Press
Performance: Low Intensity, 65-70% x 7 x 4
Fitness: 3 x 5 Linear Progression
Add a few pounds to last week
Exposure 4/8
_____________________
Deadlift
Work up to one heavy set of 3 reps
Go heavier than last week’s set of 5.
Exposure 4/8
Post loads to comments.
_____________________
4 Rounds:
In 2 Minutes:
Row 250/200 Meters
then,
Max Thrusters 95/65
Rest 2 Minutes between rounds.
The rows are meant to be fast and the thruster weight should be on the light to medium side.
Post total reps of thrusters and Rx to comments.
Compare to 2.23.2015.
60 minute CrossFit group class in 60 seconds!
Hand Care for CrossFitters, Part 2
In Part 1, Coach Noah explained the why behind tearing, and offered some great tips for how to prevent tears and deal with them when they do happen. This week, we’re back with Part 2 in our Hand Care for CrossFitters series. Coach Fox sat down with (i.e. emailed) CFSBK’s coaching staff recently about the topic. Here’s what the gals on staff had to say about how to keep your hands from opening up and what to do about it if they do.
Fox: How often do you tear your hands or blister while doing CrossFit, and when is the last time you tore?
Jess: Sadly, I’ve torn fairly recently. Normally, I tear during high volume pull-ups WODs. I’ve also historically used a lot of chalk so I’m trying to cut back on that.
Whit: I used to tear quite a lot, maybe once a month? Now, I rarely do. I was sure I would tear during “Murph” with high volume this year, but I have built up a bit of a tolerance by doing higher volume pull-ups more regularly and more Olympic lifting. Yay! Also… I got a weird blood blister thing recently, like a callous that wanted to tear/pop but didn’t quite, and luckily when that eventually came off there was a good layer of skin underneath.
K Harpz: If I were to put a number on it, I would say about once every two months or less. Generally mine heal up pretty quickly too, unless that sucker is in the palm/crease of my hand. Those are the worst.
JB: I tear about two to three times per year, typically during high volume pull-up WODs. The last time I tore was during “Cindy.”
MeLo: I honestly can’t recall the last time I tore. I think I’ve gotten good at 1) maintaining my leathery hands and taking care of them regularly and 2) recognizing when my calluses are on the verge of tearing during a workout and changing grip, slowing down, or stopping. The disruption a bad tear causes to training consistency isn’t worth it.
Fox: Have you stopped or modified a workout in order to not tear?
Jess: Yes, recently I had to modify a 30-minute AMRAP with toes-to-bar because I knew that my hands couldn’t handle it.
Whit: Yes, not recently, but after my first few tears, I realized it really wasn’t worth it to keep going if I knew I was about to tear. I would be in a lot of pain and end up having to modify my training for a week or so afterward, which is stupid and a potential loss of GAINZ!
K Harpz: Yes. In my opinion, a gnarly tear is not worth ruining your training week.
JB: Yes, but sometimes I get a little too gung-ho and ignore a tear (hence the two to three tears per year). Like Whit and HarpZ said, it’s never worth messing up a week of training.
MeLo: Yes, agree with the ladies above and refer to my answer to #1.
Fox: What is your routine to maintain your hands/calluses? Include stuff like home care as well as how you choose to grip a bar, chalk use, etc…
Jess: I use a pumice stone and foot file combo in the shower, but not as diligently as I should.
Whit: I use a pumice stone in the shower or right afterward, maybe two to three times a week. I know it’s not ideal, but on high volume pull-up or toes-to-bar work, I use a thumbs-on-top monkey grip most of the time, and then alternate using thumbs-around grip here and there. I don’t use nearly as much chalk for that stuff as I used to… but I still use a decent amount, esp. for Olympic lifting. When gripping a bar for pulling (deadlift, clean, snatch), I try to line up the bar in the crease of my first knuckles, not in the middle of the palm of my hand.
K Harpz: I like to grip the bar with my thumbs around, as close to the underbelly of my knuckles as possible. The less skin I bunch up in the palm of my hand, the less likely I am to tear. Once I start to notice callus buildup, I shave it down with a pumice stone after allowing my hand to soak in water/applying hand balm. I also have the tendency to chalk up as an excuse to rest, and am trying my best to kick that habit.
JB: I don’t do much hand care, unless picking at my calluses when I am bored or anxious counts. In workouts, I try to be diligent about grabbing the bar right under my knuckles and avoiding bunching up the skin in the middle of my hand (that’s where my worst tears always happen). For the most part, I wrap my thumbs underneath the bar.
MeLo: I use a pumice stone in the shower regularly plus a callus remover/razor to shave down my calluses two times a month, then smooth them out with a pumice stone. For pull-ups, I tend to use a thumb-over grip to get better purchase on the bar, but that comes at the cost of skin bunching up and making you more susceptible to tears. If I haven’t been diligent about hand care, or if my hands feel at risk, I’ll use a thumb around grip with conscious effort to flatten out the skin on the bar so it doesn’t bunch (that sounds really gross). For barbells, I’ve only had a problem with my thumb using a hook grip, so I tape around my proximal phalange (aka, thumb).
Fox: How do you care for a torn callus or blister when it does happen?
Jess: I immediately wash my hands and cut off any loose skin. I apply an ointment like Aquaphor on the tear to keep it from drying out and then cover with a Band-Aid. I tend to keep it moist so that it doesn’t dry out and crack. Antibiotic ointments tend to dry the wound out so I reserve them for when a tear actually becomes infected, which shouldn’t happen if you keep it clean with soap and water.
Whit: Wash hands immediately, cut away loose skin with clippers. I use a bit of bacitracin and cover with a Band-Aid for the first couple nights/days. Either keep using a little bacitracin or Aquaphor as it heals so it doesn’t keep splitting.
K Harpz: Immediately disinfect/wash the area, take sterile manicure scissors, and cut back all of the dead skin. Apply Neosporin and leave the wound open as often as possible, generally I’ve found healing is optimal if it is moist and uncontained. (Unless I’m going on the subway and need to grab onto them slimy poles, of course.) I have Burt’s Bees Hand Balm but also have this stuff for rock climbers that I occasionally use.
JB: I immediately wash my hands (so painful!) and cut away the loose skin. I’ll apply Neosporin and a Band-Aid. I generally keep a Band-Aid on until it heals.
MeLo: Same as the gals above.
Fox: Any other advice or thoughts you think would be helpful?
Jess: Don’t have sissy hands like mine! But really, apply less chalk during WODs and try to grip the bar a little higher in the hand (fingers) instead of the palm. Don’t let calluses get big and out of control.
Whit: Gymnastics grips!!! These have made a huge difference for me in high volume workouts and training. I have torn so much less since I started using them.
K Harpz: I know how to make a cheap/reusable hand-wrap made of elastic self-adhering first aid tape. I find it doesn’t really mess up my grip and it adds a nice protective layer for a higher volume pull-up WOD. If anyone would like me to show them how it’s done, I’m happy to help anytime!
MeLo: Consistent hand care. Don’t let your calluses get so big that they get in the way of your training, file them down regularly and keep them smooth. If you feel a tear coming on in a workout, modify your grip, take the time to tape, or sub a different movement.
Thanks, ladies! Next time we’ll hear from the guys and see what they have to say to help out with out mitts.
_____________________
For Michael Sam and Gay Athletes, What Comes After Coming Out ESPN
What’s your experience with tearing? Share your tips in the comments!
Press: 130x3x4 – felt pretty heavy. Probably from the overhead work yesterday
Deadlift: 365×3 – moved well
Metcon: Didn't have much in the tank for this. 18, 17, 15, 14. Ready for a rest day tomorrow.
Great part 2 to an article we've all be waiting to come out!
6pm OG makeup from yesterday
Perf Front Squatting
135×8
185×5
205×3
225×1
240x3x4
These felt pretty heavy, they are about 85% of my 1RM at 280#. I'll probably stay here for the next high intensity day as well
Overhead Squat 1RM test
135×3
185×2
205×1
225×1 Old PR
235×1 PR
245x1F couldn't get under the bar because of fatigue.
OHS is always difficult but I wanted to do them with some fatigue already. I find my technical or challenging moves break down quickly when I am fatigued so this was a little work on that.
EMOM Snatches
Every 60 seconds perform one snatch starting at about 60% of 1RM
Even minutes full snatch
Odd minutes hang snatch
Worked from 65kg up to 75kg for about 7-8 minutes worth.
These were hard and again wanted to work on the technical lifts while tired and I was definitely tired.
I used to tear pretty often on olympic lifts and high-volume workouts but I've been trying to keep the bar in the crease where my finger and palm meet. I haven't torn in at least 6 months. I also used to be a chalk fiend and would use as an excuse to rest which I have finally stopped doing. I use as little chalk as possible and mainly for lifts that will tire my grip like deadlifts.
6am with Nick and McDowell
Press: 125x5x3 – felt pretty heavy. Probably from the overhead work yesterday
Deadlift: 425×3 – this was grindy and likely with a rounded back. I'll blame yesterday's work, but will likely repeat this weight or just go up 5 lbs next week.
Metcon: Absolutely sandbagged this since squatting motions are still bothering my hip/groin. rows with 1:45-1:50 splits folllowed by 10 unbroken thrusters each round.
6am.
Press: 105x7x4. Felt descent considering my shoulders have been tight and sore.
Deadlift: 345×2. I have learned my lesson about pushing it on the deadlift. Stopped after 2 reps to avoid tweaking my back.
Metcon: 50 reps (14,14,12,10) Similar to Dan L, no gas in the tank.
Looking forward to the day when I can actually start putting all this hand care knowledge to use! For the moment anything that would tear my hands would also make my wrist angry, so I haven't been doing it.
8 AM (ah, the luxury of a staycation) with McD (and SPANKY! Yay!)
Press 72.5x5x3. My shoulders were feeling yesterday's work even though I'd reduced the volume, so I made sure to take a full 3 minutes between sets and I'm glad I did. This was…not easy.
Deadlift 225×3. I have done 225×5 many times before but given how many 3-weeks we have ahead I decided to start conservatively, since I know I run into a wall around 245×3.
WOD: 74 thrusters, running approx. 200m instead of rowing and using 25# DBs for the thrusters. Probably should have used the 30s.
If you don't have anything going on, come see my choir tonight! 8 PM at Carnegie Hall, a contemporary work by Czech composer Juraj Filas.
6am with Nick and McDowell
Press: 130x7x3 – moved pretty well but I put my belt on for the last two since I was getting a little curvy.
Deadlift: 365×3 – I rounded my shoulders a bit in the middle rep but DanL corrected me and I recovered for #3.
Metcon: This was a weird Fran-like workout. I thought I would have a lot more gas on the thrusters than I did. Hit 68 reps, came off the rower each time around 51 seconds.
I've found that most callous removal tools designed for feet are too big and unwieldily to fit into all of the spaces on my hands that I need to get at (especially near my middle and ring fingers). Pumice stones, moreover, just take too damn long to do any real damage to the massive callouses I develop after just a few days at the gym.
What I've found works really well is a microplane nutmeg grater. Seriously. It's super easy to maneuver and aggressive enough that it gets rid of a callous in a couple of seconds, but not so aggressive that you will cut yourself like might happen with a razor. Also it usually leaves your skin smooth enough that you don't need to clean up any rough edges with a pumice or file. It's really perfect.
6am with NickDowell
Press: 58x7x4. My right upper trap was really sore/strained after yesterday's WOD, but it felt fine during the press.
WOD: subbed front squats @ 63# for thrusters. Rows were in the 40-42 second range and did 20 fsq per round.
Help! If you have the time/ability to quickly convert a three-page PDF to a JPEG, will you email me? It's in support of telling a super cute story on your favorite blog! Katharine [at] CrossFitSouthBrooklyn.com!
6am with McDowell and some bald guy
I have been traveling for the past two mondays so I am a bit behind on my Press and Deadlift. Decided to take it a little easier today.
Perf Press at 95#.
Deadlift at 325#.
Both nice and easy.
WOD
Hit 44 total reps which I think came to 10/11/11/12. Feeling beat up from yesterday and in need of a rest day.
Great article on hand care. I don't rip often anymore but when I do I always leave the flap of skin on there for a little added protection and padding before I apply the band-aid. I'll try removing it CFSBK coach-style next time around and see how that works.
12:00pm Class
Missed the warm-up because I was changing and getting my numbers together. Did a total of 10 Air Squats and 5 Push-ups
Press: 100x7x4
Had to monitor my rest periods to optimize my ability to get all my work sets in. Rested 2:00 between the 2nd and 3rd work set and rest about 3:30 before the last set. Took me about 14:30 to complete everything. Use the clock, people!!!
Deadlift: 275×3
Felt light. Started really conservatively this cycle and am fine with that.
Im getting over being sick and skipped the metcon. Not doing this might have been worth feeling like shit the past few days.
Rest day for me today, but thought i'd chime in on the hand care discussion. I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the coaches' routines mimic the one I've come around to over the past year or so, which is to keep a pumice stone in the shower and give my hands a minute or two of abrasion at the end of each shower – consistently. Rips are now few and far between, and when they do happen, they're usually pretty small and not terribly deep.
I used to be much more infrequent about hand care, and much more aggressive (i.e. callous shavers or cheese grater style callous removers) when I did do any maintenance. The result was that I used to rip a lot, and rip badly. Glad those days are behind me. *knocks on wood*
12pm with Fox and Nick.
Warm-up
3RNFT
10 x push-ups
10 x thrusters
5 x pull-ups
Press- 45 x 7, 65 x 7 x 3, 65 x 4, 60 x 7.
Should have gone lighter. Gave up after the fourth rep of the fourth set. Nick gave me a good cue but I used it as an excuse to get distracted and quit.
Deadlift- 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 255 x 1, 275 x 3. Felt good.
WOD (Rx):17, 12, 12, 10. I have no lungs- was also sick for aaaages it seems, but it was time to come back. I could have tried harder on the rows but yeah. The next few weeks are going to hurt.
Regarding hand care, I'm similar to JB in that I do basically no hand care ever.
1. Correctly grip the bar. Which includes "feeling" your hands during every rep to make sure you're staying flush against the steel. I often make micro adjustments at the top weightless portion of a kipping pull-up if needed. Your grip should NEVER pinch/hurt. If you're good at this you can just jump up to any bar and make the adjustments during the first rep, if not make sure you have a set up where you can grab the bar one hand at a time without hanging from it until you're ready to load tension into your grip.
2. If a workout has LOTS of pull-ups, like over 60 I will use a rubber pad for the first 3/4 of the volume then ditch them. The nice thing is that once you ditch them the bar feels thinner and your palms are fresh for the end of the workout. I can't say enough how helpful this has been for me. It also makes the pull-ups feel easier when you need it most at the end.
3. If you feel like your hands are getting roughed up, do really small manageable sets taking your time to regrip the bar. I'd rather do a bunch of sets of 3 reps and add 1:00 to my metcon than tear and have to deal with it for a week.
4. I think I probably have a good hand size to bar diameter ratio if such a thing exists, which helps too. My hands are very small.
Agreed Brad D, pumice stone FTW, started about a year ago and haven't ripped since.
So that's what that little window up top is for…favorite part of that video is the calf marches.
Thanks to Cam for helping me out, and to everyone else who offered! You guys are awesome.
We're hiring senior product owners here at Shutterstock! I just posted a detailed job description in the Classifieds section – please go read it and lemme know if you're interested. Hit me at mignyc at gmail dot com. I'll personally hand your resume to the hiring manager if you're a fit.
11am solo session:
Press:
(45×7, 65×5)
70x7x4
-all easy peasy, up 5# from first exposure
Deadlift:
(135×5, 185×3, 225×2)
255×3
-all still hook gripped, unbelted.
Then Crash B's rowing! (dear god what am I getting myself into…)
2×20'/5' at 16s/m
1) 2:19.6 avg split and got about 4300+ meters at 16 s/m
2) 2:25.6 avg split, about 4100+ meters, 16s/m
Performance Press:
45×3
55 x7x4 (70%)
Moved well
Deadlift:
135×3
185×1
225×3 (belted)
Had more trouble holding onto the bar than standing up the weight. Last rep was questionable bc the bar was slipping from my grip. Might switch to the 33# bar next week.
WOD: 60 reps Rx'd (up 10 reps from February)
16-15-15-14
Purposely didn't push it on the row. Didn't push too hard on the thrusters either. Went slow and steady and probably could have pushed out a couple more reps on at least two of the rounds. Body is tired from yesterday.
The number of burpees it takes to burn off fun-sized Halloween candy:
http://as1effect.com/blog/burpee-calculator-what-it-takes-to-burn-fun-size-halloween-candy/
7:30 with Ro and David
65x5x3 for the press
205×3 on the deadlift. Very tough.
Lats are so sore today. Shoulder pain was in full force so this wod was not good to me
Rows in about :50 seconds. 10-13 thrusters per round because the trigger points were killing me. Can't ignore them any more I guess.
Did these at 53# in feb … So there's that improvement I guess?
halloween competition at CF Gantry this weekend was super fun!!! feels great to be working essentially pain-free at this point. really happy with how we strategized our workouts and performed as teams together!
LIFTS, etc. tonight!
Row 2 min, mobility
Crossover Symmetry, air squats
FSQ:
45×5, 75×3, 95×2
105x5x3
felt better than 95 did last wk.
Press:
33×5, 53×4, 63×3
72x5x3
dynamic start, no belt. this felt better than 70 did last week!! very excited about how this is moving. midline stability is making the difference.
DL:
135×5, 175×3, 195×1
210x3x3
belted, hook grip
didn't brace with abs hard enough on last rep of last set and it was a touch gnarly.
squeezed in a quick lil metcon :
3RFT
12 slamball
12 TTB
3:37
grip/lats/pecs pretty tired from the competition on Sat still!
I've finally been coming to CFSBK long enough that when the blog says "Compare to 2.23.2015" — I actually have something to compare it to.
My journal entry from back then, after a description of the WOD, says something along the lines of "I wanted to use 25 pounds for the thrusters but DO wouldn't let me (!!) and I had to use 43 pounds. I was barely able to get 4 reps pers round." So this time around I decided to do 43 pounds again to get a real comparison and I more than doubled my reps from last time. Yay journaling and comparing!