Tuesday December 1st 2009

WOD:
“Jackie”
1000 meter row
50 Thrusters (45)
30 Pullups

Fundamental: Thruster

Challenge: 2 min. air squats

Play: Push Press 3-3-3

Are you all over your food hangover yet? Tell me… which is worse alcohol hangover over food hangover? Way to hit it hard yesterday at Oregon CrossFit, a great way to get over a hangover!

Are you all coming to the lululemon open house and WOD on Sunday at 11am? Coach Carrie has been working hard to make this event FUN come in workout and check out some hot clothing! Also… starting in December we will be having an open gym on Sundays at 12noon!!!!

Monday November 30th 2009

Beau, Hawk, Ed, & Wild work together to put up 2 ropes this weekend! Thanks guys, now we can get after the rope climb again. Remember to bring long socks today! April gets after the WOD on Saturday with coach Jonna

WOD:
12, 9, 6
Overhead Squat 135/95
Burpee Pull Ups

Fundamental: Overhead Squat & Shoulder Press

Challenge: Rope Climb
Level I: M- 2 trips W- 1 trip
Level II: M- 2 trips (down no feet) W- 1 trip (down no feet)
Level III: M- 1 trip from seated (no feet) W- 1 trip (no feet)
Level IV: M- 2 trips from seated (L-sit) W- 1 trip (L-sit)

Play: Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1

ANYONE INTERESTED IN T-SHIRTS FROM JUSTIN? POST TO COMMENTS…

CrossFit Pyramid

20% of U.S. Preschoolers are Obese

Post thoughts to comments.

Saturday November 28th 2009

WOD:
HOPPER DECK

Come in and join us at 9am, it’s always a good pull from the hopper deck!

Friday November 27th 2009

WOD:

For time:
21 Handstand push-ups
400 meter Run
21 Weighted pull-ups
15 Handstand push-ups
400 meter Run
15 Weighted Pull-ups
9 Handstand Push-ups
400 meter Run
9 Weighted Pull-ups

Post time and weight used for pull-ups to comments.

Fundamental: Deadlift

Challenge: Jonna’s Choice

Play: Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1

I hope you all had a great Turkey Day! Now it is time to get after it and work it off…

Emily PR’d on her Deadlift the other day along with a bunch of other students, let’s see what you all can do today! Rob works on some burpee tire flips against coach Trav.

Since everyone had such a great Thanksgiving feast I thought I would ask… do you all know the calorie to pound conversion? How many calories did you consume in 3 pounds of fat? Answer… to come

Thursday November 26th 2009

WOD:
Coach Trav Surprise followed by… EAT UNTIL FAILURE

Thought I would post some pictures of memories that I am thankful for…

I know you all wanted to see some more of these

Some real partner pull ups

Wow, who thought of that? Good times…

One of the first WOD’s at the new “BOX”

Fight Gone Bad – one of the last WOD’s at the old “BOX”

Don’t forget these two bad asses! Fittest man and woman in Oregon

Okay, I will start… Let’s all post to comments what we are thankful for this Thanksgiving

I am thankful for all of my Oregon CrossFit peeps! I sure do love you guys and gals.

Wednesday November 25th 2009

WOD:
Complete as many rounds as possible in twenty minutes of:
25 Burpees
Body weight back squat, 15 reps

Fundamental: Back Squat

Challenge: False Grip Hang/Muscle Up
-Level I- False Grip Hang 30sec
-Level II M-1 W-5 (band)
-Level III M-10 W-1
-Level IV M-15 W-5

Play: Team Relay 2k row

Coaching 101: Center Of Gravity, Area Of Base, And Torque
Successful lifting depends on four elements: area of base, center of gravity, combined center of gravity, and torque. If the aspiring coach understands the relationship between these elements and how they inform technique, the quick identification of faults and their respective remedies becomes automatic.

Area of base is a simple concept. It is the field delineated by the outside of the athlete’s feet and the space between them, length and breadth. It changes in size based on foot position, but is always rectangular.

Center of gravity is the point within any body around which its mass is evenly distributed. For our purposes, we can think of it as the point on which gravity acts. While coaching, we must worry about three separate centers of gravity: that of the athlete, that of the object lifted, and that created when they are joined together (the combined center of gravity).

At rest, the athlete’s center of gravity lies somewhere on a vertical line between the pelvis and the navel and just dorsal of the frontal plane, its exact location dependent on gender and individual anthropometry. The object’s center of gravity lies in its geometric center, assuming it is of constant shape, i.e. a barbell rather than a sandbag or water-filled keg.

The combined center of gravity of the two lies somewhere on the line between the athlete’s center of gravity and the object’s center of gravity, biased closer to whichever weighs more.

Finally, torque is the tendency for a force to cause rotation around a fixed point. When lifting, our primary concern is torque about the hip caused by gravitational pull on the combined center of gravity.

Our objective in any lift is to move an object exactly opposite gravity and to hold it in its highest position for an acceptable period of time. To do so, we must vertically align our three centers of gravity (athlete, object, and combined) with the center of our area of base, minimizing torque and thereby maximizing efficiency.

Faults arise when these conditions of vertical alignment are not met.

… Continue reading at: http://www.againfaster.com/articles/coaching-101-center-of-gravity-area-of-base-and-torque.html

Tuesday November 24th, 2009

WOD:
21-15-9
Thrusters 95/65
Pull-Ups

Fundamental: Thruster

Challenge: Prone Cobra/GHD/Combo

Play: Snatch Push Press 3×3 (you choose weight)/ Over Head Squat work up to 75% 2×10

Today’s WOD will be performed first with the challenge and play after. Good Luck with Fran!

Thanks for all the feedback!  I will post the times for the classes to comments…

Good Housekeeping Matters

Spending a few minutes on Set-up, Counting, and Active Rest can yield free gains in a CrossFit workout’s effectiveness and speed

Greg Amundson

Excuse me if I seem a little obsessed with my CrossFit workspace set-up and pre-training planning, which often take me longer to do than the workout itself. You see, I’m a federal agent in an organization that I’m not legally allowed to name. And when your job involves catching bad guys who can put your life in jeopardy at a moment’s notice, you better have all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed at all times. That means before I turn the ignition key on my vehicle in the morning, I’ve already spent several minutes methodically loading my weapon and setting it at same place on my belt, angled just so; I put the gun’s magazines in exactly the same spot every time, so I can reach them blindfolded if need be; and I secure my rifle in the back seat exactly where it has to be. Because when a situation goes down, it’s 3, 2, 1, bam: you’re suddenly on auto pilot, focused on the task at hand, operating on pure muscle memory. And if there’s a split-second delay while you have to feel for a slightly misplaced weapon, you not only lose efficiency, you could get shot and killed.

Okay — so you don’t normally have that kind of risk in CrossFit. But if you want to get the most out of your training, you do have an identical need for good housekeeping, standardized organization, and a well- thought-out workout strategy. After all, CrossFit is all about intensity, and to maximize intensity, you have to pay attention to technique and smooth workflow between various exercises. Disrupt those for a few seconds here and there by, say, forgetting where the chalk is, searching for your water bottle, or being mispositioned for the next exercise, and your time, training, and fitness will suffer.

That’s why, as a long-time CrossFit competitor and coach, I took a page from my law enforcement training and refined three simple concepts I would like to describe in detail here: proper set-up of your workout space, positive counting, and active rest. Do all three, which are outlined here in the context of the classic “Jackie” workout, and I guarantee you will make significant improvement fast.

1. Workout Space Set-Up

In early 2003, after Josh Everett and I faced off in “Fran” during a Level One Certification, Greg Glassman noted that we’d taken more time and thought to prep our work spaces than to do Fran itself, and that this was typical during advanced stages of CrossFit training. When he said what I’d already had drilled into me by my job, it inspired me to give even more thought to the way I prepared my environment and surrounding space.

For instance, I noticed in my training that I preferred to move in a linear line from one station to the next. Mentally, I was able to keep my focus and attention moving straight ahead towards my goal of finishing the workout. As Dave

Leys and I used to battle it out during the early morning “Team Six” workouts, I noticed that properly setting up the workout space could save precious seconds that in the end would make the difference between first and second place.

Let’s look at how I would set up “Jackie” for myself or a client I was coaching. The first step is to put everything together as tightly as possible. I don’t want to have to walk from the rower to my barbell or from my barbell to the pull-up bar. Secondly, from the moment I sit down on the rower, I want to be able to see my final station. Mentally, this allows me to always be thinking one step ahead and preparing myself for what’s to come. I also like to pre-chalk the pull-up bar so I don’t have to divert between stations to prep my hands. To accomplish this, I will put a thick layer of chalk on my hands and then grip the pull-up bar to exchange the chalk into the exact place I will grip during the workout.

Although 45lbs. is not a lot of weight, I still prefer to use a rack to prepare the weight in the position I want to first take it. At advanced levels of CrossFit performance, a PR (Personal Record) can come in increments of one second at a time. Taking the bar off of the rack as opposed to picking it up off the ground could easily make the difference in setting a new record. On my final repetition, I have found it is much faster and more fun to drop the weight rather than returning it to the rack.

