Jim vs. Nancy

I knew it was a scorpion when I let it on my back.

“Nancy”
Five rounds for time of:
400m run
65lb overhead squats x 15

When I did this one last August, my overhead squat form was iffy and my running was well-practiced. I knew neither of these things would be true today, the former because I wouldn’t let it and the latter because I couldn’t avoid it. That being said, I wrapped this up in 18:44, and the extra minute and a half is actually less than I’d expected.Didn’t make this any more fun, though.

I’d like to do this WOD as Rx’d at some point soon, but since that would involve 95lb overhead squats and my 3RM is 115, it may be a while. But having that as a goal should encourage me to start using the OHS as a strength-day workout more frequently.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Pull-ups & Box Jumps

Two weeks back, when I did deadlifts, I only got five reps on my final round. I was curious to see how the three-rep week would go, and today my curiosity was satisfied.

230 x 3
265 x 3
295 x 5

Definitely a stronger showing, and it left me looking forward to the my next encounter with this exercise.

I’d been wanting to do a metcon that combined pull-ups and box jumps — don’t ask me why — and going back through this blog’s archive’s found me just the thing:

Three rounds for time of:
15 pull-ups
10 box jumps

I finished up in 4:41, 45 seconds faster than last time. Encountered a similar situation this go round, knocking off the first set of pull-ups in one go and then piecemealing it through the others. Apparently, I did so more briskly today.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Turkish Get-ups

Ah, Mondays. What better way to start the week than with shoulder press?

90 x 3
105 x 3
115 x 4

These felt very good, even interspersed as they were with Turkish get-ups:

20 x 6
25 x 6
27.5 x 8

So, some notes on what I did with the TGUs here. I used the 5-3-1 calculator to determine weights, but then made some adjustments due to the fact that a TGU works most of your body regardless of which “side” you’re doing. So instead of doing five reps, I did six (three per side) and lowered the weight slightly to address that. The rep numbers given above, therefore, do not follow the “each side” pattern I usually use for TGU write-ups, but represent my total reps per set.

All in all, it worked pretty well, but I’m not sure doing TGUs and shoulder press on the same day was wise.

Jim vs. Clean & Jerks

Short workout today: I didn’t get to the gym in the morning, so I had to squeeze it in during the afternoon. As such, all I really managed to do was finish up my 5-3-1 commitment for the week.

100 x 3
115 x 3
130 x 5

No time for a metcon, which means that while I got four workouts in this week, most of them were shorter than I’d have liked. But next week, no traveling.

EDIT: Hey, whaddaya know. Monday marked the one-year anniversary of this blog. Cool.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Turkish Get-Ups

Back home, back at Teagle, back to strength work. Specifically, alternating sets of back squats and Turkish get-ups.

Back squats
165 x 3
190 x 3
215 x 4

Turkish get-ups
25 x 1 (each side)
30 x 1 (each side)
35 x 1 (each side)
40 x 1 (each side)

The back squats felt strong, stronger than my five-rep day two weeks ago. The get-ups also felt good, and 40 is a new max. I really want to start pushing that number, but I’m not sure if trying to bring in a 5-3-1 plan will work: I’m worried the loads will be too close together, but the fact that Teagle’s dumbbells go up in 2.5lb increments until you get into the 50lb range might eliminate that problem. We’ll see, possibly as soon as next week.

Jim vs. Running

Title says it all, yes? Well, if not: I dragged myself out of a hotel bed, went down and got on a treadmill for some interval running.

400m – 2:05
800m – 4:14
800m – 4:25
400m – 2:03

I hate treadmills, but I can’t blame them overmuch for either the slow times or my refusal to do four full 800m runs. But the times and distances are what they are, and my ass still felt pretty kicked at the end of it.

Jim vs. DB Burpees/Hang Squat Cleans/Thrusters & Pull-ups

Traveling, so I need to deal with limited resources when planning workouts. Also, considering today’s schedule, I also needed to get my workout done in less time; thus, I ended up doing a single, somewhat shorter, metcon.

Five rounds for time of:
7 dumbbell (20lbs) burpees/hang squat cleans/thrusters
7 pull-ups

Finished up in 10:26.

Jim vs. Front Squats, Pull-ups, Ring Push-ups

What a way to end the week. First up, getting to know front squats again:

125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 6

I have to say, modifying the 5-3-1 structure for use with other exercises seems to work pretty well. And it leaves me time to do stuff like this:

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps* of:
pull-ups
ring push-ups

This was pretty brutal, but I managed to get through it. The pull-ups in particular got really rough, forcing me to bring out a kip just to get my chin over the bar (which, truth be told, probably didn’t happen on every rep). Finished up in 11:41.

* I hear they call this a “10!” workout, and that fills me with joy.

Jim vs. Rowing, Burpees, Running

Because nothing says fun like burpees.

Three rounds for time of:
500m row
21 burpees
400m run

I’ve got some history with this one.  But today was a first: no scaling, no cut-offs. I finished up in 23:29; that’s about two minutes longer than the 15-burpee version from last year, and I think it’s about the pace I set in October when I gave myself a 20-minute limit (but I’m honestly how far along I was at today when I hit the 20-minute mark). I feel like that’s a decent output considering where I’m at right now, and slamming through twelve straight burpees on that final round kinda rocked.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Running, Kettlebell Swings, and KTEs

Started my day with some deadlifts, and I dare you to think of a better way.

215 x 5
245 x 5
280 x 5

This is the first time since I started doing 5-3-1 that I haven’t been able to go past the minimum mandate on a final set. It’ll be interesting to see how my three-rep deadlift workout goes in a couple of weeks. But until then, there are always more metcons!

Three rounds for time of:
Run 400m
18 kettlebell swings (50# dumbbell for me)
9 knees-to-elbows

Finished this in 11:50. I can do better, but I’m glad to be doing it at all. And the KTEs felt good.