Friday 14.11: Squats, Pair workout

Friday. Strength, back squat triples (max 135kg). Pair workout with Toni, 5rds of: 20 shoulder-to-overhead (50kg), 30 pull-ups, 40 ring push-ups. Time, 20.30.

We went to the gym early this afternoon. I had the privilege of working out with Toni, great man and a great athlete. We don't have the opportunities to train that much together so every time I see him work with a barbell, his technique seems to have improved since last time. Today I was admiring his push jerks and split jerks in a similar way, great speed! I got my squats in the beginning, then I talked Toni into throwing down for a pair workout.

Strength.

• Back squat, 3x100, 112.5, 127.5, 135, 135, 135, 135kg

Today I had planned on climbing up to heavy weights. Due to this damned wrist I have put a lot of work on lower body this week and yesterday there were plenty of pistol squats and rowing to get these legs smashed. Maybe that's why they weren't that fresh for extreme squatting. In the end, I'm very satisfied to this squat session! The only thing I was left thinking was that my last set was supposed to be hard core: 142.5kg (95%). We talked it over with Toni that maybe it's better to push it through with 135 anyway.

First sets were light and good warm-up sets. First real set was 127.5kg. However, that brought no problems at all but I felt the next set might be rough. And it was. I got a total of 4 sets at 135kg for triples which is 90% of my one rep max. Those were expectably heavy and Toni had to assist the last rep in either the first or second set, probably the first. My legs were chicken legs at that point and I realized it was some mental weakness. One pal was talking positive things to me about the loads I was able to lift so I decided to put some more aggression on the barbell. This resulted in getting the remaining sets done on my own. They were heavy but I got them!

Pair workout. Time, 20.30

• 5 rounds of:
• 20 shoulder-to-overhead, 50kg
• 30 pull-ups
• 40 ring push-ups

Toni had thought about concentrating only on light barbell work for technical purposes. I'm hoping this guy's back will heal soon so he can start lifting heavy bars again. He was easy to persuade for a pair workout. He had his back problems and I have my wrist issues so we talked it over for some time before we reached a consensus of what we are able to complete =)

This turned out to be shoulder-to-overhead with 50kg, pull-ups and push-ups on rings. I was very optimistic on push presses but still it was scary at the same time. I haven't pushed anything in about two weeks now. I tried it with empty bar and it felt painless. Then I threw 40kg on the bar just to see whether the weights would bring more pressure. It didn't. That feeling was awesome, so we decided to adjust the barbell at 50kg and go for some push jerks.

We agreed on the reps so that we both did 10 reps of jerks in the beginning. Later on in the workout it changed to 5's as our shoulders and triceps were burning too much. As you probably know, the pull-up station is close to a wall and it was too much for Toni to handle as he has used to do strong kipping pull-ups at Crossfit Vantaa where they have a great rig and plenty of room. That was a bit more difficult for that reason so we divided the reps so that Toni did 5's and I did 10's as this was my home turf. I went unbroken in the pull-ups which means to say there were 10x10 reps of pull-ups.

Push-ups are too painful but Toni suggested we'd try out them on the rings. That was a smart decision. In the first round we completed 20 reps in a row, then on the following rounds it was 10's, and a bit smaller sets in the last 1-2 rounds.

Originally we thought about this for 20min amrap but as the 5th round was so close to end we changed our minds in the last round to go a little further. We ended up doing 5 full rounds for time, at 20:30. It was a great feeling to train with Toni!

Thursday 13.11: Kb, Pistols, Du's and Row

Thursday. Metcon, 20min amrap of: 10 kb press (20kg), 14 pistols, 30 du's, 300m row. Result, 6rds + 3 pistols.

Squat is pretty much the only barbell work I can do currently and you can't squat everyday (or do you hmm…) so today was all about bodyweight. I took a longer metcon involving classic stuff and then skills too. Great decision! It worked very well for the purposes and goals I had.

Metcon. Result, 6 rounds + 3 pistol squats (337 reps + 1.800m row)

• 20 min amrap of:
• 10 (5/5) kettlebell press, 20kg
• 14 (7/7) pistol squats
• 30 double unders
• 300m row

What I really wanted to do was handstand push-ups. I had been dreaming about it for days. My right hand is still too sore if I try to flex it to 90 degrees on the wrist. That makes it impossible to nail hspu's. On the bottom position it's okay but being inverted with straight arms is way too painful. It's not a healthy pain for sure. Let the time heal this one. I can train other stuff in the meanwhile. I'm just missing some real barbell work and hspu's.

