Pull-up – Page 13 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Strict EMOM

I’m still sore from Barbara. Could feel some tightness in my low back this morning that seemed to be from the reverse hypers I did yesterday. Before lunch I got on the rower in the garage.

Engine Builder – Anaerobic

5 Rounds

400m Row
5:00 Rest

To improve on a month ago my goal was a pace of 1:35/500m, which I beat without a problem. My splits were 1:15.9, 1:15.5, 1:15.3, 1:15.2, and 1:15.0. It always feels good to get negative splits and I was able to recover really well in the five minutes, which probably means I should be pushing harder for this type of workout. Supposed to go at 90-95%, but it’s hard to know what that is exactly, so maybe I’m my recovery is just improving. Averaged 1:34.2 and was 14 seconds faster overall than a month ago.

Went to the 4pm class, which was a small one today.

Warm-up

5:00 on a machine
2 Rounds
- 5 Strict Pull-ups
- 10 Hand Release Push-ups
2 Rounds
- 5 Inchworms
- 10 PVC Passes

Gymnastics Strength

10:00 EMOM

5 Strict C2B Pull-ups
5 Strict Ring Dips

Was programmed as 5 muscle-ups (same as last week), but my right shoulder is still bothering me, so I’m not doing those any time soon. Did strict pull-ups last week in this format, so tried chest to bars today. I did 3-2 for the first three rounds of pull-ups, but then did singles for the rest of the way. Dips were all unbroken.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

10 Deadlifts (155#)
20 Wall Ball (20#, 10′)

Knew I wasn’t trying the Rx 225. Thought about 185, but settled on 155 and figured I’d just be faster. Warmed up with 10×45, 5×95, and 5×125. My hamstrings started to feel tight in the 3rd set of deadlifts, but overall I felt good in this one, going unbroken on everything. Finished in 6:23.

Accessory

3 Sets

Dumbbell Curl 21s (25#)
1:00/1:00 Single Leg Stand

Did the T Nation A version again for 21s. I could really feel the stands in my glutes after doing those deadlifts.

Beat Barbara

The strained muscle in my back is feeling better and better. My low back has felt pretty good and not feeling any affects from the cleans on Friday. Hamstrings are still a little sore from the GHRs. Went to open gym at noon.

Warm-up

5:00 Assault Bike (46 cals)
Dead Hang
Bottom Squat Hold
Kip Swings

Conditioning

Barbara
5 rounds, each round for time

20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 AbMat Sit-ups
50 Air Squats
3:00 Rest

This workout has never been a strength of mine, but was hoping I could go sub 20 today for a big PR. I knew it was a big ask to think I could average less than four minutes per round, especially if you look at my history of rounds. New strategy today though. I wanted to try all sets of 5 for pull-ups and push-ups with very short rests.

Worked out really well! My rests got a little longer between pull-ups and push-ups, but still very short. It felt like my sit-ups slowed down the most and I was able to keep pushing myself on the squats. Crushed my goal and went 18:44 for a PR by nearly three minutes! When I came in at exactly four minutes in round four I pushed hard in that final round trying to make sure it was better because I really wanted 4:00 or better when it was my goal to average that round time.

Date	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
Sep 22, 2012	4:23	4:26	4:26	4:33	4:27	22:15
Nov 16, 2014	3:37	4:12	4:29	4:59	5:07	22:24
Apr 16, 2017	3:52	4:06	4:19	4:42	4:38	21:37
Mar 31, 2019	3:27	3:41	3:37	4:00	3:59	18:44

Something fun to think about, with no way to know, is what contributed most to this improvement? Am I really that much fitter than 2 years ago? Doubt it. Is the Engine Builder program already paying off? Maybe a little bit. Did my lighter body weight help? Definitely some. How much did the new strategy help? Probably a lot. The PR is probably due to a combination of all of these things.

Accessory

3 Sets

30 Arms Only Rowing Strokes
30 Rower Curls

Started with the damper at 1, then 2, and finally 3. This was a huge arm pump! Everyone was laughing at our unique use of the rowers.

Strength

Bench Press

5×45#
5×95
5×125
5×155
5x5x185

Didn’t have much left in the upper body for benching, but good to hit it fatigued for something different.

After the Duke game I finished the 4th week of Engine Builder.

Engine Builder – Interval

3k Row
3:00 Rest
2k Row

My goal was to hold a 1:50/500m pace through both, which I thought would be extremely difficult after already having done a long workout. I did it for the 3k with a time of 10:59.5. I couldn’t hold on during the second half of the 2k, finishing with a time of 7:24.7, which is only 4.7 seconds off that goal. Calories were 221 and 145.

To be honest, it turned out better than I expected, especially after 250 squats this morning.

I really love having a rower at home and the numbers don’t lie, especially this month after starting Engine Builder.

This doesn’t tell the whole story though, because I also do plenty of rowing in class at the gym. Here’s a chart from BTWB for rowing distances.

Three months in, 2019 is nearly my second biggest year for rowing. The chart for rowing calorie workouts shows a different story.

After I looked into these charts, it makes a lot more sense that 2015 had been my best Open finish until this year. In my opinion rowing is the best way to improve your engine.

Back at Class

I’m still sore in my quads a little bit from 19.5! I strained one of my left spinal erectors on Sunday, so add that to the list of shit bothering me. I was definitely glad for the rest day yesterday. After my morning meeting I hopped on the rower and did 733 meters in 3:00 to warm up.

Engine Builder – Max Aerobic Power

20 Rounds

30s Row
30s Rest

Got to > 1,600 cal/hr by the 4th pull and then held 1,650-1,750, though was over 1,800 at times too. My starting leg drive faded in the second half of the workout so I had to hold a higher pace after getting the flywheel up to speed. I got exactly 13 calories each time for 260 total and went 3,105 meters for an average of 155.25 with a range of 156-154. A few weeks ago when it was 18 rounds, my average was 147.4 meters with a range of 150-145. Much better in every aspect today. Most of the improvement probably comes from having a better idea of what pace I’m capable of.

Went to the gym at 4pm, my first class (not counting Open workouts) since March 6th when I tweaked my back.

Warm-up

3 Rounds

10 cal Bike
10 Kip Swings
10 Push-ups

Gymnastics

10:00 EMOM

5 Strict Pull-ups
5 Strict Ring Dips

In the seventh minute I started doing 3-2 on the pull-ups.

Conditioning

Partner Workout

100 cal Assault Bike
100 Sumo KB Deadlifts (40kg)
100 Burpees

I worked with Weston and Brandi who did their part at the same time. The were on rowers and did regular deadlifts. I actually think it may be quicker to rack up calories on the Assault Bike for 20-30 seconds with rests because I think I was under 30 seconds most rounds. It just wears on you more because I was really slowing down by the 4th and 5th ones. We split the deadlifts up in 10s and the burpees in 5s. Took us around 12:43.

Accessory

4 Sets

10/10 Single Leg Hip Thrusts (20″ box)
20 Banded Pull-throughs (green band)

We had time so I knocked out some butt stuff. Single leg hip thrusts are much harder than glute bridges!

1904

I actually recovered really well after the travel due to some periods of deep sleep even though I wasn’t in bed as long as I’d like. I did a lot of walking this morning and got a lot of sun, then went to CrossFit 1904, where Bryan coaches and trains, by 3pm.

My back is getting a lot better each day and I haven’t had a shot of pain that stops me in my tracks so far today. Didn’t want to lift anything and risk tweaking it again, but I could bench press.

Strength

Bench Press

10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×165
5×195
5×215
5×225
5×235

Up five pounds from the last time I did sets of fives.

Conditioning

5 Rounds each (I go you go)

10 cals Assault Bike
10 Burpees
10 Strict pull-ups

I was able to push it on the Assault Bike, my back felt pretty good on the burpees and then I did quick singles for all of the pull-ups. We finished in 15:57.

My back is tight after the work, but was able to get in a good sweat without tweaking things more.

I hope 19.4 is something I can do on Friday!

Hump Day

This right shoulder may have something going on. It feels like other times I’ve had an issue. I’m really hoping it’s a couple day thing that passes. Like other times I didn’t really do anything in a workout and I started feeling it on Monday when I only did cardio work. Maybe the cumulation of workouts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?

I got a great night of sleep. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but I got one of the WHOOP bands last week and I’m really liking it. Nice to have sleep tracking again and the recovery scores and data really push me to improve these other areas of my life. Before I got out of bed I was thinking I’d wait and row before lunch, but after I got moving I felt like getting it done.

Engine Builder – Max Aerobic Power

18 Rounds

30s Row
30s Rest

Tried to get down to 1:37-1:39/500m by the 5th pull and towards the end I realized I could be using my legs better in those first pulls to get up to speed sooner. My overall average pace was 1:41.6/500m and 1,446 cal/hr, which would be 216 calories. There isn’t a way to go back and see cals for each interval, but I saw that the last one was 12 so the maths work. Meters for each interval were 148-150-148-147-147-148-147-146-145-147-147-147-147-147-147-149-148-149 to total 2,654, for an average of 147.4 and a range of 150-145.

I thought this heart rate graph was interesting in several ways.

I think I’m actually liking the cardio to start the day! Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

5:00 Machine
10 Hang Power Cleans (45#)
10 Front Squats (45#)
10 Hang Squat Cleans (45#)

Weightlifting

2 Hang Power Cleans + 1 Hang Squat Clean

Wore my lifters again and put the belt on starting with 185. Tried to drop under the heavier power cleans more instead of getting really wide with my feet like I normally do.

As I was wheeling out the Assault Bike, my back started to lock up and it felt like a tweak. I tried to stretch it and roll on the floor. Seemed good enough to do the workout and if it is a tweak I know it doesn’t gets worse after it’s already happened. I guess my body didn’t like the combination of squat snatches followed by 117 deadlifts yesterday and then the cleans today.

Conditioning

10 Rounds

6 Strict Pull-ups
10 cal Assault Bike
25 Double Unders

All single pull-ups. Obviously. I used a shorter bar than usual, got my arms in to extension and picked my feet off the ground. Did my pull-up, dropped from the top to skip the descent, and then right back on the bar for the next rep. There is no reason to do sets unless you can immediately jump on the bar and bust out every set unbroken.

I started out around 70 RPM, fell in a rhythm around 68, and then realized I could pick up the pace for the last 3 rounds. Am I getting better on the bike or was this just not a taxing workout on the lungs? Probably the latter. My dubs felt great and I never missed. Finished in 15:38.

Accessory

Dumbbell Curls – 21s

7-7-7 @ 25#
7-7-7 @ 20#
7-7-7 @ 20#

Tried a new route by increasing the dumbbells on the first set this session. Interesting that the end of sets two and three didn’t feel like as much of a struggle as it had been using 20s for every set.

I did some foam rolling on my back and will get on the inversion table tonight. Hopefully I wake up fine in the morning and I’m over the hump. Fingers crossed that this isn’t a back tweak and my shoulder feels better too!

Done Early

My neck and low back are a little tight from looking up at the wall for 152 reps. My shoulders are a little sore too, but my lower body seems fine so far. I set an alarm to get up for the 9am class since my rest schedule is changed for the Open.

Warm-up

5 Rounds

1:00 Run
3 Strict Pull-ups
5 Push-ups
10 Air Squats

I started to feel my legs more every set of squats.

Strength

Bench Press

10×45#
5×95
5×135
5×165
5×195
5×215
5×230

I hadn’t looked at my logs since the workout went up after getting to the gym, so I couldn’t remember what I’ve been lifting. Nice surprise to smoke the 5×215 I did a month ago. Gains baby! We were on a clock, so maybe working up with fewer sets made a big difference.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

50s Double Unders
10 Push Jerks (115#)
30s Plank
10 Ring Rows
20s Hollow Hold
10s Bent Hollow Hold

This was really an alternating EMOM with 3 stations, but it was easier to record on BTWB like this. I started with a nice set of 75 double unders, but missed a couple of times in most rounds, so was usually getting 65-75 reps in about 45 seconds due to transition time. The push jerks weren’t too bad and the ring rows felt really solid. This workout got a lot sweatier than I was expecting because there really wasn’t any rest with the holds.

I wasn’t excited about moving so early, but it feels good to have a workout done for the day.

Kip It

My biceps started to get sore yesterday afternoon. I may have to start doing 21s every week.

Warm-up

8:00 EMOM

Min 1: 6 cal Row + Air Squat Hold
Min 2: 6 cal Row + Active Bar Hang
Min 3: 6 cal Row + Air Squats
Min 4: 6 cal Row + Ring Rows
Min 5: 6 cal Row + Step Ups
Min 6: 6 cal Row + Jumping Pull Ups
Min 7: 6 cal Row + Box Jumps
Min 8: 6 cal Row + Kipping Swings

Then we did some band mobility on our hips and front rack.

