Workout No. 124
Friday, 14th August 2015

Squat 5/5/6 @ 82.5kg
Overhead Press 7/7/4 @ 45.0kg
Deadlift 3 @ 130.0kg
“Negative” Chin-ups 5/5
“Negative” Pull-ups 5

Had limited time in the gym today due to other commitments. In and out in under an hour meaning shorter rest periods. Shorter rest periods plus a hardcore 2 hour basketball session yesterday night equals a disappointing session. Far from my best but hey, some exercise is better than no exercise!

Started with squats and upped the weight back to 82.5kg. Was aiming for 5/5/8 at this weight which I have not managed before. Did the first set in the low bar position but did not feel too strong. Attempted the 2nd set in the high bar position and felt significantly more comfortable. Prepared myself to attempt the 8 reps for the final set. The first 4 reps were comfortable and I was feeling good about my chances. Still felt decent after the 5th and 6th rep but on the ascent for the 7th, my body somehow leaned forward slightly and I lost control of the bar, dropping it a few centimetres onto the safeties. Was quite disappointed as I felt that I had the strength to finish off the last two reps but my form failed me.

Was running out of time so went for bigger steps for my deadlift warm-ups starting with 60.0kg and the moving on to 100.0kg before jumping straight to the working set of 130.0kg which is slightly lower than my previous attempt. Only managed 3 reps before giving up.

Some quick chin-ups and pull-ups before leaving the gym.

Sorry double post. Post removed.

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 17 2015, 09:01 AM

Workout No. 125
Saturday, 15th August 2015

Snatch 15 @ 40.0kg

Unfortunately had to work today (which means missing Crossfit in the morning) so since I had to get out of bed anyway on a Saturday, decided to make the best of it and headed to the gym after work. Very empty as expected which was perfect for trying out my snatches without having a lot of people staring at me.

Have been practising hang snatches a bit and tried transitioning into a full squat snatch today. Don't have a coach so I videoed myself and self-corrected to the best of my knowledge and ability based on what I learned from Youtube videos!

Started very light and slow with just the empty barbell, progressively removing the hesitation between the different stages of this fairly technical lift. Once I was comfortable and got the lift up to speed, I progressed to 30.0kg (5.0kg bumpers on each side) and tried a couple of reps at this weight. Reviewed the videos and was quite happy so I progressed up slowly in 2.5kg increments, performing 2 snatches at 32.5kg, 35.0kg and 37.5kg.

All good up to this point before I finally attempted my target snatch weight for today of 40.0kg. 37.5kg was still feeling fairly easy. Got into a strong starting position and started the lift, brushing the bar upwards at my hip and surprisingly, I failed the lift. Did not even manage to get under the bar. Perhaps fatigue was setting in slightly at this point and the idea of snatching 40.0kg was a mental block. My movement was also flawed and not ingrained yet so there was plenty going on in my head throughout the different stages of the lift and I did not get everything right.

Took a short rest before breaking up the lift into stages again, trying the 40.0kg from the hang position first. After getting comfortable, reattempted the full squat snatch again and nailed it. Need to work on getting under the bar faster and and squatting into the hole faster but looked fine otherwise.

Attempted about 20 reps (with short breaks in between each rep) and managed about 15 of them and missing the other 5. My snatch still needs plenty of work but was fairly pleased with my progress today!

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 17 2015, 09:03 AM

Workout No. 126
Monday, 17th August 2015

CROSSFIT #4
FOR TIME
Burpees 30
Barbell Complexes 30 @ 30.0kg

Time: 22:40

“Negative” Chin-ups 5
“Negative” Pull-ups 5

Missed the Crossfit session last Saturday so I decided to do Saturday's WOD today by myself at my gym just as I did the previous week. Looking forward to joining this Saturday's Crossfit session at the Outlaw though if I can make it.

Started warming up with some stretches before doing some front squats with the empty barbell. Today's WOD involved starting with 30 burpees (I hate burpees) followed by 30 barbell complexes. The prescribed barbell complex was first a deadlift followed by a hang clean, front squat, OH press, back squat, OH press and finally an OH squat. Didn't have a coach to help me scale my weights. I knew that 40.0kg would be too heavy a weight, especially for the high rep OH squats and OH presses. So I checked my ego at the door and chose 30.0kg which turned out to be just right. Naturally this would be a very light weight for my deadlift, front squats and back squats but this WOD is primarily a metcon exercise rather than for strength.

