November Friendly WODs

Welcome to the November Friendly WODs. This is a running blog style article documenting (most) of the workouts I do. I will be on the road on and off during this month, making it challenging to find any normal rhythm to training. Thank you to those of you who follow along, the accountability here goes a long way for me:

November 30

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: CF Charlotte Class + DFC Event Testing

Workouts:

5 x 5 strict press (ended at 90 lbs)

5x 3 push press (ended at 140 lbs)

5×1 push press (ended at 185 lbs)

Event 7: Grit & Grapple

*Note that there are details of these workouts which are not known and therefore I’m making certain assumptions and decisions about what I either think is likely, or what is appropriate for me to be able to hopefully achieve a similar stimulus to the competing athletes next week.

21-15-9 of:

Power Cleans (I used 135 lbs)

Farmers Walk (I did a pair of 2 pood kettlebells for 100’ per round)

Self imposed 6:00 cap; took me 4:43 including a sprint to the finish at the end. 

Lots of missing details here, but I have a feeling this is meant to be a shorter time domain event. 

November 29

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: DFC Event Testing

Workouts:

Event 6 :The DFC Original Chipper

*Note that there are details of these workouts which are not known and therefore I’m making certain assumptions and decisions about what I either think is likely, or what is appropriate for me to be able to hopefully achieve a similar stimulus to the competing athletes next week.

50 Cal row

40 A Jumps with 20 lb vest to ballistic block

30 Single arm devil’s press (50 lb dumbbell)

20 Deck Squats with (10 kg kettlebell)

10 bar muscle ups 

*Back down the ladder

Self imposed 30:00 cap. My time 27:30.

Was really nervous about this after talking to Brandon Luckett on “Friendly Conversations” and hearing him say that the set of bar muscle ups in the middle was the hardest set of 10 he’s done in a long time. Was definitely conservative on the way out, which I think paid off as I finished the back half slightly faster than getting to the muscle ups. 

November 28

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: DFC Event Testing

Workouts:

Throughout this week I’ll be trying to test versions of the Dubai Fitness Championship events that are practical for me to test in preparation for the commentary on the broadcast next weekend. 

Event 3 : Altitude and Attitude Test

*Note that there are details of these workouts which are not known and therefore I’m making certain assumptions and decisions about what I either think is likely, or what is appropriate for me to be able to hopefully achieve a similar stimulus to the competing athletes next week.

10 Rounds for time 

1 Cut Rope Climb

12 Wall Balls

20 Drag Rope Double Unders

Self imposed time cap of 20:00. My time 19:45.

In this case the drag ropes were getting my heart rate up a bit after a couple rounds, the cut rope required a decent amount of focus for me, and the wall balls ended up being the “recovery”. 

November 25

Location: Montgomery, Texas

Training Program: Running and Thruster BFriendly Workout

Workouts:

3 Rounds 

1000 meter run

18 double dumbbell thrusters (2 x 35 lbs)

Looking for a very steady state from beginning to end. Control the run so you can pick up the dumbbells right away and hit an unbroken set of 18- and do that for three rounds. 

November 24

Location: The Woodlands, Texas

Training Program: Soccer Tennis

Workouts:

Putting the last few words of “Fitness in 100 Words” into action with two hours of soccer tennis today- play new sports. This isn’t necessarily a new sport, but it’s been years since I’ve played soccer yet alone soccer tennis. Was pleasantly surprised with both how good it felt to move in directions and with intention that I haven’t in awhile, as well as how well all of us played. Super fun and reminds me of one of the many reasons I train as often as I do, which is to be ready for as many things as possible that I want to or need to do. 

November 22

Location: Montgomery, Texas

Training Program: Running and Dumbbell BFriendly Workout

Workouts:

2 Rounds of 

300 meter run

25 double dumbbell curl and press (2 x 15 lbs)

300 meter run 

25 double dumbbell hang snatch (2 x 25 lbs)

300 meter run

15* double dumbbell deadlifts (2 x 35 lbs)

*Back was tight, so called an audible from the intended 25.

Did this with a friend, while one person ran the other did the dumbbell work and then rested until the runner returned. 

Goal was to hit the run hard, immediately start on the dumbbells, attempt to implement recovery breathing while working through the dumbbell set, then have a short rest to reset and reload before the next run. 

November 20

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout plus Front Squats

Workouts:

10-8-6-4-2 Front Squats

 115-135-155-175-195

Been a while since I front squatted, all things considered, this felt really good.

18:00 EMOM

1- 15 box jump step downs, 24 inches

2- 12 push press (115 lbs)

3- 12 toes to bar

November 17

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout, modified

Workouts:

2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20 Reps of 

Kettlebell swings (1.5 pood)

Hand release push ups

Rest 2:00

80 cal c2 bike for time

Did this between the first and second event of the Charlotte Classics with a group of volunteers and judges. Felt good, as it always does, to get something in during competition weekends.

November 16

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout / Version of Charlotte Classic Event “Black 13”

Workouts:

Lifting:

Every 1:00 for 10 minutes

2 squat cleans 

Built from 135 to 185, no misses, and felt really good overall. Very happy with this given the lack of heavy lifting or Olympic lifting recently. 

13:00 AMRAP

5 bar muscle ups

7 burpee over log

13 cal echo bike

1 burpee over log (to get back to the rig)

Unbroken on the muscle ups throughout, very happy with this. 

Smooth cadence on the burpee over logs

Held 65 RPMs on the bike until the last round, pushed to 68. 

