Jesters* Crossfit Journey

Jester* · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:34

Tempo Deadlifts, mmmmmm so much fun.

6 x 8 Deadlifts

Hook grip , touch and go, 5 seconds up 5 seconds down.

Did the first 4 sets at 60Kg but wasn't happy with how my lower back felt in set 5, so dropped the bar and stretched out. Set 6 was done at 40Kg.

8:00 EMOM

1. 10 x Strict Press (42.5Kg)
2. 5 x Strict pull ups with a 8Kg ball between the feet

Happy with these, only the last set of strict press felt tough on the final few reps. Completed every set.

10:00 Ascending Ladder

3 x Power Snatch (35Kg)
3 x Pullups
6 x
6 x
9 x
9 x

I knew this was going to be a good workout for me. Set about hitting this one hard out of the gate, managed to complete the 18's and pumped out 5 of 21 power snatches for a total of 131 reps. After 6 days of training I feel like taking 2 days off before the comp Sunday. Just to give my hands a rest!

Jester* · 1 Oct 2017 at 14:56

Lifting comp went well.

No PB's today but managed some solid lifts under competition conditions. 3 lifts each for snatch and clean + jerk

Weighed in at 83kg

Snatch.

1. 75Kg - wasn't the prettiest but got it.
2. 80Kg - much happier with this one, slight step forward after the catch.
3. 85Kg - went for the PB attempt and come very close. Got under it well but caught the bar slightly forward.

C+J

1. 105Kg - horrible attempt, for some reason brain and body did not agree and failed.
2. 105Kg - soooooo much better, actually power cleaned this one. Jerk was stable.
3. 110Kg - went to equal the PB, full clean but couldn't stand it up today, legs said no!

Overall score adjusted with the sinclair formula was 222. Good enough for second out of 16.

Will try and pop some videos up when I get them! Please excuse the cheerleaders haha.

105Kg C+J

80Kg Snatch

85Kg Snatch Attempt

Jester* · 2 Oct 2017 at 21:25

Some regular training today. Post night shift so always a struggle to perform optimally but it went well.

Tempo bench press - 3 sec down, 3 sec up

5 x 8 @ 50% Lifting every 2:30

Did all my sets at 40Kg and that felt like it was enough. Tempo work is always a tough one.

WOD 12:00

21 - 18 - 15 -12 - 9 - 6 - 3

Power Cleans (52.5Kg)
Air Squats

Yea fun, these workouts are always horrible. Those numbers never get small quick enough. Paced this one well and finished in 9:28 but it still hurt.

Ninja Challenge - Handstand Holds

15 sec on - 15 sec off
15 sec on - 15 sec off
30 sec on - 30 sec off
45 sec on - 15 sec off
60 sec on

Pretty straightforward. Try and stay in the handstand for as long as possible without dropping, if you complete it all your name goes on the board as a ninja for the week! a lot of shaking and shoulders crying happened but managed to complete it fully and get my name on the board. It is all good fun.

booyaka · 2 Oct 2017 at 22:37

Brilliant effort - that WOD looks horrible. I hate the countdowns for some reason, I prefer count ups!

Jester* · 3 Oct 2017 at 19:01

Haha count ups are much better I agree.

Today was some back squat. Has been a while since we have done some heavy back squats so was nice to shake the legs off. But my chest and shoulders are proper burning from yesterdays session so it was going to be a struggle.

Back Squat

12:00 to set a heavy double

Nice and steady went up and set a 125Kg heavy double and felt strong and stable.

3 x 3 @ 80% Lifting every 1:30

Did this at 100Kg and again felt strong and stable. A nice trip back down back squat lane.

WOD 20:00 AMRAP

50 x Push Press (60Kg)
40 x Pullups
30 x Toes to Bar
20 x Back Squat (60Kg)
10 x Bar Muscle Ups

So then this happened, not much to say except the pain cave was visited and was made home. The last 20 reps of the push press became disgusting, truely disgusting with the chest and shoulders in the condition they were. Managed to survive the pullups and toes to bar with some grip left and busted out the back squat unbroken. Then the bar muscle ups were the game changer, having very little legs left after the session I realised that I wasn't kicking as well to get the momentum I needed, and obviously the rest of my body was fatigued. Ground them out and managed another 12 reps of the push press to finish.

