Mar 21st, 2012
Author: TracFIT
Week 4 of the 2012 CrossFit Games Open
“Set yourself up for success.” What we mean by that saying is that we should be doing everything that’s in our control to set ourselves up for the best possible outcome. Whether you’re going for a job interview, have a big paper or presentation due, or are getting ready for a workout, there are preparations that you need to make and do before stepping up to a major event.
To keep things in workout terms, the first step you should be doing is reviewing the workout. Understand whether it’s a workout for time or if it’s for as many rounds possible. Understand the movements and plan ahead for your particular level of scaling if you need to scale a movement. Then visualize yourself performing the workout to the best of your abilities to start creating an image of success in your mind. By doing so, you’ll spend less energy figuring out the workout when you see it on the whiteboard and will be able to put more energy towards its execution.
Next, your nutrition shouldn’t be a big guessing game. It’s one variable that is in your control and has a lot of impact on your performance. Fuel and hydrate up regularly throughout the day and give yourself at least an hour to digest before the workout. I can’t tell you how many times I see people turn green during a hard workout because they haven’t eaten all day. Their blood sugar is low and they have no way of accessing energy.
Before the workout, you should be mobilizing what your body especially needs. If you have tight shoulders and the workout has overhead squats, you have to start stretching and warming those shoulders up before we even go into the class’s warm ups.
After the workout, the preparation doesn’t stop. This is a prime opportunity to set yourself up to improve for future workouts. Get a post recovery meal into your body within 30 minutes after training. It could be a shake or some eggs, fruit, and handful of nuts. Then, for those of you who sit in the lounge and chat for the next 2 hours after your workout is done, stretch out/roll out while you chat so that you won’t be as tight and sore for the next workout. Or, spend time cooling down with what you’re weak at. Suck at endurance? Go out for a run after class. Suck at toes to bar? Work on your leg lifts or hollow body rock. Weak upper body that burns out quickly during a workout? Work on push ups and/or stink bug push ups.
You all put out great effort in class. You really do. If you put the together the total amount of work and effort being done at a typical “global” gym, it would still not compare to the work that’s getting done by this small community. You just need a little extra work in preparing for the training to take yourselves to the next level. You’re already committed, you might as well do it right.
101% and nothing less.
Main Group Workout
2012 CrossFit Games Open Workout 12.4
Complete as many rounds as possible in 12min of:
150 wall ball shots, 20/14lbs
90 double unders (scale x2)
30 muscle ups (scale x2 pull ups, x2 dips)
Intro: 10min
Tech: 10min
WOD: 30min (2 heats)
Cool: 5min
Tips:
Wall balls
1) Be as efficient driving the ball up as you are receiving it back down. Drive with the hips while keeping the elbows down and rigid to transfer energy through to the ball. If you drive through your heels, you’ll be engaging your larger glute and hamstring muscles. If you drive from the balls of your feet, you’ll burn out your quads quickly.
2) Push the ball up with as little spin as possible. Spinning the ball will make it harder to catch as the ball comes back down.
3) Manage the burn aka lactic threshold. If you completely burn out doing 20 straight wall ball shots, cut your sets down to 15-18 shots at a time, take a short rest, then set back up and get on with your next set. Keep 2-3 reps “in the tank”. Don’t waste your energy on missed reps. Make each one count. You’ll have to jump it up eventually.
Double unders:
1) Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Take a moment to set up properly, get your rhythm, and then focus on being smooth.
2) Bias using your hands and wrists to rotate the rope instead of your shoulders which will be burning after the wall balls and which you need to save to stay fresh for the muscle ups.
3) Try to not waste energy by jumping higher than you need to. If you mess up, recover-reset-redo.
Muscle ups:
1) Think “row the rings to your hips” instead of “pulling the rings to your chest”.
2) Keep your feet out in front of you as you transition. They need to counter balance your head and upper body so that you can get “through”.
3) Relax your hands as you get through the transition point to allow the rings to move under you.
4) Use a kipping dip press out.
And just watch this because it’s pretty awesome: slow motion muscle ups
Mental:
“Take the tension off your faces.” Separate the discomfort you’re feeling from the movement at hand. The tension and the mental pity party your giving yourself doesn’t help you work on the next rep. Get off your knees, stand tall, breathe and keep chipping away at what’s in front of you.
As always, try your best, have fun, and show us your 101% attitude.