Jim vs. 1 Mile Run

Couldn’t bring myself to go into Samson’s old room to work with my kettlebells or sandbags today. So I went for a run.

1 mile run – 10:16

That’s a ridiculously slow time. Not much else to say.

Jim vs. The 5k Row

I remembered my headphones this time.

I didn’t remember to write down my time, though, so I kind of feel like a moron.

In any case, I did a 5k row. I think it was around 27 minutes or so, which puts it in the same range as last time.

But oh, do I feel dumb.

Jim vs. The 5k Row

Teagle, you stymie me. Just when I think I’ve got a handle on things, you close your downstairs gym a week early. I will forgive you if it means said gym’s not closed for the first 2-3 weeks of January, but you’re still not telling, are you?

In any case, this meant that I would not get my first experience with the Zercher squats. Of course, I did end up having my first experience with a 5k row.

5k row – 27:44

That’s one of the things I’d missed about CF Brand X, and one of the things I liked about the kettlebell work I did this fall: doing stuff I’ve never done before. Nice to be getting that again… and tomorrow I get to figure out how to modify the Zerchers to do at home.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Rowing

Not feeling chatty about this one.

Deadlift
255 x 3
295 x 3
335 x 3
315 x 3
275 x 3

That went well.

500m row
2:19
2:26

That went, eh.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, 1k Row

How else could I finish my first week back to the barbell?

Deadlift
275 x 1
315 x 1
355 x 1
335 x 1
295 x 1

Those sets in the middle were tough, but the bar kept coming up. Granted, I topped out at less than 90% of my max, but hey: first week back.

I went upstairs after for some rowing: knocked out 1k in 4:33. Not by best time, but it’s in keeping with my time from July. So, respectable.

Jim vs. A New Kettlebell, 800m Run

My new 35lb kettlebell arrived yesterday. I’ve had the 53 since December, but I can’t do snatches or cleans with it. After much delay, hemming, and hawing, I got the 35 as an anniversary gift. Woo!

So this morning after my warm-up, I set my timer to 15 minutes and then spent that time playing with the new bell. Swings, one-hand swings, cleans, clean and jerks, snatches, Turkish get-ups, goblet squats, shoulder press, push press, hot potatoes, the whole shebang. Good stuff, though my left arm is much, much weaker when it comes to KB work. I noticed it on the 53, but it was still there on the 35. But hey: I can start working on my KB cleans and snatches, now. I’ll get ‘em with the 53 soon enough.

After that, I went out and did an 800m run. Finished in 4:12, which is terrible. I hate running in the morning, which is why I should do it more.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, Bench Press, Rowing

Long workout today. Started with 5×5 deadlifts, which are just unlike anything else.

Deadlift
235 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
295 x 5
255 x 5

The third set was 95% of my 5RM, and this was just brutal. My legs and back were just wiped after this. So I moved onto the bench press.

On the minute for 10 minutes:
Bench press x 2, 145lbs

Used more weight than last time, and still didn’t really feel like I was pushing myself. Truth be told, I should probably just do three reps on the minute if I’m gonna do bench this way.

Finally, went upstairs to finish up.

500m row – 2:20

Not a great time at all, but by this point I was sweaty, tired, and had no pop left at all. Good time to stretch and call it a day.

Jim vs. 400m Run, Squat Cleans, Deadlifts

Today I pushed.

Once again, I moved my stretching to the end, and so I decided to throw a 400m run into my warm-up. Finished in 1:42; not great, not horrible.

Then, I did some cleans. I made sure to catch these in the squat position (except for set #3, which was ugly, and so I did a power clean + front squat kind of thing).

Squat clean
95 x 1
125 x 1
155 x 1
140 x 1
110 x 1

Finally, I wanted to get some deadlifts in, and do something else vaguely metcon-y. So:

Deadlift x 2, on the minute for ten minutes

I used 225lbs on this, same as last time. Felt good, really had me finding my form. Then did some stretching, called it a day.

Jim vs. 1-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press and some stairs

Another workout in the greenhouse, and this time I went in feeling a bit ill. Decided to keep working some unilateral movements.

1-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press
30 x 5 (each arm)
40 x 5 (each arm)
50 x 5 (each arm)
45 x 5 (each arm)
35 x 5 (each arm)

Not too bad. Keeping my balance on the bench was interesting, and it was definitely work to move the dumbbell on the middle sets.

Unfortunately, afterward I was feeling even crappier. I wanted to do something else, though, so I ran up the 11 flights of stairs back to my floor. It took me a little under a minute.

So not much, but something. Will be glad to be home.

Jim vs. Deadlifts, 1k Row

One key step closer.

Decided to get some heavy deadlifts done today, and after some encouragement from Judd I made my current PR the peak weight in my off-kilter pyramid.

Deadlifts
305 x 1
355 x 1
405 x 1
380 x 1
330 x 1

It wasn’t an easy rep, but the bar came up. Maybe I will get that new PR this summer. (I also thought increasing the load difference between sets worked well. I need to codify when I use a 20lb difference as a base, or a 30, or 40, etc. But 50 was the right choice with loads this heavy.)

Then I went upstairs and did some rowing.

1k row – 4:31

Not awesome, but it’s the fastest time I’ve gotten in a year. It’s been a crappy year for my 1k rows, but still. Good day.