WOD – Page 626 – SNORIDGE CROSSFIT

"Just try it!"

3 Rounds for time:

400m Run
50 Air Squats
500m Row

Results

SRCF crew and Todd:

Quote of the day:

“Almond butter, cashew butter, all goodness! Then there’s nut porn, which is macadamia butter.” ~ Todd Widman

Tonight we were honored and extremely fortunate to have Todd Widman (of CrossFit HQ Training Staff and Rainier CrossFit) come share some outstanding food for thought with a total of 35 of us. The nutrition discussion was a great success with a spectacular turnout. Todd focused on the why, the what, the how, and the tweaks that are key to building a foundation of solid nutrition. His passion was evident along with his education on the subject. In addition to flat out getting some good common sense education around diet and the role it plays in everything from performance to life; we learned a ton of other things around how to keep things simple when talking nutrition.

Our bodies are a machine. How we fuel it is a conscious choice that impacts us every minute, every day and every year for the rest of our lives. As Todd summarized succinctly, you spend 1 hour of each day with hard effort in your daily CrossFit WOD. You have 23 other hours a day to screw it all up. He presented many compelling reasons for why we should eat real food, and in the right proportions. He covered the relationships of macronutrients and their impact on fueling the body. The material flowed well and led to questions that were smart, practical and beneficial to all. We learned about eating quality food, the basic Paleo influenced diet, and the Zone diet. He spent time on why combining the two is so much more effective than just one over the other. So with that we will springboard into our Paleo/Zone Challenge starting next Saturday. If you are on the fence ask yourself why not? What do you have to lose (other than weight and some bad habits)? Clean out the fridge and the pantry. Take the plunge. See what eating clean and in the right amounts can do. As Todd said, “Just Try It. You can do anything for 30 days.”

Thank you Todd!

Notes:

Affiliate Team training at 9am. Saturday class will be at 1030 for all. Seeya then!

Steven and Jackie from lululemon dropped in again today for a WOD. It was great to have you guys visit and look forward to you getting in more often.

"Annie"

Strength WOD:

Squat Clean
3/3/3/3/3
Work up to 3RM (rep max) in 5 Sets

“Annie”:

For time:

50/40/30/20/10 reps each of:
Double Unders
AbMat Sit-ups

Results

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Nan and Don during “Annie” (Note Don’s correct range of motion on the sit-up by touching the toes):

Tonight’s post is an easy one. I get to have a guest writer! Lorri was so inspired by Curtis achieving his muscle-up last night that she sent this to me. Of course I had to share with everyone because her message is right on. Thanks Lorri for your eloquent way of writing about how your inspiration from that achievement caused you to not only get into the box today but to also reflect on what CrossFit has taught you and led you to BELIEVE!

Curtis’ Muscle-Up by Lorri L.

Yesterday, as most of you know, Curtis achieved a huge milestone in CrossFit….his FIRST MUSCLE-UP. Amazing! When I read about it online I felt so proud for him.

On my way home from the coffee shop this morning, I saw Tom and Curtis talking outside near the ELC, I stopped and said hello and gave a big congrats to Curtis. Tom asked if I was heading to the box and I sheepishly said no, because I was getting ready to go out of town. (For you moms, you know what that entails: laundry, cleaning, packing, completing projects, the list goes on and on. For me it also means making sure my house is ready for a showing while we are away.) I said good-bye, pulled away, and on my way home so a dialogue began in my head…..”No, I can’t go to the box BECAUSE…I have stuff to do….life stuff….getting ready for vacation stuff…important stuff…I need another(another?) rest day…” and then it hit me…

Curtis’ muscle-up represented so much more than just the move in itself….for me it represented consistency, persistence, strength, frustration, sweat, pain, and belief! There is no way that he could have achieved a muscle-up without persistence. I wonder how many times he had attempted a muscle-up and just couldn’t achieve it. Think on that…50 times?…100 times?….so many times he attempted to achieve and didn’t and then…suddenly…success! How many of us have attempted something so many times without success, but continued until we could achieve it. Persistence is defined as: Refusing to let up or let go. Persevering obstinately. Persevering obstinately!!! PERSISTENCE….I thought about that….I could get my behind to the box today.

But the core of my realization came when I realized this all materialized for him because he had BELIEF. He believed that he could achieve this monumental task. He believed in himself, even if at some times, he questioned if he could do it. (I am only guessing, I haven’t had a chance to ask.) He persisted in his drive to achieve the task that he BELIEVED in….WOW! What a simple concept….belief…but how many times has the little voice in my head questioned if I could achieve something. Or maybe even that voice said, “What are you thinking, you can’t do that!” I once overheard a wise man say (Pat S.) “We need to take CAN’T out of our vocabulary.” So true!

One reason I love CrossFit is because it quietly teaches us to believe: in ourselves, in others, and in that supportive community that we lean on when we aren’t sure if we can really finish that WOD or make it to the box. Through my interaction with everyone in the box, I have learned so much….to push harder, to ease off when my body is aching, to be proud, to be humble, to vocally support one another, and sometimes to quietly support someone who is struggling, questioning their own belief in themselves.

So thank you Curtis, for providing inspiration in all those around you, and especially me! Take the first step, BELIEVE, and then be persistent, until you reach those goals.

We might work out in a BOX, but we believe and achieve so far outside of its walls!

Notes:

Pics of our friends from lululemon who dropped in yesterday:

Tomorrow night is the Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman. For details click on the link on the right side of the page.

Start time is 6:30pm
Cost is $10
Leave the kiddos at home!
If you happen to have some folding or camp chairs handy please bring them!
Eat before you come or feel free to bring snacks with you.

1st Muscle-up!

Curtis got a muscle-up!!! (More on that in a bit)

5 Rounds for time:

15 Power Snatches (95#/65#)
400m Run

Results

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Holy accomplishment Batman! Today was a day of PR’s and 1st’s! Curtis achieved his first muscle-up through sheer force of will and not quitting. He has been practicing form and progressions and finally some things clicked and all that work paid off. This is the fifth person I have been lucky enough to watch and cheer them get their first muscle up in person (Gregg, Derek, Kelly, Eric and now Curtis). The muscle-up is not an easy thing to learn or perform. Except maybe to a gymnast for whom it’s a simple, “no skill” exercise. To a CrossFitter however it’s different, it’s a pinnacle movement. Like that first pull-up, it is an ACCOMPLISHMENT! You have to not only have strong pull-ups but you also need ring dips with full depth. You need a powerful grip. You need to have strong stabilizer muscles and a strong core. It requires strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility and coordination. Did I just say flexibility in relation to Curtis?! For those who want to achieve it do not rush it. Work on the progressions, practice pull-ups and ring dips. Be patient.

Congrats also goes to Ryan and Zach for hitting PR’s on their max height box jump. Double-under PR’s were set by Ryan, Zach, and Travis that I know of. If I missed anyone please post to comments.

The other 1st for the gym was we had visitors from the lululemon athletica store in Bellevue drop in for the late WOD. Welcome to Courtney, Jess, McKenzie and Steven who all came in and demonstrated outstanding athleticism and intensity. Clearly a group who have been around a CF gym, they powered their way through with great form and speed. They also stuck around after to cheer on the second wave and got to know several of you. Thanks for coming in and feel free to drop in anytime!

Now for the video moment that is simply one hell of an accomplishment. CONGRATS CURTIS!

Notes:

Don’t forget today is day 3 in the push-up challenge so make sure you knock out 15 of them. Tomorrow is 20.

Watch this amazing 370# deadlift by Laura DeMarco (CF Games competitor last year). She is lifting some serious weight! [wmv] [mov]

"Two-fer"

Results Corrected! Whoops!

Strength WOD:

Push Press
3/3/3/3/3
Work up to 3RM (rep max) in 5 Sets

Check Out WOD immediately after:

For time:

200m Run
20 Push Press (95#/65#)
20 Burpees
20 Box Jump (24″/20″)
20 Hang Cleans (95#/65#)
20 Pull-ups
20 Overhead Walking Lunges (45#/25# plate)
20 Double-Unders

Results

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Lunging Ladies:

I just love this picture Michelle took.

Two recent comments led to today’s WOD. One was that we haven’t done push press lately. Second comment was that we haven’t done a chipper WOD. Consider today a two-fer. Strength WOD’s are something that take a different approach. The goal of a strength WOD means that you are working to achieve the # rep max in the number of sets on the board for that movement. If it’s a 1RM or 3RM for example you are gauging your attempts to reach a maximum load (maybe even PR) or fail. If you fail the attempt counts and is marked as a “fail” and you move to the next attempt(s). Being new to CrossFit is a good time to learn the movement, gain confidence and get used to this type of workout. Focus on finding a weight that challenges you but allows you to focus on proper form and technique.

You should warm-up prior to officially starting your attempts. This takes some strategy and planning ahead. When you start or when you move up from set to set plan out what you are trying to accomplish so you don’t go too heavy too early or stay too light too late. For the more experienced when done right a strength WOD gives you butterflies that are no different than a “normal” WOD. It makes you fear stepping to the bar because you honestly aren’t sure if you are going to get the next lift. You are going at it with intensity to get the lift and get it with good form.

Starting from here forward we are going to dial it back in to limit you to your official rep attempts. That means if it’s 5 sets of 3 reps, then you won’t get 7 or 8 sets to keep on going. If you went too light too early then remember for next time. It’s a thinking person’s WOD as well as a strength building workout, enjoy it!

Notes:

Starting next week we are excited to announce that Moe will be running a 6am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Class will be the same format and run an hour. For those inclined to wake up and turn on the intensity than have at it. I’ll likely still be inspecting the back of my eyelids for time.

Food For Thought:

We will be sending an email out to all of you for confirming attendance for the Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman this Friday night. That way we can offer any additional space to our other affiliate and CF friends. If you didn’t previously post to the blog that you were coming please let us know. We are planning on a great turnout!

The other exciting news is we lined up the “BodyFat Test Truck” for coming to the box for our Paleo Challenge kickoff. They will be here on Saturday 2/20 from 7am to 1pm. The test is comprehensive and highly accurate with bodyweight, lean muscle lb., fat lb., body fat % and Delta. We will then have them come back in April at the end of challenge for a follow-up test. Because of this timing and the desire to have the most accurate results to look at post Paleo Challenge we will start the official Paleo Challenge on 2/20 (one week later).

We hope you understand why we are pushing the official start of the Paleo Challenge to Saturday 2/20. In addition to lining it up with the BodyFat Truck, we think this allows you to soak in what you learn from the Nutrition Discussion on Friday and plan your food shopping and pantry cleaning next week. It really didn’t make sense for us to start a nutrition challenge one day after you learn the ins and outs of cleaner nutrition.

BodyFat Truck Test cost is $49 for 1st test, $35 for follow-up test (or $35 if you have used the service before). Test is in a swimsuit in the truck in a “bathtub”. Test is approximately 10 minutes. We will schedule those who want to do it in 12 minute increments starting at 7am until 1pm.
Participation with the “ChunkyDunk” Truck (as Mike calls it) is completely optional. If you don’t want to use it then just weight in on our gym scale, take your pics and use our less accurate handheld bodyfat analyzer at the gym.
Paleo Challenge is 7 weeks long.
There will be a “buy-in” that goes into a pot for the top male and top female winners to split.
Winner will be determined by biggest delta or % change in body composition.
Diet logs will need to be kept.
“Before” and “After” Pictures need to be taken. Women in shorts and sports bra/workout top, men in shorts with no shirt. We assure you that pics will be kept private in a protected drive at home and after the challenge will be deleted permanently if you desire. Pictures are highly effective in seeing results. Both of us are very glad we have some bathing suit pics pre-CF and post CF but disappointed we never took pics before switching to a Paleo focused diet.

Sumo Tournament

With a continuously running clock perform the following every minute on the minute:

Sumo Deadlift High Pull plus 1 rep (95#/65#)

* Add one rep each consecutive minute, meaning 2 the 2nd minute, 3 the 3rd minute, and so on. Continue until you cannot complete the required number of reps in the given minute.

Score total rounds and partial reps in the last round completed.

Results

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Today had some great energy flowing throughout the day. Every class was pushing, intense, and hitting some serious rounds. People dropped one by one and each class the last one standing had a crowd pushing them on. Many stuck around after to work on skills post WOD ranging from pull-ups and muscle-ups (Ryan is CLOSE) to push-ups, sit-ups and double-unders. Speaking of; today we are kicking off two challenges through the end of the month:

Push-up Challenge: Do 5 push-ups + 5 more than the previous day every day until Feb. 28th. So that’s 5 today, 10 tomorrow, 15 Wed., and so on. Break them up as needed (like the Burpee Challenge). Push-ups must be RX’d with full range of motion meaning elbows are at least at a 90 degree angle or your shoulders are below your elbows and you maintain a plank. If you lower yourself to the floor that is fine just make the rest brief and stay rigid when you push up. For scaled push-ups do the same with your knees on the groud. The point is to get better at them. Do them in the box or at home. If you miss a day then you must make it up. Hang in to the end!
Double-Under Challenge: Work on your double-unders! Each week you must make at least one attempt to break your previous PR at max rep double-unders in a single attempt. ( I PR’d tonight!)

Pick a challenge. Heck just pick both. Why not? It’s brutal fun…

Welcome to Graham who joined us today for his first WOD at SnoRidge and powered through some Sumo’s! Also welcome to Erik who dropped in for his first WOD with “mini-Cindy” and soon will be starting Elements. 3-2-1 Go!

This is not a recommended sumo deadlift style:

Notes:

In case you didn’t know Lorri and her family are moving. We are sad both her and Duncan are leaving but want to wish them all the best and see them off. Lucy and Rob have organized a going away party for them on March 26th at 7:30pm at Finaghty’s! There will be an 80’s band and they have rented the top section for everyone to come have a good time and say their goodbyes. We can all do burpees together to send them off in CrossFit style.

Nutrition Chat with Todd Widman is Friday night at 6:30pm! Keep it on your calendar. Come get some great practical advice on nutrition that just makes sense for your life, your family and your overall fitness.

It's the Community…

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” ~ Lance Armstrong

This post is a quick example of just one of the great things that makes CrossFit so much more than a fitness program or type of workout. This example is about the community. The group of like minded people who suck up the brutal fun and cheer one another on. The community of us that come day after day and push away the butterflies and never quit. The community that helps coach one another, calls us on form both good and bad, reps both short and perfect, all while wearing a smile on their face and high five after the WOD. The very same community that knows we never quit. We finish what we start, we fight back the inner voice and trudge along, and when one thinks about it we remind them not to.

During Saturday’s WOD of deadlift/runs Mariela was subbing back squats for deadlifts due to a broken finger (an injury she had sustained outside of the gym). During the final 800m run the throbbing in the finger due to increased blood flow from exercise as well as the movement of running was causing some pain. The pain was enough to have Mariela openly consider quitting. Before I could really respond, Mark (who had just completed the same WOD) jumped in and encouraged her not to quit. He did it positively and with sincerity. I remember him saying “One lap left, you can’t quit. We don’t ever quit. The pain is only temporary.” He then told her to run or walk with her hand hooked on her shirt to prevent it from swinging and just to get it done. Mariela quickly changed her mind and moved off to finish the WOD with her final 400m lap, pushing away the impulse to quit. She earned that workout and finished what she started.

We have all been there. If you haven’t, I guarantee you it will cross your mind. At some point in some WOD you will think, “Screw this. I just want to quit.” Then you will think of one or more reasons why you should quit. It is hard to quiet that voice. It is even harder when you are alone. Much harder. Having been a CF’er that did it on my own for almost a year in my garage; I can tell you doing this by yourself is not remotely easy. In my experience, besides lacking coaching and instruction, training solo either drives most to quit or to not push to the limits that can come from training with others. Being around others in CrossFit who share the “Check your ego at the door” mentality is motivating. It’s contagious even. It makes you want to do better by yourself and for others. It makes you count, keeps you honest, makes you stronger and certainly makes you strive to be better. Just think how many of you have PR’d a lift, ran or rowed a little harder, or eked out a couple more reps simply because someone was in your ear.

So thank you both Mark and Mariela. Mark for the reminder that we don’t quit and Mariela for finishing what she started. It was a great example of the CrossFit community and something that made me feel like we have a really strong one in our box. For that I am both proud and grateful.

Mariela telling me what she really thinks of back squats:

Mark and his barbells:

Rest Up

That was a week full of long, hard ones…

Enjoy the Superbowl!

"Better Off Dead"

Main Class WOD:

For time:

21 Deadlift (225#/135#)
800m Run
15 Deadlift
800m Run
9 Deadlift
800m Run

Results

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Affiliate Team WOD #(1):

For time:

21 Deadlift (225#/135#)
800m Run
15 Deadlift
800m Run
9 Deadlift
800m Run

Affiliate Team WOD #(2):

As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 Minutes:

4 Pull-ups
8 Knees to Elbows
16 Tire Sledgehammers (12#/16# alternating sides)

Results

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Hammer time! Mark and Don with WOD#2 extra credit after the deadlift WOD:

Everyone rocked the deadlifts today! Great weather = great opportunity to get some heavy weights outside. Moving all the classes out to the fresh air and mountain view is fun for us and also motivating with a backdrop that simply can’t be beat when the skies are clear. Plus training in the elements is part of constantly varied, getting ready for the unknown and unknowable or “training as you fight”. Is it fun for you when we all go outside? Post thoughts to comments.

