Tag Archives: exercise

I Keep Waiting …

For fitness to get easier …

For the weights to feel lighter …

For food to get simpler …

We’ve been working on people’s fitness for DECADES!

You’ve probably been working on your own for just as long.

Why is it still so HARD?

It’s not your fault …

There are very few things in daily life that encourage you to get and stay in great shape.

Even if you CAN navigate the lies we’re sold about how to eat or work out.

You have to go OUT OF YOUR WAY to eat well, make time to train, and get a good night’s sleep.

You have to say no to SO MANY temptations in your daily life.

Fact is, it’s HARD.

We get it.

And if you are able to muster up the motivation and discipline to take ANY steps toward improving your health or fitness, we salute you.

You’re not always going to be perfect, you’re not always going to be happy about it, and you’re not always going to want to do it.

But we appreciate the effort you put in, week after week, to live a better life by improving your fitness.

And we promise to keep doing everything we can to support you.

See you at the gym.

Coach “Happy Monday” Jay

P.S. – A quick LOL for you. This is exactly how workouts feel some Mondays. 

 

Announcements:

Saturday, October 5: Guest Day at Hale

All levels welcome. 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Please arrive early to sign a waiver if this is your first class!

October 10 – November 11: CrossFit Games Open

With the new format of the CrossFit Games, this will be the first time the Open is held in fall (these results lead to the 2020 season).

We will do the Open WOD in Friday class each week—workouts will be announced on Thursday afternoons, and we may update the weekend’s programming to adjust!

Expect: a fun chance to THROW DOWN on a “Perform” WOD each Friday. One of these should be a repeat (re-TEST!) of one you’ve done in the past. We will not be tracking points with Early Birds versus Night Owls, but you will have a fun time competing with yourself and your swolemates. Get it!

Registration online is optional.

P.S. There are a few skills we are likely to see in the Open:

  • Overhead squats!
  • Advanced gymnastics: bar muscle-ups, muscle-ups, chest-to-bars
  • Toes-to-bars
  • Double-unders
  • STRICT gymnastics: HSPU, Pull-ups, etc.

You’ll see some of these more frequently in the programming, but if you’re looking to brush up, now would be a great time to schedule a few skills sessions. Email [email protected] to set these up!

Workouts for the Week

Monday—TRAIN/PERFORM

A. As warm up to B:

8-min EMOM:
3 power snatch

Work up to and beyond the workout weight—feel solid in the catch!!

8-min EMOM (or as needed):
Pull-up/bar muscle-up practice

Extended warm-up today—with the shorter WODs you should feel like you’ve had a LOT of practice before 3-2-1-GO!

B. PERFORM!

“Open 16.3”

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
10 power snatches (75/55)
3 bar muscle-ups

Take this as a chance to compare to your previous effort or practice some skills you haven’t had much time to try.

HIGH skill, low volume today. With light weights, this should feel SPICY! If you don’t have BMU, pick a scaling that you can move through unbroken or with quick singles. If you’re close, attempts are cool!

Tuesday—TRAIN

5 rounds, not for time:
10 body-weight deadlifts
400-m run

(30-minute cap)

Just. Do. Work! This should be plenty sweaty. Take your time to set up and get good, quality reps! Play with rep schemes and sets and breathing. This is PRACTICE.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. Warm Up:

15 mins to accomplish:

3 rounds:
10/side slow plank knees-to-elbows
8/side Bulgarian Split Squat
(back leg on bench)

3 rounds:
10/side: side plank w/1 breath pause
12 Spanish squats
(3-2-1 down, controlled UP)
30-s rest

B. 5 rounds:
300-m row (80% pace)
Between rounds:
Max box/bar/ring dips in 1 minute

Sub push-ups as needed. Note total reps!

C. Mobility

2 mins tricep smash
10/side slow scorpion (3-breath pause)

Thursday—TRAIN

5 rounds for total time:
21 wall balls
30-s rest
15-cal row
30-s rest
9 toes-to-bars
30-s rest

Goal is to hit each set as hard as possible—keep T2B unbroken or FAST if able, move at an aggressive pace on the row! Your transition time COUNTS in your rest. BE ON IT in 30 s.

Friday—TRAIN

A. (Front rack) split squat for load:
5-5-5-5-5

5 per side per set. YIIIIKES midline and balance. Aim to drop straight down, NOT shift forward and back between feet.

B. 15-min EMOM:
Clean and jerk
PRACTICE

NAIL THAT SPLIT JERK!

Work up to 75-85% of max, and keep it cute.

Saturday—TRAIN—Guest Day!

One partner works at a time:
100-m run
1 DB man-maker
100-m run
2 DB man-makers
100-m run
3 DB man-makers

etc.

Push-up + row
Push-up + row
Burpee to squat clean thruster

Split work as needed, finishing 1 full man-maker before switching. One partner runs each round, or split to 50 m/each as relay.

Mandatory high fives!

Score is the round you finished (i.e. finished the 7 man-makers) plus additional reps (AND you ran 100 m)

Sunday—TRAIN

12-9-6-3 reps for time of:

Clean and jerks (135/95)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups

Rx +
♀ 125 lb. ♂ 185 lb.
Bar muscle-ups

Squatting on a Bum Knee

The workout calls for squats, but you’ve got a nagging pain in your knee. Guess you should skip the gym today, right?

Not necessarily!

Coach Heidi is here with some techniques for alleviating knee pain in the gym:

  1. Fix improper technique.
  2. Reduce range of motion.
  3. Modify the movement.

Don’t let a bum knee put you on the bench—come to class and ask a coach for help instead!

Using Your Fitness

Flight to Toronto departs at 11:10.

It’s 11:03 … Coach Mike and I are standing in line at security.

He turns to me and says, “If they close the door, they are legally not allowed to open it again.”

Ugh …

11:04 – A sweet old woman taking her shoes off in slow motion in front of us.

11:05 – Filling up the tray.

11:06 – Putting our shoes, jackets and belts back on with the speed of a pit crew.

11:07 – Check the board, our plane is at the very last gate … 3 … 2 … 1 … GO!!!

11:10 – After a sprint through people, luggage, strollers, and those airport golf carts, we make it to the plane seconds before they close the door.

Any slower and we wouldn’t have made it.

“Good thing we work out.” <—— Coach Mike

….

It seems silly, but it’s absolutely true!

You have to use your fitness outside of the gym to appreciate it sometimes.

Last weekend, we had Halers doing a competition:

A workout at the track:

And swimming from Alcatraz to SF:

…..

You train hard at the gym so you can do things OUTSIDE of the gym.

What was the last thing you did that made you think, “I’m glad I work out!”?

Comment and let me know.

Coach “airport sprinter” Jay

P.S. – Shoutout to Kenny for his first “outside comp” in Antioch and our “Escape from Alcatraz” crew for surviving the sharks.

 

Announcements:

Saturday, October 5: Guest Day at Hale

All levels welcome. 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Please arrive early to sign a waiver if this is your first class!

October 10 – November 11: CrossFit Games Open

With the new format of the CrossFit Games, this will be the first time the Open is held in fall (these results lead to the 2020 season).

We will do the Open WOD in Friday class each week. The workouts will be announced on Thursday afternoons, and we may update the weekend’s programming to adjust!

Expect: a fun chance to THROW DOWN on a “Perform” WOD each Friday. One of these should be a repeat (re-TEST!) of one you’ve done in the past. We will not be tracking points with Early Birds versus Night Owls, but you will have a fun time competing with yourself and your swolemates. Get it!

Registration online is optional.

P.s.—There are a few skills we are likely to see in the Open:

  • Overhead squats!
  • Advanced gymnastics: bar muscle-ups, muscle-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups, toes-to-bars.
  • Double-unders.
  • STRICT gymnastics: handstand push-ups, pull-ups, etc.

You’ll see some of these more frequently in the programming, but if you’re looking to brush up, now would be a great time to schedule a few skills sessions. Email [email protected] to set these up!

Workouts for the Week

Monday—TRAIN

A. Every minute on the minute for 10 rounds:
3 push jerks
(from the rack)

Note weight on last 3 sets.

This is NOT a max out. Add weight as you go. Aim is HEAVY but SOLID. Consider this a warm-up and prep for part B.

B. 3 rounds for time:
500-m row
15 push jerks 135/95

Classic couplet of a pull and push–legs will likely feel a little fatigued here. Do your best to stick the landing.

Push jerks should be done in no more than 2-3 sets—choose a weight you can move effectively and try to keep your composure! 15 is kind of a lot.
8 … OK, fine …
10 … this is starting to hurt …
15 … keep your head with it!

(Note: these will now be from the ground.)

Tuesday—TRAIN

A. Back squat: warm up to last week’s 5-rep weight.

Then,

Every 2 min for 10 rounds (20 mins!)
3 back squats at 75-80% of 1RM

This is a bit more volume than last week—aim to match or SLIGHTLY exceed the weight you used for the fives. An extra 5-10 lb. should do it!

B. Every minute on the minute for 10 minutes:
8 burpees
20 double-unders

You’ve gotta MOVE to hit this under a minute. You’ve gotta HOLD ON to make it through 10. If you miss a minute, take one off, then start again!

Score is # of minutes you make it through!

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. Warm-up:

3 rounds for time of:

Run 800 meters
Rest 2 minutes

Each effort should get faster. Start at conversational pace, take it up a notch, and then push the pace.

20-min. cap (leave for your last round by 15 min.)

B. 15 min. for quality:
1 strict muscle-up OR 3-5 strict pull-ups

–30-s rest–

5 strict DB press
OR 3 x STRICT HSPU
Or 3 negatives

30-s rest

C. Mobility

Shoulder rotator smash
Deltoid smash

Thursday—PERFORM

“Open Workout 11.2”

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 15 minutes of:

9 deadlifts (155/105)
12 push-ups
15 box jumps (24/20)

MissFit:
Deadlifts: (135/95)
Step-ups

Keep a steady cadence to start—build through the last 5 minutes if you have steam! The Open LOOOOOVES these painful 12-15-minute workouts. We’ve done this one a few times in the 12 days of CF, most recently on 12/3/18.

5/18/17 
6/30/15
2/26/15
3/25/14

You get it now … It’s my fav 🙂

Friday_TRAIN

“Tabata Partay”

Tabata dumbbell hang squat clean (40/25)

Rest 2 minutes

Tabata toes-to-bars

Rest 2 minutes

Tabata dumbbell thrusters

The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight intervals. Tabata score is the LEAST number of reps performed in any of the eight intervals.

Rx+: 50/35

Saturday—TRAIN

5 rounds for time:
25 box jump-overs 24/20
25 kettlebell swings (53/35)
400-m run

This one is a long one! Track your splits and try to keep pace on both the box jump-overs and the run!

This should be doable in 20-25 minutes, no problem. If you need to scale back the run to something you can do without slowing down … do it! Goal is to have a little room to push in the last 2 rounds.

Sunday—TRAIN

“Dae Han”

Three rounds of:
Run 800 m with a 45/35-lb. plate
3 rope climbs
12 thrusters (135/95)

That burden run, tho! Gonna be a good one. Take your time with the other movements to minimize the number of times you pick up the bar 🙂

This is a hero WOD … we’re modifying JUST A BIT, because running with a barbell with telephone poles is … sketchy.

Is CrossFit Dangerous?

You’ve heard the stereotype—”CrossFit is dangerous.” But is it true?

Well, like everything in life, it depends on how you do it. And at Hale, our team of professional trainers will teach you to move safely and efficiently so you can get a great workout while minimizing risk of injury.

Remember—the fitter you are, the safer you’ll be in any situation.

Being sedentary is the real danger.

How to Get Out of a Rut

Those last few weeks of summer can be brutal.

You’re squeezing in the last vacations, family visits, BBQs …

Then, BAM—school starts.

All the sudden there’s traffic everywhere, you’ve got a new commute to deal with, and life has spun up again.

But … it still feels like summer! The sun is shining bright, the days are still long, and there are still festivals and BBQs to attend.

The last thing you’re worried about is your fitness.

A few days turns into a week, then a few weeks …

But you don’t want to lean out too far over that edge.

After a solid five months of progress, vacations and illness put me right into that rut.

Here’s how I get out of it.

1) Figure out what has worked in the past.

Have you had success in the past? What were you doing? How did you start? What was the one habit that made the biggest difference?

