Author: Nick Momrik

I'm searching for my first hole-in-one. I enjoy being active and making things. I work for Automattic.

Half Ass Everything

Yesterday my glutes and arms were sore from Sunday, but both are better today. Yesterday morning I did the PT kegels and then before lunch I lubed up the treadmill and walked for 20 minutes, which was about 1.25 miles. Had my first full session of PT at 5 and it was great. I’m very impressed so far. We discovered my left glute isn’t activating. I would have bet you money it was working in the test we did; it sure felt like I was squeezing the muscle. Crazy how the wires can be all crossed up like that. Found some more weaknesses and got a bunch of new exercises to do. In the evening I did 6-4-2 of the McGill Big 3 and another session of the kegels.

Today I did all of my new PT exercises before lunch and went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2x 100/100′ Walking Side Shuffle
  • Steamboat PT exercises
  • 4x 100′ Walk Backwards
  • 30 cal Echo Bike
  • 3×10 Push-ups
  • Bottom Squat Hold

I tried a few kipping pull-ups and kicked up to the wall. Both felt good!

Conditioning

  • 0:00-10:00 (Solo)
    • 5 Rounds
      • 80′ Sled Push (180#)
      • 15 Pull-ups
  • 10:00-20:00 (Partner w/ Brandi)
    • 3 Mile Echo Bike (switch about every 30 seconds)
  • 5:00 Rest
  • 25:00-35:00 (Solo)
    • 30 DB Walking Lunges (35# DBs)
    • 30 Box Push-up Step Overs (24″)
    • 30 Seated DB Shoulder Press (35# DBs)
    • 30 Strict HSPU

A lot of subbed movements but it worked out well and I got in a great workout.

I did the five rounder in 7:40 with quick choppy steps on the sled but nowhere near a sprint pace. I was able to do 3×5 on every round of pull-ups with just a regular kip! Felt good for not having done any kipping in over a month.

It was written as a two mile bike but that would have given way too much rest compared to the people who were trying to do 3,200 meters on the rower (impossible). Bumping up to three miles was good and we finished in 8:11.

The lunges were fine and unbroken. I planned to use 40 or 45# but those dumbbells must be down in the basement. Worked out well though because the shoulders got blown later with the 35s! I didn’t want to have to go all the way to the ground yet, probably putting my back into flexion at some point, so the box push-up step over was a good alternate instead of burpees over the bar. I did 3×10 on the seated presses and could feel that the handstand push-ups were going to be rough. I barely got two HSPU to start and fought through a total of 5×2 before switching to singles. Ended up getting 15 singles, for 25 total, 5 shy of finishing.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 7-5-3 Curl-up
  • 7-5-3 Side Planks
  • 7-5-3 Bird Dogs

Been doing 6-4-2 for a week so it’s time to increase the reps. I also went side to side today on the side planks, passing through a regular plank instead of doing all 7 on a side before switching. So there was no true rest after each side plank like the few seconds I’d get the other way between reps.

Lunging Wall Balls

I took a 90 minute nap yesterday and slept over 8 hours last night. Woke up with 98% recovery on WHOOP! I did a session of my PT exercises in the morning. Decided not to eat before going to open gym at 10.

Warm-up

10:00 Echo Bike

Did 120 calories and 3.73 miles.

3 Sets

  • 100/100’ Bottoms Up KB Carry (26#)

I didn’t rest since I was switching arms every down and back.

Accessory

2 Rounds

  • 3:00 Bear Hug Banded March (20#)
  • 3:00 Rest

Today I concentrated on raising my knee high as well as lifting my heel towards me ass at the same time. Got 166 and 174 reps and felt like I was able to keep a consistent pace.

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 30s Rower Curls
  • 12 DB Curls (20#)

Damper was set at 10 but maybe should be a lot lower. Glad I decided to go lower than normal with the dumbbbells.

4 Sets

  • 10 Prone DB Fly (25#)
  • 10 Banded Lat Pull Downs (2x double green)

Set mine up on the triangle bar so it was out away from the rig and used a 35# barbell instead of a PVC, which seemed safer and helped stretch the band some. I sat on a blue plate on the white bench.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Barbell Push-ups
  • 30 Reverse Lunge Wall Balls (14#, 10’)

I originally had programmed 15 air squats, 20 dumbbell walking lunges, and 25 push-ups. Last night I made the call that I’m not ready for a lot of air squats yet. Then today at the gym I got the idea to try out the reverse lunge wall balls. Took a round or so to get the hang of the movement, but I really liked it. Using a light medicine ball probable helped. 😉 I did 4×5 on every round of push-ups and 20-10 on the lunge wall balls. Got through 4+20. Felt good to do a metcon where I didn’t have a “cake walk” (essentially rest) movement and was able to get my heart rate up.

Gymnastics

3 Sets

  • 10 Kip Swings

Just small kips, but I wanted to see how it felt. No issue.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’m becoming a master at these! Was a solid two hours at the gym.

I’ll do another round of the PT exercises at some point.

Fast & Slow

Not feeling any ill effects from the workout yesterday. I did my PT Exercises this morning and was out in the garage before noon.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

  • 3:00 Airdyne (fast)
  • 2:00 Airdyne (slow)

Went 870 calories and 17.7 km, which is 83 calories and 0.52 km more than the straight 30 minutes I did on Wednesday.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’ll do another round of the PT Exercises later.

I Started Physical Therapy

Yesterday I started PT and had the evaluation. He thinks my big muscles around the spine are doing too much of the work and the smaller stabilizer muscles aren’t firing. Since I wanted to go with a Monday and Thursday schedule he gave me a few things to get started.

pt-kegels

Yesterday I did those twice, did the McGill Big 3 and power walked a mile on the treadmill at about 3.8 mph. Before lunch today I walked 20 minutes and did the PT exercises. Then went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 30 cal Echo Bike
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10 Scap Pull-ups
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • 10 Air Squats
    • 10 Push-ups

Air squats were a little iffy, so I held on to the rig for the second set.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 12 Seated DB Shoulder Press (30#)
  • 12 DB Lateral Raises (10#)

I used a slight incline on the bench so that it wouldn’t be sitting at a straight 90 degrees and I put an AbMat at my low back. Class was doing shoulder presses. The raises were becoming a challenge after a few sets.

Conditioning

8 Rounds

  • 8 cal Echo Bike
  • 8 Step-ups (22″)
  • 2×50’ Sled Push (90#)
  • 8 Bench Press (135#)

All subbed movements for cal row, high box jumps, burpees, and dumbbell snatches. The sled push was a good idea from Casey and today was the first time I’d done some step-ups since the injury. Felt more like myself today, though I still didn’t get my heart rate up that high. Finished in 15:16.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’ll do another round of the PT exercises tonight.

Results

I went back to the Doctor today for the results of the MRI. I have mild disk bulges at L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. I also have a small piece of a disc fractured off on the left side under L5, which is where my pain always is.

Went to the gym at 4:30 and did some walking up and down the hallway to warm up. I also did a few air squats for the first time in two weeks. That was actually really scary.

Conditioning

10 Rounds

  • 6 cal Echo Bike
  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups
  • 12 Push-ups
  • 6 Knee Raises
  • 1:00 Rest

I was actually going to do 6 ring rows for the second movement, but I must have been caving my midline, because they first set didn’t feel very good. Quickly switched to the pull-ups for the remaining rounds. Finished in 19:45.

Accessory

  • 3x 105/105’ Suitcase Carry (25#)
  • 3x 105/105’ Suitcase Carry (30#)

I was walking up and down the hall, which is 105 feet long and switching arms at each end. So I walked six lengths before taking a little rest and then going heavier.

Midline

The “Big 3” from Stuart McGill.

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

Slowly Improving

My back is feeling better and I think it’s because I’ve been learning how to avoid the pain, which in turn lets it heal. Went to open gym at 10.

Conditioning

  • 42-30-18 cal Echo Bike
  • 21-15-9 Knee Raises
  • 42-30-18 Walking Lunges

Was hard to push the pace on the bike after the first round. Knee raises are kind of lame, but I even had to be careful on them to avoid swinging. Finished in 12:17.

Accessory

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 30s Ski Erg Triceps (Damper @ 10)
  • 10 Incline Double DB Skull Crushers (25#)

I also put an AbMat under my back for more support. Almost failed skull crushers at the end of the sets.

Midline

6 Rounds

  • 30s/30s Side Planks
  • 20s RKC Plank

Couldn’t squeeze my glutes very hard because it triggered my back pain. Took about 13 minutes. Boring!

No Bowl

This morning I was the least stiff I’ve been in over a week. At this point with my back I feel like it’s better to do a little something than to take a complete rest day. Especially considering my strength work isn’t very heavy and my intensity isn’t very high when I do workout. Out in the garage at noon.

20:00 Airdyne

Did 570 calories and 11.92 km. Going out to dinner tonight with the gym crew. I will not be going to bowling after.

Something I Can Do!

Sitting hasn’t been the most comfortable the last couple of days and there really hasn’t been any change in how my back is feeling. Went to the 3pm class.

Warm-up

  • 30 cal Assault Bike
  • 10 Bench Press (45#)
  • 10 Bench Press (135#)

Conditioning

E4M – 5 Rounds

  • 20 cal Echo Bike
  • 10 Bench Press (170#)

Oh boy those bench presses turned in to a struggle in round 3. Kept each round unbroken though!

Strength / Accessory

  • 10×2 Strict Pull-ups (2:00)
  • 13×5 Banded PVC Lat Pulldowns (green band doubled over a set of rings)

The workout was 10:00 to do 100 pull-ups, but with five dumbbell thrusters EMOM. My ass is not having anything to do with any type of squatting so I thought I’d see how many strict pull-ups I could do in 10 minutes. As I fatigued I was starting to arch and wanting to kip. That was no bueno, so I called an audible and had about five minutes of the pulldowns. Those created a nice burn.

Waiting

I got the MRI done on my low back yesterday. Much more cramped in there than I was expecting. So now I wait for my appointment on Tuesday or for the Doctor to call with results. Was a rest day yesterday and I could tell I didn’t get in much movement for the day because my back wasn’t very fun. Out in the garage just after 11 today.

40:00 Airdyne

Went 992 calories and 22.33 km. Left the heater on the entire time and I was right next to it, so worked up a good sweat.