Month: May 2017

WOD

12 rounds of 90 second intervals
[odd] 15 Pull-Ups + 15 Kettlebell Swings 32/24kg
[even] 200m Run

Workout Notes: For today’s workout you will essentially be performing 12 short sprints. The goal in the odd minute will be to complete the 15 pull-ups and 15 swings as fast as possible.  Record your time for each set.  If you find that you can not complete the prescribed work within the interval you will record your total reps completed for each round rather than a time. At the 90 second mark you will head out the doors for a 200m Run.  Treat this like a sprint and keep track of your splits if possible to see how consistent you can keep your pace!  If you can not run 200m in 90 seconds make sure to scale the distance to a 100m sprint so that you are back in the gym and ready to go before the start of the next 90 seconds. Push yourself and have fun with this one!

WOD

5 Rounds for time

5 Squat Clean Thruster 185/135 lb
75 Double under
400M Run

Workout notes: Yesterday we featured heavy power cleans and today we are looking for a moderate weight squat clean thruster.  The weight you use can be challenging but shouldn’t get anywhere near a max effort thruster. In the squat clean thruster you will take the barbell from the floor and receive it in your best front squat prior to driving the bar upward and to overhead in one continuous motion. This workout also prescribes 375 double unders and 2k of running. If you are new to CrossFit or know that this volume will be a challenge scale the workout to 3 or 4 rounds.

Skill

5×1 Rope Climb

Pack your long socks or knee sleeves today to protect your ankles and shins! Spend today’s skill practice working on learning to climb the rope!  A good way to establish that you have the baseline strength to attempt a climb is by performing a bodyweight hang test with your legs off of the rope while you are just above the ground.  If you are not quite ready perform rope pull-ups and practice jumping to the rope and locking in your feet. There are several methods to wrap the feet and make the climb easier so work with your coach to find which works best for you! For those of you that are comfortable with rope climbs use the time to work on efficiency by utilizing the legs as much as possible and ascending the rope using a minimum number of pulls.  If you are ready for it you can choose to do 5 sets of 2 performing each double as quickly as possible rather than just one at a time.

WOD

for time

30 Heavy Power Cleans *

*15 Minute time cap

Workout notes: For today’s workout you will have two scores.  Your weight lifted and your total time to complete 30 repetitions. This workout has no weight prescribed but we’re suggesting you use a “heavy” weight. For most athletes the recommended weight will be in the 70-80% range of your 1RM.  In a workout like this you may go a little heavier than what you normally use in a light barbell metcon. The focus for this workout is moving heavy weights quickly but you should never compromise efficiency and technique. Remember that the best technique is that which is most efficient.

Skill
Back Squat
10-10-10

Today we’re performing 3 sets of 10 Squats working up to a heavy set. This rep range is probably unfamiliar territory so spend some time thinking about how you would perform a large set of heavy squats. The best strategy is to take a moment to take a few slow and deep breaths at the top of every rep to allow some recovery before you start your next rep.  This will help you to avoid hitting failure. A weight that is in the 70% range would be appropriate for more experience lifters.  Start light with an an empty bar and make sure you are performing all of your reps to your full range of motion.  We do this not only to warm each joint through it’s entire range but to reinforce proper mechanics.  Maintain an upright and rigid torso through each rep.   You should NOT be hitting failure on this but just in case be sure to review how to ditch a back squat and use spotters when needed. Please respect other lifters during their sets by waiting rather than walking in front or behind them.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes

200M Run
30 Alternating One-Arm Dumbbell Clean & Jerks 50/35 lb

Workout notes: Today we have a couplet that features a short run and a dumbbell. With 10 minutes to work we’re looking for a dumbbell weight that you can move continuously throughout the workout. Each rep must alternate arms and the dumbbell must at least tap the floor between each rep. Touch and go is an option here if you decide to swap hands with the dumbbell in the air.

Skill 

10×1 Lunge Kick to Freestanding Handstand Hold OR Handstand Walk Practice

Have some fun with the skill work today! Make several attempts to kick into and hold a free standing handstand.  For beginners start by just gently rocking up into the upside down position and increase the height of your legs with each attempt.  Don’t go all out in the beginning and turn over too far.  Make sure to start with locked out arms and have a bail out plan or partner assist in place so you don’t come crashing down.  If you are new to this skill start against a wall with some handstand holds or wall walks if you are not quite ready to kick up yet.  If you are comfortable kicking in to a freestanding handstand try to establish a max freestanding handstand hold or practice walking on your hands!