For me, it is:

2) Show up and do the minimum requirement.

When it comes to fitness, only three things matter: training, nutrition, and recovery. We’ve found that training comes first because when you train, the other stuff eventually falls into line.

So, we start by suggesting you train every day, doing the minimum required to say that you showed up.

The minimum for me is showing up to class. I don’t tend to care about how much weight I lifted or how fast I go during this stage. In fact, I will try to do LESS than I’m capable of to make sure I can recover for tomorrow’s workout.

Often you find that you haven’t “lost” everything, and you aren’t “starting over,” you just haven’t trained for a little while and feel a little rusty.

Do this often enough and you …

3) Build a streak.

The first workout back after a long layoff is terrible. The second one is bad, and the third one is mildly uncomfortable.

By the time you get to the 4th or 5th one, you’re kinda back! You aren’t feeling amazing yet, but your body adapts and the rust is knocked off.

That’s why it doesn’t matter how you perform in that first week back. The only goal is to get to the point where you feel like you are back on track with a habit.

Each workout you do in those first few days:

– Builds confidence that “yes, you can still do this.”

– Reminds you that you aren’t in as bad a shape as you thought.

– Encourages you to show up for the next one.

Once you get 5-10 days under your belt, it’s time to:

4) Get motivated.

The success you experience by building your confidence leads you to ask for and want MORE. This is where the motivation kicks in and you should start setting goals.

This is also the time to start looking at your nutrition. Are you eating enough? Is it in the right ratios? Does it support your goals?

Once you have a goal and next actions, do exactly what you did to get here, and focus on (1) figuring out what has worked in the past, (2) doing the minimum, and (3) building a streak.

—

These steps will get you out of a rut in less than two weeks and get you back on track and motivated to go crush your fitness goals.

Coach “rut buster” Jay

 

Announcements:

Outdoor WOD Saturday, September 21

Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE! Meet at Albany Middle School/Cougar Field Track. Classes at 8 and 9 a.m.

Other Cool Events, September 21

Kenny is competing out at the Battle on Sunset.

Golden State CrossFit • 401 Sunset Dr., STE K, Antioch, CA 94509
Sat, Sep 21, 2019 8 a.m.
 
A handful of us are also swimming Alcatraz that morning with Odyssey Open Water. They are calling for more kayak/paddle board support. If interested, email [email protected].

Workouts for the Week:

Monday—TRAIN

A. Deadlift for load:
5-5-5 at 65%
3-3-3 at 75%
1-1-1 at 85%

Take a set every 2 minutes. Work the set up. Make it solid.

Training Day. Lift heavy! Just getting a few solid reps at heavier weight. Practice some touch-and-go sets, and work up to a few heavy singles 🙂

B. 500-m row for time

C. 250-m row for time

Not expecting a new PR, but try to stay within a few seconds. Rest 5 min, then hit the 250-m row … at a FASTER split pace

Tuesday—TRAIN

5 rounds:
2 min on, 2 min off:
15 wall balls
100-m run
Max burpee to plate in remaining time

Transition times matter on this one. RUN out, RUN in, and get straight to the burpees. Score is total number of wall balls + burpees each round.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. 12 min for quality:
10 cal row
10 PVC muscle snatch
Crab walk
10 banded pull-aparts

Get shoulders warm and ready to get PUMPED.

B. 15 min to hit 5 rounds:
10 bench press
6 rope pull-ups
Scale to toenail version w/negative
(3-2-1 down; alternate top hand 3/3)

Add weight to bench press as you go. Weight should be moderate today, and nothing you feel like you’ll be close to failing at 10 reps. Note final weight.

C. 1-2 Rounds
Bicep curl 21s (empty BB or slightly heavier)
7-half way to full up
7-bottom to half way
7-full curls

Hands out to ring–work on full elbow extension at the bottom. To be done unbroken.

Pec smash: 3 mins/side

Thursday—TRAIN

A. Gymnastics skills day!

10-min EMOM:
C2B/Pull-up practice, 3-7 reps

If you’re not to kipping pull-ups, choose an option that will get you closer to your strict pull-up:
Banded pull downs (with PVC)
2 negatives (only as you can maintain quality!)

B. 15-min AMRAP:
20 double-unders
10 DB weighted step-ups (1 x 50/35)
5 C2B

Rx+: 3 BMU

MissFit: Double-under attempts/jumping CHEST-to-bar.

Train—Gymnastics skills. Goal is to keep C2B unbroken as long as possible under grip and shoulder fatigue! This is good practice for holding together gymnastics to be smooth + steady in the Open.

Friday—PERFORM

A. As a warm-up:

Every minute for 10 rounds:
1 snatch (power or squat)
+
3 overhead squats

Work up to and beyond your weight for the workout today—you should feel smooth and stable!

B. “Nancy”

5 rounds for time of:
400-m run
15 overhead squats (95/65)

PERFORM: CrossFit main site generally gives some clues to the Open–they’ve done a version of this workout TWICE in the last week. We’ve also had repeat workouts with OHS and C2B. It’s been a while since we’ve hit some OHS—let’s get sweaty and get after it!

Saturday—TRAIN

In teams of 3:
20-min AMRAP:
50 push-ups
75 sit-ups
100 lunges
50-m buddy carry

8-a.m. and 9-a.m. at Albany Middle School/Cougar Field. Guests, friends, family welcome and encouraged to attend!

Sunday–RECOVER/TRAIN

For time:
40 synchro toes-to-bar
40 synchro single arm dumbbell hang clean and jerk (35 lb.)
40 synchro box jump-overs (20-in)
40 synchro single arm dumbbell hang clean and jerk (35 lb.)
40 synchro toes-to-bar

Grab a buddy and see if you can stay in sync!

Pickin’ Up Rocks

Today’s workout calls for Atlas stones. Who’s Atlas? And why can’t he pick up his own stones?

According to Greek mythology, after the Titan Atlas went into battle against the Olympian gods for control of the heavens, Atlas was sentenced by Zeus to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders.

Thankfully, you won’t need to do that in today’s workout. You will, however, need to get a big, round object over your shoulder as many times as possible (among other things).

Here are some tips for how to do it efficiently.

September 9 – 15

No Excuses Challenge 2019:

The No Excuses Challenge starts MONDAY, September 9. All classes will complete the baseline workout. Please show up a few minutes before class to take an InBody Scan.

Schedule Update:

Wednesday 6:30 p.m. will return to usual programming effective September 11. We will likely run specialty courses in the near future—stay tuned! Many thanks to all of you that showed up for the Summer of Skills classes! We had a blast. Please drop a note to [email protected] if you have any suggestions or feedback for next round.

Volunteer Opportunity with Berkeley Food Network:

The Berkeley Food Network is moving into a new space soon, and Sarah could use some hands and warm bodies to help with the transition! There are still slots available for September 14.

Here’s the link to sign up.

Outdoor WOD Saturday, September 21

Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE!

Workouts for the Week:

Monday—PERFORM

“NXC Baseline 2019”

3 rounds for time
400-m run
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups

20-min. hard cap

All body weight this year—move fast and keep pushing on each movement! You are TESTING today. We will re-do this in 6 weeks.

Tuesday—TRAIN

Open Workout 13.4

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes:
3 clean and jerks (135/95)
3 toes-to-bars
6 clean and jerks
6 toes-to-bars
9 clean and jerks
9 toes-to-bars
12 clean and jerks
12 toes-to-bars
15 clean and jerks
15 toes-to-bars
18 clean and jerks
18 toes-to-bars

This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

MissFit (95/65); knees-to-chest

Everything will be allllll good in the shorter rounds … and THEN! UH-OH! But—it’s only 7 minutes. Try to keep your composure for a solid, big set of toes-to-bars EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO! Go to failure here and see what happens—how quickly can you get back on the bar for 1-2 more reps?

You can look forward to 1 or so Open workouts each week as we prep for the FALL Open, which starts in October.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. 12-min AMRAP:
50′ bear crawl
3 candlestick roll to squat
20 mountain climbers

B. 5 rounds
2 min on, 2 min off:

200-m Run
AMRAP:
Rounds of Marguerita

1 burpee
1 push-up
1 jumping jack
1 sit-up
1 handstand

C. 2 min each:
Forearm smash w/barbell
Bicep smash w/barbell

Thursday—TRAIN

A. Back Squats
7-7-7
Working up toward 70-75% of 1RM from last week.

Back Squats
5-5-5-5-5 (on the 2:30)
at 75%

Heavy heavy funnnn! Take your sevens to practice getting tight between reps—these are warm-ups, but not easy sets.

