Friends of SnoRidge CF – Page 4

"Karabel"

10 Rounds for time:
3 Power Snatch (135#/95#)
15 Wall Balls (20#/14#)

Results

“Karabel” is a mash-up benchmark WOD. Taking Karen (150 Wall Balls at 20# men/14# women) and combining it with Isabel (30 Snatches at 135#/95#) creates this little monster that ends up with the same number of reps but with a different approach. There are several ways you can mash benchmark’s together or mix them up and a couple are in the programming in the next month or two. Look for possible rowing, team, or heavy variations and maybe even a backwards version. The possibilities are almost endless.

Notes:

Traveling? If you are gone for business or vacation don’t forget to consider fitting in a WOD. You can download a list of Bodyweight WOD’s here on our site (right hand side) to use or think about looking for another CrossFit Affiliate to drop in on. The experience of visiting another box on the road is a bunch of fun and good exposure to the rest of the community.

Go get a massage! It’s worth it to get outstanding attention paid to removing the stiffness, tension, adhesions and pain points we build up through everyday work and CrossFit. I got one today, and what a difference it makes. Travis told me recently something that his massage therapist told him, (which I’ll paraphrase); “If you are going pretend to be an elite athlete and train like one, then you have to eat, sleep and recover like one; including taking care of yourself with regular sports massages and stretching.

Don’t forget if you bring a SnoRidge CF business card with you to North Bend Therapeutic Massage you can get a discount off a 60 minute massage (which works out to a very affordable $55 for an hour of myofascial release, sports, or deep tissue massage). Get more info from us in the box.

Go watch some cool video of the women’s highlights from the New England Sectional s [wmv] [mov]

Tabata Local's Style

Perform 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest for each exercise. There is 1 minute rest between exercises:

Deadlift 50% of 1RM
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (105#/70#)
Row (for Calories)
* Score: DL by any reps over 50 (subtract 50 from total DL); total reps for SDHP; total Calories rowed

Results

Sumo Deadlift High Pull Pain:

Today’s Monthly Cross-Box Challenge WOD was brought to us by Jesse from Local’s Gym (Lynwood CrossFit). We participated along with Local’s Gym, Outer Edge, Foundation, and RiverTown CrossFit. This was a great workout for the back, glutes, hamstrings and arms after all was said and done. Three consecutive Tabata intervals with pulls quickly torched the body and made you fight to recruit the legs to complete each exercise. Using 50% of your 1 rep max deadlift was much harder than expected with a 20 second max work interval. For great tips and instruction on the deadlift go here.

Cathy and Curtis ready for the next round of rowing:

Notes:

Don’t forget to weigh-in this week and record your results. We are 10 days away from the “Skinny Dip” BodyFat Test and the conclusion of our Paleo-Zone Challenge. Stay with it and make it a lifestyle change and not just another diet.

Speaking of; Rob, Mark N. and I all enjoyed a Paleo/Zone friendly meal at Chipotle with their salad which you comes with naturally raised beef and chicken (no growth hormones, animal by-products or antibiotics), fresh guacamole, pico, bell peppers and onions and hot sauce if so inclined. If you want a good salad give it a shot.

We instituted the feedback tab on the website (over on the left side) so please offer any suggestions you want to bring to our attention and we will address them. Sangeeta suggested we incorporate sledges and sleds into weekday WOD’s. We love that idea but the major limitation to do that thus far has been the weather and simply that we don’t want to have a night or early morning crew outside in the dark swinging hammers or dragging sleds. Saturday mornings are far easier to plan for and weather is easier to gauge for two classes. As the weather warms and it stays lighter longer we may work them into a weekday such as a Friday (since there is no 7pm WOD on Friday). Keep asking and also go vote on other’s suggestions.

Our T Shirt order is going in over the weekend so get your orders in by Friday in the box!

2K Row

For Time:

2000m Row

Immediately after complete:

100 AbMat Sit-ups for time

Results

View this photo

Stroke!

Normally I don’t write about a specific performance but I want to highlight Pat’s insane 2k row time of 6:53 today. For those who have rowed you have a pretty good idea what type of colossal effort and pace that requires. For those who don’t I can tell you it is flat out HARD. 2000m is one of the common race distances used in competitions to determine world champions. To give you an idea of how Pat’s time of 6:53 compares in 2000m Indoor world rankings, consider that the fastest two women in the world rowed the following: Heavyweight – 6:28, Lightweight – 6:54. Both rowers are in the age group of 19-29. Compared to men age 40-49 (Pat’s age bracket): Heavyweight – 5:57, Lightweight – 6:18. Had Pat competed at the 2009 British Indoor Rowing Championships last year he would have placed 17th in his age group. Amazing!

