Workout of the Day
STRENGTH
Banded Dynamic Effort Deadlifts
9 sets x 2 reps @ 50% 1RM (plus bands) every 30 seconds for 4:30 minutes
Notes
Take 3 or so warm up sets to get to work weight (50%) then add bands. Focus on moving the bar fast as if you’re about to clean it. All reps should come from a dead start.
1RM Chart for Bands
Less then 250: Red Band
250-325: Blue Band
325-400: Green Band
METCON
EMOM 15:00
A: :45 Bike Calories
B: :45 Burpees
C: :45 24′ Shuttle Runs
Notes
Rotate through each station at an aerobic pace, try to keep your scores consistent.
ASSISTANCE
A1: Banded Face Pulls
3×15
A2: :20 Front Scale into :20 Back Scale (then switch legs and repeat)
3 sets:
CrossFit Group Class Programming Template (WK6/7)
Post training flex off for the QTS crew!
Some Insight on Today’s Deadlift Variation
Dynamic Effort Method
As the name implies, Dynamic Effort (DE) work focuses on developing speed and explosiveness. This is accomplished by using a sub maximal weight lifted at maximal speeds. Your muscles ability to produce force is dictated by a number of variables including overall size, angles of insertion on the bone, muscle shape, muscle fiber type and finally neuromuscular control. The DE Method aims to help optimize that last variable by training your body to fire a large number of motor units quickly and efficiently. You see, your muscles arent simply hunks of meat that are either “on or off”. This is intuitive when you think about it a little.. consider holding a child’s hand versus holding a heavy dumbbell. Your body senses that you need to work harder in the second scenario and will engage more motor units to accomplish the task at hand (pun intended). Motor units are subdivisions of muscles that are recruited depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Fewer motor units are used for light and fine motor patterns like writing and putting on clothes while more motor units are requited for heavy and fast patterns like lifting weights and jumping. When you’re first learning a new skill, that awkward, uncoordinated feeling you experience is your body not knowing how to best produce a firing pattern that will express effective, efficient movement. The more you practice a skill, the better your bodies internal “software” gets at using the “hardware” resulting in better movement. Lifting weights is no different, when you go to attempt a 1 Rep Max Deadlift, part of the equation regarding whether you’ll hit it or miss the lift is how good you are at firing up lots motor units. By training a particular % continuum of your 1RM at high speed, you develop an explosive capacity to generate lots of force quickly.
Accommodating Resistance
The point of Accommodating Resistance (using the bands today) is to modify the amount of resistance you experience throughout the range of motion. In any exercise, you’ll notice that there are “easier” and “harder” parts during the rep. For example in Deadlifts, people often miss lifts at the bottom or around the knee, rarely after they get the bar onto the thigh. Similarly, the first 1/4 of a Back Squat is a hell of a lot easier than everything that happens at parallel and below (this helps explain the popularity in commercial gyms of partial squats). The reason for this is that at certain points during the bar’s path you find yourself in more mechanically advantageous positions based on joint angles, muscle positions and where the resistance (barbell/body weight etc) is relative to the primarily muscles trying to move it. Bands and chains can make those “easier” areas harder by changing how that resistance is expressed throughout the movement. The video above demonstrates how at the top of the lift, when it’s usually the easiest, the band is stretched out the most pulling the bar down and increasing the amount of weight being lifted. The result of this kind of training is more well rounded strength and an increased ability to accelerate the lift through the range of motion.
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