Friday. Emom x 12min: clean (up to 100kg). Metcon, 3x4min amraps, with 2min rest between amraps.
After taking two days recovery there was no chance in this world I would have skipped the gym. It turned out to be a clean session and then a combination of metcons that I got from one pal.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 12 minutes
1-3min: 90kg
4-6min: 95kg
7-9min: 98kg
10-12min: 100kg
My plan was to hit a longer session but the traffic was quite horrible and basically cut my training time a little. Went after cleans in the beginning without that much of a warm-up. That was probably the reason why the barbell felt a little heavier than normally. I was looking forward to building heavier but decided to stay around 100kg because I didn't feel that smooth in the movement.
Clean recap
Metcon.
4min amrap of:
6 push-ups
6 pull-ups
Result, 8 rounds + 6 push-ups
2min rest
4min amrap of:
4 handstand push-ups
4 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Result, 7 rounds sharp
2min rest
4min amrap of:
2 strict handstand push-ups
2 bar muscle-ups
Result, 3 rounds + 2 hspu
This was a good twisted idea by Miku. Three different 4min amraps of pushing and pulling. It got tougher considering the movements the further the clock ticked. Yes, the reps decreased simultaneously. First of these metcons was the toughest for lungs. Those were light kinda light movements so I was able to move faster. It was about 50 reps each elements.
Next round the pushing changed to handstand push-ups. Those went well too as it was okay to use kipping motion and thus utilize the entire body to move up and down the wall. I'm glad c2b pull-ups were just 4 reps per round. Got exactly 7 rounds at this second amrap.
The last one was miserable. The fact that strict movements are not in my wheelhouse was witnessed efficiently on this one. First round of this was okay. On the second round I got a no rep (actually two of those), and since then had to singles and rest between reps. Bar muscle-ups felt a lot tougher than what I'm used to but I got them unbroken still.
Breathing was heavy on the first and second metcon, and muscles burned due to keeping this body in constant movement. On the last piece breathing stabilized because I wasn't able to just go further. It was more just about hitting a wall and trying to copy with that. Thanks Miku for this combo!
Tuesday. Wod, 3rds of: 40 cal row, 20 s2o @ 50kg, 20 pistols. Time, 15.12. Emom x 14min. Odd min, 7 c2b. Even, 15 ghd.
Was supposed to do push press sets for strength but left shoulder felt awkward on those reps that I did with 60kg barbell so I dropped it and moved on with my plan. The metcon was great. Then some accessory elements in emom style to finish it.
Metcon.
3 rounds of:
40 cal row
20 shoulder-to-overhead @ 50kg
20 pistol squats
I'd prefer workouts where you can go unbroken on each element each round. That is exactly the reason why I programmed this one. These are always a pleasure though. In other words, I don't mind the workout. Everything goes.
Row for 40 calories equalled something around 550m per round. I tried to keep a good pace all the time, didn't rest on the rower. Didn't go 100% either, that would have been an awkward decision. Jerks were 14-6 on the first round, then 10-5-5 on the latter rounds. Yes, those felt in my shoulders but legs were burning throughout the workout. None of the elements gave a proper rest period for them.
Pistol squats crowned the triplet. Smashed my lower body for sure. I was a bit afraid to redline on the jerks as those had a big effect on my legs. So I had to hold back a bit on those. In the big picture I believe this workout went nicely.
Accessory.
Every minute on the minute x 14 minutes
Odd minutes, 7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Even minutes, 15 ghd sit-ups
I consider c2b's a weakness for me so this piece was warmly welcomed. I've knocked 20+ unbroken chest-to-bar's but the endurance for those is not greatest. And I'd like to do them in bigger sets. No point in doing just a few reps at a time. At least for me that's not the achieved state of mind. Ghd sit-ups are strong within me. Still, these got to my core pretty well in the last rounds.
Sunday. Push press 1x10 @ 68kg. Emom x 6min: odd 12 thruster (40kg), even 12 c2b. Accessory, 3x10 good morning @ 60kg.
We spent the day taking care of some Christmas business and after that my energy levels were quite low. Program was push press, as part of the progression I've been doing. Then short metcon style work and finally accessory work.
Strength.
Push press 1x10 @ 68kg (+2 extra reps)
It's been 4x10, 3x10, 2x10 before. Now it was only one set of 10 reps. I have always warmed up to a single rep of 80kg before doing the working sets. Today was no exception. 80kg has felt good every time.
So it was only one set of 10, and I was allowed to go further if possible. It turned out to be a good set after all with a total of 12 reps completed. The weights in all sets of 10's were measured quite well and the stimulus was right on the spot. Next up are the 8's for the next 2 weeks.
Overhead & Good morning
Metcon.
Every minute on the minute x 6 minutes
Odd min, 12 thruster (40kg)
Even min, 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Just couldn't get it going at any point for a good conditioning piece. Didn't have that killer's instinct for today. This was a short one with thrusters and c2b's. Last set of chest-to-bar's had to be cut in two sets. Other than that I was able to do them unbroken. Thrusters were the easier part of this one.
Thrusters and pull-ups
Accessory.
Good morning 3x10 @ 60kg
Decided to throw this one in the mix just for the heck of it. Couple of sets good mornings to finish it off. This is something I've basically done like never. Maybe sometimes in the past but some sort of accessory work for strength is definitely welcomed. I've had them in my calendar many times but haven't had enough time nor the proper slot to throw it in. This was fun. Hopefully I have more occasions to go after it. Good one for the posterior chain.
Friday. Build up to a heavy triple of hang squat clean (result, 100kg). Then, 6x3 @ 85kg. Back squat 3x3 @ 130kg. Metcon, 2k row, then 10rds of: 7 c2b, 7 hspu, 20 air squat. Time, 24.50.
Had a lot of time to be spent at the gym this Friday. Quality time at its best. It turned up to be a quad and hamstring slaughter. My legs were murdered big time after the session. I took inspiration from some Froning's video clip for the cleans. Then added some back squats, and a long metcon to seal the deal.
