Hopefully life will let me compete in those games!

Pat, Great work. You are a great coach!

omfghandstandpushups!
:)

oooooo yeah, Deadlifts AND Handstand Pushups...i think i'll go cry now. Good luck on Diane for tomorrow everybody!

Off day for me.

Friday debating between what gets posted or, 10rnds 3 135 snatch 3 muscle ups (jumping for me still).

Only getting two workouts in over the weekend and that would be a good double.

I practiced handstand pushups the other day and I felt like my eyeballs were going to explode. My eyes were all red for a long time. Does that happen to anyone else and is there anyway to avoid that?

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Smelled this one from a mile away. I'm psyched.......well, hopefully tomorrow morning I am ha

Allison, make sure that you are REALLY controlling your breathing during HSPU. Any pressure at all can lead to busted blood vessels in your eyes (holding your breath). So in short, just make sure you are breathing even. Being upside down causes enough pressure as it is. hope this helps! Good Luck All!!

Allison, some things to think about, are you holding your breath? how are you positioning your neck? putting any strain on the arteries there? blood rushing to your head will be natural but eye redness is usually from too much pressure or blood vessel dialation...

It's Thursday morning already for me...looking forward to this!

I do not think that hand stand pushups are healthy.

Now, I am just a medical student (with a special interest in studying cerebral vasculature), but it seems to me that the venous pressure in the head would be quite high during these exercises. About 3 to 5 per hundred people walking around have little aneurysms in their cerebral blood vessels. Increased venous pressure could predispose these to grow or even rupture.

There are reports of burst retinal arteries during these as well.... Anyone have any other ideas?

The eyes exploding feeling goes away once the hspu's become easy, so in other words it never goes away.

I used to get slight mottling around the eyes when practicing HSPU it went away over night. In time either I got better at breathing, or my face got used to it. It doesn't happen anymore. I am not quite verticle, as my feet are on a freezer and hands on parrelettes. I have heard from others that this is semi-normal and goes away with time. FYI...

I've posted in the message board, but I thought I would ask here too, if there are any Crossfitters in Paducah, KY.

Allison, I am usually lightheaded after HSPUs, but I don't think my eyes have ever been red. Never looked in the mirror though.

Oh my gosh ekaj. Now I'm scared to do them. That's really creepy. What a way to go.. HSPUs

First few times I did them, my head felt like exploding, I'm pretty sure I was holding my breath. I make a point to breathe out hard at the top of each rep and I haven't had that problem.

The video was cool, Pat's game face during the last few overhead squats was priceless.

Did this for today's morning workout. My first attempt since finally being able to do HSPUs...unfortunatly high rep HSPUs are no joke.

11:26 as RX'd.

When I do a lot of HSPU's, the blood vessels in my face (around my eyes) will pop. I will get a very red rash-like bruise. It goes away after a couple of days.

I also take a lot of fish body oils.

Is the broken blood vessels around the eyes (not in the eyes), a result of the thinned out blood?

Allison and others,

It goes away with time. Every person I know including myself that has gone through the process of developing strong HSPU's felt exactly the same way when they were learning. Like most things just keep practicing and you will be fine.

I would be astounded to hear if anyone that can do 10 consecutive HSPU has any trouble with their eyes or head etc.

On the other hand 225 pound deadlifts will hurt my eyes, head, legs and everything else ;)

I hate HSPU's. Everytime I do them, blood squirts out of my eyes. Does that happen to anyone else?

Do more HSPUs. I got rid of dips from my warm-up and now do HSPUs. This had the added benefit of somehow teaching me how to hold a free handstand. Most of my HSPUs do not have my feet against the wall now, but I end up there sometimes as a safety measure once I reach the top. Just takes time.

"The sky-scraper began to collapse."

Well said.

Been there.

Quote: The sky-scraper began to collapse.

Well said.

Been there.

Just to clarify my previous comment (#11): I think it's unlikely that anyone would get hurt from HSPU (well, aside from the physical and psychic pain of doing them).

That being said, my personal relatively uneducated opinion is that the combination of the valsalva (holding breath with exertion) and being upside down would probably be more harmful than beneficial to one's general state of health by temporarily increasing cerebral venous pressure.

I know of no research to back this up, this is my opinion only. I know there are a bunch of doctors on here, would be interesting to get their opinion.

If you do choose to do HSPU, then I believe it's essential to NOT hold one's breath.

- Jake

HSPU...

BRING IT ON.

#11, ekaj, writes,

"I do not think that hand stand pushups are healthy. . . . About 3 to 5 per hundred people walking around have little aneurysms in their cerebral blood vessels. Increased venous pressure could predispose these to grow or even rupture."

Is it your opinion that the general population should confine itself to exercises that are safe for people who may have little aneurysms? If so, are there any other exercises on your list to avoid because of the potential for increased venous pressure (heavy dead lifts, muscle-ups, etc.)?

Ew Ed.

Ok one more question-
Is there a recommended weight for women? Or is it determined by body weight?

Can't wait for those Crossfit Games. I have never done Diane as RX'd before. This should be interesting.

#24, ekaj, writes,

"If you do choose to do HSPU, then I believe it's essential to NOT hold one's breath."

I usually try to hold my breath from beginning to end of Fran, since I do that entirely right side up; but during Diane, I definitely try to take a breath every few minutes.

Hari,

Vigorous exercise is safe for most people. Sudden death in athletes does occur, however, even though it's very rare (probably less than 1/300,000). Most of the time, these deaths are from pre-existing heart causes, and not ruptured aneuryms.

Extreme exertion does carry some risk of adverse cardiovascular events, albeit these risks are very small. Most doctors, being a conservative bunch, would recommend against doing the heavy lifting that is the course of a daily workout here. Personally, I do most of the workouts here as rxed (when I can handle it - my numbers are definitely in the beginner range).

The only reason I mentioned the aneurysm thing is that this is what I study all day long (research elective, yay): so when all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

To finally get around to answering your question, we can't all live our lives as if we have some disease that we may or may not have. So my opinion - full of disclaimers that I'm just a student and what I think should not be taken in lieu of medical advice - is that crossfit workouts are safe for people with no known medical conditions.

That said, I will sub shoulder presses for the HSPU tomorrow...

Never had a issue with eye blood vessels during HSPU, a bit lightheaded maybe, but that's usually when I go to very elevated pushups.

Had a friend bust blood vessels in one eye when he was puking after a night out... the entire white of an eye turned red for a couple days (cleared to about 25% of his sclera but stayed that way for months)... now THAT was freaky (called it the "evil eye", haha)

I intend to be at those games.

Ditto on the Rash on face phenomenon-

I though I was the only one out there who got that. I think that part of it is doing them when you are already gasping for air. When I do HSPUs for skill work, it isn't nearly as bad. I think you really need to breath when you do them. I have not really been a big fan of them- I just assume doing the shoulder press, and then going and doing skill work on them HSPUs at a pace I can handle- you still get the benefits of HSPU this way, but you don't have an anyeurism.

I have been having shoulder issues and was curious what might be a less stressful sub for the hspu`s yet still keep the intensity high? Trying to rehab with lower weights but still high metcon output thx for any help

30/m/195

8::56

1st set HSPU's were as rx, last two sets were feet elevated on 5' platform. Regardless..still smoked.

question about the set structure on this one. i know i cant do a 225lb pull 21 times, do i break up into sets as need be, or decrease the weight?

#36 Geoff.

If you can get through all of the DL's regardless of sets, do them. If you believe that fatigue is going to cause an increased potential for injury because of the high weight and thus, compromised form, then knock it back to 205 or 185 etc. with the goal in mind to eventually be doing the WOD as RX'd.

Always account for safety first. If you get injured you can't work out, and in turn, you can't make gains.

Allison, I understand that the rx'd weights are based on an assumed male body mass of 175 lbs. I take it one step further in calculating the weight for my wife. I adjust for a naturally higher body fat. Most elite male athletes will have around 90% lean mass and most elite women will be closer to 80%. So if you do not know your lean mass (or you are as lean as Annie), just use your percent of the total assumed weight.

Geoff

break it up however you need to just get all the reps. this is a get it done as fast as you can workout.

ok i'm gonna do it, but has coach decided to beat me over the head with my weakness for the last two weeks? thank you sir may i have another?!

thanks guys, i know i can get the reps, i just have to break it up into 3 sets probably for 21, 2 for 15, and ill nail the 9 out in 1.

appreciate it.

Allison,

The WOD is geared toward a 175# fit male, so 225# would be 1.28% of his bodyweight. I usually use a standard bodyweight for an athletic female as 125 or so. That said, I would recommend the rx'd weight for the girls at our gym at about 150 or a little bit more.

I feel like a collapsing skyscraper when I attempt HSPUs.

My eyes are fine but I get the "face rash" people have mentioned from doing them.

The first time I was worried that maybe I hadn't been breathing so I make sure I breathe every time now and my face still has those little burst blood vessels. It kinda looks like a tan which is as close as I'll be getting to a tan this winter.

Winter in Ottawa is payback for spending last year travelling through Central America. Man I miss the beach.

AllisonNYC, You're tiny! I thought you were taller from the video.

OOPS! I meant 128% of his bw!

Allison,

A fit 175# male probably has 88% lean mass or 154# lean mass.

You are about 115# and, as a woman, maybe 80% lean mass or 92# lean mass.

So 92/154=60%

60% of 225 is 135#

Just rowed a 1:22.8 500m (pr) and broke not the world record but the "One World" record. It was a goal from the begining of the month to accomplish by Halloween. My pr going into Oct was 1:24.5, the One World record 1:23.6. I followed the Wod's on main site, rowed 1000m 5 days a week staying under 3:30, and did the all out 500m once a week with my timnes as follows 1:24.4, 1:23.8, 1:23.8, and 1:22.8!

I started Crossfit in Oct. 06 and in that short one year Crossfit has got me fully excited about exercising like when I used to play organized sports. I love the competition factor. I love the community. I attended the Feb 06 seminar and loved that. I'm a walking billboard for this totally addictive legal drug that has gotten me into the best shape of my life.

In regards to HSPUs;
it's useful to remember that when you are first able to do them, each effort (or rep in this case) represents close to a 1-rep max. So think how much IAP any of your 1RMs require in order for you to successfully complete them. Now couple that with the fact that you're upside down, an unusual posture for most of us, requiring a great deal of torso stabilization from both the torso and the arms (which are used to lifting and holding things, but not your entire body, so that increases the number of motor units firing in them) and once again, increased IAP. And if the valsalva is new to you, the frequent beginner's error is to "puff up" in the upper thorax and head instead of "bearing down" in the lower abdomen (also referred to as "the gut" by our President ;-) Not to mention the underdeveloped ROM in the shoulders and hyperextension in the lower back causing a lot of pain, which will also help to increase blood pressure.
All that being said, when I first did Diane a couple of years ago, my face had a blotchy rash of broken facial blood vessels for days afterwards. Now I just wish I could finish the whole damn thing with unbroken sets...but my face and eyes are nice and clear. Each HSPU now represents a smaller fraction of a 1RM or my total work capacity, so less IAP is needed to support them, plus my torso stabilizers are more developed, so again, less IAP needed. It'll get better.

Well after two days of intense tact training I needed a day of rest, so I am a day behind with crossfit. Tomorrow I will start this cycle and just do six days in a row to get caught up. I thought about just skipping the front squats, but they look like way too much fun.

Allison you've opened a pandora's box regarding broken blood vessels in the face after HSPU. It happens to everyone from the sound of it but it happens less and less the better you get at it. I call it my Racoon Face.

I'll be seein' some of you folks at the games in 2008. Bring it!

Don't be weak...minded people, and just do the HSPU.

We did this one today(Halloween) at Crossfit Agoge. We had 3 people under 4 minutes and I PRd with a 3:03. Previous PR was 4:45.

This was my first Crossfit workout. I could barely walk to the car... I think it was 9 minutes later. I remember thinking why did i agree to workout with this skinny guy, who ended up being more fit than me. haha Still can not do a strict HSPU but still looking forward to this workout.

AllisonNYC #15

"...what a way to go...HSPU's" Heh heh heh I wonder if that would make one of the WOD videos?:)

ekaj #11

Hey bro, enough already with the passages out of your medical manuals; you're studying to be a doctor, we get it.

CF Games...I'm coming for that number 1 spot.

Holy guacamole

I don't have full ROM yet. I'll do push-ups with my feet on a bench or presses tomorrow. I'll keep practicing the HSPU when I'm not doing heavy DLs.

Yeah Nik I'm tiny. Thanks for rubbing it in.

It seems like based on what Freddy C. said 150 should be my goal weight but 135 like Ed said seems more reasonable for me right now. Last time I checked a while ago my max was 190. So 150 45 times would probably kick my little butt.

Also Rip told me that if I can pull a heavy weight but my form breaks down it's better to use a little less. That makes sense to me.

Good stuff AustinB

AllisonNYC,
Wax on wax off.. Don't forget to breath!!!!!!!! What a classic movie =/... but really not breathing can be detrimental your HSPU's ...its also self critiquing when you pass out and crack your dome... keep up the good work .. cheers

Is it just me, or does Pat remind you of B.J. Novak from The Office?

ekaj,

Medical professionals study for years to take people from sickness to health, but do very little to take us from health to fitness. In fact, if you ask a doctor about doing a fitness program, he/she will focus exclusively on the risks (telling you to take it slow, use light weight, be careful, etc.).

That said, now I'm scared to do HSPUs too!

21-15-9:
DLs 75kg (broken 3/3/2 sets)
HSPU (broken 3/3/2 sets)
TIME: 14:00 with good form (last time 20 mins w 70kg and bad form)

Yesterday I completed:
3 rounds of:
10 - 43kg (95lbs) Snatch
15 - Pull-ups
20 - 35kg (75lbs approx) thrusters

I have called it Olivia in celebration of our first child, she is due in less than 2 wks! Yikes!

Owen, that workout sounds brutal. Congrats on the new arrival/addition to the family.

CFWU X 3

Diane
15-9-6
Deadlift 115 lbs
HSPU barely did one, three with very small range of motion. Need alot of practice!

HaHaHa. Crossfit Games. I'm so Happy! I'll put it on my calendar right now. My strategy for this year... I'm actually going to sleep that week. Bringing the whole affiliate this time around, so you guys better be ready!

-Amadraeus
Co-founder, CrossFit Marin.

5 minutes rope jumping + CFWU x3

1st time diane 20.07
2nd time diane 08.50

This time diane 7.11 New PR!

Deadlifts went very well.
Also HSPU had a lot ROM..

New to CrossFit!!! I tried many programs and have been a top athlete all through college… have to say that I am impressed with the CrossFit mentality! It seems that this program will make me one ofo the best of the best...HA! Just one question… Do you just do the WOD as your workout; will that be enough ?(this might be a dumb quaestion since I have not started the program yet!) If add stuff what approach is suggested? Open to all suggestions… Cant wait to become a CrossFitter!

T minus 8 months

33/M/175

As Rx'd: 6:35

I'm with Hari on the breathing thing!

didnt look like ohs were a weakness for you, pat - you killed that wod! awesome!

As Rx'd
Jim 48/M/170 9:18
Gary 50/M/200 10:16

F/5'9"/132

10:38 with 70kg DL and 4-book HSPU

M/6'6"/202

13:08 with 4-book HSPU

Last time I did "Diane" it looked like this:
No time...Scaled DL to 185# did rounds of 12,6,6
HSPU 21,8,12

Today
10:45
DL 185#
HSPU all unbroken

11:07, 205 lbs and HSPUs with feet on wall. Back to 225 next time.

Today is what I will call my one year anniversary of my crossfit training. According to my records I have logged over 140 WODs, or more than half the prescribed. Considering holidays, sickness and injury downtimes, this is not too bad - but hope to improve for next year. In one year...

my 5 rep squat went from 60 to 77.5kg (+30%)
max strict p-ups from 8 to 14 (+75%)
1-rep press from 35 to 42.5kg (+20%)

also learned power snatch, power clean, jerk, split jerk, kipping pullups...

From the deepest part of my heart - Thank you Coach and all of the crossfit community, you continue to inspire me and demolish my limiting beliefs!

RE: #52
"Hey bro, enough already with the passages out of your medical manuals; you're studying to be a doctor, we get it."

Are you serious Tackleberry??????

Ekaj was only trying to make help us with some words of caution. I don't think he was trying to rub anything in our face (or scare us) as you so prudently point out.

You get it? Doesn't sound like so to me.

5:52 with feet on wall for hspu
31 male 79kg

18:30

#74 Tamas-
Congrats on your one year anniversary! Here's looking at many more gains.

Kate

Ekaj, #11. All I've ever taken as far as medical classes goes is just a humble EMT class, but I can tell you that I know a lot of smart gymnasts that are scientists, engineers, and professionals in all areas and disciplines that you could imagine and they've spent years and years conditioning and straining upside-down and seem to be doing just fine; never heard of any of them suffering from aggravated aneurysms. However, I do think most people should be slow to break into full blown workouts such a Diane. If you've never been upside-down in your life maybe doing 45 hpu's coupled with 225# deadlifts is a little hasty and perhaps one should start with just handstand drills.

Farbeyonddrivin, #53. Wow, I admire you for your focus and motivation. I do not know what your athletic capabilities are but I would be very surprised if you actually beat the likes of OPT, AFT, Spealler, Josh Everett, or Brenden Gilliam and others in the 2nd annual CrossFit games. I consider myself to be a descent athlete and I came in over 7 minutes behind AFT in the hopper. Actually I came in 22nd overall for the men's and I was thinking of making it an (optimistic) goal to try to come in top 10 this time around. My real goal is to rally the troops and have CrossFit Marin take the Affiliate Cup or at least come in top three, and to have as much fun making friends, working out,and enjoying Andy's family's great hospitality, like last time. Now I have one more goal. I'm going to be looking for you at the CrossFit games so I can beat you! See you there. By the way, nice website, www.sportsmansfitness.com. Are you sure you don't owe it to Coach Glassman to give some credit for some of what you've put on the site? The verbiage sounds an aweful lot like CrossFit speak!

RX'd 6:23

M/30/5'7"/185
DL as rx'd
HSPU on bar
6:22
I feel like I'm cheating on the HSPU, so it's only going to be on the wall from here on out, and my times should reflect as much.
I practiced the kipping HSPU from the mary video after Diane, did 5 sets of 5.

#64 Jordan
It all depends on the WOD. Some WODs are absolutely brutal and will take the better part on an hour, especially if you're a beginner. Other WODs will take you less than 20min. At that time, it's up to you to decide if you have some energy left to do additional exercises and training.
I have been Crossfitting for 6 months now and from my own perspective, I know most of the time I have energy left for a little bit more, except after WODs like Murph, where I am totally beat! Anyhow...Normally I'll try to pick an exercise I consider to be a weakness and focus on improving it. I know for me it's anything to do with Snatch or Overhead Squat. Also, another example from my own personnal experience. I want to increase my strenght so I can do ring dips, so I do a lot of regular bar dips, say 4 sets to failure or BW dips or even weighted dips. I am a hockey player, so I also like to work on muscular endurance, I do box jumps with ankle weights, agility ladder, skip rope, stuff like that. Sometimes I even come up with a workout on rest days. I make sure though that I have at least one day rest a week. Like I said, it's up to you though to decide if you can do more. Most crossfitters will do a little extra, or they complement CF with their other acitivities/favorite sport. I hope this helps.

RX'd

12:10

first round of dl's was the toughest, probably should have warmed up a bit more.
HSPU are much improved since the 3 x 50 push (w/400m run) we did last week.

m/33/69"/187

as rx'd 17:13 (PR)

exception... rested ankles up against bar. Also it's a PR because this is the first time I've ever timed Diane. Looking forward to the next time, but I'm not looking forward to taering a callus on both hands in the same day.

Subbed 200# DL and feet on 5' ledge PU.

Jon 28/m 7:45
Zack 27/m 9:52

m/27/74 kg

Scaled to 85 kg DL. HSPU with feet supported on smith bar on highest level (neck height).

11:40

Very happy with that. 85 kg DL is pretty heavy for me (my 1RM is 120), and they were all done with good form (sets of 3-5 reps). The hspu:s were the best I've done so far, although still far from as rx'd. Done in sets of 4-9 reps.

#11, #30, ekaj,

Since you are studying cerebral vasculature in medical school and have chosen to substitute shoulder presses for HSPU's as a precaution, I think this might be worth considering:

Assume your venous pressure increases from x at rest to a peak of ax when you substitute presses for HSPU's during Diane. What do you estimate it would reach is you were to do Diane as RX'd? In other words, with some degree of precision, what is the additional pressure caused by being upside down as opposed to right side up?

PAT

Nice Video! Broken hip WHAT?!?! I like how you can have a coherent conversation after the work. We hear all the time about how CF helps prepare for that ULTIMATE MOMENT when max exertion leads to a decrease in fine motor skills (or like how my handwriting becomes unitelligible when I do tabata WODs).

I would think being able to clearly communicate and reason after max efforts is another important befefit of elite fitness.

Cant wait to come back up to CrossFit Virginia Beach and get some next time Im visiting my brother.

crossfitvb
PAIN FOR TIME

31/M/163

9:13.2 as rx'd.

