Food for Thought – Page 23 – SNORIDGE CROSSFIT

Double Under Ladder

Strength WOD:

Shoulder Press
1/1/1/1/1/1/1

Checkout WOD:

For Time:

5-10-15-20-25-30-35-30-25-20-15-10-5
Double-Under Ladder

* RX = Each set must be unbroken; snags mean set does not count
** Scaling: Either doing DU’s where snags or alternating singles-doubles counts or by doing single-unders 3:1

Results

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Graham Pressing while Curtis completes “Kelly”:

On the Double:

Several of you have been practicing the double-under in our most recent challenge. Today was the chance to see how that has paid off. For those who haven’t it was still great practice working on this common weakness. This one starts easy but the cardio-respiratory endurance demand as well as the stamina required in the shoulders, forearms and legs quickly catches up right about the middle of the ladder. Not wasting sets with snags makes it a mental test as well. Even if you scaled and went with straight double-unders and attempts, this is still a tough one that forces you to learn better technique. It was great for me to watch both the late classes stick through it with their rope no matter how many snags it took.

Quick shout outs: Sean for not only crushing the ladder, but also for PR’ing his max effort double-unders with 100 reps in a row yesterday! Michelle D., Curtis and Marc for deciding to share the pain together and make up “Kelly” from yesterday!

Notes:

Saturday Schedule: Class time change this Saturday! WOD times are 0900 and 1000. Post sign-ups to comments. If an 1100 is needed we will accommodate but the plan is to run only the 0900 and 1000 times to then watch Team USA. This will be Moe’s birthday WOD!

Gym will be closed on July 16-17 (Friday/Saturday) and July 19th (Monday) due to all of your coaches traveling to the CrossFit Games.

The final WOD at the Canada Regionals [wmv] [mov]

Read “I Train…” from Practice CrossFit: Where or why do you train in a CF gym or garage?

Hanging a Round

For Time:

21 Hang Power Snatch (95#/65#)
800m Run
15 Hang Power Snatch
800m Run
9 Hang Power Snatch

Results

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Hang Power Snatches are difficult. They take practice and require speed. To learn them and get better at them you should use a load that isn’t so heavy that it goes from power snatch to muscle snatch to ugly anyway anyhow overhead. After some instruction and practice today, everyone was able to practice with the PVC, then a bar, then add weight to determine the load at which technique broke down and the power snatch went out the window. From there everyone did a great job at dialing it back to maintaining a load that meant “power”.

Speaking of power, a friend sent this short article below along that gives a great perspective on scaling and why it’s fundamentally important to all of us as CrossFitters.

Read: “Zatsiorsky, Scaling, and Power” by Jon Gilson from Again Faster

Also for those who want to know about simply the coolest game that everyone is playing, read more about how to: Play the Fish Game!

Sherry gets some “run support” while Deb gets extension:

Some of the crew representing at the Fall City Race this past Saturday:

Push It, On the Double!

For Time:

50 Push-ups
50 AbMat Sit-ups
50 Double-Unders
35 Push-ups
35 AbMat Sit-ups
35 Double-Unders
20 Push-ups
20 AbMat Sit-ups
20 Double-Unders

Results

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Notes:

Saturday Schedule:

9am: Fall City 5k/10k Fun Run. Good luck to our fellow Squatches who are running it!

10am: We will have one Saturday WOD (no 11am so we can prep for the workshop). Come on in and we will accommodate!

1pm – 5pm: Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop update! We have around 25 people who have said yes, and several have already paid. Please prepay on the Whole 9 site by using the PayPal button.

Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop Details: Please bring a lawn chair if you can! We have several chairs but not enough for everyone. Otherwise be prepared for Caveman style seating. On the floor…

Date: Saturday 6/19
Time: 1pm to 5pm (4 hour workshop – no kiddos)
Cost is $75 per person
Learn what you should eat, how you should eat, when you should eat, and why you should eat optimally for your health and fitness

5pm: BBQ (or when the nutrition workshop ends)

Paleo BBQ after open to all (Kids welcome, bring a Paleo friendly dish if you can)
C2 Rower Fish Tournament – Who will earn the title “Rowkilla”?