Oly.
Hang squat clean, build up to a heavy triple (40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100kg), then:
Hang squat clean, 6x3 @ 85kg
My right hamstring is still tense and not feeling normal. That's the reason why I don't want to pull anything heavy from the ground. No deadlifts at all until it's perfect. These were not heavy for pulling to the power position so that was no issues. It felt great to pull from the hang position.
The cleans felt heavy at 95 kilos. The feeling was that I had to hurry to get under the barbell. The loads in cleans are not heavy considering my squats so I've never had to battle to be able to stand up from the hole. But the issue is whether I'm getting under the bar or not. Do I have the balls to drop under, and the required speed to get there.
Watching the 95kg lifts on camera I realized there's a possibility to hit 100kg benchmark for a triple. That felt super. No doubt. Once I get it around my head that I have the speed to get under the load it's possible to go heavier.
After finding a heavy triple it was time to work on the speed at 85 kilos for a bunch of triples. These were good ones, and I focused on keeping my arms straight and bringing the barbell as high as possible to the hips. I played with the video so there are some slow motions too.
Strength.
Back squat 3x3 @ 130kg
These felt much heavier than they should. Maybe my legs had already taken that much in the cleans but these had to be battled through. Three sets were all I needed for today. There was a long metcon still waiting to be completed.
Metcon. Time, 24.50
2.000m row, then
10 rounds of:
7 chest-to-bar pull-up
7 handstand push-up
20 air squat
Beforehand I thought both c2b's and hspu's might be nasty in the last rounds but then again the toughest of these three was definitely the squats. Squats on squats on squats. They were sore as hell after the workout. Went unbroken on every movement.
Rowing was done at 7.30, then the 10 rounds were somewhere around 1.40 per round. C2b's were manageable. Not like I would jump right away on the pull-up bar because I didn't wanna drop down at any stage.
Hspu's were the ones I was most confident during the workout. Just knocked them through, no panic with them. Air squats were unbroken too but I had to pace them from the very first round. I realized making them fast would have brought problems. Those were not fast but they were done unbroken with a steady pace. Only in the last round I hurried to finish it faster. Great workout huh huh!
Tuesday. Emom x 8min. Odd min 10 hspu, even min 10 c2b. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 7 s2o (50kg), 12 t2b, 7 ohs (50kg), 12 box. Result, 190 reps. Accessory, 5rds of: 10 ring dip, 20 ghd.
So we spent a long weekend in Berlin, Germany the past days. We came home yesterday at midnight after a great mini vacation! There was simply no time to do workouts as the tour leader (read: my wife) had arranged so much action and activities around the city. Plus we walked around all day, everyday so our feet were destroyed after wandering around for 10k per day. One huge highlight was when we went to see Bundesliga soccer with Kari between Berlin and Hamburg. The atmosphere was spectacular! One evening I had the change of throwing down for burpees, thrusters and some dumbbell work.
Got these little guys for new training shoes, Nano 5's
Gymnastics.
Every minute on the minute x 8min
Odd minutes, 10 handstand push-ups
Even minutes, 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
I decided to start with more like bodyweight movements instead of killing the barbell. I believe this was a good plan after couple of days more or less chilling. I went unbroken on both movements each round but I got to admit it started to get tough on the c2b's. Next round would have been a huge battle to go unbroken. Hspu's weren't light either. Okay, to mid-workout it was alright but the latter half was challenging. My lats were burning after this and I had to stretch out for a while to get them ready for the upcoming metcon.
Watching Bundesliga with Kari, c'mon!
Metcon. Result, 190 reps (5 rounds)
15min amrap of:
7 shoulder-to-overhead, 50kg
12 toes-to-bar
7 overhead squat, 50kg
12 box jump
The worst part for me of this was one definitely overhead squats. I had thought about jerking 60kg but there would have been change of plates between jerks and ohs so that might not have been the best solution time-wise.
All these elements were completed unbroken according to plan. Only exception was the t2b which was ub for first 2 rounds. Next 2 rounds were 8-4, and the last one was 7-3-2 because I had to rush to jump on the pull-up bar to finish the last round before the buzzer.
Each element had its own twist in the game, and breathing was rather high all the time. None of the movements allowed the possibility to drop heart beat down and recover energy. So I'd call this workout a success in programming. It was great to do ohs with 50 kilos as it is probably the first time I've had this weight in a metcon. Not sure but most likely so. Usually it's been 40-43kg.
Accessory.
5 rounds of:
10 ring dips
20 ghd sit-ups
This was not a timed workout. Just needed to get some extra workout done because there was no need to rush away from the gym. Ring dips are always a good call for me as there's plenty of room for improvement. Main focus on this one was rhythm and good range of motion. Goal was met.
Ghd's were good for core. I got a little headache for some unknown reason so maybe ghd's were not the best option because I had to go upside down on every rep, and hold breath when having head downwards. Still, this was a good cashout.
Today is a beautiful day. Our friends are getting married and the weather is as beautiful as the bride. I had the possibility to go to the gym in the morning before getting ready for their big day. I wanted to punish myself on the pull-up bar. Earlier this week I was a bit frustrated with that movement in the "2007" workout so this was my answer to develop this skill-based movement. Some easy rowing in the end.
Easy paced row
Skills.
Different types of pull-ups, not for time
10 strict
12 chest-to-bar
15-15-15-15-18 pull-ups
Didn't quite have a strict plan. My plan was to do lots of pull-ups in different styles. It started with sets of strict and chest-to-bar versions. Then I took regular pull-ups for as long as I got 100 repetitions completed. It was basically 15's for 5 sets. On the last one I realized I needed 18 to get a total of 100 reps done.
