6 Rounds for reps:
With a 2 minute running clock:
12 Medicine ball cleans 20#(14#)
6 Handstand push-ups
Then, as many muscle-ups as possible in remaining time
Rest 2 minutes

Post total reps to comments or BTW

Next Verve Outing!!

The next Verve get together will be October 25th @ Urban Acrobatics! 

What is Urban Acrobatics?  Urban Acrobatics is a multi functional gym and recreation center for cutting edge fitness and creative movement. Featuring Parkour/FreeRunning, Tumbling, Break-dancing, Yoga, Martial Arts, Aerial acrobatics, Birth Day Parties, and so much more. Our focus is to bring fun, fitness, health, and energy back into your life.

What will we be doing?  We have the gym reserved from 9am to 11am.  We will be coached on different Parkour moves and America Ninja Warrior-style obstacles.

How do you sign up?  You will sign up via MindBody like a normal class.  When you sign up, you will be prompted to pay $5, Verve is covering the rest of the cost.  The class is capped at 25 people, so sign up quick!

Check out this website to check out the gym and what we have in store.

VERVE UPDATES:

Workout today will be at Commons Park.  Here is map to the park:

“Karen”
For time:
150 Wallballs to 10′ target, 20#(14#)

Compare to 140608

Mobility Series Continued!!  GOT KNEE PAIN?

Let me preface this post with a reminder that there are many causes of knee pain.  Depending on the source of the pain, doing any and all of these lower extremity mobility drills may help alleviate the pain.  This mobility post will focus on directly mobilizing the knee joint, but realize that the pain could be caused by upstream or downstream issues.

#1 – First, let me recommend a 3 part video by Kelly Starrett called Solving Knee Problems.  Coach Starrett goes over why we have you squat the way you do and identifiying those upstream and downstream issues I mentioned above.

Watch Solving Knee Pain Part One here
Watch Solving Knee Pain Part Two here
Watch Solving Knee Pain Part Three here

#2 – Banded Torque and Tension of the knee – Wrap a green band low around the pull-up rig and wrap the other end around your ankle twice.  Sit down and scoot you booty away from the rig creating tension on the band.  Now you will use your hands to internally rotate your high-shin area while flexing you quad.  Do this for ~2 minutes each leg. To up the intensity, wrap you entire knee with a VooDoo band and do the same drill!!  BAM!!
Here is a short video showing the drill:

#3 – Banded knee distraction – Wrap a green band knee-height on the pull-up rig.  Step into the band with one leg, making sure it is at the back of your knee.  Step away, facing the rig, creating some tension on the band.  With your feet close together, squat down.  You should feel some light pulling on the front of your knee.  Move the knee around, into the different corners.  Do this for about :90 seconds on each leg.    Then, turn your side to the rig and squat more, allowing the band to pull you knee out.  Here is a video showing the drill:

Shout out in comments if you try any of these, or if you have any great GO-TO knee mobility drills.

VERVE UDPATES:

– There is a CrossFit Kids seminar at the gym this weekend, so we will be having classes on-site @ 7am on Saturday and Sunday.  Courtney will be coaching swim WODS off-site on Saturday at Glenarm Rec Center at 9:30am and 10:30am.  Sunday we will have park WOD’s at Commons Park @ 9am and 10am.

-Let Nate know if you are participating in the Run the Rocks 5k Run Walk.  The race starts at 9am.  You can still sign-up with our discount code CrossfitRocks14 to receive a $5 discount.

Push jerk 2-2-2-2-2

Split jerk 3-3-3-3-3

Post loads to comments and BTWB

It’s party time By Courtney “#whatsupwiththat” Shepherd, with some help from my now partner in crime Eric “the shot caller” Clancy

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the congratulatory messages yesterday. Clancy and I each have a different story of how we got to Verve as athletes and how we became trainers. However, I don’t think either of us saw it leading to becoming co-owners of Verve. Truth be told, I don’t even think we liked each other very much when we first met, ironical huh? Joking aside, we are incredibly honored to have been asked to take the reigns.

A huge thank you to Matt, Cherie, Joylyn, and Mas for your trust, faith, and support. We are ready to keep your dream alive and thriving. Thank you to the Verve community for your enthusiasm towards this big change, your support is amazing and we are incredibly grateful. We have a mutual goal of keeping Verve on its path of success. We want to continue to see it grow and the community prosper. And we are excited to do it all as a team. I was going to end this with some silly phrase from a movie, possibly with bad words, to really bring home my point, but instead I will simply say. . . . we are excited and we’re glad you are too. 

Thank you,
Courtney and Clancy

For Time:

Run 1600 Meters
rest 4 minutes
Run 1200 Meters
rest 3 minutes
Run 800 Meters
rest 2 minutes
Run 600 Meters
rest 1 minute
Run 400 Meters
rest 30 seconds
Run 200 Meters

Post time to comments or BTW

SHIN SPLINTS!

If you have ever had shin splints or tibial stress syndrome, they are no fun.  Keeping with the Mobility Friday theme, you will get some tips on how to mobilize to alleviate some of the pain and also tips to avoid the pain again.  First, lets look at what causes shin splints.

There are many things that can cause shin splints.  Things such as:

• Improper running form (heel striker)
• Tightened calf muscles
• Overpronation (When the ankles lean inward or “flat feet”)
• Bad shoes (too much cushioning or “support” can change your natural stride)
• Oversupination (walking on the outside of our feet or “high arches”)
• Sudden increase in intensity (starting a running program or training for longer distances than you normally do)
• Ankle restriction / immobility

#1 – For mobility tips, please refer to the past 2 Fridays’ posts.  Those posts were focused on ankle and calf mobility.

#2 – Seek a professional to analyze your gate if mobility is not helping the pain.

#3 – Here is a great self-massage video to ease your aching shins.  All you need is a lacrosse ball, but you can also do the same massage with a green or blue trigger point roller.

 VERVE UPDATES:

-Please don’t forget that tomorrow is the fundraiser for the EOD 130 Memorial WOD.  Bring a friend and have some fun for a good cause

– Next Sunday is Run the Rocks @ Red Rocks amphitheater.  Let Coach Nate know that you are competing so we can meet up before and/or after the run for some brewskies and fun.  If you need more details, e-mail Nate@crossfitverve.com

“Kevin”
3 rounds for time:

32 Deadlifts, 185# (125#)
32 Hanging hip touches, alternating arms
Run 800m, odd object carry, 30# (20#)

For information about this hero Kevin Ebbert, go HERE
For movement demo, go HERE

Post time to comments or BTW

MOBILITY!!!

We all need it! Some of us have a great routine, some of us think about it more than we do it.  Either way, mobility is a HUGE part of making progress in CrossFit.  There are so many options and variations for mobilizing that we can get ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.  The next several Friday posts will be a series revolving around mobilization of the different areas of the body.  I challenge you to spend time each week performing some of the mobility tips and finding which ones you enjoy the most and incorporate them into a daily routine.  We will start with ANKLES and work our way up the body.

ANKLES – Tight, inflexible ankles can lead to poor squatting form, painful running, and tight calves.  Here are some great mobility drills to help get those supple ankles you have always wished for:

#1 – LOOSEN UP YOUR FEET – Simply grab a lacrosse ball, take off you shoes and, while standing, roll the ball around the entire bottom of your foot for :90 each foot.  PUT YOUR BACK IN TO IT, use some force.  You can also do this with a kettle bell.  Sit on your butt and use the bottom of the kettlebell in a twisting motion on the bottom of your foot for the same time period.

#2 – LOOSEN UP YOUR HEEL CORD – Watch the following video with Kelly Starrett regarding tight heel cords.

#3 – HEEL PUMPS – Here is a video from our very own Dan Pope.  They include several ideas, including the heel pump.  Line your toe up about 5 inches from a wall.  While keeping your heel on the ground, pump your knee forward, trying to touch your knee to the wall.  Do 15-20 pumps on each side. (Great background music Dan!)

#4 – HEEL PUMPS TO THE NEXT LEVEL – Attach a band low on the pull-up rig and place a box about 2ft to 3ft in front of it. Hook the band LOW on your ankle and put your whole foot on top of the box.  Keeping you heel down, now do some knee pumps, same rep scheme.

You may say to yourself “These are nothing new, I have seen these before!”, but do you do them on a regular basis?  Take one week and do these daily to see if you can feel a difference.  Next week: CALVES!! Get excited!

VERVE UPDATES:

 – Hinshaw Seminar – September 27th 9a – 5p
          Follow this link if you are interested in signing up.  Talk to Roby, Anna, or Joylyn if you have questions about why this is one of the best seminars you will ever go to.  If you are currently in or are thinking about joining the Comp Crew, this seminar helps you to better understand the Stamina work in the program.

-VERVE LADIES NIGHT – September 26th starting @ 5:30pm @ at Infinite Monkey Theorem right across the street.  Be there, or be……. left out:(

– GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE VERVE ATHLETES COMPETING IN THE COLORADO OPEN MASTERS at Front Range CrossFit.  If you have time this weekend, go show them some support at Front Range CrossFit.

For time:
10 Muscle-ups
20 Calorie row
30 Toes to bar
40 Hip extensions
50 Dumbbell thrusters, 40# (25#)
40 GHD sit-ups
30 Second freestanding handstand hold
20 Calorie row
10 Muscle-ups

Post times to comments or BTW.

The 4 Un-debatable Fundamentals of Training

I came across a great article over the weekend and wanted to share it with you. Regardless of your “flavor” of training, here are the four things that ALL effective programs/methods/styles have in common. In my mind, this is undebatable. If you lose one, you lose the effectiveness of the program. CrossFit does an amazing job of developing competency in all of these domains, which is one reason it’s such an effective program.

1. Movement – because moving is better than not moving. Regardless of ‘how’ you choose to move (Zumba, CrossFit, Endurance Training), movement IS the most important thing we can do with our bodies.
2. Strength – because who doesn’t want to be able to physically dominate their environment? Maybe that’s a touch aggressive, but being strong is better than being weak. I’ve yet to be proven wrong.
3. Conditioning (or Work Capacity) – often misunderstood, work capacity is your bodies ability to do work (regardless of time, intensity or modality). The more work capacity you have, the more efficent and effective you become in your chosen activity.
4. Technique – because injuring yourself SUCKS (and for the record, a lot of injuries in CrossFit can be eliminated with good technique!). This means taking a joint through a full range of motion, using the correct muscles in the correct sequence. Good technique leads to good form, and good form leads to optimal function.

And let’s be honest – strong and fit humans are harder to kill and generally more useful. Kaboom.

Check out the original article by clicking here.

2012 Open Workout  12.1

As many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
Burpees
*Must two hand touch a target 6″ above max reach

Post reps to comments or BTW

There is a lot of info in this post, so hunker down and get to reading!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE VERVE ATHLETES COMPETING TOMORROW IN THE LUMBERJACK THROWDOWN!!
Follow this link to check out the workouts

Here are the heat times for our athletes so you can go cheer them on!
-Team Vicious and Delicious and Team Lazy Has-Beens @ 9AM and 12:45PM
-Team Hall’n Lumber Duo and Team M as in Mancy and Team Swingers @ 9:25AM and 1:03PM
-Jay Cain @ 11:05 and 2:05PM
-Colby Knepp @ 11:30am and 2:18PM
-Chris Zienkievicz @ 11:55am and 2:31PM
**BASICALLY there is action going on all day, come and support the many Ververs!!!

AND

GOOD LUCK TO VERVE MEMBER ELIZABETH  “LILLIE” GLAWS WHO WILL BE COMPETING IN THE GRANITE GAMES THIS WEEKEND!  Watch all of the action online HERE to watch her dominate the field!

“MUSCLES ARE TORN IN THE GYM, FED IN THE KITCHEN, AND BUILT IN THE BED”

As coaches, we see almost all of your smiley faces throughout the day.  In our conversations, we hear about any issues or frustrations you may be having about your training at the gym.  Here are some common frustrations we here:
**”My knee is hurting, but I think I will just wait to see if it goes away”
**”I am very frustrated, my numbers aren’t going up and some of them are even going down”
**”I have been following …(insert name here)….. training program, doing 2 WOD’s a day and I don’t see myself getting better”
The next thing we ask as coaches is when was you last rest day?  Very often, we get a bewildered look and reply of “I really liked the workouts this week” or “I had some drinks this week and I need to work them off”.

I want to take a moment to emphasize the importance of programming rest in your routine.  Rest is not only for the weak or the old or the deconditioned, it is the only opportunity your body has to fully recover from the damage we do to it during our intense workouts.  Here is outake from a similar post by CrossFit Roots:

“Rest days allow for physiological and psychological benefits that are vital to athletic progress.

Physiologically, rest allows the body to learn from and adapt to the recent physical stress, repair muscles, rebuild, and be stronger and better adapted for the next physical challenge (in our case, a workout). In CrossFit we believe in relative intensity and work to dial in our athletes’ workouts to an intensity level that hovers in the “hard but doable” realm. The result is an adaptation that continuously tips the athlete toward stronger, more skilled, faster, you get the point. But the CRAZY PART is that this adaptation takes place during the rest and recovery phase, not during the workout! Too much intensity or too little recovery blunts the adaptation creating an athlete that is headed toward plateau rather than continuous improvement.

Psychologically, and when viewed correctly, rest days give us a mental edge in workouts. When an athlete embraces the time off they come back stronger and work harder in workouts. I say “when viewed correctly” as many athletes feel guilty about their rest days and instead waste tons of mental energy worrying about not working our rather than reaping the benefits.

As athletes (and not just CrossFit athletes) we constantly chase performance and for many, appearance too. We’ll do anything for a better run time, a faster Fran, or a heavier deadlift. Change my diet? Sure, tell me what I can and can’t eat. Buy the right shoes? Sure, where do I pay? Take a day off? NO WAY.”

Here are some signs that you are overtraining and need some valuable rest:

• Decreased Coordination or performance

• Prolonged Illness

• Decreased desire to train

• Soreness that lasts longer than usual

• Feeling lethargic even after getting adequate sleep

• Increase in nagging pains in the joints or muscle

• Your results/progress are coming to a screeching halt

The goal is to not come to this point and ensure that you are getting rest now so you don’t have to pay later, but if you are here then take a couple of rest days.  If Verve is your escape from life, than come in and mobilize, roll out, socialize. 

VERVE UPDATES:
*There will be a Snowboard on the Block Expo going on at the EXDO center all day Saturday, so be aware of the parking situation.

*Hinshaw Seminar is Saturday, September 27th.  The details and sign ups can be found here.  Again, I highly recommend this seminar as a way to find the ideal place for you to train your endurance without just running more and hoping it gets better.

*CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR ALL OF THE UPCOMING EVENTS AT VERVE!

Front Squat 1-10-1-20-1-30 reps

Post weights to BTWB.

Where to next for rowing & running? As many of you know who’ve come to running & rowing the last 2 months (and if not, Tuesdays and Thursdays are where it’s at!) you’ve heard about combining the programs so that they compliment each other. Last cycle, running focused on short intervals, culminating in a mile test, while rowing worked on a 40 min progression and ultimately 40 min test. This cycle, we are switching roles: running is moving towards longer distance and rowing towards short intervals.

What’s up next…?

Rowing: Don’t worry, no more 40 minute progressions – but congrats to the 14 people who completed the 40 min test and even more who did the progression! Our next cycle is going to focus on max power and recovery. We are going to do the same workout every week for 6 weeks with a 2 x 500m test on either end. Each week we will do 8x1min on and as much rest as it takes you to slow your heart rate back down to about 60-65% your VO2max.

However, recovery isn’t purely a physical response, but also a mental skill. Throughout these 6 weeks we are going to dive into different techniques and components of regaining one’s cool in the face of discomfort & hard work. Each week will involve something new to add onto the physical component. The idea being that we will be attacking recovery from two directions: physicality & mentality = you being a super fit bad ass.

First test is this Thursday, Sept. 4th. As always, you can jump in to any class at any point during the progression, but you’ll gain the most from coming every week.

With a partner on a 6 minute clock:
Partner 1 rows 20 cal
Parter 2 as many reps as possible of power cleans 165# (115#)

Rest 1 min

With a partner on a 6 minute clock:
Partner 1 rows 15 cals
Partner 2 as many reps as possible of wall balls 20# (14#)

Rest 2 mins
Then as many reps as possible in 5 minutes: 1 person works at a time

Row for calories
1 person works at a time, switch as often as partners choose.

Post reps to comments and BTW.

Limited class schedule on Monday, September 1 due to the holiday.  Please see MBO.  

Upcoming Athlete Interest Clinics:

• Crossover Symmetry with Colby, Tuesday Sept 2 at 5PM
• Gymnastics Skills with Zink, Friday Sept 12 at 1:30PM
• Gymnastics Skills with Zink, Wednesday Sept 17 at 5PM
• Gymnastics Skills with Zink, Thursday Sept 25 at 5PM
• Gymnastics Skills with Zink, Monday Sept 12 at 5PM

Free Community WODs Saturdays, September 6 and September 20 at 8AM.
New Foundations Programs begin Mondays, September 8 and September 22.  Email info@crossfitverve.com to get signed up or for questions.  

Rowing Seminar this Saturday, August 30th with Maddie and Elevation Rowing at 2:30PM.  Cost is $60/pp, click here to register for the class.

This Sunday, August 31st, Verve is teaming up with Mile High Rowing Club from 7AM-10AM. Cost is $45/pp and limited to the first 24 people who sign up. We will watch the US Rowing Safety Video first thing followed by a quick demo of boat handling and then get on the water. Come get your vitamin D the natural way and put your fitness to work on the water. Email Maddie@crossfitverve.com to get signed up.

7 Rounds for time:
10 KB swings
10 Over and unders, 20″

Post times to comments and BTWB

It’s fast, it’s simple, and it will give you a new found love for brussel sprouts. You’re welcome.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
4 Lbs brussel sprouts
Oil
4 Slices thick cut bacon
Black pepper

Tools:
2 Cookie sheets/ baking pans
Aluminium foil
1 Gallon size zip lock bag

Putting it together:
1) Rinse brussel sprouts
2) Slice off end of each sprout and then slice in half (keep any leaves that may fall off, they get crunchy and yummy in the oven).
3) Fill zip lock bag 3/4 full with sprouts, add in 1 tablespoon of oil to bag, and shake/ mix contents. 
4) Cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil and begin to even spread oil coated sprouts over the two pans. 
5) Repeat steps 3 & 4 until all sprouts are oiled and placed on cookie sheets. 
6) Slice raw bacon into 1 inch pieces, evenly place the bacon pieces on top of the sprouts.
7) Sprinkle tope of sprouts and bacon with black pepper.
8) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sprouts in oven for 45 minutes. Toss sprouts every 15 minutes to prevent from burning on one side.
9) Enjoy, as these are unlike any other brussel sprouts you have had before. They are, to paraphrase, life changing, like heavy back squats. 

*2.5 cups= 1.5C, 3F

*This Saturday, August 30th, from 2:30pm-5pm Verve is hosting Elevation Rowing Seminars with your favorite rowing coach Maddie Berky. Learn to not hate rowing as much. Dare I say, maybe learn to love it!! Cost is $60/pp, click here to register for the class.

*Take your new love of rowing and hit the water. This Sunday, August 31st, Verve is teaming up with Mile High Rowing Club from 7AM-10AM. Cost is $45/pp and limited to the first 24 people who sign up. We will watch the US Rowing Safety Video first thing followed by a quick demo of boat handling and then get on the water. Come get your vitamin D the natural way and put your fitness to work on the water. Email Maddie@crossfitverve.com to get signed up.