WOD Overview Week of 9/27/21

I really enjoyed the week I programmed back in June of this year, so here goes another week!

Monday

For those still relatively new to olympic lifting (less than 1 year of experience) your focus should be on “chasing the feel” of a really good rep.  Then replicating that as many times as possible over the course of one training session,… one month…. one year.  Adding weight to make it more challenging is fine, so long as the large majority of your reps still “feel” good.  Placing more focus on the weight that your actually moving, versus how you are performing the movement, especially with olympic lifts, will certainly blunt your progress.  For part B. choose a weight that you are confident you can perform 1 cycle of the barbell complex unbroken.  Given the format of part B., if your trying to choose between two weights I’d recommend going with the lighter of the two.  Calories should take 1 minute or less, scale back if need be.  A 200-meter run is also an option instead of the 12/9 machine calories.

A.) Every minute on the minute for 15 minutes:

My crush for more than 13 years now

Rx’d 2 Clean & Jerks -or- 2 Snatch

ADV.  1 Clean & Jerk -or- 1 Snatch

B.) 9 minute AMRAP:

1 “Round” =
12 Calories (men) / 9 Calories (women) Any Machine
followed by 2 cycles of:

• 7 Deadlifts 75/55 (ADV. 95/65) (BEEF 115/95) (Bison 135/95)
• 5 Hang Power Clean
• 3 Shoulder to Overhead

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Tuesday

I’ve recently been experimenting with this format in some of the workouts I’ve programmed for myself in keeping the reps of gymnastics or barbells movements low, but doing multiple rounds before “taking a break” with a run or a machine.  The idea is to be able to do more reps in a shorter amount of time b/c they are broken up, rather than lumping them all together.  Benefits to muscle stamina are not as good, but this format should allow for higher intensity.  Think about the classic CrossFit girl workouts “Angie” vs. “Cindy“.

“Double Dragon”

4 Rounds for time:

1 Round =

Marie is moving to Missouri on reassignment. Needless to say no one is happy about this.

2 cycles of:
5 Pullups (ADV. 5 C2B Pullups) (BEEF 4/2 Bar Muscle Ups) (Bison 5/3 Ring Muscle Up)
7/5 Pushups (ADV. 7/5 Ring Pushups) (BEEF 7/5 Handstand Pushups) (Bison n/a)
7 Box Jump Overs (Bison 9 Box Jump Overs)

• followed by
  (1) 403m Run
  (1) 70m Sled Push [Rx’d 50/25]

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Wednesday

The first step in any program design is determining what the goal is.  Is it maximal strength, developing maximal aerobic capacity, muscle hypertrophy, or GPP (general physical preparedness).. just to name a few.  Our goal at CrossFit Sweat Shop is GPP.  If more than anything you want to increase your 1 rep max squat, a set of 15 back squats may not be what you need.  However, if your goal is to be strong in lifts like the squat, but you also want to be able to run a mile… or three… and perhaps do some moderate skill gymnastics, like pullups, muscle ups, rope climbs, and handstand pushups, and maybe even combine several of these things into a medium to high intensity workout, then your programming should be based on GPP.  I think barbell squats in the 10-20 rep range, in the appropriate doses, have a great carry over to other movements and workout formats we train at the Sweat Shop.  Part B. includes an often overlooked muscle contraction, isometric holds.  Being able to maintain a stable spine, especially when you are fatigued is extremely important.  We have balls and sandbags ranging from 25lbs., up to 150lbs.  Pick something that you’re comfortable getting at least 8 reps in 60 seconds when you’re fresh.  The order on this one is important, so if you want to use a d-ball or sandbag that someone has already claimed, start your workout 1 minute later so you can share a ball or bag, rather than changing the order of the movements!

A.) Back or Front Squat
3-3-3-3-15
*ascending loads for 3’s
*15 reps at approx. 75-80% of heaviest set of 3

B.) 4 Rounds – 1 Minute Each Exercise – Max Reps

• Calories Any Machine
• D-Ball or Sandbag Over the Shoulder
• :40 seconds of front plank

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Thursday

While we’ve ran, rowed or biked this distance recently, it’s often rolled into a workout making it tough to go all-out.  And while this one is technically just the first part of the workout, my hope is that there is a long enough rest prior to starting part B. to encourage everyone to save nothing, and go all-out on part A!  For the dumbbell box step ups in part B. I think it’s important to use a box that is the appropriate height based on how tall your are, not just “guys use a 24″ box and ladies use a 20″ box”.  People may think b/c I’m short it’s just a cop out so I can justify using a 20″ box.  But I’ve done many workouts at both heights and at the 20″ box height the movement feels like a weighted single leg squat with tremendous glute activation.  For me, at the 24″ box height it feels like a massive forward lean, followed by a huge push off my back leg, mostly calves, and when coming down from the box it’s a semi-controlled collapse of the top leg until I catch myself with the bottom leg.  It’s probably going to feel a little different for everyone, there may even be several factors that I haven’t even listed that determine your decision, at the end of the day it’s ultimately your choice.  You are free to choose whichever you like, best of all, you don’t even have to explain to me, or anyone else, the why!  🙂

A.) 0:00 – 12:00

Max Effort Time Trial – Choose One

1 Mile Run
2K Row or Ski
5K (men) / 4K (women) Bike

B.) 12:00 – 26:00 (14 minute AMRAP)

12 Single Dumbbell Box Step Ups (35/25) (ADV. 45/30) (Beef 50/35)
30 Single Unders or 20 Double Unders (ADV. 30 Double Unders) (BEEF 40 Double Unders)
10 Hanging Knee Raises (ADV. 6 Toes to Bar) (Beef 8 Toes to Bar) (Bison 10 Toes to Bar)

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Friday

Originally programmed back in June of this year.  Got lots of positive feedback for this one so I figured 12-weeks later is a great time to re-test… long enough time to allow for some fitness improvements to take place, but not so long that you forgot your strategy or how you approached it your first go around.  Given the low rep scheme and the 2 minute rest, the intention is to be able to move “quick” the whole time.  Don’t get enticed by a heavier barbell if you can’t at the very least do very quick singles with the weight.  Larger classes will need to identify exactly which machine they’ll be using for the second portion to make for a seamless transition during that 2 minute rest.

“Dueling Banjos” – compare 6/28/21

Saturday

A.) Partner Sprint Relay “you go, I go format”

Sunday

Part A. can be used both as an opportunity to work on heavier than normal push press or jerks, as well as a warm-up for part B.  Those with less than 1 year of weightlifting experience will likely benefit more from the increase volume of 3-rep, rather than a much heavier 1 rep.  Everyone should be taking these reps from a rack so that you can focus purely on the overhead component.  Weight for part B. can be a challenging load, but something you can at least do quick singles with.  The pullups should be something that is broken into no more than 2 sets.  Rather than moving to higher skill gymnastics such as bar and ring muscle ups, it’s also important for the advanced/competitive CrossFitter to also train higher volume lower skill movements.  3:2 work to rest ratio is a decent amount of rest, so the idea here is to really push your abilities on all three of the exercises.