Author: Nick Momrik

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

The Road Back

I made it through 2 naps today without any sweats, so figured I could get back in the gym. Went it at 8pm for open gym.

Warm-up

  • 450m Run
  • PVC pass-thrus
  • Banded Good Mornings (green)

Strength

Warmed up with 5 deadlifts at 135#, 5 Pendlay rows at 115#, 5 deadlifts at 225#, 5 Pendlay rows at 135#, and 3 deadlifts at 315#.

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 3 Deadlifts
  • Evens: 5 Pendlay Rows

The plan was to use 85% of 1RM for the deadlifts, so I threw 385# on the bar and used 145# for the Pendlay Rows. Got through the first round and the first deadlift of round 2, but had to drop weight. Went down to 345# the rest of the way, which was plenty hard enough. I need to get back into deadlifting more. Being sick has some to do with being weak, but my body just isn’t used to the weight either.

5×3 OHS

  • 3 @ 95#
  • 3 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 145#
  • 2 @ 165#
  • 2 @ 165#

Ugh, so frustrating! Nowhere near my 3 rep max and I failed on it in two attempts.

Core

5 Rounds NFT

  • ME Ring L-hold (knees up)
  • 10 V-ups

Felt pretty good on these but could tell I was getting a little tired. It’s hard, but I have to realize it’s probably going to take a week or two to get myself back to pre-MudCrud fitness.

Take It Easy

Doctor thinks I have bronchitis, maybe with a touch of pneumonia. The chest x-ray at the ER last week was clear for pneumonia, but he said I could still have it or have developed it since then. I got a shot of penicillin in my ass, an antibiotic (which will help bronchitis and pneumonia), cough syrup, and a cream for the rash on my leg. Hopefully this all clears up before I go on vacation Saturday.

Decided I better take it easy until the night sweats go away, because they are a sign by body is trying to fight something off. Also don’t want to spread my germs all around the box at SF.

Jumped on the Air Dyne in the garage tonight though and went for 20 minutes at a steady pace. 467 calories and 10.81km, averaging just under a pace of 70 rpm. Felt good!

Know When to Fold ’em

Still not getting a full night of sleep and night sweats seem to be getting worse. Going to see my Doctor this afternoon and hopefully figure out what is wrong with me. Went it at 10am to workout with Kevin and Ellen.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row
  • 2/2 World’s Greatest Stretch
  • Various other stretching

Strength

Hadn’t done Super Squats in nearly two weeks, but today was the day to get back on it. With a week off I decided it made sense to still go up 10#. Warmed up with 10 @ 45#, 5 @ 135#, 3 @ 185#, and 3 @ 225#. Took a nice rest and then went for it with 255#. Right out of the gate, I could tell the reps were way too hard. I started leading with my ass, sort of doing some type of good morning squat. I got through 8 reps, and then coming out of the hole on the 9th, I decided to bail before I got hurt. Dropped to 225# and did a set of 5 for some extra work.

Disappointing, but not surprising with the week I’ve had. I should have been smarter and maybe went for 235#.

Did 3 sets of 20 pullovers after with 45# dumbbells. I’ve been using a 60#, but didn’t think that would be a good idea.

Core

3 Rounds (NFT)

  • 10 Evil Wheels
  • 45s/45s Side Plank

It’s been so long since I’ve done side planks I don’t even remember.

Conditioning

1/2 Mile Sled Drag/Pull (135#)

I did half walking forward dragging the sled behind, and half walking backwards pulling it along. At the gym it’s 6 laps, so I alternated each lap.

Heading to the Doctor this afternoon to hopefully figure out what’s wrong with me. Just want to get back to normal.

Monday Blues

These damn night sweats are killing me. Can’t get a decent night of sleep. Canceled golfing early this morning because of the lack of sleep, but went in at 10am to train. Kevin had to bail for work after the shoulder presses, but Ellen stuck around and did everything with me.

