Performance & Foundations 20:00 For Quality
400 M Run
5 Unweighted Step-ups/leg
5 Goblet Squats
5 KB Swings
5 KB Sit-ups
5 KB Tic Tacs/side
50 M Waiters Walk
*Move at an easy to moderate pace, focus on great movement quality throughout, a good goal would be to finish 3-4 rounds
or
Make up Monday’s Tester
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” -Abraham Lincoln
For close to 10 years now I have tried to understand the complexity of human performance. Failing as many times as I have succeeded in this venture, it lead me to search out experts in the field:
James Fitzgerald (OPT) the first CrossFit Games Champion and leading expert in exercise physiology as it pertains to the sport of CrossFit; Dan Pfaff (Track and Field) considered one of the best coaches in the world who has coached 49 Olympians, 9 Olympic Medalists, 5 World Record holders; Stuart McMillan (Strength & Conditioning/ Sprint Coach) who has coached at 5 different Olympic Games where his athletes have amassed 26 medals and Dr. Gerry Ramogida one of the worlds top therapists.
I expected answers. Maybe secret workouts, specific exercises, complex periodization schemes, or new performance supplement.
I found none.
Instead, I found simplicity, patience and understanding of the human element.
They are masters of Stress and Adaptation; realizing individual differences between athletes, the patience needed for adaptation and how outside stressors affect the health and wellness of the athlete.
This has reshaped my view of fitness. It’s no longer performance based but quality of life based. True fitness should not create injury or pathology, but build both physical and mental health.
Exercise can be a hefty dose of mental, physical, and emotional stress. Very few things create such a combination. Layer that on top of poor nutrition, lack of sleep, job and relationship stress and you have an adaptation disaster. It will lead to poor performance, poor mental well-being, and injury.
If Stress and Adaptation are the key to performance and health, it is important to track both to the best of our ability.
Omegawave will give us a deeper look at the following:
* Adaptation (Readiness Profile)
* Central Nervous System Readiness
* Aerobic and Anaerobic Profiles
* Hormonal Systems
* Detoxification Systems
* Cardiopulmonary Systems
This allows us to better understand ourselves; our lifestyle, daily stress and our adaptation process. Instead of looking to the outside for answers by searching out ‘fitness gurus’, “Miracle” Diets, or workout regimens we can now look within.
It’s about finding our biological limits then surpassing them.
I am not only passionate about helping our own clients and athletes but the greater Austin Community. This isn’t about being shackled to “Elitism”, a CrossFit gym, or any gym for that matter. My priorities are clear; help people find true fitness and ultimately true wellness.
Contrary to last week our goal for the coming test week is to focus on performing. Testing requires a “whatever it takes” attitude, and a focused effort that should only be replicable on the big stage or in the right environment. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving you carte blanche to move like shit if you want the best score possible you have to be efficient. Case in point is Mr. Froning very few CrossFit athletes move as efficiently as he does and the results are apparent. By simply being super efficient therefore eliminating “leaks” in energy, effort, or power on Rich can outlast his opponents on most occasions. So when we look at our tests this week balance efficiency with a very high effort. Below you’ll find the full week of tests and a synopsis of our first test tomorrow. We will have a daily synopsis on both the tests and the aerobic recovery work throughout the week.
Tests Monday: “Fran” 21-15-9 of Thrusters @ 95/65 & Pull-ups
What kind of test:Mix Modal Anaerobic Threshold Test
What to expect:
Pain. Seriously though when we look at an all out effort that falls between :90 – 3:00 minutes the experience will be painful. First off by mix model we simply mean multiple movements and implements will be utilized and a simple way to define Anaerobic is that the effort will be fueled by something other than oxygen. In this case if done correctly the predominant fuel source will be lactate which gives your lungs, and muscles that nice burning sensation.
What’s the Goal:
Our goal is to see how well you can move and perform in the presence of lactate. Lactate either crushes an athlete or the athlete is efficient at using that lactate as fuel. So while the natural urge will to to see what your “Rx” Fran time is, I’d encourage athletes to think in terms of what time frames the weight and pull-up option put you in. If the weight is to heavy and/or your pull-ups are to slow the test becomes totally different from our perspective. So shoot for something that falls in the 2:30-5:00 time frame.
Make-up Day: Preferably Tuesday, Friday if necessary
Partner WOD
3 Rounds
100 Singles
750 Row
400 M Run
*each round is recorded, goal is consistency, athletes can start at any exercise but can’t do the same exercise at the same time.
“The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.” –Julius Erving
Our goal for the next week is to shift our focus from doing the most weight or work and concentrate on movement quality, movement efficiency, and regaining some structural balance. I’m going to challenge all of our athletes to think like a gymnast or figure skater for the next two weeks (yeah you heard that right). Sports that are judged on the fluidity and beauty of their movement, not the amount or intensity of work that is done. It’s extra important for those of you that just took on the open and/or the COA challenge to let yourself recover and rejuvenate emotionally during the coming weeks. Athletes commonly take a 2-4 week break from training after the conclusion of a season. While I’m not suggesting you completely stop coming to the gym I do recommend a period of time where there is no pressure or “stakes” to your training, allowing for a fun and relaxed approach to training, hence our deload week.
This week will contain three basic strength focused days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). Two aerobic conditioning days (Tuesday and Thursday) and 1 team focused conditioning day (Saturday). Training sessions will be designed to apply quality volume in a less fatigued state, and focus primarily on unilateral variations of exercises. Each day will also include mobility and corrective exercise work to start and finish each session.
Our definition of fitness is often defined by doing the most work across the largest variety of modes and times. While these are obviously very important we’d also like to include being resilient to injury, being healthy, and efficient with movement as equally important aspects of fitness. From here we will move into a testing week to start our next 6 week phase of training that will culminate in a retest week at the end of the cycle.
