In 2003, CrossFit creator Greg Glassman developed a series of exercises meant to check the limitations of CrossFitters around the world. There are now nearly 30 of these extreme workouts that test the strength, endurance, and dexterity of their triers– and they’re all named after ladies.
Walk into any CrossFit fitness center and you’ll likely hear the names “Fran,” “Helen,” “Grace,” and “Diane” tossed around. It’s common CrossFit lingo, and the professional athletes are probably discussing their finest ratings or just how much the exercise hurt.
One popular women WoD, “Annie,” is called after Annie Sakamoto, among the first trainers at the first-ever CrossFit gym in Santa Cruz, California. Sakamoto played a crucial role in the advancement of CrossFit, appearing in the CrossFit Games as an employee and individual professional athlete numerous times.
Her name exercise was very first published on the CrossFit website as the exercise of the day (WoD) on September 7, 2005, and it’s been a staple in CrossFit gyms since.
Annie is completed as follows:
50-40-30-20-10 double-unders
50-40-30-20-10 abmat sit-ups
How to do the Annie WoD
Score: Annie is scored “for time,” which suggests you finish the WoD as quick as possible.
Objective times: 10-12 minutes for newbies; 8-10 minutes for intermediate professional athletes; 7-8 minutes for advanced athletes; less than 6 minutes for elite professional athletes.
Equipment Needed: Jump rope and abmat.
Level: Annie appropriates for all fitness levels, however some professional athletes might struggle with the dive rope (double unders) part.
Advantages
A relatively simple exercise in terms of representative plan, Annie combines a sophisticated ability with a basic core exercise to challenge your endurance and dexterity.
Core Strength
All in all, Annie includes 150 sit-ups, an impressive number for any athlete to complete.
Speed
For elite professional athletes, 50 double-unders takes 30 seconds or less and 50 sit-ups might take 60 seconds. The more you practice Annie, the faster you’ll get.
Stamina
Due to the fact that this exercise is so fast, it might not seem like Annie challenges your endurance. But do not be deceived: Double-unders leave even the most elite professional athletes short of breath, and 150 sit-ups is a true test of muscular endurance in the core.
Dexterity
Dexterity is specified as the capability to move quickly and quickly. Characteristics related to dexterity include coordination, alertness, dexterity, gracefulness, and sharpness. Double-unders require amazing agility to carry out properly, and you can expect to become more competent at this skill each time you complete Annie.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Now that you understand the history behind Annie and how it can improve your fitness and health, it’s time to offer this benchmark WoD a go. Here’s how to establish and get a score you’ll take pride in.
Equipment and established
For the Annie WoD, you’ll need a dive rope and an abmat. Abmats assist you reach complete variety of movement in the sit-up and minimize the risk of injury to your spinal column and tailbone.
How to do abmat situps
When done correctly, abmat sit-ups are an extremely safe and effective core workout. This movement is similar to an abdominal crunch, however abmat sit-ups include a bigger variety of movement to challenge your core muscles and flexibility. To do an abmat sit-up, follow these steps:
Start by sitting on the flooring with the bottoms of your feet touching each other (knees indicating the sides).
Lie all the method back, using the abmat to support your lumbar spine, and touch your hands to the floor behind your head.
Use your stomach muscles to lift your upper body back up into the seated position.
Continue leaning forward: The associate is complete when you touch your hands to your feet.
How to do double-unders
All CrossFitters can settle on one thing: Double-unders are challenging to learn. This sophisticated ability includes swinging the rope twice under your feet during one jump, instead of the normal one swing per one jump.
Double-unders need a few key elements to be effective:
A a little higher dive
Quick wrist movements
Arms close to body
Almost straight arms and legs (see “Common Mistakes” listed below).
Double-under pointer: Get your own jump rope! Your fitness center probably has enough for everyone, but getting your own ways you experiment the same rope length, width, and deals with whenever, which implies you can become more comfy more quickly.
Common Mistakes.
To get your best Annie time yet– or to blow your very first attempt out of the water– avoid these typical Annie mistakes.
Failure to heat up effectively.
You need to warm up prior to any workout, especially a hard one like a Girls WoD. Heating up will prime your body for workout, making sure it’s prepared for the extreme stimulus it’s about to receive. Invest a few minutes on a basic warm-up and follow with a 10-minute specific warm-up (more on that under Safety and Precautions listed below).
Abmat sit-up strategy errors.
CrossFit uses standards for some motions to ensure all athletes complete exercises in the very same way. Sit-ups are one of those motions with requirements: Make sure you don’t get a “no rep” by preventing these typical errors.
Hands do not touch the floor overhead: An appropriate abmat sit-up includes complete range of movement of the abdomen, which indicates your shoulders must touch the floor and your arms must reach overhead to touch the flooring behind you. In a competition, you may get a “no representative” if you don’t bring your hands all the method to the flooring.
Hands don’t touch the feet: Similarly, complete series of motion in the abmat sit-up also includes reaching your hands to your feet. This requirement is in place to discourage professional athletes from only sitting halfway or a quarter of the method up.
Double-under strategy mistakes.
Double-unders take months, if not years, to perfect. Many CrossFit athletes are familiar with the sting of plastic jump ropes on their skin during the knowing phase– short-lived red marks or welts end up being a type of badge of honor, like a quiet way of stating, “Hey, I’m arriving!”.
While learning double-unders, lots of people dedicate these common mistakes.
The “donkey kick”: This takes place when athletes exceedingly bend their knees during the dive. Throughout double-unders, your knees need to stay just somewhat bent to take in shock. Kicking your lower leg up behind you presents the threat of getting the dive rope caught on your foot, minimizing your efficiency, and ending up with one of those infamous red jump rope welts.
Arms too far from the body: A crucial element of efficient double-unders? Keeping your arms near your body. Typically, athletes believe they need to swing their whole arms to create more force with the rope, but the reverse is true. Good double-unders involve a gentle, however fast, flick of the wrists. Your elbows ought to stay close to your torso.
Modifications and Variations.
Every CrossFit exercise is modifiable. If you can’t complete the 50-40-30-20-10 representatives of double-unders and sit-ups as prescribed, customize it in such a way that fits your requirements and fitness level. Here are a few ways to modify Annie for physical fitness level, pregnancy, and injuries.
Single Unders.
The double-under is a tough skill to learn: It takes most CrossFitters at least six months to one year to end up being skilled, which’s with diligent practice. If you can’t do double-unders yet, do single-unders (regular jump roping) rather. For benchmark workouts like the Girls, the associate count typically remains the same. Some CrossFit coaches might encourage you to double the associates to get the exact same cardiovascular stimulus. If that’s the case, you ‘d complete Annie as follows:.
100-80-60-40-20: single-unders.
50-40-30-20-10-: abmat sit-ups.
Lowered Reps.
If you’re simply starting at CrossFit or working out in general, the rep plan for Annie might be too much. You can lower the reps however you like (or however your coach suggests), however here are two popular reduced variations:.
Cut out the round of 50: 40-30-20-10, double-unders (or single-unders) and sit-ups.
Cut in half the rep scheme: 25-20-15-10-5, double-unders (or single-unders) and sit-ups.
Adjustments for Pregnancy.
For some ladies, leaping rope and sit-ups are 2 tough motions during pregnancy. If you’re pregnant and feel uneasy with either of these movements, try these modifications.
Rather of double-unders:.
Single unders. If you can do double-unders, however find that they make you feel uncomfortable throughout pregnancy, attempt doing single-unders, which are much gentler.
Most CrossFit gyms have at least one wind-powered (motorless) fixed bike. Cycle for as many seconds as there are reps. For circumstances, cycle for 50 seconds for the round of 50 double-unders.
Rather of sit-ups:.
Slab hold. Hold one second for each rep. For example, 30 sit-ups equals a 30-second plank.
Feline and cow. This gentle yoga posture (Chakravakasana) works your abdominal and back muscles. Do the same variety of associates as you would sit-ups.
Modifications for Injuries.
Even with a current injury or pre-existing injury that limits variety of movement, most people can complete some variation of Annie. Neither jumping rope nor sit-ups need any ranges of motion that generally intensify injuries (like pressing your arms overhead or squatting), but make certain to talk with your coach about modifications if you feel any pain doing either of the motions.
Variations of Annie.
” Annie on the Run” or “Rannie”: A popular variation of Annie, this WoD includes a 400-meter go to completion of every round, so the exercise is finished like this:.
50 double-unders – 50 sit-ups – 400m run.
40 double-unders – 40 sit-ups – 400m run.
30 double-unders – 30 sit-ups – 400m run.
20 double-unders – 20 sit-ups – 400m run.
10 double-unders – 10 sit-ups – 400m run.
A 400-meter run can take anywhere in between 90 seconds and 3 minutes, depending upon each professional athlete’s speed and endurance, so expect “Rannie” to take significantly longer than the initial Annie.
Toes-to-bar Annie: This variation of Annie follows the very same representative scheme as the initial Annie, but it replaces sit-ups with toes-to-bar. Toes-to-bar is an innovative movement that needs efficiency in the kip, great grip strength, flexibility, and a strong core. Toes-to-bar includes hanging from a pull-up bar or rig and flexing your hips to bring your toes all the way to the bar that you are holding.
Safety and Precautions.
You should take preventative measures prior to any workout, especially one where you’re going to offer an all-out effort. Before completing Annie, make sure you cross these items off your pre-workout checklist.
Do a general warm-up.
A basic warm-up primes your body for exercise by increasing blood circulation to your muscles, slightly raising the heart rate, and loosening up your joints. A basic warm-up must last a minimum of five minutes, however ideally 10 to 15 minutes. Walking, running, biking, leaping rope, rowing, or other monostructural motions are great for warming up, as are vibrant stretches to loosen up your major joints.
Do a particular warm-up.
A particular warm-up includes exercises that simulate the motions you’ll do throughout the exercise and engage the muscles you’ll require for good efficiency. For Annie, this can include practice reps of single-unders or double-unders, calf raises, and easy core exercises.
Hydrate and eat before.
To get your finest rating on Annie, it’s essential to hydrate and sustain your body prior to the workout. You can eat treats or a little meal 30 to 60 minutes before working out.
Wear the right shoes.
Annie includes 150 reps of leaping rope. Great shoes for jumping rope would have adequate cushioning and fit your feet comfortably.
Cool off.
Numerous people finish an extreme exercise and then hurry off to meet other obligations. Taking simply five to 10 minutes after a WoD can save you a fantastic deal of discomfort.
Cobra.
Wheel present.
Anterior shoulder stretch.
Cross-body shoulder stretch.