Thruster – Page 9 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

The Worst

I hated 14.5 two years and said I’d never do it again. One of my least favorite workouts of all-time. Then Castro surprises us all and makes it the repeat for 16.5, bringing back bar-facing burpees for the second time in this Open season. With that said, I actually went in with a positive attitude about it, hoping to hit somewhere around 14:00.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
PVC Pass-thrus
GHD Heel Drives
3:00 Air Dyne
5 Thrusters (45#)

2016 CrossFit Games Open 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Thrusters (95#)
Bar-facing Burpees

Did it in 15:12 two years ago, when did the thrusters in 8-7-6, 7-6-5, 6-5-4, 6-6, 5-4, 6, and 3. figured I could push those more this year and I easily did by doing 12-9, 10-9 (yep, did an extra rep, because math is hard during a workout and I couldn’t hear my judge), 9-6, 7-5, 9, 6, and 3. So I eliminated 4 sets+breaks and felt a million times better through the thrusters. I never stopped moving in the burpees but they got so unbearably slow. How slow? I didn’t even PR, but was 5 seconds worse with a 15:17. 😦 I was wrecked after it was over, so know I had nothing left to push any harder than I did. I can’t really think of anything I’d change. I just need more fitness. I am 8-10 pounds heavier than I was 2 years ago, so I’ll make that my excuse. haha

I did another 3:00 on the Air Dyne to cool down after I recovered some.

That’s a wrap on my 5th CrossFit Games Open. Don’t think I’m going to finish at a higher percentile than last year, which will be the first time I haven’t improved my percentile placing. I’ll do an update after scoring is finished this week. I need more fitness for that 35-39 Masters division next year! 😉

Proud to say it was a complete #OneAndDone year for all 5 workouts. I really wanted to do 16.4 again and can’t wait to try 16.3 when my shoulder is healed and I can string bar muscle-up together again.

Thrust It

Finally over the soreness from 16.4. Went to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
PVC Pass-thrus
Arm Circles
Shoulder Across Chest Stretch
Air Squats
High Knees
Zombie Kicks

Strength – Shoulder Press

6×45#
6×75
6×95
6x6x115

Conditioning

10 Rounds

3 Power Cleans (135#)
5 HR Push-ups
8 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

Didn’t push the pace though Bryan seemed to think I did. Finished in 9:17.

Accessory

4 Sets

5/5 Kroc Rows (53#)
5 Ring Rows

Yes! Able to do Kroc rows again without any pain in my shoulder. Kept it light though.

Lifting – Thruster

Wanted to get in some heavy-ish cleans after class in case we have a max of some sort as part of 16.5. Didn’t really want to jerk, so figured I’d thruster them.

2×185#
1×207
1×218
1×233
1×244
1×253 (PR)

The boys were already over 200 so I jumped in and worked up fast. They were combining pounds and kilos on the bar which is always confusing.

I was actually feeling more tired than I expected from the workout. 80 wall balls will get you no matter what. Made the 3# PR, so called it good even though I had been thinking about continuing with cleans after I hit a big thruster.

Nasty Intervals

Ass and hammies definitely sore from 16.4. My upper back is sore from the ring rows yesterday too, but glad to be able to work those muscles again with that pulling movement.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
Empty Bar stretching and positions for thruster

Conditioning

E2M – 7 Cycles

5 Thrusters (95#)
5 Burpees over the Bar
4 Thrusters
4 Burpees over the Bar

This was much worse that the 8s every two minutes from 4 weeks ago. Going from the burpees back to the bar was gross. Those jumps over the bar really added up today and had the quads fatigued. Started out taking 37 seconds, got a couple of seconds faster, and then started hitting the wall after the 4th cycle. Was fighting to keep it under 50 seconds by the last cycle.

This was the 4th progression of this combo. Since they all started the final cycle at what would be the 12 minute mark of a running clock, the volume was all effectively in a 13 minute window, which went from 50 reps to 63 of each movement. Bring on the thrusters Castro!

Gymnastics

5 Sets

15 Stalder Leg Lifts (13″)
5 Ring Swings

I actually only got in 2 sets and then did 3 after snatching because I was helping out some people with HSPU technique for their run at 16.4 tomorrow.

Weightlifting – Snatch

2x3x95#
3×115
3×135
2×155
1×175
1×185
1×195
1×205
2x1x185

Felt really good again. Aggressive punch out. No misses on the way up again.

Every 80

Was at the gym early to judge a 16.2. Feeling rested.

Warm-up

Bottom squat hold
Crossover Symmetry Activation
Thrusters (45#)

Go Fast

Every 1:20 – 10 Sets

6 Thrusters (95#)
6 Burpees over the Bar

Didn’t look at the clock until the last set or two. At that point it was taking 24-25 seconds. Smacked myself in the head puling the bar down to the front rack in one of the early sets. No blood, but it is swollen with a little bump there.

Strength/Skill

10:00 EMOM (alt)

8 Weighted Pistols (26# KB)
12 T2B

The pistols weren’t easy after 60 thrusters. Did all 5 sets of toes to bar unbroken.

4 Rounds

30s Pike HSPU (30″ box)
30s Rest
30s DU
30s Rest

Those handstand push-ups were harder than I expected. Got 12 for 2 rounds and 10 for 2. Went unbroken on dubs each round for 53-55-55-56.

Gymnastics

5 Sets

15 Stalder Leg Lifts (1×11″, 4×13″)
5 Ring Swings

That extra increase really made the lifts a lot harder.

Unbroken Minute

Have finally been starting to get up earlier so my body is adjusting. Felt a little tired this morning.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
PVC Pass-thrus (o/u grip)
Thrusters (45#)

Conditioning

E2M – 7 Sets (14:00)

8 Thrusters (95#)
8 Burpees over the Bar

Felt really good. Was taking me 29-30 seconds every round. We did tens every 3 minutes for 5 sets a few weeks ago so both started the final round at the 12:00 mark but today was 6 more reps of each movement. Could even go with shorter rest too.

Everyone (me included) likes to bitch about both of these movements, but you can’t argue at how well they improve fitness. Anyone who has done Open Workout 14.5 can tell you how much it hurt. Together they create a deadly combo.

3 Rounds

1:00 Push-ups
1:00 Step-ups (24″)
1:00 Rest
1:00 DU
1:00 T2B
1:00 Rest

Started out how on the push-ups and as usual they die out fast. 40-31-31 on those. 23 step-ups every round. Missed after 27 dubs in round one and then finished unbroken the rest of the way for 104. Went completely unbroken for 110 reps in round 2, but hit the wall with shoulder, leg, and lung fatigue in round 3 for only 74 reps. Got 17 toes to bar every round too, which was surprising to stick with.

Midline

8 Rounds

20s Handstand Hold
15s Rest
20s Hollow Hold
15s Rest

That 15 seconds of rest goes by quick! Handstand holds felt really good even after all of the shoulder work today. I started trying a couple of new things with my feet to move towards the freestanding holds. I would either twist with my hips a bit to get one heel off the wall and then twist the other way a second later. Or I would do heel taps on the wall to find those balance points. The hollow holds got a little slopped but I was able to tighten it up for the last round.

Shoulder Scraping

graston-shoulder Had my monthly chiro appointment and mentioned my shoulder, which actually seemed to be feeling better today. He got in there with Graston Technique and broke up a bunch of junk, so hopefully it’ll improve quickly now.

Went to the gym right after for the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

2 Sets

10 Wrist Curls (45#)
10 Bicep Curls (45#)
10 Shoulder Press (45#)
10 Front Squats (45#)
10 Thrusters (45#)

Strength – Deficit Deadlifts (4″)

Been wanting to do some of these and with class maxing out I definitely wasn’t going to do that. Did a set of 10×45# before jumping on to the platform.

5×155#
5×225
5×275
4x5x305

Much different stimulus and have to pay more attention to positioning going so deep down.

Conditioning

6:00 AMRAP

5 Thrusters (95#)
5 Toes to Bars

Kept up a nice solid pace. Bryan had said his score was 10+3 and I was well ahead of it early. Got slower in the 2nd half as expected, but held on and with a push at the end I beat him by 2 with 10+5. Good time domain for this combo.

8 Rounds (Tabata)

20s Burpees
10s Rest

Was still out of breath so stuck to 6 every round.

Skill – Double Unders

Did unbroken sets starting at 5 and adding 5. Made it to 45 without any misses and kept going in the set of 50 until I missed after 82. Made a couple attempts at triple unders and got 2 in a row right off the bat, which ties my best.

Finished up with Crossover Symmetry Plyo to try and help the shoulder.

Burning Quads

Late night at the movies. Didn’t feel like leaving home to go to the gym this morning.

Warm-up

Crossover Symmetry Activation
Bottom Squat Hold
Bar Hang
Thrusters (45#)

Conditioning

E3M 15:00

10 Thrusters (95#)
10 Burpees Over Bar

Originally thought 115# but changed last minute. Was a good call because it allowed us to keep intensity high. I was flying trying to keep pace with Bryan no the thrusters and was rep-for-rep the whole way. Right on his heels with the burpees too. Was taking us about 38-40 seconds to finish.

Gymnastics

10:00 EMOM (alt)

8 Pike HSPU (30″ box for feet, 2″ deficit)
12 T2B

Not difficult but it’s good to do some lighter reps instead of strict against the wall. Toes to bar felt good and were all unbroken. Getting better at the re-grip in the middle of bigger sets.

More Conditioning

25 Box Jump Overs
25 V-ups
50 Plyo Lunges
25 V-ups
25 Box Jump Overs

Went with side-to-side jumps to start. I think I took 3 sets for the first V-ups, 4 sets for the lunges, 2 sets for the last V-ups, and then did the last 25 jumps turning and facing the box so I wouldn’t trip over it. Finished in 6:26.

Tabata

Bottom-to-bottom air squats

Looks innocent enough right? Had never tried this before. It was horrible about 3 rounds in. I even sat down on my ass for a little bit in round 6 because the burn was so bad. I think I got 63 reps. Talk about pumped up quads!

Big Triple

Planned to get in the HSPU workout in the garage in the middle of the day, but that didn’t happen, so I did it at the gym. Going to be my last Skill WOD workout so I can rest this shoulder from muscle-ups and pull-ups.

Warm-up: 3 Rounds

10 Pass-thrus (over & under grips)
10 Straddle V-ups
10 Back Extensions
10 Heel Drives
10s Handstand Hold

Mobility: 5 Sets

10s GHD Hanging Stretch

Test Your Max

Kipping Deficit Handstand Push-ups

2 @ 0.5″
2 @ 4.5
2 @ 7
4×6 @ 9 (70% of max)
Max reps at same deficit

Rest was 2:00 between those last 5 working sets. I made it through all the sets of 6 again and got an extra one to make a final set of 6 on the max set. Wore the new Reebok CrossFit Speed TR that were delivered today. The HSPU strip on the heel is really cool.

Much brighter than I expected from the pictures.

Strength Accessory: 3 Sets

8 Seated DB Press (53# KB)
20 Barbell Hollow Rocks

Not really cool with the KB, but the 40# DBs we have at the gym aren’t heavy enough. Hard to get the KB up to your shoulders from the floor in a seated position. Cut it back to 3 rounds instead of 5 so I could join Bryan in some stuff.

Skill

Warmed up snatches with touch-n-go power triples of 45-95-125-135-155 pounds. Felt great!

12:00 EMOM (alt)

3 Power Snatch
10 Pistols

Used 165# for the first 4 sets and it felt really good so I went 175 and then 185! All still touch-n-go too. I’d never even tried 175 before today. Pistols went well and were solid in these new shoes.

Conditioning

6:00 AMRAP

4 Thrusters (115#)
4 Burpee Box Jump Overs

Nasty combo. Quads had a nice burn by the end. Did 7 rounds plus the thrusters and 1 final burpee box over. Rested too much before picking up the bar each round, as usual with me.

Really happy about the new shoes. They are on par with the Nano 5. Looking forward to ordering a pair of the Nike Metcon 2 at the end of the month when they are released.

Something New

Felt a little sick shoveling snow this morning but I think it was the extra caffeine I had in the Protein Energy mix this morning.

Warm-up

PVC Pass-thrus
Band Pulls

Strength – Bench Press

8×45#
8×95
4×135
4×165
4×195
4×215
4×230
4×245 (PR)

Felt heavy and the lift-off bugged me. Maybe due to my shoulder? Wanted to get 245-250 after getting 5×240 a couple weeks ago so I’ll take it.

Conditioning

Open Workout 11.6 / 12.5
7:00 AMRAP
3-6-9-12…

Thruster (100/65)
C2B Pull-up

My previous best was finishing the round of 12 and getting 6 more thrusters. Today I finished the 15s and a thruster. PR by 25 reps!

The pull-ups did not feel good on my shoulder in the first 3 sets. Maybe it just went numb after that. I did 3 & 6 unbroken then when I had to do 3-3-singles I was worried. I think maybe it was just the quick turnaround from the set of 6, because I did the rounds of 12 and 15 with sets of 3s no problem. Thrusters were unbroken through 9, then 7-5 and 6-5-4. If I had to do it again soon I’d try the 12 unbroken, do the 15 in 2 sets and try to do chest to bar in all sets of 3 except for the 6.

Midline / Skill

4 Sets
- 20s L-sit (rings)
- 10s Rest
30s Rest
4 Sets
- 20s Handstand Hold
- 10s Rest
30s Rest
4 Sets
- 20s Double Unders
- 10s Rest

The L-sits seemed a lot harder than usual after that workout. This was a tough little combination on the shoulders. I went 35-36-35-25 on double unders. Missed up twice back-to-back on the last set and didn’t have time to start back up.

Skill

30 Inverted Burpees

I’ve wanted to do try these but always forget. Was reminded of them a CrossFit HQ video this week. Pretty fun. I did sets of 5 and started getting the hand of going from candlestick right into the kick up. For the second half I started kicking up with two feet at once which was something new for me as well. I felt like it worked the shoulders and strength more than a lunge into one leg up at a time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAXfnJUnqDe/

Follow the Rules

Frustrating day at work and almost didn’t even make it in to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

3 Rounds NFT

15s Hang
5 Push-ups
10 Air Squats
5 Pass-thrus

It was pull-ups or ring rows on the board. I was going to do ring rows but my shoulder wasn’t even having a first rep so I just hung from the bar.

8:00 EMOM

5 Thrusters (115#)
3 Burpees

Brought back nightmares of “Kalsu”. Didn’t want to go crazy so I kept it at light and quick.

3 Rounds

1:00 Row (calories)
1:00 Air Squats
1:00 Sit-ups
1:00 Russian KBS (53#)
1:00 Rest

Other than the squats I felt really good. Did 25-25-26 on the rower and totals were 115-119-121. I never increase like that.

Test

50 Hand Release Push-ups

I thought I’d be brake and try a little bigger sets to start so I did 3 sets of 8 and regretted it because then I started to die out. Managed a 2:06, which is 14 seconds slower than my PR, but 33 seconds faster than an attempt in July.

Glad I made it in. Workout schedule for the week was switched up a bit when the boys couldn’t lift tonight (I planned to take an easy day tomorrow) so we are lifting tomorrow instead and this won’t drag me down.