Hey Old Cityzens!

Welcome to December! Who’s ready for the cold? The SNOW?? It’s gonna happen whether you like it or not, so be prepared.

With that said, yes, we will still be going outside – running for warm ups and workouts – so be prepared and dress accordingly.

And on that note, this Friday is the Girl WOD “Nancy”, which includes running. #spoiler And the running will be done outside.

A couple thoughts on warm ups and strength.. It’s not a race.

Sure, we want you to move through as efficiently as possible since there’s a lot to cover in class, but when warming up you should be holding end range – bottom of a squat, bar overhead, KB windmill, etc – for 3-5 seconds, if not longer, a few times for an extra stretch. Hitting the bottom of a squat – hips below the crease of the knee – is a basic movement pattern that everyone should be able to achieve. BASIC. If that means squat to a box or hold onto the rig or sit against the wall to achieve that position, then do it. If you’ve got some mobility issues, then work with your coach and figure out what you need to do to get in that position. This is a great time of year to set some goals for next year, and this is a good start.

For strength, you should be resting ~2 minutes between working sets, especially at 80% and above. Get in some KB swings, or box jumps or more mobility between sets. I guarantee that everyone has something to work on, whether it’s feet turning out, knees caving in, arches in your feet collapsing, chest dropping, not hitting depth.. and I’m listing these off as I think of the morning people who fit these categories. If you think your squat is perfect, your coach will find a fault. Why? Because no ones squat is perfect. Strive to get better by 1% every day. That’s a life tip. For free. You’re welcome.

One last announcement that I don’t want to get buried in my drivel is that we have our HOLIDAY PARTY THIS FRIDAY AT 8PM.

AND YES I’M SHOUTING.

So the 6:30pm class on Friday is cancelled. Saturday – open gym only from 11am-1pm (normal time)

There will be booze, and prizes, and more booze, and some prizes, and be ready for booze and prizes. And maybe feats of strength and airing of grievances.

Now let’s talk about the workouts for this week..

Monday – Great start to the week with some back squats and some tabata work – 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. Three movements, but no barbells this time.

Tuesday – Getting our pump on with some bench press followed by a triplet with a little more pressing in two different planes – one with and one without weight.

Wednesday – If you know the strength routine and how the movements rotate, you know what we’ve got in store for strength today. The couplet to follow is going to be challenging – physically and mentally. I’ll have more about that in the blog post for that day.

Thursday – A bit of an unconventional workout with the dballs and bikes. We’ve been going a lot of carries recently and getting you sprinting on the bike, so now it’s time to put those movements to the test.

Friday – Repeating a strength/skill workout from back in October, so only a few months ago, but it should be a good warm up for the Girl benchmark workout “Nancy”. We don’t want to keep these a secret since we want you to prioritize them. Reminder, no 6:30pm class today. Then PARTAY at 8PM.

Saturday – OPEN GYM ONLY 11am – 1pm.

Sunday – A special Hero WOD remembering the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Let’s have another great week and start off December on a GREAT note!