Jake L. qualified for the American Open with his 343# Clean and Jerk on Sunday
Post-Meet Thoughts
Jake trained for a year in order to put together a total that would qualify him for a national event. He even lost 18 pounds over the last few weeks to make the 94kg weight class, and employed some interesting sweating/spitting exercises to drop a few fractions of a kilo on Sunday. He’s been a beloved presence kicking ass over on the platform, and he says the meet was an amazing experience. “Working so hard and so long for something and finally achieving success is really a phenomenal feeling,” he reports. He says he could write a short novella about this meet—and he kind of does below, check it out in the comments! Great work, Jake!!
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CFSBK Endurance Program
Recently, you’ve probably been hearing many a wonder story from our runners at CFSBK as Coach Michael O.’s Endurance Program wraps up its first cycle—people earning PRs at the Brooklyn Half and various 5Ks, etc. etc. In case you’ve been wanting to hear more, the wait is over and all the info is now live on the blog. We’ve included the overview of the second iteration of CFSBK’s Endurance Program below, along with info about a new program we’re introducing called Speed Series. For the full monty of deets plus Michael O.’s bio, head over to the event page. Both programs begin JUNE 1, so sign up ASAP!
Objective:
This will be a 12-week program that meets biweekly that is based on integrating a level of endurance running training for CrossFit athletes. We will incorporate a mixture of different styles of coaching running, including technique, power skills, pace training, and interval training. This is not your basic group run. We incorporate blended drills from CrossFit Endurance along with some actual specific track and field training sessions. Each athlete will have a chance to work hard and learn, so all levels are encouraged to attend.
Where and When?:
Tuesdays at 6am and Thursdays at 7pm will be located in Prospect Park.
Sundays at 9am will be at the Red Hook track.
Athletes can select any two of the three classes offered for this membership.
Target Event:
The program will target the Timberman Sprint or 70.3 Triathlon on August 16th and 17th or the Battle of Brooklyn 10-mile Run or Team Relay on August 18th.
Schedule and Pricing:
$225 full-access to the 12-week program (including twice weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance).
Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014.
Endurance Running Program-Full Membership ($225.00)
2 classes per week
Register Here!
CFSBK Speed Series!
Objective:
This will be an 8-week program that meets weekly, focused on the basic skills and power needed to develop your running stride. We will focus solely on short distance track running, high-powered intervals, and the primary anaerobic and glycolytic energy systems. This will be a great program for increasing general power output and cardiovascular efficiency for running and CrossFit goals.
Where and When Will We Train?:
Sundays at 10am at the Red Hook track.
Target Event:
This program will target NYRR Tuesday Night Speed Series at Icahn Stadium.
Schedule and Pricing:
$125 full-access to the 8-week program (including weekly coached group sessions, benchmarking, training data, and full plan support and guidance).
Due to the progressive nature of the program, athletes will not be permitted to join after June 15th, 2014.
Speed Series Running Program-Membership ($125.00)
1 class per week
Register Here!
Please email Michael at michael.olzinski [at] gmail.com with any additional questions.
News and Notes
- ICYMI, Breaking Muscle published an article by Coach David yesterday called “How to Prevent CrossFit Injuries: A Guide for Coaches and Athletes.” Check it out and should you feel so inclined, share it with your CrossFit friends!
- Stella Z.’s choir, the Oratorio Society of New York, is performing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion tonight (5/20), 8 PM, at Carnegie Hall. You can get tickets here or show up in person at the Carnegie box office (57th Street and 7th Avenue).
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Start of Days: Cortisol and Stress Catalyst Athletics
Remembering, as an Extreme Sport New York Times
Slightly More Than 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism The Atlantic
Red Wine Health Benefits ‘Overhyped’ BBC
Wednesday's Programming
Fitness: Snatch Halting Deadlift + Snatch
If you have a hard time organizing the pull off the floor, perform snatch from the mid-hang.
Performance: 1-1-1, then (1+1) x 2 at 80%
After working up to a heavy single in 3 attempts, perform 2 reps at 80%.
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Back Squat
Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Add 5 pounds to last week.
Performance: 85% x 4 x 4, then 87.5% x 4 x 4
Rest about two minutes between sets. Use the lifting time wisely and get to work weight within 2-4 warm ups so you can get all your work sets in.
Meet Report
I can write a short novella about this meet (I am a better reader than I am writer, so I wont.) From the year of dedicated training that led up to finally putting together a total that qualified me for a national event, the 18 lbs i had to lose in order to compete as a 94, and finally to the 2 minutes before weigh in when I had 3 pieces of gum in my mouth so as to maximize the volume I was able to spit into a cup to shed that teensy bit more weight.
I set my first attempt such that If I hit my opener and nothing else I would still be in a position to qualify for American Open. I truly did not think this would happen, and planned on hitting 266, 277, and then finally 286. it so happens that this is exactly what wound up happening. I nervously walked up to my opening snatch at 121 kg and hit it. GREAT…that's exactly what you need in order to set the tone for a good day. Second snatch was put to 277, a weight that is by no means a gimme, but something that I felt very comfortable hitting. Missed behind! Shit…ok, but no big deal, ill hit it on the 3rd attempt. Not to be…missed it out in front. The snatches just didn't feel as explosive as I had hoped. I think the weight cutting up to the last second, which included a 20 minute walk around the parking lot with my hoodie and pants on, in the sun, might have taken away that little bit of extra pop. No big deal though. Time to change the game plane, and crush my Clean and Jerks.
I now knew that I would have to hit 156kg (343#) on my second attempt in the clean and jerk in order to qualify with a 277kg total. My warm-ups felt pretty good so I was amped to go.
Opened with 330. GREAT lift, it felt lighter than any of my warm ups. Time to work the clock and wait for the opening attempt of the one other lifter who was still going. I sat down in a chair and said out loud to myself, "There is NO WAY you're not hitting this next lift…NO way…no way" I knew this was it. This was the last meet I was going to have a shot at qualifying in. Residency starts July 1st…Im not going to have time to train like I have, what If i miss this lift?? Ill feel like I let myself down, the coaches and friends at SBK who are all pulling for me…NEED TO MAKE IT.
Stepped up to the platform and pulled that bar like i was tearing the head of a damn lion!!! Clean felt great, stoop up nice and easily. The jerk felt good however I felt a tiny wobble in my right arm. I looked back to see what the judges thought….YESSSS, 3 whites!!! FINALLY FUCKING DID IT….felt amazing. (Upon slo-mo video analysis I concur with the judges…NO press out!)
3rd attempt I put the bar up to 162kg (356#). This would qualify for both the American Open and the US Nationals. Stepped up to the bar, pulled it but it felt so damn heavy I didn't get under it. Oh well 🙂 The American Open is Dec 12th-15th in DC. I am hoping my work schedule allows me to compete.
All in all, this day was amazing. Working so hard and so long for something and finally achieving success is really a phenomenal feeling. Huge thanks to Todd who is always there to pump me up and yell at me right before I lift. Great job to KMo for sacking up and coming out for her first meet (and staging an amazing comeback after missing her opening lift…NOT an easy thing to do). Thanks to all the coaches and the the captain DO for putting up with me hogging the first platform. I hope to be back on it soon, after some recovery time…training for the American Open!
Psst…despite what the blog says, my concert is tonight, not tomorrow night! Please come!
great article DO!
Jake – huge congratulations, and thank you for sharing your meet report – it is really inspiring, and the clip of the C&J.
Congrats Jake! Good luck at the American Open. Really enjoyed reading about your experience at the meet.
What an amazing lift! Congrats Jake, and you will do great at the Open.
Congratulations Jake!!
Thanks Kate for fixing the concert date!
Snatch: 88, then 73x1x2. This went better than I thought it would, although I'm still not waiting long enough before I start the second pull.
HBBSQ 170x4x4, 175x4x4. I got called out by the squat police for not hitting depth every time. 🙁
Accessory work with 16kg KB. Not easy!
Time to switch gears to the 18th century. It's going to be a great concert — yesterday afternoon we had dress rehearsal and I got chills singing the first chorus. Please come!
Michael – The endurance program sounds great and having the sprint tri as a goal would be fun (despite it requiring running in NYC in the summer heat). As part of the endurance program would there be any sessions for swimming or is it focused on bike/run only? Also, would you recommend that during the 12 week program we'd continue with classes in addition to endurance training?
recap from saturdays brooklyn half marathon
1:59 – PR by 12minutes
I have Michael O's endurace program to thank for that. An amazing coach and program!
Looking forward to continuing with this program to crush my marathon time in the fall.
Please let it be known that Jake should be referred to by his nickname "The Gathering Storm" in order to maximize hype and hilarity going into the Open.
Make Up from yesterday:
Bench: 235x4x4, 240x4x2, after the 3rd rep of the 3rd set (aka rep 27) I knew it was curtains and racked it. Plus me and Big Mike C. were about 10 minutes over our allotted time. (Thanks to the ever patient Fox and Ro for that!)
4 Rds flat in the DL/WB WOD, Rx. Wallballs are now my jam, thanks HBBSQ! DLs are still the worst- they felt light and snappy, but Fox confirmed they were less than perfectly braced, and now my hips and lower back feel octogenarian today. I keep telling myself to skip high rep DL WODs and then I always don't. Le Stupide.
FYI – Jake is also known as 'Rolling Thunder'!!!
Congrats to @JakeL, truly impressive performance there, that is really amazing to see.
Also congrats @aileen for a kick ass job all winter and her dedication, sub-2 was well-deserved.
@jude, thanks for the comments. Short version is no real structured swims at this point due to pools, but hoping to utilize and help people out with Red Hook pool and general recs to get trained. Also, for such reasons and the program only really works if you continue CF sessions. Our goal is to be efficient, thus the best way to maintain and progress endurance is by keeping strength, power, and mobility. Not to mention the benefits of CF WODs and lifts on swimming strength, its un-paralleled.
10am – yesterdays work + BK Half recap
Bench Press – 3×5. I have every so slowly moved up to 90lbs this cycle- I started at 80, then did 85, then 88, then 90 – fail, back to 88 – success, back up to 90 today. The first 2 sets went well, 3rd set failed on the last rep but I think that was half mental.
WOD- I scaled this one to 10lb WB and 125 DL because my knee has been sore since the BK half so I was afraid of the WB. Well, I now realize why I used to like wall balls when I started CF – 10 is a nice weight to do them at!!
5 rounds + 1 WB.
WB – 20/15-5/10-10/10-10/10-10
DL – 10/10/10/5-5/10
BK Half Recap
Finished in 1:53 which despite not being a PR was happy with. I did not train properly, I've just been doing group CF classes. So I think I'd have enjoyed the race more had I done more training, but thanks to CF training was still able to go out and put up a decent time! My legs hurt for 2 full days but feeling better today. I am done with long distance races. I used to do a lot of them before kids, and this was my first one in 8 years. I think I'll stick to 10k races from here on out!
Congrats to all the runners and Michael O's time was amazing!!
10am – yesterdays work + BK Half recap
Bench Press – 3×5. I have every so slowly moved up to 90lbs this cycle- I started at 80, then did 85, then 88, then 90 – fail, back to 88 – success, back up to 90 today. The first 2 sets went well, 3rd set failed on the last rep but I think that was half mental.
WOD- I scaled this one to 10lb WB and 125 DL because my knee has been sore since the BK half so I was afraid of the WB. Well, I now realize why I used to like wall balls when I started CF – 10 is a nice weight to do them at!!
5 rounds + 1 WB.
WB – 20/15-5/10-10/10-10/10-10
DL – 10/10/10/5-5/10
BK Half Recap
Finished in 1:53 which despite not being a PR was happy with. I did not train properly, I've just been doing group CF classes. So I think I'd have enjoyed the race more had I done more training, but thanks to CF training was still able to go out and put up a decent time! My legs hurt for 2 full days but feeling better today. I am done with long distance races. I used to do a lot of them before kids, and this was my first one in 8 years. I think I'll stick to 10k races from here on out!
Congrats to all the runners and Michael O's time was amazing!!
Congrats Jake, Todd, and KMo for your hard work and results at the meet!! Also… congrats to everyone who ran the BK Half! Would've loved to celebrate you all at the beer garden that is so conveniently close to my apt, but I was in Chicago enjoying some family time. This included doing handstands in the park with my two-year-old niece. (She saw me do one and immediately tried. It was so cute my heart almost exploded.)
12pm class:
Bench: 45×5, 75×5, 100×3
110x5x3!!
