WHAT IS THE JOINT IN THE BODY THAT HAS THE BIGGEST RANGE OF MOTION YET THE MOST ISSUES?
Those darn shoulders. Having all of the range of motion comes with benefits and drawbacks. Here are some great movements to not only gain more mobility but also make them more stable.
#1 – 5 Way Banded shoulder stretch: We will give up the goose early and give you 5 mobilizations in one video thanks to Kelly Starrett!
#2 – Banded Scarecrows: This is a great drill to REALLY warm-up the shoulders before Snatch, Overhead Squats, and Pressing.
#3 – Banded stretch for internal rotation:
VERVE UPDATES
-CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT – This Saturday @ 1pm. Even if you don’t want to play, come in and enjoy some food and drinks with awesome people.
BRING A FRIEND DAY – This Saturday too. Bring them to any of the coached classes to show them the light that is CrossFit.
For time: 33 Calories on rower 33 Alternating dumbbell snatch, 40#(25#) 33 Ab mat sit ups 27 Calories on rower 27 Alternating dumbbell snatch, 40#(25#) 27 Ab mat sit ups 21 Calories on rower 21 Alternating dumbbell snatch, 40#(25#) 21 Ab mat sit ups 15 Calories on rower 15 Alternating dumbbell snatch, 40#(25#) 15 Ab mat sit ups
Lisbeth Darsh is, among many other things, a writer, a former CrossFit HQ employee that built the social media department, an affiliate owner, and a veteran of the US Air Force. She is self described as “someone who knows how to help you build a stronger mindset”, something that is the focus of the 6 books she has written. I have never personally read her books, I am however a continual fan of her blog. Because quite simply, she tells it like it is. On any topic she chooses to slay for the day. A recent blog she posted had me. It had me as a coach who works with athletes all day every day that have to scale a workout in some way or another. It hit me as coach that when I ask “what did you get?”, I hear the response “I got (fill in blank). . . but it was really modified.” No “buts”. No “it was just”. No “well I only did. . . “. No, no, no. What you did is work. Hard work. Sweat producing, heart racing, breath taking working. Nothing about it needs to be apologized for, explained, or felt like it wasn’t worthy of highlighting the score because it was done a certain way. In the words of Lisbeth, Scaling Is Not An Apology.
“Scaling is an adjustment of the workout to your individual needs. Scaling is not an apology or an excuse. And it’s not some bullshit way to talk down to yourself or anybody else.
The ubiquitous use of the term scaled is kind of unfortunate in our fitness world because it’s an ill-fitting term, but it’s too late now to go back and change the word.
If I could, I’d call it something more apt like “tailored” because everybody understands that clothing off the rack doesn’t always fit right, so you go to the tailor and get it fitted to your body.
But in our fitness world, as we increasingly geek over data, we seek to find more ways to make everything uniform so that we can measure who is the fittest or the fastest or the strongest or the best. So we make one super-human standard and everyone else has to adjust off that standard. I get it. Makes sense. I used to be into that, but most of the time now I really don’t care for dick-measuring contests, but that’s just me.
See, I’m just me and I do my thing. Do I want to beat the person next to me in the workout? Oh hell yeah, sometimes I do. And sometimes I don’t give a flying frisbee. Sometimes I just want to still be breathing at the end of the workout. A little stronger, a little smarter, a little sexier, right?
Nor should you ever make anybody else feel small for scaling. It’s just a workout. There will be another one tomorrow. If you’re smart, you’ll scale that one to your abilities too.
Don’t lower your eyes or shrug your shoulders or mumble something about “not doing it RX.” Scaling is not an apology, so don’t talk like it is. You’ve offended no one and you have nothing to apologize for.
You were here. You did the work as hard as you wanted or needed to on this day. And life went on. Go out and kick ass.”
That’s right folks. The only thing you need to worry about is did you get a good workout? In the wise words of Paul Buono, a scaled athlete should not know they have been scaled. An athlete with an injury or issue that must modify, also should not know they have been modified. The work should be on the same playing field of simply being difficult for that individual. Was it difficult for you? Then our jobs as coaches is done. Scale and scale often if needed. Find no shame in making changes to a workout, it’s kind of like Burger King, we can make it your way. And then crush YOUR workout. Boom. Done.
*For full blog or more info about Lisbeth Darsh, click here.
This Saturday is “Bring a Friend to Verve” day. We invite you to bring a friend to check out Verve and enjoy a free workout. If they are new to CrossFit, no worries, our workouts are always scaleable to meet the needs and abilities of all who join. We simply ask that you and your friend sign up for a class in MBO, so we can have a head count.
Stick around after the workout and get ready to throw down at Verve’s first Cornhole Tournament!!
$10 per person to enter, must be cash (cause the $ goes to the winners. If you bring all ones, someone can make it rain)
All names of those entered will be thrown in a hat. Names for partners are drawn at 1pm. There will be brief partner introductions, a team name produced, a few practice reps thrown, and go time!!
Rules fully addressed the day of, double elimination style play
Bring beer, snacks or desserts, or anything you’d like to cook on the grille (yeah, we be grilling while we throwing)
Family and friends are welcome to participate or spectate
So mark your calendars, start practicing your toss at home, keep the shoulders mobilized, and let’s get ready to rumble!
Do both you and your guy friend like doing the fitness?
If you have answered yes to all 3 questions then you sound like you need to sign up for Verve’s answer to the ladies only competition Femme Royale. . . it’s the Bro Royale. Or the Bro Down. Or the Broyale. Call it what you want but it’s gonna be just for the dudes.
Verve will be hosting this one day, partner competition on Sunday August 20th, the very next day after Femme Royale. This will only be opened to Verve members, however, if you have a buddy that is not a member of Verve, but you want to bro down with, we cool with that.
The workouts will be the same as the one’s posted for Femme Royale. With that said, FR has 3 divisions to sign up for, we will only have 2, open and RX. We will amend the weights for the workouts and re-post the dude versions. Registration will be $20/ person or $40 for the team. All of the money will be going directly into prizes for the top 3 teams in both divisions.
We will get a registration site set up for you gentlemen, along with posting the WODs soon. In the mean time, plan on volunteering some of your time to the ladies on Saturday, so you may then guilt them in to helping you on Sunday. And find your bestest bromance to throw down with. It’s bro time!
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Speaking of throwing down with friends. . . . who wants to toss some bags around and try to win some money????
Verve is having our first ever Cornhole Tournament!!
Saturday July 1st @ 12:30pm
$10 per person to enter, must be cash (cause the $ goes to the winners. If you bring all ones, someone can make it rain)
All names of those entered will be thrown in a hat. Names for partners are drawn at 1pm. There will be brief partner introductions, a team name produced, a few practice reps thrown, and go time!!
Rules fully addressed the day of, double elimination style play
Bring beer, snacks or desserts, or anything you’d like to cook on the grille (yeah, we be grilling while we throwing)
Family and friends are welcome to participate or spectate
So mark your calendars, start practicing your toss at home, keep the shoulders mobilized, and let’s get ready to rumble!
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Speaking of marking your calendars. . . . we have another Sprint update for you. Tuesday we mentioned moving the class time from 6:15pm to 5:45pm. Well, rather than move the class time, we have instead decided to add a class time. Here is the Sprint class schedule starting July 1st:
Femme Royale is coming back to Verve. We will be hosting this one day, all women, partner competition on Saturday August 19th.
“Femme Royale is an expression, way of life for the women of our generation. Striving to live a stronger more passionate life. Not accepting defeat. Owning who they are and what they want to become. Powerful women who want to change the world.”
The ladies behind the Femme Royale movement want to encourage you to grab a gal pal and put yourselves to the test. There are 3 divisions in this competition:
For Fun- Athletes that are new to the competition scene or beginners. Allows for banded or jumping pull-ups, great for those women who still struggle with unassisted pull-ups, modifications will be allowed. Move efficiently with 35-75#.
50/50- Not quite RX, but does not need to scale any of the movements. Can perform pull ups, toes to bar, handstand push ups. Move efficiently 75-95#.
RX- Advanced athlete, skilled in the following: pull-ups, ring dips, handstand pushups, muscle ups. Move efficiently with 105# plus.
This means that there is literally something for everyone, no matter which stage you are currently at in your fitness journey. Bonus, the workouts have already been released. You can look through them to help determine which division to sign up for and start your team practice today!
For additional information and to get registered, click here.
HEY YOU GUYS!!!
We did not forget about you. We will be asking for volunteers for the event, and we would love your help. But that’s not all, on Sunday August 20th (the next day) we will be hosting a Verve Bro-Down. The Bro Royale, if you will. We will have a men’s only, one day, partner competition. And we will ask the ladies to return some volunteer/ judging favors back at you. Stay tuned to this Thursday’s post with all the information for your event. It’s going to be a fun weekend of fitness.
Dan and CoraAndy with Ella and BenJorge and AJTodd with Cash, Pryor, and LukeBrandon with Brody and EverlyAlex with Hannah and NoahEric and LeoDavid with Ty and JordanKaplan with Meyer, Sebastian, and ScarlettPhil and LachlanJay with Michelle, James, and MarkMatt with Aspen and DavidRyan with Jonah and LukePeter with Elliott and BenjiEric with Apollo and BelaMike with Gia and Brody
Verve’s wishes you all a wonderful day celebrating being some pretty awesome dads.
Working in teams of 2, alternating minutes for 4 rounds: 1 Minute max box jump overs, 24″(20″) 1 Minute max box jump overs, 24″(20″) 1 Minute max burpees to a target 1 Minute max burpees to a target 1 Minute max toes to bar 1 Minute max toes to bar
Salad for breakfast? Yes!! This Breakfast BLT Salad can be eaten anytime of the day really, but eggs and bacon served over this simple massaged kale salad with avocado and tomatoes is a delicious, savory, healthy breakfast idea. For more easy and nutritious ideas, check out Skinnytaste.com
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups shredded Lacinto kale (no stems) 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil kosher salt black pepper, to taste 2 large eggs 4 strips cooked center cut bacon, chopped 2 ounces sliced avocado 10 grape tomatoes, halved DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl combine the kale, olive oil, vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Massage with your hands for about 3 minutes, until the kale softens. Cook eggs to desired likeness, I prefer them soft boiled. How to Make Perfect Eggs in the Instant Pot. Divide the kale between two bowls, top with bacon, tomatoes, avocado and egg. Finish with pinch of salt and pepper. NUTRITION INFORMATION
CrossFit, it’s a journey. Where did you start? Where are you now?
A logbook, one of the most essential pieces of equipment every CrossFitter should have. Period. By Courtney “log your s#@t” Shepherd 😉
This post is a bit of a #TBT, but it continues to be relevant no matter the day of the week or how long ago it was previously posted. This post was originally inspired by an Instagram post by Verve’s own Ali Nichols:
“Since November of 2009, I have logged every burpee, pull-up, deadlift, box jump, power clean, squat, push-up, snatch, sit-up, and KB swing I have ever done. Not to mention the numerous meters accumulated on the rower and the miles I have ran in the rain, snow and sunshine (literally). Sounds silly, but it allows me to stay in perspective. To see my fitness change over time. Sometimes long domains of time, but nonetheless just as special.
Taking time to go back through my log books reminds me that I am stronger than yesterday. And to me that’s all that really matters.“
– Ali Nichols
We got an interesting suggestion in our new suggestion box. It was a request for more benchmark workouts. . . and to Verve’s credit, I think we have delivered. What is the point of a benchmark workout? To mark our current physical status and use it as a comparison point at different times along our CrossFit journey. This using of previously done workouts to compare ourselves, highlight our progress, and truly objectively see how CrossFit has made us stronger really only works if we write down/ record what we are doing. The last time I posted this blog we had just done two benchmark workouts in one day, “Isabel” and “Grace” (sound familiar??). Benchmark workouts exist to be just that, a benchmark of your fitness. After those workouts Ali posted the following picture with the above statement.
Ali’s logbook collection.
It was one of the coolest things I had seen/ read in a long time. Ali can look back through her years of CrossFit, through her entire journey, and see the improvement in her fitness level. Ali doesn’t have to guess, wonder, or think about whether or not CrossFit has benefitted her life, she can see it in all it’s written glory. I’ve had many of you come into Verve and ask me about what weight you should use for a workout, when I ask “well what weight did you use last time?” often the response is, “I don’t know.”
Who does that situation sound familiar to? Are you walking in and out of Verve, never writing your 1 rep maxes down, never making note of your “Grace” or “Isabel” time?How do you know when you get a PR (personal record)? How do you know if you are getting strong enough to go up in weight or getting strong enough to go down in bands? You don’t. Not logging our information does not make us bad people, it does however have a huge potential to blunt our progression. How? Let’s take the workout “Grace” for example, it’s 30 clean & jerk for time with the prescribed weights of 135#(95#). Let’s say you did “Grace” with 85# in a time of 2:30, but you don’t log any of that information. Several months go by and “Grace” makes her way back into the programming. You can’t remember what weight you did, so you throw 75# on the bar and you do the WOD in 1:59. No doubt that is an awesome time, but do you really know if you are stronger and more fit, or did you just move faster because the weight was lighter? Again, in the grand scheme of life, this is not the worst problem to have, it’s really a matter of what your goals are when you walk through the doors of Verve. I would say about 90% of those goals can’t really be measured if we don’t keep track of what we do when we are inside the walls of Verve.
Let’s talk injuries, pregnancies, and changes in work routines. All of these can have an impact on our progress. Raise your hand if you are guilty of stopping logging your workouts because you are waiting to “get back to where I was before I count anything”. Question: how will you know if you get back to where you were if you aren’t paying attention to where you are going? How will you know if you are getting your strength back, if your rehab is working, if your getting your cardio/ respiratory endurance back, if you aren’t keeping track of any of it? Again, you don’t. No matter the reason, it’s okay to have to start back at the beginning, the best part of doing so is seeing where it can take you. After shoulder surgery, I put my old logbook on a shelf and started a new one. I PR’ed everyday, it was awesome. Everyday I was excited to come into the gym and see what I would be capable of that day. I didn’t open my old logbook for over a year, and when I did I was surprised to see some of my post-surgery PRs had surpassed my pre-surgery PRs. I could look back over the year and see how I went from shoulder pressing PVC with limited range of motion, to squat snatching my body weight.
So again I ask, where do you log your workouts? You don’t?? Let’s change that. CrossFit is a journey. . . a long one. How will you ever know the progress made along the way if you never remember where you started? Are you too tech savvy to write anything down, that’s what Beyond The Whiteboard is for. You can log all your info into the inter webs, to be stored forever. So go to Staples and buy a spiral notebook, or come to Verve and buy a fancy CrossFit logbook, or sign up for BTWB, and start logging your business NOW.
You asked for them. We are giving them to you. The benchmarks won’t stop anytime soon and before you know it, some of them will be on repeat. Let’s see what our consistent, hard work is doing for us.
The ladies of Verve swept the podium at this year’s Triple threat!!
And the Gentlemen grabbed themselves a first place finish as well!!
Congratulations to all Verve members that participated in the Cherry Creek Triple threat this Saturday. The women took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, while the men grabbed a 1st place finish. Several other teams took top spots in individual workouts. There were some solid ab photos, trophy shorts displayed, and mile times crushed. Way to kick butt!!
July 4th is steadily approaching, this year it is on a Tuesday. As this day approaches please check MBO for an abbreviated schedule for the day. While you are there be sure to sign up for one of the classes and enjoy a hefty hero WOD.
Verve will be hosting the CrossFit Kids Trainer Course Saturday and Sunday July 15th-16th.
The purpose of this course is to learn specific methods for teaching CrossFit to children and adolescents. Participants learn techniques to overcome the unique challenges of teaching kids CrossFit methodology, as well as how a CrossFit Kids program can help build one’s affiliate. Attendees will also see how CrossFit Kids is changing the lives of children and teens around the world for the better. Other topics covered include neurological development as it relates to exercise, weightlifting, health and safety, programming, teaching styles, class structure, and kids games. Throughout the course, participants learn how to pair fitness with fun – which is essential in promoting a lifetime of fitness. Affiliate owners, teachers, coaches, parents, home-schooling families and others benefit from learning this unique, kid-friendly approach to teaching CrossFit.
Prerequisites for this course include:
A criminal background check must be conducted prior to registration. More instructions can be found on the specific event registration page.
Interested?? You can get additional information and get registered by clicking here.
For our Verve members, this means we will have an abbreviated schedule that will include an early morning class on Saturday and Sunday. Verve will be closed the rest of those days. Don’t worry, we will be sure to remind you when it closer.
Did you like watching the CrossFit Games Regionals? The CrossFit Games will be taking place August 1st-6th. For the first time ever they will be taking place in Madison, WI. New venue, new challenges. Get excited to watch a bunch of really fit people fight to be crown the fittest on Earth. We will stream the Games at Verve and possibly schedule some viewing parties at a nearby patio. . . with booze. Stay tuned for updates.
Saturday August 19th Femme Royale is returning to Verve. This is an all ladies partner competition. There are 3 divisions to sign up for: For Fun, 50/50, and RX. This means there is something for everyone. The workouts have already been announced, so grab your gal pal, get registered, and start practicing. Gentlemen. . . we could use some solid judges and volunteers for the event. We will get a volunteer sheet set up soon, but start marking your calendars too please. Ladies, click here for more info and to register.
