Friday 29, April 2016

Warm up:

400m run as a group
3 min AMRAP
20 KB swings
10 push ups
3 min AMRAP
10 goblet squats
10 pull ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

Mobilize

Strength:

Front squats
15 minutes
3 rep max

Metcon:

12 min AMRAP

3-6-9-12-15-18 and so on Front squats 60/40kg
15-30-45-60-75-90 and so on Double unders

Thursday 27, April 2016

Warm up:

400m run as a group
3 min AMRAP
20 KB swings
10 push ups
3 min AMRAP
10 goblet squats
10 pull ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes skill wok on double unders - if you dont want to work on double unders run or air dyne for 8 minutes

Strength:

20 minutes

Find a heavy 1 rep max for
Clean and Jerk

Metcon:

Grace Does Burpees

30 clean and jerks 60/40kg
* Every 5 reps you will do 5 burpees

Wednesday 27, April 2016

Warm up:

400m run as a group
3 min AMRAP
20 KB swings
10 push ups
3 min AMRAP
10 goblet squats
10 pull ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes skill wok on double unders - if you dont want to work on double unders run or air dyne for 8 minutes

Strength:

Deadlifts
2x10 lighter weight
2x8 medium weight
3x5 at 85%ish

Super set each set with 10 SLDL at 70/50kg

Metcon:

2x

30 v- ups add weight if you want a challenge
60 bicycles - 4 count
30 weighted sit ups
60 flutter kicks - 4 count
30 hollow rocks - add weight (med ball between knees) if you want a challenge
60 mountain climbers - 4 count
400m run

Tuesday 26, April 2016

Warm up:

400m run as a group
3 min AMRAP
20 KB swings
10 push ups
3 min AMRAP
10 goblet squats
10 pull ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes skill wok on double unders - if you dont want to work on double unders run or air dyne for 8 minutes

Strength:

15 minutes to work on Snatch

Metcon:

2x
10 snatch 50/40kg
20 burpee box jumps 24/20in
30 KB swings 32/24kg
40 wall balls 20/16lb
500m row

Monday 25, April 2016

Warm up:

400m run as a group
3 min AMRAP
20 KB swings
10 push ups
3 min AMRAP
10 goblet squats
10 pull ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes skill wok on double unders - if you dont want to work on double unders run or air dyne for 8 minutes

Strength:

4 minutes HEAVY Back Squats
4 minutes HEAVY Push press
4 minutes Thrusters 42.5/32.5kg

***YOU MUST GET A MINIMUM OF 30 reps in each 4 minutes

Metcon:

EMOM

With a continuously running clock complete 5 thrusters every minute.
From 0:00-5:00 use 32.5/22.5kg with 5 burpees 
From 5:00-10:00 use 42.5/32.5kg with 3 burpees
From 10:00-15:00 use 52.5/42.5kg with 1 burpee

Continue adding 20 lb. every 5 minutes for as long as you are able.

April 25th to the 29th Skill Work - Double Unders

In Pursuit of the Elusive Double Unders

Hannah Caldas

DOUBLE-UNDERS

I have to preface this whole thing by stating that I am in no way an expert with double unders.Rather, I am just someone who has struggled, continues to struggle some days, and can share some of the useful things I have learned along my journey. I am the type that all the stars need to be aligned for my double unders to be consistent. And by stars I mean the right jump rope(not just the type but the length and thickness of the cable too), the right shoes, the right jumping surface, and the right music. Okay, maybe not the music, but when double unders aren’t your forte, it is important to be as mentally ready to tackle them as possible.

The Rope - Thickness

Let’s start with the first thing; you can’t do double unders without a rope, so it seems like the perfect starting point, choosing a rope. There are many makers/suppliers of ropes. When I started everyone had a speed rope with the thinnest cable possible, because they were fast! So I joined the bandwagon and that’s what I started with. Failure after failure, this is when I realized that just because the cable is thin and will move really fast, it does not make it the best rope choice for every person.

At this point I found Rx Jump Ropes, which I still use to this day. The Rx Jump Rope comes in a variety of different cable thicknesses. At the time, as I picked them up, I quickly realized I needed some weight on my rope, and so a thicker cable helped a lot on my double under quest. Finding the right cable for you is important, and in my experience there isn’t an exact science to it, you just have to give it a go and feel them out.

The Rope - Length

But likely the most crucial aspect when picking a jump rope is to size it properly. Rx Jump ropes have created a fairly extensive guideline of how to size your jump rope, which I highly recommend. It is particularly important to not just size your rope statically - the static size is what “should” suit you in an ideal world. We are humans, nothing is ideal, and as close to perfect as we may get, our mechanics will always have flaws. Use the guidelines as just that, guidelines, but ultimately try the rope length out to see what suits your style of jumping.

My Lesson Learned

I learned the hard way how important the right size of rope is for double unders. In a recent competition double unders made an appearance in the last workout. It was the fifth workout of the event and, among a few other things, there were two rounds of 100 double unders - something I had done countless times. I had all my stars: the right shoes, the right rope, the right surface, the right crowd, and the right amount of adrenaline leading after four workouts with big names like Kris Clever, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, and Andrea Ager.

But there was a caveat; my main star was taken away, my rope! We were provided ropes that we had to use. While most competitors sized perfectly for their new ropes, my perfect size seemed to be right in between the ropes available to me. So I walked onto the competition floor with two jump ropes: one slightly longer, and one slightly shorter than the size I needed. The end result? Not so good. I struggled through both sets of double unders, switching between ropes, hoping magically one would have grown or shortened. If I had not learned the lesson that the size of the rope was paramount, I surely did after that experience.

Tips for Successful Double Unders

Now you have a rope, one that is the right thickness and the right size, it’s time to practice those double unders. Here are a few things that helped me improve my double unders:

1. A split rope. I found this in a corner in the gym, and always thought it was a useless rope someone had damaged and they cut it in half for something cool. Wrong! This actually helped me a lot. A few years back I broke my wrists, so my wrist motion wasn’t, and still isn’t the most ideal. With the split rope I was able to practice the rope turning, the wrist action, all the good stuff, without having to worry about the rope clearing my feet every time. This was a great way to strengthen my wrists while performing a movement pretty much the same as an actual double under. You always hear doing singles won’t help you get doubles, so why not scale and do double like movement with a split rope? In my opinion one of the best scaled movements for a double under.

2. Jumping pull-ups. If you’re thinking “what?!” just know I reacted the exact same way when I asked my coach for help with double unders and he told me to go do some jumping pull-ups. I thought he had gone mad. I ate all my words (or thoughts, because I never actually voiced them). Doing a set of jumping pull-ups before double unders helped me get used to a higher rhythmic jumping that usually is ideal for double unders. I remember the day this workout was prescribed to me, my unbroken double unders went up by 300% (Okay, okay, from 10 to 30 at that point. Not as impressive as when expressed as a percentage. Why do statistics make everything sound so much sexier?). This worked not only for me, but a couple of other people I worked out with that day. I have since used it when I coach, and although I am not exactly sure what my n is, the overwhelming majority had drastic improvements on their unbroken double unders.

3. Use a tempo trainer. Yes I am definitely a swimmer geek. I found an alternative use formy tempo trainer. The tempo trainer is something we use inside our caps or on the goggle straps to help us keep a specific stroke rate when swimming. It is themetronome of swimming, you could say. You set it for your desired setting, and it will create an audible noise (beep) at exact time intervals. How has this helped me? I found myself either rushing my jumping or not jumping quickly enough and failing on my double under. The tempo trainer set a nice constant pace that was comfortable and allowed me to practice at a cadence that favored my style of jumping. The setting will vary from person to person, but if you are hot-blooded like me and get impatient and frustrated quickly, the tempo trainer will keep you at bay and jumping when you should.

4. Find your style of jumping. I often hear coaches advising to jump with straight knees, not to jump with a dolphin kick, etc. In my experience you really have to find what suits you. And this might even change depending on the situation. I have recently changed my style of jumping to having a slight bend in my knee when I jump. This feels much more comfortable on my shins and I can jump for longer periods of time. The one thing I sometimes see and advise against is hard landings. I find that foot take off should be heel to toe and the landing toe to heal with all the athletes I have worked with. When I look around in competitions I see all possible styles of jumping. Most, if not all, work, but it works for thatathlete. Don’t be afraid of trying different things if what you are doing isn’t working. Maybe you will find something that suits you better.

In the end, there is really no magic recipe to getting double unders. I will say it again, I am no expert, I can’t do thousands of double unders unbroken. I am just a mere mortal, one of you, who fails, gets frustrated, gets back up, and tries it again. These are just some of the things that helped me get better at this elusive skill.

IN SHORT:

Spinning a jump rope under your feet twice per jump—it sounds difficult, but doable. But where do you start? By jumping higher? Bending your knees more? To answer this question, we spoke to Will Lanier, general manager at BRICK Sport Performance Training in New York City, who explained how he coaches his athletes through mastering the double-under. “There are three things that athletes must keep in mind when trying to master this movement—the jump itself, the origin of the motion, and the frequency of practice,” he says.

First up: the jump. “Start with higher than normal singles at a really slow pace,” advises Lanier. “Take note of the tempo and the rhythm, how your feet hit the floor between rope passes. This is critical.”

Next, pay attention to your wrists—that’s where the movement starts. “When learning, many athletes tend to make their arms spin like gigantic windmills. Stop. Just stop,” instructs Lanier. “It's all in the wrist. If you're looking in the mirror and you see your arms moving like a crazy person trying to do the ‘Single Ladies’ dance, you're doing it all wrong.”

Lastly, practice every day. “Throwing in two to three minutes of DU practice before every WOD will have you mastering this movement in no time,” says Lanier.

WHOLE LIFE CHALLENGE - WHY 8 WEEKS

 I get asked the question all the time, “Why is the Whole Life Challenge so long?” People say, “It would be so much better if it were six weeks, or even thirty days. Then I would be able to finish and not quit. I would go all the way through to the end and I would feel much better about myself.”

I’ve been asked this so many times that it made me wonder whether we should consider making it shorter. Why not make the Challenge feel more doable, completable, and easier for more people?

But is that really the right question? If we’re after sustainable change in meaningful and profound ways, are easiness, accessibility, and shorter duration the things that will serve people in getting the result they want? It’s obvious that in the short term making something easier will mean better results. But is making something easier or shorter something that leads to lifelong change, mastering a skill, or becoming wise? Would making it easier or quicker to learn to juggle a soccer ball, do a back handspring, or master the art of hitting a baseball make them more meaningful or more “sticky”?

To explore the answer to this question, I sat down and made a list of all the things that have meant the most to me in my life – and the length of time it took to achieve them.

• Being a musician and mastering the trumpet – daily practice for 18 years
• Becoming a United States Marine – 4 years of preparation, 1 year of school, 3 years of on-the-job training.
• Earning a bachelor’s degree, then later, a master’s – 4 years, plus 2 additional years
• Learning to ski double-black diamonds with moguls – 18 years
• Becoming a professionally sponsored adventure racer – 6 years
• Building a successful personal training and fitness business – 12 years
• Building a strong marriage – 18 years and counting
• Learning to play the guitar as an adult – 5 years and counting
• Mastering the Whole Life Challenge – 12 Challenges and counting

Nothing on this list took less than two years. Nothing. And most took way longer. Many are lifelong pursuits, with no end in sight.

So in looking at the Whole Life Challenge – is eight weeks really that long? Would making it shorter or easier to finish make it better or more effective? Or are we so caught up in life at the speed of light that we want instant gratification and spontaneous perfection instead of gradual progress?

On one hand, it’s important to make something easy and fun enough that you’re willing to get started. On the other, it’s got to be difficult, require struggle, and be a challenge to implement each day. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, in his book Flow, says that for optimum engagement and growth a goal must be hard enough that it meets you at your current level, but challenging enough that it causes you to stretch, think, and struggle. That’s the juicy part – if something is too easy or too short, its lessons won’t stick.

This is why I continue to participate in every Whole Life Challenge. On one hand, it’s easy for me to get started. On the other, I find there is always something I root out in my life that is worthy of my attention when I’m committed to holding myself to a higher standard. I find I make slow, consistent, gradual progress forward in every Challenge.

7 Reasons the Whole Life Challenge Is 8 Weeks Long

So why is the Whole Life Challenge eight weeks long? Below are our seven reasons. Each is important and compelling, and when considered together, you’ll see that eight weeks is absolutely necessary for the Challenge to deliver on its mission – long-term, positive change to your daily habits, health, and life.

1. Eight weeks helps you find the joy in the journey, rather than in the destination. At thirty days, the destination is easy to see and the objective easy to meet. Any thirty-day challenge taps into short-term thinking. You can make it because the end is right around the corner. Conversely, eight weeks is a long time. Quitting after three to five weeks becomes a real option when it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel is still so far away. That struggle to stay in it, in spite of how far off the destination looks, is exactly the point. It’s long term thinking. It’s training for your life.

2. Eight weeks demands focus, dedication, and determination. Face it: anyone can do something for thirty days. It’s only a month. Think about how many times you’ve started something, totally gung-ho, then four-weeks later there’s no evidence of it ever being a part of your life. Once you’ve started, the first three or four weeks are easy. But eight weeks? That’s a test for anyone, and helps you build your daily habit stamina. We say the Whole Life Challenge doesn’t really even begin until weeks five and six. The first four weeks are warm-up. The Challenge is a challenge because it’s long.

3. Eight weeks teaches the importance of making small, sustainable changes to your daily habits instead of setting big, hairy audacious goals intended to change your life overnight. Do something extreme for thirty days and chances are good that you’ll survive. You’ll make it because it’s only thirty days. But chances are also good that you’ll go right back to your life the way it was. It’s the reason going on a “diet” is actually a predictor of weight gain instead of weight loss. But at eight weeks, setting goals that are easier to accomplish and that you can successfully repeat each of the 56 days becomes necessary for success – and is a skill that transfers directly to life.

4. Eight weeks tests your willpower, resolve, and commitment to showing up. Think about your life. You do the same thing day after week after month after year. Boredom and apathy can easily sneak in, causing you to give up on many of the things that require your attention, effort, and diligence. Things that at one point or another were important to you. In the second half of the Challenge, weeks four to eight, the same feelings of boredom and apathy regularly show up, but it’s designed for this to happen on purpose – to give you practice at sticking to your word, showing up in spite of not feeling like it, and following through – for your sake.

5. Eight weeks demonstrates the importance of the lesson of the Tortoise and the Hare. Fly out of the gate, go as hard as you can, overachieve for the first few weeks of the Challenge. It’s a great way to flame-out by week four. To win the race and make it through to the end requires patience, dedication, and a commitment to inching forward daily. Slow and steady wins the race.

6. Eight weeks weeds out the window shoppers and passers-by. In the world of instant gratification, short attention spans, and smartphone apps, we’ve become a world of window shoppers. We download a zillion apps (especially when they’re free) and try out anything we can for a few days, but most of us are poking around with no real commitment, and have nothing to show for the time we’ve wasted. The people in the Whole Life Challenge are not window shoppers, especially those who make it past week four. The strength, determination, and commitment of this global community is like the strong current in the belly of a deep river. It’s incredibly powerful, and as long as you stick with it, it will help pull you along.

7. Eight weeks is long enough to ensure you make mistakes. How effective would the Challenge be at training you for your life if it was so short that you could waltz through with no pitfalls, no misses, no lapses in consciousness? It might feel good (ah, perfect score), but it certainly would not resemble real life. Eight weeks presents you with many opportunities to live your life, lose points, choose fun over what is best for you in that moment, completely forget to score a day – and to recover the next day.

The bottom line? If you’re looking for something that provides short-term success, instant gratification, a prize at the finish line, promised results, or simply another item on the list of things you’ve accomplished in your life, the Whole Life Challenge is not for you. If you’re ready to shift your focus toward thinking long term, delaying gratification, testing your resolve, making progress versus being perfect, taking baby steps, setting process-based versus outcome-based goals, and being part of a global community committed to the same, then the Whole Life Challenge is for you, and might just feel like home.

The Whole Life Challenge helps you become a healthier, happier person in eight short weeks. You’ll experience personal growth, improved physical (and mental) health, and a new understanding of what it truly means to care for yourself. Even better, you’ll be supported by friends, family, and teammates the entire time. Click below to learn more:

REGISTER FOR THE MAY 2016 CHALLENGE

Friday 22, April 2016

Warm up:

3x
200m run
10 pull ups
200m run
10 push ups

Strength:

Bench press

2x10

2x8

3x5

Metcon:

Fran Does Burpees

21-15-9

Thrusters 42.5/30kg

Pull ups

Burpees

If Fran could get any worse this is it!

Thursday 21, April 2016

Warm up:

3x
200m run
10 pull ups
200m run
10 push ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes toes to bar

Strength:

Deadlifts

2x10

2x8

3x5

Metcon:

2x

40 KB swings 32/24kg

30 Push press 40/30kg

20 Push ups

10 toes to bar

400m run

Wednesday 20, April 2016

Warm up:

3x
200m run
10 pull ups
200m run
10 push ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes toes to bar

Strength:

Strict press

2x10
2x8
3x5

Super set each set with 10 front raise plate raises

Metcon:

Our version of a long run

3-3-3 - red line back

5-5-5 - red line back

7-7-7 - red line back

* PICK ONE of the above time domains, and for which ever one you pick, you will run the first minutes at a comfortable pace, the second set of minutes should be a faster pace, the third set of minutes should be a uncomfortable pace, then you will turn around and red line or run very fast back so that if you choose to run the 3's, you ran 9 minutes out, and you want your back time to be under 9 minutes

Tuesday 19, April 2016

Warm up:

3x
200m run
10 pull ups
200m run
10 push ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes toes to bar

Strength:

Back squats

2x10 light
2x8 medium
3x5 heavy - 85%ish of your max

Super set each set with 20 jump squats - GET LOW

Metcon:

5-10-15-10-5-10-15-10-5

Floor pres
Ring push ups
Evil wheels

* the sets of 5 on floor press should be a HEAVY weight (5 is all you can do)
* the set of 10 is a medium weight you can get all 10 reps
* the set of 15 is the lightest weight you will push for all your reps today

Monday 18, April 2016

Warm up:

3x
200m run
10 pull ups
200m run
10 push ups

Skill/Stabilizer:

8 minutes toes to bar

Strength:

Getting on with our fun day Monday max effort type days

3x
4 minutes
Hang cleans 60/40kg

Metcon:

It has been almost exactly 1 year since we have done this BEAST

Fight Gone Bad

3x
1 minute each movement
1 minute rest after a complete round

Wall balls 20/16lbs
SDHP 35/25kg
Box jump 20 inch
Push press 35/25kg
Row for calories

Friday 15, April 2016

Warm up:

4 minutes jump rope
3 minutes lunge stretch
2 mminutes duck walk
1 minute 3rd world squat

Skill/stabilizer:

100 one and a half sit ups

Strength:

Strict press
3x10
2x8
3x5

Metcon:

3 minutes KB snatch AHAP
1 minute rst
4 minutes KB clean AHAP
1 minute rest
5 minutes KB swings AHAP

Thursday 14, April 2016

Warm up:

4 minute jump rope
3 minutes lunge stretch
2 minutes duck walk
1 minute 3rd world squat

Skill/stabilizer:

50 weighted sit ups

Strength:

Defecit deadlift

3x10
2x8
3x5

Metcon:

Down Tabatta

20 seconds of work 10 seconds of rest
Circuit through

Burpees
Plank jacks
Mountain climbers

Wednesday 13, April 2016

Warm up:

4 minutes jump rope
3 minutes lunge stretch
2 minutes duck walk
1 minutes 3rd world squat

Skill/Stabilizer:

100 hollow rocks - every 20 reps hold hollow position for 1 minute

Strength:

Front squats

5-5-3-3-1-1-1 find a 1 rep max

Metcon:

15 min AMRAP

Power clean
Right rack lunge
Front squat
Left rack lunge
Press to back
Back squat

3x through is equal to 1 round
Complete 5x

***If you put the bar down during the complex. 10 burpees

Get heavier every round

Tuesday 12, April 2016

Warm up:

4 minute jump rope
3 minute lunge stretch
2 minute duck walk
1 minute 3rd world squat

Skill:

30 x 3 second negative pull ups

Strength:

Snatch

20 minutes to work up to a heavy single FOR YOU

Metcon:

12 min EMOM

Minutes 1-4-7-10
15 pull ups - any version

Minutes 2-5-8-11
20 push press 40/30kg

Minutes 3-6-9-12
10 burpees

Monday 11, April 2016

Maupin

4 rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
49 push-ups
49 sit-ups
49 squats

Post time to comments.

---

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin, 24, of Batavia, Ohio, disappeared on April 9, 2004, when insurgents south of Baghdad attacked his convoy with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. His remains were found on March 20, 2008. Prior to his disappearance, Maupin served as part of the 724th Transportation Company in Bartonville, Illinois.

He is survived by his mother, Carolyn; father, Keith; a brother and sister; and many other friends and family members.

Friday 8, April 2016

Warm up:

5 minutes jog
then
3x
10 OHS
10 pull ups
10 push ups

Stabilizer:

100 partner plank reach and touch

Strength:

Back squats

5x 1-3 reps at 95% of your 1 rep max

Death by Goblet Squats

EMOM add 2 squats till failure

Thursday 7, April 2016

Warm up:

5 minutes jog
3x
10 OHS
10 pull ups
10 push ups

Stabilizer:

100 partner leg toss - 50 each

Strength:

Cleans - find your 1 rep max
20 minutes

Metcon:

Death By
KB Swings

EMOM 2 swings added every minute till failure

24/16kg

Wednesday 6, April 2016

Warm up:

Yes, it is still a 5 minute run and some of those other movements :-)

Skill:

5x10
Strict pull ups

Strength:

Bench Press

5x
1-3 reps at your 95%

Same thin as reads, get set at the start of your 1 rep, thigh shoulders, squeeze the bench with your back, lats and shoulders, and go

Metcon:

Death By Burpees

Same MO
EMOM 1 rep added every minute until failure

**** you are to keep moving for the completion of 15 minutes no matter where you are in levels.
What that means if you get to minute 11, and don't get all 11 burps, I want  you to keep moving for the next 4 minutes.

Tuesday 5, April 2016

Warm up:

5 minute jog
then
3x
10 OHS
10 pull ups
10 push ups

Stabilizer:

100 partner medicine ball sit ups

Strength:

Deadlift

WARM UP - then
5x
1-3 reps at 95% of your 1 rep max

IF you do more than 1 rep. each rep is set and tight, not touch and go or bounce the plates off the ground type reps

Metcon:

DEATH BY WEEK!!!!!

10 m sprints

Every minute on the minute you will add a 10 m sprint until you are not able to complete the number of sprints in the minute you are on

Monday 4, April 2016

Warm up:

5 minutes jog
then
3x
10 OHS
10 pull ups
10 push ups

Stabilizer:

100 partner push ups

Strength:

12 min EMOM
Push press
3 reps
ADD weight every set

Metcon:

Woehlke

3 rounds, each for time of:
4 jerks, 185 lb.
5 front squats, 185 lb.
6 power cleans, 185 lb.
40 pull-ups
50 push-ups
60 sit-ups 

Rest 3 minutes between rounds. 

Post times to comments.

---

Brian Woehlke, 29, of Detroit, Michigan, died at the scene of a fire in Westland, Michigan, on May 8, 2013. Woehlke graduated from the Schoolcraft Fire Program in 2008 and joined the Western Wayne Fire Authority in 2012.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer; daughter, Ava; parents, William and Elizabeth; brothers, William, Robert and Bradley; and numerous other friends and family members.

Friday 1, April 2016

Warm up:

4 minutes rowing
3 minutes 3rd world squat
2 minutes duck walk
1 minute plank holds

Strength:

15 minutes squat cleans and jerks

work up to a heavy single

Metcon:

100 rack lunges 40/30kg

*everytime you break
10 double unders
5 burpees

Thursday 31, March 2016

Warm up:

4 minutes rowing
3 minutes of the 3rd world squat
2 minutes duck walk
1 minute plank holds

Skill/Stabilizer:

3x
1 minute plank hold
1 minute bicycles

Strength:

10 minutes working up to a heavy single OHS
then
10 minutes snatch work

Metcon:

10-15-20-15-10
Hang clean and jerks 70/60/50/60/70 men RX
25 double unders after each set