Useful Links – Page 48 – SNORIDGE CROSSFIT

"Happy Birthday Jeremy!"

3 Rounds for Time:

31 Box Jumps (24″/20″)
12 Power Snatches (115#/75#)
20 Knees-to-Elbows
100′ Overhead Dumbbell Walking Lunges (40#/25# – 50′ per arm)

Results

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What is the birthday boy doing on the laptop?

Read “Heels On the Box or Bust” by Lisbeth Darsh of CrossFit Watertown

When some of your coaches made this WOD over the weekend we threw out a few different combos. This is what “stuck”. Prior to all us doing this WOD we had a very short discussion about knees-to-elbows. All of us violently agreed that there is a reason they are called knees…to…ELBOWS. Otherwise they would be called Knees to triceps, or knees to chest, and so on. Like a “Chest-to-Bar Pull-up” we all reasoned that the contact with said body part was crucial to why the name was chosen and that would constitute the full range of motion. I know we previously have said slightly above and slightly below the elbow was a good rep. That is the old SRCF standard. Today we raised the standard.

Why raise it? Well, why not? One of the aspects of fitness is accuracy. Whether it’s hitting the line (or eventually target) in wall balls, getting our chin over the bar, or ensuring our feet land in the right position of a clean or snatch it’s important to be accurate. Practicing this in as many movements as possible is vital to getting fitter, faster, and just less sloppy. The key is practice. If you miss a rep, then do it again. It’s that easy. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t cheat yourself, and don’t hang your head. You get tired. We get that. Take a second, tighten up that shot group; then pull those knees all the way up to those elbows next time.

“Knees-to-Elbows” and their variation movements from CrossFit.com [wmv] [mov]

Congrats to Brad and Jim aka “Old Man Jim” who completed Elements tonight!

Holiday Schedule

Take a knee. Rest today.

12/20 – 12/23: No 6:30am classes on Tuesday and Thursday. All other classes will have a normal schedule Monday through Thursday.
12/24: One WOD in the morning at 10am! (“12 WOD’s of Christmas”!)
Wear a bad Christmas sweater if you have it. After the WOD is an open invite to go raid the local coffee shop for some caffeine to get us through the festivities.
12/25: Closed. Santa for time!

CrossFit is now officially an ANSI Accredited Certificate Program Issuer for the Level 1 Trainer Course

"Nasty Girls"

“Hanging Around”

For Time:

3 Rounds for Time:
50 Air Squats
10 Hang Power Cleans (115#/75#)
15 Pull-ups

“Nasty Girls”

For Time:

3 Rounds for Time:
50 Air Squats
7 Muscle-Ups
10 Hang Power Cleans (135#/95#)

Results

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The guys tackle “Nasty Girls”:

I read a post today by our very own Rob who writes on his blog CrossFit Dad. The post I read spoke of the aspect of preparing for, practicing, and facing your weaknesses in the box. In Rob’s case it is the overhead squat. He dreads them. He knew they would be part of the WOD one specific weekend yet still came in early, practiced, scaled, warmed up properly, and focused on doing them right. The outcome? Achievement unlocked. Overhead Squat technique learned. Read it, reflect on it, and chart out your approach to a weakness you may have in CrossFit.

Read: “Sectionals Training Week 2” by CrossFit Dad (Rob)

We can’t do Nasty Girls without posting what is one of the “early classic” workout demo videos from CrossFit.com; classic because of the early style that included crappy music, no editing, and epic performances. This video is one I remember seeing early in my first encounter with CrossFit and thinking “cool, I wanna be like these girls”, who were the original trio of female firebreathers: Nicole Carroll, Eva T, and Annie Sakamoto.

The most memorable parts are that 3 women are doing muscle-ups (which wasn’t all that common several years ago) and that Nicole fights and cries her way through the last round of the WOD, failing muscle-ups and cleans while the tears are flowing yet still managing to finish the workout. Inspiring.

Video: Nasty Girls – [wmv] [mov]

"JT"

21-15-9 Reps for Time:

Handstand Push-Ups
Ring Dips
Push-Ups

Results

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“Josh“

In honor of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Taylor, 30, of Little Creek, VA, who was killed in Afghanistan in June 2005.

