Friday 13.6: Kettlbells and running

Friday. Outdoor metcon, 20 to 2, down by 2's, kb swing (32kg), run around the block between rounds.

We were supposed to go to home gym with Pauliina and Juuso but it turned out to be closed for the day because of some sewage work. The smell was disastrous so we had to leave the premises. Anyway, I went to the backyard in the evening and took my toy with me for some running and kettlebell action.

Metcon.

• 20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2, kettlebell swing, 32kg
• Run, around the block, ca. 300m+

How simple can it be to get a good workout in the books. Bring a kettlebell and your body and we're ready to rock'n'roll. I took a descending ladder of kb swings with my 2-pood bell. Swinging that baby was a walk in the park, no probs at all.

I ran around our home block, I've measured it's about 130m for this street you see in the picture, then turn around the corner, run about 20-30m and take the next street back. It takes a little more than 300 meters to get back from where I started.

I completed all the kb swings unbroken, and they faced no problems at any stage of the workout. They made me breath heavier for sure. It's always when you bring something overhead, the heart has to do more work and thus more heavy breathing occurs.

My back came a little sore during the workout. Not from the swings but from the running. I sometimes get some back ache without any reason. Maybe my running pose sucks, I don't know. My back maybe arches too much, I should focus more on my running form and do more work with my core. I guess.

The back ache caused me to slow my pace on the running on the last 3-4 rounds. Had to slow it down so that I noticed my breathing got slower and easier to control. Transitions stayed the pretty much same throughout the metcon. The only thing that changed was slower running and thus breathing was well controlled and I recovered already during the workout.

Take a look at some swings and running

Thursday 12.6: Snatch, CF Open 12.3

Thursday. Strength, snatch (max 55kg). Metcon, CF Open 12.3, 18min amrap of: 15 box, 12 shoulder-to-overhead (52.5kg), 9t2b. Result, 274 reps.

Decided to hit it hard today. If you don't know what to do and want to have a workout which makes you see god in the middle of the workout, choose a Crossfit Open workout. They all have that trait in common. They make you dig in the pain cave, deep. But once you've finished it, the feeling is great! You achieved something beyond words. Today was that day again. Prior to completing CF Open 12.3 I took some snatches.

Snatch.

• Snatch balance technique
• Squat snatch 5x30, 40kg
• Power snatch (touch'n'go) 5x50, 50, 52.5, 55kg

It was cool to get some snatches in my system. I took some squat snatches to begin with. I wasn't the most confident with them because it's been a while since last time. But the movement itself is awesome and probably the most technical movement there is. Especially when you go from ground to squat snatch below parallel. I've taken a record lift at 67.5kg squat snatch. Today I wasn't close to that number.

I took couple of reps squat snatch @ 50kg but they stayed above parallel and I couldn't find a natural path all the way down so I decided not to force it. Instead, I worked on power snatches and they felt goooood! Couple of sets, all 5's. And the point was exactly to go touch'n'go style, without resetting grip on the ground. The last set was demanding but I got it as planned and left the lifting platform as a winner.

Metcon. CF Open 12.3. Result 274 reps (7rds + 7 S2O). PR. Compare to 13.11.2014

• 18 min amrap of:
• 15 box jumps, 61cm
• 12 shoulder-to-overhed, 52.5kg
• 9 toes-to-bar

Okay, my upper body felt a little tired after those snatches. I took couple of push presses and push jerks with 52.5kg bar and those felt heavy. I was a little worried how this workout would turn out =) Especially as I recalled this being heavy as shit. CF Open workouts are always tough, Dave Castro makes sure that is universal feeling among crossfitters.

Okay, back to the workout. Box jumps unbroken. I think I've found a good and efficient way to perform box jumps. This spring I've done hundreds / thousands of them so I guess my technique has developed. And I can push my self through them, no matter the number of reps. That's something I'm pretty proud of.

Milko is a bit quicker going under the bar than me...

On those shoulder-to-overheads I basically went on with push jerks. For 2 rounds I did them unbroken. From then on I took them in 2 sets each round. Maybe once or twice as 6+6, then 7+5 to the end. And I got 7 reps on the 8th round as time hit 18min. This was a different strategy compared to last time where I completed every round of S2O's unbroken. However, it took me more time to recover before and after the jerks.

Now I was able to move much sooner to toes-to-bar. This resulted in a better end result than last time. I was a bit surprised to performing better. I thought that cutting the barbell work would cause harm but then again, I tried to move faster with shorter transitions. And I believe that was exactly what happened.

This workout is always a great test of fitness and today it sucked all my energy. Had to walk the fatigue away for some time before jumping on the rower to flush my body and put the fluids moving. I rowed for 1 kilometer with easy pace, just to recover. Great session!!!

I'd like to see Dan Bailey hit the podium with Froning and Spealler. That would be quite a combo, humble guys with super work ethic. There are such tough guys in the pool anyway that it's gonna be a sick competition, I love it! You've got Ben Smith, Jason Khalipa, Josh Bridges, Scott Panchik and the "black horse" Matthew Fraser just to mention few. Or is Matt a black horse or just a freaking monster, I don't know but his work capacity is tremendous.

Anyone of these guys could take the Games home but it seems like the champ himself doesn't have any weaknesses and that's really the key to success in crossfit. We have similar rivalry going on at the females' side so stay tuned for the Games!!!

Wednesday 11.6: "Macho Man"

Wednesday. "Macho Man". Emom, 3 power clean, 3 front squat, 3 push jerk (60kg), for 10min.

I wanted to make it hard today. Had time for one good workout so I decided to make it a perfect one. This is a benchmark workout at competitorstraining.com, the best crossfit site I know, hosted by Ben Bergeron. I've written about this page earlier many times. Man and a barbell, nothing more needed.

Macho Man. At 60kg

• Every minute on the minute, for 10min:
• 3 power clean, 60kg
• 3 front squat, 60kg
• 3 push jerk, 60kg

I warmed-up well before hitting the workout. I had no time for additional strength / skills training. Okay, this was as heavy as it gets so there was no need for one anyway. The idea is to complete 3 reps at each of the 3 movements, totaling 9 reps per min. I managed to get the plan done as prescribed. Rx'd the workout should be done @ 85kg. Plus if you make it through 10 minutes, you ought to add 1 more rep for each movement.

My goal prior to starting the clock was to make it 10 rounds and I stuck to that eventually. I'm telling you it would be awesome to drop the barbell on this kind of workout. After completing the last rep each minute the temptation is great to just let go. On couple of times I think I did but mostly I'll bring it nicely back down because this is not a crossfit box.

Power cleans were the easiest part of this one. It was the first move so there was not that much burden accumulated at first grip. It gets tougher towards the end of each minute. Front squats made me breath more and push jerks sealed the deal. I got everything done in the same time frame, no need to pause at any moment. It felt tougher after each minute, no doubt about it but it was tolerable.

I was glad it was over though =) I'd like to give it a shot @ 70kg but definitely in a place where dropping weights is considered ok. Push jerks were the nastiest movement of these 3 elements. I still went touch'n'go on my front rack position every round every rep. It felt great to being able to knock this workout as I had planned!

Latter half of the workout

Tuesday 10.6: Cleans, front squat, running metcon

Tuesday. Strength, squat clean 3x10 (max 80kg). Front squat 4x3 (across 100kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 400m run, 10 c2b, 20 box jump-overs.

Training day with my training pal Juuso. We decided to make it a bit different. First work on some strength and technique at the gym. Then we jumped in my car and drove to nearby Pirkkola outdoor sports center. Our focus was supposed to be pull-up bar and running. From these elements we ended up doing muscle-up / kip skills and then a metcon with running included.

Strength.

• Squat cleans, 10x60, 10x70, 5x80, 5x80kg
• Front squat, 4x3 (across 100kg)

First, it was clean-time. I came empty-headed to the Box and started thinking what to do with cleans. I was thinking about building it up to a heavy single and that way get back to the feeling of heavy weights. Then again, I decided to get multiple reps at medium weights. Took the first set unbroken touch'n'go style, as well as the set of 70kg's too. My forearms were numb at the end of 70's.

That set was tough and I knew 10x80kg unbroken t'n'go would be impossible. My grip strength was gone after those 2 first sets. After Juuso had done his snatches in between I piled 10 more kilos and adjusted my feet below the bar. I took 5 reps at first, then after a break I took another set of 5 reps. Actually it was more like 5 singles with minimum rest, but definitely not touch'n'go.

It was great to clean that bar, no doubt. One of my favorite moves. It feels heavier than I'm used to. The reason for this is the absence of heavy barbell in couple of weeks. I'm building it up to where the weights used to be.

Skills.

