For Time: 1000m Row 50 Toe to Bar 30 Handstand Push Up 750m Row 30 Toes to Bar 20 Handstand Push Up 250m Row 15 Toes to Bar 10 Handstand Push Up
(good luck)
It is rumored that in the old days, you weren't allowed to touch barbells until you could do the Turkish get up with 100#. This is a fantastic exercise for buliding overhead mobility and core strength as well as balance. Learn the steps and the positions is key. Get to work.
5 Sets For Max Load 1 Clean Pull 1 Squat Clean 1 Hang Squat Clean 1 Front Squat 1 Push Jerk 1 Split Jerk
3 Rounds: 30 sec max reps Thrusrter 100/65 30 sec max reps Pull Ups 60 sec Rest
The winning twins from last week, Matt and Brian doing sycro Muscle Ups in the Prebok shirts. Who's going to win twin day this Tuesday. I'm guessing there will be a few candidates now that HIPFIT has taken over at least 50% of our wardrobes.
10 Rounds For Time: 10 DB Deadlift Burpees 45/30 10 Ring Dips 100m Sprint rest 1:30 (walk back)
The CrossFit Journal posted this video about the inspiring stuff our friends at CrossFit 209 Sport are doing. Stockton's troubles have been well documented. Always cool to see how CrossFit positively affects people's lives in and out of the gym.
Some of my homework from yesterday! Wrapped up day one of the CrossFit Football cert down in Dublin. Worked on some great warm up progressions, running drills, squat and deadlift technique, pullups, and floor press. Especially relevant to you all are the programming details on how to build the power athlete; getting big, strong, powerful, explosive, agile, basically anything useful in life or ground-based sports. So far we've stuck to a CF Powerlifting template (max effort squat, max effort bench, dynamic effort squat/bench) with some oly sprinkled in, but as beach body season approaches (sun's out guns out!) we might throw in some power-based work. Don't worry, programming will be comprehensive and still develop raw strength. Any changes would just make it more applicable to CrossFit or other sports.
Regardless of what we end up doing in class, consistency is key. Tuesday 6pm, Thursday 6pm, and Saturday 11am are all programmed together in three week cycles several months in advance (with a long view of what competitions are coming up and what deficiencies I see). Get your butt into class and make a commitment to improve your weaknesses. Not goats, actual weakness. No one gets strong accidentally.
Tuesday Deadlift 1RM then good mornings Thursday Floor press and front squats Saturday Speedy box squats
The last line in CrossFit founder Greg Glassman's description of world class fitness in 100 words or less is, "Learn and play new sports regularly." How many of you actually do that? In our small little CrossFit world, many of us have become wrapped up in becoming CrossFit specialists. While I do believe our training program is the best you can find anywhere, what's the point of developing all this capacity of we aren't going to apply it?
Our beloved yoga instructor Sam took Trav and I rock climbing over at the rock climbing mecca, Pipe Works. It was a humbling experience to say the least, but at the same time it was really fun. The real point of showing you this is to encourage you to apply your fitness and try new things. I had never tried rock climbing before other than those silly rock walls they set up at carnivals. I will admit that the whole thing was a little intimidating, but it was challenging and rewarding at the same time. I reccommend you give it a shot some time. If this doesn't seem like your thing, find something else to try. You don't have to be good at it, but it will benefit you to learn something new and test your newly aquired strenght and fittness. Doing CrossFit is really great, but don't just do CrossFit for the sake of doing CrossFit. Do it with the intention of gaining capacity that you can apply to other things.
Our friends at American River CrossFit have arranged a bulk order of grass fed beef from Estancia. If you are trying to eat clean and imporve you health, diet, performance, ect. check our the deal and make an order. Details can be found here on ArcFit's website. Orders are due by May 1st and will be available within the first week of May. Do it!
"Diane" 21-15-9 of: Deadlift 225/155 Handstand Push Up
It has been a while since we cleaned our balls. The med ball clean has become a largely unpopular exercise in most functional programs. Many coaches believe it builds bad habits that lead to struggles with barbell cleans. I personally find it easier to develop an athlete's mechanics with a barbell than a medicine ball, but this movement shouldn't be written off completely. It is a valid way to pick up odd objects and to create significant power output aka conditioning.
When doing med ball cleans remember that you could be developing bad habits that may limit you on other exercises. Do not get lazy or lose focus. Remember that full hip extension at the top of the lift is the most important point to focus on. If you are short on your hip extension you are reinforcing a terrible habit. Another key point to focus on is shrugging under the ball vs. shrugging the ball up to you. The ball should come to stomach height at full hip extension then you should immediately shrug yourself under the ball at that level. The ball does not float up to you, you shrug yourself down and under the ball. Be sure to jump and land in the squat. Standing, pausing, then squatting or hesitation between the hip extension and the shrug under can also create a bad habit that will limit your barbell clean.
