Been slightly lazy and a little stressed the past few days. On Tuesday all I did was warm up and then press 75 x 10 and squat 135 x 10. Today I deadlifted 220 x 5 and then did 8 rounds of 1 deadlift (205) and 1 strict pullup in 6:00.

Today did

2 power cleans (95 lb) on the minute for 15 minutes

Really tried to focus on the 2nd pull. Next, did

10 rounds

10 ring rows
10 GHD situps

13:20

Today I was supposed to do regular benching 3 x 5, but when I started warming up the front of my right shoulder hurt too much, so I tried benching with 25-lb DBs in each hand. That didn't hurt quite as much. Then I did

DB rows 3 x 12 (25-lb DBs in each hand)
GHD situps 3 x 12

1 minute on, 50 seconds off for 10 total minutes of work - 30 KB swings (Russian, 1.5 pood)

Today did

Front squat 3 x 5 @ 120

GHD situps 3 x 12

AMRAP 15:00

5 hang power cleans @ 85
50 yard farmer's walk w/ 1.5 pood in each hand

11 rounds. Would have gone heavier on cleans but used all my change turning my 1 pood KB into a 1.5 pood KB.

Skipped Friday and Saturday, wish I hadn't. Made up one of the workouts today - worked on 2-rep power snatches and 3-rep power cleans, then did 5 rounds of a short snatch complex. Not my best day, but I'm glad I at least got a little activity in.

Was super sore after Monday, so I took both Tuesday and Wednesday off and started afresh today. Today was

Press
3,3,3,3,3 (75, 80, 85, 87.5, 87.5)

Deadlift
3 @ 80%, 3 @ 85, 3 @ 90+ (205, 220, 235)

I then did a few DB rows and GHD back extensions before finally doing 1 90 yard shuttle (45 down, 45 back) on the minute for 10 minutes. Most of my times hovered in the 18-22 second range, I think.

Today did

Squat 2 x 20 (105, 125) 105 wasn't bad at all, 125 was tougher, which is kind of pathetic, but I was glad to squat again.

Also did a modified version of the CFFB DWOD:

15 minutes AMRAP

5 shoulder to overhead (95 lb)
10 ring rows
15 pushups

5 rounds and 15 reps

Out of town yesterday for a wedding, so it turned into a rest day. Today was

3 rounds

45 sec top of pullup hold
15 sec rest
45 sec overhead walking lunges (25 lb)
15 sec rest
45 sec ball slams (12 lb ball)
15 sec rest
45 sec gasser or 1/2 gasser
15 sec rest

Did first 2 rounds of pullup hold with overhand grip, which did not go well. Wisened up in the last round and lasted the whole 45 seconds with an underhand grip. Did full gasser in first and third round, half gasser in the second round. Good times.

Yesterday did 1 long-ish handstand hold (1:42) just to see how my shoulders felt, and then

5 rounds

30 unbroken KB swings (Russian, 1.5 pood)
1 minute rest

No frequency method stuff yesterday or today. I may even wait another week or so until my body is better adapted to working out again. Today was just

3 rounds

60 sec med ball situps (ball in extended arms over head)
15 pushups
60 sec ring rows
4x 20 yard shuttles
60 sec rest

Didn't keep count, just enjoyed the workout!

Back after a little hiatus, during which I finished anatomy, let my shoulder rest, and backpacked in the Big Horn Mountains for 6 days! This semester I am going to pick back up on frequency work (starting small); I am also going to try out the full version of Crossfit Football. Today's WOD was

Deadlift 1 set of 5 @ 215

Was going to go lighter than this to start but warmup at 185 felt good so I went with the feeling. I then did

5 rounds
Max rep bench press @ 95 lb (9,7,4,5,5)
3 max height box jump (25")

Starting out pretty slow here but I experienced some shoulder pain while benching which has continued into the evening, so I have iced and fish oiled. Sigh, will prob need to nix pushups and other such movements again for awhile.

Didn't have time for full workout today, so ended up doing a mishmash of stuff, starting with

4 rounds

Max pushups (25-25-20-20)
Max deadhangs (3-1-stopped)
10 single leg alternating bounds

Then did

80 meter sprint (40 one way, then back)
20 DB hang power cleans (25 lb)
80 meter sprint
15 DB hang power cleans
80 meter sprint
10 DB hang power cleans
80 meter sprint
5 DB hang power cleans
80 meter sprint

3:57. Should have used heavier dumbbells.

Today did

Deadlift 5RM @ 235

Haven't deadlifted since late July so I'll take it.

Then

5 rounds

20 yard bear crawl
3 deadlifts @ 195
10 bastards

10:30

Today was

Squat

155 x 5 reps x 3 sets

GHD weighted situps (15 lb)

3 x 10

10 min AMRAP

10 ring rows
10 pushups

9 rounds. Knees were bent on ring rows but form was good. Shoulder still a little gimpy but didn't hurt for this workout.

Today did

4 rounds

Right arm DB snatches (35 lb), 30 sec
30 sec rest
Back extensions (in place of left arm snatches), 30 sec
30 sec rest
Ring rows, 30 sec
30 sec rest
Right arm DB thrusters (25 lb), 30 sec
30 sec rest

241 reps. Stayed pretty even throughout.

