Jerk!

Strength WOD:

Clean and Jerk
5/4/3/2/1/1/1/1/1

Checkout WOD:

5 Rounds for Time:

5 Clean and Jerk (115#/75#) 
10 Knees to Elbows 
15 Lateral Burpees

Results

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Graham showing what knees to elbows really looks like:

Graham K2E

As Jeremy D. would say: “The lateral jump burpee punches normal burpees in the face!”

Here’s a sequence from Sean:

 
Sean Lateral Jump Burpee - 1 Sean Lateral Jump Burpee - 2 Sean Lateral Jump Burpee - 3

I had planned to write a recap of the weekend by now but am lacking the energy. Go figure! As I have sat down each night since Regionals I have thought of pretty much nothing but sleep. I will do my best to work on this by the end of the week and publish a post that also has links to picture albums from Day 1 and 2.

Notes:

Squatch Cave announcement: Due to the potential for injury to our little squatches (which nobody wants to see), we are going to try to institute two rules and need your cooperation.

1. No more swinging on ropes or rings, jumping on boxes, climbing on the pull-up bars etc. for the kiddos after the workout. Sorry! We had a minor injury today that highlighted that safety is paramount even if its post WOD (everyone is okay). We will also do our best to have our daughter (who has to practically live in the gym) understand that she has two sets of rules; one with friends there and one without.

2. Parents will soon need to sign a waiver for bringing kids to the box and being in the Squatch Cave. This means that parents should explain to their kids that this is to keep them safe. Even if they think it’s boring! 🙂

"Cindy"

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 20 Minutes of:

5 Pull-ups

10 Push-ups

15 Squats

 

Results

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“Cindy” defined:

Cindy

Congrats to all who PR’d this benchmark “girl” WOD today.  Cindy is one of those WOD’s that looks easy. Most people underestimate this and at about ten minutes in realize they are only halfway through and can’t believe it. Benchmark WOD’s have a way of doing that to you. Some big numbers today and a really good emphasis on helping to push one another on. Keep it up! Also big congrats to Amanda who earned her 100th WOD milestone tonight!


Regionals Update will be posted soon.  Lots of pictures from an amazing weekend!


Our very own Team Squatch finished 28th out of 38 teams after all three events.  Congrats to Michelle, Moe, Kim, Pat, Jeremy D. and Mark B. for going after it this weekend. They worked through three tough WOD’s against some very good competition and represented well.  We should all be proud!

 

I finished 32nd out of 64 men after 4 WOD’s in two days.  It was way better than I expected and I can’t believe its over. What an incredible experience (more on that in the wrap up post I am writing). Thanks to all who supported us and the inspiration from this weekend only makes us more motivated to improve ourselves to get even fitter. For those so inclined, start training for next year! Make every rep count, make it legit, and above all make it fun.  


More pics will be posted soon! 

Team Squatch after all WOD’s complete:

 

Team Squatch

 

This needs to be seen to be believed:

Chris Spealler wins the NW Regionals (WOD #1 Video) [wmv] [mov]

"Georgia"

5 Rounds For Time:

10 Power Clean (135#/95#) 
15 Push-ups

Results

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Travis and Tara cleaning and pushing:

Travis_Power Clean


Tara Push-up

I love this WOD! It’s one of my favorites.

This Saturday we are CLOSED! 

In case you haven’t heard we will be competing at the Northwest Regionals for the 2010 CF Games at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  The top 75 male and 75 female athletes from Sectionals competitions from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Alaska will be competing to send 3 men and 3 women to Los Angeles in July to compete in the Games. There will be 35 or so Affiliate teams (including SnoRidge) who will also be competing to send the top 6 teams on for the Affiliate Cup. Last but not least will be the Masters Competition where CF’ers over age 50 all around the world are vying at their respective Regionals to advance the top 15 worldwide for the 1st ever Masters division competition. 

If you plan to come then you can purchase tickets at the door but it will be cash only. Look for your fellow “Squatches” when you come into the arena. There will be plenty of vendors, food and free parking available. See here for more event details. This weekend is shaping up to be loaded with great weather, big effort and big fun! We hope to see you all there!

Notes:

Come tomorrow and help celebrate Lucy’s special day with her birthday WOD!

A few of you are SO close to your 100th WOD so remember to tell us when you hit it!

Watch the women’s competition at the North Central Regionals preview from the CF Journal [wmv] [mov]

By the way we love the feedback that many of you have been inputting into the site on the “feedback tab” (over on the left). We read and discuss all of the ideas and are trying to figure out ways to incorporate them!

Who is Team Squatch?

Team Squatch 

Michelle:                    Moe: Kim:

MIchelle Moe Kim - 3

Pat:                 Jeremy: Mark:

Pat_Swing Jeremy Mark_Bear

Here’s your team people! Next weekend these six will go to the 2010 CF Games Northwest Regionals to represent our box, work hard, grin and “bear complex” it, and high five their way through two days of tough team workouts. They will go up against at least 30 other teams representing affiliates from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Alaska that all want to earn a shot at competing for the Affiliate Cup at the Games in Los Angeles come July. 

Come support them at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. It’s practically in our own backyard! How lucky is that?

I’m so stoked about coaching this team I am gonna go run or something!

"Shoot 'Em Up"

Strength WOD:

5 Rounds of Dead Hang Pull-ups

* Rest as necessary between rounds; work up to max reps per attempt

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 Minutes:
5 Deadlift (Use 60% of 1RM)
7 Shoot-Throughs (Parallette)
10 AbMat Sit-Ups 

Shoot Through’s for Two!:

Shoot Through's for Two_Erin

Results

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View this photo   

Today was a different type of strength WOD and check out WOD and both were quite effective. Dead hang pull-ups are all too often neglected in CrossFit. We rely on hip drive and kipping so often that developing the strength to adequately pull our own bodyweight can take a back seat to speed and efficiency. So why train dead hang pull-ups if they are less efficient? The same reason we do one rep max lifts with the barbell. To get stronger so that when we want to go faster we can because we take longer to fatigue and can get more work done. This means more power. That means better results physically. Practice those strict dead hang pull-ups, with or without a band. You will get stronger and your pull-ups will get better.

The “Shoot Through” with Ryan:

Shoot Through_Ryan - 1 Shoot Through_Ryan - 2 Shoot Through_Ryan - 3

Shoot Through_Ryan - 4 Shoot Through_Ryan - 6 Shoot Through_Ryan - 7

Shoot Through_Ryan - 8 Shoot Through_Ryan - 9 Shoot Through_Ryan - Finish

Think “Burpee on parallettes”. I learned these at the Gymnastics Cert and they are outstanding. Part push-up, dip and jump. It teaches speed, builds strength in the arms, core and shoulders, and drains you quickly. You can do them on parallettes or scale them using boxes or something higher to allow more room to jump and to make the push-up easier. Either way, it’s still hard to “shoot it’!

Notes:

History of the Burpee according to Wikipedia: The exercise may have originated from native North American ‘Indian Wrestling’ or it may have been originated by a man named Lieutenant Thomas Burpee (1757-1839). He was an officer in the New Hampshire Militia during the American Revolutionary War and was described as “having the innate Burpee fondness for martial exercises” in A History of the Town of New London, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Lt. Burpee may have used the combination of push ups and squat thrusts as a means of drilling, conditioning, and disciplining the troops under his command. In addition, the exercise may have also been used by the troops as a way to stay warm during the winters in wartime New England.

Quick heads up on the box schedule: 

On May 15th and 16th (Sat. and Sun.) we will be closed for the 2010 CF Games Northwest Regionals competition being held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. We will have a team of our very own competing (Moe, Kim, Pat, Jeremy D., Mark B., and Michelle) in the Affiliate Team qualifiers and myself for the individual qualifiers. If you are thinking about attending as a spectator then before you go buy tickets let Michelle, Moe or I know as a few of our team members had already purchased a ticket and no longer need it due to being on the team. Come out one or both days and watch the events. There will be a bunch of amazing people all sweating through the Master’s Qualifiers, Team Qualifiers and Individual competition that weekend! It will be exciting, fun and a great opportunity to see some of the best CF athletes our 6 state region has to offer tackle some sure to be grueling WOD’s. All for a shot at the Games!

"Yes…Tabata That"

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. 

Box Jumps (24″/20″)

Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)

Air Squats

Following the WOD:

2 rounds of hang for time from the pull-up bar.  

(Grip it and dead-hang for dear life)

Results

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Who thought the bar hang was way tougher than they thought?

Hang On
 

Dead Hang
 

Here’s a link to the Garage Gym throwback days for when we last did this one. We haven’t done Tabata’s in awhile ( since the March Cross-box Challenge) so it was good to put this in the mix.


Notes:

T Shirts are in tomorrow! We will bag and tag them and get them to you ASAP!


Welcome to Jenna who dropped in today to the morning class and rocked some Tabata’s! Also welcome to the gang who recently completed Elements : Annette, Michelle D., Sashank, Doug as well as Willy who is one day away from being complete. Make sure you all introduce yourselves and give high fives and chest bumps!


Congrats to Adriana and Jim M. who earned their 100th WOD status recently. You’ll see them proudly sporting their T’s. 


CrossFit Games Update:

In addition to our group who is competing at Regionals in 2 weeks we have a group who are volunteering. Shout out to Rob, Rona, Lyndi, Eli, and Sangeeta who are all going to help ensure the event runs smooth!


Coaching Tip: The Air Squat with Eli

Air Squat_Eli - 1 Air Squat_Eli - 2 Air Squat_Eli - 3


Air Squat_Eli - 4 Air Squat_Eli - 5

  Air Squat cues:

  • Start upright with feet under hips and flat on the floor; toes slightly angled out
  • Maintain a steady gaze straight ahead
  • Keeping the chest up, initiate the squat by pushing the hips and posterior chain back (like taking a bow)
  • Squat down keeping your weight on your heels
  • Move your hands out in front of you, form a “window” with your hands to look through (this forces the head and chest to stay up and the weight to stay on the heels)
  • Concentrate on keeping your knees behind the toe box and keeping your core tight
  • Hip crease ideally should drop below the knee joint at the bottom
  • Drive out of the bottom and pull your hands back to your hips
  • Fully open (or extend) the hips at the top

When The Arms Bend, The Power Ends!

Rest Day

Mike and the “Oh So Fun Squat Clean”:

Mike Squat Clean

Notes:

Today’s topic: “When the arms bend, the power ends”


SnatchArmPulling  Ryan_Triple Extension

 Mirror Images?

Technique is everything. In the two pics above, one is of a CrossFitter that was posted recently on crossfit.com that was used to show a slight early arm pull with triple extension on the power snatch and the other is of Ryan doing the same. I wanted to use these pics as a teaching point. Both athletes are in the “second pull” with triple extension in the power snatch. Both are bending the arms slightly early as the bar is still rising. In both photos the ankles/knees/hips of the two athletes have all reached full extension (i.e. open joints) while the arms have begun to bend. This marks the transition to the “third pull” which is the transition point when the barbell has reached its highest point and the arms bend as the lifter begins to explosively pull under the barbell to receive the bar overhead (the “first pull” being the pull off the floor). 

My interpretation of both photos is that they have really good form and have reached the top of their “second pull” and are beginning the “third pull” under the bar. I also think Ryan’s form is slightly better (lifting form only of course) since he has a slight lean back showing he is generating more “speed through the middle” which translates to greater momentum on the barbell upwards. However, both could have better form by eliminating their early arm bend. Nit-picky sure but that early arm bend may mean the difference in getting more weight up.

One of the most common mistakes on cleans or snatches is that the lifter bends the arms early in the second pull or worse yet prior to reaching full triple extension. A great rule of thumb I learned from Coach Burgener is “When the arms bend; the power ends”. You want to achieve the most power you can in the lift to be the most efficient. This means letting that bar rise with the straightest arms possible before pulling under. It ideally reaches the highest point when you reach triple extension and then you bend to pull underneath. At it’s worst if you are already bending your arms while your hips/knees are bent and your ankles are flat on the floor you essentially are performing a reverse arm curl. So remember the three pulls, focus on exploding, and let that momentum work to your advantage and you will feel the surprise of the barbell “floating” up while you pull under it. The list of things we all have to work on just never ends!

Read “A Tale Of Three Pulls” by CrossFit Orlando

Photo of Second Pull from Catalyst Athletics:

Snatch Second Pull

Note less arm bend, and the barbell is much higher. And heavier.

Fire In The Hole

Strength WOD:

Front Squat

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

* Work up to 1RM (1 Rep Max)

Jeremy PR Front Squat

Travis PR Attempt

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.

Checkout WOD

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:

Ring ROM

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).