Tuesday. Back squats 1x5 @ 140kg. Metcon, 21-15-9 of: power snatch @ 40kg, row for cal. Time, 6.16. Emom x 10min. Odd min, 10 push jerk @ 40kg. Even min, 10 burpees.
It was about time to get my feet at the gym for heavy barbell. This was a rough mental battle as 140kg squats were waiting for me. That's heavy for me. Then intense metcon, and some accessory emom stuff. Very good training day!
Squat set
Strength.
Back squat 1x5 @ 140kg
This was the crown for the squat sessions I've put up lately. It's been 7x5, 5x5, 3x5, and 1x5 sets with ascending weights. Got to say truthfully that I was nervous of this weight, and wasn't sure if I have what it takes to move this weight correctly. Then I told myself up shut up earlier today, and decided to hit this. I'm glad that I made the decision at noon because this definitely needed my entire focus.
Warm-ups included 5x60, 5x90, 3x110, 1x120, 1x130kg lifts. Those were light so my confidence and self talk were good when approaching the barbell. The view on the camera is a bit questionable but you probably get the point anyway. This must be some sort of personal record. I usually count only the one rep maxes but it is a fact that I have never lifted 5x140kg on back squats.
5x140kg
Metcon.
21-15-9 of:
Power snatch @ 40kg
Row for calories
Nasty. Snatches were 15-6 on the first round, 10-5 on the second round and 6-3 on the last one. God damn my forearms were shot after this metcon! Holding either a barbell or the Concept2's handle all the time hurt forearms big time.
Rowing was also pulled with a purpose. I checked the last set's pace after the workout and it showed 1:36 on the screen. Very happy on that too. It was a decision to keep myself moving. The only thing that bothered me was the distance between the platform and the rower. I wasted a lot of time there, and had to people as the place was maybe more crowded than ever.
Accessory.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
Odd min, 10 push jerks @ 40kg
Even min, 10 burpees
Some more work needed to be done, and because my forearms were shot I had to change my plans of deadlifts / burpees to jerks and burpees. I probably wouldn't have had the grip strength to hold on to the barbell. Jerks and burpees were a funny combo, my shoulders said. Towards the end strength started to fade away but the pace remained consistent. Good shoulder burn!
Monday. Every 4:00, perform 15 cal row, 12 wb, 9 burpee. For 7 total sprints. Accessory, 75 ghd's.
This day was all about sprinting as fast as possible. I left the barbells alone. My legs are still tired so today's effort was a good battle. This was entirely bodyweight stuff. In the end I did core accessory work.
Intervals.
Every 4:00, for 28min
15 cal row
12 wall ball
9 burpee
Each set took me about 1:20, couple of seconds give or take to some direction. Rowing was somewhere at 1:30 pace. At least on the two sets on which I checked the digits afterwards. Can't see the pace when the digitals show the number of calories so I had to come back, push some buttons and see the pace after intervals. I just wanted to go max effort each time I had my hands on the handle. Happy to see the pace was fast for me.
The reps of each element was planned so that I can push through even with the dark place crawling in. It's a funny feeling when legs are almost out of gas but you just keep going forward. It's not the first intervals that are bad but after couple of those the last ones are miserable. It finally made my legs hurt already after the rowing.
Burpees started to burn legs big time, and 9 reps were definitely enough. I had thought about the rep scheme in couple of different styles but this was eventually the one, and I liked it.
Recap
Accessory.
75 ghd sit-ups
Some core work in the end. I basically did this as an emom workout. One set of 15 reps per minute. It took quite precisely 30 seconds so it was 1:1 work:rest ratio. It got hard on the last 2 minutes but there was no doubt of hitting each set.
Sunday. Every 0:30, for 10min: 1 squat clean (up to 100kg). Emom x 10min. Odd, 12 hspu. Even, 12 k2e.
There was a tight time window in the evening to get some fitness done at the gym. There was simply no other soul at the so it was kind of funny to hit it. That's fine by me though! I went for cleans, hspu's and k2e's.
Sunday evening set-up
Oly.
Every 0:30, for 10 minutes, perform 1 squat clean
80, 80, 80, 80kg
85, 85, 85, 85kg
90, 90, 90, 90kg
95, 95, 95, 95kg
100, 100, 100, 100kg
My legs are trashed. Maybe the reason for this is the metcon with running included. Haven't run in ages - not a good choice in the long run - but that's the situation right now. Foam rolling these quads was painful. Anyway, I wanted to hit some cleans, been missing those.
Because I was in more or less hurry it needed to be efficient. Emom training suited perfectly for today. One lift every 30 seconds. This started at 80kg, then jumped 5kg up every 2 minutes. That was 4 lifts per weight. I'm very happy on getting up to 100kg for 4 lifts in the end with good confidence despite the smashed legs.
Gymnastics.
Every minute on the minute x 8 minutes
Odd min, 12 handstand push-ups
Even, 12 knees-to-elbows
Jumped into this with about 3 minute recovery after cleans. This was intentionally short and thus I added some reps to what I would normally do in emom workouts. That means more reps on the handstand push-ups than traditionally. 12 reps per minute is no joke but I got through them nicely. On the last minute I took one fail but other than that it was rather smooth.
Don't even remember when I had done knees-to-elbow's for the last time. Usually when I go after something like this, it's most likely t2b's. Or ghd's if we can count them as similar movements. These were a nice variance and they rolled smoothly.
Saturday. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 2 rope climbs, run x meters. PM. Emom x 30. 1st: 15 wb, 2nd: 12 kb swing @ 32kg, 3rd: 14 sandbag ground to shoulder, 4th: 8 ring dips, 5th: rest.
I've been waiting to get my hands on the rope for some time. It was a no-brainer to climb up the tree once we arrived to Klaukkala. Had to do them. There were two sessions on Saturday. Metcon in the morning, and then a slow pace workout in the afternoon in emom style.
Metcon. Result, 5 rounds
15min amrap of:
2 rope climbs
Run x meters
Combination of running and ropes is cool. Get that heart rate up on the run and then rope climbs are bad ass movement that feels tough in pretty much every sense. Two ropes and then run for a distance that I have no idea how far away it was. It took a little less than 3 minutes to finish a round. It stayed consistent throughout the 15 minutes.
This was an amrap which basically ended at 14:41 after I came back from the 5th round. I'm happy on the rope climbs. Didn't have to stop between the reps but just kept gong back for more. Loved this wod.
Couple of hours later I wanted to do something. It turned out to be slow pace workout with low heart rate. Let's say it was more like basic conditioning piece. I had some stuff with me so I wanted to take advantage of them. Hung those Rogue rings on a pull-up bar for dips. My sandbag is also located in Klaukkala normally so I put my hands on that too. Wall ball is always a good choice in my opinion. I've done kettlebell work lately couple of times. This was a nice cool piece in the afternoon.
Friday. Snatch from the blocks (up to 3x55kg). Skills, bar mu's.
On Friday we were on our way to Klaukkala to spend the Easter with Pauliina's parents. Toni invited us to hit it at his Box. We worked on our snatch technique and then some bar muscle-ups in the end. This was rather quick session.
Oly.
Snatch from blocks
5x30, 40, 45kg
4x50kg
3x55kg
The height of the blocks was about just below knees. This is probably very beneficial to me especially as the tendency is I'm not pulling the bar high enough with patience. By focusing on pulling at this level it was easier to go after this deficiency. I'm pretty happy on the snatches on Friday. Not quite sure how many sets I took but at least the above mentioned were done. Probably some more.
Skills.
Bar muscle-ups
This just came on my mind for a cashout. Some fooling around. Tried different versions on this skills. Basically I was trying to learn how to kip because my mu's are more or less "strict". I don't mean that in a positive sense. I have troubles in utilizing a proper back swing. I just drop down and pull myself back again. The below video was my first set. After that I took some more and tried to force a better back swing.
Thursday. Back squat 3x5 @ 135kg. Workout, 9-15-21 of: kb swing @ 32kg and burpees. Rest 5min, then 21-15-9 of: power clean and push jerk @ 50kg.
What a day! Toni called me to get my ass at Crossfit Kehä. He had assembled couple of guys at the Box for a training session. I needed to get my squats done before hitting the actual workout. The other guys played around with the bar for cleans, jerks and stuff.
Strentgh.
Back squat 3x5 @ 135kg
Huh, this ain't that light anymore. This is part of my progression towards stronger legs. Doing a bunch of squat sets of 5 reps with ascending weights. Today's focus was three sets at 135kg. It's been ages since going this heavy for 5 reps. Or even a single rep. I'm very pleased on the weights and how well I was able to carry that load.
Metcon. Time, 3.56 on the first one / 7.16 on the latter one (if I counted them right)
9-15-21 of:
Kettlebell swings @ 32kg
Burpees
Rest 5 min, then
21-15-9 of:
Power clean @ 50kg
Push jerk @ 50kg
After squats I walked over to the whiteboard and had another glimpse on the upcoming workout. I started to get a feeling it's gonna be nasty. This was one workout with exact 5min rest period in-between.
The first one was a good mental battle. It's all about pure grind. Keep the body moving. My mental game had one small deviation of the unbroken-plan at 12 kb swings on the last round. Other than that I was able to put my head down and move forward. It was a quick wod and shot my shoulders.
The latter part of the workout was tough. It's rare that 50kg barbell weighs that much. The boys had planned on doing 8-7-6 on the cleans on the first round. That sounded like pretty ambitious strategy but I figured on going by feeling. Took 8 reps on the first set, then 4's and 3's to finish it. Jerks were better, 8-7-6 on the first round.
Second round was pretty much triples on the cleans. I believe the first was tng style, then three quick singles and a break. It's surprising how heavy it starts to become. Jerks were 6-5-4 on the round of 15's. On the last round I'm happy that I got the cleans done rather quickly in singles. But then had to step down before going for the jerks. Those were 5-2-2. I'm telling you my shoulders were killed on this one. It was definitely a lot of fun to do this with the boys!
Got a chance to hit it with my main man Toni. Even though there were two rest days in a row, my body felt stiff from the very beginning. Maybe because the last two days have been busy as hell. Don't know but it was great to get access to this place and break a sweat.
Metcon. Time, 11.43
3 rounds of:
400m run (8 rounds indoors)
21 kettlebell swings @ 24kg
15 toes-to-bar
9 ring dips
This was something Miku had done earlier. It looked tempting on the whiteboard so I decided to hit it. Even though it included running indoors. There's nothing wrong in running inside but running to the same direction was somehow biased. Felt like only one side of the body was activated or something. Felt kind of funny.
Kb swings unbroken, t2b's too on the first round. Then I cut it to 10-5 or 11-4. Ring dips are hard once they are gone. I went ub on the first round, then broken it to couple of sets.
Accessory.
Every 2:00, 10 thrusters @ 30kg, for 5 sets. Then,
3 rounds of:
10 bicep curls
10 strict toes-to-bar
20m prowler push (110, 130, 150kg)
Toni had written this for us. Some accessory stuff at the end of the session. It was fun even with the curls included haha =)
Holy hammies, my lower back and hamstrings are sore, and the general feeling in my body is that some work has been put in the past days. The last couple of sessions have been more intense than normally. I have been able to dig down and put my head in the dark place and still keep going. That have also made my lungs burn more than normally. Today I figured it's necessary to take a longer workout and tomorrow's gonna be a rest day.
Metcon. Result, 6 rounds sharp
30min amrap of:
7 push jerk @ 60kg
15 ghd sit-ups
12 pull-ups
20 push-ups
10x20m shuttle run (200m)
This was a good choice after all. Decided to just throw in some movements in a brainstorming session in my head and see what comes up. Then mix them up and decide on the rep schemes. Consulted my wife as well in order to get an objective view on the game.
I was thinking about whether to do 7x60kg or 10x50kg on the jerks. My body really feels hammered throughout so it was difficult to know how it would adapt. I took couple of jerks at 40kg and 50kg, then decided to just go at it at 60kg without testing it at all. It was good weight for sure.
Ghd's were alright, just made breathing a bit heavy as I have to stay tight in the bottom and keep the breaths inside. I took my time after ghd's before getting on the pull-ups. Went unbroken on those, that was the goal. Push-ups are classic. Haven't done much of those so this was a good call by Pauliina. First 3-4 rounds were unbroken. Then it was broken down to smaller pieces but at least 10-12 reps were done on the first attempt each set.
This thing called running. It would made sense to run more, much more. It's just a little difficult to arrange as there is no easy access outdoors and the gym is located in a place where you can't practically go outside running. When we are in Klaukkala during some weekends I often plan to run in order to get that in the program too.
Huh we were running errands with Pauliina for something close to 7-8 hours in a row. That was probably not the most ideal preparation for training session. But that was not the first priority for today anyway. I thought I'm happy if there is enough time to hit it at all =) After we came home I jumped in the car right away and started focusing on 16.4 which was released the previous day.
Saturday's cheat meal
CF Open 16.4. Result, 196 reps (31 hspu)
13min amrap of:
55 deadlift @ 102.5kg
55 wall ball shots
55 cal row
55 handstand push-ups
I watched Ro vs. Boz battle from Crossfit's Youtube channel (check below). That made me think about the strategy how to approach this one. The thing that got me intimidated was the combination of deadlifts right into wall balls. That sounds like a murder for lower back. Anyway, Rory seemed to do a deadlift set every 30 seconds. I figured going for that same game plan and see how it turns out. It was the perfect decision for me too. Went 5x10 reps and then 5 reps to finish it.
Tried to go for the first set of wall balls quickly and start moving. It was probably 15 reps to kick it off. Then it was mostly 10's with rather small breaks. This started to feel more in my legs and maybe lungs. Don't know, maybe it was just an overall feeling.
It took me about 15 seconds to get to the rower even though my focus was to get to the saddle soon and start moving the "boat", no matter the pace. No idea of the speed I had on this rowing piece. Tried to just pace myself and get breathing settled in the beginning and then stick to the pace.
CF Open 16.4
The most challenging part of this one strength-wise was the handstand push-ups. I have those pretty well under control but going for 55 reps in a row is not a piece of cake. I went 10 to start them, then 6 and 4 reps, little by little they went to smaller pieces. Those got hard, no doubt. End result was a total of 31 hspu's and 198 reps for 16.4.
Friday. Metcon, 21-15-9 of: power snatch @ 40kg, box jumps, pull-ups. Cashout lunges @ 60kg. Time, 9.40. Gymnastics, every 3:00, perform 20 t2b.
Great session at Crossfit Kehä. Both of the owners threw down with me. We created this one with Toni on our way to the gym. It was supposed to be pretty much about lungs. And it was. Intense workout with bodyweight stuff and some barbell action.
Metcon. Time, 9.40
21-15-9 of:
Power snatches @ 40kg
Box jumps
Pull-ups
Right into lunges @ 60kg
Doing a workout as a competition is something I'm not used to as I've been training by myself the past three years. The first year we did most of our workouts together with Toni. So today's composition was a bit nerve racking prior to the 3-2-1-go command =) And once the barbells started to cling and clang on the floor it felt like I need to keep my arms on the bar, and at least not drop the bar first.
On the other hand, you should play your own game and not get confused by stuff that happens next to you. But then again, in competition you need to know where you are at and know if you got to step up your game. On this one we finished the first snatches with Toni about the same time (I went 12-5-4). Second round was 3x5 and last one 5-4 reps.
Box jumps were my active recovery piece on this wod. Of course they kept my breathing high and legs burning but somehow I'm able to go through them without having to break them down. Maybe they are rather efficient. They were unbroken each round.
On the pull-ups I had my mind on the game. Decided to break them down in order not to shoot my forearms on the snatch / pull-up combo. First round was 10-7-4, second was 11-4 and last one unbroken.
The grande finale on this workout was lunges with a barbell on back rack position. We didn't measure the distance but I'd guess it's somewhere about 10 meters back and forth, that is a total of 20 meters. Had to change the plates on the bar after the 21-15-9 so that took some time but I tried to get my hands on the barbell right after that and start moving.
This went pretty smoothly even though I haven't done 60kg lunges like ever. It stayed there nicely and legs took the burden well. Yes, my legs hurt after it was all done and felt greatly relieved as I was able to drop the bar away. Awesome workout to say the least. My lungs hurt hours after this one!
Gymnastics.
Every 3:00:
20 toes-to-bar
Toni had written this one in his head for accessory kind of work for core. It was a good one and these were surprisingly challenging. Went unbroken for 2 rounds but then the last one was a big battle. Had to break it after 10 reps. Grip, hip flexors and core were the issue. It was odd that both of ours lungs started hurting on the first round like we were still doing the metcon =)
Thursday. Emom x 10min: 3 jerk @ 73kg. Back squat 5x5 @ 130kg.
My legs were still sore from previous squat session so maybe this was not the most ideal day to squat my head was fixed over the idea so I decided to give it a go. Prior to that some oly jerks.
Overhead.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
3 push jerks @ 73kg
This was identical to last overhead piece couple of days ago when I put the barbell overhead. The difference was 3 kilos which I added to the bar. I was able to manhandle the weights nicely this time too. Sets were similar to each other. Got them done in touch'n'go style without pausing the barbell on front rack. Instead, the bar was moving up and down with a straight bounce.
Strength.
Back squat 5x5 @ 130kg
Damned it was a challenging starting point to put the weights on my back as my legs felt stiff and hurt already before the first set. First set was tough, second was tougher. Third was brutal and I was weak for a second on that one. It caused me a beautiful perfect set as I failed the last rep on that one. It was a big bummer.
It was mentally devastating and I was ready to kick it and leave home in defeat. Luckily one comrade form the gym asked if I needed help in lifting the barbell back on the rack. I was like how the hell can I not go for another set as this chick is trying to pick me up from the dark place. Next set was good, heavy but good. On the last set I asked the biggest guy in the gym just in case. That was exaggeration as that might have been my best set. On the other hand, maybe it was exactly that because my mental game was right on the spot.
Wednesday. Emom x 15min: Snatches (up to 60kg). Metcon, 4rds of: 3 squat clean @ 90kg, 12 ring dips, 15 pull-ups. Right into 20 burpees cashout. Time, 11.54
Back at OPC for a regular training session. Got to say my legs were smashed when I woke up from yesterday's squats. Huh, it kinda feels good to have pain in the entire lower body. Today I focused on snatches and then a different stimulus on the metcon.
Oly.
1-5min. Every 30 seconds: 1 snatch @ 50kg
5-10min. Every minute on the minute: 1 snatch @ 55kg
10-15min. Every minute on the minute: 1 snatch @ 60kg
I went on totally by feeling. Started at 50kg. The weight is not heavy but I still wanted to focus on singles and "perfecting" my technique. That's why it was one rep every 30 seconds. After 10 reps it changed to 55kg singles, and at the same time the time frame turned to 60 seconds. Third part was the last 5 reps that I took with 60kg.
I'm happy on these lifts. They were pretty similar. I was able to bring the bar rather high on the hips, extend the hips and shrug the shoulders. What I'm still lacking is the catch position. It tends to stay forward instead of the barbell locating right above the heels when looked the vertical line from the side. Considering the last lifts were at 60kg there's no other option but to be happy as those looked pretty much the same as all the previous ones.
Metcon. Time, 11.54
4 rounds of:
3 squat clean @ 90kg
12 ring dips
15 pull-ups
After 4 rounds right into 20 burpees for cashout
This was a variety as the barbell was kind of heavy. Definitely heavy for a metcon. And it also felt like it. Completed these in three quick singles. At some point I started to feel the burden in my legs on the cleans. Quads were usually on fire on the last rep.
Ring dips have been ignored without any good reason. They are a weakness anyway so this was definitely a good choice. Got the first round unbroken, then there was no chance anymore. I cut them to pieces, they changed from round to round. Second was 7-3-2, third was 5 reps in the beginning and then triples and doubles. Last round was 4 reps to begin and then doubles and singles to finish it. Once the ring dips are gone, it's not easy to recover.
Pull-ups. First round unbroken. Then two rounds were 10-5 reps, and the last one was probably 9-3-3 reps. This is my best recall of those sets. The point was that right after the fourth round was completed I needed to drop down for 20 burpees as cashout. Must admit those were some of the heaviest burpees I have ever completed. Yes, at this point my lungs were breathing quite heavy but I mean they burned my shoulders a lot. It almost felt like I was doing some barbell movement, and it was challenging to push myself up from the floor. Kept telling myself there's only couple of reps left.
Tuesday. Emom x 10min: 3 push jerk @ 70kg. Back squat 7x5 @ 125kg. Wod, 15-10-5 of: hspu, kb swing @ 32kg, box. Time, 3.40.
Had plans of going to train at my regular gym after a rest day. Yesterday was a compulsory recovery as I went to work early and came home late in the evening. Our lives have been busy lately with Pauliina with lots of errands to run so that's why there have been couple of rest days I would not probably normally take. Toni threw me a message in the morning of coming to throw down at Crossfit Kehä. Didn't have to think even for a second.
Overhead.
Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
3 push jerk @ 70kg
It was awesome to finally get some weight overhead. I can tell it's been some time since doing jerks as the timing felt a bit off at times. However, the weight was definitely doable. Not too heavy. There was practically not much warm-up before I tapped the clock on. I also dropped the bar on my back rack kind of awkwardly couple of times. I'm still happy on the way this 70kg bar moved up and down during these 10 minutes.
Strength.
Back squat 7x5 @ 125kg
Lately I've added volume on the back squats and completed sets of 5 reps for a good bunch. It's been either 7, 5, 3 or 1 set of 5 reps, and the weights have been adjusted accordingly. This week I jumped 5kg up from the previous 7x5's. Took the sets every 3:00 minutes so that left recovery rather short. Last rep of the last sets were quite heavy.
Metcon. Time, 3.40
15-10-5 of:
Handstand push-ups
Kettlebell swings @ 32kg
Box jumps
The co-owner of Crossfit Kehä - Miku - had completed this workout and left a teaser on the whiteboard and he had also talked Toni over to fight this metcon. I figured this must be a very intense one, and the goal should be unbroken.
My hspu's are strong enough to go through them without breaks. Okay, kb swings were a bit of a mystery how they might affect my shoulders but I was pretty sure for not letting them disturb my focus. Kb swings were okay too. My legs were jello after the strength piece so it was a bit exotic to do swings and boxes with as much intensity as this one. This workout was definitely worth doing it. Short and intense. Lungs were burning.
