Congratulations!

Jeremy and Kellie have welcomed a healthy new CrossFitter into the world this morning!

Jeremy and Lillie Marie

“Lillie Marie”:

Delivery for time: 
Max Weight 
Max Height
* Immediately follow with max reps of sleep and eating.

Results

Max Weight: RX (9 lbs. 9 oz.) 
Max Height: RX (19.5″)
Mom and Lillie Marie are all fine!

Jeremy post delivery-WOD of AbMats and Double-Unders:

Post delivery WOD

Certified or Certifiable?

Congrats goes to Moe who completed her CrossFit Level 1 certification this weekend! We are very stoked to have her join our coaching staff with the wealth of experience, motivation, intensity and emphasis on form that she brings; not to mention the incredible personality and smile that she has brought into the box day in and day out. Moe will be running the 6-7am WOD on Tuesdays and Thursdays that starts this week!

Moe meets “Fran” at her CF Level 1 Cert:

Moe enters the Zone

Moe Kipping Moe_Fran Butterflies or smiles Moe_Fran_Thruster

"Just try it!"

3 Rounds for time:

400m Run
50 Air Squats
500m Row

Results

View this photo 

SRCF crew and Todd:

SRCF and Todd Widman
 

Quote of the day: 

“Almond butter, cashew butter, all goodness! Then there’s nut porn, which is macadamia butter.” ~ Todd Widman

Tonight we were honored and extremely fortunate to have Todd Widman (of CrossFit HQ Training Staff and Rainier CrossFit) come share some outstanding food for thought with a total of 35 of us. The nutrition discussion was a great success with a spectacular turnout. Todd focused on the why, the what, the how, and the tweaks that are key to building a foundation of solid nutrition. His passion was evident along with his education on the subject. In addition to flat out getting some good common sense education around diet and the role it plays in everything from performance to life; we learned a ton of other things around how to keep things simple when talking nutrition. 

Our bodies are a machine. How we fuel it is a conscious choice that impacts us every minute, every day and every year for the rest of our lives. As Todd summarized succinctly, you spend 1 hour of each day with hard effort in your daily CrossFit WOD. You have 23 other hours a day to screw it all up. He presented many compelling reasons for why we should eat real food, and in the right proportions. He covered the relationships of macronutrients and their impact on fueling the body. The material flowed well and led to questions that were smart, practical and beneficial to all. We learned about eating quality food, the basic Paleo influenced diet, and the Zone diet. He spent time on why combining the two is so much more effective than just one over the other. So with that we will springboard into our Paleo/Zone Challenge starting next Saturday. If you are on the fence ask yourself why not? What do you have to lose (other than weight and some bad habits)? Clean out the fridge and the pantry. Take the plunge. See what eating clean and in the right amounts can do. As Todd said, “Just Try It. You can do anything for 30 days.”

Thank you Todd!

Nutrition with Todd
 

 Notes:

Affiliate Team training at 9am. Saturday class will be at 1030 for all. Seeya then!

Steven and Jackie from lululemon dropped in again today for a WOD. It was great to have you guys visit and look forward to you getting in more often.

"Annie"

Strength WOD:

Squat Clean
3/3/3/3/3
Work up to 3RM (rep max) in 5 Sets

“Annie”:

For time:

50/40/30/20/10 reps each of:
Double Unders
AbMat Sit-ups

Results

View this photo
View this photo

Nan and Don during “Annie” (Note Don’s correct range of motion on the sit-up by touching the toes):

Nan_Double Unders Don_Sit-ups 

Tonight’s post is an easy one. I get to have a guest writer! Lorri was so inspired by Curtis achieving his muscle-up last night that she sent this to me. Of course I had to share with everyone because her message is right on. Thanks Lorri for your eloquent way of writing about how your inspiration from that achievement caused you to not only get into the box today but to also reflect on what CrossFit has taught you and led you to BELIEVE!

Curtis’ Muscle-Up by Lorri L.

Yesterday, as most of you know, Curtis achieved a huge milestone in CrossFit….his FIRST MUSCLE-UP.  Amazing!  When I read about it online I felt so proud for him. 

On my way home from the coffee shop this morning, I saw Tom and Curtis talking outside near the ELC, I stopped and said hello and gave a big congrats to Curtis. Tom asked if I was heading to the box and I sheepishly said no, because I was getting ready to go out of town.  (For you moms, you know what that entails: laundry, cleaning, packing, completing projects, the list goes on and on.  For me it also means making sure my house is ready for a showing while we are away.)  I said good-bye, pulled away, and on my way home so a dialogue began in my head…..”No, I can’t go to the box BECAUSE…I have stuff to do….life stuff….getting ready for vacation stuff…important stuff…I need another(another?) rest day…”  and then it hit me…

Curtis’ muscle-up represented so much more than just the move in itself….for me it represented consistency, persistence, strength, frustration, sweat, pain, and belief!  There is no way that he could have achieved a muscle-up without persistence.  I wonder how many times he had attempted a muscle-up and just couldn’t achieve it.  Think on that…50 times?…100 times?….so many times he attempted to achieve and didn’t and then…suddenly…success!  How many of us have attempted something so many times without success, but continued until we could achieve it.   Persistence is defined as: Refusing to let up or let go. Persevering obstinately.  Persevering obstinately!!!   PERSISTENCE….I thought about that….I could get my behind to the box today.

But the core of my realization came when I realized this all materialized for him because he had BELIEF. He believed that he could achieve this monumental task. He believed in himself, even if at some times, he questioned if he could do it.  (I am only guessing, I haven’t had a chance to ask.)  He persisted in his drive to achieve the task that he BELIEVED in….WOW!  What a simple concept….belief…but how many times has the little voice in my head questioned if I could achieve something. Or maybe even that voice said, “What are you thinking, you can’t do that!”   I once overheard a wise man say (Pat S.) “We need to take CAN’T out of our vocabulary.”  So true! 

One reason I love CrossFit is because it quietly teaches us to believe: in ourselves, in others, and in that supportive community that we lean on when we aren’t sure if we can really finish that WOD or make it to the box.  Through my interaction with everyone in the box, I have learned so much….to push harder, to ease off when my body is aching, to be proud, to be humble, to vocally support one another, and sometimes to quietly support someone who is struggling, questioning their own belief in themselves.

So thank you Curtis, for providing inspiration in all those around you, and especially me!  Take the first step, BELIEVE, and then be persistent, until you reach those goals.

We might work out in a BOX, but we believe and achieve so far outside of its walls!

Notes:

Pics of our friends from lululemon who dropped in yesterday:

Courtney_Power Snatch_lulu Steven_Power Snatch_lulu

Jess_Power Snatch WOD_lulu McKenzie_Power Snatch_lulu

Tomorrow night is the Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman. For details click on the link on the right side of the page. 

  • Start time is 6:30pm
  • Cost is $10
  • Leave the kiddos at home! 
  • If you happen to have some folding or camp chairs handy please bring them! 
  • Eat before you come or feel free to bring snacks with you.

"Two-fer"

Results Corrected! Whoops!

Strength WOD:

Push Press
3/3/3/3/3
Work up to 3RM (rep max) in 5 Sets

Check Out WOD immediately after:

For time:

200m Run
20 Push Press (95#/65#)
20 Burpees
20 Box Jump (24″/20″)
20 Hang Cleans (95#/65#)
20 Pull-ups
20 Overhead Walking Lunges (45#/25# plate)
20 Double-Unders

Results

View this photo
View this photo    

Lunging Ladies:

  Lunging Ladies

I just love this picture Michelle took. 

Two recent comments led to today’s WOD. One was that we haven’t done push press lately. Second comment was that we haven’t done a chipper WOD. Consider today a two-fer. Strength WOD’s are something that take a different approach. The goal of a strength WOD means that you are working to achieve the # rep max in the number of sets on the board for that movement. If it’s a 1RM or 3RM for example you are gauging your attempts to reach a maximum load (maybe even PR) or fail. If you fail the attempt counts and is marked as a “fail” and you move to the next attempt(s). Being new to CrossFit is a good time to learn the movement, gain confidence and get used to this type of workout. Focus on finding a weight that challenges you but allows you to focus on proper form and technique.

You should warm-up prior to officially starting your attempts. This takes some strategy and planning ahead. When you start or when you move up from set to set plan out what you are trying to accomplish so you don’t go too heavy too early or stay too light too late. For the more experienced when done right a strength WOD gives you butterflies that are no different than a “normal” WOD. It makes you fear stepping to the bar because you honestly aren’t sure if you are going to get the next lift. You are going at it with intensity to get the lift and get it with good form. 

Starting from here forward we are going to dial it back in to limit you to your official rep attempts. That means if it’s 5 sets of 3 reps, then you won’t get 7 or 8 sets to keep on going. If you went too light too early then remember for next time. It’s a thinking person’s WOD as well as a strength building workout, enjoy it!

Jim C_One Arm Push Press Laura Push Press Rob Burpees

Notes:

Starting next week we are excited to announce that Moe will be running a 6am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Class will be the same format and run an hour. For those inclined to wake up and turn on the intensity than have at it. I’ll likely still be inspecting the back of my eyelids for time.

Food For Thought:

We will be sending an email out to all of you for confirming attendance for the Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman this Friday night. That way we can offer any additional space to our other affiliate and CF friends. If you didn’t previously post to the blog that you were coming please let us know. We are planning on a great turnout!

The other exciting news is we lined up the “BodyFat Test Truck” for coming to the box for our Paleo Challenge kickoff. They will be here on Saturday 2/20 from 7am to 1pm. The test is comprehensive and highly accurate with bodyweight, lean muscle lb., fat lb., body fat % and Delta. We will then have them come back in April at the end of challenge for a follow-up test. Because of this timing and the desire to have the most accurate results to look at post Paleo Challenge we will start the official Paleo Challenge on 2/20 (one week later). 

We hope you understand why we are pushing the official start of the Paleo Challenge to Saturday 2/20. In addition to lining it up with the BodyFat Truck, we think this allows you to soak in what you learn from the Nutrition Discussion on Friday and plan your food shopping and pantry cleaning next week. It really didn’t make sense for us to start a nutrition challenge one day after you learn the ins and outs of cleaner nutrition. 

  • BodyFat Truck Test cost is $49 for 1st test, $35 for follow-up test (or $35  if you have used the service before). Test is in a swimsuit in the truck in a “bathtub”. Test is approximately 10 minutes. We will schedule those who want to do it in 12 minute increments starting at 7am until 1pm.
  • Participation with the “ChunkyDunk” Truck (as Mike calls it) is completely optional. If you don’t want to use it then just weight in on our gym scale, take your pics and use our less accurate handheld bodyfat analyzer at the gym.
  • Paleo Challenge is 7 weeks long.
  • There will be a “buy-in” that goes into a pot for the top male and top female winners to split.
  • Winner will be determined by biggest delta or % change in body composition.
  • Diet logs will need to be kept. 
  • “Before” and “After” Pictures need to be taken. Women in shorts and sports bra/workout top, men in shorts with no shirt. We assure you that pics will be kept private in a protected drive at home and after the challenge will be deleted permanently if you desire. Pictures are highly effective in seeing results. Both of us are very glad we have some bathing suit pics pre-CF and post CF but disappointed we never took pics before switching to a Paleo focused diet.

"Better Off Dead"

Main Class WOD:

For time:

21 Deadlift (225#/135#)
800m Run
15 Deadlift
800m Run
9 Deadlift
800m Run

Results

View this photo

Deads and Runs

Affiliate Team WOD #(1):

For time:

21 Deadlift (225#/135#)
800m Run
15 Deadlift
800m Run
9 Deadlift
800m Run

Affiliate Team WOD #(2):

As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 Minutes:

4 Pull-ups
8 Knees to Elbows
16 Tire Sledgehammers (12#/16# alternating sides)

Results

View this photo 

Hammer time! Mark and Don with WOD#2 extra credit after the deadlift WOD:

Hammer Time

Everyone rocked the deadlifts today! Great weather = great opportunity to get some heavy weights outside. Moving all the classes out to the fresh air and mountain view is fun for us and also motivating with a backdrop that simply can’t be beat when the skies are clear. Plus training in the elements is part of constantly varied, getting ready for the unknown and unknowable or “training as you fight”. Is it fun for you when we all go outside? Post thoughts to comments.

Notes:

We want to thank every one of you who came to the lululemon Trunk Show as well as all who brought food and drink. We hope all of you had a really good time and opportunity to get together with the ladies! Special note of thanks to Bonnie for the highly creative and cool WOD Wine Label. If you haven’t seen it, check out the bottle in the gym or in the Flickr photo album. It says: “WOD Wine: AMRAP – 20 Awesome CF Chicks, 1 Killer SRCF Box, 1 lululemon Junk for Your Trunk Show”.

The Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman is next Friday at 6:30pm and then next Saturday we kick off the Paleo Challenge. Cost is $10 and so far we have 22 people confirmed as coming so if you have not confirmed either by posting to comments, emailing, or on the Facebook event let us know. There are several of you who we haven’t heard from. You better have a good excuse or I am going to drive to each of your houses and drag you back to the box!

Food for thought:

How to Win Friends and Influence Paleo

Wanted to finish with some really cool pictures of some strong ladies!

Strong Ladies Shannon and Eli DL outside Lyndi and Laura DL

Trunk Show

7 Rounds for time:

10 Med Ball Cleans (20#/14#)
10 Burpees
200m Run

Results

View this photo 

Nan way too happy mid-WOD:

Nan Blazing Away

Quote of the day: From Don after looking at the whiteboard and realizing he was the only guy…

“Well I guess I beat all the guys today.”

PIctures from tonights “lululemon Trunk Show” or “Break the Bank Party”. Sounds like fun was had by all; even the one grandma who crashed the party:

         

Notes:

There will be one WOD at 10:30 tomorrow for the gang. Affiliate Team Training will be at 9am.

Power Hour

Strength WOD:

Power Clean
1/1/1/1/1/1/1

Checkout:

AMRAP (As Many Rds. As Possible) for 12 Minutes of:

5 Power Cleans (95#/65#)
10 Jumping Lunges (2 Count)
15 AbMat Sit-ups

Results

View this photo
View this photo  

Congrats to Bridget, Travis and Jorge who completed their 100th WOD tonight at SRCF! They earned their right to get a shirt (which we are submitting the order for)! We are all proud of you for hitting this milestone.

100 WOD Club

Moe, Jim C., and Sherry powering through (Love the stink eye from Jim):

Moe_Jumping Lunges Stink Eye Cheer for Mom

Today I happened to walk by a “gym”. I was at the downtown replica of Rodeo Drive (otherwise known as The Bravern) for work and as I was leaving figured I would stop in and check out this place called David Barton Gym. I walked in and promptly felt like I should order a martini and look for the DJ. As I regained my senses and walked through a weird entryway towards the desk I started feeling a little ill as the walls curve like a skateboard ramp while the music thumps and candles flicker. Pushing the fight or flight response aside I felt I needed to see what the “gym” really was like. After way too long of a talk at the front desk with the Beverly Hills 90210 cast I was “allowed” to “quickly take a look” rather than sign up for the tour. It didn’t take me long to realize that this place is a total disgrace to the word “gym”. Staff members wearing T Shirts that say “Look Better Naked” and zero emphasis on creating an environment of fitness. Lighting so dim it had to be a nightclub. Oversized contemporary couches  and chairs scattered throughout the workout area and chandeliers dangling. People plodding through routines on machine after machine. After briefly considering doing burpees for time I hurriedly left and drove as fast as I could to our box. After a brief trail run I was able to do a Squat Snatch WOD and PR my one rep max between observing two classes of high intensity suck-fest taught by two fabulous coaches (Michelle and Moe). Now that is what I call a gym. But I am a little biased…

Notes:

We are totally stoked that Moe officially ran her first class tonight at SnoRidge! It was far from her first time running a CF class (she has been a trainer at Gravity Jane’s for over a year) and tonight she hit it out of the box! I also have to say it was really cool watching and learning from another coach and trainer. She will run next Thursday’s 7pm WOD as well.  Then starting 2/16 she will be teaching a new 6am WOD every Tuesday and Thursday for those crazy enough for CrossFit that early in the morning! 

Are you competing in the Sectionals? Are you one the fence? Are you scared or worried about whether you should have registered? Go read “An Open Letter to All CrossFitters in Queensland“, an article directed to Aussies but applicable to CF’ers worldwide. This addresses the most common questions with some great advice around competing in events. It will make you better, it will give you focus, it will push you farther than you expect. The CrossFit community is supportive. It is filled with people just like you who know that you cheer more for the person who finishes last than the person who finishes first. We support and admire honest effort, plain and simple.

Got Goals?

For time:

10 Strict Pull-ups
50 Wall Balls (20#/14#)
8 Strict Pull-ups
40 Wall Balls
6 Strict Pull-ups
30 Wall Balls
4 Strict Pull-ups
20 Wall Balls 
2 Strict Pull-ups
10 Wall Balls

Results

View this photo
View this photo

Pat proves he’s superhuman simply by willing the medicine ball into the air:

Pat Superhuman

Pat Deadhang Pull-ups Fran WB 

Anyone ready to set some goals? We have plenty of opportunities for you all in the coming days, weeks and months ahead. Set them now, write them down, and start working towards them. 

  • This Friday 2/5 will be the lululemon Trunk Show for you ladies as well as a goal-setting discussion led by the lululemon staff and Michelle. 
  • On Friday 2/12  at 6:30pm we will have our nutrition discussion with CFHQ’s Todd Widman to kick off our next Paleo Challenge. 
  • 7 week Paleo Challenge starts on Saturday 2/13 with weigh-in’s, before pictures and buy-in’s.
  • CF Games Northwest Sectional Qualifiers are coming at the end of February, with the Northwest Regionals and Affiliate Team Qualifiers in May. We will be selecting our team of 6 to represent the box in April.
  • The St. Patty’s Day 5k run is 3/13 here in Snoqualmie Ridge.
  • The Cinco De Mayo 1/2 Marathon and 8k run is on 5/1 in downtown Snoqualmie.
  • We are working with Lucy and Rob to hold another Rowing Class in March. This will be similar to the last class and will focus on proper technique, form, and strategy on the erg.
  • 100 WOD T-Shirts are now designed and will be available to purchase (at a discount) should you earn one! WOD’s must be completed in the box (garage counts).
  • Double-Under Challenge: Starting this week through the end of February, attempt to beat your max reps consecutive double-unders each week. Practice them all week post WOD and then pick the time of your choosing to go for your new max in one attempt. 
  • Push-up Challenge: Starting this Saturday perform 5 push-ups. Add 5 each day until the end of the month. (i.e. 5 Sat., 10 Sun., 15 Mon., etc.) Break them up throughout the day if needed. Make-up rules apply like the burpee challenge.

And this is only the beginning! We have a whole year ahead of us!

If these races, discussions, classes, challenges and even shirts don’t give you enough motivation, then watch the below video from King 5 Evening Magazine and see an example of how committing yourself to CrossFit and good nutrition can change your life. 

    

"Grace"

For time:

30 Clean and Jerk (135#/95#)

Post Grace complete Max Effort 400m Run

Results

View this photo

Travis_ Moe_

Rob_ Don_

“Grace” is heavy. It’s quick (relatively speaking). It’s tough. And it’s surprising. Even though it’s 30 reps, with a heavy Clean and Jerk at high intensity it can tax you completely. Scaling down to a heavy enough weight that is challenging to pull off the floor will still work you and leave you wondering at about rep 15 if you are going to make it to 30. This WOD can push you quickly to the brink of muscle failure in only a few minutes. Judging from the screaming coming from outside tonight Sherry and Michelle certainly almost found that point as they stormed their way through. Congrats to all who PR’d and to all who did this one for the first time. If you went a little lighter than you wanted to don’t worry, we will all get a re-match for sure.

Notes:

The lululemon trunk show is this Friday. You should have received the evite with all the gory details so look forward to some fun, goal setting, and shopping while ditching your significant other at home.

We are registered as an affiliate to field a team for the CF Games Affiliate Cup qualifiers at the Regionals in May. This experience just keeps getting better and better. For those trying out just remember to have fun. It’s all about getting fitter, learning to push our limits and becoming better athletes while training with one another! Special thanks to Bonnie who has volunteered to be our Team “Mom”. She will also be helping us at the Sectionals in February and at our 9am team WOD’s on Saturdays. 

For those who have volunteered at the Sectionals let us know what you end up volunteering for.

ATTENTION RUNNERS:

Two races coming up. The first is the St. Patty’s Day 5k in March. Register on the right side of the page. The second is the Cinco De Mayo 1/2 marathon and 8k race in May. For that race please register in the gym as you will receive a discount on both races only if you register in person with us. As a sponsor for this race we are the local registration point so save some $ and run with your fellow CrossFitters and Snoqualmie-ans!