Repeating "The Chief"

Congratulations to BB on her 1RMs:
101# powerclean, 121# benchpress

Strength: 3 x 5's of ...

  - squats (back or front), SOHP/pushpress/pushjerk progression, barbell rows
  - powercleans (full or hang), deadlifts, benchpress

MetCon:  Repeating "The Chief" ~ 3 rounds of 3-minute AMRAPS with 1-minute rest between:  
    - 3 powercleans
    - 6 pushups
    - 9 squats
(See Feb. 6 and Nov. 20)

SS:  5+13, 5+12, 5+3  (56# barbell; best round last time  was 5 even!)
DH:  5+5, 5+15, 6+2 (subbed 35# swings for cleans; best round last time  was 5+5!)
LP:  4+1, 3+16, 4+5 (15kg barbell; subbed step-ups for squats on rounds 2-3)
MaTo:  4+1, 4+3, 3+3, (36# barbell)
KE:  5+1, 5+3 , 5+1 (56# barbell)
BB:  4, 3, 4 (67# barbell)
RD:  4+3, 4, 4 (133# barbell)
(best round in yellow)

Repeat: "Just 9 Minutes"

Congratulations on these new 1RM PRs:
BHeg - 42 kg (92.4#) Benchpress!!!
DF - 70kg (154#) Benchpress!!!
KE - 60kg (132#) Backsquat!!!

Strength:  If you feel up to it, test your 1RM on one of the major lifts!  Otherwise, 3 x 5's of ...

  - squats (back or front), SOHP/pushpress/pushjerk progression, barbell rows
  - powercleans (full or hang), deadlifts, benchpress

Metcon ~ Repeating "Just 9 Minutes," which we've done twice before (See Jan. 7 and Oct. 25)

Three rounds for max reps of . . .
    - 1 minute of powercleans
    - 1 minute of frontsquats
    - 1 minute of pushpress
    - 1 minute of rest

Advice from Crossfit Invictus:   "Prescribed loads are 95# for men and 65# for women - light enough to make continuous motion a reasonable goal.  Scale up or down as you see fit."  Use your previous loads as a guide.

Repeating the "Dumbbell Bear" Complex

Congrats to BHeg for her 1RM deadlift of 154#!

Strength:  3 x 5's of ...
  - squats (back or front), SOHP/pushpress/pushjerk progression, barbell rows
  - powercleans (full or hang), deadlifts, benchpress

Metcon:  Re-visiting Mike Rutherford's "Dumbbell Bear" complex (done before on Feb. 13)
Every minute, on the minute, for 15 minutes -- not the original 20, yet -- perform . . .
     - 5 db deadlifts
     - 5 db hang cleans
     - 5 db thrusters

Today's work

Originally Rx'd loads are 45% BWT, which is beast mode!  We will scale appropriately.  Use your loads from last time as a guide.  You can make progress in any number of ways:

(A) adding weight
(B) doing 6 reps instead of 5's
(C) completing each round of work faster
(D) going an extra 16th round, or
(E) using the same load/reps as last time, but doing so with better form, more control, and greater efficiency.

Post-script:  Everyone did so well today!  You guys made progress by either adding weight or finishing each round more efficiently.  It took y'all about 30 seconds to complete the work in each round, which meant you had a good solid 1:1 work:rest ratio.  Well done!

CrossFit Open 13.4

Welcome to LP!

Strength
Two options . . .
A.  Find the weight where you will resume your linear progressions.  Start light.  Focus on form.  Do 3 to 4 sets, adding weight to the bar each set.  If the bar speed slows, you're too heavy.  Strive for a weight that is difficult, but doable.  Wherever you stop is where you should begin with 3 x 5's next time.
B.  Look at the weight you were using for 3 x 5's before break, and begin a new cycle of 3 x 5's beginning with 80-90% of that weight.

Metcon
A modified version of the XF Games 13.4 Workout
As many REPS as possible in 7 minutes...
3 Clean and Jerk - Women 95#, Men 135#
3 Toes to Bar
6 Clean and Jerk - Women 95#, Men 135#
6 Toes to Bar
9 Clean and Jerk - Women 95#, Men 135#
9 Toes to Bar
continue with 12, 12, 15, 15, etc. until 7 minutes are up.

We modified the workout as follows:
3 Hang Power Clean + Bar Overhead (push press, push jerk, split jerk)
3 Sit-ups
6 Hang Power Clean + Bar Overhead (push press, push jerk, split jerk)
6 Sit-ups
9, 9, 12, 12, etc.

KZ  22kg barbell, completed both rounds of 12 + 15 HPC + 12 situps.  87 total reps
DH  22kg barbell, completed both rounds of 15 + 1 HPC = 91 total reps
BH  17kg barbell, completed both rounds of 15 = 90 total reps
SS  22kg barbell, completed both rounds of 12 + 15 HPC + 2 situps = 77 total reps
LP  subbed air squats + push-ups for HPC, completed both rounds of 12 +
15 air-squats/push-ups + 10 situps = 85 total reps

KD, 22kg barbell, completed all 12's + 5 cleans = 65 total reps
KE, 22kg barbell, completed all 12's + 10 cleans = 70 total reps
BHam, 40kg barbell, completed all 12's = 60 total reps
DF, 40kg barbell, completed all 9's + 9 cleans = 45 reps
BB, 30kg barbell, completed all 12's + 8 cleans = 68 reps

Video with highlights from the Thursday crew's morning:

Welcome Back! Dumbbell Complex

Warm-up and Skill Work
Introducing the Split Jerk.  This is the end of the overhead progression:
Press > Push Press > Push Jerk > Split Jerk
There's no better way to put a heavy load overhead.

Strength
Two options . . .
A.  Find the weight where you will resume your linear progressions.  Start light.  Focus on form.  Do 3 to 4 sets, adding weight to the bar each set.  If the bar speed slows, you're too heavy.  Strive for a weight that is difficult, but doable.  Wherever you stop is where you should begin with 3 x 5's next time.
B.  Look at the weight you were using for 3 x 5's before break, and begin a new cycle of 3 x 5's beginning with 80-90% of that weight.

Interlude: Barbell Rows
Introducing the Barbell Row.  This is a classic pulling movement.  Bend slightly at the knees, but mostly at the hips.  You want your back nearly horizontal.  Keep a tight lumbar curve.  Don't let your back round.

There are two advantages of the barbell row over the dumbbell version: 1) you can use more weight, 2) you can adjust the weight more finely.

Metcon
DB complex, 6 reps each of...
deadlift
hang power clean
front squat
push press
sit ups
push ups

3 rounds.  Work briskly, but not frantically.  There is NO CLOCK on this effort.  Try to increase weight used each round.

Hang Power Cleans + Push Press

Skill Work
Press --> Push Press --> Push Jerk (aka Power Jerk)

Here's a brief CrossFit video showing the differences:

And here's Olympian Natalie Woolfolk (on the right) coaching a clean and push jerk:

Strength
3x5's of
- frontsquat, 1-arm db rows
- deadlift, benchpress
We skipped overhead pressing and power cleans during out strength training, because of the metcon below.

Metcon
Every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 10 minutes
5 Hang Power Cleans and Push Press (or Push Jerk)
We capped the work interval at 30 seconds max each round to ensure at least 30 seconds of rest.

Wednesday
KZ  58# barbell -- 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3.5, ??
BH  48.5# barbell -- 5's across
DH  10kg (22#) dumbells (44# total) -- 5's across

Thursday
KE  25kg (55#) barbell -- 5's across
BB  30kg (66#) barbell -- 5's across
KD  22kg (48#) barbell -- 3 reps first set, then 5's across
KS  17kg (37.5#) barbell -- 5's across

The Chief

Welcome back, Robyn!

Warm-up / Skill Work

Snatch and Overhead Squat Practice with PVC and barbells

Strength

3 x 5's

Metcon

KZ:  4+15 / 4+9 / 4+9 (56# barbell)

SS:  5 even / 4+14 / 4+14 (56# barbell)
DH:  5+3 / 5+4 / 5+5 (subbed 35# swings for cleans)
BHeg:  3+1 / 3+16 / 4 even (45# barbell)
KE:  4+1 / 4+3 / 4+7 (56# barbell)
KS:  2+28 / 3 even / 3 even (6kg dbs for cleans)
BHam:  3+11 / 3+9 / 4+1 (50kg barbell)

Repeat WOD: "Just 9 Minutes"

Warm-up:  Continued practice with snatch progressions

Strength Training:  3x5's

MetCon:  "Just 9 Minutes" from Crossfit Invictus

Three rounds for max reps of . . .
    - 1 minute of powercleans
    - 1 minute of frontsquats
    - 1 minute of pushpress
    - 1 minute of rest

From Invictus:  "Prescribed loads are 95# for men and 65# for women - light enough to make continuous motion a reasonable goal.  Scale up or down as you see fit."  You've done this one before, so use your previous loads as a guide.

"Quite 50"

Strength Training
3 x 5's

Metcon
This was originally written as "Not Quite 50", a repeat of the workout here.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 = 49 reps of...
-Deadlift
-Power Clean
-Front Squat
-Push Press

But since we covered chaining movements together during the warm-up, most everyone decided to do this instead:

"Quite 50"
50 reps, Full squat clean + thruster

Chaining the movement together actually reduces the overall work a bit, since it eliminates the dip on the clean and the dip on the push-press.  Regardless of the movement-style selected, these sorts of workouts -- you, a barbell, and a ton of reps -- are particularly mentally challenging.  Good work everyone!

MWF
KZ: 7:27 (15kg bar) 50 reps, full squat clean + thruster
PR: 10:00 (20kg bar) 50 reps, single movements
GQ: 8:48 (30kg, 66#) 50 reps, full squat clean + thruster
^ special guest appearance!

T/TH/SAT
Everyone did 50 reps, full squat clean + thruster
BB: 6:18 (20kg bar)
BH: 9:18 (20kg bar)
KD: 7:50 (15kg bar)
KE: 7:48 (15kg bar)
BU: 11:16 (15# training bar)

"The Chief"

Strength Training:  3x5's

MetCon:  "The Chief" ~ Max rounds in 3 minutes of . . .
    - 3x powercleans
    - 6x pushups
    - 9x squats

Rest 1 minute.  Repeat for a total of 3 cycles.

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

The Mechanics of Hang Power Cleans

This morning I worked on my hang power cleans and I discussed with Michelle my concern about  proper mechanics. The clean is a complex movement that requires (like everything else we do here) proper set up and efficient execution. The clean goes so quickly that I am not sure if I am truly getting the hip extension before getting under the weight.  It's one thing to practice without weight and to break up to movements, such as starting in the dead lift position (weight in the heels, feet shoulder-width apart, bent knees, butt out, shoulders forward and in front of the bar, arms straight, head neutral and looking forward), getting a full hip extension, getting under the bar and keeping it close (zip it up), jumping feet out a little wider, and catching.  I find that when I add the weight, all of those elements go so fast.  So, I found three pictures from Minneapolis Crossfit, the place where I worked out last summer.  I thought I'd share the pictures.

Set up:

Hip extension:


Getting under the bar and catching:


Of course, this would have been better if the three pictures came from the same person.  Michelle posted a picture of an Olympic lifter in the three key positions of a hang in August.  You can refer back to that post, if interested.

http://facultyathlete.blogspot.in/2012/08/how-to-hang-clean-only-3-things-you.html

Thoughts?
--Skye

"Inverted" Jackie

Strength Training
3 x 5's (though KZ did 5 x 3 on power cleans)

Metcon
"Inverted" Jackie
1000 meter row
50 hang power cleans
30 push-ups

KZ: 15kg bar, 8:27
BHeg: 25# bar, 11:09
BB:  20kg bar, 9:52
DF:  55# bar, 9:56
BHam: 65# bar, 9:23

"Just 9 Minutes"

Strength Training:  3x5's

MetCon:  "Just 9 Minutes" from Crossfit Invictus

Three rounds for max reps of . . .
    - 1 minute of powercleans
    - 1 minute of frontsquats
    - 1 minute of pushpress
    - 1 minute of rest

From Invictus:  "Prescribed loads are 95# for men and 65# for women - light enough to make continuous motion a reasonable goal.  Scale up or down as you see fit."

Correction:  I think KE used a women's bar, which means her load was 37#, not 48#.

"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

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.