AR Family Day this Sunday

A shout out to the fun mamas of AR who have scheduled a family day complete with bouncy house for Sunday morning, June 2 starting at 10am. Please message us or check the Facebook group to RSVP and for details about where and precisely when.

While the focus will be on the little ones, all are welcome, and rumor has it that adults are also welcome in the bouncy house as long as they don’t jump on any kids.

To make it a real party, please consider bringing drinks or snacks to share. If anyone knows how to make balloon animals I’m sure that would also be a big hit!

WOD for 05-28-19:

Every Two Minutes for Six Rounds:

2 Hang Power Snatch + 1 OHS + 1 Hang Squat Snatch
Climbing, as technique allows

-- then --

3 Rounds for Time:
Row 250m
20 OH Walking Lunge w/ Plate @ 45/35 lbs
15 Box Jumps @ 24/20”
10 Plate Burpee @ 45/35 lbs

Tuesday Deads

How’s that for the exact opposite of Monday’s “Murph” met-con?

WOD For 05-28-19:

On a Running Clock…

A) From 0:00 - 18:00

Deadlift:

15-10-5-3-3-3 

*Recommend starting at roughly 40% of current 1RM, and working up to 80% or more if technique allows.

B) From 18:00 - 20:00

Deadlift:

Max poundage in 2 minutes (you pick the weight)

*Score = reps x weight

Memorial Day "Murph"

***NOTE: We’ve added an additional class (8:45am) to the Memorial Day holiday schedule. Please reserve a spot in a class if you plan on coming in on Monday, make sure to cancel ASAP if you know you can’t make it (a few minutes beforehand doesn’t help), and don’t double-book yourself for multiple classes.

As we posted about last week, we'll be doing "Murph" as tradition on Memorial Day, and we wanted to take a moment (and a WOD) to remember the meaning of Memorial Day.  I saw this posted on Instagram several years ago just prior to Memorial Day (thank you @wolfgang2242) and really liked it: 

This [day] is for remembering and loving those that have gone before us.  It's also a great time to think of those that are with us now.  These moments can be fleeting, it all changes, sometimes sooner than we would like.  Enjoy those you are with, whether there are many or few.  Cherish what is right now.  It's the best way to love. 

Thank you to all who have served our country, and to those who are serving right now.  

Monday's WOD is a Memorial Day tradition (and in some years, for us at Arena Ready, a day-after Memorial Day tradition) for CrossFitters and CrossFit affiliates around the country, and around the world.  Here's the brief background on who "Murph" is, and how the workout was conceived.

"Murph" is in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it "Body Armor". From here on it will be referred to as "Murph" in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

- CrossFit.com (July 18, 2005)

And for those who have never done the workout at Arena Ready previously - don't worry, there will be scaling outlined and encouraged for those who are in a not currently in a position to perform this workout as prescribed, and there will be a time cap strictly enforced.  

As a reminder, push-ups only count when your chest actually touches the floor (intent does not equal achievement) - but on the flip-side, today is not the day to try and correct every single fault if you have less-than-ideal push-up ROM (i.e. don't strain on the eccentric portion of the movement). 

And no, you shouldn't wear a weight vest if you've never done this workout Rx as written without a vest in under 40 minutes - it's not honorable to do so, it's just plain dumb.

WOD FOR 05-30-19:

"Murph"

For Time:

1 Mile Run

100 Pull-ups

200 Push-ups

300 Air Squats

1 Mile Run

Our recommendation is to partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats as 20 rounds of "Cindy" (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats repeated 20 times).  If your PR is under 40 minutes, and you've been training consistently (4+ times per week) at the Rx/Black level, then wear a weight vest ("body armor") if you have one and so desire - but the same time cap will apply to you as it does to the rest of the group.

(Compare to 05-28-18, 05-30-17, 05-30-16, 05-26-15 and 05-27-13)

(Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com)

Saturday Teams of Three Then Monday Murph

Memorial Day Monday "Murph"

As per worldwide CrossFit tradition we'll be doing the hero WOD "Murph"on Memorial Day Monday, May 27th at 10:00am and 11:15am.  Please sign-up in advance, and cancel ASAP if you know you cannot make it so someone else can take your spot (and we also ask that you do not double-book yourself in both classes).

Happy weekend, friends!

WOD FOR 05-25-19:

On a Running Clock in Teams of THREE Athletes…

A) From 0:00 - 15:00

AMRAP 15 Minutes:

7 Ground-to-Overhead @ 115/80 lbs

7 Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in (facing the box NOT required)

*One athlete working at a time to complete one FULL ROUND then switch.

*Can your team keep its foot on the pedal and get 15+ rounds?

B) From 17:00 - 33:00

Back Squat:

15 Minutes For The Team to Establish a Top Set of 6, 4, and 2 Reps (each by a different athlete)

*For Example:

Hillary squats 255 x 2

Liz squats 225 x 4

Rob squats 205 x 6

The team’s score is 255 + 225 + 205 = 685 lbs

*Use the same barbell & rack, and load/unload the weights according to the team’s strategic plan for who is responsible for which rep set (and to account for warm-up sets)

Flashback Friday: 10 Years of Regionals

It’s so weird not to be headed down to the CrossFit Games Regionals this weekend, just as we had every Memorial Day weekend for the last decade — usually with a very spirited (AKA impressively loud) group of 3 or 4 dozen screaming AR fans in tow.

In the 10 years of regional competition Arena Ready had at least one athlete and/or coach competing for 9 of those years — the only exception being 2018 when most of our longtime competitors were doing things like having babies, completing their medical residency, or moving across the country. And since the Regional is now a thing of the Games Season’s past we’ll never again be able to experience the amazing 3 days of some of the most intense and inspiring performances on the big stage.

Here’s a salute to the past via four of our most decorated competitors.

Coach Liz in 2014

Coach Liz in 2013

Cassie in 2017

Cassie in 2017

Coach Amy in 2013

Coach Sarah in 2016

Coach Sarah in 2017

WOD For 05-24-19:

4 Rounds For Time:

27/21 Calorie Row, Ski, or Assault Bike

21 Single Dumbbell Hang Power Cleans to Overhead @ 50/35 lbs

15 Unbroken Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft

9 Toes-to-Bar

Switch hands on the DB whenever you like, but don’t do too many reps on just one side or you’ll kill your weak side gainz, homie.

If Thursday Were a Prixe Fixe Menu...

… then this WOD would be a classic American meal — traditional, familiar, a little heavy, and might leave you with some mild heartburn.

Bon appetit!

WOD For 05-23-19:

On a Running Clock…

A) 0:00 - 6:00

1000m Run

You pick the pace (as long as it’s faster than 6 minutes LOL)

B) 6:00 - 15:00

Deadlift:

9 Minutes to Build to Your Working Weight For Part C (or slightly overload)

C) 15:00 - 25:00

For Time (10 Minute Cap):

21-15-9

Deadlifts @ 275/195 lbs

Box Jumps @ 30/24 in

D) 27:00 - 33:00

Weighted Plank Hold:

3 x 0:45 (Rest 1:15 Between Efforts)

Mid-Week Partner Party

Now that we’ve broken the “Saturday Seal” of sorts with lighter reps the loading builds a little through the middle of the week, and you’ll see an even heavier day on Thursday.

But first some mid-week partner fun with a medium-longish piece to follow Tuesday’s sprint-like intervals. Enjoy!

WOD For 05-22-19:

With a Partner, 4 Rounds For Time:

30 Walking Lunges EACH (done simultaneously for 60 total reps)

30 Hang Power Cleans @ 165/115 lbs SHARED

20 Push Jerks SHARED

1 MINUTE FORCED REST

*Walking Lunges are performed SIMULTANEOUSLY (i.e. partners move together, but synchronized is not required) and Hang Power Cleans cannot start until both parters are done with 30 lunges each.

*Hang Power Cleans & Push Jerks are shared with only one partner working at a time (reps do NOT have to be split exactly even).

It Had To Be Done

3 days out from our Saturday leg assault and we’re going back below parallel with some lighter loading. And believe it or not the overhead squats will also help with that pec tightness/soreness from Monday’s push-up volume.

Plus it’s a helluva workout so just get in here and get after it… we are a frequently snatching gym after all!