Warm-up

  • 450m Run
  • PVC Pass-thrus

Strength

Shoulder Press

  • 5 x 45% Training Max (1:00 Rest)
  • 5 x 55% (1:00)
  • 5 x 65% (1:00)
  • 5 x 75% (2:00)
  • 3 x 85% (3:00)
  • ME x 95%

* Training Max is 90% of 1RM.

I based my numbers off my 165# shoulder press. The percentages were a bit goofy, but I ended up using 75#, 85#, 95#, 110#, 125#, and then 140#. I managed to get 5 reps on that last set. Tried to get a 6th, but just didn’t have it.

HSPU

10:00 EMOM

  • 5 Hard HSPU

I went with 25# plates for a deficit. Had to switch to kipping in the 5th round and then ran out of gas, only able to get 4-3-3 in the last 3 rounds. Shows how weak I am now because a few weeks ago I did all 10 rounds.

WOD

5 Rounds

  • 20 DU
  • 10 Pull-ups
  • 10 KBS (62# KB)

Don’t have the gas I’m used to having. Way too much resting. Was only able to get the first round of pull-ups unbroken. Finished in 8:12.

Finisher

5 Bent Over Prowler Drags Between Legs, about 25m down and 25m back. I used 225#, 240#, 255#, 270#, and 300#.

Solid session. I can feel myself coming back each day, so hopefully I’m back to normal by the weekend when I’m heading on vacation, because I plan on doing 2-3 workouts a day and becoming a metcon monster for that week.

Dive Back In

I started to feel so much better last night after going to hang out for the fireworks in Bay City. Feeling pretty decent today too, so went in to workout with Kevin and Ellen at 3pm.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 Air Dyne
  • 20/20 Band Walks (purple)
  • 10 Band Presses (purple)
  • 10/10 Flamingos
  • Squat Hold

Strength

I wanted to get in some light squats to easy my legs back into things and hopefully get back on track for Super Squats this week.

2-3-X-1 Tempo, 90 seconds between sets

  • 5 @ 45# to warm-up
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 120#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5 @ 165#
  • 5 @ 180#

Wow, was it humid in the box today. I was sweating buckets after only a few sets. These weren’t particularly easy or hard, so solid work for me coming back. Three seconds in the hole is deceiving and I recommend everyone try some. You can’t use the bounce to come back up at all, so it’s all drive.

WOD

10:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 20 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • Evens: 10 Over the Box Jumps (28″)

Did all of the wall balls unbroken without any trouble. Was a bit wiped out for the box jumps though, which is my specialty, so you know I’m still fatigued.

Conditioning

1/2 Mile Sled Drag (135#)

Stopped for water every 2 laps (1/3 of the way). Should have maybe mixed in some backwards pulling, but just wanted to keep going.

Finisher

10:00 Row

Nice and slow. I think I was at 16-17 spm most of the way. Not trying to kill myself, just sweat and get the heart beating.

Was there about 2 hours and felt so much better than the “Hope” WOD yesterday. I bet I lot at least a few pounds through sweating, so tried to keep drinking water.

“Hope”-ing for a Speedy Recovery

Whatever this MudCrud virus is I got from Tough Mudder has ruined an entire week. I did a little work on Monday morning, but none the rest of the week. Headed over to the new Survival Fitness Bay City at 10am today.

Warm-up

  • 500m Row

We were on our own for warm-up and I didn’t want to wear myself out because I know I’d be pacing the WOD really slow anyway.

WOD

“Hope”
3 rounds

  • Burpees
  • Power snatch (75#)
  • Box jump (24″) *Rebounding off the top is allowed
  • Thruster (75#)
  • Chest to bar Pull-ups

“Hope” has the same format as Fight Gone Bad. In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep.

Last year I was left with tunnel vision for over an hour after this WOD. I had managed a total of 235 reps with rounds of 82, 74, and 78. No way I was coming close to that with my body beat down. I really paced things and probably rested more than I repped. Did 54-54-53 reps for a 161 total. Was great to sweat it out, but damn I felt like a rookie.

