November 17th, 2009: Scalable Fran

Pictured: The Ecuadorian FRAT founding member, s'more, and his daughter. s'more embodies the best character traits of CrossFit and the FRAT.

Three rounds, 21-15-9 reps for time of:

95# Thruster

Pull-ups

If you can do "Fran" in under 5 minutes, scale this up to 135# Thrusters and 45# weighted pull-ups.

If you cannot do "Fran" as Rx'ed, go a bit heavier than your usually scaled "Fran", in order to inch your way up to doing the Rx'ed version. However, scale accordingly!

Post scaling and time to comments.

Comments

[Gene @ Foundry CrossFit, La Quinta, CA]

Herm! MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!

I just got a sub 5 Fran the last time it came up, but I wanted to try something different tomorrow. The rep scheme is 15-12-9 for heavy Fran though, isn't it? The thrusters will wreck me at 135#, but I'm going to give it a shot I think, and just aim for completion.

[CynthiaJ in Sunnyvale]

here's an AWESOME post from Melicious on her blog...

http://theclothesmakethegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/sleep-of-righteous-part-1.html

I've been keeping up with posts even though I haven't had a lot to say... I just keep sending prayers out to you all, each encountering difficult challenges of one sort or another. I know I've got mine (and let's not even talk about my "marriage", which is so weird I can't even say "It's Complicated" on Facebook).

Finally getting some energy & strength back - did a 1RM deadlift today and got 225 which isn't my PR but surprised me.. although it was a "stripper deadlift" so I'm not sure I should count it as legit. Jason's programming is awesome, and it's helped me get my groove back on ;)

Also finally got the Kids program officially off the ground (including a financial arrangement for me); now I just need to find more kids!

[J9]

CynthiaJ-
NICE deadlift!

Pokey-
You were not supposed to answer the question yourself!!!

Achilles is doing better-the barbell slamming down on the top of my foot killed the achilles pain. Still bruised and may need to hold off on running for a few more days.

Rowing sprints and strict presses today.

Have a great day everyone!

[J9]

And WOW the pull-up mayhem continues, huh?!

[Pokey]

Ooops. That isn't really my name. I was just trying to throw everyone off track ?

J9-sometimes my brain is a little slow too. I should have realized I wasn't supposed to answer when you led it off by saying, "and now for some fun..."

[Xtina]

I usually do Fran at 65# but I think I will go up to 70. My fastest Fran time is 5:18 in August of this year. Gonna aim for around the same time since I uped the weight.

J9-Hope your foot gets to feeling better soon.

Cynthia-Congrats with the kid program! That is something I really want to do as well. Very cool!

Long day today. Teaching Zoology at the high school today....kinda nervous! And then I work the Boys and Girls Club after school program.
Have a great day everyone!!!

[Strong Lil Pony!]

That Marianne Williamson quote is one of my favorites! Fantastic support here :)

Well Fran this morning was NOT fantastic, more like craptastic, so bad it was good.

8:48 with 45# bar, band PUs. This was at the 10 dollar globo Goat and I had to join while the shed and garage are being fixed up. The pull up bar was super thick and ripped up my hands- ow. They are what killed my time, plus my grip was shot shot from Angie. My last 3 Frans were 30# dumbbells so I have to look way back for a compare to date. My 1st and 3rd set thrusters were unbroken.

I was NOT passive/aggressive this morning pokey! I got right up, got dressed and told Goat he ought to get up. He said he was trying ( and we had agreed to an early WOD so its not like I'm this bee-yotch forcing him to WOD- LOL) I *did* scoop up my kitty Zaida and throw her on him so I guess that's just plain aggressive! :) it's really fun to workout with him- thanks hon. I would not have pushed on those pull ups with out you.

J9- did you get an email about another think tank? I didn't get one. Roger on the visit to the Red Shed!

Goat and I were talking bout a FRAT Think Tank- I said the boys will have their brew, ladies with wine and 'tinis- it'll be the FRAT Drink Tank. Who's in?

[Goat]

Reading the discussion, I had to go watch the Greg A. Heavy Fran video again.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_AmundsonHeavyFran.wmv
I love that video. It was my introduction to CrossFit.

I started out at 250# or so, completely sedentary and de-conditioned. Then I started training in jiu-jitsu, and realized instantly how out of shape I was. I started lifting heavy, using a decent program by Robert Dos Remedios, but soon realized it wasn't enough.

I wanted something to make me strong, and to give me better "wind", make me quicker, more resistant to injury, etc. I decided to design my own program. It would include heavy lifting, interval training (all with functional movements, no curls and such), and I wanted olympic lifting in there as well. The need for explosive hip extension in grappling makes me wonder why most amateur grapplers are not O-lifters as well.

Anyway, I started looking online for places I could train the lifts, and info about programming. One day I stumbled across Jon Gilson's againfaster.com. Loved it. I read article after article, and many of them mentioned CrossFit. So I did a little search and visited the main site, browsed through some stuff, found the video section, and noticed "Heavy Fran".

I swear that when the video started playing, the clouds parted and a ray of the brightest sunlight shown down upon my screen. Here was the machine-like performance I was looking for. It was incredible to me. Ironic, since I've seen performances since which dwarf this one, but it was my first and I still love to watch it.

Isn't that strange, though? How often is it that one can go looking for something, and find exactly what he was looking for, easily accessible and free of charge at that? Doesn't happen much.

[Goat]

Oh, yeah, my time.

"Fran" (scaled)

21-15-9
65# thrusters
pull-ups

8:46

The pull-ups were dragging me down this morning. I gotta get better at them and push-ups. Many of my time would improve with a little more strength, methinks.

Pony isn't joking, the pull-up bars at this gym seem to be designed to keep people from doing pull-ups, or at least to keep us from kipping. I have two blisters from today, and my hands almost never blister.

It's not the diameter that bothers me, although they are kinda large. My old bar was not only thick, but it was un-fixed, so it would rotate in it's mounting. Messes with you if you aren't used to it. The problem with these bars is the hard, textured rubber coating. It shreds flesh.

[Playoff Beard]

Fran as rx'd

6:55 (pr)

My hands look like a bloody train wreck...anybody wanna see em'? :-)

Pony, I'm in for the FRAT think tank. Just tell me when and where!

Get some everybody!

[pokey]

The drink/think tank sounds interesting. I don't know if I could make it down from up here, though.

Pony- Awesome. Cat throwing and catching should be a WOD all by itself.

Xtina- same goes with teaching high school anything.

Stephen- awesome Angie. The three days in the woods seemed to have done some good. Any word on your interview? I'm still praying for you.

Kathleen- Warm thoughts and prayers are going out to you and your son.

I'm hoping to do Fran this afternoon/evening. My last was a 6:09. Even though it's not 5min I was still thinking about scaling but then again if I go strict ROM and Rxd weight that may do the scaling for me.

[Cookie]

Drinks?! Did somebody say drinks?!!!! IN!!!! Oh I love my cocktails!
Cyn - Nice DL lady!!j9 - omg your poor foot!!! :(
Im pissed off to all holy hell that Fran has come up and I have instructions to do "slow and controlled movements" for my foot and I havent managed to learn to kip yet - pull-ups are still singles. I may do it anyhow cuz I dont know if im gonna like "watching the other kids play." We'll see.
I did a mini wod with ring rows, pushups, situps and bws last night. Felt good. Just wanted a little sweat since I was off Sunday.

[CynthiaJ in Sunnyvale]

Here's Chef Wallach's Paleo Pumpkin Pie, for those who don't check out his site very often! (http://breakawaysportcf.com/blog/)

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

For the crust:
2 cups almond flour
¾ cups Coconut flour
Pinch cinnamon
pinch ground anise
pinch of grated Valencia orange peel
1/2 cup warm room-temp rendered leaf lard or Walnut oil
Large pinch sea salt
1/3 cup cold water

Crust: Combine almond flours, dry spices and salt in a mixing bowl, add lard or oil and mix to a consistency of moist, rough sand. Add water a drizzle at a time until you have a dough just starting to form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll out on a surface LIBERALLY dusted with almond flour until pie-crust-thick, gently lay out on an inverted pie tin/dish and loosely press to form, lay a second pie tin/dish over he formed crust and invert. Trim excess with a pairing knife and pinch the edges. Chill, loosely wrapped in film until filling is ready….

