Airdyne – Page 8 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Could Have, Maybe

My legs and hips are tight from the weekend. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

15:00 Airdyne

I did a much better job holding ~80 RPM, especially through the second half. Did 507 calories and 9.68 km, which are both improvements from a month ago.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

3 Sets
- 15 Reverse Hypers (50#)
2:00 Echo Bike (22 cals)
2 Rounds
- 10/10 Leg Swings
- World’s Greatest Stretch
- 10 PVC Passes
- 5 Air Squats

Strength

Back Squat

10×45#
10×95
6×135
3×165
3×195
MAX @ 225 (6)
MAX @ 165 (10)

I had no idea what to use since it was percentage based. I think I picked pretty good numbers though, not having squatted in so long. It wasn’t really a max set because I stopped well before I started getting out of position. Time to slowly work myself back to some lower body strength.

Midline

3 Sets

1:00 Weighted Plank (45#)

These were done immediately after the final 3 sets of squats.

Conditioning

E3M – 5 Rounds

10 Hang Power Cleans (95#)
10 Toes-To-Bar
10 Front Squats (95#)
10 Burpees Over The Bar

I probably could have done the Rx 115#, but I didn’t want to push my luck after heavier squats. Maybe a good decision though because the front squats got slow and I tried to be careful on every rep. As my squats got slower, I tried to pick up the pace on the burpees. I had 1:14 – 1:17 of rest every round.

Slow Progress

No golf today with shitty weather. Out in the garage before lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

30:00 Airdyne
** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

Feels like I haven’t done one of these polarized workouts in forever and just about, because it has been 2 weeks! Got 889 calories and 18.13 km.

Kevin came over in the afternoon to lift.

No B.S. Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
4×135
4×175
4×205
4×220
4×235
4×240
4×245
4×240

The working sets were supposed to be 3×4 @ 245-250, but with the way last week went I wanted to play it safe and err on the side of getting all four reps each set instead of going too heavy and only doing three. On the 245 set, that 4th rep may have been the longest rep I’ve ever done, but I fought it out. My right side is definitely weaker too.

I looked back at the first cycle and I did:

8×45
8×95
4×135
4×175
4×205
4×225
3x4x240

So today had 220 and 235 compared to just 225, plus five pounds more on the middle working set. Progress I guess, but I was hoping for more over 9 weeks.

Today I noticed that Kevin’s hands were in much closer than mine. Maybe I’ve gotten too wide with my grip? Though, later in the evening I found a T Nation article and if I’m measuring correctly, I’m pretty close to the recommendation.

Gym to Garage

Yesterday I walked 18 holes on a very sloppy golf course from all of the rain. When the conditions are like that it really takes a lot more out of me than you’d think. Went to the 4pm class at the gym.

Warm-up

3 Sets

15 Reverse Hypers (50#)

4 Rounds

10/10 Leg Swings
10/10 Arm Circles
10 PVC Passes
Front Rack Stretch

Hang Power Snatch

2x3x45#
3×75

Hang Power Clean

3×95#

Conditioning

7:00 EMOM
- 7 Pull-Ups
- 3 Hang Power Snatch (95#)
7:00 EMOM
- 7 Burpees
- 3 Hang Power Cleans (125#)
5:00 Rest
7:00 EMOM
- 7 Pull-Ups
- 3 Hang Power Snatch (125#)
7:00 EMOM
- 7 Burpees

I was able to get all 14 sets of pull-ups unbroken! I was starting to feel my back when bringing the bar down between reps during the 125# snatches. When I’m resetting like this is when it’s bothered me the most over the last year or so. Then I almost lost my grip on the barbell during the last two sets of that second round of snatches. I went to pick up 165# for the hang cleans, deadlifted it, and decided not to push my back, so I just did the burpees to finish. Lifts from the hang and especially stringing them together affects my back a lot more; I probably should have done singles from the ground.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

10:00 Airdyne

Jumped on the bike when I got home from the gym. Could I beat 400 calories? Close, but no cigar. I got 396 calories and 6.95 km. It was the middle section again where I start to really slow down. Solid effort after being at the gym.

Weaker Leg Drive

Out in the garage before 9am.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

30:00 Airdyne

Went 930 calories and 18.6 km. Beats my best for 30 minutes, which was 18.19 km. Wanted to average 80 RPM, but probably hovered between 77-80 most of the time.

Spent about 4 hours helping a friend move, signed online to do a little work, and then was out in the garage around 4:30.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

12 Rounds

1:00 Row
1:15 Rest

Checked the drag factor on my rower, which was at 133, so I went down to 130. Tried to use more leg drive, with a 1:36-1:37 goal pace. I just don’t seem to have the leg drive I had a few years ago. I’ve definitely lost lower body strength since I haven’t been able to squat or deadlift heavy in years.

312-312-312-311-311-310-308-306-308-308-308-309m

Just look at those stroke rates. I used to be able to do something like this around 25 s/m. At least my engine is better now so I’m able to keep a high pace with having to do a lot more strokes.

Time for More Metcons

Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf. My hamstrings started getting sore last night.

It’s less than 3 weeks until Open Workout 20.1 gets announced, so it’s time to kick up my training a notch or 12 and do more metcons after 2 weeks of undertraining. I need to start practicing my handstand walking again too. Was out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

30:00 Airdyne
** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24

Was doing about 72-73 RPM most of the time for endurance pace. Went 811 cals and 17.36 km.

Went to the gym at 4pm.

Warm-up

3 sets
- 15 Reverse Hypers (90#)
400m Run
2 Rounds
- Front Rack stretch
- Chest stretch
- 10 Air Squats
- 10 HR Push-ups
5 Bench Press (45#)
5 Power Cleans (45#)
5 Bench Press (95#)
3 Power Cleans (135#)
5 Bench Press (135#)
3 Power Cleans (165#)

Conditioning

19:00 AMRAP

3 Power Cleans (185#)
5 Bench Press (165#)
200m Run
1:30 Rest

It was on a 25 minute running clock, but by the time I got through all the warm-up sets above I was starting my first round at exactly 6:00 on the clock. So effectively a 19 minute AMRAP. I got through 7 full rounds and had 23 seconds left, with very consistent round times of 1:22, 1:27, 1:21, 1:22, 1:22, 1:19, and 1:24. I put my belt on for the cleans each round, did them touch-n-go, and then removed my belt as I moved over to the bench.

10:00 AMRAP

30 Russian KBS (53#)
30 Double Under
15 Sit-Ups

I missed once on the dubs in my third round and finished 5+30. That was a good burner with no spot to rest because the movements didn’t interfere with each other at all.

I really liked both of those workouts and felt great, considering I haven’t slept worth a shit for the last two days.

A Griptastic Return

Monday was a rest day and yesterday was a travel day. After I got home my legs were feeling rough from the dance floor and long night on Monday. I was exhausted and decided not to workout. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

20:00 Airdyne

My best, though not as a test, was 11.94 km. Figured 80 RPM throughout would be a good goal as a first trial for this length of time. Was probably short of that overall, but could have gone harder. Got 12.73 km and 656 calories.

Went to the 7pm class because I was busy with a project at work all day.

Warm-up

400m Run
2 Rounds
- 10 Good Mornings (PVC)
- 10 Pass Throughs
- 5 Kip Swings
- 10 Lateral Hops
5 Hang Power Cleans (45#)
5 Deadlifts (45#)
5 Hang Power Cleans (115#)
5 Deadlifts (115#)

Conditioning

2 Rounds

4:00 EMOM
- 15 cal Row
4:00 EMOM
- 10 Hang Power Cleans (115#)
4:00 EMOM
- 10 T2B
4:00 EMOM
- 10 Deadlifts (185#)

No extra rest other than when you’re done with a movement each minute. I felt good at the beginning and pulled ~1700-1800 cal/hr. Then I did each movement unbroken. The second time through was a different story! I pulled ~1400 cal/hr. I did 2×5 on each minute of cleans, then 3 minutes of 2×5 with the final set of T2B unbroken. I picked up the deadlifts and my grip was shot! After doing the first round through all with a neutral grip, after doing 5, I started doing a mixed grip. I was able to go 2×5 for the first two minutes, but then I just couldn’t hold the bar, so I went 2 and 8 singles, finishing with 10 singles.

Rough one after not touching a bar since the previous Sunday.

Light Barbell Work

Feeling good. Went to open gym at 10.

Accessory

3 Sets

15 Reverse Hypers (90#)

No B.S. Bench Press

10×45#
8×95
4×135
4×175
4×205
4×225
4x4x240

Still on the low end of the recommended 240-245 for the working sets. Not sure I could have added the extra five pounds to either of the last two sets even. I have to remind myself 245 is my all-time 5RM (which I matched back in May) and I did 16 reps with 240 in this workout. Things are moving in the right direction.

Conditioning

E2M – 5 Rounds
- 10 Power Snatches (75#)
- 5 Muscle-ups
4:00 Rest
E2M – 5 Rounds
- 10 C&J (75#)
- 5 Handstand Push-ups

My original version of this was using 95 and 115, but I switched to 75 and 95 yesterday. I did the first 4 sets of muscle-ups unbroken with a near failure on the last rep of those. Then I finished with 3-1-1. After struggling towards the end of the first couplet, I decided to stay at 75 for the clean and jerks. I also added an extra two minutes of rest because I was not recovering fast enough. As soon as I went for my first strict HSPU I knew it was going to have to change. I did 3-2 and 5×1 strict before switching to unbroken sets of 5 kipping for the other 3 rounds. I probably could have continued with 5×1 strict, but I wanted some rest time!

Damn, that light barbell can really give you a great workout. Too many people think you need to go heavy all the time and keep adding more weight.

Midline

6-4-2 with 10 second holds

Curl-up
Side Plank
Bird Dog

Increased from the 5-3-1 since it had been easy. This was definitely more of a challenge, but the workout may have contributed to that.

Did a bunch of yard work, ran some errands, and then was out in the garage by 8pm

Year of the Engine – Polarized

26:00 Airdyne

** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24

Went 692 calories and 14.93 km.

Don’t Stop

My legs feel a little tired this morning after walking roughly 6 miles on the golf course and running another 3.5. Out in the garage after 9:30am. Warmed up with a two minute row for 513 meters.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

15 Rounds

30s Row
1:00 Rest

I did 1:27.7 a couple weeks ago with a tight back for this same thing, so today the goal was 1:27.

2019-09-07-row

Holy shit did I underestimated this one or what? I didn’t remember it being so hard. I wasn’t even close to maintaining that previous pace. Was it because I hadn’t eaten anything yet? Tired legs? The two beers I drank last night? Some days you just don’t have “it” I guess.

When I went to take pictures of the splits I noticed two weeks ago was with 1:30 rests, not 1:00!!! Of course I wasn’t going to be able to keep that pace. I could really feel the loss of power in my first 4-5 strokes, which couldn’t recover with the shorter rest; it all makes sense now. I’m extremely proud of how I fought to keep getting those 165 meters when things fell apart. My mistake turned out to be a great mental and physical test.

Thinking back, I had noticed the guy on BTWB who always smokes me had averaged a 1:27.7 pace. After finding what I had thought was my same intervals I concluded that he maybe was worse than me at the short duration stuff. I should have known better! Based on his scores I would have set my goal at 1:30-1:31. It turns out I have done this one, back on June 8th, with an average pace of 1:31.7, getting 163-164 meters every round, which I beat on each interval today.

Year of the Engine – Speed/Threshold

15:00 Airdyne

Out in the garage again after the Michigan game. Tried to hold 80 RPM. Went 500 calories and 9.63 km.

Core Stability Prehab/Rehab

The doctor thinks I might be suffering from allergies and some bronchitis, so I got an antibiotic, an inhaler (well, I should be able to get this tomorrow), and started taking an allergy pill. I was out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

24:00 Airdyne

** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 5, 10, 15, 20

My legs were definitely tired from yesterday and my quads are starting to get sore. I did 665 calories and 14.02 km.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

300m Row
2 Rounds
- 10 PVC Pass throughs
- Front rack stretch (both arms)
- 8 KB Swings (35#)
- 5 HR Push-ups
C&J
- 5×45#
- 5×95

Conditioning

E4M – 5 Rounds

5 Power C&J (135-155-175-195-215#)
400m Run

The percentages were set at 50, 60, 65, 70, and 75. These numbers I picked would be pretty spot on based off of all-time max, so it felt good to hit them in this. I did all singles and wore my belt for the last 3 sets. Each round took 10-15 seconds longer than the previous one, which I thought was pretty good. I think my first round was around 2:10 and the last one was around 2:50.

10-20-30-40-50

Russian KB Swings (53#)
Push-Ups

It was programmed with Americans, but I did Russian swings and was able to go unbroken on all of them. I’ve done over 350 swings in the last 3 days! I did 10 unbroken push-ups to start and then all sets of 5 through 15 (maybe) of the 50 when I started doing mostly triples. Finished in 9:36.

Midline

5-3-1 of each movement with 10 second holds

Curl-up
Side Plank
Bird Dog

I read a good article about core stability for low back issues this weekend so I am going to start doing their recommendations and see if it makes a difference for me.

400

I can feel a little pull or tightness in my back, but doesn’t seem like I tweaked it yesterday. Was out in the garage after 10:30.

Warm-up

3:00 Airdyne

Went a little faster each minute. Ended up with 90 cals and 1.82 km.

Year of the Engine – Time Trial

10:00 Airdyne (aka 300 FY)

My PR was 387 calories during month three of the program, so it’s been a while. Following previous strategies I started out hot for the first minute and then tried to settle in, holding 85 RPMs through the middle. Mentally it gets hard after 5 minutes. Then I try to pick the pace back up for the last 90 seconds and keep pushing harder each 30 seconds if I can. A couple of years ago when I first went over 350 calories I wondered if 400 was possible and today I hit it exactly! That’s a big 13 calorie PR. The distance was 6.97 km.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

32:00 Run

After recovering for about 30 minutes I went out to run. I went 3.19 miles and definitely did not hold a steady pace.

2019-08-31-run-pace

According to WHOOP, my heart rate was perfectly in zones 2-3 and according to my Garmin watch, I was getting in to zone 4 near the end of the run.