Jesters* Crossfit Journey

[Jester*]

Hello to any interested parties,

I want to use this thread to log my numbers, feelings, highs and lows of training. A bit of background to begin with, I have been a member at my box for a bit over a year and a half. But after spending most of last year flying around the world while working in F1, I left the job to work locally and start taking my training and life balance to the next level.

Crossfit may not be for everyone, it has its detractors and polarises opinion greatly. For me it has been the best training environment I have ever been in, both in training and socially. With a Chiropractor and Sports Therapist working out of the box as a bonus I have never been fitter, happier or as mobile as I am now.

So for the last 7 months I have been training 5 to 6 times a week, focusing on my diet a lot more and pushing harder in training. With the aim of eventually reaching a level where I feel confident to enter some competitions and get invited to join the box's athlete team. Below are some of my numbers.

Height: 5'11
Weight: 83kg

Key Lifting PB's

Deadlift: 190Kg
Clean/Power Clean/Hang Clean: 125/120/117.5Kg
Clean & Jerk: 115Kg
Split Jerk: 112.5Kg
Snatch/Hang Snatch/Power Snatch: 97.5/85/87.5Kg
Back Squat: 160Kg
Front Squat: 130Kg
Overhead Squat: 110Kg
Bench Press: 105Kg

Gymnastic Elements:

Pullups: Strict/Kipping comfortably.
Toes to Bar: Stringing sets together.
Handstand Press ups: Currently trying to improve performance while having hands on 20Kg plates. From the floor am comfortable with the movement.
Bar Muscle ups: Comfortable and able to string 4/5 together during workouts.
Ring Muscle ups: Able to do singles. Practicing consistently at the moment.
Handstand Walks: Trying to hold free handstands to eventually get comfortable enough to attempt the movement.

Other:

5km Run: 25:48 (08/05/18)
500m Row: 1:28
1k Row: 3:14.1
Rope Climbs: The box has a 15ft competition rig. Can climb well including climbs in a 10Kg vest.
Legless Rope Climbs: 31/08/17 Did 5 in the session. Felt good.

Compeititions:

Crossfit Open 2016/17/18/19
3x Local area lifting Competitions.
Rainhill Trials Apr'18

Key Issues:

Running: I am not the most natural of runners. Ah heck, I hate running. One of my main issues and something that holds me back and leads conveniently to my next main issue.
Overall conditioning: Really want to improve this, increase the gas tank as it were. Always working on this.

I will try and update as and when I can, with my mindset and feelings. We all have those good days of training and down days of training.

 

[Jester*]

Todays workout was a tribute to D-Day

Meant to be completed in a team of 4. I had to do it as a pair with one of the coaches. Wearing a 10Kg vest if you had one, which I do. 50 min Cap

3KM Row
100 Wall Balls + 100 Box Jumps (24" box)
20 Rope Climbs
100 Kettle Bell Swings (32kg) + 50 Toes to Bar
400M Plate Carry (20kg)
100 Power Cleans (52.5 Kg)

We completed it in 52 mins. Coach kept the clock rolling so we could finish.
One of the most disgusting feelings during a workout for a very long time. The kettle bell was so horrible after doing the rope climbs and I wanted to quit.

 

[luggy3]

Sounds brutal! We haven't gone any longer than 24 mins yet but I've only been going a month. Will be keeping an eye on your progress. I'm very much a beginner but I've loved it so far.

 

[Jester*]

Sounds brutal! We haven't gone any longer than 24 mins yet but I've only been going a month. Will be keeping an eye on your progress. I'm very much a beginner but I've loved it so far.

Thanks Luggy!

Today was a heavy and fast day on the programming

4 x 5 Back Squat ever 2.5 Mins weight increasing every set. 70%/75%/80%/85% of 1RM.
100Kg/107.5Kg/115Kg/120Kg and felt good.

WOD1: 8 Min Cap

10 -8- 6 -4- 2 Thrusters @ 60Kg
50-40-30-20-10 Double Unders

Thrusters felt like they were going to bury me. Managed to complete 4th round before hitting cap. Double unders were a bit hit and miss but managed to be consistent.