For the Filling:
3 cups heirloom pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, roasted and pureed
1 acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, roasted and pureed
(- you can use 1 x 15oz can pure pack pumpkin if you’re pressed for time…)
Thumb sized piece fresh ginger, grated with juice
1 T grated orange zest
1 qt fresh cider reduced to honey-thick syrup
-should yield about 3 T
4 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp powdered cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup Coconut milk, chilled overnight and ‘water’ poured off

Filling: mix all the ingredients until smooth, pour into pie crust and bake for just under one hour at 350f. Check every 10 minutes or so after 30 minutes: the pie is done when a small, thin knife comes out ALMOST clean from the center.

[Gene @ Foundry CrossFit, La Quinta, CA]

Just finished Heavy Fran. Couldn't do 135# and 45#, so I did:

15-12-9
115# Thrusters
25# Pullups

11:30

Got me thinking about power output, so I ran it through the calculator, here's my rx'd PR at 4:24, and the above heavy workout:

Rx'd
Work Performed
52125.5 joules
5315.24 kg-m
38447.77 ft-lbs

Power Output
197.45 watts
0.27 horsepower
145.63 ft-lbs/sec

Heavy
Work Performed
47609.13 joules
4854.7 kg-m
35116.49 ft-lbs

Power Output
69 watts
0.09 horsepower
50.89 ft-lbs/sec

Question: If I do 3000 ft'lbs less work, with 1/3 the power output with a Heavy Fran, is it beneficial to my training? Would it have been better for me to try to get sub 4 this morning as Rx'd, to increase Power output while keeping workload the same? I'd love to hear opinions!

NICE PR PB!

[Goat]

Gene, what is your goal? For GPP, the higher power output is probably better, but if you feel your strength is low relative to your met-con, the heavier Fran might be more desirable.

[CynthiaJ in Sunnyvale]

and here's a variation on veggie fritters, from CrossFit Norcal's site:

Ingredients:
1 cup grated sweet potato
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup grated zucchini, grated and squeezed
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
salt and pepper
coconut oil for frying

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat frying pan on medium heat and add coconut oil. Make patties about the size of your palm, and place in frying pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked inside.

Gene - nice heavy Fran!

[Corey Bibolet]

Hey everyone. I am so glad I am not doing Fran today. I have a 4:29 Fran and would not like to do heavy Fran anytime soon.

PB - How can you rock Eva rx'd and have to scale Fran. Come on!

J9 - I had Achilles issues for months before my coaches got me on some foot exercises (circles and gas peddles).

Gene - I would be in the same boat trying to do heavy Fran. It would take to long. You should just do regular Fran for a higher power output.

My WOD today: To long to write. 10 stations, 30 seconds each, 2 rounds. It was a ski/ snowboarding conditioning type of WOD. Fun and tiring. Can't wait for a named WOD tomorrow (I hope).

[Gene]

Corey is allllll confused...

[Corey Bibolet]

Confused of what? You said it yourself about the power output...

I am working on 3 computers while I type up these posts. There's not a virus here is there??

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1362076940]

Cyn - how funny you should post that today - i go home for lunch every day and discovered I was out of EVOO so i made my veggie critters with coconut oil - really interesting taste :)

[Playoff Beard]

Corey,

I did Fran as rx'd, what'choo talkin' bout Willis?

Gene,

Nice work today, you are one strong dude!

CJ,

Great deadlift!

[Goat]

I scaled, Corey. My kung-fu is weak.

[Playoff Beard]

Patty,

You made veggie "critters"?

;-)

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1362076940]

yes, sir. I love me some critters ;)

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1362076940]

you guys crack me up!