Did a few sets of 3 rep back squats. Only got 1 rep at 175, which was really a failure of will more than anything. Will be going back to a Greyskull LP squat setup after Labor Day. Left shoulder still bothering me, so just did:

21-15-9

Unbroken wall balls (15 lb)
Unbroken right arm DB overhead lunges (25 lb)

in 4:46, I think, then

5 rounds

10 unbroken burpees
10 unbroken KB swings (Russian; 1.5 pood)

in 5:14

Today was

Press 85 x 5, 80 x 5, 80 x 7 felt weak, left shoulder in particular

Squat 3 sets 10 @ 135, working on bounce

Then

6 rounds

10 KB swings 1.5 pood
10 GHD situps
50 yard sprint

7:47

Today did

Power cleans 5 sets of 3 (105, 115, 115, 125 [2], 125 [1])

3 sets max deadhangs with approx 3 min rest (7, 4, 3)

Then

AMRAP 12:00

5 DB shoulder-to-overhead (35 lb, right arm only)
10 pushups
15 GHD back extensions

8 rounds plus 12 reps

Took a little hiatus from everything last week. Today got back on horse with

Bench 2 x 5 @ 105, 1 x 5+ @ 105 (8 reps)

Squat 4 x 10 @ 125, really worked on bounce

Then

AMRAP 8 minutes

3 snatches @ 65 lb
5 HSPU
7 ball slams (12-ish lbs)

5 rounds plus 3 snatches. Nice to get moving again.

Today was

Press 2 x 5 @ 85, 1 x 5+ @ 85 (8 reps)

Deadlift 1 x 5+ @ 245 (4 reps)

Had 5th rep halfway up but grip gave out. Gonna try again next week!

Then did 5 car pushes - 50 yards slightly uphill, then 50 yards downhill slowly as I recovered.

Yesterday did about 45 minutes of fasted biking, then in the afternoon tested my 1 rep max back squat. Only got 185 and then failed a couple of times at 200 and 195. Blah.

Today did

Bench Press 2 x 5 @ 105, 1 x 5+ @ 105 (11 reps)

Then 5 roughly 100 meter car pushes up and down my street. 3.5 were ever so slightly downhill and thus more of a weighted sprint, 1.5 were going the other way and sucked big time.

Mon-Fri this week the plan is 6 sets 4 pullups, 6 sets 4 HSPUs. Today I did

Press 2 x 5 @ 82.5, 1 x 5+ @ 82.5 (9 reps)

Squat 2 x 20 @ 95

Bleh. Am throwing in this volume squatting stuff in an attempt to work up to squatting my bodyweight 50 times. Also to mix it up because I am not feeling very positive about my squat abilities right now.

Today just

Bench 3 sets at 117.5 (4-3-4)

Deadlift 1 x 5+ @ 240 (5 reps)

Ok with resetting at bench, deadlift was a subpar effort because I had anatomy test on the mind and I definitely under-ate. But it is a PR I believe so whatever.

This week Mon-Thurs I'll be doing 9 sets of 15 pushups and 6 sets of 4 pullups. Today I did

Press 3 sets at 92.5 (4-3-3)

I'll reset to 82.5 and work my way back up again.

Squat 2 x 5 @ 155, 1 x 5+ @ 155 (10 reps)

A little disappointed I couldn't pump out a few more here, but alas.

Did 8 and then 10 HSPUs in a row today! Still need to work on narrowing my hands. Then did 3 power cleans at 105 on the minute for 10 minutes. All were unbroken, I probably should have done more or a little heavier.

Bench 2 x 5 @ 115, 1 x 5+ @ 115 (5 reps)

Deadlift 1 x 5+ @ 235 (8 reps)

Not the greatest day in terms of how I felt, but I'll take it!

Also did 5 consecutive HSPUs today, just to see how many I could do!

Started up frequency method stuff on Tuesday after aborting midway through last Friday: another 4 days of 5 sets of 4 pullups and 5 sets of 18 pushups. In related news, today I discovered I can do real handstand pushups for multiples (well, I got 2 pretty easily anyhow); I haven't tried one in many moons so to be able to do them is pretty exciting. Turns out just doing lots of pushups works! Also did fasted biking while studying yesterday and today, each for an hour. This evening I did

Press 2 x 5 @ 90, 1 x 5+ @ 90 (5 reps, BOOM!)

Squat 175 x 5, 175 x 2, epic fail on last set (boo)

Despite my latest squat triumphs, still have some mind issues to work on when the weight gets heavy.

Today was

Bench 2 x 5 @ 112.5, 1 x 5+ @ 112.5 (6 reps)

I then warmed up for squats and felt a little tweak, so I decided to bag the rest of the session and try again on Tuesday.

Another hour on the recumbent today while going through some circulatory system stuff, good times. This afternoon did

Press 2 x 5 @ 87.5, 1 x 5+ @ 87.5 (7 reps)

Deadlift 1 x 5+ @ 225 (12 reps)

Both felt pretty heavy, but I'm guessing it's partly because my sleep has been subpar and I hadn't eaten quite enough today. Hopefully the sleep issue will resolve itself as soon as biochem ends (another two weeks) and I'll get to sleep in two days a week!

Pushed yesterday's lifting to today:

Bench 2 x 5 @ 110, 1 x 5+ @ 110 (8 reps)

Squat 2 x 5 @ 170, 1 x 5+ @ 170 (8 reps)

170 for multiple reps and sets has been a big hurdle for me, so I was pumped to blow my last attempt out of the water!

Frequency method pullups is week are 5 sets 4, pushups are 5 sets 18. Also got in about an hour of study time on the recumbent this evening.

School is officially getting hectic now, so I've had to modify my expectations a little. Frequency method stuff has continued as usual. I played tennis on Thursday, biked on the recumbent for 55 minutes while reviewing today's dissection, and then this afternoon did:

Press 2 x 5 @ 85, 1 x 5+ @ 85 (9 reps)

Squat 2 x 5 @ 165, 1 x 5+ @ 165 (9 reps)

Pretty happy with these numbers, given that I was dead tired after the day.

Yesterday and today did my frequency method pullups and pushups (4 sets of 4 and 4 sets of 18, respectively). Also just finished

Bench 2 x 5 @ 107.5, 1 x 5+ @ 107.5 (8 reps)

Deadlift 1 x 5 @ 215 (15 reps)

Had to reset my grip after rep 13 but otherwise felt pretty good.

Anatomy starting definitely threw me off last week in terms of walking to school and burpees/any real conditioning. Next week I strive to do better. Yesterday played an hour of tennis, today was just

Press

2 x 5 @ 82.5, 1 x 5+ @ 82.5 (10 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 160, 1 x 5+ @ 160 (9 reps)

Frequency method pullups and pushups and walking/generally moving have been consistent this week, burpees have not: I only did them yesterday (3 sets of 20 with 1 minute rest). Today I did

Bench Press

2 x 5 @ 105, 1 x 5+ @ 105 (10)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 155, 1 x 5+ @ 155 (8)

Gave up in middle of 9th rep. Dang.

Back into it today after a long birthday weekend. Did burpees on Saturday, 3 sets of 26 with 90 second rests. Miserable. Today was

Press
2 x 5 @ 80, 1 x 5+ @ 80 (12 reps)

Deadlift
1 x 5+ @ 210 (13 reps)

Felt pretty good. We're headed out now for a little bit of tennis to finish off the evening - we'll see how that goes after those deadlifts.

Frequency method this week (Mon-Fri) is 7 sets of 3 pushups, 7 sets of 15 pushups. Also continuing to walk to and from school every day. My burpee session goal for the week is 4 - now that I'm up in the 75+ range, it is starting to feel like torture.

Yesterday I managed to get 3 sets of burpees, each in 1:12, with 1:00 rests. Yay!

Today being my birfday I did my frequency method stuff, but decided to skip the burpee torture in the afternoon and moved right to

Bench
2 x 5 @ 102.5, 1 x 5+ @ 102.5 (10 reps)

Squat
2 x 5 @ 150, 1 x 5+ @ 150 (10 reps)

I am now cooling down with a glass of champagne. Good night!

This week (Monday-Friday) I'm doing 6 sets of 3 pullups and 6 sets of 15 pushups. This is my second full week hitting up the frequency method stuff again, feels good.

Monday and Tuesday did burpees. They were painful. Yesterday I didn't get 3 sets of 25 in the time allotted, partly because my wrist hurt some. Took today off from burpees and will see how it feels tomorrow. Today I did

Press
2 x 5 @ 77.5, 1 x 5+ @ 77.5 (11 reps)

Squat
2 x 5 @ 145, 1 x 5+ @ 145 (10 reps)

Both felt heavy, but squat felt a little more comfortable than it did last time.

Lifted today:

Bench
2 x 5 @ 100, 1 x 5+ @ 100 (10 reps)

Deadlift
1 x 5+ @ 205 (12 reps)

Then 3 sets of 23 burpees with 1 minute rest between sets. Still finishing inside of the time limit, so I'll be adding another rep tomorrow! We took 2 burpee holidays this past week, but I think I'm 17 or 18 for the last 19 or 20 days. It's definitely pretty hard now, so we may be taking a break or two every week, but we're aiming to keep going through the summer.

Later this afternoon we played about 75 minutes of tennis, which replaced my daily walk (walked about 30-45 minutes Tuesday through Sunday). I'm really enjoying having an active commute again!

Back to regularly scheduled programming yesterday:

Press

2 x 5 @ 75, 1 x 5+ @ 75 (14 reps)

Squats

2 x 5 @ 140, 1 x 5+ @ 140 (10 reps)

Also well into the 100-day burpee challenge (I think we just finished day 15) - did 3 sets of 22 with a minute's rest in-between. After squatting for the first time in 2 weeks. Ugly.

This week's frequency method work (Tuesday to Friday) is 5 sets 15 pushups and 5 sets 3 pullups.

Been moving, honeymooning, and then moving again for 2 weeks. Diet has not been fantastic and the wine has been plentiful (we were in Sonoma Valley for awhile), but it's been pretty fun! Other than some hiking and the moving, the only active things we've done is starting a 100-day burpee challenge last week: we started with 3 sets of 10 with 1 minute rest and have been increasing by 1 burpee every day. Today we were wiped after moving so we took 2 minutes between sets; we'll get back on our regular rest schedule tomorrow, hopefully.

Went to the La Crosse farmer's market today for the first time and loaded up on all manner of bison, poultry, and pig; pretty soon we're going to invest in a chest freezer so we can get that half pig and 50 pounds of beef, hella cheap (and all sustainably raised, of course)! Next week we'll get back to lifting, now that we have our garage gym set up again...

Recon Ron this week (Monday through Friday) is 4 sets of 4 deadhangs and 5 sets of 20 pushups. Today also did

Bench

2 x 5 @ 100, 1 x 5+ @ 100 (12 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 160, 1 x 5+ @ 160 (10 reps)

Did frequency method stuff Monday through Friday last week, both my pullups and pushups are feeling pretty good these days. Yesterday I did

Press

2 x 5 @ 85, 1 x 5+ @ 85 (8 reps)

Deadlift

1 x 5+ @ 210 (12 reps)

Been feeling eh about the press recently. First time deadlifting with the belt, it was a little strange but I liked how it kept my back in the right position throughout the set.

Today was Recon Ron stuff and

Bench 2 x 5 @ 97.5, 1 x 5+ @ 97.5 (12 reps)

Squat 2 x 5 @ 155, 1 x 5+ @ 155 (12 reps)

Was lazy Friday and Saturday and didn't finish up my week of frequency method work, so I'll have to start over today. Yesterday just did

Press 2 x 5 @ 82.5, 1 x 5+ @ 82.5 (8 reps)

Squat 2 x 5 @ 150, 1 x 5+ @ 150 (15 reps)

Recon Ron stuff yesterday and today. Also, today did

Deadlift 1 x 5+ @ 235 (4 reps)

Then

Tabata Row (51 calories)
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Double Unders (didn't count)

Then several hours later

Bench @ 107.5 (5-4-4)

I guess it's reset time all round!

First day with the belt. I liked it, but think the newness of it drew my attention away from some of the typical cues I work on when I lift. Alas, I did

Press

2 x 5 @ 80, 1 x 5+ @ 80 (9 reps)

Which was eh. I then managed 5, 4, and 2 reps at 170 for the squat. Nearly had that 5th rep up in the second set, and I think I allowed the failure to mess with my mind on the last set. Will reset to 150 and work my way back up.

Frequency method stuff this week is 6 sets of 3 pullups and 4 sets of 20 pushups. Will start working on burpees again soon, d'oh!

Friday was frequency method pushups and pullups (5 sets of 18 and 3, respectively). Saturday was frequency method pullups and then

Bench

2 x 5 @ 107.5, 1 x 5+ @ 107.5 (7 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 165, 1 x 5+ @ 165 (6 reps)

Given that I hadn't squatted in 10 days and 165 was my last weight before I last reset, this was pretty awesome.

Deadlifted today: workset was at 230, and I got a solid 6 reps before deciding that any more might be trouble for my back. I then did the PCF metcon, which was

4 rounds

3 power cleans (105 lb, which felt pretty dang light after those deadlifts)
6 burpees
9 pullups (I did 5 deadhangs during the first round and switched to 9 kipping thereafter)
1 minute

8:25

Only pushup frequency method work today given the kips I did today.

Back hasn't felt the best, and motivation has been low lately. Did Press at 90 today, and only got 4-4-3 in my sets, so I'll probably just reset. Started to warmup for squats, and back wasn't feeling it, so I called it a day before I really got started. Have been doing my frequency method stuff, though.

Back's felt pretty rough the past few days, argh. On a related note, I ordered a lifting belt. Today Alex and I completed the Tactical Strength Challenge, which is max 1 rep max deadlift, max deadhang pullups (1 set, each rep neck or chest had to touch bar), and AMRAP 1 pood KB swings in 5:00. I finished with 240 on the deadlift (slightly disappointing), 5 pullups, and 80 snatches. Not too bad. I then went to Fogo de Chao and set a probable lifetime PR for meat consumption in one sitting, so good day overall!

Recon Ron stuff plus

Deadlift

1 x 5+ @ 225 (8 reps)

Then

3 rounds

10 deadlifts (155 lb)
10 bastards

4:08, I think. Then later on

Bench

2 x 5 @ 105, 1 x 5+ 105 (6 reps)

A potent combination of 30+ hours in the car and poison ivy put all aspects of training on hold Thursday through Monday, but today I went back at it with Recon Ron pullups (4 sets of 3) and pushups (4 sets of 18) and

Press

2 x 5 @ 87.5, 1 x 5+ @ 87.5 (7 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 160, 1 x 5+ @ 160 (10 reps, powered by Nelly)

Squats felt good, and legs didn't get too itchy during the workout, so all in all it was an excellent day!

Wednesday was Recon Ron and

Bench

2 x 5, 1 x 5+ @ 102.5 (8 reps)

Deadlift

1 x 5+ @ 220 (10 reps)

Then 6 hours in the car, which hurt more than the deadlift.

Today, just Recon Ron stuff and

Press

2 x 5 @ 85, 1 x 5+ @ 85 (9 reps)

Back Squat

2 x 5 @ 155, 1 x 5+ @ 155 (10 reps)

Thursday did Recon Ron stuff plus

Bench

2 x 5, 1 x 5+ @ 100 lbs (11 reps)

Deadlift

1 x 5+ @ 215 lbs (11 reps)

Good stuff. The last three days I've been playing frisbee dressed like an ewok at a tournament down in Fredericksburg, so no Recon Ron stuff or burpees (boo) but I did get a fair amount of running/sprinting in despite the costume and day drinking that went on. Looking forward to lifting tomorrow, and plan to redo this week of Recon Ron stuff and get back on the burpee horse as well as I can given I'll be travelling again Wednesday to Sunday.

Still being a little protective of the back, so yesterday just did 3 x 20 burpees with 65 second rests. I did not get the last 2 sets inside of 60 seconds, boo. I also did frequency method pullups and pushups.

Carried a little old lady up two flights of steps yesterday and the back felt good, so got back into my regularly scheduled lifting today:

Press

2 x 5 @ 82.5
5+ @ 82.5 (9 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 150
5+ @ 150 (12 reps, quit while I was ahead this time)

Both felt heavy (typical of when I have a few days off) but good, and I was happy to lift pain free. I also started a new week of Recon Ron stuff: Tuesday to Sunday I'll be aiming for 6 sets of 2 chins and 6 sets of 15 pushups. I also did 3 sets of 20 burpees tonight, all inside 60 seconds with 70 second rests, and got a good reminder of why I always try to do burpees on an empty stomach.

Back's feeling better, but not good enough to squat, so other than walking and some tennis, I've been taking it easy the past few days. I'm going to wait until Tuesday to squat and press and resume burpees/other conditioning. Been keeping up with frequency method pushps, but I've taken a few extra days off of frequency method pullups (I've gained some weight recently, making them tougher) and plan to resume them on Tuesday as well, albeit at a slightly lower volume.

More Recon Ron stuff today, also

Deadlift

5+ @ 210 (10 reps)

These felt pretty good throughout other than my hands slipping some off the bar. Afterward was a different story, though, as my back immediately tightened up on me. So I skipped the Patriot metcon, which I was actually looking forward to, chugged some fish oil this afternoon and have iced, stretched, and rolled out in the hopes that tomorrow things will be better.

Edit: Feeling antsy ao I tried benching to see if my back would cooperate. It did, thankfully, so I did

2 x 5 @ 97.5
5+ @ 97.5 (12 reps)

Recon Ron stuff, plus my first WOD at Patriot today! After I wandered around and stared at all the new shiny things for awhile, I tested out my 1-rep max press, knowing that I wasn't at 100% after yesterday. I ended up hitting 95, failing 100, and hitting 95 again. So technically a PR but I'm looking forward to continuing to progress even further on the GSLP. Anyway after we did 4 row sprints of 150 meters with unlimited rest. I got a little slower every time and had trouble on every set with falling off the seat, but all of my times were within 1 second (30.1 fastest, 30.9 slowest).

This evening I did my burpees: 3 sets of 20 (all under 60 seconds) with 75 second rest periods since my lower half was feeling a little creaky. Good times.

This week (Tues-Sun) my frequency method stuff will be

7 sets 3 pullups
5 sets 15 pushups

Finished these sets no prob today, am really happy that my shoulder pain has disappeared even though I've done a ton of pushups in the last week. Was too lazy to do burpees today after 5 straight hours of orgo homework, but did do

Press

2 x 5 @ 80
5+ @ 80 (10 reps)

Squat

2 x 5 @ 145
5+ @ 145 (15 reps)

Squats were brutal.

Yesterday was kind of zonked by sub-par sleep and three hours of intense judging at the NOVA Open, so just Recon Ron stuff. Today I am also working Recon Ron stuff, and also did

3 sets

18 burpees (<54 sec)
60 sec rest

Then GSLP Bench

2 x 5 @ 95
5+ @ 95 (13 reps)

And Squat

2 x 5 @ 165
5+ @ 165 (3 reps)

Am disappointed but will take it in stride and reset.

Just Recon Ron pullups and pushups, then 3 x 17 burpees (all sets inside of 51 seconds, with 1 minute rests) today.

Frequency method stuff, but skipped the burpees today. Just did

Wendler Press

5 @ 70
3 @ 80
>1 @ 90 (4 reps, BOOM!)

That felt so good, I decided to see if I could crack my 250 lb deadlift goal, and I did! Pulling singles once every 4-6 months is pretty fun when you've been making good progress!

Continuing with frequency method stuff, also did

3 sets

16 burpees (all around 45 seconds)
60 second rest

Then

150 KB swings (Russian, 1.5 pood) in 5:55

Grip was in serious trouble by 125, so I decided to stop at 150. Will get 200 next time.

Decided to shift some things around after reading the Greyskull LP ebook; barbell stuff will remain roughly the same, but I may shift from a 5/3/1 model to a Greyskull LP one at some point soon. Otherwise, in addition to a couple short conditioning sessions every week, for the next several weeks Tuesday through Saturday I'll be working Recon Ron chinups and pushups along with work towards the Strength Villain burpee challenge. Today was 3 sets of 15 burpees, with each set inside of 45 seconds (no more than 3 seconds/burpee) and 60-second rests in between sets. I'll keep the set/rep range the same for the chinups (a conservative 6 sets of 3) and pushups (6 sets of 12) for the week, and will push my burpee reps by 1 each day so long as I can still adhere to the 3 seconds-per-burpee rule.

Also did

Bench

5 @ 80
3 @ 92.5
>1 @ 102.5 (7 reps)

Squat

2 sets 5 @ 160, 1 set >5 @ 160 (5 reps)

Feeling better about squat mechanics but know there is more tightening to be done. Also, it's worth noting that my right shoulder and collarbone are free of pain and tightness even after today's work; I realized I've been overdoing it on dips and think it will be better to become a pushup master first before working them again.

Today was Wendler Press:

3 @ 65
3 @ 75
>3 @ 85 (6 reps)

and Greyskull Squat:

5 @ 155
5 @ 155
>5 @ 155 (8 reps)

Then

5 sets

12 burpees
30 sec rest

Today I worked on ring dips throughout the day and then did Wendler Bench:

3 @ 75
3 @ 87.5
>3 @ 97.5 (9 reps)

I then worked on snatches with Alex; warmed up to 75 doing power snatch, switched to regular snatch for 85, and then missed about 4 attempts at 95, mostly out front a little. I'll get it next time. Finished off the night with

5 rounds

12 burpees
Rest 45 seconds

Felt a little sluggish but that's just because my arms and chest feel worked over after the past 48 hours.

Worked on Recon Ron pullups and ring dips throughout the day, then did the PCF metcon:

30-20-10

KB swings (Russian; 50 lbs)
Pushups

4:30

Should have gone heavier.

Wendler Press

5 @ 62.5
5 @ 70
>5 @ 80 (8 reps)

2 sets max pullups with 10 lb: 3 reps each set

Greyskull Back Squat

5 @ 150
5 @ 150
>5 @ 150 (8 reps)

Did not plan my eating well this morning, so felt a little lightheaded during squats. Partially rectified this by snacking in-between sets, which helped some. Later on did 5 sprint sets of 12 burpees, resting 1:00 between each set. Good times.

Wendler Bench:

5 @ 70
5 @ 80
>5 @ 92.5 (13 reps)

Then Greyskull LP Squat:

5 @ 140
5 @ 140
>5 @ 140 (13 reps)

Went back to wearing my lifting shoes and incorporated a few form tweaks for the squat with great success; those 13 squat reps felt good, and I probably could have done a few more but wanted to avoid any form slop. Already pumped to squat again on Tuesday, though! After lifting played tennis for about an hour; much later on finished out my weekly deadhang (85) and ring dip (60) goal. Right shoulder and clavicle felt a little sore today but overall I haven't had any real pain issues for a couple of days.

Wendler Deadlift today:

5 @ 190
3 @ 215
>1 @ 242.5 (3 reps, boom!)

Then just a short volume WOD of 2 ring dips a minute for 10 minutes while I was shredding kale.

My mod to today's metcon was:

15 power snatches (65 lb)
10 ring dips
12 power snatches
6 ring dips
9 power snatches
3 ring dips

7:54.

Alex and I then did a little car pushing - I did the length of our street (about 100 m), then he pushed it back; we then repeated the cycle one more time. Even just the 2 were brutal, but fun.

Wendler Back Squat today:

5 @ 142.5
3 @ 160
>1 @ 180 (0 reps boo)

Frustrated with my lack of progress here, especially when compared with my other lifts. I don't want to make wholesale changes to my program for that reason, but I do think I need more squat volume, so for the back squat only, I'm planning to reset and shift to a Greyskull LP-type model (2x5, 1x5+) for a while to see how that goes.

Anyhow, after that debacle I did 200 KB swings (Russian; 1 pood) in 5:58. Should have used 1.5 pood.

Today was Press:

5 @ 67.5
3 @ 77.5
>1 @ 85 (5 reps)

Pretty stoked about this; I wasn't feeling it beforehand and didn't spend a whole lot of time warming up my shoulders, so this was awesome. Also, the last time I took a crack at 85 two cycles ago I got a measly 3 reps. I then did some 5 x 5 squat work at 130, which felt ok.

Finished my 75 deadhangs and 50 ring dips with relative ease this week; next week will shoot for 85 and 60.

More Recon Ron pullups today, also

Bench

5 @ 75
3 @ 85
>1 @ 95 (11 reps)

And then later

Deadlift

3 @ 177.5
3 @ 202.5
>3 @ 230 (4 reps)

Finished out the night with 4 sets of 15 pushups while watching basketball.

Recon Ron ring dips today - my first set I managed a new PR of 6 in a row! Then just the PCF metcon today:

3 rounds

7 shoulder to overhead (95 lb)
14 burpees

4:26

Press today:

3 @ 62.5
3 @ 72.5
>3 @ 80 (8 reps, boom!)

Also sprinkled in some Recon Ron pullups throughout the day (4 sets of 6!), but decided to give my shoulder one more day of rest from ring dips. This evening, did 5 sets of 12 burpees; each set took me approximately 30 seconds, after which I took the rest of the minute as rest. Would like to be able to get 100 in 5 minutes, this was a good start.

Wendler Back Squat today:

3 @ 132.5
3 @ 150
>3 @ 170 (3 reps)

Went to the 0630 class, got a terrible night's sleep beforehand, so felt jittery.

Things We Forget

Wendler Bench Press today:

3 @ 70
3 @ 80
>3 @ 90 (13 reps)

Then did 5 x 5 back squat at 125 pounds to work on form and confidence. This was light enough to allow me to move quickly through the sets, but enough to make me pay attention. I'm planning on squatting twice a week now in the hopes that the added volume can help me make more substantive progress.

Finished 75 weekly deadhangs on Friday, and 43 weekly ring dips before my shoulder started bothering me a little tonight (should have spaced them out a little better). Tried a max set of dips for the first time in awhile though, and got 4!

Home WOD again today. First, ring dip work: 14 rounds of 2 on the minute. Pretty happy about that! Then, Wendler deadlift:

5 @ 165
5 @ 190
>5 @ 215 (7 reps)

Solid stuff. Finally, I did the PCF WOD:

5 rounds

7 OHS (65 lb)
7 pullups

6:23. What with my singular focus on deadhangs lately, it's been awhile since I've kipped on a regular basis, so not having the rhythm down slowed me considerably. Still an enjoyable WOD, though, and one I might try again in a few months.

Press today:

5 @ 57.5
5 @ 67.5
>5 @ 77.5 (9 reps!)

Then we played tennis for a little over an hour; it was the third time in the last week that we've played, and I'm definitely getting better! Later in the evening after rolling out, I did 5 sprint sets of 10 burpees, all between 24 and 26 seconds. I'm still kind of sore, particularly in my upper back, shoulders, and upper arms (thanks Recon Ron) so will roll out a little more tonight.

A Food Manifesto for the Future

Wendler squat today:

5 @ 122.5
5 @ 142.5
>5 @ 160 (3 reps boo)

Don't understand why I have been so up and down with my squat over the last two months. Will finish this cycle and then evaluate whether I need to bump down in weight a bit to dial back in on form (if that's my issue, it might just be a mental block). A few hours after the squat, I did the PCF WOD:

5 rounds

10 ring pushups
15 DB hang power snatches (1 pood)
20 box jumps

13:06

Still rested too much on box jumps.

On a more positive note, I reached 2 goals this week: 5 consecutive deadhang pullups and 50 consecutive double unders (actually 55)!

Started a new Wendler cycle today. Decided to put bench press back in:

5 @ 65
5 @ 75
>5 @ 85 (15 reps)

Pretty good considering the last time I did this weight for Wendler I managed 6 reps.

Other than that, a little tennis, and finishing out my weekly goal for deadhangs (75) and ring dips (50), a pretty laid-back day.

PCF WOD today:

4 rounds

5 press (75 lb)
10 toes to bar
15 hang power cleans (75 lb)
50 double unders
1 minute rest

16:23

Felt pretty good, double unders still took too long, but I got through them faster than I thought I would.

More volume work today: 20 minutes of alternating deadhang/ring dip on-the-minute business. Did 2 pullups the whole time, 2 ring dips for the first half, and then 1 ring dip for the second half. Generally sore beforehand (likely a result of the sprints), but was happy to not have it affect me too much.

21 hill sprints on the same hill as Saturday. Good times. In the spirit of working on things I don't usually get to work on, I then farted around some with my behind-the-neck split jerk technique.

It's Wendler back-off week, so today just the PCF WOD:

Work some on deadhangs and ring dips for about 10 minutes, then the metcon was Tabata box jumps (20"), then pushups, then row, then situps. I lost track of my reps pretty much as soon as we started, but would guess that I averaged a pitiful 12 box jumps, 6-7 pushups, 5 calories for the row, and 10-11 situps. Transitions were tough all around, but mostly I just stink at box jumps and after the first round I was flopping all over the box like a fish out of water.

Rest day today other than a little volume work:

10 sets of 2 ring dips on the minute. First time I've been able to steing them together like that! Post Super Bowl I did a tiny bit of deadhang pullup work. Am determined to get 75 deadhangs and 50 ring dips this week after 2 weeks of keeping a running count and trying to figure out what would be a reasonable but productive amount of volume work for me for these movements.

20 hill sprints today. Hill was about 40 yards long, rests were the walks back down. Thanks to Alex for forcing me to keep going!

Another weighted ruck today on the same course as last week. Did it in about 51 minutes, and I think I could have gone faster but surprisngly Alex struggled some so I had to slow down.

Wendler DL:

5 @ 185
3 @ 207.5
>1 @ 232.5 (3 reps)

Then

30 wall balls (16 lb at 8 foot target)
25 burpees
20 wall balls
15 burpees
10 wall balls
5 burpees

5:30

Good day all around! A solid 232.5 for 3 definitely beats my pre-Wendler 225 for 1!

In the morning did 10 minutes of on-the-minute ring dip work. Did 6 sets of 2 before bumping down to singles for the last 4 minutes. Tonight did Wendler Press:

5 @ 65
3 @ 72.5
>1 @ 80 (6 reps)

and then 3 x 200 m rows, with 1:2 work:rest ratio. Times were in the 43-45 second range.

Wendler Back Squat:

5 @ 135
3 @ 152.5
>1 @ 170 (3 reps)

Nearly had that 4th rep, but it wasn't in me today. We then did a Tabata mashup of double unders and situps, and I finished with 258 reps, which I was pretty happy about. I screwed up 1 set of double unders, but for the most part I was able to get into a groove and get 20-25 reps per work period, which is better than I anticipated!

5 sets of 2 ring dips on the minute, then 2-rep power snatch practice (ended at 72 lb), then

12 minute AMRAP

5 power snatches (67 lb)
5 OHS (67 lb)
5 kipping pullups

7 rounds plus 1 rep

Decided to mix it up and do a weighted hike this morning. 2.75 miles with 35 lb attached to me took me about 54 minutes. Felt really good except when I was walking on soft snow, which hurt my lower back a little.

Wendler today:

3 @ 172.5
3 @ 195
>3 @ 220 (5 reps)

Then

3 rounds

30 KB swings (1 pood)
20 overhead lunges (1 pood)
10 burpees

10:17

Wendler Press out in the snow:

3 @ 60
3 @ 67.5
>3 @ 77.5 (7 reps)

Then did some pullup and ring dip volume work.

Wendler Back Squat:

3 @ 125
3 @ 145
>3 @ 162.5 (Only 3 reps, boo)

I was so pissed about the squats that I tried another set, and only managed 3 again. Since 3 weeks ago I did 8 reps at this weight, I decided to chalk it up to a bad day. Afterward I did Death by Deadhang Pullup. Only managed 4 + 3 rounds. Oh well.

Today we did

4 rounds

5 clean and jerks (105)
250 m row
Rest 2 minutes

My total time was 13:48, which I was ok with considering that I haven't clean-and-jerked much lately. I f-ed up 1 clean in the 3rd round which set me back a few seconds, but other than that I felt pretty good. The rows sucked big time, but less so if I looked at something else besides the distance.

Wendler Press today:

5 @ 55
5 @ 65
>5 @ 72.5 (8 reps)

Then a little bit of HSPU work (4 x 10 25-lb DB presses).

Worked on 2 rep snatches today. Forgot my shoes, but speed still felt decent so I kept upping the weight and ended at 85 lb. I then finished with a 1 rep PR of 90 lb!

Metcon was:

15-10-5-10-15

Shoulder to overhead (65 lb)
KB swing (1 pood)
Ring rows

Finished in 9:36. Ring row form wasn't the best all the time, but I liked the variation.

Wendler Deadlift today:

5 @ 160
5 @ 185
>5 @ 207.5 (8 reps)

Then

3 rounds

10 thrusters (75 lb)
AMRAP toes-to-bar
1 minute rest

Finished with 41 reps of toes-to-bar, some of which were really just almost-toes-to-bar. Only broke once on the thrusters, which only confirmed my suspicions before the WOD that I should have gone heavier. Oh well.

Did another day of skiing on Monday - snowstorm-related traffic delayed us about 1.5 hours, so I was only able to get in another 4.5 hours on the slopes. Felt pretty good at the end of the day, though, and wished I could have kept going at least for another couple of hours!

Flew home today; started a new cycle of Wendler this evening:

5 @ 117.5
5 @ 135
>5 @ 152.5 (Finished with 12 reps!)

Friday and Saturday were skiing days. Did about 5 solid hours both days, and while the blue squares are still a little scary, I'm starting to feel more confident. Quads and calves in particular are feeling a little saucy, but I definitely felt better after Saturday than I did after Friday.

Today took advantage of the condo gym to do:

On the minute, for 10 minutes

30 lb (each hand) DB presses (5-5-4-4-3-3-3-3-3-3)

Then a short little metcon:

3 rounds

15 pushups
40 lb (each hand) DB farmer's walk w/ short stair climb

Took me about 3 minutes.

Work and feeling beat up led me to take some days offf this week; I'm now in Colorado about to get my ski on for a bit!

Went in for the PCF WOD, which for me ended up looking like

12 deadlifts (185 lb)
6 deadhang pullups
9 deadlifts (175 lb)
3 deadhang pullups
6 deadlifts (175 lb)
2 deadhang pullups
3 deadlifts (175 lb)
1 crappy deadhang pullup

All in all, it took me nearly 10 minutes. Turns out deadhangs are much harder after decently heavy deadlifts. Also, my arms are feeling a wee bit fatigued after the deadhang practice I put in on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Wendler Shoulder Press today:

5 @ 70
3 @ 80
>1 @ 90 (Tried 3 times but it wasn't happening)

The press she is a fickle beast - that 85 x 3 was so awesome last week and now this. I'll reset next cycle and work my way back up!

PCF WOD today:

5 rounds

1 min row (count calories)
1 min power snatch (75 for first 4 reps, the 65 for rest)
2 min rest

Finished with 112.

Wendler Deadlift today:

5 @ 177.5
3 @ 200
>1 @ 225 (finished with 2 reps)

Then

3 rounds

3 HSPU negatives
5 Power Cleans (105 lb)
7 Box Jumps (24")

4:10. I felt not-so-great about the deadlifts, then pretty decent about the metcon considering it was only 2 minutes after my last deadlift set.

Wendler Back Squat today:

5 @ 127.5
3 @ 145
>1 @ 162.5 (Finished with 8 reps!)

Then I made up the Monday metcon:

4 rounds

15 Push Press (55 lb)
12 Barbell Lunges (55 lb)
9 Ring Dips (toe assisted)

8:56. A little slower than I might have liked, but the push presses made the other exercises tough and lunges of any kind are my nemesis.

Today played a little tennis, then did 10 thrusters (25 lb DBs in each hand) on the minute for 10 minutes. It wasn't bad for the first half, but things went quickly downhill from then on.

Yesterday before the festivities, worked a little on HSPUs and dead hangs, the did Wendler deadlift

3 @ 165
3 @ 190
>3 @ 215 (finished with 3 reps)

A little disappointed, but oh well. Then did the 6 sets of that power snatch, OHS, snatch complex and finished with a snatch PR of 85! Yay! Happy New Year!