Day 337: CF Armoury: Pull Up Progression; WOD: 5 RFT - Run, Thrusters

Tuesday; April 5, 2016 [post 7 am class]  @ Crossfit Armoury

:0-10
Warm-Up:

20 Beat Swings
10 Shoulder Engagements
5 Strict Pull Ups / 2 Pull Up negatives as long as possible


:10-25
Strength:

With a Supine Grip (palm ups):
Every 1 minute and 30 seconds for 10 Rounds
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 of any of the following:
Progression 1:  Pull up Negatives
Progression 2:  Strict Pull Ups
Progression 3:  Weighted Pull Ups


:30-35
WOD Warm-Up:  

Dynamic Warmup
Front Rack rotation
Rest Barbell on knees in squat for 2 minutes
15 Empty Bar Thrusters
Load weight for WOD


:35-55
WOD:  

 5 Rounds for TIME 

Run 400 meter
15 Thrusters (M: 95 lb / W: 65 lb)

TIME CAP:  20 minutes


Today's Coach:  Jason

My Thoughts:
There are some advantages in not working out.  I feel pretty rested and attempting my negatives with the Pull-Ups was not as taxing, (initially, that's how I felt).  However, like all movements of this type, my shoulder started to get more fatigued.  The disadvantage of NOT working for a while, is that my strength and CARDIO drops, resets back to the beginning of time.   I'm referring to the running portion.  I knew I have to work on this, but to get back into it; always feels so taxing initially.   Like all my weakness, I have to put in the effort to conquer/better myself.

Warm-Up;
Started with hanging from the bar and aiming for 20 beat swings.   This was much harder than I remember.    Next, we were to do a dead hang and engage our shoulders.   I was able to do 2  strict pull-ups, but couldn't muster the other 3.

STRENGTH;
Using a Supine Grip (palms up; I call it the Chin Up grip), we were to work on our Pull Up progression.   There were three progression that we could use for this workout.   I opted to use Progression 1 as shown in my Warm-Up; that my strict pull-up was lacking after 2 reps.  And with the rep scheme set, I wouldn't be able to do them.
Even doing the negatives, Coach Jason came around and suggest that I use a band to help with the negatives.  He had at one point asked me to do a strict pull-up to see where my "sticky" point was.  At that point, he suggested that I used the band to help overcome the issue.
I'll be using the band more in the future, as I really want to continue with my progress.   I want to be able to strengthen my shoulders and the muscles that are needed for a strict pull-up.

WOD Warm-up;
Dynamic Warm-up  consisted of alternating leg (high knee stretches, knee kicks, skips, reverse skips).  The reverse skip was interesting as I'm sure I almost plowed Ray over when going  in reverse.
Next, picking up an empty barbell; we were to rotate our shoulder while the bar lay across the front  in a front rack stance.  Alternating the shoulder movement (left elbows raises, while the right elbow pulls back and then repeating the same on the other side). 
Afterwards, we were to rest the empty barbell on our knee while squatting for two minutes.  I ask Coach Jason if our knee had to be behind our toes (which in the past is an issue for me).  He said no, for this particular movements.  He wanted us to get some ankle mobility with this movement.
Next, was performing 15 empty barbell thrusters.   Once done, load the weight need for the WOD.

WOD;

This WOD is for time, but with a 20 minute time cap.  I opted to scale and use 65 lb for my thruster.   I'm not a good runner and the thruster will be my saving grace.  That and the fact that I know that I'll be tired in the legs and any more weight would just slaughter me.   

We had a modified route this morning, instead of running around the outer mall complex as we normally do (that's 400 meters) as there was a semi blocking the path.  Coach Jason plotted our route.   It's wasn't any easier, as 400 meter is 400 meter regardless of route.

My first 400 meter was a wake up call on how bad my cardio was.   I just kept repeating in my head, this will get easier over time.  I've done this before, and I'll get better!!
In my haste, I had forgotten to turn on my GPS on my Fitbit Surge.   But it did log my heart rate during the 5 rounds.

On my last round, the clock was already at 17 minutes and 32 seconds when I started my run.  Coach Jason wanted me to finish the run at least.  When I came back, I asked him if I could just finish my 15 reps of thrusters.  Why, you as?  Well; I'm sure this workout will come up again and I can use this a benchmark on much I'll improve since the goal is to work on my NEW "Cardio" engine!  With that said, I went over the 20 minute time cap and finish in 23 minutes and 3 seconds.

Misc:

Data from my Fitbit Surge
Obviously my heart rate is at near max at this point.

Extra credit; also known as extra programming for the likes.   In case you find that the WOD was not enough, or you are looking on increasing your skills, strength for an upcoming competition.  This little nugget is the thing for you!   Coaches are on-site and can be asked for assistance if there is a movement you don't understand.  They will also provide some guidance if you are doing it wrong.
Usually, the extra credit is performed after the class.   And more than likely, there will be others from the class who will want to do it.   This is definitely another way to get to know the other members at your box.

EMOM for 10 Minutes:
 1 Hang Power Clean
 1 Push Jerk

Remember to stay consistent in your training and tackle one WOD at a time!!