Crossfit Hillsdale Blogposts

Today was a good day to be good at rock, paper, scissors.  Why?  Because the metcon was vicious and if you did it first the strength work was… uhm… difficult.  (Although to give credit where credit is due, one person did PR by 10 pounds AFTER doing the metcon, which was impressive given that most folks were well under their PR if they did the metcon first.)

How does one become good at rock paper scissors?  Strategize.  Remember, you’re a CrossFitter now – you’re supposed to be good at everything.

What Goes Up, Must Come Down
Part 1: Skill/Strength
Take 15 minutes to find a 1RM Clean and jerk
Part 2: Metcon
With 15 minutes on the clock do 3 KB swings (32/24kg) and 3 burpees.  Then do 6 of each of the movements, then 9, then 12.  Keep going.  At some point, when you feel it would be wise, turn around and go back down the ladder.  You must finish descending before time runs out or your score is zero.  If you made up it to the set of 12, then do the 9′s, 6′s and 3′s to be done.  Do not repeat the top set.

Check the whiteboard for scores.

There is something about deadlifting that from time to time, makes me forget that it is a skilled movement. Maybe I start thinking, “eh. Everybody picks stuff up off the ground. Just lift the bar. Forget form.” But then I get some advice, change some small piece of how I set up the lift and it totally makes things easier.

My point is this: despite not being the clean, snatch or jerk – the deadlift IS a skilled movement.  There are things you can do correctly and things you can do incorrectly.  There are many nuances.  There are many schools of thought.  It is, quite simply, not so simple.

Thanks tonight to Morgan for the deadlifting advice.

Part 1: Strength/Skill
EMOM 7 minutes
2 Deadlifts
Part 2: Metcon (15 minute cap)
Buy in: 30 over/unders
3 Rounds
15 Handstand push ups
30 Tuck jumps
Buy out: 30 over/unders

Check the whiteboard for scores.

A press inside a 12 minute AMRAP?  Of course it’s gonna be somewhere between 95 and 115 pounds, right?

Sure, maybe.

But if you make it heavier than that, it’s gonna be waaay to heavy to sustain across the whole 12 minutes.  Right?

Okay, maybe.

But… but… but… no.  You can’t make it 135.  That’s like a cleaning weight, not a pressing weight.  Right?

Maybe.  Or maybe it can be heavier just so we can see what happens because seeing what happens is part of what we do here.

So, Anyhow…
Part 1: Playtime
3 Rounds, not for time
1 Set of unbroken toes to bar (AMRAP)
2 Laps “hexagonal grip” dumbbell farmer’s walk
3 Bridge wall walks
Part 2: Metcon
12 minute AMRAP
5 Chest to overhead anyhows (135/95)
15 Squats
15 Double unders

Check the whiteboard for scores.

What is the hang position?  Turns out it is a lot of things but generally speaking, the hang position means you aren’t starting the lift from the floor.

There’s a low hang, where you lift the bar and bumpers just a couple of inches off the floor so it is still below the knee.  There’s the high hang position where you’ve got the bar pretty much right at your hip crease (for the snatch).  And then there’s everything in between.

Why do we do the hang position?  Why not always do the full lift?  One reason is that it allows us to simplify and to focus on a slightly less complicated motion.  If you bring the bar to just above the knees, it becomes a bit easier to pull the bar into the hips because you’re not worried about slamming into your knee caps.

Which version of the hang position do we do when the whiteboard says “hang” position?  Unless specified, the hang position for us means just above the kneecap.

If it is simpler, why not always do the hang position?  Because we are interested in developing the full range of motion.  The hang position is merely a tool for helping us to get there.

Carry on.

63-45-3… hut!
Part 1: Skill/Strength
EMOM 7 minutes
Hang squat snatch
Squat snatch
Part 2: Metcon (15 minute cap)
3 Rounds for time
21 Box jumps (24″)
15 Pull ups

Check the whiteboard for scores

It’s true.  Some days gravity busts you up more than usual.  The earth gained an extra asteroid or something and you can just feel that extra pull on the barbell.  It’s rough out there when you can’t even trust physics.

Or maybe today is a bad day.  So it goes.  Bad days are, like injuries, wonderful opportunities to explore your ability to adapt.  Can you grab the mental focus and push through?  Do you have to lower the weight?  Do you have to change your form?  Does screaming at the bumper plates help?

Don’t just trudge onward – learn your way through it.

The Kitchen Sink Cometh
Part 1: Strength/Skill
EMOM 7 minutes
Squat clean
Front squat
Jerk
Part 2: Metcon (15 minute cap)
50 GHD sit ups
40/40 Split jumps
30 Meters of gut walk
20 Ring dips
10 Turkish get ups (5 each side)
1 Burpee

Check the whiteboard for scores.