That summarizes the week of training up to this point, and so Thursday sees the “light” barbell stimulus of this set of WODs. For these snatches/OHS in the conditioning piece we'll go light and steady, with overhead elements back in play after a break for the shoulders on Wednesday (hello 5K row!).

Can our advanced athletes hold on to big sets in this one to try and take large chunks out of the forties? Beginner and intermediate athletes should scale accordingly to keep the rep sets consistent and the rest periods short in an effort to maintain our intended stimulus -- let's call said stimulus "burn-y"... that seems accurate.

Burn, baby, burn.

WOD For 08-29-19:

2 Power Snatches + 2 Overhead Squats:

10 Minutes to Build to a Top Set (not a max)

-then-

For Time:

20 Lateral Bar Burpees

40 Toes-to-Bar

40 Power Snatches @ 75/55 lbs

40 Overhead Squats 

20 Lateral Bar Burpees

Remember that one time when a woman named Molly Metz did 10 straight minutes of unbroken double unders? That's 1,434 reps UNBROKEN.

It sorta makes 26 unbroken reps ten times look like child's play, no?

WOD For 08-28-19:

With a Partner For Time:

5000m Row 

***At 0m (i.e. to start the workout) and every 500m thereafter BOTH partners must simultaneously complete:

26 Unbroken Double Unders

6 Pistols (alternating legs)

*Only one athlete rowing at a time - share the same rower and switch whenever you like.

*The row cannot re-start until both partners have completed the DU and pistol reps.

Sorry, no Tuesday (or Monday) main site WOD this week… instead an Arena Ready original, with some nostalgia mixed-in because that’s just how we roll.

If you're around my age, were at least moderately (and perhaps proudly) nerdy as a child, and were allowed to watch educational public television, then you likely know this opening theme fairly well.

When I originally named Tuesday's WOD I looked up the old "3-2-1 Contact" opening theme and was pleasantly surprised & reminded of how many times that opening sequence actually includes sports movements and activities.  It literally shows athletes doing gymnastics, throwing (which is closely related to weightlifting), and jumping in various forms.

How serendipitous indeed…    

WOD For 08-27-19:

"3-2-1 Contact"

15 Rounds For Time:

3 Box Jumps @ 30/24 in

2 Ring Muscle-ups

1 Clean @ 225/155 lbs

When you squeeze more into your Monday workout than most people do all week, that’s winning!

Happy Monday.

WOD For 08-26-19:

On a Running Clock...

A) 0:00 - 10:00

AMRAP 10 Minutes:

21 KB Swings @ 53/35 lbs

15 Wall Balls @ 20/24 lbs to 10/9 ft

9 Hand-Release Push-ups

B) 12:00 - 24:00

Back Squat:

12 Minutes to Build to a Heavy Triple

*If possible, add to your top set from 08-13-19

C) 26:00 - 30:00

Tabata:

Medicine Ball Russian Twists @ pick load

Even on Sweaty Saturdays with a partner… I mean, that’s why you’re here right?

Happy weekend, weightlifting friends!

#ButWhatDoYouDoForCardio

WOD For 08-24-19:

WITH A PARTNER, ON A RUNNING CLOCK...

A) 0:00 - 10:00

Power Snatch:

10 minutes for both partners to establish a triple (NOT a 3RM) using the same barbell

*Touch-and-go is not required but is encouraged for as long as safely possible in order to prep for the lighter reps in Part B

B) 13:00 - 32:00

FIVE Cycles of 3:00 Work / 1 Minute Rest For Total Rounds:

3 Power Snatches @ 115/80 lbs

6 Lateral Bar Burpees

9 Air Squats

*Each partners completes ONE FULL ROUND of 3-6-9 then switch

*Re-start each cycle exactly where you left off (i.e. score this continuously with one grand total of rounds + reps for all 5 cycles)

The competitive weightlifters in the gym will tell you that one way to increase proficiency with your lifts, and thus eventually lift more weight (and do it better), is to build volume and repeat reps with the barbell focusing on technical consistency above all else. Another way of saying this is to work on making every lift, and every set, look exactly the same regardless of the weight on the bar.

Welp, here’s your chance to do just that. If this looks familiar to you then you’re spot-on… and that deja vu feeling is something that the AR weightlifters know well, since that’s where the magic happens.

Happy Friday, barbell friends!

WOD For 08-23-19:

Every 90 Seconds For 20 Rounds (30 Minutes):

Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat + Jerk

*Use FOUR Weights:

ROUNDS 1-5: Light (40-50% of 1RM C&J)

ROUNDS 6-10: Moderate (50-60%)

ROUNDS 11-15: Moderate (60-70%)

ROUNDS 16-20: Moderate-Heavy-ish (70-80%)

*Technical Consistency! Ideally 20 of 20 made rounds, no misses!

*If you miss during Rounds 16-20 you MUST lower the weight the next round.

*Any style of jerk is allowed.

"Every day is leg day... when you're running from your problems."

If you did every day of the Mon-Tues-Wed program then you’re probably feeling a little like you’re walking in mud. Have no fear, Thursday is here with a change-up challenge to shake it out, get some “grunt work” in, practice your skill accuracy, and moderate your own intensity.

WOD For 08-22-19:

On a Running Clock…

A) At 0:00

For Completion:

800m Run w/Medicine Ball @ 20/14 lbs

B) From 7:00 - 15:00

AMRAP 8 Minutes:

40 Unbroken Double Unders

20 Medicine Ball Sit-ups @ 20/14 lbs

10 Strict Pull-ups (any grip allowed)

C) At 17:00

For Completion:

800m Run (NO Medicine Ball) @ you pick the pace

Since many of you did “Complex Fran” on Tuesday in class I thought it might be cool to look back at the 2018 CrossFit Games Masters and Teens doing this same workout in the battle of Fittest on Earth:

WOD For 08-21-19:

3 Rounds For Time:

500m Row OR 500m Ski OR 30/21 Calorie Assault Bike

40 Walking Lunges

30 Box Jump Overs @ 24/20 in

20 Dumbbell Snatches @ 50/35 lbs (alternate sides)

The last several weeks we were incorporating “Mainsite Mondays” and this week we pushed the interesting mainsite WOD to Tuesday.

Why did Monday's WOD "feel" so much worse than it looked on paper for some of us?  Welp, Monday's WOD involved what we like to call "movement interference" -- the concept that multiple movements which comprise the workout have redundant patterns, therefore the accumulated fatigue never quite clears your system the same way it would in a more complimentary couplet or triplet where the movements are opposing patterns.  Tuesday's WOD is just that -- a complimentary couplet(ish... sorta) which is a variation on quite possibly the most famous couplet of them all in CrossFit... Fran.

The "Complex Fran" WOD comes to us courtesy of the CrossFit.com main site and was the final event in the Masters 35-39 and Teen 16-17 divisions at the CrossFit Games in 2018.  To watch those fire-breathers do this workout check out the archived footage of the event on the CrossFit Games website here (click on the "Age Groups" tab > EVENTS: CF > then select the division & heat you want to watch by clicking the colored circles below the video feed).

Enjoy this twisted twist on Fran!

WOD For 08-20-19:

Alternating EMOM For 4 Rounds (12 Minutes):

1) 4 Thrusters (climbing in load)

2) 10 Lateral Bar Burpees (climbing in pace each round)

3) 4-8 Reps of the Complex (progressing to the next movement each round):

Kips > Kipping Pull-ups > Kipping Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups > Bar Muscle-ups

-then-

"Complex Fran"

For Time:

7 Bar Muscle-ups

7 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

7 Chin-Over-Bar Pull-ups

21 Thrusters @ 95/65 lbs

5 Bar Muscle-ups

5 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

5 Chin-Over-Bar Pull-ups

15 Thrusters

3 Bar Muscle-ups

3 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

3 Chin-Over-Bar Pull-ups

9 Thrusters

(Workout courtesy of CrossFit.com)

Welp, a harmless little reference to our friend on Saturday started a bit of friendly debate among members. I’m here to say that there’s nothing more American than an Oxford comma (the MLA would agree), so quit being lazy and just use it already.

And while we’re at it please cut it out with the “Cheers” and “Ciao” at the end of your emails. This isn’t Europe and no one cares that you spent a Semester At Sea in 1998.

Happy Monday!

WOD For 08-19-19:

4 Rounds For Max Reps (0:45 Seconds per Movement / 0:15 Seconds Rest Between Movements):

Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 115/75 lbs

Ring Dips

KB Swings @ 70/53 lbs

Row, Ski, or Assault Bike Calories

(REST 1:15 Between Rounds)

-then-

Tabata:

Hollow Rocks

And a little Oxford comma action in the blog title there for all you grammar nerds at Arena Ready (there’s a lot of you, I know).

And if math is more your thing then you’ll be a hot commodity on Saturday morning when everyone is trying to tally their team score whilst sweating and rolling around on the ground in dramatic post-WOD fashion.

Happy weekend, all!

WOD FOR 08-17-19:

In Teams of THREE Athletes, As Many REPS As Possible in 22 Minutes:

Athletes A and B Complete the Triplet of:

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

15 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

15 Deadlifts @ 225/155 lbs

-while-

Athlete C Completes:

30/24 Calorie Row

*One athlete MUST always be rowing, and MUST always switch after 30/24 calories.

*Reps for the triplet may be split in any fashion (does not have to be equal) with only one person working at a time.

*Every calorie on the rower equals one rep added to the team's triplet total. Score is the grand total of calories rowed PLUS triplet reps completed.

You may notice the increase in barbell complex frequency as we continue building with several drills and movement combinations.  For Friday classes we re-visit a format we’ve used with great success in previous training cycles for the clean & jerk. 

Let's get get the weekend started right with some Friday Barbell Therapy!    

WOD For 08-16-19:

Every 90 Seconds For 20 Rounds (30 Minutes):

Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat + Jerk

*Use FOUR Weights:

ROUNDS 1-5: Light (40-50% of 1RM C&J)

ROUNDS 6-10: Moderate (50-60%)

ROUNDS 11-15: Moderate (60-70%)

ROUNDS 16-20: Moderate-Heavy-ish (70-80%)

*Technical Consistency! Ideally 20 of 20 made rounds, no misses!

*If you miss during Rounds 16-20 you MUST lower the weight the next round.

*Any style of jerk is allowed.