How many of you saw the whiteboard today and thought: “Is that all?” How many of you asked that AFTER the WOD? Whether you chose to run (yay) or row (yuck) both are pretty brutal when it’s a sprint. Going all out with short recovery periods multiple times is a very deceiving workout.
At any short distance repeat sprints (whether rowing or running) are great examples of interval training. Alternating high intensity sprints with short rest and recovery periods leads to the build up of lactic acid and exceeding the lactate threshold. The benefits of this type of training beyond improved aerobic conditioning also include the development of fast twitch muscle fiber which helps with anaerobic, short duration high intensity exercise. Ideally we would sprint more. It develops speed, power, strength and lean muscle mass.
Jenna in her 9th month of pregnancy ROCKING an overhead squat:
(yes she is scaled; at least for her!)
Overhead squats. For many it’s the bane of their existence come WOD time. Many dread it, hate it or fear it. Some like them. Few love them. I happen to be one of the few. Lucky you.
The overhead squat is absolutely effective as a barbell movement and very challenging to master. It develops strength, balance, flexibility and accuracy to hold a heavy load and drop into the full squat and stand back up. It fires muscles throughout your legs, midline and shoulders. It requires concentration and determination to not lose it or dump it and bail at the first sign of getting shaky.
Of the many things we coach in the OHS the primary areas we cue are: shoulder and knee position and tight abs/breathing. Think “tight abs/hold your breath”, “armpits forward and shoulders up” and “knees out”. Master those at light weight, improve your flexibility and you will learn to love them as much as me.
By the way, who liked the PVC warm-up by Coach Mark today? I enjoyed watching the 7pm class lunging back down the alley in the dark as they all looked like Zombies in the “Night of the Living Dead”. Very amusing.
Nutrition and Performance Challenge:
Who’s fallen off the wagon? The “Stop the Slop” wagon that is? Noticeably less food logs have been turned in or logged and it seems many have boarded the grain train back to inflammation-ville! We hope we are wrong and you all are merely choosing to stick to a Paleo plan in solitude. For those who are still with it keep it up and let’s get serious until 2/19 when the results will be in and the winners are crowned.
Quote from Tyler Sell in the Seattle Times on Ergomania:
“Marathoners hit the wall on the 23rd mile. Rowers hit the wall at 500 meters. At about 1,000, you feel like you can’t go any further, but you can’t give up. Therefore, you’re going to die.”
After a hectic past week and weekend we are much closer to being up and running. Which is good because I hit the wall at day 8 or 9. While there is a lot left to do many of the major project items are complete and the box is able to handle full classes now.
Pat amid a blur of rowing pain:
This weekend we saw a couple cool events on Saturday. The first is Ergomania where Pat went and crushed a 2k row in 6:36 for a 2nd place finish in the Men’s division ages 40-49! Way to go Pat! The 1st place finisher in his bracket was a true rower and they battled it out until the last 150 meters or so. Dropping into another group’s sports playground and taking home a medal is something to really be proud of. Not often you can show up on game or race day in someone else’s sport and place a spot on the leaderboard. It just goes to show the effectiveness of CrossFit in not specializing and making a general all around damn fine athlete. I guarantee you a pure rower won’t show up at a CrossFit event and place a spot on the podium.
The second event this weekend was a field trip for a community throwdown/get together hosted by Cascade CF that saw many of us from 5 different affiliates show up (us, SnoValley, Sculptor, Northwest, and Cascade all had athletes there). It was a pretty huge turnout both from SRCF and overall that showed how we have CrossFitters all around us wanting to get together as part of a community to share a workout. Well done everyone for showing up and representing well!
More of Team Squatch on Saturday:
Notes:
Attention: Bring long socks to learn and practice Rope Climbs tomorrow! We will also do them in the WOD.
That said we will strictly enforce rules for climbing.
You must have signed a waiver with us (everyone who is a client already has but clarifying here for rules sake)
You will be instructed on different foot lock techniques. Hand over hand is impressive, but falling on your ass is less so. No foot lock, No Go.
Once you have demonstrated a foot lock, you may try different heights.
1st timers only climb to 10′ for the WOD. More experienced (i.e. have demonstrated to a coach or have done them in a previous WOD) may climb to 15′.
Scaling will be specified. Here are the subs:
From the Supine (laying on your back) position you will pull hand over hand from the floor to the standing position and then lower yourself back to the supine position.
2 Supine Rope Pulls = 1 Rope Climb 15′
Alternate sub is 6 Dead Hang Pull-ups = 1 Rope Climb 15′
No crash mat allowed for climbs. It is a false sense of security. Thinking you have to hold on for dear life is a strong motivating factor to know if you should continue or not.
No Saturday class tomorrow! We will be as Cascade CF joining Sculptor CF, SnoValley CF for a community building get together from 9-11am.
It’s the Field Trip WOD Saturday at 9am to Cascade CF! Join the crowd, wear your SRCF T and have fun meeting others in the community. WOD is listed on yesterday’s post (along with directions to get there) and YES it can be scaled or modified. See you there!
Wish Pat luck as he goes for his best 2k row time tomorrow morning at Ergomania: The Pacific NW Indoor Rowing Championships. I’ll be accompanying him with Jeremy O. to cheer him on and watch as he crushes the competition.
Food logs are due tomorrow. Keep it up and DON’T give up! Stick with it and let’s see who wins the Stop the Slop Challenge.
Notes:
This is pretty intense. Two past CF Games champs going head to head for a brutal heavy power snatch AMRAP:
Stop and do this: Do Nothing For 2 Minutes. At least just stretch while you do this. Don’t fail!
Short post. Lots done, tons of help, almost there. Target is mat and equipment moving on Wednesday.
Don’t forget on Saturday the field trip WOD to Cascade Crossfit is from 9-11am. The WOD will be a simple chipper of row 500m and 6 movements of either bodyweight or light weights with pretty standard movements that everyone can do.
Looking at the results and some of the pics I am bummed I missed a WOD today! Maybe tomorow…
Get those food logs turned in and stick with it. You are three weeks in! If you have been strict you should begin to notice it via improving energy levels, recovery and performance, and body comp changes.
The new box is coming along. Some of the major items: money is being spent faster than Pat can row 2000 meters, walls and stripes are being painted to Michelle’s exacting standards, the Squatch Cave is now The Squatch Cavern, lighting and electrical is going in, front entry area is taking shape, and the cage is installed (almost). My favorite part is that bar muscle-ups are now a reality! BANG! POW!
Day 2 of work on the new gym made big progress thanks to the help of Zach (the Wizard behind the curtain), Matt, Mark B., Jeremy D., and Rob! It’s taking shape, looking like a CrossFit box and by the end of the weekend will hopefully have all the major stuff knocked out for an equipment move sometime next week. Moving for time!
23 million Americans have it. 53 million are pre-diabetic. I heard this on the news today and it was totally disturbing. Do the math, after the latest census we have a population of roughly 300 million in our country. This means approximately 1 in 4 Americans are either pre-diabetic or diabetic. We are trending towards 1 in 3! This “disease” (not Type 1 but Type 2) is completely preventable and totally avoidable simply by eating correctly. You are what you eat. Yet our “healthcare” and government authorities and “experts” continue to tell us all the wrong stuff to eat and focus on the wrong fixes (Don’t get me started on the food pyramid). This “disease” is costing us $174 billion a year. Billion! Last year my mom was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and went to her doctor referred nutritionist. This person then gave her a list of foods and recommendations that were high glycemic, insulin spiking garbage and encouraged her to eat the wrong things. Now that was a long series of phone calls home.
Jack Lalanne figured all this out quite a while ago. Watch this and wonder how we can still have aisles of processed and cleverly marketed fake foods killing us one Ding Dong at a time.
Tonight I went with Mark, Jeremy, Kim, Matt, and Rob to Imperial CF for a nutrition lecture with Todd Widman (of CrossFit HQ). It was the third time I have attended his lecture and each time I find myself learning more about Paleo, Zone, the importance that nutrition plays in your health and the effects of the crap that is continually pushed, sold, marketed and fed to our kids and loved ones.
Take a deep step forward with your foot at a 10 to 15 degree angle from your body (not in a straight line in front of you)
Front knee remains behind the toe in the lunge position
Rear knee gently “kisses” the ground
Airplane arms are optional!
Pull-up challenge:
Try this post WOD and let’s see who can get the most in the box. If you don’t have a pull-up for for max bar hang (total seconds) or max chin over bar hold (total seconds).
Monday is a two-fer birthday WOD for Michelle and Cathy! “Newbies” scale # of rounds to two and load, “Standard” scale load on both movements, “Advanced” scale barbell load, “Smells Elite” category goes as RX’d. However you choose to go, go after it!
M and Moe sharing a laugh:
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday 1/25: Nutrition Discussion with CFHQ Trainer Todd Widman
If you are in the “Stop the Slop” challenge so far use this to take the time and go learn and get re-energized!
Several of us in the box are planning to go to Imperial for this. Let us know if you are in. It’s worth it!
Saturday 2/5: The Sat WOD(s) will be a field trip to Cascade CrossFit for a WOD. Time will be from 9am until everyone is done. You can come later depending on your schedule. They will be hosting SnoValley CrossFit, Sculptor CrossFit, and us for a community building workout. We will program and run the workout in advance here in the box to allow you to get familiar with it. There will be no cost and all levels are encouraged to come and REPRESENT!
Cool video from Jim C. with a message that applies to many sports and CrossFit:
