Friday 29.4: Snatch balance, Karhureiret, Conditioning

Friday. Snatch balance 5x3 (50-60kg). Karhureiret. Time, 14.35. Conditioning, 7rds of: 2min row, 2min bike.

It was a notch longer workout session today. Tried some snatch balances in the beginning to get a feeling of those after a long break. Then some old school stuff from Finland's championships some years ago. That sucked. Then conditioning piece in the end.

Oly.

• Snatch balance 5x5 (50, 50, 60, 60, 60kg)

These have been rare in the past months. I had that wrist issue earlier in the year and that caused I haven't done either these nor overhead squats with proper weights at all. It still felt kind of funny even though I have no problems in my wrists and haven't had in a long time.

It was cool to get these done. I'm looking forward to doing more of these accessory stuff for snatch in the future. I'm certain these will build up the confidence for the actual snatch too.

The video is unedited for couple of min

Karhureiret. Time, 14.35. Compare to 15.5.2013

• 10 back squats @ 100kg
• 50 kettlebell swings @ 32kg
• 20 front squats @ 80kg
• 40 box jumps
• 30 overhead squats @ 50kg
• 30 toest-to-bar's

The reason is unknown but I was done already on the swings. Literally I was trying to create excuses not to finish this workout. Luckily didn't but for some reason my body refused to work ideally, even though I had lots of passion to attack this workout.

Yes I got through this faster than before with heavier weights but I can't be satisfied of the effort fully. Especially the kettlebell swings and box jumps stayed to haunt in my head. Had to break both of them. Kettlebell swings more than once. No reason for that. And this was probably the first time ever pausing on the box jumps. Body was just completely in shut down mode. Somehow I got through this and maybe the last two elements went better than I assumed at that point of the workout. Back squats were unbroken, front squats were 5's and overhead squats were 10-8-7-5 reps.

Conditioning. Total of 28 minutes

• 7 rounds of:
• 2min row
• 2min bike

Damned I was over and out after that metcon. Yesterday my gym turned 1 year old so they had a birthday party. There was some leftover cake at the lobby. Once I saw it after the metcon I felt weak in my body and needed to fuel up. That felt like a perfect idea =) Huh, it was delicious!

After some recovery I jumped on the rower and bike combo, 2 minutes each with a running clock for 28 minutes total. That was a good end to the session!

Thursday 28.4: Cleans, Squats, 15min amrap

Thursday. Emom x 15min: Cleans (up to 100kg). Front squat 7x5 @ 100kg. Metcon, 15min amrap of: 10 hang power clean (40kg), 12 box, 14 ghd. Result, 293 reps.

Today I'm having a day off from work so I got a chance to hit it early in the morning. I had some studying waiting me up to do so that's the reason the session took place even earlier than normally on free days. Took some clean and jerks in the beginning but shoulders felt tired so I changed it to cleans on the fly and then some lighter front squats. And metabolic conditioning in the end. Good session.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
• 1-5 minutes: 3 cleans @ 80kg
• 6-10 minutes: 2 cleans @ 90kg
• 11-15 minutes: 1 clean @ 100kg

These were all squat cleans. Decided to go by feeling on these. Even though I warmed up longer than normally my body felt stiff and maybe it was still asleep =) That's the reason why the upcoming front squats turned out to be a notch lighter as well.

Three parts, each section took 5 minutes. 3x80, 2x90, 1x100kg emoms. At first I almost game myself too much slack and thought about going at 80 kilos all the way. Luckily I didn't. These felt pretty good despite the stiffness.

Strength.

• Front squat 7x5 @ 100kg

It was fun to get some front rack squats done after a while. The load was moderate, something that needs to be moving smoothly under any circumstances any day. I focused on proper bar path and having a good control through the middle on both ascend and descend parts.

Metcon. Result, 293 reps (8 rounds + 5 cleans)

• As many reps as possible in 15 minutes of:
• 10 hang power clean @ 40kg
• 12 box jumps
• 14 ghd sit-ups

This seemed like a lot of fun and definitely was so. Cleans and box jumps were completed right next to each other so there was no time-waste there. Ghd's need to be completed at the other side of the space and you can't do cleans there so this needed to be completed at two spots. That took some transition so I played it in my head before starting the workout.

I figured the walk is compulsory between stations so my strategy needs to be so that once I get to the ghd's I gotta jump right into those and start moving. Same thing when returning from there. Grab the barbell right away (after marking the time of each round). Did all these unbroken for sure. I wrote this so that there are no excuses to stop. Round times varied by just seconds, they were quite sharp around 1:50.

Tuesday 26.4: Clean and jerk complex

Tuesday. Clean and jerk complex. Start at 40kg, add 5kg, till failure.

It was great to get my hands on the barbell again. I missed that little guy. I bought elbow sleeves from Tallinn and hoped that might ease the pain I sometimes (read: most often) get in my elbows when having heavy barbell overhead. At least this first time those were perfect! Don't remember when I had a 85kg bar overhead without pain.

Complex.

• 2 power clean
• 2 front squat
• 2 jerk
• Start at 40kg, add 5kg after each set, go till failure, then start over
• Result: 1st round 1 jerk @ 90kg. 2nd round 2 jerk @ 85kg

This is something I've named Chris Spealler workout. Once saw this wod being done by him and fell in love with it. It was originally so that you start with 50% of your one rep max clean and jerk, then add 5kg per minute and go all the way up to failure. Then start again from the 50% load. I have done this earlier and started at 40kg so I figured doing the same thing this time too.

It was cool to jerk heavier weights than I have done in a very long time, and without no pain which made it even more phenomenal!

Monday 25.4: Run and Pull-ups

Monday. Run and pull-ups (70-80 reps).

We came back home late in the evening. Luckily my pal Jasper called me that he wanted to go run outdoors for a jog and check out the pull-up station nearby. That worked perfectly to my own plans so it was easy to tag along! This was an easy pace jog and then low heart rate workout at the spot. I did 7 or 8 sets of 10 pull-ups to seal the deal. It was a blast to see Jazz after a while!

Sunday 24.4: Loredo

Sunday. Loredo. Time, 24.12

We went to Tallinn with my wife for a short trip to spend some quality time. It was an overnight journey to get a quick getaway from the day to day routines. This was third time in a month I visited Tallinn in the past month =) The two previous trips have been work related.

Loredo. Time, 24.12

• 6 rounds of:
• 24 squats
• 24 push-ups
• 24 lunges
• 2min crosstrainer (rx'd version is 400m run)

The hotel had a pretty cool spa at the highest floor. The view was beautiful from there. It was also very relaxing to spend time there, just hang around in the pool, jacuzzi and turkish steam sauna. At some point I sneaked to the very small gym in the hotel and did a modified version of hero workout Loredo. Subbed that 400m run to 2min of crosstrainer. Got to say crosstrainer is not something I'd normally jump into but this time it worked perfectly and burned my quads big time.

I was able to go unbroken in every part of the workout, and that was the first time doing so. I'm very pleased on the way I performed! Legs were on fire early on but still I found energy to push through. Round times were consistent each round

Time was 24.12

Saturday 23.4: Pull-ups, Ohs, Kb, Squats

Saturday. Emom x 25min. 1st: 15 pullups, 2nd: 10 ohs (40kg), 3rd: 15 kb swing (32kg), 4th: 30 air squats, 5th: rest.

Went to the gym in the morning. Body felt a bit smashed after yesterday's longer session. Still it was great to find time for another training session. Needed to do it with bodyweight and light weights though. In the afternoon we went to see my brother's kids' ice skating show. It was a blast, and to see my family after a break was even more fun!

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 25 minutes
• 1st min: 15 pull-ups
• 2nd min: 10 overhead squats @ 40kg
• 3rd min: 15 kettlebell swings @ 32kg
• 4th min: 30 air squats
• 5th min: rest

This was scheduled to be unbroken all the way. I'm very happy the pull-ups rolled nicely every round. Could have gone for more rounds too even though they started to feel uncomfortable. Overhead squats burned my legs. Probably due to back and front squats in the past days. Kb's and squats with bodyweight also put more pressure on my legs so this mostly trashed my lower body and kept breathing heavy basically all the time. It was a fun workout still.

Friday 22.4: Snatch, Squat, Pistols, Row, Intervals

Friday. Emom x 10min: snatch (up to 60kg). Every 90sec: front squat triple (up to 120kg). Metcon, 60 pistols, 60 db snatch (22.5kg), 1.000m row. Time, 11.38. Intervals, every 3:00 x 8 sets: 10m front rack lunges (50kg), 8 bar-facing burpees.

This Friday I spent a good 2+ hours at the gym and didn't have to rush anywhere. It was great after the busy days we've had a lot lately. Olympic lifting, strength and couple of conditioning pieces.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 2x50kg
• 2x50kg
• 2x50kg
• 2x50kg
• 2x50kg
• 2x55kg
• 1x55kg
• 1x55kg
• 1x60kg
• 1x60kg

Body felt a bit stiff in the hips and shoulders but still these lifts were still okay, after couple of lifts. Had one miss in the 60kg's but corrected that one on the next attempt.

Strength.

