row – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Wednesday Cable Work

I guess I can support the CrossFit brand again, since Greg Glassman is selling to a real CrossFitter and a guy who knows how to run a business. Worked out at the usual 4pm.

Warm-up

8:00 BikeErg (4,078m)
10 PVC Passes
2×10 Kip Swings
10 H2H KBS (35#)

Conditioning

30 T2B
40 cal Row
50 H2H KBS (53#)
30 T2B
40 cal Ski
50 H2H KBS (53#)

When I came up with this one, I wrote “GRIPPY!!” in my notes.

I went 12-10-8 for the first toes to bars and then 6-6-6-4-3-3-1-1-1-1, so doing something like 5×6 both times probably would have been better. The row took me about two minutes and the ski around 2:45 I think. Swings were unbroken. Finished in 11:48.

Accessory

4 Sets

10 Wide Grip Bench Press
10 Bench Press
10 Close Grip Bench Press

Used 45-95-105-115#, which is the same as last time we did this.

3 Sets

10/10 Cable Pull Down & Across (handle, 20#)

3 Sets

10/10 Cable Tricep Cross Body Extension (handle, 20#)

4 Sets

10 Overhead Tricep Cable Extensions (rope, 35#)

Took some more videos so I can hopefully get out a blog post about the cable pulley system soon. It’s getting so much use!

Soak up the Sun

My back was a little worse through the night and when I woke up this morning. Could feel it a bit here and there through the day. My hands ached this morning as I sat and drank my coffee. Worked out at 2pm today.

Warm-up

Monster Walks
10 Monster Band Squats
20 PVC Passes

Midline

4 Rounds

12/12 Hanging Oblique Raise
12 Weighted V-ups (20# MB)
12/12 Wood Chopper (30# DB)
30s Seated Plate Twist (10# plate)

Took exactly 16:00!

Conditioning

40:00 AMRAP

40/30 cal BikeErg
30s Rest
40 DB Push Jerks (30/20# DBs)
30s Rest
400m Run
30s Rest
40/30 cal Row
30s Rest

I mapped out the 400 meters to be out to edge of Dundee and back. Originally I had the SkiErg programmed, but replaced it with the push jerks to break it up a bit.

We took the machines and dumbbells outside for some sun. I held a pretty steady pace on everything. Went 24-16 on the first and fourth rounds of jerks and 15-15-10 on the second and third. Finished 4 rounds plus 40 calories on the bike with 16 seconds to spare on the clock. I really like that bike and am so glad I bought one.

Another Ben Grinder

Yesterday my left achilles felt weird, but I didn’t notice it while walking 18 holes on the golf course. Could feel it after today’s conditioning too. Must be from the calf raises I did early in the week.

Warm-up

Monster Walks

Strength

Back Squat

10×45#
10×95
5×135
5×165
5×185
5×205
5×225
3×245

Haven’t had any real weight like that on my back since the end of December.

Conditioning

E3M – 30:00

15/12 cal Row
15 Burpees
30 Double Unders

Similar to last Friday, this one is from the old Ben Smith programming.

Round	2018/09/05	2020/05/08
1	2:02	1:52
2	2:01	2:01
3	2:00	1:51
4	2:00	1:48
5	1:59	1:48
6	2:00	1:51
7	2:00	1:51
8	1:59	1:48
9	1:59	1:50
10	1:59	1:47

When I did this before I never missed a double under. Today I missed three times in the second round and then once in rounds three, six, and seven (all 1:51). Pulled over 1,500 cal/hour throughout and picked up the pace a little over the last few rounds. Total improvement of 92 seconds over the ten rounds!!

Midline

5 Sets

- 10 Parallette Shoot Throughs
- 30 Russian Twists

The shoot throughs are much easier when not paired with V-ups!

Now the 500

Yesterday afternoon I did about two hours of yard work, which probably didn’t help the back tightness I’m feeling this morning.

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne (95 cals, 2.46 km)

Time Trial

500m Row

Could I beat 1:23.5 from January of 2016?

Yes! I was 0.5 seconds behind pace at the 400 meter mark, but not completely dying in the final 100 pulled out the 0.3 second PR!

