Wednesday. Every 30sec, for 10 min: clean (up to 100kg). Wod, 6rds of: 10 hspu, 10 pistols, 15 pull-ups.
Some oly lifts to begin with, then Mary-style practice to hone on my gymnastics skills. By the way, it's getting closer. The Crossfit Regionals I mean. On Friday the first athletes are going to throw down in California. It's gonna be freaking awesome!
Oly.
Every 30 seconds, for 10 minutes
1 squat clean
0-2min: 80kg
2-4min: 85kg
4-6min: 90kg
6-8min: 95kg
8-10min: 100kg
This was one squat clean per 30 seconds. And after every 2 minutes I put 5kg more weight on the barbell, starting at 80kg and finishing at 100kg. I'm happy on these lifts. First ones were easy, and the jumps were moderate so my body adjusted well to those weights. It was good to see the 100kg cleans went down well too. It's cool to be able to move that weight. Sometimes I take that for granted but then again looking back occasionally from where I come from this is good progress. Wasn't able to clean 50kg when I started crossfit =)
Metcon.
6 rounds of:
10 handstand push-ups
10 pistol squats
15 pull-ups
Didn't time this one and I took it easier than a normal metcon. Wasn't looking for the best possible time. Instead, focused on going unbroken on the sets. Not that I took too much recovery anyway. This burned my lungs anyway. These movements tend to do so at least in my case. Last set of hspu's had to be broken to two sets but other than that it was ub. It is also good to witness doing sets of 15 pull-ups quite often and I've been able to do most of them unbroken.
Monday. Strength, every 45 seconds, 1-3 full cleans (up to 105kg), for 20 minutes. Metcon, 10 min amrap of: 5 hspu, 10 pistols, 15 pull-ups. Result, 173 reps.
Just perfect. I had forgotten what I was supposed to train today and it was a positive surprise as I looked at my notes. Lots of heavy cleans were waiting around the corner. There were also gonna be front squats and half a Mary, one tough benchmark workout. It got me sweating like a pig.
Strength.
Every 45 seconds, perform squat cleans for 20 minutes
3 sets of 3x70kg tng's
1 set of 2x80kg
2 sets of 1x85kg
3 sets of 1x90kg
2 sets of 1x95kg
Rest of the reps at 100-105kg
This was programmed to go on totally by feeling. What the weights were going to be would be a mystery. What was gonna be 100% sure was the time frame. Twenty minutes of emom like training is the longest I've ever done. At least for cleans. There might have been some sort of squat session where I have done reps every 90-120 seconds for about 20 minutes. This was the best emom wod for me. Got a chance to build up to heavy lifts, and there was a good volume of repetitions with heavier weights.
In the beginning I took couple of sets at 70-80 for triples and doubles. Then at 85kg it was all singles. Couple of sets with 85-95kg and then I got to real weights. Most of the reps were at 100-105kg, and most of these were at the highest weight. These felt great all the way from the first to last rep. It got tough towards the end but my mental game was strong today and I didn't let myself have any doubts.
There wasn't that much time reserved for this training session so I had to skip the front squat triples I had written down. Metcon was supposed to be just 10 minutes originally anyway, wasn't looking for that entire 20 minute amrap which Mary is in the rx'd version. That lady is tough. I've done it 2-3 times before, and last time hit exactly 10 rounds. That is a lot of volume on the pull-ups. 150 reps is not that easy for me.
Doing half of it was gonna suit great to be performed after today's heavy cleans. Hspu's were light, just 5 reps per round so those were easy and didn't put that much pressure on my shoulders. It was a totally different thing with the pistols and pull-ups. My legs were smashed due to cleans so it was a bit on the heavier side to do one-legged squats.
In my opinion this workout is all about controlling your breathing and of course about pull-ups. There's a lot of them so a game plan should exist. My plan today was to break them already in the first round. Don't remember anymore how they went exactly but it was most likely 2 or 3 first rounds were done in 2 sets. Then it was smaller sets. Definitely the toughest portion of this workout.
Sunday. 3rds of: 20 kb swing, 1rd of Mary, 20 box, 1rd of Cindy. Time, 14.45
There was an option thrown in the air of us going to train outdoors but the weather was as ugly as it gets with rain and fogginess. It was by no means tempting so we packed our gym bags and headed to the gym with Pauliina. It seemed right to take the 2-pood kettlebell with me, and spice the metcon with bodyweight movements.
Metcon. Time, 14.45
3 rounds of:
20 kettlebell swing, 32kg
1 round of Mary (5 handstand push-ups, 10 pistol squats, 15 pull-ups)
20 box jump, 61cm
1 round of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats)
My body was a bit beaten up so main focus was on bodyweight movements, kettlebell was the only weighted element. This was a good and tough workout. Don't know how much it had an effect that I wasn't fresh but my legs got steamed early on in the metcon. I wanted mix those benchmark wods Mary and Cindy into something of my on creation. It turned up to the above described combo.
It was cool to swing that bell around the gym after having a break of working out with this guy. I was able to manhandle the bell well and all sets unbroken, no problems with this one. Usually I work with kettlebells out in the nature because carrying those around is a workout in itself =) So normally I don't carry it with me to work but weekends are an exception when I might have it with me at the gym.
Mary is probably my favorite benchmark wod, consisting of hspu's, pistol squats (a.k.a. one-legged squats) and pull-ups, with the classic 5-10-15 rep scheme. Handstand push-ups are coming to be some sort of a strength of mine, which is awesome as I think about the early steps when they used to be a big time goat.
Pistols have been non-existing for quite a while and it felt good rocking them, alternating legs after each rep. These are much harder without the weightlifting shoes as Nano's don't have that elevation in the heel section. I stood on the edge of one of those gym mats to get something below my heel for more stability.
Mary's pull-ups consist of 15 reps per round. In a longer workout that is tough, and that's exactly what it the toughest portion of Mary. In today's workout they were challenging too but I got all of them unbroken - in both sections of them (15 and 5 reps). At some point of the workout I had to wear gloves on pull-ups as the friction started to tear the calluses.
Box jumps were for two rounds whereas on the third round my legs were burning a lot but I still tried to keep moving constantly and not stop in vain. Pace was probably slower but the man was moving. Round times were 4:14, 5:12 and 5:18. First round is always quicker because you start the work immediately. I'm happy my third round was consistent with the second one even though it felt horrible at times.
We are celebrating an anniversary today with Pauliina. Have had amazing 2 years with my baby and I love this woman for life, that's for sure! Before going home I had a short time window available to sneak in at the gym and go for a benchmark workout called Mary. I've done it before and I love it every time.
This went perfectly! I topped my PR with 28 reps, it was 9 rounds + 2 hspu last time. Now I got to exactly 10 rounds. Had something like 5-6 seconds left after I had done my last pull-up so I just didn't have time to go for another hspu. I'll take those 10 rounds with a big smile on my face. Total of 50 hspu, 100 pistols and 150 pull-ups.
All of the movements are challenging in their own ways. Handstand push-ups were the easiest ones this time. I had no issues with them whatsoever on any of the rounds. Hammered them through unbroken with a kipping style all the time.
Another commentary clip from Greg Everett and Catalyst Athletics
Pistol squats were tough all the way. I was able to keep going with them but it definitely consumed my energy tank and burnt my legs and breathing. I did the pistols without stopping in-between for a break, at least not more than 2 seconds. Not unbroken just like that but still with more like a continuous movement.
Pull-ups, uuh… The number of reps was huge. Probably more than I've ever done in a workout, total of 150 reps. And they definitely felt in my wings. I completed the first 3 or 4 rounds unbroken. From then on I intentionally dropped that strategy because it got to be so taxing. I did 10 reps, walked a certain circle and jumped back on the pull-up bar and finished the 5 reps. I was able to hold on this game plan for the rest of the workout. On average my rounds were exactly 2min.
I had some problems in the locker room afterwards. Had troubles bringing my hands up in the shower to put shampoo in my hair =) My upper body was extremely tensed because of the mount of reps in Mary. That brought me to think about something. It never gets easier even though you get better. You're just able to complete more reps in a given time frame, or you can nail a workout to the finish line in a shorter time domain. That's kind of cool about crossfit. We all know the feeling after Fran or Grace. It doesn't matter if it takes 2 minutes, 10 minutes or something in-between. The feeling is universal. Even among the fittest of the fittest, the Games athletes.
I respect Blair Morrison's training philosophy a lot. He has some awesome workouts
In a long amrap metcon like this, it is actually a bit intimidating to do so many reps. Thinking about the number of pull-ups in this workout was sick, at least for me. Okay, I remember a time when I first did 100 pull-ups, and my upper back was sore for 3 days. Currently 100 reps is not an issue anymore but 150 reps is already quite a number. If I perform better next time, is it going to be something around 165-180? That makes me crap my pants just for the thought of it… Anyways, I feel great and I rocked this one today! Plus, I love my baby!
Wednesday. AM: Benchmark wod Mary. Result, 9 rounds + 2 hspu. Total of 272 reps. PM: Skills, handstand
Back from Sweden in the morning, taking a nap, eating and heading to the gym. That rest day was a good thing for me, my body felt good after being a little stiff for a couple of days. Stockholm was beautiful as it always tends to be. It also seems to warm and sunny every time I've been there =) It was awesome to make a comeback there as it used to be Pauliina's home for a couple of months last autumn. It would have been nice to stay a little longer.
I once read Mary is Mikko Salo's least favorite benchmark Girl. For some reason that inspired me to go for this benchmark early this year. I completed 7 rounds + 3 hspu's and today I was able to top that result with about 2 full rounds. Not bad! In April I did this one for 5 rounds for time. Then it was little less than 11 minutes. Today I happened to check time at that point and the digits showed it was about 9 minutes. Realizing I had topped my previous time clearly brought that much needed encouragement in the middle of the workout.
This metcon went very well in all meters. Every set of handstand push-ups were unbroken. I once dropped off the wall on the first rep because of weak balance but jumped right back up on the wall to finish the set. Don't know if I've done 47 reps in a workout, ever. Very glad about this amount!
Mary's rounds of 1-6
The pistol squat always gets me a bit confused. It feels taxing in the beginning as body is not yet fully prepared to do one-legged squats. Even though I mobbed my ankles and legs properly pre-workout. Then after squatting for a while, it gets much easier. Once you've been squatting some more, the strength-part walks in and it gets way tougher to get ass back up from the floor. I managed this movement well today. Same as with the hspu's, probably never smashed as many reps (90) in one session.
On the pull-ups I went unbroken for maybe 4 rounds. For the next 3 rounds I did 11+4 reps, and the last 2 ones it was 9+3+3. I focused on minimizing the rest period between the reps. Once I dropped from the bar, I shook my hands, tried to release the tension and jumped right back there. In my opinion I was more consistent with the breaks and transitions today overall as well. My pre-determined break was placed after the pull-ups. I had the feeling that if I tried to go straight to hspu's, it would have been much more challenging. As I held a break there, I was able to do the hspu's unbroken. Then I figured that I should do pistols right away because the two other movements are not leg-oriented.
Mary's rounds of 4-9
First round was around one minute, the next two ones about half a minute slower, and the following rounds were between 2:10 - 2:50. I was able to pace up on the last 2 rounds and cut some time on both of them compared to the previous one. All in all, I figure this workout went well for me.
After the workout I spent about half an hour for mobility at the gym. Used the resistance band and lacrosse ball to find painful points and then active stretching to finish it. Wish I had enough time on a regular basis to put enough effort on mobility. I've been taking stretching / mobility sessions in the evening, hopefully it pays off.
Handstand. Couple of hours later I went cycling for active recovery purposes and found a perfect place to practice on my handstand skills. Just couldn't drive by, had to stop and utilize the opportunity. In the beginning it was a bit shaky, my legs were waving in the air to all possible directions. Still, I was able to maintain inverted position and move forward. In the end I was focusing more on keeping my legs more together. It's still far from the look of gymnasts doing handstand walk :)
Tuesday. 5 rounds of Mary. Time 10.52. For recovery, 3 x 5min cycling to flush legs.
Knees-to-elbows
Metcon. 10.52
5 rounds of:
5 hspu
10 pistol squats (5/5)
15 pull-ups
Mary is awesome! My body was not at its most fresh condition so I decided to do 5 rounds of Mary instead of 20min amrap, which is the rx'd version. I did this workout 21st February and managed to rattle through 7 rounds + 3 hspu, a total of 213 reps. Today I did 5 rounds (150reps) in less than 11 minutes and managed the workout way better.
My handstand push-ups were perfect, unbroken each round, I mean EACH round, c'mon! I'm so proud of myself with this movement in the morning. Pistol squats went also as planned, practically unbroken. The first 3 rounds of pull-ups went unbroken, on the 4th and 5th round had to break them in pieces as my wings were burning.
This workout is cruel, awesome and yet on the discomfort zone. All good elements and for sure it's worth repeating once in a while. After resting for 5 minutes I took 3x5 minutes cycling to flush legs.
Toni's workouts. Back squats 4x100, 4x105, 4x110, 1x115kg. Then, a metcon, result 9 rounds.
20min amrap
5 thrusters, 42.5kg
10 box jumps
5 knees-to-elbows
First 3 rounds were around 2 minutes, rounds of 4-7 were a bit over 2.30min, getting slower little by little. The wild thing was that on the 8th round Toni speeded up 30 seconds compared to 7th round. And, the last round took only 1.39, which was the second fastest round in the entire workout. That's mental folks!
Another day with a benchmark workout, I have increase the amount of these ones lately. They are pretty horrific and awesome at the same time. The distusting feeling comes in quite early in the workout but the closer to the end you get, the better you feel as you realize you've pretty much done it through. The feelings during the workout vary from side to side. I believe I managed this lady well today. This was the first metcon after a couple of days "flu-ish" feeling. Toni also went for a 20min amrap, good job man!
Pistol on a box =)
Mary. Results 213 reps, 7 rounds + 3 hspu.
20min amrap of:
5 handstand push-ups
10 pistol squats, alternating legs
15 pull-ups
When you look at the movements in this workout, you probably realize it's not the most pleasant one. Handstand push-ups, one legged squats (a.k.a pistols) and pull-ups. I had no idea of how far I would be able to go through Mary because I haven't done pistols in a workout ever, also the amount of hspu was a bit scaring. I remember a couple of times having done them in a workout and when the wall comes, it comes quickly and the barrier is difficult to overcome. Another thing was that it's a bit difficult to breath heavy because of that damned cold I had for some days.
Thus, I had some doubts beforehand about completing the workout. However, I was determined and once I got it going, it went on quite well. First round went unbroken, also second one. On the third round my handstand push-ups faced problems, I believe I did them in 3 parts. At this point I had to think what happened. Did I run out of strength, was it a mental wall I hit, or was there something else? On the fourth round I understood it was a technical issue as I did the 4th, 5th and maybe 6th round as well unbroken =)
With pistols I went unbroken for 2-3 rounds, then it went approximately in 2 sets, something like 6+4. Considering this was the first time with pistols in a wod, they went perfectly. I remember having done them twice after a workout, just a few reps for fun.
Pistol squat
Pull-ups today went well. First 2-3 rounds unbroken, then in sets of 10+5. It felt easy for the first 2 rounds. From then on, I felt the burden after 10 reps. I didn't want to burn my upper back and hands by trying to go further but willilngly stayed at 10 reps per round, short break and another 5 reps to complete the set.
I took a break between each round to catch my breath and strength in upper body. Had I moved forward immediately to handstand push-ups, I think I couldn't have done those many in a row. I believe this strategy was the best for me today. All in all, this workout was as tough as I thought it might be beforehand. Sometimes benchmark workouts don't seem as nightmarish when you look at them on paper. Only once you start doing them, you're surprised about how challenging it is and when you're finished, you wonder what the heck just happened =)
Box jumps
Toni's workouts. Result 179 reps, 6 rounds + 5 deadlifts.
20min amrap of:
8 deadlifts, 100kg
6 pull-ups
15 box jumps, 64cm
We did the workouts almost simultaneously so I had no possibiilty to see how my training partner nailed this one. I only saw the last 2 rounds from his workout. Tony, let us hear what you thought of this one. There were a total of 53 DL, 36 pull-ups and 90 box jumps. At least it's good you got a number of reps with pull-ups. Just remain consistent with their training. How did you perform considering the broken / unbroken aspect? Were the weights on the barbell right for you? How about 90 box jumps?
