Ten rounds for time of:

10 Dumbell squat cleans, 40# (25#)
10 Chest slapping push-ups 

Post time to comments.

Old school park style, who's ready for more this summer?

"It doesn't have to be fun to be fun."  Would you agree with that?  It takes a special type of person to come in expecting a total beat down and to walk away with a smile on their face.  We promise you one thing after today's WOD: "Stronger than yesterday."  

2011 CrossFit Games Regional WOD #3
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Deadlift (315lb / 205lb)
Box jump (30”/24”) 

Athletes must reach full extension of the hip ON THE BOX. Reaching full extension only in the air is not permitted. In other words, the athlete’s knees and hips must be fully extended while both feet are on the box (the entire foot on the box is recommended but not required). Both jumping and stepping down are permitted.

Post time to comments.

Robyn running from the law?

2011 CrossFit Games Regional WOD #2

Thruster Ladder – Athletes will have 20 seconds to take a barbell from the ground, then perform one thruster at a specified weight. They will have 10 seconds to transition to the next barbell.  Their result is the highest successful thruster.  There will be no re-dipping allowed in the thruster.

Men’s weights in pounds: 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, 295

Women’s weights in pounds: 105, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185

Post load to comments.

Ben is so fast he's a halo-gram. Stacey and Stef suckin' it up, coming in and working through some pain!

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! 

NOTICE FOR MEMORIAL DAY
The Schedule for memorial day will be two classes, 9am and 10am.  So get out to the gym before your big BBQ and earn your beers and brats. 

DB "Badger"

3 Rounds for time: 

30 DB Cleans 40# (25#)
30 Pull ups
800m Run

Post time to comments. 

Joylyn and Rachel contemplating pushing Mas and Nate into lake Tahoe.  Sara V. holding her own.  

Four intervals of 3:00 minutes of work and 1:00 minute of rest:

25 Burpees
Max power cleans, 165# (110#) 

Post reps of the clean to comments.

Heart, first word I thought of when seeing this photo.

The 2011 CrossFit Regional qualifying workouts have been announced.  This years events will be held over three days.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 10th – 12th, at the Aurora public school stadium.  Lucky us it's in our backyard again, athletes from Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado will gather as teams and individuals to qualify for the 2011 CrossFit Games held in California the last weekend in July.

For this years games we currently have 2 athletes who have already qualified for CA and will be heading to the games in July.  Jim Duwve qualified in this years Open by placing 13th in the world (Yes the entire world) in the Masters 50-55 division.  Matt Chan qualified for CA by placing 4th overall in the 2010 CrossFit Games.  We are excited to see what these two men will bring in July, but before we get there, we have a team of 6 and two other individuals throwing their names in the hat.

Team CrossFit Verve placed 5th in our regions Open, qualifying us for the Regionals.  Our team will compete in 6 workouts over 3 days.  We have 3 men and 3 women competing to bring our team to Cali.  Our team was chosen based on the athletes performance in this years Open.  Our team is: Emmalee Moore, Sara Weisbart, Sarah Levenhagen, Matt Chan, Zac "the green dragon" Pine and Chris Zienkievicz.  With alternates Addison Kozlow and Mas Godinez.  The two ladies that are heading in the arena as individual competitors are Beth Guse and Cherie Chan.

 Come out and cheer on your team, get tickets here.

Rumor has it that a posse of Ververs are already planning their trip to California.  Each year we get a group of amazing people together, cheer, laugh, play and bask in the California sun.  If you are planning to join us, here is the hotel information: 

Residence Inn Los Angeles LAX/Manhattan Beach
1700 North Sepulveda Boulevard
Manhattan Beach, California 90266
Phone: 1-310-421-3100

Post to comments if you are planning to go or have been in the past.

