The day after the WOD before

I've been mixing it up recently and trying some more CF classes, alongside more swimming, instead of just pure strength work at the gym, in prep for the triathlon I'm doing in Portsmouth in a couple of weeks.

Sunday's CF class was 'great'. Great if you like gruelling, horrible workouts.

STRENGTH
3sets x 5reps warm up Squats
3x5 heavy Squats at 82.5kg

3x5 warm up strict press (need to work on this..)
3x5 heavy strict press at 42.5kg

WOD
"Karen"
150 wall balls for time

After squats & presses.. 150 wall balls was awful. (check out the video for what a wall ball shot is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvg95a-i35s). This was my first real taste of a benchmark "nasty girl WOD" and was just as horrendous as I thought it would be. Finished in 9min26 - definitely some room for improvement. I had talked to some of the long-timers there about how to break the 150s up, and after 2 sets of 15, I quickly broke down in 10s with 5-10 second breaks. Next time I'll probably do the same, but keep the breaks shorter.

Finished up with some pull up practice and went home to refuel, take a bath and put my feet up!

Monday morning came about and I had decided to do the 6am class, as it was on of my favourite workouts. This is where I made my mistake.

This morning had no strength, but another gruelling workout.

Fight Gone Bad Style:
1 min on every station - 5 rounds - score is total reps:
- Push Press @ 35kg
- Hang Power Cleans @ 35kg
- Hand Release Strict Push ups
- Overhead Squat @ 35kg
- Rowing (reps = calories)
- 1 minute rest


So 5 min work, 1 min rest x 5 rounds - it seemed to go on forever. Especially after 150 wall balls the day before, my overhead squats (OHS) were not deep enough and my shoulders were killed, so keeping the bar overhead was the main struggle. Scored something like 295 reps, but given the state I was in afterwards, my addition may not have been very good!

I am now shattered and could do with a day in bed! At least I have a planned rest day tomorrow, and Lucy made some good paleo jam cookies (diabetic sugar free jam!).

This week in workouts

Monday saw Tour de France come to London, so took a day off and had a great time watching them come through Great Chesterford and then again through embankment. The difference in speed between the two was phenomenal! Managed to snap a pic of Froome before he crashed out the following day.

Then followed a busy week of workouts!

Tuesday hit the work gym, Wednesday ran the JP Morgan corporate challenge (5.6km in 26min). We all ran in nice orange vests so I could pace myself against other company runners!

Thursday went to the gym again, and Friday evening saw my only crossfit workout of this week. Strength set of 5x3 squats at 82.5kg and then a pretty heavy and hard workout of front squats, push press and power cleans at 45kg. Just managed to finish within the time cap of 10min.

My cleans and overhead strength really need some work. 

For the weekend I started to increase the triathlon training with a 1km open water swim followed by 6km run with Dan & Ruth, followed by an active recovery sunday with 14km walk along regents canal. 

Post swim and run!

Nice day for a walk!

Legs legs legs

Wednesday CF was all leg consuming. 5x5 of heavy squats with 3x5 warm up. Followed by a WOD that has left my legs burning today and abs that hurt when I sneeze. 50kg front squats and slow controlled toes to bar.

Finished within the time cap but behind most of the group. Less rest more work! 

Friday AM was in the work gym and after consolidating some good gains on bench press, squat and deadlift (redid a 100kg 1rm DL), completed a crazy WOD that was killer:

20 - 15 - 10 reps for time

40kg thruster

Burpees

Double under

Leg raises

Awful. 

Handstands and PRs

One of the things I like about crossfit is that it encourages good bodyweight mobility and gymnastics, something I've never been particularly good at. Enter Sunday and a handstand session!

Good WOD to finish up as well (finished 4 round and 5 rr).

Monday was then at the work gym, where I set an new bench press PR of 70kg, and new 2000m row PR of 7m32!

Finally last night game with a heavy squat session at CF. Strength was 5x5 squats (80kg) and then a front squat and strict toes to bar WOD. Suffice to say, my thighs are a bit sore today..

Pull-ups and kettlebells

Tuesday morning was spent in the gym at work, and then back to CF on Wednesday evening.

Strength was Turkish get ups 1RM. Managed to push this to 24kg, could quite hold 28kg on the transition up, and bailed multiple times! What is a Turkish getup? See below.

Pretty taxing on shoulders and core! 

The WOD was 5 rounds for time:

32kg Russian KB swing x 20

Chest to bar pull-ups x 10

Finished almost RX within the time cap, but my pull-ups suffered towards the end and had to resort to a few jumping at the end. The KB swings were brutal at 32kg!

Kettlebell hell

Went to the 10am class this morning expecting to set a new 1RM deadlift and then complete a brutal WOD with 40kg cleans, push press and front squats along with 30 DUs.

When I arrived the board had something different.. (Taken after the WOD).

A gentleman who lives above the gym has been complaining about the noise so barbell movements have had to be modified as a temporary measure.

Whilst initially disappointed that I wouldn't have a shot at a potential 3rd ever RX workout, I understand the position the gym is in, and believe it's good to sometimes do other workouts (the point of crossfit!), so went with it!

Nice practice on clean pulls with 3 second lowering, and then a kettlebell based WOD.

AMRAP 15min

28kg OH kettlebell swing x 5

20kg kettlebell push press x 5 each side

28kg kettlebell goblet squat x 5

30 double unders

4 rounds and 10 reps - exhausting but powered by my new favourite summer coffee - cold brew coffee.

Finished up with mobility and 5x5 of chest to bar pull-ups and ring dips.

RXd!

It's the World Cup! I love how the best football in the world is played day after day. 

This won't stop me from going to the gym though, so I watched Portugal capitulate to Germany on Monday from the gym.

Managed to hit a 67.5kg double bench press, and 5 sets of heavy lat pull downs (70-85kg). Continued to push my 2km row but no PBs today (7.43, good 10 seconds off PB).

Wednesday crossfit class was focussed on chest to bar pull ups and ring dips, each 5x5, before a 10 round WOD, 15 min time cap:

5 toes to bar

8 Russian kettlebell swings 32kg

10 hand raise pressups

Managed to finish in 13.42 with prescribed weight ( RXd)! No wimpy kettlebells for me! 

Here is the 6pm class getting into it.

WOD 15th June

Today's WOD at crossfit evolving kilburn, was pretty brutal.

25 min AMRAP

50 wall balls 9kg

40 kettlebell swings (I did 28kg)

30 down ups (like a burpee but not overhead jump/clap)

20 pull ups

I managed 2 rounds and got through an extra 28 wall balls.

Absolutely brutal!

Dinner Paleo Bolognaise with zoodles.

#coffeewithnick

http://instagram.com/p/pRlrbtTCpS/

Back to it

Having had a slight hiatus in posting, back to it now with additional food and crossfit thoughts.