Back Squats, Front Squats and The Gauntlet « Fearless Athletics / CrossFit South Philly: Athletic Training For Everyone in the Center City/South Philly Areas of Philadelphia

Wednesday Aug 5, 2009

Back Squats, Front Squats and The Gauntlet

View Comments
posted by Eric

Today was the first time Rob K attempted a 5-rep max for Back Squats since joining CFSP, and he crushed it! Rob set a new PR of 225 for 5, beating his old record by 30 pounds! The evening class did front squats instead because we didn’t have enough racks for the large class that came. In the evening, Goose broke his PR in the warmup. Talk about a huge improvement.

Strength
Back Squat (Morning)
5 - 5 - 5

Front Squat (Evening)
5 - 5 - 5

WOD
“The Gauntlet”
For time:

35 Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (M:20k / W:14k)
30 Squats
25 Kettlebell Swings (M:24k / W:16k)
20 Jumping Ball Slams
15 Dumbbell Push Presses (M:30lb / W:20lb)
10 Pullups
5 Burpees

The Gauntlet is meant to be performed at 100% intensity - it’s an all-out sprint from start to finish.
We talk a lot about intensity, but how exactly does one achieve that level? Jeff Martin from Brand X CrossFit has some great tips here.

Post your thoughts to the comments!

Name	Max Squat	Gauntlet 1	Gauntlet2
Rob K	225 (Back Squat)	5:25
John	225 (Back Squat)	6:16	6:49
Kim	95	8:47 (Red Band)
Lesha	115	6:43	7:37 (Purple Band)
Rob S	105 (PROM)	12:22 (Jumping PU)
Hendrick	115	7:36	13:13
Jason	155	4:49	8:23
Jim	175	7:03
Goose	115	6:10	8:15
Pete	175	8:40 (Red Band)
Lee	195	5:08	6:24
Brendhan	145	6:20	9:14 (ROM)

Jim Mee

Alright first I want to say the site looks great, interested to see all the other link. Second, how come I did not make the board??? My performance was that poor? (LOL!) Finally, I read that article by J Martin, and I like and understand what he is saying, (I am not sure I would consider myself a P**** though).The furture WODs I want to try to go at it with a plan of attack. I need to pace myself and definitly take shorter breaks, I know that.
http://crossfitsouthphilly.com Eric

Oops - seems I always screw something up when there is a lot of you. You’re up now! No Jim, definitely not a P****. You just need to remember to breathe.
http://www.kimberlymeehan.blogspot.com Kim Mee

The new site looks great Eric, love the testimonials!! Good job everyone!!
http://crossfitsouthphilly.com Eric

Thanks Kim! Thanks to you and everyone else who made the testimonial page possible.
http://www.crossfitsouthphilly.com Wil

One tip for keeping intensity up that Jeff didn’t mention in the article is “getting a few reps in”. If you rest when transitioning between exercises, you have a tendency to rest longer than you would in the middle of a set.
So, if you’re doing Fran (for example) - when you finish your thrusters you should jump right up onto the pullup bar to get “at least a few reps” before you have to take a break. From there it’s much easier to stay in the “3 breaths and go” mindset.
http://www.kimberlymeehan.blogspot.com Kim Mee

When did Obama start working out with us???
http://crossfitsouthphilly.com Eric

That was spam which was deleted, Kim. My mistake - i reopened unregistered comments but forgot to hold them for moderation. Fixed now.
http://www.kimberlymeehan.blogspot.com Kim Mee

I figured that.