WOD: More Long Cycle Fun

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, deadlifts, swings

Workout

-3 min long cycle

-3 min long cylce

-3 min long cycle

-3 rounds of rack holds

-10 reps of long cycle

Results

Too tough...was really hoping this one would be a breeze. Regardless of my form, I definitely need a lot more endurance, which means I just need to keep at it.

The first round had reps of 6, 7, 8 per minute and the last 2 rounds were all 7 rep minutes. 7 reps is my goal right now, which would get me 70 reps when I finally work my way up to 10 minutes. I took ample rest between those sets, because I definitely needed it.

The rack holds are going to be key. The rack is where my muscle endurance breaks down.

WOD: Long Cycle Ladder

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, 2 rounds: 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

-Long Cycle Ladder - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5

Results

I did ok on the way up, but was struggling on the way down. Definitely a good workout, but that 10 min long cycle is still far away.

My form was pretty inconsistent all the way through - sometimes good, sometimes bad. But practice makes perfect, so I'm sure those edeges will smooth over time!

Here is my second set of 9, on the way back down:

WOD: More With the Cleans

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, deadlifts, lazy swings, 2 rounds: 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

With double 16's

- cleans: 1 min work, 1 min rest for 10 minutes

-5x10 swings (chest level)

-20 cleans

Results

Cleans got pretty tough. I think I did reps of 14, 12, 11, 10,10. I like this drill!

Swings were decent and the last 20 cleans felt good - tough toward the end but still good.

Here's another video (gotta wait for me to wait for the timer):

WOD: Cold Gone, Workouts Back

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, 2 rounds: 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

With double 16's

-Jerk ladder - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5

-Finished with some rack/overhead holds to exhaustion

Results

Tough!! Actually, it was just the peak that was tough, reps 13-15-13. But I think my form was pretty solid all the way through. As always, plenty of room for improvement, but I'm happy with where I am.

My left arm was still a little "sore". It wasn't in pain, but I could feel that kinda weakness that borders on pain. That's an improvement over last week, so I'm not worried about it. I think I'll be moving on to the full long cycle this week.

Here is my second set of 9 heading back down the ladder.

WOD: Up the Ladder, Down the Ladder

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, deadlifts, 2 rounds: 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

With double 16's

-Clean ladder - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5

-Shrug ladder - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5 (10s rest between rungs)

Results

Overall, the cleans felt good. I did struggle a bit going back down the ladder because my forearms and biceps were pretty swollen by then. But my form was decent and relatively consistent throughout the entire ladder, so I'm happy with that.

I decided to throw the shrugs in there at the last minute, for the heck of it. They don't take long, so why not. Maybe I'll try to do something similiar, with shrugs or something else, at the end of all of these workouts...helps to keep things a little fresh too. I hate stale, repetitive workouts.

WOD: Just Some Quick Jerks

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

With double 16's

-Jerk ladder: 5, 7, 9, 11, 9, 7, 5

-3 x 10 bumps

Results

The good news is that the jerk ladder was pretty easy. I wanted to go up to 15 but kinda tweaked my left shoulder during the set of 11...so I just came back down from there instead.

The bumps felt good. Again today, I didn't give myself much time to workout, so I only did 3 sets and no rack or overhead holds.

WOD: Hotel Room Workout (11/13)

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility

Workout

30s work / 30s rest, for 15 minutes

-drop squats

-pushups

-situps

Results

would have liked to have done a few more rounds, but I was short on time. It sure is nice, though, to just pack the gymboss timer and bust out a bodyweight workout in the room

WOD: And Back to the Cleans

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, deadlifts, 3 rounds: 10 jumping pullups, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 drop squats

Workout

With the double 16's

-3 x 15 swings

-clean ladder - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5

Results

Swings really had me winded for some reason today and the form was kind of shaky too. Might start with lazy swings next time.

The cleans were decent. The form started breaking down in the higher reps, but I think that's too be expected right now. I might be coming up on my toes a little early though and will try to work on that next time. I also concentrated on my grip to try to avoid getting more blisters, which seemed to work well. I should probably chalk up though too.

This is the first time in a long time that I worked out in complete silence. For my other crossfit-like workouts, music is key. For these, silence was kinda nice. I was able to pay close attention to my breathing and my form in general and didn't really need any music for motivation.

WOD: Jerking It

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility, 2 rounds: 5 pullups, 10 situps, 5 dips, 5 drop squats

Workout

with the double 16's

-5 x 1 min rack hold (1 min rest between)

-5 x 7 overhead rack hold + lean forward

-5 x 10 kettlebell bumps

-5 x 5 jerks

Results

Rack holds were tough but I didn't fail on any of them...last set was close. I overhead lockouts felt pretty good...I could definitely feel my lower back stretching which is good. The bumps are getting better, but still not great.

I decided to go ahead and try some full jerks today...meh. They felt ok, but not very consistent. But the only way to get better is to practice, so I might throw some jerk ladders in there next time.

WOD: Just a Quick One

Workout

Clean ladder with double 16s - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 11, 9, 7

Results

Didn't have much time at all today, so a quick ladder seemed appropriate.

Cleans felt pretty good, but I definitely have plenty of room for improvement. Would have gone all the way back down to 5, but the callus under my left pinky seems to be turning into a blood blister, so I decided to stop.

WOD: Jerk Day

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility

Workout

With double 16's

-5x45s rack holds (1 min rest between rounds)

-3x10 slow bumps

-5x10 bumps

-5x20 overhead lockout 1/4 squats

Results

I think I might try to bump the rack holds up to a minute. I might fail on the last couple of rounds, but I'm ok with that.

I think the slow bumps are helping with my timing. The bumps are coming along but still need some work with the timing.

I slowed the squats down a bit and tried to take less of break in between rounds, so my arms were struggling a little harder than before, and that's a good thing.

I still find this workout to be pretty boring, so I'm gonna need to start doing some full jerks to keep me motivated.

WOD: Concentrating on Cleans

Warmup

stretching, joint mobility

Workout

With double 16's

-2x10 deadlifts

-3x15 lazy swings

-4x15 swings

-5x5 cleans

Results

Well I was bit with the lazy bug last week, but I'm back now....hopefully for a while. I think it will help breaking up the cleans and jerks until I start doing the full lift. I think the previous workouts were just a little too long and boring to keep me motivated.

Deadlifts and lazy swings were decent. The swings could have been better. I really tried to focus on staying up on my toes until the bells pulled me back down and at times that left me off balance and out of synch. I'll keep working on them.

I wanted to give some cleans a shot to see if these drills are helping. The first 2 sets were pretty bad, but then I relaxed a bit and slowed things down. The last 3 sets were much smoother and felt good. I think I'll finish with a ladder of cleans next time.