Sunday 23.6: Back squats, metcons + handstand skills

Sunday. AM: Back squats 3-3-3-3-3 (max 130kg). Metcon, 6 rounds of hero wod Nick. Time 16.00. PM: Handstand skills training.

I was ready to pump it up after a rest day. Pauliina joined me at the box early in the afternoon for a training session. From the members' book we saw there had been only 2 persons training in the last 2 days. Guess the Midsummer party in Finland has taken its' toll on people =) I'm guessing tomorrow there's another mood and people are back at the gym. I went after squat triples today, followed by half a hero wod and some weighted vest action. Couple of hours later I concentrated in skills training.

Strength. Back squats 3-3-3-3-3 (100, 110, 120, 125, 130kg). I was hoping to make good numbers today after a rest day. My 1rep max is 140kg. Today's focus was in triples. I was hoping to nail that 130kg with which I've had some troubles lately. I've been able to get it up as single lift when I've tried it but a triple has been challenging. Today I skipped 80kg from my warm-up, did only cold bar squats and 60kg warm-up after jumping directly to 100kg. Of course I warmed-up in other ways but didn't want to put too much focus on semi-weights. Max load today was 3x130kg, I'm very happy about these lifts today.

Back squats 3x120kg

Metcon. Time 16.00

• 6 rounds of:
• 10 hang squat cleans with dumbbells, 20kg each hand
• 6 handstand push-ups

Quite a thorough workout for upper body if you ask me! Hero workout Nick, dumbbell squat cleans and hspu's. Rx'd this workout is done for a total of 12 rounds. That would total 72 handstand push-ups which is clearly too much for me in one day. Well, there would have been 120 cleans as well but that would have been manageable. My version of the workout was 6 rounds, or half a Nick.

The work done with dumbbells must be beneficial. The movements are so much different if you compare them with barbell work. And you really see the difference between arm / shoulder strength. I can see my right side is slightly stronger than my left, especially in presses and grip strength. Left arm starts to wiggle a bit earlier than right one.

Those handstand push-ups started to wear me out after a couple of rounds. First round unbroken, then 4+2, then the last 4 rounds it was probably in 3 sets. What took me time was the time between those sets because I know that if I try to rush it and force another hspu, it will be very very challenging without recovery. I had 2 failed reps as I was not listening to my burning shoulders. Attempted a rep but couldn't straighten myself and lock the elbows so had to take a short break to recover.

That other movement, hang squat cleans with dumbbells, was cool! It was a forearm burner and once I let go of the db's, my shoulders were firing up as well. But I liked it =) Thought it would be tough on legs as well because of all that squatting before and during the workout but it wasn't.

Cashout. Not for time. 20 to 2, down by 2's, sit-ups and presses.

• 20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2
• Sit-ups
• Strict dumbbell press, 2x10kg
• Wear a 9kg vest

I brought my 9kg vest just in case with me and I'm happy I did so. In the end the cashout consisted of regular crossfit style sit-ups and strict dumbbell presses with 10kg dumbbells each arm. Weight wasn't heavy because the point was to move fast. There were a total of 110 reps each movement. Starting from 20 reps, coming down by 2's all the way to 2 reps. Had my vest on the entire time. After the workout we did some other style of ab work with Pauliina as well, she had some good training tips there. Finally 5min work with crosstrainer to cool down.

Handstand training. After coming home we ate at the balcony and I realized the view was perfect. I couldn't ignore the freshly planted grass matt at our back yard. There was simply no other chance but to go and practice handstand skills. My friend / neighbor also joined me there and we did handstand training and muscle-ups (at the kids playground swing). I saw the opportunity and utilized it =)

I had good attempts and I'm very satisfied to this session as well, actually the entire day was a good training day!

Free handstanding

This little guy also had some advice to handstand training =)

Friday 21.6: Rowing, burpees and sit-ups

Friday. 6 rounds of 500m row with 2:00 rest between sets. Metcon, 3rds of 10 burpees and 20 sit-ups, wearing a 9kg weight vest. Time 3.48.

Friday's program was all about metabolic conditioning. Rowing intervals as the main focus area. Total of 3k rowing in small pieces, trying to go all in. I also brought my weight vest to play a role in this training session. I utilized it for burpees and sit-ups. There has not been a single soul at the gym today nor yesterday since it's the finnish mid-summer holiday. The day is longest today, sun will not come down all day / night and people are pretty much at their summer cottages. We're also driving to the country side in the afternoon with Pauliina to meet with some friends.

Rowing. Times between 1.39-1.40.

• 6 rounds of 500m row
• 2:00 rest between rounds

My goal was to go fast each round, not looking to get a good average but to see how fast I can go and then try to maintain that speed through all 6 rounds. On the first round I was at 1.40 / 500m. On the second the same time. Actually, all 4 first rounds my time was identical, 1.40 on the clock =) At this stage I thought the following rounds I might lose a second or two but was actually able to drop 1 sec of the clock, reaching 1.39 on the last rounds. I was pretty wasted after the last round. I taped the first and fifth round, below you'll see some action from the 5th set.

Fifth set of rowing, time 1.39

Metcon. Timr 3.48

• 3 rounds of:
• 10 burpees
• 20 sit-ups
• Wear a 9kg weighted vest

Quick metcon in the end with burpees and sit-ups. Didn't want to take any barbell / dumbbell / kettlebell work today, simply focusing on bodyweight movements spiced with a 9kg vest. What's a better conditioning movement than burpees? It's pretty much the best. Sit-ups as a friend for those burpees. The nature of both movements is different when you wear a vest. Haven't done many vest burpees, definitely wears a man out better and quicker than a traditional burpee. Surprisingly those sit-ups got to my core, even though there were only 60 of them. Guess it was simply the extra weight that had to be carried. Go figure, have to try them more to find the answer. Should utilize this vest more anyway, it seems to be an awesome equipment!

Metcon of burpees and sit-ups