Mark B. and probably the hardest Hero WOD yet, “The Seven”:

2K Row

For Time:

Row 2000m

Results

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Quote of the Day:

After Curtis used “The Awesome” bar to do some cleans: “The cool just fell right off of it.” ~ Amanda

2k = torture. This rowing benchmark is torture. Battery acid flowing through your veins, arms and legs on fire, back and forearms cramping, heart exploding kind of torture. Falling off the rower, almost meeting pukie, and wobbly legs are all side effects of this lovely time on the erg. It is also an outstanding total body workout that demands nothing more than your all out effort. When you are done you will know if you had any left to give. Oh and one more thing; congrats to all of you who PR’d today!

Inflexibility Twin Powers Activate!

Read Women’s Epic Matchup 2: Annie and Lindsey. These are just two of the amazing female athletes that are going to rock the Games!

Notes:

Saturday Schedule:

9am: Fall City 5k/10k Fun Run. Good luck to our fellow Squatches who are running it!

10am: We will have one Saturday WOD (no 11am so we can prep for the workshop). Come on in and we will accommodate!

1pm – 5pm: Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop update! We have around 25 people who have said yes, and several have already paid. Please prepay on the Whole 9 site by using the PayPal button.

Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop Details:

Date: Saturday 6/19
Time: 1pm to 5pm (4 hour workshop – no kiddos)
Cost is $75 per person
RSVP via email or blog
Learn what you should eat, how you should eat, when you should eat, and why you should eat optimally for your health and fitness

5pm: BBQ (or when the nutrition workshop ends)

Paleo BBQ after open to all (Kids welcome, bring a Paleo friendly dish if you can)
C2 Rower Fish Tournament – Who will earn the title “Rowkilla”?

"Helen + 1"

4 Rounds For Time:

400m Run
21 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
12 Pull-ups

Results

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Fran and Nan – Hard Work Pays Off:

Today was a tougher “Helen” primarily to kick off the week with a tough WOD and to train the mind to think about exceeding a benchmark standard every once in awhile. Everyone was able to call out their official Helen time if they desired and then finish up the 4th round. Several PR’d and two of you stuck with all of your pull-ups to complete this benchmark (plus) as prescribed with pull-ups. Congrats to Nan and Fran for not only this achievement but also for patiently practicing and working on your pull-ups day after day. It paid off! The leaderboard for Helen is re-written both for men and women after today!

Evidence Based Fitness: Graham commented this past weekend he placed 5th (Congrats!) in a downhill mountain bike race and was not gassed after his run for the first time ever. Jorge went flying (paragliding) this weekend and noted he hiked up Tiger Mountain and back down with his rig in record time and did not feel anywhere near as gassed as he has in the past. Both credited CrossFit with their improved conditioning. Good stuff!

In Graham’s own words:

“The downhill mountain biking race that I went in Port Angeles was in the NW Cup series. I placed 5th in my class (out of 15), but the part that I was so stoked about is that I haven’t trained at all for DH riding or racing in 8+ months due to baby #2.

I literally took my bike off the hook, dusted it off, pumped up the tires, and headed to Port Angeles. I wasn’t tired on my race run AT ALL, whereas in past years I have been anaerobic the entire second half of the race, gasping for air. Crossfit totally works, I haven’t been training specifically for cycling at all, and felt stronger on the bike more than ever.”

CF Games “Let the Games Begin” – video [wmv] [mov]

Great Swings:

Notes:

Whole 9 Workshop Update this Saturday from 1-5pm is open to all:

Several spots remain open so contact us for registering. Details over on the right hand side on what the workshop covers. Cost is $75 a head to come learn about nutrition and why this is the most important ingredient to being successful as a healthy and strong athlete.

BBQ is immediately after and will celebrate our 1 year anniversary as an affiliate as well as kick off our inaugural Fish Game Tournament. Be there!

Perseverance

For Time:

10 Thrusters (95#/65#)
Run 200m
9 Thrusters
Run 200m
8 Thrusters
Run 200m
7 Thrusters
Run 200m
6 Thrusters
Run 200m
5 Thrusters
Run 200m
4 Thrusters
Run 200m
3 Thrusters
Run 200m
2 Thrusters
Run 200m
1 Thrusters
Run 200m

* Advanced Goal: Go Unbroken or Go Heavy

Results

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“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination” ~ Tommy Lasorda

Mary tackling the Thruster:

Tonight I watched perseverance in action. Imagine you are Mary: You have just completed elements and walked into a group WOD for your first time. You see a whiteboard that says “Thrusters and 200m Runs” in some weird combination of 10 reps down to 1 and running in between each round. The board is filled with names and numbers and times. People are warming up all around so you fall right into it. Warm-up run, box step-ups, pass throughs, no problem. You start practicing a thruster and instantly have a coach standing in front of you giving cues and tips that likely seem like driving directions to a strange place you’ve never been. After getting some adjustments, coaching, scaling and further practice on a thruster you feel more relaxed. “I can use this bar” you think and move to set up your spot outside with the rest of the crew. Before you know it though you literally have to thrust yourself into the workout at the count of 3-2-1 Go!

Bodies and barbells begin to fly around you, people dumping weights and zipping past, many screaming “Round” every once in awhile. Music is thumping, people are moving and you are just chipping away. You have that same coach giving cues and tips (wider stance, toes out, touch the ball!) and you just keep on lifting the barbell and then running. As people finish around you it must cross your mind “I’m barely halfway through and people are done!” You ask him if others have ever struggled and if others have ever felt sick. “Yes” he says. “People struggle, people have been sick. Breathe. You can do this.” You walk back to the bar, pushing one rep at a time. Round after agonizing round goes by. Everyone is almost done. Then something happens. The coach offers you the chance to call it a workout if you want, asking if you want to stop or if you think you can keep going, but your answer is instantly “No, I am finishing, I will do this!”. You move to walk/run, but someone says they will go with you. You finish the next round of thrusters, then another person runs with you, and then both of them. One is your friend, the other a stranger. Round after round, they run with you even though they are done. You think it is taking forever. But before you know it, you are done too. Done with the workout. All of it.

This is what I imagine Mary might have felt tonight. It’s partly what I saw and also what I thought might be her experience. Tonight I saw one of the things that makes CrossFit so cool, community built through shared struggle and determination. Mary didn’t want to quit. No backing down, no giving up. She set her mind on it, had some help along the way and just did it. High five’s and chest bumps all around to Mary for completing her first group WOD; and to Michelle D. and Jana for running with her!

Also speaking of perseverance, I want to give a huge congrats to Steve who dropped in from Level 4 Fitness tonight and after the warm-up got not only his first but also his second muscle-up! What a huge accomplishment, no doubt you’ve been working on this one. Be proud!

“Finding My Way” with Coach Greg Glassman (CF Founder), a CrossFit Journal Preview video [wmv] [mov]

Notes:

The Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop is “ON”. We are stoked and super excited! Michelle is emailing updated info to all. We took into account the Fall City 5k/10k race that morning as well as the Saturday WOD and are able to hold the workshop from 1pm until 5pm. Afterward we will have a Paleo BBQ for all at the box to celebrate our recent 1 year anniversary as an affiliate (May ’09). Oh and the C2 Rower Fish tournament too! Look for an email with further details on the Whole 9 workshop.

Whole 9 Nutrition Workshop Details:

Date: Saturday 6/19
Time: 1pm to 5pm (4 hour workshop – no kiddos)
Cost is $75 per person
RSVP via email or blog
Learn what you should eat, how you should eat, when you should eat, and why you should eat optimally for your health and fitness
Limited to 40 people

Paleo BBQ after open to all (Kids welcome, bring a Paleo friendly dish if you can)
C2 Rower Fish Tournament – Row like you hear banjoes!

Rona runs while Cathy lifts:

Recharge and Refuel

Kid-Vest Training is all the rage:

Do your double-unders to close out this week. Starting tomorrow you get to add to the total per set!

Pics from yesterday’s Benchmark Saturday:

Attention CrossFitters:

We are working to schedule a nutrition workshop at our box with Whole 9 founders Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Urban. Details below:

Date is Saturday June 19th (short notice we know but make it work people!)
Time is TBD but it will be a 4 hour workshop
Cost is $75 per person
What does it cover? Click here
Learn what you should eat, how you should eat, when you should eat, and why you should eat optimally for your health and fitness
Limited to 40 people

Before you come up with a reason to say no; I’d ask you to consider this:

In the time it takes to go to a movie, you can learn valuable information to literally change yours and your families eating habits.
$75 for this is far better than a month’s worth of latte’s; or a Mariners game ticket, food, drink and parking; or one lululemon top or CrossFit T-shirt plus shipping!
These people are experts, this is what they do, we are lucky enough to get them to our box while they are traveling to do workshops at CrossFit affiliates around the country, so you can’t just pick a future date.
If you have been struggling with diet and what to eat then it’s time to use this as a starting point.
Even if you haven’t been struggling use this to learn how to fine tune your nutrition and eat for an excellent fitness level.

Michelle is sending a mass email out today so stay tuned and the first 40 who commit get a seat!

Skinny Dip

Did cavemen eat real foods or did they eat this stuff?

“Paleo/Zone Diet: So easy even a caveman can do it.”

The “Skinny Dip” was yesterday and also marked the end of the Paleo/Zone Nutrition Challenge that we started 7 weeks ago in February (Skinny Dip was the Body Fat Truck Measurement Re-Test). Time flies when you are cutting refined and processed carbs! Click the link above for the rules as posted back in February for reference. The top male and female winner are based on biggest % change in body fat composition. After realizing the hand-held body fat analyzer we used in the gym (for those who didn’t take a dunk) has a wide range of variance (some people’s results were very inconsistent when compared with the dunk tank and some were right on); we decided we could not include the few who used it in the chance to win the pot. However, for the “runner-up” everyone was included since we stated the runner-up would be chosen by your coaches based on “who made the biggest physical change in appearance based on before and after photos”. It just so happens the runner-up not only made the biggest physical change but lost the most weight overall! She also used the hand-held which we think under-represented her change in % body fat composition.

Before we announce the winners, here are some stats from the past 7 weeks of our challenge.

23 started the challenge
12 saw it through to the end
Of the 12 who weighed in and measured at the start and end, the total weight lost was 105.8 lbs.
Average body fat % lost per person was 3.18% for those who used the Body Fat Truck
Average weight lost per person was 8.8 lbs
5 people lost more than 10 lbs. each in 7 weeks
Since the start of the challenge Jana has had to have her wedding dress altered twice to make it smaller
Bonnie has participated in both of our Nutrition Challenges and been a CrossFitter since September ’09 and has lost over 50 lbs!

And the winners are…

Top male % body fat change is a 2 way tie:
Rob S. at 3.7% (6 lbs. lost)
Jim M. at 3.7% (12.6 lbs. lost)

Top female % body fat change is:
Rona at 4.3% (10.6 lbs. lost)

Winners will split the pot and also get a paid 1 year CrossFit Journal Subscription from SRCF!

Runner-up:
Rachel who lost 14.7 lbs.

Rachel completed Elements in February with her husband Greg and both of them signed up for the Nutrition Challenge almost right away. They switched to a hardcore Paleo/Zone diet and have been fitting in CF 2-3 times a week. She has made drastic changes in only 7 weeks in both her physical fitness level and overall appearance and Greg has lost 10 lbs. during the challenge. Both have gotten stronger and significantly fitter. We are stoked for them both!

Rachel wins a SnoRidge CF T-Shirt and a paid visit by SRCF to the Body Fat Truck for your next test!

Congrats to our winners Rona, Rachel, Rob and Jim, as well as to everyone who entered and all who saw it through. We highly encourage you to stick with the changes you made and to think back to the Nutrition Discussion we held with Todd Widman to kick this thing off. As he said, “you train an average of 1 hour a day (or less). You have 23 hours to screw it all up!” So remember to eat right, train right, recover right and take care of yourself!

The next Box Challenge is to continue to make the nutrition changes a lifestyle habit. We will coordinate to have the Body Fat Test Truck come back in the summer.

Mad props to Fran and Kim who got their first rope climbs yesterday:

Congrats to Laura who earned her 100th WOD T Shirt this week:

Fire In The Hole

Strength WOD:

Front Squat

1/1/1/1/1/1/1

* Work up to 1RM (1 Rep Max)

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 minutes of:
10 Front Squat (95#/65#)
10 Ring Dips
10 Double-Unders

Results

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The key to the Front Squat, get your butt back and get down in the hole. Learn to fire out of it with your chest up, leading with your elbows. Weight should always be on the heels with the elbows high.

Quote from Chris Spealler (one of the top elite CrossFitters) Q: “So how do you train the mental aspect?” A: “You just go THERE.”

So what does “going there” mean? Rather than having me try to explain it go read what Kallista Pappas wrote on the topic. This is perfectly stated. We all need to learn how to go THERE. Oh and in case you are wondering, her poster is the one framed in the box. The one that says you just got schooled by a 14 year old girl.

“Where is THERE?“

Coaching Tip:

Full range of motion on a ring dip means the shoulder drops below the top of the elbow joint (As Ryan shows below) and then locks out at the top:

Notes:

Reminder for the Saturday BodyFat Test. The truck will be here at 7am to 12pm and you will need to sign up in the box for a slot. You’ll need your swimsuit and cost is $35 if it’s a re-test and $49 for 1st time. I would encourage you to get it measured. Make it your baseline if you are new or your yardstick for seeing how you have done if you kept up with the Paleo/Zone Nutrition Challenge. Saturday class for 10am and 11am will be open and we won’t try sign-ups this week. Just to stay constantly varied (actually because so many are on vacation).

Why is it called the "Clean"?

Strength WOD:

Squat Clean
3/3/3/3/3
* Work up to 3RM (3 Rep Max)

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 Minutes of:
3 Squat Cleans (95#/65#)
5 Push-ups
7 Knees-to-Elbows

Results

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Jorge in the 2nd pull of the squat clean:

Michelle working on flexibility with Bridget:

The clean and jerk is known as the “King of Lifts” because it allows for more weight to be lifted overhead than any other known weightlifting technique. Why is it called the clean? From Wikipedia the early 20th century technique for lifting weight in competitions was known as the “Continental”. This was a movement practiced by Germans over the British (from the continent) and involved pulling a barbell up to rest on a belt, then flipped and wrestled clumsily up to the rack position to press overhead. This became known as a slow, nonathletic, and inefficient method compared to the faster way to lift the bar “clean”. The Continental fell out of favor and the clean was adopted by weightlifting federations as the official movement. Thus the story behind the “clean”.

This week and last we have focused on the clean. The power clean, hang power clean, and today the hang squat clean and full squat clean. The key to the squat clean is the second and third pull. The second pull is where you reach triple extension of the hips, knees and ankles (as Jorge is doing above) and the third pull being the pull under the bar as it reaches it maximum height and the lifter pulls into a deep squat and receives the bar. It’s vital to limit the load and practice the full squat clean movement technique rather than piling on the weight and breaking it up to do a power clean and a front squat.

Wonder what the Olympic Weightlifting world records are for the clean and jerk (yes squat clean)? Men’s world record is 581 lbs.! Women’s is 412 lbs.! Think about all of that weight deadlifted, cleaned, squatted, and pressed overhead.

Notes:

CrossFit Seattle is hosting Robb Wolf for a Paleolithic Solution Nutrition Seminar on Sunday, May 2nd from 9am to 5pm. Cost is $195. If you are interested you can find out more and register here. Robb is the one who ran our CrossFit Nutrition Cert back in 2008 and literally changed our lives. His seminar educated us to what eating healthy really is and opened our eyes to the meaning of “real food”.