Monday 30.11: Press, Ohs, Pull-ups

Monday. Push press 4x10 @ 60kg. Metcon, 20 ohs (40kg), 40 pull-ups, 15 ohs (50kg), 30 pull-ups, 10 ohs (60kg), 20 pull-ups. Time, 12.35.

Week started with overhead strength and a nasty combo of overhead squats and pull-ups. In the evening we went for a stroll with Pauliina in the woods for recovery purposes. The weather is rainy and windy, quite an autumn weather, classic stuff. But it doesn't matter, at least the air is brisk and easy to breath. Perfect for wods.

Time was 12.35

Strength.

• Push press 4x10 reps @ 60kg

Goal is to get more shoulder strength. I talked to couple of big time lifters and got cued to add volume for presses. My focus right now is to do bigger sets of push presses, two weeks in the start of 10's, then two weeks of 8's, and two weeks of 6's.

Today's agenda was 4x10, and the load turned out to be 60kg. I went up to 1x80kg prior to the first working set to get used to heavier weights before (5x40, 5x50, 3x60, 3x70, 1x80kg). These felt good, maybe somehow awkward after not doing this long sets before. Shoulders took it well, and I'm looking to add some weight in the upcoming days.

Presses

Metcon. Time, 12.35

• 20 overhead squat, 40kg
• 40 pull-ups
• 15 overhead squat, 50kg
• 30 pull-ups
• 10 overhead squat, 60kg
• 20 pull-ups

These two are my least favorites elements to mix together. These are never a good call for me. Plus these overhead squats climbed up to 60 kilos which is more than "normal" ohs weight. Lately I've tried to go at 50kg or even more for metcons / intervals to get used to something heavier than 95lbs / 43kg.

It was a little bummer to see on the video that some of the reps on the ohs are a bit shallow. First reps in each set seem to be so. It felt like I'm going deep down but there is more work to be done on that part. Mobility is one issue on this movement. Plus my armpits are turning down on the bottom position.

Metcon

Anyway, this was a good metcon to get some volume for pull-ups too. Plan was to break down the reps already in the beginning, with the intension of not to burn my lats and forearms early in the workout. First round was about 10's. Second one was maybe 8-7, and then 5's. The last one was a battle too. The reason for pull-ups being as challenging as they were, was the numbness in my forearms. They were shot, and it was difficult to hold on to the bar. Breathing was rather heavy for sure but forearms were the reason preventing me to go faster. Changing the plates also took me some time between the squats.

Sunday 29.11: Clean, Front squat, T2b, Box

Sunday. Build up to heavy clean. A - triple (Result, 110kg PR). B - single (Result, 117kg PR). Front squat singles (up to 125kg). Metcon, 12min amrap of: 8 squat clean (70kg), 10 t2b, 12 box. Result, 150 reps.

Got to say it's great to be back!!! It's been so damn busy I haven't had a chance to throw down at all. On Friday we had pre-christmas party and it was a hullabaloo from morning till night. On Saturday we had a gathering with family in Eastern Finland as we went to see my sister's new house. Finally today I got to put on some gym clothes and got to work!

Oly.

• Build up to heavy cleans
• A - Triples (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, PR 110kg)
• B - Singles (115, PR 117kg)

At first my joints felt very tight from all the laziness and driving in the car, and it was a mystery how this session would turn out to. However, my legs didn't feel tired at all on the warm-up cleans, and the cleans also felt very natural and light.

Plan was to go heavy for a triple and single. Especially to build up to a 3 rep max. I was hoping to pull 105kg which is the heaviest I've pulled, ever. Once I tried 107.5kg and my right wrist popped, and hurt like hell for about 2 months. With that on mind it was a huge success today to being able to get all the way to 110kg. This is actually huge because I have lifted that number for singles only, and just for a couple of times. So going for 3 reps was sick!

Original plan was to go for a max of the day after triples. Didn't know I was going this heavy in the triples so there was room for only couple of singles at max. Singles at these weights are intimidating. The only thing preventing me to go heavier is my head. Both 115kg and 117kg were high enough for sure, and most likely I'd be able to clean more if I only had the balls to drop under the barbell. Fails on cleans are always just clean pulls. Not for a single time have I racked a bar, and not being able to stand it up. These +110kg lifts are mentally very important to build up confidence for heavy lifts.

Squat.

• Front squat singles (90, 110, 120, 125, fail 130kg)

After all the cleans my hip flexors were gone, and front squats didn't go as planned. For some time there was 7x3 front squats in my notes but that was not gonna happen. Bar was heavy already at 120kg so it was no surprise 130kg didn't come up.

Metcon. Result, 150 reps (5 rounds sharp)

• 12min amrap of:
• 8 squat clean, 70kg
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 12 box jump

Freaking awesome metcon! It's been hours since the metcon now as I'm writing this, and my lungs are still feeling it. Or throat. Anyway, the number of squat cleans in a row made the difference. Legs were burning, and lungs were gasping for air. Not for a second did I think about linking the reps together. Singles all the way.

First 10 minutes

Toes-to-bar's and box jumps unbroken. T2b's were surprisingly nasty after all the squat clean. Box jumps didn't feel any easier in the process. But the thing in this metcon was definitely the cleans. In the beginning they were 8 singles in a row. Then at some point it was 4-2-2. That seemed like the quickest way to get over each round. Awesome wod.

Wednesday 25.11: Clean complex, Partner intervals

Wednesday. Clean complex, 5 sets of: tall clean + mid-thigh + full clean. Intervals with partner, 14 rounds of: 4 hang power clean (70kg), 8 t2b, 12 box. Result, 12.49.

Another loooong day at the office but this time I was able to move around much more and prevent body from total system failure =) It was a huge positive surprise as my main man Toni threw me a message in the morning that he could come and train with me after work. He also had the agenda ready. I got a tetanus vaccination in the morning so that kind of disturbed my plans so Toni's suggestion was right on point!

Toni working on his clean complex

Oly.

• 5 working sets of the following clean complex:
• Tall clean
• Clean from mid-thigh
• Full clean
• Every clean as squat clean (80, 85, 85, 85, 85kg)

The first repetition of this complex is by far the most challenging for me. I haven't used to finish the "tall cleans" in this way. Luckily Toni was there to coach me through it. This really forced me to go under the barbell faster than normally. I'm very happy on the way I was able to carry through each tall clean.

The second and third reps were easy. The weights were so light that there were no issues whatsoever. But I had to stay with these weights because the first one wasn't that easy. That one was more like technique training. First set was at 80kg, the rest at 85kg. Maybe 90kg could have been there too. This time I just wanted to learn how to do this.

Recap of complex

Pair workout. Time, 12.49

• 14 rounds of:
• 4 hang power clean, 70kg
• 8 toes-to-bar
• 12 box jump
• Interval style, you go 1 round, I go 1 round. Rest while the other one works

The point of the workout was to do each round as fast as possible. Go all out every round, which means it is 7 rounds per athlete, total of 14 rounds as a team. Total time was 12.49. For me, there was a bit too long recovery between rounds or then the work load put in was too low as I didn't get too gassed. I was hoping the stimulus to be so that I'd be leaning on my elbows after each round. Then recovering just enough for the next round.

The end of our partner wod

Anyway, I believe this kind of intervals have a lot of potential. When doing them solo, the key is to define fixed rest times between sets / rounds / intervals. That allows you to put 100% effort on each round, then recover, and repeat that for a certain amount of rounds. There were about 40 seconds per round on my behalf and rounds were pretty consistent.

One thing is for sure. It was a blast training with Toni. We started our crossfit journey together back in the days, and it's always quality time to train with my best friend. These are rather rare occasions as we workout in different gyms regularly.

Tuesday 24.11: Row and Jerks

Tuesday. Intervals, 3 sets of: 500m row + 10 push jerk @ 60kg.

Had a long ass workshop at work. Not that the topic wasn't good but sitting for 8 hours doesn't make good for human beings. Butt cheeks were numb at times =) There was no other option but to drive right away to the gym for a training session. Time slot was very tight but I found time for about half an hour. I made it count.

Intervals.

• 3 sets of:
• 500m row + 10 push jerk @ 60kg
• Work / Rest 1:1

This was on my notes and I'm happy there was a chance to go after it. Another workout was in store as well, 3rds of 15 wall balls and 15 toes-to-bar. No time for that today. Maybe another day. It's supposed to be a quick one.

Today's agenda was not to save energy on the rower. My time was sub 1.40 on the first round, second one was quite accurately at 1:40 and the last one maybe 1:41-1:42. My legs were lit up on these rowing sprints.

It was nice to walk over to the barbell and start jerking the bar with heavy breathing and fired up legs. The weight was tolerable for this kind of set. As for just a set of 10 reps with a barbell, this would have been too light or too few reps but having the rowing sprint in the beginning made it totally different. I kept a steady pace on the jerks, and went unbroken / touch'n'go with them. Legs were burning big time on these, and breathing was heavy, no surprise there. Goal achieved!

Monday 23.11: Clean and jerk, Squat, Snatch, Burpee

Monday. Clean and jerk 1+3 (up to 93kg). Front squat 4x4 (up to 118kg). Metcon, 6min amrap of: 10 db snatch (30kg), 10 burpee. Result, 86 reps.

This was a great session. It was mind blowing to do heavy clean and jerk complex, then front squats to accompany that barbell work. In the end I was in a rush but had time to get in a good intense workout in the form of short amrap.

Oly.

• Clean and jerk 1+3
• Sets at 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 93kg

Pressing and jerking is something I'd like to do on a daily basis if there wasn't anything else to be taken into consideration. But for a long time I've had issues with my elbows. Lately those have been very good, and it's been pain-free zone. Luckily so!

This was almost a dream come true to being able to put heavy object over my head. After warm-up I started working these sets at 60kg. Okay that was light weight, same with the 70kg. It felt surprisingly easy also at 80kg, and I went touch'n'go on that set too.

Next set at 85kg I stopped on the front rack position after each rep. Damned it felt great all the time. Technically they were pretty much the same up to 90kg, at least the first rep. From then on there were some shakiness but not too serious. I'm happy I was able to press the bar directly upwards, instead of pushing it in front. The last rep at 93kg was a save. That one I almost lost in front but was able to stabilize it in couple of seconds of static hold.

Recap

Strength.

• Front squat 4x4 (110, 113, 115, 118kg)

Front squats work well after cleans. Cleans today were light, those were quite routine type of pulls. But they prepared legs for these squats. I took them four by four, climbing after each set, reaching a total of 118kg. Form stayed there pretty well, and I got to say I'll take these squats with pleasure.

Metcon. Result, 86 reps (4 rounds + 6 snatch)

• 6min amrap of:
• 10 dumbbell snatch, 30kg, alternating after each rep
• 10 burpee

As I wrote, there was not that much time and something quick needed to be done. There were db snatches and double unders in my notes but I'd like to warm-up for those du's, and there simply was no time for that. This was something close to perfection considering the conditioning piece. This kind of shorter metcons are worth evaluating whether there should be more of these.

No plan whatsoever, just go. I tapped the timer on, and started moving. Alternating the snatches after each rep. Damn it was one heavy dumbbell. It started to burn my legs big time. I tried to keep the dumbbell or my body moving constantly. Very good workout, I suggest this one for you guys!

Sunday 22.11: Mu's, Jerk, Snatch, Fran

Sunday. Intervals, 3 rds of: muscle-ups and push jerks. Emom x 10min: 3 power snatch @ 50kg. Fran, 21-15-9 of: thruster (43kg), pull-ups. Not for time.

What a great session. Loved this work being put in today. Okay, I felt somewhat tired in the morning from upper body but it woke up finally. It was great to get some muscle-ups done after hands being ripped for a while. Today it didn't bother any more. Then snatches and Fran with easier pace.

Intervals.

• 3 rounds of muscle-ups and push jerks @ 60kg
• 1st round: 3 mu's + 6 jerks
• 2nd round: 2 mu's + 6 jerks
• 3rd round: 3 mu's + 10 jerks
• 2min rest between sets

Awesome to combine these two movements. I've been a bit hesitant to mix muscle-ups with other elements because those aren't too strong in my case. I once did mu's and rowing intervals as a couple and I remember being entirely worn out after couple of sets. Getting tired doesn't matter at all, that's the entire purpose. But the thing is I still don't know how my body reacts to this kind of intervals including muscle-ups, and once they are gone, they really are gone. I can't recover that fast from those. So it's always like I have to play it safe with ring mu's.

Today I thought about doing a triple on the rings, then hitting 6 jerks with a barbell. This was the case on the first set. On the second one I missed the third rep but decided it's more advantageous to move on rather than try for another single on the rings. On the jerks I got the same amount of reps completed.

On the last round I got that much needed triple done and it felt good. That left me with a good feeling, and I decided not to be grumpy about the missed muscle-up on the second set. Still, the bar was not that heavy after all so I did a total of 10 jerks on the last set. Didn't wanna get ripped hands again so this was enough for this portion of the workout.

Sunday recap

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 power snatch @ 50kg

I've done more squat snatches, singles and doubles lately. I took couple of singles up to 60kg prior to this one to get used to heavier snatches. These triples felt heavy in the beginning. Probably because I haven't used to do power snatches. Those got better through every round. At some point I thought about adding weight on the bar. Then again, I stayed at 50kg and tried to focus on bringing the bar up as high as possible before the last pull. Working on positions.

This is world record lift, over 3 x bodyweight…

Fran. Not for time but "for quality". Compare to 22.11.2014

• 21-15-9 of:
• Thrusters, 43kg
• Pull-ups

For the third piece of conditioning I only had notes for thrusters and pull-ups. Got to say my shoulders were burned at this point. Never at any point was I shooting for a record breaking effort on this benchmark workout. Instead, I took my time with the transitions and the only goal was to go unbroken, and get a good heavy breathing going on. Goal achieved.

Shoulders were shot already after the first set of thrusters. That kind of set the tone of the workout. Usually the second round - round of 15's - is the nastiest, and takes the most out of a human being physically and mentally. This time I was saved of the long burn which is classic stuff after Fran. Those breaks between movements made the difference. But Fran is always Fran. Nasty lady to say the least. I just realized it's been exactly a year from doing Fran for the last time =)

Saturday 21.11: Holleyman

Saturday. Hero wod Holleyman, 30 rds of: 5 wb, 3 hspu, 1 power clean (90kg). Time, 28.10.

It was time to take a rematch with Holleyman. It's a hero workout that I've done once before year and a half ago. Since then my upper back strength and conditioning must have gotten better since I PR'd this workout with over 13 minutes. Why this workout came to my mind  was because my friend Toni just hit it about a week ago with same weights so there was a good incentive for me.

Yeah, I know it's a bit messy but it shows most of the round times

Holleyman. Time, 28.10. Compare to 19.4.2014

• 30 rounds of:
• 5 wall ball shots, 9kg
• 3 handstand push-ups
• 1 power clean, 90kg

Last time (and first time) when I completed this one my clean weren't as strong and I had to take the bigger weights as squat cleans. It's not that long ago that my max power clean was 90-95kg. Currently it stands as 103kg. Squat clean is a notch better, at 116kg. Holleyman is 225 lbs (102.5kg) as rx'd. That would be pretty much the same as my record for a single so obviously time is not ready for those weights, yet. Went after 90kg cleans which are no joke to me, especially for this many reps.

Naturally all the reps were to be done unbroken, just 5 reps of wall ball shots and 3 hspu's per round. My strategy was to hold on to a steady pacing from the very beginning. I tried to do a collage of most of the round times, check above. I believe my tactic worked as well as it could have worked. I'm very satisfied to this. It was around 55 seconds per round for all 30 rounds.

Plan was to knock wall balls and hspu's right away, and then shake my shoulders before the clean. Right after I dropped the barbell, I went to do another set of wall balls and hspu's. Then releasing the tension in the shoulders again. This worked well.

It was a long ass workout to say the least, and at times it felt like it's never going to end. I just tried not to think about the rounds or anything else of this workout for too much, just complete every set of wall balls, every set of hspu's and every single clean at a time, then head forward. This time this also got to my breathing more than before. At that time I remember my lower back being on fire on the wall balls and squat cleans (had to do them as squat cleans that time).

I thought I had recorded the first 10 minutes of the workout but after looking at the video at home this was all there was =) Memory card had gotten full after less than 5 seconds. Nice.

Friday 20.11: Run, Pull-ups

Friday. Run 1.4km, then 5rds of 15 pull-ups & 370m run, then run 1.4km.

Plan was to go to the gym after work but life took a sudden change so the workout took place outdoors. There is a pull-up / dip station close to our home so it was a perfect Friday training session. Weather was at 0 degrees, a bit wet but for running it was spectacular. Easy to breath. Pull-up bar was a bit slippery, especially in the beginning.

Metcon.

• 1.4km run, then
• 5 rounds of:
• 15 unbroken pull-ups
• 370m run, then
• 1.4km run

No warm-up, just took the run a bit easier. I ran to the pull-up station in the brisk air. Then thought about taking couple of reps on the pull-up bar to see how it feels like. I still have a rip in my right hand so it was heavily taped up. It turned out to be a set of 15 reps.

There's a loop that I measured with gps to be 370m. I ran that loop around and came back to complete another set of 15 pull-ups. Dropping not allowed. Had some issues with my grip in the slippery bar and I noticed my grip was slightly biased to lean more on the left hand as it hurt a bit on the right one.

Run was half way on an incline, and the latter half was a decline. The incline made it a notch more challenging for breathing after just dropping down from the pull-up bar. This was a great workout for this Friday. After getting those 5 rounds done I ran back home. This really was a good one and my both quads cramped at the end of the last run.

Thursday 19.11: Front squat, Hspu, Burpee

Thursday. Strength, front squat 6x1 @ 125kg. Metcon, 7rds of: 7 front squat (70kg), 7 hspu, 7 burpee. Time, 12.41.

Had a clear goal for this Thursday. Pulls from the ground. My hands are ripped from the middle fingers which made it impossible to go heavy on the deadlift. It simply hurt too much on that movement. That's why I changed my plans on the fly and went by feeling. It turned out to be rather heavy singles on squats, and then a 7-rounder for a metcon. Good sesh!

Strength.

• Front squat
• 6x1 @ 125kg
• One extra single @ 130kg

This was a lot of fun. I usually don't do heavier singles at a fixed weight. It's either climbing up to a heavy single or then multiple reps across the same weight. The load was tolerable. Heavy but still doable. As I look at the reps from video (below) I'm very happy on the form I was able to hold on.

Focus was on the elbows. They need to be pointed straight forward and not drop down on the most challenging points. This was a load I was able to bring up pretty nicely. Could have gone heavier considering the weights but as I said, it was important to me that elbows are pointing correctly and torso is in an upright position all the way.

As the 125kg singles felt fine I wanted to do one more for the show, and jumped up to 130kg for one single. That was much heavier but still came up properly.

Couple of singles

Metcon.

• 7 rounds of:
• 7 front squat, 70kg
• 7 handstand push-up
• 7 burpee

This was created on the spot. Worked perfectly. The combination of front squat, hspu's and burpees is nasty as shoulders never get the needed recovery. I remember there once was a Crossfit Regionals event with the same movements (21-15-9) and I replicated that in one session. It's been time since that but it's still in the back of my head.

With that in mind this workout was created. Workout of the day was all about sevens. I went unbroken on each movement each round. Transitions were the ones where I had to shake my hands and shoulders to get the tension released. Every one of them brought burden in the shoulders so it wasn't possible for me to just jump right into the next element.

Squats were touch'n'go all the way. I'm very pleased to that. Legs carried on well, shoulders were the ones taking the biggest hit. Hspu's started to get heavy and the last 2 rounds had to be fought with a good focus.

Wednesday 18.11: Snatch, Clean, Burpee box

Wednesday. Build up to a heavy single on snatch (65kg) and clean (110kg). Metcon, 12-9-6-3 of: squat clean (60kg), burpee box. Time, 6.20.

Had to go to the gym very early in the morning. I was a bit skeptical because of that schedule, and I only had one hour to hit it. My body never woke up for this session. Legs were burning already in the warm-up portion. I still decided to go for heavier singles as the plan stood.

Strength.

• Build up to a heavy single of:
• Snatch (30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 63, 65f, 65kg)
• Clean (60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110kg)

Focus was on keeping the barbell closer to body compared to where it normally travels. Maybe it succeeded somewhat but obviously there's work to be done still. A lot =) What needs to be corrected somehow, is that the bar should be caught right over the line of the heels. Traditionally the bar states a little bit too much in front.

On the cleans the bar stays closer to body and I'm happy on that. There the bar could come higher before the last pull, especially on the heavier weights. I'm still happy on the cleans for today. They felt much heavier than what they looked like. But I got a boost of confidence after looking at every rep on video.

Metcon. Time, 6.20

• 12-9-6-3 of:
• Squat clean, 60kg
• Burpee box jump

Had no recovery time after the last clean. Just changed the weights and put on metcon shoes, then tapped the timer on. I've done something like this once a long time ago, and remembered it put the legs on fire. Memories were correct. This was somewhat horrible.

I took the first set of cleans in 7-3-2. Second set in triples. Set of 6 reps in half, and the last one unbroken. To be honest, I would have liked to complete these as singles. My legs never felt fresh during the entire session, and after snatches / cleans legs felt tired already before this metcon. Burpee box jumps were also very fatiguing. Even though this was tough I liked it a lot. Especially afterwards =)

Tuesday 17.11: Press, 32min emom, Row

Tuesday. Emom x 10min: 3 push press behind the neck (70-80kg). Emom x 32min: 1st 10 hspu, 2nd 15 kb swing (28kg), 3rd 15 push-up, 4th 10 db snatch (25kg). Cashout, 2k row.

Getting back in the groove. Hands are getting better and I can't use them as excuses anymore. No but for real, it made good to get some rest from gripping the barbell. Still had to use gloves to protect the palms but it didn't bother at all. Strength and long emom were on the agenda.

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 push press behind the neck
• 1-2min: 70kg
• 3-4min: 73kg
• 5-6min: 75kg
• 7-8min: 78kg
• 9-10min: 80kg

Had two options. Either jerking from front rack or pressing from back rack position. I took couple of reps from front rack but my collar bone was a little sensitive still so it turned out to be back rack action, and push presses to be precise.

Doing these weights as push jerks from front would have felt heavier. Haven't done much work from behind the neck. That's why I wasn't sure how to play with the weights. These were something I finished very well. Could have gone heavier. My grip width was similar as in snatch. That means a lot wider than regular presses / jerks. It's stable and solid when going wider with the grip.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 32 minutes
• 1st min: 10 handstand push-ups
• 2nd min: 15 kettlebell swing, 28kg
• 3rd min: 15 push-ups
• 4th min: 10 dumbbell snatch, 25kg (5 right / 5 left hand)

Plan was to go for a long metcon. And actually the entire workout was written beforehand. I just realized before starting it that it's gonna put shoulders burn. That was my prediction. Yes, it started to get there but also my legs were almost cramping in the end. Kind of strangely it was because of handstand push-ups =)

I got them unbroken for all but the last round. 8th round was 7-2-1 reps. Those were the most challenging as a single movement. But mostly it was the overall worn out feeling that usually comes in these longer emoms. They look easier on paper but at some point it starts to get under your skin. It's kind of funny that you're really really happy it's finally over even though you would be able to still continue if some pointed a gun in your head.

Kb swings naturally unbroken, push-ups too. Snatches were 5 for right hand, then 5 for left hand. Until mid way or a bit pas that moment I thought about changing the dumbbell to 30kg version but towards the end I pushed that though aside.

Cashout.

• 2k row

This was easy pace rowing, +2:00 pace which means to say it was definitely for recovery purposes. My quads felt tight after the long emom so this felt like a good way to flush legs.

Monday 16.11: Run 5k

Monday. Active recovery, run 5k.

There was simply no time for a training session today after work, which didn't bother me at all this time. We spent some quality time with my wife, and then in the evening I went for a recovery run. This was more like a jog. I went 10km/h pace for 5 kilometers so it took half an hour to get the distance done. It felt great to move some feet in a crispy autumn weather. Okay it was wet but for running the weather was actually good and easy to get breath in the lungs.

Sunday 15.11: Back squat session

Sunday. Back squat, build up to a heavy single (142kg). Then 6x3 @ 90kg of that max (130kg).

This was almost a recovery day. Had some thoughts about just laying on the sofa or go running. Then I woke up back to reality and went squatting. This took about an hour to complete with all the warm-ups included. Purely a strength session this Sunday.

Strength.

• Back squat
• Build up to a heavy single (110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 142kg). Then,
• 6x3 @ 90% of that single (130kg)
• Rest 2min between sets

This was a lot of fun. I wanted to go heavy on the singles, and these numbers seemed to be around my max today. Reps felt heavy from about 130kg onwards but they still looked alright on camera. Real battle came at 140 kilos, and the 142kg felt at today's max for today. I'm happy on the form I was able to hold on to on each lift.

Focus points for the squats. Keep the chest up, and elbows down. Pull the bar down so that the elbows would be directly under the bar. As the 130kg sets started to feel heavier, I started to focus on this and the package felt a lot tighter and much more like it is in my control better.

First rep at 130kg sets was easier, second one tighter and some of the third reps were good grinding. My plan was to complete these sets without stopping for too long on top. That always seems to make the reps a lot heavier.

Saturday 14.11: Long emom

Saturday. Emom x 32min: 1st min: 20m sled push, 2nd min: 15 ghd, 3rd min: 30 du, 4th min: 15 box.

Facts in the morning. Hamstrings and glutes are sore as hell. Left palm is torn up from muscle-ups and right hand ring finger was cut to bleed pretty badly. That means to say this body wasn't at its best shape today =) Can't hold on to basically anything and legs were smashed from all the squatting. There was still no doubt of me wanting to hit another training session. It makes mentally good. One good option was to go running but there was no time for that as I went to work today as well. There are sometimes these rare occasions that I'm working on weekends too which makes it a bit more challenging to fit in a training session as I want to spend quality time with my wife too.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 32 minutes
• 1st minute: 20m sled push, 80kg (+sled)
• 2nd minute: 15 ghd sit-ups
• 3rd minute: 30 double unders
• 4th minute: 15 box jumps

This needed to be a quick session. Not much warm-up this time. Movements were planned so that there is no barbell / kettlebell / dumbbell work because holding on to those would not feel with these hands right now. Double unders were the first element I threw in. Needed to practice those. This was more like an easy pace workout.

Breathing stayed in control throughout the workout. Sometimes these 20-30 minute emoms are horrible, and it gets mental big time. The only thing that got under my skin were my shins. They didn't tolerate well the volume of double unders and box jumps. Du's didn't go that well. They've been very good lately so this was a minor setback. Next time I'll hopefully dominate them again. Jumping right away to box jumps started to reflect some shin pain in the latter half of the workout. Ghd's were probably the easiest part of this one.

Friday 13.11: Overhead, Squat, Burpee, Box overs

Friday. Overhead strength, shoulder press 1-1-1 (65kg), push press 1-1-1 (75kg), push jerk 1-1-1 (85kg), split jerk 1x95kg. Emom x 10min: 3 back squat @ 120kg. Metcon, 30 burpee, 30 box jump overs. Time, 2.20

Morning workout. All that bench work made my chest and shoulders were tight big time. Mobility made tricks and I got them ready for work. Squats were in the game to get strength in there, and then a sprint of heavy breathing in the end.

Overhead. Compare to 23.10.2015

• Shoulder press 1-1-1 (65kg)
• Push press 1-1-1 (75kg)
• Push jerk 1-1-1 (85kg). Second rep was a fail
• Split jerk 1 (95kg)

This was continuance to earlier work with this same rep scheme. Singles in strict press, push press, push jerk, and split jerk. Idea is to do 3x1 reps at the same weight, then add weight and change the style of putting the bar overhead. Shoulder presses were okay. The second rep was a battle as there wasn't enough aggression. Third one was the best of those.

Push presses went fine, those were the most steady reps of these all in my opinion. On the push jerks the weight was 85kg which is the heaviest I've ever put on straight hands so that was a bit different game. Couple of days ago I took 85kg for a single and it came up nicely. Today the first rep was ok, second left slightly in front which I couldn't save. On the third attempt I gathered some mental strength and put it overhead with ease.

As I lowered it back down on my front rack I didn't bring elbows in front which made the bar crash on my collarbones. Hurt like hell. I have a rip in one of my left hand fingers so that's the reason I didn't take it down in a normal way. That was a mistake as that collarbone got instantly swollen. I realized it on the first and only attempt of 95kg split jerk. The pressure was huge in that painful area, and I had to stop jerking right away. Went to see that in the mirror. Looked nasty. But it felt great to get 95kg up even though it definitely was a bit ugly.

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min
• 3 touch'n'go back squat @ 120kg

This was written to do these exactly as t'n'g squats. No stopping on top. This was a lot of fun. Sweat and breathing were more intense than normally, and legs were burning big time. The third rep was tight on the sets, and after couple of minutes this turned out to be surprisingly mental stuff.

Metcon. Time, 2.20

• 30 burpees
• 30 box jump overs

I was already in a bit of a hurry so I had to start working if I wanted to do some conditioning piece. This was just a short one. Plan was to do two metcons but there was no time for that. This was anyway an awesome way to get heart beat up in a second. This kind of work would be ideal as interval work. Let's say something similar with 2-3min breaks in between, and repeat for a number of rounds. Or maybe 2min amraps of: 30 burpees and rest of time box jump overs.

Thursday 12.11: Muscle-ups, Bench, Squat

Thursday. Skills, muscle-ups 7x3. Metcon, 50 bench for time @ 70kg. Every time you rack the bar, complete 30 air squats on the spot. Time, 9.20.

Plan was a bit loose this Thursday. I had plenty of stuff in my head as my car's engine started. It turned out to be muscle-ups for starters. Then building up to a heavy single on the bench press, and finishing the session with bench related metcon. My hand ripped so there was no chance for deadlifts which was supposed to be on the agenda as well.

Skills.

• Muscle-ups, 7 sets of triples

Got to admit I wasn't approaching the rings with huge confidence. Reason for this was there's been time since doing ring mu's last time, and I remember they didn't go too well that time. With this in mind it was a hugely positive surprise to knock the triples without any issues. To be honest, these were probably the easiest sets of muscle-ups I've done in my life. At least in the top performances. Now as I think about it afterwards, it might have been a good idea to smash a new record of consecutive repetitions but I stuck to my plan of triples.

Didn't have a timer rolling but it was basically some walking around the gym, chalking hands and getting back to rings. I felt after every set there is room for more work. Usually triples are not this easy, and it might feel like a huge battle to get 3 reps in one set =) Don't know why this was from another planet but at least my kip was patient. I kept my get together, let the body swing fiercely backwards on the way down, and then I didn't rush the pull on the way up.

On the last set I decided to go for more reps. It turned out to be 4 reps in total after which I felt my hand ripped so I came down. Feeling was true as I just witnessed one of the biggest rips I've had ever. This is at least the size of my thumb nail. Anyway, this was a huge thing to boost confidence on the rings. Total of 22 reps.

Metcon. Time, 9.20. Compare to 22.11.2013

• 50 bench press for time @ 70kg
• Every time you rack the barbell, complete 30 air squats on the spot
• Bench was 10-8-7-6-6-5-4-4 reps

Plan was to build up to a heavy single before starting the workout, just to fool the body by doing heavier reps first. Then the weight on the actual metcon wouldn't feel that tough. I decided to go with 70kg which I thought would be something like 7-9 sets. This was just a gut feeling. Warm-up sets were 6x50, 6x70, 3x80, 1x90, 1x95, 1x100kg.

Well I put the sets above in the bullet point and it went pretty much the way I thought and planned. My goal was not to look for the most ideal time but more like keep moving all the time. Not recover too much after air squats to get maybe a bigger set of bench done, vice versa. Go back on the bench, grab the barbell and do as many as you can. Don't know if I could have completed 50 reps with fewer sets. I wanted to get my heart rate up and make this feel on the lungs too, not just chest / triceps / upper body.

Actually what hurt the most in this one were my quads. Went unbroken on the air squats, deep ones, and with good rhythm. They never got a good recovery so completing 210 reps in sets of 30 really burned my legs. This was a good workout, and

Wednesday 11.11: Clean and jerk, Front squat

Wednesday. Emom x 9min: clean and jerk (up to 90kg). Front squat 5x3 @ 120kg.

Felt good to get back in the gym. It's been busy times at work so getting to the gym is a perfect way to empty all the work related thoughts and focus on the barbell. Bar is always ready to work with you, no matter what. Today's agenda was clean and jerks and front squats. Wasn't mentally ready for conditioning piece as my body was a bit beaten up.

Got these new wrist straps from Toni for birthday =)

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 9 minutes:
• Clean and jerk
• 1-3min: 80kg
• 4-6min: 85kg
• 7-9min: 90kg

It was great to put the bar overhead. Lately I've had no issues with my elbows. At some point there seemed to be some nagging pain after every press / jerk session. Especially when going over 80kg weights. Today I started at this load, kept knocking singles for 3 minutes, then added 5kg after every 3 min again. Last weight was 90kg, and it made me happy inside that the weight came up pretty nicely.

Cleans were the easy part of these lifts. My clean is rather strong compared to overhead strength so picking these weights from the floor brought no issues whatsoever. Jerks were clearly heavier. These are not baby weights for me. Don't know where the current max stands right now but those last jerks @ 90kg were good battles. I would say something around 95-100kg might be the max right now.

Strength.

• Front squat 3-3-3-3-3 (120kg)

Building it up to 120kg triples by doing warm-up sets at 5x60kg, 3x90kg, 1x110kg. Legs were pretty well up for the challenge after clean and jerks as I took them up as squat cleans. Total of 5x3 across at 120kg.

I'm happy on the way I was able to maintain form on these squats. The last rep was a good grind in each of the sets, and I had to really push it. Other than that my elbows stayed up front as they should be. And it didn't take an eternity to finish the sets. Goal was to do them rather fast without stopping and breathing on top for too long.

In the end I did mobility for overhead squats. There is one L1 crossfit trainer at the gym as my training partner - Lauri - who is always ready to give good tips for mobility, and efficiency in movements. I'm ready to soak everything in. He gave me tasks to do for overhead squat mobility. Those really put my back and lats on fire, in a good way.

Tuesday 10.11: CF Open 12.3, Row, Ghd

Tuesday. CF Open 12.3, 18min amrap of: 15 box, 12 s2o (53kg), 9 t2b. Result, 292 reps (PR). Cashout, 5rds of: 300m row, 15 ghd.

Great session! My legs were out of control due to yesterday's training session. I took couple of push jerks to get used to heavier weights before the metcon, then hit one benchmark workout from the 2012 Crossfit Open. In the end it was just some extra work to flush my legs from that tough workout.

CF Open 12.3. Result, 292 reps (8 rounds + 4 box jump, PR)

• 18min amrap of:
• 15 box jump
• 12 shoulder-to-overhead, 53kg
• 9 toes-to-bar

This is something I've done maybe 3 times or so. It's gone to my guts every single time. Today it was tough because my legs were burning after the first round. Monday's training session had its effect for sure. But hey, actually something good happened before the timer went on. I took push jerks up to 85kg which is heaviest I've ever done this style. It was 5x40, 50, 60kg, then 3x70, 1x80 and 85kg. And that last rep felt very good and stabile, no problem whatsoever. There was room for record for sure.

Back to the workout. Box jumps and t2b's were unbroken each round. Boxes definitely take care that breathing is sky rocketing throughout the workout. But the burn came just after the box jumps had been completed. They went fine and I got a good rhythm every round.

T2b's were unbroken too. My grip started to slip on the last rounds but there was no doubt of hitting them in a row every round. Core felt great on those. But the beef of this wod is the part where barbell action takes place, hands down. I've tried both styles: unbroken and breaking it to two sets. Of course unbroken sounds good but that takes a bit more recovery between movements.

Today I went on by feeling. First 2 rounds were unbroken, then I started to complete it in 7-5 for most of the rounds. At some point I did 8-4. Damned I was sweating a lot, and heart beat was heavy for probably the last 15 minutes. There was some mental strength though as I was able to still keep moving, and keeping the transitions modest. End result was a PR which is always good news.

Workout. Not for time

• 5 rounds of:
• 300m row
• 15 ghd sit-ups

My tank was pretty much empty after the main workout of the day and legs didn't recover enough to hit another metcon with full force. So this portion was more like to do some extra work, and recover so tomorrow I'd be back in action. And legs especially. Pace was slow on the rower but ghd's unbroken. There I tried to engage hip flexors more than before.

Monday 9.11: Snatch, Squat, 12min amrap

Monday. Snatch singles (up to 66kg). Back squat singles, emom x 10min (130-135kg). Metcon, 12min amrap of: 5 thruster (50kg), 10 pistols, 15 pull-ups. Result, 163 reps.

After a more easy going weekend it was time to go heavier. Snatches to improve olympic lifts, squats to get the legs stronger, and then the real workout of the day arrived in the form of thrusters and bodyweight movements for time.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min: snatch
• 1-2min: 55kg
• 3-6min: 57kg
• 7-8min: 59kg
• 9-10min: 61kg
• Exra snatches at 64, 66kg. Fails at 68kg

It was a mind blowing discovery to work on snatch high pulls. That has enabled me to keep the barbell closer to body. Today it helped as well. I took couple of pulls in the beginning just to remind how it's done.

Then I put the clock running and took snatch singles. It was easy pace, just singles per minute as the focus was to get good reps in the books. This movement is slowly getting better session by session. Today I was able to lift rather heavy. Yes, these are baby weights for most people but for some reason this movement is difficult for me. My clean PR is 116kg, and squat is around 150kg so everything says I should be snatching something close to 90-100kg but it's not even close. I'll try to improve the technique, and get more comfortable with bigger weights.

It's been ages since I took 66kg up in snatch. That was a spectacular feeling. 68kg was as high as it  should be. For some reason I hesitated to go under the barbell. There was no reason for that.

