Here we go! WODs for the week - 111128-111202

Because things are sure to be hectic in the coming weeks I will need to make a minor change in how I blog WODs (that's kind of a weird thing to say, "Blog WOD"). This will be a temporary change but will help me be more efficient with free time that will be better spent painting, securing, cutting, and otherwise getting our space ready for the months ahead. 


The plan is to post WODs and warmups all at once for the coming week. I will still amend the posts with times as they are available. Also, the flavor of the WODs will change. Currently, we utilize the "mainsite" or CrossFit.com as our program template. Due to equipment and space restrictions while items are being put into place, WODs will be built around the known and available resources. 


111128 - Monday (year/month/day)


WOD - 6am Ultimate Fitness - FREE CLASS!
AMRAP 10 (as many rounds as possible in 10 min)
- 7 Thursters (95#)
- 10 overhead walking lunges w/ 45# plate
- 7 bumper plate burpees
- 10 overhead walking lunges w/ 45# plate


Pretty happy with the programming here although we amended to 7 walking lunges out and back. Known: leg taxer, Discovered: midline hammered. The rep scheme and weight allowed us to work continuously with no break. Ideally this is how I like to see 90% of metcons performed. 


John: 5 rounds + 5 reps
Louis: 4 rounds + 14 reps (11 min)

Scale load as needed. Plate used for lunges will be set down after 10 paces and burpees will be performed on that spot. A "bumper burpee" is similar to a standard burpee however this movement ends with both feet planted on the bumper plate with a noticeably open hip rather than the standard overhead clap.


Warm Up
- 400m run (down to stop sign and back) - first 200m forwards, next 200m backward (or backwards for as long as you are able to run backwards)
- Instructor led stretches
- Box complex (10 step ups, 10 single jumps, 10 consecutive jumps, 10 box clears - if possible, if not, continue to perform the achievable movement with the highest degree of difficulty for you)




Strength/Skill
- Shoulder press (using PVC pipe or working 50-60-70% of 3RM)
*Work on form and placement for the strict overhead press. First time athletes will perform with PVC pipe/dowels. 



111129 - Tuesday


WOD - 6am Ultimate Fitness - FREE CLASS!
Perform for time:
"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
- Double Unders
- Sit ups


John: 6:07 
This seemed to go by pretty fast and I thought I had a sub 5:30 in the bag as all movements were unbroken. I did have two snags before starting my round of 30 and round of 10 double unders. Looks like I'll just have to get faster at everything! 


Stephen 6:34 (pr)


Scale reps and movement as needed. 


Warm Up
- "Track warm up" - instructor led


Then...
- 15 good mornings
- 15 jumping lunges
- 10 kipping swings
- 15 boot strappers
- 15 up/downs
(^ x 2)




Strength/Skill
- Back squat/air squat - 3 sets of 5 with no more than 60% of 1RM for load. New athletes will work air squats (3 sets of 20).



111130 - Wednesday


WOD - 6am Ultimate Fitness - FREE CLASS!
Perform for time:
100 hang squat clean thrusters - 65# (every minute on the minute perform 5 burpees)


Louis got the privilege of taking on this bad boy alone as Stephen is preparing for the marathon and it was a rest day for me. Having done this WOD three times I can tell you I didn't miss it. The first round started off very well with 17 reps. All-in-all the WOD took its toll but Louis managed 65 reps plus 49 burpees (went to 3 burpees per min at the 9th min) in 12 minutes. 


Scale reps and movement as needed. 


Warm Up
- Run 800m
- Yoga stretches - instructor led
- Pullup work (if you are not working on pullups, perform sets of 10 slow air squats with focus on form - rest 30 sec - 1 min between sets)


Strength/Skill
- Hang squat cleans - spend 7 min working up to a heavy single. New athletes will work components of this movement with PVC pipe. 



111201 - Thursday


WOD - 6am Ultimate Fitness - FREE CLASS!
10 rounds with 1:30 rest between rounds of:
100m sprints for time


We audibled sprints in 25 degree weather in favor of tomorrow's WOD - Front Squats. I'm just not a fan of asking for quick, explosive work at sub-freezing temps mainly with an eye on injury. 
After warmup sets of 135 x 3 and 181 x 3 Louis hit the following:
209-229(pr)-253(pr)

He had more in the tank but properly did not push past the big pr. Unfortunately my back fired up on me out of the rack with our warm up sets so I swapped to 3 rep back squats which strangely felt ok. Loads were the same as Louis so I ended up with a 3 x 5 of 135-181-206-229-253. The good news is that 253 felt light and I could have/should have repped out more but I'll take my health and move on.


Warm Up
- 10 burpees (rest 30 sec), 20 burpees (rest 1 min), 30 burpess (rest 2 min)
- Instructor led stretches (focus on hamstrings)


Then
- 15 samsons
- 15 inch worms
- 1 bear crawl
- 1 duck walk (back)
- 15 air squats
(^ x 2, rest 1 min between)


Strength/Skill
- Behind the neck jerk - 3 sets of 5, no more than 50% of 1RM or work PVC for new athletes.



111202 - Friday


WOD - 6am Ultimate Fitness - FREE CLASS!
1 rep max - Front Squat (1-1-1-1-1-1-1)


Warm Up
- Front/back shuttle run x 3 (20m increments) with 5 burpees between efforts
- Instructor led stretches (focus on trunk, glutes, and hamstrings)


Then
- 5 Hand Stand Pushups
- 5 Toes to Bar
- 10 rolling pistols (one legged squats)
(^ x 3)


Strength/Skill
- Double unders after the WOD as time permits

Big things in motion - FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25TH, 2011

Posts, workouts, and attention has been a less than perfect for a few weeks but BIG THINGS ARE IN MOTION! 

In no particular order here are a few of the cool things getting ready to take place:

- A space has been secured inside of Ultimate Fitness on Senter St in Tupelo (off of South Gloster) for the purpose of training those interested in CrossFit methodology. Because the gym is primarily a MMA/Boxing training facility there are a number of interested athletes. Jeff Chambers and Mark Ramano are co-owners and have generously extended this space and their time. 

- The initial steps for CrossFit affiliation have been completed and I am waiting to hear from CFHQ (headquarters) on what steps should be taken next. The application process included an affiliate name slot and we went with CrossFit Tupelo. This brand cannot be used to advertise until approval is official.

- While we await on affiliate status for CrossFit Tupelo, classes (simply titled "lead by CrossFit-certified instructor") will be offered at no cost starting Monday, November 28th at 6am. These classes will run weekdays from 6-7am and at 8am on Saturdays until Friday, December 9th.  We hope to generate interest and answer questions prospective athletes may have about this program. 

- The initial "fundamentals class" will take place on Saturday, December 10th and Sunday December 11th. 

- Our first formal class will meet Monday, December 12th. Class times have not been solidified at this time but the working schedule looks like MWF 6-7am and T,Th 4:30-5:30pm. Sat at 8am. Closed Sunday. More classes will be added as feedback is accumulated. I expect to have a printable flyer up on CrossFitting in Tupelo's Facebook page shortly. We will also have a generic informational flyer available early next week. 

- Class size will be limited while athletes are brought up to speed. 

- Stephen Alred and I started work on the pullup bar today. It is going to accomidate up to 13 athletes. Big thanks to Stephen for the design. It changed about 5 times and 3 locations from our initial concept. 

- Over the next month, assuming affiliate status is granted, we will transition from a Group to a Business page on Facebook and a website will be launched. 

- On a related note, Stephen was certified as a CrossFit Endurance instructor and can now officially tell me that my running mechanics are terrible and possibly dangerous. 

I'm sure there are other things I've left out but that's a short synopsis of my last four weeks. Lots more details to come!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24TH 2011

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24TH 2011 Happy thanksgiving everybody. I'm posting from the iPad so this may or may not get formatted. No real WOD today as I'm sure everyone is eating/watching football for time. I did about three hours of leaf raking followed by an actual WOD - 5K Grace. Actually I decided to run a 5k and did a "buy in" before of as many clean and jerks as possible without setting the bar down. I choose 115# for a few reasons and managed 20 reps before taking off on the run. Tried to just enjoy the day and ran slow - about 24-25 min. Finished with ten more clean and jerks after the run. This is bad programming and not something I recommend but it is what I wanted to do today. We all have so much to be thankful for and I hope you all count your blessings as the day unfolds.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23RD, 2011

REST DAY

Some rest day love for our knees

Why is work capacity important and how do we safely achieve a greater level of fitness?

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22ND, 2011

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22ND, 2011


WOD
Snatch Balance
1-1-1-1-1-1-1


John: 115-135-155-175-192 (7# pr)
Louis: form work at 65# (triples)

I'd say that over time, single rep max days have gone from my least favorite thing to do to one of my most favorite. It's a combination of technique work and having one to two opportunities to put everything into proper sequence to achieve new heights. PR's happen in metcons and monostructural work was well, but there is a certain amount of instant gratification in a successful 1RM that cannot be duplicated.

Louis made great strides in his technique today. I know that isn't as exciting in the short term, but understanding key elements of Olympic lifting open the door to a world of potential. Prior to today, going overhead in combination with any kind of squatting motion was a little difficult for Louis, but we were able to work on foot placement in combination with a better understanding of the active shoulders to promote a solid trunk which will, over time, allow him to move A LOT of weight.

Watch the speed! Get the bar off of your back with a short, powerful hip thrust, then push yourself down under the bar FAST to receive the weight. Proper foot speed, midline stability, and active shoulders are a must for this lift.

Warm Up

- 1,000m row

- 10 min stretching focused mainly on the trunk, shoulders, hams, and glutes.

- 10 split jerks (45# bar)

- 10 overhead squats (45# bar)

(^ x 3)

AMRAP 5 min of:

- 7 box jumps

- 5 hang squat snatches (65#)

MONDAY NOVEMEBER 21ST, 2011

MONDAY NOVEMEBER 21ST, 2011


WOD
"Nicole"
20 min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:
- Run 400m
- Max rep pullups (round ends with the drop from the bar)


Louis: 8 rounds, 59 pullups at 19:30
John: 8 rounds, 144 pullups (pr)


Based on some of the 400m splits I'd say that our course is a touch short of .25 miles, but perhaps only 30 or so meters (+/- 5-6 seconds). Over the course of 20 min though that probably added up to the completion of 8 rounds for me. Louis finished in plenty of time and would have had 8 rounds easy. 

Warm Up
- 800m run
- 10 kipping swings
- 15 air squats
- 10 knees to elbows
- 15 pvc pass-throughs
- 10 jumping squats
- 15 paralette pass-throughs
- 10 samsons

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20TH, 2011

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20TH, 2011


Vacations are nice but it is always good to be back home. Louis and I took on an AgainFaster series WOD named "Russell" which consisted of the following:


WOD
3 rounds for time
- 25 double unders
- 25 push ups (hand release at the bottom)
- shuttle run - 60m in 10m increments


Lois: 7:27
John: 5:13


Before the WOD we went max rep Hand Stand Push Ups. Louis got his first honest head to the cement HSPU and I was able to rep out 18 unbroken which is a new PR. After the WOD, Louis hit a new double under PR at 39!

