One Year Down!

3 Rounds for Time:

10 Clapping Parallette Push-ups 
250m Row 
20 Power Snatch (95#/65#)

Results

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Clapping Parallette Push-up with Jeremy O.:

Clapping Parallette PU_Jeremy O - 1 Clapping Parallette PU_Jeremy O - 2

Power Snatch with Jenna:

Power Snatch_Jenna - 3

So tonight Michelle and I realized that today was a special date. Today was officially our one year anniversary of SnoRidge CrossFit. One year ago today we were granted our affiliate status and officially became a CrossFit box. Time flies when you’re making people do burpees! 

So what does this mean? Well it means that we need to throw a party. After Regionals we will make sure we host a party and all are invited. Second, it means we owe all of you a giant thank you. Thank you for finding us, sticking with us, and growing with us. Thank you all for helping us become better coaches, make a fitter community, forge stronger friendships, and most importantly for allowing us to help you in some small way to change your own lives. Anyone can do CrossFit, but it’s not for everyone. It’s for any one person that wants to push, work and grind it out to take charge of their fitness.  We are glad that we can provide the avenue for all of you that choose to make this a priority in your life. We look forward to many more WOD’s and PR’s for all of you! Year 2 of SnoRidge CrossFit: 3-2-1 Go!

Notes:

Welcome to Jenna and Sean who recently joined us at SRCF. Both are experienced CF’ers who previously trained at Rainier CF and CrossFit Basic and we are excited to have them in the box!

Watch “Fittest Over 50“, a CrossFit Journal preview [wmv] [mov]

Kids love tires too:

CF Kids

Reach for the sky…

5 Rounds for Time:

400m Run
25 Squats (Full ROM or Range of Motion emphasis)
25 Good Mornings (45#/33# or Green Band/Blue Band Good Mornings)

Results

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And they’re off!

Runners

Squats and Good Mornings:

Squat_Justin - 2 Squat_Justin - 1


Good Morning_Cathy - 1 Good Morning_Cathy -2

Today’s WOD was primarily about squat therapy. The emphasis was on achieving full depth (hip below knee) with a tight core and maintaining your lumbar curve to full hip extension at the top. Using the hands to “reach for the sky” meant you had to open your hips to do it correctly.  Bending over and touching out in front of you doesn’t cut it; if you reach high then the hips open. Training the hips to forcefully open (extension) from the closed position (flexion) means learning to use them to generate power. For those who are new, get used to the concept of using your hips to generate power.

One other topic is the warm-up. Here are our observations and our asks of each of you:

Everyone is starting to really get better at coming in, checking the whiteboard for the warm-up and attacking it. Keep up that trend! The warm-up is vital to prepping the body for the workout that is awaiting. Some of you require more than others to get loose so use the time to hit other areas that may be tight, stiff, or sore. If you are done and notice someone newer who isn’t sure what to do then offer a helping hand or explanation. We will be pushing to keep everyone moving and on pace to get started on time. We will also be spending time with each of you (some longer than others) to give cues and corrections during the warm-up to make you better. Take those cues and practice so that it transfers to the movement when you are doing it under a load or for time. It’s the perfect time to learn and refine a movement and build muscle memory (at least prior to your brain shutting down during the WOD). Most importantly understand that the warm-up prevents injury as well as reinforces technique.  Last but not least, please limit the socializing to after the WOD so that everyone can benefit from coaching. When we are all ready to go at the same time it’s much easier to yell “3-2-1 Go” and everyone can grip it and rip it!

Notes:

Pat today ripped off a completely impressive 5k row of 17:30! For reference on Concept 2’s Online Rankings site in his age bracket (40-49) he would be tied for 40th in the world for the 2010 season in the heavyweight division. That is better than the 90th percentile! I want to row like Pat!

The NW Regionals WOD’s have been released (2 unannounced for the individual’s events on Sunday).  

Watch Iceland Annie utterly dominate the European Regionals [wmv] [mov] (she placed 1st and last year in the Games was 11th overall and would have been higher but had not yet learned muscle-ups)

"Bar and Hammer"

Dueling Bar and Hammer format:

Partner up and go head to head for max reps total:
400m Run
Front Squat (95#/65#)
400m Run
Sledgehammer Swing (16#/12#)
400m Run
Front Squat (95#/65#)
400m Run
Sledgehammer Swing (16#/12#)

* One partner squats/swings while other runs; switch up after each run
** Score total reps of both exercises
*** Outdo your partner!

Results

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Synchronized Front Squats


Bar and Hammer 
Tire Beating

Beautiful weather yesterday meant some “fun in the sun”! Great classes and the head to head format was a hit. For those who came at 1030 or 1130 our apologies that the schedule caused some confusion. It will be updated to show Saturdays at 10 and 11.  Enjoy the weekend! 

One week until Regionals! The schedule is here and we are all waiting for the WOD’s to be announced. If you are going as a spectator ask us about using one of Mark/Jeremy/Kim’s tickets that they had previously purchased but don’t need as they are on the team now. Also tickets at the door are cash only!

Read ‘Caveman Diet’ growing followers from EPSN

"Manmaker? More like Man-breaker"

Strength WOD:

10 Rounds of Max Effort 100m Row

* Rest 60 seconds between rounds; record fastest attempt

Jim C. and his record 15.4 second pull (9th on BeyondtheWhiteboard.com):

Rowing for the Record_Jim C

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

3 Rounds for Time:
40 Double-Unders
10 Manmakers (30#/20#)

Woman Maker_Nan

Results

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The 100m row sprints came about as a WOD after recently seeing it as a max effort item listed on beyondthewhiteboard.com.  A few people (your coaches included) played with it to see how fast we could go and I thought it was really fun. Stringing them together made it like running sprints and was just a different way to make rowing bearable. It also teaches how to row hard and fast for a short duration on the rower which will translate to faster row times for the longer distances. 

We had a lot of derailing today and learning seat placement and a coordinated pull/return was important to staying on the rower. Jim C. and Lucy owned the day with their blazing times and no derailing off the rower in their fastest attempts. After the fun on the rowers was over, the manmaking began. Think push-ups/row/burpee/thruster on dumbbells. Now think HARD. As in they are hard to do. The combo with double-unders made for a tough WOD. If you want to see them go to YouTube and look up SealFit manmaker. And if you are mad you missed out on them don’t worry we will see them again. 

Hulk SMASH!

Hulk Smash

Notes:

A short history of the CrossFit Games [wmv] [mov]

One week until Regionals! (We will be closed next weekend May 15th)

The Deadliest Snatch

For time:
Use Rep Scheme of 10/1, 9/2, 8/3, 7/4, 6/5…..down to 1/10 of:
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (75#/55#)
Power Snatch (75#/55#)

Results

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Faces of Strain:

Faces of Pain

  
Angry Snatches

The 2010 CF Games Northwest Regionals schedule has been announced! It’s ON! The WOD’s should be announced soon. Check out a list of some of the sponsors who will be there: lululemon athletica (our favorite gang from Bellevue Square), Forged Clothing, Life As RX’d clothing, Chef By Request, Progenex, Hot Off The Press Shirts, among many others. I can’t wait to buy more CrossFit T Shirts, I don’t have enough!

Notes:

Saturday Schedule: 

  • 9am Team Squatch training
  • 10am Class (sign up by posting to comments)
  • 11am Class 
  • If the weather is nice plan to be outside. Should be fun!

Post Regionals we are going to plan a PARTY! When the weather is nicer it’s a done deal that we are gonna have a BBQ for the box at the house along with a Fish Game Tournament on the rowers. Who wants top bragging rights? Tentatively plan for a weekend in June. We may even bust out a WOD in the garage for old time’s sake.

Hang Power Snatch with Amanda:

Hang Power Snatch_Amanda - 1 Hang Power Snatch_Amanda - 2


Hang Power Snatch_Amanda - 3 Hang Power Snatch_Amanda - 3-2

"Shoot 'Em Up"

Strength WOD:

5 Rounds of Dead Hang Pull-ups

* Rest as necessary between rounds; work up to max reps per attempt

Check Out WOD Immediately After:

As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 Minutes:
5 Deadlift (Use 60% of 1RM)
7 Shoot-Throughs (Parallette)
10 AbMat Sit-Ups 

Shoot Through’s for Two!:

Shoot Through's for Two_Erin

Results

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Today was a different type of strength WOD and check out WOD and both were quite effective. Dead hang pull-ups are all too often neglected in CrossFit. We rely on hip drive and kipping so often that developing the strength to adequately pull our own bodyweight can take a back seat to speed and efficiency. So why train dead hang pull-ups if they are less efficient? The same reason we do one rep max lifts with the barbell. To get stronger so that when we want to go faster we can because we take longer to fatigue and can get more work done. This means more power. That means better results physically. Practice those strict dead hang pull-ups, with or without a band. You will get stronger and your pull-ups will get better.

The “Shoot Through” with Ryan:

Shoot Through_Ryan - 1 Shoot Through_Ryan - 2 Shoot Through_Ryan - 3

Shoot Through_Ryan - 4 Shoot Through_Ryan - 6 Shoot Through_Ryan - 7

Shoot Through_Ryan - 8 Shoot Through_Ryan - 9 Shoot Through_Ryan - Finish

Think “Burpee on parallettes”. I learned these at the Gymnastics Cert and they are outstanding. Part push-up, dip and jump. It teaches speed, builds strength in the arms, core and shoulders, and drains you quickly. You can do them on parallettes or scale them using boxes or something higher to allow more room to jump and to make the push-up easier. Either way, it’s still hard to “shoot it’!

Notes:

History of the Burpee according to Wikipedia: The exercise may have originated from native North American ‘Indian Wrestling’ or it may have been originated by a man named Lieutenant Thomas Burpee (1757-1839). He was an officer in the New Hampshire Militia during the American Revolutionary War and was described as “having the innate Burpee fondness for martial exercises” in A History of the Town of New London, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Lt. Burpee may have used the combination of push ups and squat thrusts as a means of drilling, conditioning, and disciplining the troops under his command. In addition, the exercise may have also been used by the troops as a way to stay warm during the winters in wartime New England.

Quick heads up on the box schedule: 

On May 15th and 16th (Sat. and Sun.) we will be closed for the 2010 CF Games Northwest Regionals competition being held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. We will have a team of our very own competing (Moe, Kim, Pat, Jeremy D., Mark B., and Michelle) in the Affiliate Team qualifiers and myself for the individual qualifiers. If you are thinking about attending as a spectator then before you go buy tickets let Michelle, Moe or I know as a few of our team members had already purchased a ticket and no longer need it due to being on the team. Come out one or both days and watch the events. There will be a bunch of amazing people all sweating through the Master’s Qualifiers, Team Qualifiers and Individual competition that weekend! It will be exciting, fun and a great opportunity to see some of the best CF athletes our 6 state region has to offer tackle some sure to be grueling WOD’s. All for a shot at the Games!

"Yes…Tabata That"

Tabata Intervals: Perform 8 intervals of max reps for 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest of the following exercises in sequence. Score lowest number of reps for a given round. 

Box Jumps (24″/20″)

Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)

Air Squats

Following the WOD:

2 rounds of hang for time from the pull-up bar.  

(Grip it and dead-hang for dear life)

Results

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Who thought the bar hang was way tougher than they thought?

Hang On
 

Dead Hang
 

Here’s a link to the Garage Gym throwback days for when we last did this one. We haven’t done Tabata’s in awhile ( since the March Cross-box Challenge) so it was good to put this in the mix.


Notes:

T Shirts are in tomorrow! We will bag and tag them and get them to you ASAP!


Welcome to Jenna who dropped in today to the morning class and rocked some Tabata’s! Also welcome to the gang who recently completed Elements : Annette, Michelle D., Sashank, Doug as well as Willy who is one day away from being complete. Make sure you all introduce yourselves and give high fives and chest bumps!


Congrats to Adriana and Jim M. who earned their 100th WOD status recently. You’ll see them proudly sporting their T’s. 


CrossFit Games Update:

In addition to our group who is competing at Regionals in 2 weeks we have a group who are volunteering. Shout out to Rob, Rona, Lyndi, Eli, and Sangeeta who are all going to help ensure the event runs smooth!


Coaching Tip: The Air Squat with Eli

Air Squat_Eli - 1 Air Squat_Eli - 2 Air Squat_Eli - 3


Air Squat_Eli - 4 Air Squat_Eli - 5

  Air Squat cues:

  • Start upright with feet under hips and flat on the floor; toes slightly angled out
  • Maintain a steady gaze straight ahead
  • Keeping the chest up, initiate the squat by pushing the hips and posterior chain back (like taking a bow)
  • Squat down keeping your weight on your heels
  • Move your hands out in front of you, form a “window” with your hands to look through (this forces the head and chest to stay up and the weight to stay on the heels)
  • Concentrate on keeping your knees behind the toe box and keeping your core tight
  • Hip crease ideally should drop below the knee joint at the bottom
  • Drive out of the bottom and pull your hands back to your hips
  • Fully open (or extend) the hips at the top

"No Slop"

In teams of 2, complete for time:

50 Double Unders
100 Push-ups
75 Power Cleans (95#/65#)
50 Wall Balls (20#/14#)
25 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
50 Double Unders

Results

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* One partner works at a time, if single do half the reps
** No Slop or partial ROM counts, if partial = scaled
*** Solo does half of reps
**** Strategize with partner for how to alternate reps
1. No snags count for DU’s
2. Shoulders below or minimum parallel to elbow for push-up, full lockout
3. Contact with med ball target in squat for WB and OHS
4. WB must hit above line to count rep

Curtis in shock after realizing what an overhead squat is supposed to look like:

Curtis and Jim_OH SQUAT!

This WOD was from CrossFit Bellevue and our own Team Squatch completed this past weekend to train for the Affiliate Cup Qualifiers. As always in any workout the focus was “no slop”. Clean reps, form first over weight and speed. Some teams and individuals embraced this today. Some, well… 

Here’s the deal, whatever load you use it should be one that allows for full range of motion (ROM). Can it be challenging? Yes. Slow? Tough? Of course. However it also needs to be a load that you can still do right. The same goes for bodyweight movements. Full range of motion like in a proper air squat, pull-up or push-up. Going RX’d is a goal. But what good is it to go heavy to attempt to be RX’d to do an overhead squat with half the depth and no midline stabilization? Or to perform a wall ball without full squat depth and a throw that is consistently below the target? That won’t translate to someday waking up and having the ability to just nail a particular movement. You have to practice it, work at it and develop the strength, flexibility or coordination. Stick with a weight you can manage and be safe. Use the warm-up or post WOD to improve on your range of motion or technique with a PVC or empty bar. Remember what Vince Lombardi said: “Practice does not make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect”.

Michelle D. and Marc M. practicing perfect:

Wal Ball Team Mark Triple Extension

Notes:

Highlights from the CF Games North Central Regionals [wmv] [mov]

Coaching tip: Push-up Depth with Mike H.

Mike Push-up

Shoulders should be below or minimum parallel to elbow for push-up depth. Rigid plank. Ideal is chest to deck. Full lock-out at top.

When The Arms Bend, The Power Ends!

Rest Day

Mike and the “Oh So Fun Squat Clean”:

Mike Squat Clean

Notes:

Today’s topic: “When the arms bend, the power ends”


SnatchArmPulling  Ryan_Triple Extension

 Mirror Images?

Technique is everything. In the two pics above, one is of a CrossFitter that was posted recently on crossfit.com that was used to show a slight early arm pull with triple extension on the power snatch and the other is of Ryan doing the same. I wanted to use these pics as a teaching point. Both athletes are in the “second pull” with triple extension in the power snatch. Both are bending the arms slightly early as the bar is still rising. In both photos the ankles/knees/hips of the two athletes have all reached full extension (i.e. open joints) while the arms have begun to bend. This marks the transition to the “third pull” which is the transition point when the barbell has reached its highest point and the arms bend as the lifter begins to explosively pull under the barbell to receive the bar overhead (the “first pull” being the pull off the floor). 

My interpretation of both photos is that they have really good form and have reached the top of their “second pull” and are beginning the “third pull” under the bar. I also think Ryan’s form is slightly better (lifting form only of course) since he has a slight lean back showing he is generating more “speed through the middle” which translates to greater momentum on the barbell upwards. However, both could have better form by eliminating their early arm bend. Nit-picky sure but that early arm bend may mean the difference in getting more weight up.

One of the most common mistakes on cleans or snatches is that the lifter bends the arms early in the second pull or worse yet prior to reaching full triple extension. A great rule of thumb I learned from Coach Burgener is “When the arms bend; the power ends”. You want to achieve the most power you can in the lift to be the most efficient. This means letting that bar rise with the straightest arms possible before pulling under. It ideally reaches the highest point when you reach triple extension and then you bend to pull underneath. At it’s worst if you are already bending your arms while your hips/knees are bent and your ankles are flat on the floor you essentially are performing a reverse arm curl. So remember the three pulls, focus on exploding, and let that momentum work to your advantage and you will feel the surprise of the barbell “floating” up while you pull under it. The list of things we all have to work on just never ends!

Read “A Tale Of Three Pulls” by CrossFit Orlando

Photo of Second Pull from Catalyst Athletics:

Snatch Second Pull

Note less arm bend, and the barbell is much higher. And heavier.

"Cinco De Mayo Mini-Marathon"

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Today was the 8k and 1/2 Marathon here in Snoqualmie.

For Time:
Run 8k or 1/2 Marathon

Results

3-2-1 Run! A few of us post race:

Cinco De Mayo Post Race

Race Overall Stats I found interesting: 

  • 15 of us from SRCF ran the 8k (field of 404 runners): Justin, Jeremy D., Mark B., Marc M., Cathy, Lucy, Michelle, Moe, Graham, Sangeeta, Steph, Bonnie, Bridget, Autumn, and Me
  • 4 of us ran the 1/2 marathon (out of 471 runners): Annie, Nan, Laura and Travis represented in the 1/2 marathon
  • 1 of us (that I know of) volunteered and ran the bag check: Lorraine
  • Average time for the 8k field was 51:35
  • Average time for the 1/2 marathon field was 2:05
  • In both races the women outnumbered the men by an average of 2:1
  • Top 8k SRCF male was Justin
  • Top 8k SRCF female was Lucy
  • Three of you ran in tutu’s (Lucy, Bridget, Bonnie)
  • One ran in a Cinco De Mayo costume (Sangeeta)
  • All of your coaches ran too!

To everyone who ran pat yourself on the back, stretch your hamstrings, and take an epsom salt bath. You earned it! It wasn’t all that long ago for some that running was not an activity you considered “fun” or even worth the time or effort. For some who are runners today’s distance or pace was maybe a new challenge and for the most experienced runners among us it was maybe a test to see how your running and CrossFit have mixed. For me personally I have done very little running the past few months other than what we do in WOD’s and the occasional short distance run on the trails or with weight (vest or bag). I was happy to put my faith in CrossFit and the general physical preparedness it brings by running the 8k today with only 5 runs (longer than normal WOD distances) in the last 7 full weeks (since our last 5k race). It proved the point that CrossFit works as I placed 4th in my age group in the 8k and 26th overall. Simply put kicking your own ass every single day in a WOD transfers pretty easily to a sustained pace short to mid distance run. 

Sorry we missed getting everyone together for a group photo pre-race. That is something we had not planned for and will ensure not to mess up next time. We have been pretty good at coordinating a majority group pic and it’s simply becoming a SRCF tradition! The turnout for our box would actually have been even larger but a few registered runners were sick, traveling or had conflicts come up. Next time we can set a PR with how many runners we get out there. We will make sure we stay tuned for the next local run and get people looking for the Squatch!