Back Squat / Deadlift
Back Squat
1-1-1
Warm up and take 3 attempts at a new 1RM Back Squat. If you’re newer, then perform heavy triples instead.
Deadlift
1-1-1
Warm up and take 3 attempts at a new 1RM Deadlift. If you’re newer, then perform heavy triples instead.
Post loads to comments.
__________________
For Time:
300m Row
21 Burpees
200m Row
15 Burpees
100m Row
9 Burpees
Go hard on this couplet. Don’t sandbag the rows.
Post time and Rx to comments.
Faces of “Murph” II
Zen and the Art of Crush Week
By David Osorio
Originally posted on 11.16.2011
In traditional meditative disciplines, you aim to cultivate mindfulness in a physically neutral setting. Often the practitioner sits in a comfortable position and tries to bring attention toward their breathing. In yoga, we see a more dynamic approach where rhythmic breathing becomes interwoven with a controlled flow through a series of postures. In both of these instances, the intention is for the pilot to become more tuned in to the “now.”
In CrossFit, we achieve something very similar through a very different approach. During an intimidating lift or difficult conditioning piece, you’re forced to deal with the moment at hand. The high discomfort level of what we do takes that moment and amplifies the physical inputs to the point where you can’t help but focus on what’s happening. You know this intuitively and it’s why you get nervous before a 500m erg test or 3 Rep Max back squat attempt. You know that once you start, you’ll be forced to deal with the “now” until it’s all over. Every second gets dragged out and every moment to rest or doubt yourself becomes amplified against what needs to get done.
Take this opportunity to set your intention for the approaching workouts. Whenever you find yourself deep in the agonizing “now” embrace it and stay on task. Don’t look around the room to see where everyone else is, don’t check the clock to see how much time has gone by, and don’t make excuses to try and avoid what you’re feeling. Just keep fighting the barbell up or chipping away at reps until you’ve completed the task. If you lose focus and get derailed, don’t let it mess with your head, just come back pushing harder. Remember, you’re here to get stronger, both physically AND mentally.
_____________________
Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Rest Day
The Kalsu WOD: The Origins of “The Hardest Workout Ever” Fitness HQ
The Any-Protein-Goes Guide to Summer Grilling Outside
@Josh got me reminiscing about the old pre-interweb, "call now to get your free PTSD therapy coupon" Faces of Death video compilations. I have actually never seen any of them (thanks Mom!) or Jaws or the Exorcist for that matter (thanks again Mom!!!!). Well I make my own damn decisions now. Niko and I watching all of them while Adele is away this week alright!
Just gave MGMT several movie night suggestions right there! HEH!
6am with NickD
I didn't wake up this morning feeling like it would be a strong PR day but I came in and gave it my best shot. PR-ed Back Squat at 305# and then failed my two deadlift PR attempts at 385#. It came a few inches off the floor so I don't think I am too far away. Just not my day.
Fun little burner WOD in 5:04.
BK pushed me into a 9 rep burpee race with Kayleigh. We tied.
Which is really all you can ask for in a race with Kayleigh.
AG last night
Max PU x 2 : 13 / 11
Ro said to leave a couple reps in the tank so I could have had 15 maybe 16 on the first set. This was the highlight of the pull up fun for me. I am lost with how to do Butterfly. It just felt so awkward and unnatural. First time I've gotten legit angry over a movement in a while.
WOD : Don't remember my time. I do remember rowing next to Charlie. She wasn't feeling the 7 cals for the ladies so she scaled up to 10 and we had some friendly competition. She got me on one or two by a stroke (maybe). Good stuff all told.
7:30 p.m. last night w/Katie doing Monday's work: let's pretend that didn't happen! 11-something, subbing in power cleans @ 115# and push-ups. My hips were furious with me and did not want to come up from the full squat clean. Valuable lesson: do not go into crush week after staying up all night the previous night editing your new podcast.
7 a.m. this morning w/Nick & McDowell, because I went to bed super-early last night:
BSQ: 245/265Fx2. 275 is my 1RM, but even tightening everything up I found myself unable to push my hips through at the heavier weights today. Physical limitations like that are incredibly frustrating, but frankly I've been working 7 days a week the last few weeks and think I just need a break to get my mental game back in order.
DL: 275/315/335 (PR!). 10# PR here, with better form than when I was 35 pounds heavier and hit 325# at the total last August (though there was still plenty thoracic rounding to fight through today).
Metcon: 6:23. Short rows, long burpees, story of my life.
Shameless self-promotion: Episode 2 of my new podcast about politics is up, featuring (a) a better microphone (b) some pretty interesting topics and (c) a shout-out to Brendan B. for being one of our first followers (thanks, Brendan!).
5:30 class yesterday doing today's work
Prior to class I did:
Schlitz:
4 rounds
400 meter run
4 MU
40 DUs
17:04
I switched the MUs and the DUs but o well.
Back Squat
285
305
320 – 5# PR!
I haven't PR'ed my back squat in what feels like forever. I think I just need to squat heavy more. I've been hovering around the higher volume 225# range
Deadlift
365
385
400
My 1 RM is 405, my back was a little rounded on the 400 and it went slow but it was pretty good for not deadlifting much this cycle
WOD in 4:59
These were the fastest set of 9 burpees I HAVE EVER DONE!
Jay: DYING!
7 AM with NickDowell
I went for heavy 3s on squat since I have been HBBSQing instead of FSQing this cycle and I'll test 1RM on Saturday. Got to 205×3, legit. 210×3 the bar went up, but McD called me on depth. Sigh. I haven't screwed up depth in a while, so I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that, as 210 would have been a 3RM for me. I will take this as a reminder to do better on Saturday.
Deadlift: 255. I knew I would not come close to my PR, which I got under very different circumstances (more rest between attempts, a LOT more rest between squat and deadlift, and also properly fed*), so I admit I kinda sandbagged this.
WOD with running and a 15-9-6 combo of elevated pushups (which it turns out I can do in limited quantities) and box jumps. 6:17.
*Yeah. Eat enough the day before if you're going to test 1RMs in the morning. I didn't do this. Duh.
6am with NickD
Squat: 325, 345, 365(f) This is well below my PR (385), but not entirely unreasonable given that I ended the cycle on 305x5x3. I'll keep up the linear progression next cycle.
DL: 405, 435(f) Also well below my PR (475) and more frustrating than the squat. This failed about 4 inches off the ground, which has never happened to me. I'll have to rethink what I'm doing on DL in future cycles. Maybe try a deficit or perhaps running them on a separate day from heavy squats.
Tried to take out my frustrations on the WOD in 5:21.
10am with Jeremy (& guest appearances from Whit and David)
Back Squat: 340#. 30# shy of PR, but happy to hit this given not in strength cycle right now
Deadlift: 405#. 20# shy of PR
WOD — felt slow after the lifts. 7:12
warmup:
1000m row
10 mins d/u work
abductor work
Work with Nick:
ido portal floor work,
spiderman walk
some capoeira kicks
First time ever testing 1RM's.
Squat 175,, 185, 195 PR- I started working at 95 in March.
Dead lift: 225, 240, 250 PR. started at 135 in March.
Metcon in 6:11, slooow burpees.
LBBS: 240, 250. This ties my PR from Iron Maidens and felt much, much slower than in March, so decided to call it here and not go for a third try.
Deadlift: 315, 345 PR, 350 PR. Was excited for the first PR, saw that it was 5 more pounds to get to back onto the bottom on the board, so I went for it. Victory.
BK and I were coerced to run instead of row. Twinsies with Matt on time for the WOD – that was one heck of a push from BK. Burpee races might be my least favorite kind of race.
6am
I felt good walking into the gym this morning, just wasn't the day to hit a 1RM on either lift. 10# of my HBBS and the bar was glued to the ground on deadlifts. However, my deadlift volume/weight improved over the cycle and hit all of my HBBS reps with challenging percentages.
Metcon:
Run: Few feet off the 608 door to far corner and back.
21 burpees
Run: Few feet off the 608 door to the 2nd ivy
15 burpees
Run: Door to the near corner
9 burpees
4:26 Rx. Burpees felt good today, runs were at a good clip. Probably should have gone harder on both.
Congrats Kayleigh!!! Proud of you for taking back your place on the leaderboard.
Not my day to PR, I'm afraid.
10am with the Squat Whisperer.
Opened heavy at 270 then failed 285 twice. The first fail was because I squatted too deep and lost tension, the second was better but I got stuck.
Deadlift- 305, 335. That was all I had today. Jeremy said I was losing my back. Win some, lose some!
WOD with 20kg KB swings (30, 20, 10) in 4:30.
Snatch
63 x 3 x 5
Row 500m
About 8:00 of movement prep and mobility
5 RNFT
5 Paused DB Thrusters 25#s
5 Strict Pull-Ups
7 GHD Sit-Ups
LBBSQ: 245x1x5
DL: 315x1x3
Row/Burpee Metcon
6:42
Kayleigh! I was laughing my ass off at your comment about burpee races and completely missed the part about you deadlifting ALL THE WEIGHT! AWESOME.
Love the Zen post!
Woot Woot for PR Wednesday. Congrats everyone!
LBBS: 310# (15# PR)
Deadlift: 325# (15# PR) only did 2 attempts at this as this one was a struggle!
Metcon: 5:04 Really like this workout even though i'm sore AF!
Jay to Niko: "Right you're a CrossFit Preteen, but after you see this, you'll be a CrossFit Teen"
Some more testing mixed in with the work today:
heat up: line drills
warm up: 3 rounds
20 shoulder taps
:30 dead hang
:30 handstand hold
5ea lateral box step up, control descent (24")… L getting betterrrrrrr!
10 pvc passthroughs in a squat
TEST:
CTB chin up = 7 reps (fail 8)
strict stable dip = 15 reps (didn't try 16 but probably would've failed it)
(bw = 137#)
1 arm OH carry: both sides 60 meters @ 28KG. woof.
4 sets:
-5 ea Kossack lunge with :03 pause @ 8kg. L getting easier, played with stance and found a big stretch in my R adductors.
-4 HSPU negatives (to floor)
Conditioning:
A. 5 RFT
130m run
10 burpees
Rest 5 min
B. 8 rounds:
:20 on / :20 off ASSAULT bike of death
A = 5:50
B = 54 calories
*next time look at RPM/watts and try to stay consistent across rounds.
2 min each side:
-prone heel to butt stretch
-twisted couch stretch with contract/relax
I love the "The Brady Bunch" look of this series. And I love Hollywood's Blue Steel.
1pm de load week
C&J
Off 117kg
(70%x1, 75%x1, 80%x1) x2
All crisp
Snatch
Off 95kg
(70%x1, 75%x1, 80%x1) x2
A little forward on the first wave. Good observation from Jess had me bring the bar through my hips on the second wave and felt great.
FSQ
Off 138kg
70%x3x3
These happened.
Then a beach muscle dumbbell workout.
Josh always captures my good side! Too funny!
530 fitness
BSQT: took a cue from lifting partner and total inspiration (Melo) and went for volume today.
155 x 5 x 3
Need to sit back, avoid tipping forward, weight fine but hard to get into smooth rhythm here. Also need to stretch the gastroc/soleus, ankles feeling tight bilaterally
DL: 185 x 3
WOD: 6:07, fun one – winded!
Gorgeous morning in the park — then got double drenched riding to and from the gym.
Warm up x 3
Bar hang :30
Handstand hold :30
Lateral step ups 20", 24", 30"
Workout in 6:25
30 wall balls (15-15)
20 t2b (5-4-3-3-3-2)
30 pistols (steady alternating)
20 t2b (5-5-3-3-2-2)
30 wall balls (20-10)
10 min assault bike – cool down
HBBS: 265, 286 (f), 286 – 1lb PR for the HBBS (LBBS PR is 305).
The first attempt was a fail as I got soft at the bottom; Arturo gave me some good cues, advised me to rest, and try again, staying tight the whole way. It was a good fight, and I'm glad I made it. Many thanks to Arturo for all the help.
DL: 285, then 305 (f), 305 (f). Not my day – I just don't fight for deadlifts.
WOD in 5:50
Back Squat: 175-190-200 (95%)
No PR, but happy with this considering I missed three exposures to BS this cycle.
Deadlift: 185-215 (85%) -245x2x2F
Got it off the ground, but felt my lower back round on both attempts at 245% so dropped it. Probably should've made smaller jumps after 215 which I hit for 4 reps two weeks ago.
WOD in 5:21
Clearly, I meant to type 245#, not %. Although that would've been amazing to lift 245%…
6:30 with melo and Noah
Hbbs: 200-210F-207 (2 pound PR)
200 was fast, 210 I didn't commit to, but I'll take 2 lbs at a lower body weight.
Deadlift 205-215-225 PR match that I haven't hit since last summer.
Wod in 4:53.
Great day in the gym!
6:30, sharing the lucky belt with Jenny and Jay.
Hit 345# (PR tie) and failed at 355, which I'm disappointed about. 300x6x3 went up pretty well last week and I really thought I'd have that 2x bodyweight squat today. Oh well, it'll be all the sweeter when I finally get it.
Moved pretty steadily through the WOD at 90-95% effort, finished in 5:19. Pretty good for me & my history with burpees. Could definitely see myself doing this in under 5 minutes but… much lower than that would require a gear I don't possess.
Congrats Kayleigh!!!
HBBS: 145-160(f)-155PR-160PR.
I realized heavy lifting is my least favorite part about crossfit. I just don't get the same high as an intense metcon or volume lifting–I really just feel scared about injuring myself. Oh well! I finally failed a squat, which was a good experience having spotters interfere.
Deadlift 180-190 PR-200(f)
WOD: 5:51 Rows were fast for me but slow comparatively. Definite time wasted getting my feet in the rower :/
Great day and energy at the gym!
* I think interfere is the wrong word… support me is more accurate. Bye!
730 with Melo and Ro
BS : 315 / 325(f) / 325(f)
Matched my PR on the first attempt and it moved really easy. 325 on the other hand… First attempt at it I didn't keep my chest tight on the way up from the bottom. Second attempt I stayed tight but couldn't stand it up. Pretty bummed out but it is what it is. I'll probably take another shot at this during OG sometime in the next few weeks.
DL : 315 / 315 / 345
Spent too much time with the squats and sorta rushed the DL. Matched my PR on the last attempt. Not particularly difficult but I rounded my back.
WOD : 5:41
Thought I could get under 5 minutes. God damn burpees.