1 down, 4 to go

11
Mar

1 down, 4 to go

13.1 is in the books.  Just so you guys know – that was no freaking joke!  Tons of work, order highly technical and long – if you did that, you have a true test of fitness under your belt.  We’ve had a few highlights, and I wanted to share on of my favorites.  In our final heat on Sunday, Trevor and Vanessa were working next to each other.  They both approached the 135/75 bar around the same time.  Both athletes knew this was going to be a significant test (Vanessa had nailed 1 75# Snatch on Thursday, Trevor’s PR was 130).  Vanessa had a couple of misses before she nailed a 75# Snatch.  The gym went nuts!  Moments later, Trevor pulled a perfect 135# Snatch, stood up with it to our cheers, and slammed the bar down.  It was so cool…
 
Another moment.  Denny just missed finishing the 135# set on Wednesday.  It was in his loop, and when he got to that bar, he was a man on a mission.  Denny methodically banged out Snatch after Snatch, finishing the 135# and moving on to burpees with his wife and kids watching.  Denny missed the 165# 2x BEHIND HIS BACK!  This would have been a #10 pound PR.  After the WOD was over, I watched Denny’s son Brody snatching a bar in the corner.  It was perfect.  Our kids are watching folks.  I think we’re showing them the right things.
 
Just so you know – we are on the Games board as CrossFit Oakdale, not Team CFO (that belongs to CrossFit Oakland, they won the 2008 Games, so I guess we’ll let them use it.)
 
So, the Open is going strong.  We’ve already seen a ton of great performances and people attack their comfort (or discomfort) zones.  We want mass participation in the Open, but Alison and  I have thought long and hard about how to maximize participation, performance and keep the gym running smoothly.
 
Wednesday at 6:30pm – We will still test the WOD.  BUT, this may not be the best time to do it.  It is very hard to review strategy, study the movement and attack the WOD properly with only knowing the WOD for at most 90 minutes.  This year, there are nuances in the scoring (tiebreakers) that there weren’t last year.  We need to get scorecards printed and we want to fully understand the WOD.  This is tough to do in an hour and a half.
 
Friday – We will program the Open WOD for the CFO WOD on Friday’s, all day.  That means everyone at the gym will perform the WOD.  If you are not signed up for the Open, scaling is perfectly acceptable.  If you are planning on performing the WOD on Saturday, I will have an alternate, “pre game” WOD for you to do.  On Friday’s we will do our best to get you a judge if this is your “official” run, but it may be tough, as everyone wants to get their work in.  If you have to do the Open WOD officially on Friday, we ask that you set up your own judge. We had mentioned 6:30 as an emergency scenario – please try and make it to a regularly scheduled class.
 
If you are doing the WOD on Saturday, I recommend active recovery.  Think about organizing your body, prepping the movement and filling your lungs with air.  Any WODs should be about 60-70% perceived exertion and not produce soreness.
 
Saturday –  We will do a normal WOD at 9am.  This will not be the Open WOD.  So if you workout on Friday, then plan on training at 9am, you will not have to repeat a WOD.
 
At 10am, we will perform the Open WOD for anyone that did not perform it Friday.  For me, this is the ideal time to perform the Open WOD.
 
ALL THAT BEING SAID – please refrain from doing the Open WOD at any other times.  We saw athletes ask to go at all different times.  This is our plan to accommodate your requests.  This may sound crazy, but the Open WODs are emotionally draining for all of us – performing, coaching and judging.
 
I have re-aligned some of the strength work.  We will squat every Monday, using 3 sets of 3, building off our 1RM, finishing with a 3 sets of 3 at 75% and a PAUSE set.  On Tuesday’s, we will Clean or Snatch, we will Press on Wednesday’s, and we will Clean or Snatch on Thursday’s.
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Workout of the Day
Strength
Back Squat
3 sets of 3, 65% of 1RM
Your final set of Back Squats will be a PAUSE SET.  Squat, and sit at the bottom for a good 3 count, then UP!.  Use the top position to rest, and squat again when you are ready.  Introduce your calves to your butt.
 
Metcon
AMRAP 11
7 Toes to Bar
14 Wallball Shots