Author: Nick Momrik

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

Garage OHS

I figured it was time I use the weights I bought at Rouge Fitness last weekend. I haven’t done any OHS in a long time so they sounded like a good idea. Especially as they are listed as the WOD on the main site for Friday. I decided to go for a 1RM. Warmed up with the bar and then a few at 75#. Knocked one out at 95# and then one at 115#. My previous PR was 130# so I went up to 135# and it felt good. I don’t have any small plates so the next weight I could put on was 145#. It wasn’t pretty on the way up, but I got it done for a 15# PR. Then I got greedy and decided to go for 155#. Wasn’t stable and lost it at the bottom of the squat. Here’s a video of the 145# lift.

I need to get a rack because it was way too much work getting the bar into position. Not to mention I won’t be able to do any heavy front or back squats until I have a rack.

Even more exciting than this PR… I just got the email that I passed the test, so now I’m officially a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer! I scored a 40 out of 45 on the test.

Getting Better at Thrusters

My abs are a little sore today, but not really any more than yesterday, which is surprising. We really blasted them on Monday and Tuesday. I walked 18 holes of golf this morning and went to the 7pm class.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Push Presses
  • 1-2m Rest

I warmed up with a set of 8 at 45# and a set of 5 at 95#. For my working sets I used 115#, 135#, 145#, 160#, and 170#. Had some left in the tank for next time too.

Accessory

3 Sets

  • MAX Ring Push-ups
  • 90s Rest

I knocked out sets of 28, 15, and 9 (I think). Honestly can’t remember the last set.

WOD

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

  • Thrusters (35# DBs)
  • Box Jump (28″)
  • 150m Run (length of run is the same each round)

Thrusters actually felt pretty good today. I think learning to properly scale my weights is really helping out. I did each set without putting down the DBs. The 28″ box was a bigger deal than expected. I finished in 13:50.

Finisher

DU Tabata

I did pretty good with me DUs today. Got quite a few unbroken strings of around 20.

Disappointed With My First 100 Burpees Test

Abs are a little sore from yesterday’s WOD and I can just imagine what they’ll feel like tomorrow.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Back Squats
  • 1-2m Rest

I warmed up with a set of 8 using just the bar and then a set of 5 using 115#. I only managed to get in 4 working sets because everyone else was somehow done before I was even done with my 4th set and there was no time. I guess they must not have done warm-up sets. For my working sets I used 155#, 185#, 205#, and 215#. Easy stuff considering I got up to 220# for a set of 5 last week. Pretty bummed I didn’t have time to get in my last set.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Step-ups (40# DBs, 18″ box)
  • 1m Rest

I had to rush through because I was way behind the rest of the class.

3 Sets

  • 20 Weighted Sit-ups
  • 1m Rest

Another rush job here. I felt pretty dumb actually. I used a 62# KB for the first set and then 35# DBs for the last two sets.

WOD

On less than a minute of rest (I was out of breath from trying to rush through my sit-ups) I had to jump right into the WOD and my performance showed it.

  • 100 Burpees

This is actually the first time I’ve done 100 burpees for time, which is surprising considering I’ve been doing CrossFit for over 10 months now. I knew it was going to be a grind when I barely got through 20 in the first minute. I knocked out my 50th rep before taking a rest, but then took 2 more short breaks after that. My finishing time was 6:44, which is extremely disappointing. In 5 minutes of burpees I knocked out 93 just about 2 months ago and didn’t need to take any breaks then. Under 6 minutes should have been easy, with a shot at breaking 5:30. 😦

Finisher

7:00 AMRAP

  • 10 V-ups
  • 30s Boat

Let’s kill those abs some more! This got really hard after the first round or two. I think I got through 5 rounds plus the 10 V-ups. I was going for quality more than quantity here.

Just not my day the way the schedule of class worked out. Didn’t get up to a heavy enough weight for back squats and wasn’t rested enough to put in a good effort during the WOD. The problems really comes down to packing too much in the strength portion. We could have combined two of the movements so we would alternate back and forth between the step-ups and sit-ups for example. That would have saved a few minutes.

Labor Day

I’m a little tired today, but it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. Still coming off the high from the Level I Course.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Jump Squats

WOD

“Erin”
5 rounds

  • 15 DB Split Cleans (35#)
  • 21 Pull-ups

The last time I did this I used 40#, which is Rx. Decided to step it down a bit today and try to keep intensity higher. I finished in 16:10, compared to 21:13 with the 40s. I could have got by with the 40s and probably broke 20 minutes today with them.