These felt good. I'd like to have the pull-up bar higher from the ground so that I would have to jump to reach it. This bar is a bit too low which means I need to bend my legs a lot, and thus not being able to utilize my entire body that much on the kip. Towards the end I tried to keep my legs better together gymnastics style. As I look at those regular pull-ups on video afterwards, it looks like they are quite high pulls. Close to c2b's.
Recap of pull-ups
Cashout.
3.000m row
The purpose of this one was to just flush legs. Definitely not a high intensity workout, mostly low heart rate conditioning stuff. Had the damper setting at 7, and rowed at around 2:00 pace for 500 meters. I didn't even have the monitor visible to me. I turned the monitor pointing to the ceiling, and just enjoyed my time on the concept2. Now I'll get ready for this Saturday's wedding!
This body really feels beaten up. Huh, but I sure love to drive to the gym, do my thing and smile. For the morning session my intentions concerned snatches. Wanted to do them in a similar way as the clean and jerks yesterday. Emom work as singles. Then I went for a short metcon. In the evening we went for a recovery walk in the woods.
Snatch.
Every minute on the minute x 20 minutes
1 snatch
5x45, 5x50, 5x55, 5x57kg
No misses. And these felt surprisingly good. I did some mental prepping for this snatch session. I saw myself lifting perfect reps in my mind, and figured out the bar paths a lot beforehand. Maybe that helped or not, but this one got me a good mood for sure. Focused on pulling slowly from the ground, and bringing the bar as high as possible before extending my hips and dropping under.
First weights were light at 45kg. My plan was to increase the loading every 5 minutes, same as yesterday. I have once lifted 70kg in my life in the snatch so comparing to that, these were something between 70-82% of 1rm. In real life I would probably lift something like 65kg or a little more if I tried the max lift.
Snatches
Metcon.
5 rounds of:
6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
8 overhead squat, 40kg
10 burpee
I couldn't put all in effort on this one as my legs were not feeling super happy. That reflected on the entire body. Went unbroken on each element. I just worked through, and the thing I put my thoughts on was the depth of the ohs. I went clearly below parallel, forced myself to do that. It was easier after the snatches as hips were loose enough at this point.
Monday. Ring mu's 20 reps. Bar mu's 20 reps. Metcon, 2.000m row, c2b's.
Today's session was going to be weightless. Time seemed perfect for muscle-ups, and so it was. I was pumped to get back on the rings after having a break on them for a while. Not only ring mu's but also bar muscle-ups afterwards. Like my pulling strength wasn't shot already I had planned for 50 c2b's at the end for time. 2k row being the twist prior to those pull-ups.
Skills.
Ring muscle-ups 20 reps (4-4-2-4-4-2 reps)
Bar muscle-ups 20 reps (8-6-6 reps)
I enjoyed every single rep on the rings. Good warm-up, then jumped on the rings and started working. Plan was to hit couple of sets, check how it feels like and also pay attention to my hands that tend to be sensitive in this kind of challenges. They were okay on the ring muscle-ups. Didn't have any protection, no tapes, no natural grips because my hands were in good condition prior to this session.
I took a set of 4 reps and decided to hang on to that rep scheme in the following sets too. Got it on the second. Unfortunately I only got the third session on tape which was the worst I had during the day. Or let's say the first 2 reps of that set were good, and felt smooth but on the third rep I had my left hand loose and not tight against my body so I missed that rep. Better have it tight every single time.
What I'm happy about is the fact that my feet stayed together and body was much tighter than before. Swing is bigger than it used to be and overall it feels like the package is tighter. Naturally there's lot of edges to be smoothened but I'm happy on the development!
Third set
It also seemed like a good idea to work on bar muscle-ups afterwards. I took the first set for 8 reps, walked around the gym and repeated it for 2 more sets of 6 reps each. These felt in my core. Much more compared to t2b's or ghd's. Now it feels like something was really done with core =)
On the downside I got a bruise on to the middle of my left palm. Can you imagine, a small bruise. Well, I thought that doesn't mind. My metcon was waiting for me so I sat down for couple of minutes, and prepared myself mentally for that one.
Metcon.
2.000m row
50 chest-to-bar pull-ups
This was not going to be fun. That was my first instinct. Rowing and pull-ups are not friends with each other. Lots of pulling. When I started crossfitting I remember there was one event at the national cf games which consisted of these two elements. It was amrap of c2b's in 8 minutes. You just had to row 2k first before getting to the pull-ups. Nasty one. Should you row hard to leave enough time for c2b's. Or should you take it a notch slower and save energy to the other element.
My plan was to row at about 1.50 because I wanted to dominate the c2b's. Well, dominate is a bit of a strong expression. I wanted to do good on them. That's more appropriate. That blister that had formed on my hand explodes somewhere between 10-15 c2b's, and blood was running on my palm. Didn't want to risk the upcoming week of training so this metcon had to wait for better hand condition. Decided to stop it at 15 reps. That sucked but my muscle-ups rocked well today and I'll take those gains back home with me!
This morning I woke up at a regular time. After being in the shower I realized I'm going to work for evening so there was some sleep that could have taken place but once I was already awake, it was time to cheer up and head to the gym. This was much earlier than normally when I do morning workouts and it definitely felt in my body. It was sore as hell.
Metcon. Result, 273 reps
15min amrap of:
4 shoulder-to-overhead, 60kg
8 chest-to-bar pull-up
12 box jump
16 ghd sit-up
It really was difficult to get this body moving. Don't know why it is as sore as it is. Legs were fine but upper body feels smashed. Back, chest and arms. Okay, there's been heavy cleans, then thrusters, burpees, lots of squats, more cleans and ring dips in the past two days. I can also feel it in my legs but they worked as planned anyway.
I had planned on jerking a bar at 70 kilos but 60kg worked much better. And it felt heavy too =) C2b's were the part which I had some thoughts about whether I'm able to go unbroken or not. Eight reps ain't much but in a workout it might start feeling like there was a weight vest on me. This time I got them done pretty well, and couple more rounds would have probably gone ub too.
Box jumps were good, same with the ghd's. Got them unbroken as well. I tried to bring my hands to the pads my sliding them closer to my body. I reckoned Jonne Koski was doing this style in the Meridian Regionals last weekend. I've brought my hands straight up which is maybe not the most efficient and less consuming way to do it. This movement is something I considering being pretty good at so it didn't bring any problems.
Metcon recap
Row.
Row for 4 kilometer
Easy pace
This was just for flushing legs, and get fluids running in my body. Pace was slow, I basically turned the monitor up so I would not see it. Just rowed for some time for recovery purposes. Pace was somewhere over 2:00 per 500 meters. Mobility and stretching took place after rowing.
As we are getting married with the love of my life this summer, Toni and my bro decided to throw a curveball and arrange a surprise trip to Copenhagen to watch the Crossfit Meridian Regionals! That was a dream come true that I never - when being awake - thought would come true.
The boys took me from work place in the morning and got as wearing Rogue team shirts. The main goal was to have fun throughout the weekend. Hit some workouts and enjoy the Regionals. Jonne Koski and Mikko Aronpää were competing on the men's side of things and Saara Laaksonen & Emilia Leppänen were representing the women. It turned out Jonne dominated the entire weekend and is traveling to Carson, California in the summer to challenge Mat Fraser and the other bog dogs! Congrats to Jonne for the victory, it was spectacular to watch him smash the workouts.
On Friday we did overhead squats in turns, it was triples starting from 40kg, and adding 5kg. One guy at a time, taking turns, not looking at the clock, no extra wait between sets. At first we did some muscle-up training with my bro, both ring and bar mu's. The affiliate "Crossfit Trykkeri" was sick. Big open space with a good atmosphere, and the athletes really looked like they have done crossfit for some time. Both guys and gals were doing it for real.
I got to climb up to 75kg for a double, I dropped the bar in front on the third rep. This was somehow more taxing on my shoulders than it normally is. It was a bit heavy already on the set of 60kg. I got down pretty well but it just fell sore on the shoulders. Legs were fine though. After the drop I decided not to play around with the bar because we had a grueling workout ahead of us.
Team wod.
In team of 3, complete
Row 1.500 in sets of 250m, and perform amrap of chest-to-bar pull-ups
Row 1.500 in sets of 250m, and perform amrap of squat clean, 70kg
Row 1.500 in sets of 250m, and perform amrap of wall balls, 9kg
Row 1.500 in sets of 250m, and perform amrap of shoulder-to-overhead, 70kg
We wrote this together on the airplane or our way to Denmark. The idea was that someone was rowing all the time, 250 meters at a time, and goal was 1.500m. That means 2x250m for each. At the same time it was an amrap - as many reps as possible - of 4 different movements. Starting at c2b's. After hitting 1.500m of row, the movement changed to squat cleans, then at 3.000m it changed to wb's and finally at 4.500m it was basically jerks for the last leg of 1.500m.
This way we got a change to have everyone of us working all the time. That rowing element was a good one so there didn't come too much rest. I got 10 reps to start with the c2b's, then it was 6's and 5's till the end. Squat cleans were singles. On the wb's we decided to do them in 5's in order to minimize the rest periods. This was the easiest movement for me. Jerks in the end were tough but we all got them done properly even though there was a lot of work done prior to these. They got better towards the end. I'm very happy for this portion of the workout!
We had some wedding planning to do after work day so it went late in the evening before I got my things together and headed to the gym. It was squat time and the metcon was a nice twisted combo of c2b's and cleans.
Strength.
Back squat 3-3-3-3-3 (across, 130kg)
Unfortunately I don't have time to go through the emotions over this training session that much. These were tough but I'm happy on completing each set at 130kg for triples. Take a look at the squats.
Metcon. Result, 86 reps (6 rounds + 5 c2b)
10 min amrap of:
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
1-2-3-4… ladder of squat clean, 80kg
It was 10 chest-to-bar's every single round and then squat cleans in a ladder style method. Starting from single lift, then a double, triple on the third round and so on. For as long as possible in 10 minutes. I got 6 full rounds and 5 c2b's on the 7th round. That means 65 c2b and 21 cleans.
Monday. Back squat 5-5-5 (max 130kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 20 cal row, 12 c2b, 8 hspu.
Back squats it is! Boom it can't be a bad training day when you have them in your schedule. It was gonna be rather heavy 5's so they made me a bit anxious as they usually do. Metcon was another inspiration from Atlantic and South Regionals, scaled to my level of fitness. Great one!
Strength.
Back squat 5-5-5 (125, 128, 130kg)
My approach for climbing up to the working sets is usually different to what happened today. Let's take today's workout as an example. I would normally do warm-up sets of something like 5x60, 5x90, 3x100, 2x110, 1-2x120kg, or 5x60, 5x90, 3x110, 1x120, 1x125kg. I'd say either of those combinations would be quite traditional when doing sets of 5's at weights around 125kg. Some of those reps at 60-90kg sets would be pause squats just to loosed up a little bit more.
Today I felt good and mobile on my hips so I made a conscious decision of cutting the sets to 5x60, 3x90, 1x110kg. This time it worked perfectly. Jumping 15kg before the first working set is unheard of for me. I like to make the jumps rather small to avoid surprises.
The sets felt good in all three weights. I had in mind to knock them at around 125kg so it was a positive feeling to being able to climb up after each set. It was great and I think the heaviest set of 5 reps I've ever lifted is 135 kilos.
5x125kg
Metcon.
5 rounds of:
20 calories row
12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
8 handstand push-ups
Watching the Crossfit Regionals was a blast last weekend. The workouts were great and interesting, and it was a huge dog fight in both mens' and women's side. My favorite Noah Olsen dominated the competition and Emily Bridgers took the podium on the Atlantic Region. On the other region - The South - Camille Leblanc Bazinet took the first spot as the defending Crossfit Games champion. Roy Gamboa was legit all the way and pretty much led the competition throughout the weekend on the mens, never finishing outside the Top 10.
One of the workouts was 5 rounds for time of 25 cal row, 16 c2b and 9 strict hspu. That sounded just perfect because I wanted to have pull-ups. Better to have 'em c2b if possible. I decided to scale this one a bit just make it being able to keep moving constantly.
5x128kg
This workout was awesome. Clearly the most challenging part was the c2b's for me. Rowing is just "keep moving", and handstand push-ups were a lot easier than I thought. My upper body was a bit numb always after c2b's and I thought hspu's would be tough. But when I threw myself upside down against the wall, they were easy and unbroken each round. C2b's were 6-7 reps every time at first, then 1-2 sets to finish it. First round was 7-5, the following were mostly 6-3-3. I messed up the timer in the end so I have no idea how long this one took to complete. But it was consistent =)
Thursday. Emom, clean singles (up to 110kg). Emom, back squat singles (up to 140kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 7 squat clean (60kg), 14 box, 7 c2b, 200m row. Time, 13.30.
Got a chance to do a workout in the evening before Finland's ice hockey game. It was gonna be short and intense. I still wanted to have barbell work included. Squats were a must but cleans were a good bonus. Metcon was created on the spot, and worked perfectly.
Cleans.
Every minute on the minute x 7 min
1 clean (80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110kg)
Yes, I did heavy cleans yesterday. And it felt so good that I wanted to see how it would feel one day after. No problem, cleans were good today as well. It was only singles, one rep per minute. This was short part, just couple of minutes / reps and max was 110kg. I tried something new with my cleans today. I don't usually lift my legs from the floor at all. This time in some of the reps my feet got up which made the "go under the bar" part faster.
In the last rep you probably notice here that I dropped as deep as my hips allow. It wasn't that intentional. It felt like I lost control of the drop a bit but was able to save it anyway with tightening the core.
It's been a while since back squatting so the purpose of this was to get used to getting a heavy barbell on my back. I went up to 140kg which felt heavy. Actually all the other loads felt okay but at 135kg it felt heavy as a ton, and the wall hit me at 140kg.
These stories are awesome
It was quite surprising to have it so suddenly slap me in the face. I felt very comfortable up to 130 kilos. One rep every minute but it didn't come an issue of having such a short recovery between reps. That was okay. The lighter reps were probably too light. It would have been a better workout to have one rep per minute at around 120-130kg for couple of minutes.
Squats
Metcon. Time, 13.30
4 rounds of:
7 squat clean, 60kg
14 box jump
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
200m row
Squat cleans are great but in a workout they are miserable. They suck big time! =) For first 3 rounds I went unbroken with them but my mind told me to drop the bar already on the second round. Instead, I fought for a little more, and decided to do 4-3 only on the last round.
Having legs jello after cleans it was cool to go and do the box jumps. Hmm, okay maybe not so cool. It surely made them fatigue fast. This was designed so that there were two elements burning legs, and then giving recovery for them and do pull-ups instead. There weren't that big a number of c2b's so they were unbroken each round.
Rowing is always a good one to make breathing go heavy or stay heavy. It was a short sprint so I kept the pace rather fast. Most of the time in this metcon felt like it was used in the transitions. I was gassed midway to the wod and it really was a dark place at times. Worst part was definitely the combination of cleans and box jumps.
First round of the workout
The Crossfit Regionals are starting tomorrow!!! How awesome is that. There are Ben Smith and Noah Olsen on the men's side, and Emily Bridgers and Sam Briggs on women's side. It's gonna be a big fight for the regionals podium between these athletes.
The weather is freaking summery in here! And I love it. We were gonna go to the gym in the morning but instead it turned out to be a one and a half hour walk in the parks, forest and almost downtown Helsinki. Awesome quality time with my baby. On our way back we took a shortcut through Eltsu and "accidentally" stopped there to do some bodyweight training. There were a lot of people so we got inspired to do cartwheels and handstand. In the evening I went to the Box and worked on my pull-ups in various ways. It's a bummer I have to be cautious of my hip flexors. It would be great to lift heavy and do proper metcons already!
Playing around.
Cartwheels
Handstand
For some reason I have thought for the last couple of months that it would be awesome to master a simple movement like cartwheel. But those have always looked pathetic and there hasn't been a gymnastics coach training with me so it's not something I would start practicing on my own. Now that I had Pauliina with me in a place like this it felt right to take couple of attempts. We actually played here quite a long time as we both felt like we progressed a bit. This is something gals seem to be better at, I guess they just know how to control their body better =)
After playing around with cartwheels I also took some handstand hold for fun. There were a lot of people in Eltsu improving their fitness. And mother's day was seen in the picture too. Lots of families were walking outdoors in a beautiful and sunny Finland.
Pull-ups.
Weighted pull-ups
3x10, 10, 150, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 20kg
5x17.5, 15kg
6x10kg
I got a chance to have a training session with Jasper, at least for a while. Our schedules didn't quite match but it was great to have couple of fist pumps and hit a workout. He had to go and I stayed to work on my pull-ups in different styles. Starting with pull-ups with some extra weight. Mostly triples, built up to a heavy set which turned out to be 22.5kg. Then I dropped down with more reps. Pull-ups are great but to be honest doing weighted versions of them for strength is kind of boring. Feels like a meathead.
Pull-up complex.
Every minute on the minute for 9 minutes
1-3min: 4 bar muscle-ups
4-6min: 7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
7-9min: 10 pull-ups
This was much more fun! And I got a little heartbeat up at the same time. I could do muscle-ups all day every day! I'm so very happy those are rocking pretty well nowadays. Both bar and ring mu's. Mu's are also something I can do without having to stress how hip flexors are doing. Of course hip work is in the play but this movement is not the one putting too much pressure in there.
First 3 minutes were all about muscle-ups, next 3 minutes were c2b pull-ups and last 3 minutes were normal pull-ups. I increased the number of reps after each movement because it got easier towards the end. My lats were on fire on the regular pull-ups. I mean they hurt like hell. I had to go foam roll my lats and stretch them out for quite a bit after the workout. This made good to my body!
Bench.
Bench press 3x10 (60, 70, 75kg)
This is rare. What I really wanted to do was a bad ass metcon but I just couldn't figure out what I would do without using my legs that much so instead, it turned out to be a bench session in the end. Three sets of 10 reps, climbing. Last set was 75kg.
Bench sets
Then I took couple of heavier singles but my upper body was smashed at this point already. Hopefully tomorrow morning I wake up with fully healed legs so I can start doing some real work!
Today I wanted to test out couple of muscle-ups just to see if the previous mu training session was a fluke or success. Then lots of different type of cleans, either as complex or as emom workout. Then I took some tng clean and jerks combined with c2b's, and finally handstand training. Cleans got heavy but other than that the day was a lighter one.
Skills.
Muscle-ups (PR 5 reps)
My confidence was high when walking to the gym. Short warm-up but I was so hesitant that I needed to get my hands pretty quickly on those rings. Just a double to get used to this movement, then it was time to put my phone on Pauliina's hand and I told asked her to take a short clip because I'm gonna hit a PR right now.
For me this was no surprise. It was the end result of working towards this goal. This thing took another step further when I bought Rogue rings. Since then, I've had the possibility to practice muscle-ups. Okay, we had the same rings at the old gym but there was an issue. The roof was too low in that place which means that my form was not able to be as it should be. When bringing the rings outdoors to a tree branch I was able to hang the rings high enough which means I had to jump on to the rings.
This new place is gonna seal the deal. I'm gonna keep having muscle-ups in my training sessions frequently. Plus, here it's also possible to do bar muscle-ups which is 100% going to have a positive side effect on ring mu's too. On this particular record breaking set the ring straps got stuck around my left foot, and I had to stop the momentum for a while to get the strap loose. After the 4th rep the "natural grip" got ripped off my hands which made the last rep a little challenging. I'll take this for now!
Last 2 days my legs have been sore as hell. Don't know if it was the sled work or those 100 thrusters on Tuesday. The reality anyway was that I needed to get some heavier cleans and squats in my system for sure after yesterday's rest day.
This was a fun little complex. Emom workouts are the best. I really like that timer putting some pressure on recovery. Had no issues with these cleans this time. My hands were a bit wider this time too even though it was only cleans, not jerk. This might be a good call because I was able to bring the barbell higher before bouncing it up from the hips. Felt good.
After having done this for 10 minutes this part of the workout was over. After looking at couple of the reps on video I wanted to get more reps done. Decided to make 5 quick sets of the same sequence, clean + squat combo @ 100kg. Enjoyed every single rep of these.
Complex
Cleans.
3 rounds of:
1 minute of squat clean singles @ 90kg
2 minute break
Result, 6 reps per minute
More cleans baby. I've done more power cleans lately so I took a good doze of squat cleans today. No doubt my legs were tired after this. And this also got my breathing heavy as well. Last reps of each set got challenging for sure. There might have been time for 7th rep in some sets but I was definitely done after 6 reps. I noticed the further the set / minute went, the lower the bar came to my hips which is not a good thing. It was a fatigued man's way to get that barbell on my front rack.
Extra work.
Clean and jerks (40-60kg)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups
There was a metcon in my mind but there was no way I was gonna hit it after this one. Toni just did a 3 round workout of 400m running, 10 c&j @ 60kg and 10 c2b's which would obviously be some sort of sprint. A moderate length wod at max.
Instead I just did clean and jerk sets to work on efficient mechanics. Good break between c&j's and pull-ups. C2b's were sets of 10's. Nothing super heavy.
Skills.
Handstand
In the end I took couple of sets handstand. It went quite decently. I think I'll have to take some clips in order to witness that myself. There has been nice development that I have been able to hold my stance still for longer times than before. I mean without moving my hands at all. Just balancing the entire body by holding the core tight and pressing my fingers strongly or gently towards the ground depending which way my body is leaning.
Wednesday. AM: Run 8km and pull-up complexes (about 70 reps). PM: Metcon, 7rds of: 500m row, 10 push press (40kg), 20 hr push-ups. Time, 28min. Mobility
Damned those yesterday's training sessions hurt in my body as I woke up. Body was fatigued all over the place. Felt like I was hit by a truck. My answer to this was to sleep, eat big time, watch a movie and consider what's my next move. I packed my gear and walked to a nearby gym. Waited there for some time for the clerk to come. He/She didn't come and I felt like I'm done. Snatches weren't that tempting anymore so I left the place and decided to go for an easy run. In the afternoon there was anyway going to be another training session.
Run and pull-up complex.
8km run
Bar muscle-ups
Complexes of pull-up + chest-to-bar + muscle-up
To the end, 5 sets of: 5 pull-ups + 5 chest-to-bars
I had no idea where I would go but taped my thumbs just in case and took gloves in case I happened to find a pull-up bar. Surprise surprise, I found one… Neither had I an estimate of how far I had traveled but luckily Google Maps tells the truth. It was a total of 8 kilometers of running. This was definitely more like a recovery run. At times I stopped to take some photos and enjoy the scenery.
The weather wasn't very summery and the air was cool and windy but it made for a good running weather. Easy to breath and temperature was good. Töölönlahti's water was freezing, hrrrr. Before I went running that traditional loop I stopped by at a pull-up bar that I spent some time last summer.
Basically my goal was just to have fun and play around. Took some bar muscle-ups only because I love the movement. Then a complex consisting of pull-ups, c2b's and finally a mucsle-up. That combination seemed a bit challenging. Maybe not because of strength but because of the rhythm. After practicing it, I found myself on top of the pull-up bar but at first it felt awkward to pull for mu right after c2b.
Bar muscle-ups
After fooling around for some time, the grande finale was to do 5 sets of 10 pull-ups, 5 regular ones, going right into 5 c2b pull-ups. This was a good combo for sure. I could have continued this pattern with these breaks for maybe 2-3 more sets unbroken. Or then more, don't know but the first ones were easy but 4th and 5th set were a bit tougher.
Pull-up complex
What I realized from the videos is that my regular pull-ups seem to go rather high and c2b's accordingly. It looks like my ribs are touching the bar. Well that's not a bad thing at all.
Pull-ups + C2b's
After taking my time on the pull-up bar, I continued to adventure my path around Helsinki. Had to do some foam rolling after getting home. Those quads really needed that treatment.
Metcon. Time, 28min
7 rounds of:
500m row
10 push press, 40kg
20 hand release push-ups
Afternoon's training session was also a lighter one. Didn't feel like going 100% today. There had to be rowing. That was not open for discussion. The rest I decided on the spot. Rowing and pressing. Push presses (or shoulder presses in the beginning) were the easiest part of this workout. My rowing pace was around a steady 1.52 / 500m.
Rowing was okay, easy in the beginning. Still, I decided to keep it at this pace as this was not supposed to be 180 heart rate all the time. More like a moderate workload from the beginning to the end. Towards the end the concept2 started to feel a bit more uncomfortable.
Push press work wasn't that bad. The loading was light so it caused no problems, especially in the beginning. However, doing push-ups right after pressing barbell probably had its own flavor. These push-ups were hand release versions to make them suck a little more than normal ones.
After having done the metcon I took my time to do mobility. Hopefully my body thanks for that tomorrow. I've been sleeping much more than normally and that is a prerequisite for me to train twice a day. Loving every second of this holiday thing =)
Tuesday. Strength, front squat doubles (max 130kg). Metcon, 3rds of: 10 c2b, 10 front squat (60kg), 10 burpee. Time, 5.07.
My throat was still sore so I wasn't in the best shape at all. Yesterday's missed squats popped up in today's agenda, and I was hungry for them. There had to be some sort of metcon too and I got this one from competitorstraining.com from couple of days ago.
Strength.
Front squat doubles (90, 100, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130kg)
One single @ 135kg
There were no huge expectations for these squats but I just needed to get them done. It's been too long since squatting heavy and my legs were waiting for these big time. I thought they might be heavier but for some reason these felt great all the time.
It happened to be a good day of training. It's been a while since going to very heavy loads. And I got a double at 130kg which I believe has not happened before. My 1RM is 135kg so I cheered for this double for sure. After that I took one single at the shared pr number.
2x130kg
Metcon. Time, 5.07
3 rounds of:
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
10 front squat, 60kg
10 burpee
This was obviously supposed to be a sprint from the first second. My face wasn't normal with nose and throat feeling a bit of a flu (not bad but something anyway) so I took it a little easier. My barbell was located far away from the pull-up bar which was probably not the best decision time-wise. There were a lot of people at the gym and I had not chance for this.
My strategy was to break the c2b's every round, drop down and quickly get back up to complete more reps. Didn't try to go unbroken in any round. Front squats definitely unbroken, and then pace the burpees, keep the same steady pace all the time. And walk between the barbell and pull-up bar to cool down the breathing. This worked well for today.
Monday. Power clean build up to a heavy single (max PR 100kg). Emom x 10min: 2 power clean @ 90kg. Skills, every 90sec: 15 c2b. Squat therapy and mobility.
There were high expectations for this Monday. I knew beforehand there wouldn't be no need to rush so I would be able to work my ass off. Schedule showed there were front squat doubles, maybe high rep back squats as well as cleans for barbell work. And then a very intense style metcon in the end. However, my throat feels like there's a piece of cactus right now, that's the feeling I've had all day. Don't have a flu though but this just doesn't feel right so I had to take it easy.
Meal prep for the week
Pulls.
Power clean, build up to a heavy single
3x70, 3x80, 2x85, 1x90, 1x95, 1x100kg
Yesterday got me thinking what my max load for power clean would be. Max before this day as been 95kg and it's quite recent too. I have traditionally taken all heavy cleans with a squat. This part of the session wasn't that serious, just wanted to put some weight on the bar and pick it up on the front rack.
All of these cleans felt very good. Barbell's touching point on my thighs was quite high, and there actually was a short time when the bar was weightless as I turned it over. The last rep was 100kg which is 5 kilos more than I've ever power cleaned. I'd like to say it wasn't my max load. Well, it was but there definitely is more potential. I didn't try any heavier loads this time. Left some for next time.
Emom.
Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes
2 power clean @ 90kg
As these cleans were solid I threw in a workout of emom training. Doubles of 90kg, kinda heavy. But for some sick reason these felt very good too. There was a psychological effect. I had just lifted 100kg up so dropping 10kg back was a lot lighter mentally.
I felt like a superman lifting that 90kg for doubles every minute. Okay, not a super heavy weight for some people but for me 2 reps of power cleans at this weight is no walk in the park. Squat cleans would have been a different thing.
Clean 2x90kg
Skills.
Every 90 seconds:
15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Pull-ups - and especially c2b's - are always something that should be on the agenda of improvements. I just bought "natural grips" from Rogue at the same time with my rope, so they got to test on these c2b's. They felt very good as I put them on but unfortunately they didn't stay on place on the pull-ups. For 2-3 sets they were okay but at least the last one was a bit frustrating. I need some protection on my hands with the pull-up bar. At least on this bar as someone has taped it and there's a lot of friction with hands every time. I'm not a huge fan of rips and tears. And those tend to come very easily on my hands.
First set of chest-to-bar's was easy. Second one was a lot tougher. Third one was impossible to get through unbroken, I guess it was 10 reps on the first try on this set. And last set was a lot of pain. Focus was to get as many reps as possible on the first attempt, then finish the set as quickly as possible because there was that 90 second time window.
Mobility.
Squat therapy
Resistance band stretches
Overhead squats with a pause in the bottom
Snatch balance with a pause in the bottom
Lacrosse ball work
I still wasn't ready even though it felt like there wasn't much I was able to do. So I grabbed a pvc pipe and worked on overhead squats and snatch balances and staying in the bottom position for seconds. Also did it with an empty barbell. Those extreme positions make good for mobility purposes.
Squat therapy's results were absolutely positive. Never thought I could get as close to the wall as I did today. It took multiple attempts, starting from much farther, and then every attempt was an inch closer. Finally my toes were about the length of my middle finger plus 1-2cm away from the wall. That's success!
There were couple of options how to approach this Thursday. Had to listen to my body and what it needs to get done today. Snatches were one option, squats were on the table too as well as a chipper style clean and jerk / bodyweight combo. All good and different workouts but a hero workout was the winner.
Zimmerman. Result, 220 reps (9 rounds + 2 deads)
25min amrap of:
11 chest-to-bar pull-ups
2 deadlift, 142.5kg
10 handstand push-up
This is a newcomer for me. It's been in my phones notes since January, and I've promised myself to give it a try someday. Friday is already a classic for deadlift but I took it one day earlier because this seemed to feel my mood of the day perfectly. Pull-ups were very intriguing and I had to get them done.
Zimmerman is a long amrap, 25 minutes of elements that are not that easy. Pull-ups are chest-to-bar versions, deadlifts are semi heavy, and the number of hspu's per round is high. So it was difficult to comprehend how this is going to turn out. My strategy was to go by feeling. I know my body and that there would be no point in rushing through the gates early on because c2b's would kill me later on. And traditionally people think that once hspu's are gone, they really are gone.
I cut the pull-ups in pieces already in the first round. I wouldn't gain anything by trying to be a hero and aim for unbroken sets. Instead it was 6-5 or 7-4 in the first rounds. For most of the last rounds it was 6-3-2 reps, to release the tension in my lats and forearms. The amount of volume was huge for me. Total of 100 c2b's is no joke. I've done 100-150 pull-ups in a metcon but c2b's are next level. And hundred of them is about 100% more I've ever done in a workout.
Deadlifts would not create any problems. They were semi heavy but totally manageable. This was the easiest part of the workout. Focus here was not just to pull it but maintain good and solid form all the way. I believe it absolutely stayed as planned.
Hspu's were a mystery beforehand. How would they go? No idea. I'm very comfortable nowadays on them but if the volume would grow over 60 reps that would probably slow down. There was a total of 90 reps of these in the end. I'm extremely happy I was able to get through each and every set unbroken!
This hero wod was tough especially on upper body, not that bad for breathing. Consistency is a word that describes my pace well today. On the 7th round my heart was taking some extra beats so I had to wait for a while, that's why it took a bit longer.
Thursday. Skills, emom x 8min. Odd min 12 c2b, even min 12 pistols. Snatch complex, 1snatch balance + 2 ohs. Snatch complex, 3 snatch press + 3 ohs. Cashout, 100 t2b.
Today was mainly a skills / technique oriented training day. Nothing super heavy or tough, but getting better at my gymnastics, working on technique and mobility for the snatch, and then getting some accessory work done for core. I got the biggest kicks of the day when Pauliina hit a PR in back squat =)
50kg
Skills.
Every minute on the minute, for 8 minutes
Odd min, 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
Even min, 12 pistol squats
So this was surprisingly tough in the last 2 sets of c2b's. Okay, let's be honest, all my emom c2b's have been smaller rep sets before this one so it was kind of cool to hit unbroken sets of 12 reps. Only the last set had to be broken down but the first 3 of them went perfectly. Felt very good about those! These skills / gymnastics emom workouts to kick things on in the beginning of the training sessions are great way to break a sweat, get the body warm and fully awake for the work load ahead.
Pistol squats are funny. It was once again witnessed that for my left leg they are easy but right leg ones are challenging. The difference is quite big. Must be the influence of my previous sports career as a goal keeper in floorball. On the first round I did them alternating, and then the rest of the sets I went 6 left - 6 right. That's because I wanted to focus on linking multiple reps with right leg.
Snatch complex.
1 snatch balance + 2 overhead squat
Weights 50, 55, 60, 65, 70kg
This one was on my mind in addition to the skills part when I entered the gym. I wanted to build up to a heavy set on this combo. It was no surprise that overhead squats were lighter than snatch balances. On lighter loads I'm able to drop under the bar with speed. Warm-up weights were 20, 30 & 40kg. If I would drop as fast as in those lights it would be freaking awesome. At times I was afraid how quickly I got there haha =)
No but really, there was a difference. The heavier the barbell got, the slower the snatch balance turned out to be. In the beginning I had my feet in the air for a while whereas in the heavier complexes my feet stayed in the ground the entire time and I had breaks on a little. The last one was the slowest on the way down. I probably came up faster than went down.
Snatch complex.
3 snatch grip push press + 3 overhead squat
Weights 40, 45, 50, 55, 60kg
This section was not planned beforehand. Pauliina did her squats and I just did some extra work with the bar between her sets. This wasn't heavy at all, the main point was practicing bar paths on both the press and squat. Extending my hips fully in the press and locking out elbows for a stable and solid overhead position.
Then again, keeping it on the heels on overhead squats and hitting it low. I stayed in the bottom position for 2-3 seconds after the last ohs in each set. To sit in the deepest position frequently will definitely increase mobility. And that's exactly my weak point in this movement even though it's gone forward a lot.
Accessory.
100 toes-to-bar
Okay, that was about it. It was time to cool down. I thought about knocking some t2b's just for fun. I took 20 reps at first, then 15 reps, and the rest were 10's and 5's in the end. Once I jumped on the pull-up bar the thought was to complete 50 reps but then again, it felt so good to link those reps together that I decided to go to 75, and finally it changed to 100 reps. I'll take it! My abs were nearly cramping at times at about 70-80 reps but after a little stretching it was all good.
