12-01-04: Overhead squats and more

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Overhead squat (or the catch to a perfectly executed snatch) by Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet. Depth (as with all such lifts) is all-important. Go deep or go home... or go to Planet Mediocrity where no one cares if you get a workout or not... (CrossFit)

Stiff-legged deadlift. Starts and ends at the top, and the range of motion is defined by how far you can go down before form falls apart. If that's the floor, congrats. If its not, push into the depth, then come back up.

Nicole Carroll demos a perfect hang-power clean. Left: all three power joints (ankle, knees, hips) are slightly closed, arms are straight. Center: all three hips have opened forcefully, the bar is rising quickly, and the arms have just started to finally bend allowing, Right: the elbows to fire under the bar, with the upper arms parallel to the floor, the weight supported on the front deltoids, and the knees, hips and ankles rebent to cushion the impact of the weight landing. (CrossFit)

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• Strength: 2x Max Rep
  
  • Overhead Squat @ BW
• WoD: 3RFT
  
  • 3 Overhead Squat @ 60% BW
  • 4 Stiff-Legged Deadlift
  • 5 Hang Power Clean (mid-thigh)

Warming up in a gym with no heat on a morning when its 14 degrees out is seriously no fun... but what inspiration to get moving and warming up! I was still feeling crushed by the back squats from Monday, lots of stiffness and tension around the quads, adductors, abductors, hamstrings, IT band... etc. All of it.

After going over proper form for the overhead squat with pvc bars, we moved onto the real thing. I warmed up a few sets at 45#, 65#, and 95#, pulling the bar out of rack in a the back squat position and jerking it up overhead. At 95#, I did five reps, but ended the set there, as part of the warm-up. At 115#, I managed 3 reps before failure. My final "set" as at 135#, at which I failed dropping into the first squat. Unfortunately, we were up against the starting time for the WoD, so that was the end of my work sets!

Going into the WoD, I first set up attempt it at 85#. I guess I was still gun-shy from failing so totally on the OHS at 135#, but it just felt insanely heavy. Rather than using the racks, we were going ground-to-overhead any way possible. While 85# should be well within my snatch tolerances, I felt really uncomfortable at that weight. So I dropped to 65#... and enjoyed a ridiculously easy WoD... I tried to focus on depth and form, since I ended up not really needing to worry about the weight. Kicker proving I still have work to do: I still wasn't the first one done. Dammit.

11-10-03: Barbell complex and double-unders

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Annie Sakamoto in action, showing the full triple extension (hips, knees, and ankles) putting some serious momentum on the bar. (crossfit.com)

Perfect form on the front squat. Hip crease is below the knees, upper arms are parallel to the floor, hands are open, allowing the bar to really rest on the deltoids. (crossfitsweatshop.com)

Stiff-legged deadlift. Weight starts at the TOP, travels down the legs (staying against them {careful around the kneecaps!}), weight touches the floor, then back up. Lower back stays rigid, chest is filled and UP. All the weight is carried on the glutes and hamstrings. If your back is sore, you're doing it wrong.  (weightliftingdiscussion.com)

Bent-over row. Back is still rigid and protected. I couldn't find a good picture showing the bar against the legs at the bottom AND a double-overhand grip AND the bar hitting the ab/rib boundary. So, you get this tepid mess instead (I'm sure its a valid technique to someone, and that's ok. Its just not ANYTHING that we were doing...) (hookedoniron.com)

pics

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Warm-Up

• Multi-Planar Lunge
• Supine Cross
• Cobra
• Butt-Kickers
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift with empty bar

WoD: 3 x 3! Barbell Complex

• Hang Power Clean 115#
• Front Squat
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
• Bent over Row

2min Rest between rounds

Sellout: 100Double-Unders or 300 Singles

Tired and slow coming into this workout. Second weekend in a row that was basically more work than the work week, plus working an event at the school the night before, then going out for a few beers afterwards, I wasn't the most well-rested... or hydrated! Plus it was freaking COLD out this morning (by which I mean mid '60s, which just goes to show how screwed I am come winter!) I could have stayed on the rollers forever, and didn't feel particularly better after getting off them. There was a new warm-up routine this week, and some of the new movements are pretty cool, along with some old favorites.

 After going over the barbell complex with PVC, we warmed up to our WoD weights. The rep scheme is pretty simple, sort of. For the first round, you first do each movement 3 times in a row, before moving onto the next movement. So, three hang power cleans, followed by 3 front squats, then three stiff-legged dead lifts, and finally 3 bent over rows. For the second time through, do two of each, then one of each on the third time through. That's ONE round. After resting for 2 minutes, do it again. The total number of reps is only 18, so this was definitely more of a quick burn, enforced recovery, repeat kind of workout. I kind of liked it!

After a few times through with the empty bar (45#) and two 25# plates on (95# total),  bumped up to the 35# plates, for a total of 115#. I probably could have gone up to 135#, but at this weight I was able to keep working through the workout fairly effectively. I'm sure I could have done one round no problem, but getting going again for the second and third might have been a bit of a mess...


Barbell Complex: 8:00

By this point I had forgotten about the sell-out. Silly me. Sadly, though I started out fairly well, and got to 50 double-unders pretty quickly (usually in sets of 10), the struggle to 100 was EPIC. I went from feeling like I might finish fairly early to finishing dead last long after everyone else. I considered capping myself, or just lying, but instead persevered . It was worth it, I think. :-/

Now I'm just trying to consider getting ready for work rather than crawling back into bed.

11-09-26:Hang Power Cleans, Floor Presses and Tire Jumps

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Monday, September 26th, 2011

The hang power clean. Bar starts at mid-thigh, with ankles, knees and hips all partially closed .All three joints fire open, arms staying straight like chains dragging the bar up. Having accelerated the bar upwards, there will be a minute when it is temporarily floating in the air before accelerating just as quickly downwards. In that instant, the body's momentum needs to be reversed to get under the bar and make the catch. (CrossFit Camp Eggers)

Floor press. Like the bench press, but WAY less fancy. (Body Armor CrossFit)

Box jumping, but with a tire. w00t! (Stoneway CrossFit)

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WoD: 7RFT

• 3 Hang Power Clean 115#
• 5 Floor Press
• 7 Tire Jump 24"

After a weekend filled by emptying our house on Long Island into PODS, including the piano, two sofas, two loveseats, and a whole bunch of other heavy crap, bookended by some nice long drives, it was time to do some real work again. Tired and sore, I was again reminded how awesome SMR can be at revitalizing me. Some stretching and active warming-up later, it was time to review the hang power clean.

The simplest of variations, the weight doesn't have to come from the floor, and it doesn't require catching it in a full squat. Easy! Not necessarily simple, however. It still involves loading up the three main joints of the posterior chain (hips, knees and ankles), unfolding them powerfully in the correct order, then immediately reversing the flow as the weight goes weightless for a moment, and getting under it for the catch. As a power clean, we don't want to go far down to catch it, but a little dip is still required.

Ultimately, I still need a lot of work. I *think* my initial lift is pretty good... I'm sure it needs a ton of finessing, but I can get the weight moving if nothing else. However, I just can NOT time the drop back under the bar. Even hang power cleaning, I was catching the bar in a full standing position. If nothing else, the ability to drop a few inches into the slightest of squats would let me NOT have to lift the bar those extra few inches. Greater skill = greater efficiency = less overall work.

The floor presses were easy enough, though I stupidly put myself in an area where every set required me to the pre-plan how I was going to ditch the bar. Ideally, after a lift to full extension, you would just (with arms still fully extended) dump the bar over your head, with it hitting the floor with a good foot of clearance over the top of your head. At least one set had me dumping the bar back down to my hips, as there was no overhead clearance, and one where I nearly scalped myself when the bar hit the pull-up structure behind me. Totally my fault in every possible way.

Did the tire jumps using a slow jump-up, jump-down pace, as compared to my usual jump-up, step-down approach. It picked up the pace a little, and didn't feel too bad on my knees. Its an odd mental thing: jumping onto the slightly pliable tire made me less concerned about the impact of jumping back down to the floor... when in reality the surface of the jump up should have little or nothing to do with the impact jumping back down to the same surface as always. Still, I totally felt more comfortable jumping down from the tire. Weird.

I spent the entire WoD chasing/pacing Woody, one of our Ironman triathletes, and though I think I was out in front when we first hit the tire, he quickly passed me on the tire jumps. After that, I just tried to stay within a rep or two of him, making up some time on the hang power cleans, losing some on the box jumps. I don't honestly know how I would have done without him to chase. My total time (6:25) is well outside of my sprint comfort zone of 60-90 seconds before my lungs implode, but for a medium burner like this workout, I think I actually held my own very well. 

Total Time: 6:25

11-08-12: Hang Power Snatches, Hang Power Cleans and Front Squats

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Friday, August 12th, 2011

Spencer Hendel demonstrates the dynamism involved in the Olympic lifts. Given his wide grip, this is obviously a snatch of some kind, though whether he's planning on diving under the bar in a "regular" snatch (ie, a full "squat snatch", although adding in "squat" ought to be redundant), or catching it in a standing position (the "power snatch" variant) is unclear. Either way, a whole lot of energy needs to be imparted on the bar to lift a heavy weight overhead. Notice that he's pulled up and jumped so hard that, even with about 185# on the bar, Spencer's feet have come off the floor. (crossfit.com)

Hang Power Clean. Again, notice the feet leaving the floor with the amount of force generated. Nicole Carroll is something of a bad-ass. (crossfit.com)

I keep using this image for a reason. I think I'm the person on the left, with not-great arm position that leads to repeatedly failing out as I get tired. Be the person on the left, with upper-arms fully parallel to the floor, where the bar can't even begin to start rolling down... yeah, be that person. So much better. (crossfit.com)

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WOD: 20 minutes of the following:

• Odd Minutes:
• 1 Hang Power Snatch 155# 115#
• 2 Overhead Squats (Sub two more Hang Power Snatches if OHS form sucks)
• Even Minutes:
• 2 Hang Power Clean
• 4 Front Squats

When we started this workout, there was actually a different time-scheme. Instead of being a 2-minute back and forth, there was a three minute schedule. Hang power snatches the first minute, hang power cleans and front squats the second, and REST the third. Apparently, we looked far to bright-eyed and bushy tailed going into the rest minute, so we quickly had that taken away from us. Seriously.

Given my (still) awful overhead squat form (tight calves, crappy shoulder mobility), I opted for the substitution of doing two more hang power snatches. It seemed like a good idea... once I got tired (about 4 rounds in), I was exceedingly happy to have made the swap. What sucks when I'm in fine form would certainly fall apart when I got tired. Trust me.

The whole way through, I had just ONE thought: bang through all the reps as fast as possible, to have as MUCH time to rest before the next set. I think I was fairly successful, in that even towards the end of the 20 minutes, I was still walking away from my bar to reset while most everyone was still finishing up their last minute or two.

As far as front squat form, I went back on forth on successfully maintaining a proper grip. My very first set was a total failure, with me nearly dumping the bar and resulting in me having to do what amounted to an out-of-position good morning as the bar started rolling down my arms. No good. That was the worst nearly-dump of the day, and most of the issues weren't nearly as bad. I am definitely still struggling to find the sweet spot where my hands aren't guaranteed to slip... or where they're guaranteed to stay. Someday. Some. Day.

11-07-08: Hang power cleans, front squats, presses, SLDLs, and jump squats

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Friday, July 8th, 2011

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1min on: 1min off until 20 Rounds completed

• 1 Hang Power Clean-Front Squat-Press 95# 85#
• (As Rx'ed: Hang Power Clean, Front Squat to Sotts Press, THEN stand with bar overhead)
• 2 Stiff legged Deadlift 95# 85#
• 3 Squat Jumps

Sellout:2x20
Supine bicycle

I was completely unable to do the Rx'ed version of the workout, as I have NO shoulder mobility in terms of the Sotts press. Even with an empty bar I was failing way forward. Maybe it really reflects limited heel/calf flexibility, and an inability to hit the bottom position of the front squat with a vertical-enough spine, but either way, no Sotts press for me. Yet. Unfortunately, I scaled my weight to try to attempt it, and probably should have just stuck with 95# for the modified version. Damn.

