Sunday 28-31.8: Olympic lifts, Conditioning, Bodyweight

Sunday 28.6 - Wednesday 31.8: Olympic lifts, Conditioning, Bodyweight.

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.

Thursday 25.8: Bear Complex

Thursday. Metcon, 30 bear complex @ 70kg. Time, 18.34

Barbell conditioning, and muscle endurance. Clear agenda for Thursday.

Metcon. Time, 18.34

• 30 x bear complex, for time:
• Power clean
• Front squat
• Push jerk
• Back squat
• Thruster
• Barbell @ 70kg all the way

This felt like a good idea the day before. Not anymore after 10 reps. In my mind the demons tried to hold me back and quit the workout at 20 reps but I kept mentally strong and continued forward. This sucked ass big time, no doubt, but it was a pleasure at the same time. Loved it!

No wonder the last lift (thrusters right from back squat) of every rep was the hardest. One rep constituted of those five movements (clean, squat, jerk, squat, thruster). Took 30 "reps" of that combination for time. In my mind I kept pushing through in sets of 5 reps. After every 5 reps I tapped the timer to see how my pace changes. Split times were 2:17, 2:52, 3:18, 3:23, 3:31, 3:11. That means 6 sets of 5 reps.

Tuesday 2.8: Thrusters, Clean, Hspu, Dips, Ghd

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.

Saturday 30.7: C&J, Row, Db snatch, Pistols + Run, Pull-ups

Saturday. AM. Oly complex @ 80kg. Wod, 3rds of: 500m row, 20 db snatch @ 30kg. Time, 10.53. Gymnastics, 50 pistols. PM. Metcon, 5k run and 90 pull-ups. Time, 32.47

Sunday morning's main focus was on moving barbell and improving c&j ability. Then a conditioning piece that left a little bit of my soul at the gym. Finally worked on some skills before heading back home. In the evening I went for a jog that turned out to a metcon.

Oly.

• Every 2:00, for 12 minutes
• Complex of power cleans + push jerks
• 3+1
• 3+1
• 2+2
• 2+2
• 1+3
• 1+3
• Barbell @ 80kg at all times

Felt a bit stiff in the morning so I was a notch hesitant with that 80kg barbell. It was a load that was pre-determined so I decided to not listen the voices in my head and just build up to that. First set felt probably the heaviest but it was doable so I decided to just attack it. And told myself I just did a 80kg Grace with Toni, maybe last week.

These went nicely in my opinion. I got some of them on video. You'll see them on the recap. I reset the barbell on each jerk before completing the next one.

Recap of C&J and snatches

Metcon. Time, 10.53

• 3 rounds of:
• 500m row
• 20 dumbbell snatches @ 30kg, alternating

This turned out to be gnarly huh… Rowing was sub 1:50 at first, then on the last two rounds I went at pretty accurately that 1:50 pace for 500m. It took me about 41 strokes each round to get the distance covered.

Those snatches though. Those ain't light anymore. I've moved around 25kg dumbbell quite a lot outdoors as I own two of those dumbbells. Okay, 30kg db is not a stranger either. But 20 reps in a row (alternating between hands after every rep) brought such overall nasty feeling that it really felt miserable at times =)

Gymnastics.

• 50 pistol squats

This was rather quick accessory gymnastics work to work on some skills. One-legged squats in sets of 10 reps, alternating the performing leg after each rep.

Metcon. Time, 32.47 (total of 5.000m run & 90 pull-ups)

• Run
• 30 pull-ups
• Run
• 30 pull-ups
• Run
• 30 pull-ups
• Run

We spent the day in Helsinki, walking around as the weather has been awesome the past weeks as I have enjoyed my paternity leave. It's been the time of my life spending it with my loved ones. Next week I'll be heading back to work so let's see how the routines turn out to. We'll be moving later in the fall (plus one temporary move in the process as well), and I've been planning a home gym in the new house. So that's probably where most of my training will take place, starting from late fall.

Anyway, this workout was created during the first kilometer. Plan was to just go for a jog for about 5k but during the first leg of the run it came up to my mind that I'll head to one familiar pull-up station. They have monkey bars there. Complete 30 pull-ups and run to another pull-up station within 500-1.000m distance, and complete another set of 30 pull-ups. Run a loop and return to the first station, complete 30 pull-ups and then head back home.

I'm very happy on the pull-ups. I did some strict ones today in the morning but those sucked so I got my revenge. First set of pull-ups went unbroken, all 30 of them. I was pumped up and could have linked more together if needed even though it started to feel awful. Thought that might have destroyed my lats but I got 20 unbroken reps at the second station too. Finished it with quick recoveries, then 5-5 to reach a total of 30 reps. Same thing at the last time I jumped on the pull-up bar.

I'm very pleased on that performance. Running taxed my legs so that my quads were cramping big time as I finished. It was difficult to stand. Every time I came back from a squat, quads cramped immediately. Maybe it was lack of fluids in my body. There is a possibility I had not drank enough during the day. It was one heck of a training day!

Tuesday 12.7: Holleyman

Tuesday. Hero workout Holleyman. Time, 28.19.

This was a dream day. Spent the day with the family, then towards the evening we met Toni and his wife at Crossfit Kehä, and hit a training session in the process. Toni had a plan to hit a hero workout Holleyman. Who was I to think otherwise. Kehä's coach Anssi also threw down with us.

Holleyman. Time, 28.19. Compare to 21.11.2015

• 30 rounds of:
• 5 wall ball shots
• 3 handstand push-ups
• 1 power clean @ 95kg

Rx'd weight is 102.5kg. Considering my 1RM on power clean is registered at 103kg, that would have been quite humorous to go at the prescribed weight. Last time I did this one with 90kg at 28.10. So today it was 9 seconds slower but with heavier load. I consider this a victory! That's 92% of my max anyway. Took one rep at 100kg before we entered the wod to build some confidence on this heavy lift.

It was cool to have those guys with me to attack this hero workout. Wall balls were the easiest part, then came the handstand push-ups and lastly the cleans, those were heavy. Every one of them. Strategy was to do wall balls and hspu's rather quickly, then recover a little before the clean.

This was more like a strength session for me. Breathing stayed under control. Shoulders started to fatigue early on, maybe before 10 rounds were completed. But the thing was definitely the cleans. I'm super happy to hit every single lift without misses. Great mental win!

Below you'll see the work we put in with the boys

First piece

Second piece

Sunday 26.6: Barbell cycling

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
• Loads @ 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90kg

Barbell cycling.

• Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
• 1st min: 5 power clean @ 70kg
• 2nd min: 5 front squat @ 70kg
• 3rd min: 5 push jerk
• Last set 10 jerks

Tuesday 21.6: Deads, Cleans, Row

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.

Sunday 19.6: Thrusters, Cleans, Box, Accessory

Sunday. Thruster, build up to a heavy single (85kg). Wod, 5rds of: 10 cleans (ascending weights between 60-80kg), 15 box. Time, 9.12. Accessory. Barbell work with kettlebells hanging with rubber bands.

Today we spent the day with family in Espoo. Great day even though the weather ain't that summery at the moment. It's been raining fiercely the past couple of days. In the evening I went to the gym and worked on overhead stuff, good intense metcon and accessory work.

Overhead.

• Build up to a heavy single thruster (40, 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85kg)

This was something different. Usually when I do thrusters, it's most likely going to be part of a conditioning piece. Today the focus was on strength. I did couple of reps at 40-50-60 to get used to the movement. From then on I took purely singles. My forearms and biceps are sore as hell from yesterday's hero workout. Also calves and hamstrings are sore so it was a good way to start the training session.

Mut because my arms were sensitive I started to feel the burn in those areas at some stage of building the weights up. It's cool that I've been able to put weights overhead lately and that is seen in my overhead strength too. Completing 85kg thruster rather easily was freaking great!

Thrusters

Metcon. Time, 9.12

• 10 power cleans @ 60kg
• 15 box jumps
• 10 power cleans @ 65kg
• 15 box jumps
• 10 power cleans @ 70kg
• 15 box jumps
• 10 power cleans @ 75kg
• 15 box jumps
• 10 power cleans @ 80kg
• 15 box jumps

This got nasty pretty soon. Breathing was heavy early on. 10 power cleans and 15 box jumps, that was the name of the game each round. I just added 5kg after each round on the barbell, ranging from 60kg to 80kg.

Strategy was to go all singles from the very get-go. Tried to keep the bar moving continuously though. Lift, drop and repeat. Only at 75kg I needed to take the first short mental break. And at 80kg I needed a break after 6 reps. It got so heavy that it felt difficult to get the barbell high enough. I don't wanna lift it with gross technique.

Box jumps were unbroken. Tried to minimize all the transitions on this one, still having some sanity on the pacing. After cleans I walked easily to the box and started jumping. After box jumps I walked to change the weights, step back, inhale and approach the barbell for another set of 10 singles. This worked well in my opinion and I'm very satisfied on the pace kept on this metcon.

Metcon

Accessory.

• Stablity work with barbell and kettlebells

This was some sort of trend at some point. I tied some kettlebells on a barbell with the help of rubber bands. At first I did overhead walk and then overhead squats. This must be a great accessory tool for snatches and overhead stability in general.

Accessory work

It would definitely be beneficial to do bench with the help of this as well. Some people do overhead squats, that might be quite challenging. This was the first time I've ever done this kind of stuff so it was just something to get used to. As you can see, my training partner Lauri is showing some sick mobility in the video, good job mister!

Saturday 11.6: Ohs, Cleans, Squats + Rope, Medball

Saturday. AM. Ohs triples, build up to a heavy triple (up to 75kg). Wod, 10rds of: 3 power clean (85kg), 3 back squat (110kg). Time, 12.25. PM. Wod, 5-4-3-2-1 rope climb, 15 medball clean.

Thursday and Friday were full rest days. We had lots of stuff to be taken care of and I simply didn't find time to hit a workout. And that felt kind of good anyway so I let the gainz take control on those recovery days. On Saturday I woke up early to hit the gym for barbell work. Then at noon we traveled to Klaukkala to spend the weekend with Kari and Maija. It was a double training session.

Oly.

• Overhead squat
• Build up to a heavy triple (40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75kg)

It's been a while since doing overhead squats at real weights. My wrist have not liked this movement and it feels a bit awkward on this movement. It's kind of funny as it doesn't matter on the snatch though. I started at 40kg, then added 5kg after each set. No time domain here, just went on by feeling. It was rather straight forward action anyway with short recoveries.

I'm very happy on these weights. Probably the most I've been able to overhead squat for a triple. This movement is not the best of my lifts by a long mile. I've done 90kg for a single once but it gets really heavy at around these loads.

Metcon. Time, 12.25

• 10 rounds of:
• 3 power clean @ 85kg
• 3 back squat @ 110kg

This was different kind of action with only barbells in sight. Usually there is some bodyweight element included but doing just barbell work is a different kind of nature. The weights were moderately heavy so that I can't just go and rip it all the time. However, it was supposed to be something I can still move nicely. That means it's gonna hurt.

Got the power cleans in singles all the way from the very first set. It was heavy but manageable. Back squats were obviously unbroken. Had to take my time between movements in order to perform well all the time. In the beginning it was about one minute per round for 3-4 minutes, then it started to get a little longer per one round.

Metcon.

• 5 rope climb
• 15 medball clean
• 4 rope climb
• 15 medball clean
• 3 rope climb
• 15 medball clean
• 2 rope climb
• 15 medball climb
• 1 rope climb
• 15 medball clean

In the evening we went to the nearby park with Kari to do a workout in the nature. It's been 3-4 weeks from HC Triplet. During the last event there (15min amrap of rope climbs) I hurt my left shin big time. It got rubbed agains the rope so bad that it went all bloody from two sides of the shin. Afterwards it got inflamed and it took weeks to get the wounds totally healed up.

So yesterday I thought now it's about to test rope climbs again. The result was that the same wounds are now open and active again. Got to medicate those rashes well… Hopefully they recover much sooner this time.

Anyway, this workout was super cool! Holy arm pump. I can manage some rope climbs for sure but getting some volume on this movement gets to my body. Great workout.

Sunday 29.5: Power cleans, Pistols, Farmer's walk, Ghd

Sunday. Power clean 3-3-3-3-3 (up to 95kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 power clean @ 50kg, 20 pistols. Metcon, 4rds of: 40m farmer's walk @ 130kg, 25 ghd's.

Today's agenda was inspired by the ongoing crossfit regionals. Pistols and cleans were the main goal for today. Prior to that I decided to take triples on power cleans and hit some records there. In the end another brutal workout to seal the deal. I call that a great Sunday! During the day we spent quality time with my wife in Porvoo, what a beautiful city, especially during the summer time!

Oly.

• Power cleans 3-3-3-3-3 (80, 85, 90, 93, 95kg)

Didn't have this part in my mind early on but at at some point today I realized I need to warm-up anyway for the pistol / clean portion so why not take advantage it and rattle through some triples in the process. This time I built up to a heavy touch'n'go triple.

There is no doubt that those last two sets were personal records if I recorded max sets of something else than singles. Heavy power cleans are definitely not in my wheelhouse so I'll take this result victoriously and a smile on my face.

Metcon. Time, 9.00

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 power cleans @ 50kg
• 20 pistol squats, alternating

They did this for 4 rounds of 28 pistols and 15 power cleans. I modified it a notch, the volume stayed a little lower (118 --> 100 pistols and 60 --> 50 cleans). The reason was 28 pistols didn't something I'd be going through very fast. My legs are smoked from yesterday's strongman type of workout. Figured this would give me more intense end result.

This was brutal on lower body. Damned those pistol squats. I have them okay but when there's a good volume of those they are going to wear me down. More efficiency on those wouldn't be too bad of a thing. I did them 10-10 in every set.

This started with power cleans and so I did the first set unbroken. The following rounds were all singles. That was not predetermined by any means. In the beginning they were light, especially after the heavy clean triples. But then after the first round I started to save my legs for the pistols. Going unbroken would have taxed me a lot more than these singles. And thus I was able to keep going more effectively.

Metcon. Time, 12.20

• 4 rounds of:
• 2x20m farmer's walk @ 130kg
• 25 ghd sit-ups

My legs were cramping after the pistol metcon. Especially right quad was feeling miserable. Had to drink a lot and foam roll those quads to recover before the last event on this Sunday. I'll tell ya, those farmer's walks felt much more brutal after previous work being done today.

Ghd's were destined to be completed unbroken. Had to take a short break in the last set on top of the ghd machine as it felt like I'm not going to get up again otherwise =) This was a very good workout to smash core all the way.

Monday 23.5: Clean and jerk, Thrusters, Ghd

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.

Wednesday 18.5: Press, Squat, 15min amrap

Wednesday. Push press 5-4-3-2-1 (up to 85kg). E2mom for 10min: 1 pause squat + 2 squat @ 120kg. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 5 power cleans @ 80kg, 10 pull-ups, 15 wb. Result, 200 reps.

Damned, I wrote a post already and then it disappeared mystically. So this time I let the numbers speak by themselves without stories =) Got to say I'm happy on the push presses. Haven't pressed more than 85kg ever so got to take this with a smile on my face.

Overhead.

• Push press 5-4-3-2-1 (60, 70, 75, 80, 85kg)

Strength.

• Every 2:00, for 5 sets
• 1 pause squat + 2 squats @ 120kg

Metcon. Result, 200 reps (6 rounds + 5 wall balls)

• 15min amrap of:
• 5 power cleans @ 80kg
• 10 pull-ups
• 15 wall balls

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

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

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

Oly.

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

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

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

Recap

Strength.

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

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

Metcon. Time, 15 minutes

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

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

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

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

Tuesday 26.4: Clean and jerk complex

Tuesday. Clean and jerk complex. Start at 40kg, add 5kg, till failure.

It was great to get my hands on the barbell again. I missed that little guy. I bought elbow sleeves from Tallinn and hoped that might ease the pain I sometimes (read: most often) get in my elbows when having heavy barbell overhead. At least this first time those were perfect! Don't remember when I had a 85kg bar overhead without pain.

