Friday 10.1: Front squats and ohs with pause, metcon

Friday. Ring skills, emom for 10min (ring rows, 1-arm extensions). Strength, front squats with a pause 4x3 (across 105kg), overhead squats with a pause 5x1 (across 50kg). Metcon, 21-15-9, overhead squats (50kg), narrow grip pull-ups. Time 6.07

Lately I've been eagerly waiting for upcoming squat days! It's important to learn to love 'em. It all starts from the legs. Have them strong and you're able to move easier. You'll have the capabilities to keep on moving when your legs are strong. Add good metabolic condition and you're a beast. That's what my goal is. I have the goal of making my legs stronger than they currently are. Some skills in the beginning, then pause squats and finally a metcon of ohs and pull-ups.

Front squat 105kg

Ring skills. Every minute on the minute, for 10min

• For 5min: 5 ring rows, rest of minute mobility
• For 5min: 3/3 one-arm extensions

Took some classic warm-up with foam roll and mobility that seem to work for me. Next I played with the rings to get prepared for the workouts. Did some ring rows and then rest of the minute I stretched my shoulders for the upcoming overhead squats. After 5 minutes I changed it to 1arm extensions with the clock running all the time. I used the rest of the time edging my squat snatch with pvc pipe. I believe these 1-arm extensions will help in keeping the balance with the rings and will develop the grip comfortable in the long run too.

Part II of the "Behind the scenes 2013"

Strength. Squat day

• Front squats, 4x3 (across 105kg), 3 second pause
• Overhead squats 5x1 (across 50kg), 10 second pause

I did front squats with a pause about a week ago. They were great! From that day I've been waiting to get them on my schedule again. And today it happened. Front squats with pause, this time triples and all sets across, @ 105kg. Felt good with the load. The third set was the toughest, it felt a bit awkward on my right ankle for some reason. Other than that, it felt good all the way. I'm definitely doing paused squats more in the future. Starting from a static sit from the bottom, you need to be strong to get out of the hole. I believe this will increase my leg strength.

Must admit this is something I copy pasted from Chad Vaughn. He's been doing overhead squats with a long pause. This should help in feeling natural in the squat snatches. And especially on the "big lifts" where this should bring stability because you learn to be at your home in the bottom position. I thought I couldn't do it with much more than 30kg =) I took some sets with empty bar, then 30kg and 40kg. Those felt so natural that I decided to put 50kg. In addition I did snatch balances (probably for the first time in my life) and snatch presses before going all the way down.

Squats

I felt awkwardly good in the bottom position. Because I feel very natural in the deep bottom position in front squat but not that natural in overhead squat. However, today it felt extremely good and I had no problems staying there for eternity. The weight did feel light even though there was 50kg on the bar. And coming back up from there was easy. Shortly, this was great workout!!!

Ohs 50kg

Metcon. Time 6.07

• 21-15-9
• Overhead squats
• Pull-ups

The combination was kind of cruel. I realized it after the first round. I did both movements unbroken but took my time to get my hands and shoulders some recovery time in the transition. I wanted to do them without breaks and I definitely needed the recovery for my shoulders. The overhead squat was nasty. It started to feel on both my shoulders and my legs. On the pull-ups I took very narrow grip compared to regular width. It was good variation and definitely worked for me.