Wednesday. Lots of cleans. Thursday, metcon of running and barbell cycling with light weight.
Wednesday.
Hang power clean 5x5 @ 80kg
Emom x 10 min: 2 hang power clean @ 90kg
Purely moving the barbell. This was the first time I went a little heavier with the weights when training in Munkka, outdoors. It's been a blast doing stuff in the nature. Somehow I get a lot of kicks training outdoors. There's definitely a little twist working at an unsteady grass. But it's something I'm gonna get used to in the long run. I will train somewhere else than gym for the most of my times in the future.
Wednesday's clean session
Thursday.
15 thrusters @ 40kg
Run around the block
15 hang power clean and jerk @ 40kg
Run around the block
15 push press @ 40kg
Run around the block
15 front squat @ 40kg
Run around the block
15 back squat @ 40kg
Run around the block
Practically without no warm-up I started moving that light bar. Every bar set was unbroken of course with such light loading. My shoulders took beating in this one. That was kind of a funny thing as I thought legs would get killed. Breathing was high for sure, from the very beginning. Running around the block meant about 400m lap each round.
Last weekend we needed to prepare our home for the upcoming move. We finally moved this week's Tuesday. So there's been quite a lot of other stuff called life. Luckily those days have counted when I've had the chance to hit the gym. Unfortunately my gym card for Optimal Performance Center is over now, ended this Wednesday. I've bought some iron from Rogue and waiting to receive those this week.
Sunday.
Every minute x 15 minutes: Clean & jerk
5min: 5 reps @ 60kg
5min: 3 reps @ 70kg
5min: 1 rep @ 80kg
All sets touch'n'go
No pause at any point, just cycle the barbell. These felt great. There's something cool to move the barbell up and down without breaks.
C&J's emom
Wod. Time 5.33
3 rounds of:
10 power clean @ 80kg
10 high box jumps
This combo was tough, no doubt. Both elements took my breath away. Power cleans were not light. Especially for so many reps. I did those in quick singles. I'm very happy how well I got this metcon done even though it felt awful quite soon.
Monday.
Oly, jerk from rack 5x3 @ 80kg
Also touch'n'go style, push jerks. I did these every 2:00 but the recovery was enough. Not light for sure, not the heaviest possible but I needed to concentrate well to get these done. A little shaky on some reps in my opinion but still something I was able to manhandle.
Clean / Box metcon
Wod. Result, 232 reps (7 rounds + 8 pull-ups)
12min amrap of:
12 pull-ups
20 wall ball shots
Huh, this hurt. Unbroken on the pull-ups for maybe 4-5 rounds. I tried to keep the transitions rather short so that's why I needed to break them in the last rounds. Wall balls were ub for probably 2 rounds, then it was 12-8 for the rest of the way.
Wednesday.
Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes: 1 snatch @ 60kg
It's been a while since doing snatches so it was 'bout time. Decided to do one rep every minute. That seems to be enough recovery to smash another within the time cap. There are things to be worked on so I didn't go heavier.
Snatch emom
Gymnastics, 30 bar muscle-ups
This was not a timed workout. Just completed them for quality. It was 6-5-4-4-3-3-3-2. My lats are sore from that 12min amrap of pull-ups and wall balls. Great to be able to do these as well without issues still, even though my volume has been lighter lately.
Every minute on the minute x 20 minutes:
Odd min, 15 ghd sit-ups
Even min, 10 dumbbell snatches @ 25kg, alternating
This was the last day in OPC and I didn't have to hurry as the rest of the family was on the move. I decided to do another workout of core and snatches. It took 25-30 seconds to finish every set on both movements so there was consistency on the board.
Getting back to the gym after taking couple of days rest due to a light flu. Felt great to move the barbell. Loads were light because I didn't wanna press my lungs that much.
Saturday.
Back squat 6x5 @ 120kg
I was a bit nervous how the squats would play out as my body wasn't in 100% condition. It turned out these were awesome. I was positively surprised of how nicely the barbell went up and down with this weight. Normally that wouldn't be worth that much of a celebration but this time it definitely was!
Monday.
Emom x 12 minutes:
4min: 10 thrusters @ 40kg
4min: 6 thrusters @ 50kg
4min: 3 thrusters @ 60kg
Emom x 10 minutes:
Odd, 12 pull-ups
Even, 10 dips
Time to do some lung work. Figured why not combine a bar with it. Thrusters it was. Good session of weights and bodyweight. The latter part was conducted unbroken on the pull-ups and dips were with the rings for 3 rounds, and the last 2 rounds with bar dips or whatever they are called :)
Used to do tons of these when I played floorball. Great for body coordination and awareness
Tuesday. Build up to heavy triple of thrusters (result, 80kg). Emom x 6min: 5 thrusters @ 60kg. Emom x 10min: odd 3 power clean @ 90kg, even 10 hspu. Wod, 5rds of: 10 ring dips, 15 ghd.
Couldn't decide between cleans and something overhead so it turned out to a mixture of those both in the form of thrusters. It's cool to build heavy on that specific movement. Then some barbell cycling utilizing the same movement. Some wods afterwards.
Overhead.
Build up to a heavy thruster triple (50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80kg)
Every minute on the minute x 6 min: 5 thrusters @ 60kg
Sometimes thrusters feel awkward on my elbows but warming them up correctly and using those sleeves I bought some time ago have helped tremendously. It's because I have a full grip on the barbell whereas I hold the bar on just 2-3 fingers when I squat clean it. The bottom position with full grip sometimes feels not so good due to the grip. Today the warm-up was on point I guess.
Went all the way to 80kg for a triple. Felt good to go there. Barbell obeyed the commands told to it. This wasn't the absolute 3RM but I felt like my elbows didn't point straight ahead anymore on the last set so I didn't wanna compromise that form.
After finishing the last strength set I came down a little and completed 5 reps @ 60kg for couple of minutes. Those burned my lungs nicely.
Metcon.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Odd min, 3 power clean @ 90kg
Even min, 10 handstand push-ups
Damned those power cleans felt heavy. I'm glad I did this exactly like this but the weight on the barbell started to feel much heavier, and some of the reps were something I'm not proud of. Had to step forward and legs went too wide on the landing. Nothing serious but I'd like to see every single rep look the same, no matter the weight.
Hspu's were okay for the first rounds but the last ones were something to really focus on. I got through them unbroken but they were hard in the end. Last round was a battle.
Metcon.
5 rounds of:
10 ring dips
15 ghd sit-ups
The last piece of today came as a surprise. Was definitely not planned beforehand. Rings looked tempting and so I looked around what to partner them up with. Wasn't gonna touch any weights at all for the rest of the day. Ghd's came up pretty quickly.
Dips were unbroken for 2 rounds. Then I broke them into 6-4, then 5-3-2, and lastly 5-2-2-1. Kept the recoveries so that I got through this as fast as possible. Ghd's unbroken. This was a good combination of movements. Triceps were sore after the session.
Sunday. Skills, emom x 6min: ring mu's. Deads 5x10 @ 130kg (no tng allowed). Accessory, oh double kb lunges @ 2x16kg, 4 x 18m.
For too long has it been break since pulling from the ground. First I had my payback on the rings as last time I did those at CF Kehä, I got none which was mind blowing. Those long straps got to me somehow. Today it was important to get some done. THen longer sets of pulling and finally some accessory play.
Skills.
Every minute on the minute x 6 minutes
1-3 reps per minute
Yeah, it was a great feeling to get myself over the rings again. Took a triple in the beginning, then doubles and singles on the remaining minutes. My left hand almost tore up so I left it at just couple of minutes. This was a good one to restore confidence.
Pulls.
Deadlift 5x10 reps @ 130kg
No bounce allowed at the floor, no adjust of the grip
Different type of pulls. Usually I go touch'n'go all the way and the barbell is a lot lighter once I have got one rep completed. The following reps are relatively easier for me. Usually the only restricting element is how much my fingers and palms are ready to take the hit. Not so much the back and hamstrings. Kind of funny but that's how it is.
So this time I worked on the starting position and got to say it burned the entire posterior chain much more than normally. Really liked that one. I can nail 3x190kg or 5x180kg touch'n'go and those are not that bad but doing 10x130kg with a dead stop on the floor feels more in my back and hammies. Hands took these well too as the bar was only at 130kg.
Accessory.
Double kettlebell overhead walking lunges
4 x 18m sets, rest as needed between sets
This was a bit shorter session so there wasn't time to attack a metcon with rage. I went after this right after the deadlifts. These were the heaviest kettlebells I found at the same weight. Last time I did 2x16kg upstairs but it was for 10 meters. Now it was about double so I figured the weight might work alright. First one was easy, the following were heavier. Shoulders on the second one, shoulders and legs on the last two sets.
It was another day as a kid in a candy shop as Toni invited me to train with him at Crossfit Kehä. It's the best crossfit Box I have visited this far. Okay, Crossfit Trykkeri was freaking cool in Copenhagen, Denmark. That's where Annie Thorisdottir seems to throw down every now and then too. Anyway, the point was we hit a great bro-sesh with Toni.
Oly.
Snatch triples @ 40, 45, 50, 55, 60kg
Snatch singles @ 65, f70, f70, 70, 70kg
Emom x 10min: 1 snatch @ 60kg
Couple of snatch balance singles @ 70kg during the process
We had agreed that I'd go for snatch and Toni for overhead squats but that was as far as the plan had went down. I asked him to write me a story to follow. He told me to for for touch'n'go triples and build heavy. Then some singles an see how it feels like.
Don't know why but the snatches felt super good all the way. Hips and shoulders were not tight and there were no restrictions at all. I got all the way up to 60kg for a triple which is definitely the heaviest I have done for a tng set. It gave me a ton of confidence.
From there one I went for singles, 65kg went up nicely. Next stop at 70kg. Didn't have enough courage though, it turned out to be a pathetic snatch pull. Wasn't quite sure what to do as usually it's difficult for me to get a successful lift after a failed one. That's definitely a mental thing. On the other hand we were at Crossfit Kehä and it was not the time to be a wuzzy.
Took another attempt, was able to go under but the barbell stayed in front. It was an important lift as I understood I have what it takes to get it up. Toni said why don't you take that weight as a snatch balance and dominate the weight. That way you would be stronger than the barbell.
I did exactly that, took snatch balance singles for 3 lifts just to make sure who is dominating the bar. Then went back to a regular snatch and took it up either 2 or 3 times, don't remember but the last one was very good. On the first one I had to step front which is not cool. But I ended it with style. Somehow I remember there were 3 successful lifts at this weight.
Toni was doing his overhead squats so I continued taking singles at 60kg. One lift every minute for 10 minutes. Those were the best 60kg snatches I have done in my life at this weight. No doubt, felt super! Could have continued all day. Toni hasn't gone over 80kg on ohs, and today took a triple @ 90kg. Previous personal record was 97.5kg so little by little he realized there was a chance to smash that one. And he certainly did, first 100kg, easy one, and finally 105kg. That was freaking awesome, congratulations buddy! He also jerked 110kg behind the jerk in the end, shared pr lift.
60kg
Metcon. Result, 171 reps (7 rounds + 3 snatch)
12min amrap of:
6 power snatches @ 50kg
8 pull-ups
10 box jumps
This was created little by little, last pieces written today. It turned out to be quite a piece to handle. We pondered between a 5-rounder and 12-minutes. This required more work, the shorter would have been even more intense. Different natures. This one at least sucked in a great way. Heavy breathing from the first round on.
Had I not done snatches prior to this one, maybe the weight could have felt heavier. Now it felt much lighter. There was a long break between my last snatch and the start of this metcon but body was still ready to hit it.
We agreed on the strategy to do snatches in singles to save forearms. I guess we both could have done bigger sets but then forearms would have destroyed earlier and probably there would have been more elbows leaning to knees. That's because those snatches really sky rocketed breathing. I felt like my technique was on point on these snatches.
There was no other choice on the pull-ups and boxes but to go unbroken. No strategy needed. I believe my pacing on this workout worked nicely and I got the best out of me. It felt bad quite early on but I pushed through still. And Toni was breathing down my neck. On the first round you can see from the video he had that classic boy-like eagerness and was almost running between stations =)
Today's agenda was stolen directly from weightlifting101. That is Sara Sigmundsdottir's and Björgvin Gudmundsson's coach that posts sick workouts to instagram on a daily basis of what he uses to best develop his athletes. This workout stuck to my head right away and I understood this is something I need to perform.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 30 minutes
1st min: 1 clean
2nd min: 2 cleans
3rd min: 3 cleans
Barbell @ 70-75% (=85kg)
Not allowed to go touch'n'go
You have to take the bar down and reset the starting position but without ever losing grip. Drop only after the last rep of each set
Last minute you have to do as many reps as possible, minimum of 3 reps
That means to say it was 1, 2 or 3 reps depending on the minute. 1-2-3-1-2-3…etc. Last minute was max reps. The weight was written to be 70-75% so I came up with 85kg which is pretty much 72-73% of 117kg.
Recap of the last minutes
This worked well for high level sweating too as I didn't have more time for a metcon afterwards. The weight also seemed to be perfect for the workout. I jumped on to this with short warm-up and couple of singles with lower weights. I reasoned this wod starts easy with a single, double and a triple so that would work as my proper warm-up =)
I'm happy on how all cleans went. On the last set that bar felt super heavy. It was a deal breaker to hold on to the barbell. Had I been allowed to drop and reset the bar I would have taken more reps than 6 on the grande finale. My legs felt super weak after the 6th lift. Maybe I was also mentally worn out at that point. There was time but I had to let go of the barbell at that stage. Great barbell workout!
It was the first time in 10 days I got my hands on a barbell. I was like a little kiddo! I've been doing metcons after the little girl was born but the heaviest weights have been 25kg dumbbells. Bodyweight stuff, wall balls, rings and db's.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
1-5min: 3 cleans @ 80kg
6-10min: 2 cleans @ 90kg
11-15min: 1 clean @ 100kg
Had no idea how it would feel like moving a barbell around. I had a short time slot to hit a session so I took very short warm-up, took couple of cleans at 60 and 70kg's, then started the timer. Went 15 minutes of cleans, then 2 minutes of recovery before the latter emom workout of jerks.
These felt pretty good all the way. Hips were a bit tight as they have not been activated that much lately. But the barbell moved nicely, no matter if it was 80kg or 100kg. Got a chance to tape the lifts so take a look below.
Overhead.
Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
1-5min: power clean + 5 push jerks @ 60kg
6-10min: power clean + 3 push jerks @ 70kg
11-15min: power clean + 1 push jerk @ 80kg
Plan was to do jerks as well. Just to get used to moving some loads. Went touch'n'go without resting on front rack. Felt great to throw the bar overhead.
Sunday. Tng power clean and push jerk, build up (up to 90kg). Emom x 15min: 1st min 5 power clean @ 70kg. 2nd min 5 front squat @ 70kg. 3rd min 5 push jerk @ 70kg.
We came back home Sunday evening. I unpacked the stuff and headed to the gym. Below you can see what happened. That 90kg push jerk without resting it at the front rack position was huge for me. First time weight this style. Beyond my dreams if you would have asked it me couple of months ago.
Overhead.
Build up to a heavy touch'n'go power clean and push jerk
Tuesday. Deads 5x3 @ 170kg. Emom x 10min: 3 power clean @ 80kg. Row, 30sec on, 30sec off, for 10min. Result, 1.700m
Huh, Monday's leg oriented day clearly feels in my body. Legs are sore on the sides as well as quads. At least it feels like I've done something for real. It was time to pull from the ground today and finish the session with a little row action.
Pulls.
Deadlift 5x3 @ 170kg
It's been some time since completing a bit heavier deadlifts. Okay these were not superheavy but still something you need to play attention to very closely. Took some lighter sets at 130, 150, 160kg before getting up to the working sets.
It felt good to get my hands around the barbell and pull it from the floor. Was able to maintain torso straight in all sets and not compromise form at any stage. Hands also took this pretty well. It's sometimes challenging to get through heavy deads without any rips in palms / fingers.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
3 power clean @ 80kg
I put the timer on with a mindset of doing either 2 reps per minute or 1 rep every 30 seconds. Once I took the first lift the bar felt very good so I decided to add it up to 3 reps in one set. Continued this for 10 minutes, and finished the last set for a total of 10 reps. Being able to complete those without any major issues was a good confidence booster.
Conditioning. Result, 1.700m
30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, for 10 minutes
Row
In the end I was running out of time so I created this on the spot. Basically I just unloaded the barbell, put the plates where they need to be and sat on the rower. Pace was about 1:40 per set. More like sub 1:40. Butt cheeks numbed at around 7 minutes.
Tuesday. Clean singles, build up (result 112kg). Every 15sec, for 5min: 1 clean @ 90kg. Emom x 18min. 1st: 15 db press @ 2x20kg, 2nd: 30 lunges, 3rd: 15 box.
Went to the gym today with a plan to hit some olympic lifts in the form of cleans. Pulling strength and explosiveness were on the agenda. Some variation with the cleans. Had to change my plans on the fly as I had Barbara on my mind. Had some nagging issues in the body so I modified the metcon in the end totally.
Every 15 seconds, for 5 minutes (20 reps), perform 1 squat clean @ 90kg
Studied some stories I heard Rich Froning tell about some of his lifting sessions with the guys. First go heavy, then do a notch lighter load for higher reps, for time. First I built up to a heavy single which I haven't done in a while. Took multiple fast singles at 60, 70, 80kg's before starting to do just one single per weight.
The game changed pretty soon probably somewhere at 105kg. Before that I felt quick and explosive, especially out of the hole. On the way up the bar felt easy, smooth and light. That's not a surprise to anyone that there's a lot of mental game in olympic lifts, as well as in pretty much every aspect of fitness. Let it be crossfit or something else.
Anyway, I realized on the video that there's plenty of space and time to go under the barbell also on the heavier cleans. The bar traveled much higher than it is needed in order for me to get a chance to drop under the bar. Still, that 112kg bar was the heaviest I was able to clean today. It gets mental at some point. There is no logical reason for not putting more weight on the bar. Something prevents from going under the bar though =)
95kg + 110kg
Conditioning.
Every minute on the minute x 18 minutes
1st minute: 15 push presses with 2x20kg dumbbells
2nd minute: 30 walking lunges
3rd minute: 15 box jumps
This was a good finisher. The combination of lunges and box jumps got to my lower body quite nicely. Went up and down the green matt for 30 lunges. That took me something like 40 seconds I'd guess. Left me some recovery to walk back to the box, shake my legs couple of times and then start jumping around.
The third element in this one was push presses with dumbbells in both hands at the same time. Got through with 20kg db's. On the first round I completed 12 reps as I figured that would be cool number of reps. However, on the second round I jumped to 15 reps and finished with that. Plus did the 3 extra reps that were missing on the first round. These presses were physically the most demanding part of the workout. Shoulders were gone but I still got them unbroken every round. Stopped on top and locked elbows correctly before getting another rep done.
Friday. Emom x 8min: clean and jerk singles (75-80kg). Emom x 8min: 5 c&j (60kg). E2mom x 16min: front squat singles (120kg).
After yesterday's recovery day it was good to get my hands on the barbell again. Purely bar work today. Starting with clean and jerks and finishing it off with front squats.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 8 minutes
1 squat clean and jerk
1-4min: 75kg
5-8min: 80kg
Somehow push jerks have felt awesome lately but today split jerks felt a lot tighter in my shoulders. Don't know how that ends up being like that. Anyway, these didn't feel natural and smooth at any stage of the session. That's why I had to stay conservative on the weights too. Compare to Monday when I did 2 reps every minute at 80kg as power clean and push jerks without resting the bar in front rack at any point.
Barbell cycling.
Every minute on the minute x 8 minutes
5 touch'n'go clean and jerks @ 60kg
This weight should probably feel lighter after having just moved 20kg heavier load. It was the shoulders though. These were not as smooth as usual and the bar path was not identical within all reps. Can't be totally satisfied with that kind of activity. Still, I'll take this as it's always a good idea to focus on barbell cycling at moderate weights.
Strength.
Every 2:00, for 16 minutes (8 sets)
1 front squat @ 120kg
Finally couple of heavier front squats. Took one rep every 2 minutes. This was rather heavy load but still doable. Point for this piece was to get my nervous system get used to loads closer to max levels.
Monday. Emom x 10min: 2 c&j @ 80kg. Metcon, 4rds of: 25 wb, 10 db snatch @ 25kg
Starting the week with clean and jerk action, in the form of heavier emom. Then a metcon that shot my shoulders. In the evening we went to Kaivopuisto. What a beautiful day it was! It was quality time to say the least strolling around the coast in south of Helsinki.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
2 clean and jerk @ 80kg
This was freaking great! I'm very proud of myself being able to complete this stuff. The big thing was to do these c&j's without resetting the barbell in front rack position. I'm not sure have I been able to do this kind of clean and jerks before at this weight. This got me sky high emotionally.
I was looking to go for 5 minutes but instead smashed it right into double the time. I've been trying to work on those fast transitions from front rack to overhead. It's nice to see 80kg is moving with the same bar path as 60-70kg bars.
Recap of clean and jerks
Metcon.
4 rounds of:
25 unbroken wall ball shots
10 dumbbell snatches @ 25kg, alternating
The purpose of this one was to do the wall balls unbroken. After those I moved right into snatches. Changed the hand after each rep. Tried to keep the transitions as short as possible from snatches to wall balls, with the thought in my head that I can't drop the ball once I lift it up. This definitely hurt my shoulders nicely.
Saturday. Emom x 20min: 5 thrusters (up to 60kg). Metcon, 10rds of: 15m sled pull with a rope, standing + 5 front squats @ 90kg.
This was a great session to say the least! I loved both of the workouts thrown at me. Okay I was the guy to write these conditioning pieces but anyway, you got the point. Rope pulls have always been awesome when I've tried them but they tend to stay in the background for quite a while before I remember to do them again. That just seems to be the pattern. I saw them at one year's Crossfit Games and that's where the idea came from.
Barbell conditioning.
Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes: 5 thrusters
1-5min: 30kg
6-10min: 40kg
11-15min: 50kg
16-20min: 60kg
Starting light, almost like a warm-up kind of approach. Just mobilized joints in upper and lower body, then grabbed the barbell and went for it. Five reps per minute. Five minute per load, then add 10kg on the bar. Last sets at 60kg. Last 10 minutes the weight got be breathing.
This was tolerable but started to get uncomfortable for sure. Next barbell would have gotten me for sure, at least at some point. It felt awkward in both of my shoulders for the latter half of this workout but other than that this was great!
Metcon.
10 rounds of:
15m sled pull with a rope, standing @ 80kg
5 front squats @ 90kg
Something little different. This hurt more in my legs than upper body which surprised me somewhat. The distance on the grass matt is 20 meters so I'd estimate this was 15m travel pulling the 80kg sled with rope.
It was an entire body burn towards the end and breathing was heavy as well. Very good mixture of elements stirred up in this one.
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!
Pauliina had girls gathering at our house so I needed to get out of the house for the evening. I had no troubles figuring out where to go. It was a crossfit session to come for sure. For some reason I had no plans whatsoever for this session at all, just went on by feeling. Turned out to be snatches, amrap, accessory and cool down.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 18 minutes
Snatch
1-3min: 50kg
4-6min: 55kg
7-9min: 58kg
10-12min: 60kg
13-15min: 63kg
16-18min: 65kg
I took the warm-up easily, didn't rush at all, just kept pounding 40kg barbell up and down for a while. Then turned on the clock and completed one rep per minute. It was great to be able to climb up to 65kg again. Had no desire to build up to max of the day. Just needed to work on my technique. And there is something to be worked on for sure. But the lifts are getting better anyway. The bar is not going all over the place anymore. The lifts are starting to look more similar compared to each other.
Metcon. Result, 222 reps. 7 rounds + 7 db jerks
12min amrap of:
5 deadlift @ 100kg
10 shoulder-to-overhead @ 2x20kg dumbbells
15 box jump
Good metcon! Deadlifts have been away from my thoughts lately but it suited very well for this metcon. It could have been heavier but my palms were a bit sore so it didn't feel that good to hold a barbell. Deads were the easiest part of this workout.
Workout's idea was to keep moving constantly. The longest break was between deadlifts and dumbbells as I needed to complete those s2o's unbroken. No point in dropping the db's as it would be a waste of time picking them up from the floor again. Box jumps put breathing high as they regularly seem to do.
Accessory.
5 rounds of:
12 reverse hypers
8 bicep curls
Reverse hypers have been in the back of my head for a long time. Occasionally I get to do them and enjoy every time. Okay, I could do them more often but it's more of a time issue. Accessory portions are for days when there's no rush at all. This was good accessory piece. After all the work I rowed for 3k for cool down purpose.
Monday. Emom x 10min: power clean & 3 jerk @ 70-73kg. Emom x 12: Odd min, 12 thrusters @ 40kg. Even min, 15 ghd.
Good quick session of olympic lifting and emom work to improve conditioning and also skills plus efficiency on those movements.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Power clean + 3 touch'n'go push jerks
1-5min: 70kg
6-10min: 73kg
This was great. Actually those jerks felt surprisingly easy. I had thought about doing them at 70 kilos for 10 minutes but then in the middle decided to add some weight. Conservatively but still a little jump. Got to try this with a little heavier too in the future.
Conditioning.
Every minute on the minute x 12 minutes
Odd minutes: 12 thrusters @ 40kg
Even minutes: 15 ghd sit-ups
Second piece of action was good too. Went on with this couplet for total of 6 rounds each movement, 72 thrusters and 90 ghd's. Liked to get some volume in the bank. Both movements got breathing on the heavier side. Okay in the beginning it was easier on the breathing and it was definitely manageable throughout but it started to get heavier. Went unbroken on both, and tried to move fast all 12 minutes. Recovery was somewhere around 30+ seconds after each station.
Sunday. Emom x 20. 1st, 15 pull-ups. 2nd, 15 wb. 3rd, 10 front squats @ 60kg. 4th, rest.
Today was a busy day even though it's Sunday. We had some errands to take care of and then there was ice hockey world championship's final day and teams are fighting for bronze, silver and gold medals. Finland was part of this dog fight but Canada took them out on the gold game. We went to to the gym for a short session with Pauliina.
Workout of the day.
