Pendlay Row – Page 5 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Legs On Fire

Warm-up

Ladder Footwork Drills
20 PVC Pass Thrus

Accessory

5 Pendlay Rows (45#)
5 Pendlay Rows (95#)
5 Pendlay Rows (125#)
8 Evil Wheels
5 Pendlay Rows (155#)
8 Evil Wheels
5 Pendlay Rows (175#)
8 Evil Wheels
5 Pendlay Rows (185#)

Used an underhand (supinated) grip on the rows. I have a feeling I’m going to have sore abs tomorrow. Usually stick to sets of 4-5.

Grip / Carry Work

400m Pinch Plate Carry (2×25#)

Getting easier to go longer without having to rest.

Conditioning

4 Cycles

20 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
20 Air Squats
200m Run
3:00 Rest

My rounds were 1:57, 1:55, 1:57, and 1:58. That final round of air squats was getting me and I had to take 2-3 brief stops instead of busting them out non-stop. Was able to pick up the pace since it was the last run to make up for the lost time. This was exactly the leg burner I planned it to be; did not want to head out the door running after the 40 squats.

Played 18 holes of golf, but rode in the cart. I’m going to skip ROMWOD today and make it up tomorrow.

Grip It

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
3x
- Snatch complex (3 Muscle Snatch + 3 Snatch Press + 3 OHS)
  - 45#
  - 75#
  - 95#
- 10 DU
Squat Snatch
- 3×95#
- 2×115#
- 1×135#

Conditioning

5-4-3-2-1 Squat Snatch (135#)
50-40-30-20-10 DU

Did this about 18 months ago in 5:18 by going unbroken on the snatches. Went out too fast and missed my second rep out front! Slowed down to stay in control and never missed again. Missed 1 dub to start the round of 30. Finished in 4:31 for a 47 second PR. Last time I must have been taking a lot longer rest between movements.

Accessory

20:00 EMOM (alt)

8 Strict Chin-ups
30s Handstand Hold (facing wall)
8 Pendlay Rows (135#)
8/8 Side Bends (70#)

I had to split up the chin-ups to 5-3 in the last 3 sets. A lot tougher overall than I expected.

Grip

400m Farmer’s Carry (pinch plates – 2×25#)

This is never fun. So tough on the grip! Those ridges on the plates might make it worse than if they were flat. I took a quick break about every 100 meters.

Played a quick 18 riding a cart in the afternoon and will get in 20 minutes of ROMWOD.

Hung. Over.

Late night, but in to the gym to get some work done. My quads are still extremely sore! My legs have given out several times walking today. I’m sure dancing at the wedding last night had nothing to do with it.

Warm-up

3 Sets

150′ Jog in gym
10 Sit-up to Staddle
5 Scap Pull-ups

Strength

5 Sets

6 Pendlay Rows (supinated, 135#)
6 Evil Wheels

Didn’t feel the rows in my left shoulder at all. Maybe that time away helped.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

20 Squats (20# MB)
200m Run (20# MB)

I think I finished 5 rounds plus the squats, but it might have only been 4. Guessing 5 since the final run and next round of squats took me just under 1:45. Didn’t push it today since it was a late night. I cupped my arms under the medicine ball for my squats and held it on my shoulder during the run. Tried one round with the ball an my hip and it didn’t work as well. Ball never touched the ground for the entire 10 minutes.

4 Tabata Double Unders
4 Tabata HS Hold
4 Tabata Push-ups

No additional rest going to the next movement. I tripped up way too many times and only got 106 dubs. Push-ups were tough after the handstand holds. Did 20-16-12-11.

Midline

75 V-ups

Got talked into this one. Was really feeling it in my upper abs. Kept a single steady pace the whole way. First 25 at 1:00, 50 at 1:59, and finished at 2:55.

DT Struggles

Legs felt tired last night after the running workout. Felt pretty good this morning though.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
2 Sets
- 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (10#)
- 10 Reverse Hypers (140#)
3 Sets
- 5 Ring Rows
- 5 Clean Thrusters (45#)
- 30 Double Unders

Conditioning

“DT” – 5 Rounds

12 Deadlifts (155#)
9 Hang Power Cleans (155#)
6 Push Jerks (155#)

Had been over a year and a half since I did this one. Old PR was 10:35. My plan was to try a new strategy of doing all 12 deadlifts and getting 5 cleans before dropping the bar. Then the final 4 cleans and the jerks. Followed it in the first round and it was way too fast. I think I was done at 1:07. I think the second round I did 11, 1+5, 4+6. Round 3 was the same or maybe 11, 1+4, 3, 2+6. I remember being done at about the 5 minute mark. Then the last 2 rounds were slow with too much rest. In round 4 I even dropped the bar with 2 jerks to go. Ugh! Finished at 10:02 for a 33 second PR.

The worst part for me, by far, are the hang cleans. They get so damn heavy and destroy me. Not so good when the final 2 rounds take just as long as the first 3. 😦

Accessory

4 Sets

8 Pendlay Rows (115#)
8 Good Mornings (115#)

Midline

6 Rounds

20s Hollow Rocks
20s Rest
20s L-hang (knees up)
20s Rest

Felt the burn. I have to do hangs due to my shoulder; L-sits on the rings don’t feel so good.

These last two weeks have been horrible from a diet perspective. I’ve been getting take-out every meal. Got lazy after Murph and I’ve been busing finishing up a bunch of projects at work before I go on my sabbatical. Had been avoiding the scale, so was scared to step on it this morning, but figured I should before I go on my trip. Was very surprised to see I was still under 204#. Winning! Looking forward to getting back on track when I get home from Washington, D.C. I can tell I’m not feeling as well or recovering as well with all of the junk and who knows what my macros look like.

What a Bear!

My hips and quads are all pretty sore.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
3 Sets
- 5 ATYs (5# plates)
- 15/15 Monster Walks (small red band)
- 10 Walking Lunges

Weightlifting / Cycling

5 Sets

7 rep Bear Complex

I was out of breath with the empty bar! I did 45-75-105-135-155#. Decided to count that first set because I was taking quite a bit of rest with the bar on my back during the 135 and 155 sets. Going in I thought maybe 165, but 155 was fine with me and 10# heavier than I’d done.

I did all clean thrusters, but in the final two loads I started resting after lowering the bar on to my back before doing a back thruster. Got a little rest in the hang position a few times.

Accessory

6 Sets

4 Pendlay Rows (165#, supinated)
6 Evil Wheels

I did a couple of warm-up sets on the row with 105-155#. Could feel a little pull in my left shoulder with the first two working sets, but it went away by the 3rd set. Evil wheels have become very easy for me. Maybe from the GHD work I do?

Explosive “Conditioning”

For Quality

50 Burpee Broad Jumps

Didn’t even start the clock because the focus was on the jumps and not going balls to the wall; be explosive under a little fatigue. Kept a nice steady pace and tried to get some distance with each jump. Was much harder than I expected. Feet were really digging into the end of my shoes even at 10 reps in.

I’ll get in some shoulder mobility work and e-stim.

Be a “Nancy”

Worked last week so went with the pancakes again for breakfast topped with almond butter and maple syrup. These Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes are the bomb!

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
2 Sets
- 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (10#)
- 10 Wall Squats

Conditioning

“Nancy”
5 Rounds

400m Run
15 OHS (95#)

Exactly 2 years ago, to the day, I did 16:58. At the time I hadn’t done any overhead squats in months when I was coming back from a shoulder impingement. I lost the bar on the 12th rep in the final set too.

Tried to start out fast on the run to buy some time and still push the other runs too. They did slow down though and then I picked it up in the final 200 meters. Didn’t want to have any drops with the bar that was for sure. I went right into a squat snatch on the first rep of every set. OHS felt really good, which I think has a lot to do with all of the shoulder and upper back work I’m doing. If I could improve my cycle time on the squats that’s where I could make up some more time. Wish I had worn my Garmin to be able to know round splits. Final time was 13:35, a PR by 3:23!! Run, run, run, run, run! Another monster running WOD PR.

Strength

E2M – 5 Sets

6 Pendlay Rows (145#, normal grip)
6 Good Mornings (145#)

Gymnastics

4 Tabata Rounds
- 20s L-hang
- 10s Rest
1:00 Rest
4 Tabata Rounds
- 20s HS Hold (facing)
- 10s Rest

Was on the rings for a L-sit in the first round but it was hurting my shoulder so switched to L-hangs. All done with bent knees up. Cart-wheeled up to the handstand holds since I did them facing the wall. Not much rest other than to quickly shake out the arms, but it kept me feeling fresh. I felt really solid in the hollow with just my toes on the wall an my nose right up close.

Murph Training Bonus

8 Round Tabata

20s Bottom to Bottom Air Squats
10s Rest

I did 11 reps for the first 6 rounds and took the extra rest, which wasn’t much extra by the 6th time through. Then went faster with 13 and 14 reps in the final 2 rounds. 93 total for a 6 rep PR. I don’t know of anything else that gives this kind of burn in the legs. This little 4 minute grind is starting to grow on me.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap since I had skipped it a couple of times this week already.

Run

With golf tomorrow and feeling good, I ran in the evening with a single goal of going at least 30 minutes and keeping it close to a 10 minute per mile pace. When I finished up, it was 3.26 miles in 32:37, which Runkeper says is exactly a 10:00/mile pace! I never got much slower than that overall either, so maybe I’m starting to get the hang of run pacing for once in my life. Doubt it though.

Will ROMWOD yet tonight.

Fuel

My hips, legs, and lower body in general is tight from yesterday. Put in a lot of work yesterday and a lot of loaded squats. Tough one today that I know is a long grind, but I was actually excited for the chance to redeem myself after what I felt like was a pretty poor time last year. Much cooler day today, with the temperature around 40-45°, compared to last year (May 3) being one of the hottest days of the year.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
3 Sets
- 5 ATYs (5#)
- 10 Shotguns
- 50 DU

Got every round of dubs unbroken.

Strength & Midline

E2M – 6 Sets

4 Pendlay Rows (165#, supinated)
30s Hollow Hold

Did 10×45# and 4×135# to warm-up. Second week in a row I went with the underhand grip since I had gone two in a row pronated. I feel these rows just a bit on my left shoulder.

Conditioning

kelly “Kelly” – 5 Rounds

400m Run
30 Box Jumps (24″)
30 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

There were some complications with the music last year so it wasn’t even a true time for me, but I called it 29:59, which I thought was actually shortchanging myself for how long it took me to fix the tunes. Could I push harder on the runs this year?

The first run started out a little faster, but that’s to be expected fresh. Tried to keep a steady pace on the other 4 runs. I did all step up/down on the box since that many jumps will lock up my back. They were 8 right, 8 left, 7 right, and 7 left every round. Wall balls were 4 rounds of 18-12 with a quick 5-10 second breather and unbroken to finish.

Wore my watch so I could see some of the heart rate data and get an idea of my round times. Unfortunately the HR data had a bunch of drops down near or under 100 bpm so the average is pretty useless. Does show a max HR of 166 for the workout, which should be pretty accurate.

Not easy to tell because the GPS data jumps all over the place while inside the gym doing the reps, but looks like my splits were 4:35, 4:48 (9:23), 4:57 (14:20), 5:02 (19:22), and 4:44 (24:06). During the workout when I checked my watch on each run I kept waiting to hit a wall but it never happened. I felt much better throughout than I was expecting. Really happy with how consistent those round times stayed for a long workout. The last round time came down because I did the wall balls unbroken.

I thought if I was able to PR by 3 or maybe 4 minutes that would be great. I thought a 5 round average of 5:00 was a pipe dream, but I was well under that. Improved by almost 6 minutes! I think I could almost walk fast and get that 30 minute time from last year. haha The heat could have been a big factor too.

Definitely looking forward to ROMWOD tonight!

Diet

I’m not sure if I’ve written about it, but I’ve been counting macros for about 4.5 months now. I used to absolutely hate all of the counting and keeping track, so was never able to stick with it for more than a week or two. Something shifted this time around and I’ve actually enjoyed it. My previous “diets” worked, but usually ended up with me falling off the wagon and I’d gain back the weight. My “go to” was always low carb and try to stay cleaner. Doesn’t really work in the long run for me though because I enjoy food too much.

So I read about Renaissance Periodization and figured I’d give it a shot. It’s been working brilliantly so far and I feel much better mentally and physically. I give almost no care to the quality of what I’m fueling my body with as long as the quantity lines up with my macro number goals. The fancy term for it these days seems to be “flexible dieting” or what a lot of people call IIYFM (If It Fits Your Macros). Another popular company besides RP that will help you is Working Against Gravity. While I can see the value in paying RP or WAG for help, it’s really not that hard to do on your own if you have some discipline. If I can do it, so can you. 😉

Progress was steady for the first 2 months. It leveled out during the Open, when I was having a massive 36 hours way over my macros after doing each week’s workout. I didn’t track food on a week vacation so gained a little bit there, but quickly lost that and have been stable at 203# since. The trend lines are still heading in the right direction and body fat % seems to be decreasing. We’re getting towards the end of an 8 week hypertrophy cycle at the gym so this means the muscle building has been working and muscle gain + fat loss are leveling each other out. Will be interesting to see what happens when we switch back to lifting heavy shit during our strength work. I’d like to drop closer to 195# and get the body fat down to 10-11%.

Burnin’

When I woke up and started moving in bed I was feeling some pretty good pain in my shoulder. Or maybe that was a dream because I seemed to be fine after actually getting out of bed. Legs feeling a little fatigued.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
2 Sets
- 5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (10#)
- 10 Wall Squats
- 10 Reverse Hyper (210#)
10 Close Grip Bench Press (45#)
12 OH Walking Lunges (55#)
10 Close Grip Bench Press (95#)
12 OH Walking Lunges (55#)

Strength

E3M – 5 Sets

10 Close Grip Bench Press (135#)
12 OH Walking Lunge (55# plate)

Accessory & Midline

5 Sets

5 Pendlay Rows (155#, supinated)
5 Evil Wheels

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

5 Bar-facing Burpees
5 Power Cleans (95#)
5 Push Press (95#)

Some similarities to 16.5, but felt much better without the big sets and without the squat part of thrusters. Was holding steady at under a minute per round pace and picked it up at the end to finish exactly 11 rounds with a second to spare. Everything unbroken and was able to stick with push presses all the way.

Bonus!

Tabata

Bottom to Bottom Squats

Did sets of 10 for the first 6 rounds and took the extra “rest” in the bottom position. Then kept moving in the final 2 rounds to get 13 and 14. Finished with 87 for a 9 rep PR. Coming out of that bottom hold for the final 4 rounds really is a hell of a burn.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Plyo and will do ROMWOD at some point.

Sunday Extra

Still seemed a little sore this morning but didn’t feel it by the time I got to the gym and was moving around.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
3:00 Jump Rope
3 Sets
- 5 ATYs (5#)
- 10/10 Monster Walks (small red band)

Midline

8 Rounds

20s Hollow Hold
10s Rest
20s HS Hold
10s Rest

I expected this to get tough, but it was really no issue. My hands were up really close to the wall and felt like I was barely using the wall for any support.

Strength

Warmed up with 6 reps of each using 45# and then 95#.

5 Sets – Every 2:30

6 Pendlay Rows (135#)
6 Good Mornings (135#)

I was supposed to go with a supinated grip this week but once I got into my warm-up sets I completely forgot. Whoops!

Worked up the hang power cleans with:

3×135#
3×155#
3×175#
3×195#

Conditioning

6 Rounds – E3M

3 Heavy Hang Power Clean (205#)
100m Row Sprint
* Rest additional 4:00 b/t sets 3-4

Based off some OPEX stuff again. Wore my belt for these and loosened or threw it off while moving to the rower. In the second set I tried going too fast and didn’t get the bar high enough so had to bail. After that I took an extra second to reset between reps and do the hang closer to my knees instead of such a high hang. Didn’t have intervals set on the rowing monitor, but the rows were taking me about 16-17 seconds.

First day golfing with the guys tomorrow so had to restructure my week. Didn’t want to miss pressing strength so added in a PM session. Did a ROMWOD after lunch.

Warm-up

2 Sets

5s of StrongFit Tricep & Bicep Openers (8#)
9 Shoulder Press (45#, 75#)
6/6 OH Weighted Reverse Lunges (45#, 75#)

Strength

E3M – 6 Sets

9 Shoulder Press (95#)
6/6 Overhead Reverse Lunges (95#)

Haven’t felt any discomfort in my wrists with this combo and it’s now been 3 or 4 weeks. Press reps will keep increasing for a few weeks, but should still be ok. Imagine all of this overhead time should help with jerk stability too.

Murph Prep

E30S – 10 Sets
- 8 Air Squats (40# vest)
E30S – 10 Sets
- 4 Push-ups (40# vest)

Set the clock for continuous intervals, so no extra rest going from the squats to the push-ups. Had no idea how this would go, so was a bit conservative with the rep counts.

20 Singles

I think my hips are feeling those lateral step overs from yesterday a bit. Since yesterday was basically a recovery day and nothing crazy is planned for tomorrow, I could get in today for some work. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation to start and I now will use the yellow band to replace purple when I’m at the gym since one broke. That couple extra pounds of tension makes a bigger difference than you would think. I jumped on the rower for 10 minutes real easy and went 2,328 meters.

Strength

5 Sets

5 GHRs (orange band)
10 Pendlay Rows (95#)
30s Handstand Hold

I tried my third set of glute ham raises without the band and not a good idea. I have to start pulling with my back too much. So back to the band to finish the last two sets. Glad we are putting focus into RDLs because my hammies are obviously weak. I started pulling my feet off the wall more than usual in the handstand holds. Might be time to give walking on my hands a try.

Weightlifting

Snatch

5×45#
5×75
3×95
3×115
3×135
10:00 EMOM
- 1×155#
10:00 EMOM
- 1×165#

Every rep into a full squat and I spent some extra time in the hole and in recovery. Felt pretty good with no misses on the day. No extra rest time between the EMOMs, it was a running 20 minute clock.

I did Crossover Symmetry Recovery and will get in some ROMWOD tonight.