I’m having problems with grips on the bar on our outdoor rig, specifically for bar muscle-ups. I had to drop after four in my second set because they were riding up way too much and killing my wrists. I noticed an old blister ripped open, so switched to kipping chest-to-bar pull-ups the rest of the sets. The step-ups really got me in this. Felt good on the burpees and was doing shoulder press for my jerks with those light dumbbells.
We finished in 27:31. Great new style of workout with the lower rep MU, but a lot of them! My hands weren’t going to take much more, so we called it at five rounds. Was playing around with my bar muscle-up technique and remembering some of the tricks.
Midline
4 Round Tabata
OH Crunches (legs up, 50# DB)
Bicycles
DB Pull-throughs (50#)
Hollow Hold
I got 12 crunches, 20 slow bicycles, 12 pull-throughs, and held the hold the entire 20 seconds each time.
My shoulders and elbow area are feeling the chest program.
Warm-up
80′ Lateral Monster Walks
80′ Monster Walks
10 Monster Squats
10 Monster Toe Touches
RDLs
10×45
5×95
Legs
12-10-8-6 Lateral Step-ups (L, 45-50-53-62#, 20”)
15 Side Lunge with knee up
12-10-8-6 Lateral Step-ups (R, 45-50-53-62#, 20”)
15 Side Lunge with knee up
Still not sure those the side lunge movement does much here since it’s not a deep lunge.
4 Sets
10 RDLs (145#)
1:00 Rest
Conditioning
15:00 EMOM (alt)
6 C&J (95#)
10 DB Walking Lunges (45# DBs)
6 Bar Muscle-ups
I did a single and a double bar muscle-up before the workout and didn’t have the hesitation I did a couple of weeks ago after putting up the bar. Once I got in to that first set the feel started coming back to me and I was able to do all five sets unbroken. Looking back, I haven’t done real bar muscle-ups in over a year and a half, back before COVID started. I did those fucked up reps during the AGOQ on the low bar in my garage, but I can’t really count those since they all had to be singles. Exciting I was able to pick them back up without a problem. My grips were a bit of an issue though and several times I could really feel my palm skin getting stretched, so I was worried about ripping. I think I used to wear a different set of grips for the BMU.
My quads have been very sore from Monday’s workout. On the bright side, I got a new bed last Thursday and my back has felt so much better through the night and getting out of bed in the mornings. I’ve hit 100% of my sleep need, according to WHOOP, every night so far too.
Even though I set a PR last week, 21.2 dropped me in the standings, as expected.
Note: for the number of total athletes I only count those who have submitted a score, which is why it differs from the percentiles calculated by CrossFit.
Looks like I’ll need to place about 830 for this workout to make the top 10% in my Masters division. If there are two scored parts this week, I would need to average a placement of about 1,645.
With the earlier 3pm announcement of 21.3 today and some plans for tomorrow night, I was out in the garage at 5pm to warm-up and finish my Open.
I thought there was a good chance we’d get two parts! This is actually a pretty cool workout, but they had to unnecessarily complicate things with a starting line and this eight foot area.
It’s also pretty shitty that the original equipment list mentioned a place to do pull-ups, but didn’t mention chest to bars or bar muscle-ups, which much different in requirements. Not sure how many people doing the workouts at home have a high enough garage for those two movements. Also, having to move forward eight feet runs in to issues with garage doors being in the way. Not sure what they’re thinking with dumb requirements like these. I turned my bar the other way and stood well past the 8 foot line so I wouldn’t have to worry about hitting parts of the garage door.
Going in I wasn’t sure I could do butterfly or even kipping C2B because of the height needed for my head. I knew I’d have to do single whacky muscle-ups on my low pull-up bar too. Not a ton of strategy for me here since I’m restricted by my setup. How about… not toast my back with all of the front squats and thrusters?!
I work grips and a belt. I did the front squats unbroken, 5×6 T2B, 9-6 thrusters, unbroken front squats, 5-5-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-1-1-1-1 for C2B (all kipping style), 9-6 thrusters, unbroken squats, and then single bar muscle-ups. Not ideal conditions for several things, but I made it work(ish). I got through 14 bar muscle-ups. I didn’t have any expectations going in because of the pull-up bar situation and I had no idea how I’d handle that many squats/thrusters.
CrossFit Games Open Workout 21.4
For Max Weight – 7:00 Time Cap (immediately after 21.3)
Deadlift +
Clean +
Hang Clean +
Jerk
I took 2 minutes loading the bar and resting before my first attempt. Went 165-185-205-220 and made sure not to start that final rep until a few seconds before the clock hit 22:00 to use all my rest. Nice that they changed the rule and the complex only had to be started before the time was up. The hang clean was the worrying movement for me, due to my back. Happy with what I got.
After tweaking my back each of the last four years during the Open I’m happy to have survived without any new injuries this year. Now I can start thinking about golf season. 🙂
Had great night of sleep and didn’t wake up until ten after 8. Went to open gym at 10am.
No B.S. Bench Press
10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×175
5×205
5×225
4×240
2x5x235
MAX @ 225 (7)
I’ve been struggling through this entire second cycle of the program. I couldn’t even hit one full set of 5 at the recommended 240-245 and then the max reps was seven again, which is what I got during the first two times of this cycle. Maybe it’s time to try benching in the evening. Or maybe I’m not eating enough. Or maybe all of the cardio is affecting my ability to get stronger.
Conditioning
9-6-3
Thrusters (95/65#)
Bar Muscle-ups
2:00 Rest
12-9-6
Thrusters (75/50#)
C2B Pull-ups
2:00 Rest
15-12-9
Thrusters (55/40#)
Pull-ups
This is my take on Frantasy Land for an everyday CrossFitter. When I came up with the rep schemes I was wondering if I could go unbroken through the entire thing. Hahahaha!! I did go unbroken (very slowly) on all of the thrusters, but the dream was crushed early when I had to go 5-4 on the first muscle-ups. I went 3-3 on the 6 and did the final 3. First part took me 3:46. I almost quit the workout right there. I started with a set of 7 C2B, but after that I don’t remember. I do know I was doing a bunch of singles to end the 9 and then all of the 6. Took me 5:09! I felt better for the final couplet doing 3×5, 3×4, and 5-4 for my pull-ups. That took me 4:47 to finish. End time on the clock was 17:42. I am just not comfortable with a bunch of barbell work in a metcon right now. 😦 Stood around resting way too much in between sets and movements.
I don’t know if I’m coming down with something or what, but I wasn’t feeling great the rest of the day and skipped out on an engine workout again.
The two week break from the program wasn’t ideal, but going from one cycle of the program to the next probably wasn’t either, so I was hoping today would be a good day under the bar. My all-time PR for a triple is 255, though I have done 275 for a double. The second set with 245 felt better, so I went for the 250 on the third set, which was sketchy. Working sets were supposed to be at 245-250, so it was a success.
Gymnastics
After doing 3×10 bar muscle-ups a few weeks ago I was curious how many I could do.
It’s funny how when you set a number in your head, often you end up right on that number. My hips weren’t giving out, but my hands were starting to slide around too much for my comfort and instead of risking a fall on my head I jumped off with 15.
Weightlifting / Conditioning
7 Rounds
1:00 C&J
2:00 Rest
Started with 95# and added 20# every round, so my loading was 95-115-135-155-175-195-215#. We did something like this 2-3 years ago, but I haven’t been able to find it in my logs. I decided to drop every rep and try to pick it up quickly with the light bars. Got 14-12-10-9-7-5-3, wearing my belt the entire time.
Midline
7-5-3 w/ 10 second holds
Curl-up
Side Plank
Bird dogs
Went and picked up pre-made meals from a local place that I’m trying out.
The Garmin watch was reading my heart rate in zones 4-5 the entire run, which I knew wasn’t correct. My WHOOP measured it where I normally am for a run like this. Got rained on for a few minutes, which felt good. Went 3.8 miles, so I’ve kind of found a sweet spot at that 10:00/mile pace.
That wraps up the second phase (polarization) of the program. I really enjoyed the polarized workouts and am glad to see some of them continue in the next phase. I made it through the first 24 weeks of the program and can’t wait to see what progress comes during the next phase.
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
3 Sets
10 Reverse Hypers (160#)
400m Run
2 Rounds
10 PVC Good Mornings
10 Lunges
5 Ring Rows
5 Inch Worms
Strength & Gymnastics
Deadlift
10×45#
10×115
10×165
10×195
3×10 Bar Muscle-ups
After the dumbbell snatches and box jumps my back was tight from yesterday, so definitely wasn’t pushing deadlifts today. There was an option to do muscle-ups in between sets, so I focused on those instead. I’ve never tried more than 6 before so it seemed like a good day to go for it. I got three unbroken sets of 10 without a problem, which in my new max set. I bet I can get 15+.
Conditioning
2 Rounds
20 cal Assault Bike
20 cal Row
20 Front Rack Lunges (115#)
15 cal Assault Bike
15 cal Row
10 Front Rack Lunges (135#)
15 cal Echo Bike
15 cal Row
10 Front Rack Lunges (135#)
So in reality it was 2 rounds of the second part as well, but the Assault bike was in use when I got there so I finished out on the Echo. Looks like the Echo knocks out the calories quicker. Noted for future workouts! I started out hotter on the first row and was able to keep over a 1,200 cal/hr pace on them all and pushed that last one extra to give myself time to finish under the 15:00 cap. Barely got it, in 14:59! I never dropped the bar during any of the lunge sets.
On Thursday my abs were still a little sore from the previous Sunday or it might have been new DOMS from the 100 T2B on Tuesday. I walked 18 holes on the golf course. My hips felt tight after the round, which could have been from various movements in the Wednesday workout. I started feeling weak and rundown later in the evening and went to bed early. On Friday I felt shitty and took most of the day off from work, so obviously no workouts. Yesterday I seemed to be feeling better, but still a little off. I gave my body another rest day and was in bed at 10pm for the third day in a row. Went to open gym at 10am today, though wasn’t sure how I was feeling yet.
No B.S. Bench Press
10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×165
5×185
5×205
4x5x225
MAX @ 225 (7)
This starts the second cycle of the program, using the week 4 weight as the new base. Crazy that every set was exactly the same as almost exactly 2 years ago to the day on August 12, 2017. Even the max reps set of 7 was the same, which is only 1 rep shy of my best with that weight! Honestly, I did feel really weak from being sick.
Conditioning
6 Rounds
6 Burpee Box Jumps
6 Bar Muscle-ups
6 Burpee Box Jumps
1:1 Rest
Got this one from Sara Sigmundsdottir and the Buttery Bros
With how I was feeling walking around and benching, I wasn’t confident going in to this workout. I haven’t had my heart rate up since Wednesday and I wondered if my muscle-ups would hold for every round. I felt pretty good starting out, but could feel the effects of the burpee box jumps toward the end of the 6 bar muscle-ups when I was losing some hip pop. The first round took 1:30, with each section taking 30 seconds. I didn’t expect that pace to continue, but to my surprise I did it twice more! Then the fatigue started to set in on the burpees and I rested a little before jumping on the bar. My other rounds were 1:59, 1:57, and 1:42; I was able to hammer through the final burpees. Finished at 18:34 and was happy to do every set of bar muscle-ups unbroken. I’d like to try that one again when I’m feeling good. My back was feeling tight as the rounds went by.
Accessory
5 Sets
5 Evil Wheels
7/7 Half Kneeling Bottoms Up KB Press (35#)
5/5 Single Leg Lateral Box Step-ups (30″)
I definitely felt tired after the workout. I used an ab roller for the evil wheels instead of a barbell. Since it was fewer reps I went up to 35# (I’ve always used 26#) on the kettlebell presses and survived.
After relaxing through the day, I got outside for two hours of yard work in the evening. Wanted to do an Engine Builder workout, but I don’t think it would have been smart.
Woke up with my low back feeling a little tight. Not sure if it was from golfing or the bench press.
Warm-up
3 Sets
10 Reverse Hypers (160#)
Dead Hang
Kip Swings
5 Muscle Snatches (45#)
5 Pull-ups
Conditioning
16.3 – 7:00 AMRAP
10 Power Snatches (75/55#)
3 Bar Muscle-ups
I got some of the new Bear KompleX Black Diamond grips and tried them out for this workout. I ordered an XL this time around too, so there was more material to fold over for pull-ups and T2B. These really are grippy and I didn’t even use any chalk on them! Had magic tape around the base of my thumbs, but forgot to put some regular tap around my thumb nails, which sometimes split on the edge when doing bar muscle-ups. I started out not using the finger holes due to the snatches and later went back and forth between using them and not between the two movements. Was really wasting way too much time messing with the grips in this workout. Since I was focusing so much on my grip, I didn’t get enough kip and failed after my first MU in the 6th round. Quick drop, get back up, and knocked out the other two. Ended with 6+3.
The muscle-up miss cost me. My score was only 5 reps shy of what I did in the 2016 Open. Should have easily beaten it, but not bad for zero snatches in weeks. My back turned out to be fine for this and I didn’t have any issues with my calf.
Accessory – Posterior Chain
5 Sets
6/6 Single Leg Deadlifts
10/10 Lateral Box Step-ups (24″)
Used 75# for two sets of deadlifts and 95# for the other three.
Midline
3 Sets
30 Alternating V-ups
30 Side Plank Jumps
60 Flutter Kicks
My core was getting crampy during the flutter kicks, but I did everything unbroken with some rest between sets. Finished in 6:11.
Gun Show
3 Sets
Barbell 21s (45#)
Year of the Engine – Polarized
30:00 Airdyne
** Endurance with 7s sprint @ 5, 10, 15, 20, 25
Out in the garage at 4:30. Got 897 calories and 18.19 km, which is a PR distance for 30 minutes.
Got some decent sleep last night after being exhausted and woke up with a WHOOP recovery score of 70%. I was out in the garage just after 12.
Year of the Engine – Polarized
27:00 Airdyne
** Endurance with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24
I got 774 cals and 16.06 km
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
3 Sets
10 Reverse Hypers (160#)
Hanging Shoulder Stretch
5:00 AMRAP
15 Air Squats
10 Kip Swings
5 Burpees
I got through exactly 3 rounds. Funny how that works. 😉
Conditioning
28:00 EMOM (alt)
5 Bar Muscle-ups
15 cal Echo Bike
15 Banded Pull-throughs
5 Goblet Squats (22kg)
Last week when I ripped my palm doing all of those pull-ups I thought it looked like I also had a blister under my left pinky. Nothing every came of it, until I noticed a bunch of skin pulled up there during this workout. Not a tear though, which is always good. I wore grips for 5 rounds and then took them off because they were bunching up too much and pulling on my wrists. Was able to do every set unbroken.
It was my first time riding on the Echo Bike and it’s really smooth. I’m feeling so much better on these bikes after all of the Engine Builder workouts and so much time on my Airdyne. Definitely the hardest part of this workout though. I subbed in the pull throughs instead of American swings and the goblet squats instead of three back squats. I sweated my ass off today with this new humidity that hit us with the warmer temperatures.
With how I was feeling walking around and benching, I wasn’t confident going in to this workout. I haven’t had my heart rate up since Wednesday and I wondered if my muscle-ups would hold for every round. I felt pretty good starting out, but could feel the effects of the burpee box jumps toward the end of the 6 bar muscle-ups when I was losing some hip pop. The first round took 1:30, with each section taking 30 seconds. I didn’t expect that pace to continue, but to my surprise I did it twice more! Then the fatigue started to set in on the burpees and I rested a little before jumping on the bar. My other rounds were 1:59, 1:57, and 1:42; I was able to hammer through the final burpees. Finished at 18:34 and was happy to do every set of bar muscle-ups unbroken. I’d like to try that one again when I’m feeling good. My back was feeling tight as the rounds went by.
Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs 