San bunda, nao obrigado

Sitting around watching the Olympics late last night, Dan reminded me of my favorite Portuguese phrase (JK, am I getting it right?). Which of course was followed by a lengthy discussion of various Olympic disciplines and their associated bunda (sprinters > swimmers > distance runners).

Anyways, it reminded me of the need to squat, which caused me to drag myself out of bed and hit the gym - no squats this morning though since I deadlifted and climbed yesterday.

Warm-up:
dynamic squat stretching

3x5 bench press (5x45, 5x65, 5x95, 3x115 then 3x5x125)

2x5 [power clean + push jerk] (45, 65)
1x15 [power clean + push jerk] (95)

Moved my hands to a narrower grip on the bench, feels a little better on my shoulder and recruits a little more triceps. Will see how it holds up at heavier weights, but felt good today. Need to work on my clean technique, was going to do a scaled down Grace at 95 but bailed halfway through (~2:20). Just not on it today.

Grace Be With You

warm-up:
CFWU x 3
2x5 C&J (45, 65)

workout:
crossfit WOD 080917

"Grace"
135# clean & jerk, 30 reps

SS: 95#, 8:18 (full squat cleans on 27/30 reps)

So, apparently full squat cleans almost double my time on this one, though the last time I did this workout was over a year ago. Three big differences in the movement this time compared to last time. First difference is the depth of the catch on the clean. This time I tried to catch, or go down to parallel or lower on every rep, whereas last time I just threw it up onto my shoulders. Also, after catching the weight, I would stand up completely before dipping down to start the push jerk. Last time, I just transitioned right into the jerk from the bottom of the catch. And the last difference is rather inconsequential, but this time I did actual push jerks, and last time I push pressed my way to the finish.

So, with all that it's hard to compare to my performance last time. This way was definitely more taxing. I broke up the reps something like (5-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-1) and took anywhere from 3-8 breaths between sets. I was having a pretty intense case of apprehension beforehand, and honestly I'm just glad it's over.

Grace under pressure

warmup:
1000m row + technique work
clean and jerk to 95#

workout:
"Grace"
For time,
30 clean & jerks, 135# (sub 95#)

ED: 10:39
KL: 4:56

cooldown:
1 length (2 courts) each of
bear crawl-crab walk-lunge step-sprint
then
traveling push-ups around 1 court

In the interest of time, and with the relatively low weight, all these reps were power cleans. We both need some technique work, but as he got further into the set and a little more tired Eric's lifts definitely got more efficient. It's been a long time since any real Oly work for me, felt good to work on the second pull and getting the weight up there. It's a metabolic burner if you cycle fast enough - felt harder (and was slower) than last time.

Might be worth upping the weight to 135# next time. We tried some heavier cleans afterwards, but I'm still having trouble with balance at the bottom (or maybe I was just fried).

Saving Grace

warmup:
2000m row

workout:
"Grace"
For time,
30 clean & jerks, 135#

SS: 95#, 4:15
KL: 95#, 4:24

L-pullup ladder
SS & KL: 5

3x12 (roughly)each arm walking overhead lunges, 35#

Well, Grace was the WOD a few days ago, so I wanted to try it out for myself. We didn't do too bad, but we probably should have upped the weight. We actually did a few reps at 135# after finishing just to check it out. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done it, but I think 105 , or possibly 115 was within reach. With the addition of the L-pullups and the one arm walking lunges this workout ended up being nicely whole body. My legs are definitely going to feel it tomorrow.