Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Some Squats

Went to the 4:30 class.

Warm-up – 3 Sets

10 Air Squats
10 Ring Rows (w/ pauses at top and bottom)
20 Walking Lunges

Tried to hold for a second at the top, but not easy to do.

Strength – Front Squat

10×45#
6×115
4×165
2×195
2×215
2×225
2×235
2×245
2×235
2×225

Starting wearing the belt with 195 or 215. Kept my reps controlled and tried not to bounce much out of the bottom. Felt pretty good. Haven’t lifted anything like that since July.

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

5 Push Jerks (115#)
7 American KBS (62#)
9 Front Squats (115#)
11 Russian KBS (62#)
13 Deadlifts (115#)

I scaled back from 135# since it was 15 minutes of all weighted movements. Went with the 62 pound kettlebell though. I rested way too much as I do when it’s all you can eat at the weight buffet. Everything was unbroken and I wore my belt the entire time. Finished 5+22.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Rounds for quality

20m Spiderman Crawl
20s/20s Side Plank
20m Crab Walk
20s Table Top Hold
20m Samson Walking Lunge
20s/20s Pigeon Pose on Box

Took a bit to get the hang of the Spiderman. Easy stuff today.

Light Left

Wow what a difference that heat makes!

Active Life – Single-leg Bias

Warm-up

1:00 Foam Roll each quad
20 Lateral Step Overs

Workout – 6 Sets

8 One Arm KB Front Squat (50#)
10 Groiners
1:00 Rest

Do 3 sets per arm, alternating each set.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

150m Ski Erg
10 DB Push Jerks (40# DBs)

Not sure I’ve ever done jerks with the dumbbells, usually it’s a push press. Took 5:39. I should have put the DBs by the erg, but I left them on the rack and put them back after each set. Would have been under 5 minutes. I didn’t realize until after the workout, but the back head of the left dumbbell was set to 35# so I was 2.5# light on my left arm. Whoops! I don’t know how I didn’t feel that during the reps.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Rounds

8/8 Turkish Sit Up (40#)
8/8 1 Arm Russian KBS (53#)
8 Evil Wheel
8 Sumo Stance Good Morning (95#)
30s Barbell Overhead Hold (95#)

Some of the same movements as yesterday since I got out of order a bit when I didn’t workout as planned on Saturday. I thought about skipping around again, but then it just might make things worse. With a rest day tomorrow it was a good day for the back-to-back work. This back work was less than 20 minutes today and I was resting a bit between rounds. Yesterday I was moving right from movement to movement in order to even break 30 minutes.

Longer Than Forever

Yesterday Alex came by and put a new shut-off valve on the gas line for the garage heater. I hadn’t been able to turn it on since last winter. So nice to be able to heat the place up again for workouts!

Active Life – Single-leg Bias

Warm-up – 2 Rounds

5/5 Lateral Box Step Ups (30″)
10 Squat Press Outs (25# plate)
10 Groiners

Workout – 3 Sets

10/10 Front Rack Box Step Ups (24″, 95#)
1:00 Rest between legs

Challenging!

Conditioning

25 Burpees
25 T2B
25 MB Cleans (20#)

After looking at the Active Life stuff I had a feeling it would take a lot of time, so I wanted a sprint workout. This did the trick. Clock was at 1:18 after the burpees, 2:33 after toes to bars, and finished at 3:52. I went 6-5-5-5-4 on the T2B. Didn’t feel like a very good time for that workout.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Rounds

5x Pallof Series (blue band)
100m/100m 1 Arm Farmer Carry (70#)
5 Evil Wheels
12 Good Mornings (75#)

The Pallof Series took forever because it ended up being 60 reps per round. I think I’m taking the instructions too literal on the reps because if I would have held each rep as long as it said it would have taken me well over 5 minutes. I did 6 laps (3 in each direction) around the garage for 100m. The 3 rounds of this took just shy of 30 minutes!

Like Cindy

Yesterday ended up being a “rest” day because I worked on a bathroom and then replaced lights and ceiling tiles in the laundry room. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Active Life – Single-leg Bias

Warmup – 3 Sets

5 Sumo Inchworms
20 Kossacks

Won’t be wearing the Nano 7 for Kossacks ever again. They have a harder ankle structure to the shoe, which was not comfortable with those positions.

Workout – 3 Sets

10 Sumo Stance Good Mornings (95#)
8 Eccentric Knee Flexion (20#)

Those knee flexions really open up the ankles.

Conditioning

20:00 AMRAP

3 Strict Pull-ups
6 HR Push-ups
9 Wall Balls

I saved this one from CrossFit Linchpin and finally got around to trying it out. Neat variaton on “Cindy.” I dropped from the top on every pull-up and got right back on the bar for the next rep. Wasn’t confident I’d last if I did them together and sometimes it bothers my shoulder, which has felt a bit weird after the jerks on Friday. I got through 19 rounds plus 2 pull-ups. As expected, the hand relase push-ups start to get slower and slower.

Accessory

4 Rounds

15s L-hang
15s Dead Hang
15s Rest
30s Wall Sit
15s Rest

B wanted to do some hanging, so I came up with this. Couldn’t tell you the last time I did a wall sit. I worked up quite a sweat again from this.

Active Life – Back Max

10:00 for Quality

3-5 breaths Ring Plank Hold (Front Leaning Rest)
3-5 breaths 1 Arm Overhead Hold (53#, each arm)
8 Romanian Deadlifts (115#) + a 3-5 breath hold at bottom position

Got light-headed from the RDL hold a couple of times.

Me & Box Squats

Feel good after the rest day. Out in the garage around 1pm.

Active Life – Single-leg Bias

Warm-up

10/10 Eccentric Ankle Dorsiflexion
30s/30s Foam Roll Quads
5 Squat Press Outs (25# plate)

Workout – Box Squats

6×45#
6×95
6×135
3x6x185

Ugh. I’ve never been strong with these. Weak hammies! This was heavy enough for a start. I didn’t want to get stuck on the box and risk bailing the weight back towards my car!

Conditioning

Warmed up jerks with:

10×45#
5×95
5×135
5×165

5 Rounds

50 Double Unders
10 Push Jerks (185#)
1:00 Rest

Not sure what I was thinking but I stopped spinning my rope at 40 reps in the first round. Every other round was unbroken dubs. I used the jerk blocks and did all singles. Was expecting the jerks to get near failure a few rounds in, but I was able to get faster and faster. Round times were 2:04 – 2:03 – 1:55 – 1:46 – 1:36 to finish at 13:22. That was my jam. Found it in the heavy section of the BTWB Fitness Level workouts.

Active Life – Back Max

6 Rounds

15 Sit-ups
30s Plank (elbows)

Ended up with a nice upper ab burn starting in round 4. Finished in 5:57.

More Snatching

Went to the 4:30 class. Not doing any single-leg bias work today.

Warm-up

Bottom Squat Hold
PVC Passes
Air Squats
Stretching
3 Sets
- 3 Hang Power Snatch
- 3 Hang Squat Snatch
- 5 Burpees

I used 20-25-30kg for my sets.

Weightlifting

All power snatches for me (or at least for heavy reps) until my back is feeling much better.

3x40kg
3×50
3×60
65
70
75
80
83
3 @ 80

Wasn’t feeling the greatest with the 83 (183#), so I dropped off a bit and did some drop sets.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

20 Hang Power Cleans (95#)
20 Front Squats (95#)
20 Push Presses (95#)

Wore my belt. My sets were all over the map. Rested more than I should have and finished in 10:47.

Active Life – Back Max

12:00 for quality

10 Alternating Bird Dog
10 Alternating Dead Bug
20 Alternating Side Plank

Each rep was counted by doing a 2 breath hold and then switching sides. Harder than expected. I can see how this stuff is supposed to help with core stamina. Got through 10 side planks in the 2nd time through.

Fancy Toe Touch

Woke up exhausted on Monday. Had spent all day Sunday (and most of Saturday) working on a shop project and doing yard work. My upper back was probably sore from the muscle-ups and my low back felt a little “off” all day. Needed the rest day. Out in the garage in the afternoon.

Active Life – Single-leg Bias

Assessment: Standing Lumbo Pelvic Flexion Test

Fancy name for a standing toe touch. I got about 3″ from toes with straight legs and not trying to push it.

Workout: 3×6 Sumo Deadlifts

45#
95
135
165
185
3 Sets 205

I’ve only done sumo deadlifts a handful of times (maybe). I really enjoyed them. Much safer for the back in the more upright starting position.

Cooldown: Standing Lumbo Pelvic Flexion Test

Forgot to do this until after the ski. Was able to get down to 1-1.5″ from my toes, again not trying to push it.

Conditioning

20:00 Ski Erg

Back is still a little off, so wanted to stay away from anything with weights at high speed or high reps. Have never done the erg for this length of time so wasn’t sure how to pace. I got faster with each 4 minute split for a total of 4,731 meters.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Rounds

8/8 Turkish Sit-up (40#)
8/8 Kroc Row (53#)
8 Evil Wheels
8 Sumo Stance Good Morning (95#)
30s Barbell Overhead Hold (95#)

All of the accessories! In and out of the gym in less than 65 minutes, including setup and cleanup time.

Going to try to get back to drinking protein shakes, which I haven’t been doing over the last year. I still have several tubs in the closet from over a year ago.

Reps and Holds

I’m a little sore from the bench presses yesterday and my back has been a bit tight.

Active Life – Warm-up

30s/30s Foam Roll quads
10 Eccentric Knee Flexion
5/5 Lateral Box Step-ups (30″)

The step-ups should be for max height to work on hip flexion. I don’t think I could go much higher or I’d need to start pressing with the grounded leg.

Active Life – Single Leg Bias

3 Sets

6/6 Front Rack Box Step-ups (30kg, 24″)

Supposed to be a moderate weight and this felt about right.

Gymnastics

10:00 EMOM

3 Muscle-ups

Hadn’t done a muscle-up on the rings in ages. I had a minor issue not getting one shoulder through in set 7 or 8, but saved it and wasn’t in danger of any other misses. These felt really good.

Weightlifting

Warmed up snatches with

5×45#
5×75
2×95
2×115
2×135

10:00 EMOM

2 Power Snatch
- 7 sets 155#
- 2 Sets 165
- 1 Set 175

My back was definitely tight, but it helped me focus. First set felt heavier than I expected. After getting going, I was feeling good so increased for the last 3 sets.

Active Life – Back Max

10:00 for quality

Bent Knee Hollow Hold: 3-5 breaths
Side Plank: 3-5 breath hold on each side
Superman Hold: 3-5 seconds

Was holding each position for 10-15 seconds. Got in 9 or 10 cycles through.

More Gymnastics

They wanted to do some handstand holds so I joined in. Originally had them programmed for today anyway before replacing with the back max work.

5 Sets

40s HS Hold
20s Rest

No met-con today, but got in a lot of good work.

Break From Basement Project

Working on a shop project all day, but took a break after 1 to get in a workout. Had to do some ankle dorsiflexion assessments. My right heel was 18.75″ from the wall and 19 on the right side. Not very exact on my measurements though.

Active Life – Single Leg Bias

3 Sets

50m Farmer Carry (90# each handle)
1:00 Rest

Nice enough to open the garage and walk and up and down the driveway.

Then I had to retest and I got 18.5″ on the right and 18″ on the left. Got worse. Hmm, I tested in two different locations which probably had something to do with it.

Warm-up

10 Bench Press (45#)
20 Air squats
10 Bench Press (95#)
10 Goblet Squats (25#)
5 Bench Press (135#)
10 Goblet Squats (50#)
5 Bench Press (155#)
10 Goblet Squats (70#)

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

100m Ski Erg
5 Bear Hug Sandbag Squats (100#)
5 Bench Press (155#)

Got through 10 rounds plus the ski and squats.

Active Life – Back Max

3 Rounds

30m/30m 1 Arm Overhead Carry (50#)
10 Alternating Push-up Shoulder Tap (3s pause at top)
5 Strict Toes to Bar
15/15 1 Arm Russian KBS (53#)

Back was tightening up whenever I sat down. The strict toes to bar are very difficult!

Active Life Membership

I forgot my sister was coming to town for the night so I decided to take a rest day yesterday. I saw that Active Life had memberships at 50% off for the year (making it $100), so I sent in some info about my back issues.

We see this a lot when athletes have a left-to-right imbalance (we call it a single leg bias) combined with poor midline stabilization and postural stamina.

To correct it we recommend our Bulletproof Single Leg Bias and Bulletproof Back Max programs.

Both are included in an Athlete Membership.

Link: https://performancecarerx.com/specials/

Do BP Single Leg Bias before you workout and BP Back Max after.

Try to get 3-4 BP Single Leg Bias and 4-5 BP Back Max sessions in per week.

When you finish BP Single Leg Bias contact us and we’ll help decide where to go next.

So now I have some homework! It’ll be easy to incorporate in my home workouts and I’ll get there early or replace the programmed warm-up when I attend class at the gym.

Active Life Warmup

30s/30s Sciatic Nerve Flossing
5/5 Stagger Stance Good Mornings (75#)
30s/30s Sciatic Nerve Flossing
5 Sumo Inchworms

Active Life Single Leg Bias

3 Sets

6 Sumo Stance Good Mornings (75#)
5 Box Hamstring Curls (24″)

Active Life Cooldown

Kneeling Heel to Butt Test
Prone Heel to Butt Test (Right Leg)
Prone Heel to Butt Test (Left Leg)

I wasn’t able to touch my heel to my butt, though I did have my shoes on if that makes a difference. Love those tight hamstrings. Was really quick to work through that stuff.

Warm-up

4 Sets

30 Jump Rope + 10 DU
3 Tall Cleans
3 Power Cleans

I used 20-30-40-50kg.

Weightlifting – Power Clean

2x60kg
80
90
100
105
2 sets 110

I dropped every rep. Didn’t wear a belt at all and felt good. Super happy getting up to 242 pounds. I haven’t lifted that in a long time!

Conditioning

20:00 AMRAP – Team of 3

Buy-in: 100 Dubs
One person completes an entire round while the others rest
- 7 American KBS (62#)
- 7 Row cals
- 7 Burpees

I teamed up with Jason and Grant and I was first. Made it to 82 dubs and then missed 3 times! We were 1 rep shy off all completing the 6th round.

Active Life Back Max

3 Sets

2x 10s/10s Standing Straight Leg Hold
10 Lemon Squeeze
10s L Hang
10 GHD Hip Extension (2 second hold at top)
20s/20s Samson Stretch

Brandi stayed and did this with me. Took about 18 minutes I think.