Kettlebell Swing – Page 28 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Strict Paleo Really Works

My legs are almost back to normal, but my upper abs are still sore today. Not sure that I’ve mentioned it in a post yet this week, but on Monday I went back to eating strict Paleo. I have a competition on October 7th so I want to go in as the best Nick I can. I’m competing in the beginner’s division, so hopefully I can be competitive. As a result of the diet changes, I’m feeling the results in only a few days.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

Plank
Bicycles

I could really feel these in my sore upper abs. Definitely helped loosen them up though.

Strength

Take 90 second of rest between each set.

Side Bends, 3×12 (each side)

62# KB
71# KB
80# KB

Russian KBS, 3×12

71# KB
80# KB
88# KB

WOD

21-18-15-12-9 Box Jumps (24″)
21-18-15-12-9 Burpees
5-4-3-2-1 Renegade Man Makers (40# DBs)

In case you’re confused on how that WOD works, there are 5 rounds. In round 1 you do 21 box jumps, 21 burpees, and 5 renegade man makers. Then in round 2 all the reps decrease to the next number.

I finished in 12:12. Box jumps and burpees were all done unbroken. Renegade man makers were a little slower with some very short breaks, because DAMN! if you’ve ever done them you know how much they crush your soul.

Finisher

50 Suitcase Deadlifts (88# KB)

Done for quality and weight. I took the heaviest KB we have and knocked them out by doing 5 per side at a time.

Adult Gymnastics at Gym Jesters

Traveling home from San Diego made for a long day yesterday. I got up at 7am to have some breakfast, was picked up from the hotel at 8:30am (Pacific) and the plane landed in Saginaw just before 10pm. I was in bed by 11pm. Today I went to the 11am class and then at 2pm we had an adult class at Gym Jesters Gymnastics Center

Warm-up

4 rounds

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

WOD

Today was a long partner WOD. I was teamed up with Cora and Michelle, the two best women we have at Survival Fitness. We all pushed each other really hard in this one.

- 30 Sandbag Over the Shoulder (40#)
- 900m Weighted Run (35# Place)
- 150m Burpee Broad Jump
- 50 DB Snatches (40#)
- 50 KBS (53#)
- 100m Prowler Push (90# of the heavy sled, 50m high push, 50m low push)
- 30 Deadlifts (225#)
- 50 HR Push-ups
- 100 Air Squats
- 30 Pull-ups
- 50 AbMat Sit-ups
- 2m Plank

We had 40 minutes to do this. I was 8 squats short of getting through the 5th block (did all of the pull-ups). Everyone on the team had to complete both parts of a section before the team could move on to the next area. The team could break things up however they wanted, so in #5 I did rounds of 5 pull-ups followed by 10 air squats until I was all done with the pull-ups. Then I tried to finish off the rest of the squats and couldn’t make it even though I went all out for the last 30 seconds.

Gymnastics

Had a bit of time to rest at home and get some food before heading over to Gym Jesters. Scott and Brent from Gym Jesters started out by talking about the different positions of the back tuck flip and then started putting us through some progressions. First we started out by jumping into the air as well as sitting on the ground and rolling backwards. Next it was up to jumping up, tucking, and landing on our upper back on a high mat.

Some of us broke off to the trampoline, did some progressions, and worked up to doing a back flip while strapped in. After that I jumped into a foam pit from a hit bouncy thing, then into the foam pit just from the wall of the pit. Brent spotted me and I tried a few on just mats. At that point I was pretty good to work on my own. I came close a few times, but I have to work on jumping straight up, making sure to get a fast tuck, and then holding my tuck longer. My biggest problem was coming out of the tuck way too soon.

It was so much fun! I’ve wanted to do a back flip ever since I was a little kid. They just look so badass! Sounds like we might go back twice a month to try different things.

800 Meter Sandwich

Feeling pretty good this morning. My legs are fine and I wasn’t tired getting up at 5:20am. Went in to CrossFit Pacific Beach again for the 6am class.

Warm-up

400m Run
10 Samson Stretches
10 Inchworms
10 Zombie Kicks
10 Air Squats
10 Skater Plyos

We also did a little more stretching. I liked doing a bottom squat hold while putting all of the weight over one heel to stretch out that ankle and calf.

Agility

Ladder drills

These were quick but fun.

WOD #1

800m Run
40-30-20-10
- KBS (53# KB)
- Box Jumps (24″)
800m Run

As you probably know, I love box jumps. I’m not used to doing that many American KBS, but I tried to keep to big sets and never did less than 10 in a row. Box jumps were nearly all unbroken. The last 800m sucked ass. I finished with a good time of 16:40.

Then it was back to the hotel to lead the last day of the Automattic Bootcamp at 7:30am.

Warm-up #2

50m

High Knees
Bear Crawls
Zombie Kicks

WOD #2

Partners

50 Broad Jumps
80 HR Push-ups
100 Lunges
80 Tuck Jumps
50 V-ups

I was kind of a 3rd partner in this, so it wasn’t bad. Seemed like people really liked the Bootcamp throughout the week.

An Easy-ish Deck

I made it to the 10am class which gives me enough time to pack and get ready for my trip. Flight leaves at 1:30.

Warm-up

4 rounds

15s Jumping Jacks
15s High Knees
15s Air Squats
15s Mountain Climbers

WOD

Deck of Cards

Suits:

♣ – Russian KBS (53# KB)
♠ – 1m Plank
♦ – Air Squats
♥ – Burpees

Ranks:

10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace – 10 reps
2 through 9 – Face value in reps
Joker – 150m Run

I finished in 32:36. Planks really sucked because they brought down the intensity and at one point I had 6 of 9 cards come up a spade. Usually deck of cards is pretty brutal but today it wasn’t bad with the selected movements and the fact that the highest rep count was 10.

Finisher

Prowler Sprints – 25m High Push followed by 25m Low Push

Casey A. and I did some prowler sprints at the end of class. The first sprint we had 135# loaded on the heavy prowler and it was pretty easy, so we added another 45# plate for 180# of load and did 5 more down and backs. My legs are getting stronger because the heavy pushes are getting a lot easier.

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.

Weighted Chins

Feeling good. I think I like this 3 days on 1 day off schedule I’m trying to stick to. Walked 18 holes of golf this morning and went to the 7pm class.

Warm-up

4 rounds

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

Strength

Weighted Chin-ups with 90 seconds of rest between sets

8 @ 8#
8 @ 10#
6 @ 12#
5 @ 15#
4 @ 15#

I’m not entirely sure about the rep counts for the 10# and 12#, but I think they are right. Man, when you hit that wall, there is no way you’re doing another rep.

WOD

15-14-13…3-2-1

Burpees
Russian KBS (53#)

This is all about pacing yourself so you can keep going without resting. I finished in 11:42. Should have went heavier but I’m still taking things easy for my low back. I didn’t miss out on any intensity that’s for sure. That was 120 reps of each movement.

Finisher

Death by AbMat Sit-ups (by 2s)

Just like every other “death by” it doesn’t seem bad starting out, because it isn’t, but it sure does get tough. I managed to complete the round of 26 with about 2 seconds left in the minute and then got 25 out of 28 in the next minute. That’s a total of 207 sit-ups.

Designed for Me

Yesterday morning I walked 18 holes of golf but took a rest day from CrossFit. I really needed it after the hill sprints on Sunday. Went to the 9am class today.

Warm-up

1m DUs
20 1-arm Russian KBS (10 each arm)
1m DUs
20 Russian KBS
1m DUs
20 Goblet Squats
1m DUs
20 KBS

Right out of the gate I nearly set a PR for unbroken DUs. I get 43, just one shy of tying my PR. I think I get in my head and sabotage myself each time that happens. I had some pretty decent streaks throughout, but got worse as I got more tired. I used a 53# KB for everything.

Strength

Matt is starting to put more focus on strength work and shorter WODs finally. That is one of the things I loved about the box out in Phoenix. I was making big improvements each month in my squats and deadlifts. I haven’t even done a 1 rep max back squat since I came back to Michigan!

I grouped up with Brian and Rick for this.

3 sets

Max Reps Right Arm KB Shoulder Press
Max Reps Left Arm KB Shoulder Press
2-3m Rest

Started out with a 35# KB and did 19 and 21 reps. Moved up to a 44# and did 11 reps on each side. For the last set I used a 49# and did 8 reps each.

WOD

50 Box Jumps
250m Run
40 Box Jumps
150m Run
30 Box Jumps
100m Run
20 Box Jumps
100m Run
10 Box Jumps
150m Run

If I didn’t know any better I’d say this WOD was designed for me to crush. We were allowed to rebound off the box and off the ground to work on the skills there. I used a 24″ box and finished in 8:54. I did some double rebounding to speed things up, but it really wears you out so I stuck with rebounding off the box most of the time.

Finisher

100 HR Push-ups

I finished in 6:21, beating my 7:48 time from just 3 weeks ago!

Kettlebells and Prowlers

Still a bit sore in my legs from death by wall balls, but I think working out yesterday really helped to speed up the recovery process. I got up and went in for the 9am class today since I have an adjustment and massage at the chiropractor later today.

Warm-up

We partnered up and switch back and forth between some KB work and ab stuff.

When doing ab work we rotated between the following movements and kept going until our partner was finished with their KB reps.

AbMat Sit-ups
Mountain Climbers
Plank

While working with the KB, we did 20 reps of a movement before switching with our partner.

Russian KBS
Power KBS
KBS
Right arm Russian KBS
Left arm Russian KBS
Right arm KB Snatch
Left arm KB Snatch

Then on our own we did 10 Quarter Get-ups on each side and a couple of Turkish Get-ups an each side to warm-up. I used a 35# KB for all of this.

WOD

50 Turkish Get-ups (30# KB)

The Rx for men was 35# and Matt made it sound pretty tough, so I went down to the 30#. Doing 5 per side at a time I was able to keep a good flow and knock out the WOD in 8:22. I should have went with a 33# or 35# KB.

Finisher

We formed two lines and started doing prowler work, going from line to the other. Each prowler was loaded with a couple of 45# plates, but since I was the only guy in class today, I got to load on extra. I’m not sure how many rounds I got it, but it was probably 5 or more.

Prowler Suicide (140# load) – 10 yard high push and low push back, 20 yard high push and low push back
Prowler Walk and Sprint (135# load) – Walk with high hand position for 25 yards, low position sprint back

I don’t know why, bit I like the prowler work. A lot of people get physically sick (or close to it) from the prowler. Really good work for the legs.

My Favorite Burpees

I’ve been extremely sore from all of the wall balls yesterday. Ass, quads, hamstrings, you name it. I did make it out and walked 18 holes of golf this morning for the first time in nearly two weeks. I think that helped to keep things a little loose.

I’m using my standing desk station for the first time today while working. Hopefully I can get these back issues cleared up and get my spine back to normal.

Warm-up

10:00 EMOM

10 Burpees

I loved this! I went all-out for my burpees in every minute and was done in less than 24 seconds each time. The rest period allowed me to catch by breath and go at it hard again when the next minute started. Pretty cool way to get 100 burpees in 10 minutes. Did I mention how much I loved this? 🙂

Strength

10:00

10 KBS (55#) during the odd minutes
10 Shoulder Press (30# DBs) during the even minutes

When you complete your reps for the minute, the rest of that minute is rest. We were supposed to go heavy for the KBS, but since they are so back intensive I took it easy. I probably should have started with the 35# DBs and had the 30#s handy, but by the end the 30s weren’t super easy either.

WOD

5 rounds

15 Split Cleans (30# DBs)
21 HR Push-ups

When we went to start this one, I was glad to have the 30# DBs, because I would not have been able to keep up the intensity with heavier ones. I had to take a short break around the half-way point of each round. I tried to get 11 reps of push-ups in at the start of each round and then do 5s to finish it off. By the end though, I was doing whatever I could to get them done. Finished in 14:31.

Skill

45s Rack Position Holds

We partnered up and switched off with the bar. I think I got in 3 reps. This was kind of weird, but maybe it’s just because my rack position is pretty good. I’m lucky enough to have good flexibility in my wrists and can keep my elbows up pretty good.

Scaled “Garrett”

I went back to the chiropractor today and he showed me the x-rays. I have some weird curves going on in my spine due to sitting all day for work. Might be time to look at setting up a standing desk. Sore in my calves today, probably from all of the push presses last night. Shoulder soreness is definitely from push presses and I bet they’ll be even more sore tomorrow after today’s WOD.

Warm-up

10 Russian KBS (53# KB) each round before the Wall Ball set
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)

I started out slow and steady, which quickly put me behind a lot of people. But I never rested and ended up finishing first in the class with a time of 6:15.

WOD

“Garrett”
Three rounds

75 Air Squats
25 Ring HSPU
25 L-Pull-ups

Anyone that can do this WOD as prescribed is a fucking beast.

I’ve never attempted a ring HSPU and don’t have plans to try one. I started off doing HSPU with no assistance and got about 10 in each round before adding an AbMat under my head. I did mostly kipping HSPU, except for 4 or 5 strict ones at the beginning of each round. I did a few L-Pull-ups in the first two rounds, but quickly resorted to strict dead-hangs. After about 10 or 12 of those per round I added a purple band to finish out the 25. My total time was 32:44.

Finisher

1m Side Plank (L)
1m Side Plank (R)
1m Plank

This was supposed to be 3 rounds, but there wasn’t enough time so I only got in the one.