Push press
3-3-3-3-3

Push jerk
2-2-2-2-2

Split jerk
1-1-1-1-1

Post loads to comments and BTWB

The 1,000 Rep Problem, #whatsupwiththat – (Not originally by, but brought to your attention) By Courtney Shepherd

Yesterday I addressed the risk vs. reward dilemma we face during workouts. I brought up the fact that our ability to really weigh it out can be heavily biased by our egos. I would like to address another concept that sounds great on paper but again doesn’t always play out in real life when our heads get in the way. That is the concept of Mechanics, Consistency, Intensity. Good old MCI. You’ve probably heard of it, I know I may have mentioned it a time or two previously. MCI is actually CrossFit’s mantra. We want to nail down the mechanics of a movement first, we want to maintain those mechanics consistently, and then we want to add some intensity into the mix. Intensity doesn’t just mean doing it harder or faster (that’s what she said), intensity refers to adding weight, adding reps, adding volume, and yes, adding speed. These are all forms of intensity, they are all a way to make a workout that much harder or more difficult. A problem for most of us is we put these types of intensities ahead of our consistent mechanics. We want to have the “RX” by our name, we want to see if we can beat that guy or this girl, we just feel like we should be able to do that weight or all those reps. Do any of those statements sound familiar? We can say a lot to justify adding intensity but what we need to realize is that we have to earn the intensity. How you ask? Consistent mechanics.

Seriously though, why do we need to be consistent? This just seems like a way to “harsh my gig” or “waste my flava”.  Well, do we really only want to be able to perform a lift perfectly once? Well, maybe, if we are in a 1RM contest and we plan to retire immediately following that one perfect lift. But I don’t see that to be the case. Instead I foresee a WOD in which we will have to perform a lift upwards of 50 times. We want to make sure we can make that lift 50 times with good form, because as stated in yesterday’s blog, we know there is a price to be paid for lifting with poor form. It is not enough to have good mechanics, we NEED to have them consistently.

There is an idea known as the “1,000 rep problem”. Matt Foreman wrote an article about this for the Catalyst Athletics website, you can click here to read the whole thing. This is what Matt has to say:

“The 1,000 rep problem is the situation that exists when a lifter has finally found the correct technique of the snatch or clean & jerk. After tons of work and coaching, they’ve done it right. But now they have to do it right another 1,000 times to memorize that correct movement.

We’re talking about things like muscle memory, nervous system memorization of a specific movement, motor learning, that kind of stuff. Some people think of this as learning correct technique and then making it a habit. I don’t really see it as a habit. I think of it as learning correct technique and then continuing to do it right until you basically don’t know how to do it wrong anymore. Habits are just recurring behaviors, like peeing in the shower. You can stop doing those things any time you want. I’m talking about a more fanatical level of performance, where your body just instinctively executes a certain movement because that’s all it knows how to do.

I think you have to do a massive number of correct lifts before you’ve got that kind of muscle memory. I picked 1,000 for the name of this concept because it emphasizes long-term development and it sounds cool. I know there’s no set-in-stone number.”

Fanatical level of performance? This article specifically targets the Olympic lifts but we can have a fanatical level of performance in anything, from the kipping pull-up to making our bullet proof coffee in the morning. It simply means taking the time to do something right and continuing to take the time to keep doing it right. What’s the rush? When we position our body correctly and move it through space maintaining that right position what results is correct form and highly efficient movement. The question becomes, how do we maintain correct form and highly efficient movement? Answer: Repetition. Even better answer: Repetition of the correct form and highly efficient movement. Anything that’s worth doing right is worth doing right a lot, like 1,000 times.

Some final thoughts:
– We only get the 1,000 rep problem after we’ve done it right for the first time. Our first correct rep is #1. There is the possibility some of us haven’t even had this rep yet. That’s okay. Our goal is to get that first good rep and work from there.

– Bad lifts don’t count towards our accumulated total. So if we’ve done 287 correct lifts and then we have a workout where our technique is lost, we make no attempts to correct it, and we wind up doing thirty sloppy snatches, we are still at 287 at the end of the day

There is a word used in CrossFit that has become a favorite of mine, virtuosity, doing the common uncommonly well.
Lighten the load, slow the pace, master the technique, strive to be virtuous.

5 Rounds for time of:
Run 350 meters
Lunge 50 meters

Post times to comments and BTWB

Another post brought to you by Courtney Shepherd. . . or is it?

