WOD
Teams of 3:
AMRAP in 8 Minutes:
400 Meter Run Buy In,
Max Clean & Jerks 135/95,
Rest 3 Minutes.
AMRAP in 8 Minutes:
400 Meter Run Buy In,
Max Snatches 115/75,
Rest 3 Minutes.
AMRAP in 8 Minutes,
400 Meter Run Buy In,
Max Thrusters 95/65.
Each person on the team must run 400 m
relay style before the bar work can start.
Tuesday Night Musings. By Coach Ben.
Let The Whiteboard Be Your Guide –
Right out of the gate, I just want to say that this is not me speaking, it’s the whiteboard. If you hear “you’re doing it wrong,” I didn’t say it – the whiteboard did. Don’t shoot the messenger.
The whiteboard is a magical place that will make you bigger, faster and stronger. It brings Gainz for days and you don’t even have to stick a needle in your backside. To shower in its greatness you will need to understand a couple of things.
The whiteboard is the final result of head coach Alecio’s many hours of stewing over elaborate schemes and mathematical formulas. Every workout of the day (“WOD”) he designs has a very specific feel and intention. When everybody meets at the whiteboard, it means it’s time for the coach to be the translator and help you understand.
The first thing that happens at the board is that the coach is going to explain today’s WOD and how it will be completed. It’s a coach’s job to let you know if the WOD is for time, rounds or reps; what movements will be done; and what the prescribed weights and heights will be for male and females.
Next, the coach is going to help you understand what head coach Alecio had in mind when he decided to make this spicy WOD. Should it be short and fast – or long and heavy? Is it okay to go with singles today or does it need to be unbroken? I believe this is where most of the magic dust gets sprinkled. For some reason, some athletes react to it as if it were itching powder and start running for the hills screaming “BUT RX! BUT RX!”
Let’s play a little game. By a raise of hands, who looks straight to see what the RX weight is and then looks to see who has completed the WOD as prescribed so far?
Oh, damn. That’s a lot of hands.
Looks like we need to talk about the “RX”. When a head coach designs a workout, she/he bases the time and weight upon the performance of a regional/games class athlete. So, when Alecio programs a 135/105lbs thruster in an AMRAP he’s not thinking about how many rounds YOU can get. He’s thinking about how many Matt Fraser and Samantha Briggs would. It’s not personal, it’s just the way it is. If Coach Alecio thinks Matt and Sam could perform 5-7 rounds, then it’s a coach’s job to help you come up with a good plan of attack so you perform with the same work out put. Alecio doesn’t want the top athletes to do a total of 50 thrusters and you only 20. He wants everybody to push the intensity to THEIR OWN best ability in the safest possible way.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t ever get after it and go for those big weights or high skilled gymnastic movements. I’m saying trust the programming and scale. When you scale appropriately it gives you the ability to work longer without rests and do more reps. Not trying to get to scientific on ya, but the more time you spend working and the more reps you complete safely and correctly – the sexier you’re going to look on the beach or on social media. . .
That’s a fact. It’s science people. Here is a fun little game I would like you to try. After the coach has given you the details of the WOD, I want you to imagine one of your favorite games athlete. Then I want you to think how many rounds or how fast they would complete the workout. Imagine some person walking through the front door with one of those giant checks with the huge dollar amounts. Next, that person tells you that if you can get within a couple rounds or within a couple minutes of whatever your favorite athlete could perform, then you will win this check. Doesn’t matter the weight on the bar or if you scale the movements. The only rules are that you hit the round or time standard given – and put as much effort as the games athlete did.
Repeat this for a week or two and then when you are done look back at the past WOD’s and then honestly ask yourself if you noticed a difference. If you did, go up to the coach and give them a high five. If you didn’t notice a difference then remember don’t blame the coach, give the whiteboard the finger cause it’s the board’s fault. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Moral of the the story. . . Trust the programming and trust the whiteboard.
Sincerely yours,
Coach Ben (or the whiteboard, it depends)
Attention: Wods at 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. only!
