Workout No. 141
Monday, 21st September 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 80.0kg
Bench Press 5x5 @ 55.0kg
Deadlift 5 @ 120.0kg
Power Clean 5 @ 50.0kg
Power Clean 3 @ 60.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1

Decided to give the Texas Method a try instead of Wendler's 5/3/1 after doing some research online. The Texas Method calls for a high volume day (relatively heavy weights with higher reps and sets) on Monday, an active recovery day (light weights with low reps and sets) on Wednesday and a high intensity day (near max weights with low sets) on Friday. Already can see how my Crossfit WODs will screw with my programming so I'll have to see how it goes.

Typically I only go for one Crossfit session a week on Saturdays so I may be able to sustain the 3 day a week Texas Method training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, for this week, I have already made plans to go for Crossfit on Thursday as well with some friends when we are all off on the Public Holiday so I can't skip that. Probably I'll head in to the gym on Wednesday night for a super light session and go for Crossfit on Thursday and Saturday and start the Texas Method programme proper on the following Monday, repeating my volume day today (or with slightly heavier weights).

The programme prescribes 5x5 sets which I have not done in over half a year as my programming has mostly been 3x5 or 3x8 with lighter weights. Started warming up for the squats and got to my working set weight of 80.0kg. This is definitely not a max weight for me but it is by no means light as well. First 3 sets went okay as expected and the subsequent sets got progressively harder. Struggled a bit especially on the last set and I kept all my rest times between sets under 3 minutes.

5x5 bench presses @ a conservative 55.0kg. Used a conservative 1RM bench press when calculating my starting weights so I did not have much trouble with the 5x5 and still felt okay at the end of the sets. My bench press has suffered slightly since I have started cutting and I have no idea what my 1RM is at the moment.

Prescribed deadlift weight was 120.0kg for 5 reps. Not too difficult at all as I just pulled 135.0kg for the same number of reps last week.

Practised a few power cleans as they form part of the programme (usually on Friday) as I have barely any experience with them before a pull-up station was available (also not part of the programme today). Am determined to improve on my pull-ups so did strict singles and holds at the top of each rep for a total of 5 reps.

This post has been edited by justintga: Sep 23 2015, 09:11 AM

Workout No. 142
Wednesday, 23rd September 2015

Squat 2x5 @ 65.0kg
Overhead Press 3x5 @ 35.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1

Recovery day today based on the Texas Method programme prescription. Looked like today would be an easy day considering the target weights, sets and reps. Decided not to go all out if I was suffering as I have a Crossfit session to go for tomorrow morning.

Started squatting my warm-up weights until I got up to the working set weight of 65.0kg. Surprisingly the 5 reps were not too easy at all. They did not feel heavy but I could feel some slight fatigue in my legs from the volume on Monday. Finished the 2 sets of 5 with minimal rest in between.

The 3x5 overhead presses @ 35.0kg were not too challenging. The programme suggests doing some chin-ups and back extensions (which I have never tried before) but I just did 5 strict pull-up singles instead and called it a day, conserving energy for tomorrow.

Workout No. 143
Thursday, 24th September 2015

Bent Over Row 5x10 @ 50.0kg
Front Squat 7 EMOM @ 50.0kg for 10 mins
Kettlebell Swings 150 @ 16.0kg

Went for Crossfit today but we didn't do the typical WOD like the usual Saturday morning open sessions. Instead, we primarily did a strength training based session involving rows, front squats and kettlebell swings.

Not used to bent over rows as I typically do Pendlay-styled barbell rows with a more horizontal back and the weights returning to the floor after each rep. 50.0kg for 5 sets of 10 reps was actually quite challenging.

The next part of the session was the real killer. The idea was to do 7 reps @ 50.0kg every minute on the minute for a total of 10 minutes which equates to a total of 70 reps and a combined volume of 3500kg (3.5 tons). I thought that 50.0kg would be a decently comfortable weight and the first 3 or 4 sets were not too bad at all. Took me about 25 seconds to finish 7 reps and had about 35 seconds of rest between each set. Quads were starting to fatigue by the 5th set or so. By the 7th set, my reps were significantly slower and on the 9th and 10th sets, I took over 40 seconds to complete the 7 reps. The muscle fatigue was so bad that I could barely stand at the end. Even maintaining the front rack position was a struggle.

Finished off with some simple kettlebell swings which I am also not very familiar with. 150 reps @ 16.0kg would typically not be too challenging for me but I was so battered by the squats that I barely had anything left in me. Had two high volume squat days this week and am expecting severe DOMS over the next few days. Hopefully there will be no squatting in the Saturday morning Crossfit session.

Workout No. 144
Saturday, 26th September 2015

CROSSFIT #10
FOR TIME
Run 800m
Kettlebell Clean and Jerk 50 @ 16.0kg
Pull-ups 40
Overhead Squat 30 @ 30.0kg
Kettlebell Snatch 20 @ 16.0kg
Bear Complex 10 @ 40.0kg

Time: 31:20

Was still suffering from severe DOMS from the high volume squatting on Monday and Thursday and was struggling to walk down the stairs at home in the morning. Still I persevered (maybe stupidly) and still headed for the Crossfit session. Today's WOD was a typical "chipper" i.e. completing all reps of a given exercise sequentially, effectively "chipping" away at each exercise until the WOD is completed.

Before starting, I had one look at the WOD and thought that completing it within the 40 minute time cap would not be possible, especially considering the state of my legs. Eventually finished in a respectable time of 31:20, clearly highlighting my inexperience with gauging my own abilities in this relatively new sport of Crossfit.

Started off with a 800m run and my quads were screaming for me to stop. Surprisingly by the end of the 800m, my quads were feeling better than before I had started. Got straight into kettlebell swings which replaced the kettlebell clean & jerks (75 reps per side replacing 50 reps per side). Broke everything up into sets of 25 reps. Quite tiring towards the end but nothing too brutal.

Pull-ups were substituted with near horizontal ring rows. Very challenging and I only managed 5 reps at a time and after about 25 reps, I went with sets of 3 reps, and then 2 reps and even singles for the last 3 reps.

Was dreading the overhead squats as I was quite tired by this point. Got the loaded bar up with a snatch and started the overhead squats. Had to bail after completing the 5th rep. Decided to take an extended rest and try again, aiming for 5 reps in a row. Surprisingly after restarting and running some cues in my head (shoulders up, core tight, pull the bar apart), I was still comfortable after completing 5 reps and went for 10 reps before putting the bar down again. Completed the 30 reps in the following fashion: 5-10-10-5. The DOMS seemed to have went away and did not noticeably affect my performance.

20 kettlebell snatches were substituted with 30 kettlebell swings per side. Had to grind away at the reps slowly as I didn’t have much energy left in me.

Loaded up the barbell to start on the 10 bear complexes which involves a deadlift, clean, front squat, press, back squat and then a final press. Started off with two reps in a row but did not attempt a 3rd as I was afraid I would drop the barbell on my neck from all the fatigue while transitioning from the press to the back squat. Completed the rest of the reps in singles and plopped onto the floor taking my own sweet time to recover while the rest were still finishing their WODs. Quite pleased that I finished first and I think only two people managed to finish within the time cap. Very brutal session overall. Will probably take the next two days off to recover.

Workout No. 145
Tuesday, 29th September 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 85.0kg
Overhead Press 5x5 @ 42.5kg
Deadlift 5 @ 125.0kg
Pull-ups 2/2/2 and “Negative” Pull-ups 3/3/3

2nd week of the Texas Method programme but missed the Friday intensity day last week (replaced by two Crossfit sessions). Still following the prescribed progression though despite skipping part of the programme and I will see how this goes. My squatting volume last week was higher than I am used to so I took an additional recovery day instead of my usual Monday gym session as I was still suffering from residual DOMS and resumed training today. Weigh-in today was just sub-85.0kg meaning that I have not lost much weight this month. My cutting discipline has dropped slightly for sure. Gotta get back on track although I am still making slow progress.

Started off with the squats @ 85.0kg. First set of 5 reps wasn’t so bad. Am finding that I have a slight sticking point halfway up the ascent where I am slower compared to the rest of the rep. Rested a full 3 minutes before attempting the 2nd set which wasn’t any more difficult. The remaining 3 sets of 5 reps were also decently comfortable although I could “feel” the volume for sure.

5x5 overhead presses @ 42.5kg. Relatively easy weight and rep scheme so I did each rep slowly, keeping very strict form with some intentional pauses here and there and milked out every last bit of each press.

Deadlifts @ 125.0kg, once again relatively easy.

Committed to improving my pull-ups so although they aren’t part of today’s Texas Method workout and I still had a little bit left in me, attempted 3 sets of the following: 2 single dead hang strict pull-ups, followed by 3 “negatives”. Working towards my first strict 2 pull-ups in a row!

Workout No. 146
Thursday, 1st October 2015

Squat 2x5 @ 70.0kg
Bench Press 3x5 @ 50.0kg
Back Extension 5x10
Chin-ups 3/3/3
Single Unders 5x100
Pull-ups 1/1/1

Recovery Thursday on the Texas Method Programme today. Still feels weird heading in to the gym to squat only 2 sets of 5 reps of a moderate weight. As per last week,70.0kg felt heavier than usual after the volume day on Tuesday, still feeling some residual fatigue in my legs. Short rest after the first set before breezing through the second set of 5 reps.

Bench presses for 3x5 @ 50.0kg. Not too challenging so I went slow to milk out every last bit of each rep and increase time under tension. Short rests in between too.

Watched some Youtube videos on how to do back extensions so I tried them out for the first time today. Not sure if I am supposed to do them weighted but the 5x10 was not particularly challenging. Also difficult to know when to start and stop the ROM. May try and video myself next week to get a better idea of how I am doing.

3 sets of chin-ups to failure. Managed 3 reps per set in singles. Finished off the session with 5x100 single unders and 3 single pull-ups at the end.

Workout No. 147
Saturday, 3rd October 2015

CROSSFIT #11
AMRAP
Toes to Bar 72/50 (-22)
30” Box Jumps 41/50 (+9)
Overhead Press 41/50 @ 30.0kg (+9)
Pull-ups 46/50 (+4)
Squat 26/50 @ 60.0kg (+24)
Push-ups 24 (-22+9+9+4+24)

Time: 3:00 for each movement

First time doing an AMRAP WOD today. The WOD consisted of 5 movements, AMRAP in 3 minutes for each one with a threshold of 50 reps. The idea was to sum up the reps short of 50 for each movement and that number was the number of reps of push-ups to do at the end of the WOD with the aim of minimising the number of push-ups to be done.

The movements were toes to bar (substituted with hanging knee raises), 30” box jumps, overhead presses @ 30.0kg, pull-ups (substituted with ring rows) and back squats @ 60.0kg.

Before starting, my strategy was to go all out for the hanging knee raises as I was confident of getting more than 50 reps there. Suspected I would struggle with the back squats at the end and that I would miss out the most reps for this movement. Started with the hanging knee raises and the limiting factor after about 20 reps was my grip. Managed another 10 reps before I had to let go of the bar again. Subsequent attempts yielded less and less reps but the final count was 72 and I was quite pleased with that.

Tried 24” box jumps before and today was my first attempt at 30”. The 30” box looked significantly higher and I was slightly hesitant to try jumping onto it during the practice session before the WOD. Wasn’t too difficult when I actually attempted it though. During the WOD, I went slow and paced myself and completed 41 reps unbroken which I was quite pleased with.

Heart rate was quite high by this point when I started the overhead presses. Managed 8 reps before I started feeling some slight fatigue. Didn’t wanna go to failure or else it would take too long to recover. Managed a total of 41 reps in 3 minutes @ 30.0kg doing 8-6-5-5-5-5-4-3 reps in that order.

Substituted pull-ups with ring rows and surprisingly I was feeling quite fresh for this. Even my ring rows have been improving and I squeezed out 46 reps in 3 minutes.

Wasn’t looking forward to the squats at all as I was quite fatigued by this point. Broke the 60.0kg squats into 5 reps every 30 seconds or so and did 6 reps for the final set as the timer was ticking down the last few seconds to complete a total of 26 reps.

Missed a total of -22 (hanging knee raises) + 9 (30” box jumps) + 9 (overhead presses) + 4 (ring rows) + 24 (squats) = 24 reps of push-ups which wasn’t too difficult at all.

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 19 2015, 08:26 AM

Workout No. 148
Monday, 5th October 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 90.0kg
Bench Press 5x5 @ 57.5kg
Deadlift 5 @ 130.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1

Hello volume day! Was dreading the 5x5 90.0kg squats even before I stepped into the gym and kept thinking if I could try 87.5kg instead. Set some accelerated parameters on the Texas Method programme for the first few weeks as the starting weights I chose were conservative so attempting 87.5kg instead of 90.0kg would actually be more in line with the actual programme. Decided to go for it anyway as I will be in Japan towards the end of this week and taking a week off training. Go heavy or go home eh? Warm-up sets felt lighter than usual so my confidence of pulling off the 5x5 @ 90.0kg went up. Started the first working set and the 1st rep did not feel so bad. Worked through the reps and the 5th rep was a bit of a grind but nothing too difficult. Rested 3 minutes between sets. Subsequent sets started getting slightly more challenging but all in all it did not feel too brutal. New 5 rep PR!

Bench presses at 57.5kg for 5x5 did not feel as light as I would have liked but finished them without much difficulty.

Starting to worry about constantly using a mixed grip without switching the sides for the supinated and pronated hands. Every time I attempt to switch, the lift feels awkward and I can barely pull any weight. A regular grip can only help me until approximately the 120.0kg threshold. Perhaps I should try the opposite mixed grip for warm-up sets and use my regular mixed grip for the working set? Any suggestions guys? Reverted back to my regular grip and 130.0kg for 5 reps felt heavy yes, but it was not particularly challenging.

Pull-ups in singles to finish off. Starting to get noticeably easier.

This is, so far the most consistent workout journal I've read so far. Keep it up!

Workout No. 149
Wednesday, 7th October 2015

Squat 2x5 @ 70.0kg
Overhead Press 3x5 @ 40.0kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 2.5kg
Chin-ups 3/3/3

Feeling quite unwell today probably due to the haze. Throat was dry and was feeling quite lethargic overall. Still made an effort to show up at the gym though against my better judgement. Today will be my last training session for a week as I will be going for a short holiday to Japan.

Was feeling weak and lethargic so the 70.0kg squats felt harder than they should have. Nevertheless, the 70.0kg weight was manageable and I breezed through the 2 sets of 5 reps.

Overhead presses were also fairly easy @ 40.0kg. Pushed through the sets with minimal rest although I was feeling weak from my flu.
Tried weighting my back extensions by holding onto a 2.5kg weight which surprisingly made the 10 reps of each set significantly more challenging. Felt some fatigue towards the last reps of each set.

Finished off the workout with 3 sets of chin-ups to failure.

Gonna eat like crazy in Japan over the next week and lose all my gains. DIRTY BULKING!!!

Thank you! Much appreciated!

Workout No. 150
Thursday, 15th October 2015

Squat 4 @ 90.0kg
Squat 2x5 @ 70.0kg
Overhead Press 5x5 @ 42.5kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 5.0kg
Chin-ups 2/2/2
Pull-ups 1/1/1

Resumed training after a week off and discovered that I surprisingly LOST weight despite eating like a glutton on my Japan trip. Perhaps it was all the walking we did that burned off all the calories? Weighed in at 84.0kg.

Was unsure what to do today in the middle of the week so I decided to try doing a volume day although my legs were not feeling so fresh from all the walking. Worked my way up through the warm-up sets to the working set weight of 90.0kg and started the first set. Finished off the 4th rep but got stuck in the hole on the 5th rep. It was more of a determination and discipline thing rather than the lack of strength but since my body decided that it was not up to it today, I changed over to more of a recovery day format instead. Squatted 2 sets of 5 reps @ 70.0kg after my failed attempt @ 90.0kg.

Shoulders were feeling fresh so I went for a solid 5x5 @ 42.5kg which is the prescribed weight for the Monday volume workout this week (which I missed). First 3 sets were relatively easy so I shortened the rest time to under 2 minutes between each set. Final set was much more challenging.

Increased the weight by 2.5kg to 5.0kg for weighted back extensions and could definitely feel the fatigue when doing the last 2 reps of each set. Completed a total of 5 sets of 10 reps.

Ended today’s training session with 3 sets of 2 very strict chin-ups followed by strict single pull-ups.

Workout No. 151
Saturday, 17th October 2015

CROSSFIT #12
AMRAP
Squat 10 @ 60.0kg
Push-ups 15
Kettlebell Swings 20 @ 24.0kg
16” Box Jumps 25

Time: 25:00 – Completed 4 rounds or 280 reps

Missed the Saturday morning session due to work commitments but managed to convince my girlfriend to join me for the afternoon session at HBCF after attempting to coax her into it for a couple of months!

The WOD today was an AMRAP WOD in 25 minutes of as many reps as possible of 10 back squats @ 60.0kg, 15 push-ups, 20 kettlebell swings @ 24.0kg and 25 16” box jumps. Relatively straight forward WOD for me.

Managed a total of 4 complete rounds or 280 reps. My girlfriend managed a respectable 2.5 rounds doing back squats @ 22.5kg, push-ups on her knees and kettlebell swings @ 8.0kg. I think I didn’t push myself as hard as I could have as my coach said that 4 rounds would be a good target to aim for before starting and there was only two of us at the class so I had no one else to benchmark myself against. I was actually watching the countdown timer and pacing myself to complete the 4 rounds in 25 minutes and didn't push any harder than I needed to to meet the 4 round target.

I’d prefer having more people to “compete” against but had to miss the busier morning session and I wanted to get my Crossfit fix for the week so it was better than nothing haha.

Workout No. 152
Tuesday, 20th October 2015

Squat 5/5/4/4/2 @ 90.0kg
Bench Press 5/5/5/3 @ 60.0kg
Deadlift 5 @ 110.0kg
Power Clean 5 @ 60.0kg
Power Snatch 5 @ 40.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1

Had two days of recovery and was feeling quite fresh today, ready to take on a volume day. Surprisingly disappointing performance though. Started off okay with squats @ 90.0kg attempting a 5x5 which I managed earlier this month without too much difficulty but even the first set felt challenging. Managed 5 full reps for the first two sets but only 4 on the next two (could have pushed harder but was not very motivated after how difficult the first 2 sets felt) and failed horribly on the last set, only managing 2 reps. Not sure if the squatting volume of 10x4 @ 60.0kg plus the kettlebell swings and box jumps on Saturday messed with today’s session as I was still feeling some fatigue yesterday in the hip region.

Target for bench presses today was 5x5 @ 60.0kg. Warmed-up towards the working set weight and managed the 5 reps for the first set, really struggling with the last rep. Same experience for the next two sets but for some reason, failed on the 4th rep of the 4th set. Carelessly forgot to adjust the safeties a step up after my squat session so got myself pinned under the bar after failing to press up the 4th rep. Had to do the “roll of shame” to get the bar off me and didn’t attempt the 5th set.

