Tuesday 3.3: Squats, 3x5min amraps

Tuesday. Back squat 7x3 (mostly 130kg). Metcon, 3x5min amraps of: box, lateral burpees, front squat (60kg).

What a sick training day! Just what I needed. Heavy back squats and then bad ass Don-killer in the form of three short and intense metcons with same movements (box, burpee, squat), the only difference being the number of reps in each amrap. I really felt work was done today.

Squats.

• Back squat 7x3 (115, 125, 130, 130, 130, 130, 130kg)

Nice to have multiple sets of back squats, and towards the heavier side of the game. My goal was to hit some sets at 130kg. At first I took 60, and 90kg warm-up sets as pause squats, then hit it at 115kg to get a taste of proper weights. Adding 10 more kilos after that one, and it started to feel about the correct weight. These sets at 130kg were not light and easy by no means. Maybe first 2 of them felt more comfortable but the last rep of each set was a good push.

It took me 20 minutes to go through all 7 sets so there wasn't a huge break between sets. That was intentional. I wanted to hit the three-part metcon and I knew I had to hurry up a bit in order to have time for all this work. That's why the clock was running for the entire time.

Metcon. Result, 86 + 84 + 84 reps

• With a running clock
• A) 5min amrap of:
• 12 box
• 12 lateral burpee
• 12 front squat, 60kg
• Result, 2 rounds + 2 burpee

Rest 5min

• B) 5min amrap of:
• 10 box
• 10 lateral burpee
• 10 front squat, 60kg
• Result, 2 rounds + 4 front squat

Rest 5min

• C) 5min amrap of:
• 8 box
• 8 lateral burpee
• 8 front squat, 60kg
• Resut, 3 rounds + 4 burpee

This was genius. It's no surprise breathing and legs took the biggest hit in these amraps. The nature of the A-B-C parts was different with different amount of reps in each of them. The first had most consecutive reps and that created problems with front squat. 60kg is light weight but in a metcon where everything else burdens legs too, it's not that light anymore. Plus those heavy back squats had been just completed and my legs weren't fresh for sure.

I did everything in this part unbroken except the 2nd round of front squats as I brought the bar down after 7 reps, let the tension go off my lower body and then finished the 5 reps. It was 2 full rounds, 12 box and 2 burpees as the 5min time cap was done.

Noah Olsen on 15.1 and 15.1a

Yesterday as I thought about this one, I figured 5 minutes is plenty of time to get back in the game. I really needed that amount. It felt for a long time, I would have hit it after 3min but it was good thing to have as much as 5min recovery. That came in handy on the front squats again. Box and burpees were no big deal. They got the breathing up, no doubt. But the big time muscle burn came on the front squats. They were hard. I did everything unbroken though. Didn't wanna drop the bar because that would have been a waste of time and energy. Just suck it up.

Last one was mentally the easiest, last one and nothing to lose. Just do it. And the number of front squats was not bad considering it was only 8 reps. And I had just gotten 10 reps unbroken each round so it was encouraging. What describes the performance of these 3 amraps was probably consistency. My result varied by just 2 reps in total. It was 86 - 84 - 84 reps. Very happy about this!

Sunday 1.3: Gymnastics and Metcon

Sunday. Gymnastics, emom ring muscle-ups (total 15 reps). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 deads (85kg), 10 lateral burpee, 20 air squat, 7 ring dip. Time, 10.40

Sunday and it's time for gymnastics training. Got successful today with muscle-up. Usually I don't do much else than rings, handstand or some body control stuff on days like this. Or that was at least the original plan on these "gymnastics" days. However, yesterday was easier day with just running in my program so I figured I might just do something else too. The bar felt extremely heavy though so I left it alone. Just worked on technique for snatch and cleans but nothing much in that scene.

Rings.

• Every minute on the minute, to reach 15 ring muscle-ups

After warming up my joints for a while I jumped on the rings and put the clock running. I wanted to have some sort of structure on this one. So it was every minute on the minute one set of muscle-ups. In the beginning it was singles, then towards the end it got to doubles which was awesome! I have muscle-ups but it's not that easy for me to link 'em together for multiple reps. Currently I'm trying to build up a good confidence on this movement (and it has already taken huge leaps forward), and getting some volume. I'm sure it will pay off in the end. Below are the reps by the minute.

Metcon. Time, 10.40

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 deadlift, 85kg
• 10 lateral burpee
• 20 air squat
• 7 ring dip

I had one bad ass workout in mind, written by Ben Bergeron himself, but the bar felt super heavy. I took 40kg overhead squats and 60kg power cleans and it was like a ton was being lifted. No need to give that torture on my body because it obviously wasn't receptive this time.

Muscle-ups and barbell work

This metcon was created on the spot because I wasn't ready to leave. I really wanted something to put me breathe heavily. Got a successful metcon in that sense =) Light deadlifts for quite a number of reps, burpees over the bar, squats with just bodyweight and more rings.

Metcon

The number of reps were put down in a way they could be handled unbroken. Had no troubles in hitting them ub but they started to wear me down for sure. I'm really happy I jumped on this train and finished the training session with a good metcon.

The man, the myth, the legend - Mikko Salo on 13.5

It's really awesome to sense the Crossfit Open atmosphere in our sport right now. The season is long, and has just begun. We will be seeing another great and intense year of competition. Here's one clip from our own champion, Mikko Salo smash 13.5 from 2 years ago. He's a man with incredible mental toughness.

Thursday 15.1: Snatch, Ohs, Thrusters, Burpees

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!

Wednesday 10.12: Snatch, Snatch press, Ohs, Burpees

Wednesday. Snatch, emom x 8min: 2 hang squat snatch @ 50kg. Snatch grip press 3-3-3 (max 70kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 ohs (42.5kg), 10 lateral burpees. Time, 8.12.

Went to work later in the afternoon so I had plenty of time to hit a session in the morning. I stepped at the gym 9.00, and took long warm-up to get ready for this snatch session. I'll continue to focus on snatch to improve on my mobility, and it's paying off. I took some accessory work in the form of snatch press triples. Last element was overhead squat and burpee combo, great one!

Snatch.

• Every minute on the minute x 8 min
• 2 hang squat snatch, 50kg

First I did classic Burgener warm-up stuff with pvc pipe and empty barbell. Then added some light weight on the barbell before starting the actual snatch workout. On these days that I don't have to rush anywhere I definitely take advantage of the time window. I'll prepare my body for 30-60 minutes before hitting it seriously. And I'm sure my body will thank me for that.

First set was on the light side. Second was a disaster with a failed rep on the first rep, and the replacing reps weren't beautiful either. Third set was okay effort and the path was much better than before. Fourth set was the best by far. Both lifts were decent and got to a deeper squat. Next minute effort was pretty much like the the 4th set. Actually the rest of the sets were somewhat similar. There was one shaky lift on the last set but the latter one was a good one. And by good ones I mean good ones for me.

I'm gonna continue to smash snatch in the near future, getting more comfortable in overhead squat position. This is a clean weakness and needs to be corrected.

Snatch emom

Barbell.

• Snatch grip push press behind the neck 3-3-3 (60, 65, 70kg)

When I was doing those sets of snatch press it felt all the time like it's well under control. On the video the first set seems a bit wobbly for some reason. The reason why this was part of today's training session was because I want to get stronger on the overhead position with snatch grip. Eventually this will absolutely transfer into snatch with some level.

Snatch presses

Sets were okay, no problems at all in the presses. Three triples with increasing weight, up to 70kg for max set. I did 85kg press last week when I went to max lift on the overhead squat.

Mobility

Metcon. Time, 8.12

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 overhead squat, 42.5kg
• 10 lateral burpee

I reckoned this might be a fun little shoulder pain. And it was. Combination of ohs and burpees made muscles hurt. Again, ohs position is something that needs to be made better. So you'll probably see these in metcons too in the future. Weight was set at the classic 95lbs which converts to 42.5kg. Better do it this way so for example Nancy is similar weight and not a pound more.

This was no surprise that it hurt in my shoulders and legs. Both elements started to get tougher. I had to pace myself steadily because gassing in the beginning is not my thing. So round times were quite stable and that's the reason I was able to keep the man moving. First and last rounds were the fastest, actually the last one was the fastest. It was kinda like the last sprint to the finish line. There's nothing you have to hold back at that point.

Metcon

This was a great training day. My confidence on the snatch scene is getting better. Gotta work on that good base before hitting "heavy" weights. Plus a good old metcon always makes a man happy =)

Thursday 14.8: Jerks, Clean and Jerk, and Burpees

Thursday. Strength, split jerk 3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1 (max 95kg). Metcon, 10-8-6-4-2, clean & jerk (60kg) and lateral burpees. Time 4.47.

