The "October Open Gym Challenge"

First, congratulations to our winners from the September Open Gym Challenge - Kim and Kate! This team of #MightyMinis proved that strategy, teamwork, and tenacity was more important than athlete size, raw strength numbers, or an excessive level of trash talking LOL. With the top score of 16,380 pounds lifted “The Fittest Optometrist in SF” and “The Flying Squirrel” bested respectable scores from — among others — Milgram & Stein (who submitted a questionable video validating their remote workout performance from what is being dubbed “Arena Ready East” AKA the gym in Mike’s new house) and Hillary “The Deadlift Champ” & Steven (winners of the August Open Gym Challenge).

Congrats Kim and Kate! They will be receiving a prize pack once I actually go pick-up the prize packs (I swear, I will soon).

As for the “October Open Gym Challenge” we have a single modality benchmark for y’all, and a test of fitness that many folks are already familiar with either from previous experience or from stories of joy from other athletes who have done it. Here you go…

“The October Open Gym Challenge”

For Time:

2000m Row

1) There will be 4 “divisions” and thus 4 potential winners:

Lightweight Female (129 lbs and under)

Female (130 lbs and up)

Lightweight Male (159 lbs and under)

Male (160 lbs and up)

2) Don’t cut weight for the challenge (this is Sarah talking LOL)

3) If you’re close to the cut-off on bodyweight we can weigh you at the gym for an official ruling (but only if you want to be eligible to win)

I feel like Hillary is about to start fielding a bunch of questions from members haha. Get in here on a Sunday and get after it on a 2K!

The underground (figuratively speaking but maybe also literally speaking) gym being

dubbed as “Arena Ready East”

WOD For 10-09-18:

Every 2 Minutes For 6 Rounds:

4 Back Squats

Climbing is allowed.

If possible add to your top set from last week 10-03-18.

-then-

3 Rounds For Max Reps (0:45 Sec Per Movement / 0:15 Rest Between Movements):

Double KB Front Squats @ 53/35 lbs (each side)

Toes-to-Bar

Row For Calories

(Rest 1:15 Between Rounds)

Monday: Pull, Push, Jump

This one’s light, but it may not be as fast as you make initially think… have fun!

WOD For 10-08-18:

For Time:

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Deadlifts @ 185/125 lbs

Hand Release Push-ups

Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

If your feet/toes come off the ground on the push-ups you’re basically kipping and you probably look like a fish flopping on the deck of a boat. Take some pride in your push-ups and cut it out.

Oh and for the competitors… everyone can break the deads at regular intervals and game themselves toward a predictable and respectable time. But can you hold on to this light weight unbroken and let the chips fall where they may? And no, that doesn’t mean deadlift like a dog pooping - take care of your back, friends!

The A, B, C, Ds of Sweaty Saturday...

Happy weekend, friends!

WOD For 10-06-18:

With a Partner Against a 25-Minute Clock:

A) 800m Run TOGETHER

B) 50 Walking Lunges EACH (one partner must always be holding the team’s wall ball)

C) Split the Following (with only one partner working at a time):

100 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

150 KB Swings @ 53/35 lbs

200 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 109 ft

D) MAX CALORIE Row (only one partner rowing at a time, share the same rower)

*Score = total calories rowed

*If you don’t make it to Part D then note your total reps completed of Part C

*Parts B and C can be started immediately by the faster partner, but Part D cannot start until all wall ball reps have been completed

HELP ME HELP YOU: CLASS SIGN-UPS IN ADVANCE

“If everyone did what I’m about to do would the system work?”

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 Friday'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 pre-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 seems like a pain 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 basic options:

1.  Sign-up through our website

2. Bookmark the Schedule page and add it to your phone’s home screen (3 clicks and you’re signed-up for class)

3.  Sign-up through the free "Mindbody" 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 seven 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 system (or lack thereof) creates.  You may experience something very different than what you're accustomed to - many 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 keep a capped overall membership AND cap each individual class - and generally have more intimate classes than most other CrossFit gyms - class overflow is not usually an issue.  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 hope it's not actually 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 if there is space in the class, and then 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 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.  

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 10-05-18:

EMOM For 20 Rounds (20 Minutes):

5 Burpees

1 Clean

*Start at approximately 70% of your 1RM and then work up HAP (“Heavy As Possible”) with good technique

*Both power and full (AKA “squat”) cleans are allowed

(Workout courtesy of HyperFit)

Unilateral Thursday: Recovery, Skill, Speed

Now you see what I meant about Wednesday not being “easy” — if you did it right, even if you stayed lighter with the loading, that WOD crept up and taxed the system in a different and interesting way.

Following three barbell focused training days, the last two of which were of medium-longer time domains, our Thursday program includes two pieces that involve unilateral, non-barbell movement patterns.

We’ll start with a “For Quality” piece to serve as a system primer, recovery flush, and extended warm-up (through stability and activation) and then a we’ll attack a higher skill AMRAP with a shorter, faster time domain.

Don’t fret, the barbell comes back on Friday— but first, DUs, MUs, and TGUs (among other things).

WOD For 10-04-18:

2 Rounds For QUALITY:

400m Run

10 Kettlebell Turkish Get-ups @ pick load (5 R / 5 L)

10 Single Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlifts @ pick load (5 R / 5 L)

This is "For Quality of Movement" (not time or max weight) so choose your loading accordingly.

-then-

AMRAP 8 Minutes:

40 Double Unders

10 Single Dumbbell Hang Clean-to-Overhead @ 50/35 lbs (5 R / 5 L)

4 Ring Muscle-ups

Can you hold a fast pace and get 5+ rounds?

Athlete's Choice: Choose Your Own Adventure

If you’ve been at Arena Ready for a while you’re familiar with the WOD format of Wednesday’s workout. Occasionally we do these medium-longer EMOMs with the intention of a higher intensity output (think of the ones where you thought to yourself “OMG Rob I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW”) — generally those days have a very specific set number of reps and loading, and sometimes we make it even spicier by seeing if you can “hold a number throughout the entire WOD” (like a sort of expanded Tabata torture method HAHA).

In other instances we allow for a range of experiences in our athletes by giving the choice of loading, and in many ways intensity, to the person doing the workout. Another way of thinking of this is “Choose Your Own Adventure” — lighter loading and a more intentional focus on movement quality for those who seek movement in the vein of a recovery day or lighter intensity stimulus, and heavier loading for those who feel primed to take on more intensity and work. The WOD can feel very different to different people, and that’s exactly our intention.

So, check-in with yourself and take a quick inventory of how your body is feeling this week — have you trained several times over the last few days, how has your sleep, nutrition, and recovery been, what’s the climate like at work and/or home, did you travel recently, etc — and make a smart decision on how to approach this mid-week WOD so that you get the most benefit. Remember that the goal is to be able to come back tomorrow and/or for the balance of this week and continue to train productively and intelligently. Opportunities abound for intensity, speed, and other outputs in the days to follow — so when given a clear choice of how to guide your ship make sure to point it in the direction that best suits your current training/recovery/life situation.

On the other hand, if you look at this workout and think “that’s it?” or think that the Monday Tuesday program was “too easy” then I have a message for you — you don’t need harder workouts, you need to go harder. Trust me, I see all the scores (from in the gym, from remote athletes, from coaches and competitors testing the WODs for me) and NONE of the people posting the fastest times and highest scores report that the workouts are “easy.”

Know thyself, train smart, train hard, be an athlete.

WOD For 10-03-18:

Alternating EMOM For 7 Rounds (21 Minutes):

1) 4 Back Squats @ pick load

2) 5 Explosive Box Jumps @ 30/24 in THEN 10 Russian KB Swings @ pick load

3) 0:40 Second Plank Hold

The Hook Grip: It's Like You're Cheating

Several years ago one of our members watched Big Tony and Coach Sarah do the WOD "Isabel" (30 Power Snatches For Time @ 135/95 lbs) unbroken in a little over one minute... which means to say they didn't let go of the bar once.  This person was astonished and asked me, "How the hell did they hold on to the bar for all 30 reps?!"

My answer was two-fold, "Well, they've both spent 15+ years getting really freakin' strong.  And, perhaps even more so in this specific case, they both have a solid hook grip on the bar."

Then Tony chimed in, with the most humble tone you could imagine when saying something so jarring,  "Yeah man, the hook grip.  It's so easy to hold on the bar with a hook grip.  It's like you're cheating."   

I'm not sure I would go so far as to say it's like you're cheating, but I'm also not as strong as Tony is, so I've never held on to thirty 135-pound snatches in a row.  But oh man when you need that hook grip on some heavy and/or high rep cleans or snatches, and you've got the technique of it down, it feels pretty damn close to holding on to the bar with a strap:

The hook grip is a bit uncomfortable at first, and can put some stress on the thumbs, so newcomers often disregard it and go back to just holding the bar without it.  The problem with that is once your strength and fitness has progressed to a point where the weights are heavy (and/or high rep) enough to require a hook grip, you will have trained yourself to lift without it - and will then have a really difficult time trying to implement it by changing your old habits.  It's like trying to tell a fairly high-level tennis player who has smacked their forehands with an Eastern grip for their entire playing career to switch to a Western grip.  Good luck with that.  The only difference is that in tennis there are examples of high level athletes having success with both grips (although very few use an Eastern grip anymore), but in both Olympic-style weightlifting and CrossFit the top level people ALL use the hook grip - there is no alternative.  Well, other than not being able to hold on to the bar. 

Part of the thumb discomfort eventually goes away once your hands adjust to the grip, and the soft tissue around the thumb adapts a bit to accommodate the position.  We never want your thumbs to be in actual pain (which is why we have new athletes ease into it), but we do want you to know that the annoyance of the grip does fade over time. 

The discomfort can also be mitigated by taping your thumbs.  There are many different ways to tape your thumbs for hook gripping, and different athletes have their own preferred tape and wrapping methods, so you may have to find what works best for you.  The greatest CrossFitter on earth, who also happens to be a pretty darn good weightlifter as well, tapes his thumbs the way I teach most people to - it's simple, quick, and doesn't require a lot of tape:

And on that note...

WOD For 10-02-18:

4 Rounds For Time:

18/14 Calorie Row, Ski, OR Assault Bike

15 Toes-to-Bar

12 Deadlifts @ 155/105 lbs

9 Hang Power Cleans

6 Push Jerks

Monday: Snatch EMOM + "Jeremy"

Last week we worked on 3-position snatches with powers, and this week we’ll incorporate powers into an EMOM complex that should help athletes gain comfort in the full (AKA “squat”) snatch by dissecting its parts… and then putting them together.

Also last week saw a 21-15-9 triplet involving OHS at this same lighter loading (95/65 lbs), but this week instead of deficit HSPUs and SDHPs we pair those OHS with burpees. It’s an old school CrossFit.com main site WOD named “Jeremy” and it’s as close to an all-out sprint as many of us can get with a barbell.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

WOD For 10-01-18:

EMOM For 12 Minutes:

1 Power Snatch + 1 Overhead Squat + 1 Squat Snatch

Climbing only as your technique allows

-then-

“Jeremy”

For Time:

21-15-9

Overhead Squats @ 95/65 lbs

Burpees

(Compre to 11-11-14)

Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com

Sweaty Saturday: Teams Of Three For 5, 3, and 1

Happy weekend, friends!

WOD For 09-29-18:

TEAMS OF THREE ATHLETES ON A RUNNING CLOCK...

A) From 0:00 - 15:00

AMRAP 15 Minutes:

10 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

8 Thrusters @ 95/65 lbs

6 Hand Release Push-ups

*Only one person working at a time - one athlete completes a FULL round then switches (tagging is not required).  For example:

Athlete A does 1 full round, then
Athlete B does 1 full round, then
Athlete C does 1 full round, then
Back to Athlete A... etc...

... NO "BUILT-IN" REST OR TRANSITION TIME...

B) From 15:00 - 27:00

Team Front Squat 5-, 3-, and 1-Rep (From a Rack):

12 Minutes For All Three Team Members to Work Together & Establish a 5, 3, and 1-rep Front Squat

*For example, the team may choose to complete as follows (warm-up sets and order of lifting are up to the team’s discretion):

Athlete A does the 3-rep 

Athlete B does the 1-rep

Athlete C does the 5-rep

... TWO MINUTES REST TO SET FOR PLANKS...

C) At 29:00

Weighted Plank Hold:

3 x 0:45 (Rest 1:15 between sets)

Flashback Friday: WCTTIBW?!

Flashback to that amazing day when Jason took the gym’s favorite QoD game to a whole new meta level.

WHAT. COLOR. TANK. TOP. IS. BRET. WEARING???!!!

WOD For 09-28-18:

2 Power Cleans + 1 Push Jerk:

10 minutes to build to a top set

-then-

For Time:

15 Power Cleans @ 185/135 lbs

9 Bar Muscle-ups

12 Power Cleans

6 Bar Muscle-ups

9 Power Cleans

3 Bar Muscle-ups

The Winning Strategy: Upper Back Edition

Between desk jobs, driving, burpees, pull-ups, carrying stuff, and any number of other frontally-oriented activities, many (most?) of us have sub-optimal posture which generally leads to tight upper backs and shoulders. This, in turn, leads to lifting less than our strength would otherwise allow, and potentially unnecessary pain during movements, tweaks that sometimes persist longer than we’d like, and occasionally even injuries that could have been avoided.

There are roughly a zillion stretches and corrective exercises on the internet to address this problem, many of which each of us will find personally useful. That said, there is a short list that we generally like at AR because of the relative simplicity, and the nearly universal effectiveness (not that there aren’t always outliers).

Before class (upper back mobility):

1. Roll thoracic spine (upper back) and lats (under the shoulder along the ribs) on a foam roller. Do this pre-workout. A minute or so is enough to be effective.

2. Thread the needle and/or side-lying rainbows or bow & arrows. Do this pre-workout. 5 controlled reps on each side.

Once you’ve done the class warm-up (shoulder mobility):

1. Stretch pec major (straight arm against the wall or rig) and pec minor (elbow bent at 90 degrees) - gently move arm to full pain-free range 3-5 times. Hold for under 5 seconds. Set shoulder back and down before initiating the stretch.

2. Stretch lats using a band on the rig (establish a tiny bit of tension on the band, more isn’t better). Hinge at hip, keeping low back neutral. Use the PNF method - pull gently against the band with lats for 3-5 seconds, then relax and increase the stretch. Repeat 3-5 times on each side.

Before lifting overhead (upper back activation):

1. A’s, T’s and W’s using no more than 2.5 pounds in each hand. “Flap” your arms roughly 6” to the front and back of your body with straight elbows, and initiating each rep by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Follow through with your arms. Repeat 10 times in each position.

2. Behind the next press with empty bar (assuming this is pain free). Use your jerk grip, and initiate with your upper back engaged - shoulder blades back and down/pushing the chest out (not over-extending lower back!) even as you press overhead. Repeat 8 times - up (concentric) should be faster than down (eccentric).

3. Upright row with empty bar. Use a narrow grip (same as you would for sumo deadlift high pull). Establish neutral posture - hips beneath your ribs, midline stable, shoulders back and down. Repeat 8 times - up should be faster than down, and bar should stay close throughout the movement.

Post-workout (restoring or potentially increasing range of motion):

1. “Snow angel” on a foam roller - lay face up on a foam roller with head, back and hips supported. Let arms relax to each side, wrists on the ground with palms up. Elbows may also reach the floor if sufficiently flexible, but don’t force it. Relax into the foam roller for roughly three minutes. Stop if you feel discomfort anywhere or tingling in your arms.

Lots of other things are useful here - arm rolls and swings, push-ups, ring dips, shoulder press, lat pull-downs (and pull-ups), front-rack and wrist-specific stretches, wall angels, and honestly anything else you find makes a difference for you.

If you are aware that your capacity in upper body movements is limited due to tightness or lack of muscle activation (or both) you should have an effective routine that you use at least in part every time you use your upper body. We build these things into our warm ups regularly, and we recommend the “snow angel” in cool downs.

My impression is that with all of the chatter about mobility and activation on the internet it feels a little overwhelming to even start working on something like this on your own. My firm belief (mostly thanks to Dr. Rabbetz!) is that an effective routine doesn’t have to be complex or time-consuming. The most effective routines are the ones that are simple enough that you actually do it.

As always, let us know if you need personalized recommendations. Happy pressing, pulling and jerking!

WOD for 09-27-18:

Part One:

EMOM 12 Minutes for Max Wall Balls:

5 Deadlifts @ 245/165 lbs.

then, AMRAP Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs. to 10/9’ Target

Score is Wall Balls, or time to complete 150 reps

Rest three minutes, then:

Part Two:

Run 800m (Recovery Pace)

Finisher:

Tabata Russian Med Ball Twists

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

Yesterday Sarah used the push-up as a point of reference in the context of “virtuosity” (AKA doing the common uncommonly well). Today, I offer my (Rob) thoughts on basically the same principal — but from a different angle…

In my life outside of the gym I’ve 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 friend you have who has an organized car that's always sparkly clean?  She probably has her act together at work and stays on top of her list of action items with a sense of urgency.  Your cousin who has months-old unopened mail and catalogues on his dashboard, and a half eaten pizza on the backseat?  I'll bet his email inbox at work has thousands of messages in it, and he "can't figure out why his email thingy keeps crashing" when his boss needs him 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 crushing it 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 09-26-18:

“Rowling”

TEN 100m Frames For Total Time:

*Attempt to stop the monitor EXACTLY on 100m for each "frame"

*For every meter over or under 100m do one burpee

*Re-set the monitor to zero to start each "frame"

*Record total time required to complete 10 "frames" including burpee penalties

-then-

With a Partner For Time:

2000m Row

200 Double Unders

1000m Row

100 Double Unders

500m Row

50 Double Unders

*Partners share all reps with only one person working at a time -- switch whenever you like (reps do not have to be evenly split)