Felt pretty good the whole way through, but was totally frustrated when time ran out in the 11th minute just as I was descending into my final squat jump. I had to wait, and rack up, another whole minute just to jump from a squatting position to finish the workout. Lame.

Total time: 12:01

11-06-15: Oly lifting

Elm City Crossfit WoD for June 15th, 2011

Click to embiggenate. Natalie Burgener is just _awesome_. That third pic? The full squat while receiving the bar on the shoulders? I couldn't even BEGIN to get there today.

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Power:
Clean & Jerk 1RM – 15 min cap

WOD: 3 Rounds

• 15 Power Clean @ ¾ BW
• 200m Row/Run

Each round timed separately

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(Warning: Here's where I start whinging about how much I lost when I ended up taking a month off. Feel free to surf on if this bores you. It bores me, but it bears dealing with. As much as I try to put as good a spin as possible on my accomplishments, I think its even more important to try to analyze those things that don't feel like they came together, to hit it harder (and smarter) next time.)

After a nice warm-up, we walked through the finer points of the clean, and then of the jerk. It felt freaking ALIEN to me. I could search through this blog and find the last time I C&J'ed, but it doesn't really matter. It was too damn long ago, and I've forgotten most of what I ever learned/taught myself about it. I could NOT make the full extension make the weighted pvc feel weightless, and forget completely about hitting the receiving squat position. If I ever had it, its gone now. Admittedly, in trying to follow ECC's programming, and going at 5:30 in the morning, I'm not taking the opportunity to review and relearn tips and techniques via the ever-increasingly awesome Crossfit Exercises and Demos page. The only part that felt comfortable today was the jerk, using a split jerk technique. This isn't that shocking, since one of the most recent videos in the Crossfit Journal was Coach B (Natalie's dad, from above) coaching Dave Lipson on the jerk. While I still had coachable points in need of improvement (wider split, allowing me to get further under the bar, so I wouldn't have to jerk it as high), I had a starting idea of what I was doing, and a good concept of how those improvements could be implemented. The clean felt like I was trying to learn how to fly while stapled to the ground.

That said, I did realize (well after the fact) that I come equipped with my own re-training regimen. Tomorrow (and probably every day I workout for the foreseeable future), I'm going to work on my med ball cleans. These are what got me cleaning with a bar correctly the first time, back in the day. Actually, it couldn't have been that long ago, since I only just learned the med ball variety this past December. So, hopefully that means my bar clean and jerk can't be too forgotten, since I only started getting THAT dialed in some time after December, right? One can hope.

We were tasked with finding our 1RM for the day in 15 minutes. Spending more time working on form rather than pushing the envelope, I hit a max of #125. If I could have put the form together, I could have been lifting a lot more than that. For the metcon, it was 3 rounds of 15 power cleans at 3/4ths body weight, followed by 200m of rowing or running. Given my form struggles, I opted to drop a little weight, down to #115, and keep it there. As Rx'ed, I should have been at 155# or so. I wish. The wod was, unsurprisingly, murder, though a somewhat easy variety. I tried to focus on hitting better technique on the cleans, since now the squat was removed from the equation, and had some success. I ended up rowing on the 1st and 3rd rounds, and running for the 2nd. As always, the cardio aspect just devastated me. While I had some muscle-fatigue from about rep 10 of the first round, I never really recovered from the first row, and nearly crapped out on the run. The final row was just an attempt to finally finish the workout... hopefully within 30 seconds or so of the second to last person.

While there wasn't a huge emphasis on time (so we could focus on form on the power cleans), it's still never fun coming in last. But, there's a line from Christopher McDougall's Born to Run that I've always loved: "It's easy to finish first. It's hard to finish last." But you still have to finish it. It's not about the race anyways, at least not with anyone ELSE. In the race against myself, I came in first. And last. And sideways. I gotta work on my form.

EDIT: I just updated my Personal Records page. Turns out I set a 10# PR on the C&J today, and did the WoD at my former PR. I guess that actually makes me feel a bit better. It doesn't change the fact that I was struggling with form at every weight from an empty bar on up... but hey, I put 10# on that Personal Record! ;)

11-03-09: Hang Power Snatches and "Randy"

CrossFit Garden City WoD for March 4th, 2011
Warmup:
Jump-Rope
Burgener Warmup
Strength:
Hang Power Snatch3-3-3-3-3
Bar does not touch the ground until the completion of the third rep each set.
All reps should be fast and clean. NO FAILED REPS.
Conditioning:
"Randy"
- 75 Power Snatches for time (75#)
Accessory:
GHD Hip Extensions x 50
Break up reps into as many sets as needed

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Upshot to the various "full snatch" variants is that, at least up through this point, they are all identical. How he lands and receives the bar will define whether this is a squat snatch, split snatch, or power snatch. (CrossFit South West Sydney)

Seize the iron. Indeed! (Underground Shack)

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Knowing I would need my lungs soon enough, I went into this workout looking for a quick warm-up, so when I opted for jump-rope, I just wanted to do a bit of practice on double-unders. My goal was to get at least 5 in a row. Upon seeing that I was still back at square one or two, I ended up being happy with three in a row.

I went through the Burgener warm-up twice, once with the bar empty (35#), then with 10# put on, to mimic the warm-up with an Olympic bar. After taking the time to correct some freshmen on their 'concentration curl' technique (if you're going to waste your time with an exercise, at least do it correctly, I guess...), I got chalked up and prepped to do some hang power snatches. I quickly discovered a huge flaw in my technique: though I was starting the motion with the violent hip opening to get the bar moving, I wasn't really jumping with the bar all that hard, which definitely keeps it moving up. Instead, I would pop the hip open, and guide the bar up the rest of the way, rather than working to keep it from flying away. Basically, I was missing a lot of the explosive pop that will make it easier to lift heavier weights.

Hang Power Clean (for 3 reps): 85# / 105# / 115# / 125# / 135#

While the first few sets were pretty easy, by the last two, I could see that my speed was uneven from side to side. With each snatch at 125#, I could see that rather than firing the bar up from my hips, I was actually pressing it out to full extension, but only on my left side. For the final set, I focused much more on the hip drive and the jump with the bar to propel it, and while that made the overall move that much faster, I still had the same problem with the left hand being forced to drive the bar the rest of the way up, which is a press, NOT a snatch.

After unloading the bar for "Randy," I tried to focus on resetting myself completely, and not hopping back into the workout with resting substantially enough. Easier said than done, since the gym was crawling in students, all too unmotivated to bother really working out. In his book, Starting Strength, Coach Rippetoe takes such student "athletes" to task (as well as everyone else who does this):

No one should ever arrive to train not knowing exactly what to do. Wandering around the gym, deciding what looks like fun, doing it until the fun stops, and then doing something else is NOT training.

So, with kids milling around, some actually doing stuff, and my precious floor space under attack, I grabbed the bar and started carving out my zone of death. Despite the relatively light weight, I still ended up having to break the 75 power snatches into smaller sub-sets, as follows: 20 - 10 - 15 - 10 - 10 - 10. Between each subset, i tried to rest as little as possible, but each time, I could easily watch the timer continuing to count...

The upshot was that the final 20 reps or so, I started feeling the jump become a part of the overall power snatch technique. As all the bits that had been allowing me to complete each rep with less than ideal form became fatigued, the PROPER muscles had to take over. I definitely started to feel what the movement should feel like as the bar actually seemed to become lighter, always a nice trick 45-50 reps into a benchmark! Finally finished up at about 7:45.

"Randy" - Total Time: 7:45

Finished up with the prescribed 50 GHD hip extensions, done in sets of 10, followed by a few minutes cool-down on the exercise bike.

11-03-02: Ring Dips, Hang Power Cleans and Double-Unders

CrossFit Garden City WoD for Monday, February 28th, 2011
Warmup:

Active Stretching

Burgener Warm-Up x2

Strength:

Ring Dips (41X0 tempo) x 4-5 reps  x 5 sets (2 min rest b/w sets)
Conditioning:
3 rounds for time:

• 10 Hang Power Cleans (135# 125#)
• 100 33 Double Unders

Scaling:
 - Choose weight on HPC and Double Under reps that allows for completion of workout in less than 10 minutes.

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Look closely. Name a SINGLE muscle in the upper body that the ring dip doesn't hit. (CrossFit Central Oregon)

Every muscle in the body fires BEFORE the arms start moving at ALL. Hips open violently, shoulders shrug hard and fast, and AFTER the bar is moving, the arms finish the lift and get under it to let it rack on the shoulders. Notice this lifter is at FULL extension and the arms have barely bent at all. ( CrossFit Colorado Springs)

Double-unders at the 2010 CrossFit Games. Note the legs. The at-first weird looking angle is actually a sign of a fairly mature double-under. She's not wasting precious energy (or time) with a big jump, but is keeping it tight and close. (911 CrossFit / CrossFit Games)

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I really hate working out with a head cold, but really, there was no good physical reason to not do it...other than the sore throat that made breathing hard agony... but not nearly as bad as Fran-lung feels, so whatever.  Took some extra time with the warm-up since my shoulders and pecs were still *crushed* from Tuesday's Tabata push-ups. After awhile, they definitely started feeling a bit better, but not a whole lot. Twice through the Burgener warm-up, adding in a hang power clean component also seemed to help. A little. Ah well, nothing like deep ring dips to wake up some sleepy, stiff shoulder carriage muscles! :)

Hopped on the rings and tried to keep to the prescribed pace (41x0 = 4 seconds down to the bottom, pause one second, extend up as fast as possible, then repeat without resting at the top).  I came down after only 4 reps, but had a feeling I could have held on for a fifth, a feeling I proved over the next 3 rounds. I'm sure I was counting too fast on the descents, but I tried to keep them as slow as possible. By the end of the 4th round, I was definitely getting tired, and the fifth rep out of the bottom was a bit slow and shaky. The 5th round started a bit better than that (2 minutes rest seemed like so LONG between the first two rounds, and just flew before the fifth, as always...), but quickly devolved. I barely locked out the 4th rep before coming off the rings. Still, not a bad little strength workout.  While my arms quivered, I started setting up equipment for the couplet.

Picking up the 45# plates for the bar, they felt SO heavy (rotten dead arms), but rather than drop straight to the 35# plates, I decided to put the 45# on the bar, just to see how they felt. One pretty good feeling test hang power snatch later, I decided to just go with those two plates. On the bar (35# by itself), the total was 125#, not too badly scaled from the 135# as Rx'ed. I figured it felt heavy, but liftable...hopefully for unbroken sets of ten. At least for the first round, I did manage to keep the set unbroken. My wrists were pretty fried by the end of it (from the extreme flexion necessitated by the catch position, which I am still not completely comfortable in.), but I managed to get through them. I picked up the jump-rope (not entirely sure of my scaling), and a miracle happened.

I strung together 33 picture-perfect double-unders, with NO single-bounces in between. Just pure, clean double-unders. With a bit of prescience, I knew that wouldn't happen again, decided to count my blessings, and scale the double-unders from 100 per round to 33, which would give me a total of 100, the most I've ever attempted in a workout. The second round of hang power cleans was also unbroken, mostly off the high from my accomplishment with the jump-rope.  Heading back to the rope for the second time, I tried to not jinx myself. I got 12 chained together, another 3, then finished the set unbroken. Still a very good performance for me, especially with the increasing oxygen debt and muscle fatigue!

My only thought for the final round of hang power cleans was "unbroken." Just do them all at once. Don't put the bar down. Don't let go. It was a very near thing. I wanted to drop it so bad after the 8th rep, and just pushed through for two more reps, with my wrists and forearms on FIRE. Everything else was sore, too, but those were just screaming at me. As I grabbed the jump-rope, I saw that my time was at about 6:30. I figured if I finished at the 8-9 minute mark (already assuming I wouldn't replicate 33 unbroken double-unders), I would be really happy with my performance.

And that began 5 minutes of the worst, most pathetic jump-rope you've seen in your entire life. I could barely single bounce, much less get a double-under, much less string together multiples. I couldn't even get back to the single bounce! I was just *shot*. I struggled through, and in desperation, managed to string together about 5 at the end, when I really only needed 2. So, for the final round of jump-rope, in 5 minutes I completed 36 double-unders. I think. Its entirely possible that in the pain and fatigue, I might have miscounted. I tried not to, but I personally can't really vouch for the number 36, which was the other reason for overshooting 33. I can almost guarantee I didn't miss more than 3 reps, so either way I should be all good. Ugh. I seriously thought I was going to die after that.

Total time: 11:00.

11-02-09: Sumo Deadlift High Pull - Hang Power Clean - Knee to Elbow MetCon

CrossFit Garden City WoD for January 27, 2011
Warmup:
Burgener WU

Skill:
20 mins of goal/skill practice

• Jump rope
• Ring work

Conditioning: 4 rounds for time:

• 250 meter row 20 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls 75#
• 10 Hang Power Snatch Clean 75#
• 15 KTE's

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Sumo Deadlift High-Pull. These start to suck very quickly. Done correctly, its the opening of the knee and hips that fire the bar off the ground, and the arms mostly serve to keep the bar from smashing into your mouth. Several reps in, it becomes much harder to keep that happening when your lungs are full of razor-wire. (CrossFit Central Runtex)

Nicole Carroll demonstrating the three main positions in the hang power snatch: 1) the slight closing of the hip that drops the weight down a bit, but which allows 2) the aggressive opening of the hip, driving the bar up, as well as a huge shrug to keep it moving, allowing 3) the catch in the rack position. The partial squat on the catch is optional, but increasingly necessary as the weights get heavier. (Team CrossFit Academy)

Yeah, they look fun. Until you realize the grip requirements, and that you've already done a crap-ton of work before you get here. Yeah. Fun. (CrossFit Santa Cruz Central)

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Started out with the Burgener Warm-Up, followed by @20 minutes (untimed) of alternating bouts of jump-rope and ring work. Knocked out a set of 7 dips, a new PR by 2. Did some more work on my false grip, as well as pull-up progression work. Had some very good speed on my single bounces and running steps on the jump-rope, but couldn't seem to get much past 20 jumps before getting snarled up. I'm working on both shortening the rope AND keeping my hands more to the side (rather than out front), to address issues I've been seeing in the rope path, so its probably just those things coming into play. I also played with some lat pull-ups, where from a full dead-hang position you engage the lats, pulling the body up only by a few inches, but the arm/torso angle actually closes a bit. (This was _stupid_ to do before a workout involving 60 knee-to-elbows, btw. Very bad workout design on my part...)

Since our ONE rowing machine is currently out of commission, I had to substitute SDLHPs for the rowing, which is a fairly standard sub. However, since we only have one straight bar, whatever I was going to be using the for the snatches (reading really IS FUNdamental. I just screwed up and didn't read/comprehend what the workout actually called for. Sillyness abounded today, apparently.) cleans was also going to be on the SDLHPs. I decided 75# would make an ok compromise, which ended up being more or less true.

This workout was amazingly awful almost from the get-go. Put simply, I wanted to quit before the end of the first round, and with students waiting to do their "squats" on the Smith machine (which I was using for the K2Es), I had ample opportunity and excuse. I took neither and finished the workout for the full 4 rounds. I was fighting back that bastard Pukie for most of the final two rounds, but still...


Total Time: 20:10