Video and Media – Page 219 – SNORIDGE CROSSFIT

Handstands Across America

First off congrats to our Squatches Moe, Jill, Laura and Marc who all ran the Rock N’ Roll Marathon this weekend and to our resident Dirt Corps riders Matt, Jim and Dan who raced in the Mt. Hood Downhill race and placed one on the podium, one just off it and one with a broken suspension fork. Good times all!

This weekend we also hosted the CrossFit Gymnastics Trainers Course taught by Coach Sean Lind. Michelle, Rona, Rob, Jeremy, Pat from SRCF along with 12 others from all over the country attended this 2 day course and received a healthy dose of quality coaching, quality movement and company with quality people. It was cool to be the host and get to hang out with several new and old faces while learning how to build better ninjas.

As a group we spent two days learning basics, progressions, scalings, spotting and programming for what I suspect are just the tip of the pommel horse in gymnastics. The skills we practiced and began learning this weekend are so basic that what we consider hard are not even considered a skill in the gymnastics world (muscle-up anyone?). Although everyone wants the big powerful and sexy movements found in CrossFit it quickly became obvious that you cannot hope to achieve those without practicing the correct movement patterns frequently while building the requisite strength for the next movement. Learning that kipping pull-up or muscle-up or dip starts with building up the strength, skill, muscle memory, and the right range of motion to get to that next level. Earn that progression! The strength, power, balance and flexibility required are intimidating at first but once you practice and see how everything can be scaled it instantly becomes fun and you are just a giant kid in a playground. Personally I left with a longer list of things I suck at and need to improve. That’s the nature though of CrossFit, you don’t check a skill off your list without adding two more.

To Coach Sean thanks for the great weekend of fun and instruction and to everyone who attended we hope you thought it was well worth it.

“Handstand Push-up Drills With Jeff Tucker” by Again Faster Equipment, CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]

The Tension of Competition at the SoCal Regional

Over My Head

21, 18, 15, 12, 9 reps of:

Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
Toes-to-Bar

Results

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Attention: Gym is closed today, Saturday 6/25 for the CF Gymnastics Trainers Course

Good luck goes to Laura, Marc, and Coach Moe who are all running either the Rock-n-Roll Marathon or 1/2 Marathon on Saturday; as well as to Team Dirt Corps (Matt, Dan, Jim) who are racing DH Mountain Biking this weekend! Ride fast and don’t stop. Run hard and rock on!

Anyone who is a 2x week member and planned to WOD on Saturday 6/25 but couldn’t since we are closed please feel free to make it up by picking a class and tripling up in any week. We owe you one!

Notes:

“Open Participation Winners” with C.J. Martin – video [wmv] [mov]

Invictus Shares Tickets with Windy City

CF Invictus won the 2011 CF Games Open Participation contest for most members participating in the Open with 219 total! That won them a plaque, no affiliate fee for the year and 2 free tickets per participant!

Just Pick It Up

Strength WOD:

Deadlift 1RM

* Find your 1 Rep Max in 25 Minutes. When the time stops your attempts stop.

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

5 Rounds for Time:
10 Weighted Walking Lunges (40#/25# Dumbbells or sub KB’s)
15 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)

Results

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“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general” – Mark Rippetoe

You are all strong people! 31 PR’s today is no joke! Congrats to everyone today whether you hit a PR or not. Weight was moving all day and I bet our neighbors were really pleased. If they complain I’ll just tell them we will stop when they come in and deadlift with us. We don’t test the 1 rep max often in many lifts; as you get stronger through higher rep scenarios. This lift though was overdue for a test, as Pat kept reminding us. A few highlights from the day:

2 new people joined the 500# club; Pat and Jim C. each lifted a 1/4 ton with Pat topping out at 510#
13 women broke 200#, with Lorraine (275#) and Lucy (255#) topping 250 lbs.
We ran out of bumpers and metal plates in the 5pm class today!
Did I say 31 PR’s total!

Pat hits 510# with the help of duct tape collars:

PR lifts:

Notes:

Mobility Class with Rona was tonight and it was a good one. Attention dudes! Come to this class. You need this. Also I do not enjoy being the only guy. While the ladies group conversation was entertaining, it was also shall we say…unique. Sign up for the next class. I beg of you.

*Reminder the box is CLOSED this Saturday 6/25 as we are hosting the CF Gymnastics Trainers Course*

When you hear “get mad at the bar” this is what I mean:

Suckfest

As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 Minutes:

5 Thruster (95#/65#)
7 Hang Power Clean (95#/65#)
10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95#/65#)

Results

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“Box is closed this Saturday due to the CF Gymnastics Trainers Course we are hosting.”

Heidi sums up the WOD:

I can’t count how many times “What’s a thruster?” was asked today. After this brutal AMRAP my guess is those who did it won’t soon forget. I asked Michelle what she thought of the WOD (she did this one in the evening class). “Suckfest” was all she said. That sounds pretty accurate. At 10 minutes it likely felt like the WOD was plenty.

The prodigal son returns. Welcome back to Travis (above) who dropped in tonight for the WOD. Who is Travis? He was my first client at SRCF a couple years ago when we started back in our garage. Michelle had already been training a few others but I suckered Travis in to trying CrossFit. After meeting Pukie during his first WOD I was sure he would never come back. He did, regularly. It’s been awhile since he’s been in SRCF as he lives a bit far away and can’t get out as often. He now frequents the Compound when the stars and moon align for a workout. What brought him in for a visit? He said he saw a sign. Literally. He walked by lululemon at the Bellevue Square mall and saw both Michelle and I staring him down from our posters. Those laser stares burning the guilt right through him was enough for him to get out and see the new box. It’s good to see an old friend and don’t worry Travis, the bucket is ready for the next time you drop in!

Notes:

Congrats to Lindsay and Nadia who both just hit their 100th WOD! Welcome to the club and get your T Shirt!

Sign up for Rona’s Mobility Class on Wednesday night on Mindbody Online! From Coach Rona: “Mobility and Movement class is this week! We are working on recovering external rotation and overhead position, shoulder work and some soft tissue work on the glutes! Should be super fun!! It’s Wednesday night at 7pm. Sign up through Mind Body if you want to join in on the fun. :)”

Regional Update 4.3 – video [wmv] [mov]

Interesting story that Rainier CrossFit posted. The rules for Olympic Weightlifting are well understood and established. They are designed specifically for a judge to be able to quickly assess if the lifter has locked out their knees and elbows with the barbell. Any bent elbow for example is a no rep. What happens when someone wants to cover themselves due to religious beliefs? Looks like the IWF will decide the matter.

Muslim weightlifter’s wish to wear modest clothing triggers rules debate

What is wrong with this picture? Take a close look. Could it be that everyone from the AM classes who used a band in their warm-up left them out? Take care of your box!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. Sit back and enjoy.

Notes:

TIME! The Regionals are now officially over around the world. Next stop? The Games in LA at the end of July.

Regional Update 4.2 – video [wmv] [mov]

This Saturday 6/25 we will be CLOSED for the CF Gymnastics Trainers Course!

Tag, You're It!

Saturday WOD:

In Teams of 2 Complete 10 Rounds for Time:

5 Deadlifts (275#/185#)
10 Box Jumps (24″/20″)
100m Run or 125m Row

* One bar, one box, one rower. One works at a time. Tag up each round with your partner.

Advanced RX Class WOD:

As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 Minutes:

1 Rope Climb (15’/12′)
10 Ring Dips
20 Wall Balls (20#/14#)

Results

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Post WOD:

Two awesome classes today! Good turnout, good energy and good times!

Are you trying to lose weight? Read “17 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight” by Mark’s Daily Apple

Are you trying to gain muscle and pack on some pounds? Read “How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle” by Mark’s Daily Apple

CrossFit Games 2011 Regional Update 4.1 [wmv] [mov]

Some of you have been asking what Mark’s big balls are for? Why did he leave them in the box? Well here you go…

"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

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Ahhhh Fran! Run away!

Thrusters:

Pull-ups:

Congrats to Laura who was a Superwoman today and completed the WOD as RX’d and knocked out 45 pull-ups! She wanted to finish what she started and one by one she ticked each rep off until it was done.

Speaking of Super Women here’s a few others:

And my favorite Supergirl learning wallballs:

“Cooking with Nick Massie: Chili Lime Chicken“, CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov]

“Breath” with Coach Mike Burgener and Kevin Montoya by Again Faster Equipment – video [wmv] [mov]

Cleans and Burpees

Strength WOD:

Hang Power Clean
2/2/2/2/2

Checkout WOD:

3 Rounds for Time:

15 Hang Power Cleans (135#/95#)
15 Burpees

Results

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Yay Burpees:

I want to say thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the Regionals post the other day. It meant a lot and I can only say I love all our SRCF peeps. Hell I love our affiliate! Pulling up to the box today after a long day at work and seeing a parking lot full of cars and a few of our coaches hanging out was a very cool feeling. I was pretty tired and had just sat in a bunch of traffic coming from Kirkland. I was late and thinking I might not quite have time to fit in my WOD after class. Then I see the packed box, get to chat with some of you CrossFitters in the lobby, and hear the PR bell clanging away inside the gym after all those hang cleans. Before I know it I am full of energy again and ready to work out myself.

Why do I love SRCF? No drama, no stress. It’s just a box full of people who say hi to each other and work hard. Despite our growth in members we haven’t seemed to lose that. People go out of their way to generally introduce themselves to newcomers. We help newbies with the warm-up and we put each other’s stuff away. You see people hang out and chill after the WOD. Our kids and dogs run around and people are smiling. That is just some of the many cool things about the CrossFit community and I love that we have it here.

If you were at Regionals on Sunday you might have noticed NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck sitting in the stands behind us watching the action. You also might have noticed his father and former NFL player Don Hasselbeck who was there all weekend with Reebok (he is a VP and in charge of the Reebok/CF stuff). Word is that Matt has been doing CF in the offseason some and also during the lockout.

Notes:

Read: 5 Barbell Rules by CrossFit Lisbeth

I’ve been nice about violation of the dropping barbells and/or bars on the concrete. No more warnings. Burpees will be handed out. Love your barbell!

Games Athletes Rich Froning and Heather Bergeron on today’s WOD at the Reebok – CrossFit Gym:

* Note: Rich’s burpee clap style is not allowed at our box for our burpee standard. Clap over the head and not behind the neck like Jeremy O. is demonstrating above.

Nicole Goes Overhead

As Many Reps As Possible in 20 Minutes:

Run 400m
Max Rep Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
* Score total reps OHS, drop the bar to rest and you must run

Results

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So today’s WOD was a spin off two different benchmarks; “Nicole” and “Nancy”. Programming this one my intent was for it to have the max rep penalty scenario like “Nicole” where resting means you take a 400m spin around the parking lot. I didn’t mean for it allow any rest with the barbell unless it was standing with the weight overhead. Back rack = rest. It removes the strain and concentration required to maintain an effective overhead squat position and allows for recovery. That makes it no longer a max rep scenario.

So for the morning classes that were allowed to back rack it to rest my apologies for the screw up. You all caught a break. I should have explained it better to the “Assistant to the Head Coach” when I reviewed the WOD with her! That said I have given her detention and a formal written warning and placed it in her file for her next performance review…

One hand Muscle-up by George Piwko – video [wmv] [mov]

Notes:

Regionals pics are plenty and I’ll publish Flickr albums soon!
Advanced RX Class begins this Saturday for those who tested in at 10:45
Re-order for the Games T Shirts is going in soon. If you want one then write your name on the board in the box
Starting next Wednesday 6/22 we are going to add a 8:30am Wednesday class. That will mean Tuesday through Thursday will have a 8:30 class.

2011 CrossFit Games Regional Workout 1

For time:
1000m Run
30 Handstand Push-ups
1000m Row

Results

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Mark and Nadia (of CrossFit Belltown) knock out Regionals WOD 1:

2011 CrossFit Games Regional Workout 1

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald”

This week we will program a couple of the WOD’s from Regionals or some that are similar to give everyone some appreciation for the workouts and level of athleticism displayed by Mark and all the athletes at all the CF Games Regionals. Today was WOD 1.

As I reflect back on this past weekend at the NW Regionals I can’t help but think about where I personally was a year ago. Having just competed at the 2010 Regionals I was exhausted, ecstatic, and relieved to have it over. I was also determined. Determined to make it back.

Over the past year I have been working hard to return to the arena and give it another go. I had set some goals both personally and for our box. I made the following goals: qualify myself and at least one other as well as get a team qualified. Not knowing what the method CrossFit would have to get back to Regionals I assumed there would be a Sectional and it would be the typical weekend competition. As the Open was announced it threw me (and many in the community) for a loop. At first I’ll admit I was totally against it. I was mad. I wanted that competition out in the real “open” and I wanted (selfishly) for it to be a weekend grind. I wanted to have the community gather together and bring the whole box out to see a bunch of CF’ers go at it for multiple workouts a day. Once I put that aside and accepted that it was the Open no matter what, as a box we decided to try and do it right.

We hosted each and every Open WOD week after week and did our best to do it with integrity, community, and hard ass effort. The Open grew on me. Sure some things were frustrating but the box participation was great and the spirit it built even better. During that time I joked that I wasn’t quite sure I really wanted to go back to Regionals. As the weeks wore on and the attempts at each Open WOD piled up, I felt pretty confident I would make it. I was sure the WOD’s would get more technical or heavy and allow me to stay in the top 60. As the Open drew to a close, I watched my name fall from the low to mid 50’s to 59th to the 63rd spot after PR’ing Open WOD 11.6 for the third time on Sunday in the final hours. I was honestly crushed. Mad at myself more than anything. I felt like my training was all off and that I missed a huge component for the past year. I was bitter at myself for not pushing harder during the Open and wondered to Michelle if I was too confident and failed to leave it out there each workout. I pored over the stats and scoreboard. I overanalyzed everything about each one of my WOD’s for about a week. It was kind of a private pity party. Then I kind of moved on as I was able to train again without the stress of the Open. It got fun again.

The plus side was that two of OUR good people in Mark and Pat qualified for the next level with Mark going to Regionals and Pat to the Masters. Our team just barely missed qualifying. That made me feel great and also somewhat salved the wound. After judging this weekend and watching Mark represent so well I can honestly say I am recharged to chase it again for another year. Serving as a judge gave me a front row seat to the action. It put me on the floor next to some flat out amazing athletes and a few friends. It made me a witness to the effort and emotion that makes CrossFit so damn hard and so much fun for me. I love coaching and I love to see people who are as determined to make the Games push themselves to that point that so many won’t go to. I love the sport that it is becoming. That intensity made it real again for me and has left me with renewed vigor to get stronger, get faster and get fitter than I am now.

So back to the drawing board for me. And for our box. I am making up my plan of attack for what will hopefully yield a different result for next year. My goals: See SRCF have a huge participation in the 2012 Open, personally get back to Regionals, qualify at least 2 individuals and qualify a team. If it doesn’t work? Hell I’ll just say it’s part of my run to the Masters in 8 years!

Notes:

North West Regional Day 3 Recap | CrossFit Games

Regional Update 3.3 – video [wmv] [mov]

This Saturday at 10:45am will be our 1st Advanced RX Class for those who have tested and passed the Advanced RX Challenge. Class is approximately 1 hour. Don’t be late! For those who missed the past three test opportunities we will plan another test sometime in early July. Keep working on those skills!

Michelle coaching, cuddling, and calling out tabata intervals: