James' CrossFit or Bust Log

[C James Barton]

Was working out here (wfs), but I've switched from something-like-SS to something-like-CF. Also the terrible spelling in the last thread was a persistent annoyance!

My new goal is CF as rx'd, although I have no idea how long that will take to do. I'm probably still not strong enough, but much closer than I was. I'll be using the BrandX scalings again until I can cope with the rx'd WOs. There may be another, short, SS cycle once my form is better.

I also have a minor injury right now, and a few persistent problems. There'll be some subbing because of those. I won't be doing any running until I've shed a lot of fat, due to PF that I don't want to make worse.

Lastly I'm seriously short of some skills and some equipment. Can't skip, can't do handstands, no rings, poor form in lifting. Will be joining Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club (wfs), I think, to work on the last of those.

[C James Barton]

First CF-like WO. Puppies' Cindy from Brand X:

AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
2 jumping pull-ups
5 push-ups
8 squats

Just realised I did chin-ups, not pull-ups.

Total - 8 rounds, jumping chin-ups, push-ups and 1 squat. I managed 14 rounds (wfs) back in August

Note to self - no eating half an hour before CF metcons, even if you can get away with it in SS.

[C James Barton]

Continuing to follow Brand X scaled WODs, just three and a quarter years behind, today was supposed to be puppies' scaling for 30 muscle-ups.

I was warming up, though, and one of the gym instructors asked me if I wanted to do this month's gym challenge, which is a 500m sprint on the C2. Couldn't really refuse, so I did that first:

500m row - 1m 36.8s

That left me gasping before I started the scaled WOD:

60 Jumping pull-ups
60 dips or 90 chair dips.

I did counter-weighted pull-ups and dips on the gravitron - six blocks of assistance for the pull-ups and eight blocks of assistance for the dips. The break down by set was:

pull-ups
10 - 8 - 8 - 7 -8 - 9 - 10 (finished in 12m 53s)

dips
9 - 6 - 5 - 7 - 6 - 8 - 9 - 10

Total time was 30m 3s.

I think I'll try to get the speed up before I decrease the assistance much.

[C James Barton]

Decided to start tracking a couple of other things here - weight, %BF, and sleep - since they're pretty critical to getting fit. So last night I managed seven hours in bed, and this morning I weighed 221lbs, 26.9%bf.

Next up was deadlifts:

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

So I warmed up following a T-Nation suggestion and did this:
50 * 5
75 * 5
90 * 3
105 * 1
117.5 * 1
127.5 * 1
130 * 1 PR
132.5 * 1 PR
135 * 0 Fail
132.5 * 0 Fail

I managed to get the last two about a centimetre off the floor, but couldn't straighten up.


Notional CFT now:
132.5kg DL + 97.5kg BS + 47.5 kg press = 277.5kg = 612lbs

[C James Barton]

Next WO in line was a running and air-squatting combo:

3 RFT
Run 400 M
20 Squats

=> 9m 11s

Treadmills are rubbish for this - lost loads of time speeding up and slowing down. The last round of squats was really nasty, particularly after about number 12.

Still, the whole thing wasn't unpleasant enough, so I'll probably do the Pack scaling next time it comes up.



monitoring numbers:
Yesterday: 220.8 lbs, 28.3% bf, 4.75h sleep - the MBA application process is stressing me out.
Today: 220.8 lbs, 28.2% bf, 5.5h sleep

[Matthew Green]

Good to see you CFing James, well played with the DL PR

[C James Barton]

Originally Posted by Matthew Green

Good to see you CFing James, well played with the DL PR

Thanks Matt! The confusing thing was the failed reps - I could get the bar a little way off the ground, and I thought that would be the hardest part of the lift. My body shape might stop me ever getting a 1000 CFT, but it's in the back of my mind

The variety of CF is a relief after SS. I still have DOMS after the pull-up fest three days ago, so I hope I will adapt soon!

[C James Barton]

Today was o-lift work:

Clean, Push Press, Push Jerk, Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

I had a go, but this wasn't great:

Clean
50 * 1
52.5 * 1
55 * 1
57.5 * 1

I can drop into the squat properly when the load is really light. I can't get under it when I actually need to . I caught the last one on my wrists rather than the rack, and then my head was gone, so there was no point in doing any more .


Push Press
40 * 1
42.5 * 1
45 * 1
47.5 * 1
50 * 1
52.5 * 1
55 * 1
57.5 * 0 Fail

Never done heavy PP before - the racking is a bit painful, but it's fun getting that over your head. In the absence of bumpers, though, everything that goes up has to come back down onto my shoulders, which is tiring.


Push Jerk
Apart from form work, I managed:
40 * 1 * 3
42.5 * 1
45 * 1
47.5 * 1
50 * 1 * 2

Tired by this time, but I also couldn't persuade myself to dip under the bar more than a few centimetres. The 50kg lifts were basically push presses.


Split Jerk
Never tried this weighted before, so I just did form practice:
20 * 10

At this point I would have finished with some presses to make up the missed work, but it's barbell thrusters tomorrow, so I thought I'd better not!

[C James Barton]

Barbell thrusters today, which is a new exercise for me. Thought I'd keep the load relatively low to begin with. Max. push press in yesterday's WO was 55kg, and my biggest front squat to date (not a 1RM) is 50 kg.

Barbell Thruster 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps.

0 * 5
20 * 5
40
42.5 --this is the closest to rx'd Fran weight
45
47.5
50 -- pressed this one out
50
50
52.5 -- pressed this one out
52.5 -- Fail
50 -- Fail
47.5 -- Fail
45


This was horrible on the wrists and shoulders, and I felt pretty weak by the end. My first scaled Murph tomorrow

monitoring numbers:
yesterday - 220.6lbs, 28.5%bf, 6.5h sleep
today - 220.2lbs, 28.7%bf, 6.5h sleep

[C James Barton]

Scaled Murph:

1/2 mile
5 rounds of:
5 pull ups (assisted or jumping okay)
10 push ups
15 squats
1 mile (run or walk)

I did the pull-ups with two blocks of assistance (around 20kg, I think - I need to measure this at some point), and the running on a treadmill with a 1% incline.

I didn't get a time for the 1/2 mile at the start, but I finsihed the last set of squats at 17 minutes, and the whole thing in:

=> 28m 36s

The pull-ups were probably too easy, and need to be done with less assistance next time. The push-ups were horrible, and I had to partition them in the fourth and fifth round. Air squats were easy enough.

I'm horrified that it took me 11.5 minutes to run a mile! I got on the treadmill and initially only dialled it up to about 7-8 kph. My tired pecs were affecting my arm swing so I didn't feel I could go any faster. Anyway, I was at about 12 kph by the end of the mile, but that's still not nearly fast enough.

Will make this one a little harder next time, but I won't be moving to pack scaling yet.