• Bar muscle-ups

It's been a while since I last time did mu's at a pull-up bar. It was a magnificent day that time as I learned how to land over the bar balanced. Today I did them not in such style as I did more work with the right side of my body / legs. That's why I did the old school twisting to get up there. Anyway, it was great to do muscle-ups once again. Got to do them more!

Couple of muscle-ups

Metcon. About 11min

• 4 rounds of:
• 400m run
• 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 20 box jump overs

This was great! Horrible but great! Running metcons are usually nasty. That element puts me in a dark place from where I have to dig myself up to find a daylight =) It felt bad but I enjoyed every second of it. The second element was pull-ups but I upgraded it to chest-to-bars. At first I thought about making it 15 regular pull-ups per round but this was more beneficial in my opinion. And it was very encouraging to make each round unbroken!

Originally we had thought the metcon to be a couplet of the above mentioned but I threw in a surprise element of box jump overs, for the first time in my life. I saw those guys smash them in the Regionals and instantly wanted to do 'em. We took some reps to get a feeling and get a better understanding what the rep scheme should be like.

20 box jump overs was great indeed. At first it felt easier but pretty soon it hit us what this is going to be like. On the second round of the workout we shared the disbelief of completing the workout. At 3rd it felt bad but the end was near and we both fought through the muscle and lung burn. Last round is usually mentally easier because you know you'll only have to grind through just a little bit.

It was a good training day, no doubt! Gym strength, cleans and squats, and classic running metcon spiced up with training for weaknesses, muscle-ups and chest-to-bars. Thanks to my training partner for keeping it real!

Monday 9.6: Thrusters and pull-ups

Monday. Combination of thrusters (40kg) and pull-ups, total of 60 reps both. Workout, 4rds of: 10 t2b, 10 ring dips.

I got inspired from Games Update Show host Pat Sherwood for today's workout. He has posted some pretty sick workouts in his Instagram channel which he has trademarked "Monday Monster Mash". Check out the dude's nick with "sherwood215". I've intentionally ignored traditional strength training and focused on metcons to improve my working capacity. Little by little I'll take it back into action too.

Metcon.

• At 00:00, 21 thrusters (40kg) + 21 pull-ups
• At 04:00, 21 thrusters (40kg) + 21 pull-ups
• At 08:00, 9 thrusters (40kg) + 9 pull-ups
• At 12:00, 9 thrusters (40kg) + 9 pull-ups

I started to describe this one to Pauliina and the first question she threw at me was something like: why didn't you do Fran? =) Haha good question but the focus was a little different. These four sets were supposed to be sprints, all in efforts. Don't take it easy, Pat described it as: "If you pace, you lose".

This is good preparation to a workout like Fran, no doubt about it. But it was a good quick sprint for couple of times. Those sets were cruel. I didn't expect it to go under my skin that way. I went unbroken on the first round. On the second one I dropped from the pull-up bar at 15 pull-ups. From then on everything was unbroken.

The combination of the two movements is somehow unique. Forearms are tingling in a different way than in any other movement combo. Naturally breathing was through the roof on each of the rounds.

Cashout.

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 10 ring dips

My shoulders and upper body was smashed after the "Fran-ish" so I just played around with 2 movements. This was nothing serious, just wanted to do these movements for quality. I've added ring dips lately because I want to start dominating the rings.

Champ rocking it!

Sunday 8.6: Run, overhead lunges, kb and squat + handstand

Sunday. AM: Metcon, 4rds of: 20 overhead lunges (40kg), 400m run, followed by 21-15-9 kb swing (32kg), back squat (40kg). PM: Handstand skills.

Spent the weekend at the in-laws in the countryside. Always a good chance to do a workout outdoors. It's awesome to hit it in the nature instead of a basement without windows =) The workouts' character is naturally different, I enjoy both styles. When going outdoors barbells are a rarity but Kari has acquired all kinds of stuff, including a bar with max 50kg weights. Today's workout was a nasty one and definitely put my lungs to test. Metcon in the morning and skills in the afternoon.

Metcon.

• 4 rounds of:
• 20 overhead walking lunges, 40kg
• 400m run, then
• 21-15-9
• Kettlebell swing, 32kg
• Back squat, 40kg

This was a great one. The first part took me about 15min, the latter I wasn't so specific about. Run was approximately 400m, tracker shows a little more though. Anyway, the distance or time wasn't the thing, I did the best I could and was burned after the workout. My shoulders were done. I'm not sure have I done overhead lunges more than once before, at least never in a metcon to my knowledge.

