Monday 29.2: Clean and Jerks, Squats, Run, Snatch

Monday. Unbroken sets of clean and jerks 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 @ 60kg. Front squats 7x3 @ 110kg. Wod, 6min amrap of 10m shuttle run and db snatches @ 30kg.

It was great to get some barbell cycling completed in the form of clean and jerks. Then squats after a small break on them. The last piece was stolen from competitorstraining.com, that is Ben Bergeron's site.

Barbell cycling.

• Unbroken sets 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:
• Clean and jerks @ 60kg
• Rest as needed between sets

This was fun. Having the skills to cycle a barbell are advantageous in this sport. Longer sets are a bit more gnarly but definitely useful. The point was to go unbroken on each set, and maintain good form no matter how many reps needed to be completed.

I believe I succeeded in this regard pretty well. Some reps were a bit off but the majority of them were okay. The more tired I got the bar tended to stay lower on the thighs. It landed nicely on the front rack each time. I walked around the gym for a while between sets. This was not a timed workout, and I didn't have the clock running at all on this one. The last four sets I took with basically just minimized rest periods.

Strength.

• Every 3:00, for 21min
• Front squat triples @ 110kg

It was great to get some squats done finally! Okay, the weight wasn't huge but after a break this was just on the spot. Got to put more effort on going below parallel in the near future. Hopefully my back allows it. At least today it was alright. Focus on these was to keep the torso as upright as possible and finish the triples with only one inhale on top of each rep.

Metcon. Result, 14 shuttle runs

• 6min amrap
• 2-2, 4-4, 6-6… of:
• 10m shuttle run
• Dumbbell snatches @ 30kg

This was something different as there isn't much possibilities to run at the gym. We don't have straight access outdoors so it's out of question to go run in the streets. Luckily this workout caught my attention in Bergeron's site so I had to take it right away. I ran back and forth a 10 meter distance at the grass matt.

First round was once back and forth, then doubling it on the next round and so forth. Same with the dumbbell snatches. Starting with 2 reps (1 each hand), then 4 reps, alternating hands after each rep. Snatches were the tougher part of this workout. I went unbroken on the snatches, no pauses at any point of the wod. Plus I grabbed the dumbbell right after finishing every shuttle run. So there was simply no rest period at any stage of the workout. After the wod, I realized I could have ran faster in the beginning. This was an efficient wod. Definitely worth running inside for shuttle runs.

Sunday 28.2: Skills workout, Strongman

Sunday. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 5 bar mu, 20m walking lunges (40kg). Result, 167 reps. Accessory, every 3:00, for 24min, alternating between: 20m sled push (165kg), 40m farmer's walk (115-125kg).

Strongman Sunday mixed with skills. That was the goal for today. My hands have healed pretty well from last muscle-up session and luckily they held on well today on those bar mu's too. Hitting a skills workout in the beginning, and then strongman elements in the latter piece.

Metcon.

• 15min amrap of:
• 5 bar muscle-ups
• 20m walking lunges, 40kg, back rack

These are both excellent movements. The barbell was light for back rack lunges. That was no surprise but the main ingredient of this workout was definitely the muscle-ups. Lunges paired up greatly. I was able to do the lunges unbroken, and would not have accepted it in any other way. They still got me breathing heavier and burned legs on the last meters for sure. They also gave my upper body that much needed rest between muscle-up sets.

I'm very happy on the performance on the pull-up bar. It was 5's all the way, unbroken each set, c'mon! Got through 7 sets of muscle-ups finally. It was only 8m short of full 7 rounds for result in the 15 minute time frame. Mu's got challenging somewhere in the middle of the workout. Okay, they were not a walk in the park at any point but still I was confident throughout the metcon.

Accessory.

• Every 3:00, for 24 minutes
• Alternating between:
• 20m sled push @ 160kg (+sled)
• 40m farmer's walk @ 115-125kg (2 sets @ 115kg, 2 sets @ 125kg)

This was a good call. Had both elements in my notes but hadn't closed how to chase them. Decided to go heavy and alternate between these two every 3 minutes. Didn't do any movement specific warm-ups. Instead, just piled the plates on each other and started to move the sled. The weight on the first leg of the sled came as a surprise. It weighed a ton. But I got it moving and continued to keep the legs churning.

Bought parallettes today, boom!

Farmer's walk was the "easier" part of these two. Maybe only because I'm more familiar with it. For the first two sets the cases were loaded with 2x20kg plates. Then for the latter sets I added 2.5kg on each end.

My body really felt this one hours after it was done. Somehow my quads were shaking and felt weak afterwards. That made me smile inside. The work was definitely put in. Got to keep these elements in the program in the future too. I'm positive these are giving a positive effect on overall fitness.

Saturday 27.2: 20min amrap

Saturday. 20min amrap of: 4 squat clean @ 70kg, 8 hspu, 12 pull-ups, 16 box jump overs. Result, 252 reps.

Quick session at the gym on this Saturday evening. We had a great day in downtown Helsinki with Pauliina. That's why I went to get my conditioning piece done later in the day.

Metcon.

• 20min amrap of:
• 4 squat cleans @ 70kg
• 8 handstand push-ups
• 12 pull-ups
• 16 box jump overs

Don't know why my back has felt a bit tight. It comes when I keep doing squat movements, going below parallel. That is the reason I have been avoiding heavy back and front squats lately. It felt stiff on this one too, especially on the cleans and box jumps. Hspu's and pull-ups gave it some rest in between.

Completed the cleans in singles all the way. Reckoned it is the most beneficial way to go for them. Handstand push-ups were unbroken every round. Had no other option with them but to go without breaks. Pull-ups were mostly 8-4 reps with the exception of first round going in one full set. I never wanted to hit a wall on the pull-ups, that's the reason for breaking them up even though they could have been ub. Tried to pace myself on the box jumps and keep moving constantly.

Friday 26.2: Kb and Running

Friday. Outdoors workout, 4rds of: 30 kb swing @ 32kg, run around the block.

Today there was no chance of going to the gym during the decent hours so I made a move and decided to go for an outdoor metcon. It was a perfect wintery weather for that purpose. Something like 4 minus degrees, no wind at all, and snow in the ground.

Metcon.

• 4 rounds of:
• 30 kettlebell swing @ 32kg
• Run around the block (around 300m)

There was simply no warm-up whatsoever. If you don't count the part where I carried the 2-pood bell to the back yard. That was it. I thought about swinging the bell for some time for warm-up but once I had it going the plan changed on the fly and I took 30 reps unbroken right away. Then dropped it down and took a lap around the block. I have sometime in the history measured it to be somewhere around 300-330 meters. Definitely not a precise number.

The upcoming rounds of kb swings were more painful. My back started to get really stiff, especially in the 3rd and 4th round. First round was ub, the following 20-10 reps. On the running last round was definitely the fastest. This was a good crossfit workout for sure. I vaguely remember there is a hero workout - maybe Eva - where you have 800m run, 30 pull-ups and 30 kb swings for 5 rounds. Must be a pain in the ass. Anyway, it was a lot of fun working outdoors again.

Thursday 25.2: Burpees, Snatch, Ghd, Press

Thursday. 4min amraps of burpees and snatches with ascending weights. Metcon, 20 to 2, down by 2's ghd's. 10 db press between ghd's.

Another long day at work. This thing called crossfit is a perfect way to zero my thoughts and get back to life. It was a productive day indeed but energy levels start to come down at some point. Then it's time to gear up and go to work, to the gym though. By the way, the Crossfit Open is upon us! They will publish the first event, 16.1 on the upcoming night. It's gonna be spectacular to kickoff the crossfit season. I love to watch and follow the pros doing their job to find the fittest on earth.

Intervals.

• 4min: 30 burpees + amrap of snatches @ 35kg (result, 32 reps)
• 4min rest
• 4min: 20 burpees + amrap of snatches @ 50kg (result, 25 reps)
• 4min rest
• 4min: 10 burpees + amrap of snatches @ 60kg (result, 13 reps)

My camera's battery went dead on the first amrap so I couldn't relive the moments but fact is that on the first round I went unbroken on the burpees. Actually every round. That was the easy part. Then came the snatches. First round was 10-10-5-7 reps to finish it with 32 reps.

Second set was with slightly heavier weights at 50kg. First 20 burpees, then use the rest of the remaining time of 4 minutes to complete as many snatches as possible. It was triples all the way until the last set where I took one extra rep.

Third amrap was at 60 kilos which meant it's gonna be singles from the very first lift. This was a good strategy, and I don't know how many fails there would have been had I tried to do doubles. In the beginning I was a bit too ambitious and tried to do fast singles. This led to one failed rep. Other than that it was okay. Definitely not the best snatches I've had but the barbell came up.

Metcon.

• 20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2 of ghd sit-ups
• 10 dumbbell presses @ 2x15kg

This was created on the fly. Just started moving and came up with this during the first set of ghd's. That was a good time pressure to think what to do after the 20 reps are done. Walked right onto dumbbell rack and picked up two pieces of 15kg db's, and went for 10 reps. That was easy in the beginning.

