Getting back to the gym after taking couple of days rest due to a light flu. Felt great to move the barbell. Loads were light because I didn't wanna press my lungs that much.
Saturday.
Back squat 6x5 @ 120kg
I was a bit nervous how the squats would play out as my body wasn't in 100% condition. It turned out these were awesome. I was positively surprised of how nicely the barbell went up and down with this weight. Normally that wouldn't be worth that much of a celebration but this time it definitely was!
Monday.
Emom x 12 minutes:
4min: 10 thrusters @ 40kg
4min: 6 thrusters @ 50kg
4min: 3 thrusters @ 60kg
Emom x 10 minutes:
Odd, 12 pull-ups
Even, 10 dips
Time to do some lung work. Figured why not combine a bar with it. Thrusters it was. Good session of weights and bodyweight. The latter part was conducted unbroken on the pull-ups and dips were with the rings for 3 rounds, and the last 2 rounds with bar dips or whatever they are called :)
Used to do tons of these when I played floorball. Great for body coordination and awareness
Tuesday. Build up to heavy triple of thrusters (result, 80kg). Emom x 6min: 5 thrusters @ 60kg. Emom x 10min: odd 3 power clean @ 90kg, even 10 hspu. Wod, 5rds of: 10 ring dips, 15 ghd.
Couldn't decide between cleans and something overhead so it turned out to a mixture of those both in the form of thrusters. It's cool to build heavy on that specific movement. Then some barbell cycling utilizing the same movement. Some wods afterwards.
Overhead.
Build up to a heavy thruster triple (50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80kg)
Every minute on the minute x 6 min: 5 thrusters @ 60kg
Sometimes thrusters feel awkward on my elbows but warming them up correctly and using those sleeves I bought some time ago have helped tremendously. It's because I have a full grip on the barbell whereas I hold the bar on just 2-3 fingers when I squat clean it. The bottom position with full grip sometimes feels not so good due to the grip. Today the warm-up was on point I guess.
Went all the way to 80kg for a triple. Felt good to go there. Barbell obeyed the commands told to it. This wasn't the absolute 3RM but I felt like my elbows didn't point straight ahead anymore on the last set so I didn't wanna compromise that form.
After finishing the last strength set I came down a little and completed 5 reps @ 60kg for couple of minutes. Those burned my lungs nicely.
Metcon.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Odd min, 3 power clean @ 90kg
Even min, 10 handstand push-ups
Damned those power cleans felt heavy. I'm glad I did this exactly like this but the weight on the barbell started to feel much heavier, and some of the reps were something I'm not proud of. Had to step forward and legs went too wide on the landing. Nothing serious but I'd like to see every single rep look the same, no matter the weight.
Hspu's were okay for the first rounds but the last ones were something to really focus on. I got through them unbroken but they were hard in the end. Last round was a battle.
Metcon.
5 rounds of:
10 ring dips
15 ghd sit-ups
The last piece of today came as a surprise. Was definitely not planned beforehand. Rings looked tempting and so I looked around what to partner them up with. Wasn't gonna touch any weights at all for the rest of the day. Ghd's came up pretty quickly.
Dips were unbroken for 2 rounds. Then I broke them into 6-4, then 5-3-2, and lastly 5-2-2-1. Kept the recoveries so that I got through this as fast as possible. Ghd's unbroken. This was a good combination of movements. Triceps were sore after the session.
Tuesday. AM. Death by ring dips. Result, 87 reps. Ring push-ups, emom x 20. Total of 160 reps. PM. Pair wod 20min amrap, other one does lunges 30mx30kg. In the meanwhile the other one does 10 burpees + amrap of db snatches @ 25kg
Rings.
Death by ring dips. Result, 87 reps (12 rounds + 9 reps on the 13th round)
Every minute on the minute x 20min: ring push-ups
2 sets of: 10-10-9-9-8-8-7-7-6-6
Started the day after breakfast with a stroll with the family. Then right onto playing with the rings. Death by ring dips was interesting. Got very tough at around 10 reps. I believe they were unbroken until that set. On the 11th round I needed to break it. Couldn't finish the 13th round anymore, 9 reps completed there.
Ring push-ups emom wod wasn't that much of a conditioning piece. Just needed to burn my chest, triceps and shoulders a bit more. Worked perfectly. Took 10 reps for the first 2 minutes, then dropped one rep for the next 2 rounds and so on. After the round of 6's, I started it all over again. That means it was a 20min emom workout.
Pair wod.
20min amrap
The other one completes back rack lunges constantly for 30 meters @ 30kg
In the meanwhile the other one does 10 burpees + an amrap of dumbbell snatches @ 25kg
It was super cool to get my friend Antti throw down with me in the evening. Women went for a walk with the babies and we got ourselves some bro-sesh. It was pretty much the first touch for Antti with crossfit. Sure he knows what it's all about but it was freaking cool to get him to try it out. And he beast modes through the workout all the way!
The idea was that one of us was doing lunges for the entire 20 minutes. Every time the other was doing lunges, the other one did 10 burpees and as many snatches as possible in the remaining time that the other guy was still doing the lunges. The movements hurt legs, butt and lungs. Very good combo and nice to get a training partner. Plus Kari was cheering us up and giving check point times in the middle of the workout. Great training day!
It was very difficult for me to come up with pleasing training plans. Exceptionally there were not a plan when entering the gym and it had to be created on the spot. Had tons of ideas which finally turned out to be the following.
Metcon. Result, 399 reps
20min amrap of:
7 handstand push-ups
7 push jerks @ 50kg
21 box jumps
21 walking lunges
In the beginning this felt like okay, I'm gonna dominate this. Pretty soon I realized that was too cocky. The movements were paired intentionally so that two shoulder-demolishers needed to be completed together and the lower body smashes also right after the other.
It worked just like I thought. Shoulders got fired up on the hspu/jerk combo. Jerks also gave pressure to legs so doing box / lunges right after really got tricky. It was a great workout and kept my breathing high and sweating like a pig.
Conditioning.
For 30 total minutes:
1st min: 10 unbroken ring dips
2nd min: bike
3rd min: bike
Needed to get my head around again after recovering for a while I wrote this one. It meant there were 10 ring dips that needed to be completed unbroken. At least that was the initial plan. At some point I wondered how many rounds I could do without having to drop down from the rings. I'm very happy all 10 rounds got through as planned as this is not my best strength. The next two rounds were written to build engine and endurance on the bike. It worked perfectly as a combo.
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.
Saturday. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 2 rope climbs, run x meters. PM. Emom x 30. 1st: 15 wb, 2nd: 12 kb swing @ 32kg, 3rd: 14 sandbag ground to shoulder, 4th: 8 ring dips, 5th: rest.
I've been waiting to get my hands on the rope for some time. It was a no-brainer to climb up the tree once we arrived to Klaukkala. Had to do them. There were two sessions on Saturday. Metcon in the morning, and then a slow pace workout in the afternoon in emom style.
Metcon. Result, 5 rounds
15min amrap of:
2 rope climbs
Run x meters
Combination of running and ropes is cool. Get that heart rate up on the run and then rope climbs are bad ass movement that feels tough in pretty much every sense. Two ropes and then run for a distance that I have no idea how far away it was. It took a little less than 3 minutes to finish a round. It stayed consistent throughout the 15 minutes.
This was an amrap which basically ended at 14:41 after I came back from the 5th round. I'm happy on the rope climbs. Didn't have to stop between the reps but just kept gong back for more. Loved this wod.
Couple of hours later I wanted to do something. It turned out to be slow pace workout with low heart rate. Let's say it was more like basic conditioning piece. I had some stuff with me so I wanted to take advantage of them. Hung those Rogue rings on a pull-up bar for dips. My sandbag is also located in Klaukkala normally so I put my hands on that too. Wall ball is always a good choice in my opinion. I've done kettlebell work lately couple of times. This was a nice cool piece in the afternoon.
Wednesday. Emom x 15min: Snatches (up to 60kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 3 squat clean @ 90kg, 12 ring dips, 15 pull-ups. Right into 20 burpees cashout. Time, 11.54
Back at OPC for a regular training session. Got to say my legs were smashed when I woke up from yesterday's squats. Huh, it kinda feels good to have pain in the entire lower body. Today I focused on snatches and then a different stimulus on the metcon.
Oly.
1-5min. Every 30 seconds: 1 snatch @ 50kg
5-10min. Every minute on the minute: 1 snatch @ 55kg
10-15min. Every minute on the minute: 1 snatch @ 60kg
I went on totally by feeling. Started at 50kg. The weight is not heavy but I still wanted to focus on singles and "perfecting" my technique. That's why it was one rep every 30 seconds. After 10 reps it changed to 55kg singles, and at the same time the time frame turned to 60 seconds. Third part was the last 5 reps that I took with 60kg.
I'm happy on these lifts. They were pretty similar. I was able to bring the bar rather high on the hips, extend the hips and shrug the shoulders. What I'm still lacking is the catch position. It tends to stay forward instead of the barbell locating right above the heels when looked the vertical line from the side. Considering the last lifts were at 60kg there's no other option but to be happy as those looked pretty much the same as all the previous ones.
Metcon. Time, 11.54
4 rounds of:
3 squat clean @ 90kg
12 ring dips
15 pull-ups
After 4 rounds right into 20 burpees for cashout
This was a variety as the barbell was kind of heavy. Definitely heavy for a metcon. And it also felt like it. Completed these in three quick singles. At some point I started to feel the burden in my legs on the cleans. Quads were usually on fire on the last rep.
Ring dips have been ignored without any good reason. They are a weakness anyway so this was definitely a good choice. Got the first round unbroken, then there was no chance anymore. I cut them to pieces, they changed from round to round. Second was 7-3-2, third was 5 reps in the beginning and then triples and doubles. Last round was 4 reps to begin and then doubles and singles to finish it. Once the ring dips are gone, it's not easy to recover.
Pull-ups. First round unbroken. Then two rounds were 10-5 reps, and the last one was probably 9-3-3 reps. This is my best recall of those sets. The point was that right after the fourth round was completed I needed to drop down for 20 burpees as cashout. Must admit those were some of the heaviest burpees I have ever completed. Yes, at this point my lungs were breathing quite heavy but I mean they burned my shoulders a lot. It almost felt like I was doing some barbell movement, and it was challenging to push myself up from the floor. Kept telling myself there's only couple of reps left.