Notes:

Congrats to Amanda for getting double-unders today and to Moe and Michelle for learning how to kip a handstand push-up!

Rona’s “1 year CrossFit Anniversary” story made the CF Affiliate Page a few days ago! Click here to read.

Read: “What Would Happen?” by CrossFit Lisbeth

Clean Up

For Time:

25 Pull-ups
15 Power Clean (135#/95#)
200m Run
20 Pull-ups
10 Power Clean
400m Run
10 Pull-ups
5 Power Clean
800m Run

Results

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Quote of the Day that Jenna found:

“Check your ego at the door, somewhere in the world a high school kid is warming up with your PR.”

Hypothetical Question: If we had a 6pm Friday class would you honestly come to it? Post answer to comments.

Coaching Tip: The Power Clean Finish Position with Amanda and Jana

Keep the elbows high and parallel to the ground for the ideal “rack” or “finish” position
Fingers are loose to allow the elbows up
Bar should rest above the chest and on the shoulders, chest is upright
Feet are in the landing position ideally beneath the hips

Pat and Mark completed the 2nd WOD in the latest 3 WOD Again Faster “Beat the Team to Win” series. This WOD was pretty tough and they both came away with killer times using different strategies (Pat 8:00 and Mark 7:55).

For time:

200 Double Unders
9000#/7000# of Deadlifts
75 Barbell Thrusters (45#)

* Weight on deadlift bar will determine # of reps. If weight isn’t an even multiple of the 9000#/7000#, athlete will round up. For example, if you choose to complete the 9000# with 185# (9000/185=48.6), you’ll complete 49 reps.
* Reps can be partitioned as the athlete wishes.
* Once workout begins, deadlift weight must remain the same.

"Last Ascent"

Strength WOD:

Establish a 3RM Back Squat in 15 minutes (Partner up on a rack)

Checkout:

“Last Ascent”

5-10-15 Reps Each For Time:

Back Squats (225#/155#)
Box Jumps (24″/20″)

Results

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Moe Racked and Ready:

CF Santa Cruz Member celebrates his 50th birthday with a WOD of weighted pull-ups and hip extensions. [wmv] [mov]

Two things to note in here:

1) Back, Hip, and Hip-Back Extensions demo

2) Note the attention to getting a legit pull-up no matter how many he fails to get his chin over the bar. He simply won’t count slop. The lesson? Don’t count the garbage. Do it right or don’t do it! I love his determination.

Notes:

Reebok and CrossFit have recently entered into a licensing partnership. The Reebok corporate HQ now has their own CrossFit gym for their employees:

"Happy Birthday Kim!"

3 Rounds for Time:

Row 30 Calories
30 Ring Push-ups
30 Pistols (15 each leg)
30 Double-Unders

Results

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Happy birthday to “Ninja Kim”:

Kim was so excited about pistols and rings yesterday she fell over! Actually almost everyone did! The pistol challenges balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, and temperament. It has the unique ability of producing maximum frustration. Be patient, scale the movement and work on depth as your leg strength and balance improves. To work on your ability to squat deeper, try a Mobility WOD!

Also congrats to Kamran for getting his double-unders today and then doing them in the WOD!

MobilityWOD: Improving Squat Mechanics

Coaching

(Ah the internets crashed on me last night thus the late post!)

Coaching is invaluable. Here at SnoRidge AKA “Camp Awesome” we pride ourselves on providing coaching, but that is not only reserved for us as trainers in teaching good movement, proper technique, and running workouts. It also applies to everyone in the box who may give that helpful tip, that extra push or encouragement, that correction, or even that word of caution about being “dumb” vs. being “smart”. I think our box is filled with good coaches. So many of us who have knowledge to share, who look out for one another, who have each other’s best interests at heart from WOD to WOD.

Do we always make the right decisions on how much to add to the bar? Choose the right WOD strategy? Do we take a rest day every time we need to? How about counting good reps and ditching bad ones? Likely the answer is no but we do it right more often than not. I see more and more often that many of us recognize the need to scale properly, warm-up better or stretch and mobilize. Many times someone will help another out with some pointers and cues when one of the trainers is busy with someone else. When we don’t we as coaches and fellow CF’ers all collectively remind one another why it’s important. Coaches not only motivate, teach, scale and execute; we hold you accountable. Everyone in the box in some form or another is capable of demanding accountability and it’s cool to see us all doing just that. That’s just what we do.

“The Coach’s Secret” by CrossFit Lisbeth

Speaking of coaches, on Saturday I attended the WA CrossFit Affiliate “Meating” hosted by Lynnwood CrossFit. It was an open gathering for any affiliate who wanted or could attend in our state. It was a great half day spent with 50 plus CF trainers and fellow business owners of all experience levels forging community, sharing information and best practices, throwing out ideas, and even a team WOD. It all ended with some BBQ where you could grill your own meat or eat whatever you decided to hunt, gather, or shop for. We barely scratched the surface on the topics we potentially wanted to discuss but enough was put out there that it made me think of more ways for us to be better as your coaches and affiliate owners. Look forward to the next one!

"Dueling Squat Cleans" and Games Training

3 Rounds for time:
400m Run
Max Rep Squat Cleans (95#/65#)

Partner up and go “head to head” at squat cleans. Most reps after 3 rounds wins. Run fast so you can out-do your partner!

Rules:

One runs 400m while one performs max reps
Switch after each run
Full squat clean, bar must touch ground each rep

Team Squatch Games Training – Choose “Josh” or “Elizabeth”:

“Josh”

For Time:
21 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
42 Pull-ups
15 Overhead Squats
30 Pull-ups
9 Overhead Squats
18 Pull-ups

“Elizabeth”

21-15-9 Reps Each for Time:
Squat Clean (135#/95#)
Ring Dips

Results

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High Fives and Chest Bumps:

Working out this morning with everyone and then hitting the Team workout this afternoon at the WA Affiliates Gathering at Lynnwood CrossFit had me thinking about how motivating it is to be surrounded by “firebreathers”. As CrossFitters we all find reasons to delay the WOD but once that clock starts we can’t be held back. As the seconds tick by and the work gets done, it’s all a personal struggle to tough it out and not quit. All of us have an inner firebreather. Find and unleash yours.

Read: “Your Inner Firebreather” from CrossFit Lisbeth

Notes:

Where was everyone today for the 10am class? This ensures you all will be well rested on Monday! Four of you came and hit the WOD, with Jim C. making up the deads and PR’ing at 465# while the rest hit the cleans. Thanks to Matt who came in early and volunteered to be the photographer during “Sectionals” training.

Oh and new gym rule courtesy of Lynnwood CrossFit: Whining will cost you!

All Hands on Deck "Pt. 2"

AMRAP: As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 Minutes:

5 Handstand Push-ups (Head to floor)
10 Knees-to-Elbows
15 Steps, Walking Lunges (Knee gently touches ground)

Results

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Compare to Previous Results

Various Ways to Scale a Handstand Push-up:

Rest up for Saturday’s team WOD for the main 10am class (if it’s not pouring) and “Games Training” for the early time.

If you are wondering or possibly notice that the group training for the Games Qualifiers (yet to be announced) is meeting separately on Saturday mornings and completing a different WOD that is by design. It’s not intended to create an exclusive club or anything of that nature. It’s targeted training for those athletes who have committed to competing in the qualifiers for the 2011 CF Games. We are programming separate training that is geared for the types of workouts or movements or loads that are likely to crop up in a few months. Some are advanced, some heavy, some both. Most are shorter and intense as the time allotted to complete a WOD is likely to be a short to mid-range time domain or even have a cap where you stop whether you finish or not. It will complement or build off what we have been training for the past week and month, as well as what we plan for the month(s) ahead. It will also allow the group to get together once per week and train together, while also having fun pushing each other harder than if they trained separately. The biggest key is our training is targeted towards general weaknesses, skills or movements that CF’ers seeking to compete at the next level should reasonably expect to encounter.

It’s not specialized CrossFit just different programming designed to prepare for a specific type of competition (which is actually unknown!). Since we are an equal opportunity box we will ensure there are plenty of chances for everyone to hit many of the same skills or movement and fully “embrace the suck”!

Notes:

Welcome back to Jason who will be dropping in once a week and also hitting King CF during the week in Renton. Great to have you back in the box!

Check out Matt’s excitement over getting a HSPU: