Squatch

Dueling Thrusters

Add 1 Thruster (95#/65#) for each minute on the minute.

1st Minute = 1 Thruster, 2nd Minute = 2 Thrusters,

3rd Minute = 3 Thrusters, 4th Minute = 4 Thrusters…etc.

Complete as many minutes as possible until you are no longer able to perform the RX’d number in that minute. Score total minutes plus reps completed.

Everyone got to “duel” a partner for most minutes and reps completed. Except poor Amanda who got to duel herself. But at least she won!

Travis completed the Mt. Hood Scramble ’09 race in Oregon this past weekend. The race was a 10k that covered mountains, rocks (big ones), trails, rivers, mud, steep climbs and more. This off-road trail race is a tough one that tests not only your running capability but also your capacity for enduring the elements as Travis said he forded rivers and climbed sections that meant pulling and clawing your way up. Running, pushing, pulling. Almost sounds like a CrossFit WOD. Sounds like a blast and let’s put a team together next year!

Jim was able to drop-in and visit CrossFit Santa Barbara while he is on the road. They welcomed him in their box yesterday for a Tabata Something Else WOD and even reviewed some fundamentals with his nephew that he brought with him. Great to see the community looking out for a traveling CrossFitter. Get back soon Jim!

Overloaded…

Strength work of three sets of three reps with the goal of reaching a three rep max (3RM):

Overhead Squat

3/3/3

Followed by

AMRAP in 15 Min. (As Many Rounds As Possible) of:

5 Burpees

7 Medicine Ball Cleans (20#/14#)

10 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)

Overhead squats are making progress. The below side by side comparison shows Adriana one month ago to now. The “Before” shot on the left was the first time she encountered OH Squats in a WOD (Nancy). The “After” on the right shows how even though we haven’t worked OH squats with anything more than a PVC during warm-ups her range of motion, strength, flexibility and body position is improving. What will these look like in another month?

A few improvements stand out in the pictures.

“Before”:

1) To support the bar in the squat, she is pushing the bar back behind her head farther to allow her chest to stay up. This is causing the load to put more stress on the shoulders.

2) She used more of her arms to support the bar and you can see her right elbow bent.

3) Her squat depth previously was what you see in the picture.

“After”:

1) She is supporting the bar (which is loaded heavier) in a more stable position that is directly over her midline as she squats. It is just behind her ears and remains there throughout the squat.

2) She has more “active shoulders” which is the upshrug feeling with locked out arms that helps keep the core tight and load balanced overhead.

3) Full squat depth today with each rep (she is rising in the picture here).

Before: After:

Big welcome to Robin who went through his first WOD and Elements part one tonight. Robin and his wife are both former competitive rowers that we are excited to have join us (Lucy begins next week).

"This is hard"

or “that was Hell” or our favorite, in response to asking Greg if he was ready to try 95 pounds: “I should’ve kept my big mouth shut.” All quotes of the day. All six of you had similar observations. Remember hard work produces results.

4 Rounds for Time:

10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95#/65#)

15 Pull-ups

30 Squats

We have a some shout outs today for a couple friends. First off Alexandra Seal from CF No Limits completed her CrossFit Level 1 Certification this weekend down in Aromas, CA. She is front and center on the left side of the barbell. Congrats Alex!

Our good friend Derek from high school was in town visiting for the weekend and we got to throw down a few WOD’s and several PR’s. He’s been CrossFitting since January and has drunk the Kool-Aid. While here he completed Fran as RX’d and a CF Total. He also managed to nail his kipping pull-ups, learn handstand push-ups, power cleans, deadlifts, and most importantly got his first muscle-up! Then he strung a few together for good measure. Here’s a pic and video of that accomplishment. Great effort Derek!

Derek First Muscle-Up Video:

Foam Rolling and Stretching

Why stretch? What is a foam roll? Watch this video from Again Faster. You can pick up a foam roller for little over $20 at Target in their exercise equipment section. This little thing is money well spent to helping roll out the tightness you feel in legs, knees, glutes, back etc. If you have joint issues, IT band problems, adhesions, tight hamstrings, lower back soreness and so on, give this a try in addition to stretching to increase your flexibility and decrease your pain. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

Foam Rolling: Part I from Patrick Cummings on Vimeo.

Clean Up

For Time:

Alternate the following exercises in a ladder format.

15, 12, 9, 6, 3 of Pull-ups

3, 6, 9, 12, 15 of Power Cleans (115#/85#)

* For extra credit do chest to bar pull-ups and 155# power cleans.

Derek is a close friend of ours and fellow CrossFitter that is visiting us from the east coast for the weekend. He wanted to get some work in on cleans and kipping pull-ups so after some instruction we all threw down this WOD together.

We just introduced the double under in yesterday’s WOD. For those that this is new territory, it’s a skill that takes practice and patience. Here are some good techniques to help you learn in this video on Double Unders from Again Faster.

Double Unders from Patrick Cummings on Vimeo.

Notes:

Good luck to Travis who is running in the Mt. Hood 10k Scramble Race tomorrow! Don’t get stuck on the mountain!

Push and Pull

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 20 Min. of:

3 Deadlift

7 Push-ups

15 Double Unders

Haven’t jumped rope since you were a kid? The jump rope can be an excellent tool for building cardio respiratory endurance as well as stamina, speed, agility and coordination. For those who couldn’t do double unders today then single unders were the sub. Typically you can expect to either attempt the double-under every time or do 3 times the prescribed amount. If singles are easy then move on to doubles. Congrats to Bridget who was able to get her first double unders today!

“Pushing and Pulling” with Neil and Bridget…

"Karen"

For Time:

150 Wall Balls (20#/14#)

Adriana powering through:

The faces and aftermath of “Karen”:

Wallballs are getting better (even if some of you hate them)! Some are now fully prescribed with full range of motion and all of you are more consistent in technique, accuracy, squat depth and coordination of the throw. Here’s a video of a 5 minute Karen along with some cues on wallball form from the CrossFit main site Exercises and Demo section.

Congrats to Lyndi and Amanda who completed all their Elements sessions this week. Oh and a new rule for welcoming our new folks: make sure you guys introduce yourselves to each other when you meet or its a 10 burpee penalty!

Row 2K

For Time:

2000m Row

Amanda row, row, rows her boat tabata style during Elements today.

Tonight’s WOD drew a universal response. “That’s it? Just one thing?”

At about the 1000m point is typically the realization that this is a tough benchmark. Everyone had a time or strategy in mind upfront to try and go the fastest. The fun part about it was that as each person rowed you all cheered and pushed each other on. Just another example of what sets CrossFit apart from just “working out”. Everyone did great with Curtis’s smoking 7:54 leading the pack and Jim and Deb coming in close on his heels at 8:29 and 10:03 respectively.

Notes:

The class schedule is now posted on the “Schedule and Fees” page. Please try to pick consistent class times and schedule them with us so that we can prepare adequately and plan for up to 4 of you at a time. If things change during the week and you need to move to another class no worries just let us know.

Snoqualmie Railroad Days Race 5k or 10k is August 22nd.

Put it on your calendar.

What A Bunch of Jerks

For Time:

200m Run each round (start and finish with a run)

Push Jerk 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… down to 1

The push jerk is a new skill that requires a little more coordination than the push press. Many of you worked on technique and form today over adding weight. As you gain confidence the heavier load will help you learn to “dive” under the bar into that quarter squat or dip to help get it overhead.

Michelle and I just completed a kettlebell workshop with Tom Corrigan at CrossFit Bellevue that focused on practical instruction of the one arm kettlebell swing, snatch and clean. Over time we will teach you all what we learned and incorporate some of it into WOD’s.

Welcome to Dan who completed Elements part one today! Dan is a local CrossFitter that will soon be joining us a couple times a week for class.

Author: Squatch

Dueling Thrusters

SnoRidge CF abroad

Overloaded…

"This is hard"

Foam Rolling and Stretching

Clean Up

Push and Pull

"Karen"

Row 2K

What A Bunch of Jerks