Wednesday 4.5: Cleans, Front squats, Row, Pull-ups, Thrusters

Wednesday. Oly, power clean triples (up to 90kg), hang squat cleans (up to 100kg). Front squat 3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1 (up to 130kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 21 cal row, 15 pull-ups, 9 thrusters (2x20kg db's).

This time there was no rush at all so I took a good bunch of volume after work day before heading home to eat and recover. It was a whole lot of fun to throw down at the gym with some friends.

Oly.

• A - Power clean triples (80, 83, 86, 88, 90kg)
• B - Hang squat clean doubles (80, 85, 90, 95, 100kg)

The thing was to hold on to the bar and go for touch'n'go reps on the cleans. No dropping in-between but hold that grip and complete the triples and doubles. Consecutive power cleans at these weights are something I haven't been practicing that much so this was beneficial for sure. I built up to 90 kilos and walk home with some pride in my shirt.

Second part of cleans was hang squat cleans. These are closer to my forte as I can utilize my legs more. Thus, I was able to go to 100kg. Cleans felt pretty good. On the last one I had to adjust my grip before completing the latter rep of the heaviest load.

Recap

Strength.

• Front squats 3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1 (110, 110, 110, 120, 120, 120, 130, 125, 125kg)

More barbell work. These were supposed to be done yesterday but I simply forgot to do them. Who does that? =) At home it came to my mind so I postponed it for today. Couple of triples, doubles and singles, with increasing load. The 130kg was heavy and took me a good time to bring it up so I dropped down to 125kg for the last two singles.

Metcon. Time, 15 minutes

• 5 rounds of:
• 21 cal row
• 15 pull-ups
• 9 thrusters @ 2x20kg dumbbells

After working with the barbell for some time my body felt like the session is about ready. Had to sell the idea of this metcon to myself more than normally. This was stolen from Ben Bergeron, just modified it a little. Original version was c2b pull-ups and thrusters were clusters. I figured it would be a better conditioning piece this way. No need to lean my elbows on my knees that much.

It worked very well for the purpose I was looking for. No idea what the pace was on the rower, just tried to get that Concept2 moving right away as I sat down. Pull-ups were unbroken on the first round, and then 10-5 from then on. Yes they were pain in the ass (okay, in the lats) but somehow I felt more comfortable on those compared to how I imagined they might feel like. There was 75 total reps anyway. Comfortable is probably not the right word, they were nasty. But I was able to keep moving which was the main goal here.

Thrusters kept heart rate up for sure, as did each of the elements in this workout. Went unbroken with the dumbbells. Shoulders got smashed on these though. Legs felt fine on the thrusters but really needed to focus to get the path good on the dumbbells.

Saturday 19.8: Thruster, Burpee, Row

Saturday. Metcon, 3rds of: 1min db thrusters (2x15kg's), 1min burpees, 1min row for calories, 1min rest. Result, 170 reps

Exceptionally, I had a work day today and then we had some family gathering in the evening so there was just a short time window that needed to be utilized. There was not time for lots of action. More like short warm-up, 3-2-1 and go!

Metcon. Result, 170 reps

• 3 rounds of:
• 1min thrusters, 2x15kg dumbbells (22, 20, 20 reps)
• 1min burpees (18, 18, 16 reps)
• 1min row for calories (18, 18, 20 calories)

Pretty much a perfect workout. Didn't need lots of warm-ups to get ready for this one. On the other hand it would have probably been wise to focus on increasing heart rate before starting this workout. This included lots of heavy breathing, and it was a good shock to my system in the first round.

At least this was consistent work all the way. It was tough. On the thrusters my shoulders were burning big time. Knocked 22 reps on the first try, then 20 got me in trouble on the second round, and third was pure agony. I almost dropped the dumbbell on my left hand because I just couldn't hold on to it anymore. But somehow I managed to push through the last couple of reps to reach 20 reps.

Burpees were much heavier than normally after tiring my shoulders first on the thrusters. I still managed to match the pace on the second round but then couldn't hold on to this same pace on the last one. Dropped the result by two reps on the third.

Rowing was the nicest part of this one. Or let's say the least ugly of the three elements. It got to my entire body for sure every time. On the last round I was able to step the game up a little to get 2 more calories on the Concept2. Very intense action, good one for this Saturday!