23/m/205
11:45 as rx'd

M/ 25y/o/ 205 lbs
Diane as rx'd: 5:44

AllisonNYC,

I personally prescribe female loads by:

Multiplying the set load by .68

Then round up for an even bar and there you go! This seems to jive with the benchmark loads I've seen for females.

David

37/m/170

as Rx'd: 6:10

Am I relieved to hear all this talk about eye-popping HSPU! I thought I was the only one feeling that intense pressure in my head when attempting these. I've realized that I haven't pushed myself real hard to build up strength to do these as I do with all other exercises (i.e., I always opt for feet on elevated bar rather than try a few hspu), because of the worry that my eyes would pop out of their sockets! Good to hear the reassuring comments - it motivates me to "get over it" and push through that mental block.

~6:14

DL-185
HSPU with knees on the desk

m/35/185/70"
800m run 1500m row wu total 18:14
Diane
subbed 185lb dead
80lb standing overhead press
18:31
weak from 2 weeks in Argentina.

BW=183
Age=27

*2:39 mins (PR)

*Did not completely lock out on the HSPU's. Need to work on form.

M/ 28y

as rx'd

Time 24:50

1/25/2007 = 19:00 @ 135# DL
6/12/2007 = 9:50 @ 135# DL
7/19/2007= 10:00 @ 145# DL
Today = 12:38 @ 150# DL

My times are getting worse, but at least I am increasing weight. HSPUs were tough today. I will blame it on the fact that I had to do 50 reps 2 days ago!

165/28/m/5.9

hspu destroyed me. did them with rubberband stretched across a squat rack, chest facing in. poor form

good form on dl's. as rx'd with 225#

TIME - 24:21

Recently OPT held the OPT Challenge which was modelled on the CF Games format. I hope some US affiliates do the same (CF Philly? hint, hint) or the boys from Calgary may roll to Aromas next summer down like Kenyans at a 10k.

Great workout demo. Did anyone ever tell Pat he looks like Ben Stiller?

Geez, Amadreaus #79, lighten up on Farbeyonddrivin #53. So the guy wants to beat Speal at the CrossFit games. You sound like he stepped on your crank. I bet there are lots of CF'ers out there who are gunning for Speal. Are you going to attack all of them too? And no, I can't beat Speal but if I was 20 years younger I'd give it a shot.

135# Deadlift and assisted HSPU's

Probably could have used more weight and took more time between my deadlift reps.

9:19

I stopped taking my caffeine supplement today and had a cup of green tea. Yikes! Noticed a big difference.

4o/m/160

6:01 PR
beat last one by over a min.

M/42/170

Just did this on Sunday! as rx'd. 7:17.

6:15
sub 205lb DL
HSPU against wall

22/M/155

22:56 - 205 for the rounds of 21 and 15. Dropped to 185 for the 9. Form was lacking. I think the legs were beat from front squats.

Pat,
That was awesome! Choosing a workout that exposes your weakness, even in front of your fellow CFers and the camera, was truly ballsy.

The games are coming! Of course people are gunning for #1. Set your sights high. Your competitors are mere mortals, just like you.

People's eyes are bleeding! Wow, AllisonNYC gets a lot of responses to her questions... of course, even though I hate big cities, she makes me want to move to The Big Apple.

If the valsalva (holding the breath during exertion) is so unsafe, why is it recommended for standing exercises (squats, jerks, etc.)?

33/m/205

I finally did all the reps! I put about a 2" folded towel under my head, pushups against the wall mostly. I think I did 2 with my feet away from the wall a little.
The deadlifts are no problem. I've been having a little trouble with my shoulder and lat up in my armpit, but this didn't really hurt today. Still can't do a pullup or a dip though, and it sucks. I was so close to getting a muscle-up.

sorry guys, I can only do 3 nose to ground hspu's at this point. I'm working on getting my reps up. So the WOD will be a little compromised for me with not being able to do the full extension hspu's. I'll do what I can full extension, and cheat the rest of them with a couple of encyclopedias. Good workout.

BRING IT ON

Mornin'

I am presently on Injured Reserve with a rotator cuff tear(day 20), a particular bummer because this next "Diane" was due to be my first with DL 225. Congrats to the PR's already noted (Steve Liberatti, John Brown, etc.).

Regarding broken blood vessels, inverted exercises, and well-meaning medical students (standard disclaimer, the following is meant for general information and is not to be construed as medical advice or prescribed treatment):

1) The blood vessels in the front of the eye are in the conjunctiva, the "skin" of the eye. They are rather fragile and become more so as we get older. Trivial trauma can cause them to break and bleed (big cough, big sneeze, difficulat bowel movement, heavy lifting). These are all in response to the valsalva and the entity is called a benign sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. Like anything else, continued training will reduce the magnitude of the valsalva response and the frequency of these benign hemorrhages. The valsalva can also cause retinal hemorrhages, most famously in our literature after vigorous $exual activity; we call this "looking for love in all the wrong places." ;=)

2) The incidence of cerebral aneurysms is very small; they tend to run in families. If you have a history of these in the family it is wise to discuss this with a knowledgeable physician before beginning a vigorous program of physical activity. If not should we live our lives in fear, making it our number one priority to avoid every risk, no matter how remote? And how should we grade risk? Downward Facing Dog is a ubiquitous inverted pose in yoga of all sorts. Is this also to be avoided? I think everyone who comes back for his or her second CF WOD has answered that question for him/herself.

3) ekaj: congrats on med school! How cool is it that all of that work in college paid off. Congrats also on discovering Crossfit. This program will give you the fitness, both physical and mental, to tackle your med school years and your residency. Be sure to carve out time for the WOD throughout.

A little (unsolicited) advice, if I may presume. Common things are common; uncommon things aren't. Spend a little time reviewing statistics, specifically incidence. Remember that you are no longer just someone with an opinion, that you now (and even more in the future) have a certain gravitas that surrounds any medical opinion you offer. Be careful not to think it through out loud, as it were, and be mindful of the potential effect of what you might consider "just my opinion" when it is offered to a non-medical group. Are you factually correct in #11? My experience and study would lead me toward other conclusions, but I am not rock-solid sure and I cannot declare a medical certainty. So I will refrain from conjecture, and I would humbly and gently suggest that you adapt that policy here and elsewhere in your world as you progress along your educational journey.

I'll get some kind of CF-like work-out after work today.

I have a little experience. Thoughts on "bleeding eyes" in the filter...

I would like to see that 2:36 that steve liberti pulled of. I just question that because i did the first set of DL unbroken at a fast past it took me about 59 sec and I cant see how he could get the rest of the workout that fast

Just as a point for anyone wondering how to scale for the future. If you need to scale to your bodyweight and we know all weights are set for 175 lb. male.

Take the weight used ex. 225
divide by 175 (weight of average male)

you get a multiplier 1.285

Then all you have to do is take your weight and
multiply by that multiplier

so Allison if you are 115lbs.
times 1.285

your goal weight should be about 150lbs.
(really 147.8)

Hope this helps someone.

Now i can't wait for this one (PR) here I come

Judd

hspu assisted

3:57

+ 18 lb weight vest

#113 Merk,
Have a look at this and it should paint a clear picture as to what some of the athletes on here are capable of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YARXjYqC8mU
(w/f safe)

30/m/190

as rx'd

8:23

All dead lift sets unbroken. All HSPU sets broken.

9:35

m/28yrs/155lbs

5:38 as rx

34/M/77kg

As Rx'd:

11 min 30 sec

28/m/210

as rx'd

8:40

1st DL set broken, all HSPUs broken.

m/37/6/167

Diane scaled to:

21-15-9 of
185 lbs. Dead-lifts
HSPUs w/toes on 4 feet high bar

Time: 11:53

M/22/6'1"/185

I like this one. As RXed 7:27

I've never had trouble with red face or eye blood vessel's. Might be from the fact that I've spent at least 3 hours a day since I was 8 under water. Not gonna lie, Pat's video kinda got me out of my morning funk today

I have been doing crossfit for 1 month. i love the strength and endurance increase but is this method recommended for building over strength training? ( trying to gain 10 lbs of muscle )

40y/o M
75" 203#
subbed 'feet elevated to 6 ft.' for HSPU...otherwise as Rx'd
9:15

12:09 - better than last time

As rx'd

6:14

#71 WOODY nice job at 6'6". These are two exercises not geared for tall people. What are "4-book" HSPU?

195 lbs all sets broken
HSPU feet on 5ft high bar
11:30

Just had an exasperating conversation with some non-CF workout friends. We all saw an Olympic lifter going for a squat of 400+lbs. I reacted with admiration for the ability and the response was summarized with "Well, why? He still looks short and fat." Sigh. At least some people get it.

Used my new "rx'd" standard of HSPU with the parallette bars. Ears to bar level or lower on every rep. Missed at least three without full lockout.

My Diane went from a sub 5 to 12:55. Brutal!

I am really looking forward to meeting a bunch of you at the Crossfit Games. I finished 11th this year and was hoping to break the top ten in 2008. I think the games are going to be HUGE this time around. I am really gonna have to train hard for a top ten spot.

My secret to a better finish in 2008: No drinking Heineken during the Crossfit Total and in between events!

BW 174

as rx'd

5:15

DL's easy. Failed on HSPU: need to start breaking these up earlier

10:17 with sets broken, and hspu's on a dictionary. What can you do?

m/26/74kg

scaled deadlifts to 90kg/198lbs

8mins 48secs

First Diane
23/m/148
11:27 rx

Need to stop taking breaks, and moving faster on the DLs.

I wanted to comment on all of the "my face hurts when I do hspu" and "my eyes hurt when I do hspu" as well as "my head bursts in spills blood all over the street and it's gross" comments.

I can't believe that I was even reading those comments! I mean, are you serious? I don't mind handstand pushups, but yes, I agree, they do cause some discomfort in a number of places. However, how many exercises do we do, how many WOD's do me do, where some part of our body feels like it is going to erupt? I feel as though I could say, instead of "I had a really great WOD", my lungs felt like they were going to pop, my heart exploded, my face melt off, and my legs break off. One is a whine, the other sucking it up and pushing through it. If you don't know which is which I suggest you reevaluate your approach to training.

That's all I have for now!
-Justin
~Train Hard or Stay the F$#@ Home!~

16 minutes. Subbed 95# press for the HSPUs. Doing the press instead of my old inclined pushups doubled my time. As usual, shoulder strength kicks my ass.

37f/140

Scaled:

155# Deadlift
hspu - off bench

7:21

Alison,

Brand X, (linked on the crossfit main page under start here) generally gives the women's goal weight for all the workouts. For Diane it's 155-185. My 1rm in deads is 185 and today I did 155lb. Since your 1rm is 190, 155 shouldn't be too far off, even though you weigh less than me. It was the first time for me using that weight and my time really suffered, but I made it through.

155lb deads
hspu off rack

17:29

2nd Diane since I started CF in September

Last time (070917):
subbed 36" elevated pushups (about 45 degrees)
subbed 185lb. deadlifts, IIRC...
12:54

This time (071101):
did 5x strict HSPU (haven't got the kipping down) and then switched to 60" elevated pushups
DL's as Rx'd
6:19

Going to have a pair of bars made so i can practice HSPUs, so next time, going for one big unbroken set!

J roCk

Take it easy. Some of the folks here were just looking for advise if they were doing something wrong. It is really ok to have these conversations in this blog. If you can do HSPU with full ROM without causeing eye capillary damage that is great, but do not belittle those looking for help.

Mike

meh, as usual, forgot info:
27/m/6'2"/193#

m/55/200

dl#240 upped weight a little to compensate for bodyweight.
hspu vertical on smith machine, nose to floor
all sets unbroken, 7:20.

I have noticed on the mornings after drinking Wild Turkey with the boys my eyes appear to have been bleeding.

as rx'd 5:58. HSPU on bar (felt like I was cheatin' so next time on the wall)

As Rx'd
24:15

First time that I've sucked it up and done all HSPUs against the wall. Most were singles and some were cheesy (got lock-out as feet fell) but they were all full ROM (forehead to floor). There are only three more named workouts that I can't do as Rx'd (Isabel, Nancy, and Josh). I have to learn to snatch and I have to work on OHS. I think I will use a 45# bar on the third set of OHS in the warmup and maybe do a set or two of OHS between WU and WOD until I can do 95# without the skyscraper falling down on the 2nd one. Its hard without bumper plates.

38m/205

225dl's
hspu's with ankles on racked bar about 5'6" up.

6:03

41yo/f/162#
CFWU x2
jump rope 6 min
Diane approx 6min
135# deadlift
HSPU feet on rack shoulder height, body approx 45 degree angle
last round took 1 min, 1st round of just deadlifts took 50+ sec. so guessing time
OHS 45#~5x, 65#~5x, 75#~5x
Rowed 11:45
500 m, 1 min recover, 1000m, 2 min recover, 500m, 1 min recover

#142 Mike

No belittling was being done at all, and I appologize to you and to the rest of those blogging if it came across that way. I understand that some were looking for advice, and commend them for it as opposed to preforming the movements with improper form and function and increasing the risk of injury. However, I was specifically commenting, and exercising MY right to comment on this blog, to those who were complaining and not asking for help. AllisonNYC stated a problem with hspu that she was having, and asked for help with it. That's great! There were many other posts that were mearly complaints, and today, at that moment that i read them, it bothered me. So I expressed it.
Hopefully that clarifies my disposition. Apparently I needed to be more specific in my post as to not offend or ruffle feathers.

-J-
~Train Hards or Stay the F$#@ Home!~

Bwt: 133

As Rx'd

3:22 little bit better than last time but feeling a bit tired today from those front squats.

34 M 195

As Rx'ed

6:05

Finally got this 225 lbs deadlift down... giddy giddy... gotta work on the handstand pushups.

This morning my arm isn't very happy with me after yesterday's few push ups. I tried shoulder presses with just a 45 lb bar for a poor sub of the HSPU, but no joy. At least my knee is doing better.
I am sorry to miss Diane.

Rowed intervals instead.

Kate

7.06

HSPUs done with one foot hooked on shoulder-high bar. Next time as rx'd.

last time 7.29

J roCk

No problem, just seemed a bit harsh when I read it. We all seem to have those exercises that make us want to cry a bit. Venting on the boards in some cases may be a way to find the courage necessary attack the WO. Not in any way trying to take your right to post away and sorry if I came across that way.

