Category: Workout of the Day

Skill

Front squat
2-2-2-2-2

Today we’re working up to a strong effort two 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 12 minutes
200M Run
20 Burpees
200M Run
35 Burpees
200M Run
50 Burpees

Workout notes

If you were able to participate in yesterday’s workout you know we encountered an interval workout that had three different weightlifting movements and no bodyweight elements. Today’s workout is a moderate length couplet featuring two bodyweight movements and no barbell in sight.  We have a heavy dose of burpees and light sprinkling of running. Event though this is an “AMRAP”, you could think of this workout as an interval workout  by doing your best to push the pace on the burpees and use the run as recovery.   Most of us will jog at a moderate recovery pace on the runs but that should still leave you with time to get deep into the round of 50 or maybe complete an entire round and then some.  Score this workout by the number of burpees you complete in 12 minutes! 

Skill

Tabata knee to elbows

Today we are working on a different skill that 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.  We’ll use the Tabata timer which will give you the opportunity to attempt one or maybe two small sets in each round.

WOD

7 Rounds of 2 minutes on 1 minute off

3 sumo deadlift high pulls 95/65 lb
6 push press 95/65 lb
9 front squats 95/65 lb

Workout notes

Today’s workout is a tough interval style workout with a light benchmark weight.  The load we’re looking for in this triplet is one you could easily do each movement unbroken with when fresh as well as deep into the workout. Likely most of us will to need to pace this by inserting rest between movements or rounds even if you use a light load.  We’ll score this workout like you would score the workout “The Chief”.  Your score will be the total number of rounds you finish plus all of the additional reps you complete.  Remember to restart with the sumo deadlift high pull with every two minute restart.

Skill

EMOM for 10 minutes
15 seconds TnG power snatch
45 seconds rest

Our skill work today is another bout of intensity training! Today we’re focusing on barbell cycling.  The goal for each round will be to spend all of the fifteen seconds cycling snatches.  Advanced athletes could target a load in the 65% range so this could be a little heavier than what you used when we saw thirty seconds of snatches on April 10th.  6-7 reps are possible within each interval so remember the volume will be on the higher end. Keep your reps efficient and mechanically sound.  If you need to decrease reps in the later rounds to stay safe, please do!

WOD

AMRAP in 10 minutes
30 Sit-ups w/ medicine ball 20/14 lb
100M run w/ medicine ball 20/14 lb

Workout notes

This workout has the potential for a high volume of sit-ups and a guarantee for lots of fun with a medicine ball! Touch the medicine ball behind your head on the floor and then at your feet for every rep.  The run is on the shorter side but carrying the medicine ball will be uncomfortable so find your favorite was to carry the ball and push the pace to keep your time outside short!

Skill

EMOM for 10 Minutes
[odd] 30 second handstand hold
[even] 30 second arch hold

Today’s skill work involves two gymnastic positions.  On every odd minute hold a handstand for as much of thirty seconds as you are capable. Ideally we’ll hold the handstand facing the wall in a tight hollow body position.  If you are new to the movement you can practice kicking up with your back facing the wall or use a box to and hold a pike position with your torso vertical and hips bent. On the even minutes hold an arch or superman on the floor with your arms outstretched and legs extended. For an extra challenge try this with a PVC pipe.

WOD

for time
30-20-10
Alternating kettlebell clean & jerk 32/24 kg
Box jump 24/20″

Workout notes

If you were able to participate in our workout yesterday we saw a high number of kettlebell snatches using a moderate weight. Today we’re bumping up the load and performing clean and jerks.  This movement will feel similar to the snatch, but is often found to be a bit more simple mechanically. Use the same starting position as a snatch but bring the kettlebell to rest at your shoulder prior to sending the weight overhead.  Keep your elbow tucked in front of you with the kettlebell at your shoulder as your drive with your legs to either push press or jerk the kettlebell overhead. Make sure to end the movement with a locked out elbow and the kettlebell stacked right over your shoulder.  The box jump volume is on the high side for each set so make sure to choose a box you are comfortable jumping to when fresh and under fatigue.

WOD

for time

50 Pull-ups
1000M Run
50 Kettlebell snatch 24/16 kg
1000M Run
150 Double Unders
1000M Run

Workout notes

Today’s workout features three difficult movements coupled with a run down to Cantrill after every round.   Your score will be the total time it takes to complete the entire chipper.  The total volume of each movement is moderate but seeing higher reps in single element format will increase the difficulty level. Scale by adapting each movement to one you can perform larger set sizes.  Snatches can be scaled by weight and double unders can be scaled by volume if you are still learning the movement.  Scaling pull-ups will require the most attention. If you are new to pull-ups consider banded pull-ups, ring rows or jumping pull-ups as an alternative or drop the volume down from 50 to something more manageable.

WOD

7 Rounds for time
21 Wall Ball Shots 20/14 lb 10/9′
4 Power Cleans 205/145 lb

Workout notes

Today’s workout is a longer duration couplet with a high volume of reps disguised by the rep scheme.  At first glance the total rep count might seem pretty low but in the end you will have done almost a full Karen’s worth of wall ball shots and many heavy power cleans.  The benchmark load on the clean is on the heavier side but keep in mind we’re still doing these cleans in a metcon so start by warming up to 60% of your 1RM and then slightly increase the load for the workout if you have the mechanics down.  If you are new to CrossFit or this level of volume consider scaling to 4 or 5 rounds.

Skill

Front squat
3-3-3-3-3

Today we’re working up to a strong effort three 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 12 minutes

200 m run
15 KB swings 32/24 kg
10 push ups

Workout notes

Today’s workout is in a similar format to the workout “Helen”  but we’re stepping up the benchmark load on the kettlebell and trading pull-ups for push-ups.  As you work through the AMRAP you should be recovered some what after each run so make a quick transition to the kettlebell swing and move right into the push-ups.

Skill

5 rounds of

30 seconds of assault bike
90 seconds of rest
30 seconds of burpees to target
90 seconds of rest

Our skill work today is another round in our “intensity” progression.  You’ll have 5 attempts at 30 seconds to work on each movement.  The intent of this workout is to practice moving faster than you might normally when you see these movements in a typical workout.    You will have able rest between each movement so go hard enough that you need to utilize all of those 90 seconds.  Try to partner up with someone you can agree with on a height setting for the seat.  If not you can quickly change it during your rest interval.  For your burpee target find a pull-up bar that is just outside of your reach and try to explode quickly from the floor and jump to the bar immediately after you reach your feet.

WOD

AMRAP in 9 minutes
9 push jerks 115/75 lb
15 sit ups
21 double unders

Workout notes

This workout is a triplet with one difficult weightlifting movement and two bodyweight movements. We start with 9 push jerks. Make an effort to slightly bend the knees when you receive the bar overhead prior to standing up even if you are capable of push-pressing the weight.  The push jerk will be more efficient as you get deeper into the workout and fatigue sets in.  Use a weight your could complete each round in 1-2 sets.  The set size for the double unders is on the lower side so you can use this opportunity to try and “rx” the movement if you feel like you are ready.  You can scale by volume first or perform single unders if double unders are not happening today.

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

3 rounds for time

30 goblet squats 32/24 kg
400 m run

Workout notes

This workout is a short couplet with one simple weightlifting movement and running.  The goblet squat is a great exercise for refining your squatting mechanics and increasing your strength and stamina as well.  Holding the kettlebell or a dumbbell just below the chin should help you keep your torso upright and at the same angle throughout the rep.  30 reps is on the larger side so break them up as needed and use first part of the run to let your legs recover a bit.  Keep in mind that the run constitutes a large part of the workout so you don’t want to take it too easy there!

Skill

EMOM for 10 minutes

[odd] 30 seconds of Toe-To-Bar then 30 seconds of push ups
[even] Rest

Today’s skill work will have five opportunities to work on both toe-to-tar and push-ups.  Start each round with 1-2 sets of toe-to-bar, knee raises or kipping swings giving yourself thirty seconds to work on the skill.  Immediately transition to thirty seconds of push-ups.  Most of us will need to break the thirty second work period into several smaller sets in order to work continuously.  Use this opportunity to focus on keeping your push-ups to the strictest and most difficult standard possible.

WOD

5 rounds for reps with 30 seconds on each station

Box jump 24/20″
Rest
Alternating dumbbell snatches 50/35 lb
Rest
Row for calories
Rest

Workout notes

Today’s workout will be scored as you would score the workout “Fight Gone Bad”. Count your total number of repetitions across all five rounds and three stations to come up with one large number.  Each of these moves has a similar stimulus so consider that when you set your pacing strategy in the first round.  We’re working at a 1:1 work: rest ratio so that should give you the opportunity to push each round a little hard than you might normally.  Try to work continuously through each work period and use the rest to recover and transition to your next station.