Jim vs. Deadlifts and Several Sevens

I cannot believe March is over, or that I only worked out nine times this month. That’s kind of sad. My deadlifts are still going strong, though:

355 x 3
320 x 4
285 x 5

This seems to be a pretty solid place for the 3-4-5 reverse pyramid right now. The 355 is a new 3RM, and each set felt tough. I’ll probably bump set #3 to 290 next week, see how it goes.

Then, a metcon!

AMRAP in 7 minutes of:
box jumps x 7
dumbbell hang power cleans x 7
dumbbell swings x 7

I used 27.5lb dumbbells for the HPCs, and a 52.5lb one for the swings. I got through six full rounds, plus all the jumps and two HPCs of the seventh. Getting seven rounds of that one would’ve been nice; maybe next time.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Shoulder Press

Back to the gym! Linear progressions and reverse pyramids awaited.

Back squat
180 x 5
180 x 5
180 x 5
180 x 5
180 x 5

Shoulder press
120 x 4
110 x 5
95 x 6

Was a little leery of starting too high with the reverse pyramid on the shoulder press; didn’t want to re-injure anything. This felt solid, though: next week I may try again, either with 125lbs (my current 3RM) or 130.

Good to be back.

Jim vs. Bench Press, Kettlebells

Workouts while traveling can suck. But it turns out the hotel had a better gym than I expected — I started with bench press, since they had the set-up with no damned Smith machine to get in the way.

185 x 5
165 x 6
150 x  8

That started out as a 3-4-5 reverse pyramid, but once I hit five reps the first set I decided to keep going with it.

This gym had kettlebells! Only up to 25lb, but honest-to-Crom kettlebells. So I finished up the workout with several minutes of KB skill work: snatches, cleans, clean and jerks, Turkish get-ups. Very fun, very different, and very much inclining me to get my own kettlebells for home.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, 1k Row

Good day, just what I wanted before I start traveling.

Deadlift
345 x 3
310 x 5
275 x 5

That’s a new 3RM, which isn’t surprising after establishing 325 as my5RM last week. It should be fun pushing that one even higher when I get back.

After the deadlifts, I went upstairs and did a 1k row, finishing in 4:16. That’s a new PR by 11 seconds. I still want to get that time below four minutes, but you can only complain so much after a workout like this one. And it ain’t that much at all.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Turkish Get-Ups

Pretty basic  day.

Back squats
175 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5

Turkish get-ups
47.5 x 1 (each side)
42.5 x 2 (each side)

That last bit was me doing a reverse pyramid with the TGUs, and starting out with a new PR. I decided to make it a two-, rather than three-step pyramid due to time and some strain on my left shoulder. It’s still in keeping with the guidelines of the reverse pyramid stuff, and I try to be pretty careful about my shoulders.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Thrusters, Pull-ups, & Burpees

I came into the gym with the mentality that I needed to make up for skipping yesterday’s workout.

Deadlift
325 x 5
300 x 5
270 x 5

300lbs would’ve been a new 5RM for me, so I’m freaking thrilled that I did 325 x 5 — a 30lb jump in my 5RM is kinda crazy, and makes me want to go out and find new a 3RM and a new PR ASAP.  I am liking this reverse pyramid thing quite a bit, and I’ll be bumping up the loads in a notable way next week.

Then a metcon constructed from the bones of the damned:

Five rounds for time of:
75lb thrusters x 7
pull-ups x 7
burpees x 7

Finished in 9:07, and I feel like it should’ve been faster. I slammed through the first round in about a minute, which means the average of the next four rounds was double that. Helluva drop in speed, there; I don’t expect to knock this thing out in five minutes, but I feel like seven or so should be doable.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Clean & Jerks

The previous three days could’ve inspired a post called, “Jim vs. Helping Friends Move, Shoveling Snow, and Shoveling More Damned Snow”. But I bet you’ve gotten the gist of it.

Today, I combined the chocolate of the linear progression with the peanut butter of the reverse pyramid to make a Reese’s cup of exertion and pain.

Back squat
170 x 5
170 x 5
170 x 5
170 x 5
170 x 5

Clean & Jerk
145 x 4
130 x 5
115 x 5

145lbs had been/still is my 3RM, so getting  four reps of that was solid. I think, if I were to do the reverse pyramid for an Olympic lift again, I’d do a 1-2-3 rather than a 3-4-5. It’d let me focus more on the lifts, less on resetting my stance.

Overall, though, very pleased with how this went.

Jim vs. Snatches, More Snatches, and Box Jumps

Oh, grow up.

First task of the day was to find a new 1RM on the snatch, which I was not able to do.

75 x 1
95 x 1
115 x 1
120 x 1 (power snatch)
120 x 0

That 120 is almost assuredly a PR on the power snatch, but I could not get to the full squat at all. So my 115 PR stands.

Then, a metcon:

Five rounds for time of:
5 power snatches at 65% of today max (75lbs)
10 box jumps

Finished this up in 5:45. When I snatch, I have a tendency to pull the bar up high enough that I catch it while standing upright. I tried on these to catch it in a true power stance, and that felt a little better. Need to incorporate how that feels into my work on the squat snatch.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Rowing

In which I return to the reverse pyramid, looking for more reps and bumping up the weight on the sets I got five reps on last week.

Deadlifts
325 x 4
295 x 5
265 x 5

I was so surprised to get the fourth rep in at 325 I completely forgot to go for a fifth. Such is life. 295 is my 5RM, so next week I may end up with two chances to get a new 5RM. Cool.

Then it was upstairs for a 1k row, which I finished in 4:38. That’s 11 seconds shy of the PR that’s well over a year old.  Considering how the rowing felt while it was happening, I can’t say I’m surprised.