Tuesday 22.9: Squats, Hspu, Pull-ups, Jerk, Box

Tuesday. Back squat (up to 5x138kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 10 hspu, 15 pull-ups, 10 s2o (50kg), 15 box jump over. Time, 14.40.

I really needed to get to the gym. And luckily there was no rush at all. There was some work to be done, and it would not have been ideal to rush through the elements. Squats and a tough metcon were in the agenda.

Strength.

• Back squat
• 3x90, 108, 123kg
• 5x138, 138, 138, 138, 138kg

This was supposed to take place yesterday but it got transferred to today. First sets were more like warm-up sets but they were pre-determined as well so I went through them with ease. Legs felt great in those, no prob at all. The jump from 123kg to 138kg is big for me. Just like that, 15 kilos were more in the barbell, and it was supposed to be 5's for multiple sets.

Last week I went up to 4x5 @ 138kg. That was definitely a 5RM for me, and it was for a total of 4 sets. Today it was upgraded to 5 sets, 5 reps per set at the same weight. Absolutely the heaviest I have ever done back squats. Got to be happy and proud of the journey I have come in the past years. Can't bluff it, these were heavy. I knew I'll do them but they were very heavy.

Recap of the session

Metcon. Time, 14.40

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 handstand push-up
• 15 pull-up
• 10 shoulder-to-overhead, 50kg
• 15 box jump over

Those squats really took the best energy of my body, and legs got fatigued in the process. Had to take a good lengthy recovery before hitting this workout. Pull-ups have been on the agenda lately pretty well, and the volume is okay currently. Another bodyweight element - handstand push-up - is something that needs to be in the program constantly.

There was a combination of hspu's and shoulder-to-overheads which made it tough on the shoulders. Hspu's were unbroken for 2 rounds, then the 3rd one was maybe 7-3, and the last round was 6-2-2 reps. In the beginning the first unbroken rounds felt good but then the workload started to get to me.

Pull-ups were unbroken for 2-3 rounds, not quite sure. When they were broken, it was 10-5. At least in the last round, maybe also the 3rd one. Now as I think more closely, it was broken to two sets in the third round as well. But I kept the pause short there, just couple of seconds.

Jerks felt nasty. The load was light but because of the character of this workout, shoulders got tired and the jerks got heavier. I was still able to do them without dropping the bar between reps. Last two rounds were a good mental battle for the last reps. It felt like it's difficult to hold my arms locked out as I recovered from the drop under the bar. I managed it but damned it was challenging.

Box jump overs were the "easiest" part of this one. That's a bit misleading because actually no part of this one was a walk in the park. Box overs kept the legs tense and breathing heavy. I was happy after every set of 15 reps was done. Good metcon! And good training session in general. Good compensation to Monday's sesh.