However, that is no excuse to sit back and be satisfied with your form and or strength. There is always improvements to be made.
I even had a personal victory messing around after my workout on Wednesday with a pr clean of 143 kg (315#). Here is a video for proof. (facebook). You might want to skip ahead to 1 minute. There is a lot of dilly dallying and I didn't have access to a video editor at the fire station.
So for anyone on the fence, come give Saturday strength class a try. Remember if you aren't getting better, the guys/gals in class are, and will be passing you very soon.
Onto your crossfit WOD 13.3 -
Several of you said you liked my thoughts on 13.1 so I thought I would talk a little more strategy for 13.3. Much of the information is the same as 13.1 but here you go anyways.
Wall Balls -
Crossfit HQ likes to give you something that will redline your heart right off the bat. 13.1 was burpees, 13.2 was sh*t tons of box jumps, 13.3 is Wall Balls. For those of you going for muscle ups at the end, pacing is important here. Most people like to bang out the biggest set of wall balls they can each time they pick up the ball. I would argue this is a mistake. That is a great way to get your lactic "pump" on and not be able to use your legs/lungs for the rest of the WOD. Pick a set that you can do and then rest for a given time, then do that set again, then rest for the given time, rinse and repeat.
For example I plan on doing 7 sets of 20 and one set of 10 with exactly 10 seconds in between sets. I have timed my wall balls and barring any missed wall ball attempts, this should put me in the 6 minute range to finish Karen.
Whatever pace you plan on, it isn't as important as your FORM. The reason this workout is genius is if you are the type to use your quads and arms to do the wall balls, you will be absolutely smoked for double unders (quads/calf) and muscle ups (shoulders/abs). If you do the wall balls with perfect form, your butt/hamstrings will hurt, but the other muscle chains needed for the DU/MU will be fresh as daisies (well, maybe fresh as dandelions). Lets review wall ball form:
Metallica: F*ck Yeah
So this guy is committing a few errors on his wall balls. They aren't blatant. I wouldn't call them bad, but they are going to really hurt him in this workout. First off NO REP! Get low enough. Come on, is this your first day? Number two, and this is the big one. He very slightly shifts his weight forward as he is about to throw. This is going to fry his quads for his double unders.
You must get your knees and femurs pointed outside the feet, and you must squat using the adductors(groin) and glutes (i like big butts I cannot lie). This will allow the heel to stay planted and you to minimally use the quads for wall balls.
Now watch Kahlipa's wall balls. The lower he squats, the wider his knees get. I bet his butt is burning (alliteration ftw) at the end, but his calves and quads are ready for work. There is a reason he is always in the top ten in the world and Metallica kid up there had to disable comments on his video. It has to do with awesome form (and brutal strength and conditioning).
So if you take nothing else from this, remember knees out!
Next Double Unders:
Molly M from Jump n Rope had this to say about the double unders. She is better than both you and me at double unders, so take her advice (thanks Julia Bandel):
"Moving along with 13.3. I am not the expert on wall balls, however I am expert on double unders. So if you want to save your breath AND your shoulders for your MU’s then please keep reading.!
Relax! Take a deep breath and remember these few small tips before tackling those 90 double unders. In fact, remember these tips for the rest of your life.
1. Consistency! Ask yourself, “what is my average consecutive double under number?”. The key word is average, not personal best. For this example let’s say it is 5. Set yourself up to get your 5 consistent consecutive double unders in a row, then rest for 3 seconds and go again. 13.3 isn’t a time to get a new PR and risk the chance of frustration and fatigue. This is a time to get to your happy place, then breath, and then get right back on track… next thing you know you will have done 90 double unders!
2. What are you looking at? Seriously, why do we all insist on looking at the ceiling when we do our double unders? Please remember to keep your gaze in one spot, preferably at the horizon (aka sunrise/sunset or just below) That head likes to drift up, causing tension in the shoulders and an opening in the arms.
3. Let your feet hang! When you are bounding there is no need to raise your knees, kick your toes up and strain in any which way or another. That is just another source of unnecessary added effort. Give yourself some hang time in the air, it isn’t a race. Oh, PS: please try to land in the same spot each time. Don’t be “that” guy or girl jumping all over the gym..and if you do move, move forward, gaze down..
4. You just got done with 150 wall balls, why would you even think about using your arms/shoulders? Ok, seriously, CF-HQ is SMART when it comes to programming, combining 150 grueling wall balls with 90 double unders can only ruin our bounds and fatigue our shoulders making for a miserable time, right? Wrong! You are going to think like a SMART and efficient jumper and follow these 3 simple tips
--Keep your hands near your hips – don’t let them drift away, or let lose sight of them behind your body!
--Keep your elbows bent! The straighter your arms become, the more arms and shoulders we tend to use. DO NOT Pin your elbows to your chest, give them some room to breath, try kicking them back behind allowing those shoulders to open up and breath!
--Drive your energy and focus into your thumbs and wrists. That is where true jump rope efficiency lives. Your arms/shoulders will be tired anyways, what a great time to give them a break and let your thumbs do the work.
5. Rope Size and Back ups! PLEASE check your rope size and make sure it is the correct length. Any rope that you stand on with 2-feet at a time and the ends of the handles come up past your armpits is probably TOO LONG! Or you love jumping rope inefficiently and burning your arms and shoulders out, fine then use a long rope. Lastly, every jump rope, no matter who made it, is a MOVING part! It does wear and tear, that is the fact of life. Have a back up rope nearby OR double check your rope before you compete in 13.3 to ensure it is in tip-top shape!
I will be doing 13.3 tomorrow and will keep you posted on my status and any forward thoughts that I can share with you all.
Good Luck, have fun and keep jumping!"
Relax! Take a deep breath and remember these few small tips before tackling those 90 double unders. In fact, remember these tips for the rest of your life.
1. Consistency! Ask yourself, “what is my average consecutive double under number?”. The key word is average, not personal best. For this example let’s say it is 5. Set yourself up to get your 5 consistent consecutive double unders in a row, then rest for 3 seconds and go again. 13.3 isn’t a time to get a new PR and risk the chance of frustration and fatigue. This is a time to get to your happy place, then breath, and then get right back on track… next thing you know you will have done 90 double unders!
2. What are you looking at? Seriously, why do we all insist on looking at the ceiling when we do our double unders? Please remember to keep your gaze in one spot, preferably at the horizon (aka sunrise/sunset or just below) That head likes to drift up, causing tension in the shoulders and an opening in the arms.
3. Let your feet hang! When you are bounding there is no need to raise your knees, kick your toes up and strain in any which way or another. That is just another source of unnecessary added effort. Give yourself some hang time in the air, it isn’t a race. Oh, PS: please try to land in the same spot each time. Don’t be “that” guy or girl jumping all over the gym..and if you do move, move forward, gaze down..
4. You just got done with 150 wall balls, why would you even think about using your arms/shoulders? Ok, seriously, CF-HQ is SMART when it comes to programming, combining 150 grueling wall balls with 90 double unders can only ruin our bounds and fatigue our shoulders making for a miserable time, right? Wrong! You are going to think like a SMART and efficient jumper and follow these 3 simple tips
--Keep your hands near your hips – don’t let them drift away, or let lose sight of them behind your body!
--Keep your elbows bent! The straighter your arms become, the more arms and shoulders we tend to use. DO NOT Pin your elbows to your chest, give them some room to breath, try kicking them back behind allowing those shoulders to open up and breath!
--Drive your energy and focus into your thumbs and wrists. That is where true jump rope efficiency lives. Your arms/shoulders will be tired anyways, what a great time to give them a break and let your thumbs do the work.
5. Rope Size and Back ups! PLEASE check your rope size and make sure it is the correct length. Any rope that you stand on with 2-feet at a time and the ends of the handles come up past your armpits is probably TOO LONG! Or you love jumping rope inefficiently and burning your arms and shoulders out, fine then use a long rope. Lastly, every jump rope, no matter who made it, is a MOVING part! It does wear and tear, that is the fact of life. Have a back up rope nearby OR double check your rope before you compete in 13.3 to ensure it is in tip-top shape!
I will be doing 13.3 tomorrow and will keep you posted on my status and any forward thoughts that I can share with you all.
Good Luck, have fun and keep jumping!"
Finally, time for Muscle ups:
Uh......... You are on your own here. Seriously, if you have good tips for banging out lots of muscle ups after that much work, feel free to comment or email me and let me know. I will be figuring it out right along side the rest of you guys.
Good luck everyone and have fun!.
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