Notes:

Steven and Jackie dropped in for a WOD today from lululemon. Steven was voted as educator of the month at the Bellevue Square store and gets to put up a poster in the store of some of his favorite exercise related activities. Congrats Steven! Check out his cool poster and what he put down for his “favorite way to sweat”.

Steven’s board – the honor is ours:

Trivia question: How many Chinese Irish Americans do you know?

See almost all of you bright and early for the St. Patty’s Day Dash! The Compound Crew is joining us and we plan to have a great group of SnoRidge leprechauns running for time for this annual 5k race in Snoqualmie Ridge. If you haven’t registered than get there before 0830 to sign up. Meet up around 0845 near the registration point so we can snap a photo or two of everyone. If you need parking then park near the box and walk up. Wear something CrossFit and something green if you can.

Either way just come and have a pint after with the Squatch gang. “Erin Go Bragh!” Ireland Forever!

Answer: At least one. I’m part Irish from my dad’s side. (Chinese from my Mom’s side)

"Deads, Sleds, and Dread"

Affiliate Team WOD:

21/15/9 reps of:
Deadlift (225#/155#)
Overhead Squat (135#/95#)

Results

View this photo

Mark and Pat rock out their deadlifts:

Main WOD:

In teams of 3 complete a relay race of 5 Rounds for time of:

100 ft. Sled Push (70#/35#)
50 ft. Shuttle Sprint
12 Sledgehammer Swings (16#/12# at 6 per side)
100 ft. Shuttle Sprint
200m Row
50 ft. Shuttle Sprint
25 Squats
* One athlete works while others rest

Results

View this photo

Tough Sledding with Rona:

Today was one of our most favorite days in the box. Or outside of the box. When it’s that nice out we have to drag the equipment outside and generate some power and intensity. We had several great waves of people today show up to have some “brutal fun”. Seeing so many people gutting it out in two tough WOD’s and in such a great scenic setting was motivating. From deadlifts and heavy overhead squats to sleds and sledges, we mixed it up a bit. We hadn’t done a relay or team WOD in awhile so this WOD worked great for teamwork and used the new sleds and the tire and hammers.

The affiliate team also got a taste of what going heavy in overhead squats will show you in terms of form faults. Overheads are improving! Getting a little beyond your comfort zone in the overhead squat will quickly amplify if you have shoulder flexibility or strength issues, whether you can properly support the bar while sending your posterior chain back and down, or if you have sufficient mid-line stabilization to support that load overhead. Kudos to Lorri and Lucy who found their groove and started getting the feel down for the OH Squat. Props to everyone for toughing out a very hard workout. Mark, Jeremy and Kim also joined us today from “The Compound” for the deadlift/oh squat WOD and then stuck around helping and coaching. Thank you so much for the good cues and extra coaching today.

“The Compound” Crew:

Lots of pics from today’s WOD can be found on Flickr. Check ’em out and thanks to Jim for helping take some great ones!

Notes:

Graham reported today that since he started CrossFit with us and switched to a strict Zone diet he has lost 20 pounds! All of that in only ONE month! Hard work, proper nutrition and consistency is clearly paying off.

Paleo-Zone Challenge participants: Remember your weekly weigh-in’s. We strongly encourage food logs as you will be interested in 7 weeks to look back at what you ate. Stay consistent, strict and avoid cheat meals as much as you can until April, then see the results and slowly see what you add back in moderation.

Here’s a thought provoking post and discussion: “The Grain Manifesto“

Pat modeling the exclusive handmade “SnoRage 1 Member Club T-Shirt” for Curtis’s garage:

Out of Breath

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… down to 1 rep(s) each for time of:

Burpee Box Jumps (24″/20″)
Dumbbell Thrusters (40#/25#)

Results

View this photo

Burpee Box Jumps with Michelle:

I love WOD’s like this. When I programmed this WOD I was told I was mean. Maybe I am but this was designed to tax your legs and your lungs while making four or five movements into one difficult couplet. I also wanted it to be a medium length workout that had a high power output. Judging by how everyone felt after doing it I think it worked. The burpee is part push-up and full jumping squat. Combined with the box jump it quickly provides some “cardio” or aerobic qualities to the workout. The dumbbell thruster is the anaerobic and strength building aspect of the couplet that is part front squat and part push press. Done correctly it feels much heavier than a barbell thruster and makes your body scream to put the weight down. The movements together are somewhat advanced and help train coordination, agility and balance; all things that are truly missing components in most people’s fitness regimen (Ever see someone have to jump onto an elliptical machine?).

Last weekend in the Sectionals we got to experience sled pushing as part of a WOD. The suck factor was much more epic than I anticipated but it was still extremely fun. It proved mentally challenging for many as well as providing quite a total body workout. Because of that we went and bought three of their sleds afterwards. As our weather improves look to use these, the sledgehammers, and the tires more. One workout with any of those and I am convinced it will surprise all of you how mixing it up can be brutal but still so much fun.

