CFS Weekly Rundown (5/24-5/29)

Hey guys,

       You already know what time it is! A little late today but better late than never! I apologize to you guys. I have been tied up out of town this weekend so we are getting the Rundown out a little later than usual on this beautiful North Carolina Sunday. We have a lot of exciting things going on this week like the continuation of our Olympic lifting cycle, new T-shirt arrival, and Murph on Memorial Day! I also have a little surprise coming for you guys that I think everyone will thoroughly enjoy! The theme this week is going to be Power Rangers which should definitely take you back in time if you’re around my age! (Maybe it’s even still running for the kids these days?) nevertheless, let’s have a quick look at some announcements and then go ahead and dive into the week as I’m sure you are all anxious to do!

  • Memorial Day Murph: Monday, May 31st, we will have 2 Murph heats. These will be at 7am and 8:30am. You MUST register in advance for your heat! We will also be opening this up to outside members so feel free to invite anyone else that might want to just be with you. I will have a link available where they can fill out and pay for a drop-in…in ADVANCE! You guys have been prepping for this for the past few weeks so let’s get in here and hit this iconic hero workout as we honor all of those who have sacrificed for our freedom!
  • New House Tees: We have some brand new CFS T-shirts coming just in time for Memorial Day Murph! They will be $20 each and will be available for purchase this week!
  • Surprise: I have a little bit of a surprise for you guys this week just to show you our appreciation as members of this awesome community!

Monday: Murph Prep Monday continues this week (for the last time) as we hit “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”…or as you old salty CrossFitters may know it, “Angie.” This is a straightforward chipper of pull ups, push-ups, sit ups, and air squats. Remember this traditionally means you must complete one movement in its entirety before you can move onto the next movement. However, today if you would like to modify this workout and partition it you may but this would not be considered “Rx”for the day. Stimulus for this workout is going to be steady pacing throughout. Like always be sure to break things up early and often to avoid fatigue, especially on the movements that you may struggle with like pull ups and push-ups. After this we’re going to try to grab bars out and get in a quick snatch complex consisting of a snatch deadlift to mid thigh, a snatch pull from the ground, and then a snatch. We will just have four sets today and they will be based off some percentages so be sure to come to class prepared and with those numbers in mind to make for a smooth transition. Also remember that this is work that is meant to help us he good positions with proper technique so let that be your focus today on this complex. Good stuff!

Tuesday: raise your hand if your favorite was “Red Ranger.” Don’t be shy! Well depending on how you feel about aerobic conditioning that could change! Red Ranger will be three sets, one every seven minutes, of descending reps of calories on the rower and calories on the assault bike. The stimulus on this today is going to be hot intensity. We want similar times across all three rounds and potentially even slightly faster times each round. You are going to be fatigued but push to get it done as quickly as possible so you can get in some rest. After this we have a fun clean and jerk complex. This will be one squat clean with a 3 second pause in the bottom/receiving position. A second squat clean, a jerk dip, and then a jerk. If you’re not familiar with a jerk dip this is simply going through only the dipping motion of your jerk. You will not drive up hard and the bar will basically stay planted in your front rack position. This is to work on keeping a nice upright and smooth dip and will prime that movement for the jerk that will follow it in this complex. Be sure to get to class on time and really pay attention to your coach at the whiteboard!

Wednesday: “Blue Ranger” It’s definitely going to fall into the weightlifting Wednesday category! Basically today we will have a 15 minute AMRAP of snatches. It will be your choice if you would like to power or squat snatch these reps but you need to focus heavily on the stimulus and the goal for today as you approach scaling these weights. We will have four different snatch weights during this 15 minute workout. The first three weights will be 30 reps each, the last weight you will do as many times as possible in the remaining time. The goal is to get through at least all of the first three weights so please use this guard below. Weight one 40%, weight two 55-60%, weight three 70%, and weight four 80%. We would suggest starting off with touch and go reps where you are looking to hit 10+ reps every set. For the second weight try to think about fast singles completing a rep every 3 to 5 seconds. By the time you get to the third weight you want to hit smooth singles trying to complete a rep every 5 to 10 seconds. Finally when you reach your last weight think about hitting a rep every 20 or 30 seconds and be very mindful and deliberate as you pull the bar from the floor. Have fun with this one today and let’s get in some good smooth snatch work!

Thursday: Partner workout! “Lord Zedd” is going to be an 18 minute AMRAP where teams of two will alternate completing two full rounds each. That’s right, two rounds. So you will complete two full rounds and then your partner will complete two full rounds. Each round will consist of a shuttle run, kettlebell swings, handstand push-ups, and burpee box get overs. Stimulus today is moderate to high intensity. You want to try to move fast because you’re going to get a great rest while your partner is working. Keep a good drive on the shuttle run and then jump directly into the kettlebell swings. We want you guys to be able to finish the handstand push-ups in 1 to 2 sets every round and kipping is allowed. Remember because these are burpee box “get overs” you can use your hands to help on the box. Also the majority of the body must pass over the box! Again remember that we want high intensity so make sure you’re not over resting in your transitions from movement to movement. After this we have a really cool squad is that we will call front squat plus back squat. You’ll use five sets to work to a heavy set of 6 (3+3). You will unrack your bar and complete three front squats. rerack your bar and immediately dip your head under and unrack it to complete three back squats. There’s no rest between the front squats and back squats. Get after it!

Friday: “Pink Ranger” is going to be legit today! We are going to be working our way up a rep ladder of dumbbell floor presses and double unders! The dumbbell floor presses will start at six reps and will increase by four reps each round but the double unders will remain the same. 50 double unders after each set. This is basically a bodybuilder‘s dream turned nightmare. Good old fashion pump session with some cardio will make for a fun Friday! The stimulus they will be moderate intensity while trying to hold on to big sets of the floor press and keep your composure on the double unders. Make sure you don’t start out too heavy and pick a weight that you can do at least 12 reps comfortably on the dumbbells. Try to stay relaxed on the double unders, your arms by your side, and hands slightly in front of the body…Think within peripheral view. We can also modify the number of double unders so that you can stay moving. After this we are going to work on some jerks from the rack. Today this will be “behind the neck” jerks which are most peoples favorite Because the bar is essentially already in the right position behind your head. Will be working up to a heavy single in 10 minutes. Just try to go off of feel. If your body is tired stay at a lower weight or if you just need to work on some good form! Easy day!

Saturday: Such an awesome partner workout for you guys today! “Black Ranger” is a two part workout…each a different couplet! The first one will be a chipper of assault bike calories and power cleans. You’ll take a five minute rest and then go into a chipper of row calories and synchronize wallballs! There’s a 10 minute cap on each couplet so you need to push the pace with your partner and really stay moving! Besides the synchronized wallballs every other movement you will complete with only one partner working at a time. Really focus on learning when to switch with your partner and working together to play off each other strengths. Have fun with this one day and really push yourselves!

       It’s obviously going to be a pretty legit week for us here at CrossFit Simplicity! Isn’t it always?! Yes, the answer is yes! Week one of our new lifting cycle went so well and we can’t wait to start week two here and see how we can build on what we’ve started. We have some great workouts with lots of variance and variety that’s going to make this week really fun and engaging. Be sure to get in here as often as possible so that we can nail down this consistency and in turn some results! Again, I’m sorry about the delay this week but hopefully you guys had a chance to check things out and get prepared and excited for all we have in store. Now enjoy what’s left of your weekend and be sure to get some good rest and recovery tonight so we can hit it hard on Monday. See you all in class!