It felt natural that kb presses would be out of question but I tried it anyway as a substitute for hspu's. Surprisingly there was no pain at all in this movement so it got part of the workout. 20kg bell is the heaviest there is at the gym. My 2-pood baby was at home. Those presses were the easiest part of this metcon.

Pistol squats are perfect element in a metcon, hands down. They get heart beat up, requires strength and skills at the same time. Can't perform them without either of them. And it also indicates if the body is biased in either left or right side. Obviously my left leg is much stronger than the right one. Had no issues with left leg whereas right was more challenging strength-wise. I still got them all done as planned. These require more accuracy when performed with Nano's instead of weightlifting shoes because of the heel elevation.

Double unders felt okay. My shins were a bit sensitive for some reason, maybe there's been box jumps or double's every day this week. I had 3 misses on the sets, one in every other set. Mostly in the last reps of those sets. I'd say those were more like minor concentration flaws.

Basic dinner, side salad

On the rower I went sub 1.45 on the first rounds and then sub 1.50 pace later in the workout. I tried to save my legs here and pull more fiercely with upper body. That's not ideal style in the long run but this combination of elements made my legs burn. Especially those pistols were cruel. I'd like to burn my shoulders more. That is somehow brutally satisfying feeling. Maybe I'll try some light push press tomorrow because those kb presses felt okay.

Keep the veggies involved. We had salmon for dinner in addition to these

By the way, have you been watching weightlifting's world championships this week. They're doing some crazy shit in Almaty, Kazakhstan. We also have couple of Finnish lifters there so it makes it even more interesting. There are some beautiful lifts being completed by Chinese athletes. I'm not that familiar with the lifters but I'm enjoying every second I see professionals do their thing. You can watch the games live from here.

Wednesday 12.11: Squats, C2b, Box jump overs

Wednesday. Strength, back squat (max 135kg). Metcon, 7min amrap of: 7 c2b, 14 box jump overs. Result, 7rds.

There's something great to have a barbell on my back and do some brutal work up and down. Today's last sets were heavy and I felt them in my legs. Another focus point in my current training are pull-ups. I'll try to add them on a regular basis in the sessions and today it was c2b's turn to appear in the metcon.

Strength.

• Back squat 4x90, 4x105, 4x120, 3x135, 4x135, 4x135kg

These were 60-70-80-90% of my 1RM. This was not my own creation but Smolov's. Smashing sets of multiple reps at 90% of max is not that easy. Especially as last time I made a mistake with 135kg and finished only one rep out of the 3 planned reps. This took place last Friday.

Completing sets at 60% was very light as it was supposed to be. It was definitely warm-up weights. Same with 105kg. Next set was 120kg and it felt fine all the way. The jump from 120 to 135 was a bit intimidating but in the end it turned out to be my thing. I nailed all of these sets without issues. The last 2 sets were definitely challenging but I got them done with a little growling.

4x135kg

Metcon. Result, 7 rounds (147 reps)

• 7min amrap of:
• 7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 14 box jump overs

Pull-ups and box, what a great combo and makes an awesome workout. There was a twist in both of the elements. Pull-ups were chest-to-bar's and on box jumps were up and over style. Both are more taxing than regular ones. On pull-ups you just need to pull with more power. On box jumps turning sideways on each rep makes it somehow tougher.

I was wondering about the time domain and the specs of this workout until last minute. I'm very happy on how it turned out. I had decided on the elements beforehand, was just thinking about whether to involve a third element or not. It turned out to be a couplet.

I was almost certain I would have to start breaking the sets on the c2b's at some point. I was super stoked to get them done unbroken each round. Plus round times were extremely balanced, no big difference between them. Round 4-5 were couple of seconds slower so I had to speed up in the last 2 rounds.

Needless to say box jump overs were quite steady paced too because otherwise round times would have been equipped with bigger difference. Reps on both elements were great. Having more c2b's would have been bad stuff but those 7 were manageable. I wanted this metcon to be one where I could keep on moving constantly and it was. Good choice!

Tuesday 11.11: Row intervals, Du's, T2b's

Tuesday. Row intervals 8x400m with 2min rest between sets. Accessory work, 5rds: 40 du's, 20 t2b, not for time.

Rowing trend continues, this time with pure intervals. Concept2 is a terrific machine, bad ass gear and enables athletes to build huge engines. Afterwards I did some extra with double unders and toes-to-bar. No barbell today. I miss cleans and jerks big time!

Interval work.

• Row 8x400m
• 2min rest between sets
• Additional 2min rest in the middle

It's been a long time since doing this type of intervals on the rower. It was cruel, can't argue about it. I gave it my all, especially in the first 4 sets. My times were consistently at around 1.17 in the first half. There were some demand on the rower by one of my training pals so I took an extra 2min pause in the middle of the intervals so he could work his magic too. But I'm telling you that was very warmly welcomed.

I put my heart into this one in the first half and got my legs jello. The last 200m were the toughest in these sprints. My pace was somewhere around 1.36 which means to say I threw pretty much all in. Can't pull much harder than that. At this point my legs were done.

Okay, I got my breathing and lungs back in no time but the burn in legs was beyond words. It was difficult to get full recovery so it was kinda stiff from here on, for the remaining 4 sets. It also got to my head that tomorrow's another squat session ahead of me and there should be something in the tank then as well. Pace slowed down to 1.40

Accessory.

• 5 rounds of:
• 40 double unders
• 20 toes-to-bar

This was not for time at all. And it wasn't a metcon style effort by any means. I wanted to concentrate on both without rushing through. Got the double unders unbroken except for one mistake in the second round. Felt good on these. Better towards the end.

T2b's went unbroken for 2 rounds. Then I had to start cutting them. It burned my core so that I had to drop down from the pull-up bar in the third round. It was probably something like 12-8 on the 3rd round. Then on the 4th it was done in 4 sets and the last was 5 sets.

Those row intervals were great, no doubt!

Monday 10.11: Squats, Pull-ups, Box, Run

Monday. Strength, back squat 7x4 (max 120kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 20 pull-ups, 20 box, 400m run. Time, 14.45.

Squat day. This is some sort of continuation to Smolov, I'll try to follow it, without stressing about it too much. But I need to squat anyway and there seems to be a good guide on how to stick to heavy weights. On metcon main ingredient was pull-ups. As I've told before, I'll increase the amount of them, especially now as I have some issues with my wrist and all kinds of press movements are forbidden. Pulling seems to be okay.

Strength.

• Back squat 7x4 (100, 105, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120kg)

These weights were pre-determined. Last 5 of the 7 sets were 80% of my 1RM. First set 66% and second 70%. Felt light all the way. It was a great feeling of pushing through these sets without any issues. 120kg is no biggie anymore. Warm-up weights. The result of squatting a lot. I also wanna squat frequently to increase mobility in my hips. It's not long ago since it was a problem but through working on mobility it has improved a lot. And squatting 4 times a week definitely helped it way more.

Push jerk descending 10-1, and pull-ups ascending 2-20.

Here's James Hobart going for this "Jake the Snake"

Metcon. Time, 14.45

• 4 rounds of:
• 20 pull-ups
• 20 box jump, 61cm
• 400m run (and crosstrainer)

I live for intense workouts. I've had to think about the movements what I'm able to do now. This wrist is setting some boundaries what I can do and what are out of limits. I'd like to clean, and press stuff in the air, do hspu's and muscle-ups, ring dips, burpees and snatches. Even squats bring some pain as the hand is flexed so I need to be careful.

Pull-ups are great, there's no pain at all. Today's focus was on rocking high-number reps per round. Started with pull-ups, then box jumps, 20 reps both. The third element was running. I got to the treadmill on the first round and ran 15km/h pace. On the second round it felt like one person jumped on the treadmill on purpose so I hopped on crosstrainer as a substitute, and stuck with it for the 3 remaining rounds. Went up to 400m on that too, it took a bit more time which can be seen on the round times as well. Rower was occupied too so this was the best there was available :)

I'm super happy on the pull-ups. Got 3 rounds unbroken, boom! I knew one round is for sure, and hoped for another round ub too. Well, it was supposed to be because there weren't other movements to burden upper body that much. Felt great to get 80 reps in the books this way.

This metcon was good in nature. Box jumps got to my breathing in a good way. It would have been perfect with the pure running element but this was definitely a good one! By the way, did you watch the Crossfit Invitationals last night, I had a blast checking it out. Below is a recap of the action!

Sunday 9.11: Rest day

Sunday. Rest day

We slept late, and then headed to Klaukkala to spend the father's day and watched some ice hockey. Plus the winter is coming so it seemed like a good time to change the winter tires. But the main thing is that today was a rest day, nothing too consuming on body. The metcons lately have been intense and will continue to be in the upcoming week too. At least that's my plan. My hand is preventing me to touch the barbell a lot so I'll try to focus on intensity.

Saturday 8.11: Run, Lunges, Squats

Saturday. Metcon, 6rds of: 330m run, 24 lunges, 24 commandos, 24 squats.

We had a great day of action ahead of us. I sneaked outside for a bodyweight metcon early in the morning to get some heavy breathing done. This was something close to benchmark workout Loredo. That workout consists of running, lunges, push-ups and squats, I had to modify it a bit but the intensity was great. In the early afternoon we hit it to downtown where we met with Pauliina's parents. Destination was wedding fair "Save The Date" at Kaapelitehdas. We're getting married next summer so we went to check some stuff out. Later on we celebrated my birthday, Pauliina's graduation and tomorrow's father's day. We went to Loiste and Torni, some of Helsinki's highest placed restaurants / bars, and in the evening for a fine dining dinner. Great day with the family!

Metcon.

• 6 rounds of:
• 330m run
• 24 lunges
• 24 commandos
• 24 air squats

This workout was good. I have enjoyed running lately. There's something great running outdoors in a metcon, really gets the breathing go heavy and the air is crisp this time of the year. Easy to breath. I took lunges and air squats to accompany the running so it was quite a lot lower body oriented.

I wanted to have push-ups with the other movements but after first round I realized my right wrist hurt too much. That's why I switched it to commandos, something Pauliina has introduced me with. This was the second time I did those in any workout. It was a great substitute for push-ups. It's kind of similar movement but the angle of wrist is different in these two movements so it didn't bring that much pressure on the hand.

My pace remained steady throughout the workout. Don't know the time but I took 2 clips on video and my camera automatically stops running after 10 minutes which means to say it was about 20+ minutes. The pace remained pretty solid. I'm pleased with this one for sure! Good Saturday workout outdoors. In addition to this workout, the day was a success! Food and company was delicious and great!

Recap

Friday 7.11: Squats, C2B, Box, Run

Friday. Barbell, back squat (max 135kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 8 c2b, 16 box, 400m run. Time 10.40.

We had a great surprise at work as we nailed one competition and got rewarded for a surprise party during the day. One of Finland's most famous celebrity chefs Hans Välimäki came to our work place and prepared us a 6-dish lunch in a gourmet style. We had a blast with Toni and enjoyed every crunch of his delicacies. In the afternoon I went squatting some and then hit a great metcon to seal the deal!

Lamb, freaking delicious!

Strength.

• Back squat, 3x90, 3x105, 4x120, 1x135, 5x120, 5x120kg

This was fourth day of squatting in 6 days so no wonder my legs were worn out. I've had to squat more because my wrist has given me headaches in the past week. The x-rays didn't bring any comfort in the mental side as there seemed to be nothing wrong. However, it's been feeling better today. It still hurts so that barbell work is pretty much out of question. I'd like to do cleans / snatches already but that wouldn't be the smartest thing.

Squatting felt good until a certain point. Those 120kg reps in the beginning felt good. Then, all of a sudden 135kg load was too much to handle. I was supposed to nail a triple with that weight but I was able to go for a single. That was strange. My legs weren't ready for this heavy stuff. I took 2 sets at 120kg after this.

Metcon. Time, 10.40

• 5 rounds of:
• 8 chest-to-bar pull-ups
• 16 box jump, 61cm
• 400m run (15km/h)

I needed to get more pull-ups done. These have been on the back of my head lately and I've increased the amount of them in my workouts. Today it was time for chest-to-bars. I'm very happy I got them done just like that without any issues, unbroken all the way. Then I doubled the amount to 16 reps on the box jumps. Got them done ub as well, they got me breathing heavy but it was manageable all the time. I like the combination of pull-ups and box jumps, in any possible way. It makes a good workout any day. I asked Joni for a third element in the metcon and it turned out to be running.

I had 250m in my mind but Joni converted it into 400m which was a good call. It brought more burden and especially in a treadmill where it takes some time to reach full speed. I set the speed at 15km/h all the time until the last 200m in the last round when Joni came to adjust it to 16km/h. He was a good booster today!

I'm very pleased on the round times. First round 2:42, then the 3 next rounds were around 2.55 and the last round was the fastest of them all. Running a bit faster had its effect in the end. I tried to minimize the transitions between movements to keep the pace legit throughout the workout. What I had in my mind was intensity. I got that.

Thursday 6.11: Row 12min, Annie

Thursday. Row, 12min. Result, 3.220m. Benchmark workout Annie, 50-40-30-20-10 of: double unders and sit-ups. Time 6.03 (PR).

Had to go to see a doctor today due to my wrist. Okay, it felt a little better this morning as I woke up but still there's something wrong I suppose. At least right wrist is bigger than the left one so it looks awkward. Went to get the x-rays and now I'll wait for doc's statement tomorrow. I had a wrist support on my hand and it didn't bother me at all. Maybe this is just something minor stuff. Anyway, to take the burden off I went for rowing and benchmark lady Annie.

Row.

• 12min as far as possible
• Result, 3.220m

I've sat on the rower more lately than before. Not huge distances but the occasions have been more frequent. It's an awesome machine to say the least. For building engine it's number one element. Today I was open minded when I sat down and started pulling. I tried to keep a steady pace throughout the session. It was not easy at any point. It fatigued me a little more than normally but I'm happy on the distance I reached.

Annie. Time, 6.03 (PR). Compare to 22.10.2013

• 50-40-30-20-10 of:
• Double unders
• Sit-ups

It's been over a year since previous Annie. This was an easy call so I hit it with pretty much max effort. Double unders were as light as they could be. Went easily unbroken all sets. They got heart beating faster but because sit-ups don't get my heart rate up that much it stayed controlled all the way.

This was probably also the first time of regular sit-ups since previous Annie =) I do t2b's for core work and of course all strength movements and basically all elements of crossfit tend to develop core strength big time. Sit-ups also unbroken every round. I had my feet anchored during these reps. After Annie I tried some "around the world's" though, just for fun, inspired by Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Kenneth Leverich. I saw them knock those on pull-up bar and decided to do couple of tens of those. Tough stuff for core.

It was a good workout to hit today. Got some adrenaline going and it didn't put any extra pressure on my hand. I'm satisfied on this training day as a whole.

Wednesday 5.11: Squats, Snatch pulls, 3-rounder

Wednesday. Strength, back squat (max 127.5kg). Snatch pull triples (max 90kg). Metcon, 3rds of: 600m run, 5rds of Cindy. Time, 20.30.

Went to work for the evening so morning was booked for gym time. I dropped Pauliina to work and started busting off with no rush at all. I took proper warm-up with classic routines spiced with rowing. Because of this painful wrist I had to shoot some more squats, this time back squats. No overhead work for this guy right now. Snatches and snatch balance were in my mind but I put those thoughts aside and come back later when it's possible. It was time for squats, snatch pulls and long metcon.

Barbell.

• Back squat 3x100, 4x112.5, 4x127.5, 4x127.5, 4x127.5, 5x127.5
• Snatch pull 3x40, 60, 70, 80, 90kg

Even though Smolov is over I'll keep on checking the program and what it would have to offer. I completed the first half of the program called "Base Cycle", then chilled during the "Switching". Now it would be time to hit the "Intense Mesocycle", which is based on the new 1RM. It seems to be based on percentages. Today it showed me various sets at 65-75-85% of my max load. This time I followed them closely.

Yesterday was a rough day on the legs. First, it was front squats, then 2k row and finally 50 pistols in metcon style. My butt cheeks and legs in general are sore from that session. So today was not the ideal starting point for back squats but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. One freak thing was that I squatted outside the safety rack. It's been very long since squatting there. It was mentally a different thing.

The sets at 85% (127.5kg) were pretty tough but manageable anyway. Had they been heavier I would have moved the bar inside the rack just in case. It felt great to have some squats in my system, I enjoy them a lot! Luckily so because legs better be in shape.

Metcon. Time, 20.30

• 3 rounds of:
• 600m run
• 5 rounds of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats)

I had pull-ups in my mind for today's main element. Benchmark workout Cindy is something you can mix up with pretty much anything you come up with. Cindy is 20min amrap of pull-ups, push-ups and air squats, a good test of fitness, classic crossfit stuff. I put together running and these benchmark elements and the end result was very good.

What got me on the positive side was the small variance on the lap times. I had to use treadmill because there's no access outdoors from our gym. Treadmill was set at 14km/h. I really haven't thought about it at all whether it's faster or slower had I ran outdoors. I'd think this machine has that positive side that it keeps your pace the same, you just got to keep lifting your legs and keep going.

On that 5 round Cindy I did each round as fast as possible, then took a short recovery and complete another round. Kept this strategy for every single round during this workout. That turned out to be a good call and probably the reason why I was able to have a steady pace all the way. All movements were unbroken.

Tuesday 4.11: Front squat, Row, Pistols, T2b

Tuesday. Strength, 8x4 front squat (max 115kg). Row, 2k, time 7.17. Gymnastics, 50 pistols, 50 t2b.

Have to advertise that it's my birthday today =) I turned 35 on this date but I'm feeling like a little kid in this body. Thanks to this new sport I've done for a little over 2 years now. Through my work I've had the privilege of getting to know Toni who's my main man. He had arranged a surprise party at work in the morning. He tried to delay my arrival at work station together with Pauliina so my team would have the possibility to goof around at my office. You'll see the pictures below. Awesome surprise to kick the day off!

Strength.

• Front squat 8x4 (90, 100, 110, 110, 112.5, 112.5, 112.5, 115kg)

After office hours I went downstairs to train. My right wrist has some incredible pain which came from nowhere. No reason whatsoever but all of a sudden it's been bothering me for couple of days, and it's getting worse by the day. Today I went to see a nurse who practically just booked me a doctor's appointment for Thursday. So I'll keep on grinding, just try to pick movements that don't bring too much pressure on the hand. I guess that means more squats haha

I had planned front squats but that wrist got me to think is it possible. I tried and managed to go for it. Didn't max out at it but more like heavy sets of 4 reps. Started the sets at lower weights @90kg and climbed up to around 110kg for most of the sets. I was thinking about my hand in every set and didn't dare to go higher. The last sets at 112.5-115kg were heavy anyway. It felt good to do front squats after a while. It's been mostly back squats lately.

Row. Time, 7.17

• 2.000m

The squats might have had an effect because rowing was a bit on the tough side. On average this was 1.49/500m. This wasn't a row session with record breaking numbers in sight when I took the first stroke. Main focus was on steady pace throughout the 7+min. In the beginning I rowed closer to 1.45, then at some point it was around 1.50. Towards the end it was tough to keep the pace at those figures.

The conclusion is that maybe rowing could be more involved in my training. I've been dreaming of having a concept2 of my own. At our current home there's definitely not room for that but in the future my gut feeling is that we're gonna invest in this beauty.

Gymnastics.

• 50 pistol squats
• 50 toes-to-bar

These were more like skills training but with good intensity. After all the work done in the front squats and rowing I still craved for some more action. I took 50 pistols, it took me about 3 minutes, then hopped on to the pull-up bar for another 50 reps on t2b. That took about 2:30 to finish it. I like those pistol squats. However, they show up quite rarely in metcons or in any other training session. These were mostly done in sets of 3 reps per leg, alternating after those small sets. I figured balance is easier to hold for a few reps in a row per leg.

My left leg is stronger and more balanced than the right one. Now I didn't pay attention is there difference in ankle mobility or is it something else. But at least left side can take more pressure and shorter recovery to perform strong.

Usually I dominate toes-to-bar movement (well, maybe that was a bit too strongly said) but they bring no issues whatsoever. My legs were worn out from the 3 previous parts of this training session so I did 20 reps in a row, then mostly 5's till the end. The last 10 reps were more like triples, doubles and singles. Today's session was very lower body dominated, and very good in a lot of ways. I got a lot of front squats, rowing for metcon and pistols for skills after a long break.

It was heart-warming to come home for a ready dinner table prepared by my loved one. Pauliina had made the entire house look beautiful and the table was served as well. I love this woman!

Monday 3.11: Clean and jerk, Thrusters, Du's

Monday. Clean and jerk, emom x 9min. 1-3min: 3x70kg, 4-6min: 2x80kg, 7-9min: 1x90kg. Metcon, 25-20-15-10 thrusters (42.5kg), 50-40-30-20 du's. Time 8.31.

Time to get some overhead strength built up. Clean and jerk is freaking awesome movement, brutal in its own way and suits me well. It's a movement you can always get better at, it's highly technical stuff. It was an emom workout for c&j. Metcon focused on thrusters, accompanied with double unders. I've done something like this before, there's a link to the previous workout below.

Clean and jerk.

• Every minute on the minute
• 1-3min: 3x70kg
• 4-6min: 2x80kg
• 7-9min: 1x90kg

This was a different type of c&j workout. Doing emom is usually more like light weight and more reps. Today I thought about doing ascending ladder on the weights and descending style on the reps. I took couple of reps at 40 and 60kg before putting the clock running. I did the first weight class touch'n'go style. Those weren't too bad but got me breathing a little heavier than normally. That means to say I did these as power cleans.

On 80kg I decided to change the game regarding the cleans. Took 'em as full cleans (=squat cleans) to work on technique at the same time. Plus I think I've never took 80kg clean and jerk as t'n'g so it was only natural to hit it as squat clean. After hitting 3 rounds at 80kg it was time to do singles at 90kg for 3 more rounds. Had no problems with the lifts at any point. Heavier breathing made the jerk a bit tougher but these were weights I was able to manhandle well. It would probably work very well by doing heavy singles as emom too.

Metcon. Time 8.31. Compare to 14.12.2013

• 25-20-15-10 thrusters, 42.5kg
• 50-40-30-20 double unders

I've programmed the workouts lately and also in near future so that my cardio will take next level steps. After focusing a lot on squats I realized metcons, heavy breathing and high heart rate are issues I appreciate a lot. The feeling is awesome after hitting workouts that boost these.

If there was just one movement you'd be allowed to do in an isolated island, it would be thrusters for me. Well okay, I'd take thrusters and c&j, either way =) Both are such holistic movements, there probably isn't a muscle in body that wouldn't be working towards the united goal of the body: getting the barbell up in the sky.

My answer to a good and bad ass metcon was thrusters and double unders. Used 42.5 (95lbs) for barbell which seems to be standard weight in a lot of workouts. I got this in my hands pretty well. First round of thrusters unbroken. Second round was the toughest and I should have probably pushed a little more. It was 10-5-5. Okay, the recovery between sets were short, at least in my opinion but still it should have been completed in 2 sets. The round of 15 was over in 9-6, and the last set unbroken for the remaining 10 reps.

On double unders I had no misses. They felt great all the way and have felt like that for quite some time now. Because my shoulders and breathing were burning I cut the first two rounds in 30-20 and 25-15, last rounds unbroken. This was a great workout to say the least.

Sunday 2.11: Back squat, 3x3min amrap

Sunday. Strength, back squat, find 1RM (max PR 150kg). Metcon, 3x3min amrap, with 1min rest between amraps of: 3 burpee, 6 pull-up, 9 air squat.

I've been dreaming of this day, have been desperate about it and waiting for it eagerly. And finally it came true, back squat PR of 150kg!!! This is truly something that's been knocking in the back of my head for a long time. I'm very happy about this single lift. It's funny how one repetition in human life  can bring such a joy =)

Strength.

• Back squat
• Find 1 rep max (5x90, 1x110, 1x120, 1x130, 1x140, 1x145, 1x150kg PR)

I took couple of weeks Smolov squat program. I don't usually do any programs but rely on crossfit's fundamentals; constant variety. Keep on doing different types of workouts, with different movement combos, different rep schemes, different time domains, different loads. But for some unknown reason this Smolov thing got to my head sometime in the spring time and stuck there for couple of months. I decided to give it a shot and it most definitely wasn't an easy walk but somehow I enjoyed it a lot anyway. There were a lot of benefits to this program.

I tried that one rep max right after having finished the Smolov but that was too soon. When I began Smolov, I entered my 1 rep max at 145kg which was the truth, that was my PR number. Had I tried that number a day before Smolov started, I don't think I would have made it a successful lift. The lifts during the program were based on that 145kg so it probably was a little over what I should have been squatting. Anyway, I tried to top my previous max load right after the last squats were done in that intensity period but it might have been too soon as I failed in 150kg lift. However, 140kg lift that time was the easiest I've done in my life. And about a week ago I took a triple at that weight.

My legs were smashed in the end of this training week after all those benchmark workouts. Yesterday was a day off for me and it got me thinking my legs might recover enough to get that new record in the books. I usually don't take days off because I just love to train. That's as simple as that. I love the feeling of working out and it gives me the highs I'm looking for in life but once in a while it's okay to let the body chill out and recover. I felt the difference in my legs immediately waking up today. No soreness in anywhere in my body, that was a strange feeling =)

Take a look at the videos of today's lifts. It was light up to 140kg, after that I needed to push it to get the reps done. The last rep was probably the slowest back squat the world has ever witnessed. But I got it done on my own, didn't need any help from my spotter. Last time Pauliina had to touch my ribcage during the lift a bit but today she stayed away and let me done my thing.

Metcon.

• 3x3min amrap of:
• 3 burpee
• 6 pull-up
• 9 air squat
• Result, 93, 93, 96 reps

This was a great workout for sure! Very good metabolic conditioning workout. My breathing was heavy and legs were burning. It was a bit surprising my upper body felt pretty fine all the way. There was a total of 54 burpees, 93 pull-ups, 135 squats so it was kind of funny how I got to sneak a good number of pull-ups done in a short time.

Probably the toughest part of these three movements were the squats. This was similar as to benchmark workout Chief - which btw is a freaking awesome workout - with 3min amraps with 1min rest between sets. The elements were just different. I wanted to have pull-ups, that was the main element around which I constructed the rest of it. Ideally I liked to see myself rocking this for 5 amraps but my training partner was rushing me to pack up my gear and get going haha =)

Back squat recap

Had no idea how many reps I would be able to complete in 3 minutes. In the first amrap it was 5 rounds + 3 burpees. On the second one I tried to stick to that and actually I got exactly the same amount of reps. The last amrap was obviously the toughest as the 1min recovery after second cycle felt much shorter and I entered the last amrap with heavy heart beat before the first rep. After having completed 5rds + 3 burpees on the 6th round I checked the timer and it said there are couple of seconds left so I had time to do 3 more pull-ups and thus get the best result in the last set.

Saturday 1.11: Rest day

Saturday. Rest day

We had planned to go and workout with Pauliina but then we both felt that it would be awesome to go outdoors and just walk in the forest as the weather was beautiful. It's been such dark and wet for quite a long so once the sky was cloudless and sun was shining, there was no other chance but to hit it outdoors. And we were not the only ones, Helsinki's central park was full of people just walking and jogging around.

In the evening we went to see some friends in Vantaa, gathering of some people chit chatting away. I'll relax for today and hit it again tomorrow. It's been a lot of training in the near past and this week was tough due to a number of benchmark workouts.

I'll continue to strengthen my legs by squatting. Also olympic lifts will be a frequent part as well as pull-ups. Metcons are the core of my training. That's what the near future is gonna consist of. I've been thinking about my training methods greatly recently and it's probably gonna be an ongoing process throughout my crossfit "career". After Smolov I've upped it a notch on the metcons, and done less strength in the past 2 weeks. Let's see how it's gonna look like in November.

Friday 31.10: Cleans, Front squats, Metcon

Friday. Strength, clean singles (max 107.5kg), front squat triples (120kg). Metcon, 12-9-6-3 of: squat clean (60kg), burpee box jump. Time, 6.08.

This Friday we had scheduled some boys night out in the evening with Toni and some other friends. Before that we went to the gym where Toni focused on coaching and mobility. He's suffering from a back injury, hopefully just a minor one and we'll see him back in action soon. My focus was on heavy cleans and front squats. Don't know if that was the smartest thing as my legs were already smoked =) Metcon was a short but intense one, brutal on legs.

Strength.

• Clean singles 1-1-1-1-1-1 (100, 102.5, 105, 107.5, 110f, 100kg)
• Front squat triples 3-3-3-3 (100, 110, 115, 120kg)

I put it on my calendar that I'll go after heavy cleans but not max out. It turned out that my max today was anyway at 110kg. Toni was giving tips after each rep and trying to fix my early arm pull. It has gotten 10 times better than before but still there's something like that visible to my eye. Got to go after these heavy cleans, I love them. It might have been a great idea to hit something like 7x1 at a fixed weight at around 100-105kg to focus purely on form under heavy weights. After one failed rep I dropped it down to 100kg for an easy single.

Took some recovery in this pool and sauna combination in the evening

Combination for strength consisting of cleans (& jerks) and front squats work very well together. It's been something like 2 months since previous front squats. I've been back squatting my ass off because of Smolov program and tried to minimize all other squatting. These felt rather heavy today but still okay solid. Nothing to worry about, kept knocking the weights up and down for triples. Max was at 120kg.

Metcon. Time 6.08

• 12-9-6-3 of:
• Squat clean, 60kg
• Burpee box jump

My legs were killed already before this training session and cleans + front squats didn't help either. Entering this workout - that I took from Pat Sherwood - was brutal  on my legs. I took the first round of squat cleans unbroken, then on the second set I had to do mostly singles, never saw that coming. Burpee box jumps are a total energy-eater and today it showed me once again why they are used in the crossfit community.

Chilling out in the patio with Toni

There was a little much enthusiastic in the beginning and I choke myself in the very beginning of this metcon. Both movements sucked. Cleans were easy but the squat was tough. Same with the burpee boxes, it definitely burned my legs big time! They were great but smoked be big time. This was a great training session, no doubt about it. Awesome to have Toni and also Joni with me there.