5 RM Snatch

Today I focused on my Olympic Lifts... the Snatch.
I worked for the better part of an hour trying to find my 5 Rep Max weight.
So many muscle groups are involved with getting the weight off the ground and instantly overhead.
Today, I was able to build up to 125# for 5 reps.
It has been over a year, but the last time I recorded a Snatch workout, I was going for a 1 rep max and only achieved 85#. My notes mentioned that I was working on form - I guess I have improved :)

New Plans...

Ok - so here is what I have picked up over the last 10 days...
I recently went to a local CrossFit gym and had a whole Bio-Signature make up done on my eating, exercise, and sleeping habits. A 12-point Body Fat measurement assessment was done along with a couple other little tests and a questionnaire. I have a diet, exercise, and supplement plan that I am on (3 days into it). I was surprised by the feedback...

For 12 years I had been Vegan. There are some challenges that come along with eating this way, especially for such a long period of time. One of the biggest challenges is the breakdown of your stomach lining and the reduction of proper stomach acids to effectively pull the nutrients from your 'fuel'. I have been eating a very Paleo diet since July and strict Paleo since October. Paleo is about as dramatically difference from Vegan as you can imagine. Lots of Lean Meat, Veggies, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds... No Sugar, No Dairy, No Grains. Foods in their natural state and according to the season.

I have seen great improvements in my performance since July, but I was kind of expecting more - especially since I had made such a dramatic diet change. Well, now that I have found out about this stomach acid thing (along with a host of other supplements), I am EAGER to see what will await.

My diet has changed slightly - now I eat 1g Protein for every pound of Lean Muscle Mass (so 163g Protein a day!!!).
Also, I have included iodine, Vitamin D3, Selenium, Fish Oil (a lot of it) and a high quality multi vitamin.
The timing of my eating has also changed... specific Post Workout Meals and ensuring I am eating enough meals to get all of that protein into my day.

The last couple of changes have to do with 'How I am exercising' and Sleep.
I am on a Performance/Strength focus, so more heavy lifting and focus on skills, less fast pace/intense Met-Cons.
Sleep for recovery- as much as possible and in a DARK DARK room... minimum 7 hours - preferably +9 (I have not been able to do over 7 yet)

I will keep this thread going as stuff changes... Should be fun.

Now - here is an example of 'Heavy Lifting' routines:

As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 minutes
1 Deadlift - 80% of 5Rep Max (for me = 245lbs)
1 Pull Up with a 20# dumbbell on my feet
3 Deadlifts
3 weighted pull ups
5 Deadlifts
5 weighted pullups

I was able to complete 6 rounds! 2 days later and I am still feeling it.

Yesterday I worked on my Bench Press, looking for my 5 Rep Max... I found it at 175#
I finished up the workout out with a quick Met-Con:
21-15-9
Kettlebell Swing with 53#
Box Jumps onto a 20" Box

One of my new favorite sites...

Whole 9 Life

Read all about 'Peanut Butter' and why you should avoid it...
Peanut-Manifesto

Thursday - New Year's Eve...

What a wet rainy day. I don't think it stopped once.

Today's workout was supposed to be 'Angie' (from the main CrossFit site)
100 Pull Ups, 100 Push Ups, 100 Sit Ups, 100 Squats

I scaled it to 1/2 Angie (50 of each). It took 9:10.

I feel a little run down this week. I may have done a little too much on my last 3 workout days as well as the fact that I have not had a great deal of sleep in the past two days... AND my diet has been a little less than stellar.

I'll start fresh tomorrow. I am actually impressed that I squeaked out what I did today :)

Tuesday

Busy Day... I once again had a 5000M Row as my workout (from the CrossFit Main site). The nice thing is that I knew what to expect. I was able to do a little strategy. I brought my time down to 20:06. It was still very mentally tough, but I made it.

Later on in the day, I spent about an hour over at Portland CrossFit. Those guys are great. I am trying to learn as much as I can from them. They have been gracious enough to let me come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to observe, partake, and just ask questions. This is what I love about the CrossFit community. They are so open and excited to share their knowledge.

Well, I went ahead and participated in the 4:30 class. The workout was tough. One that I have seen before, but have never done.

Handstand Push Ups 15-13-11-9-7-5-3-1
L- Pull Ups 1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15

You complete 15 Handstand Push Ups then complete 1 L-Pull Up.
Next - 13 Handstand Push Ups and 3 L-Pull Ups.

Keep working your way down the numbers... This was tough.
I did it prescribed, but it took me a little over 30 minutes. Rochelle (one of the owners and a total BAD ASS) completed it in something like 20 or 21 minutes. She is amazing!!!

Well, needless to say, I slept well Tuesday night.

Wednesday is a Rest Day - finally.

Monday - 1 Rep Snatch

Ok - Monday was a 1 Rep Max Day... but for the Snatch.
I am not very strong when it comes to some of the Olympic Lifts.

I worked with some light weight for quite a while until I felt comfortable adding on the pounds.
I got 135# up over head, but the form was UGLY. I decided to call it - as I don't want to let my body think that it was acceptable.

Here are some amazing video's of some talented Oly Lifters who make it look easy.

Recent Work...

Here are my last few workouts...
I plan on updating this blog more often - I have some very specific goals laid out ahead of me, so this will be a good record keeping journal.

On 12/23 I worked on Deadlifts and Bench Press. I was trying to find my 5 Rep Max.
Here are the results:
Deadlift: 285#
Bench Press: 170#

Both of these are increases over previous attempts, but I expect to see significant improvements over the next 4 weeks.

On 12/24 I worked on Front Squats. Again, trying to find my 5 Rep Max
I got the weight up to 195#'s... not too shabby for a 163# guy :)

I rested on Christmas Day

On 12/26 I worked on some skills that I have recently begun to get the hang of...
The Butterfly Pull Up and the Double Under with the Jump Rope.
I can now do 20 of these Butterfly Pull Ups in a row and 20 Double Unders... Any time a workout calls for Jump Ropes or Pull Ups, I am committing to doing these in place.

Today, I had the challenge of completing a 5000m Row. Most CrossFit workouts call for 250-500m Rows... this is the first time in over a year that I have seen anything over 2000m. I was not looking forward to this at all.

20:34 later, I finished 5000m. That workout turned into more of a mental game than I thought. I eventually figured out that I could pull 10-11 times for every 100 meters... this lead me to analyze how many '100's' I had left before the end of the workout. I don't know if that was good or bad, but I survived.

I sure hope that one does not come up again anytime soon...