Today's WOD

CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.” – Michelangelo

A quote from a man who is recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time.

There’s the intoxicating myth in our society that there is such a thing as natural-born talent. Some kind of mystical factor that leads to such heights of achievement. Yet here he is, Michelangelo himself, expressing his magic secret.

It’s easy to dismiss achievements to factors we can’t control. To say history is by chance. It’s far harder, to admit that it’s another level of true grit and unrelenting effort. To realize that the great Michaelangelo simply worked his ass off.

Greatness is not by chance. It is by choice. Let’s get to work.

Weightlifting

1: Back Squat

3×5, post lightest set of 5 reps to WODIFY

Go heavier than last week

Metcon

2: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

5 strict toes-to-bars

10 Medball Situps 20/14

15 KB Swings 53/35

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“I attribute my success to this – I never gave, or took, any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale

The terrifying thing about excuses, is that they blind us to our next move. If we excuse or try to justify a misstep, we at a subconscious level tell ourselves that this is “out of my control”. That this was a fluke, or a chance event, and there’s nothing I could do differently next time.

On the flip side, owning what happens is not about beating ourselves up or throwing pity parties. It’s solely so that we can open our vision on where to go next. To see the lesson in front of us.

Excuses are contagious, and horribly damaging. Let’s take the opposite road, as growth begins with responsibility.

Metcon

1: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

“Low Tide”

AMRAP 5:

Buy-In: 700 Meter Row

7 Squat Cleans (95/65)

25 Double Unders

Rest 5 Minutes

AMRAP 5:

Buy-In: 500 Meter Row

5 Squat Cleans (115/85)

25 Double Unders

Rest 5 Minutes

AMRAP 5:

Buy-In: 300 Meter Row

3 Squat Cleans (135/95)

25 Double Unders

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” – James Clear

If someone has 10 coins, are they rich? Let’s say no.
What if they have 100 coins. Probably not.
What about 1,000 coins?

There is a tipping point. A number where our answer changes to yes. It actually narrows down to a single coin where that takes place.

But… we know it wasn’t just the single coin. It was the culmination of the many before. We can apply this same logic to our identity. By itself, walking the shopping cart back to its home isn’t going to change who we are as an individual. By itself, picking up trash outside of the local school isn’t going to either. It’s the culmination, that will. These votes for who we are, seemingly small at the time, add up.

A pitfall in life is when we view instances throughout our day as insignificant. We tell ourselves, “this won’t make a difference”. Yet at the end of the day, just like the single coin, it’s all that matters.

Weightlifting

1: Metcon (Weight)

Pressing Complex

4 sets of:

1 Presses (Strict)

3 Push Presses

5 Push Jerks

Post lightest weight used during 4 sets.

Metcon

2: Metcon (Time)

“Little Dipper”

15-12-9-6-3:

Ground to Overheads (135/95)

Lateral Barbell Burpees

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but rather by the seeds you plant.” – Robert Lewis Stevensen

The definition of success is whatever we make of it.

Many directly link results to success. And the lack thereof, to failure. But what if we reshaped that way of thinking. What we measured success, as the seeds we “plant for tomorrow”? What if we decide that a successful day is deemed so purely by how much we learned?

We can view days as tests.
Or we can view days as opportunities.
Time to go tend to the field.

Metcon

1: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

“Flinstones”

AMRAP 20:

50 Wallballs (20/14)

40/30 Calorie Bike/Bike

30 Toes to Bar

20 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (70/50)

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.” – Steven Hawking

One of the largest dangers in life is a closed mind.
Yet, very, very few, close on purpose.
We often don’t even realize it’s happening, until it’s too late.

It’s how our mind operates by default. When we think we have the answer, we stop looking for the solution. We not only stop seeking it out, but we no longer are even aware of the next idea, the next thought, as it passes us by. We blind ourselves.

It is not a plea to discount what we have learned. Cherish what we have learned! But instead, value the one thing we truly have – the willingness, to learn. That we have, in full. The willingness to listen to the next path, the next way. The willingness to stare, nakedly, at our weaknesses and address them. The willingness, to always be a student.

As Socrates said, “All I know, is that I know nothing.”

Weightlifting

1: Split Jerk (2-2-2-2)

Metcon

2: Metcon (Time)

With a partner for time:

20 Push Presses 95/65

60 Wall Balls 20/14

180 Double Unders

15 Push Presses 135/95

45 Wall Balls

135 Double Unders

10 Push Presses 155/105

30 Wall Balls

90 Double Unders

5 Push Presses 185/125

15 Wall Balls

45 Double Unders

Split work however you’d like.

