Jim vs. the Snatch

I haven’t done full snatches or overhead squats in a couple of months, and I felt that today.

Snatch 5×3
65 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3

Not only did I use lower weights than I’d hoped to, but for the last few sets, one rep of three was a power snatch rather than a full squat snatch. I hope this movement gets programmed more: I need the practice. May just start working it into my warm-up.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Dead-hang Pull-ups, KB Straight-leg Deadlifts

AKA, “Jim vs. Hyphenation”.

Back Squat Linear Progression
160 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 5

Followed that up with this fun one:

Three rounds not for time of:
5-10 dead-hang pull-ups
12 KB SLDLs

The dead-hang pull-ups are always a challenge, and I worked for my 8-7-6 reps. The SLDLs were completely new to me: having only dumbbells, I used pood-esque weights to figure out what worked for me. 35lbs was pretty easy, 52.5lbs felt tougher, and I really had to push to get through twelve reps at 70lbs.

Jim vs. Mussolini

I briefly had the nickname “Il Duce” in college. Thus, I smiled when I saw this in the CF Ithaca blog.

“Mussolini”
AMRAP in 12 minutes:
4 push press
8 pull ups
12 weighted squats

I uses 75lbs for this: it was a guess, but I figured if it was good enough for FGB as Rx’d and my current work on Fran, it should work fine here. I did six full rounds, plus 4 push presses, 8 pull-ups, and 9 weighted squats of a seventh. It was hard getting that close to another full round and falling short, but it just lets me know what I need to do next time.

Jim vs. Clean & Jerk, Rowing

Clean and jerk was the order of the day. I decided to focus on form, keeping the same weight throughout; I did raise the weight from last time, though.

110 x 3
110 x 3
110 x 3
110 x 3
110 x 3

I’m feeling much more comfortable with this form. I only did 2-3 reps as power cleans, with all other being full squat cleans. I’ve just about got my elbows moving as fast as they should. Hopefully this will translate to attempts at higher weights.

I finished up by going upstairs and taking the new rowing machines for a 500m spin. Finished in a frustrating 2:16; no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to bring my speed up. That’s my second frustrating “cash-out” in a row, which feels like some kind of metafrustration.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Pull-ups

The march of progress continues.

Back squat, linear progression
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5

In between sets of squats, I also did three sets of max pull-ups. My results were 14, 10, and 7; while I wasn’t surprised that the numbers went down each time, I was disappointed that I came up so short on my first set. I’ve done 16 pull-ups in the past, and I’m not willing to just claim that I’ve gotten more strict with my form lately.

Jim vs. Murph (60%)

Today’s Summer of Murph Lesson: “Don’t wait until it’s 85 degrees out and the sun’s directly overhead to do your Murph progression.”

“Murph” (60%)
Run 0.6 miles
60 pull-ups
120 push-ups
180 squats
Run 0.6 miles

Finished in 29:12, so my “theoretical” Murph time is down to 48:40. That’s an improvement, but considering how much I was dragging on that last, hot, miserable run, I know I can do better. (I’m pretty sure it took me damn near eight minutes to do that second .6 miles.) We’ll see in two weeks, I suppose.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Push-ups, Sit-ups, Squats

My trap was feeling better, and so while I wanted to do deadlifts, I didn’t want to push my back too hard. So, I did a 5×1 set, but used lighter loads.

225 x 1
255 x 1
285 x 1
315 x 1
345 x 0
345 x 1

That last weight was frustrating: I’ve lifted 20lbs more recently, but that first attempt just didn’t work. The weight came up on the second attempt, though, so maybe I was just positioned wrong the first time. Something I was doing wasn’t right, and I’m glad I brought it together.

Then I did a short workout that I picked up from Janaki’s exploits at Albany CrossFit:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:
push-ups
AbMat sit-ups
squats

Finished it in 6:05. Not bad, but I need more pop in my squats; I could really make up some time there.

Jim vs. Back Squats, 400m Runs

So, turns out I may have been right about using 115 for Franco‘s hang power cleans. I woke up Friday with my long-suffering left trapezius muscle in agony. Long story short, today was my first day back to the gym.

Back squat (linear progression)
150 x 5
150 x 5
150 x 5
150 x 5
150 x 5

That felt alright; no major strain on the trap, and while these workouts are getting rougher, they’re still well within my ability to handle. I wrapped up with two 400m runs, both of which I finished in 1:39. That’s a new PR by  second, and while that’d feel pretty good in and of itself I’m especially pleased that I was able to go that fast on the both runs.

Jim vs. Franco

Another day, another erstwhile foreign leader trying to bring me down.

“Franco”
15-10-5 of:
hang power cleans (115lbs)
pull-ups
burpees

Finished in 11:17. The Rx’d weight for the hang power cleans on this one is 135, but even the 115 felt like I was pushing things a bit.

Jim vs. Clean & Jerk, Running

Today I went out in search of a new 3RM on the clean and jerk, and I found it. (Actually, I found two, but there can be only one. )

95 x 3
110 x 3
125 x 3
140 x 3
145 x 3

My previous 3RM was 135, so both of the final sets came in above that. With my 3RM now only 15lbs below my PR, I’m hoping to do a 5×1 clean and jerk workout soon. And I wouldn’t mind revisiting this arrangement, either; I think I could go even higher.

I also did an 800m time trial, finishing in 3:53. That’s two seconds slower than the PR I set last July. I know I can beat that; I’ve just got to, y’know, actually do it.