Friday, May 31st

1. Strength work to start our day, combining a build to a 5-Rep Weighted Pull-Up and Front Squat. 2. Benchmark Friday's continue with today's effort - "Death Race".

A.

STRENGTH:

Alternating on the Minute x 10 (5 Rounds) Odd - 5 Weighted Pull-Ups Even - 5 Front Squats – start at 60% and build

All squat repetitions are taken from the rack and will be athlete’s choice on weight.

On these weighted pull-ups, we are specifically looking for strict reps. We want the strict strength stimulus today. Modification options first move towards an unweighted strict pull-up, but can also include using bands to build our strength. If we are between 2-3 strict pull-ups, let's choose a band tension that allows for ~10 repetitions unbroken, and complete the 5 reps per set here. A lighter dumbbell between the thighs or ankles also works for the weighted pull-ups.

B.

METCON:

“Death Race”

5 Rounds: 15/10 Calorie Bike 10 Burpees

Last completed July, 2018.

In "Death Race", we are first, and always, going to strive towards the theme of consistency. Even in shorter workouts, it becomes a focus due to the seconds that can be lost in the final rounds. Even a enormous head start from an aggressive start can disappear in this workout. Especially when it comes to calories.

Inside this workout, our effort on the bike may be more important than our effort on the burpees. Calories accumulate on a sliding scale - the harder we push, the less "distance" or pedals we need to complete to cover the calories. It's not linear such as meters. If it were meters, the bike would be the opposite strategy, and become the pacer.

With this in mind, by pushing the bike, and finding a steady, methodical pace on the burpees, we can track towards our optimal time. In other words, picture 75/50 calories for time on the bike at a race pace. Then compare that to a reserved, recovery-esque pace. The difference in time can be enormous (several minutes). When we do the same for the 50 burpees, it is also a significant difference, but not nearly as much so as the bike.

Now of course, we aren't looking to hammer the first three round of calories as if there isn't two additional rounds to follow - we are still pacing our efforts across, but we are looking to make the concerted effort to push our speed here… as it pays off. This workout comes down to the last two rounds… let's grit and grind.