Jim vs. Deadlifts and Yet Another Dumbbell Complex

Today started out very early, with a brisk walk around the new neighborhood with Nina and Samson. Afterward, as i got ready for work, I hopped on the scale and weighed in at 180 lbs.

(That last factoid will prove important.)

After working for a few hours, I went over to the gym, and dug into my first 5×1 deadlift workout in a while.

245 x 1
275 x 1
305 x 1
335 x 1
365 x 1

That last set was a huge moment for me: not only is it a new PR, but cross-referencing the important factoid above, it’s also the first time I deadlifted more than twice my body weight. I was ecstatic (though it was tough to tell, since the effort left me more than a bit dizzy; suffice to say I was staggering around quite ecstatically).

Then I moved on to yet another dumbbell complex from CF Ithaca, which I swear has a complex for any occasion; this one definitely seemed appropriate.

Five rounds of:
5 Dumbbell deadlifts
5 Dumbbell hang cleans
5 Dumbbell push presses
5 Dumbbell squats

Increase the load each round. Rest as necessary between rounds.

This probably would’ve been rough regardless, but it was especially tough after the barbell deadlifts. I did 20-25-30-35-40, and got through the complex on each round. It was a close thing with the 40s, so while I might’ve been able to go heavier, it wouldn’t have been by much. I liked this complex, actually, though not as much as I liked that last deadlift.

Jim vs. Niyazov

The number one lesson from today’s workout is that I need to do more WODs that make it sound like I fought some badass from Turkmenistan.

“Niyazov”
5 four-minute rounds of:
5 power snatches (65lbs)
20 push-ups
200m run

Complete the work as quickly as possible in each round and rest for the remainder.

I’m not sure how to give my results for this except in terms of completion and rest: I got through the whole thing, and my rest periods went 2:00 (approx), 2:05, 1:50, 1:44, 1:36. So, I could’ve gone heavier on the snatches*, and once I get consecutive double unders down I can do 50 of those instead of the running.

But considering that every one of those rests saw me lying down sucking wind to get ready for the next round, that I had to start breaking my push-up sets into chunks once I got to round three, and only the first round of running was anything less than painful… I’d still consider this one challenging. It just could’ve been more so.

* 65 was my warm-up weight, but it felt tougher than expected so I decided to use it for the workout. The workout, however, felt much easier. I guess it was an issue of re-familiarizing myself with the lift, and not the load.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Tito

Following CF Ithaca programming again means getting re-acquainted with exercises I haven’t tried in months while still tackling those that have been my staples. Started out today with the latter: shoulder press.

95 x 3
110 x 3
120 x 3

I’m not doing 5-3-1 anymore, but taking a look back at it to figure out loads for today seemed to work out well. Then it was on to a WOD that incorporated an exercise I’d forgotten existed and an exercise I kinda wish I could forget existed.

“Tito”
AMRAP in 8 minutes of:
8 burpees
8 dumbbell snatches (22.5lbs), each hand

I got through four full rounds, plus four more burpees. The only round in which I paused mid-set was the second: after that I found my groove with the DB snatches, and realized that pausing didn’t actually make burpees better.

Jim vs. Back Squat, Running

Saturday marked the implementation of Part 1 of my three-part plan to get my fitness back on track. Today, I started Parts 2 and 3: four months of 5×5 back squat linear progression, and looking to CF Ithaca for my workout programming.

The idea behind the linear progression is that you do a 5×5 back squat day each week, using the same weight for all five sets, and increase that weight by five pounds each week. So today I did:

135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5

Next week, I’ll do 140, the week after 145, and so on. In four months, I should top off around 215, which would represent a huge strength gain for me. Time will tell whether I’m being overly ambitious.

Finally, last week Clea programmed a back squat day, and while it wasn’t a 5×5 I thought the follow-up she programmed would work well today: a one mile time trial. So I went outside and got my run on, finishing in 8:58 (notably faster than last time, and much faster than I managed on Saturday’s half-Murph).  It might even be a new PR, but I’m hoping to get in at least a few better efforts this summer.

Jim vs. The Half-Murph

Yesterday I mentioned that I didn’t feel like I’ve been pushing myself. Today started one of the three ways by which I mean to change that: The Summer of Murph. Today, I did a half-Murph: all numbers scaled to 50% of the as-Rx’d version.

Half-Murph
.5 mile run
50 pull-ups
100 push-ups
150 squats
.5 mile run

It was fairly brutal, taking me 26:18. My runs took 25-50% longer than half-mile runs took me last year, and the body-weight stuff took me about 50% longer than ten rounds of Cindy would’ve. Granted, the fact that I wasn’t doing the half-mile runs back-to-back with each other (let alone with 10 rounds of Cindy) means that these things aren’t strictly comparable, it’s still a hell of a lot slower than I’d like.

In a month’s time, I’ll tackle this scaled to 60% of Rx’d, then 70% a month after that, with the goal of doing the whole boat in September. Hence the Summer of Murph.

The other two ways in which I’m going to try to bust myself out of my rut? Nest week I’ll begin four months of the back squat 5×5 linear progression recommended here, as well as going back to following the CF Ithaca programming. I man go easy on myself, but Clea doesn’t roll that way.

Jim vs. Clean & Jerks, Deadlifts

Another cooldown day.

Clean & Jerk
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5

Deadlift
130 x 5
165 x 5
200 x 5

Next week will, I think, see some big changes to my workout. I’m plateauing, and I think the fact that I’m doing a lot of “solid” workouts that don’t often challenge me is the problem. Gonna try to shake that up.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Shoulder Press

Confession time: I’m actually writing this on Friday, not Tuesday. I do this from time to time when I forget to update this blog right after a workout, but I’m calling it out today to explain why I’m posting nothing but the results. Also, this is the “cooldown” week for 5-3-1, which is why I used light loads.

Shoulder Press
55 x 5
65 x 5
80 x 5

Back squats
95 x 5
120 x 5
145 x 5

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Running, and Technology Failure

A mix of the good and the frustrating today. Oddly, the latter really didn’t manifest in my shoulder press.

100 x 5
110 x 3
125 x 2

Not a bad showing. I tried doing 400m runs in between sets, and that was when the frustration hit: my timer flaked out on both runs. This was especially frustrating because the first run felt like it could’ve been a PR. After the second one, I just didn’t have the heart for more. I can’t blame my timer overmuch: I’ve been using it for a while, and it’s beat to hell. Just need to buy a new one.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Turkish Get-ups

Still moving, which is translating to another short workout week. Trying to make the most of it, tho.

Deadlifts
245 x 5
280 x 3
310 x 2

Turkish Get-ups
25 x 6
27.5 x 4
32.5 x 4

Getting closer to wrapping up my second go-round with 5-3-1. Finished my first cycle of doing a modified 5-3-1 with TGUs, and it felt pretty good. I’ll probably work on muscle-ups next week, then restart the cycle with higher weights.

Jim vs. Clean & Jerks, Rowing

Another day, another lift.

Clean & Jerk
110 x 5
120 x 3
135 x 3

Felt strong, though I was doing mostly power cleans towards the end. I’ve got the full clean down really well in warm-ups, but I’m gonna need it more and more as my loads increase.

I finished the workout by heading up to the rowing machine, and doing two 500m sprint rows, separated by a lengthy rest. First round was 1:56, which is a new PR by a whole second. The second round was rougher, unsurprisingly, coming in at 2:15. Ouch.