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
The final workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Open is finally here! Annnddddd… it’s a workout that has already been featured twice before in other years. Workout 18.5 is the same as workouts 11.6 and 12.5. As someone who has participated in every single year of this wonderful event, I’ve done this particular WOD four times already!
It’s an ascending ladder of Thrusters (100lbs for men and 65lbs for women) and Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups, with a 7 minute time cap.
Thursters
This is a weight that I would consider “CrossFit Medium” for most athletes. Sets of 10-15+ should be possible fora lot of people when they’re fresh, however I do not suggest doing that many in a row. As is the case with all workouts like this that increase in volume as fatigue also increases, the strategy is to pace appropriately right out of the starting gate.
There are very few athletes that I would suggest going past the round of 6 or 9 unbroken. Instead, intentionally break reps every 3 to 6 reps, take short rests, and continue on your way. If you watch Rich Froning when he’d do thrusters in a workout, a lot of people commented how he was moving too slow after the workout started. He’d drive up, pause at the top of the lockout for a split second to take a quick breath, then repeat. Nearly 100% of those same people were wrong when he maintained a comfortable pace from start to finish.
Completing the round of 9 reps in under a minute means nothing for how someone completes this workout. Instead, hold a slower and steady pace for five-and-a-half to six minutes, then turning it on at the end. If you’re crushed after minute 3… you’re going to have a bad time.
Control your breathing. Control your lockout. Don’t crash at the bottom of your reps. Make sure the bar doesn’t bounce all over the place when you drop it. The name of the game here is to be steady and consistent. This is not a sprint.
Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups
My advice for these is very similar to that of the thrusters. Having the physical ability to do large sets when you’re fresh doesn’t mean you should do that here. I’m going to suggest most people complete sets of 3-5 reps at a time from start to finish, with short rest between attempts.
Finding a lower bar which allows for a quick reset of the grip can also lead to conserving energy over the course of seven minutes. Before starting the workout and running out of gas, experiment with timing a few larger sets of pull-ups with longer rests, and comparing them with shorter sets with shorter rest; even if that means quick singles.
Please don’t rip your hands on this workout! Jumping up to a high bar for every set of pull-ups will not only keep your heart rate higher, it will also lead to more fatigue of your grip and shoulders. Breathe. Pace. Take more breaks than you want!
Scaled Version
The thruster weight is lighter and the movement is “easier” for the pull-ups. Please be aware that while this may sound great, it’s even more reason for you to slow down and control your heart rate. I would call this a 75% effort workout to most of my athletes. Find a pace where you can keep it moving, but not red line. If you pace this appropriately, you’ll get really far. If not, you’ll be staring at a bar that isn’t even heavy for you, unable to pick it up because of how tired you are. Pace. Breathe. Keep moving.
Throwback Thursday
Since I’ve been in the Open since year number one, I came across a few throwbacks that I wanted to share with all of you. First, here is a video of my first attempt at 11.6. Please note my technique (especially on rep #3 of the first set of thrusters) and my unbelievably smooth and consistent technique through the entire seven minutes. My advice is to watch this video… and do your best to mimic NONE of it. So funny!! We were just kids, then!
Then, I came across one of my first ever CF Open Games Strategy videos. Why am I not wearing a shirt, you ask? It’s because I had just finished the workout and just got home. What better time to record a strategy video, and then pack for a flight that left in six hours taking you out of town for the weekend. Just another throwback gem from the Smashby Training blog! You’re welcome.
It’s the FINAL WEEK of the 2018 Open! Good luck, have fun, I believe in you!
Yes, I am one of those CrossFit athletes who has had a serious mancrush on Dmitry Klokov for some time. However, a 418lb. (190kg) THRUSTER!?!
Get out of town.
Push Press into a 5-Round WOD with Heavy Thrusters and Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups. Not a bad little Tuesday!
Coach Megan leading the troops
So get this…. Heather has been working with Megan for a few weeks on trying to learn the KIP for pull-up. Before the workout tonight she decided that she would do her first CrossFit workout with no bands on the pull-ups, and just do them as “strict pull-ups”, and one at a time. Well, cue the workout, and she’s off. ALL OF A SUDDEN, THIS HAPPENS!
(by the way… my phone ran out of memory while filming this. just know that she was linking 4-6 of these in a row, and it looked like a piece of cake. SO COOL, HEATHER!)
After the workout, I talked to everyone and asked a very serious question:
How many of you tonight did SOMETHING for the first time?
This meant either pull-ups with no band, chest-to-bar for the first time, a thruster with more weight than in any other workout… it didn’t matter.
EVERY SINGLE HAND WENT UP!!! You guys are so awesome 🙂
Workout of the Day
Strength:
Push-Press 3×3 warm-up, 10×1 @ 85%
WOD:
5 Rounds for Time
5 Thrusters (135#,95#) / 10 Chest to Bar Pull-ups / 150m Run
Sunday Funday’s workout this week was a little different. Usually during our workouts the movements are completely varied in terms of how they go, let’s say with one “pushing” movement and one “pulling” movement. Today I wanted to change that up.
We performed both Wall Ball Tosses AND Thrusters. On paper, these movements are very similar (start at the shoulders, stand up aggressively and throw your arms into the sky), but in practice, I wanted the athletes to feel how different it was to throw a round/irregular-shaped object in the air and then need to catch it, versus keeping an evenly balanced barbell safely in your hands. The crew did a great job today!
Workout of the Day:
4 Rounds for Time
20 Wall Balls / 20 Thrusters / 20 Double-Unders (or 40 Single Jumps) / 200m Sprint Run
Athlete Results:
Bad Boy Mike (20# / 65#)- 15:46
Alon (14# / 45#)- 24:13
Annie (6# / 15#)- 18:26
Casey (14# / 45#)- 21:48
Andy (14# / 15#)- 16:42
Tuesday night, Workout #3 of the 2011 CrossFit Games Open was released, and reactions are mixed in the CrossFit Community.
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 5 minutes of:
Squat clean (165lb / 75kg) / Jerk (165lb / 75kg)
One rep would basically just mean the athlete was able to Squat Clean the weight, but not lock it out overhead. This means that each “Round” is a successfully completed Squat Clean done any way (Squat Clean, Power Clean to Front Squat, etc) followed by a Jerk (Shoulder to Overhead, really). There will be a lot of people out there that at least start off with a Full Squat Clean Thruster.
Here’s our very own Greg Walker showing you all what a Squat Clean Thruster looks like. Keep in mind he weighs 152 pounds, but he’s throwing 165 pounds over his head like it’s nothing. WHAT A BEAST!!
IMPORTANT NOTE on Range of Motion and Judging:
At the top of the jerk movement, the barbell needs to be in line with the athlete’s HEELS. Make sure we’re not counting reps that are locked out in front of the toes!
Check out the video below from CrossFit clearly outlining the expectations for WOD 11.3.
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