Weekly Insights 4/18/22

Monday 

I have discussed the benefits of aerobic training before, and my intention with my month of programming is to have 1-2 days of aerobic training per week. A truly aerobic pace looks and feels extremely different than a traditional CrossFit workout. The pace should allow you to hold short conversation with someone if you needed to. If you would struggle to do so, then you are most likely not training at an aerobic pace. The goal for today would be to stay at a conversational (aerobic) pace the entire time. If you have a Whoop or an apple watch, that would be even better since they can monitor your heart rate. A simple way to see if you are staying in the right training zone would be to see if you are keeping your heart rate between 65-75% of your max. You can guestimate your max heart rate to be 220 – your age. For example I would project my max HR to be 193. So for this workout I would aim to keep my heart rate around 135ish (its about 70%). You might feel like you didn’t really workout since you won’t be laying on the floor after, but trust me that this type of training will be extremely beneficial to your fitness! Trust me that not everyday needs to have you on your back gasping for air after the workout. Gold stars only for today’s score.

 

 
“Art’s Aerobic Amrap”
25 Minute amrap 
200m Run or machine equivalent (adv 403m)
15 Russian Kb swings 53/35 (70+/44+) (20 Russian swings)
10 Box Jumps (Beef 15)
200m Run
70m Sled push 45/25 or D-ball/sandbag carry
:30s midline isometric

 

Midline isometric options 
Forearm plank (weighted)
Hollow hold (weigthed)
L hang (L sit)
 

 

This diagram perfectly illustrates the zone concept. For today we want to be in the weight control and cardio/endurance training zone. The vast majority of CrossFit workouts will put you int eh Anaerobic and Max effort training zones. Those are important to train! But we cannot neglect the aerobic zones. Theres a huge amount of untapped potential there!

 

 
 
 
 
 
Tuesday 
This ones for the bros out there. Bench press, pull ups, and a little bit of core to finish 💪🏻 . While we will be working on developing some of the more vanity muscles, there is benefit to working on the fundamental push and pull patterns. Having a good base of strength in these movements can have lots of benefits for other CrossFit movements like burpees, kipping pull ups and muscle ups, toes to bar. If you ever take a peak at some of the most top level CrossFit athletes programming, you will find that there is a lot of fundamental strength work like todays. For the finisher today I want you all to push yourselves more than you normally would!

 

A.) 8 Minute alternating emom 
1- 8-12 reps of bench press 35/15 45/25 50+/35+ or Push ups (adv weighted)
2- 5-10 Strict pull ups (adv weighted)

 

-Rest 2 minutes-

 

B.) 10 Minute clock 
Max calories any machine
*Starting at 0 and every minute on the minute after that, perform 8-12 Single leg V ups, tuck ups, V ups*

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Wednesday 
We got a a repeat! If you had the good fortune of participating in this doozy of a workout last time then check back and see what you got and see if you can best the time or some other aspect of the workout. The goal for today is barbell efficiency. Efficiency is not just getting through the movement as quickly as possible, it’s all about getting through the movement at a pace that allows for the overall best time. You might want to take strategic breaks on the barbell, think about your breathing in between each rep, anything that will keep you moving and transitioning nice and quick. All feedback is greatly welcomed in the ensuing days 😹 .

 

“El Diablo”
*Compare 1/25/22*

 

2 rounds 
6 Hang Power cleans 75/55 95/65 (8 @ 95/65) (115/75 or DB 45/30)
6 Front squat (Beef 8 @ 95/65) (115/75 or DB 45/30)
6 Burpees ( Beef 8 BFB)

 

6 Hang Power cleans
6 Front squat
6 Burpees

 

400m Run or machine equivalent
-Rest 1 minute after each round-

 

2 Rounds 
6 Power Cleans 75/55 (95/65) (8 @ 95/65) (115/75 or DB 45/35)
6 Thrusters (Beef 8 @ 95/65) 115/75 or DB 45/35)
6 Burpees (Beef 8 BFB)

 

6 Power Cleans 75/55 (95/65) (8 @ 95/65) (115/75 or DB 45/35)
6 Thrusters (Beef 8 @ 95/65) 115/75 or DB 45/35)
6 Burpees (Beef 8 BFB)

 

200m Run (Beef 400m)
-1min rest after each round-

 

** At some point during the workout**
Rx’d- Complete 2 rope climbs
Adv- 4 Rope Climbs
Beef- 2 legless or short + 2 regular
Bison- 4 legless or short ropes

 

 
 
 
 
 
Thursday 
Todays finisher is aimed to really push the threshold in terms of overall intensity. In terms of machine selection I want you to choose something you can knock out all the calories on in no more than 90 seconds. If it’s going to take any longer than that, it is going to be too much time on the machine, and will take away from the desired stimulus. The rest will not be enough to allow for a full recovery, just enough to allow the pace to stay very uncomfortable. Also transitions will be a major 🔑  for getting a good time. Make sure to minimize your chalking up and be mindful of how long you take to get from the barbell to machine and then back to the bar. Every second counts!

 

 
 
A.) Every :90s for 15 minutes 
2 Clean and Jerks or Snatches

 

B.) Deadlift sando
4 Rounds
7 Deadlifts 135/95 (185/125) (225/155) (3 Deads @ 275/185)
12/9 Calories (15/12) (Bike only)
7 Deadlifts
*:30s rest between rounds*

 

 

Friday 
Bench press twice in one week? And we are going to have some mirrors installed soon? You might think this is a 24 hour fitness, but it’s not. And Im just kidding about the mirrors, they wouldn’t bode well for aggressive handstand push upping. You can compare back to a few weeks ago when we did 5’s on the squat and see if you can beat your previous numbers. And if you missed Tuesdays horizontal pressing, you can make up for it today, or opt for the vertical push if you made it in for the bench press extravaganza. I think the wall ball dumbbell snatch combo is one of the best in CrossFit. And I think it works very well for the time restricted format like today’s WOD. The goal for today is to get back from the last 200m run with 10 seconds or less to spare. If you are coming in with 20+ seconds to spare, then you left a little too much in the tank. Live a little on the wild side today! Aim to get between 3-5 rounds on the finisher today.

 

A1.) Back or Front Squat 
5-5-5-5
75-85% of 1rm
Ascending sets
*Compare 4/4/22*

 

A2.) Dumbbell Bench press or Strict press 
3x 8-12 reps

 

 

B.) “9 minutes to win it”
9 minute clock 
400m run or machine equivalent
-Amrap in time remaining-
8 wall balls (12) (16)
10 Dumbbell snatches 45/25 (14 50/35) (20 Alt 50+/35+)

 

*Must complete a 200m run before time expires*
**Cannot continue amrap after the last run**

 

 
Saturday 
A little more barbell cycling for this week. Todays should feel a bit different since the barbell cycling will be a little more concentrated towards the end. The first portion will be good practice for gymnastics conditioning and fast transitioning since the reps are fairly short per set. Don’t be afraid to go ambitious on the T2B and do the beefy level! For the finishing portion you still want to aim to be efficient on the barbell to allow for consistent movement with minimal rest. While it may seem like a good idea to knock out a bunch of reps as fast as possible, if it means that you have to take long breaks between movements, then it will be counterproductive to your efficiency. Remember to keep breathing as you work through the barbell and aim to stay smooth with your movements.

 

“Two piece combo meal”

 

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Machine Calories
Hanging Knee raises (4 Toes to bar) (Toes to bar)

 

-Immediately into-

 

603m Run (800)
————–
4 rounds
8 hang power cleans 75/55 (95/65) (115/75) (135/95)
6 Front squats
4 Shoulder to overhead
————–
403m Run

 

 

Sunday 
Working in some of the odd ball movements today. The devils press while seemingly a simple movement still has some level of technique to it. While it won’t be glaringly apparent, having a little bit of efficiency on that movement can go a long way. I’ve linked a youtube video you can watch at your discretion if you want to see the optimal way to perform the movement. I think a big think to key in on is getting the dumbbell into hang position as you come up out of the bottom of the burpee. It will be a lot more efficient because it will allow you to use your larger hip muscles to move the weight, instead of purely using the upper body.

 

 
 
 
 
20 Minute amrap 
10 Single arm devils press 40/20 (50/35) (Beef Double DB)
5 Pull ups (C2B) (8 C2B) (4/2 BMU)
15 Double unders (30) (60)
12 Calories any machine (15)

 

*Rest 1 minute at minutes 5,10, and 15*