I had a really fun time going through today’s class and hope you all did, too! After a warm-up which included quite a bit of stretching (which is something we’ll be doing more of), we spent a very good chunk of time working on our squatting position. The “Air Squat” is a critical stance in most of our power movements as we discussed, (air squat, back and front squat, clean and jerks, snatches, wall balls, etc.) so becoming very comfortable down in that position is critical for CrossFit…. and for life!
The other reason we were going through a lot of squat work was because the skill we worked on today was the Squat Clean. While we only used PVC pipes today, in the 15-20 minutes we spent breaking down the parts of the movement and then combining it, you all improved significantly! After that, it was onto the workout!
(Side-note: One of the movements we used tonight in our workout was the Ab-Mat sit-up. He started all the way with his shoulders touching the ground, and came up to where his chest touched his quads. Well done, sir!)
Perfect form on those Ab-Mat Sit-Ups, Andy!
Workout of the Day:
15 Ball Slams / 20 Ab-Mat Sit-Ups / 25 Wall Taps / 800m Run
10 Ball Slams / 15 Ab-Mat Sit-Ups / 20 Wall Taps / 400m Run
5 Ball Slams / 10 Ab-Mat Sit-Ups / 15 Wall Taps / 200m Run
(The Wall Tap we used was simply standing in front of the wall and jumping high on the balls of the feet to reach a certain target height. No squat was necessary in this movement.)
The best part of the workout tonight was that everyone ended up using a slam ball! In the past we had scaled this movement to a Medicine Ball to make it easier, but today, no one needed that scaling. Can you say…. “We’re becoming better athletes!!” So cool.
Clayton and Andy each used a FIFTY pound slam ball. If you haven’t picked one up yet, give that a shot. The ladies all used 30 pound slam balls, also no easy task, and 500% heavier than the medicine ball she used for the same exercise last month. FIVE HUNDRED PERCENT!
One of the highlights was that last round, when both Clayton and Kristin were in from the run before their final 5 ball slams, I suggested that Kristin catch the ball on one bounce like Clayton had been doing for the entire previous 25 during the workout. She did, he did, and it was awesome to watch. Check it out!
Athlete Results:
Kristin (30lb slam ball, caught them on the last 5)- 13:18
Clayton (50lb slam ball, caught them all)- 13:23
Andy (50lb slam ball, no catch)- 14:01
Nichole (30lb slam ball, no catch)- 15:21
Boomer (30lb slam ball, no catch)- 15:40
I can’t express enough how impressive it is that you all stepped up your game on those slam balls. That is such a full-body movement, and the speed with which you guys learned how to perform the movement was great. That’s how we increase our performance, by becoming more efficient while trying to create more power! Great job!
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