RX THE WOD

Singapore Crossfit – The Friendliest Tough Box I’ve Seen

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

I was blown away by Crossfit Singapore. Everyone was welcoming and friendly. During the run, the others were high-fiving me – which I suspect was their way to ensure I won’t pass out in the 100F heat… This gym is proud to have national and regional champions, special forces dudes, college athletes and in general a tough and fun group of folks. And Coach Kevin knows how to throw a party like today’s innocent-looking but brutal workout… They have a great warmup routine and yoga-like warm-down stretch. All in all a very cool experience!

GROUP WOD
In teams of 3 – rotate through all stations and everyone completes the 5 runs:
5 rounds as many reps as possible:
– 400m run
– burpees
– kettlebell swings (2/1 pood)
TEAM SCORE: 835 (373 burpees, 562 KB swings) in 41:00

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Singapore Bliss

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

I finally found a hotel (Marina Bay) where I really couldn’t complain about the gym… First, it was on the 55th floor overlooking the Singapore bay. They had a great free weight room away from the treadmills…. It was empty… They gave me a 500 sqft empty yoga room when I said I was a Crossfitter and needs space for speed ropes and to throw things. They had a 20lb medball and a 15ft ceiling. I asked for a barbell and they had over a 1000 lbs ready in plates… Anyway, I was so blown away I just PR’d all my lifts…

Skills
Double unders, Wall Balls, Handstand pushups

WOD
“Crossfit Total”
combined maxes of:
– Backsquat
– Shoulder press
– Deadlift
SCORE: 835 (265, 155, 415lbs)

then for time:
– 100 pushups
– 100 situps
TIME: 5:56

then not for time:
– 3 mile sightseeing run…

Posted in Benchmarks, Travel, WOD | 1 Comment

Hong Kong Rings

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Ashley and Alix at Crossfit Hong Kong always show me something unique. Today had the best strict muscle-up progression I’ve ever seen. 4 stations progressing through stages of the movement from pull-up, false-grip pull-up to the dip. In the end most of us were doing muscle-ups with only a little help… My trip to Hong Kong ended and I traveled to Singapore today. Always great to be back in the city where I started my career many moons ago… Meetings go on until Friday night but I can relax over the weekend next to the pool on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel…

Strength
5 Strict muscle up progressions
5 strict muscle ups

Metcon “Death by rings”
Every minute on the minute: ring pushups and ring rows as long as you are able:
1st min – 2 ring pushups, 2 ring rows
2nd min – 4 ring pushups, 4 ring rows
3rd min – 6 rings pushups, 6 ring rows…
SCORE: 12 + (14 pushups/12 rows)

This pool is 57 stories high...

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China needs CrossFit

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

For reasons I still do not understand CrossFit has no presence in China except in Hong Kong but the region has great boxes everywhere from Singapore through Vietnam to Korea. There is an almost unparalleled gymnastics tradition on the Mainland and weightlifting is a major sport in all large cities. I don’t see a lot of runners though, so maybe it is the MetCon piece that needs encouragement… I do hope Reebok will add China to their list of target markets to fund RBK boxes. 171 cities have more than 1 million people here. Plenty of populace to sustain 1000s of CF gyms…

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China World

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

After 4 hours of sleep I flew to Beijing this morning and checked into my favorite hotel at China World. I had a great business dinner at a historic restaurant that had 18 different rooms and some antique furniture worth more than my house. Despite the cold, Beijing today had great air and that made the day memorable.

Strength
5 rounds using increasing weight on same bar:
– 5 overhead squats
– 5 snatch balance
– 5 squat snatch
45, 70, 95, 115, 135 lbs

WOD “Jackie”
– 1000m row
– 50 thrusters 45lbs
– 30 pullups
TIME: 8:45