A big thank you to everyone that came out last week for the first In House Competition. We had around 30 athletes compete in the Rx and Scaled divisions throughout the weekend. We are going to try and make this a once in a quarter occurrence so more and more of our athletes can get a feel for competing. I think the next one maybe a partner challenge so stay tuned.
After two weeks and 5 grueling workouts we have the 5 male athletes and 5 female athletes that will represent CrossFit Verve in the Conquer Denver competition taking place December 13th and 14th in Castle Rock Co. The five men and women are:
Nate Rader Mas Godinez Nat Ridder Jason Teribery Jason Kaplan Emmalee Teribery Anna Matson Trina Ruhland Courtney Shepherd Sarah Levenhagen
We’ve all seen what these ten are capable of doing and we have a damn good shot of winning this thing. We will also have two alternates should someone above not be able to participate. The two alternates are:
Chad Dagenhart Robyn Kunick-Bosch
Overall it was a fantastic test of fitness and everyone that participated did very well. If you competed in the Rx division and would like to see how you fared please grab me in the gym or simply send me an email and I’ll send you the spreadsheet with all the results.
Great job everyone and a special thanks to everyone that came to watch and especially helped judge and clean up equipment. You guys made it a lot more efficient and fun.
2:00 Double-unders for reps 2:00 Handstand walk for meters 1:30 Double-unders for reps 1:30 Handstand walk for meters 1:00 Double-unders for reps 1:00 Handstand walk for meters :30 Double-unders for reps :30 Handstand walk for meters
Post your score for each round.
Man vs. bar.
Hello Rowers,
Here we are: 7 weeks and a whole lot of strokes later ready to test again. I’m really blown away by the changes you all have made over these last weeks and cannot wait to see you test this coming week.
Test Dates/Times: Thursday, 5:30AM & 6:30PM and Friday, 12:30PM. If none of these times work for you, let me know and we will figure out a time that works.
Here is my advice for this coming week: don’t fear this test, anticipate it.
One of the things I have struggled with the most as an athlete is fear. I used to dread race-day because from the minute I woke up in the morning till about half way through the race I would be terrified. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to cut it. I was afraid that I would give in to whatever doubts plagued my consciousness, and that in doing so I would let down both myself and my boat. What never seemed to click through all those years of racing was that that never happened. When out on the water I always raced fully, completely, and with every ounce of myself. Those doubts always came up, but they never succeeded in breaking me. The stakes were too high and the reasons to forge on too important to let those doubts win.
It hasn’t been until this athletic lifetime that I realized being fearful was no way to live in this arena, but more importantly no way to live in any arena. If I’m fearful in the doors of that gym, then I will be fearful outside of them. Discomfort, struggle, hardship – all of those things will be there no matter what – that stimulus won’t change. But I can change my interpretation, my reaction to that stimulus. Instead of letting it press down upon me, screw that, I can press against it.
That is how I want you to approach this test. Yes: it will be hard. Yes: at some point, or multiple points, you are going to question yourself. Don’t dread those moments. Anticipate them. Because when that clock ticks over to 0:00 you will be a stronger, a braver person on the other side. Use this test as proof of you strength, not as a question of it.
Homework: Find a power/pump up song. Yep. Totally serious. Requirement: it should fill your soul while simultaneously making you feel like a bad ass. Listen to this song repeatedly over the next few days and visualize yourself kicking some serious butt on this test.
If you need some inspiration, here are some of mine over the years:
Faith, George Micheal (high school pre-race song)
Lose Yourself, Eminem (college pre-race song)
I Will Wait, Mumford & Sons | Pompeii, Bastille | Power, Kanye | Wake Me Up, Avicii (current life power songs.)
The drive is the power portion of the rowing stroke. It runs from the catch (you compressed at the front of the slide) to the finish (legs straight, arms bent, hips slightly open.) Where crossfitters tend to get stuck is by trying to pull that handle versus press that handle away at the catch. Take a second – look down at your body and consider what appendages are going to generate more power: those spindly little arms, or those very capable legs? I’m going with legs. Use those puppies! The goal of the drive is maintain as much pressure for as long as possible concentrated in the legs.
Think about a deadlift. When you lift a bar off of the ground a couple things are happening. 1) you are using your legs and the opening of your hips to generate power. 2) Your shoulders and hips are rising at the same rate. 3) Your weight is in your heels – good for a DL bad for the rowing stroke! Allow your heels to come up at the catch and then drive them back down as you straighten your legs. What setting your back in the DL allows (besides keeping you safe and whole) is a clean transfer of power to the bar. If you raise your chest early or shoot your hips out you break that chain of energy and your lift becomes less efficient and less powerful. It’s the same thing with the rowing stroke. As you press your legs straight think about maintaining a hollow body. Spine is bent, but not inactive as the ribs and belly are locked down big time.
It isn’t until you are done straightening your legs that you begin to hinge your body and finally bend your arms. Think about these final pieces not as generators of power but merely as continuers of momentum. They merely finish the momentum created by the legs. Akin to the arms and body in the clean – it is the aggressive opening of the hips that creates momentum – not the upper back or the arms pulling that gets that bar to move.
Your catch should thus feel sneakily passive while being extremely aggressive. Arms are outstretched and shoulders locked down – think about twisting them externally down into place. Your ribs and belly are pulling down into your spine. As you drive down with your legs none of that budges. A good visual is to see if your lats (the muscle right below the shoulder) engage at the catch. If they don’t then you are most likely opening up your back early (sending that pressure into the shoulders) or shooting your butt out (leaving the handle behind completely.) Let’s say that our hips are behind our shoulders at the catch. We want them to stay behind our shoulders (and at the same angle) until our legs have finished extending.
Strong catch = Strong drive = You being a rowing bad ass.
Reminder: Nutrition workshop this Friday night at 6pm. Sign up on MBO.
It was a fierce day of fierceness, exemplified by by Nate and Ben. DON’T mess with these dudes. (I’m whispering)
Free Nutrition Workshop at Verve on Friday, November 8 at 6pm. Sign up on MBO!
Questions About the New Oly Cycle
I wanted to take a moment to address some of the questions I’ve received concerning the new Oly Cycle.
I’m a CrossFit neophyte. Should I do this new Oly Cycle?
The short answer is… yes. We won’t turn anybody away. Here’s the thing to remember though: It’s going to be a fast moving class. There won’t be a warm-up (you will expected to be warmed up), and there won’t be a lot of instruction on the movements. There will be correcting, but not a formal teaching of the movements like we normally have in classes. So, if on day 1 of the cycle, the trainer says, “All right guys, we’ll be doing sets of five hang snatches, then we’ll move to sets of ten of back squats and half-squats. Finally, we’ll end with sets of five strict shoulder presses right into push presses.” Would that leave your head swimming? Do you know the difference between a shoulder press, push press, and push jerk? Do you know the difference between a hang snatch and hang power snatch? If not, shoot me (Luke) an email. If your head would be swimming, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be taking the class. It may just mean that you might feel a little overwhelmed with terminology and movement until you catch up. In that case, the class would be more skill oriented than heavy-weight oriented. Meaning, we can’t in good conscience let you load yourself up with super heavy weights with a movement you’re still learning how to perform proficiently. Make sense?
Do I need to make it to all four classes a week?
Well… Do I want you to commit and show up to all four? Yes. Do I realize that this may not happen? Yes. Keep in mind that this is a designed Olympic Cycle, meaning that every day has a specific point has focus. Mondays and Fridays are the heavy days, and will have different movements included therein. Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be speed, or lighter dynamic effort days. Different days may have different accessory work to help build up to previously unseen heights of strongly-ness. So, I have a tough time answering this question. I think you should commit to all four classes a week. I won’t force you to though, nor will I give you a hard time if you don’t. If anything, I’ll have Joylyn, Clancy, or Courtney give you a hug.
Will the programming be posted anywhere on the interweb?
Yes. Stay tuned, and we’ll post a link to the Hotdogs and Cupcakes website where it will be posted.
Do I have to compete in the Colorado Open in February?
No.
Do I need to sign up for each individual class?
Yes.
When does it start? When?! WHEN?!?!?
It starts on the 11th of November. The week of the 11th will a be a trial run, of sorts. It will help both coaches and athletes get used to the format and how the class is run. The cycle truly begins in earnest on Monday, November 18th.
I hope this helps. If there other unanswered questions, please email them to luke@crossfitverve.com. Thanks!
As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 minutes of: 3 Chest-to-bar Pull ups 3 Power Snatch 100#(70#) 6 Chest-to-bar Pull ups 6 Power Snatch 100#(70#) 9 Chest-to-bar Pull ups 9 Power Snatch 100#(70#) 12 Chest-to-bar Pull ups 12 Power Snatch 100#(70#) 15 15 etc…
So, Matt…. What’s your favorite baseball team, and why do you answer so?
The Cleveland Indians are my #1 sports team. I was raised a true Cleveland sports fan despite all of the torture the teams have put us through. I would watch the Tribe whenever I could. In matter of fact, my Grandma would send VHS tapes of the mid-90 teams with Belle, Ramirez, Baerga, Nagy, Alomar, Thome and Lofton. Those were some great teams and a timeframe us Cleveland fans remember like yesterday and pray comes back soon.
When did you start doing CrossFit, and why?
I started CrossFit officially in March 2012. I was working for USA Swimming in Colorado Springs and during my lunch breaks, I would work out. My now fiancée would normally do cardio work during the lunch breaks and saw me doing my stuff which normally consisted of lifting then some high intensity, CrossFit-type training. She told me I should join her at her box, CrossFit SoCo, because I was basically doing the same stuff. After about 2 or 3 months of me blowing her off, I really wanted to just get her to stop asking me so I caved. After that first session, I’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid since.
Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Denver?
My dad spent 21 years in the Air Force, all of which during my lifetime, but I was born in Cleveland, Ohio (hence being a Cleveland sports fan). I graduated high school in Northern Virginia and that’s where my parents live now so I would consider myself a Clevelander with a little bit of NoVa in me. Now what got me to Denver…it’s a bit of a long story but basically I got an opportunity at the end of January to work for the Rockies and get back into baseball after taking a 20-month break and working for USA Swimming.
You are currently engaged to be betrothed in matrimony. Where did you meet the love of your life?
As sort of mentioned above or at least you might have been able to figure it out from Question 2, the love of my life and I met as we both worked for USA Swimming. I was on the business side doing PR and Social Media for the organization and she was working with the National Teams in sports performance, but we didn’t really work directly with one another. Working for USAS, we traveled quite a bit domestically and internationally so instead of hanging out with people we worked closely with on a daily basis when we had free time, Lisa and I ended up sightseeing with one another and that’s kind of how we “became one”.
We have a lot of quality marriage experience here at Verve. What tips or questions would you like to ask the folks currently married?
Lisa is probably going to read this so I should be careful. I have been getting a lot of people talking about how the first year after the wedding has been the best year of their lives. What makes that first year so special? I might need to get everyone’s numbers because this is cheaper than going to a marriage counselor.
What is the weirdest thing you put down on the registration for your marriage gifts?
Turkey and Ham Lunchables. It was either these or Kid Cuisines. Who doesn’t like a quick “reward snack”? Plus, they are a full meal with the entrée, a drink and a desert. Yummy!
What do you appreciate about Verve?
What I really like about Verve is that everyone, especially coaches, have made Lisa and I feel welcomed since we started here. I also really like all of the mobility warm-ups we do. I never got into it before but since joining Verve I’ve learned that it actually feels kind of good.
What’s your favorite workout, and why?
I don’t have one specific workout I would call my favorite. I really like the chipper-type workouts for the pacing aspect of them. The fast-paced workouts like a Fran, Angie or Elizabeth always get me because I burst out but can’t hold that pace and die.
What keeps you doing CrossFit?
I could be cheesy and say the community and competition but really it comes down to me looking at myself in the mirror before and after I get out of the shower.
What would you like us to know about you?
Despite coming off as a complete badass with all of my answers and you never, ever smiling, I really am a softie. My picture-perfect evening is cuddling (little spoon please) on the couch while sipping on a Vodka straight from my He-Man glass and watching New Girl.
Starting November 11th, there will be a programming change at CrossFit Verve. All Olympic Lifting classes and Hotdogs and Cupcakes classes will be replaced with a new Olympic Lifting cycle. On February 15th, 2014, the Colorado Weightlifting Open will be held in Colorado Springs. We will be implementing a weightlifting cycle that would lead us to that date as well as the 2014 CrossFit Games Open. How exciting! If you are interested in being in the Colorado Weightlifting Open, it would require you to register as a USAW member. You can do this by checking on this link.The cost would be 50-55$ depending on your age. However, you do not have to be competing in the Open to take the class. Here are a few details to keep in mind about the class:
The format of the class would be run similar to how Hotdogs and Cupcakes is run now. Meaning, the expectation is that you would already be warmed up. There will be a lot of material to cover in one hour, and you will have to be ready to go.
You will need a basic knowledge of the movements held therein. There will be a lot of correcting during the class, but not a lot of teaching. So, here are some terms to familiarize yourself with: back squats, 1/2 squats, shoulder press, straight-leg deadlifts, muscle snatch, behind-the-neck press with a snatch-width grip, hang snatch, hang clean, and the difference between squat cleans/snatches and power cleans/snatches.
It will be a 12-week cycle. However the week before it officially begins, we will be doing a test run of the class. All movements will be done with sub-maximal weights. The idea is that it will give both athletes and trainers an idea of how the class will flow, as well as how quickly to move, or how much time we will able to devote to each movement. It is highly recommended that if you are interested in working through the cycle, you attend this first week. That way, when the cycle officially starts the following week, everyone can hit the ground running.
The schedule will run as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30am & 5:00 P.M. This will be taking the place of the Tuesday 5:30am Endurance Running class during the winter months. We will continue to have separate Endurance Running Clinics each month as weather permits. Additionally, the Friday 10am Olympic Lifting class will remain with the new name.
If you are interested in being involved with this, or have any questions, go ahead and send emails to luke@crossfitverve.com.
As noted in an earlier post, CrossFit Verve has been invited to participate in the Conquer Denver CrossFit Competition taking place Friday December 13th and Saturday December 14th at the Douglas County Event Center in Castle Rock. 48 Gyms from Colorado have been invited to participate. The top ten teams will be awarded cash prizes and the top team takes home $5,000!
To select our team, we will be having open tryouts for anyone interested in participating. On Saturday November 9th and Sunday November 10th we will have an In House Competition to determine the team. On Saturday there will be two workouts and Sunday there will be three. The workouts are listed below with all Rx weights. The In House Competition is open to ALL our members to participate in, regardless if you want to try out for the team or not, we’ll accommodate all skill levels. You must sign up with Eric@crossfitverve.com ahead of time.
If you are unable to attend the in house competition but would like the opportunity to tryout for the team you can do the workouts during open gym hours. You will need a head trainer to judge you and record your scores. You will need to do all five workouts in consecutive days back to back during Open Gym hours and rules.
5 Men and 5 Women will be on the team. Should be a fantastic weekend and competition and we are looking forward to having everyone tryout. The workouts for the in house competition are below, but are subject to change. Email any questions to eric@crossfitverve.com.
Workout 1 5 Rounds for time: 10 Deadlift 315#(215#) Run 150M
Workout 2 3 Rounds for time 10 Chest to Bar Pull ups 10 Front Squats 185#(125#) 10 Burpees Over the Bar
Workout 3 8 Minutes to establish a 1 Rep Max Clean and Jerk
Workout 4 10 Power Snatch 155#(105#) 20 Bar Muscle Ups 30 Handstand Push ups 40 Ground to Overhead 45#(25#) plate 50 Double Unders
I’m from Livermore, California. Growing up it was a smaller town in the Bay Area just outside San Francisco. Now it’s not so small.
What brought you to Colorado?
Colorado has remarkable paramedicine programs I wanted to be a part of. Also the offline protocols here are much broader than that of California.
You turn 21 quite soon. Are you excited to partake of your first alchoholic beverage? Are you anticipating “the buzz?”
Believe it or not I’m not a drinker. I worked in a bar so I’ve had my fair share of the night scene, and even now I party with water. (Yes, my mother is proud.) I am excited to watch my games with some buddies that insist on sports bars, so if their drunken war cries are what you mean by “the buzz” then yes. Absolutely. With video.
There was a workout in the CrossFit Open a couple of years ago. Went by the name of AMRAP 7 Minutes: Burpees. How did you do in that workout??
I got somewhere in the 130s. It sounds like a lot, but if you think about it I only really have to travel about 3 feet each rep.
What is your favorite workout, and why?
Grace or the 30 burpee muscle up workout. They’re quick and I love those movements. Also there’s no real structure to those workouts so, beside counting, I can escape my thought for a while.
Do you appreciate what the movie Anchorman has done for your second home, San Diego? If not, why?
My people would not approve of an honest answer.
Why do you enjoy coming through the doors here at Verve?
To see you and Courtney dance. It’s award winning. Why you still work here I’ll never know. The people and the community here are great; everyone here is a friend. Mostly though it’s humbling to be in a place where the only thing that matters to the rest of the crowd is your effort that day.
What would you like us to know about you?
I’m actually pretty awesome after I eat. And I mean, who else can say they’ve died before and came back just to tell you about it?
What your goals for CrossFit?
My main focus right now is training to be a PJ in the Air Force. I’m noticing my limitations generally lie in my thought as opposed to my capacity and these workouts test my mental strength like no else. I would love to get stronger but killing my negative self talk comes first.
If someone wants to get to the heart of John Blaser… what would you tell them?
I’ve been told I have a second stomach instead of a heart. So there’s that. I’m pretty simple. Every day I push my limits to do what I have to, and then every day I go home to the greatest group of friends and family.
John, thank you for taking some time out for us so we can know you better. And good luck with your amazing goals.
Check out a recent postin the Diet & Nutrition section by junior apple Annie B. She writes to tell us about a recent adventure to Boston Market, where she overheard two well-meaning ladies order the “healthy vegetable plate” of mashed potatoes, corn, and mac ‘n cheese. Hmm.
We’re a little concerned about that meal being thought of by anyone as a “vegetable” plate. Potatoes, maybe. But macaroni and cheese is definitely not a vegetable. It’s fat (processed cheese) and refined starch (white pasta). But we’re most upset about corn.
Friends, corn is not a vegetable. It’s not. We are perplexed as to when corn entered the American dietary lexicon as a veggie, because it’s a grain – and a really unhealthy grain at that. Corn is the most sugary, starchy, empty grain there is. You’re better off with white rice – seriously. (Not that we recommend eating a lot of white rice, because brown rice is higher in fiber and protein.)
In fact, we hate corn. Now, we’re not talking about the occasional corn on the cob at the family BBQ. That’s probably not going to hurt anyone. But corn should not make up the veggie section of your meal plate, because it’s a high-glycemic sugarfest. In sum: corn is not a vegetable, and it’s a worthless grain.
And yet, miraculously, it forms the basis of the American diet.
The most maddening thing about all of this is that corn is the #1 ingredient in just about every processed food and fried food. How, you ask? Well, we have a lot of excess corn sitting around every year (mostly because the government still subsidizes corn farmers). What to do? A few decades ago, people figured out that turning corn into oil was really cheap and profitable. Never mind that corn oil is terrible for you when used in cooking: trans fat city, and no Omega-3′s! Yet corn oil, and its trans-fat twin, hydrogenated corn oil, are in everything. Take a look at just about any food in the middle aisles of your grocery store. Yep, corn oil. If it doesn’t have corn oil, it will have corn syrup. Sometimes both.
Even worse is the corn sweetener situation. High fructose corn syrup is really, really cheap, which is great for food manufacturers. And it’s sweeter than sugar. What food manufacturer is going to say no to that? They won’t – not unless you tell them enough is enough.
HFCS goes into soda, sports drinks, kids’ snacks, candy, and breakfast cereals, to name just a few items. The HFCS lobby has a really, um…colorful brown website (we can’t think of anything nice to say about it) that makes a big deal about how nutritious corn syrup is and how it’s the backbone of the American Diet. Seriously, is that something you want to be bragging about? With diabetes now a runaway epidemic, and corn syrup registering off the charts on the old insulin-response meter?
Maybe the HFCS lobby lives in an alternate America where a diet high in pizza, Lucky Charms, pop tarts and Pepsi has produced legions of energetic, happy, lean, muscular individuals. You can check out their “fact” site right now. Clickativity.
I seem to vaguely remember a phone call between one of my best Army friends, Nicky Booms, in 2005 or so. We had both recently returned from our first Operation Iraqi Freedom tours. He told me about a new workout program he had just learned about, “cross-something”. It was about a year later while deployed that I actually saw CrossFit in action. The Ranger First Sergeant invited me over join them. The rest is history.
I feel like one day you just kind of showed up at Verve, like where did you come from? (“Earth”, “my mom”, “my house” will not be accepted as answers)
Most recently, I was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I started the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) in September 2011 and finished in February 2013. Before that Corrie and I were in Boston for about two years and prior to that, we lived up in Vail Valley where we met in 2007. We moved to Denver in February and our very good friend, Karianne of Guerrilla Fitness in Morristown, NJ, recommended we check out CF Verve. We were hooked.
The rumor is you speak Arabic, what’s up with that?
I do, in fact, speak Arabic, Modern Standard to be specific, but have begun to focus on Egyptian dialect as well. A major portion of the SFQC is the language training. 7 hours a day, 5 days a week for 6 months. It was quite the mental challenge, but in the end, it was very much worth the effort.
Can you say “I love CrossFit and CrossFit loves me” in Arabic?
I can, in fact, say that in Arabic. .يحبني كروسفتو كروسفت احب انا That would sound something like “Ana o-hib CrossFit wa CrossFit you-hib-nee.
What is your favorite thing about CrossFit?
For the first few years, I followed Mainsite and did most WODs alone. From 2007 until I moved to Boston in 2009, I am pretty sure I was the only CrossFitter in Vail. Since having started coaching at CrossFit Franklin in Massachusetts and then starting Gore Range CrossFit while at Fort Bragg, I would have to say the community. “Shared suffering builds cohesion”, Dave Miller. Although, there are times when you versus the WOD is just what the doctor ordered.
What is your favorite WOD?
Favorite WOD, always a great question. Reminds me of the favorite comic book character question from Mallrats… I would have to go with either Helen or Nancy. I like a short distance run with a hard fast gymnastic and or weightlifting movement in that 10 minute-ish time modality. And the ability to banter well with super villians, by the way.
Which WOD do you not want to compete against Corrie in? (you know, cause she’ll smoke you in it)
When we first met she was a 5-10 mile a day LSDer. Took a while for her to come around. Now she kicks butt all around. But anything longer than 10 minutes or so. She likes the longer metcons. I usually try to throw some DU’s into the mix to slow her down a bit.
If you could challenge any Games athlete to a WOD who would it be and which WOD would you pick?
I’d choose Chris Spealler. When I was training up for SF Selection, I lived 5 miles, almost to the foot, from CF Franklin. On the weekends, I would do a ruck march to the gym, then a WOD, and then ruck march home. Sort of an infiltration movement, actions on the objective, and then an exfiltration. So something along the lines of a 5 mile ruck march with 45# ruck into Fran into a 5 mile run.
Who would win?
I would like to think that I would, but I would just be happy to stay close.
Mike, we know you do a lot of traveling for your job but when you are here in town we love having you as part of the Verve family.
