Back to Full Swing

I had an awful weekend full of sickness and travel and was not able to do a workout proper due to those limitations. However, I started off Monday strong with a nice metcon and finished with a crossfit workout.

AM workout:

Bicycle - 1:2 work:rest on 1:40 intervals
Work Zone: 290-310 Watts
Rest Zone:190-210 Watts

Intervals complete: 7

PM Workout:

5-10-15-20-25-30 Deadlift at 226#
30-25-20-15-10-5 Push Ups

Time: 9:06

Sickeness

I couldn't Crossfit or metcon today because of a cold, I say this matter of factly, because I legitimately tried to row and when that failed, I tried to WOD and that througoughly failed. I ended up compromising and lifting my MEBB upper body course work and getting the hell out of the gym.

MEBB Upper Body - Shoulder Press
5 - 95
5 - 100
5 - 105
3 - 110
3 - 110
3 - 115

I'm not proud of it, but one of my greatest weaknesses in life is my shoulders. I avoided lifting them when I was growing up because of swimming and I ended up ruining thier flexibility and my ability to do anything in that superior range of motion.

Keep It Simple Stupid

MEBB Lower Body

5 - 225
5 -230
5 - 235
3 - 260
3 - 265
3 - 270

Percentages were low today, just under where I would like them but overall a good day. I'll have a bigger update later

Tis the Season

A blizzard hit the Midwest, I say this not to update people on my life, but as the explanantion to the workout today. Missing out on a facility for metabolic conditioning because my car could not get out of the parking lot. I aimed for a Crossfit WOD that I really wanted to do from last week. The Lumber Jack 20 was a workout preformed in honor of the slain soldiers and civilians killed in the Fort Hood Masacre, beyond the emotional significance of this workout, its definitely rough. I had some major subs, but think I kept the intent true.

20 Deadlifts (275lbs)
150 Jump Rope
20 KB swings (2pood -> Russian)
150 Jump Rope
20 Overhead Squats (115lbs)
150 Jump Rope
20 Burpees
150 Jump Rope
20 Pullups (Dead Hang)
150 Jump Rope
20 Box jumps (24")
150 Jump Rope
20 Squat Cleans (135lbs)
150 Jump Rope

Time: 31:14

Observations: Squat Cleans were rough te day after training them in my MEBB Total Body day and by far, took the most time of any lift in the workout. I split it into 4x5 reps scheme in fact and rested 10-15 seconds; accidently it turned into a partial tabata scheme. I haven't really ever jumped rope, for athletics or for fun, and I was worried about this in place of 400 m run. I put in good numbers each time by getting above 100 before first failure (happened in the 4 round).


Today I put an emphais on quality: quality of my deadlift pull, squat clean full hip extension and the low catch, etc. I have been debating the crossfit axiom of 80/20. In top tier crossfit athletes, the presense of proper form appear 80% of the time, while incorrect form is present 20% of the time. The justification for this inconsistancy is intensity and form are on the same axis, and one is a trade off for another. If one looks at the Crossfit Message Board's Injury Section and one can see injuries prevades this axiom (coupled with the fast push of new clients to enter full Crossfit WODs). A mentality that leads to needless injury and an execuse to be lazy. Form degrades with reptitions, trainers should be waching for this using verbal and physical cues or the client need to reset the weight and use the form they began with before preceding. Intensity can still be gained from technique and form, that's turly an axiom.

Stuff Dreams are Made Of

Let's address some concerns with the program I have made:

Overtraining is probably the biggest concern, if my litmus test for my program is my ability to preform then overtraining is my downfall. Symptoms of overtraining include: headaches, pain in joints and muscles, general ill feeling, and a drop in preformance. Thusly, overtraining needs to be avoided at all costs. I would suggest for those that are worried that a 6 day on/1 day off schedule might be to much, they should look at micro-cycling: 3 days on, 1 day off.

Day 1 Crossfit and Metcon

Day 2 MEBB (Total Body, Upper Body, or Lower Body)

Day 3 Crossfit and Metcon

Day 4 Rest

I would suggest this schedule as well for off season athlete not in a preparatory phase or preconditioning phase of their sport. Reduce stress on the body is modest gains in the off season.

My First Day of the Experiment:

MEBB (Max Effort Black Box) - Total Body

Power Cleans 5,5,5,3,3,3 reps

5- 170lbs
5- 175 lbs
5- 180 lbs
3- 195 lbs
3- 200 lbs
3- Fail at 200 lbs

Strong first showing I think, with the limited equipment (no bumper plates and shitty bar) I was able to follow closely my plan and was able to test the waters. Where did the numbers come from?

The Prilepin Chart

%1RM.............Reps per Set.........Optimal Reps..........Rep Range

55-65.................. 3-6.................... 24 .................. 18-30

70-75.................. 3-6.....................18 .................. 12-24

80-85 ................. 2-4 ....................15....................10-20

90+ .................... 1-2 .................... 7 ................... 4-10

For Example: with a 5,5,5,3,3,3 rep scheme and a max of 200 lbs for a Power Clean and individal should be repping 70-75% of 200 (150 lbs) for their 5 reps and 80-85% for their 3 rep sets. Optimal reps factors in moreso for the Starting Strength rep schemes of 5x5 etc.

Modifications I have made already to experiment:

Tuesday is now MEBB Lower Body and Thursdays are now MEBB Total Body days. This works better with my training schedule at work and I then have access to bumper plates and equipment for the dynamic movements of Total Body Day

The Experiment

I got fed up with my workouts, like everyone else on the planet that suscribes to be more fit. Sooner or later, we all hit that wall and can't figure out how to push through. This is so discouraging to some individuals, that they call it quits (see 3 weeks after New Year's). Some continue with their workouts and hate every minute of it. I spent most of the day researching proven techniques and programs. I then implemented a a cohesive fitness package that is tailored to me; to my goals, to my weaknesses, and most importantly something a little more measurable for my obcessive tendencies. Is it entirely original? No not at all, but its the best progrmming package for intermediate to advance athletes in my opinion. It focuses on performance in multple modalities and utlizes a strength bias.

Basic Schedule:
Mon - Crossfit and Metcon
Tues - MEBB Total Body
Wed - Crossfit and Metcon
Thur - MEBB Lower Body and Metcon
Fri - Crossfit and Metcon
Sat - MEBB Upper Body and Gymnastic Technique
Sun - Full Rest Day

MEBB (Max Effort Black Box) - Developed by Michael Rutherford is a programmed strength bias for Crossfitter (and beyond) that utilization of periodization for three seperate lift regions: Total Body, Upper Body and Lower Body. Using 3 week cycles and phaso-creatine energy system. A better explanation is here and a link to Rutherford's actual MEBB articles can be found at Catalyst Athletics

MetCon - Are primarily coming from Crossfit Endurance which is the school of though in which intensity and intercal cycles are preached. I also plan to train in extended cardiovascular endurance training which will be recored on this blog.

Current Statistics:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 194 lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 8.94 (Bod Pod tested)
Total Body: Power Clean - 245 lbs
Upper Body: Weighted Pull Ups - 300 lbs (me plus weight)
Lower Body: Back Squat - 325 lbs

Tomorrow starts the experiments, lets see what happens

Late - 12/2/09 - Grace action

Being addicted to working out (literally), I usually get 2 solid workouts a day, which is not the greatest training regiment for everyone. Allowing time for the repair of micro traum to the sacromeres (basic unit of function in myofibers) is essiential for making observable gains. By reducing inflammation and letting the reticulum covering the sacromere to repair, not only will muscle fibers be strengthened, but soreness is reduced. How does one do this? Wait adequate time for YOUR body and do not focus on 1 region of muscles. By focusing on region, microtraum of the sacromeric reticulum turns into trauma or worse severe trauma, which tranlaste into longer repair time and serious inhibitions in your ability to preform (i.e. range of motion, flexibility..etc).

Morn Workout

5x500 m row (1:43, 1:41, 1:40, 1:43, 1:38)
with 1:1 work:rest cycle

Evening Workout

30 Clean & Jerk at 156 lbs

Time: 4:32

Things to note in this WOD:
Its 156 lbs because Crossfit Ames somehow acquired 41 lb bars? I am not 7 seconds off Josh Everetts time at the 2008 Crossfit Game's Final WOD. The WOD consisted of 30 squat cleans and jerk, which I most certainly did not do.

12/7/09 - Fit train

Tuesday morning is my strength training day (a fusion of Starting Strength and a focus on weak areas ). As such, expect to see a lot of 1-5 rep schemes and some obvious repeats.

Good Mornings 5x3 (115,135,155,165,185)
Dumbell Shoulder Press 4x4 (4x50 lbs)
Deadlift 5x5 (225, 245, 265, 285, 315)

Being sore this morning really interfered with my full range of motion, which definitely should not be an execuse for bad form. In honor of pushing through the pain, I thought I would give a link that cleared up the topic of lactic acid's role in muscle soreness, a very common misconception.

Also defintely a good site to get turned on to is Greyskull Barbell Club, not the best for beginners, but definitely a uncomplicated approach to strength training.