Open Season Training 2017
The Open is upon us everyone, so here comes the next wave of training and what you will see happening in classes! Whether you plan on participating in the open or just wanting to sweat through the winter time, you will not want to miss the weeks to come! A whole lot of fitness is coming your way.
Right away you will all start to notice a change in how Monday’s will be structured. For now I’m going to keep the element of surprise, but lets just say it is going to a be a great way to kick start your week and to get after some challenging workouts! Unfortunately we will be saying bye-bye to the heavy back squats for now and embracing volume front squats as the main squat focus. If you do not have a front squat 1-rep max, it may be a good time to utilize open gym times whether during the week or weekend to test that out. We will be using 1-rep max percentages for the front squats to come. You still will see back squats from time to time but only to keep the mind and body fresh in that position. Deadlifts are officially back as strength work. Everyone showed incredible control and positioning when dealing with the accessory deadlifts the last few weeks so lets keep that mindset going. Remember any time we deal with volume work in the squat and deadlift, it is a great time to aim for perfect positioning from beginning to end. It is not how much you can lift, but how much you can lift well! Remember that as we go through the next few weeks of training.
As for olympic lifting and gymnastics, both realms will be upping the volume big time. Olympic lifting will lighten up and mainly be thrown into workouts and interval work. Just like the volume squats, strive to be a perfect mover even when the body is under stress. I guarantee if you slow things down and take the time to set up the snatch and clean, your lifts will be far more effective and efficient. Accessory work will still play a role in our training regiment as well. Except this time around it can be a little more personalized. You can push it. Steady pace it. Treat it as a cool down. Your choice. Most days you will have to go by how the body is feeling towards the end of the training session. Just make sure whatever you choose it is benefiting you one way or another.
Now this is where training may take a dark turn. Because even when I say gymnastics work, yes burpees fall into that category, and yes you will be seeing a little more coming your way. Of course we will keep the traditional gymnastic push/pull work alive, but just embrace the burpee this time of the year and become numb to it. It helps. Especially for the open. Also I know this is a rough part of the training regiment to embrace, but please embrace the warm-ups everyone. Some days might be a little longer than others but they do serve a gigantic purpose to prepare the body for the day. The days are remaining cold and rainy so heating things up and getting the tissue moving properly is still going to be a priority to stay healthy and train safely each day.
Intensity is everything in our line of training. We strive to push ourselves throughout the week and walk out of the gym better than when we entered. To keep intensity on the table do not be afraid to master the art of scaling. Communicate with us coaches on what we see fit as the best dose of training per day. There are going to be days that might seem excessive and out of reach. That is why coach to athlete communication is a vital component in a healthy training day. So please do not hesitate to ask questions and let us help you dissect how certain workouts should go. Especially if a day calls for 3 met-cons in a row (hint hint).
The open is right around the corner. We encourage all of you to join us in this exciting 5-week journey when the unknown is thrown at us and we get to test our fitness and cheer each other on! You do not want to miss out this year! Registration is now available, visit www.games.crossfit.com to register and don’t forget to include Upper Park CrossFit as your affiliate! We look forward to watching you all these next few weeks. Let’s get after the workouts to come and grow together. Cheers and happy training!
