Benchmark Helen

Helen performance percentiles from beyond the whiteboard!

Here we go gang!

Helen is a classic classic and one of my favorite all time workouts. Simple in construction yet deviously tough to get the right pacing, Helen will tax your running, your arms, and your grip.

Many people look at the run in Helen as being recovery between the rounds of kettlebell swings and pullups however to really optimize your time, you have to push the pace on the runs also. This is increasingly the case as you look to get under 10 minutes.

Managing fatigue in your forearms is a big challenge in this workout. Don't deathgrip the kettlebell swings or go to complete grip fatigue early in the wod. Utilize a "flat arc" kettlebell swing to keep your swings fast and efficient.

Pullups will be a big separator in Helen also - but given that you're going right into the run afterwards, push the pace as much as you can by doing big sets (or unbroken) and hope for recovery as you complete the 400m.

Good luck gang, and as always, log your scores in BTWB!!

Cam

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INFO FOR CAN WEST GAMES QUALIFIERS

If you are registered for the Can West Games, you can come in and complete the week 1 qualifiers either between 8 and 930am or 11am and 130pm on Saturday. Let's try to keep to those time slots so that you can share judging/filming duties!

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TRAINING FRIDAY - SATURDAY

WARM UP: Dowel Game 5-7 minutes!

SKILL: FRONT SQUAT 5 x 3 @ 70-75%, E2M

This is meant to be a lighter front squat session, so choose a weight you can execute smoothly and hold at that for all of the sets.

WOD: HELEN

Rx: 3 rounds for time of - 400m run, 21 kettlebell swings (35/53), 12 pullups

Scaled: kettlebell weight 18-26/35-44, jumping pullups

TG: Adjust run distance to 200-300m, scale as needed