Saturday 29.8: Gymnastics wod, Partner wod

Saturday. 20 burpee mu's for time. Time, 9.27. Partner wod, 15min amrap of lunges, pull-ups and db thrusters (2x15kg). Result, 5 rds + 3 thruster.

We had a nice day with my wife in the city. Just walked around and enjoyed Helsinki. Weather was beautiful so we just hang around and spent some quality time. In the evening we went to the gym to take care of our fitness. It was one gymnastics metcon to kick off the session and then another one

Metcon. Time, 9.27. Compare to 22.4.2015

• 20 burpee muscle-ups for time

It's not many times that I've done muscle-ups in a workout so each and every one of these is a pleasure. I've done this once before couple of months ago. This was fun from the very beginning. Because I really haven't done that many muscle-up workouts it's always difficult to know how to pace myself.

Didn't have any idea how much it took me last time I did this one so there was nothing to compare the time to. I tapped the round times after every 5 reps. First reps took me 1:35, reps 6-10 were done in 3:09 so that was a lot slower one. Third portion was 2:31 and the last 5 reps were completed in 2:11.

To my eyes that means I gave too much slack in the process. Really difficult to know at this point how fast / slow one must go with this movement. I don't wanna burn myself on this because then it takes time to recover. The muscle-ups started to feel better towards the end because I really tried to keep good tension in the entire body on the swing.

Partner wod. Result, 5 rounds + 3 thruster

• 15min amrap
• One athlete must do 2x20m walking lunges, bodyweight, all the time
• Once the other one does lunges, the other does:
• 10 pull-ups and the rest of time dumbbell thrusters (2x15kg db's)

This was fun, to throw down with my baby. The point was that the other one was doing lunges all the time. Pauliina started the lunges so in the mean while I did 10 pull-ups and then dumbbell thrusters (2x15kg db's) as an amrap for the remaining time while she was lunging. When she finished those, we changed the lunge game, and it was her time to do the couplet.

Recap of partner wod

Pull-ups were the easiest part of this one, could have probably added a bit. But on the other hand, the purpose was to get dirty with the thrusters. And those got ugly towards the end of each set. The dumbbells were 15kg's each so it wasn't super heavy but the ultimate point was to do plenty of them during the time frame. Got to say this goal was reached pretty well.

Got 20 thrusters on the first round, 15 reps on the next 2 rounds. Fourth round was 12 and the last full round was 15 again. Only had time for 3 additional reps when the buzzer called it quits. This was quality time at its best doing partner wod with my wife.

Friday 12.6: Cleans, 15min amrap

Friday. Hang power clean triples (max 80kg). Metcon, 15min amrap of: 10 db thruster (2x12.5kg), 10 burpee, 10 t2b. Result, 220 reps

We were going for a dinner and Escape Room with my colleagues after work so we planned together with Jouni to leave early so we'd have enough time for a workout. There wasn't too much time so it was quick cleans and then a metcon we hit together. Got to say I'm proud of this guy making his way to the gym again. He's taken a good step further in his fitness, and I'd like to be there with him on his journey!

Clean.

• Hang power clean triples (50, 60, 70, 75, 80kg)

Didn't remember it anymore that the knurls on the barbells at our work place's gym are very sleek. They are downright slippery, especially without chalk (which I naturally forgot home). So yes, I had good excuses for keeping the weight light =) Took some triples up to only 80kg, and then one set of 10 touch'n'go reps at 60kg. It was more difficult to hold the grip on the bar but for these weights it was still okay with hook grip.

Fastest kid ever?

Metcon. Result, 220 reps (7 rounds + 10 thruster)

• 15min amrap of:
• 10 dumbbell thruster, 2x12.5kg
• 10 burpee
• 10 toes-to-bar

Jouni had a bit of a different style metcon but the time domain was identical. He had burpees, thrusters and lunges. It was good to have a friend hit it at the same time to share the pain. He had done squats before so it was no doubt his legs would take a lot of hammering in the workout.

The dumbbells were light for sure, and the thrusters were actually the easiest part of the entire wod. I wanted to keep it intentionally low so that this would resemble totally of a bodyweight workout. My shoulders were a bit tired from yesterday which I realized only when having done couple of rounds burpees / t2b's. It felt heavier than normally to push myself back from the ground, and the stretching movement when lowering toes from the pull-up bar, and simultaneously pushing head through the shoulders also burdened shoulders.

