Monday. Back squat 4x9 (103kg). Diane, time 6.40 (PR).
I started the week with squats, and a benchmark workout Diane. Both went pretty well. This was the beginning of Smolov squats. I'll do them for couple of weeks and concentrate on getting my legs stronger. Diane felt like a perfect ending to this session as I've thought about completing this workout for quite some time.
Smolov.
Back squat 4x9 (103kg)
This first session was a total of 4 sets of 9 repetitions. Mentally this was easier because about 100k is not that bad. On the other hand, these long sets are bad ass. I tried to knock a few off tng style, then catch a breath, and finish the reps. Good start to getting legs stronger.
The first ever Diane I did was back in 2013, and the time was 17.47. There's been good progression on these skills, and I'm happy to report a new record on this wod at 6.40. This one is definitely all about the hspu's for me.
Diane
At some point during the workout it was a bit frustrating as I thought there's not gonna be a new record. After I went home and checked the previous time, it was a great moment to realize I had remembered the previous PR time incorrectly. This time I was happy about it because it meant that I got through this faster than ever before. Even with breaking the deads into pieces. Okay, the breaks were not long so it was mostly because I was able to move faster on the hspu's.
Friday. Strength, front squat 7x5 (115-120kg). Metcon, Diane, 21-15-9 of: deadlift and hspu's.
We went for a dinner after work together with Toni and couple of other colleagues. We had booked a table at restaurant Pastis in Helsinki, good atmosphere and great for a small group's Friday night dinner =) Had to sneak to the gym earlier to hit my daily doze of crossfit.
Damned I felt bad for Jason Khalipa on this event in 2012
Strength.
Front squat 7x5 (120, 120, 117.5, 117.5, 115, 115, 115kg)
The weight on these load were getting serious. They were supposed to be 120kg squats with a bar on front rack position. One set was okay, the last rep was a battle though. Second set was horrible on the last 2 reps so I decided to drop down 2.5kg. That was a good call. I got the third set done in a similar way as the first. Then it got tough again, and the last two reps were big grinding.
Got energy for one more set at 117.5kg before I had to come down to 115kg. I knew at those thresholds that I have to decrease the load with 2.5kg because the last reps were so challenging and the form wasn't beautiful anymore. I'm very satisfied to that call.
All in all these squats were as mentally and physically tough as I had anticipated. I'm happy they are over to say the truth. Got to take one more session of heavy triples before getting back to regular back squat / front squat rotation.
I had Diane in mind already about a week ago but today it happened. After squats I took couple of deadlifts and clean pulls just for fun. Then all of a sudden there was exactly 100kg on the bar and I realized myself pulling it for multiple reps. I decided to change the game plan on the fly to complete Diane, classic benchmark stuff. I like this workout because it also shows how your hspu's are developing. By the way, Diane should be 102.5kg to be rx'd but as I just wrote, this was not that much planned so it was accidentally 100kg on the bar.
Because this wasn't that much planned beforehand, I had no clock running at all. My lungs are not in 100% condition so I thought about taking it easier with metcons. As I was pulling away I noticed at some point I'm doing this exactly as if it for time. So it kind of was but there wasn't the timer on anyway.
It was kind of weird to pull deadlift from the ground as it's been so long since that has taken place. I didn't do them unbroken as I would normally do with this kind of light weight. Only last round was unbroken. Hspu's were 16-5 on the first round. Second round might have been 9-6 or 9-3-3. And last round was probably 5-2-2. Anyway, I am sure I spent less time on handstand push-ups than before.
The session was good. Only thing that was a bummer was that my neck got somehow tweaked or something at some point during the front squats. It's sore and it's difficult to tilt my head. Hopefully that goes by quickly, I'd like to turn my head normally.
Tuesday. Gymnastics, C2B progressions. Strength, tempo squats, 5x2 (max 120kg). Metcon, Diane 21-15-9, deadlift (102.5kg), hspu. Time 8.06.
Squats, yammy! Started this training session with similar type of chest-to-bar progressions as I took on about a week ago. Then tempo squats / pause squats to make my legs stronger. Finally ended up doing a benchmark workout Diane.
This is similar to the one I did on the last days of June with the exception that there was 1 rep more per set today compared to the first progression set. I've considered C2B's a weakness of mine but only because I haven't practiced them. Regular pull-ups are more like a strength and this difference between them has puzzled me so much that I decided to correct this flaw. I've done couple of strict c2b's in every training sessions for maybe 2-3 months now. It's about 95% probability that I've done those strict ones as a warm-up, no matter what's ahead of me in the actual workouts.
This movement is getting together pretty well nowadays. I don't consider it that difficult anymore. Earlier this year I felt like I have to do those repetitions as singles and I couldn't link reps at all. Didn't want it to stay like that so I made my moves. Increase the amount of reps, a lot.
Strength.
Tempo squats, 5x2 (100, 105, 110, 115, 120kg)
5 seconds down, 5 seconds hold in the bottom position, then up
Wanted to have some sort of pause squats for my legs but I wasn't sure how to make it in real life. I follow Chad Vaughn and his pal Mike Cerbus in Instagram and they seem to do a bunch of these for strengthening lower body. Vaughn is a 2-time olympian and a bad ass in all means when it comes to lifting weights.
I wasn't sure how many reps to do without resetting the bar in between, and I finally ended up doing doubles, with 5sec descending time and 5sec bottom hold position, before coming up as fast as possible. The weights were also a mystery me with these kind of squats. Had I done regular pause squats, I could have carried more weight because I can hold the package tight for a shorter time. But for as long time as these were, I gotta let loose the air and catch some more before standing back up.
The "negative" rep on my way down was as developing movement as getting back up. I really enjoyed tempo squats this time. Last time when I did pause squats my left hip flexor got inflamed for couple of days. Now I'm feeling better after today's session =)
This really got to me. Not the best day for me for sure. Deadlifts have never been this heavy in a metcon of 21-15-9. I should be able to knock them through unbroken but that wasn't the case this time. It's a light weight, about 50% of my max load and there is no excuse for dropping the bar unless it's intentional for saving gas for hspu's. Now I had to take extra breaks there and it cost me a PR in Diane.
There was about 30sec difference to my best result (7.34). I think I made it 14-7 on the deads, then 10-5 and finally 5-4. My back was in fire and I didn't want to hold on to the barbell so I had to drop it. Even though it feels it's just couple of seconds your hands are off the bar, it's more in real life. I've witnessed these occasions on video.
Don't know what to say about hspu's. I got them 11-5-5 on the first round, probably something like 5-5-3-2 on the second and finally 5-2-2 on the last one. Deads ate some of my energy from hspu's so I couldn't make them as efficiently as I'd want to.
All in all, this training session was great indeed. I got to practice on my C2B's in the beginning with about 50 reps. Those tempo squats were great in nature and even though I wasn't able to smash top time on Diane, it's still a kick ass workout and I enjoyed every second of it!
Thursday. Back squats, 4x2 across (135kg). Benchmark workout Diane, 21-15-9, deadlift (102.5kg), hspu. Time 7.34 (PR).
I got to replace yesterday's plans today with heavy back squat doubles and Diane. It was time to step up the game on the squats and Diane was pure fun. I also worked with the rings in the beginning of the session. I had lack of concentration or something but I failed to get any ring muscle-ups. That was a bugger. Need to get better.
Strength. Squats
Back squats 4x2 across (135kg)
Getting stronger and more confident on the squats. It seems to be finally paying off by squatting every third days. My cycle has been to do squats, then train something else for about 2 days, and hit it back with the squats.Only lately have I taken some plans on my squats and it seems to have been a good decision.
I PR'd my back squat at 142.5kg three weeks ago and since then I've done lots of sets with 130kg. I'm feeling good about the weight and it's not intimidating at all anymore. It used to be a weight that was psychologically heavy-ish. Now I'm able to move it pretty nicely.
Today it was time to add 5kg on the bar and complete doubles. I took a total of 4 sets. There was some time schedule pressure so I had to leave it there. I'm very happy to being able to squat this weight without any misses or hesitation.
Sometime in the end of last year I made a conscious decision to decrease the amount of deadlifting drastically because it felt like it's too much burden on lower back if I squat and deadlift a lot at the same time. Even though I dropped deads from my training, my legs have become stronger and thus my PR in deadlift has increased with 15kg (190kg -> 205kg). I genuinely didn't do heavy deadlifts practically at all in months.
I've been thinking about this for a while and understood that it's true what "they say". Everything depends on your legs. You wanna make your lifts bigger, concentrate in squatting, making your legs stronger. I find it difficult to squat for example today and next time on Sunday, while adding deadlift training at some slot. Where to find a good time to do both as I don't want to compromise my squats. It's too much of a pressure on lower back if I'd go for either of these pretty much every other day.
So I think I'll take a deadlift metcon every now and then after having done squat strength. Like today. Okay, the weight on Diane is not heavy at all but it's still good to do deads. It's no problem for me to do them on the same day but on consecutive days it's more difficult.
I felt good on Diane. Improved my PR from 9.47 to 7.34, over 2min. This was my 4th time with her. Time has improved from almost 18 minutes, then to 16min, third one was little less than 10min and today seven and a half. I'm very happy with the way my hspu's have developed. I increased the level of training last summer and the result can be seen on this type of benchmark workouts.
I completed deadlifts unbroken, not bad, light weight. Did the hspu's in 3 sets on the first round, 12 on first try, then maybe 5+4. On the second round it was 6 + something, don't quite remember, I think it was in 3 sets as well (6+5+4…). Las round was tough on the shoulders. It was two triples, then a double and a single. Had only a short break before the last rep.
Monday. Benchmark workout Diane. Time 9.47. Metcon, 4 rounds of: 500m row, 25 push-ups. Time 12.02
I've been training handstand push-ups like a maniac lately. Wanted to put myself to test and see has all the training paid off or have I worked in vain. Could there be a better benchmark workout as Diane? Lots of hspu's and especially, lots of reps in a row. Huge test. I had a break and took another metcon of rowing and push-ups.
Diane. Time 9.47.
21-15-9
Deadlift, 102.5kg
Handstand push-ups
Yeah baby! Compare to previous Diane, done in June. In 4 months my time was cut from 16.02 to 9.47, that's way over 6 minutes, c'mon!!! Those endless amounts of hspu's in the past couple of months have really been worth it. Especially in September I did over 300 reps.
Had some doubts about my strategy. I knew my hspu's are much stronger nowadays and I should be able to nail multiple reps in a row. However, I also know that once shoulders / triceps go fatigue, it's difficult to get them recovered. So I couldn't decided on my tactic on this one and decided to go by feeling. Listen to my body and hope it gets me where I needed to get.
Deadlift was light weight stuff and thus didn't create any probs. 102.5kg should fly up and it did. It got breathing go heavier so that was the downside of it. But my muscles were able to move the barbell like it should move. I think of this workout like it's 45 hspu's with short break in between sets.
The result is made on the hspu's. I did 10 reps on the first attempt, then 5+3+3. It took me 3.20 to finish the first round. On the second round I believe I did 6+4+3+2, or something alike. At least 6 reps on the first try. Time was about 6.20 as I was done with the round of 15's. The last round was something like 4+2+2+1.
Don't know, maybe I could have pushed a little more on the hspu's. I was afraid of them putting my shoulders in unbearable flames that is hard to overcome. So I believe I was holding back a little on the rounds of 21's and 15's. In the final round I was all in. Of course my shoulders were feeling it definitely from the beginning to the end but the muscle pain was tolerable. It got me thinking whether I could have pushed it a bit more. Anyway, I was super happy on the result!!!
Hannu on push press
Metcon. Time 12.02
4 rounds of:
500m row
25 push-ups
Did another metcon to get all my juice flowing in the body. Rowing and push-ups. Thought I've never done this type of workout. Until I checked my Diane from March. I happened to complete identical workout with 2 rounds, today I did 4 rounds: 2k row and 100 push-ups. Those push-ups aren't really my thing, I'm not that strong in the movement and I had to break each set. Guess those hspu's also had their influence. On the row I went at approximately 1.50 pace all the way. This workout was not all in type of action, more like "for completion". Liked the program anyway, good combination of 2 simple movements. Definitely worth doing another time.
Tomorrow I'm gonna go workout with my bro, hopefully. He had a slight incident today with the barbells as weights dropped on his foot so hopefully he's in shape tomorrow.
I had a friend today at the gym, Hannu, doing strength training. He had a good attitude, completing 3 different emom trainings. That's a tough one. Think about it: push press emom for 10 min, back squat emom for 10min and finishing with 10 min emom with thrusters. That's a lot of reps for strength! You'll see a video of him doing presses up there.
Thursday. Benchmark workout Diane. Time 16.02. Dips, 4x15.
Second benchmark wod in two days. It was time to improve my Diane time 'cause I've been doing some invert training after the last try. I still need A LOT of practice with handstand push-ups and strengthen my shoulder / triceps section.
Diane. Time 16.02
21-15-9
Deadlift, 102.5kg
Handstand push-ups
Diane is not an easy woman to handle for me. Deadlifts are light, okay with that but that the hspu's are tough with so large amount of reps in a row. I remember doing workouts like Mary with 5 reps per round and I've been able to hit them unbroken from beginning to the end. But completing 21 reps without doing something in between is sick. This is a workout that definitely reveals my weakness. The deadlifts were a rest to me. This workout is only about handstand push-ups, how fast can I complete 45 of them.
I started to feel the tension in my upper body already in the first round. The set of 15 was very tough and the last set was a mental battle. The finish was in the horizon so I was able to improve a bit compared to the middle round.
My total time improved a bit over one and a half minutes: 17.47 -> 16.02. Not bad. I'm gonna improve on my handstand push-ups and handstand walk this summer a great deal and later this year I'm gonna complete Diane with style.
Meathead section.
50 Push-ups
4 x 10 biceps
4 x 15 rack dips
In order to improve my upper body strength, I did some ancillary movements, basically biceps and triceps. Those push-ups I did with narrow grip to focus as much pressure on my triceps as possible. I did 3/4 sets unbroken with the rack dips.
Here's a Talayna Fortunato's recent workout. I envy those HSPU's!
Tuesday. Diane. Time 17.47. Short row & push-up metcon.
I've been tempted to do Diane for a loooong time. However, my handstand push-ups have been in its infancy so I haven't felt it rational to do so yet. Last week as I programmed this week's workouts I decided to hit it anyway, no matter what. Toni travelled to Denmark for a few days so let's see what kind of workouts his imagination brings up.
Ready for a vest-walk yesterday
Diane. Time 17.47
21-15-9
Deadlift, 102.5kg
Handstand push-ups
Now I have that benchmark time in this wod from which to improve. Deadlifts were definitely not the issue in this workout because of the weight, 102.5kg. I still intentionally broke the deadlifts on the first (15+6) and second round (10+5) and went unbroken in the third one. Why is that? Because I figured the benefit of doing them unbroken from the start would vanish as I transferred to handstand push-ups. HSPUs weren't easy for sure.
On the first round I managed to push them through somehow. It was something like 5 minutes and sets of 5-4-4 and triples, maybe some doubles in the end. On the second round - round of 15's - I hit a big wall after 8 reps. From then on, it went on mostly in singles. My shoulders just couldn't take the pressure and perform many consecutive reps. There were some doubles but at least on the last set I had to all singles, as I remember.
For this reason I had my breath under control pretty much all the way from start to finish. Had I done handstand push-ups in a row or in 2-3 sets each round, the nature of the workout would have been totally different. Now it mostly consumed my strength from shoulders and triceps. My HSPUs have improved a lot and I must keep on strengthening my upper body to have them roll perfectly and for longer times in workouts.
In Mary some time ago had the possibility to nail 38 reps, today there were 45 reps in total. In Mary there were only 5 reps each round so it was definitely easier than completing 21 in a row =) Therefore I was happy for being able to do this benchmark girl at this stage!
Metcon.
2 rounds of
500m row
25 hand release push-ups
This was something little to the end. I realized I must increase row load in the future. Just saw Mikko Salo's interview by Rogue Fitness Europe in Facebook / Youtube in which he talked his training methods with rowing machine and skierg. I was blown away with the amount of work the mate is doing with both of them. And I'm longing for that skierg I used to utilize back in Sweden! After doing this short metcon I also did 4x12 triceps as grande finale.