2013-hope

Mud Crud

I’ve been sick since Sunday. Damn Tough Mudder! At least 5 or 6 people from our group were puking sick and many others felt bad. I guess there was an outbreak of norovirus going around from something there. I’ve had mostly sinus issues and fatigue, with night sweats that have kept me from getting much sleep. Haven’t worked all week and have been craving a workout. Went to the ER early this morning to get checked out after reading about some scary things that can cause night sweats.

Decided to hop on the Air Dyne today to sweat on my terms and get moving.

  • 5:00 Warm-up (60-65 rpm)
  • 10 Rounds
    • 30 seconds fast
    • 30 seconds rest
  • 5:00 Cool-down (60-65 rpm)

Knocked out 436 calories and traveled 8.52km. Definitely got my sweat on!

Strength Focus

My legs are feeling a bit sore. Not sure if it’s from the Super Squats or the step-ups on Wednesday. Shoulders are a little tight from the pressing and muscle-ups last night. In at 11 this morning.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 Air Dyne
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10/10 Leg Swings (F-B, S-S)
    • 10/10 Flamingos
    • 10/10 Scorpions
    • 10 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 5 RDLs (135#)
  • 3 Pendlay Rows (115#)
  • 5 RDLs (225#)
  • 3 Pendlay Rows (145#)

Strength

10:00 E2M

  • 5 RDLs (275#)
  • 3 Pendlay Rows (155# first set, then 160# for 4 sets)

Got some new lifting straps that are much easier to use. Really helped with the heavy RDLs.

DB Bench Press

  • 20 @ 35# DBs (DB held with palms facing towards feet)
  • 3 x 20 @ 40# DBs (DB held with palms facing each other)
  • 20 @ 45# DBs (DB held with palms facing each other)

Switched to the other grip after the first round to try to work on keeping that elbow in. Should translate more to ring dips as well.

Sled Work

  • 150m Sled Drag (205#)
  • 3 Box Jumps (32″)
  • 150m Sled Backwards Pull (160#)
  • 3 Box Jumps (32″)
  • 150m Sled Drag (205#)
  • 3 Box Jumps (32″)

Planned on doing 3 of the drag and 3 pulls, but it started raining.

Tough Mudder tomorrow with nearly 30 people from Survival Fitness!

Finally Some Muscle-ups

Went over to the new Survival Fitness Bay City at 5pm, which opens on Monday. Really sweet setup there with a Rogue rig and all brand new equipment.

Warm-up

  • 3:00 Jump Rope
  • 2 Rounds
    • 20/20 Band Walks
    • 10 Band Presses
    • 10 Ys & Ts (5.5# plates)

Those band walks and Ys and Ts are such sneaky burners.

Strength

Push presses today. Do a 5×3, working up to a heavy weight, then take 90% and do 3×3 with it.

  • 4 @ 45#
  • 3 @ 115#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 3 @ 155#
  • 3 @ 175#
  • 3 @ 186#
  • 3×3 @ 166#

Why the weird weights ending in a 6? Because Jason had brought is some of his from home and there were in kilograms. The last time I did a 1RM push press was so long ago, but it was a 190. Today 186 for three was no problem.

Olympic Lifting

7 Sets

  • High Hang Snatch
  • Hang Snatch
  • Snatch

Working the squat on all of them. I used 95#, 100#, 105#, 110#, and then the last 3 sets with 115#. Legs are feeling a bit fatigued from Super Squats and wanted to keep trying to get in quality reps.

WOD

2 Rounds

  • 500m Row
  • 4 MU
  • 10 Hang Power Snatches (95#)

Did all of the muscle-ups as singles, but did both rounds of snatches without putting the bar down. Finished in 8:41. It was fun to get in some muscle-ups after not having done them since the Open workout back in March. With the 1 rep I did when we got to the gym and then 8 in the WOD it was 9 total for the day, which is the most I’ve done. Before it was 7 from the Open workout. I finally started to feel the turnover of my hands and wrists better on my 2nd round, since I don’t use the false grip. Didn’t miss any reps today either.

Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that I got a couple pain of the Reebok CrossFit Nano 3.0 shoes. Wore them last night and today and love them. They are a nice improvement over the 2.0.

nano3-0