As we enter a new year (and decade!), I have been thinking to identify a few key guiding principals that can help me set clear and effective goals for myself; as a person, a coach and trainer, and an athlete.
Here are the four that I came up with:
1- Judge Less
2- Collaborate More
3- Prioritize Recovery
4- Have Fun!
In the video below, I go into a bit more detail for each.
It’s important to note that these are not THE four pillars I think one should follow, they’re just four OF the pillars I think one CAN follow! They’re the ones I’m using to start guiding my goals for the next year.
Like with most things, I’m sure they’ll grow and change with time.
What are your thoughts?
How are you going about setting yourself up for a successful year? I’d love to hear!
And if there’s anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask.
I hope that your 2020 is off to a great start so far, and that you’re ready for more stuff from me as we kick off this next decade of fitness and fun.
Back when I started the blog, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a bunch of fitness posts. Yes, my goal is to share things that hope to be educational and informative, but I also want to share things that are entertaining and fun. This video definitely meets that criteria.
It’s the final week of the 2020 Open, and this workout is a good one!
Not a ton of time to share strategy via text here since I’m trying to get this posted before people wake up to hit those 5am classes, but I’d love for you to watch the video at the bottom of this post and let me know what you think.
Here’s my main strategy, though… there are three primary groups that will be attacking this workout.
Group 1:
These athletes don’t expect to get a single Muscle-Up. As long as you can complete Rx’d Wall Balls and Rowing, this workout is a SPRINT to finish 80 Calories and 120 Wall Balls. Quick sets, quick transitions, then spend the rest of the time working to get your first-ever Muscle-Up!
Group 2:
These athletes can complete some, even many, of the 40 required Muscle-Ups. This group should STILL plan to reach their tie-break time in a decent split, but they should sprinkle in their muscle-up reps throughout the process in order to accumulate as many reps as possible while they’re more fresh! This group should definitely begin the workout with a few muscle-ups while they’re most fresh.
Group 3:
These athletes plan to complete the workout in 20 minutes or less. Athletes of this ability level are really good CrossFitters, and I think they should view this as essentially “40 Muscle-Ups for time.” What does that mean? I think they decide reasonable sets and reps for how they plan to complete their 40 reps, and then break down the Calories and Wall Ball sets to fit around those Muscle-Ups.
Regardless of how far athletes hope to get, I think it’s critical to identify one’s main weakness out of the three movements. What I mean by that is, if Muscle-Ups start failing first due to shoulder fatigue, I believe the majority of Wall Ball reps should be saved towards the end of the workout. Prioritize movements based on expected levels of fatigue.
We all know each of these movements is “full body” and require cardio, so the goal needs to be to ensure quality reps, no/few misses, and a steady pace throughout.
It’s the final week of the 2020 CrossFit Open. I hope you all have had as much fun competing as I did.
More than that, I hope you found my advice over the last five weeks to be helpful.
As always…. Good Luck, Have Fun, I Believe In You!
Workout 20.4 was released tonight, and it’s a ton of Box Jumps, Clean and Jerks, and either Weighted Step-Ups or Pistol Squats. Just like last week’s workout, I think there will be three main groups of “Rx’d” athletes for this one.
Group 1 – Those not expecting to make it past the Pistol Squats
This is the group that I’m encouraging to GO out of the gates today! Thirty box jumps, fifteen of the lightest clean and jerks, thirty box jumps, fifteen heavier clean and jerks, thirty box jumps… TIE BREAK! Get there as fast as you can.
Since “tie-break” times are logged after every set of jumps, there will be thousands of people at each round’s cut-off. Therefore, the fastest you’re able to get through your final set of box jumps, the higher your ranking will be. If you think, or know, that it’s unlikely you’ll get through a single pistol squat, your goal is to get through your 90th box jump as fast (BUT SAFELY) as possible. For many athletes, that will mean “touch and go” on clean and jerks and a fast tempo through all box jumps.
Once you finish that last box jump, you’ve got the rest of the workout to complete your final set of 10 clean and jerks, and then work on getting any pistol squats!
Group 2 – “Some” pistols and maybe “some” of the fourth set of clean and jerks
If completing a solid number of pistol squats is likely in your wheelhouse, pace the first three rounds of the workout a bit more. If your legs are fried and your heart rate is out of control after your third set of clean and jerks, it will be much more challenging to compose yourself enough to hit 30+ pistol squats and some heavy clean and jerks.
When that barbell weight starts to reach your max range, be sure to really dial it in before pulling that bar off the ground. Speed and aggression will be your best friend… not diving under the bar recklessly and hoping to be able to bounce your way out of it. Brace that core and go!
Group 3 – Expect to at least make it to the second-to-last clean and jerk bar
This group is aiming to complete as much of this workout as possible before the 20 minute time cap stops them. That means they’ll be working out for twenty whole minutes… that’s a long time!
I view the first three rounds of this workout as the equivalent of “getting through Diane” last week. If you sprint through it because the movements are easier and the weights are lighter, but then you’re out of breath and fatigued when the movements get more challenging and the weights get heavier… that doesn’t make too much sense to me. Be prepared to arrive at the first pistol squat, put on your game face, and *then* put your nose to the grindstone.
The name of the game during those final few rounds is going to be “No Missed Reps” for most athletes. Don’t rush through pistols and lose your balance. Don’t rush barbell reps and miss the jerk because you weren’t recovered enough after a heavy clean. Finally, I want to make sure athletes are prepared to squat their cleans in case that bar feels heavier than expected by the time you get to them. During your warm-ups, work up to the heaviest weight you hope to hit, and throw in some squat cleans and split jerks along the way so you’re ready if and when it comes to that mid-workout.
As I said with the heavy deadlifts last week, many of us will be performing heavy clean and jerks while we’re really tired. Please be safe.
I’d love it if you’d watch my strategy video below and let me know what you think, and if it helps you at all.
As always, “Good Luck, Have Fun, I Believe In You!”
Another Open Workout is released, and it’s our first repeat of the 2020 Open Season. Workout 20.3 is a re-do of CF Games Open Workout 18.4. After going back and watching the video and reading the post I wrote for this workout back in 2018, I don’t really think I’d change my advice on how I think people should approach this one.
For that reason, I’ve posted the link to my entire 18.4 review at the bottom of this post!
The quick summary of my thoughts, however, is that I think there will be three main groups of athletes for this one.
Group 1 – Those Deads Are Heavy and/or Nope, Handstand Push-Ups Are Not My Jam
Since “tie-break” times are logged after every set of deadlifts, there will be thousands of people at each round’s cut-off. Therefore, the fastest you get through your final set of deads, the higher your ranking. If you think, or know, that it’s unlikely you’ll get through a single HSPU, your goal is to get through your 21 deadlifts as fast (BUT SAFELY) as possible. That could mean 21 seconds in 21 reps, tie-break time noted… and now you’ve got 8 minutes and 39 seconds to try and work through your first handstand push-up.
Group 2 – Diane I’ve Got… The Rest, I’m Not So Sure
If completing 21-15-9 of Rx’d Diane in 9 minutes or less is likely, but you’re not quite sure if you have much to offer for the second workout of heavier deadlifts and handstand walks, I think you should view this Open workout as, “How fast can I get through Diane?” Period. If it takes you 6 minutes to complete it, you have 3 minutes to get as many reps as possible of the second workout. If Diane takes you 8 minutes and 30 seconds, that still gives you 30 seconds to try and get in a few deads at the heavier weight.
Group 3 – Heavy Deads and Handstand Walks all day, baby!
If you fit into this category… congrats! You’re a beast. Pace this like you’d pace most normal CrossFit Open workouts. You need to be smart and realize that for most humans, trying to handstand walk when your shoulders are crushed typically doesn’t end well. If you plan to get to the handstand walks, my advice is to be patient enough to really fight for each 5 foot increment. Some people just flip upside down and hope for the best. Don’t get 4 feet in a row, then get charged a no-rep, four different times because you’re too tired. Be patient, regroup, and make every attempt at HS walk count.
Regardless of the version you choose, remember that you’re about to do a bunch of really heavy deadlifts, at presumably a very fast speed. Heavy deads are likely one of THE MOST COMMON ways that people injure themselves in this sport of exercise racing we all love. Please don’t become another statistic! Keep your core tight, and keep your movement sound. As fun as it is to sprint with a heavy barbell, I’d rather you be able to walk tomorrow. Please be safe.
Since my video this week is 13 minutes long, I’m going to keep the writing in this post short.
Workout 20.2 is:
20 Minute AMRAP
4 Dumbbell Thrusters
6 Toes to Bar
24 Double-Unders
Here’s the basic gist of my advice-
Find a pace for each of the three movements you can maintain at a “forever” pace. If you come out too hot, the last half/quarter of the workout is going to be spent trying to keep it together.
Transitions – Keep your gear as close together, and as neatly organized as possible the entire time. Don’t waste 1-10 seconds per round trying to pull your dumbbells back together or untwisting your jump rope.
Break before you fatigue – If you know you’re going to be wrecked trying to hit 24 DUs in a row, break it up on purpose, take a breath, then continue.
Find a sustainable pace – If you get 3+ more rounds in the first half of this workout than you do in the second half, I think you went out too hot. I’d rather you find a pace that allows you to feel STRONG at the halfway point and THEN turn it on.
Final question I get asked a lot-
Should I “Rx” or “Scale” this workout?
If you care about your “Open Ranking” AND you have the ability to physically perform even ONE rep of each of the movements, I think you should go Rx’d. Remember, if you complete ONE REP at the Rx’d weight, you’ll rank above every single person in the world who completes this workout scaled. That means if it takes you 20 minutes to do 3 reps of double dumbbell thrusters at Rx’d weight, but you can do it, I think it’s worth it to get a score of “3” Rx’d!
However, if your goal is to get a good workout in and sweat for 20 minutes, Scaled is 100% the way to go! Find weights and modifications that will allow you to keep moving, and remember that the best of the best in the world will get close to (or more than) THIRTY rounds of this workout completed.
I don’t know about you, but the last time I completed 1,000+ reps of ANYTHING in 20 minutes was….. probably never. When scaled appropriately, this will be a sneakily effective workout, regardless of the modifications used.
Hey, have fun out there, folks!
At the end of the day, it’s only fitness.
I haven’t made a Meal Prep video in a long time. For my first one back, I decided to share the recipe I’m asked about the most; how I cook White Rice.
It may seem like a very simple recipe, and that’s because it is a simple recipe! The point is, that people have asked how I make it because they’ve struggled with cooking rice on their own in the past.
Thankfully, 100% of the people who have asked me for this and given it a shot have said it worked perfectly for them. I hope that if you give it a try, it works for you, too.
I’m excited to announce that I’m ready to start contributing to my blog again!
I started smashbytraining.com almost a decade ago to share information I’ve accumulated over my lifetime to help other people feel more empowered to improve their health, fitness, and overall wellness.
After another break due to “life getting in the way,” I think I’m ready to start creating content again! I welcome your questions/requests, always appreciate your feedback, and am excited to continue to build this community of friends all over the world.
In March of 2010, I sat down in a leasing office to sign my name on the dotted line at my new apartment, when the employee looked at me and said, “CrossFit, huh?” She told me that she had been seeing that word (that was written on my shirt) pop up more and more over the last few months. “I know,” I told her, “this fitness program is going to be the next big thing!” She let me know that there was another person in the complex that was into it, and that I’d probably recognize him because he was huge, had red hair, and was always smiling. While I was excited to hear that another person nearby did CrossFit, I was far too stressed with work, unpacking a new apartment, and trying to find where my new gym would be (since I moved across town) to try and hunt down some stranger.
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Fast forward a few weeks. I was getting ready to compete in my first-ever CrossFit Competition; the 2010 Mountain Sectionals. I was simultaneously nervous and really pumped, and to make things even more exciting, the night before the competition in typical “March in Denver” fashion, it snowed. A lot. This was particularly interesting since one of the events on the first day involved an outdoor run component. After heading outside to scrape the snow off of my car the next morning, so early that the sun was still down, I was ready to go. I pulled out of my parking space but before reaching the end of the lot, I noticed someone else scraping their car. This person was huge. And while I couldn’t see whether or not he had red hair under the beanie he was wearing, he was definitely smiling. This *had* to be the other guy in the complex who did CrossFit, I thought to myself.
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Mustering up the courage to introduce myself to a complete stranger (which I don’t know about you, I find a lot more difficult to do as an adult), I rolled down my window and asked, “are you on your way to compete at Sectionals, too?” “Yep!” he said back through his smile. “I’m Tom,” I told him, “I’ll let you warm up your car and we can chat when we get there.” “Sounds good,” he said. “My name’s Kevin, by the way.”
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And that was the day I met Kevin Ogar.
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After a proper introduction at the event, we hit it off, hung out together for a large portion of the competition weekend, and it became immediately clear that this guy had the kind of magnetic personality that just pulled people in. Strangers were walking over to introduce themselves to him and saying how impressed they were with his performances. He was going out of his way to compliment other competitors and, when they asked, he would give them feedback on how they could move better.
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Later that weekend, we talked about when we started CrossFit, where we trained, and what we did for a living. I shared that I worked out alone in a Bally Total Fitness, and that I’d get some pretty strange looks running from the treadmill area back to a barbell to do some deadlifts and then back to the treadmills. Kevin mentioned that he was actually a coach at a CrossFit gym, and I told him that I had been considering getting certified to coach, myself. Without hesitation, he walked me over to the owner of the gym where he worked and introduced us. After a few conversations with her, I was told that once I completed my training certification, I was basically hired. That was it. I was going to be able to coach CrossFit. I couldn’t believe it!
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For the next few years, while working five days a week at my “day job,” I’d also coach CrossFit two to three evenings. Each new member I brought in felt like a victory. Each PR I watched made me feel like I had done it, myself. I started to see the positive impact I was having on people’s lives, and it was so rewarding. Then, one day, I was given the opportunity to coach full-time. While it was one of the scariest decisions I’ve ever made, I jumped at the chance. I haven’t stopped coaching CrossFit since.
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As we look back through particular moments in time, we can rarely grasp the true impact they might have on our lives. That one moment, saying hello to Kevin in the parking lot of our apartment complex, helped shift the course of my life to get me where I am today.
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Today, I want to thank Kevin Ogar for selflessly helping me get my first CrossFit coaching opportunity in 2010. I also want to thank all of the gym owners who have trusted me along the way to do my best to add value to their businesses. It’s a risky move allowing a new face to come in and work with your members that you’ve worked so hard to attract, and I’ve truly cherished each opportunity. Finally, I’d like to thank each and every athlete with whom I’ve had the privilege to work; especially those of you that followed me from gym to gym. Your friendship and support meant, and still means, the world to me. It still blows my mind to think that I’m doing what I love for a living, and that it’s still as rewarding now as it was when I first started.
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Life is pretty good, and I’m thankful that mine has taken this trajectory to lead me where I am today.
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My reason for writing this post is to hopefully inspire you to think of someone who has positively impacted your life and tell them! Even if they know. Remind them again. The impact that it could have on them today could be far greater than you could ever imagine. If you want to share that story with me, or tag them on this post, I’d love to hear about it!
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The picture below is from my very first day at the gym where Kevin helped me get hired. We did a workout together, he destroyed me (as he always did), and I was thrilled to finally have a CrossFit gym to call my own! Good times.
Thrusters and Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups for 19.5. A lot of us knew they were going to show up, but I don’t know anyone who predicted a workout this brutal! It’s more reps than Double-Fran, and is more challenging because of the chest-to-bars. Ouch!
My three main pieces of advice for this one are as follow:
Planned Sets. This applies more to the Thrusters than the Pull-Ups. One way to do this (if you are proficient with the Thruster weight), could be to break down your Thrusters into three sets each round. Meaning, for the round of 33, complete three sets of 11 reps. Or, if you’re like me and don’t like needing to repeat the same number of reps more than once, go 13/11/9. Then, for the set of 27 reps, go 11/9/7, and so on.
Control. Controlling your hear rate will be critical, especially with the Thrusters. Coming out of the gate too hot will lead to a ton of standing around by the time you’re halfway through this workout. On pull-ups, know yourself and your abilities before this workout begins. Completing a couple of huge sets at the beginning will lead to most people frying their grip early on. This is going to be a longer workout. Be smart, conserve your energy, and complete steady sets from the start. It’ll be much better to save a little energy for the end of the workout than to crushed for the last two rounds!
Double Fran Plus! The workout Fran is 21-15-9 Thrusters and Pull-Ups. This is more than double that volume. And with Chest-to-Bars! I say that again because I think you need to remember that from the very beginning of this workout! Break up your sets often and early, just minimize your rest between them. Keep yourself moving.
If you watch my video for the week, as always, please let me know what you think and if it helped you at all.
This is the final week of the 2019 CrossFit Games Open! Let me know how it goes for you!
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