CrossFit creator Greg Glassman established “The Girls,” a series of workouts developed to evaluate the strength, endurance, speed, and power of CrossFit professional athletes. They are all short, extreme, and difficult– and they’ll unquestionably expose your weaknesses.
The initial girls, released in 2003, were “Angie,” “Barbara,” “Chelsea,” “Diane,” “Elizabeth,” and “Fran.” A few months later, “Grace” and “Helen” signed up with the collection, and “Karen” was added as part of the “New Girls” released in 2010. There are more than 20 Girl WODS now, and most of them have their own variants. WOD means “exercise of the day.”
Here’s whatever you need to understand about Karen.
The Karen Girl WOD
The exercise: 150 wall-balls for time. 20 pounds for males, 14 pounds for women.
Rating: Karen is scored “for time,” which means you finish the exercise as quick as you can.
Equipment Needed: Medicine ball (likewise called a “wall ball”).
Level: Karen is a terrific exercise for newbies. While the representative number is high, the workout includes one exceptionally functional movement that all athletes should master. The loading is likewise relatively light.
Advantages.
The Karen WOD is basic but surprisingly challenging. It’s so easy that many CrossFitters believe there’s no way that Karen could be so hard– till they do it. Here are four physical fitness benefits you can anticipate from Karen.
Muscular Endurance.
According to science, there are perfect associate varieties for strength, hypertrophy, and endurance. In general, constructing strength requires heavy loads and lower associates, while endurance requires lighter loads and more reps. Muscle hypertrophy falls someplace in between. At 150 representatives using a 20-pound or 14-pound medicine ball, Karen trains the type I muscle fibers that rely on aerobic metabolic process.
Power.
Secondary to muscular endurance, Karen also develops power. You’ll require to use power from your quads, hamstrings, and glutes to powerfully eliminate of the bottom of the squat and throw the medicine ball to the target. The power from your legs must give the ball enough momentum so that your shoulders do not truly require to work very hard.
Cardiovascular Endurance.
Though Karen isn’t a particularly long workout, it needs numerous associates with extremely few and really short rest periods. Preferably you wouldn’t rest for more than 10 seconds in between sets while finishing the Karen WOD. Your heart rate will rise dramatically and you’ll probably feel the familiar build-up of lactic acid, but you’ll be all the much better for it afterward.
Squat Practice.
To get better at squatting, you must practice crouching more frequently. Karen is a terrific WoD for squat practice, as you’ll carry out 150 conditioning ball squats. Holding the medicine ball will help you keep your torso upright and your core engaged, two typical faults in the squat.
Step-by-Step Instructions.
With simply one motion to remember, Karen is among the simpler workouts in CrossFit. You will not need to use much brainpower to keep in mind rounds and associates, like you may in The Seven hero WOD. Here’s what you need and how to complete the Karen WOD.
Devices and Setup.
For the Karen WOD, all you require is a medicine ball (also called a “wall ball”– this is different than a slam ball) and a wall or wall-ball target. I likewise recommend utilizing a small white boards, chalk, or tokens (whatever your health club supplies) to tally your reps.
How To Do a Wall-ball.
Set up: Place your medicine ball on the ground about a foot in front of the wall or wall-ball target. Stand with your feet in your typical squat position (about hip to shoulder-width apart).
When the clock begins, select your conditioning ball off of the ground, holding it with both hands on either side and squat down low. Try to get your hips below your knees.
As you begin to come out of the squat, use your hips and glutes to forcefully extend your hips and rise onto the balls of your feet. You want momentum here.
As you align your legs, toss the conditioning ball approximately the target, which is normally 10 feet for men and 9 feet for females.
Keep your arms encompassed catch the ball as it bounces off of the wall or target. This completes one rep.
To start the next representative, descend into a squat after getting the ball.
Common Mistakes.
All exercises and movements present chances for mistakes, and as such, opportunities for knowing. Here’s what you need to understand about typical errors in the Karen WOD.
Doing Too Many Reps Unbroken.
CrossFit athletes tend to wish to go extremely fast all the time. That’s excellent, however you must absolutely slow your roll when it pertains to Karen. If you go too fast right out of the gate, you might stress out halfway through. Rather of just assaulting as many representatives unbroken as you can, strategize. Attempt sets of 20, 15, or 10 with brief breaks of 5 to 10 seconds in between.
Not Reaching Proper Squat Depth.
Unless you have an injury that prevents you from squatting, you should attempt your best to reach complete squat depth. That indicates your quadriceps must be parallel to the ground, however some CrossFit coaches may motivate you to squat deeper.
Other Squat Technique Mistakes.
Besides reaching correct squat depth, you need to keep these key points of performance in mind for the squat: Keep your torso upright; chest high; core engaged; eyes forward; and heels on the ground. Consistently differing any among those points can lead to bad squat habits, which can result in injury gradually.
Not Using Legs to Propel the Ball.
For many people, the legs are the most powerful part of the body– it would be an embarassment not to utilize that power to save your arms and shoulders from tiredness. During Karen, when you ascend from the squat, powerfully drive yourself onto the balls of your feet and completely extend your hips. This momentum needs to make the medicine ball feel practically as if it’s floating up for a split second.
Not Reaching Wall-ball Target.
The standard CrossFit wall-ball target heights are 9 feet for women and 10 feet for males. At least half of your conditioning ball must reach the target. If less than half of the ball reaches the target, or the ball doesn’t reach the target at all, your coach may “no representative” you, implying that associate didn’t count towards your total reps. This most likely won’t happen in typical CrossFit class settings, however it definitely takes place in competitions and in the CrossFit Open.
Modifications and Variations.
The Karen WOD only consists of one movement, however don’t be tricked into believing that this exercise can’t be scaled or modified– it can. Here’s how to scale if for physical fitness levels, injuries, and pregnancy, plus some fun Karen variations.
Decrease the Reps.
For a lot of CrossFit novices, 150 representatives of anything is a lot. 150 reps of a total-body movement that combines strength and cardio is a different beast. If the prescribed associate count sounds like too many, scale Karen to 100 wall-balls or 75 wall-balls.
Lower the Weight.
Possibly you have excellent endurance however you aren’t yet as strong as you ‘d like. No problem! Scale the conditioning ball weight. The prescribed weights are 20 pounds for men and 14 pounds for ladies. Guy who are just beginning may wish to scale to 14, 12, or 10 pounds; ladies might wish to scale to 10 or 8 pounds.
Minimize Weights and Reps.
If both the representative count and weight appear too tough, you can minimize both to satisfy your fitness level. Talk to your coach about the very best way to scale.
All that said, a beginner variation of Karen may appear like this:.
75 wall-balls for time, 10-pound conditioning ball.
Scaling for Injuries.
Wall-balls need total series of motion throughout your entire body: You’ll require to completely bend and extend your knees, hips, shoulders, and elbows. If you have a current or prior injury affecting any of those joints, you may require to modify the wall-ball movement. Try these scaling alternatives.
Squat to box wall-balls: For those with knee or hip injuries, crouching to a box might offer some convenience and stability. Location a box 2 to 3 feet away from the wall or target, and use it as a guide for squat depth. This might take a few practice representatives to get used to.
Medicine ball crouches: If you can’t toss the ball overhead, simply squat with it instead. You’ll hold the medicine ball in front of your chest, with one hand on each side. This will feel like a front squat.
Thruster with a PVC pipeline: This is an excellent scaling option for someone who can squat and extend their arms overhead, however can’t toss the conditioning ball. You’ll front squat with a PVC pipeline and, as you stand, press the PVC pipeline into the overhead position.
Scaling for Pregnancy.
For the most part, the scaling choices for injuries also work for women who are pregnant. You ought to constantly minimize the depth of the squat to accommodate your stomach, and make sure your movements are sluggish and controlled. Constantly consult your physician or obstetrician prior to working out while pregnant.
Variations of Karen.
Since the Girls exercises came out in the early 2000s and 2010s, CrossFit coaches and athletes have actually produced variations of the WoDs to keep things enjoyable, intriguing, and tough. Here are two variations of Karen you can try.
” Karen Meets Grace”: The Grace workout is another tough Girls WoD that consists of 30 clean-and-jerks for time (prescribed weights 135 pounds/95 pounds). “Karen Meets Grace” integrates the two: First you’ll finish Karen’s 150 wall-balls, and after that instantly follow with Grace’s 30 clean-and-jerks. This mash-up isn’t for the quickly frightened!
Partner Karen: This is merely Karen with a partner. You can adhere to the recommended 150 representatives and divided them similarly (75 wall-balls each), however if you’re up for a major difficulty, do 150 wall-balls each for an overall of 300. A lot of CrossFit coaches advise changing after every 10 or 15 associates to prevent total tiredness.
Security and Precautions.
Compared to CrossFit exercises with heavy weights, technical lifts, and gymnastics motions, the Karen WOD is relatively safe. Nevertheless, you must still take particular precautions prior to any exercise. Keep these pointers in mind prior to attempting Karen.
Heat up and Cool Down.
Finish a particular warm-up that will get your body used to the motion it’s about to complete 150 times. Practice some bodyweight crouches, medicine ball crouches, and overhead presses.
After the workout, spend a minimum of five minutes– but preferably 10 to 15 minutes– cooling off. With a full-body flush that consists of slow monostructural movement (walking, biking, etc), foam rolling, and fixed stretching, you can promote blood circulation and lower the strength of delayed-onset muscle soreness.
Scale Accordingly.
If you’re new to CrossFit, do not do excessive prematurely. Ask your coach about scaling the exercise to your physical fitness level. Similarly, if you’re injured or pregnant, customize the exercise so you don’t injure yourself.
Wear Protective Garments If Needed.
The Karen WOD includes 150 squats and overhead extensions, which might be excessive tension on the body for people with bad knees or elbows. Compression garments help enormously to offset the pressure on your knees and elbows, so consider wearing them if you’re worried about discomfort during or after the exercise.
Hydrate Before and After.
Karen, usually, is only a five to 10-minute exercise, but you can still lose a lot of body water through sweating. This is especially real if you complete the workout at a CrossFit gym that isn’t air-conditioned. To combat dehydration, drink a minimum of 16 ounces of water prior to the exercise and renew with an electrolyte drink when you’re done.
