[Schwinners]

26 April

Gymnastics
- back lever progressions on the rings - got some great tips from one of the guys at the class who used to be in the circus!
- skin the cat to l-sit
- front sommersaults - better than last week
- round off to back flic - combining them ok now, but still a long way to go
- handstand practice



27 April

Now I am doing gymnastics, I've decided to finally have a go at the progressions for the planche and front lever. Going to be a long road to get there but I'm going to give it a go:

60 seconds frog stand
- managed it as one set, so will move onto ball/tuck planche next time

60 seconds tuck front lever
- sets were broken up a lot, but managed to progress a bit as I went through (e.g. knees closer to chest, hips higher)

10 kneeling roll outs
5 hanging leg raises
x 3

10 supermans to
10 sec superman hold to
10 superman rocks to
10 sec superman hold to
10 supermans to
10 sec superman hold
(one superset)



28 April

First week of 2nd 5/3/1 cycle

Squat
Wendler 5/3/1 1RM for cycle 1 = 100kg x 0.9 = 90kg
Wendler 5/3/1 1RM for cycle 2 = 90kg + 5kg = 95kg
Cycle 2, Week 1 - 5x65%, 5x75%, 5x85% (or max reps)

5 x 62.5kg
5 x 72.5kg
15 x 80kg
5 mins rest between sets

Assistance Work
3 x 5 one legged squats per side, BW + 10kg

Felt very strong on the squats today. Was hoping for 12 reps but got to 15. Squatting regularly is certainly yielding a marked improvement.

One legged squats felt as good as ever today. Filmed them too, so might post them up...



29 April

Run/Hill Sprints (lunchtime)

Run
2 miles - 15:34

Hill sprints
240ft (~72m), ~20-30 degree incline - 13s, 13s, 13s, 14s, 13s
(2 minutes between sprints)

Run was a nice easy(ish) pace for me. Was a beatiful day outside so ran around the fields at work.

On the way back passed some hills and I could not resist doing some sprints. Tried for speed/power over endurance, hence the rest and trying to keep the times consistent. Felt fast and strong, although now my legs are reminding me that I did squats last night

Gymnastics tonight


Gymnastics (evening)
Began on rings (l sits, lever progressions, etc) then went onto sommersaults and flips. My back flic has regressed, will need to address that next lesson



30 April

Day off work today Spent a lot of it digging out turf, laying some paving, taking said turf (100+kg) to the tip. Also built 3 pieces of flat packed furniture and had Nandos for lunch

Spent 15 minutes working proper support position on the rings - palms turned out, only hands in contact with the rings, elbows locked. Whole different animal! Next up, ring dips in this position



3 May

Second week of 2nd 5/3/1 cycle

Deadlift
Wendler 5/3/1 1RM for cycle 1 = 145kg x 0.9 = 130kg
Wendler 5/3/1 1RM for cycle 2 = 130kg + 5kg = 135kg
Cycle 2, Week 2 - 3x70%, 3x80%, 3x90% (or max reps)

3 x 95kg
3 x 107.5kg
7 x 122.5kg
5 mins rest between sets

Assistance Work
3 x 5 RDLs, 60kg/70kg/80kg
3 x 12 2 handed KB swings, 38kg

Really pleased with 7 reps at 122.5kg. In my first cycle I did 5 reps at 117.5kg, so I'm continuing to see progress.

[Schwinners]

Oops, long time since trog update over here. Done a lot of training in the last month - so much so that it would take ages to copy it all over. It's on my trog at WT if you want to read Trog.

Been keeping up with the gymnastics and still enjoying it.

Also did my 1RM tests on squat and deadlift this week:

Squat - 110kg
Deadlift - 150kg
So over 150% BW on squat and 200% BW on deadlift (weight ~73kg) so happy.

Some more gymnastic type stuff and heavy met cons next week before S&P meet on the 5th

[Schwinners]

1 Jun

Heavy Met Con
5 deadlifts 100kg
5 box jumps 20"
x5
6:35

First time using deadlifts in met con above 60kg, so happy enough with the time. Wanted to get in some faster reps before S+P meet in case - last time the deadlift event was grip hold for time so this time I guess it will either be speed/reps or weight - the latter I have covered best I can with 5/3/1. Was ok first 3 sets, last 2 were a bit broken.

Had planned to do more but whilst testing my plyo box I misjudged my arm swing and wacked my hand against the box. Cut hand in 3 places so lost a lot of time stopping it bleeding and dressing the wounds. Didn't make that mistake again

Here is my plyo box that I constructed from 2x2 timber and 1/2 chipboard - 3 boxes in 1! Also filmed using the box - will post up tonight.

[Schwinners]

2 June

If the clues are to be believed, there will be a log clean and press this weekend. So watching the following video Chet put up on FK.UK (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=4bx5bECrkgw), I wanted to practice the clean by first deadlifting and resting the bar on the knees, before "rolling" it up to the chest.

1 clean + 10 push jerk, 50kg
1 clean + 8 push jerk, 55kg
1 clean + 6 push jerk, 60kg

Finished with 5 cleans using my 40kg waterball.

Fairly happy with the technique. Difficult to replicate with a bar because it is not a fat as a log and therefore not as easy to "roll". But using the waterball at the end helped - it's fat enough that it mimiced the movement quite well. Whilst it lacked a bit in weight (40kg), it made up for it in instability.

[Schwinners]

5 May

Crossfit Reading Strength and Power Meet 2010 (in association with FK.UK)

Fantastic day! Although I failed to retain my crown as sub-75 champion, I had a thoroughly great day. Good to catch up everyone!

I've done a video of all my highlights which will explain things better than my words would, but my highlight was managing to pull a deadlift PB of 155kg, +5kg on my PB. Maybe if I was fresh I could have gone further, but my deadlift was the 4th and final event for me.

Video on Youtube

[Schwinners]

Back to training with a bang post S&P Meet:


070610

Gymnastics

First session in 2 weeks due to commitments, bank holiday and rest pre-S+P meet.

Ring training
- turned out support
- dips
- false grip pull ups (20+)
- back lever work
- l-sits (5 second holds)
- hanging leg raises (5 per set)

Other
- Reverse leg lifts off pommel horse (BW, 2.5kg, 5kg)
- Some work on front sommersaults
- A few freestanding HSPU attempts (legs straddled)
- Finished with some back lever work on the parallel bars



080610

Lower Body

Single legged squat work
- rolling (i.e. roll onto back then rock forward onto one foot, then up from the bottom of the squat using momentum)
- heel raised (on weight plate)
- slow negative
- rolling to jump (jump at top of squat)
- roll to bottom of squat (i.e. roll back then rock forward onto one foot, but balance at bottom)

Conditioning
1 deadlift 120kg
5 box jumps 20"
x10 (each set starts on the minute, 10 mins work)



090610

Gymnastic Statics

60 secs L-sit on parallettes (22s, 20s, 18s)
60 secs tuck lever (15s, 16s, 15s, 14s)
60 secs advanced frog stand on parallettes (5s, 7s, 6s, 5s, 10s, 12s, 11s, 4s)


100610

Gymnastics

Ring training
Back lever
I can get to within about 20 degrees of parallel with good body shape before I lose form so definitely seeing progress. Got some great tips from my instructor a few weeks back and my improvement is noticeable.
False grip pull ups
Muscle up transition work
I stuffed up a kipped muscle up a few months back and hurt my right shoulder. It's been healing well since so I am going back over basics again before trying it again.

Front tuck practice
Still not getting these, I'm too slow in the tuck phase so end up turning slowly and if I land, end up travelling too far. I will work more on my tumbling/flips over the coming months.

Other
Bit of work on round offs, handstands, freestanding HSPU (straddle) attempts.



110610

Lower Body

Single Leg Box Jumps
Did a few sets of single leg jumps onto 16" and 20" box. Then managed to do a few reps of single leg jump onto 20" box, balance, one legged squat on box (all without other leg touching floor/box) Must get these on video next time!

1RM dumbbell snatch
1 x 23kg
1 x 28kg
1 x 33kg
1 x 37kg
1 x 39.5kg
1 x 41kg
1 x 43kg PB
1 x 45.5kg RHS 100lbs! PB
1 x 45.5kg LHS FAIL
1 x 45.5kg LHS FAIL
1 x 45.5kg LHS 100lbs! PB

Conditioning
Tabata squats @ 60kg (20 secs work, 10 sec rest, x8)
6, 7, 6, 6, 5, 6, 5, 5 = 46 reps total

Absolutely buzzing! I loved every minute of that session

The single leg jumps were brilliant fun. The 1RM snatch was a PB by 3.5kg, and equal to 100.1lbs, so a great milestone to reach. And tabata squats were pretty evil, but fun nonetheless! I love having a garden space to train in

COME ON ENGLAND!