If you are opening the hips agressively and completely then moving back under the ball in an instant you will not be creating bad habits. You will just be getting great conditioning and learning to move odd objects. In a CrossFit WOD, you are likely to do upwards of 50 med ball cleans. Do you want those 50 reps to be reinforcing good or bad habits? Slow down enough to hit the key points of the movement correctly or one might advise to be dilligent when cleaning the balls.
Today I want to recognize a hand full of people who
really excelled in the Open. These are the people who you should be
looking up to for advice, motivation, and inspiration. They have either earned
their spots among high level CrossFit competitors or shown that they are on the way there with great momentum.
Cori Boone Cori has been with us since we opened and has worked obsessively hard since day 1, just ask her husband Dave. Being a much lighter athlete with an endurance background, conditioning has come easier, but the strength aspects required to perform well have been a focus day in and day out. Cori qualified for the CrossFit Games and placed 12th in the world last year.
She's done it again this year and has qualified to compete in the '13 CF Games, placing 12th in the world in the Open in the 45-49 age division. We will be looking to see her improve on that placing in July at the games.
Harlan Karnovsky HK is a fixture in this gym from somewhere around 1:30-6:00PM most days. Harlan has been with us a number of years and trains every bit as hard as the young guns around here. Having completed our coaching internship program and assistant coaching classes, HK is quite knowledgeable of coaching strategies and is a stellar competitor in the sport of masters fitness.
It was a nail biter for Harlan this year as he floated between 19th and 22nd place throughout the Open in the 55-59 age division with the top 20 going on to the games. After things shook out, he ended up 21st in the world and will miss the games by 1 spot. Tough to swallow, but we are proud to call Harlan our own as he is one of the top CrossFit Masters competitors on the planet.
Lesley Heller Lesley Heller has been a gym rat since the gym, as we used to know it, ever existed. After enduring literally every fitness era since physical fitness begun, she ended up personal training with me 6-7 years ago and came to CrossFit as soon as we opened. Lesley is in the gym almost every day and she works her butt off every time.
Lesley is favored in the strength biased workouts and is probably one of the strongest 60+ year olds I have ever known. One the other end of the spectrum, gymnastics doesn't come as easy. Lesley has spent numerous hours over the last 6 months with coach Amber and has made strides in her body weight ability with the goal of doing better in this years Open. Lesley's goal was to place in the top 60 in the 60+ age division making the 1st page. She hit that goal exactly placing 60th in the world in the division. Great job Lesley. Proud to call you a CFES athlete!
Alice Keller Alice, another CFES athlete who has been here since the beginning, comes to CrossFit with a swimming background and has become one of the top female athletes in the gym. Alice often goes unnoticed during daily training around here as she comes in and quietly does her business. However whenever the leaderboard comes out, it is obvious that Alice is a force. Alice's strength has improved dramatically over the last few years, and slowly but surely she is conquering every gymnastics movement important to CrossFit competition. Alice is also known to frequently hit extra workouts outside the gym, and has placed very well in CrossFit/Swimming comps known as Frogman.
Alice was the top B-Team female and tied for the 5th overall female in the gym this year. She contributed a top score to the B-Team every week during the Open. Her and her husband Kyle are undoubetedly the most physically capable couple in the gym.
Sabrina Teller Sabrina has been at CFES for the last 4 years. On the rare occasion that she misses a 6am class, we are all wondering what the heck is going on. Having just turned 40 Sabrina is enjoying the opportunity to compete at the masters level, although she is still a fierce competitor amongst the open division. Coming to us with a kickboxing and endurance background, mental toughness is as high as it gets.
Sabrina has excelled in barbell strength movements and over the last year has been steadily picking up steam on the gymnastics elements as well. Congrats to Sabrina on years of hard work showing though as she contributed to the B-Team's score every week in this years Open as well and tied for the 7th overall female in the gym.
Josh Stonier Coach "Hot" Josh has been training with us about 4 years and coaching for us the last 2. Josh has an extensive fitness background and is one of the best conditioned athletes in our gym. Prior to CrossFit Josh tended to gravitate towards the endurance training and shied away from heavy lifting. Josh has been extra motivated this year to work on his strength, and has done so with great success. It showed as he was the 5th best Open division male in our gym, and the B-Teams top male athlete in what I am calling the most strength biased Open yet to date.
It's scary to think where Josh will get to if he keeps improving at the rate he has been. Go HJ!
Matt Pearson The B-Team Captain, needs no introduction. Matt P is always in the box cheering on others in between sessions of kicking his own ass. As the founder of "Sqwattt Club" Matt has squatted every day now for over 6 months, pushing his back squat to well over 4 bills!
Matt is a true leader in our gym, but the thing that impresses me most is that the 39 year old former triathlete is now giving our owners and coaches a run for thier money on almost any task in the gym from squatting or deadlifting to muscle ups and toes to bars. I won't say any names, but in the regional rankings, I found at least 10 CrossFit gym owners in our region on the next 2 pages below Matt. Heck of a job this year bro.
Cherie Nabeta Cherie is another one of those quiet ones that you have to watch out for. She's been here since day 1 and has competed with us all since 2009 and was a CFES team competitor in the 2011 regionals. Cherie has probably spent more extra time working on skills and SHT than probably anyone else here.
Cherie contributed 3 scores this year to the B-Team, and tied Sabrina for the 7th best female in the gym ranking. She also placed 151st in the NorCal region this year at 39 years old!
Denise Roby Denise has been training with us for about 18 months now, and one word sums it up. Dedication. Denise spends more time here than just about any other member and has become an absolute stud in the FlexNastics class. CrossFit has been a life changing experience for Denise.
She was our 11th best female this year and undoubetedly will be well into the top 10 by next year.
Denise, get us some before and afters picsand a testimonial, we all want to hear your story.
Donna Shioya Donna has been with us just over 2 years and is another person who's story we all need to hear, hint, hint. As a 40 year old mother, Donna has leveraged her childhood gymnastics training to re-invent herself as a competitive CrossFitter. After 2 years of solid weight loss and fitness development, Donna was the 9th best female in our gym in this year's Open. Great work girl!
View CF East Sac Leaderboards I reccommend changing the view from 10 to 60 per page
2 Rounds 1 Minute 5 Yard Shuttle Run 1 Minute Max Muscle Ups 2 Minutes Dips 2 Minutes Med Ball Clean 20/14
click to enlarge
Well, I think it's safe to say that people are breathing a little easier this week knowing that the 2013 CF Open is behind us. The last 5 weeks have been fun, stressful, grueling, exciting, rewarding and disappointing all at the same time. In my opinion, this was the best Open yet in terms of being a great test of fitness and bringing a bit more difficulty than the past 2 years. For our beginners, this made for some tough weeks. Not all were able to accomplish all of the movements required, and that is ok. In other cases some of you were pushed to new heights and accomplished more than you ever thought possible. I truly hope that everyone can walk away from this with an overall positive experience in learning about your abilities, where you stand, and what you need to focus on to get better next year.
Measuring yourself against others in a very public format such as the Open is quite stressful to many of us. We train hard. We try to listen to our coaches. Some of us eat, sleep, and mobilize with extra care in hopes of a few extra reps. Some of us reach our goals week in and week out, some of us fall short, and some just give up. That is the nature of competition though and it is the very essence of sport. Without successes and failures, there would be no reason to play the game, and certainly no reason to train. No reason to show up and work hard, then go home and eat right.
The measureability of our workout program and our sport is one of the most important reasons we have all been able to push our bodies to places we never imagined. The sport like nature of the WOD helps us develop capacities that are in most cases far above the norm for people who participate in other fitness programs regularly, and in some cases are on par with the capacities of world class athletes. We are all competitive by nature and we excel more under competitive circumstances. How fast could you get if there was never anyone else to race, or if you never knew how far you went?
Regardless of how you think you did in this event, all of you who actually attempted to do all 5 of the challenges, and who entered your scores on the leaderboard and actually finished this event deserve huge props. You all should be very proud of finishing the event, giving it your best, and putting you're scores out there for the whole world to see. It is important to remember that you have measured yourselves against the upper echelon of exercisers in the world. You may have ranked relatively low, but you did so against a group of outliers who are far far above the norm in terms of their physical capacities. It is safe to say that the type of people who do the CrossFit Open are not your average Americans. They are beasts generally speaking, and if they start off average, we all know that changes quickly.
Now for a quick slap to the DNF'ers. I am not calling you all quitters, but of 122 CFES athletes to begin the Open, only 61 of you actually performed all the workouts, got a score and entered it correctly. I understand that it is a fairly big commitment to be present 5 weeks in a row, count reps for a few minutes and put a score into an online database, but 50% of our group DNF'ed in some way shape or form! No disrespect to those who couldn't perform the first rep of a workout, but gave it their most valiant effort. No disrespect to those who had to withdrawal due to a physical limitation, taking care of your body and staying healthy is actually more important than the competition. And no disrespect to those who had work or family issues making it impossible to get a WOD in one week or another. Things happen and I expect to see about 15-20% fall out with legitimate obstacles preventing them from completing the task at hand. Shame on those of you who failed to put in a score because you forgot. Shame on those who simply did not follow through on their commitment. And especially shame on those of you who were disappointed with a score and gave up the following week. Finish what you start, and do not start what you cannot finish.
I look forward to next year's Open and seeing all of you that finished this year make improvements. Some of you that are newer and just couldn't quite get that 95# clean and jerk, or just missed touching your chest to the pull up bar will undoubtedly acquire those skills and be ready to crush next year! Keep showing up, doing your best, writing in your journals, eating better and taking care of your bodies. You have all the tools you need to continue your quest for greatness.
