Wednesday 31.7: Squats, burpees, du

Wednesday. Back squats, emom, 4 reps @ 100kg, for 10min. Metcon, 10min amrap of 10 burpees, 25 double unders.

It was time to squat. I'm changing the way I think about traditional strength training. Doing 5x5 or 5x3 type of training was what brought me to a certain point and there's nothing bad in that structure. But I need some change and some action in the strength training as well. I've adopted a lot of emom (every minute on the minute) type of training. Today it was time to try it out with back squats. Then a metcon that was on the main site in late June, a lot of heavy breathing.

Back squats.

• 4 reps @ 100kg for 10 minutes

This adopts to back squats very well too. I've done it once over a month ago with 3 reps x 100kg. Today I added the fourth one and wanted to know what it feels like. You've got one minute to finish those four reps. It takes only 15-20 seconds and there's plenty of time to recover. We did this together with Toni so that Toni started, took 3 reps, and I started 30 seconds after he had taken his first set up. This way either of us was squatting pretty much all the time. The rhythm was perfect, when you're doing work, the other one checks your form, depth and talks you up to nail those reps. Then switch turns. We both liked this style. Plus, there's a lot more weight being brought up compared to for example 5x5 with 120kg. That would lead up to 3k, now I got 4k.

The weight was good today, had no problems with it whatsoever. Might go up a little next time I'll do this.

Metcon. Result 294 reps.

• 10 min amrap of:
• 10 burpees
• 25 double unders

Huh, heavy breathing was ahead of me. When you have a couplet of burpees and double unders, there's no doubt you're gonna be totally fatigued in the end. This was as nasty as it sounds. At the end of the workout I was drained and my heart rate was as high as it possible could be. I got 8 full rounds + 10 burpees + 4 double unders. That equals to 90 burpees and 204 du's. Total of 294 reps.

I got those burpees rolling pretty well from the beginning to the end, with pace slowing towards the end, little by little. Double unders were near perfect as I tripped on only one set. 7 rounds of them went unbroken. Had to take a little break after burpees before entering du's because I definitely wanted to do them unbroken. It's mentally so much easier when you don't have to start over with the double unders. On the only set I stumbled, I got 17 reps and then had to finish it to 25 reps.

Don't know how I could have been faster with this one. The only part is the transitions. Don't think too much, go down on the burpees and once you're finished, start circling the jump rope. Lots more cardio work so I wouldn't have to stop to catch a breath. Lots of crossfit =)

Toni's workouts.

• Back squats, emom, 3 reps @ 100kg, for 10min.
• Metcon, time 10.54
• Rack dips, 10 to 1, down by 1's
• Between dip sets, 20 air squats

Toni did the same workouts. That's been this week's main goal that we get some more drive from each other by doing exactly the same workouts. We did the squats simultaneously. Toni had forgotten his shoes home (who does that? :)) so it was impossible to do double unders. It hurts like hell when you stumble and don't have shoes on. Been there, done that… So he had to be creative and do a metcon of dips and squats. 20 squats between every set of dips. He started with 10 dips, then 9, down by 1 rep until there's only 1 left.

'

Tuesday 30.7: Handstand, snatches, heavy Grace

Tuesday. Handstand skills. 10 x (2 hang squat snatches + 2 ohs). Heavy Grace (70kg). Time 7.12.

Another day in Eltsu, probably our favorite place to workout. Together with Toni we had plan to go for olympic lifts, we scheduled certain workouts especially for this venue. It's easier to drop weights here when you're doing snatches and / or clean & jerks. Can't do that in a regular gym. Some skills to start with, then snathces, and finally it was time for another benchmark workout, Grace.

Skills. Handstand skills. I'm thinking I managed rather well. Was trying to find stability in the inverted position and I'm simply feeling more and more confident being upside down. Even though I start to fall to some direction, I'm able to correct my form and get it back together. That's valuable. There was a time when I dropped from the position each and every time I started leaning too much to some direction. Handstanding / handstand walking feeling good nowadays.

Snatches.

• 10 x (2 hang squat snatches + 2 overhead squats)
• Weights between 30 & 45kg. One set at 35, about 5 @ 40, the rest @ 45kg

Not the best day of snatches for me. Had a few misses at 45kg. Somehow the bar stayed way too forward up there. And I noticed from the video that the bar path is somewhere else it should be. It's way too front of me. Should be much closer to my body and the path should be vertical. Have to keep on training more.

Heavy Grace. Time 7.12. Compare to 22.4.2013

• 30 clean & jerks, 70kg

Tough! Simply tough. Went after benchmark wod Grace. I've done it a few times, twice as rx'd and then as a pair wod with Toni we've done double Grace. Today was the first time I put on a heavier barbell than it should be as rx'd. The original weight is 60kg, decided to add 10kg to make it a bit tougher. Toni did the same workout with the original weights. We completed the workout simultaneously. Nice variation!

It was difficult to come up with a plan how to proceed with this one. Decided to go by feeling. It soon turned out to be a game of single reps. Take a look at the show below. I didn't count that last rep of mine because I don't think there was full extension in the top position so I repeated it. Toni's plan was to go in sets of 5 for as long as possible.

Toni's workouts.

• Skills. Inverted position, hspu
• Snatches. Same sets
• Grace rx'd. 30 reps clean & jerk, 60kg

Monday 29.7: Thruster ladder, hspu, box

Monday. Thruster ladder, 10 x 40, 50, 60 & 70kg for time. Time 6.15. Metcon, 5 rds of: 1min amrap of hspu, 1min amrap of box jumps. Result 26 hspu, 100 box.

Wanted to put something tough on the table after a rest day and after watching the Games during the weekend. Name of the game was thrusters. I've done thruster ladder once in February, repeated today together with Toni. Then a metcon together with him as well, hspu's and box jumps. This training day was hard on every meter and I loved it!

Battle going on

Thruster ladder. Time 6.15. Compare to 25.2.2013

• 10 reps of 40, 50, 60 & 70kg

I had similar strategy today when I took off. Go unbroken with the 40 & 50kg sets. I did, no problems. It took about one and a half minutes to finish them. I did them quicker because there was shorter transition time compared to last time. Toni advised to not to take the 10kg plates off but to just add 5kg plates when moving on to 50kg. That was a clear time saver. Once I was ready with 10 unbroken 50kg thrusters, I took all weight off and changed them to 20kg weights.

Barbell still felt good at 60kg. I was aiming for 6 reps and all of a sudden started to think whether I would try to smash it unbroken all the way. Decided to stick with the plan anyway and dropped to catch a breath after 6 reps. Good call I think, would have been tough to get it and the consequences might have been bad, there was 70kg set waiting for me.

On the 70kg I decided to by feeling. Hit 4 reps for starters, then a triple and another triple. The barbell was clearly lighter than last time. I just watched the videos of 60 / 70kg thrusters from February and it looked agonizing. Today it felt "comfortable" :)

My breathing was heavy for sure but there was strength in me that was able to move the weight in a more classy way. Our set up for the ladder was totally different than it has ever been. We placed two barbells to face each other and decided to go at the same time. That was a fun feature 'cause we are usually doing the work by ourselves, or simultaneously but then it's usually different workouts. This is mostly because of the circumstances at the gym, there's simply not enough space to go at the same time.

I was able to cut off 3 minutes and 15 seconds from my last time. Couldn't be happier!

Metcon. Result 26 hspu, 100 box

• For 10min with a running clock
• 1 min amrap of handstand push-ups (10, 5, 4, 4, 3reps)
• 1min amrap of box jumps, 61cm (22, 18, 20, 20, 20reps)

This was the workout we did after some rest time. For 10 minutes, we alternated 2 movements, hspu's and box jumps. I started with hspu's and Toni went after box jumps. After one minute amrap we changed parts. Continued for 10 minutes so there were 5 rounds for both movements. I really got my cardio share today, box jumps sealed the deal and my shoulder strength was non-existing in the end. I started the handstand push-ups with strict style but quickly changed into kipping mode. Completed 10 reps on the first set, current shared PR, felt good, even after all those thrusters.

Just got this one through mail, the champ's book, awesome!

Toni's workout.

• Same workouts.
• Time on the thrusters, 14.58
• Metcon, 11 hspu (5, 3, 0, 2, 1 reps). Box jumps 66 (15, 15, 12, 12, 12 reps)

Toni almost fell on one rep with the box jumps so he kind of tried to get his shit together on the third set of handstand push-ups. He used a foam roll to scale the hspu's. On the thrusters he went nicely on 40 and 50kg, he completed the 60kg in sets of 2 and 3 reps. The heaviest reps were done in singles.

Wanted to give you some insight of the guy behind the last three wins in the Crossfit Games, 2011-2013. Rich Froning Jr. is The Man, no doubt he has earned his trophies the past years.

The last workout, 12th out of 12 events

The champ

Froning's highlights at the 2013 Games

And now we know the answer in how to beat Rich Froning. You don't…

Would have loved to see our very own champ from 2009 - Mikko Salo - challenge him! But he suffered an injury just a week prior to the Games

Sunday 28.7: Rest day

Sunday. Rest day.

Spent the weekend over at the in-laws who were the hosting party at their family gathering. It was nice to see the family get together after a long break. It was obvious everybody enjoyed their time. I went to sport yesterday morning before the party and today I'm taking a day off and concentrating to be a spectator at the 2013 Crossfit Games.

You can watch Day 4's last two events on games.crossfit.com. At least I'm going to. It's been tight throughout the week, no matter has it been men's or women's contest. Hoped Mikko Salo would have been there to kick those guys' asses but he suffered an injury just before the games. It seems to be a cockfight between the reigning champ Rich Froning and 2008 champ Jason Khalipa.

Crossfit - Friday night lights

Saturday 27.7: Sandbag lunges, kb presses

Saturday. Metcon, 5 rounds of 20m sandbag lunges (25kg), 20 kettlebell presses (20kg). Time 7.54.

We are having a family gathering today at the country side so there was no time to hassle my way to the Box. Instead, after breakfast took the opportunity to work at my back yard. Decided to work with some equipment from my warehouse: sandbag and kettlebell.

Metcon. Time 7.54

• 5 rounds of:
• 20m sandbag lunges, 25kg sandbag
• 20 kettlebell presses, 20kg bell

It was a good breather. Had no problems in performing the movements but they surely made me breath heavily. Just the way I liked it. Quite a quick workout, less than 8 minutes but all the time doing work. Entire body got its share today. Lunges for lower body and bell presses for upper body. Take a look below. Now I'm gonna leave to see all of Pauliina's relatives.

Remember to stay tuned at games.crossfit.com to see the entire action of the Reebok 2013 Crossfit Games, it's on! Two days are gone, two ahead, don't miss a single workout, it's been freaking awesome!!!

Friday 26.7: Cleans, hero wod Chief

Friday. Cleans, 1 rep every 30 seconds @ 85kg for 10min. Hero wod Chief. Result 72 cleans, 144 push-ups, 207 squats.

Was looking forward to try this new workout, how it feels like to go for rather heavy single cleans with only short rest periods. There was also a hero wod looming in the horizon, the Chief. I've done it once and I remembered it was a handful. Toni was supposed to do it side be side but had some timetable issues and left home to complete it at his back yard.

Cleans.

• 1 rep every 30 seconds @ 85kg for 10 minutes
• Total of 20 reps

Enjoyed this one a lot. I remember seeing Chris Spealler who I've seen completing similar type of workouts. Not same, but similar. I felt good with the weight, could have added weight which surprised me positively. I thought the bar would start to come a challenge but I manhandled it all the way. It felt like each lift was similar, no wiggling or shaking at any stage. Felt simply awesome.

Chief. Compare to 4.2.2013

• 3min amrap of:
• 3 power cleans, 60kg
• 6 push-ups
• 9 air squats
• 1min rest
• Repeat for a total of 5 cycles

This one is a lot of work. It's one of the rare workouts where I've had to lay on the floor after time is done. Today I took it a bit easier but was stilled gassed. It's a 19min workout including the rests. 5 sets of 3 mini workouts, 3min amraps followed by 1min rest and recovery period.

On the first round I got through 5 rounds in 2:30. I didn't feel like a beast so I needed to save some energy. Saved too much I think. Had I gone all in, there would have been enough time to squeeze almost one round more. On the second round I also had about 15-20sec left on the clock. The third round was tough, barely made it through 5 rounds in 3mins.

The middle of the workout was the toughest mentally. On the fourth round my transitions were slower and stopped occasionally to catch a breath. That third 3min amrap had its consequences and I felt more gassed in the beginning of 4th cycle already in the beginning. Thus, got a result of only 4 rounds. There was also some time left on the clock when finishing it.

The last round on pretty much every workout is always easier than the round before. It's time for that final sprint. Almost made it to 5 rounds, missing only the air squats. The most challenging movement in Chief is the squats. Sounds awkward but that's how it's been both times I've done it. All cleans and push-ups unbroken. From some point on I had to finish squats in 2 sets, taking 2 inhales in the middle of it. I'm having trouble understanding why it happens with such a little amount of reps but that's how it was. Comparing to the February's performance, today my squats were perfect. I don't like to watch that past video because of the those over the parallel squats. Today I felt great about them!

Have no excuses, should have pushed harder from the beginning to reach an ideal result. I was reaching for 5 rounds each cycle and recover the rest of the time, no matter how much is left on the clock. Seemed a good idea in the beginning but turned out not to be =) There was a lot of reps on this workout anyway. Total of 72 cleans (4.320kg), 144 push-ups and 207 air squats.

Results of Chief. Total of 72 cleans, 144 push-ups and 207 squats

• 1st cycle: 5 rounds
• 2nd cycle: 5 rounds
• 3rd cycle: 5 rounds
• 4th cycle: 4 rounds
• 5th cycle: 4 rounds + 6 push-ups

Toni's workout.

• Hero wod Chief
• Result. 5, 4, 3, 3, 3 rounds.

He completed them at the back yard of his house. Tell us some feelings Pony!

Thursday 25.7: Muscle-ups, handstand

Thursday. Skills day: Muscle-ups & handstand skills.

Almost took a day off but in the evening I realized there's no reason for that. Changed my training clothes on and headed to the nearby park for some skills training. I'm happy I did it! It was about time to do some muscle-ups. Toni went to the gym in the morning to do 2 workouts.

Muscle-ups. I took a few sets. Did some pull-ups to warm-up, then a single muscle-up, felt good to do them in a normal muscle-up bar. I did mu's 10 reps when I was in Spain but the pull-up bar was so thick I couldn't wrap my fingers around it. It was cool to have a regular grip this time. Felt totally different. The thick bar was a good variation, no doubt.

On the first set I did 3 reps, then 4 (PR) and finally 3 reps. Total of 11 reps for this evening. My legs didn't swing that much apart from each other on the pull-stage as before. At least it felt like I was able to swing myself higher and got landed there in a better position. I was supposed to bring a rubber band with me so I could have wrapped it around my ankles. With the help of that I would have practiced high pulls and forced my legs to stay together. Next time I'll try to bring it with me.

Handstand. Also some handstand training to accompany the muscle-ups.

Toni's strength.

• Tabata deadlift, 110kg.
• Result. 5, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 reps. Total of 16 reps

Toni's metcon. Result 5 rounds

• 18min amrap of:
• 15 box jumps 61cm
• 9 push press, 52.5kg
• 9 toes-to-bar

Wednesday 24.7: Handstand, split jerk, run/wb/burpee metcon

Wednesday. Handstand walk skills training. Split jerk technique. Metcon, 3 athletes, running, wall ball, burpees.

To describe the training day in one word: perfect! There were 3 of us: me, my bro Sipa and his friend Henkka, a strong athlete. Starting with some skills training, handstand walk and double unders. Then we scheduled to practice split jerk technique. I accidentally hit a jerk pr at the same time =) And finally the metcon was grueling, very tough indeed. Could not have asked for more from this day!

Handstand. It's been too long since last handstand session. For the last 2 months it's been around 1.5 times per week that I've concentrated in this skill. I thought my trip to Spain would be all about handstand walk but surprisingly I didn't find a good spot for training that. So there's been about 2 weeks since last handstand walk session.

There's some action below. Sipa did some pretty impressive handstand there. You'll see some more clips in my Youtube channel.

Split jerk. Technique training that turned into PR!

• 5x40, 5x40, 3x60, 3x70, 1x80, 1x85, 1x90kg PR, failed on 95kg

One beautiful day I realized there's some work to be done with my jerks. I nailed a PR just before I went to Spain. That day in Liikuntamylly I intentionally went after clean & jerk singles. Haven't tried press / jerk singles in several months, have I tried them this year at all, don't know. And that was not the purpose today either. This video inspired me even more to this movement done. Coach Burgener revealing this stuff.

Henkka anyway kept adding plates on the bar and I stayed with him. At some point I realized there's 80kg on the barbell and I got it up. In the beginning it was very shaky but after a lot of reps with cold bar I started to figure it out. So even though we added kilos on the bar I felt confident. The guys said there were no difference in the lifts up to 70kg. I can see that in the 80kg+ jerks I don't drop as down as I did in the earlier steps. Anyway, that was enough to get to 85, then a PR lift of 90kg. Take a look at the video below. I almost nailed 95kg which would have been freaking awesome. There my drop was too shy so I didn't get under the bar properly.

Split jerk, 90kg, PR

Metcon. Time about 24min

• 3 athletes, team wod
• 1 athlete completes a run, simultaneously 1 goes amrap of wall balls, 1 goes amrap of burpees, change of stations when the runner has completed his run. Movements were:
• 400m run, some of it uphill
• Wall ball shots, 10kg
• Burpees

This was spectacular workout. Work all the time for over 20min, all movements make you breath heavily. It was also awesome to get my hands around a wall ball. Sipa has one handmade, an empty basketball filled with sand to make it 10kg. A regular Rogue wall ball is 20lbs (=9kg) so we got a little extra.

The idea of the workout was that 3 athletes can do the workout no matter how advanced they are in crossfit. The main element was the run. One athlete is all the time running and once he is done, he releases the wall ball guy who advances to burpees and the burpee guy sets off to run. Wall ball / burpee guys complete as many reps as possible while the third guy runs. And a change in stations once the run is done. One round is done when each athlete have went through each of the 3 stations. Workout was for a total of 3 rounds.

My burpees were 40 in the first set, then either 40 or 30reps and on the third one it was 30 reps. Total of 100-110 reps. That's a lot of burpees. I'm reaching almost 200 reps this week. Wall ball is a newcomer. This is the first time I get my hands on a heavy wall ball, and I fell in love. It's a tough movement but somehow I enjoyed shooting it up the wall. On the first round I got 50 reps, same with the second, and on the last round 45 reps. So there was a total of 145 reps. Almost a "Karen", one of the benchmark wods.

This was a heavy breather from the beginning to the end. No pause in that 24min time frame. All of us managed to rattle through well and there was a good camaraderie between the three. Trying to encourage each other to push though mental boundaries. And there's an eternal rivalry between me and my bro so we were looking to beat the other guy's wall ball shots and burpees =)

The Crossfit Games 2013 begin today!!!

Tuesday 23.7: Hang snatches, squat metcon, cleans

Tuesday. 10 x (2 hang squat snatches + 2 overhead squats @ 40kg). Metcon, 20 back squats (100kg), 20 ohs (50kg). Time 7.01. Perform 15 perfect hang squat cleans for quality.

Playing with barbells. Lots of them. First the snatch and ohs technique training, then an all-in metcon with squats. Finally going after perfect hang squat cleans. My bro Sipa did exactly the same workouts with me. Toni had to leave earlier so he skipped the last one. Workouts were the same, weights varied a little.

Pony

Snatches. Squat snatches & ohs

• 10 x (2 hang squat snatches + 2 overhead squats)
• Weight @ 40kg all sets

This was the third time I was doing this workout. Today I added the element of additional overhead squats after snatches. I need to get familiar with the position holding barbell over my head. This is a good practice for that purpose, very good one. I still have some technical issues but it's getting better. On my last 2 sets I realized there's no point pulling the bar too high if you're about to squat snatch it. If it goes too high, it's more difficult to stabilize it on the way down. If you pull it just where you need to pull it, the bar rest on the correct position already. Does it make any sense?

I was almost adding weight on the barbell in the end but then reminded myself this workout is focusing on technique, no need to find heavy weights. Had no misses in this one. Rather ok doing.

Here's one set of Sipa's snatches from the beginning of the training session. Looks solid, I'd say!

Metcon. Time 7.01

• 20 back squats, 100kg
• 20 overhead squats, 50kg

One miss. That's the thing I remember from this workout. I had 3 reps left on the overhead squats and I dropped the bar. That really went under my skin. On the next try I was able to finish it though. There are no videos in this cave and I guess I don't know it by feel how deep I go if I don't see it. Seems to me there were lot of shallow depth in both back squat and ohs. Well, no need to look back that much, I'll rather focus on tomorrow's workouts. Take a look at the workout below. I had 100 & 50kg on one barbell. Toni used two different ones, weights were 80 & 30 and he beat with over 2min I suppose, heard Sipa saying 4.33 on the video.

Cleans. For quality, weights between 60-80kg

• Perform 15 perfect hang squat cleans
• Weights 3x60, 3x65, 3x70, 5x75, 1x80kg

This is my cup of tea. I love squat cleans, no matter are they pulled from the ground or from hang position. I'd do them any day. We took singles together with Sipa, alternating, taking a look at each other's technique. In the end Sipa took some triples to finish 15 reps, I went on with singles all the way, adding weights on the way. Started with mere 60kg, then 5kg steps all the way to 75kg. I believe I've hang cleaned 70-75kg at max so I wanted to try 80kg and had no problems in getting a rep. That's positive!

I realized today that I need to work on my squat technique a lot. My knees tend to lean too much forward, over my ankles. Have some mobility issues in my hips still, even though it's got a lot better. That forces me to keep my stance narrow and that such stabile. My ankles also pronate too much inwards. Have to find a place to sit down in the hole, more comfortable than currently. Regularly my depth is good, today I didn't find it easy to watch my performance afterwards.

Looking forward to tomorrow, it's gonna be another tough training day. Hopefully my body is receptive as well and eager to workout. Yesterday's bench really felt today in my chest and shoulders.

Monday 22.7: DU's, bench metcon

Monday. Skills, 300 double unders. Metcon, 50 bench press (70kg). Penalties for air squats and burpees.

That tabata deadlift workout really feels in my lower back today. So much weight in so little time. I'm happy I was still able to recover so that it didn't bother today's workouts. I was still wondering in the morning what to do because my body was not at its freshest. Then I realized bench press was the name of the game. I don't enjoy that much of the traditional strength workouts like 5x5 or 5x3 type of strength moves but more like having a moderate weight on the bar and transform it to crossfit workout. Thus, the programming was as seen below.

Skills.

• 15 x 20 double unders with Toni, taking turns

When I was learning this skill, I used to do them pretty much every day. The progress was good but it really felt in my shins. Since I felt I mastered this skill, I've diminished the amount of them dramatically. It's mostly because of the shin pain. It's definitely a movement that should be kept in the warm-up scheme. When you don't practice them on a daily basis, there's no problem. Definitely worth practicing them.

We both felt like it was a perfect way to train for this skill. Our goal was at 300 reps and decided to hit it in sets of 20 reps, taking turns. So the rest period was the time the other one was performing. It went quite nicely. Could have done a bit better though. Both of us did the sets unbroken except about 3 sets. I'd hope to go unbroken all the way in such a short amount of reps. 20 reps ain't much in a row so that should be done unbroken. We're thinking to renew this one, however, increasing the reps a bit per set, let's say 25, then maybe 30. Some day we are at 50 rep sets =)

Metcon. Together with Toni.

• 50 bench presses, 70kg
• Every time you rack the bar, perform 20 air squats on the spot
• Every time you rack the bar, perform 10 burpees after finishing 50 bench
• Bench sets: 10, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3 reps
• Pony's sets: 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 5, 5 reps

The main focus of the day was on bench press metcon. Complete 50 bench presses @ 70kg. There's a twist, actually two of them. Every time you have to rack the barbell, that creates 2 punishments. The other one has to be completed between the bench sets, the other one after finishing those 50 bench presses. 20 air squats immediately after having racked the bar. Plus 10 burpees for every time the bar is racked. Burpees are done in a row at the end of the workout.

I was able to finish 50 reps with 8 sets of bench, Toni done better, 7 sets. After 7 sets I was 3 reps behind him. So there was a total of 140 air squats for me, Toni accidentally did also 20 reps after the last set so he came to 140 reps as well. Then it was my time to make the calculation mistake after the presses. I quickly counted I had 8 sets and Toni 7 sets. The idea was to have a punishment for every time we racked the bar because you can't go anymore. So there should have been 60 reps for Toni and 70 for me but we did 70 / 80 reps.

Well, it didn't matter, burpee is a freaking awesome movement. It's so comprehensive way for conditioning. We did sets of 10 reps, put a mark in our notes and returned to burpees. This workout was very rough actually. It felt like I'd like to just lay down (which I don't do, ever) so I got on my feet and started walking around to recover. I looked at Toni and he didn't feel any better =) Go give it a shot and let me know if you did it! I'd like to know how you felt.

There you go, some Dusy Hyland's handstand walk drills

Plus, Graham Holmberg getting ready for the Games

Sunday 21.7: Tabata deadlift, metcon

Sunday. Tabata deadlift @ 120kg. Result, 48 reps. Metcon, 5 rounds of rowing, hspu and ring dips. Time 18.40.

Felt very tired in the morning. After breakfast I was ready to take a nap =) However, we loaded our bodies full of energy and headed to the gym with Pauliina. Both eager to train because of a bye week in Spain. Did Tabata deadlifts today and then a metcon consisting of hspu's and ring dips, rowing as well.

Strength. 48 reps

• Tabata deadlift
• 20 sec on, 10 sec off for 8 total rounds
• 120kg on the barbell
• Result, 6 reps each round

This was a newcomer. Haven't done Tabata workouts in strength movements. Only once with light push presses waaaaay back with Tony the Pony. A good workout to say the least. It was difficult to know how to approach this one. Normally when you attack Tabata workouts, if you go full steam in the beginning you're gonna get smoked in the end. When you do a steady work throughout by starting with lesser reps, the end result is that you end up having more reps.

That was the reasoning for me to aim for 6 reps each round. I carried out the strategy perfectly. Result 6 reps per round, totaling 48 reps with 120kg, 5.760kg in 3.50min. In the beginning I could have done 8-10 reps for 2-3 rounds probably but then the fatigue would have hit me pretty badly. This is all guessing but that's what I recon the feelings were at the time. After 4 rounds the 120kg started to feel heavier because there's not much to recover. I was also thinking about 130kg in advance but I'm satisfied I locked it at 120kg. Those extra 10kg might have come back to haunt me.

With that being said, I believe the weight for today and the strategy carried out were both very good choices for me. This workout is very much recommendable. Since I couldn't take a video of my Tabata, I'm gonna let you see the monster himself doing the same workout with 150kg. Be my guest: Rob Orlando.

Metcon. Time 18.40

• 5 rounds of:
• 500/400/300/200/100m row
• 5 handstand push-ups
• 15 ring dips

Took some time with the workout. Basically it was the ring dips that made me suffer. The distance of rowing got shorter by the rounds. Starting at 500m, next round 400m etc. Then 5 handstand push-ups that I was able to do unbroken for the first 3 rounds. No misses though. I knew where my strength level was at the time and didn't waste energy in failed attempts.

Ring dips are not one of my strengths. For 2-3 rounds I had a strategy of completing them 5-5-5. On the last 2 rounds I had to split it a bit more. I felt the movement's toughness in the front of my shoulders, chest and triceps. Okay, my breathing was rather fast after rowing, I tried to keep a good pace there and also after handstand push-ups. But on the ring dips it was more of a strength issue. Got some chance to catch my breath 'cause I had to take breaks with dips.

First round of hspu's as strict, then kipping

I'm so happy we went to train and not skip it. After having a week off from training with barbells this has been a rather rough starting point to workout with heavy weights. For barbell work, there's been back squats, heavy step-ups, cleans, clean & jerks, snatches, overhead squats and deadlifts in the last 3 days, accompanied with bodyweight stuff.

Saturday 20.7: clean singles, pair chipper

Saturday. Clean singles (max PR 100kg!). Pair wod, chipper, 40 c&j, 40 box, 40 snatch, 40 burpees, 40 ohs, 40 t2b.

Entourage: me, Pauliina and Pony. We were thinking about doing those cleans as emom type training, heavy single every 30 or 60 seconds for 10 minutes but Pony wanted to hit singles today. No prob, that proved to be a good call. After strength we decided to take a pair workout, including barbell action and bodyweight movements to accompany the main moves. A good one as well.

Strength. 5x70, 2x80, 1x85, 1x90, 1x95, 1x97.5kg (PR), 1x100kg (PR). The bar was light or then I was simply strong. Go figure, but it went perfectly! For starters we did some reps with lighter weights, 60 & 70kg squat cleans. After 80kg I started to take singles. I felt very good all the way, from the very beginning. My legs didn't feel stiff at all even though there was some serious leg work done yesterday. My upper back hasn't done work with bars in a while so it was also prepared for this day.

90kg was extremely easy and I started to feel if this day would be written in the stars. Next step - 95kg - previous record weight. Easy as well. Hmm… Pony said it's gonna be a day of 3-digit numbers today for sure. I got that mental boost and huge confidence after that lift and I knew for sure I'm gonna make a PR but didn't dare to think I'm gonna hit 100kg. After 97.5kg I felt it's definitely possible. If there's no technical errors I'm gonna make that magical lift. And I did. That total 2 PR's today. First one was 97.5 and right after 100kg. Very happy!!!

Pair chipper.

• 40 clean & jerk, 60kg
• 40 box jumps, 61cm
• 40 snatches, 50kg
• 40 burpees
• 40 overhead squats, 40kg
• 40 toes-to-bar

I had planned to do this workout solo with 20 reps each. Once we were at the Box we decided to double the reps and do it as a pair wod. You go, I go. We split the reps so that in clean & jerks 5 reps alternating, 5 snatches alternating and on the ohs I went in unbroken sets of 10's. Toni had some issues with that movement, other than that he also went pretty much as planned. On the bodyweight movements we did 20 reps in a row before letting the other guy do his 20 reps.

The strength movements were perfect. Exactly what I wanted and needed. However, on the bodyweight movements the reps were too low. Okay, it's not nice to do burpees ever but still, there were too few of them. I had planned 20 reps per move when going solo. But, as we paired up, there came those break moments when the other guy performed his movements. Only one athlete going at a time. So considering that, there should have been more box jumps, burpees and t2e's. I could have welcomed 60 reps each. Would have increased the toughness level on this one and probably those snatches and overhead squats would have felt totally different after that many reps.

Had I done this alone, then probably 20 reps each would have been just fine because there wouldn't be those reps periods practically at all. Only the ones that you need to have to catch a breath. Now I was able to go as planned from beginning to the end without breaking any sets. All sets unbroken.

We were already planning to add the number of pair wods in the future and maybe take strength workouts as well such as 5min amrap of 60kg clean & jerks or 50kg snatches. That would make a hell of a training session.

Toni did the same workouts today as I did. I'm not sure about the weights in the clean but somehow I recall him doing 70, 80 and 85kg as power cleans. He tried 90kg a few times but didn't have his head around it and thus he collapsed on the technique. He's basically doing all his cleans as power cleans. There's a lot of strength in this dude. However, once he learns to squat clean, he's gonna add 10kg in his max load, there's no doubt about it. I really hope he would be patient in learning that 'cause I know he is going to learn it quickly and is gonna nail big numbers soon after.

It was awesome to have him at the Box with us today. It's definitely a help when you have a training partner to lift those heavy weights with you and share the metcon pain =)

Friday 19.7: Back squats, step-ups & wall climbs

Friday. Back squats 5x3 (max 120kg). Metcon, 6 rounds of 10 step-ups (80kg) and 5 wall climbs. Time 14.17.

Got back from Spain 7.00am in the morning. Went to sleep, woke up at noon, ate breakfast and headed to the gym with Pauliina. Nobody in there 'cause everyone was working upstairs. The basement "box" was all ours. Few minutes of cycling to get some blood running inside, then stretching, air squats and bar warm-up. Soon after it was time to start adding plates on the bar. Back squats for strength and step-ups / wall climbs for metcon.

Strength. Back squats 3-3-3-3-3 (100, 110, 120, 120, 120kg). I guess it shows I haven't had the possibility to work with barbells in a while. It feels like an eternity. I did triples between 100 and 120kg. I didn't risk the unbroken sets and stayed at 120 at max. Felt good squatting and got deep reps all the way. Should have gotten more total kilos anyway, today I stayed at 1.700kg back squatting. Program said there's still work to be done, step-ups and wall climbs.

Metcon. Time 14.17.

• 6 rounds of:
• 10 step-ups, 80kg
• 5 wall climbs

Here I got more leg work done. It's a different movement for sure but now I got almost 5.000kg done with legs and core. I was thinking about the weights for a second. I've been doing these with 80-100kg and decided on the lighter one because I've had this break from barbell work. Towards the end it got tougher but I believe I could have carried that 100kg in my back as well. I was able to keep a good steady pace from beginning through the end with the step-ups.

Wall climbs were significantly tougher. It's been a long time since I did that cruel movement. 5 reps each round, make your chest hit the wall before coming down. I usually did 2-3 reps in a row, then took a breath and finished off the last reps. On some rounds, had to break it in 3 sets. This is a rough movement on shoulders. Simultaneously breathing gets heavier by every rep. In other words, a great movement! =)

First round was 1.55, then all other rounds between 2.07 and 2.47. On the last one I was able to speed up and complete it half a minute faster than the 5th round. Pretty stable pace anyway in the workout. It took me a few seconds to stop the clock, there's the difference to my time: 14.17.

Metcon, round times

It felt incredibly good to get back on track. I'm definitely going back tomorrow for some hardcore stuff. Hopefully seeing Pony as well.

Thursday 18.7: Push-ups, k2e's, dips

Thursday. Push-ups, k2e, dips.

Last day enjoying the beaches of Spain. It's been hot every day to say the least and a lot of relaxation has taken place. After breakfast I was set for the last workout here before returning home, workout took place at the same spot as always. Including push-ups, knees-to-elbows and dips.

Metcon.

• 10 rounds of:
• 10 push-ups
• 10 k2e, then:
• 100 dips

Each workout I've done here has been for completion with minimum rest. Haven't put the clock running. Basically 'cause there's nowhere to lay my phone. Only sand everywhere :) Still, I've rattled through the workouts with solid pace and imagining I'm in a rush.

Today's set included a couplet of push-ups and k2e's. After finishing 10 rounds of 10 reps each basically without rest periods, I moved on to complete 100 dips. All push-ups went unbroken, k2e's were done in full sets up to 50 reps. From then on, in 7+3 the remaining sets. On the dips I went 20, 15, 15 and then 10's to finish it. Small breaks to get some rest for my triceps. Take into consideration that push-ups and dips were not as challenging as regular ones because I had to use the bars you see in the pictures below. Still, with the rep-scheme they got more difficult towards the end.

It's been a fun week here with Pauliina and her parents. Also had the possibility to meet Marko here, that was awesome! Now it's about time to head to the airport and come back home. I have a lot of time to plan the workouts for the upcoming week. Looking forward to it already!!!

Wednesday 17.7: Rest day

Wednesday. Rest day.

Second day in a row of taking it easy. It has definitely been a vacation. This is the easiest week I've had in a year, no doubt about it. I've worked harder even with injuries. I strongly hope it will benefit me in the long run to let my body recover properly.

But to say the truth, I miss my weights! Barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, you name it, doesn't matter as long as it's something heavy! I'm gonna hit it hars as I get back home. Tomorrow's the last day in Spain and I intend to do a workout in the morning.

Monday 15.7: Chipper

Monday. Chipper.

Morning workout took place at the beach. Beautiful morning, sun shining and a slight sea breaze cooling the air. Couldn't ask for more, except a barbell ;)

Chipper.

• 5 muscle-ups
• 50 squats
• 20 pull-ups
• 50 squats
• 20 k2e
• 50 squats
• 20 k2e
• 50 squats
• 20 pull-ups
• 50 squats

I'm very happy I'm able to do muscle-ups with this pull-up bar. My grip is a bit awkward but still the swing up is quick enough to get my chest over the bar. I took the muscle-ups in singles.

Main ingredient in this metcon was squats, 250 of them in the sand. I buried my legs in the sand and started moving. Pull-ups weren't bad 'cause there weren't that many of them. Still, I did them in tens.
Same with the knees-to-elbows. Sets of 10 reps both times. I liked this workout, it was a good one considering the circumstances.

Sunday 14.7: Rest day

Sunday. Rest day.

Took a day off, I'm definitely taking it easier this week 'cause I know it's impossible for me to do that normally if I have access to my regular training places, barbells, weights and other equipment.

Today I met Marko, here in Spain. That is somehow sick, meeting my friend here in a totally different country. Some month ago we realized we both had booked tickets to nearby cities in Costa Del Sol without the other one knowing it. So we hooked up today to stroll around the city and chill at the beach, having our ladies with us of course. Not bad! In the evening we're gonna take a cruise with Pauliina and my in-laws. Tomorrow I'll better do some workout again!

Saturday 13.7: Muscle-ups, pull-ups, push-ups

Saturday. Metcon. 5 muscle-ups, 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups.

Bodyweight action was in program for today. How awesome is it to workout at the beach after sunrise, c'mon! Temperature wasn't too hot yet even though it was a clear blue sky and sun was shining to it's fullest.

My metcon included playing with the pull-up bar I told yesterday, extremely thick, I have troubles in finding a proper grip. Can't wrap my fingers all the way around it so that was definitely a good variation to regular pull-up bar.

I completed 5 single muscle-ups and then staryed doing pull-ups, all 100 of them before entering to 100 push-ups. Did the pull-ups in sets of 10 up to 50 reps I suppose. From there on, I followed a 6+4 strategy to the finish. Did them mostly palms facing away from me except for 2 sets in the beginning having palms facing me.

Pull-ups went in sets of 10 reps, then catching some breath and completing another set. A good morning workout and it was spectacular to dive in the ocean afterwards and reward myself in the cool Mediterranean sea!

Friday 12.7: Rest day

Friday. Rest day.

First day in Spain, chilling at the beach and sunbathing. Basically doing nothing. Found a pull-up bar at the beach, the thickest bar I've ever seen. It was difficult to get a good grip but managed still a muscle-up and a few pull-ups. Let's see if there are more reps tomorrow :)

Thursday 11.7: Handstand walk and push presses

Thursday. Handstand walk training. Push press, emom 3 reps @ 70kg for 10min.

Another day at Eltsu, a traditional track and field location in Helsinki. It's the warm-up track for IAAF World Championship in Athletics, a beautiful place and it shines the athleticism gloriously. Half of the training is even to be at that place =) I did handstand hold and handstand walk for 12 minutes, then moved on to work more on my shoulders. Push press emom training, repeated it from last Friday.

Handstand walk. I really feel like I'm each time taking steps forward in my progression towards handstand walk. I was able to stay inverted for 10-15 seconds a few times. That's incredibly rewarding as this movement seemed very difficult at first and being able to walk upside down seemed like a very distant dream. However, my keeping it on the schedule on a regular basis, watching videos from crossfit sites, I've been able to translate this into my new skill as well. Extremely glad!

Handstand walk

Handstand walk back and forth =)

Push press. Compare to 5.7.2013.

• Push press, every minute on the minute (emom)
• 3 reps @ 70kg for 10 minutes
• Max effort on the last round

Yes, I did this one a week ago. Then, I completed the first round with 60kg, 2nd and 3rd with 65kg and the rest with 70kg. And I had some troubles with the last rounds, it was rather heavy. Today I started off with 70kg and went all the way without changing anything. I felt strong. Of course I started to feel the burden but still had some energy left on the last round. I decided to try max effort on the 10th minute and complete as many reps as possible unbroken. I got 5 reps and the sixth failed to lock out.

God damned this has been a good training week. I'm very happy for the results and workouts I've had the possibility to complete. Yesterday I had the chance to get together with Toni and Marko, it's always a boost when you have training partners with you. I've been on a summer holiday so it has given me these options to workout in places that are fully booked after office hours.

In the evening we are flying to southern Spain together with Pauliina to spend a week with her parents. Barbells are nowhere near by so got to stay imaginative with bodyweight workouts. I'm definitely going to chill out and rest as well. I don't remember a time when I had 2 rest days in a row. Let's see what it's like to train in 30-36 degrees, huh… I know there's a pull-up bar and my father-in-law has seen some guys doing crossfit workouts on the beach, pulling sled and stuff, interesting!

Wednesday 10.7: Hang squat snatches, deadlift/du metcon

Wednesday. 10 x (2 hang squat snatches). Metcon, emom 5 deadlifts (120kg), remaining minute amrap of double unders. Result.

New venue spotted for training! Kind of a cave, it's a bomb shelter below ground level that's turned in to a training center. Perfect place for olympic lifts and a lot of empty space. Also possible to combine barbells and bodyweight movements and running. We all fell in love with the place, me, Toni and Marko.

Snatches. Compare to 27.6

• 10 x (2 hang squat snatches) for quality
• Together with Pony, alternating

I'm gonna keep on doing this workout in order to keep on working on my squat snatch technique and mobility issues. It feels indescribably good to being able to even do this movement. It's a bit shaky still. At points I get good reps and some of them are wiggling. I feel like today's lifts were better than last time. We used 40kg each round and the weight was no issue this time. More like technical issues.

Hang squat snatches, Don

Hang squat snatches, Pony

Metcon. Result. 224 double unders.

• 8 min emom
• 5 deadlifts, 120kg
• Remaining minute, amrap double unders

This was a lot of work. Surprisingly 120kg started to feel heavy towards the end as it was difficult to breathe. After 2 rounds I started to understand the nature of this one. 8 rounds was the best I could have done. It would have been a nightmare to go beyond that, luckily I had wrote 8 minutes on paper beforehand. The number of double unders remained almost identical each round, 25 reps. In the first round I got 46 reps with a fresh body. The last round was 28 reps.

My technique in the deadlifts started to collapse a bit towards the end but there was no doubt the bar would come up unbroken each round. It's not that heavy anyway. But the heavy breathing made it way more difficult than normally. And it was difficult to start jumping around right after dropping the barbell.

Toni's and Marko's workouts. Toni did the same hang squat snatch set together with me. Simultaneously Marko completed his first ever deadlifts. Worked on his form, stance and bar path. After that part they did a workout together:

• 5 rounds of:
• 5 deadlifts (Toni 120kg)
• 150m run forwards
• 150m run backwards
• Toni's time was 14.22

June's stats

June's stats. Here's a detailed description of June's workouts in numbers.

Pretty much every barbell lifted or pressed, each rep in all movements. Some rare movements and ancillary workouts may not be in the stats. Other than that, everything should have been recorded. All in all, the weights remained identical, only emphasized different movements. Same with the bodyweight and skills movements. Similar load but focused on different things. Have been working on my handstand skills on a regular basis. Couple of PR's were seen as well.

Benchmark workouts.

• Bear complex, max weight 50kg
• Bradley, time 21.11
• Diane, time 16.02
• Nicole, result 8 rounds and 120 pull-ups
• Loredo, time 22.49

I got the chance to work out with Marko outdoors on a weekly basis. There I nailed the workouts Bradley, Nicole and Loredo. Each and every one were tough physically in their own kind. Both Bradley and Nicole included a lot of pull-ups (100/120) and a lot of running as well. With Diane I was working towards getting better at my handstand push-ups. I was able to drop little less than 2 minutes off my time. Loredo was all about leg work and respiration.

Strength. 68.000kg

In May I concentrated A LOT in cleans (guess it was around 16.000kg), in June it was more like a normal situation. This time I concentrated more in presses / jerks. Bench was also something I worked on a bit more if you look at the weights. However, I didn't do it many times in June anyway, the load per time was maybe greater. The load on squats remained similar. Thusters were non-existing this month as well as step-ups. Heavy step-ups are a very good way to focus on hamstrings and core.

Skills.

The number of handstand push-up training was the biggest single change. 143 reps in May, 98 reps in June. No big reason for that, simply did a lot of them in May. Could have done a bit more in June as well. I doubled the amount of double unders, still I feel like I didn't do much of them. Should definitely do more of them. I have them well in control but have to be humble towards DU's, otherwise they will get me. One of the most important focus areas for this summer is handstand training. I kept a steady pace in training them, once in every 5 days. For the second month in a row. I try to be patient and not do them every other day (believe me, I'd like to!) but I don't think that's wise. Might have some problems in shoulders if I would rush.

Bodyweight.

What happened between the two months? Number of air squats doubled, all other movements remained on the same level or increased. The exception was box jumps, which dropped from 300 -> 100 reps as well as pull-ups (490 -> 300). I thought about sit-ups as well and realized there's no point in doing them. That's my opinion. I believe core is developed way more with strength movements. Every time you squat, deadlift or press, you have to keep your core tight, otherwise you'll mist the lift. All those sit-ups were done as cashout workouts anyway, I don't remember doing them in a metcon since Annie few months ago.

Cardio.

Intentionally increased the meters of running and rowing. In the summer time it's ideal to run as in wintertime it's a rarity. Did some row metcons as well as row intervals.

PR's.

• Clean, 95kg
• Muscle-ups, 3 reps
• Bench press, 100kg

In June I basically worked on the platform of my strength and didn't try to break records many times. That bench teased me, I tried to break 3-digit numbers in the middle of the month, then did one strength workout a week after that and got to 100kg on the last day of the month. I have developed a lot of my clean technique and it's starting to pay dividends on me. I'm feeling confident dropping under the barbell and am able to keep the bar close to my body constantly. Focused a lot of effort in clean technique in May so the results can be seen now. Muscle-ups is something new, I've did only about 15 reps in the last two months, trying to be patient as well because it's very challenging movement and puts a lot of burden on shoulders.