S2B plus, making a better Buk

[Buk]

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Run 5K

27:19 total, 8:49 average pace
7:30, 9:05, 9:47
Wow a little worse(41 seconds) than last time, even though it felt like I as running harder, and I definately walked less. My heartrate was also above what it was last time. I thought my GPS was lying to me, and it did loose signal once and shows a big cut corner on the map, so I will say plus or minus a tenth(close to a minute) but no more than that. I think my performance is due partially to yesterday's killer core workout and some swimming I did earlier today. My abs are still feeling it. The swimming today was the first ever lap swimming I have done. I got 6 to 8 laps in and worked on technique a little. I think the pool is going to become a common occurence for me.

[Mountain_marc]

How did you make your sandbag? I'm going to start Crossfit as soon as I can figure out a place to do the workouts. A Sandbag would be useful!

[Buk]

Cool thing about crossfit is that most workouts can be done just about anywhere with minimal equipment. Homemade boxes and sandbags are easy to take to the local high school track or elementary playground along with a few dumbells for a grueling mixed mode workout.

I have always made my sandbags very simplistically. The one I am using now is just a denim body pillow(42 inches long, 9 inch diameter) filled with 100 pounds of gravel and taped where the seem busted where the tag was. My previous one was a military laundry bag filled with sand and tied and taped. Crossfit has a lot of posts about making sandbags and most people seem to make smaller taped up bags to fill a larger bag. I have never seen the need to do this, and I like the looser fill of a single bag.

[Buk]

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Didn't have time to get my planned workout in today, but I did hit up the pool and swim 14 laps in the 25 yard pool. This is about 0.4 miles, I think a typical swim distance for a short tri. I didn't time myself or swim continually, just trying to get some swimming under my belt. More swimming to come in the future.

[Buk]

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Again no scheduled workout today. Parents are in town and I am trying to spend as much time with them as possible. Yesterday we framed, molded, and worked on my door; and today we did do quite a bit of yard work. This gave me the opportunity for about an hour of vigorous axe intervals while removing a huge stump out of the front yard. I worked at an intensity that definately lets this count as todays workout.

[Buk]

Sunday, July 31, 2005
Weight: 198

7 rounds of:
Clean & Jerk, 1 rep
Pull-ups, max reps

Clean & Jerk	Pull-ups
137lbs(60KG)	7
159lbs(70KG)	8
181lbs(80KG)	7
192lbs(85KG)	7
203lbs(90KG)	7
181lbs(80KG)	7
192lbs(85KG)	7

My hands are so sore from yesterdays axe swinging. I think maybe that is my new suggestion for grip work. I worked on kipping pull-ups today. There is definitely a skill to them, and I got better throughout the workout; but these numbers were still higher than I could have posted using regular pull-ups. Grip had an impace on some of the sets. I think I am going to start working half and half kipping and regular pull-ups. My clean was a little weaker than I was hoping for today. I failed my first attempt at 203lb Clean, but barely ground it out on the second attempt. I caught it out way in front of me(not on my shoulders) but was somehow able to hold on to it. The jerks are much easier than cleans for me, none of them gave me any trouble. Most of the C&J attempts were preceded by a 1 rep front squat.

[Buk]

Monday, August 1, 2005
Weight: 197

For time:
Run 1600m
Thruster 115 pounds, 9 reps
Run 700m
Thruster 115 pounds, 15 reps
Run 350m
Thruster 115 pounds, 21 reps

23:59 total
6:47, 2:15, 3:27, 4:18, 1:43, 5:29
Run paces were 6:47, 7:46, 7:44
Averaged a thruster about every 16 seconds, but that includes travel to and from the bar and up and down the stairs. I did the thrusters in mini-sets of 4 to 7. Thrusters go a lot faster if you don't lock out and stabilize the weight overhead, just press to full extension then let the weight fall back on top of you and push you down for the next rep. I can go faster and get more reps per set this way. I still need to shorten my rests between mini-sets. I know I should be running faster than that, but I was dying. There is still a mental block that I need to eliminate to push myself harder through these workouts. I am definitely going at these hard, but I think I can do more.

[Buk]

Tuesday, August 2, 2005

Swim

Got through 16 total laps today, first 14(0.4 miles) were done in about 32 minutes, resting between each lap usually even between half laps. I am still getting the technique and breathing figured out. I did not push myself on this today, but I think I should try to push myself in the pool next time around and see how that goes.

[Buk]

Tuesday,August 2, 2005
-wo 2

Overhead Squat
3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

137lbs(60KG)x3
159lbs(70KG)x2
170lbs(75KG)x1
170lbs(75KG)x2
181lbs(80KG)x1
192lbs(85KG)x1
203lbs(90KG)xF+F
181lbs(80KG)x1
203lbs(90KG)xF+1

Right after the snatch, this is my favorite exercise. I pushed myself on this one because I really wanted the 200 pound overhead squat. Once I got it, I felt like I could have gotten a few more singles, but knew it was time to go home. My single(instead of a double) at 170 pounds was a mental error, just accidently did one instead of two. On the last rep of a good OHS I release the bar at the top and slide my hands inward so I can try to lower the bar to my chest without dropping it. Racking a bar full of weight from an overhead wide grip is quite difficult. On my third set, my first rep was very good and I launched the bar and caught it in a clean grip before I realized that I was supposed to go again.

I think that swimming takes more out of me than I realize at the time. I haven't been swimming vigerously(I can't) or for a real long time, but it seems to take a lot out of me by the end of the day.

[Buk]

Thursday, August 4, 2005

Swim

21 laps today(0.6 miles). First 14 were done in 25 minutes. Quite a bit faster(shorter rests) than Tuesday's 32 minutes, and I did a lot better with my breathing. I will post better numbers next week, and some day I will be able to continuous swim 0.4 miles.

[BamaDave]

Congrats on the 203 O/H squat. I can't even comprehend that. What position do you start these from -- are you unracking the bar with it placed overhead??

Your Clean and Jerk numbers amaze me too. I just can't imagine hoisting those numbers over my head!

[Buk]

Thanks Dave. For the overhead squats I unrack the bar on my shoulders behind my neck, take a wide grip, then push press it overhead. This is occasionally a failure point, but only when I am thinking too far ahead about the squat and not paying enough attention to what I am doing. I still need to up these lifts, I did these same weights back in February before a shoulder and bicep injury and some time off. I am back and going strong now.

[Buk]

Thursday, August 4, 2005
Weight: 200
-wo 2

"Elizabeth"
21-15-9 reps for time of:
-Clean 135 pounds
-Dips

22:10 total
8:10, 8:47, 5:13
4:33, 3:37, 5:14, 3:33, 3:18, 1:55
Simple does not mean easy. "By low, sell high" - it is a very simple concept, but can be oh so hard. This workout(all of these workouts) are like that. The design is simple enough, the execution is anything but.

I created a river between the olympic platform and the dip bars today. All the cleans were from the floor and about 80% were full squat cleans(power cleaned a few reps). These high rep olympic lifts are really draining. They create a metabolic hole due the the power output that is required. My understanding is that the faster and deeper you create a metabolic hole, the greater the resulting neuroendocrine response will be. Now I need to improve my times so that I am draining my hole quicker.

[Buk]

Friday, August 5, 2005

"Jackie"
-Row 1000m
-Thruster 45 pounds, 50 reps
-Pull-ups, 30 reps

16:41 total
3:35, (1:52 transition), 4:10, 7:04
Paced myself a little on the row, its been a long time, so I wasn't sure how tough 1000m was going to be. My upper back was killing me when I got off. I timed the first transition because it was a little ways away and I wanted to keep record of my time for the row and for the 50 thrusters(transition time still goes towards the total). There is some threshold I need to get past so that I can do the thrusters in fewer mini-sets, and use shorter rests. Pull-ups were very hard today. I used a mix of kipping and regular pull-ups, never more than 5 at a time. Rowing slowed my back down, thrusters hindered my kip.

[Adam H.]

Wow.

I am seriously impressed and intrigued by what you are doing here. I've been reading a lot of Dan John articles lately and this seems to be pretty similar to some of the things he recommends. I am trying to add more "fun" things like this into my workouts. Weights and HIIT are interesting for only so long.

One question: what is kipping a pull up?

Adam

[Buk]

Thanks Adam. I have really been enjoying these workouts in this log, as painful and humbling as they are. Dan John is fairly involved with the CrossFit orginization and shares a lot of ideas and philosophies. I have never meet him, but he seems to be great in all aspects of life. I love his training ideas and his attitude about life. I definately encourage incorporating his stuff or CrossFit stuff into your workouts.

A kipping pull-up is what some people would call a cheating pull-up. You use your hips and legs to help propel yourself. While some people think they are cheating, some think they have a more "functional" caryover to sport and olympic lifting. Basically it is the same idea as using a pushpress instead of a strict overhead press, but some people will always think a pushpress is cheating too. I try to do some of each, but I haven't quite mastered the kip yet.

Watch these 2 guys do 45 Thrusters(95lbs) and 45 kipping pull-ups. Don't worry, it will only take about 3 minutes of your time. It took me over 17 minutes to complete that workout back on July 23

I strive toward a goal I'll never reach, not because of a lack of progress, but because the bar is set so high.
-Alexander Karatis

[Adam H.]

Ummm, let me just say "WOW" again! Those guys are off the chains!

How long have you been doing CrossFit style workouts? How has your progress been? For the sandbag carry, how do you carry it? Anyway possible?

I agree with Dan John's life philosophy. I love reading his common sense approach to training and how it is integrated into a successful life.

Hope you don't mind all of the questions. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Adam

[Buk]

Don't mind the questions at all.

I did some intermitent CrossFit style workouts a little last fall, but couldn't break away from pure olympic lifting. I took some time off this spring due to an injury and some priority issues. But this log is the start of my revitilization, so one solid month in. Progress seems to be going very well. I am anticipating irregular progress rather than a linear kind of change. You know where things progress slightly for a while then make large leaps in improvement then settle in again before the next drastic improvement. And I am very comfortable with that type of progress. I am planning on repeating a few of my early workouts in a few weeks to get some actual measure of progress though.

For the sandbag carry challenge, the bag can be carried any way possible, assuming that it doesn't have any straps or handles. I drape it over both shoulders, over one shoulder, sometimes over my head. I think the length of mine makes it a bit more difficult than a round bag, and the looseness makes running more problematic. The gravel falls to the ends and doesn't distribute the contact points at all - more swinging and more pressure. I am going to try to get some jogging in next time out with my bag. Till now I have just been walking fast. Haven't had a good opportunity to walk the bag this week, but I did have a good 3-year-old carry Friday night for about an hour.