Saturday 231209

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

On a running clock:

0:00-10:00:

1 snatch high pull

1 hang power snatch

10:00-20:00:

Complete the following complex for max load:

1 power snatch

2 hang squat snatches

For Part 1: Start at 30% of your max snatch and work up to 50%.

For Part 2: Make as many attempts as desired within the 10-minute window.

Post load to comments.

Goal: Technical practice and application. Percentages are based on your best power snatch.

Focus on continuous leg drive and elevating the bar. If the second pull is not executed efficiently, you won’t be able to lift as much load.

When time starts, athletes begin with 30% of their best snatch, or what they consider to be a light weight, and work up in load using the complex of 1 snatch high pull + 1 hang power snatch until they hit about 50%.

At the 10-minute mark:

Athletes move on to their working window and hit the complex of 1 power snatch + 2 hang squat snatches as heavy as possible.

Athletes cannot drop the bar between their power snatch and hang squat snatch.

Scaling:

Intermediate option:

Intermediate athletes can perform this workout as prescribed.

Beginner option:

From 0:00-10:00:

Practice the following complex with an empty bar or a light weight:

1 hang snatch pull

1 hang power snatch

From 10:00-20:00:

Work up to a heavy set of:

3 hang power snatches

Resources:

The Hang Power Snatch

“What Is a Snatch?”

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Friday 231208

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

Every 6 minutes for 3 sets complete:
21-15-9 reps
Echo-bike calories

Kettlebell goblet squats

♀ 24 kg

♂ 32 kg

Post your total time of all 3 sets combined to comments.

Goal: Get comfortable with the burn and increase your threshold as a result. Aim for 4-5 minutes to complete each set.

To be successful in this workout, aim for high intensity with some level of consistency in all three intervals. This will be difficult but a little bit of discipline goes a long way.
High intensity is the goal but not maximal intensity. Keep some in the tank and give it everything you’ve got on the last one.

Equipment matters — the effort on the Assault or Echo bike will change the stimulus of this workout when compared to a bike erg.

More experienced athletes can work closer to their thresholds with less rest than beginner athletes. Beginner athletes should finish BEFORE advanced athletes without exceeding their capacities. This means a beginner athlete should have a LOWER RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) than an advanced athlete in the first intervals since beginners will not have their recovery capacities as high and trained as the more advanced athlete.

I tested this workout and found that it was possible to keep the pace up so long as I didn’t push the squats. I was using a bike erg and was faced with the realization that the 21 and 21 took almost half the time, but staying composed allowed me to hit the goal and finish as hard as I could on the last interval.

Scaling:

Intermediate option:

Every 6 minutes for 3 sets complete:

18-15-9 reps

Echo-bike calories

Kettlebell goblet squats

♀ 16 kg

♂ 24 kg

Aim to complete the work around the 4-minute mark to allow for enough rest to repeat the next interval at high intensity.

Beginner option:

Every 6 minutes for 3 sets complete:

12-9-6 reps

Echo-bike calories

Air squats

Beginners will be pushed out of their comfort zone with the level of intensity we want to achieve. Aim to complete the work in 4 minutes to get 2 minutes of rest.

Resources:

The Air Squat

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Thursday 231207

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

Rest day

Read: “A Deft Dose of Volume”

OR

Every 1:30 for 15 rounds, complete:

Swim 50-75 meters

Keep moving but stay within your comfort zone. You should get 30-40 seconds of consistent rest without over-exerting. Focus on your breathing rhythm — in swimming, the ease of breathing comes from good body rotation and not turning your head excessively to one side.

Scaling:

Intermediate option:

Every 1:30 for 15 rounds, complete:

Swim 25-50 meters

Beginner option:

Complete 10 rounds of:

Swim 25-50 meters

Rest as needed between rounds.

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Wednesday 231206

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

5 rounds for time of:

4 strict deficit handstand push-ups

8 kipping deficit handstand push-ups

16 dumbbell box step-overs

♀ 4-inch deficit, 20-inch box, 35-lb dumbbells

♂ 6-inch deficit, 24-inch box, 50-lb dumbbells

Hold two dumbbells in a farmers carry position for the step-overs.

Post your time to comments.

Goal: Upper-body pressing strength endurance + posterior-chain endurance. Aim to finish in 12-15 minutes.

Aim to move from the strict handstand push-ups (ideally unbroken) to the kipping without breaking and complete the kipping handstand push-ups in 1 to 2 sets. Break the step-overs as needed to achieve the goal.

The goal is to move unbroken from the strict to the kipping handstand push-ups. This adds an element of speed that can be surprising. Aim to complete the kipping handstand push-ups in 1-2 sets.

The training effect will be interesting because we don't get a break on the step-ups since they are loaded with dumbbells — your upper back and rear delts will be under tension the entire time. Break up the step-ups as needed to maintain the goal of the day.

Scaling:

Intermediate option:

5 rounds for time of:

4 strict handstand push-ups

8 kipping handstand push-ups

16 dumbbell box step-overs

♀ 20-inch box, 25-lb dumbbells

♂ 24-inch box, 35-lb dumbbells

For the handstand push-ups, you may reduce the reps to 3 and 6, respectively, so long as the strict handstand push-ups remain unbroken. If the volume of handstand push-ups is still too high, consider reducing the reps further or adding one or two AbMats under your head to reduce range of motion.

Beginner option:

5 rounds for time of:

4 strict dumbbell shoulder presses

8 dumbbell push presses

16 unweighted box step-overs

♀ 16-inch box

♂ 20-inch box

Use the heaviest pair of dumbbells that allows you to complete 4 strict shoulder presses and 8 push presses unbroken.

The main focus for beginners is pressing endurance with the strict and push press. This is a great opportunity to practice core-to-extremity movement patterns. Focus on keeping your weight in your heels for the entire workout.

Resources:

Handstand Push-Up Variations

HSPU and You: Master the Movement

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Tuesday 231205

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

20 single-under crossovers

10 burpee pull-ups

12 GHD sit-ups

Post rounds and reps to comments.

Goal: Conditioning + pulling endurance.

Notes From Michele:

This is our homage to the Open and Quarterfinals coming soon! It's a bodyweight workout that can make you dizzy!

Last year, we faced single-under crossovers and burpee pull-ups. Today, we're combining these two movements with one that will interfere by adding a large range of motion hip flexion. There is no rest unless you've practiced your single-under crossovers.

Slow and steady wins the race. These movements take various times and rushing, especially on the crossovers, can cause unnecessary mistakes. There's no real rhythm in this workout so you'll need to adapt to the speed of execution of each movement. The burpee pull-ups will eat up a lot of time, but if you move efficiently, creating the same steps for each rep, you will find the rhythm. The GHD sit-ups will feel the most chaotic since it's a high-velocity movement, but we can control that by taking a quick breath at the top of each rep and controlling our descent with the help of gravity. To help with proper mechanics and prevent dizziness, keep your gaze neutral and focus on a point far away from you such as where the wall meets the ceiling.

Scaling:

Intermediate option:

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

4 x [4 single-unders + 1 crossover]

10 burpee jumping pull-ups

12 GHD sit-ups to parallel

The biggest sticking point in this workout is the technical demand of the crossovers. This is why we've split the work into short sets with one crossover at the end. If this is not a challenge, reduce the number of single-unders completed between crossovers until 20 total jumps have been accumulated. The pull-up bar should sit 2-3 inches below the wrists for the jumping pull-ups.

Beginner option:

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

20 single-unders

6 up-down jumping pull-ups

12 AbMat sit-ups

Beginner athletes should start at a conservative pace. Approach this workout as you would a 5K run: You wouldn’t begin at a 400-meter sprint pace. Aim to keep the single-unders as smooth as possible; that’s your recovery time.

Resources:

How to Count Crossovers

The Burpee Pull-Up With Greg Amundson

The GHD Sit-Up

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Monday 231204

Meet Guest Programmer – Michele Letendre: Dec. 4-17, 2023.

7 rounds for time:

7 deadlifts

7 hang power cleans

7 front squats

Rest 1:00 between rounds.

♀ 105 lb

♂ 155 lb

Post total time, including rest, to comments.

Goal: 10-12 minutes.

Notes From Michele:

Jan Kozak, our newest addition to the team at Deka Comp, gave us this one. Kozak has a love for barbell cycling and here are some of his notes:

Pulling, cleaning, squatting — all the barbell fun in one good, clean rodeo. Athletes should attempt to go unbroken on the bar throughout, but it’s likely many will break the reps up late in the workout.

Fast in this triplet means efficient. You can’t rush this load if you struggle to have control over the basic elements of each movement: Bar path, upper-back engagement, and for the cleans, proper turnover mechanics. To set yourself up for success, move cleanly on the deadlifts (pun intended), be snappy when receiving the bar in the cleans, and keep your weight in your heels on the front squats.

Intermediate option:

7 rounds for time:

7 deadlifts

7 hang power cleans

7 front squats

♀ 75 lb

♂ 115 lb

Intermediate athletes should focus on moving through the hang power cleans as efficiently as possible.

Beginner option:

7 rounds for time:

7 deadlifts

7 hang power cleans

7 front squats

♀ 45 lb

♂ 65 lb

Beginners should focus on the setup position in the deadlift. Rather than aiming for unbroken reps, take strategic breaks to reset. A strategy could be to drop the bar on the sixth deadlift, then perform the last rep with the plan to go straight into the hang power cleans. Focus on a big jump and shrug in the hang power cleans — break around reps 4 or 5 if needed. Go for unbroken front squats if possible.

Resources:

The Deadlift

The Hang Power Clean

The Front Squat

In Defense of High-Rep Olympic Lifts

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Sunday 231203

REST DAY

Read: “Loneliness Is Making You Sick. CrossFit Can Help.”

Saturday 231202

Every 2 minutes for 10 rounds complete:

200/250-meter row

10 medicine-ball cleans

♀ 14 lb

♂ 20 lb

Post fastest and slowest times to comments.

Scaling:

Reduce the distance on the rower to allow you to finish in 1:15 or less. The load of the medicine ball should allow you to go unbroken in each set.

Intermediate option:

Every 2 minutes for 10 rounds complete:

200/250-meter row

10 medicine-ball cleans

♀ 10 lb

♂ 14 lb

Beginner option:

Every 2 minutes for 7 rounds complete:

100/150-meter row

7 medicine-ball cleans

♀ 6 lb

♂ 10 lb

Movement resources:

Med-Ball Clean and Rowing Demo: CrossFit WOD 231202

Rowing Technique

The Medicine-Ball Clean

Row Pro: Calories V. Meters

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Friday 231201

For load:

Split jerk

1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

Post loads completed to comments.

Compare to 221013.

Scaling:

Increase the load across as many sets as possible. Advanced athletes should perform the workout with straight sets instead of ascending.

Beginner option:

For load:

Split jerk, 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 reps

Movement resources:

The Split Jerk

“The Split Jerk: Start to Finish”

“Perfecting the Jerk,” Part 1

“Perfecting the Jerk,” Part 2

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Thursday 231130

REST DAY

Watch: “180 Project — A Second Chance at Life With CrossFit and Community”

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