Warm UP
- box jump complex
 3 Rounds of the following
- 200m run
- 10 thrusters (45#)
- 10 overhead squats (45#)

WODS FOR THE WEEK WED - SAT

WODS FOR THE WEEK WED - SAT (NOV 16 - 19)
Leigh and I are taking the girls to the beach for our yearly "long" vacation. I figured it would be a good idea to post the WODs for the coming days as internet access will most likely be limited to whatever network Gulf Shores offers and I'm not typing warmups with my fat fingers. 


Trolling through the archives of workouts is always fun. This week we're going to revisit the 2010 MS/TN/AL Sectionals. 


WEDNESDAY 111611
WOD
3 round for time
- 50m run (25m out and back. Begin from a seated position)
- 10 burpees
- 7 power cleans (155#)


WOD 1 demo



THURSDAY 111711
WOD
For time
- 12 deadlifts (275#)
- 40 Wallball shots (20#, 10' target)
- 10 deadlifts 
- 30 Wallball shots

- 8 deadlifts
- 20 Wallball shots
- 6 deadlifts
- 10 Wallball shots


Scale weight as needed. Wallball shot sub is thursters with unloaded barbell.

FRIDAY 111811
Rest Day


SATURDAY 111811


WOD
5 rounds for time
- 25 pullups
- 400m run




Warm ups this week will be at your discretion. Be creative and have fun!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15TH 2011

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15TH 2011


WOD
Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1


Louis: 135-155-175-191-225(f)-201(pr)
John: 135-155-175-191(pr)-201(f)


Common wisdom says to shut it down after a PR. I generally agree with this however even with a missed attempt at 201 I'm pretty happy with the day. 185 isn't a terribly old PR and I felt that 195 or so was very achievable.


Louis was solid in every aspect of this lift today and I expect that he will see 225# go up next time we work on this 1RM. 


WARM UP
- 800m run
- 10 min stretch with special attention to shoulders (using PVC and bands)
- "The Bear" Complex - 3 times using 65, 75, and 95#. Key on form rather than speed

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12TH, 2011

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12TH, 2011


WOD
Rest Day


RECAP Thursday/Friday


Sorry for the lack of posts but life has been pretty busy and we hit a big road trip Friday. 


For anyone keeping score, Thursday was a rest day. As Friday rolled around Louis and I headed to Alabama for what promised to be a day full of work and meeting many awesome people. As Friday was Veteran's Day, CrossFit Huntsville hosted a Wod For Warriors event. This was a tandem WOD meaning one athlete would do a set of work while the second rested. Upon completion of the first set the roles reversed. This went on for 11 movements and 11 rounds. Adding reps at home, this comes out to be 665. Each. Louis and I got through this in 42:02. Check out the website for the workout, rep scheme, etc.


WOD 2 at CrossFit Impulse was full of energy. We jammed two strength components into a one session. The first lift was a strict shoulder press (5 x 5RM) with a quick warmup. My shoulders were toasty from the first WOD and just simply didn't want to work as I managed just 125 x 4 three times (- 10 from PR). Louis on the other hand looked strong and hit 150 x 3.


We then went right into the deadlift. Due to my history with the lift I went backsquat 5 x 5. Louis worked up to right under 300# but sixty some odd deadlifts earlier in the day cooked his midline and he made a wise decision to stop in the third round. My backsquat got to 245# but shorted the very last rep by a hair so I'll give it a "no go" on the x5. 


I'm calling Saturday a rest too for a few reasons but mainly due to the fact that my hip impingement is barking a little and rest is probably better than pushing through at this point. 

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9TH, 2011

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9TH, 2011


WOD
"Isabel"
30 snatches for time (#135)


This is a benchmark WOD for CrossFit. Times to beat tonight will be 3:18 for John (at 115#) and 3:02 for Louis (at 95#). This will be Stephen's first Isabel. For what it is worth, my strategy will be 12-6-6-3-3 whereas last time it was 10-5-5-3-2-2-1-1-1.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011


WOD - Ultimate Fitness 9AM
15-12-9-6-3
- Front Squats (135# / 95#)
- Burpees
- Push Presses (135# / 95#)


Jennifer: 9:05 (30# bar)
Jeff: 14:55 (65#)
Louis: 13:58 (135# - 115# after the 1st round)
John: 9:55 (115#)


The oxygen pull from the burpees made this a tough WOD and sapped resources for the presses. I broke all presses except for the last ones essentially in half. Most of the time the last half felt better than the first half because I could breath at the proper pace. Front squats weren't bad and went unbroken for everyone I believe. 


