Back in March, we posted a blog about barbell complexes – in case you missed it, check it out here: We LOVE Barbell Complexes 

The post was quite popular, so we figured that you might love BB complexes as well. For this reason, we decided to give you some new inspiration by sharing some of the best complexes we’ve done in 2013. Furthermore, we have also added some demonstration videos – we hope that you’ll like it!

Ditte & Sarah

Complex 1: Snatch Push Press / Overhead Squat

• 3 Snatch Push Press
• 3 Overhead Squat

Nice and simple, this complex is somewhat ‘low intensity’ but demands a well developed technique and especially a good mobility. If you are very inflexible, substitute Snatch PP with regular push presses (in front). If you are feeling playful, try adding snatch balance or altering the rep scheme.

Complex 2: Powercleans/ Frontsquats / Jerks 

• 2 Power cleans
• 2 Front squats
• 2 Jerks (or shoulder to overhead anyhow)

This complex is fun, because the front squats will make the jerks so much more difficult than normally (Try it, and you know what we mean). Try this for max weight or use a fixed weight and go EMOTM (every minute on the minute) for a brutal workout.

Complex 3: Big Clean Complex (from CompetitorsWOD)

Europe Regionals 2013 are over – and what a great weekend!

Congrats to all the strong individual athletes and fierce teams who will be representing Europe in the best possible way.

See all results here: http://games.crossfit.com/leaderboard

Find our entire guide to Copenhagen and Regionals Europe here: http://fitasf.com/regionals-copenhagen-2013/

Good luck to all!

Ditte & Sarah

Friday

Gates open for spectators @ 8:00

Team Event 1

Team Heat 1 9:00 – 9:20

Team Heat 2 9:20 – 9:40

Team Heat 3 9:40 – 10:00

Break 10:00 – 10:15

Female Event 1

Heat 1 Female 10:15 – 10:30

Heat 2 Female 10:30 – 10:45

Heat 3 Female 10:45 – 11:00

Heat 4 Female 11:00 – 11:15

Break 11:15 – 11:30

Male Event 1

Heat 1 Male 11:30 – 11:45

Heat 2 Male 11:45 – 12:00

Heat 3 Male 12:00 – 12:15

Heat 4 Male 12:15 – 12:30

Break 12:30 – 1:00

Team Event 2/3

Team Heat 1 1:00 – 1:25

Team Heat 2 1:25 – 1:50

Team Heat 3 1:50 – 2:15

Break 2:15 – 2:30

Female Event 2/3

Heat 1 Female 2:30 – 2:50

Heat 2 Female 2:50 – 3:10

Heat 3 Female 3:10 – 3:30

Heat 4 Female 3:30 – 3:50

Break 3:50 – 4:10

Male Event 2/3

Heat 1 Male 4:10 – 4:30

Heat 2 Male 4:30 – 4:50

Heat 3 Male 4:50 – 5:10

Heat 4 Male 5:10 – 5:30

Friday heats will be the same in the morning and afternoon events.

End of day 1: Heats for Saturday morning announced.

Saturday

Gates open for spectators @ 8:00

Team Event 4

Team Heat 1 8:30 – 9:00

Team Heat 2 9:00 – 9:30

Team Heat 3 9:30 – 10:00

Break 10:00 – 10:30

Female Event 4

Heat 1 Female 10:30 – 11:00

Heat 2 Female 11:00 – 11:30

Heat 3 Female 11:30 – 12:00

Heat 4 Female 12:00 – 12:30

Break 12:30 – 12:45

Male Event 4

Heat 1 Male 12:45 – 1:15

Heat 2 Male 1:15 – 1:45

Heat 3 Male 1:45 – 2:15

Heat 4 Male 2:15 – 2:45

Break 2:45 – 3:00

Team Event 5

Team Heat 1 3:00 – 3:15

Team Heat 2 3:15 – 3:30

Team Heat 3 3:30 – 3:45

Break 3:45 – 4:00

Female Event 5

Heat 1 Female 4:00 – 4:12

Heat 2 Female 4:12 – 4:24

Heat 3 Female 4:24 – 4:36

Heat 4 Female 4:36 – 4:48

Break 4:48 – 5:00

Male Event 5

Heat 1 Male 5:00 – 5:12

Heat 2 Male 5:12 – 5:24

Heat 3 Male 5:24 – 5:36

Heat 4 Male 5:36 – 5:48

Saturday afternoon heats will be reshuffled following the completion of event 4.

End of day 2: Heats for Sunday morning announced.

Sunday

Gates open for spectators @ 10:00

Team Event 6

Team Heat 1 11:50 – 12:10

Team Heat 2 12:10 – 12:30

Team Heat 3 12:30 – 12:50

Break 12:50 – 1:00

Female Event 6

Heat 1 Female 1:00 – 1:20

Heat 2 Female 1:20 – 1:40

Heat 3 Female 1:40 – 2:00

Heat 4 Female 2:00 – 2:20

Break 2:20 – 2:30

Male Event 6

Heat 1 Male 2:30 – 2:50

Heat 2 Male 2:50 – 3:10

Heat 3 Male 3:10 – 3:30

Heat 4 Male 3:30 – 3:50

Break 3:50 – 4:20

Team Event 7

Team Heat 1 4:20 – 4:45

Team Heat 2 4:45 – 5:10

Team Heat 3 5:10 – 5:35

Break 5:35 – 5:45

Female Event 7

Heat 1 Female 5:45 – 6:00

Heat 2 Female 6:00 – 6:15

Break 6:15-6:25

Male Event 7

Heat 1 Male 6:25 – 6:40

Heat 2 Male 6:40 – 6:55

Break 6:55-7:15

Female Event 7

Heat 3 Female 7:15 – 7:25

Break 7:25 – 7:35

Male Event 7

Heat 3 Male 7:35 – 7:45

Break 7:45 – 7:55

FINALS

Female

Heat 4 Female 7:55 – 8:05

Break 8:05 – 8:15

FINALS

Male

Heat 4 Male 8:15 – 8:25

Sunday afternoon heats will be reshuffled following the completion of event 6.

Still hitting it hard in various gyms while travelling / competition recovery?

Here are some tips for light weight recovery products – they fit into your suitcase and don’t weigh alot:

• Blackroll mini
• Blackroll duo-ball
• Light weight foam roller # 1
• Foam roller # 2

Especially he blackroll mini and the duoball fit into even the smallest bag!

Explore other great recovery stuff HERE

Good luck at Regionals to all the athletes participating!

Ditte & Sarah

Ready for Regionals? Below is an excerpt  from a great article that we found on competition preparation…

We are looking forward to seeing all the best European CrossFit athletes in Copenhagen next weekend! Sarah & Ditte 

All athletes are nervous prior to competition, this is natural, but often it results in a lack of confidence by the athlete. The aim is to refocus the athlete so that they are positive and confident in their ability (“You only achieve what you believe“). The following competition stages focus on track and field athletes but in general, they can be applied to any event or sport.

Day before Competition

• Keep the training light and easy – work on technique
• Agree with you coach the objectives of the competition – focus and performance
• Check and pack all the equipment you will need for competition. Use an equipment checklist to ensure nothing is forgotten
• Organise food and drink required for the competition
• Check directions to the venue and plan to leave early so as to allow for any delay en route
• Have a high carbohydrate dinner
• Watch a video of good performers in your sport/event
• Get 7 or 8 hours sleep

Morning of Competition

• Allow plenty of time between waking and leaving for the competition venue
• Carry out some light stretching before breakfast
• Conduct mental rehearsal of your warm up and competition
• Have a good healthy breakfast. Do not eat or drink anything that will upset your stomach
• Pack all the required equipment, food and drink
• Leave with plenty of time to reach the venue

Pre Competition

• Once you arrive at the venue register and collect numbers
• Check event times and decide on when to commence your event preparation
• Fix numbers to club vest
• Avoid your competitors (speak to them after the event)
• Have a pre competition sports massage
• At the appropriate time conduct relaxation and mental rehearsal program
• Carry out your practiced pre competition warm up program
• Gather together any equipment you require for the competition
• Report at appropriate time to the collection point for your event
• Keep warm, relaxed and focus on your objectives for the competition

Post Competition Evaluation

• Congratulate your competitors
• Thank Officials
• Conduct your rehearsed cool down program
• Get together with your coach to evaluate the performance. An evaluation form is useful to help the athlete and coach conduct this review.

If you have more heats or events to compete in then refer back to the pre competition stage. After the final event:

• Have a post competition sports massage
• Gather equipment together and go home to celebrate

Read the full article on:http://www.brianmac.co.uk/comprep.htm

Friday, May 17th: First Day of the 2013 Europe Regional

Athletes and Spectators

9 a.m. – Heats start

9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Event 1 (Team, Women, Men)

1 – 5:30 p.m. – Event 2 & 3 (Team 2/3, Women 2/3, Men 2/3)

Saturday, May 18th: Second Day of the Regional

Athletes and Spectators

8:30 a.m. – Heats start

8:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Event 4 (Team, Women, Men)

3 – 5:50 p.m. – Event 5 (Team, Women, Men)

Sunday, May 19th: Final Day of the Regional and Award Ceremony

Athletes and Spectators

11:50 a.m. – Heats start

11:50 a.m. – 3:50 p.m. – Event 6 (Team, Women, Men)

4:20 – 8:25 p.m. – Event 7 (Team, Women, Men)

Find the detailed schedule here: http://games.crossfit.com/region/europe/schedule

This article from the Peak Performance online journal is great if you want to know more about functional movement screening. It offers a good insight into FMS and some tests that can be done to access mobility in the upper body joints. We hope that you’ll find it help-full! Sarah & Ditte

From the article:

In this article we’ll consider some key functional movement tests for the upper body. However, before we do, let’s just refresh ourselves about exactly what functional movement testing is and why it’s worth using as a screening tool.

As the years progress, our bodies undergo a number of mechanical changes induced by injuries, scar tissue, strength imbalances and weaknesses, loss of flexibility etc. There is no single reason for picking up an injury. Several factors can contribute, including previous injuries, gender, anthropometric characteristics, poor flexibility, decreased performance indicators such as vertical jump, valgus collapse during landing and deceleration, shortened reflex response time, postural sway and balance.

The result is that over time, our bodies don’t work as efficiently as they were designed to and our ability to move through the most basic and fundamental movements can become compromised. If this ability to move efficiently goes unchecked, there’s a strong likelihood that we will develop compensatory movement patterns, which can eventually result in lost performance and injury. However, by assessing the quality of some your body’s basic and fundamental movements with a ‘movement MOT’, you can help to ensure that you continue to move as efficiently as possible, therefore reducing your risk of injury.

One very simple and effective method of assessing your movement patterns is to use a functional movement screen (FMS), which consists of seven tests that assess mobility and stability as an indication of an athlete’s functional status and injury risk (1,2). The purpose of a functional movement screen is to:

• Develop an athlete’s ability to move through fundamental patterns of movement;
• Improve performance-related gross athleticism;
• Improve sport specific skills and performance.

While more traditional screening methods are still important for identifying potential injury and movement problems, the FMS is a simple screening tool that can be used by pretty much anyone to evaluate function. The beauty in practice is that the FMS focuses on movement-oriented tests, is portable and easily administered (you can get all seven tests done in about 10 minutes) and it has good levels of reliability.

Benefits of FMS

1. Improves functional and athletic performance;
2. Helps reduce the potential for training and sports injuries;
3. Provides a simple grading system to assess athlete/client movement;
4. Can be used by both athletic/sports medicine and general fitness professionals;
5. Identifies physical imbalances or weaknesses;
6. Allows trainers to better individualise training programmes for better athlete/client results;
7. Teaches the trainer and athlete/client to identify the difference between movement quality and movement quantity;
8. Allows athletic trainers, strength and conditioning specialists, personal trainers and physiotherapists to identify current injury trends and stats as they relate to the prevention of non-contact injuries;
9. Allows trainers to identify potential cause and effect relationships of micro-trauma as well chronic injuries in relation to movement asymmetries(1,2).

Read the rest + see the FMS tests here:

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/upper-body-biomechanics-how-to-test-for-flexibility-injury-and-mobility-41315

Regionals are almost over us. Read this cool blog post by Katie Hogan and get inspired aboout what to bring for Regionals/your next competition.

With CrossFit, there really isn’t much equipment to bring since your body is the most important piece of equipment you will use. That being said, I bring a handful of items that I have found very useful in the past. Keep it simple and only bother bringing things you have regularly used before and are comfortable with when training.

Sead the entire blog post here: http://therxreview.com/katie-hogan-a-crossfitter-competition-bag/