AR's Cool Karen

Will anyone beat Coach LGB’s gym record of 8:52?

WOD for 06-26-19:

Every 2 Mintutes for 7 Rounds:
3 Back Squat, Climbing as technique allows

-then-

AR’s Cool Karen (10 Min Cap):
150 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs. to 10/9’ Target*

*Complete 20 Double Unders at the Top of Each Minute, and every minute thereafter

Keep your Eyes up!

WOD for 06-25-19:

Alternating EMOM 6 Rounds:
Snatch Pull + Hang Power Snatch + Power Snatch
Gymnastics Complex**

*Climbing, as technique allows
** Round 1: 3-6 Kip Swings, Round 2: 3-6 Kipping Pull-Ups, Round 3: 3-6 Kipping Chest-to- Bar, Round 4: 3 Bar Muscle Up

-then-

3 Rounds for Time:
7 Bar Muscle Up
14 Power Snatch @ 115/80 lbs.
21/16 Calorie Row

Inaugural Community Day Was a Success!

Thanks to those who turned out for a fun community day, in particular our new friends from Vuori and BodySpec (and of course let’s include Flo as well!)

For anyone who missed out on the action, Vuori will be offering an AR promotion in store this week on Union St, so head over and give our secret handshake if you like the idea of some new gear! We’re also scheming about a cool collaboration with them, so stay tuned!

BodySpec sold out which was great, so if you missed out on that you can find them throughout San Francisco on their calendar here. Please just be sure to select an event which is open to the public.

If you got a BodySpec scan done and want to discuss your results, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a coach!

And PS… we should definitely schedule more Ski Erg Biathlons for those of you who missed out.

WOD for 06-24-19:

Power Clean + Front Squat + Push Press + Push Jerk
1-1-1-1-1
Climbing, as technique allows

-then-

AMRAP 8 Minutes:
4 Curtis P Complex @ 95/65 lbs.
8 Burpee Box Jump @ 24/20 in.

AR Community Day: This Sunday!

REMINDER: This Sunday we’ll be hosting a pop-up with everyone’s new favorite fitness brand Vuori, along with the BodySpec truck to perform DXA body composition scans on site.

We’ll be holding Open Gym from 9-11am as usual, and will be open to people working out longer, or even showing up later if desired. The gym will be open until 1pm to accommodate the BodySpec schedule and to allow for hanging out.

I make no promises, but rumor has it Rob may finally be bringing Nerf guns for a biathlon.

We’ll even have coffee and treats.

Hope to see you there!

Note: Vuori is actually awesome. Preview their stuff here (and on Rob practically every day).

BodySpec is a mobile DXA scanner which gives you the best-available-for-the-price measurements of body fat, muscle mass, and even bone density. If you are curious about the progress you’re making in the gym from a body composition standpoint, this is a tool besides scale weight and physical appearance to give you a better understanding of the progress you’re making. If you’re interested in scheduling a scan, a few spaces are still available here.

(For those who wonder about such things, we don’t get a commission for hosting BodySpec. We just genuinely think it’s can be a useful tool, and want to make it available from time to time. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.)

Happy weekend, friends!

WOD FOR 06-22-19:

With a Partner For Time:

BUY-IN: 800m Run (switch every 200m)

Then, 5 Rounds of…

30 Pull-ups

20 Hang Power cleans @ 155/105 lbs

BUY-OUT: 800m Run (switch every 200m)

*Only one person working at a time on the pull-ups & HPCs, switch whenever you like.

Fight Gone Bad

It doesn’t get much more “classic CrossFit” than this… Fight Gone Bad.

Those of us who have done this workout several times over the years likely remember the first experience with it quire vividly. Those who will be experiencing it for the first time on Friday are in for a treat…

Happy Fight Gone Bad Friday, friends!

WOD For 06-21-19:

“Fight Gone Bad”

3 Rounds For Max Reps (1:00 Minute Per Movement):

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

Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 75/55 lbs

Box Jumps @ 20/20 in (yes, it’s 20 in for both men & women)

Push Presses @ 75/55 lbs

Row Calories

(Rest 1:00 Between Rounds)

Compare to 10-12-15, 08-09-14, 04-19-14

(Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com)

A Love Note from Coach Rob

(Please note: although effectively we’ve been without water for longer than we would have liked, now the dispenser is all the way gone, hopefully to be replaced ASAP. Definitely bring a full water bottle in the interim, and we hope to be back to meeting your hydration requirements ASAP!)

I can’t tell you how happy I am knowing you’ll be back in my life soon. I’m so sorry I strayed from you. Honestly, I don’t even know what got into me when we broke up (actually I do, it was a stupid bet I lost during the 2018 Open).

Once the novelty of her “sparkle” wore off I realized how much I missed you... your talent, your reliability, the way you listen to me when I call because something is wrong (unlike what’s her name who doesn’t even reply at all for an entire month). 

I let her wear your signs but it never felt right... she just let them fade in the sun. She didn’t know the history, didn’t appreciate how much they meant. I understand if you never forgive me for that, but maybe Yami can find it in her heart to make you new ones. Better ones. Who knows. What I DO know is that life here hasn’t been the same without you, and my fitness (and hydration) is a mess. 

Well, she’s gone now... all moved out and took her things with her. 

I really hope you like our new place. xoxo

💙❤️

WOD for 06-19-19:

Alternating EMOM for Three Rounds:
8 Goblet Squat
8 Single Arm Overhead Reverse Lunge
8 Single Arm Strict Press
80 ft. Single Arm Overhead Carry

-then-

Front Squat
4-4-4-4
Climbing, as technique allows

-then-

Tabata Air Squat

AR Community Day

This Sunday we’ll be hosting a pop-up with everyone’s new favorite fitness brand Vuori, along with the BodySpec truck to perform DXA body composition scans on site.

We’ll be holding Open Gym from 9-11am as usual, and will be open to people working out longer, or even showing up later if desired. The gym will be open until 1pm to accommodate the BodySpec schedule and to allow for hanging out.

I make no promises, but rumor has it Rob may finally be bringing Nerf guns for a biathlon.

We’ll even have coffee and treats.

Hope to see you there!

Note: Vuori is actually awesome. Preview their stuff here (and on Rob practically every day).

BodySpec is a mobile DXA scanner which gives you the best-available-for-the-price measurements of body fat, muscle mass, and even bone density. If you are curious about the progress you’re making in the gym from a body composition standpoint, this is a tool besides scale weight and physical appearance to give you a better understanding of the progress you’re making. If you’re interested in scheduling a scan, a few spaces are still available here.

(For those who wonder about such things, we don’t get a commission for hosting BodySpec. We just genuinely think it’s can be a useful tool, and want to make it available from time to time. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.)

WOD for 06-19-19:

3 Rounds for Quality:
16 Double KB/Single Leg Deadlift
Pull-Up Complex
16 Russian KB Twist

-then-

For Time (11 Min Cap):
Run 400m Buy In, then:

21-15-9
Russian KB Swing @ 70/53 lbs.
Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up

100 Double Under Buy Out

"Jeremy & His Little Brother"

Such a cute, harmless name for a WOD. How bad could it be, I mean really?

WOD For 06-18-19:

1 Snatch + 2 Overhead Squats:

9 Minutes to Build to a Top Set (Not a Max)

*Both power and full/squat snatches are allowed

-then-

“Jeremy & His Little Brother”

A) At 0:00

For Time (7 Minute Cap):

21-15-9

Overhead Squats @ 95/65 lbs

Burpees

B) At 10:00

For Time (7 Minute Cap):

21-15-9

Pistols (alternate)

Lateral Bar Burpees

T2B: An Artistic Perspective

Leave it to Jenny to make toes-to-bar look so artistic…

WOD For 06-17-19:

Alternating EMOM For 6 Rounds (12 Minutes):

1) 1 Power Clean + 2 Hang Power Cleans + 1 Split Jerk

2) 3 to 6 Reps of Toes-to-Bar Progression:

-Kip Swings

-Knees Above Hips

-Knees to Elbows

-Feet Above Hips

-Feet Above Chest

-Toes-to-Bar

*Barbell complex climbs ONLY as technique allows

**For the Toes-to-Bar Progression start at the first movement and progress to the next movement in the following round OR stay at the movement you can safely perform & repeat that for multiple rounds

-then-

3 Rounds For Time:

30 Calorie Row

20 Toes-to-Bar

10 Single Dumbbell Shoulder-to-Overhead @ 50/35 lbs

*Switch sides on the dumbbell S2OH whenever you like.

Saturday Partner Hero WOD "Scotty"

Saturday’s partner workout is inspired by the “Hero” WOD “Scotty” which CrossFit.com originally posted in June of 2017.

To read about this workout in honor of Scott “Scotty” Deem of the San Antonio Fire Department click here to view CrossFit.com’s original post.

WOD For 06-15-19:

“Partner Scotty”

With a Partner AMRAP 22 Minutes:

5 Deadlifts @ 315/225 lbs

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

17 Lateral Bar Burpees

*Only one athlete working at a time, switch whenever you like.

*The deadlift weight must NOT exceed 75% of your current 1-rep max. That means AT LEAST a 420/300 lbs 1-rep max if you’re doing the math at home for the Rx weights. Don’t be an idiot — scale appropriately & move well so that you can do more work faster (and come “back” the next day for even more).

(Workout inspired by the hero WOD “Scotty” courtesy of CrossFit.com)

A Plug for the "How I Built This" Podcast

For anyone who hasn’t listened to it before, I’d highly recommend listening to the “How I Built This” podcast with Guy Raz. Not that this has anything in particular to do with fitness, CrossFit, health, or anything along those lines. In fact, quite often the guests on the show describe periods of time in their lives that were surely filled with long hours, lots of stress, little sleep, and few workouts.

In particular, I’ve enjoyed the episodes with the founders of AllBirds, Chez Panisse, Lululemon, Soul Cycle, and Southwest Airlines.

The reason I like listening to it, besides sheer curiosity, (the new All Birds episode aside) is how frequently the stories of what seems like an overnight success to the mainstream actually took a really long time, even multiple decades.

I think this long-term view is really useful when it comes to thinking about timelines for success - very seldom does someone actually achieve success in any kind of a truly fast manner. People who are successful quickly are occasionally uniquely gifted or lucky, but in my experience, far more often they have spent their time accumulating transferable skills in another field or discipline. Perhaps they have built an established network, or a knowledge of “the system”, or a skill set that hasn’t yet been applied in a particular industry. In fitness, perhaps someone has previously built a lot of strength, discipline, endurance, body control, or skill.

Also, it’s useful when assessing my own progress. So often the founders interviewed on the show talk about really dark days when they feared or actually faced massive failure, bankruptcy, or humiliation, and often on a very public stage. My embarrassment when I fail to handstand walk as well as I’d like, or when I miss a lift I think I should have made, or when I simply can’t do something at all pales in comparison to anything they describe, and yet, as I listen, I find cyber camaraderie in the determination required to overcome obstacles.

Anyway, it’s a good listen. If you haven’t yet, I’d pick an episode about a company you like and try it during your next commute (or maybe during a solo WOD, ehem, LGB?

WOD for 06-14-19:

With a Partner, 1400M Rowling, For Time

-then-

7 Rounds for Completion:
3 Ring Dips [Weighted]
OH Dumbbell Lunge/Lunge/OHS w/ Each Hand [Choose Weight]
10 Plank Hold KB Drag [Choose Weight]

Thursday 3 On / 1 Off

Enjoy, friends!

WOD For 06-13-19:

3 Rounds For Quality:

8 KB Sumo Deadlift*** @ pick loading

***SuperSet Each Deadlift Set w/the Following Pull-up Complex:

Round 1: Max Hollow Body Hang

Round 2: Max Hold at Top of Pull-up

Round 3: FOUR Strict Pull-ups, SLOW eccentric (down) & concentric (up)

-then-

5 Rounds of 3:00 Work / 1:00 Rest For MAX CALORIES:

6 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

9 Dumbbell Box Step-Overs @ 50/35 lbs (each hand) with 24/20 in box

12 AbMat Sit-ups

MAX CALORIE Row (Ski or Assault Bike Optional)

Score = total number of calories completed at the end of 5 rounds.