Rowing Sprints

10 Individually Timed Max Efforts of:
100m Row

Rest as needed between intervals, post time of each row

Checkout WOD:
2 Minute Challenge of Max Hand Release Push-ups

Results

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Ready to Row

2 Minutes HR Push-ups in Action:

2 Minute Challenge

So much for an “easy” day!

All Pushed Out

Lots of fun today watching people row hard and cheer harder. Rowing technique was a focus and the tips many learned from Anna C. at Saturday’s rowing clinic were put to use. After the pulling was over a quick 2 minute challenge of pushing and falling on your face was in order.

Attention StrongMen!

Coaching Points for Lifting Stones” with Rob OrlandoCrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]

Here are answers to the FAQ’s around this Saturday’s Rainier CrossFit Strongest Man and Woman 6. Competitors make sure you read up, get there with time to weigh in between 8-9am, and be there for the mandatory rules briefing at 9am.

For you runners make sure you register for the Turkey Trot 5k and Kids 1k here. If online registration is over, then you can register the day of the event.

For the rest of you CF’ers, there will be one class at 9:30 am with Coach Michelle. No Kids class (Session ended last weekend) and no Advanced RX Class.

Happy Birthday Steph!

5 Rounds for time of:

11 Hang Power Cleans (115#/75#)
5 Handstand-ups
30 AbMat Sit-ups

Results 

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Steph B. cleans her way through her Bday WOD:

Steph B_Bday WOD

Another week and a couple belated birthday WOD’s on tap to celebrate Steph (11/5) and Rona. Enjoy!

Notes:

Break out your most awesome and ugly Christmas/Holiday sweater and mark your calendars for December 10th for our SRCF Paleo Potluck and Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! Amanda and Mike are hosting and it’s an adult only party. For those on Facebook an event has been created. We will also put the details up on the whiteboard in the box. Pick a dish to make and get a sweater because it’s gonna be fun!

For those wondering about stone loading (one of the exercises this Saturday at the Strongmand/CrossFIt competition at Rainier CrossFit) here is a video demo from the expert himself.

“New to Atlas Stones?” by Rainier CrossFit

Coaching tips: Hang Power Clean w/Spencer

Spencer Hang Power Clean

When receiving the bar in the finish position of the power clean (hang or full), keep the torso upright and drive the elbows forward to allow the bar to front rack on your shoulders. Grip should be outside of your shoulders and knees sllightly bent. Keep your weight on your heels with feet under the hips/shoulders. Stand the weight all the way up to full hip extension before lowering the bar.

"Karen"

For time:

150 Wall Balls (20# to 10′ target/14# to 9′ target)

Results

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Quote of the Day: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” — Lewis Carroll

Yay Wallballs!

Nate tackles Karen Tackling Karen

The return of “Karen”. We haven’t done this in over a year. It was time to bring it back and for many it was a first time as well. This benchmark Girl is one that is relatively short, demands high output, and is both physically and mentally hard. Wait a second that’s just like every other WOD

While it’s perfectly understandable to stress or worry about a workout, don’t let it rule you to the point of being overly negative. It’s a workout. At one time or another we all get caught up in how intimidating a WOD can be. I know I do. However letting it get to your head to the point that you either a) talk yourself into performing poorly or b) avoid the WOD and skip it altogether will result in sub-par training, less than ideal effort, a potential for injury, or a missed opportunity. Instead try to focus on things like: how you will attack it, what rep scheme or resting strategy you want to employ, or how efficiency of technique will help you move faster, safely. Switching your thought process is another aspect of training. CrossFit is somewhat unique in that it helps you train your body and your head. Each WOD pushes mental aspects that challenge toughness, perseverance and discipline. Don’t fear it. Embrace the suck.

Today was cool to see so many people give each other strategy, tips, encouragement, and face something head on that many dread. After it was done the feeling of accomplishment more than made up for the burning legs, raspy cough and dead arms. Congrats to everyone, you are one benchmark down and 150 wall balls fitter!

The Most Clutch Athlete in CrossFit by CrossFit Games

"A Large Glass of CrossFit Kool-Aid"

This post is a motivating email from Lindsay that we received a little over a week ago and just had to share. Congrats on your one year milestone. It’s been hard earned and no doubt you will reach every goal in your WOD book and continue to achieve new ones! I look forward to next year’s email.

Lindsay_RX Grace

“Today is my one-year Crossfit anniversary. I spent it doing five rounds of 7 man-makers and 400m runs in the Holiday Inn Express fitness room. I went out of my way this morning to ensure that not only did the fitness room have dumbbells, but that they had the flat-sided dumbbells in the appropriate weights. As my day of work played out, I looked forward to not sitting in a board room; to be done staring at a plate of muffins and a box of Tim Horton donuts. I’m not saying that I didn’t want to slip n’ slide across the table, open-mouthed into said plate of muffins, but it’s always easier to resist them when they’re not taunting me in person. My newly acquired (although admittedly weak at times) superpower to resist baked good is just one of the MANY things I’ve done/seen/learned/experienced because of my last 12 months of Crossfit.

I looked at the front page of my WOD book last week, and read the goals I wrote down on my first night of Elements. They were:
1. Do an unassisted pull up
2. Learn to do double-unders
3. Lose 20 pounds
4. Be confident enough to wear a bikini in public

I haven’t accomplished all of these goals yet…I’ve lost 15 pounds to date, and my swimsuit confidence is only at about 80%. BUT those were secondary to my pull up and jump rope goals. I’ve always been more excited to achieve performance goals, and happy if my appearance and waistline came along with them. One year ago, I was expecting to become a better athlete as a result of CrossFit, and mostly just hoping that my body and confidence followed suit. And in one year, I’ve gained all of that and SO MUCH more! Before CF, I had been trying to convince myself that I was past my prime…that I would never be as strong, as fast, as thin, or as good-looking as I was when I was swimming and training 30 hours a week. I was trying really hard to be okay with the thought of being average. It wasn’t working; no matter what I told myself, I was never satisfied with being “just okay”. Our box is the place that let’s me be my own superhero…to climb ropes, and swing on bars, and lift heavy $%!& over my head, and to generally work like hell to be better than average. I’ve gained a home away from home; the family of ninja’s I’ve always wanted. SRCF is my motivation at the end of a long day. It’s MY hour of the day. It’s where I go to laugh. And to sweat. And to cry. And to slap butts. And to lose some skin and blood. And sometimes…just sometimes…I’m lucky enough to have all of those things happen in the same visit. The road to Awesome is long, and I’m only a fraction of the way there. But the journey so far has been satisfying enough to keep me wanting to get there even faster. 

I’ve also gained an entirely new perspective on nutrition. Food isn’t just something to eat anymore. It has a purpose. For the first time in my life, I purchased a book about nutrition. Seriously, I didn’t even do that for my Food Sciences class in college! 

Oh and let us not forget that I’ve become involved in a love affair with lululemon! My husband not only knows about said affair, but he supports it. Sometimes, he even comes with me to watch!!! Now that’s a healthy marriage. 🙂

So I guess the bottom line is this…I HELLA LOVE CROSSFIT!!! And Team Squatch. And my muscles. And Dustin for pushing me to drink the CF Kool Aid.

…And my box. Take that how you will.

Cheers to another year!
Linds”

Scooby Swing

Rowing Standards

Team WOD for time of:

Partner one Row 500 meters and partner 2 starts the following stations: 
20 Handstand Push-ups 
20 Box Jumps (30″/24″ – Games Standard “Open Hips on Top)
20 Pull-ups
20 Wallballs (20#/14)
20 Knees to Elbows

Partner 1 Row 500 meters, partner 2 start HSPU’s. Stop when 20 HSPU’s and 500 meters done, switch stations. Partner 2 Row 500 meters again, partner 2 start HSPU’s. Stop when 20 HSPU’s and 500 meters done, switch stations. Partner 1 row 500 meters, partner 2 start Box Jumps….. Etc.

Results

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One hits “Menu – Back- Just Row” while the other tackles Box Jumps:

Menu Back Just Row Jason_Box Jumps

Rowing Instructor Anna C. warms up for the WOD:

Anna Cummins_Row WOD

Today started with a team WOD that alternated turns on a the torture device known as the rower or “erg” and multiple bodyweight exercises. Immediately after we were lucky to have Anna Cummins provide a clinic on how to row with proper position, technique, form, and rowing strategy for workouts. Her background is quite impressive as she not only is a CrossFitter (from CF Bellevue) and CrossFit/Concept 2 Master Rower, but also a Gold and Silver Olympic Medal Rower. She spent over an hour with 22 of us demonstrating, drilling, and coaching our group out of our bad habits and turned us into “mini master rowers” that are slightly armed and dangerous now for our next rowing WOD. 

Michelle, Rona, Mark and I also learned a lot of good info and valuable cues that will help translate to becoming better coaches for teaching our box. Thanks to all who turned out and more importantly thank you to Anna for the first class clinic! Next summer we will have to take it out on the water.

Rowing Clinic

Stroke Practice

Power Hour

Strength WOD:

1/1/1/1/1/1/1
Power Clean (Find your 1RM “Rep Max”)

Checkout WOD:

5 Rounds for Time of:

10 Hollow Rocks
10 Good Mornings (45#/33#) 
10 Push-up (Hand Release)

Results

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Quote of the Day: “The reason the clean is so critical to sports performance training is that it is a scalable way to develop power.” ~ Mark Rippetoe

  Speal Power Clean

From “The Power Clean” by Mark Rippetoe: CrossFit Journal

“The power clean teaches explosion. It cannot be done slowly. And since it involves a longer pull than the squat clean, it emphasizes the finish, where the maximum hip, knee, and ankle extension occurs, without the added complication of the front squat part of the movement.

There will be a weight, however light or heavy, that the athlete can handle correctly. That weight can be gradually increased, enabling athletes of any level of advancement to increase power production. Since athletics depends so heavily on the ability to exert force rapidly, the clean is a very useful tool for all athletes.

The power clean is best thought of as a jump with the bar in the hands, followed immediately by an upward forward slam of the elbows to rack it on the shoulders. It is much easier to learn from the hang position; learning it off the floor tends to understate the importance of the explosive phase at the top.

In fact, the reason the power clean is an important assistance exercise for weightlifters is that it teaches the “finish” of the pull at the top, that last little bit of extension that must be done before going under the bar. If the first thing learned is the jump, the trainee has a better chance of keeping the power part of the movement foremost in importance. The most important position is what I refer to as the “jumping” position. It is the point at which the bar touches the thigh when both the hips and knees are unlocked and the arms are still straight.”

Power Clean: Exercise Demo Video – Catalyst Athletics

Good Morning!

Good morning

Happy Birthday Lorraine!

6 Rounds for time of:

11 Burpees
3 Thrusters (115#/75#) 
11 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
3 Thrusters

Results

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View this photo (with an artistic demo of the WOD by Ashley)

The birthday girl:

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Lorraine from the afternoon crew:

BIrthday WOD Crew with Lorraine

Reminder, if you are planning to attend the rowing clinic on Saturday then please sign up on the whiteboard in the box. The whiteboard regularly has upcoming events and announcements on it. Ensure you read it as we have several things coming your way! From the Rowing Clinic, to the Strongman, Turkey Trot, Paleo Holiday Potluck, CF Games Open and more; there will be plenty to do in the coming months. 

Speaking of whiteboards, I realize I am long overdue at updating the Leaderboards. This will soon change. I will be updating these over the next week. All Girl Benchmarks and Hero WOD’s that have been done in the box will post the top 3 men and top 3 women’s RX scores. Several need to be fixed as some times and scores have been beat.

What’s a thruster? Here’s 45 good examples of a blazing Fran time.

Talayna Fortunato’s 2:26 Fran – video [wmv] [mov]

Runners! Read: The Once and Future Way to Run – New York Times

Dead Pull

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 Minutes of:

5 Deadlifts (225#/155#)
7 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
20 Double-Unders 

Results 

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C2B Silhouette_Don

When completing a chest-to-bar pull-up it is necessary to make contact with the chest in which the “target” should be to contact the middle of the chest or below the clavicle to the bar. To complete this range of motion pull harder with the arms and lats while heaving your chest forward. Leaning the torso back while keeping the feet together will help. As the arms tire consider varying your grip. No touch = no go.

Amy N. gets her 1st WOD with C2B Pull-ups:

C2B Pull-up_Amy

Notes:

This Saturday is the Rowing Clinic! Scroll down and read for details.

Row, Squat and Run

3 Rounds for time:

Row 500m
21 Back Squats (95#/65#)
Run 400m

Results

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James racked and ready:

James_Back Squat Breather

Contests (Congrats) to Amy N. and Caryn for their first dead hang pull-ups today (during the warm-up)! Next time ring the PR bell! Today’s WOD was a late adjustment to incorporate some light back squats. The goal of this weight was to discourage you from dropping that bar and getting through each round with only one clean off the floor.

Don demonstrating good back squat depth:

Back Squat depth

Movember is back again and has started. During the month of November men grow moustaches in support of the fight against prostate cancer. Several men in the box will be joining the “mo bros” for the second year and if you missed out last year all are welcome. At the end of the month Rob asked that we hold a “Mo WOD” for everyone that will feature “manly” movements (think man makers and hard work).

Here are the rules.  I am now down Day one. Evil Tom is coming back. In spirit of the rules I was clean shaven on day one, and will grow a Fu Manchu or more likely the Horseshoe (aka Hulk Hogan) moustache. I also will try to raise some money to fight prostate cancer. My dad beat it, and now is battling two other types of cancer. Cancer sucks. 

Mark on his way to a PR deadlift 505# on the fat bar today:

505 Fat Bar

Notes:

Most people who make it to the Games were relatively fit and athletic before they found CrossFit. Many have a background in some aspect of CF (gymnastics, endurance, weightlifting) or even competed at an elite level in college, semi-pro, or pro level sports. One rare woman who made it this past year was a new mom who had just found CrossFit as a way to shed some pounds. A year and a half and 75 of those pounds later… Sam Petersen’s Determined Ascent by CrossFit Games

“CrossFit and Throwing Practice” with Matt Hasselbeck – video [wmv] [mov]

"Boxed In"

As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 Minutes of:

12 Push Press (75#/55#)
10 Box Jump (24″/20″)

Results

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Happy Halloween!

Lucy Push Press

Have a rocking week!

KISS Tribute

This Saturday we will have our normal 0930 class with a Team WOD. Immediately after at 1045 we will have a rowing clinic open to all who are interested on learning proper rowing technique. The cost is free. The rowing instructor is world class. In fact she is an Olympic Gold and Silver Medal rower and a Master Rower for Concept 2 and CrossFit!

SIGN UP in the box!

Details:

Olympic & World Rowing Champion to Rock Your Row:

Anna Cummins

  • Anna Cummins: Crossfit Master Rowing Instructor, Level 1 Certified Crossfit Coach, Runs Bellevue’s Cummins Chiropractic & Wellness 
  • Olympic Gold 2008, Silver 2004

    • What should rowing look like?
    • Elements of power 
    • Timing 
    • Common Mistakes & Easy Fixes 
    • Best stretches to keep healthy
    • Give me a WOD with a row because I’m ready! 
    • RSVPs necessary to reserve your rower.

Halloween Party Pic Album: