Brad

What’s happening this week?

 

Lifting:

We have two lifting days this week

 

1. Front squats – Pretty simple session of 7 sets of 3. However the emphasis is going to be on your tonnage. That is to say how much weight you lift over the whole session, not just in one set. When we put this one on the whiteboard the score will be your total, not your heaviest or your range. Eg if you lift 100kg for each set your total will be 2100kg (7x3x100). However if you build to the same weight at say 5kg per set from 70-100kg your total will be 1785kg. It’s easy to see from this that the first method is more work which is the goal.
2. Split jerks – Not a skill we get at very often. So we approach differently. It’s the same rep scheme however for a lot of us the increased technical requirements of the jerks will mean a bit more changing of the weights to find what is a good working weight. The goal should be to find a good weight for the last 2-3 sets. In summary you’ll probably build for a few sets, then try to hold the same weight for a few.

 

Metcons

There is one metcon of mention this week. It has everyone’s favourites. Rowing, running, double unders and wall balls. What you need to know.

1. This may transform you into a superhuman being
2. You have to no rep yourself – Get ready for the open. During that someone will be no repping you. So better you prepare yourself now.
3. Your approach will make or break the intent of the workout

Let’s break it down. It will be long, 20-30mins, and gassy. The intent is to make you move for those 20-30mins. There are 3 rounds of wall balls to do. They are 50/35/20 and when you first pick up the ball the intent is to keep it moving. I don’t mean unbroken but just having one, maybe two strategic very short rests. The ball you pick will determine your success at this. It’s easy to go too heavy and be breaking every 5-10 reps, but it’s hard to go too light. If you begin with a ball and you fear it’s too light and easy, then just keep going. Do all 50/35/20 unbroken. Then make a note on beyond the whiteboard after the session that you did the workout without needing a rest and it was easy. If it feels easy to start but you break once or twice per round make a note that the weight was either perfect or… You broke for no reason and your mental game is an area you need to work on.

 

Gymnastic skills

There is so much gymnastic work available to help you progress as much as possible before the open. We have today’s ring dips and more strict muscle ups later in the week. Heaps of abs (you can’t do gymnastic movements without abs). There are chest to bar pull ups practice in the open gym program and strict pull ups in extras (note there are no pull ups in wods this week).

What you need to know

1. Do as much gymnastics as you can. It will pay off
2. Make sure you warm up and prepare your shoulder properly before you do them
3. Move with virtuosity. That is to say don’t just do them well, no, rise a standard above well
4. Take care of your recover – Eat properly, sleep enough, soft tissue work etc

 

Open preparation

The increased focus on no repping yourself in wall balls isn’t the only prep we will do for the open. Saturday’s workout will break from being a team workout to a no rep your partner workout. This is to get you confident enough to no rep each other and used to being no repped without biting someone’s head off. Special note – If you want to test your friendship with someone judge them on saturday and uphold a really high standard. You make come out of it better friends, or you may not talk for a week.

What’s happening this week? Well christmas for starters. That means we have a few days off to see family (you know the folks you spend the rest of the year avoiding), and getting sick presents like a years supply chocolates and handkerchiefs because you didn’t tell your auntie you really wanted a 5.11 weighted vest or a new RX zeus rope.

 

But what about training?

 

The goal of the week is to get moving again. The time off was a good opportunity to deload the body and recover from the last few weeks, which were very tough. Hopefully this takes care of any niggles and if the rest doesn’t take care of those niggles you need to book into a professional asap and get those things fixed.

 

Thursday is pretty simple. We have some strict pull ups to do as a strength piece then a simple metcon of burpees and sit ups. The intention and goal hers is to just move again and blow out the cobwebs. If you had a big chrissy then take the scaling option of a shorter workout by making it an AMRAP.

 

Friday we get to toss some heavy weights around with some hang power cleans. Goal here is to keep up our practice of getting to our extension but there is a second goal of making sure that when the weight gets heavier you can still safely catch it by getting deeper under it. We will finish the session off with one of those good old sprint chippers. Remember to throw caution to the wind on these and move as fast as possible

 

Saturday… Murph. Need I say more?

Yeah I think I do.

You can do it as a team or individual however there is a hard 45min time cap. If you are unlikely to make the time make sure you team up. Keep in mind that it’s a long WOD and it’s hot (remember the 12 days of christmas?). Add on to that the impact of christmas pudding and beers and wine and you probably won’t be able to touch your PB pace unless you want to finish like Kara Webb at the 2015 Games. Start out steady. Steadier than you normally would

 

Open gym this week is only two workouts and they are posted on tuesday. One is the standard endurance pieces we have been doing that uses running, rowing and the bike. The other is a disgusting AMRAP of GHD sit ups and Dumbbell clusters. That one will put hairs on your chest and make you superhuman, maybe.

 

Remember enjoy your time off guilt free, and we can get back on the wagon at the end of the week.

Thank you to everyone for such an awesome christmas party and for really embracing the pool workout. I hope it was a gassy for you as it was for me.

 

What’s in the program this week?

 

More Snatches

Last two weeks we’ve had an emphasis on that second pull. This week we still have that emphasis but we are going to put more focus on the first pull. That means we are going to learn more about controlling the bar from the floor to the thigh before we initiate that explosive second pull that you’ve all been practising so well.

Things you can do to help?

1. Look after your hip mobility – It’s hard to control off the floor if you’re struggling to get down there.
2. Slow it down – The explosiveness doesn’t happen on the floor. The goal is to get the bar to your hips whilst still being balanced and in a strong body position.

To finish the snatch session off we are throwing Isabel at you. The goal here is to do 2 big sets of touch and go. You want to be able to get over half your reps done in those two sets. Think something like 10 and 5 or even 15 and 10. Then finish off with 1’s and 2’s. It’s a flat out sprint not a pacing workout.

 

Leg’s

That is to say 3 big leg endurance WOD’s. We have plenty of Wall balls (Karen), lunges and my favourite for the week a 21/15/9 Overhead squat and box jump.

Why leg endurance?

1. You will need some fit legs come the open.
2. It will give you a perkier butt and shapely legs. Who wouldn’t want a more perkier butt?

 

More Strict Gymnastics/Upper body strength

I promised you a month or real building up your strength up stop. Also if you regularly check on the CrossFit.com program you will notice a lot of strict work on their program lately as well. These are usually hints for the open.

What do we have?

1. Again we have another opportunity to play with strict muscle ups. Make sure you take the chance  before the work sets to have a play with banded muscle ups and/or have a crack at getting your first. Already have strict muscle ups, then have a go at this bad boy, the forward roll to support. https://youtu.be/XyhSbYbX8j0 It reinforces the importance of keeping tight and having a secure false grip.
2. Presses. Plenty of overhead presses. Just make sure you keep it strict and don’t let your legs or back rob your shoulders of the work.
3. “Wade”. This is a hero Workout we will be doing on saturday. It has pull ups, dips and handstand push ups. All strict. The Rx version calls for a 9/6kg weight vest too. If you wanted to purchase a weight vest I’ll post some links below.

 

Ab’s

We have Have a repeat of the extras hollow rocks, and the farmers/front rack/overhead carries. Both great Ab buildiers plus we introduce some woodchoppers. Great on to those extras if you want ab’s for chrissy.

Oh and there might be a WOD with a gazillion V-ups too. Just remember there’s no such thing as having too good abs.

 

Again faster have two types of weight vest. The more expensive of the two is a great weight vest that fits really well. It wont bounce as much as other types and the plate will sit against your body a whole lot better. This is their direct competitor with the 5.11 version used at the games. Go to  https://www.againfaster.com.au/strength/weighted-tools/

Bullit fit have a really cost effective vest. Great value for money. They don’t come with a laser cut molded plate but they’re a third of the cost of the again faster and nearly a quarter of the cost of the 5.11 vests. It also doesn’t come with any weight. Instead it comes with a foam pad. You go out and buy a pair of weight plates (2x5kg for boys and 2×2.5kg for girls- unless you can find plates in pounds) and cut a hole into the foam that the plate fits in. Remember that’s a plate at the front and a plate at the back. If you have troubles ask Coach Dan. He just purchased one of these. Go to https://bullittfitgear.com.au/collections/accessories

5.11 supply the vests at the games. It’s fair to say these are the standard but with plates included well over 300 bucks. You can get the whole kit at Rogue australia but only in black. If you wanted the  military look sandstone you’ll have to go to 5.11 but then still order your plates through rogue. To get to Rogue go to https://www.rogueaustralia.com.au/5-11-tactical-vests-au or you can go to 5.11 at https://www.511tactical.com.au/tac-tec-plate-carrier.html

Firstly I want to congratulate the 2 and 1/6th teams we had compete at the Allstar Alliance finals this weekend. There were a few snatch PB’s and even a first muscle up (just missing that dip out, but we can build that strength, especially this month). I hope even if you didn’t get a PB you still gained some sort of growth from the experience. I’m sure it will only enhance your training and how you handle success and setbacks. Ultimately these competitions can make us better people, or as you probably saw from a minority of teams, worse people. It all depended on our attitude and approach. I was very proud of your approach gang, well done and again congratulations. Your attitude and approach made us proud.

 

What do we see in the program this week?

 

1- Strict gymnastic/upper body strength

This is not just a feature of the program this week but will be a theme for the month of december. The goal of the program is to build as much strength before the open. This will help us progress those movements like muscle ups, pull ups and handstand push ups, so we have the opportunity to do more of the workouts Rx. We will not be eliminating kipping work altogether but it will be used sparingly. The way we will use it is to help us get control of the kipping action by staying tighter and building strength in the muscles that protect us from injury and make us more powerful athletes.

 

What can you do to help capitalize on this? Approach all gymnastic work this month with the goal of getting better at the process. That means getting your shoulder in a better position rather than getting more reps or doing an option that looks better on the scoreboard but doesn’t get those lagging lat muscles stronger.

 

2- Olympic lifting/leg strength

We have some pause back squats to help us build that strength at the bottom of the squat. This helps us to get out of the bottom of our heavy cleans, because there’s nothing worse than thinking you just PB’d your clean by getting under the bar but then finding out you can’t make the top because your legs can’t get you out of the bottom.

Also this week we repeat the lessons of last week’s focus on the second pull  of the snatch. We will be doing sets of hang power snatch. This eliminates completely the first pull (ground to knee), and minimizes the importance of the third pull (getting under the bar). To succeed here you will have to get into that strong hang position by knowing where to put your hips (back, way back) and whether to balance on your toes or heels (hint it’s both but slightly more toes than heels). You also need to know how to find the power position (bar to hips) and extend (shrug and explode). All this of course before you bend your arms.

What can I do if I have trouble with this? Easy. Do more hang shrug work, that is to say just do the second pull. The hang shrug is the start and finish point of our second pull. If we do more work here learning to perfect the action, it will help to reinforce the movement pattern (muscle memory) when we go back to doing the entirety of the snatch.

 

3- Metcons

This week we’ve backed off a little on the super long workouts of the previous weeks, We have two medium length workouts (15ish mins). One is saturday’s team pool workout and the other a great but typical CrossFit WOD of 400m runs, Sumo deadlift high pulls and burpees. Think of it like a Helen that will take a few mins longer. I love these workouts because they are just so effective at building our work capacity and our ability to push. These are grinders but Wods that pushing the pace later in the workout is important. We also have the all out sprint that is Grace. 30 Clean and jerks for time. Make sure you pick a weight light enough to touch and go with.

 

Best and most simple thing you can do this week to progress? Make sure when you do your strict gymnastics work this week you pick options that are challenging but you can master the position. Don’t do reps that get you from top to bottom but put you in the incorrect position. Master the position and you will progress.

This week marks the end of the month and the only acceptable time to put up a christmas tree. It also is a chance to get over last week. We have backed off a little on the upper body volume however if you are getting after the open gym WOD’s like me, I wish you luck.

 

Special note – It’s getting hotter. Bring a towel and water to class and clean up your sweat when your done.

 

Lifting

This week we get to test out our front squat max. We have programmed it as a pyramid scheme… the good kind. You will build up to a good looking max weight for the day, then drop the weight back and continue looking good for another three or four sets.

 

If you hate front squats, chances are you’re just not in quite the right position to get comfortable and handle some really big loads.

If you struggle to keep that bar on your shoulders or your wrists hurt it’s probably a combination of shoulder,scapular and thoracic mobility (it’s usually never the wrist) stopping you from getting organised into a good position or just the way you set up. On the day we will throw heaps of mobility work your way in the warm up but here’s a video from the MobilityWOD on how to better set up. https://youtu.be/oXOgjuGOQBY

 

We also have some 3 position snatch work to do where we snatch from the hip, knee and floor. This awesome complex is here to really help us to perform our second pull with more proficiency. That is finding our hips with the bar, with long straight arms as we explode up and shrug.

Here’s a video of the breakdown of Lu Xiaojuns the  Olympic and world champion breaking the world record snatch two years ago in Rio.

https://youtu.be/v-usczgtDQc

Yeah that’s 177kg by a guy who weighs less than 77kg

 

Skills

We have a good skill session around the ring muscle up. It consists of sets of strict ring muscle ups (or banded/assisted) and kipping swings. This isn’t really a workout that you try to score high on. Instead the focus should be on how to better perform the parts required to be successful at muscle ups. We will continue to work hard on our kipping swing skill and building strength through the range of that muscle up so we can get you as good as possible at muscle ups come open time.

 

We also have a good deal of play one day with some kettlebell snatch, clean and jerk and overhead squats. Expect to see a bit more of this stuff come up over the next few weeks.

 

Metcons

This seems to be the week of the AMRAP’s. We have three headed your way. The main thing you will need to prepare yourself for this week will be the longer 20min one. It has Rowing (no worries) light deadlifts for reps (gross) and toes to bar for reps (lookout hands, abs, lats, heart, soul). The main obstacle in this one will be the toes to bar. Get your kipping sorted and your meaty grip right. If your hands slip and slide around that bar be prepared to tear and not finish the workout. Special note if you tear and bleed you must stop. This is a common courtesy as no one wants to share a pull up bar and rower with your DNA.

 

Open Gym

The main difference with this weeks open gym wods are

1. The Kettlebell AMRAP repeats. This is there to help us learn how to hold on to a weight for longer. They may only be 2min AMRAPs but this will be tough
2. Two endurance wods this week. One a interval piece on the bike like the row and run ones from the last two weeks. The other a more continuous row run and then cart some heavy weight around. This will challenge you to keep a good position on the carry’s whilst you’re fatigued.