Last night while coaching the box jumps I discussed the idea of risk vs. reward. In the box jump the reference came about when discussing the rebound box jump. It comes with a risk of injury to the achilles tendon, the reward (assuming we don’t get injured) is it allows us to move through box jumps faster. We encounter a risk vs. reward situation quite often when working out. Whether or not we know it, that situation revolves around moving faster with bad form or doing it RX with bad form vs. . . . . well, not doing those two things. Slowing down, using less weight, simply making a modification that allows us to move more mechanically sound. The reason this situation is so hard for most of us has nothing to do with us thinking about the risk of injury but has more to do with us thinking about the blow to our ego. 

In keeping with the #TBT theme I’ve started with this post, I’m going to throw it back to one of Verve’s finest coaches, who’s infamy lives on to this day with phrases like “this is the best group of squatters I’ve seen all day” and ” beans are cool”. That’s right folks, I’m talking about the one and only Luke Palmisano. Henceforthy, here are his fine words on risk vs. reward:

Risk vs. Reward ~ Luke Palmisano

Have you seen Man Of Steel, the new superman movie yet? First off, if not, why not? SUPERMAN IS THE BOMB. But you know what always impresses me about Superman? The fact that saving the human race is what keeps him going. Not having a family, or even getting that yearly vacation to the Fortress of Solitude. It’s saving the human race from either themselves, or the alien threat more powerful than anyone can imagine. It’s saving the human race that propels him to take such. Huge. Risks. To both mind and body. Of course, when he receives his reward (that of saving the human race, yet again), the ending credits come on, and we never see Superman have to go through the after-effects of the choices he made. Meaning, did fighting General Zod and getting flung through multiple skyscrapers result in multiple concussions? And how long did Superman have to see a chiropractor after that fight? Or massage therapy??

I digress.

Let’s turn this conversation to us. Risk vs. reward. When it comes to human movement, what will you risk in body positioning to get what you want? Let’s take a rounded spine while deadlifting as a example. Maybe Matt Chan is trying to win the CrossFit Games, and he realizes on his last workout of 405# deadlifts that if he allows his back to round because he is fatigued, he will finish first and win his heat, and possibly the Games. He risks damage to various tissues and bones, but… It may be worth it to him. Maybe a baseball pitcher knows that with a tweak of his technique, he can get his 93 m.p.h. fastball up to a 97 m.p.h fastball. In doing so, he secures himself a multi-million dollar contract, even though he knows he’s probably going to need Tommy John Surgery in the next 5-10 years. The risk may be worth it to him. Now lets say YOU are doing a workout with deadlifts. Will you choose the weight you can manage, or the weight you want to use? What’s your risk vs. reward? The risk is you herniate a disk, pull a muscle in your back, or even scrape your shin!! The reward is… you finish a workout. Is the risk worth it to you? Now I realize we are competitive as a group. We take our lives and what we achieve seriously. Remember, though, that it’s just workout. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1) The poor positioning that you practice in one movement will transfer over to another.

2) Sacrificing good form will eat away at potential benefits of the exercise you are performing

3) Your bad form is a ticking time bomb. You may get away with it unscathed today. Eventually though, it will manifest itself by way of pain.This is the tricky one. If we don’t feel the consequences immediately, the risk we’re taking may not seem like a risk at all.

These are the choices we must make. Every choice we make, in fact, has a risk vs. reward equation to it. So what are you willing to gamble to get the result you want?

Information for this post was referenced from the book Becoming A Supple Leopard, by Kelly Starrett.

For time:
100 burpee pull-ups

Ideally, the pull-up bar is 1 foot above your reach.

Post to BTWB

Well the 2015 Open is finished.  I for one am happy that it is.  What did you guys think?  There are a few things about the Open that are great.

A few observations from the past 5 weeks of the Open.

The Open brings out the best of CrossFit.  Everyone cheering each other on, staying after their class has ended to show encouragement to others as they power through the workouts.  The Saturday and Sunday re-do’s generated a ton of energy even if there weren’t as many people as a traditional class.  

With this years scaled option it made sure that everyone could participate and post scores.  In the past years there was only one workout, but with the scaled option this year, it presented everyone the opportunity to participate and post scores.  

The leaderboard.  I don’t know how much traffic the Games website receives but it clearly receives a bump in volume this time of year.

The Thursday announcement, for a few reasons.  I love seeing the elite take on a workout, then giving it a go ourselves to really understand how good the top athletes are.  I also the actual show on Thursday evening.  Gathering around the TV to watch the announcement and then see people start to strategist is always entertaining.  

The workouts.  Some of them are innocent looking enough but once you finish them you understand why they are the Open workouts.  Rowing and Thrusters, sounds easy enough but boy was it anything but.  

Well 2015 is over.  Now we wait and see how the leaderboard shakes out and look forward to next year and do it all over again.  

If you found anything interesting or have any insights you’d like to share, post to comments.

With a partner, 2 rounds for time:
40 Wallballs, 20#(14#)
400m Partner run
40 Box jumps, 24″(20″)
400m Partner run
40 Deadlifts, 185#(125#)
400m Partner run

*Only 1 partner works at a time, except during the run.

Post times to comments and BTWB

Que paso?

That’s spanish for “what’s happening?”

Well it turns out there is mucho happening. That means “a lot” in Spanish.  

Saturday March 28th-

15.5 re-do from 1:30pm-2:30pm, sign up on MBO.

Post Open Celebration at Jake’s, starting at 4pm. Come cheers to the last 5 weeks of hard work and PRs!!!

Sunday March 29th-

Yoga @ 8am with Kacey, sign up on MBO.

15.5 re-do part deux, 2pm-3:30pm, sign up on MBO.

Saturday April 4th-

Ladies only Parkour @ Urban Acrobatics at 8pm. Email Anna with your RSVP, AnnaM@crossfitverve.com.

Verve is hosting a Level 1 Seminar the weekend of April 11th-12th. Verve will have a 7am WOD and some offsite WODs for those looking to sleep in. Verve will be closed the rest of the day Saturday and Sunday. Interested in signing up for the course, go to Verve’s Events Page for more details.

Saturday April 11th-

Collabeeration 5K and brew fest in Longmont, CO. For more details and to get signed up, click here.

CrossFit Football Trainer Course, July 11th-12th-

This course is an introduction to the concepts, movements and level of intensity needed to be successful in training for sport. In the course, participants are provided with a foundation for training athletes. They are taught the fundamentals of sport-specific training, including sprinting, basic movements, warm-ups and cool downs, change-of-direction and agility drills, jumping and weightlifting. Participants are given information on programming, nutrition and diet, and film study. Film study demonstrates the practical application of the CrossFit movements to football and other power sports. Anyone who trains groups that are required to be strong, agile and powerful can benefit from this course, no matter the level of athletes. Click here to register.

CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course, August 29th-30th-

Two days are spent detailing each lift (snatch on Day 1, clean and jerk on Day 2). The focus is on participants experiencing the basic positions and learning the foundational teaching points for instructing others to achieve them. The snatch and clean and jerk bring speed, power, coordination, agility, accuracy and balance to training and are indispensable to CrossFit programming and developing a well-rounded athlete. Click here to register.

Open workout 15.5

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

Post times to comments, BTWB, and your Games registration page

*SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR POST OPEN CELEBRATION DETAILS*

Notes
This workout begins seated on the rower with the monitor set to zero calories. At the call of “3-2-1 … go,” the athlete will grab the handle and begin rowing. Once you have rowed 27 calories you will move to the barbell for 27 thrusters, then back to the rower for the round of 21, and so forth. Each time you return to the rower you or your judge must reset the monitor to zero before rowing.

Every second counts in this workout. Your score will be the time it takes to complete all 144 repetitions. There is no time cap for this workout.

This workout ends when the final rep of the thruster is locked out overhead. Time will be recorded in full seconds. Do not round up. If you finish in 9:25.7, your score is 9:25.

Equipment
• An indoor rower with a monitor that measures calories
• Barbell
• Collars
• Plates to load to the appropriate weight for your division

For each workout, be sure the athlete has adequate space to safely complete the event. Clear the area of all extra equipment, people or other obstructions.

*The official weight is in pounds. For your convenience, the minimum acceptable weights in kilograms are 43 / 29 kg for Rx’d, 29 / 20 kg for Scaled, Masters 55+ and Teens, and 20 / 15 kg for Scaled Masters 55+ and Scaled Teens.

Video Submission Standards
Prior to starting, film the plates and barbell to be used so the loads can be seen clearly. All video submissions should be uncut and unedited in order to accurately display the performance. A second person with a stopwatch should be in the frame throughout the entire workout. Shoot the video from an angle so all exercises can be clearly seen meeting the movement standards.

Workout 15.5 Variations

Rx’d
(Rx’d Men, Masters Men 40-44, Masters Men 45-49, Masters Men 50-54, Rx’d Women, Masters Women 40-44, Masters Women 45-49, Masters Women 50-54)

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

Scaled
(Scaled Men, Scaled Masters Men 40-44, Scaled Masters Men 45-49, Scaled Masters Men 50-54, Scaled Women, Scaled Masters Women 40-44, Scaled Masters Women 45-49, Scaled Masters Women 50-54)

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Men use 65 lb.
Women use 45 lb.

Masters 55+
(Masters Men 55-59, Masters Men 60+, Masters Women 55-59, Masters Women 60+)

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Men use 65 lb.
Women use 45 lb.

Scaled Masters 55+
(Scaled Masters Men 55-59, Scaled Masters Men 60+, Scaled Masters Women 55-59, Scaled Masters Women 60+)

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Men use 45 lb.
Women use 35 lb.

Teens
(Teen Boys 14-15, Teen Boys 16-17, Teen Girls 14-15, Teen Girls 16-17)

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Boys use 65 lb.
Girls use 45 lb.

Scaled Teens
(Scaled Teen Boys 14-15, Scaled Teen Boys 16-17, Scaled Teen Girls 14-15, Scaled Teen Girls 16-17 )

27-21-15-9 reps for time of:
Row (calories)
Thrusters

Boys use 45 lb.
Girls use 35 lb.

*A representative of Life of Riley Nut Butters will be at Verve all evening handing out samples.

“We craft our small-batch, specialty nut butters using only the highest quality ingredients to create unique blends inspired by our passion for superb eats and healthy living. We source local, organic, non-GMO ingredients wherever possible, and our products are always gluten, grain, soy, dairy, and artificial stuff-free, sweetened only with touches of pure maple sugar, raw honey, or dried fruit.” Click here to visit their website and learn more.

*We want to celebrate the end of the Open. We will be meeting at Jake’s Saturday afternoon @ 3:30pm, following the 15.5 re-do. We want to toast the completion of the 2015 CrossFit Games Open and all the PRs that came with it. Please join us for drinks and raffle prizes. Verve will be putting up $250 at the bar for first come, first serve drinks. We have the whole patio reserved. . . the dog friendly patio!!
 

5 Rounds for time:
5 Strict pull-ups
10 Single arm dumbell squat clean, alternating, 40#(25#)
10 Burpees

Post times to comments and BTWB

You can wish in one hand and s#@t in the other, see which one fills first
By Courtney “yeah, I just said that” Shepherd, with the assistance of Patrick McCarty and Breaking Muscle

If you have never heard that saying before then I apologize for startling you with such brash words so early in the morning (or late at night if you preview the blog before bedtime). I remember the first time I heard that statement, I laughed so hard because it really is such a bold and cruel way to say that wishing for something to happen will not make something happen. Plus whenever I hear that phrase, doesn’t matter who says it, in my head it’s coming from the mouth of a crusty, 80 year old man who’s seen it all, full of wisdom, wrinkles, and a giant dip in his mouth. This grey haired, leather for skin, old man who’s spent his life working hard, rising with the sun, getting home when it’s dark, is looking at you, and with the crudest of analogies, is telling you that the only way to get what you want in life is to work for it, not wish for it.

It’s such simple concept, work hard, reap the benefits. If it’s at school, we walk away with an A+ on a test. If it’s at work, we walk away with more money or a promotion. If it’s in a CrossFit gym, we walk away with a heavier back squat and a faster time. The reverse would be true, don’t study, fail in school. Don’t do your job, get fired from your job. Don’t work your weaknesses in the gym. . . . don’t worry about it, I’ll just avoid them and never know the consequences of my inaction. Wait. What? This happens. Every day this happens. We see a workout with wall balls in it, “Ugg, I am so bad at wall balls. I’ll just do something else today.” Whereas not doing your job results in a loss of a job, not working a weakness may never have a negative result in the CrossFit gym. . . at least not an immediate or obvious one. Beyond not improving at that one thing we constantly avoid, because CrossFit prides itself on transference between movements, avoiding wall balls could equal to not seeing improvement in our box jumps or thrusters or even kipping pull-ups (each of those movements requires explosive opening of the hips).

So what? So I’ve avoided the thing that will hurt a little more, make me feel a little more uncomfortable, something that shows others I’m not the best. So I avoided the thing that prevents me from putting an RX by my name on the board. By not show casing my weaknesses and crushing the things I am good at, I feel better about myself. That is until something comes along, some pivotal moment, some big event, that smacks us right in the face with the very thing we’ve been avoiding. Something like, oh I don’t know, the CrossFit Games Open. Even more specifically Open workout 15.3, you know, the one that opened with muscle-ups. That workout sent a fury of haters to the inter webs shouting about the unfairness of the CrossFit Games. Could this be the same group of people, who don’t have muscle-ups but all year long told themselves they have nothing to worry about come Open time, because any workout in the Open that has muscle-ups, doesn’t have them until the end of a workout?  Muscle-ups are a coveted movement in the CrossFit world, EVERY BODY is working on their muscle-ups. Are they? If by working on them we mean hopping up on the high rings, getting the biggest kipping swing, trying for a muscle-up, and failing, rinse and repeat for approx 10-15 more minutes, then yeah, I guess we are working on them. Just to be clear, that’s not working on them. 

No joke, true story here. There was a local competition several people I knew were competing in. There was a 4 person team division and one of the workouts had muscle-ups in it. 2 of the team members did not have muscle-ups. Several days before the competition 1 of the non muscle-uppers was in the gym working on muscle-up transitions on the low rings followed by muscle-up attempts on the high rings. I asked the other non muscle-upper if they were also going to put in some practice?  This was their response to me, “No. If I try now and don’t get one I’ll just be upset about it. I’m not even going to try until the workout and then I’m hoping the adrenaline from the whole thing will help me get one.” Ah, yes. Insert old man with giant dip saying “well you can hope in one hand and s#@t in the other. . . “. I’ll save you from the suspense, adrenaline did not get this person a muscle-up. My point is this, be it wishing it won’t show up or wishing I will be randomly successful if it does are both no ways to train. To highlight this point even more is an article written by Patrick McCarty for Breaking Muscle titled “The CrossFit Open: Stop Whining About Muscle-ups”. (click here for full article) Now 15.3 has come and gone, I’m not trying to fire up more debate as to whether or not starting an Open workout with muscle-ups is a good thing or a bad thing. In his article Patrick gives a real world example of the difference between wishing for a result and working for a result:

“When I competed in the CrossFit Games 50-54 masters division in 2014, I knew almost beyond a doubt that handstand walks would be tested. I didn’t want them to be, but they were the flavor of the year, coming up in at the regional level and knocking a lot of folks out of the running, so I was pretty sure they were going to show up. Even for the old guys. And despite my coach prescribing the requisite amount of training for handstand walks, I won’t lie – I traded the hard work for hope. Hope that there was a smidgen of light that would cause Dave Castro to bypass this particular movement for the masters. So I did my work, but I basically phoned it in. I would sort of hope that I got upside down, but I never did. It was easier just to roll back off the floor and say to myself “Whelp, that should do it for today.” Contrast that with Heather McCauley, another athlete at my box, Cincinnati Strength and Conditioning. Heather is a strong female who excels in heavy barbell movements – but one year ago, she did not have muscle ups. So, Heather began a serious effort to achieve them. Almost daily, I would see her working on some variation of the progression. Not just jumping up on the rings and flailing and hoping it happened, but working on progressions from the floor, working the turnover, working the chest to bar, working the grip. Day after day, week after week, she worked on her muscle ups. It was almost as if she was possessed. 

As for me, I got to the CrossFit Games in July, and sure enough, handstand walks came up. Each athlete had to go a minimum of five feet to get a single point. I made it four. Zero points for me. Some of my competitors walked over 200 feet on their hands. I basically did a legless bear-crawl for four feet. It was, to say the least, sad. I chose to sidestep the hard work, and I paid the price. Meanwhile back at the gym, Heather was still working on her muscle ups. Finally in late 2014, she nailed one. Success! However, as is somewhat common with muscle ups when first achieved, they come and go. Heather experienced that ebb and flow where after the initial joy of getting on top of the rings, the muscle ups went away again for a while. Undeterred, she kept at it. Day after day, week after week, just hammering those muscle ups.

She put in the work – relentless, driven work – in order to master this movement and was ready for a testing piece that started with muscle ups. Heather did 15.3 and scored 161 reps – one full round and four muscle ups.

The difference between my handstand walks at the CrossFit Games and her muscle ups in 15.3? Where I traded the work for hope, Heather simply did the work.”

Everyone has weaknesses. Everyone has a goat. Avoiding them will not make them less so. Fearing them will not make them less so, fear only adds a mental component to a physical limitation. We cannot be afraid to fail and we cannot be afraid for others to see us fail. Avoiding these two situations is what leads us to be angry when something like 15.3 is announced. We say we are angry because starting an Open workout with muscle-ups defeats the spirit of the Open, blah, blah, blah. But we know we are angry because we didn’t put the work in and now it’s too late. Attack weaknesses with as much spirit and confidence as you do your favorites. Leave nothing to regret or useless anger. 

“Crain”

2 Rounds for time of:
34 Push-ups
45m Sprint
34 Deadlifts, 135#(95#)
45m Sprint
34 Box jumps, 24″(20″)
45m Sprint
34 Clean and jerks, 95#(65#)
45m Sprint
34 Burpees
45m Sprint
34 Wall-ball shots, 20#(14#)
45m Sprint
34 Pull-ups
45m Sprint

Post times to comments and BTWB

Surely you can’t be serious.

I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.

We are totally serious about all the events happening at Verve. And trust us, there’s a lot. So get out your calendar and start marking it up:

Saturday March 21st- 
Teton Waters will be out front from 12pm-2pm with a truck full of grass fed beef. 

15.4 re-do from 1:30pm-2:30pm, sign up on MBO.

Sunday March 22nd:
Yoga @ 8am with Molly, sign up on MBO.

Final class of the Basic Self Defense Course, 12pm-1pm.

15.4 re-do part deux, 2pm-3:30pm, sign up on MBO.

Saturday April 4th:
Ladies only Parkour @ Urban Acrobatics at 8pm. Email Anna with your RSVP, AnnaM@crossfitverve.com.

Verve is hosting a Level 1 Seminar the weekend of April 11th-12th. Verve will have a 7am WOD and some offsite WODs for those looking to sleep in. Verve will be closed the rest of the day Saturday and Sunday. Interested in signing up for the course, go to Verve’s Events Page for more details. 

Saturday April 11th:
Collabeeration 5K and brew fest in Longmont, CO. For more details and to get signed up, click here.

CrossFit Football Trainer Course, July 11th-12th:

This course is an introduction to the concepts, movements and level of intensity needed to be successful in training for sport. In the course, participants are provided with a foundation for training athletes. They are taught the fundamentals of sport-specific training, including sprinting, basic movements, warm-ups and cool downs, change-of-direction and agility drills, jumping and weightlifting. Participants are given information on programming, nutrition and diet, and film study. Film study demonstrates the practical application of the CrossFit movements to football and other power sports. Anyone who trains groups that are required to be strong, agile and powerful can benefit from this course, no matter the level of athletes. Click here to register.

CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course, August 29th-30th:

Two days are spent detailing each lift (snatch on Day 1, clean and jerk on Day 2). The focus is on participants experiencing the basic positions and learning the foundational teaching points for instructing others to achieve them. The snatch and clean and jerk bring speed, power, coordination, agility, accuracy and balance to training and are indispensable to CrossFit programming and developing a well-rounded athlete. Click here to register.

Phew, all done. For now.

Open workout 15.4

Complete as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
3 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
6 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
9 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
12 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
15 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
18 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
21 handstand push-ups
9 cleans
Etc., adding 3 reps to the handstand push-up each round, and 3 reps to the clean every 3 rounds.

Men clean 185 lb.
Women clean 125 lb.

Post reps to comments, BTWB, and your Games registration page

Notes
Prior to starting this workout each athlete will need to stand against the wall and measure and mark their foot line for the handstand push-ups (details to the left). At the call of “3-2-1 … go,” the athlete will kick up into a handstand and perform handstand push-ups. Once 3 handstand push-up reps are complete they will move to the barbell for 3 cleans, then back to the wall for 6 handstand push-ups, then 3 cleans, etc. Each round, the number of repetitions of the handstand push-ups will increase by 3. After every 3 rounds, the number of clean reps will increase by 3. Athletes will continue following this pattern for as many reps as possible within the 8 minutes.

Your score will be the total number of repetitions completed before the 8-minute time cap.

Tiebreak
In this workout, we are using a special tiebreak method. Time should be marked after every third set of cleans (the last set before increasing the clean reps), i.e., after the third set of 3 cleans, after the third set of 6 cleans, after the third set of 9 cleans, etc. Whichever occurred last will be your tiebreak score.

For example, a male athlete finishes 5 handstand push-ups in the round of 24 reps for a total of 125 reps. During his workout he finished his third set of 3 cleans at 1:31 and his third set of 6 cleans at 5:25. In this case, he will submit 125 reps for his score and also enter 5:25 as his time in the tiebreak field. This athlete would be ranked above someone who got 125 reps and a tiebreak time of 6:00, but below someone with 125 reps and a tiebreak time of 5:15.

Note: All tiebreak times must be reported in elapsed time, not in time remaining. If you are using a countdown timer, you must convert to elapsed time before reporting your score. For this reason, it is recommended you set your clock to count up.

For Scaled options there is no tiebreak.

Equipment
• Wall with a line at the appropriate height for the handstand push-up
• Barbell
• Collars
• Plates to load to the appropriate weight for your division

For each workout, be sure the athlete has adequate space to safely complete the event. Clear the area of all extra equipment, people or other obstructions.

*The official weight is in pounds. For your convenience, the minimum acceptable weights in kilograms are 84 / 56 kg for Rx’d, 43 / 29 kg push press and 52 / 34 kg clean for Masters 55+ and Scaled, 52 / 34 kg clean for Teens 16-17, 43 / 29 kg clean for Teens 14-15, 29 / 20 kg push press and 34 / 24 kg clean for Teens Scaled and Masters 55+ Scaled.

Video Submission Standards
Prior to starting, film the plates and barbell to be used so the loads can be seen clearly. Also film the process of measuring the line for the handstand push-ups. All video submissions should be uncut and unedited in order to accurately display the performance. A second person with a stopwatch should be in the frame throughout the entire workout. Shoot the video from an angle so all exercises can be clearly seen meeting the movement standards.

Workout 15.4 Variations

Rx’d
(Rx’d Men, Masters Men 40-44, Masters Men 45-49, Masters Men 50-54, Rx’d Women, Masters Women 40-44, Masters Women 45-49, Masters Women 50-54)

Complete as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
3 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
6 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
9 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
12 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
15 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
18 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
21 handstand push-ups
9 cleans
Etc., adding 3 reps to the handstand push-up each round, and 3 reps to the clean every 3 rounds.

Men clean 185 lb.
Women clean 125 lb.

NOTE: Athletes in all Masters categories who choose to perform the scaled version of this workout will still be eligible to advance to the Masters Qualifier. They will be ranked below all athletes who performed the Rx’d version, but will not be ineligible for the next stage of competition.

Masters 55+
(Masters Men 55-59, Masters Men 60+, Masters Women 55-59, Masters Women 60+)

Complete as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
3 push presses
3 cleans
6 push presses
3 cleans
9 push presses
3 cleans
12 push presses
6 cleans
15 push presses
6 cleans
18 push presses
6 cleans
21 push presses
9 cleans
Etc., adding 3 reps to the push press each round, and 3 reps to the clean every 3 rounds.

Men push press 95 lb. and clean 115 lb.
Women push press 65 lb. and clean 75 lb.

Teens
(Teen Boys 14-15, Teen Boys 16-17, Teen Girls 14-15, Teen Girls 16-17)

Complete as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
3 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
6 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
9 handstand push-ups
3 cleans
12 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
15 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
18 handstand push-ups
6 cleans
21 handstand push-ups
9 cleans
Etc., adding 3 reps to the handstand push-up each round, and 3 reps to the clean every 3 rounds.

Boys 14-15 clean 95 lb.
Boys 16-17 clean 115 lb.
Girls 14-15 clean 65 lb.
Girls 16-17 clean 75 lb.

Scaled
(Scaled Men, Scaled Masters Men 40-44, Scaled Masters Men 45-49, Scaled Masters Men 50-54, Scaled Women, Scaled Masters Women 40-44, Scaled Masters Women 45-49, Scaled Masters Women 50-54)

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
10 push presses
10 cleans

Men push press 95 lb. and clean 115 lb.
Women push press 65 lb. and clean 75 lb.

Scaled Masters 55+
(Scaled Masters Men 55-59, Scaled Masters Men 60+, Scaled Masters Women 55-59, Scaled Masters Women 60+)

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
10 push presses
10 cleans

Men push press 65 lb. and clean 75 lb.
Women push press 45 lb. and clean 55 lb.

Scaled Teens
(Scaled Teen Boys 14-15, Scaled Teen Boys 16-17, Scaled Teen Girls 14-15, Scaled Teen Girls 16-17)

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
10 push presses
10 cleans

Boys push press 65 lb. and clean 75 lb.
Girls push press 45 lb. and clean 55 lb.

Back squat
5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-1

Post loads to comments and BTWB

Reasons you’re not getting deep enough (that’s what she said) By Courtney Shepherd and Breaking Muscle

Last week I talked about how much I love the squat, squats are my favorite. But not just any squat, the air squat. . . the full range of motion, hip crease below knee crease, below parallel air squat. My love for this functional movement even earned me a title of “mean”. I did realize however, after so many requests for athletes to get lower in their squats, that perhaps them no going below parallel wasn’t because they didn’t want to but it was because they simply couldn’t. Some athletes may have physical limitations that either inhibit their abilities to get below parallel or they can get below parallel with discomfort.

In an article titled “4 Reasons You’re Not Getting Deep Enough in Your Squats” in Breaking Muscle by Tyson Austin, the author addresses 4 possible reasons an athlete may have trouble reaching full depth in their squat. Establishing that one of these possibilities is in fact the answer, may provide us an opportunity to address it and help improve our squat.

Reason #1- The Spine

If you have any misalignments in your lumbosacral region, you will be putting pressure on your nervous system and interfering with its signaling to your lower extremities. If you don’t have proper nervous system signaling to your lower extremities, you can see how they will not be working optimally or properly. 

Reason #2- The Hips

In most jobs these days sitting is involved for long periods of time, which can be detrimental to musculature in the hip area. While you are sitting at your desk for hours on end, your hip flexors are chronically activated (shortened), while the hip extensors are chronically inhibited (lengthened). This does not bode well for you when you attempt to squat. The main thing you want to do is work on lengthening the hip flexors, namely the psoas, via daily stretches, myofascial release, foam rolling, lacrosse ball smashing, and flossing.

Reason #3- The Knees

Next up are the knees, specifically the under activation of the vastus medialis muscle and the over activation of the tensor fascia latae muscle and its tendinous attachment known as the iliotibial tract. These muscles are not necessarily going to affect your squat depth, however, they do play a huge role in knee joint alignment. They also play a huge role in many cases of knee pain, which can ultimately affect your ability to squat. If the vastus medialis muscle is under activated it allows the iliotibial tract to pull your patella laterally and can result in the aforementioned knee pain, known as patellofemoral pain or runner’s knee.

Reason #4- The Ankles

The thing we want to know is how good your dorsiflexion is. To assess this you can do a functional movement test where you kneel on one knee, have the other foot planted on the ground with toes about five inches from the wall. Then, lunge forward toward the wall. If you can do this with no problem and your front heel stays firmly rooted on the ground then your dorsiflexion of that ankle is mostly likely sufficient. Obviously you want to assess both ankles. If you are like many and either heel comes off the ground, then the ankles are definitely a culprit that is keeping you from achieving optimal squat depth. There are also several different ankle mobility drills that you can do at home that will speed up the process as well.

From mobility to exercises to seeking care from chiropractors/ physical therapists, there are several steps that can be taken to improve upon these areas. Working on ankle flexibility goes beyond improving the squat, same for increased hip mobility. We don’t have to squat to involved our ankles and hip, what about a push press or push jerk? Working to improve these 4 areas not only improves our performance in the CrossFit gym but, as we improve our functionality, we improve our over all quality of life outside of the gym. Click here for full article with ideas, tips, suggestions for getting yo-self fixed. 

*Get ready for Open WOD 15.4 to be announced at 6pm. 

*Stay tuned Saturday for a whole list of cool events and Verve happenings that are coming up.

10,9,8,7…..1
Power Cleans 135#(95#)
Lateral burpees over the bar

Post times to comments and BTWB

Aaaaahhhhh SNAP! Some stuff is happening all up in Verve. 

*Today from 1:30pm-2:30pm is the Open WOD 15.3 re-do. 

*Sunday morning YOGA!!! Sign up on MBO for the 8am active recovery session. 

*The Basic Self Defense class will be at 12pm on Sunday.

*Sunday, if you miss the chance today, is another Open WOD 15.3 re-do opportunity from 2pm-3:30pm.

*Teton Waters will be back at Verve with their truck full o’ meat Saturday March 21st, 12pm-2pm.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST. . . 

Verve has 2 huge seminars coming up this summer. It may seem weird to mention them now but I want you guys to be prepared.

CrossFit Football Trainer Course, July 11th-12th:

This course is an introduction to the concepts, movements and level of intensity needed to be successful in training for sport. In the course, participants are provided with a foundation for training athletes. They are taught the fundamentals of sport-specific training, including sprinting, basic movements, warm-ups and cool downs, change-of-direction and agility drills, jumping and weightlifting. Participants are given information on programming, nutrition and diet, and film study. Film study demonstrates the practical application of the CrossFit movements to football and other power sports. Anyone who trains groups that are required to be strong, agile and powerful can benefit from this course, no matter the level of athletes. Click here to register.

CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course, August 29th-30th:

Two days are spent detailing each lift (snatch on Day 1, clean and jerk on Day 2). The focus is on participants experiencing the basic positions and learning the foundational teaching points for instructing others to achieve them. The snatch and clean and jerk bring speed, power, coordination, agility, accuracy and balance to training and are indispensable to CrossFit programming and developing a well-rounded athlete. Click here to register.

Verve is also hosting another CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course, April 11th-12th. You can go to our events page to read more about it and get registered. If you have ever felt like you wanted to know the “why” behind Verve’s programming or our relentlessness in correcting movement, the Level 1 course is all that and more. Get an depth look into the CrossFit methodology and the science behind it. 

Get excited, these are amazing opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in a specialty field of interest.