Countdown to 30: 26 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2 (Wow! How'd THAT happen? Local minima, methinks)

AM Workout: Crossfit Total, and I could not be happier. For those unfamiliar with the XFit Total, it is the total combined weight of your best squat, deadlift and shoulder (military) press. You can "work up" to your max-and should-but all the movements have to be completed in one (reasonable length) exercise session. No adding your best deadlift from Tuesday to your best Squat from last Saturday, in other words.

My pipe dream if-everything-goes-right-and-God-Himself-spots-me goal was a 500 pound total. I wasn't entirely sure how that was going to happen, since I've never pulled more than 185# or pushed more than 75#, and my 205# PR squat had a spot-assist and was probably not full depth anyway. But it was my goal. And you know how I am with a goal.

So, here's how it went down under (and over) the bar:

I worked up 195# on the squat, tried for 205 and failed. I think if I had backed down to 200 I would have stuck it, and probably been able to get 205 too. But as it was my too-long warm-up session was making me a bit jello-y, so I moved on to the pull.

Deadlift - Indulge me, I've worked hard to get my pull half-way respectable.
135- No problem, obviously. This is warm up weight.
185- Hard. Really hard. 50# jump to my previous PR may have been too ambitious off my warm-up weight but I lifted it.
195- Failed. Twice. Like, not even off the ground fail.
190- Backed off, stepped back, thought through my set-up. Closed my eyes. Clean lift. Wasn't even that hard, strangely.
195- Also easy. Continued to increment up 5# at a time.
200- I'm trying not to freak out too much that I'm actually able to pick this shit up. And at this point it's hard but it's not, like, freaky hard.
205- Ok, here it started to get freaky hard. My form started to degrade.
210- Put on a belt. First time ever. Form not at all pristine but successful pull.
215- Form crap but sucessful pull. Barely. That was all I had. New PR by 30 pounds, and suddenly 500# total was in sight!

Press-
Had no problem incrementing up from 65 to 85 pounds. 85 actually wasn't even totally sucky. And I knew I needed 90 on the press to make 500, but I failed twice or three times trying to execute. Texted awesome Trainer / Coach Kevin. Told him where I was in my press. He texted back: "Grip It And Rip It." It took everything I had, but I got under the bar and locked out.

Then I ran around the gym like a little girl on a candy bender cause I was so skipping pleased with myself. 500# Total! Yeah!

After some rest and food and other life stuff it was time for....

PM Workout.
This was a Friday Night Special with Kevin, and it was a paced workout...one of those where you just can't go till you puke. Instead you have to be smart about where to spend the energy and where to conserve it. 15 minutes total, rotating activity on the 5 minute mark. Go for max reps in time.

5 minutes jump-rope (count reps): 410
5 minutes wall-ball (count reps): 104 (12# ball)
5 minutes row (count meters): 1120 (level 3)

Finished off the night with a boat-load of brown rice sushi and called it a night.