Crossfit Armoury - April 19, 2018: 5 RM Back Squat; AMRAP: Dowel V-ups, BB Hip Thrusters

Thursday; April 19, 2018 @ Crossfit Armoury - West

Crossfit Coach:  Jason Roncesvalles  

Thoughts:
After Monday's brutal WOD, followed by an olympic lifting class.  My body was done.  I took Tuesday off even though at that time, I was torn about taking time off to recover.   Wednesday was the olympic lifting class for max lift.  And today, another fun two hour session.  Starting with this crossfit class and then gymnastic class afterwards.

I seem to be getting the most out of my membership, and as well seeing some changes to my body.  Weight loss is what I'm seeing on the scale, clothing fitting a bit different.  It's all good...   I'll continue with this training schedule of 2+ hours a day.

Warm-up:

Coach Jason had us grab some band and then wrapped it around our knee.  We were to do 20 banded air squats.  Focusing on form, and not necessarily for speed.   The same was done next with an empty barbel back squat for 20.

Strength:

We had about 15 minutes to build up to our 5 RM back squat.   Something I have notice since I've been doing a lot of these back to back classes is that I don't quite hit the maximum weight based on the rep as suggested.  I always tend to be hold back just a small bit (10%). Essentially I'm saving some energy for the later classes.   

Today, I managed to hit a 225 lb - 5 RM Back Squat.   I actually had to use a belt at this weight, which for me is a good thing.  I've been able to hold of using a lifting belt now at the 210 lb mark.  I remember before, I would had to use a belt at 185 lb.   Back/core is getting stronger which is good!

Once we had reached our 5 RM, we were to drop the weight down to 91% of it.  Which translates to 202.5; I used 205 lb for the second set of the strength portion.

Every 3 minutes; for 3 rounds, perform 5 rm at 91% weight (205 lb).

Using this weight, it felt light.   I guess this is what happens when you don't use your maximum weight at 5 rep max.   Next week, I'll have to adjust my focus/weight to the maximum for the at rep count.  It'll be a 4 RM as part of this training cycle. 

WOD Warm-up:

Coach had one of the member to demo the dowel V-ups.  And then he demoed the barbell hip thrusters on the bench.  This was something new to me as I've seen people doing these, but never actually done this myself.  They had some foam cover for the barbell so it would lessen the impact on our hips/protection for our key areas from be crushed.

He suggested that we give it a try with something light, like 65 or 75 lb.  And then if that is good; up the weight to M: 95 lb / W: 65 lb

Coach also demoed a modified V-ups using the weighted barbell when we our form would eventually give way.  

WOD:

The first two rounds was pretty uneventful with the barbell hip thrusters.  I was using 95 lb for it, and the intention is not for speed; but quality.  I found that if I rush the hip thrusters at the beginning; it would be somewhat unbalanced.   I slowed it down, the pace of the upward thrust.   

The second round of wooden dowel v-ups provided quite the challenge as I had to break it down to 2 or 3 reps before resting.  I switched over to using the weighted barbell for the remaining rounds.  I see where my limitations is on this movement.  Stupid belly...  stupid core...   Something I keep seeing in gymnastics as well.    Well, new goal for me for this year.  Shrink the stomach, work on the core!

Managed to finish with 4 rounds + 13 V-Ups.

MISC:

Next class; Gymnastic!  Which should be fun as I'm feeling my hips after those barbell thrusters.  The 95 lb doesn't seem like a lot; but for this guy, it was.  I'm sure I'll have to figure how I can incorporate this into my workout.  As it's been pointed out, my hip drive is lacking.  I'll use whatever drills, exercises that will help me in achieving/correcting my lack of hip drive.

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.

EMOM for 10 Minutes:
 20 seconds Sorenson Hold [if doing the sweat/tech]

 25 seconds Sorenson Hold [if doing Rx'd]

 30 seconds Sorenson Hold [if doing Competition]

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

Hashtags for the day:  #rebuild #tobefitby50