Here’s a pretty entertaining video of Mikko Salo doing 13.5. My favorite line is when the camera man asks, “so no cheering?” and Mikko repsonds with “No. Cheering’s for ladies.”
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. – Confucius
Logging Your Workouts
The importance of logging or keeping track of your WODs and strength numbers cannot be over-stated. If you’re serious about improving your fitness, getting stronger, faster and healthier, you NEED to log and keep track of your workouts. It is IMPERATIVE if you want to see results and become a better athlete. Since we’ve implemented Zen Planner, it cannot get any easier for you do to this. It literally only takes SECONDS, because the WOD is already in the system and all you do is type in your results and if or how your modified it. It’s really that simple. I would like for everyone to use Zen Planner as their means of logging WODs because it is electronic and helps us as coaches map your progress; however, if you think that is too big of a “hassle” you should still do something like keep a journal or take a picture of the board.
On Strength Training:
Unless you are brand new to CrossFit Forte, you should know we follow a linear progression strength program for our back and front squats. Lately we’ve been doing the 5×3 rep scheme quite a bit. Meaning, we do FIVE sets of THREE reps – 15 total reps – all at the SAME WEIGHT. Say you do 5 x 3 at 225# this week (again, that’s 15 reps all at 225#), next week (or the next time you do it), you will add 5#-10# and do 5×3 (15 reps) at 230# – 235#. Every 2 months or so we test our 1RM, but in between that time, we stick to the linear progression.
If you see 3-3-3-3-3, or anything separated by dashes, it means you are increasing weight each set and ultimately going for a 3 rep max. If it’s separated by an “x” you stick to a certain weight for all the reps.
If you don’t remember or track the weight you last did, you are probably wasting both your and your classmates’ time. Many of you know what weight you used the session prior and load up the barbell appropriately—I admire that. On the opposite end of that spectrum, some of you have no idea and start looking at the weight board and ask to look through pictures, etc. When you keep track, the guesswork is gone, and I promise you’ll get stronger. For those of you who don’t keep track, well, you’re missing out on a chance to get stronger and better.
I really, REALLY want to get you stronger, faster, and become a better athlete, but YOU also have to show initiative and accountability. All I ask is that you take a few seconds and jot down your workouts and the weights you used and if and how you modified it. Seriously, maybe 1 minute of “work” to keep track of your weights and WODs! This way, you won’t ponder what weight you used the last time you did a movement, ask me to scroll through pictures of the board to see what you did, or IF you even did it. I promise you will thank yourself for doing this. Fitness is a life-long journey, and many of you will be doing CrossFit for many years to come. When you look back several years from now, won’t you want to know how long it took you to do “Fran” or how much you could deadlift, squat and snatch?
Starting next week, before every class, I’m going to ask you what the load is that you’re going to do for the day. If you are new or have not established your starting point load for one of the squats, that’s completely fine – Katelyn or I will help you establish your load. If you do not know what your load is supposed to be before the squat session starts, you will get a bonus to the day’s exercise regimen. It will not be fun. It involves burpees and maybe some wall walks.
It’s that simple, folks. Use Zen Planner, take a picture, jot it down in a journal, or open up a notes program on your phone and type in your load at the end of your class. Too easy! I promise that I will make you stronger if you take initiative and keep track of your work.
Thank you all for being a part of our community and pushing yourselves each day. We all know CrossFit is by no means an easy program, and the camaraderie you all show every day makes a huge difference to the atmosphere—even when the workouts are brutal. Hopefully the tracking will make it that much easier to enjoy the highlights of the hour of class rather than worrying about tracking down our last score/weight, whilst also getting strong as shit. If you have any questions about Zen Planner, please do not hesitate to reach out to Katelyn or myself. We are always here to help.
Warm up 400 m run 15 Air squats 30 mountain climbers Group mobility
Strength Back squat 5 x 3 (heavier than last week)
Conditioning 400 m run 10 Shoulder presses (115 / 75 lbs) 15 Front squats (115 / 75 lbs) 20 Push presses (115 / 75 lbs) 25 back squats (115 / 75 lbs) 400 m run
An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity. – Winston Churchill
Well, the CrossFit Games 2013 Open has finally come to an end. I am seriously proud of everyone who participated. Many of you put on some incredible performances and pushed yourselves well beyond your comfort zone. And because of that, lots of new PRs (personal records) were hit along the way. Regardless of how you ranked worldwide, you should be happy that you even did it. It takes courage to compete. Did you notice how competing can put your performance on an entirely different level? Anyway, keep working hard at the gym and when you do it again next year, I promise you’ll do better. Like I tell everyone who is new to CrossFit: if you put in the work, you only get better. Getting worse is not an option. So here’s to next year!
