CrossFit Athletic Group

Warmup

WOD

“Four Horsemen”

3 rounds of:
10 Power Snatch, 75# / 55#
10 Pistol

Rest 3 min

3 rounds of:
10 Thruster, 95# / 65#
10 Pull-up

Rest 3 min

3 rounds of:
10 Squat Clean, 115# / 75#
10 Handstand Push-up

Rest 3 min

3 rounds of:
10 Push Jerk, 135# / 95#
10 Toes to bar

Mel's notes: I created this for another group WOD back in 2019.  I wanted to experiment with a series of short, high-intensity metcons, interspersed with breaks to allow the athlete to recover.  The goal of these should be about a 1:1 work to rest cycle.

Each of the short pieces combines a gymnastic movement with a weightlifting movement, with the movements having as little interference as possible.  (That is, the pistol (which has a squat) is not paired with the thruster or squat clean; the push jerk is not paired with the handstand push-up, etc.)  The weights get heavier each cycle (appropriately, I would suggest, for the movement type), and the gymnastic elements get harder, from a power-output standpoint.  (Obviously, pistols are technically challenging, but they are relatively low power output.)  Finally, for 3 of the pieces, the gymnastic element contains a shorter range of motion, while the weightlifting element has a longer range of motion.  This is reversed on the final piece (push jerks and toes-to-bar).

When we did this WOD as a group, we all wanted to start each cycle at the same time, so the prescription was a 3-minute rest period starting after whoever finished last.  You could run it this way as well – it does reward the winner disproportionately.

Warmup

WOD

Pause Deadlift 5-3-1
(pause for 2 seconds below the knee before completing lift)

-Rest, then-

“Freestyle Diane”

45 reps of each for time:
Deadlifts, 225# / 155#
Handstand push-ups
(Partition as needed to complete 45 reps of each exercise as quickly as possible.)

Mel's notes: I sometimes program a “strength + metcon” where the strength piece is low volume / high weight, and the metcon that follows is higher volume and lower weight.  That is the idea behind today. 

I’ve also experimented with incorporating more “pause” elements into training.  The isometric hold during the pause helps the athlete get stronger at the specific position, so the “where” of the pause is very important.  For example, many lifters have a strong lockout on the deadlift, but struggle off the ground.  Deficit deadlifts can help here, but the deficit setup can be awkward for many athletes, due to the increased range of motion demand.  A pause deadlift accomplishes a similar effect, pausing at the point in the lift where the athlete is weakest.

Warmup

WOD

For time:

25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20" / 16” box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 KB swings, 2 pood / 1.5 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35# / 25# DBs
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20# /14# ball
3 Rope climb ascents

Mel's notes: The hardest 3 rope climbs in CrossFit.  This workout, colloquially known as the Dirty Dozen, is a classic CrossFit chipper, similar to the Filthy Fifty, but with a few movements that are heavier and more technical.

The hardest and heaviest movements are back-end loaded, allowing athletes to move quickly through the first half of the workout.  The reason why the rope climbs at the end are so challenging (and surprisingly so) shows the beauty of the programming here.  The athlete’s grip will be shot from the pull-ups, knees-to-elbows, swings, and DB cleans.  But the bigger problem is that one’s midline has been taxed throughout the workout.  Not just K2E and sit-ups; DB cleans require tremendous midline stabilization.

Mel’s standards notes:  1) Please make sure the athletes reach full hip and knee extension on box jumps, either standing on top of the box, or by jumping off the top and reaching full extension in the air.  2) Knees to elbows can get sloppy under fatigue where it looks more like knees to armpits.  Consider subbing Toes to Bar as the Rx’d standard.

Warmup

WOD

Warmup

WOD

Warmup

WOD

15 minutes to establish a heavy Back Squat single

-Rest, then-

Every minute on the minute for 10 minutes:
2 Back Squat, 70% of heavy single above
(focus on speed of movement)

Mel's notes: Had I remembered that this was Friday the 13^th, I might have picked something “fun” like “Brandon’s Bad Day”.  Alas, I chose to incorporate a “speed” heavy lift, popularized by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell.  The lifts are done “every minute on the minute”.

Because we are only using 70% of the athlete’s best single (on that day), the weight should be very manageable – even easy – for 2 reps.  This is by design; the goal today is to move the barbell as quickly as possible coming out of the hole to the completion at the top of the lift.

Warmup

WOD

Front Squat 3-3-3+
Push Press 3-3-3+
(First set 65% of 1RM / Second set 75% of 1RM / Third set 85% of 1RM, for max reps)

Mel's notes: This rep scheme of 3-3-3+ is from the Wendler strength series (the others in that series are 5-5-5+ and 5-3-1+), and the + designates that the last set should be done for max reps (think 5-8 here).  The weight on the first two sets of 3 should not be that challenging, leaving the athlete fresh enough to go for max reps in the last set.

Because there are really only 3 working sets – and only 10-15 total reps – I often pair two lifts together for a specific day.  I like the complementarity of front squat and push press; there is some interference given that both use the muscles of the hip, but not to the extent that one is too burned out to complete one of the movements.  (The other pairing I really like is Power Clean and Back Squat.)  The typical Wendler cycles range from 4-6 months, and I throw one in every now and then to add a strength bias to my workouts.