Smashby's Training Blog

Workout of the Day:
“Tabata This!”
For this workout, I’ll post the description below from the CrossFit Website.

“Tabata Row / Rest 1 minute / Tabata Squat / Rest 1 minute / Tabata Pull-up / Rest 1 minute / Tabata Push-up / Rest 1 minute / Tabata Sit-up

The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals.
Tabata score is the least number of reps performed in any of the eight intervals. Unit for the row is “calories”.”

Hardly an easy workout.  The only adjustment we made tonight was that the pull-ups were switched to jumping pull-ups.

Check out our two ladies, Carolyn and Kristin as they plow through the first round of push-ups. My requirement is that the chest touch the ground, and that the elbows are fully locked-out at the top of each rep. Very impressive ladies!

Tonight we had a guest in town, and Pilot Dan did an amazing job of keeping up, despite it being his first 24 hours at our elevation. Very impressive!

Since there was so many parts of the workout to keep track of, I will simply post an image of the results on the page. The numbers listed per person represent the fewest number of reps they had for each exercise.

Athlete Code:
K- Kristin
C- Carolyn
D- Dan
Cl – Clayton

Tonight, Carolyn was the lone soldier in attendance for what proved to be a brutal first-time workout.  I called it the “Terrible Tens” (not to be confused with the Filthy Fifty).

Workout of the Day:
10 Rounds for time of-
10 calories on rower / 10 burpees / 10 overhead squats / 10 double-unders (30 single jumps) / 10 steps walking lunge (holding a kettlebell with both hands at chest level)

The first part of the workout every round would be to row for 10 calories on the rower.  You can see Carolyn doing that below:

Instead of taking this workout to completion the first time out, we had a 30-minute cap on the time. Therefore, next time we do this, the goal will be to simply complete more of the rounds, in the same amount of time.

Athlete Results:
Carolyn (45lb OHS, 12kg KB)- 5 rounds + 10 calorie row + 6 burpees

Today was an important day for me as a coach. While CrossFit has many workouts dedicated to our servicemen who have given the Ultimate Sacrifice to protect our freedoms, until tonight, all of the soldiers were just names to me. With tonight’s Hero Workout, “Jack”, it hit a little bit closer to home. Some of my friends in the Seattle area (CrossFit SnoRidge) actually knew this Hero in person, so I was honored to have my athletes complete this WOD last night.

Here is an excerpt with a little background on Jack from the CrossFit website:
“Army Staff Sgt. Jack M. Martin III, 26, of Bethany, Oklahoma, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Wash., died September 29th, 2009, in Jolo Island, Philippines, from the detonation of an improvised explosive device. Martin is survived by his wife Ashley Martin, his parents Jack and Cheryl Martin, and siblings Abe, Mandi, Amber and Abi.” (http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/007130.html)

Workout of the Day:
“Jack” ~ As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 Minutes of:
10 Push Press / 10 Kettlebell Swings / 10 Box Jumps

Any time you’re doing a 20-minute workout, as hard as you can, it’s going to be a challenge, but the group tonight did an awesome job of maintaining proper form through fatigue! In the picture above you can see Ashley jumping up to the box. She actually decided mid-workout that she wanted to increase the height of where she was jumping. What a statement for her to make the workout even more difficult!

Athlete Results:

Ashley (15# Bar / 8kg Kettlebell) – 8 rounds + 4 Push Press

Clayton (75# Bar / 16kg Kettlebell) – 7 rounds + 5 Push Press

Kristin (35# Bar / 12kg Kettlebell) – 7 rounds + 10 Push Press + 10 Swings + 5 Box Jumps

Caro (45# Bar / 12kg Kettlebell) – 6 rounds + 10 Push Press + 10 Swings + 3 Box Jumps

Thank you guys so much for pushing through this workout today. I know our friends in Washington appreciate knowing that people around the world are honoring their close friend for everything he did for us. Rest in Peace, Jack.

Workout of the Day:
5 Rounds for time of-
100m Sprint / 15 Wall Balls / 20 Knuckles to Toes / 25 Jumping Jacks

Before we got into the WOD, we did some drill/strength work.  First was some running drills outside to try and work on that speed.  Carolyn is still making that ankle stronger, yet still held a great running speed. Then, we went back inside and did some deadlifts.

Today was the first day that we really spent some time on a Barbell Lift and some strength work before the main WOD, and I think it went well.  Deadlifts are a lot of fun when done right, and all of the athletes looked great.  With practice, these get a lot easier and more comfortable!

After that, it was time to hit the main workout.  Carolyn was first out of the gate, and held that position for the entire workout.  Kristin, as usual, did an awesome job of finishing strong, and ALMOST reeling her in at the end, but Carolyn held on and finished the workout first.

Clayton also did an awesome job, breaking down the sets into more manageable numbers when it was necessary.  I know I’ve said this before, but when he gets tired, he holds form beautifully. That is something to really be proud of, so great job tonight!

Athlete Results:
Carolyn (10# Med Ball)- 13:09
Kristin (10# Med Ball)- 13:11
Clayton (14# Med Ball)- 17:48

It was an awesome night at CrossFit Lakewood!

There were seven people that showed up to my third class in the new gym, and it was so much fun! Three of the athletes were first-time CrossFitters, three were returning regulars, and last but not least was Kristin. What an awesome group!

Workout of the Day:
Run 400m / 20 reps / Run 300m / 15 reps / Run 200m / 10 reps / Run 100m / 5 reps

The way this works is after running the distance listed, athletes complete the number of reps of the following exercises, in this order:
Squat Jumps / Push-Ups / Overhead Squats (w/ pvc) / Wall Sit Shoulder Press (w/ pvc) / Box Jumps / Burpees

Nothing about this workout was easy, but the way that everyone pushed and encouraged each other the entire time was inspiring. I hope to see all of you guys again!

