Sunday 16.2: Back squats, 15min amrap

Sunday. Back squats 3x4 across @ 130kg. Metcon, 15min amrap: 1 dead (150kg), 6 hspu, 9 k2e, 12 box. Result. 8rds + 1 dead. Total 225 reps.

Once again, another great training day! I'm getting to my comfort zone on heavy back squats and there is clear development in leg strength. That pleases me a lot. I also took a metcon which had an interesting twist as I mixed a heavy barbell with bodyweight movements. Definitely worth taking another shot in some way.

Strength. Squats

• Back squats 4-4-4 across @ 130kg

This was part of  my recent squat program. Traditionally my programming is very much freestyling. I usually have a thing in my mind to which I want to concentrated and put more focus on but other than that I don't usually make long-term plans on my strength training. I feel like that's far away from the original plan of being prepared for anything and having constant variety in training.

Anyway, I did 10x2 some time ago of which last 7 sets were with 130kg. Last Sunday I did 5 sets of triples, all sets @ 130kg. So my plan was to hit 3 sets of 130kg for 4 reps in each set. Little by little I increased the number of reps per set. And I got all sets done in all 3 heavy squat days. I call that a success. Let's see if I'll go for 135kg next time. Have to think about this one for a while. Whatever it turns out, I have gained a good level of confidence on back squats.

I took sets with 60, 80, 100 and 120kg before reaching the 130kg weight on the barbell. And it felt good squatting! All sets done. It was heavy and got heavier towards the end. No surprise there. Anyway, I was sure to bring it home after having done the first set. Never have I done sets this many sets with 4 reps or more at these weights. It's been an awesome trip to get to this point. I feel like my legs have become stronger and these squat days have proved it to me.

Recap of squats

Metcon. Result 225 reps (8 rounds + 1 deadlift)

• 15min amrap of:
• 1 deadlift, 150kg
• 6 handstand push-ups
• 9 knees-to-elbows
• 12 box jumps, 61cm

Yeah, I had thought about doing an amrap of 5hspu, 10k2e and 15 box but yesterday evening I got a sudden feeling of adding a heavy deadlift with the bodyweight movements. And I'm glad I got the sign from somewhere. It was a different nature as I had to grab that heavy barbell for a single rep every once in a while.

I completed everything on this workout unbroken. Deadlift was naturally the heaviest movement. I got to 8 full rounds plus 1 deadlift on the 9th round. That makes me happy as I now think about the number of hspu's I completed, total of 48 reps. And they were easy! It's a totally different situation compared to last summer when I remember having lots of frustration with the movement. Work on weaknesses… Nowadays I love the movement and I feel comfortable with them.

Knees-to-elbows is a movement I've neglected for a while. If I've done some sort of core work, it has more likely been toes-to-bar. It was a good variation to take k2e's instead. Went unbroken and smooth.

Because of box jumps I had to change my shoes from oly shoes to my normal workout sneakers. It would have been awesome to nail those deadlifts with olympic lifting shoes but it would have been awkward to do box jumps with them. Of course you can do single box jumps with them but touch'n'go box jumps are more difficult with a flat shoe. I liked the box jumps too and was able to do them even though my breathing got heavy and legs were burning.

It was a steady work throughout the 15 minutes. It was around 2:00 for couple of rounds but for the last 3 rounds I was able to catch up some time and each round was a little faster than the previous, at about 1:50. I may have given some slack in the beginning because I thought this workout would destroy me earlier. It was a nice surprise to being able to keep moving with a steady pace.

Good workouts, both of them, first back squats for strength and then an amrap training. And hey, congrats to Toni who nailed a personal record of 100kg clean today!!!