photo credit: AARON ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY 
FIRST OFF…I LOVE YOU ALL!!! I love that you are all jumping into these workouts and LOVING them…and by loving them I mean hating them now but loving them later cause you look so dang good!!! I am here today to answer ALL those newbie CrossFit questions that you all have and all those other questions I had people comment or email me about!!!
REMEMBER to take those before pictures and document and post about your journey!! I want to see all of you busting through these workouts!! Use the hashtag #6weekstofab
1. What does WOD stand for?
a. WOD: Work Out of the Day
2. What does 5-5-5 mean?
a. This means you will do 5 reps for 3 rounds. So for example you’ll do 5 squats then rest 1-2 minutes then do 5 more squats then do 5 more squats and your done.
3. What does 21-15-9 mean?
a. This is three rounds of different rep quantities. So you’ll start doing 21 reps then once you finish the 21 reps move on to the 15 reps. Once you finish the 15 reps move onto the 9 reps. Once you’ve finished the 9 reps then your complete with the Work Out.
4. What does EMOM mean?
a. EMOM is stands for Every Minute On the Minute. So if it’s a 10 minute EMOM of 10 Squats you’ll do the following. Start a clock that will run for 10 minutes then at the beginning of the first minute you’ll do 10 squats and then wait until the next minute starts and then do 10 more squats. So basically you do 10 squats EVERY MINUTE ON THE MINUTE.
5. What are Double Unders?
a. Double Unders are when the jump rope passes under your feet twice during a single jump. These are very tricky to master and take a lot of time. There are plenty of videos to help you with this. Start with getting really good at doing Single (normal) jump ropes. You should be able to do 200 singles without stopping before attempting Double Unders.
6. How long do you rest between sets?
a. During a timed WOD you want to go as fast as you can. This is where you gain the cardiovascular strength along with the muscle strength. If your doing sets of 5’s with squats try to rest 1-2 minutes between each set. Remember you want to push yourself while allowing yourself to rest with enough time for you to have PERFECT form during the strength workouts.
7. What is a 4×400 meter sprint?
a. 400 meters is equal to 1 lap around a track at a football field. You’ll find these at just about every high school. So this means you’ll do 4 laps around the track. 400 meters = ¼ of a mile. 2 laps = ½ of a mile. 4 laps = 1 mile. If you want to run outside in your neighborhood go ahead and measure from a starting point and find a good landmark to remember. 400 meters = 1312 feet. We have several landmarks, one for 200 m, 400m, and 800m.
8. 25 Bear Crawl? 25 Lunges?
a. If the WOD has 25 bear crawl and it doesn’t say 25 feet then do 25 steps. So if your doing 25 bear crawls then your hands will move a total of 25 times. If it says 25 lunges youll take 25 steps or your knees should touch 25 times. (ALSO…if the workout says 25 lunges (25 feet) that is kind of a typo on our part…just do the bear crawls for 25 feet!)
9. What does 8-5-3-5-8 mean?
a. This is similar to the 5-5-5. So you’ll do the following; perform 8 reps, rest 1-2 mins, perform 5 reps, rest 1-2 mins, perform 3 reps, rest 1-2 mins, perform 5 reps, rest 1-2 mins, perform 8 reps, rest 1-2 min, now your finished. You’ll want to try and go up in weight as your reps go down. Then as the reps go back up your weight should go back up.
10. What if I don’t have a pullup bar?
a. If you don’t have a pull up bar get creative. Use a door frame, floor joist in the basement, a strong pipe, etc. For a while I did pullups on the Natural Gas Pipe line in our unfinished basement. If this doesn’t work remember that the purpose of the pullup is to work your arms, shoulders, and abs/core. So the following workouts are good substitutes. Pushups and Chair Dips are a great substitute.
b. To do a chair dip sit on a chair with your hands grabbing the chair next to your hip then slide your but away/out from the chair so your butt is hovering in the air. Then using your arms you’ll want to slowly lower yourself until your arms are bent at 90 degrees. Then raise yourself back up. The purpose of this is to use your arms. To increase the difficulty you can place your feet on another chair in front of you. This changes the angle of your body and transfers more weight towards your upper body and arms.
11. What is a Clean?
a. When you pick up your child or an object off the floor and bring it up to your chest/upper body you have succesfuly performed a clean.
b. Here are the steps to performing a clean:
i. Squat down with your arms fully extended towards the ground.
ii. Grab ahold of the object then squeeze your but cheeks as hard and fast as you can. This will make your hips SHOOT forward in a quick and swift motion which in turn raises the weight from the floor in a quick manner.
iii. Once your hips are fully extended you want to throw your body under the weight. Then stand back up and you’ve completed a clean.
iv. The purpose of a clean is to pickup an object off the floor while using more leg power than arms power. Try to throw your body under the weight instead of just “arm curling” the weight. [Hopefully this makes sense]
12. What if I don’t have a weighted bar?
a. If you don’t have a weighted bar get creative. Try and find objects around the house that are weighted. You could possibly create objects like filling buckets with dirt, filling old milk jugs with water, grab a child and throw them over your shoulder. The fun part about working out at home is getting creative.