B. “Dollar Fifty Dog Combo”

For time:
1-mile run

If you get to Costco, you’ve gone too far.

Farm Fun Friday—TRAIN

5-min AMRAP
50-m sled push
10 burpees

2-min rest

5-min AMRAP
10 atlas stones
100-m run

2-min rest

5-min AMRAP
10-cal bike/row
15 DB push press (35/25)

2-min rest

5-min AMRAP
20 double-unders
50-m farmers carry 53/35

Do work!

Saturday—TRAIN

For time:
21-18-15-9-6
Wall balls (20/14)
Broad jump
Ring push-up

Keep chipping away! Sets get smaller. Try to go unbroken on the wall balls and 2 sets or less on the push ups. Rx+ Ring dips 🙂

Negative Self-Talk vs. Positive

What do you say to yourself in the morning when you look at the day’s workout?

Or as you start warming up? During the workout?

Negative self-talk will set you up for failure and disappointment—just imagine what postive self-talk could do.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 
Your thoughts become your words, 
Your words become your actions, 
Your actions become your habits, 
Your habits become your values, 
Your values become your destiny.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

No Excuses Challenge

The summer’s over, the kids are back in school and there’s no better time to focus on improving YOURSELF!

From September 9 through October 21, we’ll be running the No Excuses Challenge, a six-week period in which we’ll eat better, move more and recover well.

In this challenge, you will learn how to:

  • Compose healthy meals.
  • Nail down sustainable habits.
  • Develop a mobility/recovery practice

We’ll measure progress with a before-and-after baseline workout as well as an InBody scan. The goal isn’t perfection but rather to learn which habits are most effective—or destructive—in helping you feel, look and perform your best.

Sign up at the front desk today!

Whether you’ve already registered or you’re still on the fence, we invite you to attend our kick-off meeting TODAY, Wednesday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m. to get more details and ask questions.

September 2 – 8

Announcements

No Excuses Challenge 2019:

YES, we will be running a No Excuses Challenge this year.

The challenge will officially begin Monday, September 9 and run through Monday, October 21 (6 weeks!).

We’ll have a full informational kick-off meeting on Wednesday, September 4.

For the 6 weeks, you’ll be accountable for the following:

  • A MINIMUM of 15 minutes of exercise 5 days per week.
  • 7 hours of sleep per night, EVERY NIGHT.
  • 10 minutes of mobility/recovery EVERY DAY.
  • Eating according to plan (more to come).
  • Logging your success on the above EVERY DAY.

The challenge is for those of you who are starting from scratch and want accountability to make basic, healthy habits STICK. You’ll learn the following:

  • How to compose healthy meals (what types of food make you feel best?!).
  • How to nail down sustainable HABITS.
  • How to develop a mobility/recovery practice.

If you’ve done this before, you can expect to:

  • Re-visit those habits that always trip you up when “life” gets in the way.
  • Connect with your buddy and the crew and learn new skills and tweaks to make the habits easier.
  • Bring BACK the awareness of which of these habits make you feel your very best.

Cost is $89.

Sign up at the front desk.

No Excuses Challenge Info Meeting:

Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30 p.m. Bring yourself, bring your questions! Get answers!

Schedule Update:

Wednesday 6:30 p.m. will return to usual programming effective September 11. We will likely run specialty courses in the near future—stay tuned! Many thanks to all of you that showed up for the Summer of Skills classes! We had a blast. Please drop a note to [email protected] if you have any suggestions or feedback for next round.

Holiday Schedule Monday, September 2

8-a.m. and 9-a.m. classes only!

Volunteer Opportunity with Berkeley Food Network:

The Berkeley Food Network is moving into a new space soon, and Sarah could use some hands and warm bodies to help with the transition! There are slots available for September 7 and 14. Coach Heidi will be there on the 7th after morning classes. Functional fitness for a good cause!

Here’s the link to sign up.

