Today is the beginning of a new 4 week program. It is a continuation of what we were doing in the last cycle–building towards complex kettle bell flow drills, and developing powerful rotational movement patterns. The strength programming is stepping up as well. Barbell people will have to work quickly to get to their daily heavy set, with back-off sets following. I’ve increased the reps for the Level 0 and 1 kettlebell program, which means I want you to really push the boundaries of your capability each set. You shouldn’t easily be using the same weight for 8 as you did for 5 in the last cycle.

Lifting days are MWF. Squats Monday, Deadlifts Wednesday, and Bench on Friday. I’ve moved bench press to Friday to bump attendance. You won’t be allowed to bench on any other day (except as a make-up on the weekend) so don’t ask. Longer conditioning days on Tuesday and Thursday. Hopefully it gets cooler soon because I have a lot of running workouts planned for those days.

I’m experimenting with a new class time-management strategy. We will start the clock at the beginning of class and leave it running for 60 minutes. The time for each section of the training session will be indicated on the whiteboard (and below on the blog). The coach will begin instructing the next section of class at that time, if you are not present or are not paying attention, you will not be coached. It’s not fair to the rest of the group who is ready to train.

Expect to see more kettlebell complexes in the programming from here on out. We are and always have been a kettlebell-based strength and conditioning facility, and I expect all of you to be experts with the kettlebell after training with us for a couple of years. Keep in mind that an expert is one who has mastered the BASICS. All the advanced movements come back to a solid hip hinge, squat, or overhead lockout pattern. If you don’t have those positions dialed in, you will never be any good with a kettlebell (or a barbell for that matter). So your number one priority should be honing those fundamental movement patterns and getting more stable in those basic positions and transitions. I saw a LOT of ugly stuff last week in some of the workouts, a lot of inverted priorities: more reps over better quality, moving faster over moving proficiently, shortened range of motion over meeting the standard every time.

There’s nothing to prove here. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Train with intention and intelligence. Remember this is the only body you’ve got. Take care of it. Respect the movements, respect the weights, respect yourself. Hold yourselves to a higher standard than the CrossFit bare fucking minimum.

Warmup
0:00 – 5:00
Jump Rope 3 minutes
PVC Drills

5:00 – 12:00
Instructor Mobility

12:00 – 22:00
Kettlebell Around the World Drills:
Slingshot (hand to hand pass)
Slingshot Catch and Change Direction
Tactical Lunge

Strength
22:00 – 42:00

Levels 2-4
22:00 – 37:00 (15 minutes)
Back Squat
Work up to a heavy set of 5
Start at about 50% and work up as heavy as you can with absolutely perfect form within the time limit.

37:00 – 42:00
3x E2MOM
5 Back Squats at 80% of your heavy set for the day

Levels 0/1
E4MOM (~5 sets but take your time!)
Do not rush the movements, focus on quality. Start light and add weight on the squats.

8 Double Kettlebell Squats
30 Bear Crawl Position Shoulder Taps (try not to let your hips move)
3-5 Controlled Eccentric Chin ups (slow negatives: take a 5 count to lower down from chin over bar to full extended elbows)

Conditioning
42:00 – 50:00
Movement Practice and Workout Setup

50:00 – 60:00

“Dramageddon”

10 minutes AMRAP

Levels 2-4

5 High Pulls
5 Clean and Squats
Then switch hands and repeat; when you finish both sides,
10 Crossover Push-ups

L4 – 24/18
L3 – 22/16
L2 – no Rx weight

Level 0/1
If you have a good high pull and can handle the crossover push-ups, do the workout above. Otherwise:

5 Single Arm Swings
5 Clean and Squats
Repeat on other side
10 Push-ups