Today’s WOD  (workout of the day) will be 13.2. This was the second workout in the 2013 CrossFit Open. It should give you a taste of what the workouts might look like this year.

There are three days left to sign up for the CrossFit Open. Don’t miss out on the fun (seriously it’s fun) We will be doing open workouts on Saturday’s at 11 AM but for those that cannot make it we will provide a coach that can judge your workout for you at another time and date that week.

Sign up at games.crossfit.com

STRENGTH WOD

Shoulder to Overhead

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SUNDAY: OPEN GYM 9AM – NOON

 

 

OPEN GYMS GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME IN AND MOBILIZE, DO SOME ACTIVE RECOVERY OR WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES! 

 

BUT PLEASE DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE NEED FOR RECOVERY DAYS!!!

 

If you have been doing CrossFit for a while now, you know it works because of the high intensity you achieve with each WOD. But our bodies can’t withstand that kind of intense exercise every day – so we need to EMBRACE THE REST DAY.  Here is some guidance we can offer, but you MUST listen to your body first and foremost!

CrossFit recommends athetes follow a 3 on 1 off program, which means 3 days of doing the workouts and taking the following day to rest.  Most athletes will need that day of rest in order to allow the muscle tissue to regrow and the body to recover from the training. If someone is brand new to CrossFit, your body might not be able handle that much intensity/work initially.  The Cove offers programming 6 days a week, Monday-Saturday, and while we love seeing each of you, we do NOT want to see you every day.  Often times life schedules need to dictate workout schedules. We realize not everyone’s schedule is the same and some will come in on certain days, and some on others. Some folks like to come in Monday-Friday and take the weekend off (5 on and 2 off). This may work for some, but what needs to be monitored is how that athlete is responding to the training. On the 4th and 5th day in a row, are they still feeling strong and are they still able to hit the conditioning portions of the workouts hard and keep the intensity that we are looking for in order to gain results?  If not, go for walk, come in and row, stretch or ride the bike – but skip the WOD.

What tends to happen is you start enjoying coming to the gym so much because you are seeing results and you are making friends and getting connected to the community and you don’t want to take days off – but this can also lead to some nagging injuries if the individual is not listening to their body. We have seen it happen time and time again and, we too, have made this mistake more than once. So what does someone do on his or her rest day?  Taking a full day off to do NOTHING is definitely an option but you could also consider some ‘active recovery’ activities (from our friends at CrossFit Invictus):

NOTE ABOUT ACTIVE RECOVERY – The activity selected must be restorative for you. It can also be an opportunity to work on a skill (like swimming or rowing), but the effort expended should leave you feeling energized at the end of the session, not depleted. I would also always prefer to see active recovery done as soon after rising as possible on the active recovery days. It’s an opportunity to start some blood flowing and aid your recovery.

Aerobic Restoration ( 25-40 minutes of work at a 60-70% effort – easy, restorative pace)

* Swim

* Row (focus on mechanics, smooth and efficient with a very low stroke per minute pace)

* AirDyne (keep the pace conversational and relaxed)

* Cycling (get outdoors and enjoy the scenery as you ride)

* Hike (nothing crazy here, find a nice easy slope and go for a walk outdoors)

* Restorative Yoga

Mobility and Maintenance

* Choose 1-2 Thoracic Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 5-10 minutes with them.

* Choose 2-3 Lower Body Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 10-12 minutes with them.

* Choose 1-2 Upper Extremity Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 5-10 minutes with them

Inflammation Maintenance

* This could be a lot of things, but think in terms of compression, contrast baths, salt baths, castor oil packs, etc.

Nutrition Preparation

* Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.

Mental Restoration

* Different for everyone – could be meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.

 

Regardless if you are a competitive CrossFit athlete or just someone looking to get fitter – remember more is not always better, but better is better. Learn to listen to your body, learn to be ok with missing a day here or there in order to take care of yourself. You are only going to get stronger and faster if you allow your muscles a chance to recover.

These three need some recovery

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Saturday we introduce the Snatch in a WOD for the first time. The snatch is a complex lift that will be new to many of you, but no worries — we will teach you step by step how to do it safely and effectively.  It is a beautiful movement and really engages the entire body – and you’ll find uses so many of the principles we’ve been practicing including working from core to extremity, big hip extension and getting under the bar.  Here’s a video demonstrating the Hanging Power Snatch:

   

STRENGTH WOD

 

12 minutes to find a heavy load with 1 Snatch Grip Deadlift + 2 Hanging Power Snatches

 

WOD

7 Hanging Power Snatches

30 Double Unders

7 Rounds

Time Cap = 15 minutes

Fitness 55/75 (60 singles)

RX 95/65

RX+ 115/75

 

Jen must REALLY think box jumps are fun.  Good thing she’ll probably get to do them in the Open this year.  If you haven’t yet, talk to the Coaches about signing up! We’re hoping for 100% participation!

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Today we will be doing our first”girl” workout 1/2 Cindy. A “girl” workout is a  benchmark workouts that CrossFit athletes use to test their fitness.

Why are they named after women? Here is what Coach Glassman, the founder of CrossFit had to say, “I want to explain the workout once and then give it a name.  I thought that anything that left you flat on your back, looking up at the sky asking ‘what just happened to me?’ deserved a females name.  Workouts are just like storms, they wreak havoc on towns.”  

 

Top Ten Reasons to Do the CrossFit Open

BONUS: Masters division! I have never been so happy to be “old”

Just so everyone is aware, there is a $20 charge for doing the open that goes to CrossFit HQ. It’s annoying but well worth it. We are aiming for 100 percent participation for this event. The more people involved the greater the experience is

 Sign up at games.crossfit.com

   

Back squat 5/5/5/5/5 (same weight across, go heavier then last Friday)

 

“1/2 Cindy” 5 Pull ups 10 Push ups 15 Air Squats

10 Minutes

 

Elliott is excited to do 1/2 Cindy tomorrow

 

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