row – Page 19 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Where Did That Come From?

I walked 18 holes yesterday. My biceps and lats are still sore from Tuesday. The muscle-ups on Wednesday may have contributed to that too. Out in the garage before lunch. Warmed up with a two minute row for 520 meters.

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

18 Rounds

15s Row
45s Rest

This is the start of phase 3, differentiation, where we work on speed and power, now that we’ve built up a solid capacity. Looking forward to an even better engine!

There were some 20 second intervals in phase one with 1:40 rests, so I wasn’t sure what kind of pace to go for these. I thought 1:26-1:28/500m might be good, but was worried about the short rest. Since there is a minimum interval time of 20 seconds on my rower I set it for 20/40, didn’t use the first interval, and waited until there was 16 seconds left before I grabbed for the handle each time. This makes the average pace and stroke rate useless though. My meters were:

82-84-85-83-86-88-86-86-87-
88-86-87-87-87-87-87-88-88

As you can see it took several intervals to get a feel for the short time duration. After finding myself, I was hitting 1:21-1:23 by the fourth pull and holding it. Using the pace calculator, 86-88 meters would be an average pace of 1:25.2-1:27.2, so I was pretty close with my guess. On BTWB I saw a guy, who I consistently beat on every other type of interval, post an average of 107 meters for this. Come on buddy, that would be an average pace of 1:10/500m!!! Not a chance. If I started at the beginning of the 20 second intervals, stopped at 15, and included the rollover meters I would have done that, so that’s probably what he did.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

16 cal Assault Bike
2 Rounds
- 20 PVC Passes
- 8 DB Shoulder Presses (25#)
- 10 Ring Rows

Strength

Shoulder Press

5×45#
5×95
5×115
3×135
1×150
1×160
1×170
1×180

Going in I was hoping to hit 165 pounds because I haven’t done much shoulder pressing in the last two years. Basically since I hit my all-time best of 185 I haven’t had an estimated max come close to that, as you can see below.

I have no idea where this 180 lift came from, but it sure was a nice surprise. Must be a lot of carry-over from the bench program. That last rep may have gotten my back though, with over-extension, even though it went up pretty smooth. Should have wore my belt! Hopefully I’m ok when I wake up tomorrow.

Conditioning

E3M – 6 Rounds

10 Push Jerks (115#)
10 Pull-Ups
10 Handstand Push-Ups
10 Power Cleans (115#)

We did something very similar almost 4 months ago and it wrecked me because I increased the reps by one each round! It was jerks, t2b, hand power cleans, and HSPU. Today actually had SDLHP, so I subbed in power cleans since I’m not risking a shoulder impingement on that stupid movement. This time instead of cutting back to 95# and increasing the reps by 1 each round I stuck to the Rx weight.

My goal was to do everything unbroken. I didn’t even come close! After 3 rounds I took the tens off and was down to 95#, just in time to start round 4. Then I was off pace the rest of the way. I was able to do every set of pull-ups unbroken, but the quick turn-around from jerks to HSPU is what really got me. They were so slow and then I had to start breaking them up in the 3rd or 4th round. I did a whole bunch of singles on the cleans because I was so blown. I kept going to finish my full 6 rounds after the clock, so it was probably 19:00-19:30. I should have gone 95# the whole way like last time.

Ten Without a Problem

My biceps and lats are sore from yesterday. Out in the garage during lunch.

Year of the Engine – Polarized

45:00 Airdyne
** Endurance with 7s sprint @ 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42

I did 1,240 calories and 26.26 km on my AD2.

2019-08-28-airdyne-hr

That wraps up the second phase (polarization) of the program. I really enjoyed the polarized workouts and am glad to see some of them continue in the next phase. I made it through the first 24 weeks of the program and can’t wait to see what progress comes during the next phase.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

3 Sets
- 10 Reverse Hypers (160#)
400m Run
2 Rounds
- 10 PVC Good Mornings
- 10 Lunges
- 5 Ring Rows
- 5 Inch Worms

Strength & Gymnastics

Deadlift

10×45#
10×115
10×165
10×195

3×10 Bar Muscle-ups

After the dumbbell snatches and box jumps my back was tight from yesterday, so definitely wasn’t pushing deadlifts today. There was an option to do muscle-ups in between sets, so I focused on those instead. I’ve never tried more than 6 before so it seemed like a good day to go for it. I got three unbroken sets of 10 without a problem, which in my new max set. I bet I can get 15+.

Conditioning

2 Rounds
- 20 cal Assault Bike
- 20 cal Row
- 20 Front Rack Lunges (115#)
15 cal Assault Bike
15 cal Row
10 Front Rack Lunges (135#)
15 cal Echo Bike
15 cal Row
10 Front Rack Lunges (135#)

So in reality it was 2 rounds of the second part as well, but the Assault bike was in use when I got there so I finished out on the Echo. Looks like the Echo knocks out the calories quicker. Noted for future workouts! I started out hotter on the first row and was able to keep over a 1,200 cal/hr pace on them all and pushed that last one extra to give myself time to finish under the 15:00 cap. Barely got it, in 14:59! I never dropped the bar during any of the lunge sets.

Time for Golf

I was in bed by 10 and got a great night of sleep. My legs feel tired today. Out in the garage by 11am.

Year of the Engine – Interval

15 Rounds

30s Row
1:30 Rest

Came up with a goal of 1:28/500m. As the rounds went on I could really feel the tightness in my low back from the heavy swings yesterday. This is noteable because with such short intervals, it’s very important to get out hot with a good start in those first 4-5 pulls or else you’re fighting to get to your average pace and the back is really important in that very first pull. I got 171-172 meters every round.

2019-08-23-row

Will be playing 9 holes tonight and then heading across the state in the morning for a weekend golf trip. I’ll try to bench press and maybe hit the final polarized workout on Sunday night.

Triple EMOM

I’m sore in my chest and lats from the 100 toes to bars on Tuesday. Went for a run at 11am.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

45:00 Run

I went 4.04 miles and was in zone 2 nearly the entire time other than the start. I should probably pick up the pace and try to get at least half of the time in zone 3.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

300m Row
2 Rounds
- 10 Strict Pull-ups
- 15 HR Push-ups
- 20 Air Squats
Power Cleans
- 4×45#
- 3×95
- 3×135

My legs felt tired from the run when I was doing those air squats.

Conditioning

10:00 EMOM (alt)
- 15 cal Row
- 3 Power Cleans (increasing weight)
3:00 Rest
10:00 EMOM (alt)
- 15 cal Assault Bike
- 3 Bench Press (increasing weight)
3:00 Rest
10:00 EMOM (alt)
- 60 Double Unders
- Max Russian KB Swings (32kg)

It worked out perfectly for me to use the same loading for both the power cleans and the bench presses. I did 165-185-205-215-225#. I missed once during every set of double unders between 12 and 20 reps, then finished the rest unbroken. Weird. My arms were so sweaty, making it hard to hold on to that heavier kettlebell. I did 27-20-20-20-28 reps.

The first two EMOMs weren’t that bad because you got significant rest. The third was a doozy though.

Max Minutes

Yesterday I walked 18 holes on the golf course. Out in the garage at noon today.

Year of the Engine – Interval

12 Rounds

1:30 Row
1:00 Rest

My goal going in was 1:45.5/500m based primarily on the other day with 10x 1:30/1:30. I beat the goal by a bit, getting 427-428 meters every round and felt good about it. Looking at results on BTWB though, I was much further behind a guy than I usually am.

2019-08-20-row

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

10 PVC Pass Throughs
10 PVC Good Mornings
10 Power Skips

Gymnastics & Weightlifting

E2M – 10 Rounds

10 Toes-To-Bar
1 Hang Power Snatch
1 Power Snatch

I had on my grips but didn’t use the finger holes. No issue getting every set of T2B unbroken. I went 95-105-115-125-135-145-155 touch-n-go. Then I dropped 165-170-175 in between reps. I had hoped to go 175-185 at the end, but after 165 I knew I didn’t have it in me. No misses though.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

1:00 Max Russian KB Swings (53#)
1:00 Max Burpee Box Jumps (24″)
1:00 Rest

It was American swings, but I’m retired from those. I put on knee sleeves to help protect my knees on the burpees. I did 35-35-36-37 swings and 11-12-12-13 burpee box jumps. Always feels good to increase reps through a workout like this.

Another golf day tomorrow!

Get One More

Played 18 holes in a cart this morning so I didn’t make it to open gym. Out in the garage at 6:30pm.

No B.S. Bench Press

8×45#
8×95
4×135
4×175
4×205
4×220
6x4x235

Every working set but the first was a struggle and several times I considered decreasing the weight. Survived!

Year of the Engine – Interval

10 Rounds

1:30 Row
1:30 Rest

My goal was a 1:43/500m pace. The first one felt good, so I made a game of trying to get one extra meter each round. Almost!

Seeing Progress

I got that right knee burpee bruise since I didn’t wear knee sleeves yesterday…

burpee-knee-bruise

I have the day off work and am heading out to a concert tonight to see Hootie and the Blowfish with Barenaked Ladies. Bring back the 90s!

Out in the garage by 10am.

Year of the Engine – Interval

6 Rounds

3:00 Row
1:00 Rest

Did this exact same thing in the first week of the polarization phase, getting 835-836 meters each round, with a pace of 1:47.7/500m. My notes say it might have been my hardest effort I had put in for rowing intervals, so I’m not sure how much better I could get 2.5 months later. I set my goal at a 1:47 pace. It wasn’t easy. I was able to keep pace through the first five and then I was way behind during that final interval, having to really push over the last 90 seconds. I got 841-841-841-840-841-840 meters for a 33 meter PR over May 31st.

2019-08-16-row

I sat around resting through the afternoon and then laced up my shoes around 2pm.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

42:00 Run

I set the heart rate zone alerts on my Garmin and they never went off until the last few minutes when my HR got slightly high. Mission accomplished! Distance was 3.83 miles and it was a comfortable run in the middle of the day out in the sun.

No Place to Rest

I didn’t feel like doing a Year of the Engine workout earlier in the day and don’t feel guilty since I plan to do two each of the next two days. Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

15 cal Assault Bike
2 Rounds
- 5 PVC Pass throughs
- 5 Goblet Squats (44#)
- 5 Elbow Punches
Power Cleans
- 5×45#
- 5×95
- 3×135
- 2×165

Conditioning

2 Cycles

1,000m Row
15 Rounds
- 5 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
- 3 Burpees
- 1 Power Clean (185#)

I rowed a 1:50/500m pace for the first 1k and a 2:00 pace for the second 1k. Once you get in to the 15 rounds there is no place to rest because the movements are so different and it’s constant movement. Burpees were by far the worst and again, really slow compared to what I’d usually do. I don’t seem to have full lung capacity from whatever this cough is. The clean was no issue, I took a second for a full breath before grabbing the bar each time. I finished in 30:48.

With 30 rounds to keep track of I wore my Garmin watch and used the lap counter.

Cycle 1		Cycle 2
Split	Cumulative	Split	Cumulative
3:56 (row + transition)	3:56	4:45 (2 transitions + row)	19:38
0:39	4:35	0:41	20:19
0:40	5:15	0:44	21:03
0:41	5:55	0:44	21:46
0:44	6:39	0:43	22:29
0:41	7:20	0:44	23:13
0:42	8:02	0:46	23:59
0:43	8:45	0:46	24:45
0:42	9:28	0:47	25:32
0:45	10:13	0:48	26:20
0:45	10:58	0:49	27:09
0:45	11:43	0:49	27:58
0:49	12:32	0:45	28:43
0:49	13:21	0:46	29:29
0:48	14:09	0:42	30:11
0:45	14:53	0:37	30:48

The second row was slower, but there is also the extra transition of getting to the rower. With the row itself only taking an extra 20 seconds, I wasted some time there in the transitions. 14:53 for cycle 1 and 15:55 for cycle 2 isn’t too bad really, and even better when comparing 10:58 for the first 15 rounds and 11:11 for the second 15 rounds. There’s always some kind of data to keep out over! My heart rate quickly got up over 140 and stayed pretty much 142-155 with a few short parts up around 160-165. Why can’t I do that when I run?

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a long one like there where I basically don’t stop the entire time.

Getting Better

I walked 18 holes yesterday, but still not feeling like myself. I’ve had this cough for a week now. My energy does seem to be getting better each day though. My biceps and lats are pretty sore from the bar muscle-ups on Sunday.

Out in the garage in the early afternoon. Haven’t done an engine workout since the 7th with this sickness. Warmed up with a 3:00 row for 706 meters.

Year of the Engine – Interval

8 Rounds

1:00 Row
3:00 Rest

Over two weeks ago for 10x 1:00/2:00 I held a 1:34.9/500m pace, so I knew I could go faster with this being rest and fewer rounds. My goal was 1:32-1:33/500m.

Really surprised myself with this effort actually because I’m not 100%. Got 325-325-324-324-324-324-325-325 meters.

Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

3:00 Assault Bike (30 cals)
PVC Passes
Burgener Warm-up

Weightlifting

High Hang Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch + Power Snatch

2×75#
2×95
2×115
2×135

Paused in both hang positions. Wasn’t going to push it today. Worked up a good sweat still though.

Conditioning

I went over to the dumbbell rack and did some single arm push jerks to warm-up so I wouldn’t have to mess around with a barbell since mine was already set from snatches.

Single Arm DB Push Jerks

5/5 @ 30#
3/3 @ 40#
3/3 @ 50#

21-15-9

Push Jerks (135#)
Burpees Over The Bar
Toes-To-Bar

I wasn’t sure how the push jerks would feel, so I went in with a plan, knowing I might have to back off. Ended up sticking with the plan and did 9-7-5, 9-6, and 9. After the first round of jerks, I was already having a hard time breathing with this sickness. So I had some epically slow ass fucking burpees, even stepping back in to most of them! I think the 21 took me around 2 minutes!! I was hoping I could use the same sets on T2B but decided against that as soon as I got done with those first burpees. I just tried to be quicker between sets. Did 6-5-5-5, 5-5-5, 5-4. Finished in 9:41. Would be a good one to try again when I’m feeling like myself.

A Completely Different 12 Rounds

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.