During these 10 rounds they got tougher towards the last rounds. Core got also stiff in the metcon and both movements brought pressure there. Went unbroken still, and refused to take any rest between elements. Walked over to the dumbbells, picked them up right away and put them overhead. Same with the ghd's.

Wednesday 23.2: Jerks, Row/Burpee intervals

Wednesday. Jerk btn, 7x3 @ 80kg. Intervals, every 3:00: 250m row + 8 burpees.

Long day at work. Luckily there was a slot to put time in at the gym. Overhead strength and interval conditioning. Especially that last piece was miserable as it was 100% effort on the sprints.

Overhead.

• Behind the neck jerk triples, 7x3 @ 80kg

Piled up some jerk blocks and worked on my overhead strength and technique. I guess jerking the bar from behind the neck is advantageous as the bar travels right up vertically and that might allow heavier weights on straight hands.

Putting the blocks together at the weightlifting platform was a good warm-up. This movement is very strange for me until today. First sets felt awkward but towards the end sets got better technically.

Intervals.

• Every 3:00, for 24 minutes:
• 250m row + 8 burpees, all in effort

This really was a grueling piece of interval sprints. Rowing was as fast as possible. For me that meant 1:30 - 1:33 throughout the 8 sets of rowing. Right after 250 meters of rowing it was time to throw chest to floor and get after those burpees.

It took me about 70 seconds to finish one interval. That's the reason why one set started every 3 minutes. That made it something like 1:1 work:rest ratio. Okay, a bit more rest. In the end that felt like it could definitely be less. By mid-workout it started to feel a lot shorter. First two intervals I went with damper setting, next two sets with 9, and the latter half of the wod with 10. This wasn't the first time doing row / burpee intervals, these work perfectly every time!

Tuesday 23.2: Cleans, Thrusters, Row

Tuesday. Emom x 8min: 3 hang squat clean @ 80kg. E2mom x 20min: 7 thrusters @ 60kg. Cashout, 5rds of: 1min row, 1min bike.

We had a loooong day yesterday with Pauliina running errands so there was no time for a workout session. I took it back today with barbell work. Maybe that made good as my upper body and legs felt like hammered and my palms got some time to recover those rips from Saturday. Today all these were better.

Today's plans in advance

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 8min
• 3 hang squat clean @ 80kg

This was fun. Cleans from hang position for a triple. These felt smooth all the way. And what is important for me is that they look alike. Not much variance between reps in technical sense. I'd like to see the bar brush my hips a notch higher but other than that it's okay stuff.

Overhead.

• Every 2:00 x 20min
• 7 thrusters @ 60kg

Damned that shoulder burn! Had to mobilize my shoulders, lats and triceps more after the cleans in order to get comfortable in the front rack position in the squat. Usually when I front squat I hold the bar with just my fingers so it's not that big of an issue. But on the thrusters I have a firm grip with the entire hand / palm so that requires a lot more mobility.

These were supposed to be touch'n'go sets all the way. And I got through them even though the last rounds were a nightmare. At times I thought about cutting it to 5-6 reps. Luckily I didn't and pushed through. Mental win. It just felt so miserable in my shoulders after some point.

Cashout.

• 5 rounds of:
• 1min row
• 1min bike

Hopped on the rower and started pulling. Pace was somewhere around 1:45-1:48 per 500m. This wasn't an emom style session. Instead, I timed it for 60 seconds on rower first, then jumped on the bike and cycled for another 60 seconds. So there was actual work time of 10 minutes, and the actual piece took thus a bit more due to the transitions. Again, this is something I can see myself doing for a longer time. Last time it was just a short one, today I had time for a bit more. This could easily be a very long wod too.

Sunday 21.2: Run, Db snatch

Sunday. Wod, 5rds of: 400m run, 20 db snatch (25kg).

The workout took my breath away. It was time to continue working outdoors with dumbbells. It had snowed A LOT during the night. We had just shoveled huge piles of snow away from the terrace and front yard and the same process was waiting there in the morning. But first it was time to get gassed in the form of crossfit. The streets were also naturally full of snow so my ankles were full of snow.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 400m run
• 20 dumbbell snatch @ 25kg

The pace was probably steady each round, that was my gut feeling. Snatches were 10 in a row with right hand, then changed to 10 reps with left hand. Dumbbell snatches seem to take my breath away every time. Running felt like that was the most disgusting part of the wod.

Last lap of running is about to begin

Saturday 20.2: Nasty Girls + Db's

Saturday. AM. Nasty Girls. Time, 13.16 (PR). Cashout, 3rds of: 1min row, 1min bike. PM. 5rds of: 12 lunges (2x25kg db's), 10 front squat (2x25kg db's). Accessory, 4x15 bent over row (2x25kg db's).