• Every 90 seconds, perform front squat triples (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120kg)

It's been ages since front squatting. I've been having that barbell on my back in the past weeks more often but today I simply wanted to have the fronts now. These felt heavy, even though I climbed up just to 120 kilos.

Metcon. Time, 11.38

• 60 pistol squats
• 60 dumbbell snatches @ 22.5kg (alternating hands every 5 reps)
• 1.000m row

This was fun! Maybe that is not the right word to describe the feelings but it was one heck of a time to do such a good bunch of reps of one movement without throwing anything else in between. I did the pistols in sets of 10 reps. Towards the end my hammies and quads were shot and felt almost numb.

Db snatches needed to be 5 reps with right hand, then 5 snatches with left hand. You can see the entire wod except the rowing in the video below

Intervals.

• Every 3:00, for 8 sets:
• 10m front rack lunges @ 50kg
• 8 bar-facing burpees

This far there had been a good amount of work so I needed to recover for a while and get my protein shakes inside this body. After some time it felt pretty good to hit it again and the green matt was free so I decided to go for one more piece in the workout session with interval work. Lunges and burpees. Not sure but I'd guess it took something like 45 seconds per set?

Thursday 21.4: Squat, Chipper, Row intervals

Thursday. Back squat, singles up to 140kg. Chipper, 30 hang power clean (60kg), 30 box, 30 front squat (60kg), 30 pull-ups, 30 jerk (60kg), 30 burpees. Intervals, 30sec on, 30sec off, for 10min: row.

Nice! It was great to get back to the gym. Had to take two days off of training. One day would have been okay but there have been so much things to be taken care of lately that I simply don't have time to hit the gym. I leave home early in the morning and come back late in the evening and go to bed. This has also taken some of my energy, and it showed today.

Strength.

• Back squat
• 5x60, 90kg
• 3x110kg
• 1x120, 130, 140kg

There was no chance in going heavy today. It felt tough from the very beginning. Body wasn't very receptive to big loads on my back. But these weights were okay anyway. I'll take these for now.

Chipper.

• 30 hang power cleans @ 60kg
• 30 box jumps
• 30 front squats @ 60kg
• 30 pull-ups
• 30 push jerks @ 60kg
• 30 burpees

This was a great workout, c'mon! Alternating between barbell and bodyweight for six different elements in a chipper style for time. I went 10-7-7-6 on the hang cleans and was able to maintain a solid breathing. Box jumps unbroken, then squats were 12-10-8. My front squats with light weights are at okay level. I can maintain a good form on those, they just burn legs a lot.

Pull-ups were 10 reps at first, then 5's to the end. At this point I started to feel like a car had driven over me. Jerks were not cool at all. At this stage of the workout those felt heavy. I went 8-6-6-5-5 on those but had to take longer breaks than I hoped for. There were elements of mental breakdown =)  Once those were done the burpees felt like an eternity. Rarely have those felt so miserable but somehow I crawled to the finish line. Damned it was heavy. For sure my preparation was not on point leading up to this day but this probably would have been bad wod in any case.

Intervals.

• 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, for 10 minutes:
• Row

After recovering for a while and trying to get myself back in the game I did a short interval work. Rowing pace was at 1:40 on average. Something between 1:38 and 1:41. Felt bad on my legs.

Monday 18.4: Macho Man, Wb and Row

Monday. Macho Man @ 65kg. Metcon, 4rds of: 30 wb, 500m row. Time, 15.08.

Time for another benchmark workout, two days in a row. This is not one of the headquarter's benchmarks but Ben Bergeron's (a.k.a. competitorstraining). He's the Man in the biz, coach for a bunch of Crossfit Games athletes.

Macho Man. Compare to 2.5.2015

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 power clean @ 65kg
• 3 front squat @ 65kg
• 3 push jerk @ 65kg

I've done this bad boy 3 times in the past years and it's eaten me alive every time. It's been completed at 60kg every time. Today I decided to roll the dice with 65kg. For maybe 3 minutes I thought this is gonna be okay. After completing 5 minutes it was a tough to digest I was only at mid way.

After 7 minutes it was a battle. My quads burned a lot but they held on for the entire 10 minutes. Got to say I was relieved when 10 minutes had passed. It was a good decision to go 65 kilos. Maybe some day 70kg could be the thing. It's not that any of the movements would be too tough but it's the entity. There is 9 reps per minute and the recovery part starts to feel rather short as time passes.

Macho Man @ 65kg

Metcon. Time, 15.08

• 4 rounds of:
• 30 unbroken wall ball shots
• 500m row

Needed to take some recovery after Macho Man. There was some walk between the stations so I lost quite a bit of time each round in the transitions. Anyway, 30 wall balls were written to be unbroken. Shoulders got on fire somewhere in the third round probably. Luckily I managed to go ub every round. Rowing was moderate pace, somewhere around 1:50. Didn't rest between the two though, just hopped on the Concept2 and grabbed the wall ball right away.

Sunday 17.4: Snatch, Heavy Grace + Metcon

Sunday. AM: Complex, hang snatch + snatch, build up to a heavy set (62kg). Heavy Grace @ 70kg. Time, 4.30. PM: Metcon, 4rds of: 10 thruster @ 40kg, 10 ring dip, 10 t2b, 10 burpee. Time, 10.45.

I really needed a rest day on Saturday. Body felt very tired after a busy week. It was action from morning to evening every day and I tried to struggle to get some good sessions in the schedule. Succeeded in that too but it took its taxes during the week. Today I felt great again after a relaxing day spent with the family.

Oly.

• Complex, hang snatch + snatch
• Build up to a heavy set (40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 62kg)

Couple of sets snatches to start the day. This was a rather short session so I took just a few sets and focused on those lifts. I'm happy on all of the lifts this time. Bar path was okay all the way. Everything over 60 kilos starts to get heavy pretty soon but today those were good. I took 62kg and left it there.

Grace. Time, 4.30

• 30 clean @ jerk @ 70kg

This is a benchmark workout that gets me nervous every freaking time! Somehow Grace and Fran are the most classical benchmarks for me. Every now and then this pops up in my program and then it's time to go. I walked around the gym for a while and tried to find excuses to postpone this one but couldn't find any =)

It was a little heavier workout than normally. Rx'd version is at 60kg but this was 70kg. That means it's gonna burn my shoulders and legs much more than normally in a way. On the other hand on the regular version I'm able to go faster which makes it more intense, thus resulting in probably even more pain in the above mentioned areas, plus the lungs.

My strategy was simple. Go singles all the way from the very beginning. Don't keep too much rest between reps, just grab the bar and put it overhead. First reps were quite easy but somewhere between 5-10 the reality hit me and I recognized it's gonna be an awkward ride to the finish line. And it kind of was.

It got heavy but somehow still manageable. My legs started to get fired up and shoulders too. My jerks were quite good though and the technique stayed right on the point. Steady work through the finish. I'll take this one with a pleasure. It's over 2min improvement compared to the previous 70kg Grace.

Grace @ 70kg

Metcon. Time, 10.45

• 4 rounds of:
• 10 thrusters @ 40kg
• 10 ring dips
• 10 toes-to-bar's
• 10 burpees

After couple of hours I returned to the gym as this metcon needed to be completed. I wanted to do this in the morning but didn't have enough time. Plus I was done after 30 clean and jerks. I kept the thrusters light in order to keep the intensity high. That means I was able to go unbroken on them all the way. It sky rocketed my breathing every time and on the last round my shoulders needed to work big time as they started to go numb.

There were three elements that pressured shoulders. Basically everything but the t2b's. Ring dips were the most challenging part. Those have always been challenging for me. First round was unbroken, then I had to start breaking them up. I guess my shoulders are tight and that has an effect on the dips. T2b's were unbroken. Usually burpees keep the breathing up (this was no exception either) but today they mostly shot my shoulders. It felt heavy to push myself up from the floor because of all the shoulder pressure in this workout. Good metcon.

HC Triplet is just around the corner

The day is about to take place. This is tough stuff! We have scheduled another HC Triplet to our calendars with Toni. If you have stuck around for some time in my blog you probably know what this is all about but in case this term sounds strange you can check below what the heck I am talking about =)

HC Triplet
HC Triplet II: In to the woods
HC Triplet III
HC Triplet IV: Kettlebell Fiesta

Basically this all started in 2012 when we took our first steps as crossfitters with my best friend Toni. One day we got an idea of hitting 3 workouts in one day. That time it was a mind blowing suggestion as we were used to take it one per day.

On 8.9.2012 it all changed and we went to Malminkartano's recreational area. Since then, we arranged the next Triplets at Pirkkola's sports center. Fourth time was the first time we had more athletes and it turned out to be a team competition. Next time is probably individual but the venue will change. Stay tuned!

Thursday 14.4: Clean complex, 15min emom, Accessory

Thursday. Emom x 14min: Clean complex @ 90kg. Emom x 15min, 1st: 7 power clean @ 60kg, 2nd: 10 hspu, 3rd: 15 box. Accessory, 5rds of: 5 bench @ 70kg, 12 reverse hypers @ 50kg.

Thursday was a busy day all the way from morning to midnight but somehow I found a slot to hit the gym. This week's been running back and forth all the time so I practically don't have time to right that much about the training.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 14 minutes
• Odd min, power clean + hang squat clean @ 90kg
• Even min, squat clean + 2 front squat @ 90kg

Different type of complex of cleans. Felt pretty good on these. Barbell was heavy'ish though.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 15 minutes
• 1st min, 7 power clean @ 60kg
• 2nd min, 10 handstand push-ups
• 3rd min, 15 box jumps

Most difficult part of this piece was the end of hspu's. Maybe another set could have been nailed but then it might have gone more challenging. Cleans got my breathing heavy, so were the box jumps. In the beginning no big deal but after some rounds it was a different game.

Accessory.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• Odd min, 5 bench press @ 70kg
• Even min, 12 reverse hypers @ 50kg

Easy end to this session. Main focus on the reverse hypers. Should have probably gone heavier. It's just kind of a new movement so I didn't dare to.

Friday 15.4: Row, Run, Burpees, Mu's

Friday. Back squat, up to 3x140kg. Metcon, 5rds of: 300m row, 200m shuttle run, 10 burpees. Time, 14.07. Skills, 5x5 bar mu's.

Late evening workout. My body was definitely very tired due to not having enough recovery the entire week. Don't know if it was the best idea to go to the gym. Afterwards I was pleased though.

Strength.

• Back squat 5x90, 3x110, 1x120, 1x130, 3x140, 2x138kg

This was absolutely a disappointment when working out as I didn't hit the numbers I was looking for. On the other hand I feel it's okay that I can hit a triple @ 140kg even on a very crappy day.

Metcon. Time, 14.07

• 5 rounds of:
• 300m row
• 200m shuttle run (10x20m)
• 10 burpees

This was a good one, and my round times were consistent. The rounds varied in just seconds, it was somewhere at 2:50 per round. Rowing was maybe 1:45 pace, no idea about the run but it took a little more than the row. That turn after every 20 meters caused that. Burpees went smoothly

Skills.

• Bar muscle-ups 5x5

It was great to get some skills action also in the books. Got these nicely, some reps were tough on these sets but mostly it was alright

Wednesday 13.4: Run & Pull-ups

Wednesday. Run and pull-ups outdoors.

This is a busy week for sure. The first two days I was in Tallinn, and had a chance to workout only on Monday. Yesterday was rest day. Today we were busy with Pauliina all day but I still went outdoors at 9p.m. Needed to get some fresh air and break a sweat. There's a pull-up bar maybe 1.2km away from our house so I ran there for some bodyweight training.

Workout.

• 1.2km run, then
• 3rds of:
• 20 unbroken pull-ups
• Run a loop, then
• 1.2km run back home

Once I arrived to the destination, I took 20 unbroken pull-ups, ran a loop in the forest and repeated the same for 3 rounds. Then ran back home. So it was 3 sets of unbroken pull-ups for 20 reps. I'm happy those felt good. Last round's last reps were tough. Other than that I felt good on the pull-ups. Those were somewhat uncomfortable at times but still doable.

Monday 11.4: Jerk, SkiErg, Row, Squat

Monday. Push jerk 5x10 (up to 70kg). Metcon, 5rds of: 1min SkiErg, 1min Row, 1min air squats.

I was on a business trip to Tallinn, Estonia, for the second time in less than 2 weeks. We hit the gym with Ville and Fredu after work. Luckily there is also a place for more functional fitness even though it's pretty much a "globo gym" type of place.

Overhead.

• Push jerk 5x10 @ 60, 65, 70, 65, 60kg

Couple of longer sets of putting a barbell overhead. There was lack of space and people came close to me. Too close if you ask me considering I was having a barbell on front rack. Anyway it felt good to put some weight on straight hands. Built up to 70kg and then came back to 60kg as a pyramid.

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 1min skierg
• 1min row
• 1min air squats

God damnit I love that SkiErg machine. It simulates as you were cross-country skiing which is basically the thing what people do in Finland during winters. I've always hated that sport though =) Last time when I was on skis was as a little kiddo in elementary school. This SkiErg is a killer of a machine. Definitely shoots the triceps, burns legs and forces to breath heavy.

There were 3 of us, one for each station, and then we rotated between the stations after every 60 seconds. I have no idea what the pace on the SkiErg was. Rowing was somewhere at 1:46 pace. Squats were 35 on the first round, then 32 for the next two rounds, next was 33 and the last one was clearly the most efficient with 43 reps. Huh, my legs were so numb after the last squats. Hard to describe.

Sunday 10.4: CF Open 14.4, Strongman

Sunday. CF Open 14.4. Result, 184 reps. Accessory, 5rds of: 40m farmer's walk (135kg), handstand.

Old school benchmark which I have somehow been able to avoid this far. It was about time to attack it. After couple of minutes rest it was time for accessory work in the form of strongman meets skills. Farmer's walk set for 40 meters and handstand practice between carries. It's been months since being in freestand handstand.

CF Open 14.4. Result, 184 reps (4 muscle-ups)

• 14min amrap of:
• 60 cal row
• 50 toes-to-bar's
• 40 wall ball shots
• 30 power cleans
• 20 ring muscle-ups

The thing that got me terrified on this workout as I was thinking about was basically the power cleans and muscle-ups. Everything prior to that is just basic conditioning, and I kind of think that's in okay shape in my part.

Rowing was kind of a cool ride and I kept a smooth breathing throughout that stage. It was quite accurately 800 meters of rowing with a 1.48 pace. It's rare to complete a big bunch of t2b's in a row so I decided to go by feeling on this one. Took 10 reps to begin with, then 5's from then on.

Wall balls were the easiest part of this workout, took them in two sets, 25 at first and then 15 to reach a total of 40 repetitions. Those power cleans at this stage of the workout with a rather good heart beat was interesting. The bar felt good in my hands all the time and the weight wasn't too heavy. But it just gets heart beat a lot heavier. Took these in singles for all 30 reps. First a 10 rep stint, then 5's till the end. My heart was racing pretty wildly after these.

Got to admit my body wasn't eager to jump on the rings after working for 12 minutes of rowing, t2b's, wb's and cleans. Damn it felt heavy to get myself on top of the rings. Got a double at first attempt, then two singles. They look easier than they felt and this got me thinking should I have forced myself to jump on the rings earlier with less recovery.

CF Open 14.4

Strongman / Skills.

• 5 rounds of:
• 40m farmer's walk @ 135kg
• Handstand

Strongman meets skills. Very different type of elements. There were 2x25kg bumper plates on each handle so that means the total weight was 135kg for the farmer's walk. This was not a timed workout, more of an accessory work. It's been months since doing handstand so it was fun to get upside down and attack this skill. It was a good combination of movements.

Strongman / Skills

Saturday 9.4: Cleans, Row, Hspu

Saturday. Emom x 10min: 3 hang squat clean @ 80kg. Metcon, 12min amrap of: 250m row, 6 hspu. Result, 8rds + 180m row.

Saturday workout took place rather early in the morning as we had planned a day in the downtown Helsinki for a full day. Body felt more stiff than normally but, especially in the beginning. Little by little it got more fresh.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 hang squat cleans @ 80kg

I kept the weights moderate as I was on a rather tight schedule. First couple of minutes felt tight on the hips but then they got looser and looser. Felt okay on these cleans.

Metcon. Result, 8 rounds + 180m row

• 12min amrap of:
• 250m row
• 6 handstand push-ups

This was a lot of fun. It would be tempting to do this for a longer period of time. For this time domain I was able to maintain the round times consistent and transitions short. Hspu's were close to 50 reps. What would happen after 75 reps. There might be some sort of threshold but doing only 6 hspu's per set is tolerable, and could be for a good time.

My goal on the rower was not to take it as a recovery at all but to keep a good pace all the way. It's just something like 20 pulls to reach 250 meters so I kept pulling with a purpose, walked to the wall and took those 6 hspu's unbroken. This was a good efficient session, and I left the gym with a smile on my face

Friday 8.4: Two metcons and cleans

Friday. Wod, 10min amrap of: 20 squats, 15 ghd, 12 jerks (2x15kg db's). Result, 273 reps. Cleans up to 100kg. Wod, 4rds of: 12 kb swing (32kg), 25 lunges, 250m row. Wear a 10kg vest. Time, 11.25.

Today was somewhat an easier day. It wasn't supposed to be but I didn't come up with a perfect plan so this is what it turned out to =) The latter metcon beat my legs though. Cleans in the middle were lighter ones.

Metcon. Result, 273 reps (5 rounds + 3 jerks)

• 10min amrap of:
• 20 air squats
• 15 ghd sit-ups
• 12 shoulder-to-overhead, 2x15kg dumbbells

First piece was basically no warm-up needed type of wod. Bodyweight plus some lighter dumbbells. Focus was on keeping my body moving constantly, and not stop to breathe. Still, this didn't get me gassed that bad. Legs got their share on the workout. I did the s2o's as push jerks all the way so those got to lower body nicely too.

Cleans.

• Singles 60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100kg

These were light ones. I was spotting one guy on the bench occasionally and didn't have a timer running so this turned out to be a little sloppy piece but I'm happy the lifts were good anyway. Below is the last one at 100kg's

Metcon. Time, 11.25

• 4 rounds of:
• 12 kettlebell swings, 32kg
• 25 walking lunges
• 250m row
• Wear a 10kg weight vest

After the last round was completed I realized the set-up sucked quite a bit of my time. It took me 15+ seconds to walk from rower to the kettlebell. Yes I know, sounds like I should have brought the bell next to the rower. The idea didn't even cross my mind :) On the other hand, maybe that was a good thing so I got my legs recovered a bit on the walks.

Having that vest on also on the kb swings and rowing definitely had its effect. Swings felt kind of funny, and I'm still wondering if I was wearing it the right way or should the front side be on my back. Anyway, lunges were nasty. Definitely liked those in some twisted way.

Thursday 7.4: Squats, Bar mu, Lunges

Thursday. Back squats 5x5 @ 135kg. Accessory, 5rds of: 5 bar mu, 12 reverse lunges @ 50kg

Getting heavier and heavier on the squats. Another grind day by having a barbell on my back. Then skills and more leg burn afterwards. Didn't time that one at all. It was more like accessory work even though the recovery time wasn't too long.

Strength.

• Back squats 5x5 @ 135kg

Last days of this progression that I wrote by myself. It's been 5's all the way. Different amount of sets every time but the main point is that I'll keep adding weights on the bar and keep the volume up. It's been mentally tough at times and especially the last couple of squat sessions have built a lot of personality so to say. These sets were challenging sets but I managed to finish them, very happy!

Accessory.

• 5 rounds of:
• 5 bar muscle-ups
• 12 reverse lunges @ 50kg

This was not a timed workout. I did the muscle-ups and immediately walked to the bar, back racked it and took 12 reverse lunges. Then sat down for a while, went back to chalk my hands and hit another set. It was great to get muscle-ups done, it was simply awesome. I had a miss on the third round. Then got my head around the game again and finished the following repetitions smoothly.

Lunges burned my legs more than I anticipated in the beginning. Last reps of each set were heavy but I refused to pause at any moment. The bar was rather light anyway so I decided to push forward.

Tuesday 5.4: Clean, Hspu, Box, Row

Tuesday. Metcon, 5rds of: 4 power clean (80kg), 8 hspu, 12 box. Time, 8.16. Intervals, every 3:00, for 24min: 400m row.

My legs have felt tired in the past week or so. Since I put up with that 4 emom workout in Tallinn, Estonia, these trunks have felt sore the entire time =) It's been kind of funny but I have still put more pressure on those on a daily basis. I'm very happy on the way I have still been able to perform. Tomorrow's most likely gonna be a recovery day as there are some things to be taken care of.

Metcon. Time, 8.16

• 5 rounds of:
• 4 power cleans @ 80kg
• 8 handstand push-ups
• 12 box jumps

Main goal for today was the rowing intervals. This one got added as an extra piece before those sprints. It was a good conditioning piece for sure. Cleans were quick singles from the first round on. Those started to burn my lower back somewhere in the middle of the workout.

Handstand push-ups felt great all the way. Those were unbroken each round. Last round was tougher but still manageable. Could have still continued for some 1-2 rounds unbroken I'd anticipate. Box jumps felt surprisingly tough on the legs. Felt a good fire in my thighs.

Intervals. Time, 1:15 - 1:20 per set

• Every 3:00, for 24 minutes (8 sets)
• 400m row

These unilateral workouts with just rowing included are challenging. Both lungs and lower body are taking a good hit during this type of wods. My pace remained consistent which was one of the main objectives of the workout. It was something like 1:17 or 1:18 most of the time. Fastest time was 1:15 and the slowest was 1:19 or 1:20. That means to say the pace was somewhere around 1:40/500m.

Holding on to this pace meant the work / rest ratio was something like 1.20 / 1.40. In the beginning it felt abundant but after mid-workout recovery started to play a role. Still, the pace stayed where it needed to be so I'll take this with pleasure.

Monday 4.4: Clean and jerks, Air Force

Monday. Emom x 10min: 3 c&j @ 70kg. Benchmark wod Air Force. Time, 7.51 (PR)

Rough day huh. That Air Force is one nasty maddafakka. I took clean and jerks in emom style with a little heavier weight than normally in barbell conditioning workouts. Then a blast from the past in the form of that benchmark workout. That sealed the day perfectly.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 clean and jerks @ 70kg

It was great to smash that barbell up and down. Focus was to keep the barbell moving touch'n'go on the ground and on the front rack. No pausing at any stage. Went for triples at 70kg which is basically 10kg more than normally when keeping a bar moving constantly. These felt pretty good even though I haven't done c&j's in a while.

Air Force. Time, 7.51 (PR). Compare to 25.11.2014

• 20 thrusters, 42.kg
• 20 sumo deadlift high-pulls, 42.5kg
• 20 push jerks, 42.5kg
• 20 overhead squats, 42.5kg
• 20 front squats, 42.5kg
• Every minute on the minute, complete 4 burpees

It's been about 1.5 years since I've done this benchmark workout. It's been in my mind in the past weeks and months but it's a nasty one so maybe that's the reason I've been putting it in the background. Those punishment burpees are cruel.

My mental game was clearly better than before and I'm extremely happy on this matter. Especially on thrusters and sdhp's. Jerks were okay but it would have been cool to smash then faster. Overhead squats looked ugly and felt miserable. That was not a surprise though.

What I'm super happy about is the way I finished the workout. Grabbed the bar after ohs's to get couple of reps done before the hopefully last burpees. I was definitely not going to complete a single burpee anymore so I fought through the 15 front squats even though my legs were very weak at that point and my mind wanted to put the bar down and go to bed.

It took me a good time to recover from this but I'm super happy for completing this! This was a 2min personal record on this benchmark wod.

Sunday 3.4: Snatch, Mainsite

Sunday. Snatch emom x 10min: snatch + ohs (up to 60kg). Metcon, 20min amrap of: 400m row, 20 ghd, 10 ohs @ 42.5kg. Result, 5rds + 379m.

Oh my, these legs have felt sore big time since Thursday. Yesterday's heavy squats probably didn't help either. Today's agenda was snatches in the beginning and then a longer amrap in the end.

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• Snatch + overhead squat (50, 50, 55, 55, 55, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60kg)

It was a blessing to get my hands on a barbell and hit some snatches. It was a blast. I honestly feel like my snatches have taken a huge leap forward (not literally) on the technique. Once in a while I look at the videos from history just to compare how things have changed on my crossfit path during time.

Began at 50kg and went on by feeling. The snatches were okay. Only the first 60kg lift was horribly off but other than that they were alright. They were caught a little too front which is a classic in my case. I have never failed a snatch too much behind so that probably gives a hint that I'm not pulling back enough.

Snatches and first round of overhead squats

Metcon. Result, 5 rounds + 379m row

• 20min amrap of:
• 400m row
• 20 ghd sit-ups
• 10 overhead squats @ 42.5kg

This was on mainsite (www.crossfit.com) yesterday and it caught my attention. Decided to hit it today, just subbed running for rowing due to circumstances. Rowing was easy pace, something around 1:50+. My reasoning was that saving couple of seconds there would not make a big difference. Instead, cutting the transition times would make.

Through the rounds of 2-4 I had to change the order of ghd's and ohs's because someone was hassling over with the ghd machine for some back extensions. Well, I didn't mind which movement came first, and didn't reckon a difference in the difficulty level either way. These were unbroken each round.

Saturday 2.4: Squats

Saturday. Back squats 7x5 @ 130kg.

On Friday I arrived home from Tallinn late in the evening so there was practically no chance for training session. My legs were killing me after those Thursday emoms. Today I needed to get some squats still in the books even with the legs being sore as hell.

Strength.

• Back squats 7x5 @ 130kg

Part of the progression I've written for myself. Went alright. Last couple of reps were tough as nails at times. Heavy shit to be honest but very happy on finishing each set with 130kg.

Thursday 31.3: Tallinn workout

Thursday 31.3: Tallinn workout

We traveled to Tallinn, Estonia, early in the morning. Had to wake up at 5.00. That's 2 hours earlier than normally so there was some yawns in the game. After work day was over we headed to a local "globo gym" for a crossfit session with Ville.

1. Emom x 10
10 thruster @ 2x16kg db's

After quick warm-up I found dumbbells and started moving them. In the beginning I thought is the weight okay but towards the end it definitely got spicy in the shoulders.

2. Emom x 10
4 hang power clean @ 60kg
4 front squat @ 60kg

It was a positive surprise to find a barbell with free loading possible. There was exactly 5min break between the emoms. Had no idea what to do. This was basically created during the first set :)

3. E2mom x 10
6-7-8-9-10 Push jerk @ 50kg
12-12-12-12-12 lunges @ 50kg

Two elements. Started with 6 jerks @ 50kg and 12 lunges. Then on the next round it was 7 jerks / 12 lunges. Added one more overhead after every set. This got to my legs efficiently.

4. Wod, 5rds of:
1min SkiEg
1min Row

In the end we fooled around with pure cardio. I realized the existence of SkiErg only at this time. Otherwise it would have most likely been utilized more.

We took turns on the rower and skierg with Ville. I started on the ski machine and Ville on the rower. After exactly one minute we switched on the fly. Got faster towards the end. Perfect ending to this session