13. What is an AMRAP? (Week 2 Day 6, 15 min AMRAP, 25 Air Squats, 50 lunges, 5 pull-ups)
a. AMRAP stands for As Many Rounds As Possible
b. So ONE round is completeing 25 air squats, 50 lunges, and 5 pull-ups. So within 10 minutes you want to try and complete as many of the rounds of the workout as you can. Whats good about AMRAPs is that your repeating the movements multiple times which requires you to keep good form on your air squats even when your tired.
14. Please tell me how to keep motivated you did it so can I right?
a. The best method I’ve found to keep motivated is to set realistic goals. Don’t just tell yourself you want to loose weight, that’s to vague. Set a goal to loose 5 pounds and then work as hard as you can to do that. Then set another goal to lose 10 pounds. Now that you’ve reached these goals you’ll be addicted to keep going.
15. Why can’t I hold myself accountable?
a. Holding yourself accountable is difficult when your workout by yourself. Find a friend to work out in each other’s homes or keep in contact with your friends.
16. On the WOD it says 10 min and then 15 air squats, 10 pushups. Is that an EMOM for 10 minutes or 10 rounds of 15 air squats, 10 pushups?
a. This is an AMRAP of 10 minutes
17. Is there a time frame that the workouts should be completed in?
a. The workouts that require a time frame a typically labeled as the WOD. The time frame will push you to work harder and faster which in-turn improves your cardiovascular strength.
18. What advice do you have for sore muscles?
a. Take some Ibuprofen. This decreases the swelling. As for sore muscles; enjoy the feeling, this means your getting stronger. After about 2-3 weeks of consistant workouts your sore muscles will decrease.
19. do you still do cardio? Or just the WOD?
a. When you perform a WOD at High Intensity your gaining strength while getting your cardio workout. Lifting at a high rate of speed will work your lunges and heart.
20. I have the WORST sweet tooth and I was wondering how you curved that to stay eating clean?
a. Find healthy sweets and try to slowly reduce them from your life. For example if you’re a daily pop drinker try and cut it down to 1 can of pop per week, then 1 pop per month. I try and keep it in moderation, for example I’ll have a sweet once per week.
21. Is that all you do on the designated day?
a. Some of the workouts aren’t meant to take a lot of time. If you’re lifting with barbells and weights you’ll find that it will take a lot longer. The purpose of these workouts are to help the busy moms get a quick workout in during the day. If you feel the workout wasn’t long enough add in a few extra movements or go for a run. Not all the workouts are going to last very long or be very difficult. While others will be very difficult.
22. I often feel overwhelmed and discouraged by what I’m able to accomplish. Working out and hobbies feel like a luxury I can’t afford. Do you have babysitters or help?
a. Trying to find the time to workout can be very difficult at times. Set a goal every night to have the kids in bed by a certain time, go workout, and then you can have the rest of the time to chill and watch TV.
b. We typically put the kids to bed at 7pm, workout from 7:30-8:30 then chill out the rest of the night.
23. Do you have any advice on how I can take care of my home, hubby, kids … And myself? Guess that’s a loaded question!
a. Try and schedule/structure your day to work for you no you work for it. If your constantly running around putting out fire you’ll never get anywhere. If you can plan and schedule what you’ll do you’ll be surprised how efficient your day will be.
24. How long would you hold the wall squat for?
a. How the wall squat for as long as you can. The longer you can hold it the stronger you’ll get. Start with 20 seconds then work your way up to where you can do it by the minutes.
25. Can someone like me handle CrossFit even with my issues?
a. The best part about CrossFit is that anyone and everyone can do it. I’ve performed workouts alongside 60+ year olds. I’ve watched and seen many pictures of amputees perfoming workouts that have been altered to fit their needs. You can SCALE and adjust any workout to fit your needs. If you can do an air squat try sitting in a chair and standing backup. If the rounds or reps feel to much you can cut them reps and rounds down.
26. Should I be doing sit-ups in addition to the WOD every day or will just doing the WOD everyday soon shape my core?
a. Doing added sit ups are always a good thing to do. If you can strengthen your core you’ll notice a difference in all your workouts
b. Just about every movement in a WOD will work your core. Even a squat will work your core.
27. How much weight for the weighted squats?
a. Try and find a weighted object that you can squat with. Milk jugs, children, buckets, chairs, etc.
28. What is an air squat?
a. An Air Squat is when you perform a squat without any weight. Typically your performing more reps. This increases the longevity of your leg strength.
29. I was wondering if I didn’t have a bike could I use a elliptical machine instead?
a. An elliptical is a great substitution for a bike and you can substitute just about any stationary piece of equipment.
WOW THAT IS A LOT OF QUESTIONS!!!!!
FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME WITH ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND KEEP BUSTING OUT THOSE WORKOUTS!!!
HERE IS THE LINK TO ALL THE WORKOUTS!