Complex.

• 2 power clean
• 2 front squat
• 2 jerk
• Start at 40kg, add 5kg after each set, go till failure, then start over
• Result: 1st round 1 jerk @ 90kg. 2nd round 2 jerk @ 85kg

This is something I've named Chris Spealler workout. Once saw this wod being done by him and fell in love with it. It was originally so that you start with 50% of your one rep max clean and jerk, then add 5kg per minute and go all the way up to failure. Then start again from the 50% load. I have done this earlier and started at 40kg so I figured doing the same thing this time too.

It was cool to jerk heavier weights than I have done in a very long time, and without no pain which made it even more phenomenal!

Monday 18.4: Macho Man, Wb and Row

Monday. Macho Man @ 65kg. Metcon, 4rds of: 30 wb, 500m row. Time, 15.08.

Time for another benchmark workout, two days in a row. This is not one of the headquarter's benchmarks but Ben Bergeron's (a.k.a. competitorstraining). He's the Man in the biz, coach for a bunch of Crossfit Games athletes.

Macho Man. Compare to 2.5.2015

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 power clean @ 65kg
• 3 front squat @ 65kg
• 3 push jerk @ 65kg

I've done this bad boy 3 times in the past years and it's eaten me alive every time. It's been completed at 60kg every time. Today I decided to roll the dice with 65kg. For maybe 3 minutes I thought this is gonna be okay. After completing 5 minutes it was a tough to digest I was only at mid way.

After 7 minutes it was a battle. My quads burned a lot but they held on for the entire 10 minutes. Got to say I was relieved when 10 minutes had passed. It was a good decision to go 65 kilos. Maybe some day 70kg could be the thing. It's not that any of the movements would be too tough but it's the entity. There is 9 reps per minute and the recovery part starts to feel rather short as time passes.

Macho Man @ 65kg

Metcon. Time, 15.08

• 4 rounds of:
• 30 unbroken wall ball shots
• 500m row

Needed to take some recovery after Macho Man. There was some walk between the stations so I lost quite a bit of time each round in the transitions. Anyway, 30 wall balls were written to be unbroken. Shoulders got on fire somewhere in the third round probably. Luckily I managed to go ub every round. Rowing was moderate pace, somewhere around 1:50. Didn't rest between the two though, just hopped on the Concept2 and grabbed the wall ball right away.

Thursday 14.4: Clean complex, 15min emom, Accessory

Thursday. Emom x 14min: Clean complex @ 90kg. Emom x 15min, 1st: 7 power clean @ 60kg, 2nd: 10 hspu, 3rd: 15 box. Accessory, 5rds of: 5 bench @ 70kg, 12 reverse hypers @ 50kg.

Thursday was a busy day all the way from morning to midnight but somehow I found a slot to hit the gym. This week's been running back and forth all the time so I practically don't have time to right that much about the training.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 14 minutes
• Odd min, power clean + hang squat clean @ 90kg
• Even min, squat clean + 2 front squat @ 90kg

Different type of complex of cleans. Felt pretty good on these. Barbell was heavy'ish though.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
• 1st min, 7 power clean @ 60kg
• 2nd min, 10 handstand push-ups
• 3rd min, 15 box jumps

Most difficult part of this piece was the end of hspu's. Maybe another set could have been nailed but then it might have gone more challenging. Cleans got my breathing heavy, so were the box jumps. In the beginning no big deal but after some rounds it was a different game.

Accessory.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• Odd min, 5 bench press @ 70kg
• Even min, 12 reverse hypers @ 50kg

Easy end to this session. Main focus on the reverse hypers. Should have probably gone heavier. It's just kind of a new movement so I didn't dare to.

Sunday 10.4: CF Open 14.4, Strongman

Sunday. CF Open 14.4. Result, 184 reps. Accessory, 5rds of: 40m farmer's walk (135kg), handstand.

Old school benchmark which I have somehow been able to avoid this far. It was about time to attack it. After couple of minutes rest it was time for accessory work in the form of strongman meets skills. Farmer's walk set for 40 meters and handstand practice between carries. It's been months since being in freestand handstand.

CF Open 14.4. Result, 184 reps (4 muscle-ups)

• 14min amrap of:
• 60 cal row
• 50 toes-to-bar's
• 40 wall ball shots
• 30 power cleans
• 20 ring muscle-ups

The thing that got me terrified on this workout as I was thinking about was basically the power cleans and muscle-ups. Everything prior to that is just basic conditioning, and I kind of think that's in okay shape in my part.

Rowing was kind of a cool ride and I kept a smooth breathing throughout that stage. It was quite accurately 800 meters of rowing with a 1.48 pace. It's rare to complete a big bunch of t2b's in a row so I decided to go by feeling on this one. Took 10 reps to begin with, then 5's from then on.

Wall balls were the easiest part of this workout, took them in two sets, 25 at first and then 15 to reach a total of 40 repetitions. Those power cleans at this stage of the workout with a rather good heart beat was interesting. The bar felt good in my hands all the time and the weight wasn't too heavy. But it just gets heart beat a lot heavier. Took these in singles for all 30 reps. First a 10 rep stint, then 5's till the end. My heart was racing pretty wildly after these.

Got to admit my body wasn't eager to jump on the rings after working for 12 minutes of rowing, t2b's, wb's and cleans. Damn it felt heavy to get myself on top of the rings. Got a double at first attempt, then two singles. They look easier than they felt and this got me thinking should I have forced myself to jump on the rings earlier with less recovery.

CF Open 14.4

Strongman / Skills.

• 5 rounds of:
• 40m farmer's walk @ 135kg
• Handstand

Strongman meets skills. Very different type of elements. There were 2x25kg bumper plates on each handle so that means the total weight was 135kg for the farmer's walk. This was not a timed workout, more of an accessory work. It's been months since doing handstand so it was fun to get upside down and attack this skill. It was a good combination of movements.

Strongman / Skills

Tuesday 5.4: Clean, Hspu, Box, Row

Tuesday. Metcon, 5rds of: 4 power clean (80kg), 8 hspu, 12 box. Time, 8.16. Intervals, every 3:00, for 24min: 400m row.

My legs have felt tired in the past week or so. Since I put up with that 4 emom workout in Tallinn, Estonia, these trunks have felt sore the entire time =) It's been kind of funny but I have still put more pressure on those on a daily basis. I'm very happy on the way I have still been able to perform. Tomorrow's most likely gonna be a recovery day as there are some things to be taken care of.

Metcon. Time, 8.16

• 5 rounds of:
• 4 power cleans @ 80kg
• 8 handstand push-ups
• 12 box jumps

Main goal for today was the rowing intervals. This one got added as an extra piece before those sprints. It was a good conditioning piece for sure. Cleans were quick singles from the first round on. Those started to burn my lower back somewhere in the middle of the workout.

Handstand push-ups felt great all the way. Those were unbroken each round. Last round was tougher but still manageable. Could have still continued for some 1-2 rounds unbroken I'd anticipate. Box jumps felt surprisingly tough on the legs. Felt a good fire in my thighs.

Intervals. Time, 1:15 - 1:20 per set

• Every 3:00, for 24 minutes (8 sets)
• 400m row

These unilateral workouts with just rowing included are challenging. Both lungs and lower body are taking a good hit during this type of wods. My pace remained consistent which was one of the main objectives of the workout. It was something like 1:17 or 1:18 most of the time. Fastest time was 1:15 and the slowest was 1:19 or 1:20. That means to say the pace was somewhere around 1:40/500m.

Holding on to this pace meant the work / rest ratio was something like 1.20 / 1.40. In the beginning it felt abundant but after mid-workout recovery started to play a role. Still, the pace stayed where it needed to be so I'll take this with pleasure.

Thursday 24.3: Squat, 2 wods

Thursday. Back squat 3x5 @ 135kg. Workout, 9-15-21 of: kb swing @ 32kg and burpees. Rest 5min, then 21-15-9 of: power clean and push jerk @ 50kg.

What a day! Toni called me to get my ass at Crossfit Kehä. He had assembled couple of guys at the Box for a training session. I needed to get my squats done before hitting the actual workout. The other guys played around with the bar for cleans, jerks and stuff.

Strentgh.

• Back squat 3x5 @ 135kg

Huh, this ain't that light anymore. This is part of my progression towards stronger legs. Doing a bunch of squat sets of 5 reps with ascending weights. Today's focus was three sets at 135kg. It's been ages since going this heavy for 5 reps. Or even a single rep. I'm very pleased on the weights and how well I was able to carry that load.

Metcon. Time, 3.56 on the first one / 7.16 on the latter one (if I counted them right)

• 9-15-21 of:
• Kettlebell swings @ 32kg
• Burpees
• Rest 5 min, then
• 21-15-9 of:
• Power clean @ 50kg
• Push jerk @ 50kg

After squats I walked over to the whiteboard and had another glimpse on the upcoming workout. I started to get a feeling it's gonna be nasty. This was one workout with exact 5min rest period in-between.

The first one was a good mental battle. It's all about pure grind. Keep the body moving. My mental game had one small deviation of the unbroken-plan at 12 kb swings on the last round. Other than that I was able to put my head down and move forward. It was a quick wod and shot my shoulders.

The latter part of the workout was tough. It's rare that 50kg barbell weighs that much. The boys had planned on doing 8-7-6 on the cleans on the first round. That sounded like pretty ambitious strategy but I figured on going by feeling. Took 8 reps on the first set, then 4's and 3's to finish it. Jerks were better, 8-7-6 on the first round.

Second round was pretty much triples on the cleans. I believe the first was tng style, then three quick singles and a break. It's surprising how heavy it starts to become. Jerks were 6-5-4 on the round of 15's. On the last round I'm happy that I got the cleans done rather quickly in singles. But then had to step down before going for the jerks. Those were 5-2-2. I'm telling you my shoulders were killed on this one. It was definitely a lot of fun to do this with the boys!

Saturday 5.3: Mu's, Snatch, Cleans

Saturday. Skills, mu's and burpees. Emom x 10: snatch (mostly 50kg). Emom x 12min: power clean (up to 95kg)

Saturday wasn't the most glorious of days as I attended grandpa's funeral. It was couple hours drive away so it was a road trip ahead with my bro. Emotional day for sure. It was a warm-hearted family gathering for sure. Anyway, I needed to get to the gym early in the morning to get my mind on something else.

Saturday's set-up

Skills.

• 10 ring muscle-ups
• 30 burpees

Hands were pretty sore which made gripping basically anything awkward but I wanted to get some muscle-up action done. The big take away was that I got to finally take the mu training on video and analyze it on the technique. I found out that my gut feeling of getting the back swing a lot better is true. It's been poor in the history but now it's much more fierce. I'm very pleased on that! Another key issue is keeping the legs together, another win.

What I'd like to see get done in the future better is that my body would create a more hollow body position and not that many angles. That would create a good tension in the body and elevate the body over the rings more easily. This concerns the swing on both back and front positions. Finished these ring muscle-ups with 30 burpees in a row to get heart rate up.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• Snatch (mostly 50kg)

Light weight. Definitely felt a morning training. Body was stiff all the way and really didn't get loosened up at any moment of the session. I took 40kg and 45kg reps in the beginning, then finished with 50kg singles to the end. First snatches at 50kg fell forward which made me correct the position with footing when coming up. I consider those pretty much a failed lift. Towards the end I got the bar path corrected and those felt alright. Then on the video I realized they were power snatches even though I thought I was sitting below parallel. That morning stiffness shows there =)

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 12 minutes
• Power clean (80, 80, 80, 85, 85, 85, 90, 90, 90, 95, 95, 95kg)

Had some extra time so I loaded the bar up to 80kg and took some singles. First at every 30 seconds, then from 85kg on it was singles every 60 seconds. Was supposed to end at 90kg but I decided to add it to 95kg anyway. Those were not the cutest ones but the rest of these power cleans were about on point.