Author: Nick Momrik

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

March Monday

My calves are a little sore from the ankle moves again, but not bad.

Active Life – Hips

Warm-up

  • 250m Straight Leg Ski Erg
  • 5 Inchworms
  • 5 Sumo Inchworms
  • 5/5 Leg Abducted Rocking
  • 1:00/1:00 Sciatic Nerve Flossing

Worked up with 6/6 Single Leg Deadlifts at 45# and 95#.

Workout – 6 Sets (3/leg)

  • 6 Single Leg Deadlifts
  • 20s Bent Knee Hollow Body Hold

I used 125-145-165#. The right leg definitely has a harder time than the left.

Conditioning

5:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Ring Rows
  • 5 Power Snatches (75#)

Got through 6+8.

Active Life – Back Max

5 Rounds

  • 15s L Hang
  • 10 Curl-ups (3s hold)
  • 30s/30s One Arm Farmer Carry (53#)
  • 10 Alternating Push-up Ts

Didn’t realize it should have been 5 seconds on the curl-ups. Kept moving and finished in 18:15.

Hold That Max

Didn’t need the rest day yesterday but I got busy coding some of my home automation stuff and didn’t really feel like sweating.

Active Life – Hips

Warm-up

  • 10 Side Shuffles (10m)
  • 2:00/2:00 Banded Posterior Hip Distraction
  • 10/10 Lateral Leg Swings

Workout – 6 Sets (3/leg)

  • 12 Lateral Box Step-ups (30″)
  • 5/5 Eccentric Ankle Dorsiflexion

Conditioning

12:00 AMRAP

  • 4 Shuttle Run (10 yards)
  • 12 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 48 Double Unders

Could we see shuttle runs in the Open? They were introduced in the judges course several years ago. I missed too many dubs and have plenty of marks to prove it. Finished 6+16.

Active Life – Back Max

4 Sets

  • 30s Overhead Barbell Hold (goal is 100% 1RM Shoulder Press)
  • 40m Double KB Front Rack Carry (53#)

I did the first set with 165# and 3 sets with 185. My wrists really felt that hold and the combination with the front rack carry was challenging. Took about 8 minutes.

18.2

I was so good at not getting worked up going into the workout last week, but I was feeling it most of the day today. I’m going to blame it on the damn burpees.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Jog
  • High Knees
  • Butt Kicks
  • Dead Hang
  • 5 Power Cleans (45#)
  • 5 Front Squats (45#)
  • 5 Power Cleans (95#)
  • 5 Dumbbell Squats (35#)
  • 3 Bar-facing Burpees
  • 3 Power Cleans (135#)
  • 2 Power Cleans (165#)
  • 2 Bar-facing Burpees
  • 2 Power Cleans (185#)

The reps and order of that warm-up are probably way off.

CrossFit Open Workout 18.2 & 18.2a

12:00 Clock

  • 1-10
    • DB Squats (50# DBs)
    • Bar-facing Burpees
  • Max Clean in remaining time

I felt like I started off with a pretty steady pace. Things seemed to deteriorate in round 5 or 6 though. Having to jump back and forward on the burpees really adds up and is much different then stepping back and up, which I’ve done in previous years (and still scored horribly). The squats felt fine even in the set of 9 and 10, but it was hard getting myself to pick up the dumbbells each round. My time was a disappointing 9:44 when I was shooting for something around 8:00. Oh well.

Historically my worst Open scores have been when there are box or barbell-facing burpees. All of that extra movement and stepping allows me to move just that much slower and it quickly adds up on the clock. Give me any other style of burpee and I can keep moving a lot better. I mean, fuck, a year ago I did 100 bar-facing burpees in 8:23. The squats should have been much faster here even with the transition time. My conditioning was much better last year though too.

Enough about fucking burpees. I had my bar loaded with 207# and planned to go 237 and then maybe 257 and 267. I also had no intentions of squat cleaning anything because I knew my back would be taxed from the 10 rounds. I’m actually pretty good at power cleans anyway.

The 207 wasn’t exactly light, but it got me on the board. I had the guys start loading 237 and decided to have them load 5# more on each side because I had to beat Weston who he smoked me on the metcon this morning. I wasn’t sure if I’d make another lift. I made the 247 and then made 257. Some of the widest stances I’ve ever had catching a power clean. 🙂

Am I disappointed enough for a redo? Hell no! #OneAndDone

More February Running

Active Life – Hips

Warm-up

  • 5 Pallof Series (3 reps each leg, each direction – so 12 reps per series)

Workout – 3 Sets

  • 10 Dead Bugs
  • 20 Mountain Climbers
  • 5/5 Hip Airplanes
  • 10s/10s Standing Straight Leg Hold

Active Life – Back Max

5 Sets

  • 14 Front Squats
    • 45#
    • 2 sets 95
    • 2 sets 115
  • 30s/30s Banded Posterior Hip Distraction

Shouldn’t have felt heavy but seems like I have some stamina issues from not squatting. I could feel that last set fatigue on my low back.

Conditioning

Mid 50s again so I went for an easy run. 1.71 miles in 17:00.

Get Out

Was due for the rest day yesterday. Chest was still sore and my quads started to get sore from all of the Sunday air squats. This weather is crazy (57°) so I took advantage with the garage open and some outside movements.

Active Life – Hips

Warm-up

  • 1:00/1:00 Banded Posterior Ankle Distraction
  • 20 Lateral Banded Step Overs
  • 8 Paused Squat Press Outs (25#)
  • 5 Jump Squats

Workout – 4 Sets (2x each side)

  • 8 One Arm Waiter’s Squat (53#, 3s pause)
  • 60m One Arm Farmer Carry (70#)

Really nice walking up and down the driveway instead of doing 5 meter turn-arounds inside the garage. Warmed up my snatch with 5×45# and 2x5x95.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 5 Power Snatch (135#)
  • 200m Run (middle of yard 4th house down)

Complete change of plans after the clock started and I did the first rep. I held on to do all 5. So then I challenged myself not to drop the bar. I made each set unbroken with some resetting at the hips. As a result my runs were probably pretty slow. Finished in 9:07. Pretty sure I’ve never done than many big unbroken sets in a metcon though. Win!

Active Life – Back Max

  • 2:00/2:00 Foam Roll quads
  • 10:00
    • 5/5 Split Squat Rock Back (3s pause)
    • 10 Alternating Dead Bugs
    • 5 Ring Fallouts
    • 5 Groiners
    • 10 Cat Camel + Rock Back

The foam rolling was painful with sore quads. Got through 2 rounds of the other movements.

Garage Sesh Sunday

My friend Ashley was out of town this weekend, so no Sunday workout at the gym. I used up my 2 days this week anyway with the Open workout. Headed out to the garage in the late afternoon workout. Was 55° in there so I didn’t even bother to turn on the heat.

My chest started getting sore yesterday afternoon and my shin area is still a bit tight.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Sets

  • 8/8 Bottoms Up KB Press (25#)
  • 8/8 Half Kneeling Halos (25#, around and back)
  • 8/8 One Arm Suitcase Deadlift (70# KB)
  • 8/8 One Arm DB Push Press (50#)

Was supposed to be 12:00 but I didn’t realize until after the 1st set, so I never started the clock. I think 3 sets would have been about right.

Conditioning

E2M 20:00

  • 10 Burpees
  • 20 Air Squats

Warmed up a bit in the first round, which took 59 seconds. Started picking up the pace each round and was able to get the last round done in 49 seconds. Happy I was able to keep a solid pace on the air squats without any pauses.

Mostly Healthy for the Open

I’m still surprised at how good 18.1 felt yesterday, considering I haven’t been doing many metcons. Twenty minute workouts are not in my wheelhouse, but I was able to fall into a pace and keep at it. The triplet stacked up pretty well for me, so it’ll be interesting to see how the next 4 weeks go. Maybe not being overtrained and/or injured going into the Open is a good thing. Who would have thought?

Last night I started to feel some fatigue in my right shoulder, which is the one where I typically feel a bit of impingement when I overdue something. This morning both shoulders are sore as are my abs.

Active Life – Hips

Warm-up

  • 15/15 Lateral Leg Swings
  • 20 Groiners
  • 1:00/1:00 Samson Stretch

Workout

  • Romanian Deadlifts
    • 10×45#
    • 10×95
    • 10×135
    • 2x10x185
  • 35 Sumo Deadlifts (185#)

I did the 35 in 2 sets of 20-15.

Active Life – Back Max

4 Rounds

  • 30s Front Rack Hold (185#)
  • 30m/30m One Arm Farmer Carry (70#)

Decided to skip conditioning after yesterday’s workout, but did this back work without rest. I go 5m across the garage at a time for the Farmer Carry. Took me 6:48.

18.1

Last night my ankles and shins started getting a little sore. I think it was too long after the ankle dorsiflexions so maybe it was the broad jumps?

It’s a different Open for me this year, which I wrote about yesterday on nick.blog. I didn’t watch a single strategy video today (other than the official one CrossFit showed during the live announcement). I did see this recommended warm-up come through in the Active Life private Facebook group.

18-1-warm-up.jpg

Every year I have a laugh at shit like this. What gyms have enough rowers for people warming up and people doing the workout? You don’t need anything near a 15 minute warm-up for a 20 minute workout and certainly don’t need to fatigue the movements you’re about to do. Maybe the elite athletes, but not the average Joe like me. GTFO!

Warm-up

  • 23 cal Row
  • 5/5 Single Arm DB Hang Clean & Jerk (35#)
  • Ring Hang
  • 3/3 Single Arm DB Hang Clean & Jerk (50#)
  • 8 T2B

CrossFit Open 18.1

20:00 AMRAP

  • 8 T2B
  • 5/5 Single Arm DB Hang Clean & Jerk (50#)
  • 14 cal Row

First round was a little fast, but I fell into a great rhythm after that and was almost dead-on a 2:00 per round pace the whole way. I was doing 4-4 toes to bars, clean right into a push press, and switched hands in the air. Could have got up to speed on the rower quicker but was averaging about 1,125-1,150 cal/hr. I’d take a quick breath or two coming off the bar before picking up the dumbbell but didn’t really rest other than that. Was a good mix of movements for me. I did die out at the end and reset my feet for every T2B at the end without letting go of the bar to finish with 10+6 or 326 total reps.

I think this might be my favorite Open workout. Maybe they’ll all be like this!

Back Over 3

My calves aren’t sore yet, knock on wood. Went to the 4:30 class.

Warm-up – 4 Sets

  • 8 Strict Chin-ups
  • 20s HS Hold
  • 10 Pause Squat + Broad Jump
  • Deadlift
    • 10×45#
    • 5×135
    • 5×185
    • 5×225

I think I did 5-3 on every set of chin-ups.

Strength

10:00 EMOM

  • 2 Deadlifts
    • 2 Sets 255#
    • 2 Sets 275
    • 2 Sets 285
    • 2 Sets 295
    • 2 Sets 305

It’s been almost a year since I pulled 300+. Felt ok.

Conditioning

24:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 200m Row
  • 15 American KBS (24kg)
  • 10 Thrusters (95#)
  • 6 Strict Pull-ups

Much worse than it looks. I did all singles for the pull-ups and kept the swings and thrusters unbroken.