Power clean clusters

Started today with some Tabata double-unders. Made some huge progress as I hit over 20 in 4 of the 8 intervals. Pumped about that because d-u's are a huge skill obstacle for me. Then I did 3 sets of power clean clusters 1.1.1.1.1 at 165, 190, 205. Cluster means that there's a 10 sec pause between each rep. Pretty excited about this even though I failed on final 205# attempt. Also kind of tweaked my wrist but it'll be okay. Then I finished up with 3rds of 10 kb swings at 70#, 10 Burpees, and 100m sprint. Rest 3 min between rounds.

Hill Run

In Mississippi today (Thursday), I found an awesome hill in the neighborhood where we are. I gave it a whirl. Sprinted it 10 times (about 100m). Walked down it to rest.  Yesterday I had limited time and so instead of changing the workout I stupidly did the wod without a warmup. It was 3 different 6 minute amraps with a 2 minute rest between each. All started with an 800m run then a barbell movement with the time remaining. It was thrusters (25), push press (38), and squat cleans (18) all with 95#. 

Refocus

Last week I signed up to compete in The Fittest Games. This will be a huge test to where my fitness stands. Right now it is slumped at the bottom. During the Christmas break I've eaten terrible, got violently sick, and lost at least 8 pounds. Now that I'm back to eating I'm eating everything in sight. I took it easy and did a little slow workout on Saturday. Then a muscle endurance/strength session on Sunday. Then a smoke myself day today: Wod 1 in the am:
5 rds
20 box jumps
30 kb swings
40 double unders
 I actually pr'd in doubles in the last round with 44. (I just kept going)
 Wod2 in the pm
Amrap 20 minutes
200m run
12 push press at 115#
200m run
12 dead lift at 115#

Overhead and Cardio

This morning I worked on some overhead squat work.  Nothing fancy and ran short on time so cut the session short as well.  Reps and Loads looked like this:
15@95#, 7@115# x 2, 5@135#, 5@145#, 1@155# (that last one was supposed to be 3 reps but I rushed it)

This afternoon was a straight cardio wod.  Did this one with Beth.
1K row (A@3:32, B@3:57)
rest 10 min
"Annie" 50-40-30-20-10 of Double-unders and sit-ups (A@8:28, B@5:55)
rest 10 min
1 mile run (A@7:29, B@7:58)

Good Workout - Two days ago I hit a double-under PR at 40.  They're getting better and hence the PR smash today on Annie.  It was Beth's first attempt and she now holds the top women's time at CF Lewisville.  The row felt solid and the run felt ok and faster than my time shows which is a full minute slower than my best.

Overall a good day of workouts.  Oktoberfest Obliteration happens in less than a week!

Heavy Bear Crawls

Morning Session:
Clean Pulls @ 225# 3x3
Clean High Pulls @ 185# 3x3
Jumping Back Squats @ 135# 3x3

Late Morning Session:
4 rounds of
100m Bear Crawl Sled Drag @ 90#
AMRAP Burpees in 30sec
Rest 2 min.

Burpees were 13,15,14,13

Front Squat Singles

For this current training cycle I'm hitting my weakest lift (front squats) once a week.  I'm taking a page out of the Blair Morrison book.  2 weeks ago I did 5 Front Squats every minute on the minute until I could go no further.  I got 8 rounds + 3 reps @ 155#.  Last week I did triples on the minute at 175# for 10 minutes.  Today I did singles at 205# on the minute for 10 minutes.  My knees like to cave in, so that's my major focus with squats.  I felt really good and pleased with today's strength session.

City Hall

My last workout was done at Lewisville's City Hall.  It was a partner wod.
12 minute clock:
Increasing ladder of Burpee on KB then high pull then a swing that equals 1 rep.  Then pick up 40# small punching bag and run about 90m to front of City Hall building.  That run included some stairs which added just a bit more difficulty.  While that was going on the other partner did amrap ledge mounts.  Those wore me out more than I thought they would.  You can see from the video that I was pretty gassed.  Beth kept moving pretty good on the ledge mounts.



Workout @City Hall @Lewisville, TX from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

Friday, September 2

Today's training:

Mainsite WOD

15-12-9-6-3

135# Power Cleans

Bar Facing Burpees

Time-7:19

A couple minutes slower than the fittest in the world, so I'll take that.

This afternoon I got some heavy thruster triples in.  I used the Games Standard from the regional workout.  It was tough to use explosive hips while keeping the heels on the ground.  Video at bottom.  I worked up to 165# but 175# was a bit heavy and I failed on the 2nd rep.

Thursday, September 1

Workout update:

Yesterday was tabata style: 8 rounds 20 sec on/10 sec off with alternating movements.  75# Push Press and Jumping Lunges.  Your score was total reps.  I scored 105 in Push Press and 134 in Jumping Lunges.  It was much more of a breather than anything else.  Although the jumping lunges did smoke the legs pretty good.
Today was weighted pull-ups 3-3-3-3-3.  I went 12#-15#-18#-23#-28#.  I feel like I should get multiple reps at higher weights on these dates maybe something like 18#-18#-23#-23#-28#.  That would probably elicit a better response.

Long time

Whoa!  It's been awhile.  I promise to get back in the swing of things here.
I started mainsite programming about 3 weeks ago.  I enjoy the structure and the anticipation that it brings.  I've never mainsite programming so that's the real reason that I've decided to do this.

I signed up for Oktober Obliteration team with Beth and Casey.  I think I will do mainsite at least till then and the reevaluate.  I can't wait to start blogging about my experiences with the workouts.

This past Thursday and Friday Dave and I went down to Austin to CrossFit Central for their Garage Gym Blueprint workshop.  It was very informative and interesting to watch what they do.

Team Training update #7

It's been nearly two weeks since I last posted.  We've had some brutal individual wods but I'll update you guys on our team workouts since that's what we are training for.

We've had 3 since the beginning of last week:
First was 3 men and 3 women each gender completes 50 Thrusters 95/65, 50 Burpees over a pvc parallette, 50 KB swings 70/55, 50 Pull-ups (men CtB), 50 Overhead squats 96/65, 150 double unders, 50 Push Press 95/65, 50 walking lunges holding KB from swings, and 50 wall ball.  Both genders had to move as a unit to next exercise.

Second, we loaded up 2 bars 95# and 65# and had to squat snatch a total of 20,000 pounds. We decided to equal it into 125 reps at each bar.  The kicker was that we had to row a 5k also.  The rower had to be moving for snatches to count.  I think we finished the snatches with nearly a full k left on the rower.  So maybe not as quick on the rower as we had hoped.  We finished it in just over 20 minutes.

The third one was this morning.  Someone mentioned that it was team workout from a past competition.  It was a 4 person (2 men/2 women) workout.  100 wall balls, 100 kb swings (70/55), 100 burpees, and a 2k row.  We finished in just over 17 minutes.  I blew apart on my last row of 600m right after Jake smoked his 600m.

At the same time our strong muscled couple the McAdams did as many pounds shoulders to overhead (no rack) in 3 minutes.  I know Niki got 52 reps (not sure on weight) and Stephen got 51 reps @ 115#.  I think they totaled over 8,000 pounds.

My body is pretty tired and I need to make sure I take care of it these next 4 weeks.

Till next time...

Team Training update #6 (with a 5K)

I've got a couple updates for you guys, so we'll jump right into the workouts.

I took Thursday off, but I ended up one day ahead of the rest of the team.  On Thursday they did the partner 6k row that Lindsey and I had done the previous day.  Everyone did really good on that workout.  Transitions seemed pretty smooth and strokes looked solid from those that have been rowing a while.

On Friday we did a 14 minute workout:
AMRAP Back Squats in 5 minutes at 65% of 1RM, AMRAP KB swings in 4 minutes (55#/35#), AMRAP double-unders in 3 minutes, and AMRAP GHD sit-ups in 2 minutes.  My scores were 23, 69, 55, 50 - you can definitely see where my strengths and weaknesses are.

On Saturday we ran a 5K in The Colony.  It was warm, but a fun way to spend some time with friends.  Jake did the best in our group with a time of 24:05.  I was friendliest and said "Thank you" to all volunteers and tried to talk to other runners on the course.  Stephen wore the best spandex and our girls ran well while being very pretty.  After some breakfast we went to the gym for our real workout:
10 rounds of Deadlift with a 30 sec rest.  Guys added 10# every lift, ladies added 5#.  I started at 275# and was successful until my hand slipped on last lift of 375# (should of chalked up).  I was pleased with that.  Niki Pr'd at 225# and Beth got 160# (her best but it won't be long till she shatters that). Jake and Stephen both got 400 and Lindsey finished at 255#.  After cleaning that up we went outside for 10 x 50m sled drags.  Needless to say I was exhausted after all that and proceeded to take a 3 hour nap.

Just one major lesson for me this week: I've got to squat more.  Somehow I need to figure out a way to squat consistently and heavy.  I used to put in a set of 20's and that felt great.  I might look at going in that direction for the rest of the month and then dialing it down as we get closer to the competition.

Till next time...

Team Training update #5 and Wow It's Hot

My legs are garbage after the last couple of days.  I'm also down in weight since working in the sauna  for the past 13 days.  I need to up the water intake and increase my snacks.

I'm forcing an off day today.  I'll probably roll out a couple of times and have scheduled an ice bath for later.  I've got to get ready for some heavy cleans tomorrow.  I've also been tricked into running a 5k on Saturday.

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 29) I did 3-3-3-3-3 handstand pushups.  I did one set on the parallettes and the other 4 on 45# bumpers, so about 4in of extra depth.  Later Lindsey and I did a partner 6000m row.  We switched at every 1k and our total time was 24:41.

Tuesday Lindsey and I squeezed in another partner style wod before the 5pm class.  It was 2 rounds of 200m farmer carry, 30 box jumps, 15 GHD, 15 C2B, and 30 lunges with 45# plate overhead.  I did a round then Lindsey then we repeated.  Our time was 24:13.

Monday I worked out with Beth and we did weighted pull-ups. 7-6-5-4-3-2-1.  Then we did 3 rounds of 45 burpees with a 90sec rest.  I went 2:22,2:58, and 3:15 total time was 11:35.

We've got a few tough ones coming up.  Everyone has been working really hard.  Beth's making great strides.  Here's hoping that Lindsey's shoulder holds up and is alright throughout the summer.   

Here's my boys Jake and Stephen cleaning 245. 

Later Jake pr'd with 255.

Here's BeVe rowing and Niki busting out some strict handstand push-ups.

No picture of Lindsey and you guys get enough pictures and videos of me.

Team Training #4

I know it's been awhile, but I've had a busy week since getting back into town and starting work at CrossFit Denton County. 

Sunday, June 19: Got back into town from 17 hr trip gave myself a couple hours to unpack and get re-situated then right back into the gym.  I did 8x2 Squat Cleans and then a short met-con.  Videoed both and will put them in this post at the bottom.

Can't quite remember which days went with which workouts.  All my days have been running together.
We did a long chipper which Stephen was able to kill.  Farmer's Carry, swings, double-unders, push-ups, box jumps, hang power cleans, lunges, rowing.
Heavy deadlift for multiples and an emotm shoulder press wod.
Hang Squat Snatch and Ring Pull-up work with an Air-Dyne wod.
Max rep front squats at 135# then 5 rds of 21 wall balls, 15 push-ups, 15 ghd's.  An hour later we did 21-15-9 275# Deadlift and box jumps.


Squat cleans 175x2 from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.


6.19.11 wod from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

Team Training #3 (sort of)

Update on training even though I haven't worked out with the team since like Monday.  I think they are voting on kicking me off the team.  Heard the vote was 4-1 (thanks Beth).

Wednesday : Rest day
Thursday: 10 x 1 on 90% back squat @ 260#  This was really hard.  Took 60sec rest in between.
Barbell Bent Row @ 115# 4 x 8.
Then 7 min on the Air-Dyne - 10 sec all out then 20 sec above 50rpm for entire 7 min.
Friday: Snatch Deadlift 5x5 @ 145# with a tempo count.
Then 3 rounds of 15 95#OHS, 20 T2B, and 10 Burpees
Time was 9:53
Friday afternoon I left with my brother and son to drive to Ohio.  17+ hours later we arrived around 10:00 in the morning.
Saturday afternoon: 20 min amrap 1 lap around track 1:1 rest.  I got in 8 runs (I think track was a bit shy of 400m) then AMRAP burpees in 7 min.  I got 90 and was gassed.
Sunday: Got up and went to the Central East Regionals that were being held in Columbus.  It was very cool.  Parked next to Dave Castro, sat near Graham Holmberg, saw Rich Frohning, Heather Bergeron, and Caity Maiter Henniger.  Also got to see Michelle Kinney and Dan Bailey workout.  Both won their division.
Light 2 mile jog later that evening right before watching my Mavericks win the NBA Championship.
Monday: Full day at the zoo.  Crossfit has not prepared me for this type of beating.  Exhusted.
I also think that I am getting a little sick.  Head cold stuff.  Need to make sure I'm getting good sleep.
Till next time...

CFFM Team Training Update #2

I'll try to update every rest day.
Sunday: Supposed to be a rest day but I was getting a little bored a went to Flower Mound HS track and did 6 x 200m sprints.  Tried to keep them at 33 sec.  Played a basketball game that night.  (no, not for the Mavs)
Monday: Good Mornings 4x10 @ 95# and DB shoulder press 5x8 @ 35#, 
Met-con was 4 rounds of 250m row, 40 lunges, 12 GHD - 11:40
Tuesday: Hang Squat Clean 5,5,3,3,1,1 - 135,155,165,165,185,205f
Max rep Pull-ups x 3, 2 min rest - 33, 13, 10 (how about that drop off!?!)
Met-Con was 21-15-9 of
70# KB Swing and Ring Push-ups
3:27 or 3:37 (can't remember what Beth told me)

I'm taking full advantage of this rest day.  On Friday afternoon I leave for Columbus, Ohio.  I'll try to keep you updated on what I'll be doing.  I'd like to visit some local CrossFits. 

I'll leave you with a picture of the kid.
Till next time.

CFFM Team Training

It's been awhile since my last post.  Here's a brief update:
School is closing out.
Had a birthday.
Started up some consistent training again.
There how's that for brief.

We started up a team for CrossFit Flower Mound to compete in the Life as Rx tour.  It consists of Lindsey Sullivan, Beth Veach, Niki McAdams, Stephen McAdams, Jake Floyd, and me.  We started traing two weeks ago with Dave Nichols' help.  It's been really good and I feel progress already.  My nutrition is still terrible and it is something that I will constantly struggle with.  My strength is coming back and my conditioning is getting better. 

Here's a wod from yesterday's training:
AMRAP 7 min
10 pull-ups
20 sit-ups
20 box jumps 24"

Start of May

Got to the box on Monday and Tuesday this week. 
Monday we did:
21-15-9
Pull-ups
135# Power Cleans

Finished in 5:46

Tuesday was "Michael"
3 rounds of
800m run
50 back ext (used 45 degree)
50 sit-ups

PR'd in 19:04

11.6

Did the CrossFit Open 11.6 Wod on Saturday.  I was pleased with my performance.  I ended up with 86 reps.

Thrusters were unbroken until rd of 12 (6+6) then 15 (5+4+3+3).  My last handfull of CtB pull-ups were singles which I didn't really expect.

This week

Spotty training again this week.

I did 'Grace' along with Rachel yesterday.  I got 3:50.  It was her first time.  She'll smoke once she gets efficient.  Video attached below.

Tomorrow I'll do the 11.6 WOD.  I gave it a practice run on Wednesday and got 77 reps.  I'd like to be closer to 90.  I went slow and steady but am afraid that if I jump out of the gate quick then I'll blow up.  We'll see.


Grace 04/28/11 from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

I'm tired

Realized that I haven't posted my score from the 11.4 workout.  I ended up only getting 25 overhead squats.  Those were a lot tougher than I expected after the 60 burpees.

Today I did 11.5 which was AMRAP 20 minutes of:
5 Power Cleans 145#
10 Toes to Bar
15 Wall Ball

I ended with 8 rounds and 4 toes to bar.

I felt like I was moving in quicksand.  I took a lot of breaks.  For me this was a workout that showed my nutrition issue and lack of working out consistently (conditioning).

Another Wednesday

On Saturday I did CF Open WOD #3.  165# Squat clean and jerks AMRAP in 5 minutes.  I ended up with a score of 31.  15 rounds plus a clean.  I was not upset by that at all.

This week's is a doozy.  It is AMRAP 10 minutes of 60 burpees over a barbell but facing the barbell, 30 overhead squats at 120# and 10 muscle-ups.  Yikes.  Should be an interesting one.

Hump day of this week

Well we got CF Open Wod #3 announced.  It is AMRAP 5 minutes of 165# squat clean and jerk.  Pretty heavy for a skinny dude like me.  We'll see.  Earlier today I tinkered with 175# sc/jerks.  They were heavy.

Yesterday I went to the box and hit:
10 EMOTM
10 Wall-balls 20#
10 Box Jumps 24"
This was really hard.  I completed 9 rounds and got 3 bxjp into the final minute.  This wod sucked the life out of your legs.

Monday I did:
Run ~900m
30 wall ball (16# at school)
30 pull-ups
Finished around 7:20

Might rest some tomorrow.  Need to get my legs ready for the WOD #3 which I will probably hit on either Saturday morning or Friday evening.

CF Open Wod #2

On Saturday morning I did the CrossFit Open Wod #2.  I fell just short of 9 rounds and it was becuase of box jumps.  They were very slow.  A serious weakness.  Then about 45 minutes after that I did:
Run 400
21 OHS @ 75#
21 Pull-ups
Run 400
15 OHS
15 Pull-ups
Run 400
9 OHS
9 Pull-ups
Time was 10:21
All OHS were unbroken and last set of pull-ups were unbroken.  Couple of things I either learned (probably already knew). 1) I have trouble pushing hard on runs for fear that I won't have anything left to give when I get back in the gym.  2) When I come off the pull-up bar I won't get very many pull-ups in when I get back on.  For example instead of going 14-7 in the first round it'll be more like 14-4-3.  Put them on the list of things to work on.

Been awhile

Haven't posted in forever.  But really who's reading.

I have been working out, but mainly just some met-cons and only hitting strength stuff when I feel like it.

Need to get strength wods more focused for sure and I have to crank up the intensity in other wods.  I've noticed that recently I've been staying in that comfort zone.

I did hit CF Comp Wod #1 a couple weeks ago.  I suck at double-unders and never train them so I had a bad attitude going into in.  I got 4 rds + 8 du's.  Not very good but the atmosphere was fun at the box. 

This week's wod is AMRAP 15 of 9 DL @ 155, 12 hand release push-ups, 15 box jumps.
Again not playing to my strengths, but really what will?  It'll be fun.  I promise to post when I complete.

Here's a video of the last 2k row I did.  PR'd.  Dave's the chipmunk talking and grunting in the backround.  Just making that clear. 

Crazy past couple of weeks

So we've had Snowpocolypse this past couple of weeks here in North Texas.  It's made my schedule a little crazy and I've struggled to get in some decent wods.

Here's some of what I've been able to do:

I got a PR in the 2k row- 7:18

3 rounds of
20 Wall-Ball
15 GHD sit-ups
5 Power Cleans @ 165
~11 min

5 rounds of
5 deadlifts @ 245#
10 burpees
~4:20

5 rounds of
45 sec on 15 sec off
walking lunges
pull-ups
broad jumps
push press @ 30# dbs
got 395 reps total

Plus some skill/strength work in the snatch/clean/press/squat

I have some video that I'll try to get up once I can get some time and motivation to work with it.
Here's hoping for a better next couple of days.

At least I have the weekend

I was only able to get one workout in during the week and that was last Monday.
But at least I have the weekend...
Yesterday (Saturday) I got in some "heavy" squat cleans.  I say "heavy" because I'm still not at the same strength levels that I was at in August.  I also worked on some overhead squats.
Saturday's met-con was:
5 rounds of
10 hang power clean @ 115#
5 burpees
Sprint 80 yds (estimate)
rest 3 minutes exactly between rounds
60sec, 55sec, 59sec, 68sec, 74sec

Today I went a little longer and did:
3 rounds of
"Cindy" for 5 rounds and 3 135# thrusters after 5th round
Video shows last round of each.  Ipod was on shuffle and I got a little unlucky at the beginning with "Vogue" and "St. Elmo's Fire", but I got fired up after seeing The Spazmatics on Friday night.


"Cindy" with a few thrusters from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

Nothing to report

Started out this past week with some squat work and a solid met-con on Monday.  Then it was just downhill from there.  I had a number of things get in the way of training.  The biggest was probably my lack of desire and focus.  I just haven't been feeling it at all lately.  I need to find and bring back that passion for training back.  Last night I did get some food prep in, so that's a start.  Work hard this week.

Almost as risqué as mainsite

Here is my response to CrossFit.com's mainsite picture for Wednesday, January 12.

Friendly Competition or Flat Embarrassment?

Last night I received a text from a fellow crossfitter.  They had completed 35 front squats at 95#.  I was impressed.  My inconsistent strength work had me thinking if I could do that.  Well I got home from a basketball game around 11pm, fed the dogs, walked out into the garage and I had a bar already set up with 115#.  I picked it up and preceded to front squat.  I got 25 before stopping.  The last few were a struggle.  I was a little disappointed but actually got more than I thought I would.  Oh, by the way my fellow crossfitter is a girl.  Gotta chase somebody!  Today I'll do some squat work. 

25 Front Squats from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

My Weekend

Weekends are the best time for me to get solid training in until basketball season is over.

Friday Jan 7
10-1 of
70# KB Swings
K2E
115# Push Press

I got it all unbroken but in 12:05.  Too much staring at the weights.

Saturday Jan 8
I played around with the Varsity boys while getting 12 unbroken front squats then 1 rep Squat Cleans.  Everything feels heavy since I haven't been lifting consistently.
Later that afternoon I did an old OPT test wod:
AMRAP 3 minutes
3 Chest 2 Bar
3 Burpee @ 8' reach
I got 53 reps.  I'll do this again in a few as a test.

Sunday Jan 9
Was able to sneak in and knock this out:
5 rds of
8 70# KBS
8 Burpee Pull-ups

Video shows that I let the bell swing me and that I breathe super heavy.


Jan 9, 2011 from Andy Atkins on Vimeo.

2011 GOALS

So basketball season just kills my fitness. I feel like I lose every gain that I make over the summer. Right now everything feels super heavy and I feel like I have to start at square one again. My immediate goal is to get back into some consistent workouts even if it is just some warm-up stuff or mobility work. I will start to analyze how I feel everyday, during wods, and post wods. I want to truly focus on CrossFit and getting better at movements, transitions in wods, and both short and mid-range time domains. I want to increase strength in both upper and lower body, but with a focus on squat strength and pushing power. I will increase my knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and how the body works most efficiently. I will increase my knowledge on nutrition and focus on feeding myself and my son foods that will increase our health (and performance).

As the year progresses I will certainly have concrete numbers to shoot for, but right now I’ll settle for attempts at consistency and slow increases.

New Blog

I'll start posting training thoughts and ideas here. As well as posting my training, nutrition, and any nonsense that I want. Keep posted I'll try to start with a post on 2011 goals.