Workout of the Day
WOD 4/11 - 4/16: Open Gym time and the benefits
By now, you’ve noticed that there are some time slots in MindBody labeled “Open Gym” on Mondays (3 pm), Wednesdays (3pm), Fridays (4 & 6 pm), and Sundays (9 & 10 am). We want you to use these time slots and we understand you may have questions about what to do when you get to the gym.
The intention behind Open Gym is simple: come work on the things that you just haven’t been able to get to during the week or that you want to spend extra time on. Open Gym is time that we have allocated to the community to come work out under the guidance of our experienced coaches. There are a few ways to use your time effectively during Open Gym.
Here are some ideas:
Complete a workout you missed: All of the WODs are posted in this Blog or on Beyond the Whiteboard. If you’ve missed a workout from the week, look through them and pick one that looks fun or the most challenging and get in a good sweat. Let the coach know your plans and they can help you with scaling guidance or set a timer.
Work on skill building: We are all working to master something in our functional fitness journey. Whether it’s getting your first pull-up or muscle-up, getting a deeper squat, or refining your Olympic lifting technique, investing this dedicated time to further your fitness and skills will only make the daily WODs more fun for you. The coach can help you with a plan of attack.
Mobility/PT work after injury: Perhaps you’ve been avoiding the gym all together because you’ve been injured or recovering from a surgery. We completely understand this. We also know that some injuries and surgeries require you to mobilize or complete your physical therapy exercises. Come into FCCF and use the space to perform those PT exercises or talk to a coach about mobilizing specific parts of the body or doing simple workouts to build confidence before you rejoin class.
Train for future events: Many of our athletes participate in fitness-oriented activities outside of FCCF. Whether you’re a distance runner, volleyball player, or an ultimate frisbee player, building strength to further advance your game is important to you. Using the Open Gym time is a great way to work on movements that allow you to stay on top of your game, all season long.
Now that we’ve energized you about coming into Open Gym, don’t hesitate to talk to the coach on duty about your plans. The coaches are there to provide guidance, watch your form and technique, and even set the clock for you. We love watching all of you make progress, so come on into Open Gym and work out with your fellow athletes.
WOD for the Week:
WODs 4/4 - 4/9: Ramadan and WODs
Hi everyone – I’m Laika Kayani, a member at Fog City Community Fitness and currently serving as a Board member. As one of the few Muslim members of the community, I’m excited to tell you a little bit about Ramadan, it’s significance, but most importantly, how I make it fit with my Fog City workout routine.
What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months for the almost 2B Muslims all around the world. It was in this month that the Quran was revealed to the people. Ramadan also falls on the 9th month of the lunar calendar, which is why it feels like Ramadan happens earlier and earlier each year. Ramadan lasts for about 30-days. You can greet your fellow Muslim friends by saying “Ramadan Mubarak” or “Ramadan Kareem”.
What is Fasting?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims participate in Fasting. Similar to intermittent fasting, there is an extended period of no eating or drinking for several hours (yes, not even water). The fasting period begins at dawn and ends at sunset. In San Francisco, fasting begins around 5:40 am and ends around 7:40 pm, which makes it a 14-hour fast.
What’s the value of fasting during this time?
During fasting, you’re encouraged to find inner peace, patience, and mindfulness. Fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food or water, but about practicing good habits, spirituality, and generosity.
Working out while fasting?
The 6 am class time is the most optimal time to workout the days I’m fasting. I eat a huge breakfast around 5 am – a good balance of protein and carbs and a TON of coffee and water. During the WOD, I try to maintain an intensity level that’s ~70% of what I typically do on a non-fasting day. By maintaining a moderate intensity, I’m able to avoid feeling thirsty during the workout and manage my energy levels throughout the day. In fact, I feel way more energized after a workout on a fast than on other days. Don’t be surprised if I pop-in at other time slots!
What happens after 30-days?
After 30-days, we celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, which is the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. After morning prayers, we enjoy a big feast – everything we’ve been craving all month long. We greet each other by saying “Eid Mubarak”. For me, after indulging in all of the yummy food and taking a really long nap, I like to squeeze in a good workout. Last year, my husband and I created a WOD to represent the last 10-days of the 30-days of Ramadan, which are considered the most important days of the month. The workout was 10 different movements for 30 reps each – it was brutal! <update, we maybe programming this into a Sweaty Saturday WOD — stay posted!>
Thank you for letting me share more about this lovely month! Please let me know if you have questions.
WOD for the Week:
WODs 3/28-4/2: How is it almost April?
Q1 2022 is wrapping up and this week is a mad dash for many of you to hit your goals, meet your targets, or perhaps nail some workout goals. Whatever your motivations are for this quarter, remember to keep your eye on the prize. You may not have a ton of things you’re working on and that’s okay too.
On our end, we have a few things lined up and keeping an eye on for the Q2 2022:
4/2/2022 - 5/2/2022: Ramadan kicks-off — you’ll hear from one of our members on how they manage fasting and staying active at the gym.
4/10/2022: Fog City Town Hall at 8 pm — mark your calendars to hear important updates about the gym!
5/20/2022 - 6/12/2022: Crossfit Semi-finals
5/30/2022: Memorial Day Murph WOD
June 2022: TBD — FCCF hangout to officially kick-off the summer!
This list is not exhaustive — we’ll continue to add to this as the quarter pushes forward.
WOD for the Week:
WODs 3/21-3/26: OPEN Party Success & Upcoming Programming!
End of CrossFit OPEN Party:
Thank you to everyone that attended the End of OPEN Party on Saturday! We had a great gathering. We missed many of you and hope to catch you at the next Fog City CF event.
📣 A special shout-out to our top finishers in the Open:
Men:
Alex Garcia
John Robinson
Greg Sands
Women:
Brianne Cannon
Liz Terry
Casey Jones
Spirit of the Open: Jen Clarke
Big congrats to Coach Alex and Coach Kim for finishing in the top 10% of their divisions and qualifying for the CrossFit Quarterfinals!!! Congratulations to everyone who competed!
Huge THANK YOU to Allice Pollard for organizing and decorating for the party and Greg Sands for helping with food, drinks, and setup!
Upcoming Programming Focus:
We’re starting our next programming cycle this week. It will last about 9 weeks. Expect that we will be doing a variety of strength work, focusing on things we haven’t done in a while (starting with Monday’s push presses). We’ll also have a strength plus metcon day and a long workout each week to help build your conditioning. Besides those, expect some classic couplets and triplets and a variety of accessory work.
WOD for the Week:
WODs 3/14-19: Congrats on finishing the Open!
Congratulations to everyone for wrapping up the final week of the Open! That workout was a tough one, but it was exciting to see everyone push hard through the different sections. A special shout out to those who got their first of a movement during the workout. Thank you all for the energy and passion you brought to the gym these last three weeks. And thank you to our coaches, facilities team, and board members who helped run this week to week.
If you ordered Open swag, they are upstairs. Grab your item(s) and check your name off of the list.
Don’t forget, we will be celebrating the end of the Open this Saturday, 3/19 from 1-3pm at the Bungalow at Parklab Gardens (1379 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94158). We can’t wait to hang out with you all outside of the gym.
WODs for the Week:
Week 3 of the CrossFit Open: The Finale!
It’s the last week of the Open and to no one’s surprise, there are thrusters and pull-ups! This workout is a burner and gets progressively harder as you go. Hopefully we will see some firsts today – a double under, pull-up, chest-to-bar pull-up, bar muscle-up or even a heavy thruster. Come ready to have fun, breathe hard, and celebrate your accomplishments throughout the Open.
Open Workout 22.3
For Time:
21 Pull-Ups
42 Double-Unders
21 Thrusters (95/65 lbs)
18 Chest-To-Bar Pull-Ups
36 Double-Unders
18 Thrusters (115/75 lbs)
15 Bar Muscle-Ups
30 Double-Unders
15 Thrusters (135/85 lbs)
Time cap: 12 minutes
Logistics
Sign-up and come to class as normal. We’ll be running several heats per class, so you’ll do the workout during one and judge/cheer during the other. The coach will start with a quick briefing and make sure everyone is in a heat and then we’ll get after it.
Don’t forget that scores will need to be submitted by 5pm Monday to show up on our Fog City and CrossFit games leaderboards.
Strategy for 22.3
Your strategy for this workout will vary depending on what your sticking point is. For many, it will be the bar muscle-ups. For others, it could be the chest-to-bar pull-ups or one of the thruster weights or double unders. Advanced athletes will need to keep moving to finish this. Plan to push the pace or dial it back to help maximize your ability to complete the most challenging movement.