Now what you've been waiting for the 2011 CrossFit Regional Qualifyer Workouts are:

Individual Workouts

Workout 1
For time:
Run 1000 meters
30 Handstand push-ups
Row 1000 meters

Workout 2
Thruster Ladder – Athletes will have 20 seconds to take a barbell from the ground, then perform one thruster at a specified weight. They will have 10 seconds to transition to the next barbell.  Their result is the highest successful thruster.

Men’s weights in pounds: 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, 295

Women’s weights in pounds: 105, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185

Workout 3
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Deadlift (315lb / 205lb)
Box jump (30”/24”) 

Workout 4
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Kettlebell swings (53lb / 35lb)
100 Double-unders
100 Overhead squats (95lb / 65lb)

Workout 5
“Amanda”
9-7-5 reps for time of:
Ring muscle-up 
Squat snatch (135lb / 95lb)

Workout 6
For time:
20 Calorie row
30 Burpees
40 Two-hand dumbbell ground-to-overhead (45lb / 25lb)
50 Toes-to-bar
100 foot Overhead walking lunge (45lb plate / 25lb)
150 foot Sprint 

Team Workouts

Workout 1
For time:
4 X 750m Row
50 Handstand push-ups
4 X 750m Row
Teams of 4 (2 men, 2 women)

Workout 2
Thruster Ladder, same rules as the individuals. Teams of 2 (1 man, 1 woman). A team’s result will be the sum of the highest successful thrusters by each athlete.

Workout 3
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Deadlift (285lb / 185lb)
Box jump (30”/24”)

Teams of 2 (1 man, 1 woman). The man performs the entire workout then tags the woman who does the entire workout. Total time is the result.

Workout 4
For time:
250 Pull-ups
250 Kettlebell swings (53lb / 35 lb)
250 Double-unders
250 Overhead squats (95lb / 65lb)

Teams of 4 (2 men, 2 women). Team will complete this as a chipper, with one athlete working at a time. A team must complete all of the Pull-ups at the rig, then complete all of the Kettlebell swings, then all of the Double-unders, then all of the Overhead squats. There is no set rotation needed among the athletes. A team’s result is their total time to complete this chipper.

Workout 5
Team “Amanda”
9-9-7-7-5-5 reps for time of:
Ring muscle-up
Squat snatch (135lb / 95lb)

Teams of 2 (1 man, 1 woman). The man does 9 muscle-ups, then the woman does 9 muscle-ups. Then the man does 9 squat snatches, then the woman does 9 squat snatches with a separate barbell, etc. The pattern continues until they both have completed the couplet. A team’s result is their total time to complete the couplet.

Workout 6
For time:
20 Calorie row
30 Burpees
30 Dumbbell ground-to-overhead (45lb / 25lb)
30 Toes-to-bar
100 foot Overhead walking lunge (45lb plate / 25lb)
150 foot Sprint

Teams of 4 (2 men, 2 women). All four athletes perform the entire workout. The first athlete enters and completes the Row. When that athlete has completed the row, they move on to Burpees, and the second athlete may begin the Row. This pattern continues, in order, through all of the movement. No athlete can begin their next station until the athlete ahead of them is clear from that station.  A team’s result is the total time for all 4 members to go through the workout.

3 – 3 – 3 Snatch Balance

3 – 3 – 3 Snatch 

3 – 3 – 3 Overhead Squat

Try to increase load with each set of three.

Post loads to comments.

A man with a passion, ask him about CrossFit, we dare you! 

Check out our amazing Robyn, Jorge and Doug in today's featured CrossFit Journal article. If you are a journal subscriber go to the journal for the whole video.

"The Best Shape of My Life Nutrition Challenge" with CrossFit Verve,CrossFit Journal preview video [wmv] [mov] 

Another fun event, being put on by and old friend Casey Story at the Lakewood Aquatic Center. The Navy SEAL Fitness Challenge. If you've been dieing to get your fins wet now that it's warm and help a community of Special Warfare service members.

What: Navy SEAL Fitness Challenge
When: Saturday, May 28, 2011 10:00am-2:30pm
Where: Carmody Recreation Center
How much: $15 includes T'shirt, swag and WOD

We want you!!!
To join us for the Navy SEAL Fitness Challenge.  Competitors will work alongside active duty Navy Special Warfare service members as they test their individual fitness against the physical screening standards of the Navy SEAL Program. 

Participants will complete the following exercises throughout this challenge:

"Death By 10 Meters"

With a continuously running clock, complete one 10m sprint the first minute, two 10m shuttle sprints the second minute, three 10m shuttle sprints the third minute… continuing as long as you are able.  Once you are unable to complete the required sprints, run 1 mile for time.

Post completed minutes and mile time to comments.

Patrick, during last month's "Talladega".  

A back injury is different from back soreness.  Many beginner CrossFitters confuse these two concepts because of preconceived notions that the back is easily injured.  Coupled with years of working in a seated position, where the erectors of the back do little to no work in keeping the torso in a upright position, the muscles that support the spine have most likely become a weak point.

After a couple of CrossFit workouts, athletes quickly are reminded how weak there back has become.  The ability to resist flexion is demonstrated in nearly all of our movements: the deadlift, the kettlebell swing, the squats, and the overhead movements.  To resist folding at the torso requires a lot of focus, body awareness, and strength.  Because many are lacking each of these attributes, back soreness becomes a factor early in a CrossFitter's experience.

The reverse hyper is one of several tools that a CrossFitter can use to help build strength through the posterior chain of muscles; the erectors, glutes, and hamstrings.  It also is rehabilitative, meaning it can help an athlete recover from an injury or soreness.  If you expect a undesirable response from your back because of a workout, do some light reverse hypers before and after the workout itself.  It can really make a difference in your recovery.  Questions?  Talk to a trainer before or after class.

As many rounds as possible in 20:00 minutes:

50 Double unders
5 Handstand push-ups
10 Ring dips
15 Push-ups

Post rounds and additional reps to comments. 

The optimal experience is something that we all unwittingly chase. Success in the experience, hard work and expertise coming together in a singular effort. The feeling that a true optimal experience provides us with is what drives us to try harder on a daily basis, bringing us closer to the reward. We remove ourselves from all the distractions and personal needs, simply to attain a balance in action and attention.

This video presents Chris Solinski amid his optimal experience.  This is his "debut" competition 10k, which results in an American record. In the race, Chris removes himself from all the distraction around him and allows his experience and bodily awareness to take action.  In the final 800m, he passes other competitors like they are running an entirely different race.  See if you can figure out the split on his last 800m (and 400m for that matter).  Enjoy the video!

"The Bear"

Complete five rounds of seven sets of the following complex for max load:

Power clean
Front squat
Push press
Back squat
Push press

Once the complex is started, all seven sets must be completed before resting the bar on the ground.  The power cleans are 'touch and go', meaning any additional time spent on the ground terminates the round.  Three minutes rest is permitted between attempts.

Post loads to comments.

Jim and Eric, beatin' the streets.

Webster’s dictionary defines unbroken as: “not violated…whole, intact…not subdued: untamed."  But what does it really mean to you? 

To me, unbroken means several things. To be able to push through anything that life should put in front of you.  To have determination, grit, tenacity, to be unrelentless in your pursuit of a goal.  We talk about being unbroken and relate it to a set number in a workout.  But is it more than that?  Is it a state of mind that you need to find within your self?  Is it the mental fortitude to keep going forward when all you want to do is stop?  To overcome any fear that you may encounter and tell yourself that, “This will not stop you. This will not be the end. This is only the beginning and nothing will stop me.”  Only self doubt will keep you from being unbroken. Be strong in mind as well as in body.  

Sir Charles Barkley, five days in at CrossFit North Atlanta.

Three rounds for time:

45 Ring Push-ups 
45 Bent over rows, 40#(25#)

Post time comments. 

Andrew finding a creative way to keep that plate over head, while Erin does her share of the box jumps. 

Congratulations Verve, we raised $700 for Beat the streets!