On this day 235 years ago, two battalions of Continental Marines were organized in Philadelphia, forming what is now known as The United States Marine Corps. Happy birthday Marines!
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." - Epictetus
This morning I rolled up to the gym feeling well but still a bit tired. Honestly, knowing that recovery work was going to be on the whiteboard helped get me there today.
SICFIT Austin WOD "mobility recovery/week" A. 10 minutes foam roller/trigger point B. 800 meter run C. shoulder work: *figure-8 with a 15# bumper, 30 seconds each direction *small circles, arms extended with 5# plates, 30 seconds forward, 30 seconds backward *large circles with 5# plates, 30 seconds forward, 30 seconds backwards *figure-8 with 15# bumper, 30 seconds each direction D. KB work @ 16kg 2X -10 Russian swings/10 American swings -10 windmills each side/5 TGU each side -10 1-hand Russian swings each side/10 snatch each side 2X -10 windmills each side/5 TGU each side -10 Russian swings/10 American swings -10 1-hand/1-leg (opposites) Romanian deadlifts each side/5 clean&press each side E. 10 minutes shoulder/chest/lat mobility work with bands
Felt good to move. Speaking of moving, check out this free running show reel by 3RUN!
Think I'm ready to go full speed again! "Hump day" is coming! Peace.
"If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing." ~Saint Augustine
I've been fighting off being sick since Friday. Took today as another rest day. I'll be back at it mañana.
I've been in "GO! GO! GO!" mode so much lately my "down time" usually involves eating a quick meal and passing out. Occasionally I've even cut out the meal part and gone right to sleep! So it's hard to describe how special it was to just slow down and take in a great show - all in the company of a wonderful, beautiful woman! Life doesn't get much better.
Here's Mumford & Sons performing their song "Awake My Soul:"
This morning at SICFIT Austin we worked the barbell snatch...
A. WARMUP 800 meter run 3 rounds of "Cindy" w/strict pull-ups 100 jump-rope double-unders
B. SNATCH snatch deadlift 3×3 155-185-185
snatch high-pulls 3×3 135-155-155
hang-squat snatch 3×3 95-95-105
OHS 3×3 I only did one set at 135 lbs. My legs were talking to me after yesterday's backsquats, so I skipped on to full snatch work.
squat snatch 3×1 105-115-125F-125PR TIE
Just missed 125lbs so I got an extra one in and hit it. My squat snatch still needs lots of work, but it's getting better. And I got 'em all without using my crutch: the split-snatch... improvement feels good!
3 rounds + 4 cleans rx'd. The weight and pull-ups felt solid, but my double-unders sucked today. I got one round unbroken and then struggled with the rest in small sets. Otherwise, fun one today!
"Weak points come from not doing the things you suck at doing. The difference between a successful athlete and a crappy one is they always do the things they have to do, not what they want to do." - Dave Tate
Today I'm starting Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 strength program. It's a percentage based system designed to build consistent strength gains over time.
You start by taking your one-rep max (1RM) for the squat, deadlift, standing press, and bench press, then base your working percentages on 90% of that 1RM. I'm calling it the "working" 1RM or W1RM. Mathematically it looks like this: W1RM = 90% 1RM.
Then you go through the 4 week cycle below for all 4 lifts:
Week 1 Set 1 65% x 5 Set 2 75% x 5 Set 3 85% x 5+
Week 2 Set 1 70% x 3 Set 2 80% x 3 Set 3 90% x 3+
Week 3 Set 1 75% x 5 Set 2 85% x 3 Set 3 95% x 1+
Week 4 Set 1 40% x 5 Set 2 50% x 5 Set 3 60% x 5
Each time you see 5+, 3+, or 1+ you are supposed to go for max reps with that weight.
At the end of 4 weeks, adjust your W1RM by adding 10 lbs to your squat and deadlift, and 5 lbs for the presses. Then begin the 4 week cycle anew.
The fives at 195 and 225 felt easy. And I didn't really mentally prepare myself for the fight that 5+ @ 255 became, and only managed 13 reps. That set was work! Truthfully though, a bit of a cupcake:
cup⋅cake [khup-keyk] adjective 1) to wimp out 2) giving in to the pain
Being a disappointed with my 5+ set, I felt like getting more lifts in, but I reminded myself to be smart and follow this program by the numbers. So live and learn right? The next 5+ set I do definitely won't be weak sauce!
Perhaps not the greatest start to 5-3-1... but still feeling good on a Monday! I'll take it. Peace.
