FREE RANGE CROSSFIT

Workout specific strength:
A1. Bench press, x5 (light/medium/heavy)
A2. Deck squat + jump, x3
Every 2:30 (x6)

AMRAP in 3 sets of:
Bodyweight bench press
Kipping pull ups

Rest as needed between sets, but there is a 15 minute time cap on the WOD. Push out as many reps on the bench press at your body weight (or scale to 3/4, 1/2, …etc). Then, follow up with a max set of kipping pull ups.

So you’re excited it’s arm day, right?! You want those built shoulders, big biceps and tight triceps? Arm strength is essential. Heck… cavemen did it!
Did you ever think about being balanced? Sure, friends don’t let friends skip leg day, but what about shoulders? Balancing internal and external rotation is key to avoiding injury and making strength gains. In Crossfit we’re more about lifting heavy than superficial muscles. Check out this article “You cant Just Push and Pull” on internal/ external rotation and the importance of balance for strength gains and to avoid injury. Pull ups and bench both internally rotate the shoulders so make sure you’re getting some external rotation work in at the box. TGU?! I see those in your future!

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Skill of the Day:
A1. Clean, x3
Every 1:00 (x3)

Skill WOD:
A1. Clean, x2-5
A2. Jump over hurdle, for height
Every 2:30 (x8)

Barbell Club WOD:
Take 10 minutes to build to a tough squat clean (good technique only)

Then,

Every 2:00, x6
A1. Clean, x2 @ 85%
A2. Jump over hurdle, for height

Farewell to friends…Wayne and Amy H recently graduated from ASU and are headed off into the real world to do some (good) damage. It was great having you two as part of our community and we will miss seeing your faces around here each day! You will always be a part of the Free Range family and are welcome any time you find yourself in our neck of the woods. Be sure to keep us up to date with your progress both in and outside of the gym!

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Workout specific strength:
A1. Back Squat x5 up the weight, again!
A2. Double Under practice x15
Every 3:00 (x3)

“Rage Cage”
1:00 at each station (x3):
Wall balls (20/12)
Russian kettlebell swings (24/16kg)
Push Press (75/45)
Double Unders (score/2)
Rest 1:00

Your score is the total reps for each movement added together (double unders are halved). Keep a running tally for each round and write it on the board during your 1:00 rest.

The Whiteboard
“Nice work studs! Don’t forget to put your name and time or score up on the board before you leave!”

I know you’ve heard us coaches say this, so why are we so emphatic when it comes to the practice of posting your score/time/total reps on the board? Becasue it places purpose on what you are there to do. Without a sense of purpose, a goal, an idea, a mindset, we are just existing. That is not who WE are as Free Range athelets. We have a purpose (get stronger, jump higher, run faster, look better naked…..yes i said it! I know you’re thinking it!). We are a movtivated, positive group hell bent on helping eachother continually evolve.

If you don’t write down your score on the whiteboard, you are selling your self short of potential strength gains. “That’s ridiculous coach!” Hear me out now! If you were to write down a list of all the things that you ate and drank in a given week on the whiteboard would you want people to see them? Or would you possibly change the way you ate that week so that when it was written up on the board you could be proud of your eating habits? The same thing applies here, if you knew everyone was going to see your score, you would most likely change your thought process about how you wanted to perform in the workout, no?

Can the whiteboard be discouraging? Yes. But it all depends on the attitude you bring to it. Competition is good, no, in fact, competition is great! For some of us it’s what drives us through a particularly hard WOD or set. So if we bring a positive, yet competitive mindset to the whiteboard, it starts to serve as a measuring tool for what areas of our program you need to focus on and/or improve in.

Question: What does the whiteboard mean to you? Do you embrace it or do you cringe every time you are handed a dry erase marker?

“Let’s chat at the whiteboard” – coach

Embrace. Empower. Evolve.
DD

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Skill of the week: Kettlebell snatch

Skill specific strength:
A1. Kettlebell snatch, ea hand (16/8kg), x10
A2. Hollow rock, x10
Every 3:00 (x3)

WOD: kettlebell complex
3 rounds or 12 minutes of:
Turkish get up, x2
Push press, x4
Front squat, x6
Overhead walking lunge, x24ft

Switch hands, and repeat back to your original starting position.

200m Run

*complete the complex on your right arm, then your left arm, then run. Repeat for two more rounds.

By their nature, typical kettlebell exercises build strength and endurance by engaging the entire body at once, particularly in the lower back, legs, and shoulders, and grip strength. Kettlebells facilitate ballistic and swinging movements such as the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk.

For those of you that don’t know what the Kettlebell snatch is then make sure you try and attend the Tuesday skill secession. And for those that do know, work on refining your technique because next Wednesday you can can be guaranteed that you will see it in a workout!

Tell us… What has been the most helpful skill progression that you have learned in our skill based Tuesdays? And what would you possibly like to learn in the future? Who knows, if we get enough people that need to learn a new skill we just might break it down on an upcoming Tuesday.

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Workout specific strength:
A1. Behind neck push press, snatch grip, x3 (115/75)
A2. Overhead squat, x5 (115/75)

WOD:
7 minute AMRAP of:
5 pull ups, strict
7 overhead squats (95/65)
9 ball slams (35/25)

Rest 3:00.

5 minute AMRAP of:
5 pull ups, strict
7 overhead squats (95/65)
9 ball slams (35/25)

Rest 3:00.

3 minute AMRAP of:
5 pull ups, strict
7 overhead squats (95/65)
9 ball slams (35/25)

*This does not have to be a gasser, just practice setting a pace and sticking with it for the entire time. If you sprint this, you will likely get smoked. Find YOUR speed for the different time domains.

Would anyone be interested in attending a back tuck course? Very fun skill to learn!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE SISTER, JILLIAN!

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 Workout specific strength:
A1. Back squat, x5, up the weight!
A2. Ankle mobility
Every 4:00 (x3)

WOD:
2:30 AMRAP:
5 thrusters (95/65)
Run 200m
5 thrusters (95/65)
Max push ups

2:30 off, then:

2:30 AMRAP:
5 thrusters (95/65)
Run 200m
5 thrusters (95/65)
Max sit ups

2:30 off, then:

2:30 AMRAP:
5 thrusters (95/65)
Run 200m
5 thrusters (95/65)
Max pull ups

2:30 off, then:

2:30 AMRAP:
5 thrusters (95/65)
Run 200m
5 thrusters (95/65)
Max lunges

*Your score will be the total of the four bodyweight movements you complete throughout the WOD.

Remember that what you train for in the gym is correlated to functional movement. Make sure to take some time to use your fitness outside in the world. When you clean out your garage, go for a hike, or take your dog for a walk. Think about what in your day to day life used to be difficult and tie together all the hard work done during your work out to see the FUNCTIONAL relationship. Even your grip strength when walking into the house with heavy groceries. It probably isn’t as hard anymore!

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Warm up drills:
A1. Hang shrug
A2. Hang shrug high pull

B1. Muscle snatch
B2. Overhead squat

C1. Hang power snatch

Skill of the Day:
A1. Squat Snatch

-Working on the progression of taking the weight from mid shin
-initiate by pushing the knees back until you pass them
-then, push the knees forward as you fight for an upright posture
-explode and pull ourselves into a stable, strong overhead squat position.
-Pause for :02!

Development WOD:
A1. Snatch, x3-5
A2. Explosive Move
Every 2:30 (x6-8)

Barbell Club WOD: Take 10 minutes to build to a tough squat snatch (good technique only)

Then,

Every 2:00, x6
A1. Squat Snatch, x2 @ 85%
A2. Double under, x20

When we get together on Thursday’s for Barbell Club, there seems to be an overwhelming sense of determination from everyone that walks through the door. You’re focused, intrigued, excited, head strong and ready to work on your practice of weightlifting. This is where confidence is built, where fear, doubt and disbelief are squashed like a bug trying to escape your violent split jerk foot placement. And while we all have a different way to approach our lifts, there is a constant variable across the board that we all must follow. Anyone?……..wait for it………TECHNIQUE!

You want to own that bar, right?
You want to snatch that PR overhead and say “ahhhhhhhh! suck it weight!”, right?

Then, TECHNIQUE is your road to salvation friends.

But, don’t take my word for it (or do), let strength and conditioning coach Greg Evertt of Catalyst Athletics explain to you the Six Truths of Olympic Weightlifting:

“Truth 1: The lifter and barbell system must remain balanced over the feet.”
“Truth 2: The barbell and lifter must remain in close proximity to each other.”
“Truth 3: There must be no time wasted at the top of the pull.”
“Truth 4: The relocation under the bar is an active movement.” <– Yes! Light Bulb.
"Truth 5: The receiving position must be stable and strong."
"Truth 6: Consistency is more important than the actual technical style."

…and don’t forget to tip your waitress. Bam! Chew on that studs. See you at Barbell Club! Come hungry.

Embrace. Empower. Evolve.
DD

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Workout specific strength:
A1. Deadlift, x3 (315/205)
A2. Strict pull up, x3, 31X3
Every 3:00 (x3)

“Plantains”
5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Dead lift (275/185)

alternating with:

10-8-6-4-2 reps of:
Bar-facing burpees

Keep that great form in the Deadlifts and go all out on those burpees! To go fast in this WOD you will need to ask yourself how hard will you push yourself? And how bad do you want it?

* Check out Kevin (aka Gator) pushing through this rep! You can always find Gator giving everything he has got and never quitting.

Mental Toughness! Do you have it??

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Can you guess which all time great athlete expressed his mental toughness with this quote?

Mental toughness can be applied to every different aspect of our lives. As Crossfitter’s you are asked to push yourselves on a daily basis to get the most reps, or finish the fastest, or go for a PR on one of your lifts. We expect a lot out of our athletes and this is accomplished by proper training, time, and hard work, but it takes something else as well… What will keep you going when you are pushing yourself so hard that your muscles start to burn and your lungs hurt as they gasp for air? MENTAL TOUGHNESS!

Dr. Richardson talks about the importance of mental toughness. It is a 15 minute video, but it has a great message!

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Skill strength work:
A1. Double kettlebell swing, x8
A2. L-sit, :20
Every 3:00, (x4)

:45 on, :45 off of (x5):
15 box jumps
Max kettlebell swings

*If you are unable to complete the prescribed number of box jumps before the 1:00 is up, then cut the reps by 5 for the remaining rounds. Repeat as needed.

**Your score is total kettlebell swings at the end of the WOD.

Congratulations to Free Range member abroad, Amber Gordon! She has been studying in South Africa this past year and continued her CrossFitting with a gym down there. It seems this past week her team qualified for the Games at the African Regionals! Nice work!

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