Notes:

We want to thank every one of you who came to the lululemon Trunk Show as well as all who brought food and drink. We hope all of you had a really good time and opportunity to get together with the ladies! Special note of thanks to Bonnie for the highly creative and cool WOD Wine Label. If you haven’t seen it, check out the bottle in the gym or in the Flickr photo album. It says: “WOD Wine: AMRAP – 20 Awesome CF Chicks, 1 Killer SRCF Box, 1 lululemon Junk for Your Trunk Show”.

The Nutrition Discussion with Todd Widman is next Friday at 6:30pm and then next Saturday we kick off the Paleo Challenge. Cost is $10 and so far we have 22 people confirmed as coming so if you have not confirmed either by posting to comments, emailing, or on the Facebook event let us know. There are several of you who we haven’t heard from. You better have a good excuse or I am going to drive to each of your houses and drag you back to the box!

Food for thought:

How to Win Friends and Influence Paleo

Wanted to finish with some really cool pictures of some strong ladies!

Trunk Show

7 Rounds for time:

10 Med Ball Cleans (20#/14#)
10 Burpees
200m Run

Results

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Nan way too happy mid-WOD:

Quote of the day: From Don after looking at the whiteboard and realizing he was the only guy…

“Well I guess I beat all the guys today.”

PIctures from tonights “lululemon Trunk Show” or “Break the Bank Party”. Sounds like fun was had by all; even the one grandma who crashed the party:

Notes:

There will be one WOD at 10:30 tomorrow for the gang. Affiliate Team Training will be at 9am.

Power Hour

Strength WOD:

Power Clean
1/1/1/1/1/1/1

Checkout:

AMRAP (As Many Rds. As Possible) for 12 Minutes of:

5 Power Cleans (95#/65#)
10 Jumping Lunges (2 Count)
15 AbMat Sit-ups

Results

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Congrats to Bridget, Travis and Jorge who completed their 100th WOD tonight at SRCF! They earned their right to get a shirt (which we are submitting the order for)! We are all proud of you for hitting this milestone.

Moe, Jim C., and Sherry powering through (Love the stink eye from Jim):

Today I happened to walk by a “gym”. I was at the downtown replica of Rodeo Drive (otherwise known as The Bravern) for work and as I was leaving figured I would stop in and check out this place called David Barton Gym. I walked in and promptly felt like I should order a martini and look for the DJ. As I regained my senses and walked through a weird entryway towards the desk I started feeling a little ill as the walls curve like a skateboard ramp while the music thumps and candles flicker. Pushing the fight or flight response aside I felt I needed to see what the “gym” really was like. After way too long of a talk at the front desk with the Beverly Hills 90210 cast I was “allowed” to “quickly take a look” rather than sign up for the tour. It didn’t take me long to realize that this place is a total disgrace to the word “gym”. Staff members wearing T Shirts that say “Look Better Naked” and zero emphasis on creating an environment of fitness. Lighting so dim it had to be a nightclub. Oversized contemporary couches and chairs scattered throughout the workout area and chandeliers dangling. People plodding through routines on machine after machine. After briefly considering doing burpees for time I hurriedly left and drove as fast as I could to our box. After a brief trail run I was able to do a Squat Snatch WOD and PR my one rep max between observing two classes of high intensity suck-fest taught by two fabulous coaches (Michelle and Moe). Now that is what I call a gym. But I am a little biased…

Notes:

We are totally stoked that Moe officially ran her first class tonight at SnoRidge! It was far from her first time running a CF class (she has been a trainer at Gravity Jane’s for over a year) and tonight she hit it out of the box! I also have to say it was really cool watching and learning from another coach and trainer. She will run next Thursday’s 7pm WOD as well. Then starting 2/16 she will be teaching a new 6am WOD every Tuesday and Thursday for those crazy enough for CrossFit that early in the morning!

Are you competing in the Sectionals? Are you one the fence? Are you scared or worried about whether you should have registered? Go read “An Open Letter to All CrossFitters in Queensland“, an article directed to Aussies but applicable to CF’ers worldwide. This addresses the most common questions with some great advice around competing in events. It will make you better, it will give you focus, it will push you farther than you expect. The CrossFit community is supportive. It is filled with people just like you who know that you cheer more for the person who finishes last than the person who finishes first. We support and admire honest effort, plain and simple.