Athlete Results:
Kristin – 25:30
Darcy – 29:08
Ashley B – 29:08
Clayton – 29:13
Karla – 29:24
Andy – 29:43
Johnny – 32:08

I’ve never done this before, but I think tonight’s workout deserves a “Moment of the Night”. As you can see on the video below, even at the end of a nearly 30-minute workout, Clayton’s form on his push-ups was absolutely perfect. For a second-time CrossFitter, I’d say the future is bright with this one! Great job to you, and to everyone else tonight!

Workout of the Day:
7 Rounds for time of-
7 Deadlifts (45#) / 10 Hand-Release Push-Ups

This workout is a modification of the workout posted on the CrossFit site from today, and I thought it was a good one.  Since yesterday’s workout was such a crusher, I decided to have today’s be much lighter and faster, with some technique and core-specific work thrown in.  Keeping your workouts constantly varied is key for the most effective all-around fitness in my opinion!

Some of you may have been wondering what a “hand-release push-up” is, so I took a video of Kristin doing them during the last round of her workout.  It just means that when your chest is against the ground, you literally remove your hands from the floor.  I saw them for the first time during this summer’s CrossFit Games.

Today I also did something for the first time… I did the “Pre-Test / Re-Test”.  This is where I will have the athletes perform some task (usually a max effort of some sort) prior to the workout.  Then, without their knowledge, I will have them re-test and complete the same task following the day’s main workout.  Why will I do this?  The easy answer is that I am trying to prepare athletes for the “Unknown and the Unknowable”.  There may be times in life where you need to give 100% of your effort, and then be asked to it again.  Since life will not always give you fair warning as to when this will happen, I won’t always do it either.  While this won’t happen often, don’t be surprised if you encounter this sometime.

Athlete Results:

Kristin – Main Workout – 7:50

 Today’s “Pre-Test / Re-Test” – 500 Meter Row

Pre-workout result – 2:03

Post-workout result – 2:06

Great job today, Kristin!

Tonight was the first workout in the new gym at CrossFit Lakewood and I could not have been happier!

Kristin showed up, and definitely got her moneysworth with this one, because it was not an easy workout at all.

Workout of the Day:

5 Rounds for time of-

200 Meter Run / 20 Wall Ball Tosses (10#) / 15 Ball Slams (30#) / 10 Push Press (45#)

Now I be very easily amused (and I am), but one of my favorite parts of the new gym is that we have a “real” clock on the wall that we can use for our workouts, not just my iPod.  Listen how excited Kristin gets when she hears that it *beeps* the “3, 2, 1…” too.  Yeah, celebrate the little things in life, people!

The other new toys the gym purchased last week were Slam Balls.  So I added those into this workout, too. 

I know I’m getting video-happy these days, but for me, they’re the most fun way to share how the class went with everyone.  Also, on this particular day, even with a super-long workout, the form was perfect.  As a coach, I love seeing that!

On the Wall-Balls, I look for the quick pace from rep to rep in order to maintain the efficiency of the movement.  With the range of motion, she goes into a full squat before standing up full and hitting the target with the ball.  On the Push Press, the clean to get the bar up looks great, and the hip drive to throw the bar overhead with the lockout looks awesome!  I think these two videos each deserve a BOOM!  So… BOOM… and BOOM! (one for each video… you know?)

Athlete Results:

Kristin- 31:11

Today was Bring Your Friend to the Gym Day!

Tonight was amazing. That’s all I’m going to say to start. Amazing! The group that came was so enthusiastic, the workout was really fun, and the result was incredible! Enough of my rambling, let’s get to the details.

Workout of the Day:
TEAM WORKOUT
-One Person Rows for 2:00-
While they row, the other person/people on the team complete reps of the following exercises in order for the entire 2 minutes
Sit-Ups
Push-Ups
Squat Jumps
Wall Balls
Single Jumps

The goal for this workout – In a 20 minute time period, have your team complete the farthest distance possible of ROWING.

So while one person is rowing as fast as they can for two minutes, the other person on the team (or people in the case of one team) are doing as many reps as they want of the exercise they’re on. The only thing that matters at the end, though… how far did your team row!?

Since we had 7 people in class tonight, we had two teams of two, and one team of three. While that meant that they had to row less times than the other two teams, it also meant that they were completing other exercises for twice as long before moving back to the rowers (meaning they were potentially more tired for their rowing portions?).

Andy and Clayton were two first-timers to my class tonight, and they did an incredible job! Josh and Hannah came back again, and it was so great to see them. Sarah and Timbers, my regular athletes, put on a clinic on rowing form, and that was awesome to see. Last and certainly not least, Ashley BOOOOOMer came to class again. She’s starting to make herself a regular at the gym. We would LOVE to see her more often!

At the end of this 20 minute workout, I never could have imagined the results being what they were!! The first guess I had was that the group with three rowers would have been ahead by a landslide because they all would have been less fatigued. What ended up happening, though, is that they pushed themselves so hard during the other stops that they were even more tired when they were at the rower.

The other two teams had one first-timer to CIA each, so I thought maybe their rowing would not have been as effective. Andy and Clayton did an amazing job of holding form and pulling some big numbers during their turns, though!

At the end of the workout, there is no one that could have predicted THIS outcome!!!

I am so proud of all of you guys. Thanks for making tonight’s class so much fun!