Seattle Kids Marathon

5 Rounds for Time:
15 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (75#/55#)
15 Thrusters (75#/55#)

Results

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Ready to Race:

Squatch Kids Marathon

Thank you Jeremy D. and Mark B. for running class today while we were at the Seattle Kids Marathon with a few adults and kids to represent Team Squatch.

Congrats to Squatch Kids Molly, Maya, Ashley and Ryan for running and completing the Seattle Kids 2010 Marathon with a race length of 1.2 miles! They ran, weaved, and darted their way through the crowds of kid runners and adults to the finish line. They made the Mom’s keep up all the way through. Also congrats to Marc and son Drew for running the 5k today, while Laura prepares to run the Seattle Half Marathon tomorrow. Way to make running a family fun event! Next year we need to get all the kids in the box out there to own the race!

Team Squatch

Row Like You Hear Banjos…

For Time:

1000m Row 
21 Power Snatches (95#/65#)
21 Ring Dips 
750m Row  
15 Power Snatches 
15 Ring Dips  
500m 
9 Power Snatches 
9 Ring Dips 

Or Complete as a Team of 2 and go for time of 4500m Row, 90 Ground-to-Overhead (95#/65#), and 90 Ring Dips

* One partner rows while the other works until 4500m are complete, then complete remaining reps

Results

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Powerful (This is what we mean when we say “Extend” or “Jump and Shrug”):

Scott_Power Snatch Don_Power Snatch

Looking for some great Paleo recipes? Our very own Amanda L. recently submitted two recipes to Whole9 that were featured along with several others for their “Steal This Meal” Thanksgiving section. See the below links and give them a try. We sure will!

Steal This Meal: Thanksgiving Pt. II “Warm Spinach, Prosciutto, & Pistachio Salad”

Steal This Meal: Thanksgiving Pt. III ‘Roasted Beets and Pistachio Butter”

Want “barefoot” or “Pose” style running shoes? Want shoes good for all around CrossFit? While there is a great reason as an athlete and CrossFitter to own weightlifting shoes, having a pair of shoes that work for all around WOD’s is also vital. Flatter shoes help with lifting, running, jumping, and bodyweight movements in CrossFit. Running shoes with “Shox” or “Cells” or “Air” simply suck. As in they suck the stability out of your weightlifting movements and rob you of powerful explosion with a barbell and a sturdy platform to land on or drive through. They also lead to heel striking when you run with your heel landing first, sending shockwaves through your foot, knee and hips. That can mean the difference in a PR. Chuck Taylor’s from Converse are a personal favorite. Nike Free’s are popular too. There are quite a few choices, but generally look for a good minimal athletic shoe or trainer.

ShoeMart.com is a company owned and operated by a CrossFitter. See their blog for a forum specifically on CrossFit shoes they sell to include a handy Inov-8 buying guide. We also have a banner on our site (bottom left side) that if you use will get 10% off your order.

New Colors Coming Soon for Inov-8’s – The ShoeMart.com Fitness Store

Coaching Tip: Ring Dips and Ring Depth with Sangeeta

Sangeeta_Ring Dip 2

  • The proper depth for a ring dip is to have the shoulder below the elbow
  • Lower your body and let your chest dip forward of the rings, while your elbows travel “back” and not “out”
  • Keep the rings close to the body and feel the rings touch your chest or armpit area
  • Drive back out to a full lockout position
  • Scale with a band if you already have a strong box or parallette dip

Sangeeta_Ring Dip Progression Sangeeta_Ring Dip Progression 2 Sangeeta_Ring Dip Progression 3

"Trim The Turkey Part Deux"

For Time:  
26 Double-Unders
26 “Gobble Gobble” Goblet Squats (53#/35#)
26 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
26 “Burp”- ees
26 AbMat Sit-ups
26 Pull-ups
26 Superman (AbMat Back Extension)
26 Wall Balls (20#/14#)
26 Dumbbell Push Press (40#/25#)
26 Double-Unders

Results

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Compare to Previous Results

DB's and KB's

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As I sit here this morning on my rest day in my comfy chair sipping hot java I can’t help but think about those of you who were “trimming the turkey” with Coach Moe and feel a little guilty for not being there. However family time for us is just as important as workout time. This year’s version was still 26 reps (to compare your results with last year) but due to snow and ice the runs were replaced with double-unders. Nothing like a WOD before the feast of turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, and paleo pumpkin pie goodness! 

Michelle and I would like to give thanks to Moe, Mark and Jeremy for coaching and teaching in our box. Your passion for CrossFit shows and your love of training is exemplified in every WOD you run. We are thankful to each and every athlete, client, and friend in our SnoRidge CrossFit community. Each one of you choosing to come into our box every day to get fitter forges an elite community and enables us to continue to slowly grow it and our business. You are SnoRidge CrossFit. We are extremely grateful for that. We hope you enjoy this day with friends, family or loved ones.

Same turkey time, same turkey channel tomorrow!

Notes:

  • Friday: Normal 0930 and 1130 AM class schedule; there will be NO 5pm Class
  • Saturday: Normal 10am class; No separate Sectionals Training WOD time due to the Kids Marathon

Jeremy visiting Desert CrossFit:

Jeremy_Desert CF

Congrats to Jeremy O. on his 4 minute plus “Fran” PR today! He clocked in a 5:42 while on vacation!

Doubled-Over

7 Rounds for Time:
5 Handstand Push-ups
10 Deadllifts (185#/135#)
10 Chest-to-Bar (C2B) Pull-ups
20 Double-Unders

Results

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Quote of the Day: “Are you sure this was supposed to be 7 rounds? I’m pretty sure it’s only supposed to be 5.” ~ Andrea during the WOD

Gassed

This was a whopper of a WOD. I pulled this from the main site to work into our programming to develop some advanced skills with the HSPU and the chest-to-bar pull-ups as well as the DU’s while fatigued. The combination of these movements and the 7 rounds was brutal. Or as we like to say “it’s a fun one!”. Cristin pointed out to me tonight that we (your coaches) love to say “it’s a fun one” or “this one isn’t bad, it’s pretty fun” when it’s particularly bad (as in fun). So I guess it’s time to come up with a new saying!

An impressive demo of today’s WOD (both form and speed) with the women of CrossFit Santa Cruz [wmv] [mov

WOD demo and Coaching tips with Miranda Oldroyd [wmv] [mov]

Coaching Tip: Double-unders with Rona and Steven

DU_Rona DU_Steven

The double-under is the same jump as a single but with a little more “bounce” to let the rope pass through twice.  Fight the urge to raise your arms and jump with a donkey kick your feet behind you. Keep the wrists forward of the hips with the elbows in at your sides. Jump vertically with the feet together and spin the wrists to speed the rope through two revolutions. Listen for the “click” of the rope in front of you to trigger the timing of the wrist flick and jump off the toes to produce a double-under.

Happy Birthday Lorraine and Andrea

Strength WOD:

Push Press

3/3/3/3/3

Immediately After Complete Lorraine and Andrea’s Birthday WOD:

For Time:

40 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
37 AbMat Sit-ups 
40 Good Mornings (45#/33#)
37 AbMat Sit-ups 
40 Good Mornings 
37 AbMat Sit-ups  
40 Kettlebell Swings

Results

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View this photo

Happy Belated Birthday’s to Lorraine and Andrea who both share the same birthday:

BIrthday Girls

Way to tackle your birthday WOD together!

Congrats to Rona on her first TWO ring dips tonight:

Rona Ring Dip

Notes:

  • No Wednesday 8am class (11/24). All other classes will be on the normal schedule
  • Thanksgiving Day (Thursday): One class only at 9am; all others cancelled
  • Friday: Normal AM class schedule; NO 5pm Class
  • Saturday: No Sectionals Training WOD due to the Kids Marathon; we will have our normal 10am class for everyone

Here’s a good explanation to Pose Running by New Balance:

   

"The Chief"

The Chief

Max Rounds in 3 Min. of:

3 Power Cleans (135#/95#)

6 Push-ups

9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for 5 Cycles.  

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.

Results

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Hail to the Chief:

Thumbs Up Post Chief

 

Hail to the Chief

Quote of the Day:

Nadia being told by Moe to finish her warm-up exercises and grab a bar to review the Clean (warm-up included “Cuddle with a Friend” on the whiteboard from Rona):

“So you’re telling me we aren’t going to cuddle?” 

The Chief is deceiving. This one is truly a WOD that you read and think “cakewalk”. It makes you overconfident. The reps are small in number and the movements seem easy. The heavy clean is really the only challenge but it’s just three reps. “I can get a bunch of rounds” you tell yourself. Then the clock starts and you hit that first rest slightly gassed. The rest minute gives you just enough time to explode into the first round of the next cycle sprinting fast to pile up the rounds. By the third cycle it’s a whole new ballgame. The fourth and fifth round are “hang on for dear life”. The rest is what makes this so tough. Any WOD that has a built in rest is typically evil as it means you push like a sprint and reach system overload quickly (like “Fight Gone Bad” or “Barbara”).

 

Notes:

6am Tuesday class cancelled tomorrow due to the weather madness. All other class times are on and snowball fights are optional.

 

We have a few so far who want to volunteer for Sectionals (Laura, Lena, and Amanda S.). Please post a comment or let us know if you are interested as we are just making a preliminary list. 

 

Snow Angel for Time with Pat:

  Snow Angel Warm-up

 

Chris Spealler and the Olympic Lifts” Chris Explains his Training for the CrossFit/USAW Open

RX, Not RX: What’s It All Mean? ” by CrossFit Watertown

Thanksgiving Schedule and Wendler Strength Times

Thanksgiving Schedule Announcement:

  • Thursday 11/25 at 9am: Only ONE Class! “Trim the Turkey” Thanksgiving Day WOD: Moe will be running class so come in, warm-up and lessen the guilt of those big Turkey Day dinners! Gobble gobble!
  • Friday 11/26 at 9:30am and 11:30am will be the only classes that day; NO PM Classes!
  • Saturday 11/27 at 10am: Jeremy D. will be running class. This is also the Seattle Kids Marathon that morning.

Attention Wendler Strength enthusiasts:

For those who have asked and been working on improving your strength through the Wendler program either before or after a WOD, we are making a change to how we will accomodate you. This change is to prevent disruption of class time. If you are wanting to start the Wendler Strength program, you also need to pay attention as it applies to all. Read the above link for an explanation on how it works.

Starting Monday, if you want to complete a Wendler cycle then you have only the below choices for schedule:

  1. Tues and Thurs at 7pm
  2. Mon and Wed at 4:30 pm

When you come in, you need to move with a purpose. You will be responsible for knowing your loads, your warm-up sets, and moving through your work sets. You must finish on time. If time runs over and it’s class time or time to close, then we will cut it short.

Based on how crowded class at 7pm is, we will allow you to work on Wendler. If it’s a big class, then we can’t do it, but if there is room we will accommodate provided there is no distraction to class.

If there is a crowd, then it will be first come first serve.

Last rule; please be aware that your coaches need to workout too, so the priority during the 4:30 time slot will go to the trainer’s WOD time. If a coach is working out, then that is the priority for space and equipment.

Rest Strategy

Amanda resting on the bar while Cat rests by the box:

Rest Near the Equipment

How do you rest during a WOD? Do you wander around taking a liberal amount of time when you drop the bar or set the weight down? Do you go get water, or step outside? Do you sit on a box? Do you move so far away from your equpiment, that it’s a good 10 seconds before you even come back to it? The desire to stop grows with each passing second of every WOD. The voice in your head growing louder to tell you to quit, finish or slow down. It is part of the challenge in CrossFit. We get intense but back off sometimes when it’s too much. It’s the intensity that drives the response, the adaptation, the improved fitness; but it’s also the intensity that drives that “suck factor” to a whole new level.

There is a strategy in how you effectively rest in a WOD. Active rest such as slowing your pace on a row or air squat can mean not stopping or gassing yourself later. Staying on the equipment, such as holding the bar in the rack or the hang, or maybe racking it on your back can save seconds and even take less effort than to drop the bar. Consider that every time you drop a heavy bar from the rack position that’s one more clean to get it going again. Other methods like resting on a top of a box jump help as it can allow you to jump off and hit the ground and instantly rebound into a new string of jumps. Stopping just short of failure on a movement can actually lead to a better performance. Have you ever failed a pull-up or handstand push-up and spent more time “waiting” to get your strength back instead of stopping one rep short, giving it a quick rest and going again? Staying close to your equipment is by far the easiest one to do. Force yourself to keep your hands on the bar, or stand over it. Give yourself a short count and pick…it…up. Don’t wait, just go.

There are many types of strategies, but the thing to consider is simply having one. It can mean the difference in a PR but most importantly it will yield a greater intensity and power output which = more progress and results. Now with all that said, if you are needing to rest or drop the bar and it’s at risk of injury, then DROP the bar and rest! 

Congrats to Moe on getting a couple ring dips yesterday:

Moe Ring Dip

Sectionals update:

We are going to kick off training for those who are interested in competing in this year’s Sectionals after Turkey Day weekend. We have 12 of us who are in from SnoRidge: Lucy, Rona, Moe, Michelle, Rob, Don, Mark B., Jeremy D., Pat, Jeremy O., Sean and I. If you are a reasonably experienced CrossFitter and you are interested, then please get with Michelle, Moe or myself ASAP. 

Saturday we spent some time talking about competing in CrossFit, with some insights and observations from those of us who have done it, either via competition or judging. It was a great discussion on the topics of what to expect, how we will train, skills assessments, nutrition, competition strategy and preparation, lessons learned, and more. We just scratched the surface but it was a great talk that allowed us all to begin thinking more about what lies ahead. The biggest emphasis though was on remembering to have fun. Sure everyone always wants to do well, but having fun should be a priority. Right now the details and dates and format are all unknown. We don’t even know that there will be a Sectionals for us to sign up for, but we are preparing based on what occurred last year. 

What that means is we will have a time slot or two set aside for those athletes to prepare them for Sectionals. These will be outside of the normal class schedule. It will be specifically for the purpose of allowing for skill development, strength development and better conditioning on advanced WOD’s and movements. It’s going to be hard training as well as intense training. It will also be one hell of a ride.

If you aren’t interested in competing but would like to know more about volunteering to help or possibly judge, then let us know too. There are always lots of people needed to help pull off these events and it’s a great way for us as a box to show our support to the greater CrossFit community. Last year we had several people volunteer for Sectionals and we would love to see it again!

Rob wrote a blog post on this very topic, check it out: “Sectionals Philosophy” on CrossFit Dad’s Blog

"Christine"

Rowing (Standard version) or Running, take your pick:

3 Rounds for time: 
500m Row (or 400m Run for running version)
12 Deadlift (Bodyweight)
21 Box Jump (24″/20″)

Results

View this photo

Row, Lift, Jump:

Row

Heidi DL

Box Jumps Jump

Compare to previous results

A few bruised shins and maybe a bruised ego is usually the result of “Christine” when the rowing and deadlifts give you heavy legs. The constant hip extension and demand on your glutes and hamstrings makes a normally achievable height to jump a much bigger challenge.

Thanksgiving Schedule Announcement:

  • Thursday 11/25 at 9am: Only ONE Class! “Trim the Turkey” Thanksgiving Day WOD: Moe will be running class so come in, warm-up and lessen the guilt of those big Turkey Day dinners! Gobble gobble!
  • Friday 11/26 at 9:30am and 11:30am will be the only classes that day; NO PM Classes!
  • Saturday 11/27 at 10am: Jeremy D. will be running class. This is also the Seattle Kids Marathon that morning.

Attention Wendler Strength enthusiasts:

For those who have asked and been working on improving your strength through the Wendler program either before or after a WOD, we are making a change to how we will accomodate you. This change is to prevent disruption of class time. If you are wanting to start the Wendler Strength program, you also need to pay attention as it applies to all. Read the above link for an explanation on how it works.

Starting Monday, if you want to complete a Wendler cycle then you have only the below choices for schedule:

  1. Tues and Thurs at 7pm
  2. Mon and Wed at 4:30 pm

When you come in, you need to move with a purpose. You will be responsible for knowing your loads, your warm-up sets, and moving through your work sets. You must finish on time. If time runs over and it’s class time or time to close, then we will cut it short.

Based on how crowded class at 7pm is, we will allow you to work on Wendler. If it’s a big class, then we can’t do it, but if there is room we will accommodate provided there is no distraction to class.

If there is a crowd, then it will be first come first serve.

Last rule; please be aware that your coaches need to workout too, so the priority during the 4:30 time slot will go to the trainer’s WOD time. If a coach is working out, then that is the priority for space and equipment.

Notes:

Roundtable in Tahoe: The Psychological Component on the CrossFit Journal: Watch some of CrossFit’s top athletes as they discuss the mental side of CrossFit, with Mikko Salo and Chris Spealler weighing in on the effect of workouts and the mental challenges they bring.