Team! We are already into September and your focus this month is metabolic conditioning. You will be focusing on the bottom of the theoretical hierarchy of athletic development. Each week you can expect longer and higher rep workouts. This week you will see the benchmark workout Helen and high volume rowing, double unders, back squats and burpees. There’s also a lot of carry over from increasing volume / capacity and improving top end strength. We’ll aim for a perfect blend of that this month. Get ready to dig in and attack these longer metabolic conditioning pieces (metcons) this week.
Monthly Focus Workouts: 4
Heavy Lifts: 2
Metcons Over 12 Minutes: 5
Weight Loss: Monday’s workout is the benchmark workout Helen. You have running, KB swings, and pull ups. Benchmark workouts test our fitness and help you understand how your fitness journey is going and where you can improve. Helen’s combination of movements as well as its high intensity is awesome for weight loss. Make sure to get in for this one on Monday. Tuesday is one of my favorites for weight loss. You have burpees and situps. This is definity a sweaty one and will work your core. After the workout you have GHD hip extensions. Getting time on the GHD is extremely beneficial for building strength and stability which has a ton of carry over into other movements. Wednesday you will build to a heavy set of three clean and jerks. Weightlifting is great for building muscle and burning fat. Keep track of the weights you hit this day so you can evaluate your progress in SUGARWOD. Thursday is a high volume rowing and double under workout with a fun twist. You will need to focus on rowing efficiently, using as little strokes as possible to complete the prescribed distance each set. Great aerobic workout that will challenge your rowing capacity and efficiency. This is also a great midline workout between the rowing and the double under and an awesome way to work on your arms between the pull for the row and the grip from the double unders. Friday is all about midline. You will be holding positions that require you to keep your core tight the entire time. Focus on holding the right positions rather than trying to get it done as fast as possible. CrossFit is all about core to extremity movements, so strengthening your core has a ton of carry over to everything else. Saturday you have a spicy weightlifting workout with light back squats and moderate push presses. This weightlifting couplet will be challenging and will strengthen your lower and upper body. You also have a heavy complex of back squats and push jerks prior to the workout. Great strength day that you will not want to miss! Sunday ends the week with a higher skill interval workout. It’s a fast workout that will get you moving and raise that heart rate given the short time frame of each interval. In addition to the workout you will end the day working that midline with a great sit-up piece. My favorite days for weight loss this week are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Community: Monday kicks off the week with the benchmark workout Helen. Benchmarks are always exciting to do as a gym and as members of the greater CrossFit community. Fun test of fitness with running, KB swings, and pull-ups. Look to others in class for some friendly competition, cheer fellow members on and have fun with this workout. Tuesday is a great workout that will test your midline and aerobic capacity. This one will be a grind with that volume of burpees. Find a friend and try to keep each other motivated and accountable on this one. Wednesday is a heavy day. Partner up for this heavy clean and jerk complex that you won’t want to miss. Thursday is a high volume workout of rowing and double unders with a twist. You will aim to use the least amount of strokes to accumulate your prescribed rowing distance. This is a great day for you to sync up that slow, long, powerful row with a friend. This will challenge your rowing efficiency, aerobic capacity along with giving you plenty of opportunity to create some friendly camaraderie with your fellow classmates. Friday is one of my favorites for the community. You will be working for quality on this midline piece. Work together and hold each other accountable during the time domains at each movement, maybe even count your second out loud to each other :). Saturday is a great weight lifting day. You have a couplet of light back squats and moderate push presses. Prior to the workout you will find a heavy complex of back squats and push jerks, partner up and lift with a buddy. It’s always a fun time when you get to throw some weight around with friends. My favorite days for community this week are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Competitor: Awesome week ahead! Monday starts the week with Helen. This is a workout we’re looking to take it out hot and stay hot. Depending on your capacity. Look to hold those KB swings unbroken and perform quick sets on the pull-up bar, if you can go unbroken on the pull ups do it. If you’re doing it unbroken it’s then a running test of how fast can you run and still go unbroken. You can use the run to recover a little or push that pace from the beginning and try to hang on. Make sure you record your score to this classic benchmark. After the workout you have an EMOM of strict handstand push-ups. Great time to dial in technique and build up that strict capacity. We see this pop up in the open occasionally and will be a help come February. Tuesday will test your aerobic capacity. You have burpees and sit-ups. Look to scale this one up with GHD sit-ups if we are comfortable with that volume or a higher target for the burpees. Try to get this under the ten minute mark. After the workout you have GHD hip extension. The GHD is an awesome piece of equipment that will help you build strength and stability, try to spend some time on it and build up your capacity. Wednesday is your heavy day this week. You have three touch-n-go clean and jerks. This is a great time to build strength in your squat clean and work on your split jerk technique. It’s also a good opportunity to work on cycling the barbell. Let’s focus on technique for the first 4 rounds and then continue to climb. Thursday’s workout has a fun twist to it that forces you to row with intention and work on pacing. If double unders and rowing are a weakness this is a perfect day for you to come in. Stay focused on this one, keep that stroke rate low and think technique first. Friday’s workout is about quality. Don’t rush through this focus on good form. Midline stability is crucial in CrossFit, hold yourself to the standard today it will pay off. You also have an EMOM of rope climbs, take this time to work on technique and efficiency in your climb and descents. This will set you up really well for that simply, yet monster workout on Saturday. The workout is a couplet of light back squats and moderate push presses. This double weightlifting workout will be challenging. Move through those back squats and try to quickly cycle those push presses. Avoid resting in the front rack. Prior to the workout you have the opportunity to find a heavy complex of back squats and push jerks. Use this to go heavy today, don’t hold back in anticipation for the workout. Sunday ends the week with a high skill interval workout. The great part is the muscle ups, the high skill piece is at the beginning of the WOD. It means you get to do them when fresh, so if you struggle this is a great WOD. If you’re good at muscle ups, let’s go unbroken and see how fast on the other movements while still going unbroken. If you struggle with muscle ups only go as fast as it allows you to keep a consistent pace on the gymnastics. It’s about 6 muscle ups per round x 5 that’s 30 muscle ups in this wod, maybe more. The other part I love about this workout is that it allows you to recover on the box jumps so you can push the muscle ups so whether you’re good or need recovery this is a win for you on this workout. Your focus this week is Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Gymnastics Focus: 3
Weightlifting Focus: 2
Open Prep: 4
As always there’s plenty of bonus work below! 3,2,1 Let’s have a great week.