deadlift / bench press / overhead squat

Observations from my first time lifting real weights in almost a month:

1. grip strength is pretty weak — had a tough time holding the bar doing DL
2. overall strength is pretty good: I’ve done (5 x 185 DL) and I’ve done (15 x 155). Today I did (12 x 185) before my grip gave out.
3. chest/shoulder strength is very good — I did do a fair amount of pushups over the past several weeks

Row 500m = 1:58

Deadlift:
10 x 75 / 10 x 95 / 10 x 135 / 10 x 155
12 x 185 (grip fail)
6 x 185 (grip fail)

OHS:
10 x 45 / 10 x 65 / 10 x 65

Bench Press:
5 x 135 / 10 x 135 / 13 x 135

Pullups:
7-10

Knees-to-Elbows: 10

OHS / Cleans / Deadlift / Bench Press

Wednesday: easy classic rollerski over near Midd. 1:20.

Today: random workout after a 2:45am airport shuttle to Montreal… with 2 new PR’s.

OHS:
8 x 55
5 x 70
5 x 80
5 x 90
11 x 95 * PR

Cleans:
10 x 95 power clean
10 x 95 PC
5 x 115 PC
5 x 115 PC
5 x 115 PC
4 x 135 Hang power clean…ugly

Bench Press:
15 x 60 / 8 x 80 / 8 x 95
11 x 135 * PR
8 x 135
7 x 135
7 x 135
7 x 135

Deadlift:
20 x 135

and some assorted “jumping” pullups (both hands leave bar at the top) and other pullup fun.

Deadlift

Crossfit WOD: Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

8 x 95
8 x 115
5 x 135
5 x 155
5 x 185
3 x 205
1 x 215
1 x 225
1 x 235 * ties PR
1 x 245 * PR, alternate grip
1 x 250 * PR, alternate grip
3 x 185

Today is International Day of Climate Action

3 5 0 . o r g

The team atop App Gap after the rollerski time-trial yesterday. Frosty!

Deadlift / Back Squat / Shoulder Press

First time lifting heavy weights in 2 weeks. Didn’t feel very good.

warmup: 500m row = 2:01

Back squat:
8 x 45
6 x 95
5 x 115
5 x 135
5 x 135
3 x 135
10 x 95

Deadlift:
8 x 95
6 x 115
8 x 135
15 x 155
15 x 155
5  x 175

Shoulder press:
8 x 45
8 x 45
5 x 65
5 x 80
3 x 95
2 x 100
1 x 105* ties PR
fail x 110
1 x 100
1 x 95
4 x 95

Dips / Deadlift

“Ouch” would be a good way to sum up this workout in a word. The workout from Monday made me pretty sore, and I was still feeling that when I began today’s workout. My lower-back-area had some really odd sensations when I was deadlifting today. It wasn’t exactly pain, yet I don’t think it was good. Probably from the HPC’s and SDHP’s.

By the end of the workout, I was more or less maxed out on dips. I should have stopped around 80-90.

Deadlift

1. 10 x 75
2. 10 x 95
3. 10 x 125
4. 10 x 155
5. 15 x 155 (grip was more or less done by this point)
6. 12 x 155

Dips

• 10-10-15-20-15-12-11-8

Total Dips = 101

Newer DL Vidi

From late-August (about a month newer than the DL video below). I’ve gotten some feedback on this, and it is pretty good technique other than some fine-points:

• keep head in neutral position (chin-down)
• hips start up before torso on first-rep
• full-extension at top

DL / Heavy BP

I originally planned to do some barefoot running today, however my right ankle (the one I sprained in July) has been bothering me a bit over the past 3 days. So I changed to a strength workout. The prescribed workout at CrossFit was “Diane” which is DL and HSPU. I didn’t really want to do a workout for time, so I opted for DL and BP, but with plenty of rest.

BP:
15 x 45
10 x 65
10 x 95
7 x 115
4 x 135
4 x 135
4 x 135
4 x 135
5 x 135
6 x 135
5 x 135
5 x 135

DL:
10 x 95
10 x 115
10 x 135
21 x 135
15 x 135
15 x 135

kipping Pullups:
5-5-10-15

R & R

Today was meant to be a rest day, and I took it almost entirely off. I did about 20-30′ worth of technique and skill practice on a couple of lifts. I have been reviewing information in the book, “Starting Strength,” and I spent a bit of time today focused on DL, OHS, and FS.

In the deadlift, I have to work on using more quad at the beginning of the pull, and not relying too much on ham/glute activation early in the pull. When I pull a heavy weight, my hips go up pretty high before the bar raises off the floor.  This means I am pulling with my upper-body at a very low angle (near parallel to the floor), leading to a pretty large amount of torque through my lower back. So, more quads at the beginning to straighten the knee, and then afterwards ham/glutes to extend the hip.

FS / OHS are pretty new to me, so I’m not sure how good or bad I’m doing them. I dig the OHS, and I was able to do a couple of sets of 5 x 65# in that move.

Tomorrow I have a bunch of meetings, but I think I’ll be able to get in a workout. I’m still thinking some GHD situps and back-extensions will serve me well. We’ll see what the main site has to say!

Aug 24, Monday

I was tired this AM so I put my new French Press to use. I got a good buzz going, since I rarely drink coffee.

My back and abs were noticeably tight when I woke up. This made me a little worried, since my goal was to do a CrossFit Total workout today. This workout is a benchmark for max strength, and involves finding 1RM (1 rep max) weight in the deadlift (DL) back squat (BS), and shoulder press (SP). It is not a workout to take lightly, especially considering I have little experience in these lifts, and I do not have a spotter for squats.

After a warmup, I was feeling pretty good, and decided to go for it. My records going into today were: 215 # DL, 135 # BS, and 100 # SP. The 135 for the BS was not a true max, because I have such limited experience doing squats (not to mention I’ve had a bum knee for the past 6 years), so I have been conservative in squatting heavy loads.

Here is how today shook out:

Warmup:
Row 5′
SkiErg 5′

WOD: CFT
DL
10 x 65
10 x 95
5 x 125
5 x 155
5 x 175
1 x 205
1 x 225 (pr) overhand grip
1 x 235 (pr) mixed grip

SP
8 x 45
5 x 65
2 x 85
1 x 95
0 x 105 (fail)
1 x 100 (ties pr)
1 x 105 (not great form, but I made it; new pr)

BS
8 x 45
5 x 65
5 x 95
5 x 115
2 x 135
1 x 145 (pr)
1 x 155 (pr)
1 x 165 (pr)
1 x 170 (pr)
5 x 145

cash out:
15 dips
15 oblique-raises (each side)
handstand practice: 21″, 15″, 23″

All in all, it was a really good day. My long-term goals include achieving a 300# DL, 225# BS, and 125# SP. Also, I’d like to get to the point where I can hold a handstand, unassisted, for a while.

GOAL for TOMORROW:
After 4-straight days, my goal is to stay away from the gym tomorrow. A round of golf would be nice!