Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Competition Tip: Mental and Physical Preparation

Mental and Physical Preparation on Game Day

So you signed up for your first competition and you are getting fired up for the throwdown on August 4th. If you read my previous tip on tapering your training and eating leading up to the competition, you are already preparing well for the physical test you will face on Saturday. There is another type of preparation that must be done prior to showing up at Reebok CrossFit Back Bay on Saturday morning; your mental game is just as important as your physical preparation leading up to the big day. A competitor with mental strength and the ability to prepare their mind to endure what the day will bring can edge out other competitors who may have more skill and strength. Many of you may have felt it in a WOD: you feel slow, tired, drained, and you let these feelings creep into your head. Excuses soon become the limiting factor in your workout, and you leave disappointed with the result of that day. You must be able to shut out the negative thoughts and maintain a positive outlook, focusing on the little details of each rep instead of the quantity of work in front of you. This post is my attempt to assist you with the mental aspect of competition that is not often addressed.

The night before


The night before, even though it is Friday, I highly encourage you to end your night early and stay relatively sober over the course of the evening. The best thing you can do before bed (while stretching after your hot shower, don't forget) is to visualize the following day. Visualization and, more importantly, thinking about how you will win each event is extremely important in elite athletic performance. When you watched the CrossFit Games online this year, one thing is always true of the competitors; they went into each event with a clear mental plan of how they would execute the movements and they had full confidence that they could win each event. If you are strong at certain movements in an event and weaker at others, start picturing how you will quickly move through your strengths while executing your weaknesses with perfect technique. Focus on the little things, like where exactly that barbell should hit on a snatch, in order to perfect your repetitions on game day. Make sure you get to bed early and get plenty of sleep; being physically fatigued going into Saturday can lead directly to mental fatigue if you doubt your body's ability to perform.

So it's an hour before my heat, what do I do?


Within an hour of your scheduled heat time, there are a few things that are important to do both physically and mentally. Mobility, mobility, mobility, and more mobility should happen an hour ahead of your heat time. Foam roll and use a lacrosse ball first, then stretch out the area after you have mashed out any scar tissue in order to loosen up and elongate the muscles. When you are about 40 minutes out, start warming up the movements involved in the WOD. If you are performing a barbell movement, try hitting a couple reps at a heavier weight so that the bar feels lighter during the workout. If the bar feels lighter than it should, the WOD will be much easier mentally; a little extra physical preparation goes a long way in making your mental game easier to achieve. Within 15 minutes of your heat, it is time to focus on the mental side of your game. Stay loose and warm, but you should be performing general stretches and movements at this point and no longer need to warm up specific movements or barbell movements. This last 15 minute window is when you should start visualizing again. Go back through your game plan for the WOD and offer up some words of self-encouragement: you ARE strong enough to move that weight, you ARE fast enough to crush your opponents and, more importantly, you HAVE put in the time and energy to get better. If you go into a workout confident and focused, you will perform better 99.99999% of the time.

During the WOD


You pick up the barbell and it feels way heavier than you thought, you are rowing as hard as you can and the guy next to you has a faster split time, your kip isn't quite there and pull-ups are slow. If these things happen, it doesn't matter. This is where your mental preparation really needs to kick in. You need to take the voice in your head telling you it's too hard, you can't, you are too tired and tell it to shut the F!%# up. Stay confident and focus on each stroke, each rep, one at a time until you finish your set of work. Stop thinking about the 46 and a half reps left in this round and focus on the ONE rep you are doing RIGHT NOW. Count in your head, focus on breathing, and make each movement as efficient as possible. Too many people make the mistake of starting their WOD like a bat out of hell and fizzle out by round three; the best CrossFit athletes are able to pace each round so they can turn it up when they need to. Your biggest goal should be to keep moving forward at all costs. If you are staring at your barbell for 30 seconds longer than the guy in front of you, it really doesn't matter how much faster you got off your rower. One of the biggest things that helps me mentally in a WOD is limiting my rest by a set amount of time; if I don't want to pick up my bar, I take a deep breath and give myself 5 seconds before picking it up. I force myself to get my hands on the bar and get it moving after a 5 count. Limit your rest, your mind will always convince you that you are more tired than you are. Keep battling that voice in your head and stay confident, one rep at a time, until the WOD is over.

Limit your rest, control your breathing, and focus on the task at hand. This combined with adequate sleep and mental preparation in your warm-up will allow you to perform your best on game day. I will leave you with this last point: you are all stronger, faster, more skilled, and more prepared than any of you will give yourselves credit for. We are our own worst critics by nature. You have done the proper homework and preparation leading into this competition, so relax and know that you are adequately prepared! I am excited to see how well all of you do on Saturday, best of luck!

Best,
Coach Justin

WOD - July 31, 2012 - Tuesday

Workout of the Day

Barbell Work: 7x1 Clean @ 90%, 7x1 Split jerk @ 90% -- rest 75s between all sets

Strength: Push press from spit (behind-the-neck push press from split jerk position), 5x5 AHAP, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: "Freddy Krueger" 21-15-9 reps for time of:
* KB Swings (70#/53#)
* Burpees

Post results to comments.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Competition Tip: Tapering your Training and Nutrition for a Competition

How to Taper Training and Recover for a Competition

Hey everyone. I have received a lot of questions over the past week or so from those of you competing in our throwdown on August 4th. Most of these questions seem to revolve around how you should be training this week at the gym in order to be recovered and ready for Saturday. I wanted to address this question in a post so that it can reach all of you at once, and hopefully my response will make sense to most of you. As always, if you have any questions or something doesn't make sense to you, simply send me an email for clarification.

When should I rest and why?

Resting before a competition is a delicate balance, more so than people seem to think or realize. If you spend too much time resting and inactive, your body will respond negatively and you will have reduced energy levels and delayed response time to the intensity of the workouts you will put it through in a competition setting. On the other hand, inadequate rest will cause you to go into a competition sore and fatigued, effectively shutting your body down from overuse. Different athletes respond differently to higher volume training, and many of you will have an idea by now of how you respond to multiple workouts in a week. Particularly for those of you who have been attending competition classes on Wednesday nights, you now know what it feels like to do two WODs back to back and how long it takes you to recover.

I can assure you that the competition on August 4th will have you performing more than 2 WODs, and many of you will need to ensure that you have proper rest to maintain energy levels but not too much rest so as to cause lethargy and fatigue. My suggestion for most of you would be to work out through Wednesday, perform active recovery on Thursday, and take a complete rest day on Friday. Active recovery could be going for a light swim, run, or bike at a sustainable and slow pace or it could be taking Thursday's class at Reebok CrossFit Back Bay but performing the WOD at roughly 50% intensity (I know this will be difficult for many of you because you are competitive by nature). Trust me that going all-out on Thursday will NOT benefit you. While you rest Friday, make sure you do plenty of mobility. The gym is always open to members for this purpose; swing by and hop on a foam roller or lacrosse ball after work and stretch after a hot shower before bed.

Nutrition and sleep leading up to competition

If you typically cheat on your diet (Paleo, Zone, or whatever healthy eating style you follow) this week is NOT the week to enjoy the sugary treats, coffees, and pastries. You also, contrary to popular belief, do not want to "carbo load" prior to Saturday's competition. Eat lean meats, nuts, seeds, plenty of vegetables, and some fruit. Drink plenty of water this week, particularly the few days before the competition. I realize many of you have a tight work schedule, but please try and get a reasonable amount of sleep this week. Particularly on Thursday and Friday nights, you will want to be well-rested for Saturday morning. Eat a healthy and filling breakfast before you come in on Saturday, and pack plenty of healthy, high-energy food for the day's competition. Re-fueling after each WOD will be crucial to your success on Saturday, but it is even more important that your body is properly fueled in the days leading up to the competition.

Ensuring that you properly taper your training, eating well this week, and getting plenty of sleep leading up to Saturday will prepare you all to compete at your best on August 4th. You need to take care of your body to get the most out of it, and this is even more true when preparing for a high-intensity, multiple WOD competition. As I mentioned, if any of you have further questions please feel free to send me an email. Stay tuned this week for daily posts about competition strategy as well as some hints regarding the WODs you will encounter this Saturday. Keep training hard, and I wish you all the best of luck!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

WOD - July 30, 2012 - Monday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: You guys are all big boys and girls. By this point I think you have figured out what is effective in warming you up for these Olympic movements and WODs; therefore, I will no longer be posting warm-ups.

Barbell Work: 7x1 Snatch @ 90%, 4x5 Snatch pulls @ 85% 1RM snatch -- rest 75s between all sets

Strength: Low-bar back squat, 5x3 @ 90%, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: "Power Elizabeth" 21-15-9 reps for time of:
* Power clean (135#/95#)
* Ring dips

Post results to comments.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

RCFBB Competition August 4th: HEAT TIMES AND SCHEDULE

Heat Times and Schedule Information for August 4th

Attention all competitors, the following post contains all heats and applicable scheduling information for the competition on August 4th. This will hopefully allow all of you to better plan your day. The athletes' briefing at 8:20am is MANDATORY unless you have already spoken with me about being unable to make it at that time. If your name is on a list and you can no longer compete, or if I have forgotten to add your name for some reason, let me know IMMEDIATELY. Some of you may be switching from RX to scaled or vice versa, but I wanted to post this as soon as possible. The heats for later events will be updated throughout the day as athletes' ranks change. This page is your primary source for all heat information, so check it regularly throughout the day. Good luck and see you all on the 4th!

8:00am -- Judges' Briefing

8:20am -- Athletes' Briefing


9:00am – RX WOMEN WOD 1, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Mariana Spry                           Justin Wright
2                                              Page Travaglini                       Lauren Scheinfeldt
3                                              Mykim Dang                           Chris Daly
4                                              Brittany Reynolds                    Gino Escalante
5                                              Alexa Walls                             Bern Prince
6                                              Marissa Nucci                          Erin Boyer
7                                              Lori Carpenter                         Josh Plosker
8                                              Justine Colgan                         Ben Kimmerle

9:10am – SCALED WOMEN WOD 1, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Emily Biberger                        Justin Wright
2                                              Lisa Cole                                 Lauren Scheinfeldt
3                                              Cat Wentworth                        Chris Daly
4                                              Rebecca Korb                         Gino Escalante
5                                              Shayna Rodman                      Bern Prince
6                                              Allie Hall                                 Erin Boyer

9:18am – SCALED WOMEN WOD 1, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Megan Flood                           Justin Wright
2                                              Lori Mantoni                           Michael Cahill
3                                              Shannon Heuklom                  Chris Daly
4                                  Janet Levine (CONTACT ME)           Gino Escalante
5                                              Sara Mandell                           Ben Kimmerle

9:30am – RX MEN WOD 1, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Chip Russel                             Gino Escalante
2                                              Colin Gould                             Ben Kimmerle
3                                              Jason Casey                             Bern Prince
4                                              Wilson Velasko                       Erin Boyer
5                                              Mike Hagopian                       Josh Plosker

9:38am – RX MEN WOD 1, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Bobby Rowley                        Lauren Scheinfeldt
2                                              Brian Blaney                           Ben Kimmerle
3                                              Kevin Crets                             Bern Prince
4                                              Rory Barratt                            Chris Daly
5                                              Ben Beck                                Josh Plosker
6                                              Jim Bode                                 Michael Cahill

9:46am – RX MEN WOD 1, Heat 3
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Chad Verry                              Lauren Scheinfeldt
2                                              Dan Martin                              Justin Wright
3                                              Alex Goracy                            Bern Prince
4                                              Ben Eischen                            Chris Daly
5                                              FJ Perfas                                  Josh Plosker

9:56am – SCALED MEN WOD 1, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Kevin Ferry                             Lauren Scheinfeldt
2                                              Tim Wackenreuter                   Justin Wright
3                                              Jon Wentworth                        Bern Prince
4                                              Kevin Webber                         Chris Daly
5                                              Andrew Childs                        Brendan Ryan

10:04am – SCALED MEN WOD 1, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              David Bernick                         Lauren Scheinfeldt
2                                              Andre Campbell                      Justin Wright
3                                              Denis Pierce                            Bern Prince
4                                              Eugene Mann                          Chris Daly
5                                              Kyle Crossley                          Brendan Ryan
6                                              Brandon Wardle                      Ben Kimmerle

10:10am-10:30am -- Quick Food/Administrative Break
 
10:30am – RX WOMEN WOD 2/3, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Justin Wright
2                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Brendan Ryan
3                                              Rank 7 athlete                         Gino Escalante
4                                              Rank 8 athlete                         Michael Cahill

10:43am – RX WOMEN WOD 2/3, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Justin Wright
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Brendan Ryan
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Gino Escalante
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Michael Cahill

10:58am – SCALED WOMEN WOD 2/3, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 7 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 8 athlete                         Chris Daly
3                                              Rank 9 athlete                         Bern Prince
4                                              Rank 10 athlete                       Josh Plosker
5                                              Rank 11 athlete                       Lauren Scheinfeldt
6                                              Rank 12 athlete                       Ben Kimmerle
7                                              Rank 13 athlete                       Justin Wright

11:11am – SCALED WOMEN WOD 2/3, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Chris Daly
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Bern Prince
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Josh Plosker
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Lauren Scheinfeldt
6                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Ben Kimmerle
11:27am – RX MEN WOD 2/3, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 12 athlete                       Justin Wright
2                                              Rank 13 athlete                       Brendan Ryan
3                                              Rank 14 athlete                       Gino Escalante
4                                              Rank 15 athlete                       Michael Cahill
5                                              Rank 16 athlete                       Lauren Scheinfeldt

11:40am – RX MEN WOD 2/3, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Justin Wright
2                                              Rank 7 athlete                         Brendan Ryan
3                                              Rank 8 athlete                         Gino Escalante
4                                              Rank 9 athlete                         Michael Cahill
5                                              Rank 10 athlete                       Lauren Scheinfeldt
6                                              Rank 11 athlete                       Erin Boyer

11:53am – RX MEN WOD 2/3, Heat 3
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Brendan Ryan
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Bern Prince
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Josh Plosker
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Lauren Scheinfeldt

12:06pm – SCALED MEN WOD 2/3, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 7 athlete                         Chris Daly
3                                              Rank 8 athlete                         Ben Kimmerle
4                                              Rank 9 athlete                         Justin Wright
5                                              Rank 10 athlete                       Gino Escalante
6                                              Rank 11 athlete                       Brendan Ryan

12:19pm – SCALED MEN WOD 2/3, Heat 2
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Chris Daly
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Ben Kimmerle
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Justin Wright
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Gino Escalante

12:30-1:00pm -- Lunch Break
 
Rotating Judges used for events 4 and 5 – only need 2 judges on at a time. This event is for RX ATHLETES ONLY:
1:00pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 16
1:03pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 15
1:06pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 14
1:09pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 13
1:12pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 12
1:15pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 11
1:18pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 10
1:21pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 9
1:24pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 8
1:27pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 7
1:30pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 6
1:33pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 5
1:36pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 4
1:39pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 3
1:42pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 2
1:45pm – RX MEN WOD 4/5 Rank 1
1:48pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 8
1:51pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 7
1:54pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 6
1:57pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 5
2:00pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 4
2:03pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 3
2:06pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 2
2:09pm – RX WOMEN WOD 4/5 Rank 1

2:18pm – RX MEN Chipper, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Gino Escalante
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Justin Wright
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Chris Daly
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Bern Prince
6                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Brendan Ryan

2:40pm – SCALED MEN Chipper, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Gino Escalante
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Justin Wright
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Chris Daly
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Bern Prince
6                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Brendan Ryan

3:05pm – RX WOMEN Chipper, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Lauren Scheinfeldt
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Ben Kimmerle
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Josh Plosker
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Michael Cahill
6                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Brendan Ryan

3:27pm – SCALED WOMEN Chipper, Heat 1
Station                                    Athlete                                    Judge
1                                              Rank 1 athlete                         Erin Boyer
2                                              Rank 2 athlete                         Lauren Scheinfeldt
3                                              Rank 3 athlete                         Ben Kimmerle
4                                              Rank 4 athlete                         Josh Plosker
5                                              Rank 5 athlete                         Michael Cahill
6                                              Rank 6 athlete                         Brendan Ryan

3:47pm – Competition FINISHED
4:00pm – Final Rankings and Results Released Online
7:00pm – After the party it’s the afterparty, just ask R Kelly

Rest Day - July 29, 2012 - Sunday

Rest Day

Rest day. Enjoy the day off. If you are someone taking part in Reebok CrossFit Back Bay's internal throwdown on Saturday, August 4th, heat times and schedule will be posted shortly.

WOD - July 28, 2012 - Saturday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Row 500m at < 20 s/m (goal is 2:05 or less split time), then 40 air squats

Barbell Work: 7 rounds of the complex:
* 2x Snatch balance
* 2x OH squat
Barbell loaded at 70% of 1RM snatch, rest 90s between efforts

Strength: Sotts press, 5x6 AHAP, rest 2 minutes between sets (match last Sotts press weight if possible)

Work Capacity: "Strict JT" 21-15-9 reps for time of:
* Strict HSPU
* Strict ring dips
* Push-ups

Post results to comments.

Friday, July 27, 2012

WOD - July 27, 2012 - Friday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Split footwork drills, then with empty barbell do 3 rounds of the complex:
* 6x Strict press
* 6x Push press
* 6x Push jerk
* 6x Split jerk
* 6x Barbell lunge (alternating legs)
* 30 air squats between rounds

Barbell Work: 7x2 Split jerk @ 70% with 4 second pause in catch position -- rest 60 seconds between sets

Strength: Hi-bar back squat, 5x5 @ 70%, rest 2 minutes between each set

Work Capacity: EMOTM 12 minutes:
* Run 200m

Post results to comments.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Rest Day - July 26, 2012 - Thursday

Rest Day

Enjoy the day off but make sure you get a good stretch in. I highly recommend you get an active recovery session of a light run, row, bike or swim in to help keep those muscles lose as we continue to push into this lifting cycle.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

WOD - July 25, 2012 - Wednesday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: With empty barbell do:
* 40x Hang muscle clean
* 40x Split jerk

Barbell Work: 6x2 Clean and jerk @ 70% -- rest 75 seconds between sets

Strength: Front squat, 5x5 @ 75%, rest 2 minutes between all sets

Work Capacity: 15-12-9 reps of:
* HSPU
* Box jumps (30"/24")

Post results to comments.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

WOD - July 24, 2012 - Tuesday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Split footwork drills, then 3 rounds of:
* 15x C2B pull-ups
* 30x Air squats

Barbell Work: 7 rounds of:
* 2x Push jerks
* 2x Split jerks
Barbell loaded to 70% of 1RM jerk, rest 90 seconds between sets and bar must be supported in front rack during sets

Strength: Strict press, 5x4 @ 70%, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: 3 rounds of:
* Run 400m
* Row 500m
* Rest 2 minutes between rounds

Post results to comments.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

WOD - July 23, 2012 - Monday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: With empty barbell, 5 rounds of the complex:
* 6x Snatch high pull from hang
* 6x Hang squat snatch
* 6x Hang power clean
* 6x Hang squat clean
* 20x Double-unders between rounds

Barbell Work: 6x2 Snatch @ 75%, 6x2 Clean @ 75% -- rest 75 seconds between all sets

Strength: Hi-bar back squat, 5x5 @ 75%, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: "Half Cindy" AMRAP 10 of:
* 5x pull-ups
* 10x push-ups
* 15x air squats

Post results to comments.

Rest Day - July 22, 2012 - Sunday

Rest Day

Enjoy the day off. Stretch out, read up on fitness, and start getting excited for this year's Olympic Games.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

WOD - July 21, 2012 - Saturday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Split footwork drills, then with empty barbell do 3 rounds of the complex:
* 10x Good mornings
* 10x Romanian deadlifts
* 10x Snatch grip behind-the-neck strict press

Barbell Work: 5x1 Clean pull AHAP, 5x1 Snatch grip deadlift sweeping to hip AHAP -- rest 45 seconds between sets

Strength: 5 Rounds of the complex:
* 2x Push press from front rack
* 2x Push press behind-the-neck
* Rest 10 seconds between each rep and 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: 5 Rounds for total time of:
* 50x Double-unders
* 40x Air squats
* 30x KB swings (53#/35#)
* 20x Pull-ups
* 10x Burpees
* Rest 2 minutes between rounds

Listen, this is a long one. I'm sorry in advance, I really am, but every once in awhile we need to push into that territory. Be prepared to spend some time in the gym today, it is Saturday after all so it's not like you are doing anything else.

Post results to comments.

Friday, July 20, 2012

WOD - July 20, 2012 - Friday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: 3 Rounds of:
* 10x Burpees
* 30x Double-unders
Then with empty barbell perform 15 rounds of the complex:
* 1x Snatch balance
* 1x OH Squat

Barbell Work: 5x1 Power snatch @ 95% 1RM power snatch, 5x1 Snatch @ 95% 1RM power snatch -- rest 60 seconds between each set

Strength: Hi-bar back squat, 5x4 @ 90%, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: 3 Rounds of:
* 800m run
* Rest 3 minutes between rounds

Post results to comments.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Rest Day - July 19, 2012 - Thursday

Rest Day

Rest day, make sure you get a good stretch in and work out any knots/scar tissue in your muscles.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

WOD - July 18, 2012 - Wednesday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: 10x Box jumps as high as possible, 10x KB Swings AHAP, 10x Wall balls AHAP

Barbell Work: 5x1 Power clean @ 95% 1RM power clean, 5x1 Squat clean @ 95% 1RM power clean -- rest 60s btwn each set

Strength: Front squat 5x4 @ 75% w/ 3 count lower, 3 count pause at bottom, explode up -- rest 2 minutes btwn each

Work Capacity: 21-15-9 reps of:
* Box jumps (24"/20")
* KB swings (53#/35#)
* Wall balls (20#/14#)

Post results to comments.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

WOD - July 17, 2012 - Tuesday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Split footwork drills, then with empty barbell perform the following:
* 25x Hang power clean
* 25x Push jerk
* 25x Split jerk

Barbell Work: 5x1 Push jerk @ 90%, 5x1 Split jerk @ 90% -- rest 60 seconds between each

Strength: Sotts press, 5x5 AHAP, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: 3 Rounds for time of:
* 500m row
* 15x Deadlifts (225#/155#)

Post results to comments.

Monday, July 16, 2012

WOD - July 16, 2012 - Monday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: Split footwork drills, then with empty barbell perform:
* 25x Hang squat snatch
* 25x Hang squat clean
* 25x Snatch balance

Barbell Work: 7x1 Snatch @ 95%, 7x1 Clean @ 95% -- rest 75 seconds between each

Strength: Hi-bar back squat, 5x5 @ 85%, rest 2 minutes between sets

Work Capacity: EMOTM 14 minutes:
* Odd minutes = 10 C2B pull-ups
* Even minutes = 10 HSPU

Post results to comments.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Rest Day - July 15, 2012 - Sunday

Rest Day

Enjoy the day off and hopefully you guys are all following this year's Reebok CrossFit Games. The final day of competition is today and they will crown the new fittest man and woman on the planet.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

WOD - July 14, 2012 - Saturday

Workout of the Day

Warm-up: 3 rounds of:
* Max UB double-unders
* Rest 2 minutes btwn attempts

Barbell Work: 5x2 Snatch off high blocks (just above knee) @ 85%, 5x2 Clean off high blocks @ 85% -- rest 45 seconds btwn all sets

Strength: Wide-grip push press, 5x3 AHAP, focus on wide jerk grip and driving elbows up from in front of the bar -- rest 2 minutes btwn each

Work Capacity: 3 Rounds for time of:
* 400m run
* 30x Box jumps (24"/20")
* 10x Barbell lunge steps (135#/85# -- alternating legs)

Post results to comments.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Coaching Tips: Breathing (and not Breathing) in Weightlifting

Efficient Breathing in Weightlifting

Hey everyone, Coach Justin here with another tip on one of my favorite subjects: weightlifting. While I sadly will not be bombarding you with a bunch of technical jargon involving lifting technique specifically in this blog post, I would like to comment on one of the mistreated step-children of the weightlifting family. Breathing is something that often either goes completely unnoticed, is misunderstood, or is performed entirely incorrectly under false pretenses and outdated methods handed down by high school football coaches everywhere. While it may be unappreciated, breathing (and more importantly NOT breathing) is one of the most important foundations of proper lifting technique. Breathing is the main factor in whether or not your midline stays tight, and if you have been regularly attending classes with me you will probably have noticed that one of my primary coaching cues involves yelling at you to stay tight.

"Stay tight," "set the core," and "squeeze" are all common cues that we use here at Reebok CrossFit Back Bay when we are trying to force you to maintain proper tension through the midline. All power in our body is generated in a "core to extremity" fashion meaning that, among other things, we are strongest at our center of gravity (near our hips and core) and weaker as we move out on our limbs towards the fingers and toes. Any and all power should be generated, therefore, from our midline and radiate out to the extremities. This is the exact reason we force you to keep arms straight while pulling on the clean and snatch until the hips are fully (not partially, or kinda sorta) open. What this also means is that you can transfer a lot of power and energy through your midline assuming, of course, that you are keeping it tight. I am going to embrace my inner artist with the following analogy: lifting while not squeezing your core is much like a piece of pottery before it has been fired in the kiln. The clay is still pliable and easily loses its shape when any type of force is applied. Stick that bad boy in a fire and it becomes rigid. Unless you shatter it against the ground (quite a nasty fate for your spine if you are feeling this analogy) the clay will not deform under pressure, and many high quality pieces of pottery have endured for many years. Now imagine that instead of clay and that one guy in the senior year pottery class hell-bent on ruining your chef d'oeuvre (French for "masterpiece," how's that for sophistication?) we are instead talking about your spine and a 500 pound bar resting on your back while you are attempting a new PR back squat. You can imagine that tightness through the midline becomes even more tantamount here. How exactly does breathing help you achieve this rigidity you ask? Enter the Valsalva maneuver.

What is the Valsalva maneuver, and why does it matter?

I would like to open our discussion of the Valsalva maneuver by providing an example. For those of you who have perused the pictures of Team Reebok CrossFit Back Bay from this year's NorthEast Regional competition, you may have seen quite a number of hilarious mug shots from the snatch ladder event. For me in particular, as the snatches got heavier, a giant vein appeared on my forehead and my face looked contorted and bloated as if I had stuffed a pack of delicious chocolate-covered almonds in each of my cheeks. While often confused with an "angry vein," the one that appeared on your dad's forehead when he found your report card, the appearance of this vascular oddity is actually caused by the Valsalva maneuver. In short, this technique involves taking a deep breath, squeezing the abs and back, and closing off the throat while attempting to push the air you just breathed in outward. Due to the squeezing in your body and the closed position of the throat, this air cannot actually escape, effectively turning your midline into a rigid, high-volume cylinder. Much like the game of Billiards on a brand new, felt table, transferring energy through this Valsalvafied midline is very efficient. If, however, you do not hold your breath and instead let your core go loose, you have turned that felt table into a tub of jelly (try transferring any type of energy through that, I dare you).

Unfortunately, conventional wisdom and many pot-bellied, angry football coaches have caused high school athletes to breathe in during the eccentric, lowering phase of many lifts, and breathe out during the explosive portion of the lift. This is extremely inefficient given our previous discussion because breathing out while performing any type of explosive power transfer causes us to lose that crucial midline stability and waste a large chunk of the power we just generated to internal friction in our bodies. So instead I leave you with this piece of newfound wisdom: take a long, deep breath PRIOR to beginning the eccentric phase of your lifts (i.e. lowering down in the squat). Once you have filled your lungs with air, squeeze your abs like that time you walked down the beach two months after starting CrossFit, and hold your breath through the entire range of motion of the lift. While often performed for no reason at all, the grunting noises heard from meatheads in the gym have some merit. Grunting is caused by our closed throats attempting to prevent air flow out of our bodies, effectively maintaining that pressure we built up with our deep breath. This is why many Olympic weightlifters grunt while driving out of the bottom of their cleans and snatches, where rigidity is crucial to prevent 400 plus pounds from crashing down on their heads. Practice this with your air squat first if you are having difficulty, and then translate the technique into all of your lifts. You will soon find that you feel much more stable under an external load and that maintaining those difficult positions in the front squat and overhead squat becomes much easier. You will also generate much more power in your cleans, snatches, push presses, and jerks.

If you have extreme difficulty in maintaing adequate core pressure, consider investing in a weightlifting belt. Aim for a belt of equal diameter across the entire surface and strap it on tight enough to maintain pressure on the abs and back without strangling you or restricting your range of motion. Wearing a belt allows you to contract your abs TIGHTER than without one (contrary to popular belief it does not weaken your core or your supporting back muscles).

I hope that this guide on breathing technique has been useful and informative. As always, if you have any questions on specifics feel free to send me an email. Also, much of the information in this post was inspired by strength coach Mark Rippetoe. If this subject interests you and you would like an extensive description of why we do certain things in weightlifting, his book Starting Strength is one of the most informative and interesting reads on the subject I have encountered. Remember how to breathe when you lift and you will find yourself setting new PR's in no time.

Happy lifting,
Coach Justin