With a 30 minutes running clock;
9-6-3 reps:
Shoulder to overhead, 205#(135#)
Bar muscle-ups
Rest the remainder of the 10 minutes

15-9-6 reps:
Shoulder to overhead, 155#(105#)
Chest to bar pull-ups
Rest the remainder of the 10 minutes

21-15-9 reps:
Shoulder to overhead, 95#(65#)
Pull-ups

Post times to BTWB.

Why I CrossFit by Jeremy Black

During the previous months, I was angry. I felt estranged from regular life. I had just
lost my Dad, and several family/friends followed at what seemed like an interminable
pace. Frankly, I was broken; disillusioned. I wanted no part of what normal people
consider to be: Life.

Nevertheless, I got in the gym. Regardless of the fact that my schedule negates the
possibility for me to show up as much as I’d like, I was present when possible. Why?
Because Scotty offered encouragement when I felt downtrodden. Because Courtney
corrected a movement that needed attention. Because Luke positively adjusted a flaw
in my technique. Because Joylyn genuinely cares about my fitness enough to coach me
during a brutal WOD. Because fellow WODers, totally unsolicited, offer and extend
encouragement where a mere “positive attitude” fell completely short.

In retrospect, I owe an enormous debt to Verve. In reality, you have all made my life
richer; stable, gratifying, and healthier. To that extent, I could not be happier with
my life and where I operate in it as a result of my affiliation with CrossFit. Truly, the
owners, coaches and athletes have combined to enrich my life beyond measure.

No words can express my gratitude.

Thank you,

Jeremy

*This Wednesday will be costume workout day.  Athletes are encouraged to wear costumes.  The coaches will be taking pictures and will vote on the two best costumes.  The winners will win a new Verve t-shirt, which will be in later this week.

Outside WODs at Commons Park, see map below!

“Adrian”

Seven rounds for time of:
3 Forward rolls
5 Wall climbs
7 V-ups
9 Box jumps, 30″ 

Post time to comments and BTW.

CrossFit Verve is hosting the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar this weekend, so all WODs are OUTSIDE!  Please meet us at Commons Park at 18th and Little Raven for some fun in the sun today!

View Larger Map

Outside WODs at Commons Park, see map below!

Complete as many rounds as possible in 8:00 minutes of:

8 Push-ups
10 Med ball cleans, 20# (14#)
12 Sit-ups

Post rounds to comments and BTW.

CrossFit Verve is hosting the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar this weekend.  So all WODs will be outside, located at Commons Park, please meet us at 18th and Little Raven for some fun AND get your vitamin D fix for the day!  See you there! 

View Larger Map

For time:
100 Push press, 95#/65#

Post times to comments or BTW.

Is Jean-Claude the perfect athlete?

The Science of Developing An Athlete: Specificity – Luke Palmisano

Last week, with the help of letters, words, and Russians, I tried to describe the science of developing an athlete.  We covered two aspects of that science: Overload and accommodation.  This week, we’ll use those same tactics to cover another very big word: Specificity.  

Specificity is, in a nutshell, changing the exercises to fit the needs of an athlete.  Let us dwell on this concept for a moment.  If someone wants to improve both muscle mass and strength, then specificity would imply that the athlete do strength training.  Strength training helps in both those areas.  Conversely, that athlete probably wouldn’t want to perform 15K runs on a regular basis, because the opposite of mass and strength would be result.  

The other end of that spectrum would be someone who wants to improve aerobic capacity, but is not worried about muscle mass or strength.  Badabing.  Bring on the 15K’s, 20K’s, and kajillionK’s.  Additionally, auxiliary exercises would be adopted or both athletes into a training regimen to improve the abilities specific to a sport.  This is referred to as the transfer of training results, meaning, that the results of exercise A (say, a squat) don’t just improve exercise A.  They can also improve other movements (as in, a squat can improve your box jump, sprint, or swim, albeit to varying degrees). What exercises should be chosen?  The responsibility now lies with the coach to figure out which exercises most efficiently have the most effective transfer of training result.   

Specificity will also change depending on the level of the athlete. For an unconditioned athlete, just about any exercise will make for a good transfer of training.  However, the more elite the athlete gets, the more the specificity must be honed.  Specific exercises and training methods should be used to increase competitive preparedness. For instance, a wide receiver hoping to get in shape for training camp probably wouldn’t simply do body weight exercises and running.  This individual is elite, and has needs going into his season of activity.  The onus would again be on the coach to determine exercises would have the greatest transfer of training to benefit this athlete.  

Next week, I will cover Individualization. 

Weighted chest-to-bar pull-up 5-5-3-3-1-1-1

Post loads to BTWB.

In crossfit we are constantly putting pressure on our wrists.  Going overhead with the presses or snatch, floor presses, the front rack, and overhead squats are all movements that put an enormous amount of pressure and weight on on the wrists.  How often are we mobilizing our wrists though?  I know i’m guilty of overlooking them all the time. I spend a lot of time on other areas of the body but the wrists, which I use just about everyday, never get the love they deserve.  I’ve researched a few simple mobility exercises that I know will help all of us target our wrists and make sure they are flexible and mobilized the next time we call on them in a workout.

Three rounds for time of:
50 squats
Run 400m
Rest :90

Post time and comments to BTW.

The Science of Developing an Athlete: Overload and Accommodation 

If your training routine is planned and performed correctly, the result of the exercise system that you have employed is improvement of your fitness, particularly strength.  This is mainly though adaptation and intensity.  In a broad sense, adaptation means the adjustment of an organism to its environment. If the environment changes, the organism changes to better survive in the new conditions.  It’s Survival of the Most Adaptable… sounds like a movie, or maybe just a reality show.  Regardless (irregardless? Irregardlessly?), I want a cut.  It’s gonna be big. I digress.  The important thing that we want to remember about this stimulus we have imposed upon ourselves is that it needs to be regular.  Why?

Performance actually decreases after training.  No one expects to become stronger after one set of drills, or a single workout.  The improvement occurs after repeated performances, and the body adapts to the training load.  Once training stops, or becomes infrequent, the body has nothing to adapt to.  Atrophy occurs. We are trying to incur adaptations to ourselves that improve sport performance.  That can potentially change depending on a particular athlete’s goals.  In general, however, we are shooting for general physical preparedness program.  There are four main features to this type of programming: stimulus magnitude (overload), accommodation, specificity, individualization.  Briefly, let’s cover the first two of these very, very big words.

Overload: A training adaptation takes place only if the magnitude of your training load is above the habitual level.  So, if you have plateaued, you may want to check the loads you’ve been working with.  If they haven’t changed in a year, you may not be noticing positive changes any longer.  It may be time to step it up weight-wise, forcing your body to adapt, and then watch as your hugeness rises to previously unseen levels. Coaching note: in competition-level athletes, detraining happens quickly.  During the competition period, elite athletes cannot afford complete passive rest for more than three days in a row.  

Accommodation: Accommodation is the decrease in response to a continued stimulus.  Example: Instead of constantly changing your exercise, like we normally do, let’s say you pick an exercise… deadlifts, for instance.  If all you do is deadlifts for 6 months and you keep the load constant, not only will you not make progress, you will see your performance decrease.  Due to this principal, our training programs must vary.  Especially when the goal is GPP. When your goal is to be prepared for anything, the stimulus we choose has the potential for endless combinations. 

Specificity and Individualization will be covered next week.  Stay tuned Denver.

P.S.: This information is heavily referenced from the book, Science and Practice of Strength Training, written by some Russian guys.

P.P.S.: In order not to upset the at-large academia, it should be stated that the Russian guys’ names are Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky and William J. Kraemer

In 3:00 minutes,
Row 500m

Then, with remaining time, complete as many reps as possible of:
Bench press, 135#/95#

Rest 4:00 and repeat for a total of three rounds.

Post time, weights, comments, and philosophical transcendencies to BTW.

The wonders of knee anatomy.

If you’ve been coming to Verve for any length of time, you’ve probably heard us express, in our own loving way, the need to drive your knees out while lifting.  It’s probably a good idea to review why.  Granted, I’m no doctor.  Although I have saved a baby or two in my day, a human anatomy major I am not.  So some of you A&P nerds out there may be able to better describe what I am about relate.

First off: If you take nothing else from this discussion, remember that your knees are in a healthier position if they are driven out. Period.

The knee is the body’s largest joint.  It is sandwiched between the femur (the thigh bone), on top, and the tibia (the big calf bone), on the bottom.  Protecting the innards of the knee is the patella (the knee cap).  The knee sits on top of the meniscus cartilage, which acts as a firm shock absorber.

The sides of the knees are supported by ligaments. The LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament), which lines the outside of the knee, and the MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament), which lines the inside of the knee.  Both the LCL and MCL limit sideways movement for your knee.  That being said, you don’t hear a lot about the LCL when it comes to injuries.  Why?  Number one, it is a more mobile ligament. Number two, it requires a severe blow from the inside of the knee to injure it.  The inside of the knee is naturally protected by our body.  The LCL also runs from the top/front part of your knee, down and back towards the bottom of the knee.  Thus, when we externally rotate our leg and hip system, we simply add tension to a mobile ligament in a direction that it can handle.  The MCL on the other hand, is purportedly the most injured knee ligament.  It is injured when the knee is twisted to the inside repeatedly over time, or with excessive shock to the inside.  The MCL is longer, and is less flexible than the LCL.  So it’s easy to see why a knee twisting inwards repeatedly (say, while doing squats, dipping on push press or push jerks, or landing on box jumps) could cause excessive stress to this ligament. Hence, our potentially over-the-top concern about your knees.  I care about your MCL.  Not in weird way, either.  In a totally platonic way.

The femur and tibia are also connected by two ligaments on the inside of the knee: The ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament), and the PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament).  The two ligaments cross each other in an “X” pattern, and help keep the knee from moving too far forward or back.  We’ll focus on the ACL.  The ACL runs from the back of the knee down towards the inside anterior portion of the knee. When the knee bends in, you can visualize the ACL bending over onto itself.  This, in technical terms, is what is referred to “in the biz” as an “oh dang” moment.  As is in, “oh dang, that ACL is in trouble.”  When you drive the knee out, the ACL is in a position of strength, due to the fact that the tibia and femur are still in line with each other.  Hence, the continued focus on the driving of your knees out.  Me and your ACL are tight.  We hang on the weekends.  I want the best for your ACL.  Do you?  

That’s the scoop.  Externally rotate your leg “system”, as it were, and keep your joints in positions of strength, even throughout the day.  If flexibility prevents you from moving your knees into healthy positions when WOD’ing, it’s time to address it.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20:00 of:
5 L pull-ups
10 Burpees
15 Kettlebell swings, 24kg(16kg)

Post rounds to BTWB.

We are testing a new 6 am class for the next few Wednesdays.  If the interest is there we will keep it so if 6 am works for you please sign up!

Since we’re on the topic of early mornings I figured I use this opportunity to talk about a recent study that came out linking lack of sleep to weight gain and type 2 diabetes.  We all know that lack of sleep makes us moody and tired throughout the day, but now researches are saying that lack of sleep makes us susceptible to weight gain and can reduce our fats cells ability to respond properly to insulin. Insulin is responsible for the release of leptin which is a hormone that if the levels are low tells your body it’s starving and will increase your appetite.  The study proves that sleep is just as important for brains cells as for other cells in the body including muscle, liver, and fat cells.

The study took healthy adults and had then sleep and average of 8 hours for 4 days, then for the next four nights sleep an average of 4 hours for 4 consecutive nights.  At the end of the 4 hour sleep nights the participants were sleep deprived by an average of 14 hours.  Also the sleep deprived body’s ability to respond to  insulin properly decreased by 16%.  This is the first step towards much more serious problems then just being tired.  

So bottom line is make sure you’re getting enough sleep each and every night.  You can’t catch up on sleep so try to be consistent with the number of hours of sleep you’re getting each night.  All your cells will be the better if you do. 

“Bradley”

Ten rounds for total time:
Run 100m
10 Burpees
Run 100m
10 Pull-ups
Rest :30 seconds

Compare to: 120420.

Post time to comments and BTW.

This weekend is a busy one.  In addition to all the fall festivities and fun around town, CrossFit Verve has athletes in two competitions.   On Saturday and Sunday, the 2012 Masters Championship will be held at Front Range CrossFit.  Jeremy B and JIzzo will be representing. Saturday only, we have several Verve athetes partaking in the LoDo Open.  Show your Verve support this weekend by joining us at these events.  Here are the times and WOD’s:

Masters
Workout #1
2 rounds for time of:
20 kettlebell swings
25 box jumps
30 goblet squats

Jeremy, Heat 14 @ 12:30
Jamie, Heat 16 @ 1pm

Workout #2
Clean Ladder
Men Weights (lbs): 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, 295, 305, 315

Jeremy, Heat 10 @ 3:36pm
Jamie, Heat 3:58pm

LoDo Open
Individual WOD #1
AMRAP in 10min of
5 Clean and Jerks (65%/75% of BW within 2.2 lbs)
10 Pull Ups

Individual WOD #2 + 1 Mile Time Trial
21-15-9
Deadlift (1/1.5 BW with in 2.2lbs)
Ring Dips

Trina at 10:15am for WOD 1.  WOD 2 at 1:20pm.

TEAM WOD #1
AMRAP in 10min
5 Clean and Jerks (65%/75%)
10 pull ups
-Partner A starts on the Clean and Jerks while partner B waits, as soon as Partner A finishes the C&Js and moves on to the pull ups, Partner B can begin their C&Js. Each Partner must finish 5 C&Js before they move on to their 10 pull ups, and each Partner must wait for their Partner to finish their reps before they can rotate stations.

TJ Welton/Anna at 9:00am
Francis/Sarah Lev at 9:15am
Clancy/Emmalee at 9:15
Chris Zienk/Addie at 9:30am
TEAM WOD #2 + Mile Time
30-20-10
Deadlift (Combined BW with in 2.2lbs)
Ring Dips
-WOD #2 and Mile must be completed under 20min including the allotted 30 second transition time

Three 10:00 minute intervals on a running clock:

Run 1 mile
Complete as many shoulder press, 115#/75# as possible with remainder of time.

Run 1 mile
Complete as many push press, 165#/115# as possible with remainder of time.

Run 1 mile

Complete as many jerks, 205#/135# as possible with remainder of time.

Post reps and mile times to BTWB.

We’re going to use another post to brag about one of our athletes, because we know he wouldn’t brag about himself.  Kyle gave us the results of his latest powerlifting total after four months of the 5-3-1 cycle.  He faithfully comes in at 5:30 every morning, and also puts in extra time working on deficiencies and weaknesses.  His results are showing:

Back Squat =     235
Bench Press =   225
Deadlift =            325
Total =                 785#
Body Weight = 186#

10/01/2012:
Back Squat =     275
Bench Press =   250
Deadlift =            375
Total =                 900#
Body Weight = 177#

The first myth that Kyle’s results dispel is that we become bigger, or bulkier, by lifting heavy weights.  Our physique may indeed change, but not for the bulkier.  Kyle lost nearly ten pounds over the last four months.  Nonetheless, he experienced a 115# increase in his powerlifting total.  That’s nearly a 15% increase in absolute strength in four months. Remarkable. 

While we’re on the subject, let’s briefly review some benefits of heavy lifting:

1.) We build bone density by stressing them. Osteoporosis is doomed.

2.) We build absolute strength.  Stuff that was heavy six months ago doesn’t seem so heavy anymore.  

3.) There is a neurogical response; muscle fibers change.  By practicing the Olympic Lifts, or simply powerlifting with speed (strength-speed), we can develop fast twitch muscle fibers that change the way our muscles operate.  Some of this is determined by genetics, but is doesn’t mean that we aren’t powerless to develop it on our own.

4.) You get a post written about you. WOOTWOOT.