Looking for a new way to cook breakfast? Or just wanting an excuse to eat more bacon?
Find the secret to success and how to prepare one of the most amazing creations known to man. Project Mayhem with Rich Froning – Bacon Explosion.
There are rumours that this is the secret behind the Champions success!
Watch Now:
One Friday, I woke up to a surprise: I received a package in the mail! Being deployed to Afghanistan, packages are always a welcome treat. Typically, they include some of my favorite snacks from home and a handwritten note from family or friends. This time, though, my box was filled with the new Inov8 Fast Lifts!
I was so excited to lift with my new shoes. I’ve tried a number of different shoes for CrossFit, including two different pairs of New Balance Minimus and a pair of Reebok Nano 2.0s. Each had their own distinct advantages, but as I started picking up heavier weights (and focusing more on Olympic lifts) I realised I needed a more specialised shoe.
During Olympic lifts – and in particular, squats and snatches – I could feel my CrossFit shoes wobbling and squishing under my weight. I would expend energy trying to balance myself under my less-than-stable foundation. Enter the Inov8 Fast Lift.
So there I was with the anticipation building about 14.2 and my new shoes. I popped them on, threw a barbell over my head, and squatted. Immediately I felt a substantial difference, not only in how deep I could squat, but how stable my core felt. Apparently it was noticeable to a casual observer, because my lifting partner commented on how solid I looked at the bottom of my squat – in particular, how much better my knees were tracking during my descent. And like that, all my fears– at least about my new shoes – were conquered.
Despite being so light, the Fastlift are extremely stable. The heel of the shoe is made up of what Inov8 refers to as Power-Truss technology. This feature is comprised of columns that do not create unnecessary weight, unlike the other solid wood or plastic soles of other lifting shoes. Inov8’s EHC (External Heel Cage) really does “cup” your heel to prevent your foot from lateral movement during a lift.
While the Power-Truss and EHC are extremely useful, by far my favorite feature of the Fastlift is the flexible toe. If you look at the shoe from the side, the toe is not completely flat – rather, it curls up at the tip allowing for more flexibility. Inov8 designed the shoe to be versatile enough for CrossFitters to perform WODs in – not just heavy lifts. While using these shoes during 14.2, I was able to knock out the overhead squats and transition smoothly to C2B pull-ups. I’m certain I could use these shoes to perform box jumps, burpees, and many other movements in a WOD.
My base of support felt very secure in these shoes; they hugged my feet, they stabilised my heel, and they allowed me to keep my core and upper body aligned during all the lifts I performed.
Inov8 has designed a great lifting shoe that is both fashionable and functional, and perfect for the CrossFitter who is trying to perfect their Olympic lifts – or kick some butt in their WOD!
These are now available at The WOD Life!!!
Yesterday’s Workout 14.4 announcement was incredibly exciting, with all eyes on Scott Panchik and Josh Bridges as they battled out the 14-minute long AMRAP. It’s clear from this workout that the Open designers are hoping to challenge competitors with an intense combination of movements. Consistency is key in this workout!
Here’s the chipper that the Games announced last night:
The WOD Life wants you to be successful on this AMRAP, so we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks for you. Good luck!
Before the workout…
During the workout…
After the workout…
Check out these videos:
14.4 Breakdown – Athlete Cell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbdzLv8jY8Y
We’re excited to see our readers on the leaderboard for 14.4! Keep up the fire!
This is the first WOD of the 2014 Open we’ve seen with heavy weights, and no doubt you pushed yourself so hard that you’re feeling it now.
It’s important to plan out your recovery as much as you planned out how you attacked this workout. The WOD Life has outlined some recovery drills you can do to help ease the discomfort you might feel in the coming days. Follow these tips and you’ll be back at again for 14.4!
Your lower back was taxed on this workout, and it often takes longer to heal than other parts of the body since it’s working all the time to stabilise your spine. Take extra care with this area! Check out Dr. Mark Cheng’s article and video about foam rolling for lower back and quad pain here.
Also, check out this video from Athlete Cell about 14.3 Posterior Chain Recovery – we all know you need a bit of that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTohgufqB7o
I went for a short jog after I finished 14.3, and it made a world of difference. Swim, bike, walk, or row… any active movement directly after the workout will allow you to break up some of the lactic acid that built up during the workout. Do the same thing the day after your workout – the worst thing you can do is sit around all day after this one!
You may be feeling 14.3 in your lower back, hamstrings, and glutes, but don’t forget about the other muscles you worked hard. Your external hip rotators, abdominals, and ribs will all be fatigued as well. External hip rotators are important to keep your knees tracking over your feet, and increasing your mobility here will help ease tension in your hip flexors. Kelly Starrett’s MobilityWOD has a great guide to help you unlock your hips and improve your mobility. Your ribs and abdominals both support and connect to your back, so it’s important to keep them mobile in order to decrease the amount of strain that’s put on your spine and the surrounding muscles post-workout.
If you follow these three simple tips you will be back in the game in no time! Don’t forget to stay hydrated, and we’re looking forward to seeing your scores on 14.4!
This week’s workout gets heavy! This workout should divide up the truly talented athletes from the rest of the pack with two classic movements: deadlifts and box jumps. Each movement can be daunting on its own, but the real challenge this week comes from balancing the two exercises, pacing yourself, and make your transitions smooth and quick.
Weights in Kgs:
Men: 61, 84, 102, 125, 143, 166 kg
Women: 43, 61, 70, 84, 93, 102 kg
Masters Men 55+: 29, 43, 52, 61, 70, 84 kg
Master Women 55+: 43, 61, 84, 102, 125, 143 kg
The WOD Life has put together some tips for you as you prep for and perform 14.3. Get after it!
Before the workout…
During the workout…
Check out these great videos from the experts at Barbell Shrugged, Train Heroic, and Athlete’s Cell!
Athlete’s Cell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q2doMt-4yM&feature=youtu.be
Barbell Shrugged
Train Heroic
Carl Paoli
After the workout…
We’re three weeks in, and you should have a good recovery rhythm down by now. Take some time to congratulate yourself and your fellow competitors on their performance, eat and drink as necessary, and work some mobility. Most importantly, take some time to look back on your progress throughout the last three weeks. You’ve no doubt made great gains both mentally, physically, and emotionally – so leave the Leaderboard behind for a minute, and really reflect on your personal growth and development. We’re sure you’ll be amazed!
Week two is down – only three more workouts to go. How did your favorite athletes and team fair this week?
In the Australia Region, Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne is still leading the pack, with an impressive 1601 reps in Workout 14.2. This amazing performance earned them the third place spot worldwide!
CrossFit Active is in second place, with CrossFit Norwest following in third place. Each team posted an impressive amount of reps on this week’s workout – CrossFit Active achieved 1435, while CrossFit Norwest posted 1243. Awesome job by all of the teams in the Australia Region! Check out the top ten teams below.
In the Men’s Individual category, James Connew and Patrick Fitzsimons tied for first place, each with 325 reps. Following close behind was Scott Hutchinson with 322 reps. In the Women’s division, Kara Webb continues to lead the pack with 340 reps on 14.2. Her hard work has placed her in 5th worldwide. Jessica Coughlan, with 325 reps, and Penny Kemp, with 274 reps, secured the second and third place spots this week.
The leaderboard in our region has been very dynamic, and we’re looking forward to seeing who comes out on top in the coming weeks. Check out the Men’s and Women’s Top Ten here:
On the Worldwide leaderboard, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet moved up from 9th place last week to secure the number one spot, with 404 reps. In first place in the Men’s division worldwide is Irvin Hernandez, who posted 396 reps. Check out the Worldwide leaderboard here!
Check out The WOD Life’s Recovery Tips for 14.2. Congratulations to all of the athletes from Australia – we’re looking forward to seeing your progress as the Open continues!
Okay, so I was asked to try this product called RipFix, it’s an ointment that you put on your hand rips and it fixes them a lot quicker than just leaving them to heal on their own.
Normally I’m skeptical about these types of products and I was about this one too. So I figured that the best way to test it was to take one for the team and rip my hands on purpose, and see how it went. ‘Luckily’ for me it didn’t take too long, I ripped my palm doing muscle ups in Nate and I was off.
To my surprise it worked a treat and I have the photographs to prove it.
Day 1: I left the skin on to show that I actually had torn up my hand. Yep, it looks gross.
Day 2: You can see from this photo that it has already healed quite substantially. I removed the skin too.
Day 3: It looks even better in this photo, a lot of the redness has gone down.
Day 4: It’s pretty much done here, most of the redness has gone.
So now I’m an absolute convert and I carry a tin of the stuff around with me in my gym bag. I’ve been using it on my heals too because they were looking really cracked from wearing thongs all summer.
They also sell RipFix Pumice Stones to use on your calluses in the shower, I’ve been using mine on my feet too.
In Australia RipFix is available online at The Wodlife Australia, you should check them out because, as well as Winnies RipFix, they sell a tonne of CrossFit equipment.
CrossFit HQ has announced Workout 14.2!
Workout 14.2 is a demanding, high-volume workout that tests two complex movements: the chest-to-bar pull-ups and overhead squats. It’s clear that HQ is looking for the fittest of the fit this year! The workout consists of two rounds of overhead squats (OHS) and chest-to-bar (C2B) pull-ups every three minutes. As the time increases so does the number of repetitions. Check out the workout below:
Complete the following every three minutes for as long as possible:
From 0:00-3:00
2 Rounds of 10 OHS, 10 C2B Pull-ups
From 3:00-6:00
2 Rounds of 12 OHS, 12 C2B Pull-ups
From 6:00-9:00
2 Rounds of 14 OHS, 14 C2B Pull-ups
Follow the same pattern until you fail to complete both rounds.
Men: 95 lbs / 43kg
Women: 65 lbs / 30kg
Masters Men: 65 lbs /30kg Chin over bar pull-ups
Masters Women: 45 lbs / 19kg Jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups
Visit the CrossFit Open page for more detailed information about the workout standards.
Though this workout looks daunting, we know our readers will crush it! The WOD Life wants to make sure you perform your best on 14.2, so we’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help you out.
Before the workout…
• There is no substitute for a good warm up. This workout challenges the same muscle groups that we worked last week – your shoulder girdle, thoracic spine, hamstrings, and hip hinge. With both of these movements, mobility and flexibility is key to enduring multiple rounds. Your warm-up should consist of about ten minutes of cardio and a solid set of dynamic mobility moves. We suggest hopping on a rower and erging, as this will work your ankle and wrist range of motion and simulate the pulling phase of the C2B pull-up. Perform multiple shoulder pass-throughs standing and in a full squat, open your hips with some deep wall squats, and work up a light sweat. You don’t want to be warming up during the first few rounds of your workout.
• Take care of your hands. They are essential to a good 14.2 performance. If you have pre-existing callouses, wounds, or friction points (especially from last week’s Open workout) make sure you prep them before the workout. Callouses should be shaved down, wounds should be taped up, and any portion of your hand that may act as a friction point should be covered.
During 14.2…
• Know your body. How you attack this workout will be different depending on what type of athlete you are. You should be familiar enough with your body’s capacity to understand what it is capable of. If your strength is endurance, plan for longer sets paired with an equal amount of rest; if your strength is power, plan for rest periods in between smaller sets of work. For those of you lucky enough to have amazing anaerobic capacity, you should plan to knock out a full set as fast as possible and rest in the remainder of your time.
• Efficiency is key. You want to do as many overhead squats as possible without dropping the bar. Each time you drop the bar is an extra snatch or clean you need to do to return it to the overhead position; you have the potential to waste both precious time and energy if you drop the bar too often. Instead of bringing the bar back down to the ground when you tire in the overhead position, bring it to the back rack position and rest. Then, jerk it up to return it to the overhead position.
• Good form is critical. The importance of being able to stabilize your body during your OHS reps can’t be overstated. Remember the basics: bar above the heel during the entire movement; feet shoulder-width apart; arched back during ascent and descent; upright torso throughout the movement. Avoid muscling through the movement, as this will fatigue you quickly. Instead, utilize your musculoskeletal system as the basis of support for your lifts – relying on your skeleton, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues as a whole to stabilize yourself. For more tips on OHS, read this great article from Tabata Times.
Check out Carl Paoli’s Video on Overhead Squat and Chest to Bars:
And more in depth movement analysis on the Chest to Bar’s from 13.5:
• Set a pace; use the first round to get your nerves out. This is a high-volume workout that is going to require the physical capacity to endure multiple rounds of increasing work. Setting a pace in the beginning of your workout will ensure you don’t burn your body out right away. Establish a solid working rhythm in your first set that will help you avoid going too fast and conversely, getting left behind. Think consistency!
• Plan your transitions. Commit to a certain transition pace and use these periods to recover. Take two to three deep breaths before you switch movements. Use these moments to focus and center yourself. Regardless of what happened in your last set, don’t dwell on your performance. Just focus on the next task at hand and keep moving!
After the workout…
• Take care of your hands… again. Treat any tears, rips, or injuries. Your hands will be the limiting factor in your performance during this workout, and if you hope to attempt 14.2 again, you will need to make sure that your hands are healthy enough to give it another go.
• Hydrate. It’s simple enough: hydration is key for a speedy recovery. Drink up!
• Learn from your workout. Good CrossFitters are constant learners. 14.2 is just another opportunity to develop yourself – after all, hands-on learning is the best type of learning!
Our friends at Barbell Shrugged produced this helpful video that is full of advice for 14.2. Check it out!
Brian MacKenzie from the Athlete Cell on strategy and warm-ups:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT_PYbkLQ7Q&feature=youtu.be
Good luck to all of The WOD Life Crew! We’re excited to see your scores on the leaderboard!
What does Workout 14.2 have in store for competitors this week?
Last week’s workout was a 10 minute AMRAP of two fairly technical movements – the snatch and the double-under. There’s no doubt that this week’s workout will be just as challenging.
There’s still plenty of time for any of the nearly 200,000 competitors in the Open to earn a spot at their Regional competition. We’re sure that the competition is going to be fierce – and no doubt exciting!
We at the WOD Life predict a few things about this week’s workout:
• Workout 14.2 will be longer than last week’s workout. We predict an AMRAP of 15-18 minutes covering three different exercises. We’ve seen longer AMRAPs in the past, especially when three or more exercises were programmed.
• A longer workout allows Open competitors to test both their physical and mental capabilities. The WOD Life predicts that as the competition continues the workouts will become increasingly difficult in order to separate the best of the best for Regional competition.
• 14.2 will not incorporate burpees. Mainsite programming has scheduled burpees for the Wednesday WOD, so our guess is that other movements will be used.
• Last week’s movements were challenging for some new competitors, as they both required a fair degree of skill. This week’s movements will be less challenging in terms of skill, but just as physically demanding.
• Like last week’s workout, 14.2 will pair an Olympic lift with gymnastic movements. There are still plenty of competitors in the running for Regional competition, and we predict that this Open workout will play to a wide range of strengths and skills.
So what’s the WOD Life’s take on Workout 14.2?
Our best guess is that this week’s workout will be a combination of wall balls, deadlifts, and pull-ups. We predict the repetitions of the wall balls and pull-ups to be high, and the deadlift load to be fairly light. The AMRAP will be longer, allowing for multiple rounds and plenty of time to test your physical and mental capacity!
We know all of our readers here at The WOD Life will dominate Workout 14.2, no matter what the Open has in store! Good luck, and make sure to check back often for more coverage of the CrossFit Open!
Hit up The WOD Life, for everything you need throughout the CrossFit Open!
The results for Workout 14.1 have been tallied and posted. Congratulations to everyone who completed the WOD! There were a few standout performances in the Australian region.
Kara Webb is leading the Individual Women’s competition with an incredible 431 reps, followed closely by Angela Hudson and Kate Mitchell, with 403 and 401 reps respectively. In the Men’s Individual Competition, Dean Linder-Leighton is leading the group with 437 reps. Rob Forte and Michael Mikaere are tied for the second-place position with 424 reps each. The stakes are high, with only top 48 individuals advancing to Regional competition. To learn more about the top individual athletes and keep up to date with individual scores in the Australian region, visit the Leaderboard page here.
There are an incredible number of talented teams competing in our region this year!
In first place is Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne, hailing from Caufield South. The fourteen members of the team racked up an impressive 2217 repetitions in Workout 14.1. The team has qualified the past two years for the CrossFit Games and is shooting for a third time this year! Head coach Ben Schwartz says that his affiliate’s ability to develop stellar athletes is driven by “an intense desire to bring the best out of every client”.
His team this year is what he describes as a “mix of experienced athletes and newer athletes.” No doubt this year’s competition will be exciting to watch as Schwartz’s teams attempt to capture the top slot in Australia for the third year in a row. To learn more about Coach Ben Schwartz’s top team, check out this article. CrossFit Melbourne has some stiff competition with CrossFit Active from Artarmon, NSW, holding second place with 2200 reps. The top three is rounded out by Tropic Thunder from CrossFit Townsville in North Queensland with 2149 reps.
This year’s competition is already shaping up to be extremely dynamic and competitive. Make sure to stay up-to-date with the latest information about the CrossFit Open on The WOD Life!
Good luck to all of our readers on Workout 14.2!
Photo Credits: The CrossFit Games
Life asRX sponsored athlete Fitness Lonnie, destroys CrossFit Games Open Workout 14.1. Lonnie sets a WORLD RECORD with an unbelievable 642 Reps, surpassing Rich Froning’s 444 reps by almost 200.
Looks Legit? Will we see Fitness Lonnie a top the podium at the CrossFit Games in 2014?
Watch Fitness Lonnie’s 14.1 WORLD RECORD!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK8kHTAOl8Y&app=desktop
Hit up The WOD Life, for everything you need throughout the CrossFit Open!
Sam Briggs takes the lead on the Women’s Leaderboard with 472 Reps on Open Workout 14.1.
Watch Sam Briggs – 472 Reps on 14.1:
Hit up The WOD Life, for everything you need throughout the CrossFit Open!
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