Notes:

We are full for 10am! We have Steph, Maria, Mark, Bridget, Bonnie, Melissa, Rona, Jana, Don. We’ll cap it at 9 people. 11 is open for anyone else.

Affiliate Team training is at 9am. Get in here and find your mojo! The Compound Crew will be joining us!

Volunteers needed for kid duty at the St. Patty’s Day Race 3/13. If you are not planning to run but are attending and don’t mind watching some kids for 30 minutes let us know.

Ring Around the Front Squat

For time:

40 Ring Dips
40 Front Squat (53#/35#)

*Post WOD pick a time and complete 3 x Max Handstand Holds at either 15 sec/30 sec/45 sec/ or 1 minute

Results

View this photo (WOD Results)
View this photo (Elements Results)

“With this ring I thee dip…” ~ Jorge and Jana ring dips for fiance’s

Part two of a “taste of the Sectionals”. Rather than forty handstand push-ups, today we paired ring dips with heavy front squats. Using the bands to scale ring dips allowed full range of motion while giving just enough assistance to tax the arms, shoulders, and chest. Forty reps straight proved tough and left the arms a bit noodle like before tackling the barbell. The squats should have felt heavy but still allowed proper form with the weight in the rack position with the chest and elbows up and the weight on your heels.

Avoiding your weaknesses inhibits athletic development. Following the WOD it was skill time with some basic instruction on handstand holds and getting more comfortable being inverted. For several of you it went from “I can’t do this” to nailing holds of 15, 30 and 60 seconds at a time. The handstand hold is not meant to be a parlor trick or some step toward becoming a gymnast. It’s a movement that will strengthen your core, develop a stronger overhead press, teach balance and agility, and develop confidence. It’s the first part towards handstand push-ups, an incredibly taxing exercise that we will see more of. Like anything else it can be scaled so get comfortable getting inverted and have fun. Don’t worry, we will be there along the way to teach, coax and catch you. One handstand at a time.

Notes:

Schedule Change for next week only: On 3/9 next Tuesday there will be NO 6am class. Moe will swap that class and teach on Monday morning at 6am (3/8). No change for Thursday.

SnoRidge CF WA Sectionals pics on Flickr. Thanks to all who have shared their pics! I’ll keep adding more and more from the many CD’s we received!

Also Rainier CrossFit posted pics to Flickr of the weekend.

"Running Fran"

For time:

400m Run
21 Thrusters (95#/65#)
21 Pull-ups
400m Run
15 Thrusters
15 Pull-ups
400m Run
9 Thrusters
9 Pull-ups

Results

View this photo
View this photo

Who thinks Running Fran is harder than regular Fran? Not me! Still one heck of good WOD though. It was interesting to hear the unanimous opinion that “Karen” was tougher. The forearm “pump” and chest burn was still there just at a lesser intensity. I like this variation. Speaking of variations, we may see more of them. There are many different spins such as “Fat” or “Heavy”, “Uneven”, “Run or Row” and other alternate versions of the benchmark “Girls”. Maybe a Backwards Fran (reps go 9-15-21) or “Rowing Fran” is next.

Props to Laura for moving up a band, Jana for PR’ing thrusters, Fran got 2 kipping pull-ups in her namesake before using the band, and Jorge for gutting it out RX’d and ending strong with some really good pull-ups to a whole lot of cheering.

Jeremy and Jim pictured above doing alternate versions of today’s WOD to accommodate for their injuries and rehab. Subbing exercises, limiting loads or range of motion are just different examples of ways to scale CrossFit workouts. The devil is in the programming though to make it effective and functional.

Tomorrow is the Cross-Box WOD Challenge! CF Advantage picked this month’s workout so come and get ready to row, deadlift, and dip.

Notes:

For those still in the push-up challenge today you need to bang out 75 of them. Keep breaking them up and don’t quit now, there are only 5 days left.

Parents: Please help us keep the Squatch Cave clean by asking the Squatch kids to clean up before you leave or we may see Squatch himself make an appearance. That would be kinda ugly…

We are CLOSED this Saturday! (No Classes on Saturday 2/27) We will be competing at the WA Sectional Qualifiers for the CrossFit Games.

Video:

Watch “Mary’s Story” Pt. 2, A CF Journal Preview [wmv] [mov]

Mary is the mother of a couple of friends of ours who train at Rainier CF. This is the story of how CF is saving Mary’s life. One WOD at a time.

