Archive for the ‘Training’ Category

Monthly Recap: May 2018

Posted: June 2, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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May 2018

Fitness- Nothing too crazy this month. May really rocked my world with scheduling conflicts. I’m trying to get better at making my workouts a higher priority than work, but to be honest, a lot of the time I don’t see them that way. As long as I move a few times per week, but I’m productive in a professional capacity, I feel that’s where I should be right now. If I had to share my best gym highlight, it would be hitting 300lbs for a Hang Clean. I haven’t done that for a few years.

I also did the workout Murph this year on Memorial Day, and threw on a weighted vest for it. I was so sore for the entire rest of the week. Should have done more push-ups leading up to the event, but always glad to show my appreciation for those who lost their lives protecting me here at home.

I’m a little bummed that I didn’t have a “first-ever” class that I attended in May, but I’ll try to hit two in June! The plan was to go to my first-ever Orange Theory class, but I couldn’t coordinate schedules with my friend who coaches there. I’ll make it happen this month, though!

House- As springtime quickly seems to turn into summertime, that means lawn care is in full effect! Typically, the lawn will get mowed twice a week, weed-whacking follows, and lots of little things here and there. The more fun project, however, is the constantly evolving garage gym we have. I don’t work out there often, but Em does, and it’s great to continue to create a space that we can escape to whenever life gets too busy!

Other- One of the music festivals we go to often happened this past month, so we spent a few days in Las Vegas attending EDC! It was held a month earlier than last year, and that meant the weather was PERFECT. We had an absolute blast!

Over the last month or so, I’ve started a few new segments on my blog. The first is my Weekly Throwdown, where I share quick workouts and exercises to keep you practicing skills and have some fun! The second is my Tip of the Week. In those videos, I’ll try to share tips and tricks on how to move better, and get more out of your time in the gym. Finally, I’m slowly reviving my “Drive Time with Smashby” videos. Since I’m always running all over town, sometimes the car is the only time where I have uninterrupted blocks of time to answer questions some of you ask. If you’ve checked out any of these videos, I hope you enjoy them!

What’s going on with all of you? I’d love to hear some of your accomplishments in May, or goals for June!

Murph2018WeightVests

Smashby’s Tip of the Week 6/1/18

Posted: June 1, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Instead of talking about a way to improve how you do a single movement, this week I talk about some of the best ways to move our most expensive pieces of equipment in the gym: Rowers and Bikes.

Athletes can sometimes be careless when it comes to moving them, but when a brand new rower costs nearly $1,000, it’s a really good idea to take care of these things that we use almost every day in the gym.

Check out the video below, and please pass it along to someone who you think could benefit from it!

Smashby’s Weekly Throwdown 5/28/18

Posted: May 28, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Happy Monday! Want to hang out?

Working on hanging in different positions help a lot of aspects of your fitness. Not only can it help identify mobility imbalances between shoulders, it can also help improve overall shoulder and grip strength, while allowing you to work on breath control through both passive and active shoulder positions.

Give these drills a try, and let me know what you think about them!

Drive Time with Smashby: Bouncing Back

Posted: May 26, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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An athlete asked for my advice to help them plan their “return to sport” after some time out of the gym. Whether your training stops due to injury, illness, surgery, or just vacation, it can be really unsafe to push too hard after you’ve been out for several weeks or more.

My advice for most athletes in this context is fairly simple and consistent, regardless of the circumstances: “Build back slower than you think you should.”

A lot of us are Type-A, chargers, achievers, and go-getters. Lifting lighter weight, scaling back reps or rounds in a workout, and taking more rest days can feel like torture. But at the end of the day, I think the big picture needs to be taken into account. If you “Rx” a workout before your body is ready, the recovery time can be extended exponentially, and old injury could be aggravated or made even worse, or new imbalances could be introduced due to overcompensating. Give yourself time to recover fully. Reestablish healthier and safer movement patterns. See and feel how your body reacts to training at 50% for a few days, then 55%, then 60%, and so on. In many cases, slowing down more than you want can lead to a strengthening of movement that actually will help you come back even stronger than before.

As always, I’ve got a lot more to say on the subject, but I tried to keep the video to around four minutes. If anyone would like to continue this conversation, leave a comment and let’s keep it going.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend, friends!

Smashby’s Tip of the Week 5/25/18

Posted: May 25, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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There is so much discussion and debate out in internet land about the proper way to do a kettlebell swing. Is Russian (eye level) the proper end range of motion for a rep, or should one go overhead (American) each time? Good news, I don’t care!

This episode is instead going to address my favorite way of setting up for the first rep of every set; regardless of the height you plan to take your kettlebell.

Take a look, let me know if you like this strategy, and have a great weekend!

Smashby’s Weekly Throwdown 5/21/18

Posted: May 21, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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After a quick weekend trip to Vegas, the next Weekly Throwdown is here!

Last week stability work was designed to improve comfort level and stability on the rings. This week, we’ll focus on shoulder, hip, and mobility work with some dumbbells.

Complex:

Double-Arm Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Double-Arm Standing Dumbbell Push Press

Double-Arm Dumbbell Sotts Press

Double-Arm Dumbbell Thruster (out of the bottom position)

Alternating-Arm Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Alternating-Arm Standing Dumbbell Push Press

Alternating-Arm Dumbbell Sotts Press

Alternating-Arm Dumbbell Thruster (out of the bottom position)

 

All of that is ONE round!

I’m challenging you to complete 7-10 rounds of that entire complex. The focus is NOT on increasing weight each round, necessarily. In fact, many people will be limited by their mobility in the bottom position of the squat for the Sotts Press. So if you struggle to get that arm/those arms locked out overhead safely in that bottom position, keep the weight light and focus on controlling reps.

Things to think about:

  • Pause at the top of each rep
  • Be deliberate with your breathing, exhaling as you punch/drive up
  • Rest between the double-arm and alternating arm round if you need to
  • Only increase weight if form allows
  • This is for technique, not for speed
  • Try to complete 7-10 rounds of the complex

Have fun with this one!

Smashby’s Weekly Throwdown 5/14/18

Posted: May 14, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Unlike the first few weeks of this series, this week’s throwdown isn’t a workout at all. Instead, it’s a grouping of stability exercises that can be practiced to help improve a variety of movements we see in CrossFit.

First, the “Active Deadhang” from the high rings. With these, athletes can practice keeping their entire body engaged while hanging from the rings. Improving control in this position can lead to more powerful movements while hanging from the bar (such as pull-ups, toes to bar, or muscle-ups), as well as ring exercises as well (like a ring muscle-up, ring pull-ups, or toes through rings.)

Then, we move to the rings at “Medium Height” for a static hold. Spending time in that “Support Position” will help strengthen the core and shoulders. More control there will improve power and endurance in ring dips, and the second half of a muscle-up!

Finally, the “Ring Plank” position. Here, even more than with the other holds, the hollow position can practiced under the most control. Holding a plank with the hands directly underneath the shoulders, and that belly button sucked in tight to the spine, athletes can spend time under tension to emphasize proper engagement of the entire midsection!

This week’s challenge is to complete three rounds of a single maximum effort hold in each position. The expectation is that as soon as form starts to suffer, the attempt is over. Take a look at the video below, give it a shot, and let me know how it goes!

Sunday Status Update 5/13/18

Posted: May 13, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Here’s last week’s recap and my goals for the upcoming week.

Last week:

  • Fitness
    • Snatch day included 3 singles at 83%, which for me is 205lbs. Always glad to not miss a single snatch rep over 200lbs!
    • Deadlift day called for a moderately heavy triple. I wanted to hit 405lbs with no belt and feel strong, and I did.
    • I was convinced to do the workout Triple Three with some friends this morning. That’s a 3,000m Row, 300 Double-Unders, then a 3-mile Run. My goal was to finish under 40 minutes… but I did not. Double-Unders were a disaster today, otherwise it would have happened.
      • Row was done in 11:33 (1:56.9, 1:56.9, 1:56.0, 1:54.3, 1:53.0 or so pacing by 200m), DU’s mostly in sets of 20-30, and then my run was a 22:54 (7:48, 7:44, 7:17 splits). Final Time: 40:25
  • Other
    • “Drive Time with Smashby “is a segment I used to feature on my blog years ago. With a few questions from some of you piling up that you wanted me to answer, instead of waiting for the perfect time to answer them in writing I’m going back to finding time to answer them when I can; driving from job to job! The question this week had to do with how to approach jealousy in the gym.

This week:

  • The alarm goes off just after 4am Monday through Thursday, so getting to bed earlier is going to be a must.
  • Leave for vacation on Thursday! Just need to pack and clean during my free hours this week. I cannot wait!

Alright, your turn. What’s going on with all of you?

Pic of the week is of my little man, Bacon the Corgi. It feels so good to come home every night and have this little guy run up and greet me! He may only weigh 24lbs, but these judgey eyes know they really run the house. This look said, “I know you needed your second hand to take the picture, but that means that it stopped petting me for a second. Please place your hand on my back once again. Thank you very much, sir.”

BaconJudgey

Smashby’s Tip of the Week 5/11/18

Posted: May 11, 2018 in Media, Training
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The next week of Smashby’s Tip of the Week is live, and it’s the final of my four week handstand push-up progression!

Although the video is a bit long, I cover a lot of information.

The first three weeks focused on my process for teaching athletes how to safely get upside down and support their own body weight. This final week moves through progressions I use to continue to build confidence in athletes, along with timelines for when I think the next step should be t

Here’s a snapshot summarizing my 4-week series:

  • Learn and progress through the steps to safely learn Wall Climbs/Wall Walks
  • Learn and progress through the steps to safely learn a Headstand
  • Learn and progress through the steps to safely learn a Handstand
  • Build strength and control through the use of Negatives
  • Learn and progress through steps to safely apply Kipping to Handstand Push-Ups

What did you think of this series? Did you find it helpful? If not for yourself, do you think it’s a good way to teach other athletes?

Let me know in the comments, and let’s talk about this. If it’s good, I would love to share it with others. If it sucks, help me improve my content so it can help others.

Thanks in advance!

Drive Time with Smashby: Jealousy

Posted: May 9, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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The day has finally arrived! Drive Time with Smashby is BACK!!

Today’s topic: Jealousy in the gym

How can you be less jealous of others around them, and how can you allow jealous people around you to effect you less?

I’d love it if you could take a few minutes to watch my video below, and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Agree with me? Great. Why? Disagree? Let’s talk about it!

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

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