Thursday. Emom x 10: Snatch complex (up to 55kg). Metcon, 8rds of: 12 s2o @ 50kg, 40m walking lunges, 500m row. Time, 38min.
On Thursday agenda was snatch work in the beginning and then a long metcon for conditioning purposes. That one was easier on the lungs but burned my legs big time.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Power snatch + Hang snatch + Snatch balance
1-5min: 50kg
6-10min: 55kg
Metcon. Time, 38 minutes
8 rounds of:
12 shoulder-to-overhead @ 50kg
40m walking lunges
500m row
After sparring with couple of friends I ended up doing a longer conditioning piece. This was kind of gnarly. Mostly due to the lunges. Those bastards shot my legs. Basically each movement put pressure in the lower body, and it felt after the 38 minutes were done. S2o's were unbroken, so were the lunges. Okay, it's 20 meters one way, and then back down. Rowing was easy pace, at 1:55.
Sunday. AM: Complex, hang snatch + snatch, build up to a heavy set (62kg). Heavy Grace @ 70kg. Time, 4.30. PM: Metcon, 4rds of: 10 thruster @ 40kg, 10 ring dip, 10 t2b, 10 burpee. Time, 10.45.
I really needed a rest day on Saturday. Body felt very tired after a busy week. It was action from morning to evening every day and I tried to struggle to get some good sessions in the schedule. Succeeded in that too but it took its taxes during the week. Today I felt great again after a relaxing day spent with the family.
Oly.
Complex, hang snatch + snatch
Build up to a heavy set (40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 62kg)
Couple of sets snatches to start the day. This was a rather short session so I took just a few sets and focused on those lifts. I'm happy on all of the lifts this time. Bar path was okay all the way. Everything over 60 kilos starts to get heavy pretty soon but today those were good. I took 62kg and left it there.
Grace. Time, 4.30
30 clean @ jerk @ 70kg
This is a benchmark workout that gets me nervous every freaking time! Somehow Grace and Fran are the most classical benchmarks for me. Every now and then this pops up in my program and then it's time to go. I walked around the gym for a while and tried to find excuses to postpone this one but couldn't find any =)
It was a little heavier workout than normally. Rx'd version is at 60kg but this was 70kg. That means it's gonna burn my shoulders and legs much more than normally in a way. On the other hand on the regular version I'm able to go faster which makes it more intense, thus resulting in probably even more pain in the above mentioned areas, plus the lungs.
My strategy was simple. Go singles all the way from the very beginning. Don't keep too much rest between reps, just grab the bar and put it overhead. First reps were quite easy but somewhere between 5-10 the reality hit me and I recognized it's gonna be an awkward ride to the finish line. And it kind of was.
It got heavy but somehow still manageable. My legs started to get fired up and shoulders too. My jerks were quite good though and the technique stayed right on the point. Steady work through the finish. I'll take this one with a pleasure. It's over 2min improvement compared to the previous 70kg Grace.
Grace @ 70kg
Metcon. Time, 10.45
4 rounds of:
10 thrusters @ 40kg
10 ring dips
10 toes-to-bar's
10 burpees
After couple of hours I returned to the gym as this metcon needed to be completed. I wanted to do this in the morning but didn't have enough time. Plus I was done after 30 clean and jerks. I kept the thrusters light in order to keep the intensity high. That means I was able to go unbroken on them all the way. It sky rocketed my breathing every time and on the last round my shoulders needed to work big time as they started to go numb.
There were three elements that pressured shoulders. Basically everything but the t2b's. Ring dips were the most challenging part. Those have always been challenging for me. First round was unbroken, then I had to start breaking them up. I guess my shoulders are tight and that has an effect on the dips. T2b's were unbroken. Usually burpees keep the breathing up (this was no exception either) but today they mostly shot my shoulders. It felt heavy to push myself up from the floor because of all the shoulder pressure in this workout. Good metcon.
Friday. Emom x 10min: 2 hang snatch (50kg). Back squats 5x5 (120kg). Metcon, 3rds of: 7 hspu (110kg), 10 hspu, 30 air squats.
My plan was to get a long session at the gym after a rest day. Got to be honest to myself that this wasn't the best of sessions. My wrist has been sore this week without any good reason and it's been bugging me, today as well.
Oly.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
1 snatch pull + 2 hang snatch
Wrist prevented me to go heavier on these. Maybe timing was a bit off anyway but I'll take this. The weight itself wasn't too bad and I played with it in the end with couple more reps for fun. I just wanted to work on this movement.
Strength.
Back squat 5x5 @ 120kg
I really like this one. Squats are the best. Today I kept it light though. But squats should be part of almost daily program. If I had enough time I'd go for squats more often. My back felt tight on the snatches and transferred to the squats too.
Old school
Metcon.
3 rounds of:
7 deadlift @ 110kg
10 handstand push-ups
30 air squats
The combination of these elements is excellent. Great burn for the posterior chain. My back was too tight for getting the best of this for real. Squats started to make the back feel very uncomfortable. As I said in the beginning, this session was not the one I'll be telling stories about to my grand children sometime in the future but it was definitely fun to hit it once again.
Wednesday. Oly, 10 sets of: snatch high pull + snatch @ 55kg. Strength, pause back squat 6x3 @ 120kg. Metcon, 4rds of: 10 power clean (80kg), 15 burpee, 20 ghd, 25 box. Time, 20.33.
It's my birthday so I found a good way to celebrate it after work: crossfit! =) That's a lot of quality time for sure. Olympic lifts, lower body strength and a bad ass metcon. That took my breath away, literally. Loved every second of today's session.
Oly.
10 sets of: snatch high pull + snatch @ 55kg
Both from hang position
This was a new way to work on snatches. And I enjoyed it. Definitely have to take this type of snatch training more often. Big problem for me is the bar is traveling too far away from my body. By doing high pulls it's easy to keep the bar close. And by teaching the body to keep it close, it is also easier to keep it closer on the actual snatch too.
Yes, there were some reps where I caught the bar in front and had to walk a step forward to catch the bar overhead. Still, I consider this practice worth keeping in the repertoire.
Snatch recap
Strength.
Pause back squat 6x3
Got this idea couple of days ago from somewhere. Since then, it's been tickling me from time to time that I'm gonna hit it someday. I had no idea about the weights I'm able to move but I still decided to go for 120kg for triples. They were actually perfect for weights. First rep was easy, second one needed much more work, and the third one was a good grind!
Squat recap
Metcon. Time, 20.33
4 rounds of:
10 power clean, 80kg
15 burpee
20 ghd sit-up
25 box jumps
This was originally 20min amrap but I decided to finish the last round which brought it half a minute overtime of the time frame. I wanted it to be long and mental. Power cleans were semi heavy. During the workout they naturally turned a lot heavier. These were singles from the very first rep. I understood this is not where time will be saved if I hurried through the first round.
Next movement burpees. Just pace them through. Keep moving. As I've said before, there is no actual need to stop on the burpees. It is an easy movement. You just throw yourself down on the floor, hit chest on the ground, and come up. Pace yourself and keep the rhythm on. Think about the breathing while your doing it to make it easier.
Ghd's, my core seems to be strong. I've realized it during these 3 years of crossfit. Maybe that's because of my earlier career as a goalkeeper in floorball. Stronger core means faster moves on the goal as you need to move quickly sideways. These were also unbroken. I got a good hint from Lauri to engage my hips more when coming up. Currently I'm doing the work mostly with the core.
On the box jumps I decided to walk back from the ghd's and start jumping. This was also the element where I need to control my breath strongly because otherwise I would have gassed even more. This was a very good conditioning piece to crown the training session.
Below are some parts of the metcon in the form of a video. Cleans, burpees and box jumps.
Monday. Snatch + Hang snatch, 8 sets @ 55kg. Back squat triples (up to 140kg). Metcon, 5 rnft of: 15 pull-ups, 40m lunges.
Sunday was a compulsory rest day as my throat was still not in good condition. It wasn't perfect today either but better still. I needed to get some action going on at the gym. Monday means some sort of olympic lifts, today it was snatches. Also squats and some metcon style work of lunges and pull-ups.
Oly.
Snatch + Hang snatch
8 sets @ 55kg
This was a lot of fun. Okay, it obviously needs a lot of work but that's what I'm focusing on right now. I've taken steps to improve on my shoulder mobility which will hopefully have an impact on the bottom position. Plus the first pull is a lot slower than it used to be back in the days when I felt like the need to rush the bar up to the hips.
Positive thing is that I'm not jumping forward anymore. That's a big thing. I'm concentrating on keeping my feet closer together because when I go wide, it's more difficult for me to drop below parallel. I'd also like to see myself showing armpits to the public. And that's what I'm witnessing on the video below. Those are pointing forward. Maybe all the mobility I did prior to the barbell work paid off this time. It was targeted purely on shoulder mobility.
Back squat triples (100, 115, 130, 138, 138, 138, 140kg)
This was great. I've done a triple at 140kg sometime in the past once. Today's loads were determined beforehand. Only the last one was something I changed on the fly. The original weight seemed a bit absurd at 145kg. My last 3RM was 140kg so I didn't have enough balls to believe in this new weight.
There were couple of easier sets before getting to 138 kilos. Those were good working sets. Heavy-ish but still very much doable. So I changed the last set to 140kg and took it up nicely. There was really no doubt of hitting that weight. Maybe it was a bit too conservative but after those 138's it felt like a good choice.
Squats
Metcon.
5 rounds not for time of:
15 pull-ups
40m lunges
I needed to get my heart beat up. On the other hand I did't wanna risk anything so this was something in between. Good set of pull-ups - every set intentionally unbroken - to get a good burn in my lats and to get a decent volume on this movement as well. At the end of the workout I did additional 25 reps to reach a total of 100 reps.
Lunges are always surprisingly tough on lower body. Even though I didn't have any weight on they started to burn legs. Went unbroken still. The grass mat is 20m long so the idea was to go both ways from end to end. Even though I didn't have a timer running, I did this in a similar way as a normal metcon. I'm especially happy on how little time the transition took after lunges. I just walked to the pull-up bar and started ripping.
Wednesday. Hang snatch 7x3 @ 40kg. Emom x 10min: 1 hang squat snatch (50kg). Metcon, 13min amrap of, 2-4-6-8… of: hang power clean (60kg), front squat (60kg), hspu. Result, 146 reps.
I went to work at noon so I had a good two hours of training time ahead of me early in the morning. Got to say mornings are not my favorite time for real. Nothing was sore, felt good all the way but somehow I felt much more stiff and fatigue than normally. Especially weights were heavier than normally.
Technique.
Hang snatch 7x3 @ 40kg
That was also the reason why I just couldn't put more weight on the bar. Felt a bit off with even this one =) It took a lot of time to get at least somewhat comfortable with the barbell. As you can see from the video below it wasn't very smooth. It was also difficult to get below parallel. I've noticed that when I widen my feet on the land, my hips can't get low enough. But those legs go wide naturally so I'll try to keep them closer together, with about the same width as in the clean. All my squats (front, back and overhead) have a narrow stance so that's what I'm targeting on this one too.
Snatches
Snatch.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
1 hang snatch (3x45, 7x50kg)
After throwing that barbell in the air for some time I eventually started feeling better with it. I'm not saying it looked any better but it got lighter in the course of action. That encouraged me to throw in another snatch workout. Emom style singles from hang position. Purpose was to go squat snatch but that didn't actualize in the way I was looking for. But there were decent ones too. Got to just keep on snatching more!
First part of the metcon
Metcon. Result, 146 reps (6 front squat on the round of 14's)
13min amrap, 2-4-6-8… of:
Hang power clean, 60kg
Front squat, 60kg
Handstand push-up
This was one qualification event in a Finnish throwdown called Karjalan Kovin, one of the biggest competitions in Finland. It caught my eye when I first saw that one so today it finally ended up on my program. 13 minutes of bar work and hspu's. Idea was to start with 2 reps of each, then 4, then 6, always adding 2 more reps after each round, until the time cap gets you.
Hard to say which element was the toughest, each had their thing in the mix. I broke the cleans the most. Rounds of 2-4-6 were unbroken and combined immediately with the squats. Round of 8's was basically also unbroken. I did 7 reps, and put the bar down because I wanted to recover for the squats. Round of 10's started to beat me up good time. It was 6-3 before the final single and front squats. 12's was 6-5, and then the last power clean before hitting the squats.
Second part of the metcon
Squats really burned my legs. That was no surprise. It was pretty obvious it's gonna hurt a lot. 60kg barbell is going to feel a lot more at certain point. They also brought flames on my lower back. That was probably the most painful thing in this one, and prevented me to drop ass to grass. I went unbroken with the squats up to the round of 10's. At 12's I did 8-4, and then moved on to the hspu's. They were 8-1-1-2. I lost some balance there so it cut to smaller pieces in the end. Other than that they rolled well and were probably the "easiest" part of this. Very good and holistic workout! And tough.
Tuesday. Snatch emom x 10min: snatch + hang snatch (40kg). Metcon, 10 mu's, then 5rds of: 7 hang power clean (60kg), 30 du's, 12 ghd. Time, 13.34.
I was in no rush at all this Tuesday but on the other hand my posterior chain was a bit cranked up from yesterday's session so this was not the toughest one. Metcon was good, snatches were light.
Snatch.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
1 snatch + 1 hang snatch @ 40kg
There was simply no way of building up to heavier sets. I played around with this weight for some time. Even though I warmed up for quite some time it didn't let me go heavy. I had emom work in my mind anyway, had just thought about putting something between 50 and 60 kilos on the bar.
Metcon. Time, 13.34
10 ring muscle-ups, then 5 rounds of:
7 hang power clean, 60kg
30 double under
12 ghd sit-ups
This was a good metcon. Muscle-ups took an eternity because I took them mostly in singles. First was a double, then maybe another double and the rest were definitely singles. No misses, not even close but somehow the pulling power wasn't explosive so I did only singles.
After 10 reps had been completed, it was time to hit the 5-rounder. Went unbroken each round on every element of the workout. Cleans were obviously the strength-element in this one, double unders the cardio and skills piece, and ghd's were putting core to test. There was distances between the stations so once I got to any of the station, I started working right away.
The walk was the recovery in this one. I'm especially happy about the double unders. I've had some issues on couple of sessions because those haven't been visible that much in my sessions in the past months. Today those felt very good all the way.
Wednesday. AM: High hang snatches (up to 60kg). Metcon, 10min amrap of: 10 t2b, 10 db snatch (25kg), 10 high box (70cm). Result, 172 reps. PM: Running 4x400m. Total 7km running for recovery.
Being on a vacation is like living a dream. I get a chance to workout twice a day, eat and sleep well and still arrange things that needs to be arranged in life. I'm definitely taking advantage of this holiday! At noon I went to the gym to work on my snatches, then back home to eat. Later the same day I went running in the woods and ended up at Eltsu track for some intervals.
Snatches.
High hang snatches
5 x 40, 40, 45kg
3 x 50kg
1 x 55, 57.5, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60kg
This time I decided to take these snatches from the pocket instead of floor. This way I get the touching point between barbell and hips to the correct place. From the floor it's not that obvious for me. I just realized today that on those days that I don't have hours to workout and there are snatches on the agenda, I need to focus purely on snatches. What I mean by this is I have to take such a long warm-up leading up to squat snatches that it's definitely worth sacrificing all the time on that.
If I skip the half an hour warm-up my shoulders and hips are not open enough and it feels like I'm forcing those extreme positions. Doing snatch balances with both a broomstick and empty 20kg barbell are a game changer. Those have really made my life better.
So it was time to do squat snatches. And it's really comforting to know it's okay to drop the barbell in case you miss it. It allows you to take more risks. I started to build up from 40kg, took two sets and the third 5-rep set as at 45kg. From then on I dropped the reps and added weight. Finished with 60kg singles. There's obviously tons of issues to be fixed on my snatch. Haven't really squat snatched before last fall because my mobility wasn't there. Now it's getting much better and there's a possibility to go deep.
Recap
Metcon. Result, 172 reps (5 rounds + 2 box)
10min amrap of:
10 toes-to-bar
10 dumbbell snatch, 5 right / 5 left (25kg dumbbell)
10 high box jump, 70cm
There were overhead squats and t2b's marked up in my calendar but that wasn't going to happen. I was done with that barbell for this day. Instead, I picked up a 25kg dumbbell and rolled a box so it stood at 70 centimeters.
This was intensive workout once again. Not that long - 10 minutes - so I was able to keep moving between the stations. There were 75 ghd sit-ups yesterday but my core felt good so I dared to put more t2b's in this one. Those went unbroken and they should have, even though they started to feel uncomfortable deep inside later in the wod because of those ghd's.
This dumbbells is pretty much the heaviest I've used for db snatches. Usually it's around 20-25kg. This time I did 5 reps with right hand, then 5 reps with left hand. One option would be to change after each hand. No biggie, but these were tough but okay.
Box jumps were the ones that wore be the most. Haven't done that much high box jumps. That's obvious because I haven't seen a high box before. Only randomly I've had the opportunity to do these 70cm jumps. Can't do them t'n'g style. They are singles but I'm going back up right away.
Running.
4x400m
Total of 7km running
After eating, relaxing and foam rolling for 2-3 hours I put on my jogging pants on and headed outdoors. It was a great weather for sure. Windy but sun was shining and birds were singing. My destination was in Eltsu track and field, the legendary training place. This is the practice place when Helsinki hosts World / Europe Championships in Athletics.
It's about 2km distance from my place to here so that was my warm-up. Some stretching and lunges, hip openers and I was ready to go. Took only 4 sets of 400m running. Basically because I've been busting my butt off this week and feel a bit sore from everywhere. Plus I hate running =) Don't even know why I bothered coming here. I guess because I wanna be a better all-around athlete. If I was about to compete, I'd be running more, much much more.
The point is I suck at it. I've ran so much in my past life that I've ran my share. When my floorball career was going on, it was part of a daily routine, on some days it was shorter, some days longer distances. Summer times were all about running to create a good basic conditioning. My pace today on those intervals was around 1:33 / 400m. That means to say it wasn't the fastest pace on planet earth. Still, it felt good to get these legs moving! Afterwards I did couple of rounds with different pacing, and ran home.
Thursday. Hang squat snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 (50-55kg). Ohs 3x5 (60kg). Metcon, 10-8-6-4-2 of: thrusters (40kg), lateral burpees. Time, 3.04.
Thursday concentrated mostly on snatch work. First some hang snatches, then took some deep overhead squats to work on the position. Finally I had time for a quick one, and it turned out to be very high intensity stuff, and thus cruel for the body and lungs.
Mobility time
Snatch.
Hang squat snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 (4x55, 6x50kg)
I had higher expectations for this snatch session. The catching part of the snatch wasn't quite there so I fell forward on some of the reps. Started at 55kg, and after couple of repetitions I dropped to 50kg. Those were much easier but still they were not perfect. There was one miss during the entire session as it fell too much in front but I replaced that with another attempt.
Overhead squat.
3x5 reps (all sets 60kg)
After snatches I added 10kg and worked for the overhead squat movement, and mainly the idea was to dig deep on the squat's depth. I'm happy on the form I was able to maintain on these reps, and my armpits were shooting forward which is a good thing obviously.
There was one moment of lack of concentration on the third set and my barbell fell forward on the 4th set… It wasn't that heavy but it just shakes somehow and it's difficult to save it once it starts to go. Anyway, overhead squats are great for sure. It wouldn't make any harm to combine them with snatch work.
Metcon. Time, 3.04
10-8-6-4-2 of:
Thrusters, 40kg
Lateral burpee
Huh, this was bad ass. I thought about short, high intensity workout. This was exactly that. I was able to do work throughout the workout, I'm very happy on the way this was carried through. There was mental game element involved as my legs started to go jello but I told myself to keep moving anyway.
Naturally everything unbroken. Both of these movements shot heart beat through the roof, and it took some time to get back in life after the workout was over. It was interesting as the weight itself wasn't heavy but my legs were really feeling it. Shoulders kept hanging there pretty well but it was mostly the lower body that tried to whisper to slow down. Luckily head was in the game and I didn't listen. Great workout!
Tuesday. Skills, headstand. Oly lifts, 7x2 hang squat snatch across @ 50kg. Pair wod, alternating 5 power cleans (70kg), then 5 burpees for both. Result 8rds.
It was cool to go for a pair wod. It's been a long time since last time. We agreed with my bro to match our time tables better this year and hit a workout together once a week. The truth is we haven't hooked up once this year =) It's been too difficult to match the schedules. Anyway I got a partner workout today with one friend. It was super!
Skills.
Headstand
I started by testing my headstand skills. Last time I tried this was probably some time in the summer. On my first try I went a bit too bold on bringing my legs over my head and I fell on the floor. It was an awkward moment because there's not that much space. I felt like now I'm coming down hard and just tried to squeeze every muscle so that it wouldn't cause any injury if my body fell against some machines nearby. Luckily I hit only floor =)
From then on it was easy. It felt great to maintain a rock solid hollow body position. I asked a friend whether it's straight or not and at least the feedback was straight body. I'm happy, it was very natural. I guess all that work on handstand pays off in a way that headstand is so much easier. I felt like there was no problem whatsoever hanging there for longer times.
Pics from last year's Crossfit Open announcements
Oly lifts.
Hang squat snatch 7x2
All sets @ 50kg
I wanna be comfortable with 50kg+ weights on squat snatch. And I'm getting there. The bar ain't that intimidating anymore. Obviously there's more work to be done but the weight is about to find it's place in the universe. The bar falls too much forward on the lift. I should be able to bring the bar up in a more vertical path and bring my body back more efficiently. Now as I squat my body is leaning forward too much and the positioning isn't perfect.
Still, I'm pleased with the way it looks like for now. I'm gonna make it look prettier though. Might be adding some light weight on the bar to get accustomed with heavier weights. I've been moving 40kg barbell on snatch for an eternity and it hasn't developed my technique that much. Once I added weight on the bar with the cleans my technique got way better because it had to. My strength and technique improved at the same time.
Snatch double, 50kg
Metcon. Pair workout
10min amrap of:
Toni, 5 power cleans, then
Don, 5 power cleans (70kg), then
Both, 5 burpees
Toni (not Tony the Pony) joined me at the gym for a pair wod. The idea was that he did 5 power cleans, I completed my 5 power cleans @ 70kg and then we did 5 burpees both. That was one round. We continued till 10 minutes was over. Toni has done some crossfit workouts like Fran and Jackie for a couple of times, and Lynne has taken place at least once. He's also keen on Filthy Fifty. Awesome workouts!
First speculation of the upcoming Crossfit Games that start this Thursday!
It was awesome to hit this workout together with him. We created it on the spot. I had thought of an individual workout of 20min up ladder of power cleans and burpees (1-1, 2-2, 3-3 etc.) but as this guy tagged along we turned it into a pair wod and it turned out to be a good decision.
We both went unbroken on the cleans and burpees too. It was a total of 8 rounds, that's 40 power cleans and burpees for both of us. It was quite a tough one, and started to feel burning after couple of rounds. It took us exactly 10min to reach 8 rounds. It was nice to do it with a partner so we pushed each other to put more effort on the workout.
Take a look at last year's Games' final event, Cinco 1 and Cinco 2, to witness how sick Rich Froning is
Monday. Hang squat snatch, 2 reps emom, for 16min (40-50kg). Clean and jerk complex at light weight, 5 sets of: 1 power clean, 3 front squat, 1 push jerk, 1 split jerk. All sets @ 60kg.
I started the week with more like a technique training. Not that heavy stuff on the barbell this time. Sunday was already quite heavy on the squats and the metcon in the end really feels in my upper body. That's also one reason to keep it lighter today.
Snatch.
Hang squat snatch
2 reps every minute on the minute
For 16 minutes
7x40, 3x45, 3x47.5, 3x50kg
I felt the snatches were a success today! Each attempt that I had went to parallel or beyond on the squat depth. I've noticed that sometimes when I do squat snatches I have troubles landing my feet in correct position which makes it difficult to go deep. My toes tend to point too wide compared to my normal overhead squat position.
Today I concentrated in the landing and was able to find a form in which it was possible to go down enough on each rep. I took only 2 rep per minute so it was able to focus on the technique. I was thinking about the weights hovering around 40-45kg. I began doing those sets at 40kg and as I felt confident enough I added moderately 5kg on the bar. Took a couple more sets and went to 47.5kg. I took 2 or 3 sets at this weight and finished the emom workout with 50kg. I didn't make notes during the session so I go by memory afterwards. Anyway, it was great! And I could have done heavier sets, this felt good!
Rob Orlando doing a modified Kalsu, one of the toughest workouts
Bar complex.
5 sets of:
1 power clean
3 front squat
1 push jerk
1 split jerk
My left elbow was a bit sore for some reason and upper body had taken some hit yesterday also so it felt natural to stay @ 60kg. I did a total of 5 sets, all with the same weight. It was pretty solid all the way. The bar felt as light as it should have felt. On a heavier day this could be something like 80kg. The shoulder-to-overhead movements would be the toughest one.
Thursday. AM: Skills, handstand. Strength overhead squats. Technique, snatch. Metcon, 6 rounds of: 400m run, 5 hang snatch, 5 hspu. PM: Every minute on the minute style of workout with 3k row, 120 pull-ups and 120 push-ups.
How awesome is it to be on holiday and being able to workout twice a day! And the possibility to go out to Liikuntamylly, which is like a mecca for an athlete =) I'm so thrilled every time I get a chance to go there. And today I had Toni as my training partner. Time flies by so quickly that at one point we realized we had been there for 3 hours haha. Then a lunch and it took us 4 hours total to do some training, nice. It was a PR day for both of us, I got this picture from Toni in the morning as we were both aiming for 75kg lift on the overhead squats. That sealed the deal!
Skills. Handstand. I tried both static handstand hold today and handstand walking. Succeeded pretty well in both of them. I attached samples of both in the recap video. Somehow I'm still wondering why my handstand skills suddenly improved even though I didn't practice that in over a month. That seems a bit weird to me but I don't complain!
We took some wall balls, barbell warm-up, snatch balance to get joints loosened up and ready for pumping. For starters lengthier sets with lighter weights and then from 60kg on it was all about singles. We were purely after the PR, won't deny that. I still wanted to get a couple of reps with lighter weights and here some tips from Toni, the new L1-ceritified coach. He really has an eye for giving tips on the form. It's a different thing am I able to change my habits.
It was an awesome feeling to get that 75kg down and up. It's no issue in the overhead squat to come back up from the hole but it's more of being able to maintain a rock solid core while going down and how to lock the elbows so they wouldn't shake all around while holding the bar over you head. Once you hit the parallel you know you're gonna make a successful lift from there on. At least that's how Toni and I feel like.
It was a cool feeling to hold that 75kg overhead and even jerk it there because I haven't had a barbell in that position with a snatch grip. We both jerked 80kg as well but it was way too shaky for both of us so today there was no chance bringing it home with that weight. I felt like I'm going back and forth with the 80kg bar, just standing, not even trying to squat. Simply couldn't stabilize it.
Recap
Technique.
Snatch clinic.
Snatch and especially snatch deadlift + squat snatch have been the thing we have been putting effort with Toni. The technique there should be way better than it's currently but we both believe we have already gained some important development steps. The starting position is something Toni keeps talking about when pulling from the ground. And how the knees should be getting out of the barbell's way on its way up to the hip. The first pull doesn't have to be fast and fierce, it's more of the second pull from the hips that must be explosive. And while pulling, you must pull with your entire body, bounce the bar from the hips, shrug the shoulders and extend your whole body to create an open path for the barbell to come up in a beautiful vertical line. Then just drop under the bar quickly. As simple as that, in theory. In practice there's lots of repetition ahead of us before it looks like that. At least for me.
These clinics we've done with Toni have been very useful and it's not only about loading as much plated on the bar as possible but with lighter weights working on the bar paths and hoping the muscles will memorize it and soon it will happen automatically without too much thinking. We played around today with 30-40kg in the beginning and then took a couple of heavier reps, reaching a max of 60kg. At this point our bodies were already quite fatigued. And it was still a metcon ahead of us.
Metcon. Time around 17:30
6 rounds of:
400m run
5 hang power snatch, 40kg
5 handstand push-ups
This was a good metcon with a consistent pace all the way from beginning to the end. No reason to slow down at any moment. Each of my rounds were 2:50, varying only within seconds. The fourth round was longer only because we happened to arrive on the snatch station at the same time with Toni. He took his snatches before me so I waited for him to complete them.
I was very happy being able to maintain the same speed in all elements, running felt the same all the time. My shins were aching some because of those 400 double unders from Monday and I felt some pain on the 2 first rounds, then it faded away. The snatches were light but we decided to do them as hang snatches. Hspu's felt like they were flying up and down.
This place is awesome as it's possible to combine running to barbell work and bodyweight stuff too. Can't dismiss this possibility.
Metcon. Every minute on the minute for a total of 30min
First 10min:
Odd minutes, 10 pull-ups + 10 push-ups
Even minutes, 200m row
Second 10min:
Odd minutes, 8 pull-ups + 8 push-ups
Even minutes, 200m row
Third 10min:
Odd minutes, 6 pull-ups + 6 push-ups
Even minutes, 200m row
We went to have some lunch afterwards with Toni, then back home to chill for a while before entering the gym for second session of the day. This was a 30min emom training go rowing, pull-ups and push-ups. The main idea was to row for 200m every other minute, on the even minutes and then do a couplet of pull-ups and push-ups on odd minutes. I decreased the amount of them after every 10 minutes with 2 reps on both movements.
It was a total of 3.000m rowing, 120 pull-ups and 120 push-ups. Rowing pace was consistently at 1:40 so it took 40 seconds to finish those 200 meters. In this workout I wanted to spend no more than 40 seconds on the rowing because this was second session of the day and I didn't want to wear myself out totally. It was a good interval to work on.
Pull-ups turned out to be the most tasking element of these three. Push-ups worked well and were the easiest of them. Good session in general. I did something you might distantly call ghd sit-ups, something like 40 reps, working the core. They were done on a big gym ball so it's probably nothing similar to ghd sit-ups but the movement looked something like it. Then lots of mobility to the end.
Another great day! It was no surprise to me beforehand. I was about to meet Toni @ Liikuntamylly, our favorite venue for training. It's usually a place where PR's are born. Today was no exception. I wasn't looking for them but Toni was aggressively after overhead squat records and he made the old one look light. There was plenty of work being done in the morning time. Skills, strength, technique and benchmark wod. We were totally done after Nancy. In the afternoon I went to pick Pauliina from work and decided to do some rowing intervals.
Toni snatching
Skills. Handstand. For me it seems odd that having a long break of handstand training in the autumn time has done good things to my skills. Today I was able to stay inverted longer than ever plus the distance I was able to handstand walk was clearly a PR. It just feels good being upside down. And the platform at this place for practicing this particular skills is perfect. It's made for running, like a track and field type of platform. I couldn't imagine a more suitable ground for handstand skills training.
Handstand skills training
Strength. Overhead squats 3-3-3-3-3 across (60kg). I'm having troubles to workout in a place where I could drop barbells from overhead position so every time I'll get a chance to come here in Liikuntamylly or the cave in Eltsu you'll see me do some sort of overhead movements or olympic lifting. I had predetermined the weights I'm gonna use today. When I've done ohs strength sets, they have always been at 50kg. I wanted to take this to next level and hit 60kg on the bar. My current max is at 70kg so this weight is something where I have to concentrate a lot.
Toni working on his HS
Toni was giving me tips throughout the session. He just completed the L1-trainer's course at Tampere and was being guided with bad ass coaches around the world. Let's mention Jami Tikkanen for instance, a Finnish legend from Crossfit Thames, London. Anyways, Toni was putting effort in my form, having back in correct line, having a tight midline, having my knees pointed out all the time and sitting below parallel. Thanks for the tips Toni!
Handstand walk
It felt very good being able to handle that 60kg good enough. At points I forgot to listen to Toni's hints so my form wasn't great. Still, it was manageable. I'll have to do more work on my mobility in order to being able to narrow my hands on the bar. My grip is as wide as it could possibly be. Have to pay attention to all those tips I've read from the professionals, Chad Vaughn is the first guy that pops in to my mind.
Toni did something like 3x50, 2x60, 1x60, 1x65, 1x70 PR. He also pressed 75kg up but his stomach was already full from the record that the squat part failed to complete. Congrats on the PR!
Recap of ohs & snatch
Technique. Snatch. After having done ohs we moved on to learning things on snatch. We put a lot of effort on the starting position, first pull, high pulls, and some squat snatches as well. This was more like a snatch clinic, not strength training. Max weight must have been 40kg that we fooled around with. It was a very good session and I understood some issues from the starting position and the way my knees should behave on the first pull. Once again, because of my training partner.
Toni's snatch clinic
Nancy.
5 rounds of:
400m run
15 overhead squats, 40kg
Uuh… It was tough. These two elements we are talking about - running and overhead squats - are my weaknesses. That's how I feel the game. So it was crucial to finally do this benchmark wod. I thought it would become an issue with the overhead squats because there were gonna be 75 reps in total! Well, it turned out I was managing it unbroken up to 72 reps. At the 13th rep on the last set it was too much to handle for my shoulders and it started to fall back. I corrected it too much and it fell forward.
The way I performed on this one was something beyond my expectations. In my own opinion, I did it great considering these definitely aren't my strong areas as a crossfitter. That's also why I enjoyed this so much that it's a high-rep workout. Just like yesterday when I did 60 reps clean& jerk with 60kg. It's important to have that muscle endurance and being able to keep going no matter what happens.
First 10min of Nancy
I don't pay attention that much on the time of the workout because we were doing this together with Toni with one barbell only. And there were times where we were both simultaneously at the bar so there were some time lost waiting for your own turn. It took about 18min with everything included. It was a cool workout in a sense that after running I didn't have to stop and gasp for air but I was able to grab the bar - if it was free - and start doing the reps. My third round was faster than the second and fourth was faster than the third. First round was 3:00 and the rest of them were about 3:30 if done without interruptions.
It was a very good training session! There happened to be other crossfitters as well in the morning. There was one guy having same Rogue shirt as I and another dude having same L1-coach shirt as Toni so that was kind of amusing =) We talked about technique and mobility for some time with the guys and I got to keep on digging to this area.
Intervals. Distance 3.424m
Row
30sec on, 30sec off for 20min
1min rest after 10min
In the afternoon I went to pick Pauliina up from work and we headed directly to the gym. My role there was to do interval rowing and lots of mobility. That classic 30sec on and 30sec off material was on the board again, it's been months since last time. My ass tends to get numb rowing at full speed so I took a 1min break after 10min. My pace was 1.31-1.36 all the way, mostly at 1.33 / 500m. I consider that a rather fast speed for me but that's what this workout is all about: going all in every set. Took lots of overhead squats with narrower grip, tried some sots press and finally foam rolled my thighs a lot, stretching as well.
Friday. Snatches, benchmark workout Chelsea: For 30min, every minute on the minute, 1 round of Cindy.
Took some snatches to work on my squat snatch technique as I haven't done this movement in a way too long time. Early autumn I promised myself to keep on training this movement. I definitely haven't stood up to that promise. So I made a comeback on this movement. Plus today was time to complete a benchmark workout, Chelsea, who is a newcomer for me.
Snatches. Had no plan in going for certain sets. Mainly just working on sets of couple reps with weights around 40-45kg. My focus was on squat snatches but some power reps were seen as well. For me, the power snatch is way easier than squat snatch. The weight itself is not the case in squat snatch but the complexity of the movement. I tend to lean too forward on my squat snatch and thus lose balance. It's not as stabile as I'd like it to be. It's probably also dependent about the bar path.
Here are few snatches from today
Chelsea. Passed rx'd.
Every minute on the minute for 30min:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
You probably remember Cindy, 20min amrap of the same movements, pull-ups, push-ups and air squats. I did it back in August and completed 22rds + 5 pull-ups, take a look at it here. Chelsea is similar to Cindy, same pattern on per round but it's every minute on the minute type of training. That means one round of the triplet and then chill out for the rest of the minute. Continue to a total of 30 minutes. That equals a total of 150 pull-ups, 300 push-ups and 450 squats.
Wasn't sure how this one would feel like. There's a whole bunch of reps in half an hour. I remember feeling devastated after Cindy and on this one I was looking to go for 8 more rounds. Okay, the difference was huge as there was also rest time included. In Cindy you'll have to go all the time without breaking at any time except when you're not able to move anymore. It was surprising how well I did this one. Can you imagine my round times stayed exactly the same for the entire 30min? It took me 30sec each time so there was also 30sec rest every minute. That makes me think I could be able to improve my time on Cindy as well, hmm…
Pull-ups were the easiest part, just 5 reps per round. Got everything unbroken but the two other movements started to feel tougher towards the end. I kept my hands at a very narrow width and focused on pointing my elbows straight along my body in a good position. Squats went actually very well. Legs were not burning at any stage of the wod.
This workout was somehow easier than Cindy. Maybe it was simply the time to recover between rounds. But hey, it was great to being able to keep the pace identical each round! That was very much due to mental strength because the feeling was I'd like to slow it down but decided to go fast every round.
Today was reserved for snatch training. I can't say it's strength training as such but more like technique work. There's a lot of work to be done before I can claim it as strength work. Anyway, I wanted lots of reps so I ended up doing a complex. Felt very tired in my upper body today and therefore didn't get the best out of it at all. I was thinking about hitting heavier weights on the snatches but that wasn't possible this time. That's why I finished it off with snatch pull training.
Snatch complex. 6 sets @ 40kg.
2 power snatch
2 squat snatch
2 overhead squats
This sounded like a perfect plan for my technique training. I wasn't satisfied with the way I performed today. As I just described it's difficult to do snatches for strength as I need to keep the weights moderate. Especially when doing squat snatches. That's a bit awkward my power snatch is heavier than squat snatch. It should obviously be the other way around. That's the reason I'm working towards improving my hip mobility and upper back mobility to find the squat snatch position more comfortable and natural. After the complex I took couple of 50kg snatches, then dropped it and decided to work on my snatch pull.
Snatch pull. 5x5 (50, 70, 70, 80, 70kg). This might actually be quite a good idea to work on occasionally. You can stack more plates on the barbell and practice on the first and second pull. Idea is not to go under the bar at all, just go until the shrug stage. I felt good about this one. And believe me, that 70kg bar felt light after having went for 80kg. That might be a good plan to do couple of heavy snatch pulls before doing actual snatch training. What do you think?
