Complete a max set of:
Sit-up (max reps in one minute)
Knees-to-elbow
Squat (max reps in one minute, 135#/95#)
Dip
Pull-up
Deadlift (max reps in one minute, 135#/95#)
1000 meter Row

For this workout, you are to perform a max-rep set of each exercise, resting as needed between each. There is no correct order. Dips can be performed on the parallel bars or on rings. Athletes will be paired together to count each other’s reps, and judge form.

Post results to comments and BTWB.

Countering Negative Self-Talk

Sometimes it can be hard to turn off negative self-talk; often times it is happening before we realize it. Ultimately, it is negative self talk and mental visions of failure that discourage us. If we’re not careful, we may find ourselves in a cycle of putting ourselves down over and over and over. This self-talk turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Here are some methods to help counter negative self-talk.

• Countering: When you find yourself saying or thinking something negative, you need to counter it with a rational and logical thought. For instance, instead of saying, “I’ll never get a muscle up,” you could say, “What makes me think I’ll never get a muscle-up? Where’s the evidence of this never happening, and would it hold up in court?” This can help make the negative thought less powerful.
• Reframing: This is a method of looking at a situation from a more positive perspective. For instance, let’s say you are trying to get better  at improving your deadlift, and you say”I’ll never get this. I’ve tried and tried and tried. It’s just not going to happen.” You could say, “I haven’t made the progress I’ve wanted yet, but I can still get better.”
• Affirming: Affirming allows you to practice positive self-talk on a habitual basis. You basically write out, or say, positive, affirming thoughts to yourself. Thoughts that make you feel better, more focused, ect. An example: “I am the hardest working athlete in the competition. Few can match my desire. I am successful because I work hard, I am virtuous, and am prepared when it is time to go.” 

Snatch 2-2-2-2-2
Then every minute on the minute for 10 Minutes
1 Snatch + 1 OHS at 75% of heaviest 2 rep snatch

Post weights to BTWB.

So recently I moved to a new apartment and decided that I wasn’t going to get cable.  I know I will most likely regret this and probably end up ordering it, but for the time being I’m being more productive and finding different things to occupy my time.  So why am I telling you this?  A recent study suggest that if you want to be an athlete or more athletic getting rid of your TV is a good start.

A recent study in Canada followed 1300 plus kids in Canada and studied their television viewing habits over 10 years.  There was a direct correlation between the athletic ability and body measurements of the kids that watched less television and kids that watched more television.  Researchers recorded weekly television viewing time at 2 years and 5 years of age. Then, in 4th grade they tested the children for waist circumference and standing long jump ability.  As you’d expect kids that watched more television had a larger waistline and scored worse on a standing long jump test than the kids that watched less television.  The average amount of hours of television watched per week was around 8 for the 2 year olds and around 15 for the 5 year olds.

The study goes on to say that early childhood is when kids behaviors are shaped. The activities and messages kids are exposed to from birth to age 5 will have some effect in the way they behave later in life.

I’m not kid anymore, although I act like one, but I’ve made the decision to cut out my TV watching  and hopefully fill those hours with more productive activities.  And Facebook too, that thing was erasing hours from my day.

For more info on the study check out the link here.

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
10 Squat Cleans 135#(95#)
50 Double Unders

Post rounds to BTWB.

In a past recent blog we talked about pre-workout drinks.  I came across an article that dealt with post workout nutrition and why we should have carbs after we workout if our goal is to gain strength and muscle, which resonates for most of us.  I know many of us have our protein shakes mixed with coconut water after we workout.  Here are some interesting facts about the benefits of carbs after working out.

What are you trying to accomplish with your working out?   Are you trying to gain muscle or simply lose weight?  We know we need to consume amino acids after we work out to help support protein synthesis.  A new study came out that provides some insight into how much we need to consume.

First, after working out you need to achieve a dose of at least 10 grams of essential amino acids to support protein synthesis.  That 10 grams of essential amino acids is in addition to the 15 grams of branch chain amino acids you also need.  The good news is that these can be had in most of our whey protein supplements.

