Friday 100730
July 30, 2010 | 2 Comments
News
- Suffer on Saturday is ON at City Park tomorrow at 9am.
- The EmerFit Training Camp is next Saturday (August 7th) not tomorrow. We have heard from lots of people who like the idea but cannot make the 7th. If we don’t get 5 people signed up we will move the camp to October. September is already booked with the Body Tribe Seminar.
- The linear progression is almost over. Check out the “Introduction” section of next week’s training plan for details of what is coming in August. (Yes, the training plan is out early due to the CrossFit Football Certification).
Commentary
The Need For Practice
As many of you know Dr. G is one of our top CrossFit Games competitors. The video above is of a personal record in the snatch. Its an increase in 20 pounds from his previous PR that was set at Sectionals. This video was shot during a max attempt this week after three weeks on a custom Olympic Lifting program. The keen observer will notice a couple of significant flaws in his technique in this video. If we can fix those things I believe we can easily add another 20-40 pounds to his snatch.
Dr. G did not get significantly stronger in the last three weeks he simply practiced A LOT. He practiced the Olympic Lifts and their supplemental lifts (e.g. the snatch balance, clean pulls, etc) four times a week for three weeks. After the Colorado Open he will go back to this for a while. He needs to add another 40 pounds to his snatch and to his clean and jerk for the 2011 CrossFit Games season.
We have seen the same types of improvements in many of our “regulars” during this summer’s linear strength progression. Yes, you have been getting stronger too but you have also been practicing the primary lifts A LOT. And we have seen it transfer to your other movements. Throwing a med ball around is easier when you can back squat 225 for 3 sets of 5 versus 175 for 3 sets of 5.
The point? Practice is important and effective practice is rarely random.
Week Of 100801
July 30, 2010 | Comments Off
Leisel The Diesel
Cycle: Summer 2010 (pdf)
Week: 100801
Supplemental Sessions
Two-Time-A-Weekers: If you can only do two sessions this week we suggest A and B.
Introduction
This is the final week of our linear strength progression. We know that it has been trying for some of you to stick with this much work in every session but we have seen some impressive gains. We will be posting more about those gains as we wrap of this cycle and do some benchmark testing.
Details on the next cycle, which starts in September, will be posted by the 15th if not earlier. In the mean time here is what is in store for August:
- Week of 8/1: Finish up linear strength progression.
- Week of 8/8: CrossFit Benchmark tests. Expect visits from Helen, Kelly, and Karen.
- Week of 8/15: 1 rep max tests and the Warrior Dash.
- Week of 8/22: Cycle Specific Conditioning Tests. “Not Fran” and the “Backsquat Gasser”. Plus, the Colorado Open.
- Weeks of 8/29 and 9/5: Transition to next cycle.
Primary Session A
Objective
Continue strength progression in the back squat and the push press. Metabolic conditioning and core strength.
Warm-Up
5 rounds:
5 Push-ups
5 Shoulder Pass Throughs
5 Overhead Squats
5 Sit-ups
Instep Stretch
Strength
Back Squat 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Push Press 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Conditioning
5 rounds not for time:
1:00 Swings
10 Russian twists per side
5 Windmills Per Side
Primary Session B
Objective
Upper body pulling strength, thruster practice, and lunge work.
Warm-Up
3 rounds:
High Knees 100 meters, jog back
10 Burpees
25′ Crawl
Walk The Plank
Yes, this is a Warrior Dash prep warm-up. Pretend like your high-kneeing through tires.
1) 8 Minute Pull-up Ladder
2) Thruster Ripper. Use the same weight as your previous attempt but try to beat the reps.
3) Lunge 200 meters while carrying 40-50 pounds. It could be a barbell, a couple kettlebells or a couple dumbbells. With the dumbbells or kettlebells vary the carrying position.
Session C
Objective
Continue strength progression on bench press and back squat. General conditioning.
Warm-up
3 Rounds:
- Run 400
- 10 One Arm Swings
- 10 Swings To Goblet Squat
- Pigeon Stretch
Strength
Bench 3 sets of 3. Add 5 pounds.
Back Squat 3 sets of 3. Add 5 pounds.
Conditioning
6 rounds
5 Suicide Sprints
10 Turkish Get-ups (5 each arm)
Week of 100801 Supplemental Sessions
July 30, 2010 | 1 Comment
Sara gets her wall ball on.
Cycle: Summer 2010 (pdf)
Week: 100801
Please note, all these workouts assume a proper warm-up.
Regulars
This sessions are specially designed for participants in the Warrior Dash on August 21st. They will serve everyone else too but if you’re doing the Warrior Dash try to work this in.
Session 1 (R1)
Complete between primary sessions A and B.
Run 5k. A map of the usual EmerFit course will be provided. For a bit longer course with more hilly off-road terrain but still from the gym run south along the railroad tracks to Trilby and back.
Session 2 (R2)
Complete between primary sessions B and C.
4-8 Hill Sprints. Sprint up, walk down, rest and repeat.
We recommend the hill going north on Lemay between Trilby and Harmony. Park at Fossil Creek park.
Endurance Athletes
See “Regulars” workouts above.
Weekend Warriors
Session 1 (W1)
Complete between primary sessions A and B.
6 Rounds:
Run 400 meters
1 Mini-Leg Blaster
Expect to see this session through July with increases in the distance and number of rounds.
Session 2 (W2)
Complete between primary sessions B and C or after C.
60 minute trail run.
Wednesday 100727
July 27, 2010 | 4 Comments
Brett drags the sled. Yes, we got a new camera.
Announcing The First EmerFit Training Camp, Next Saturday
Yeah, we know its short notice but hopefully some of you can still make it. Here are the details:
Spend a whole day with the EmerFit staff learning basic and intermediate skills with kettlebells, olympic lifting, and rowing. This will be a great way to prepare for the next EmerFit Regulars cycle, some of the new EmerFIt Specialty programs, and the Fight Gone Bad V fundraiser. The day’s agenda will be as follows:
9:00-11:00 Intermediate KBs
11:00-12:00 Lunch Break
12:00-2:00 Olympic Lifting
2:00-2:30 Afternoon Break
2:30-4:30 Indoor Rowing
Kettlebell work will focus on the snatch, clean and turkish get-up. The Olympic Lifting session will include lecture on the basics of the lifts and practice with primary and auxiliary Olympic Lifting movements. The rowing session will include basic rowing technique and strategies for both Fight Gone Bad and a 2,000 meter row.
Primary coaches will be Chris Brown and Molly Gutilla with assistance from the rest of the EmerFit staff.
Sign-up Here
Week of 100725
July 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
Dean and the girls. Yo Dean, where you been?
Cycle: Summer 2010 (pdf)
Week: 100718
Supplemental Sessions
Two-Time-A-Weekers: If you can only do two sessions this week we suggest A and B.
Primary Session A
Objective
Continue strength progression in the back squat and the push press. Lower body focused metabolic conditioning.
Warm-Up
10-9-8-7-6-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Goblet Squats
Push Ups
Sit Ups
Strength
Back Squat 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Push Press 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Conditioning
3 rounds for time:
Row 500m
10 Push-ups (Advanced: Make ‘um clapping push-ups)
10 Weighted Sit-Ups
Primary Session B
Objective
Deadlift strength progression, wall ball practice, sprint conditioning
Warm-Up
Run 800 meters then:
3 rounds of:
- 10 Shoulder Circles with PVC
- 10 Spider Mans
- 10 KB Swings
1) Deadlift 3 set of 3. Add 5-10 pounds.
2) 4 rounds of:
Sprint 100 meters
Jog Back
10 Ankle to Bar
30 sec Elevated Plank
3) 20 wall ball shots every minute on the minute for 5 minutes.
Session C
Objective
Continue strength progression on bench press and pull-ups. Power conditioning.
Warm-up
3 Rounds of Barbell Complex #2
- Power Clean
- Press
- Back Squat
- Good Morning
- Press Behind The Neck
- Front Squat
Strength
Bench 3 sets of 3. Add 5 pounds.
Pull-up and Shoulder Pass Through Ladder (Just like last week)
Conditioning
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Power Cleans (95/65)
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Burpee Box Jumps
Hey! At least its not a regular burpee.
Week Of 100725 Supplemental Sessions
July 25, 2010 | 1 Comment
Cycle: Summer 2010 (pdf)
Week: 100718
Please note, all these workouts assume a proper warm-up.
Regulars
Session 1 (R1)
If you want to do this one as Rx’d then do ‘A’ on Monday, this on Tuesday, take Wednesday off and then do ‘B’ on Thursday and ‘C’ on Friday. Otherwise scale this one to 10 Front Squats, 10 Snatches, and 11 Sit-ups (the reps add up to 31).
“Giles”
3 rounds:
31 Front Squats (95/65)
31 DB Snatches (35/25)
31 Abmat Sit-ups
Session 2 (R2)
Complete between primary sessions B and C assuming you skipped R1.
Hang Power Clean Practice – 8 sets of 3
Weighted Barbell Lunge – Work up to a heavy double (2 lunges on each leg)
Endurance Athletes
Session 1 (E1)
4×800 meters. Time each effort and rest for an equal amount of time before the next round.
Session 2 (E2)
10×100 meters. Time each effort and rest for an equal amount of time before the next round.
Friday 100723
July 23, 2010 | 2 Comments
Doug returns to EmerFit.
Notes For Saturday
- No Suffer On Saturday due to Programming Seminar
- Open Gym time added this Saturday only 7a-8:30a. Sign-up required as usual.
- Free Programming Seminar 9a-12. RSVP Online. There are already 20 EmerFitters signed-up!
Doug, pictured above, is one of a handful of people that returned to EmerFit after all the changes we implemented in late-May. Many of you may remember Doug with his ice axes back in the old gym in 2008. He then went off to experiment with some Mountain Athlete and Gym Jones training programs. Things we didn’t have the room to do in the old gym. Those programs have worked really well for his climbing so he is still doing them and our Open Coaching sessions make that possible. He is part of the EmerFit community, pays to use our facility and for a little coaching, but his programming comes from a coach that lives in another state and happens to be one of Doug’s climbing partners.
Doug sits at one end of the spectrum of customized programming. Few people need programming that is that customized. Yet there are lessons we can all learn from this way of looking at our training whether we are trying to just get in shape, preparing for athletic competition and the possibility of being a professional athlete, or if we have turned our training into a hobby. These are the sorts of topics we will be discussing in tomorrow’s programming seminar.
Strong Women
July 20, 2010 | 1 Comment
I’ve posted about Natalie Woolfolk before but I found these videos while looking for some Oly footage for tonight’s 5:30 class. I thought the rest of the gym might enjoy.
If you’ve never been to a Oly meet the number on the scoreboards in the back ground in the 2nd video is the weight they are lifting in kilos. So you’re looking at some 140 pound women putting more than 250 pounds overhead.
Wall Ball
July 18, 2010 | 4 Comments
Wall Ball from Chris Brown on Vimeo.
Chris demonstrates proper wall ball form, a common fault, and a couple variations.
Wall Ball has been a part of CrossFit since the early days and there is a oldie-but-goody (and free) article from the CrossFit Journal entitled “Functionality & Wall Ball“. From the article:
The wall-ball drill comprises two highly functional classical weightlifting movements brought together at light loads and extended duration to create a super-potent metabolic conditioning tool with an enormous potential for increasing athletic performance.
In the article Glassman suggests we consider the following milestones:
30 seconds: 12 shots
1 minute: 25 shots
1.5 minutes: 37 shots
2 minutes: 50 shots
2.5 minutes: 62 shots
3 minutes: 75 shots
3.5 minutes: 87 shots
4 minutes: 100 shots
4.5 minutes: 112 shots
5 minutes: 125 shots
5.5 minutes: 137 shots
6 minutes: 150 shots
He goes on to propose that we start with a 4 pound ball and incrementally work towards the 20 pound ball. The 150 shot milestone eventually became known as the benchmark workout “Karen” and back in 2003 the record time was 4:52 with a 10 foot target and 20 pound ball. A lighter ball can quicken the learning curve with this movement but when it comes to 100+ shots its rough no matter what size ball one uses.
Beat The Coach Challenge
In the late summer of 2010 at EmerFit we’re going to see wall ball fairly often in our regular training sessions. We are working up to a couple attempts at “Karen” in August and September. Below is a video of Chris completing 150 shots in 7:26. Who is up for a challenge of beating that time? The first EmerFit guy and gal to do it before October 1st get a free EmerFit t-shirt. You must complete the challenge at EmerFit during one of our scheduled attempts of “Karen”.
Karen from Chris Brown on Vimeo.
Week of 100718
July 17, 2010 | 7 Comments
Cycle: Summer 2010 (pdf)
Week: 100718
Supplemental Sessions
Two-Time-A-Weekers: If you can only do two sessions this week we suggest A and C.
Last week saw the return of wall ball to EmerFit with the added use of big doorways as targets. Many EmerFit veterans were surprised by the added difficulty of being required to hit the 10′ target. Newer folks found the wall ball exercise much more difficult than it looked.
We are building up to a wall ball challenge and last week’s encounter with the wall ball exposed a weakness in both our programming and your fitness. Monday’s blog post will include some more info about the functionality of wall ball and the upcoming challenge but as you can see in this week’s programming we are going to be spending some time with this exercise.
Primary Session A
Objective
Continue strength progression in the back squat and the push press. Lower body focused metabolic conditioning.
Warm-Up
10-9-8-7-6-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Goblet Squats
Push Ups
Sit Ups
Strength
Back Squat 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Push Press 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session.
Conditioning
20 min max rounds:
Run 400m
10 Slasher To Halo
10 Jumping Squats
Primary Session B
Objective
Upper body pulling strength, thruster practice to failure, and lower body unilateral work.
Warm-Up
Run 800 meters then:
3 rounds of:
- 10 Shoulder Circles with PVC
- 10 Spider Mans
- 10 KB Swings
1) 8 minute Pull-Up Ladder with Shoulder Pass Through
In the pull-up ladder you’ll do one pull-up and one shoulder pass through. Then 2 and 2, 3 and 3, and so on. Do not go to failure. If you are unsure whether you will get the next set then reset to 1 and start over. Continue for 8 minutes. So you might record something like this in your journal:
1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4
Total reps: 35
2) Thruster Ripper (80% of Session A Push Press weight)
The 5-3-1 program being utilized by some EmerFitters uses a set to failure. It might be part of why the program works so well for adding strength but its also what makes 5-3-1 fun in that “it doesn’t have to be fun to be fun” sort of way. There is something exciting about taking a set to failure and knowing ahead of time that it is part of the day’s plan. You think about it all day. How many reps will I get? Can I push for one more?
The EmerFit 5-3-1 crew had nicknamed this practice “the ripper” and we’re going to use it in this training session with the thruster. Think of “failure” as a “positive failure”. We’re not going for form or mechanical failure. Going all out is no excuse for sloppy mechanics. Achieve proper depth and keep those elbows up.
Learn more about 5-3-1 at this Saturday’s Programming Seminar.
3) Lunge 100m with empty bar on your back.
The lunge returns but now its loaded. Enjoy!
Session C
Objective
Continue strength progression on back squat and pull-ups. General conditioning and wall ball practice.
Warm-up
3 Rounds of Barbell Complex #2
- Power Clean
- Press
- Back Squat
- Good Morning
- Press Behind The Neck
- Front Squat
Strength
Back Squat 3 sets of 3 reps, add 5 pounds from last session
Pull-up 3 sets of max reps
Conditioning
4 rounds
10 Heavy KB Swings
15 Wall Ball Shots
Backward Sled Drag (90/135 lb)
