Workout of the Day
Looking Back: Open 16.3 at Arena Ready
WOD For 02-21-18:
2-Position Hang Power Snatch ("Mid" Hang Above Knees, "Low" Hang Below Knees):
5 Sets of (1+1)
Climbing as technique allows
-then-
"Power Snatch Annie"
For Time:
5-4-3-2-1
Power Snatches @ 155/105 lbs
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
AbMat Sit-ups
(Compare to 02-22-17, 06-23-16, 06-12-15, and 12-01-13)
Looking Back: Open 16.2 at Arena Ready
Are you registered to tackle 18.1 with us later this week? If not read this and this, and then get yourself registered for the 2018 Open with your Arena Ready friends!
All Saturday morning classes for the next five weeks will be the current week's Open WOD (18.1 through 18.5). Can't do the workout on Saturday? Then come in on Thursday evenings at 7pm ("The OPEN" class) OR get after it during Open Gym on Sundays. If you're traveling for work or play during the Open then find a local CrossFit affiliate near your destination (click here for the worldwide CrossFit affiliate finder map) to complete the Open workout while away from home. There are 14,000 CrossFit affiliates worldwide so there's always somewhere that will welcome you to do the Open WOD with them (in fact, you will see a few visitors at AR doing the Open).
Please make make sure to select Arena Ready as BOTH your affiliate and team when registering (many of you have selected AR as your affiliate but NOT your team, so please go back and add yourself to our team).
Get on it, it's going to be a fun ride!
How about an AR crowd favorite WOD to get things going up on a Tuesday?!
WOD For 02-20-18:
For Time:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Clean & Jerks @ 155/105 lbs
*Complete 1 round of "Cindy" after each set of clean & jerks (for a total of 10 rounds of "Cindy").
*1 Round of "Cindy" is:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats
(Compare to 02-21-17, 02-06-16 @ 135/95, 11-29-14, 06-10-13, 01-24-13, 10-11-12)
The 2018 Open: What We Measure We Improve
Looking back at "Open 16.1" at Arena Ready:
Speaking (sorry not sorry) of the Open - are you registered? Click here to read the main details of how we'll run the Open at Arena Ready, and then head over to the CrossFit Games page to register (please select Arena Ready as BOTH your affiliate AND your team).
James Clear - entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer - once wrote a blog post on the value of measuring important areas of our life. It's a quick read and an important message that resonates with those of us who follow CrossFit as an observable, repeatable, and measurable training & fitness program - and who use The Open as a measure of exactly how far we've come, and how far we still have to go. The concept can extend beyond your training, and into other areas of your life which you deem important.
The blog post is published here, and is included below in its entirety:
Imagine this…
Someone walks into the gym, warms up, does a little bit of this exercise, does a little bit of that exercise, bounces around to a few machines, maybe hops on the treadmill, finishes their workout, and leaves the gym.
This isn’t a critique of their workout. In fact, it’s quite possible that they got a nice workout in. So, what is notable about this situation?
They didn’t measure anything. They didn’t track their workout. They didn’t count reps or weight or time or speed or any other metric. And so, they have no basis for knowing if they are making progress or not. Not tracking your progress is one of the six major mistakes I see people make in the gym.
But here’s the thing: We all have areas of life that we say are important to us, but that we aren’t measuring.
What We Measure, We Improve
Count something. Regardless of what one ultimately does in medicine—or outside of medicine, for that matter—one should be a scientist in this world. In the simplest terms, this means one should count something. … It doesn’t really matter what you count. You don’t need a research grant. The only requirement is that what you count should be interesting to you.
—Atul Gawande, Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance
The things we measure are the things we improve. It is only through numbers and clear tracking that we have any idea if we are getting better or worse.
- When I measured how many pushups I did, I got stronger.
- When I tracked my reading habit of 20 pages per day, I read more books.
- When I recorded my values, I began living with more integrity.
Our lives are shaped by how we choose to spend our time and energy each day. Measuring can help us spend that time in better ways, more consistently.
It’s Not About the Result, It’s About Awareness
The trick is to realize that counting, measuring, and tracking is not about the result. It’s about the system, not the goal.
Measure from a place of curiosity. Measure to discover, to find out, to understand.
Measure from a place of self-awareness. Measure to get to know yourself better.
Measure to see if you are showing up. Measure to see if you’re actually spending time on the things that are important to you.
You Can’t Measure Everything
Critics will be quick to point out that you can’t measure everything. This is true.
- Love is important, but how do you measure it?
- Morality is important, but can it be quantified accurately?
- Finding meaning in our lives is essential, but how do you calculate it?
Furthermore, there are some things in life that don’t need to be measured. Some people just love working out for the sake of working out. Measuring every repetition might reduce the satisfaction and make it seem more like a job. There is nothing wrong with that. (As always, take the main idea and use it in a way that is best for you.)
Measurement won’t solve everything. It is not an ultimate answer to life. However, it is a way to track something critical: are you showing up in the areas that you say are important to you?
The Idea in Practice
But even for things that can’t be quantified, measuring can be helpful. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.
You can’t measure love, but you can track different ways that you are showing up with love in your life:
- Send a digital love note to your partner each day (text, email, voicemail, tweet, etc.) and use the Seinfeld Strategy to keep track of your streak.
- Schedule one “Surprise Appreciation” each week where you write to a friend and thank them for something unexpected.
You can’t measure morality, but you can track if you’re thinking about it:
- Write down three values that are dear to you each morning.
- Keep a decision journal to track which decisions you make and whether or not they align with your ethics.
The things we measure are the things we improve. What are you measuring in your life?
-James Clear
"It's Not About The Result, It's About Awareness."
I love that part.
I know we are a group of individuals who value, among other things, the process of measuring our progress. The beauty of the awareness that comes with measuring is the discovery of what you're capable of with consistent effort applied over long periods of time.
I, of course, would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to encourage every one of you Arena Ready members to PLEASE USE Beyond The Whiteboard to record your progress. We pay for it so you don't have to. Don't know what Beyond The Whiteboard is? Well then read this old post and then email/message us so we can add you to our group.
No, the BTWB system isn't perfect and its app can sometimes be a bit difficult with some of our more creative workouts, but it is a powerful tool when used consistently (you can even see where you stand in popular workouts against the tens of thousands of other users in the world... even if privately to yourself after making your privacy settings as such). Make it a habit - get on it, and when "18.1" pops up again (after this year) you'll be able to see how much you've improved, and how far you can still progress.
WOD For 02-19-18:
Back Squat:
15 Minutes To Establish a Heavy Set of Eight, then...
7 Minutes For Two Drop Sets:
1x8 @ 85% of your top set
1x8 @ 80% of your top set
-then-
For Time:
30-20-10
Unbroken Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft
21-15-9
Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in (facing box not required)
Why I'm Doing The 2018 Open
The 2018 CrossFit Games Worldwide Open officially starts on Thursday with the 5pm announcement of the first of five workouts ("18.1"). For a number of reasons -- not the least of which being the incredible environment at Arena Ready every year around this time -- it’s going to be an awesome ride these next few weeks. As we've covered previously we will be doing the Open workouts as rolling heats during our Saturday classes over the next five weekends (just as we have done in previous years), so the energetic "Open Saturdays at Arena Ready" will be in full swing during this next month.
In previous years, we’ve shared stories of AR members and coaches (and athletes from other affiliate gyms) and their reasons why they’re doing The Open… and why exactly they want to take part in the largest global competition of fitness. I thought I'd share my thoughts as well as we approach the 18.1 announcement.
I'm doing The Open for many reasons.
First of all I'm doing The Open because I believe in measuring things. What gets measured gets done. What doesn't get measured becomes anecdotal speculation - "I could have...", "I would have...", "I was this..." or "I was that..." blah blah blah. In those cases you'll never really know. It's kind of like Uncle Rico saying he could throw that football over those there mountains, and if only coach would have put him in they woulda' won state. I don't want to BS myself, I want to know. I want to see where I am at this point in time, what I'm able to accomplish, and what I still need to work on moving forward - I want real numbers, not talk. I understand that my scores don't define me as a person, they are simply data points which tell me how I'm doing right now - relative to others in the fitness world, relative to my friends at the gym, relative to my buddies in the broader CrossFit community, and most importantly relative to myself. Am I fitter than I was last year, three years ago, five years ago? Can I point to things/events/developments in my life that have influenced my training and fitness in positive or not so positive ways? Can I rationalize that major life events had an impact on my fitness, and am I ok with that - or do I want to change the course of things moving forward? Some years have been better than others for me, and I would say that the last few have been some of the most challenging (read: I laid a few eggs during the last several years in The Open). But every year I play anyway, because I want to look at that board and see what I'm capable of... even if I think my best is still ahead of (or behind) me. Sitting on the sidelines isn't my style, even if I can't be the star.
This year will be very different for me than any other year -- I'm two 2.5 months post hip surgery, I took on an exciting new career challenge that has enriched my mental focus, and Sarah and I are expecting our first child sometime around 18.4, give or take (18.4b perhaps?). So while I will be severely limited by what I CANNOT do (i.e. I'm not actually allowed to), I'll be motivated to find out what it is I CAN do in light of what life has thrown at me (and blessed me with) since the close of last season.
This will be my EIGTH consecutive Open (I've participated in them all), and before my first one I even participated in the Sectional qualifier competition which, at the time, was the feed-in for the Regional level. I was fortunate enough to compete on a Regional Affiliate Team twice, even though I look back now and think I still had no idea what I was doing in many ways. Thanks to The Open and Sectionals, and the workouts/events they challenged me with, I can tell you what my fitness looked like every year for the last nine years - I know what I could do well and what crushed me. I remember movements seeming impossible that now seem routine, and alternatively I remember certain workout combinations being great for me that perhaps today, for whatever reason, are harder than they should be. It's safe to say that I'm more skilled in movements now than I ever was, that I move better across the board, that I understand strategy and pacing and training better than I did, but that my engine (my ability to "go" or to hit that 2nd or 3rd gear) and strength levels have seen peaks and valleys over the years. And I'm OK with that. I'm not a CrossFit Games athlete, far from it. I'm not even anywhere near the universe of a Regional-level athlete anymore. Some days I entertain the idea of competing as a Masters athlete, and I used to think I had a little time since the Masters divisions started at 40 until last year’s change to 35. THANKS A LOT CROSSFIT… WHERE WAS THAT FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS KILLING IT AT 35???!!! Kidding, I wasn't actually killing it. But it’s fun to sometimes think I was.
If I ever want to be serious about being a competitive Masters athlete I'll need to get the ol' hip healthy, complete my physical therapy with patience and dedication, and then step-up my training big time. But for right now I'm cool with my athletic competition career taking back seat to my ongoing rehab, honing my coaching craft, continuing my sales career, and of course prioritizing my impending daddy duties . As my ability to teach and understand fitness has improved immensely, my ability to compete (or even just hang) with the big boys in CrossFit has declined proportionally (haha). But hey, I'm 40 years old and up until a few months ago could still run a sub-6 minute mile, deadlift 2.5x my bodyweight, and play for days (assuming the activity or sport was not in the water) -- I'm the fittest one by far in my circle of friends I grew up with (you know, normal people... non-CrossFitters). And even as I'm in limbo with PT and rehab in the short and medium term, I want to celebrate what I know I'm still capable of, be thankful for it, and continue to make small, incremental gains for as long as I can... even as life sometimes makes that difficult.
I'm doing the Open because I love the sound of my wife's voice when she tells me, "good job, babe" as I'm lying on the floor in exhaustion after giving everything I had (even if this year it's not that much). I can hear the sincerity in her tone. She's the elite CrossFitter, not me, but she knows that regardless of level, or how fit I am versus how fit I once was, that this stuff is hard as hell... and she appreciates that I still do it so that I can be a better version of me. A better husband. A better father. Sarah and Baby Girl are my reason, not my excuse.
I'm doing the Open because Arena Ready is my home, and it's also home to a lot of people I deeply care about. Just as I can hear the proud tone in my wife's voice when she's telling me I did great, I can also hear the supportive cheers and screaming of my friends who understand the pain of being uncomfortable -- and who understand the growth and change that comes with putting yourself in that situation over and over again. Without challenge there is no change. This is my my crew -- I've been to their weddings (and once was even honored to officiate); I've traveled near and far with them to compete, cheer, coach, and support; I've spent years with them, learning and understanding, trying to make us all better. These are the people I would call if ever I needed real help in life -- and no doubt they would be there for me. This is my family. No fucking way I would ever miss this experience with them. I want them to hear my proud voice too, because I know the challenge they are undertaking. Being comfortable with uncomfortable is a noble pursuit, and I stand in their corner.
I'm doing the Open because I like to talk shit to my friends, and I like it when they return the favor. I used to flirt with the idea that JUST MAYBE every single workout would have muscle-ups and/or handstand push-ups and thus I'd somehow finish ahead of Big Tony for once when all is said and done (ain't gonna happen). And even though Grant has long since moved and recently added child #2 to his family -- and (much like Grant) Walker has continued to stay fitter than I would sometimes like even during fatherhood -- I still have plenty of friends at Arena Ready to chase. My current state of rehabbing a hip also puts me in a fun situation where I'll be trying to essentially chase everyone who's entered, and that should be interesting as I attempt to strategize my way through the workouts in a fashion that maximizes my score but also keeps me safe. We have a long list of men and women who work their asses off and (even when I'm healthy) can school me in any given workout on any given day, and it’s their dedication to bettering themselves that pushes me harder, and makes we want to cheer for them to blow me out of the water. I could go on and on about the folks at AR that push me, and how much I enjoy jabbing at them in good fun, but this post is already too long and I don't want to start naming the dozens of people who should be mentioned.
Finally, I'm doing the Open because I was taught that NO MATTER WHAT YOU KEEP SHOWING UP, especially when it comes to something you love. So even though I'm somewhat sidelined and my fitness may not be where I want it to be -- and even though there is a laundry list of things I still want to be better at -- I'm ready to participate and do my best. I can't wait to cheer, and coach, and high five, and I feel blessed to able to experience it all in our own gym. I'm ready to try hard, not take myself too seriously, and be happy for my friends that smoke me (after I insult their shitty taste in shoes or ugly workout face, of course). I could get wrapped up in the "stress" of The Open that people sometimes create for themselves, but I've never really been that type of competitor. This is my Open, and my fitness, and my journey. And really, the journey is all there is.
Bring it on, 18.1.
Get ready for a lot of this VOICE in your earhole, people. IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR.
WOD For 02-17-18:
In Teams Of TWO Athletes, For Time:
40 Calorie Row
40 Curtis P Complexes @ 95/65 lbs
40 Calorie Row
50 Ground-to-Overhead
40 Calorie Row
60 Hang Squat Cleans
40 Calorie Row
1 Curtis P Complex = Power Clean + Lunge Left + Lunge Right + Push Press
All movement reps are shared with only one athlete working at a time. Reps can be partitioned in any fashion and do NOT have to split evenly.
(Compare to 08-26-17)
Looking Back: Arena Ready Open 15.4
WOD for 02-17-18:
"Diane"
For Time:
21-15-9
Deadlifts @ 225/155 lbs.
Handstand Push-ups
(Compare to 06-13-16, 02-13-15, 03-03-14, and 09-03-13)
-then-
Tabata:
Hollow Rocks
Looking Back: Arena Ready Open 15.3
WOD for 02-15-18:
For Time:
Row 1000m
50 Alternating Pistols
100 Double Under
50 Hang Power Snatch @ 95/65 lbs.
Run 1000m
Looking Back: Arena Ready 15.2
Register for the 2018 Open at Arena Ready - click here for more info!
Here's a look back at Open 15.2 thanks to Brian C...
WOD For 02-14-18:
Clean & Jerk
15 minutes to build up to a heavy single
-then-
CrossFit Open 13.4
AMRAP 7 MInutes:
3-3-6-6-9-9-12-12, etc.
Clean & Jerk 135/95 lbs.
Toes-to-bar
Looking back: Arena Ready Open 15.1
The Open can be a pretty magical time - besides being a time to test your fitness, how far you've come, and whether you've practiced enough to have developed a particular skill, it's also a time to cheer for your friends, and to take a moment to admire each others' progress instead of simply working out side by side.
To help make this point, we'll be revisiting the videos the awesome Brian Campbell made in 2015 and 2016 to document this incredible experience. Please join us in taking this walk down memory lane!
WOD for 02-13-18:
Strict Press (Cycle 3, Week 3 - 1RM TEST DAY):
***Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to your Cycle 2 "Base" weight for your Cycle 3 "Base"
75% x 5
85% x 3
95% x 1
.... if form is solid, a recommended progression from there is...
100% x 1
105% x 1
110% x 1
-then-
4 Rounds for Time (18 Minute Cap):
21/15 Calorie Row OR 15/11 Calorie Assault Bike
15 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 95/65 lbs
9 Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in
For Five Consecutive Saturdays Starting Feb 24th: The Open at Arena Ready!
Are you IN THE OPEN at Arena Ready?!
Starting on Saturday, February 24th - and for five consecutive Saturdays - our daily WOD will be the current week's CrossFit Games Worldwide Open workout (for those of you who have done The Open at AR previously you know the drill). On Saturday, February 24th we will do "Open Workout 18.1"... whatever that may be (we shall find out on Thursday, February 22rd at 5pm, along with the rest of the world). Every Thursday at 5pm the Open workout will be released, and the following Saturday we will do the WOD as a gym during all Saturday morning classes.
Each Saturday class during this five week time period will consist of multiple heats of the Open workout, and each athlete should expect to do the WOD during one of the heats and also judge a fellow athlete during another heat. You are, of course, welcome to stay for as long as you like to cheer on other athletes as they tackle the WOD, or continue to help with judging. These "Open Saturdays" are pretty energetic and are really fun days at the gym - and many AR members like to hang out for a few hours to watch, judge, and cheer for their friends. We will continue to ask you to sign-in for class, just like any other Saturday, to save your spot during that hour.
If you're not formally entered in The Open you can still do the workouts at AR, and you'll participate in heats just like those of us who are registered for the event. But if you plan on working out on Saturdays (or even on Sundays) during those five weeks anyway you may as well sign-up and officially participate in the fun!
It's ten days before the first workout ("18.1") is announced, and it's not too late to register for this awesome worldwide event which you'll be able to participate in with your fellow friends and members at Arena Ready. You can still register for The Open through the CrossFit Games website here (registration cost is $20):
When registering yourself please be sure to select Arena Ready CrossFit as your affiliate and Arena Ready as your team, so that your profile appears on our team roster. There are several of you who have already signed-up and are currently registered under our affiliate but NOT under our team - so please double-check!
As always, please let us know if you have any questions.
WOD For 02-12-18:
Back Squat:
2-4-8-4-2
Work up fairly quickly to a heavy set of 2, then climb in weight on the 4 and the 8. When going back down the ladder to 4 and 2 see if you're able to use a slightly heavier load than the previous 4 and 2.
Yes, we did this 3 weeks ago. Feel good? Then go up a bit from that last session. Not so much? Then use the same loading as you did previously or go by feel through the progression. Either is fine today.
-then-
"Helen"
3 Rounds For Time:
400m Run
21 Kettlebell Swings @ 53/35 lbs
12 Pull-ups
(Compare to 03-19-15, 08-05-14, and 02-22-14)
The classic benchmark WOD "Helen" is as elegant, simple, and effective as it gets. It's easy to want to scale up (heavier KB, make the pull-ups C2B, etc.), and at times we have certainly played with variations of this proven staple. But the beauty of "Helen" as written is that once you're reasonably fit and can do the KBS and PUs unbroken, then the only way to shave seconds off of your PR time is to run so fast it hurts (AKA much faster than you probably want to).
***The astute exercisers among us (and there are lots of you in this community LOL) will notice a slight drop in total/overall volume this week. Yes, we are giving you a bit of a "de-load" prior to the start of the Open, so you can go into next week feeling strong and fresh. Do not, however, confuse this volume decrease as it being an "easy" week -- you'll have plenty of opportunities to chase intensity (see "Helen" above as a good example), which is where all the magic happens anyhow.
More Math, More Fitness (and Register For The Open)
Saturday's WOD is going to require a lot of fitness, teamwork, communication, and arithmetic skillz (with a "Z" yo). So as not to distract everyone with a long Open propaganda post I'll keep it simple and just leave this right here:
WOD For 02-10-18:
"More MATH, More Fitness"
In Teams of THREE, For TOTAL Time:
BUY-IN: 100 Calorie Row (FMM Teams = 90 Cal / FFM = 80 Cal / FFF = 70 Cal)
... then...
A) 30 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft (EACH ATHLETE COMPLETES 3 ROUNDS)
B) Max Reps Toes-to-Bar
C) Max Reps Hang Power Cleans @ 135/95 lbs
One person working at a time on the row, and calories do NOT have to be split evenly.
Once the row is completed, Athlete A completes 30 wall balls while Athlete B performs max reps of toes-to-bar and Athlete C completes max reps of hang power cleans. Once Athlete A is done with 30 reps of wall balls everyone rotates as such:
A > B, B > C, C > A
Continue until ALL THREE ATHLETES HAVE COMPLETED 3 ROUNDS OF 30 WALL BALLS, at which point time is called.
The team must continuously count the total reps of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans through the entire workout. Each rep of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans counts as one second SUBTRACTED from the team's time to complete the workout - this "adjusted" time is the team's official score.
So... go fast, do lots of reps, and be good at math. Easy, right?
(I'm not sure I'm even going to attempt to put this one into BTWB for scoring... LOL)
Got Dubs? RPM Speed Ropes Now at Sports Basement
On Thursday we hit some double unders, like we do nearly every week, and it was clear to the coaches that many folks were either making some real progress on the skill -- or at least starting to get the movement down a bit more consistently. So good work, friends!
If you're registered (or are planning on registering) for the 2018 Open at Arena Ready you're probably going to be up against some double unders at some point -- and you should really register because we're going to keep promoting The Open for the next two weeks almost non-stop LOL (not to mention the the now infamous "AR in-house tap proxy & vote" at stake this year). Just in time for 18.1 et al the good folks at RPM have now made the RPM Speed Rope available for purchase at Sports Basement:
We're also going to be giving away an RPM Speed Rope as a prize to one lucky Arena Ready athlete during the Open, but (of course) you must be entered to be eligible! If you workout on Saturdays (and/or Sundays) at AR you may as well register now since that will be the WOD for five consecutive Saturdays starting on Feb 24th!
Don't forget to select Arena Ready as both your affiliate AND your team when registering.
Happy Friday! Let's pull some PRs off the floor, shall we?!
WOD For 02-09-18:
Deadlift (Test Day):
Using your Cycle 3 Base...
75% x 5
85% x 3
95% x 1
... If your technique looks solid and you're feeling good, then here's a suggested progression toward a new 1-Rep Max...
100% x 1, 105% x 1, 110% x 1
Be smart & confident, keep your movement clean, and trust your training (assuming you've been here consistently) -- BUT don't get greedy. The weights will be here tomorrow - will you be?
-then-
With a Partner For Time:
800m Run TOGETHER
800m Row SHARED
40 Burpees Over The Rower SHARED
600m Run TOGETHER
600m Row SHARED
30 Burpees Over The Rower SHARED
400m Run TOGETHER
400m Row SHARED
20 Burpees Over The Rower SHARED
The first athlete in the door from each run may start the row immediately. Teams may share/split the row and burpees in any fashion and do not have to split them evenly.
Wife Carrying World Championships
Med ball runs and lunges, overhead KB carries, and KB farmer's carries... what the heck are we training for?!
WOD For 02-08-18:
4 Rounds For QUALITY:
3 Strict Muscle-ups
3 Strict Ring Dips
80ft Single Kettlebell Overhead Carry @ pick load (if in doubt go light & do it right!)
-then-
4 Rounds For TIME:
100m Double Kettlebell Farmer's Carry @ pick load "HAP"
50 Double Unders
25 AbMat Sit-ups
"HAP" = Heavy As Possible (without having to set them down)