From Gymnastics and Tumbling, Aviation Training, United States Navy, Revised Edition 1950:
“The word “Gymnastics”, meaning “naked art”, comes from the early Greeks. So much importance was attached to gymnastics that the gymnasium, an outdoor meeting place for athletic contests, was the seat of Greek intellectual development. All-round development of the individual was the goal sought, a perfectly trained, hardened, disciplined body, a citizen and a warrior worthy of highest Greek standards. Exercises in Greek gymnastics were based on natural movements and included running, throwing, wrestling, boxing, climbing, jumping, and work with weights. Weightlifting and jumping with weights were popular activities.”
Gymnastic movements at play in the box:
Learning Gymnastics movements – Muscle-up to Ring Handstand Push-up:
Vote for the best overall costume by posting to comments. Winner gets a prize!
My apologies for slacking off on the post; too much partying this weekend!
The Frankenchipper is a combination of Frankenstein like parts. Part “Helen”, “Nancy”, “Karen”, “Cindy”, and Filthy Fifty. While it’s light and fast it’s still a challenging WOD. Even more challenging when you have a costume on. Great turnout Saturday, awesome costumes, and lots of fun. Already can’t wait for next year!
We also had our annual Halloween party (I can say annual now that we had our second one) in our “haunted house” last night with many who couldn’t make the Frankenchipper WOD as well as many who did. We had a blast and once again there were great people, amazing food, more costumes, and a really fun time for Michelle and I. If you missed it then plan on next year and maybe you will have the luxury of meeting the “flashing grandma”.
Enjoy the Photos:
Notes:
Remember class times change starting this week! See the schedule link for updated schedule.
Monday through Thursday: 5pm and 6pm classes daily!
Tuesday and Thursday ONLY: 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm class
Wednesday: the 7:30am class will move to 8am
All other classes not mentioned above (Monday to Saturday) will stay the same
Costumes ready? Frankenchipper is tomorrow! We will run waves as needed with the 10am class. Best costume contest after the WOD wins a prize. Everyone gets to vote! We now return to decorating for the Halloween party tomorrow evening…
With a continuously running clock perform 1 Power Clean the first minute, 2 Power Cleans the second minute, 3 Power Cleans the third minute, and so on, continuing to add 1 each minute until you cannot complete the required number of reps in the given minute.
Use 65% of your 1RM (1 Rep Max)
Score total rounds and partial reps in the last round completed.
A: They are the aftermath of a 50 megaton explosion of energy.
In this case the energy is the result of your children. If you bring these little nuclear weapons into the box, please defuse them. If they detonate, then help clean up the result of their firepower BEFORE you leave.
Seriously, I am not a maid. Cleaning person? Yes. Maid? No. Just as we should put away any equipment that we use daily (and do it NEATLY!); the Squatch Cave is for your convenience. Please keep it clean. I decided rather than clean it up I would leave it until tomorrow for those responsible parties to help with the damage. If this does not work I will implement a “Tribal Council” in the Squatch Cave and the kids will “vote out” which parent has to clean!
This is the “Filthy Fifty” only slightly less filthy. Perfect for a birthday WOD as the “gift” was that Kamran and Jeremy O. both had 20 less reps over completing the “Filthy Fifty” (yes Kamran that is a real WOD and we will do it in the box someday).
Welcome to Lindsay, Nadia, and Charles who all started Elements today. This was AFTER witnessing the carnage and destruction of the 5pm class post-Dirty Thirty. I was happy no one went running for the car.
Sequence: One Arm Kettlebell Snatch with Michelle
The KB Snatch is a more fluid, powerful continuous movement than the dumbbell snatch (which returns to the floor each time). The path of the kettlebell is unique and swings out from between the knees in an arc and then quickly rotates around the wrist as you corkscrew the bell and punch up toward the ceiling. This is important to prevent the “flop-over” that can crash into the wrist or forearm causing injury.
Notes:
Want to learn rope climbs? Hint Hint. Watch these two videos. Memorize the technique that you think works best. Practice. Ropes can be tons of fun.
Today was a rare day where we made a WOD adjustment due to weather. Seeing as the monsoon would have required real rowing outside we made the option of rowing on an erg indoors a substitute for running. The surprising thing is how many chose to run anyway. That’s either hardcore or fear of the rower!
Events:
“Strength to Find a Cure”: Sean training the Log Press
Several of us from Team Squatch will be competing in the event and helping raise money for an important cause. Right now myself, Moe, Sean, and Mark B. are all signed up. All the events are scalable, there will be weight classes, and it will be fun! Go to the site to read more but there will be four events that are strongman/crossfit blended events and unique from what we typically do in the box. If you are on the fence then climb over and register at the link above or on the right hand side. If not then come watch the events in RCF’s huge new box.
If you are interested in donating to the cause you can also do so on the MRSMW site and if you want to be a local business sponsor there is sponsorship info as well. For those who are Microsoft employees (like myself), please don’t forget that Microsoft will match any donations and that the GIVE campaign is currently running. Doris Buffet of the Buffet family has pledged that if FRAXA can raise $500,000 as an organization she will match that amount!
Rainier CrossFit on why this event is so important to them:
“Mt. Rainier’s Strongest Man began in 2006 as a way to combine a love for Strongman and a need for funding and awareness for a little known genetic condition called Fragile X Syndrome. Our son has Fragile X, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation and the most common known cause of autism yet largely unheard of and drastically underfunded. We heard our call to action, paired with The Old Cannery, and MRSM was born. The contest has grown from 5 local competitors to 5 divisions of men and women, more than 40 competitors from 5 states, and has raised over $25,000 to date.”
Heavy weight plus burpees = Good WOD. Who thought this looked easy? Chris Spealler did this in 2:48, Graham Holmberg 3:02. Faster does NOT equal easier. It means more power which = more pain.
WOD Demo with Miranda Oldroyd and Mary Lampas [wmv] [mov]
This weekend we are excited to attend the Whole9 Trainer’s Nutrition Workshop in CrossFit Fort Vancouver. We are looking forward to expanding our nutritional coaching knowledge and ability to help you dial in your nutrition for better health and performance.
Make-Up Day: 5k Row, CFT, Cindy, Baseline and some Wendler Deads at the same time:
Test week is concluded! We will now return to our regularly scheduled WOD-ding.
Hope you all liked it. Tell us what you thought of this week. Positive or negative. We would like to run it again in a few months to see progress and PR’s. These WOD’s collectively provide a good all-around gauge of fitness across several domains and metabolic pathways.
This past week some of the top CrossFitters who are sponsored by Rogue and Again Faster met in a team head to head competition in Lake Tahoe. The videos are slowly coming out of the overall competition but this short one showcased a challenge that was 2 minutes of max rep double-unders. Dave Castro set the bar that Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Mikko Salo, and Graham Holmberg all tried to beat. The top score was 200 reps by Holmberg.
Today several of us tried it. There were pretty good numbers for all but Sean slayed it. Just crushed it. He completed 216 reps in 2 minutes. I should make him do it again on video.
Coaching Tip: “Having Fun In the Box”
There are many ways to have fun. Try this method.
Grab a partner
Have them stand directly behind you
Dance like clowns and laugh
Ensure that it looks like you have four arms
Take pictures and post to web so others can make fun of you
Notes:
Welcome and congrats to Nicole, Andrea, and Nicholas who all completed Elements; as well as Dustin, a CrossFitter with previous experience who joined us yesterday. We look forward to you hitting class, making progress, meeting the gang and having fun.
Pineapple Classic on 11/13 Saturday at 9am! First team is formed: Me, Sean, Mark B. and Jeremy D. Get your team! (Teams of 2 or 4 are allowed)
Tomorrow will continue our test week with a classic CrossFit benchmark WOD. Get your rest and get ready! If you missed any of the test WOD’s you will be able to make them up on Thursday.
Notes:
Dave Lipson, Jason Khalipa and Dave Castro complete the CrossFit Total. Video [wmv] [mov]
How’s this for a throwdown? Some of CrossFit’s elite athletes meet in Lake Tahoe this weekend for a head to head battle of individual and team WOD’s: Team Rogue vs. Team Again Faster
Again Faster vs. Rogue at Tahoe – Preview [wmv] [mov]
Quote of the Day: Jim M. ~ “I’ve been waiting a long time for this WOD (CF Total). Too bad I’m not in better shape.”
Moe coaching and encouraging Jana and Eric through some PR’s:
Today we finally tackled the CrossFit Total and the 5k row. This test of strength and endurance will be split across Monday and Tuesday of this week to allow us to get everyone through. On Wednesday we will test basic CrossFit skills and metabolic conditioning with a time honored benchmark that the majority of you are familiar with (it ain’t Fran!). There will also be a make-up day for anyone who misses one of the test WOD’s on Thursday. These three CrossFit WOD’s will allow each of you to gauge areas of weakness, strength and skills to learn, improve or maintain. In a few months we will repeat it for you to gauge improvement.
Having enough equipment, the right amount of time, space and logistics for a CF Total have been a thorn in our side for some time. Same with the 5k row. You need rowers! Not only that, we wanted to ensure there was adequate experience with the three Total lifts, max lifts, and strength WOD’s in general. This test of general strength is time consuming. It takes space, racks, and coaching. Pairing it with a 5k row and splitting the class allows us to get this done over two days for a large group.
Tips for the Total:
When you come in tomorrow for your total or your row, warm-up with a vengeance and move efficiently. Especially for the Total. You will get one hour to complete it. Warm-ups included. If the hour ends, your total ends. So use the time to get your lifts in. Everyone was able to get it done today without losing reps to time.
Read up on how the Total is conducted and make your strategy. Knowing the rules, what weight to open with and when to try a PR is important. If it’s your first, just find your relative max for each lift (start with a lift close to your 3RM). If you know them already, then plan your warm-ups accordingly. Either way, remember that good technique and proper form is paramount. No slop, no unsafe movement allowed. We will gladly be watching and coaching!
Three rules:
Don’t be stupid.
Don’t be greedy.
Don’t be pig-headed.
Congrats to all who PR’d today on either the Total, a 1RM lift, or a 5k Row!
Video of “Barbells for Boobs”:
SnoRidge does “Amazing Grace” at King CrossFit (with Mark B, Jenna, Sean, Jeremy, Michelle and me):
