Thursday 29.1: Hspu, Squat, Pair wod

Thursday. Gymnastics, emom x 8min: strict hspu's. Back squat, 3 reps every 90 seconds, build up from 60kg till failure. Result, 2x140kg. Pair wod, 15min amrap of: 50 hr push-ups, 50 squats, 50 burpees, 50 lunges. Result, 2rds + 50 push-ups.

Yes, gimme squats! First some hspu action, then partnering up with Toni for a great back squat workout that took our legs to other dimensions, and finally we hit it for a 15min metcon together as a team. Good one as usual =)

Gymnastics.

• Every minute on the minute, for 8 minutes
• Strict handstand push-ups for 6 min (3-5 reps)
• Kipping handstand push-ups for 2 min (6 rep)

These short emom sets are perfect on the road towards mastering some weaknesses. I feel like I have hspu's pretty well under control nowadays when kipping is allowed but strict ones are from another planet. Those are hard and I can't get a real momentum going on there. I've done 10 for max reps whereas 25 can be done when the entire body is utilised. That means more strength for shoulders and triceps would make the deal for strict ones too. These minutes were not for max reps. I just took couple of reps to get more familiar with strict versions. I believe it was 5-5-5-4-3-4. That was supposed to be it but I took 2 extra minutes just doing couple of kipping reps as well.

It was the perfect avocado ever, had to share this one with you guys =)

Back squat. Compare to 20.12.2014

• Every 90 seconds, perform a triple
• Weights: 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120… till failure
• Result, 2x140kg

This is the same workout I did some time ago for the WinterWar qualification event number 3. That one was done with front squats though. It was such a great workout that I thought trying it out with back squats too. The weights start at light weight and go up moderately so the body gets warm pretty well. It was a triple after every 90 seconds. I did this one with my pal Toni. He started at 0:00, and I took my first set at 0:45. So someone was lifting a triple after every 45 seconds.

That time interval is great. In the beginning it's quite a long time and there's plenty of time to recover. And in the end it really hits big time in the last rounds / sets because you have to work so hard for those reps anyway.

Got to say we both had good results considering our own maxes. Toni smashed 120kg for a triple even though he hasn't been able to squat in a long time seriously because of some back issues. This was a victory for this guy. And 140kg for a double is no joke for me. Especially in a rally like this where time becomes a factor. We felt super happy on the results!

Pair wod. Result, 250 reps

• 15min amrap of:
• 50 hand release push-ups (alternating after 5 reps)
• 50 air squats (synchronized)
• 50 burpees (alternating after each rep)
• 50 lunges (synchronized)

Our legs were destroyed, my quads were screaming for help after those squats. It was surprisingly difficult for us to come up with an idea of a pair workout. We decided to leave the barbell off of this one so it was about push-ups / burpees and squats / lunges. Kind of like two different movements, yet modified to 4 different elements.

It was a 15min amrap of these 4 stations. We did squats and lunges synchronized, meaning we both did 50 reps at the same time. Push-ups were 5 for you, 5 for me style. And on the burpees we have found a way that is economical for Toni and me, we change the athlete after every rep. This way we get them done faster compared to if we did them for example 5 and 5 reps.

Turkey, avocado, spinach, tomatoes, Turkey and rice. Post-workout meal

Not necessarily a bad ass for lungs but legs were taking some hit on squats and lunges and then shoulder and arms in general were getting their share on the push-ups and burpees. It was definitely worth throwing down for it with my main man Toni.

Lauren Fisher