So Deb S. has been asking for a “chipper” style WOD since we did the “Dirty Thirty”. Every time she comes in and sees the WOD it’s like “awww no chipper”. Some people like to just git ‘er done and move on. Deb is one of those people. So for Deb, we put this together. Hope ya liked it. If not, now you know who to blame…
Curtis mastering Knees to Elbows:
A few milestones worth mentioning today:
Neil moved up to 20# wallballs, 44# kettlebells, and banded pull-ups.
Deb and Adriana moved to banded pull-ups.
Curtis back-to-back RX WOD’s.
Jim, Jana, and Lorri are more than halfway through Elements.
Notes:
Our CF Games video the other day on Josh Everett deadlifting was strange timing. Today on the CrossFit Journal Games site they posted this video. Better quality, different perspective. Login, Watch and enjoy.
Monday nights are growing crowded! We may need to run two waves but we can accommodate. As for parking, please try to park a little further down from normal on the street at the 400m turnaround (the court where there are no houses built). This will proactively avoid any neighbor complaints if we have too many cars stacked outside our place. Run up to the gym and get your warm-up started early.
15 minutes is more than enough. The warm-up allowed each of you to work up in small sets to find a working deadlift weight that was tough but still allowed for good form. Every one of you managed three to four rounds using a deadlift that felt heavy and two went RX’d. At four rounds consider that you rowed 2k and completed 40 deadlifts. That is strong work!
Notes:
We are going to be on vacation and closing the gym from 8/10 through 8/14 (M-Fr). We will prorate everyone’s August dues for that week. We also will make sure to post bodyweight WOD’s for the week that all of you can elect to do on your own (or suffer through together).
Tabata Intervals: Perform 8 intervals of max reps for 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest of the following exercises in sequence. Score lowest number of reps for a given round.
Big welcome to our new members Leigh, Lorri, Jana, and Jim! All four of them are in Elements and will be moving onto classes soon. Make sure you say hi!
Notes:
The revised class schedule and pricing for punch card add-ons is posted. The punch card is intended for additional classes as you see fit if your schedule prevents you from committing to the extra visit each week. Click here.
Make sure you let us know if you are in or out for the Snoqualmie Railroad Days 5k or 10k (and kids 1k) on 8/22. Everyone is invited to go run, have a good time and then get together for a BBQ. For registration click here. Most people seem to be leaning toward the 5k.
Last note, here are some Games related links on the CrossFit Journal. If you don’t get the Journal, it’s $25 a year and has great content updated daily.
Watch a news style recap video from behind the scenes of the Games, click here.
For a Games highlight reel by CrossFit Overload, click here.
is a common saying in CrossFit. It applies universally to any CF box. The moment you walk through that door, leave the ego behind. Those of us who CrossFit, get it. You cannot come in day after day and have an ego. You won’t last. If you fear getting beat by someone who is older, younger, heavier, skinnier, male or female, you will not stick with this. Because simply put you will get beat. Often. It’s not about who you “lose” to. It’s also not about who you “beat”. The only person you are really competing against in here is yourself.
Everyday we battle that inner voice, the one that tells you to take a break, drop the bar, slow down, quit or stop. The one that says “I can skip today because work was long, I had a bad day, I didn’t get enough sleep, I have too much to do”. During each WOD, you have enough to focus on rather than taking the time to worry about those around you. Is it fun to chase someone else or to win the day on the whiteboard? Sure it is. The bigger fun is seeing the results, setting a new PR, and doing things we never thought we could or would. That is what we really take pride in.
I got an email from one of our clients (Jim) the other day that really was great to read. The topic was “CrossFit doesn’t get easier”. Jim went on to say the following:
“First of all, I just broke my recent personal best by more than 2 minutes in the 2 mile tonight. I ran 2 miles about 2 days before my 1st CrossFit lesson in May. So in 2 months, I have reduced my mile split by 1 full minute. But here is what I was thinking when I was running. Before, when I ran, I feared the pain. I ran just to increase the heart rate and get a small burn. When I was finishing the run in the past, I was just barely crossing the “finish line”. Now after CF, pain has a whole new meaning. My pain threshold is much higher now. At the end, I sprinted to beat the clock…missed it by a second.
The thing that I find interesting is comparing CF to past lifting I did and sports I played. What I have to get used to the most is losing, it sucks. I have never been beaten physically like this regarding sports. You got me thinking last night after the WOD. If you remember, I made the comment “damn Tom when does this get easy?”. You replied, “this is CrossFit…it doesn’t get easy.”
But that is contrary to every workout I have ever done before, as they progressively became easier as I did more reps. So I have to rethink my approach to working out a little. And what I have thought is that this won’t get easier as time goes on…but that is good.“
CrossFit is hard. Why? Because we always are striving to do more than yesterday. More weight, better technique, faster time, more rounds or reps, more effort. That is the pathway to becoming fitter. It never gets easier, but we get better.
This video I shot at the Games illustrates this. It shows Josh Everett tackling the deadlift WOD. Is he competing against everyone at the Games? Yes. But as you see in the video he is really competing against himself. Maybe he makes the deadlifts look easy, but he is clearly battling that inner voice, telling himself he will lift them all. And that ego? It’s checked somewhere at the door…
Today was a usual quiet Friday. We want to welcome Leigh who started Elements today and will soon be joining mid-day classes after next week.
Tomorrow start off the weekend right with our WOD at Swenson Park at 10 am. Please meet over there and plan to have some “Brutal Fun” as teams of two. We’ll go easy on you. Promise…
Part of coaching is being able to work with someone effectively to deal with limitations in flexibility, range of motion, work capacity, or physical ability. The reasons for these limitations are many, but specific to limitations centered around pain or rehabilitation
Back extensions are new. We have only one GHD so subbing means we get creative. We don’t have enough bars to do “Good Mornings” (bar behind the neck and bend forward to parallel with the ground) and front squats during the WOD. We’re not about to buy swiss balls as those are pretty much only good for playing kickball or to help induce labor. So we use the AbMat for groups. Lay face down on the AbMat and perform a “Superman” or back hyperextension. Lift your shoulders up towards the sky and make it tougher by putting your hands behind the head. You’ll feel it in your lower back and activate all of the erector spinae group.
Seeing this pic of Travis and Deb rowing makes us wonder, for those of you who are couples and CrossFit together, how is it? Is your relationship different? Are you more competitive? Do you now workout together where you previously didn’t? Are you too consumed with just getting through the WOD that it doesn’t matter who is standing next to you? We would love to hear your thoughts.
