Workout of the Day:
“Helen”
Three rounds for time of:
400 Meter Run
21 Kettlebell Swings (24/16 kg)
12 Pull-Ups
–or–
“Fran”
Rounds of 21, 15 and 9 reps for time of:
95/65 lb. Thrusters
Pull-Ups
CrossFit Invictus stud Mike V. has been crushing it just a month into his CrossFit journey. Keep up the good work Mike!
Vieux’s Cues Can Work For You
Written by Michele Vieux
For those of you who have enjoyed one of my group or individual coaching sessions (you better say it was enjoyable, or else), you probably have one of my special reminders of technique and form (I’ll refer to them from here on out as Vieux’s Cues) burned in your memory forever—at least, I hope so for that is my purpose behind them.
The common movements of CrossFit have a lot of specific detail to remember—foot placement, grip width, range of motion, lumbar arch, heels, keeping the bar close, popping the hips . . . I could go on. To make these things easier to remember for each movement, think of something that reminds you of the movement’s points of performance so you can relate and remember them mid-workout. Here are some of my favorite Vieux’s Cues:
The Raging Bull - a stomping of the heels to remind you to stick your landing on the jerk, snatch and clean
The Choking Turtle - bulging eyes and pursed lips pressed between upraised arms as a reminder to poke your head thorough on the overhead lifts
The Power Drill (w/ sound effects) - using index fingers as tools to drill pulleys into your hips that guide them back and down in a squat
I have a plethora that I’d be more than happy to share and/or demonstrate—just ask me (or any of our fine coaches) if you’re having trouble remembering all the points of performance for a particular movement. And, if you don’t like mine, make up your own, but please do share! All you need is something that sticks in your memory to remind you of proper form and technique when executing your next WOD.
Tags: Coaching Cues, Fran, Helen
Oh come on! Second time Fran comes up and I miss her!
Seriously, I think this girl is just not that into me…
Sorry 6 a.m. crew, I will be unable to attend this morning since the wife has an early morning and I will have to take the twins to school. She has not been feeling well either so I think we will go this afternoon. I must warn you though, I am scared of Fran – she happens to be the only girl to make me see that clown – pukie. So I hope you guys have a bucket – because if I do attempt a PR it will not be pretty.
Well Frank, you missed some great competition this morning. We had not one, but two sub 3-minute performances turned in by George and new CFI member (but veteran CFer) Justin. Combine that with several more PR’s and two solid Helen performances, and you’ve got one heck of a class at 6 AM!
BC, where were you? I thought I would be witness to history. I can feel it…today will be the day when your Fran time finally becomes faster than your Helen.
So is the deal if we did Fran yesterday, it’s Helen today (and vice-versa)?
Double Whoot squared to 9:30 class!!!
Josh E & Josh H did “Fran” both w/ stellar times!!
New guy, John, turned in a sub-10 “Helen” on his FIRST CF WOD!
C-Note hit a “Helen” PR by over a minute and a half w/ a 9:04!!! Lekka!
KT did her first WOD completely prescribed w/ 11:05!
Jill crushed it w/ 1/2 of her bodyweight, as usual.
And Tina mounted her comeback today–1st WOD in 2 weeks.
Nice work everyone!
turned in a 4:49 for my first Fran. That workout absolutely floored me. I don’t think it’s ever taken me that long to feel normal again. Hopefully next time I can make through without stopping
Indeed it was an inspiring morning. Great to see some stellar performances on Fran and Helen this morning. I know because I was still completing ‘Heavy Fran’ while the second heat was wrapping up. The weighted pull-ups (#15) were a breeze it was the #93 (damn #33 women’s bar) thrusters that kicked my booty. It was a slow one, but I finished.
Looking forward to coaching the 6:30 crew tonight. I am sure the theme of stellar performances will continue on throughout the day.
BTW – welcome Justin it is great to have you as a part of the CFI community.
YAY! I’ve been trying to break a 10 minute “Helen” for a while now and I came so close to even a sub-9 minute! Breaking the pull-ups on the last round got me!
Thanks M for some great coaching today! Tina, KT and Jill- Big props ladies! John, first time “Helen” as rx’d AND sub 10 minutes- SOLID BRO! He is going to be rocking a sub-8 minute in no time!
Great day! Amazing how a good WOD and great people (friends) brightens your day!
Big ups to my husband and other Josh for doing “Fran”! Sub-five minutes- Whoot whoot!
Be back to the evening class tomorrow lovers!
It was an absolute pleasure to meet everyone from the 6am crew, thanks for making me feel welcome. Awesome work all around this morning! What a treat it is to finally get away from the Globo gyms, use bumper plates, and not have a meat head tell me i shouldn’t “swing” during my pullups… Hope to see everyone tomorrow!
Yeah, the 9:30 class rocked it! All of us as Rx’d!
Coryna, I was right this morning: you ARE a monster! And what an awesome first WOD for John, he didn’t even know he killed it! So I ran back in after my 2nd 400m lap and saw the Joshes resting in the middle of a Fran! No, silly me, they were already done– lightning fast. Good work guys.
So I had to share my story for today. I finished Helen in 12:19 which looks like nothing to write home about. However, this is my first benchmark WOD that I’ve had the pleasure of comparing against a previous PR. And get this:
Aug 6, 2008 13:13 12#dumbbell Jumping Pull Ups
Feb 10, 2009 12:19 35#KB Kipping Pull Ups
I would’ve been satisfied with just the 3x heavier KB and big girl pull ups, but to have nearly 1 min shaved off just makes my day. Hopefully I’ll be seeing more, especially since I’m faithfully logging my times now.
I agree with “M”, everyone was killin it today at the 930 class. It my first time with Fran in almost 3 months. I was 9 seconds off my previous PR. I did all the thrusters unbroken, but the pull-ups kicked my a**. Great job george and justin getting under 3 minutes, thats awesome. My time for Fran was 3:47.
BTW- Poor BC is still sick and *I* think he needs to go to medical and get some antibiotics (so he doesn’t end up sick for 2 months like Courtney!)
BC, I will hit Fran with you when I get back and you are 100%.
Great job this morning M!
Holy smokin’ times today! CFI athletes are ALL HEART!!!
Nice work to everyone, but especially to Jill for the stellar improvement. Jill said the 0930 ladies were super inspiring. Great scores by Josh, Sean, George and Justin. I long for the day when I can get a sub 10:00 minute Fran!
Wink / Mark,
I really wanted to hit up Fran with everyone at the 0600 this morning, especially knowing that everyone just did Helen yesterday. However, I know that Fran requires max out-put and effort; I wasn’t even at 80%.
In fact, I had to RTB (return to base) while enroute to CFI. I got to the 805 and my body and mind just didn’t feel right at all. I will surely go to sick call tomorrow.
I’ll hit up Fran with Wink when he gets back. In fact, we could get some high rez video of Wayne and me in a “CFI Fran Duel” and submit it to the main site. I’m sure that the whole CF Nation would be interested in watching a Butt Wink Wayne and a Bee Charmer going head-to-head, each trying to set 11:00 PRs for Fran. :0
It would be way more entertaining than watching the endless clips of the fire breathing studs crushing Fran in 2-3 mins.
Then again…maybe not.
BC Snifflin’ Out….
Hey all! Amazing work by the 6am crew. Thank you so much for welcoming me into the CFI Team today. It was a privilege to meet everyone! I look forward to getting to know you all and finally having the chance to use bumperplates, 20# med balls, and not having meat-heads in Globo Gyms tell me I’m “swinging” while I’m getting rocked by Cindy or Angie. Hope to see everyone tomorrow!
9:57 Helen…Three rounds for time of:
400 Meter Run
21 Kettlebell Swings (24/16 kg)
12 Pull-Ups