Complete as many rounds as possible in 15:00 of:

3 Hang power snatch, 135#/95#
Then two rounds of the following:
3 Pull-ups
6 Push-ups
9 Box jumps, 20" 

Post rounds and additional reps to comments.

Brooke in Istanbul at Tapkapi Palace right outside the entrance to the haram.

"So, I did a little traveling recently and as we all know when travel takes you to a faraway land where Crossfit does not exist one must persevere.  Pre-trip recon lead me to the understanding that in Turkey I would not be Crossfitting with the Turks as I had hoped.  So instead I brought crossfit to Turkey. At each stop we made I jumped rope to wake up the legs.  You should have seen the joy and excitement a simple jump rope brought my co-travelers as well as the many Turkish folks observing such a silly practice.  I don’t think my rope has seen that kind of action in like FOREVER!!  I taught single unders to amateurs and double unders to the more adventurous.  They enticed me to do double jumping, with another person in the rope with me, and double criss-crosses.  So cool!  I wanted to do a handstand at one of our historical sites to post for y’all, but it ended up being multiple stands at multiple sites.  Who knew handstands were so loved by the crowd?  Imagine if they could see a one of my amazing Crossfit peers doing something truly amazing! Anyway Turkey was incredible, a place not to miss!"  

Speaking of Turkey……..

This Saturday, November 19th is the MBS CrossFit Annual Turkey Challenge in Broomfield!  Multiple Verve athletes and trainers will be competing.  Also, many of you are kind enough to be volunteering Saturday at the event to make sure it runs smoothly.  A big hats off to all of you spending your Saturday to participate in the bigger community of CrossFit!  Information for athletes, volunteers and spectators alike can be found here.  Also, both the individual and team events have been announced and look like fun all around!  

If you are competing, volunteering, or cheering and are interested in carpooling up to MBS, please post your info to comments, including times and locations of departures.  

For time:

300m Row
20 Push press, 135# (95#)
300m Row
15 Push press, 135# (95#)
300m Row
10 Push press, 135# (95#)
300m Row
5 Push press, 135# (95#)

Post time to comments.

 
Another fun video, why not?

For time:
25 GHD sit-ups
1 Muscle-up
20 GHD sit-ups
2 Muscle-ups
15 GHD sit-ups
3 Muscle-ups
10 GHD sit-ups
4 Muscle-ups
5 GHD sit-ups
5 Muscle-ups

Post time to comments.

There are several progressions for a great muscle up.  

Seven rounds of:

35 Double-unders
1 Snatch

Make one snatch attempt per round.

Post time and total of all successful snatches to comments. Do not count missed reps.

Michael W. looking calm stabilizing weight overhead, are you?

Today's workout will force you to blur the line between intensity and form/technique.  You should choose a snatch weight that is heavy enough to challenge you, yet hopefully you can successfully maintain throughout the workout on your single attempt each round.  Both your time and your total weight are counted, you don't want to sacrifice one for the other.  So let's talk about the supporting weight overhead in the snatch:  

When supporting weight overhead a couple things are important, of course adequate strength is one of them.  But let's address proper set-up and structure.  The bar should be positioned over the back of your neck or the top of the traps with your head pushed through the arms somewhat.  Positioning of the weight and body should maintain balance over the feet.    

A solid foundation starts with your shoulders and upper back.  Being that the shoulder joint is extremely mobile, the shoulder blades must be fixed in tightly which requires completely retracting them and allowing them to upwardly rotate enough to open space for the humerus.  Imagine pinching a quarter between the top inside edges of the shoulder blades together!  Next your elbows must be locked out, squeezed forward into full extension to lock the bones of the arms and allow the muscles to support much more weight than they could without.  Elbows squeezed forward into extension allows the larger muscles in your chest and upper back to safely support the load overhead.  

Your grip is ideally such that the bar contacts the body in the crease of your hips. The wider your grip becomes, the more likely over-rotation occurs, resulting in dropping the bar behind on the turnover.  Also, with a widening grip, it becomes more difficult to extend the elbows forcefully.  Additionally, a hook grip is utilized in the pull and if you are flexible enough can be maintained overhead, but can be relaxed to allow the hand and wrist to settle in properly.  The bar should be in the palm slightly behind the centerline of the forearm, with the wrist extended, not in a neutral position.  This should not place undue stress on the wrist but does require a good deal of mobility, which you should be diligent about working on to maintain proper positions!

Also important is sufficient range of motion in your ankles, hips and thoracic spine. Supporting weight overhead starts with a sound, upright squat.  Adequate mobility once again, and should be addressed accordingly.  So good luck today, let's have some fun! 

Referenced from Overhead Stability in the Snatch, by Greg Everett–Catalyst Athletics Articles

Come practice some different implements to improve your training at 4 stations, WOD will be announced at each station:

Axle 
Stones
Yoke
Mystery

Post thoughts and scores to comments.

Chelsea in a beautiful plank during her dumbbell burpees.

Five rounds for time of:

40m Overhead barbell walk, 185# (125#)
30 Wallball shots, 20# (14#)
40m Barbell farmer carry, 95# (65#)

The barbells must be turned around a cone.

Post time to comments.

Watch out–Trina's got superpowers! 

Three rounds for time of: 

15 Overhead squat, 95# (65#)
15 L Pull-ups
15 Split-jerk,  95# (65#)
15 Knees to elbows
15 Hang clean,  95# (65#)
15 Back extensions, 25#

Hold 25 pound plate or dumbbell to chest for back extensions.

Post time to comments.

Thanks Verve for getting our ass in shape, for the best day of our lives. XOXO, Zach & Kristi.  Congratulations you two, you look amazing!

Even coaches need coaches.

I've been doing CrossFit for five years now.  Through out that time I have coached CrossFit athletes almost daily for three of those years, continued my education at least quarterly and been on the CrossFit L1 seminar staff for over two of those years.  I've competed in the CrossFit games twice and should be feeling at the top of my game.  But, in the grand scheme of things, that really isn't that long and while I have continued to develop and feel confident in my trade, I am far from calling myself an expert or thinking I have arrived.

When I first started CrossFit as an athlete, PR's came almost daily. Same as being a coach, improvements came so regularly that it was obvious to me where and how to continue to improve.  CrossFit (coaching or as an athlete) is like tasting fine wine. At first you think those wine snobs are crazy that they can smell and taste bilberry root in your glass. Over time you start to taste the bilberry root.  If you work at your craft before you know it (likely 10 years down the road) your not only making the wine but you can identify 10 scents and tastes in that glass of wine, knowing how long it should age, understanding the bottling process, growing and all the nuances of wine making. Or you could plateau, which often leads to a decline in skills.

Those in danger of plateauing are those who know their craft or sport.  Been doing in for a few years and the exponential growth they once saw now happens to a lesser degree. Maybe you anticipate your movement challenges, know what cues a coach will bark at you, and understand how to game a WOD.  Eventually, you try to head off these problems before workouts start by incorporating mobility, concentrated practice or take specialty classes, maybe you even avoid those things?  You have your issues all figured out.  You begin to be able to handle a wide range of challenges with less fumbling and confusion.  So maybe even you become a little complacent. I could easily fit into this mold, but I believe there is a better way.

The coaching model is different from the traditional conception of pedagogy (study of teaching methods), where there’s a presumption that, after a certain point, the student no longer needs instruction. You graduate. You’re done. You can go the rest of the way by yourself.  But our fields are always evolving. We have to keep developing our capabilities and avoid falling behind. So the training suggests an ethic of perfectionism. Expertise is thought to be not a static condition but one that we must build and sustain for ourselves. (here where it may be going wrong)

The coaching model considers the teaching model naïve about our human capacity for self-perfection. It holds that, no matter how well prepared people are, few can achieve and maintain their best performance on their own.

The U.C.L.A. basketball coach John Wooden, at the first squad meeting each season, even had his players practice putting their socks on. He demonstrated just how to do it: he carefully rolled each sock over his toes, up his foot, around the heel, and pulled it up snug, then went back to his toes and smoothed out the material along the sock’s length, making sure there were no wrinkles or creases. He had two purposes in doing this. First, wrinkles cause blisters. Blisters cost games. Second, he wanted his players to learn how crucial seemingly trivial details could be. “Details create success”.

Élite performers, researchers say, must engage in “deliberate practice” sustained, mindful efforts to develop the full range of abilities that success requires. You have to work at what you’re not good at. In theory, people can do this themselves. But most people do not know where to start or how to proceed. Expertise, as the formula goes, requires going from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence and finally to unconscious competence. The coach provides the outside eyes and ears, and makes you aware of where you’re falling short. This is tricky. Human beings resist exposure and critique; our brains are well defended. No matter how well trained people are, few can sustain their best performance on their own. Additionally, tasks that involve the complexities of people or nature seem to take the longest to master. That’s where coaching comes in.

I recently hired a coach to address where I can improve in my athletic performance.  It's been eye opening and great to see what I was missing.  I've already seen improvements and have a better visualization of my future capacity.  I also now have upwards of six coaches delivering me feedback on my profession, how I coach, how I teach, how I lecture.  I believe we all could use eyes and ears on our performances.  It's when we start to feel comfortable in our craft that we've stopped learning and stopped progressing. And if it's excellence your striving for, someone else looking in with honest eyes, may just be the only way to get there. 

This is a test, if you read this whole thing, post to comments.

Inspired by and excerpts from, Personal Best, Top athletes and singers have coaches. Should you? -by Atul Gawande

Clean, 1 rm
Bench press, 1 rm
Overhead squat, 1 rm

Clean is from the ground, power or squat.

Post total to comments.

Greer killing it at skill day with handstand walking.

Fear Lifting Heavy Weight?

Who out there has had some apprehension about lifting heavy weight?  Maybe you had an injury in the past or a lift that didn't go quite right?  We are here to tell you that your fear exactly describes your need.  I know, not what you wanted to hear.  However that apprehension can be over come and your back, core, and shoulders, can get stronger and thereby less injury prone for your future.  Ever hear of someone budging a disc while bending over?  This is not uncommon and exactly describes the need for the musculature around the back (your core) to get stronger so that it can do it's job, stabilize those little vertebral joints.

Overcoming the fear:

Step 1, Be sure you have (or create) a kinesthetic awareness of flexion and extension of the spinal joints.  This can be aided by using the reverse hyper, GHD and of course your trainers eyes and words. 

Step 2, ENGAGE your core when lifting and use that awareness to know when you are employing safe lifting techniques, once you are not abort and abort now.  Lift at max loads only with correct mechanics.  Push threw your heels and FEEL your hamstrings pull or move the weight.

Step 3, Strengthen your core (hammies, glutes, erectors and abdominals) like it is your full time job.  Every movement, every lift, every workout, everyday!  You will be amazed at how this will change your life and your lifting.  Be aware and engage!  Think you have a strong core?  I challenge you to a month of focusing on engaging it in all movement.  Even just a few days will expose weaknesses you didn't know you had.  I'm not kidding, it WILL change your life.

Step 4, Take appropriate leaps in your lifting.  Max Bench Press was 200 a month ago, don't try 250 today!  Know when to stop.

Step 5, Take appropriate leaps in your lifting.  Max Bench Press was 200, get 205 today!

There are no other more basic, nature, fundamental movements then pulling (clean), pushing (bench) and squating (OHS).  You need a capacity in these lifts to remain health and independent. Get in to the gym today and strengthen those bone and build some confidence.

For perfect practice:

Handstands or walking 
Turkish get-ups
Parallell bars 
Strict muscle-ups

In this workout there are four skill stations.  At each station you wil have 10 minutes to work on that skill.  Rotate after 10 minutes to the next station.  Your coach will give you guidlines as to what needs to be completed in the 10 minutes.

Post to comments.

A new found love to keep you on track, shredded broccoli, it's like candy.

Broccoli, why are you making me eat it coach?

Over the past 20 years numerous studies have concluded again and again that people who eat and abundance of broccoli have fewer cancers of the colon, breast, cervix, lungs, prostate, esophagus, larynx, and bladder.  The reason lies in broccoli's abundance of disease fighting compounds (Micro-nutrients).  For example, broccoli contains indoles, which can help inactivate harmful estrogen's that can promote the growth of tumors.  Researchers at John Hopkins University discovered another compound in broccoli called sulforaphane that stimulates animal and human cells to produce cancer-fighting enzymes.  As if this weren't enough, broccoli is also rich in beta-carotene, another well-known cancer fighter.

All in all, one broccoli spear contains about half the RDA for beta-carotene, more than twice the RDA for Vitamin C, a healthy dose of potassium and calcium, folic acid, selenium and lets not forget fiber.  Micro-nutrient essential for a plethora of metabolic processes.

So, eat more broccoli.  No one ever knows they needs these special micro-nutrients until it's too late.  I found shredding it in the food processor once a week gives me a lot of options and it tastes better, like in the eggs above.

Zone blocks = 3 cups whole.

"Tabata Something Else"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Post total reps from all 32 intervals to comments.

Addie, Clean & Jerked 54kg and Snatched 44kg, Whoot Whoot! This qualifies her for the American Open and Junior Nationals in Olympic Weightlifting. 

Congratulations to Cecily (1st), Ali (3rd), Robyn (5th), Dan Watson (5th) and Addie (1st) for a fun weekend of competition.  Results and WOD's for the competition up in Fort Collins can be found here . 

How does the world define Physical fitness? 

Websters defines physical fitness as;
1. The quality or state of being fit. 2. The capacity of an organism to survive and transmit its genotype to reproductive offspring as compared to competing organisms.