Wednesday 12/20/17

Here is the workout and performance from today.

Workout:

A1. Good Mornings - 6x5 @moderate loading

A2. Glute Bridges - 6x8 (increasing)

B. EMOM 25

1. 18 Calorie Row
2. 12 CTB Pull-Ups
3. 10 Burpee Box Jumps @ 24"
4. 1 Legless + 1 Regular Rope Climb
5. 4 Power Snatches @ 155#

C. EMOM 5

• 3-5 Bar MUs

Performance and Insight:

A) These movements are there mainly as accessory work. I kept the good mornings relatively light, only going up to 175. I have very tight hamstrings so my range of motion is pretty limited. Also, I care more about good positioning with my back, which is another reason to keep this lower. The Glute Bridge is a fun one to overload the bar. I didn't attempt my best James Harrison impression but I did load up to 315. This is the one time I recommend using a bar pad.

B) EMOM (or Every Minute On the Minute). Each set of movements must be finished within its respective minute to count. These five are repeated five times to get to 25 minutes. If work is completed early, you do not start the next movement until the minute is done. If you fail to complete the work, the round does not count and you move onto the next minute. None of these movements are too complex or crazy-taxing. I was able to complete every round by coming up with a plan and sticking to it. Here's the plan:

• Rowing: Maintain a 1500-1800 calories per hour pace to leave about 15 seconds on the clock.
• Chest-to-bar pull ups: Try to split into two sets of six. Break earlier if needed.
• Burpee Box Jumps: Find a pace that I can finish with 15 seconds left.
• Rope Climbs: Exaggerate leg drive for the legless and short rest into the regular climb. It should only take 15-20 seconds to complete.
• Snatches: Quick singles but focus on proper setup and positioning throughout lift.

I was able to stick to this game plan the whole time, minus the chest-to-bar. I still kip my chest-to-bar pull-ups for the most part. I can use the butterfly method, but I lose my grip too quickly and get gassed. I maintained sixes throughout the first two rounds but began to swing too much in the third round. I decided to do sets of threes, with extra focus on proper movement. It took a little bit longer but I still finished each round.

As a whole, this got me breathing a bit but I had enough rest time each minute that I was not dying as I started the next one. A slight increase in rep counts on any of the movements may have caused me to break down more and have to rest/fail some minutes.

C) Bar muscle-ups come and go for me. Recently, I have gotten more consistent with them. I went into this wanting to finish each minute hitting five reps, but accepting three may be all I get each time. I made this a little more difficult on myself by saying that I will only give one attempt each minute because my hands were feeling pretty raw. This caused a weaker grip and I wanted to avoid getting any rips. I sometimes use grips but I prefer not to use them.

I had the following rounds: 2-3-2-1-1 — only one round that would have counted. I normally struggle at the turnover portion of the movement. I can easily get high up to the bar but my elbows do not want to follow with my body. Tonight was different. They flew around the bar. I did not feel comfortable coming down into the next kip. Not fully sure what it was, but I am going to attribute it to my hands being beaten up.

Final Reflections:

There was not much to the day's work but it was effective. I was able to get a good sweat going with the emom through a solid plan. I know my body is feeling it a bit and Thursday will be a rather welcomed rest day. The plan is to swim in the morning but I think I'd rather sleep in a little longer. Maybe I will find my way to the pool at night.