Sun´s out, guns out. Or at least we thought. More sunshine means more beach-time so we wanted to help you guys get your nice bicep pump before showing of your gains in the sun. Unfortunately, the sunshine wasn´t quite there anymore by the end of the day, but the bicep pump was real.
Today, we did Strict Nicole. Nicole being a typical CrossFit workout, a gruelling 20 minute AMRAP of pull-ups and 400m runs. Of course, it can always be tougher then that, therefor we decided to go strict today. 20 minutes of 400 meter run followed by as many strict pull-ups as you can do.
The difference between regular Nicole and Strict Nicole is the trainings stimulus. Where regular Nicole allows for kipping pul-ups, the challenge is the breathing here and how long you can hold on to your pull-up bar. At some point along your way of fitness, the amount of kipping or butterfly pull-ups is mostly limited by your ability to hold on or your conditioning. This is then also the limiting factor in Nicole. Todays Nicole being a strict workout, the complete stimulus changed. It becomes a completely different workout, having a big focus on strength. Holding on to the bar is not the biggest problem anymore, since your biceps will probably run out before your grip will. Having a good muscle conditioning in your arms and back is therefor key for nailing this workout. We hope you got a little bit better in this muscleconditioning today!
Since not everybody has a perfect strict pull-up yet, there were a couple of scaling options. Beside the regular bands to pull up, we threw in the barbell pull-up today. Making you able to pull your bodyweight up, without the use of the band, simply by using your feet on the floor a little bit. This way, you can use exactly the right amount of support to help yourself pull-up, enabling you to challenge every repetition you make!
Fun fact: Do you know why some of the the workouts are named after girls?! There are 2 theories: * The first one is that they have the names of girls like storms have girl-names: to make it easier the remember them. If you go over the world and you ask a CrossFitter in Brazil what their Fran time is, chances are pretty good they answer with their time, rather than asking ´My what time?!). To make workouts more recognizable and remembered, we gave them names that stick, simple girls names. * The second theorie, and my favorite, is that one of the early founders of CrossFit thought that ´Everything that leaves you on the floor, gasping for air, wondering what the f*ck just happened to you, deserves a girls name´. I personally like that one more, and think it is true too 😉
I surely hope you had a memorable Strict Nicole. I also hope you sleep well tonight, since tomorrow is going to be a very macho workout 😉 – Mart
