SouthBaltimore CrossFit

Sorry for the late post.  Insert snow excuse here…

Because of the snow, some of you may have taken a full two days off.  Insanity, I know.  However, we can’t forget how important recovery is.  You simply will not be able to come in six days a week for a whole year without some sort of breakdown.  Check out this post by Dutch Lowy on how rest is more important than the training minutiae such as meal timing or post-workout supplementation.  Just work hard in the gym, and work hard at resting, eating, and sleeping enough, and you’ll be 95% of the way there.

The gym will be open today, as normal.

Workout

Squat 3×5, add 5 lbs to previous
Press 3×5, add 5 or 2lbs to previous (be smart!)

Then…

AMRAP in 6 min of:
20 mountain climbers (10/leg) [video]
10 Sandbag half-moons [video]

Thanks to Catalyst Athletics for the videos

Saturday classes are canceled.  Go shovel snow.

Photo Courtesy Crossfit.com

Reminder: We will post any cancellations at least one hour in advance on our website.  Always check the website first if you’re unsure.  Never miss an opportunity to play in the snow.

Workout

Deadlift 1×5 add 10lbs from last workout
Strict Chin-up 3×10-15

Then…

5 Rounds:
10 KB Swings
30 Double Unders

When Phil and I went to the CrossFit Football seminar, John Welbourn said something that really stuck with us: “Let’s not be shitty.”  What he meant was that most of us have goals outside of the gym.  The workouts themselves are a means, not an end.  The reps and movements are tools, and while it’s necessary to push yourself, it’s counterproductive to push yourself past the point of quality movements.  To use football as an example, a defensive offensive lineman doesn’t just explode off the line arms flailing.  He blocks a specific player in a specific direction using a specific technique.  He may be tired, but he still tries to generate as much force as possible, with the prerequisite that he does it properly.  The best players are the ones who can do it repeatedly and consistently, and manage to still generate huge power, even while under durress.

I have to admit that before hearing him say this, I was a fan of treating every workout like a test.  My attitude was a product of viewing CrossFit as a workout for it’s own sake, and if this is the case for you, I hope you signed up for sectionals, and it might be OK to treat every workout as a test.  However, I know that just being good at CrossFit isn’t a primary goal for most of you, and in this case its much more prudent to focus on quality first.

Of course, sometimes it’s fine to just go nuts on a workout and burn out in a blaze of glory.  Maybe it’s a leaderboard workout and you really want to get the fastest time.  Maybe you did this yesterday during Fran.  Sometimes the workout is a test, and in this sense the workout can be treated as an end rather than a means.  However, I’d rather see most of you, a majority of the time, attack the workout with a controlled aggression (80-90% perceived effort).  Put your utmost effort into each individual movement rather than the workout in general, and remember that the stimulus is the goal.  The starters are the ones who do it right most consistently, not the ones who put out the most effort.

Workout

Squat 3×5, add 5 lbs to previous
Press 3×5, add 5 or 2lbs to previous (be smart!)

Then…

2 min wallball (20/16)
1 min rest
2 min KB swings (53/35)
1 min rest
2 min box jumps (24/20)
1 min rest
2 min row (for calories)

For the wallballs, focus on hitting the same point on the wall and catching the ball at the same point each rep.  Try to do them in sets of 10, 15, or 20.  For the swings, focus on explosive hip opening and get the kettlebell as high as possible with minimum shoulder involvement.  For the box jumps, jump as high on the box as possible and try to land with straight legs.  For the row, settle into a nice methodical stroke rate (24-28/min) and concentrate on strong perfect pulls, attempting to get (and maintain) 1 cal per pull.

From CrossFit Invictus

Sometimes unexpected tests pop up.  Today, her name is Fran.  Come in a vie for the leaderboard!

Also, yet another reason to take fish oil: your mental health!  It’s an admittedly small study, but it shows yet another potential consequence of a messed up omega 3/omega 6 ratio.  I hope it’s starting to sink in: we are not supposed to have all of the issues we have!  They are a result of our poor modern lifestyles.

Just take the fish oil.

Workout

“Fran”

21-15-9
Thrusters (95/65)
Pull-ups

By now you know that sugar is death, and that processed “complex” carbs aren’t appreciably better.  However, gluten is another reason to avoid the cereal grains.  It could be doing much more damage than you think.  Check out this site for more on the dangers of gluten.

Workout

Power Clean 5×3 add 5 lbs from last workout
Strict Pull-up 3×10-15

Then…

2 rounds for time:

Row 500 meters
10 right arm KB power snatch (53/35)
10 left arm KB power snatch (53/35)
12 burpee pull ups

From CrossFit Football

As I was in the shower yesterday, scrubbing away at my palms furiously,  I was unhappy. The pumice stone is annoying; it extends my showers, is somewhat uncomfortable, and simply seems unnecessary. However today I couldn’t be happier with my smoothed and relatively un-calloused fingers…ready to hold the barbell yet again.

See our previous post on handcare.

Squat 3×5, add 5 lbs to previous
Press 3×5, add 5 or 2lbs to previous (be smart!)

Then…

3 rounds:
10 sandbag shoulders
10 burpees

The ones from yesterday were just stock photos from where we were.  These are ones taken with the iPhone.

…enough to post while on vacation in Tahoe.  Check out the places I’m snowboarding!

Seriously the conditions here are silly.  Trails are describable in miles.  There’s not much more to be said about it.

Also, remember that we’re holding Olympic lifting skills clinic today.

Workout

Snatch, Clean, Jerk skill work