This week I've tried to leave work earlier to hit the gym 1-2 hours earlier. This plan has worked well and energy levels have been quite good. Okay now my legs are still sore as hell from previous squat session. However, there's nothing a good and proper warm-up wouldn't make better.
Strength.
Push press 3x10 @ 63kg
This was second part of a progression I created together with one bad ass powerlifter at the gym to strengthen my shoulders. He's the strongest guy I have ever seen so his credibility is legit. I'm going for 10's, 8's and 6's in the upcoming weeks in a linear climbing weights. Before doing the first set I built up to 80kg single. By doing that I'm also building confidence on heavier presses.
First session was earlier this week with 4x10 @ 60kg, and today one set dropped away but the weights came up a notch. This was doable but got uncomfortable in the end. I was still able to go unbroken in touch'n'go style, bouncing it off the front rack after each rep. I'm hoping this kind of work for longer working sets will bring pure strength on my shoulders.
3x10 reps
Metcon.
5 rounds of:
15 ring dips
20 ghd sit-ups
Wanted to get more work for shoulders. This was created on the spot. Ring dips were a no brainer because I was destined to put more work on shoulder strength. Damn those were tough. First round unbroken. Second round was completed in two sets, maybe 10-5. On the third round it was maybe 3-4 sets and the last two rounds were also awful.
Even though these were heavy they did good things for my upper body strength. These are pretty much strict every time I do ring dips. That feels like the only natural way to do them. Ghd's were much easier. On the last round I felt there some tension, maybe the last reps on the 4th round. But there was no doubt of hitting them unbroken.
Tuesday. Shoulder press 7x5 (across, 50kg). Workout, 5rds of: 10 shoulder press (40kg), 10 back squat (40kg). Workout, 6rds of: 6 strict pull-ups, 10 back squat (40kg). Gymnastics, ring dips and iron cross progression.
My right hamstring that got sprained on Sunday is clearly getting better. At least the pain is not as constant as it was yesterday. In the morning as I woke up the feeling was promising. Hopefully this trend continues in the near future as it's a bit difficult to pump the upper body every single day =) Today was mostly about strict presses, gymnastics and light squats. In squats my leg feel fine which makes it a bit strange. Pain comes when I have to keep my leg straight as the hamstring is under tension in a stretched position.
These were my vague plans before coming to the gym
Overhead strength.
Shoulder press 7x5 (across @ 50kg)
After warm-up I pretty quickly got to the first working set. First 3 sets felt a bit awkward in my shoulders. By going further shoulders loosened up as they got warm. Last sets felt a lot better in this sense. For some reason I have learned to like shoulder presses.
For a long time my opinion was that it's better to do heavier loads by push pressing or jerking the barbell up instead of shoulder press. And I don't say that still is my view on the subject as heavier loads overhead bring heavier tension on the shoulders. But shoulder presses have their own share in the mix too.
Workout.
5 rounds of:
10 shoulder press, 40kg
10 back squat, 40kg
By just pressing the bar sweat was non-existing. I had enough of it after 7 sets of strict presses for strength so I took a bit off the barbell, added reps, and combined presses with squats. I had tried air squats and light squats so I felt confident of hitting those without pain in the leg.
This turned out to be tough on the shoulders. First 2 rounds were unbroken, then I had to cut them in two pieces, 6-4 reps for the remaining rounds. Surprisingly heavy but considering there was no actual rest period determined. I did the presses, then dropped the bar in my back and completed the squats right away. Then racked the bar and shook my shoulder and tried to recover them before next set. Squats were light but I would definitely not go heavier at this stage.
Workout.
6 rounds of:
6 strict pull-up
10 back squat, 40kg
This was as fun as the previous workout. Okay strict pull-ups are not fun, ever. There is something in them that I don't like =) Maybe that is exactly the reason those should be in the program. Because I tried to complete this with a good rhythm in order to break a good sweat. I live for sweating like a pig. The past days have been tough in this sense. It's been more or less traditional gym-going, and not as much crossfit with high intensity.
Gymnastics.
50 ring dip
Iron cross progression
In the end I did couple of sets ring dips, total of 50 reps, in sets of 10 reps. Mostly they were done normally but some of them I did with slower pace, with the idea of putting focus on controlling the movement up and down. One set was slow-mo on the way down, then a short pause before coming up from the hole with speed. Got to say that set was a bit tougher.
We have one former gymnast who used to be on Finnish national team for years. He came around when I did those dips, and we started to fool around. It ended up with doing couple reps of iron cross on the rings. That was pretty sick feeling. He placed a rubber band between the rings, and pointed the rings sideways to get more support on the forearms. It was surprisingly easy under the instruction of this guy.
Monday. Bench emom x 10min: 3 reps @ 80kg. Workout, 5rds of: 10 ring dip + 10 light tall clean (2x12.5kg db's). Workout, 5rds of: 10 bent over row (25-30kg db's) + 10 strict press (2x17.5kg db's).
It sucks to have my leg out of order. I have to ignore lower body work for a while. No squats for a week I anticipate. Hopefully just a week, not month(s). Time will tell but I ain't looking for a month of just bench and presses. Today this was exactly the game plan. It was okay for a change but this is not something I'd do on a daily basis =)
Started the session with benching for couple of sets. It was a bit difficult to get a good warm-up and sweat on with being cautious of lower body all the time. Bench is a pretty good movement, I've realized it lately but it doesn't bring an old school sweat easily. After taking couple of sets I decided to drop down a bit and add the intensity to by making it an emom workout.
This weight was quite good for this type of emom. Actually it might have been the first time doing bench on the minute style. Worked well.
Workout.
5 rounds not for time of:
10 ring dip
10 tall clean, 2 x 12.5kg dumbbells
Ring dips were a no-brainer. What to couplet it with was a more difficult question. It turned out to be very light cleans with dumbbells. Heavy db's would have been preferred but at this point you probably know why that didn't happen. Ring dips were the beef on this wod. Went unbroken on them, and focused on full range of motion, and continuous movement and rhythm. Dips felt very good.
Workout.
5 rounds not for time of:
10 bent over row, 25-30kg dumbbell
10 strict press, 2 x 17.5kg dumbbells
Rows are something I do like never. I have overlooked this movement a lot. After trying it out today, I can see there is a point why it might be a good accessory element in fitness. Not replacing anything but at the end of a good training session some bent over rows with dumbbells or barbell are probably not a bad idea if there's plenty of time to play around.
So this was the first time doing these and the weights were moderate. Maybe I'll give it another shot some day. Today I took a short pause on top of the movement, and focused on good control both ways, up and down. Strict presses were the partner for rows. Counter movement. Shoulder press / Strict press for 10 reps at the same dumbbells. These started to get heavy towards the end of each set. Still, they were manageable.
Tuesday. Emom x 8min. Odd min 10 hspu, even min 10 c2b. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 7 s2o (50kg), 12 t2b, 7 ohs (50kg), 12 box. Result, 190 reps. Accessory, 5rds of: 10 ring dip, 20 ghd.
So we spent a long weekend in Berlin, Germany the past days. We came home yesterday at midnight after a great mini vacation! There was simply no time to do workouts as the tour leader (read: my wife) had arranged so much action and activities around the city. Plus we walked around all day, everyday so our feet were destroyed after wandering around for 10k per day. One huge highlight was when we went to see Bundesliga soccer with Kari between Berlin and Hamburg. The atmosphere was spectacular! One evening I had the change of throwing down for burpees, thrusters and some dumbbell work.
Got these little guys for new training shoes, Nano 5's
Gymnastics.
Every minute on the minute x 8min
Odd minutes, 10 handstand push-ups
Even minutes, 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
I decided to start with more like bodyweight movements instead of killing the barbell. I believe this was a good plan after couple of days more or less chilling. I went unbroken on both movements each round but I got to admit it started to get tough on the c2b's. Next round would have been a huge battle to go unbroken. Hspu's weren't light either. Okay, to mid-workout it was alright but the latter half was challenging. My lats were burning after this and I had to stretch out for a while to get them ready for the upcoming metcon.
Watching Bundesliga with Kari, c'mon!
Metcon. Result, 190 reps (5 rounds)
15min amrap of:
7 shoulder-to-overhead, 50kg
12 toes-to-bar
7 overhead squat, 50kg
12 box jump
The worst part for me of this was one definitely overhead squats. I had thought about jerking 60kg but there would have been change of plates between jerks and ohs so that might not have been the best solution time-wise.
All these elements were completed unbroken according to plan. Only exception was the t2b which was ub for first 2 rounds. Next 2 rounds were 8-4, and the last one was 7-3-2 because I had to rush to jump on the pull-up bar to finish the last round before the buzzer.
Each element had its own twist in the game, and breathing was rather high all the time. None of the movements allowed the possibility to drop heart beat down and recover energy. So I'd call this workout a success in programming. It was great to do ohs with 50 kilos as it is probably the first time I've had this weight in a metcon. Not sure but most likely so. Usually it's been 40-43kg.
Accessory.
5 rounds of:
10 ring dips
20 ghd sit-ups
This was not a timed workout. Just needed to get some extra workout done because there was no need to rush away from the gym. Ring dips are always a good call for me as there's plenty of room for improvement. Main focus on this one was rhythm and good range of motion. Goal was met.
Ghd's were good for core. I got a little headache for some unknown reason so maybe ghd's were not the best option because I had to go upside down on every rep, and hold breath when having head downwards. Still, this was a good cashout.
Friday. Clean triples (up to 100kg). Pair wod, 3rds of: 50 pull-ups, 50 dips, 150 du's. Time, 17.40.
This Friday was more like a freestyle session. It says olympic lifts for Friday's nowadays so it was going to be either cleans or snatches. Jerks are out of limits due to painful elbows. Overhead seems to be the worst for that case. But today they were fine, and it's been a while since doing cleans. At least it feels like it. I've focused more on snatches lately. Jasper had matching schedules so it was great to throw down with this mister at the end of the session for a pair workout!
100kg
Oly.
Clean triples (60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100kg)
My lower back felt like it's done a lot of work in the past days so after warm-up I thought of hitting some clean singles at around 90 kilos. Built it up with triples at light weight, and they actually felt very good so I kind of stayed in that mode. At the end I realized there was 100kg's on the barbell for a triple. Not touch'n'go. Dropped it after every repetition, then took another one, didn't rush with the reps.
Felt pretty smooth in each set. Tried to focus on engaging my lats fully, keeping my shoulders back so the barbell would hit a notch higher on my hips. Weights felt good all the way.
Pair wod. Time, 17.40
In a team of two, perform
3 rounds of:
50 pull-up
50 dip
150 double under
This was a lot of fun. Getting the chance to do a workout with a friend rocks. We thought about doing a chipper or then a classic couple-of-rounds type of workout. This was something in between. The volume grew in good numbers. Three elements, 50 reps at bodyweight and 150 double unders per round. "You go - I go" style. Repeat for a total of 3 rounds.
Jasper started with the pull-ups. Once he did his max set, we high fives and changed roles. Alternating for as long as needed to get those 50 pull-ups in the books. And only after we had completed 50 reps of pull-ups we were allowed to move on to the dips. We didn't plan about how to divide the reps between us but we had our thoughts that I might be stronger on the pull-ups and Jasper would demolish the dips.
There was also a point for this reasoning. He did pull-ups strict so it was only natural that I would do more of them. And why did he control the dips? Because he is a pure savage on those. Very proud of how well he smashed them. Strong dude. On the double unders we agreed beforehand that we'd split them into sets of 25 reps, and take turns after each set so these were exactly 75/75 for both per round.
This got tougher by the round, no surprise there, but I'm pretty sure we had consistency in the round times. We didn't tap the timer so I can't guarantee but we didn't keep extra pauses at any stage. Okay, the sets weren't as big towards the end so there must have been some difference. Lats were so numb at some point that pull-ups weren't moving quicker, and on the dips my upper body in general was smashed. Anyway, good breather but mostly muscles hurt so much we weren't able to move faster.
Wednesday. Back squat 5x7 (125kg). Gymnastics, 5rnft: 15 pull-ups, 10 ring dips.
More squats, 5x7 in the program. I had a great training partner with me at the gym - Jasper. He smashed some overhead strength this time. He's written us a great long chipper which we'll hit some day. Today we didn't have enough time. Need to match the schedules in the upcoming days / weeks. After strength I did some skills based gymnastics work.
Smolov.
Back squat 5x7 (125kg)
These long sets are painful. Actually my legs took these sets well but for some reason my palms are all white after every set. It's like the blood is not circulating well in to my arms. I showed my hands at the end of one set in the recap video. That means to say my hands are tingling. Why that happens is the width of my hands in the squat. Nowadays I keep them at the same width as in cleans. That creates a better and more stabile platform for the barbell to stay in the back rack position.
There is a possibility my mobility in upper body is not the best so that brings some issues. If it was perfect, blood would flow vividly, and it wouldn't bother my arms at all. Anyway, my point is the longer the sets, the more painful it gets. That's why these 7's are tough.
I'm happy on the way I was able to perform on ever set. There was no doubt of hitting the sets. Except in the morning as I realized this session is all about grinding hard. However, on the warm-up barbell felt light. I went up to 130 kilos for singles before starting the first set. Each set took an eternity, and some grunting was heard but I was determined to complete the sets.
Squats
Gymnastics.
5 rounds not for time of:
15 unbroken pull-ups
10 ring dips
Not an actual metcon this time. Timer was not on so it was "for quality". Only thing I had in mind was to do lots of pull-ups. It turned out to be 15 pull-ups, and I really wanted to do them unbroken. That's why I wrote in my notes already beforehand that they should be completed ub. I took my time to recover between sets properly. Rest periods were quite identical between each set.
On the ring dips I didn't have that clear plan. Just needed to hit some volume. Not huge but a good number still. Ten reps. First round was unbroken. I'm not sure if the second one was too. But third and fourth round were 5-3-2. My upper body was destroyed. Before last round I chatted with a fellow partner for some time which gave me more rest so I knocked the last set unbroken for 10 reps. This was good skills based workout in the end.
Sleeping made a lot of good! Morning workout was already good, and my body felt even better after eating post workout and taking a nap. Felt a little jammed when going to bed but when I woke up a bit later, I felt super! Sleep definitely makes a big difference. Morning was about overhead strength and conditioning. Evening was a lighter session with muscle-ups and emom bodyweight work.
Overhead.
7 sets of the following complex of:
1 power clean
1 push press
1 push jerk
1 split jerk
Sets: 70, 75, 80, 80, 80, 80, 80kg
At first this was supposed to be from rack but then again I decided to take work on my power clean in the process. Because why not. Plus I would have the chance to drop the weights at the lifting platform. Win-win. This was a lot of fun in my opinion. I'm still getting used to barbell work and weights in general so I didn't go super heavy. Well, it got heavier towards the end but there was no doubt of hitting these weights.
