.  It is set up as a partner WOD.  One partner completes all of the reps while the other partner waits, partner 2 completes the round and then partner one goes again, with partner completing thier second round after that.  The workout was 21 pullups, 21 burpee box jumps, 21 fireman carry partner squats, 21 burpee box jumps, and 21 pullups.  I will say that on paper, this didn' look tough at all.  Coupled with the heat (95 deg) the workout served its purpose, it was a challenge.  The pic above on the right is from that, the partners were Dan and I (WOD shirts), Todd and Omar, and poor Holly completed it as an individual.  We set this up by weight.  I think she was fine with it LOL, as the partner squats sucked!!!  After that, we pigged out on meat and had a few norcal margaritas and watched Tosh.

Monday

Our air conditioner shit the bed!  That is all....no, seriously, caught a workout in the morning.  It was part of our gymnastic programming.  The workout was for time complete:  20 deadlifts 315#, 20 wallballs 20", 20 DB push press 55#, 20 shoot thru's (hollow plank to arch on paralettes), and run 1000M.  This took me 14:38.  The rest of the day was just sweat and no sleep.  We get our air conditioner fixed today!

Survival?

So I wanted to take a moment and discuss something that is near and dear to my heart. The subject of survival is very important to me. I often get weird looks and I know people think I am a little crazy when I discuss survival with them. Is it really that hard to believe that a terror attack or natural disaster can knock out our countries infrastructure? Is it that hard to believe that class warfare is a possibility and that violence could be brought upon us by our own countrymen? It happens across the world on a daily basis, are we so ignorant as to believe we are so well protected by our government that nothing can happen to us?

I believe in preparation and step one is planning. I plan for the possibility of things going wrong, I encourage those I love to do the same. One of the first things I put together is a bag with 72 hours worth of supplies. Water, food, blankets, a knife, tools to start fires and build shelter and a firearm with ammo. I call this my bug out bag, a just in case something happens bag. Can you and your family survive for 72 hours cut off from the world?

100's

So yesterday started off with 2 front squats on the minute every minute for 10 minutes. I went way to light at 185 but I do struggle with good posture in Front squats so it was good to focus on form. For the workout I did 100 push press and 100 box jumps for time 75lbs and 20 inch box. Quick little burner that I really enjoyed.

Friday is also cheat night so I ate like shit and drank some Sailor Jerry's and OJ. I also have been having cheat nights every week, but an an effort to hear Todd yell at me less and to ave money I will be Eating better after I grocery shop today. I am going to try a new approach and hit the grocery store everyday with meals in mind, other wise I buy to much food and throw it away.

As far as money goes I have been on an EPIC spending spree. I bought a house, pay on my car, bought a few guns, a few thousand rounds of ammo and a home gym with extras. I need to stop drinking and eating out for health and financial reasons. Wish me luck.

touch and go's??????

Let me tell you, although I am missing the heavy barbell this gymnastic movement and moving correctly BS feels great!!!!  My back doesn't hurt, my hip feels better.  This is dangerous because I may just come out of retirement and go for the 2016 Olympic gymnastics team!!!!  You heard it here first...
This morning we did 3 sets of 5 skin the cats.  That was fun because it harkened me back to the playground days :).  After that, we did 5 sets of 5 touch and goes.  This is an exercise where you get in a handstand about 6-8 inches from a wall (beginner) and then straddle your legs down until your toes just touch the ground and straddle back up to a handstand.  After a few attempts we all scaled to headstand touch and goes.  This is done the same way except your head and hands form a tripod.  That was easy.  After that we did 15 minutes skill work on candle stands to pistols.  I finished up with pistols to a low box.  The next step will be no box :).  Finally we wrapped up with 3 sets of 20 hollow body rocks.  The midline gets a lot of attention during this phase.  Oh, Scott I meant to tell you...I now have this saved on my phone so I should be getting some pictures posted up soon.  Words are boring....

Cleaned my clock

As promised I tried squat cleans tonight, felt pretty good, kept the weight light to keep the shoulder rehab going. 5 singles @ 185 and my form is cleaning up, I am happy. For the workout I did 15-12-9 hang power cleans at 135, burpees and knees to elbows. I stopped short on the last set of HPC because I knew it would tweak my shoulder, the rapid up and down momentum, but I did all my burpees and knees to elbows.

I will do some work on the shoulder with the lacrosse ball and an ice pack and hope I don't suffer for cleans tomorrow.

I am also going to incorporate some rows and other movements to strengthen my back, both for rehab and more powerful posture.

holy pull-ups Batman

Todd, sorry for the late post. So let's see. Tuesday night I did some singles on jerks, Real light so my shoulder was fine. I did five singles at 195. Not really a challenge but I don't want to lose everything while I rehab the shoulder.

For the workout I did 50 chest 2 bar pull ups and 200 double unders. I started strict with the pull ups and then kipped as little as possible after that. Then we went to double unders where I was not very happy, I strung together maybe sets of 50. Part of it was fatigue and part was the cable on my rope is shitty and needs to be re ordered and part is a lack of practice. Anyways the workout took me 9 minutes and some change. Very good little workout.

Let me also tell you it is over 100 degrees here now and I love training in this weather. Hydration is no joke and fatigue is a major factor early on, but I love the challenge.

I have been using a lacrosse ball on my shoulder and doing ome active strectching and icing heavily. I have been avoiding static stretches since I feel that aggitates it a little more. Tonight I may attempt some real light cleans to see how it feels. Pulling seems to be when it is most tender. I am also going to make and appointment for some ART to done. I hate people touching me but I will get over that in an effort heal.

Todd you are like a gymnastics ninja now. Are you till using trigger point for your calves? If not, you should be!

Two days of muscle ups

A.  3 sets of :35 hand stand hold
B.  3 rounds for time
5 muscle ups (strict)
50 double unders
10 box jumps (games standard) 20/14
8:59

Should have phoned this one in!  The only thing done RX was the box jumps.  When I woke up this morning, my calves were feeling tight.  Knowing all of the problems that I have had with my Achilles and calves I opted to do the 150 single jumps instead of the double unders.  Historically double unders have caused more than a few calf strains.  Before the WOD and after I spent some time on mobility, I will continue it tonight at MMA training.  As for the strict MU's  I really like the sub we used today.  It kept the movement very challenging and is supposedly the closest thing to a MU without actually doing a MU.  Here is how it goes, set up some rings at about waist height.  You will need a medium band to assist with this; place the band over one ring and hold it there with you grip.  Step in front of the band and place it on the other ring and hold it with your grip as well.  Once the band is in place, jump to support so that you can sit in the band like a swing.  Once you are in the band, you will then lay back into a tight hollow so that your body is like a plank under the rings with your arms at full extension.  To do the movement, all you have to do is (kip) pop your hips up and pull with your arms at the same time.  While doing this, sit up abruptly and you should land in the bottom of a deep dip.  The last thing that you have to do is finish the dip and rinse and repeat.  Fun but hard work!  Try it Scott, you might be able to do it with your shoulder....

I love beer, as long as it is paleo :)

Wow! Scott, you are bringing it my friend.  That was a very interesting post!!!!!  This morning was a fun workout.  It started with 3 sets of 20 second front lever holds.  Since it has been a long time since my Olympic gymnast career I decided to scale with a very light band assist.  Basically a put a band between the rings (held by my hands) and jumped up into it like a swing.  I then assumed a tight hollow under the rings with the band under my thighs and did the holds that way. 

For the conditioning portion, it was 5 rounds for time of 5 front squats at 175 and 10 bar muscle ups.  I scratched my head and reasoned through how I was going to accomplish 50 bar muscle ups while only having kipping ring muscle ups.  I concluded that jumping muscle ups would be the way to go.  That WOD took me a total of 12:44.  It was fun and challenging, I need to work on my bar muscle ups!!!!

How did the paper go?

Runners love beer

TAng, I don't know what half of the exercises you did today are? But it sounds pretty intense so I like it. Let me tell you a little about my weekend, Saturday was supposed to be a chill night but I ended up at a country bar and probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 beers and some jaeger (don't worry I had a ride home). Sunday morning I woke up to coach some family members and felt good. I then went to the gun show (no Todd I'm not flexing my arms) and picked up 1000 rounds of .45acp. I did not make a pistol video for you yet because I did not have a camera man and refuse to post poor quality posts. I have a week long break from school after I smash out a 6 page final in the next three hours. I will begin putting together some stuff and will continue with a weekly firearms related post every Sunday. (P.S. The were 9 more beers for dinner Sunday night).

Today I warmed u my shoulder for awhile. I rolled it out with a lacrosse ball, there is less of a sharp pain, but after rolling for any period of time when I move it again I can hear the scar tissue a poppin. For my Workout I did high bar back squats which I hate at 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 at 215 and 2x5 @225. The weight was easy and I', starting to not miss the low back position so much.

For my workout I ran one mile very slowly and did 50 HR pushups, the took me about 9:30 or so I wasn't really paying attention to the clock. I ran the mile in 7:13 which is pretty slow for me, but it was my first run for the year in plus 100 degrees. Well I need to go finish(and start) this paper. More detailed and interesting posts to come this week on break when I get time to catch up on life.

" I work!"

"Good Gawd all mighty!"  I suck!  suck, suck, suck!  Today we had to do a tuck planche hold for 3x20 seconds.  This tuck planche hold is very difficult for my "non-gymnast" self.  I ended up putting two 20 inch boxes for my hands and as smaller box for my one foot and did my holds in that manner.  It was still tough on the midline, so I think I achieved the desired result hehe.  The second set of our business was for 10 minutes, every 30 seconds do  3 candle stand box jumps, 2 burpee pullups, 1 strict ball up (strict) (think strict and slow shin to bar).  We did one practice round and figured out that doing two in a minute was not going to happen.  We then figured out that the total work would be 20 rounds.  I had the "good" idea to just do 20 rounds for time instead of trying to get this done in 10 minutes.  Long story short it took me 22:33.  Here are my learning points from this.
1.  candle stand to box jump- stay tight in the candle stand/roll.  when I first started I was loose and once I rolled to my feet, I would have to take a step to catch my balance before I did my box jump.  I then figured out that if I assumed a good hollow position, squatted to roll to my shoulders and stood up in a good tight hollow position that I was able to jump on the box as soon as I was on my feet.

2.  burpee pullups just suck!

That is all.

Looking forward to the pistol craft info as well!!!!

Do work

Todd, sorry for the late Friday post, but all in all it was  very productive day. I purchased a new firearm which always makes me smile. I also did two workouts yesterday and boy did they feel good. I started with 5x3 strict press (very light, just enough to get the blood flowing). I then did a quick little workout which was 5RFT 25 double unders, 25 weighted walking lunges w/a 45lb plate. That took me about 9:24.

I think coached my sister in law and was still warm when Ranger Brad hit me up and wanted to do some work. I took a Todd Angel workout and modified it for the equipment we had. We did 500m rows, 10 Kb snatches (5 each arm) and 10 t2b. We each rested while the other completed a full round and made each round a high intensity effort. I was a little tired from the early work but I kept my 500m times around 1:45 and completed the snatches and t2b unbroken. It was a fun workout.

Today, I coached the sis then wanted to do a little bit of work at a light weight, so i did 50 double unders, 40 kb swings @53lbs, 30 sit ups, 20 pull ups, 10 air squats and back up the ladder. Feels good to be moving again. I miss the heavy weights but hopefully I can revisit them in a month or so. Tonight, if work goes well and homework permitting i will do some mobility, gymnastics and then some icing! Holla!!!!

whooo-sahhhh...wooo-sahhh

I'm calming friend, calming...very happy that you are back!  Gymnastics and striking might be your ticket.  I'm finding out that I have room to move a lot better, lots...This morning was an eye opener on how much time I have wasted doing hand stand pushups in bad position.  I used to do the "get them done" style with my head touching the floor on the same plane as my hands.  No More!  I tell you, no more...so I actually went to a box.  Yes, I said a box :(I put my feet on a 20" box and got into a perfectly vertical pike and concentrated on keeping my head in neutral and initiating the movement at the shoulder with my elbows straight back and lowering my head forward of my hand in a "frog headstand" position.  Tough but it will pay off in the end (I hope).
A.  3 sets of :30 arch holds
B.  5 sets of 3 (RX was 5x8 on parallettes) handstand push ups
C.  3 rounds for time
10 squat cleans 135
10 bent over rows 135
400 M run
13:26

Carl P says that the handstand push up is the “squat for the upper body”.  Since we initiate our squat by breaking at the hips, we should initiate our HSPU by breaking at the shoulder….

Calm down TAng

Well after a week of some of the most boring lectures I have ever heard in my life and 8 hour days in a classroom and eating crappy food I am finally back.  I have decided to to stop pouting about my shoulder and finally rest it a little and try and recoup it. I have a few steps to follow with this so let's see if I can manage.
1. See and ART certified Dr. and have it worked on and examined.
2. No high rep or high weight workouts involving the shoulder.
3. Extra mobility work (which I really hate).
4. Performing extra shoulder and back exercises in an effort to strengthen it where I have lost strength.

Today I did 3 tabata intervals and did not count on any. 1st tabata series was bag strikes on the heavy back, then some wood choppers with the post land mine and finally a tabata interval on the good old GHD.

I also did 3x5 high bar back squat @185 just to test my new kicks. So far I like them, they are a little narrow like the reviews say, but they don't hurt my feet and they're pretty wide. I will update you more about them in time. Well I feel like shit because I have been lazy and fat the last two weeks, it is time for punishment this weekend.

Bummer

We stretched today...some Muay Thai pad work.  That is all...Scott you are killing my motivation to log stuff with your lack of participation :(

Skillz!!!!

This morning was all skill work.  In other words, another opprotunity to find/work on a bunch of bullshit that I am so not good at.
A.  3 sets of 15 ring chinups while holding a false grip.  Pretty much did this one in singles and doubles.  Went from full turn out at the bottom, to chinup and back to full turn out.

B.  3 sets of 30 Hollow body rocks.  This was the highlight of my morning LOL.  Was able to string these together reaching full ROM (shoulders candle stick), and only had to break up the last set 20/10.

C. 3 sets of 10 pistols each leg.  I started this with the idea that I was going to do a candle stick roll to pistol for all of my reps but quickly realized that I will need to back to the drawing board with this.  Completed all of my reps to a low "pre-school" type chair.

Finished up with some hand walking practice.  I started with some progressions where I would step in to a hand stand and gently kiss the wall with my feet.  I thne moved back a foot or so and kiscked to hand stand, and leaned until my feet hit the wall.  After that, I moved back a few feet and kicked to handstand and leaned to wall while moving my hands.  After those progressions, I was able to walk about 5 steps and then hold a free standing handstand for a few seconds.  Prety happy with that.  I'll keep practicing...

That sucks man

Hey Scott, read your last post.  It sucks that your shoulder is holding you back.  I think that the programming I sent you is tough for someone that is healthy, You should probably stop it for a while and train what is trainable...Let me know the direction that you would like to take.
Day 2 of crossfit gymnastics, yay!  started off with 3x15 strict ring dips.  No issues really they were broken up but I concentrated on holding a good hollow position.  The conditioning work was a change of pace for me.
5 rounds for time
300M row (no rowers) so we ran about 350M
:25 handstand hold
:25 kettlebell swings 2 pood
 time was 16:38 with 60 total KBS

Runs felt fine, got behind a bit on the first round when I realized that I could not see the clock in my handstand hold so I went and got my watch.  The KB swings looked like this, 15/10/12/10/13.  So far I like this change up, it is going to force me to get better at stuff that I don't pay attention too.  Tomorrow is going to suck because we have pistols, I don't have a pistol yet....

Need help

I started with snatch high pulls at 155lbs. it felt good, but I could not finish back squats. My shoulder has been screwed up for over a year now and I feel I need to quit using it with heavy loads until it heals. I don't know what to do and in reality have probably lost a year of good training because of it. I hate Doctors and feel any surgery will make me weaker than before so I don't know what to do. I guess it's twinkie and couch time and just hope I get rich so girls still like me.

Today was the first day of our month of gymnastic WOD biased programming.  As expected, this was an eye opening experience.  The way I see it, this is our opportunity to really move well!  Since February, we have been following a heavy Oly biased program and had the chance to move heavy loads and feel good about it etc.  In doing that, I have noticed that I had developed some imbalances, so....now I get to fix them.  This morning's work looked like this...
A.  10 strict pull-ups every :30 for 5:00.  Reality check, this would equal out to 100 strict pull-ups in 5 minutes!  I hope to finish there, but I am not there yet, so I scaled to 5's and then think I hit a few 3's near the end.

b.  3x135# thruster ever :30 for 8 minutes.  Same story did some rounds of 3 and then cut it into 3rds...yes, that means I did some sets of 1!

C.  3 rounds for time"
60 double unders
15 toes to bar
10 box jumps 24/20
11:28

Should have completed this a lot faster!  The story here was the infamous double under.  Think I strung together a PR set of 10, but that was the only highlight.  T2B and box jumps are easy...I think I'll be getting better at my double unders.....

Change is a comin'...

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places" by Hemingway....
So, with all of the pointers that I gave you, I had an opportunity to use them myself and it helped out.  This morning concentrated a lot on skill work and was able to pull an easy 190 snatch, after that I pulled a pretty easy 225 clean and jerk.  Warmed up in typical fashion; I usually hit the Brugener warm-up a few times through.  I then put a bar out that is loaded to 135 and muscle snatch it a few times + Overhead squats.  Then I through 155 and I tend to power snatch until I need to start pulling under.  This usually occurs around 175.  Hit 185, and then 190 and called it because although it went up a lot easier than I thought, I jumped my feet out a bit wider than I like.  Right now, I'm in a "gray area, as the weight goes up with snatch, clean and even jerk I moving my feet out more than I think I am supposed to.  I am flexible enough to squat ass to ankles this way but am on the fence as to if I am correct or not?????  Oh well, it gives me something to work on...Went on to the C&J again i started with the muscle version and was able to muscle it up to 185, had to power (minimal knee bend) 205.  Put 215 and it felt a bit heavy but my timing was off and I let the bar get out front, so I just put 225 on the bar, hit it real quick and started to prepare my mind for the conditioning WOD.  Conditioning today was a WOD from I think the 2009 games, 3 rounds for time of 30 Wall balls 20/14, and 30 hang (squat) snatch 75/55.  I knew it was going to be rough because anytime the numbers are that high and the weight is that light, it always sucks.  Not to mention that the motion is very similar although one takes you there with a push and the other gets you there with a pull.  Let me just tell you that it sucked.  So, with that I came up with a pacing plan and I think it worked pretty well.  I got the idea from the approach many athletes took during the open with the wall ball muscle up WOD.  I decided that I would do sets of 5 with both exercises.  My thought process was I wasn't going to do 30 straight of each, so I was looking for numbers that I would be able do for infinity...so 5 was my number.  I finished it in 16:45, not very fast but I was spent afterward so it got the job done.  In retrospect, I might have been able to do sets of 10 but I think on the 2nd round I would have rested too much.  Oh well, we will see next time.  It looks like our programming is going to take on a gymnastic bias.  That should be interesting....I suck at gymnastics!

Feeling better

So, cleans felt good tonight, I ended up failing at 175lbs, not because I couldn't get it, but I'm pretty sure I was supposed to work up to a miss. My technique just falls apart when the numbers go up, but it is a work in progress. I focused on all of your pointers for my 3x3 snatch pulls and did it at 175lbs cause the bar was already loaded. I think I am getting over the sloppy 1 and 2 pull. we will see with the next round of videos. I then did 3x3 bench at 205, 215 and 225.

At this point in time I was going to attempt the Workout, but the old shoulder is still not 100 percent. I have limited mobility over head at this time, so I opting to clean my house instead then roll on a lacrosse ball and ice. I will visit this workout again however.

On a side note I started running my sister through an elements program so I will be excited to se how I can coach her along.

Holy Squats Batman!

Yeah well...so, ummm..yeah.  We did squats this morning...this is the first time I have squatted in a while due to travel so it was good.  In short, it was tough.  Our work had us doing high bar back squats for what I would consider high reps.  We worked with percentages and not knowing my high bar back squat max, I took about 20% off of my regular squat max and got after it.  The workout looked like this.
1.  High bar back squat
1x10 @ 60% (200)
1x8 @ 70% (235)
1x8 @ 75% (250)
1x8 @ 80% (265)
* 2-3 minutes of rest between efforts
2a.  Shoulder press 4x5 @ 85% of 3RM (120) don't know my 3RM, so I did what everyone else was doing, I could have gone up.  1 minute rest
2b.  Front squat
1x5 @60% (185)
1x5 @65% (205)
2x5@ 70% (220)

2a. and 2b. were alternated in superset fashion (press, 1 minute rest and then front squats etc).  There was no conditioning work this morning.  After all of these squats and doing martial arts last night, I am Ok with it.  I have this day dream that I may go home and do some interval running, but it is early yet.  I have plenty of time to change my mind or choose to do laundry instead LOL...

Train like a Champ

So this weekend brought my Dad and Grandma to town, which also means lots of beer. I did my scheduled workout on Saturday and Sunday Dad ran a trail with me. However I drank every night this weekend and ate like a pig. I got a good amount of rest last night and felt good going into the workout.

To warm-up I rowed 500m at a moderate pace and then muscled through squat snatches with the bar (this is an effort to warm-up thoroughly while saving time. I then went into 5 attempts at a full snatch. My technique as usual was horrible and I pulled 135lbs for my last two reps. Not a challenging weight strength wise, but the technique is not yet there to go heavier. Todd has some video of my attempts and he can leave his feed back below.

I then went into back squats 1x3 @235lbs, 250lbs and 260lbs, weight feels good, still a low bar back squat and my shoulder flexibility still needs work.

Next came the most interesting part of my evening, Zercher deadlifts. I did 3x3 @135lbs. I feel I can probably pull in the 200's for reps but I wanted to get familiar with the movement. It was different for sure.

Finally I got to the workout, 5 RFT 7 handstand push ups, 14 slam balls @30lbs (I don't have ten feet for wall balls) and 21 chest slapping push ups. This took me 17 and some change, pretty slow I know, but I wanted to do all slapping push ups and I found them to be a challenge and I am a little rusty on HSPU.

Post workout meal.... yummmmm

All in all a challenging day. Makes me miss training hard, it's been awhile and I'm glad I don't have anymore excuses.

WOW!!!  Big news!  The Angel Boy is a stud!  My plan of building the ultimate Warrior is coming full circle.  Still on his second season of wreslting, he just placed 3rd (cadet) in the state of Missouri in Greco Roman Wrestling!!!!! In the process he managed to make a current state champion his bitch...he made the other wrestler quit!!!!  He is getting real tough.
This morning's work:  5x3 touch and go power cleans with 1:00 rest in between (185/185/205/215/220 (2)). 
Conditioning:
21 thrusters @115
12 ring pullup + knees 2 elbow
15 thrusters @115
9 ring pullup + knees 2 elbow
9 thrusters
6 ring pullup + knees 2 elbow
10:50

The ring pullup + knee 2 elbow was a combination movement to sub for rope climbs.   We do not have access to a climbing rope so I thought about the two movements that comprise a rope climb and used that, the only thing missing was the leg involvement.  I thing next time I will go to only one ring and end up using a "commando" style pullup as well.  Looking forward to hearing how your workouts go Scott.

Ouch, Capsaicin

Alright, Alright...... Well, today I warmed up like shit, but I was in a hurry, I have homework and family coming to town. I lived to regret it as well. I was working up to a heavy Jerk and my shoulder started acting up, I was afraid the workout would suffer, but I need to mention I have been using capsaicin on it before workouts. Well once that kicked in and the MF'er started burning I was hot to trot. I am still working up to being comfortable with heavy loads, so for my 3x3 power jerks I did 185lbs.

Then came the workout that I like to call F Todd in his stupid face. 4 rounds 5 ring dips, 10 2 count helicopters (jumping lunges, I don't have boxes yet) and 20 push press with 53lb kbs. let's just say at the start of round three I had to move to 95lb barbell to finish the wod, I finish in 14 plus, not sure the exact time as I ran it on a stop watch sitting on a bench. I probably should have made the switch to the barbell sooner as to not have sacrificed intensity. Good Workout though and I am ready for Sunday!!!!!!

Warhammer (FWD) Angel

So, the time in PR is winding down. We finished work early and one of the PRNG guys took us out for fresh seafood. OMG, this was fresh! We sat right on the water and ate it. I had mofongo with lobster and shrimp. If you don't know what that is, it is plantains smashed into this huge chalice type dish and it is filled with a sofrito based lobster and shrimp filling....what does all this mean? I ate and drink like shit :(. Didn't consume my normal amount of water, might have had a beer, and all in all had my ass kicked by a huge carb coma. When I got back to the room, I passed out. Once I got up, we went to the gym, I actually stretched for about 30 minutes, which i needed bad. Activity 1 was a 5 minute AMRAP of renegade man makers with 45# dumbells, I don't know how many I got but I do know I needed it to knock the cobwebs off. The conditioning WOD was 5 rounds for time of 5 DB snatch (each arm), 10 DB push press (ea), and 15 air squats. Had only one 50# DB so it was done unilaterally in 13:55. I just now feel normal after eating like crap. Holla back WHOP!

5-2-2012 Warhammer outpost Pugh

Slept well last night and ate well today. Got home took about 30 minutes to roll out and warm up and it felt good. It was originally supposed to be a rest day but I wanted to get a workout in since Monday didn't go as planned and Tuesday was mostly strength. I went with Mondays conditioning workout which was a 12 min Amrap of 25 Kettlebell swings, 100m sprint, 25 hand release push ups, 100m sprint. I haven't measured distance from my house yet so we guessed on the 100m and probably ran a little further to be safe. I got 3 rounds plus 17 swing. The HR push ups is what slowed me down after bench yesterday. I will probably repeat this workout later to get past 4 rounds where I feel I should be.

Bloody Chucks

Well today was a better day. I invited a good friend of mine who trains at Broz Gym to come on over and help me with my frustrating Oly lifts. Let's just say my form was garbage, a little bit Crossfit's fault and a little bit Rip's fault. The problem with the one size fits all Crossfit coaching cues (some coaches are better than that, but a lot of level 1 trainers only preach whats in the course) is that it does not take body type into account in a lot of lifts.

I widened my stance and grip a lot more than usual and it helped lots. I have very poor awareness of where my hips are when I am in the set up position (tight hamstring problem?) Hugo helps me correct this and also suggested flexing my traps from the beginning of the lift to really focus on the shrug. I was not pulling with my elbows enough at the top and last but not least I was catching the bar with my hips extended and not in a good catch position (think catching the bar at triple extension). 

That is a lot of stuff done wrong to write, you may not get the full understanding but I will post videos of before cleans and after later this week. I ended up doing 3x3 power cleans at 170lbs to still work technique and focus on speed for the second pull while still having some weight. I then did 1x5 bench at 168lb, 198, and 225lbs. The technique on the clean took awhile but well worth it. I skipped the metcon due to time (Todd and I agreed that would be what gets cut when short on time).

All in all I'm happy with the day.

Day 2 And 3 Puerto Rico WOD....

Having withdrawals from my OLY lifts, but makin due...yesterday afternoon we went to the hotel gym and started with a complete full body stretch. This feels really good after a long day of standing. Activity 1 was a 5 minute AMRAP of dumbells thrusters with 50#DB, I finished with 35. Activity 2 was a 15 minute AMRAP of 20 HR pushups, 50' bear crawl, and 20 butterfly situps and a 50' bearcrawl back to the beginning. I finished 11 or 12 rounds, I lost count at about minute 12 :(. This evening is the third day in a row so we will be resting tomorrow. Tonight started with a 5 minute AMRAP of dead hang pull ups-35. The conditioning work was a descending and ascending ladder of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of hang squat cleans with 50# DB, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 of stiff legged deadlifts with 50# DB, and 10 situps between each set of HSC and SDL,s. this workout took me 15:42, not great but was some good work and my hammies are tight...