Monday, May 31, 2010

Clean and Sit

Workout 31 May 2010:

Three rounds for time of:
95lb Squat clean, 10 reps
20 Sit-ups (Abmat)

Results: 10'58
Previous best: none

Some of my favorite workouts are those that take any of the more technical lifts, lighten them up, and then go for speed. My goal was to finish this workout in 10 minutes or less, but I just couldn't make it through the last set of cleans quickly enough to meet the goal. The sit-ups were easy and served simply as a break from constantly doing on demanding movement.

It's important to realize that except when done by highly experienced lifters (which I am not) good form and speed are usually mutually exclusive on cleans, snatches, etc. You are not going to have great form doing a string of cleans as quickly as possible, so it's critical to lighten the load enough to maintain adequate form to prevent injury. Think cardio is boring? Try this workout.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Run

Workout 28 May 2010:

Run 2.5 miles

Results: not timed

Similar to the beginning of this month, today was a spontaneous workout since it was sunny and warm. Just like last time, I used this run to practice my forefoot running technique and didn't record my time. My calves were sore for several days after the run at the beginning of this month. Hopefully they'll bounce back more quickly this time.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Muay Thai

Workout 21 May 2010

Muay Thai training and conditioning, 30 minutes

No new techniques today, instead we fine tuned some of the basic punches and kicks. Most of the session was spent on conditioning drills with punch and kick combos. Great workout as always.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Deadlifts

Workout 17 May 2010:

Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

Results: 185-185-205-205-215-215-225
Previous best: none

I did this workout at the gym at work during a bit of downtime. Since I didn't have enough time to do a thorough warm-up, I kept the weight somewhat light to make sure I didn't hurt my back. The lifts went well and even if they were light, doing some deads felt great. By comparison, in the past I have done up to 325lbs as a max for three reps.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Hopper

Workout 16 May 2010:

For time:
20 Handstand push-ups
30 Pull-ups (strict, pincer grip)
40 Kettlebell swings, 16kg KB
50 Sit-ups (Abmat)
60 Burpees

Results: 24'53
Previous best: none*

Today's workout was a metcon to balance out the heavy lifts I've done recently. I've done a similar, higher intensity, workout in the past. That workout in Sep 08 was 30-40-50-60-70 with kipping pull-ups, 50lb dumbbell swings, and standard sit-ups, completed in 39'08. Even though today's workout had a much better time, the longest amount of time spent during this type of workout are one the last reps of each exercise, so it's likely that adding 10 more reps to each exercise would have put me at or beyond the 40 minute mark. Once my conditioning improves, I should be able to tackle the full version of this workout again.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Push Jerk

Workout 14 May 2010:

Split Push Jerk 2-2-2-2-2

Results: 145-145-145-150-150lbs
Previous best: none

What's a clean without a little jerk? I've been working on cleans recently, so today I worked on the second part of the movement. Since I did this workout without a place to drop weights, I went as heavy as I knew I could barely press. I probably could jerk at least another 10lbs, as long as I knew I could drop and bail if I missed the lift.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Front Squat

Workout 13 May 2010:

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1

Results: 185-195-200-200-205lbs
Previous best: no prior 1x5, 1RM 215lb (16 Jan 10)

In light of my last Olympic Lifting class, today was front squat day. The two areas on which I focused were depth and torso position. I made sure to squat as deep as possible to best simulate standing up from a clean caught very low. I also tried to keep my torso as upright and my elbows as high as possible, fighting the urge to lean forward. Staying upright helps to make sure you stay on your heels instead of rocking forward onto your toes; this allows your hamstrings to fully engage instead of relying on your quads to help you stand up. I also worked on using the stretch reflex at the bottom of the squat to aid in power generation while starting to stand up from the bottom. I could have gone a few pounds heavier, but wanted to use today's workout to correct form problems, rather go 100%.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Olympic Lifting

Workout 8 May 2010:

Olympic Lifting Class, 90 minutes

Results:
1RM Clean: 200lbs
1RM Front Squat: 205lbs

Previous best:
1RM Clean: 185lbs (28 Mar 10)
1RM Front Squat: 215lb (16 Jan 10)

This is my third Olympic Lifting class with coach Dan Bell. After my 185lb clean last time, I was determined to get to 200lbs today. After some warm ups and plenty of heavy singles, I was able to hit my goal with a 200lb lift that was actually technically sound. Since that lift went so well, I tried for 205lbs next, caught the bar well, but wasn't able to completely stand up. At that point, the coach stopped me and had me work on front squats.

I haven't had much formal training in front squats, but still had a decent PR of 215lbs. Two areas in which I need to improve are maintaining a more upright torso (just like the clean), and using the stretch reflex to get out of the bottom of the lift more efficiently. With enough practice, I should be able to meet and beat my previous PR, and carry that over to an even heavier clean. I topped out at a 205lb front squat today, and probably could have gone heavier, but didn't want to risk over-training today.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Mini Erin

Workout 2 May 2010:

"Mini Erin"

Four rounds for time of:
30lb dumbbell split clean, 15 reps
10 chin-ups

Results: 14'16
Previous best: 16'40 (Five rounds, 25lb DB split cleans)

The full version of "Erin" involves five rounds, 40lb dumbbells, and 21 pull-ups. Although I did increase the weight of the dumbbells compared to the last time I did this workout, I had to scale it back to four rounds total. The chin-ups were the most difficult part of this workout. I've been disappointed recently with how quickly I fatigue doing any type of pull-up or variation. Part of that in today's workout was probably due to inefficient dumbbell cleans and pulling too much with my arms.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Baby Lynne

Workout 1 May 2010:

"Baby Lynne"

Three rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

Results: 27 bench press @ 155lb, 27 strict pull-ups
Previous best: Full 5-round Lynne: 49 bench press @ 150lbs, 55 strict pull-ups (17 Apr 09)

Since my workouts have been relatively infrequent recently, I scaled back this usually five-round workout to only three. Since doing this workout almost a year ago, the pull-ups showed a big decline. Fortunately, the bench press hasn't changed as significantly. The only remedy is more workouts, and more effort.