Strength

10:00 EMOM – Front Squats

3×95
3×115
3×135
3×155
3×165
5x3x175

Conditioning

3 Rounds

10 Front Squats (135#)
15 Pull-ups (Gymnastic Kip)
20 Box Jumps (24″)

Each round started with a squat clean and obviously never dropped the bar. It was fun being forced to use a regular kip today, which allowed me to go unbroken for each set. I jumped down (no rebound though) on the 1st and 3rd round of box jumps. Should have done round two as well, but I slacked off. Probably shouldn’t have taken extra breathers in between movements or at least not as long as I was. Finished in 7:08.

Skill

Worked on my handstand balance and walking for about 10 minutes.

Still Tight

My back was still really tight this morning, though it did seem to improve over the day. Still sore from Sunday in all the same places. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

3 Rounds

4 Sets
- 2 Lunges
- PVC Pass
8 Scap Pull-ups
8 Behind Neck Presses (45#)
50’ Bear Crawl

Barbell Warm-up

7 Snatch Grip Deadlifts (45#)
5 Dip, Drive, High Pull (45#)
5 High Hang Muscle Snatch (45#)
5 High Hang Power Snatch (45#)
5 Hang Power Snatch (45#)

Weightlifting

3 Snatch Deadlifts + 3 Hang Power Snatches

2×45#
75
95
115
135

Nothing too heavy today. That doesn’t mean it was easy though! We were working up to a moderate weight before the metcon.

Conditioning

13:00 AMRAP

13 Hang Power Snatch (95#)
13 Pull-ups

I went 5-4-4 on both movements until my 6th round when I held on for the clock doing 5-6 for snatches. Finished with 5+11. Feeling good on my pull-ups lately and should try pushing to bigger sets. My thumbs were shot in the hook grip, though I’m not very good with stringing together hang snatches. After a round or two I pretty much started resetting on every rep, which takes a lot of time and you’re still holding the bar.

Getting back to butterfly pull-ups, I’m doing the Camille regrip, which is giving me a blister in my palm like she always gets. Or at least it does when I don’t wear grips, which I didn’t for “Danny” on the 1st due to the presses and today. The old blister tore away today and I started a little bit of a new one on my left hand. Don’t seem to have anything on my right palm though.

After Christmas the gym switched over to NCFit programming. It’s definitely different from Ben Smith’s Affiliate Design, which was some of my favorite programming. I’ve liked some of the workouts so far, but not sure what to think yet. Give me a couple more weeks before I form an opinion. 🙂

Uneven Dumbbells

Back to work yesterday and it was a rest day. My lats and biceps are sore. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

3 Rounds
- 1:30 Row (1:00 moderate / :30 recover)
- 10 DB Sumo DL (30# DBs)
- 20s DB Front Rack Hold (30# DBs)
- 10 Up Downs
- 20s Dead Hang
9 DB Deficit Push-ups
9 Ring Rows
7 DB Up Downs (30# & 40# DBs)
7 Jumping Negative Pull-ups
5 DB Burpees (30# & 40# DBs)
5 Strict Pull-ups

Conditioning

8 Rounds

250m Row
10 DB Burpees (30# DB & 40# DB)
5 Strict Pull-ups

The Rx was 35#, but we only have one dumbbell that weight. Tried out kettlebells but that was no bueno. Settled on using a 30# and a 40#, then just swapped hands every round. Worked out well actually and as a bonus got in some unilateral movement. I started off in the low 1:50/500m on the rower and then settled in at 1:55-1:57 the rest of the way. Did all singles on the bar so I didn’t have to waste energy on the negative or take long breaks between doubles or triples. Finished in 21:10.

Danny with Jumps

Stayed in last night, but was up way too early. Nice to get some things done though. Went to open gym at noon.

Conditioning;

“Danny” – 20:00 AMRAP

30 Box Jumps (24″)
20 Push Press (115#)
30 Pull-ups

I’ve done this once, two years ago, with all step-ups. I got 3+46 then. Today I got 3+53. Went 11-9 on the first three rounds of push presses and then 6-5-5-4 with shorter rest at the end. Pull-ups were all in done 5×6.

Nice to start 2019 with a PR! 🙂

I got a blood blister in the middle of my left palm. I’ve never had something there. Maybe it was because I was regripping the bar on a lot of my reps and I’m still getting used to the butterfly again. I didn’t wear any grips on my hands due to the push presses.

Midline

2 Rounds

20s L-Sit
30 Russian Twists (45# plate)
30 Alternating V-ups
20s L-Sit
30 Weighted Sit-ups (30# slam ball)
30 Hollow Rocks

My abs were dying in the first round of v-ups! Very nasty and took 14:17!