Workout of the Day
Arena Ready Spirit Animal?
Amy C recently came up with a cool question & idea that we wanted to float out there for all of you Arena Ready athlete members:
If Arena Ready had a spirit animal, what animal would it be?
Sarah says that Bo is not eligible since she is already the official Arena Ready Mascot. And while there are so many great dogs at AR I'm not sure it necessarily would be a dog (but maybe it would be?). I really don't know. What do you think?!
If the idea sticks and we have a general consensus perhaps we could even get some "Spirit Animal" t-shirts in the works, too... who knows. Kill Cliff Laser Cats best watch out!
WOD for 04-28-17:
"Lynne"
5 Rounds For Max Reps (Not For Time):
Bench Press @ Bodyweight
Pull-ups
Rest as needed between rounds.
(Compare to 09-30-16, 01-16-15, 04-18-14, and 02-28-13)
2017 Regionals: A Look Back at 2016
As we mentioned in last Saturday's blog post (click here) Arena Ready is ecstatic to be sending two of our athletes, Cassie and Sarah, to the CrossFit Games California Regional this year! The action goes down over Memorial Day weekend (May 26 - 28) at the Del Mar Arena in Del Mar, CA.
The action is going to be jam-packed with some of the fittest athletes in the world, and for a preview of what to expect you can check out this highlight reel of the 2016 California Regional:
Since Sarah somehow managed to finish inside of the Top-10 last year but not make one single appearance in the highlight video (I think you could see her arm and her barbell at one point LOL), here's a little piece of her 2016 competition courtesy of Event 7 (the shortest, and arguably most exciting, event of the weekend):
WOD for 04-27-17:
"The AR Midline Mile"
For Time:
800m Run
then
9-15-21-15-9 of...
Deadlifts @ 185/135 lbs
Medicine Ball Sit-ups @ 20/14 lbs
then
800m Run
Back To Basics
Lisa G. recently posted a great piece on her blog about going back to basics, and mastering them in an effort to improve (or work toward) more complex movements. It's fittingly titled "Back To Basics" and the original post can be found here - we've pasted it below as well:
BACK TO BASICS
The road back from my ankle injury has been incredibly humbling. From walking down stairs to standing on my bad ankle, some of the most basic movements have been hard. Doing air squats today was a big achievement for me, especially since bending just slightly on my bad foot caused me pain as recent as last week. Basics, as it seems, is like going back to where you grew up. It’s familiar, easy to get reacquainted with, and comfortable. Too often these days we see some wacko things on social media. From weighted strict muscle ups to parlor tricks using the barbell, it’s easy to get caught up in it.
MORE ISN’T BETTER
Every now and then I’m asked how I’m able to cycle through handstand push-ups so quickly. Is it because I spend hours each day practicing them? No, not really. It started off with getting one and then improving my efficiency. The same goes for just about anything else in CrossFit. You can’t squat 500 lbs. without being able to do a perfect air squat. You don’t start learning butterfly pull-ups until you can get a few strict ones. And, as I’m continuing to learn, you can’t hope for a muscle up without having strong lats.
Learning to crawl is essential before trying to run. In today’s world of overposting, tweeting, and Insta-bragging, it’s easy to watch competitive athletes and emulate them. Just because Rich Froning can PR his snatch with minimal amount of warm up sets doesn’t mean you should try it. Watching your favorite gymnasty athlete do a muscle up while tossing a med ball behind their head isn’t the green light to try it during practice. Maybe trying to complete “Murph” under an hour is a better goal than throwing on the 50# weight vest and finishing it 3 hours later.
It’s taken me a long time to really understand how fundamental the basics are in CrossFit movements. I’d be lying if I told you I practiced this from day one. But, I’m hoping that you don’t make the same mistakes as I did. Skipping steps does you no favors, especially as you get further along in your fitness journey. Going back to the basics is something we can all benefit from, no matter what level of fitness we are or where we are in our journey.
Thanks for sharing, Lisa - we couldn't agree more!
WOD for 04-26-17:
AMRAP 20 Minutes:
20/17 Calorie Row
15 Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in
10 Hang Squat Snatches @ 115/80 lbs
But It's Back Squat Day?
I think most of you at Arena Ready are accustomed to the way we play around with traditional WODs, or typical strength days/sessions, and turn them slightly on their side for the sake of variance and new adaptations. Last week the grumbling on back squat day was generally centered around our insistence of running a mile prior to squatting - it was an effort to change the stimulus from what one would traditionally expect on a standard "strength" or "heavy" day. Or, as some folks in the gym liked to put it so eloquently, another example of us "ruining a perfectly good workout with a bunch of other stuff most of us wouldn't want to do if left to our own devices." You're welcome.
