12 Days Of Christmas
For time:
1 Deadlift, 275#(185#)
2 Handstand push-ups
3 Toes to bars
4 Burpees
5 Power cleans, 115#(75#)
6 Box jumps, 24″(20″)
7 Walking lunges
8 Dumbbell snatches, 40#(25#)
9 Shoulder to overheads, 115#(75#)
10 Double unders
11 Pull-ups
12 Thrusters, 115#(75#)

Post times to comments and BTWB

The 8 Most Common CrossFit Mistakes By Livestrong.com and brought to your viewing pleasure by Courtney Shepherd

Hey, I make mistakes, you make mistakes, we all make mistakes. That’s just life. But unfortunately some of us are making the same mistakes over and over and not learning from them. This really only becomes a big deal if we are hoping to make progress in life, because unfortunately repeating a problem over and over does not make for progress in anything, including in the gym. Which is really the kind of mistakes I’m referencing here. . . I can’t control what you do on your own time. Over the years I’ve had athletes come to me and ask why they haven’t improved in a certain area, why their weights haven’t gone up, or their times haven’t gotten faster. Unfortunately for most, the answer to those questions is not always something we may want to hear, because it may include pointing out one of the 8 most common CrossFit mistakes. But folks, now is the time. Now is the time to look at ourselves in the mirror, identify the fault, and decide to make a change. The new year is around the corner. Let’s ditch our bad ways and jump on the train of forward progress.

MISTAKE #1: Not Building a Base

Just like the construction of a building, a solid base must be laid down before participating in any heavy lifting. It’s important to start with the foundations of each movement, the air squat, the shoulder press, and the deadlift. Then we build on these movements by adding complexity with the front squat, push press, and sumo deadlift high pull. If we struggle with the overhead squat, could it be because we have yet to master the squat? It’s easy to want to jump right to lifting big weights or doing five WODs a week, but it’s not smart or safe. Be consistent in the fundamentals. 

If you want to improve your fitness level, train smarter, not harder. Slow and steady is the best way to build an athlete. If power is at the top of the pyramid, then stability is the base. Fitness is a constant process. Build your foundation of fitness first and then begin to increase the intensity, whether it’s weight, reps or variations of an exercise. Trust in the process.

MISTAKE #2: Neglecting to Warm Up

Warming up is one of the most important things any athlete can do. Olympic track athletes warm up for more than an hour just to run a sub-10-second 100-meter race. If the muscles are warm, they will perform properly; if they’re cold, they will not perform as well and increase the risk of injury. We want to make sure we have properly stretched the joints and sufficiently established the ranges of motion that will be used in each exercise. This is not only increasing blood flow to the muscle and preparing it to perform at peak potential, but it is also mimicking the neurological movement patterns.

We get that life happens, accidents occur, lanes are blocked, snow is falling, etc. But it’s important not to make a habit of being late to class and missing the all important warm-up.

MISTAKE #3: Overtraining

Many will agree, CrossFit can be addicting. From pushing past self-imposed limits to setting personal records to the new friends you make, CrossFit always leaves you coming back for more. While CrossFit does wonders for your mind, body and spirit, it needs to be done in individual moderation. For some people, such as competitors, this can mean two workouts per day four or more times a week. For others, this can mean three WODs in a week. Signs of overtraining include irritability, change in appetite, change in sleep patterns, a plateau in performance and loss of motivation.

Overtraining leads to burning out and even injury. Recovery is just as important as training. So remember to schedule “off” days for your body to fully recover. But recovery isn’t just rest, recovery involves hydration, diet, sleep, soft-tissue work and corrective exercises. Athletes who want to compete should assign a mandatory two days off. When we first decide on a goal, we are full of hope and ambition. What we may not realize is even when we physically feel good, we still need to mentally get away from our training.

MISTAKE #4: Skipping Mobility

When listing the reasons why one does CrossFit, we usually see losing weight and building muscle at the top of the list. Unfortunately, flexibility and mobility usually don’t even crack the top 10. However, mobility is crucial when it comes to long-term performance and general well-being.

Having better mobility is going to make us better CrossFitters by increasing our range of motion, allowing for better and faster recovery and preventing injury. It’s time to become best friends with the foam roller.

MISTAKE #5: Constant Competition in Training

Competition is an important aspect of all sports, and it’s human nature to try to constantly improve. The unique thing about CrossFit is that it is “the sport of fitness,” so things get very muddy. Naturally, injury can be a risk in CrossFit precisely because of this. If we don’t have stable, competent movement patterns and we push both volume and intensity, it’s a recipe for disaster. Since CrossFit is in a group environment, it is akin to a pitcher throwing every pitch as hard as he can. Pacing and recovery are crucial components of training. Even in a professional soccer game, during which there may be 30 all-out short sprints, 90 percent of the game is slow-paced recovery.

MISTAKE #6: Sacrificing Form for Reps

Focusing on form is in line with the first step – building a base. When we really want something, we’ll often do anything to get it. CrossFit is no different. This frequently comes in the shape of sacrificing form for repetitions.

For instance, if we round our back just to pick up a deadlift, we are sacrificing form for reps. If we don’t touch our chest to the ground when doing pushups, we are sacrificing form for reps. If our knees bend in instead of out while we squat, we are sacrificing form for reps. All of these sacrifices put us in danger of injuring ourself. Nothing is as important as proper form. Most of the movements in CrossFit require a high power output with heavy weight. If done properly, we will benefit exponentially. If movements are done in an incorrect manner, we will only suffer.

MISTAKE #7: Neglecting Proper Post-WOD Nutrition

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is waiting too long to replenish glycogen post-WOD. After an intense WOD, our body is depleted of its glycogen stores and it’s imperative to replenish them for optimum muscle recovery and performance. What does this mean in layman’s terms? Refuel your body with protein and carbohydrates within an hour of your workout and you will recover faster and more efficiently.

Carbs are needed, but the timing is critical. There is an anabolic window of opportunity. The anabolic window is generally considered to be within 30 minutes from the end of our workout. A study out of the University of Texas showed that a protein and carbohydrate mixture from 1:1 to 1:4 is “anabolic as well as anti-catabolic. Anabolic builds while anti-catabolic prevents and reduces breakdown.”

MISTAKE #8: Skimping on Sleep

Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise. If you’re not getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, it’s like putting sugar in the gas tank of your car. Over time, it will chip away at you and eventually cause your performance to deteriorate. Lack of sleep increases the production of the hormone cortisol, which causes the body to accumulate and hold on to fat. Let’s not be our own worst enemies or undo all the hard work we’ve put in at the gym.

To perform well in future workouts, we need to be able to recover from previous workout. A good night’s sleep will allow us to perform at our peak. Remember, results are not seen in training; results are seen in recovery.

*Click here for full article.

Tomorrow is an abbreviated schedule. Please see MBO for times and to get signed up. The 9am class is pretty full, several people will be doing the workout during open gym at 10am if anyone wants to join.

Christmas Day we have only one class. Saturday it’s back to business as usual. 

4 Rounds with a 4 minute running clock:
Row 500m(400m)
With remaining time, as many kettlebell swings as possible, 32kg(24kg)
Rest 2 minutes

Post reps to comments and BTWB

Elephants are the only animals without knees. . . I promise. . . I think. I have no idea what I’m talking about By Courtney Shepherd and the inter webs

So yesterday morning I started all my classes with a warm-up involving the bear crawl. In every single class there was at least one person doing said bear crawl with their legs straight, knees locked out. So in every class I made this statement,

“You guys know bears have knees right? You can bend your knees when you bear crawl. Elephants don’t have knees but I’m not asking you to do an elephant crawl. . . so bend your knees.”

Now the 5:30am and 6:30am went with it, but the 7:30am class. . . . . well the 7:30am class was not having my small piece of logically sound trivia. I was called out instantly. Which meant I took to the Googles instantly. My confidence in the elephant/ knee situation is based on the fact that I was also VERY positive that elephants can’t jump. But 7:30am brought up the point that if elephants don’t have knees then how do the ones in the circus do some of the tricks they do? Valid point. Apparently I had not fully thought this through. 

