Friday 4.12: Thrusters, Mu's, Snatch, Hspu, Pistols

Friday. Thruster ladder, 8min amrap of ascending weights. Result, 43 reps. Metcon, 5rds of: 3 bar mu, 5 power snatch (40kg), 7 hspu, 10 pistols.

Weekend is coming and I'm loving it! Today was a good session at the gym. When I was warming up I accidentally heard from one of the coaches that floorball team Tapanilan Erä is coming to train to the gym. I knew there are some old pals that I used to play with in a different team. It was great to see those guys and throw some small talk while we threw down. Great times! These are the guys I miss from playing floorball seriously. The people around us.

Rosendahl!

Barbell conditioning. Result, 43 reps (3x80kg)

• 8min amrap of:
• 10 thruster, 40kg
• 10 thruster, 50kg
• 10 thruster, 60kg
• 10 thruster, 70kg
• 10 thruster, 80kg
• 10 thruster, 90kg… 

Winter War qualifications are now taking place which means they are trying to find out who are the toughest crossfit athletes in Finland. The contest is in February but qualification is taking place now in December. This was event 1 maybe three years ago. This year it was similar with the difference that the weights started at 50kg. Otherwise the same ideology exists. I figured I'd get a better workout by starting at 40kg to get some heavy breathing.

Tapanilan Erä

Went unbroken on the first two sets, both at 40kg and 50kg. Those were pretty self-evident beforehand as I thought about this. It's been time since doing 60kg thrusters so it was a mystery how those would feel like. My warm-up wasn't perfect and I felt my elbows being very tight. After doing 40kg thrusters for couple of sets in the warm-up and stretching a little more, they started to cooperate.

However, I had to power clean the barbell on the front rack before starting the first repetition. Ideally I would squat clean the bar but it makes it more challenging to get a full grip and having an ideal grip to press the barbell up and overhead. 60kg was 6-4 reps.

At 70kg the barbell was clearly heavier but I got through the set with 4-3-3 reps. Last weight was at 80kg, and I had to go for singles for each rep completed. Legs were good all the way, those felt strong all the time. Shoulders are my weaker part compared to legs and core and it was not surprise that upper body bailed on me on the thrusters finally. It was difficult to know how much to rest between attempts. Didn't wanna burn my shoulders out totally but then again it's not cool to have too long of a break.

Thruster ladder

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 3 bar muscle-ups
• 5 power snatch, 40kg
• 7 handstand push-ups
• 10 pistol squats

This was inspired by Bobby Noyce's workout that I saw in Youtube yesterday. This was a little modification compared to that. He also had overhead squats after snatches, and muscle-ups were completed at the rings. Those bar muscle-ups felt in my core after doing 100 ghd's yesterday. Maybe there's a correlation between those. Bar mu's were as perfect as are in my case. I was proud of those for sure.

Last thruster done

Snatches were light but in the course of action it was probably a good weight as after those it was time to throw myself upside down against the wall for hspu's. My butt is still a bit sore but it definitely didn't bother at all. It was awesome to do pistols, it's such a freaking good movement. Everything went unbroken and that was the goal for sure. Didn't have a timer rolling. That didn't change the nature of the workout a bit. This was my best effort for today.

Thursday 3.12: Press, Ring dips, Ghd

Thursday. Push press 3x10 @ 63kg. Metcon, 5rds of: 15 ring dips, 20 ghd sit-ups.

This week I've tried to leave work earlier to hit the gym 1-2 hours earlier. This plan has worked well and energy levels have been quite good. Okay now my legs are still sore as hell from previous squat session. However, there's nothing a good and proper warm-up wouldn't make better.

Strength.

• Push press 3x10 @ 63kg

This was second part of a progression I created together with one bad ass powerlifter at the gym to strengthen my shoulders. He's the strongest guy I have ever seen so his credibility is legit. I'm going for 10's, 8's and 6's in the upcoming weeks in a linear climbing weights. Before doing the first set I built up to 80kg single. By doing that I'm also building confidence on heavier presses.

First session was earlier this week with 4x10 @ 60kg, and today one set dropped away but the weights came up a notch. This was doable but got uncomfortable in the end. I was still able to go unbroken in touch'n'go style, bouncing it off the front rack after each rep. I'm hoping this kind of work for longer working sets will bring pure strength on my shoulders.

3x10 reps

Metcon.

• 5 rounds of:
• 15 ring dips
• 20 ghd sit-ups

Wanted to get more work for shoulders. This was created on the spot. Ring dips were a no brainer because I was destined to put more work on shoulder strength. Damn those were tough. First round unbroken. Second round was completed in two sets, maybe 10-5. On the third round it was maybe 3-4 sets and the last two rounds were also awful.

Even though these were heavy they did good things for my upper body strength. These are pretty much strict every time I do ring dips. That feels like the only natural way to do them. Ghd's were much easier. On the last round I felt there some tension, maybe the last reps on the 4th round. But there was no doubt of hitting them unbroken.

Wednesday 2.12: Deads, Bench, 3-rounder

Wednesday. Emom x 12min. Odd min, 3 deads (150kg). Even min, 3 bench (90kg). Metcon, 3rds of: 21 box, 18 wb, 15 kb swing (24kg), 12 burpee. Time, 9.40

It's been a while since previous meathead day but Thursday's are reserved for both deadlifts and bench press for the barbell work. Conditioning has more variations but I'd like to pull heavy and press once a week. My hands have been ripped for some time and deadlifts have been off limits always on those days that I've planned to do heavy pulls. Metcon was a great one!

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 12 minutes
• Odd minutes, 3 deadlift @ 150kg
• Even minutes, 3 bench press @ 90kg

Okay the weights were moderate on the deadlifts. That's because I haven't done deadlifts in a while so going high on the loads might make my back to get jammed up for days. Easier way to start them at 150kg. The weight itself is light. Back felt great and stayed flat all the way. My legs are extremely beaten up due to yesterday's long squat sets and weighed lunges in the metcon. Doesn't feel good to sit down at all right now =)

So it was also obvious that hamstrings were lit up when I was warming up to these weights. I was able to move this weight quite easily. Don't know what's wrong with my hands but deadlifts usually "hurts" most in my fingers / palms. Legs and back are good, fingers are the ones preventing me to lift heavy always.

Bench was relatively heavier. Deads were something like +70% and bench was somewhere over 80%. First 4 sets were good. The last 2 sets were heavy for sure. This was a good way to combine two strength elements in one strength piece. I saw Crossfit Mayhem combine bench and back squats together, triples and fives in emom style or one set every 90 seconds. I liked that. This time I mixed deads and bench but squats could be a good partner for couplet as well.

Metcon. Time, 9.40

• 3 rounds of:
• 21 box
• 18 wall ball
• 15 kettlebell swing, 24kg
• 12 burpee

Perfect. Simply perfect. As you look at the movements you probably realized too that there is really no reason to stop in the workout. At least no reason to break down the movements. The number of reps per set are tolerable and you can push through no matter what. This put lungs to test nicely, and it was an unbroken workout.

Don't know, maybe there was room to shorten the transitions. Hard to say but at least at this beaten up condition I'm very happy on the way I was able to keep moving for the entire time. Great piece of conditioning for sure!

Tuesday 1.12: Squats, Emom

Tuesday. Back squat 4x8 @ 120kg. Emom x 21min: 1st min 5 hang power clean (50kg) + 5 burpee, 2nd min 10 reverse lunges (50kg), 3rd min 10 push-up + 10 t2b.

It's December c'mon! Time to start waiting for Christmas. Our house is already looking like it and work place too. Yesterday's session feels in my body for sure. Entire upper body is smashed. The volume of pull-ups made a big difference. And somehow also legs had taken a hit. Had to warm-up up properly to get fluids flowing in my body and legs ready for the upcoming task.

Strength.

• Back squat 4x8 @ 120kg

When doing these sets I wanted to get a feeling of a little heavier weights before starting the first working set. Built up to it by doing 6x60, 5x90, 3x110, 1x120, 1x130kg. The last rep was still easy and I thought about doing 140kg too but for some reason decided to start working already. That wasn't much heavier than the work set but it sure helped to go a bit higher in kilos. Bar felt much lighter on the way down than on the way up. Funny but it's true.

On the first set I went 4 reps straight away touch'n'go without any pause. From then on the latter half were "singles", and then a breath taking moment on top. Last 2 reps were not nice. On the 2-4 sets it was possible to get only 3 reps tng style before knocking them one by one.

On the last set I had to ask for a spotter because my legs were jello already on the second set. Third set was brutal, and a real battle for the last reps. Last set was horrible. My legs went noodles big time. It felt difficult to stand after those final repetitions. At least that made good to lower body!

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 21 minutes
• 1st minute: 5 hang power clean, 50kg + 5 burpee
• 2nd minute: 10 reverse lunges, 50kg
• 3rd minute: 10 push-ups + 10 toes-to-bar

This was tough as well. Okay first and third minute work were easier but with these legs those lunges weren't that cool. Those also made the clean/burpee and push-up/t2b sets worse. Breathing was under control even though it started to get heavier but legs and hip flexors started to get tight in the course of the emom wod. It was kind of like a whole-body meltdown and recovery started to become an issue. It took me equal amount of time each round but mentally this got tougher by the round.

Monday 30.11: Press, Ohs, Pull-ups

Monday. Push press 4x10 @ 60kg. Metcon, 20 ohs (40kg), 40 pull-ups, 15 ohs (50kg), 30 pull-ups, 10 ohs (60kg), 20 pull-ups. Time, 12.35.

Week started with overhead strength and a nasty combo of overhead squats and pull-ups. In the evening we went for a stroll with Pauliina in the woods for recovery purposes. The weather is rainy and windy, quite an autumn weather, classic stuff. But it doesn't matter, at least the air is brisk and easy to breath. Perfect for wods.

Time was 12.35

Strength.

• Push press 4x10 reps @ 60kg

Goal is to get more shoulder strength. I talked to couple of big time lifters and got cued to add volume for presses. My focus right now is to do bigger sets of push presses, two weeks in the start of 10's, then two weeks of 8's, and two weeks of 6's.

Today's agenda was 4x10, and the load turned out to be 60kg. I went up to 1x80kg prior to the first working set to get used to heavier weights before (5x40, 5x50, 3x60, 3x70, 1x80kg). These felt good, maybe somehow awkward after not doing this long sets before. Shoulders took it well, and I'm looking to add some weight in the upcoming days.

Presses

Metcon. Time, 12.35

• 20 overhead squat, 40kg
• 40 pull-ups
• 15 overhead squat, 50kg
• 30 pull-ups
• 10 overhead squat, 60kg
• 20 pull-ups

These two are my least favorites elements to mix together. These are never a good call for me. Plus these overhead squats climbed up to 60 kilos which is more than "normal" ohs weight. Lately I've tried to go at 50kg or even more for metcons / intervals to get used to something heavier than 95lbs / 43kg.

It was a little bummer to see on the video that some of the reps on the ohs are a bit shallow. First reps in each set seem to be so. It felt like I'm going deep down but there is more work to be done on that part. Mobility is one issue on this movement. Plus my armpits are turning down on the bottom position.

Metcon

Anyway, this was a good metcon to get some volume for pull-ups too. Plan was to break down the reps already in the beginning, with the intension of not to burn my lats and forearms early in the workout. First round was about 10's. Second one was maybe 8-7, and then 5's. The last one was a battle too. The reason for pull-ups being as challenging as they were, was the numbness in my forearms. They were shot, and it was difficult to hold on to the bar. Breathing was rather heavy for sure but forearms were the reason preventing me to go faster. Changing the plates also took me some time between the squats.

Sunday 29.11: Clean, Front squat, T2b, Box

Sunday. Build up to heavy clean. A - triple (Result, 110kg PR). B - single (Result, 117kg PR). Front squat singles (up to 125kg). Metcon, 12min amrap of: 8 squat clean (70kg), 10 t2b, 12 box. Result, 150 reps.

Got to say it's great to be back!!! It's been so damn busy I haven't had a chance to throw down at all. On Friday we had pre-christmas party and it was a hullabaloo from morning till night. On Saturday we had a gathering with family in Eastern Finland as we went to see my sister's new house. Finally today I got to put on some gym clothes and got to work!

Oly.

• Build up to heavy cleans
• A - Triples (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, PR 110kg)
• B - Singles (115, PR 117kg)

At first my joints felt very tight from all the laziness and driving in the car, and it was a mystery how this session would turn out to. However, my legs didn't feel tired at all on the warm-up cleans, and the cleans also felt very natural and light.

Plan was to go heavy for a triple and single. Especially to build up to a 3 rep max. I was hoping to pull 105kg which is the heaviest I've pulled, ever. Once I tried 107.5kg and my right wrist popped, and hurt like hell for about 2 months. With that on mind it was a huge success today to being able to get all the way to 110kg. This is actually huge because I have lifted that number for singles only, and just for a couple of times. So going for 3 reps was sick!

Original plan was to go for a max of the day after triples. Didn't know I was going this heavy in the triples so there was room for only couple of singles at max. Singles at these weights are intimidating. The only thing preventing me to go heavier is my head. Both 115kg and 117kg were high enough for sure, and most likely I'd be able to clean more if I only had the balls to drop under the barbell. Fails on cleans are always just clean pulls. Not for a single time have I racked a bar, and not being able to stand it up. These +110kg lifts are mentally very important to build up confidence for heavy lifts.

Squat.

• Front squat singles (90, 110, 120, 125, fail 130kg)

After all the cleans my hip flexors were gone, and front squats didn't go as planned. For some time there was 7x3 front squats in my notes but that was not gonna happen. Bar was heavy already at 120kg so it was no surprise 130kg didn't come up.

Metcon. Result, 150 reps (5 rounds sharp)

• 12min amrap of:
• 8 squat clean, 70kg
• 10 toes-to-bar
• 12 box jump

Freaking awesome metcon! It's been hours since the metcon now as I'm writing this, and my lungs are still feeling it. Or throat. Anyway, the number of squat cleans in a row made the difference. Legs were burning, and lungs were gasping for air. Not for a second did I think about linking the reps together. Singles all the way.

First 10 minutes

Toes-to-bar's and box jumps unbroken. T2b's were surprisingly nasty after all the squat clean. Box jumps didn't feel any easier in the process. But the thing in this metcon was definitely the cleans. In the beginning they were 8 singles in a row. Then at some point it was 4-2-2. That seemed like the quickest way to get over each round. Awesome wod.

Wednesday 25.11: Clean complex, Partner intervals

Wednesday. Clean complex, 5 sets of: tall clean + mid-thigh + full clean. Intervals with partner, 14 rounds of: 4 hang power clean (70kg), 8 t2b, 12 box. Result, 12.49.

Another loooong day at the office but this time I was able to move around much more and prevent body from total system failure =) It was a huge positive surprise as my main man Toni threw me a message in the morning that he could come and train with me after work. He also had the agenda ready. I got a tetanus vaccination in the morning so that kind of disturbed my plans so Toni's suggestion was right on point!

Toni working on his clean complex

Oly.

• 5 working sets of the following clean complex:
• Tall clean
• Clean from mid-thigh
• Full clean
• Every clean as squat clean (80, 85, 85, 85, 85kg)

The first repetition of this complex is by far the most challenging for me. I haven't used to finish the "tall cleans" in this way. Luckily Toni was there to coach me through it. This really forced me to go under the barbell faster than normally. I'm very happy on the way I was able to carry through each tall clean.

The second and third reps were easy. The weights were so light that there were no issues whatsoever. But I had to stay with these weights because the first one wasn't that easy. That one was more like technique training. First set was at 80kg, the rest at 85kg. Maybe 90kg could have been there too. This time I just wanted to learn how to do this.

Recap of complex

Pair workout. Time, 12.49

• 14 rounds of:
• 4 hang power clean, 70kg
• 8 toes-to-bar
• 12 box jump
• Interval style, you go 1 round, I go 1 round. Rest while the other one works

The point of the workout was to do each round as fast as possible. Go all out every round, which means it is 7 rounds per athlete, total of 14 rounds as a team. Total time was 12.49. For me, there was a bit too long recovery between rounds or then the work load put in was too low as I didn't get too gassed. I was hoping the stimulus to be so that I'd be leaning on my elbows after each round. Then recovering just enough for the next round.

The end of our partner wod

Anyway, I believe this kind of intervals have a lot of potential. When doing them solo, the key is to define fixed rest times between sets / rounds / intervals. That allows you to put 100% effort on each round, then recover, and repeat that for a certain amount of rounds. There were about 40 seconds per round on my behalf and rounds were pretty consistent.

One thing is for sure. It was a blast training with Toni. We started our crossfit journey together back in the days, and it's always quality time to train with my best friend. These are rather rare occasions as we workout in different gyms regularly.

Tuesday 24.11: Row and Jerks

Tuesday. Intervals, 3 sets of: 500m row + 10 push jerk @ 60kg.

Had a long ass workshop at work. Not that the topic wasn't good but sitting for 8 hours doesn't make good for human beings. Butt cheeks were numb at times =) There was no other option but to drive right away to the gym for a training session. Time slot was very tight but I found time for about half an hour. I made it count.

Intervals.

• 3 sets of:
• 500m row + 10 push jerk @ 60kg
• Work / Rest 1:1

This was on my notes and I'm happy there was a chance to go after it. Another workout was in store as well, 3rds of 15 wall balls and 15 toes-to-bar. No time for that today. Maybe another day. It's supposed to be a quick one.

Today's agenda was not to save energy on the rower. My time was sub 1.40 on the first round, second one was quite accurately at 1:40 and the last one maybe 1:41-1:42. My legs were lit up on these rowing sprints.

It was nice to walk over to the barbell and start jerking the bar with heavy breathing and fired up legs. The weight was tolerable for this kind of set. As for just a set of 10 reps with a barbell, this would have been too light or too few reps but having the rowing sprint in the beginning made it totally different. I kept a steady pace on the jerks, and went unbroken / touch'n'go with them. Legs were burning big time on these, and breathing was heavy, no surprise there. Goal achieved!

Monday 23.11: Clean and jerk, Squat, Snatch, Burpee

Monday. Clean and jerk 1+3 (up to 93kg). Front squat 4x4 (up to 118kg). Metcon, 6min amrap of: 10 db snatch (30kg), 10 burpee. Result, 86 reps.

This was a great session. It was mind blowing to do heavy clean and jerk complex, then front squats to accompany that barbell work. In the end I was in a rush but had time to get in a good intense workout in the form of short amrap.

Oly.

• Clean and jerk 1+3
• Sets at 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 93kg

Pressing and jerking is something I'd like to do on a daily basis if there wasn't anything else to be taken into consideration. But for a long time I've had issues with my elbows. Lately those have been very good, and it's been pain-free zone. Luckily so!

This was almost a dream come true to being able to put heavy object over my head. After warm-up I started working these sets at 60kg. Okay that was light weight, same with the 70kg. It felt surprisingly easy also at 80kg, and I went touch'n'go on that set too.

Next set at 85kg I stopped on the front rack position after each rep. Damned it felt great all the time. Technically they were pretty much the same up to 90kg, at least the first rep. From then on there were some shakiness but not too serious. I'm happy I was able to press the bar directly upwards, instead of pushing it in front. The last rep at 93kg was a save. That one I almost lost in front but was able to stabilize it in couple of seconds of static hold.

Recap

Strength.

• Front squat 4x4 (110, 113, 115, 118kg)

Front squats work well after cleans. Cleans today were light, those were quite routine type of pulls. But they prepared legs for these squats. I took them four by four, climbing after each set, reaching a total of 118kg. Form stayed there pretty well, and I got to say I'll take these squats with pleasure.

Metcon. Result, 86 reps (4 rounds + 6 snatch)

• 6min amrap of:
• 10 dumbbell snatch, 30kg, alternating after each rep
• 10 burpee

As I wrote, there was not that much time and something quick needed to be done. There were db snatches and double unders in my notes but I'd like to warm-up for those du's, and there simply was no time for that. This was something close to perfection considering the conditioning piece. This kind of shorter metcons are worth evaluating whether there should be more of these.

No plan whatsoever, just go. I tapped the timer on, and started moving. Alternating the snatches after each rep. Damn it was one heavy dumbbell. It started to burn my legs big time. I tried to keep the dumbbell or my body moving constantly. Very good workout, I suggest this one for you guys!

Sunday 22.11: Mu's, Jerk, Snatch, Fran

Sunday. Intervals, 3 rds of: muscle-ups and push jerks. Emom x 10min: 3 power snatch @ 50kg. Fran, 21-15-9 of: thruster (43kg), pull-ups. Not for time.

What a great session. Loved this work being put in today. Okay, I felt somewhat tired in the morning from upper body but it woke up finally. It was great to get some muscle-ups done after hands being ripped for a while. Today it didn't bother any more. Then snatches and Fran with easier pace.

Intervals.

• 3 rounds of muscle-ups and push jerks @ 60kg
• 1st round: 3 mu's + 6 jerks
• 2nd round: 2 mu's + 6 jerks
• 3rd round: 3 mu's + 10 jerks
• 2min rest between sets

Awesome to combine these two movements. I've been a bit hesitant to mix muscle-ups with other elements because those aren't too strong in my case. I once did mu's and rowing intervals as a couple and I remember being entirely worn out after couple of sets. Getting tired doesn't matter at all, that's the entire purpose. But the thing is I still don't know how my body reacts to this kind of intervals including muscle-ups, and once they are gone, they really are gone. I can't recover that fast from those. So it's always like I have to play it safe with ring mu's.

Today I thought about doing a triple on the rings, then hitting 6 jerks with a barbell. This was the case on the first set. On the second one I missed the third rep but decided it's more advantageous to move on rather than try for another single on the rings. On the jerks I got the same amount of reps completed.

On the last round I got that much needed triple done and it felt good. That left me with a good feeling, and I decided not to be grumpy about the missed muscle-up on the second set. Still, the bar was not that heavy after all so I did a total of 10 jerks on the last set. Didn't wanna get ripped hands again so this was enough for this portion of the workout.

Sunday recap

Oly.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 power snatch @ 50kg

I've done more squat snatches, singles and doubles lately. I took couple of singles up to 60kg prior to this one to get used to heavier snatches. These triples felt heavy in the beginning. Probably because I haven't used to do power snatches. Those got better through every round. At some point I thought about adding weight on the bar. Then again, I stayed at 50kg and tried to focus on bringing the bar up as high as possible before the last pull. Working on positions.

This is world record lift, over 3 x bodyweight…

Fran. Not for time but "for quality". Compare to 22.11.2014

• 21-15-9 of:
• Thrusters, 43kg
• Pull-ups

For the third piece of conditioning I only had notes for thrusters and pull-ups. Got to say my shoulders were burned at this point. Never at any point was I shooting for a record breaking effort on this benchmark workout. Instead, I took my time with the transitions and the only goal was to go unbroken, and get a good heavy breathing going on. Goal achieved.

Shoulders were shot already after the first set of thrusters. That kind of set the tone of the workout. Usually the second round - round of 15's - is the nastiest, and takes the most out of a human being physically and mentally. This time I was saved of the long burn which is classic stuff after Fran. Those breaks between movements made the difference. But Fran is always Fran. Nasty lady to say the least. I just realized it's been exactly a year from doing Fran for the last time =)

Saturday 21.11: Holleyman

Saturday. Hero wod Holleyman, 30 rds of: 5 wb, 3 hspu, 1 power clean (90kg). Time, 28.10.

It was time to take a rematch with Holleyman. It's a hero workout that I've done once before year and a half ago. Since then my upper back strength and conditioning must have gotten better since I PR'd this workout with over 13 minutes. Why this workout came to my mind  was because my friend Toni just hit it about a week ago with same weights so there was a good incentive for me.

Yeah, I know it's a bit messy but it shows most of the round times

Holleyman. Time, 28.10. Compare to 19.4.2014

• 30 rounds of:
• 5 wall ball shots, 9kg
• 3 handstand push-ups
• 1 power clean, 90kg

Last time (and first time) when I completed this one my clean weren't as strong and I had to take the bigger weights as squat cleans. It's not that long ago that my max power clean was 90-95kg. Currently it stands as 103kg. Squat clean is a notch better, at 116kg. Holleyman is 225 lbs (102.5kg) as rx'd. That would be pretty much the same as my record for a single so obviously time is not ready for those weights, yet. Went after 90kg cleans which are no joke to me, especially for this many reps.

Naturally all the reps were to be done unbroken, just 5 reps of wall ball shots and 3 hspu's per round. My strategy was to hold on to a steady pacing from the very beginning. I tried to do a collage of most of the round times, check above. I believe my tactic worked as well as it could have worked. I'm very satisfied to this. It was around 55 seconds per round for all 30 rounds.

Plan was to knock wall balls and hspu's right away, and then shake my shoulders before the clean. Right after I dropped the barbell, I went to do another set of wall balls and hspu's. Then releasing the tension in the shoulders again. This worked well.

It was a long ass workout to say the least, and at times it felt like it's never going to end. I just tried not to think about the rounds or anything else of this workout for too much, just complete every set of wall balls, every set of hspu's and every single clean at a time, then head forward. This time this also got to my breathing more than before. At that time I remember my lower back being on fire on the wall balls and squat cleans (had to do them as squat cleans that time).

I thought I had recorded the first 10 minutes of the workout but after looking at the video at home this was all there was =) Memory card had gotten full after less than 5 seconds. Nice.

Friday 20.11: Run, Pull-ups

Friday. Run 1.4km, then 5rds of 15 pull-ups & 370m run, then run 1.4km.

Plan was to go to the gym after work but life took a sudden change so the workout took place outdoors. There is a pull-up / dip station close to our home so it was a perfect Friday training session. Weather was at 0 degrees, a bit wet but for running it was spectacular. Easy to breath. Pull-up bar was a bit slippery, especially in the beginning.

Metcon.

• 1.4km run, then
• 5 rounds of:
• 15 unbroken pull-ups
• 370m run, then
• 1.4km run

No warm-up, just took the run a bit easier. I ran to the pull-up station in the brisk air. Then thought about taking couple of reps on the pull-up bar to see how it feels like. I still have a rip in my right hand so it was heavily taped up. It turned out to be a set of 15 reps.

There's a loop that I measured with gps to be 370m. I ran that loop around and came back to complete another set of 15 pull-ups. Dropping not allowed. Had some issues with my grip in the slippery bar and I noticed my grip was slightly biased to lean more on the left hand as it hurt a bit on the right one.

Run was half way on an incline, and the latter half was a decline. The incline made it a notch more challenging for breathing after just dropping down from the pull-up bar. This was a great workout for this Friday. After getting those 5 rounds done I ran back home. This really was a good one and my both quads cramped at the end of the last run.

Thursday 19.11: Front squat, Hspu, Burpee

Thursday. Strength, front squat 6x1 @ 125kg. Metcon, 7rds of: 7 front squat (70kg), 7 hspu, 7 burpee. Time, 12.41.

Had a clear goal for this Thursday. Pulls from the ground. My hands are ripped from the middle fingers which made it impossible to go heavy on the deadlift. It simply hurt too much on that movement. That's why I changed my plans on the fly and went by feeling. It turned out to be rather heavy singles on squats, and then a 7-rounder for a metcon. Good sesh!

Strength.

• Front squat
• 6x1 @ 125kg
• One extra single @ 130kg

This was a lot of fun. I usually don't do heavier singles at a fixed weight. It's either climbing up to a heavy single or then multiple reps across the same weight. The load was tolerable. Heavy but still doable. As I look at the reps from video (below) I'm very happy on the form I was able to hold on.

Focus was on the elbows. They need to be pointed straight forward and not drop down on the most challenging points. This was a load I was able to bring up pretty nicely. Could have gone heavier considering the weights but as I said, it was important to me that elbows are pointing correctly and torso is in an upright position all the way.

As the 125kg singles felt fine I wanted to do one more for the show, and jumped up to 130kg for one single. That was much heavier but still came up properly.

Couple of singles

Metcon.

• 7 rounds of:
• 7 front squat, 70kg
• 7 handstand push-up
• 7 burpee

This was created on the spot. Worked perfectly. The combination of front squat, hspu's and burpees is nasty as shoulders never get the needed recovery. I remember there once was a Crossfit Regionals event with the same movements (21-15-9) and I replicated that in one session. It's been time since that but it's still in the back of my head.

With that in mind this workout was created. Workout of the day was all about sevens. I went unbroken on each movement each round. Transitions were the ones where I had to shake my hands and shoulders to get the tension released. Every one of them brought burden in the shoulders so it wasn't possible for me to just jump right into the next element.

Squats were touch'n'go all the way. I'm very pleased to that. Legs carried on well, shoulders were the ones taking the biggest hit. Hspu's started to get heavy and the last 2 rounds had to be fought with a good focus.

Wednesday 18.11: Snatch, Clean, Burpee box

Wednesday. Build up to a heavy single on snatch (65kg) and clean (110kg). Metcon, 12-9-6-3 of: squat clean (60kg), burpee box. Time, 6.20.

Had to go to the gym very early in the morning. I was a bit skeptical because of that schedule, and I only had one hour to hit it. My body never woke up for this session. Legs were burning already in the warm-up portion. I still decided to go for heavier singles as the plan stood.

Strength.

• Build up to a heavy single of:
• Snatch (30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 63, 65f, 65kg)
• Clean (60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110kg)

Focus was on keeping the barbell closer to body compared to where it normally travels. Maybe it succeeded somewhat but obviously there's work to be done still. A lot =) What needs to be corrected somehow, is that the bar should be caught right over the line of the heels. Traditionally the bar states a little bit too much in front.

On the cleans the bar stays closer to body and I'm happy on that. There the bar could come higher before the last pull, especially on the heavier weights. I'm still happy on the cleans for today. They felt much heavier than what they looked like. But I got a boost of confidence after looking at every rep on video.

Metcon. Time, 6.20

• 12-9-6-3 of:
• Squat clean, 60kg
• Burpee box jump

Had no recovery time after the last clean. Just changed the weights and put on metcon shoes, then tapped the timer on. I've done something like this once a long time ago, and remembered it put the legs on fire. Memories were correct. This was somewhat horrible.

I took the first set of cleans in 7-3-2. Second set in triples. Set of 6 reps in half, and the last one unbroken. To be honest, I would have liked to complete these as singles. My legs never felt fresh during the entire session, and after snatches / cleans legs felt tired already before this metcon. Burpee box jumps were also very fatiguing. Even though this was tough I liked it a lot. Especially afterwards =)

Tuesday 17.11: Press, 32min emom, Row

Tuesday. Emom x 10min: 3 push press behind the neck (70-80kg). Emom x 32min: 1st 10 hspu, 2nd 15 kb swing (28kg), 3rd 15 push-up, 4th 10 db snatch (25kg). Cashout, 2k row.

Getting back in the groove. Hands are getting better and I can't use them as excuses anymore. No but for real, it made good to get some rest from gripping the barbell. Still had to use gloves to protect the palms but it didn't bother at all. Strength and long emom were on the agenda.

Strength.

• Every minute on the minute x 10 minutes
• 3 push press behind the neck
• 1-2min: 70kg
• 3-4min: 73kg
• 5-6min: 75kg
• 7-8min: 78kg
• 9-10min: 80kg

Had two options. Either jerking from front rack or pressing from back rack position. I took couple of reps from front rack but my collar bone was a little sensitive still so it turned out to be back rack action, and push presses to be precise.

Doing these weights as push jerks from front would have felt heavier. Haven't done much work from behind the neck. That's why I wasn't sure how to play with the weights. These were something I finished very well. Could have gone heavier. My grip width was similar as in snatch. That means a lot wider than regular presses / jerks. It's stable and solid when going wider with the grip.

Metcon.

• Every minute on the minute x 32 minutes
• 1st min: 10 handstand push-ups
• 2nd min: 15 kettlebell swing, 28kg
• 3rd min: 15 push-ups
• 4th min: 10 dumbbell snatch, 25kg (5 right / 5 left hand)

Plan was to go for a long metcon. And actually the entire workout was written beforehand. I just realized before starting it that it's gonna put shoulders burn. That was my prediction. Yes, it started to get there but also my legs were almost cramping in the end. Kind of strangely it was because of handstand push-ups =)

I got them unbroken for all but the last round. 8th round was 7-2-1 reps. Those were the most challenging as a single movement. But mostly it was the overall worn out feeling that usually comes in these longer emoms. They look easier on paper but at some point it starts to get under your skin. It's kind of funny that you're really really happy it's finally over even though you would be able to still continue if some pointed a gun in your head.

Kb swings naturally unbroken, push-ups too. Snatches were 5 for right hand, then 5 for left hand. Until mid way or a bit pas that moment I thought about changing the dumbbell to 30kg version but towards the end I pushed that though aside.

Cashout.

• 2k row

This was easy pace rowing, +2:00 pace which means to say it was definitely for recovery purposes. My quads felt tight after the long emom so this felt like a good way to flush legs.