Friday 1.6.17 “We should certainly count our blessings. But we should also make our blessings count.”

1. Squats – Alternating on the Minute x 12 (6 Rounds):

Odd Minutes – 3 Front Squats @ 60% of 1RM Front Squat

Even Minutes – 6 Back Squats @ 60% of 1RM Front Squat

During the Open, we will see a test of squatting capacity. High volume OHS, Thrusters, and Squat Cleans have all been seen in the history of the competition. We will revisit this drill several times in this cycle, building in both percentage and in volume. Strength, stamina, and conditioning will be improved – set the baseline today, and we’ll build from here.

2. For Time:
7 Ring Muscle-Ups
100 Double-Unders
20 Squat Snatches (115/85)
100 Double-Unders
7 Ring Muscle-Ups

High skill conditioning piece today. On the squat snatch, we are looking for a weight that we could “touch and go” for 7-10 repetitions unbroken if we were to try when fresh. This will preserve the stimulus of the workout. Heavy, but another single rep is always there.
For those that struggle with muscle-ups, this will be a great training day for us. This is an opportunity to become better, not only capacity wise, but knowledge wise on when to push the pace.
If we are currently working on our Muscle-Ups, see the follow modifications:
A) Reduce the volume to 5, 4, or 3 repetitions.
B) Complete 20 Banded Strict Muscle-Ups (Video HERE). in place of the 10 Ring Muscle-Ups.
C) Complete 20 Burpee Pull-Ups in place of the 10 Ring Muscle-Ups.

The final muscle-ups are a separator in the workout, but we set the tone with the first set. Even though we are fresh going into this set, proper mechanics and diligent technique saves energy and effort, which can and will be applied to the final set. Just because we can do the first set straight does not necessarily mean we should. What’s more important than moving through these muscle-ups quickly, is moving efficiently. This workout isn’t about the first set, but rather the last.

On the double-unders, hands are low and shoulders are down. This is an upper-body intensive workout, and we want to go into these double-under sets as relaxed up top as we can be. It is worth the extra break, or the extra breath before starting the next set, to stay composed and relaxed. Getting through these repetitions unbroken or with a single short break is impressive, but only if we can get our hands right on the squat snatch bar for the first repetition. That’s the more important piece.

On the squat snatches, focus on speed beneath the bar. We trained the speed in the opening piece today, on the high hang snatch for this reason. The faster we are beneath the bar, the less demand we need from our pull. If we are virtually pulling the bar to eye level each repetition, we are unnecessarily taxing our pulling strength which we want for our final set on the rings.
Secondly, we want a vicious lockout on each repetition. If we are catching with soft elbows, a press out will happen in turn, taxing out shoulders. Again, a focus here is using as much speed as we can on these snatches to preserve our upper body.

Breaking these repetitions up into fast singles is wise strategy for most athletes who are preserving their grip for the final set of muscle-ups. Bringing the bar down for touch and go repetitions can be done, but shouldn’t be at the expense of long breaks between sets. A methodical pace through these 20 repetitions is what we are after, ensuring we are able to pick up the jump rope and move right into our second set of 100.

On the final set of ring muscle-ups, expect adversity. Expect our grip to be taxed, our shoulders to feel heavy, and our mid-line to be fatigued. We want that. This is where we become better. Focus on the two big ticket technique points we have been drilling in the recent weeks:

A. Stay long through the keep. Keeping the knees locked out until you can see your toes rising in front of you, we want to fully take advantage of a long and strong kip swing. If we bend the knees on the back swing, we are starting the entire kip swing process with a shorter than ideal lever system. The longer we are, the more power we generate.

B. Mid-Line is On and Strong. Especially here, as we will be breathing heavy, focus on keeping our midsection engaged throughout. This will ensure the power we generate from our lower half makes it up the chain to the upper half