Back Squat / Deadlift
Performance
3 x 8
Add weight to last week’s work weight. Use a full range of motion and control.
Fitness
3 x 5 Linear Progression
Add 5-10 lbs to last week’s work weight.
Deadlift
1 x 6
Warm up and perform one heavy (and perfect) set of 6 reps, heavier than last week. Touch-and-go is permitted.
Post loads to comments.
Exposure 5 of 8
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For Time:
1000m Row
100 Double-Unders
800m Run
The run is one lap (starting towards 4th Ave.) + 4th and back. Scale Double-Unders to 50 attempts + makes or 300 Single-Unders if your dubs are a work in progress.
Post time and Rx to comments.
Coach David and Rickke M. at CrossFit Jääkarhu in Austin, TX. Read on for David’s reflections on the trip
Reps & Sets Abroad: Some Thoughts on CrossFit and Travel
By David Osorio
An important aspect of CrossFit that often seems to go unnoticed is the fact that it offers a readymade community pretty much everywhere you go. Traveling to Paris, France or Austin, Texas? There will be a gym there full of like-minded people that you can hang out with. Moving to Rome, Italy or Rome, Georgia? It’s a safe bet that you’ll be able to find an affiliate that will make your new home feel more like, well, home.
I recently traveled to Austin and wanted to check out some affiliates. First I dropped into CrossFit Central. I got there a little early, so the owner Jeremy let me do some Power Cleans and Push Jerks at their Central Athlete facility with some other folks who were training. Afterwards, I took the 4:30 group class back in the CrossFit Central building. We started with some line drills then a 15 minute EMOM of three gymnastics skills: Hollow Holds, Ring Dips, and Handstands. We finished a metcon called “Waterfall” which consisted of running, Burpees, Kettlebell Swings, and Double-Unders. CrossFit Central is an OG affiliate that has been around at least as long as CFSBK, so Jeremy and I chatted about the evolution of things and a little bit about their history. As an affiliate owner, I’m always interested in talking to other coaches and owners about their journey. CFC had a nice vibe and everyone was very welcoming. Running in that Texas heat is no joke!
I also had the opportunity to drop into CrossFit Jääkarhu as well! It was a huge space with leveled classes and lots of equipment, including some slugs from the CrossFit Games. We did some line drills, then an every-other-minute-on-the-minute workout of heavy Clean and Jerks for 7 sets. The class finished with “Diane,” which I PRd at 7:4 1doing strict Handstand Push-Ups! CFJ had a nice mixture of a relaxed atmosphere and a well-organized class. I stayed for about 30 minutes after class to talk to a few of the coaches about what it’s like to have just opened 18 months ago, how they do leveled programming, and how they use their space. They have a successful team and a big competative element, but they also have plenty of programing for beginners and intermediates. They run seperate classes for their “Fitness,” “Sport,” and “Competition” programs, often at the same time in different parts of their massive gym. I really liked the vibe of this gym and highly recommend it!
I can’t think of another fitness pursuit or activity that offers this kind of global community. Most people don’t have the luxury of being able travel to a place where they don’t know anyone and still be able to easily train with people who share the same ethos. CrossFit has, of course, exploded over the past few years, so we’re at the point where you can go to almost any major city in the world and check out an affiliate. The people there will almost always be really welcoming and just as stoked to meet you, and it’s enlightening to see how other people in other parts of the country/world express the CrossFit culture. It’s a rare thing and something worth taking advantage of!
Have you dropped into another affiliate while traveling? If so, what was it like? Any advice for first-timers? Don’t forget to log your experience in our Travel Gym Recommendations section!
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When I go on vacation, literally the first thing I do after finding accommodations is find an affiliate to drop into! It is now one of my favorite things to do when traveling.
Like David said, finding a global community of like-minded people is incredible, seeing how other gyms do things and what types of workouts/styles are out there is pretty fun!
The longer I've done Crossfit, I've been able to take a more keen eye to instruction & organization at different gyms which often leads me to being so thankful for cfsbk! The quality of coaching instruction and "with-it-ness" (scanning, in the moment feedback, etc) is unparalleled… But!! Its still really fun to see what other crossfits are up to. Just be positive and gracious and give CFSBK a good name when you're dropping in!
It was scary dropping in at first, but now I love it because of all the compliments I get on form and technique! 😉 Thanks sbk!! <3
Michael A has got to be the traveling drop in winner. I feel like I see a pic of him dropping in somewhere new every day on Facebook! #jealous
Bye!
6am with McD and Nick
Squat: 235# x 3 x 8. Felt fast and crisp, I will go up more next week.
Deadlift: 335# x 6.
Metcon: 12:46 Rx. My DU's were off today, I spent half the time tripping and couldn't get my feet to move correctly. MattyChm thinks it may be my janky rope and I tend to agree.
6am with McD and Nick
Squat: 295x5x3. These definitely feel like real work sets, but still light enough to focus on form (don't shift left or let right knee drift in)
Deadlift: 385 x 6. Still touch and go.
Metcon: 14:03 with 50 DU attempts (probably about 20 successes). Got off the row in about 3:45, but started the run absolutely last. DU attempts took forever today.
6am.
HBBS: 215x8x3. Everything moved well.
Deadlift: 305×6. Touch and go. This felt good.
Metcon: 11:06 Rx. Row in 3:40, DUs were descent w/ 3 big sets, run felt slow.
7 AM with NickDowell — the less said about my deadlifting, the better (let's just say that I should know better than to trust my memory over my logbook when selecting a number to lift).
I have lots of travel gym advice! My most recent experience was at Chikara CrossFit in Tokyo, which stands out in my mind as one of the best I've ever been to (the others are AKA Westerpark in Amsterdam, Kennesaw in Georgia, and Flagship in San Francisco, for the curious). This is the only gym other than SBK I've been to that has not only good coaching, but highly *organized* coaching. (DO, I think the owner must be your secret Japanese soul twin — they announced time stamps for each component of the class, and dumbbells were all labeled with colored tape and stacked neatly in piles by weight so you could easily tell them apart. All this without having heard of Inside the Affiliate.)
Stuff I've learned:
1. Gyms vary widely in quality. The more experience you have with CrossFit, the less this matters. I have been in a very few gyms as good as SBK (see short list above), a vast majority that are okay if not great, and two or three that I would actively recommend *against* going to because although the coaches were nice people, they didn't have enough experience to run class in a safe way.
If you're an experienced athlete, you'll have the self-confidence and the knowledge to say, "No, I will not do that" or to modify a workout as needed in order to do it safely. (For example, at one gym we were turned loose to bench press with no review of spotting; my partners clearly did not know how to spot properly, so I immediately decided against working up to a maximum effort because I did not want to risk failing.) If you are newer to CF, take some time to research your options when traveling. Absolutely use the SBK recommendations page!
2. Plan ahead. Some affiliates will let you drop in unannounced, but many won't. A couple have asked that a coach from SBK email them before you drop in to confirm that you're able to do the necessary movements. Some want you to sign up on their online system in advance.
"Plan ahead" goes triple if, as I have been for a while now, you are traveling while injured. I always ask whether it would be possible for them to accommodate my injury. Thus far, every affiliate I've asked about this has been very welcoming, but some are better equipped to deal with injured athletes than others. I can see an affiliate asking that you drop in on a less-popular class time if you are injured. Also, occasionally they'll tell me the programming in advance so I can pick a day that requires fewer modifications.
3. As DO said, (for the most part) people are really, really nice to drop-ins! When I went to Chikara, the coach introduced me at the beginning of class and asked everyone in the class to recommend me something to do/see/eat in Tokyo.
As Allie said, be a good SBK citizen in return.
4. Write your travel recos up, people! I've been to at least a couple of gyms based on SBKers' recommendations (thanks Todd and Rickke!) and I really appreciate it.
7am with Nick and McD
Back Squat: 225 x 8 x 3 moving well but feels heavy!
Deadlift: 265 1 x 6
Metcon: 11:01
Row took about 3:50, double unders were split into 50/30/20, run was a slog
One more:
5. DO is too modest to say so, but when you travel you will learn just how spoiled we are at SBK. Sometimes it's the quality of the coaching and whether anyone is paying attention to good form, but more often it's the lack of organization at other gyms that reaaaaally makes me miss SBK.
I've been to "one-hour classes" that were 35 minutes or 75 minutes long. I've been to MANY gyms where people are partnered up on barbells without asking how much they'll be lifting. (This is how I got paired for a 30-minute AMRAP-ish piece with someone fresh out of Foundations about a year and a half ago. We were not allowed to have separate barbells, and I was lifting 30 to 50 pounds heavier than her for all of the movements. Guess how well that went?) And I've also been to a lot of gyms that just turn people loose to claim their own space, leading to people crossing paths way more than is necessary in the middle of a metcon.
I wish more gym owners read ITA!
6am
Squat 235# x8x3 These didn't move fast but fast enough to warrant another 10# jump next week.
Deadlift 310# x6 Touch and go the whole way.
WOD Rx'd in 12:00.
DUs were not that great today. A mix of 20s and 10s. Biggest set was probably 35.
7 am with Nick and McDowell
LBBS 115#. Felt really heavy…way heavier than 5 lbs added from last week. Slow but steady. For the first time this cycle I might have missed depth on some later reps.
Dead lift 135#. Went right to it. Would have been touch and go but my thumbs slipped out of my hook grip on the 4th and I reset there and then switched on the 6th for the same reason.
Metcon in 15.47. Was all Goldilocks with the ropes today. Never found one that was juuuust riiiight. Jen finished when I was at 25 attempts and I grabbed her rope for the next 25, which were better. Ran the first around the block but my foot went numb from my dumb sciatic issue so I went into the gym and rowed 500m to finish.
DIY cash out – 7×10 on the GHD; 4-3-2 pull ups.
7 a.m. w/Nick & McDowell.
BSQ: 195x8x3. Each set better than the last. Jess's tips from last week and Nick's tips this week re: breathing and getting the most out of the "bounce" are finally taking (knock on wood) — this felt very promising. Actually excited to go up in weight next week. Also 8 is so much better than 10, OMG you guys 4 realz.
Deadlift: 275×6. Moved reasonably well. Took my time and got my low back set properly each rep. Upper back rounded out a bit but my legs and hips were where they needed to be, which is big progress. Just need to replicate that in metcon situations.
Metcon: 12:22, sub 15 d/u attempts & 250 s/u's. Got my first-ever consecutive double-unders using that weird rubbery rope that mysteriously appeared on the rack today. Gonna go back to that and practice, but wanted to push my cardio so switched to singles to keep the speed up.
warned up with 2 laps of the block followed by
3 rnft:
-5 d/u attempts (all clean with some multiples- progress!)
-5 negative pullups
-5 pushups
-5 squats
followed by hamstring work
then abductor work with a 16k kettlebell.
With Nick:
floor work:
-baby cartwheels
-spiderman walk
-actual cartwheels (well…)
back squats:
5×45#
5×115#
3×125#
3x5x140# (pr)
DL:
5×135#
2×165#
5×180#
then handstand work-
kick ups and then kickups on racks
piked shoulder taps- 3 x 16
metcon in 6:02
3 rounds of:
5 cleans 65#
5 piked hspu
270m run
I like visiting affiliates and always learn something when I do. I never mention that I coach and usually try to be humble, lay low, and have fun. The fact that I'm usually on vacation when I visit probably plays a role in my approach.
Noon class
BSQ
285x5x3
Finally getting some weight back on the bar. Used a belt today.
Deadlift
355×6
Felt more balanced than last week.
WOD in 12:55
Slow but didn't walk at all once I started running. I'm isually good for a short walk over on Douglass so I consider this a success. Doubles all in small sets, not all on purpose.
Front Squat (deload)
45 x 10, 75 x 5, 95 x 5, 115 x 5
Back Squat
135 x 10 x 5
Clean and Jerk
45kg x 3 x 5
12pm group class with McD and Ro.
Deadlift
135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 255 x 1, 275 x 6. Still hookgrip. Tried to touch and go but did some weird hybrid method and didn't really set up as well as I should have and didn't take the tension out of the bar before pulling, possibly because I was kinda trying to go fast. Next week I'll watch that and hopefully remember how to deadlift properly. No bad positions or anything- just not as efficient as it could have been. This is a beltless PR.
WOD in 10:37 Rx.
Surprised myself here. I managed a set of 80 unbroken (which is an 11 rep PR) I just got in the zone somehow. The row made me just tired enough to be relaxed enough for this to happen. No idea how long anything took except I remember McDowell saying 8:10 after my first lap.
10AM with Jeremy.
HBBS: 225x8x3
Deadlift: 255×6
WOD (rows instead of runs): 12:39
5:30 today — screwed up my eating this afternoon and came in pretty hungry, never good…
HBBS 265x8x3. These felt heavy, but I'm going to blame it on the eating situation and go up 10# next week.
Deadlift 245×6. These actually felt OK today!
WOD — I was going to take this easy because I planned for this week to be lower intensity, but the second I got the rope in my hands I went for it. Doubles went well, I broke them up but intentionally: 25 + 15×5 with 10 breaths between sets. Really winded going into the run, which was pretty slow (surprise!). Finished in 12:08.
Neck is feeling better; not quite 100% yet. Laying off anything with shoulders/upper back for another day or two.
RUN: 1.7 mi to gym, with penny!
Clock Time: 15:25!
This included about a minute or so of stop time for us to say hey to the Foxes and for Penny to pee! So I'll call it 14:30.
This is officially the fastest I have ever run to the gym. I think my focus on technique is working. Also, pumping the jams and not listening to the part of my body that says, "hey… you should really conserve your energy. what if you can't sustain this pace?" shut up, brain.
Double KB front rack box step ups (12kg in each hand):
3 Rounds:
1 min: L side
1 min rest
1 min: R side
1 min rest
this was "un-fun" as Noah called it. Did 12 reps on L side in first minute and decided to hold my R leg to that #, since I am trying to get my L leg up to the strength level of the R. Sustained 12 reps each minute, each side.
4 RNFT
5 pistol negatives L, 3 pistol negatives R
10 pallof press, each side (:02 hold, blue band, challenging distance)
a little posterior banded hip distraction to close out the session. feeling good!
Got back from Vermont pretty late last night, and didn't wake up in time for 6am like I'd planned, so… 6:30pm with MeLo and Noah:
Perf. Squat: 8s are so much better than 10s.
45×5
135×5
225×5
275×3
305x8x3 (~80%)
Deadlift: Weak grip today for some reason. Did the last set as 3 touch & go and then had to reset the grip for the last 3.
225×5
315×3
335×6 (~85%)
Metcon: Kept it about 1:52 on the row for 850m and then really sandbagged the last 150. Was able to get 30 dubs right out of the gate thanks to the sandbagging and finished it off in 2 more bigish sets – almost – I tripped with 3 left and had to finish that off as a 4th set. The run felt really, really, really slow.
11:27 Rx
7:30 with Ro and Melo
Hbbs 160x8x3. (78%) No belt yet but this was hard.
DL 190×6. (86%) No touch and Go. Trying to strengthen my pull off the ground which is my weakness. No wonder these felt heavy, I went up 15# from last week's 8s. Used a belt.
WOD RXd in 11:39. My jump rope handle broke off 65 reps in and I sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds and then just finished the 100 reps holding onto the bare cable. Yikes.
LBBS: 140x8x3
Should be 10# higher but really trying to work on stabilizing my core. Legs totally fine. Core more stabilized today than last week. Back not as strained bc I squeezed my gluts in between each rep so my lower back wouldn't be arched.
DL: 195×6 TNG
WOD in 13:38
Row: 4:18
DUs: 3 minutes. Largest set about 20.
Run: slow
A WOD of all weaknesses.
Clean and Jerk
330
Back Squat
380x5x6
WOD: 14:30… :/ suckin wind
Shout-out to Whitney for the awesome coaching during what ended up being a private 5:30pm Wednesday session on Tuesday. I've to re-learn both my squat and deadlift techniques from scratch now!
I have dropped in at many gyms in the last 3 years, and have had mainly positive experiences. As Stella said, being more experienced is helpful, but I'd also add that working out consistently at SBK is a serious help in terms of being "wise"/having a solid reference point to know what's a good idea, and what isn't. We're spoiled rotten here.
The best of the best:
Champlain Valley CrossFit, Burlington, VT
CrossFit South Bend, South Bend, IN
Eastside Austin Elite, Austin TX
CrossFit Polaris, Columbus, OH (or Westerville for those who know Columbus)
CrossFit 806, Amarillo TX
CrossFit PBA, Palm Beach, FL
Some other notables:
CrossFit Stone Coast, Rockport, ME
CrossFit Nantucket, Nantucket, MA
CrossFit 1808, Mt. Vernon, OH
Pro Tips for first timers:
1) Check out the website/blog and read the last two weeks of programming. Is it 40 minute metcons everyday, are there dedicated strength/skill portions, do they have leveled programming, is there a discernable mesocycle for the strength/skill porition? If the answers are no, yes, yes, yes, you've probably found a good place to drop in.
2) E-mail or call ahead of time, especially if they don't have a drop in policy outlined on the web. Most places need you to sign a waiver which can take an extra 5 minutes, and you'll need extra time to find the coach just to pay a drop in fee. You'll want to get the lowdown on non-wod related activities before you show up. Plus, if somebody knows you're coming, they'll be primed to do the waiver & fee thing quickly and get back to business.
3) Ask if they'll disclose the workout ahead of time. Usually they will and then you can plan to bring oly shoes, jump rope, wrist wraps, grips, etc. if needed. Currently my C+J and Snatch PRs have both happened while traveling, and wouldn't have if I hadn't been given a heads up that a max oly lift was programmed – which prompted me to pack my oly shoes.
4) Wear your skull and crossbones tee. I can't tell you how many times the coaches have waived the drop in fee because they know who David is, are readers of ITA, or they just remember that we hosted 13.2 and think that's cool. Also, buy one of their tees. I kind of love my drop-in gym tee collection.
That is all.