And 30.0kg kicked my ass. Started off with the burpees breaking the 30 reps into sets of 10. First two sets felt okay but my heart rate was way up after the final 10 reps and I was starting to sweat profusely.

Started the barbell complexes with the plan of going for sets of 5 reps (6 sets in total) but found that I was breathing heavily and slowing down after 3 reps. Started with my regular width grip on the deadlift which was a good width for the hang clean, front squat and OH press but as I lowered the bar to rest on my back to start the back squat, I realised that the grip was too narrow. It was also harder to keep myself stable during the final OH squat.

Stopped after 3 reps for a quick 30 second rest before starting again. This time, I started my deadlift with a slightly wider than normal grip, which was still comfortable for the hang cleans and front squats and much more comfortable for the back squat and also resulted in a more stable OH squat. Did 4 reps before another break for 45 seconds.

My heart rate was still high but I continued pushing myself for another 4 reps to bring the total to 11 out of 30. On the 4th rep, lost focus slightly due to fatigue as I was lowering down the barbell after the OH press to my back for the back squat. Didn't pull the bar far enough back and the bar grazed my head on the way down. Not too painful but I reminded myself to be more careful.

The reps were getting tougher so I went in multiples of 3 until I got up to 26 reps needing slightly longer rest periods between sets as the rep count got higher. Took a short 30 sec break at this point before grinding out the final 4 reps as I did not need to conserve any more energy. Completed the WOD in a time of 22:40, drenched in sweat.

Took an extended rest and realised it was still early so I tried out some pull-ups and chin-ups but was too tired so I headed off for my shower.

Workout No. 127
Wednesday, 19th August 2015

Squat 5/5/5 @ 82.5kg
Bench Press 5/7/5 @ 60.0kg
Barbell Row 3x5 @ 72.5kg
Snatch 2 @ 30.0kg
Snatch 2 @ 35.0kg
Snatch 2 @ 40.0kg

Was contemplating whether or not I should go to the gym today or tomorrow. Taking today into account, over the past 10 days, I have gone to the gym 6 times, went for basketball once and spent a day at Skytrex Shah Alam which is also another physically demanding activity. Am long overdue for a two day consecutive rest. Have Crossfit on Saturday morning plus a powerlifting training session on Saturday afternoon so I decided on going today and having a two day rest before Saturday.

Squats as usual to start off, upping the weight to 82.5kg for another 5/5/8 attempt. Have lost about 3.0kg in the past month or so while cutting and I’ve noticed that my strength development has slowed down. Not much issue with the first two sets and as I started the third set, I felt that I had a small chance to complete the target 8 reps. Legs were still feeling okay by the time I got to the 4 rep point, and slightly less so for the 5th rep but I still had energy left in the tank. Surprisingly after descending for the 6th rep, during the ascent, I got stuck when my body started leaning forward slightly (maybe my torso was too vertical) and lowered the bar onto the safety catchers. Slightly disappointed.

Bench presses weren’t too impressive as well. No significant improvement from my previous attempts, only managing 5/7/5. My biceps were also feeling strange which affected my pressing slightly. Not sure if I should change to a 5/3/1 system after training for a long time on this Stronglifts format.

3x5 rows @ 72.5kg as usual, not daring to up the weight for the moment.

Had some energy left so practised some snatches, starting with hang snatches and when comfortable, 2 full snatches at 30.0kg, 35.0kg and finally 40.0kg.

Workout No. 128
Saturday, 22nd August 2015

CROSSFIT #5
FOR TIME
Clean and Jerk 7-I-7-I-7-I-7 @ 30.0kg
Interval (I)
Double Unders 20
Toes to Bar 5
Burpees 5

Time: 19:23

Finally made it to another Saturday morning Crossfit session after missing two weeks in a row. Very big turnout today, nearly double the usual amount. I guess the sessions are getting more and more popular!

Today's WOD was in a 7-7-7-7 format with conditioning intervals in between each set of 7 clean and jerks @ 30.0kg. The conditioning intervals were 20 double unders (or 60 single unders), 5 toes to bar (or knees to elbows) and 5 burpees.

Still not very efficient with my cleans and am still doing a lot of reverse curling to get the bar into the rack position. Should start dedicating time to practising this as I have only been trying out snatches. Today was okay though as the weight was light so I did not struggle too much.

Couldn't do double unders (I have never even tried skipping properly before) so I settled with 60 single unders. All the jump ropes were too short for me to be honest as I am over 6 feet tall, so I might consider buying a set for myself.

Started off the workout, doing the full 7 clean and jerks in one go without a break in between. Started the single unders followed by the toes to bars but I was worried about the burpees as I usually suffer there but I was still doing okay after the first set.

Completed the second set of 7 clean and jerks in one go as well, and moved on to the conditioning intervals which were again, surprisingly manageable. Heart rate was higher and I was breathing heavier but all in all I was doing okay.

Finished off the rest of the workout, and for the first time ever, I was not floored. Yes I was tired after nearly 20 mins of continuous activity but I could still sit up and breathe fairly normally. The same could not be said about all my previous Crossfit sessions. Either I am getting more conditioned to doing Crossfit type workouts or today's session was tailored to be easy for the bigger crowd. Glad to have some energy left in the tank as I have a powerlifting training session after lunch. Not a good idea, I know haha, but we will see how that goes.

Workout No. 129
Saturday, 22nd August 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 85.0kg
Deadlift 5 @ 130.0kg
Prowler Runs 4 x 50m @ Prowler + 40.0kg

Had a quick lunch after the morning Crossfit session before heading to another gym for some powerlifting training which was arranged by a friend. Was not too keen about going for this session but another friend who has never lifted weights before agreed to go with the rest of us so what's my excuse?

The coach started us off with 30 minutes of stretching. Yes 30 minutes of resistance band and pipe work before even letting us touch a barbell. I was no where near 100% today but I think the stretches really helped with muscle activation during the squats. The aim for today was to work up to a challenging 5x5 squat weight.

Managed a full 5x5 @ 85.0kg which I was quite pleased with. Had a squat spotter for the first time ever which gave me some extra confidence. The one thing that made a difference is that I did not have safeties to look out for. My squat mobility is actually very good and I subconsciously do not go as low as I can on my regular squats at my regular gym because the safeties are there. My regular squat already has my hip crease below my knees (past parallel) but I am actually flexible enough to go a few inches lower. And today, that is exactly what I did, and I recruited a bit more of the stretch reflex which made the 85.0kg feel much lighter than usual. Felt almost as fresh on the 5th set as I was on the first.

We then moved on to deadlifts, and I went for a set of 5 reps @ 130.0kg. Hardly a PR but respectable considering that I just finished a WOD in the morning. Thought that this was the last bit of the coaching session but there was actually a final surprise - prowler runs for conditioning.

This was my first time pushing a prowler and boy was it brutal. Our coach wanted us to do 10 runs of 50m with 40.0kg loaded on the prowler. Most of us only made it to 4 runs before we were totally floored. Some only made it to 2 runs.

My tank was empty by the end of the session, my hamstrings and glutes were begging for mercy and I had trouble walking solidly even a few hours after, compounded by the WOD in the morning. Crossfit + powerlifting on the same day = PAIN.

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 27 2015, 08:53 AM

Workout No. 130
Monday, 24th August 2015

Squat 3 @ 87.5kg
Squat 2x5 @ 80.0kg
Bench Press 4/2 @ 60.0kg
Push-ups 50

Thought that I felt "decently" fresh today after Saturday's two brutal workouts although my muscles were still feeling slightly fatigued.

Since I managed the 5x5 squats at 85.0kg, I thought it would be a good idea to attempt 87.5kg today. The warm-up sets were not feeling too easy and when I tried the 87.5kg working weight, I really had to grind out the 3rd rep before re-racking the bar. There was no way I was going to manage 5 reps today. Removed 7.5kg from the barbell and completed 2 sets of 5 reps @ 80.0kg just to get in some volume. I was struggling even with the 80.0kg.

Expected my bench press to be pathetic as well and unsurprisingly, really struggled to get 4 reps in the first set of 60.0kg and only 2 reps in the second set.

Decided that I needed to recover more from last week and before calling it a day, did 50 push-ups in sets of 10 so as to not totally waste the workout today. Big wake up call to remind myself of the importance of recovery and listening to your body.

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 27 2015, 10:35 AM

Workout No. 131
Wednesday, 26th August 2015

Squat 5/5/3 @ 87.5kg
Bench Press 4/3 @ 62.5kg
Bench Press 5 @ 60.0kg
Barbell Row 3x5 @ 75.0kg
Hang Clean 5 @ 40.0kg
Clean 5 @ 40.0kg
Clean 5 @ 45.0kg

CROSSFIT #6
EMOM
Thrusters 5 @ 30.0kg (even minutes)
Burpees 5 (odd minutes)

Time: 15:00

Felt significantly fresher today after the disastrous gym session on Monday so I decided to take a chance and give 87.5kg a go. Set the safeties at the lowest possible position to allow for my full range of motion (I usually set them at the 2nd lowest position and squat until just past parallel) and started my warm-up sets. Worked my way up starting from 10 reps with the empty bar, 3 reps @ 40.0kg, 3 reps @ 60.0kg and 2 reps @ 80.0kg before arriving at my working set weight. Felt comfortable even at 80.0kg so I was feeling confident about my chances. Stepped up and unracked the bar and tried out the first rep @ 87.5kg. Felt heavy but I managed to stand up fairly quickly. Struggled with the 2nd rep and it was a much slower rep but I think it was down to confidence. Took a quick breather, psyched myself up and descended for the 3rd rep. Easy. 4th rep. Easy. Had to grind a bit for the 5th rep but overall it was a comfortable 5 reps. The 2nd set was decent as well but only managed 3 reps on the final set. Happy enough though, setting a new PR and still losing fat on my cut.

Did not do so well on the bench presses. I have been told that cutting affects your bench pressing the most compared to squats and deadlifts. My bench pressing has not really improved much over the past month to be honest. After 2 failed attempts of 5 reps @ 62.5kg, I deloaded slighly to 60.0kg just to make myself happy and complete the 5 reps.

Loaded up the barbell to a total of 75.0kg and started rowing out 5 reps of the first set of barbell rows. Just about managed it and when I keyed it in to my phone, I realised that I achieved a new 1RM! Thought that I had been rowing 75.0kg previously but actually had been rowing 72.5kg instead. Finished off another 2 challenging sets after the first.

Practised some cleans, starting in the hang position and getting comfortable with it before starting from the floor. Still felt quite fresh so I decided to try a shortened version of my first ever WOD. EMOM first minute 5 thrusters @ 30.0kg and 5 burpees every other minute for a total of 15 minutes (instead of 30 full minutes). Felt much easier than my first attempt at this so I was fairly pleased with my progress.

Didn't get to measure my bf% as the machine was down today but hope to measure this soon to track my cut.

This post has been edited by justintga: Nov 19 2015, 08:14 AM

Workout No. 132
Saturday, 29th August 2015

CROSSFIT #7
FOR TIME
15-12-9-6-3
Deadlift @ 20.0kg
Overhead Squat @ 20.0kg
Burpees Over Bar

Time: 9:40

Glad that I had Saturday off, so as usual, headed for Crossfit in the morning. Today's WOD was 15-12-9-6-3 reps of deadlifts, overhead squats and burpees over the bar. The idea was to use the same weight for the deadlifts and overhead squat. Overhead squats are technically challenging and very strenuous on the core so the coaches suggested a lighter weight. Eventually picked an empty barbell (20.0kg) as everyone seemed to go with this weight although I was confident I could do 30.0kg.

Started the workout after some practice and as expected the deadlifts were extremely easy. Barely felt anything after the first 15 reps. Snatched the empty bar up and started the overhead squats and my legs and hamstrings were starting to burn towards the end of the 15 reps. Strength was obviously not the limiting factor but rather endurance. Had to take some breathers between the burpees over the bar, breaking the 15 reps into 3 sets of 5 reps.

Seemed to be the fastest at this point and was suffering slightly so I slowed down the next 12 reps of deadlifts to allow my heart rate to slow a little. Snatched the weight up again and managed the 12 overhead squat reps unbroken. Once again, my legs were burning and I was half glad that I only went for 20.0kg. Slowed down the burpees and took a few breathers while lying down on the floor between reps.

Happy that the rep count was dropping and ground out the 9 rep round, also suffering mostly during the burpees. Actually picked up speed for the 6 rep and 3 rep rounds as I knew the end was near. Had lost track of how everyone else was doing and after the final rep, asked for the time. The timekeeper called out "9:40". Surprised as the WOD felt much longer than that and it turned out that I had finished first!

Perhaps should have chosen a slightly heavier weight and was disappointed that the workout didn't even last 10 minutes which wouldn't have been the case if the weight was heavier. Expect to do this workout again in the gym in the near future as I quite enjoyed it.

Also, measured my bf% yesterday. Sub-20%!!! Time to celebrate!

This post has been edited by justintga: Aug 31 2015, 06:15 PM

Workout No. 133
Monday, 31st August 2015

Clean 5 @ 40.0kg
Snatch 5 @ 30.0kg
Snatch 5 @ 40.0kg
Front Squat 2x5 @ 75.0kg
Front Squat 1x5 @ 77.5kg
Overhead Press 3/3/3 @ 45.0kg
“Negative” Pull-ups 5/5
“Negative” Chin-ups 5
Single Unders 5x60

Not feeling super fresh today so I just decided to wing it at the gym based on how I felt instead of following my regular programme. Recovery has become much more difficult since I've started this cut. The squat racks were all taken, which was surprising as I was there at 9am on a Monday. Yes it is a public holiday but I expected the gym to be much emptier this early in the morning.

Started off with some clean and snatch practice @ 40.0kg while waiting for a rack to free up. Decided to go for some front squats today as my hamstrings were not feeling up to it and my quads were feeling fresher. Started the warm-up sets not knowing what working set weight I would go for as I was planning to go by “feel”. Started at 20.0kg moving to 40.0kg and then to 60.0kg, still feeling decently fresh. Tried 3 reps of 70.0kg before deciding to go for 3x8 @75.0kg as my working set. After completing the first two sets of 8 reps @ 75.0kg, I decided to up the weight by 2.5kg to attempt a PR considering that although the sets were difficult, I felt that I could still go on after the 8 reps. Went for the 8 reps @ 77.5kg and managed to complete them, still having a little left in the tank at the end. Another new squat PR while on a cut. Not too bad at all.

However, did quite poorly on the overhead press. Only managed 3 sets of 3 reps @ 45.0kg, perhaps also due to the slight fatigue from the snatches earlier.

Did some pull-ups and chin-ups before practising some single unders which I broke into 5 sets of 60 reps. Managed to do 20 continuous single unders which is a significant improvement from only being able to string 3 together at most previously.

Workout No. 134
Wednesday, 2nd September 2015

Squat 3x5 @ 70.0kg
Bench Press 2x8 @ 50.0kg
Bench Press 1x8 @ 55.0kg
Barbell Row 3x5 @ 70.0kg
Single Unders 5x60

Once again, I was not feeling too fresh today and was worried about my performance. Recovery is becoming more and more of a struggle and 3 solid gym sessions a week plus a session of Crossfit on Saturday seems to be too much for my body to cope with. I might reduce it to 2 gym sessions + 1 Crossfit session from now on while I am still on the cut. My calorie deficit is not significant and I’ve only lost about 4.0kg in about 7 weeks which is not very, very fast. Overall I’ve still gained / maintained strength in most of the big compound lifts with the exception of the bench and overhead presses where I have either stalled or deteriorated slightly.

Decided to take today as a light recovery day, so I loaded up a working set weight of only 70.0kg for my back squats. Paused at the bottom of each rep to make the sets a little more challenging. Overall the 70.0kg sets still did not feel as easy as they should have which is a good indication that taking today as a recovery day was a good idea.

Decided to deload my bench press weight as my attempts at 3x8 @ 60.0kg were getting pathetic. Have been stuck at this weight since the middle of July, blaming my cut for the poor progress. Pushed my ego aside and went for a nice and light 50.0kg for 8 reps, with a wider grip than usual. My bench press grip has always been narrower than a conventional grip and I might stick to the wider grip for a bit to target my muscles differently. The 50.0kg disappointingly did not feel very light and I went for the same weight for the 2nd set. Went up to 55.0kg for the 3rd and final set and struggled slightly but still managed a solid 8 reps.

Used a lighter weight for barbell rows, dropping 5.0kg from my previous attempt. Completed the 3x5 @ 70.0kg without too much difficulty.

Practised another 300 reps of single unders, breaking this into 5 sets of 60 reps before heading for my shower. Might or might not head in on Friday for a very light session before Crossfit on Saturday morning depending on how I feel.

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 3 2015, 09:39 AM

imo you will burn out doing a crossfit and strengh training program at the same time. i would focus just on one of them

Workout No. 135
Saturday, 5th September 2015

CROSSFIT #8
FOR TIME
5 rounds of
Pull-ups 10
Ring Dips 10
Thrusters 20 @ 20.0kg
And finish off with
Clean and Jerk 20 @ 30.0kg

Time: 15:40

The WOD today was held at the Honey Badgers Coaching Facility at 10 Boulevard instead of at The Outlaw. My first time there and I was quite impressed! Quality equipment throughout and it was quite well equipped. Had a go at some ring dips and kipping pull-ups today (first time trying both) before trying to establish a clean and jerk 1RM to appropriately scale the WOD. Never attempted anything above 40.0kg prior to today (and I am usually practising snatches) but with the encouragement of the coaches, gave 50.0kg a try which was fairly easy, and even managed to clean and jerk 60.0kg! Nobody attempted anything heavier than this so I stopped moving up in weight as well.

The WOD was 5 rounds for time of 10 pull-ups, 10 ring dips and 20 thrusters and when it starts hurting, start counting 20 reps of clean and jerks to finish off. For the actual WOD, substituted pull-ups with ring rows and ring dips with hand release push-ups as prescribed by the coaches. Clean and jerk weight was to be 30.0kg. The time cap for everyone was 20:00 and they even had a countdown timer at the facility which was quite cool!

Started the first round of the WOD rowing 10 reps unbroken on the rings before completing 10 unbroken hand release push-ups. The thrusters were easy as the weight was only 20.0kg, or so I thought. Went through the 2nd round roughly in the same manner and by the 3rd round, my pressing ability was suffering. Had to break the thrusters into sets of 10 reps.

By the 4th round, I was even suffering on the ring rows and was struggling to press the 20.0kg weight up above my head for the thrusters. Legs were also starting to get fatigued. Was past the 10 minute mark when I started the 5th round and my spirits were lifted slightly as I knew I had a full 10 minutes to complete the rest of the workout and was confident that I would.

Broke the final round of ring rows into 4-3-3 reps, hand release push-ups into 2 sets of 5 reps and the thrusters into 4 sets of 5 reps. Took an extended breather while loading up the bumper plates for the clean and jerks onto the empty barbell. Looked around and realised that everyone else was doing their 5 rounds. Started my clean and jerks, feeling quite fatigued, attempting 5 reps first. Was not being very efficient and sometimes just lazily reverse curled up the barbell into the front rack position as I was so so tired. Could only manage this because the weight was light. Finished off the remaining 15 reps in sets of 5 reps with a time of 15:40.

Was one of the very few that completed the workout and was mighty pleased overall. I very much look forward to these Saturday sessions and am bummed that I won't be able to make it for next Saturday's session due to work commitments.

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 7 2015, 11:29 PM

Workout No. 136
Monday, 7th September 2015

Squat 5/3/3 @ 87.5kg
Bench Press 5/6/5 @ 57.5kg
Barbell Row 3x5 @ 75.0kg
Dips 3/5
Single Unders 5x100
Snatch 10 @ 40.0kg
Snatch 2 @ 42.5kg
Snatch 2 @ 45.0kg
Snatch 2 @ 47.5kg

Woke up on Sunday morning feeling sore all over after Saturday’s Crossfit session. Did not feel significantly better on Monday morning with achiness in the region of my shoulders, back, traps, forearms and quads. I don’t usually feel DOMS anymore after my regular powerlifting style training sessions but I do after Crossfit as I suspect some smaller muscles are missed during my compound lifts and are fatigued from the high rep Crossfit movements. Headed to the gym anyway as I was confident that the DOMS will not affect my strength performance very much and lack of recovery feels very different compared to this. Weigh-in today read 86.0kg meaning that I have lost about 5.0kg of bodyweight since starting my cut in mid-July which roughly equates to 1.5lbs per week which is not too bad at all.

Started off with low bar back squats using the warm-up sets to gauge my strength as my legs did not “feel” like they were at 100%. Worked up from 10 reps at 20.0kg to 3 reps at 40.0kg, 3 reps at 60.0kg and 2 reps at 80.0kg before loading up the 87.5kg working set weight. Gave the first 5 reps a go and the final rep was a bit of a grind but completed the set without struggling too much. Rested and got ready for my 2nd set, stepping up to the bar with a fair bit of confidence. Descended for my first rep and then some idiot started squeezing into the space between my loaded plates and the plate rack to reload his plates. Nearly hit him while ascending and had to side step a little. Wasted precious energy waiting about 15 seconds for him to finish. Started my second rep and there he was again, returning a second plate, just inches away from my bar. Only managed one more rep before running out of energy. Lost motivation in the 3rd set after the disruption, also only managing 3 reps to bring the score to 5/3/3 @ 87.5kg.

Upped the deloaded bench press weight to 57.5kg, aiming for 3x8. Only managed 5/6/5 in the end, knowing that I wouldn’t make the full 8 reps after attempting the first set. This lift has suffered the most during my cut.

Barbell rows were solid and maintained the 3x5 @ 75.0kg.

Decided to try some dips which I have not attempted in a long time as some chest and tricep accessory work. Set-up everything and started the dips, managing 3 not so convincing dips (only about 75% ROM). My arms were shaking. Rested a bit before getting tight and dipping with slightly more determination and managed 5 reps this time (also at about 75% ROM).

Arrived early in the gym today and the traffic was still very bad by the time I had finished my planned workout so I killed some more time with 5x100 single unders, sometimes managing to string together over 30 consecutive ones. Definitely improving. Rested a bit before some snatch practice.

40.0kg is becoming increasingly easy so I moved up slowly to a new PR of 47.5kg today, which still felt easy when my movement was fluid. Failed a few times though at this weight. Still need a lot of work!

Update (8th September 2015): DOMS actually felt better after the workout but woke up today with a very sore right wrist despite not feeling anything before heading to bed last night. Must be from the snatches...

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 8 2015, 01:32 PM

Valid point sir. Definitely not optimal but I really do enjoy Crossfit and it is really helping with my cut so I think I will continue with this for a bit and see how it goes.

Workout No. 137
Wednesday, 9th September 2015

Squat 5/5/8 @ 82.5kg
“Negative” Chin-ups 5/5
“Negative” Pull-ups 5
Dumbbell Curls 2x10 @ 12.0kg

My wrist was feeling much better today (90% recovered) so I decided to head to the gym and decide which lifts I would avoid based on how my wrist felt. Just really wanted to get a simple workout in as I will not be able to go to the gym for the next two days due to work commitments. Arrived at about 9pm so was just targeting a short workout.

Started off with chin-ups and pull-ups as all three squat racks were taken. The chin-ups and pull-ups are now mostly strict without much (if any) jumping assistance but I am still unable to string together a few in a row and mostly just do them as single reps one after the other. Did not feel any discomfort in my wrist which was expected as I suspect the wrist strain was caused by supporting the weight overhead for the snatch and this is a vertical pulling movement.

Started squatting as soon as a rack was available and worked my way up to my last warm-up set of 80.0kg. Didn’t feel like squatting 87.5kg today although I was feeling fresh and strong so I decided to go slightly lighter and attempt a 3x5 @ 82.5kg just to get some volume in. Finished two sets without much difficulty and went for 8 reps for the final set instead as I was feeling comfortable. Nailed it and set a new 1RM record! Still getting stronger on my cut. Mighty pleased!

Stayed away from overhead presses as I did not want to risk aggravating my wrist with an overhead pressing movement. Have been avoiding deadlifts for a long, long time for no particular reason. Will force myself to deadlift the next time I am at the gym.

Finished off the quick gym session with some dumbbell curls.

Workout No. 138
Monday, 14th September 2015

Squat 5/5/8 @ 85.0kg
Overhead Press 3x8 @ 40.0kg
Deadlift 5 @ 135.0kg
“Negative” Chin-ups 5/5
“Negative” Pull-ups 5

Haven't had a proper gym session since last Wednesday. Went to the gym at the hotel we were staying at over the weekend with my girlfriend but that was barely considered exercising. My wrist is surprisingly not 100% healed. There is no pain but still some very slight discomfort. Most of the time I don't even think about it but then suddenly when my wrist is in some orientations over the course of my daily activities, I feel that discomfort unexpectedly. Hope it goes away soon.

Lost some self-control eating wise over the weekend so I was definitely not on a caloric deficit for the past few days and suspected that my strength today would be not too bad at all. Started warming up for the squats, and got up to 80.0kg at which I performed 2 reps. Decided to go for 5/5/8 @ 85.0kg with the 8 reps giving me a new 1RM record. Finished the first 2 sets of 5 reps, struggling on the 5th rep of each set. Was not too confident of my chances at a full 8 reps but I gave it a go anyway. Was very determined and focused on driving my upper back into the bar at the bottom of my squats. Started to get really challenging after the 5th rep but surprisingly was able to grind out rep after rep until I reached my target of 8 reps! Mind over matter!

Went a little lighter on the overhead presses after the squats to avoid further aggravating my wrist. Pressing 3x8 reps @ 40.0kg did not result in any discomfort in my right wrist.

Feeling a bit more energised than usual today so I loaded up my deadlift warm-up weights and worked my way slowly up to gauge my strength today. I have also not deadlifted any notable weight for about 3 weeks so I was not too sure how I would perform today. Got up to the 120.0kg and repped out 2 deadlifts which weren't particularly taxing so I decided to go for the PR with 5 reps @ 135.0kg. Was slightly slow at the start of each rep but generally locked out near the top without too much trouble. Still felt like I had a rep or two left in me after completing the 5 reps which was encouraging. Currently have a 1RM of 1.85x my bodyweight. Almost at the 2x mark!

Ended the session today with some chin-ups and pull-ups as the usual assistance exercises.

Workout No. 139
Wednesday, 16th September 2015

Front Squat 2x8 @ 70.0kg
Barbell Row 3x5 @ 70.0kg
Single Unders 2x100

My brother asked me to walk him through the basic Stronglifts 5x5 movements (squat, overhead press, bench press, barbell row and deadlift) as he intends to start the programme. Brought him to Jatomi as they were having an open day and there was free entry for guests. His movement and motor patterns were actually not too bad at all, especially his squats where he managed to achieve respectable depth on his reps.

Didn't manage to work out much but squeezed in some sets here and there. Haven't been front squatting any significant weight for a while so I went with some moderate 70.0kg front squats today. Also did some barbell rows and single unders. Wrists were better but still not 100%.

Workout No. 140
Saturday, 19th September 2015

CROSSFIT #9
“Roy”
FOR TIME
5 rounds of
Deadlifts 15 @ 60.0kg
24” Box Jumps 20
Pull-ups 25

Time: 33:00

Was excited to work out today as I haven’t been to Crossfit for a while and only had one proper workout the whole of last week. We did a scaled down version of a hero workout called “Roy” today which involves 5 rounds for time of 15 deadlifts @ 100.0kg (scaled down to 60.0kg), 20 24” box jumps and 25 pull-ups (scaled down to ring rows).

I think I can deadlift 15 reps of 100.0kg broken down into sets of 5 reps without struggling too much but I highly doubt I can maintain good form doing that for 5 rounds of 15 reps with box jumps and pull-ups slotted in. To add to that there was a target time cap of 30:00. Tried out the 24” box jumps before starting and found them to not be too challenging. 25 pull-ups is a far away dream for me at this stage so I substituted them with ring rows.

Started the workout, repping out 15 deadlifts unbroken. Fairly easy. Not used to doing high rep deadlifts so I was a little slow with each rep. The coach told me to keep my hips higher instead of doing a mini reset at the start of each rep, especially since the weight was very manageable which improved my efficiency. Started to have to catch my breath halfway through the box jumps. The ring rows were okay at first but after the 15th rep, I was suffering and breaking them down into sets of 5 reps. Took just over 4 minutes for the 1st round but from the way things were going, I didn’t have the confidence that I would finish within the 30 minute target time cap.

Heart rate was starting to get quite high during the 2nd round. Deadlifts were still unbroken for 15 reps but had to slow down the box jumps. The ring rows were very difficult this round and I completed the 25 reps in the following manner: 5-5-5-3-2-3-2. Total time at this point was approaching 10 minutes. 20 minutes remaining for 3 rounds. Not looking too good.

3rd round was even more brutal, and I even had to break the deadlifts up into a set of 10 followed by a set of 5. Went slow with the box jumps to bring my heart rate down and followed the same pattern as the 2nd round for ring rows. Suffering in the 4th round was not significantly worse and by the time I was done, I had 5 minutes left for the final round.

I was quite spent by this point and knew that I would not finish in time considering that I took over 4 minutes when I was fresh to finish a round. Went all out and managed the 15 deadlifts and 20 box jumps after which I was struggling to breathe. The 25 ring rows I did not complete would have taken me a good 3 minutes at least so I guess my total time would have been 33:00.

Definitely a lot of room for improvement but my metabolic conditioning has definitely improved. Also realised that I have not been taking my pull-up training seriously. I should be able to do many more strict reps by now but can’t so I will increase the focus on pull-ups from now on.

Also had a discussion with the coaches after and perhaps it is time to switch to another strength programme. Maybe Wendler’s 5/3/1?