Jon, Patrick, Jared, and Ed enjoying seated Deadlifts in Hot Dogs.
Well the weekend is almost here, only one more day. This time of year is amazing. With college football starting last weekend and the NFL in full swing on Sunday there is enough football to quench my thirst. I know most of us like weekends for other reasons such as getting outdoors or taking weekend trips, but you know what my favorite thing to do on the weekend is? Take naps. I get up early on the weekends so that if I have errands to do, I can get them out of the way while most of Denver is still sleeping. I’m typically taking my first Saturday nap before other people have even awaken for the day.
So where am I going with this? I’m assuming I’m not the only person who likes naps. I was reading the WSJ online the other day and came across an article that discussed the finer points of taking the perfect nap and figured I would share the bullet points.
There are benefits and downsides to the timing and duration of a nap.
A power nap of 10 – 20 minutes is best when the goal is a quick boost of alertness. For cognitive memory processing, a 60 minute nap is recommended, but be warned there many be some grogginess when you wake from said nap duration. A 90 minute nap tends to include REM and non REM sleep and is great for creativity, procedural, and emotional memory. The 90 minute naps usually produces a less groggy feeling than the 60 minute nap.
The ideal time to take a nap is between 1 pm and 4 pm. Any later could mess with your normal nighttime sleep.
Did you know that roughly 1/3 of the population is sleep deprived? Here’s a sign that you could be sleep deprived. If you dream in a nap that lasts 20 minutes or less, this is a sign of sleep deprivation.
Here’s a little trick to help you wake up more alert after a short nap. Drink a cup of coffee right before the nap. Caffeine will help lessen the grogginess when you awake. Also it’s recommended that you nap slightly upright. Lying flat tends to lead to a deeper sleep which may result in sleep inertia or grogginess when you wake.
I know most companies aren’t keen on the idea of napping on the job but, many of the worlds largest companies are catching on to it’s benefits. Google and The Huffington Post have installed sleeping pods in their offices so their employees can grab a quick power nap during the day.
So if you need me over the weekend, it’s the middle of the day, and I don’t answer the phone chances are I’m enjoying one of my many naps. Better naps now too after reading the WSJ article.
James getting under the bar for a squat cleanJames getting under the bar in a push jerk
Driving home from the mountains this weekend I had the opportunity to listen to Kelly Starrett’s podcast with Joe Rogan. At one point Kelly was talking about “practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent”. He also mentioned that in the heat of the battle our body reverts back to it’s training, to what it knows. His main point being if we set up in bad position and we train in bad position, it is only expected that when it counts, we will move in bad position. This whole topic of conversation hit home for me because in the last week I have had the same argument with several different athletes. The argument goes something like this:
While working on a movement like the push jerk, where the ability to push ones self under the bar is paramount, I walk around and find an athlete doing a push press. I stop by this athlete and give a few tips/ cues to really drive home the push jerk movement. This is the athletes response to me, “It’s too light for me to jerk it. Right now I can just press it overhead. When there is more weight I’ll be able to jerk it.” Now, fast forward to a new day, a new athlete, and a new movement. For the Hot Shots WOD we are working on a moderately heavy power clean, during the warm up I watch an athlete muscle clean their bar. I give my coaching cues and in return I get “well it’s not even heavy right now, I don’t know how you want me to get under it when it’s easier for me to just pick it up.” Another athlete assuring me that when there is more weight on the bar they will be able to perform the movement correctly. During the WOD, with the “heavy enough” weight on the bar, I watched the athlete do 19 single, tiring, and inefficient muscle cleans for 5 rounds. Even though I was told when it was heavy enough they would do the movement correctly that’s just not what happened. Why? Because there is a flaw in these athletes arguments, how can you think that what you can not train your body to do at light weight it will some how figure out the right way to do it when there is heavier weight???? Your body doesn’t just go “Hey, this stuff is heavy. You know that thing that we never practiced but will definitely help get us through this, we should totally do that now. . . with perfect execution.” Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent. The way you practice is the way you will perform.
Let’s take Rich Froning, the world’s fittest man. When Rich is warming up to his 1RM clean and jerk, do you know what his warm up clean and jerk looks like in comparison to his heaviest clean and jerk? The same. He doesn’t warm up with a muscle clean and a push press cause it’s just the lightweight warm up. He warms up with a full depth squat clean and a split jerk. He practices getting his body in the right position with 135# so that when he goes to pick up 335# his body knows what to do.
When we warm up with PVC, go through the motions, feel yourself pulling your body under the PVC. Light weight/ no weight are the perfect times to get your body in the right position and to do it over and over and over and over again, until that right position becomes permanent. I will no longer be accepting “it’s too light for me to do it right” any more. If Rich Froning can do it, so can you.
SUPPORT THE FAMILIES OF THE FALLEN HOTSHOTS
Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighting team tragically lost their lives on June 30, 2013 while fighting a fire in Yarnell, AZ. HERE is where you can make a donation to support the families of the lost heroes. Your support will be collected by the CrossFit Kids Foundation where 100% of the donations will be distributed to the families.
IN MEMORY OF
Jesse Steed, 36
Wade Parker, 22
Joe Thurston, 32
William Warneke, 25
John Percin, 24
Clayton Whitted, 28
Scott Norris, 28
Dustin Deford, 24
Sean Misner, 26
Garret Zuppiger, 27
Travis Carter, 31
Grant McKee, 21
Travis Turbyfill, 27
Andrew Ashcraft, 29
Kevin Woyjeck, 21
Anthony Rose, 23
Eric Marsh, 43
Christopher MacKenzie, 30
Robert Caldwell, 23
In the past 6 weeks we have completed 3 rather large foundations classes and introduced a whole group of new athletes to Verve. I thought I would take this opportunity to teach the "new hotness" and remind the "old & busted" about signing up for classes (don't be offended, it's a funny reference from Men In Black II). It's important you guys & gals do in fact sign up for classes, for one we like to know who alls coming. Cause, you know, like if James Whitmire is scheduled for the 11:30am class that also happens to be the same time I gotta go wash my hair. I kid, I kid. But seriously, we want to know who's representin'. We work hard to make sure you as athletes get superior training, that includes making sure we have enough trainers for a class. As class sizes grow you might see more of us creeping around judging you, look at the baby, look at the baby. But it can be hard for us to fully prepare when 8 people sign up for a class and come the witching hour there are 16 of you standing at the whiteboard. My point, a heads up would be nice. Sign up for class.
As important as signing up for class is, it is also equally important to cancel should you change your mind or life interferes with your WOD plans. When you sign up for class it reserves a spot for you and takes a spot out of availability for the class. Some of our classes can tend to grow rather large and in an attempt to sign up you are placed on a wait list. The only way to get off the wait list is for someone to cancel their reservation. We understand that things come up, and usually they come up last minute, but please make every attempt to cancel so that another athlete can have your spot.
I won't beat a dead horse too much I will leave you this final recap. We have MBO in service for several reasons but most importantly we want to keep tabs on class sizes, have the appropriate number of trainers available, and make sure you the athlete can get your WOD on at the time that works best for you. If you are a member at Verve you have an account, we promise, you may just not remember, below are the steps to either set up your account or be reminded of your account info. Now go forth and be merry. . . . whilst signing up in advance for classes.
1. Go to www.crossfitverve.com
2. Look up at the top right section of the screen and click on Schedule
3. a) Enter username and password and sign up for class.
b) Click on sign up. A window will pop up, fill out box that says New to our site? with your First and Last name. Click the Next button. A Find Account page will come up. Your name should appear with a "THIS IS ME!" button next to it. Click it. Another page Reset your password will come up. Fill in your email and click the "NEXT" button. MBO will then send you an email to reset/ set-up your password. Just follow link provided in email. You are now signed up and can start signing up for all classes.
c) If all you have forgotten is your password then click on Forgot Password? enter your username and follow the remaining directions to have your password sent to you.
*If you are unable to sign up for classes please notify the office at info@crossfitverve.com so we can make sure your account is up to date.
Thank you. Love,
Your eternally grateful Verve trainers and support staff
The picture of fitness: from regional athlete to getting injured while doing mobility.
The Ankle and Your Squat ~ Luke Palmisano
The more people I see move, the more patterns I start to identify. I used to just see errors. Now, I'm starting to see the reasons behind errors. Now, this isn't to say that Verve doesn't have good movers. Because we do. In fact, the last class I taught had the best group of movers I've ever seen in all my years of coaching. Ever. So, to my last class, thank you for giving me the gift of your movement. My life is now richer as a result. That being said, I am starting to notice something more and more frequently: tight ankles. And I can see it when you squat. Here's three different tests you can try:
Try to perform a one legged squat. If you can't do it with your heel glued to the ground, chances are you have tight ankles.
Put the ball of one of your feet on a platform. Keeping your heel on the ground. Flex your ankle and drive your knee as far as forward as you can. If you can't drive your knee past your toes, your mobility could use some work.
Set your feet up in a squat stance, feet straight ahead. Seriously. Feet straight ahead. Now pinch your big toe on the ground. Don't let your feet move. Now, slowly, squat down below parallel and hold. If your feet move, or if you fall backwards, chances are your tight ankles are a culprit.
Point is, our whole body moves in conjunction with itself. Different body parts become different moving "systems." These moving systems form what we call a circuit. If a part of that system is unable to move properly, the circuit is broken, and that expresses itself with bad positioning. So if your calf is tight, if the ligaments around your ankles are tight or damaged, or if your foot is tight, you may find some of the above tests difficult for you. In fact, without good ankle mobility, you will not be able to derive optimum torque through your lower body "system." Will your squats be horrible? Not necessarily. But you won't be in the strongest, safest positions. So… despite the fact that I recently taught the Greatest Class In My Coaching Career (see above reference), I see room for improvement. I see a lot of tight ankles. So, as a way of helping you out of the dungeon of ankle immobility, there an hour long ankle mobility class planned for tomorrow (Thursday) at 1:30 P.M. Come check it out, and let's see if we can work out some of the kinks in your lower body "system."
Here's my thing about flip flops. I think they should only be worn in the comfort of your house. I've seen too many incidents where people wear their flip flops to a concert or sporting event and one of the flip flops breaks and they have to walk around in bare feet. What if you have to run? Ever tried running in flip flops? It's not easy. Well according to the Huffington Post, flip flops shouldn't be worn for a number of reasons. Here's what's going on when you slip on those flip flops.
Toes: Your toes need to grip the sandal to keep it on. Over time this can lead to tendinitis. This can be painful and lead to tendon tears or ruptures. It can also lead to hammer toes and can encourage bunion formation.
Bones: Overuse can also lead to stress fractures which are caused by repetitive trauma and little shock absorption. Sandals don't provide much cushion and standing around in them or walking for too long can lead to tiny cracks in the bones.
Bacteria: According to a study at the University of Miami, one pair of sandals can be home to 18,000 different types of bacteria.
Ankles: You carry your foot differently in sandals vs. ordinary shoes. This leads to shorter steps and less vertical force which can throw off your natural gait and trigger pain and problems in the body. Changes to your natural gait can lead to ankle, knee, hip, and back pain.
Arch: The plantar fascia that runs from your heel to the ball of your foot creates the arch in your foot. Thin flip flops can lead to inflammation of the plantar fascia which can cause arch pain. Lack of arch support can cause the foot to over-pronate or flatten out.
Heel: Heel pain can also stem from plantar fasciitis. Heel pain can stem from the foot repeatedly rising off the back of the flip flop.
Bottom line is although you may look as cool as a young Luke Palmisano sporting a new bro tank, some fresh board shorts, and then latest in sandal fashion, you could be doing your feet more harm than the cool look is worth.
Speaking of Luke, he will be offering a one hour mobility session on Thursday at 1:30 PM. He will be covering ankle mobility and show you many great options to get your ankles warmed up and ready for action.
The OHS…check out the link from the CrossFit Journal
The Overhead Squat is the ultimate core exercise, the heart of the snatch and peerless in developing athletic movement. Read more HERE.
Ever heard of Moringa? Yeh me neither. In fact it gets underlined as if I spelled it wrong in every program I've written it in so it must be new. Moringa is apparently the worlds most nutritious green and pretty soon you'll be seeing it in health stores around us if you haven't already see it now.
The term superfood is thrown around so often that its difficult to know if a product is a actually that good for you or if it's simply some marketing ploy to get you to buy products. According to studies Moringa is a superfood and more. Ancient warriors would use the the extract from the leaf as fuel for battle. If it's good enough for ancient warriors then it's good enough for me.
Here's some of the nutrient facts:
3- 5x the calcium of milk
4x the Vitamin C of oranges
More Vitamin A than carrots
More Iron than spinach
More Potassium than bananas
How to consume it. Fresh leaves aren't a store staple yet as it grows mostly in California and Florida, but if you can get them add them to your salads. Skip expensive supplements and instead go for the dry powder. Simply add the dry powder to pre or post workout shake.
If you've tried Moringa or have any more information, post to comments, I'm curious if the benefits are true or simply fancy marketing again.
We will be starting the next foundations class on Monday evening at 7 PM. The classes are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for two weeks. We've been seeing great turnout for the new foundations classes, which is great for helping us develop out community and allows new athletes to join the regular WODS after foundations already knowing a bunch of people. As always if you see new faces be sure to introduce yourself and welcome them to Verve.
Strength Specific Seminar on Monday September 2nd.
Another reminder to sign up for the Strength Specific Seminars Silver Level Seminar at CrossFit Verve Monday, September 2nd.
Here's what you can expect:
Small group discussion on the finer points of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pull of each of the lifts.
Tips on how to program assistance exercises for individual athletes
Coaching exercises for coaches and personalized exercises for competitive athletes
Written exam and explanation of questions and their correct answers
Complimentary weightlifting straps
Strength Specific Seminars Silver Level t-shirt
Personalized Silver Level certificate
Finally, an article from the New York Times on why dry rubs are better than marinades when it comes to grilling. And you thought it was only going to be informative information about happenings at the gym.
A few weeks post shoulder surgery and 10 mos later working on legless rope climbs8 mos of doing rehab and eating clean
Injuries suck. What sucks more is needing surgery to repair an injury. It sucks because of the discomfort, the inconvenience in your daily routine, and let’s be honest, no surgery is cheap. When I found out I needed surgery to repair my torn rotator cuff in September of 2012 all these thoughts went through my head, plus one. The thought that I may never be as strong as I once was. I feared surgery on my shoulder would forever leave it a weaker, less capable part of my body. I had surgery on October 30th, 2012. I am here to tell you that I am stronger now then I EVER was before surgery and am now capable of more then I thought possible. This post is not meant to drive you under the knife the minute something hurts. This post is meant to give those without a choice a glimmer of hope at the end of that surgical tunnel.
I will start with this was the first surgery I have ever needed to repair an injury, and I have made it my goal to not repeat it. From the beginning I vowed to keep my body as healthy and prepared to heal as possible. I vowed to listen to my doctors and do EXACTLY as I was told, no more no less. And I absolutely took my rehab as seriously as I could while always listening to my body and not my ego. The first question I get is what happened, what did I do? I don’t have a specific answer. I have had shoulder issues for years stemming from year round swimming for a decade. Add to that poor posture, poor body awareness and the inability to put my body in the right position, and not stopping when my body told me through large amounts of pain to stop. All in all I am surprised I lasted as long as I did. In May of 2012 I pushed my shoulder to a point that I could not recover from and I knew it because pulling up my pants was now a one handed job. Getting dressed in general was a painful and slow process. The biggest indicator for me was that I could no longer sleep, there was absolutely no position of comfort I could get in that would allow me to rest for more then an hour before the pain woke me back up. I dealt with this for a while as I spoke with doctors, got MRIs, and figured out my sick leave from work. The surgery to repair a complete tear of the supraspinatus tendon in my left rotator cuff was eventually scheduled. By that time I had without doubt been painfully uncomfortable for 6 mos. I worked out everyday but I was limited in the things I could do. As soon as my surgery was scheduled I went into clean house mode, house being my body. I cut out the ridiculous energy drinks I was throwing back, I got very strict with my paleo, I was not so concerned about zoning, and I prepped my body for recovery.
For 8 hours after my surgery was over I was in pain, and that was it. I have not had any pain in my shoulder since that day. The night of my surgery was the first good, full night’s sleep I’d had in months. I knew then I was on the right path. Rehab started the next day, they told me all the things I could and could not do, I asked lots of questions and left with a clear picture of my limitations. I started working out in the gym 4 days after surgery and worked completely within those limitations. Every day I went to rehab I told them what I was doing without objection. As weeks went on they let me know what things I could add into my workout routine. I was able to jump rope at 2 ½ mos, at 3 mos I could run short distances, and it wasn’t until 4 mos that I was able to put a barbell only on my back. Until those landmarks occurred I improvised, I belt squatted, I “ran” with a weighted sled around the block (the sled being pulled from around my waist), I did weighted step ups with the dumbbell in my right hand, I did one armed ring rows, I farmer carried . . . . the only thing I felt limited by was my imagination. Intensity is relative to your abilities. As I said before I did as I was told and I got stronger.
I was cleared at 6 mos, April 29th of this year, to do as I like with the understanding my limiting factor would now simply be strength. I started light with weights, I used bands for bodyweight movements, I cut reps, I cut rounds, I modified EVERYTHING, and I wrote all of it down. And as time passed I added weight, I got rid of the bands, I added reps, and rounds. I had the perfect log to see what I had done and see where I wasn’t quite ready to go. I listened to my body and not my ego. Everyday was a PR. I also continued, and do to this day, to work through the rehab movements I was given after surgery. I am now 10 mos post surgery and I would like to share with you some numbers. Some of these numbers aren’t just about strength, before surgery I did not have the mobility to squat snatch. Working on mobility is a big part of rehab, I now have more range of motion then I did before.
Squat snatch:
Pre- 65#, post- 100#
Clean & jerk:
Pre- 125#, post 130#
Shoulder press:
Pre- 100#, post- 97.5#
OHS:
Pre- 115#, post- 120#
“Nasty Girls”:
Pre- 11:26, post- 9:54
1K row:
Pre- 4:11, post- 4:07
I have ZERO doubt in my mind that I am stronger now then I was before my shoulder surgery. I have even less doubt that whatever it is that I have not yet PRed in, I will soon enough. When my shoulders feel tired, I stop. When my form gives at heavy weight, I lighten it up. I will continue to put my health over my ego because the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is pain is not something to be ignored or pushed through.
Surgery sucks. Rehab takes a lot of personal work and patience, the road to recovery can be long. My body and my health are worth it and I’m on this journey for the long haul. Before my surgery I told my doctor I had this idea that afterwards my shoulder would be like this bionic shoulder and I would be able to rip car doors off their hinges. He laughed but I haven’t ruled it out yet.
Free intro class this Saturday at 8am. Tell your friends or anyone you know who is interested in this crazy thing called CrossFit to come give it a try.
New foundations class starts Monday August 26th at 7pm and runs Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights for the next 2 weeks.
