In teams of 2 complete the following for time: 4 x 400 Meters (one partner runs 400 while the other rests) 100 Shoulder to overhead, 95#(65#) *Bar can’t touch ground until 100 reps are finished 80 Alternating burpees over the bar 60 Front rack lunges, 95#(65#) *Bar can’t touch ground until all 60 reps are finished 40 Medball sit ups, 20#(14#) passing ball over the bar to partner 20 Muscle ups
Christine and Elizabeth getting after the Everyday Warrior Battle Series workout #1.
Speaking of Everyday Warrior Battle Series. . .
Did you workout yesterday and crush 12 minutes of deadlifts and box jump overs? Got plans to workout every Friday for the next 3 weeks? If you answer yes to these questions then get registered for the Everyday Warrior Battle Series. Everyday Warrior is a non profit organization that raises money for members of the CrossFit community who are fighting cancer. They raise this money through online competitions throughout the year. The Battle Series is a 4 week online competition with one workout per week. . . . and you just did one of them. Suckers. So now that you are 1/4 of the way there, let’s make it official. Click here to get registered and donate. Click here to submit your score from today and compete. You can get registered through Monday the 31st.
Speaking of having a deadline of Monday the 31st. . .
Verve shirts are available for pre sale ONLY through Monday the 31st. You can purchase the shirt via the square system at the gym, please be sure to put your name in the notes. You can also purchase the shirt online though MBO, shipping will be added to the cost and we will get them sent off to you.
Get your Verve shirt while you can!!
Speaking of. . .
I have no good segue for this. Next weekend, November 5th-6th, Verve will have early morning classes ONLY and will be closed the remainder of the day for the CrossFit Competitor Course. Please look at the schedule on MBO to see times and reserve your spot in class.
Chris and Patrick working hard on those assault bikes.
During our day of heavy hang power cleans this week, I was working with an athlete that is newer to CrossFit. As we were reviewing the movement, this athlete made a comment that I have heard many times in my coaching career, “This is hard, there are so many things to think about”. A more true statement cannot be made about the Olympic lifts.
There are 10 general physical skills that CrossFit develops: Cardio/ respiratory endurance Stamina Flexibility Strength Power Speed Accuracy Agility Coordination Balance
The first four skills are developed through training, I have to lift more weights in order to build strength. The bottom four are developed through practice, a handstand hold requires balance that only comes from practicing balancing upside down. Power and speed are developed through both training and practice. When we think about something like a back squat, it demands and develops strength, power, flexibility, there is really no requirement for accuracy with a back squat. If we think about that handstand hold we know we definitely need balance, coordination, stamina, but practicing a hold will not demand or develop power, speed, or endurance. We can list any movement and discuss which skills they build/ require and which ones they do not. It’s when we do this that we learn why any athlete, new or veteran status, makes a comment about the difficulty that exists with the Olympic lifts, they are preaching the truth. The Olympic lifts are the only movements that demand AND develop ALL 10 general physical skills. #mindblown
It is because of this that CrossFit loves the Olympic lifts and why they encourage anyone and everyone to practice them, even if it means grandma is only power snatching with PVC. This is also why in order to get better at the Olympic lifts we need to practice them. Neuromuscular Facilitation, also called muscle memory, is one of the most important factors in the adaptation of strength in an athlete, but more importantly as a novice. When we try new movements or activities, our brain sends an electrical impulse to activate the muscles needed. When this movement or pathway is unfamiliar, it is like driving with grandma in a big city and she has no idea where she is going. You end up taking seventeen different streets to go five blocks. As grandma lives in the city, she learns the quickest pathway from point A to point B. The body reacts in a similar way. As your mind works to find the best pathway to move your body it starts finding short cuts and movements become more efficient. With the strength movements in CrossFit, novice people can see strength gains from 20-40 percent in little time with small gain in muscle mass. The gains are attributed to the neuromuscular connection. Now that grandma spent some time in the city (going through repetition after repetition) and finding the most efficient path, she can start pouring on the gas!!! Allowing your mind to catch up to your body will make you more efficient in the long run. We use a lot of fine motor control in our daily lives like typing, brushing our hair, and using a pen. It took a lot of training to make these movements efficient, if you don’t believe me, go brush your teeth with the opposite hand tonight and see if its as easy.
Yes, there are a lot of moving pieces. Yes, there are a lot of things to think about. Yes, while trying to build those neurological pathways we may not move the most weight. But not moving the most weight cannot be the reason we avoid the heavy Olympic lifting day. We need to practice. Our increased practice lends way to better technique. Better technique lends way to moving more weight. And lastly, because of those 10 general physical skills, as we practice the Olympic lifts, our adaptation transfer to other movements in CrossFit. Other movements that require explosive hip opening, timing, and a pull. . . like the kipping pull-up.
In short, my point is: keep on keeping on. Some day it won’t seem like so much to think about.
Garret and his much better half, Stephanie, after a nice walk up Pike’s Peak.
Verve, have you been to the night classes in the past year? Have you seen a man dancing non-stop when Nelly comes on the radio. Well if you haven’t introduced yourself (which you should) meet the man behind the dance, Garret Mueller.
Hometown? Emerson, Nebraska
Age? 28
Occupation? Investment Banker
What do you like to do in your free time? I always say my favorite hour of every day is my daily workout at Verve. Beyond that, I enjoy reading – my goal is to get through at least one new book a month. I’m actually looking for book recommendations, so if anyone has any shout it out in the comments! I used to be an avid golfer, but haven’t been out as often as I’d like since moving to Denver. I also love sports and am looking forward to getting to some Avalanche and Nuggets games this winter.
How long have you been a member at CrossFit Verve? Just over one year.
What is your background in sports and fitness? I played football and basketball and ran track in high school. Before finding CrossFit, I’d always been good about going to the gym, but definitely fell into the mind-numbing rut of “Weights M/W/F, Cardio T/Th/S.”
What changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CrossFit? First and foremost, I’ve really benefitted from Verve’s emphasis on mobility and a proper warm up. I have really poor mobility in my shoulders (as anyone who has seen me try to overhead squat knows), but a year of consistent mobility work has led to a noticeable increase in my range of motion – especially in my shoulders and hips. I’ve also made huge strides in my gymnastics. Prior to joining Verve, I had never done a bar muscle up and never touched a set of rings – now both types of muscle ups are among my favorite movements.
Has CrossFit influenced your life outside of the gym? If so, how? Definitely. CrossFit has encouraged me to think about fitness beyond what happens in the gym – such as sleep and nutrition. For example, I didn’t really think about what I ate before starting CrossFit – I definitely didn’t think about things like meal planning. Now I dedicate time on Sundays to preparing my food for the week. More importantly, Verve is the first place that made Denver feel like “home” to me. I think one of the toughest things about relocating is finding a new social circle and building new relationships. Through Verve, I’ve found a lot of like-minded people that I’ve really enjoyed getting to know.
What’s your favorite benchmark workout? Karen (150 Wall Balls for time).
Any advice for someone just starting? Trust the coaches and use them as a resource. There’s so much knowledge in the minds of the staff at Verve and they go above and beyond to put each member in a position to succeed, not just in the daily WOD, but in our constant pursuit of our long-term goals.
Linda focusing on a good overhead position a during our 20:00 AMRAP a few weeks ago.
For most CrossFitters, their fitness journey is a means to a healthy and fit lifestyle. But as an athlete develops a comfort level with participation, long-term perspective can be blurred by whiteboards and new skills and PRs. Immediate gratification is not only a distraction but also a danger in some instances. A journey that began as a means to health can end with injury and aggravation. But avoiding a few common CrossFit mistakes can keep any athlete on track!
1. Neglecting Progressions
Everybody wants to learn butterfly pull-ups and pistol squats and handstand push-ups, but not everybody is ready to dive into those movements headfirst. The key to safe and proper movement is respecting progressions. If you can’t do a strict pull-up, you’re not prepared for kipping pull-ups and neither are your joints and muscles. If your pistols are only manageable on your toes, your mobility probably needs some work before you tackle a workout that might result in rough knees. Your coach should always keep an eye on your progress and guide you through proper progressions. But it’s also an athlete’s responsibility to stick to instructions and progression plans.
2. Inappropriate Modifications
As a coach, I always instruct my athletes on not only the movements and standards within a workout but also on the main goal. Sometimes we want you moving fast and other times slow. Sometimes we want to condition your lungs and other times we want to build strength. Knowing the goal of a workout is wildly important to your success. An athlete going too heavy or too light with weight, or selecting a movement that is either too easy or too difficult, can change the entire experience. CrossFitters need to look to their coaches for guidance on every workout and aim to achieve it. A 10- to 12-minute workout should be 10 to 12 minutes (or close to) for everybody, regardless of abilities. A “light” workout should be light for everybody, regardless of strength. Make sure you’re not taking your workouts into your own hands by making inappropriate modifications that alter the foundation of your training that day.
3. Too Much, Too Fast
Stronger, faster and more complex … it’s what we want as we progress. But there is such a thing as too much, too fast. In the initial stages of CrossFit participation, an unconditioned body (and oftentimes even a conditioned one) will require a different kind of recovery than one that’s been at it for a year or two. In addition, if strength is the entire focus and technique is left in the peripheral, big jumps might be possible but bad for your body. There is no healthy and quick solution to physical development, so take your time and allow yourself to explore the process as you go.
4. Forgetting Foundations
You learn a skill. Then you complete it on repeat, fatigued. There’s a good chance that not every rep was perfect. And while that’s common, it’s something that should be considered daily. Only perfect practice makes perfect, so if you find your form is losing its former glory, it might be time to take a step back and revisit all the cues and tips you began with. Practicing bad habits are the surest way to wind up with injury. Keep the foundations of your lifts and movements in the forefront of your mind to keep yourself healthy and progressing.
We all have greedy moments in our CrossFit experience. But if you’re able to hold yourself accountable to just a few very applicable best practices, your end goal will have a much greater rate of achievement. Remember why you CrossFit … for most of us, it’s to be a better and healthier version of ourselves. Silly mistakes and lax fundamentals aren’t worth letting go of your goal. Laser focus keeps you moving forward the right way.
Post PR beers for Barb, Eddie, and John!! How else would you celebrate crushing weights?
Everyday Warrior Battle Series kicks off Monday October 24th. It’s an online fundraising competition. Competitors will do 1 workout per week for the next 4 weeks. Verve will be hosting these workouts on Fridays as our WOD, the first being on October 28th.
Everyday Warrior is a non-profit organization founded with the primary mission to inspire, empower, and financially support individuals in the CrossFit community who have been diagnosed with cancer and are currently undergoing treatment. Everyday Warrior had Verve member Sarah DeVito as a featured warrior. Whether we have a personal connection to someone fighting cancer or not, we all understand how devastating it can be for the person battling cancer, and to the people standing beside them. If you plan to workout on Fridays, we urge you to register for this competition, be a part of the support system that shows anyone dealing with cancer, that they do not fight alone.
The Battle Series has 5 divisions of competition: RX, Scaled, Masters, Masters Scaled, and Teen. That’s 5 reasons why there is no excuse not to participate. Registration is already open, click here to get signed up and to learn more about Everyday Warrior.
Post weights (those well earned PRs) to comments and BTWB
New Verve shirts are coming!!
You’ve been waiting patiently. . . at least some of you have. 🙂 And now it’s go time folks. Verve’s new shirt, also known as the one that may cause Clancy to vomit, is available for pre-sale starting today.
These are 3/4 sleeve baseball tees.The shirts are unisex. We have two sample shirts for sizing available at the front desk, they are a small and a large.
We are doing PRE-SALE ONLY for these shirts. Starting now through October 31st you can use the square system to pre-purchase a shirt. The shirts are $25 + sales tax, the square system takes credit card only. No Verve employee will be able to charge your MBO account for a shirt, please use the square system.
We will place the shirt order November 1st, shirts will take less than 2 weeks to get made and dropped off at Verve.
Broncos fan? Get on it. A fan of making Clancy feel sick to his stomach every time you walk by in Broncos colors? Make the buy. And no David Afraimi, we will not be making any in Raiders colors. . . because this is Bronco nation, home of the current Super Bowl champs. If the Raiders win Super Bowl 51, we will make Raiders colors shirts. 😉
Connie Luu celebrating two years at Verve in style!
Ladies and germs, give a warm welcome to this week’s Athlete Highlight – Connie Luu! Connie celebrated her two year Verveversery yesterday and we couldn’t be happier for the things about to come!
Hometown? Aspen, CO
Age? 28
Occupation? Unemployed as of three days ago and enjoying the break…until I can’t afford it anymore, which will be in about a week. But right before, I was an Onboarding Coach at Zen Planner (a fitness business & gym management software).
What do you like to do in your free time? I love going to coffee shops, eating ice cream, cooking, hot yoga, snowboarding and crafts. Let’s be real though, most of my free time is spent catering to my dog or at Verve.
How long have you been a member at CrossFit Verve? Exactly 2 years ago today!
What is your background in sports and fitness? High school volleyball and track (I can’t believe I ran either). Continued volleyball in college and dabbled in yoga. Skiing and snowboarding my whole life.
What changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CrossFit? My strength and capacity to do sh*t. When I first started CrossFit, I just wanted to loose some extra lbs. I can’t pin point the moment, but there was a mental shift when I no longer cared about loosing weight. Instead, I wanted to do a strict pull up, lift and push that weight, snatch this, climb a rope, do a muscle up, etc, and the physical changes in my body were simply bonuses to the real prize-being stronger.
Has CrossFit influenced your life outside of the gym? If so, how? Absolutely! The physical benefits allow me to do the things I love, like snowboarding but more importantly, eat all of the ice cream. CrossFit has built my self confidence outside of the gym and my mental strength & capacity to keep fighting when I want to say “no” or give up. It has also encouraged me to pursue learning about fitness & nutrition. Lastly, the Verve community. I love the relationships I have formed through CrossFit because everyone is supportive, strong, hardworking; and I am a strong believer in choosing who you surround yourself with because those people influence your life the most.
What’s your favorite benchmark workout? Isabel because I love snatching…duh!
Any advice for someone just starting? Focus on today. I find it easy to get caught up in yesterday’s successes or failures. Yes, they are important because they allow us to learn and grow, but I encourage you to come in and focus on what’s on the board today. Work on improving today’s movements, and I promise you will see it translate into how you move and perform later. Come in, work hard, laugh (and cry), and know that everyone is there to support you.
Mike and Kendall getting their synchronized kettlebell swing on.
Last week we finished our modified for GPP Hatch program. This coming Thursday, we are going to be testing our 1 rep max back squat to see how people improved their overall strength. The idea with the program was to to combine volume and percentages of maxes to see the results when it comes to overall strength. If you were consistent with the program, that means you squatted for 6 weeks with percentages ranging from 60% to the final day where you were moving 95% of your 1 rep max back squat for a double!
I’m posting this today to give you a couple days to figure out your schedule. Many of us use Thursday as a rest day so if you would like to know how your squat has improved over the past 6 weeks, be sure to come in on Thursday for the WOD. Wednesday’s workout will leave the legs alone so hopefully you’ll feel well rested when it comes to squat some heavy weight on Thursday.
As we discussed in the post leading up to the squat program, consistency was going to be the key to seeing results. If you were unable to attend the squat days, don’t be discouraged if your strength improvements aren’t what you had hoped or as high as some of the other members. Hopefully you’ll still feel more comfortable with heavier weight then before the program started. Even though we won’t be doing a squat specific program for the foreseeable future, you should still be able to maintain most of the gains you developed due to the number of times we go below parallel in our regular programming.
When you do squat on Thursday, be sure to let the person recording your weights for the whiteboard know if you were able to hit a new PR. Hopefully we’ll see a lot on names with new records next to them.
In summary, this coming Thursday, we are squatting to a heavy 1 rep max. Be there!
3 Rounds With a 5 minute running clock: 0:00 – 2:00 Run 400 meters then as many double unders as possible with time remaining 2:00 – 3:00 As many reps as possible of push press 75#(55#) 3:00 – 4:00 As many reps as possible of pull ups 4:00 – 5:00 As many reps as possible of hang squat clean 75#(55#) Rest 5 Minutes
Experiencing shoulder pain? Here are some ways to train around it and still get a great upper body workout.
There are a few common pain points for CrossFitters. Folks coming in with shoulder pain may be able to stay moving and out of pain with some simple substitutions. These methods can give you a chance to keep training while you address your shoulder issues.
Here are three simple hidden adjustments:
Pull-Ups Do pull-ups on rings or set the Rogue Matador bar-dip attachment high enough to do pull-ups from. Both options offer a neutral grip, which can alleviate pain for many athletes who feel pain spending so much time in a pronated grip.
Shoulder to Overhead All shoulder-to-overhead movements can be done with dumbbells. This, too, offers a neutral grip and can alleviate pain. If you have a strongman log, you can often accomplish the same goals by swapping out the barbell for the log.
Bench Press The Swiss bar is a rare piece of equipment for a CrossFit gym, but it can be a savior for folks with shoulder pain on the bench. Don’t bench much? Go overhead with it!
Of course these aren’t cures for injuries, but they can keep an athlete motivated and making progress when it’s appropriate.
Annie is so happy to be working on strict pull-ups. . . or she’s happy that it’s the weekend!!
Folks!! Verve is closed this weekend for the CrossFit Kids Trainer Course. We will have classes at 6am and 7am on Saturday morning. We will also have a class at 7am on Sunday morning. If you want to get a workout in, then you gotta get up early. Sign up on MBO.
*CrossFit LoDo is hosting the “Pound For Pound” competition this weekend. Verve has several members competing, stop by and give them a cheer!!
*Get signed up for the Everyday Warrior Battle Series that starts October 24th. It’s an online fundraising competition that helps support members of the CrossFit community battling cancer. Verve will be hosting the workouts on Fridays. This is an opportunity to help out a friend, a friend’s friend, a family member, a gym acquaintance, a co-worker, someone fighting with cancer, let them know they do not fight alone. Click here to register or donate or both.
