State of Fitness Address 19-4
The State of your Fitness
If you made it to every class over the last cycle (19-4, Dec-Feb), you lifted 1,924 reps at an average intensity of 79.91%. This does not include the work your booty put in during the Glute Bridge (436 reps) or your back during the Inverted Barbell Row (802 reps).
You CrossFitted an average of 13:10 per WOD and statically held positions and odd objects for 54:00!
Finally, you completed MAP 5 and began MAP 4. These together totaled 7+ hours of straight aerobic capacity practice. As the time domain of these MAPs has decreased, the work within them has become more varied and technical. We were able to add things like barbell cycling, powerlifting at percentages, and strength/skill work like strict gymnastics and double unders. We can do this because the risk of overtraining by asking too much volume of your bodies is not there; the timeframe is just too short. MAPs 4 and 5 are the heart of traditional-style CrossFit workouts, with a race pace of 8:00-12:00 minutes. I really hope those of you who have been with us long enough to experience the 30:00 intervals are seeing this pacing practice carry over into your WODs. If Elizabeth was any indication, I think the answer is yes.
This past cycle continued our trend of hitting the mark. If you read the last State of Fitness address, I discussed our goals for this cycle: working on the sticking point in your Back Squats, and continuing our quest to sure-up the technical weaknesses that can plague our Olympic Lifts.
The first 6 weeks of our Back Squat work started with a lift that wasn’t a squat at all. We hit the Barbell Glute Bridge, and for the first time didn’t have a Back Squat scheduled into our strength programming. The 6 weeks that followed continued this trend of working on our hip drive through the middle by adding volume in the form of 1 1/4 Squats. This potent combination led to some all time PRs set within the complex itself! Doing something more difficult than the original lift at a heavier weight than the original is awesome, and helps to prove we were on the right track. This also carried over to our more traditional Front Squat test where we also saw many a lifetime PR.
We continued to work with complexes for the Olympic lifts. The goal here was to work on weak positions in a more engaging way. This came in the form of Hang and Low Hang reps paired with weaker position overhead work. During our last cycle, we saw both novice and experienced lifters hitting their personal bests after working their way through challenging complexes. I am very happy to report the same thing held true for this cycle—all-time PRs coming in the form of nasty complexes. This should be very satisfying and exciting for you all, given that the next cycle we are back to our traditional lifts. The work and numbers you saw in the complexes should have great carry-over to these.
Our accessory work centered around pressing and pulling—pressing in the form of DBs, and pulling in the horizontal plane. While this may not be as sexy as Pull Up and Dip work from the previous cycle, I can promise you this is the type of bodybuilding that sets you up for less strains and pains in the future by creating a more well-rounded athlete. It is also a sneaky way to boost your backs and shoulders to hopefully provide for some first-time strict or kipping handstand push ups, or bigger than expected benches in our next cycle. Your lats have more to do with your presses than you think!
Of course we can’t forget about the unilateral work we did with our barbell lunges, either. These are medicine that must be taken for the good of your body’s symmetry. It may not be exciting, but very worth the effort when it comes to risk management.
We continued with the trend of completing a couple of shorter, 6-week strength cycles within our longer, 12-week Macrocycle. This allowed us to maximize the complexes without feeling burned out. We changed the complexes and the rep max tests just enough to offer continued progress.
Conditioning saw a welcomed newcomer to the block: Static holds! Reminder that the goal with these was to improve our ability to hold good body positions when fatigued. Losing positions in this state leads to injuries. I hope all of you found some benefit in this practice because I really liked the results I saw (which means it will be making a return in the future).
Our continuing MAP macrocycle had us decrease our cyclical working time from 3 minutes to 2. While I spoke of the value these days add for improving performance during WODs, don’t forget that the real point of these sessions is aerobic base-building. Quite simply, this is heart health, and is the basis for your performance in and out of the gym. Going as hard as possible everyday you condition is not good for the body. The stress, aka cortisol released during these types of bouts can have negative consequences if left unchecked. This is why we want you to learn how to pace appropriately. That way you can pick and choose your battles. Because to be the healthiest version of yourself you need both high intensity and aerobic capacity.
This brings us to the next cycle. As I said, traditional lifts are making a comeback. You will be Snatching, Clean and Jerking, and Back Squatting from the ground or the rack in one up and down, or down and up motion. These will be completed for rep maxes to start the cycle, and conclude in single reps to finish it. Perhaps even more exciting for some, (Coaches Michael and Nick, I’m lookin at you), we are also bringing back good ole’ fashioned Bench Press. Arnold will be smiling down upon you as you bro out each and every Wednesday.
If you liked the complexes, don’t fret; Saturday is here to satisfy. The weekend will include some pretty nasty complexes that are guaranteed to make you wonder why you came, but will absolutely make you stronger.
Next up: conditioning. There are patterns to observe. Monday will be midline-dominant, aka conditioning that will challenge your core. Tuesday will be a press/pull + unilateral leg work. As always, we want our WODs to challenge your capacity, but also keep your body’s asymmetries to a minimum. Wednesday will be your time to make friends with the FWB as well as odd objects. Odd objects are an excellent tool to practice with in a controlled setting so that when you’re at home digging up a plant from the front yard, you know how to conduct yourself. #useyourfitness. Saturdays will be Snatch and OHS dominant for the first 6 weeks, and finish with Clean and OH strength work during the last 6 weeks. This is to make up for any gaps in our regular strength work. As usual, Saturdays will continue to include high skill work. What will be new, however, is a team workout to coincide with Second Saturday Town Day of Brunch (see below for details). As we get closer to the Cascade Classic Qualifier, we will work in some more barbell cycling throughout the WODs as well.
Finally: Technique Thursday will continue to be handstand-dominant. If you want to improve your handstand skill set, then you know what you need to do! And if you aren’t worried about a handstand, Thursdays are still a must! We spend a lot of time building midline strength on these days, so don’t sleep on them!
Congratulations to you on another great cycle! Remember, if you haven’t set up a goal-setting session with a coach, do it! They are invaluable towards your continued progress, health, and longevity.
Lastly, don’t forget Second Saturday Town Day of Brunch! This is a new Town community event. We will program a team workout and follow up the 11:00AM class with brunch at various locations throughout Tacoma.
Thanks for being you. See you at the gym.
Stay Rooted