30 Press to handstands for time.

Post time to comments.

Three first-time back levers in one month?!?! 

While developing your upper body strength with the pull-ups, push-ups, and dips, a measure of balance and accuracy can be developed through mastering the handstand.  Competency in the handstand readies the athlete for handstand presses.  There is a family of presses that range from relatively relatively easy, one's that any beginning gymnast can perform, to one's so difficult that only the best gymnasts competing at national levels can perform.  It is not unusual for an athlete to take upwards of ten years to become proficient at the presses.

The trunk flexion work in gymnastics is beyond anything you'll see anywhere else.  Even the beginning gymnastic trunk movements cripple bodybuilders, weightlifters, and martial artists.  Much of the rudiments of gymnastics come only with great effort and frustration – that's okay.  The return is unprecedented and the most frustrating elements are most beneficial.  Therefore, approach today's workout with a positive mindset and bring your best attitude – skills days are about fun!

-Adapted from CrossFit Journal, October 2002.

Three rounds for time:

25 Unbroken wall ball shots, 20#/14#

50 Unbroken sit-ups

Sit-ups are to be completed with feet anchored and without an AbMat.

Post time to comments.

 
Yummy, yummy yams have a delicious flavor and are a great post workout food! 

Yam & Chorizo Stoup.

This recipe was adapted to be paleo-zoned from a cookbook by one of our favorite chef's and champions of eating healthy, Mr. Jamie Oliver of Food Revolution fame. 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups carrots, sliced (3C)
• 2 cups celery, sliced (1C)
• 1.33 cups onion, chopped (2C)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 lb yams or sweet potatoes, chopped (9C)
• 15 oz chorizo, sliced (15P)
• a small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1.75 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
• 1T + 2t extra virgin olive oil (15F)
• 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 fresh red chile

Preparation:

Put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling.  Meanwhile, put a large pan on a high heat and add the olive oil  Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients with the curry powder and mix together with a wooden spoon.  Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden.  Add the boiling broth to the vegetables.  Give the soup a good stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the yams are cooked through. 

Season with salt and pepper, using an immersion blender or liquidizer, pulse the soup until smooth and scatter over a little finely chopped red chile.  YUM!

This pot makes 5 balanced, 3 paleozone block meals of 3C, 3P, 3F apiece.

California anyone?  Please post if you are planning to go to California in July for the 2010 CrossFit World Games.  We would like to book our flights and accommodations this week and it would be SUPER fun to have us all stay together again this year.  So far we know that; Matt, Cherie, Emmalee, Tiffany, Courtney, Manda, Gerson, Joylyn and Mas, will all be attending.  It's going to be exciting to see the 50 top men and 50 women compete for the CF World title of "The World's Fittest Man and Fittest Women!"  Not to mention the affilate teams and masters.  Check out Games2010 for more details.  To get pumped, check out a brief history of the games and a highlight reel of 2009 on this video. 

For time:

5 Shuttle sprints, 10m
5 Rounds of "Cindy"

4 Shuttle sprints, 10m
4 Rounds of "Cindy"

3 Shuttle sprints, 10m
3 Rounds of "Cindy"

2 Shuttle sprints, 10m
2 Rounds of "Cindy"

1 Shuttle sprints, 10m
1 Rounds of "Cindy"

Shuttle sprints are 'touch and turn' and one round of "Cindy" is 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats.

Post time to comments.

Lindsey and Becky during the "Sunday is Funday" partner WOD. 

At CrossFit Verve, we strive to achieve a higher level of fitness in each of our athletes. Our coaches identify common weak point among each of our athletes and we communicate with each other on how to best address these weaknesses.  One of the issues that we've identified is that many of our athletes are following an irregular schedule.  Often times, athletes go more than five days in a row because they can't resist missing a WOD. This week we are introducing a template that we'd like each of you to follow to the best of your abilities.

As many of you know, we have subscribed to a 3-on 1-off cycle in order to maximize power output and recovery.  Because this is a six day cycle, it rotates, which results in an inconsistent schedule.  This week we're introducing a 3-on 1-off, 2-on 1-off cycle that results in a consistent seven day schedule.  It looks like this:

Mon-ON, Tues-ON, Wed-ON, Thur-OFF, Fri-ON, Sat-ON, Sun-OFF

Now does this mean we won't hold workouts 7 days a week?  Nope – we'll continue to be open for business every day of the week with only a couple of minor schedule changes, which you can see on MindBody.  This is simply a template for athletes to use in order to make the most of our programming.  Post questions to comments for answers.

For time:

100 snatches, 75#/55#

Everytime the clock hits one minute you must complete five burpees.

Post time to comments.

 
Verve would like to welcome into the World, Vaughn William Smith, Leslie and Vaughn looking beautiful.

Sunday is Funday!

As a team of two complete the following as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:

10 Pull overs

10 Deadlifts

10 Partner push-ups

10 Back to back air squats

Post teams and time to comments.

Robyn, looking strong and killin' Kelly as Rx. 

"Kelly"

Five rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
30 Box jump, 24", 20"
30 Wall ball shots, 20#, 14#

Post time to comments.

Emily, graceful and strong!  

For total load:

Front squat 1 – 10 – 1 - 20 – 1 – 30 reps

Post total load (all six) to comments.

Sunday is Funday antics! 

It's just not good enough…

Good enough for who? For what?  As trainers, we see this everyday.  Especially on days like today or Tuesday.  You come into the gym with all these expectations: "I will PR on my front squat today, I will PR on Fran, clean & jerk, today muscle-ups will be easier then they were yesterday, or today I'll get my first."

Don't get me wrong this is a healthy attitude to continue to challenge yourself and come in with a positive attitude.  However, sometimes what starts as healthy can turn into frustration or disappointment.  Let's face it, we won't PR every time we perform a lift and muscle -ups will not magically get easier (not without a lot of time and work). I know this better then anyone, with my CrossFit career going on four years, I've seen hugh gains and hugh set-backs.  There are a few valuable things I've learned during this process.

#1 I am strong, and that's by my own measure!  I can't beat myself up about not clean & jerking 165# yet, cuz dammit I can clean & jerk 150#.  By nature, that make me a success, not a failure.  I am strong and will keep getting stronger.

#2 Beating myself up over workouts or movements gets old.  I've learned that a negative attitude produces negative results.  Though we all struggle with this from time to time, it is not a place to live.  It makes you no fun to be around and unhappy and it does not make you lift heavier.

#3 Measure myself against myself, for that is what I can control.  Because of our competitive nature this is a tough one, but don't expect to be better then X, expect to be better then yourself.  And when you have those days or even a few months where you're not, give yourself a break!  By any measure you are strong and fit and capable and healthy and will continue to be.

For time:

20 Jerks, 185#/120#

40 Lateral jump burpees

Jerks and burpees may be partitioned as needed.  Burpees will be completed by jumping over the barbell and clapping while in mid-air.

Post time to comments.

Andy and Taq got their first ever back levers today, strong work gentlemen something to be proud of!

North Central Regionals Affiliate Cup WOD #2 max snatch in 25 minutes. 

Two videos in one day, say what?  This one was too inspirational to give up!

Do something amazing and inspire someone.

As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of:

10 Squat cleans, 95#/65#

20 Sit-ups

The standard for the sit-ups are feet anchored, hands to the ground behind head, hands to anchor at the top, and no AbMat.

Post rounds and fractions to comments.

What is that new machine in the back of the gym?  Why it's our new reverse hyper!  We purchased this because we saw a hugh need to address back pain.  Back pain is the leading complaint of modern man and most of our athletes.  This is no surprise, considering we sit on our glutes and hams all day, usually in spinal flexion (hunched over).  I was told recently by my doctor, that if you took and MRI of any person over the age of 30 you will find some spinal "injury"; bulging disc, herniation or degeneration.  Well that's just a part of aging, any one of us could have that from any number of reasons and many of us do.  So now what?  Be careful, go on pain medication, stop using our backs?  That is really the only option given to us by the medical community.  Now I love my doc and my acupuncturist, however I don't want to see them once a week or even once a month for the rest of my life.  So what are we going to do about it?  Take control, understand kinetics and strengthen your core (abs, erectors, hamstrings and glutes).

The reverse hyper is designed to work and rehabilitate the entire back.  This is done by gently stretching and de-pressurizing the spinal column with spinal fluid and filling the low back muscles with blood. An injured back needs pressure to be relieved and circulation restored to the injured area in order to rehabilitate. The reverse hyper if an amazing tool to facilitate that.  It can be used 3 to 4 times a week for therapeutic work.  It can also be used every day with light weight to get tightness out of lower back area.  Deadlift for 30 minutes and your back feels tight?  Hop on it and give it a whirl.  Have a trainer with you if you are unsure of the proper movement pattern.

Reach a 1RM jerk in five attempts 

Followed by:

30 Muscle – ups, for time

Post time to comments.

Jeff is excited that summer is almost here. 

It's almost summer, let's here a hip hip hooray!

Summer is just around the corner.  It's time to put away the boots and bring out the lawn mower.  With the summer sun comes vacations, concerts, mountain biking, hiking, sports, cruisers, BBQ's, bikini's, dog parks, baseball games, climbing, pool WOD's, and of course Water World.  Remember why we do CrossFit, to make us better at life.  To take us out of our chairs surrounded by concrete and drywall, and invite us into a world of unlimited possibilities, where the sun shines 300 days out of the year.  What will be your adventure this summer?  Can we come?