Week 13: Bench press 5, 5, 5 reps @ 65%, 75%, 85%
Please be sure to use the spreadsheet.

Then, complete the following for time:

45 Double-unders
45 Push press, 95#/65#
45 Supine ring rows
45 Double-unders

Post time to comments.

 
Joei completing her first WOD w/ unassisted pull-ups!!! 

This weekend is the Colorado Open, hosted by Front Range CrossFit.  Verve has 10 fantastic athletes participating and we'd love to show them support by going to cheer them on.  They are: Andy, Blake, McKenna, Anna, Cat, Cherie, Courtney, Dom, Emmalee, and Robyn.  Spectating is free, so come one, come all.

Location
The event is held at Front Range CrossFit
Parker Road Business Center
1338 South Valentia Street, Unit 182
Denver, Colorado 80247

Athlete Check In
Athletes will be able to check in at FRCF Friday night today from 5pm-8pm or Saturday morning from 7am-9am. If you can make it Friday night, please do. Saturday morning will be rushed and crowded.

Schedule
Heat times will be posted today on the FRCF site.

Saturday's events will be announced Friday at noon on the FRCF site. 8am Opening address, 9am 1st heat starts.

Sunday's events will be announced Saturday at 5:30 pm in the gym. Heat times for Sunday will be posted on the FRCF site by the end of the day Saturday. The 1st heat starts on Sunday at 9am. Award ceremony will be at 5:30 pm.

"Test 3"

Tabata squat

Then, max reps of muscle-ups in 4:00 minutes

The tabata interval is :20 seconds of work followed by :10 seconds of rest for eight intervals. Your tabata score is the lowest number of reps completed in the eight intervals. Begin time for the muscle-ups immediately after the :10 second rest after the eighth interval. Total score equals tabata score multiplied by the number muscle-ups completed.

Post total score to comments.

How Fit Are You? – Greg Glassman

Five rounds of 1:00 minute of work, 1:00 minute of rest:

You must complete 30 kettlebell swings (24kg/16kg) each round

Tally reps under 30 for each round together and row that sum in calories in 1:00.  If you do not complete the number of calories assigned, you must run one mile for time.

Post total missed reps and penalty assignment to comments.

Favorite pic of all time – it took a huge effort from all these people to make an event special.

There's an analogy used by CrossFit to describe the balance between form and intensity.  It involves three sharpshooters and three targets.  The first sharpshooter shoots his weapon incredibly fast, enough to wow even the best sharpshooters.  Unfortunately, his speed is his own worst enemy, as he rarely hits the target.  The second sharpshooter is remarkably accurate.  Out of 10 shots, all were bull's-eye except for one.  But, although his technique and accuracy are unbelievable, he shoots far too slow. The third shooter shoots well and at a good pace.  He hits a few bull-eye's, has the majority of the shots hit near the center of the target, but a few are off target.  He shoots quickly and accurately.

Which sharpshooter are you?  We hope that you are most similar to the third sharpshooter.  We'd like to see every athlete practice form for a given movement until that movement becomes second nature.  At that point push the intensity until form is sacrificed and stay just below this threshold.  We want you to push your intensity to a point where you are able to hold 9 out of 10 reps with solid form.  If you push to hard, range of motion and mechanics are sacrificed too often and the workout becomes less effective.  Hold back too much and your form may be perfect, but the workout lacks all intensity. 

Find the balance between form and intensity. 

Complete 10 rounds for time of:
5 Handstand Push-ups
5 “L” Pull-ups

Parallettes should be used when possible on the handstand push-ups. On “L” pull-ups heels don’t fall below butt and legs remain straight.

Post time to comments.

Rob, completing his first WOD "AS RX'd",  way to go Rob!  

Metro Dash anyone?  We've been hearing a lot about this and with everyone having such a blast at the warrior dash (I mean seriously did you see those pictures?), let's do it!  This is not a race, it is a challenge.  There are already six Verve athletes signed up, post to comments when you register.

Info on Metro Dash
Are you ready to confront your limits?  This isn't a timed challenge, and there are no winners and no loser.  The only reward will be finishing as a team and knowing we pushed ourselves as hard as we could.

Athletes: 200 (Metro Dash will sell out, so sign up early to ensure your spot!)
Entry fees: Regular – $60, SEAL Supporter – $50 
Registration closes: 9/17/10
Event date: 9/25/10 
Team name: Verve

The challenge:  Prior to the Metro Dash Challenge competitors will receive a list of 5-7 challenge points. While competitors are required to go to these points in the order listed, it is up to them to determine the fastest route between points. Competitors will navigate from point to point completing various physical challenges.

Their philosophy: We create hardcore, bare bones events that push competitors beyond their limits both mentally and physically. You won’t find a 50-tent expo at the finish line, nor will you find a huge after party. Metro Dash is about you and your ability to conquer an extremely grueling course. Metro Dash is not a race; it is a challenge. There are no places, no times, and no awards. It’s just you and your ability to push yourself as hard and as fast as possible. You only have yourself to cheat. If you are concerned with times and places, this challenge isn’t for you.

Who is a Dasher:  A Metro Dasher is a person who laughs in the face of adversity, who is ready and willing when most others would run away, and who knows that the only way to success lies in hard work, sweat, and pain. A Dasher isn’t concerned with place, time, or status. A Dasher would rather help a competitor complete a challenge than finish first. A Dasher will do the right thing even when nobody is watching, won’t complain, and above all else will never quit.

Start location: TBD 
Competitor check-in: 8:00 am
Mandatory pre-challenge announcements: 8:45 am
Start time: 9:00 am

Website to register: Here

Week 13: Deadlift 5, 5, 5 reps @ 65%, 75%, 85%
Please be sure to use the spreadsheet.

"Death By Thrusters"

With a continuously running clock, complete one 115#/75# thruster the first minute, two thrusters the second minute, three thrusters the third minute… continuing as long as you are able to.

Use as many sets as needed to complete the work.

Post minutes completed to comments.

The Verve gang gettin' pumped for the Warrior Dash. 

First things first, this is the last cycle of the 5/3/1 program before we re-test 1 rep maxes. The loads are going to be very close to your previous 1RM, so expect the reps to come with some difficulty.  Enjoy the hard work, because we're going to see it pay off next month.  I'll announce the CrossFit Total one week before it is to be completed so that everyone can plan accordingly.

After the Warrior Dash… still pumped.

As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes of:

3 Deadlifts, 75% 1RM

6 Jumping lunges

9 Weighted sit-ups

Rest 1 minute and repeat the interval four times.  

Compare to: 100221

Post rounds and additional reps to comments.

Marsha at "pockets" leading with the elbow, while demonstrating good reach and roll. 

Check Verve athlete and all around badass Cheresa Canning on CrossFit.com

For max load:

Snatch 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 reps

Post max load to comments.

Guess who's gettin' hitched… 

Frankly, I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often.  I mean come on… good looking people that take care of themselves by eating right and exercising all gathered together in a small room shedding blood, sweat, and tears.  The next thing you know you're laying on the floor, endorphins are rushing throughout your body and you're covered in sweat.  High fives and chest bumps all around, followed by 15 minutes of chatter about how awesome the workout was.  Clearly, Jason and Melz took it too far 🙂  Congrats to the two of you – we're so happy that you found each other.  

Week 12: Floor press 5, 5, 5 reps @ 40%, 50%, 60%
Please fill out and bring your worksheet

Then, 8 – 7 – 6… – 2 – 1 reps for time of:
Handstand push-ups
Power cleans, 135#/95#

Post time to comments. 

Joe Cruz, outback in Aussie. 

Cha – Cha – Cha Changes…

We've had a few questions lately and a few changes.   First, everyone want to know "What is going to happen to the class size, when we move?".  Our plan is simple, take the class size to 12 per session, that's 3 more then there is now.  Try it out and see what happens (there are many things to try from there, more trainers, more class times..etc…). Our goal remains and will remain to deliver the best possible CrossFit training we can at a price the average person can afford, but in order to deliver that we must grow.  We love training and we love knowing everything we can about how you, our athletes move and stay healthy.  This will not change.

Schedule Changes  

If you haven't already noticed, 7:30pm has been removed from the schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We have a new Foundations group (to replace our friends we lost over the summer) starting Aug 23rd and they will be meeting at that time.  If you are one of the few, who love 7:30pm (or that's the only time you can come), we still have that option available on Wednesday's and Friday's, so PLEASE utilize those.

No more 11:30 and 12:30 on M/T/TH.  This is a trial.  We created the 11:30 and 12:30 options on those days because our noon was OVERFULL.  Well that is just no longer the case.  Many times we end up having one-on-ones during these times, or the trainer sits with no eager athletes to train.  So we are going back to the noon classes 5 days a week. If all of a sudden we see that there is a wait-list or the noon is overfull again.  We are HAPPY to put those times back on the schedule.

Now 2 class times on Sunday and 3 on Saturday.  Our weekends, also used to be overfull, so we added times.  Again, this is no longer the case.  If we find that colder weather, brings you back into the gym more often, we will be happy to add them back to the schedule.

For those of you who have expressed concern, we love our little gym and how are we supposed to stay "elite" if we get bigger?  Well the reality is that in order to be a business that thrives, offers new programs, supports it's employees and generally rules the universe, we need to grow. PLEASE if you have any concerns do not hesitate to comment, e-mail or call Cherie or Matt directly.  We are very excited about what the future holds, THANK YOU for being a part of it. 

Three rounds for time:

Row 500m

21 Kettlebell swings, 32kg/20kg

Run 400m

Post time to comments.

 
Geoff, Slaughter, Steve, and Dawn during "Jackie" 

Bone Remodeling

Did you know that your skeleton is brand new every ten years?  It's true, bone is living tissue and is continually going through a remodeling process.  Just like when our home becomes old and we remodel the kitchen, when our bones become old the body replaces it with new bone.  This process is called remodeling.  In this process there are two big players; osteoblasts and osteoclasts.  Osteoclasts remove bone or are more commonly thought of as the vehicle that steals calcium from the bones, to use where it is needed in the body.  Osteoblasts deposit new bone or take absorbed calcium and deposit it to form new bone.  A bone remains dense when osteoclasts are removing bone from the inside and osteoblasts are depositing bone on the outside at a balanced rate.

One big factor in keeping this system in balance is stress.  Remodeling and the formation of additional bone can modify the strength of bone in direct response to the amount of stress that is applied to it.  Stress to the bone increases osteoblast activity in the bone tissue.  A removal of stress decreases osteoblast activity. Stress is defined as load bearing.  Does it feel heavy, if yes then you might be able to call it stress.  This is why swimming is not in the top running for sports for your grandma should pick up.

Calcium and Bone Health

In the US calcium intakes are one of the highest in the world.  However, the US also has one of the highest rates of bone de-mineralization (osteoporosis or muted osteoblast activity, increased osteoclast activity).  Bone mineral content is dependent on not just on calcium intake (where we focus our attention), but on a net calcium balance (intake – excretion). 

Excretion is initiated by MANY factors, however they are mostly diet and exercise related.  Calcium needs to maintain a base level in the blood.  If you go below the base level you die.  No joke!  This is probably why the human body was designed with one big calcium storage (the skeleton) to keep these levels in balance.  You see calcium is not only used to make bone, but it initiates muscle contraction (this includes the heart), blood clotting and the release of neurotransmitters.  It's pretty darn important, imagine ANY of those functions being blocked.  No calcium in the blood, muscles stop contracting, heart stops, you die, nuf said.

Dietary calcium excretion from bone is dependent on acid/base balance. All foods upon digestion ultimately must report to the kidney as either acid or base. When the diet yields a net acid load, the acid must be buffered by the alkaline stores of base in the body. Calcium salts in the bones represent the largest store of alkaline base in the body and are depleted and eliminated in the urine when the diet produces a net acid load. The highest acid-producing foods are hard cheeses, cereal grains, salted foods, soda (diet included), meats, and legumes, where as the only alkaline, base-producing foods are fruits and vegetables. Because the average American diet is overloaded with grains, cheeses, salted processed foods, soda and fatty meats at the expense of fruits and vegetables, it produces a net acid load and promotes bone de-mineralization. By replacing hard cheeses, cereal grains, and processed foods with plenty of green vegetables and fruits, the body comes back into acid/base balance which brings us also back into calcium balance. Diets containing high acidity contribute to the development of osteoporosis and renal stones, loss of muscle mass, and age-related renal insufficiency due to the body's use of calcium to buffer pH.

What promots calcium intake and bone density? Eat your veggies and lift weights.

Reference: Anatomy & Physiology eighth edition, Seeley, Stephens, and Tate, 2008.

Six rounds for time:

10 Push jerks, 115#/75#
20 Sit-ups

Sit-ups will be completed with feet anchored and no AbMat.  Range of motion requirement is that hands touch the ground over shoulders and hands touch anchors in the up position.

Post time to comments.

Cherie doing some accessory work post-WOD.  Are you working your weaknesses? 

Here fishy fishy!  – By: Joylyn Godinez

Okay, so let's talk about fish.  It's full of omega-3's right?  What are they again?  Well, omega-3 fatty acids, or polyunsaturated fatty acids, are crucial to human health but can't be produced by our bodies.  The "good fats" that make up omega-3 work for your body, fighting against disease.  They act to reduce triglycerides (fats that can cause heart disease) in the bloodstream and re-balance the ratio of "bad cholesterol" (LDL, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes) with high-density cholesterol (HDL).  Omega-3 also reduces inflammation and promotes brain function along with normal growth and development.  BAM– it's a super food people!

Though they are crucial to human health, they can't be produced by our bodies; therefore, we must obtain omega-3 through food.  There are two kinds of omega-3 most readily usable by our bodies–eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA.)  Fish is known to be an excellent source of omega-3.  But, wait!  Are there some kinds of fish that are healthier and contain higher EPA/DHA content than others?  Whaaaaaa?

Cold water fish with darker flesh such as salmon, mackerel, herring and anchovies are the most valuable sources of omega-3's.  More specifically–salmon tops the list, with herring and tuna right behind it.  Some types of trout are also very high in omega-3. However, tilapia and catfish have very low amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. What's more, catfish are loaded with toxins, since these fish subsist on waste.

When it comes to omega-3's, there is a marked difference between farm-raised and wild-caught fish.  A study conducted by the USDA (1988-1990) compared the nutrient profiles of the leading species of wild and cultivated fish and shellfish. Three species of fish that contain beneficial omega 3 fats were included: catfish, rainbow trout, and coho salmon.  An overview provided several interesting notes:

• Farm-raised fish are fattier, especially containing more pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats.
• Farm-raised fish provide less usable omega-3 fats than their wild counterparts.
• Farm-raised fish accumulate more cancer-causing PCB's and toxic dioxins than wild-caught fish.
• In 1997, the EU's Scientific Committee on Food recognized a link between retinal problems and canthaxanthin intake–which is fed to farmed salmon to give them their pink hue, versus wild-caught salmon, which absorb natural carotenoids from eating pink krill.

So next time you're trying to choose what to make for dinner, consider baking, broiling, grilling, pickling, or catching some fish!