Wednesday. Clean and jerk (max 95kg). Workout, 5rds of: 5 front squat (90kg) from ground, 5 deficit hspu's. Time, 8.27.
I went to the gym early in the morning. Felt tight which was no wonder this early. I'd rather hit it at afternoon after a long night sleep and an abundant breakfast. This day was focusing on weightlifting in the form of clean and jerk. The workout afterwards was a modification of mainsite's wod from earlier this week.
Clean and jerk.
3x1 @ 70% (72.5kg)
3x1 @ 75% (77.5kg)
2x1 @ 80% (85kg)
2x1 @ 85% (90kg)
2x1 @ 90% (95kg)
2x1 @ 85% (90kg)
Before I touched the bar it felt like I'm not gonna be able to do any serious lifts at all. My body wasn't fully awake. I would have liked to just sleep for couple more hours =) But there was work waiting for me so I figured why not go to work at the gym too beforehand. In the end it was great to do some c&j lifts.
As I look at the lifts I realize the starting position for the clean has taken a big jump forward in technique. My butt is much lower, shoulders over the bar, and chest up. There still needs to be more extension of the hips, that's for sure.
On the jerk there my knees seem not to go out as they should. In push presses knees are out but on these jerks they mostly go forward which is not a good thing because then the bar usually goes forward also. Okay, the bar path was ok in the jerks still but these were definitely the best jerks I can do. I'm still happy on the way I performed considering how it felt before the session!
Metcon. Time, 8.27
5 rounds of:
5 front squat, 90kg
5 deficit handstand push-ups
This was originally on crossfit.com for 10 rounds of 5 front squat (205lbs = 90kg), and parallette hspu's. This was as close as it can get as there are no parallettes at our gym. It would have probably been an awesome battle for 10 rounds. Time was going too fast so I had to cut it to 5 rounds.
Having to take the barbell from ground instead of rack was a different thing. I would have probably moved faster had it been a rack version. Those really burned my legs and put pressure on core too. Deficit hspu's on the other hand were tough on shoulders so it was a gray combination. No wonder as it was taken from mainsite. Those workouts are legit!
Sunday. Deadlifts, build to heavy single (max PR 210kg). Cleans, build to a heavy single (max 110kg). Hero wod JJ: 1 to10, up by 1's squat cleans (85kg), 10 to 1, down by 1's deficit hspu. Time 30.21
Heavy day. Definitely a heavy day. Goal for the day: build up to a heavy single in both deadlifts and cleans. Haven't done heavy deadlifts in a while so I decided to find out where we're going right now. Deads took my sharpest edge but I wanted to take couple of cleans anyway. Last weekend I was wondering between Holleyman and JJ - both hero workouts - and went after Holleyman. It was only natural to attack JJ too because it had stayed in the back of my head. I wanted to feel the pain.
210kg, check!
Strength. Deads and cleans
Deadlift, build up to a heavy single (5x100, 3x140, 2x170, 1x190, 1x210kg PR)
Clean, build up to a heavy single (5x60, 3x80, 1x90, 1x100, 1x110kg)
I warmed up by posterior chain and lower body properly, did some "scorpion twists" to make sure my back, spine and core was ready for what's coming at ya. I started building up to a heavy single by loading 100kg on the bar and took a 5-rep set, slow one for the last rep to really engage posterior chain. 140kg felt like a feather. I added 30 more kilos and took a double. I've done a triple @ 180kg some months ago, it might be fun to see how many reps I could nail at heavier weights.
I decided 190kg would be a light one. Mental decision, I cheated my mind to make it light. As I took it up I knew there would be a new personal record today. Those around 200kg lifts are not easy so I jumped 20kg up right away to a PR lift of 210kg. It came up nicely, in my opinion. Not perfectly lined back but still a decent lift. It felt like it wasn't the ultimate max load but I don't wanna sacrifice form over kilos at these weights. It would be scary to smash the max load with a terrible form.
210kg
I was really happy on getting another PR on deadlift. I'm 34 years old and still hitting records on a steady pace. I'm satisfied on the strength levels I've gained through crossfit even though my main focus is on building a good engine within me. Strength is somewhat a compulsory element you must have in order to have a strong machine inside you. And let's be honest, it's freaking cool to lift heavy sh*t often!
110kg
Hero workout JJ. Time 30.21
1 squat clean, 85kg
10 deficit handstand push-ups
2 squat clean, 85kg
9 deficit handstand push-ups
3 squat clean, 85kg
8 deficit handstand push-ups
4 squat clean, 85kg
7 deficit handstand push-ups
5 squat clean, 85kg
6 deficit handstand push-ups
6 squat clean, 85kg
5 deficit handstand push-ups
7 squat clean, 85kg
4 deficit handstand push-ups
8 squat clean, 85kg
3 deficit handstand push-ups
9 squat clean, 85kg
2 deficit handstand push-ups
10 squat clean, 85kg
1 deficit handstand push-ups
Huh, what a workout. I don't have parallettes at the gym. I once asked for them but it's pretty obvious I'd be the only one using them so they didn't wanna order them. We've got rings, box and bumper plates so got to be pleased on the equipment =)
This workout is a little sick. There are some mixed emotions in play. In the beginning handstand push-ups suck a lot and cleans are easy. In the middle of the workout it gets easier as a whole, the rounds between 4-8 were quite steady pace around 3 minutes. Then the last couple of rounds really start to get under the skin. Hspu's get easier and squat cleans are a nightmare. Last 3 rounds were simply awful because of the cleans. My lower back was on fire all the time. It didn't even help on those rest periods I had between lifts or on the hspu's.
Because of the lack of parallettes I modified it so that I put plates on both sides of my head. I have no idea how big the elevation should be actually. Never have I completed deficit hspu's in a workout. I'm telling you they weren't easy. In the first round they went okay because the workout had just began and not lot of burden had been focused on shoulders and arms. I mainly tried to do hspu's in sets of 3 reps throughout the workout. On the first rounds probably a little more than that.
JJ recap
On squat cleans I took singles all the way from the first to the 55th rep. It was a blessing to being able to drop the bar down on the floor after cleans. That was possible as we were training just the two of us at the gym. It's probably a little frowned upon when there's more people at the spot. The clean part was okay, easy in the beginning, little by little it got heavier but there was no possibility on missing a lift. The most difficult part was the burn in my lower back when I was in the bottom position of the squat. And these had to be done in squat cleans, power cleans were not allowed.
This Sunday was a heavy day, no questions asked. Heavy singles in deadlifts and clean plus a hero workout. That creates a good combo of fitness!
Friday. Deficit hspu's. Rowing intervals, 10 x 250m with 0:30sec rest.
It was an easier day. I concentrated in working my skills. Handstand push-ups but with an elevation, I put couple of plates under my arms to make the distance longer and thus tougher on the body. Not a real hardcore metcon but still I wanted to get some blood flowing in my system so I took rowing intervals. This day was program-free, had something in my mind but hadn't closed any workouts before I entered the gym. I wanted it to be lighter one.
Handstand push-ups. Deficit hspu's
Sets of 3 reps
Starting with 1 plate deficit, adding 1 more plate after each set
After completing a set with 5 plates, complete the same set-scheme in reverse order
That is 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 plates
In the end complete max effort of regular handstand push-ups
I've done deficit hspu's couple of times. But I guess it's been mostly 2 plates, maybe once 3 plates under both arms. Never have I gone deeper than that. Because this was a freerolling session I decided to carry some more plates and go for it. These were fun to do. I had no goals on these hspu's, just wanted to know how it feels like to do them with a tougher set-up.
4 plates deficit
I was positively surprised how easy it was to nail those. I took triples by starting with 1 plate elevation, then added 1 more plate after each set. Max hight was 5 plates under arms, I took 2 sets with 5 plates and then climbed down in a pyramid style. In the end I took the plates off and went after max reps of normal handstand push-ups. Result was 12 reps. Not bad after all those tougher reps. I mean considering my PR is 15 reps.
5 plates deficit
Intervals.
Rowing 10 x 250m row
0:30 sec rest between sets
Pace around 1:40 - 1:41
Finished the session with rowing intervals. I saw Chris Spealler and Garrett Fisher doing 250m intervals with half a minute break between sets, and I remember thinking why not. I didn't go all in on the sprints. Most importantly I wanted to keep it stable, the first set was 1:40 and I wanted to stick to that number. It was around there all the time.
My goal for today was taking it easier so that every day wouldn't that rough. That's the reason why I didn't touch a barbell at all and concentrated in skills and some light heart beat action. I believe I reached that goal as I wished for.
Monday. Skills, deficit hspu's. Metcon, 1.000m row, then 6 rounds of: 5 hspu, 10 k2e, then 1.000m row. Time 15.03
A week ago I wrote front squats for today. Little did I know about the leg pain after Triplet. No chance whatsoever to squat. So squats were postponed and today was focused on deficit handstand push-ups, one of my favorite moves nowadays. And then a metcon to put pressure on my lungs and body in general.
Toni's scribblings after strength training
Skills. Deficit handstand push-ups
5 reps without bumper plates
3 reps with 1 plate
3 reps with 2 plates
3 reps with 3 plates
Nice movement, got to say. One day I realized I haven't done it ever before so it was about time. Liked it immediately and therefore I wanted to do it again and will do this movement in the future as well. It didn't feel as difficult as you could imagine. Took some handstand hold and a few reps as warm-up, then couple of sets with lumber plates under my arms. Starting from 1 plate under each arm and going up to three plates. Managed to do 3 reps at that level, could have put more but this was enough for today. I had a hspu metcon ahead of me.
Deficit hspu's with 2 plates
Metcon. Time 15.03
1.000m row, then:
6 rounds of
5 handstand push-ups
10 knees-to-elbows, then
1.000m row
Good one, me likey. Start the metcon by rowing 1.000m and finish with the same rowing distance. In between complete 6 rounds of 5 hspu's and 10 k2e's. This was a rarity for me in a sense that there was only 2 movements and the other one was hspu. I mean normally when you've seen me doing hspu's, there's usually been 3 movements. That's because I need some recovery between the sets.
However, I've developed a lot with handstand push-ups. It wasn't obvious I would go unbroken so pushing through 6 rounds without dropping from the wall was superb. Also those knees-to-elbows were unbroken as well. The most difficult part of this metcon was the last kilometer of rowing. It was pure agony. Being a human wreck after the last set of k2e's and having to row for 1k really needed some mental work. The pace was not fast, not at all, but I was so glad it was over.
It took me about 15min and probably 30 seconds to stand up from the rower. Had to go on my knees first, then little by little crawl up to get moving. This workout was cool, tough and challenging, somehow rewarding. Go and try it out.
Sunday. Skills, double unders 7x30 reps and deficit hspu's. Metcon, 5 rounds for completion: max effort deadlifts (140kg), max effort hspu's.
Deadlifts and handstand push-ups were written in the stars for me. I wanted to hit it hard and get some volume with both of them. I've been putting more effort in deadlifts and posterior chain in general lately. Also hspu's are gonna get my full attention in the fall. Took double unders and deficit hspu's for skills training.
Skills. Du's and deficit hspu's
Double unders 7 x 30 reps
Deficit handstand push-ups
Wanted to put some effort on double unders as well. Can't take them for granted any time. My focus today was to keep my torso upright all the time and concentrate in keeping my legs as straight as possible. There's some more work to be done but in general I'm very satisfied to my double under skills.
A new movement was welcomed with pleasure: deficit hspu's. That means you put for example bumper plates under your arms so that when you land to the ground, your head goes below the level where you hold your hands. Thus, having to use extra power and stronger kip to get back up from the "hole". This was the first time I tried it so I stayed moderate and used only one plate under each arm. I found it surprisingly easy to kip up from there. I want to try with bigger deficit in the near future.
Metcon. ME deads and hspu's.
5 rounds of:
Max effort deadlift @ 140kg
Max effort handstand push-ups
I programmed this workout in the same way as benchmark workout Lynne is carried out. Figured these two movements would suit perfectly together and they are both movements I need to put more focus anyway. I performed well today compared to my strength and skill level. Got a good bunch of reps for both movements.
Results. Total of 54 deadlifts and 49 hspu's.
1st round, 15 + 12
2nd round 12 + 11
3rd round 7 + 9
4th round 10 + 9
5th round 10 + 8
On the first round I nailed 15 deadlifts. Earlier in the summer I was looking for my 12 rep max in deadlifts and that time I was able to get 140kg successfully. So today I was looking to improve on that figure and got it! The first set of handstand puhs-ups was as spectacular. Got a new PR, 12 reps! On the second round it was 12 reps on the deads and 11 hspu's which was also over my previous record (10 reps).
For the third round I put gloves on my hands 'cause I thought it would give me better grip on the barbell. How wrong was I? At 7 reps the bar slipped from my hands and I decided to ignore the gloves on the remaining 2 rounds. That turned out to be a good choice as my grip was way stronger there, also seen in the results, 10 reps both rounds.
It feels awesome to look at the reps on the hspu's. Starting from 12 reps and coming down to 8 reps is solid work. I was able to use that kip to my advantage quite well. In the beginning of the training session the first warm-up hspu's were very difficult but after doing some more training and also deficit hspu's, it started to feel much easier. My previous record was 10 reps and today each of my sets were close to that and twice I went over it, spectacular =)
