Fitness: 5×5 Assisted Chin-ups
Performance: 1RM weighted Chin-Up
Post loads to comments.
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For Time:
Row 1500m
then, 21-15-9 Reps of:
Dumbbell Push Presses @45% bw
Box Jumps 24/20″
Post time and Rx to comments.
The one and only JMD
Heavy, A Response
By Margie Lempert
“How did your squats go?” I ask.
“Heavy. More weight than last time. But heavy,” you say with a mixture of disappointment, exhaustion, and maybe even a hint of disbelief.
As if you wish, you think, you expect that your increase in weight will feel lighter by virtue of the fact that you got a little stronger. And that’s your goal: to be strong enough that heavy weight feels light.
Well, I think you’ve got your goal backwards.
Weight should be heavy. You should be required to push. Getting strong is hard work, as Mark Rippetoe often says. It is a commitment; not something you suddenly arrive at, but rather a slow, deliberate journey that becomes more challenging over time.
Stress adaptation – a fundamental principle of physiology. When you tax your body it rises to the challenge by growing stronger. Your bones get denser, your muscle fibers increase their contractile potential, and your ability to recruit those muscle fibers becomes more efficient. Increase weight, increase capacity; increase capacity, increase weight. It is a harmonious vertical see-saw.
Once you gain enough technical proficiency to use loads that stimulate growth, you are at the glorious beginning of not just building tolerance for, but ushering in struggle. Struggle signifies progress. “Feeling good under the bar” means you gave it a fight, and are rewarded with the tired satisfaction of getting your reps done. It does not mean an effortless set of 5 where you barely breathed hard and didn’t ever once ask: “Is this rep gonna happen?”
Sure today’s weight will feel light one day: when it’s your warm up on the way to lifting something heavier. Relish heavy weight, it never gets easier. And you shouldn’t want it to.
Speaking of heavy.. the TTD Powerlifting Meet is happening this Sunday at 2:30pm. This event is open and free to all. Come on down if you want to see some of CFSBK’s TFBAs attempt to PR their Back Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift at our in-house meet.
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The Life-Cycle of a CrossFitter, Part 2 – Moving Into Real Fitness Breaking Muscle
Your Chance, Your Choice Your Open CrossFit
How Evolution Works Kurzgesagt
I'm looking to move and was wondering if there were any other CFSBKer's (or people you know) who were looking for a roomie! I'd love to find an apartment with someone who also wants to live in walking distance of the gym : ) Let me know if you or anyone you know is thinking about moving soon and would be interested! I would so much rather find someone from here than a rando from craigslist…
Always awesome to see something from Margie on the blog – nice two wake up and see her and the rad John this morning. Also congratulations to 6am Peter for AOTM, much deserved. He's a great guy.
Fort Reno has closed, tacos are coming in – same owner just rebranding. Looking forward to an upped taco game so close to CFSBK
http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/home/bbq-is-dead-long-live-the-taco.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Make-up post from last night's 8:30 with MeLo.
Week made a world of difference in terms of the snatch. Everything felt snappy and on.
45, 75 (practice complex), 95, 115, 125, 135, 145, 150 (PR+8), 155F.
I committed to getting under 155 and had it for a second before losing it forward. 150 was my goal for the cycle.
275x1x3 for the HBBS. Would like to hit 300+ next week on the test. Subbed MU practice afterwards and hit my first 2 at SBK on the thicker gymnastics rings.
7 AM with DO and Lady Fox. 12:28 WOD with 25# DBs, kinda wish I had gone 30 which would have been just about Rx. Then again I was pretty damn smoked at the end.
Chins: best was +25, a PR for me! I'm pretty pleased with that, especially because I'm, uh, already doing weighted chins at BW. Maybe I should switch to Level 2 on the challenge 😛
back at 6am and back to (hopefully) posting regularly on the blog.
12:10 w/ 25#s. also should have gone with 30#s, but was happy to move through the PPs fairly quickly.
got up to using the 12.5# DB for my weighted chin, which actually surprised me. wasn't sure I was even going to get one unassisted!
6am with David and Jess. WOD in 10:36 w/ 45# DBs. Broke up the push-press 15/6, 15, 9. Should have done the first set unbroken. Was planning to do bounding box jumps, but gave up on that idea after the first jump. Legs were all sorts of wobbly after the row. Worked up to 100# on the weighted chin-ups. Failed at 105#. Pretty sure 100# is a PR.
I'm going to start using this comments area as my journal since I'm awesome at misplacing my real note book.
7am with Lady Fox and David.
12:41 for the WOD. 50 Lb dumbbells and 24 inch box. Did the first set of presses unbroken but had to break up the last 2 sets.
Did my pull up with 45lb.
Awesome advice, Margie! Love this. That evolution video is great too (comes with some brief teddy bear porn), as were the videos posted yesterday!
Makeup post from last night…
Snatch, got a good one at 68 but failed, sort of, at 73. LOVE my lifting shoes! Feel so much more stable.
LBBS, worked up to 170#, which I think I'll open at on Sunday. Mare and Teresa helped me avoid wussing out at 155#.
24kg kettlebell for the cashout.
And thank you Jess Bailey for holding my feet last night. My toes were numb and a sickly yellow/green color when I got to the gym last night. Yikes!
JMD!!!! His specialty is slow and controlled while exhibiting impressive amounts of strength, but he looks cool jumping rope too.
Jess, bar muscle up! That's a nice reward at the end of a workout.
Last night: 6:30 with McDowell and Arturo
Snatch- was not great. My shoulders felt sore. I pulled too early. I was letting it arc overhead and was catching on my toes. Stayed at 53# and never felt good. Which meant I went into HBBS thinking I was not having a good night. I just got back in the gym and should not be aiming for weight that I was doing before my month of sloth, but….
HBBS 95×5, 125×3, 135x3x5 Other than being so nervous that I was going to fail and have to reprimand myself, I felt really good throughout and am happy that I decided to add some more weight to the bar *when things seemed to be moving well.
Cash out with 20kg is sets of 4-5. This echoed my failures with the snatch, but here I felt like I was able to concentrate more on hip drive and got the bell to move better without feeling anything in my shoulders. Sit ups unbroken.
Apologies in advance, because I know we've already had this thread like a hundred times, but can someone remind me what the best R/T bath house is in Brooklyn? (Sandoony? Banya?)
10am class with Jess. Nice size class of about 12 people. 100lbs on the chin up which surprised myself but made me very excited to see my gains. 9:49 on the WOD with 35lbs and 24" box. I'm glad I've lost enough weight to only need to use 35lbs because I think if I went anywhere over 40 my time would have depreciated drastically. Was able to do them all unbroken but had to lay down for a second after to make sure my heart wasn't going to pop.
Great workout and love when you hear others cheering for each other. Kenny crushed the chin up with 142.5 lbs…. BEASTMODE!!!
6am with Jess & DO
WOD – looked at the wrong clock so my best estimation is around 14 minutes. 20#DB's/20" box. The row took more out of me than I expected.
Chin-ups – went down to the blue band. Exciting stuff!
7am with Lady Fox and DO,
1500m row, broke it down to 2:00-2:05/500m on first 1000m and upped it to about 1:55 on last 500m, given the energy I had left in me, I will push harder next time.
I absolutly hated the WOD that followed, my problematic left knee just got royally f@#%ed on the push presses, and the Box jumps, which i swapped with steps up/dn. Im still trying to figure out what the triggers are for my old injury, and I think it has to do with catching/pushing stuff from 1/4 squat. I will work on this, and I will conquer this.
Finished the WOD w/ 30# DB at 12:30, and the Row at 6:02 (im starting to fall in love with rowing)
7am with David and Jess.
Not sure if it's still standing but 10:26 at Rx this morning. I kept at 35 strokes for most of it but did not over extend back and kept the extension and arm pulls crisp. I hopped off just behind Brad who was first but managed to get on the presses and box before him. I broke up the presses but might have been able to be greedier and done them in two sets vs three sets, I went with 7s then 5s and did the last set unbroken. Bounding box jumps unbroken all three sets. At the end I thought Brad was ahead of me so I went unbroken for the last set. This was not the case.