Pacing
There is a tiebreaker time on this workout: it’s the time you complete the most challenging set of thrusters. Use this to your advantage. If you can’t do a movement or know that you are going to struggle, think about pushing the pace to get a good tiebreaker time and then taking a brief break before attempting the next movement.
Advanced athletes should consider performing the double unders, pull-ups, and lighter thrusters in large or unbroken sets to push under the time cap.
For everyone: starting off with manageable sets will be key to not hitting the wall. You’ll feel great in that first round, but be careful about going out too hard.
Movement Tips
Pull-ups/Chest-to-Bar/Bar Muscle-ups
Think about the different kips for each movement: Chest-to-bar pull-ups will require a bigger arch, press-down, and push away than the chin-over-bar pull-ups.
On the bar muscle-ups: focus on pushing down on the bar and getting your hips as high as possible before bending your arms and transitioning over the bar. This post breaks the movement down well.
Double Unders
There aren’t a lot of these, so take your time and aim to get through these in as few sets as possible.
If you trip up, stay relaxed. A few misses aren’t going to take up a lot of time, but getting flustered and missing a lot will. So take a deep breath before you restart them.
Thruster
Know yourself: if these are a lighter weight, aim for big sets (1-2 sets). If the weight is heavy, breaking them into 2-4 sets will help save your shoulders for the other movements.
Stay tight at the bottom of the squat and DRIVE with your legs before finishing with the arms.
Scaling
If you are officially registered, you can always do 1 thruster at the RX weight (or a few pull-ups) to register an RX score and then complete the rest of the workout at an appropriate scaling level for you.
If you’re not entered, pick the heaviest thruster weight and the hardest pulling movement that you can perform and build backwards to select the weight and pulling movement for rounds 1 and 2. The coach can help you with options for this.
Other Resources:
Official workout description and standards: https://games.crossfit.com/workouts/open/2022/3
BTWB 22.3 Blog: https://btwb.blog/2022/03/11/crossfit-open-22-3-preliminary-analysis-strategies/
WODs 3/7 - 3/12: Two Open workouts down, one to go!
What a week! We started with front squat PRs and ended with some great performances on 22.2. Congrats to everyone! Don’t forget to submit your score for 22.2 by Monday at 5 PM PST – don’t wait until the last minute!
Only one more week of the Open remaining. Odds are we’ll see something on the rig this week, but what else? A repeat of a previous workout? A heavy barbell? The dreaded thruster? Multiple gymnastic movements? Lots of options remain…
Don’t forget to SAVE THE DATE for the end of CrossFit Open Party on March 19, 2022 at 1 pm at the Bungalow at Parklab Gardens (1379 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94158)
WODs for the Week:
Week 2 of the CrossFit Open: Barbells and Burpees
22.2 is here and so are the burpees and the barbell! This week’s workout is a couplet of deadlifts and bar-facing burpees with reps that go up and then back down. The time cap is aggressive, so just about everyone will be cut off before finishing. Focus on moving steadily through the workout, accumulating as many reps as you can in the 10 minutes – it will be over before you know it!
Open Workout 22.2
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time of:
Deadlifts (225/155 lbs)
Bar-facing burpees
Time cap: 10 minutes
Logistics
Sign-up and come to class as normal. We’ll be running several heats per class, so you’ll do the workout during one and judge/cheer during the other. The coach will start with a quick briefing and make sure everyone is in a heat and then we’ll get after it.
Don’t forget that scores will need to be submitted by 5pm Monday to show up on our Fog City and CrossFit games leaderboards.
Strategy for 22.2
Pacing
Start at a steady pace and settle in around rounds 4-5, aiming to control your breathing. When you hit the 7 minute mark, start to push the pace a bit for the last 3 minutes
Transitions: keep them short! There are a lot of transitions in the workout. Move quickly into the next movement and if needed, try to keep your longer breaks to every few rounds.
Make sure you get your heart rate up before the workout starts so your system is ready to go
Movement Tips
Deadlift
Set your back and brace on EVERY rep – no rounded backs! High rep deadlift workouts are no joke, so coaches will be keeping a close eye on your form and ask you to stop/take weight off if things start to look sketchy
Break up your rounds early with only a short break in between sets (depending on the athlete, this may be in rounds 6 to 8)
Burpee
Aim for a smooth consistent pace. Try not to spike your heart rate too much at the beginning.
Just keep moving! Even if you are stepping back, flopping, and stepping up, you are making progress.
The standard is slightly different this year: you do not need a two foot takeoff or landing. Here’s some examples of different types of burpees: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cap6JEivhfF/
Scaling
Think about your recent deadlift workouts and what weights/reps you have done. Use the warm-up to test how the weight feels. You should be able to do a set of 6-8 unbroken when fresh.
Remember, you can always do 1 deadlift at the RX weight to register an RX score and then complete the rest of the workout at an appropriate scaling level for you.
If you want to read more about strategy, here are a couple of resources:
Official workout description and standards: are at https://games.crossfit.com/workouts/open/2022/2
Beyond the Whiteboard’s 22.2 Blog with results and video links: https://btwb.blog/2022/03/04/crossfit-open-22-2-preliminary-analysis/
WOD 2/28 - 3/4: 22.1 Wrap and Front Squat Testing
Congratulations to everyone who completed the first workout of the 2022 CrossFit Open! What a day of fun, firsts, and enthusiasm for this annual event. We love how this community comes together and cheers each other on. We’ll see you again this Saturday for 22.2.
Don’t forget to submit your score by Monday at 5 PM PST! And if you haven’t registered, there is still time! Visit Games.CrossFit.com.
🥳 SAVE THE DATE for the end of CrossFit Open Party on March 19, 2022 at 1 pm at the Bungalow at Parklab Gardens (1379 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94158)
WOD for the Week:
There are some fun workouts this week, starting with wrapping up our front squat cycle tomorrow. Come on in to test your max and see how your hard work has paid off! This is a useful benchmark to have, so even if you haven’t done the whole cycle, you can build to a heavy single for the day. Make sure you record your score in Beyond the Whiteboard or write it down for reference.
CrossFit 22.1: Here we go! The CrossFit Open is starting in 3…2…1…!
Get excited! The Open is starting with a classic CrossFit triplet:
Open 22.1 Workout
AMRAP 15 Minutes:
3 wall walks
12 dumbbell (DB) snatches (50/35 lbs)
15 box jump-overs (24/20 inches)
Logistics
Sign-up and come to class as normal. We’ll be running two heats per class, so you’ll do the workout during one and judge/cheer during the other. The coach will start with a quick briefing and make sure everyone is in a heat and then we’ll get after it.
If you haven’t already, check out the CrossFit Games site for the full details on the workout and to sign up! Scores will need to be submitted by 5pm Monday to show up on our Fog City and CrossFit games leaderboards.
Strategy for 22.1
This workout is all about your pacing!
Keep a smooth pace throughout. Start at a steady pace and pick it up as you go if you’re feeling good. More advanced athletes can do a fast first round, then settle in for the middle rounds, then pick it up for the last few minutes. (Think about it like how you would run a 5K – hard to start, settle in, then rev it up to finish.)
Make sure you’re ready for the wall walks before you go – no failing here!
Move steadily through DB snatches and box jumpovers.
Wall Walks
Think about getting into downward dog to start off the wall walk, then kick your feet up the wall
Keep an active shoulder throughout with your elbows locked out.
Look at the wall as you approach it, with your chin tucked
DB Snatch
Focus on using your legs on your snatches to save your shoulders for the wall walks.
Set up with your chest and eyes up, keep the DB close, and finish with a strong punch overhead
Box Jumpover
For the best efficiency, turn on the top of the box
Take advantage of the forced step-down to get yourself in a good position for the next rep and use your momentum to jump back up
Scaling
Use the warm-up to see if you’re able to do any reps RX safely, if you can then go for it! If you start to fail multiple reps during the workout move to a scaled option to keep moving
If you can’t do the reps safely, then scale down and focus on having a consistent pace throughout the workout
If you want to read more about strategy, here are a couple of resources:
WODprep has a nice strategy guide: CrossFit Open 22.1 Strategy & Tips To Get Your Best Time | WODprep
Beyond the Whiteboard has a page that summarizes results so far and compiles strategy videos. https://btwb.blog/2022/02/25/crossfit-open-22-1-preliminary-analysis/
WOD 2/21-2/24: Any guesses for the first CrossFit Open for 22.1?
Have you signed up for the Open?
