"Tiger Blood is all about details"

Quote of the day: “Details make the man, and woman. Tiger Blood is all about details.” ~ Kelly Starrett

Nan and the Overhead Walking Lunge (she is filled with Tiger Blood):

Nan_OH Lunge - 1

Rest Days aren’t all about doing nothing. As KStar of Mobility WOD says “if you didn’t train today, what steps did you take to set the stage for tomorrow’s training?” Rest days should include maintenance. Stretching, mobility, light movement, eating well, balanced sleep.

Many of you have difficulty getting into an open overhead position due to lack of flexibility. There are many techniques to working this. Here’s one video with a few methods with KStar and Chris Spealler. Take the time to watch and try these in the box.

   

Attention CF Games Open Competitors aka Team Squatch!

Read this and the link below CAREFULLY. Some of you have asked about how the team and individual scoring counts toward’s the team score. This spells it out. Our plan will be to try to see if we can get an official team to make it through the open as RX’d (3 men/3 women). Once you do not RX an Open workout you are no longer “in the running” (both as an individual and in the team competition). Let’s do this!

2011 CrossFit Games: More on Teams during the CrossFit Games Open: Everything you need to know about teams on the new site and in the Open

Team Thruster

In teams of two, complete for time:

100 Thrusters (135#/95#)

* Alternate between athletes every minute (only one works at a time) 

* Starting at the beginning of each minute you must complete 5 burpees; with remaining time in each minute complete max reps of thrusters. Stop every minute to complete the burpees before continuing with thrusters

Results

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Lindsay thrusters while her teammates Amanda and Ziggy look on:

Team Effort

We are happy to announce EFT is finally set up!  This is our preferred method of payment.  Which means if you can get set up for us Michelle won’t have to send you a reminder email and you won’t have to remember to bring in a check! 
Please complete the following steps if you haven’t done so already:
  1. Click on the MindBody Badge link on the left site of the site (Under SIgn up and Pay Online)
  2. On the MindBody welcome page, follow the steps to set up a profile
  3. After you create a profile, select the “Online Store” tab
  4. Select “Contracts/Packages” under the tabs on the right
  5. Choose the correct package, then select the start date (beginning or mid-month) and click “I agree with the above terms”
  6. Check out and enter your payment by credit card 
  7. Sit back and think “Winning. Everyday.”

If you want to enter checking account info for ACH monthly withdrawals or if you have any other questions or problems setting up this part, please set up your profile with personal info and let us know which option you want and we can help you set up the rest.  

There are lots of cool things we can do with this program so we need all our members in there as we will get better at using the many features of the software for things like events, T Shirts, CF Kids, appointment scheduling, etc.

Notes:

From the land of the truly bizarre; human breast milk ice cream. Technically it’s free range right?

Ice-cream maker to make human breast milk treat – The Globe and Mail

Happy Birthday today to Rob! Here’s a shot from today’s training for the Games Open. (Don’t worry he will get a birthday WOD soon):

Cheering her Hubby

Some of the team tackling “Twins”:

Don all Buff

Front Loader

Strength WOD:

Front Squat
3/3/3/3/3

Checkout WOD:

For Time:

1000m Row 

Followed by 21-15-9 Reps for time of:

Front Squat (135#/95#) 
Back Extensions (Sub Good Mornings 45#/33#)

Results

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Quotes of the Day:

“Bring me a challenge. Somebody.” ~ Charlie Sheen

“We loves the Moe.” ~ Amanda, SRCF

Silhouetted

This is what we want you to look like in a front squat (either Heidi or the front loader truck):

Heidi_FS McNeilus-Front-Loader

Keep that load up high in the rack position and put your weight on your heels (or tires)!

Read: “The CrossFit Games Are Stupid” by CrossFit Montgomery County(MD)

Notes:

Two upcoming events on Saturday 3/12!

– SRCF Grand Re-Opening Potluck and Box Open House: 

  • NO 10am class!
  • 12pm-3:30pm Saturday 3/12 (this will allow for those who are running the St. Patty’s Day 5k)
  • Bring a dish and do a WOD. We will run a WOD in waves for those interested.
  • Hang out, bring a friend, socialize and have a good time with your fellow CrossFitters
  • TBD: Hope to have a lululemon Trunk Show upstairs during this time (currently finalizing details)

– Finaghty’s 5k and Kids 1k St. Patty’s Day Race in Snoqualmie Ridge:  

Click HERE to register online. Online registration closes at 11:59pm, Monday, March 7th. Let us know if you are running!

  • Additional race details are below or at www.runsnoqualmie.com
     
    Pre-Registration (ends Monday, March 7th)
    Kids 1k — $10 (includes a free cotton t-shirt and finisher’s medal)
    5k — $25 (includes tech shirt)

    Late Registration (add $10 for 5k and $5 for Kids 1k – shirts not guaranteed)
    Friday, March 11th at FootZone from 1-6pm (Issaquah Location ONLY)
    Day of Race Registration – Begins at 7am at Start Line on Center Blvd on Snoqualmie Ridge
     
    Race Day Schedule
    7:00-8:45a.m.- Bib Number Pick Up & Day of Race Reg 
    9:00 a.m. – Start of Kids 1k Run
    9:15 a.m.- Start of 5k
    10:15 a.m.- Awards Ceremony

    Pat gets fancy on Strength Days:
    Formal Spot Pat Gets Fancy

Preparing for the 2011 CF Games Open

21-15-9 Reps for time of:

Sumo Deadlift High-Pull (95#/65#) 
Overhead Squat (95#/65#) 

Results

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“Just Pick It Up”:

Just Pick it Up

Cathy_SDHP Steph_OH Squat

2011 CrossFit Games Open update:

Judging at the CrossFit Games Open [wmv] [mov]

The 2011 CF Games Open begins March 15th at 5pm PST and runs for 6 weeks. Several of us here at SRCF are competing (and have been training for a few months together), all with individual goals in mind. Together our individual performances will allow us to also compete as a team, with hopes that we can advance either a team or individuals to compete in the Regionals (June 10-12); as well as hoping Pat advances from Sectionals to the CF Games in his age bracket of the Master’s Event. With two weeks left to “go time” many of us are to gearing up for a fun 6 weeks. Each week CrossFit HQ will announce the Open WOD for the week that everyone around the world can perform as RX’d to compete in.

Athletes have two basic options during the Open. Film it on your own with a judge or go to a registered CF Affiliate and be judged. Results will be entered to a website designed to rank everyone by gender and region. Top 60 men, 60 women, and 30 teams will advance to Regional Competition. From there the top Regional competitors worldwide will advance to the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA to compete with a $1M total purse. 

How will judging during the Open work? See above video. We are opting in as an affiliate. We will judge strictly to the established standards that CrossFit publishes each week for the Games Open WOD. No deviation. Each athlete will have a judge. No-reps and corrections will be clearly communicated for the athlete to correct. Twice a week we will have a specific time for our own athletes who are competing to complete the WOD and be judged for their performance. Coaches included.

We will also post one time a week for non-SRCF athletes to register with us via Mindbody online or email in advance to complete the Open WOD for the week. Non-SRCF CrossFitters must register for the Open on their own and pay our drop-in fee of $20 per WOD. More details to come…

Awesome ALERT:

Get the water cooler tested. Today we saw Josh get muscle-ups and Laura get kipping pull-ups! “Contests” (ask Rona)!

Josh_1st Muscle Up

Laura_Got Pull-ups?

Games Worthy

3 Rounds for time of:

30 Push-ups (Hand Release)
Rope Climb (15’/12′) 
21 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
Rope Climb (15’/12′) 

(There is a 12 Minute Cap on WOD #1)

Rest 3 Minutes; then Complete

3 Rounds for time of:

30 Toes-to-Bar
21 Ground-to-Overhead (95#/65#)

(There is a 10 Minute Cap on WOD #2)

Results

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These two WOD’s are influenced by the Final Individual Event of the 2010 CF Games. We slightly modified them to make up for not having a 15ft. wall to climb over as well as using longer time caps to allow everyone to get more work done.

A few pics from the 2010 Games Final Individual Event last year. Can’t wait to go back again for another “epic-cation”:

Chan and Mikko

Camille_OHS

Froning racing to finish

Toes2Bar

Ground 2 OH

Up and Over

Women Of The 2010 CrossFit Games” – video [wmv] [mov]

Last Chance for the Early Bird Special on CrossFit Games Tickets

Power Stroke

3 Rounds for Time:

500m Row 
21 Hang Power Snatch (75#/55#) 

Results

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Rowers Ready

Today’s WOD focused on a basic Olympic lift. The hang power snatch is a stepping stone to the power snatch from the ground and also the snatch (squat). Learning this movement will help you become more efficient at getting a barbell overhead (or any weight) and put you directly into a position to overhead squat it. Who gets tired of the “power clean, jerk, rack, move your grip out and jerk it again” combo to get ready to overhead squat? Learn to snatch.

Speaking of going overhead, tomorrow will be just that. Times two. We are going to run through two of the 2010 CF Games Final Event WOD’s (one will be slightly modified). Get ready to overhead squat, climb, go anyway overhead and hit those abs. Two WOD’s back to back with a time cap. They will be short, fast and intense. Do as much work as you can in the time limit. Get smoked, have fun.

2011 CrossFit Games Regional Boundaries Announced

Notes:

Amanda sent us this “Grande Awesome” email and she was cool with us sharing:

“I’m feeling especially introspective tonight 😉  So I thought I’d share what has been bouncing around in my head for the last couple months and has become crystal clear in the last couple weeks.  I really struggled at the first 2 weeks w/ the “stop the slop” challenge – I’ve done countless nutrition challengs in my life.  However, January is always a horrible month for me.  My family is from the midwest & east coast; visits leave me missing them… On top of that this year I was sick for part of the month & had a hectic work schedule.  But then I took a step back and looked at what has made the big difference in my life since Fall of 2010 and pulled it back together… I wanted to share.
 
Thanks for what you both do & caring about pushing your “peeps” to their potential.

I’ve never wanted to lose weight to be able to do a pull-up w/out a band.  I’ve never wanted to be slimmed down so I could run a faster 400 M or bust out push-ups.

To be clear, I’m not new to being athletic, I’ve been running for over 10 years – I’ve done a marathon, several halves, and countless 10K & 5Ks.  Losing weight and getting in shape was the result of the running and sure losing weight meant I could go faster, but I cared more about how I’d look at the end.

Exercising and eating good to actually feel better & perform better is a huge change.  A change that is much more intoxicating then just looking good.  If I had only figured that out a long time ago I’d be a much happier person today.

I’m getting it now… It has taken awhile and I didn’t understand right away.  But with every PR, every struggle through a WOD, every proud moment I have – I get it.

Eating “paleo” isn’t some kind of punishment to lose 10 lbs; it is the fuel that makes me feel good & get through a WOD feeling strong.  Even odder to me – I can’t imagine not having my Squatchers & amazing SnoRidge CrossFit box to go to. I’ve always been a solo artist, actually getting excited to go see my coaches & friends is a unique experience for me.  One I really enjoy 😉

I’m not perfect – I won’t give up pizza for the rest of my life 🙂 but the work I put in pushing myself & eating healthy has a different payoff nowadays.  One that is much longer lasting than a goal weight.”

"Jackie" Performance Challenge Results are in!

Strength WOD:

Deadlift
3/3/3/3/3

Checkout WOD:

4 Rounds for Time:

5 Deadlifts (225#/155#) 
10 Knees-to-elbows 
15 Ring Dips

Results

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Checkout WOD Action:

Full Rig

Checkout Action

We can finally publish the winners and runners-up for the “Stop the Slop Jackie Performance Challenge”

The Nutrition Challenge results will be announced tomorrow!

