Author: cfdavis

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
2 Hang Squat Clean

Spend a few minutes working on the the hang squat clean.  Start by deadlifting the barbell into the hang position and pausing at full extension. From there lower the bar to the mid thighs and open the hips to create vertical hip drive and drop under the bar and stand up for each rep.  This lift is difficult as it requires a high level of control as you violently open the hips to generate some momentum on the bar in order to drop under.  The challenge for most lifters will be in pulling the bar back into the receiving position as as you drop under.  As always, start light and increase only if you have the mechanics down.

WOD

4 Rounds with 1 minute on each station

Air-assault for calories
Kettlebell Swing 32/24 kg
Wall ball shots 20/14 lb 10/9′
Rest

Workout notes: Today’s workout will be scored as you would score the workout “Fight Gone Bad”.  Add up your total reps on all three stations to come up with one big number at the end of the workout.  You’ll spend a minute on each station but the total workout time is long so moderate your intensity so you can work at a sustainable rate.  All three movements are difficult conditioning skills so break up your reps early and be sure not to go all out on the bike!

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
straight set of knees to elbows then 20 seconds of double unders

For our skill work today we’ll be working on two bodyweight movements. The knees to elbows will feel similar to toes to bar.  The mechanics will be very much the same, but rather than sending your toes to the bar you will want to bend your knees and elbows as your body moves behind the bar so that the two make contact.  Actually touching your knees to your elbows can be very difficult so if you’re not quite there yet work on getting your knees as close to your elbows as possible with every rep. Working on these movements on an interval timer and allowing some rest in each round should help to lower the intensity and allow you to work on the strength and skill required.  Start each round with sub-maximal set knees to elbows then immediately work for about 20 seconds on double unders.  Be sure to give yourself a few seconds of rest in each round prior to starting your next round.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes

10 Deadlift 225/155 lb
20 Push-ups

Workout notes: Today’s workout is a classic pairing of a moderate weight power lifting movement and bodyweight movement.  Scale each movement so that you keep the original stimulus intact.  The deadlift weight should be light enough that you can complete the entire round in 2-3 sets without compromising your form even when fatigued. Going unbroken isn’t required but you should be able to do that without much difficulty when fresh.  Keep those push-ups strict by keeping your back and hips locked throughout the entire range of motion, if you need to scale the first option is to perform push-ups off of your knees.  Push-ups are a strength movement so they will get more difficult as the workout goes on. Add rest as needed and maintain the same form throughout!

Skill

Front Squat

4-4-4-4-4

Today we’re working up to a strong effort 4 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 which 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.  Feel free to choose one weight and work there for all sets rather than adding weight as you go.

WOD

AMRAP in 15 Minutes
20 Medicine ball squat cleans 20/14 lb
15 Medicine ball sit-ups 20/14 lb
10 Kettlebell Snatch 24/16 kg

Workout notes: Today’s workout is a time priority triplet with two very difficult movements. Spend some time practicing the medicine ball clean during your warm-up.  You’ll want to drive the hips fully open prior to dropping under the medicine ball to receive it in a full squat.  Make an effort to move your hands and arms around the ball keeping it from rotating. To practice this start with the laces facing out and make sure they stay there throughout the movement.  The kettlebell snatch is another tough movement that takes a bit of coordination to master. Save your wrists from kettlebell abuse by carefully rotating the the object around your arm and punching upward so there is only soft contact on the back of your arm.

[creativ_alertbox icon=”” colour=”theme” custom_colour=””]We are closed today for the New Years Holiday. Normal hours return Tuesday, January 2nd![/creativ_alertbox]

[creativ_alertbox icon=”” colour=”red” custom_colour=””]Reminder: We will be open for one class tomorrow, New Years Eve at 9AM. We will be closed Monday the 1st. Normal hours return Tuesday. [/creativ_alertbox]

WOD

AMRAP in 20 Minutes
9 Toe-To-Bar
12 Power Clean 135/95 lb
15 Box Jumps 24/20″

Workout notes: Today’s workout is a time priority triplet that falls into a long time domain.  Remember to pace yourself and start out at a sustainable pace.  That usually means tackling the toe-to-bar in repeatable set sizes and slowing your cadence on the barbell and box jumps.  We have a long workout with a potential for a high volume of reps on the pull-up bar.  If you find your grip giving way and a tear coming on scale to some form up sit-up.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes

1 Squat Snatch with pause in the bottom of the overhead squat

Today we’re working on the squat snatch and really honing in on technique. The movement is very difficult and requires a great deal of mobility. Warm up to a weight that is in the 60-70% range and only add weight to your bar throughout the EMOM if you are nailing the lift with the pause. If you’re not sure what weight to start with test the movement at a low weight to make sure you are using a weight that you can land in a deep squat with while keeping your feet flat and your chest up. Adding the pause will increase the difficulty of the lift so be conservative! If the squat snatch isn’t happening today due to mobility issues work on a power snatch with a pause in the catch position and add in some overhead squats with a PVC or empty barbell if you can so you can get a feel for the movement.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes

10 Overhead squat 95/65 lb
10 Alternating one arm russian kettlebell swings 32/24 kg

Workout notes:  Today we have two difficult movements in a task priority couplet.  The overhead squat requires a lot of mobility to be able to perform repetitions at your full range of motion! You’ll actively press the bar up overhead and keep your arms externally rotated.  The best overhead squatters have the range of motion in their joints to keep an almost vertical structure from hands to hips. This means getting your hips low keeping your chest up.  If you don’t have the ROM now that’s okay! It doesn’t mean you can’t practice the movement.  Go as deep as you can into a squat with a weight you can keep supported overhead.  Don’t be afraid to use an empty bar or PVC pipe if you want to work on the skill. If OHS isn’t happening today substitute a front squat and start spending some time working on that ROM!  You will only be swinging your kettlebell with one arm up to eye level, do not go all the way overhead here! Break up the swings any way you want but distribute the work evenly across both arms. Alternating arms by switching as the kettlebell is at the apex of the swing will be the most efficient but the transfer is a difficult skill. If you have trouble alternating you can scale the movement by completing 5 in a row on each arm instead.  You will most likely find the one arm variant to be a little more difficult that your standard swing!

Skill

10 Rounds of 30 Seconds work 90 seconds rest

Air assault bike for calories

For our skill work today we have 20 minutes of interval work on the assault bike.  Every 2 minutes you will bike for 30 seconds. Spend the rest of the 2 minute interval resting while your partner works through their 30 seconds.  This is a good opportunity to get familiar with the air-bike and test your capacity.  We have a 1:3 work rest ratio so that gives you the opportunity to go at a strong effort for your 30 second work period. That doesn’t mean you should go all out early on! Use those first 2-3 rounds as warm up and try to increase your intensity across all 10 rounds.

WOD

“Annie”

50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Sit-Ups

Workout notes: Annie is a classic benchmark workout from CrossFit.com.  The workout is simple and meant to be fast! If you do not yet have good consistency with double unders set a rep scheme for yourself that will be manageable under fatigue.  25-20-15-10-5 would be a great option if you are still working on this difficult skill or you could even choose to do 10 double unders every round without changing the sit-up rep scheme. If you are not sure of your double under capability you can choose to perform twice as many single unders with a double under attempt every 10 jumps. If you are worried about this volume of sit-ups you can skip the first set of 50 and start with 40 instead. If you choose this scaling option your workout will end after your set of 10 double unders.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
3 Split Jerks

Today’s technique work  focuses on the Split Jerk.   For this complex work with a weight light enough that you can clean it from the floor and catch it in a partial squat before you setup for your jerk sequence.  You will need to manage bringing the bar down from overhead safely and for that reason your load may be much lighter than what you work with for strong effort lifts.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes

10 Pull-ups
20 Push-ups
30 Squats

Workout notes: Today’s workout is a time priority triplet.   Today we’ll perform 10 minutes of double Cindy.  Doubling the reps of the classic CrossFit workout will increase the difficult of all three movements.  We’ll work for half the time of Cindy so the total volume will end up being a little lower. Scale the pull-ups by using a band or performing jumping pull-ups.  You’ll want to scale in such a way that you retain the stimulus of the the pull-up.  Keep those push-ups as strict as possible and hit the bottom of your squat even when get fatigued!