Fitness: Front Squat 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Aim to be able to add 5 pounds each exposure. If you maintain 5-pound jumps, the bar will be 35 pounds heavier by the end of the cycle!
Performance: Back Squat 3 x 5, Volume Day
Start light enough to make consistent jumps of 5-10 pounds for 8 weeks.
Post loads to comments.
e1/8
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Partner WOD
One partner working at a time, alternate complete rounds
AMRAP 15 Minutes:
15 Wall Ball 20/10, 14/9
7 Burpee-Box Jumps 20″
Post rounds and Rx to comments.
Tucker came to the last mock Olympic weightlifting meet and he found it extremely exciting. Don’t miss your chance to nail your snatch and clean and jerk under the tutelage of Coach Frankie Murray (@nextlevelweightlifting)! Details below and here.
News and Notes
- SCHEDULE UPDATES: Yoga for Athletes is CANCELED this Saturday, 4/11, and Pilates with KH is CANCELED on Tuesday, 4/14, and rescheduled for Monday, 4/13, at 9am.
- Performance Squat Programming People: If you’re curious about the basic idea behind this cycle’s programming, check out this article: “Why the Texas Method May Be the Best Intermediate Program.”
- Happy birthday, Ari J. and Ben L.!
Sign Up Now For the Next Cycle of CFSBK’s Olympic Lifting Program with Coach Frankie Murray
WE NEED EIGHT PEOPLE IN EACH CYCLE TO RUN THEM, which means we need five more people in both cycles. Sign up today!
Here’s a testimonial from Social Media Strong Man Matt K.:
“Frank helped me work on all the tiny nagging issues with my snatch and clean and jerk, showing me how to overcome all the issues I’ve had for years. I look at Olympic lifting in a completely different way now, and I’ve already seen Frank’s coaching make my lift more efficient during WODs. Sign up for this class, you won’t regret it.”
And another testimonial (and mild threat) from Funny Strong Man Jay R.:
“SIGN UP FOR THE OLYMPIC LIFTING CLASS. Personal coaching from two national-level lifters (the man can clean and jerk like 400lbs or something). You will develop a deeper understanding of all of the lifts and and be able to show off to your friends. I don’t know of anyone who did not improve after finishing a cycle. Plus you get to mock the 8:30 class. If you are on the fence DO IT–or else you will have to see more of me in gen pop for the next eight weeks . . .”
What: An 8-week Olympic lifting cycle meeting twice a week with Coach Frank Murray and/or Heather Farmer in addition to two open gym or group classes per week.
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-1:30pm from 4/14/15 – 6/4/15 or Mondays and Wednesdays 8-9:30pm from 4/14/15 – 6/4/15. (see full details below)
Price: $300 per 4 weeks, first bill due at sign-up and second bill charged automatically to the card on-file 4 weeks later.
Noon Cycle
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-1:30pm from 4/14/15 – 6/4/15
REGISTER HERE
PM Cycle
Mondays and Wednesdays 8-9:30pm from 4/14/15 – 6/4/15
REGISTER HERE
Each cycle needs a minimum of eight participants and is capped at 10 athletes. Both cycles will end with a mock Olympic meet on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 2:30pm.
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The “Food Babe” Blogger is Full of Shit Gawker
No Excuses No Missed Days: The Travis Williams Project Misfit Athletics
The "food babe" blogger is full of shit…
Frank Murray is not. If you sign up for Oly Cycle, it'll make you a better a lifter, and therefore, a better Crossfitter. I had the pleasure of Frank's coaching for a few months and am better for it.
Not only will I be back in gen pop, but the hemline of my shorts starts to rise dramatically around this time of year (spring has sprung!). Think about that for a bit and then save yourself and others by signing up for Frank's class – I promise to cover up and keep my singlet in the closet.
It's a great class peoples! Nike that sh*t today.
Question about the squatting this cycle – one already in my mind before today and I was reminded about it by seeing the link to the 'Texas Method'
So, Wednesdays, someone doing the performance cycle would do a 3×5 set of the back squat and then, come back on Saturday and do a max-effort 5-rep set.
So:
1. These two sets make this method a little different from the programming we saw on the link, right, which has you lifting three times a week? And this is because we are skipping the 'recovery' mid-week?
2. On our volume day, we are doing 3×5 instead of 5×5- why the reduced volume?
Dangit…I know I swore I'd sign up for Oly class if it were offered at a better time. 8 is better than 8:30, but unfortunately still the wrong days of the week, at least until June. 🙁 That, and I've been told to avoid front rack until my wrist is healed, so no cleaning for me. Double 🙁 🙁
Would there ever be an early morning Oly cycle?
Back squat, 135x5x3. This is a pretty conservative start and it felt good. I think I'll add 10 next week.
WOD partnered with Roosevelt, who did 6 rounds to my 5 (24kg KB swings and 10 box jumps without the burpee per round for me). I decided to get over my mental hangup about putting the 24kg KB over my head and it really wasn't that bad! Learn something new every day.
Also, skipped the cash out in favor of my homework from Deb, which she had me write down as "up and down," "robot arm," and "Spiderman hands." Tee hee!
6am with McDowell and Ro
205# 3×5 Back Squats. All moved pretty well. Looking forward to watching these numbers climb.
WOD Rx'd:
Partnered with Jon and got through 6 full rounds plus 15 WB and 1 BJ. (Ha. I said BJ.)
Everything unbroken.
Those 105 Wall Balls will be felt tomorrow for sure.
Best line ever:
Hari's rule? "If a third grader can't pronounce it, don't eat it."
My rule? Don't base your diet on the pronunciation skills of an eight-year-old.
The "Food Babe" Blogger Is Full of Shit
6am with McD and Ro
Perf. Squats: 285# for 3×5 HBBS. That's 80lbs lighter than my theoretical 5rm, so it seems like a reasonable place to start. I don't plan on adding 10lbs each week – cause 3×5 vs 1×5 is a pretty big difference – but I'll plan to add 10lbs the first few weeks and then go to 5lb jumps.
Metcon Rx'd: Partnered with Roy and got through 6 full rounds each, and I made 1 wall ball shot right as time ran out – just so I could say I got into round 7. Everything unbroken, and wall balls felt easy because I was paying attention to my breathing rhythm. Could not figure out how to do that with the burpee box jumps though, so I was a little wrecked after each of those sets.
Fun small group class with Jeremy yesterday.
Squat:
3×5 at 425
This felt a bit harder than I expected, I'm guessing because of all the front squatting we did on Monday.
Did the workout with Team Big Guy – me, Jason and Nick.
Scaled up the box to 24 inches and the wall ball to 30lbs. Shared that 30 pounder with Jason, so we alternated back and forth between the 30 and the 20.
Got 6 rounds. This was fun – the wall balls were a breeze, but the box jumps suuuucked. Jay and I managed to synchronize them. That should be an event in the CrossFit Games.
Glad to be resting today.
@Samir
1) Yep. The Texas Method is a pure lifting program and we're a CrossFit program so dedicated squatting 3x/week isn't the best option. That's what Strength Cycle is for! Our Performance squats are simply based on the basic idea behind a TM of alternating volume and intensity. One could consider the clean and jerk on Thursday a recovery day since you would certainly be handling less weight that you would on a back squat, for most even less than the 80% recovery squats that a traditional TM programs.
2) Simple time management mostly. 5×5 would take just about the entire hour pretty soon into the cycle. Plus, we do lots of other squatting via thrusters, wall ball, etc, that have to be considered in total volume.
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Rest day for me! The great news is that my back feels good after yesterdays squats, in fact today is the first day I didn't get out of bed with a wince. It's a bit disappointing to be starting so far back (185 lbs) but am really looking forward to the process and to taking group classes again. I'm going to avoid dynamic squatting for a bit, follow the LP, and make 10 lb jumps for a few exposures.
7am (slept in a bit)
Squat: 255x5x3. Very conservative start for me – I expect 20 lb jumps for a couple of weeks. Each set felt increasingly solid.
WOD: Partnered with Dan L, who got 7 rounds and 9 wallballs. I got 7 rounds even. We did all rounds unbroken and were just over 1 minute rounds consistently.
@Fox: Thanks – makes sense. Looking forward to this cycle. I have a feeling the 5-RM set will help break through some plateaus.
10am big group class with Jeremy.
Rings Strength Warmup A:
3 Rounds: :10 ring support, 8 false grip ring rows, 10-15 air squats
-really excited to be spending some dedicated time working on this huge area of weakness.
HBBS:
(45×5, 135×5, 165×3)
185x5x3
-was planning on following the Performance programming for squats…until I just sat down to write this. In training for the Iron Maidens I began my LBBS at 185 and rode it all the way up to 245, squatting 3x/week. So, since I'm switching back to HBBS, why not do the same thing? Sure I'll only be squatting 2x/week but I'm looking forward to see where I finish. Being that I recently tested 1RMs in both LBBS and HBBS (only 15# difference between them), I'm not rushing to test again.
Partner WOD with Jaclyn:
13 rounds total, rxd
-I went first and got 6 rounds plus 15wb plus 6 bbj as time was called. Finished the last bbj anyway so let's just call it 7 rounds even.
-All rounds unbroken. Will probably be pretty sore after squats and 105wb's…especially considering I'm still sore from Saturday! I volunteered Jaclyn to be my partner and she was great. I love partner workouts because you always push just a bit more than if you were doing it solo.
CashOut:
3 Rounds of :30 side plank. That last round was harder to finish unbroken than I expected.
Also, how cute is Tucker with his big smile! I'm such a proud momma.
12noon w/ Coaches McDowell & Noah
Performance: LBBS
(Not bc I'm all Performance n stuff, but bc I still cannot do any FS or racked positions. And for this cycle, I have to do the LBBS on Wednesdays.)
225x5x3
Nice and easy for e1
WOD: 6rounds Rx
Not nice and easy
PS: I love the new gymnastic warm-ups
Noon class
LBBS: I did either 125 or 135. I thought I did 135, but thinking about what plates were on the bar, it may have actually been 125. Shoulders hurt after each set. I need to do some shoulder mobility before I do these next time.
Partner WOD with Nathan. 20" box and 14# wall ball. 9 rounds total. Nathan did 5 rounds, I did 4. All wall balls unbroken which is a big deal for me. I realized that I hold my breath during these which is probably part of the reason wall balls are a struggle for me so I focused on breathing throughout. Nathan did strict burpees, while I flopped on the ground. Burpees were slow but unbroken. I felt like I was a million pounds during each box jump.
Leisurely one mile jog. Wanted to do some GHDs but after fighting with the machine to get it in the right position for about 15 minutes, I gave up.
Tucker looks super cute!
8am! Keeping my workout times constantly varied!
Did kettle bell swings push-ups and worked on butterfly pull-ups to warm up.
Did some lbbs starting at 72% ish 3*5 @275
Partnered up with jarred for the wall balls and burpee box jumps he finished 6 rounds and I was just shy with 3 burpee box jumps left before time ran out!
Front Squat: 180x5x3 – started conservatively. Felt nice and light
Partner WOD with Dan G – 7 rounds each plus I got 9 WB
2nd day of Invictus training. This was a two hour session, with some lollygagging. My shoulders are officially smoked.
droms/mobility (foam lats, pecs, tspine; orb to hamstrings/adductors)
3 round WU (just to get myself prepped):
-3 false grip ring row to transition
-5 push up
-:15 hollow hold
A. Three sets, not for time, of:
Row 1000 Meters
5 Muscle-Ups (scaled to 4/3/3… all one at a time)
10 Strict Toes to Bar (two sets; I suck at strict T2B)
60 Second Nose-to-Wall Handstand Hold (challenging)
B.
Pause Jerk: (dip and hold for 2 seconds, then jerk)
*Set 1 – 3 reps @ 60% (88#)
*Set 2 – 2 reps @ 70% (103#)
*Set 3 – 2 reps @ 80% (113#)
*Sets 4-8 – 1 rep @ 90+% (123#x1x2, 113x1x2… was going to do one at 123 and then go up, but it wasn't feeling great. having jerked much and the pause dip was hard to get used to. failed the first rep @123 because i clocked my chin)
C.
Three sets of:
Push Press x 4-5 reps (73#x4x3)
Rest as needed
D.
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 6 minutes of:
6 Strict Handstand Push-Ups (Scale: strict DB press 25#)
9 Burpees
12 Stationary Dips (scale: 9 dips)
Score: 2 rounds + 1 db press. just… no strength left.
Stretched shoulders afterward (pecs, int rot, triceps), then ate all the food.
4:30 pm
Switching back to HBBS:
45×5, 95×4, 125×3, 145#3×5
Partner WOD w/ Kathryn (I believe thats how she said it was spelled: 14 rds + 11 WB
Kathryn is a beast! We both managed to do all of our wall ball and burpee sets unbroken….except for me, who missed the box once. Other than that we made a good team! Its always fun to meet new people and make a friend.
Hooray New Banner photos!!!!! Thanks to Kate who kept pushing me to update this. So happy we did.
4:30pm Group class with McNoah
3 Rounds NFT
15 Air Squats
10 Push-Ups
5 Chin-Ups
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1 Strict Muscle-up + 5 Dips
HBBSQ Performance Volume
210x5x3
Hoping to high bar 245x5x3 at the end of this
Did the Metcon with Nate. I completed 6 rounds in the 15 minute time frame doing it as Rx'd
My goal was to do every set of wall balls unbroken and aim for about 6" above the 10' line. Accomplished my goal!
Side plankz
HBBS: 245x5x3 (I ended the last cycle at 270 across so hopefully this is a good place to start. The first day of a new cycle is always a little weird though; after the two weeks break thanks to Crush and Back-Off, stuff feels heavy when you drop back.)
WOD partnered with Mark: WE finished 10 rounds and I got another 11 wallballs in before time ran out. This was tough.
Front squat, 5RM, -5%x5x2
341×5
323x5x2
Press, 5RM, -5%x5x2
187×5
165x5x2
Yay new banner photos! Who knows when your own face might pop up at the top of the blog now?!
I did yoga tonight, which always reminds me why I fell in love with CrossFit. JK, I like yoga too. Trying to work it in once a week.
Tucker!!!!!
Oops forgot to post this last night.
5:30 last night with McD and Noah
145x5x3 for the HBBS. I hate how hard this feels after the two week "break".
We each got 6 rounds on the partner WOD. I used 12# instead of 14 for the wall balls.