We spent the weekend in the countryside so I didn't have possibility to write about Saturday's training sessions. It was a two-a-day. In the morning we hit it with Pauliina. There was a benchmark workout called Nasty Girls. In the evening we went outside with Kari for another session. Awesome Saturday!

Nasty Girls. Time, 13.16 (PR)

• 3 rounds of:
• 50 air squats
• 7 ring muscle-ups
• 10 hang power cleans @ 60kg

This was the second time I've done this benchmark workout. These muscle-up wods are always a bit horrifying in advance. Those are not my strength and they tore my palms big time each and every time. There probably hasn't been even one session without rips. Okay that may be exaggeration but it's close anyway.

But the fact is that today's muscle-ups rocked my world. I was proud of myself in the middle of the workout. On the first round my plan was to go 4-3 reps which was a bit optimistic. However, as I started to do them my focus was on keeping a hollow body, tightly together, with a good back swing and lots of patience on the front swing before pulling myself up and over the rings. These must have been one of the best (if not even the best) muscle-ups I have performed. It's a pity I don't have video material as I'd really like to analyze that.

So first round was 4-3 even though it felt like I had something in me to go even unbroken. That would have been a pr so that would have probably been the most stupid thing to do in a workout like this =) Once mu's are gone, it's difficult to get them back. Second round was 3-2-2 and the last one maybe a double or two and then singles. Still the technique was good on these ones all the way.

Air squats were unbroken on the first round, and then I kept a short pause after 30 reps on latter rounds. Cleans were unbroken each round, those were the easiest part of this workout.

Cashout.

• 3 rounds of:
• 1min row
• 1min bike

This might be quite an awesome workout to continue for 20-40 minutes. At least something similar. Don't have a SkiErg which would make it even better. This time there was no time to work more on this couplet.

Legs.

• 5 rounds of:
• 12 walking lunges @ 2x25 dumbbells
• 10 front squats @ 2x25kg dumbbells

I had bought 25kg dumbbells from Germany and this was the first time I got my hands on them. Those little babies were great! And the weather was perfect too so the combination was simply just too good not to hit another session. This focused purely on those db's.

My legs were on fire. Doing this on snow made it interesting as I slipped every now and then as the snow started to pack and turn firm. That made it slippery as ice. This was not a timed wod.

Accessory.

• 4 x 15 bent over row @ 2x25kg dumbbells

Just needed to get something else done with these guys. Bent over rows don't appear very often in my training but it's still a good movement. Today I decided to give it a shot as Pauliina suggested it =) Had to take them for 15 reps as the weight was not heavy for that purpose. I did these with two dumbbells at the same time

Friday 19.2: Cleans, Squats, 12min amrap

Friday. Emom x 10: hang clean + clean (up to 100kg). Emom x 10: front squat @ 120kg. Metcon, 12min amrap of: 7 front squat (60kg), 15 pull-ups, 15 ghd. Result, 192 reps.

Thursday was a rest day. I'm pretty pleased that I've kept my head with the weekly rest days. Okay those probably wouldn't happen without my better half's guiding. I love to train and it gives me big mental satisfaction. Still, this rest day thing is a new thing for me. Hopefully it results in good things in the long run.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min
• Hang clean + full clean (80, 85, 85, 90, 90, 90, 90, 95, 100, 100kg)

The idea was to drop after each rep and build up to rather heavy set. Back has felt a little tight in the past days / weeks which prevented me going heavier but still these were pretty good loads, especially for hang cleans. Took pretty short warm-up before jumping on to this. Maybe that affected my posterior chain not being totally ready for this.

Haven't done 3-digit cleans lately so this was a good emom. For some reason cleans are something I really love. I'll take this session with pleasure.

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min
• 1 front squat @ 120kg

Front squats seem to accompany squat cleans very well afterwards. Legs are already prepped up so it's just up to putting the plates on and moving up and down. The bar felt a bit towards heavy today. I'd think after a rest day legs would be pumped up and ready to go. Yes, on the cleans they felt fresh but maybe it was the back that made it tougher because legs were good all the way now as I think about it.

Metcon. Result, 192 reps (5 rounds + 7 squat)

• 12min amrap of:
• 7 front squat @ 60kg
• 15 pull-ups
• 15 ghd sit-ups

It was obvious for me the toughest part of this would be pull-ups. And they were the most unpleasant part of this one. Front squats burned legs for sure but it was definitely the easiest part of this one. Took the barbell from ground each round. Back felt fine on these ones.

Pull-ups were unbroken for the first 3 rounds and then I had to cut them. First at 10-5 and the fifth round was 9-3-3. Last reps really felt in my lats. Ghd's were surprisingly tough. Usually I go tng all the time but this time I had to stop for a second or two on top of one of the sets. Okay only one set but that is a clear sign for me that this was much more challenging than normally. The combination of elements probably made the deal.

Wednesday 17.2: Clean, Hspu, Ball slam, Box, Row

Wednesday. Metcon, 6rds of: 5 power clean @ 80kg, 10 hspu, 15 ball slam, 15 box, 500m row. Time, 34.39.

Huh, it was a busy day. Luckily I got a chance to let some steam off at the gym after work day. It was a long workout with easier pace. More like basic conditioning I would say. Still it burned my legs at times, and it can't be characterized as easy one for sure.

Metcon. Time, 34.39

• 6 rounds of:
• 5 power clean @ 80kg
• 10 handstand push-ups
• 15 ball slams, 9kg
• 15 box jumps
• 500m row

Plan from the beginning was to take this with slower pace. Not to gas out and look for the best possible time. More like keeping a steady rhythm in all of the movements. Took the cleans in singles, dropped between every rep but picking it up right away.

It's been some time since doing handstand push-ups so this felt awesome to get some completed under my belt! Ball slams were much more pain in the ass than I had anticipated / remembered. Even though the ball is only at 9 kilos, that movement still puts breathing heavy and legs feel the pressure nicely.

Box jumps are always a pleasure and I went after those with a smile on my face. Okay that's a bit of exaggeration but those are something I look forward to every time I see them in a workout. On the first round I had to jump on to a stationary bike because both Concept2's were taken. That wasn't too bad of a choice as it burned my legs more than the rower. Anyway this part of the metcon was a pure conditioning piece.

Tuesday 16.2: Clean and Jerk, Pause squats, Kb, Box, Burpee

Tuesday. Complex, every 2:00, for 10min: 3 clean + 1 jerk @ 80kg. Pause squat triples, 5 sets @ 120kg. Wod, 5rds of: 10 kb swing @ 32kg, 10 box. Time, 4.05. Cashout, 50 burpees.

Today's program was created only at the spot. Didn't practically have strict plans except for squatting. The form of squats and everything else took place little by little. I'm very satisfied to this session!

Time at 4.05

Oly.

• Complex, every 2:00, for 10 minutes:
• 3 squat clean + 1 split jerk @ 80kg

Took warm-up sets at 60, 70, and 75kg's. Then 5 sets @ 80kg. Cleans were cool, no problems whatsoever. Felt a little nagging elbow pain on the jerks so I stayed at 80kg. Felt solid on the jerks though. Recovery was definitely enough to give my best on each set.

Strength.

• Pause squat triples
• 5 sets @ 120kg

This was a good reminder that pause squats are the king. Dead pause in the bottom, no bounce, just strict upraise from the hole. Built up through sets at 60, 90, and 110kg 5's and triples. Took these also with about 2 min recoveries. Last reps were good battles at times. Still, there was no doubt of hitting the sets as planned.

Wod. Time, 4.05

• 5 rounds of:
• 10 kettlebell swing @ 32kg
• 10 box jumps

Short and intense. Holy posterior chain. Would have been awful to go for longer time domain. Breathing was heavy for sure too. Lower back started to feel it in the last 2 rounds. It got very tight towards the end but after it got released after the wod, it eased quickly. Round times were quite equal each round, about 50 seconds per round.

Cashout.

• 50 burpees

I felt like I had done my share but had still something in the tank so I just threw down and started working. Didn't watch at the clock at all but the main focus was to go unbroken. No pauses, no leaning elbows on knees in between. Just go and do the work.

Monday 15.2: Snatch, Intervals, Thrusters

Monday. Power snatch 5's (up to 58kg). Intervals, every 5:00: 20 cal row + 10 barbell reps. Cashout, 3x15 thrusters @ 40kg.

Evening session at the gym. Yesterday was a good snatch session so I kept going with that. Today was supposed to be a rest day due to schedules but luckily there was a time slot worth taking advantage of. Couple of intervals with rower and barbell, then finally some accessory work via thrusters.

Oly.

• Power snatch 5's (40, 50, 55, 57, 58, 50kg)

Damn, 5 power snatches at 58kg is definitely the heaviest I have ever done. Yeah, I know that sounds ridiculous as it's most guys' warm-up weight =) For me it's the real deal. These were touch'n'go reps all the way. More than I dared to hope for.

Intervals.

• Every 5:00, for 20:00
• 20 cal row + 10 power snatch @ 40kg
• 20 cal row + 10 clean and jerk @ 40kg
• 20 cal row + 10 thruster @ 40kg
• 20 cal row + 10 squat clean thruster @ 40kg

This was a great combination. The weights were questionable on some parts. As my legs were burning from the rowing I felt like my technique was a bit off on the snatches and clean and jerks. Rowing pace was 1:36 on both of those times I looked on the screen.

So going pretty much full throttle on the rowing made the barbell movements exotic. On the snatches the weight was alright. Then on the c&j's it was a bit too light. On the other hand I felt like the last cleans were bouncing a bit off my thighs and I didn't have enough patience to pull it up to hips anymore. Shoulders felt good on those so the weight could have been maybe 50kg.

On the thrusters the weight felt surprisingly light. Thrusters are never light so this was kinda funny. Same with the last movement, squat clean thrusters. Don't get me wrong, I was wasted after each of these intervals because I rowed as fast I could and walked right to the barbell and didn't take any breaks. These just made me think if I could have had more weight on the bar.

Cashout.

• 3x15 thrusters @ 40kg

Clock was quite late so instead of the intended 5x5 front squats I decided to finish the session with couple of thrusters. 15 reps, then short break between and repeat for a total of 3 sets. Shoulders got fired up good time. Legs were fine all the way.

Sunday 14.2: Open wod 13.1, Row, Pull-ups

Sunday. CF Open 13.1. Result, 121 reps. Wod, 5rds of: 300m row, 12 pull-ups.

Great Sunday! It's Valentine's Day so we hooked up with some friends for Sunday brunch, enjoyed that time and then went to the gym in the evening with my wife. Couldn't be better. Re-test of an old crossfit open workout from 2013. Development has taken place.

CF Open 13.1. Result, 121 reps (21 snatch @ 60kg). Compare to 9.3.2013

• 17min amrap of:
• 40 burpees
• 30 snatch @ 35kg
• 30 burpees
• 30 snatch @ 60kg
• 20 burpees
• 30 snatch @ 75kg
• 10 burpees
• Amrap of snatch @ 95kg in the remaining time

Long story short. This went well. I'm fitter than before if I choose to believe this test. And I will. My snatch max load has not gone up tremendously since previous time doing this one but obviously muscle endurance and technique has.

Should have gassed more on the snatches. I realized that a bit too late though. I took some rest between singles. I have never done more than couple singles at 60kg so this was a new situation for me. It was also a huge win for me mentally. It felt like that bar was going up rather easily. At least considering what I thought about this beforehand. In the end I was able to speed it up. And after the 17 minutes were over I decided to continue to finish 30 snatches to get a piece of the feeling of benchmark workout Isabel.

CF Open 13.1

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 300m row
• 12 pull-ups

Had no time to recover between workouts so I just ripped the plates off the barbell and sat on the rower. Didn't time this at all. Rowing was not full effort, more easily this time. On the pull-ups there was no other option but to go unbroken, keep the legs tied together and focus on utilizing my hips. Good workout.

Snatches

Saturday 13.2: Mu's, Wb, Jerk, Farmer's walk

Saturday. Metcon, 4rds of: 4 bar mu, 20 wb. Time, 5.24. Push jerk triples from blocks (up to 85kg). Farmer's walk 2x20m (up to 135kg).

Huh I was waiting this session like a little kid. Reason: yesterday was a day off. We went outdoors for a dinner and quality time with family. Today I had decided to take the first step towards the newly acquired Rogue jerk blocks. Respect to the gym owner who finally got these bad boys! This place is great.

Metcon.

• 4 rounds of:
• 4 bar muscle-ups
• 20 wall ball

Session started with a skills related conditioning piece. I went back and forth in my head between ring and bar muscle-ups and finally ended up with bar mu's. It's been an eternity since doing mu's last time so it was about time to throw down.

Nice combo. Shoulders were burning pretty well. I still battle with the feeling of how much to gas in metcons including muscle-ups. I'm kinda afraid of hitting the wall on those so I hold back a bit throughout the wod. In this one I felt like I kept good breaks between wall balls and mu's but then again  afterwards it was like I could have gone faster. Or with shorter breaks.

Overhead.

• Push jerk triples from jerk blocks (60, 70, 80, 83, 85, 85, 85kg)

Like a dream come true. This is an understatement though. I've seen dreams of these since day one when I started crossfit. My clean is way stronger than my jerk so this is a tool to work on my overhead strength and technique with heavier weights. It's a different thing to lower the barbell on front rack position compared to this where you can drop it on the blocks and tie another shot at it.

I basically didn't have any plans as this was a totally new thing for me. Took a set at 60kg, then 70kg, and just built up by feeling. Finally there were 3 sets of triples at 85kg. Only afterwards I realized that was definitely the heaviest push jerks I have done in my life. 85kg as a single is PR for me and today I did 9 reps at that weight. Split jerk is over 100kg but push jerk's limits have been at this point. I guess something good has happened even though heavy barbells have not been over my head in a month. Felt super happy on this part!

Strength.

• Farmer's walk 2x20m (105, 115, 125, 125, 135kg)

Lately I've learned to respect this movement big time. The matt is 20 meters long so I grabbed the handles and went one way, dropped them down, and came back after a little breath taking session. This is definitely an entire body element that requires you to fully engage the entire body. That also results in developing every piece of this body.

This strongman stuff is great. I'm planning to add this to my program on a weekly routine. At least some strongman piece for sure, variance is the key to everything. Pretty obvious stuff. This was the heaviest I have done this far. It started to get on my grip strength in the last round.

Thursday 11.2: Deads, Thrusters, Burpees

Thursday. Deadlift 3x10. E2mom x 10min: 7 thruster @ 50kg. Emom x 6min: 12 burpee.

Couple of longer sets pulling the bar from ground. Thrusters reminded me that this would be a great one to go for longer time domain. And/Or heavier weights. I once did similar workout for half an hour with 60kg bar. In the end I realized I should already be out the door so it was all about burpees to get heart rate up.

Pulls.

• Deadlift 3x10 (130, 140, 150kg)

Entire posterior chain felt very good on these pulls. My palms / fingers felt more sensitive so I bitched a bit with the weights. Stayed light as it felt like my fingers are going to get ripped with heavier loads. Hands have felt awesome lately and there have been no rips at all.

Barbell cycling.

• Every 2:00, for 10 min:
• 7 thrusters @ 50kg

The focus of this was to get familiar with heavier weights and get my wrist get familiar under weights by being in a totally bent position. For some reason thrusters feel like the most challenging movement for me. Wrists and elbows need to be properly mobilized before doing this movement. Even with 40kg I can't just jump into thrusters but need to stretch out my lats and triceps with the help of resistance band work.

Bodyweight.

• Every minute on the minute x 6 minutes
• 12 burpees

As I said at this point I was already in a hurry. My calendar said metcon would have been 12min amrap of rowing and pull-ups (nice combo of pulling). There was zero recovery after thrusters. At 10:00 from the start of thrusters I started hitting my chest to the floor to get after burpees. 12 reps took me about 30 seconds each minute. The time stayed the same but they started to get more mental towards the end. Good finisher!

Wednesday 10.2: Wod, Snatches, Wod

Wednesday. 10min amrap: 20 squat, 10 db snatch @ 25kg, 10 t2b. Result, 226 reps. Every 2:00, perform 10 tng power snatch @ 40kg. Wod, 5rds of: 30 du, 10 s2o @ 40kg.

It was a nice session indeed, 3-piece action where I had two metcons - in the beginning and in the end - and some barbell cycling in the middle. Had a running clock that took me 37 minutes to finish these wods.

Metcon. Result, 226 reps (5 rounds + 6 snatches)

• 10min amrap of:
• 20 air squats
• 10 dumbbell snatches, 25kg, alternating
• 10 toes-to-bar

It was possible to jump into this without much of a warm-up. I've done this type of solutions lately every now and then. But the first metcons must then be mostly bodyweight stuff. It also works as a warm-up workout. This burned my legs definitely, especially on the snatches.

Barbell cycling.

• Every 2:00, perform:
• 10 touch'n'go power snatches @ 40kg

This was absolutely beneficial for me. I have rarely done longer sets of snatches so this came in handy for sure! I felt comfortable with the movement itself. That was a positive feeling after having a good break of snatch work.

It felt consistent with the bar path and I was able to bring the bar up to the hips before the last pull. That satisfied me big time.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 30 double unders
• 10 shoulder-to-overhead @ 40kg

On this one I didn't follow the clock that much. As such the workout is rather light and short. After those earlier pieces and after not having worked my shoulders that much lately this burned shoulders pretty well. Even with just 40kg on the bar. Du's went pretty well too. I foam rolled my shins prior to jumping around, that seems to be the key to success on these.

Tuesday 9.2: Clean complex, Intervals

Tuesday. Complex emom x 10min: 1 hang squat clean + squat clean + front squat. Intervals, every 3:00, for 21min: 250m row + 7 hang power clean (60kg).

Awesomeness continues! First day having a barbell on front rack position in ages. And it didn't hurt at all, loved every second of it! Went for bar complex and afterwards interval work through rowing and power cleans.

Complex.

• Every minute on the minute x 10min
• 1 hang squat clean + squat clean + front squat
• 1-2min: 80kg, 3-10min: 85kg

You can't imagine how much I've been waiting for this day. Feels like it's been months since I had a bar on front rack previous time. Somehow I believe I live for cleans. Okay, maybe I should stop bitching about a nagging pain. That's probably not the most severe thing of all. It still affected my mental game quite a lot.

