WOD Blog

12/13 Technology Tuesday

12/12/2022

Holly gets good extension at the top of the ski erg

Have you seen the new Ski Erg and Assault Bike Pro at the gym? We are SO excited to have new equipment and you can FOR SURE expect workouts of the day to include the rowing, skiing and biking. Hello, Acid Bath!
Both ergs are made by Concept 2 and have a very cool app associated with them. Er Data is a free app that connects via bluetooth to the PM5 row ergs (the ones with red tape on them) and the ski erg. Once connected Erg Data displays additional training data such as stroke length, heart rate, watts, and many more.
Erg Data also integrates with Apple Health, Whoop, and Garmin. Once you connect Erg Data with your wearable tech you have many more options available such as connecting with Strava. I love how once I start Erg Data it pushes my info to Whoop and Strava simultaneously.
You can also program workouts into Erg Data and push them to the erg of your choice. For example, If you know we're doing a Tabata Row, you can program all 8 intervals in Erg Data, save it and and when you get to the gym connect with a PM5 and you're all set! How nice is that? No more programming the erg via the monitor.
When you set up Erg Data you will create an online Concept 2 account. After each workout Erg Data will log all your meters rowed or skied and you can participate in Concept 2 distance challenges. You can learn more about Erg Data here. Click on the button below to download the appropriate version for your phone.

Erg Data for iOS

Erg Data on Google Play

The new Air Assault Bike Pro also has an associated app, Assault Fitness. Like Erg Data, Assault Fitness connects to the Pro bike via bluetooth. One of the features of Assault Fitness that I'm most excited about is group challenges. Once you create your account you can connect with your gym friends, challenge them to a workout, and have fun talking smack about each other:)
Assault Fitness also allows you to create workouts, track your progress and a whole bunch of other cool things. I have yet to discover if it integrates with other wearable technology, but I'm sure that's in the works. I mean, if you don't track it it doesn't count, right?
Click here to learn more about Assault Fitness app.

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12/6 Tuesday - Podium Week Day 2

12/5/2022

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Podium Week Day 1 in the 9am class!

The nooners and their podiums

We continue our fitness testing and #podiumweek with a series of tests created by CrossFit Level 4 Seattle. These tests are used to determine your current fitness level and appropriate scalings and progressions for workouts.
The testing and use of the levels is analogous to belt colors in martial arts. You work in your current level, progressing towards the next. After you've demonstrated competency in your current level, you're allowed to test to the next one. These fitness levels can highlights your weaknesses and give you something to work on. Remember, our goal is to make you as generally fit as possible. The CrossFit Level 4 fitness levels allow us to assess and make recommendations for improving your general physical capacity.

What the Skill Levels Mean

Level 1. You can move like a human. You’re not in particularly good shape, but if your town floods, you can get in a rescue boat without a firefighter pulling you in. If you can’t do three pull-ups, and three dips, you don’t have healthy shoulders. If you can’t squat all the way down comfortably, your hips are not healthy. These are basic health problems in the sense that they affect your quality of life. Fixing these problems generates a lot of self-confidence, and sets the stage for further progress.
Level 2. You’re not a competitive athlete, but you’re an active, fit person who can tackle whatever you want to do. All of your joints have full range of motion and adequate strength. You know how to create stability and power. You are ready to dive into learning any new physical activity that may interest you. Being this capable is so much fun!
Level 3. This is general fitness for a competitive athlete. That’s already pretty rare territory. Most adults don’t need all this, but it can be fun and give you some challenging goals. If you’re not working on Level 3 – for instance, if you can’t do a few strict dead hang muscle ups – you have no business entering the CrossFit Open and expect to get to Regionals or expect to be in the top 25% globally. Stop being delusional about what you can do. Treat the problem.
Level 4. The level 4 goals explore the limits of general fitness. They are attainable only through many years of smart consistent training. None of the individual goals are very advanced when compared to a specialist in that field, but the combination of these qualities is very hard to achieve. For many, if not most people, this level of all around fitness is just not practical. Not practical because achieving all of these skills simultaneously means that you have really become a specialist in general fitness. Many, many people can perform some of the skills listed in Level 4, while at the same time they are unable to perform several level 2 skills. Perhaps the best use of these levels is when you are able to realize that you are already “good enough” in one area, and can then focus on an area that needs work.

Coach's Notes: If you did not do the CrossFit or Powerlifting Total yesterday you will do it today.

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Bring a friend to class this Friday. It's FREE for them and FUN for you!

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11/29 Technique Tuesday

11/28/2022

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Which kind of muscle contractions is Anne demonstrating?

Concentric, Eccentric, Isometric
Three Ways to Build Muscle Fabric

Power, strength, and speed are enhanced by building muscle. Our metabolism changes by building muscle. Our hormones change by building muscle. Our body composition changes by building muscle. Our bone density increases by building muscle. Building muscle is a key factor in improving health and increasing longevity. There are three basic ways to build muscle and we play with all of them when we train at the gym.
Concentric contraction is when a muscle actively shortens. When we do ring rows our biceps shorten on the pull. When we stand up from a squat the quadriceps concentrically contract to lift us up.
Eccentric contraction is when a muscle actively lengthens. When we lower from a ring row the biceps lengthen. When we squat below parallel the quadriceps lengthen. When we deadlift the hamstrings lengthen.
Isometric contraction is when the muscle is engaged and doesn't move. When we hold a plank our triceps, biceps, pectorals and all the trunk muscles are held in isometric contraction. The top of a flexed arm hang is isometric. An active bar hang is isometric. A wall squat hold is isometric.
Which types of contraction build muscle best? A combination of all three! Want to get better pull-ups? Do ring rows, flexed arm hangs, active bar hangs, and assisted pull-ups. Want to get better at push-ups? Do planks, isometric holds at the bottom, knee to plank push-ups and negatives.
Want to get a bigger deadlift? Stop dropping the bar! When you drop the bar you miss HALF of the muscle contractions that make you stronger. Lower the bar under control to build core strength and take advantage of the concentric loading of your posterior chain.
Want a stronger squat? Squat to your FULL depth! Your muscles get stronger by going through a complete range of concentric and eccentric loading. When you pause at the top or bottom your building strength through isometric loading.
The lesson here? To build muscle sometimes you need to slow down and ensure you're getting the FULL RANGE of motion. This ensures you're maximizing all the muscle contractions.
Share with me in the comments your favorite isometric contraction.

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10/11 Technique Tuesday

10/10/2022

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Our bodies utilize three energy systems when we exercise. These are the Phosphogen-Creatine, Glycolytic, and Oxidative energy systems. We are all probably most familiar with the Oxidative system and we know it by it's common name, aerobic(s) exercise. The other two systems are anaerobic. Meaning they do not require oxygen to "run."
One of the key components of CrossFit is that we utilize all three energy systems. The Phosphogen-creatine system is used primarily when we do something hard and fast for less than 60 seconds. Think of a max effort lift, a box jump, a sledgehammer hit, or swinging a golf club or baseball bat. These are explosive efforts that we can do at maximal intensity.
The glycolytic system is used primality for maximal efforts lasting less than 2 minutes. Think of the workout Grace, a 10, 100, or 200m sprint, a 250 max effort row, or any interval that lasts about 2 mins.
The oxidative pathway dominates efforts lasting longer than 2 min. This is most of our workouts. We are always training our "aerobic" system (except when we are just lifting for load.)
All three of these systems operate at the start of exercise, but one dominates until the next one takes over.
One of the reasons CrossFit it so effective is that we intentionally train all three of these systems. Increased efficiency in all three systems has profound and significant impacts on our hormonal balance and metabolism. That is why we call our workouts, metabolic conditioning. We are not just exercising or doing aerobics. We are actively training our metabolism to balance hormones such as cortisol, insulin, and many others.
Today's workout is a classic test of our oxidative energy system.
A 5000m row is definitely a rowing endurance test piece, comparable to a 5K run. However, long rows, in the 5k range have an important history in the sport of rowing. They are the distances of the Fall regattas, which are known as Head Races, and all Head Races are at least 3 miles. The most famous Head Race in the US is the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, MA. The Head of the Charles is 4,800m and the best times are sub 20 minutes for men and sub 22 minutes for women. How fast will you row today?
Want to listen to what it's like to be on a crew team training for the Head of the Charles? Listen to this NPR radio segment: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/12/24/458299311/teaching-grit-on-the-water-a-top-coach-mixes-rowing-with-life
Rowing a long piece like today's 5000m demands good technique. Check out this video from Coach Shane Farmer of Dark Horse rowing on achieving a good catch.