Saturday 10.10: Back squats, Good morning, T2b

Saturday. Back squats 5x8 @ 110kg. Accessory, 4 sets of: 10 good mornings @60kg, 15 t2b.

All of our kids were home on Thursday and Friday as the oldest one had to be taken away from day care due to coughing. They are so much more careful nowadays which I understand well. All because of the novel korona virus. Well, she had a test and everything's just good. The girl is the perfect herself. But that meant my wife had hands full of work with three little kids at home so I didn't dare to go workout after working hours. So I had saved some energy to this Saturday.

Strength.

• Back squat 5x8 @ 110kg

I was longing after these squats. I guess I'm repeating myself but I am very happy on being able to continue this squat progression in this life situation. I tend to avoid any strength progressions because it's mentally devastating if I can not hold on to that Program for some reason. So it's been freaking awesome to stick to this one.

  

It's getting heavier by the week. No doubt about it. I always build up to a rather heavy single before these squats sets. This time it was, and usually has been 130 kilos. It's a mental win to begin with. Once Building up, the 110kg feels much heavier than after I've lifted 130kg for a single squat. You can take a look at the squats on the video. Felt good.

Accessory.

• 4 sets of:
• 10 good morning @ 60kg
• 15 toes-to-bar's
  

I needed to store some accessory stuff in the bank so I don't where this came from but I took some good mornings to put more pressure on my posterior chain. Combined with toes-to-bar's. That was a good combination for core training.

Wednesday 7.10: Rowing, DB Snatches

Wednesday. Wod, 3 rds of: 500m row, 50 db snatch @ 25kg. Time, 15min

This was one of those days that I had zero plans for the day's workout. Actually I didn't have it before the workout started. I just thought it's easy to jump on the rower, start pulling and let my brain do the thinking during the first 500 meters. Considering this starting point, it was a great workout.

Workout. Time, 15min

• 3 rounds of:
• 500m row
• 50 dumbbell snatch @ 25kg
  

So I sat on the concept2, start pulling and somwehere during 200-300 meters I agreed with myself that I could do 50 dumbbell snatches after the first 500 meters. Then after second 500m leg I could do 50 reps of something else. However, those snatches felt kind of great and I didn't come up with anything smooth to replace the snatches so I just kept pounding that dumbbell.

I completed 15 reps, right hand, then 15 reps left hand, and finished 10 reps again with both hands. This same logic stayed identical for all 3 rounds. Very quick workout, efficient and the feeling afterwards was awesome. Comparing how I felt before and after the wod was totally different. I'm so glad I did this one.

Tuesday 6.10: Hspu, Clean, Burpee, Front squat

Tuesday. Wod, 25 hspu, then 8 rds of 5 hpc @ 70kg + 10 burpees, then 25 front squat @ 70kg. time, 14.45.

During lunch break I was able to squeeze in a workout session. Quick one, 15 minutes of heavy sweating and I was done for the day. In the evening I took two kids with me, dropped the other one to her dance training and took the other one and headed to the track and field to mess around.

Workout. Time, 14.45

• 25 handstand push-ups buy-in, then
• 8 rounds of:
• 5 hang power clean @ 70kg + 10 burpees, then
• 25 front squat @ 70kg

At first my whiteboard read 25 burpees buy-in and cash-out, and then 8 rounds of cleans and front squats. Then, I realized it's most probably gonna be too physical to maintain the intensity. So I modified it a bit to begin able to move constantly and thus reach the goal I was looking for. That is to move "all the time" and put my lungs hurt.

I believe I succeeded in the goal set for this task. I got the hspu's unbroken in the books. That was great, considering my PR on hspu's is 26-27. For sure those taxed my shoulders a bit and maybe that was not ideal but I wanted to go ub, and I did.

 

Cleans and burpees. Nothing too physical but definitely something that I needed to find my pace and rhythm not to gas myself too early. Classic stuff, steady pace. In the beginning I had only those front squats at moderate load left to complete. I'm telling you, I had second thoughts about doing these squats at all in the end. What if I'd just stop after the last burpee. But then I stopped bitching around and went for it. I took 13 reps on the first set, then another 12 squats to finish the workout. Definitely a good one!

Monday 5.10: DB clean, T2b, Run

Monday. Amrap 20min: 12 double hang power clean @ 2x25kg, 12 t2b, 400m run. Result, 6 rounds

Starting the week with a simple workout. I had no capacity nor time to create any cool twists. I remember not having any plan when opening the front door of our house. So I needed to sense my body in the warm-up and hear what it wants to say. I heard it whisper "cleans" so this is how it turned out to.

Amrap 20. Result 6 rounds

• 12 double hang power cleans @ 2x25kg
• 12 toes-to-bar's
• 400m run
  

I thought having more than 10 reps of those double db cleans, especially combined with t2b's, would tax my forearms much more. Having my grip under tension on both movements was thought to be tougher so that was a positive signal to realize my hands managed that well. It was surprising that t2b's took on my core already with this kind of moderate volume. Maybe the combination had its effect. As I just finished 6 rounds in the time frame that means to say the round times were somewhere around 3.10 - 3.30. Consistent all the way.

Sunday 4.10: Row, Hspu, Pull-ups, Wall balls

Sunday. Wod, 50 cal row, 50 hspu, 50 cal row, 50 pull-ups, 50 cal row, 50 wb, 50 cal row. Time, 23.30

Saturday was a beautiful autumn day and we celebrated not only my rest day but also Pauliina's mother's birthday party with the in-laws. They came to our house and we put some food on the barbeque and enjoyed the sunny weather with the family and kids. Sunday was totally different when talking about weather. Body was also feeling okay so it was time to hit it.

Workout. Time, 23.30

• 50 cal row
• 50 handstand push-ups
• 50 cal row
• 50 pull-ups
• 50 cal row
• 50 wall ball shots
• 50 cal row

This was probably second or third time when assaulting 50 handstand push-ups in a row. I once did a workout with 50-40-30-20-10 of hspu's and something else. That really boosted my confidence of being able to hit big sets of this movement as well. So that has stuck in my head and now it was implemented in this way. Doing 50 reps of different movements is definitely going to suck, no matter what the movements  are.

My rowing pace is a mystery as I didn't check it at any point. That 50 calory row is somewhere around 700-750 meters in distance. On the hspu's it was a big 20 rep set in the beginning, then 10 reps, 7 and some smaller sets. Pull-ups were feeling okay in the beginning so I knocked 25 reps to start with, then 12-8-5 to finish it. Wall balls were 25-15-10 reps. I was done after the workout for sure. Cool wod but it sucked, good one.

Friday 2.10: Back squats

Friday. Back squats 5x8 @ 105kg

Classic stuff! I'm very happy that I've been able to maintain Fridays as main my squat days for weeks now. this is actually the sixth squat session in a row. This time I changed the focus a bit and probably will in the future as well but still aiming to reserve Fridays for squats.

Strength.

• Back squats 5x8 @ 105kg

I've been doing 7x10 sets in the past between 80-100kg. Now I'm adding more weight and dropping the number of sets and reps, still having 40 squats for total volume this time. These squats moved well. Definitely heavier than before but it helped to have less sets. Let's see what the next week will bring up for squats.

Thursday 1.10: Row, Box, Push-ups

Thursday. Wod, 6 rounds of: 25 cal row, 25 box, 25 push-ups. Time, 23.10

Thinking about training today was pretty much the last thing on my mind. I just had not let my brain think about that possibility for even the slightest moment. Then at some point I realized what the heck, yesterday was a full rest day so I didn't find any excuses but stepped outdoors and decided to force myself to train a bit, with no big purpose behind the workout.

Workout. Time, 23.10

• 6 rounds of:
• 25 cal row
• 25 box jumps
• 25 push-ups

If you haven't figured it out this far, rowing is a great way to start a workout in cases where your warm-up is not right on the money and body is not feeling the vibes perfectly. Through rowing you can get the heart rate up a notch and get ready for what's facing you soon in the workout. So I began by rowing, and decided to keep in on bodyweight movements.

Round times were between 3.40 - 4.00 so once again no big variance between rounds. Just kept moving, paced myself on those reps and headed through. Rowing pace is not known, box jumps unbroken and push-ups were split to two sets except in the begininng they were unbroken

In the evening we went to play around to the training place near the track and field venue

Tuesday 29.9: Row, Clean + Run

Tuesday. AM. Wod, 5 rounds of: 1.000m row, 3 squat clean @ 90kg. PM. Run 10x400m

Oh yeah, I felt my body was stiff and not in the ideally prepared for another workout. I was sure my body would get accustomed to moving some barbells, even though it would be heavy. Well, it turned out it didn't accept it so it was quite a battle.

Workout.

• 5 rounds of:
• 1.000m row
• 3 squat clean @ 90kg

What I am very happy about was that the pacing on this one was consistent once again. Rowing pace was around 1.55 throughout the half an hour was like walking in tar. All the cleans were lifted as single squat cleans. I didn't rush through those lifts at any point. Just wanted to keep the system consistent all the time. Round times were between 5.30 - 5.40 every round so it was somewhere around 28 minutes, I accidentally didn't write the end time up on my notes.

In the afternoon I dropped my little girl to her dance hobby and went running. I thought I'd just run around for a while but then I got excited about running around the track and felt kind of light so I ended up running quite fast towards the end. I believe it was 10 laps of the classic 400m circle. So that jog switched to running with having leg cramps in the end so I was very satisfied to this one

Monday 28.9: T2b, Box jumps, S2O

Monday. Wod, 30-25-20-15-10-5 reps of: T2b, Box jumps, S2o @ 50kg. Time, 23.20

This time I went to work out in the evening. I created this one on the spot. Had only one thing on my mind before entering the gym and it was moderate shoulder-to-overhead type of movement. That fitted in the plan nicely and decided to throw in some bodyweight elements.

Workout. Time, 23.20

• 30-25-20-15-10-5 reps of:
• Toes-to-bar's
• Box jumps
• Shoulder-to-overhead @ 50kg

It turned out this was not nice. Lots of repetitions per movement in a row seems to be awful pretty much every time. My plan on that type of stuff is to do a rather big set in the beginning instead of going small steps all the way. On t2b's it meant hitting 20 reps to start with, then 8-4-3 to finish the round. On the following rounds I completed them in about 3 sets, and last two rounds were unbroken.

Box jumps started to burn my legs a lot in probably at least first three sets but no matter the feeling I was able to put that feeling aside and just keep moving. S2o's were 15-8-7 on the first set, then 13-6-6, 14-6, 11-4, and last two rounds were unbroken. Those jerks were awful. Somehow this entire piece was quite a gem, I liked it even though it was quite tough. Maybe I liked it exactly because of that.

Sunday 27.9: Intervals

Sunday. Intervals of HSPU's, Burpees, Wall balls and rowing

We went to Luukki another time this weekend. We are getting familiar with the place and I can see some tradition taking place. Afterwards my training time was about quick intervals. Those were horrible.

Intervals.

• Every 5:00, for a total of 6 sets
• Alternate between A and B

A

• 15 handstand push-ups
• 15 burpees
• 300m row

B

• 15 handstand push-ups
• 15 wall balls
• 300m row

These took me between 2.25 - 2.50 to complete which means to say it was approximately 1:1 work:rest ratio. The first piece (A) was the one that took a bit longer to complete because of the burpees, whereas B was faster.

I was able to push through those hspu's unbroken all the way to the last round where I had to come down from the Wall after 13 reps as my shoulders were smashed. I mean big time smashed. I wanted to break the sall balls too but that would have been something I would not have forgiven myself if that happened. Got to say the burpees were also nasty as hll. The real mental battle was still the last sprint on the rower each round. It was horrible, and the rest really came in to a good place. Plus, I'm very pleased I wrote it for 300 meters only. Had it been longer, the effort could not have been maf effort.

Saturday 26.9: Bar mu's, Cleans, Run

Saturday. Wod, 5 rounds of: 5 bar mu's, 5 hang power cleans @ 80kg, 400m run.

This weekend we went to Luukki for a family stroll for about 2 hours. Then at home after lunch I went to hit this workout. Right afterwards, I grabbed Emma and we went for biking and hiking to Tornimäki hill. In the afternoon we packed the entire family to our car and drove to a playground that we know our love appreciate. In other words, it was quite a hassle, as the weekends tend to be nowadays with kids. I spent the entire day outdoors.

Workout.

• 5 rounds of:
• 5 bar muscle-ups
• 5 hang power clean @ 80kg
• 400m run

Nowadays I don't do very systematic training programmes. It's entirely different compared to what it used to be like before kids. Then I used to spend a ton writing workouts, strength sessions and exploring YouTube videos. Nowadays I'm just happy I can find a training slot to break some sweat and get herat beat up. Occasionally I get a vision in my head the day before and then it stucks in my head for an entire day until I get that out of my system. On other occasions I write the workout as I step outside.

On Friday I "remembered" bar muscle-ups and decided to slip them in to my Saturday wod. It was intentional that I had two pulling elements next to each other. First get the full body experience on the mu's, then 80kg hang cleans to accompany, that is not light weight for me from hang position.

Running broke the tension of having to grab a barbell all the time. Both of those movements are tough so my running was moderate pace.I wanted to be able to jump for the mu's rather fast after coming back from the run instead of having to stand there and grasb air. I liked this workout and am happy for completing 25 bar muscle-ups without any palm rips.

Friday 25.9: Back squats

Friday. Back squats, 7x10 @ 100kg

Thursday was a rest day. I just took a 1 hour recovery walk at the same time I was having one meeting with a colleague. Got to love this distance working system as you can do that kind of stuff more easily. Just put on the shorts and a cap on my head, enjoy the sun and walk around the town while doing work at the same time. But this Friday it was time for those classic squats.

Strength.

• Back squats 7x10 @ 100kg

This was the the fifth time doing this squat progression. Started at 80kg, added 5kg per week and now we are at 100kg. I believe this is the end of it in this form. I played the game through. Next week I'll change it a bit. Lower the volume a bit. My ass is on fire the following days on these. I'm very satisfied that I got through these squat cycles with class, and very happy in genereal of being able to squat at all. There was so long break of squatting for real that I got desperate at time.

Wednesday 23.9: ML @ Crossfit Kehä

Wednesday. Squat clean triples (up to 105kg). Pair wod Chipper. Amrap 24min.

We met with a bunch of guys and gals at Crossfit Kehä, Toni's Box. Agenda was to start with banging some barbell, then hit a workout together as teams and finally put sports aside, get some lunch and start planning the main focus areas for the rest of the year and plan the beginning of the year at work. There were five of us who area leading our unit.

Oly.

• Squat clean triples (singles from ground)
• Barbell @ 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105kg

I needed to get my hands on something heavy. Can't much drop a barbell at home so that usually prevents me to go to max loads because if there's a small chance of failing a clean for example  I wouldn't probably attempt that lift. So there was some pent-up demand for barbell dropping and this time it transformed to squat clean triples. To get the most out of this one, I took those triples as singles. Dropped the bar after every rep, and completed triples like this.

ML Chipper / Pair workout. Result, 1 round + 3 devils press

• Amrap 24 minutes
• 50 cal bike erg (25/25 cals at the same time)
• 50 double dumbbell devils press @ 17.5kg
• 50 double dumbbell box step overs @ 17.5kg
• 50 cal bike erg (25/25 cals at the same time)
• 50 shoulder-to-overhead @ 50kg
• 50 toes-to-bar's
• 50 cal bike erg (25/25 cals at the same time)
• 50 front squat @ 50kg
• 50 handstand push-ups
  

This was from Toni's pen. We attacked this one as a pair. He estimated this time-wise quite on point as we just finished one round and biked through 50 cals and 3 devils presses. I usually have a steady pace on this type of workouts and I somehow consider that a strength as well that I can keep on pushing through. Toni on the other hand is known for throwing balls to the wall on the first minute and then trying to stay alive. On his own words he died in the very beginning on this one, after first bike and devils presses :)

Still, it was a great workout in my opinion. Breathing was heavy, shoulders were on fire, so were the legs. Just the way I liked it. After this one the burger for lunch felt deserved.

 

 

Tuesday 22.9: Run

Tuesday. Run

Our daughter has a dance hobby and usually my wife takes her to the venue. This time it was my turn and as there is no possibility to watch her dance but only wait outside. And because of the korona virus I'm not eager to wait in a hallway with other parents I decided to take advantage of the situation and head to the close by track for a recovery run. This was slow pace running for something like 3-4 kilometers so I can't tell it was a wod but just easy jogging to get some fluids running in my body

Monday 21.9: Du, L-sit, Run, Burpees

Monday. Emom x 10: Du's and L-sit hold. Wod, 4 rounds of: 400m run, 30 du, 15 burpees. Time, 14.20

The feeling this Monday Morning was surreal on my body. Lower body was hit by a truck due to big volume squats two days ago. Upper body and arms / forearms were also destroyed because of yesterday's efforts. So it was a blast to hit this one :) I thought where does it not hurt? Core can take some beathing and I can also jump around with a rope.

Workout.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• Odd, 40 double unders
• 0:20 L-sit hold
  

I am very happy on the late progression of double unders. I'm feeling confident on those and can go for unbroken sets of 30-40 without having second thoughts.There are thing to fix in my technique for sure but those are not easy to overcome after 8 years of doing du's in a certain way. So I went unbroken on these and then hit L-sit holds every other minute. In my opinion these two worked well together. Yes, those holds started to become very unpleasant but I sold it to myself that this is the way it should be like.

Workout. Time, 14.20

• 4 rounds of:
• 400m run
• 30 double unders
• 15 burpees
  

I wasn't ready to quit after the first session. Even though it was a hasty session and the schedule tight I still had time for another piece this Monday. I needed to get more double unders in my system so it turned out to be like this. Running was steady, Du's were unbroken and I paced myself on the burpees. I was left with a good feeling about this workout.