It is the Age Group Quarterfinals week, and we are happy to announce the Erin also qualified (top 10% of her age group) in addition to qualifying in the top 10% worldwide! There will be some additional workouts this week starting on the 31st and it will end on the 1st.
CrossFit
We continue with our pacing focus and have multiple opportunities to practice in the workouts this week. Remember that pacing does not necessarily mean finding an easy pace that you can hold on to for a long time - we are looking for an effort that is challenging, but still allows you to stick to it for multiple rounds. As I mentioned in a few classes last week, it's okay if you overshoot your pace in some workouts, as long as you reflect and learn from it. Our goal during these workouts is to test to see how long we can hold things at an uncomfortable pace. You can always push the pace on the last few rounds if you felt you overpaced too!
Our strength day is on Tuesday this week, and we are combining aerobic work with Bench Press this time. We have been receiving great feedback about these workouts as people are feeling warm during the strength piece and have been less sore the next day or two after - which is exactly what we were looking for.
We have some higher volume work this week so make sure to listen to your body - if you are more tired than usual, having a hard time sleeping, and a lack of overall energy, you might need to take a rest day. Rest days are super important!
In addition to volume, we have some ring muscle ups at the end of the week. I have seen a trend where a lot of us are choosing to do bar muscle ups as a scale for these - this week I want you all to do something on the rings to help get you that ring muscle up. No pullup bar work this week - stick to the high or low rings and work on skills or strength to help you progress in the movement.
Olympic Weightlifting
I love to see these classes filled out - especially our new 6:15 am classes! We love Olympic Weightlifting and these classes are so fun - make sure to give them a try if you haven't already.
This is the second full week of our cycle (not including our test week), so we are repeating most of the workouts, with the exception on some exercises. Notice that the intensity (RPE scale) has slightly increased this week over last week as we are progressively overloading to build strength and technique. Some of the rep schemes have also changed so keep an eye out for that. Make sure as you do these lifts, to lift a heavier weight, if your technique allows. We are not looking for big jumps in weight, just something slight - it could be anywhere between 1-5 lbs maximum, depending on the lift, and your percentages.
Also remember, that consistency will help significantly when it comes to weightlifting. More practice under the barbell will get you better - so keep showing up to these classes to improve.
Powerlifting
Test week! We are switching things up for a few cycles starting next week, so we are testing to set some benchmarks, since we will be working with percentages based on 1 rep maxes. We are switching up to a linear progression style of training from the conjugate style for a little (it is not permanent) to change things up. This will require consistency as well, but if done properly it will definitely increase your lifts. We will be focusing on the classic lifts (Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift - conventional or sumo) and we will also include strict press as well, since vertical pressing strength is important to CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting.
For those that are wondering, a linear progression program increases weight in a linear method - typically 5 lbs for upper body work and 10lbs for lower body work each cycle as a way to progressively overload to ensure we are improving. In addition to weight increases, we are also looking for rep increases as that is another way to get stronger.
We will be running 3 week cycles + a deload - so your goal, if you want to get stronger, is to consistently do these workouts week over week to get the most benefit of this style of training. We will have a squat day, a bench press day, a deadlift day, and a strict press day. You don't necessarily have to do all four, you can pick a movement or two that you want to increase and just focus on it/them if you choose too.
Zone
We are continuing with our Murph Prep this week with our Push, Pull, and Squat day. For our squat day (Wednesday this week), we have a special workout planned - one that can be done in a weight vest OR while holding a sandbag. We have been slowly increasing volume in each discipline each week and we are focusing on trying to complete 30 pullups, 60 pushups, and 100 air squats this week in our workouts. We are also doing some distance priority workouts for the cardio piece, with the distance being 1 mile.
Keep up the great work and we will see you in the gym!
