Jesters* Crossfit Journey

After 3 days of rest (shift work getting in the way of training over the bank holiday)

Today was a good little workout.

Warm Up 6:00

30 sec Plank Hold
15 x Kettlebell Swings
10 x Goblet Step Ups (20Kg - 24" Box)

Got warm, did some work.

Back Squat

10:00 to warm up to a heavy 3. At roughly 80% of 1RM.

Then

Every 2:00 for 10:00

1 x Back Squat @ 50%
30 Seconds down - 1 sec up

This was good, the longest tempo our coach has ever programmed. Did 120Kg for my heavy 3 then did all the tempo sets at 75Kg. All on my percentages.

WOD 10:00

3 Rounds

24 x Air Squats
18 x Box Jumps
12 x Kettlebell Swings (32Kg)
6 x Strict Pullups

A good little sprint workout, decided against pylometric box jumps for fear of stacking it! Did the swings unbroken and surprisingly enough the strict pullups had to be done in 2's. Mad forearm pump from the swings. Finished in 7:37. Happy with that.
 
I have been training but haven't updated in a week, so I will start from yesterday and the start of our Benchmark workouts.

They have been slightly altered to allow for more time, items added or removed to the programming. So far there have been some good improvements.

Benchmark #7

Warm Up 12:00
2 Rounds

10 x Clean Pulls
20 x Hollow Rocks
10 x Max Height Squat Jumps
20 x Supermans
10 x Spiderman Lunges (Each Leg)
20 x Down Ups
10 x 3 Position Power Cleans
20 x Cossack Squats

Lots of movements to move and get warm.

5 x 5 Touch and Go Power Cleans @ 80%
Every 2:00 for 10:00

This went really well. Went heavier, previous best was 96Kg for all 5. This time went 97.5Kg for 3 then 100Kg for 2. Always good to break into that 100Kg.

WOD 9:00 AMRAP

2 x Squat Cleans @ 80Kg
4 x HSPU (20Kg Plates)
8 x Pullups

So I sold my soul for this one and managed to improve. Getting 8 rounds + 5 reps. This was a 3 rep improvement, I did however get the 6 rep in bang on the buzzer but coach called it a no-rep but marginal at best. Very happy with the double PB on these.
 
Benchmark #5

10:00 min cap

100 x Double Unders
150 x Situps

This was a so so workout again for myself. Went 60 DU unbroken, but then managed to trip almost every 10 DU until 100. Then finished the situps by 7:56, so better than 6 months but still not near my PB.

2 x 8 Front Rack Lunges (4 each leg)
2 x 8 Front Rack Reverse Lunges (4 each leg)

This was one of the changes, to include the reverse lunges. But it didn't go that well for me, 77.5kg for the regular lunges, upped it to 80Kg and failed both sets which was really unusual. Better luck in 6 months.

Final workout is an ascending ladder in 3's. AMRAP for total reps.

3 x Shoulders to overhead (60Kg)
3 x Box jump (24")
6 x
6 x
9 x
9 x

Decent improvements here, another 5 x STOH reps to push my total reps up to 139. So 13 reps into the round of 21. Definitely sore now!
 
Accessory Wednesday was a lot of tough work on the shoulders and triceps.

6:00 EMOM

5 x Hollow Rocks - 3 sec pause hold each rep.

5:00 EMOM

5 x Strict Transitional Push Up
ARX - 5 x Russian Dips in 10Kg Vest

These 2 were performed as one 11:00 rolling clock. Hollow rocks were fine, keeping that core engaged throughout. The russian dips were insane, didn't use a vest and only managed 3 per minute. Very difficult but very good work for muscle ups.

Every 30 secs for 5:00

Between 1 - 5 Ring Dips
ARX - Wear 10Kg Vest

So I started out hitting 5 in a vest, that dropped to 4, then 3 before I could only manage 2 per 30 seconds at the end. Hard as nails.

6:00 EMOM

Box L-Sit Hold (15 sec on 45 sec off)

We ran out of boxes, so I had to use the rings instead! Felt surprisingly decent on the rings!

10:00

40 x Handstand March
30 x Handstand Shoulder Taps
20 x Handstand Thigh Taps

Did much better this time round, managed to get 12 thigh taps with much better body control throughout all reps. Slow improvements.

3:00 EMOM

5 x Jumping Pull Up Negatives
5 sec negative per rep.

ARX - Wear 10Kg Vest

This wasn't too bad. Managed to maintain solid control all the way through.
 
Team WOD Friday

Coach Led WarmUp 15:00

Regionals 2015 Workout 30:00

Teams of 3

175 x Power Snatch (35Kg)
25 x Rope Climbs
115 x Thrusters (50Kg)

Managed to rope another athlete in and one of the best girls to go for a decent time. Snatches in sets of 5 each, rope climbs in singles, thrusters also in 5's allowed us to post a time of 18:36. Which ended up being the fastest of the day. I do really enjoy team workouts and hope we can get some qualifiers going as an athlete team this year.
 
Barbell Club Sunday

Getting that sweet snatch work in on a Sunday. Really enjoyed this session.

Coach Led Warmup/Mobility 10:00

Got warm and ready to get the snatch work in. Practised getting into the 3 positions that the complex was going to need. From the hip, from the knee, from the shin with an empty bar.

Every 90 Secs for 5 Sets

5 x Snatch Balance (20Kg Bar)

Drop under that bar fast and snappy.

Complex - Every 2:30 for 5 Sets @ 75% of 1RM

1 x Squat Snatch - From the hip
1 x Squat Snatch - From the knee
1 x Squat Snatch - From the floor

All unbroken and the aim was to make them all smooth and controlled. I did the first 4 sets at 72.5Kg and finished on 75Kg. Hitting my percentages comfortably.

Makes me remember back to January 2017 when I PB'd at 77.5Kg for 1RM, I rewatch that video and my technique was horrible. Just over 2 years and nearly 20Kg increase in PB and my technique is so much better. It is good to remember how far you have come.

Every 2:00

3 x 10 Strict Press - With Pause at the bottom. Seated on a box.

Did all sets at 40Kg. Last set was particularly tasty.

Working Bank Holiday Monday so will miss training, so another day off for me before back to it Tuesday.
 
100% mate you need to keep an eye on it on the days you hate training and feel as if it is all going wrong.

Benchmark #1

21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9
Thrusters (42.5Kg)

After each round of thrusters
40 x Double Unders
200m Run

5 mins rest then straight into.

10:00 OMEM

Odd - 2 x OHS pausing for 10 sec at the bottom (42.5Kg)
Even - 10 x Toes to bar.

Not sure what rocket fuel I had before setting the 15:13 time back in Nov 2017 but I fell short and went 16:55 this time. Everything felt bad, double unders especially. But hey I finished in under the 18:00 time cap. As soon as I am done with Handstand Walk practice I need to devote some time back to double unders.

The OMEM at the end was fine. Completed that all with little issue.
 
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Accessory Wednesday!

Always a good time of the week.

Warm Up - 3 Rounds 12:00

200m Jog @ 50%
30 sec Downward Dog
30 sec Upward Dog
20 sec Active Hang
20 x Cossack Squats

Did work and got warm!

3 Rounds

15 x Hollow Hold Lat Pull Downs
Rest 90 Seconds

15 x Banded Seated Row
Rest 90 Seconds

2 Rounds

15 (Each Arm) x Dumbell/Kettlebell Rows
Rest 90 Seconds

15 x Barbell Bent Over Rows
Rest 90 Seconds

CV Intervals - 10 Sets

30 sec Max Effort
30 sec Rest

Some great movements today. Used 24Kg on the KB rows and 40Kg for the BB rows. CV interval sucked, chose the assault bike and suffered. Clocked up 3.5Km at the end of the 10:00 and could barely walk down the stairs after.

More handstand walk practice.
 
Today was a day that proves I can still surprise myself.

Benchmark #8

Warm Up 6:00
3 Rounds

15 x Double Unders
15 x Single Unders
5 x Kettlebell Windmills (Each Arm)
15 x Air Squat

Moved and got warm. The usual!

