The return of FRAN and that was the easy session !

Hey Everyone

Another week done, down at Reebok CrossFit Glasgow and I'm finding it hard not to just call every post - 'the hardest week yet"

But thats what comes from following a structured progressive training plan, not just for Crossfit, but whatever your fitness goals are (Did I mention I'm a Personal Trainer available for hire ? :-)  )

Anyway the last week, was, as always tough, but getthroughable (my new word). They started off with one of  Crossfit's better known WOD's - FRAN

THURSDAY 22nd AUGUST

A.  1 rep max ground to Overhead, this is exactly what it says - getting a weighted bar from the ground to overhead, using clean and press, clean and jerk, whatever you want.
I managed 80kg, which was a new record for my clean, so happy start to session.

B. FRAN - which as I said before is a famous CrossFit workout, where in 'normal' gyms people will ask you what you bench (this is a guy thing) in some Crossfit worlds, people will ask you 'what's your FRAN time.

Fran is this - For time 21 Thrusters (a front squat to overhead press) at 42.5kg, 21 Pull Ups, 15 Thrusters, 15 Pull Ups, 9 Thrusters, 9 pull Ups

The last time I did this, 2 months ago, it took me 8minutes 17 seconds, using a band to assist my pull ups.
Today I did it in 4:27, with no assistance !! Nearly twice as  quick !!

This was obviously a great, if somewhat unexpected result. Again, more proof Iain's programming is working.


FRIDAY 23rd AUGUST

I'm feeling the effects of FRAN !!  :-)

But ready to tackle today's session

A. 5 x 5 sets of Front Squat - I got up to 90kg, which was less (not much) than I was expecting, but yesterdays thrusters, were obviously having an impact on my legs.

B. 7 rounds for time of
Suicide Runs 4metres, 8 metres, 12 metres
3 Burpees
5 Axle bar deadlifts
Rest 30 seconds (not long enough Iain !!)
TIME - 7:00 minutes

This is where, for 2 reasons, 1 being it was rest day the next day and 2 - it looked like 'fun'

I decided to do the  WOD which had been set up in the CFG box, this was after a couple of hours rest though.

Friday is usually Strongman based WOD's in CFG  and todays looked like this
5 rounds for time of
5 Tyre Flips
5 Ground to Overhead axle bar at 60kg
Load and unload 3 Jerry cans onto and off 48' boxes
5 Burpee wall jumps
200 metre sprint (more like a jog)

This was more tiring than expected, but glad I did it
TIME - 18:49

SUNDAY 24th AUGUST

A. 1-1-1-1 Strict Press - I got to 72.5kg (so so)

B. Add 10kg to A and do max effort push press for 60seconds
I got 5 reps (and a whole load of no reps, shoulders weren't having any of this)

C. This was like some kind of 'pick your worst exercises and do them together' nightmare for me !!
For Time
35 pull ups
30kcal Ski Erg
5 Wall Climbs
25 kcal Ski Erg
4 Wall Climbs
20 kcal Ski Erg
3 Wall Climbs
35 pull ups

TIME - 15:32
I didn't like this ha ha

MONDAY 25th AUGUST

A. 3 minute AMRAP
300m Row
5 deadlifts at 125kg
10 Box Jumps on 24inch box with 20kg plate on top
5 Axle bar Thrusters at 60kg
200 metre run
5 axle bar front squats

Result - I got to 3 thrusters

REST 3 minutes and do 6 minute AMRAP of A

Result -I finished 1 full round, with 15seconds left, not enough time to get back on rower and start

REST 6 minutes and do 9 minute AMRAP of A

Result - I finished 1 full round and got to 5 box jumps


TUESDAY 26th AUGUST

This looked brutally tough, before I started and it didn't disappoint

A. 3 minutes maximum Tyre Flips, straight into 90 seconds maximum Tyre Jumps
2 minutes rest then repeat

I did -1st round - 18 Flips 30 tyre jumps
2nd Round 18 flips, 26 tyre jumps

B. 3 minutes max calorie row, straight into 90 seconds chest to floor burpees,
 2 minutes rest and repeat

1st - 49kcal row, 17 Burpees
2nd 50kcal row, 15 Burpees

C. 3 minutes maximum Bear complex* at 50kg, straight into 90 seconds Wall Balls
rest 2 minutes and repeat

1st - 10 rounds Bear Complex, 15 Wall Balls
2nd 9 Rounds Bear Complex, 18 Wall Balls

*BEAR COMPLEX is 1 power clean, 1 Front Squat, 1 push press, 1 back Squat, 1 Push press = 1 round

This was easily the most wiped out I have felt after any session, my body still didn't quite know what had hit it 45 minutes to an hour later, but was glad I got through it all, with reasonable results.

I am even more glad, tomorrow is rest day !!!


P.S I HAVE ADDED A LINK TO ON THE RIGHT TO CROSSFIT GLASGOW'S  WEBSITE, GO HAVE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT GOES ON WITH 'NORMAL' MEMBERS


Till next time

Craig

A little bit of everything ! When does it get easy ??? :-)

Hey Everyone

Boy am I way way behind on this - Sorry !!

Still been working hard, but not having internet at home is holding up blog process.

Here are the last 8 sessions or so !

FRIDAY 9th AUGUST

A. Power snatches 7 sets of doubles
B. Cleans - 7 sets of doubles
I struggled with both of these today, just wasn't feeling very energised or fast ?!?! 

C. 5 minute kettlebell complex with 2 x 24kg kettlebells - I could do any exercises I wanted, I just wasn't allowed to put kettlebells on ground at any point during 5 minutes
I did some squats, swings, presses (bad idea) but mostly tried to wish the 5 minutes away ha ha

D. For Time
10-8-6-4-2, 24' box jumps with 10 metre sprint in between sets
TIME - 2:02 started of fast, but after a few rounds in, my legs were like jelly.


SATURDAY 10th AUGUST

A. 3 Rep max back squat - Got up to 130kg, which is a new PB, I think 
B. Max weight 14metre Yoke walk - Got up to 240kg, felt like 340kg


MONDAY 12th AUGUST

For Time
20kcal Row
20 Axle bar  Deadlifts at 60kg
20 Burpees and bar jump
20 GHD sit ups
20 Axle bar Clean and Jerk at 60kg
20 GHD sit ups
20 Burpees with jump over bar
20 Axle bar Deadlifts at 60kg
20 kcal Row

The idea of this was to go fast and unbroken reps
I did it in 15:47 - the GHD  sit ups got broken up a bit


TUESDAY 13th AUGUST

A. 1 rep max Thrusters from rack
- I got 1 at 80kg

B. 5 rounds for time of
15 Taters (kettlebell swing and squat) at 24kg
15 metre Zercher yoke carry at 100kg
7 tuck jumps

TIME - 9:45
The Zercher Yoke carries, took a lot more out of me than I was expecting

C. Max effort Turkish Get Ups with a 24kg Kettlebell - I got 5 each side, which is less than I hoped for, but shoulders and body were tired by this stage

THURSDAY 14th AUGUST

A. Row 500 metres for time - TIME - 1:38

REST 2 minutes

B. 60 Seconds max distance on ski erg (my favourite !!) - Distance - 290 metres

REST 3 minutes

C. 4 minutes MAX Wall balls Reps - 92

REST 4 minutes

D.  5 minute AMRAP of 
7 Deadlifts at 100kg
5 Burpee box Jumps onto 24inch box with 15kg plate on top

I completed 4 rounds

This whole session  was absolutely exhausting, all fast paced and very very gassy

FRIDAY 15th AUGUST

A. 2 X 15 metre Banded Sprints then max reps Front Squat at 60kg
I got 20 reps although I think mentally I stopped as I knew what was coming next !!

B. 12min AMRAP Burpee ladder 1-12
Every minute add a burpee, starting at 1, plus as many thrusters at 55kg as possible up to 5

This was horrific, my thrusters looked like this -5,5,5,5,5,3,3,1,2,2,2 so 43 out of a possible 60


SUNDAY 17th AUGUST

A. 5X5 Back Squat - I got up to 130kg, which last week was my 3 rep max, so something is definitely working.

B. 5 X3 Trapbar Deadlift - I got up to 130kg plus the bar, which I think is maybe 15kg ??

C.  3 sets of kipping pull ups, with25 GHD Sit ups in between sets


MONDAY 18th AUGUST

A. For Time
500/400/300/200/100 metre on ski erg with
2/4/6/8/10 Bench Press at 70kg in between each set
TIME - 9:48 
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE I WAS SO HAPPY TO BE ON THE SKI ERG !!!

B. 10-1 Box Jumps and Hand release press ups for time
TIME - 4:22

TUESDAY 19th AUGUST

A. 4 Rounds (with 3 minutes rest between) of 
22 Wall Balls
22 Box Jumps
400Metre run
22 Burpees
22 24kg Kettlebell swings
TIMES - 1st -6:33, 2nd - 6:40, 3rd 6:41, 4th 6:47
As you can see there wasn't much time difference in these. This wasn't because I was recovering well and staying fast, it was more because I was tired and all were slow ha ha


These last 3 sessions have completely wiped me, my body was very tired yesterday, lots of mobility work today, then back on it tomorrow :-)


So that's us up to date now.
As you may (or may not) of noticed my training days have changed slightly, we are now trying 3 days on, 1 off, 2 days 0n, 1 off.

We'll see how that goes.

As I feel like I am saying all the time now, the sessions are definitely getting tougher, but always doable, if only just.
My body is definitely changing shape too, if I can just get more consistent with nutritional side, I may even get my tap aff and show you (steady)


Well done if you managed to stay awake till here

Till next time

Craig

Hardest 3 days yet !

Hey Everyone

Good to get back into the box, was feeling good and glad to be past all those thrusters, at least there won't be any in these 3 sessions !


MONDAY 5th AUGUST

A. 10-10-10 Back Squat working up the weight as I went
Which looked like this - 10 @95kg, 10@100kg and 10 @105kg,. 
I definitely feel my squat movement pattern is getting better now, so something is working.

B. 21-15-9
Thrusters (no surely, not, that must be a typo !! no ? really) @45kg
Deadlifts @ 80kg
With the instructions to do it completely unbroken !!

TIME - 5:32
I'm  definitely sure there will be no thrusters tomorrow

C. 5 minutes of double unders.

TUESDAY 5th AUGUST

A. Strict Press 3-3-3-3-3, pausing on clavicle each rep.
I worked up to 5 x 3 at 62.5kg

B. 5 min AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 
3-3-6-6-9-9 etc
Pull Ups and Power Cleans at 60kg
I got through to 9 pull ups

No rest, straight into 

1 min max reps push press with 60 kg - 10 reps

Straight into -  5 min AMRAP
3-3-6-6-9-9 etc
Ring Dips and Front Squats at 60kg - I got to 9 dips

Straight into

1 minute max effort push press at 60kg - I got 8 reps this time

This was really tough, but at least there were no thrusters :-)

Hold on !! Front squats, push press, strict press, power cleans. Theses are all pats of a thrusters ! AAAAAAAAAGH Thrusters in disguise !!


At least tomorrows session can't be that tough !!

WEDNESDAY 7th AUGUST

A. For Time - 10-8-6-4-2 of 30" Box Jump and 40kg Viper press, which you can see in link below

VIPER PRESS DEMO

TIME - 5:17

B. Tabata set (20seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes) Ketllebell swing at 40kg

1st round I got 15 swings, by the last round it had dropped to 12 swings

C. 3 rounds for time of
400 metre run
10 Front Squats at 75kg

TIME - 7:52

This was horrendous, by the time I got to the 3rd 400metre run, it was like I was running through treacle, with someone elses legs !! 


Definitely the hardest 3 days so far, but as always it was doable, just, so once again, down to good programming from Iain.

As much as it was torture to go through, I always feel a sense of achievement at the end of the 3 days.

Rest day was yesterday and day 1 today, they come so quickly !!


Till next time

Craig

Thrusterville !!!!

Hey Everyone

Another 3 sessions gone and again, new and harder sessions.

Really enjoying, as much as you can, the new level of volume and difficulty, these sessions involve now, although still unhappy at some of my progress, but that is more a mental thing, expecting to get better, quicker than I probably deserve.

Anyway, here are the last 3 sessions.

THURSDAY 1st AUGUST

A. Back Squat - 5 x 5
I did - 5@50kg, 5 @70kg, 5@80kg, 5 @90kg, 5@100kg and 5 x5 @ 110kg

B. 21-15-9 (21 reps of each exercise, then 15, then 9) of
2 x 16kg Kettlebells swings and 2 x 16kg Kettlebell Thrusters, which I thought was going to be tough enough, without Iain's added 'incentive' of anytime I put the kettlebells down, I had to do 5 burpees, before starting again.
Before i began I set myself the target of only doing 2 sets of burpees 
I did 3 !! 
This is how I got through it -
21 swings, 21 thrusters, 15 swings, 5 BURPEES, 9 thrusters, 5 BURPEES, 6 thrusters, 9 swings, 4 thrusters, 5 BURPEES, 5 thrusters

This was even worse than I expected, as a workout, anything with thrusters usually is, at least I won't have to do thrusters again for a while :-)

C. EMOM  (Every Minute On the Minute) for 10 minutes
EVEN minutes - 5 x 30inch Box Jumps
ODD minutes - 15kcal ski erg (have I mentioned I hate this ? ha ha )

Again, another really gassy workout, I had to drop to 13kcal, to keep it under a minute, which I was disappointed about, but not as much as I was when Iain told me he can do 15kcal in 30 seconds !!! I really need to get stronger at pulling down 


FRIDAY 2nd AUGUST

Feeling good today, well until I got to Crossfit glasgow box and Iain began writing on a whiteboard, while Nisha had a guilty knowing smile on her face.
 This is what he was writing !

THRUSTERS AGAIN !!

This, if you're not sure means 10 Tyre flips, 1 Thruster, 1 Yoke walk, 9 tyre flips, 2 thrusters, 1 Yoke walk and so on until 1 tyre flip, 10 thrusters, 1 Yoke walk.


This, to be honest, looked like I was going to be here, for at least 40 minutes, 40 minutes of chipping away, getting through it. No fun

You also know that it looks hard, when people (Mick Robertson) decide they are going to stay because "I need to see you doing this" 

After a bit of abuse and intimidation, while doing my warm up, I was ready. I had mentally decided it was going to take about 40 minutes, and breaking the thrusters into sets of 3 or 4, once I got to about 6 reps.

So, off I went, it was Ok, even with Iain playing the sun has got his hat on, wasn't putting me off, I felt better than I had hoped.
When I got to 6 thrusters, I was going to do 2 x 3 reps, but changed my mind and did the 6 unbroken.

Every round from then on, I just told myself, its only 1 more than you have done, do it unbroken, 7,8,9 came and went, there was no chance I was breaking on 10 reps.

Then it was last yoke walk and done

TIME - 25:28 a lot quicker than expected, in my head anyway, not sure what Iain was expecting ?

At least no more Thrusters for a while 


SATURDAY 3rd AUGUST 

A. 3-3-3-3-3 reps of weighted pull ups and dips
I wore a weighted vest for this and had Mick for company doing this, which was a good change.

B. 5000 metre Row for time ! Mick decided he had to go home ?
I actually would've rather done yesterdays session again, than this, not because it was easier, but I just get so bored on the rower and knew this was going to take about 25 minutes for me.
It took 22:03, I was very sad and bored ha ha


So, a good three sessions done and I'm still progressing, Iain is still adding new things, making it tougher every week.

At least I know there won't be thrusters in next sessions !!!
Surely not ?!?

Till then

Craig