Wednesday, January 30th
A.
STRENGTH/GYMNASTICS:
On the 2:00 x 5 Rounds: 3 Front Squats 6 Back Squats
Handstand Walk
Round 1 - 55% of 1RM Front Squat Round 2 - 60% Rounds 3-5 - 65%
Inside each round, the same loading is used between the front and back squat, and the above percentages are again based off our 1RM Front Squat.
All repetitions are taken from the rack. At the start of the 2:00 window, the athlete comes three front squats, racks the bar, and immediately back racks for the following six back squats. To complete the round, we have the handstand walk, with the distance being athlete's choice (based on current level).
Our purpose here is to train our handstand walk under the unique demand of volume squatting. Let's take the breath we need to compose ourselves before kicking into the handstand walk, but let's aim to kick up… just a touch sooner than we think. Being in training, let's put ourselves in the learning zone today, becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. This will build confidence in our handstand walk.
The actual distance comes second to that stimulus. We can turn this into a shorter walk, or, turn this into practice until the 1:30 mark on the clock of that specific window. In terms of practice, it can be handstand walk attempts, or one of the following drills below:
Handstand Hold Weight Shifting *video below
Box Shoulder Taps *video below
Wall-Facing Handstand Hold
B.
METCON:
18 Minute AMRAP: 21/15 Calorie Assault Bike 3 Rounds of "CTB Cindy" 5 Squat Cleans (225/155)
1 Round of "CTB Cindy": 5 CTB Pull-Ups
10 Pushups,
15 Air Squats
**In the absence of a bike today, we can complete this with 30/21 calories on the rower
We are looking for a heavy and challenging barbell at the end of each round. When completely rested, a load that we believe we could find just about 10 unbroken repetitions with. Heavy and challenging, but a weight that we are confident we can move steadily through with consistent singles.
Today's conditioning provides a chance to gauge our pacing in a workout that involves such a heavy barbell. At the end of each round, aim to make a mental (or physical note) of our round time, as this is not a typical loading for a workout with multiple rounds. As one can imagine, when the metabolic fatigue sets in, the amount of seconds between singles on the first round of squat cleans can vary significantly from the seconds between repetitions on the third round. However, this can be very difficult for the athlete to see or feel. It often feels like the same amount of time, despite it being literally twice, or even three times as long.
Strategy wise, the bike is the pacer. A station we naturally want to move with a purpose on, but not at the expense of the following two movements. Inside the CTB Cindy rounds, we'll have 9 total transitions. If we are one second slower in each transition between, it likely negates time made on the bike.
On the CTB Cindy rounds, let's focus on exactly that - transitions. Wasting no time between movements, we can use the air squats to regulate our breathing. Moving a hair slower on these, falling into a methodical pattern, can allow us to control our heart rate and regain composure.
Lastly, we want to push our efforts on the barbell. By no means are we looking to push to a pace where missed reps are a possibility, but when we look at the workout as a whole - this is where seconds can disappear. On the bike and "Cindy" rounds, even if our pace slows, we're still moving forward. Between repetitions on the squat cleans, we can surrender 15-20 seconds… a significant amount of time on the other stations. Knowing as well that the bike follows the squat cleans, as we start the next round, we can use the first handful of pedals as a recovery.
HANDSTAND HOLD WEIGHT SHIFTING
BOX SHOULDER TAPS