Guest Day Saturday, September 7

Guests, family, friends, and teens welcome. The workout will be beginner friendly. FREE!

Workouts for the Week:

Monday—PERFORM

Team Series 17.1

9-15-21 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Bar-facing burpees

Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

All reps are IN SYNC with partner–meet at top of every thruster and bottom of every burpee. This should be a fun challenge and a good push!

MissFit: 75/55

Tuesday—TRAIN

A. Tempo step-ups

5-5-5-5-5 per side

LATERAL step-ups. Choose a box that’s high enough to get your hip below parallel, but not so high you have to use a big heave to get up there.

“Tempo” will be:
Fast on way up
3-2-1 count on the way down
BONUS if you can pause for a breath at the bottom with foot off the ground.

These are a great way to build stability, strength, and positions for pistols. If these are too easy, descend with your “floating” leg forward of the box.

B. “Kriss Kross”

8 rounds, starting svery 3:00:
200-m run
8 burpees to 6″ target

EACH round is for time. Goal is to move FAST and not fall off the pace. 85-90% on the 200-m run, quick transition, and straight to burpees.

Wednesday—RECOVER

A. Warm-up:

Every minute on the minute for 12 mins (alternating)
Min 1: AMRAP: 3 squat thrusts + 3 KB swing
Min 2: 50-m farmers carry (1 arm, switch at half)

Focus on a nice, flat landing position with your feet. This will transfer over to awesome burpees down the line. Choose your standard KB weight–something you can swing without much concern 🙂

B. Get sweaty:

15 minutes for quality:
50-m sled push (90/50)
30-s L-Sit/tuck hang
10 inch worm + perfect push-ups

The sled will get your heart rate up. L-Sits are a “fun” skill to practice. Take your time on inchworm + push-up to make for perfect push-ups and a great stretch. 5 rounds would be a good goal today.

C. Mobility:

2 mins/side couch stretch
2 mins/side bone saw
2 mins/side LAX ball lats

Thursday—TRAIN

A. Deadlift for load:
3-3-3-1-1-1

Work up to a heavy single for the day. MAY be a new max, maybe not.

B. “Just Enough”

12-min AMRAP:
5 strict pull-ups
15 air squats
25 double-unders

Goal is to get some work on your pull-ups with JUUUUUST enough squats and dubs to get you sweaty!

Friday—TRAIN

A. Look (e)MOM, no HANDS(tands)!

Every minute on the minute for 12 minutes (alternating)
Min 1: 15-s hollow hold + 15-s arch
Min 2: 200-m run
Min 3: Handstand practice

Working on shapes! Open your shoulders, stack your ribs and hips and try to get a moment of balance in your handstands.

B. “Handlebars”

5 rounds for time:
Accumulate 1 minute in handstand
21 toes-to-bar
Rest 1:00

HS hold is cumulative, but call it when quality starts to suffer or you can’t compose yourself enough to feel like this is productive practice. Toes-to-bars will tax arms and midline even more, so finding a STACKED position is super important to minimize the amount of energy you put out.

This is NOT the time to “banana” yourself up to the wall and wait it out. Learn something! Start with one solid set of toes-to-bar (if you’ve never tried to do 21 unbroken, give it a go!). Ideally, commit to a big set that you’re not sure you’ll hit. If you have a few T2B but not 21, scale back to 12 or knees to chest + T2B linked.

Scaling options:
Freestanding
HS walk attempts
Wall facing (wall walk)
Pull a foot or two off of wall

Saturday—TRAIN (Guest Day!)

In pairs:
As many rounds and reps as possible in 20 minutes:
20 lunge complex (rev lunge right, rev lunge left, ball slam) (25/15)
20 partner push-ups
200-m run with ball

Lunge complex should be a fun challenge today—carry the slam ball the entire time, and end each “rep” with a smash and catch. Split reps as needed.

Partner push-ups: Both push up and high-five at the top. Run together, but pass off ball as needed.

This one should be a consistently sweaty 20 minutes. Good fun!

Sunday—TRAIN

5 Rounds for time:

15/10 cal bike
10 burpees

Hit this one fast and hard. Get the RPMs on the bike up as high as possible and maintain a good clip on the burpees. GO!