  • Performance Challenge Winner is Matt Patterson
    • Matt finished the Jackie Challenge with the highest % time improved overall; with an insane overall 49.4% improvement! 
    • His first bout with Jackie did not go well and he finished at 12 plus minutes as RX’d. It was a struggle as Matt kind of “crashed and burned” after the row. His rematch 6 weeks later saw him complete it at a blistering time of 6:37! The improvement was the result of several factors: 1) Improved nutrition (Matt completed the 6 week Paleo Challenge) 2) Improved kipping pull-ups 3) Better strategy. Matt paced better to avoid the crash he suffered the first time. 4) Overall improved fitness. Matt has had several PR’s over the past 6 weeks and it shows.
    • Matt wins:
      • RX Jump Rope of his choice
      • 1 Year CrossFit Journal Subscription
  • Performance Challenge Runner-up is Nadia Schmieder
    • Nadia finished the Jackie Challenge with the second highest % time improved overall; with an overall 26.6% improvement!
    • The race for second place was very tight with 4 people bunched up right behind Nadia by a matter of a few % points
    • Nadia improved by 4:59 using the exact same weight and bands each time. Six weeks of paleo and CrossFit 3-4 times per week on average paved the way for such a huge improvement. On top of that she surprised herself tonight by hitting a 3RM on her deadlift at 173#!  This was her previous 1 rep max back in December. Solid performance!

CONGRATS to Matt and Nadia and to everyone who participated in the Jackie Performance Challenge!

Notes:

Attention Team Squatch competitors: Update on the upcoming 2011 CF Games Open (AKA “The Event Formerly Known as Sectionals”) below. We are only 3 weeks away from “GO TIME”!

CrossFit Games Open: The New Site – video [wmv] [mov]

View from The Squatch Cave:

View from the Cave

CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer Course Certification is coming!

We are stoked to announce we are working to host this awesome 2 day cert with Jeff Tucker and Jeannie Bassi here at our box in late May or June. Spots will fill up fast so if this interests you then let us know so you can register before we post it to the larger community. Cost for this cert is $595 and registration will be via CrossFit.com once it is listed.

Course Description: “This course will be open to anyone and is a “road show” course led by Jeff Tucker and his staff. This is a great two-day fundamental session in the gymnastics skills you need to become a better, more well-rounded athlete and CrossFitter.

Jeff R. Tucker – or “Tucker” to those who know him – is the CEO and founder of Global Sports Xtreme (GSX) in Ft Worth, Texas and he has a passion for teaching gymnastics. He and his staff will delve into basic and intermediate gymnastic forms in a lecture setting followed by practical application. Skills will be repeated until the student has satisfactory understanding of how to learn, spot and teach such methods safely. You will also be taught how to scale the movements until they become second nature. You don’t merely watch, or half-heartedly attempt such moves, you LEARN them, and through repeated progression and persistence you gain great rewards.

Tucker’s goal in this course is to aid CrossFitters in using gymnastics for strength development, core control, and WOD progressions. Result: the CrossFit community will become more engaged in using one of the foundational blocks for CrossFit workouts – Gymnastics.

You will be taught a wide variety of movements and techniques, including these and others:

  • Paralette work: handstands, L–sit, stretching, core control, handstand push ups, scalability of basic and intermediate movements, spotting, ROM/EROM training.
  • Rings: core training exercises, support work, proper hand placement, L-sits, iron cross progressions, dislocates, presses, muscle ups and muscle up drills, self spotting techniques, kips, handstands on rings, and conditioning.
  • Bar variations: handstands on rings back levers, skin the cat, L-sit pull up variations, stretching, kipping swing, spotting techniques, bar muscle ups, scalability of all moves.
  • Handstands : HSPU’s, HS forward rolls, balance work, press to HS, L-sit to handstand, how to spot and scale this foundational part of the elements for WOD’s and newbies. hand placement, core control, strength development Planche – progressions on floor, rings and paralettes.

We will have an in depth lecture and video presentation throughout the two days with detailed information and discussion on gymnastic elements and the best application for such drills in CrossFit boxes and the community at large.

What do you need to bring? Athletic attire and an adventurous attitude! We look forward to teaching all comers and all skill levels how these foundational gymnastic elements will increase your strength, your flexibility, and understanding on how gymnastics programing is part of Greg Glassman’s vision.”

