Welcome to week 1 of our new strength & conditioning cycle. Here are some things to look forward to…
First of all, you’re going to see a huge change to Mondays. We’ll tackle two conditioning pieces every Monday. So, that means no Strength portion; just two WODs. We’re calling it Metcon Monday during this cycle. Tuesdays will alternate between touch & go power cleans and touch & go power snatches. Wednesdays will bring front squats back to the fray. On Thursdays, we’ll tackle touch & go deadlifts, working up to a heavy single every week. Fridays will be the opposite of Tuesdays, alternating between touch & go power cleans & power snatches… basically, whatever we do on Tuesday, we’ll do the opposite on Friday. We’ll use strength work on Friday to prime our endocrine system to tackle the Open WODs during class. If you come to a 4:30p or later class during this cycle, during the Open, then we won’t have any strength… we’ll just tackle the Open WOD.
So, overall, we’ll focus on putting movements together, in higher repetitions, with intensity in this cycle. It’s about being in the best possible shape you can be… about being “able to go”. We took time in the last cycle to build a strong base of strength; we’ve built the motor, and now we’re adding high-end speed to the engine. You hated all of the back squatting we did, but we know it helped based on the fact that the clear majority of Derby City athletes are now squatting their old 1RM for 5 reps. That’s awesome.
We’ll front squat more in this cycle, but you can effectively say goodbye to the back squat for now. There’s a certain level of skill, mobility and technique to front squatting and now we get to transfer all of the new-found power of our back squats to the front squat.
We tested squat cleans, power cleans, squat snatch and power snatch and we’ll continue to work on those cycled movements in this cycle, making you progressively better at moving heavy loads for higher reps. Why? Well, one reason is because moving heavy loads quickly translates into looking better naked 99 times out of 100.
Also, we’re blurring the lines between strength work and what you need to be able to do, strength-wise, in conditioning work. We’re asking you to hold onto the barbell longer, using our strength work to translate over to improved conditioning and overall fitness. There’s almost nothing that gets your heart-rate elevated faster than heavy touch & go movements, so we’re using that thought process here. Plus, getting used to touch & go movements will make “quick singles” even easier which will aid plenty of workouts in this cycle.
We’ll also test hitting heavy singles or twos AFTER a conditioning piece. These elements will test your mental strength, which should make you “harder to kill”. They’ll aim to help you prove to yourself how strong you are even when fatigued, helping you breakthrough mental barriers.
Lastly, we’ll sprinkle in weakness work, core stability work, and corrective work during the rest periods of our strength work to help further improve your overall movement and keep your heartrate in that “light aerobic” zone for the duration.
So… get ready!
Strength/Skill
No Strength. Welcome to Metcon Mondays during this cycle.
WOD
at 0:00
WOD 1
AMRAP 8
30 Power Snatch – L: 95/65; S: 135/95
Run 400m or Row 50/40 Cals
30 HRPU (S: HSPU)
at 20:00
WOD 2
3 Rounds
5 Deadlift – L: 225/145; S: 315/205
5 Burpees Over Bar (S: 10)
Rest 2min
3 Rounds
5 Deadlift
5 Burpees Over Bar (S: 10)
Rest 2min
3 Rounds
5 Deadlift
5 Burpees Over Bar (S: 10)
*If you finish early, keep your weights on your bar and help cheer on the athletes finishing after you!
Daily Reading
1. Friday Night Lights starts next week, so Register for the Open!
2. Breaking Down the Butterfly Pull-up: Two Common Issues
3. If you’re serious about dodging seasonal bugs, get some exercise.
4. Overtraining Syndrome is real… and scary