Finisher

50-40-30-20-10

  • AbMat Sit-ups
  • Lying Leg Raises
  • Plank (seconds)

This was killer. I finished in between 19 and 20 minutes.

Strength

Matt was going for his 1RM, so I worked in with him on some sets.

Deadlift

  • 5 @ 225#
  • 5 @ 265#
  • 3 @ 315#
  • 3 @ 315#
  • 10 @ 225#

In that second set at 315 I felt it a bit in my back so shut it down and did the fallback set.

CrossFit Level I Certification

This weekend I was down in Columbus, OH at Rogue headquarters for the CrossFit Level I Trainer Course and Certification. What an amazing experience. Kevin and Brent from Survival Fitness also went down for the weekend. We got to learn from some of the best trainers in the world. Words cannot express what the weekend meant to mean and how much I got out of it. Do one for yourself.

We did two WODs over the weekend. On Saturday, we ended the day with:

“Fran”
21-15-9

  • Thrusters (75#)
  • Pull-ups

We all know this bitch. I’m getting smarter about scaling my weight down and made the right choice here. My time was 5:36.

Then today, we did a triplet:

8:00 AMRAP

  • 8 Chest to Deck Push-ups
  • 10 MB Cleans (20#)
  • 12 Sit-ups

I completed 5 rounds plus 8 more push-ups, 10 cleans, and 1 sit-up as time expired. The MB cleans don’t seem like much but they really add up.

Hungover WOD

Last night about 20 people from the gym went out to Bennigan’s where Kevin from the gym was playing with his band. Stayed out way too late so didn’t make it to the 9am class this morning like I planned. I did get in a garage WOD though.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

  • Butt Kicks
  • High Knees

WOD

3 Rounds

  • 20 Lunges (50# DBs)
  • 10 Burpee Deadlifts (50# DBs)
  • 20 Kroc Rows (50# DB, 10 each arm)

The plan was to do 20 burpee deadlifts each round, but after the first 3 I knew that wasn’t going to happen after the lunges so I knocked it down to 10. Around 90 degrees today and this one was brutal. Finished in 11:34.

Finisher

5 Rounds

  • 10 Ring Rows
  • 10 Leg Raises

This was for quality, not for time. The leg raises were done on my pull-up/dip stand thing where you hold yourself up by your forearms being on pads and holding some handles. Nice way to finish off.

Now I’m off to Columbus, OH for the Level 1 Certification at Rogue Headquaters. I’m so excited there are not words to express it.

12.5 Retest

I went to bed later than normal last night, so feeling tired today. Knees are a little sore, but otherwise my body feels good. Going in to the chiropractor this afternoon for an adjustment and massage. After only two weeks I got used to the Tuesday massages, so with the scaled back treatment this week I’m really missing it.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 1m Bottom Squat Hold
  • 1m Plank

WOD

This was a retest of workout 12.5 from the CrossFit Games Open.

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:

  • 3 Thrusters
  • 3 C2B Pull-ups
  • 6 Thrusters
  • 6 C2B Pull-ups
  • 9 Thrusters
  • 9 C2B Pull-ups
  • 12 Thrusters
  • 12 C2B Pull-ups
  • 15 Thrusters
  • 15 C2B Pull-ups
  • …

If you complete the round of 15, go on to 18, increasing the reps by 3 with each new round as far as you can go. Thrusters are done using 100#.

When I did this back in March I got 58 total reps. Today, under less than idea conditions I got 66 reps. I didn’t think to put on my wrist straps, so my wrists started killing me on the thrusters. I was knocking out C2B pull-ups pretty well today, but 3 different bars started spinning on me, so I had to keep moving to a new spot. Ugh! At least I saw improvement, but should have been better.

Strength

3×20 Weighted Sit-ups

For my sets I held:

  • 30# KBs
  • 80# KB
  • 45# DBs

Those last two sets were a struggle, but I finished all of the reps.

Finisher

Prowler Sprints!

Used the lighter of the two prowlers today, loaded with a couple of 45# plates, and pushed it 40-50 yards with the high handles and then back with the low handles. Did 3 sets of that.

