Friday, April 30

Alright kiddos,

Last day of Diva Week.

Warm Up

WOD
Diane
For time,
21-15-9
225lb Deadlift
Handstand Push-Ups

Thursday, April 29

Alright folks, I am official off the map for Corpus. I'll come in but mainly be doing my own thing. Without a doubt, I will still be there to instruct on basic movements and answer questions for anyone that has them, but I won't be able to perform with this back shit.

ANYWAYS, here is tomorrow's WOD at 6pm, and you got a choice!!!

Warm Up
Blah Blah Get Warm Blah

WOD
Fran
21-15-9
95lb Thrusters
Pull-Ups

OR

Nancy
5 Rounds for time
400 meter run
Overhead squat 95 lbs x 15

I will be working on some gymnastic type movements and handstand work/HSPU if you want to jump in after ya'lls WOD.

One last thing, and it is kinda out of character for me, but Zach Horne has talked me into doing Power Yoga on Tuesday and Thursdays at 12 in Lerner. I'll admit...it was hard and I felt great afterwards. If interested, tag along.

As always, BE NASTY!

Wednesday, April 28

Day 3 of Diva Week. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join for the rest of the week. Went to the ortho yesterday and despite it being the quickest doc appointment in my life, the ortho said I should avoid all weighted movements for 6 weeks so that the x-ray can assess spinal function at its normal level and not when its been compressed. Blows but it is what it is...

Doesn't mean I won't come to Corpus though! (I'll just sub stuff).

Anyways, here's today's venture.

Warm Up

WOD
"Jackie"
For time
1000m Row
50 Thrusters (45lbs)
30 Pull-Ups

Tuesday, April 27th

Today, meet Angie...

100 pullups

100 pushups

100 situps

100 squats

for time, complete each round before moving on to the next exercise.

yes 100 pullups is an insane number! if you're like me you'll probably have to start jumping after a while. try kipping, jumping, whatever it takes to keep going.

my day is packed tomorrow so i won't be able to make it to the gym, but hey, this is one you can do at home, or somewhere with a bar... or tree...

this is also a good chance to review good squat form. click for video: wmv

Monday, April 26 - Grace

Alright kiddos, this week we meet the girls! Now unfortunately, I will be MIA for two days - Monday while I am at CAP and Tuesday while I am at a Yankees game (YEA!).

Here's how the week will progress in terms of the session flow.

Warm-Up
Get real warm and loose

No Strength/Skill (I want all our energy to go into the WODs)

WOD

Obviously some of these WODs will have to be scaled for some people. That's fine, just go all out no matter how you scale it. On Monday and Tuesday, Alex can show you guys proper form for some of the exercises.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, I want you guys to record your times and loads for the WODs. Do that either on this blog or in your own notes. Trust me knowing your time is great, and the next time we do any of these WODs, you'll have something to compare to.

Monday's WOD:
"Grace"
For time,
30 Clean and Jerks, Rx'd 135lbs.

Most importantly, DO NOT QUIT ON ANY OF THESE WODS. If Grace takes you 20 minutes, then Grace takes you 20 minutes!

3-2-1 GO!

Saturday, April 24

I've been eyeing this one all week.

Warm-Up
You know the deal

Strength
Turkish Get Up
3-3-3-3-3

WOD
Perform one clean on the minute, every minute for 15 minutes. Increase weight with every minute. Post high/low weights to comments.

Friday, April 23

Warmup: Dynamic stretching, joint mobility, kipping practice.

Strength: Weighted pullups

5x5

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_WeightedPullups.mov

Anybody have some webbing?

WOD: The Bear Complex

Perform 5 sets of 7 sequences (complexes) of the following exercises:

Power Clean

Front Squat

Push Press

Back Squat

Push Press

Rules:

1. Bar must touch the ground each sequence but cannot rest on the ground or it terminates the set.
2. Goal is to increase loads each round to complete "The Bear" with max load.
3. Rest as needed between sets.
4. You must power clean the bar to full standing position before squatting the weight.

Meeting 'The Girls' next week

I am bored and studying biochem, and an idea popped into my head. Also, I am blatently copying Mike L over at USUHS EF with the idea of doing a "Diva Week".

Basically, all next week we will only be doing WODs from the main site that are named after a girl.

For instance:
"Grace"
For time
30 Clean and Jerks (135lbs)

Here's the breakdown as I see it:

Monday: Grace
Tuesday: Angie
Wednesday: Jackie
Thursday: Fran or Nancy
Friday: Diane

The WODs entail this:

Grace
Clean and Jerk 135 lbs
30 reps for time

Angie
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
For Time, complete all reps of each exercise before moving to the next.

Jackie
1000 meter row
Thruster 45 lbs (50 reps)
Pull-ups (30 reps)
For time

Fran
Thruster 95 lbs
Pull-ups
21-15-9 reps, for time
OR
Nancy
400 meter run
Overhead squat 95 lbs x 15
5 rounds for time

Diane
Deadlift 225 lbs
Handstand push-ups
21-15-9 reps, for time

We may switch out Fran for something else - I think we did Fran recently. We'll decide later.

Also, I want to start switching to a 5 on 2 off. Weekends off will be nice.

On all these WODs, we should record our times and weights for future reference. Whether we throw in strength work this week will depend.

Anyways, good luck studying and be nasty.

Wednesday, April 21

The king of pain himself, Zach Horne, came up with this WOD. Should be brutal.

Warm Up
Dynamic Stretch
Squat
You know the deal

Strength
Overhead Press
5-5-5-5-5

WOD
10 Rounds for time,
10 Body Weight Rows or 10 seated rows per arm, one arm at a time
Row 200m
10 burpees

Stretch!

Tuesday, April 20

Here's a Tuesday WOD! It is both an out of the ordinary day for a WOD and a new type of WOD that can be done anywhere (including your own home, which is where I'll be doing it).

Warm Up
Whatever gets you loose and warm

WOD
For time,
2 minutes, max push-ups
2 minutes, max squats
2 minutes, max sit-ups

Then 50 Burpees

Here's the interesting bit: for every rep completed (not counting burpees), take one second off of your total time. So if the WOD took you 10 minutes (600 seconds) and you completed 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 100 sit-ups, then your "score" would be 300 seconds.

Post reps and final time and final adjusted "score" time to comments!

P.S. if you somehow get into negative seconds, you should be competing in the Crossfit Games...

Memorial Day Challenge

It's called the Trevor Win'E Memorial Day Challenge, and it is a nationwide event amongst crossfit box gyms to raise money for our troops (specifically, to raise money to buy them cooling vests).

Last year, I participated at Crossfit Memphis with fellow crossfitter Mike L (USUHS Elite Fitness) and it was definitely a rewarding event. CF Memphis raised something like $3k locally, and crossfit as an organization raised something ridiculous.

This year, I plan on competing at Primal Fitness here in DC, where they do an annual Murph competition.

What is Murph?

For time,
1 Mile Run
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

If you want to raise money for our troops, meet the local crossfit community, or just want to do a proper WOD in a box then this is the competition for you! I will provide more information on it as Primal Fitness posts it, but for those interested we will do a run through of Murph in the next couple of weeks to give you a taste.

Monday, April 19

Know what we haven't done in a good bit? Backsquat!

Warm Up
3 rounds
Dynamic Stretch
10 Burpees

Stength
Backsquat
5-5-5-5-5

WOD
AMRAP 15
3 Turkish Get-Ups (35, 45, or 55lbs)
5 Weighted Pull-Ups**
7 Knees to Elbows

**Use same weight as you did for the TGU

Friday, April 16th

Gonna head to the gym right after physio and crank out "Air Force" for whoever wants to join.

Here's some reading on prehab exercises, and some great stretches to improve flexibility for the rack position:

http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/tag/prehab/

Thursday, April 15 @ 6PM

I am going to be out of town Friday night until Saturday night. So, I am going to throw in a WOD session tomorrow at 6PM.

Warm Up (i.e. get warm, get loose)
3 rounds
Dynamic stretch
200m row

Strength/Skill
Deadlift
3-3-3 @ 90% 1RM

WOD
"Air Force"
Every minute on the minute do 4 burpees,

meanwhile complete the following with 95# for men and 65# for women,

20 Thrusters
20 SDHP
20 Push Jerk/Press
20 OHS
20 FS

Any example of the WOD can be found here

Mark's Daily Apple

Hey guys,

Found this website called "Mark's Daily Apple". It has a lot that is applicable to our mission of becoming badass - mainly the dietary stuff. Tons of paleo recipes, some info on what the hell intermittent fasting is all about, workouts, etc.

The website is: www.marksdailyapple.com/ and the address of recipes (most of which are easy as hell) is: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/recipes/?submit=view

Check it out.

I won't make it to the session tonight, so be even more nasty in my absence.

Jer

Wednesday, April 14th

Exam season will be upon us soon. I figure we can start preparing by testing ourselves - crossfit style. We'll try to hit some benchmarks from the Crossfit Seattle chart here:
http://www.crossfitseattle.com/Skill%20Levels%20poster.pdf
This will also help set a baseline for tracking future progress.

Warmup: Joint mobility, special emphasis on wrist flexibility and strength.

Skill: Snatch balance or overhead squat, depending on your comfort level with overhead weight: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

EXAM TIME:
Try to hit the next benchmark up from whatever skill level you think you're at (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite) from the chart above; choose one exercise from each of the following categories (I'll bring a copy of the chart to the gym):
PUSH
PULL
HIPS
CORE
WORK
SPEED

If you choose a max lift, take the best of 5 attempts.

Stretch 10 min.

Monday, April 12

Time change: 12:30pm, Lerner Gym, after everything you know about the kidney has been excreted and cleared from your brains.

Monday, April 12

Hey guys,

I am back this Monday, and saw this WOD on the main site a couple days ago. Looks brutal, should be fun!

Warm Up
2 Rounds
10 Burpees
Mobility/Dynamic Stretching (toy soliders, walkouts, egg rolls, whatever gets you loose and warm)

Skill
Butterfly or Kipping Pull-Ups
Go until you get 5 solid ones

WOD
Seven rounds for time of:
185 pound Front squat, 3 reps (Scale FS down as necessary)
7 L-pull-ups (scale to jumping negative L-pull ups if necessary)

Stretch (10 min)

And congrats to Ramy for joining us idiots in the gym (now Alex, Max, and I can give you shit for not coming).

Saturday, April 10

It's so nice out, and I won't be able to make it to the gym today, so here's a WOD that can be done outside, from over on the main site:

Run 1600 meters

Rest 3 minutes

Run 1200 meters

Rest 2 minutes

Run 800 meters

Rest 1 minute

Run 400 meters

Also gonna do some ring dips - maybe weighted dip ladders.

One of the benchmarks for Level III skills is 30 ring dips, I'm about halfway to that. If you have 2 solid chairs, you can do dips at home - I always try to do some in hotel rooms while traveling!

Snatch It, Clean It

Excellent video on snatch technique

Here's an excellent snatch, performed by a Crossfit Memphis crossfitter!: Snatch

Key things to note, shoulder position over the bar (not behind like in a deadlift), locked back and arms until the second pull (giving you a neutral spine), and then the dynamic pull under an eccentric load into a proper receiving position (i.e., pulling yourself under the bar). Definitely notice how he reaches full hip extension, almost coming up on his toes, before he begins to pull himself under the bar.

Also, here's a good video on proper cleans. A lot of what goes into a snatch goes into a clean, so try to note the similarities.

One thing you will notice with his full cleans is the depth under which he is pulling himself under the bar: the more weight on the bar, the lower you'll pull yourself. The weight he uses is light enough to where he can more or less muscle it up to position and then front squat down to full depth.

Also, my ortho appointment for my back is not until the end of the month...I simply cannot wait to do crossfit for that long. So, starting Monday, I'm back and going to seriously pursue mobility and flexibility to mitigate my lumbago.

See you in the gym!

Friday, April 9th

Due to Follies, we'll do this at 5pm, or head over right after physio gets out.

Warmup:

Joint mobility 5-10min

Strength:

Since everyone loved the rings so much, they'll be back on Friday:

5x5 Weighted negative pullups. Choose a weight that will allow you to perform a controlled negative for minimum 10secs/rep.

WOD

Courtesy of Crossfit Eugene:

Five rounds for time of:

45 pound weighted Overhead walking lunges, 50 feet

21 Burpees

This one should be short and sweet.

STRETCH!! 10 min minimum

Rings ain't no gimmick.

Gymnasts develop extraordinary strength and musculature using mainly bodyweight exercises, taking advantage of the stress placed on the muscles by training in positions that maximize leverage. Here's Jordan Jovtchev doing a Maltese Cross.

Wednesday, April 6th

Warmup:
2 rounds
10 burpees
10 walkouts
10 toy soldiers
10 squats

Gymnastics/Strength:
Ring Dips 8x6
-Add weight if you need to scale up.
-Dips on bar if you need to scale down.
-Focus on full ROM, i.e. deep dips below parallel, flexibility permitting

185 pound Deadlift, 21 reps
Row 400 meters
21 Knees to elbows
185 pound Deadlift, 18 reps
Row 400 meters
18 Knees to elbows
185 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
Row 400 meters
15 Knees to elbows
185 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
Row 400 meters
12 Knees to elbows

Scale DL if necessary. Focus on partitioning, rest and breathing. Key to getting through the nasty WODs!

STRETCH!

Monday, April 5

Was also out of town for the weekend, so repeat of Saturday WOD.

Saturday, April 2

I am out of town until Sunday afternoon, but that shouldn't stop the fun for you guys:

Warm-Up as usual

Strength
Backsquat
5-5-5-5-5

WOD
6 Rounds of:
7 Hang Squat Cleans (135#)(95#)
10 L Pull-Ups

Also, I am going to take a two week hiatus to see a doc and figure out what the hell is going on with my back. If I don't take care of this now, it's only going to get worse. Alex will takeover as punishment programer for the WODs and whatnot. Otherwise, check the mdfit.blogspot.com for Mike L's posts to continue training for sectionals.

Also, someone we may want to consider doing for two months: pure, unadulterated strength training!

Check the link Strength Training Article (you have to download the article)