Tuesday 110628

Front Squat
5-3-1-1-1

Then

For time:
21-15-9
Thrusters 75/55 lbs)
Burpees

Post total time.

Hero WOD - 'Daniel'

Tyler on last set of thrusters chasing Chris on pull ups...

SUNDAY 110626

'Daniel'

50 pull ups
400m run
21 thrusters (95#)
800m run
21 thrusters (95#)
400m run
50 pull ups


 Chris, Tyler, 'P.W.' Pat and Henry hit a Hero WOD Sunday afternoon...

Overhead squat 3-3-3

SATURDAY 110625

Deadlift 3-3-3

THURSDAY 110623

Row 4x250m

Chris giving pointers on the C2 rower...

WOD:

4 rounds of:

250m row

Rest 3-4 minutes between efforts

c.h.

Tuesday 110621

We're proud to have resident rowing expert and Naval Academy crew team alum teach us the fundamentals of rowing.
Plan to meet at the grandstands as usual. Then we'll make our way inside to the rowers.

Chris will take us through an instructional for approx 20 minutes. Then we'll hit our WOD

4 rounds:
250m row
Rest 3-4 minutes between each round

Post times.

Grace

SATURDAY 110618

WOD:

30 clean & jerks for time (135/95)

Everyone but Steven B. chose to do their own thing and go ground-to-overhead anyhow.  Steven did the prescribed squat cleans since we all need work on those...

c.h.

THURSDAY 110616

Mega Warmup

Back squat 3-3-3

Tuesday 110614

Take 20 minutes max to establish a 1RM Clean & Jerk

Then:
4 rounds for time of
10 Burpees
30 Double Unders

Weightlifting shoe reviews by KenCFY

"Weightlifting shoes? C'mon, are you serious? Do they really make that much of a difference?"

I had been crossfitting for about 5 months when I asked that question. After all, I saw all the other athletes at the box wearing those awkward looking shoes with their goofy soccer socks as if they thought they were trying to win a gold medal or something. I figured it was all about being part of the "cult", and I just dismissed buying those shoes altogether.

But as I became more proficient w/ the power lifts (dead, squats, and presses) and oly lifts, I became more aware of what my feet doing...or more importantly what they weren't supposed to do.  I realized how unstable I felt in a lift from setup and start to finish. Now 3 years later, I firmly believe a decent pair of weightlifting (WL) shoes is the single most important piece of equipment you can invest in to improve your performance NOW.

Check out this video to see what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrJfOi5rnlU&NR=1

You can spend anywhere from $60 to $200 on WL shoes. Now I'm not saying more expensive is better. But in some makes/models, you get what you pay for.

So here are a few pairs from least to most expensive. This list is by no means all-inclusive, but it should give you an idea of what's out there.

1. VS Dynamo (http://www.vsathletics.com/product.php?xProd=1917)
Ahhh, my first WL shoe ever. You never forget your first.
Pros: Great starter shoe; light (doesn't hinder pullups, for example); affordable price
Cons: Breaks down in a short period of time, velcro straps aren't all that sturdy; moderate lateral roll (more than I liked); slight forward roll; wasn't a big fan of black/red styling
Overall: Decent shoe for the price. But I should've paid a bit more for a pair that lasted longer

2. Rogue Do-Win (http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-equipment/rogue-do-wins/rogue-weightlifting-shoes.php)
Highly popular and perhaps the best-seller among crossfitters everywhere
Pros: Excellent shoe; above average durability; moderate weight - can still do many types of WODs (even with double unders); has slightly lower heel than VS and other models, which helps keeps hamstrings engaged in powerlifts; nice styling; less roll than the VS
Cons: $120 price tag + plus shipping may be too rich for your blood; women tend to have sizing issues
Overall: With the exception of the price, you can't go wrong here.

3. Nike Romaleos
Nike's holy grail answer to weightlifting comes in at way steep price but with excellent performance
Pros: Highly stable. It's like wearing ski boots. As long as you hit the ground flat, you're gonna stick. Virtually no lateral or forward roll. Excellent velcro strap system. Takes a beating - highly durable. These shoes love oly lifting. Nice styles.
Cons: $190 + plus shipping - Very steep price. Very difficult to perform other WODs - forget about box jumps and DU's are manageable but pretty tough. Pullups feel weighted if wear these.
Overall: Now I somewhat biased b/c I own a pair. No way in hell did I pay full price though. I picked mine up from Ebay for $140, and I'm so glad I did. I love these shoes, but I'm well aware of their limitations.

Well that was just a snapshot of the shoes I've either owned or tried on. They are obviously other makes and models out there. So do your research. But I guarantee that any WL shoe you purchase will make a quick and positive difference. Happy hunting!

CF Games Asia Regionals Live Feed

Chris is looking good, finished Day One in 7th place...!!!

Two boys from CF Hankook in Seoul are in 2nd and 3rd...

Here's the link to the live feed. Might be a small delay but not much...

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/reebok-crossfit-regional-asia

Check out Chris tomorrow at 10:50 or so for WOD 3.

21-15-9
315# deadlift
30" box jumps

WOD 4 at about 14:45

For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Kettlebell swings (53lb / 35lb)
100 Double-unders
100 Overhead squats (95lb / 65lb)

I will update those times on facebook as it changes tomorrow...

Saturday 110610 FIVE Minute Fran

FIVE Minute Fran

21-15-9 (95/65)

Thrusters

Pullups

 

Choose a weight or rep scheme to achieve a Fran time of 5:00 or less.

Rep schemes are:

21-15-9

15-12-9

12-9-6

 

Fran.  She's a dreaded bitch, ain't she? In my previous gym, we only programmed Fran 2-3 times a year. Our hope was that as our athletes strive for peak performance across different time and modal domains, the crossover effect into Fran would be achieved. In other words, Fran was only coming around 2-3 times a year, but you'd be ready when it's programmed.  Most of our athletes had success w/ this model as 3-5 months between Frans provided enough time to make significant gains.

 

Here's at CrossFit Yongsan, we program Fran more frequently. While that provides numerous opportunities to know where your Fran time stands, that tends to reinforce bad strategy...BADLY.  The conventional thought goes: I need to be able to do this WOD at Rx'd weights as soon as possible. Then, I'll focus my efforts on cutting down that time until I achieve sub 5-minutes - with this time, I'll be up there with the best. All I need to do is cut down on all that rest time, right??

 

But unfortunately, it's highly unlikely you'll achieve a significant time reduction if you did Fran say once a month or every several weeks. For example, say you've been crossfitting here at CFY for 6 months, did Fran 4 times, and always did it around 7-8 minutes. The last time you did Fran six weeks ago, you did it 6:45. So what are the chances you'll break 5-minutes tomorrow? Probably not that great.

 

But it doesn't have to be this way. Bottom line: you may have to give up going RX'd or scale even more and consider two other approaches:

 

Get to the RX'd weight, but cut down the reps to the point where the WOD can be done unbroken. For example instead of doing (7,7,7), (5,5,5), (3,3,3) on the thrusters, consider doing a "60% Fran," 12, 9, 6 on pull-ups and thrusters. But do it UNBROKEN! Learn what it feels like not to rest. The first thing you may find is that a "60% Fran" does not take 60% of the time; in fact, it may take as little as 40% the time. Much of the time on a full RX'd "Fran" is typically spent resting. The transition from doing each round in three sets to doing each round unbroken eliminates 12 breaks! Once you learn that you can do a "60% Fran" unbroken in, say, 3 minutes, your entire attitude towards the WOD may change. If you can do 60% in 3 minutes, then your goal should be raised to 70% in 3:30, then 80% in 4:00, until you're at 100% in 5:00.

 

The second approach is to do the full number of reps, but cut the weight until the reps can all be done unbroken. Instead of doing 95 lbs in 3 sets per round, cut to a weight that allows you to do each round UNBROKEN. If that means going to 45 lbs, so be it. If your "Fran" RX'd is, say, 7:30, what would it be with a 45 lb bar? 5:00? Less? Find out, and then make that time your goal as you steadily increase the weight back up to 95 lbs.

 

We're conditioned to think that when we do a WOD like Fran as RX'd, we're not scaling. Here's how to change that perspective: Expand the definition of RX'd to include a time limit, say 5 minutes (or pick your own time). Now, with three dimensions defining the WOD (weight, reps, and time) it's easy to see that most of us are always scaling.

 

When the WOD is done as traditionally thought to be "RX'd" but in more than, say, 5 minutes, we're scaling time. When the WOD is done in 5 minutes but with less than 95 lbs (or with band pull-ups) we're scaling force. And when the WOD is done in 5 minutes with 95 lbs but less than 21-15-9 reps (or less than full ROM) we're scaling distance. So really, we're always scaling. (If you've got a 5-minute "Fran" just redefine your standard to be a 4-minute "Fran")

 

It's all just a question of which dimension we scale. CrossFit is about constant variation. Considered varying your dimensions.

Tuesday 110607

Press
3-3-3
(Refer to your Press 5-5-5 on 6/19 and select weights accordingly)

Then

8 rounds of 20 secs on 10 secs rest of:
Tabata Back Squats 45/15
Tabata Deadlift 135/95


Post loads and total reps.

SATURDAY 110604

WOD at 0900 sharp. Don't be late. 10 burpees for every minute late (Henry)...

Foundations from 1000-1400...

THURSDAY 110602

Squat Clean 5-5-5