Friday 21.8: Back squat, Deadlift, Box, Sled

Friday. Back squat, build up to a heavy single (PR 152kg). Deadlift, build up to a heavy single (200kg). Intervals, every 4:00, perform all out sprint of: 10 deads (110kg), 20 box, 2x20m shuttle sled push (55kg + sled).

At the end of hard core squatting in the Smolov phase, it was only natural to try one rep max for back squat. Today was the day. Turned out I got the prize I was looking for in the form of a personal record kaboom! Then couple of heavier deadlifts, and tough interval action which burned my legs bit time.

Strength.

• Back squat, build up to a heavy single (110, 120, 130, 140, 145, 150, PR 152kg)
• Deadlift, build up to a heavy single (140, 170, 190, 200kg)

My back was still a bit tight from all the heavy squatting lately. Legs were great, and hips felt also awesome, and ready to pump it. My mobility in the beginning was longer and more extensive for a reason. I wanted to nail these. There was classical foam rolling, dynamic stretching and rubber band work to get joints ready for bigger loads.

Took 60 / 90kg lifts for couple of reps, then purely singles starting from 110kg, and then went up in 10kg jumps up to 140kg. That was the first weight that felt kinda heavy. The previous ones were easy ones. Up to 145kg I took them casually, and with confidence.

From then on I did a lot of mental work. Plus I did something awkward. I put 150kg on the barbell, and then added 10kg plates on both ends of it to make it 170kg. Stepped up with it to make it feel heavy on my back. Held it for couple of seconds, and dropped it back on the rack. Then removed the 10's and went after 150kg. Of course not right away because I wanted to the legs to feel fresh. I've only lifted 150kg once in my entire life so getting that up was almost like a record breaking lift for me.

The reason behind visiting 170kg was psychological. After that 150kg felt much lighter in my back. Turned out to be a good idea. Got 150kg but it was heavy though. This was my goal of the day. I'm pretty sure I would not have gotten this load up before Smolov. Maybe 145kg but not 150kg.

I actually told one fellow trainer at the gym I got what I was looking for but I'm hungry for more. For a while I was wondering how the heck am I going to get that but then the same strategy came down as with the previous lift. Those 10kg plates appeared at the end of the barbell. Stepped up with 172kg, and held it for couple of seconds before re-racking the bar.

Lots of inner talk of being able to make it, then stepping to get the bar on my back. Huffing and puffing, get down, and grind it all the way up. Celebrate afterwards. I'm very happy of making this new PR of 152kg real.

After squats I took couple of heavier deadlift singles. There wasn't really much deadlift reps to be done today. I guess it was 5x60, 4x100kg, and then just singles leading up to 200kg. On the last two I felt like I wasn't able to maintain such a form as I'd like to. Especially the last one so I didn't put more weight on the bar. It's still awesome to hit 200kg any given training day.

Squats and deads

Intervals.

• Every 4:00, perform all out sets of the following:
• 10 deadlift, 110kg
• 20 box jump
• 2x20m shuttle sled push (55kg + sled)

Damned this was cruel. It was not classic emom stuff. The main purpose was to go hard on every single set. Not pace it out and save energy. No. Do every set as quick as possible, and rest for the remaining time. Once 4 minutes are full, go for another set.

The sled killed me. Deadlifts and box jumps unbroken of course. That was the purpose. Deads were light but it was perfect weight for this one at least today. Box jumps were surprisingly consuming in the end. But that sled… Huh, what a piece of equipment. It was intentionally light, just 55kg plates on top of what the sled weighs itself. I did not respect this one as much as it deserved. It was just pure evilness. My legs recovered on the first break but towards the end they were tired when starting the rounds 3 and 4. This was freaking great workout!

Intervals

Sunday 2.11: Back squat, 3x3min amrap

Sunday. Strength, back squat, find 1RM (max PR 150kg). Metcon, 3x3min amrap, with 1min rest between amraps of: 3 burpee, 6 pull-up, 9 air squat.

I've been dreaming of this day, have been desperate about it and waiting for it eagerly. And finally it came true, back squat PR of 150kg!!! This is truly something that's been knocking in the back of my head for a long time. I'm very happy about this single lift. It's funny how one repetition in human life  can bring such a joy =)

Strength.

• Back squat
• Find 1 rep max (5x90, 1x110, 1x120, 1x130, 1x140, 1x145, 1x150kg PR)

I took couple of weeks Smolov squat program. I don't usually do any programs but rely on crossfit's fundamentals; constant variety. Keep on doing different types of workouts, with different movement combos, different rep schemes, different time domains, different loads. But for some unknown reason this Smolov thing got to my head sometime in the spring time and stuck there for couple of months. I decided to give it a shot and it most definitely wasn't an easy walk but somehow I enjoyed it a lot anyway. There were a lot of benefits to this program.

I tried that one rep max right after having finished the Smolov but that was too soon. When I began Smolov, I entered my 1 rep max at 145kg which was the truth, that was my PR number. Had I tried that number a day before Smolov started, I don't think I would have made it a successful lift. The lifts during the program were based on that 145kg so it probably was a little over what I should have been squatting. Anyway, I tried to top my previous max load right after the last squats were done in that intensity period but it might have been too soon as I failed in 150kg lift. However, 140kg lift that time was the easiest I've done in my life. And about a week ago I took a triple at that weight.

My legs were smashed in the end of this training week after all those benchmark workouts. Yesterday was a day off for me and it got me thinking my legs might recover enough to get that new record in the books. I usually don't take days off because I just love to train. That's as simple as that. I love the feeling of working out and it gives me the highs I'm looking for in life but once in a while it's okay to let the body chill out and recover. I felt the difference in my legs immediately waking up today. No soreness in anywhere in my body, that was a strange feeling =)

Take a look at the videos of today's lifts. It was light up to 140kg, after that I needed to push it to get the reps done. The last rep was probably the slowest back squat the world has ever witnessed. But I got it done on my own, didn't need any help from my spotter. Last time Pauliina had to touch my ribcage during the lift a bit but today she stayed away and let me done my thing.

Metcon.

• 3x3min amrap of:
• 3 burpee
• 6 pull-up
• 9 air squat
• Result, 93, 93, 96 reps

This was a great workout for sure! Very good metabolic conditioning workout. My breathing was heavy and legs were burning. It was a bit surprising my upper body felt pretty fine all the way. There was a total of 54 burpees, 93 pull-ups, 135 squats so it was kind of funny how I got to sneak a good number of pull-ups done in a short time.

Probably the toughest part of these three movements were the squats. This was similar as to benchmark workout Chief - which btw is a freaking awesome workout - with 3min amraps with 1min rest between sets. The elements were just different. I wanted to have pull-ups, that was the main element around which I constructed the rest of it. Ideally I liked to see myself rocking this for 5 amraps but my training partner was rushing me to pack up my gear and get going haha =)

Back squat recap

Had no idea how many reps I would be able to complete in 3 minutes. In the first amrap it was 5 rounds + 3 burpees. On the second one I tried to stick to that and actually I got exactly the same amount of reps. The last amrap was obviously the toughest as the 1min recovery after second cycle felt much shorter and I entered the last amrap with heavy heart beat before the first rep. After having completed 5rds + 3 burpees on the 6th round I checked the timer and it said there are couple of seconds left so I had time to do 3 more pull-ups and thus get the best result in the last set.

Saturday 8.3: Ring mu's, back squat max, pair wod

Saturday. Ring muscle-ups. Strength, back squats max out (PR 145kg). Pair wod with Sipa. Part I: complete 50 thrusters (50kg), on top of every min 4 burpees for both. Part II: Row 3k in sets of 250m while the other partner completes 15t2b. Part III: 20 squat cleans (80-90kg).

This is exactly what I've been waiting for: some training time with my big bro! These training sessions are awesome, we can uptalk each other for great performances and also give tips on our techniques on lifts and skills. That's he reason why we try to hook up as often as possible to crossfit together. Reality brings some difficulties which is why this was the first time we worked together this year =) We started by playing with the rings, then maxed out on back squat and finally worked through a pair workout.

PR 145kg

Skills.

• Ring muscle-ups
• Complete 5 reps
• Practice non-false grip mu's

This was a great session! I took traditional ring muscle-ups like I've done them always this far. No problem, taking a false grip then a slight kip and hopefully a quick transition to get over the rings and land on the dip position. We took 'em alternating with Sipa up to 5 reps. I think he took some doubles there as well. Anyway, we were done with this, just a little quick fun skills set before strength. Then we thought about trying to get some reps done without false grip. That's a totally different ball game when you take into consideration our skills level on this particular movement.

No false grip

I took my first try and was so close but once I got on top of the rings I fell through the rings. There was no doubt I would get one if tried another shot at it. Same happened with Sipa. It was just inches away. On our second try we both made it successfully. I almost took a double without false grip. If I have false grip there's no chance to go for a double. So this success significant for future progress. I'm very happy we both made it!

Strength.

• Back squats
• 3x105, 2x125, 1x135, 1x145kg PR

There was only one objective on this one. Chase a new PR. Having done heavier sets for the past weeks has paid off. My loads on back squats have mostly been around 130-135kg for doubles, triples and fours. Earlier this week I got 140kg up 5 times (a double and 3 singles). Today on my climb up I jumped from 135kg straight to 145kg. It was tough, no doubt about it. Still, I had to try 150kg which was a pathetic attempt this time =) I'm gonna get it. Just have to do more work, getting legs stronger. This was a huge thing for me.

Skills and squats recap

Pair workout with Sipa.

• Part I: Complete 50 thrusters (50kg) in sets of 5 reps. On top of every min, both complete 4 burpees
• Part II: Row 3.000m, in sets of 250m. While other one rows, the other one completes 15 toes-to-bar
• Part III: 20 squat cleans, alternating singles. Weights between 80-90kg

This was awesome! Three-part workout where the first part was about thrusters, second one about rowing and core work and finally heavy clean singles in a metcon is always refreshing.  Completing it together with my bro made it even more fun. We are pretty much at the same level in fitness in both strength and metabolic condition so we can easily do same amount of work in about the same time frame.

The first part was a quick one. It was about 3.40 when we were done with the thrusters / burpees. After that I didn't take a look at the clock anymore. Every minute started by both of us doing 4 burpees, then the rest of the minute thrusters in sets of 5 per athlete. It was either 2 or 3 sets of 5 reps per minute. Breathing got fast quickly but I felt there's enough strength and endurance left in the tank, no prob hammering through the thrusters. Total of 16 burpees and 25 thrusters.

The second part of the workout was miserable. Rowing not that bad, my pace was around 1.40-1.42 for most of the sets, the last 1-2 sets were slower, something around 1.45. But those toes-to-bar were tough! We agreed on 15 reps or max effort if 15reps turned out too challenging. I fought through those 15 reps each time. For 2 or 3 sets I went unbroken, then had to break it. First 10+5, and finally smaller sets. My abs and hip flexors were burning badly. Very tough indeed! We rowed for 3k, so it's 1.5k for both plus 90 t2b's.

Pair workout

The last part of the workout was in my wheelhouse. Heavy cleans is something I love. And it seems to be spectacular to incorporate some heavy barbell stuff within a metcon. You can add cleans, deadlifts, thrusters or something alike. I like it anyway. We had planned on 80kg but I had to upgrade it after 3 reps. First to 85kg and finally to 90kg for the last 4 reps. Cleans caused me no probs whatsoever. I felt like I could have continued them forever. That was an amazing feeling because we were both smashed after the rowing and t2b's. It was cool how well we were able to recover so quickly for heavy lifts.

Thanks bro for joining me at the box. Saturday night fever, no one else at the gym. Just two Lamppu's working out. Good skills progressions, PR on strength and once again, an awesome workout with you. More of this!

Tuesday 28.1: Clean singles, squat singles

Tuesday. Strength, clean singles (max PR 107.5kg). Back squat singles (max PR 142.5kg).

PR Day! It's been a long time since last day when I didn't do any metcon or didn't put my heart and lungs to work hard. So today my intention was to give my body a rest on the metabolic condition. Actually I didn't have an idea what to do when I entered the gym. Little before I walked in I got a feeling of doing some clean singles. Not looking for max numbers but just going heavy. The end result turned out to be great!

Strength. Clean and back squat

• Clean, 3x70, 1x80, 90, 100, PR 105, failed at 107.5kg, PR 107.5kg
• Back squat, 2x80, 100, 1x120, 130, 137.5, PR 142.5kg

Okay, after having warmed up I grabbed a barbell and started working on clean technique. I went for hang cleans and hang squat cleans for a while with lighter weights. Actually the last hang clean I did was @ 80kg. And it felt easy. Felt like I got under the bar quickly. Never has 80kg been that easy from pocket. When I mean hang clean I mean it's from the pocket, not from mid-thigh. That's your choice, do whatever you want. I've used to do them from the pocket, feels more natural for me.

After 80kg I started doing singles from the floor. First 90kg, felt light, added 10kg to reach 3-digit numbers, still came up solidly. My last record was 102.5kg. I skipped that and jumped right on to 105kg. That's on the video below. I took it with my phone.

It was a pity my phone's memory got full on this lift and I don't have the next lift on camera. Actually the very next rep wasn't a success. I had good tension on the lift and ready to pull and clean. But once I got the bar off the floor it was "too close" to my body and it hit both of my knees on the way up. Well, I dropped it, walked around for a while and got back to the zone, mentally.

Walked to the bar, puffed around, and did my thang. I got under the bar well and I was positively surprised how confident I felt being under that weight on the clean. Coming up with the bar wasn't an issue because my front squat is at okay level. What I realized afterwards was that those front squats with a pause that I've done lately, might have made a difference on today's performance. I've done something between 90-110k. I've created those weights to be at my comfort zone. So dropping under the bar with these weights have felt good.

I think it has lots to do with daring to go under the barbell. If you don't dare, you won't drop, even though you would be able. Even though the bar would travel high enough. This happened to me on the last rep I tried, at 110kg. The bar came up enough, the only thing I needed was the explosive drop. But I didn't drop. Need to work on those paused squats. On both front, back and overhead squats. They are great!

As I was on a roll I decided to try what squats feel like. I had planned to max out the squats on Thursday but it felt okay so I started piling stuff on the barbell. I was pondering what to do after 130kg. Should I put 135 or 140kg right away, and ended up having 137.5kg on the bar. Took it up and went for PR lift of 142.5kg. Previous record was 140kg and it's been there for a while. Completing that 142.5kg was bigger mentally than it is weight-wise. It was a victory for me too difficult to explain. I believe it's been some sort of mental barrier to step beyond 140kg. I hope there are no limits after today's performance! I think double the bodyweight is the amount of stuff I should be able to lift. That would be around 160kg. There's more work ahead of me, and I like it

Saturday 2.2: Squat, Snatch, OHS, Winter War

Saturday. Back squats 1-1-1-1-1 (max PR 140kg), snatch 1-1-1-1-1 (max PR 52.5kg), overhead squats 3-3-2-1 (max PR 50kg).

Huh, this was one heck of a crossfit day! I spent the whole saturday with my bro. First of all, we met in the morning at the box to do some serious training. Agenda was to train hard first, then take a road trip 2 hours away to Tampere where Winter War - Finnish national crossfit finals - took place throughout the day. Neither of us participated in the qualifiers but we wanted to drive and take a look what it looks like at the spot. Sipa definitely wanted to do the qualifiers before heading to the actual games. I have a Game Day tomorrow so I didn't want to risk anything by going too rough. That's why I went strength singles today, no metcons for me.

Box jumps, Sipa

Strength. Huh, three PR's today!

• Back squat 1-1-1-1-1 (100, 120, 130, 135, PR 140kg)
• Snatch 1-1-1-1-1 (30, 40, 45, PR 50kg, PR 52.5kg)
• Overhead squats 3-3-2-1 (30, 40, PR 45kg, PR 50kg)

I simply nailed it. I just wrote on Wednesday that I'd better get my bro to the box so I'd PR my back squat again =) It's been quite a tradition this far. Those squats felt easy for some reason. I didn't take many reps, just warming up with 60kg, trying to stretch as well before entering to real weights. I still had the feeling I could have piled more weights after 140kg, weird… Felt incredibly awesome!

Back squat, 140kg, PR

After squats I decided to give it a shot with overhead squats. My plan was to do sets of 3 reps and start the movement from the ground by snatching the barbell overhead. After discussing it with Sipa, I managed to find better stability in the overhead squat position. I have been playing snatches with 40kg for some time and gained good confidence. It's not an issue anymore to lift it. Therefore it was only natural to add kilos. I took set of 45kg, my old snatch record and overhead squatted my new record (40 -> 45kg). It was rather easy so I stepped it up a notch, 50kg, both snatch and overhead squat, c'mon! Finally I snatched 52.5kg, which now stands my current snatch PR. I didn't try to squat it at all.

This was beautiful, three PR's in one day. This day will stay in my memories for some time =) Sipa's day was sick. He did three workouts with 5 min rest between workouts. First one was the most cruel, heavy thrusters. Short break and continue with box jumps, push-ups and double unders. Finally funny combo of pull-ups and toes-to-bars. I'm telling you, this guy was crushed after the workouts. His shoulders were screaming in pain. Take a look at the videos below!

Sipa's workout no 1. Result 38.4 reps (38 thrusters and 4 burpees)

• 8 min amrap of:
• 10 thrusters, 40kg
• 10 thrusters, 50kg
• 10 thrusters, 60kg
• 10 thrusters, 70kg
• 10 thrusters, 80kg
• 10 thrusters, 90kg
• Once the athlete is not able to do thrusters anymore: bar-facing burpees

Sipa's workout no 2. Result 132 reps (2 rounds + 2 double unders)

• 6 min amrap of:
• 20 box jumps, 64cm
• 10 hand release push-ups
• 20 double unders

Sipa's workout no 3. Result 58 reps

• 4 min amrap of:
• 1 pull-up
• 1 toes-to-bar

Winter War. After the workouts we headed north to Finland's national crossfit games. The workouts were sick and the guys were monsters. We were stunned to look at the guys performing. The winner - Mikko Aronpää - participated in the Crossfit Games last year and finished as the 32nd fittest human on earth. These athletes had to go through 5 workouts before the last 10 guys reached the final workout which stood as follows. That was sick, especially as the 100kg front squats and 80kg overhead squats started from the ground, not from rack. Cruel.

Mikko Aronpää, rope climbs

With a 15min time cap perform the following. Barbell starts from the ground.

• 10 muscle-ups
• 10 deadlifts, 150kg
• 20 toes-to-bar
• 2 rope climb
• 10 front squats, 100kg
• 20 toes-to-bar
• 2 rope climb
• 10 overhead squats, 80kg
• 20 toes-to-bar
• 2 rope climb
• 5 muscle-ups

Mikko Aronpää at the clean & jerk ladder, 120kg

Thursday 27.12: back squat, pair metcon

Thursday. Back squat 5-5-5-5-3-2 (max PR 135kg). Pair metcon 8 rounds of 10 k2e + box jumps. Time 8.16.

The whole gang at the Box: me, Pauliina, Toni and my brother Sami, nice! Good feeling and ready to lift weights. We took some rowing for starters, then double unders, warming up hamstrings, lower back and hip area. Toni successfully continued to practice his kipping pull-ups, they look much better nowadays and he's able to do a few reps in a row, assisted with a rubber band. I'm confident he's gonna get rid of that band soon and go for genuine kipping pull-ups. I must say he is a determined athlete. Once he has decided to learn something new, he will keep on pursuing that until he reaches his goal.

Strength. Back squat 5-5-5-5-3-2 (100, 110, 120, 125, 130, PR 135kg). Huh, that was not my goal today but once it felt so good, I had to keep on adding plates on the bar and take a new personal record of 135kg :) My goal was to go for 5 rep sets up to maybe 125 kilos but it simply didn't feel that heavy so I had to push through. My warm-up for these squats was good and more concentrated in getting those specific muscles ready that are needed for squats: my hip area, hamstrings, lower back, abs.

This time I believe the depth of my squats was way better than last time, the day before Christmas eve. I'm happy with these. And it was time to break my record, which dates back to 2nd December. It feels like an eternity but it's been only three weeks :) I did that PR in Stockholm. Today I did fives up to 125kg and then 3 reps for 130 and for 135kg my bro secured my lifts from behind. He maybe assisted a bit in the first lift but in the second I took it up myself so I can proudly say I did a new PR :) The last lifts were not easy but I got my head in the game and was able to come up from under the pile of all those plates.

Back squat, 130kg

Back squat, 135kg

Sami went to 140kg and attempted a new PR of 150kg, which this time failed to come up. Current max is at 145kg. Toni also broke his record yesterday with 10kg when going after 120kg.

Metcon. Pair wod with Sami, my brother. Time 8.16.

• 8 rounds
• 10 knees-to-elbows
• 10 box jumps, 64cm

At the end we took a pair wod with Sami consisting of two movements: knees-to-elbows and 64cm box jumps. I started with the K2Es and Sami with the boxes. We did them with pretty much the same pace so this was a good workout to be done with him. Total of 80 reps each movement. Box jumps wasn't the issue for neither of us but the knees-to-elbows became difficult as my groins started to fire up and go numb. For the first maybe 4 rounds I went unbroken, then it had to be divided. Sami had the same problems with K2Es. I think we were equally equipped with strength and skills in this workout and we timed the final reps at 8.16. I focused on raising my knees all the way to my elbows and not doing half reps during the workout.

A little playing in the end

Toni's workout. Time 13.12

• 3 rounds of
• 9 deadlifts
• 50 double unders
• 15 box jumps

Toni skipped strength workouts today and put all effort in completing a deadlift centered metcon. This was a good call and follows Toni's ideology of not every time lifting heavy weights. I believe his plan is to do strength plus metcon on one day and then only a metcon on the second day, following this rhythm few times a week: every other day is a strength based workout. This is how he is going to pay more attention to his metabolic conditioning. Good call!

Sunday 2.12: Back squats and metcon

Sunday. Back squat 5x2 (max PR 130kg). Metcon kb c&j, kb swings, du. Time 10.06. Handstand skills training.

Second day at the gym in Stockholm. Sunday early afternoon, ready to back squat high numbers. I took different kind of approach to this strength training. 2-rep sets up to new max. Then a metcon which blew my brains out. Finally some handstand skills training. Pauliina focused on shoulders and bottom :)

Strength. Back squat 2-2-2-2-2 (100, 110, 120, 125, PR 130kg).

Normally I take more reps with lighter kilos before hitting bigger weights. Today I squatted front and back squats with empty bar for quite a while to get my joints loosen up and prepare them for real squats. My air squats, lunges and stretching before the back squats were also thought carefully. Then I only took a few 60kg reps after starting my 2-rep sets from 100kg up. This seemed to be a good implementation and worked for its purpose today. I added to 110, 120, 125 and finally PR'd my max load to 130kg. I was extremely happy for today's training!

Metcon. Time 10.06. Kettlebells and double unders.

• 4 rounds of:
• 7 kettlebell clean & jerk (doubles 20kg)
• 7 kettlebell swing (32kg)
• 50 double unders

One of the sickest feelings during the wod. I haven't had the chance to do doubles with kettlebell clean & jerks. At this particular gym they have two kettlebells of 20kg so I naturally took advantage of those in my metcon. They also have a heavier kb for my swings, 32kg. I did them Russian style, swingin the kb over my eyelevel. Those kettlebells were freaking heavy. I wanted my heart to race fast so I added a twist with 50 double unders between rounds.

Clean & jerk, doubles, 20kg

On the first round I did c&j unbroken, second round 5+2 and third / fourth round 3+2+2. These jerks were the toughest for me in the workout. I've done same movement with same weights with no problems (last time in HC Triplet) but it's been with alternating hands where you get a short rest for each hand before the next rep. Doing doubles allows you no rest at all and it simply kills the shoulders.

I did swings unbroken, even though that ball was heavy as hell. I haven't done 32kg kb practically at all. I'm used to playing around with my own 20kg kb. I'd love to have a heavier one at my use. My double unders are in good shape. Once again, not a single mistake during the workout. A total of 200 doubles, I took them 2x25 each round. It was a tough combination as doubles really make my shoulders burn and then you go straigth to doing clean and jerks. This was awesome and as tough as I thougth beforehand.

KB swing, 32kg

Handstand. I couln't stay away of practicing free handstand. After Pauliina told me some smart words, it hit me how to perform handstand and I'm definitely going to work on this one until I master it completely. Take a look, this is my second time after I understood what should be done when inverted.