Back Squats and mainsite metcon

5 x 80kg
15 x 50kg

Experimented last night with pulling my neck back hard instead of letting it crane forward as it naturally does. I got the feeling I think, so this morning I tried it out. I paid minimal attention hips and knees and focussed on keeping my chin back and using that push against the bat to start my ascent. I think it's the way to go.
I had to focus on leading my deadlift with my shoulders for a while to get that sorted out, same thing applies I think.
Stretched my shoulder between rounds. It was better under the bar today, but still too tight and loading my wrists and elbows.

Then:
7RFT
3 x 50kg front squat
7 tuck pull-ups

11:47

1 2:06
2 1:37
3 1:46
4 1:48
5 1:35
6 1:19
7 1:33

50kg as a front squat is much easier after back squatting 80. The bar doesn't feel heavy. Not that it is of course. Worked hard on the same neck pulling back thing there and it paid off much more in the front squats than it did in the back.

Pull-ups were bad and degenerated into jumping tuck-pull-ups. Pull-ups will get some attention in the new year.

WOD with a pacemaker

3RFT
400m
25 squats
15 KTE

Apparently stopped the watch after the first round.

Hampered slightly by having to free my pacemaker's trouser leg from her bike chain. I thought I'd beat her back and then she came around the corner pushing her bike along with one leg. After freeing her I lost more time by laughing through the last round.

Fun.

Running and power cleans

200m
12 x 60kg power cleans
12 HSPU progressions (feet on ground)
200m
6 x 60kg power cleans
6 HSPU progressions (feet on ground)
200m
3 x 60kg power cleans
3 HSPU progressions (feet on ground)

13:28
1 6:42
2 3:57
3 2:48

13:28

Some of the cleans were ugly and I should have dropped them instead of muscling them into the rack. Stupidly stubborn. Pleased that I used 60kg though, that's fairly heavy for me. If I can get my legs into it more they'll improve.
The first run was quite good. I started out plodding like always and realised that I didn't need to and picked up to a reasonable pace. Not fast, just nod thudding along. Lighter. That's good. Who'd a thunk, if you run more, you get better at it.

Deadlifts

Decided to make this a proper deload week after last weeks somewhat stunning success, which has nothing whatsoever to do with not eating right, being too hot to sleep and Lynette's pager going off a fair bit.

5 x 130kg
10 x 100kg

Then 10 minutes in the bottom of an air squat. I figure if it's better to do it post workout and it's so good to realign your hips and sacrum, just after deadlifts is a really good time to do it. Right hip is definitely tight right now. Weird how it moves from side to side.

Accumulated 3 minutes of hollow holds and done for the day.

Squats and run and pull-ups and on the fly scaling

Squats were pulled at 2 x 80kg.
My shoulder and wrist were giving me a hard time and I couldn't sit back enough in the video. When I look at it on the PC though there was something very odd going on. My feet are in line with the camera, but my right knee comes way further forward than my left does.
I can't figure out whether that means my right leg carried most of the weight and I swayed to one side, or if I twisted in the squat. In the past I'd suspect a squat as I used to helicopter very badly. If that's what I was doing I'm glad I stopped.

Went on to:
3RFT
400m
8 x 30kg HPS, dropped to 15 x 20kg for the next 2 rounds
15 band assist pull-ups

18:19

Just not a good day overall.
I don't want to ruin my shoulders in the first workout of the holidays and I was pressing that out with major internally rotated shoulders in that first round. Trying very hard to learn to support and press a bar with externally rotated shoulders. I can do it, and it feels completely different, like the weight disappears, but I can't break the habits of rolling my shoulders forward. That's my project for this Christmas, see how much progress I can make toward that. If I can lock it in my shoulders may start talking to me again.

"Runnin' in the rain" and stuff

3RFT
200m
5 x 40kg thrusters
10 supinated grip pull-ups

11:11

1 3:36
2 7:34? Guess I forgot to press the button after the second round.

Second round of thrusters were not good. I let my shoulders round which loaded my wrists up and then that's all i could feel. Figured out what had gone wrong on the run and fixed it in the 3rd round. They weren't very thrustery though, more of a front squat and press I'm afraid.
It's raining so the chin-ups were back on the rafter in the shed, so started flat footed rather than a dead-hang which has my elbows very slightly bent.