Welp, while we're on the subject of playing with the stimulus to see how the system responds - how about performing the same little burner twice on back squat day - first with a partner for quality (AKA easy pace) and then solo for time (AKA as fast as you can). Throw the back squats in the middle and you've got yourself a constantly varied sandwich of Tuesday fitness.
WOD for 04-25-17:
ON A RUNNING CLOCK...
A) At 0:00
"Partner Baseline"
For Quality, Split Evenly With a Partner:
1000m Row
80 Air Squats
60 AbMat Sit-ups
40 Push-ups
20 Pull-ups
B) From 15:00 - 35:00
Back Squat:
Six work sets of TWO reps, as follows:
2-2-2-2 Climbing to a Top Set*
*Add to your top set of FOUR reps from 04-18-17
Then, two "drop" sets:
1x2 @ 85% of your top set from today
1x2 @ 80% of your top set from today
C) At 40:00
"Baseline" (Solo)
For Time:
500m Row
40 Air Squats
30 AbMat Sit-ups
20 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups
(Compare to 07-14-15, 01-08-15, 08-04-14, and 02-21-14)
CF Gymnastics Course: Thank You Coaches & Athletes!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks to Coaches Hillary, Walker, and Lavinia for holding down the fort this weekend while Sarah and I attended the CrossFit Gymnastics Coaching Course. The course consisted of two full days covering some very cool material, and we're excited to incorporate some of what we learned into our program in order enrich our current programming, scaling approach, and dedicated skill work.
The longer we do this #CoachingLife the more we appreciate being students of the game ourselves, and Sarah and I are so grateful that we have a community of athlete members and amazing coaches that push us to continue learning as much as we can to help make us all better.
Looking forward to a great week!
WOD for 04-24-17:
Push Press:
3-3-3-3-3
Climbing
-then-
For Time:
100 Double Unders
100 Russian Kettlebell Swings @ 70/53 lbs
100 Walking Lunges
(Compare to 01-19-16)
2017 California Regionals: Congratulations Cassie & Sarah!
CONGRATULATIONS to both Cassie and Sarah for qualifying for the 2017 CrossFit Games California "Super" Regional taking place May 26-28 in Del Mar, CA. Their outstanding performances in the Open have earned them the right to compete with the fittest athletes in the region for a chance to qualify for the CrossFit Games in July.
The Regional competition is an exciting event and anyone who has attended previously (either to cheer on Sarah, Liz, and/or Amy) in prior years is often joined by dozens of other Arena Ready folks to form what has been called "the loudest little cheering section in California." We simply call them "The Arena Ready Mob"... affectionately so, of course.
Since Regional events are the highest-level CrossFit competitions in the world outside of the Games themselves, the weekend is an incredible, action-packed showcase of some of the most impressive athletic performances in the fitness world. If you're interested in attending live & in-person you can start organizing with other Arena Ready members who will be making the trip down on Memorial Day weekend to cheer on our two amazing athletes. If you can't make it down to watch live you can stream the events instead, as the entire competition is broadcast and fully archived, allowing the world's CrossFit and fitness fanatics (and our dedicated Arena Ready supporters) to get their competitive exercise fix on.
We can't wait to watch you two CRUSH IT. GO CASSIE & SARAH!!!
Sarah and I will be at a gymnastics coaching seminar all weekend, so enjoy this doozie of a Saturday WOD and hold down the fort for us! Happy weekend, all!
WOD for 04-22-17:
"Partner Death by Barbell"
10 Rounds For Time, Split With a Partner:
15 Deadlifts @ 135/95 lbs
12 Hang Power Cleans
9 Front Squats
6 Push Jerks
One athlete working at a time. Partner A completes one full round, then Partner B completes one full round, etc. Each athlete completes 5 rounds for a team total of 10 rounds.
Each movement must be fully completed before starting the following movement - e.g. you must stand up the 15th deadlift to full extension at a dead stop before initiating the first hang power clean, and you must stand-up the 12th hang power clean before initiating the first front squat (a hang squat clean will not count as both movements combined), etc.
(Compare to 06-27-16 and 10-05-13)
Congratulations James!
A big congrats to James M. who starts at the Fire Academy next week, one of the final stages in his goal of becoming a firefighter. James has been working hard at the gym over the last few years to improve his general physical preparedness, and I think we can all safely say that he's going to make a pretty damn fit, strong, and mentally tough firefighter. If CrossFit is supposed to help prepare someone for the unknown and unknowable, this is one of the coolest applications of that claim.
As a gym with numerous firefighters and first responders, we sincerely appreciate James' (and all of those in this group) dedication to helping our communities in the times of most urgent need.
Congratulations, James! We'll miss you while you're off doing your thing!
WOD for 04-21-17:
Hang (Above Knee) Power Snatch:
2-2-2-2
Climbing as Technique Allows
-then-
For Time:
600m Run
21 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
21 Hang Power Snatches @ 95/65 lbs
400m Run
15 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
15 Hang Power Snatches
200m Run
9 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
9 Hang Power Snatches
#OldManRant
Welp, that was a serious cranky old man rant in yesterday's post. So for today here's a video of Red Panda freaking out at a rock:
Sorry if reading my post yesterday elicited a similar response for you.
WOD for 04-20-17:
4 Rounds For Max Reps:
Row Calories
Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft
Handstand Push-ups
Single Dumbbell Goblet Walking Lunges, pick load
(Rest 1:20)
This is 0:40 seconds of work per movement and 0:20 seconds of rest/transition time between movements. There is 1:20 of rest between rounds. The entire workout, including rest periods, lasts 19 minutes. Your score is total reps across all four rounds.
Help Me Help You: Class Sign-Ups in Advance
For most of you this blog post does not apply, and for that overwhelming majority of folks I encourage you to simply scroll down to the bottom and check the WOD for Wednesday's classes. Oh, and thank you for doing what you do. I'm talking about the small percentage of folks who regularly don't sign-up for class ahead of time - and I'm here to say, quite frankly, you're killing me, Smalls.
I get it, life happens and you're busy... and signing-up for CrossFit class ahead of time is one of the last things on your mind. Your job is crazy demanding - yes but that's the case for everyone else here too (and the other 95% of the people in the gym still signed-up in advance). You have a kid and you just can't get around to it (well, half of the people in this class have kids too and they're signed-up days ahead of time). I travel every week and my schedule is all over the place (yeah but the thing is there's at least 3 or 4 people in this class right now who travel more than you do, and they've all registered for class). What I'm trying to say is that your situation is not as much of a special exemption as you might think it is, and I'm simply asking you to please try and find the strength within you to open a different app, or browser tab, once within your day and click on the little button that makes my life (and the experience of other athletes at your gym) a whole lot easier. I think we can all agree that's doable.
I know it's a pain sometimes but believe it or not it's largely for your benefit and not mine (more on that below). And to we try to make it as easy as possible for you with three options:
- Sign-up through our website
- Sign-up through the free "Arena Ready" app on your mobile device
- Sign-up through the free "Mindbody Connect" app on your mobile device
Open registration for classes starts one week in advance of the class date & time. So if you're trying to schedule your week in advance then sign-up for the days and class times you plan on attending over the next several days, and simply cancel ASAP if you realize later that you can't make it for whatever reason. We don't charge you or penalize you for cancelling - believe it or not many gyms charge a cancellation fee (and a no show fee), but we don't - it's not intended to be a source of stress or a revenue stream for us, we're simply trying to create and maintain a culture of accountability, integrity, and respect... and a gym environment that provides consistent and attentive high-level coaching. Some of those things can become challenging during classes when the minority of folks who don't respect the general system throw things for a loop.
Don't like signing-up in advance and think it's dumb? There are plenty of gyms that don't make you do it, and I would encourage you to try dropping-in to a class during a peak time and see if you like the sort of class structure that set-up creates. You may experience something very different than what you're accustomed to as a result of the general system and what that tends to shape in terms of a class environment. Half of the complaints I hear from our members about their experience when dropping-in somewhere else is likely due to the programming and logistics restraints that particular gym has to work around due to the "free-for-all" nature of having everyone just show up, leaving the coaches and staff scrambling to "make it work" and somehow preserve the intended stimulus of the day's training (usually not something that's possible when the group is simply too large, or if a chunk of that group was simply not expected during that hour).
When you don't sign up in advance you leave the coach who is leading the class to guess who is not accounted for in the group. You throw a wrench into our logistical class plan and possibly affect the set-up and execution of the workouts, thus altering the experience for everyone else in the class. Because we intentionally run a capped overall membership, and generally have more intimate classes than most other CrossFit gyms, it's not usually an issue that you're not signed-up. But every now and then it's a real pain, and if you have an aloof attitude about it it makes me feel like you basically don't give a shit about other people in the gym. And that makes me sad because I know it's not true.
If for some reason you are not signed-up for a class PLEASE TELL THE COACH WHEN YOU ARRIVE so we can add you to the roster and start planning any accommodations we may need to make. If it's a one-off sort of thing and you're usually on top of it when it comes to signing-up it's totally cool - don't sweat it and don't be gun shy about telling us you're not signed-up, we understand that it's not your usual mode of operation. In some VERY RARE cases we may need to ask you to wait until the next class. One thing some folks may not realize is that we often have co-coaches (or assistant coaches) on "standby" during peak times throughout the day, and when you don't sign-up in advance you put the co-coach on standby in a state of constant flux, not knowing whether or not they should plan on being present to coach the class or if they can plan on being released from that duty (and possibly working out in the class themselves).
If for some reason the Mindbody system does not allow you to sign-up for class then please let us know that as well. It may mean your account needs attention (expired membership, billing issue, system glitch, etc.) and we want to help resolve the matter as soon as possible. If, however, you tried to sign-up for class moments before it started and are not able to it's likely because the registration window closed - sort of like walking into a restaurant at 4:59pm and telling the host or hostess, "Um yeah, I tried to make a reservation for 5:00pm and it wouldn't let me." I think we can all agree that a reservation not occurring in actual advance is, in fact, not a reservation (this concludes the Seinfeld-esque portion of the blog post).
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. If you have feedback please don't hesitate to send it over to us. But either way please make sure you're doing your part to make the system work, and that you're not simply taking advantage of the fact that 95% of the other members contribute to a working structure that you can't be bothered to care about using.
Thank you for your attention, I appreciate it.
WOD for 04-19-17:
Sumo Deadlift:
8-8-8-8
Climbing
-then-
AMRAP 10 Minutes:
14 One-Arm Kettlebell Snatches @ 53/35 lbs (7 right / 7 left)
21 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in
14 Toes-to-Bar
Arena Ready Shirts & Hoodies
Arena Ready t-shirts, tanks, and hoodies are officially in the works. There are seven different styles, and a rough idea of each is included below (clockwise from the top left: "Swolemate", "Sarah - #ThePowerOfSHE", "Zip Hoodie", "Raglan Baseball", "Cassie - Dr Ludwig Rx Only", "Athlete in the Arena", "Definition"):
Please click on this survey to indicate your preferences (styles, sizes, etc.).
Styles are subject to change as we tweak & adjust the designs if needed while working with our screen printer, but we wanted to give you an initial idea of what you might be getting ahead of time.
Thanks and feel free to contact us with any questions!
WOD for 04-18-17:
"Flush, Squat, Hold"
ON A RUNNING CLOCK...
A) At 0:00
1600m Run
*You pick the pace.
B) From 10:00 - 30:00
Back Squat:
Six work sets of FOUR reps, as follows:
14 Minutes For...
4-4-4-4 Climbing to a Top Set*
*Add to your top set from 04-11-17
6 Minutes For...
Two "drop" sets:
1x4 @ 85% of your top set
1x4 @ 80% of your top set
C) From 34:00 - 40:00
Weighted Plank Hold:
3 x 0:45 (Rest 1:00 Between Sets)
*Add to your top set from 03-30-17
Monday Motivation: Obsessed Or Dedicated?
"Obsessed" is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.
Work hard to be better than you were yesterday. Then cheer on others as they do the same.
Let's crush this week. Here's your start...
WOD for 04-17-17:
Squat Snatch Triple:
10 Minutes to Establish Loading Heavier Than To Be Used Below (NOT a 3RM).
Touch-and-Go is not required.
-then-
"Cindy Just Calls It a Snatch"
AMRAP 15 Minutes:
3 Rounds of "Cindy"
3 Squat Snatches @ 155/105 lbs
1 Round of "Cindy" is:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats
Easter Sunday Schedule
We'll be open with a regular Sunday schedule on Easter (April 16th). Both Open Gym and Barbell classes will be held as usual, so come in and get your workout on this Sunday morning.
Happy weekend, all!
WOD for 04-15-17:
In Teams of Two, For Time:
800m Run
88 Kettlebell Swings @ 70/53 lbs
600m Run
88 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft
400m Run
88 Burpee Box Jump Overs @ 24/20 in
200m Run
Both athletes run simultaneously (i.e. both athletes complete 800-600-400-200m runs) but the 88 reps of each of the three other movements are shared and can be split in any rep scheme (only one person working at time). The KB swings, wall balls, and burpee box jump overs can start as soon as the first athlete completes the preceding run (i.e. teams do NOT have to wait until both athletes have completed the run before starting the next movement).