Smashby's Training Blog

After a group warm-up we started today off with 5X5 Push Press. We’re starting to look really solid with form at higher weights, so that means heavy sets of 3’s and 1’s are almost here. Let’s get ready to lift some heavy things!

The workout for the day was a fun one. Since Orion has built a lot more boxes for box jumps over the past few weeks, I was finally able to set up an “obstacle course” of sorts!

Workout of the Day:
3 Rounds for time of-
Box Jump / 10 Squat Jumps / Box Jump / 10 Hand-release Push-Ups / Box Jump / 10 KB Swings / Box Jump / Snake Run / 10 Burpees

When that’s done, we did two minutes of max sledge swings… AND 2 minutes of max ball slams. Great way to end the workout!

Athlete Results:
5×5 Push Press
Kristin- 45lbs
Jamie- 95lbs

WOD
Kristin (12kg KB)- 7:54
Jamie (12kg KB)- 9:43

2 Minute Sledge Swing
Kristin (8lb Hammer)- 50 swings
Jamie (10lb Hammer)- 35 swings

2 Minute Slam Ball
Kristin (30lb ball)- 28 slams
Jamie (30lb ball)- 28 slams

Clayton and Jamie stopped through tonight, and we started right away with a 1000 meter row. Nothing fast, I just wanted them to get their whole bodies warmed up before we got to it. As usual, stretching and mobility followed, and after going over the workout in detail, it was time to hit the WOD!

Workout of the Day:
25 / 20 / 15 / 10 / 5 of-
Box Jumps / Hand-Release Push-Ups / Kettlebell Swings

The way this workout is completed is the athlete does 25 reps of each movement, then 20 of each, and so on until the final round where they do 5 jumps, 5 push-ups, and 5 swings to end the workout.

Instead of creating a video for tonight’s class, I am going to show you the final round of these guys. Tons of fight, and two strong finishes!

Athlete Results:
Jamie (20″ Box / 16kg KB)- 17:15
Clayton (24″ Box / 24kg KB)- 18:10

We finished the night with some skill work. First, we hopped on the GHD machine and really tried to extend those legs hard to propel our upper bodies towards our feet and reduce some of that force on the lumbar spine. It’s more efficient, and it happens to be much more powerful when you do it that way. Sounds like a good skill to practice, huh?! The guys did great. After that, a little handstand hold work, and we were on our way.

For a GREAT video provided by CrossFit HQ, Click Here to watch Coach Glassman and Nicole talk about the proper way to complete a GHD Sit-Up.

Have a fun and safe weekend, and I’ll see you all next week!

Tonight brought another first-timer to CrossFit Lakewood! Ashleigh came in, and I must say again, did an amazing job for someone who had never done CrossFit before. That’s so encouraging to see!

As the first Monday class of 2011, and I decided we were going to hit a classic CrossFit benchmark workout that is used by many gyms across the country. It’s affectionately known as “The Baseline.” Before we got into that, though, it was time to get back to some strength training! The strength workout today was Back Squat, 5 sets of 5 reps. While Kristin and Clayton worked to a 5 rep max, Ashleigh and I spent time learning how to perform the lift correctly.

Athlete Results:
Kristin- 85lbs
Clayton- 185lbs

Workout of the Day:
Row 500 meters / 40 Air Squats / 30 Sit-Ups / 20 Push-Ups / 10 Pull-Ups

Athlete Results:
Kristin (Ab-Mat sit-ups, 2-banded pull-ups)- 5:20
Clayton (Ab-Mat sit-ups, unassisted pull-ups)- 6:05
Ashleigh (Ab-Mat sit-ups, 3-banded pull-ups)- 6:28

Like I said… check out that time for Ashleigh! For a first-timer?! Great job! After the workout we spent about 10-15 minutes foam-rolling. We will get more flexible this year, and it will show in our strength gains!

***Blogger’s note***
I’m still learning how to play around with movie editing software, but would still love your feedback as to how you think these videos are turning out. Fun? Boring? Do you want more/less video? More/less photos?

I’m curious, so if you could please leave your feedback in the comments section, that’d be awesome! Thanks, guys.

The first class of 2011 brought a new face to CrossFit Lakewood.  Andy had been wanting to come check it out for a while, and only a short while after his shoulder surgery, here he was!

The first class spent a lot of time discussing the basic movements of CrossFit, and then establishing some cues on how to practice that good form. Andy didn’t take very long at all to look very solid, so after a pretty thorough warm-up, we were ready to roll!

Workout of the Day:
21-15-9
Overhead Squats / Wall Ball Tosses / Ab-Mat Sit-Ups
Followed by 1 down and back sprint after the round of 21, 2 sprints after the round of 15, and finishing the workout with 3 down and back sprints!

Aside from Andy doing an amazing job on his first CrossFit Workout, it’s also another first…

A New Year equals New Technology!! We now have the ability to record in HD!! That will certainly make for some more fun videos as we enter 2011.

Tonight’s video is a step in the right direction. Enjoy!

To start class today, we not only foam-rolled, but we busted out the baseballs for some added fun. If you’ve never rolled your legs out with a baseball or a lacrosse ball, give it a shot….

After that was done, I told Clayton that we’d be doing a “quick met-con” to loosen up. This quick little warm-up was:
3 rounds for time of-
15 burpees / 200 meter run

It’s definitely not a normal thing to start class with something like that, but we’re constantly varied though, right? Clayton pushed hard through this workout, actually making his last round, the fastest one of all!

Athlete result:
6:20

After that, we spent a bit of time working on the Push Jerk lift. Monday we talked about Clayton doing the Snatch Balance, and not getting his hips to full extension. Tonight, he made huge strides, keeping his back more vertical, and getting a big jump to help throw that bar off of his shoulders before dropping down. Awesome!

Finally, the mystery WOD was announced. After an intense burpee/run warm-up, then a shoulder/jump intensive skill session with a barbell, Clayton was going to do….

FRAN!!!

It turns out this was the first CrossFit workout Clayton ever did about 5 years ago, and when he did it then, he used 65 pounds on the bar. His time back then (when he used a completely different style of training!) was over 20 minutes. Tonight, we decided to stick with the 65 pounds to draw a direct correlation between his fitness level then, and his fitness level now. Check out the video below of his last 4 reps of the Thruster. TRY to tell me he’s not using that aggressive hip extension to get that bar overhead. GREAT intensity, Clayton!

Remember, the last time he did this 5 years ago, his time was over 20 minutes; he thinks maybe even over 25 minutes. Tonight, you’ll love how fast he completed the most popular CrossFit Workout! Aside from his killer time improvement, guess how else I know the workout was a success?

I call this one: Fran Domination!

Athlete Result:
Clayton (65lb barbell thrusters, unassisted pull-ups): 10:29!!

That’s a 10+ MINUTE PR!!! Awesome job, Clayton!