WOD2: 10 Min AMRAP

10 x Power Cleans @ 60Kg
10 x Toes to Bar
10 x Push Press @ 60Kg

Managed 2 rounds and 15 reps. Felt quite brutal after all the previous work. Went slow and steady but still managed to get close to the red line. Toes to bar were smooth and in sets of 5.
Overall a good day of training. This was day 4 on the bounce and after a few brutal days of vest workouts I am planning on resting tomorrow.

 

[Jester*]

I know I said today was a rest day, buuuuuuuuut after my partner trained this morning and showed me the workout I had to give it a bash.

Reverse Barbara originally posted on Crossfit mainsite.

50 Min Cap - 5 Rounds

50 x Air Squats
40 x Situps
30 x Press ups
20 x Pull ups

3 minutes rest after each round.

Completed in 36:48. Felt good, the main killer was the press ups, upper body pump was horrible. Legs felt bad on the fourth and fifth rounds but overall happy with my performance.

 

[Jester*]

Nice little workout tonight.
10 minute OMEM (Odd minute even minute)

O - 3 x Deadlift, 3 x Hang squat clean, 3 x Shoulder to overhead. (60Kg)
E - 5 x Strict pull up, 3 x Wall walk.

Went well, failed the 8th round but completed every other. Happy with how I was cycling the barbell.

4 x 15 Bench press. Lifting every 3 minutes. Completed at 40Kg.

After yesterday's amount of press ups and pull ups my chest was massively burning. Went slightly lighter to complete all the reps.

4 x 8 Strict behind the neck press with 1 second pause at the shoulder.

Completed at 37.5Kg. Shoulder burn was intense. A good way to finish. Have to rest tomorrow as I'm working while the box is open!

 

[Jester*]

This morning was Barbell Club, one of my favourite sessions of the week.

Every 2mins for 10mins

0 - 2:00 : 5 x Clean Jerks @ 70% (75Kg)
2 - 4:00 : 4 x Clean and Jerks @ 75% (80Kg)
4 - 6:00 : 3 x Clean and Jerks @ 80% (85Kg)
6 - 8:00 : 2 x Clean and Jerks @ 85% (90Kg)
8 : 10:00 : 1 x Clean and Jerk @ 90% (95Kg)

Managed to complete all the reps in the time. Concentrating on pausing briefly in the jerk position to ensure stability before recovering up fully. 95Kg went up nicely and felt strong.

Snatch

5 x 3 Singles every 2Min 30sec

0 - 2:30 : 70% (57.5Kg)
2:30 - 5:00 : 75% (60Kg)
5:00 - 7:30 : 80% (65Kg)
7:30 - 10:00 : 85% (66.5Kg)
10:00 - 12:30 : 90% (71.5Kg)

Due to the lack of certain plates (class was full) my percentages were a little off at times but finished the 90% lifts only 0.5Kg down on my true 90% so very happy with that. The movement felt controlled and comfortable and for me is one of my best lifts. Popped 75Kg on the bar just after we finished and did a quick rep which also felt good. Completed 3 bar muscle ups as part of continual practice of the movement.

 

[Jester*]

Early morning training today. With some strict work!

4 Rounds - 9 Min Cap

5 x Strict Toes to Bar
10 x Weighted Step ups (20" box holding 22.5Kg dumbells)

Strict toes to bar are too much for me at the moment. So scaled it to raise the legs as high as possible. Forearm burn was the killer from holding the dumbells, but finished in 7mins 12.

5 Rounds - 25 Min Cap

2 x Bear Complex (1 x Power Clean, 1 x Front Squat, 1 x Shoulders to Overhead, 1 x Back Squat and 1 x Shoulders to Overhead) (70Kg)
4 x Strict Pull Ups with a 9KG medicine ball between the legs
400M Run

Coach originally programmed the Bear Complex at 60Kg but one of the athletes decided to up the weight and challenged me to do it with him. Obviously challenge accepted. Completed in 20:43. Overall very happy with the workout, moved at a good pace and didn't rush any of the complexes. Weighted pull ups were fun and felt relatively good when done in singles.

 

[Jester*]

Again another early one.

Pause Front Squat

10 x 3 @ 70% Every 2:00 (85Kg)
3 Second pause at the bottom of each rep.

A good 10 sets, the last 2 were a definite stretch. Right hip flexor was much tighter than than the left to start with.

10:00 EMOM (Every minute on the minute)

3 x Power Snatch + 1 x Overhead Squat (55Kg)

Kept moving and hit every rep. Was burning in the last few minutes.

WOD: 4RFT 10:00 Cap

5 x Strict HSPU
10 x TTB
15 x Hollow Rocks

Completed 2 rounds and 3 reps. Strict movement was the killer, shoulders gave up in that third round.

 

[Jester*]

Yesterday's session was a team workout in 2's.

50 Min clock.

0 - 20:00

200 x Wall balls
100 x Hand release push ups.
50 x Power Cleans (70Kg)
25 x Hand stand press ups

5:00 Rest

25:00 - 35:00

100 x Burpee box jumps

35:00 - 50:00

800m run x 2
400m run x2

A fun one on quite a hot day. Felt good considering I came off night shift earlier that day. Runs were much stronger than usual which felt encouraging!

 

[Jester*]

Today was a hot one with a side helping of shoulder burn.

Push jerk 4 x 8 @ 70% lifting every 2:30

Completed all reps at 70Kg. Felt strong and could have gone a tad heavier.

Strict press 5 x 3 @ 80/90% lifting every 2:00

Started at 50Kg for 2, then 52.5Kg for 2 and last set 55Kg. Felt strong, shoulders started burning in the last 2 sets.

WOD 20:00 Cap. AMRAP

20 x Overhead lunges (20Kg Plate)
13 x Kettle bell swings (32Kg)
7 x Burpee pull ups.

Managed 5 Rounds and 35 reps. Hot and hard to keep going but overall happy. Shoulders were struggling on the swings.

 

[Jester*]

Today has been a rest day. Yesterday's workout was as follows.

Deadlift + Hang Power Clean
4 x 10 @ 60%/70% of 1RM power clean.

Completed all reps at 60Kg. Reps had to be unbroken and touch + go. Hell of a war on the grip. Couldn't have gone heavier without breaking reps.

14:00 Min OMEM

O - 4 x Thruster 70Kg
E - 10 x Wall balls + 5 Box jumps (30")

Horrible, horrible workout. Thrusters were insanely taxing, managed to do 3 complete sets before I had to drop the reps to 2/3. Wall balls and box jumps I just ground through.

3 x 8 Barbell rollout.

A great ab workout to finish. Did some muscle ups after , technique is becoming smoother and I'm happy with the progression.

 

[Jester*]

Sunday barbell club.

Snatch Complex

Power Snatch - OHS - Snatch
3 - 5 - 1

Started at 50Kg and worked up to 60Kg. Hard lift the final snatch when it has to be touch and go but happy with the lift.

Clean and Jerk

Descending ladder, lifting every 2:30.
5 x @ 70% (72.5Kg)
4 x @ 75% (77.5Kg)
3 x @ 80% (82.5Kg)
2 x @ 85% (87.5Kg)
1 x @ 90% (92.5Kg)

Lifted well, cleanest was the final lift, got a good drop under the bar and felt good.

 

[Jester*]

So we started the 6 monthly benchmark workouts today.

10:00 min cap

100 x Double Unders
150 x Situps

Previously my time was 9:38. This time I smashed it and posted 7:17. Very happy with that, but focusing on improving my DU's could have been smoother. Something to work on.

4 x 8 front rack lunges (4 each leg)

Completed all reps at 70Kg. Which was an increase of 10 - 15Kg. Again happy with the improvements.

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

Previous max reps 71, finished today with 101. Overall extremely happy and made great gains in 6 months, ready for more workouts to test myself in the coming days.

 

[Jester*]

Another benchmark day.

5 x 5 Touch and go power cleans. Lifting every 2:00

2 sets at 85Kg then 3 at 87.5Kg. Old best was 80Kg so good gains and the reps were smooth.

4 x 12 Bench press. Lifting every 2:30

3 sets completed @60Kg. Last set got to 9 reps before failure. A set and some improvement at the same weight.

9:00 Min AMRAP

2 x Squat Cleans (80Kg)
4 x Handstand press ups (hands on 20kg plates)
8 x Pullups

Old best was 4 rounds on the nose. This time hit 6 rounds and 2 reps. Hard work is paying off and is feeling good.

 

[Jester*]

Team work out today! Always a good laugh to train in tandom.

12:00 Min EMOM

1 - 40 Sec OH Kettlebell hold (24Kg each hand)
2 - 40 Sec Dead hang from the rig
3 - 50 Double Unders

A lovely opener, the kettlebell holds were programmed at 32Kg. Just couldn't do it with one in each hand. Felt really wobbly with the hold on the last round and put them down at 25 secs. But the dead hang was good, grip really started to burn on the last set but completed all 40 seconds. Double unders were completed each round.

Team Workout 30:00 Min Cap - 2 Rounds

30 x Toes to bar
400M Partner Carry (Piggy back/firemans carry)
30 x Handstand Press ups (on 20Kg plates)
400M Partner Carry
30 x Burpees

This was actually quite horrible, the heat was one of the main killers and I genuinely thought I was going to redline after the first 2 partner carries. But we kept going and managed to finish in 29:06. Shoulders were still in a bad way after the previous days handstand press ups but overall a proper killer workout.

 

[Jester*]

Todays workout did not go badly but definitely didn't feel as prepared for it as usual. Had a late night at the o2 arena and then up early looking at wedding venues, meant I really hadn't drunk enough water before heading in. Dehydrated didn't feel good.

Benchmark Workout:

50 Wall Ball Cash In
AMRAP
12 x Deadlift (85Kg)
12 x Over bar Burpees.
5 min rest

35 Wall Ball Cash In
AMRAP
9 x Deadlift (100Kg)
9 x Over bar Burpees
5 mins rest

20 Wall Ball Cash In
AMRAP
6 x Deadlift (125Kg)
6 x Over bar Burpees

Completed 2rds + 2 on the first set, 2 rds + 2 on the second set and 2rds +5 on the last set. Made big improvements in the first and second sets from 6 months ago (previously 1 + 8 and 1 + 9) But equaled the work on the last set. Definitely was feeling the dehydration on the last round, plus heavier deadlifts are a bit of a weakness for me. But the positives were the wall balls were so much better, faster and smooth, less rest when breaking up the reps.

Finished on

4 x 12 Push Press
Lifting every 2:00 Min

Completed first 3 sets at 50Kg and the last at 55Kg. Which was what I did it at last time.

Overall I am happy with the progress made. I equaled or improved in every area while not feeling 100% in the game. Will not be able to make any of the sessions this weekend due to sleeping after nights. So preparing some home workouts to do Sat/Sun afternoons to keep me ticking over.

 

[Jester*]

Short and sweet today.

4 rounds for time. Wearing 10Kg vest.
500m Run
30 x Air Squats
20 x Press ups

Completed in 21:25 and felt good. Something to keep me going and keep the body moving.

The plan is to do some stretching later and work on my quads with rollers.

 

[Jester*]

Back to it today!
18min Cap
21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9
Thrusters (42.5Kg)

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

Completed in 17:43 was a tough workout. DU'S were good, doing sets of 15/20 but still need improving.

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.

10:00 OMEM

Odd - 30 sec plank hold.
Even - 30 sec nose to wall hold

Shoulders were absolutely goosed by the time it came to the last OMEM. A real test. But happy with my performance. Booked an hours session with the sports therapist for Wednesday, want to get my shoulders and back worked on.

 

[Jester*]

Today's benchmark was tasty.

4 x 6 Overhead Squat @ 75%.
Completed all sets at 70Kg. Felt strong but my left side felt oddly wobbly. Physio tomorrow should hopefully sort it out.

Reverse 'Angie' 30:00 Cap
100 x Air Squats
100 x Situps
100 x Press ups
100 x Pullups

Completed in 23:16 , ground through the Squats, situps started getting tasty at 80 reps. Press ups were done in 5's and stayed consistent, same with the Pullups. Happy with the time I posted and looking forward to repeating in 6 months.