25 min time cap.

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CrossFit East River – WOD

Coaches Notes

DAILY MINDSET
“Laziness, doesn’t get a vote. Frustration, doesn’t get a vote. Weakness, doesn’t get a vote. Negativity, doesn’t get a vote. Only you do.”
– Jocko Willink

As humans, we like comfort. And anything that challenges that comfort, will be met with resistance. And lots of it. It’s our innate self-preservation mechanism kicking in.

Yet there is a difference between acknowledging the voices, and listening to them.

It is a choice to be lazy.
It is a choice to be frustrated.
It is a choice to be negative.

When we can see these emotions for what they are, we can acknowledge them when they arrive. And then put them where they belong. They do not get a vote in how we live our lives. Only we do.

Weightlifting

1: Hang Snatch (3×2 at a moderate weight with great technique )

Weightlifting

2: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

“Power Wheels”

AMRAP 3:

9/6 Calorie Bike/Row

12 Power Snatches (95/65)

Rest 3 Minutes

AMRAP 3:

9/6 Calorie Bike/Row

8 Power Snatches (115/85)

Rest 3 Minutes

AMRAP 3:

9/6 Calorie Bike/Row

4 Power Snatches (135/95)

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene

Let’s not wait for the perfect time.
Let’s instead just create it.

“Just start”. We’ve used this approach in our strategy pieces. As we transition from the double-under rope to the wallballs, let’s just start. If we can remove that moment of hesitation, we quickly find those first repetitions are always there… and more. We surprise ourselves with a set of 15 reps, when we could have bet our lives that we might fail the first.

We can either await the picture perfect moment, or we can get outside and create it.

1: Metcon (Time)

“Singled Out”

3 Rounds:

1 Minute Wallballs (20/14)

1 Minute Single Arm Dumbbell Snatches (50/35)

1 Minute Box Jumps (24/20)

1 Minute Single Arm Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks (50/35)

1 Minute Calorie Row

1 Minute Rest

Metcon

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“I was complaining I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” – Confucius

A short story to share.

A man walked into a shop to order some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother, living 200 miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother!” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.

At times, we can take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted.

Weightlifting

1: Back Squat (3×5, post lightest set of 5 reps to WODIFY)

Metcon

2: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

“Taco Bell”

AMRAP 9:

35 Double Unders

25 Air Squats

15 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“Integrity is not a noun. It’s a verb.”

Just about everyone “knows” right from wrong. And if one knows right from wrong, they could be said to “have integrity”, as they possess the requisite knowledge. Yet, we know that’s not what real integrity is – as not everyone acts with so.

Real integrity, is action. Not a “thing”, but a living and breathing lens we live our lives through that we refine every single day.

Metcon

1: Metcon (Time)

“Diddy Kong”

5 Rounds for Time:

1 Deadlift 315/205

2 Ring Muscle Ups

3 Squat Cleans 225/155

4 HSPU

15 minute time cap

-Use 1 bar, Rx weights are designed to easily slide 45s/25s on and off for the DL weight.
OG King Kong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYay78n1dgE

Video is from 2008, enjoy

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CrossFit East River – WOD

DAILY MINDSET
“I don’t like that man. I should get to know him better.” – Abraham Lincoln

Perspective is everything.

In the abundance mindset, there is the belief all human beings are good. No one is born evil. The differences, between a terrorist and a police officer, are not malintentions. Both in their own mind, believe they are doing “the right thing”. The difference between the two are their interpretations, and understanding, of the world. Massive differences, but still at the root, perspectives.

A situation we can all relate to from some point in our lives, is poor first impression. An introduction to someone who… you’d rather not spend another second on. After the interaction, you want to distance yourself as far away as possible. Yet, life puts us right back next to them, not by choice, but by chance.

And we talk. And we strike some common ground. And we understand. We may not be close friends, but the brief amount of time we spent with them afforded us the chance to better understand their perspective.

Next time we find ourselves feel the wave of animosity towards someone, remind ourselves… we just need to get to know them a little bit better.

Weightlifting

1: Hang Snatch (3 sets of 3 at a moderate weight, good technique)

Metcon

2: Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)

“Double Jointed”

AMRAP 16:

15 Overhead Squats (95/65)

30 Double Unders

15 Deadlifts (95/65)

30 Double Unders

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