Terrain Fitness is revamping the way we do cycles. In the past, we have done 8 week cycles with testing at the end. Now, we are running 12 week cycles with a week of deloading. The structure follows this:
Week 1 – Testing
Weeks 2 through 11 – Strength building
Week 12 – Retesting
Week 13 – Deload
With all this in mind, this cycle we will test/retest the Power Snatch, Overhead Squat and Squat Clean. The emphasis on this cycle will be to continue to build strength, but at a moderate pace. This will not be our main “volume” cycle. You will see moderate weight and moderate sets throughout all the weeks. Terrain Fitness is gearing up for the Open in October so you will see more cardio based workouts and more mentally challenging workouts. Stick with it and you’ll see massive improvements come October.
Power Snatch!
The Power Snatch is one of the Olympic movements you see in CrossFit. There are various forms of the Snatch, but we will be focusing more on the Power Snatch this cycle. Although, you will see Squat Snatch and Hang Snatches in the weeks to come.
The keypoints for the Power Snatch are:
Feet are hip-width apart
Hands are wider on the bar and wide enough that the bar rests in the crease of the hips when fully extended
Hook grip is key (we will be teaching this this cycle)
Shoulders are slightly in front of the bar at set-up
Maintain lumbar curve (straight back)
Everything rises at the same rate (no pulling early off the ground)
Once you hit knee level, hips extend rapidly
Once you hit triple extension, come up on toes
Shrug the bar and start to pull yourself under the bar
Bar is received in an overhead squat position
Complete the rep when hip, knee and arms are fully extended
Limiting mobility issues for the Power Snatch include thoracic extension strength, wrist and lats. At Terrain Fitness, we use lacrosse balls and foam rollers to loosen up all these areas. We also go through the Burgener warm up to get our bodies ready for Snatching.
Overhead Squat
The Overhead Squat carries over to the Squat Snatch, which is the receiving position. The same limiting mobility issues arise in the Overhead Squat and also adding in ankle mobility. The Overhead Squat will be taken from the rack position and not from the ground. Keeping your midline stable and active shoulders, descend down, pushing your hips back first then dropping in to the squatting position. Keeping your midline stable and tight along with active shoulders will keep the bar overhead and in the correct position. Once hitting proper depth, stand the weight back up.
Squat Clean
The Squat Clean is another Olympic lift you will see in CrossFit. It is just like the Power Clean, except your’re receiving the bar in the squatting position. This cycle you will see lots of Front Squats, Clean Pulls, German Complexes, etc which will guide you in to getting you more comfortable in the Squat Clean position along with getting you stronger in this movement. This will be an exciting cycle!
Double Unders & Pullups!
This cycle will be geared towards learning how to do double unders and gaining strength in pullups or mastering kipping/butterfly pullups. These movements are very important for the Open and they show up every year. Let’s get ready for the Open with mastering these skills. For the Double Unders, we suggest you practice these on your own as well. Ask a coach to give you some pointers on improving them or how to practice them. The skills will be done as one week on and one week off. Do not miss these days if you can. At Terrain, we love teaching these skills and love seeing our members start progressing in each area. You will be getting 5 weeks of each skill over the next cycle! If you’d like to work on these skills more, remember any of these stations/exercises can be done on your own time as well, during Open Gym hours.
Repeat Workout
Our test WOD for this cycle is:
For Time:
6-9-12-9-6
Burpees OTB (Lateral)
Front Squats
Chest-to-Bar
RX
Men: 135
Women: 95
RX+
Men: 185
Women: 125
This workout will be repeated in 11 weeks. Make sure to input your score so you can see how far you’ve come over the entire cycle. If you are unable to make the workout, ask a coach when you could do the workout. If you have any questions or input, please feel free to talk to one of our coaches. As always, have fun and enjoy the cycle and your own journey of fitness!
Good luck!
–Rodney and Rachel
