Category: Workout of the Day

  • May 4, 2017

    Skill

    EMOM for 10 Minutes
    Straight set of Kipping Pull-Ups

    Spend ten minutes workout on a straight set of kipping pull-ups.  If you are able to perform kipping pull-ups attempt to hold the same number across all ten minutes. That means starting easy and making sure you don’t hit failure early on.  Remember each round increases in difficulty as you get more fatigued.  If you are only able to do 1-2 pull-ups at a time feel free to jump up for 2 sets max. If you are not quite yet able to complete a pull-up you can alternate minutes between practicing the kipping swing, jumping pull-ups or kipping pull-ups with a band. When choosing a band make sure to use one with as little assistance as possible. If you have mastered the kipping pull-up and are able to do solid sets of 10 or more, talk to your coach about starting to learn the butterfly swing or scaling up the difficulty with chest-to-bar pull-ups.

    WOD

    For time
    21-15-9
    Thruster 95/65lb
    Push-Up

    Workout Notes: Today’s workout is a classic couplet with a bit of a hero twist.  Hero workouts often feature movements that fatigue the same muscles back to back.  Here you will be pushing with your arms for the thruster and then pushing with your arms again during the push-ups. Make sure to utilize the hip and leg drive during the thruster as much as possible to save your arms for the push-ups. Your thruster weight should be manageable for decent sets throughout the workout. Plan to get through the set of 21 in 3 sets max. 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.  Don’t be afraid to break up your reps early and often to keep the pace quick on your push-ups.

  • May 3, 2017

    Skill

    EMOM for 10 Minutes
    3 Power Snatch

    Perform three power snatches every minute for a total of 10 rounds. You can choose to link your reps together or perform three singles, but make sure you’re able to get all 3 reps done within each minute.  The weight you choose should be in the  moderate effort range.  An appropriate weight would likely be 65-70% or less for newer lifters. Consider starting with a weight you are very familiar with and increasing by small increments if  the lifts are going well.  Even though we are not squatting in this version of the snatch, make sure to drop underneath the bar slightly as you catch it with your hips behind you.  If mobility is an issue for you, talk to your coach about practicing a split snatch!

    WOD

    3 rounds for time
    20 Jumping Lunges
    30 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches 50/35lb
    400m Run

    Workout Notes: Today’s workout is a triplet. The jumping lunges are meant to be explosive so attempt to explode from the bottom position of your lunge and land on the alternate setup.  You are not jumping for height but rather you are jumping into the opposition position for SPEED. They take some balance and skill so if you’re having trouble just slow down and work on the mechanics and make sure to land gently so as not to slam your knee into the ground. For the dumbbell snatches you will alternate arms for each rep. Make sure to return the dumbbell to the ground between each rep but you are free to alternate hands in the air if you would like to perform the reps “touch and go”.

  • May 2, 2017

    Skill

    Two rounds of Tabata Alternating between

    Double Unders
    L-sit or L-hang

    The Tabata interval is 8 rounds of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off for a total of 4 minutes.  We’re doubling that for this skill work so we’re doing a total of 8 minutes. Alternate movements every interval. If you are still working on double unders use the 20 seconds to get a few reps or attempts in.  During the L-sit you can choose to sit on the floor with your hands on the ground at your side and your legs together straight out in front of you.  A more difficult version of this skill would be hanging from a bar or rings. The ideal L will have your legs straight and also above parallel. You can scale the movement by bringing in one or both legs.

    WOD

    3 rounds for max reps
    2 minutes Row for Calories
    2 minutes Burpee Pull-ups
    2 minutes Rest

    Workout Notes: Today’s workout is interval based. You will be working at 2 different stations for 2 minutes each.  You will then have 2 minutes to recover before your next round.  Because you are only working for 4 minutes at a time the goal should be to find a pace that is much faster than you might choose for a longer workout.  Treat each 2 minute period like a sprint and then do your best to recover during your rest period. For the burpee pull-up you will perform a burpee in front of your pull-up bar and follow it up with a jumping pull-up. The burpee pull-up is most effective when performed as a jumping pull-up with a bar just outside your reach. Utilize as much of a strict pull-up as possible.  If you are unable to get your chin all the way over the bar using a bar outside of your reach, choose a bar that is closer and allows you to jump to it to complete the pull-up.  We will not be using bands for this workout so make sure that you are as close to the bar as needed to be able to get your chin over the bar for the jumping pull-up portion of the movement.  If classes are large we will start the workout in waves so that everyone starts on the rower and ends on the burpee pull-ups. Your score for this workout will be your total calories plus your total burpee pull-ups.

  • May 1, 2017

    Skill

    Front Squat
    2RM

    Spend today working up to a 2RM front squat. New lifters can work up to a moderately heavy double for the day and perform multiple sets at this weight if you are not comfortable maxing out.  Focus on an upright torso with elbows up and knees tracking over the feet. The bar should be resting on your shoulders with your hands open to relieve wrist pressure.  Remember that we do not spot anyone when front squatting, when you un-rack the bar take a couple steps back to allow for room to ditch the bar if needed.

    WOD

    AMRAP in 7 Minutes
    10 Deadlifts 185/125lb
    20 Air Squats

    Workout Notes: If you came to class on Friday this workout might look familiar. The rep scheme and time domain is the same,  but today we’re deadlifting and squatting. Your deadlift weight shouldn’t be terribly heavy. Choose a weight that allows you to get 10 reps done in 1-2 sets when you are fresh.  The workout is short so you will want to be able to move through both the deadlifts and squats at a reasonable pace. Make sure to squat to full depth and then open your hips as you stand for every rep, use a medicine ball as a target if needed to hold yourself to this standard.

  • April 30, 2017

    WOD

    5 Rounds for time

    400M Run
    30 Sit-ups
    20 Kettlebell Swings 32/24 kg

    Workout notes: Our workout today is a time priority triplet.  5 rounds with running and conditioning movements puts this workout into the aerobic time domain.  Even though we’re looking for you to work at a sustainable pace throughout the workout you have an opportunity to attempt a heavier kettlebell swing than you usually work with. We have a full 400m run and 30 sit-ups between each set of swings so this is a great chance to challenge yourself and use the other movements as a bit of recovery from the weighted movement.  If the swings are easy for you here is your chance to work on the bodyweight movements or feel free to scale up to a 28 or 36 if you’re ready!

  • April 29, 2017

    WOD

    AMRAP in 20 Minutes

    5 Squat Snatch 115/85 lb
    10 Toe-To Bar
    15 Bar Facing Burpees

    Workout notes: For today’s workout we are dipping our toes into a longer time domain. At 20 minutes we’re working well into the oxidative spectrum so your scaling should reflect continuous effort for the duration of the workout. The snatch should be much lower than what a max effort lift would be for you. Spend some time working up to and deciding what your workout weight should be. Snatches are always challenging so make sure you can complete the lift to your fullest range of motion with the weight you choose.  Toes-to-bar can be scaled to a leg or knee raise depending on your current skill level or sit-ups can be substituted if needed.

  • April 28, 2017

    Skill

    10×1
    Deadlift

    Today we will be completing 10 heavy single 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 enough that you are able to work on proper body mechanics as you increase in weight.  Always 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 though each set and only increase weight if you are able to do this.  Warm up with multiple reps as you build in weight and when the bar starts to feel heavy drop to singles until you’ve have completed 10 heavy single reps.

    WOD

    AMRAP in 7 Minutes
    10 Power Cleans 135/95lb
    20 Push Ups

    Workout Notes: Today’s workout is a classic pairing of movements and a workout from CrossFit.com.  Your power clean weight should be something you can complete quick singles with or small sets to complete the 10 each round.  If you are scaling the weight and doing 10 unbroken reps each round  you may have gone too light.  Scale the push-ups as needed so that you can maintain good form and get through the 20 reps at a decent pace.  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.  Don’t be afraid to break up your reps early and often to keep the pace quick on your push-ups.

  • April 27, 2017

    Skill

    EMOM for 10 Minutes
    2 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

    For time

    30-20-10
    Kettlebell Clean & Push Press 32/24 kg
    Box Jump 24/20″

    Workout notes: The one arm kettlebell clean can be more difficult than it’s barbell counterpart because the movement requires unilateral coordination.  In the barbell movement we pull our elbows around the bar and with the kettlebell you will need to rotate the object around your wrist as you receive the KB at your shoulder. Keep your elbow tucked in prior to beginning the push press.  In the split or push jerk we catch the bar by dropping under it for efficiency.  In this workout we’re specifically looking for a weight that makes a push press possible. You may perform your reps touch and go on one arm but do distribute the work evenly!  If you can’t find a kettlebell weight that works for you a dumbbell can be used.

  • April 26, 2017

    Skill

    10 rounds
    20 seconds Hollow Rock or Hold
    20 seconds Super Man Hold
    20 seconds rest

    Maintain each position as long as you can during the work periods. Hold back early and give yourself some rest if needed rather than going to failure. You can scale each movement independently so set yourself up to get some good work in based on your ability. If you are unable to hold a quality position as the rounds go on consider taking a round off and jumping back in when you’re ready!

    WOD

    Starting at 0:00

    For time
    400m Run
    50 Air Squats

    Starting at 5:00

    For time
    100 Air Squats
    1000m Run

    Workout Notes: Today you will be completing two separate workouts that will each be for time.  The first workout should feel like an all out sprint.  The goal will be to complete the 400 meter run and 50 squats in under 5 minutes so that you have some time to recover before the second workout starts.  If you think this might not be possible for you and the first run might take you over 3 minutes or if squats are a difficult movement for you, decrease the number of squats to 25-35 rather than 50.  When the clock hits 5:00 your second workout begins.  This time you will start with the squats.  When you have completed 100 air squats take off for your last run out the back doors down to Cantrill and back.  The volume of squats can be changed in the second workout as well. Choose to do 50-75 squats here if 100 sounds like too many. Make sure to stay on the sidewalk for your 1000m run and push the pace especially as you make your way back to the gym to finish strong! Your score for this workout will be two separate times.

  • April 25, 2017

    Skill

    10×3
    Strict Chest to Bar Pull-Ups

    Today we’re upping the ante with the strict pull-up and giving strict Chest-t0-Bar pull-ups a try.  If you are unable to actually make contact with your chest here just focus on pulling as high as you can for each rep. If 3 is too many you can complete 10 sets of 1 or 2. If you do not have strict pull-ups yet perform 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.  If you have been working on ring rows for awhile try changing your body angle or raising your feet to a box to make them more difficult.

    WOD

    In front of a clock set for 12 minutes:

    1 minute of Double Unders
    1 minute of Two Arm Dumbbell Suitcase Lunges 50/35lb
    2 minutes of Double Unders
    2 minutes of Two Arm Dumbbell Suitcase Lunges 50/35lb
    3 minutes of Double Unders
    3 minutes of Two Arm Dumbbell Suitcase Lunges 50/35lb

    Workout notes: This couplet features a time priority format introduced at CrossFit.com.  Your score will be the total number of repetitions you complete of each movement so make a good effort with both.  Make sure to choose dumbells that you can do multiple lunges in a row with without swinging the dumbbells and while keeping your chest upright. If classes are crowded find someone to share dumbbells with and start at opposite stations.