Seven rounds for time:

5 Handstand push-ups

10 Deadlifts, 185#/125#

10 Chest-to-bar pull-ups

20 Double unders

Post time to comments.

Who has better mechanics and why?

Let's hit the showers!

That's right, the first of two showers is ready for business!  Verve athlete David Schultz completed the whole project… and quickly – thanks David!  If the shower sees a lot of traffic or has a consistent waiting line, we'll add the second one.  But first, we're going to lay a couple of ground rules to keep it so fresh and so clean (clean).  

Anything that you bring in the shower, please bring home with you.  This includes shampoo, conditioner, soap, towel,… you name it.  We'd like to keep the shower clean for everyone that chooses to use it.  If the shower needs attention, please inform the trainer before you leave.  Enjoi!

Five rounds rounds for max reps:

Bench press, 155#/105#

Pull-ups

Back squat, 155#/105#

No rest is given between each movement until the round is completed.  Rest 3-5 minutes between rounds.

Post total reps from each round and total to comments.

Jake building a strong posterior chain… are you doing extra work?

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

30 second handstand hold
30 second squat hold
30 second L-sit hold
30 second chin-over-bar hold

Post rounds completed to comments.

Zink staying warm by completing "Nancy"

Hang power snatch 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 reps

This snatch starts at the height of the kneecap.

Post loads to comments.

Brooke Jackson, day 3 out of Foundations!

Why do we Olympic lift?

While researching this topic, I was amazed to uncover ALL the benefits of Olympic Weightlifting.  First, let us define Olympic Weightlifting.  Olympic weightlifting is comprised of two lifts; the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk.  In the snatch, a barbell is lifted from the ground to overhead in one smooth movement.  In the Clean & Jerk, a barbell is lifted from the floor to the shoulder and then overhead in a locked out position. These lifts test for explosive and functional strength, while taking the whole body through it maximum range of motion.  During these lifts the body is working as a whole, the body is not separated into parts and pieces.  The Olympic lifts are inherently technical, dynamic and fast.

In CrossFit we teach that in order for ones fitness to be all inclusive, we must train ten general skills.  As we continue to increase ones abilities in all ten skills we build elite athletes with complete physical competence.  Those skills are; cardiovascular respiratory/ endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.

Our task is now to find the BEST ways to train these skills. Olympic weightlifting addresses and trains ALL ten of these skills.  While their primary targets are strength, flexibility, power, speed, balance and coordination, they train all ten.   Now I ask you, what other “exercise” can lay this claim?  For example, you can argue that track and field focuses more on Cardiovascular respiratory/ endurance, but while focusing there it eliminates and mutes eight of the ten skills.  This makes the Olympic lifts unique in there ability to create neurological and muscular adaptation.  “They train athletes to effectively activate more muscle fibers more rapidly than through any other modality of training.  The explosiveness that results from this training is of vital necessity to every sport.” (CrossFit Foundations, 2006)

In addition to Olympic lifts addressing all ten general skills, they are the essence of a functional core to extremity movement.  A core to extremity movement starts with a stable core/spine and creates a wave of muscle contraction to the weaker extremities.  These are the “natural” muscle recruitments patterns of our bodies.  By using our bodies as a whole, each piece gets stronger. 

Resources on Olympic Weightlifting 
www.cathletics.com
http://www.mikesgym.org/
http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/

"Blake"

Four rounds for time of:
100 ft Walking lunge with 45# (25#) plate held overhead
30 Box jump, 24" (20")
20 Wallball shots, 20# (14#)
10 Handstand push-ups

Post time to comments.

Verve's super cool new Logbook, thanks Jake.

Measurable, Observable, Repeatable… and Trackable.

CrossFit is all about improving health and performance.  We use data from workouts like “Fran” and the “CrossFit Total” in combination with health markers, such as blood pressure, body fat percentage, and resting heart rate to indicate our current level of fitness.  Our aim is a fitness that is broad, general, and inclusive in nature – affording you the ability to be capable of anything.  We aim to sustain this level of fitness for years, therefore increasing your longevity and quality of life.

But how can you accurately track your level of fitness if you do not record the data regularly?  Sure, many of you track benchmark workouts as we complete them every so often.  But what about the workout of the day that has no name?  If you record your level of energy, food intake, fish oil consumption, water consumption… shouldn’t you be able to accurately predict and note trends in your fitness?  This is why we’ve always asked you to “Post time to comments.”  Have you?  Why not?

Well, I’m guessing that many of you simply check the site once to see what the workout is going to be the next day and don’t check it again until the following day.  Others may “lurk” to watch comments throughout the day, but resist posting times because of feelings of inadequacy.  Some of you probably just don’t care what your time is unless it’s a benchmark WOD.  What’s your excuse?

You have a new option that we’ve spent months refining and we’re happy to finally reveal.  We’ve been working with Jake Theno of Theno Designs to offer our athletes a logbook that is broad, general, and inclusive.  You can track everything from your water intake to your scaling options for the WOD.  It’s small enough to fit nicely in your gym bag or in your purse.  It has nutritional information, such as a Zone block chart or a list of Paleo foods.  It also has a max effort percentage chart so that you can quickly and easily figure out your lifting numbers for the day.

We are asking athletes to pre-order logbooks, so that we can order an accurate number. We will order a small batch that we’ll have on-hand at the shop, but quantities will be limited and will be first come, first served.  I hope this inspires you to take action and track every WOD you complete, as it takes only a matter of seconds to record this info and it will be an excellent reminder of what you’ve done to increase your level of fitness over the years.

Pre-orders are $14, this offer ends Feb. 22nd after that the cost changes to $16.  With a regular 3-on-1 off schedule the new logbook will last 6 months.  Any profits go to the Verve equipment fund.  Order online here, under the store tab.

"Nancy"

Five rounds for time:

400m Run

15 Overhead squats, 95#/65#

Post time to comments.

James and Stef doing a spicy triplet.

You've asked for it, well here it is: recipe modifying 101

Because we practice Paleo "real food" and Zone eating in our house hold, some paleo recipes must be altered in order to have a balanced block count.  There are many wonderful Paleo recipes, however many are not near the zone blocks needed.  Below is an example of how I achieve this balance from a paleo recipe.  We'll use a recipe listed on our Fuel Page a while back; "Hurry Curry Chicken Salad".

I change recipes all the time, depending on what blocks I need.  The trick is knowing what blocks you need before you begin.  For instance, I will post here an original paleo mayo recipe and then how I changed it to fit my needs.

Original Paleo Mayonnaise:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil /coconut oil or walnut oil
• 1 raw omega-3 egg
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• dash cayenne
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Crack the whole egg into a blender.  Add spices and lemon juice.  Slowly, slowly, slowly add the oil, blending continuously.  Add more oil on the minute every minute (sounds like a WOD, who wrote this), making sure that the oil is all used up by the 5th minute.  This will ensure the mayonnaise is creamy.

Blocks: 1 TBS = 9 fat blocks

Looking at that, I would never be able to make that worth fitting into a zone meal.  So what to do?  Change it!  Here is how I would change this recipe to fit my needs.

Considerations:

What are you using your mayo for?
How much will you need?
Is there fat in any other part of the dish?
Will I want to use this mayo again on another dish this week?

Lets assume I want to make the lovely chicken salad on the fuel page.  In that recipe I need 7.33 blocks of fat from the mayo.  The recipe makes 4, 3 block meals.  I'm going to double that up, cuz I like to have extras in the fridge.  So I'll need 14.66 blocks of fat from the mayo.  There is fat in another part of the dish in the form of almonds, if I choose to I can eliminate or add almonds to adjust the fat needs of the mayo.  I love almonds though, so we'll leave it as is.  I don't want to have to measure out the mayo twice, so I will not make more then the 14.66 blocks.

After you have figured all that out, it's time to start gathering the ingredients.  I don't like the taste of coconut oil in mayo so I'll stick to just olive oil.  I also learned that I prefer yellow mustard (the kind you put on hot dogs) to mustard powder.  Finally, I know that 1tsp of lemon juice just isn't going to be enough so I grab a whole lemon (fresh lemon is key folks).

My new ingredients:

• 1 raw egg (1P)
• 5 tsp olive oil (15 F)
• 3 TBS yellow mustard  
• 1/2 lemon (0.5C)
• dash of cayenne

Prepare in exactly the same way. Total zone blocks is 1P, 15F and 0.5C.  So now what?  All I needed was 14.66 F?  I would delete from the recipe 1 oz chicken (1P), 3-5 slivers of almonds (0.33 F) and 0.5C worth of the raisins.  Voila', a perfectly transformed recipe.  Want to come come over for lunch?

This is a very tasty recipe that we adapted from every day paleo.  It brings together the sweetness of mango and the spiciness of bell peppers.  These were a big hit at the New Years WOD!

Ingredients:
24oz of shrimp  16P
4 bell peppers, mix and match colors  1pepper roughly= 1C
4cups of chopped celery  2C
1 mango  4C
1/4cup of Olive oil  36F
1/4cup lemon juice
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of Mrs. Dash and pepper
Paprika and parsely
 

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 500F and cut the peppers into quarters.  Place peppers on a cookie sheet and cook each side for 5 minutes. Remove peppers and let cool.  Chop up shrimp, celery, mango and mix in a bowl with oil, Mrs. Dash, and juice.  When the peppers have cooled pile on the tasty shrimp mix on the peppers.  Top with cayenne, paprika and parsely. 
This recipe will make 1P .6C 2.25F per boat 

Two rounds for time:

100 Squats

20 Push jerks, 135#/95#

Post time to comments.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Boats 

This is a very tasty recipe that we adapted from every day paleo.  It brings together the sweetness of mango and the spiciness of bell peppers.  These were a big hit at the New Years WOD!

Ingredients: 
24oz of shrimp  16P
4 bell peppers, mix and match colors  1pepper roughly= 1C
4cups of chopped celery  2C
1 mango  4C
1/4cup of Olive oil  36F
1/4cup lemon juice
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of Mrs. Dash and pepper
Paprika and parsely
 

Preparation: 
Pre-heat the oven to 500F and cut the peppers into quarters.  Place peppers on a cookie sheet and cook each side for 5 minutes. Remove peppers and let cool.  Chop up shrimp, celery, mango and mix in a bowl with oil, Mrs. Dash, and juice.  When the peppers have cooled pile on the tasty shrimp mix on the peppers.  Top with cayenne, paprika and parsely. 
This recipe will make 1P .6C 2.25F per boat 

Max rounds and reps in eight minutes of:

4 Handstand push-ups 
8 Kettlebell swings, 32kg/16kg 
12 Abmat sit-ups, anchored

Post rounds and reps to comments.

Yea, LuLu girls from Cherry Creek, we loved having you in the new gym!

Have fun at MBS today…  Note that there are three classes today on MindBody, we're testing out a third class.  Let us know how you like it.

Overhead squat 1-1-1-1-1
Front squat 1-1-1-1-1
Back squat 1-1-1-1-1

Try to increase the load on each of the fifteen sets.
Post time to comments.

Nicole using her fitness in Mexico with some smoking guns! 

You've asked and they are finally here and on SALE.  Show your Verve pride with a vinyl decal.  They are on the Verve retail site and we have four options.  White or black/large or small.  The large is 5" and are $5.00 and small's are 3" and are $3.00.  Buy them on the site and we will have them at the gym on Monday.

How is everyone doing with their nutrition challenge?  If you haven't gotten your log checked get it checked ASAP.  Anyone going to MBS this Saturday?  We would be there, however we have a date with the Mobility certification, so be ready for more mobile joints come Monday morning.

Have a great weekend and go PLAY!