We started of with flipping tires. I always thought you deadlifted them, wrong. You push your chest into it with your feet about 12-18" away from the tire and then open your hips and drive your knee through. We did a short WOD with tire flips and box jumps onto the tire for 75 seconds that left everyone breathing hard.
Next up were atlas stones. If you are lifting heavy (I only got up to 175# - didn't feel like trying the 200#) it is a two stage lift where you create a shelf with your legs to rest the stone on. Your arms are wrapped around the mid-line of the stone with your chin resting on it. Then you load your hamstrings and violently open your hips so it rolls up your body. You actually let go of the stone briefly as it nears your chest/shoulder area. The other way is one movement without creating the shelf with lighter stones. Our WOD with that was 4 rounds of Tabata, atlas stone to the shoulder.
So......I got one rep. I decided to go really fast with the 95# and followed it back down like a slam ball to get it again (don't do this). It was on 2" of rubber matting and it bounced back about 28 to 34" up into my chin. Had some blood (they were cool and super glued it shut) and a cracked molar (my very first crown). I was a DNF on that one. The ladies at CrossFit Central were very cool, thank you.
The keg lifts were awkward, you have to shift it around 90 degrees to get it to your shoulder and then shift it back to press it, plus the contents move on you as you are doing this. Rob suggested to make it really interesting by using water instead of sand. The sand will only shift once or twice, the water never stops. The WOD on that one was optional so I passed.
That was it for the morning and I gummed some beef jerky for lunch.
Then came the yoke and farmers carry. You take short steps and don't walk a tightrope when carrying either. It was interesting on the carry, I can deadlift 365# but between the two hands I was walking with 370#. This is due to the neutral grip, fatter handles and they are 6" higher than a bar with plates on the ground. I liked both movements a lot.
We finished the day with logs. It is similar to a clean and jerk but not as pretty and with a neutral grip inside the log. You set it up like the atlas stone with your legs as a shelf but you lay your chest on the log keeping your elbows bent and at the same angle until it is at your shoulders. We also learned to viper press the log where you take it from the leg shelf and almost treat it like a power snatch/press. We then did a WOD with the viper presses and burpees. Lots of energy and encouragement with over 50 people there. We went through it in waves of 30 sec on the VP then some one else is taking your place on the VP's as you go to the burpees for 30 sec. Total time for the WOD is 1 min.
To sum it all up..
1. It's fun
2. It's easy to teach. I can have anyone learn any of these movements in 10 minutes or less but a good clean and jerk takes months.
3. It's simple and practical. Pick up that heavy ass thing and move it here or there. Some of the strongest people around are farmers, electricians, plumbers, etc. They are one their feet all day picking stuff up, putting it down. Working with their arms above their heads, twisting and turning. This is just the not boring version of that.
4. The movements are transferable to the more complicated things we do in CrossFit, so it is good for beginners and progression.
5. Did I mention it's fun?