The first few box jumps after the row and press felt rough but I pulled it together.
Hardest part was just getting oxygen into me I think.
30 pound weighted chin-up… I did too many at lesser weight plus the Wod sapped my strength. I think my PR is 35.
Making up last night:
Snatch: 95, 115, 135, 135, 155f,f,f. I have that 155. I'm pulling it fine. My pulls have felt great lately. I am getting intimidated by the weight for sure. I am trying to sneak under it and I shove my head down instead of punching straight up and looking forward. I will get this weight. It's kind of amazing how far my snatch has come in a year. With the open coming up I recall that I couldn't hit 135 last year. Now 135 is the weight that feels heaviest while feeling comfortable.
HBBS: 305x3x5. Heavy. Heavy heavy. Breathing heavily afterwards heavy. I've really enjoyed this LP on the HBBS. I still have room. 315 next week? I am not sure where this ends.
Nooner
Chins
25-45-70-90-100(F)
WOD – 40# and 24"
11:08? 11:18?
I hate, hate, hate, box jumps and always step them down. Today I made up my mind on the walk to the DBs that I would bound every rep. I did, except for 2 times when I lost balance. Will try to time my arms better in the future (as per Noah and DO's advice) and not rest so much. Nothing makes me want to rest more than box jumps…All push press unbroken.
6am with Jess and DO. 13:20ish on the WOD, with just over 6mins on the row. 25#dbs, 20" box. I found the 21 reps of the push presses to be especially difficult after the row. Started to settle in a bit more after that first round.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was close to a strict chin-up. 3×5 with a blue band and 2×5 with blue and red. I've found with upper body strength that the first couple of reps seem fine, but I start to fatigue quickly. Need to improve my strength endurance.
Had some WOD envy today because I love box jumps and push presses but I had planned to get the mandatory 3 x 2K workout in and I had kind of prepared myself mentally for that so I stuck to my plan.
It was awful and I could not keep a consistent pace. For the first one I managed to stay almost at my goal of 2.05/500m but it all went downhill after that… 1. 8.22.2, 2. 8.28.2, 3. 8.36.7. I think I am going to aim for 2.07/500M which was my average, if we do this again, which I am sure we will. Maybe I will be able to maintain that pace.
Kate R- 170# that's amazing! Can't wait to see you lift on Sunday! And all of the rest of you TFBAs too!!!
Press
115x5x3
Today's WOD at 35lbs Dumbbells
9:50
1500m Row: 6:04.6
All the DB Push Presses unbroken and the box jumps unbroken at a good clip.
Finished with Front Levers :05×10 and then some parallette handstand work
Lots and lots of AR throughout the day too.
Ruth, my boyfriend is looking to move close to the gym (and then join), if you email me at mirandabogen AT gmail I can connect you!
Also- I was cat-sitting for a few days this week and thought everything was going great. Last night when I went into my AR room to mobilize the mat felt wet… When I picked up the mat it turned out the cat had been using my square 36 mat as a urinal and there was a healthy coat of piss under the entire thing. AR-FAIL. had to throw out the mat, clean the wood. BLARGH.
David: I have an almost new square 36 mat that I've used maybe 4 times since I bought it. My wife would probably be pretty happy if I got rid of it. Let me know if you're interested.
With my recently upped Deer Antler Game, I set out out to Crush a PR today…
Snatch
220
242
253
264
286 PR
264
242x2x2
Clean and Jerk
308x1x5. Missed the jerk on the 4th.
Clean Pulls
352x3x3
Back Squat
363x3x3
5:30pm group class:
Weighted Chins:
-worked up to 25# which is definitely a PR for me. I think the most I've ever done is ~10# before. It's nice to be a little lighter and a little stronger. 🙂
WOD in 11:31
-used 35# db's which is slightly heavier than rx'd and holy hell did this hurt so much more than I thought it would.
-came off the row at 6:17 and that first round of push press was Heavy! Only did the last round of 9 unbroken but I really didn't want to. Box jumps were at a steady pace and all bounding.
-please let me know if you guys find one of my lungs laying around.
After class, dips (on the matador) because MeLo was doing the them:
3×5 strict, tried to keep a hollow body position throughout.
Also, earlier today I got about 20 mins of A/R in and my Wendler Presses with a rep out of 8 at 75#. Great training day!
Thanks for the love on the Bar muscle up! I hope that wasn't just a fluke…though I did have witnesses.
And nice PR Jake! Does Deer Antler work for girls, caused I'd love to PR my snatch next week. 😉
@Lady Fox
Deer Antler DOES NOT discriminate!
4:30 with Josh. Did 32.5 weighted chin-up which was a PR for me – although I've never tried a weighted chinup before today.
Am very disappointed with myself on the WOD because I wasnt paying close enough attention and thought it was thrusters and box jumps. I went with 25# but after doing 21 unbroken I felt lazy for not changing them when I realized my mistake but you know what the worst part about it is… i never learned to read. Finished in 11 mins (6:30 on the row)
Go Tough Tits!!
5×5 chin-ups (well, kind of)
First two rounds were strict without assistance (!!). Needed some assistance in rounds 3 and 4, especially 4. Last round I only got two unassisted in and then died. Plus we were running out of time. I made up the other three after class, also unassisted. Couldn't believe how fast these crapped out. But happy to get in the volume.
WOD with 17.5# DB and 20'' box: 13:22
Could not find it within me to push, even slightly, on the row. The rest of the WOD was fine. Thought I might have gone a little light on the DB. Then I saw how fast J Bails and Bekka were moving and quickly recognized that I choose wisely.
Then, a bunch of accessory work. I'll just note two things:
(1) I did 60 push-ups NFT while I prepared dinner and got ready for tomorrow. All in sets of 3, except one set of 4 and one set of 5. These are getting so much easier and are now fun. I focused on initiating from the elbows and keeping elbows in and belly tight throughout.
(2) I also worked on some hollow holds in short sets (:15 hold). Something clicked and I finally got the sensation of keeping EVERYTHING tight, not just my belly. They're so much easier when you do that!! Can't believe it's taken me this long, but I'm happy I know now 🙂
Smaller than usual and super fun 8:30 with MeLo.
Story time during WU (thanks, KMo) then worked with DFung on chins. +55, with +65 within reach. This surprised me a bit; chins/pull-ups are on my needs improvement list.
WOD in 10:24. Off the rower in 5:30 and tried to move right through to trick my legs into not getting too heavy. 45# DBs, broken into 13-8, 9-6, 9. Attempting to better endure (and embrace) the suck of WODs like this. Worked today.
@ Matt C
I'll totes buy it off you! Lemme know. David (AT) CrossFitsouth..
@KMo, love your notes on accessory work!!
Fun yoga class upstairs tonight, followed by a little mash-up during 7:30pm group class.
DROMS
WU: 3 rounds of…
-10 ring rows
-20 hollow rocks
-5 push-ups
DL: worked up to heavy triple in prep for Sunday
95×5, 135×3, 165×2, 185×1, 195×3
-I opened at 200# during last TTD, but wasn't sure that I could pull that in good form for 3 tonight. Had MeLo and Janelle's eyes on my set and they said it looked good, with just a touch of softness in the back during the third pull. I'm going to see how I feel on Sunday.
Will be having a nice couple days of rest, mobility, and yoga!
Did 6am with the rest of the awesome early morning warriors
HIt 11:20 on the WOD w/50# DB's
Rowing is my eternal weakness and I used this distance as a chance to focus on my form over a longer period time. I did the entire thing with a 1:58 pace, down from 2:10 last time I did 1000k+. I want to get closer 1:45 and will keep working on it. I also step down on the box jumps as I am not a big fan of rebounding (protecting my achilles).
Did 85# on the chin-ups
These felt good, I have actually never done weighted chin-ups before as we only did weighted pull-ups at my old box. This was a nice change and I liked 'em. Still rehab'ing this left shoulder/bicep issue and had some pain when this got heavy.