Jennifer killed this workout and had an impressive engine! Look forward to more CrossFit with her and the rest of the crew at Ultimate Fitness.


Warm Up
- Box Jump complex 
- 400m my way (Inch worms, hurdles, samsons, duck walk, broad jumps, bear crawl, high knees)
- 5 min group med ball toss
- 3 rounds of Cindy with 30 - 45 sec stretch between rounds (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats)


*Rest 1 min between warm up activities (each activity should take ~ 5 min with full warm up lasting 20-25 min)


No additional strength work today

MONDAY NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011

MONDAY NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011


REST DAY
I'm going to let everyone in on my secret stash of websites so that you, yes even you, can become a WOD ninja.


I'll start with diet because without a proper diet you can keep the rest of the stuff. I swear by Mark Sisson's website - marksdailyapple.com

Simply the best, most thoughtful and organized nutrition/lifestyle website available. There isn't a slice of conventional wisdom that gets by Mark without a healthy does of critical thinking with science plus anecdotal evidence thrown in. 


Next, it is no secret that I get a majority of the workouts from the "mainsite" - CrossFit.com, but "intensity can be a tough mistress" says Kelly Starrett from CrossFit San Francisco and mayor of mobility at mobilitywod.com Simply search Kelly's database with whatever physical problem ails you and most likely you'll come up with a recipe that makes you feel and perform much better. He's like WebMD, but really helpful.


So where do I get a few of my other ideas if they don't come from the mainsite? Here's a few more places that I browse regularly for painful, err, great WOD ideas:


crossfithuntsville.com
crossfitimpulse.com
Anywherefit
crossfitmilford.com
crossfitrpm.com

For those of you who run or tri, check out Crossfit Endurance


That's about all I've got for now...or at least all I'm willing to divulge at this point :) Happy reading!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6TH, 2011

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6TH, 2011
we will meet at Ultimate Fitness early afternoon (time TBD) unless otherwise notified


WOD
AMRAP 12 MIN
- 7 Deadlifts (155#)
- 10 Wall Ball shots (20#, 10')
- 10 KB Swings (1.5 pood)
- 5 Hand Stand Push Ups


Subs will be lower weight on the deadlifts, wallballs, and swings. Elevated push ups will sub for the HSPU or Hand Stand holds.


Work was accomplished at Ultimate Fitness! Thanks to Jeff, Craig, Andy, Stephen and Louis for a great effort and all of the good questions during the warmup. 


While I had a pretty good handle on where everyone was during the WOD I feel like I may have missed a round or so on the scoring for a few athletes. Individually Andy did a great job fixing a few form faults during the workout and Craig was impressive with his consistency.  


I had the advantage of going separately and Louis kept my score which was 8 rounds plus 3 reps.


Warm Up (10 min)
- 30 sec rope work / 30 sec rest (x 4)
- Followed by 3 rounds w/1 minute rest in between rounds of: 
     *5 PVC pass throughs, 10 PVC OHS, 5 T2B


Strength (10 min)
Work up to 80% 1RM in HPC (no more than 5 lifts)
*stretch whatever is tight between attempts

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5TH, 2011

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5TH, 2011


WOD
"Jumping Helen"
21-15-9 (couplet)
- Run 400m
- Kettlebell Swings
- Box Jumps


"Helen" is by far my favorite girl. I like the time domain and the movements. However I swapped box jumps instead of pullups to mix it up a little and see how the extra hip flexor recruitment affected the run.


Stephen: 7:23 (rx'd - 55# swings, 24" box jump)
Mark: 7:59 (35# swings, 20" box jump)
John: 8:04 (rx'd)


The scaling for Mark was my call, not his and I'm sure he would have killed the WOD at Rx'd. However with a little shoulder issue I thought we'd try the small scale. Mark is a great athlete and certainly is capable of doing a lot of work. 


Warm up
- 400m run
- Stretch
- 10 grasshoppers
- 10 up/downs
- 10 pushups
(^ x 2)


After the warm up we played around with OHS.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4TH, 2011


WOD
35 Double-unders
1 Snatch
Make one snatch attempt per round.

WARM UP
- 2 min double under work
- 30 sec of the following
     *Inch worm
     *Boot Strappers
     *Samsons
     *Jumping lunges
     *Flutter kicks
     *Arms out floor rolls
- Iron Cross/Scorpion stretch (20 count on each)
- 2 min band work on shoulders / wall stretch


Snatch balance work (no more than 10 light to moderate snatch balances and 2-3 moderate to heavy snatch balances)

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 2011

Be Smart, Don't Train While You Are Sick (courtesy of P3 CrossFit)

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 2011


Rest Day

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, 2011

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, 2011 (Hospital Track 8:30)


WOD

Three rounds for time of: 

95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps

15 L Pull-ups

95 pound Split-jerk, 15 reps

15 Knees to elbows

95 pound Hang clean, 15 reps

15 Back extensions, with 25 pounds


30 min time cap


I read a blog entry about training while you are sick and how it basically makes you a conceited jerk. The thinking goes, "I train to be better, I train to be healthy. Training while sick makes me neither better or healthier. Training while sick is a symptom of ego." I am at the top of that list then...


That aside, the first two rounds weren't bad but the third round was a train wreck (splits were ~5:30, 6:45, 8+). I'm resting today and hope to feel better by tomorrow or Saturday because getting sick off of a 4 day rest weekend was not in my plans.


Louis: 28:08 (mixed between 75# and 80#, some tucked L-Pullups)
Stephen: 21:15 (mixed between 75# and 80)
John: 20:24 (as Rx'd but I'm certain a few L-pullups weren't up to standard and I forgot to split jerk a handful of times)


Warm Up
- 300m run
- Parallette walk (x 3)
- 300m run
- 1 min kipping swing practice
- Work up to 90% of a 1RM strict press (max 4 lifts)
- Take 5 min to work on any tight areas before the WOD.


I expect this workout to be pretty difficult, but one that can be worked through provided you never stop moving. Pick a weight that will allow you to perform at least the first round unbroken with the three lifts. I expect the gymnastic movements will be broken and unless you display a lot of competency, most likely should be broken to prevent burnout. 

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, 2011

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, 2011


WOD
No two ways around it - it is time to get back to lifting heavy things quickly. 


Squat cleans on the minute:
Perform 3 squat cleans on the minute, every minute to failure. 15 min time cap. Use 70% of your 1RM. This can be done as "touch and go" or in singles. Touch and go simply means that you do not remove your hands from the bar until the reps are completed. The point of this wod is moderate work under heavy load.


Warm Up
- Spend 1-2 min working on double under technique (hand placement, wrist speed, jumping technique, rope turn)
- Attempt 2-3 double under max efforts
- 5 min mobility work with special attention on your hamstrings, hips, and trunk (torso)
- Work up to a heavy 1 RM Squat Clean (10 min)


Note: Kendrick Farris is amazing. Check out the squat clean form and his extension. Also note - in his jerk (which we are not doing today) Kendrick catches low and drops lower after the catch. This is not something I've seen taught but I've heard him speak on it and this technique works for Kendrick as he holds a number of US records. The concept is the same though - he explodes the weight from the rack position, then pushes himself down to receive the bar....QUICKLY!