Tuesday 14 Feb 12

CFDC

Press 6 x 3 (perform 5 chin-ups immediately after each set; rest exactly two minutes between sets)

115, 125, 130, 135, 140(f), 135

Then, perform one burn-out set at 115#, moving to push press once press fails, and moving to push jerk once push press fails

14 total reps

Metcon: 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for:

6 minutes of box jumps (24 inch)

Rest 4 minutes

6 minutes of kettlebell swings (24kg)

Rest 2 minutes

6 minutes of double-unders

Notes: It's exciting to be seeing such great progress on my pressing movements. 135# is the most I've ever pressed and, today, I used it for sets of three! I moved up to 140# and managed two reps, but couldn't quite lock out the third. I think my extra dips and push-ups are paying dividends. I probably should have gone a little lighter on the burn-out set. I did about 8 reps of strict press, but my arms hit absolute failure. I thought I could've pumped out a bunch of push presses, but it just wasn't there. Also, my chin-ups were smoother than they've ever been tonight.

The metcon was a great opportunity to test some skills in an intense environment. I was working box jumps as a skill for quite some time, but have stopped as of late. I was pretty happy with my ability to cycle them tonight, but my added weight certainly isn't doing my any favors on that movement. I should probably be working box jumps once per week, but it seems as though it's more like every other week right now. Same with kettlebell swings. I can't remember that last time I performed swings. Interestingly, I felt more powerful than ever on them. Tom and Chris were yelling at me, as always, to not overextend my lower back at top. Despite that, I was really using my hips well to generate power. Double-unders were fine, but forearms were really burning after all the swings.

Tonight was a good reminder that, in CrossFit, it's difficult to stay sharp on every movement at once. My press is improving rapidly, but it has come at the expense of not practicing as many box jumps and kettlebell swings. Rather than working those two movements, I've been adding more push-ups, handstand push-ups, and dips, to my programming. But, all in all, I feel as though my overall fitness level is improving. My added strength really helped on the swings. I'm looking forward to keeping things moving in the right direction.