Manmakers + Boxjumps

Strength training:  3x5's (Friday), 3x8's (Saturday)

MetCon:  5 rounds for time of . . .

• 5 manmakers
• 15 box jumps

"Not Quite 50" Complex

Practice/Review:  Pushpress



Strength training:  3x5's (Wednesday), 3x8's (Thursday)

MetCon:  "Not Quite 50" db/barbell complex
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (49 reps) of . . .

• deadlifts
• cleans
• frontsquats
• pushpress

Extra Credit

Editor's note for random visitors to our blog:
This is NOT one of our athletes.
We would not allow such form.
It is neither efficient nor safe.

Let's play a new game, starting with an easy question:  What is the most important thing this athlete must do to improve his deadlift technique (and avoid serious injury)? 

Post answers to comments.

Source:  http://crossfitoneworld.com/

3x 1-minute stations WOD

Today's new skill = Rowing.  Even if you already know how to row, it's worth checking out the C2 website/video on rowing technique essentials.  We'll go over these briefly in today's warmup . . .

Warm-up + Practice: in pairs, with each pair moving through 3 activities:

1. Rowing technique instruction/review
2. 5,4,3,2,1 of overhead squats, pushups, situps + mobility
3. 3 sets of 5 powercleans (for technique practice)

Strength training:  3x5's (Monday), 3x8's (Tuesday)

MetCon:  3 rounds for max reps of . . .

• 1 minute max air squats
• 1 minute row (for calories)
• 1 minute DB swings
• 1 minute rest

Hard-core Saturday!

Way to go, Friday crew!

Wallballs & Jump-rope

Practice:  Hang Powercleans, 3x5 (at the end of today's warmup)

Strength training:  3x5's (veterans), 3x8's (new group)

MetCon:  Partner WOD, AMRAP in 10 minutes . . .

• 10 wallballs + 30 jump-rope singles

One partner works at a time.  Each partner must complete a round of both movements before the other can begin.

Deadlift + Burpees

Practice:  Hang Powercleans, 3x5 (at the end of today's warmup)

Strength training:  3x5's (veterans), 3x8's (newer group)

MetCon:  5 rounds of . . .

• 8x Deadlift (1/2 of current working load)
• 8x Burpees

How to Hang Clean -- the ONLY 3 things you need to know

Olympic lifting is highly technical and hard to master like an Olympian, but it's also *awesome* for developing full-body athletic power, so we'll be programming in more of the basics, like the hang clean. 

Take a look at this short article for a good look at the basic positions.

Shuttle Runs

Strength Training:  3x5's for veterans, staying at 3x8's for new group

MetCon:  Shuttle sprints in the gym
4 rounds of 1:15 run / 1:15 rest

Number of lengths per round:
KZ -- 9, 9, 9, 9
DH -- 9.5, 9, 9, 9
SS -- 8.5, 8, 7.5, 8
PR -- 9, 9, 9, 9
BHeg -- 7, 7, 6, 7
BU -- 6, 6, 6, 6.5
BB -- 6, 5, 5, 6.5
KE -- 9, 9, 9, 9.5
KD -- 9.5, 9, 9, 9
DF -- 9, 9, 7, 6.5
BHam -- 8, 8, 9.5, 10

Sprints with Swings, Burpees/Pushups

Strength training:  3x8's

Metcon:  5 rounds for time of . . .

• Sprint down-and-back (50m)
• 5 burpees (veterans) OR 5 pushups (new group)
• Sprint down-and back (50m)
• 10 DB swings

Lift to Lose Weight

We know that weight loss may not be a goal for all of you, but regardless, this article is a super-clear and concise explanation of why strength-training is superior to traditional "cardio" for people who are looking to alter their body composition.

It's no secret that we consider strength the "king" of all of the elements that make up overall athleticism and fitness.  A bunch of the articles we've collected for you here (see right) help explain.  We hope that you'll read enough to understand *why* we always start sessions with some heavy lifting.

P.S.  A couple summers ago, we had the opportunity to be coached ourselves, and one of the coolest things our coach said was this:  "If you think lifting weights is scary, try being weak. That's really scary." -Coach Tod Moore, Atomic Athlete (Austin, Texas)

Partner Workout: Overhead Squats + Ring-/Body-rows

Strength training:  3x8's

Review/Instruction:  Overhead Squats (and a great article from Coach Dan John here)

Metcon:  Partner workout.  Only one person works at a time.  Partner A must complete all reps of the movement before Partner B begins.  Both partners must complete the squats before moving on to the rows, etc.

21-15-9 of . . .

• Overhead squats (training bars, pvc, or air only)
• Ring- or Body-rows

Tabata Swings/Pushups

Strength training:  3x8's

Review/Instruction:  DB swings (our version of the classic kettlebell swing)

Metcon:  Double-tabata (8 minutes) of

• 20-seconds db swings + 10-seconds rest
• 20-seconds pushups + 10-seconds rest

Modified for Tuesday's new group:  6 rounds of 10 swings + 10 pushups

Burpees-Situps

Strength training:  3x8's

Metcon:  6 rounds for time of . . .

• 5 burpees (set your own standard)
• 5 situps

Med ball deadlifts + Pushpress

Strength training:  3x8's

Metcon:  For time -- 10, 9, 8, . . . down to 1 of . . .

• medicine ball deadlifts
• pushpress (keep it light for mastering the movement)

That's 55 total reps of each movement.

You may be sore . . . :-)

What we did today is pretty representative of how our classes flow: warm-up, two or three barbell lifts, and a bout of high-intensity conditioning.  After a few more sessions, we’ll have taught you all of the major lifts, so you’ll spend more and more time under the bar, moving progressively heavier weight!

Depending on your prior level of activity, you may be sore tomorrow.  That’s okay.  We’re stressing your body to force an adaptation.  A relaxed walk or run will be therapeutic.  You may still be a bit sore coming to class on Thursday.  No problem.  We’ll be doing different movements.

Part of being fit is being able to recover from tough workouts.  Happily, your ability to recover will improve, just as your strength and conditioning will.  The human body is an amazing machine.  The more you use it, the better it gets.

Not everyone can do what you all did this morning.  We should all feel fortunate for the physical abilities that we have, even while striving for increased performance.

We’re glad you’re in our class.

R&M

Welcome Back!

For veterans:  It's good to get back in the swing of things!  And for newbies:  You guys are a fun group, and so far we're really impressed with your capacity for good athletic movement.

Today's session involved the usual barbell strength training (click here for further review of the basics).  We're going back to higher reps for a few weeks to rebuild and reinforce: 3x8's

Lastly, we set a conditioning benchmark by completing a WOD that we'll revisit in a month or so to check progress:

For time . . .

• run 400m (on treadmill @ 1.0 incline)
• 15-12-9 squats, pushups, ring rows
• run 400m

5 Basic Barbell Lifts

5 Basic Barbell Lifts