After the 15 minutes were done, we had to get going right away as we were about to drive to downtown Helsinki for a dinner and Escape Room. The idea is that you get locked into a room, and with the help of various hints you have a certain amount of time to get out of the room. It was 60 minutes in our case, and we finally made it with 30 seconds left in the clock. What an adrenaline doze to make it in the last moments! Fun day!

Thursday 12.2: Deadlift, Two metcons, Burpees

Thursday. Strength, deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (max 165kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 pull-ups, 10 db thrusters. Metcon, 5min amrap of: 6 burpee box jump, 9 t2b. Result, 79 reps. Cashout, 30 burpees.

I hooked up with a friend at the gym, we agreed to hit it same time and throw down on same workouts too. It was a pleasure to share the agony of this session. It was a great day of training! I'll take couple of pulling sessions in the near future just to get back in the rhythm of deadlifting. Jasper came up with the idea for the first metcon and I needed to get some more work being done so the second metcon came up on the spot. Some burpees to finish the session.

Strength.

• Deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (100, 125, 135, 145, 165kg)

This was based on the percentages of 1RM, which is currently at 210kg. Haven't tried heavy heavy pulls in ages but that is the last one rep max that I tested. Some time ago I did clean grip deadlift for a heavy single at 200kg. Anyway, these were about 50, 60, 65, 70, and 80% of max load.

I've pulled twice after a loooong break. After the first time my back was sore for a week but after the second one it was like nothing. Hoping my recovery on deadlifts will get back to where it was and it doesn't cripple me for days =)

First set was obviously easy, so was the second. Didn't have any chalk on my hands so 125kg started to get slippery. I took an adjustment with chalk and got a way better grip on the remaining sets. It was 8 reps at 145kg and I thought it would be heavier. In the end it went pretty well. My focus today - and what I asked Jazz to coach me too - was in lowering my butt on the way down in order to engage more hamstrings in the pull. It went better but more work needs to be done. Last set was @ 165kg for 6 reps.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 pull-ups
• 10 dumbbell thrusters, 2x15kg db's

Jasper used to do this kind of stuff in Crossfit Copenhagen in Denmark back in the days when he lived there so he pitched me with the idea of hitting this combo. It reminded me of Fran so this didn't bring that many positive thoughts =) Didn't put all in from the beginning because I knew this would make me cry in the end. It was a great heavy breather anyway! Went unbroken on both elements, then just took a pause between the stations to settle my breathing a bit.

Metcon. Result, 79 reps (5 rounds+ 4 burpee box jump)

• 5min amrap of:
• 6 burpee box jump
• 9 toes-to-bar

Somehow I was left with a feeling that something needs to be done still. At first it was box jumps and t2b's but then again, burpee box jump is an awesome movement and brings another level to box jumps. I went unbroken on the box jumps, and dropped from the pull-up bar couple of times in rounds 4 and 5. This started to burn my hip flexors and core. Breathing was heavy constantly. These were quite consistent on round times through all the 5+ rounds.

Cashout.

• 30 burpees

I was done after those metcons but my training buddy was about to hit 30 more burpees just for fun. Didn't want him to enjoy those on his own so I joined him on this one. We did these simultaneously and got 'em done efficiently and quickly. Didn't time this one but it was a very short and intense work. Good session!

Tuesday 23.9: Clean and jerk complex, Db thrusters, Pull-ups

Tuesday. Strength, clean and jerk complex: 1 hang squat clean + 3 split jerk (max 95kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 double db thrusters (2x17.5kg), 10 pull-ups. Time, 5.07.

Great training day for sure. I'd been waiting for this one because Toni and Jouni both came to the gym with me. That combination can result in nothing less than awesomeness. Jouni continued to smash deadlifts, Toni did some Wendler style - push presses. Both guys handled some serious metcons afterwards. My focus was on oly lifts on strength part and a short metcon in the end.

Strength. Clean and jerk complex

• 1 hang squat clean + 3 split jerk (65, 75, 85, 95kg)
• 1 hang squat clean + 1 split jerk (100kg)

It's been almost a week since pushing weights overhead so it's probably no surprise I missed this a lot. Decided to go for jerks and take the barbell without a rack to work on my hang squat technique at the same time. The weight on cleans from hang position is no biggie nowadays. Thanks to my main man Toni for the tips he gave me 2-3 weeks ago. Since then it's been on a whole other level.

So I took all cleans from hang position and went down to squat clean each rep. Having this kind of barbell complex is a great way to work on clean and jerk, and especially on the weaker one of them. My clean is way better than the jerk so it's better do this way. Okay it doing 3 cleans and 1 jerk would get my body fatigue before the jerk but I'm sure that would not benefit me as much. The jerk wouldn't be the case at all if it was just one, even after couple of cleans. Today's style is a better one to develop the jerk.

After finishing the last set at 95kg for a triple jerk I decided to get one 3-digit lift in my system so I piled 100kg on the bar and took a single. This was from hang position too and it felt great. This jerk felt better than the last one on 95kg. Probably no surprise there because 3 reps at almost max weight is heavy stuff.

There's something beautiful in this one

Metcon. Time, 5.07

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 double dumbbell thrusters, 2x17.5kg
• 10 pull-ups

I had to improvise this one on the fly. I hadn't planned to do anything serious today but the plan changed during the day. Toni was doing push presses which inspired me to hit those clean and jerks. Then both of these guys hit tough metcons so I had to start thinking about one too. It ended up being a shortie of thrusters and pull-ups. My legs were kind of stiff from yesterday's training session, don't know quite sure why but because of this I thought about giving a break to lower body. Well, in that case thrusters are not a safe bet =)

Anyway, they got in this metcon, combined with pull-ups, 5-rounder of 10 reps each. It took me about a minute to get through one round. I didn't rush it at any point of the workout. Just worked through with dedication but not all out effort.

Tuesday 30.10: Clean and jerk, metcon

Tuesday. Clean & jerk 3-3-3-2-1 (max 70kg). Metcon 4 rounds of db thrusters, hspu and lunges.

This day was somewhat easier one. I took some sets of clean & jerk, ending up to 70kg. Training also included a metcon with dumbbell thrusters, handstand push-ups and lunges with a bar at my back. Toni was at the gym with me, he went for cleans, bench press and similar kind of workout as I did. This evening is free of training so tomorrow morning we are prepped up for going after something awkward with Toni. Stay tuned!

Dumbbell thrusters

Strength. Clean & jerk 3-3-3-2-1 (50, 60, 65, 70, 70kg). On the last round I took 3 cleans, only 1 jerk. My cleans were power cleans. However, with 50kg I took squat cleans to remind myself who they should go. So this workout was to combine clean and push press to reach "clean & jerk". I took 70kg C&Js up 2 times on the fourth round and once in the last round. In the last round I anyway took 3x70kg cleans and only one jerk. I just realized when writing this that 70kg was my clean PR from 10 days ago, and push press PR from 3 days ago. I thought my morning training wasn't such a success I wanted but now I actually feel pretty good! Still, it takes time to go for Grace (30 x clean & jerk) with the rx'd weights (60kg). It might take a while. I enjoyed that workout a lot when I did it with 50kg last time. However, next time I think I'll go for the original weights.

Metcon. Dumbbell thrusters, handstand push-ups, lunges. I didn't time this one.

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 db thrusters (12.5kg dumbbells)
• 5 hspu
• 20 lunges (with 20kg bar)

I did it with normal speed, no extra breaks in between. I just didn't have the clock running. I felt this one in my hamstrings when doing thrusters in the deepest position. And handstand push-ups are always tough. I used a foam roll where I landed my head with the HSPUs. All sets went unbroken except the last rep of handstand push-ups, last rep! Damned, it was a half of a rep, I didn't want to count that so I did one proper one. I totally enjoy push-ups when inverted, must keep on enhancing in them. Then Diane (21-15-9, deadlift & hspu) would also be possible. And I definitely need to get rid of that foam roll, just bang my head to the floor :) Thrusters and lunges were not that bad, my legs felt it but in reality they were not bad. I should have done this in amrap-mode, more rounds or then just simply more reps. Good movements though!

Toni's workouts. Clean 3-3-3-3-2 (50, 60, 65, 70, 75kg). Bench press 3-3-3-F-3 (60, 70, 80, 85, 80kg). Metcon, 12min amrap. 6 rounds, 4 lunges. Total of 202 reps.

• 12min amrap of:
• 12 lunges (10kg dumbbells)
• 9 db thrusters (10kg dumbbells)
• 12 sit-ups

Toni, how was it, here is the last round of your amrap. First round it took about 1:30, then the following rounds were about 2 minutes. It was solid effort and you managed to keep the pace steady. What do you think of your strength training in the morning?