This was the first metcon in a while that I felt like my former self on. Been more consistent with metcons as I’ve been home more, so not surprised…but it is nice. 

November 15

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: BFriendly Original

Workouts:

15-12-9-6-3 Squat Snatch

95-115-135-145-155

Just wanted to get some volume squat snatches in. Minimal warmup, used the first round for that primarily. Tried to emphasize consistent mechanics and implement a few principles I’ve been trying to reinforce since Power Monkey Camp, specifically on the second pull. 

Back ended up being a little tight from the sandbag carries on the previous day, which slowed me down. However, the mechanics felt good and a coach at the gym actually commented that my final snatch was my best one. While I would love for them all to be so similar and good that they’re all the best one, I’m happy that the quality remained high late into the workout. 

November 14

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout 

Workouts:

800 meter run

40 box jumps (24 inch)

200 meter sandbag carry *

40 box jumps

800 meter run

*Sandbag carry was prescribed at 150 lbs. I started with a 125 bag for the first 100 (we were doing 50 meters down and back twice), but my back was getting tight, so I switched to the 100 lb bag for the second half of the carry. 

Had to manage the back tightness on the back half more than I would have liked, still got it done in a reasonable time. I no longer have interest in rebounding box jumps, so those were methodical but consistent. The last run was just over 4:00 despite being somewhat limited by the back. Not happy with the tightness (maybe should have warmed up better), but happy to complete it.

November 13

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout / Charlotte Classic Community Workout

Workouts:

4 Rounds for Time

22 calorie row

22 dumbbell bench press

22 alternating dumbbell snatch

The actual workout this weekend will be with a pair of 50 lb dumbbells, but I knew I’d lose the intended stimulus with sets of bench press that big in a metcon, so I benched with 40s and snatched with a 50- perfect choice as it took me just under 16:00, which is about where I’d want most people to be on this one (4:00 per round). 

November 11

Location: Arizona State University- Desert City Classic Competition Floor

Training Program: Scott Panchik Community Workout

Workouts:

In a group of three ;

“Tommy V” into “Randy”

21-15-9 Worm Thrusters (worms were about 210 lbs)

12-9-6 rope climbs (split between three)

Then

75 snatches at 75 lbs (split between three)

I was paired with two guys who have never previously done a CrossFit workout- or a snatch. Was pretty fun actually to watch them learn and figure it out on the fly. They could only do a version of a legless rope climb, so I picked up a little slack on those as their forearms fatigued quickly. 

November 10

Location: Arizona State University

Training Program: Scott Panchik Original

Workouts:

7 rounds

14 cal echo bike

7 double kettlebell hang clean and jerk

7 burpees to target

*waterfall style with three people, go when the bike is available 

Super effective and quick workout. Scott was holding a crazy number (to me) on the bike, so I went beyond what I usually would and was proud of my ability to hang on. Going a little lighter on the kettlebells (pair of 35s) was the key to sustainability as I could breathe through those fairly well.

November 7

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Class Workout (modified)

Workouts:

5 Rounds for Time

400 meter run

15 dumbbell push press (2 x 35 lbs)

30 walking lunges

Moderate paced running (2:00 per round), fast on the push press (unbroken sets throughout), slow and and steady on the lunges using them as a breathing moderator to make sure that I could execute the run at the pace I wanted over and over again. Very happy with execution and consistency across all five rounds here. Saved a little to “race” the last set of lunges too.

November 6

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Bench + Rogue Workout

Workouts:

Build to a heavy set of 5 for Bench Press

“Seat at the Bar”

15/10/5 Bar Muscle Ups

*5 Back Squats at 205 lbs after each set

November 4

Location: CrossFit CRASH

Training Program: Crash Saturday Partner Workout

Workouts:

Saturday Partner workout before going to the Clemson vs Notre Dame game. 

Two separate 18:00 Amrap style metcons with 3:00 transition in between.

First one was echo bike cals, drag rope double unders, and burpees over a low yoke (30” off the ground).

Second one was GHD sit-ups, wall balls, and box jump overs (24 inches).

November 2

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Charlotte Classic, Final Testing

Workouts:

Snatch work: 

Built to a heavy set of 1 Snatch + 1 Hang Snatch + 1 Overhead Squat

Black 13, Community Division

13:00 AMRAP

8 Pull-Ups

5 Burpee Box Get Overs

13 Cal C2 Bike

Love to snatch, and it had been a while, so I wanted to get some touches there. Technique was a bit rusty, but I built up to about 90% of my max snatch for this complex, which I’ll take. 

One of the many considerations when planning a competition is to get the scorecards right. In this case, the question was how many rounds of the AMRAP are possible for the community division. I won’t post my score here, but I moved very consistently throughout and think it’s likely towards the top end of what we would expect from the athlete’s in that division. 

November 1

Location: CrossFit Charlotte

Training Program: Rogue Post Event Testing

Workouts:

“The Clean Up”

3 Rounds of 

25 double unders

5 Power Cleans (155 lbs)

Into

2 Round of

25 double unders

5 Squat cleans

Into

1 Round of

25 double unders

5 Clean and Jerks

The second Rogue Invitational workout I was really looking forward to testing, and I must say, this went a lot better than Hulk Hands did the day before. 

I was fearful for the second round of squat cleans becoming an issue, so I was slightly conservative in the first three rounds with the power cleans. Although a part of me feels that I over paced it (it took 7:00), the other part of me feels that if I’d gone faster earlier I could have had a very rough finish late. 

Solid technique, and under the self imposed 8:00 time cap, successful day.