Happy 4th of July everyone! This tag team partner workout was a gasser and had it’s own fireworks after a few rounds for everyone. Hope everyone was safe and enjoyed the Holiday. Sorry for the late post but I was suffering a combo of sinus/head cold attack and campfire S’mores overdose.
I had a couple of opportunities for some great pics today but no card in the camera = fail. The rest pic above sums it up though.
FGB is a hard WOD. It’s max effort output for 5 minutes. Rest. Repeat three times. If you are hard enough to try the Championship edition it’s five times. This WOD came about in the early days of CrossFit at the original HQ (CF Santa Cruz). BJ Penn came to train there and this workout was put together to help simulate the effects of stepping into a ring. After completing this WOD the story is when Penn was asked what he thought of it he said “It’s like a fight gone bad.”
We will be programming this WOD again come September 17th for FGB 6. It will be our third year of hosting this annual challenge and fundraiser that all of CrossFit participates in worldwide. Go here for more details and plan to participate. We will host for not only our gym but several other boxes we plan to invite. The SRCF team is created. Go register and create your own fundraiser page and join the team. It’s going to be epic! You won’t want to miss it!
Ash demos the Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pull:
Sumo Stance, flat back
Weight in the heels
Use the hips to fully extend to allow the weight to finish with momentum in a high pull
* Supine ring rows: Bottom of rings should be at level of box for elevating the feet. No “kip” or saggy hips allowed. Must stay planked through the ring row. Scale either height of box/rings or complete 10 supine rope climbs per round.
What makes CrossFit great? Too many things to list. One is the camaraderie. The high five mid-WOD or the simple nod of the head to the other person as you run past. The yell you give to your friend and competitor during the workout to just keep on moving or pick up the bar. This happens everyday in the gym and also in CrossFit competitions.
I judged Becky Clark during the last heat of the 100’s WOD at the NW Regionals and I recall her and Ashleigh Moe during their 100 kettlebell swings saying “keep on going” and “don’t stop” to each other as they were swinging the bells. Here’s two athletes battling to beat one another for the top 3 spots by even one second (and everyone else around them) taking the time to show genuine sportsmanship during the heat of competition itself.
Today I was able to go to Jet City CrossFit in Seattle for a WOD and the same thing happened. Four boxes worth of coaches and athletes got together and did a dueling partner WOD where you try to beat your partner at a max rep workout of 7 different exercises. During each interval everyone was high-fiving each other and giving encouragement to their competition. While the goal was to out-do your partner it was really about a good workout and good times. This is really one of the few sports I have seen where it is expected and normal for the person to immediately finish and begin cheering on the person still working. This is just one of the reasons I am addicted to this crazy cult called CrossFit.
Drop-in at Jet City CF with SRCF, Foundation CF and CF Morristown:
Notes:
We sadly said goodbye today to John and Erin S. who are moving across the east coast and leaving the box. They have been with us for awhile and we will miss them. Good luck in Virginia and keep on CrossFitting!
This WOD seemed to be a hit today; it was a different way of tackling strength and mixing in some metabolic conditioning at the same time. Several PR’s across the board both in back squats and with box jumps. Getting over that fear of jumping on the box for some can be a huge hurdle. Tonight Amy and Maggie literally jumped over that hurdle for five rounds! This format will return with a different lift mixed in with a similar bodyweight or conditioning movement.
Jill and Laura rep it out:
Notes:
Monday for 4th of July we will have only one class at 9:30am! Please plan accordingly. Schedule for Saturday is normal with no change.
Jake from CrossFit Devotion stopped in tonight and decided to keep Willy company by working out with him even though he had done a WOD today. That’s a good example of CrossFit community!
Random pics. At SRCF so much happens it’s hard to keep up. Here’s a snapshot of what you missed today.
Crabwalks:
Kettlebell Swings:
and Jorts:
Nuff’ said. (Okay maybe not, if you want a custom pair sign up for Amy’s homemade Jorts. They are all the rage and go great with Inov-8’s.)
Steph and her son Nolan on the 45th Parallel on their road trip to Colorado:
My buddy Scott and his wife (who owns Stoneway CrossFit) just welcomed another boy to their family yesterday. He was wearing our SRCF T shirt at the hospital and turns out their nurse was our very own Deidre (below). Small world!
Complete as many rounds as possible in each cycle. Goal is to maintain the max number of rounds across the 5 cycles. Score total rounds. Partials do not count.
Coach Ziggy keeping a close eye on everything and everyone:
Schedule notes:
Don’t forget we now have 0830 class every Wednesday with Michelle!
Sign up for Movement and Mobility Class this Wednesday at 7pm and EVERY Wednesday for the month of July with Rona! It’s included for unlimited members and if you are a 2 x week member it’s $10 per class. (If you can’t sign up for some reason online no worries just show up)
Justin ensures the shoulders drop below the elbows in the push-up:
Notes:
We are getting closer to the Games. Who will win? Who knows. One thing I do know is this guy will do very well again.
Happy birthday to Coach Moe! Here’s to another year of coaching, high-fiving and chest bumping at SRCF with you. We love you!
Quote of the Day: “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” ~ Julius Caesar
Practice. Patience. Persistence. All things vital to learning something new. Whether it’s academic or physical, if you want to get better at something you have to do them. It’s especially important in CrossFit. Today as my daughter was showing me skin the cats that she practiced at gymnastics camp I was reminding her how important practicing the movement correctly and getting stronger at other skills was. We even talked more about it at home before bedtime. Today, I practiced a couple of skills I neglect in supine ring rows and GHD Sit-ups. After realizing how much I lack in my core strength and gymnastics ability this weekend I have made it a goal to work so many of the movements and progressions I know I need to do but don’t practice or have the patience to do them. If I practice them I will earn that next beast skill and eventually build up to those things I have the goal to hit, like levers or freestanding handstand push-ups.
The same is true for any movement or lift you want to conquer. You must work on the little things, practice them often, and be patient with scaling the correct way to build up the requisite strength and skill to achieve your goal and not get injured. So practice, be patient and be persistent. You can still go after it like a honey badger, but be a smart honey badger about it. Just don’t practice like Allen Iverson.
Practice by Allen Iverson:
Notes:
Sign up for Movement and Mobility Class this Wednesday at 7pm and EVERY Wednesday for the month of July with Rona! It’s included for unlimited members and if you are a 2 x week member it’s $10 per class. This class will work wonders on those joints and muscles that are tight or giving you issues and teach you how a little time spent on flexibility can mean PR’s and improved range of motion. (If you can’t sign up for some reason online no worries just show up)
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.
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!
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!
Quote of the day: “Here’s the deal I’m the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.” ~ Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights
Matt and Rhonda dip away:
Monday was barbell technique and practicing ground to rack position or overhead movements. Tuesday was cardiorespiratory endurance, speed and stamina. Yesterday was heavy, raw power, strength and grip. Today was bodyweight, balance, agility and skill. To be fit you need to be able to tackle all of these. It’s all important and none of these skills are more valuable than the other. To be more physically prepared in general to tackle anything that comes your way you have to practice all of them. Don’t skip a day because it’s something you hate or something you fear. Try them all and surprise yourself. You’ll also get fitter in the process.
Gym is closed this Saturday 6/25 for the CF Gymnastics Trainers Course
Stay tuned for a “SnoRidge Event Calendar” coming soon. Lucy and Lindsay have graciously volunteered to help me (I asked them) put together and manage our box events and local races, throwdowns, and all things CrossFit. There are a bunch to look forward to.
Mark your calendars for our “Squatch Summerfest” on August 5th at Ana’s Restaurant. Anna will be reserving the entire restaurant for all of us CrossFitters and our families only! Bring on the margaritas! Plan on celebrating sunshine, summer, and friends and family. Details soon.
