How to Hit 5 PRs in One Month

My trainer asked me for my May report on my lifting. I didn’t even know where to start so I looked to my log book.

Who else keeps a log book of his or her workouts? Track progress? Food diaries?? I love these things. Call me a dork, but I just love love love writing things down. And if it weren’t for these journals, I’d never make progress. I can’t lift heavier, eat cleaner, and move faster if I don’t know where I started and if I don’t know what numbers to beat!

So since I haven’t been able to write much for Strong Figure lately, I thought I’d actually share my findings and results here. Many people ask what lifts I do or what my weight totals are, so why not share?

First of all–my shoulders are pretty effin’ messed up. Doing too much too quickly with too heavy weight on top of YEARS of constant abuse and over-training just HIT ME HARD late April/early May. Ugh! So I’ve been seeing an awesome chiropractor–Dr. Dave–for about a month now. My right shoulder is a LOT better but my left seems to be on and off.

But then Spealler happened.

And then when I went for the L1 cert a couple weeks ago, I jammed my left shoulder doing the thrusters on Fran. (Which, BTW I did in 5:40 and got 17 kipping pullups in a row. I’m sure that’s ONLY because Chris Spealler was the instructor. I can hardly get 5 kippings now.)

And as of right now?

My overhead strict, push, split jerks/presses KILL my shoulders when I press any weight more than the bar. Do you know how bad that SUCKS?! BUT the good news is that I can do swings, pullups, snatches (if I’m properly warmed up and stretched), and pretty much anything else. Just no pressing and jerking, and toes to bar scare me too. Dr. Dave and I have pinpointed most of my issues to impingement…even though I’m pulling my head out of the way for the press, I’m still pushing the bar out around my face (just slightly!) but enough to pull my shoulders forward, create an impingement with the nerves, jam the muscles, then I scream out bloody murder when actually trying to press. (I’m assuming that’s not the medical terminology I should have used, but that’s the best I can give you. Previously, I’ve just been saying it feels like people are jamming knives into my shoulders.) Dr. Dave has showed me how to correct this issue, so now I’m pushing PVC pipe to fix the technique. Ugh….but what else can I do?

As if the shoulder issue isn’t enough…

Another issue that I’m kinda dealing with on my own is a super tight Achilles in my left heel/ankle. If I don’t stretch it enough, every single squat–front, back, snatch, clean, etc–I land with that left heel off the ground. I think it’s slowing down my catch and damn it, I’m trying SO HARD to break the fear of dropping under the bar. Really, really trying. In fact, I videoed myself trying to squat clean 125 pounds. When I hit the bottom, BOTH heels were off the ground. And just the other day when I was practicing squat snatches, I landed flat on my right foot, and toes only on my left. DAMMIT! (I embarrassingly attached the video below.)

How many WODs do most crossfitters do each week? 

I’ve also been playing around with how many WODs I should be doing, how many rest days I need, etc. I’ve been so so sore and I think recovery is going to be key with me. I’m trying to lift heavy at least 2-3 times per week, plus work on auxiliary stuff like handstand pushups or ring dips, and I even try a little rowing or mini met cons every now and then. I like the idea of trying to do 2-3 workouts per week for conditioning and then lifting 2-3 days. I need to start doing more yoga (active recovery?) and make sure that I take 1-2 days off completely.

Here’s some of the lifts I did over the month of May. Skip it if you don’t care, but if you’re looking to throw some variety in your routine, maybe you can get some ideas here.

Front Squats:

5/10: I did 5×2 pause front squats at 155 lbs. (90%)

5/15: 5×3 front squats at 165/160 (95%); pause front squats 5×2 at 155. (90%)

5/24: 5×2 pause front squats at 155 (90%) These SUCK.

6/3: 8-6-4-2-2-2-1 @ 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 185, 200!!! NEW PR by 25 lbs! 

Overhead Press:

5/10: 5×5 85-90% and I could only do 65 w/o pain. well, minimal pain.

5/15: 5×3 @ 90% = 75 lbs. Not much pain. Not 90% either. 🙁

Back Squat:

5/14:  5×5 @ 85-90% = 145

5/20: 5×2….and for some reason I wrote down in my notebook that I did 3 squats at 175 which is my old 1rm?!

5/25: 3×20 @ 65% = 115 lbs. This sucked WAY more than I thought it would.

5/27: 5×3 at 95% I think? I did 155, 155, 160, 165, 175!

Bench: 

5/14: 5×10 @ 80-85% = 85, 105, 105, 105, 85. and I only did sets of like 6-7. Killed me for some reason.

5/27: 5×5 @85% = much better day: 85, 105, 115 (kinda hurt shoulder so I backed off) 105, 105. Felt easy…just wanted to be cautious with shoulder.

Auxiliary and Other Lifts:

Strict pullups are in the 3-5 range–with my shoulder injury. I know I’ve done more than that before.

I’m working on getting really comfortable with the squat snatch. I haven’t done more than probably 75 lbs because of being cautious with the shoulder and even the ankle, but I am working really hard to get form down. Here’s a video:

Clean and Jerk: FML. Can’t jerk a thing. BUT, I can hang clean and squat clean around 105 pretty comfortably. I really want to get this number up. I know my form needs work and I need to get super comfy with getting under the damn bar. I  have another video below. It’s only 85 lbs, but I’m still working with getting form down.

I can hold a handstand pushup for about 2 min +/- and can kip rx HSPU about 4-5 before falling.

Overhead squat: I can only comfortably overhead squat about 65 which makes no sense to me because my snatch NEEDS to be way higher. WTF? My heel? Squat? Shoulder? Balance? IDK……..it just needs work.

Romanian Deadlifts are getting heavier…from 125 up to now 145 lbs for sets of 5×5 and 5×8.

Snatch grip deadlifts sure are weird….doing those anywhere between 85-115 lbs.

My broken down beat up summary:

I guess to wrap things up, May has been challenging. With the help of Dr. Dave–who is AMAZING!–I’m slowly getting better. I’ve made a promise to myself that I won’t do any pushes of any sort overhead for the month of June. I’m determined to get better. I’ve also learned a lot about eating whole foods throughout the month of May–read more on that HERE.  But between my injuries, my L1 trainer weekend, and my experiment with whole foods, I’ve learned a lot about ME.

• I need more rest and yoga/stretching days.
• I do NOT need to do six WODs a week to stay in shape.
• I still enjoy lifting weight more than anything else in the gym.
• A Paleo diet works best for me with a limit on nut/seed consumption.
• Dr. Dave freakin’ rocks. The exercises he has me doing, plus the stretches, bands, and tissue repair meds he has provided are fantastic. Every time I see him I leave feeling SO amazing…no pain, and super refreshed. And not to mention assured–I usually walk in convinced I’ll never lift again and by the time that I leave, Dave has assured me that I’m only a little jammed and I just need rest and stretching. If you live near Harrisonburg/Rockingham County and you have aches and pains, CONTACT HIM NOW! 

My Bragging Corner!

I do love “tooting my own horn,” and it’s probably because I’ve never worked so hard at something in my LIFE. But due to proper rest, diet, and specific training goals, I’ve hit a lot of PRs over the past month or so and I want to share!

• 5:40 Fran time
• 17 kipping pullups
• 200 pound front squat
• 245 pound deadlift
• 125 pound squat clean

And while I’m quick to brag, I won’t hide my way-too-many flaws either. Here’s a video (it’s poor quality because I was by myself) of me “trying” to squat clean 125 pounds. You’ll see my heels come off the ground when I land (WRONG!) and you’ll see that I don’t drop fast enough (WRONG!) among a host of other laughable moments (WTF do I do with my hands every time I grab the bar?) You’ll also see me try the lift again and completely fail. I get the bar high enough…I just CAN’T DROP UNDER. Damn, damn, and DAMN!

So…tips for fixing my form? Personal PRs you’d like to share? I’m all ears! Comment below!!

UPDATE! Because I’ve rested my shoulders for one whole month (no pressing, pushing, or jerking) I was able to push jerk 105 pounds this morning with NO SHOULDER PAIN!!! YES!!! Oh and I overhead squatted 85 pounds yesterday, 15 times!  Things are looking up….let’s keep everything crossed that it stays that way!