Fifteen rounds on the 1:30:

Swim 50yds

These are all out efforts and each swim should fall within :15 seconds of your fastest time.

Post fastest and slowest effort to comments.

Rad or bad?  Post thoughts to comments. 

Donna Pryor is warmly opening her home to CrossFit Verve athletes today at 4pm. Bring your favorite paleo dish, with or without Zone block counts.  Use this as an opportunity to show off your cooking skills or as an opportunity to learn from others.  

Need help?  Try preparing one of the Fuel page recipes.  There's a million different paleo recipe sites out there now, so there's no excuse why you can't bring a dish.  Here's a couple of my favorites:

Everyday Paleo

Paleo Steve's blog

So there you have it – summer fun, good eats, great company, and a hot tub.  Stop in and say hi to fellow Verve athletes – maybe you'll meet someone new!

Run 800m for time
Then, tabata sit-up

Run 400m for time
Then, tabata front squats, 65#/45#

Run 200m for time
Then, tabata burpee

All athletes will start the tabata intervals at the same time.  So, those that finish the run faster are able to rest longer.  Tabata score will be a total for all reps.

Post total running time and total tabata score to comments.

McKenna – full extension.

Two events going down on Sunday – don't miss out:

1. Swimming WOD!  Only 2 left, so make sure to take advantage of the great weather.

2. BBQ and hot tubbin' at the Pryor's house @ 4PM.  Paleo delicacies welcome!

Week 10: Bench Press 3, 3, 3+ @70%, 80%, 90%

Fill out spreadsheet, here.

Followed by as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of;

12 Box jumps, 24" (20")

9 Push Press, 105# (70#)

6 Pull-ups

Post loads and time to comments.

Jimmy enjoying a little warm up of pulling! 

Why is this stuff so difficult?  Here's one reason to ponder.

Neuromuscular Facilitation, also called muscle memory, is one of the most important factors in the adaptation of strength as an athlete, but more importantly as a novice.  When we try new movements or activities, our brain sends a electrical impulse to activate the muscles needed.  When this movement or pathway is unfamiliar, it is like driving with grandma in a big city and she has no idea where she is going (think pre-smart phones, people).  You end up taking seventeen different streets to go five blocks.  As grandma lives in the city, she learns the quickest pathway from point A to point B.  The body reacts in a similar way.  As your mind works to find the best pathway to move your body it starts finding short cuts and movements become more efficient.  With the strength movements at CrossFit, novice people can see strength gains from 20-40 percent in little time with small gain in muscle mass.  The gains are attributed to the neuromuscular connection.  Now that grandma spent some time in the city (going through  repetition after repetition) and finding the most efficient path, she can start pouring on the gas!  Make sure you're teaching the body the short cuts, you don't want to be driving around an extra 5 minutes for the rest of your life. 

We use a lot of fine motor control in our daily lives like typing, brushing our hair, and using a pen.  It took a lot of training to make these movements efficient if you don't believe me go brush your teeth with the opposite hand tonight and see how easy it is.

What movements in CrossFit (or life), have you felt this process in action?

Five rounds NOT for time:

5 Pull to an inverted hang and lower slow and controlled to a front lever

10 Overhead squats, 115#/75#

On the pulls to inverted hang, keep arms, trunk, hips, and legs as straight as possible, both up and down.  Move slowly and control your body.  Lots of scaling options will be available.

Post thoughts to comments.

Zink gets his first back lever…

Gymnastics is a broad term used to describe the sport of controlling body movements with or without additional apparatus.  This requires strength, coordination, balance, flexibility, accuracy and agility – which is why we find these movements so darn appealing.  The more complex the movement, the more weaknesses are exposed.  

Today's workout involves a movement that is going to require a considerable amount of focus.  Another aspect that can't be understated is that these movements take time to develop.  Nobody is going to be able to walk into today's WOD and complete all 25 reps perfectly.  Rather, we'd like to introduce you to a new movement so that you may improve it over time.  

I recently heard a story about a man who completed 100 free-standing parallette handstand push-ups.  The man was 57 years old to boot!  Here's the important part of the story… this guy began this journey 30 years ago when he was 27.  That's patience, that's dedication, and that's what I call skill development.  

During today's workout, think about how great this movement will be next year, or the year after that.  I bet you notice a difference between the quality of the first rep from the last rep.  Relate this movement to your squat and you'll know exactly what I mean… haven't you improved your squat (a gymnastics movement)?

Congrats to all the July PR's.  If you get a personal record in August, write it on the board, we'd like to celebrate with you. 

"Grace"

30 Clean & jerks, 135#/95# for time

Post time to comments.

"Chopper", is not to be underestimated! 

When someone asks you "What is CrossFit"?  What do you say?

SAVE THE DATES:

Pool WOD August 8th, followed by a potluck BBQ at 4pm at Donna's, she will provide chicken for grillin'. Address on board at the gym.

Nutrition Lecture at Verve August 14th at 11am.

