New Barbell Class

New Barbell Class
Written by: Coach Slater

At our heart, we’re a Strength-biased gym. Always have been. We believe, along with a ton of really smart coaches, that strength should be the foundation of fitness. A stronger person looks better naked, performs better inside and outside of the gym, and benefits from easier function in life, especially later in life.

Our move to Mellwood had us excited about the possibility of bringing back some of that pure strength focus, by giving us more space to run additional classes. We were bolstered in that desire when an overwhelming number of you expressed an interest in a “barbell” class on our Spring survey. And now, we’re happy to introduce our first new class for the new space. A 90-120min strength class dedicated to getting you strong. Soon after, we hope to offer additional new classes in this space, as we look for ways to address all of your barbell-related fitness interests.

This Barbell class will run on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 4:30p. It’ll warm-up with the 4:30p CrossFit class, then will branch off into the “front room” to perform its lifts (which will be the same as the CrossFit class, just with more rest time), then perform additional strength accessory movements, before rejoining the NEXT class for their conditioning piece. You can attend this class or the CrossFit class, and move in and out of each as you see fit. We’d recommend sticking with one or the other thru a full strength cycle, but you can also just pop into this Barbell class if you’re feeling beat up one day and want to move a little slower. At the moment, we have no attendance cap on this class, but will keep an eye on things as the space upfront is much smaller than main room. Expect to double-up or triple-up on bars as needed.

So, let me tell you a little about the upcoming programming cycle, and how this new strength class will be an outlet for you to switch back and forth between Barbell and CrossFit class.

New Strength Cycle
The week of July 25 will be a transition week, moving us from our last strength cycle into our new cycle which begins August 1. The focus of this new cycle is to build a base of strength using the “slow lifts”, i.e., Back Squat, Strict Press, and Deadlift. These lifts will occur on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to coincide with the Barbell class. In our CrossFit classes, we’ll practice the hang versions of the snatch and clean on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to teach everyone how to move *around* the barbell, as opposed to moving the barbell around them. Barbell class will rest on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We want you to feel comfortable switching back and forth between Barbell and CrossFit class, so the programming will always be based around the same strength lifts. Spend a cycle there (8 weeks) then switch back to CrossFit. Or, spend a week there. Or a day there.

Sample Week
So, maybe you’re wondering a week of Barbell looks like. Here you go:

Monday
E4M20M
5 Back Squat
Life: Find a heavy 5
Sport: All sets @ 70%
+
Rear-Foot Elevated Lunges – 5 x 10 – easy
Glute Ham Raise – 5 x 10
Pallof Press – 5 x 10
-rest ~60-120sec between all accessory sets
+
-then, with the 5:30p CrossFit class:
4 Rounds
15 Front Squats – 95/65 (S: OHS – 115/75)
15 Pullups (S: CTB)
*OHS should be in 2 sets or less. Pullups should be in 3 sets or less. Shoot for sub 12min

Wednesday
E4M20M
5 Strict Press
L: Find a heavy 5
S: All sets @ 70%
+
Shrugs – 5 x 10
DB Bench Press – 5 x 10
-rest ~60-120sec between all accessory sets
+
-then, with the 5:30p CrossFit class:
AMRAP 20
6 HRPU (S: Ring Dips)
9 SDLHP – L: 95/75; S: 115/75
12 Box Step Ups (S: Jumps)
*The SDLHP should be unbroken, so find a weight that allows that to happen. 12+ is possible.

Friday
E4M20M
3 Deadlifts – no %, just find a heavy 3
*Controlled on the way down, take the hands off the bar, complete next rep. We’re focusing on the eccentric control (the negative).
+
Weighted Back Extensions on GHR – 5 x 10
Partner-Aided Supine Leg Throwdowns – 3 x 20
DB Hammer Curl – 3 x 10
-rest ~60-120sec between all accessory sets
+
Prowler or Sled – pick a weight/distance and make it suck for 20-30min