How are we feeling, CFD? The strength cycle is beginning to ramp up and you all are crushing the extra core work, too! It’s really cool to see our community come together day in and day out — you truly are the best part of CrossFit. If your muscles are feeling sore, remember the pillars of recovery: Sleep, nutrition, hydration, active recovery and stress management. Listen to your body, it talks to you. 🙂
Every week of this cycle, the back squat will be on Monday or Tuesday and the bench press will be on Thursday or Friday. We will be beginning a 5-week “Murph Prep” workout cycle on April 21 to help prepare athletes for the annual workout “Murph,” which takes place on May 26. You all should be very well prepared! Our current strength cycle is building high-volume squats and pressing, and our current gymnastics cycle involves pulling, all of which will help prepare for Murph. Mayhem will take into account the extra volume of the strength cycle, as to not overtax our members. We will also offer several modified variations for Murph! All are welcome to join.
A few additional thoughts on our current strength cycle: The only way your body changes is through something called an adaptation. You have to do something your body hasn’t done before. Change the stress on your body (constantly varied fitness). How many of you have done a 20-rep back squat cycle or burn out sets on bench every week? Because your body hasn’t done it, your body will grow. We’re going to see results on this cycle — I can’t wait.
This strength cycle can be just as mentally taxing as it is physically taxing, so make sure you are mentally prepared before your attempt — stay focused on breathing and control. Create a strong rack position by keeping your hands just outside of shoulder width, and pressing up into the bar with your palms (rather than just letting the bar sit on your traps). Take a deep breath at the top of each rep, brace, and then breathe out when coming out of the squat. Any questions, please ask a coach anytime! We’re here for you.
P.S. Do not text Chris your scores every day lol. That was an April Fool’s joke. 😉
Let’s take a look at this week’s programming …
Starting on Monday, we will have our hands full with a thruster and core-dominant chipper. Then, it’s time for a good old-fashioned couplet of deadlifts and bar-facing burpees, which athletes may choose to partition however they wish. Wednesday focuses on cardio and staying aggressive while maintaining consistent rest. Thursday will be a full-body blast as we work through descending reps to keep our heart rate, legs and shoulders from blowing up. We have a fun challenge on Friday for athletes as they aim to tackle some short AMRAPs with intensity to finish the chest-to-bars before their bodies give out. On Saturday, we will have a partner workout where we’ll work 1:1 on sets to stay consistent and nearly non-stop through snatches and wall walks.
Have the best week!
Here are the workouts of the week:
Monday – Back squat (1×20) and thruster + core chipper
Tuesday – Power clean + push jerk, clean deadlift and DL/bar-facing burpees
Wednesday – Cardio WOD and front hold challenge
Thursday – Bench press and DUs/lunges
Friday – Strict pull-up work and front squats/BJO/C2B
Saturday – Partner workout! (row, snatches, wall walks)
Sunday – Open Gym
