Skin the Cat – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

Finally Over Linda

I planned to do the chest to bar pull-up workout yesterday but I woke up and NO! I was still feeling the effects of Linda and needed a day off. I don’t know how I hit those lifts on Friday. Woke up this morning feeling much better and recovered. Incorporated the pull-up workout into Super Sunday.

Warm-up – 3 Rounds

10 Pass-thrus (over & under grips)
10 Straddle V-ups
10 Back Extensions
3 Wall Walks
10s Ring Hang Skin the Cat

When I passed through part of the skin the cat my left shoulder did not feel good. I’m going to skip the muscle-up workout this week to rest it.

Gymnastics

1 Set of MAX C2B Pull-ups
4 sets at 60% with 2:00 rest

Got 22 for a 2 rep PR! I’ll take a 10% gain after the first cycle of Skill WOD. Then my drop sets were 13. I got the first set unbroken, then 10-9-10 unbroken with singles to finish those sets out. Not sure I’ve ever done that much C2B volume in one day.

Accessory – 6 Sets

4 Good Mornings
8 Lunges

Went 95-125-135-145-155-165# and was feeling a little rough after.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

6 Snatches (115#)
6 Burpees OTB
1:00 Rest

Picked up a second wind after getting into this beauty. My rounds were roughly 32-28-29-31-29-29 seconds to finish at 7:58 on the clock. All snatch sets were unbroken.

Midline – 5 Sets

10 T2B (strict)
20 GHD Heel Drives

This was the strength accessory from the 3rd day of skill WOD. My shoulder wasn’t having toes to bars so I did a scaled version laying on the ground holding the rig with the small orange band around my feet (anchored to a DB) and simulating a strict T2B movement that way.

Really liking the heel drives from this program. Nice change up from weighted reverse hypers to keep my low back healthy and these are also a good chance to practice straight legs up into the arch position, with a squeeze in the glutes.

Almost 10, but Sub 40

Coached this morning and then got in my workout after class. Starting the new cycle of gymnastics work.

Skill WOD “Be the Master of your Volume” Week 1 Day 1

Warm-up – 3 Rounds for quality

10 Pass-thrus
10 Bridge Rocks
10 GHD Heel Drives
3 Inchworm Push-ups
10′ Crab Walk (forward & back)

Mobility – 5 Sets

10s Bottom of Ring Dip Hold
1 Skin the Cat (2s pause in hang)

Test Your Max

1 Set of MAX MU
4 Sets @ 60% with 2:00 Rest

Got 9 and barely missed the 10th. Rounded to 5 for the drop sets. Made each set but the last two were close to missing; caught in a super low dip.

Strength Accessory – 5 Sets

5 Strict Ring Dips
5 Ice Cream Makers (banded)

Used the black band. Those were interesting. In the 4th set of ring dips something really weird started to happen in my left shoulder and bicep and then I couldn’t lift my arm until I moved it all around. Nothing like that has ever happened before.

Conditioning

3 Rounds

250m Row
2:00 Rest

Been wanting that sub-40 and got it. Went 39.7, 41.1, and 42.2. Boy do I start to hit a wall in the 2nd half of the rows after that first attempt. Legs start to burn hard, hamstrings feel like they are cramping up, and just can’t push like I want to. I decided on 3 sets before starting, but almost called it quits after setting the PR. Glad I gutted it out.

Headed back to the gym at 4pm. Warmed up with 3 sets of 8 Reverse Hypers using 210#.

Strength – Back Squat

10×45#
6×135
3×225
3×255
3×285
3×315
3×335
3×350 (PR)

Wore my belt for the last 3 sets. My goal heading in was to get 350 and it was solid. A few weeks ago doing a double with 353 got loose, so really happy. Most 1 rep max calculator formulas put me at over 370 now. Getting there!

Midline

100 Sit-ups

Been awhile. Was on a solid pace but the last 30 reps got rough. Managed a 1 second PR with 2:58.

Wanted to get in a solid day of work with a storm coming through. I do not plan on leaving the house tomorrow except to take out the trash. Will probably do some active recovery.

36 Years

Woke up a year older. Wiser too, of course. 😉 Opened up the gym from 4-6 after coming back from up north.

Skill WOD (Hustle & Flow) Week 4 Day 3

Warm-up

3 sets

5 Bar Work
(Hold and pause 2 sec at each position with no form breaks and no momentum)
- Dead Hang
- Lat Active Hollow
- Tight Arch
1 Skin the Cat
10 Straddle V-ups
10s GHD Hanging Bridge Stretch

Skill A – 4 Supersets

1 Ring Swing + Pull-up w/ swing + MU
2 Box Hip Kip Drill
3 Banded Hip Drill

Felt solid

Skill Test – 3 sets

1 rep of complex is:

MU + 2 Strict Ring Dips (after the MU dip lockout)

First two sets are 3 reps of the complex and then the 3rd set is for max reps. I only got 5 reps on the max set.

Strength Accessory – 3 sets

3 Lower to Hold Front Lever on Box

Felt harder on the grip this week.

Bonus Complex

Set 1: 3 Strict Ring Pull-up + 3 Toes to Rings + 4 MU
Set 2: 3+3+5
Sets 3+: Keep adding 1 MU until failure

I was looking forward to this stuff today, thinking I was well rested. Didn’t have it though. Maybe those curls and skull crushers from the other day had me or maybe the 2.5 hour drive played a role.

Put on me leather grips at this point. I only managed 3 muscle-ups in the first set and 1 in the second set. I took a quick rest after that 2nd set and got back on the rings to try to knock out some muscle-ups and didn’t have any. Called it quits right there on the gymnastics.

I had one terrible day in this cycle for each of the 3 movements, pull-ups, handstand push-ups, and muscle-ups. New cycle starting on Monday.

Weightlifting

Warmed up with 2 empty bar sets of 3 muscle snatch + 3 behind the neck snatch presses + 3 overhead squats.

Tall Snatches

2x3x40kg
3×45
3×50
3×55
2×60, missed 3rd rep
2×65
2 misses x70

I should have actually missed the first try at 70 behind me, but I am not used to that and pulled it back to the front. I need to do these more often. Felt like I was dropping quick, but need to get comfortable catching the bar that low and staying tight.

Conditioning

Warmed up with an easy 2:00 row for 507 meters.

5 Rounds

100m Row
1:00 rest

Wanted to set a new PR and get in a time for my BTWB fitness level ranking since it’s been almost a year. I killed my previous best 16.0 with a 15.5 on the first try. Then beat the 16.0 four more times with 15.7, 15.7, 15.8, and 15.9! I couldn’t believe it. I tried a different damper setting almost every round and even tried shortening my stroke on the final interval.

Good way to end the training session and a nice birthday surprise.

Iliya’s First CrossFit Box

Last year at our company meetup, I was talking to Iliya about how he got so fit. He told me about this thing called “CrossFit” and the next week I started working out at Survival Fitness. Iliya has changed my life through a simple conversation after dinner. Although he’s been doing CrossFit workouts for a couple of years, he has never stepped foot inside a CrossFit box. Iliya lives is Sofia, Bulgaria where there aren’t any CrossFit boxes, so he does his WODs in a globo gym.

I’ve been trying to get him to join me at CrossFit Pacific Beach all week, but the 6am class time wasn’t exactly appealing. Since I wasn’t running the Bootcamp for Automatticians today, I was able to get up a bit later and attend the 7am class. Iliya finally joined me. When we got to the box, you couldn’t get the smile off his face. It was so cool to give something back to him for all that he’s done by getting me interested in CrossFit.

Warm-up

400m Run
6 Skin the Cats
12 Strict T2B
9 Wall Squats

Strength

Push Press: 3, 3, then max reps (85%)

I did some warm-up sets in addition to the working sets. Here are my sets:

6 @ 45#
5 @ 75#
3 @ 105#
3 @ 125#
3 @ 145#
6 @ 165#

The we did a few sets of OHS to get ready for the workout. I used the bar, 65#, and 75#.

WOD

8:00 AMRAP

20 Push Press (75#)
20 OHS (75#)

Started out strong by doing the push presses unbroken. I knew it wouldn’t last. Had to break the OHS down into 10 and 10 in the first round. In round 2, I did the press presses in sets of 12 and 8. I think the OHS were 10, 5, and 5. In round 3 I did 10 and 10 push presses. Then I didn’t get a stable active shoulder before beginning my OHS and had to bail on the first rep. I think I did 8 and 6 before time was up. Finished with 2 full rounds plus 20 push presses and 14 OHS.

My shoulders are fried! Tomorrow I’ll be flying home so it’ll be a rest day