Performance wasn’t too good for squats and bench presses so I decided to go with lighter deadlifts today. An easy set of 5 reps @ 110.0kg, using the regular grip to train my grip strength.

Had some energy left in me after the light deadlifts so did some power clean and power snatch practice which I haven’t done in a while before repping out some single pull-ups to finish. Also, noticed for the first time today that I have some visible lats! Mighty pleased!

Will give these weights a try again next week and see how I feel. Perhaps it is not too good an idea to run this programme on a cut and I may need to make some changes.

Workout No. 153
Thursday, 22nd October 2015

Squat 2x5 @ 72.5kg
Overhead Press 3x5 @ 42.5kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 5.0kg
Chin-ups 2/2/2
Power Clean 3x3 @ 52.5kg

Arrived late at the gym and was told that there was going to be a TNB power disruption in 45 mins and that the gym would be closing early tonight. Lucky for me that it was light recovery day so I should be able to manage within that time period.

Started off with squats as with any other day and finished off the 72.5kg sets relatively quickly (didn’t feel 100% fresh when doing them though).

Shortened rest periods between overhead press sets @ 42.5kg and went through them quite quickly too.

Supersetted back extensions and chin-ups to save some time and finished off with some power clean practice which I always neglect. Total time taken: 35 minutes. 10 minutes to spare for my shower. Not bad at all!

Update (23rd October 2015): Woke up today with a very sore right wrist despite not feeling anything before heading to bed last night. Must be from the cleans. Same wrist as early last month...

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 23 2015, 08:07 AM

Workout No. 154
Saturday, 24th October 2015

CROSSFIT #13
FOR TIME
5 rounds of
Push Press 12 @ 30.0kg
Toes to Bar 14
24” Box Jumps 24

Time: 18:27

Saw push presses as part of the WOD on the whiteboard as I walked into the gym and was slightly worried because of my aggravated wrist which was just starting to heal fairly well. 5 rounds for time of 12 push presses @ 30.0kg, 14 hanging leg raises (replacing the toes to bar) and 24 reps of 24” box jumps didn’t sound too bad and I estimated it would take under 30 minutes or so to complete.

The cut-off time was 35 minutes so I was fairly confident I would finish the 5 rounds. Was still feeling some slight residual discomfort in my right wrist although exerting pressure on it did not feel particularly worse. Borrowed a wrist wrap just for my right wrist and gave the push presses a trial go. No pain. Game on.

Started the first round of the WOD once everyone was ready at their stations. Completed the 12 reps of push presses @ 30.0kg surprisingly easily. Went through the reps unbroken and was only just starting to feel some slight fatigue on the last rep.

The hanging leg raises were the hardest part of the WOD for me. Definitely need some practice to nail this as I was unsure of how I should control my swinging. Using momentum made the reps easier but after 3 or 4 reps my swinging would start getting out of control. Not using momentum made the reps very, very hard and I could only manage 4 or 5 strung together before having to rest. Grip was a limiting factor as well.

Box jumps don’t hit me as hard anymore. Could do 24 of the 24” box jumps unbroken as long as I didn’t go crazy fast and could recover during push presses which came after the box jumps. Finished the first full round in under 3 minutes which was much faster than I had expected to.

Remaining rounds were completed in just over 3 minutes each as I paced myself based on the second fastest person in the room haha. Completed all 5 rounds of the 12 push presses @ 30.0kg unbroken. Box jumps weren’t too bad either and only really struggled for the hanging leg raises.

After a while, found that if I used momentum on the way up on the leg raises, and as my legs were falling back down, I tried tightening my core, I could reduce the amount of “swing” but still have the ability to “swing” back up again fairly easily, generating new momentum on the way up. Could keep this rhythm for about 8 or 9 reps, meaning that I would only need to demount the bar once for each round of 14 reps.

Finished the 5 rounds in a time of 18:27, much faster than I estimated I would.

This post has been edited by justintga: Oct 27 2015, 07:09 AM

Workout No. 155
Tuesday, 27th October 2015

Deadlift 1 @ 135.0kg
Deadlift 1x2 @ 130.0kg
Squat 1x5 @ 80.0kg
Overhead Press 1x5 @ 40.0kg
Farmer’s Walk 3x20m @ 64.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1

Arrived at the gym at about 9pm, nearly 2 hours later than usual due to work commitments with no food in my stomach since noon and it was already getting very late. Just bought some new kicks, the Nike Metcon 1s, and I was determined to try them out during today’s training session. Was planning to do a regular volume day but unbelievably all 3 squat racks were taken at this time.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, decided to start off with deadlifts instead. Worked my way up to 135.0kg but after pulling one rep, I knew that I wouldn’t finish another 4. The last time I pulled heavy was over 3 weeks ago when I deadlifted 5 reps of 130.0kg. Not sure why I struggled so badly but I deloaded to 130.0kg and pulled another 2 reps before deciding to attempt any more. Back was starting to round and I was really struggling.
One of the squat racks freed up so I started trying out some squats. Doubted that I would be able to squat a 5x5 weight heavier than 90.0kg today so I just went with some light reps and a 5 rep 80.0kg attempt. Was also feeling quite demotivated after the “fail” on deadlifts. Squats were not too difficult but it felt “different” because of the new shoes. Definitely need some time to get used to them.

Tried out some overhead presses to test out my right wrist but sadly was still feeling some discomfort there. Stopped pressing after the first set and for some strange reason, saw a pair of 32.0kg kettlebells lying around and tried out some farmer’s walks. Did 3 rounds of 20m with 32.0kg in each hand. Had to stop after about 20m mainly because of grip strength. Also walked much slower than I could have. Forearms suffered the most during this exercise compared to the rest of my body. Ended the training session today with 10 reps of pull-up singles.

Weigh-in before I left the gym read 84.0kg, the lightest I have been in maybe 6 years and I have lost about 10.0kg in just over a year of consistent training (was 94.0kg @ 185.0cm before starting my training), and 6% bodyfat (down to 18% from 24% at the start) if the Tanita machine can be believed. Have not starved myself so I consider this quite an achievement but I never expected the process of losing weight and cutting fat to be this hard or this slow. I like everyone else was wanting and expecting fast results but I am glad I have persevered despite the results coming really slowly.

I have been on my cut for 3.5 months now and am happy with the results so far. Am down to about 18% bodyfat, down from 22% from the start of my cut, based on the Tanita machine at my gym. I know it is not accurate but at least it is a rough guideline for tracking my cut progress. I am actually contemplating stopping the cut as my strength gains have plateaued for a while. Haven’t PR-ed much and my strength has stagnated for a while already and only my squat has gone up a little bit. Could decide to be patient and continue until I am down to 15% bodyfat or so, or I could start upping my calories and reaping some strength gains. Suggestions anyone?

Workout No. 156
Thursday, 29th October 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 80.0kg
Bench Press 3x5 @ 60.0kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 10.0kg
Chin-ups 2/2/2/2/1

Didn't have a good workout earlier this week so went for a little more volume today although it should be recovery day.

Still getting used to my new Nike Metcon 1s so I decided to do some relatively lighter squats. Have also been trying not to squat ATG as a coach has pointed out that I have a slight butt wink at the lowest point of my squats. ATG is actually the most comfortable position for me as I have quite good mobility and a parallel squat actually feels like a half squat to me. Going all the way down also allows me to use the “bounce” or stretch reflex and I feel the strongest squatting this way. Have not had any problems with my back at all but I am just worried if I continue squatting like this, I may face long term problems. This is my second session trying out parallel squats but I feel significantly weaker and struggle in the hole much more than I usually do at 80.0kg. Will give it a little more time and reassess. Completed 5x5 squats @ 80.0kg.

Didn’t do so well on my last bench press attempt so I was determined to beast the 60.0kg weight today. Completed the 3x5 @ 60.0kg with a medium width grip and found it to be decently comfortable. Might stick with this grip width for a while. For a long time I have been benching with a relatively narrow grip and since starting my cut, I have been experimenting with a wider grip as most people do. This medium grip seems to be a good width to stick at for a bit and see how it goes.

Increased the back extension weight slightly to 10.0kg. Still manageable with my back starting to fatigue on the last 2 or 3 reps.

Completed 4 sets of 2 consecutive strict chin-ups and failed to string 2 in a row on the 5th set. Still a very good improvement. Now to get to the point where I can do 3 in a row!

Workout No. 157
Saturday, 31st October 2015

CROSSFIT #14
Kettlebell Swings 10 @ 16.0kg
Bear Complex 1 @ 40.0kg
Kettlebell Swings 9 @ 16.0kg
Bear Complex 2 @ 40.0kg
Kettlebell Swings 8 @ 16.0kg
Bear Complex 3 @ 40.0kg
.
.
.
Kettlebell Swings 1 @ 16.0kg
Bear Complex 10 @ 40.0kg

Time: 9:02

Did some pre-WOD work today in the form of high pulls and prowler pushes. Unfortunately I re-aggravated my right wrist while practising the high pulls. Was told to try slowly rowing the weight to my hip crease, pause, then perform a triple extension and pull explosively but when I tried that out, I immediately felt a sting in my right wrist. Perhaps the weight was way too high to try this without utilising momentum (paused at the hip crease). Stopped immediately and put on some wrist wraps for the prowler pushes and the actual WOD. This is unfortunately the 3rd time aggravating the same wrist, almost always when doing a clean / snatch type movement so I will have to do something to address this. The pain was worse this time so I am fairly concerned. Pulling and pushing is fine but dynamic or rotational movements hurt.

Started off the prowler pushes which were weighted with 30.0kg which were quite easy but after a few runs, the management asked us to stop due to the noise and potentially damaging the stone tile floor.

Started the WOD but replaced each bear complex with 2 kettlebell thrusters @ 16.0kg to avoid further injuring my wrist. The rep scheme was 10 rounds of 10 KB swings followed by 1 bear complex (deadlift, clean, front squat, thruster, back squat, back thruster) and for each subsequent round, reduce the KB swing reps by 1 and increase the bear complex reps by 1. The 10th and final round will be 1 kettlebell swing and 10 bear complexes (or 20 KB thrusters in my case).

Was a fast paced workout and completed the 10 rounds in just over 9 minutes. The wrist wraps I used were borrowed so I'll probably purchase some soon and ease off any wrist movements which hurt the slightest over the next week and see how it heals.

Workout No. 158
Tuesday, 3rd November 2015

Squat 5x5 @ 82.5kg
Overhead Press 1x5 @ 42.5kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1

My right wrist feels much better today but decided to go easy on the wrist all the same. Bought some decently cheap wrist wraps off a LYN seller (ssajnani) yesterday night but they were surprisingly good quality. Wrapped up my wrist even before starting my squats, just to give it that extra bit of security. Still trying not to squat ATG and to stop at parallel instead. Also tried out the high bar position today to see if it was any easier just for variation. Completed the 5x5 @ 82.5kg. The reps didn’t feel easy but I still had a fair bit left in me after completing each set of 5 reps. Will progress up slowly again back to my previous 5x5 PR of 90.0kg (which was achieved in the low bar position, almost ATG).

Tested out my wrist with some overhead pressing, starting with the empty bar. No discomfort or pain. Slowly ramped up the weight until arriving at 42.5kg and repped out 5 reps. Nice and comfy. Decided to stop there to play safe although my wrist was feeling fine. As before, pushing and pulling is generally okay but rotational and dynamic movements don’t feel as comfortable i.e. turning a tight door knob or steering wheel and of course cleans and snatches.

Did 10 pull-ups in singles. Slight, slight discomfort at the top of each rep but wrists generally felt fine as well. Not much volume today so I did some sprints to finish off the session.