Author: Nick Momrik

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

Max Chins

Last night my legs were really tired from the squats. Woke up with my upper body being sore again. Out in the garage before lunch.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

20:00 Airdyne

Started fast for a minute, settled in to 80 RPM, and picked up the pace over the last four minutes. I could average a quicker pace through this whole thing next time. Did 685 cals and 12.99 km, which is 0.05 km better than last month.

Went to the gym at 4pm

Warm-up

  • 2:00 Echo Bike (25 cals)
  • 3 Rounds
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • 10 Good Mornings (45#)
    • 5 Ring Rows
    • 10 Air Squats

Strength

5 Sets

  • MAX Strict Chin-ups
  • 10 DB Bench Press (60#)
  • 2:00 Rest

Was planning to do this work before or after class to keep the gains going until I can bench again next week. Decided to do it in place of the 3RM snatch that was programmed. Again, not risking getting hurt before I leave for the wedding in the morning. I got 16-10-8-8-8 for the chin-ups.

Conditioning

  • 60 cal Row
  • 30 T2B
  • 20 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 10 Deadlifts (185#)
  • 5 Muscle-ups
  • 10 Deadlifts
  • 20 Wall Balls
  • 30 T2B
  • 60 cal Row

I did 10×45# and 5×135# deadlift to warm-up. The workout was 40 calories on the bike, but I did enough of that today, so subbed in the 60 calorie rows. I scaled the deadlifts back from 225# to be cautious. First T2B were done in 3×10, wall balls were 2×10 both times because I was weak sauce after all of those squats yesterday and I needed some air. I did 2×5 on both sets of deadlifts, unbroken muscles, and 6×5 on the second 30 T2B. Finished in 16:16, I think, but it may have been in the 16:40s.

Not the Chief

Yesterday was a rest day, except for shoveling the driveway twice. Way too fucking early for this much snow! My shoulders, and in general my upper body, still feel smoked. I stepped on the scale this morning for the first time in awhile and was at 202 pounds. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

40:00 Airdyne
** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36

The last time I did one of these engine workouts was last Wednesday! Accidentally sprinted at 28:00 instead of 30, so also brought up the final one from 36 to 34. Got 1,092 calories and 23.22 km. Before this, 20.54 km is the most I’d done for 40 minutes.

Went to the gym for the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Dead Hang
  • 3 Sets
    • 15 Reverse Hyper (50#)
    • Hip Stretch
  • 2:00 Row (530m)
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • World’s Greatest Stretch
    • 10 Air Squats
    • Front Rack Stretch

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5/5 Single Arm Front Rack KB Squat (35-44-53-53-53#)
  • 10/10 Single Leg Glute Bridges

I did these instead of tempo back squats and barbell hip thrusts. Trying not to get hurt before I head to Miami for a wedding.

Conditioning

“Hanging Chief” – 5 Cycles

  • 3:00 AMRAP
    • 3 Hang Power Cleans (135#)
    • 6 Push-ups
    • 9 Air Squats
  • 1:00 Rest

**Restart each cycle from the beginning of the AMRAP

When the gym workout said it was a climbing version of “The Chief” benchmark, I didn’t even look back to verify the movements were correct and it turns out the power cleans are supposed to be from the floor. Last time I did it, I got 5+3 or 5+2 every round. Turns out that’s a power clean from the floor though, not the hang and explains why I was so much faster today. I went out hot and was done with 2 rounds in about 45 seconds! Was worried I made a horrible mistake getting 6+9 in that first cycle. In my head I was comparing to the real version with cleans from the floor, which are slower! My pace did fall off some due to the squats and me being worried I’d crash and burn, but I was able to make a come back when I knew I could get through the last two cycles. Final scores were 6+9, 6+3, 5+14, 6, and 6+6. Total of 99 hang cleans, 189 push-ups, and 266 squats!

My Upper Body is Smoked

Another shitty night of sleep even getting to bed by 11. My entire upper body is sore and tired. So let’s hit it some more! Went to open gym at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 Echo Bike (34 cals)
  • 8 Reverse Grip Bench Press (45#)
  • 8 Skull Crushers (45#)
  • 8 Reverse Grip Bench Press (115#)
  • 8 Skull Crushers (55#)

Accessory

5 Sets

  • 8 Reverse Grip Bench Press (160#)
  • 8 Skull Crushers (75#)

Why 160 pounds? Well, as I was putting the bar away I realized the left side had a 35-15-10 pound plates instead of 35-10-10. I never even felt the difference when doing my reps! Too bad it wasn’t on my right side, which tends to be the weaker one when I start struggling with a bench press rep.

Conditioning

  • 80 T2B
  • Every break – 4 Burpee Box Get Overs (48/40″)

It’s good to get out of your comfort zone with something that forces big sets every now and again. I decided to try a rep scheme that scared me. The plan was 18+16+14+12+10+10 and I felt good in that first set, even thinking about going for 20 plus. Good thing I decided against it because every set after that was a struggle and I had to rest after the BBGOs. Made it through my plan though and it took 9:14.

Midline

40-30-20

  • Russian Twists (45# plate)
  • Side Plank (seconds each side)

Took me 4:50.

For The Girls

3 Sets

  • Dumbbell Curl 21s (30#)

A lot of cheater reps! My upper body is so blown up from the last three days.

I’m not doing a Year of the Engine workout again. My body needs a break.

All Strict

Another shitty Friday night of sleep. I’m glad the Open is over! I was out of bed around 6:30 and my body actually felt pretty good, so I decided to go to the 9am class. I miss the partner workouts and today seemed like a manageable amount of barbell reps. My shoulders and upper back were feeling a little tight in the morning.

Warm-up

  • Stretching
  • PVC Passes
  • 2:00 Echo Bike (20 cals)
  • 10 Power Clean (45#)
  • 5 Power Clean (95#)

Conditioning

Partner Workout

  • 5 Rounds
    • 10 Power Cleans (135#)
    • 20 Burpees Over The Bar
    • 30 cal Row
  • Rest, then start at 20:00
  • 5 Rounds
    • 10 Deadlifts (225#)
    • 20 HSPU (strict for me)
    • 30 cal Row

I paired up with Tom and we split the reps down the middle, which worked well. I pretty much did muscle cleans every round. We finished the first part at exactly 14:00 and the second part took us 12:43. I was able to do all five sets of 10 handstand push-ups strict, unbroken, and fast!

My legs felt pretty heavy after sitting around to recover. I took a 45 minute nap after lunch.

Strength

Since Kevin is heading to Florida tomorrow for his wedding week and I wouldn’t want to skip a whole week, we benched in the afternoon. Gotta keep the momentum going. After the workouts last night and this morning, I wasn’t sure I’d have much in the tank. My upper back was starting to feel pretty sore by this time.

Bench Press

  • 2x6x45#
  • 6×135
  • 4×185
  • 2×215
  • 2x4x245
  • 2x4x250
  • 2x2x265

The program called for 4×4 @ 240-245 pounds. In the last cycle I did 4x4x240. I was surprised how well this went, even getting a new 4RM with the 250# sets. Added the doubles for extra volume and since I won’t bench heavy again until at least next Monday.

20.5

On Wednesday night my hands were aching from gripping that damn Zeus rope! Rest day yesterday. At the gym for 4pm, but I didn’t end up going until 5:20.

Warm-up

Not the greatest warm-up to be honest. I didn’t end up going until the 4th heat, so any of the warming up I had done was out the window by then. 🤷🏻‍♂️

CrossFit Games Open Workout 20.5

Partition the reps and movements any way you want – 20:00 time cap

  • 40 Muscle-ups
  • 80 cal Row
  • 120 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

So easy to overthink this workout, which I was doing all night and morning. I had about five different plans before I finally decided on:

  • 2 rounds of 4 MU + 12 WB
  • 8 rounds of 2-2 MU + 12 WB
  • 80 calories

Rowing is my strength so it seemed like a good idea to save it for when I was tired. It also eliminates all of the transitions in and out of the rower. This strategy had similarities with how I did the 150 WB + 75 T2B workout last month. That workout took me 10:52, so with the lower reps and higher skilled MU, I’d be thrilled heading to the rower anywhere close to that time.

At the gym I decided I’d only do 4 unbroken muscle-ups for the first round. I ended up doing 4 MU + 12 WB and then 4 rounds of 2-2 MU + 12 WB. Was at 5:50 there and dying, so I jumped on the rower for 10 cals because I needed rest! Then 2-2-12-10. Then 3 rounds of 2-12-2-10 and a 2-12-2 before finishing on the rower. The muscle-ups were much easier after the rower compared to after the wall balls. I was having a hard time pulling 1,000 cal/hr through those first 50 calories, which is never a hard pace for me. I was able to pick up the pace to get the final 30 calories done in about 90 seconds. Time of 18:57. I went to a dark place in the last couple of minutes on that one and it took a long time to get up off the ground. My mid-back was pretty tight almost immediately after.

If I ever do this workout again (no redo) I think I’ll try 8 rounds of 3-15-2-10 which was my original plan last night. Casey used it and finished in 17:17. Or 2 rounds of 2-2-12 while fresh and then 8 rounds of 2-12-2-10 might work well. Or 4-4 Muscle-ups and then 8 Rounds of 2-15-2-10 with the idea being to get 10 muscle-ups knockout out while fresh. I think I was placing too much emphasis on the rower, which isn’t going to “win” this workout and can be used as recovery while still accumulating reps.

I’m going to keep coming back and updating this post with other good strategy ideas that could work for me.

  • 4-4 MU, 12x 10 WB + 2 MU, 4x 15 cal + 2 MU, 20 cal
  • 4-4 MU, 8x 2 MU + 10 WB + 2 MU + 10 cal, 40 WB

  • 4 Cycles of 5x 2MU + 6 WB, then 20 cal

 

Deep Ab Burn

Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

24 Rounds

  • 15s Airdyne
  • 30s Rest

It doesn’t work trying to do 15 second intervals on my rower, so it was an easy choice to do this on the bike. Well over 100 RPM and I was getting faster throughout. I had 175 calories after 10 rounds, 356 after 20, and 432 to finish with 4.72 km. This is a far cry from Airdyne Hell though, which is 10 rounds of 15 seconds at 100% with 1:45 rests. I’ve done 250+ calories on that workout, which hurts really bad by round four.

Went to the gym at 4pm. The class workout had heavy snatches and cleans, plus a bunch of T2B. I wasn’t going to risk my back or tear up my hands two days before 20.5, so I came up with this. Warmed up with 2:00 Echo Bike for 20 calories.

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 8/8 Half Kneeling Bottoms Up KB Press (26#)
  • 8 Lateral Raises (10# DBs)
  • 8 Front Raises (10# DBs)

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 4/4 Dumbbell Hang C&J (50#)
  • 8 Goblet Squats (50#)
  • 20 Heavy Double Unders (Zeus rope)

I really like that movement with the dumbbells and the squats actually felt good too. I forgot hot terrible that heavy rope is though; you have to grip so hard to make sure the handles don’t fly out of your hands. I did 7 rounds + 2.

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30 Alternating V-ups
  • 30 Side Plank Jumps
  • 60 Hollow Flutter Kicks

Deep burn in that first round of flutter kicks, but I held on to go unbroken with every movement in every set. Finished in 5:24, which is 47 seconds faster than back in July.

Nice to be done in less than an hour.

Breaking Through

On Sunday night I was exhausted by 9pm. Dumb time change! Woke up with a headache on Monday and took a much needed rest day. Out in the garage around 3:30 today.

Warm-up

3:00 Airdyne

Went 69 calories and 1.6 km.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 2x6x45#
  • 6×135
  • 4×185
  • 2×215
  • 2x5x235
  • 5×240
  • 5×245
  • MAX @ 225 (9)

The program called for 4×5 @ 230-235 and then a max reps set at the base weight. Last cycle I did the four working sets all at 230, so today was a big improvement. My final set of five matches my 5RM and I finally beat my max reps with 225# by two reps after getting exactly seven reps the last four times I’ve tried. 💪 💪  My left arm was actually lagging a little on the heavy set and final max reps, when it’s always been my right. Maybe some of the accessory work is evening things out.

img_3604
Recap on BTWB

Accessory

4 Sets

  • 8 Seated OH Tricep Extensions (50#)
  • 8/8 Concentration Curls (30#)

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

20 Rounds

  • 45s Row
  • 30s Rest

Settled in around 95 RPM. Total of 734 calories and 10.95 km.

Back Acting Up Again

Last night my quads and traps were feeling sore. I also felt a little something off on the right side of my low back, which is opposite where I always have my issues. This morning I could feel some pinches in the normal spot, especially when I put my left leg in certain positions. WTF! It’s not nearly as bad as it felt last week though. Went to open gym at 10am.

Warm-up

3 Sets

  • 8 cal Echo Bike
  • 15 Reverse Hypers (50#)

I also did 5 strict pull-ups.

Accessory

5 Sets

  • 5 Weighted Pull-ups (30#)
  • 10/10 Kroc Rows (53# KB)

Conditioning

  • 3 Rounds
    • 10 Strict HSPU
    • 20 MB Walking Lunges (20#)
  • 3 Rounds
    • 10 MB Crossover Push-ups
    • 20 Wall Balls (20#, 10’)

The first part was originally going to be 20 box jumps, but after 20.4 and with how my back was feeling I changed to lunges. I knew I would do the first set of handstand push-ups unbroken, but wasn’t sure how the other sets would go. I flew through that first 10 faster than I’ve ever done them and I made all three sets unbroken. The crossover push-ups were nasty with all of the shoulders in this little workout. Wall balls were burning, but I kept them unbroken. Finished in 8:21.

Midline

6:00 EMOM

  • 15 Hollow Rocks
  • 10 V-ups

Planned this to be 5 minutes, but decided to do an extra round.

For the Girls

3 Sets

  • Dumbbell Curl 21s (30#)

Not the prettiest reps, but happy to hit the weight I was doing several months ago when we did them every week.

I chilled at home, mowed the lawn, and was out in the garage just after 3pm.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

38:00 Airdyne

** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36.

Got 1,045 calories and 22.14 km.

Comfortably Cold

I must be really hyped up on Friday nights after the Open workouts because it wasn’t a great night of sleep again. Sore this morning, but no back pain. 👍🏻  Went for a run after 10am, when it hadn’t hit 40 degrees yet and the windchill was 32. I bundled up with warm socks, Under Armour Cold Gear tights and shirt, shorts, light half zip, winter golf gloves, and a hat.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

46:00 Run

I wasn’t sure about my layering, but I was very comfortable the entire run and it was my favorite run of the year! I’ve already bought some proper running gloves and a hat. Went 4.8 miles with consistent splits again. It felt good on my body after 20.4 last night.

2019-11-02-run-splits

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

15:00 Airdyne

I was out in the garage at 6pm. Tried to hold 80 RPM and I think my average would have been close. Went 521 cals and 9.82 km, which is my best by 14 calories and 0.14 km.