I though push presses might be the toughest part of this, at 80 kilos I mean. But that went well, and it was more like the split jerk. Even though it was the easiest way to get the bar overhead but it was also the last rep so there was some more work to be done.
Recap
Metcon. Time, 15.50
6 rounds of:
5 push jerk, 60kg
15 box
300m row
I wrote this as a 15min amrap. At that point I had 55 meters rowed on the last set of 300 meters so I added up the antes and finished the 6th round at 15.50. Concept2 was a bit further down the gym so there was some walking back and forth between rower and jerk / box. This was obviously unbroken on the jerk and box jumps. I was on the verge of putting 70kg on the bar. That would have made a big difference on the jerks for sure. Now as I look at it afterwards, it would have been fun to see if it was unbroken with that weight too.
Box jumps kept the breathing high throughout the workout, and rowing is always nasty in metcons. Pace was somewhere sub 1.50. There was time to pull it madly back and forth. However, the gains were not that great because of the short distance, and I tried to save some of the energy to those two other elements.
The last set I went a lot faster than the first 5 rounds. It was sub 1.40 through those 300 meters. It was a nice finisher to fully gas myself.
Skills.
Ring muscle-ups
I've been missing you guys. Ring muscle-ups. What a sick movement. I was a bit anxious about hitting these because it's such a technical movement. But luckily the level is okay nowadays, and I have certainty of hitting the reps when I attack them. They are not big sets but I'll get them. Today I did a total of about 20 reps in about one minute "intervals". So basically this was some art of emom work.
Workout.
Every minute on the minute x 10min:
Odd min, 10 ring dips
Even min, 15 ball slam
My plan was not to hit a metcon but I wanted to do something. Ring dips a weakness of mine so it's always beneficial to knock a couple of them. Ball slams got my heart rate up which felt good. This was mostly upper body work.
Can ou believe the Crossfit Games are here?!? This is an early Christmas to every crossfitter. Masters and Teens begin today, and individuals tomorrow on Wednesday. Here's a sneak peak to ya'll
My prediction of the winners are here:
Men:
1. Matt Fraser
2. Scott Panchik
3. Ben Smith
4. Dan Bailey
5. Noah Olsen
Women:
1. Kara Webb
2. Annie Thorisdottir
3. Emily Bridgers
4. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
5. Sara Sigmundsdottir
Tuesday. Snatch, cleans, burpees. Metcon, 7min amrap of: 10 ring dip, 30 air squat. Result, 222 reps.
Yesterday was a rest day so I was full of energy and high hopes hitting the gym. For some unknown reason my left forearm cramped on Monday and made a comeback today on the snatches. Plus I got another rip on my left palm so those kind of dampened the mood, and it turned out to be quite modest session after all. Tomorrow's gonna be a better day. Attitude.
Metcon's round times
Barbell.
Snatches (40-60kg)
Power clean triples (60, 70, 80, 85, 90kg)
2 sets of: 5 tng power clean @ 70kg + 10 burpee
Those first snatches felt really good, and the bar path was okay. I didn't rush the movement which lead the barbell coming up higher before contacting my hips. That was a good confidence booster for sure. I also got down below parallel nicely so it was looking good. These forearms brought some issues and I moved on to cleans which were not on the agenda originally. Took some triples there just to get some bar action in the books. In the end some interval work before my hand ripped.
Snatches
Metcon. Result, 222 reps (5 rounds + 12 squat)
7min amrap of:
10 ring dip
30 air squat
There was a need to get some real training done but these two issues were bitching in my mind. My pal Jasper agreed on this one when it came to my mind. Ring dips got to my triceps and finally squats were tough on lower body too. This wasn't that bad on the breathing because I had to pause occasionally on the dips. First 2 rounds were unbroken, and from then on I had to break them to pieces. First attempt in each set after that was anyway 6 reps.
Thursday. Hang power clean 4x5 (max 80kg). Workout, 5 rds of: 10 hang power clean (60kg), 10 ring dips.
We woke up again very early in the morning with Pauliina and went for a 30 min walk at dawn. That is a great way to start the morning. That almost turned out to be all I had time for today but late in the evening I sneaked to the gym and did some light work. My legs are still sensitive so I let them take it easier. No hard metcons this time. Couple of hang clean sets and ring dips.
Ilya Ilyin's afternoon heavy workout. I posted his same day morning light workout couple of days ago
Cleans.
Hang power clean 5-5-5-5 (60, 70, 80, 80kg)
I prefer squat cleans because those transfer more into clean and jerks and snatches. Mobility improves every time, and it's possible to go heavier. From time to time it's beneficial to do power cleans too. Especially for pure strength purposes. Today the reason was these legs. They were not ready to squat.
Recap of the day
Workout.
5 rounds not for time of:
10 hang power clean, 60kg
10 ring dip
Easy work to the end. My training pal Jasper had left the building at this stage so we didn't hit it together against the clock but this was just simple work load completed. The purpose was to go unbroken on both elements, and that plan worked well.
Damn I'm crushed due to yesterday's brutal workout. Those deadlifts killed my back and lower body. And the long emom just wore me down completely. At least my body feels totally smashed. Energy levels were not great to be honest even though there was plenty of food and recovery on Saturday. We decided to go to the gym together with Pauliina but it was definitely a light session for me this time.
