Went to the gym in the afternoon with Molly before classes started.
Warm-up
5:00 Echo Bike (50 cals)
30 PVC Passes
Bottom Squat Hold
Ring Kip Swings
Gymnastics
30 Muscle-ups
In January I did 3 reps every 45 seconds for a time of 6:55, so today I went every 40 seconds. Then I went 5-10 seconds early on my last two sets so I could break six minutes. Finished in 5:55 for a sweet PR. I wasn’t in danger of missing and felt good, so I can cut that down next time.
Accessory
6 Sets
5 Weighted Ring Pull-ups (4×35, 2×26#)
8/8 Kroc Rows (28kg)
1:30 Rest
Strict ring pull-ups suck after muscle-ups and weighted ones are even worse!
3 Sets
8 Pendlay Rows (supinated, 115-135-145#)
1:30 Rest
These actually felt pretty good.
Midline
4 Sets
6 Strict T2B
20 Alternating V-ups
45s Rest
It’s always weird going for that first strict toes to bar, trying to remember how to sequence it. This was absolutely fucking terrible!!! I had to break v-ups in round two and then do three sets in rounds three and four!
Gymnastics
Molly tried to help me out with handstand walking and we found some things to focus on:
No issues with my back after yesterday. 👍 Went in at 3pm for muscle-up work with Molly.
Warm-up
50 cal Echo Bike
Bottom Squat Hold
Ring Swings
Gymnastics
Muscle-ups
6×3
6×4
**Rest as needed
Felt good and I easily hit every set.
Gymnastics Conditioning
20:00 EMOM (alt)
10 cal Echo Bike
3 MU
8 Burpees
4 MU
I’m not calling this conditioning because the bike and burpees weren’t at a fast pace. It was all about getting the muscle-ups done. 77 muscle-ups in a day is a huge number for me, so happy that I was able to hit all of my sets unbroken. I did have to start focusing more on my kip and a strong pull though. My 1st rep catches got iffy on several of these too. My grip is blown and I’m going to have some nice burns on my arms from the ring straps.
Accessory
4 Sets
8 Strict Ring Pull-ups
8/8 Kroc Row (60# DB)
90s Rest
This might have been the worst part because my hands were hurting so much and I had no pull left.
Last night my legs were really tired from the squats. Woke up with my upper body being sore again. Out in the garage before lunch.
Year of the Engine – Time Trial
20:00 Airdyne
Started fast for a minute, settled in to 80 RPM, and picked up the pace over the last four minutes. I could average a quicker pace through this whole thing next time. Did 685 cals and 12.99 km, which is 0.05 km better than last month.
Went to the gym at 4pm
Warm-up
2:00 Echo Bike (25 cals)
3 Rounds
10 PVC Passes
10 Good Mornings (45#)
5 Ring Rows
10 Air Squats
Strength
5 Sets
MAX Strict Chin-ups
10 DB Bench Press (60#)
2:00 Rest
Was planning to do this work before or after class to keep the gains going until I can bench again next week. Decided to do it in place of the 3RM snatch that was programmed. Again, not risking getting hurt before I leave for the wedding in the morning. I got 16-10-8-8-8 for the chin-ups.
Conditioning
60 cal Row
30 T2B
20 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
10 Deadlifts (185#)
5 Muscle-ups
10 Deadlifts
20 Wall Balls
30 T2B
60 cal Row
I did 10×45# and 5×135# deadlift to warm-up. The workout was 40 calories on the bike, but I did enough of that today, so subbed in the 60 calorie rows. I scaled the deadlifts back from 225# to be cautious. First T2B were done in 3×10, wall balls were 2×10 both times because I was weak sauce after all of those squats yesterday and I needed some air. I did 2×5 on both sets of deadlifts, unbroken muscles, and 6×5 on the second 30 T2B. Finished in 16:16, I think, but it may have been in the 16:40s.
On Wednesday night my hands were aching from gripping that damn Zeus rope! Rest day yesterday. At the gym for 4pm, but I didn’t end up going until 5:20.
Warm-up
Not the greatest warm-up to be honest. I didn’t end up going until the 4th heat, so any of the warming up I had done was out the window by then. 🤷🏻♂️
Partition the reps and movements any way you want – 20:00 time cap
40 Muscle-ups
80 cal Row
120 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
So easy to overthink this workout, which I was doing all night and morning. I had about five different plans before I finally decided on:
2 rounds of 4 MU + 12 WB
8 rounds of 2-2 MU + 12 WB
80 calories
Rowing is my strength so it seemed like a good idea to save it for when I was tired. It also eliminates all of the transitions in and out of the rower. This strategy had similarities with how I did the 150 WB + 75 T2B workout last month. That workout took me 10:52, so with the lower reps and higher skilled MU, I’d be thrilled heading to the rower anywhere close to that time.
At the gym I decided I’d only do 4 unbroken muscle-ups for the first round. I ended up doing 4 MU + 12 WB and then 4 rounds of 2-2 MU + 12 WB. Was at 5:50 there and dying, so I jumped on the rower for 10 cals because I needed rest! Then 2-2-12-10. Then 3 rounds of 2-12-2-10 and a 2-12-2 before finishing on the rower. The muscle-ups were much easier after the rower compared to after the wall balls. I was having a hard time pulling 1,000 cal/hr through those first 50 calories, which is never a hard pace for me. I was able to pick up the pace to get the final 30 calories done in about 90 seconds. Time of 18:57. I went to a dark place in the last couple of minutes on that one and it took a long time to get up off the ground. My mid-back was pretty tight almost immediately after.
If I ever do this workout again (no redo) I think I’ll try 8 rounds of 3-15-2-10 which was my original plan last night. Casey used it and finished in 17:17. Or 2 rounds of 2-2-12 while fresh and then 8 rounds of 2-12-2-10 might work well. Or 4-4 Muscle-ups and then 8 Rounds of 2-15-2-10 with the idea being to get 10 muscle-ups knockout out while fresh. I think I was placing too much emphasis on the rower, which isn’t going to “win” this workout and can be used as recovery while still accumulating reps.
I’m going to keep coming back and updating this post with other good strategy ideas that could work for me.
4-4 MU, 12x 10 WB + 2 MU, 4x 15 cal + 2 MU, 20 cal
Definitely getting sore from squatting. Out in the garage during lunch.
Year of the Engine – Polarized
32:00 Airdyne
** Endurance pace with 7s sprint @ 6, 12, 18, 24, 30
I did 883 calories and 18.7 km.
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
4 Rounds
10 PVC Passes
5 HR Push-ups
5 Ring Rows
10 Jumping Jacks
Strength
5 Sets
10 Strict HSPU
10/10 Kroc Rows (53# KB)
I’m benching tomorrow, so I did these strict handstand push-ups instead of 5×10 bench press. Had a good 2-3 minutes of rest between each set, but it was still surprising to get all five sets of HSPU unbroken. I went wider with my hands on my last set, which was a lot easier.
Conditioning
15:00 AMRAP
Buy-in:
10-20-30-40 H2H KB Swings (53#)
3-4-5-6 Muscle-ups
AMRAP
6 Burpees
30 Double Unders
It was programmed as American swings and 10-20-30-40 pull-ups. The Rx+ version was muscle-ups and I really wanted to do some. I knew I’d get done with the muscle-ups much faster than doing 100 total pull-ups, so I was going to have the joy of a lot more time doing the AMRAP. Win-lose? I finished the buy-in at 6:11. Felt good on the rings and was able to do each set unbroken, even with all the hip fatigue from the swings. Started out a little slow on the burpees, but then, I think, in the third round, Michelle (who was coaching) joined in to push me. I figured she’d drop out soon enough, so didn’t pick up my pace much. When it was clear she wasn’t going away and I saw there were only a few minutes left I was able to speed up my burpees. I ended up doing nine rounds plus the six burpees.
I don’t think 18 muscle-ups is a good sub for 100 pull-ups. There is no way I would have done the 30 and 40 pull-ups unbroken, so I should have been forced to break up larger numbers of MU. Around 30 total MU would have been pretty solid. Doing 3-6-9-12 would have stuck to the 1x-2x-3x-4x pattern and forced me to break 9 and 12 in to 2-4 sets.
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
Yesterday I got up early to play in a golf outing. It was a long day and I didn’t feel like doing anything when I got home, so I made it a rest day. At the gym for open gym at 10am this morning.
No B.S. Bench Press
10×45#
8×95
4×135
4×165
2×195
2×215
2×235
2×255
3x2x260
I was hoping to push near my old 2RM of 275 as a test, but I didn’t have it today. The suggested range for the four working sets was 255-265, but I didn’t even feel good enough to try 265, because I was struggling with 260. To be honest, unracking 255 and doing the double felt sketchy as fuck for some reason. Maybe all of the dumbbell shoulder presses I did on Friday? WHOOP did have me at only 31% recovered this morning.
This completes one cycle of the program. Instead of testing a max next week I’m going straight to a second cycle, since I know I’m not capable of 300 yet. After today, I might be further away than I thought.
The last 12 months of bench pressing. I love the progression.
Conditioning
5-4-3-2-1 Muscle-ups
5-4-3-2-1 Bear Complex (135#)
10-8-6-4-2 Bar-facing Burpees
I’m not sure if my muscle-ups have ever felt better in a workout, especially that first set of five. All sets were unbroken on the rings. I dropped the bar after every bear complex, which was the worst part of this workout. Looks like I haven’t done the combo since late in 2017 and my barbell conditioning is definitely lacking with how little I’ve been lifting due to injuries over the last year or two. Tried to catch my breath a little bit on the burpees, but keep moving. My first round was a little under 3:00 and I finished in 9:43. Where I could make up time would be picking the barbell back up quicker.
Midline
2 Cycles
6 Rounds
3 Tuck-ups
3 V-ups
3 Straddle-ups
9 Side V-ups (alt sides each round)
Rest 2:00
Cruised through the first two rounds in a minute and then slowed considerably. My first cycle was done in 3:49 and my second cycle took 3:47, which is a big surprise. I think I was just a lot more consistent the second time through. With the rest it took 9:36 to get through everything.
After watching the Games, it was time to jump on the rower.
Year of the Engine – Interval
12 Rounds
2:00 Row
1:00 Rest
Could I hold a 1:46/500m pace? No! After getting a little over halfway through round one I made the call to cut back the pace. It’s amazing how much an extra second can change the feel on the rower. I got 562-563 meters every round.
It was hot and humid in the garage. This workout rolled past 200,000 meters since I bought the rower back in January.
Here is a neat comparison. The left chart is my heart rate from March 15th, doing 12x500m with 1:00 rests, where my average pace was 1:49.8. The right chart is today’s workout, which was a pace over three seconds faster and longer time duration since it was two minutes instead of a set 500 meters.
Hard to believe my abs aren’t very sore from the 150 sit-ups on Sunday. Yesterday I walked 18 holes of golf. Out in the garage around noon.
Year of the Engine – Interval
6 Rounds
4:00 Row
2:00 Rest
I got exactly 1,121 meters every time. Huge range of emotions to get through this one. When I got through three I thought it was possible to keep my 1:47/500m pace. When I got though four I had doubts. When I had one left I figured I could hang on. With two minutes to go I thought I might puke. It was a great feeling of accomplishment when I made it! This was the hardest session in four months.
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
2 Rounds
5 Strict Pull-ups
5 Burpees
20 PVC passes
10 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
Shoulder Press
10×45#
5×75#
5×95#
Conditioning
10 Rounds
5 Shoulder Presses (105#)
5 Muscle-ups
12 Box Step-ups (24″)
1:00 Rest
A lot of modifications today. I did the shoulder presses instead of heavier and heavier push jerks. I probably could have used 115 pounds. The box step-ups were in place of double unders and I picked the count by seeing how many I could do in 30 seconds during round one. Both mods were due to my calf strain. Rx was 10 chin-ups, but since I was modding two movements I went with the Rx+ 3-5 muscle-ups. My palm is healing pretty well and I knew ring muscle-ups wouldn’t affect it. I went to the gym planning on doing 4 muscle-ups each round to stay unbroken, but did 5 in the first round and stuck to it. Was close to missing in the final round, but I got them all unbroken! 50 is a lot for one day. The step-ups got consciously slower to give myself a little more “rest” for my pulling to recover. I think I finished in 22:48, though it might have been 22:38 or 23:48. I didn’t record it anywhere right away and the numbers are jumbled in my head.
Kind of surprised I didn’t feel rougher from Sunday’s barbell carry. Still need to get to bed earlier though. My back seems a little tight from all of the bending over while trimming bushes last night. Shortly after noon I pulled the rower out to the back patio.
Year of the Engine – Interval
5 Rounds
4:00 Row
1:00 Rest
My goal pace was 1:49/500m. Went 1,102 – 1,101 – 1,102 – 1,102 – 1,102 meters.
Went to the 4pm class.
Warm-up
3 Sets
10 Reverse Hypers (140#)
3 Rounds
30s Assault Bike
30s Rest
3 Rounds
5 Strict Pull-ups
10 Hand Release Push-ups
10 PVC Passes
Push Jerks
5×45#
5×95#
Conditioning
5:00 AMRAP
100 Double Unders
20 Burpees
5:00 AMRAP
5 Push Jerks (135#)
10 Pull-ups
2:00 Rest
5:00 AMRAP
100 Double Unders
20 Burpees
5:00 AMRAP
5 Push Jerks (155#)
8 C2B Pull-ups
2:00 Rest
5:00 AMRAP
100 Double Unders
20 Burpees
5:00 AMRAP
5 Push Jerks (185#)
3 Muscle-ups
In the first AMRAP I got through 1+114. In the second AMRAP I did 2×5 for every round of pull-ups, getting 4+13. In the third AMRAP near the end of the second set of dubs, my left calf area started to feel weird. I made it through 1+108. In the fourth AMRAP I wanted to stick to sets of 4 chest to bars. In my second set of push jerks, my left calf gave out, so I modified the rest of the workout. I ended up doing 1 full round, 3 push jerks, and then 6×4 C2B. For the fifth AMRAP I did burpees the entire time, which was horrible. I got 63 reps. Finally to finish out in the sixth AMRAP, I did sets of 3 muscle-ups and got through 6 sets.
The muscle-ups felt good considering it was after 25 minutes of work with both types of pull-ups and I hadn’t done any on the rings since the Open because of my right shoulder. Was never really in danger of missing any, though the dip was getting hard. I wore grips for the pull-ups and C2B and then thought I might rip during the last few sets of muscle-ups because I wasn’t wearing grips. I never wear grips for the rings, but this workout was a different beast. I did 48 pull-ups, 32 chest to bar pull-ups, and 18 muscle-ups. Great gymnastics volume for one workout. Oh yeah and how could I forget 125 burpees!
I really hope I didn’t do anything serious to my leg. If I can walk and swing my plan is to golf the next two days.
I also mowed the lawn and then noticed it was my highest stain day on WHOOP, already at 8pm.
5 False Grip Ring Row (feet under me to cut down on weight)
Damn the false grip hurts!
Conditioning
E5M – 4 Sets
500m Row
15 Box Jumps (30″)
Max Muscle-ups
My goal was 3×4 muscle-ups each round, but I had a suspicion that hip fatigue would kick in from the rowing and high box jumps. Well, I’m not sure if that was the case or it was the breathing, because after round two my pace fell off a lot. I rowed 1:50-1:51 for the first two rounds and then 2:00 was a struggle for the last two. I stepped down from the box for most of the first two rounds and jumped down after that (no rebound though). On the rings I went 4-4-4, 4-4-4, 4-2-2-2, and 4-2-1-1 for a total of 42 muscle-ups. I don’t think I’ve ever accumulated that many in a workout. After finishing the box jumps I walked right over and jumped up to get that first set at fatigue and I’m really happy I was able to start with a set of four each time.
No grips (have never needed them on the rings) and no rips. The big blood blister from last Tuesday is healing well.
I think this was the end of my first set…
Skill
I did some handstand walking after class. I went 10 feet a bunch of times after just getting it on Sunday for the first time. Even got over 15 feet once! It’s feeling a lot more comfortable.
Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs 