Workout of the Day
Open 20.2: Any Guesses?
Open workout 20.2 will be announced to the world on Thursday at 5pm. Any guesses as to what’s coming?
Much like we did on Monday with barbell cycling and alternating “for quality” movement we’ll mix the two domains across an alternating EMOM and a task-priority met-con. Yes, we are slightly betting against a few movements here in 20.2 but even if we’re wrong about that the volume, loading, and intensity is carefully measured (hence the 2 Rounds and not an AMRAP) in such a way that you should be good to go this weekend regardless.
Enjoy!
WOD For 10-17-19:
Alternating EMOM For 5 Rounds (10 Minutes):
MINUTE 1:
3 Hang Power Cleans
MINUTE 2:
2 Dumbbell or Kettlebell Turkish Get-ups @ pick load (1 R / 1 L)
*Climb as your technique allows on the barbell
-then-
2 Rounds For Time:
20 Handstand Push-ups
20 Hang Power Cleans @ 155/110 lbs
80 Air Squats
Wednesday Back-to-Back Intensity Pieces
I know, I know… burpees?! It had to be done, friends — four days was enough to repair your soul.
WOD For 10-16-19:
AMRAP 6 Minutes:
9 Hang Power Snatches @ 115/75 lbs
12 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft
… Rest 3 Minutes, Then…
AMRAP 6 Minutes:
9 Overhead Squats @ 95/65 lbs
12 Lateral Bar Burpees
-then-
Weighted Plank Hold:
3 x 0:45 (Rest 1:15)
Lost & Found: Last Call!
Final call for our gym’s Lost & Found — please come in and double-check the light blue bin next to the metal desk, as well as the storage cubbies for any items that may be yours. Anything left over will be donated.
A BIG SHOUT OUT to all the athletes who completed Open 20.1 and left a small part of their soul on the gym floor. The Arena Ready Week 1 Leaderboard toppers were Coaches Megan & Kim for the women (Megan with the fastest time at 65 lbs and Kim with an even faster blistering time in her Masters Division), and Katoa for the men. As of this writing Kim stands in 13th overall IN THE WORLD in her division for 20.1. Honorable mention to Coach Liz for also finishing the workout under the 15-minute time cap while on vacation overseas — that takes a special sort of crazy that I wish I had LOL. And, of course, a big thank you to Coach Amy for a guest appearance at AR which also included finishing the workout under the cap. Impressive stuff from all of our athletes who went into the mental pain cave for 15 minutes!
WOD For 10-15-19:
With a Partner, AMRAP 21 Minutes:
1000m Row
24 Deadlifts @ 205/145 lbs
42 Box Jump Overs @ 24/20 in
*Only one athlete working at a time, switch whenever you like.
Open 20.1 Score Submissions Due By 5pm Monday
Reminder to SUBMIT YOUR 20.1 score to the CrossFit Games website by the deadline of Monday at 5pm. We cannot submit your score for you so if you're reading this just do it now so you don't forget!
Pull-ups and double unders in the Open are like winter… THEY ARE COMING. They may not be in 20.2 — or they may be — but either way they’re coming in one of the next four Open workouts. And who are we kidding, we do both movements every week at Arena Ready anyway, so this is sort of old hat.
This time around we’ll do chin-over bar to practice that specific movement requirement, even though our default Rx is chest-to-bar — it should make for bigger sets for many of you, but keep the total volume in mind as well when approaching this Monday met-con.
Enjoy!
WOD For 10-14-19:
Alternating EMOM 5 Rounds (10 Minutes):
MINUTE 1:
1 Power Clean + 3 Push Jerks
MINUTE 2:
3 Scap Pull-ups + 1 Max L-Sit
Climb in loading on the barbell every round. The Max L-Sit is one attempt hanging from the pull-up bar and is performed immediately following the scap pull-ups (without dropping off to re-set the grip). Scale the L-Sit to a Chair (or “Tuck”) Sit if you cannot hold the L position for at least 15 seconds.
-then-
For Time:
BUY-IN:
170 Double Unders
THEN, 5 Rounds of…
17 Pull-ups
7 Push Jerks @ 135/95 lbs
Open 20.1 Thoughts & Strategy
Open Athletes - if you haven't already, please watch the 20.1 standards video below, and read the workout details here on the CrossFit Games website. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page with movement standards and expectations (including Open & Masters, Rx & Scaled) prior to every athlete and judge starting their workout/heat. This one is about as simple as it gets, so it should be smooth sailing for us.
You'll also need to enter your score on the CrossFit Games website before the submission deadline at 5pm on Monday. You can still register for the Open up until the 20.1 submission deadline, so if you do the workout this weekend and decide to enter afterwards make sure to have someone judge you so you have an official score.
As we've covered previously in this post here, we'll be running the Open Workout ("20.1") during rolling heats in all of our Saturday morning classes. Please sign-up for class in advance and plan on doing the workout AND judging another athlete while in the gym (no, you do not have to be a certified judge who has taken the judges course, but if you’d like to become one you can find the Judges Course here).
For those new to Arena Ready please note that these Saturday morning classes will be very different from our usual protocol. The warm-up will be self-directed and written on the board for you to follow. Please plan on showing up 10 minutes early for class if possible, so that you can sign-up for a heat time when you arrive and get yourself situated for warming-up. Among other things, you're going to want to get your shoulders & hips nice and warm, your heart rate elevated, and your blood pumping so that you put yourself in a good position to crush this workout.
20.1 is a great 15-minute AMRAP couplet designed to be simple yet potentially brutal for those who can really rack-up the reps. Strategy is not all that complicated — you mostly need to know your goal, the pacing required to get you in the neighborhood of that goal, keep the transitions between movements disciplined and quick, and whatever you do, don’t go out too hot!
This workout is filled with traps - namely the first set of snatches and burpees. At top speed, many of us can complete one round of this workout in less than a minute without even sprinting. The weight is light, there are only ten burpees, and it’ll feel great in the first round… UNTIL… BAM! Red line. The goal of this workout is to move with purpose, but keep the red line at bay by intentionally keeping your rhythm steady (if not actually slow).
Ground to Overhead
This movement requires taking a barbell from ground to overhead in any fashion. That said, AR rules dictate that this be a movement with a name - while we admire creativity we dislike sloppy barbell movements, so please stick to one of the movements listed here: You can choose a clean to press, push press, push jerk, or split jerk, or you can snatch, or even split snatch (if you want to be like Zach “the Natural” a la 2013).
For elite level CrossFitters this is a very light workout, but for some of us this may be a heavier working weight, so please strategize accordingly:
Barbell is light. If this is less than 50% of your 1RM snatch, you’ll have the option to do these 8 ground to overheads as unbroken snatches, or to break them up strategically. We’d suggest considering 1-2 strategic breaks (sets of 4-4 or 3-3-2) even from the beginning.
Barbell is medium. If this is between 50-70% of your 1RM snatch, plan to break the reps up into sets of 2 or even singles out the gate, and consider using a clean & jerk instead of a snatch, particularly if you’re a burpee ninja. Be mindful of technique on the snatch because even though the weight is medium, inefficiency will lead to excess accumulated fatigue over many reps. The best technique for moving the weight is also the most efficient. It’s a win-win!
Barbell is heavy. If this is above 80% of your 1RM Snatch (and especially if it’s above 80% of your 1RM clean & jerk), you’ll likely need to approach this as a weightlifting workout interrupted by some recovery burpees. Do the ground to overheads as focused singles, paying attention to the time on the clock to give yourself time to properly recover between reps. At high percentages you’ll likely need at least 20 seconds between reps to keep your technique solid. In this case, try to find an AR coach to judge you, so that your form can also benefit from the practice.
Burpees
Burpees are a simple movement which are notorious for testing fitness at every level, from beginner to elite. Each burpee requires touching your thighs and chest to the ground perpendicular to the barbell with hands and feet inside the width of the plates. Next, you’ll need to stand up (this can be crawling up, a split step, or a jump up with both feet) and jump over the bar (both feet leave the ground simultaneously, and you can’t touch the barbell, or it’s a no-rep and you have to start over from prone). Please note: if you’re competing in the scaled division you can step over the bar.
The key here is to pick a realistic pace and stick to it (be disciplined to slow yourself down even while you’re still feeling fresh) in order to preserve your heart rate and keep moving at that steady pace into rounds 4, 5, 6, etc. If you participated in the burpee box jump EMOM a couple weeks ago, that’s not a bad proxy for how this workout might go if you’re not careful - an initial pace of 10 in 45 seconds could easily become 10 in two minutes in later rounds (same as going from 12 down to 5 in that EMOM). Go slower than you think (and breathe!) in the first 5 minutes, try to hold the pace (and breathe!) for the middle 8 minutes, and then assess whether you should hold or gradually accelerate the pace in the last 2 minutes.
Scores
Elite/Professional CrossFitters will complete this workout in less than 10 minutes (aka 1 minute per round).
Finishing this workout requires 10 rounds of 90 seconds each.
Most of us will be scoring this workout in rounds plus reps.
Don’t do your first round in a minute.
And don’t do your first round more than 10% faster than your goal score requires. Your performance will be best (and your fitness will hurt least) if you pace this such that each round takes roughly the same amount of time, but you can’t really go any faster without taking a break.
Volume & Intensity
Despite this being the Open, and especially for beginners and/or those who may not have been working out 3-5 times per week in the last 6-8 weeks, it’s important to go into this workout with a realistic expectation regarding volume (total reps) and intensity (how much you’re willing to burn).
Volume
Each round of this workout is 8 reps of ground to overhead and 10 burpees. While the volume of each round may not seem like a lot, they’ll add up quickly - 5 rounds, for example, represents 40 reps of ground to overhead and 50 burpees which could potentially be a lot if you haven’t been working out lately or if you’re new to the ground to overhead movement. If you’re concerned about volume, choose a number of reps that seems appropriate to you (in the neighborhood of 10% more reps than you’ve done at that weight in a day recently) and stop there even if you have time left on the clock.
Intensity
While this is the Open, if you haven’t been working out 3-5 times per week over the last 6-8 weeks (and really even if you have), please hold yourself to our usual standard of going only a bit harder than you’ve gone lately. Yes, this is a competition, but more importantly this is a single workout intended to be fun, and only the first workout of the rest of your life. Now that we’re doing the Open for a 10th consecutive year, we can say with confidence that going harder than you are currently prepared to go could end up having long-term consequences, and that’s pretty much not ever worth it. Use this as an opportunity to be inspired. Dig a little deeper than usual. But please also keep your wits about you.
Workout 20.1 begins in…
WOD for 10-12-19:
10 Rounds for Time (15 Min Cap):
8 Ground to Overhead @ 95/65 lbs.
10 Bar-facing Burpees
Open 20.1 Announced!
This makes two years in a row (well, technically two Opens in a row since it’s only been 8 months since 19.1) that I literally laughed out loud when the first workout was announced.
If you’ve been at Arena Ready for more than a year or two (which is nearly all of you reading this) you’ve probably done at least a dozen workouts that look fairly related to this disgusting gem which I think Coach Kim may have requested from CrossFit HQ…
The first workout of the 2020 CrossFit Games Worldwide Open ("20.1") was released on Thursday evening, so if you're going to be completing the workout this weekend at Arena Ready (either during the fun craziness of our Open Heats during all Saturday classes, or during Sunday Open Gym) then please start by reviewing the workout details here and watching the standards video above (which covers only the Rx workout, and not the scaled version) - thanks!
It's not too late to register for the 2020 Open! Join in on the fun and register here on the CrossFit Games website (make sure to select Arena Ready as your affiliate). You'll be able to register up until the online score submission deadline for 20.1 on Monday at 5pm (i.e. you can come in and do the workout this weekend and then register & enter your score afterward, as long as that's before Monday at 5pm… just make sure your performance is judged!).
On the fence? Read this post which has links to all of our unpaid, non-state sponsored propaganda — and then just do it already. Particularly if you’re planning on working out during any of the next 5 Saturdays anyway. Duh.
The beauty of the simplicity and brutal elegance of 20.1 is that it leaves us with some interesting complimentary movements that can be programmed the day before without too much interference with the movement patterns you’ll be crushing on Saturday. Either way, you can choose to go HAM on Friday (particularly if you’re not entered in the Open) or take more of a methodical approach to the squats & met-con — but either way you’ll get a good, well rounded workout and a deft dose of intensity if you so choose.
WOD For 10-11-19:
Every 2 Minutes For 7 Rounds:
3 Back Squats
*Start at a moderate weight and climb as desired, or stay at a challenging weight across multiple sets (no misses, this is not a max out session).
*If possible, add to last week 10-03-19
-then-
“The AR Beefed-Up Baseline”
For Time:
500m Row or SkiErg
40 Wall Balls @ 20/14 lbs to 10/9 ft
30 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in
20 Toes-to-Bar
10 Strict Pull-ups (any grip allowed)
The 2020 Open at Arena Ready: It's Not Too Late!
You still have time to register for the 2020 CrossFit Games Open at Arena Ready!
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, or for some reason you just found out that your gym has a daily blog which (among other things) posts the WOD and some helpful gym news, here are some helpful links:
Click here to get the 411 on what the Open is all about. You can also register on the CrossFit Games website here (registration is $20 and make sure to select Arena Ready CrossFit as your affiliate).
Click here and here to read more about the Open at Arena Ready, and click here to get the details of how we’ll run our Open Saturdays for the next 5 weeks.
If you’re still on the fence talk to a coach at the gym!
WOD For 10-10-19:
Power Clean:
3-3-3-3-3
Climbing
-then-
For Time:
21-15-9
Power Cleans @ 155/110 lbs
Pistols (alternate)
Lateral Bar Burpees
Thursday Noon Class Back On!
Thanks to Coach Katie “Pepper” for bringing this week’s Thursday 12pm class back to life! Our Wednesday 7am and 12pm classes are still cancelled as mentioned in yesterday’s blog - thanks again for your understanding.
As Open 20.1 quickly approaches we change gears a little mid-week… Monday and Tuesday’s “meat & potatoes” of strength & strength endurance work, intensity pieces, and bodyweight & barbell cycling makes a transition into a Wednesday program of pre-hab/shoulder recovery plus some station rotation aerobic work with the skill element of double under volume built-in. Enjoy!
WOD For 10-09-19:
Alternating EMOM For 3 Rounds (Minutes):
8 Light (or Empty) Barbell Upright Rows
8 Kettlebell “Bottoms Up” Kneeling Presses (8 each side)
4 PERFECT Inchworms to Plank
*This is FOR QUALITY and not for speed or loading — focus on moving perfectly and with intent
-then-
4 Rounds For Reps (0:45 Seconds Work Per Movement / 0:15 Seconds Rest Between Movements):
Russian Kettlebell Swings @ 70/53 lbs
Double Unders
AbMat Sit-ups
Row Calories
(Rest 1:15 Between Rounds)
*Score this workout like “Tabata” by noting your LOWEST rep count for each of the movement across all 4 rounds.
Wednesday Class Cancellations
As we eluded to yesterday we’ve had to cancel 2 of the classes on Wednesday of this week — our Wednesday 7am and 12pm classes have been cancelled.
Thanks for your understanding, and please let us know if you have any questions.
WOD For 10-08-19:
For Time:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs
***Complete 1 round of “Cindy” after each set of power snatches (for a total of 10 rounds of “Cindy”)
1 Round of “Cindy” is:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats
Reminder 2 of 3: Lost & Found
A friendly reminder to please check the Lost & Found before we send the items away on Oct 13th (it’s the light blue bin next to the metal desk… oh and check all the cubbies too, since I’m going to donate that stuff also). Thanks for your attention, folks.
Additionally, with many of our coaches away this week we are hoping to cover our Wednesday & Thursday morning and noon classes, but are still looking to confirm these slots. There is a possibility of some class cancellations for those two morning & mid-day times, and we will keep you all posted either way.
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
WOD For 10-07-19:
Deadlift:
5-5-5-5-5
Climbing
-then-
For Time:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Single Dumbbell Hang Clean to Overhead @ 50/35 lbs
Burpee Box Jumps @ 24/20 in (facing box NOT required)
*Switch sides with the dumbbell whenever you like, but we recommend splitting the reps roughy in half right/left
The Open is For All Of Us + Sparkle's CFEDH Memorial WOD
A look back at Open 16.5 at Arena Ready
Hey look, you’re going to do this cool WOD on Saturday. Because you like working out on Saturdays at AR… it’s fun, the energy is high, the place is bustling, people are happy & socializing, you get to see your gym buddies that you may not see during the work week, and the workouts are usually pretty tough (which you love).
Guess what, Saturday exerciser? For 5 consecutive Saturday’s starting on Oct 12th there’s a cool little worldwide fitness event that lots of your AR homies will be participating in because, well… it’s fun, the energy is high, the place is bustling, people are happy & socializing, you get to see your gym buddies that you may not see during the work week, and the workouts are usually pretty tough (which you love).
You get my point.
Don’t be that person who works out on Saturdays at AR anyway but is not entered in the Open — trust me when I say that the handful of people that do that end up wishing they had just signed up to officially participate in the first place. And yes, you can do the Open workout on Sunday at Open Gym if you can’t make it on Saturday — and if you’re traveling for any of the weeks then one of the many (fourteen thousand now?) CrossFit affiliates around the world who are also doing the Open will surely be near your stay and can host you for that week’s Open workout.
Register this weekend and maybe I won’t torture all of you again with another week of Karen variations, pull-up volume builds, and/or burpee trick-or-treats. It’s from a place of love, people.
Speaking of a place of love — Sparkle’s CrossFit El Dorado Hills family will be doing their memorial WOD in her honor on Saturday, so we will be joining them by running a (slightly modified) version of the same workout at our gym in remembrance of Lindsay. We will also be programming our own iteration of a workout in Sparkle’s name at the conclusion of the Open — which, by the way, was one of her favorite times of the year (as evidenced in the above photo taken during the Spring of 2018).
#SparkleOn
WOD For 10-05-19:
With a Partner Against a 24-Minute Clock:
BUY-IN: 1981m Row OR SkiErg
Then AMRAP of…
38 Thrusters @ 95/65 lbs
38 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
38 Push Jerks
38 Overhead Squats
38 Front Squats
***During the barbell movements both partners MUST complete 4 burpees at the top of every minute
***One person working at a time on the barbell movements & the row, switch whenever you like.
From Jon:
“The 38 reps was Lindsay’s age, the movements were taken from the ‘Air Force WOD’ [Rob’s note: a workout that Lindsay had a long history with over the years], and 1981 is the year of her birth.”
You Know What Time It Is: Clean & Jerk Heavy Singles/1RM
Ever wonder what goes through the minds of high-level weightlifters when they're attempting a heavy (or even max effort) clean & jerk? Luckily for you at Arena Ready there are several of them you can ask firsthand -- I'm willing to bet they'll all give you a different answer. But I think one universal theme will appear (much like my universally nervous look in the background of most of these photos) -- they try not to overthink the lift, but rather to trust their technique and training up to that point, and let their body do what it already knows how to do.
From top to bottom: Hillary, Sarah, Amy, Lisa, Cassie, Kate
(I didn't have a photo of Kate competing at a meet readily available so instead here's a pic of her doing the worst jerk ever)
If you've been coming in consistently over the last eight weeks and making all of the Friday barbell days in particular, it's likely that you've set yourself up well for some heavy weights in today's workout. In fact, you basically performed a variation of a weightlifting cycle woven into the background of (at times) a seemingly un-related CrossFit program. But alas, the same squat volume maintenance, upper body push & support, lower body pull, speed work, GPP, and accessory exercises were used in a similar-ish fashion than we would for any of the above pictured athletes preparing for a weightlifting meet. Specificity and exact prescription of percentages and movements may not have been explicit since we're NOT ACTUALLY preparing you for an Olympic weightlifting meet, but rather we're preparing you to lift some heavy weights in the gym, have fun doing so, and enjoying kicking ass in life thanks to being fit and strong.
So, if you've been a model of consistency then you've earned the right to attempt some heavy lifts with that beautiful technique you've worked so hard to repeat over and over and over again every week. Now, as the weights go up even more, let your body do what it already knows how to do.
Friday barbell therapy, giddy up!
WOD For 10-03-19:
Every 90 Seconds For 20 Rounds (30 Total Minutes):
ROUNDS 1-5: Light (55-65% of 1RM C&J)
Squat Clean + Front Squat + Jerk
ROUNDS 6-10: Moderate (65-75%)
Squat Clean + Jerk
ROUNDS 11-15: Heavy-ish (80-90% CLIMBING WITH NO MISSES ALLOWED)
Squat Clean + Jerk
ROUNDS 16-20: Heavy (90%+ CLIMBING WITH "2 MISS RULE" IN EFFECT)
Squat Clean + Jerk
*The "2 Miss Rule" = miss twice during Rounds 16-20 and you're DONE!
*Any style of jerk is allowed.