Andi's crossfit and bulking journal

[AndiMorris]

Ha, nice. It's actually a port, rather than a porter. I'm not sure if you get that in the USA, but it's a fortified wine, kind of halfway between red wine and brandy. I would love to do a berry porter or stout though!

My garden is actually tiny, but I'm trying to make the most of it for veg growing. I hardly got any last year, but I'm trying again this year but with more raised beds when I can persuade my Dad to give me a hand making them.

Thanks for checking out the blog

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 13/03/14

Warm Up
500m row
10 pipe passthroughs
Burgener snatch warm up

Strength
5x3 snatch, building weight to 3RM - 30kg - PB
3x5 back squat @ 80% - 72.5kg
3RM sumo deadlift - 105kg - PB

Skills
3 sets of max effort handstand push ups - 11, 1, 3

I love sessions like these that just concentrate on strength building. I had never done a 3RM on snatch before, and I think I probably could have gone higher than 30kg, but I know form was slipping and I'm chasing the bar. 30kg is still a PB though as it was the first one

Back squat, first time in a while as I've been concentrating on front squat to try to keep my chest up. I still struggled keeping my chest up, but it's getting there. I really do find some time to do some accessory work for this however, things like GHD raises, good mornings, toes-to-bar etc. Still I got through at 72.5, so that's better than it has been.

Sumo deadlift felt good. My 1RM was 120kg, my 5RM was 100kg, so I was hoping for around 105kg for the 3RM, which I managed with relative ease (it still felt hard, but felt good). I think with a little more time I could have got 110kg for 3. Still, another PB in the bank.

Kipping handstand push ups have also progressed. I've only been able to do them in the past with an extra abmat, which lessens the range of motion. I did the first set like this, and got 11 reps out, equalling my previous PB for this, however I decided that for the next two sets I'd have a go at doing this as recommended, so that your head is level with your hands when at the bottom (I use 2 * 15kg plates either side of an abmat, for a bit of head comfort). The first set like this didn't go well and I got one messy rep, but the second I readjusted my position and got 3 out, with a little practice I can get more like this. Any time HSPUs come up now I'll try the recommended version.

Weighed in this morning at 70.7 kilos (11st2lbs). Pleased with that, I'm hoping that next week this will have gone up to around the 71 kilo mark. We'll see.

[esqinchi]

Oh haha yeah, port! I love a bit of 12 year tawny. I have a friend here with an urban agriculture business. She builds planter gardens for small restaurants, and the like. Nice training too man, 105kg is pretty big for a sumo deadlift in my opinion!

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit 16/03/14 -Open Workout 14.3

Warm Up:
4 rounds of 30 single unders
10 single leg raises
10 glute bridges
8 light deadlifts

Then build up weight on deadlift to get used to the weights in the WOD ahead

WOD:
8 minute AMRAP:
10 deadlifts, 135lb / 62.5kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
15 deadlifts, 185lb / 85kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
20 deadlifts, 225lb / 102.5kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
25 deadlifts, 275lb / 125kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
30 deadlifts, 315lb / 145kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch
35 deadlifts, 365lb / 167.5kg
15 box jumps, 24 / 20 inch

I knew from the start I would only be getting as far as the 102.5kg round on the deadlifts, and my goal was just to get out as many as I could at that weight. I'm pretty pleased that I got 10 reps out at that weight out, 65 reps in total. Not in any way record breaking, I'm pleased with it.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 18/03/14

Warm Up:
4 rounds of:
3 x deadlift @ 20kg
3 x hang power clean @ 20kg
3 x push jerk @ 20kg
10 wall balls @ 7kg
2 length bear crawl

Lift:
3x3 Power clean @ 80% (47.5kg)
3x3 push jerk @ 80% (50kg)

Wod:
12 minute AMRAP
5 deadlifts @ 70% (70kg)
15 wall balls @ 9kg (Scaled to 7kg)
- Completed 6 rounds, 5 deadlifts and 13 wall balls.

Another early morning session done. Both power cleans and push jerk felt pretty good today, I need to catch the bar with my elbows up in the power clean, rather than lifting the elbows into rack position as an after thought. I also need to get the confidence to drop the bar back onto my shoulders from an overhead position, which will save me energy in the future. I can't see to bring myself to do it at the moment and slowly lower it down.

70% of my 1RM on deadlift is actually closer to 80kg, but seeing as the last workout I did had a lot of heavy deadlifts I dropped this down a little. I went for 7kg wall balls so that I could try and get more in. I need to start reintroducing the 9kg back so that I get used to it again. Just two reps off completing the seventh round was frustrating too. Should've just taken 10 seconds less rest somewhere.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit 19/03/14

Warm Up:

1 mile run
2 rounds of:
2 lengths bear crawl
10 good mornings with pipe
10 push ups
10 air squats

Mobility

Lift:
Bench Press - 3x5 @ 80% - 50kg
Super set with max effort toes-to-bar 7-6-5

WOD:
10 minute AMRAP
10 push ups
10 kettle bell swings @ 24kg
100m run

Completed 5 rounds, 10 push ups and 9 kettlebell swings.

Pretty pleased with the bench press today, it’s only 50kg still, but last time I tried 3x5 at 47.5kg I failed on the last set. It felt relatively easy today, so hopefully I’m getting stronger in this department.
The toes-to-bar were pretty bad at only 7 reps, 6 reps and then 5 reps. I know I can get more than that, but I always need to reset after each rep, which takes longer and therefore grip starts to go before anything else. This is the same problem I have with kipping pull ups, so hopefully practicing one will benefit the other.

The WOD was tough, I had real trouble maintaining a tight core in the push ups, and kept catching myself worming back up. Also I usually do these WODs with a 16kg kettlebell, but as strength is my goal I tried this with a 24kg and was pleasantly surprised at myself, doing all rounds unbroken. They weren’t easy though!

Rest day tomorrow, in preparation for the next Crossfit Open workout on Friday at 6:30am.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 21/03/14 - Crossfit Open Workout 14.4

Warm Up:
5 minutes medium pace AMRAP
5 calorie row
5 toes-to-bar
5 wall balls @ 9kg
5 power cleans @ 20kg

WOD:
14 minute AMRAP of:
60 calorie row (1 calorie = 1 rep)
50 toes-to-bar
40 wall balls @ 9kg
30 power cleans @ 62.5kg
20 muscle ups

Scored 77 reps.

Pretty disappointed with this overall. When I saw the workout at 6am I thought to myself I’ll hopefully reach the wall balls, and I’ll be overjoyed if I reach the cleans. Toes-to-bar felt pretty good in the warm up, easily cycling 5 reps (even if I do have to reset after each rep at the moment). I made a mental note in my head to do these in sets of 5 until fatigue kicks in and then drop to 3s, 2s and eventually singles. However I hadn’t factored in just how blasted I would be after the row. I’m not sure why, but I came off that rower had completely run out of energy! I think I managed 3 reps to start the toes-to-bar, dropping very quickly to 2 reps and then it was singles. However there were so many occasions that I was no-repped (correctly) because my toes were an inch or two from connecting with the bar. If each of these had been successful reps I’d have made it onto the wall balls. As it was I only managed 17 reps on the toes-to-bar, making a grand total of 77 reps.

I’m not sure whether training first thing in the morning had an effect here, as I was so gassed after the row. Perhaps I’ll try and re-do this when I have some food inside me to see if this helps. It has totally exposed my lack of ability to get toes-to-bar under fatigue with so much wasted effort on those no-reps.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit 25/03/14

Warm Up:
5 minute AMRAP
3 wall walks
6 ring dips
9 kipping pull ups
Skills:
Pull up practice

Strength:
4x5 @ 80% Strict Press - 35kg

WOD:
5 minutes on, 5 minutes off x 2
5 handstand push pus
15 pull ups
Managed 2 rounds and 5 handstand push ups in the first round, and 2 rounds dead on in the second.

_________________________

Pull up practice was welcomed from me. I really really need to spend time on these. I can now chain 2 at a time, but after than I lose the rhythm and have to reset and start again. Still, 2 is better than what I had the a week or so back. As long as I keep at them I'll get there.

The lift felt good today and all sets felt pretty easy, 35kg is 80%, but I'm confident that at the next test of 1RM I will be able to add something on to my 40KG PB.

I liked the format of this WOD. Partners taking it in turns to have their 5 minutes on, and when on it was just a simple AMRAP couplet. Handstand push ups were easy, and I think I can definitely move up a scale on these now, perhaps even to the point of Rx in a WOD. Nect time I'll use thinner plates, and one abmat.
The pull ups were tough again. I tried to chain together as many as possible, but it was never more than the above mentioned 2 before resetting. I tried not to drop off the bar until 5 reps, however this quickly became 3 reps as time went on.
A good session overall.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 26/03/14

Warm Up:
400 run
Junkyard dog
20 unbroken double unders

Strength:
5x3 deadlift @ 80% - 87.5kg

WOD:
4 minute power snatch @ 50kg (scaled to Level 2 - 30kg)
Run 800m (Level 2 scale - 600m)
2 minutes of turkish get-ups @ 24kg (level 2 scale - 16kg)
Run 800m (Level 2 scale - 600m)
2 minutes of turkish get-ups @ 24kg (level 2 scale - 16kg)

Completed 32 power snatch and 3 TGU per round (both arms counting as one rep).

Good session today, felt strong in the deadlifts, and the power snatch in the WOD felt light too, hopefully this means my power snatch is creeping up meaning I can up the weight in WODs. First time doing turkish get-ups in a while too - good fun.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 27/03/14

Warm Up:
300m row
3 rounds of:
4 turkish get-ups @ 16kg
6 overhead squat @ 20kg
8 wall balls @ 7kg

Strength:
3x3 overhead squat @ 70% - 37.5kg
4x5 front squat @ 80% - 62.5kg

WOD:
3 rounds, 1 minute at each station
Box jumps @ 24"
turkish get-ups @ 16kg
wall balls @ 9kg

Lost count of score....oops

3rd session in a row, hopefully won't be too sore for the final open workout tomorrow.
Strength has felt really good this week, and the percentage workouts have felt strong (for me). Hopefully this means I am improving. Front squat was a struggle today, but I got through all the reps without breaking.
For the WOD I decided to go heavy for the turkish get-ups, and also do the wall balls at the Rx of 9kg. I need to stop going lighter on these in order to get used to that weight, making Rx less of a challenge in the future. Work was pretty solid and consistent throughout the WOD.

Until 14.5 tomorrow......

[mrbear666]

good consistency here pal

[AndiMorris]

Cheers buddy.

Crossfit 28-03-14 - Crossfit Open Workout 14.5

Warm Up:
Run 400m
Thrusters @ 20kg building weight
Air squats
Rack Mobility

WOD:
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Thrusters @ 45kg
Bar-facing burpees
No time cap (officially)

This was a horrific workout on paper and also in practice. 45kg thruster for me is heavy, and ordinarily I wouldn't have attempted to Rx it, but I decided again that strength is my goal, so I should go for it, and was pleasantly surprised that I could do them, albeit much more slowly than required to finish the workout.

Officially there was no time cap for this workout, meaning no matter how fast you go through it, you won't be saved by the clock, you will do all 168 reps. However that doesn't always work out in a class environment, so sensibly the coaches at Celtic set a time cap of 25 minutes for those not registered for the open, but anyone that wanted to continue beyond that time could if they wanted.
I didn't register for the open as I didn't believe I'd be able to Rx any of the workouts. (It turns out that I could have Rx'd them all, but just not to a great standard, so that's something to think about for next year.) So that meant thankfully that I had the upper limit of the 25 minute time cap to save my ass if things weren't going my way in this WOD, which they were never going to. I completed 98 reps in the 25 minutes. It was a massive struggle to get there, and I'm so sore today, but I am pleased that I did this at 45kg and that I got as far as I did at that weight. I made more work for myself by dropping the bar after nearly every rep, meaning I had to start every thruster with a clean, but it was so hard not to put the bar down! Cheers to everyone at the box who cheered me on right the way through, your support was amazing!

[AndiMorris]

Olympic Lifting - 30/03/14

Warm Up:
400m row
3x5 front squat @ 20kg - hold bottom of last squat in each set for 20 seconds.

Lift:
5x2 clean @ 80% - 47.5kg
5x2 jerk @ 80% - 50kg

All went well today, technique felt good for the most part and was feeling strong. The first 3 sets of the clean felt pretty easy, so I did one set at 50kg, and another at 52.5kg, which also felt really good.

I wasn’t sure of my 1RM at jerk, so I built the weight up starting at 30kg, onto 40kg, 45kg, and then settling at 50kg. Turns out that was correct as my last 1RM was 60kg, although I think I could smash that now. Technique felt ok on this too. I need to make sure my knees go outwards in the dip-drive, and push my head forward more in the catch. Feet felt good and solid.

I also practiced the release phase of the overhead lifts. Usually I lower the bar back down to my shoulders, which saps so much energy. Ideally I should drop the bar in a controlled manner, catching it on my shoulders. It feels quite alien and scary, but I managed to do this successfully at 30kg, and I’ll keep trying when doing any press/jerk work until I get confidence to do this at higher weights.

[AndiMorris]

Crossfit - 31/03/14

Warm Up:
5 lunges each leg
10 wall balls @ 7kg
10 kipping pull ups
10 kettlebell swings @ 16kg

Strength:
10x2 back squat @ 75% - 67.5kg (Actually did 70kg)

WOD:
3 x 4minute AMRAP, 1 minute rest between rounds
6 chest-to-bar pull ups (scale - normal pull ups)
12 kettlebell swings @ 32kg (scale 24kg)
18 abmat situps

5 rounds complete

Squats felt strong today. We only had time to complete 9 rounds, but they all felt good with good technique. Pretty pleased with that as I actually went higher than the prescribed 75%.

The WOD was a real burner. I tried to make sure I chained at least two pull ups together each time before resetting, and managed this with only a couple where I lost rhythm. 24kg kettlebell felt damn heavy!!!

[mrbear666]

24kg kettlebell felt damn heavy!!!

24kg kettlebell IS damn heavy hows the weight gain going? (assuming thats what your goal still is)