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.