Day 304: CF Armoury: Back Squats; WOD: 21-15-9 S2OH, Hang Clean, Deadlift

Tuesday; January 12, 2016 [after 7 am class] @ Crossfit Armoury

:0-10
Warm-Up:

30 seconds Air Squats,  30 seconds Air Squat Hold (bottom) - for 5 minutes
10 Empty Bar Back Squat


:10-20
STRENGTH:

Work up to 70% of 1 RM Back Squat for 3 Reps

:20-35
EMOM for 15 minutes:
3 Back Squats 70% of 1 RM Back Squats

:40-45
WOD Warm-Up:  
Empty Barbell:  5 Press, 5 Push Press, 5 Push Jerk
Empty Barbell Hang Clean fast
Empty Barbell Deadlift

Load Weight


:45-55
WOD:  

 10 Minute Time Cap 

21 - 15 - 9  Unbroken

Shoulder to Overhead (M: 95 lb / W: 65 lb)
Hang Clean (M: 95 lb / W: 65 lb)
Deadlift (M: 95 lb / W: 65 lb)

* You can break Between Movements, but not within the set


Today's Coach:  Jason

My Thoughts:
Well, it's time that I get back to the box.   I think it will be therapeutic for me, to be surrounded by my extended family.   By extended family, the box (Crossfit Armoury), the people, the community.  
#7amStrong is the crew that I workout with and it was great seeing them.  As always, the jokes, ribbing during our workouts, and all out silliness by everyone brought a smile to my face.  Feels good to smile after this last week.

It's been 8 days since my last Crossfit class.  Feels like I'm sharing to an AAA meeting or something. ;)   For the most part, I'm well rested but will know how I feel after the workout.

Warm-Up;
Coach Jason asked the class to gather around in a circle and went over the warm-up with us.  The first 30 seconds, we were all to do air squats.  Promptly afterwards, we were to do a squat hold (bottom of the squat) for another 30 seconds.  This was repeated for 5 minutes. I have no problem getting down to the bottom of the squat and holding it there.  Felt more like a rest, but performing after the air squats afterwards was tiring.   Warm-up, yes.  Sore, yes..
Next, we picked up an empty barbell and a rack to warm-up our back squats.  Performed 10 of these movements.

STRENGTH;
Math again;  70% of our 1 RM on Back Squat is the number we were aiming for.  This weight would be performed for 3 reps.  We had 10 minutes to build up to it.   My 1 RM Back Squat is 285 lb.   199.5 lb is the weight I should be using.  I had worked up to 195 lbs (yes, I should had rounded up as mentioned by Clem).
Second part of the Strength was a nice 15 minute EMOM performing 3 reps of the weight use in the above (70% of 1 RM Back Squat).
We had the chance to drop down or up the weight as needed.  Figuring out how many reps this EMOM was (I ended up dropping 10 lb; this is where my Math starts to play games with my capabilities.  That and I was saying to myself that this is the first day back after a very long 8 days away from any crossfit classes; lets play it safe and go lighter), I went with 185 lb (which sadly translate to 65% of my 1 RM Back Squat).  
One thing that I did notice was in between each round, I changed my foot position/stance for the back squat.  I know I should keep this constant, but I had found that as I had narrowed my stance; I gained more explosive power.   It was mentioned to me that, while I used a wider back squat stance with my feet, my stabilizer muscles were working hard than when I used a narrow stance.   As the stabilizer muscle worked harder, it gets tired faster.  By the end of the 15 minute EMOM; my stance was pretty much narrow.  Again, this is just me, I'm one of those odd ones that have different methods in doing things.  I'll have to check with the coaches to confirm this method is correct.
Total amount of reps was 45 Back Squat @ 185 lb, 3 reps every minute.  Yup, that was a nice welcome back to strength for me.

WOD Warm-up;
For the next 5 minutes, with an empty bar, the class was to perform 5 each of Press (strict), Push Press, and Push Jerk.  Next movements were Hang Clean Fast and Deadlift with just the empty barbell, 10 of those was what I did.

WOD;

21 - 15 - 9; Unbroken      Yes, its that classic rep scheme we see often in crossfit.   We were allowed to rest in between movements, but not within each set.   The movements were Shoulder to Overhead (can be Strict Press, Push Press, or Push Jerk), Hang Clean, and Deadlifts.  Rx weight called for (Men: 95 lb / Women: 65 lb).   Factoring in my doubt, I went with 75 lb.  Afterwards, I felt I should had gone with 85 lb.  Don't get me wrong, I did take my breaks in between movements.  More so by the second round (the 15 rep sections).  Last 9 was a grind for the body, I felt like it was more muscle memory.   Didn't really stop to take a break between the Hang Clean and Deadlift part.   
I finished the workout in 7 minutes and 47 seconds @ 75 lb.   We had a 10 minute time cap to accomplish this.   

Misc:

Tuesday; January 12, 2016  @ Crossfit Armoury

More personal stuff here.   You can skip this part of my dialogue here if you want.

Since the funeral this last weekend, I've been fighting some unease in my body/mind.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions and still grieving.  I figure this will play a factor in my overall training.   Anyways, I've been trying hard to keep things positive.  

Especially now with only a few weeks away from one of the biggest Crossfit competition (local area) that I will be participating in.  Battle on the Border, limited to only 400 participants.   I'm really looking forward to this experience.   

My 2016 Crossfit competition line up are 
 - Battle on the Border (BotB) - Feb 5 to 7th, 2016
 - Reebok Crossfit Open -  Feb 25 - March 28, 2016
 - Festivus Games - April 16, 2016

Thanks to all of those who had reached out to me, both personally and virtually. Many from my closest friends, people from the box and the community.   I love all you for being there for me!

Like I said in my previous post, this is my journey into Crossfit.  All the good, the bad, the challenges and triumphs.   


Extra credit; also known as extra programming for the likes.   In case you find that the WOD was not enough, or you are looking on increasing your skills, strength for an upcoming competition.  This little nugget is the thing for you!   Coaches are on-site and can be asked for assistance if there is a movement you don't understand.  They will also provide some guidance if you are doing it wrong.
Usually, the extra credit is performed after the class.   And more than likely, there will be others from the class who will want to do it.   This is definitely another way to get to know the other members at your box.

1:00 AMRAP:  DB Snatches (M: 70 lb / W: 50 lb)
 REST 1 Minute
2:00 AMRAP:  DB Snatches (M: 70 lb / W: 50 lb)
 REST 1 Minute

3:00 AMRAP:  DB Snatches (M: 70 lb / W: 50 lb)

Remember to stay consistent in your training and tackle one WOD at a time!!