Thank you to all who participated and represented CF East Sac, especially those of you who finished. Always keep in mind, the process is more rewarding than the outcome. The only time to be dissappointed in one's self is when you feel you didn't give your all. When you give everything you have, there are no regrets.
Congrats on finishing the Open! Proud of everyone coming each Saturday to cheer on others and to lay it on the line. I think we've overcome the intimidation factor of the Open and moved on to the fun part (or at least the beer is just a little more free-flowing).
Saw a few firsts yesterday. Though chest-to-bar pullups have traditionally been a barrier during the last WOD, several of you got either your first kipping pullup or first C2B in this workout (or this past week in preparation for 13.5). Give yourselves credit for that first pullup especially--that's a foundational milestone in your CrossFit development.
We've talked so far about setting goals, finding the right strategy, listening to your coaches, and discovering joy in the workout. This is the perfect time to record your performances, how you felt during them, and your strategies. We've seen repeat workouts in 2012 and 2013, so having these notes will come in handy. Once you have recorded 13.1-13.5, review your current PRs on the named WODs, barbell lifts, bodyweight exercises, and runs/rows/airdyne.
What do you need to do to improve for next year, or even the WOD next week? Which classes will you go to and how will you measure your progress? A basic level of preparedness is the necessary foundation for being able to set ambitious goals and strategize, otherwise the constraints of performing the skills and movements of the Open are artificially limiting. Meaning, you can't use your engine fully if you don't have chest to bar or solid front squat and press mechanics to alleviate the wear of that 100/65# thruster. Take what you've learned and purposely apply it to your growth plan.
Leave a comment on your biggest growth moment or accomplishment during these past five weeks.
13.5 4 Min AMRAP 15 Thrusters 100/65 15 Chest 2 Bar Pull-Ups If you complete 3 rounds with in the 4 min Repeat the AMRAP... Anyone over 180 gets a car from CFES!
The Newbie Thowdown of 2012 Highlights
Deadline RSVP to participate in Throwdown is by 4pm TODAY! You may RSVP for the party as late as next Saturday! You must RSVP! Please include your guest if you are bringing someone! I am getting a headcount for food and drink.
This year we have decided to make a bigger focus on community. The ensuing party has always been more of an afterthought. A bunch of insane CrossFitters sitting around reviewing the days events while drinking beer! These days that is the norm of the 12:00 foundations class!
This year, Travis and I will make sure the Member Member Throwdown is completed in a short period of time. This will allow a proper set up and focus on a Member Appreciation Party. We appreciate your dedication and friendship here at CFES. Hence the title of this post, "We are a part of all we have met."
After the throwdown, we will set up for party. The food will be more than a BBQ and beer party! There will be a DJ, a mild transformation of our facility, heavy appitizers being served and of course a special beverage of choice!
The festivities will begin as early as 5pm for those of you needing to bring kids and or leave at a decent hour. The food will begin being served by 6pm! Let's bring a little class to this joint! Dress will be casual cocktail attire. Don't wear a wife beater! Otherwise AO will call you out BRO!
We have a special offer from Sassi Salon down at the end of our 100m run fence! If you don't know that, you don't deserve this gift! First come first serve basis! Appointments will be set on a printed out sheet at the front desk of CFES.
3 Stylists have offered services. They will be set up in 30 min time slots and you will be well taken care of! If their are a group of girls wanting to set this up, please look at the front desk for the available slots. (I believe 9-10 slots will be available) Spoil yourself and let Sassi take care of the rest. I have been informed it will be well worth your while!
3 Rounds "NOT" for Time Rope Climb 1-3 Alternating Leg Pistols 10-16 Handstand Push-Ups 5-15 Reps Work on what you normally don't Kipping/no kipping/deficits or parallets
Row 1000 Then 3 Rounds for Time 15 Db Push Press 55/35 15 Box Jumps 30/24
This Throwdown is one of the best party's of the year! This year will be no exception. Can't wait to see the old mixed with the new! I have decided to release the workouts early so your coaches and teams can be formed and set to practice! The focus is going to be more about community and fun. It will challenge the novice and test the advanced but you won't walk away trashed unless it is by booze!
Member vs Member Team Throwdown 1 Captain 1 Novice Male and Female 1 Veteran Male and Female
Workout 1 EMOTM Power Clean or Hang Power Clean to Thruster Ladder Weights will be starting at 65# For Women and 95# for the men. They will Increase 10# for woman and 15# for men at each station. Upon completion of your perspective max load, you will then have the remaining minute to complete as many GHD sit ups you can for tie breaker. Scores will be: Total Team Weight Lifted/Total weight of the team! Example 800# lifted / Team Weight in lbs. 750# the total score would be 1.07. The larger the score, the better. Ties will be settled by total # of GHD Sit Ups performed.
Workout 2 Chipper Teams will have a Relay of: 200m Sand bag run 300m Row 20 Calorie Air Dyne For Total Team Time
Staying in the same sequence of your relay... 2 Min transition from the time you complete your Air Dyne Then enter a 1 Round, 1:00 min on 15 Sec off 5 Stations guantlet for total reps.
Jump Pull-Ups Mid Forearm Height Adjustable plates there for the judge to set you up. Wall Balls 14/8 Yes this is light so don't miss or go slow Burpee Hop Over Max Rep Bench .75bw/.5bw Heavy Rope Single Unders (Double Unders count for 1.5 Reps)
Strategy is key here!
The top 5 teams will advance to the Gymnastics Skills Ladder
Handstand Walk for distance Max Consecutive Candlestick Roll to Pistol Squat Max Consecutive Toes to Bar Max Consecutive Muscle Ups
Rules: Max Handstand Walk. 3 Attemps to get a max handstand walk and you may link your attemps up to 10 feet. Your hands must start from your nearest landing point. You may link only up to 10 feet. Once you have cleared 10 feet, you go as far as you can for total distance. (Max one floor length) You may not turn around and keep going "StrangeRx." Score is total team distance.
Candle Stick Roll to Pistol. 3 Attempts to get 1 rep. Any failed attempt after 1 is considered your max effort. A failed attempt is denoted by not fully rolling back in Candlstick or touching any other appendage to stand up other than your one leg and not fully opening your hip at the top of your pistol.
Toes to Bar. 1 Attempt and you must follow the games standards here. Your toes must pass behind the plane at the bottom and your hips must open up all the way. Your toes must touch the bar completely. Any no rep equals a broken set and total score is counted from the previous completed rep.
Max Combined Muscle Ups 30 seconds to Complete as many Muscle ups as you can
Judges will signal when everyone has completed their scores for each station and we will rotate in the order above.
Good luck and have fun. We love seeing our members break PR's they never thought possible! This throwdown will be amazing and the party that follows will be even more.
Coaches should have received an email yesterday, if you haven't, please contact us ASAP! Your teams will be formed by Saturday and any requests should be submitted to Chris and Travis via email by tonight. Chris@crossfiteastsac.com and Travis@crossfiteastsac.com. An athlete request is just that, a request! Don't assume we will approve a coach stacking a team to dominate this throwdown.
Stay tuned for further emails and instruction on your team, emails and contact information.
Thanks for everything, we appreciate your effort to keep this community what it is! Without you guys, it simply doesn't happen! (Or without Justin, just ask him, but he is happy that the rest of us are finally doing something.)
20 Minutes to find a Max Front Squat Between sets, practice ring strength skills L-Sit Skin the Cat Levers or Tuck Levers Lowers Muscle Ups Ice Cream Makers Press to Handstand
AMRAP 5 Minutes: 3 Clean and Jerk 135/95 3 Thrusters 135/95 9 AB Mat Situps
I subbed FlexNasty class for Amber last night while she attended the 13.5 showdown in Santa Cruz. It was a blast spending an entire class teaching gymnastic skills. If you don't go to FlexNasty, you really should. The group shown here was doing candle stick rolls to handstand push ups as part of a 10 minute AMRAP that we concluded the class with. Fun stuff.
20 Minutes to work up to a 1 RM Deadlift Work Static Handstand Holds between Deadlift sets.
21-15-9 of: KB Swing HAM Burpee
Here's big Rob, smoking the Leapord Test. Two 53# KBs held straight over the shoulders in a full depth squat. This is a great demonstration of full body mobility and coordination of every muscle group. Rob was hitting these over and over like it was no thing.
If you can't do this, and most of us can't, you/we should be getting to work on our mobility. Mobility work isn't fun or gratifying the way hitting your WODs is, but if you can get in the habit, you can unlock performance you never knew you had. Just think about how much easier your overhead squat, snatch, handstand, actually everything would be if you could just do this once.---------->
Rest 7:00, Then 2 Rounds For Time: Row 500m 15 Ring Dips 10 Front Squat 155/105 10 Ring Dips 5 Front Squat 155/105 5 Ring Dips
4 weeks down, one more week to go. With all the movements we have seen so far in this year's Open, there are two major ones still missing. Thruster and Pull ups. My guess is that the last workout will be the same one it has always been. Maybe the time domain or rep scheme will be different, but how can they leave these movements out? Rich Froning and Jason Khalipa will be performing the workout live on Wednesday at 5PM. They have Fran times of 2:13 and 2:17, respectively. Should be a good show.
Some great efforts this week during 13.4. Setting aside strategy talk, like what plates best minimize bouncing and when to start singles, I want to discuss joy.
The Open has been stressful. Regardless of athletic ability, everyone has high goals for themselves (well, you should by now) and executing in front of the weekly crowd can be intimidating. Coaches yelling, your friends coaching--everyone really wants you to get your first 95lb clean and jerk or make it back to toes to bar to get 5 more reps in, knowing what a difference those points will make for you.
But points aren't why we're doing this Open. Teach For America New Orleans chose joy as one of its eight core values. Why would an organization that helps prepare teachers for high needs classrooms pick joy? Doesn't seem to fit in with "Disciplined Thought" "Integrity" or "Relentless Pursuit of Results." But if performance is your ultimate goal, then having joy in your daily, crushingly hard work (where my teachers at?!) is vital to long-term success both for teachers and students.
How do we reclaim joy in stressful situations? Remember back when things finally clicked for you learning about multiplying fractions or the symbolism in Watership Down. Those moments of hard work reviewing the prerequisite material made the final performance easy, even fun. The test? Didn't even matter, slam dunk. When you know it, you know it. So first, go back in time and PR your clean and jerk at 185/145# so 135/95# seems easy peasy and take FlexNasty to fix your toes to bar.
Oh, we can't go back? Well how you manage your current situation is up to you. When you lose your temper in a workout, get scared of not making your goal, get frustrated, or tell yourself how heavy the weight is, you've lost. Don't waste time and mental energy fighting the workout or yourself. Walking into it tall and excited to face it head-on is the only way to take down challenging work.
I surprisingly found joy in 13.4 today. Much different from 13.3, there's not a lot of joy there. Amber recently helped me reclaim my toes to bar but I wasn't confident about them. My engine? Not the best. But hitting a perfect rep in each movement made my heart sing. This is what we practice for, chasing perfect reps. That's how we kill workouts, not by brute forcing the effort without a plan or technique, but by being better than the workout. Yes, setting up each clean and jerk slowed me down, over 7 minutes I can probably get some CrossFit slop going to eke out a few more reps. But maybe my efficiency helped me maintain pace. Either way, this is not the issue at hand. My joy wasn't from a score, but pacing, technique, and satisfaction all coming together during the workout. This is what we should aim for, not points. Points will come.
5-4-3-2-1 Weighted Pull-Up Rest 1 Min Max Feet Elevated Push-Ups Rest 1 Min
Row 2000m For Time
Alice Keller runs in one of our competitions a few years back. This years Member Thowdown is going to be a blast and the Party will be even better. Today we will be sending out an evite and announcement to ensure that everyone knows about the throwdown and party. The captains have been formed. The teams haven't been fully selected and we need to have spots selected next week. The workouts will be released next week.
1. You do not have to participate in the throwdown in order to attend the party. 2. This thowdown will be done by 1pm A Strength Ladder - A Chipper - A Gymnastics Skill Set
This thowdown will be fast paced and results will be posted at the party. Only the top 5 teams will advance to the Gymnastics Set. The moves will be low skill level and scoring will be very simple. Please pay attention this week and sign up at the FRONT DESK.
The Member Appreciation Party is a major focus this year. Please respond to the Evite ASAP. It will be going out this afternoon.
AO has been stuck with a 195# snatch for the past few months. He has had the strength and speed to better this lift, but hasn't been able to pull it off. The reason we all see him missing the 200# snatch is that he gets forward on his toes early in the lift which kicks the bar out in front of him and makes it impossible to fix in the overhead squat.
While I see Aaron get forward often in his early warmup lifts, he usually gets into a groove and makes the correction as he gets to moderate lifts, making some beautifully fast lifts as he works up in weight. He works right up to 195 rarely missing and making the lifts look great. Then 200# on the bar, and boom… bad habit comes back and lift is no good. My theory is that is isn't physically caused by the extra 5 lbs on the bar, it's a mental block.
I believe sometimes we get caught up on certain numbers and when we are trying to hit that next benchmark, say 200#. Those even number benchmark lifts can get in our heads and cause us to do different things other than what was successful on previous lighter attempts. I myself was stuck at 100k, or 220# for over a year on the snatch. It took me numerous attempts to get to that nie even number, and the next PR was to be at 225, another big benchmark number in every lift. Probably missed it 40 times before finally breaking that barrier and moving beyond it.
The point of showing you this is for one to celebrate AO's achievement, but also to get you thinking about mental blocks that we sometimes subconsciously set up for ourselves. Even numbers and certain benchmark lifts can sometimes sabotage us subconsciously.
If you have been stuck at a 295 deadlift for the last year and couldn't get 300 despite numberous attempts, you might be suffering from this phenomenon. There are a couple things you can try. A quick and easy Jedi mind trick I like is switching from lbs to Kilos. If you are lifting in an unfamiliar metric, you may not realize you are about to get a PR. An even better strategy is to practice variants of the lift and stay away from the PR that may be daunting you. For instance with a snatch, AO could practice 3 position snatch, snatching from the low hang, snatching from blocks, or building his power snatch. Build up your PRs on a variants, then go back to the original lift once you have gained significant strength, technique, speed and/or confidence.
One of the best pieces of advice I can relay to you all is something I heard our friend Mark Bell say at a seminar. He said to, "Lift the light weights like they are heavy, and lift the heavy weights like they are light." To me this means a couple of things. Every light lift or warmup lift is an opportunity to practice your setup and execution and prepare better for heavier lifts. Do not make lazy or sloppy mistakes while warming up as you are missing opportunities to practice the things that will make your heavy lifts successful. The other is to go after PR's like it ain't no thing. The mind is very powerful, the most powerful muscle you can flex. The second you question your own ability to accomplish anything, whether it be a weight lift or anything else in life, you are likely to fail. So warmup your lifts exactly how you want to lift your PR and when it's PR time, step up to that bar like you have been lifting that weight all your life. Treat your next PR just like another warmup set...after all, it's really just a warmup attempt for your next PR down the road.
For those that are very close to getting your muscle up, try this drill out. Getting onto the other side of the rings is the main problem people have with this movement. The key is to keep the rings close, which is mainly a strength issue. Do this over and over to build that strength up. Speaking of problems with movement, I can't seem to move my legs after 13.3. Anybody else?
Trav in his final 30 seconds of 13.3; watch as the gym cheers him on.
*Quad punch* How do you guys feel today? Last year I attempted 12.4 (the original 13.3) on a Thursday night after work and stumbled my way though 47 double unders in about 1:41 with a novel feeling of leg concrete to add to my CrossFit repertoire. (As a side note, keeping track of your workouts, how you felt, and your nutrition is useful info!) I stiff-legged my way through the weekend and re-did it on Sunday getting 240 with about a minute to spare. Surprisingly, my quads loosened up after the second go-around, maybe they just gave up after 300 wallballs in 3 days.
What changed? Not my engine, that's for sure, or my muscular endurance. If anything, it was worse from the first attempt. I knew what my capacity was on wallballs, and that I needed to pace it in smaller sets paired with shorter rest. I also knew that I had to get off the wall about a minute earlier, in 9ish minutes, to give me enough time to jank through DUs. That gave me a pacing guide for number of wallballs per minute (about 16-17) split into sets of 5. I told my judge what I needed and she kept me on pace during the WOD.
What does this mean for you? As an athlete, planning for 12.5 and beyond with 12.4 as our example:
1) Know going out that your strategy may be different from the person next to you. No way in hell am I going to be able to do an intital set of 30 like Justin today and get through the rest of the 150 after. But my 9 minute pacing guide is too slow if you're planning on having 2-4 minutes left for muscle-ups. Tell your judge what pace you expect to maintain based on your goal for the workout. Remember, have ambitious but realistic goals. That means perhaps a timed run-through of the movements (not the whole WOD)! earlier in the week during warm-ups. 2 or 3 sets of 10 wallballs, see how long that takes, with 40 doubles after to judge the transition. It's not perfect, it will vary by person, but then it gives you a plan, AND a back-up plan.
2) Work with your coach/judge on your back-up plan. Trust me, when you get through 75 and you're only halfway through, you'll want to lay down and sob. As a side note, don't shout "halfway through" as a cheering mechanism when the number of reps remaining is more than the number of children a schoolbus can hold. Except for those monsters that can do an unbroken Karen, you'll need to break down into sets and your sets will get slower. Don't try to avoid it but do plan for it, including mentally not getting discouraged when stuff hits the fan.
3) Ask about technique and strategy. I didn't let the wallball fall to the ground. Does this mean I went unbroken? Did you read #2?? I caught it and leaned against the wall without using my arms to hold it. That meant I didn't have to clean it when restarting, I could just squat and go. Others dropped it and bounced out of the clean to give them good hip extension on the release. Up to you for what works. Wallballs have a lot of technique involved that reduce wear and tear, saving your shoulders and quads as much as you can by using violent hip extention helps you later on DUs and muscle-ups if you get there. This means you fundamentally need good mobility to keep an upright torso (ankle stretch when you read this!) Also, plan your rest: Matt P and Travis did a great job deciding when Matt would come off the wall, and how long he purposely waited before starting DUs.
A lot of what I've said sounds like it only applies to 12.4, but having goals, strategy, and good movement is always useful (and should sound familiar by now).
Tuesday 6pm: Back squat with chains, kettle bell swings
Thursday 6pm: Bench with commands
No Strength classes on Saturdays during the course of the Open, due to space and time constraints. Specifically, no Strength class 3/30 or 4/6. Strength class is also canceled on 4/20 for our CFES Throwdown.
Upcoming Oly meet in Sacramento on 5/4, the NorCal Open. Info and Entry. Start taking Kari's class!
Alice getting her first of 2 muscle ups in 13.3! Way to go!
*Hamstring pat* Good job this week everyone! Keep it up!
Donna S. works her ass off, literally, on a daily basis in our gym. At 40 years old she has made a tremendous life change through diet and exercise and has become a competitive masters athlete.
During Kari's weightlifting class on Wednesday which I subbed I caught a couple of Donna's PRs on camera and wanted to share with you.
Donna, we are waiting on some before and after shots and a testimonial. We all want to hear your story and give credit where it is substantially due.
13.3 Things to Think About The biggest key to performing your best in this workout is hitting perfect wall balls all the way through. You need to be in your best squatting position every time. If you do so, making accurate throws is much easier and you will conserve energy.
Many if not the majority of CrossFitters get focused on throwing the med ball while performing wall balls and their squats almost immediately look worse than usual. FOCUS ON YOUR SQUAT. If you can keep your weight back in your heels and your knees out as much as possible, you will reach your potential here.
Have someone check you out before you perform the WOD. Do some reps as perfectly as possible, then practice picking up the tempo without sacrificing form. You should only move as fast as you can with great form. Every form mistake is costly and often will result in a shallow depth and a no rep. You can't get a full squat with weight on toes and knees in. If you watch the people who get great scores on this workout, they all squat beautifully throughout the entire workout.
Here are some other tips from the gurus. If you really want to do your best, you'll take the time to listen to these guys and follow suit. They are dropping wisdom on us. This stuff really gives you an edge.
Josh Golden, owner of CrossFit Grover Beach really blew it last week. After posting a score which tied him for first place in 13.2, a video of his amazing performance appeared on youtube. Normally this would be a good thing, but it was apparent to CrossFit HQ that Josh did not follow the standards set forth in the movement standards video for 13.2. You can watch the video yourself and decide what rules he did or didn't break.
The point here is that Josh, his judge, and whoever it is who filmed him all were oblivious to the rules set forth by the CrossFit Games. Because of this, an outstanding athlete was thrown out of contention and his entire affiliate is suffering as the are banned from validating scores the remainder of this year. This means everyone at the affiliate must submit videos, or compete at another gym. This is all due to their own coaches ignorance of standards and blatant disregard for the rules of this competition.
The point of showing you this is so you realize the seriousness of the situation. It is your responsibility as both a judge, and as an athlete to watch the videos and know the standards of each and every workout. YOU are a participant in this competition and it is no one else but your responsibility to make sure you are well informed and in complete understanding of the rules of the competition. Do not perform the WOD, or judge another athlete if you have not watched the video and are not completely clear on the standards. If you are competing, have your judge check your movements before you perform the WOD. If you are judging, ask your athlete to show you their movements and transitions. If there is anything you think might be fishy or tricky, it is probably not allowed. There are good strategies, but there are no shortcuts.
It is unfortunate that this all went down the way it did. Josh is an unbelievable athlete, and I do not believe he was trying to be dishonest, its just that he didn't do his due diligence. I do feel the punishment was harsh and CFHQ is making an example of him, but it was his own fault. I also believe that there are many people skating by who did not post a video of themselves and I question any score above 11 rounds in this workout as having met the correct movement standards. The really unfortuante consequence of this whole deal is that good athletes are probably going to be less likely to post their own videos going forward.
Let this be an example to you, and please have the respect for your fellow competitors to educate yourself each and every week on proper movement standards and rules. Even though this is fun for most of you, it is also a serious event. Whether judging or competing it is your responsibility to recognize and uphold the standards of movement.
The box seems to be very fertile lately. If you aren't into starting a family or growing your current family, I urge you to proceed with caution! There's some kind of fertility drugs in the water around here.
Here are two of our preggers doing 13.2 last week. The both breezed through 7+ rounds with picture perfect form and smiles. Great job to Sarah and Loren on staying fit and still beating 1/2 the competitive CrossFit world on this workout while simultaneously growing humans.
5 Rounds each for time: 3 Tap and Go Squat Snatch HAM 200m Sled Pull 135/90 Rest 1 min
Here is a slide show of Annie's push jerks from WOD 13.2 last Friday. Annie has been a member here for almost a year now and is participating in her first CrossFit Open.
I was very pleased last when I looked over and saw her doing the workout. Her movement on the push jerk looked really good. I hollered a correction at her to keep her elbows up, and on the very next rep, boom elbows up. Then elbows up for the rest of the workout.
I applad Annie on two accounts. One is that she has effectively listened to and implemented the coaching cues she has received over the last year and has become quite proficiet in her movements. The other is her ability to take a cue mid-workout and implement it. If you can get out of survival mode and listen to a coach in the midst of a WOD, you will get better faster.
Great job Annie! We look forward to seeing your continued success.
I love bad deadlift videos. How did he not snap something?! Thank you for having good form this past week on Open WOD 13.2. Hopefully we will never see anyone lift like this at CFES.
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