My focus for today was getting the bar up overhead. The solution for that was split jerk work taken from the rack. Going heavy, not maxing out though. Then for high intensity I took advice of Toni's hint and completed a workout he did just yesterday. I had in mind mixing clean & jerks and pull-ups but those burpees weren't that bad idea after all. Decided to roll the dice with this one. Juuso was there today to workout with me.

Strength.

• Split jerk 3-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1 (75, 75, 75, 85, 85, 85, 90, 92.5, 95kg)

I did some clean and jerk work earlier in the week, on Monday. Then, the set-up was a little different as I took the barbell from ground with a clean and then finished it off with 3 touch'n'go split jerks. Plus, it was "every minute on the minute" - work so the nature was a little different. Anyway, it was a great way to get these shoulders activated to overhead work and prepare for this day mentally. Bar felt light on Monday, it was 70kg all the way for 12min emom.

I had determined the weights beforehand, especially for the triples and doubles. I was a little sketchy on the singles and left a little room for listening to my body and make the decisions on the fly. Got the triples done in TnG style without resting the bar in the front rack position at all, just bouncing it back up right away. Those were not bad at all, I felt confident with them. Had some issues with my right shoulder though, it felt very tight and you could say it didn't feel perfect on the lifts when I had my hands straight overhead.

85kg double

Anyway, it was time to add 10kg on the bar and go for doubles. Same thing, shoulder wasn't perfect but the weight itself was okay to handle. Got identical lifts on all 6 attempts at this stage. However, I didn't want to bring too much burden on my shoulder so I jumped to 90kg for the singles. Had in mind doing them all at 95kg but decided to jump there gradually, from 90kg with 2.5kg increase after every jerk.

This was a good session in my opinion. Got good heavy lifts and reminded my body how it feels like having considerable weight overhead. And I got to say it feels awesome! I love having bar up with straight hands, there's something brutal in that =) Let's make these shoulders stronger!

95kg single

Metcon. Time 4.47

• 10-8-6-4-2
• Clean & jerk, 60kg
• Lateral burpees

God damned Toni! This was not cool at all. I realized it when Toni said his time on this metcon. Before that I hadn't thought about the length of this workout. Obviously it was going to be short and intense, all in effort. Got to go hard from the beginning. It was kind of a mixture of Grace (30 clean & jerks for time) and 30 burpees with a slight twist: you got to jump over the bar after every burpee. That's a lateral burpee. Toni nailed this one in 6:10 and was one of the toughest stallions at his affiliate. So I had the usual butterflies in my stomach that always come before Grace or Fran.

It was game time baby. My plan hitting in to the workout was doing the first set of c&j's in 5-5. I could push them through unbroken, no doubt but I thought that would bring a disaster pretty soon. I think it was a smart move for me. Got them as planned, then went after burpees. For some reason I have the same issue with lateral burpees & bar-over-burpees as Toni has pretty much all the time ;) that is trouble in counting the reps right. After looking at my performance from the video, there seems to be 13 burpees on the first round and 7 on the round of 8's. Luckily there were anyway more than there were supposed to be, otherwise I would be devastated.

Clean & jerks and burpees workout

Burpees weren't nice for sure but they were the easier movement. No doubt. But they had a serious effect on me. On the round of 8 clean & jerks my shoulders were smashed from the first set of burpees. All of a sudden the bar felt like 70kg. I took this set in doubles, 4x2reps. Round of 6's went in two sets, 3-3, round of 4's in 2-2 and the last one was 2 singles. The bar got heavier towards the end but I kept telling myself this is a quick workout, don't whine and keep moving. Finally I got the work done and the digits stopped at 4.47.

I was very satisfied with this time, considering my Grace is a little sub 3min and there were 30 lateral burpees accompanying those c&j's. Couldn't decided which was burning more in the metcon, my shoulders or thighs. Both were in flames plus my lungs were trying to get mouthfuls of air but it seemed difficult at the moment. This felt horrible as all short "balls to the wall" metcons do but at the same time it felt great!

These guys are phenomenal, the Masters of the Crossfit Games, which means to say they include in the age groups of 40+ all the way to 60+ division. I look up to these guys a lot. Fitness does not look at the age of a human being, take care of your bodies people