Registration opens at Midnight for the CrossFit/USAW Open, on October 1-3. 

Don't wait to register for this one, it WILL sell out quick.  Register here for the inaugural-crossfit/usaw-open

-Posted from crossfit.com
Register for the inaugural CrossFit/USAW Open on October 1-3, 2010! This is the first event of its kind: a sanctioned USAW meet combined with a third CrossFit event.Competitors are ranked based on their total kgs in the snatch and clean and jerk plus total reps in the CrossFit Triplet.

Standard international rules apply to the snatch and clean and jerk, which will be judged by USAW officials. The Triplet will be:

As many rounds and reps as possible in ten minutes of:
6 Squat cleans (55/30kg)
12 Pull-ups
24 Double-unders

Compete against some of CrossFit's best (or just come watch them compete)! Chris Spealler, Rob Orlando, Kristan Clever, Miranda Oldroyd, Lindsey Smith, Russell Berger, Matt Chan, and James Hobart are all scheduled to compete. Josh Everett and Dave Lipson will compete not just in the Open, but will do a demo Isabel race, since they both have reported sub-1min Isabels.

There will also be tours of the US Olympic Training Center, chances to watch the US Weightlifting team train, and a reception with Olympians and Olympic coaches.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 5:00 minutes of:

5 Supine ring rows

7 Chest slapping push-ups

9 Jumping squats, 45#

Rest 2:00 and repeat for a total of three rounds.

After each rest, continue exactly where you left off.

Post rounds and additional reps to comments.

Post WOD stretchy stretch…. A necessary evil.

Hyperinsulinemia

Whoa there… how many syllables does hyperinsulinemia have?  Seriously, that's a mouthful – but what exactly does that big word mean?

Well let's start from the top: hyper.  The hyper prefix indicates an excess amount.  Too much insulin in this case.  Insulin is the hormone release by the pancreas in response to ingestion of carbohydrates.  It allows glucose into the cell to be used as fuel by the body.  Polishing our long fancy word off is the suffix emia.  Whenemia is used as a suffix, it means blood, or refers to the presence of a substance in the blood.  In this case it refers to too much insulin in the blood.  Shit.

Well what's so wrong with a little extra insulin in the blood stream? Over time, whether it be through your genes or through poor dietary choices, your cells become resistant to insulin.  This causes your poor old pancreas to release larger quantities of insulin in order to get that sweet glucose into the cells.  Research is being published daily linking hyperinsulinemia to vast number of diseases, many of which you may know someone to have.  For instance:obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride count, immune disorders, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, hyper inflammatory states, and Alzheimer's disease too name a few.

What's truly remarkable about this fancy word and all the diseases associated with it is that it can be reversed.  How?  By eating a diet rich in lean proteins, heart healthy fats, and low glycemic impact carbohydrates you can effectively restore an insulin sensitivity.  Not only should the carbs be low glycemic load, but they should be limited to amounts that ensure a healthy insulin response.   

Curious as to what certain foods glycemic loads are?  Check out the Nutrition Data website.  Want more information?  Come to the Nutrition Workshop that will be held on August 8th at 11am after the pool WOD.  It will be exactly and hour long and will cover Paleo and Zone concepts that will benefit health and performance.  We recommend that everyone interested attend.  You'll learn a ton!

Week 10: Deadlift 3, 3, 3+ @ 70%, 80%, 90%
Please be sure to use the spreadsheet. 

As we progress through this program the loads are increasing.  For instance the math today is not the literal 70%, 80%, 90%.  If I am an athlete with a 100# PR on my DL my actual load today is: 80#, 90#, 100#.  So please make sure to type in your numbers on the start page and check out the August tab, week 10.

Followed by: Three rounds for time of:
50 Double-unders
25 Wallball "2-fer-1s"

Mainsite video today: Old school Zac Pine 7:23 on today's WOD – video [wmv] [mov]

Post time and loads to comments, also go to the mainsite and comment on how cool your coach Zac still is, even as an old man.

This is what you do when you have a fridge full of  farm share veggies. 

Everything but the kitchen sink, grilled chicken salad 
I know we've been featuring a lot of chicken salad, however this one is AMAZING BALLS!

Ingredients:

• Grilled chicken (6 breasts or 29 blocks of Protein)
• Seasoning for chicken, salt-free Mrs. Dash grilling blend (so yummy)
• 3 eggs (3P)
• Yellow mustard
• 1 lime (1C)
• Curry powder
• 4 cups celery chopped (2C)
• 4 cups peppers chopped (2C)
• 1 cup green onions chopped (1C)
• 3 cups mexican zucchini chopped (1.5C)
• 2 cup shredded cabbage, purple is the prettiest (0.5C)
• Apricots, we used the ones we got from our farm share, so good (3 apricots = 1C)
• Almonds shredded (1TBSP = 3F) 

Preparation:

This is a good one to do when you are prepping all your veggies for the week. Once you start chopping don't stop until all veggies in your fridge are chopped or shredded and in tupperwares or in this salad.  Fire up the grill, cover the chicken in yummy seasoning and plop it on until done.  Chop until your heart is content, veggies and chicken.  Put all veggies and chicken in one enormous bowl.  Get a separate small mixing bowl and add: eggs, lime (squeezed), curry powder (to taste, I used 6 TBSP), and the yellow mustard (again to taste, I used 1/2 cup).  Get a whisk and whisk away the dressing until it's smooth.  Pour the dressing in the enormous bowl with the chicken and veggies, I like to pour a little and flip the ingredients around, pour/flip, pour/flip.  This will allow the dressing to mix with the whole salad.

To Serve:

Determine how many blocks you need.  Recipe is equal to 2 cups = 3P and 1C, so to make a three block meal you need; 2 cups of finished product, 3 apricots, 2TBSP shredded almonds on top.  (This recipe = 3P/2C/6F) this is carb swapping, if you don't want to carb swap use only 1 TBSP almonds and add a carb block. Total recipe makes 32 blocks of P or about 10, 3 block meals.  Put left overs in fridge and use all week long for snacks and lunches in a pinch.  All zone, all paleo, all the time, UMMM so good!

With a continuously running clock, squat for 60 seconds. Subtract the number of squats completed from 60, and do that many pull-ups in minute two. In minute three, squat again, subtracting the number completed from 60. Do that number of push-ups in minute four. Minute five is squatting again, and minute six pull-ups.

The pattern is squats, pull-ups, squats, push-ups, squats, pull-ups, etc. The goal is to stay within the workout's formula for as long as possible.

Don't do more than 60 squats in any round. Stay moving for at least 12 minutes.

Post time to comments. 

Pool WOD's are so fun, next one August 8th…. Make sure to sign up online with MindBody. 

Clean & jerk 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 reps

Then, complete 25 burpee clean & jerks @ 50% for time

Post load and time to comments.

Coach Anna loving the sun during the swim WOD's

Check out this video of Matt – "Putting on a show" for Verve.

Week 9: Shoulder press 5, 5, 5+ @ 65%, 75%, 85%
Please fill in & print out your worksheet.

"Amanda"

Three rounds, 9 – 7 – 5 reps for time of:

Muscle-ups

Squat snatch 135# (95#)

Muscle -ups must be preformed with a thumb facing forward at start and rings set to a height one fist above your fingertip.  Snatch must be one smooth movement, no power snatch to overhead squat. 

Post time to comments.

Ethan and Joei having fun with inverted walking, Andy decided it would be more fun to "be a bear".  

"I'll take care of me for you… If you'll take care of you for me!"

I first heard this years ago, I don't even remember where, it has stuck with me for well over a decade.  Being in the business of health, I am sometimes reminded how this saying is paramount to the success of happy relationships, happy people and happy bodies.  But even being surrounded by a culture of wellness, I sometimes forget what it really means.  I am thankful to have someone in my life who reminds me.

It is easy to forget the affect that our actions on ourselves have on those we love.  When we feel pain, our loved ones feel pain,  when we are irritable, our loved ones become irritable. When we "let ourselves go", our loved one pick us up and try to carry the pieces.  Our pain and health are not our own, we share this with our families, spouses and children.  Every decision I make about my health will affect my husband in some capacity.  When you truly love someone it makes logical sense to dedicate time to yourself in order to be as healthy as possible, for as long as possible, so that they do not need to take care of you (less some tragedy).       

Sometimes taking care of yourself is the hardest thing to do.  We deem it less important then other tasks on the to do list.  Many times we fall on the bottom of the list, maybe thinking others are more important.  But in reality, the more we do the things we know are "healthy" and "good" for our minds, bodies and soul, the more we are "doing" for others.

I have so many examples of how this lesson continues to scream at me as the years go on, here is one.  Indirectly, this topic is a reoccurring "discussion" in our home.  Scenario goes like this; I will get so busy that I leave things around the house, thus it becomes a mess, I stop taking the time to eat all my meals, prep day goes unprepared, coffee replaces water, irritability replaces kindness, lawn gets over grown, fish oil goes un-taken, yoga clothing becomes the only wardrobe I wear, our dog goes un-walked, sleep becomes a treasured commodity and so on…  As I said earlier, our pain is our loved ones pain, so my actions create a messy house to live in, an irritable wife to be with, and a host of other chain reactions, some of which we can't even measure.  This clearly affects my family on many levels. (Obviously, a family shares some of these tasks, I am simply taking the responsibility for my portion)

Now, I also mentioned that I am lucky enough to have someone in my life that cares enough to remind me when I fall into this trap.  I meant that sincerely.  A life time of taking yourself for granted, is not a healthy life.  In my opinion, it is also a selfish one.  I see taking care of ones health to be an act of selflessness, a social responsibility.  It is taking the trouble to care, so that down the road someone else doesn't have to and you do not become a burden on society and family, harsh I know.   

So… I'll take care of me for you… If you'll take care of you for me.