CrossFit Paul

That last “B” stands for “bitches”.

Thanks to all who offered encouragement to yours truly. I’ll continue to blog until my fingers bleed or I once again grow bored of doing so—whichever comes first.

In retrospect, yesterday was also an alright breakthrough day in regard to the dreaded snatch balance [insert inappropriate comment here]. I think/feel that the focus on squats has also improved my snatch form. I certainly feel much more confident with both squats and snatches, particularly in regard to depth. I’ve looked at recordings of snatch balance over and over, and I’m amazed at how deep I am now able to squat and, perhaps most importantly, how in control I feel when I do so. I have Michael Kelley myself to thank.

Strength
Low Bar Back Squat
2-3 warm-up sets
5 @ 65% | 143/145
5 @ 70% | 154/155
5 @ 75% | 165
5 @ 80% | 187/190

I have grown to truly enjoy low bar back squats, and much of this has to do with – you guessed it – thinking/feeling like I’m finally seeing progress. I’ve said it before, and I may very well say it again: the programming at CFZ is awesome. Good job, Michael Kelley Mark Rippetoe! As I just established a new 1RM, today’s percentages were based upon 220#. While the last set was challenging, all lifts felt awesome. Uhm, 190 is 132% of my bodyweight. It should feel heavy. Yes, that’s Paul A. Michael Kelley yelling, “Come on, Paul!”

Notice 4 things about this clip of 5 reps at 165#:
1. Lauren and Rex squatting almost in unison.
2. Michael Kelley looking at my ass.
3. Michael Kelley relaxing, I mean “coaching”.
4. Michael Kelley saying, “Nice, Paul.” Alright? Alright.

What I removed from the clip is me saying, “This is what I think of Michael Kelley” and flipping off the camera.

Conditioning
5 Rounds for Time
11 Dead-lifts
11 Hand Release Pushups
11 V-Ups

I asked Michael Kelley what weight to use for dead-lifts and he immediately said, “Use 225.” I asked, “Why?” He replied, “That’s Rx.” I love hate Michael Kelley. This was to be a fast, intense met-con. And. It. Was. My goal was, of course, to do all rounds unbroken and I did not achieve this goal. It was a lofty goal anyhow, so I’m not too disappointed.

I completed the first 3 rounds of dead-lifts unbroken, the 3^rd round in reps of 6 & 5, and the last round in reps of 6, 4, & 2. Those last 2 dead-lifts were challenging.

I completed the first 4 rounds of HRPUs unbroken and the last round in reps of 9 and 2. Those last 2 pushups were challenging.

I completed all rounds of V-ups unbroken, although I didn’t count 2 reps as my fingers didn’t touch my toes. V-ups were more challenging than dead-lifts and pushups.

I completed the met-con in 6:32. I asked Michael Kelley how long it had taken him and he said, “I don’t know, 6:30?” I asked, “Didn’t you just do this met-con? Why don’t you know?” He rolled his eyes (imagine that) and said, “This is part of the ‘Outlaw’ programming, and I did it a while ago.” Whatever, Michael Kelley. 225 is 157% of my bodyweight yet only 100% of yours.

If you do review the clips (and very few of you do), you’ll notice that I’m wearing my “I’m Voting Against Amendment One” tee shirt. I was wearing the tee shirt when I stopped by Bruegger’s for my morning coffee. The woman behind the counter said, “I love your tee shirt. I’m voting against Amendment One, and I’m encouraging all of my friends to do so.” That made my day!

Tags: dead-lifts, hand release pushups, low-bar back squats, V-ups

This entry was posted on March 20, 2012 at 5:23 pm and is filed under CrossFit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.