Take 20 minutes to esatblish 1RM overhead squat

Then, 1 tempo overhead squat @ 50% of today’s 1RM x 7 sets. Tempo = 3331

Post loads to comments and BTWB

What’s my biff with butterflies? Completely, 100%, in the opinion of/ by Courtney “because they are basically like painted moths” Shepherd

And everyone knows moths are basically like flying vermin. Goo. However I’m not talking about that kind of butterfly. The biff I will be discussing is aimed at the butterfly pull-up. Now before anyone gets in an instant tizzy about this or, on the other hand, gets overly excited to bash the movement with me, just know now I think the butterfly pull-up is a great tool to have in one’s CrossFit tool box. With that said, I also believe not every CrossFitter needs to or should have this tool at their disposal. I also want to make it fully clear, the information that is about to follow in defense of why I feel this way is, as previously stated, 100% my own opinion. No part of this blog has been stolen from another. None of the statements made will be based on any kind of scientific fact or statistic. I base my opinion on 2 things, 1) being a CrossFit coach and what I would like to refer to as a professional level of creepily watching human movement, 2) being an active participant in the sport of CrossFit for several years. Am I qualified? That’s probably up for debate but I’m about to open my big mouth and blabber on anyway.

What is the butterfly pull-up? It’s that thing everyone watches The CrossFit Games athletes do on the pull-up bar that gets them a crap ton of unbroken pull-ups done in a really short period of time. Some outsiders may refer to it as seizure like activity on the bar. The butterfly pull-up is done in a continuous, circular looking rhythm. In contrast to the kipping pull-up that has a front to back change of direction with each rep. It is the continuous circular motion of the butterfly pull-up that, if done correctly, increases the cycle time of the pull-up, hence more done in less time. And overall what I would claim to be the number 1 reason everyone and their mother wants to work on their butterfly pull-ups. So let’s take this opportunity to address why having butterfly pull-ups in our arsenal is a good thing. Because in a competitive setting, butterfly pull-ups help you get more work done in less time. And. . . . . . that’s it. That’s what butterfly pull-ups are good for.

The kipping pull-up is CrossFit’s default pull-up. Because in comparison to the strict, dead hang pull-up, this is the first way we introduce increased work in less time by way of utilizing momentum from the hips. Both types of pull-ups require a great deal of work from the hips, the kipping pull-up  involves a pull with lat activation. The butterfly not nearly as much. And now is where I would like to address the benefit of sticking to the kipping pull-up just a bit longer before rushing to get your butterfly on. Because of this lat activation, kipping pull-ups help build pulling power. Increased pulling power, as well as mastering the rhythm of the kip translates to improved knees to elbows, toes to bar, chest to bar pull-ups, bar muscle-ups, and ring muscle-ups. The kipping technique needed for each of these movements is based off the kipping pull-up. The butterfly pull-up translates to the butterfly pull-up, it is essentially a dead end movement.

I’m not saying “down with butterfly, butterfly is weak sauce”. What I’m saying is the overwhelming urge some of us have to move on to the butterfly pull-up because we think, “well, I’ll be able to do more pull-ups that way”, is a completely flawed concept. You still have to have capacity to do pull-ups, butterfly doesn’t just give it to you. Chris Spealler can do 100 pull-ups unbroken. He didn’t get the capacity to do that because early in his career he just started doing all butterfly. He too was a kipping pull-up man. He perfected his kip, is was tight and efficient, and he built the hand and grip capacity to hang onto the bar for dozens and dozens of kipping pull-ups. He had a ton of pulling power and grip strength, so when he added butterfly into his bag of tricks, the capacity to do them wasn’t an issue. By the way, have you ever seen the video of Chris’s 100 pull-ups? Do you know how he finished the set of 100? Spoiler alert. . . . it’s with kipping pull-ups, the default pull-up. Because when the butterfly goes, he could still use his efficient kip to get the last set of 10-15 pull-ups in. What’s your default? If you skip mastering the kipping pull-up and go right into the butterfly, what do you have to fall back on?

Speaking of pulling power and capacity. I just told you kipping builds pulling power while butterfly does not. So if we skip the one that makes us stronger and translates to many other movements for the one we think makes us faster and more competitive, do we actually think it is truly giving us a competitive edge? Sure. . . . in one thing and one thing only, butterfly pull-ups. Would you be content in a world of 3-5 linked butterfly pull-ups, no muscle-ups, and poorly linked toes to bar? If so, butterfly on.

I’m certain you see people working on their butterfly pull-ups often. Most of these people worked up to them. I didn’t start working on my butterfly pull-ups until I was doing sets of 20 or more unbroken kipping pull-ups consistently. And to be honest, I would not of cared to even work on them at all if I wasn’t, at the time, getting ready to compete on Verve’s CrossFit Games Regionals team. We were heading into a big competition and I wanted to be as competitive of an athlete as I could be for my team. When I’m not competing, I sprinkle both into my training. I want to continue to work on my butterfly, I want to continue to improve on that competitive piece, but I like to keep my kip alive and improving.

If you are someone who has skipped ahead, or maybe you aren’t sure if you are that someone, do a little test for yourself. Do a max rep set of kipping pull-ups, a max rep set of butterfly pull-ups, and a max rep set of toes to bar. Not all at once, maybe over an hour. Check out your numbers, are they all below 15? Are the butterfly over 15 but the kipping and toes to bar below? I just threw that number out there, it’s not an official number but it might give you some insight into where you should focus a little more of your pull-up work.

Hey, you don’t have to listen to me. You are grown adults, capable of making grown up decisions. But. . . . if down the road, months from now, even years from now, you find yourself in a place where nothing has really changed for you. You’ve been doing “butterfly pull-ups” (that’s in quotes because most people that do skip ahead aren’t really doing what I would call the most efficient or technically sound looking butterfly pull-ups anyways), and you still don’t have muscle-ups or consistent sets of 10 linked toes to bar in workouts, come talk to me. You may not like what you are going to hear but I promise it will help. #keepthekipalive #freethekipanditwillfreeyou 

As many rounds s possible in 20 minutes of:
10 Deadlift, 95#(65#)
10 Hang power clean, 95#(65#)
10 Thruster, 95#(65#)
10 Pull-ups

Post rounds and reps to comments and BTWB

Does this fat make me look fat? By Courtney “I’m phat with a PH” Shepherd and the fine people of Eat To Perform

We have had a lot of people asking us about the Body Fat Test dunk tank and when it might be coming around again. Many of you have been involved in some nutritional changes, some of you want to see your starting place before you make some nutritional changes, and some of you have some weddings you want to prep for. No matter the reason, Verve will certainly look into getting the truck around sooner than later. In the mean time, and with the help of James Barnum of Eat To Perform, let’s take a look at “5 Reason You Aren’t Losing Body Fat”. Fat loss eludes people for many different reasons but there are almost always common threads. This short list goes over some of the most common reasons why people stall or quit on their way to achieving their fat loss goals.

1. You’re not eating enough – either too little or too much.

The key word here is “enough.” Eating too much is obviously going to prevent you from losing fat…But eating too little? That may seem to be a counter-intuitive statement. What gives?

Well, If you cut Calories too hard while exercising intensely you’ll overwhelm your adaptive abilities and actually end up fatter, as you burn muscle tissue in response to the incredible stress. Muscle is very costly to maintain and when your body isn’t fed properly, it will get rid of anything it doesn’t deem particularly useful. Fat is, unfortunately, more useful in times where energy intake is low; muscle tissue isn’t. This is not a recipe for a good looking body – you’ll actually end up looking “skinny fat.” Eating “enough” means fueling your body so you can build or retain lean mass and increase performance, while creating just enough of a Calorie deficit to gradually lose body fat. 

2. You don’t have a plan or a support system.

To achieve a goal – fat loss in this instance – you need to take a reliable route to get there, use the tools you have available to you, and (this is a big one) you need to consult people with experience and knowledge that you might not possess. Nearly everyone who’s made their dreams come true will reference the importance of careful consideration, consistent action, the guidance of their mentors, and the support of their peers – they’re universal constants. Without those variables in play, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter more than your fair share of obstacles.

A good fat loss plan should outline basic things like Calorie/macronutrient goals, what kinds of activity you’ll be doing each day of the week, and how long certain phases will last. It shouldn’t emphasize supplements or give you an overly-restrictive list of foods – eating clean is the absence of a plan – nor should it have you doing hours of cardio every day. It should be balanced.

If you’re just throwing stuff out there and seeing what happens, you may see some results but you can’t guarantee a specific outcome by engaging in random behavior.

3. You’re too rigid/restrictive and you hate your diet.

Let me tell you a short story:

Our subject – we’ll call her Molly – is 35, a mother of two, and she works a full time job. About six months ago, she started going to an awesome gym 4 days a week and started eating mostly Paleo but she’s just not seeing the fat loss results she wants. She convinces herself that if she goes 100% Paleo i.e. she cuts out ice cream with the kids on Friday night, ditches her nightly glass of red wine (two things that Molly enjoys very much) and starts going to the gym twice a day, she’ll get the body she wants.

Fast forward six months: Molly did lean out a bit, but she’s not even close to where she wanted to be. In fact, she’s at wits end; her energy levels are super low, she’s hungry all the time, she has intense cravings for the treats she cut out of her diet, and between the kids, work, and hitting the gym at 5 a.m. every morning to get in that extra training session, she’s hardly getting any sleep.

She can’t take it anymore – something has to go – so she stops exercising. A couple months later, she’s been done with Paleo for a while and she’s regained all of the weight she lost the past year.

Why am I telling you this story? Because we see people go through it far too often! When you take an “all or nothing” approach to fat loss, you’re bound to end up face down in a cheesecake wondering how you got there. Contrary to popular belief, people who’re flexible with their diets are the ones with the best overall body composition! If you can’t do it for life, it’s too much and you need to relax on things a bit before you’ve dug your own grave. Regardless of the type of diet you eat or how serious you are about exercise, adherence will be one of the most important factors to consider because real results take time!

4. You’re not logging your food.

I get it…Logging food kinda sucks. It’s another thing to keep track of, another worry, and that’s why we firmly believe in doing it only when necessary. When you start a new diet, training program, or come back from vacation, you need to know how much food you’re eating vs. how much you should be eating so you can make quantitative modifications to your nutrition that will result in fat loss without killing your performance.

Take a week or two to log your food and see where you’re at. Are you maintaining your weight with your current diet? Cool – drop some Calories here and there and you should be able to lose fat. Are you losing weight and feeling good? Awesome – you know that dipping below this number will probably be a bad idea. Gaining weight? Again, if you’re tracking your food you have numbers to go by and you can start reducing your Calories a bit to get things under control.

After you’ve established a general idea of how much you’re eating and what you need to do to work towards a goal, you can stop logging food for a while. 3-4 weeks out of a year isn’t a huge inconvenience, but without data you’re taking a shot in the dark and that can set you back months!

5. You’re not prioritizing performance.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

Most of the people you want to look like are not worried about their body fat percentage; they’re worried about their performance! They (drum roll please) Eat To Perform! Increasing your performance is almost always a good indicator that you’re building or preserving lean mass. That means that most of the time, you should be eating to fuel your workouts to increase work capacity – strength, endurance, speed – and spend a few short months each year focused on gradually losing fat while maintaining performance. If you stray too far from that, you’ll probably end up making poor decisions and sabotage your results.

Click here for full article, and stay tuned for updates on the Body Fat Test truck.

4 Rounds, max effort per round:
500 Meter row
Rest 4 minutes

Post times to BTWB

One of the cooler blogs I’ve come across recently is called ZenHabits.net.  The blog written by Leo Babauta is all about as he puts it; “finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.”

There are many days where the number of task to accomplish is so many that sometimes just getting started is the most difficult part.  Leo’s blog helps with that type of problem.

Here is a recent blog he posted title How Not to Do it All.  If you like the piece below, be sure and visit his site and sign up to receive updates on his new blogs.

We all want to do so much: take on every request that people email us, complete our neverending list of tasks and projects, help everyone, travel everywhere, learn a ton of new skills, read every book and watch every good film, be the perfect partner and parent and friend …

And yet, we can’t possibly do it all.

There isn’t enough time in the day, nor do we have the attention bandwidth to devote to everything. Even if we were perfectly disciplined, we couldn’t possibly get to even half of what we want to do. Just as with eating, where our eyes are bigger than our stomachs … our hopes are bigger than our actual bandwidths.

So I say, give up on trying to do it all. Simplify. Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t try to have the most perfect life you can create.

Instead, make your days count.

How do you do that? Here are some ideas:

Pay attention. When you eat a good meal, it’s wasted if you don’t actually pay attention to it and are reading on your phone instead. It’s an amazing meal only if you really savor it. In this way, if we savor each moment, they really matter.

Curate your days. Put only the best things in each day — don’t just let any junk into it. If you are going to read, be choosy, don’t just click on things because you run across them. When you’re going to choose your tasks, choose the important ones, not just the little busywork tasks. If you’re going to say yes to someone, make sure it’s worthy of being in your life. Would you pay $100 to say yes to this request? Would you pay $20 to read the things on your reading list for an hour? If not, it’s probably not worth it.

Be ruthless. You need to filter out the things trying to overwhelm your life. More things try to get into your attention bandwidth than you can possibly handle. So filter them out: say no to most requests, don’t make it your job to respond to everything, don’t just read everything possible, don’t have the firehose of social media always on, turn off your phone for awhile. Each day, take a step back and think about what you want to fit in it.

Be satisfied. We always want to do more, be more, experience more. And so, we’re never satisfied with the little we actually can do and experience. Instead, we can learn to be happy with what we’ve chosen to do, knowing that we let go of the rest for a reason. We can be grateful for what’s actually in front of us, for the experience we are given, rather than always wanting the greener grass that someone else is experiencing.

Be OK with imperfection. Even if you filter and curate, you’ll never create the “perfect” day or the “perfect” life. You’ll never be “perfect.” Those ideals don’t exist in reality. In this messy life, the reality is that what we experience will never fit with an ideal, and will always be imperfect. We can either accept that, or be dissatisfied. I suggest we accept imperfection, and be OK with what we are, and the messiness that finds its way into our lives.

Realize that we’re not really in control. The first few items on this list might give you the idea that you can control your life by simplifying … but the reality is that your day will never go as planned. You can try, but there will always be the unexpected, the unplanned. That’s just how things go. If we want to be in control, and things don’t go our way, it’s frustrating. If instead we realize we’re not really in control, but just experiencing what comes at us, we can learn to appreciate that experience as it comes, whatever it is.

I realize that some of the things on this list seem contradictory. And they are. That’s because these ideas are meant to remind us to be mindful of what we’re holding on to, and practice letting go.

Each idea can be practiced at different times, and we’ll see that we’ve been holding onto something: our distractions, our ideas of perfection, our desire to be more, our desire to say yes to everyone, our hope that we’ll get to the end of our task list or email inbox, our desire for control or simplicity or doing everything. None of these things is essential to life — they can all be let go of, and we can accept the reality that is exposed when we let go.

Take 15 minutes to establish 2RM push press

Take 15 minutes to establish 2RM push jerk

Then, max effort attempt at shoulder to overhead @ 40% of today’s 2RM push jerk

Post loads to BTWB

In teams of 2 complete the following:
Row 120(100) calories, switch every 20 calories
100 Hang power cleans, 95#965#)
100 Forward lunges, 95#(65#)
100 Shoulder to overhead, 95#(65#)
Run 800 meters together

*Once barbell is picked up, it can’t be put down until all 100 reps of a barbell movement are finished. If it is dropped, a run to the stop sign out front, or down the alley out back, must be completed as a team before reps can be started again.

Post times to comments and BTWB

What to do? What. To. Do?

*Mark you calendars for September 15th, that’s when registration for the MBS Turkey Challenge opens!! The event takes place in November but spots for male/ female individuals and team spots all sell out fast. For more information, click here.

*October 3rd-4th is the Front Range CrossFit’s first annual Do More Charity Challenge. Verve has two 6 person teams signed up. So get ready to do some cheering. 

*The next, and final, Team Series workouts will be announced the week of October 6th.

*Verve is in the talks for a ladies only WOD & Wine event in October. So ladies start making a list of girlfriends you think might want to try out a CrossFit workout and then do some drinking. 

*If anyone has signed up for competitions that are coming up, let us know in the comments so we can rally the cheering squad. If there are any events coming up that you know of and I do not, maybe because my invite is lost in the mail, let us know!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

“Barraza”
Complete as many rounds as possible in 18 mins of:
Run 200 meters
9 Deadlifts 275#(185#)
6 Burpee Bar Muscle Ups

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ricardo Barraza, 24, of Shafter, California, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based in Fort Lewis, Washington, died on March 18, 2006, in Ar Ramadi Iraq, when he came under small arms fire by enemy forces during combat operations. He is survived by his parents Francisco and Nina, his siblings Amanda, Rachel, Jamie, and Frankie, and his fiancee Maghan K. Harrington and her daughter Kayla.

Post reps to comments or BTWB

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your commitment to protect our freedom and safety.  Verve would like to show their strong continued support for ALL Military personnel and First Responders by inviting them to our gym today during one of our class times to participate in this hero workout at no charge.

Take 20 minutes to work up to a 2 rep max front squat

Then, 8 x 1 1/4 front squats at 50% of 2 rep max for 3 sets

Post loads to comments and BTWB

CrossFit is just as good for the non-CrossFitter as it is for the CrossFitter. Say what? By (in small part) Courtney Shepherd and (in large part) Tony Leyland

CrossFit is considered a General Physical Preparedness Program, also known as GPP. In an article by Tony Leyland, published in the CrossFit Journal in September 2012, the author explains why general physical preparedness is a good thing for everyone from elite level athletes to beginners. CrossFit is considered the sport for the non specialist. We specialize in not specializing. Which turns out to be one of the biggest criticisms from the non CrossFiting world. For those athletes that do, in fact, specialize in a sport, their argument is how can we be really good at any one thing when we are constantly working on everything. CrossFitters will never have a 4 minute mile or a 1,000 lbs deadlift. Our argument as CrossFitters would be that we don’t want either of those things. Because if I have a 4 minute mile, I probably can’t deadlift by backpack. And if I have a 1,000 lbs deadlift, my cardio for the day consists of walking to and from my car. As CrossFitters we want a happy blend of both worlds, which is entirely possible. There are some CrossFit athletes out there with 5 minute miles and 500 plus pound deadlifts. I don’t know what you think about that, but I’d say well blended my friend, well blended.

Tony Leyland states, “. . . as the understanding of CrossFit grows, two large groups of people will view CrossFit as either beyond their capability and/or not relevant to their training needs. One group comprises competitive athletes who think CrossFit workouts are not relevant to their sport. The second and larger group comprises those looking for general fitness, those who are by nature not competitive and those who believe the general misconception that aerobic conditioning is all they need.” Building a strong work capacity across broad time and modal domains will help all athletes achieve their goals. For the non-competitive persons, this broad and general fitness can help them perform their daily activities more easily and reduce injuries.

Here is what Greg Glassman, founder and CEO of CrossFit, has to say about a General Physical Preparedness Program and CrossFit:

Death by power snatch, 115#(75#)

Minute 1 perform 1 power snatch
Minute 2 perform 2 power snatch
Minute 3 perform 3 power snatch
………

Once round can’t be finished, rest 2 minutes

Then, every minute on the minute x 5 minutes:
3 Power snatch @ 90% of # used in workout

Post rounds to comments and BTWB

Are we are going to talk about Cortisol again? Yes. Yes we are. By Courtney “I like hormones, hormones are my favorite” Shepherd and several online articles to be named later

Last week I informed the diligent readers of the CrossFit Verve blog what cortisol is. To recap it’s a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, most notably in response to stress. That could be long term stress, like with school or a job, or acute stress, such as an argument or a workout. There are consequences to having chronically elevated or chronically low levels of cortisol in our system. Which I would mention but will instead have you click here, referring you to last week’s blog, so as not to fully re-blog myself.

The week before last I mentioned a need to cool down after workouts. I would now like to take information provided from 2 weeks ago plus information from last week, and bring them together in a big symbiotic blog post about how cooling down can reduce cortisol levels and help you get the gains you seek. Say what? Yeah, you heard it here first folks, cooling down helps you get stronger.

Exercise is a great way to manage and balance stress. Working out actually produces a healthy stress response by naturally stressing the body. Cortisol output increases, the heart rate increases, we sweat, and breathe harder. Cooling down after a workout decreases the cortisol response and teaches the body how to adjust it’s cortisol output as necessary, avoiding constant highs and constant lows. Cortisol is not the only hormone involved in the whole cool down/ gains cycle of life. Cortisol and testosterone are closely connected in men and women, although testosterone tends to be associated with men only. When cortisol levels rise, testosterone levels decrease. This a concern for athletes in training because testosterone helps build muscle, and cortisol actually breaks it down.

When the body is stressed and cortisol is produced, the production of testosterone is reduced. Following brief burst of stress, when we return to a normal state, so do our hormone levels, cortisol decreases and testosterone rises. In cases when stress cannot be reduced and cortisol levels remain high with testosterone remaining low, there can be several health effects including decreased sex drive, mood disorders, and the loss of muscle mass and tone.

What does cooling down have to do with any of this? Following a workout, when we allow our bodies to cool down and follow it up with static stretches, we increase the rate of bringing ourselves to a normal, steady state. The quicker we get to our normal state, the quicker our hormone levels normal out as well. Our hormones normalizing means our level of testosterone returns to it’s higher state. This higher level of testosterone is what helps us maintain/ build muscle mass.

I know it’s hard, timing wise, for some of you to get in a nice cool down and stretch session post workout. Sometimes our workouts run to the very end of class and some of you have to get out the door and back to work. My point is that making a habit of putting away our stuff, grabbing our jackets, and running to the car could be at a detriment to our progress. Attempting to take 5-10 minutes to let your heart rate come down, your breathing get back to normal, and your core temperature cool down, while performing some static stretches, can not only keep your muscles and joints healthy, but get you to gainzville sooner.

So post WOD walk it off, shake it out, and do a little stretchy stretchy.

*Info in this post come from:
Balancing Cortisol Levels & Avoiding Adrenal Fatigue
What is the Connection Between Cortisol and Testosterone?

For time:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings 24kg(16kg)
60 Ab mat sit-ups
70 Burpees

Post time to BTWB

The CrossFit Team Series starts this week.  If you’re interested in putting together a team, you have until Sept 8th to register your team.  Big time athletes partner up to for this Team series.  Check out the video above for some more information and ask a trainer if you have any questions.  If you would like to compete but don’t have a team, use the comments section and perhaps we can help.

Reminder that we are having an abridged schedule today.  We will still have two open gym sessions for those of you that want to come in and do your own thing or make sure you are able to do Verve Weightlifting for today.

Here are the classes we have available today:

7:30
9:00
10:00 Open Gym
11:30
12:30
1:30 Open Gym
Close at 3:00

Death by burpee box jump over, 24″(20″)
Rest 5 minutes
Then, death by dumbbell thruster, 40#(25#)

Post rounds to comments and BTWB

It’s kind of a busy little weekend, we’re not sure if you’ll have time. . .

*Verve is closed this weekend for a Level 1 Seminar. Verve will host a 7am WOD Saturday morning and Sunday morning only. CrossFit Lodo is opening their doors to Verve members to join their WODs, at no cost, this weekend. This is their provided schedule for Verve members to attend:

Saturday:
9am WOD at CrossFit Lodo @ Rino location (3595 Wynkoop St)
10:30am WOD at CrossFit LoDo (2363 Blake St)

Sunday:
10:15am Yoga at CrossFit Lodo (Blake St)
11am WOD at CrossFit Lodo (Blake St)
12pm WOD at CrossFit LoDo (Blake St)

*Saturday night is Verve Night Out @ Ratio Beerworks, 2920 Larimer St, starting at 7pm. Meet up with some cool guys and gals that like to workout, grab a beer, and talk about anything other than working out. 

*Monday is Labor Day. Verve will have an abbreviated schedule. Please see MBO, sign up for classes and reserve your spot.

Have an awesome long weekend everyone!!