A Sunday at CFDC without squatting sorta seems somewhat anachronistic at this point. Fear not, however, as the end of the squat cycle is now giving us the chance to see how much stronger we all are in total – not just for explosive movements, but pure strength movements as well, movements such as the deadlift.
Using at least one set of 10 with light weight, work through two sets of 5, two sets of 3, and then finally, three sets of single rep deadlifts looking for a daily max. It’s been a while since we’ve deadlifted heavy – the DL’s programmed during the squat cycle were done for volume and speed, while it was the assistance exercises (good mornings, RDLs, etc.) which were done at heavier weights – so it was nice to stack a few plates on the end of the bar and see how much the squat cycle had done for our overall strength.
Of course, with all the squatting we’ve been doing, it’s not a big surprise that many of us wanted to set-up on our deadlifts with the hips low and chest upright (great for cleans, but not so much for deadlifts). Instead, remember to raise the hips, pulling the knees back to as close to vertical as possible. From there, drive the heels into the ground to begin moving the weight upwards, and then drive the hips forward till lockout.
The conditioning workout was run with class broken down into teams of 4. Two teams started off at the Ring Station, and two at the Bar Station. The teams worked through 2 rounds of the prescribed movements, with 3 people working at a time and 1 resting. The max rep movements (ring dips at the Ring Station and T2B at the Bar Station) were programmed as required-rep movement. I.E., each athlete was required to complete 20 reps at the Ring Station, but those 20 reps were to be made up of AMRAP ring dips, with the deficit made up with jumping ring lockouts (jumping to the lockout position, and then quickly lowering down). So, if an athlete could perform 20 rings dips, then he or she was done, and the group rotated; however, if an athlete could only perform 10 ring dips, then he or she would need to perform 10 ring lockouts before the group could rotate.
The time prescription for the static holds (V-Sits at the Ring Station, and Push-Up Planks at the Bar Station) were based on the max effort movements (e.g., a person holds the V-Sit for as long as it takes their teammate to complete the 20 reps of ring dips + ring supports. Once teams had completed 2 complete rounds at their initial station, they rotated to the alternate station to complete an additional 2 rounds.
Great effort all around, and a big congrats to Peter for completing his Squat Cycle on Sunday during the strength portion of class, hitting a new 1RM of 210# (up from ~170#). Also, I wanted to make everyone aware of some upcoming events:
Total Recall will include two events, the CrossFit Football Total and a Power Athlete MetCon. The CrossFit Football Total asks for the 1 Rep Max of the Power Clean, Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift, in that order. The sum of all three lifts will be your score for the CrossFit Football Total. Athletes will have 20 minutes to achieve a 1RM in each lift, and will be limited to 3 attempts. The MetCon and it’s standards will be announced the day of the event, but we guarantee it will include a full body workout, violent hip extension and change of direction. We are limiting the event to 60 athletes, and this will be open to Balance Gym members only, CrossFit or Regular. There is a registration fee of $30 that must be paid online to reserve your spot that can be purchased HERE (click the “Events” tab and scroll to the bottom of the page)
What is the Hopper?
The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge was initially created to be a fun competition for a few affiliates in the greater Baltimore-Washington D.C. area. But once the ball was rolling and word got out, it grew to include competitors from ten different states and almost 100 competitors in its first year. The top three males in 2008 were from Ohio, New York and Maryland. The top three females were from Maryland and Virginia. Each year the challenge has gotten bigger and better. We expect to see even more competitors this year and in its fourth year, this challenge has become the premier fitness challenge of the Mid-Atlantic region, if not the entire east coast!
Who can participate?
Anybody. Over the years, competitors have ranged in age from 10 to 60+. There will be a cap of 120 this year on the number of athletes allowed to compete in the individual competition. 20 of those spots are reserved for the masters division if enough athletes over 45 want to compete. In addition to the individual competition, there’s also a team competition of 20 six-man teams. Competitors under 18 must have a parent with them to sign a waiver in order to participate.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
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I joined class for the work as I had to make sure I headed out a little earlier. I used a sumo stance for the deadlift with is not my favorite. I worked up to 215 for 3 with a paralell grip. Attempted 225 (switched to mixe grip here) but only got it about an inch and half off the ground. I then thought I was trying 225 again. It went up so easy, but after I set it back down I realized it was only 215. I didn’t count that rep. Attempted 225 on my next turn and hit the same barrier. I dropped to 220 and still could not lift it. Sumo stance felt much better than it ever did but this was dissapointing because 215 is soooo far away from my traditional deadlift number. I knew my sumo was less but I thought the numbers would be a little closer.
I worked with Joanne, Jen, and Jessi (clearly I was the odd ball out since my name doesn’t start with a J) on the metcon. We started at the bar. I got 15 T2B on my first round and 10 on my second. I was pretty happy with that. On the rings I got 9 dips my first round and only 4 the second cause my hand slipped. I was very happy there because 9 is the largest number of consecutive ring dips I have ever gotten. I used the 40lb slam ball for the ball slams. Tried to go unbroken on both sets but had a couple times when the ball slippe out of my hand and ended up out in front of me too much that I had to reset.
Fun class, I am glad I got to jump in but also miss woroking out after class with Tom and Chris.
I love the fact that we took a week between cycles to “check in” with our deadlifts. Tom expressed to me his philosophy that one can increase his or her deadlift by squatting regularly and working posterior chain accessory movements (good mornings, RDLs, speed pulls, etc.). I, too, am now a believer in this philosophy. I pulled 335# during Sunday’s class, the first time in over a year that I’ve pulled more than 285#. It was a huge confidence-booster for me and it let me know that I can move bigger weights now without injuring my lower back.
Ben did his last deadlift so powerfully that it technically constituted a clean pull.
First off, I have to say that I LOOVE working with Ami. She is so badass. She handles all of the lifts with such ease, it’s just amazing to watch.
Deadlifts have always been a difficult movement for me and I struggled. I needed many a reminder about form (hips back). I ended up pulling 1RM at 200.
Agree with SBV – the DLs – of which I suck – were alot easier and I pulled over 300 with relative ease compared with several weeks ago so true that about squats being the King of Strength movements and some assistance work will translate into being able to heavy across the board, except for my dumb bell flys, which I am working on along with recognizing run-on sentences before they become thus.
And I think Ami can break the DL power lifting record for Maryland which stands at something like 265 for a woman of her girth and size.
I think all moms automatically become super-strong. I mean, doing deadlifts has to be easier than giving birth, right?
I’m so sad to have missed deadlifts, but I had an awesome weekend! The Garage Games were great; Ben Smith kicked ass, of course, and there were lots of great athletes there. CrossFit Rife did a great job of organizing and pressing on despite delays, ridiculous heat, torrential rain, and tons of mud.
I got in a workout on Saturday at my friend’s garage gym — 50 wall balls (6#, because it was either that or 20#), 40 box jumps (~16″), 30 ring dips (with a band), 20 pull-ups (band), and 10 snatches (35#).
I did Sunday’s workout tonight, and I think it went pretty well! I did my sets at 85-95-105-115-125-135-140 (body weight). This has been a goal of mine for a while, so I was pleased. It was tough, but I think my form was okay…although I’m sure there was something I could have tweaked to make it better.
I did a modified metcon on my own…subbed push-ups for ring dips, did 30# ball slams, held V-sit and plank ALAP, did 10 knee raises then 10 kips. I rested about 30 seconds between rounds.
It really feels pointless posting after a classic Tom A gem, but Katies PR deadlift deserves it.
Very cool to see so many good DLs. Glad that people felt strong.
The metcon work was interesting to watch. The positional work Chris applied to the Handstand in the 9AM class came into play. learning to control the core has a pretty wide carryover.
“…for a woman of her girth and size”
Strong is the new skinny??? Perhaps I shouldn’t be the one typing this.
At any rate: Sara, you were definitely missed during the post-class workout. Although it’s been said a few times now, I too was a definite benefactor of the squat cycle’s strength gains.
and way to go Katie!! That’s awesome – nothing like a weekend of watching people slog it out with some weights to get you pumped up for some Monday night lifting. I did the dedication from our Monday night maniacs coming in to make-up the Sunday workouts – keep up the good work!
Congrats Katie on the DL!! That’s awesome!
I did the workout tonight too, got done right when Katie was starting, wish it would’ve worked out to have done it together cause that would’ve been much more fun!
I enjoy DL and made it to 200 for the 1RM tonight which felt great!
Aaagghhhh is all I have to say bout the ring dips. Just when I’m feeling good and came off the high of DL the rings slapped me back down to reality.
This is my pre-competiton “de-loading” week where I don’t do a lot (of CrossFit) before a weightlifting competition…but damn, I hate missing deadlifts. 🙂 I am curious to see what I could lift now. Maybe I will work this one in next Monday (July 30).
I will be in class tonight, but I may not do the entire workout.
Was cool to see SBV and Ben pulling strongly on Sunday. Weights went up easy!
For some reason I can pull 315 repeatedly (8 reps or more) but I get to 335 and its really friggin hard. I’m guessing this is part technique and part I just need to build a stronger back. At least it feels solid and not injured like a year ago. Progress….
Was cool to see SBV and Ben pulling strongly on Sunday. Weights went up easy!
For some reason I can pull 315 repeatedly (8 reps or more) but I get to 335 and its really friggin hard. I’m guessing this is part technique and part I just need to build a stronger back. At least it feels solid and not injured like a year ago. Progress….