Monday, March 28, 2016

Off-Season Week 0

My goal for this off-season are complicated, numerous and very exciting. I will be posting out the work for the week on Monday's (Monday's extra work will be posted Sunday night, then the post will be edited throughout the day for the remainder of the week).  There will be weekly benchmark tests, varying groups and goals and focused intentions for every session.  Wednesday of this week is CF Total, I would like everyone to eat and prep for that this week and see where you currently sit on your strength numbers. We will use this as one of our benchmarks moving forward. The rest of this week will be transition and goal setting weeks, and deciding on what you feel is of more importance to you:

1. Raw Strength (most common)
2. Speed Strength
3. Strength position (I.e. I can FS 350, but doing 3x3s Pause Squats @ 285 kills me)
3. Gymnastics Strength (Can hold a hollow hanging just fine, but can't do a strict pull-up/dip)
4. Gymnastics Position Strength (Can do pull-ups or dips just fine, but can't hold a hollow position when I do them to save my life)
5. Fundamental Concepts -- (Still don't know how to breathe or brace in lifts, can't kip properly, don't keep a neutral spine when pulling off the floor, can't keep head up in OHS positions, etc.)

*6*. Raw Endurance/Aerobic Capacity -- This is for people who are limited absolutely by their cardio in everything -- while often times moving more efficiently will go hand-in-hand with this, and thus we want to keep a bigger focus on our weaknesses #1-5 - some of you need to begin working this now and continue on the entire season. 

Remembering the focus from my previous post our priorities will remain the following:
1. GPP -- Class & being coached and moved on a timeline has always been our bread and butter. Maria, Jenny, K$, myself, Kit, Cash, Sunshine, Jade all made 95% of their gains over years of dedicated work inside of our group atmosphere. 
2. Fun -- I only want you to participate in extra work & class if you're actively looking forward to it -- if not switch your focus and ask yourself why you're doing this. CrossFit is not and never has been standing around doing Olympic lifting sets & pull-up work. It is preparing for anything - lifting stones, sandbags, doing animal crawls, lifting people, running, etc. all provides great value and is just as good for your mind as your body. Embrace it, and find the positive in every class / extra session. 
3. If you are willing to commit 2 hours to the gym each day, target two major areas of improvement. These should be specific (i.e. not pull-ups, but strict pull-ups in a perfect hollow position -- or not "Snatch" but improving my second pull and positioning off the ground in the Snatch).  If you are willing to commit 90 minutes to the gym, target one major area. Initial cycle will last ~8 weeks, with Week 1 & Week 8 being test weeks. 
4. Most importantly -- at ANY given time, I need to be able to walk up to you in an exercise and ask you what your focus and goals are for EACH lift, ANY workout, or any movement. Everything needs a focus, everything needs a goal. Nothing is going through the motions. 


Week 0
-- Finish reading & homework - begin work on goals. Finalize one or two, sleep on them - and see if you want to change them.
-- Schedule a meeting with Jeff
-- Develop 2 warm-ups that you will do throughout the week that hit on a major weakness - and work them. This isn't just "doing them" - That won't make it better. Get better at them, try new things, play and improve.  
-- Hit CF Total (if not Wednesday in class, then on your own)
-- Get your body to 100% - If you have ANYTHING wrong with you, I will not move forward with an off-season plan until you have begun actionable steps to improve those flaws. 



Friday, March 25, 2016

Saturday, March 26

For tomorrow there isn't much strategy -- Think about breaking up 14/7, 12/6, 10/5 on the first three sets of thrusters if you get slow on burpees when you're very tired. Other than that, I'd recommend step burpees and just keeping moving. 

Heat 1 - 11:20am - Omar, Starfox, Jesse, Dru, Brode, Ed, Jordan, ARaph
Heat 2 - 11:50am - Jade, Jen K., Sunshine, Shelby, Mo
Heat 3 - 12:20pm -Jibs, CSans, JSans, RT, Maria

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Friday, March 25

Well we finally get an opportunity to show some improvement - And without a major skill, you can simply show if you have the ability to go harder now than in 2014.  I do recommend breaking 21 and 18 thrusters at 11/10 and 10/8 if you think you'll burn up -- I remember going unbroken and just dying at 15/12 sets.  Practice and work your step-back burpees, they will be pivotal for this. 

Prep -- 

1) 2k Row, every 500m Get off and do 15 Air Squats -- Done @ moderate pace.
***PM Group please do: Airdyne 2.0 distance, every 0.5 distance do 15 squats**

2) 5 x 3 - Thruster from floor @ 95, 95, 115, 135, 155 // 65, 65, 75, 85, 95 -- Work speed out of the squat clean into the Thrusters.

3) 3 rounds:
2 Muscle-Ups
3 Thrusters 95/65
4 Bar Facing Burpees
5 Box Jumps
6 KBS
8 Wall-Ball
10 Mountain Climbers
30 DU
Rest 2mins

4) Perform the 15&12 sets of the workout, practice your burpee pacing. Should be roughly 1:20-1:30 pace for 15 burpees, and 1:00-1:10 pace for 12. 

Thursday, March 24

As we prep for the final Open workout we can begin to think and make our plans for the 2017 season. Nothing needs to be decided now, or soon -- You are free to take what time off you feel you need, and you are ALL always free to simply follow this blog and the extra work for fun if you like.  Below is mostly written for people who have aspirations to make the CrossFit Games Regionals or beyond - which means they have a specific training off-season, macro and micro cycles, etc. If that is not you, enjoy your rest day today and relax as needed (the bottom links are still worthwhile IMO). 

Today's reading and homework is meant to give you a better idea and mental approach to the first cycle of the off-season. Hopefully you all are looking forward to this, I know I am to program it, and work intensely to 'fix' you all - I am also already looking forward to whenever my off-season begins because my list of things to implement is massive, and you all get to have the fun earlier than I do.  I have worked (and will continue to work) hard to explain the WHY, to help create educated athletes that own their own training, and prepare you for your upcoming journey.  Your involvement and approach to this will determine your success. If you require hand-holding, skip out on the homework's I assign to help you mentally, don't work to educate yourself on new exercises, seek help from professionals, etc. your success will be limited.  As always - effort wins - but don't mistake this with "But I come to the gym everyday you say to and do the extra work" -- It is so much more than that to be great. 

There are a few things that I will ask athletes who want to continue in a competitive element moving forward to do. *Write these down*

1. Evaluate your performance in each Open workout, frustrations throughout the Open and what you feel limited you from finishing in the Top 100 or Top 50.

2. Set 2 goals for next year: a) A placing, a workout placing, a team placing, etc. - b) One movement that hindered you, or that you want to make a noticeable change before next years Open.

3. Make a list of your most common hurt body part(s). It is not normal, or okay to always have back issues, or shoulder issues/pain. 

4. Make a list of movements that consistently give you physical struggles.

5. Make a list of movements that consistently give you mental struggles. 


The number 1 most important thing leading into the off-season is knowing your purpose, and guiding everything you do to your purpose. Strength is one of, if not the most important component of the off-season, but it is not JUST raw strength that we need to build. It is also positional strength, this requires an increased focus on HOW you do something, not just doing it. Some of this will be programmed in, some of this will be on YOU to know what you need to get better at.  Strength takes time, that is why we need to focus it so much now -- intensity, cardio, endurance, etc. comes more quickly (and will still be something we hit everyday).  Due to the fact that we will be hammering Strength and positional strength, the volume needs to drop drastically from the conditioning work we do between December-March. This will do the following:
- Provide our body and CNS time to recover and build muscle.
- Provide you the opportunity to go as hard/heavy as you can on one or two pieces for the day, with nothing lingering (no excuses) to slow you down. 
- Allow you to focus on 2 or 3 things to make a noticeable change on, rather than 75 things to get marginally better at. 

Understanding that removing the distracting obstacles of competition, and all of the components it entails will provide you the opportunity to focus on the fundamentals you desperately need to improve on. If you think that you need 5 workouts a day, competition workouts, and 'harder, harder, harder' then you don't understand the sport yet, and that's perfectly fine, it's why you have a coach and a great gym that has a proven system for getting you there.  

My favorite coach, programmer, mentor in CrossFit is Ben Bergeron. I had him for my L1 and went to his seminar in Vegas, his knowledge and ability to work with athletes is second to none.  One of my favorite parts of his online "general" programming is that he offers a group called "Open Athletes" - which is basically anyone who wants to maximize their performance solely for the Open each year, in hopes of making it further. Take some time to look through what it entails at the beginning of last off-season: http://competitorstraining.com/2015/04/  -- It is THE simplest training you will find. It is that way for a reason, so that you can focus all of your energy, all of your intensity into ONE thing (just like the Open) and giving that one thing a true shot at getting better.  I feel as though many of you are getting caught up in the "Magic Pill" dilemma, where you feel like you're missing some piece, or not doing enough to get "ahead."  In almost every sport, and in almost every life situation, the most common answer to fix this is to go back, and shift the focus entirely to improving on the fundamentals. 

Basketball coaches don't cut kids for not being able to do a 360 through the legs dunk...they cut kids for not being able to shoot free throws, or for turning the ball over. Give me a point guard who can go left and never turns the ball over any day over the kid who chucks up 3/12 from 3-point line, scores 20 and turns the ball over 8 times (I know some of you won't get that). 

I feel like if I programmed for you all some of the days Ben programs I would get a lot of "That's it?" and I find that to be a fundamental problem within our developmental athletes. Anytime something is not enough for you, then you lacked the proper focus, intensity and purpose for that day. 

Let your bodies heal up over the week following the Open, do your homework (listed above), along with reading these:
Convo 1
Convo 2
Watch/listen to these: 
Julian Pineau 1
Julian Pineau 2

I will not take conversations, discussions or meetings with anyone who has not done their homework in their entirety. If you are willing to spend 2-3 hours at the gym each day, you need to take the time to read and listen, learn, goal set, and come into 2017 with the right mindset. I have sacrificed a lot of my time, energy and effort this entire past year, and I will continue to do so provided that I get met half way with all of this -- I appreciate everyone's hard work, dedication and time spent in the gym, but realize that being competitive is more than just coming in and logging some workouts. 

Or, as Doug Chapman says: 

Think about it. Do you REALLY want to go to that level? You can be really fit and healthy without training for the games. It is a lot of fun to workout and do the open and test your fitness. Local comps are fun and great social events. You don’t have to kill yourself to train for the games to get a lot of benefit from that. Doing fitness as a job is different than doing it for recreation and good health. Why don’t you really think about it and get back to me. "


I am very much looking forward to having everyone back into regular classes, enjoying the social atmosphere and having fun again! Meet some of the new people, engage them and help them -- I'm sure when you first started some of the "Beasts" seemed intimidating, it is always so nice to see that they are just great people who are willing to help.  Remember before this season Jade, EVE, Jen K., ARaph, ACon, etc. weren't a major part of competition group - now they are a more closely knit part of our family.  You never know who might join us, and you never know the friendships you might build from just inviting someone to work with you. Be open to anything, talk with me about your decisions and let me know if/when you're ready to sit down and discuss.  I will schedule meetings once the Open is over, provided my requirements are met!
 



Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Wednesday, March 23

Class:
1) Squats
2) STO workout - Scale up to 155/105

Extra:
3) EMOM15:
1 Jerk @ 75% (May go up last 3-4 minutes if all makes)

4) Sled Sprints:
Take a sled out back and push for 7-8 Sprints (dumpster to curb), walking the sled back to the dumpster then rest. Goal is as much weight as you can have on the sled, while still maintaining a 100% upright sprint position. 

Monday, March 21, 2016

Tuesday, March 22

Class:
1) Power Clean + Squat Clean max
2) V-Up sprint workout

Extra:
1) With a partner complete 100 Thrusters (115/75) for time - Barbell may not touch the ground, no sets smaller than 12. 

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday, March 20

Great job today guys -- Sunday will be 2pm, 2:30p start time -- Schedule for next week will be:

Monday - Off
Tuesday/Wednesday - Class + Regular
Thursday - Active recovery
Friday - Prep
Saturday - Open
Sunday - Off

then we will go into the "old" schedule for awhile, to meet up with class on the Strength Cycle, relax a bit and remember why we do CF and how to have fun in CF (the community, doing class, etc. - NOT just basing yourself and your hard work off some leaderboard)

Monday - Class + extra
Tuesday - Class only
Wednesday - Class + Extra + Weakness
Thursday - Off
Friday - Class only
Saturday - Class + extra

I am super proud of everyone this season, it is amazing to think how much better everyone has gotten over this year. Congrats to Clark and Mackenzie, as well as Jade & (late I know, sorry) EVE on all of the major life changes upcoming for our group this year. We will talk about goal setting, and how to approach this upcoming year in a few weeks - In the meantime enjoy your last Open week, hit it hard!

Friday, March 18, 2016

Saturday, March 19

Plenty of hip warm-up, pulling & pushing, then get into this:

Warm-up:
3 Rounds:
5 DL @ 185, 205, 225 / 105, 125, 155
10 WB
10 Cal Row
5 HSPU 
*This should be done at your station, once your HSPU is set up.*
Have done 4-5 minutes before workout begins. 

Heats - 10-11am - Normal heats for class

Heat 1 - 11:20am - Clark, Omar, Starfox, Jesse, Dru, Brode
Heat 2 - 11:50am - Jibs, CSans, JSans, RT, Jordan, ARaph
Heat 3 - 12:20pm - Jade, Jen K., Sunshine, Kenz, Shelby
Heat 4 - 12:50pm - Maria, K$, Fazzio, Mo, Cody*, Ed*
*Unsure if doing tomorrow.*

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Friday, March 18

Prep Day:

1) Row 100cals with this pacing:
1st 33 - Moderate (1300/900)
2nd 33 - Easy (1250/850)
3rd 34 - Harder (1450/1000)

2) 5 sets of 5 DL @ 225/155
Set 1, 3, 5 - Quick Singles (drop from the top)
Sets 2, 4 - TnG

3) 4 Rounds:
3 HSPU
4 Burpees
5 KBS (53/44)
6 Box Jumps
8 Wall-Balls
10 Pause (at bottom) Jumping air squats
30 DU
rest 2 minutes

Thoughts:
Initially I think people will fall into two groups.

Group 1 - No struggle with DL, WB or Row -- probably HSPU struggle. This group needs to focus on bigger sets for DL / WB and a solid row pace. Get a good tie-breaker, take a ~30s transition off the rower and focus on small, controlled sets on the HSPU (3s or 5s) with limited rest. 

Group 2 - Big struggle with DL or WB & Row -- Less HSPU struggle, but will be time pressured there.  DL need to be broken up intelligently, with the last 20-25 reps done as very fast singles. Taking away the eccentric will help a ton. WB should be done as 15 then (4) 10s and row pace should be kept lower to start, then picked up at 20-25 cals. HSPU do what you can, minimal rest though.  

Ultimately this workout isn't one that will have a significant pacing or count down structure - that just isn't the way chippers work. You need to have small goals, and keep yourself moving - make it from one goal to the next as seamlessly as possible - and just get tough on WB and the Rower, less brain work and more physical work to get to the HSPU. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Wednesday, March 16

Class:
1 - Snatch work
2 - Run/Burpee sprint work / intensity training

Extra:
E2MOM20:
Build to a heavy 3 Back Squat
Sets 1-3 @ 60%
Sets 4-6 @ 70%
Sets 7+ - Build as desired to a Heavy 3 or 3RM 
*If you fail you're done for the day*




Monday, March 14, 2016

Tuesday, March 15

The Ides of March

Great job this week! The power of the one-and-done is that you get stronger as the competition goes on as others get weaker. 44/34/24 finishes, looking better as you go. 

Class -
1) FS + Jerk
2) 10RFT:
Wall-Climb
Rope Climb

Extra:
3) 30-20-10:
Burpees
DB Push Press (35/25s/hand)
Second HS Hold (i.e. 30/20/10s)

4) Immediately after part 3 begin AmRap5: 
Sets of 5/3 Muscle-Ups (i.e. pop up, hit 5/3 Muscle-ups, come down, that is 1 round)

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Sunday, March 13

Great job on 16.3 today everyone, very pleased with the effort given out today - a few areas of improvement for some, but overall excited by the efforts given! 

Tomorrow 2pm arrival, 2:30p Start time

Friday, March 11, 2016

Saturday, March 12

Warm-Up:
Important that you come in today with your warm-up goal in mind to get a mini-workout in before you begin. It should look like this:

0-15mins - Movement prep, voodoo bands, banded work aimed at Hamstrings, low back, rear shoulders and forearms. 

15-30 minutes: EMOM12:
a) Row 16/13 Cals
b) Banded Goodmornings + March (~35-40seconds worth)
c) 8 DB Snatches (55/35)

30-40 minutes: 1 Full Round @ pace, rest 6 minutes (do Air Squats + Shoulder Opening during rest)

This means start warm-up ~30-40 minutes out of your heat time:

Heat 1 @11:15am: Omar, Brode, Dru
Heat 2 @11:30am: ARaph, Jordan, ACon
Heat 3 @ 11:55am: Jeff, John, RT
Heat 4 @ 12:10pm: Sunshine, Jen K., Jesse
Heat 5 @ 12:30pm: Maria, K$, Jade
Side Goals for First Bar MU - Shelby, EVE? (not sure let me know).

Let me know if you're coming and want/need to be put on this? Hard to keep track these days with so many people out of town, doing it on odd days, not doing it, etc. 

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Friday, March 11

Prep Day / Thoughts:

This is the first Open Workout where priming your engine will be huge. I will have a 12-14 minute EMOM to do before you begin the workout that you should get and have your heart rate up before you start. This will help fend off your heart rate jumping on you too quickly. For most of you this will come down to how well you can do at Bar MU, if you know for a fact you can just go UB the whole time, then it requires a little delicacy early on based on your engine. Use time standards to help you:
10+ Rounds: Every 40s do 1 round
9+ Rounds: Every 45s do 1 round
8+ Rounds: Every 50s Do 1 round
etc. etc.

I honestly don't feel that a prep day is hugely important for tomorrow unless your grip or back are beat up, but if you do choose to do one instead of class tomorrow:

Prep Day:
1) E2MOM12:
25/20 Cals Rower -- I will move 2-3 rowers over to the extra area in the evening, do not do this in class area, and do not bring extra rowers over - use only the ones I bring back there.

2) 4 sets of 2:
Power Snatch @ 135/85 - Touch & Go

3) 4 Rounds:
4 Power Snatches @ 75/55
5 Powerful Kips
6 Box Jumps
7 Burpees
8 KBS Overhead (70/53)
10 Wall-Ball
12 Box Jump
30 DU
*Rest 90s between efforts*

4) Test one round at :40, :45, :50 -- If you do not have great bar MU, test out 1-2 rounds and see what you think you can sustain. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Wednesday, March 9

Class:
1) Split Jerk
2) 21-15-9 Workout w/ DL, Pull-up & heavy FS -- This is main focus today, try to have solid intensity here. 

Extra:
3) 5 Rounds with a partner:
25/17 Cal Bike Sprint
Max Kipping HSPU UB
*Do with a partner, rest while partner goes - Time rounds + reps*

Monday, March 7, 2016

Tuesday, March 8

Great week everyone! Super Friends moved up 11 spots to 33 this week, Friendship finished 7th in the world (highest in the history of the gym) and second only to the champs regionally. We currently have 3 guys and 3 girls on the first page individually regionally, another 1 guy and 2 girls on the second page with many moving up on their placings this week.  Definitely expecting some Wallball & Muscle-Ups soon - so add some WB into your warm-ups if that is a struggle for you.

Class:
1) TGU work
2) Cardio rowing/running/sleds

Extra:
3) With a partner complete:
30-20-10:
Synchro OHS (75/55)
Muscle-Ups
*scale MU numbers in half if neither team member has more than 5 UB*


Sunday, March 6, 2016

Sunday, March 6

Great job out of everyone yesterday, today will be a slight bit more substantial than last week since we didn't get any second session time in after.

2pm Arrival - 2:30p Start time 

Friday, March 4, 2016

Saturday, March 5

Start list for tomorrow:

9:30am - Regular Heats begin
10:00am - Heat 2
10:25am - Heat 3
10:45-10:50a - Heat 4


11:10a - Kenz, Jade, EVE, Jesse, ACon
11:40a - Jibs, Will, Sunshine, Jen K., Omar
12:10p - Kristen C.,  RT, John Sans, Ed
12:40p - Maria, CSans, Brandon

We will have a hard wrap up time at 1:20pm, so if you're later please plan on a quick CD and packing up ready to go.


As we did last week, please let me know ASAP if you needed ADDED or REMOVED for any reason from this list, it will impact a lot. 

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Friday March 4th

Prep Day tomorrow -- Note - This MUST be finished no later than 6:15pm and you must clear the extra area by then.

1) Warm-Up:
EMOM12:
a) 8 Goblet Squats Slow (with pause if needed)
b) 12 KBS Overhead (53/35)

2) Spend some time loosening up front rack position then:
EMOM5:
3 Speed FS @ 40-50% 185/115

3) 4 Rounds:
1 Squat Clean (185/115)
2 Bar Facing Burpees
3 Strict HSPU
5 T2B
6 Box Jumps
8 Wall-Ball
10 Full ROM Mountain Climbers (feet beyond hands)
40 DU
Rest 2 minutes between efforts


My recommended strategy for this will likely be (for most):
5s on T2B from the start, minimal break and quick singles on the Cleans (UB on DU should hopefully be an afterthought for most of you) -- The one exception could be the first round of T2B doing 10/10/5 if you are very confident in your T2B. This workout is less about speed than DB made it look, and more about staying diligent on the barbell / managing T2B for most of you. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Thursday, March 3

Enjoy the Open Announcement tomorrow, try to get in a sweat early in the day if possible, do a 60-minute RomWod in the evening during the announcement and spend 20 minutes visualizing / meditating before bed.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Wednesday, March 2

Class:
1) Plyo Push-Ups -- Have some fun here!
2) Tough thruster AmRap

Extra:
1) E2MOM12:
1 Snatch + 2 OHS (Pick Weight)
Max Muscle-Up attempt
*Weights should go up each set, and should get to a challenging number, but focus is MU sets when slightly fatigued*