Are you still on the fence about registering for the Crossfit Open? Well, here are some reasons why you should sign-up:
It’s a good way to measure your personal fitness and see how you rank against others around the world and at Fog City!
It’s a great way to hit some new personal records (PRs) – toes to bar, pull-ups, muscle-ups, cleans, and more! There’s something about a competition that helps people achieve more than they thought they could.
It’s a fun, community event that gets all levels of athletes into the spirit of the event - there is scaling for everyone, even our newest members!
It’s a great way to show up for your fellow athletes and support them through a workout.
It’s a fun way to judge a workout without being judgy!
Prizes! We’ll have awards and prizes for awesome performances at all levels.
Ready? Here’s the link to register: https://open.crossfit.com/ More details were in our blog post a couple weeks ago. Any other questions? Talk to a coach or post on Slack.
What’s your guess?
Alright, so assuming you’re all in on this CrossFit Open business, then you know the first workout is going to drop this Thursday at 12 pm! What are your guesses what movements will be in the first workout? Here’s a list of all the movements in past Open workouts. There’s a strong chance there will be thrusters, toes-to-bar, and double unders this year.
You can watch the live announcement of the workout and see some CrossFit Games athletes do it on Thursday at noon on http://games.crossfit.com.
Weekend logistics
Saturday classes will be programmed for the workout posted for the CrossFit Open on Thursdays. Classes will feel a little different: we will run the workout in heats.
Sign-up as you normally would on MindBody. When you arrive at the gym, sign-up for a heat you want to perform the workout in and stay for an additional heat to judge (counting and cheering) someone. We’ll post a warm-up that will be self-guided to help you prepare for the actual workout.
Bring the energy! Come dressed in your Fog City gear! Order your swag here! Come cheer on your friends at the gym!
We’ll cover more details in Friday’s post, once we know what the first workout is.
WODs for the Week:
WOD 2/14-2/19: Lift to See Another Day
Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt so sore that you decide you’re going to skip a few gym days to “recover”? Perhaps you went very hard on one of the workouts and decided to go above your usual scaling option and you’re feeling it the next morning. We’ve all had this feeling and we’ve all been in situations to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone to achieve new levels of fitness.
Well, good news is that you’re able to push yourself. You have the mental strength to go above and beyond your limits, and we love to see it. But, we also love to see you in the gym consistently. There will always be trade-offs between lifting heavy today and skipping the gym for a few days or lifting at a moderate weight and having enough energy to recover and be back in the gym the next day.
Coming to the gym is a marathon and not a sprint. If every workout for you feels like a 10 out of 10 on the effort scale, most likely, you’re going to take time away to “recover” and then be back. Working at a moderate pace, 7-8.5 out of 10 on the effort scale will ensure you stay motivated to be back the next day or the day after.
Here are some tools to help you during a workout:
You are your only competition: If you’re consistently showing up to the gym, the competition is against yourself and no one else. There are going to be some workouts that your fellow athletes may be faster or more efficient at than you, but you’re not competing against anyone other than yourself.
Track your progress: Track your score in Beyond the White Board app and see how your performance improves over time. If you don’t have access to Beyond the White Board app because of your membership status, track your progress the old school way - spreadsheet or notes.
Ask the coach: If at any point you’re unsure of what weight you should consider, ask your coach. You can ask if the intended stimulus for the workout is to go heavy, moderate, or light.
Check-in with yourself: Ask yourself – how am I feeling today before you start your workout? If you’re feeling good, then add those extra 5-10 pounds on the barbell or go a little faster on those burpees. If you’re feeling sluggish, be okay with taking a few pounds off so you can get through the movements with good form and technique.
Play the long game: We all have something that we are working on. Even the most advanced athletes will struggle with making progress on certain movements. If you think of your journey at FCCF as a long game, you’ll learn that it’s about consistently showing up, improving your form and technique, and then pushing yourself each week to do something a little more from the week prior.
We hope to see you in the gym consistently and want to help you make progress towards your fitness goals. Talk to any of our coaches about your goals or general questions you have about the workout. We’re here to see you lift another day!
Reminders:
Give us your feedback by completing the Member Experience survey!
Register for the Crossfit Open and select Fog City CrossFit as your Affiliate.
Order your CrossFit Open t-shirt! Deadline EXTENDED!
WODs for the Week: