Author: cfdavis

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
30 seconds of Handstand Push-Ups

For today’s skill work we are working on a difficult gymnastics skill.  The strength and skill minimum for attempting handstand push-ups is 10 perfect and unbroken push-ups as well as at least a 60 second handstand hold.  If you aren’t able to perform the base skills, scale the movement to one that gets you working on the movement and addresses your biggest weakness. Spend 30 seconds of each  minute working on the skill by working in small sets or performing single reps if need be. Scale with one or two abmats in order to learn the skill but any more than that and you are better off choosing a scaling option that will address strength issues.  Pike push-ups with your feet on the ground or on a box are a great option.

WOD

AMRAP in 15 Minutes
9 Push Press 115/75lb
12 Front Rack Lunge Steps 115/75lb
15 Lateral Burpees Over the Bar

Workout Notes: Today we are working in a longer time domain. You will want to find a pace you can sustain throughout the 15 minutes.  Make sure to test several reps of both the push press and the lunge steps with your barbell before the workout begins as they are both tough movements when done with weight.  You should be able to get through the push press reps and the lunge steps in 2 sets when you are fresh.  This does not have to be sustainable through the entire workout, but you don’t want to get stuck on any one movement for too long.  Your burpees will be done next to your bar with a lateral jump over your bar after each rep.

Skill

6×3 Strict Weighted Pull-Up

Perform 6 sets of 3 weighted pull-ups and increase the weight across each set if possible. If you are not quite ready for weighted pull-ups but can do strict bodyweight pull-ups, get through as many sets of 2-3 as possible in the time allotted.  If you do not have strict pull-ups yet perform 5-10 sets for max reps of supine ring rows. For those of you working on rings rows, feel free to sprinkle in some sets of banded pull-ups or jumping pull-ups with a slow negative as well.

WOD

3 rounds for reps with 90 seconds at each station

Toes to Bar
Wall Ball Shots 20/14lb 10/9″
Row for Calories

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 3 rounds and come up with one total score.  In this style of workout you are often given one minute to work per movement. Today we are bumping it up to 90 seconds so plan to pace yourself to account for the extra time.  If you need to scale toes to bar you can choose to do knee raises or just work on getting your toes as close to the bar as you can with each rep.  If for any reason you can’t hang from the bar at all you can replace the toes to bar with sit-ups with your wall ball at your chest or over your head.  There is no rest in today’s workout so plan to choose a pace that you feel you can sustain with each movement.

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
1 Squat Clean

Spend 10 minutes working up to a strong effort squat clean.  If you are new to the lift start by catching the bar in the power position and slowly riding the bar down into the bottom of your squat.  Start with your feet beneath your hips as you pull from the floor and widen your stance to shoulder width as you receive the bar and descend into your squat.  If you know your 1 rep max plan for a PR attempt in the 10th minute if things are feeling good!

WOD

6 rounds for time
12 Kettlebell Swings 32/24kg
6 front squat 185/125lb

Today’s workout is another couplet, but unlike yesterday we will be working with lower reps and heavier weights.  You should be able to do your first round of kettlebell swings in two sets. This doesn’t mean you have to sustain this throughout the workout, but make sure you can move your kettlebell safely under fatigue.  The front squat weight is meant to be challenging today. Use this as an opportunity to bump the weight up if you have been working with the same weights for awhile. You will have to clean your bar each time before your squats so keep that in mind when choosing your weight. Use your squat clean practice from today’s EMOM and plan to squat clean the first rep of each set if you can.

Skill
Tabata Hollow Rock
1 Minute Rest
Tabata Arch Hold
1 Minute Rest
Tabata Plank Hold

The tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest.  You will complete 8 rounds of each skill before moving on to the next movement. Todays skill work is focusing on midline stability and good body position. Make sure you are able to keep your lower back in contact with the floor while you are in the hollow position. You can scale this movement by bringing one leg in or your arms down near your side.  If you are new to this position try starting with a hollow hold rather than worrying about the rock.  Squeeze your glutes during the arch hold and try to keep your feet together and your arms out in front of you shoulder width apart.  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 20 seconds every round.

WOD

AMRAP in 10 Minutes

30 Double Unders
15 Hang Power Cleans 95/65lb

Workout Notes: Today’s workout is a twist on a classic Open workout from both 2011 and 2014.  The weight on your barbell should be very light and doing the first few rounds unbroken or in 2 sets should not be out of the question.  If you are still working on double unders scale the number to something more manageable rather than doing singles. More single unders won’t get you better at double unders, but more double unders will!

WOD

For Time
30-25-20-15-10-5
Push-Ups
60-50-40-30-20-10
Alternating Dumbbell Snatch 45/30lb

Workout Notes: Today we’re tackling high reps of both push-ups and dumbbell snatches. The push-ups will most likely be the more difficult of the two movements.  If you’re unable to perform strict push-ups from your toes you can scale to strict knee push-ups.  Whether you are on your knees or toes for your push-ups make sure you are able to execute full range of motion reps without resting at the bottom.  The dumbbell snatch weight should be manageable so that you can move fairly quickly from rep to rep.  Make sure to alternate arms for each rep and focus on keeping your back flat and lifting with your legs.  If you are worried about the total volume of this workout skip the first rounds of each movement and start with 25 push-ups and 50 dumbbell snatches.

WOD

4 Rounds of 4 Minutes
40 Wall Ball Shots 20/14 lb 10/9′
Max Reps Burpee Box Jumps 24/20″
Rest 1 Minute between rounds

Workout Notes: For todays workout you will be working for 4 minutes at a time with 1 minute of rest between each round.  Each round will begin with 40 wall ball shots.  As soon as you finish the 40 wall balls you will move on to complete as many burpee box jumps as you can in the time remaining.  If you are worried about the wall ball volume use the first round as a test and if you are unable to complete the 40 reps in under 3 minutes think about scaling the number back to 25 or 30 per round. Your score for this workout will be your total number of burpee box jumps.

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!