For the first part of Thursday’s program it’s important to climb in weight only as your technique allows. Doing this complex incorrectly at progressively heavier weight simply reinforces your bad habits in the snatch.

For the snatch pulls focus on a vertical leg drive and tall finish by continuing to push through the floor at the top. The bar should stay close to the torso, with elbows up & out.  At the top you should not be falling or leaning back, leaning forward over the bar, leaving the ground with your feet, or re-bending your legs. 

For the power snatch focus on replicating the same tall, vertical leg drive and close proximity of the bar immediately after contact with the hips - but then add the active pull under to receive the bar overhead.

WOD for 08-15-19:

12 Minutes to Establish a Top Set:

2 Snatch Pulls + 2 Power Snatches

Climbing only as technique allows

-then-

2 Rounds for Time:

20 Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

50 Double Unders

20 Toes-to-Bar

50 Double Unders

This is a fun one… so go hard, try some different strategies, high five each other, and enjoy doing more work in a one hour class than most people will do all week!

WOD For 08-14-19:

With a Partner For Total Time (including penalties*):

5000m Row

Switch every 250m, exactly.

PENALTIES:

*For every meter over 250 when the counter stops, there is a 2-rep Wall Ball penalty (e.g. if the counter stops at 256m the team owes 12 Wall Balls). 

*For every meter under 250 the team owes the difference plus 5 AbMat Sit-ups (e.g. if the counter stops at 247m the team owes 8 AbMat Sit-ups). 

The penalties accumulate and must be performed at the end of the 5000m row.  The team's time includes the time required to complete the penalty reps, which can be divided/shared in any fashion with ONLY ONE person working at a time.

(Compare to 06-20-18, 03-11-16)

Tuesday’s program is composed of some classic strength work and then a fast & furious triplet AMRAP as a follow-up to Monday’s “Betty” re-test. I like to call these types of training days “meat and potatoes” — nothing too fancy, nothing that’s trying to be cute, just good old fashioned strength & conditioning… getting yourself under a heavy barbell and then chasing intensity to finish.

WOD For 08-13-19:

Every 2 Minutes For 7 Rounds (14 Minutes):

3 Back Squats

Quickly warm-up to a working weight prior to the first round, then either climb in small jumps or stay at a challenging weight across several (or all) of the seven rounds.

-then-

AMRAP 7 Minutes:

7 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

14 KB Swings @ 70/53 lbs

21 Air Squats

Monday’s program features an annual re-test of the classic CrossFit.com mainsite benchmark WOD “Betty.”  Focus on keeping these reps as truly push PRESSES and not push jerks by driving the barbell off the body with the legs and then finishing overhead by pressing, and NOT re-bending at the knees or hips (squeeze your glutes and quads until the bar has reached full lockout overhead).  

Enjoy and Happy Monday!

WOD For 08-12-19:

1 Power Clean + 3 Push Presses:

12 Minutes to Build to a Top Set

Add to 07-30-19 if possible.

-then-

“Betty”

5 Rounds For Time:

12 Push Presses @ 135/95 lbs

20 Box Jumps @ 24/20 in

(Compare to: 06-18-18, 06-28-17, 09-09-16, 10-19-15, 04-16-15, 11-03-14, and 04-23-14)

Here’s an updated Sweaty Saturday Team Special classic with a little bit of everything for all you and your fitness friends.

Happy weekend, Arena Ready!

WOD For 08-10-19:

"Controlled Chaos v2.0"

In Teams of THREE, For Time:

A) All Three Working At The Same Time, Each on a Different Movement:

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

125 Calorie Row (FMM = 115 Cal, FFM = 105 Cal , FFF = 95 Cal) 

100 Lateral Bar Burpees

B) One Person Working at a Time, Completed in Order as Written (i.e. 75-50-25):

75 Power Cleans @ 135/95 lbs

50 Power Snatches

25 Squat Clean Thrusters

***For Part A game plan how your team will split the work into pre-set rounds & reps with planned transitions.  For example:

5 Rounds of...

Athlete A - 30 Wall Balls

Athlete B - 25 Calorie Row

Athlete C - 20 Lateral Bar Burpees

(Everyone rotates to repeat this 5 times until Part A is complete)

***For Part B there is only one person working at a time, and reps can be split in any fashion as long as the movements are completed in order as written (75 > 50 > 25).  We recommend smaller sets and quick transitions to keep the pace as fast as possible with good technique.  

A change-up from earlier in the week with some bench pressing, reduced intensity, skill & accuracy practice, and added mid-line work.

Plus WHO DOESN’T LOVE A LITTLE BENCH ON A FRIDAY?!

WOD For 08-09-19:

For Quality and Load (NOT For Time):

5-4-3-2-1

Bench Press (climbing to a heavy single)

50-40-30-20-10

Medicine Ball Russian Twists @ 20/14 lbs

50-50-50-50-50

Unbroken Double Unders

Build to a working bench press weight for your first set of 5 by taking a few warm-up sets.

Rest as needed between movements & rounds, but move swiftly enough to complete all 5 rounds within the allotted time.

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

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

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. 

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) 

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.

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