Strength Day

Squat 3x5 Working sets
Weighted Overhead Squat 1x5
Bench press 3x5 Working sets
Chins-Kipping 3 sets to failure
Overhead Press 3x5 Working sets
Dips: 3 sets to failure 1st unweighted, 2nd 20 lb weighted and 3rd 25 lb weighted

Increased weight on the squats, bench, and overhead press. Did more reps on the chins than I have been doing.

Strength Workout

Week A

Day 3
Squat 3x5 Working sets
Bench press 3x5 Working sets
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Dips: 3 sets

Felt strong

I'm loving my sore legs

and don't forget that whole posterior chain too. Holy crap. It feels good! I actually took aspirin before bed last night, which I virtually never do.

Today's workout was a strength routine consisting of front squats, overhead presses, and deadlifts.

My legs were sore as hell from the last two days, but I dutifully showed up and pounded out this workout. I probably could have gone heavier than I did, but I'm not going to worry about it. I'll be adding weight every week, so I'll never get too comfortable that I'm going light.

I don't know what i'm going to do tomorrow. Maybe a run. We'll see.

Day one of program

I may have to make a few small adjustments to the routine I posted this morning. While I understand the importance of warmup, the reps/sets/weights of the warmup seem almost useless to me. I'll need to adjust accordingly.

That being said, I need to have faith that this program is going to allow me to gain strength in a somewhat linear fashion. I did fewer heavy sets and reps than I have been doing. Hopefully, that is what will allow me to raise the weight week after week. If I burn myself up getting to working sets, I may not be able to do that. We'll see. how it goes.

I need to watch my squat form. I feel like my knees are coming a bit too far forward. I need to focus on hip drive. I'm a bit concerned that my posterior chain is too tight to maintain proper form while I increase the weight. I'll need to watch this closely.

I'm a bit spent today. It is a fasting day. This is the first one in weeks that has me feeling like this. Of course, my eating was garbage yesterday, and featured a bit too much sugar. I'll have to make note of how I feel the next time I do that. Not that I'm planning it or anything!

Workout plan starting today

I have finally put together a plan for my strength training. Although Ripptoe suggests raising the weight every workout, I'll do it every week. I think that makes more sense for me. When I hit a wall, I'll back off the weight and bring it up again a week at a time. I'm confident I will have quite a bit of progress following this routine.

The workouts will go like this:

Week A

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Dips: 3 sets

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Dips: 3 sets

Week B

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Power clean 5x3
Dips: 3 sets

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Warmup for each exercise:
Bar only 2x5
40% workout weight 1x5
60% working weight 1x3
80% working weight 1x2
Working sets as above

Chins/Pullups are all unweighted until 15 reps per set are exceeded.

Alternate weeks A and B

I'm still trying to decide what I'll do on the non-lifting days. I'd like to do some of the CF workouts, but I need to make sure I give myself enough rest. For now, I'll probably do a combination of running, sprinting, rowing, and some of the CF metcon workouts on non lifting days. I will take at least one, and possibly two days a week off. By carefully watching my progress, I'll adjust my behavoir as needed.

At what magic point

does your body go from being sick to getting over being sick? Is there a moment when all of the cold virus has been killed and your white blood cells are carting the corpses away through the mucous membranes? Are a large part of the virus organisms dead and the remaining ones being overrun by the defensive cells of the body? At this point, I wouldn't say I was sick, but I am "recovering". If I try running, my respiratory system is still affected by the remnants of the cold, and I perform accordingly. I'm just curious.

Anyway, I had a rather sedentary weekend, and I was feeling quite sluggish all morning. I attributed a lot of it to the aforementioned "recovering" nonsense. I didn't know how well my UBWO would go today, but I went anyway. I had a great workout, and I feel one hundred percent better. My breathing is clearer, my body has awakened, and I feel human again. I know some of it was the cold, but if I lay dormant, my body does not like it. Not one bit. Of course, there are those days here and there when I'm happy to make an exception.

For Shoulders today, I did a CF WOD from yesterday:

Shoulder press 3-3-3-3-3 reps

It's funny. I did this with no shoulder pain at all. In fact, when I work out, the shoulder feels great. It's only later on that it hurts. I'll see how I feel later.

Compound it

One of the things I have really come to appreciate about Crossfit is how important the compound exercises really are. Most body building/workout programs are geared towards isolating muscle groups. This is especially true of workout machines. In the real world, our bodies rarely work that way. Our muscles work together symbiotically when we lift something heavy or walk or run...or do just about anything for that matter. If you are a competitive bodybuilder and need to isolate a muscle that is lagging, that's one thing. But for everyday people? Nonsense. Forget those stupid machines, and focus on compound exercises. I can handle ridiculous amounts of weights on a leg press machine, but my (full range of motion) squats are quite modest in comparison. Why? My back is the weak link. You will only be a strong as your weakest link, just like a chain. Work the compounds, and build your capacity in each area at the same time.