Patrick celebrating getting to the top of Mary Jane.
What ever you do, don’t drop it like it’s hot. Please. By Courtney “this is my serious tone” Shepherd
Don’t drop it like it’s hot? I know what you are all thinking, when has Courtney ever told us not to drop it like it’s hot? And you would be right, up until this point I’m not sure it has ever been my advice to avoid the hot drop. But I’ve changed up my tune in response to an activity that happens to be making it’s away across the gym. I’ve changed my tune because this particular activity has a safety issue to it, I’m talking about dropping a barbell from overhead, also known as “ghost riding”. I’ve addressed this issue in classes, usually with a half funny, half serious tone, but this post is all serious baby. And rather than assume you’ve heard my thoughts on this matter, I want to know you’ve heard (read) my thoughts on the matter.
Let me start by first saying, there is a significant difference between bailing from a barbell and the reckless, wanton, mid air abandonment of a barbell. Bailing from a barbell is an effort to avoid injury. When an athlete “bails” on the weight, it means he or she stalls out with the lift and lets go of the bar, getting out from underneath the load as it crashes to the floor. It’s a fundamental technique in Olympic lifting. Bailing on a weight is considered a skill in itself, athletes should be taught how to appropriately bail. Ghost riding is the act of completing a rep and then just letting the bar fall from overhead, the front, or behind without any guidance or attempt to control it. Ghost riding a bar is generally done with a willful disregard to the maintenance of the equipment and any possible injury to one’s self or others around. It’s that last part, the “others around” part that is why I have such a strong opinion on the matter. I care about Verve’s equipment but I care more about you. And I want everyone that walks into Verve to use it’s equipment, to care about every other person that walks into Verve and is working out next to them.
Dropping a bar causes it to bounce, often erratically. The higher we drop a bar from increases the bounce and erratic nature of the bounce. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a barbell drop and bounce into someone else’s work space, coming within inches of hitting their shins. Now I get there is a component of fatigue and the overall handling of heavy weights, so I’m not demanding that any athlete keep a firm grip on the barbell from start to finish of a rep, we have bumper plates for a reason, to drop heavy bars. However, I am saying all we need to do is keep our hands near or lightly in contact with the bar as it falls and guide it to the ground. The minimum requirement is guiding it past the waist, with the stipulation that we also make sure it doesn’t take a funky bounce or roll away afterwards.
I was curious to know if others felt the same way I do, after a little bit of inter webs searching I found a lot of gyms share my thoughts on the subject:
Chalkline CrossFit, Aurora Hills, Calif.: “STAY IN CONTROL – CrossFit is intense. You will push yourself harder than you ever have before. However, you should always be in control of your movements, your weights and how you affect the members around you. DO NOT drop a loaded bar from an overhead position and let it bounce wildly into someone else’s workout space. You should be in control of the weight, not the other way around!”
CrossFit Hillsdale, Portland, Ore.: “When should you drop the bar? When not dropping it would result in injury. Why shouldn’t you drop the bar? Because it’s lazy, it puts wear on the equipment and it’s loud.”
CrossFit Roots, Boulder, CO.: “No Ghost-Riding the Barbells – Ever. Yes, we know you’re cool and we know how empowering it is to drop a barbell from overhead. You know what’s not empowering? When you barbell drops to the floor and dances into someone else’s shin injuring them for weeks.“
While we are talking about dropping bars, I will also briefly address the dropping of an empty barbell. Don’t do that. Empty barbells are not made to be dropped without bumper plates on them. It’s really bad for the bars and the bearings inside.
Now, it’s not completely in my nature to serious all the time, so even though I said this whole post would be serious, I’m going to end it with a funny video. Yes, it’s meant to be funny.
Row 1,000 meters Rest 1 minute As many double unders as possible in 2 minutes Rest 1 minute Row 500 meters Rest 1 minute As many double unders as possible in 2 minutes Rest 1 minute Row 250 meters No rest As many double unders as possible in 1 minute
*Score is 250 meter time and number of double unders in final minute.
Just before the start of the O2X Summit Race in Winter Park. We are missing a few faces. It turns out trying to get over 30 people together for a photo is literally like herding kittens.
10 Things The Best Athletes Do (That You Don’t) By the fine people at Eat To Perform and re-typed so as to be brought to the attention of Verve members, by Courtney “it’s not copying, it’s re-typing” Shepherd
Do you ever wish you were as cool, athletically elite, and over all as badass as Rich Froning? Or Bo Jackson? Or my new personal favorite, Ronda Rousey? Most of us that come into the gym do so to maintain an overall feeling of good health and well being. Working out is a way to improve longevity and functionality. But there is a group of people out there that have bigger dreams and greater goals. These dreams and goals involve working towards being an elite athlete. Verve has had some members that were professional athletes and their goals were to work towards a championship. No matter the goal, no matter the end game, there are 10 things the best athletes do, that unfortunately you and I may not be. The list came from an article in Eat To Perform (click here for full article). It is not being shared with you as a form of judgement but rather to understand that the ideal physique and work habits of the best may come at a price most of us are not aware of.
The Best Athletes. . . .
1) Don’t look for a quick fix.
The best athletes with the best physiques – the people you admire – have been working on their bodies for a long, long time. They’ve been dedicated to their craft for years or in some cases decades. It’s simply unreasonable to give up on a dream because you couldn’t make it happen in a matter of weeks. Likewise, if you’re dissatisfied with your results, you won’t improve by throwing in the towel. You need to be in it for the long haul.
How do you shake the defeated mindset and make fitness a part of your life? Enjoy the struggle. At some point, “winning” becomes more about the journey than the destination and you find yourself delighted over the smallest accomplishments. If you can find something that excites you, that keeps you going even when you’re not moving as fast as you might like to – if you can remain passionate and motivated – you’re almost guaranteed to succeed.
2) They know where they are, where they want to go, and how to get there.
The best athletes move from goal to goal, constantly setting their sites on new horizons to maintain a sense of interest along the way. Even if they aren’t competing, they are training for something.
If you find yourself in a state of listlessness with no clear direction of where you’re going, do not despair. Set a goal like putting 50 lbs. on your squat or PRing your Fran time, give yourself a realistic deadline (3-6 months), and commit to it. Picking out a sport to compete in and entering a competition is a great way to motivate yourself and remain accountable too. If competition doesn’t seem worthwhile because you don’t want to embarrass yourself, remember that your first and foremost competition is you.
3) They don’t try to reach their physique goals by cutting Calories.
The best athletes are rarely looking to be in a calorie deficit – they view food as a way to enhance work capacity and they focus on maintaining and building the muscle they are earning in the gym.
4) They don’t obsess over their abs.
Ultra endurance athlete, elite powerlifter, and beer enthusiast Alex Viada once said (I’m paraphrasing) “The best athletes I know don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about how to get abs; the work they do ultimately just lands them in that spot.” Judging by Alex’s success with his consultation company, Complete Human Performance, his impressive physique, and the fact that he can deadlift 700 lbs. then run a 5 minute mile, I think he knows what he’s talking about.
Our opinion at Eat To Perform is very similar. We believe that form follows function, and that if you want to look athletic, you need to BE athletic. Stop worrying about your abs, focus on performance, and things will fall in place.
5) They don’t worry about putting on body fat due to overeating.
Fat is easy to lose but muscle is hard to gain. Most athletes spend a good part of their life chasing the latter and so they don’t have to worry so much about the former. For that reason, the best athletes in the world actively seek out weight gain. They do this by lowering their activity level and building their bodies for a specific result. In that process, they are often intentionally put on a bit of fat.
The best way to say it is “ass moves mass”. Want to squat more? You need to put a lot of quality work into developing your quads and glutes, perfecting your form, and increasing your work capacity. That cannot be accomplished in a Calorie deficit, and it’s a lot harder to do if you’re worried about your scale weight.
6) They train smart and focus on incremental performance increases.
Most people think that to perform at the highest level possible, you need to train 24/7 and push yourself to the point of exhaustion every single workout – more of everything, harder workouts, longer workouts, etc. News flash: the best athletes don’t work out this way. Their approach doesn’t even resemble the casual athletes approach.
The fittest people on the planet vary their training with a combination of intensities, activities, and modes of training. You might for instance see someone doing high intensity interval training in the morning to build anaerobic capacity, then weightlifting in the evening to develop maximal strength. They didn’t start out like that (and they typically do either or).
The biggest difference is probably that almost all of them have coaches that are focused on a smart (not always harder) approach. Progressive overload is applied over time to bring the athletes abilities to a peak when they need them to be – nothing is random. It’s all part of a program.
7) They don’t feel guilty when they miss workouts.
The fittest people take time off or reduce their work volume as part of the plan to get better. When you’re pushing the limit of human performance, rest isn’t just beneficial – it’s necessary.
Yeah, if you’re chronically missing workouts and you haven’t been to the gym in months, you might want to do something about it and work on your time management…but don’t feel guilty if you have to push a workout a day late or you miss one session after months of consistency. Consider it extra recovery and get back at it hungrier than you were before.
8) They surround themselves with people who’re better than they are.
The “Big fish-little pond” effect is what happens when you’re the strongest/fastest/best athlete in your gym and you no longer have anyone to compete with; you’ve caught the biggest fish in your little pond and it’s time to expand your horizons. This concept can be applied to pretty much any situation where you’re no longer challenged by your environment.
When a lack of competition stifles your growth, what do you do? The fittest people on earth change perspective. They put themselves out there and seek out new challengers. They don’t shy away from a reality check that perhaps their squat could be stronger; perhaps they could stand to work on their conditioning. The potential for failure forces them to find new and innovative approaches to their individual needs so that they might reach a new level of performance.
9) They constantly seek out new information and develop a broad knowledge base.
Elite athletes don’t have access to any training, nutrition, or motivational materials that your average person doesn’t, but they are constantly studying and applying new methods.
Whether it’s through formal education in pursuit of a degree, through certifications, or interning with the best coaches around, the most successful athletes in the world are smart cookies with a thirst to know more about how the human machine thinks and works. If it’s been a while since you read an anatomy text or dusted off your copy of “Supertraining,” it might be time to get some reading in.
10) They do EVERYTHING they need to do to be the best they can be.
Many of the best athletes we work with are moms and dads. They serve our communities as firefighters or police officers, and some are serving/have served in the military. They have very demanding lives, but they make no excuses when it comes to training, eating, and recovering.
Being the best version of yourself is largely mental; it’s about starting on the path that is the opposite of the one you were on and just never looking back. When you spend enough time living your life, striving for constant improvement, nourishing your body, and being in control of yourself, you realize how much it sucks to live any other way.
Matt working his way through some heavy farmer carries.
Yo Verve, what’s the haps?
-We have a change in the schedule this weekend. Because all the trainers are headed to Winter Park this weekend for the Adventure Race, Verve will have a guest coach. Trevor will be coming to us from CrossFit Roots in Boulder to lead classes.
–There is NO Open Gym Saturday. Classes are at 9am, 10am, and 11am.
–We have subbed in an Open Gym on Sunday from 11am-12:30pm.
–Saturday August 29th- Sunday August 30th Verve will be closed to host the CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course. There will be 1 WOD at 7am.
–Saturday August 29th The Rino Beach Club is hosting Denver’s first annual Post Workout Party. They will have a WOD at 10am on the beach and then the party starts from 11am-4pm. $5 cover. #GymTanBeach
–Sunday August 30th Ververs are heading to Evergreen for some stand-up paddle boarding and other fun in the sun, from 8am-10pm.
–Saturday September 5th- Sunday September 6th Verve will be closed to host the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Course. There will be 1 WOD at 7am. CrossFit Lodo has again been kind enough to open it’s doors to Verve members at no cost. They will have 2 classes posted on Saturday and 2 on Sunday for Verve members to attend. We will give more details and put out a sign up sheet as time gets closer.
–Monday September 7th is Labor Day. Verve will have an abbreviated schedule that day.
This rag tag group of Ververs just completed this cycle of Hot Dogs and Cupcakes and will be enjoying a deload week before the next Olympic lifting cycle starts!! More details to come!
VERVE OUTING – STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING – August 30th from 8am – 10am
We got a GREAT response for the upcoming SUP outing @ the Evergreen Lakehouse; 45 people signed up!! Here are some important details if you signed up or if you missed the sign up sheet and would like to see if there is a plan B. PLEASE NOTE: If you just want to come and hang out and not get on a board, you are more than welcome.
PAYMENT – The cost is $10 per person, but Verve will be covering half of that, so you owe $5. Payment must be made IN CASH no later than Wednesday, August 19th by 5pm. You can give your money to a trainer in the office and they will mark you off of the list. IMPORTANT: If we do not receive your payment by the aforementioned deadline, we will open up each unpaid space to another interested member.
THE BOARD – Your $5 fee will cover the rental of one of their 20 paddleboards and a life jacket. Being as how we have 45 people signed up and only 20 boards, 2 things: #1 – If you don’t have your own board, we will be setting some times so everyone gets a chance to get on a board. We will also have some fun activities to do while you are waiting for a board! #2 – If you have your own board and life jacket, you can bring them and will only need to bring $4. You MUST have a life jacket, so if you don’t have one it is an additional $5 to rent one.
GETTING THERE – Sound out in the comments if you are interested in car pooling. According to Mapquest, it will take approx. 40 minutes to get there – ANTICIPATE TRAFFIC! Here is the physical address for you to plug into your navi system: Evergreen Lakehouse 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road Evergreen, CO 80439
WHAT TO BRING Bathing suit – preferably one that won’t fall off in the water! (Nate and Clancy, they have outlawed speedos at that lake so you are SOL) Sunscreen Water Snacks Bloody Mary’s (we won’t judge) Towel Flip Flops or shoes of some sort
DON’T FORGET – Saturday, August 29th Amy S. and the Rino Beach Club are hosting a GYM TAN BEACH party. There will be a fun WOD on the beach beforehand followed by a party containing a whole lot of fit people! There is a cover charge of $5, but all of that will be going to the EVERYDAY WARRIOR Foundation.
Do not be scared by the heavy artillery, this is Trevor Gibson and he will be our guest trainer this Saturday. Trevor is a trainer at CrossFit Roots in Boulder, CO. He has been kind enough to agree to stop by for Saturday’s classes and lead the charge. Now, so you don’t think we would let just anybody come to Verve and coach you guys, here’s a little bit about Trevor:
Trevor has been at CrossFit Roots since 2013. His background includes a Bachelor of Arts from Santa Clara U, four years active duty as a Marine Officer, a Masters in Education from Stanford U, and three-years teaching math at a public school, Summit Preparatory Charter HS. During his time as a teacher, he led his students to the school’s highest Algebra 2 testing scores in its history and started a CrossFit club for students. Trevor’s official CrossFit qualifications include CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course, CrossFit Kids Course, Coaches Prep Course, and Certified CrossFit Trainer (CF-L3). And on the weekends Trevor travels around the world working for CrossFit Headquarters as part of the CrossFit Kids staff.
So basically, the dude is legit. Now that we’ve made it officially awkward for Trevor to walk in to Verve on Saturday and have you know all about him without him having ever met you, be sure to introduce yourselves and give him a warm Verve welcome. Something I know you would do whether or not I even mentioned it here, cause that’s how legit Verve members are.
Talk about Verve members being legit, there is a pretty cool opportunity for you all to showcase it. Starting the week of September 8th, CrossFit will begin it’s second year of the CrossFit Team Series. It is an opportunity to have some competitive fun in the off season. Teams are made up of 2 men and 2 women. ANY 2 men and 2 women. During the first week CrossFit will announce several workouts, that much like the Open, will have to be completed and scores submitted within that week. The second week of the event will take place October 6th-12th, with another series of workouts announced and another week to complete them.
Last year the 4 full time trainers made up Team AC/EC. This year we are coming back with a vengeance, with a slight roster/ team name change. Courtney, Anna, Nate, and Eric are getting signed up to throw down, all you need to do is find 3 friends and throw down with us. We will schedule some times throughout those weeks to get any registered teams together for some fun/ friendly competition. Click here for all the extra information you may seek, including who can be on the team, as well as understanding RX division vs. scaled division.
Registration starts August 18th, mark your calendars.
**Also mark your calendar that this Saturday open gym has been cancelled. However, we have added an open gym time on Sunday from 11am-12:30. These changes are for this week only. Don’t try hanging around on Saturday after the 12pm class hoping no one will notice. 🙂
**We have some changes to the schedule this weekend.** -We will have a guest trainer coaching the Saturday classes. Trevor will be traveling down from CrossFit Roots in Boulder to lead classes. We are grateful he is helping us out while all the Verve trainers travel to Winter Park this weekend.
-Open gym will be cancelled on Saturday. There will only be the 9am, 10am, and 11am classes.
-We are having an open gym on Sunday instead, from 11am-12:30pm.
How to be one with the rope. Kinda, sorta By Courtney Shepherd, but mostly By Duane Waits of WOD Talk
Who’s got two thumbs and wants double unders? Everyone. If you already have double unders, we get it, you’re cool. . . but not as cool as Trevor Norris who holds the world record for double unders in 1 minute at 169. So let’s just say we all have room to improve. . . unless we are Trevor Norris.
Some of you have heard me mention in class the importance of being able to control your rope, go from single to double and back to single. Learning to control your rope is one of several steps described by Duane Waits in his article “Double Under Jump Rope Training – Success in 5 Easy Steps”. So see, sometimes I know what I’m talking about. While he does not mention this in his article, I think it’s also important, if you truly want to get double unders or get better at the double unders you have, to get your own rope. It’s not my goal to send anyone out into the world and drop a ton of money on all kinds of CrossFit goodies but I think everyone can benefit from dropping $20-$30 on their own jump rope. Once the rope is fitted to the person, it makes it that much easier to work consistently on double unders. And consistent practice is the name of the game when double unders are concerned. Be Tea Dubs, when you make said purchase. . . please for the love of all that is holy, put your name on it!! In a crazy scheme to make money, Rogue/ JumpNRope/ RX Rope, all made more than 1 jump rope.
Here are all of the tips recommended for training the double under:
1) Choose a Rope
This is the most important element in this exercise. Ropes come in many different colors, lengths, weights, materials, and levels of thickness. I recommend a thinner or slightly weighted rope to facilitate a quicker moving rope. This skill is about speed and control. The rope needs to be at a length that is comfortable for you.
The jump rope handles should go past your waist about 3 – 6 inches when you stand on the rope with both feet about shoulder width apart. You will be able to compensate for the length by moving your arms closer or further away from your body when you start jumping.
2) Learn to control the Jump Rope
This is key because you have to learn to jump the rope and not let the rope jump you. Develop a fast-moving rope with single unders, and with practice you will develop the ability to speed the rope up and slow it down. If you can get control of the rope, controlling your jump becomes easy. Naturally, regardless of your level of coordination you should feel your timing becoming better and better to where it becomes muscle memory.
3) Attempt your first Double Under
Once you have adequate control of the rope, where you can actively control the speed of the rope without stopping, then you are ready to attempt your first double under. Take 3 – 5 single jumps first then with a quick strong wiping motion of your wrist, speed the rope up and jump about 2 – 3 inches higher to have enough clearance as the rope goes under your feet 2 times. Your jump should be as relaxed as possible. If you find yourself expending a large amount of energy to successfully execute one double under, then some more fine tuning needs to take place. Efficiency in movement is the key to your success.
4) Develop a Rhythm
Once you can execute one double under successfully it is time to start stringing 5 – 10 – 15 jumps together in a row. Start developing your natural jump rope rhythm. For example, use a rhythm of 3 single jumps to every 1 double under. Doing so will allow you to reset mentally as you prepare for the next attempt. Experiment with a few different jumping patterns and as you continue to practice, as you get better start taking away the single jumps until you are only doing the double unders.
5) Adjust and Refine to develop consistency
Based on your coordination level developing the double under jump rope skill will vary. The key is to continue to make small adjustments as you continue to practice. Just like learning to ride a bike or drive a car you must develop a feel for the double under jump rope skill. A comfortable, controlled and relaxed jump is what you are searching for. Once your skill level improves experiment with different speeds by slowing the rope down and speeding the rope up. Remember the better you can control the rope the easier it is to jump the rope. Practice until it becomes muscle memory. When you can make 20 in a row look easy you have made it to the top of the double under mountain.
Troubleshooting: 4 common problems addressed 1) I have trouble controlling the rope.
Try using more wrist and less arms. Try adjusting your grip on the handles (i.e. move hands closer to the rope). Try extending your arms out further from your body. Try a rope made out of a different material. Experiment with different rope lengths.
2) The rope keeps hitting the front of my toes when I try to jump.
Try raising your knees higher when you jump until you get better control of the rope speed. Try raising your toes up as you jump.
3) When I attempt a double under I land hard and start falling backward.
Try jumping higher using mostly ankles and your calf muscles. Lean slightly forward as you jump to counter act your tendency to fall backward.
4) I can only get about 3 – 5 in a row before I mess up, what is my problem?
You must relax and increase your concentration level. We are not perfect beings so you must pay close attention and continually making small (micro) adjustments to keep your rhythm steady. Your mind and body must be in sync in order to roll off 50 – 75 double unders in a row.
For time:
30 Toes to bar
60 Double unders
30 Ab-mat sit-ups
20 Toes to bar
40 Double unders
20 Ab-mat sit-ups
10 Toes to bar
20 Double unders
10 Ab-mat sit-ups
Adam working hard on the deadlift work! That just may be double bodyweight.
IT’S ALMOST FOOTBALL SEASON!
Next weekend is the first Broncos preseason game and we need to start building our arsenal of healthy pre-game snacks.
BAKED BROCCOLI TATOR TOTS – view the whole recipe here
Ingredients
2 cups or 12 ounces uncooked or frozen broccoli
1 large egg
¼ cup diced yellow onion
⅓ cup cheddar cheese
⅓ cup italian breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parsley ( or cilantro, rosemary,
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet with a thin layer of oil or line with parchment paper and set aside.
Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 1 minute then remove and shock with cold tap water to stop the cooking process. Drain well.
Chop broccoli finely (or stick it in your food processor) and mix throughly with the egg, onions, cheddar, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of mix using a ice-cream scoop or your hands and gently press between your hands into a firm ball then shape into a tater-tot shape. It helps to wash your hands after every few tots to keep them from sticking onto your hands. Next, Place on your prepared baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown and crispy, 18-24 minutes, turning half way. Remove from the oven and enjoy hot with ketchup, sriracha, ranch dressing, or your favorite dipping sauce!
NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: 34 Calories per serving (tot) Fat – 1g Cho – 3g Pro – 2g
VERVE UPDATES:
-Yoga is at 11am on Sunday so you can sleep in and still get your mobility on!
“31 Heroes” As many rounds as possible in 31 minutes of: 8 Thursters, 155#(105#) 6 Rope climbs, 15′ 11 Box jumps, 30″(24″)
This is a partner workout. Partner #1 will begin the AMRAP while partner #2 runs 400m w/ weight, 45#(25#). When partner #2 gets back, they will tag out partner #1. Partner #2 continues working on the AMRAP where #1 left off and partner #1 goes for a 400m run w/ weight.
**Verve is hosting the 31 Heroes WOD today!! We have 2 class times, 9am & 10:30am. Please sign up on MBO to get a spot, this includes non Verve members. We would like to have a head count to prepare. All are welcome, we can scale for those who are new to CrossFit. We will not be charging a drop in fee but rather we ask that you go to www.31heroes.com and donate instead. Registering on their website is different from reserving a class spot on MBO. At the 31 Heroes website you can register and receive a t-shirt. If you are unable to get registered at 31 Heroes, we will also accept donations at Verve. The WOD is a partner WOD, bring a buddy, or be prepared to get paired up when you get to the gym, no one WODs alone!! For the 31 Heroes website, click here.
Saturday August 15th– The O2X Summit Challenge in Winter Park. The sign up sheet is at the front desk @ Verve.
Sunday August 30th– Stand up paddle boarding outing from 8am-10am in Evergreen.
Saturday August 29th & Sunday August 30th– Verve is hosting the CrossFit Weightlifting Trainer Course. Changes to the schedule will be made and announced as the seminar gets closer. Aside from 1 morning class, however, Verve will be closed the rest of the day. You can still get signed up for the seminar if you are interested, for more info click here.
Saturday September 5th & Sunday September 6th– Verve is hosting a Level 1 Trainer Course. Changes to the schedule will be made and announced as the seminar gets closer. Aside from 1 morning class, however, Verve will be closed the rest of the day. You can still get signed up for the seminar if you are interested, for more info click here.
“Excuse me sir, your balls are showing. Bumble bee tuna. ” That is all I see when I look at this picture of Ben and Zink going for their heavy weighted pull-ups.*
*The first person to comment to this post with the correct name of the movie that quote comes from will get a free can of Kill Cliff from me.
In a fight between Technique and Intensity, who would win? By Courtney “I feel the need for speed” Shepherd
Haha, fool you. It’s a trick question. In CrossFit we don’t want it to be Technique vs. Intensity, we want it to a happy blended family of Technique AND Intensity. We want to have a nice medium between them both, where neither of them wins completely. We can’t have either of them be the Ronda Rousey, or dominating factor, in our workout.
CrossFit defines technique as the successful completion of a functional movement, it does not need to be done perfectly, however. The goal is to work to perfect our technique over time. Intensity is what gets us our results, intensity is what gets us more fit, and is our increase in work capacity. When we blend the two together, we get improved technique that overall lends way to increased intensity, which equals our progress in the sport of CrossFit. We blend these two concepts together through something called threshold training.
To really explain threshold training let’s look at 3 different athletes performing the same workout. The workout will be “Isabel”, 30 snatches for time. All 3 athletes will be using the same weight of 95#. Athlete number 1 picks up the bar and just gets crazy. This athlete does not set up properly, they heave the bar over their head, and just let it drop to the ground, bouncing all over the place. For the first few reps they have a wide snatch grip but as the reps go on the athlete is just putting their hands anywhere and everywhere, by rep 30 the movement does not really look much like a snatch. Plus the athlete has managed to make their way across the room chasing their barbell, they finish the workout in 3 minutes. Athlete number 2 approaches the bar, sets their grip, takes a deep breath, and executes a beautiful snatch. It appears seamless as they guide it to the ground. Athlete number 2 does this for reps 1-30, each one looking exactly like the rest, like something out of an instructional video on how to do the snatch. They also finish the workout in 3 minutes. Athlete number 3 approaches the bar, sets up, and begins executing seamless looking snatches, reps 1-12 look easy. The athlete begins to move faster and suddenly they don’t quite set their back right, their hips shoot straight to the sky, and as they receive the bar, they take a few steps to steady it over head. This kind of break down in form happens for a few reps until the athlete slows down, focuses on getting set again, then proceeds with more technically sound looking snatches. . . until the last few, when this athletes again begins to speed up to finish this workout, and form breaks down. This athlete also finishes the workout in 3 minutes. So the question becomes, who is doing this workout right? Who is getting their best blend of technique and intensity, and therefore getting the greatest results from the workout?
Athlete 1 is all intensity. They are like the Tasmanian Devil, throwing all caution to the wind and just going. Unfortunately training this way has limits, some of which may include injury. Athlete 2 is all technique. They aren’t pushing themselves to move faster, work harder, or get uncomfortable. This type of athlete will never really know how to push themselves, how to see the limits of their abilities because they never get to them. Athlete 3 is right on the money.They are the love child of technique and intensity. They push themselves, adding intensity, until that intensity affects their efficiency. This break down forces them to slow down, regain it, and hopefully begin to speed back up again. That is threshold training, constantly riding the fine line between efficient technique and the loss of it, over time pushing that line farther and farther out, allowing us to increase our overall intensity.
In short, don’t want to do bad movement fast. Do a movement well, then speed up with the goal being to do good movement fast. Working with too much intensity equals an overall drop in our technique. Working to be too perfect equals a loss in intensity. We need them both.
*Remember the 31 Heroes WOD is this Saturday. All are welcome but please sign up in MBO to reserve a spot, this includes non Verve members. For more information about the event, click here.
As many reps as possible, of an ascending ladder, in 12 minutes of: 1 Hang power snatch, 95#(65#) 1 Overhead squat, 95#(65#) 1 Burpee over the bar 2 Hang power snatch, 95#(65#) 2 Overhead sqaut, 95#(65#) 2 Burpees over the bar 3 Hang power snatch, 95#(65#) 3 Overhead squat, 95#(65#) 3 Burpees over the bar. . . .
Do you want to do the WOD RX or do you want to get fitter? By Courtney “the Taylor Swift of blog post writing” Shepherd
Taylor Swift is known for once saying, “If you’re horrible to me, I’m going to write a song about it, and you won’t like it. That’s how I operate.”
So why would I even dare to compare myself to the lyrical genius that is T Swift? Because if you are working out at Verve and something is happening that, as a coach, I think might need to be addressed, there’s a good chance I’m going to write a blog post about it. There is also the chance you may not like reading it. But that’s how I operate.
Today I want to address the simple question of, do you want to do the WOD RX or do you want to get fitter*? (*I know the word “fitter” is not grammatically correct. Just go with me on it for a sec.)I’m certain in all of our minds the answer is “yes” because we want both, but unfortunately doing a workout as prescribed is not always the road to getting fitter. In fact, it could actually be what is holding some of us back from ever really progressing. To best illustrate my point I need to throw a numbers bomb at you. I am going to take the numbers from a recent workout at Verve. Here is my real world scenario/ Taylor Swift like moment that I want to lay disclaimer to, there are some athletes out there that my example may hit close to home. However, while I am using this as an example, I am not trying to make an example of anyone, and I hope you will see the difference. Every person who has entered a CrossFit gym and done a WOD, has bitten off more than they can chew. . . probably more than once. I just want us to see why making a habit of doing so, is not doing us any favors.
Here’s the WOD to be discussed: 20 Minutes as many rounds as possible of: 5 Muscle ups 50 Double unders 10 Handstand push ups Run 100 Meters
There were several “RXs” throughout the day with scores ranging from 3 rounds to 7 rounds. Alright, it’s number crunching time. For the athlete that did 3 rounds that’s 15 muscle-ups, 150 double unders, 30 handstand push-ups, and 300m run. We can easily double those numbers for an athlete that finished 6 rounds. I will start by saying the design and intent of this workout was to get around 5 rounds. So for anyone that got less than 5 rounds I would start by asking, where did you get stuck? Let’s say an athlete is not super efficient at muscle-ups. They have them, consistently, but in single reps only, they are not yet able to link muscle ups. So at the start of every round, it takes this athlete around 3 minutes to chip away at 5 single muscle-ups, a movement that if done unbroken would take :15-:20. That kind of time adds up.
My next question comes after the first round, when we saw the time adding up, why didn’t we change something? Because our goal was to do the workout RX. But. . . . if perhaps our goal was to come to Verve, do an intense workout, and walk away with more fitness out of the deal, what would that workout look like? It would look like doing 3 muscle-ups/ round and getting 5 rounds. Because, after doing some number crunching, that still gives me 15 total muscle-ups, but it also gives me 250 double unders, 50 handstand push-ups, and 500m run. So next week when a workout comes up with somewhere between 200-300 double unders in it, the appropriately scaled, “5 rounds athlete” will be ready, they’ve built a capacity for that number of double unders. The “3 rounds of RX athlete” might end up stuck breaking down somewhere around 150 doubles unders because they have not built a capacity to do more work than that. If I’m really crunching numbers, 5-7 rounds of that workout is genuinely working out for 20 minutes. 3 rounds seems more like working out for 10 minutes with 10 minutes of rest. So what happens to me if I’m trying to build a capacity of stamina and endurance in a 20 minute workout. I simply don’t, and the next 20 minute workout that comes along, even if it has every movement I’m really good at and I can RX that one too. . . it will probably look similar in output, half the intended work.
I’m with you on the idea that doing workouts RX is pretty cool. That’s why we make it part of our goals and we celebrate it as accomplishments. However, I would encourage a bit of a change in mindset. If we change our goals to being fitter, to doing a workout with the intended stimulus and intensity, if we push ourselves to keep moving and take less breaks, we may find that our level of fitness has risen to a point where doing a WOD RX just happens. If all we do is come into the gym and say to ourselves ” I can do all of this. It might take me a while, I might be pretty slow, or it might be pretty ugly, but I can do it. And I can get my RX.” I hope you all can see that this may be a recipe for not getting better at CrossFit but rather getting better at staring at a bar and resting, or staring at a set of rings and resting. Simply put, not progressing any farther than where I currently am, which is 3 rounds of RX. So my final question is, is that good enough for you?
My final thoughts on the matter are this: you can always go lighter, do a few less reps, and get done way faster than everyone else AND that would be a better outcome, in my opinion, than doing the heavier weight, all the reps, and taking twice as long to finish the WOD. Why? Because the former option keeps you moving, it builds stamina and endurance. The former can build speed and a capacity for time under tension. The latter builds a puddle of sweat and a time of completion.
As I said earlier, every single CrossFitter is guilty of overestimating their abilities or underestimating a workout or both. Doing so does not make us bad people, it doesn’t make us guilty of CrossFit heresy. But if we keep doing it over and over and either don’t learn from the experience or don’t care to learn from the experience, we can’t be shocked if 2 years down the road of our CrossFit journey, we are still a 3 rounds of RX kind of athlete.
