1 May 2014

Toes to bar. This is a gymnastics move that involves, really simply, bringing the toes to the bar you are hanging from. Very self explanatory. This gets technical though once you desire to do this efficiently and for speed. It is important for you to push away with the shoulders, creating separation between yourself and the bar. Creating this distance, then extending your legs all the way out to make contact with the bar makes the movement more efficient and less strenuous on the shoulders.

 

Strength: Strict Press
5 @ 60%, 5 @ 70%, 5 @ 80%
Full Clean @ 75% of 1 Rm for 5 reps,
and then…
3 x 5 split Jerk @ same weight

For time:
5 Rounds of:
20 T2B
15 Ring Dips
10 Dead Lifts 185#/135#

30 April 2014

Snatches. This is a complex Olympic lift that requires focus and most of all practice. Hell it is it’s own olympic event. So treat it accordingly. There are many many different points to focus on with your lift but what can make it worse is over complicating your lift. Take the time and experience all four load positions (1,2,3,4). Understand and focus on how each muscle group feels when put into each position. Remember those. Not with your mind but with your muscles. You need to practice these positions over and over and over again to remind your muscles how each of them feels.

Practice shrug pulls, pulling backwards into the chest, as well, Practice scarecrow pulls with the elbows high and again pulling backwards towards the neck. Practice Muscle snatching a bare bar over head from on top of the chest with the elbows high, just like from the scarecrow position. practice these and practice these often. If i haven’t driven home this point enough, then you need to practice. Every 48 hours, take yourself through each of the 4 load positions, Hips, above knee, below knee, ground. Shrug, high elbow muscle snatch, with an empty barbell.

Strength: Front Squat
5 @ 60%, 5 @ 70%, 5 @ 80%
power clean, from ground, 5 Rep max
power snatch, from ground, 5 Rep max

15 MIN AMRAP
3 power snatch 95/65
6 Box jump 24/20
9 Push ups

 

 

 

 

29 April 2014

Chippers. Sometimes they are a great cure for your ” i haven’t CrossFitted yet today” blues, or as an honest test of your endurance. The advantage is, you dont have to revisit a movement after that segment is finished. You do not have to dread coming back to the gawdawful wall balls once you’ve completed them. You can go right to the next segment of pain, for time.

 

Strength: Dead Lift
5 @60%, 5 @ 70%, 5 @ 80%
For time:

50 Wall balls
60 Kb swings 55#/35#
200m run
30 Pull ups
20 Power cleans 135/95
10 Split Jerk 135/95
200m run

28 April 2014

AMRAPs are fine tools to gauge endurance, so long as you can get the athlete to minimize slow down periods or rests and maintain the intensity of the workout. Its entirely too easy for athletes to try to nap between movements. Its 14 minutes of work. DO as much as you can. Rest AFTER the WOD, not during.

Kettle bell swings are one of those workouts that if you do them unbroken, no matter how many there are, 10, 20, 50, it is much harder to restart your kettle bell swings after you give in and take a rest. It is best for your overall conditioning to resist at all costs, stopping in the middle of your kettle bell requirement for a workout. Do them all unbroken, and you will be able to reap the rewards sooner than if you make a habit of pausing in the middle of your kettle bell swings. Food for though as you tackle this one.

 

Strength:
Back Squats 5 x 5 @ 82%
5 RM Snatch from Ground

14 Min AMRAP

14 KB Swings 55#/35#
14 Wall Balls 20#/14#
14 Power Cleans 135#/95#

27 April 2014

Running is fine, but running with weight is better. Sled pulling allows athletes to test their ability to haul loads over a distance. Sled pulling allows us to do that without adding extra load to the hands themselves, and allowing the athlete to pump the arms to increase speed and maintain momentum.

When we do hammer strikes here at CrossFit Queenston Heights, we mean business. Thrust from the hips, keep the head of the hammer vertical, preventing the head form swinging out so that you look like a side-arm pitcher. Keep it straight up and down to maximize the striking motion. Beat it like it owes you money.

3 Rounds For Time

200m Sled Pull 90/75
100 Hammer Strikes

26 April 2014

CrossFit programming has had the biggest impact, in my opinion, with the implementation of their couplets. FRAN is the epitome of the impact a couplet can have on the body. Not one of the movements can be considered a true working rest. Both are taxing and force you to “sprint” through the WOD.

No matter where you go in CrossFit, be it on vacation, or box hopping in Niagara Falls, or ascending the rankings of competitive CrossFit, you will always be judged by your FRAN time.

Thrusters. If you have a strong front squat and a strong strict press, these shouldn’t be too taxing, except you will be doing a total of 45. Ensure that you can adequately cradle the bar on the collar area but enough that you can swiftly rotate the elbows down to drive the bar straight up overhead for the push press portion, reaching full extension overhead.

The speed and efficiency of your pull ups is whats going to make or break your FRAN time.

“FRAN”

21-15-9

Thrusters 95#/65#

Pull ups

 

25 April 2014

Sprinting is the ultimate test of foot speed. Done over 100m, a sprint can give you a reasonably decent indication of speed, stamina and general cardiovascular endurance in groups of people that do not train for this as their chosen sport. I recognize that sprinting and long distance running and that an athletes long term cardio respiratory endurance is tested best over longer distances, but, an athlete that huffs and puffs through 100m, is going to also huff and puff through 5km.

Sprinting involves power from the the lower body, upper body for the purposes of propulsion, and breath control are vital to the success of your sprint. Keeping the torso high and the eyes fixated dead ahead prevents a major collapse. Legs. Keep them pumping. if they stop, you stop, go boom, make smash. Pull the feet off of the ground as though you have stepped on a thumb tack at the centre of your foot, pulling the foot off of the ground. This will give you extra propulsion moving forward.

At CrossFit Queenston Heights, we have a 100m track right outside our front door.

The ability to run short distances is important to your overall survival as an athlete. if 100m of running leaves you winded, CrossFit will crush your ego immediately.

Strength: Bench press

1-1-1-1-1

1 Rm Snatch from pos 3

1 Rm Clean from pos 3

100m Sprint
20 Wall balls
20 Kettlebell Swings

 

 

24 April 2014

Double Unders are one of those skills that take practice practice practice. If you have them, you have a skill move in your tool box. If you don’t you’re going to be doing a lot of singles skips in your scaled WOD.

Some keys to conquering the double under are: hand position, eye position and rhythm. The hands need to be in a consistent position that are comfortable for you. there is no set optimal position as each athlete is constructed differently. Once you fine your “happy place”….stay there!

Much like everything in CrossFit, your head and eyes need to be focused at something so that your chest is held up. This upper torso control helps with the revolution of the rope around your head.

Once you’ve found your happy place, and your head and eyes are fixated across the room, maintain that rhythm. Flick your wrists like you were flipping a pancake in a small pan. Enjoy your double unders.

Until you get your double unders missing isn’t not the most pleasant of sensations, but if you are imaginative, you can come up with reasons for the elongated red marks on your legs.

CrossFit Queenston Heights

Strength: Strict Press
1-1-1-1-1

4 Rounds for time:

5 Back Squats @ 80% 1RM
50 Double Unders

 

23 April 2014

Rope climbing is a functional movement with many real world applications. Ascending up a rope for various purposes of rescue, or impromptu reasons of urgency without turning this into a shopping list, top said list.

Unless you are tasked to do these with no legs, use your legs. To execute the Russian ascent, wrap the leg (the leg you would normally kick a soccer ball with) around the rope and hook the same foot back around the rope. Use your other foot to stomp on the rope near your ankle. Grab and pull onto the rope with your hands releasing the brake foot, bringing the knees up the chest. Re-stomp on the rope. Continue up rope.

This is the fastest way up, but is hairy coming down, unless you have the coordination to slide the rope outwards from between your feet, forming a triangle shape between your body and the rope. That is the fastest and most efficient way to come down.

Adding in pull ups and squats to this WOD will challenge strong rope climbers to push harder. Weak rope climbers will be challenged enough to get through the pull ups, separating the weaker athletes from the strong rope climbers. Go get it!

Strength: Front Squat
1-1-1-1-1

AMRAP 10 Minutes
5 Pullups
10 Air Squats
1 Rope Climb

22 April 2014

Hand stand push ups are amazing tests of strength for the shoulders, mid-line and your coordination. At CrossFit Queenston Heights we articulate the movement as a strict press, upside down. All the mid-line stabilizers are active in the handstand push up, and the feet should end in the same position as you would stand in a strict press off of a rack.

V-up sit ups require co-ordination. Otherwise you resemble a large fish brought aboard a fishing trawler. Feet meet toes directly over the hips. Do not just try to touch the toes, extending the torso all the way to the toes. That would be a conventional sit up. Bodyweight strength building. Go get it!

 

Strength: Deadlift
1-1-1-1-1

5 Rounds for time:

10 handstand push-ups
25 V-sits