Nick Momrik

Grace-Off

Last day of our group’s golf tournament this morning, so I walked 18 holes. With the humidity lately this has been fatiguing me more than expected. Went in around 7:30 for open gym.

Warm-up

3-4:00 of DU practice

I reeled off a nice streak of 71 right off the bat and then got a bunch in the 30s. I need to get better at being able to do long streaks when I lose some breath and I want to hit that 100 so bad!

Strength

5/3/1 Shoulder Press – Cycle 2 Week 3

5 @ 60# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 75# (50% – warm)
3 @ 90# (60% – warm)
3 @ 115# (75%)
3 @ 130# (85%)
1+ @ 145# (95%)

I went for it and couldn’t even get one rep. Wow. Took a minute to regroup but was only able to get 2 reps. What the fuck is going on with some of my lifts? Last week I did 6 @ 140# and now this bullshit? Puts my estimated max at 154.5#, well below my 165# PR.

Snatch Press

10 @ 45#
10 @ 75#
10 @ 85#

WOD

Warmed up clean and jerks with 45# x 3, 95# x 3, 115# x 3, and 135# for one.

“Grace”

30 C&J (135#)

I’ve been wanting to Rx this bitch for a long time. Brent came in to throwdown with me. My last “Grace” attempt was 125# back in November, which I did in 4:16. Only took me 3:03 today and I probably lost 10-15 seconds with the damn collars. Somewhere between 15 and 20 I was wondering why it was so hard to get my right arm up. I finally looked at the bar and the 45# bumper was nearly off the bar. Ugh!

Felt pretty good though, I stupidly dropped the bar after 3 reps because something just didn’t feel right and then I started doing singles after 9. I wasn’t resting between reps though, I was actually catching the bar on the bounce and resetting right away. Hanging on and controlling to the ground was just taking too much energy out of me and I knew I couldn’t sustain it. I was predicting a time around 3:00 the other day talking to Matt, so I’m pretty happy with that.

Finisher

3 Rounds NFT

5 Strict Deficit HSPU (15# Bumpers)
5 Strict Chin-ups
1:00 Air Dyne

The HSPU were a struggle to complete, but not surprising seeing how my shoulder press sucked today.

My Squats Suck

Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf in the morning and was exhausted most of the day. It was a long day on Sunday helping out and watching the competition. Needed a rest day anyway after 4 in a row. In at 10am this morning.

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Olympic Lifting

Started with 7:00 of Snatch Position Drills with 45# on the training bar. Focused on my setup in addition to meeting my hips. Then I started doing snatch singles and resting as needed.

3 singles with 95#
Single, miss 2 singles with 115# (first one flew up so fast I almost caught it standing fully upright, so tried to adjust on the 2nd and bar was too far forward when I received it)
2 singles with 135#
2 singles with 145#
1 and 3 fails with 155# (I started thinking too much and then wasn’t committing to the lift)
Fail and single at 135# to stop on a make

Felt good up until 155#. Feeling fatigued still this morning though.

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squats – Cycle 2 Week 3

5 @ 120# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 150# (50% – warm)
3 @ 180# (60% – warm)
5 @ 225# (75%)
3 @ 255# (85%)
1+ @ 285# (95%)

My squat has been disappointing for the last few weeks, but last week Kevin noticed I was really bent over, so I concentrated on that today and did much better at it. But my squats still sucked. I got 3 reps at 285# before stopping. Waited a few more minutes and did 285# again for 2 reps. I was able to do 295# for three a long time ago. My squat has been shitty ever since Tough Mudder. Maybe I’ll go back to Super Squats which is what I was doing before I got sick for 2+ weeks. Something needs to change. I was planning to test my max next week but that is definitely not happening because it’ll just be disappointing to have gone down.

WOD

E4MOM 16:00 (4 rounds)

250m Row
25 Wall Balls

I tried setting the damper to low 4 on the rower today and it felt pretty good. I think I’ll keep experimenting with it. I did all of the wall balls unbroken and finished the combo in under 2:00 each round so had just over 2 minutes of rest before the next round.

Jumped on the GHD when I got home.

Finisher

5 Rounds NFT

10 GHD Sit-ups
10 Back Extensions

Sunday Morning Sprints

I set my alarm and got up early for some sprints. 7am over at Heritage High School.

There was a nice little chill in the air. Perfect for running. I warmed up with 800m of jogging.

E2M 20:00

100m Sprint

Eased into the first few sprints so I didn’t pull a hammy or anything. Legs were really feeling it in the last 3 sprints. Walked 800m after I was done.

Spent most of the day helping out at the pro-am at Survival Fitness today and then went over to Kevin’s garage around 7:30.

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Olympic Lifting

I was using the blocks at mid-thigh again. I’d do 3 snatch deadlifts and 3 snatches. Used 65#, 95#, 115#, 135#, 145# (missed the first snatch), and then 155#, where I failed at 2 snatch attempts not fully committing to them. Called it quits there because it just wasn’t in me for the day. The two hits at 145# were 10# higher than last week so I’ll take that as a success. Pretty tired from a long day and the sprints in the morning.

Strength

5/3/1 Bench Press – Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 85# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 110# (50% – warm)
3 @ 135# (60% – warm)
3 @ 150# (70%)
3 @ 175# (80%)
3+ @ 195# (90%)

I’m sore and tired from the throwdown on Friday, but managed to pull out 6 reps at 195# for an estimated max of 233.5#, which is just below the most I’d done from back in November. Maybe I’ll PR on bench press once this year yet. 🙂

Version 2 of the Garage Gym

This morning I finished organizing and cleaning up all of my equipment. Had to make room for the new GHD.

I like how it turned out, but can’t wait to “remodel” the other side of the garage so I can get rid of everything non-gym related on this side. Maybe I should have expanded the garage with a heated addition.

Party of one in the garage around 8pm.

Warm-up

Ran 0.4 miles around the block.

Strength

5/3/1 Front Squats – Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 110# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 135# (50% – warm)
3 @ 165# (60% – warm)
3 @ 190# (70%)
3 @ 220# (80%)
3+ @ 245# (90%)

Knocked out 6 reps on the last set for an estimated max of 293.5#, just under my PR. Again the limiting factor is being able to breathe and stay conscious in these. I guess I should try to do them faster.

3 Rounds NFT

10 Snatch Presses (75#)
20 GHD Sit-ups
5 GHR

I think I’m going to love having the GHD. I can easily get out there for 10 minutes to knock out some reps and improve these damn hips which seem to be failing a lot lately on stuff like T2B and pull-ups.

Conditioning

5:00 Air Dyne
10:00 Rest
5:00 Air Dyne

Fun! 178 calories for 3.3km the first round and 186 calories for 3.37km the 2nd round. Have I mentioned I how much I love the AD2 more than the AD6?

Friday Night Throwdown

Got another solid 9 hours of sleep last night. In at 10am.

Warm-up

300m Run
PVC Pass-thrus

Olympic Lifting

7:00 45# Snatch Position Drills
2:00 Rest
E20S 2:00 95# Snatch
3:00 Rest
E30S 3:00 125# Snatch
3:00 Rest
EMOM 7:00 155# Snatch

I missed the first rep at 155# simply because my head wasn’t in it and I wasn’t ready for it yet. It’s only 10# under my max snatch so it was a little intimidating to go at for the first time getting my hip into it. After that it felt solid though so I kept going longer than the planned 4 minutes. I’ve definitely never done 6 snatches of 155# in a day before. 165# next week and then on to the PR zone!

WOD

“Flight Simulator”
5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-45-50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5

Unbroken DU

I finally finished this fucker today! 13:35 with only a handful of misses. I had a miss at 49 on my set of 50, which sucked. I felt like I figured out a more relaxed and paced tempo on my DU today because having to go unbroken really forces you to concentrate on not missing.

We took it easy in the morning because we went over to 989 CrossFit in Midland for their first Friday Night Throwdown at 7pm. We had no idea what the workout would be until we got there. After it was announced, I wanted to head home.

3 Rounds

800m Run
40 Pull-ups
60 HR Push-ups

OMG FML! I am horrible at big sets of push-ups. I was the last guy to finish and Matt and Kevin were the guys in front of me, so we took the last 3 places for men. Michelle won the women and beat all of us. My time was 31:44. I’m just happy to have finished. It was good because I’d never program something like that.

friday-night-throwdown-1

Quads on Fire

Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf and then got one of those massive headaches from the sun and heat. It was in the 90s and I guess I didn’t drink enough water out there. So my garage gym still isn’t all set back up with the GHD yet. In at 10am this morning and feeling great after 9.5 hours of sleep.

Warm-up

1000m Row

Strength

5/3/1 Shoulder Press – Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 60# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 75# (50% – warm)
3 @ 90# (60% – warm)
3 @ 105# (70%)
3 @ 120# (80%)
3+ @ 140# (90%)

I have a bit of the right elbow problem on shoulder presses too and that right elbow is also the one that gets sore after snatches or OHS most of the time. Hmmm. I got 6 reps @ 140# for an estimated max of 167.5#.

Deadlift – 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 165# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 210# (50% – warm)
3 @ 250# (60% – warm)
3 @ 295# (70%)
3 @ 335# (80%)
3+ @ 375# (90%)

Crushed the deadlifts today with the day off yesterday. 10 reps for an estimated max of 499. BOOM!!

3 Rounds NFT

8 Front Rack Walking Lunges (135#, forward)
8 Front Rack Walking Lunges (135#, backward)
8 Chin-ups

I didn’t put the bar down on the lunges and my heart was racing after all 16 lunges.

WOD

5 4:00 Rounds

6 T2B
1:30 Air Dyne
Rest

I made a point not to go out too fast on the first round. Went 31-33-34-34-32 calories. I focused on keeping the speed at over 22mph. This is much worse than Air Dyne Hell because you hurt for longer.

Too Far Forward

Warm-up

3:00 Air Dyne

Olympic Lifting

7:00 45# Snatch Position Drills
2:00 Rest
E20S 2:00 95# Snatch
3:00 Rest
E30S 3:00 125# Snatch
3:00 Rest
EMOM 5:00 145# Snatch

Movin’ on up! Felt good at 145#. I missed my first attempt in the final minute due to lack of concentration, but stepped right back up and nailed it. As long as it keeps feeling good, 2 more sessions and I’ll be at my max snatch weight of 165#.

Strength

5/3/1 Back Squat – Cycle 2 Week 2

5 @ 120# (40% of Training Max – warm)
5 @ 150# (50% – warm)
3 @ 180# (60% – warm)
3 @ 210# (70%)
3 @ 240# (80%)
3+ @ 270# (90%)

Warming up felt good, especially since I was already warm from the squat snatches. 270# felt super heavy lifting off the rack though. I got 5 reps for an estimated max of 314.5#, below my actual max of 325#. Afterwards Kevin mentioned that I’m really leaning forward on my back squats. Now it makes sense why I’ve been struggling so much. Will have to work on fixing that next back squat session.

Pullovers

Did a couple of quick sets while waiting for Matt. 2 Sets of 20 with a 45# DB.

WOD

10 Rounds

150m Run
7 OHS (75#)

Scaled down the OHS from 95# so I could do them all unbroken and not have the WOD take forever. Finished in 11:27.

Finisher

Slow 8:00 on the rower.

Night WODs

Was planning to have a rest day, but that’ll be Wednesday instead. Went to open gym at 8pm.

Warm-up

450m Run

WOD

50 DU
10 Burpees
40 DU
10 Burpees
30 DU
10 Burpees
20 DU
10 Burpees
10 DU
10 Burpees

This was a fun little one. I estimated it would take about five minutes, which was right on the money. I had a DU miss in the round of 50 and one in the 40, finishing at 5:02.

30-20-10

Shoulder to OH (95#, 115#, 135# – increase weight each round as reps decrease)
Over the Box Jumps

My estimate was way off on this one. I figured it would be close to 10 minutes and I finished in 7:37. Felt pretty solid with push presses for 95# and then push jerks for 115# and 135#. Just kept moving on the box jumps and then pushed the pace on the last 10.

Strength

I did 3 sets (15-10-10) of OH Shrugs with 30# DBs. Trying to strengthen the opposite muscles worked in the bench press.

Little Victories

When I rolled out of bed I was feeling beat up all over, but that went away after moving around. Maybe it was from the sprints last night.

Headed over to Kevin’s garage for some work.

Warm-up

5:00 on the Air Dyne (AD2)

Olympic Lifting

I worked of the blocks set to about mid-thigh. Was doing a series of 2-3 snatch deadlifts to get the feel of knees coming back under the bar and hips meeting the bar, with knees still bent. Then I took that into 3 snatches on the blocks.

Started light and moved up really well. 35# for multiple sets, 65# for multiple sets and then I think it was one set each of 85#, 95#, 115#, 125#, and 135#. I just started meeting the bar with 135# on Thursday and it felt better off the blocks. I like the progress!

Strength

Bench Press – 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 1

5 @ 85# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 110# (50% – warm)
3 @ 130# (60% – warm)
5 @ 140# (65%)
5 @ 160# (75%)
5+ @ 185# (85%)

I didn’t use the Reactive Slingshot at all today. Much harder without it, but I didn’t have too much of a problem with my right arm until the end and was still able to push through the reps. I was able to get 9 reps with 185# for an estimated max of 240#. Much more realistic than when I had used the slingshot.

Reverse Hyper

3 x 10 with 120#

I should really get over there more often to do these.

Then we headed over to Survival Fitness Bay City for open gym.

Gymnastics

Worked on muscle-ups. First I wanted to see if I could do a MU without needing to 3 swings in. Was able to get them on the first swing. Then my next goal was to finally string 2 MU together and I knocked that out too! I did three doubles over the course of the work I think, but never tried for 3 in a row. I probably did about 15 total muscle-ups and was trying to help Kevin get his first one kipping. He gets plenty high enough, but doesn’t attempt to get his head through. He’ll get it soon!

WOD

“Fran”
21-15-9

Thrusters (95#)
Pull-ups

I had yet to do an Rx “Fran” which was a little embarrassing considering I’m coming up on 2 years of CrossFit. Shit, the last time I did any “Fran” was at the Level 1 Cert last year in September. I used 75# there and did it in 5:36. Did a 4:50 today without a problem. I now know that I don’t have to pace and rest as much as I did. I was worried I’d burn out on the thrusters or pull-ups by the round of 9.

Later at night I went out to the garage for some more training since I’ll be golfing tomorrow in the first round of our end of the year tournament.

Snatch Balance & OHS

Weight	Snatch Balance	OHS
45#	5	5
95#	5	5
115#	3	3
135#	2	3
155#	1	2
175#	F	–
175#	1	–
185#	F	–

I’m not sure what happened but my OHS has gone shit. I could do a 175# snatch balance back in the winter too. Weird.

Bottom Squat Snatch Presses

I figured these would help my stability overhead.

5 x 45#
5 x 55#
5 x 65#

Wow, these are ~~different~~ difficult.

Snatch Presses

MOAR!

5 x 65#
5 x 75#
5 x 85#
5 x 90#

Shit balls I’m weak in these positions.

Conditioning

I did a really easy 15 minutes on the Air Dyne.

Front Squats & Sprints

I was up early to play in a golf outing up in Gladwin today. Rode carts, but still a long day out in the sun. Beautiful weather! Was thinking about taking a nap when I got home, but figured I’d get in some training.

Warm-up

Did a 0.45 mile run around the block.

Strength

Front Squats – 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Week 1 (I really only did one session of front squats during the first cycle)

5 @ 110# (40% of training max – warm)
5 @ 135# (50% – warm)
3 @ 165# (60% – warm)
5 @ 180# (65#)
5 @ 205# (75%)
5+ @ 235# (85%)

Made use of the garage which I don’t do often enough. Felt pretty good considering my state. I managed to get 7 reps for an estimated max of 289.5#. The other time I did front squats of 5/3/1 I got 6 @ 240#.

Then I headed over to the track at Heritage High School for some sprints. Warmed up with a lap (400m).

20:00 EMOM

50m Sprint

Doesn’t wipe you out on the cardio side of things because it’s less than 10 seconds of work and 50+ seconds of rest. It’s a great explosive workout for the legs though and by the end I really feel it. I jogged a slow 800m to cool down.