WOD For 05-21-19:

Every 90 Seconds For 8 Rounds (12 Minutes):

2 Power Snatches + 1 Overhead Squat + 1 Squat Snatch

-then-

4 Cycles of 2:00 Work / 2:00 Rest:

25 AbMat Sit-ups

50 Double Unders

MAX REPS Overhead Squats @ 95/65 lbs

*Score = total number of overhead squat reps OR stop when you reach 75 reps (and note the cycle and time remaining)

Welp, There You Have It

Welp, if you felt like you were being rushed on Sunday evening to get all the storylines neatly wrapped-up then here’s a Monday WOD that should feel a little less rushed.

Who signs these petitions anyhow? LOL…

WOD For 05-20-19:

“The Petition: A Season 8 Remake”

4 Rounds For Time:

20 Pull-ups

30 KB Swings @ 53/35 lbs

40 Push-ups

50m Row or Ski

AR Community Day: Sunday, June 23

Come and join us for our Arena Ready Community Day on Sunday, June 23rd from 9:00am to 1:00pm. We’ll have several cool things going on at the gym so make sure to stop by and hang out!

BodySpec DXA Scans

BodySpec will be on site and available for DXA scans — you can schedule your appointment here (book early since this is open to everyone, not just AR members!).

From BodySpec…

A BodySpec DXA scan (also known as a DEXA scan) is a simple, 10-minute body fat test that takes a comprehensive snapshot of your exact breakdown of bone, fat tissue, and muscle mass. The DXA scan is the most accurate and precise body fat test available.

DXA stands for dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Our DXA scans are performed using the same medical-grade machine used by hospitals, universities, and professional athletic facilities. The DXA uses very weak x-ray beams to detect the composition of each square inch of your body. These results are interpreted and aggregated to give you not only a total body fat percentage, but also complete visualization and analysis of your lean tissue and bone density.

Why get a DXA scan?

A DXA scan answers the question, What are you made of? Knowing your body composition gives you the information you need to:

• Understand your body's individual needs, strengths and weaknesses with respect to training, diet, and overall health

• Visualize and pinpoint the exact impact of a new training or diet plan down to exact muscle gains and fat loss in specific areas of the body

• Make decisions about adjusting and optimizing your program to suit your body's specific responses

• Compare your bone health to others of your age, gender and ethnicity

• Identify personal long-term health risks

Vuori Clothing Trunk Show

You may have seen some of Vuori’s cool fits on a few of our athletes and coaches, and we really dig this California-based brand. The good folks at Vuori will be at Arena Ready with a bunch of great pieces for our community to check out, try on, and (if the mood strikes you) buy so you look fly.

(Image courtesy of Vuori)

Snacks, Drinks + More

We’ll have some noms on hand and tasty beverages for our people so that you can much, hang out, and enjoy the start of your weekend among friends old and new. More info to come on other things planned for the day… stay tuned!

WOD For 05-18-19:

With a Partner For Time:

1000m Med Ball Run @ 20/14 lbs (TOGETHER)

… THEN, SPLIT THE FOLLOWING…

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

50 Single Dumbbell Snatches @ 50/35 lbs (alternate sides)

50 Toes-to-Bar

50 Single Dumbbell Forward Lungesters @ 50/35 lbs (alternate sides)

50 Lateral Burpees Over the Dumbbell

*Partners run together and can switch who holds the med ball at anytime (yes, there is a contingency for rain)

*Wall balls can start once the fastest partner is in the gym, assuming the ball has also traveled 1000m

*After the run only one partner working at a time, switch whenever you like 

*ONE rep of "Single DB Forward Lungester" is:

-Hang Power Clean

-Lunge RIGHT then LEFT (stepping forward)

-Thruster

Friday "Practice"

If this WOD looks familiar it’s because we did the same format last month but with power snatches — so you’re memory serves you correctly. And since (thanks to an awesome friend and his thoughtful wife) I got to watch the Warriors playoff game live on Thursday evening, I’m re-posting the somewhat-basketball-themed post we published last month when this WOD format last appeared on the docket…

Friday's "for completion & quality" WOD reminds me of an old post post…  

As we (the coaches) watch most athletes actually do the two exercises for quality and with position, technique, and balance in mind we think to ourselves "yup, that's gonna transfer over eventually to bigger numbers or bigger sets if they just keep on doing that."  By contrast, the few who load up, go through the motions without much intent or mindfulness, and struggle-bus through the exercises will likely spend time re-enforcing existing bad habits (sadly).  

Of course there's a time and place to go fast & hard and to push the limits.  But when we're tying to develop movement patterns and fix or improve technique, that has to be done at sub-maximal loads… and with un-timed sets or progressions.  Through practice.

Number of times AI says the word "practice" in this video... twenty-five.

John Welbourn once told me, "when the bullets start flying EVERYONE drops to their level of training."  

Another way of saying this is "when the clock starts running or the weights get heavy, the body gets tired, and the fight or flight response kicks in, every athlete starts moving the way they always move... in training... in warm-ups... in PRACTICE... in everyday life."  No one ever starts "rising to the occasion" and miraculously looking perfect, as if all they ever needed to move well was simply the pressure of intensity and/or heavier loads.

In tens of thousands of hours of coaching I can tell you that this is one of the truest concepts of training.  We see it all the time, day after day.  The athlete who moves well in warm-ups, and has put the work in on doing just that, generally moves well in workouts, in strength sessions, and in competition (even if that "competition" is simply life).  The lifter who looks sharp and precise with the empty bar usually looks pretty damn good with heavy loads.  Alternatively, the guy or gal who consistently goes through the motions and lazily moves their body until things get heavy or hard usually has a tough time holding position when things become just that... heavy or hard.  Sometimes said athlete thinks, "well the people who look good in warm-ups and with low weights are just lucky... they're born that way and they're just really flexible/mobile/short/tall/etc."  In some cases there can be truth in that statement, but in most I would argue that those people have worked really damn hard to be able to put their bodies in the right positions.  But since fixing movement with little or no load isn't glamorous, and can be crushing to the athlete's ego and patience, most who aren't good at it chalk it up to "I'm just not built that way, and I need some more weight to make it look and feel better."  Not true.  You "need some more weight" to make it look passable... until of course the weight is heavy enough, or the workout hard enough, that passable can no longer complete the task.  Then he/she usually enters one of two territories - Miss-ville (the land of a thousand misses) OR Snap City (sometimes referred to as Sketch City or "holy crap I hope no one was watching that").  Very strong athletes who are also very limited in their mobility can likely identify with that situation (although they're not the only ones in this boat) - it feels hard with little to no weight, then it feels fine with moderate loading, then it just gets frustratingly impossible at heavier loads which are still well under his/her perceived maximum potential. 

If any of your goals includes cleaning better/heavier, getting muscle-ups, developing athleticism, increasing balance/strength/coordination/agility/speed/flexibility/power, or just generally heightening your awareness of how your body moves though space and how it can also move external objects… then I would recommend using Thursday’s WOD as a tool for mindful practice. The practice of all of those things.

Because, yeah, we talkin’ ‘bout practice.

WOD For 05-17-19:

For Completion and Quality (NOT For Time):

10-8-6-4-2

Hang Power Cleans

5-4-3-2-1

Ring Muscle-ups

*Alternate between movements (10/5-8/4-6/3-etc...) but rest as needed between movements and sets

*Climb in load as your technique allows on the barbell

*Scale mindfully & intelligently for the MU as needed to work on progressing skill level and/or positional strength required for the next step (don't just "go through the motions") -- if MU are "your jam" then do them unbroken and with perfect technique

What's Like Nails on a Chalkboard To Coach Hillary?

Dropping an empty barbell.

Don’t do it. I don’t care if you did it at another gym and that’s how they treated their bars, so what’s the big deal… you look like noob (or an idiot, or both) and you make Coach Hillary want to tackle you.

If you want the full scoop on barbell etiquette click here to read that full post. But here’s the CliffsNotes version: you’re not a world champion weightlifter so set the bar down carefully like you want it to not be broken the next time you use it.

How, you ask? Here’s a helpful video from the very person who out-lifts just about everyone in the gym:

WOD For 05-16-19:

7 Rounds For Time:

7 Deadlifts @ 245/165 lbs

7 Hand-Release Push-ups

14 AbMat Sit-ups

28 Unbroken Double Unders