On a 9:00 running clock:

Row 2k, then complete as many double-unders as possible with remaining time

Post time and reps to comments.

My Handstand Progression 2009-2011 – Amanda Kennedy

I went to India in December and the whole time I couldn’t wait to go to the Taj Mahal to do a handstand. I was only going to share the Taj Mahal photo, but I got looking at my other handstand pictures. This is when I discovered my handstand photos documented my body composition changes. So here are 4 photos taken from May 2009 to December 2011. 

The first photo is from a trip to Moab Memorial Day weekend in 2009. I had just started at Verve and was obsessed with the CrossFit mainsite especially the handstand pictures. So when I arrived at Balance Rock in Arches National Park I knew I wanted to get a handstand photo. It took me multiple times to get the handstand so a photo could be captured. The photos leading up to this one are hilarious (and not included!). I have little shape to my body and almost look like a block or rectangle. 

The second photo is from Mission Beach in San Diego, February 2010. Again, many photos were snapped trying to get a decent handstand shot. I am not secure in this handstand with my arms bending, but at least my head is facing forward and I have some curves peaking out.

The third photo is at Loveland Pass in Colorado taken late May 2010. I had just completed the Verve 30-day Paleo challenge and saw awesome results. This photo shows noticeable changes in my hips/waist and arms. 

The fourth photo is at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, December 2011. Looking at this photo is when I realized I had made major changes to my body. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it. I looked solid. My arms, waist, hips and legs were in a tight stable hold. My head was neutral and I was smiling. Best thing is this is the one and only photo snapped. I held a freestanding handstand long enough for this photo to be taken and it felt good. 

These changes were made from participating in the Best Shape of My Life Challenge at the start of 2011. I wish I had taken a handstand photo at the end of the challenge in March 2011, but one really is not needed because the greatest accomplishment to come from that challenge is that I have successfully maintained my weight from when Cherie took my final measurements to almost a year later. I am now in the maintenance phase of my life and it is pretty awesome. 

So for those of you in the challenge right now, stick with it and stick with it after. The outcome is so worth it! My handstand photos show my progression and achievements since starting at Verve. Find something to document yours!  I’d like to thank all the Verve Trainers for giving me the support and tools to find my way back to my true self. CrossFit Verve and the Verve Community is unlike anything else out there. Thank you all! 

“Dae Han”

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters with a 45# plate (35#)
3 Rope climb, 15ft
12 Thruster, 135# (95#)

Post time to comments.

Kenzie loves weekend fun with Verve.

Movie night!  All.I.Can.

Meet at Verve at 6pm and bring your comfy slippers and camp chairs.  See you there!

“Ricky”

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
10 Pull-ups
5 Kettlebell Deadlift, 72# (53#)
8 Push-press, 135# (95#)

With a twist…..find out in class.

Post rounds completed to comments.

Scotty looking solid in his form.

Lots of fun to be had this weekend!  Classes are filling up fast, so PLEASE make sure you show up if you are signed up, or be respectful of your fellow athletes and cancel plenty ahead of time!

Movie night on Sunday at 6pm.  Showing is ALL.I.CAN.  Bring your camp chairs and be prepared for an amazing cinematographic experience! 

 “Hidalgo”

For time:
Run 2 miles
Rest 2 minutes
20 Squat cleans, 135# (95#)
20 Box jump, 24″ (20″)
20 Walking lunge steps, with 45# (35#) plate overhead
20 Box jump, 24″ (20″)
20 Squat clean, 135# (95#)
Rest 2 minutes
Run 2 miles

If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

Post time to comments.

Congratulations to BoLars and Bess on their big day!  Much love.

What derails you?

There are so many things that can send a well intended train right off it’s track.  It’s simple enough right? You wake up and say to yourself, “Self, today I will stay on track with my diet, eat enough veggies, get enough water, exercise, fish oil, spend some quality time with my family or friends or self and get to bed at a decent hour.”  But somewhere along the day our well intended train can fall off its track.  How and why does this happen?

I’ve come up with a few things that derail me, maybe you can relate.  Travel; this is the worst because I have no kitchen and am on somebody else’s schedule.  Sleep: all to often I don’t go to bed early enough.  This is sure to start the next day on the wrong foot.  I get busy and overwhelmed, which creates lack of planning, anxiety and impatience, a vicious cycle.  When you are busy, who has time to take care of themselves, there are other things to be done?  I go to long without eating, if I pass that five hour mark before having a meal, watch out! What derails you?

All of these things are common enough and easy predictable. So why do we perpetuate these cycles?  It’s biological and know as the Second Law of Thermodynamics – Entropy

The second law of thermodynamics concerns the transformation of potential energy into heat, or random molecular motion.  It states that the disorder (also known as entropy) in the universe is continuously increasing.  In other words, disorder is more likely then order.  For example it is much more likely that your bedroom will become messy overtime, then that it will spontaneously clean itself up, or that a mountain will crumble instead of build itself higher, order turns to disorder spontaneously, but not vis versa.

Entropy is the measure of the disorder of a system.  When the universe formed, it held all the potential energy it will ever have, it has become progressively more disordered ever since. (“energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only undergo conversion”). 

So let’s apply this to our biological lives, disorder of our systems is inevitable, as we age entropy begins to take over.  I say fight entropy!  Fight the urge to allow disorder in your life.  Entropy is our biological ticking clocks.  How many people do you know that have become lazier as they get older (I have), less inclined to get off the coach and on the trail, slopes or gym?  This is the natural order, fight entropy!  Fight the urge to allow disorder, don’t roll over instead create routines, get stronger and defy your natural tendency.  Be a biological rebel!

On the minute, every minute for 15 minutes, complete 2 power cleans

Post loads to comments.

All.I.Can teaser.

Coming to Verve Sunday January 15th at 6pm is movie night.  

The first showing will be: All.I.Can.  This film was 2 years in the making with unrivaled jaw-dropping time-lapse cinematography.  Even if you are not a ski buff, this movie is worth the watching.   “Producers Mossop and Crossland’s nature shot opening sets the tone for a film that aims to make apparent the connection between the sport of skiing and the environment of which it takes advantage.  The film doesn’t open up with a heavy-handed “green” message, it just shows the world for what it is in all its natural glory.  Nature, urban landscapes and industrial shots worthy of Edward Burtynsky all whip by, startling in their intense clarity.  And after that stunning prelude, the Sherpas let loose with some of the tightest, sickest ski footage seen to date in a ski movie.” – Mark Quail 

So bring your camping chairs, a pillow, your family, or a friend and come join us for the show. 

Five rounds for time of:
9 Deadlifts, 135# (95#)
6 Hang power snatch, 135# (95#)
3 Overhead squats, 135# (95#)

Post time to comments.

JT<3’sBBOHS’s.

How do we get better?  Is there a magic formula, pill or code to crack? Many of us wish there were, but the reality of the situation is you have to work hard at anything (insert any life skill/art here) to get better at it.  Shocking revelation I know, but you would be surprised at how many of us expect we will stay  fit, injury free, and even put out elite athletic performances with average effort.  When you think about mastering a skill, how long do you imagine it takes? Take Tai Chi for instance, if you decided today that you wanted to be great at Tai Chi, not the best ever, but better then average, where you can hold your own and feel fluid in the movements. What do you think it would take?  How much time?  What type of training? A self guided DVD or your very own personal master?

While we all understand intellectually, that any thing great takes time to master, we rarely think this actually applies to us.  Take all the times I’ve tried to learn the guitar over the years.  Every time I picked it up I expected to be better at it, and not just better at it but good enough where it will be fun and not just work.  But I rarely picked it up, at best 3x a week for an hour if my attention span allowed.  Then I would get bored, because it wasn’t getting easier and I’d put it off again until random motivation inspired me to pick it up.  Frustratingly, I never got better and eventually quit trying.  Now was I bad at the guitar because of genetics, or I kept getting hurt or I just had no talent, or my mom should have put me in music lessons? No, not at all.  I’m bad at the guitar because I didn’t put in the time I needed to in order to be great at it.  Your fitness and CrossFit work the same way.  However unfortunately, being human we don’t have the luxury to ignore it and move on to something else more interesting.  If we do, we lose functional capacity, maybe not today, but we will.

So lets break down what this really means.  My first suggestion is to evaluate your goals and intentions with CrossFit.  Is your goal to stay healthy, improve your quality of life and build a hedge against decrepitude?  Is your goal to be able to compete at the CrossFit Games? Is your goal to be ready for anything; hiking, climbing, biking etc.  Once you know your goal you can create a realistic commitment to that goal.  Aligning your expectations with your goals is extremely important to being successful.  Coming in 3x’s a week and expecting to be the fastest time on the board or have all movements completed as Rx’d is unrealistic.  Instead of comparing yourself to the board, the workout or other athletes, ask yourself if you’re getting better? Are you putting in the time it takes to get better? Are you focusing on how your body moves and concentrating on each small step of the movements you are completing or are you just going as fast as you can while the wheels fly off?  Either way, you get out of it what you put into it. Mastering any art/skill takes time, patience, practice, coaching, and total concentration.  If mastering isn’t your thing, chill out and enjoy good fitness.  

So here is a a very simple guide to getting better:

Step 1: Evaluate your goals (realistic)
Step 2: Build a routine to match those goals
Step 3: Be coachable
Step 4: Follow thru with concentrated practice (that’s what warm ups and skill work is for) 
Step 5: Be a little easier on yourself.  A positive outlook will get you up a mountain, while being hard on yourself never got you anywhere.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
18 Box jumps, 24″ box
15 Toes to bar
12 Bent over rows 

Post rounds completed to comments.

Amy OG T2B FnA.

Welcome 2012! What a New Year we have had so far!

How has everyones first days of the challenge gone?

New class times and wait list woes.  It’s that time of the year again when classes get fuller and wait lists get longer. We are lucky to have so many amazing members coming into our doors each day.  More people are getting fitter and healthier by the minute.  This month we’ve added some new classes to help elevate the New Year pressure cooker.  Please remember to cancel any classes you will not be able to attend, and beware of scheduling yourself into multiple WOD’s in the same day.

New classes and changes:

Hot dogs and cupcakes is now on a consistent schedule of Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, with 2 class times each day. 4:30pm and 5:30pm.

Endurance is once a week, Tuesday at 6am.

7:30pm WOD each Monday and Wednesday night.

CrossFit Mom’s 2X a week Wednesday and Friday at 10am.

9am WOD Tuesday’s and Thursday’s

And what many of you have been waiting for, OPEN GYM time. Tuesday and Thursday for 1 hour from 7:30am – 8:30am and Saturday for an hour and a half from 11am – 12:30pm

NOTE: Classes must maintain a minimum of 5 athletes to keep on the schedule.

Open Gym Rules:

Be Patient Accidents & injuries usually come as a result of impatience. Don’t be greedy. Slow down. Ask questions. Ask for help.

Clean Up Put away all your equipment after each workout. You don’t want to pick up the last class’ crap so don’t make them or the trainers pick up yours. Clean up sweat, spit, blood, chalk, dirt, vomit, handprints, and whatever else you’ve left behind.

Listen We are the coaches and don’t want to see anyone get hurt or develop bad habits. When we tell you to reduce weight, stop, or do something, LISTEN and DO IT. We are here to provide a safe and motivating environment designed for your success.

Check “IT” at the door. Have some baggage?  Emotional issues?  An ego?  Don’t bring that stuff into the gym.  CrossFit Verve is a cathedral of physical performance.  Clear your mind and work hard.  When you’re done and you leave, you will be refreshed and your issues will be easier to deal with. Really.  One final warning about ego…  Sometimes it’s hard to let this go.  CrossFit is magical in it’s ability to wreck egos.  You have been warned.

Sign up. All athletes must be signed up in MBO to attend open gym.

Children We love kids here at CrossFit Verve and think it’s important for them to see their parents leading active, healthy lives. However, we also want to keep kids and everyone else in our gym safe. We are sorry but there are no kids allowed during open gym time, no exceptions.

Leave on time:  Please respect the open gym hours and the time of the trainers.

Have Fun  Yes, it’ll hurt.  So what?  Have fun with it.  CrossFit Verve is a playground and while we’re constantly increasing work capacity, we’re having a blast at the same time.  Agony and laughter… who knew they were so compatible?

“Chelsea”
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

On the minute every minute for 30 minutes.

Post rounds complete to comments.

They are all in, howabout you?  Got nutrition?

Our Best Shape of Your Life challenge begins TODAY.  This benchmark workout will be repeated following the 4 week challenge to compare results along with bloodwork values, measurements, vital signs, and pictures.  Plenty of opportunities to make it in and get your WOD on today, but if for some reason you can’t make it there will be another chance later this week (details to come.)  Be sure to log your results and all modifications/substitutions in order to accurately compare post-challenge.  Click here to download a Excel Spreadsheet that can be used to help track your challenge results on your local computer.

Tearing your hands hurts and can take weeks to recover. So how the heck do you prevent hand tears? Our recommendation is to build up tissue toloerance and improve grip without the aid of tape. However, this takes time so here is our professional tip of the day: make reusable tape gloves that will save your hands during high rep pull-up WOD’s.

First, start with a piece of tape that is more than double the length of your hand. Fold it in half lengthwise. Then, make a bend in it and keep the two sides as close as possible.

Next, take the roll of tape and tape from the bend at the top (the finger hole) all the way to the bottom and continue halfway up the back side. You’ll want two strips for each hand, which you’ll secure with a section of tape around the wrist and a section around the palm.

There you have it – when you’re done with your 30 minutes of pull-ups you can unwrap the wrist and palm and save the two finger strips. These are nearly as good as gymnast straps and can be used in your next marathon pull-up WOD. Enjoy!

Front squat 2-2-2-2-2-2 reps

Post loads to comments.

Intro class getting low, and Matt being a ballerina.

Six rounds for time:
10 Thrusters, 40#/25#
10 Burpees
10 Weighted walking lunges, alternating legs

Post time to comments.

Catch me if you can!

Lots of fun in store for everyone today!  Don’t be late to your bloodwork appointments.  Also be ready to get pictures taken, vitals recorded and get prepared to get in the Best Shape of Your Life CrossFit Verve Nutrition Challenge.  Be sure to do a 12 hour fast for reliable, accurate readings regarding your blood glucose.

Free Intro Class today at 11am.

Free Nutrition Workshop at 12pm.  The more the merrier, we can’t wait to see you!