4 In A Row

So much for 3 on 1 off. I saw this WOD and really wanted to do it because I need the work with weighted pull-ups and the push-up reps. Tomorrow is a better day to take off for me anyway because I have the 2nd round of a golf tournament in the morning.

Warm-up

10:00 EOMOTM

  • 7 KBS
  • 12 Wall Balls

The goal was to pick a heavier KB each round. I used 48#, 53#, 62#, 71#, and 80#. That’s the first time I’ve ever swung the 80 pounder; hadn’t even done Russian swings that heavy yet. It felt pretty good. The wall balls were a good way to loosen up after all of the squat work yesterday.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5-8 Weighted Pull-ups

These were one of the reasons I wanted to come in today. Kind of disappointed with how I did.

  • 8 @ 8#
  • 7 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 12#
  • 4 @ 12#
  • 3 @ 15#, plus a long negative on the last rep

WOD #1

5:00 AMRAP

  • 3 Plyo Push-ups
  • 6 Burpees
  • 9 HR Push-ups

This AMRAP was the other reason I wanted to come in. I need to increase my push-up strength and capacity. Lots of push-up movements here, so no break for the arms. I did 4 rounds plus 11 reps in the next round.

We rested 3 minutes before doing another WOD.

WOD #2

7:00 AMRAP

  • 7 Thrusters (35# DBs)
  • 7 Box Jumps (24″)

The Rx for men was 40# DBs and I grabbed them for about 10 seconds. After thinking about the WOD, I realized I would die so I swapped them for the 35 pounders and I’m so glad I did. In the first round I thought the 35# DBs were even going to be too heavy, but I stuck with it and did each round without putting down the weights. I really had to focus on the hip drive to get those suckers up overhead. The thrusters really wiped me out and negated my box jump advantage. I managed to get 6 rounds and 5 more thrusters.

Finisher

10:00

  • Hold the L-Sit as long as possible
  • 30 Russian Twists (30# KB)

I did the L-Sit on the rings to get that extra work on my upper body and I think it’s harder on the core as well. I was able to hold for about 25-30 seconds each time and surprisingly it was my arms that kept giving out. All of the Russian twists were done unbroken each round. I did 5 total rounds.

I’m glad I went in today because it allowed me to work on some weaknesses. I could tell I wasn’t all-in for today though; definitely not my best effort. Golfing the 2nd round of a tournament with the group of guys I play with in the morning, so it works out better for me to make tomorrow a rest day.

Squat and Squat Some More

Today I was sore from the combination of thrusters on Saturday and wall balls yesterday. Also sore from yesterday’s ring dips. Just sore enough in those areas to know something is working. I walked 18 holes of golf this morning and then went to the 7pm class.

Strength

5 sets

  • 5 Back Squats
  • 2m Rest

Warmed up with a set of 8 using just the bar. My working sets were:

  • 135#
  • 165#
  • 185#
  • 210#
  • 220#

No failures on any of the reps, but I need to get better at consistent weight increases. That was pretty wild. I haven’t done a 1RM since the end of March, which was 240#, so the next time we do that I’ll knock it out of the park.

Accessory

3 sets

  • 12 Bulgarian Split Squats (each leg)

For the first set we didn’t use any weight. I used a 35# KB for the second set and a 48# KB for the third set. I’m not sure why we didn’t hold 2 DBs for these.

WOD

7:00 AMRAP

  • Turkish Get-up (first half, the get-up part only)
  • 3 1-Arm Snatches
  • 3 1-Arm OHS
  • Turkish Get-up (second half, the get down part only)

Each time through the series is one rep and you must alternate arms after each rep. I used a 35# DB and completed 13 reps. The 1-Arm OHS may be one of the oddest movements I’ve done in a WOD. The balance seems impossible unless you get a super wide stance. I kept getting up on my toes at points and it was a struggle to get proper depth.

Finisher

10 Prowler Sprints

The prowler was loaded with two 45# plates and we used the heavier (wooden) one. Each sprint was about 25 yards one way with the high handles and then 25 yards back with the low handles. For the last couple of sprints it was only Michelle and I, so very little rest.

Lots of squatting today, which I need. I’m excited to see Matt is serious about putting a dedicated strength section into weekday classes. I’ve been getting stronger, but not at the pace I was seeing over the 3 months when I was out in Phoenix last winter.