With the first Open workout set to drop tonight at 8pm EST tonight, the focus of Tuesday was decidedly more low impact than normal as class transitioned from fast to slow to bendy. Oddly enough, I think the last part probably made the more lasting impression on people.
For this iteration of the death-by-sprints, we turned things sideways, going width-wise across the basketball court. Everyone started off in the middle of the court, and at the top of the first minute, ran to the sideline, touched the line, and then ran back to the middle of the court (25 feet each way for a total of 50 feet).
On the second minute, everyone ran to the first sideline, then across the width of the court to the other sideline, and then back to the middle. An additional sideline touch was added each minute. Athletes continued in this fashion until the could no longer complete the number of sidelines touches required within the minute.
Speed demons Scott and Mark each completed a full 13 rounds, with Robin, Sebastian and Erica all steps away from reaching the mid-court line on the 13th round. Impressive!
A few reminders on performing the TGU:
Bend the leg on the same side of the body as the arm which is holding the weight (i.e., if you are holding the weight in your right arm, bend your right leg so that your right foot is flat on the floor and keep your left leg extended).
Keep the arm supporting the weight extended the entire time – your extended arm doesn’t need to be perpendicular to the floor the entire movement, but you do need to keep the arm EXTENDED in front of you and KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE WEIGHT at all times.
Finally, after standing up, slowly lower yourself back down to the ground using the same movement you used to stand up, and fight the urge to collapse to the ground to complete the movement – every part of the movement, including the very last part of laying supine on your back, should be slow and controlled.
Once everyone had gotten in at least 3 sets, it was time to stretch out, and boy, did people get to do some stretching.
Both evening classes were lucky enough to have Winnie Au come work them through some much needed stretching. Winnie is an extremely accomplished Iyengar Yoga instructor, and she takes her flexibility seriously, blending well chosen positions with direct instructions and a lot of hands-on adjustments. As much as we might push you in your workouts, it probably pales in comparison with where Winnie will take you in your stretching.
The fact of the matter is, though, that this is exactly what all of us (and I do mean ALL) need. If stretching were easy and comfortable, and if only flexibility came with wishful thinking, we’d all be limber as acrobats and gymnasts. The sad truth is that most of us are as bendy as log. Flexibility comes with hard work and you can always do more than you think you can. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of gritting your teeth and getting down to business.
Many thanks to Winnie for the great session last night. Here’s hoping we see a few more of those sessions in the near future.
We’ll be sure to post the first Open workout on the blog as soon as it’s announced, so if you’re interested, feel free to stop back in and check it out. See you all Thursday!
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Last night was a much-needed good class for me. (maybe because it was “low impact,” but I’ll take it.) I just barely made it to 10 on the sprints, which I was happy with, as some others dropped out after 10 as well. (My goal was just not to be the only one who dropped out on my round!) I’ve never been a runner, so it’s something to work on.
I did 12.5#, 12.5#, and 15# for the TGUs, which was my goal for the night. (last time was 10# and 12.5#…next time I might try 20#, unless I missed some 17.5# DB sitting around.)
I loved stretching with Winnie! I felt so great afterward…clearly, I need to stretch more. Please pass my thanks to Winnie, that was great. Since I started CF, I think my moderate flexibility has saved me on several occasions (front rack, second pull of cleans), so I want to be sure to maintain that.
I’m excited for everyone competing in the Open, good luck!! I might stop by a couple Saturdays to watch and cheer everyone on.
I enjoyed last night’s class. I wanted to come to the 6:00 p.m. class so that I could get maximum stretch time with Winnie. Due to traffic, I was not able to.
However, I was able to get a lot of (internal) grins with the folks in the 6:00 class who did the stretching. I felt your pain ladies and gents; that’s only because I regularly get this type of stretching on Sunday and Thursday evenings. I have to say that everyone in the class actually got a somewhat “condensed” version of what goes on in one of her Iyengar classes.
Anyway, many thanks to Winnie for providing the much-needed stretching post-workout (I had a feeling that she would show up once Coach announced on Sunday that a “special stretching session” was coming to Tuesday’s class). I know that I will get some payback from her on Thursday. 🙂
About the rest of the workout…
…I made to the round of ten with the sprints. My right knee felt a little strange, and I was not able to get the explosiveness that a sprint required. I ended up performing a fast(?) jog. I was close to getting to the round of eleven. Oh well.
For the Turkish get-ups, I did three sets at 35#, 40#, and 45# respectively.
Fun times. Bring on the (Master’s) Open!
Suicides are about as good as it gets in terms of raw conditioning. I definitely feel as though they’re underutilized in most CrossFit programming. I wish I had dug just a little bit deeper and gotten to the round of 14, but it wasn’t in the cards. I felt really sick after this one. I had to run my head under some cold water and sit in the chair for a while. Note to self: don’t eat a bunch of peanut butter right before class, particularly when suicides are programmed.
Yoga more brutal than CrossFit? Yes, my girl can bring it! But just like what we do, she is precise and has a specific purpose behind the discomfort. Those who got the extended session really got their shoulders opened up. We’re going to do some more detailed photos of a few of those poses, and post a stretching tutorial soon.
Nice work on the sprints. While that wouldn’t seem like the toughest workout, you get out of it what you put in.
TGUs are great for your shoulders, core and co-ordination. Do more of them.
Wow I made it into 2 pictures on one post. This was a great class. Would love to have Winnie in more often.
I stuck around for some extended work and then jumped in with the 7PM class for stretching as well.
I made it through the 10th or 11th round on the sprints. I cant quite remember.
I did 4 sets of TGUs at 25, 30,35 and 40 lbs. 40lbs felt much more stable than the last time I we did TGUs.
I watched someone at balance do WOD 12.1 this evening. looks like a fun one 🙂
I loved this workout (suicides) because I think it combined strategy, strength, and endurance, most of which I think I’m decent at. I agree with SBV, wanted to finish the 13, but felt a little queazy myself and had to walk outside for some fresh air. Super impressive Mark and Scott!!
I really liked the stetching with Winnie and am officially terrified of taking her yoga class.
Tom, maybe you can ask her for this. If there were three stretches that we should regularly (with a time crunch I know which is not ideal), what are they from her perspective?
Bring on the open people!
Big thanks to Winnie for her help on Tuesday! It was a struggle for me, but in a good way. Maybe someday I’ll be in the bendy group.
I was 1/2 court away from getting to the round of 13 with the sprints, so that didn’t sit well. Should have pushed a little harder. I used 35, 45, then 50 on the TGUs.
Looking forward to the shared misery on Saturday!
I loved this workout. The sprints definitely got my heart pumping. I dropped out at 10. TGUs are pretty much my favorite. They are challenging, but provide such a sense of accomplishment for me for some reason. I used 20# on all three sets, which was an increase from 15# last time.
Winnie is amazing! I loved working with her. The stretching was so intense, even for a somewhat-bendy person. Wish I could have been in the 6pm class to get the full treatment, such good stuff!