I Want to Be a Crossfit Champion

[quote]myself1992 wrote:

[quote]Asoss wrote:

[quote]myself1992 wrote:
Why don’t you just join an actual crossfit gym that knows what they’re doing, or get coached by someone who knows how to train for crossfit competitions? With those lifts you have some good potential so you might as well train for the actual thing and maybe start competing.[/quote]

I get what you’re saying and I agree, however i’m pretty strapped for cash right now because 1) I am doing my masters in a different city so I’d rather not be bound to a specific box location and 2) I am getting married this August and we have about 400 guests minimum sooooo cash money my friend…

But I will definitely take up on your suggestion the moment I have a stable economy. Just for a comparison, the standard price for a year long membership in any of the major crossfit affiliates is 2300 US dollars here in Sweden, and that is what you pay directly up front.[/quote]

In that case I’d look online for how these guys train for the competitions (since I’m sure they don’t just do the WOD and actually have a reasonable structured program). Just make sure that the info you find is legit. I’d help you out with that if I could but I don’t know much about crossfit.
[/quote]

Yup, that’s really what I have been doing all along, doing some research on how the top 10 guys do it but most of them really down-play how they actually train, saying stuff like how everything is programmed on a day-to-day basis with no actual structure. On the nutrition side most of them really just eat the basics with some cheat foods here and there to cover their massive energy expenditures. I think the majority do 2-4 WODs per day with skill training on the olympic lifts intertwined and then the occasional squat/strength cycle from time to time.

Thanks again buddy, I really appreciate just having you write on this thread to be honest. How is your training going? You really look impressive if thats you on your avatar=)

[quote]magick wrote:
Why not ask Thibaudeau at his subforum?

The guy coaches Crossfit athletes.[/quote]

I actually started this thread on his subforum, but I didn’t get any response at all. I really love everything he has to say but I also have to respect that he is a busy man. I think he wrote something about maybe doing an article on crossfit specific training in the nearby future so I definitely look forward to that!

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
does anyone actually get anything out of the rowing machine? I find it useless whenever I include it in a workout, unless it’s a general warm-up.[/quote]

Absolutely. I love doing intervals on the ergometer, or even just all out 250 - 500 meter sprints. Closest I’ve ever been to blacking out from “cardio.”

A few months ago I played around with supersets of farmer’s walks with rowing. I’d do a couple sets as heavy as I could, no straps, superset with a 250 m row; then increase the weight, add straps, superset with a 250 m row. Abusive. [/quote]

That sounds horrible. I’ve done 1,000 meter go’s a few times and it knocked my dick in the dirt. I can’t imagine all out sprints. What’s your best time?
[/quote]

Yeah man, it’s a rough exercise if you really put the effort in.

500 m - 1:33.8
1000 m - 3:45.0
1500 m - 5:27.0

[/quote]

Meant to write I’ve done 2,000 meters a few times. A 5:27 1,500 is MOVIN’. Got upper later, might try this as a finisher.

[quote]Asoss wrote:

[quote]myself1992 wrote:

[quote]Asoss wrote:

[quote]myself1992 wrote:
Why don’t you just join an actual crossfit gym that knows what they’re doing, or get coached by someone who knows how to train for crossfit competitions? With those lifts you have some good potential so you might as well train for the actual thing and maybe start competing.[/quote]

I get what you’re saying and I agree, however i’m pretty strapped for cash right now because 1) I am doing my masters in a different city so I’d rather not be bound to a specific box location and 2) I am getting married this August and we have about 400 guests minimum sooooo cash money my friend…

But I will definitely take up on your suggestion the moment I have a stable economy. Just for a comparison, the standard price for a year long membership in any of the major crossfit affiliates is 2300 US dollars here in Sweden, and that is what you pay directly up front.[/quote]

In that case I’d look online for how these guys train for the competitions (since I’m sure they don’t just do the WOD and actually have a reasonable structured program). Just make sure that the info you find is legit. I’d help you out with that if I could but I don’t know much about crossfit.
[/quote]

Yup, that’s really what I have been doing all along, doing some research on how the top 10 guys do it but most of them really down-play how they actually train, saying stuff like how everything is programmed on a day-to-day basis with no actual structure. On the nutrition side most of them really just eat the basics with some cheat foods here and there to cover their massive energy expenditures. I think the majority do 2-4 WODs per day with skill training on the olympic lifts intertwined and then the occasional squat/strength cycle from time to time.

Thanks again buddy, I really appreciate just having you write on this thread to be honest. How is your training going? You really look impressive if thats you on your avatar=)[/quote]

As I understand it, almost none of the top competitors really train the WOD’s extensively until they’re approaching competition. They mostly focus on building a strength base in the olympic lifts and their variants and squats while maintaining conditioning. They’re vague on what they do 'cause they can’t really outright say they don’t train Crossfit.

That doesn’t really seem to be the case with guys like Froning and Bailey. According to Rich, they walk into the gym and hit a strength lift hard (squat, bench, press, snatch, clean, what have you) then they throw together some WODs filled with stuff they like and stuff they haven’t done in awhile. They carry on this way (doing 2-3 workouts a day) up until about 3 months out from the crossfit games. Then, they start lowering the strength work a little and upping their work capacity until all they’re really doing is WODs. At least, that’s how I’ve interpreted the various articles and interviews I’ve read.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
does anyone actually get anything out of the rowing machine? I find it useless whenever I include it in a workout, unless it’s a general warm-up.[/quote]

Absolutely. I love doing intervals on the ergometer, or even just all out 250 - 500 meter sprints. Closest I’ve ever been to blacking out from “cardio.”

A few months ago I played around with supersets of farmer’s walks with rowing. I’d do a couple sets as heavy as I could, no straps, superset with a 250 m row; then increase the weight, add straps, superset with a 250 m row. Abusive. [/quote]

That sounds horrible. I’ve done 1,000 meter go’s a few times and it knocked my dick in the dirt. I can’t imagine all out sprints. What’s your best time?
[/quote]

Yeah man, it’s a rough exercise if you really put the effort in.

500 m - 1:33.8
1000 m - 3:45.0
1500 m - 5:27.0

[/quote]

Meant to write I’ve done 2,000 meters a few times. A 5:27 1,500 is MOVIN’. Got upper later, might try this as a finisher.[/quote]

Haha yeah, I enjoy it. Until the last minute or so… I hate that.

Let me know how it goes.

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
does anyone actually get anything out of the rowing machine? I find it useless whenever I include it in a workout, unless it’s a general warm-up.[/quote]

Absolutely. I love doing intervals on the ergometer, or even just all out 250 - 500 meter sprints. Closest I’ve ever been to blacking out from “cardio.”

A few months ago I played around with supersets of farmer’s walks with rowing. I’d do a couple sets as heavy as I could, no straps, superset with a 250 m row; then increase the weight, add straps, superset with a 250 m row. Abusive. [/quote]

That sounds horrible. I’ve done 1,000 meter go’s a few times and it knocked my dick in the dirt. I can’t imagine all out sprints. What’s your best time?
[/quote]

Yeah man, it’s a rough exercise if you really put the effort in.

500 m - 1:33.8
1000 m - 3:45.0
1500 m - 5:27.0

[/quote]

Meant to write I’ve done 2,000 meters a few times. A 5:27 1,500 is MOVIN’. Got upper later, might try this as a finisher.[/quote]

Haha yeah, I enjoy it. Until the last minute or so… I hate that.

Let me know how it goes.[/quote]

Dude, you’re an animal. Are these times when you’re fresh? Tried the 5-4-3-2-1 from Cressey’s article (500m, 1 min rest, 400, min, 300…) and it still took me 6:40 something. This was at the end of an upper session, and didn’t feel like I got my technique down 'til the 3rd “set”, but this was pretty damn tough. Gonna do this every Monday 'til I crack 6 minutes, then go for a straight 1,500.

Again, you’re a machine.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
does anyone actually get anything out of the rowing machine? I find it useless whenever I include it in a workout, unless it’s a general warm-up.[/quote]

Absolutely. I love doing intervals on the ergometer, or even just all out 250 - 500 meter sprints. Closest I’ve ever been to blacking out from “cardio.”

A few months ago I played around with supersets of farmer’s walks with rowing. I’d do a couple sets as heavy as I could, no straps, superset with a 250 m row; then increase the weight, add straps, superset with a 250 m row. Abusive. [/quote]

That sounds horrible. I’ve done 1,000 meter go’s a few times and it knocked my dick in the dirt. I can’t imagine all out sprints. What’s your best time?
[/quote]

Yeah man, it’s a rough exercise if you really put the effort in.

500 m - 1:33.8
1000 m - 3:45.0
1500 m - 5:27.0

[/quote]

Meant to write I’ve done 2,000 meters a few times. A 5:27 1,500 is MOVIN’. Got upper later, might try this as a finisher.[/quote]

Haha yeah, I enjoy it. Until the last minute or so… I hate that.

Let me know how it goes.[/quote]

Dude, you’re an animal. Are these times when you’re fresh? Tried the 5-4-3-2-1 from Cressey’s article (500m, 1 min rest, 400, min, 300…) and it still took me 6:40 something. This was at the end of an upper session, and didn’t feel like I got my technique down 'til the 3rd “set”, but this was pretty damn tough. Gonna do this every Monday 'til I crack 6 minutes, then go for a straight 1,500.

Again, you’re a machine.
[/quote]

Nope. I always row at the end of my workouts, and never by itself. In fact, my best 1500 m (5:27) was after (from my log):

Deficit Deadlift
140x5,170x5,205x5,225x1
255x5
290x3

Deadlifts
(1x1+) - 325x6 (PR)
SINGLE - 345x2 (PR)

Paused Front Squat
5x170x5

Pull Throughs
3x80x20

Front Squat Iso-Holds
250x30 sec.; 275x30 sec.; 300x30 sec.

Indoor rowing - resistance level 6 - 1500 m in 5:27.

That’s an interesting protocol. I might try that. Do you count the 1 min. rest towards your total time?

And thanks for the compliments, haha.

Haha, no, that isn’t with rest included. Might be “easier” doing it after legs instead of upper 'cause my biceps were pumped to the point it was hard to row into my abs. The first 500 was slightly less than 2 minutes, don’t remember the other times. Shit was brutal, but kind of fun. Might try a flat 1,000 next time, see how I stack up.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Haha, no, that isn’t with rest included. Might be “easier” doing it after legs instead of upper 'cause my biceps were pumped to the point it was hard to row into my abs. The first 500 was slightly less than 2 minutes, don’t remember the other times. Shit was brutal, but kind of fun. Might try a flat 1,000 next time, see how I stack up.[/quote]

Ohhh. Yes, might help. Only issue with doing it after deadlifts is a fatigued lower back.

I’ll try the protocol you mentioned Wednesday after deadlifts.

[quote]baugust wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Haha, no, that isn’t with rest included. Might be “easier” doing it after legs instead of upper 'cause my biceps were pumped to the point it was hard to row into my abs. The first 500 was slightly less than 2 minutes, don’t remember the other times. Shit was brutal, but kind of fun. Might try a flat 1,000 next time, see how I stack up.[/quote]

Ohhh. Yes, might help. Only issue with doing it after deadlifts is a fatigued lower back.

I’ll try the protocol you mentioned Wednesday after deadlifts. [/quote]

Yeah, the first two “sets” my form was all janky and I felt it mostly in my lower back and arms. Started to kind of “get it” by the third set. It’s definitely a total body thing. Keep us posted on your time. It’d be cool to get a comp goin’.

Check out the competitive crossfit gym blogs that put out their programming daily, these are done by excellent coaches that have very specific periodization goals for the crossfit season.

A few of them are competitorswod, outlawway, crossfit invictus competition, opt

I did 5000m in under 20 mins. Try that one!

proof

Look up the training of Mikko Salo -uses the rower a lot. His 2k time is 6:30!

[quote]Jlabs wrote:
olympic lifts, steroids ,handstands, repeat.[/quote]

don’t forget the mystical pullup that is kipped…