Deadlifts

3 x 142.5kg Lifetime PR
16 x 100kg

142.5kg used all the weights I have and the huckery collars which are supposed to be 2.5kg. I'll take it as 142.5 for now and move up from that when I can.
142.5 is the most I've ever lifted. Ever. In my whole life.
I've doubled and tripled 140 several times, but never locked out 142.5. I think I may have gotten it off the ground a few times and never passed my knees. And that was when I was 10-13kg heavier (admittedly a good percentage of that 10 kg wasn't contributing to the effort) and training specifically to get bigger and stronger. I couldn't have run 400m unless I had a gun to my head. And I was 20 odd years younger. And using a belt.
Really chuffed, that one's been bugging me for a couple of decades now.
The 16 x 100kg was fairly solid. Not easy, probably not pretty, I haven't watched the video yet, just solid.

Thank-you Jeff.
And Kelly. The mobility work helps.

There's video if anyone wants to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz1X_FQ_QXk
Warning: It's nearly full summer here and the shed is hot and the humidity was at least a million percent, so I'm wearing shorts. The glare from the legs is a little blinding.

Back Squats

3 x 85kg CrossFit PB
12 x 60kg

Well, no-one's going to use them as a textbook example of squat technique, but they're not a disaster. The second rep of that 60kg set was exactly how I wanted all of them to look and then I reset my feet and lost it. :-)
A bit tight in the shoulders from the KTE yesterday and that meant sore wrists.
I got some reps with a good push back into the bar instead of caving forward and winching it up with my lower back. It feels "harder" that way, but not really, and yes I know that doesn't make sense. It's not how I usually squat so it feels awkward right now. Given time though I can see it's the way to a much bigger and better squat.

Variation on a Brand X WOD

3RFT
15 KTE
30 x 12kg dumbbell power snatches, 15 each arm
200m

15:37

First round of KTE were "kipping" and I smashed them out. Next rounds they smashed me.
The snatches are worrying, I think I muscled the right hand ones up because the left hand just popped up to full extension. A repeat with video coming up.

Deadlifts

3 x 137.5kg
15 x 100kg

I, I don't know what I did, something stupid. Tried that dumbass grip swapping thing in mid-set. I don't know why. Stopped stood up and tried for an extra rep. Again, I don't know why.
I'm happier with getting 12 x 100kg unbroken actually. tripling 137.5 and knocking on 12-15 x 100kg puts me about as strong in the deadlift as I've ever been, as weak as that is. And I'm pretty sure I've got more in me if I can stop thinking about it so damn much. And, I'm not using a belt yet, at least partly becuase I don't know where it is any more, but that's beside the point.

800m and stuff

800m

3 Rounds
15 x 12kg dumbbell squat cleans
15 pull-ups band assist

800m

23:28

The first run was steady, the last one a trot and I walked 2 sections.

The bit in the middle was just not easy.

Back Squats

3 x 80kg
8 x 60kg Thought it was 10.

Shoulders were very tight tonight which made ti hard.
I had a sit and think for a while after a second go at 70kg and then decided to give 80kg a punt. It wasn't significantly worse than the 70kg to be under, so my problems are mostly in my head.
My lack of attention to the MWODs showed in my hip and knee positioning, I could barely air squat and keep my knees tracking out. That will teach me to try and get away with coasting. Well actually it probably won't and I'll need future reminders like this.

Running, power cleans and presses

3RFT
200m
3 x 40kg power cleans followed by a press

13:22

1 4:17
2 4:03
3 5:01

40 kg is only a moderate power clean but a solid press for me so I played with mixing the reps up.

Not a disaster of a combination.
The same cannot be said of the time.

Helen

3RFT
400m
21 x 12kg t-handle swings
12 pull-ups. Green band assist

14:28
1 4:30
2 4:54
3 5:03

Running was running. It's there because it needs work.
The swings were too light so I kept over doing it and the handle would flip over.
Pull-ups are embarrassing. The band makes them feel ridiculously easy, but very quickly I couldn't even make reps using the band. I just got nothing there. I used the band because aside from my general feeblety, my shoulders are settling nicely into some decent ROM and even, if you squint, a less internally rotated resting position. I didn't want to ruin that.

Deadlifts

3 x 135kg
20 x 90kg

I have no idea why I did a bunch of 5 rep warm-ups, I just did, OK?
Waiting for the video to finish uploading so I can watch it. In the camera screen my upper back looked weird, but the contrast wasn't good enough to see well. Shoulders were rolled way forward or the kyphosis in my back was generating a hump in an unusual place?
No idea yest.

Grip failure big time. Even with a hook grip 3 reps at 130kg is all I can get. Really wanted to go further before I switched to alternating so I'll revisit that one day.
Overall, I did it and it didn't completely suck.