The weight itself on the lunges wasn't bad - just 40kg - but holding the bar in a static position overhead and completing rather slow walking lunges proved to be challenging. I did it 10m one way, dropped the bar, turned around and took another set of 10m lunges.

It wasn't that taxing on the legs, more on the shoulder department. Kari's barbell is shorter than olympic lifting bar which is cool for these kind of workouts. It's a different thing to start back squatting PR numbers from rack but for outdoor workouts this is perfect. I kept my hands at the very far end of the bar. It was just the width I needed for the lunges.

Running went smoothly too. It has felt better lately to run. I used my new Nike Free shoes for running that I bought from San Francisco. I didn't time this so precisely but I gave it my all on this part too. Both movements made me breath heavily and reaching goal line needed some hard work.

Second part of the workout was posterior chain work. Kettlebell swings and back squats. In a similar way as yesterday's front squats and burpees. I had loaded the bar already for 40kg so I went with that. Squatting in uneven grass so that was all I needed for back squats. I had probably 3min break between part 1 and 2.

I went unbroken for both movements. Kettlebells were american swings as they are 99% of the times I do kb swings. That means bringing it all the way overhead whereas russian swings' standard is to swing the bell to eye level. The range of motion is defined so that the bottom of the bell is directly over the ears, shoulders, hips and ankles.

This was a quick one but felt bad. These second metcons - even though they would be quick ones - are tough. Way tougher than they would be when done solely. For example today, 21-15-9 kb and squats. Not bad? Well, it turned out way tougher than it seemed because I was done after the run / oh lunges so it was a different game after them.

Still, I'm very happy I've concentrated in metcons now after our trip. I've replaced strength training with metabolic training. Gonna keep improving my inner engine and making it strong. It was spectacular to throw down with Kari today. He was working with kettlebells and bodyweight movements too. Respect!

Skills.

• Handstand

Afternoon getting some fuel in and chilling with family I took on some handstand skills. The weather was perfect, sun was shining, it was warm and it just feels like summer!

Saturday 7.6: Double metcons

Saturday. Skills, ring mu's. First metcon, buy-in 1.000m row, then 10-8-6-4-2 of: hang power clean (60kg), s2o (60kg),  c2b. Time 14.23. Second metcon, 21-15-9 of: front squats (50kg), burpees. Time 5.41

Skills.

• Ring muscle-ups

It's probably been a month or so since I last time did mu's. Our 2 week holiday kinda messed up the regular training rhythm so it's been natural to being away from rings. I took couple of reps to get back in the feeling. I got to admit I was a bit afraid could I get any but luckily I still got it!

Metcon. Lots of pulling. Time 14.23

• Buy-in 1.000m row, then:
• 10-8-6-4-2
• Hang power clean, 60kg
• Shoulder-to-overhead, 60kg
• Chest-to-bar pull-ups

Lots of pulling! Started with a 1k row. Then some work with a 60kg barbell, finishing with Chest-to-bars. That's something you've rarely seen me go after in metcons. I figured that would be beneficial and it truly was.

My row was a little sub 1.50 pace. I thought rushing here would bring nothing good to the table. A second or couple here is not much and would have gassed me more than I would have liked. It was critical to stick to the gameplan. On hang power cleans I did 5+4 reps on the first round. Then I hang cleaned it for the 10th time and push jerked the required 10 reps. This combo was demanding for me on shoulders. As I was done for the first round of baf work I stepped in front of the pull-up bar and thought how the hell am I gonna get trough those needed reps. For a second I thought about scaling down to regular pull-ups. Then I thought there's no point in that and decided to give it a shot. It felt surprisingly good and I did them in 2 sets of 5 reps.

On the round of 8's I completed 4 hang cleans, then 3 reps and in a similar style as on the first round I took the last rep in front rack position and went unbroken on the push jerks. C2b's were 4+4. Next round was 5 hang cleans at first, then last rep and ub jerks + pull-ups. From then on it was all in attitude for the remaining reps.

Metcon. Time 5.41

• 21-15-9
• Front squats, 50kg
• Burpees

It was something like 5-10min rest between metcons. I had left another barbell at 50kg from warm up ready for action and it seemed like a good weight for a second workout with high rep squats. I was able to complete them unbroken. At times it felt heavy but really there was no doubt in my mind to cut the set at any point. It would have been interesting to see what the outcome had been with 60kg.

Burpees felt tougher. Those weren't a pleasure at all. I was able keep my body moving at all times but it took me time to recover for barbell action. The first metcon had its effect on my energy level. But when I was doing squats or burpees they went well. Transition took some time in vain. On the other hand I wanted to go unbroken on the squats and didn't want to rush and then break the sets.

We're spending the rest of the weekend on the countryside. I'll add a video and pics tomorrow when at home.

Friday 6.6: Two metcons, 7min amrap & 12min amrap

Friday. Metcon, 7min amrap, ascending ladder of overhead squat and burpees. Result, 71 reps. Metcon, 12min amrap of: 5 deads (120kg), 12 push-ups, 20 box. Result, 235 reps.

Gonna work that metabolic condition. Two different metcons, almost back to back. Just a short break in-between. Both were amrap-style workouts and I'm telling you I was done after the training day. The first one burned my shoulders big time, it was also the first time I've squatted in a week as I had that inflamed hip flexor last weekend. The latter workout was focusing more on heavy breathing and lower body endurance.

Tightrope walking in San Francisco. Just walked by this guy and he offered us to give it a shot. I was in right away!

No wonder what happened… =) But it sure as hell was cool! Great body balance work indeed

Metcon. Result, 71 reps

• Ascending ladder, 3-3, 6-6, 9-9… of:
• Overhead squats, 40kg
• Burpees

This is an extraordinary way to build a workout. I've seen these 7min amraps quite a lot and they've been used in Crossfit Open too. I remember there was one with thrusters and c2b pull-ups. It's actually one of my bro's favorites. Or at least he does it quite often. Two movements that suit him well.

At some point I had decided to work on overhead squats this way and was wondering a friend for them to accompany in the metcon. In the end it was burpees that took the win. It turned out to be a good combo to kill shoulders of a man.

I went unbroken on the overhead squats through the set of 12 reps. On the round of 15's it got me. I was able to nail 6 reps, then dropped the bar, had to reset myself and then completed another 5 reps until the 12min time cap came full. I took my time between attempts. I had energy in my tank but my shoulders didn't have pretty much anything left.

Burpees went on okay. This was all about the ohs for me. The set of 9's and 12's were tougher and on the first reps after ohs I felt like I had no hands at all, couldn't feel them in a normal way. Those overhead squats took me by surprise and left me with numb hands to attack on the burpees. I had time to rattle through the round of 12's and then completed 11 squats on the round of 15's.

Metcon. Result, 235 reps (6 rounds + 8 push-ups)

• 12min amrap of:
• 5 deadlift, 120kg
• 12 push-ups
• 20 box jumps, 61cm

The second workout had a totally different nature. They were similar in a sense that my lungs had to do work a lot. But the writing in this one was more of a classical one. One round consisted of moderate deadlifts, push-ups and high-rep box jumps. Nothing special but the amount of box jumps. There was more than normally per round. 20 reps is no joke in the long run, it's a different thing to knock 10, 20 or 30 reps in a row. Deadlifts and box jumps were focusing lower body and posterior chain. As I haven't been able to squat, I figure to target the posterior chain otherwise. Push-ups were there to give some recovery on lower body.

I'm happy how I completed this one. Everything unbroken. I definitely felt tired after this one and had to get a grip of myself for a while. Breathing was heavy all the way, the combination of movements made sure of that. Box jumps are always a guarantee for great metabolic conditioning.

Thursday 5.6: Handstand, running metcon, sprints

Thursday. Training day in Eltsu. Skills, handstand walk. Metcon, 5rds of: 4 c&j (60kg), 30du, 330, run. Time 15.19. Uphill sprints, 10x70m.

This was awesome, I got a chance to go to Eltsu for training in the afternoon after work. Started off with handstand walk skills. Main wod was a running metcon, added with clean & jerks and double unders. This seemed like a good way to get my lungs to work. I'm stilling missing heavy squats but I'll wait couple of days before jumping into those. It was spectacular to hit a tougher metcon indeed. Couple of minutes after the workout I realized a potential for hill sprints.

It's getting warm in here!

Skills.

• Handstand

It felt natural all the way and I was able to stay consistent with my performance. It was something between 8-10m each set I tried. Maybe not the same level as those Crossfit Regionals' athletes that walked several 30m sets in the 3min time cap. I believe the longest distances were around 350 feet which is a little over 100m. Don't take the numbers that seriously, I wasn't that accurate but they were around there.

These sets were pretty much the longest I've had so I would dare to call this a PR. Haven't measured them so precisely but 10m is close to the best I've done. Gotta practice more this summer to master this skill better. Both handstand walk and still handstand position.

