“I've believed ever since that living on the edge,
living in and through your fear, is the summit of life,
and that people who refuse to take that dare
condemn themselves to a life of living death.”
- John H. Johnson
Dr. Stephen Seiler on interval training. A good introduction to the topic.
http://home.hia.no/~stephens/interval.htm
If nobody minds, we'll give the legs a little break today-
How many pull-ups can you do in an hour?
Success comes here by pacing and not going to failure on any set.
Rankings will be by weight class.
Don't be foolish and fill in with any met-con (cardio) or other work.
You don't know what looms! Also, if you're current with the path
the other athletes have been following and your intensity has been
worthy of your best efforts you are long overdue for a reduced
metabolic load.
Our "Workout of the Day" is engineered with great dilligence to care for
ALL of your fitness needs. If some days seem too easy that is because
workouts either before or coming are tortuous and the backing off is
warranted. We are feeding you a regimen that represents the ultimate
challenge for the world's best athletes.
If you are concurrently training for sport, like most of our athletes, temper
your efforts to allow for successful sport training. This is a learned skill
requiring a finely honed sense of self. On the days when your sports
training regimen is lighter, tear it up with our strength and conditioning
workout. On days when your sports training regimen is tough, moderate
your efforts. Many of our athletes are able to engage the "Workout of the Day"
right up to and during competition by just "going through the motions" while
still "doing" the daily workout.
Again, the "Workout of the Day" is designed to accomodate additional sport
training, recreational activity, or stand alone by simply modulating the intensity
of your effort. If you need help with this concept email at [email protected]
and one of our coaches will gladly help you come to terms with this.
We will continue today on our recurrent theme of core-focus.
1) Hanging from the pull-up bar SLOWLY lean back and lift your feet towards your
hands until your tows gently touch the bar. Repeat for a total of twenty times.
2) Arch rock for one minute. If you've forgotten what the arch rock is go to: http://www.audiblefaith.com/artists/rharrell/gympag/condstr.html
(You are supposed to be practicing for the moves on this page regularly anyway!!
3) Fifty sit-ups with substantial support (towel or abmat, etc.) under the lumbar spine.
Knees up and apart, feet together.
4) Thirty back extensions.
5) Hollow Rocks for sixty seconds. Again if you've forgotten: http://www.audiblefaith.com/artists/rharrell/gympag/condstr.html
6) 20 Stiff legged deadlifts. These are performed with an arched back! From the stand,
bow down letting the chest lag behind as far as possible. Do not surrender the arch in
your lower back. Done right you won't get anywhere near the floor with the barbell. If
your mechanics are correct you will feel an extraordinary tightness in the hamstrings.
7) Hold an L for sixty seconds. Repeat two times for a total of three efforts.
8) Twenty five times perform a "hug-a-twinky". If you don't know the movement here it is: http://www.audiblefaith.com/artists/rharrell/gympag/condstr.html
Some of you may be tempted to slough off the moves that you can't perform. You need to
understand that what you can't do here clearly defines your deficiencies as an athlete.
Any reasonably conditioned athlete can do all of these without much difficulty. If you find
a chink in your armor, work daily on correcting it.
Shoulder Press 15 RM X 15 reps
20 [Pull-ups](http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/pull-up.wmv target=)
[Push Press ](http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Presses.wmv target=)15 RM X 15 reps
20 Pull-ups
[Push Jerk ](http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Presses.wmv target=)15 RM X 15 reps
20 Pull-ups
Work at a pace that allows for max load. Complete each round of pull-ups in as few sets as possible.
The load for the presses should increase from the shoulder press to the push press to the push jerk. The progression of these presses is from lesser to greater functionality, max load, metabolic stimulus, and total body involvement.
We are ready for a break from the neurological and orthopedic stresses of
weightlifting and hard and heavy leg work.
Here is an interval that the NSCA identifies as being smack dab in the middle
of the lactic acid metabolic pathway. Remember one of the advantages of
interval training is that we get extended exposure to cardiovascular work
without the muscle wasting consistent with extended aerobic work.
On the Concept II Rower set up for intervals and go all out for 60 seconds
Row easy for two minutes.
Repeat for a total of fifteen efforts.
This is a total of forty-five minutes, yet the work is designed to enhance anaerobic
capacity. Now here’s the really cool part: even though this work is predominantly
anaerobic (lactic acid pathway), it carries a heavy aerobic benefit without the
disadvantages of reducing speed, power, and strength known to accompany
aerobic training.
On setup scroll the display to show meters in the lower window. On your first
effort throw as many meters up in the minute as you can. On the subsequent
fifteen efforts fight for as much of the first distance as you can.
On completion use recall to scroll through all fifteen intervals and record and
submit the meters rowed for each interval.
If you need help setting up the rower email us at [email protected].
If you don’t have access to a Concept II Rower, buy one.