Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Bent-over Rows

Back home, and back to Teagle for barbell work.

Shoulder press
130 x 3
115 x 5
110 x 5

Bent-over rows
145 x 5
130 x 6
115 x 7

The shoulder press went well, and next time I’ll bump up the starting weight. With the bent-over rows, the load I started with was less than it needed to be, so I’ll bump it up yet again next time. I will say that I like the movement a lot, and with some of the adjustments I made to my deadlift last time I can definitely see how the two movements relate. I’m not sure why the row — both barbell and kettlebell — is so excluded from the CrossFit canon.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Bent-Over Rows

Yesterday was all about my legs, so today’s barbell day hit the upper body a bit harder.

Shoulder press
130 x 3
115 x 4
105 x 5

That first set is 10lbs shy of my 3RM, and it was a damned close think getting through all three reps. My long war with this movement continues.

Bent-over rows
135 x 5
120 x 6
110 x 7

Last time I did these, my first set was 125 x 4 and I took notes to go heavier next time. Looks like I need to go higher still.

That ain’t a bad feeling.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press

I will never be a fan. But it’s press day.

Shoulder press
70 x 5
90 x 5
110 x 5
100 x 5
80 x 5

Peaked at 90% of my 5RM, and I’ve done this set of loads before. No surprises.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press

Back to Teagle for the first time in weeks. My game plan thus far is to follow-up on last week’s last workout with strength work this week, then do four days of BrandX programming next week, and five the week after.

We’ll see.

Shoulder Press
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
125 x 3
115 x 3
95 x 3
75 x 3

Topped out at 90% of my max, and while those middle sets were tough, they were very much do-able. Haven’t done sets of 3 on this exercise since July, and I used the same weights here, just with extra sets tacked on at the beginning and end. Felt solid, and didn’t feel any kind of cold relapse coming on after. So that’s good.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Bent-over Rows, and a Finisher

Something old, something new.

Shoulder press
125 x 3
115 x 4
100 x 5

Those are the exact same loads and reps I’ve managed the last two times I’ve done a reverse pyramid with this movement. Granted, this is my first week back to barbells, but I need to stop settling.

Bent-over row
125 x 4
115 x 6
100 x 8

This movement, on the other hand, is one I haven’t done in years. Several of the supporting videos for the kettlebell/bodyweight hybrid program I just finished emphasized the importance of the row, so I figured I’d start working in the barbell version. Those numbers scream, “You can go heavier.” So next time, I will.

6, 5, 4… 1 of:
Spider-man climbs (both sides)
Jump squats
X-body mountain climbers (both sides)

Finished this in 2:11, which means I either wrecked my previous time or I miscounted somewhere around the “x 2″ round. I’m guessing the latter.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Power Snatch

Still working my way back from being sick. Decided to go for a two-part workout today, with strength and strength/metcon components.

Shoulder press
85 x 3
105 x 3
125 x 3
115 x 3
95 x 3

That was tougher than it probably should’ve been, peaking at 90% of my 3RM. But then, shoulder press has been my bane from the start, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Power snatch x 2, on the minute for ten minutes

Only used 95lbs for this, but still felt it. I really tried to work on keeping the bar close to my body — especially my thighs — on the pull. That went… so-so, frankly.

The other thing I changed up today was moving my stretching from my warm-up to the end of the workout. We’ll see how that goes.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Weighted Bridges

Decided to do a strength day today, but wanted to keep my recent trend of pushing things. So I went with shoulder press, which I haven’t done since January. I used the off-kilter pyramid for loads, did sets of five reps, and while the weights looked light on paper, they didn’t feel light in practice.

70 x 5
90 x 5
110 x 5
100 x 5
80 x 5

Then I did some weighted bridges; like weighted hip thrusts, but from the floor instead of using a bench.

105 x 10
105 x 10
105 x 10

Not sure I dig the restricted range of motion on these. They still weren’t easy, but I felt like I was getting less out of them.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Shoulder Press, Power Cleans

Holy crap, Teagle is opened, and I have returned to it. My goals for today:

1. Use a damn barbell for the first time in a month.
2. Do so wearing my Vibrams.

Thus, I went with light weights. Also, I didn’t have much time.

Back squats
135 x 5
135 x 5

Shoulder press
95 x 3
95 x 3

Power clean
115 x 1
115 x 1

Overall, they felt very good. And while I’m sure the light load helped, I felt like I was able to get much deeper into my squat than I was used to. And, my gods, I missed barbell work.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Shoulder Press

This is my last week with barbells, and I found myself without enthusiasm for the back squat linear progressions. Part of it was boredom, and part was realizing I was about to take three weeks off from it anyway. So, reverse pyramids it was.

Back squat
225 x 3
205 x 4
180 x 5

225 is still my 3RM, near as I can tell; I squatted it four times in August, though. Maybe I could’ve gotten four today, too: this did seem pretty easy.

Shoulder Press
125 x 3
115 x 4
100 x 5

And this is the danger of not checking this blog before I go to the gym: that starting weight is way below my 3RM of 140. So today was far lighter overall than it should’ve been.

Jim vs. Deadlift, Shoulder Press

Two things inspired today’s deadlift work: my last crappy workout, and this awesome article Judd sent me. I decided to really work form, taking the article’s admonitions to heart.

225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5

It went well, and the form did feel more comfortable. I did, however, tear the skin on my shins to hell. Need to wear long pants next time instead of shorts.

I interspersed those sets with sets of shoulder press, just to get back in the habit.

75 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5

Nothing too straining, but my shoulders and back still feel pretty tight during this movement.