Now on to carbs.  It makes sense that taking a high-quality carbohydrate supplement with your protein will produce the greatest release of insulin for optimal muscle building.  A study suggested that this insulin spike will only pay off if you are very sensitive to insulin.  If you are sensitive to insulin, have low body fat, and your primary goal is to gain strength and muscle consuming carbs post workout can be used to increase results and lower cortisol response.

Bottom line is this, if you’re looking to gain mass adding carbs is the way to go, if your goal is fat loss sticking with just protein appears to be more beneficial.  Check out the full article here.

Sunday Fun Run at 8am.
Meet at Commons Park, 18th & Little Raven, see directions below.

View Larger Map

Squat Clean
3-3-3-3-3

Post results to comments and BTWB.

One Workout Can Build A Village

CrossFit, for the past couple of years, has made a vested movement in improving the lives of inhabitants of the Rift Valley in Kenya. CrossFit is helping in addressing the hardships that these citizens deal with. Food and water security, basic hygiene, and trying to get their houses to endure the rainy season are just a few of the challenges faced.  The idea is to help one child at a time, to build one school at a time, one cistern at a time, ect… and you simply build on each level of progress. This year, CrossFit is holding a WOD, the proceeds of which will go to the Rift Valley.

CrossFit Verve will be holding this workout on Friday, February 15th, 2013. Though the workout will be held at no extra cost to our members, donations would most certainly be accepted. Visitors will also be accepted free of charge, with a donation being suggested. To avoid abnormally large class sizes, everyone, including visitors, are expected to sign up on MindBody. 

To see details on the activity going on for CrossFit For Hope: Hope For Kenya, you can check here. 

Two rounds for time of:
100 Double-unders
Shoulder to overhead, 50 reps (95#/65#)
25 Toes to bar

Post results to comments and BTWB.

Say Hi to the new additions to the Verve Family!

Friday night cook off at Verve!

Hey all you nutrition-istas out there!! (good nutrition is totally in right now, just so you
know) How is the nutrition challenge going for you? With a little over two weeks in
hopefully you are beginning to see the benefits that clean and proportioned eating can
have on you. If you have had any “A HA” moments, life changes, or sweet PRs please
post to comments, we would love to hear some updates from you all. Since this challenge
has gotten you all in the kitchen cooking up some sweet meals we want to give you an
opportunity to share them with your fellow Ververs, and win some prizes.

This Friday we will have a nutrition challenge cook off!! We challenge those of you involved in the
nutrition challenge to cook up your favorite side dish and put it to a taste test. Here’s how
it works: 1) cook up a zoned/ paleo side dish, 2) bring it to Verve on Friday night at 7pm,
3) allow your peers to indulge in your culinary prowess, 4) the side dish with the most
votes wins!! Eazy peazy lemon squeezey.

This cook off comes with a few rules.
1) The side dishes are to be anonymous. Drop your dish off in the office at 6:45
Friday night and the trainers will set everything up.
2) You must bring a print out of the recipe with the zone information on it as well,
this will be posted next to your dish so those interested in making it themselves
can either copy the info down or take a picture of it with their phone.
3) Any one and every one can participate in the tasting, 1 vote per person. We will
have paper, pens, and a box. Simply write your winning choice down and place
it in the box, trainers will do the tallying (we will probably be doing some tasting
too, and by probably I mean definitely).

So there you have it folks, it’s time to show off what you got, when all is said and done
we will make sure every one of you gets credit for your fine cooking.  So pull out your
recipe books (that’s right, it doesn’t have to be an original dish), pick your best, and let’s
get cooking!!

Email Courtney@crossfitverve.com if you plan to participate.  Look forward to seeing you all there.

AMRAP 12 Minutes
150 Wall Balls (20# to 10′ target/14# to 9′ target)
90 Double Unders
30 Muscle-ups

This is CrossFit Open workout 12.4 from last year. The Open standard is to complete each movement as seen above, in that order. However, you have the option today to start with any of the three movements listed, provided that you finish the required reps for that movement before moving on.

Post results to comments and BTWB.

Mental Differences Between the Clean and the Snatch ~ Luke Palmisano

So, I’ve decided to share some insight into the mind of me (let the jokes ensue). Specifically, how I set myself up mentally for the Olympic lifts. Because, you see, they are very different beasts. They get grouped into the same category, but are categorically different (see what I did there). 

The clean and jerk. Ya know what the cool thing about the clean and jerk is? You don’t have to be that technical to make it work. Ya know what the cool thing about coffee is? It’s always there for you (I digress, and that last comment has NOTHING to do with me trying to cut back on the smack, and potentially stave off adrenal fatigue. Thanks, Cherie.). But seriously, can you deadlift? Cool. Can you snap your elbows forward real fast-like? Awesome. Can you jump that weight over your head? Even better. Congrats, PR. The point is, mentally speaking, you can really get aggressive with the clean. Let er’ rip. Yell, scream, or listen to metal like Slaughter does. Because the bar goes overhead in two movements, instead of one, your center of gravity changes slower, giving you more room for error. So, next time you are shooting for a one-rep-max clean and jerk, let’s see your angry face. It normally pays off. 

The snatch. Ya know what the cool thing about the snatch is? Well… this is a debatable point. So lets go with what’s not cool about the snatch. 1.) Moving a weighted bar over your head in one movement is really hard to do (my wisdom is hard to refute). 2.) You need to be pretty flexible, which we all ain’t. 3.) You have 198 joints moving at once. Something. Always. Goes. Wrong. And you know what? The more you fight it, the more it fights back. It’s like that girl I wanted to date back in high school. All I wanted to do was care for her! Yet the harder I tried, the faster she ran. Weird, never could figure that one out. Anyways, with the snatch, I’ve found that I need to go to a calm place. How else can I reconcile weight on the balls on my feet, knuckles down, shoulders back, back tight, eyes up, and elbows loose? The whole movement takes a mere second. It’s the most action packed second in history. And the more angry and aggressive I get, the more I push the bar forward. The more calm I stay, the more finesse in my movement, and the more I can control the movement of the bar. The snatch is so much more a finesse movement than the clean. So, if the clean is like therapy for anger management, then the snatch is like a relaxing, transcendental day at the spa…. Granted, a day at the spa where you lift heavy weights over your head in one movement. 

So, there it is. A brief glimpse into the mind of me. You’re welcome.

P.S.: A kind reminder, please park only in spots marked for CrossFit Verve, or on the street. Our neighbor tenants have left a few notes on cars as of late. Thank a bunch.

Tabata Mash Up:
Squat Cleans 95#(65#)
V-Ups
Alternate between the two exercises

Score is total reps

Post reps to BTWB.

One thing I really need to get better about is taking rest days.  In fact last week was the first time in a few months that I actually did nothing for two straight days.   I made it a priority to take two days off completely.  I made sure not to touch a weight which is extremely difficult when you are in the gym for 8 hours a day and see everyone working out.  I’m making it a point to schedule my rest days in advance.  This way I’ll have the recovery scheduled regardless of whether or not I feel like I need to take a day off.  I’m going to use the traditional 3 on 1 off especially with the Open starting up in the next month.

With regard to recovery I am really good about taking a post workout recovery drink that has a high concentration of branch chain amino acids.  BCAA’s have been proven to minimize soreness.

You also need to make sure and clear cortisol while still supporting the testosterone response.  To help clear cortisol avoid caffeine after a workout and try taking Vitamin C.  A recent study tested how cortisol and testosterone levels correlated to recovery in athletes after an intense muscle damaging workout.  48 hours after the workout cortisol levels had been cleared while free testosterone was lower than before the workout.  To support free testosterone be sure to get enough of the following basic nutrients; vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc.  All help to support free testosterone.

Taking care of yourself after an intense workout and scheduling rest days or active recovery days are all important with regard to making sure your training days are as successful as they can be.

The information in this blog is referenced from Charles Poliquin’s blog.  Be sure to check it out here.

Reminder that there will be a Nutrition Coaching Program  meeting on Wednesday at 7pm.  The meeting is free for all participants in the Nutrition Kick Off.  All are encouraged to attend to get new recipes support and to learn about the effects of sugar.

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of: 
6 Burpees
12 Toes-to-Bar

Post results to comments and BTWB.

How Do Muscles Get Bigger? ~ Luke Palmisano

Sounds simple enough, right? If you work out, lifts weights, you get swole. It’s just… what happens, right? Your hugeness grows to bounds previously unknown. But how? Oddly enough, something that each of us can see happening to our bodies when we lift weights has conceived many different theories as to why our muscles grow. Here are a few.

• The blood overcirculation hypothesis suggests that increased blood circulation in working muscles stimulates muscle growth. However, it has been found that blood flow, while important in delivering nutrients to the body, does not stimulate protein synthesis.
• The muscle hypoxia hypothesis says that because of strenuous exercise, there is a deficiency of blood and oxygen to the muscles, and that this deficiency triggers protein synthesis in the body as a response to the vigorous exercise. Unfortunately research has shown that it is not the hypoxic state that causes muscle generation. Swimmers are an example. They operate in oxygen deficient conditions, but do not have the hugeness you would normally think of when you think of someone who is really huge.
• The ATP debt theory suggests that the body has a decreased level of ATP after a workout, and that the subsequent replenishing of ATP leads to muscle growth. Again, however, research has shown that ATP levels do not change, regardless of activity level.
• Finally, a fourth theory that seems to have more merit is the energetic theory of muscle hypertrophy. It says that during exercise, muscle is catabolized (broken down) faster than it can be anabolized (replenished). Due to that, post-workout amino acid levels in the blood rise to catch up the degradation of muscles. So, during a workout, protein levels decrease, and after the workout, protein synthesis is greatly increased above resting values. This repeated process may result in the above-normal compensation of protein, which leads to muscle growth.

5 Rounds For Time of:
20 Back squats 135#(95#)
40 Abmat sit ups

Post times to BTWB.

Our own former chef Matt Gintzler will be putting on his knife clinic tonight at 5 pm.  Matty will go over his prep skills as well as teach us how to prepare some of his favorites including his pesto.  We are at the beginning of our nutrition challenge so come get some prep tips and helpful tips on how to make your time in the kitchen shorter.  

Also one of our athletes husbands, Glen Kubiak, created an easy to use spread sheet for the nutrition challenge.  Please download here.   It totals everything except WODs/week, that has to be added and totaled manually at the end of the Challenge.

Before I get into the meat of this post let me first say I LOVE coffee.  As I’m about to fall asleep at night the last thing I think about before falling asleep is that first cup of wonderful liquid.  When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is head to my coffee maker, put in a new filter, grab the coffee from the fridge, add water and stare and wait.  But alas our job with the blog is to present information that we think might be useful or helpful.  

The info for this post is taken from Morgan Junction Crossfit  and Mike Salemi.  The original can be found here.

Here are the key takeaways from my perspective.  

Most Americans rank in stage 2 or stage 3 of the Adrenal Stress index. Stage 3 is adrenal exhaustion and stage 4 means your adrenals are in failure when it comes to dealing with stress. Coffee can further stress our adrenal glands which produce cortisol and adrenalin. These hormones aid us in dealing with stress.

Coffee is one of the most chemically sprayed crops.  This means that the majority of the coffee we buy in the store is full of toxins.  Coffee can also be full of fungus.  The best way to combat these is to buy high quality organic coffee.  It may be more expensive but it’s worth it.

The average cup of coffee has between 300 – 400 mg of caffeine in it.  So what do we do?  Espresso is a better option as one espresso shot has between 40 and 70 mg of caffeine.  The longer coffee grounds are exposed to water the more potent the coffee becomes.

You should try to avoid coffee after 2 pm.  Coffee can interfere with your body’s natural cortisol and melatonin schedule and can disrupt sleep patterns.

So all in all, not so bad.  We don’t have to avoid coffee altogether we simply have to make better purchasing decisions, drink choices, and watch when we drink it.