I wasn't sure if these would all go up today, as I've been adding 5# every single week. This is 15# of my previous 1RM, so that feels pretty cool. Will be interested to test that again.
WOD: 4 rounds + 1 WB RX'ed
oh, the discomfort! My heart was going a mile a minute for most of this WOD. As Fox pointed out, I keep trying to lowbarbacksquat my wall balls, and it's not working out well for me. I think this comes from losing tension at the bottom of every squat for most of my initial crossfitting, but now I'm over-compensating and missing the bounce. need some more practice I guess. I need to suck it up and HBBS next cycle.
WB: 20-20-11/9-10/10-1
DL: 10-10-6/4-6/4
Also… I went for a 14 mile bike ride with my Dad on sunday. It was lovely, but he totally smoked me! He asked if I was nervous to stay too close to behind him, and I said "No, I just can't keep up with you!" Pretty awesome.
(*15# OFF my previous 1RM)
boo… typos.
Awesome job half-marathoners, and psyched to see JakeL finally qualify with some great lifting. Lets also not forget his summer nickname, "Dmitry Shirtsoff."
10AM with Jess
Snatch
40×3 50×2 60×1 65×1 70×1 75×1 80×1 84xM,M 70xM,1,1
82 went up so easily at the meet that I thought 84 would happen today. Not so without meet adrenaline (and a shot of C4) to pump me up. At least I pulled the second one pretty high. Should happen in the next month.
Squat
154×5 220×4 272×4,4,4,2(F) drop-sets 220×4,4,8 unbelted
Jumping right into this volume after the low volume tail-end of that Russian cycle and a couple weeks of tapering was maybe not the best idea. Failed on rep 3 of the 4th set at 85% so I just did 4×4 drop sets at 70%. Didn't want to get under the bar a 4th time so did the last two sets at once. 😛
Cash out with 20kg KB:
3 rounds 30 h2h swings and 1:00 plank hold
Planks are feeling surprisingly easy these days after all the unbelted squatting and weighted plank holds I did last cycle.
6am class today
Exertion headache from overhead squats two weeks ago is still with me, but I kept my neck relaxed and long, and didn't have a flare-up during class today, which was my first goal.
Bench Press: 195 x 5, 190 x 4+F, 185 x 5
Kind of a sad, descending bench press ladder. After struggling to get 5 reps at 195 I knew I wouldn't get a second set at that weight, so I dropped down. Turned out I didn't get a second set at the lower weight either! So, dropped again, and got it without too much trouble. I hit 190 x 5 x 3 last week, though, which was a PR, so I'm still happy with this cycle.
Yesterday's WOD rx'ed: 3 rounds plus 8 wallballs
Could have pushed myself harder on the wallballs.
Anyone interested in buying my meat share for this next pickup (June 4)? It's the 20 lb. share for $160. I'd also be into alternating pick-ups if you wanted to keep it up. Hit me up! Lvs3h(at)virginia.edu.
6am with Jess and McD.
Snatch was off again. Worked at 105. McDowell gave some good tips to not lead with my hips and make sure to keep the bar close to my body. I could feel an improvement when I focused on those points, but I'm still lacking overhead confidence. The bar comes up no problem but dropping into the full snatch always makes me doubt my overhead strength. I'll continue to work at a lower weight until I get this down. I think I'll be working on this movement for quite a while.
LBBSQ – 245x5x3. This was heavy but felt good.
cash out – chose the 28kg KB for the H2H swings which ended up being really tough but a good challenge. Glad I pushed myself on that weight.
As always, looking forward to a Wed off after 3 days on!
Jake that is so exciting. Thanks for your write up. It's interesting to hear how it happened and shows you never know how a meet will go. But you made it happen. Well-deserved!
And I'm going to think about tearing the head off a lion every time, so thank you.
Lots of interesting stuff on the blog today. I appreciate reading about all the endurance work people have been doing. I think it has subconsciously gotten me to run a few extra laps here and there and maybe even run a little faster. It's so cool that we have so many options and directions to take our fundamental cf training. So thanks mgmt.
Unfortunately my workout tonight can only be described as lousy. Bench press felt too rushed and failed the last rep which I should not have. Setting up for AMRAP was also too rushed and halfway into it I had what can only be described as a performance-hindering out-of-body experience.