Author: Nick Momrik

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

Empty Your Gas Tank

After yesterday’s WOD I was going to make today a rest day because I figured I would be fried. I was feeling good all day though. Matt posted the WOD on Facebook and it looked like a fun one so I decided to head in.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 1m Bottom Squat Hold
  • 1m Jumping Jacks

The squat holds are way at the bottom with the intent of opening up the hips. You’re not trying to hold a squat for that long.

WOD

20:00 AMRAP

  • 2 SDLHP
  • 2 Burpees
  • 150m Run
  • 4 SDLHP
  • 4 Burpees
  • 150m Run
  • …

Increase SDLHP and Burpees by 2 each round, but the run stays the same.

This one was all about how much gas you had in your tank. I used a 71# KB and was able to finish the round of 18 plus 20 SDLHP and 2 burpees.

Ab Finisher

5 Rounds

  • 1m Plank
  • 1m AbMat Sit-ups

My arms were drenched in sweat, which made it harder than normal to hold the plank. 5 rounds of a minute really adds up too. We counted our sit-ups and knew I could blow the high of the day (228) out of the water. My goal was to beat my 67 reps from the Paleo challenge benchmark WOD in every round. I finished with 356 reps. After we were done and Matt was laughing, I realized I can touch my shoes without even lifting my shoulder blades off the ground, which would still be within the box’s standards, so at least I make it harder than that on myself and get some movement into it.

Weak with Heavy Overheads

Yesterday I was going to give an update on the Paleo Challenge, but forgot. The challenge officially started last Wednesday, but I started on Monday. After one week I lost 5 pounds and dropped 1% off my body fat. I posted A Week of Strict Paleo on my main blog that outlines what I ate and gives a bit more info if you are interested.

Today is the sorest I’ve been full-body-wise in a long time. Those prowler sprints from yesterday and the back squats on Sunday did a number on my body.

Warm-up

5 rounds:

  • 15 MB Full Squat Cleans
  • 150m Run

Pretty easy warm-up. I used a 20# MB and finished in 8:55.

WOD

  • 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Clean & Press
  • 1 round of “Cindy”

First, I’ll explain how this works. The number of Clean & Presses increases each time around, but there is only 1 round of “Cindy” to do each round. Make sense? Good. What’s a round of “Cindy” you ask? It comes from the benchmark girl WOD of the same name and is:

  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats

I’m not sure what it is, but when there is heavy overhead work with a lot of reps I really struggle. Look back to the WOD that had fifteen 95# thrusters in each of 5 rounds as an example. Today had a similar outcome. Maybe it has something to do with my height and long arms. Or maybe I’m just a weak-ass pussy!

I used 135# for the clean and press and snuck under the 33 minute time limit, with 2 seconds to spare, for a time of 32:58. The rounds of “Cindy” were actually pretty easy. I did all of the pull-ups and push-ups unbroken each round. I usually split up the air squats to 10-5, but should have pushed myself more there because my endurance fades fast with air squats.

I was going along and for some stupid fucking reason decided to figure out how many reps were left. In total you have 55 clean and press to do, half of those (27) are in the last 3 rounds! I tried to keep pushing as much as I could, but I was gassed. It was a great workout though and I’ve been wanting to get in some moderately heavy clean work, so that was great. The “Cindy” rounds were a good primer for Monday’s Memorial Day Murph.

Since it took me so long to do the WOD I didn’t get to do the Finisher, which was ten 40-yard sprints with a walk back as the rest.

Prowler Sprints

I wasn’t feeling all that motivated today when I was deciding which class to attend tonight. I’m not sure if the busy day with multiple WODs yesterday or walking 18 holes of golf this morning took a lot out of me. I ended up going to the 5:30pm class and felt fine once I got moving.

Warm-up

3 rounds

  • 1m MB Russian Twists
  • 1m MB V-ups
  • 1m Plank
  • 1m Bicycles
  • 1m “Mystery”
  • 1m Rest

I used a 20# MB for Russian twists and V-ups. Each round, the “Mystery Move” changed; first we did side planks, then flutter kicks, and ended with prayer crunches. I was really feeling a burn during this ab circuit due to the leg lifts I did yesterday.

WOD

50 reps of each

  • Air Squats
  • Burpees
  • Box Jumps
  • KBS (Russian)
  • Close-grip HR Push-ups
  • Plyo Lunges
  • Pull-ups
  • Sit-ups

I used a 24″ box and a 53# KB. Since I flew through everything, I did full sit-ups to make it harder. I finished in 23:22 and then did 12 reps on the GHD as a bonus.

The close-grip HR push-ups were a bit awkward because you have to keep the hands far enough apart that you can lift them off the ground when your chest is laying down. Pull-ups felt really good and my kip is getting dialed in. I need to learn those butterfly pull-ups soon.

Strength

10 Sets

  • High grip Prowler sprint
  • Low grip Prowler sprint
  • Rest

Finally I got to use the Prowler! I probably won’t be too excited when I feel the effects tomorrow. Stayed after class a bit to finish these. The Prowler was loaded with 180# of weights so I’m guessing over 200# total. The distance was probably 25-30 yards each way. The high grip wasn’t too bad, but the low grip took everything I had to get the Prowler moving, was much slower pushing, and got harder each time. Here’s a video of Casey and I. I’m shown first pushing it back to our starting line.

Annie’s Evil Twin

After the workout at the box today, I hand-washed my Envoy and mowed the lawn. Not having showered yet, I was sitting around, wondering what else I would do for the day. For some reason, doing another WOD sounded like a good idea. I thought about doing “Annie” again since I did it last weekend, liked it, and I can always use the DU practice. I thought about doing some DB cleans on the minute every minute. After moving my KB and adjustable DBs from the basement up into the garage I noticed the multi-use stand I have. It rarely gets used because I don’t workout at home. The lift bulb went off and I came up with a variation of Annie.

  • 50-40-30-20-10 DUs
  • 25-20-15-10-5 Leg Lifts

I used the stand to hold myself up, where my forearms were resting on the padding, my hands held the upright bars, and my elbows were bent at 90 degree angles.

As good as I was last weekend with DUs, I was just as bad today. I’m not sure if it had something to do with the mats I have in the garage or if I was just too tired. I don’t think I strung together 15 in a row the entire time. I did a couple of sets of 10 here or there for the leg lifts, but pretty much stuck to sets of 5. My time was 13:02. Compare that to an 8:26 Annie to get an idea just how bad I was with the rope.

I think I’m due for a shower!

A Quad Burning Warm-up

I woke up feeling fantastic and couldn’t wait to get in for a WOD.

Warm-up

5 rounds

  • 1m Walking lunges
  • 1m Bear crawl

OMG! Talk about a quad burner.

WOD

5 rounds

  • 21 Ring dips
  • 21 Burpees

Throughout the entire WOD I had to break the ring dips up into multiple sets because I fatigue out so fast. Most rounds were broken into 3 sets of ring dips. I got through the first 21 ring dips and 4 or 5 into the next round before I had to start using a small purple band for assistance. Burpees weren’t exactly fast, but I stuck with them and completed each round unbroken. My time was 18:52.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 3 Back Squats

It’s been nearly 2 months since I did back squats and set a 1RM at 240#, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I started off light with 135# as a warm-up set, then went 175# and 215#. That third set wasn’t the easiest so I only went to 225# for the 4th. I figured I could get 1 or 2 reps at 235# but I managed to get all 3, which is a big improvement. You can build strength without doing strength specific lifting.

Here’s a big tip for you all that I always forget about, but remembered before my last set. When you’re getting ready to descend in your squat, take a deep breath. Hold that until you’re on the way back up and then exhale as you drive up. This really helps keep your core steady and makes sure you can breathe during the hard part of the lift. There is no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t have gotten all 3 reps if I didn’t do this.

Easy Ride

I’m still feeling a bit of the pistol work in my legs and I can feel those quarter get-ups in my upper back/shoulder area. One of my buddies came to town last night so we walked 18 holes of golf yesterday and another this morning. I was pretty beat after lunch today and took about a 45 minute nap. After that I was still feeling pretty tired but I convinced myself it would be good to get out for a bit. So I jumped on my mountain bike and headed out for  a pretty easy ride. I ended up riding 10.34 miles in 46:37 and I’m glad I did it. I’m not feeling as beat as I was before the ride and I got some more exercise. I’ll hit up a WOD at Survival Fitness tomorrow morning for sure after taking two days off.

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get-up Again

Today makes 4 days of CrossFit in a row, but my buddy is coming to town tomorrow for a couple of days of golfing, so I’ll get my rest tomorrow and Saturday. My quads are sore from the pistols, but otherwise I’m feeling good. I’ve been strict Paleo without any cheating since after the WOD on Monday night without any cravings.

Warm-up

50-40-30-20-10

  • Sit-ups
  • Star Jumps

Those star jumps really gas you. Did the warm-up in 9:52.

WOD

10 Rounds

  • 8 Quarter Get-ups (L)
  • 8 Quarter Get-ups (R)
  • 8 Burpees

The goal here was to do good quality get-ups and push hard through the burpees. I used a 40# DB and it was all I could handle. I managed to do all of them unbroken except for the last set with my left arm, which I had to do in sets of 6 and 2. Doing so many reps should help with shoulder stability in the OHS. I was flying through the burpees and didn’t feel like I slowed down until the last two rounds. My time was 24:23.

Strength

Every other minute, for 5 sets

  • 5 Weighted Pull-ups

I started with an 8# DB between my feet and did all 5 in a row. Move up to a 10# DB and 5 in a row again. For the last three sets I used a 12# DB, but had to break them down into 3-2, 3-1-1, 3-1-1.

You Never Know What You Might Miss

I was planning to take the day off, but felt good and was itching for a workout, so I went in to the 5:30pm class. I’m glad I did, because we worked on a bunch of new stuff and some things I really need work on.

Warm-up

3 Rounds:

  • 1m Sledge Hammer Slams
  • 1m Ring Push-ups
  • 1m Touch Jumps for Height
  • 1m Plank
  • 1m Wall Squat
  • 1m Prison Squats
  • 1m Rest

This was a nice switch-up from the norm and several new things.

WOD

  • 10-20-30-40-50 Pistols
  • 5-10-15-20-25 HSPUs
  • 100m-100m-200m-200m-300m Run

I’ve never tried more than 1 or two pistols in a row, so I grabbed a 12″ box to assist me when I couldn’t do them anymore. The round of 10 was kind of rough and I was falling all over the place, but as the rounds went on pistols actually got easier and easier because I learned how to control my body for them. Balance is huge for these one-legged bastards. I made it all the way through the workout doing them Rx on my first day doing them. Total of 75 per leg, which I’m sure to be feeling tomorrow. I started off doing Rx HSPU and knocked out the first 5 strict for a new PR. Next time around I got 9 in a row with a few kipping, blowing away the PR I just set. I think I had to add in an AbMat during the next round and was using 2 AbMats by the end. I was kind of slow, but kept pushing and finished with a time of 31:52.

Strength

Some people stayed after class and did some OHS. I did a set of 5 at 85#, a set of 3 at 105#, a set of 4 at 115#, and then went for a 1RM at 130#. I failed on the first attempt, but tried again and slowed myself down to keep steady. Got it up for a new PR.

If I had taken a rest day I would have missed out on a lot of great stuff today.

Help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Have you heard about CrossFit for Hope (link to my main blog)? I’m going to do the workout and try to raise some money. If you’d like to help out a great cause, head over to my profile to make a donation or pledge. Thanks!

I’ve been meaning to start hitting up the 9am class and finally made it in today. As the temperature rises and we get more humidity it’s going to be better than working out at 4:15pm or 5:30pm. The box is really growing and it seems like every class I attend has at least 10 people. It’s great to see people getting serious about their health!

Warm-up

30 reps of each with a 20# MB

  • Snatches
  • Russian Twists
  • Push-ups
  • Shoulder Presses
  • V-ups
  • Plyo Chest Presses
  • Front Squats

I finished in 10:25.

WOD

5 rounds (35:00 time limit)

  • 50 DB Step-ups (25 each leg)
  • 21 Push Presses
  • 400m Run

I used an 18″ box for the step-ups and used 40# DBs for both the step-ups and the push presses. I was really worried the push presses would get too heavy with so many reps, but I actually got better as the rounds went on. It’s all about the leg drive to get those DBs moving up. I completed 4 rounds plus 8 step-ups before time ran out. Feeling good!

One Month Paleo Challenge

We’re doing a one month Paleo Challenge at Survival Fitness. Everyone has to keep a food journal to work on a point system. You get 5 points to start the day. Bad things like a cheat meal or alcohol are negative points, but you can ears extra points by doing a WOD at the gym, getting 8 hours of sleep, or drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water. Everyone has their body fat taken at the beginning and does a benchmark WOD. We’re going to randomly be put on teams. Scoring is 50% body fat change, 25% WOD improvement, and 25% food journal points.

It was only $25 to join and I need something to get me on track to those abs I want, so I figured being part of a team will hold me more accountable. So I get to class, weigh myself, and have my body fat measured with the handheld device. It read 12.3%! Yeah right! If I was that low you’d already be seeing my abs. The Withings scale puts me consistently at 16-17% which is more realistic. With such a low starting number, I won’t be winning the body fat portion of the competition so I’ll have to make up for it in the other parts I guess.

Warm-up

  • 30 Air Squats holding PVC vertical in front
  • 20 PVC Pass-thrus
  • 30 PVC OHS
  • 4 partner rounds (alternate each round)
    • 50 Jumping Jacks
    • 50 Butt Kicks
    • 50 High Knees
    • 50 Lateral Hops
    • 50 Mountain Climbers

WOD

For the Paleo Challenge benchmark, we did 5 different AMRAPs and totaled up our reps. We partnered up so that we could count each other and get a bit of rest.

5:00 AMRAP

  • Burpees

4:00 AMRAP

  • Wall Balls

3:00 AMRAP

  • Air Squats

2:00 AMRAP

  • KBS (Russian)

1:00 AMRAP

  • AbMat Sit-ups

I did 82 burpees, 77 wall balls (20# MB), 101 air squats, 76 KBS (53# KB), and 67 sit-ups for a total of 403 reps. Doing the air squats right after wall balls was the worst and my score showed compared to others in the class. I pushed pretty hard, so it’s going to be interesting to see how my numbers come out a month from now.

Update: After all classes finished for the day, I had the 4th best score.