Linda

26 Aug 2018

CrossFit Girl WOD “Linda”

For time 10-9-8-…-2-1 of:
Deadlift, 1.5x bodyweight
Bench Press, 1x bodyweight
Squat Clean, 0.75x bodyweight

Good time to beat Linda:</p>

32 min 03 sec – Fitness Level 0 – Beginner athlete
28 min 34 sec – Fitness Level 25 – Beginner athlete
25 min 07 sec – Fitness Level 50 – Average athlete
19 min 53 sec – Fitness Level 75 – Average athlete
16 min 42 sec – Fitness Level 90 – Advanced athlete
14 min 50 sec – Fitness Level 95 – Advanced athlete
12 min 51 sec – Fitness Level 98 – Elite athlete
11 min 00 sec – Fitness Level 100 – Regional athlete

What is Linda?

Linda is the only CrossFit Girl benchmark workout (WOD) that uses weights calculated from the athlete’s body weight.

Linda consists of three barbell movements deadlift, bench press and squat clean with declining reps starting at 10 of each and going down by 1 each round.

It is recommended to use three different barbells as changing weights during the second half workout will decrease the intensity dramatically.

What is a good time to beat for Linda?

According to our app WOD Time Calculator, a good time to beat of Linda for a Regional athlete is 11:00, an advanced athlete 16:42, an average athlete 25:07 and a beginner 32:03. I have used weights calculated for an athlete weighing 185 lbs.

Best athletes are probably going to do almost all sets unbroken and maybe even between barbells while every who is aiming for an advanced level or slower should start slowly and keep a decent pace through the WOD.

How to get a good time in Linda?

Linda is all about pacing. The reason for that is the descending rep scheme, you will do a total of 55 reps of each exercise, but you will finish the first half of 27 reps in the first three rounds (10+9+8).

There is a high probability that if you do first three rounds unbroken that you will hit the wall and have a hard time with remaining seven round.

Your goal should be to start slowly and split the first three rounds more than you need to. You should feel fresh after every set. After that, you will hold that pace for the remaining seven round or even push the pace if you have some energy left.

You can go all out during the last four rounds as it is the only a total of 10 reps of each movement. You should always have some energy left for those small sets (4+3+2+1).

Deadlifts

You will use the heaviest barbell for deadlifts, but they will probably feel like the easiest movement.

Deadlifts should be your resting point. This is the movement where you want to calm down your heart rate and recover your muscle at least a little.

The reason for that is that you will get through all deadlifts quickly even when you decide to split them into multiple sets or even do singles. So, you won’t waste much time if you slow down a little on them.

Pro tip, try to do large and small sets on deadlifts. For example, 10 = 6 + 4; 9 = 5 + 4; 8 = 5 + 3; 7 = 4 + 3, etc.

Also, deadlifts are right after squat cleans, and you don’t want to go too fast on them as your back muscles are already fatigued.

Bench Press

You can go unbroken here but only if you are used to benching heavy weights every week.

Otherwise, split bench press as much as you can. You have to avoid muscular fatigue on the bench press.

Once you fail, it is hard to go back as pecs and triceps take pretty long time to recover, and you can’t cheat on the bench press with other muscles as it is strict movement.

Try to do no more than 2-4 reps in one set. It is a much better idea to do sets of 4+3+3, 3+3+3, 3+3+2, etc. than going unbroken. First rounds may feel easy, but it will pay off during later rounds.

Squat Cleans

Squat cleans in Linda takes the majority of the time, and you want to get through them as quickly as possible.

In every round, attack those squat cleans as it is your last round and get through them as quickly as you can. They should be relatively lightweight as they are done only with 0.75x of your bodyweight.

Your body should feel ok as you just finished bench presses and you will recover after squat cleans on deadlifts where you are going to slow down.

Unbroken or not? My suggestion is to do only singles with very quick rest, wait for the bar to drop down and pick it up quickly. It will be slightly slower than unbroken sets but don’t forget that Linda is a relatively long workout and you don’t want to hit the wall during the first three rounds.

Summary

First three rounds are the half of the WOD. On deadlifts do a large and small set on deadlifts (10 = 6 + 4, 9 = 5 + 4, etc.). On bench presses do a max of 2-4 reps per set. Go all out on squat cleans, do quick singles and get through them as fast as you can.