Friday 2.08.13

Strength:  Deadlift 3-3-3-1-1-1

WOD:  Depending on how wrecked your legs are from Wednesday,  complete 15:00 variations of either:

"Cindy"
Complete as many rounds in 15 minutes as you can of:
- 5 Pull Ups
- 10 Push Ups
- 15 Squats

- OR-

"Mary"
Complete as many rounds in 15 minutes as you can of:
- 5 Handstand Push Ups
- 10 Pistols, alternating
- 15 Pull Ups

If my legs were sore from "Karen" I would choose Mary, because I know I won't be able to do as many rounds.

Post weights and your choice of girls and rounds completed to comments.

Thursday 10.27.11

A good substitution to focus on balance at the bottom of the movement.

SWOD:  Bench Press 5rm

Metcon: "Mary"
 Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
-5 Handstand Push Ups
-10 One Legged Squats, alternating
-15 Pull Ups

For the metcon, Mary is a very high skilled workout and many of us will struggle to do it completely Rx'd.  The exercises are good gymnastic skills to possess, so try to focus less on moving through as many rounds as possible and getting a good "cardio workout".  Rather, focus on the movements or their substitution and think of the workout as 20 min. of free gymnastics development time. 

Post weights and rounds to comments.

Monday 2.14.10

The calm before.

Warm Up:  Coach's choice

SWOD: Wall Ball Shots x 2.  Max. number of reps chained together.  Any pause in the set or miss of the target means the set is discontinued. Partner up to keep track of reps and accuracy.

Metcon: "Mary".  Compare to 6.11.10

As many rounds in 20:00
-5 Handstand Push Up
-10 Pistols (any leg)
-15 Pull Ups

Accuracy, in the fitness world, is defined as the ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.  Accuracy is often overlooked in the fitness world, but if you have to lower your intensity in a workout to accurately complete a movement, then you have not yet attained a high level of fitness.  The easiest exercise to gauge accuracy is Wall Ball, as we will see in the SWOD today.   

However, any exercise has an accuracy aspect to it.  For every exercise we do, there is a Range of Motion (ROM) needed to be done to make the movement complete.  The Squat starts at standing up straight, bringing the hips below the tops of the knees, then back to standing up straight again with the hips fully extended.  Anything less is not an accurate movement and shortchanges your fitness potential, especially when going for a higher weight or for many reps for time.

Post scores to comments. cc

Monday 09.13.10

Here is the new pull up structure, ready to be used!

We are going to be practicing bar hangs. According to some people, you should always keep your shoulders depressed in their sockets when hanging or doing pullups. Others say you should lift the shoulders and tuck them up near the ears in an "active shoulder position. During the pull up, or any position where you are raising your arms directly above the head, we are cautious of any impingement to the soft tissues of the the shoulder: watch video at this link for more info on shoulder injuries.

Since there is a hang position and a pulling position in a pull up, your shoulders do the following during the pull up position:
1. During the pull and at the top of the pull up the shoulder girdle should be depressed (or have motion into being depressed) for full range of motion and active strengthening of the whole shoulder girdle. Lucky for us, as long as our muscles aren't relaxed, our body does this naturally and there's no risk of impingement of the soft tissues into the acromion, or the outward end of the spine of the scapula or shoulder blade.

2. As you start going into the negative and at the bottom -- like the other pressing movements that have the arms go overhead -- the shoulder girdle should be allowed to protract and elevate. This allows space under the acromion for the soft tissues as your arms go overhead.


SWOD: Bar Hang x max time

Metcon: As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
1 Round is equal to:
3 Cleans @ 55% of 1 RM
1 Round of 5 Handstand Push Ups, 10 1-Legged Squats, 15 Pull Ups or 1 round of "Mary"
For the SWOD, without performing a full pull up, work both positions # 1 and 2 and observe what your shoulders are doing. Then, everyone grab onto the new pull up structure and see who can hang on the longest. The use of chalk is allowed.

For the metcon, there are several substitutions for each exercise. Whatever was used last time for support, try to take away a little of the support for this time. If you used a bar to do one leg squats, try only holding the bar when you see your balance wane. For pull ups, try jumping pull ups from the ground instead of a box, etc. The only way to improve is to push yourself further than last time.

Post times and rounds to comments.

Friday 06.11.10

SWOD: Shoulder Press 5 x 3.

Metcon: "Mary"
As many rounds as possible in 20:00 of:
5 Handstand push-ups
10 1-legged squats
15 Pull-ups

This is our last day of the short linear progression for the basic lifts. So make it a good one, whether that means lifting more weight than last time or working on your form at a lower weight. I liked how Chanda and Amy stayed at a low weight and really tried to perfect the squat yesterday morning.

For the metcon, "Mary" is another benchmark workout, sort of a higher skilled version of "Cindy". We have worked hard this week, so you are probably feeling sore everywhere like I am. If so turn your intensity from focusing on speed (getting the most rounds possible) to working on proper form and depth of the exercises. I promise you the intensity will feel different, but will have a positive effect on your skills in these exercises. Afterall, cardio respiratory endurance is only one of the tem components of fitness we are seeking, there are 9 more we need to focus on as well, including accuracy, balance, coordination, etc.

Post weights and score to comments section. cc