10:00 Coach Led Stretching

12:00 - Establish a 3RM Thruster

Then deload to 80% of 3RM and complete:

10:00
EMOM - 3 x Thrusters

I equalled the 3RM I set at the Rainhill Trials a year ago and hit 90Kg quite nicely. I managed 1.5 reps at 95Kg so next time I might have to have a shot a 92.5Kg. Then completed the EMOM at 72Kg and that felt pretty straightforward.

WOD 15:00
3 Rounds

7 x Deadlift (125Kg)
14 x Toes to Bar
21 x Kettlebell Swings (32Kg)

This was the surprise for me. Coach has taken down the cap time as my previous PB for this workout was 16:07 from Nov 2017. I know this workout is hell on the grip and always seems to blow out my lower back so I broke the TTB and the swings early to try and save some grip.

The end result was the lower back held up brilliantly (must be getting stronger) and the grip pain was still horrible. But I went 10:09, yup nearly 6 minutes quicker. I would have gone sub 10 but one of the plates on my barbell broke in half so spent time getting another one and getting it on the bar!
 
Team workout Friday!

Fun session which had plenty of time to stretch and warm up at the start.

20:00 Coach Led Stretching & WarmUp

WOD 25:00
Teams of 2

Cash In : 20 x Ground to Over Shoulder (60Kg Slam Ball)

Partner 1 Partner 2

50 x Box Jumps 50 x Pullups
50 x Kettlebell Swings (24Kg) 50 x Overhead Lunge
50 x Situps 50 x Hand Release Push Up
50 x Deadlift (70Kg) 50 x Wallballs (9Kg Ball)
50 x Burpees 50 x Double Unders

Cash Out : 20 x Ground to Over Shoulder (60Kg Slam Ball)

** Only one partner moving at any one time**
** You can only move onto the next exercise down when you have both finished your exercise**

A fun workout this one, I did the partner 2 side which became really quite chest and shoulder hefty. We split all the reps into 10's until the Burpee/Double Under section which was 2 x 25's. Completed the workout in 21:35.
 
Monday was back to benchmarks.

Benchmark #10

Warm Up 7:00
3 Rounds

10 x Sumo Deadlift (40Kg)
10 x Squat Bar Jumps
5 x Candle Sticks
15 x Hollow Rocks

10:00 Warm Up Sets / Additional Prep

Back Squat 4 x 3 @ 85%
Every 3:00

Did all my sets at 130Kg and felt solid. Been a while since I've done heavy backsquat so felt good to still be hitting those numbers.

WOD 9:00

Snatch Ladder

15 x Power Snatch (70kg)
20 x Power Snatch (60Kg)
40 x Power Snatch (50Kg)

This went slightly better than my PB. Managed to get out 7 reps in the 40's. Felt as if I was moving the bar very well but apparently not as fast as I thought! Still improvements are improvements!

Then repeated some cardio from last week voluntarily.

10 Sets

30 seconds max effort / 30 secs Rest - Assault Bike.

Previously I managed 3.5Km and this time I went 3772m. An improvement then.....still hurt bad.
 
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Today we kept on with the benchmarks.

Benchmark #4

Warm Up 7:00
2 Rounds

5 x Strict Upright Muscle Cleans (20kg Bar)
10 x Clean Pulls
15 x Double Unders
20 x Glute Bridges (With 3 second Pause)

WOD 20:00

1 RD
800m Run
80 x Double Unders
21 x Hang Power Cleans (60Kg)

2RDs
400m
40 x Double Unders
15 x Hang Power Cleans

3RDs
200m
20 x Double Unders
9 x Hang Power Cleans

This was still a bit of a nemesis for me, went ok but not brilliantly. Finished the 1 first of the 200m rounds literally at the cap. So the run and 6 double unders behind my PB. So roughly a minute behind.

Front Squat
Lifting every 2:30

1 x 10 @ 65% (80Kg)
1 x 8 @ 70% (90Kg)
1 x 6 @ 75% (100Kg)

With coach dropping the 1 x 12 Front Squats at 60% I went a bit heavier on the percentages. Made all my lifts and very happy with weights lifted!
 
Athletes Wednesday was a bit of ball breaker.

WOD1 : 20:00 EMOM

1. 8 x Dumbell Thrusters (22.5Kg) + 1 Rope Climb
2. 8 x Dumbell Power Snatch (22.5Kg) + 1 Rope Climb
3. 8 x Burpees + 5 Strict Handstand Pushups
4. 8 x Box Overs (30" Box) + 5 Strict Pullups

This was horrible, the dumbell movements were 8 each arm, so 16 total reps on the first and second minutes. I managed to complete the reps RX in the first 4 minutes. But then it all went downhill, managed to maintain a constant scaled pace of around 12 reps for the dumbell movements, all the burpees and 3 handstands, all the box overs and 3 strict pullups. Started to die a death towards the end.

WOD2 : 15:00
Teams of 3

300 x Double Unders
60 x Ground to Over Shoulder (60Kg Slam Ball)
9 x Slam Ball Carrys (40Kg)

Looks relatively straight forward, but I had to be pushing the pace on the slam balls as my 2 team mates were only power cleaning! The slam ball carrys were also a little more complicated as it turned into a mini obstacle course with having to get the ball over 3 different height boxes then a 100m sprint before coming back over the boxes.

Managed to thumb myself in the lip on my last round, blood everywhere! Everything hurts, lower back is pumping.

When I found out what Thursday's benchmark workout was, I decided to take a rest day. It is a horrible benchmark of Wallball cash ins, deadlift/over bar burpee AMRAP for 25:00. This always annihilates my back, so after the pounding it has taken over the past few days. Some time on the foam roller and floss was needed. Along with an early night!
 
Friday team workout. Was a tad brutal on the forearms.

Warm Up 6:00

10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

Walkouts
Situps

Got all warm and ready for the forearm pain.


WOD "Hang in there partner"

Teams of 2

20:00 AMRAP

5 x Thrusters (42.5Kg)
5 x Burpees

*Reps can only be completed while 1 partner holds a dead hang*

This hurt, quite a lot really! The easy bit were the thrusters and burpees. My forearms were dying towards the last 5 minutes. My partner was slowing on the reps which meant I had to hold on even longer.

We managed 26 rounds + 1 rep. Which isn't a bad score at all.

Had the weekend off as I came back home to visit my family.
 
Tuesday, so we are nearly at the end of the Benchmark work.

Warm Up 15:00

30 x Alt Step Ups (24")
30 x Alt Reverse Lunges
2:00 Wall Quad Stretch (1:00 Each Leg)
1:00 Floor Squat
30 x Russian Kettlebell Swings (24Kg)
30 x Glute Bridges / 3 Sec Squeeze at the top
1:00 Hamstring Stretch
2:00 Calf Stretch (1:00 each calf)

Benchmark #6 30:00

"Reverse Angie"

100 x Air Squats
100 x Situps
100 x Push Ups
100 x Pullups

First 2 movements here are fine, you can just grind through them. Pushups and Pullups are a different kettle of fish. Pushups were done in 5's until closer to the end when they became 2's. Pullups started in 10's but soon dropped to 6's then 3's. I finished in 20:32 which is a PB by nearly 3:00.

Busted out 10:00 of sprint work after the workout. Along with a little bit of handstand work but after the WOD core and shoulders weren't that up for it.
 
Athletes Wesnesday started with another cheeky EMOM before some team workouts.

10:00 Mixed Warmup

WOD1 16:00 EMOM

1. 4 x Cleans (100Kg)
2. 4 x Muscle Ups + 30 Double Unders
3. 10 x Kettlebell Swings (32Kg) + 10 x Box Overs (24")
4. Rest

Tasty EMOM. Managed to complete 1 + 3 every round but 2 was a tad tricky. Managed to go unbroken bar muscle ups each time but sacked off the double unders as I was starting to suffer!

Teams of 4

30:00

400m Overhead Tyre Carry
40 x Clean + Jerks (80Kg)
400m
30 x
400m
20 x
400m
10 x

This was worse than I expected. The tyres were tractor tyres to give an idea of size/scale and were horrible on the shoulders. We finished in the time, I died so didn't look at the clock!
 
Thursday the final day of benchmark workouts!

Benchmark #9

15:00

3 Rounds

21 x Overbar Burpees
15 x Power Cleans (52.5Kg)
9 x Toes to Bar

**Every 3:00 complete 5 x Thrusters (52.5Kg**

This is a disgusting workout no other way of putting it. The burpees seem to go on forever. But I managed a new PB of 11:03 knocking nearly 50 seconds off of my time. Happy with that.

Push Press - Lifting every 2:30

5 x 3 @ 75%
3 x 3 @ 85%

Stuck to my percentages on this and went 75Kg/85Kg and completed all of the sets.
 
Friday team workout turned out to be pretty tasty.

In Pairs

Warm Up 12:00

50 Cal Row
50 Cal Bike
50 x Kettlebell Deadlift (2 x 32Kg)
50 x Situps

Even though it was already pretty warm already this definitely got us there and ready for a hero pairs workout.

"31 Heroes"

31:00 AMRAP

8 x Thrusters (70Kg)
6 x Rope Climbs
11 x Box Jumps (30")

**While 1 partner is completing the AMRAP other partner is doing a 400m Plate Carry (20Kg)**
**Change + Alternate after each 400m**

This workout was created to honour the 30 serviceman and 1 dog that were lost on the 6 August 2011 in Afghanistan. As a workout, it is quite harsh. 70kg thrusters are tough the longer you go on for, rope climbs are a grind but the best part is the box jumps! 400m plate carrys are a slog as there is no way to carry the plate comfortably. We managed 3 rounds and 22 reps.

I now have a full 3 days off due to working the bank holiday and the boxes opening hours being in the morning. Which is a good thing as mentally I need a break because on Wednesday my father was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, which is terminal and I am still coming to terms with it. Even though it is something I thought was a possibility, having it finalised still hits hard.
 
Thanks man! Training definitely allows me to escape for a little while.

Tuesday we got back to regular programming.

Warm Up - 7:00

4 Rounds

10 x Spider Lunges
10 x Glute Bridges
10 x Around the Worlds
10 x Behind the Head Shoulder Press

Some good stretching and PVC pipe work.

Halting Snatch Deadlift

Deadlift Up -->Mid Shin-->Below Knee-->Above Knee-->Power Position-->Stand Straight

**3 Second pause at each position**

5 x 3 @ 80%
Every 2:00

Soooooo the % was a little optimistic here, those 3 second pauses take a toll on the grip and forearms so I went at about 60% which was 60Kg. Managed to hold on for dear life on the last set.

WOD 20:00

Ascending Ladder in 3's (3,6,9,12 etc)

Burpee Box Jump - Step Downs (24")
Deadlift (80Kg)
Toes to Bar

Definitely not a sprint workout, so I moved at a consistent pace and got into the round of 21's. Where I completed all the burpee box jumps and 17 deadlifts for a total of 227 reps.

On checking the scores the following day myself and 2 other athletes were seperated by just 4 reps. Pretty close! Love a bit of competition.
 
Wednesday, is usually an accessory day but seemed a little more full on than usual!

Warm Up 12:00

5 Rounds

10 x Banded Face Pulls
10 x Strict Bent Over Rows (20kg)
20 x Hollow Rocks
10 x Strict Behind the Neck Press

Quite a long warm up, with a casual 100 hollow rocks chucked in for good measure. Got warm, abs died a little.

WOD 1 10:00

10 Rounds

3 x Strict Handstand Pushups (20Kg Plate deficit)
30 x Double Unders

*If you trip on DU then complete 3 Down Ups*

Decided to complete the RX standard for as long as possible, the deficit is tough. Managed to not trip during any of my double unders, which is a minor miracle as they have been terrible recently. Completed 5 rounds + 2 reps in the 10 minutes.

WOD 2

Every 90 secs for 18:00 (3 Rounds)

1. 8 x Strict Chin ups + 8 x Strict Pull ups
2. 3 Laps Farmer Carrys (2 x 32Kg Kettlebell)
3. 25 Cals Row/Bike/Ski
4. Rest

This got bad, quickly. Many strict chin/pull ups really ruined me in the last round, got the last rep with about 5 seconds left. The farmers carry's were pretty good, got the legs going and got the laps done as quickly as possible. I decided to go Ski/Row/Bike and use every piece of kit and only just managed to clock up the 25 cals on the bike with a few seconds to spare. My poor legs were a tad toasted by that point.
 
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