13: 3RFT – 500m Row, 10 StO, 10 Hollow Rocks, 20 Ball Slams – Post Time and Avg Splits

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 1/11/13:

3 Rounds for time…

500m Row

10 Shoulder to overhead (155/105)

15 Hollow Rocks

20 Ball Slams (20/10)

Today’s Rowing WOD is an opportunity to work on moving through your hips and developing core to extremity power. After rowing 500m you’ll be slightly gassed, so be efficient and move the barbell with your legs and hips. The most efficient way to perform shoulder to overhead with this type of weight is a push jerk or split jerk. The jerk allows you to jump the weight up with the legs and catch it strong with locked out arms and active shoulders. Be ready to get under it so you don’t have to press it out overhead.

In rowing posture is an important skill that must be learned and developed. Exercises like bird dogs, curl ups, and planks will develop core stability for those long sessions in the boat. Along with core stability, we need to be able to engage the whole core while in motion and transfer force from head to toe in a powerful manner. Today’s Rowing WOD delivers that not only through rowing 500m, but with hollow rocks and ball slams. On the hollow rocks everything should be tight and connected. If a coach were to push down on your feet your hands would move up the same amount. For the ball slams get the ball as high above your head as possible and then put your whole body into slamming it to the floor. Be sure to catch the ball on the bounce by getting low and following it to the floor.

Report your time and average 500m splits to comments. Have some fun and get after it!

Rest Day 1/10/13: Have you ever tried Bison? Checkout this recipe!

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rest Day 1/10/13:

Have you ever tried Bison?

Checkout this recipe from Alex Black of Wicked Good Nutrition. It is delicious!

Also, if you’re looking to get into Paleo with some friends, checkout this fun challenge I’ve helped create – PaleoGolfChallenge.com

Grain Free “Spaghetti” with Bison Meat Sauce and Arugula

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Alexandra Black

I’m a big fan of grass-fed meat and an even bigger fan of bison, but last week I hit the jackpot! A friend hooked me up with some Vermont bison thanks to the guys at the Bison Project. And this is what I did with it.

…Get the step by step here …

Rowing WOD 1/9/13: 5RFT – 250m, 10 PU on DB, 10 DB HSC, 10 DB StOH – Post Time and Splits

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 1/9/13:

5 Rounds for time…

250m Row
10 Pushups on Dumbbells
10 DB Hang Squat Cleans 45/30
10 DB Shoulder to OH 45/30

Checkout everyone’s preparation for the catch!

1:1 Work to Rest Ratio Each Round (Do the math each round!)

In order to develop elite fitness we must develop our core and powerful hip extension. An athlete must be able to hold a strong posture and move efficiently through the hips when transferring force through the core. Today’s Rowing WOD will not only train and test our core, but bring attention to the shoulders and lats, which must be strong to hold a good posture and transfer force efficiently. Be sure to grab a lacrosse ball afterward and roll out the front, side, and back of your shoulders for at least three minutes on each arm. You will be sore if you don’t.

The goal for the 250m pieces should be to hold your ideal 2k split or faster. Don’t worry, the 1:1 rest allows you to hit it hard and go all out each round. The push ups are meant to be a deficit push up, so your chest should touch the floor below your hands. If you are still developing your push up, add an abmat or two to limit the range of motion and scale down. Focus on keeping the shoulders away from the ears and lats engaged. On the Hang Squat Cleans and Shoulder to Overhead movements be sure to use your hips to move the weight in order to save your arms. Keep active shoulders overhead!

Anja and Alex pushing each other!

Last but not least you will need to do some math. The biggest improvement you can make in rowing and racing a 2k is mastering your mental capacity. If you can stay sharp and use your mind even when fatigued, you can execute a race plan and push yourself through the pain. Today’s workout requires a 1:1 Work to Rest Ratio. That means after the first round look at the time on the clock and rest that amount of time. For the second round, remember what time you start and note what time you finish. You’ll need to subtract your start time from the finish time of round two in order to calculate the rest needed after round two. Have a piece of paper or a whiteboard handy. Be ready to control your breathing and think!

Post your time and average splits for the 250m pieces!

For those that have been following the blog or are new and looking for some helpful tips, below is a video I took yesterday of the Renegade Rowing Suspension Drill. We like to use this drill to really feel what it means to suspend from the oar during the drive. Whenever there are short pieces in a WOD suspension is key and can really be a game changer!

Rowing WOD 1/8/13: Max Pressure 15 x :20 On :40 Off – Post Fastest and Slowest Split

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 1/8/13:

15 x :20 On :40 Off

Max Pressure

CFH2O at the first Renegade Rowing Workshop Sunday! More details to come!

Elite fitness is all about developing power through high intensity. Today’s Rowing WOD is an opportunity to push your boundaries and test the limits of your speed. Catch your breath and focus on the 40 seconds off so that you can put every ounce of energy into suspending from the oar and going low on the split. Compare your results to your 2k race plan. Do you last through the first 7, but die soon after? Could you go faster at the start of your 2k? What happens to your focus in the last couple? Use your results to adjust your race plan and goal for our next 2k, which will be on January 19th at the third race of the Renegade Rowing League here at CrossFit Boston.

Post your fastest and slowest splits to comments.

The Renegade Rowing Club will be warming up with a couple of strap drills to feel and practice suspending from the oar. If all goes well I’ll try to get some video of the drill up for everyone later this week. Have Fun!

Rowing WOD 1/7/13: “Snow Drifts” – 2 x 17min w/ 4min Rest – Post Distance

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 1/7/13:

“Snow Drifts”

2 x 17min w/ 4min Rest

as follows …

5′ @22 s/m, 4′ @24, 3′ @26, 2′ @28, 3′ @26

Last week we hit “The Castle” to focus on ratio and rhythm. Today’s Rowing WOD is another opportunity for everyone to keep working on a sense of form and rhythm without the pressure of intensity and competition. Sometimes it’s good to slow down and dial in that technique. Pressure should be a moderate to hard steady state. That means you can get out short sentences but it’s difficult to maintain a detailed conversation.

In today’s Rowing WOD the focus is developing rhythm and endurance. Another word for rhythm in rowing is Ratio. By varying the ratio of the drive to the recovery rowers can maintain the same pace or split, but work more efficiently and make the stroke feel lighter or heavier.

When going from a 26 stroke rating to a 28 you should focus on more pressure with the legs and quickly redirecting the hands through the finish. Think of a slingshot as you pull the hands in and release them quick and smooth away. This will help increase the stroke rating while leaving you the same amount of time to sit up, breathe, and relax as you slide forward on the recovery. When the rating shifts down from a 28 to a 26 be sure to perform a ratio shift and try to maintain the same split. Focus on pushing a little harder and take an extra second to breath on the recovery to bring the stroke rating down.

Post distance rowed to comments along with songs that helped you stick to each rating!

Music can motivate us to push harder and row longer, but it can also give us a sense of timing. We might have to start calling it Music Monday’s if this catches on, but for now just have some fun trying to row to the rhythm of the music. Please add to the playlists any songs that help you stick to a certain rating and keep pushing hard!

Below is the start of a list of songs for various stroke ratings. If you were to use a music editing program like garage band to clip the songs into segments then you could perform today’s Rowing WOD completely in time to your favorite jams.

If you have Spotify, I’ve created a playlist for each stroke rating. Each playlist is named “Renegade Rowing @(insert stroke rate)”, so for songs that you could row to at a 20 the playlist is named “Renegade Rowing @20″. If you have favorite songs that go well at certain stroke ratings please feel free to add to the playlists on Spotify. Thanks Mike T. for kick starting this project and I hope this helps motivate everyone to find better rhythm and ratio!

20 s/m: Renegade Rowing @20

22 s/m: Renegade Rowing @22

24 s/m: Renegade Rowing @24

26 s/m: Renegade Rowing @26

28 s/m: Renegade Rowing @28

30 s/m: Renegade Rowing @30

32 s/m: Renegade Rowing @32

34 s/m: Renegade Rowing @34

36 s/m: Renegade Rowing @36