Metcon's round times

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min: back squat
• 1-5min: 130kg
• 6-10min: 135kg

Right after snatches it was squat singles. First 5 minutes were at 130kg, and the latter half at 135kg. After all these were more on the comfort zone. Doing them every minute on the minute had its own flavor.

Metcon. Result, 163 reps

• 12min amrap of:
• 5 thrusters, 50kg
• 10 pistol squats
• 15 pull-ups

This was not the most pleasant idea to hit it but I had decided to go after this one no matter what. Thrusters and pull-ups are quite nasty combination. Throw in some pistol squats and it's going to next level. In addition, these were 50kg thrusters which feel like a lot heavier than 40kg thrusters which is the traditional thruster weight.

Thrusters put the breathing heavy but those were surprisingly easy to handle. Well, easy is not the correct word. They felt heavy in the metcon but there was no doubt of hitting them unbroken. Pistols were mostly unbroken. Towards the end they were 6 reps in a row, then a break and 4 more reps completed.

Pull-ups were unbroken in the first 2 rounds. Then I cut them to maybe something like this: 10-5, 9-6, and 8-4-3. Had to take some breaks between the attempts and movements, and my round times grew longer by the round. That was expectable, especially as there were 15 pull-ups every round. I knew it's gonna be ub in the beginning, and some breaking down towards the end. This was one hell of a workout. Very good one!

Sunday 8.11: Run, Wall ball, Vest

Sunday. Metcon, 5 rounds of: 450m run, 25 unbroken wall ball shots, 10 air squat. Wear a 9kg vest.

Sunday witnessed another outdoors metcon. I really enjoy working outdoors. There's some extra endorphin that flows in my body or something but it sure feels great to hit it in the fresh air. Today and yesterday it was raining while I was training but it doesn't matter. At all.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 450m run
• 25 unbroken wall ball shots
• 10 air squats
• Wear a 9kg vest

I also had the climbing rope with me but due to the rain it didn't sound tempting to climb a wet rope up and down. And kettlebell had been in the play for two days in a row so it was wall ball's turn to move. I ran a different route for 450m per round and then came back to throw the ball.

Got to say the vest makes running a lot more painful than normal running. It smashes against the chest / heart on every bounce which makes breathing a bit more uncomfortable. That's the reason why I ran most of the time by holding the vest still with my hands. That made it easier to run.

Wall ball in the rain. Not that bad though, it wasn't raining that much. Plan was not to drop the ball at any point. 25 reps per round, go unbroken. I'm happy I followed this plan all the way. It was nothing but mental. First rounds were not difficult but towards the end the last reps started to burn shoulders. This was the first time ever doing wall balls with a vest. Traditionally my shoulders start to burn on this movement but legs hold on well. This time hamstrings started to fatigue as well. After wb's I did couple of air squats just to get the legs more tired.

Saturday 7.11: Run, KB snatch

Saturday. Metcon, 5 rounds of: 400m run, 5/5 kb snatch (32kg). Wear a 9kg vest.

Spent the weekend in Klaukkala, in the countryside and as you probably already know the surroundings are perfect for crossfit. This time it was a metcon with running and kettlebell snatches.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 400m run
• 5 right hand kettlebell snatch, 32kg
• 5 left hand kettlebell snatch, 32kg
• Wear a 9kg weight vest

This was something I call fun. It's been time since playing around with the vest I got from my baby something like 2 years ago. Every now and then I go and get it from the cellar, put it on, and get to work. It gives classic movements a different edge for sure.

Running was for 400 meters, 200m back and forth basically. I brought my 2-pood bell with me. This was pretty much without a warm-up. Took couple of swings and snatches with it and got to work. Breathing was high as both running and kb action have their effect on the game.

Friday 6.11: Clean, Partner wod

Friday. Clean 10x1 @ 100kg. Clean from blocks 6x3 @ 80kg. Pair wod, 2rds of: 40 hspu, 8x20m sled push, 100 kb swing (28kg). Time, 21.20.

Another grind with Jasper. Sets of cleans to start the session. They had acquired blocks to the gym which was a positive surprise! I noticed them yesterday and was tempted to attack them right away. Some singles first, then triples from blocks. Finished the session with another chipper style workout with Jazz.

Oly.

• Clean singles 10x1 @ 100kg
• Clean from blocks 6x3 @ 80kg

Felt kind of stiff on the legs or maybe the burden of the past week felt in my lower body but they were kind of beaten up. Still, I had decided on the 100kg singles so I stuck to that plan. They were pretty smooth all the way. Had one miss somewhere in the middle or maybe in the end but anyway, that was some sort of concentration problem. I cleaned it up effortless right after.

It was cool to throw around this weight. Guess I should be higher on the "percentages" of one rep max to get comfortable going under the barbell. These are not heavy for the front squat part but it's more about the guts of getting under a big load of iron.

I didn't think about the point of the blocks that much this time. I just wanted to try them out and did triples at below knee height at 80 kilos. Felt pretty smooth even though at first this felt very awkward. I would have liked the blocks to be a bit higher so that the starting point would be above knee.

Recap of cleans

Pair wod. Time, 21.20

• 2 round of:
• 40 handstand push-up
• 8x20m sled push, 80kg (+sled)
• 100 kettlebell swing, 28kg

It took us some time to come up with a good partner workout. Hspu's were self evident. Sled came as a good number two but the third element took as a while. Kettlebells were by far the easiest portion of this one. We did them in sets of 10 reps all the time. Practically no rest there as the kb was moving all the time.

On the hspu's Jasper does them strict so it's obviously a lot tougher on him. We agreed not to set a certain amount of reps per dude so it was more of a freestyle. On this one it turned out I did most of the reps because kipping is lighter on the shoulders. Especially the second round got to my shoulders big time.

Sled sounds like it takes the biggest burden on the legs but after hspu's it's highly taxing on the shoulders too. We've done similar stuff once with Jasper and my bro and it was a killer one that time too. Anyway, we both went 4 times head-to-head on the 20 meter grass matt. Breathing stayed under control but shoulders were done after this one.

Thursday 5.11: Bench, Pair wod

Thursday. Bench 4x5 (90kg). Pair wod, 2rds of: 40 jerk (60kg), 50 t2b, 60 burpee. Time, 16.59.

We had a training session ahead of us with Jasper. Agenda was pretty open and free but the thought was about doing deadlift, bench and a conditioning piece. Thursday is usually a classic meathead day strength-wise and today was exactly that.

Strength.

• Bench press 5-5-5-5-5 (80, 90, 90, 90, 90kg)

We actually started with deadlifts. Barbell was light, back and legs felt great but my hands couldn't take the burden. My palms and fingers seem to be the part which determine whether pulls are going to be good or bad in any given day. Today it felt like my fingers will get cut off. Hurt like hell. Already at 130kg it felt painful on the fingers and palms. 150kg was nightmarish.

I took sets at 60, 100, 130, 150, 150, 130kg for different amount of reps but I don't count this as a strength portion at all. It was a disappointment that I wasn't able to pull heavy. Jasper did his part of the real as planned.

Bench was kind of lame after those deads but little by little I got excited about this movement and got good sets in the books at 90kg. Warm-up was 10x60, 5x70kg.

Pair wod.

• 2 rounds of:
• 40 shoulder-to-overhead, 60kg
• 50 toes-to-bar
• 60 burpee

Just before we started our metcon I realized I'm in a bit of a rush so it was time to put the clock on and start working. Plan was to do the jerks by changing after every 5 reps, and we stuck to that on the first round. On the second one I did a bit more of the work as I did these as push jerks, and Jazz went with push presses. T2b's were the easiest part of this for me, and I used it more as recovery.

Beforehand we thought burpees would be a walk in the park as we planned to do them in sets of 6 reps, then change. This was not the case though. Yes, we went in sets of 6 reps all the way but they were surprisingly hard on the second round. And the jerks right after these burpees were not tempting but still doable. I felt good on this workout but it surely brought a lot of tension on shoulders. Nice burned with a training buddy.

Wednesday 4.11: Snatch, Squat, Longer metcon

Wednesday. Oly, 10 sets of: snatch high pull + snatch @ 55kg. Strength, pause back squat 6x3 @ 120kg. Metcon, 4rds of: 10 power clean (80kg), 15 burpee, 20 ghd, 25 box. Time, 20.33.

It's my birthday so I found a good way to celebrate it after work: crossfit! =) That's a lot of quality time for sure. Olympic lifts, lower body strength and a bad ass metcon. That took my breath away, literally. Loved every second of today's session.

Oly.

• 10 sets of: snatch high pull + snatch @ 55kg
• Both from hang position

This was a new way to work on snatches. And I enjoyed it. Definitely have to take this type of snatch training more often. Big problem for me is the bar is traveling too far away from my body. By doing high pulls it's easy to keep the bar close. And by teaching the body to keep it close, it is also easier to keep it closer on the actual snatch too.

Yes, there were some reps where I caught the bar in front and had to walk a step forward to catch the bar overhead. Still, I consider this practice worth keeping in the repertoire.

Snatch recap

Strength.

• Pause back squat 6x3

Got this idea couple of days ago from somewhere. Since then, it's been tickling me from time to time that I'm gonna hit it someday. I had no idea about the weights I'm able to move but I still decided to go for 120kg for triples. They were actually perfect for weights. First rep was easy, second one needed much more work, and the third one was a good grind!

Squat recap

Metcon. Time, 20.33

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 power clean, 80kg
• 15 burpee
• 20 ghd sit-up
• 25 box jumps

This was originally 20min amrap but I decided to finish the last round which brought it half a minute overtime of the time frame. I wanted it to be long and mental. Power cleans were semi heavy. During the workout they naturally turned a lot heavier. These were singles from the very first rep. I understood this is not where time will be saved if I hurried through the first round.

Next movement burpees. Just pace them through. Keep moving. As I've said before, there is no actual need to stop on the burpees. It is an easy movement. You just throw yourself down on the floor, hit chest on the ground, and come up. Pace yourself and keep the rhythm on. Think about the breathing while your doing it to make it easier.

Ghd's, my core seems to be strong. I've realized it during these 3 years of crossfit. Maybe that's because of my earlier career as a goalkeeper in floorball. Stronger core means faster moves on the goal as you need to move quickly sideways. These were also unbroken. I got a good hint from Lauri to engage my hips more when coming up. Currently I'm doing the work mostly with the core.

On the box jumps I decided to walk back from the ghd's and start jumping. This was also the element where I need to control my breath strongly because otherwise I would have gassed even more. This was a very good conditioning piece to crown the training session.

Below are some parts of the metcon in the form of a video. Cleans, burpees and box jumps.

Metcon

Tuesday 3.11: Clean, Squat, Row, Push-ups

Tuesday. Hang clean 8x2 @ 90kg. Front squat doubles, ladder up to 125kg. Metcon, 5rds of: 500m row, 20 push-ups. Cool down, 1k row.

We had a great evening with Toni and our wives. It was quality time in the form of dinner and theater. The show itself was a blast and lots of laughing all the time. This is the reason why I went to train earlier in the afternoon to get a good doze of crossfit done before the evening.

Oly.

• Hang squat clean 8x2 @ 90kg

I'm pulling from the hang position right now because I want to heal my right hamstring properly before pulling heavy from the ground. It would be awesome to do heavy cleans and deadlifts too but I won't take that risk. The healing was in good process but then I pulled some clean all the way from ground, and it brought wrong kind of tension in the hammy, so I decided to play it safe from then on. Hang cleans are no problem whatsoever so it feels great to get some heavier cleans done. Today's agenda was doubles at 90kg, all the way. Quite a good number of sets

Squats. Result, 2x125kg

• Front squat ladder
• Every 90sec, complete front squat triples
• Start at 60, then 70, 80, 90, 100kg. Then, add 5kg per set for as long as possible

Then as legs were properly warmed up already from the first part I kept front squatting. I've done this same combo in the past. That time I got to 130kg for a double, and that in mind I kept pushing through. The game actually starts somewhere at 110kg. Sets before that are more or less warm-up stuff.

One triple every 90 seconds. Recovery starts to become an issue at some point. I felt pretty good on the set of 125kg, and I thought about nailing that last rep too, and then take a bit of a longer rest to get a good fight on the 130 kilos

Barbell recap

Metcon. Time, 13.00

• 5 rounds of:
• 500m row
• 20 push-ups

This was a lot of fun. Goal of this workout was to get a steady work done. My pace was sub 1.50 each round on the rower. It was kind of awkward that rowing started to get more comfortable in the course of the workout. Somehow my body got heated up well during the rounds. Yes, of course it also turned nastier as breathing got heavier. But goal was under 1.50, and I stayed in that zone all the time. Didn't go out of the gates like a madman either in the beginning.

Push-ups were going to be unbroken, in my head. And that also went as planned. Yes, they got tougher but it was a positive surprise how well I got through them. In the end I stayed on the rower for another kilometer with slow pace to flush legs.