Saturday 28.2: Running

Saturday. Run 45 minutes.

My body felt like it has been hammered for a while. The entire training week was kind of brutal. Lots of barbell work and toward the heavier side so it was no wonder this body felt like it needed a day off from hard work. It wasn't going to be a full rest day anyways. At first I thought about taking either wall ball or kettlebell with me and do a metcon with them.

Then on the other hand, I haven't been running outdoors practically in ages so I took my sneakers, wore a beanie and went running for 45 minutes. Just smelled the air in Helsinki's central park, listened to birds singing and just smelling the nature. Not bad, I enjoyed it. This was low heart rate running, not a timed hard core effort. Building basic aerobic capacity.

It probably wouldn't do any harm if I went running once or twice a week like this. Low pace running for a bit longer or then slightly faster but shorter time domain. I tend to to get a little knee pain if I run for too long. Something maybe in my running technique, go figure. But doing shorter time runs or sprints is always okay. Having running as part of a metcon is a perfect tool for a great workout.

In the evening we went to have a splendid dinner with Toni, Pauliina and some other friends in a restaurant called Pastor in downtown Helsinki. Delicious, no doubt! Good times in great company. Great to see these funny people and have a blast.

Friday 27.2: Squats, Deadlift, Metcon + Rowing metcon

Friday. AM: Back squat emom singles up to 142.5kg. Deadlift 10-10-8-6 (max 177.5kg). Metcon, 7min amrap of: 7 ring dip, 12 t2b. Result, 7rds. PM: Metcon, 5rds of: 500m row, 6 power snatch (42.5kg), 9 hspu. Time, 17.37

This Friday I went to work for the evening shift so I had plenty of time in the morning to work on my posterior chain. Squats were followed by some Friday deads. I was quite done after them but there was still one short metcon to finish the session. After work I went back to the gym with the intention of rowing. It changed to a metcon consisting of rowing, snatches and hspu's, a good one.

It's work time!

Strength. Result, 142.5kg

• Every minute on the minute
• Back squat singles
• Start at 60, add 10kg until you reach 100kg, then add 2.5kg per minute

I watched the Crossfit Open live announcement for 15.1 in the morning and the battle between Froning and Fraser. What a dog fight! it's gonna be hard on your grip for sure if you're participating in the Open. Three pulling movements is horrific. And once your grip is gone, it's sick to grab a barbell for 1 rep max on the clean and jerk. Anyway, as I drove to the gym, I started feeling super dizzy and for a while I thought if I had to skip the entire session. It took half an hour to get my shit together but once I got, it was all good from there on. It was time to squat and pull for strength.

I really like the idea of emom workouts for strength too. You gotta keep on moving because the time is ticking away. Today I did emom singles except in the beginning I took multiple reps on the lighter weights (<100kg). After 100kg I added only 2.5kg per minute whereas the first jumps were 10kg per round. Those were for warm-up.

The barbell felt heavier than normally. Maybe that dizziness had its effect but the barbell started feeling towards heavy at around 120kg. On video those look like okay lifts but the feeling inside was a bit different. At some point I thought I'd be happy to complete 130kg. Somehow I was able to battle through the rep of 142.5kg, and then failed the 145kg.

Pulling.

• Deadlift 10-10-8-6 (105, 125, 157.5, 177.5kg)

I'll try to have one pulling day every week. This movement has been non-existing for a long time but in the last month or so I've been able to incorporate it back in the schedule. And it's been great. Today was another session to build up to heavy sets. Starting at low weights building up with rather big jumps. The last set was 85% of 1RM (210kg).

I took the first 3 sets up to 157.5kg touch'n'go style. And those felt great. I've found a way how to have a neutral head and this I've been able to engage my hammies much more compared to my technique before this change. By having neutral spine / neck line it's somehow easier for me to drop my butt on the way down.

Today was probably the first time ever I was pulling without having any tape on my hands. I've tried to get used to having no tape whatsoever in my hands except for the thumb tape of course. My hands have traditionally been very sensitive to barbell work, especially the pull-up bar, that's the worst. If I don't wear any tape, my palms / calluses with get ripped off every single time. I've scissored those calluses on a regular basis and that has really helped. Anyway, it hurt like hell today with no tape in my fingers when I was pulling the last set. It was simply too much, I couldn't have taken it tng anymore. I'm still happy on the deads today!

Metcon. Result, 133 reps (7 rounds)

• 7min amrap of:
• 7 ring dip
• 12 toes-to-bar

This was a quick workout in the end, hoping to get my heart beat up. Okay, in the beginning it did but then as I had to start breaking it up, heart rate settled down too. Ring dips were unbroken in the beginning but then I had to cut them, mostly in 2 parts. T2b's were similar, ub in the beginning but soon they got to 2 sets, and in the beginning even 3 parts. It was great to have both elements in the metcon but there was no chance I could have gone unbroken with these movements.

Recap of the training day

Metcon. 17.37

• 5 rounds of:
• 500m row
• 6 power snatch, 42.5kg
• 9 handstand push-up

In the evening I took another session with rowing on my mind. I add snatches and hspu's in the mix too. I wasn't outraging on this one but took a solid and stable pace from the beginning till the end. Rowing was somewhere between 1:45 - 1:50 all the time, snatches and handstand push-ups were unbroken for the entire workout. I took my time in the transitions, no panic, catch a breath and do the work. Really good combination of movements.

My warm-up was quite hasty so those snatches were a bit heavy in the beginning. Soon I got a hold of them. Hspu's were the easiest part of this metcon. Luckily those have gotten together pretty strong eventually. I'm very confident on this element nowadays.

Thursday 26.2: Clean and jerk, Burpees

Thursday. Strength, Clean and jerk (max 100kg). Cashout, 100 burpees with partner.

Getting shoulders stronger by having the bar overhead. Okay, clean and jerk develops the entire body, extremely holistic movement. That was the main ingredient today, and basically all I did. Some burpees in the end together with Pauliina. And my buddy Jasper hit a new PR on the deadlift, congrats mister, good battle!

Strength.

• Clean and jerk
• 3x3 @ 60% (62.5kg)
• 2x3 @ 65% (67.5kg)
• 2x2 @ 70% (72.5kg)
• 1x2 @ 75% (77.5kg)
• 1x1 @ 80% (85kg)
• 1x1 @ 85% (90kg)
• 1x1 @ 90% (95kg)
• 1x1 @ 95% (100kg)

On those first couple of weight sets I changed the style on both cleans and jerks. I changed between power and squat cleans, and between push jerks and split jerks. These lifts were mostly singles to focus on quality on each and every rep. One or two light set were touch'n'go style. Those get my breathing go a bit faster and I needed that for warm up in the beginning.

There were a total of 12 sets of which last 4 reps were a bit heavier. Some of those lighter ones had some issues because honestly the bar was too light. I jerked it with explosiveness and it felt like it's getting away from my hands. It went too fiercely upwards and I lost full control of the barbell. There were 1-2 reps that I wasn't fully happy with as they didn't look similar to each other. I'd like to see every rep look like the one before, no matter the weight.

The heavier it got, the better it got. The second last rep was probably the best I had, at 95kg which is 90% of my max load. There was a slight press on the 100kg with my left arm which was a bit of a bummer. I wanted to lock out immediately but on the other hand, I'm very happy on completing this weight. It's big load for me, I haven't had 100kg over my head more than couple of times in my life. Haven't kept record of that but if I had to guess, I'd say it's been there 3 times. So making this lift was great!

Cashout.

• 100 burpees with Pauliina
• Alternating after each 5 reps

We were pretty much done with Pauliina on our training session but some extra work in the end tasted good. Nothing serious, 5 reps per person, then high fives and the other one hit chest to deck. You go - I go - after every 5 reps. This felt good. My heart rate stayed low for the entire time but it felt good to get body temperature higher.

Wednesday 25.2: Squats, Ohs, Run

Wednesday. Back squat 5x5 (across 125kg). Metcon, 5 rounds of: 10 ohs (40kg), 400m run.

My body felt okay before entering the gym but now it's more like beaten up. Those squats apparently got to me. Metcon afterwards was not a timed version, just got the stuff done and did some mobility afterwards, handed to me by Kelly Starlett, mr. Mobilitywod.

Strength.

• Back squat 5x5 (125kg)

Yeah, classic 5's all the way. The weights were predetermined at about 83% of my max loads. Can't deny they got towards heavy in the last 1-2 reps of each set. I'm glad I had locked down the kilos before stepping inside the gym door. There was a chance I would have taken 120kg for 5's. Luckily this happened.

Actually I'm very happy on the way I performed with the squats. Good form all the way, and the package stayed tight in each rep. On my standards these were good reps. Solid effort, last 1-2 reps were kind of a grind in a good way.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 overhead squat, 40kg
• 400m run

Those got to my lower body pretty well so I took my time to walk around after the 5th set was done. Then couple of overhead squats in my weightlifting shoes to get shoulders and hips ready for what's coming at them. I was about to row and overhead squat but the Concept2 was taken so I had to chance my shoes and sub it to running in nanos. That was a good call. My system enjoyed the running part.

Plus it was great to do ohs in nanos. Big thing. It's always a bit scary to do them as there are still mobility restrictions even though it has gotten enormous leaps forward in the past half a year. I got to the very bottom on these reps, and it felt awesome. Basically I can nowadays hit the absolute deepest depth as I just warm up properly. This is something I'm very proud of because these used to suck big time =)

Tuesday 24.2: Snatch emom, 20min amrap

Tuesday. Snatch emom singles (max PR 70kg). Metcon, 20min amrap of: 5 power clean (70kg), 10 hspu, 15 pull-ups, 20 box. Result, 286 reps.

The work is paying off! Today I hit a huge PR on the snatch. Okay huge 2.5kg jump =) But it's been ages since going this heavy and the assisting work earlier this year has made their share in this result. I had couple of crossfit pals in the gym too so the atmosphere was legit. The metcon afterwards was just cruel, 20 minutes of pain, cool.

Beautiful

Snatch.

• Every minute on the minute
• Singles, start at 50kg, add 2.5kg every minute
• 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, PR 70kg

We alternated our emom sets with Toni who smashed some back squat 4's every minute. Good work, probably the best squats I've seen from this guy. Hitting those reps consistently to the rock bottom position. Good job mister. It's been a decade since I went to heavy weights on snatches. There's been quite a number of sessions regarding overhead squats, ohs with pause, snatch balance, sotts press and squat snatch. I've gained confidence on the movement.

Today I didn't have this big weights in mind for sure. The plan was to hit singles starting from 50kg, add 2.5kg per round, hit 5 reps, then start over again. That way the loads would have stayed between 50-60kg. Already those were a bit intimidating beforehand.

However, as I started lifting, the bar felt lighter than normally and I was able to hit the squat position nicely. Plus there was only 1 miss in the entire workout. That happened at 57.5kg. It was surprising that I missed it because I pulled with "too much" power and it went behind me. Don't know how you pull it too fiercely but anyway that was a good boost on confidence so as I approached the bar again to get it up, I knew it would. And it did.

At this point I decided to just keep on going, taking couple of reps and see how it feels like. At 65kg it started to seem like there was potential to share my old record or even break it. I didn't say anything to Toni, just kept it to myself and did the lifts when it was time to do the work. It sure was a blast to get the last rep done! As I held the bar overhead, I had to play around a bit. Asked Toni "do you know what this is" while having the bar up. He guessed right.

Metcon. Result, 286 reps (5 rounds + 6 box jumps)

• 20min amrap of:
• 5 power clean, 70kg
• 10 handstand push-up
• 15 pull-up
• 20 box jump

What I wanted to have today was hspu's and pull-ups. Most definitely pull-ups. The combination of these elements was perfect. One barbell movement and three bodyweight elements. I almost got through 6 full rounds, only 14 box jumps fell short of that. Power cleans went unbroken. They got tougher by the round and heart beat got higher each time I grabbed the barbell.

Hspu's were also unbroken, "tng" too. Didn't rest at any stage of the movement. First 3 rounds were okay, then I had to push it more to get the reps done as planned. I won't say they weren't challenging in the last rounds.

Prior to the workout I thought pull-ups would turn out to be nightmarish, and they were the toughest part of this metcon. Had to break them down. First round was ub but then the following rounds were 10-5, and two rounds in the middle were 8-4-3. I could have done 2-3 rounds unbroken but that would have dated up my energy too much so I figured it's smarter to drop down and finish the sets differently.

Don't know if it was a surprise or not but box jumps were cruel. Of course they should hurt as there were 20 reps in a row. But still it shouldn't be an issue. First 10 reps were easy, then 11-15 were ok and the last reps were just nasty. Especially in the latter rounds. All these movements got ugly as time went by. It was gross already at 8-9 minutes, so I was just lucky to have Jasper to talk me up in the middle of the workout! Awesome training day to say the least, PR in snatch, tough metcon and great training partners!

Monday 23.2: CJ complex, Front squat, Mainsite wod

Monday. Complex, 5 sets of: clean, front squat, jerk, clean, front squat, jerk (max 92.5kg). Front squat 4-4-4-4 (max 120kg). Mainsite wod, 4rds of: 10 sdhp, 10 push press, 20 back squat (42.5kg barbell). Time, 9.38.

Great day of training! Heavy barbell work to start with, and working on my oly skills in there. Complex to begin with, and assisting it with front squats. The first time doing real front squats after I had this injury on my wrist. That thing is gone now and I can fully concentrate in all elements of training I want to pursuit. It turned out my training partner and beloved one wasn't finished with her wod so I had plenty of time to hit the workout of the day from crossfit.com. It was much tougher than it looked like on paper.

Don't mind the end time. I was too beaten up after the workout so it took me a minute to stop it =)

Complex.

• 5 working sets of:
• Clean
• Front squat
• Jerk
• Clean
• Front squat
• Jerk
• Weights 80, 85, 87.5, 90, 92.5kg

Need to get better in having the bar overhead. One day I got this fixation in my head and I'll try to fit it in my programming. Today's work load was different than heavy singles of clean and jerk. It was taxing for the body to complete such a many reps in a row with these weights. This complex was great.

Cleans were light and they felt so too. Bar path was good, and I didn't panic out on the squat position of the movement. My wrist seems like it's fully recovered, hopefully that's the real deal now. I found out I'd better complete the front squat right away after standing up from the hole on the squat clean. That way the bar is on the front rack shorter period of time, and thus allowing more energy to be used on the jerk.

Once I completed the jerk, I brought the bar back to the floor, reset, and completed another rep. No tng's here. Total of 5 sets on this complex, starting from 80kg, going up to 92.5kg. This was big news. Somehow I got lots of satisfaction over the weights that moved around. Yes, it got heavy but still the jerk was no problem at any time. Very satisfying news!

Squats.

• Front squat 4-4-4-4 (110, 115, 117.5, 120kg)

After recovering for 2 minutes, I loaded the bar on the rack with 110kg, and took a 4 rep set. Easy one. Add more weights and it got spicy. Still manageable though. Small plates at the end of the bar and completed another set of 4 reps @ 117.5kg. No compromises on the form. That was definitely a big goal. Have a good posture and upright position in all sets. One step further and the last set at 120kg was tough but yet, I manhandled it.

Mainsite. Time, 9.38

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 sumo deadlift high pull, 42.5kg
• 10 push press, 42.5kg
• 20 back squat, 42.5kg

Okay, at this moment my body was smashed. It gets on me if I work through a number of strength sets with heavy weights. I took about 10 minutes to recover from the last squats before starting this one. I saw this mainsite workout in the morning, and it looked appealing right away. Light weight barbell was a good choice after the strength part. Definitely no heavy weights at this stage.

What I was a little scared of, was the number of back squats. No matter the load on the barbell if it's such a high-rep workout. Those sdhp's were not gonna make a big difference, there were only 10 of them. Same with the push press. I knew both wouldn't bring problems. Of course they would start hurting shoulder and create breathing problems but this workout would be all about back squats. And it was.

First round was the fastest, around 1:47, and the following 3 rounds were about 2:30-2:40. They were consistent after the first round. I went unbroken on the sdhp's for maybe 2 rounds, then dropped the bar after 6 reps on the last 2 rounds. Took just a couple of seconds break and then finished it.

On the first round I got the push presses unbroken and then dropped it on my back rack right away for the squats. Following rounds were 9 reps, drop it, finish the last one and go for squats. I just wanted to release the tension in my upper body before hitting below parallel.

Back squats had to be unbroken. I wasn't gonna drop the bar. They hurt, they hurt so bad. But I got them done. Don't know how I managed the reps. It wasn't all up and down pumping. I stopped standing with the bar but it had to be done in one sequence.

Very good workout. No wonder, as it was a mainsite wod. If it's too easy, then you didn't put your soul into it. Those clean and jerks + front squats felt in my body already before this even began so at least I got the influence I was looking for by completing this one.

Sunday 22.2: Outdoor metcon + Muscle-ups

Sunday. AM: Metcon, 4rds of: 20 wb's, 5 wall climb overs. PM: Ring muscle-ups.

It was time to go outdoors. I was thinking about getting my rings with me and find a spot to hang around with them. The weather was a bit rainy so I bitched out and decided to grab my wall ball instead. I had spotted a place where is a good place for wall ball shots plus a wall I could climb over. In the evening we went for a walk with Pauliina, and somehow my rings were brought along…

Metcon.

• 4 rounds of:
• 20 wall ball shots
• 5 wall climb overs

This kind of stuff inspires me a lot. Probably due to watching Blair Morrison do his training outdoors. Those workouts are cool as hell and always gets me pumped up to train. This spot today is located near our house but I just realized it last week it's perfect for an outdoor workout. Haven't' been throwing my wb around in ages so it was about time to get going with it.

It was a cool different type of workout. No need to have iron in my hands to make it inhuman workout. This was mostly killing my shoulders. Had some issues with the wall balls. In the two first rounds I had gloves on and I just couldn't catch the ball at all, it slipped right through my fingers no matter what. That was frustrating big time.

Plus those wb throws seemed like no reps considering the depth of the squat so it wasn't a huge success even though the surroundings were perfect. Got my breathing go high and shoulders burn so it was worth the effort!

Recap

Rings.

• Muscle-ups

We went for an evening walk together with Pauliina and I wanted to try out those rings of mine how they would work in the nature. It was freaking cool to do muscle-ups outdoors! Next time I'll hang them higher. It was a bit of a hassle to get them in the correct height but it was definitely worth it. Good way to finish Sunday.

Saturday 21.2: Long emom workout

Saturday. Emom x 32 min: 1st min: 150m row, 2nd min: 6 ohs (42.5kg), 3rd min: 12 pistols, 4th min: 12 kb swing (32kg).

Saturday. That meant a long workout, with lower intensity than normally. It also meant honing over weaknesses. Got in a very good workout for the goals I was after. Just warming up, then let the timer do its work. Not much I have to think, just do the written movements and enjoy the moment.

Workout.

• Every minute on the minute, for 32 minutes
• 1st minute: 150m row
• 2nd minute: 6 overhead squat, 42.5kg
• 3rd minute: 12 pistol squat
• 12 kettlebell swing, 32kg

I don't do much jogging for recovery, I have other methods for that. Foam rolling, mobilizing and proper warm-up. But lower intensity workouts might have their place in the scene of crossfit too. Building up the motor. These long emom workouts are one way to do that. These are not supposed to be 100% effort for the entire 30-40 minutes.

Today's elements were designed so that it gave me a good 30 seconds to recover after the reps were completed. Thus my heart beat stayed in control for the entire time. Some of these elements are definitely not my favorite ones. That means I'm not "at home" with them.

Rowing always sucks, that's why it is such a good and efficient element =) Ohs has given me some issues mobility-wise but it's getting better. And pistol squats with my right leg are challenging, right ones are comfortable. Swing is something I feel good at.

It would have been okay to row for a longer distance but I wanted it to fit in the one minute time range as all other movements too so it had to be around 150m. Pace on the rower was about at 1:40, and on the first round I just rowed for 30 seconds and checked how far I'll get. Then on the following rounds I kept the same pace / distance.

Overhead squats. That is something I want to get better at and the reason I've been doing them and related movements much more lately. They're gonna be part of weekly training routine. Either ohs, snatch, snatch balance or something alike. Something where I end up having barbell overhead and squatting as low as my hips and shoulders allow. Today's load was light on purpose because I didn't want to burn myself in this workout. Focus was on getting low.

Pistols are great. My left ankle is much more mobile than the right one. That might be due to years of playing floorball as a goalie. I used to sit over my left shin / ankle when taking the shots so the mobility is a bit biased in my ankles. Right one is much tighter. That can be clearly felt when doing one legged squats.

Left leg pistols feel great and I feel strong and flexible on those. The right one though, that's a misery. It's stiff, more difficult to bounce back from the bottom position. It also feels it's the weaker leg in general.

Kettlebell swings are just great. I love this 2-pood little guy. Kettlebell swings are awesome for the entire posterior chain development. That's also a movement I feel very comfortable with. It's been some time since swinging the last time so today I dragged this fella at the gym and let it move around. 12 reps per minute.

Good session for the purpose I was after. Not too worn out. My legs took some hit on the ohs / pistol squat combo. It burned them somewhat but not too much anyway. Rowing was the easiest part of this for sure, basically like a recovery. Kb swings were okay but the two other movements were good burners on my quads and hamstrings.

Recap of emom

Friday 20.2: Squats, Deadlift, Bodyweight

Friday. Back squat emom, 2 reps per min, for 10min (120-130kg). Deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (max 167.5kg). Metcon, 5 rnft: 10 hspu, 12 pull-ups, 25 du's.

This was something I've been waiting this week. Another day of pulling from the floor. My plan is to pull once a week and do some pre-planned progression on the weights. Started with back squats anyway, classic stuff. Ended the session with some bodyweight movements, working on skills.

Squats.

• Every minute on the minute, for 10min
• 2 reps back squat
• 1-2min: 120kg
• 3-4min: 122.5kg
• 5-6min: 125kg
• 7-8min: 127.5kg
• 9-10min: 130kg

My plan was to hit squat doubles but this machine was slow to get going so I decided to put the clock running and do the doubles in emom style. That worked really well. Last time when I did emom doubles it was 2-3 weeks ago in Liikuntamylly on my day off of work. That time it was 120kg for all 10 minutes. Today's focus was obviously to go higher but I had no idea how my legs would react so I began with the same load, took 2 sets of 2 reps, then added 2.5kg on the bar. Repeated this same ideology by adding 2.5kg every two minutes so the last two minutes were doubles at 130kg.

This was a great way to get my body pumped up. As the clock is telling you to work, you do the work. No hesitation, get the bar on your back and move. The jumps were small so body was all the time awake and ready. Last sets were heavy, as they were supposed to be.

Pulling.

• Deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (105, 125, 147.5, 157.5, 167.5kg)

This is progression with last week's deadlifts. These were 50-60-70-75-80% efforts so in total it was a bit heavier than last week. My focus today was in a small simple thing. Keeping my head neutral. I tend to create a tilt in my head as I have tried to watch directly ahead. When I'm standing tall it's okay but when the barbell goes back down, my neck is not in ideal position and that was what I tried to correct today.

That worked well, and a big side effect was created simultaneously. I was able to squat more than before, and thus utilize my hamstrings more. I felt the difference! This was huge thing for me as my problem has been to pull with straighter legs than I'm supposed to. Huge thing. Weights were okay, touch'n'go.

8x157.5kg

Metcon. Not for time

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 handstand push-ups
• 12 pull-ups
• 25 double unders

Another big thing is that even though my right wrist is a bit sore on a daily basis, it's getting better every day. And by warming it up it tolerates a lot of things and it feels like those times always help. For example when I did squat cleans, it was better the next day. Today I got 50 hspu's done and every rep felt great!

I combined handstand push-ups with pull-ups and double unders. Pull-ups unbroken, and du's felt like there was a good form each set. It kind of bummed me there was some trip on the du's but I let that go and finished it well anyway. Today's main focus was on lower body strength but those hspu's were good news too. Gotta get some squat cleans too and try how my wrist holds up. Yesterday it was good.

Thursday 19.2: Clean and jerk, Burpees

Thursday. Strength, clean and jerk (max 95kg). Cashout, 100 burpees.

Today's session was all about clean and jerks. Haven't been able to press / jerk pretty much at all lately so I had some expectations to finally get the bar overhead. I took the lifts with percentage work, written by competitorswod, and it worked perfectly. Afterwards I had little time for a metcon so it changed to 100 burpees on the fly. Not bad

Protein pancakes. Recipe: banana & eggs, nothing else. Top it with strawberries, blueberries and coconut flakes. Then enjoy!

Strength.

• 3x3 @ 60%, 62.5kg
• 3x2 @ 70%, 72.5kg
• 2x1 @ 75%, 77.5kg
• 2x1 @ 80%, 85kg
• 3x1 @ 85%, 90kg
• 2x1 @ 90%, 95kg

So this was precisely percentage work, counted from max load. My current 1RM is 105kg, taken some time ago. Probably wouldn't jerk that in the current shape of my overhead work. There's some technical things that needs to be corrected and I need to engage my core and flutes better in those lifts. But I'm happy on how I got these jerks done.

There were a total of 15 sets of lifting so it took some time as well. Plus I wasn't the only guy doing barbell work at the spot. I took all lifts as singles, like in weightlifting style. For example those triples in the beginning. They were not touch'n'go reps. I brought the bar back in the ground, reset and took another rep. Basically had my hands on the bar all the time anyway.

I've been hesitating to clean to full clean, as in a squat position because wrists are in a full range of motion and that position has been painful. However, there's been some good light lately on this issue as I've been able to do overhead squat, handstand push-ups, and power cleans so my thoughts were optimistic that squat cleans might be possible. I started with power cleans and went up to 77.5kg as power cleans. The latter of those singles was squat clean, and the rest were squat cleans too.

The clean part of this was easy, no matter whether it was power or squat clean. I was a bit hesitant on the squat clean but those went pretty well. Jerks were much tougher but I got these done well. Last reps at 95kg were heavy. It was great to have those reps done as planned.

Cashout.

• 100 burpees

My initial plan for a metcon was 10 min amrap of burpees and double unders, 10 - 25 reps. I was supposed to be on my way already after the clean and jerk action but somehow I got time for some burpees. Had no actual plan, just hit my chest to deck and started moving. Got 30 in a row, took a break, hit another set of 30 burpees, break, and then 2x20 reps more to finish 100 burpees. Those really got my heart beat skyrocketing as burpees always do. Good cashout. I didn't time this one but moved with a purpose.

Wednesday 18.2: Elizabeth

Wednesday. Elizabeth, 21-15-9 of: clean (60kg), ring dips. Time, 5.59.

At first this Wednesday looked like there's no time for a workout. Luckily I was able to squeeze in half an hour of gym time which meant for a quick workout. It was perfect for Elizabeth, one of my favorite benchmark girls. It turned out to be a PR day after all! In the evening we went to eat and movie with my baby, some couple's time.

Elizabeth. Time, 5.59, PR. Compare to 29.12.2013

• 21-15-9 of:
• Clean, 60kg
• Ring dip

This is a benchmark workout that I've encountered couple of times. First one was quite precisely 2 years ago, 27.2.2013. That time I did 'em as squat cleans, and time stopped at 10.28. Best attempt this far has been 6.08 so today's effort was better than ever before. That always brings a smile on my face.

This one's a really good high intense workout. It's always a bit of a mystery how these sets should be divided. It's impossible for me to go unbroken anyway at this stage. I thought I'd make something like 3x7 on the first round but the bar felt lighter than I assumed so it was 10 at first, then 6-5 to finish the round. Second round of cleans were 6-5-4, and the last one 6-3. Towards the end my forearms started to feel the burn even though there was hook grip in the game.

Ring dips were my thing today. Somehow I felt much stronger with those than before in this workout. Ring dips in general have gotten a lot better in the past months. Some time ago I called them a goat but I refuse to do that anymore. Currently I'm doing those in a hollow body position compared to past days when I used to have bent legs behind me. At first this hollow position felt awkward but Toni kept on talking about it so it stuck with me. And better that way. This was they are also as strict as they can be, no kipping included.

The round of 21's was 3x7, second round was 6-5-4, and the last one 4-3-2. This doesn't mean more work is no longer needed. Of course these must be practiced and getting stronger on. I felt worn out after Elizabeth but still there was little gas on the tank. I'm telling you there was big temptation to drop the barbell after clean sets from front rack position but that was not gonna happen at the gym. Had to bring it down nicely as the place was crowded. Good quick session with Elizabeth!

Tuesday 17.2: Snatch balance, 7-rounder

Tuesday. Snatch balance triples (up to 65kg). Metcon, 7rds of: 4 jerk (60kg), 8 burpee, 12 t2b. Time, 11.31.

Getting more and more confident for snatch. This element called snatch balance is a great way to build up self esteem for snatch. Got those done today and afterwards the metcon consisted of jerks (first time like ever!), burpees, and t2b's. Good, intense metcon.

Random thoughts on how to program my training per week. It's not gonna happen like this. It's gonna take changes on a steady basis, that's for sure. This was just a thought.

Snatch work.

• Snatch balance 
• Weights 50, 55, 60, 65, 65, 65, 65kg

It's a pity I didn't get any of these sets on video. I would have liked to see whether my feeling and the way it looks are the same or not =) It felt pretty okay, and confident all the way. Couple of reps were a bit wobbly as the bar went too much in front. Some I was able to save but there were also 2 misses. I finished those sets right away.

Snatch (balance) is a movement where lots of balls are required. In my opinion it tells a lot of mental strength if you dare to drop under the barbell in squat cleans and squat snatch under heavy loads. Squat cleans are okay with me but there's still lots work to be done in the snatch department. I went to the bottom on these snatch balances. Especially on the last rep where I stayed in pause overhead squat position for couple of seconds. It felt good and much much better than some time ago!

Metcon. Time, 11.31

• 7 rounds of:
• 4 push jerk, 60kg
• 8 burpee
• 12 toes-to-bar

I had an ambitious dream of doing push jerks in this metcon. And it succeeded. No problems whatsoever. This was big news for me, and my wrist. I took 'em only 4 reps per round just in case, then spiced tit up with burpees and t2b's. This was supposed to be a 10min amrap but as the clock was 9.50 and there were 6 rounds completed, I felt there's a need to do some more work. So it changed to 7 rounds for time on the fly.

It turned out the jerks were the easiest part of the metcon, basically didn't wear me down that much. Burpees are always a great tool to build up the machine. Hardest part of this was definitely toes-to-bar element. Got the first part unbroken, second round was 8-4, and from then on it was 3 attempts to finish those 12 reps. It got surprisingly challenging from 3rd round on. Maybe the combination of these movements made it tougher. It felt like my hip flexors and groins were on fire, as well as core in general. I remember doing burpees and t2b's once as a couplet and those t2b's were a nightmare that time. There might be a relation to that. Anyway, good metcon, no doubt!

Monday 16.2: Squat, 2 x 5min amraps

Monday. Back squat triples (max 132.5kg). Metcon, 5min amrap of: 7 thrusters (40kg), 7 pull-ups. Result, 84 reps. Metcon, 5min amrap of: 5 hspu, 10 box. Result, 105 reps.

Squats all the way. It was great to have those back in the system. After strength I got two metcons with short intervals. The first one was inspired by "Monday Monster Mash", and the other now was just another creation for fun. It was sick to get those hspu's back in the game!

Strength.

• Back squat triples
• Weights 90, 110, 120, 130, 132.5, 130, 130kg

Only thing I had in my notes for this part was "back squat". Didn't have a good plan to enter the squat rack. So I went on by feeling and ended up doing triples in the end. It was okay session, and felt good to have heavy triples done. These were about 86% on my max load. Those sets at around 130kg were tough but doable. If I had a training partner, I might have gone heavier. But for today's mental strength this was enough for me.

Beautiful things happening here

Metcon. Result, 84 reps (6 rounds)

• 5min amrap of:
• 7 thruster, 40kg
• 7 pull-ups

Pat Sherwood's legendary Monday Monster Mash looked pretty good in today's post. Total of 5x5min amraps with 5min rest in-between. The first one looks Fran-ish and the second one like Diane. Third one would be close to Elizabeth had the du's been ring dips. Anyway, this is something worth thinking about when a longer workout is at hand. But for today this was way too long for me because there had to be squats in the beginning.

I cherry picked the first one of thrusters and pull-ups, 7 reps in both stations for a total of 5 minutes. I did them unbroken, those amounts were manageable. Thrusters were probably even easier than the pull-ups. Especially as I didn't wanna break these sets at all. Hmm, it's worth a shot how it would have turned out had I grabbed the barbell right away and then cut the pull-ups in pieces. Today's result was exactly 6 rounds.

Metcon. Result, 105 reps (7 rounds)

• 5min amrap of:
• 5 handstand push-up
• 10 box jump

Following the same ideology I came up with this couplet of hspu's and box jumps. Haven't been able to do handstand push-ups in a while so this was a big victory. Hopefully it's getting better and better day by day, and it would allow be to do cleans and hspu's regularly soon enough. Now it's more like day on day off but I'm optimistic.

This metcon was rough. My first thought on hspu's was that I couldn't do too many of those, just to give my wrist a break. But 5 reps would be something that's easy to do. In the beginning it felt like it's too little and it's all about box jumps. Well, it was, but those hspu's got a little spicier too. But this was a lot about how efficiently I can do box jumps. Round times were very evenly distributed. It took me about 40-46 seconds to finish one round.

Sunday 15.2: Gymnastics day

Sunday. Gymnastics

My plan for this year was to have a gymnastics day once a week. In January I had couple of those but in February I missed those without any real reason. So today was a comeback to improving my gymnast skills.

I got inspired by the video I posted yesterday to practice on my muscle-ups. Did drills to ease normal kipping mu's and how to engage the core in this movement, also progressions to some day reaching strict muscle-up. That is my distant drew, some day…

I got those assisting moves done in the beginning, just to show my body how it should feel like when entire body is tight and ready to do the required work. Ideally the body works like an arrow that is being bent to extreme. Today I focused on keeping my legs tight all the time and having my body being straight instead of bent legs in the swing.

It's still difficult as hell for me to link consecutive reps together. So I did some singles for a total of 10 reps. Plus all the accessory work. This needs to be part of a weekly training routine. These days aren't that physical anyway so it's more like an active recovery day. In the end I did some handstand push-ups just to test how it feels like on my right wrist. Felt doable as the wrist was well warmed up.

Saturday 14.2: Long emom workout

Saturday. Every 4 minutes for 28 minutes: 5 power clean (70kg), 20 lunges, 30 du's, 400m row.

Valentine's Day. I had plenty of time to hit the gym in the early afternoon. It was time for week's longer workout. No strength, just keep the body moving, taking it a notch down on the intensity. It was a good  wod. In the evening we went to celebrate Valentine's Day with Pauliina and her parents to Hard Rock Cafe in Helsinki.

Workout.

• Every 4 minutes, for 28min, perform the following:
• 5 power clean, 70kg
• 20 lunges
• 30 double unders
• 400m row

The idea of the workout was to take it a little easier on the intensity, not having 180 heart beat all the time. That's why there was also some rest planned inside the workout. It took me about 3:15 to finish one set of movements. That same pace remained in all sets. It was first time in couple of weeks that I got to do cleans, and felt awesome because of that. I wouldn't do squat cleans yet because there's more tension as the wrist bends more in the bottom position. But these power cleans were okay, didn't hurt pretty much at all.

Recap

I combined cleans with bodyweight movements. Lunges are always great, a little underestimated element which really takes it down to quads and hamstrings. Double unders were there for skills-wise. And rowing is self explanatory, you can never row too much.

Hard Rock Cafe, Helsinki

Got the cleans done in singles all the way, basically without any pause between reps. My focus was on pulling the bar with straight arms as high as it comes, then shrug the bar up on the front rack. Lunges were 10 reps down, and 10 reps back. Double unders went on unbroken except for some random miss. Rowing was sub 1:50 pace each round.

Great mucsle-up training video!

Friday 13.2: OHS, 10min amrap

Friday. Strength, Ohs 5x3 (max 72.5kg). Metcon, 10min amrap of: 5 hang squat snatch (40kg), 10 box, 15 hr push-ups. Result, 157 reps.

Friday the 13th. Still, it was a great session at the gym! Working on my snatch once again, gonna get that shit together in the long run. And today was a good step towards that direction. Then the metcon was written by my main man Toni. I asked for a metcon that includes squat snatches. He said it's easy, took him about 15 seconds to come up with the workout of the day. Thanks for that mister.

Strength.

• Overhead squat 3-3-3-3-3 (60, 65, 70, 72.5, 70kg)

Definitely a weakness of mine. The weights I'm able to throw around are baby weights. 1RM is 85kg the last time I maxed out some time last year. Haven't practiced this noble movement that much but it's on my list of goats to be mastered this year. And this went pretty well today in my opinion. I went way below parallel on these sets because I believe that is as beneficial as in all type of squats. Try to hit the bottom if mobility allows that.

First 2 sets went greatly. The first set at 70kg leaned too much in front on the first rep and I had to let it go. Cleaned it back to the rack, got myself together and attempted it again, and finished with a successful triple at 70kg. Decided to add 2.5kg and got it up too. It was a bit too shaky so I came back to 70kg for the last one. Felt very good to do overhead squats with a bit heavier weights.

Metcon. Result, 157 reps (5 rounds + 2 box)

• 10min amrap of:
• 5 hang squat snatch, 40kg
• 10 box jump
• 15 hand release push-ups

So this was a peak into Toni's mind. I had to stop after each snatch, think about the starting position again before pulling myself under the bar. Still, I got each round unbroken without misses. That wasn't obvious because I had my nanos on, which makes it a notch more difficult for me with this mobility. It's getting better though and these felt rather good all the way. Better with weightlifting shoes but doable with nanos.

Box jumps are my thing. This was not that bad portion, easiest of the three for me. Push-ups are a rarity so this was welcomed with a pleasure. Toni wanted to make those hand release versions which suited me perfectly. I did the first round unbroken, then the rest were 10-5. Got time to hit the 6th round of snatches and 2 box jumps in the remaining 6 seconds after I dropped the barbell.

This was a good metcon. Maybe with these kind of elements it would have suited better for me as a longer workout. In a 10min metcon the intensity should be quite high. And it was but I had to take some breaks because I didn't want to drop the barbell and wanted to make sure I get to squat snatch position. Doing this too hastily would have resulted in awkward looking positions down in the squat snatches.

Thursday 12.2: Deadlift, Two metcons, Burpees

Thursday. Strength, deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (max 165kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 10 pull-ups, 10 db thrusters. Metcon, 5min amrap of: 6 burpee box jump, 9 t2b. Result, 79 reps. Cashout, 30 burpees.

I hooked up with a friend at the gym, we agreed to hit it same time and throw down on same workouts too. It was a pleasure to share the agony of this session. It was a great day of training! I'll take couple of pulling sessions in the near future just to get back in the rhythm of deadlifting. Jasper came up with the idea for the first metcon and I needed to get some more work being done so the second metcon came up on the spot. Some burpees to finish the session.

Strength.

• Deadlift 10-10-10-8-6 (100, 125, 135, 145, 165kg)

This was based on the percentages of 1RM, which is currently at 210kg. Haven't tried heavy heavy pulls in ages but that is the last one rep max that I tested. Some time ago I did clean grip deadlift for a heavy single at 200kg. Anyway, these were about 50, 60, 65, 70, and 80% of max load.

I've pulled twice after a loooong break. After the first time my back was sore for a week but after the second one it was like nothing. Hoping my recovery on deadlifts will get back to where it was and it doesn't cripple me for days =)

First set was obviously easy, so was the second. Didn't have any chalk on my hands so 125kg started to get slippery. I took an adjustment with chalk and got a way better grip on the remaining sets. It was 8 reps at 145kg and I thought it would be heavier. In the end it went pretty well. My focus today - and what I asked Jazz to coach me too - was in lowering my butt on the way down in order to engage more hamstrings in the pull. It went better but more work needs to be done. Last set was @ 165kg for 6 reps.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 pull-ups
• 10 dumbbell thrusters, 2x15kg db's

Jasper used to do this kind of stuff in Crossfit Copenhagen in Denmark back in the days when he lived there so he pitched me with the idea of hitting this combo. It reminded me of Fran so this didn't bring that many positive thoughts =) Didn't put all in from the beginning because I knew this would make me cry in the end. It was a great heavy breather anyway! Went unbroken on both elements, then just took a pause between the stations to settle my breathing a bit.

Metcon. Result, 79 reps (5 rounds+ 4 burpee box jump)

• 5min amrap of:
• 6 burpee box jump
• 9 toes-to-bar

Somehow I was left with a feeling that something needs to be done still. At first it was box jumps and t2b's but then again, burpee box jump is an awesome movement and brings another level to box jumps. I went unbroken on the box jumps, and dropped from the pull-up bar couple of times in rounds 4 and 5. This started to burn my hip flexors and core. Breathing was heavy constantly. These were quite consistent on round times through all the 5+ rounds.

Cashout.

• 30 burpees

I was done after those metcons but my training buddy was about to hit 30 more burpees just for fun. Didn't want him to enjoy those on his own so I joined him on this one. We did these simultaneously and got 'em done efficiently and quickly. Didn't time this one but it was a very short and intense work. Good session!

Wednesday 11.2: Squats, Row, Dips, Du's

Wednesday. Strength, back squat 10-10-7-7 (110-115kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 400m row, 10 ring dips, 25 du, 10 ring dips, 25 du. Time, 16.17.

Got to say this was not the most ideal training days I've had. My body didn't turn on at any stage of the training session. It was supposed to be lots of squats but these legs never got ready for those. Metcon afterwards was a good breather and I got lots of ring dips done. As a whole, there's not much to remember from this session though =)

Strength.

• Back squat 10-10-7-7 (110, 110, 115, 115kg)

These were a nightmare. My legs hurt already after the first set, and after second one I was done. I figured to give it a shot anyway for 2 more sets. Originally this was on vivendilab.com, which is the site maintained by Miranda Oldroyd and the program there said it's 10-10-7-7-5-5-3-3-1-1-1, and each set should be heavy. This felt no good at any stage so I didn't force it but stepped further for a metcon.

Squat recap

Metcon. Time, 16.17

• 4 rounds of:
• 400m row
• 10 ring dips
• 25 double unders
• 10 ring dips
• 25 double unders

My plan was to run but the treadmill was broken. That wasn't a problem, rower was as good or even better. Rowing, ring dips and double unders. At first I thought doing 25 ring dips and 50 double unders but the intensity would have dropped dramatically. Now I was able to maintain intensity pretty well. Didn't go 100% anyway. I was able to walk normally after the wod =)

Rowing was sub 1:50 every round. Had maybe 2 misses on the double unders, other than that they were quite solid effort. On the ring dips I listened to Toni's tips of keeping the torso all the way in hollow rock position. That way my upper body is more vertical and there's somehow better support in the body. Looks more gymnastic. I guess this is the way these are supposed to be done. And they are as strict as they can be.

I did couple of sets unbroken, usually the first ones. Don't quite remember how those sets went but it feels good to have them strong this time.

Tuesday 10.2: Snatch, Thrusters, T2b

Tuesday. Snatch work, 3-position squat snatch (max 55kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 12 thrusters (40kg), 12 t2b. Time, 7.13.

We were heading to the theater in the evening with Pauliina and a friend couple so I had to rush a little to get a good session in the books. By the way, it was funny as hell at the theater! Those usually are =) Anyway, snatch work was the main element and had there been more time, squats would have been a part of this session too. Instead, a metcon of thrusters and t2b's were part of it. Awesome metcon!

Snatch.

• 3-position snatch (high hang, mid thigh, above knee
• Weights: 40, 45, 50, 50, 50, 52.5, 55kg

Damn I was good at this today! A bit cocky but these felt great. I'm very proud of how I was able to perform. Some time ago this position of being in a deep squat on snatch / ohs was a distant dream of mine so hitting it regularly on snatch or snatch balance definitely improves my confidence on this position.

This time I wanted to pull from somewhere than just high hang. That's been my thing if I have done snatches lately. It turned out to be 3-position snatches, meaning I pulled from different starting positions. First one was high hang, the second a little lower and the third one from just above the knee. All reps ending in full squat snatch. I got to 55kg on this one and then it was time to move on. The biggest thing was that I received these in the deepest position possible for me. And I stayed there to stabilize after each rep to gain confidence in the position.

Metcon. Time, 7.13

• 5 rounds of:
• 12 thrusters, 40kg
• 12 toes-to-bar

It looks so much easier on paper. First round was deceptive. It was easy, second one put breathing high and from third round on it was a mental battle. I wanted to get the bar work done unbroken and I did exactly that. Game plan was not to drop the bar at any time and then work the t2b's by feeling. It's not that bad to come down from the pull-up bar because you jump back there right away if you want to. But dropping the barbell is always a waste of time.

I think those t2b's were unbroken for 3 rounds, then the 4th round was 7-5 or 8-4, and the last set something like 4's and 2's. Not quite sure how it went, the world started to go around in my head at that time. This was a great workout and my quads were killing me in the end. Thrusters were painful in the last 2 rounds, the last reps on those sets were pure grinding.

Monday 9.2: Snatch balance, 8min amrap

Monday. Emom x 8min: 1 power snatch + 3 snatch balance @ 50kg. Metcon, 8min amrap of: 6 ohs, 16 box. Result, 7rds.

Great to be back in the game! If there was enough time, I would have hit back squats too but today it was mostly snatch work. It was success all the way, and my body felt good in this session. Emom snatch balances and ohs / box jump metcon worked perfectly together.

Snatch work.

• Every minute on the minute, for 8min:
• 1 power snatch + 3 snatch balance @ 50kg

At first this was supposed to be taken from rack and focus purely on the snatch balances. However, there were some guys doing their share of squatting so that left me with no choice but to take the barbell from the floor. No prob there, it was actually a good call as it was a great chance to practice the quick turnover and keeping the barbell close to torso.

The main focus was still on the snatch balance and quick drop under the bar. Don't know what has happened but it felt very natural and smooth all the way. And the weight felt light too. My armpits were facing forward, the support was strong and steady on shoulders, plus my hips were as mobile as they genuinely can be. It it freaking awesome to see that all this crossfit stuff really makes me better as a human being. I'm feeling much more flexible, strong and agile than before crossfit. And the past year has been mind blowing in this sense.

So I hit the very bottom position of snatch on these snatch balances. I'm gonna keep on putting effort in the full range of motion because that's pretty much the key to good mobility. And keep grinding more overhead squats, snatch balances, squat snatches to get better in these extreme positions.

Metcon. Result, 7 rounds

• 8min amrap of:
• 6 overhead squat, 40kg
• 12 box jump

Needed to get something quick in my system. This was the perfect solution! Tough on lower body, no doubt. There's always the question whether to put on nanos or weightlifting shoes =) I get better support from weightlifting shoes but then again you can't perform any kind of jumps with those. And I'd like to put nanos on every time in a metcon anyway. Today's big question was the combo of overhead squats and box jumps. Obviously nanos but the issue is that ohs is quite a challenge mobility-wise for me due to some tightness in ankles. It's very good to practice those so of course it was nanos.

I'm very happy I can also do overhead squats without my weightlifting shoes. It's not ideal but I can hit it below parallel for sure. This workout was short and thus more intense of course. Both elements brought a lot of burden for quads and hamstrings, and breathing of course. In the last round I asked my training partner to check out the timer but he accidentally reset the timer on the same second as time ran out. So I'm not exactly sure how many rounds I got in this one. Fact is that the first round was 60 seconds so my best guess is my result was 7 rounds. I just got the 12th jump as time cap was full. And I had solid round times so it must have been 7 rounds, totaling 42 overhead squats and 84 boxes.

Sunday 8.2: Rest day

Sunday. Rest day.

Letting those gainz settle in. We came home late in the afternoon after driving from Tampere and then spending some time at the in-laws. I simply didn't have the drive to go and workout. For a while I thought about kettlebell workout at home but then again, why not chill out today and hit it tomorrow. Couldn't find a good reason enough so I'm laying low this Sunday =)

Saturday 7.2: Rest day at Winter War

Saturday. Rest day.

This is the day we have been waiting for a long time. Winter War. That means Finland's own Crossfit Games. Qualification for them began somewhere last year and the anticipation peaked today in Tampere as 40 fittest men and 40 fittest women gathered to witness who will be crowned on top of the podium.

It was repeat champions on both sides, Games veteran Mikko Aronpää on men's side and Saara Laaksonen on women's side. Good day of athleticism being watched and these two were without doubt the best there were in the battle field.

It was also a fun day / night to hang out with Toni and her wife as a couple's weekend.

Friday 6.2: Snatch Balance, Squat, Sled, Mu's + Snatch presses, Metcon

Friday. AM: Emom x 10, snatch balance, 3 reps @ 40kg. Emom x 10, back squat, 2 reps @ 120kg. Sled push 6x20m. Gymnastics, bar mu's, 20 reps. PM: Snatch grip push press triples (max 80kg). Conditioning, 5rds of: 7 snatch grip jerks (60kg), 14 t2b.

I had a day off of work and hadn't thought about this training day at all. Then, yesterday evening I realized there's a great opportunity to drive to Liikuntamylly, the most amazing sports center there is in Helsinki. At least in my opinion. Didn't have to think much whether I would go there or not. This place is made for olympic lifts but that was not gonna happen seriously because this wrist is not perfect right now. Doable but not perfect. In the afternoon I went to pick up Pauliina from work so I took another session as she went to the gym anyway.

Snatch work.

• Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes
• 3 snatch balance @ 40kg

This part of the training session was more like a warm-up and technique. Something like I've done with bodyweight elements like c2b pull-ups, pistols, handstand push-ups and box jumps. I wanted to work my snatch and at first it was supposed to be squat snatch triples pulled from ground. In the warm-up snatch balances felt very good and I changed my game plan.

Those started to feel more and more comfortable after every set and I think my peak was on the 7th set's last rep =) That was probably my best one as well as the 8th and 9th set. I realized I need to use the bar as a counterforce to push myself down. That was a eye-opener. The weights stayed light for a good purpose. These were not planned to be a strength element but a technique part for eventually building up a solid full snatch.

Snatch balance recap

Squats.

• Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes
• 2 back squats @ 120kg

If I can't do cleans or jerks that smoothly, it's gonna be squats all day all night baby! My legs were a bit stiff in the beginning but it helped to do more of those. I took 60, 90, and 110kg warm-up sets before clicking the timer on. Doing rather heavyish squats in emom style with the same weight was a little tougher than I had expected but there was no issues in bringing the weights up. Good adjustment with the weights for a double.

I've been squatting a lot lately. There's probably been one day without squats in the past 2+ weeks. As for squats I mean back squat, front squat, overhead squat, squat snatches, squat cleans, thrusters. But i my opinion that's the way it should be. Gotta keep those legs strong and moving. Posterior chain is the starting point of any movement so it needs to be activated regularly.

Squat emom

Sled.

• 6 x 20m sled push
• 4 sets at extra 25kg load
• 2 sets at extra 15kg load

This was a real quad killer! The sled was very low in height. The handle was somewhere around 15 cm from ground I guess. Don't know how much that weighed but I put 15kg and 10kg bumper plates on top of it. That load felt very heavy because the center of gravity had to be so low. The position is not that natural for me and I had to grind a lot to keep the sled moving. Intention was to get that thing moving without stopping in between. For the first 4 distances there was 25+15kg plates and then the last 2 sets I took the 10kg plate off. It was totally different and I was practically able to jog with it. It still burned quads =)

Base camp

Gymnastics.

• Bar muscle-ups
• 20 reps in sets of 3-3-3-3-4-4

In the end of the first training session there was a bunch of muscle-ups on a pull-up bar. There's plenty of space here in Liikuntamylly so there's really no excuse not to go for them. There was no time pressure. Basically I did a triple, looked at it on the camera and went after the next set. After having completed 4 sets of triples, I did some math and realized there's 8 more reps to reach 20 reps total. So I took 2x4 in the end.

Muscle-up recap

Somewhere in the middle of the sets I remembered feet should be kept together so that was my focus point in the remaining sets. Those muscle-ups were good and solid. My gloves were a bit slippery though, didn't like that fact. Last set was done bare hands but the friction is annoying. That would definitely rip the calluses off my palms so I need to wear gloves normally.

Bar muscle-up station

Press.

• Snatch grip push press
• Loads: 40, 50, 60, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80kg

Late in the afternoon was another session and the original plan was to go light. Maybe only mobility, and some rowing at slow speed. Just activate the body and then stretch out. But I felt great and there were a lot of people at the gym so it kind of boosted the adrenaline. I couldn't just step aside so I went and grabbed the barbell and started moving it around. Push presses behind the neck with snatch grip was somehow natural so I started to put weights on the bar.

These were triples and I built it up to a heavy triple. I've been a bit afraid to drop the bar on my back rack from overhead but little by little it has come more natural through lots of reps. The heaviest I've dropped has probably been 70kg. Heavier than that I have dropped the bar down in front of me. Last sets were going up 2.5kg per set so I got a good bunch of heavy snatch presses in the books and have never gone this heavy in this movement.

3x80kg

Conditioning. Not for time, touch'n'go / unbroken

• 5 rounds of:
• 7 snatch grip push jerk, behind the neck (60kg)
• 14 toes-to-bar

Practically right after completing the last set of 80kg for a triple I took the extra 10kg plates off and tried out how snatch jerks feel like from behind the neck. That's because I want to have that strong for the case of going heavy on overhead squats. You have to get that barbell up somehow before hitting the overhead squats. Snatch press is tough at 80-90kg. So doing them as jerks would help a lot. That's a movement I haven't done them basically at all.

So after changing the plates back to 60kg I took the bar right away on my back from the rack and did 7 touch'n'go jerks. From there I jumped on the pull-up bar and completed double the amount of repetitions compared to jerks. This seemed like a good combo so it continued for a total of 5 rounds. Didn't have a timer running but this was definitely a conditioning workout. Good one! And a perfect training day. Lots of work, focusing on weaknesses, skills, strength, odd objects, conditioning. Perfect!