Motivation
I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Weekend. Two years ago Sarah and I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii over Memorial Weekend for our ten year wedding anniversary. We spent one afternoon at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Being the start of Memorial Weekend it was rather busy. As we took the ferry to the USS Arizona Memorial I observed that our boat was filled mainly with Japanese tourist. Once on the memorial I observed several Japanese tourist untie their flower lei and drop the flowers into the water. The reverence that was shown has inspiring. World War II was a brutal war. We saw the US put it’s own (Japanese) citizens into “relocation camps.” Millions killed in action or executed. Nuclear weapons used for the first time. Fire Bombings that destroyed entire cities. And here were Japanese people showing their reverence for what had occurred by the hands of their country. It would be understandable for grudges to still occur between our two countries. While living in Hawaii my fifth grade teacher was of Japanese decent and grew up in a relocation camp. She was the most patriotic American I have ever met. She held no ill will and loved this country for the opportunities that were available. Are we making the most of these opportunities? Are we teaching our children to love one another and to forgive. Wouldn’t the world be so much better if we only looked at the positive. What if we were more understanding. Don’t complain, make a change.
Strength
CrossFit generally does dynamic movements that can be done at high intensity. What we like to do with the strength and the “Get Awesome” portion of our workout is work on the slower more static positions. This builds the ability to hold different positions in a rigid static position. This is vital to many of the dynamic positions that we do. A squat, deadlift, clean, and snatch for example require the torso to stay in a static position. Movements like the TGU will greatly aid in the ability to hold static positions.
Workout Strategy
Everyone that starts CrossFit tells me they want to get stronger. This is how you do it. We have to have strength days. The warm up will be dynamic. You will get a good sweat going and then you’ll spend some time getting strong. Your 10 rep numbers for this workout will be close to your 5 rep max (especially if you have only been doing back squat and CrossFit for less than 3 years). So look at that 5 rep max number that nearly everyone has. Take a little off of that weight for your first set. You are much stronger than you realize. Focus on good form, know that this will be a bit of a struggle, but with good form you will be successful. For my ladies especially, allow yourself to be strong. Lift heavier than you think you should.
| Workout of the Day | |
|---|---|
| Strength of the Day | Turkish Get Up |
| Back Squat 10-10-10-10-10 reps*Every 3 minutes
Less than 135/105# then… 300 meter Row |
Back Squat 10-10-10-10-10 reps*Every 3 minutes
Every set over 135/105# then… 300 meter Row |
| Back Squat 10-10-10-10-10 reps*Every 3 minutes
Every set over 175/135# then… 300 meter Row |
Back Squat 10-10-10-10-10 reps*Every 3 minutes
Every set over 200/155# then… 300 meter Row |
Get more awesome: 28 Weighted Good Mornings
