Crossfit Undeniable On Ramp Session 5

Coach Arik was back to get us through on ramp session 5.  There was no lingering soreness to start this session and I was pretty pleased with that.  We warmed up with 500m row, 25 yards pulling knees to chest, 25 yards lunge stretch, 20 shoulder stretches with PVC, 20 open curls on the small of the back and 20 Superman curls in the prone position.  Then we did 15 air squats (keep arms over head, chest up, go low) and 5 push-ups.

The workout exercises today would include wall balls, knees to elbows and push-ups.

Wall balls would be kind of fun if they weren’t so physically and mentally draining.  Pick up and rack a medicine ball (men usually use 20 pounds, I used 14 pounds today).  Your hands should be under the ball and to the sides so your thumbs are pointing towards you.  Don’t try to squeeze the ball, it should be supported.  Squat down (hips below knees) and rise up launching the ball to a spot 10 feet in the air (9 feet for women).  The ball should come back to you and you should lower with it to the squat position.

Knees to elbows starts on the pull up bar and consists of bringing the knees up and engaging the shoulders to have the knees touch your elbows, then lower.  As a modification we were allowed to lie on the floor on our back and grab the vertical support of the squat rack.  From there, straight legs would be brought up to touch the vertical support (the hips should raise above the ground).  We were also introduced to kipping and the controlled rhythm of rocking the shoulders forward and then back.  It is important to stay in control and not swing with your feet.

Finally push-ups were reviewed focusing on chest touching the ground and elbows in.

The workout was 10 minutes AMRAP of 10 wall balls, 5 knees to elbows (scaled), 10 push-ups.  I finished with 4+10.  I was surprised at how difficult the wall balls were.  Most of mine were making 9 feet, if counting strict reps, I probably only managed 20%.  The knees to elbows thing was the only chance to rest.  I thought I was good at push-ups but after 2 rounds, things got ugly.  I started splitting them into 5-3-2.  I finished the first 2 rounds in about 2:30, then the next round took nearly 3 minutes, then 3:30 and the final minute it was all I could do to get the 10 wall balls.  I was amazed that my cohorts got 5+ and 7+ rounds today.

As usual we finished with nutrition and talked about Crockpot chili recipes.  Paleo Nick was recommended as an excellent source for nutritionally sound recipes.