For time:

Row 500m
21 Burpee pull-ups
42 Sit-ups

Row 500m
15 Burpee pull-ups
30 Sit-ups

Row 500m
9 Burpee pull-ups
18 Sit-ups

Post time to comments.

Shenanigans I tell you! 

Ever have chicken that turned out to be tougher than jerky?  Lemon grilled chicken will help keep your chicken plucky and soft.  It is an easy marinade that you use for lunch and dinner throughout the week.  This recipe is soooo tasty!!  It is one of those recipes that you can set up earlier in the day, and cook it later.    

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lbs of chicken breast 24P
• 2Tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2Tbs of olive oil 18F
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1/2tsp pepper
• 1/2tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning

Preparation:

Combined the chicken, lemon juice, garlic and oil in a Zip-lock bag and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.  Heat the grill to medium to high heat.  Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade.  Sprinkle Mrs. Dash and pepper evenly across chicken.  Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done.  Add to a bed of lettuce for a awesome dinner salad!

This will make 8 servings at 3P 0C 1.25F    Why 1.25F?  You are going to discard a majority of the fats in this recipe when you discard the marinade.  So we kept half the fats and divided them in the 8 servings.

21 – 18 – 15 – 12 – 9 – 6 rep rounds for time of:

Walking lunge (each leg counts)

Kettlebell swings, 24kg/16kg

Sit-ups

Post time to comments.

The Whiteboard

The whiteboard is a CrossFit staple.  It's a way of keeping score, a way of recording PR's, it's a way of teaching, but best of all – it's a motivator.  Achieving an Rx next to your name is no easy feat and should not be taken lightly.  These workouts are programmed for very high level athletes in mind, so if you are able to complete a WOD as Rx'd, it's something to be proud of… every time.  

Most often, we scale workouts so that the athlete can complete the workout with the right blend of intensity and proper mechanics.  When we scale a workout, we'll often record how it was scaled – sometimes the weight is scaled, sometimes the reps, sometime even a movement will be substituted.  This is not something to be ashamed of, as this is what we expect 90% of our athletes to do – scale the workout to achieve high power output.

Another point of motivation on the whiteboard is when we write something like "ROM" or "MOD".  Sometimes when an athlete is mid-WOD, they have a hard time understanding cues such as, "Touch your chest to the ground" or "Crease of the hip below the knee".  In this case, athletes receive a ROM, because their range of motion sucks.  Sure the time might have been the fastest recorded for the day, but less work was completed. 

One thing's for sure, it's motivating to see what others are capable of.  The whiteboard is a record keeper and a story teller of what the human body is able to do.  Sometimes things on the whiteboard seem impossible at first glance.  What do you like to see on the whiteboard? 

Three rounds, 15 - 12 - 9 reps for time of:

Back squat, 155#/105#

Run 400m

Post time to comments.

 
Caitlin moving a large load, a long distance, quickly and stylishly.

Finer Points of High Rep Back Squats

Let's address the set-up first.  When squatting, we want you to take a moderate width stance with your heels under your shoulders.  Because the squat is a posterior chain exercise, we strive to engage the glutes and hamstrings by keeping the weight in the heels through the duration of each rep.  In a standing position with the bar on your back, your hands should be in nice and tight so that you can pull your elbows in towards your midsection and engage the upper back muscles. 

Once you're set and ready to start repping out some squats,begin the movement by engaging your midsection and keeping your spine in a neutral position.  You can do this by taking a big deep breath, which you'll push down into your belly – keeping it nice and big (and tight).  Initiate the squat by sending your hips back and down, loading the hammies and glutes.  Keep your chest tall and head neutral as you squat to depth keeping your knees out tracking over your feet.  Once the crease of your hip drops below the height of your knee, continue to drive our knees out as you press through your heels until you reach a standing position.  Now exhale and repeat the process.

Week 16: Shoulder Press 5, 5, 5+ @ 40%, 50%, 60%
Please be sure to use the spreadsheet (linked right here)

Then, for max load:
Weighted  pull-ups  3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 reps

Post loads to comments.

Lots of personal records on the split jerks last week, Jake was no exception! 

A note on soreness…

We've all been there: you head into the gym for another workout that stirs the butterflies in your stomach because you know this one's going to be tough.  You throw your heart and soul into the workout and finish with a time that you're super excited with.  You know the pain is coming, but when? 

It seems that it's the fast moving, multi-joint movements that involve a larger range of motion (think: thrusters) that really cause this "delayed onset muscle soreness".  You'll usually experience mild soreness as early as 8 hours after the workout and having the discomfort peak within 24-48 hours.  Yep, you've damaged your muscle fibers and the pain is the proof.  You've temporarily lost a little a muscle function and strength.

Is this what you should feel like after a CrossFit workout?  To a degree, yes.  Early on while your body is getting used to incorporating constantly varied, fast, multi-joint, full range of motion movements, it is continually adapting (i.e. getting stronger).  The broad, general, and inclusive nature of CrossFit will test this adaptational response more than any fitness program out there – preparing you better for anything, including recovery. 

So what do I do to reduce severe delayed onset muscle soreness?  Be smart!  Take your time and apply intensity gradually.  Soon, your body will be ready for the greater demand having faced these challenges before.  After experiencing this soreness once, you'll take my advice in the future – it's no fun struggling to get out of bed, and it also delays further training .

Do squats leave you as sore as they used to?  How about pull-ups?  Post thoughts on the matter to comments.

(Adapted from Tony Webster's article in Nov. 08 CFJ.)

Five rounds not for time:

12 Romanian deadlifts, 135#/95#

5 Kneeling box jumps

Complete RDL's at a slow pace, shooting for unbroken reps.  Pick a challenging height for the box jumps and complete at a decent pace.    

Post rounds to comments.

Robyn a heart of gold and inspiration to many. 

For time:

343m Farmer's carry, 48kg/36kg

Complete 343 combined reps of:

Front squat, 45#/33#

Push-ups

343m Farmer's carry, 48kg/36kg

Partition the push-ups and front squats as desired and keep a running total.

Post time and thoughts to comments.  Never forget!!!

JaHech just passed the first part of the CPA exam!

Week 15: Back Squat 5, 3, 1+ @ 75% – 85% – 95%

Followed by:

25 – 20 – 15 – 10 – 5, Medicine ball cleans

10 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 10, Toes to bar 

5 – 10 – 15 – 20 – 25, Kettlebell swings 

Post time and loads to comments.

Anyone else notice how strong Jamey's gettin"? Congrats to a lot of personal records today! 

A funny tidbit about eliminating sugar from your daily routine, even Ellen's doing it!

"If there were no holidays or we lived in a cave, this would be so easy". – Ellen

For max load:

Split jerk 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1

Post load to comments.

Mark pulling a heavy load, a long distance, quickly!  

Bound Up By Work

Many of us are required to sit in front of a computer for roughly eight hours a day as we perform the necessary evil that is… work. Whether you're a CPA or a teacher, time spent sitting in a chair is making you weaker and less mobile.  Yet, there is no other option – you must perform the duties that you are paid to do.  Here is a no excuses video on how to mobilize the hip, while spending time sitting.  Enjoy and take care of the body!

Taken form the Mobility WOD, by Kelly Starrett

As many rounds as possible in 15:00 minutes of:

10 Dumbell snatches (5 each arm), 40#/25#

10 Knees to elbows

Compare to: 100328

Post rounds and additional reps to comments.

Look who got married, Josh and his beautiful bride.

Are you motivated to workout today?

A tricky subject for sure.  Motivation is not always something you can tap into.  One method may work one day and fail to get you excited for a workout the next.  So how do elite athletes keep motivated and stay in the game, day after day?

This is for sure a very personal subject.  Some people like specific music, some like to workout at a specific time of day or with specific partners, some like to be wearing a specific pair of shorts.  What ever it is, there are things that help and there are those things that hurt our motivation to stay in the game. 

Six things that are sure to squash anyones motivation:

• Negativity (my all time favorite is when an athlete makes a personal record at the gym and immediately follows it up with how it should have been faster or heavier). 
• I can’t, won’t or am afraid to thoughts. 
• Unrealistic expectations (I will do handstand push-ups in 6 months even though I’m doing regular push-ups on my knees now). 
• Comparing your efforts/times to others (this can be highly motivating in the right context). 
• Not logging progress, lifts etc. ( no way to track successes).  
• Not having goals, long term and very short term (not knowing where you’ve been or where you are going is very uninspiring).

Six things that keep us motivated:

• Visualizing success.
• Making a routine workout schedule that is nonnegotiable.
• Personal records (which means we have to log our progress to know when we’ve accomplished something new).
• Surrounding yourself with healthy individuals with similar athletic goals.
• Being accountable to someone for meeting your goals/schedule, hold yourself responsible.
• Having goals and a realistic plan to reach them.

So what if you still aren’t motivated.  What I’ve learned is that, you won’t always be, but that doesn’t have to have to get in the way of getting into the gym and getting the work done.  Be consistent and the goals will be accomplished.

Three rounds for time:

400m Run

21 Wall ball shots, 20#/14#

12 Supine ring rows

Post time to comments.

Colorado Open Event #3

For time:
5 Tire flips, 500#/350#
100m Sprint
5 Tire flips, 500#/350#

At first glance, this event frightened many of our athletes who were competing.  Why?  Well yes, the weight of the tires are fairly intimidating.  But more so because many of them have never flipped a tire in their life.  Surely, there is technique to flipping a tire, but in reality we complete this movement all the time. 

You see, the movements that we perform in the gym have a few things in common.  We label them as being functional because they mimic universal motor recruitment patterns.  In other words, the movements that we perform in the gym prepare you thoroughly for the movements required by life – which may include flipping a 500# tire. 

So although many of these athletes have never performed a tire flip in their lives, they have deadlifted and power cleaned more reps then they care to count.  These movements prepared them for flipping heavy tires… and they killed it confidently!