Metcon. Time 15.19

• 5 rounds of:
• 5 clean & jerk, 60kg
• 30 double unders
• 330m run

This was great. Exactly what I was looking for. My breathing was heavy from the beginning and didn't come down until a minute after the clock had stopped. I was able to keep a steady pace and I felt - the first time in a long time - like I was flying on the running part. Well, that might have been a little exaggeration but it felt much lighter than normally. Maybe because I haven't squatted that much lately.

I went unbroken with the clean & jerks. It was a bit shaky on some round with my feet work. I thought it might have been because of my shoes. I've used to lift in weightlifting shoes but these Reebok Nano's are pretty good in anything I do with them. Lift, run, jump, burpees, you name it. They were worth the money.

Run.

• Sprints uphill, 10x70m
• Recovery, walk back down, then sprint right away

I was about done after the workout but then after resting a while it struck me there is a hill when you walk out from the cave. I measured it's about 70m in total, all uphill, and the incline is pretty steep. I took a total of 10 sprints. The recovery was just a walk down, then turn around and run back up, no rest at the bottom. I tried to use good technique, lifting my legs high and running with my calves so that my legs would touch the ground as little as possible.

It was great to run today. As I wrote, I felt fast and efficient on the metcon and on the sprints. And the main wod was something my soul needed. The fast heart beat was something I live for.

Games update

Wednesday 4.6: Elizabeth with a twist

Wednesday. Benchmark workout Elizabeth with a twist. 21-15-9, hang power clean, (60kg), ring dip. Time 8.00.

I was working today later than normally and thus got a chance to go and hit a workout in the early afternoon. I'm still a bit hesitant to go hard because of that hip flexor issue I had during the weekend. I'll eat some pills for about a week but now I'm thinking about adding volume to training and getting back on track. Today I had a barbell in my hands and completed a benchmark workout Elizabeth - a great workout - with a little modification to the heavier side.

Helsinki by day

Elizabeth. Time 8.00

• 21-15-9 of:
• Hang power cleans, 60kg
• Ring dips

Regularly those cleans are taken from ground but somehow I reckoned this might be easier on lower body. Don't know but it felt great! I like Elizabeth, no doubt about it. I could have gassed faster but I'm adding pace carefully. My fastest time on Elizabeth in the classic style is 6.08 so there was room for cutting the rest times, even though they were hang power cleans.

Cleans went 7+7+4+3 on the first round, then 3x5 on the round of 15's and finally the last round was 5+2+2. Ring dips were according to plan from the beginning. Starting with 3 sets of 7 reps, then 3 sets of 5 reps and final round was unbroken. I've had some troubles with ring dips in metcons earlier so I tried not to gas myself out in the beginning. As I look at the video I could have gone faster with both movements.

Elizabeth

Anyway, I had about half an hour to complete my training session and this seemed like a perfect way to conduct it. I liked the session a lot and I'm very happy both movements felt lighter than I expected.

Tuesday 3.6: Hspu's, pull-ups, ring dips

Tuesday. Metcon, 10 to 1, down by 1's of: strict hspu's and pull-ups. Cashout, 50 ring dips.

Getting back in action. The pills have really kicked in and the pain is gone. I'm still a bit cautious because I was told not to work with my lower body. So I had to think about movements that would bring as little burden to legs and hip flexors as possible. Ended up doing hspu's, pull-ups and ring dips.

Handstand walking wherever I can, love it! This is in San Francisco

Metcon.

• 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
• Strict handstand push-ups
• Strict pull-ups

This combined to a total of 55 reps for both movements. Had to go strict intentionally because kipping would have turned to a whole body movement. It's been a humble experience to do handstand push-ups and pull-ups as strict lately. I did them strict in the States too. They should really increase the strength in upper body. Going kipping will increase strength in the entire body plus the side effect of metabolic conditioning. Like them both.

On the hspu's I went unbroken on the first set, and could have done at least 2 more had it been max effort. From then on I complete each set in 2 parts to the round of 5's. The last 4 sets I did unbroken. The cut sets were 6+3, 5+3, 4+3, 4+2, and 3+2. Definitely made my shoulders work a lot. The sets weren't easy for sure!

Pull-ups turned heavy, that took me by surprise. Sets of 10 and 9 went unbroken. On the round of 8's I was no-repped on the last rep. No-repped by myself =) I believe the next round was unbroken, and then on 6's, 5's and 4's were done in 2 sets. The last 3 sets unbroken. I took couple of no reps somewhere during the metcon. I tried to pull with as much as I had but couldn't get high enough so naturally I didn't count them. And I was not giving any slack on the strict / kip arrangement. All reps as strict.

Big shout-out to my main man Toni. He just PR'd his Grace rx'd to 2.58. You'll see couple of his Grace workouts. The first one was completed in 2012, scaled to 40kg, his first Grace ever. And below the newest date with this girl. Congrats man and great development you've had!

2012

2014

Cashout.

• 50 ring dips

As I've written so many times, ring dips must be worked on. I'm not satisfied with the amounts I'm able to complete in metcons. Today seemed like a perfect day to do couple of tens in the end. I tried to do them as quick as possible. I took a 10 at first, then with just small rest periods in between tried to do smaller sets to reach total of 50 reps. And I kept focus on going deep enough to make it count every time.

It was a ten in the beginning, then couple of 5's and then 3's till the end. I tried to keep the rest as short as possible. At times my shoulders and chest was so smashed that I had to shake my hands to get the tension released. This went pretty well in my opinion. I was thinking about the monsters at Crossfit Regionals working on the "50's workout", and tried to simulate the feeling as they had to do 50 ring dips in the middle of the workout. Those guys are the real deal, respect!

Monday 2.6: Rest day

Monday. Rest day.

Okay, day 2 of rest and I've pretty much had it. The doc told me not to walk and thus bring burden to the leg. The pills he described are pretty awesome as the pain went mostly away in one day. I'm very happy about this fact and there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm gonna get back in action somehow tomorrow. Got to be careful with the leg though.

It was a spectacular weekend of Regionals and it was great that the legend - Chris Spealler - got back to the Games for 7th time. He's one of 3 athletes going back to California for the 7th time together with the Californian Bear Jason Khalipa and Rebecca Voigt. Respect to each one on working hard and making it show!

Here's Crossfit Games Upadate Show from South West Region, Spealler's turf

And here are two clips from BarbellShrugged on teaching how to clean and jerk

Practicing the clean

Jerk technique

Sunday 1.6: Rest day

Sunday. Compulsory rest day.

Mind says let's go, body says no. I told you guys about the extreme pain in my left hip flexor and my worst nightmare came true. The pain is intolerable. I try to avoid doctor for as long as possible but the waking up in the morning to this amount of pain forced to me to get humble and book a time. The leg's inflamed on this specific spot and I need stronger pills that I have at home. I tried to take a cure with some anti-inflammatory drugs but they weren't strong enough.

So the doc said take it easy man for a couple of days, at least for your lower body. It's difficult to walk so no problem, gotta take it easy I guess. I'll try to sneak in some upper body workouts if I figure out what would be suitable. At least yesterday's pull-ups felt good. Definitely strict ones, no kipping allowed in this condition.

It's the last weekend of Regionals, it's been very interesting 4-week time span to look at the best of the best compete against each other in different areas of the world. I'm very glad our own Jonne Koski won the European Regionals 2 weeks ago and is heading to Carson, California to the Crossfit Games in July. He's been working with the one and only Mikko Salo and take into consideration the guy is only 19 years old. Great motor the guy has been able to build up. He's Finland's only representative this year as Games veteran Mikko Aronpää couldn't seal his spot this time in the Asian Regionals.

Here are some cool interviews of "The Dave Castro", 3-time champ Rich Froning and spectacular Josh Bridges.

Saturday 1.6: Gymnastics session

Saturday. Gymnastics. 1: 5 sets of 10 strict hspu, 10 strict pull-ups. 2: 5 sets of 10 strict ring dips, 1min dead hang on pull-up bar.

Oh boy, the wake-up was rough. My left hip flexor is indeed smashed. Home doctor evaluation says it's inflamed so got to let it be for now. Now working out with lower body whatsoever. It's difficult to walk, it's pretty much limbing style that I roll now. That doesn't keep from working out though. Don't want to use that as an excuse. But I'm not trying to be stupid. I defined the workouts so that they bring burden to my upper body only. Strict reps of hspu's, pull-ups and ring dips. Don't wanna use kip to engage lower body.

Gymnastics.

• 5 sets of:
• 10 strict handstand push-ups
• 10 strict pull-ups

I was thinking about making it emom training to get my heart beat up. That's what I would have really wanted. Metcon after metcon to get my lungs back to shape.With strict reps it's way more challenging and once those muscles start to get numb there's not much to do. Kipping helps in those situation but I had decided not to kip.

Recap

So I took strict hspu's to start with. First round went unbroken. That's by the way more than I've ever done as strict hspu's, c'mon! My "official" PR is 18 reps, used kip motion then. The following 4 sets of handstand push-ups were completed in 3 sets: 6+2+2 each round. I'm very happy how I got these through. There was a possibility that I would have to cut them to more pieces but fortunately I got them done pretty well.

Strict pull-ups are also a rarity. It would be smart to do 'em every now and then but it usually turns to kipping pull-ups because I incorporate them into metcons and there the idea is to complete the reps as quick as possible. Then strict reps wouldn't be the smartest thing to improve metabolic conditioning. Last reps were tough in each set, no doubt. First set was actually quite smooth but then from 2nd round on I had to battle those last 2-3 reps.

Gymnastics.

• 10 strict ring dips
• 1 min dead hang on pull-up bar

Ring dips were a bit too easy this time. I was in my thoughts I guess because I realized this only after the workout was done =) I had no issues in any of the sets. Ring dips is something I've considered a weakness of mine. The problems usually occur in high-rep ring dip workouts. But a 10-rep set shouldn't bring any issues. I should have put bigger numbers per round.

But the pull-up bar hang was nasty! I thought it would be cool to just hang around there and enjoy the moment. It was disgusting. Phew. On the first round I was there for about 50 seconds before dropping and finishing the 60 seconds with another 10 sec hang. On the following rounds I completed the 60 sec hang in 3 sets. About 30 + 15 + 15 second sets. My forearms were tingling and they started to go numb. Also my grip strength simply wasn't there. I felt my fingers sliding down the bar little by little.

This was a good substitute day to what I had originally planned. A different one. I missed the metcon and strength but these practiced movements were something that are always useful. I had thought of hard core bar action and kettlebell / run metcon outdoors but I'll save those for another moment.

Mr. Muhammed rocked that rope climb / sprint workout last weekend!

Friday 30.5: C&J emom, cleans and du's

Friday. Strength, emom x 10: 5 clean and jerk, 60kg. Metcon, 5 rds of: 5 clean (60kg), 30 du.

It hurts a lot in my lower body, as anticipated =) My hip flexors are on fire, it feels like the left one is almost inflamed. Hopefully not. I've tried to mobilize these hips and used lacrosse ball and foam roll to get back in the game. It helped as I went to the gym after work and worked a little to get joints warm again. Then it was game time. Clean and jerks as emom training, finishing the session with power cleans and double unders.

Strength.

• Clean and jerk
• Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes
• 5 clean & jerks, 60kg

I had planned to do 'em for 6 minutes, totaling 30 reps. I started to feel the heat at about 3 minutes. After 5 minutes it didn't feel good anymore (no one thought of that anyway) but I wasn't done with them. I figured doing 2 extra sets so I talked to myself complete 3 more sets. It's not bad, just suck it up. I followed the game plan and after 7 sets repeated the same uptalk in my head. "Just 3 more sets, you can do it". So climbed up to total of 10 sets, reaching 50 reps total.

The big picture is that on a regular day these wouldn't be amazing numbers but today it felt like a huge victory. My body's a bit of a wreck and I thought can I do clean and jerks at all today because my lower body is kinda smashed. But it went great and I went touch'n'go all the way each set and jerked the bar right away up in the sky as it landed in front rack position. No pauses there.

It was pretty awesome actually to do clean & jerks after a while. It's a spectacular movement, entire body has to be tuned up and ready for action. I'm very happy that 60kg is a weight I can manhandle whenever I need to. Fresh or tired, the bar moves.

Metcon. Not for time

• 5 rounds of:
• 5 power clean, 60kg
• 30 double unders

Can't get enough of cleaning the bar. Took the first set as hang power cleans just to try it out. The rest of the pack I took from ground. Cleans went nicely, had no issues there. I tried my new Nano's for the first time in double unders and I got to say there were pretty smooth. The touch in the ground was good in both box jumps yesterday and double unders today. The sole is quite flat which makes it suitable for squat purposes. Juuso has identical shoes - different color though - and he's been talking only good things about these on front squats and back squats.

Double unders were near perfect. On one set I messed it up at 28 reps… Other sets unbroken. And it felt great! My form was great. Upright torso, effortless completion of jumping around and making that rope do some work.