"Tabata Something Else"

Perform 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest for each exercise. This will equal a total of 32 intervals (8 pull-ups, 8 push-ups, 8 sit-ups, 8 squats). There is no rest between exercises:

Pull-ups
Push-ups
AbMat sit-ups
Squats

Results:

View this photo

Tabata Torture:

Partner up and keep score:

Today the CF Games 2010 WA Sectionals announced 2 of the 3 WOD’s for Saturday (Day 1) of the competition next weekend. The WOD for Sunday (Day 2) will be announced at the end of Day 1. They also posted video of the first two here.

What do we know? They will be good challenges. The movements are ground to overhead, sprints, handstand push-ups and front squats so far. They will be heavy, short and medium duration, and need strength, power, speed, balance, and stamina. Judging by the “bring your own jump-rope” note they will involve agility and cardio-respiratory endurance. No doubt with the other two wod’s yet to be announced they will cover these and more of the ten components of fitness. If you want to test yourself then there’s no better place than the Sectionals. Top 20 men and women will each advance onto the Regionals in May. We will also be competing in May at the Pacific NW Regional Qualifiers with our Affiliate “Team Squatch”. We will select our team of 6 based on the 9 athletes who are competing next weekend.

I know all of us as competitors all feel some level of anxiety and fear over the WOD’s. It’s only natural. Heck Michelle seems stressed out about it, and I am the one who normally does the stressing for the two of us. Bottom line: Have fun. Take it for what it is; a few workouts on Saturday and one on Sunday. This is our chance to compete with a ton of good people who all simply do it to get fitter. It’s our CF Games event as individuals. Come Monday it will be a memory that no one will ever take away. It will make you both physically and mentally stronger. A chance for your friends and loved ones to go cheer for you and for yourself to cheer on others. It will forge elite friendships through mutual suffering. It will be something that if you were to change your mind and not compete would likely leave you feeling disappointment. So why not? Doing it is what makes you stronger. So just do it. We’re as ready as we’re gonna be! Who’s with me?

Rona wrote to me today about the Sectionals (where she will be volunteering with Jana) and I thought I should share it:

“Hey guys,

I just had to follow-up to this morning and talking about sectionals. I totally get how frustrating and nerve racking it is not knowing what’s coming and not being super happy with what you do know. Get that completely.

I definitely think everyone should go, and I know you guys will encourage them to. One thing Jesse was saying from last night, that I thought was really key, is that this is “Our WA state CrossFit Games” meaning make the most of the experience. Go into it with all the heart and excitement and attack the workout with all you got. How can you go wrong with that? Not everyone gets to go on to the next phase and even less make it to the games, but that’s ok. You get to this experience together, with the community that you have fostered and no one can ever take that away. I am pumped!

I know you are all going to kick some ass at sectionals!

Good Luck!!!

Rona”

Notes:

Tomorrow will be our Paleo/Zone Nutrition Challenge kickoff! 7 weeks of eating right! Come weigh-in, check your body fat, take your pics and do a WOD! WOD is 1030 for main group, 0900 for Affiliate Team.

The lulu crew (I kind of like that name) came in today for some more brutal fun.

Yesterday Anthony said he would never do handstands because he didn’t like being inverted. Umm…

Mid-Line Stabilization

Strength WOD:

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

Immediately after:

Max Effort 1 mile run for time

Results

View this photo

Mike getting overhead with great form:

The key to successfully getting heavier in the overhead squat with good form is a stable and rigid mid-line. To achieve that you need to tighten your core, hold your breath, maintain a proper body position and squat. Point your toes out slightly in a wider than normal squat stance, then send the hips backwards as you squat. When you reach the bottom explode up and push your heels through the floor. Always keep the shoulders active and the bar locked out overhead and inline behind the ears.

After the strength WOD we ran the official 1 mile mark for all of you (thanks Pat for measuring!) and while it may have added a few more meters it gives everyone another yardstick to measure yourself with.

We also had Steven, Nicole and Anthony drop in from lululemon. It was Anthony and Nicole’s first time with overhead squats. After some brief instruction and coaching you can see in the pictures below what flexibility and balance allows you to lift overhead. Glad to have the “lulu crew” coming in more often!

Notes:

55 Push-ups today in our push-up challenge! Also don’t forget to attempt this week’s max reps of double-unders either Friday or Saturday.

Saturday will be the body fat testing by The BodyFat Truck. Make sure you check your time slot and dress appropriately (swimsuit). You will also need to take a “before” picture for the Paleo/Zone Challenge and weigh-in. If you don’t do the body fat test with the truck then you will need to use our less accurate monitor to establish a baseline. Buy-in is $15. Money goes in the pot and the top male and female will split the winnings.

WOD times: Affiliate Team training at 0900 and Main Group WOD will be at 1030.

Can you overhead squat your bodyweight 15 times?

"Just try it!"

3 Rounds for time:

400m Run
50 Air Squats
500m Row

Results

View this photo

SRCF crew and Todd:

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!

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.