WOD 

AMRAP in 3 minutes of:

3 Hang Power Clean 155/105lb
6 Push-ups
9 Box Jumps 24/20″

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles

Workout notes: This workout will be scored like you score the classic CrossFit workout “The Chief”.  Score each cycle separately and don’t forget to pace yourself! You should be able to do your 3 hang cleans unbroken in each round with the weight you choose. Scale the push-ups as needed so that you can maintain good form.  Keep your torso tight and make sure that your chest taps the ground for each rep whether you are working from your toes or your knees here. Make sure to choose a box that you can safely jump to under fatigue.  Focus on landing softly on the top of your box with your feet hip width apart and chest up.  It can be a good idea to treat this workout like you would a Tabata style workout trying to achieve close to the same score in each cycle.  This workout is 19 minutes long with a total of 15 minutes of work so plan for a longer workout!

Skill

8×2
Deadlift

Today we are working with some heavy deadlifts.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you go up to max effort or a new 2RM, but work up in weight as you feel comfortable. You can choose to go with one weight for 8 sets of 2 or you can add weight every set and work up to a heavy double. Judge your effort by the strain it takes you to achieve each lift.  New lifters should keep the load lighter 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

AMRAP in 8 Minutes
6 Burpees to a plate 45/25lb
12 Overhead Walking Lunge steps with a plate 45/25lb

Workout Notes: Todays workout is on the shorter side.  The goal here should be to move quickly through your reps and to focus on fast transitions between the burpees and lunges. You will complete each burpee in front of your weight plate and then stand tall on the top of your plate with open hips to complete the rep. The Overhead Walking lunge requires good shoulder mobility and strength in order to hold the weight over your head with what is essentially a narrow grip. Focus on pressing up overhead and keeping the elbows extended so the plate is in a strong position overhead.  If you find that you don’t quite have the mobility yet you can always carry the plate at your chest rather than overhead.  Another scaling option for this workout would be to leave the plate out of the lunges completely and perform bodyweight lunge steps instead.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
[odd] :30s Toes-to-bar
[even] :30s Plank hold

It’s midline madness for our skill work today! For 10 minutes you will be alternating between toes-to-bar and plank holds for 5 rounds of each movement. During every odd minute perform 30 seconds of toes-to-bar. Feel free to bump the numbers up from what you would do if we were doing only toes-to-bar each minute, but keep in mind that your midline may fatigue a bit quicker when paired with the plank hold.  If you are unable to get your toes to the bar while keeping the rhythm of your kip, lower your target so that you are able to work on the skill of linking your reps rather than slower reps just to get your toes to the bar. The Plank hold is pretty straight forward. You may perform your plank hold on either your elbows or hands depending on your preference. Focus on quality and don’t sacrifice a good body position just to stay up for the full 30 seconds every round.

WOD 

5 Rounds for reps with one minute on each station

Row for Calories
Double Unders
Two Arm Dumbbell Hang Squat Cleans 50/35lb
Rest

Workout notes: Today’s workout will be scored like you would score the workout “Fight Gone Bad”. Count your total number of repetitions completed across all 5 rounds and come up with one total score.  In this workout we are performing intervals starting on the rower.  Choose a pace here that allows you to move right into the double unders without much of a break.  If you are still working on your double unders use your minutes at this movement as skill work rather than just doing singles. The only thing that will improve your double unders are…double unders! You can do it! It can be a difficult and frustrating skill, but stick to it! Your last movement of each round will be two arm dumbbell hang squat cleans. Choose a weight here that allows you to do multiple reps in a row and to spend more of the minute working than resting. Utilize your hips to swing the dumbbells up towards your shoulders as you drop down into a squat.

WOD

“Abbate”

for time *

1 Mile Run
21 Clean and jerks 155/105 lb
800 M Run
21 Clean and jerks 155/105 lb
1 Mile Run

*40 Minute time cap

Workout notes: This workout is a hero workout from CrossFit.com honoring U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Matthew T. Abbate.  Much of your time will be spent running, if this volume of running looks like too much you can scale the load by cutting the distance in half for each run.  There will be a 40 minute time cap on this workout to make it out on the last run.  The barbell load is a bit heavier than the normal 135/95 so think about adding an extra 5 pounds to the weight you would normally scale to, but make sure you are able to complete quick singles without much set up before each rep with the weight you choose. Hero workouts usually have a bigger challenge in them than your day to day training. Scale either volume or load as needed but go hard and leave it all out there!