Result: 1 round + 12 reps.

I hurt, very much right now.

booyaka · 3 Oct 2017 at 20:35

50 PUSH PRESS!!!! That's all wrong.......That's horrendous and a great effort at 60kg!

GSVBagpuss · 4 Oct 2017 at 07:12

That looks just awful

Jester* · 4 Oct 2017 at 10:18

booyaka said:
50 PUSH PRESS!!!! That's all wrong.......That's horrendous and a great effort at 60kg!

It was all kinds of wrong. My poor chest and shoulders are ruined today.

GSVBagpuss said:
That looks just awful

I would rather avoid it again for a while

There is a good chance I won't train today. Listening to my body and quite frankly everything is just sore. Top that with a third late night of overtime at work means that I should just take a day off, eat well today and sleep properly tonight to attack tomorrow.

But as a worthy update I have got a space at next Aprils Rainhill Trials in Manchester so I can get my first taste at a Crossfit competition. Better keep training then!

Rids · 4 Oct 2017 at 11:03

Really impressive work this - out of interest how good a shape were you in before you started Crossfit?

Jester* · 4 Oct 2017 at 11:34

I went to a normal chain gym, doing some spin classes and general mish mash of so so training. Nothing spectacular! Never did a handstand before let alone other gymnastics.

You definitely don't have to be fit to start Crossfit.

Jester* · 5 Oct 2017 at 19:11

Good training today. Lots and lots of snatch.

10:00 Warm Up - 2 Rounds (Empty bar)

10 x Snatch pulls
10 x Power Snatch
10 x Snatch balance

20:00 Every 2:00 @ 70%

1 x Snatch
1x Hang Snatch
3 x Overhead Squat

Really enjoyed this complex, completed it at 57.5Kg with a few wobbles on the OHS but nothing too extreme.

WOD 20:00

4 Rounds

5 x Snatch (70Kg)
10 x Military strict pressups
20 x Box overs (24")

Athletes to complete 5 Rounds within 20:00.

Anyone not doing the prescribed weight had to do full snatch, but power snatch was available for prescribed. Managed to grind out all 5 Rounds in 18:55 and very happy with that.

Jester* · 6 Oct 2017 at 18:52

Good work today.

6 x 3 Strict Press @ 90%

Then straight into, lifting every 2:30.

3 x 20 Push Press @ 50%

Did 55Kg for 2 then the last 4 sets at 57.5Kg which was hard going. Then did all the push press at 45Kg.

Then to the workout.

WOD 18:00

3 RFT
12 x Candlesticks
8 x Strict pullups

3:00 Rest

2 RFT

30 x Hollow Rocks
30 x Deadlift (50Kg)

Then any remaining time, max reps Double Unders.

Finished the first set of work at 4:00 then the second set at 10:40. Then did 305 Double Unders.

Won't be training over the weekend as I'm working but the rest will always be welcome.

Jester* · 9 Oct 2017 at 18:15

After 2 days off, it was back to it this morning.

EMOM 20:00 - 5 Rounds

1. 15 Cal Row (18 for Athletes)
2. 20 x Overhead Squat @ 20Kg (+5 Strict pullups)
3. 12 x Burpees (+3)
4. 12 x Toes to Bar (+ 20 x Double Unders)

As you may notice, there was no rest minute in all of this, so constant work for 20 minutes. I managed to do one complete round at the athlete prescribed but into the second round I felt like I was going to redline very quickly (thankfully one of the athlete team only managed 2 rounds before scaling it back also). The fourth and fifth rounds were messy, barely managed the overhead squats and toes to bar. A real test of conditioning that felt I didn't perform as well as I could.

5 x 4 Overhead Squat @ 80%
Lifting every 2:30

Did the first four rounds at 70Kg and finished the fifth at 75Kg. Felt solid and composed but fatigued after the work already carried out. Very close to my 80% so definitely happy with that.

Jester* · 10 Oct 2017 at 13:51

Another tough one today. Programming is truely backside kicking at the moment.

WOD 15:00
5 RFT

200m Run
6 x Thrusters (60Kg)
24 x Wallballs (20lb)

This got nasty very quickly, the wallballs were the workout everything else just got in the way. Managed to get to the fifth round, complete the run and get 1 thruster in before hitting the cap.

Bench Press

5-5-3-3-2-2-1

The idea was to go as heavy as possible for all the sets and increase the weight as the reps went down. I did 60 for the 5's, 70 for the 3's, 80 for the 2's and failed the 1 at 90Kg. Decided to try and match my 1RM and didn't get it.

3 x 12 @ 70% of the heaviest weight you just did. So I went in at 60Kg.

The idea was even if you failed a set you stayed at the same weight and keep going. Managed to complete the first set, 9 in the second and 6 in the third.

Feeling it really difficult to train at the moment. Always gets this way when the seasons change at this time of year, feel as if I am not performing as well as I could do. But I do know that it is mainly in my head. That and I think I need to increase my food intake as it gets colder, never been this lean in my life so it is uncharted territory and need to make sure I adapt.

booyaka · 11 Oct 2017 at 15:39

Nice one - I need to speak to one of the coaches about my food intake as well. I'm sure I should be eating more - just not sure how much.....

Jester* · 11 Oct 2017 at 16:24

I am trying to eat whenever I am hungry. Which is quite often! But finding the balance can be difficult.

Today was a good session!

6 x 3 Front Squat @ 80%
Lifting every 2:30

Warmed up and hit all sets at 100kg which felt good.

WOD 10:00
5 RFT

10 x Power Cleans (60Kg)
10 x Box Overs

5:00 Rest

8:00
4 RFT

8 x Power Snatch (60Kg)
8 x Chest to Bar

The first part was good, did quick singles on the power cleans, trying to keep the heart rate down to get all the rounds done. Finished in 8:29.

Second part was much harder, the power snatch felt very heavy after all the work we had done and was definitely the hardest part. Finished 2 rounds and 7 reps.

Now on to night shifts so not sure how the next few days of training will go, but we will give it a crack!

Jester* · 12 Oct 2017 at 19:50

Post night shift but training was good this afternoon.

4 x 8 Deadlift (hook grip, touch and go) @ 70%
Lifting every 2:30

Completed all sets at 120Kg, felt good but my thumbs were as flat as pancakes after haha.

WOD 12:00

5 x Deadlift (52.5kg)
5 x Toes to bar
5 x Hang squat cleans (52.5kg)
5 x Bar muscle ups
5 x Push Jerks (52.5kg)

The workout was the muscle ups, tried to conserve my grip and shoulders as much as possible. Did 3 and then 2 on the muscle ups each round. Hit cap with only 7 reps left, so close!

Finished with

3 x 12 Back Squat @ 60%
Lifting every 3:00

Did all my sets at 90Kg. This was hard, the legs have taken a beating this week and definitely had to fight for some of the reps.

Birthday tomorrow, so I'm having 2 days off!

booyaka · 12 Oct 2017 at 22:30

top work!

GSVBagpuss · 13 Oct 2017 at 13:20

That's strong stuff

Jester* · 15 Oct 2017 at 13:50

Thanks guys.

Today was a good day. Hit a PB!

Snatch Warmup

10 x Snatch Pull
10 x Power Snatch
10 x Snatch Balance

10 x Cossack Squats
10 x Samson Lunges

12:00 EMOM

1 x Snatch @ 80% 3 sec pause in the catch

First 4 mins at 65Kg, felt good so went up to 70Kg and finished at that. We were given about 10 mins before the next exercise so I used that time to go for the 1RM. Hit 75Kg, 80Kg and then hit 85Kg for the PB, such a good feeling to put up above bodyweight snatch.

Finished with,

3 x 10 Muscle snatch @ 40%

Completed all sets at 35Kg.