Mike

#129 RTC - Thanks! 4-book HSPU's are Handstand Push-ups to a stack of 4 books. I can't quite get all the way to the floor yet.

8 min.

M/35/5'8"/169

As RX'd, no scaling
12:30

Compared to 17 Sept 07:
M/35/5'8"/165

225# Deadlifts as rx'd
Assited HSPUs with feet over a bar at 80-85.

14:30

29yo/m/160# as Rx
7:07

Thanks for posting that link to Diane in 2:00...now I know where I need to go :)

subbed 160# deadlifts, overhead presses with a pair of 35# dumbells.

49:40

Does anybody know what weight the squat is being performed at in the CrossFit Games poster? Looks like he ran out of barbell.

Bingo, does this mean that if we see someone come out of the restroom with bloodshot eyes and mottled cheeks we should wait 15 to 20 minutes or so before we try to enter the restroom?

M/36/214#

As R'd:

17:45

Gotta increase my grip strength so I can hang onto the dang bar for high reps on the DL. Did my HS Pushups against a wall. Awesome workout.

lisaQ appreciate you posting the full workout. Iget more from knowing exactly what others are doing. Thanks.
36yo/f/170# only 3 weeks in to xfit. was an olympic skier (with Eva T) but 7 years of baby making and rearing has left me with 30% body fat and weak weak. posting keeps me honest.
10 min jog cfwu no pushups, 250 jump rope practice power clean practice 20 X 3 with bar
115 lb DL (first DL in 10+ years YEAH!!)
PU's with feet up on bar about 45 deg. and knees bent
There's nothing better than a hard core DL. one question: one the HSPU's do you look at your hands or further up? in other words, what is proper head position? Thanks.
9:45

Mike and all,

~Train Hard and Push Through "IT"~
-J-

32/m/215/6'5"

8:38

4:11 faster than last time

32 YOM 196#

5:28 as rx

Deadlifts:
8x225,6x225,6x225
HSPU:
10 partials, 4,4

That OHS & muscle ups workout kicked my butt.

It's my goal to knock out the CF milestone of 15 OHS at bodyweight. I still have a way to go on that one!

Thanks for filming the WOD, Tony B.

Three minutes and twenty two seconds to do 45 DL's and 45 HSPU's? That's less than three seconds each rep... I've got a long way to go.

M, 39, 175

5:32

HSPU's against wall and to 2" mat - next time I'll ditch the mat.

175# and hspu to abmat
17 min.

24/m/202

8:14 ...need to work on my HSPU's a lot

feet on bar at 5' 6"

9:23

yeah i was really weak to day. The dl's were horrible form...i probably should have scaled. I have a lot of strength to gain back

subb 5 foot ele. pushups for hspu

time 14:37
then row 100m for time 3:40 (just wanted to know the time)

I'm starting gtg for hspu today.

27 m 5'7 160
back was sore today so I scaled it to 205
hspu's unassisted nose to floor

dl 15/6
hspu 12/9
dl 15
hspu 5/5/5
dl 9
hspu 6/4

7:51 but now apparently I have an aneurysm. thanks xfit

16:53pr

28/M/190

10:50 as RX'd...used parallettes for the HSPU(better grip and larger range of motion)

43m/185

5:09 HSPU 7" from ground

A lot of work yet to do on HSPU, but got the 21 DL's straight.... 1st time ever ... I am very happy with that. Round of 15 DL's had to break after 10, the 9 broke at 5.

All HSPU's were straight through, but shallow.

My strategy is to get the DL's straight with short transition, then get the HSPU full rom.

wod-as rx'd 5:54 pr 7:43 last time
all DL thru hspu-12,5,2,2-4,2,2,2,2,1,1,1-all singles
post-tabata pull ups total reps 66, low6

#161- That was Connor Banks, just an amazing kid. I had the pleasure of lifting in his group. If I remember right, he had a 540 squat and his deadlift was something like 490. Here's the link for all the results:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/CrossFitGames07Results.pdf

Wow...exploding eye balls and ruptured blood vessels is quite a topic we have here. Only being a paramedic, my medical experience is far less than some Crossfitters we have here. My two cents is let your body dictate how far you push yourself. If you blurred vision/dizziness/etc continues after resting for several minutes, I would lighten up some and sub with some military presses. Let some common sense be your guide. If you're fit enough to complete some HSPU's, you're probably healthy enough to avoid eyeball or cerebral catastrophe.

5min rope skipping + CFWUx3

WOD as rx': 5:08 --> PR by 2:32min :)

freddyc,

Guinness gives you strength. I think you're on the right track giving up the Heineken. ;-)

10:22 as rx

nose to floor HSPU, last time 5:14 not touching floor, big difference.

35M/69/170: 6:47
DL: 135x21 (too light...thought it would be a good weight since I could only do 5 straight at 135 a month ago),185x10+5,185x9
HSPU: 21,10+5,9. one leg on smith machine bar, other leg straight up. Getting closer to full HSPU against wall

It's like " A night at the Roxbury" in here with you guys and Allison. My goodness.

I will personally slap the next person who says they are now afraid to do HSPU's!

15:39. Used 135# for DLs. (bw=127). I got my very first real nose to ground HSPU!! I still can't string multiples together though. Once I started using all negative HSPUs in the wods, my strength increased and now I finally have a HSPU.

m/36/180

BrandX scaled (pack)

21-15-9
185# deadlifts
hspu

time: unknown, started stopwatch part way through first set of deadlifts, recorded time: 11:16 (plus 1 min?)

Diane
21-15-9
225# Deadlifts
HandStand Push ups SUB Pike Pushups on the bench

7:54

14:28

Im still new to this so I subbed
185# DL
85# shoulder press (some push press)

BW 170#

Woody,
   How do those 4 book HSPUs work? Sorry if this sounds silly but where are the books and how do they help? I'm also 6'6" and my last name is Wood... (tall crossfitters are coming out of the woodwork! ...no pun intended. ) My goal by the spring to be able to do 3 sets of 5 HSPUs and man am I a long way away. Any help for the leaning tower of me to get there would be much appreciated.

AllisonNYC, I didn't mean anything when I called you tiny. I was more impressed than anything as you are proportionally stronger than me from the look of your posts and you have a big personality which made you taller in my mind. Much respect,
Nik

11:31
155 lbs deadlifts

Jeff-@ home
nose to ground HSPU
3:25

First day back. Scaled to what I had available and was appropriate.

21-15-9
DL 1.5pd KB + 2pd KB, alternating sides on alternating sets
Regular PU

~2-3 minutes, need a new watch, mine died in Budapest. Unbroken everything, easing back into it.

Feels good to do some sort of physical activity, other than walking around.

#188 Jared

I concur!

Those of you who are scared, or concerned, or simply having trouble with them, or whatever your issue is with them,

Have any of you tried kippling hspu?

They may help you build the strength and the confidence to progress into strict hspu.

Put a pillow or towel on the ground12 inches from wall. Kick into handstand against the wall. Lower yourself down into a headstand. With control, bend at the knees and hips, as if squatting, and kick your legs back up straight simutainiously pushing yourself into a handstand. Lower yourself back into a headstand and repeat.

There are so many ways to progress into a strict full ROM hspu, and so many videos on it on CF HQ that, once again, I am surprised that ANYONE is complaining that they can't do them. If you can't do them strict, then do them kip. If you can't do them kip, then do them with feet on bar modified. If you can't do them with feet up on bar, or any other of the dozen modifications that will help you build up to a hspu, then keep trying and don't give up. It will come.

But, and again I appologize for sounding cold or belittling cause that is not my intention, stop complaining about it and be like Nike...just do it!

-J-
~Train Hard, Stop Complaining or Stay the F$#@ Home!~

as rx'd 4:24 nose to floor full ext. not a pr

DL weight scaled to 195
HSPU with toes on shoulder height bar - getting close to doing these against the wall

1 Mile warm up at 6:30 pace
8 L sit pull ups using rope

dl 12/9
hspu 21
dl 15
hspu 15
dl 9
hspu 9

8 L sit pull ups using rope
1 Mile cool down at 6:30 pace

5:56

m/37/195

14:45

scaled:
185# deadlifts (bloody shins anyway!)
hspu feet on bar

My thoughts Re the aneurysm issue:
The increase in BP(all measures: SBP, DBP, MAP) during heavy lifting would be much more problematic for an increase in aneurysm rupture versus the increased CVP from valsalva or being upside down.

my opinion, no data to back it up.

Nik #192
The books go under your head, shortening the ROM required.

37/m/165 1/2 work week

135# for DL
feet on 5ft bar for HSPU
6:03

sn+ohs: 80%x5x1+2 45#
Cln+fs+jerk 5x1+5+1 65#

Rafael: 225#DL 11:09
Ruben: 185#DL 11:12

our hspu were mostly ROM

M/22/165 lbs (75 kg)

09:39

4 strict hspu, then scaled rest of them

CFWU x3 (10 reps)

"Diane"

21-15-9 reps of;

145 lb deadlift (sets of 7/7/7, 5/5/5, 3/3/3)
HSPUs with Iron Woody green band and feet on 28" box (all sets unbroken--bad when HSPUs are the "breather")

10:21--definite PR! I weigh less than last time, and lifted more in less time (13:54 last time). Will use blue band next time as green provided more assist than I really needed.

F/58/5'6"/136

6:29 As Rx'd
Full ROM on the HSP's

It hurt a little more than it would have. Yesterday decided to follow the 5x5 Front Squats with 5x3 Back Squats.

10:56
185 lb DLs
Feet on wall- 2/3 upright- badly broken

12:27

deadlifts with 180lbs and feet on bar just short of my height for HSPUs

3 sets of Zercher squats (110lbs)
3 sets of scap pushups (20 reps each)
3 sets of plate loaded front squats (25lbs)

m/33/176 180 days since CF, Columbus Ohio

185 lb deadlift (scaled due to hurt lower back)
HSPU no asst

10:47

26/6'8/215#

7:42 - 1st round unbroken with full ROM. Then it all went downhill from there. And my back hates me now.

Modified HSPU feet on Smith Machine Bar

4:24

10 min, as rx'd

However, broke all things into sets

Deadlifts (9 total sets to do 21,15,9)
HSPUs (probably 12 sets, to do 21,15,9)...better form

m/18/180

subd 185 dl, hspu on 5' bar
did first 8 dl with 225 and back was hurting.

6:48

44/M/154

First time with Diane- still working on powerlifting, and my HSPU are so bad- no body control.

5:17

#135 Deads
assisted HSPU feet on a high bench- L position.

11:55

HSPU are getting better

10:28 as Rxed. All reps head to floor and full extension - 40 secs off PB

Cheers, kempie

39/M/205#/73"

First Diane -- but scaled down
DL: 135#
HSPU: knees on bench
9:40

Last HSPU failed; me on floor at commercial gym; pretty funny. Righteous workout

Next time will be better. BZ, y'all.

Regarding the "honest" HSPU from a couple of days ago (nose to floor), are there any neck alignment issues with doing HSPU while looking up/down? In the past, I've had trainers recommend to keep the neck in a neutral position while exercising. (I strained my neck on yesterday's WOD with my bad habit of looking up. Try explaining to someone how your neck hurts from doing front squats.)

Nose to floor also requires some back arching, so should that be considered adverse stress or more of a bonus workout?

Finally, am I taking anybody's handle here? This is my first time posting on the big site.

37/m/155lbs

Subbed 205lbs for DLs. Feet against the wall for HSPUs.

17:12

How are people doing this workout so fast? Man, I was pushing to hit my lame time even with the subbed DLs. Nice work!!!!

24/m/170

first diane

round 1 as rx'd.

late in round 1 form started to deteriorate so for round 2 I dropped the DL to 185lbs and finished with that weight.

all HSPU were done with full ROM.

23:13

great workout. next time i hope to do it all as rx'd

CFWU
subbed inclined Push ups
8:39

m50/170

as rx'd 11:55

I did Diane exactly a week ago. Today, my knees were stiff and creaky after yesterday's front squats. Feeling every bit my age. I sort of took the day "off" doing an indoor bike for 15k in 18:22 very forgiving on my knees. Maybe I'll give Diane a go tomorrow, it's one of the WOD's I hate to dance around because, like Fran, it just smokes me. BW:170 Y/A:59

m/36/178

as rx'd 9:55

42yom / 146

6:56(PR) as rx'd

Another 2 minutes off last time. Not sure I can reduce this much more without bumper plates. I spend way too much time carefully setting the weight back down to avoid clanking and getting kicked out of my GloboGym. Left a nice chunk of my left shin on the barbell today.

Post - Felt good so devised a similar WO consisting of
30-20-10 reps of:
- 46# one arm kettlebell swings switching hands at top of swing (release and catch)
- Pushups
4:23

Nice complement to Diane

M/31/220
as RX'd 5:32 HSPU with feet on top bar of smith

m/44/165

15:21. Slower than last time, but I did some reps with the heavier weight. First 15 lifts at 205, backed down to 185 for the remainder. HSPUs felt good, full sets; top of head to locked out.

As Rx'd

14:21

26y/6'5"/212lbs

Diane as rx'd:
Time - 4:45 (PR by 2:07)
Work - 55.3 kJ
Power - 0.26 hp

Took a good 20 min to feel normal again.

hmm... wish I had something to deadlift. I'm currently at home (PEI) recruiting for RMC. maybe I can find a heavy rock or something.

As for the games... looks like they might be doable. I'll be a newly minted 2Lt, and they'll probably want me to burn up some leave over the summer.

30m/175#

5:07 PR. Full nose to ground HSPU - feeling really good today.

39/m/196#

As rx'd, with feet on bar at approx 5'

12:05

Much slower than normal, but I focussed on form, and reset after each D/L, as I was cognizant that my form has sucked for so long. After the Toronto cert this past weekend, I re-learned the correct way, and want to reinforce it. The METCON aspect can wait..

AL

d - 29m/175

3:45 as rx'd (pr)

dl's unbroken, 21 hspu's unbroken, 15 (9,6) and 9 (6,3) broken...forehead to floor

j - 33f/125

9:57 - 155# deadlift

m/30/166

4:54, nose down to 2 abmats stacked up. My back rounded on the last 15 or so DL's but felt good today. Love Diane but she's tough.

Is there any correlation between bodyweight, max weight shoulder press, and your chances of doing a HSPU?

At 230 pounds bodyweight and a 155 SP on a good day, the HSPU seems like a mathematical improbability at this point. True or false?

Boxer4...I have done HSPU's when I weighed about 220 and could only shoulder press about 145, so it doesn't translate exactly. Just start doing HSPU's at less than full ROM and keep at it, you will get it eventually.

CFWUx1, subbed sit-ups for Hanging leg raises
WOD as rx'd, handstand push-ups broken up, 15 straight first rd. Deadlifts broken 1st rd only, 16 straight.
9:57

61/m/178/6'

CFWU x 3
C2 row 1k

"Diane" 7:12
sub 135# DL and 48" pike pu

Last time did 105# DL and 36" pike pu in 7:55, getting better - Crossfit works!!

26:00

DLift at 135 lbs
Subbed shoulder press at 95 lbs

Rx'd

11:20

25 6'5" 250

I always look shmammered after hspu's!

Age 35
BW 148#

As rx'd:

7:00

HSPUs...I am not able at the moment to do unassisted HSPUs, so I usually do assisted then switch to elevated feet to about 5-6 feet off the ground.

What I think I’m doing is more of a push away than a push up, basically what I’m saying is my body is rigid and I just act like a leaver so I might only be going up maybe half a arms length though I’m pushing to full extension of my arms, seems like I’m doing less work and just a standard "perfect push up" at ground level is actually more difficult than elevated.

Any thoughts? Is there a point or height where elevated push ups actually become easier and then harder as they get more vertical? Any thoughts would be much appreciated; today I’ll try to do all assisted HSPUs.
Thanks
Walker

21/M/163
I was pretty beat up from a poor night's sleep, so this is what I did:
21-15-9 reps of:
130lb deadlifts
45 degree pushups

The first 12 or so deadlifts were at 170lbs, but I had to drop it down.

F/40/147

Warm-up: 1 mile run, 1%: 8:53

Superset of:
45kg Deadlift
20kg Shoulder press

21, 15, 9 reps

15:00

Cool down: 1 mile run, 1%: 8:48

#165 Julie~
Hey Julie, welcome!
Spmedays I remember/have the time to put in all the details of my workout, somedays not. SAAWEEET! That is cool knowing another Olympic skier is doing CF. I look forward to meeting you. No baby making for my excuse. Just laziness and poor eating. I put on almost 30lbs in the past 10 years. THANK GOD my 2 sons, Marines, turned me onto CF back in late June. It is such a great feeling, watching my body respond, clothes fitting better, weight slowly coming off, getting stronger & more confident with each WOD.
Congrats for making the first move and doing the WOD. There are some seriously strong ladies here and that motivates me~

Thanks Andy Shirley! That makes sense.

M 33 165

As Rx'd 7:08

12:40 as required. Did HS pushups against the wall. 21 unbroken deadlifts, 10+5, 9. 14+7 HS pushups, 10+5, 9. Tried the HS pushups off of parallelettes, but couldn't budge off the ground! maybe next time...

RUN: 5.5 Mile (including 4 interval 100 yard sprints).

5 Rounds:
20X Pull-ups
20X Ring Dips
25X Box Jump 24"
1 min Jump Rope

SWIM: 1000 yards.

5:41 as rx'd new PB - 6:17 last time
DL straight thru but a little slower than last time. hspu - 16,5/5,3,2,2,1/3,2,1,2,1
sorry Rob C
pre: cfwu x 2, bwu x 1, dynamic mobility work followed by OHS practice - new PB of 103
post: amrap kipping chins - 27 another new PB
what a day!!

174/6'0/m

7:56 with pull ups instead of handstand push-ups
any recommendations on how to practice the hand stands? I am having a really hard time with them

24/M/175

As Rx'd Nose to the ground

9:58

Intent -
Nice work on Diane and congrats on the Pullup PR.

42yom 186lbs
First WOD in two weeks, thought I would die; turns out I did pretty damn good!

Diane: Feet up on squat rack(5ft high), otherwise as Rx'd.

3:55 min. Holy smokes! my last Diane from sept was 6:29!...

Post WOD: 4 sets of Dips (18-12-10-10).
4 Sets of 15 Inverted Rows.

Lost a bit of strenght on calesthetics in those two weeks but I am sure I'll get it back pretty quick.

M/36/190

DL-225
HSPU on smith machine bar set on top notch.

6:56 - PR, even with some kind of stomach bug.

I did Cindy today because I'm still healing from a lower back injury. Like I'm actually going to lay in bed all day... :-)

I did 12 rounds, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 8 body squats.

46 197

second wod today, did fs first and thought about not doing diane, thought of MK and her not quit attitude and went through

had to mod more than normal could not use squat rack to rap feet over so:

dl as rxed hspu with knees over 4 foot post

2:54

29/M/175

subbed 185#. HSPU full ROM: 10:58

These two are by far the hardest for me. I strive to complete this as rx'd; it's one of the few which I cannot. Someday. As always, I am humbled by the blistering speed out there. Unreal.

As rx'd:
4:57

32/F/124

Wow! Some of you ladies are impressive - I was killing myself today with 115 lbs. Oh, the day when I can DL bodweight!

4 mile run - beautiful fall day in Florida, had to take advantage

Diane

115lb DL's - broken into sets of 7/7/7; 8/7; 5/4
HSPU with feet elevated on Smith Press

Time: 10:07

Jason-3:58 185lbs
Craig-3:06 155 lbs
Eric-3:35 185 lbs
Denise-3:33 115lbs

None of us were 128%BW on the DLs and we haven't mastered the HSPU yet. I still say my "HSPU" were waaay more vertical than the guys'!

as Rx'd

7:02

Full ROM on HSPU's. felt really good today. Had an onlooker too so that helped.

what is the best sub for hspu??? thanks.

37 bw190
as rx'd
last time 18:50

today 13:32
HSPU (over 11 minutes to complete all 45)

DL 100 kg
"HSPU" broken.

ca 30:00

191#

4:13 as rx'd

does it matter what style of deadlift between sumo or regular or how ever you can lift the weight with proper form?

32, 230#

as RX'ed, but modified HSPUs by putting feet up high on smith machine.

4:42

SMASHED my previous PR by over a minute. And this is even sweeter, because previously, I would do the first two sets of DL's at 135#, and the last set at 225 (I was worried about hurting my back). This time, I said, enough fooling around, lets do this. First set of DL's unbroken, last two sets broken into 7 and 8, and 5 and 4. I am so stoked to see such an improvement! Next mission is to work on HSPUs without using the smith machine...Thanks, coach!

29/m/235

225# deadlift
135# push jerk sub'd for hspu

10:00

30yo 139#

scaled DL to 180#

around 15 min...forgot my watch.

DL's were no problem, any type of push ups are my nemesis. Even if I was doing them standing against a wall.

as rxed 5:30, 4 sec off PR
legs wtired from yesterday, round of 15 killed my time.
post: tabata janda abmat situps

Comment #92 - David & Allison NYC, .68 is an arbitrary multiple. What would you base that on? Would you use the same .68 for a woman who is 110# as for a woman like Venus Williams who weighs about 160# and is probably leaner than most men?

Back to my comment #44, when you scale weight, it should be based on the amount of lean mass you have to work with. If you are squatting, you should also adjust for excess weigh