Congrats Coach Lisa!

A big shout out to Coach Lisa for passing her CrossFit Level-2 trainer course and test! Coach Lisa adds herself to the awesome list of coaches at Arena Ready with the CF-L2 (or higher) coaching credential — currently we have eight active coaches with that designation, and we are so proud of this amazing group of leaders.

Lisa, you are certainly a HUGE part of what makes AR special — so thank you for all you do, and for continuing to hone your coaching craft. It benefits us all tremendously!

WOD For 08-08-19:

Deadlift:

5-5-5-5-5

Climbing

-then-

For Time:

21-15-9

Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 95/65 lbs

Front Rack Lunges (alternate)

Lateral Bar Burpees

Wednesday Snatchy Snatch

Keep those turnovers snappy and that bar close!

WOD For 08-07-19:

Hang Power Snatch:

3-3-3-3-3 Climbing

-then-

AMRAP 6 Minutes:

6 Hang Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

9 Toes-to-Bar

12 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

… REST 3 Minutes, Then…

AMRAP 3 Minutes:

6 Hang Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

9 Toes-to-Bar

12 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

Laziness Does Not Exist

I read this piece Laziness Does Not Exist by Erika Price recently and found it interesting in several ways.  Click the link here to read the full essay - I've pasted one of sections below for a small taste...  

People love to blame procrastinators for their behavior. Putting off work sure looks lazy, to an untrained eye. Even the people who are actively doing the procrastinating can mistake their behavior for laziness. You’re supposed to be doing something, and you’re not doing it — that’s a moral failure right? That means you’re weak-willed, unmotivated, and lazy, doesn’t it?

For decades, psychological research has been able to explain procrastination as a functioning problem, not a consequence of laziness. When a person fails to begin a project that they care about, it’s typically due to either a) anxiety about their attempts not being “good enough” or b) confusion about what the first steps of the task are. Not laziness. In fact, procrastination is more likely when the task is meaningful and the individual cares about doing it well.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the piece and on some of the points the author makes. So go unbroken on those wall balls, row HAM like you mean it, and then chat about the pitfalls of moralizing other people's life decisions.  You know, normal intellectual CrossFit stuff for a Tuesday...

WOD For 08-06-19:

Alternating EMOM For 4 Rounds (12 Minutes):

1) 10 Single Dumbbell Overhead Squats @ pick load (5 Right / 5 Left)

2) Row For Calories @ increasing pace each round (easy > medium > faster > fastest)

 3) 10-20 Hollow Rocks (pick the number of reps you can do with good position)

-then-

FIVE 90-Second Rounds For MAX CALORIES:

25-23-21-19-17 Unbroken Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft

MAX CALORIE Row

(Rest 90 Seconds Between Rounds)

This workout is 90 seconds of work then 90 seconds of rest repeated five times.

The wall ball reps start at 25 in the first round and decrease by 2 every round (the fifth & final round starts with 17 wall balls). Unbroken means no dropping of the ball, resting by stopping your movement (e.g. catching & standing/pausing before squatting), or missing the target (i.e. "accidental" no reps).

Score is total number of calories rowed. 

Mainsite Monday Reloaded

Just like we saw last week, this Monday’s WOD is straight from the CrossFit.com "mainsite" archives (and this one was their workout of the day for Saturday, July 21st 2018).  It fits quite nicely with the rest of our programmed week at Arena Ready, and with the use of bodyweight squats, a moderately loaded barbell, and a repeating interval format, it's very "in the style of AR" as far as mainsite WODs go — so it should be fun way to start the week with a bang!

Here's our old buddy Rory McKernan with some insight into this WOD:

WOD For 08-05-19:

TEN 1-Minute Rounds of:

25 Air Squats

Max Reps Clean & Jerks @ 155/105 lbs

(Rest 2 Minutes Between Rounds)

Your score is the total number of clean & jerk reps completed.

(Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com) 

Impromptu Introduction to CrossFit: This Saturday!

Thanks to a series of Arena Ready Moratorium Violators who shall not be named (LOL), and the recent increased interest (more than the usual!) from potential newcomers, we’ve decided to run an impromptu-ish “Introduction to CrossFit” class this Saturday, August 3rd, at 12:00pm.

If you know anyone who has been waiting to get in, but prefers not to delay until our regular quarterly On-Boarding, then tell ‘em to sign-up and come on down if they’re able. They can register for the FREE class here and we will look forward to meeting them!

WOD For 08-03-19:

"Loco Moco v3.0" AKA “Shotwell”

With a Partner For Time:

BUY-IN: 1298m Row OR 1000m Ski

Then BOTH Partners Complete...

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Hang Power Cleans @ 155/110 lbs

Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

BUY-OUT: 1298m Row OR 1000m Ski

Both partners must complete the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 sequence, with one partner working at a time to complete a FULL ROUND before switching (e.g. Partner A performs 10 HPCs and 10 BBJs, then Partner B performs 10 HPCs and 10 BBJs). 

The row/ski can be shared in any fashion and does not have to be split evenly.

Friday Skills & Staples

Happy Friday, everyone - here's a fun one with a little something for everybody... enjoy!

WOD FOR 08-02-19:

3 Rounds For Time:

9 Bar Muscle-ups

15 Pistols (alternate)

21 Deadlifts @ 225/155 lbs

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

Leg Day Feels

If you came in for Wednesday’s assault on the legs you’ll want to get back in the gym on Thursday to shake it all out and focus on some complimentary movements — moderate upper pushing, skill capacity, midline work, and interval conditioning.

Additionally, if you’re still feeling the soreness from Tuesday’s program then think of Thursday’s alternating double tabata as more of a “for quality” piece — but if you feel good to go then have at it and treat both parts in Thursday’s program as an opportunity to chase intensity (assuming your movement is clean & dialed-in).

WOD For 08-01-19:

Alternating Double Tabata:

Single Dumbbell Hang Clean to Overhead @ 50/35 lbs

Row For Calories

Score by your lowest rep round for each movement. Switch sides on the DB whenever you like (we recommend roughly equal reps on both sides unless you like crooked Ring Dips in the next piece).

-then-

For Time:

80 Double Unders

40 AbMat Sit-ups

20 Ring Dips

60 Double Unders

30 AbMat Sit-ups

15 Ring Dips

40 Double Unders

20 AbMat Sit-ups

10 Ring Dips

20 Double Unders

10 AbMat Sit-ups

5 Ring Dips

Farewell & Thank You, Coach Nina!

Wednesday morning will be Coach Nina’s final classes with us at Arena Ready before she moves to Marin county. If you’ve been a regular part of her AM classes during the last year you’ve likely come to appreciate her direct coaching style, her depth of knowledge, and her crazy Canadian sense of humor LOL.

Please join your morning fitness crew on Wednesday to bid Nina a fond farewell and thank her for her amazing presence and leadership. We will miss her very much but are excited for her & her new adventures up the road to the “North” (Marin, people not Toronto… take it easy with all that “We The North” nonsense before I have to buy you a Kawhi Leonard Clippers jersey, eh).

Thank you for everything, Nina!

WOD For 07-31-19:

On a Running Clock...

A) 0:00 - 5:00

AMRAP 5 Minutes:

21 Walking Lunges

15 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

9 Double Kettlebell Front Squats @ 53/35 lbs (per side)

B) 8:00 - 23:00

Back Squat:

15 Minutes to Build to a Heavy Triple (Not a 3RM)

C) 26:00 - 31:00

Repeat the AMRAP From Part A

The 2019 CrossFit Games

The 2019 CrossFit Games are nearly here and it will be exciting to watch it all unfold given that this is the first year with all the changes to the qualification process, and to the in-house CF HQ media presence.

The events, and all the divisions, will be streamed via an open-source broadcast and you can check the CrossFit Games website here for updates in the coming days regarding the various viewing options. The athletes will throw down from Aug 1st through the 4th and we are looking forward to some action-packed competitive fitness!

But seriously though, how many events will Hunter McIntyre make it through before he’s cut?!

WOD For 07-30-19:

1 Power Clean + 3 Push Presses:

12 minutes to build to a top set

-then-

3 Rounds For Time:

35 Air Squats

20 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

15 Push Presses @ 115/75

Mainsite Monday!

Straight from CrossFit.com “mainsite” here’s a challenging start to the week for all you lovers of power snatching and burpee-ing. Who remembers this fun one from last summer?

Enjoy!

WOD For 07-29-19:

TEN 1-Minute Rounds of:

10 Lateral Bar Burpees

Max Reps Power Snatches @ 155/105 lbs

(Rest 2 Minutes Between Rounds)

Your score is the total number of power snatch reps completed.

Yes, some have done this as bar-facing burpees and others as lateral over the bar.  We will do the latter like in this video here.

(Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com) 

Sweaty Saturday Special: I Don't Just Rap, I AMRAP

Happy weekend, fitness friends!

WOD For 07-27-19:

With a Partner, Against a 24-Minute Clock:

A) BUY-IN - 5 Rounds of:

Partner A = 20/16 Calorie Row, Ski, or Bike

-while-

Partner B = 40 Unbroken Double Unders

***Each partner completes 5 rounds, switching to alternate movements (i.e. both athletes will each perform a total of 100/80 calories and 200 double unders)

B) THEN, in the Remaining Time AMRAP of:

12 Hang Power Cleans @ 135/95 lbs

9 Front Squats

6 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

*One athlete working at a time, switch whenever (reps do NOT have to be split evenly)

Benchmark Workouts & Beyond the Whiteboard

Today’s workout is Diane, a CrossFit named benchmark workout which involves 21-15-9 Deadlifts at a light weight and handstand pushups. This workout was a big zero for me when I started CrossFit (or a big infinity?) because I couldn’t do handstand pushups at all. Little by little I was able to work towards a Black level/Rx score, and then to try to do it faster and faster.

Part of my progress with this workout, and others like it, was the fact that I had tracked my results over time using Beyond the Whiteboard. Because I was able to check my scores from my prior attempts, and I was convinced I was generally making progress, I was able to scale such that I was little by little making the workout harder for myself, or setting my goal time a little faster, and recording my incremental progress. CrossFit always feels difficult (and hspu and deadlifts sometimes particularly so), so I found being able to see concrete improvement really encouraging!

If you don’t generally use Beyond the Whiteboard, and particularly if you don’t have a login, let us know and we’ll help you get set up!

WOD for 07-26-19:

“Diane”
For Time:
21-15-9
Deadlift @ 225/155 lbs.
Handstand Push-Ups

-then-

Tabata Hollow Rock