A chipper! My favorite kind of WOD!

Mike

From looking at that picture I suspect kettlebells are really good for grip strength. True?

For the cleans; 2 40lb dumbbells or 1?

Graham,

Two dumbbells.

What is a good substitute for rope climbing?

"Two dumbbells. "

Ouch...

Has anyone else found dumbbell cleans to be very awkward and have a fair bit of bicep involvement?

Solomon,

IMO, nothing does a perfect job of imitating the rope climb. However, a lot of people use towel pull-ups as a rope climb substitute. Try and have about a foot to 18 inches spacing between your hands to better simulate the climb.

Hope this helps.

Ryan,

Thanks for the tip. I was wondering what would be a good substitute.

This is what I have to look forward to when I return from self-imposed exile!!!
Fun, fun, fun!!

How long is the rope?

I just witnessed my lifting partner do the Linda
Unbelieveableeeeeeeee!!!!!!
Bwt 200
DL-300
Bench-200
Clean-155 16:19 took 30-45sec between each rotation until 4 then went straight through.
I did it two days ago at 325DL 215Bn 165Cl in 41:50 and felt good about myself. Now I realize I'm an old out of shape fart.

How many towel pull ups equals 1 rope climb?
Is it based on how long the rope is?

I really want to do the rope climb but I don't have access to a rope. I would really like the next best thing.

Thanks

Based on the 50 theme can I assume that one ascent would be 10 towel pull ups? Therefore, 5 ascents would be 50 towel pull ups?

It's all about scalability, right?

Stan

Last question......hopefully.

How high is the target for wall ball?

Stan...typically the conversion from rope climb to towel pullups has been:
1 rope climb (15ft.) = 15 towel pullups

Scalability, IMO, refers to the ability to scale efforts/intensities to an individual population...it doesn't mean that there's a direct relationship between X reps of one exercise and Y reps of another...or that a rep scheme holds true if an exercise is subbed out.

Coach (or other CF Gods) please correct me if I'm wrong.

25:54
THE FABULOUS FIFTYS
Rowed/65 Groperz rock wall pullups as subs vs dispense as RXed.... the KBs & the DB cleans were BRUTAL.... this one was a Finish or DIE trying WOD for me.. GOOD LUCK guys.@least I'm throung & a day early

21:35
I subbed 50 towel pull-ups for the 5 rope ascents (my grip just wouldn't hold out for 75).
I also subbed a 800 m. row for the run

Had to go a day early due to a work trip:

21:20.09

All as designated, other than the sub for rope climbs (5 x 15 towel pullups...these killed my time and grip). This was done following a pretty tough swim practice. I need a rest day...

Stan K.,
I believe the standard target for wallball shots is 10ft. Some, like Brand X, have an 8ft target for beginners and a 10ft for the "Big Dogs."

Matt G.,

Your opinion is dead on, scalability indeed refers to scaling efforts/intensities to varying populations and not to substitutions.

In this particular case the towel pull ups serve as a passable substitute for rope climb but in a couple of subtle ways can't come close to matching it. The major one of those ways is that during the rope climb you are actually transporting your body over some verticle distance, hense the increase in potential energy of the movement is huge comparatively.

(To test this out take a concrete ball that weighs approximately as much as you do, and then lift it to a height approximately that of the distance of the towel pull up....what? about a foot and a half? Then drop it, and measure the force with which it impacts the ground. Then take that concrete ball up to the height of the rope climb, in our case approximately 17 feet, and drop it, again measuring the force with which it impacts the ground. Which do you think packs a bigger wallop?)

Cross

21:40

my mods
40 - 24" box jumps
5x10 - towel pullups
40 - 45#db swing
50 - situps
40 - 30#db hang power cleans
400 jump ropes (today's killer)
50 - back extensions

I'm new at this. Don't laugh ;)

32:28

20in box jumps, 50
25 asst. pullups
30 lb DB swings, 50
50 situps
Hang clean w/ 2 20lb dbs, 50
800 m run - 3:24
50 back extensions

How many pullups would be comparable to 5 rope ascents?

30:09
Modified...
30" box jums, 40
50 towel PUs
50 40 lb dumbell swings
50 situps
20 40 lb dumbell clean&jerk (misread), 30 cleans
800 M run
50 back extensions

24:27

50x24" for jumps, and 50 pullups for rope climb. Oh and 800m stagger for the run;)

What can I substitute for kettlebell swings and how much weight?

Smitty--

You can sub a DB for the KB. Use a weight that's comfortable--if you've never done swings before, I recommend a 25# DB. Hope that helps.

HQ today, did a modified version of the WOD, but added another round. Thanks, Cill!

50 box jumps (1x50)
5 rope climbs (1x3+2x1)
50 1.5 pood KB swings (5x10)
40 DB cleans with 35 lb DBs (all broken)
Ran a medium-sized loop
50 Back extensions (all broken)
No Rest
30 box jumps (mixed jumps and step-ups, but didn't stop--back was smoked at that point)
3 rope climbs (3x1)
30 KB swings (15,10,5)
30 DB cleans (3x10)
@400 m run
30 back extensions (3x10).
Time @35 min.

what's the 1.5 pood = ??? pounds conversion?

WG,

The conversion is this:
1 POOD = 16kg.= 35lb.
1.5 POOD = 24kg.= 53lb.

20:22
Did regular pullups instead of rope climb

36:19. An eternity. Yes, I probably should have decreased the weights, but I was feeling like an animal this morning. Subbed 50 towel pullups for the rope ascents, assisted, and that really slowed my time. Yeah baby!

31:44

75 gravitron pullups instead of rope climb
50 back extensions done on swiss ball
40# dumbbell used instead of kettlebell

Same as Bob C other than:
took me 35 min.
I started with 0 resistance and slowly added 5 pounds at each failure point on the pullups.

42:40.

Sub'd towel pullups for rope climb, 55lb DB swings for KB work. DB cleans destroyed me - the rest of the WOD was a haze. Welcome back, Ron.

Time: 20:42

Still a little tired from Tabata squats in Colorado.

For time:
Knees to chest jumps with short rope=height, 100 reps
Pull-ups, 50 reps
50# dumbell swing, 50 reps
Sit-ups (anchored, military style on incline board 1/2 max), 50 reps
30# dumbell Hanging power clean, 50 reps
800 meter run
Back extensions, 50 reps
TOTAL TIME=34:08

switched rope climbs with 50 towel pullups (more negatives actually);
switched KB with dumbells;
did back extensions on the bed with my wife on top of me (no I did NOT lay on my back ;-) ), but that's not a good solution cause the bed ain't high enough to go down completely.

Time -> 31:04

Today's WOD gave me the pukie heaves all the way back to my house.
Time 29:48:28
Subbed rope climb with pull ups.
40# HPC/ 5@40#, 20@35#, 15@30#. I goofed and thought only 40 of these were Rx.
L8
Eric-SLC

32:32

18 inch Box jump (onto lifting bench), 50 reps (30+10+10)
50 towel pullups (replaced Rope climb, 5 ascents) - broken sets - and not very impressive.
1.5 pood Kettlebell swing, 50 reps - American swings focusing on pulling bell downward - 20+15+15
50 sit-ups - 30+10+10
40 pound dumbell Hang power clean, 50 reps - 10+15+15+10
800 meter Run - slow
50 Back extensions - 20+15+15

Good lord - brutal and brilliant workout - cheers to Coach and Lauren for bringing humility into my life!

47 minutes, subbed 75 assisted pull-ups for rope climbs, 50# DB swing for KB swing
sit-ups and back extensions on glute-ham developer

31:34 subbed towel pullups. I actually find these harder than rope climbs. Don't know why. I need a rope for my garage.

40 minutes.

This workout kicked my butt.
Subbed pullups for rope climb.

32:33:56

50 box jumps (2x25)
40 Subbed assisted pullups with offset hand grips (8x5)
50 25# DB swings (2x25)
50 DB cleans with 25 lb DBs (5x10)
800m run
50 Back extensions (20,10,10,10)

20" box jump.
50 towel pullups.
50 1pod KB swings.
50 unanchored situps.
50 43# DB HPC's (decided to man-up on this one rather than do 38# which was the next closest I could get to 40#).
800 meter C2 (the worst couple minutes of my life).
50 reverse hypers off the deck (low-back was dying after the C2).

26:05. Good times.

-D.

ok, the 50 jumps no rest no problem
50 towel pull-ups brutal but do able
50 swings got going and kept going
50 sit-ups nice quick pace
now came the hard part i subded the 50 db hang cleans with the 1 and 1 1/2 pood kbs 5 reps then switch. this posed two problems first the adjustments in controling the difference in wieght; second the fight to make yourself pick them back up after puting them down to switch hands.
two minute jump rope subded for the run
50 back extension not as quick a pace but the set was unbroken.

no time (didn't set the clock, just jumped in)
but by estimates just a hair under 20 min.

32:19

and now the modifications...
20" box jumps, 50 reps - 20/20/10
cliffhanger pullups, 75 reps - 10/10/10/10/8/8/5/5/5/4 rotating sides every set
40# DB swing, 50 reps - 10/10/10/10/5,5 rotating sides every set...i was lovin these
50 incline situps - unbroken
40# DB hpc, 20 reps then switched to 90# BB hpc after getting frustrated w/ the DBs
400 count jump rope - ~3:30
50 back extensions - 15/15/10/10

going for a run later

29:00
About 2-3 minutes of that spent dorking with gear
Did 50 pullups instead of rope climb.
DB Hang Power Cleans were butt kickers.

30 mins flat. used the tricep pressdown attachment on a high pulley for the rope climb. did 95#barbell cleans vice DB; the pinch angle on 40lb DBs makes cleaning them very awkward to me. i have a lot of room to improve on the cleans (5x10; took 6 mins....) and rope/towel pulls.

19:45'
As Rx'ed, except 50 towel chins for rope climbs (gotta get a rope), and 2 36lb KB used for HPC instead of DBs.

Box jump - out in the rain, onto tractor tire - 28+22
Towel chins - 10+10+10+10+10
KB swings - 54lb x 30+20
Situps (unanchored) - 40+10
HPC - (2)36 lb KB x 20+10+10+10
800m run -rainy and very foggy
Back ext - 25+15+10

Warmed up with gymnastic holds, and DL 265X3; 275X3. Ended with front and "roadkill" splits.

22:00
had to replace back extensions w/ reverse hypers
towel pullups 50 reps
KB swings 40#
Cleans 2x20# DBs

I never had one straight set of 50 reps all workout long, all sets were broken (except the slow 800m run).
Time: 26:00

Back from a fantastic time in Colorado (except for my bout of altitude sickness) for the Crossfit certification seminar. I would encourage everyone to attend a seminar; you will learn more than your brain can hold and have fun doing it! The scope of talent and knowledge present was incredible.

I was also made aware of a number of technique and muscle imbalance flaws I possess. I was unaware of these problems until the past three days. The help I received in proper squat form alone was worth it's weight in gold and the suggestions to help correct my incredibly tight/weak shoulders and elbows will definitely help me break performance barriers.

With that in mind, today's workout was to help me retain some of what I learned and to address the weaknesses. The dust covered mirror was brought out of retirement tonight:

3 36# kb TGU
GS style 36# kb snatches: 2x20/20 (thank you Fireman Tom! No lower back pain and no grip issues)
2 26# SC kb clean and jerks
4x10 pullups - all paused dead stop, straight elbows, no kip, packed shoulders
Broomstick snatches - 3 attempts per step using Coach Burgener's teachings
4x5 attempted "Chinese pullups" - still not enough shoulder strength/flexibility to do these
1x10 each 5# clubbell circles, mills and swipes - working very hard to straighten my elbows and pack the shoulders.

Elbows now feel tight and sore; I do have a tremendous problem locking them out in virtually every exercise. I have 20+ years of training issues to fix...

45:10

I'm a bit dissapointed in my performance today, but here goes
41:00.
climb: 15 asst. pullups (70lbs of help)
swings: 10lbs dumbells for the swings, and only managed 25 each side.
sit-ups: cable-crunches (1 set!)
Power Cleans: 10lb each side (NO idea if I did these correctly).
800 meter "walk" - 6+ mins.
50 back exts. broken sets (10,15,15,10).

Couldn't get to the gym today so I did a modified version of Fran at home (in honor of the seminar's opening workout).
42.5lb DB Thrusters
Pullups
21-15-9
6:03

38 min plus...but am able to handle crossfit better

jumps seem to agrivate my problematic knees so did 75 deep bottom air squats witha jump after every 5th
Ropes did standing 150pd sngl. arm cable pulldowns..(hey they were tough!)
All others as Rxd.

Time 27:08

Subbed 50 pull-ups for the rope climb. Like a lot of other people on here, the db cleans smoked me. Great workout.

32 minutes
did towel pullups and rowed 800m

Time 24:56:69

Subbed pullups for the rope climb and reduced the swings to 25# to concentrate on form that I learned this weekend is much less than perfect. Other than that as prescribed. Lots of fun and boy did I get some looks for those kips!

30:57:21

50 20 inch box jumps
50 towel pullups done in groups of five reps (bad grip on the towel)
50 kettlebell swings subsituted with 25-25 dumbell swing with 32 pound weight
50 situps
50 dumbell hangs.. BRUTAL!!!!!!!!!!! 32 pound down to 20 pound at one point back to 32 for last ten
800 meter run
50 back extensions

STeve

28:40

Subbed 50 rope pull-ups and 25 standard pull-ups for rope climb and 55# db swings for kb swings.

Wife:
21:25 w/ the following subs:
15" box
50 rope pull-ups, jumping for rope climb
25# swings
23# DB HPC
4min on Elliptical
25# Good Mornings for back extensions

42 minutes

That sure didn't feel like 42 minutes but I guess it was. The Hang power cleans really slowed me down the most. Subbed the rope climbs for pull ups. Used an 18" box and did 60 jumps.

assisted p/u instead of rope climb
1 pood kb clean instead of db
good mornings with 45lb bar instead of back ext
rest as rx
32:00

19:08

Subbed my home stairway for 20" box, 50 towel pulls for rope climb, 25# DB for KB, and two 25# DBs for hang power clean. Sit-ups and 800m as rx'd. Back extensions on the floor.

29:30 did 50 towel pull ups which took longer than expected

28:15 for:
20 in box jump x 50 2:12
rope climb x5(did 10 towel PU for one acsent) 6:07
55 lbs swing x50 4:19
50 sit ups >time 8:58 for this
80 lb hang power clean x 50 & PC
800 m. run 3:11
back extensions 3:25

26:05

jump to 2nd stair in staircase x 50
assisted towel pullups x 75
25# dumbell thrusters x 50
situps x 50
25# dumbell hang power cleans x 50
800 meter run
back extensions x 50

took a week off to nurse stiff neck (from exaggerated shrug on cleans 2 fridays ago), tweaked knee, fiery elbow, etc.

10 min ellyptical warm up

47 mins--subbed 25 pull ups for rope; 45lb db for kb, feet unanchored on sit ups, 30lb db on hpc, had to walk a bit during run.

glad to be back!

Traveling, so late post. About 28 minutes.

First official day back from a week off (self-imposed exile).
Thought my time was a little sub-par when I first saw it, now I see I'm middle of the pack and I have few modifications. Actually, only subbed 50 pull ups for the rope climb.
Time 32:40
I love those American db swings!!! I catch people staring every time. In fact, this time I noticed a "curl boy" shaking his head as to say, "What's that supposed to build?"
Character, baby! Character!

28:13
subbed 50 towel pull-ups for rope climb hope that was enough.

20 no rope climbs

24:28
w/ towel pulls

31:48. 10' foot rope x 5: broken=11 minutes alone

This one kicked me severely. I used a 10" box, and I wasn't able to do the hang cleans at all. Time 53:36

If this one isn't one of The Ladies, it should be.

27:20
with only minor changes:
45#Db swings (heaviest I had)
15'rope, no feet on the first 2.5 ascents, sit start on 2 ascents.

worked out with AJ Quirantes. He was banging out WOD for 11/16. Nice Motivation AJ!

29:45 with the following wimpouts:

-- no 20" box, so did 50 side-to-side jumps over the bench press bench (ski season is coming)
-- 50 chinups instead of rope climbs
-- 55 lb DB swings
-- all the stuff to do back extensions was in use, so did 50 good mornings with a 20-lb ball behind the neck

i was traveling on monday so made this one up on thurs.
lots of subs due to location:
50 thrusters @ 45#
75 pullups
50 db swings @ 55#
50 situps
50 hang cleans @ 95#
row 1000m
50 back extensions
time = 34:28

29:45

Did 50 towel pullups in mini-sets of 5, instead of the rope climb. All other as Rx'd.

What a *killer* WOD. I swear I was about to die during the db cleans - started with sub-sets of 10; final 4 sub-sets of 5 as my body screamed for mercy.

The 800m was pathetically slow as my calves and hamstrings attempted to recover... 1/2 an hour later as I type this after a contrast shower, I am still completely exhausted.

17 inch box jumps, 50 reps (1:33)
Towel pull-ups, 20 reps (sets of 3, 2 and 1)
40lb Dumbbell Swings, 50 reps (alternating 5 reps right and left, short rests)
Sit-ups, 50 reps
40 pound dumbell Hang power clean, 50 reps (sets of 5, lots of rest)
Down and Up 15X of stairs (mostly ran, walked end)
50 back extensions (short rests)

Time= 29:09

My first workout [of any kind] in 4 months - and it hurt! Every set was broken and it was disheartening to struggle so much, the challenge was to finish and the time no longer mattered. It took me a painful 23:40.

25:53

Without the run. I walked my dogs 3 miles instead. Those DB Hang Cleans were good clean fun. Broke up (22, 10, 10, 10, 8)

20in box jumps 50
alternate offset grip rope pullups 30 broken unassisted 20 broken reps elastic band assisted to keep heart rate up
1.5pood kb american swings 50
50 anchored feet situps
2x 40lb parallel grip at sides hang cleans (to avoid banging up knees)
800-900m jog around block
50 swiss ball anchored feet back ext
total time=36:36