Weightlifting

Power Clean

6×45#
6×75
3×95
3×115
3×135
10:00 EMOM
- 3×155

Wow, it’s been awhile! Didn’t want to get crazy, but get the feel for a bar again. I did all touch-n-gos on the warm-ups. Started out doing quick singles in the EMOM for five rounds and then did TnG for the other five. Felt good to move some weight again.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

30 Push-ups
15 Deadlifts
700m Run (around the block)

I decided ty try larger sets of push-ups than normal since there was a big break with the run; did 18-12 each time. I did 8-7 for deadlifts with a few breaths. Seemed like I was able to push the run a little today. Finished in 14:20.

After lunch I’ll mow the lawn and maybe try out an idea for a muscle-up location. May do some rehab tonight.

A Grinder from Ben

My triceps started getting sore yesterday afternoon. I took a break from work in the afternoon for some bodyweight step downs and banded wood chops. In the evening I did 10-8-6 of the McGill Big 3. Today starts another three day weekend for me, which has been a nice reset every few weeks during this weird time we’re living in.

Warm-up

Monster Walks

Conditioning

E4M for 40:00

20 cal Row (goal pace: 1,500 cal/hr)
15 Burpees
40 DU

This is from late 2018, when the gym followed Ben Smith’s programming. I really miss his workouts! I’m five pounds lighter, so could I go faster?

Round	2018/11/07	2020/05/01
1	2:10	2:06
2	2:13	2:08
3	2:15	2:09
4	2:11	2:08
5	2:13	2:12
6	2:13	2:10
7	2:12	2:09
8	2:17	2:09
9	2:13	2:08
10	2:11	2:04

💥 💥 💥 Damn right! Faster every single round for a total of 45 seconds.

Last time I did this workout I tried to keep > 1,400 cal/hr and today I was able to do over 1,500, while still keeping a solid pace on my burpees. My only misses on the rope were two back-to-back misses in round five with about five reps to go. This workout is such a grinder.

Gymnastics / Midline

3 Rounds

20 Pull-ups (10 kip, 10 butterfly)
20 V-ups
60 Hollow Body Flutter Kicks
1:30 Rest

Wore grips and chalked up before starting. The pull-ups felt good and happy to be able to do six sets of ten unbroken between the two styles. The core work got rough after doing the first round unbroken; I had to do 4×5 v-ups and 3×20 flutter kicks. Took me 9:14 to finish.

Point One Away

I did not sleep great on Sunday night and I’m sure having a large Coke from McDonald’s at 9pm was the main contributor to that. Yesterday I went out and messed around for 5 holes of golf. Felt great to be out on the course! In the afternoon I felt my pecs getting sore from the 100 toes to bars I did Sunday. My quads were still sore from Saturday too. Planned to do PT work, but it didn’t happen. Went to bed early again and got over 9 hours of sleep. Out in the garage at noon after my weekly video call.

Warm-up

3:00 Airdyne (63 cals, 1.58 km)
Monster Walks
Shoulder Press (done after row)
- 10×45#
- 5×75
- 5×95
- 5×115

Time Trial

250m Row

2020-04-28-250m-row

So close to matching my old 38.3 PR from July 2016. If I could have started like I did for my 100m PR the other day I would have had it. Thought about making a second attempt, but I was breathing hard for several minutes and decided to move on.

Strength

5 Sets

5 Shoulder Press (130#)
8 Lateral Raises (15#)

Felt strong throughout and was able to keep a solid core.

Conditioning

2 Rounds (2:00 work, 1:00 rest)

Strict Pull-ups
Squat Jumps
DU
Burpees

I got 29-27 pull-ups, 57-66 squat jumps, 164-176 double unders, and 34-39 burpees. The wind coming through the back door was messing up my rope, I shit you not! Took me until about thirty seconds through round two to notice. This has happened to me out in the driveway before. Thrilled for all the numbers to go up in the second attempts, other than pull-ups, which is understandable. For pull-ups I think I went 5-3-2 then singles in the first round and 7×2 then singles in round two.

Surprising Row PRs

I did housecleaning all morning and took a break around 2pm.

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne (103 cals, 2.55 km)

Time Trials

My BTWB rowing speed scores are way off due to intervals counting, which throws off my fitness level, so I’m going to do some rowing tests this week.

Row

100m – 15.1
100m – 15.2
1,000m – 3:09.9

That’s a PR for 100m by 0.4 seconds (back in Dec 2015)!! I used 7.5 on the damper first and then maxed it out to 10 on the second try. Reset it back to 5 for the longer row. I looked up my old 1k time, which was 3:11.2 from March 2015. So I set a goal to hold 1:35 as long as possible. Felt good at 500 meters and then it started to hit me with about 300 to go. Was able to hold on for a 1.3 second PR. I really didn’t expect a PR from either row. I’d say all of the single leg work is paying off since I haven’t done much rowing all year.

Really good splits for the 1k!! I was fucking wrecked after that and rested about a half hour!! Can you say Fran Lung?

Conditioning

4 Rounds

25 T2B
700m Run (around block)

The original version had 25 burpee and 20 toes to bars each round, but I adjusted after the rowing. Went for larger sets and surprised myself by being able to do 9-9-7 every round. First three runs were pretty chill and I picked up the pace on the final one. Finished in 23:36.

Then I had a really late lunch and finished housecleaning.

Not a Good One

Yesterday was a rest day. I did do 10-8-6 of the McGill Big 3 though. Second day in a row in the green for WHOOP, which hasn’t happened in weeks! Out in the garage at 4pm today.

Warm-up

Monster Walks

Conditioning

3 Rounds

50 cal Ski/Row/Ski
20 T2B
25 Burpees
5/5/5/5 Hang DB C&J (50/35#)
100 DU

This was supposed to be a 40:00 AMRAP, but I felt a shot of pain in my back while bending over in the third round of double unders. So I finished the set and quit with three rounds in 30:57. I started on ski, so then did the row, and ski once more. I got more comfortable with the toes-to-bars each round and did 4×5 that third time. Burpees were horribly slow. I held on to the dumbbell each set which I was happy with.

This workout is one of my worst creations and definitely too much back flexion this early in the comeback. Hopefully I wake up fine in the morning.

Hello Barbell, my Old Friend

Yesterday my quads and ass were a little tight and sore. I worked the speed bag a couple of times for a few minutes and I’m already getting the hang of it. I took an awesome nap before a late lunch. Didn’t end up doing any PT or core work for the day.

Last night I slept 9.5 hours! Out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne (99 cals, 2.51 km)
Monster Walks

Conditioning

“Jackie”

1,000m Row
50 Thrusters (45/35#)
30 Pull-ups

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this girl WOD on my TODO list and didn’t end up doing it. Using an empty bar seemed like a good way to ease back in to the barbell. I rowed in 3:40 with my steady 1:50 metcon pace. Unbroken but way too slow on the thrusters. I was cautious with my back and not knowing how 50 reps would feel. I could have gone much faster. Finished those at 6:20. The pull-ups were much harder than I expected. I started out 7-5-5 I think and then like 3s and 2s. Pathetic. Finished at 7:45.

Accessory

2 Sets

3:00 Banded Bear Hug Marches (30# Slam Ball)
2:00 Rest
3:00
- 12/12 Lateral Step-ups (24″)
- 12/12 Banded Bulgarian Split Squats (red, 3 count descent)
2:00 Rest

Got the idea for the banded split squats from Eramo again. The timing of the reps I chose for the two movements in the second three minutes was damn near perfect, giving just a little extra rest before the two minute clock started.

Then I did some of my floor PT exercises. Was hoping to get in my core work later in the evening, but didn’t get to it.

Couldn’t Form Words

Out in the garage at 4pm. Was up to about 65° outside!!

Warm-up

10:00 Airdyne (192 cals – 4.94 km)
Monster Walks
20 Air Squats

Strength Conditioning

5 Sets

15/12 cal Row
10 DB Lunges (50/35# DBs)
20 Plyo Lunges
30 Walking Lunges
2:00 Rest

This was based on a squatting version from Kristi Eramo, which she gave as a substitute for heavy back squats. I went unbroken and it was fucking brutal. Took a little over 21 minutes. I got a little light headed after and felt pretty wrecked. Wasn’t sure if I was going to continue.

Conditioning

42-30-18 Air Squats
21-15-9 HR Push-ups
Rest 4:00 and repeat

I was really slow on the air squats. Took me 4:28 and 4:22 for a total of 12:50 with the rest. I started to have an episode (similar to something in 2017) where I couldn’t come up with words, which was kind of scary. My friends were really concerned and called one of our Doctor friends over. I had a mountain dew right away and then a bunch of other fluids. I started feeling better after about 90 minutes or so and was able to think properly again and come up with words. Maybe it was the warmer day, lack of recent sleep, or not enough carbs (which is sort of what it initially felt like). 🤷🏻‍♂️