WOD 12/1/08

“Centurion Crusher”

30 Back Squat (Bodyweight)

1000m Row

-2 Min. Rest

30 Bench Press (Bodyweight)

1000m Row

-2 Min. Rest

30 Deadlifts (Bodyweight)

1000m Row

 

CrossFit San Francisco came up with the “SF Crippler”, which is the first movement of this triplet, squats and row. That in and of itself is hard. So, as I lay in bed trying to get back to sleep, I thought of this gem. Yes, I realize I probably have issues if I am thinking up WOD’s instead of sleeping. At least I am not programming WOD’s during other bedroom activities.

Anyhow, I ran Aaron M. through this on Saturday as my human guinea pig. Aaron’s a trooper and had no issues tackling the WOD head on. He seemed to really like it or at least I like to think he did. I ran through it right after he did and it is a tough, demanding WOD. The rows are the icing on the cake.

If bodyweight is too much, scale the movements accordingly. I would guess that 70-75% BW would be doable for almost anyone out there who has been doing CF for a little bit, give or take. Although the reps will be fast, still get full ROM and use good form. Break the reps up if needed. The row is best done at a steady tempo. Don’t throw down right out of the gate and blow up. That will really catch up with you in the next rounds.

If you don’t have a rower, fear not because you are fortunate to have running shoes and 800m right outside your workout space, so no excuses. Time and record each round for future attempts.

Get some!

WOD 11/30/08

7×7

Weighted DIps

Weighted Pull Ups

Not a super-duper vicious WOD, but after yesterday, I am sure you don’t need another beat down. This is a good body strength WOD, so go heavy but make sure the form is complete and you can complete the reps at a given weight. Do all sets of dips with adequate rest between efforts, then move onto the pull ups. This is an ME WOD, not for time. Extra bonus points if you do the dips on rings! Make sure you warm up fully, – go through the CrossFit Warm Up at least 3 times before getting into the WOD.

When you are done, do some core work with several sets of Max. time L-sits. You don’t need paralletes, you can do them on a couple spaced out chairs, your dip station, the corner of a counter top, you name it. Keep the legs up and straight as long as possible. Tucked knees are fine if you are still working at it.

Hit it!

WOD 11/29/08

“Frianabeth”

21 Thrusters (M:95/W:65)

21 Pull ups

15 Full Squat Cleans (M:135/W:95)

15 Ring Dips

9 Deadlifts (M:225/W:155)

9 Handstand Push Ups

Sorry for the late post. It was a CRAZY night at work, so I never even had 5 minutes to spare to write anything sooner.

Anyhow, this is a nasty compilation WOD of Fran, Elizabeth, and Diane. I have never tried it, but it looks like an ass kicker. I think it should be fun. I am going to get some sleep, work out, train a client, and then spend the rest of my existence writing reports….. Get some!

WOD 11/28/08

REST DAY

Happy Thanksgiving! Oh, wait that was yesterday…when we should have had a day off…. Anyhow, I hope your T-day was enjoyable and tasty. Ours was a hoot…

If you took turkey day off from CrossFit, then make it up today. If not, then rest today or do some light skill work at best. Or, better yet, chill out with the family and watch football games and then fight over game results. I suppose some of you will use your functional fitness to fight off the masses on shopping day.

Rest day reading comes from Keith Wittenstein at CrossFit Virtuousity in NY. I always find some good, informative and thought provoking stuff at Keith’s site.

Take care!

WOD 11/27/08

5-3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1

Back Squat

5×7

Wtd. Dips

Just because it’s Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you get off easy. You are going to work your ass of before stuffing your face. I think it’s only fair, especially since my T-day consists of left over turkey loaf and 10 hours of working the mean, crime ridden streets of Sacto County with my stanky dog while the rest of you get to lie around, chow some good grub, drink wine, eat pie, smoke a cigar and generally not have to be stuck with said stanky dog. Yes, maybe I am bitter, but you’ll be stronger for it.

Take the necessary rest between reps. This is ME, not MetCon, so take your time with the squats, beofre moving onto dips. Go hard and heavy with good form. Get below parallel in your squat, if you can. If you are going really heavy and not getting below parallel, you aren’t doing anything beneficial for overall leg strength and you are thrashing your knees. If that’s the case, lighten the load and get deep! This rep scheme allows for a progressive load, so start heavy and work to your 1 RM.

Dips are to be done as five rounds of seven reps. Dips are deep, too. Armpits should be below the elbow at the bottom of the movement and full extension at the top.

Think of me while enjoying your Thanksgiving Day!

Mmmmmm, Turkey loaf..... Not Paleo, sorta Zone, but it's edible...

WOD 11/26/08

“Going Under”

400m Run

25 Swings (M:55/W:35)

25 GHD Sit Ups

25 Burpees

25 Thrusters (M:95/W:65)

25 Wtd. Pull Ups (M:25/W:10)

400m Run

MetCon for this evolution comes in the form of this little gem of mine. Unless you are brand new to CF, you should all be able to do this as RX’d. The only modifications I’d allow for some folks would be regular sit ups and scaled back thrusters. But, if you have been at this a bit, your form is pretty squared away on the above exercises, and you have done the above movements a few times in the past, then I’d tell you to man up and do it as RX’d. We all need to sack up at some time and up the intensity a bit, not foresaking good form in the process. Your time might be slower, but your overall gains will be bigger. If this is all new to you still, scale back and ease into it – I DO NOT want anyone getting a hellish case of Rhabdo because they wanted to be cool. It will be quite the opposite since people with Rhabdo are decidedly uncool. Still not sure what the hell Rhabdo is, well read this and be very aware of it before tearing yourself apart with CrossFit.

Get it done and when it’s over, you can run home and tell your mommy your a man now!

Popping the Question

It’s no secret that Allison and I would like CFC to be in a large, full scale box, nicely outfitted and equipped and ready to handle mutliple clients and group sessions throughout the day. We love what we are doing and want to get as many folks involved as possible. However, we also know we are limited by geography and clientele base at our current location and along those lines, we have begun the process of looking for a “real” home for CFC. For us and many of our potential and existing clients, the best area we have found that would be fairly centrally located for people would be in the Rancho Cordova area, at or near the Sunrise/Folsom Boulevard corridor. This area is right off the freeway, is close to other amenities, and is loaded with light industrial spaces, perfect for a box. With that in mind, we also want to know what our potential for business would be from our CFC followers in the Sacramento Area. This will help us gauge whether this move is a sound idea or not. Fees and professional discounts as per our main page would still be in effect.

So, for those of you who are local, I would be very, very interested and appreciative if you wouldn’t mind telling me if you would consider joining/training at CrossFit Centurion in an expanded location. If not, I wouldn’t mind hearing why as well since it will help our thought process in providing a better service to the public. If you don’t mind, take a second and leave an answer in the “comments” section at the end of this post, or if you wish to keep it more private, send me an email at staff@crossfitcenturion.com . I am trying to ban “K95″ from commenting since I know it will involve some comment about how I look/smell/sound funny or that those were his handprints on Allison’s butt….So for everyone else out there, please drop me a line.

Thanks!

WOD 11/25/08

ME 7×3

Deadlifts

Since my shoulders are not quite feeling up to snuff, I am going to change today’s programming and do Deadlifts instead of cleans. Seven rounds of three reps. Go heavy with good form. Rest for a couple minutes between sets.

Try and keep the back usage to a minimum when deadlifting. I tend to deadlift more like an Oly lifter, with a more upright position, feet in closer, and wider grip. This keeps my hip angle more open and makes for less low back involvement at the top of the movement. I don’t like turning the DL into a stiff legged deadlift, where the back is doing all the lifting, becuase the legs straightened out to early and didn’t contribute to the lift as much as they should have. Imagine pushing the ground away with the legs – look at it like a leg press where you are holding onto a bar. The legs and hips drive up together, with the hips opening up as your progress up the leg with the bar, leaving less lower back work to do at the top. For me, this feels better. Pay attention to how your legs, hips and back are working and interacting. If you are doing a ton of work with the lower back at the top of the DL, maybe dump some weight and try staying a bit more erect and concentrating on pressing the ground away.

Of course, some of this is going to be very dependent upon each individuals anthropometry, so there is some leeway and no real “perfect” position with Deadlifts and Squats. That and some people are going to have a specific manner of lifting that they can safely do even though it may be different from what I would do. Play with it at light weight and see what works for you.

Here is a good video of Dutch and Boz doing 15 reps of 2x BW DL’s at a cert – that’s about 330 Lbs for each of them. Boz drives evenly with the legs and hips and subsequently has a smaller amount of “back work” at the top of the movement than Dutch does. Dutch opens up the legs early and has more closed hip to open with the lower back at the top of the movement. At the end of the video, Dutch shows you how that extra work and force might feel.

3-2-1 … GO!

**Video courtesy of CFHQ

WOD 11/24/08

REST DAY!

I need it. My shoulders are toast and my calves and arms hurt from the past three days of WODs. It was a hard week for me. I didn’t feel great coming into the WOD’s, but actually posted some good numbers in them as I progressed. I hope the same can be said for all of you out there following my madness.

I need the rest and plan on doing little more than laughing at my kids as they fight with each other and fall off of things – money’s tight around here so entertainment is bare bones. Good times I tell ya’….

Peace out, yo…

WOD 11/23/08

7×3

Jerks

Seven sets of 3 reps of jerks. I am not concerned with whether you split or push jerk the weight. I would recommend using a style that allows you the maximum stability and confidence at heavy weights. For me, that would be splits – I don’t feel super confident at heavy weights with a push jerk. That is something to work on, but during a skill session, not a specific ME WOD. I like this rep scheme with shoulder based WODs. With higher reps at heavy weight, I tend to lose the active shoulder and start getting loose and sloppy. I would rather stay tight and confident during the movement.

What’s the difference between a “push” jerk and a “split” jerk, you might ask? Even if you didn’t, I’m gonna dazzle you with my brilliance and tell you. The split is preferred by many Oly lifters as it allows for a bit more wiggle room in adjustments to position when under the bar and it also allows the lifter to get down deep under a very heavy bar. If the bar is real heavy and the elevation you create on it is not enough, you may not get under it entirely in a push jerk. A split will give you some extra depth to work with. The split tends to be a bit more stable in fore/aft motion & pretty good side to side, as long as the feet are not too in-line. You will also see more weight being jerked with a split. That being said, Greek Olympic Champion, Pyros Dimas, won more than a few gold medals with phenomenally heavy push jerks (check out Youtube for some crazy vids of him). He’s not too tall and obviously can create some serious upward momentum on the bar to allow him to get under it like that. Play with the two styles on a skill session day and see for yourself which works best for you. Both movements are agressive – get under fast and get the feet down quick and hard.

Start your weight in a squat rack where you can walk into it and set up in a nice front rack position. Step out, set up and lock in before dipping and driving vertically to propel the weight up off the shoulder caps. Drive it up overhead and hit the jerk fast and aggressive. Get under the bar quick and lock it out. Recover your feet entirely and then stand tall for a second before re-setting and going again. If you are splitting, the front foot will recover first (slides back under you) and then the rear foot comes up. It keeps the weight properly distributed this way.

This WOD should cap off the week nicely and get us into some good rest.

You ready? GO!