Every minute on the minute x 20 minutes
1st min: 15 pull-ups
2nd min: 15 wall ball shots
3rd min: 10 front squats @ 60kg
4th min: recovery
This was not supposed to be the toughest session of them all. At first I thought about having a recovery day in the form of just jogging for a while but once wife suggested some couples retreat at the box I started gathering my gear up and was ready to pump it up!
These were unbroken sets for sure. There was practically no warm-up prior to this one. No time for that. Just mobilized some joints and then hit it. Pull-ups started to become a factor and legs were on fire, especially on the last 2 rounds. Good one!
Friday. Emom x 10: Hang clean + Clean @ 90kg. Emom x 10: 3 back squat @ 120kg. Emom x 15: 1st 10m oh lunges @ 50kg. 2nd 10 hspu. 3rd rest.
On Friday it was quite a bit of barbell work. Cleans, squats and overhead lunges. This hurt my body. Especially squats makes my butt cry today on Saturday.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Hang clean + clean @ 90kg
These were good all the way. Hang cleans started to feel heavier but it's good do notice they can be completed any day. Hips felt a bit tight but somehow they managed to do these.
Strength.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
3 back squat @ 120kg
This were brutal. I've one this once before with the same weight I suppose. For couple of minutes it was okay but for 10 minutes it felt nasty. One day after my hamstrings and glutes are sore as hell. I like it!
Workout.
Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
1st minute: 10m overhead walking lunges @ 50kg
2nd minute: 10 handstand push-ups
3rd minute: rest
Squats took the best of my energy but after some recovery I took one metcon with overhead lunges and hspu's. Had to take advantage of the empty grass matt at the gym as it was almost empty during the day. Lunges were overhead version as it's something that is difficult to arrange on a regular training day because the gym might be crowded.
By the way those lunges sucked! They were as good piece of fitness as they were supposed to be but I mean they burned my shoulders. Or maybe it was the combination of oh lunges and handstand push-ups but my shoulders were devastated after this.
Monday. Emom x 15min: Snatch (up to PR 72kg). Emom x 15min: 2 cleans (up to 100kg).
Did you watch the Crossfit Regionals during the weekend. It was great to get some competition action streamed at games.crossfit.com throughout the weekend from Friday to Sunday. Pacific, South and California regions threw down first. The events were as tough as they looked like beforehand. It was cool to see those guys attack them. It was a nice surprise that Josh Bridges smashed also the big weights in every event even though he's not a monster in size. Dan Bailey being left out from the Games was a bummer though. So many super athletes were competing for those 5 tickets to Carson that everybody can't go.
My muscles felt good after the HC Triplet but somehow my body felt worn down in general. Probably due to the three workouts completed on Saturday. Decided to go by feeling on this one. No pressure, just take some lifts on the snatch if I could get my hip mobility on point. I took my time with the warm-up and started taking singles at light weights. It felt like I would definitely stay light all day.
However, it was emom and I decided to go up after every 3 minutes, starting at 50kg, then 55kg and finally 60kg. Those felt nice so I just added 2kg after each set every minute after the initial plan. That 64kg was something that startled me. It felt super good and I surprised myself by really dropping under the barbell. Yes, it might sound funny looking at my snatches =) But that was the feeling I had on that specific lift, and it boosted my confidence to ridiculous levels. So I just kept adding little plates on the bar until I got to 70kg.
Only once in my life have I got 70kg up, and that must have been something like 2 years ago. It's a threshold that has frightened me for too long. That should be a given on any training day in my opinion. My snatch is currently pathetic. Got that 70kg and was pumped over it! Decided to take it safe and add just 1kg on top of that to nail a personal record. That was ugly as hell so I added another kilo to get a better lift completed. Another Personal Record saw the daylight at 72kg boom!
Then it was time to get some cleans under my belt. Took doubles every minute for 15 minutes. Starting at 80kg, and going up 5kg after every 3 minutes. Last weight at 100kg. These were cool too.
