No Powerlifting this Saturday the 18th, Sunday the 19th, or Tuesday the 21st. Think about what you would like for J. I was thinking the split jerk, but I'm open to suggestions. 

Definitely do the Fri WOD too if you have time to double up classes!

Need some motivation to get you through Mardi Gras and to the gym?

Also, some deadlift style pointers. 

Friday WOD
WU: 
Sled
Banded pullaparts
Banded tricep pulldowns

Mob: 
Foam roller, external rotation w/band, partner shoulder stretch

WOD:
Shoulder Press 10 w/empty bar. 6-6-3-3-3-3-3 (3RM). 
Then, take 50% of your 3RM, add teensy bands, and hit 3 sets of max reps. 

Supp: 
100 ring rows. Feet on box so body is parallel to the floor and with a weight vest if you want to be elite. Otherwise feet on box, or just regular ring rows. 

If time, 5x15 rolling tricep extensions. I have to leave closely after 6:30pm though. 

10am Class. No Sat or Sun class next weekend. Do Grace on Sat and the Hatch seminar on Sun instead! Next Fundamentals is 9am Nov 6th. Make sure to submit your food logs to crossfitnola@gmail.com by tomorrow. 

As this cycle draws to a close, I want you guys to reflect on your progress. Are you making gains? Are you getting what you want out of powerlifting class? Do you need more/less metcons or different types? What are your short-term and long-term goals now? What do you need to take your training to the next level (if this is one of your goals)? How are your diet, sleep, and quality of life the other 164 hours a week you don't spend directly with me (I know, everyone definitely feels some negative effects). 

Dynamic Effort Bench (i.e. Press)
500m legless row (don't strap your feet in)
40 banded pull aparts
40 tricep pulldowns
10 strict pullups10 strict chinups

Mobbin: Banded lat stretches, wrist stretches, rack position stretch

Meat: 
Speed Shoulder Press 8x3 @ 60%. 
Work up to your press. Focus on keeping tight, good form. 
1x5
1x31x3
Start your speed sets. 1 min between each. 

Potatoes: 
100 Russian kb swings, 5 burpees on the minute. 

Fish Oil: 
Handstand lateral walks along the wall, handstand touches for adv folks. Scale w/plank walks. 


Do some hard math problems to keep your mind in tip top shape. Some weighty (no pun intended) history here. "This is a special collection of problems that were given to select applicants during oral entrance exams to the math department of Moscow State University. These problems were designed to prevent Jews and other undesirables from getting a passing grade. Among problems that were used by the department to blackball unwanted candidate students, these problems are distinguished by having a simple solution that is difficult to find. Using problems with a simple solution protected the administration from extra complaints and appeals. This collection therefore has mathematical as well as historical value."

Friday at 5:30pm
Sat at 9am
Sun at 10am

No Sat class on the 22nd due to Barbell for Boobs. Sunday the 23rd at 10am TBD b/c of Hatch Oly lifting seminar (let me know if you want class next Sunday or will forgo powerlifting for the seminar). 
Finger Food: 
500m Row
10 Banded Pushups
10 Strict Chinups
10 (Weighted) dips/strict ring dips/banded ring dips/banded bar dips

24 KB snatches on the minute for 5 minutes. Switch arms at the 12. 

Mobbin: Lat stretch, overhead passthrus, rack stretch 

Meat & Potatoes: Max Effort Shoulder Press with Chains 
1x8 empty bar
1x5
1x3
1x3
1x2
1x1's until max (aim for 1-5lbs heavier than last week!)

Fish Oil: Spider walk, piston pull, shoulder raises, lat pull downs, lat pull-aparts. 

Regular class: 9am Saturday, 10am Sunday. 
Fundamentals: 9am Sunday. 
I know you guys aren't these people, but we all have these tendencies. Tamp down, be a better athlete and person. 

Online informal powerlifting comp, anyone interested? 
Finger Food: 
500m Row
10 Banded Pushups
10 Strict Chinups
10 (Weighted) dips/strict ring dips/banded ring dips/banded bar dips

20 KB swings (Russian) on the minute for 5 minutes

Mobbin: Lat stretch, overhead passthrus, rack stretch 

Meat & Potatoes: Max Effort Shoulder Press with Chains 
1x8 empty bar
1x5
1x3
1x3
1x2
1x1's until max (aim for 1-5lbs heavier than last week!)

Fish Oil: Spider walk, piston pull, shoulder raises, lat pull downs, lat pull-aparts. Why do some people learn faster than others? 

Ninja edit: 
1) Almonds on sale, anyone want to go in on 1lb bags with me? Would be $3.75 per bag (need to buy 8 minimum). 
2) Is anyone able to watch Satch over Thanksgiving? He'd come with crate, and I can pay in $ or coaching. 

So I hear a rumor that the gym is going to start a paleo challenge soon (not sure if I'm allowed to say that, but the Power Blog has always been avant garde and the cool (maybe just the biggest) kid on the playground, so whatever). 

THUS, my disciples, this is the next step in our BLACK MAT DOMINATION plan. As the winner (oh yeahhh) of CF NOLA's inaugural paleo challenge, I feel well-equipped to help you win (aka lock in your nutrition, feel better about yourself, get some PRs and abs, ya heard?)
 
Step 1. When other people are going paleo, go freakin' Whole 30. This means no BS paleo brownies (I am also the queen of the paleo brownie, so we can talk about that after your Whole 30) and protein shakes (blasphemy you say? Welcome to your new religion, young grasshopper). 

Step 2. Log ALL of your stuff. I mean all of it. When you eat, how much you eat (get a cheap kitchen scale), how you felt (full, hungry, sick of almonds but still hungry), how much sleep/quality of sleep, how you felt when you worked out (energized, tired, sluggish), what WODs you did, if you PR'd, the weather that day (if you want to go the extra mile). I used a google doc that I shared w/CF NOLA's account. This is probably going to be a requirement anyway, but I want you guys to have the best logs out of anyone else (we are WINNERS). I also had a front page with all of my PRs on lifts and benchmark WODs for easy reference. Want to be elite? All jokes aside, you have to know to what your body responds best. 

Step 3. No cheat days for your 30 days, and no binging before the thing starts either. I'm best on paleo when I am 100%, because my 80/20 always bleeds into 60/40 into ffff this imma eat what what I waaant (and I want that cake). When you eat the sugars in processed food or gluten, you're still inciting those addiction receptors in your brain (this is my non-scientific paraphrasing of the literature, fyi). 

Step 4. Sleep 8+ hours a day, ideally w/blackout curtains. Click around on Mark's Daily Apple on how to live primally. 

Step 5. Buddy up. If I want to cheat and I know Elana will smack some sense into me, I will text her. Do this with your lifting partner.

Step 6. Commit. The majority of us spend all of our lives sacrificing our health in pursuit of some pre-defined goals, and after a certain point, we sacrifice all of that to get our health back. Don't be that person. 

Finger Food: 
500m Row
10 Banded Pushups
10 Strict Pullups
10 (Weighted) dips/strict ring dips/banded ring dips/banded bar dips
Read this on kettlebell swings. I want us to do some Russian ones today. The rep scheme 5-10-15-15-10-5. Get a partner and alternate sets. That's sixty reps, and the rest period is only a few seconds between sets.

Of note: Start with a symmetrical stance and bend the knees slightly. This knee bend shouldn't change much throughout the movement.

Find the crease at your hips, put your hands in that crease, stick your butt behind you, and feel your hands fall into that crease. Make sure your spine is neutral while sticking your butt back. Breathe in and fill your diaphragm. This is the bottom of the swing.

Place your forearms on your inner thigh/top of quad with a straight arm. Push your arms into your legs and envision yourself holding two sheets of paper underneath your armpits. Keep your armpits tight and arms close to the ribcage. This is how to stay connected at the bottom of the swing.

Bring your hips forward quickly, keep the arms tight to the ribcage, but allow the kettlebell to float to the 3 or 9 o'clock position. Snap your hips and clench your glutes while shortening the distance from your ribcage to your pelvis. This is you bracing at the top of the swing.

Exhale but stay tight at the top of the swing. Keep your hands on the kettlebell to control it, but don't hold on too tight.


Mobbin: Lat stretch, overhead passthrus

Meat & Potatoes: Max Effort Shoulder Press with Chains 
1x8 empty bar
1x5
1x3
1x3
1x2
1x1's until max

Fish Oil: Spider walk, piston pull, shoulder raises, lat pull downs, lat pull-aparts

I'm leaving just after 7:30pm today to go to my kids' homecoming football game, you're welcome to come along, but if we have enough time, we'll do some down and dirty metcon to close. 

Also, not all coconut is good. Don't eat gelatinous mutant coconut. 

So I know this is called Powerlifting. It's a class where we can focus on getting stronger at the three main lifts, and in the long-term, see those gains translate into better performance in our general physical preparedness. However, we are still housed in a CrossFit gym, and I'm going to tweak our Dynamic Effort Bench cycle  to focus on the CrossFit side. Because if there's one thing that we've learned, specializing is necessary to make gains in your goal areas. Switching up that specialization every 3 weeks means you're making gains in multiple areas. 

Let me know if you have questions about this, I'm probably going to be programming in Oly lifts over the next few cycles and deviating a little from traditional Powerlifting. Post thoughts to comments. 


Dynamic Effort "Bench"


Finger Food: 
500m row
Shoulder dislocates w/PVC
10 pushups
10 pullups
10 air squats
10 situps
10 dips

Mobbin: Banded lat stretches, wrist stretches.

Meat: 
Speed Shoulder Press 8x3 @ 50%. Really 50%. Work on speed, not trying to go heavy. 
Work up to your press. Focus on keeping tight, good form. 
1x5
1x3
Start your speed sets. 1 min between each. 

Potatoes: 
Incline bench with banded kettlebells. Exactly how it sounds. 3 sets of 12. 

Fish Oil: For time
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 KB Clean & Press L/R
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Feet Elevated Ring Row
This will help with building those little stabilizer muscles, plus your lats should be stronger now and ring rows support your chest to bar pullups.