February 7, 2014

Sled Push & Pull (3 mins): 90*14.5
Seated Press: 135*6 155*4
Neutral Grip Pullups: 7

Last day of the games, so I did the push & pull, came in 2nd this time, although my all-time record from last time still stands.  I was just gassed by the end of this, my lungs feel torched, awful really afterward.  I couldn't quite rip the rope as hard as I wanted on account of the grip strength, but I doubt that cost me very much, if anything, it was more the fact that I'm carrying around all the extra weight right now. 

November 6, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 3
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*16.5 (3:00)
• HPS: 135*4
• Broad Jumps: 3

Well that went well.  I've mentioned a few times that a trainer at my gym does challenges every few months. I've never actually tried one of them fresh, most of my numbers on them come at the tail end of workouts, or the day after I batter myself.  This is the first time I ever tried one after a day off (or in this case a week).  Current leader on this.  It's longer than the last time, so you have to go further for each 'rep'.  He also added in a 'halfway' mark so you could tack a .5 onto the end if you were running low on time.  

I have never in my life felt a burning in my chest like when this was done. If I hadn't had a few days off beforehand I would not have gotten this score. I got that acetyline torch being shoved down my windpipe feeling after.  The thing is that usually dissipates over the course of the day, I still felt like that the next morning.  I tried doing some snatches after, I couldn't.  I was done.  Great feeling though. 1st place

October 15, 2013 Upper / Heavy

• Bench Press: 225*3 245*3 255*3 265*3 280*1 290*1
• T-Bar Rows: 160*3 170*2 160*2
• Push Press: 225*1 235*1
• Neutral Grip Pullups: 90*2 90*2 90*1
• Landmine Laterals: 70*2
• DB Incline Bench: 105*4
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*14 (3:00)
• Paloffs: 90*5 90*5
• 10 lbs. plate transfer planks: 4*2 4*3
• PUPP: 1:00

45 minutes

smorgasbord workout. Got everything in though.  Built up on benching which is more inline of what I want to do on the heavier days.  I really enjoy the heavy t-bar rowing.  Sled push & pull was for the competition at my gym, it's on a longer course this time around. 

September 20, 2013 Lower / Posterior Chain Heavy

• Deadlifts: 400*1 435*1 450*1 475*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*3 165*3 185*1 195*1
• Hanging Power Snatch: 135*3 155*1 165*1 NEW PR!! 170*X
• Sled Push & Pulls: 90*16 3:00
• P.U.P.P.: 1:20

So first; I rotate heavy/light sessions on my upper body workouts week to week. I also do that with squats, but don't for my dead/o-lift days. Going to start doing that. It's really helped propel my squatting quite a bit. Went heavy on deads here, going to use deficit deadlifts the next few weeks on both heavy and light days, then retest.  Cleans went well but I was somewhat burn out from the deadlifting. On snatching, I think my grip had been a bit to narrow, the bar was hanging a tad below the hip crease which is where you want it to be when in the hang position. I'm not sure if that contributed to the PR here, but it couldn't have hurt. Been trying for 18 months to get past 160 and finally did it.  Finished with some sled work and some core stuff and called it a day. 

September 13, 2013 Upper Body / Heavy

• Incline Bench Press: 235*2 250*1 260*1 270*1ish
• Pullups: 95*2 95*2 95*1
• Standing Press: 165*2 180*1 155*3
• Unilateral BB T-Bar Rows: 175*2 180*1
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*10, 1:40

43 minutes

good session, not sure if on the 270 the spotter helped me, they were pretty zealous..decided to toss some more weights on pullups, went great.  Standing press....I always wonder how much weight I could slap on if I lead off with it on this day for a couple months.  The thing is I just love incline benching so much, I feel like it's so much easier to maintain tension throughout the lift, as opposed to with flat bench.  The sled pushing & pulling went well, love gassing myself out at the end with those

September 08, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 8' 2", 8' 3", 8' 4", 8' 5", 8' 6", 8' 5"
• Air-Dyne 1/2 Tabata
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*12 (2:20)

21 minutes

Crappy jumps.  Calves were sore for some reason, and I just wasn't feeling it.  Did a 1/2 tabata on the airdyne...that thing kills me.  Finished with some sled push & pulling. 

September 1, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 35, 15, 30 (2:30)
• Broad Jump: 8' 3", 8' 8", 8' 6", 8' 5", 8' 7", 8'6"
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*12 (2:20)
• Rowing: 500m*1:42 NEW PR!!

29 minutes

Broad jumps went well, jumped to sled push & pull after that, then decided to try my hand at doing a 500 of rowing. Turned out well, new PR. Although the caveat there is that I do not do 500 rows very often, I do 100s & 1000s much more often.

August 30, 2013 Upper Body Heavy

• Incline Bench: 225*3 235*2 245*1 255*1
• Pullups: 90*2 90*2 90*2
• Standing Press: 155*3 175*1 165*2
• Unilateral BB T-Bar Row: 180*2 190*1
• DB Flat Bench: 115*3
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*12 -sled went sideways. 

Great session, really close to my PR on incline benching, and I'm cutting, so that's good. Pullups are going well too, close to the PR there.  Standing pres is somewhat static, but I'm not prioritizing it really. I've kicked around the idea of leading off with it, then putting incline bench 3rd here, but I love incline benching.  Rest of workout went great.  On the sled work the sled was sideways, so that hurt the numbers. 

August 25, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope (2:27): 50, 50
• Broad Jump: 8' 8.5", 8' 8", 8' 6", 9' 0"(!!), 8' 6", 8' 9"
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*20 (4:15) 90*10 (2:30)

Quick session.  Really uncorking some good broad jumps, I think I've got the form of it down pat finally.  If I hit less than about 8' 6" at this point I'm disappointed.  Going to keep working on the patterning of it, and making sure I throw my legs forward before the landing. Sled Push & Pull did a couple sets and was absolutely finished afterward.  

August 16, 2013 Lower Body Heavy

• Squats: 315*1 340*1 365*1 375*1
• Good Mornings: 185*3 195*3 205*3
• Rack Hip-Thrusts: 405*3 425*3
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*20 (3:20)
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 60*10

43 minutes

Went heavy, got another high on squatting.  Can't wait til I'm bulking again, want to see if I can get 450.  Good mornings went well, I need to make sure I'm using good form and not straining my lower back on them, feel like I go too low sometimes.  Did some hip thrusting, haven't done it in a while. Hips are exhausted after this week really.  Did some sled push & pulling, got to 20!  

August 9, 2013 Lower Body

• Squats: 275*5 300*5 315*5 315*3 -lower back tired
• Walking Lunges:170*6 180*6
• Good Mornings: 155*8 175*8 195*6
• Straight-Leg Cable Kickbacks: 110*10 120*10
• 90 lbs. sled push & Pull: (3 minutes) 16

45 minutes

Well that was interesting. My lower back was just really tired.  I think I jumped in too fast on deadlifting on Tuesday because it's been tired since then. I think deadlifting may be interfering with the weights I'm squatting.  May use this as an opportunity to tweak my deadlifting. I think I've been too high at the start of the pulls recently, may drop the weight and focus on pulling with my hips lower and pattern that for a couple weeks, and see if that helps my lower back as well.  Need to lower weight on good mornings, if this is really going to be a light day...maybe 145-155-170 or something.  Murdered some sled push & pulls.  

August 8, 2013 Upper Body / Light

• Incline Bench Press: 190*10 195*9 185*9
• Pullups: 55*5 55*4 55*4
• Standing Press: 135*3 135*3 - tris done
• Unilateral BB Rows: 145*10 165*8-form was decomposing here, lower weight.
• DB Flat Bench: 105*5 100*5 super gassed now
• 90 lbs. sled push & pull: (3 minutes) 14

45 minutes

Good session!  I think my body is actually adapting to the rotating heavy/light days finally.  Pullups I'm doing medium weight here, as I mentioned before. On Standing Press my triceps were just done from the incline benching. Need to lower weight on unilateral bb rows, at least the second set. My form was garbage at the end.  Finished with some sled push & pulls.  Really liking these. 

August 6, 2013 Lower Body / Posterior Chain / Olympic Lifting

• Power Shrug: 405*5 455*5
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*3 155*3 155*3 175*3 185*1 195*1 -tired, starfished 155*3
• Hanging Power Snatches: 135*2
• Deadlifts: 405*1 425*1 315*5
• Pull-Throughs; 60*10 70*10
• 90 lbs. sled push & pull: 14, 3:25

Good session, got a bit tired while cleaning.  Actually really tired for some reason.   On deadlifts my back was extremely sore, I never really rested after Friday & Saturday. Forgot how much that day off helps.  Did some sled pushes & pulls for fun after.  

August 3, 2013 Conditioning

• TRX Dismounts: a bunch.
• Sled Push & Pull: (3 minutes): 17
• Box Squats: (3 minutes) 135*55

last day of the challenges at my gym, for the summer anyway, so I wanted to see how I would do fresh.  Got 17 on the push & pulls, still tired from yesterday. Lower back was almost spasming on the box squats.  Good times.  3rd place on box squats, 3rd on the push  & pull.  Barely missed 2nd place by a half inch, repeatedly on the dismounts. 

August 2, 2013 Lower Body

• Squats: 315*1 345*1 365*1
• Good Mornings: 225*2 240*1 NEW PR!! 250*1 NEW PR!! 260*1 NEW PR!!
• Sled Push & Pull: 3 minutes, 16
• Sled Push & Pull, Team (5 pushes, 5 pulls each): 1:57
• Sled Push & Pull, intergender, Team (5 pushes, 5 pulls each): 2:28

My lower back wasn't feeling fabulous, kind of tired. Still I got 365 on squatting so I'm happy. Then I destroyed my record for good mornings on 3 consecutive sets.  Probably don't want to go that high again anytime soon, but I did get the job done. Next I decided to do more of the challenges.  First I did a sled push & pull. Basically pull a sled from a 3 point stance, then push it back to where it started.  Each time you pull the sled all the way to you counts as a rep, then each push back counts.  By the end of this it felt like someone was sticking a blowtorch down my throat and lighting my lungs on fire. Here's a video!

Then I did it again, but in team form, you take turns, do a pull then a push, then next person does so.  5 of each, as fast as you can. Me and another guy smoked the previous record by 2 minutes, finished with 1:57.  Then I did it with one of the ladies from the gym as well. We were both gassed at that point though, ended up with 2:28.   Also did some TRX dismounts, basically swing from a trx and then hurl yourself as far as possible. I got 55", so 3rd place, narrowly missing 2nd place by a half inch. Here's a vid of the final sled push & pull I did with the girl. 

Hard to explain how tired I was after all this, I could barely stay awake. Good times