2 Rounds for time:
25 Toes to bar
15 Front squat, 155#(105#)

Post times to comments and BTWB

Verve’s own Emily Yates is in need of some major high fives and chest bumps.

After competing in the 5 weeks of the 2016 CrossFit Games Open, Emily finished in 17th place in the Southwest Region. This placing has earned Emily a spot at the South Regionals in Dallas, TX this May.

For those of you that may be new to the CrossFit Games, allow me to go into further detail. During the Open, the world in divided into 17 regions, CrossFit Verve is in the Southwest region. During the Open Emily was competing against approximately 7,100 other women for a spot in the top 20 to earn an invitation to Regionals. Yeah. You read that right. Emily came in 17th out of 7,100 women. 

During Regionals the 17 regions are combined together to make 8 super regions. The South Regional will take place the weekend of May 13th-15th in Dallas, TX. There Emily will compete against the top women from the Southwest region, Latin American, and the South Central region for a top 5 finish earning her an invitation to the CrossFit Games in Carson, CA in July. 

Emily was a regional competitor in 2014 but just missed the cut off in 2015. We are so very proud of her hard work and dedication that has helped her get back to regionals this year. To help support her on her trip Verve will be doing 2 things: 1) we will be making Verve regional shirts available through pre-order only, with proceeds going to Emily, 2) Saturday April 30th Verve will be hosting a fun in-house team competition all day at the cost of approximately $20 per person, again with all money going to Emily. This team competition will involve the pre released regional team workouts, giving Verve members an opportunity to see what it’s like to do that level of workout (we will of course have a scaled version of workouts). It is meant to be a fun filled atmosphere with tons of enthusiasm and encouragement, so stay tuned for more details. 

In the mean time, the next time you see Emily. . . high fives and chest bumps. She has 100% earned them.

Congratulations Emily!!!!

For time:
Row 100 calories
*Every minute on the minute, perform 5 burpees

Post Results to BTWB.

Alright, after a week hiatus from “What are those?!”, we are back with Week 4. This edition will be with a focus on the Swiss Bar, which is also commonly known as the Multi Grip Bar. If you haven’t seen or used the Swiss Bar, you truly are missing a great training tool.

The Swiss Bar is great for all lifters who are looking to increase explosive strength. The neutral grip on this bar allow the athlete to both lower and lift the bar at a higher velocity do to the fact that the neutral grip ensures that the athlete doesn’t have to take as much time setting the shoulders in the correct position on the eccentric portion of the lift.

The other amazing benefit is that it takes a ton of stress off the shoulders during upper body pressing and can actually be another great tool to start adding back in after a shoulder injury. For this, I would recommend starting with your hands on the most narrow set of parallel handles to best mimic a close grip bench press. 

Due to the nature of the build, three sets of parallel handles, it’s an ideal tool for dynamic training. Having the option to switch your grip width, add chains and/or bands will allow you to customize the bar to your specific needs or rotate through your Max Effort and Dynamic Effort waves. The Swiss Bar is one of the quickest ways to bust plateaus with improved muscle recruitment.

10 Rounds for time of:
3 Weighted pull ups, 40#(25#)
5 Strict pull ups
7 Pull-ups

Post times to comments and BTWB

May the force be with you. . . during your pulling extravaganza today!!

Verve has A TON of events coming up, so get your calendars out and start writing this down.

April:

Saturday 16th/ Sunday 17th– Verve hosts a Level 1 Seminar. We will have a 7am WOD Saturday and Sunday mornings. Verve will then be closed the rest of the day.

Monday 18th– Verve Sprint starts it’s 2 week trail run for current Verve members!! Sprint classes will be available Mon-Fri 5:45am, Mon- Thurs 5:15pm and 6:15 pm. Please see MBO and sign up for classes.

Saturday 23rd– Verve starts it’s new Saturday class schedule. WODs at 8am, 9am, and 10am. Open gym 11am- 12:30pm. Please check it out on MBO.

Saturday 23rd/ Sunday 24th– EXDO Event Center will be hosting Denver Flea from 10am-6pm. This will have an effect on Verve member’s abilities to get to our normal parking lot across from the front door. We will keep you updated as to the best places to park. For additional info about the event itself, click here.

Saturday 30th– Verve will be putting together an in house competition involving the Regional workouts. It is an event to help raise money to send Verve’s own Emily Bird to Dallas, TX for the South Regionals.

May:

Saturday 7th– Verve is hosting Mom and Me Self Defense Course. It is brought to you by Mile High Women’s Outreach Center. For additional info and to get signed up, click here.

Friday 13th/ Saturday 14th/ Sunday 15th– South Regionals will be taking place in Dallas, TX. We will be streaming it at Verve to cheer on Emily Bird!!

June 18th-19th– Verve will be hosting the CrossFit Football Seminar. Stay tuned for more details.

August 13th– Verve will be hosting the Femme Royale women’s only partner competition. There will be 3 divisions: For Fun, 50/50, and RX. Stay tuned for more details. 

Take 20 minutes to work up to a heavy
2 Rep bench press

Then,
3 Rounds with 2 minutes of rest between:
Take take 50% of 2 rep max bench press and perform a max rep set

Post loads to comments and BTWB

The air squat, that’s functional. By Courtney Shepherd

Each of us, before becoming a member of CrossFit Verve, took part in a foundations class in some form or another. Just the title of the class gives away it’s purpose, to teach us the foundations of CrossFit. The very first one on the list is the air squat. The air squat is a foundational movement because we can continuously build on it, seeing new movements form like the front squat, OHS, back squat, thruster, wallball, etc. Each of these movements has it’s own working parts and pieces but the underlying components of their squats are all the same.

We put a lot of emphasis on the squat, not just because it’s a foundational movement but because it is a functional movement. That’s a lot of “F” words to describe the air squat. Your next question may be “what makes a movement functional?” There are several characteristics that make a movement functional:

1) Functional movement is natural. What I mean by that is we don’t have to be taught functional movement. When you were a kid did you ever sit down? Then moments later did you stand back up? That was a squat. Do you remember your parents teaching you how to sit down and stand up? Most likely because they never had to, we figured it out all on our very own.

2) Functional movement demonstrates universal motor recruitment patterns. Meaning it’s unavoidable movement. Try sitting down without bending at the knees, not possible. Squatting requires multiple joints, multiple muscle groups engaged to be performed.

3) Functional movement is safe. Even at post 1 rep maximal loads.

4) Functional movement is essential. You need functional movement to get through the day. Getting out of bed in the morning, sitting on to and getting off of a toilet, sitting down in a chair at our work desk. The loss of functional movement is called decrepitude and is the reason people find themselves in nursing homes.

5) Functional movement is compound yet irreducible. I can not break a squat up into pieces. I can not do leg curls, calf raises, thigh abductors, thigh adductors, and at the end have a better squat. Because of characteristic #2 in order for my squat to improve I must do squats.

6) Functional movement demonstrates the importance of core to extremity. When we warm up the squat we address initiating with out hips first. This engages our bigger muscle groups first. I want my biggest muscle groups engaged before the smaller ones, they do more work.

The most definitive characteristic of a functional movement is that it allows us to move large loads, a long distance, quickly. In the air squat that large load may first be your body weight. As we build strength we may be able to support loads for back squats and front squats.

The point is that an air squat is not just an air squat. It is the foundation for many additional movements. Building strength in the mechanics of an air squat has transferability. An air squat is also a functional movement. Performing functional movements is a necessity in life. In short, squats are good for the soul, like chicken soup.

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes:
50 Double unders
25 Ab mat sit ups
5 Muscle ups

Post Results on BTWB

We are taking a one week hiatus from “What are those?!” to talk about something I feel strongly about. 

A lot of times in the strength and conditioning world, coaches and programmers will hound athletes saying,  “follow the program” or “work through it” until it is beaten into their athletes heads that their program is the only thing that works. First of all, this is ridiculous. Yes, it’s great to follow a program, however life happens and listening to our body is the number one. 

A program is just words on a piece of paper. Even though, coaches are doing their best job of crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s while they write, even the best out their can’t account for how every single person is feeling. Yes of course, we are trying to monitor our pulls and presses and balance out everything that could go wrong. However, just like our parents told us (unfortunately) we are all unique snowflakes. The most important thing is listening to our body. If our backs are tight, maybe avoid pulling from the ground. If our knees haven’t been feeling great the past couple days then don’t go below parallel. If our shoulders aren’t feeling the best, take out the overhead work and add in horizontal pulling to get the scapula’s moving correctly again. The key to training is adaptation. We have to adapt to the way we are feeling and keep moving forward.

If you are ever feeling a lack of confidence in a movement or a workout, express that to the coach in charge, especially if something isn’t feeling right. Sometimes we have to modify for a day or two and that will get us back to normal and avoiding a bigger injury. 

The program is just words on paper.

In teams of 2 complete the following for time:
100 Kettlebell swings, 53#(35#)
400 Meter run together
20 Rope climbs
400 Meter run together
50 Strict handstand push-ups
400 Meter run together

Post times to comments and BTWB

It’s party time!!

Verve is hosting the End Of The Open Party today starting at 12pm. Bring your favorite food, bring your favorite booze, and bring your favorite games. The BBQ will be running out back and the shenanigans will be running inside. It’s your opportunity to pat yourselves on the back, high five your buddy, and toast to a rough, yet fun, 5 weeks of the CrossFit Games Open. Open gym will be cancelled for the day. . . mingle instead. . . you know, without barbells.

**Verve Updates**

Starting Saturday April 16th Verve will be changing it’s Saturday schedule. Everything will be pushed back an hour:

8am WOD
9am WOD
10am WOD
11am-12:30pm open gym

We intend to try this for an entire month. Based on feedback during the month we will decide whether to continue or return to our previous schedule.

Starting April 18th Verve will be introducing Verve Sprint. For 2 weeks this new program will be open to current Verve members to test run. Starting the first Monday in May the Sprint class will have it’s own membership. For additional details please click here.

Sprint schedule:
Monday- Friday 5:45am
Monday- Thursday 5:15pm and 6:15pm

Each class is 45 minutes long.

Verve will be hosting a Level 1 Seminar the weekend of April 16th-17th. Verve will host a 7am WOD Saturday and Sunday morning, Verve will then be closed the remainder of the day. 

20 Minutes to work to a heavy complex of:
1 Shoulder press
1 Push press
2 Push jerks

Then:
Every minute on the minute for 5 minutes:
1 Push press + 1 push jerk @ 75% of todays complex
30 Double unders

Post loads to comments and BTWB

That’s a wrap!!

The 2016 Open has come to a close and if you were here on Friday you may have cheers to it’s end with some Titos and Tasty. If by chance you did not experience this amazing concoction, I highly recommend the next time you need to cheers to anything, you do so with Titos vodka and Kill Cliff Tasty. Barb would agree, it’s pretty. . . uhhh, what’s the word I’m looking for. . . tasty. 

Well this week also brings to a close my last shot out to two pretty inspiring Verve athletes and their pretty noteworthy performances in 16.5. 

Stan Sloan

Stan has been a consistent presence in the evening classes for over 2 years. And over those 2+ years Stan has worked hard, pushed himself through many grueling workouts, practiced his form and increased his weights. . . Stan has been working his way into being a bit of a CrossFit badass. Proof is that Stan put up a time of 14:46 in 16.5. Now before you ooh and ahh over a very impressive time, I want you to know the most impressive part about it. . . in 2014 when Stan performed this workout as 14.5, his time was 21:29. Now you can ooh and ahh. Stan was only 5 months into CrossFit when he signed up for the 2014 Open. Stan entered a score for all 5 workouts that year and considering there was no scaled division that year, being able to, in only 5 months of CrossFit, put up at least 1 rep for every workout is awesome. Now we fast forward 2 years. . . 2 years of mechanics, consistency, and intensity, and Stan has absolutely proof through a benchmark workout that he is without any doubt, stronger and more fit. Congratulations Stan on getting more and more badass every year!!

Connie Luu

I never sat down with Connie and talked with her about her goals for the 2016 Open, but I feel like I may have a good idea of what they were. I’ve had the privilege to train with Connie and work along side her during some pretty intense training sessions. I’ve seen her push herself to finish long after I’m certain she wanted to quit. I’ve seen her struggle and work through things that were an obvious weakness until she made them a strength. My guess was that Connie wanted to attack the 2016 Open with some fury and she wanted to crush it. I know for a fact she did not want to be injured right before it started. Which is unfortunately what happened. Several weeks before the Open Connie had an injury she was certain would effect her performance in the Open. She still signed up. From day 1 Connie has come in to Verve on Friday nights, looked at the workout, pieced together what she could and could not do, and then she attacked it. She did what she could to enter a score but continued with what would allow her to work hard and complete a whole workout. The first week she entered a score of 1 rep, but I watched her sweat it out for 20 whole minutes. Every Friday she came to Verve with an amazing attitude of “I will do what I can and I will work hard doing it”. And when she was done, she helped judge the next person, and would often stick around even longer to cheer on even more people. Connie came to open gym times to help judge and cheer, even when she had no plans of working out. After 16.5 I asked Connie her time for the workout, she told me “1”. I had to unfortunately remind her she could not turn in a score of 1 rep for this workout as it was a time based workout. As far as the Open was concerned, she would not be able to enter a time. She simply smiled, said oh well, and moved on to cheer on her partner. I know this Open did not go the way Connie would have liked but she is one of the most inspiring performances for the whole Open. I’m so proud of how involved Connie was in something she could have let be a big personal disappointment. You are one strong lady!!

Nate Rader, Eric Clancy, Walter Lopez, Sean McAleenan and more all improved their scores from 2014. Sarah LeGasse (Lev) did every Open workout while approx 9 months pregnant. Over the past 5 weeks we have highlighted some great athletic moments and some inspiring moments of pure heart and spirit. Everyone that signed up for the Open and came back every Friday ready to tackle the next WOD deserves a high five. . . and a party to celebrate all that hard work. 

Saturday April 2nd, starting at 12pm, Verve is opening it’s doors to an Open themed BBQ. Didn’t sign up for the Open or do any of the workouts?? We don’t care, we still want you there. Come on down and get inspired to sign up for it next year. Did the Open and got some things you want to brag about?? What better place to do it then surrounded by people who will actually understand your brags. For details about what to bring, please see the FB event page or check out any one of the many flyers posted around Verve. Drink and eat up, laugh and be merry, you all deserve it!!

Till next year. . . . #Open2017

For Time:
21-15-9
Deadlifts, 225#(155#)
Chest to Bar Pull-ups

Post Results to BTWB

In the Week 3 edition of “What are those?!?”, we will be going over the Trap Bar. The Trap Bar has a number of uses and specializations.

What is a Trap Bar?
The trap bar, which is also known as the hex-bar, is a hexagon shaped barbell that allows the lifter to stand in the center of the load being lifted rather than behind it. 

Who should use a Trap Bar?
Anyone could benefit from using the Trap Bar. Whether you are rehabbing from an injury or just looking to get stronger, the trap bar could play a role in helping you reach your goals.

What are the benefits of the Trap Bar?
“The trap bar deadlift is considered far superior to barbells for power and strength training as it transfers the load more to the knees than to the hips of the lumbar spine, ideal for those suffering from lower back problems.

The trap bar provides a safer version of deadlift than the straight bar version as it produces significant levels of peak force, power and velocity while allowing more weight to be lifted over a longer period of time. It reduces the potential for injury and at the same time maximizes power. The upright torso position used in the deadlift improves posture and corrects weightlifting techniques.

The technique used in a this deadlift is more advantageous for beginning weight lifters who require a greater amount of upfront coaching in their mobility work. The one thing coaches find challenging is to prevent the over-extension of the back muscles which can be avoided with the right type of execution.

For most weight lifters, getting into the correct deadlift position using a straight bar is quite challenging without lots of coaching and mobility work upfront. This is especially true for those who are desk bound for 8 hours per day and do not have the same flexibility as serious lifters who practice their lumbar flexions and posterior pelvic tilt postures for hours. The trap bar design allows a more upright torso position where the knees move forward, allowing the hips to sit lower, which avoids scraping the shins as sometimes happens with a straight bar movement.

This strength training exercise is a good one, as you can see here. It helps to prevent injury, utilizes your full strength, and is a great exercise for your legs and back.”*

*Taken from: http://strongains.com/trap-bar-deadlift-benefits/

WORKOUT 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters, 95#(65#)
Bar facing burpees

Post times to comments, BTWB, and Games

Notes
This workout begins with the barbell on the floor and the athlete standing tall. At the call of “3, 2, 1 … go,” the athlete will perform 21 thrusters, then 21 burpees, jumping over the barbell for each rep of the burpees. They will then perform 18 of each, then 15 of each, etc., until the last round of 3 of each. Every second counts in this workout. Your score will be the time it takes to complete all 168 repetitions. There is no time cap for this workout.

This workout ends when the feet land on the other side of the bar on the final rep. Time will be recorded in full seconds. Do not round up. If you finish in 7:49.8, your score is 7:49.

Equipment
• Barbell
• Standard bumper plates (18” diameter) to load to the appropriate weight for your division
• Collars

* If you do not use standard-sized bumper plates on the barbell, you will also need a second barbell set with standard plates to jump over for the burpees, unless you are Scaled Masters. Scaled Masters will be permitted to jump over an empty barbell on the burpees.

For each workout, be sure the athlete has adequate space to safely complete the workout. Clear the area of all extra equipment, people or other obstructions.

Any athlete who in any way alters the equipment or movements described in this document or shown in the workout standards video may be disqualified from the competition.

**The official weight is in pounds. For your convenience, the minimum acceptable weights in kilograms are 43 kg (95 lb.), 29 kg (65 lb.), 20 kg (45 lb.), and 15 kg (35 lb.).

Video Submission Standards
Prior to starting, film the plates and barbell to be used so the loads can be seen clearly. All video submissions should be uncut and unedited in order to accurately display the performance. A second person with a stopwatch should be in the frame throughout the entire workout. Shoot the video from an angle so all exercises can be clearly seen meeting the movement standards.

Note: Depending on your performance, this video may be longer than previous workouts. Be sure you have enough battery life, memory and time to upload your video. You may need to increase your limit on YouTube to allow a longer video.

Workout 16.5 Variations

Rx’d (Rx’d Men, Masters Men 40-44, Masters Men 45-49, Masters Men 50-54, Rx’d Women, Masters Women 40-44, Masters Women 45-49, Masters Women 50-54, Teen Boys 16-17, Teen Girls 16-17)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Men use 95 lb.
Women use 65 lb.

Scaled (Scaled Men, Scaled Masters Men 40-44, Scaled Masters Men 45-49, Scaled Masters Men 50-54, Scaled Women, Scaled Masters Women 40-44, Scaled Masters Women 45-49, Scaled Masters Women 50-54)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Men use 65 lb.
Women use 45 lb.

Masters (Masters Men 55-59, Masters Men 60+, Masters Women 55-59, Masters Women 60+)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Men use 65 lb.
Women use 45 lb.

Scaled Masters (Scaled Masters Men 55-59, Scaled Masters Men 60+, Scaled Masters Women 55-59, Scaled Masters Women 60+)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Men use 45 lb.
Women use 35 lb.
Note: Burpees over an unloaded barbell are permitted for this division.

Teens 14-15 (Teen Boys 14-15, Teen Girls 14-15)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Boys use 65 lb.
Girls use 45 lb.

Scaled Teens (Scaled Teen Boys 14-15, Scaled Teen Boys 16-17, Scaled Teen Girls 14-15, Scaled Teen Girls 16-17)
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
Thrusters
Burpees

Boys use 45 lb.
Girls use 35 lb.

As many rounds as possible in 14 minutes of:
10 Deadlifts, 155#(105#)
15 GHD Sit ups
20′ Handstand walk
25 Double unders

Post rounds and reps to comments and BTWB

Drum roll please. . . .

It’s the last week of the Open folks, any guesses as to what 16.5 will be? I will officially put in my guess of some sort of “for time” workout involving heavier thrusters and box jump overs. Just the thought of those two things on my legs is enough to make me not come to class on Friday. Not really. . . but it does make me cry a little on the inside. 

We are excited to heat what Dave Castro has come up with and we are excited to celebrate the end of the Open season. This Friday night we will have a Friday Night Lights party courtesy of Kill Cliff, starting with the evening classes. As we are not sure what the actual workout is, please join your normal WODing class time throughout the day, however when you get off work at night head back over to Verve to cheer on the pm guys/ gals and enjoy some tasty Kill Cliff. We will follow up this event with an even bigger party on Saturday April 2nd. It will be a fun filled grilling event held at Verve. The party starts at 12pm and goes as long as you can. Please see the Facebook event page created for the party or check out the details at any one of the numerous flyers posted around Verve. 

And as I have done for the past few weeks, I would also like to highlight two people that participated in 16.4, that we can start celebrating right meow. 

Anahita Khosravi

I was hanging out during the evening classes, watching 16.4 go down. I was watching another athlete chip away at some handstand push-ups when I looked to my left and caught Anahita kipping out of the bottom of a handstand push-up. I saw her kick hard, drive her head through, and flex those ankles to get her heels over the tape line. As soon as her judge said good, I saw Anahita lower herself and kip up again, getting another handstand push-up. As soon as her judge said good, she came down off the wall to shake it out. While I was watching her perform these very easy looking handstand push-ups I thought to myself, “huh? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do them before. I must have missed something during workouts”. Right at that moment, Anahita and I made eye contact and I said out loud what I had been thinking, “I’ve never seen you do HSPUs in a workout before, I didn’t know that you could.” “That’s because I never have before, until now. Those are my first ones.” That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Anahita worked her way through 16.4, and when she got off the rower with enough time to attempt HSPUs, she did. . . very successfully. Congratulations at pushing yourself hard and still finding the moment to catch your breath and put in to play the skills you practice during WODs. Congratulations on getting your first ever 3 HSPUs during an Open workout, especially when they came at the end of the workout!!!

Joel Swanson

In the 2 years Joel has been a member of Verve he has become a very strong, competitive athlete. To look at 16.4, there is no doubt in my mind that Joel could do the workout as prescribed. I’ve seen him move heavy deadlifts, I’ve seen him crush wall balls, I’ve seen him excel on the rower, and I know he can do HSPUs. When his scoresheet was handed in, he score read 250+ reps, scaled. I wasn’t sure if the “scaled” part was correct or not so I went to confirm with him. I asked him if he scaled the workout, and with a smile he said yes. When I asked why, he told me his back was a little achy recently and he didn’t think lifting 225# deadlifts was a very good idea. I want to congratulate Joel on embodying the spirit of the Open, the spirit of CrossFit, and for literally doing what we ask everyone to do every day. Joel listened to his body. Joel didn’t get pouty and say to himself, “since I can’t do it RX then it’s not worth doing”, and he didn’t say “I’m going to push through this pain”. 250+ reps for 16.4 is a full round plus more deadlifts and into the wall balls of round two. Joel crushed the workout. He pushed himself and never stopped moving, he still proved to himself that he is fit and competitive, and the bigger bonus yet is that he remained pain free and healthy enough to come back again and again over the next several days to continue to train. I’m proud of his decision and I’m even more proud he did it with an amazing attitude. Congratulations on killing the workout and being able to get up and walk away from it normally when you were done. 😉

I would also like to give a very honorable mention to Miss Maddie Berky. Not for her performance in 16.4 but simply caring about the well being of others and being a very generous, thoughtful person. She left something on each desk of a full time trainer to show encouragement and keep us positive as we’ve worked through Verve’s transition into it’s new home and as we coach/ train through the Open. While this is our job, and I know I can easily say we all love what we do, it was a nice surprise in the middle of the week to reenergize us all and remind us why we love what we do. Thank you Maddie. 

Get ready to rock and roll guys/ gals, Thursday’s announcement is the last one for a whole year. Keep all that energy and excitement going and let’s finish this Open up strong!! Make your predictions, the closest guess will win a prize from me. . . and no, it’s not burpees. It is also not sitting and watching as others do burpees. 🙂