Toes to Bar – Page 16 – Nick Momrik's Fitness Logs

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!

Best 12.3

metcon2

Still pretty much the same with my back. Went to the 5:30 class after waiting for the Nike Metcon 2s to arrive. They are a solid shoe and seems like they improved the areas that broke down on people that had the Nike Metcon 1s. For $130 though, I’m not sure they are a better buy than the new Reebok CrossFit Sprint TR, which is only $100 or even the Reebok CrossFit Nano 5 for $120. All 3 are great shoes though and you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Since I was a few minutes late to class I didn’t really do much to warm-up other than some bottom squat hold and PVC pass-thrus.

Strength

Bulgarian Split Squats

2 Sets of 8/8 holding 35# KBs
2 Sets of 8/8 holding 44# KBs

Class was doing deadlifts but those were a no go for me. Had my foot up on the Rogue bench.

Conditioning

With not being able to test out 13.2 on Sunday, I was hoping I’d be able to hit this one.

CrossFit Open Workout 12.3 – 18:00 AMRAP

15 Box Jumps (24″)
12 Shoulder to OH (115#)
9 Toes to Bars

I did all step-ups and all push jerks in unbroken sets. T2B were unbroken through 5 rounds I believe, but it might have been 4 rounds. Then I’d do them in 2 sets until the final round where I did 3 quick sets. Finished with 9 full rounds plus 12 step-ups, which beats my best of 8 rounds + 17 reps. I did an extra step-up in the first 3 rounds too because in my head I was thinking it was 18 for some reason. Dummy! Can’t count them though. In the 2012 Open my score was only 5+21 on this.

Stuck around and did some banded stuff that’s supposed to take pressure off the low back and reset some things.

Also got the new 3rd edition of Greg’s book, which I’ll call the Weightlifting Bible. Won it in a Twitter contest. At 588 pages plus the appendix this thing is a monster.

weightlifting-bible

One More

Surprisingly I felt fine after the 125 push press reps from the other night. Don’t sense any improvement in my left shoulder. Planned on going to 9am but woke up in the night with a headache, so I slept in. Got to the gym at 3:30 to get in the pull-up work before class.

Skill WOD “Be the Master of your Volume” Week 2 Day 3

Warm-up: 3 Rounds

10 Pass-thrus (over & under grips)
10 Straddle V-ups
10 Back Extensions
5/5 Bar Taps (tight/dynamic)

Substituted the bar taps in for wall walks and skin the cat due to my shoulder which doesn’t feel good with either of those.

Test Your Max

Max C2B Pull-ups
2:00 Rest
4 Sets
- 60% of Max set
- 2:00 Rest

I got 23 today, which is another PR by a rep! I actually had counted 24 when I did the set, but had video and it was only 23. Shit. So my drop sets were 14. I did the first set unbroken and then 10-1-1-1-1 for the other 3 sets. Didn’t realize it until after class, but I have a decent blister on my thumb and one on a palm.

Strength Accessory: 3 Sets

10 Strict T2B
20 GHD Heel Drives

Cut back to 3 so I’d have a little rest time before class and because I didn’t want to fatigue my back too much going into squats. It was a great warm-up actually.

Strength – Front Squat

6×45#
6×155
3×205
3×235
3×255
3×275
3×295
3×305

No issues; felt good.

Conditioning

10->1

Box Jump (24″)
Power Clean (115#)
S2OH (115#)

I switched to step-ups with the round of 8 and my back still got a little cramped up by the end. For every set through 5 I dropped the bar with 1 clean to go so I could finish it off going into the overheads which were all unbroken. At the round of 4 and below I didn’t put the bar down. Should have done that starting at 5 though. Did mostly push jerks but some push presses mixed in. Finished in 9:32.

Midline

Class was doing Tabata planks, so I usually go for a max hold. Didn’t have it today though due to my back being lit up. Stopped at 2:30 (hands).

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.

Final Hustle & Flow Pull-ups

Slept great last night. Was pretty wore out from “McGhee” and needed the rest. Woke up and could instantly feel my hands. It hurt to fully open or close my palms. I used the TENS unit on my back last night and it’s feeling pretty good today. Feeling all of those reps in my legs, glutes, shoulders, and triceps too.

Planned to get in to the gym during the day, but worked out to meet Bryan there at night and my hands could use the extra rest before the pull-ups.

Skill WOD Hustle & Flow Week 4 Day 1

Final week of the cycle before a new one begins. I’m following a week behind so the Skill WOD is actually doing tests this week. Going to skip those and then be caught up to start the new cycle when it’s released for next week. Sounds like it’s going to be pretty cool.

Warm-up

3 sets

5 Bar taps – tight
5 Bar taps – dynamic
7 V-ups
10 Pass-thrus
7 GHD Heel Drives
10 Bridge Rocks

Again, I really love these warm-ups.

Shoulder Activation

3 sets

3 Scap Elevators
3 Strict Pull-ups
1 Scap Elevator
1 Strict Pull-up

Easy this week.

Superset

5 Sets

5 Butterfly Box Drill Circular Rotations
1 Stop Strict Pull-up + 3 Pull-ups (butterfly drill)
5 C2B Pull-ups

Felt smooth even though my pull seemed a little weak.

Skill Test

3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B + 3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B
2:00 Rest
2 sets
- 70% MAX C2B
- 90s Rest

The combo set felt really good. I’d been trying to increase the 70% sets each week and last week I got 16 and 10-6, so I shot for the same 16s today. Started to lose my butterfly on the last two reps of the second set but made every rep. Booyah! Just 4 weeks ago my max for a single set was 20. All this volume is dialing in the movement.

Strength Accessory

3 Supersets

15s Underhand grip chin hang
8 Supinated Bar Rows

The hangs felt easier than any other week, but I felt weak with the rows. Probably due to the 260 push-ups I did yesterday. 🙂

Bonus Complex

2 Strict Pull-ups + 2 Strict C2B + 3 K2E + 3 T2B + 6 C2B
2 Strict Pull-ups + 2 Strict C2B + 3 K2E + 3 T2B + 4 C2B
2 Strict Pull-ups + 2 Strict C2B + 3 K2E + 3 T2B

I was not even attempting MU on the end again, so I substituted with some C2B. Was hoping to increase each set, but my grip and pull was shot by the time I got done with the toes to bars. Wasn’t going to push it too much either because I already had a few places peeling on my hands.

I understand that this complex is getting you to be fatigued by the time you got to the final movement, but I’m just not on that level. The volume is definitely building solid movement and strength though.

Midline & Accessory

Wanted to get in a little extra work.

3×15 Hip Extensions (controlled, not fast swinging)
Crossover Symmetry Recovery

Shoulders felt pretty beat after the pull-ups so I figured the recovery protocol was good to get in. I never do it anymore.

More Ripping

Feeling some fatigue from yesterday’s WOD. In at 10am for gymnastics work.

Skill WOD Hustle & Flow Week 2 Day 1

Warm-up

3 sets

5 Bar taps – tight
5 Bar taps – dynamic
7 V-ups
10 Pass-thrus
7 GHD Heel Drives
10 Bridge Rocks

Shoulder Activation

3 sets: 3 Scap Elevators + 3 Strict Pull-ups
1 set: 1+1

Superset

5 Sets

5 Butterfly Box Drill Circular Rotations
1 Stop Strict Pull-up + 3 Pull-ups (butterfly drill)
5 C2B Pull-ups

Skill Test

3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B + 3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B
2:00 Rest
2 sets
- 70% MAX C2B
- 90s Rest

Did sets of 14 C2B last week, so increased to 15s this week. Got both sets.

Strength Accessory

3 Supersets

15s Underhand grip chin hang
8 Supinated Bar Rows

Learned that we don’t have to do the bar rows with a supinated grip. Just refers to the body position. Much better.

Bonus Complex

Set 1: 2 Strict Pull-ups + 2 Strict C2B + 3 K2E + 3 T2B + 3 Bar MU
Set 2: 2+2+3+3, drop then 3
Set 3: 2+2+3+3, drop then 2

Ripped both hands. 😦 My left hand ripped under the pinky and my right hand actually ripped under my leather grips! I need to figure out something to work on these bar muscle-ups smarter because this is not working for me. Ripping is an injury and I usually pride myself on doing as much as I can to prevent rips.

Wanted to get in some squats so a quick garage session after 5.

Strength

Safety Squat Bar w/ 3 second pauses

10×65#
6×135
3×185
3×205
3×225
3×235
3×245
3×255
3×265
3×275

Wore lifting shoes but no belt at all so I could get a lot of time under tension for my low back. Felt good about my drive out of the hole and no mini bounce to get going. Just 3 months ago a triple with 295 and a belt but no pause was a struggle.

1 Open WOD Left

Yesterday my hands ached from the ring work. Got a great night of sleep and felt good this morning.

Warm-up

Bottom Squat Hold
Shoulder Stretching
Power Cleans
- 5×45#
- 5×95#
- 3×135#

Conditioning

CrossFit Open Workout 11.5 – 20:00 AMRAP

5 Power Cleans (145#)
10 T2B
15 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)

There were only 2 Open workouts I haven’t done and this was one of them, so now only 11.4 is left to try. Did all singles on the cleans, toes to bar were 4-3-3 every round except an unbroken 7 to finish, and unbroken every round for wall balls (hurt). Saw that around 10 rounds was the 90th percentile on BTWB and was ahead of that pace through 5 rounds, but slowing down. Started to take some 5-10 second breathers in between movements through the second half of the workout, which cost me. Ended up with 9 rounds plus the cleans and 7 of the T2B. Probably could have gone 5-5 on the T2B and saved a lot of time. Grinder of a workout though.

Midline

6 Sets

4 Good Mornings
4 Evil Wheels

Did 2 sets with each weight of 145-155-165#. Tried out something new for the evil wheels and I liked it. Makes it more like the ab roller devices, adding a stability element since the plate wants to roll one to the sides a little.

Skill Conditioning

8 Rounds (Tabata)

20s Double Unders
10s Rest

Had 2 misses, but managed a new PR (by 6 reps) with 286 dubs. Three hundo should be possible if I can get rid of the misses.

Structured Gymnastics Work

Feeling pretty good after Kalsu. Legs are fine, but my shoulders are fatigued. In at 10am to start a gymnastics program. Jumped on the rowed for an easy 1,000 meters before getting started. I saw the next cycle of the Rowing WOD combines rowing with thrusters. Good time to switch out. 🙂

Going to be following the Skill WOD from Dusty Hyland, starting with a 4-week cycle he calls Hustle & Flow. With the Open about 3 months away it’s a good time to focus on increasing gymnastics strength, technique, and endurance.

Warm-up

3 sets

5 Bar taps – tight
5 Bar taps – dynamic
7 V-ups
10 Pass-thrus
7 GHD Heel Drives
10 Bridge Rocks

I really like the structure of the warm-up and how it gets everything ready, while reinforcing position work.

Shoulder Activation

3 sets: 3 Scap Elevators + 3 Strict Pull-ups
1 set: 1+1

Superset

5 Sets

5 Butterfly Box Drill Circular Rotations
1 Stop Strict Pull-up + 3 Pull-ups (butterfly drill)
5 C2B Pull-ups

Skill Test

3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B + 3 Pull-ups + 3 C2B
2:00 Rest
2 sets
- 70% MAX C2B
- 90s Rest

I figured there was no way I was getting 2 sets of 14 chest-to-bar pull-ups here after all of the other pull-ups already. Got both though!

Strength Accessory

3 Supersets

15s Underhand grip chin hang
8 Supinated Bar Rows

My least favorite part. Did not feel very good on my elbows in either part.

Bonus Complex

Set 1: 2 Strict Pull-ups + 2 Strict C2B + 3 K2E + 3 T2B + 3 Bar MU
Sets 2-3: 2+2+3+3

Damn those are some hard strict pull-ups! It’s programmed as 4 bar muscle-ups in the first set, but I could only get 3. Then you are supposed to keep adding 1 MU every set until failure, trying to get in at least 3 sets of work. Didn’t realize it until a minute or so later, but I ripped my thumb in that first set, so that was the end of the bar muscle-ups for the day. Finished out 3 sets of work.

I was being a good boy and protecting my hands during the big set stuff with my gymnastics grips, but they don’t do anything for your thumbs. I must really grip hard on that bar transitioning from rep to rep of my bar MU. Will have to tape up my thumbs from now on.

With a focused attack it took us an hour to finish. Better than I expected, especially for the first week.