On Sunday, April 28th,EDCF will host its first endurance cenetered fitness challenge. This competition is open to only members of our gym, and all of you are encouraged to participate.
There will be two lengths: 3 miles for intermediate and 6 miles for advanced athletes. This is no ordinary race, though; there will be stations with obstacles and challenges along the way. These hurdles will be CrossFit movements that you’ve all experienced during a WOD at the gym. However, these movements will not be announced. Part of being fit is being prepared for the unknown.
Remember, the Endurance class is every Sunday at 11 am. These WODs will help build stamina and prepare you for running distance.
We will be releasing race rules and official routes later this week. In the mean time, get running!
Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 strength cycle has stood the test of time in the world of powerlifting. Powerlifting a focus on training the basic multi joint movements and a foundation of our programming at EDCF. Wendler states that “the bench press, parallel squat, deadlift, and standing press have been the staples of any strong man’s repertoire. Those who ignore these lifts are generally the people who suck at them. If you get good at those, you’ll get good at other stuff, as they have such a huge carryover.” Now are we training for Strongman competitions or to just get huge? Not necessarily. We would like to strengthen joint and core stability as well as overall raw strength which will carry over into other types of training inside the gym or sport/life outside the gym.
Matt M. testing a 1RM strict press
The key to Wendler’s program is the basic concept periodization, a method that has been in strength and conditioning for quite a while. Does that make his method new and novel? Not at all. It is simplified and effective though. Basically the method is designed to start light with more reps then move heavier decreasing the number of reps on a certain movement each week. At the end of the cycle you take a deload week(s) then add about 5% to your previous max and start again. A typical four week Wendler 5/3/1 cycle looks like this:
Week 1: 3 x 5 Week 2: 3 x 3 Week 3: 3 x 5, 3, 1 Week 4: deloading
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Set 1
65% x 5
70% x 3
75% x 5
40% x 5
Set 2
75% x 5
80% x 3
85% x 3
50% x 5
Set 3
85% x 5+
90% x 3+
95% x 1+
60% x 5
We are starting off putting this method to work on the strict press. If favorable results ensue, look for this method to also be applied to the bench press, low bar back squat, and deadlift.
An all new CrossFit Prep Course starts tonight! The prep course is 8 classes in duration and usually start at the beginning of each month. The classes will be held MWTh nights for the next two weeks and only on MW on the third week. All classes will start at 8:30pm and end around 9:30. The cost for the eight classes is $150. Spaces are limited so let us know if you would like to join in!
If you are a member and have a friend complete the prep course AND sign up for regular classes, we will give you your next month for half off! Our way of saying ‘thank you’ for spreading the word.
We are now in week 4 of the 2013 CrossFit Open. Join us as our athletes take on workout 13.4 tomorrow at CF White Rock at 12:30pm. If you’re taking on the WOD today in class, this video goes over tips to help out your efficiency with the movements. We will be going over movement prep before the WOD to help clear up any issues with toes to bar or clean and jerks.
The third week of the CrossFit Open is this week with a workout that is in fact a repeat of last year. Tomorrow, at CF White Rock, our athletes will take on the 12 min AMRAP consisting of 150 wallballs, 90 double-unders, and 30 muscle-ups that comprise workout 13.3. If you would like to take this WOD on you can come to any class today and do it. Can’t make it today? Come by on Sunday during the endurance WOD at 11am and the gym will be open. Once you know your score, then check out the CF Games leaderboard to see where you stack up against the 120,000 performing this workout. Hopefully your legs don’t end up like this afterwards.
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– Weekend Schedule –
Saturday
8:00am Olympic lifting
9:00am Masters class
10:00am Regular CrossFit
12:30pm Workout 13.3 at CF White Rock (come support our athletes!)
” The mere practice of the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete how to apply large amounts of force. Part of the extraordinary abilities of an Olympic lifter arises out of his having learned how to effectively activate more of his muscle fibers more rapidly than others who aren’t trained to do so. This becomes extremely important for athletes who need to remain at lower body weights for athletic purposes but need to learn how to apply greater force.” – Artie Dreschler
The goal of this class is to teach the technical proficiency of the olympic lifts, focusing on the snatch and clean & jerk. Feel like this is one of your weaknesses or would just like to focus more on the two lifts? Then this class is for you whether you are fresh out of the CF Prep Course or a seasoned EDCF veteran. These classes are offered Wednesday evenings at 7:30PM and Saturday mornings at 8:00AM.
Last month, a lot of you attempted Fran for your first or second time ever. While it’s not a workout we program all that often, it’s never too early to start preparing for the next Fran Jam. When I say think of a four letter word, starting with “F”, that you scream when you’ve been brought to the floor, beaten down into a pool of your own hot sweat? Yeah, that’s what I thought of too: FRAN! Fran is easily one of the most well-known CrossFit benchmark workouts and for good reason. The workout itself is beautifully simple and yet, incredibly difficult. The 21-15-9 structure, coupled with the difficulty and demands of the two movements make this CrossFit “girl” a real, uh, challenge.
What is Fran?
For time:
21-15-9
Thrusters (95#/65#)
Pull-ups
“If a hurricane that wreaks havoc on a whole town can be Fran, so can a workout,” Coach Greg Glassman just about sums it up for us. We can also thank him for concocting Fran. He was a competitive gymnast and after piecing together a home gym in his parents’ garage, he set out to create a weightlifting workout that would “make you sit on your ass and gasp for air simulating a two minute ring routine.” He wasn’t satisfied with the recommended strengthening exercises – lateral raises and curls – to help gymnasts improve their performance on the rings because he felt that they did not simulate the same feelings and demands of gymnastics ring work.
He basically stumbled into creating the now-famous thruster; finding that when he brought the bar to your chest, dropped down as low as possible and then drove it to overhead multiple times, he was brought to the point of exertion similar to his ring work. He paired these “thrusters” with pullups as he already had a bar installed and came up with the 21-15-9 structure. He freely admits that when he completed the workout that would be known as “Fran” for the first time, he vomited all over the garage floor. Little did he know that eventually CrossFitters the world over would do the same.
So you may ask how in the world could I ever do this horribly daunting workout? Well, no sugar-coating – it’s a killer. But find solace in the fact that it truly is a killer for everyone and even the elite CrossFitters out there, though they turn in phenomenally fast Fran times, still struggle through it. Also like most things in CrossFit, it is scalable and any CrossFitter can give it a go. If you can’t do the prescribed weight, do less! If you can’t bang out the pullups, use an assist band or do jumping pullups. If you can’t get through the sets unbroken, take a break and know that most people can’t either. If you don’t think you can finish, well suck it up and keep going; that’s what I imagine Fran would say anyways.
Though this is definitely a toughen up and bang it out style WOD, there are ways you can prepare and give yourself a fighting chance at Fran. For starters, make sure you’re paying enough attention to your mobility. Both thrusters and pullups demand a challenging mix of strength, flexibility and coordination, so make sure you’re not ignoring your rolling and stretching! Mobility is a critical part of prepping for Fran. Check out the mobility wod video below to hear some great tips and stretches to get you ready for Fran.
Also, pullups are one of those movements where if you get them down, you can save a heck of a lot of time, so focus on improving your pullup fluidity, endurance and cycle time. To bolster your thruster skills, weekly strength work will certainly help; try doing 3 thrusters on the minute for 12 minutes consistently once a week, adding five pounds each week. Additionally, some CrossFitters recommend completing “heavy Frans”, focusing on strength building and then switching back to the prescribed weights and going for speed. Another key of the workout is your grip strength, which allows you to stay on the bar longer; try working on yours with fat bar pull ups and deadlifts as well as farmers walk and sand bag carries.
Some tips on how to approach Fran:
Come at her with a plan – determine how you’d like to break up your sets before you start. Although the goal and fastest way to complete Fran is to do everything unbroken, your time will suffer greatly if you go unbroken on the first set of 21 thrusters and deplete yourself completely.
Stay mentally tough during the round of 15 – these thrusters and pull-ups seem to bring most people down so get your game face on and make sure you have someone watching that will remind you to “KEEP GOING!”
Some tips to keep in mind during Fran:
Don’t shoot for a full front rack position – you can let your elbows drop a bit, which will set you up better to shoot the bar overhead.
Focus on full thoracic extension – keep your weight in your heels and your shoulders & chest up and extended, no slouching! This will help to spread out the load to all your different leg muscles as opposed to just burning out your quads.
Don’t put the bar down during thrusters– try to rest in the rack position. If you drop it, you’ll just have to clean it back up, wasting precious time and energy in the process. Instead take your quick breaks during pullups – the time to hop back up on the pullup bar is a whole lot quicker than doing a clean with tired legs.
Don’t pause during the workout waiting for your breath to return because it doesn’t until well after the workout.
All in all, Fran is the perfect kind of CrossFit fun. She calls on quintessential CrossFit movements in an extremely challenging format and it will never get old or easy; she, like CrossFit, demands constant growth and improvement.
So get out there, get your Fran on and then work your butt off again and again to bring that time down!
Take advantage of our 7 Days for $7 special! Attend our classes, learn the format, and join our vibrant community without any prep courses or restrictions. Simply find a time that works best for you and get started!
