Video and Media – Page 254 – SNORIDGE CROSSFIT

"Box Jump Annie"

50/40/30/20/10 of each of the following for time:

Box Jumps (24″/20″)
AbMat Sit-ups

Results

Jeremy and the GHD:

Weak Sauce: Defined by Urban Dictionary as “an event or object that lacks intensity and/or fails to fully accomplish its purpose”. I would add to this definition to include: “whining, complaining, or generally approaching the CrossFit Warm Up with a lackadaisical attitude; going through the motions or trying to shortcut it.”

The warm up has a purpose. It is movement preparation and injury prevention. It warms the muscles and overall body temperature, which increases muscle elasticity and reduces stiffness. It dilates your blood vessels and allows more oxygen to travel through the blood in your muscles enhancing endurance and performance. It induces the body to cool itself more efficiently. The warm up improves range of motion around your joints and triggers the release of hormones in the body that drives your body to release carbohydrates and fatty acids to be used for energy production. Finally, the warm-up signals the mind to get ready to get work done.

When you come in, leave the weak sauce at the door and approach the warm up as a chance to focus on movement prep as well as a chance to improve technique with a PVC and perfect your range of motion. It will pay dividends in the WOD and in your overall fitness.

If you want the exact opposite of weak sauce, then go watch two of the top CrossFitters in the world in “Speal vs. Khalipa” on the CrossFit Journal [wmv] [mov]

Notes:

Congrats to Zach for getting his 1st Muscle Up today after the WOD! Also congrats to Lucy, Pat and Jeremy for running the Mercer Island 1/2 Marathon this weekend. Warriors all of you!

Lorri’s going away gig is this Friday night! If you didn’t receive the Evite let Lucy know or drop us an email. We don’t want her to move so this is our last chance to change her mind!

Beyond the Whiteboard posted some major changes recently. Go read the link for some in-depth explanations around some of those new features.

Paleo/Zone Challenge Update: The Body Fat Truck will be back April 10th at the conclusion of the challenge to conduct a follow up test. Stick with the diet changes and make them lifestyle changes. For those who have been weighing in weekly we have seen weight dropping, and for many performance and recovery improving. Rachel has lost 13 pounds so far!

Schedule change: Starting this Friday we will have a 5pm class each week with Moe! Whoo hoo!

Max Effort Rest

Where’d the hands go? Oh it’s a rest day!

Congrats to Michelle for completing her CF Olympic Lifting Certification this weekend.

Video from CrossFit.com of Russell Berger snatching 200 lbs. at a bodyweight of 147 lbs. [wmv] [mov]

"Eva"

5 Rounds For Time:

800m Run
30 Kettlebell Swings (70#/53#)
30 Pull-ups

Results

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Grip it and rip it:

For many of us that is what we did. Gripped it and subsequently ripped it. Needless to say pull-ups will take a backseat while the hands rest for a few days. Don’t worry though there are PLENTY of WOD’s that don’t need pull-ups or an ironclad grip.

Who is Eva? If you are curious Eva T. is a former US Ski Team member and Olympic medalist. She is one of the OG’s of CrossFit. She is an affiliate owner who has a reputation for being extremely fit, strong and an all around beast of an athlete. This WOD is fittingly named for her.

As far as the “Girls” benchmark WOD’s, I think this is absolutely the toughest of them. Hands down. It’s a grinder, a beat down, a chipper of the soul. There was angst around doing this today (myself included) and for that I say it’s a good thing. The reasoning behind me programming this is simply that it gives you perspective. When you have to gut it out for up to an hour in relentless high intensity work you look at those sub 10 minute workouts a little different. Eva forces you to either get work done or give up. If you always avoid the WOD’s that demand high power output for a prolonged period of time, you will only be increasing one relative weakness.

This type of work makes you a little more confident after you do it, thinking “Wow I just did what?!” That alone makes it worth it. Now for what we were all thinking when we were actually in the middle of doing it, simply look at the below pic of Rona for what everyone was feeling:

Curtis and Jason also came in and rowed 5k today (both are a little banged up) and turned in very impressive times of a little over 20 minutes. Thanks to Curtis who helped me with picture taking today during the first wave. Here’s the Eva recap on Flickr.

Notes:

Beginning next Friday we will have a 5pm Friday class with Moe! That will mean 5pm classes Monday through Friday. No excuses now!

Birthday 2 for 1

Happy Birthday to Graham and my brother Jim N.!

3 Rounds For Time:

16 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95#/65#)
19 Knees-to-elbows
400m Run Backwards

Results

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Graham busting out some double-unders:

My brother Jim post WOD:

Graham seems to look better off.

Two really cool dudes had birthdays this week so we did a mash-up and this is what we came up with. Grip killing, ab torching, leg burning fun. Who doesn’t like to run backwards? At least it makes the 400m seem way easier when you run forward. I wanted to give my brother (who lives in Austin) a WOD as part of his birthday gift from afar since he follows our programming on his own in his garage when the Army allows him the time. Hope you both enjoyed your birthday gift. If not, well there’s always next year. We’ll try harder!

This weekend Michelle will be attending the CF Olympic Lifting Cert at Rainier CF (they are hosting) with an incredible coaching staff that includes Josh Everett. She’ll spend plenty of time learning the Olympic Lifts with heavy focus on the snatch, more on the snatch, the hook grip, penalty burpees, snatch, more penalty burpees, more hook grip, and maybe a little time on the clean and jerk! Oh did I mention the snatch? It’s an intensive two days that will be a huge benefit for her and all of us. I am stoked that we will have three of us (Moe, Michelle and I) who have attended this cert or clinics with Coach Burgener to learn these lifts and coaching cues to better teach all of you. I am also stoked that hopefully she will get the chance to really practice the burpee as it’s a pretty good group motivation tool for those who attend the Oly Cert. Yay burpees!

Sumo Deadlift High Pull Coaching Tip:

Assume a wide stance and ensure the pull finishes with elbows “high and outside” (like Adriana and Lorri). Fully open the hips to stand tall and explode the bar up to under the chin while pulling those elbows up towards the ears.

Notes:

Rob Orlando of CrossFit Conan wins the Viking Fest Strongman Competition (under 200 lbs.) [wmv] [mov]

Read “The CrossFit Congressman“

"Couples Retreat"

2 Rounds, of each couplet consecutively, for time:

15 Power Clean (115#/75#)
30 Double-Unders

20 Wall Balls (20#14#)
20 Pull-ups

* Performed like “Twins“. (Complete 2 rounds of couplet 1 then move to couplet 2)

Results

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Quote of the Day: “Dude, why are you grabbing my balls?” ~ Jorge to Jim after Jim stole his medicine balls

Jackie and Deb doing Power Cleans:

PR Alert! So first off I have to apologize to Rob for not mentioning his 1 mile run PR yesterday with a scorching 5:35. It inspired several in the gym to get out and try to break it. Pat and Jeremy came in before yesterday’s afternoon WOD to try for theirs and Pat ran a 5:40 while Jeremy ran a 5:57. Then today Don came in and ran a blazing 5:24! I’m now motivated to try and get sub 6. It’s contagious! Rob also PR’d his double-unders tonight with 49 straight.

Speaking of PR’s we are looking at hanging another whiteboard up to track PR’s for several things (like max rep double-unders, pull-ups, handstand push-ups, 400m run, 1RM lifts, etc.). This would be for the top 5 males /females or something like that since we can’t list everyone (which is a good problem). We encourage all of you to take a page in your WOD notebooks and dedicate it to writing down your own PR’s for bodyweight movements, lifts (1 rep, 3 rep, and 5 rep max), benchmark WOD’s etc. Just another way to motivate for us all to work on those skills and push for setting new goals to break.

Notes:

Make sure you weigh in for the week for those in the Paleo/Zone Challenge. Stick with it! April is approaching.

Our Navy Seals use CrossFit, so do several military posts, air and naval bases, various units (both conventional and Special Ops) and our Marine Corps. Now the Canadian Army Combat Fitness Program and official Canadian Army fitness manual is based on CrossFit.

Power Clean Coaching Tip Sequence (Steph, Jim M., and Greg):

The proper power clean means assuming a deadlift stance, followed by and aggressive pull off the floor that reaches triple extension while keeping the bar close to the body, followed by receiving the bar in the rack position with the elbows high and forward.

Hang-A-Round

Strength WOD:

Hang Power Clean
1/1/1/1/1/1/1
* Work up to 1RM (1 Rep Max)

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

One Round For time:
50 Box Jumps (24″/20″)
40 Double-Unders
30 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
20 Overhead Walking Lunges (45#/25#)
10 Wall Balls (20#/14#)

Results

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Quote of the Day: “I’m having a case of Curtis today.”

~ Eli after a failed HC attempt with no jump or extension

Today the pictures will tell the story.

Notes:

This guy gets my vote! Congressman John Sullivan of OK is a CrossFitter and competed in his Sectional Qualifiers! Read A Vote for CrossFit on the CrossFit Journal.

Nice showing today! This may be a record for one day. Records are meant to be broken by the way…

No Excuses

Ring Pull-ups with Don:

Today’s topic: No Excuses

Tired? Sore? Too Busy? Just not “feeling it”? Maybe we just can’t wake up or we had a long day. Sometimes when we get to the box and the WOD is so tough it makes us think of quitting. Or sometimes life just “gets in the way” of getting into the gym. Everyone experiences this at one time or another. Many times the reasons are entirely valid. Sometimes they may just be excuses.

Take a few minutes and watch Kyle Maynard of No Excuses CrossFit compete in the Georgia Sectionals for the 2010 CF Games. Why? Well, Kyle is a congenital quadriplegic. He is not only one heck of a CrossFitter he is an inspiring and amazing person. You may have heard of him or seen him interviewed by Oprah or Larry King. I was lucky enough to have met him once and hear him speak at the Affiliate Gathering in 2009. Motivating to say the least. After you watch this try and remember him the next time you have an excuse. I know I certainly will.

Kyle Maynard at the 2010 CrossFit Games Georgia Sectionals by CF Again Faster – [wmv] [mov]

"Pat"

Quote of the day: “This illustrates all my weak points.” ~ Graham on the Snatch

As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 Minutes of:

200m Run
3 Burpees
11 Squat Snatch (75#/55#)

Results

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Birthday week continues. Happy Birthday to Pat!

I read this quote yesterday and it summed up my view of Pat.

“Some guys play with their heads. That’s okay. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more important, you’ve got to play with your heart–every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.” – Vince Lombardi

The snatch or squat snatch is the most technical of lifts. It is one of the lifts used in competition of Olympic Lifting (the other being the clean and jerk). It requires the utmost in skill, concentration, speed, coordination and at the heaviest loads a lack of fear. Mastering this movement is a benefit to almost all athletic movement, as it requires total stimulation of the central nervous system due to the use of almost every major muscle group in the body during a repetition. As you pull up off the floor you are accelerating upward with force and speed and then reversing direction to pull under the bar into a full squat while catching the bar overhead. To commit under the bar at a 1 rep max snatch is not easy. There is no lift more difficult on the mind than this. With a deadlift you either pick it up or you don’t. The power clean? You just drop it as you pull for triple extension and don’t get it. Press? It stops and falls back down. Squat clean? Scary but less than a snatch (the second toughest lift to commit to).

Practice the progression (or the Burgener Warm-up) with a PVC religiously. Make it a part of your warm-up. Work on shoulder flexibility, it is vital. It will pay off in all your other lifts. Remember the basics: elbows out, standard stance, hips and shoulders rise off the floor together, tight core and back, accelerate over the knees towards your “pockets” while pushing the hips forward and pull the bar overhead while slipping under it quickly into a FULL overhead squat. Ideal form to strive for at the bottom means full lock out, weight on heels, knees aligned with feet and not tacked in. The end position looks like Maria below.

Watch all three of the following:

“Learning the Snatch” from Coach Burgener [wmv] [mov]

Burgener Warm-up [wmv] [mov]

Mike Burgener on the Snatch, CrossFit Journal Preview [wmv] [mov]

Note: Coach B is a Marine (cause once a Marine always a Marine) who has 32 years of experience in coaching Olympic weightlifting. He is also the SME (Subject Matter Expert) for CrossFit that runs the O Lifting Certs. He has an affinity for burpees (Yay Burpees!). I experienced this first hand at a clinic with him that I flat out loved. It was like having a drill sergeant for a day.

Notes:

Get ready for race day on Saturday! St. Patty’s Day 5k means we will be closed Saturday and running the race here on Snoqualmie Ridge with the majority of you! Gather near the registration/start point for a group photo on Saturday morning around 0845.

"Nate"

“Nate: In honor of Chief Petty Officer Nate Hardy, who was killed 2/4/2008 in combat operations in Iraq.”

As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 Minutes of:

2 Muscle-Ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 Kettlebell Swings (70#/53# or 2 pood/1.5 pood)

Results

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Ryan with the Muscle-up and Mike with the 2 pood beast:

I was not so sure about when to program this WOD in. I have been wanting to add it for some time, but was holding off deliberately due to a few reasons; the intimidation factor, the fact that it has multiple advanced skills, and that I really wanted at least one person to be able to do muscle-ups RX’d. For the past couple months we have slowly but steadily worked on things like gaining confidence getting inverted, holding handstands for time, then scaling handstand push-ups. We have dramatically increased the number of people doing kipping pull-ups and doing them consistently so that ring pull-ups as a scale could be added in. Last we have worked strength WOD’s and hip extension on a constant basis so that several of you could move up in kettlebell weight.

Today it paid off! I was able to watch and help Michelle coach the late classes and it was so motivating. Everyone was scaled appropriately to enable them to complete 20 minutes of hard ass work. Whether you were on the rings, the bar, the band, or jumping over the bar it was all designed for pulling. Handstand push-ups with different levels of AbMats underneath, piked push-ups off the box or even piked on the floor provided a shoulder load. For those who have become very proficient in their kettlebell weight it was time to step out of the box and move up a weight. A few of you got to taste the difference 10 to almost 20 pounds makes in a swing. Before you know it I’ll have to add more rings and we’ll be having handstand push-up challenges.

Huge congrats to Mike for getting his first muscle-up today before the WOD. He surprised everyone including himself on his first attempt by getting up and almost locking out. After we got the camera out he nailed it (Will post a short video clip soon). Ryan also was the first person to complete a WOD with muscle-ups which was completely cool to see. Everyone should be proud; all of the movements were hard and not even a month or two ago most of you were not able to do what you did today. Stay focused, stay confident, stay positive about what you can do (like Bonnie, Sangeeta, and Laura did last night in moving up in box jump height) and believe that if you put the work in, it can happen.

Getting inverted is fun:

Notes:

Welcome Aaron who completed Elements today. Judging by how you crushed your mini-Fight Gone Bad workout you are more than ready!

6am Class with Moe tomorrow. Be there or it’s burpees for you. Wait never mind, tomorrow will be burpees for everyone!

Highlight video from the 2010 CF Games Ohio Sectionals at the Arnold Classic [wmv] [mov]

You can all thank Lorri for clueing me in on this video and giving me the idea of how we can use the new sleds. I guess I need to order some rope or straps…

"Rob"

For Time:

34 Double Unders
34 Pull-ups
34 Medicine Ball Cleans (20#/14#)
34 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
34 Medicine Ball Cleans (20#/14#)
34 Knees-to-Elbows
34 Double Unders

Results

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Happy Birthday Rob:

Don’t blame Rob! Blame me. He simply got one year older, I programmed the WOD. This workout focused on “pulling” from the bar or from the floor. Similar to but shorter than “Dirty 30”, this one packed a good punch. Like all birthday WOD’s, the numbers reflect either the age or day, and the workout includes exercises both easy and difficult for the honoree. In Rob’s case he smokes double-unders and pull-ups, while the 53 lb. kettlebell is a challenge. Hope you enjoyed it Rob!

Notes:

Congrats to Don who started getting butterfly pull-ups today! Great work!

Read “Real Foods vs. Fake Foods” Makes you think about why you would ever willingly choose to eat fake foods.

2010 CrossFit Games Ohio Sectionals at the Arnold Classic with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger [wmv] [mov]

By the way, can you guess who wore “Man-Prees” to the box today? These are worse than gloves!