Team Drew (Drew, Mike W, Michelle, & Steph) gaming the wod

Ever wonder what that mysterious bar on the side of the rower was for? Does it increase with difficulty as the numbers rise or does it get easier? The answer is that it depends on 1. The WOD, 2. Your strength, 3. Your form, 4. Your metabolic capacity, etc. Think of those numbers as gears on a bike. You wouldn’t use the same gears riding on Franklin Av as you would on Sierra, would you (those who ran the Intrepid 5k would get this)? Just as you wouldn’t use the same damper for a 2k row as you would for a 500m sprint or for a Tabata row.

CrossFit Endurance posted a really comprehensive article about the damper setting and drag factor and how it applies to your WOD. Here’s an excerpt:

Back in 2003, there was an epic battle in the mountain stages of the Tour de France between Jan Ullrich, a big, strong (in cycling terms) German dude, and Lance Armstrong, who was a smaller, leaner athlete with the Vo2 max of a champion thoroughbred race horse. They battled up the mountain at very different gears – Ullrich was in a high, hard gear tapping into his leg strength and Armstrong was in a low, easy gear which allowed him to spin at a very rapid cadence and use his cardiovascular strength.

Finding your optimal drag factor on the erg is similar to finding your optimal, most effective gear on the bike. In the Crossfit world, there are some people with beast strength and little to no stamina/endurance, also people with a ton of stamina/endurance but little strength, and then we have those rare freak athletes who are good at everything. To achieve the most effective results on the erg you must play to your own body’s strengths. So, are you a Lance or an Ullrich?

For the Lance’s out there:
Between 110-130 Drag Factor
For the Ullrich’s:
Between 120-140 Drag Factor

I’ve given you quite the range, but consider: would you use the same gear going up a mountain as you would in a time trial? No! And you shouldn’t use the same drag factor for a time trial/tempo WOD as you would in a short powerful interval WOD. For TT/tempo WOD’s you should be on the lower end of the drag factor spectrum, which means the fan lever on the side of the erg is lower. For short interval WOD’s, you would probably benefit from bumping up your drag factor 5-10 numbers. You increase your drag factor number by raising the fan lever.

Sorry to say, I can’t give you a magical drag factor number that will automatically make your numbers on the erg better. You need to do a little experimenting to find what drag factor feels the most powerful and efficient for you. Keep in mind though that the drag factor affects the feeling of resistance, it does not create the resistance. The resistance is created by effort.

So, in your warm up today, try to determine your drag factor and use it to determine your damper setting for today’s tabata row.

WOD 12.14.10

Snatch Pulls 5×3

Tabata:
Row for Wattage
Double Unders

c/o Good Mornings 5×3

While we tally the results of the November Pistol Challenge, we wanted to introduce the December Challenge, a 500m Row.  Many of you performed your baseline row yesterday, but if you missed it then please make it up at some point this week.  Take a look at some of the informative links below to help with your rowing form.

Here are some helpful videos from Concept2:
Rowing Technique
Common Errors
Compare your results to everyone else in Concept2′s Online World Rankings

Helpful Posts from CrossFit Invictus

WOD 12.01.10

“Chief”
5 Sets w/ 1min Rest b/n Sets:
AMRAP 3
3 Power Cleans
6 Pushups
9 Squats

The fact of the matter is that the shoulder, as a mobility joint, needs a proper foundation for it to function properly.

Let’s look at some other movements that require scapular stability:

Bench Press:   Few of us who have grown up in globo-gyms have avoided the inevitable rotator cuff injury from this movement.  The main reason being we were never taught how to properly execute this lift.  We tell you to keep your shoulder blades back (scapular retraction)  so that you create a strong foundation for your shoulders as you press.  A rounded back on the bench will kill both the lift and your shoulders.

Press, OHS (or anything overhead):  “Active shoulders ” and  “shoulders in your ears” are cues we use to elicit scapular elevation.  This prevents the all-too-common shoulder impingement injury when the acromion does not clear the rotator cuff.  Think about Monday’s OHS workout and how difficult it was to do it if you didn’t pull your shoulders back and up to lock in that position (a function of the scapula).

Rowing: Another example of a movement that requires scapular retraction.  Too often we get tired and start rounding the back as we return to the catch, setting us up for trouble.  Mark says that “setting your shoulder blades back and keeping them tight creates a safe, linear path for your primary rowing muscles to travel.”  The sumo deadlift high pull is virtually the rowing movement while standing.  Can you imagine starting the SDHP with a rounded back and shoulders relaxed??

Pull-ups:  The most common perpetrator in shoulder injuries due to the volume of kipping pull ups that can sneak into a WOD (50 in Mondays wod!).  Relaxing the shoulders in any way each time you come down to full extension can wreak havoc on your rotator cuffs.   Keep those scaps back and up (retract & elevate)!!!!

Since knowing is half the battle, I’ll cover the other half on maintenance and rehabilitation in a future post.  In the meantime, get those frozen dixie cups out of the fridge and ice massage after strenuous shoulder activity.

**A HUGE Congrats to Nick, Henderson Fire Department’s Newest Firefighter (That’s where Vegas is!)!!  Guess we have some Intrepid road trips in the near future!**

Front Squat 3×5, 1×15-20
3rds:
10 Hang Power Snatch
50 Double Unders

compare to 03.26.10 and 01.05.10

1. Begin rowing from the catch position: shins vertical, torso angled forward from the hip, arms fully extended with fingers curved around the handle, abs tight, and shoulders relaxed down and slightly pulled back.

2. Initiate the drive with the legs, giving a quick, powerful push (kick) off the catch while maintaining the forward body angle for the first half of the drive. Continue pushing with the legs while opening the body angle with the strength and explosiveness of the legs and core body strength.

3. As your legs reach extension, finish the stroke with a powerful arm pull, accelerating the handle as you pull it away from the flywheel and back to your upper abs. At the end of the drive, your legs will be straight and slightly up on the balls of your feet to prevent hyperextension of the knee joints; your body will be angled back about thirty degrees from vertical with activated trunk muscles; and your arms will be bent with the elbows behind the torso and the handle almost touching your abs).

4. Return to the catch by extending the arms and allowing the handle to pull the body forward. Lean forward at the hips, and then slide the seat up toward the feet with slow control. Overall, the recovery phase should take about twice as long as the drive phase.

WOD 09.10.09

Front Squat 5×3 (90%1RM)
500m row
400m
300m
200m
100m
Rest one minute between sets.
c/o gymnastics skill work.

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