Well folks, you may think this is a pointless blog post but really it’s not. Because what I am giving to you today is the ability to keep the conversation alive at all your festivus functions you will be attending this week. So. . . you’re welcome.

Here are 3 myths about elephants that, like me, you probably believe and 3 amazing facts that, per the article I stole this from (click here for full article), you will be glad you now know:

Elephants drink water through their trunks, like a straw

Myth. Although they do use their trunks to drink, the water won’t go all the way up. Instead, they’ll suck the water part way up the trunk and pour it into their mouths – a lot. Elephants drink between 140 and 230 litres a day on average.

Elephants love to eat peanuts

Myth. Elephants certainly don’t eat peanuts in the wild, and they’re not a typical diet for captive animals either. Elephants are the world’s biggest land animals and have to spend 16 to 18 hours a day eating. Peanuts, on the other hand, are tiny.

Elephants are the only mammal that can’t jump

Myth. It is true that adult elephants can’t jump. But there are other mammals that can’t either, like sloths, hippos and rhinos. Although, unlike elephants, hippos and rhinos can have all four feet off the ground at the same time when they run.

Elephants can ‘hear’ with their feet

Fact. Elephants have excellent hearing, but African elephants can also detect rumbles in the ground with sensory cells in their feet. An elephant will ‘hear’ these vibrations when they travel to its front feet, up its legs and shoulder bones and to its middle ear. The elephant will be able to tell where the sound is coming from by comparing the timing of the signals.

The elephant’s closest relative is a guinea pig lookalike

Fact. The rock hyrax is a small, furry, rat-like mammal that lives in rocky landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa and along the coast of the Arab peninsula. Amazingly, elephants and rock hyraxes share several common features in the toes, teeth and skull; like two tusks, and flattened nails on the tips of their digits (as opposed to claws commonly seen on other mammals). It has been about 60 million years since their common ancestor existed.

The Chinese translation of ‘ivory’ is ‘elephant tooth’

Fact. Although tusks are actually the elongated incisor teeth of the elephant, they can’t just ‘fall out’ like human teeth. Many people in China – where the ivory trade is booming – might not realise that elephants are brutally killed for their tusks. Polls by the International Fund for Animal Welfare found that 70 per cent of Chinese people didn’t realise that ivory comes from dead elephants.

Now because I don’t want you to feel fully jilted out of some amazing CrossFit style wisdom, I would also like to make sure that everyone knows WHY the bear crawl is such an important and pivotal training movement (click here for full article):

Bear Crawls Build Strength

Think of the Bear Crawl as a moving Plank. It works your core muscles just like the Plank, but since you’re moving, it engages more muscles and forces your core to work harder to keep you stable. “The Bear Crawl strengthens your core and works your entire body, especially your shoulders, arms and glutes,” DeCillis says.

Bear Crawls Increase Mobility

DeCillis adds that the Bear Crawl improves hip mobility. When you crawl, your hips go from fully flexed to fully extended, taking the joint through its entire range of motion. This makes it a perfect warm-up drill—plus it gets your heart pumping and wakes up your central nervous system.

Bear Crawls Improve Conditioning

The Bear Crawl is a full-body movement, so it’s a no-brainer to use as a conditioning tool. It increases your muscular endurance and improves your overall conditioning base. 

Bear Crawls are Versatile

“I often use the Bear Crawl especially with youth athletes and people who are not yet ready to be loaded with resistance exercises,” DeCillis says. Once you have sufficient strength, you can try more challenging variations, like moving laterally or backward. To further increase the challenge, perform the move wearing a weight vest or crawl as fast as possible over a set distance.

So there you have it folks. What’s the moral of this story? Well, there are several. . . 1) Be skeptical of my “trivia”, 2) elephants have 2 knees and 2 elbows, but they still can’t jump, 3) Bear crawling is badass. 

Happy hump day.

**Thursday and Friday are abbreviated schedules. Thursday we will be doing the 12 Days of Christmas WOD and Friday we only have 1 class. PLEASE, PLEASE sign up on MBO , you know, per the usual. 

Working in teams of 2, complete for time:
60 Clean & jerk, 135#(95#)
60 Thruster, 135#(95#)
60 Burpees over the bar

*Only 1 person may work at a time

Post times to comments and BTWB

‘Twas the weekend before Christmas, when all through the gym, not a creature was stirring. . . . 

Well actually that’s a lie, if the gym is open, people be stirring.

*We are quickly approaching Christmas, Verve will have an abbreviated schedule this week. So for all you fitness nerds out there that plan to get your sweat on during this festivus time of year. . . 

Monday 12/ 21- Business as usual

Tuesday 12/22- Business as usual

Wednesday 12/23 – Business as usual

Thursday 12/24 (Christmas Eve)- 7:30am WOD, 5pm WOD, 6pm WOD & Skilz, 7pm WOD, and 8pm open gym are CANCELED. We are doing the “12 Days Of Christmas”.

Friday 12/25 (Christmas Day)- We have 1 class @ 10am. The schedule originally said “open gym”, it is being changed. This will be a 1 hour long WOD. 

Saturday 12/26- Business as usual

*Please plan accordingly. And per the usual standard of practice, please go to MBO and sign up for any class you wish to attend.

*If you are having trouble accessing MBO through your phone app, please abandon your phones momentarily and go to the schedule online on a computer. App troubles are no reason to not sign up for/ cancel coming to a class. (On a side note, MBO did a large update. If you have been having app problems, you may need to update your phone)

*We will also have an abbreviated schedule on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, please check MBO. 

Take 20 minutes to establish a heavy complex of:
1 Squat clean + 4 front squats

Then, every minute on the minute x 5 minutes:
1 Clean + 2 front Squats @ 80% of today’s heaviest complex

Compare to 10/15/15

Post loads to comments and BTWB

This woman holds a very special place in Verve’s heart. For one, she is THE BEST momager. Ever. Any attempts to refute will be promptly shut down. Second, whenever Verve has needed assistance. . .  with like anything, she is there before we even finish asking the favor. Which is exactly how it went down when we went to her about setting up a site for both registration and the leaderboard for Saturday’s competition. As it turns out, Miss Dangoia, and several others, were already working on a new system for such a purpose. Their company goes by the name Fitknowlogy.

While they were not up and running during the registration process, Verve got a sneak-peek at the Fitknowlogy system during the #ItTakesATeam competition this past weekend, as the first official “beta” users of the site! The company is set to launch their full solution in April 2016 following the conclusion of the CrossFit Games Open.

Fitknowlogy provides a single, easy-to-use interface for both online & onsite competition management. The application manages competitor registration, payment, and score/leaderboard management – with many more features in the pipeline for development (heat management, timing chip integration, text message alerts, etc).

Several current & former Verve athletes play a crucial role in this new company: Danielle Dangoia (CEO), Josh Schall (COO), and Amy Schaeffer (VP – Client Services).

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fitknowlogy-989470231103955/
Instagram: @fitknowlogy
Twitter: @fitknowlogy

Why do we bring all this up? Because we always believe in giving credit where credit is due. Some of you may have noticed (prior to me shutting it down during the 3rd and final workout on Saturday to keep the winners a surprise), that within minutes of the completion of each event, scores and placings were promptly announced. Danielle was responsible for doing all the math/ number crunching, and quickly imputed it into the Fitknowlogy site for immediate reference for anyone wanting to know their teams standings. It was an easy and quick system that deserves a round of applause for it’s beta test. Also we want anyone to know how they can make use of this system in the future. Got a competition you are putting together? Need an online site to organize it? We at Verve would like to highly recommend this one. 

Thank you again Danielle. Not just for all your hard work leading up to Saturday and the hard work on Saturday but for everything you do that, quite frankly, helps make us look good. 

For time:
21-15-9 Push press, 135#(95#)
7-5-3 Muscle-ups

Post times to comments and BTWB

Well folks, I’m certain you came to the blog hoping for another informative article highjacked from the internet by your’s truly. . . but that is not what you will get today. Today and tomorrow’s post I would simply like to dedicate to those that helped out this weekend. I’m calling you all out by name!!

To the many companies and people that donated for our top team finisher prizes and raffle prizes:

Progenex– Matt Marshall and Justin Ratliff

SFH– Matt Aporta and Keith McReynolds

RX Bar– Peter Rahal

Suerte Tequila– Kirk Warner

Fuel For Fire– Mark Neville

Kill Cliff– Josh Haskins

The Cassette Company– Austin Clift

Genesis Performance & Recovery– John Lewis

Monument Gear– Steve Williams

MyaTherapy– Jason Thompson

Progressive Paleo– Ramsey Lowe

Rogue– Matt Chan

Reebok

Brute Force Training– Justin Eberle

STAKK’D– Matt Conti

Lift Heavies– Kadir Suleymanoglu

Living Love Mindfulness Medicine– Dr. Diane Mueller

Smith Sunglasses– Jake Pedziwiatr

Great Divide Brewery

OSO Barbell Collars

To the many Verve members/ Verve family that gave of their time:

Stephanie Missey

Scotty Lefbvre

Nate Rader

Sarah Sullivan

Steve Fox

Paul Buono

Kacey Kingry

Shaina Jordan

Jay Cain

Gabrielle Kulesza

Cat Potts

Emily Abernathy

Adam Rozier

Leslie Tyson

Charles Buscemi

Mike Cain

Leslie Smith

Leslie Fry

Jen Kates

Bill Chan 

Michelle Wilson

Lexi Zadak

Daniel Huff-Hannon

Jen Rutt

Jason Rutt 

Brendan McManus

Matt Franco

Matt Duckett

Jason Allison

Thank You!!!

Take 20 minutes to establish 3RM hang power snatch

Then, 5 rounds for quality:
5 Behind the neck, snatch grip push press @ 50% of 3RM
5 Wide grip strict pull-ups

Post weights to BTWB

Most often what is written or said about an event doesn’t really do the the event justice.  This blog will be one of those times where the words written aren’t able to convey how grateful we at Verve are for what went down on Saturday.  From Courtney’s amazing introduction about why we are here today and why we are doing what we’re about to do, to the closing awards ceremony, I think it’s safe to say the day was a success.  

The full time employees at Verve were happy to help out a friend and would do anything within our capabilities for our friends and members.  What I’m really referring to is the selfless effort put forth by all the volunteers and part time employees at Verve.  I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of help we received.  My group, the equipment team, was so perfect that we only ended up 7 minutes behind schedule for the entire day.  That may not sound like a big deal, but if you’ve ever competed in a competition, you know how frequently minutes add up to massive delays and a lot of waiting around.  The second a heat ended I had people coming up and asking or simply doing whatever they could do to help get the next heat or event ready. 

From the raffle table to the beer table to the athlete check in area, we encountered zero problems throughout the entire day.  A big thanks to our new buddy Feury who kept the music going the entire day.  For our first event at Verve to run as smoothly as it did is all thanks to the members who were kind enough to volunteer their time to come in and help out with such a great cause. 

A special shout out to the judges and score runners and scorer as well, especially anyone that had to judge Nat.  If you had this privileged you know what I’m writing about.   Honestly though the judges were asked to continually watch movement and had the responsibility to hand out “no reps” which is never a fun or easy thing to do.  Heat after heat they had to watch the same movements over and over and did it with some damn fine professionalism.

A lot of work went into the event and most of it was done by you the volunteers.  There is no way we could have come close to putting on something that special without you all helping.  A big thanks from all of us at Verve to the vendors that showed up as well too.  The weather wasn’t ideal for an outdoor set up but the vendors stuck it through.  

Thanks to all the teams that came and participated.  Again, not the best weather for a competition, but I didn’t hear a single complaint.  Everyone seemed to understand why we we were all there and made the best of it.  

AWS, you’re the best and the amount of work you put into the event over the past 2 months was tremendous.   

Thank you from all of us at Verve.  

It Takes A Team Challenge

Here is a time line for the day:

8am– athlete briefing for WOD #1 & WOD #2

8:45am– Welcome and intros

9am– Heat 1, WOD 1 starts

10:15am-11am– Break between WODs, time for “Donut touch my wall ball” spectator challenge

11am– Heat 1 WOD 2 starts

12:45pm– Athlete briefing for WOD #3, immediately following last heat of WOD #2

1pm- 1:20pm– Break between WODs, raffle prizes announced, must be present to win

1:20pm– Heat 1 WOD 3 starts

3:20pm– End of all heats. Remaining raffle prizes will be announced, must be present to win

3:45pm– Awards for top 3 women’e teams, top 3 men’s teams, and a spirit of the competition team

Click here for the leaderboard

We will have vendors from:
Progenex
SFH
The Cassette Company
Genesis Performance & Recovery
Monument Gear
MyaTherapy
Brute Force

We will have food from Progressive Paleo, beer from Great Divide, and Kill Cliff on hand.

Raffle prizes include:
$100 Reebok Gift Cards
Crossover Symmetry Kits
Reebok Cordura Backpacks
Cases of Fuel for Fire
OSO Barbell Clips
Reebok Nano’s
Brute Force Sandbag
Suerte Tequila

Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3

*These deadlifts will be performed with a controlled return and a brief hand release on the ground to let the bar “die” before lifting again.

Compare to 8/6/15

Post loads to comments and BTWB

This Saturday Verve is hosting it’s first competition. Here are the workouts for the “It Takes A Team” Challenge:

Workout #1: Max pounds moved from hang to overhead in 8 minutes

Description:
At 3, 2, 1, go. . . one team member will deadlift the bar and begin accumulating reps from the hang to overhead. Teammates may switch out at any time, there is no minimum work requirement. Judge will keep track of total reps accumulated throughout the 8 minutes. Score is total reps x weight used.

Guidelines:
-Team must choose the weight to be used prior to start of workout. The weight will be loaded prior to start of workout. Once the barbell is loaded, weight may not be changed. Minimum weight increment is 5#.
– Once the bar has been taken from the ground, it may not touch the ground again until the end of the 8 minutes. The barbell must be transferred between teammates without being dropped. The barbell MAY NOT be transferred behind the neck/ behind the body. If the barbell is dropped/ touches the ground or is transferred from behind, there will be a 5 burpee penalty that must be performed by each team member at the time of the infraction and before work can be continued.
– Athletes may use any style to get the weight from the hang position to overhead (clean & jerk, clean & press, snatch, etc). Bar cannot pass the knees and must finish in a locked out position overhead with full extension of knees, hips, and arms.

Workout #2: CrossFit triplet for time
60 Kettlebell Swings, 24kg(16kg)
60 Box Jump Overs, 24”(20”)
15 Toes to Bar
45 Kettlebell Swings, 24kg(16kg)
45 Box Jump Overs, 24”(20”)
15 Toes to Bar
30 Kettlebell Swings, 24kg(16kg)
30 Box Jump Overs, 24”(20”)
15 Toes to Bar
15 Kettlebell swings, 24kg(16kg)
15 Box Jump Overs, 24”(20”)
15 Toes to Bar

Description:
At 3, 2, 1, go. . . one team member will begin the kettlebell swings, only one athlete may work at a time. Teammates may switch out at any time, there is no minimum work requirement. When the KB swings are completed, athletes may begin working on the box jump overs, again athletes may switch at any time, there is no minimum work requirement. Once the BJO are completed athletes must go as a team to the pull-up structure and perform 15 toes to bar. Athletes may switch at any time, there is no minimum work requirement. Athletes must then move as a team back to their KB and box, both items must be moved forward to the area designated for the set of 45 reps before they may begin working. The work out will continue in this fashion until all work is competed or the time cap of 14 minutes is reached. If the time cap is reached, :01 will be added for each rep not completed.

Guidelines:
– This triplet has 2 variations, the men may choose to use a 20kg KB and the women may choose to use a 12kg KB. . . the reps of the KB work ONLY will increase. There are no changes to the box height or reps for BJO and TTB.
If the men choose to use 20kg:
60 Kettlebell Swings
60 Box Jump Overs
15 Toe to Bar
50 Kettlebell Swings
45 Box Jump Overs
15 Toe to Bar
40 Kettlebell Swings
30 Box Jump Overs
15 Toe to Bar
30 Kettlebell swings
15 Box Jump Overs
15 Toe to Bar

If the women choose to use 12kg:
65 Kettlebell Swings
60 Box Jump Overs
15 Toes to Bar
55 Kettlebell Swings
45 Box Jump Overs
15 Toes to Bar
45 Kettlebell Swings
30 Box Jump Overs
15 Toes to Bar
35 Kettlebell swings
15 Box Jump Overs
15 Toes to Bar

-Teams must pick the KB weight they want prior to the start of the workout. The weight may not be changed after the workout has started.
-KB must finished locked out overhead. KB must be set down on the ground with control. If the KB is dropped, there will be a 5 burpee penalty that must be performed by each team member at the time of the infraction and before work can be continued.
-For BJO rep to count athlete must get from one side of the box to the other. Athletes may completely jump over the box, athletes may jump with two feet on top of the box, or may step up onto the box in order to get to the other side. If an athlete chooses to step up, both feet must touch the top of the box before they may step down/ jump down onto the other side.
-For TTB rep to count it must start with feet breaking the plane of the bar on the back swing and finish with both toes touching the bar at the same time. Feet must touch the bar inside both hands.
-Any reps performed in the wrong designated area will not be counted. It will be up to the team to make sure they move all equipment across their lane as they move through the workout.
-A team’s time ends when the whole team is standing on the finish mat.

Workout #3: As many reps as possible in 18 minutes

Description:
At 3, 2, 1, go. . . one team member will begin rowing for max calories in 5 minutes. Teammates must switch out every 15 calories. At the call of 5 minutes, one team member will begin accumulating as many burpees over the rower as possible in 5 minutes. Teammates may switch out when ever they want, there is no minimum work requirement. At the call of minute 10, one team member will begin accumulating as many wall balls as possible in 5 minutes. Judge will keep track of total wall ball reps. Score for wall ball portion is total reps x weight used. At the call of minute 15, one team member will have 1 minute to accumulate as many pulling points possible. At the call of minute 16 the second team member will have 1 minute to accumulate as many pulling points as possible. At the call of minute 17, the final team member will have 1 minute to accumulate as many pulling points as possible. The end of this final minute will mark the end of the 18 minute AMRAP. There is no transition time between workout pieces. This workout will have 5 separate scores:
3a= Total calories
3b= Total burpees
3c= Total weight moved
3d= Total pull-up points between all 3 teammates
3f= Total score a+b+c+d

Guidelines:
– One team member may start seated on the rower. Teammates must switch every 15 calories. If the rower hits 15 calories and the seated athlete takes an extra pull there will be a 5 burpee penalty that must be performed by each team member at the time of the infraction and before work can be continued.
– Burpees will be performed with athletes head towards the flywheel. The burpee must be a 2 footed jump and a 2 footed land, there is no stepping over the rower. Athletes do not need to clap overhead.
– Teams must pick their wall ball weight prior to the start of the workout. The wall ball height is 10’ for everyone. The weight may not be changed after the workout has started. Once the wall ball is picked up it may not touch the ground until the end of the 5 minutes. Athletes can pass in the air or hand it over. If the wall ball touches the ground, there will be a 5 burpee penalty that must be performed by each team member at the time of the infraction and before work can be continued.
– Each teammate will be able to choose which pulling movement they wish to perform during their 1 minute. Pull-ups are worth 1 pt. Chest to bar pull-ups are worth 2 pts. Ring muscle-ups are worth 3 pts. Athletes must choose their pulling movement prior to the start of the workout. The movement may not be changed once the workout has started. An athlete that has chosen chest to bar and fails to get their chest to the bar WILL NOT get any credit for getting their chin over the bar.

“JT”
21-15-9 reps of:
Handstand push-ups
Ring dips
Push-ups

Compare to 2/17/15

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11 Things That Are Considered Normal At CrossFit But Never Appropriate Outside The Box By CrossFit Times (Click here for article)

Ever find yourself talking to friends about “hitting a beautiful snatch” and getting some weird looks when you realize they don’t CrossFit but they do know dirty slang? Having conversations about jerking, snatching, and how you just “pushed hard through Fran last night”, is just one example of things that should may be remain inside the walls of the CrossFit gym. Here is a list of several additional items that may just seem completely inappropriate if not in the right company:

1) Walking around with chalk handprints covering various parts of your body – At CrossFit all this indicates is that the workout involved a tight grip. In the supermarket it looks like Casper has been grabbing at your backside.

2) Sudden loud grunting – During lifts, other heavy movements, or a particularly difficult WOD, grunting is a sign of power and strength, walking down the street and grunting may lead to many people briskly crossing to the other side.

3) Throwing yourself on the floor – Hand in that big report at work this am? Immediately fall to the floor. While we may do this maneuver post-workout at Crossfit, I would love to see your boss’ face if you applied this technique in the office.

4) Discussions concerning any of the named workouts – “How long did it take you to do Fran?” “Not as long as it took me to do Murph! But we all know I do Karen faster than Grace.” Enough said.

5) Telling people about how you just peed a little – While I personally think the world would be better off if we could all announce this bodily reality without judgment, trust me when I say the response will be more favorable to another CrossFitter after those 200 double-unders than to the stranger sitting next to you on the bus.

6) Expecting everyone to clean – After your party Saturday night, this is a far-fetched thing to expect. At your box, entirely reasonable.

7) The constant discussion of bacon – Bacon is Paleo, and delicious, and while we all love to discuss the various ways and quantities in which we consume it, others may find this entirely repulsive.

8) Casually saying things that sound vaguely sexual – “Make sure you get deep enough with your thrusters.” “I prefer the snatch, but I also love jerking.”

9) Suddenly and aggressively tearing off your shirt – While the taking-off-of-the-shirt mid-workout is common at most gyms, and in my opinion it signifies that things are starting to getting real, I would not recommend this action during a PTA meeting or while you’re waiting in line at Starbucks.

10) Sporting the patented double under whip marks – I will always find the inadvertent kinkiness of double-unders highly amusing.

11) Simply talking about CrossFit in general – We all know that the first rule of CrossFit is to never shut up about CrossFit, but it seems that unfortunately most people outside of your box do not want to hear about it. But hey, you know that all of your CrossFit family would love to discuss ad nauseam how awesome being a CrossFitter truly is! From the inspiring body transformations to the endless fodder for jokes that CrossFit brings, please indulge these aspects of our culture, just try to keep your audience in mind! 

Got any more CrossFit only etiquette you’ve learned about the hard way? Please tell us your fun stories in the comments, sharing is caring.

*This Saturday is Verve’s first competition. Classes are cancelled all day. However, if you are not competing on a team there will still be plenty to do, including some fun spectator challenges. There are a ton of raffle prizes on the line as well. Come by, get some food, grab a drink, and cheer on your peeps!! It’s all for a good cause, #devitostrong. 

*Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post for additional details. . . including the WODs. 

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Ab Mat sit ups

At the 10:00 mark
50-40-30-20-10
Air Squats
Run 200 meters between sets

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*This Sunday December 6th Josh Wrede, at Til Death Tattoos, will be hosting the DeVito Strong Tattoo Fundraiser. Pick from a selection of set designs and get inked for $100 by one of Denver’s best. All proceeds go to the DeVito Strong Fund. For more details click here.

*Saturday December 12th Verve is hosting it’s first competition!! The “It Takes A Team Challenge” is an all day team competition. All 32 teams sold out within 27 hours. For more details about the event, click here. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here and sign up. Specific jobs will be assigned at a later date.

*Christmas and New Years are quickly approaching. We will have abbreviated schedules surrounding the holidays, please check MBO for all class times.