Month: March 2019

Skill

Front Squat
2-2-2-2-2

Work up to a strong effort 2 rep front squat.  Start light and increase the weight for each set. The focus here should be keeping your torso upright and tracking your knees over your feet. The weight of the bar should be on your shoulders with your elbows pointing outward and your chest up.  Actively push your knees out if you feel them caving in so you can reinforce good mechanics.

WOD

AMRAP in 12 Minutes

10-20-30-40-50 …
see-the-light sit-ups 15/10 lb
alternating dumbbell snatch 50/35 lb

Workout notes

Today’s workout is a time priority couplet featuring body weight movement with what might be an unfamiliar twist.  Each round starts with a set of sit-ups.   We’re working on see-the-light sit-ups today which means you should be holding a light plate overhead throughout the entire rep.  When your shoulders hit the floor you should be looking through the center hole to the ceiling.  The top of the sit-up ends with your torso upright and your arms locked out overhead such that you can still see through to the ceiling.  The workout starts with small sets and the rep scheme increases by adding ten reps to each round.  When you hit twelve minutes your score will be the number of reps in your last completed round plus any additional reps in an incomplete round.

Skill

15×1 strict weighted pull-up with 3 second pause and slow lower down

This skill has us working on upper body strength.  Your task is to complete fifteen single pull-ups at a resistance level you find moderately difficult.   The intent is not to find a max effort weighted pull-up but to accumulate some volume with a difficult pull-up and a weighted hold.  If you scale this appropriately you should find it to doable but definitely on the challenging side as far as pull-ups go. Most of us will want to start with a light weight or even just go with bodyweight and try to maintain that effort for all fifteen reps. If you are able to hold for three seconds and slowly lower down then increase the weight slightly until you can find a weight you can use for your remaining reps.  For those of you scaling with a band or ring rows you’ll want to try this without weight and really concentrate on executing the hold and slow lower down making each pull-up as difficult as possible.

WOD

With a clock set for 18 minutes

3 minutes of sand bag cleans 100/70 lb
3 minutes of push-ups
3 minutes of kettlebell swing 32/24 kg
2 minutes of sand bag cleans 100/70 lb
2 minutes of push-ups
2 minutes of kettlebell swings 32/24 kg
1 minute of sand bag cleans 100/70 lb
1 minute of push-ups
1 minute of kettlebell swings 32/24 kg

Workout notes

We have three elements in today’s workout and a time frame that has us working in a longer time domain.  Half of your time is spent during the first round where you will be working at each station for three minutes.  Start out at a steady and even pace similar to how you would work during a moderate length AMRAP.  The time at each station descends by one minute as you work through round two and three.   Do your best to keep the same intensity level in those shorter rounds.   Your score for this workout will be the total number of reps you complete after all eighteen minutes are complete.

WOD

In teams of 3

AMRAP in 25 minutes of

10/7 calories each on the air assault bike

WORKOUT NOTES

Today’s workout is another interval style workout.  We’ll be using the Air Assault bikes as our only implement today.  Take turns biking 10 calories for men and 7 calories for women.  When all three partners have completed their set you have completed 1 round. Don’t worry about resetting the bike after each round but do complete 10 or 7 calories on each effort if the monitor “coasts” a little while you get on.  Practice quick transitions and keep that bike fan moving! Your score will be the total number of rounds completed across 25 minutes plus any additional calories in your last effort on the bike.  Alternatively you could perform this in teams 4 which will give you a little more rest between efforts but that won’t necessarily make it any easier! With more rest and recovery you will be able to bike a little harder than you would with shorter rest. The number of calories can be scaled for each team member as needed.

If you are participating in the Open, we’ll be kicking off heats for 19.3 shortly after 10:30AM

WOD

10 rounds of 90 seconds on 90 seconds off
15 Box Jumps 24/20″
10 Two arm dumbbell front rack walking lunge 50/35 lb
Max calorie row

WORKOUT NOTES

We’ll have thirty minutes on the clock today and a 1:1 work:rest ratio.  There will be ninety seconds in each work period and your score will be the total calories rowed after you complete after ten rounds.  The suggested load for the lunges is on the heavier side so it’s recommended that you use dumbbells with with which you can complete all ten reps unbroken fairly easily when fresh.   The dumbbell seems to act like a multiplier when it comes to difficulty so be conservative.   Ideally you’ll complete your box jumps and lunges in under sixty seconds and have enough time for a short sprint on the rower.  If it looks like you’ll be stretching that timeline significantly scale the number of reps in each round so you give your self some time on the rower.  Grab a whiteboard and write down your calories after each round so you can come up with one score at the end of the workout.  If classes are large we will pair up and share equipment so that one partner works while the other rests.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
Straight set of Kipping pull-ups

For this skill work you will be working on maintaining a set of kipping pull-ups for 10 rounds(:30 seconds max). If you are new to the skill you should be working the cadence and timing of your swing so you can link repetitions together.  That usually means working on small sets of 2-5 for each round. Leave yourself plenty of rest so you can lower the intensity and keep this as skill work.   If you are still working on building the strength to support kipping swings and pull-ups work for about 30 seconds performing jumping pull-ups with a slow lower down. If you are able to string together 10 or so c-kip pull-ups talk to a coach about learning the butterfly pull-up! Advanced athletes should be working on stringing together sets of chest-to-bar pull-ups and testing your work capacity for this skill.

WOD

for time

10-1 *
Front squat 155/105 lb

* 15 Sit-ups after every round

Workout notes

We have two elements in today’s workout.  Your score will be the time it takes you to complete all fifty-five front squats and ten sets of fifteen sit-ups.  The front squat set size is descending which should help you to keep the intensity high as the movement increases in difficulty as you get fatigued.  The sit-ups however come in ten straight sets so the volume will be back loaded during the last few sets where you have only a few squats in each round.  Choose a weight on your barbell that allows you to complete your first 10 squats unbroken even if it’s difficult.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
Push Jerk + Split Jerk

Today we’re working on a jerk complex and starting with the simpler push jerk and immediately following that with  the more complex split jerk. For this skill work your load should be light enough that you can power clean the bar and complete both jerks in succession. If you are familiar with the lifts consider a moderate load for the duration of the workout and increase slowly if your technique is sound.  You’ll need to keep the load light enough that you can safely lower the bar down to your shoulders after completing the push jerk. Remember that lowering a heavy bar from overhead is a skill in itself so practice using soft knees to catch the bar at the shoulders rather than letting it crash down.  New lifters should keep the load light and practice perfect technique for each lift.  Both movements are complex so practice perfect mechanics before you increase the weight.

WOD

AMRAP in 15 Minutes

50 Lateral burpee over the bar
25 Hang power clean 115/85 lb

Workout notes

Today’s workout is a long duration couplet with two high rep sets of some familiar movements.  Start the workout by moving through your first set of fifty burpees at a steady and sustainable pace.   Sprinting from the outset is likely not going to end up paying off in the long run.  The benchmark load should be a medium weight for the hang power cleans so we’re looking for a weight with which you could knock out sets of 5-8 to get through the twenty-five reps in each round.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes

1 slow pull squat snatch

Today’s skill work again focuses on positional accuracy in one of our most difficult lifts. Start by pulling the bar from the floor keeping your hips low and back upright and practice accelerating from the floor in a slow and controlled fashion. As the bar passes your knees, violently open the hips to create vertical drive and quickly drop into a full squat receiving the bar overhead.  This is technique work so use a challenging weight but remember that you should be below maximal effort. Try using the first few minutes to work up to moderate effort weight and then hold that load across all of your remaining reps.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes
30 double under
10 push-up

Workout notes

This workout serves up a healthy dose of shoulder strength and stamina as well as testing your coordination with small sets of double unders.  Double unders are a difficult skill to master but far more effective than single unders as a training tool.  If you have them but are worried about tackling 30 every round scale the volume to a number you could reasonably complete in about 30-45 seconds.  The push up volume will add up over 10 minutes so scale to a movement with which you can maintain when you get fatigued.  Push-ups will inevitably increase in difficulty as the workout goes on.  Just add more rest and break up each round into smaller sets rather than progressively scaling throughout the workout.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes

squat clean with pause in bottom of front squat + hang squat clean

We’ll have ten opportunities to work on a difficult barbell complex in today’s skill work.  You will be working on the barbell clean in two different ways in each minute. Start by taking the bar from the floor and dropping into a full squat as you receive the bar in the front rack.  On this first rep make a conscious effort to pause in the bottom of your squat by coming to a dead stop and holding for a second.  Make a quick assessment of your squat positioning.  Your heels should be on the floor with your chest and elbows up.  The squat should feel a little harder by adding that pause in. Stand up to finish your first rep then reset your grip and stance if needed and lower the bar down to the hang position.  From here you’ll need an aggressive hip drive to give the bar some momentum in order to drop under it for the second rep of the complex.  No need to pause on the second rep but remember to hit all of the same positions!

WOD

for time

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Kettlebell swing 32/24 kg
Wall ball shot 20/14 lb 10/9′

Workout notes

Today’s workout has a descending rep scheme and two familiar conditioning movements.  This workout is seven rounds long and the drop sets are there to help you keep the intensity high as you progress through each set.  The set sizes in this workout start out fairly moderate and end up being pretty small in the end but don’t be fooled by those last few small numbers! Almost half of the repetitions are accumulated in the first two rounds so fatigue will set in pretty quickly. Remember you are over halfway through during that round of fifteen so try to transition quickly and get through the smaller sets as fast as possible.

Skill

8 Rounds of

20 seconds hollow hold
10 seconds arch hold

The timing for this skill work is a twist on the familiar Tabata interval.  We’ve also seen a similar version of this a few weeks ago where we used the same movements but with opposite timing.  Today we’re going to step up the difficulty quite a bit by doubling the time during the hollow hold work period.  Remember that the hollow hold isn’t just about raising your legs and arms off of the floor.  Focus on contracting your midline so your low back makes steady contact with the floor. Scale by pulling in your arms or your legs if needed but do your best to hold that position. Your total work time is four minutes but don’t be fooled into thinking the benchmark for this skill work will be easy.  We’re essentially doing four straight minutes of core work which is a hard task for anyone. Most of us will need to scale by holding the movements for as long as possible and adding in some rest to get through all eight rounds. Do your best to hold the same standard in all eight rounds.

WOD

10 rounds of 30 seconds at each station

two arm dumbbell clean & jerk 50/35lb
rest
row for calories
rest

Workout notes

Today we have an interval style workout spanning a total of twenty minutes.  You will work for thirty seconds at each of two stations with thirty seconds rest so each “round” is two minutes long.  For the dumbbell clean and jerk you should be using a weight light enough that you can work for most of the thirty second work period by completing a few large sets.  On the rower we have a very short sprint so try to wind up the flywheel as quickly as possible and keep your pace a little bit higher than you would in an average metcon. If classes are large and rowers and being shared make sure to practice fast transitions both in and out of the rower before the workout begins.

WOD

“Cindy”
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

WORKOUT NOTES

Today’s workout is a classic CrossFit triplet with three fundamental bodyweight movements. The set size for each movement is small so the priority should be moving quickly from movement to movement and choosing a sustainable pace with the more difficult pull-ups and push-ups.  Scale the push-ups by working from the knees or using a box to elevate your hands.  Perform banded, jumping pull-ups or ring rows if you are still working on getting an unassisted pull-up. The total round count could will be fairly high so scale accordingly.