RX THE WOD

Battle for the Gym

Posted on November 16, 2012 by

Packing again but this time for our annual Thanksgiving descent on the islands. With miles of running paths, a massive gym and ocean swimming – neither I nor the WOD will likely suffer…
Since this week is also the annual Battle for Atlantis, I will have Duke, Minnesota, Stanford and the other basketball teams around the place. It usually makes Battle for Atlantis mean Battle for the Barbell in the gym… No worries, I’m ready for it.

Mobility
– Daily Warmup and Mobility Routine
Strength
•2-position snatch (floor, knee) – 2 x 5 [105]
•Snatch pull – 3 x 5 [135]
•Snatch push press – 4 x 5 [105]
•Back squat – 3 x 5 [195]
•Ab wheel – 3 x 15
MetCon
For time
100x Squats
80x Push-ups
60x Sit-ups
40x Jumping pull-ups
20x KB swings (53#)
10x Deadlifts (225#)
5x Burpees
1x Muscle Up
[11:55]
Endurance
Rowing 6 x 1 min on 1 min off

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How To Pack for CrossFit Travel

Posted on November 15, 2012 by

On this rest day I started packing for our Thanksgiving trip after a nice, slow, chilly 5-mile run in the park. After 18 months of CF travel, I have my workout accessories pre-packed. All I need are my sneakers and workout clothes and I can do a WOD anywhere. Certain things are crucial regardless of available boxes or gyms:

Stopwatch with countdown function and vibrating alarms.
I prefer vibrating alarms so I can listen to my iPod during workouts. It also doubles as a family friendly alarm clock. Noone is bothered by the vibrating alarm.
Speed rope
I carry both Rogue and a generic quad speed.
Interval Timers
Gymboss Max is probably the best interval timer ever made. It can handle the more complex workouts ranging from Tabatas to Fight Gone Bad or you name it.
I also carry a mini magnetic wall timer to hang in the gyms.
Healing Gear
I bring a lacrosse ball to perform self maintenance on misbehaving body parts.
Also Rock Tape for aching or injured muscles and compression clothing for better recovery. CF gloves are also with me hoping for less wear and tear on my hands…
I also prefer Powerflex to the regular athletic tapes. They stretch and provide great compression for wrist pain or for olympic lifts and gymnastics.
Endurance Gear
As a CF Endurance disciple, I carry a metronome for those magical 95 cadence runs..
I also love SpiBelts to stash away valuables on a run or in an outside WOD.
They are tight to the body and don’t bother you during the workout.
Hopper Deck
If I ever run out of ideas for a WOD, I can just take a card. Any card…

Posted in Gear, Travel | 1 Comment

And They Lived Callus Free Ever After…

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

Not gonna happen. Somehow I harbored the dream for a year now that as I get better in the sport, the calluses on my palms will slowly disappear. Talking to coaches who’s been crossfitting for many years put this illusion to rest. Welcome to the reality of any functional movement: your skin will get thicker. In more ways than one.
And as you can see from any prehistoric exhibit: calluses are definitely paleo…
In December my programming will shift to heavier gymnastics along with the Catalyst strength program so likely all callus theories will be properly tested once and for all..

Mobility
– Daily Mobility Routine
Strength
•2-position clean (floor, knee) – 70% x 2 x 5 [135]
•Snatch deadlift – 95% (of snatch) x 3 x 4 [145]
•Front squat – 70% x 3 x 3, 75% x 3 x 2 [165, 185]
MetCon
For Time:
15 – Shoulder Press 95#
20 – Pull Ups
15 – Push Press 95#
20 – Pull Ups
15 – Push Jerks 95#
20 – Pull Ups
[6:28]
Endurance
3-5 x 500m row or 400m run / 1min recovery

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Stretch as a WOD

Posted on November 13, 2012 by

I have struggled with hip and shoulder mobility ever since I started CF. I do go through the daily warmup, hip stretch but I never took it as seriously as the WOD itself. That may be a problem. The only way to win the battle over decades of poor posture is to drill it in every day until Pukie comes around…
The good news is that with K Star, SealFit and Yoga for Crossfit, the resources for this are endless. From now on MWOD will be on the daily menu with fun things like minimum squat holds and stretches. If I do this right, the regular WOD itself will be the relief.
Mobility
– Shoulder ROM drills
– Hip Mobilty / spiderman / rubberband / squat hold – 10 mins
– Air Squats / holds / arm vertical hold – 10 mins
Strength
– Power Clean 15 x 135#
– Snatch Balance 15 x 85#
– Push press 15 x 125#
Endurance
Tabata Row [840m]
MetCon
3 rounds
– 10 sumo deadlift high pull 75#
– 20 weighted sit-ups 45#
– 30 double unders
[6:38]

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Is JetLag Paleo?

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

Think about it. What was the likelihood that our ancestors traveled several timezones in a day, week or even a month? Nil. Yet a significant portion of society either travels through timezones or just shifts, which messes up our minds, bodies and work output. As an old study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested, there are only few effective strategies for competitive athletes (and the rest of us) to prevent significant drop in performance:
– adjusting the sleep patterns 2-3 days in advance to match the travel target
– changing the timing and composition of meals to match the target timezone (high protein in the morning and higher carbs in the evening)
– changing light/darkness patterns (I find this the hardest. The sun is either up or not..)
– drugs to change sleep / wakefulness (of course medicine always has drugs..)
The strategy that works best for me is to have the highest protein meal in the morning of the target time zone and sleep as much as I can while traveling. No video, no reading and minimal meals on the plane.
Back to the normal routine today of Catalyst and a fun competitive throwdown with the kids.
Baseline
– ROM drills
– 800m run + 15 KB swings (50lb) + 500m row + 15 KB swings (50lb)
[5:25]
Strength
– Power Snatch 3×5 @ 95lbs
– Jerk 3×4 @ 115lbs
– Clean Pull 3×3 @ 165lbs
– Back Squat 2 x 6 @ 190lbs
MetCon Kids Throwdown
AMRAP in 7 minutes:
– 7 pullups
– 7 pushups
– 7 box jumps 20in
[7 rounds + 7 reps]
Kids version:
– 7 weighted sit-ups @10lbs
– 7 weighted air-squats @10lbs
– 10 sec plank