Sunday, August 16, 2009

17 August 09
Monday
Warm-up
3 rounds
Samson Stretch 30 seconds each side
10-15 Pushups
25 Situps
10-15 Back Extensions
10-15 Overhead Squats

TEST WEEK
Day One
For Time:
21 x Thrusters 95lbs
21 x Pull-ups

15 x Thrusters 95lbs
15 x Pull-ups

9 x Thrusters 95lbs
9 x Pull-ups

Finish with 10 minutes of stretching.

If you can't use the prescribed weight then adjust as appropriate and then please enlighten me why we need to stop our strength program, since it's not CF. And so we are clear, the original CF generally started off with a strength movement: please reference CF Journal "What is Fitness" page 9 "Generally, we have found that three days on and one day off allows for a maximum sustainability at maximum intensities. One of our favorite workout patterns is to warm-up and then perform three to five sets of three to five reps of a fundamental lift at a moderately comfortable pace followed by a ten-minute circuit of gymnastics elements at a blistering pace and finally finish with two to ten minutes of high intensity metabolic conditioning. There is nothing sacred in this pattern. The magic is in the movements not the routine. "

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike,
Is this the weight for women also? Can't wait to see how I do...looking for lots of improvement!!!
Thanks
Angela

Anonymous said...

Angela, I generally scale the womens to 70% of the rx'd weight. If 95lbs is too much right now, then scale to 70%/65lbs. Best of luck in your quest for improvement and keep us posted on your efforts. Michael

Anonymous said...

My question is based on this quote..."Generally, we have found that three days on and one day off allows for a maximum sustainability at maximum intensities. There have been many weeks of 5 days per week of strength training. How does that affect those working out all 5 days? I'm just curious. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

CF originally used a 5 on 2 off program, but soon found the 3 on 1 off the most effective training pattern. 5 on 2 off is effective, but caution should be used when stringing together 5 days worth of METCONs. An occasional hard week will not be the end of the world, but week after week of 5 METCONs straight will lead to burn-out and overuse injuries. I generally shoot for a tough week about once a month and try to limit METCONs to 3 or 4 times of week the rest of the month. It's not perfect and it's more art than science. The strength workouts can also lead to burn out, but I generally keep the load (usually between 80 and 90% of my max)and volume low and aim for a slow improvement over time. The best years I have had in CF were when I did some type of strength work before the daily WOD. It works for me, but there are times I will take off if I feel too beat up. Hope this answers your question. Michael

Anonymous said...

I would like to share a quote that was passed on to me. I find it useful to recall when I am training for strength and I am trying to set a new max. I believe it is a Mark Rippatoe quote."Strong people are generally harder to kill and over all just more useful.
Dan

Anonymous said...

I know I can do 95lbs and it will be tough but only working out two days on vacation....this is gonna SUCK!! Can't wait....Angela guess its the price I pay for calling you in the late night early am. ha
Kate

Anonymous said...

I guess everyone is an expert now on strength training. I know one thing..The top 10 in the games all did lots of strength work, followed by a workout. But what do they know, they placed. Keep strength as an integral part of the program.

Ron

Anonymous said...

My pull-up ability went kapoot, WOD: 4:10
More than a minute off my best, but I did taste blood, so I guess the effort did have some redeeming factors.
MP

TST said...

Mike -
So I saw the post last night and laying in bed I started thinking, "I don't really need to do Fran, it's light weight, you know I think I did it recently..." Ahh the excuses!!!
So today I lifted up my skirt, grabbed my balls and had a go at it. I did C2B for the pull ups - I don't think I have tried it before that way. Kinda makes a difference. 5:22 make a difference kinda way. Tasted blood, and Dan was there calling me a pussy the whole time, so I figured I was doing something right.
Oh - I have to tell you about Sat. I was tired and came up with a great WOD, I think you should try.
5 rounds
5 Burpee Clean and Jerk Walk/sprint (BW)
--Clean and jerk BW, walk 10 yards w/ weight overhead, drop weight, do a burpee, sprint back to start line, burpee, sprint back to weight, Repeat
5 muscle ups
5 Box Jumps (2 big tires plus 45lbs underneath)
2 mins rest
The workout takes 30 mins, but is right at 20 mins of work, with 10 mins rest. To tailor it a bit I would probably alter the rep scheme to 3/5/7 to allow your intensity to raise a little more - the C&J walk really takes it out of you.
Try it and tell me what you think.
Any more news on that draft you were preparing?
T

Anonymous said...

TST, Glad to hear you found those things under your skirt. Still no news on our draft, but we should be hearing something within the next couple of weeks. BTW CTB makes it a whole new ballgame and completing it in 5 plus change is some good work. Stay in touch. MP

Leah Hastings said...

As a newbie to CF and with the fear of sorry completely dumb, I am going to ask the question any way. What does FRAN mean and how does test week work for someone just starting?
LJH

Jenn said...

Mike,
Haven't seen/talked to you in a while....today's Fran was a huge improvement for me..from 11:48 down to a 5:40. I believe it is owed to the weight training!
Thanks-
Jenn

Anonymous said...

Leah, Great question, test works for the newbie just like everybody else. It will give you some kind of indication of where you are at and will help you identify areas of weakness. If necessary scale the WODs and do the best you can and I'm sure in 6 months you will be surprised by your progress. Look forward to hearing about your progress. Michael

Anonymous said...

Jenn, Great to hear from you and that is an awesome improvement. We'll start back up with the strength cycle next week. Have fun this week and I expect to hear about more record breaking performances. Michael

Anonymous said...

Michael,
Last time I did fran time was 13:00..this time 8:37. I am very happy with that. Thanks so much!!
Angela

Anonymous said...

Angela,
Wow, that's a huge improvement,you almost cut your time in half. Looking forward to see how you do the rest of the week. Michael