At least it's a Bank Holiday month... (Saturday August 1st 2009)

Finally, the last day of L-sit progressions has arrived. Hopefully you now have, or are a good way to achieving, a stable L-sit. We will revisit these in the future, maybe building up to a stable L-sit on rings!

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L-Sit Progression

Strength

Weighted Pull-Ups 5x5

Conditioning

AMRAP 15 minutes

10 Push-press @ 50% max press

10 GHD sit-ups

If you don't have a GHD available, substitute regular sit-ups.

Cash Out

Skipping - 200 singles or 50 doubles

Post weights/times to comments or the Daily Workout forum on FuncKey.

Vires et Honestas

To swim or not to swim... (Friday 31 July 2009)

Another choice day today: swimming, running or cycling. Try to choose something different to the last time just to keep it interesting.

Swimming can be in any stroke.

Buy In

BWLA/Burgener progression

Strength

Overhead Squat 5x3

Conditioning

Swim 1k or

Run 5k or

Cycle 10K

Cash out

L-Sit Progression

Post weights/choice and distance to comment or FK.UK

Vires et Honestas

Pressing things... (Thursday 30th July 2009)

Lots of pressing movements today; the strength workout is the strict press and the conditioning has a couple (!) of press-ups.

As with everything we do, there is a strict form for press-ups: Hands shoulder width apart under the shoulders, back and legs in one straight line and the down position is all the way to the floor. A full rep is the chest to the floor then the arms coming back to lock out at the top in the "lean and rest" position. Anything other than that should not be counted.

Remember, the only person you cheat by doing things by halves is yourself. Give 100% effort and maintain good for throughout and the results will be self-evident.

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L-Sit progression

Strength

Press 5x3

Conditioning

10 rounds for time of;

Run 100m

10 push-ups

10 sit-ups

Cash Out

Dot Drills

As always, post weights and times to comments or join the fun on the FK.UK forums.

Vires et Honestas

Bye "L" it's a frog stand.... (Tues 28 July 2009)

So this is the last week of the current L-Sit progression work. Hopefully you have made some good progress with this skill and will be able to hold the position for L-Pullups and other exercises that involve a heavy static contraction of the core. You should also have seen the benefit from this work in all the other strength lifts as a stronger abdominal region makes lumbar support that much better.

Starting next week and through August we will be looking at the planche progressions, so to get us a quick head start today's cash-out is a frog stand hold for a cumulative 1 minute. The frog stand is an excellent beginning gymnastic movement that forms part of not only the plancheprogression but is also an excellent tool for learning a stable free hand-stand.

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L-Sit progression

Strength

Deadlift 5x3

Conditioning

20-15-10

Snatch @ 40% max

Pull-Ups

Cash Out

Frog Stand - 1 minute total on hands only

Post weights/times to the FK.UK Daily workout forum (here)

Vires et Honestas

Ascending Vs static sets (Monday 27 July 2009)

The big question with the strength sets is whether to do ascending sets (increasing the weight each set) or to keep the weight static. Both have benefits and drawbacks. With ascending sets you can be more fatigued on the last set so your maximum effort isn't as high as it perhaps could have been, but on the other hand with static sets you run the risk of not going heavy enough and not drawing a benefit, or going too heavy and really not making the most of the sets. Static sets at a heavy weight are also seem to carry a higher toll on the Central Nervous System and can lead to symptoms of over-training in a quicker time period.

If you feel like giving static sets a go, the recommendation is to start at your 8-10 rep max range and see how it feels. If i is too light, increase the weight for the next workout until each set is taxing and the last almost (or does) lead to failure. Once you can again complete all sets without a failure, increase the weight.

Of course there is nothing wrong with sticking to the ascending sets. As with everything, your will soon let you know what works. Learn to listen to it and your training success will improve dramatically.

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Basketball free throw shots x 25

for every missed shot do 5 press-ups

Strength

Squat 5x3

Conditioning

4 rounds for time of;

15 Press @40% max

15 Wall Ball shots

Men: Use a 5 Kg ball and aim for a 10ft/3m target

Women: Use a 3 Kg Ball and aim for an 8ft/2.5m target (or use the men's settings as required)

Cash Out

L-Sit Progression

Post weights, times and comments to comments or the FK.UK forums.

Have Fun

Rest Day Sunday 260709

Rest day

Actually, we have a few people coming down for a quick introduction to our methodologies and exercises on Sunday morning. If you feel like coming along, all are welcome. We will be looking at the basic air squat, weighted squats, deadlifts and presses with perhaps a quick intorduction to the olympic lifts. We will probably finish off with a short conditioning routine to show the concept of the intensity we look for.

Should be a fun morning so if you are interested, give me a call (details on the website).

Ouch..... (Saturday 250709)

No strength workout today, the conditioning should be enough of a gasser for you....

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BWLA/Burgener warm-up

Conditoning

4 rounds for time

Run 200m

15 Clean and Jerk @ 40% max

Cash out

L-Sit Progressions

Post times to comments or your FK.UK log

Vires et Honestas

AMRAPs (Friday 24 July 2009)

Another AMRAP workout today. Do you "game" these or do you go all out right from the start and flag at the end? The preferred method is to go all out, that way the intensity stays up there throughout - by the end you may be tiring, but if you are still pushing for all you are worth then the benefits will come.

One trick many people use is to set the timer to beep at a set interval (every 5 minutes for example) so you can judge how you are getting on. For others, this is a distraction and actually hinders progress.

What tricks, if any, do you use to maintain intensity of effort over the timed period?

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L-Sit progressions

Strength

Squat 5x3

Conditioning

AMRAP 20 Minutes

15 double unders

15 burpee

15 box jumps (20-24 inch/50-60cm box)

Cash out

Handstand progressions

Post weight/reps to coments or your FK.UK log

Vires et Honestas

Snatch work (Thursday 23 July 2009)

Snatch work today. As the harder of the two olympic lifts, it is essential to get a good first and second pull to get the bar overhead cleanly. The legs need to be in full extension ( the so-called triple extension, with the ankles, knees and hips all extended to the maximium position) and the shoulders shrugged to drive the bar up and over the head . Without it, the bar will be out in front of the body making it very difficult to catch.

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BWLA/Burgener progressions

Strength

Snatch 5x2

Conditioning

For time

30 Pull-up/5 Push-up

25 Pull-up/10 Push-up

20 Pull-up/15 Push-up

15 Pull-up/20 Push-up

10 Pull-up/25 Push-up

5 Pull-up/30 Push-up

Cash out

L-Sit Progressions

Post weight and times to comment or to FuncKey.

Vires et Honestas

Rest Day Wedneday 22 July 2009

Active Rest Day

Dots and Presses (Tuesday 21 July 2009)

You might have noticed that the strength components are moving around after having been on fairly set days the last few weeks. This is to add another component to the variations theme. It's not that your body really gets used to doing a certain lift on a certain day of the week but the mind can, and we want to get out of that mind set. It's often easier to get in the mood to deadliftor squat heavy if you know that's what you have ahead of time than it is to just go in cold, but in the real world, who know when and how you will have to lift something heavy so let's be prepared for anything.

Oh, and think yourselves lucky on the conditioning - originall it was 30 of every exercise, not a drop set. Darned near killed me so I adjusted it for you lot ;)

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Dot Drills

Strength

Deadlift 5x3

Conditioning

For time:

30 ring dips (or 60 bar dips)

200 rope jumps

20 Press @ 30% max

200 Rope jumps

10 Hand Stand Push-ups

200 Rope Jumps

Cash out

L-Sit progressions

Post weights/times/commments to the FK.DW forum.

Vires et Honestas

Run/Bike/Run (Monday 20 July 2009)

Slightly longer conditioning routine than normal today to work on the stamina a little harder. In the recent CrossFit games, several competitors had problems with the first event - a 7.1 KM cross country run. Admittedly the terrain was very rough with some steep hills, but 7.1 KM is not that great a distance and anyone who claims to be the "Fittest Man/Woman in the world" should be able to cope with this with minimal fuss. Trouble is, many of us blow off those longer runs when posted, preferring instead to do the shorter, heavier routines. This leaves us with a large whole in our fitness arsenal and needs to be addressed.

The conditioning today involves a run, then a bike ride followed by another run. None of the distances are excessive, but you will soon find that the fatigue caused by a run is different to that caused by the bike. Many people think the skills are immediately transferable - a CV improvement through running will benefit cycling, but many studies have shown this is not the case, so by combining the disciplines we aim to get the best of both worlds.

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L-Sit Progressions

Strength

Press 5x3

Conditioning

Run 2.5 Km

Cycle 10 KM

Run 2.5 Km

If you don't have a bike - 10K run!)

Cash out

Balance drills (see this post for instructions)

Publish weights/times/comments to FuncKey.

Vires et Honestas

Run and Gun (Thursday 9 July 2009)

Running today. Yes running. I know some (most!) of you hate it, but it has to be done and it's really not all that far. We are looking at intervals, which a great way to build up endurance with short, high intensity effort interspersed with periods of less intense recovery.

Buy In

L-Sit Progression

Strength

Deadlift 5x3

Conditioning

5 Km interval workout;

Jog 1600 m

Sprint 400 m

Jog 400 m

Sprint 400m

Jog 400m

Sprint 200m

Jog 200m

Sprint 200m

Jog 200m

Sprint 200m

Jog 200m

Sprint 200m

Jog 200m

Sprint 100m

Jog 100m

Cash-Out

Basketball shots x 25. For every missed shot do 5 squats. (Accuracy)

I know you will be tired for the cash-out which will affect the accuracy of your shots, but that's the idea. By having this skill based exercise after the run it forces you to perform under pressure and will concentrate the mind. That way you should find the same activity easier to do when fresh - see, there's method to our madness!

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to the discussion topic found here.

Vires et Honestas

Rest Day Wednesday 080709

And rest......

Actually, if you want to exercise your minds, there are some great fitness resources out there on the web. Robb Wolf has a greatnutrition blog that is well worth a browse. Why not let us know your favourite fitness and nutrition blogs in the comments section below?

Tuesday..... (Tues 07 July 2009)

Tuesday is an odd day for me; not as bad as a Monday but still too early ion the week to be a good day. Oh well, the only way to beat that into submission is to train hard and blow away the cobwebs!

Buy In

L-Sit Progressions (for some great progression ideas check out the great page at Beast Skills(WFS)

Strength

Press 5x3

Conditioning

AMRAP 15 Minutes:

10 Press-up

15 Box Jump

20 Sit-up

Cash Out

Double Unders x 25 (works on co-ordination, speed and accuracy)

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to the discussion topic found here.

Back to it (Monday 6th July 2009)

So now the testing is done we can resume our normal service i.e. that of putting ourselves through the fitness wringer to come out stronger the other end!

Buy In

Burgener Snatch Progression (video here)

Strength

Back Squat 5x3

Conditioning

4 rounds for time:

15 Lunges

15 Pull-Up

15 Ring Dip

Cash Out

Hand Stand Practise

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to the discussion topic found here.

Vires et Honestas

Oh blimey, it's the O-lifts again (Friday 3 July 2009)

Today's testing is slightly different in that we will be looking at the two major Olympic lifts (the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk). For these, instead of the usual build up to a max effort, we are going to limit the number of lifts to 5 singles of each because fatigue will quickly affect each of the lifts and with poor technique comes a heightened possibility of injury.

Friday 3rd July 2009

Buy In

General Warm-up and warm-up reps

Strength/Skill

Pulls-ups max reps on a single attempt (Kipping is allowed)

Snatch 5x1

Clean and Jerk 5x1

Conditioning and Cash Out

100 Rope jumps

30 Double unders

100 Rope jumps

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to the discussion topic found here.

Tests, tests and more tests... (Thursday July 2nd 2009)

Continuing on with our Strength testing protocols, this time looking at the Deadlift and the press-up. Instructions for the protocols can be found here, along with a link to a calculator to determine your 1 rem max from your 3 rep max lifts if needed.

Thursday 2nd July 2009

Buy In

General Warm-up and warm-up reps

Strength/Skill

Deadlift Single Rep Max testing

Press-ups max reps on a single attempt

Conditioning

Swim 1000m or Cycle 5000m

(if you can't do either - 5KM run)

Cash Out

Hand Stand practise - 1 minute total inversion

Use a wall if necessary.

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to comments or the discussion topic foundhere.

Vires et Honestas

Introducing the FK.UK Daily Workout (Wed 1st July 2009)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, SPQRFitness has teamed up with FK.UK to provide a Daily Workout. So it isn't necessary to create two workouts each day, the FK.UK DW will become the offical SPQRFit workout. Don't woory though, most of you will find the format very familiar.....

The first week is taken up by testing protocols to give you (and us) a good baseline from which to gauge scaling and to give you some numbers to aim to beat as you improve in your training. Detailed instructions can be found in an earlier post (here) so it is strongly suggested you read that before commencing.

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General warm-up followed by warm-up sets of the exercises below

Strength/Skill

Back Squat Single Rep Max testing

Press Single Rep Max testing

Conditioning

For time

Run 400m

30 Pull-Ups

40 Press-Ups

50 Squats

60 Sit-ups

Run 400m

The idea of this one is to induce a change in muscular endurance in addition to any metabolic conditioning effect. To that end, you want the workout to take between 7 and 10 minutes to complete so scale the reps on the calisthenics accordingly so you finish within that domain.

Cash-Out

Dot drills - Hopscotch x 4, hopscotch with twist x 4, skier x 4

(examples of the above dot drills can be found here (link is safe for work/family. A simple Dot board can be drawn on the floor using chalk or marked out with tape)

Post weights, times and any comments or questions to comments or to the discussion topic found here.

Vires et Honestas