Restful Sunday

Coaches WOD on Saturday:  

Coaches WOD

Read: Rest: A Four Letter Word by CrossFit Lisbeth

Want to know what the CF Games are? Want to get motivated to train? Watch this:

Remember the 2010 CrossFit Games? – video [wmv] [mov] [HD mov]

Hopefully Sean and Jenna are getting a little bit of rest with a newborn. Congrats to Sean, Jenna and Audrey on welcoming Baby Brinkley into the world! The family is home, healthy and happy!

Sean-Jenna and Brinkley

View From Above

3 Rounds for Time:

1 Rope Climb (15′)
15 AbMat Sit-ups
15 Burpees 
1 Rope Climb (15′)
15 AbMat Sit-ups
15 Burpees
* Rest 1 Minute between rounds, clock continues to run

Subs for Rope Climbs:

  • 2 Supine Rope Pull-ups from Floor to Standing back to Floor = 1 Rope Climb 
  • or 6 Dead Hang Pull-ups 

Results

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Supine Supervision:

Supine Supervision

Who had fun learning to practice rope climbs today? We had fun teaching it to each class. There was some discussion with your trainers tonight on what heights to use for rope climb standards for men’s and women’s RX heights. For now we are going to use the following height scaling:

  • 20′ for men /15′ for women
  • 15′ for men / 12′ for women
  • 10′ Climb for first timers or new climbers (must demo leg lock)

We will tinker with it and see if we change. Like scaling a wall ball height, we choose to use a slightly lower height for women over men.

Moe Climbs Supine Rope Climbs

Attention competitors! Two important items:

First: Below is the 2011 CF Games video update on the Sectionals Open. Not much info but enough to whet our appetites.

Second: This weekend at CF Bellevue there is a local throwdown competition for those interested. Event is hosted by CF Interbay and CF Bellevue on Saturday from 8am to 6pm. Details can be found here. If you are wanting to compete let us know. We won’t be attending as we are concluding our “Stop the Slop” Challenge on Saturday which means the return of “Jackie”…

Get Ready for the Open!” – video [wmv] [mov]

We have a new view! Upstairs window is in. That means you can watch the action or your coaches can hurl cues at you from above. (No rotten fruit or booing allowed)

Room with a View Coaches Concern

Notes:

Guys: If you like “fight shorts” and want a pair with our logo on them (shown below) I am going to order a pair (black color on blank MMA shorts) and have them sent to our screen printer. He will then take the shorts and print “SnoRidge CrossFit” up the side.  If you want a pair then please let me know no later than Monday 2/21! Once I know how many people are interested I can coordinate logistics for how to order your pair and have them sent to our graphic/printer guy. Cost is $31 for shorts plus shipping and around $15 for printing and shipping back to us. Post to comments if you want to order.

Fight Shorts:

Snoridgeshorts

“Too Weak” ($20) and “250 WOD Club” ($15) T-shirts are in! If you want a “Too Weak” shirt then get one. If you ordered a 250 WOD shirt and earned it please get yours soon. They look sick!

Great Basin Qualifier

5 Rounds for Time:

7 Deadlift (275#/185#)
30 Squats
7 Handstand Push-ups

* From the 2009 Great Basin Regional Qualifiers

Results

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Compare to Previous Results

Josh DL

Heavy deads and handstand push-up fun! For those new to handstand push-ups (HSPU) see the previous post (link above) for a how-to demo of the pike HSPU off a box. The progression is typically moving from the floor pike to the box pike to the bands. From the bands the next move will be to perform HSPU against a wall with one AbMat under your head. Master the current technique you are on and you will be inverted soon enough.

Pat HSPU

Welcome to Janet and Luanne who finished Elements and hit their first class tonight! Also welcome to Charles, Hailly, Jason, Darawan, and David who all are currently in their Elements sessions. Be sure to introduce yourselves or pay the burpee penalty!

Notes:

Do you have dead hang and kipping pull-ups already? If so are you working on butterfly pull-ups? Here is an interesting way to practice the motion with band assistance.

Chris Spealler from CrossFit Park City on the Butterfly Pull-up Using a Band: