Coach Alyssa Throws Down At NorCal Masters This Weekend!

Coach Alyssa will be competing this weekend (Jan 28th & 29th) at the 2017 NorCal Masters Competition, an event that has gained a big following over the years for its solid programming, cool location, fun environment, and talented pool of competitors.  Come out and cheer for Alyssa as she re-takes the competition floor to battle it out this Saturday and Sunday with some of the fittest "masters" athletes in Northern California!

NorCal Masters Competition Location:

Craneway Pavillion

1498 Harbour Way S

Richmond, CA 94804

Alyssa's Scheduled SATURDAY Heat Times:

WOD 1 - 10:01am

WOD 1 - 12:51pm

WOD 3 - 1:53pm

WOD 4 - 3:32pm

*She'll be in "Heat #8" for all workouts.

*Athletes will be placed in heats for SUNDAY competition based on the standings after Saturday's WODs

Head over to the private Arena Ready Facebook group to connect with other AR folks who will be making their way over to cheer on Alyssa.  GO ALYSSA GO!!! 

Alyssa killing it in the 2015 competition (above), and part of her Arena Ready cheering section from that year (below)

The awesome venue for the NorCal Masters Competition

WOD for 01-26-17:

7 Rounds, Start Every 3 Minutes:

7 Deadlifts, pick load (same weight across)

7 Box Jumps @ 30/24 in

200m Sprint

Keep the deadlifts pretty - unbroken is not required.  Be explosive on the box jumps but keep a steady pace (speeding through the reps is not the goal on the box).  Run fast.  

(Compare to 07-2016 and 07-29-15)

Front Squat PRs Galore!

PRs are noted in the left margin in blue.

Our 10-week Front Squat Strength Cycle came to a close on Tuesday with a bang - we saw nearly 40 lifetime PRs during Tuesday classes!  Additionally there are several more athletes I can think of who are away this week, and will likely make-up Tuesday's WOD during Open Gym this weekend - so we expect the number to grow even bigger.

Fantastic work everyone!  It was great to watch the back squat and strict press numbers reach all-time highs during the second half of last year, and these impressive front squat numbers just keep the momentum going.  We're looking forward to big things with snatches and cleans (and jerks) as the year progresses, and applying all this strength to other movements and modalities.

While we'll see some counter-balanced hinging and pulling this week like we always do, be advised that the deadlift cycle will conclude next week with our 1RM testing day.  And speaking of hinging and pulling...    

WOD for 01-25-17:

Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch:

5 Sets of (1+1)

Climbing

-then-

"Warren G"

AMRAP 12 Minutes:

200m Run

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc... Rounds of "Nate"

(Compare to 02-10-16)

1 Round of "Nate" is:

2 Muscle-ups

4 Handstand Push-ups

8 Kettlebell Swings @ 70/53 lbs

This workout is ascending rounds of "Nate" preceded each time by a 200m run.  The athlete will progress as follows:

200m

1 Round of "Nate"

200m

2 Rounds of "Nate"

200m

3 Rounds of "Nate"

etc...

...until 12 minutes expires. 

Winter's New Faces

You may notice a handful of new faces in the gym, as we have a couple of new members who were CrossFitters from other areas/gyms, and several new folks who on-boarded during our Winter 2017 intake of athletes.  Since we only take on a handful of new members every several months as spaces become available, these will likely be the last new folks you'll meet before the post-Open Spring season.  So, say hello and get to know them a bit when you're in class together - just please also make sure to pay attention and listen to your coaches while doing so, haha.  Be your awesome selves and make our new athletes feel welcome as they join the Arena Ready family!

WOD for 01-24-17:

On a Running Clock...

A) From 0:00 - 15:00

"Partner Baseline"

For Quality:

1000m Row

80 Air Squats

60 AbMat Sit-ups

40 Push-ups

20 Pull-ups

One person working at a time. Split/share the reps however you like.

B) From 15:00 - 35:00

Front Squat:

Establish Your New 1-Rep Max

C) From 37:00 - 45:00

5 Rounds For Time:

12 Burpees

35 Double Unders 

Monday Motivation

Without challenge there is no change.

WOD for 01-23-17:

Hang Power Clean + Thruster:

15 Minutes to Establish a Top Set

-then-

Using 50% of your top set from above...

For Time:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Hang Power Cleans

Thrusters 

Perform 4 lateral bar burpees every time you drop the bar.  Back-racking the barbell is not allowed.    

(Compare to 03-22-15)

Sunday Yoga Reminder: Jan 22nd at 9am

Happy Weekend, All!  

A reminder that Dani is leading an additional Sunday morning Yoga class (in addition to her regular Monday evening classes) this Sunday, Jan 22nd, at 9:00am.  Remember that Yoga is available to all Arena Ready members as a part of your membership (there is no charge to attend!) - we simply ask that you sign-up for class in advance so that Dani knows how many to expect, and bring your own mat if you have one (we have a few to borrow if you don't).  All levels of experience are welcome!   

WOD for 01-21-17:

In Teams of Three Athletes...

AMRAP 30 Minutes:

12 Calorie Row

12 Power Snatches @ 95/65 lbs

12 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft

12 Toes-to-Bar

Only one athlete working at a time.  Each athlete completes ONE FULL ROUND then switches to the next teammate. 

(Workout courtesy of CompTrain)

100 Ways To Say "Jacked"

It seems fitting on this fine Friday to provide a bit of levity, and perhaps a little distraction, for our athletes planning on coming in for some PUMP THERAPY.  Nothing like a crowd favorite WOD from the last couple of years, and some BroScience to hopefully make you forget (even if temporarily) the more more serious matters at hand.

So, in honor of bench press day, here's what a few of you have called your favorite video on the internet: 100 Ways To Say Jacked.

Backrocked Obama indeed.     

Caution: Some Language NSFW, Bro

WOD for 01-20-17:

5 Rounds of:

5 Bench Press (pick load)

8 Evil Wheels OR 16 Hollow Rocks

250m Row Sprint

Rest as needed between rounds.  Record loading for each bench press set and times for every 250m row interval.  The goal is to maintain a pace of  +/-2 seconds for every 250m interval.

(Compare to 05-19-16 and 11-19-15) 

Stay Dry Out There Friends

I feel ridiculous in this thing, Dad.  You and I both know I'm not doing my business outside anyway... Bozie don't do rain.

WOD for 01-19-17:

Deadlift:

2x2

Across. Add to your 3-rep working weight from last week 01-12-17.

-then-

3 Rounds For Time:

20 Pull-ups

20 Russian Kettlebell Swings @ 70/53 lbs

30 Overhead Waking Lunges w/Plate @ 45/35 lbs

How You Do One Thing is How You Do Everything: The Push-up

In a former life I interviewed hundreds of eager candidates who sought to join a sales and client service team within a demanding, deadline-driven, constantly evolving services and technology industry.  Over the years I had culled my interview questions down to just a handful that seemed to work really well for predicting how that candidate might fit into the role we were trying to fill.  One concept we tried to investigate and use during this process was "how you do one thing is how you do everything."

Think about it.  You all have friends, family, and coworkers and some of them might be good examples.  That buddy you have who has an organized car that's always sparkly clean?  They probably have their act together at work and stay on top of their list of action items with a sense of urgency.  Your cousin who has months-old unopened mail and catalogues on her dashboard, and a half eaten pizza on the backseat?  I'll bet her email inbox at work has thousands of messages in it, and she "can't figure out why her email thingy keeps crashing" when her boss needs her to follow up with a client.   

In the gym, and with human movement, it's often the same thing.  How an athlete does one (basic, fundamental) thing usually indicates how they'll do nearly everything else.  The guy with the sloppy air squat, who doesn't work to correct it no mater how many times he's cued to do so? He likely moves poorly in just about everything else we do in the gym.  One movement we generally get a lot of comments from both newbies and experienced alike is the push-up.  We teach the push-up in On-Boarding and we cue the movement frequently in the gym WODs, sometimes to the point of bewilderment by a few.  But the truth remains-- how an athlete does this one thing is generally how that athlete will do nearly everything else.  Those that have chosen not to correct their push-up positioning or go through the period of "but it feels way harder when I do it that way!" have generally not progressed in push-up strength, stability, or muscular endurance.  Those who have?  Well, they're smoking folks in push-up WODs and are now the people I point to when I'm trying to get someone into the correct position.

Greg Everett wrote a great article a couple of years ago about the push-up, and I was reminded of it recently when observing some new athletes do push-ups in our free Intro Class.  His article - titled "The Push-up: Why Is This So Hard?" - is located here, and I've pasted an excerpt below:

The push-up is one of those things that when done well doesn’t draw much attention—it’s not a flashy feat of athleticism. However, in my opinion, how one performs a push-up is indicative of that individual’s athletic foundation, and possibly more importantly, how committed one is to excellence in movement and performance. Sloppy push-ups suggest to me a superficial interest in athleticism and a degree of laziness. Put a little attention and effort into the simple things and it will pay returns in the more complicated and interesting ones.

How you do one thing is how you do everything.

WOD for 01-18-17: 

AMRAP 15 Minutes:

30 Unbroken Double Unders    

25 AbMat Sit-ups

20 Push-ups

15 Calorie Row

10 Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

-then-

Weighted Plank Hold:

3 x 0:45 (Forty-Five Seconds)

Rest 1:00 between efforts.

Curling Highlights

Michelle's answer to one of my QoD's made me think to myself, "What EXACTLY does a reel of curling highlights look like?"  As with many things in life, the YouTubes box had the answer for me.  Courtesy of our fancy friends up north who spell SportsCenter with the "e" at the end, get ready for some sweeping action ON THE ICE!  

WOD for 01-17-17:

Front Squat:

2x2

Across.  Add to your 3-rep working weight from 01-10-17.

-then-

Four 2-Minute Cycles For Max Reps:

200m Sprint

15-13-11-9 Hang Power Cleans @ 135/95 lbs

Max Reps Front Squats @ 135/95 lbs

(Rest 2 Minutes)

This is 2 minutes of work then 2 minutes of rest, repeated for 4 cycles.  The hang power clean reps decrease by 2 every cycle.  Your score is the total number of front squats completed across all 4 cycles.

What Happens When we Don't Scale

I recently came back across a blog post I originally read a couple of years ago courtesy of the good folks at Practice CrossFit in Ohio - it highlights the importance of scaling workouts properly, and is appropriately titled "What Happens When We Don't Scale."  It's a great reminder for all athletes, even those of us at Arena Ready who are generally smart about scaling and maintaining the intended stimulus of each day's WOD. 

Here is the blog post in its entirety:

I said ten-minutes and I meant it.

Most needed only eight.

“Ten-seconds,” I warned the only athlete in a class of a dozen still moving.

“Time.”

He spiked the bar, kicked the bumpers like they were flats and clawed at his belt. The rest of his class, a team victorious and eager to celebrate a hometown win, high-fived each other and avoided the pouting child of a man as if he had leprosy.

“I trusted you to pick the right weight, not necessarily the weight on the board,” I said. “Fail me again and I’ll load your barbell for you every time.”

Annoyed at himself and wanting to punch my audacity in the teeth, he said,”I know … I didn’t think I could do it, but I wanted that RX.”

We’ve all been there, tempted by two little letters, desperately hoping to improve. But performing the workout as “RX” isn’t always the way to get better. And when it’s all said and done, better is exactly what we want. Because my friend refused to scale his jerks – a movement he struggles with – he turned a met-con into a skill: exactly what I said not to do.

We may surprise ourselves when we don’t scale tomorrow’s training. Records may be broken and we may do things we’ve never done. But most of the time, like my irritated friend who let his desire overcome common sense, we miss the point entirely.

When we don’t scale, we turn fragile knees into smoldering coals.

When we don’t scale, we take 20-minutes to do a 10-minute workout.

When we don’t scale, tomorrow becomes a rest day when we should be training.

Fitness can be a fortress built on good decisions, or a shack plagued by shortcuts. You decide. 

-Josh Bunch, Practice CrossFit    

WOD for 01-16-17:

For Time:

30 Calorie Row

30 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft

30 Box Jump Overs @ 24/20 in

30 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

30 Front Rack Lunges @ 95/65 lbs (total, alternating)

30 Push Jerks

300m Run

The 2017 Open: What's Your Why?

Registration for the 2017 CrossFit Games Worldwide Open is officially live!  You'll hear much more about the Open in the coming weeks, as it's a always a big event at Arena Ready every year.  As with prior years there will be scaled versions of the workouts allowing the hundreds of thousands of CrossFitters who participate worldwide to join in on the largest fitness event around.  It's great fun and one of the most energizing times of the year at the gym.

Check out this video "What's Your Why?" featuring folks from all walks of life talking about why they enjoy competing in the Open, and what their goals are for this year's event.  Love the cameo by our old friend and O.G. CrossFitter, Tamara Holmes, at the end (she's the awesome firefighter).    

WOD for 01-14-17:

In Teams of THREE Athletes, On a Running Clock...

A) From 0:00 - 18:00

AMRAP 18 Minutes:

9 Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

12 Overhead Squats

15 Lateral Bar Burpees

(400m Run)

Athletes A & B complete the triplet with only one person working at a time (reps do not have to be split evenly) while Athlete C runs 400m.  One athlete must always be running and must always switch after 400m.  The team's score is rounds + reps completed of the triplet.

B) From 18:00 - 21:00

Rest 3 Minutes

B) From 21:00 - 33:00

Back Squat:

12 Minutes to Establish a 2, 4, and 6-Rep Back Squat 

Each athlete establishes EITHER the team's 2, 4, or 6-rep back squat - and the team's score is the sum of the successful sets completed.  For example:

Athlete A successfully completes a 2-rep back squat of 200 lbs.

Athlete B successfully completes a 4-rep back squat of 185 lbs.

Athlete C successfully completes a 6-rep back squat of 150 lbs.

The Team's score is 535 lbs (200 + 185 + 150 lbs)

In other words, the team must choose who is assigned to which rep scheme (2, 4, or 6 reps), and must load the bar accordingly for warm-up sets and attempts (the team shares one squat rack and one barbell).  Be smart and choose wisely.

Muscle-up Flashback Friday

A Flashback Friday to the time during the 2015 CF Games Open when our athletes attacked some muscle-ups, and Brain C documented it all in an awesome short film.  

WOD for 01-13-17:

Muscle-up:

Skills & Drills

-then-

4 Rounds For Time:

4 Muscle-ups

8 Hang Squat Cleans @ 135/95 lbs

16 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in