After pounding the bar for some time it was time to let it be and work bodyweight movements. Got 20-10-10-10 handstand push-ups for fun, and then 3x10 ring dips. Not for time, no pressure, just get the work done. Do your thing and smile.
20 hspu
Recovery.
Run 5 kilometers
Mobility
In the evening I went for a 5k run in a beautiful weather. Wanted to flush the legs and get some blood flowing in the entire body. It felt surprisingly light to run. I was afraid my back would be too tight to run but it didn't bother at all.
This route was a bit over 5k. I had a mobility break at midway. Basically did some hip and hamstring drills and hung from a pull-up bar multiple times to let my shoulders enjoy the moment. I read from somewhere that hanging from a bar would improve shoulder mobility in the long run. I've added that to my warm-up routines because they really need that. It might be beneficial to spend more time on the pull-up bar though.
Tuesday. Strength, back squat 7x3 (max 135kg). Metcon, 15-10-5 power clean (70kg), 30-20-10 ring dips. Time, 7.53. Handstand. Mobility.
On Tuesday I had plenty of time to get some fitness worked up. Yesterday's front squats changed to back squats. Built up to heavy sets of squatting, and felt proud of that. Metcon was one of my brother's creations, very good version of Elizabeth. In the end I took couple of sets handstand training, and mobility work plus flushed legs by rowing for a while.
Strength.
Back squat triples (110, 120, 125, 130, 133, 135kg, and two reps @ 137kg)
This was a lot of fun! Squatting feels good at the moment. It gets heavy at around 130kg but it comes up pretty solidly. Depending on the day, sometimes lighter, sometimes heavier. Today my max set for a triple was 135 kilos. Last set was at 137kg. It turned out to be a double as the second rep was heavy as a ton of iron was on my back. There was not going to be a triple this time. I was still very happy on completing these squats.
Squat recap
Metcon. Time, 7.53
15-10-5 clean, 70kg
30-20-10 ring dips
Benchmark workout Elizabeth is 21-15-9 of the same movements with the only difference being the weight. It's 60kg. Rep scheme was naturally different as there were 30 semi-heavy cleans and 60 ring dips. Cleans were much more pleasant compared to ring dips. Dips are not in my wheelhouse so it was a good choice to do them in a workout like this. Those are high rep sets to me.
Cleans were no issue, did them in power cleans. It was something like 5-5-3-2 in the beginning, then on the second round it was something like 4's, 3's, and 2's. Similar probably on the last round, last 3 reps were singles. But the thing was that when I dropped the barbell, I didn't go and walk around but took couple of breaths and picked the bar up again.
It was the dips that burned me. Or more like my triceps. I always do them strict. Don't even know how to use momentum on these. I did these mostly in sets of 5 reps in the first round. Second round was 4's and 3's, and last one was just trying to do them as quickly as possible in small sets. Good wod for sure!
Cool down.
Row 1.000m
Handstand
Mobility
After getting my breath back again I sat on the rower and kept a slow pace, at around 2:00 for one kilometer, main focus was to just get some fluids running in my body. Slow heart rate movement. Then couple of sets handstand and finally mobility. I've found it smart to sit in overhead squat's bottom position with a stick or empty barbell overhead. Sitting in the hole for 20-30 seconds at a time must improve mobility in hips, back and shoulders.
Friday. AM: Front squat triples every 90 sec (up to 110kg). Deadlift triples (up to 180kg). Metcon, 7rds of: 6 hspu, 12 burpee, 24 du's. Time, 13.13. PM: Ring mu's 5x3 reps. Metcon, Chipper-style workout. Time, 13.33
Yesterday was a national day off of work and I continued that trend with my own holiday today as well. So it was only natural to do a double workout as I headed to the Box at noon and another session in the afternoon. My body didn't quite like the barbell work but bodyweight action was right on point. Friday was a good combination of strength, skills and conditioning!
Squat.
Every 90 sec, perform a front squat triple
60, 70, 80, 90, 1000, 105, 110kg
Before taking on this workout I warmed up properly and then took a short metcon combining 24kg kettlebell swings and ghd sit-ups, forming a total of 60 swings and 40 ghd's. The idea was to activate the entire body and get some sweat on. Mission accomplished.
These felt heavy even though they don't look like it. I guess my legs are hammered from previous days' cleans and squats. This squat workout went on totally by feeling but the point was to do a triple every 1.5min. I stopped at 110kg even though there heavier barbells would have definitely found their way up. I was more eager to pull from the ground.
Squats
Friday pulls.
Deadlift triples (110, 140, 160, 180kg)
Deadlift single @ 200kg
My body wasn't fully prepared for heavy barbell work for sure. I felt it in both squats and deadlifts. My hands and fingers feel sensitive from all the work put in lately. I've done a ton of hand maintenance but still they are sore and there are small cuts here and there. I took triples with bigger jumps than what I'm used to.
Those were all okay, and it was good to have a heavier bar in my hands despite all the above written. sat triple was at 180kg, no biggie. I was looking to do a triple also at 200kg and the weight was alright but I felt my back wasn't lined up as straight as I'd like it to be so I stopped after a single. Don't want to do such compromises with heavy deadlifts.
Deads
Metcon. Time, 13.13
7 rounds of:
6 handstand push-ups
12 burpee
24 double unders
This was great! Absolutely the best part of the training session. Bodyweight movements and shoulders were taking big hits on this one. Practically each movement put a lot of pressure on shoulders so they were on fire for most of the time. Round times stayed quite consistent too. First 2 rounds were faster (1:29 and 1:41) but then it stabilized to around 2 minutes per round. This was supposed to be a 12min amrap but I wanted to finish that 7th round too so it went a little beyond.
I got hspu's unbroken even though I realized on the second round it's gonna be tough. It was only 6 reps and should not be a problem but combine that with burpees where you have a pushing motion and finally double unders which seem to tax mostly shoulders. At least in my case. Shoulders are always getting tired the first in this movement. I stumbled on the rope on both of the first 2 rounds but then it was unbroken till the end.
Skills.
Ring muscle-ups 5x3 reps
In the late afternoon session it was supposed to be an easier session. I had tons of plans over things I'd like to practice. Muscle-ups are something I have gotten about 1000% better lately and I want to keep the progress on. That's the reason why you will see lots of mu's done on both rings and pull-up bar. This was not a timed portion. I took a triple, walked around the gym and came back to finish another triple. Total of 15 reps.
I felt very good on these. Only the last rep was a bit of a battle as I didn't land over the rings perfectly. But I asked my "gymnastics coach" Pauliina (a.k.a my future wife) what they look like and if she had something to correct and this time she stayed silent. That was a good sign =)
Metcon. Time, 13.33
40 ghd sit-ups
30 box
20 ring dips
10 bar muscle-ups
20 ring dips
30 box
40 ghd sit-ups
I did some ghd's in the morning but that didn't matter, it suited very well for this workout. Combination of ghd's and box was quite nasty. Ghd's were probably the easiest part of this workout but it put some pressure on the hip flexors too. I had some issues with them for 1-2 weeks just recently so I've been alert in listening to my body.
Ghd's were 20-10-10 on the first time and actually probably the same on the last one. My plan on the last station was to do it in maybe 4 sets because the combination of ghd's and box jumps was a high pressure situation on the hip flexors but then again it felt okay to hit it 3 sets so that's what I did. It took 1:30 on the first round and 1:53 on the latter one but remember there was transition before starting the movement for the last time.
Box jumps were tolerable. This number of repetitions was fine for the chipper. I was able to keep moving without having to stop and breath. Had one miss on the second time I was jumping around. Ring dips and bar muscle-ups were by far the most difficult part of this one. There were just 20 dips and they were alright on my way down but coming back was miserable =) Muscle-ups were 2-3-3-2 which means to say they were tough. Originally I had thought of knocking them away in 2 sets but those ring dips ate my strength, and it was hard to get them done for the second time.
This chipper style workout was pretty much perfect to finish this Friday. Now it's time to focus on the Regionals. Head on to games.crossfit.com to witness the Atlantic and South Regionals live action!!!
Finally it was a beautiful day, sun was shining all day long and it looked like spring was making its way here. So we skipped gym with Pauliina and squats had to be postponed further. We went walking in the forest in a perfect weather. Afterwards I asked a friend / neighbor to join me outdoors for a workout and luckily he was instantly in. He's not a crossfitter, more like traditional gym training so it was a positive surprise to get a training partner. And he did good!
Rings.
Ring dips
I didn't count the sets but it was around 40 reps of ring dips, just for fun. Basically I took 10's. Those felt great. Not heavy in the beginning as they usually tend to feel like. So I kept on pumping dips for warm-up as I was getting myself ready for the metcon. My pal also tried ring dips for the first time. He's strong in stationary dips, and it showed that strong upper body helped a lot for ring dips too.
Metcon. Result, 5 rounds + 20 kettlebell swing
15min amrap of:
20 kettlebell swing, 32kg
20 hand release push-ups
200m run
We got a good workout done in the evening! Kettlebell is always perfect element. Push-ups are too rare in my program, and by doing them hand release versions made it even tougher. Same with running, especially outdoors is something I'd like to do more but then again, I don't have the possibility to combine running with other bar movements. Those are killer combos.
So I kind of knew this would bring some issues on the swings, they would probably turn out to be heavy in the end. Well, I did first round unbroken, and then cut it to 12-8 in the following 5 other rounds. My result was 5 full rounds and 20 swings to the 6th round. This didn't burn my forearms but for some reason triceps and also lower back got sore during the workout.
Push-ups were hand release versions, just to add a notch to the misery level. I never came up before 20 reps were completed but had to straighten my arms after 10 reps after first round. In the end it was 10-5-5, and straightening arms in between. Just laying in the ground, face down, with arms straight ahead. That released the tension for just a bit in order to get strength back and finish the reps.
This is from yesterday's meal prep for this week
It was great to run, no doubt. It wasn't an all out sprint but I tried to keep my legs moving properly. It was 100m back and forth, with a little elevation on the other end. We did this on the backyard of our apartment block. This really got under our skin, and we were happy on throwing down together for this one.
