Nick Momrik

Weaker Leg Drive

Out in the garage before 9am.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

30:00 Airdyne

Went 930 calories and 18.6 km. Beats my best for 30 minutes, which was 18.19 km. Wanted to average 80 RPM, but probably hovered between 77-80 most of the time.

Spent about 4 hours helping a friend move, signed online to do a little work, and then was out in the garage around 4:30.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

12 Rounds

1:00 Row
1:15 Rest

Checked the drag factor on my rower, which was at 133, so I went down to 130. Tried to use more leg drive, with a 1:36-1:37 goal pace. I just don’t seem to have the leg drive I had a few years ago. I’ve definitely lost lower body strength since I haven’t been able to squat or deadlift heavy in years.

312-312-312-311-311-310-308-306-308-308-308-309m

Just look at those stroke rates. I used to be able to do something like this around 25 s/m. At least my engine is better now so I’m able to keep a high pace with having to do a lot more strokes.

Time for More Metcons

Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf. My hamstrings started getting sore last night.

It’s less than 3 weeks until Open Workout 20.1 gets announced, so it’s time to kick up my training a notch or 12 and do more metcons after 2 weeks of undertraining. I need to start practicing my handstand walking again too. Was out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

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

Was doing about 72-73 RPM most of the time for endurance pace. Went 811 cals and 17.36 km.

Went to the gym at 4pm.

Warm-up

3 sets
- 15 Reverse Hypers (90#)
400m Run
2 Rounds
- Front Rack stretch
- Chest stretch
- 10 Air Squats
- 10 HR Push-ups
5 Bench Press (45#)
5 Power Cleans (45#)
5 Bench Press (95#)
3 Power Cleans (135#)
5 Bench Press (135#)
3 Power Cleans (165#)

Conditioning

19:00 AMRAP

3 Power Cleans (185#)
5 Bench Press (165#)
200m Run
1:30 Rest

It was on a 25 minute running clock, but by the time I got through all the warm-up sets above I was starting my first round at exactly 6:00 on the clock. So effectively a 19 minute AMRAP. I got through 7 full rounds and had 23 seconds left, with very consistent round times of 1:22, 1:27, 1:21, 1:22, 1:22, 1:19, and 1:24. I put my belt on for the cleans each round, did them touch-n-go, and then removed my belt as I moved over to the bench.

10:00 AMRAP

30 Russian KBS (53#)
30 Double Under
15 Sit-Ups

I missed once on the dubs in my third round and finished 5+30. That was a good burner with no spot to rest because the movements didn’t interfere with each other at all.

I really liked both of those workouts and felt great, considering I haven’t slept worth a shit for the last two days.

A Griptastic Return

Monday was a rest day and yesterday was a travel day. After I got home my legs were feeling rough from the dance floor and long night on Monday. I was exhausted and decided not to workout. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

20:00 Airdyne

My best, though not as a test, was 11.94 km. Figured 80 RPM throughout would be a good goal as a first trial for this length of time. Was probably short of that overall, but could have gone harder. Got 12.73 km and 656 calories.

Went to the 7pm class because I was busy with a project at work all day.

Warm-up

400m Run
2 Rounds
- 10 Good Mornings (PVC)
- 10 Pass Throughs
- 5 Kip Swings
- 10 Lateral Hops
5 Hang Power Cleans (45#)
5 Deadlifts (45#)
5 Hang Power Cleans (115#)
5 Deadlifts (115#)

Conditioning

2 Rounds

4:00 EMOM
- 15 cal Row
4:00 EMOM
- 10 Hang Power Cleans (115#)
4:00 EMOM
- 10 T2B
4:00 EMOM
- 10 Deadlifts (185#)

No extra rest other than when you’re done with a movement each minute. I felt good at the beginning and pulled ~1700-1800 cal/hr. Then I did each movement unbroken. The second time through was a different story! I pulled ~1400 cal/hr. I did 2×5 on each minute of cleans, then 3 minutes of 2×5 with the final set of T2B unbroken. I picked up the deadlifts and my grip was shot! After doing the first round through all with a neutral grip, after doing 5, I started doing a mixed grip. I was able to go 2×5 for the first two minutes, but then I just couldn’t hold the bar, so I went 2 and 8 singles, finishing with 10 singles.

Rough one after not touching a bar since the previous Sunday.

Hella Humid

I woke up at 7am to get in an early run.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

36:00 Run

2019-09-15-weather

Check out that humidity! My heart rate was 10-15% higher than an almost identical paced run I did at home last week, so I’m guessing it was due to the humid weather here. I went 3.63 miles. About halfway through the run I could feel a blister forming on the bottom of big toe, in the crease, which seems like a weird spot to get one. I was wearing my Reebok CrossFit Speed TRs, which probably aren’t the best for running any real distance.

After lunch I did the back stability stuff back in my room.

Midline

7-5-3 w/ 10 second holds

Curl-up
Side Plank
Bird dogs

Week of Green

Today is my 6th green WHOOP recovery day in a row! Went to the hotel gym at almost 6pm.

2019-09-14-whoop-recoveries

Gymnastics / Strength

2 Sets
- 5 Strict Pull-ups
- 10 DB Thrusters (35#)
2 Sets
- 7 Strict Pull-ups
- 7 DB Thrusters (40#)
2 Sets
- 10 Strict Pull-ups
- 5 DB Thrusters (50#)

The climbing sets of pull-ups were a change-up and good challenge. Rested after each couplet because I was just going for quality and a little volume.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

24 Rounds

30s Stationary Bike
30s Rest

Used level 18 on the bike and went 6.63 miles. My legs were shaking on the bike during the rest periods and it was a wobbly walk back to my room. When I got there I was feeling wrecked and a little sick, so I took a cold shower before heading to dinner.

Will I wake up in the green tomorrow?

Bench & Bike

We had a long work day yesterday so I decided to sleep in, even though my WHOOP recovery has been green 4 days in a row now. Had time to get to the hotel gym around 5:30 today.

DB Bench Press

20×35#
3x15x50#

Year of the Engine – Polarized

28:00 Stationary Bike

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

Setting the level to 15 worked pretty well and then I bumped it over 20 for the sprints. Went a total of 9.6 miles.

Hilton Bike

Something occurred to me last night after seeing someone’s results for a rowing workout. So I went and looked at my stroke rate for my 5k PR and the average was 22. Compare that to my 30 from yesterday. Are my legs that much weaker since I can’t squat or deadlift heavy like I used to? Maybe I need to try a different drag factor on my rower. I was using 133 during a rowing program in 2015 and I want to say I’ve been around 125 lately. Or has my technique gone to shit? Definitely something to investigate when I get home next week.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

10 Rounds

45s Stationary Bike
1:30 Rest

Got up early and jumped on a bike in the hotel fitness center. No idea what kind of pace to go on the machine, so this week could be kind of a shit show. I’ll make due with what is available though. Eventually settled on a resistance of 19 and went a total of 4.02 miles. Good quad 🔥.

Midline

7-5-3 w/ 10 second holds

Curl-ups
Side Planks
Bird dogs

This is definitely boring work, but I can feel all the muscles working, so I hope it’ll pay off.

When Do You Do Your Best Work?

Yesterday I walked 18 holes on the golf course. I was planning to do this workout last night, but got busy and thought it would be a good idea to rest up before my trip. Good choice, because I woke up with a 96% WHOOP recovery score. I set an alarm and got up for an early (to me) workout since I had a 10:15am flight, so I was in the garage at 7:30.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

6 Rounds

3:00 Row
2:00 Rest

Two months ago I did this with an average pace of 1:45.4/500m, though my notes say I wasn’t feeling that great.

2019-09-10-row

Really happy with that effort, which is 15 meters more than last time. Wasn’t sure how I’d react in the morning on an empty stomach. Kind of fitting that the podcast I was listening to talked about how one guy measured when he was most productive at work throughout his day.

Time to pack and head to the airport.

Light Barbell Work

Feeling good. Went to open gym at 10.

Accessory

3 Sets

15 Reverse Hypers (90#)

No B.S. Bench Press

10×45#
8×95
4×135
4×175
4×205
4×225
4x4x240

Still on the low end of the recommended 240-245 for the working sets. Not sure I could have added the extra five pounds to either of the last two sets even. I have to remind myself 245 is my all-time 5RM (which I matched back in May) and I did 16 reps with 240 in this workout. Things are moving in the right direction.

Conditioning

E2M – 5 Rounds
- 10 Power Snatches (75#)
- 5 Muscle-ups
4:00 Rest
E2M – 5 Rounds
- 10 C&J (75#)
- 5 Handstand Push-ups

My original version of this was using 95 and 115, but I switched to 75 and 95 yesterday. I did the first 4 sets of muscle-ups unbroken with a near failure on the last rep of those. Then I finished with 3-1-1. After struggling towards the end of the first couplet, I decided to stay at 75 for the clean and jerks. I also added an extra two minutes of rest because I was not recovering fast enough. As soon as I went for my first strict HSPU I knew it was going to have to change. I did 3-2 and 5×1 strict before switching to unbroken sets of 5 kipping for the other 3 rounds. I probably could have continued with 5×1 strict, but I wanted some rest time!

Damn, that light barbell can really give you a great workout. Too many people think you need to go heavy all the time and keep adding more weight.

Midline

6-4-2 with 10 second holds

Curl-up
Side Plank
Bird Dog

Increased from the 5-3-1 since it had been easy. This was definitely more of a challenge, but the workout may have contributed to that.

Did a bunch of yard work, ran some errands, and then was out in the garage by 8pm

Year of the Engine – Polarized

26:00 Airdyne

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

Went 692 calories and 14.93 km.

Don’t Stop

My legs feel a little tired this morning after walking roughly 6 miles on the golf course and running another 3.5. Out in the garage after 9:30am. Warmed up with a two minute row for 513 meters.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

15 Rounds

30s Row
1:00 Rest

I did 1:27.7 a couple weeks ago with a tight back for this same thing, so today the goal was 1:27.

2019-09-07-row

Holy shit did I underestimated this one or what? I didn’t remember it being so hard. I wasn’t even close to maintaining that previous pace. Was it because I hadn’t eaten anything yet? Tired legs? The two beers I drank last night? Some days you just don’t have “it” I guess.

When I went to take pictures of the splits I noticed two weeks ago was with 1:30 rests, not 1:00!!! Of course I wasn’t going to be able to keep that pace. I could really feel the loss of power in my first 4-5 strokes, which couldn’t recover with the shorter rest; it all makes sense now. I’m extremely proud of how I fought to keep getting those 165 meters when things fell apart. My mistake turned out to be a great mental and physical test.

Thinking back, I had noticed the guy on BTWB who always smokes me had averaged a 1:27.7 pace. After finding what I had thought was my same intervals I concluded that he maybe was worse than me at the short duration stuff. I should have known better! Based on his scores I would have set my goal at 1:30-1:31. It turns out I have done this one, back on June 8th, with an average pace of 1:31.7, getting 163-164 meters every round, which I beat on each interval today.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

15:00 Airdyne

Out in the garage again after the Michigan game. Tried to hold 80 RPM. Went 500 calories and 9.63 km.