Month: January 2017

Skill

Deadlift
5-5-5-5-5

Work up to a strong effort set of 5 deadlifts.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you go up to max effort, but work up in weight as you feel comfortable. Judge your effort by the strain it takes you to achieve each lift.  New lifters should keep the load light and work on proper body mechanics as they increase in weight.  Start with a light weight and make sure that you have established a straight back and an  appropriate setup as you address the bar.  Be sure to maintain your posture as you progress through each set and as you increase in weight.

WOD 

“Heavy Helen”

3 rounds for time
400m Run
21 KB Swings 32/24kg
12 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups

Workout Notes: We’re taking advantage of a quick break in all the rain and getting some running in with a twist on a classic benchmark workout.  If you can not yet do chest-to-bar pull-ups you can perform chin over bar pull-ups, banded pull-ups, ring rows or jumping pull-ups.  The kettlebell weight is a little heavier here so feel free to jump up in weight if you’ve been swinging the same kettlebell for awhile.  The original benchmark weight for “Helen” is a 24/16kg for the kettlebell and chin over bar pull-ups.  If you’ve never completed this workout feel free to give it a try!

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
2 Power Cleans + 1 Jerk

Work up to a moderate weight Power Clean and Jerk and perform 2 Power Cleans and 1 Jerk every minute for 10 minutes.  You do not need to choose a weight that allows you to do the power clean reps in a row, but you should be able to follow yourself quickly.  For a power clean you’ll catch the bar in a partial squat dropping as low as is needed.  If you end up breaking parallel you have lifted correctly but have possibly gone a little too heavy.  Focus on getting your elbows around quickly so that you catch the bar at your shoulders.  Practice utilizing the “hook” grip and you might find that your pull feels stronger and more secure off the floor.  You will only be performing a jerk after the second power clean.  You may choose to push jerk or split jerk depending on what movement you prefer or how heavy you go during the EMOM.  Make sure to test out both movements before the EMOM starts so that you don’t end up with a weight that is too heavy for you to go overhead with.

WOD

Open Workout 13.2

AMRAP in 10 Minutes
5 Shoulder to Overhead 115/75lb
10 Deadlifts 115/75lb
15 Box Jumps 24/20″

Today we are tackling an Open workout from 2013.  As a lot of you know, Open workouts often require you to move light weights quickly and this workout is no exception.  The weight on your barbell should be light.  You should be able to do the 5 overhead reps unbroken as well as the deadlifts.  Do not base your weight choice on how the deadlift feels, how the weight feels overhead will be the deciding factor here.  The bar can travel from your shoulders to a locked out overhead position anyhow.  A push press or push jerk will be the most efficient options for this setting.  Choose a box that you are able to jump to and as always, stay safe and smooth here.  If you participated in the Open in 2013 compare your score at games.crossfit.com!

Skill

Front Squat

5-5-5-5-5

Today we’re working up to a strong effort 5 rep front squat.  With the front squat we want to focus on keeping the elbows up and chest as upright as possible.  As with any kind of squatting you’ll want to practice keeping your knees out and tracking over your feet. Remember to release the grip on the bar a bit in the front squat and load the bar onto your torso. That should help you keep your elbows and chest up. If you have a mobility problem holding you back from keeping your elbows up you can always try crossing your arms across the bar or modifying that in some way.  5 reps can feel like a lot with any type of heavy squat, take a few breaths between each rep to allow your legs to recover and don’t rush it.

WOD

5 rounds for time

30 Air Squats
15 Toes-to-Bar

Workout Notes: Our workout today is a couplet of bodyweight movements.  The toes-to-bar is most likely where this workout will slow down for people. If you have not yet mastered this movement find a scaling option that allows you to make some headway with this skill, but also to keep moving through the workout.  Choose a target for your feet or knees that you can maintain and break up the reps as needed rather than lowering your target as you fatigue.  If you can not hang from the bar or need to scale to sit-ups make sure to bump the reps up from 15 to 20 or 25. Push the pace on the air squats if possible!

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes

[odd] :30 Seconds of Strict Pull-Ups, Banded Strict Pull-Ups or Supine Ring Rows
[even] :30 Seconds of Push-Ups

You will have 5 rounds at each station to work for 30 seconds.  It’s probably not a good idea to go for a max set early on so work in as many sets as you need to for the full 30 seconds and then transition to the next station. Use the most difficult movement standard that you can and don’t worry about stringing together reps if it means sacrificing the mechanics of each movement.

WOD

Tabata Power Snatch 75/55lb
1 Minute Rest
Tabata Double Under
1 Minute Rest
Tabata Power Snatch 75/55lb
1 Minute Rest
Tabata Double Under

Workout notes: Today’s workout will use the Tabata timer but we will score the workout as you would a traditional amrap.  Complete as many reps as possible during each work period and come up with a total number of repetitions at the end.  The weight you choose for the snatches should be light so that you can work for most of the 20 seconds and complete your reps in good sized sets.  If you are still working on double unders you are in luck, you have 16 rounds of 20 seconds to practice!  The only way to get better at the skill is spending time working at it, don’t give up, you can do it!

[creativ_alertbox icon=”” colour=”light-gray” custom_colour=””]We are open today (1/2/17) for classes at 9:30 and Noon ONLY! Back to normal hours tomorrow. [/creativ_alertbox]

WOD 

25 Minute AMRAP
30 Burpees
40 Sit Ups
50 Thrusters 45/35 lb

Workout Notes: We’re kicking off 2017 with a bang! Today’s workout is on the longer side and falls into the aerobic domain.  Work on settling into a sustainable pace that allows you to move consistently through the entire workout.  The thruster weight today is an empty barbell.  If the benchmark weight is challenging for you plan to use a training bar to keep the weight lighter for the thrusters.  You should be able to do large sets of thrusters with the weight you choose.