Jul 30 WOD: Cleans + Wendler Day 1

Since last week when I got my 3RM for back squats, I had been thinking of starting on a strength program. Some of the folks at the box had done Smolov with one of the coaches (who's also a champion power lifter, by the way!), but after hearing them talk about how they poured blood, sweat, and tears while doing the program, I decided it wasn't for me. Maybe not yet, anyway. One of the girls I talked to said it's super effective, though, and she gained lots of strength when she was through.

Anyway, I decided to go with the Wendler 5/3/1. It involves 4 workouts: dead lifts, squats, overhead press, and bench press. I am tweaking it a bit because I'm not going to do bench presses. The program is simple -- you do one workout a day, using a percentage of 90% of your 1RM for that lift, and you do 3 sets of 5. The following week, you do the same thing, except the weights are increased and you do only 3 sets of 3. The cycle ends after 4 weeks. I have yet to study where I'm supposed to go after that first cycle. I think I'm supposed to add to my 1RM and repeat the cycle, but lemme cross the bridge when I get there.

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So here's what I did today (weights are in pounds):

Warmup: 3 x 45; 3 x 65; 3 x 85

65% x 5 = 5 x 100
75% x 5 = 5 x 115
85% x 5+ = 7 x 130

Assistance: KBS 2 x 10 (12 kg)

For the WOD, we did the following every 30 secs for 12 mins:

1 power clean + 1 hang power clean + 1 push jerk (Rx: 105)

I only used 50 lbs because I was scared of the push jerk -- overhead lifts have been my weakness ever since a barbell almost hit my head when I wasn't able to keep it stable above my head. I was actually planning on going with just 45, when Belen and Lala told me I could go heavier. And they were right. Sometimes, your friends and coaches know you better than you do yourself.

On Wednesday, I take on back squats!