This was a lot of fun for sure. Weights stayed conservative for a reason. Didn't wanna go all out on the very first day. After all, I had no idea how my hand would react to this session. It feels good so I'm confident it's gonna be just fine. First 2 minutes were at 80kg, the rest of the sets (8 min) were at 85kg

Complex

Intervals.

• Every 3:00, for 21min (7 sets)
• 250m row
• 7 hang power clean @ 60kg

Purpose was to go full throttle on each interval. It took me 50 seconds to finish the rowing. Pace was 1:37 in all but 2 sets. One set in the middle was 1:38, and the last one was 1:36. From there I walked to the bar, picked it up and performed 7 hang power cleans. Then walked back to see what the timer said, and it was at 75 seconds. That means to say it was around 70 seconds to finish each set. There was some distance between stations. I'm happy on being able to hold the pace static through all 7 sets.

Great combination of movements. Wanted to take everything out of the cleans, now as I'm able to do them again. I didn't hold back at all on the rowing, that was the main point on this one. My legs were burning as I walked to the bar, especially in the latter half of the workout. It took some 20+ strokes on the Concept2 to finish 250 meters.

Monday 8.2: Clean pulls, Back squat

Monday. Clean pull triples (up to 120kg). Every 90sec: 3 back squat (up to 140kg).

Happy day! After having this nagging pain in the wrist it finally seems it's getting somewhat better. My forearm is still feeling kinda weird but the gain is that I can bend my wrist already. That allowed me to go for back squats. Felt super about it!

Always interesting to see documents of Dan Bailey, even though it dates back 2 years ago

Oly.

• Clean pulls (5x80, 90, 3x100, 110, 120, 120, 120kg)

This was a lot of fun. Got a chance to get heavier clean-style action in the books. It was hard for me not to take it all the way to front rack as my hands finally felt like they could take it. But I decided to take this one smart. Triples after 100kg.

Strength.

• Every 90sec: 3 back squats (up to 140kg)

Feels like it's been an eternity since doing heavy squats last time. It probably hasn't and I have done pretty much lower body the past two weeks but heavy squats are always heavy squats. It was freaking awesome. It was pretty cool to go touch'n'go up to 125kg easily. Then tng @ 130kg for a double, then short pause on top before the final rep.

At 135kg the last two ones were rather tight, at least felt like it. Still, the first rep at 140kg was quite easy, second a good battle and on the third one I rushed it a bit and my spotter assisted me a little on the last rep.

Sunday 7.2: Emom Kb's, Box overs, Ghd's

Sunday. Emom x 36. 1st, 15 kb swing (24kg). 2nd, 15 box jump overs. 3rd, 15 ghd's.

Quality time with my wife. Crossfit at the gym. Nothing more needed from my perspective.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 36 minutes
• 1st min, 15 kettlebell swing, 24kg
• 2nd min, 15 box jump overs
• 3rd, 15 ghd sti-ups

This was a great workout for basic conditioning. Longer metcon where breathing stayed under control pretty well. I prefer this kind of action to steady pace by for example running or rowing.

I had thought about swinging a 2-pood bell but for some reason there wasn't one available so I took the heaviest I found which was 1.5 pood bell (24kg). The weight wasn't very heavy at any point of the workout but time did its trick during the 36 minutes and it started to take its toll. Maybe it was more mental as my shoulder, core and posterior chain took it well. Breathing got heavier towards the end but it was manageable anyway.

Box jump overs are a cool way to get box jumps done in a bit different way. Had 2-3 of stumbles there due to lack of concentration. But only one no-rep though. Those are unforgivable so I repeated that one.

Ghd's were fine all the way. It's cool as I think about the volume of all movements here. There were 180 reps of each element. For ghd's it's probably the biggest volume I've ever done. Core took it well throughout but let's see how it's like tomorrow =)

Recap

Saturday 6.2: Sled, Pull-ups, Pistols, Box, Push-ups

Saturday. Metcon, 15min amrap: 20 pistols, 10 strict pull-ups, 20m sled pull standing. Metcon, 5rds of: sled push, 15 box, 15 push-ups.

Tight schedule this day so I went to the gym in the evening. My wrist has not gotten any better and it's very unpleasant to write on a computer so I'll just post the workouts without further explanations this time :)

Metcon. Result, 5 rounds

• 15min amrap:
• 20 pistol squats
• 10 strict pull-ups
• 20m sled pull, standing, 55kg

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 20m sled push, 110kg
• 15 box
• 15 push-ups