2. Count Down

After setting up the work space, the next concept is to manage how you count repetitions. “Jackie” is a great workout to explore this concept because of the high number of repetitions required at each station. Let’s start with the 1K row. I know from previous training that it takes me 9 strong pulls on the Concept Two rower with the damper level set at 7 to row one hundred meters. In my mind when I start rowing, I count down the number of pull strokes from 9 to 1 approximately 9 times to finish the 1K. Counting down from 9 is over before it even starts, and mentally it allows me to accomplish a small goal several times in a row at one station. The same concept is repeated when I start my thrusters and pull-ups. My goal on the thrusters is to complete all 50 repetitions in a single set. However, I don’t want to count from 1 to 50 during the thruster station. Instead, I might do the entire set in my mind in increments of 10. Although someone watching might be thinking, “Gee, that’s a lot of reps to do all in a row” in my mind it’s pretty easy because the highest number I went to might have only been ten.

I also like to count down instead of up. I have found that no matter how exhausted I might be, I can always do at least three more of an exercise. Therefore, I might count in my mind from 1 up to 7 and then for the last three repetitions, count down in my mind, “three, two, one.” Clients enjoy the mind-trick as well and have been amazed to find renewed strength when I say, “You’ve only got three more to go!”

3. Active Rest

The 50 thrusters is a great opportunity to put another key strategic concept into practice. When going head-to- head with a training partner on a workout like “Jackie,” the key to victory is to never stop to break up a set. Nothing is worse than having to put the barbell down while your partner continues to bang out repetitions. I have found that even slowing the pace and achieving what I call “Active Rest” is better than stopping completely. My definition of Active Rest is to continue to perform an exercise at a sustainable pace to allow recovery to perform the same exercise at a blistering pace.

Here is how Active Rest might be put into practice during the thruster station: When I’m fresh, I know that I can perform approximately one thruster with a 45-pound barbell every 1.5 seconds. However, I am not able to sustain that pace for 50 repetitions. Coming off the rower, I will immediately start on the thrusters. I will need to perform them at a slower cadence until I am recovered enough from the row to increase my pace. The first 10 repetitions immediately following the row would be performed at a pace of one thruster every 3 seconds. Following the top position of the thruster, I might choose to hold the barbell overhead or racked in the front squat

position for an extra second while breathing deeply. As soon as I feel myself start to recover, I will immediately increase the cadence and sustain it as long as possible. This process is repeated over and over until the entire set is completed.

Bottom line

The housekeeping and strategic concepts of Set-Up, Counting and Active Rest work independently and in harmony with each other. They work for elite and beginner CrossFitters alike. They keep you psychologically motivated and physically efficient as they speed you up and help maximize the benefits of your workout. If you implement them, don’t be surprised to set new CrossFit PRs quickly. After all, everything being equal, efficiency wins.

Greg Amundson served seven years with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office as a SWAT operator and Sniper. He currently works in Federal Law Enforcement and is a 1LT in the US Army National Guard. Greg started his CrossFit training under Coach Glassman at CrossFit Santa Cruz in 2001 and has been coaching Crossfit since 2002.

Monday November 23rd 2009

WOD:
5 rounds for time:
5 Power Cleans 185/115
20 Double Unders

Fundamental: Power Clean

Challenge: Handstand Hold- free standing

Play: One Arm Kettlebell Swing

THIS WEEK IS THANKSGIVING… ARE ANY OF YOU INTERESTED IN A THANKSGIVING WOD? ALSO WE WILL HOST ONE WOD ON FRIDAY AND ONE ON SATURDAY IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE. PLEASE POST TO COMMENTS THE TIMES THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU AND IF YOU WILL BE AROUND.

What a great turn out on Saturday for the OC Team Challenge! Great job recruiting friends and family to try CrossFit. Welcome all the winners to our classes for their free month! What did you guys think? How did your team enjoy the WOD? Was it a good introduction to CrossFit?

Click the link below for some interesting reading…

How To Strengthen Your Bare Flat Feet

“Our genes want us to be barefoot. In fact, it’s the only environment they know, having been born into a shoeless existence”

Saturday November 21st, 2009

WOD:
As a team of 4 complete the following…
400m relay
followed by:
25 wall balls
25 sit ups
25 push ups
25 box jumps
25 push press (35/75)
25 dead lift (95/185)

COME IN AT 9AM FOR A TEAM CHALLENGE AT OREGON CROSSFIT! THIS IS A FUN FREE WOD…ENJOY! DETAILS OF THE WOD ANNOUNCED AT 9AM

Friday November 20th 2009

WOD:
Baseline… followed by
Snatch deadlift: work up to 100%x3, +10 kg x 3

Fundamental: Deadlift

Challenge: Ring Push Ups (max reps)… use plyo boxes

Play: 100m sprint rowing (3x) rest the same amount of time the row took

FREE WOD SATURDAY AT 9AM!

MILL QUARTER HOLIDAY BAZAAR 3-7… COME IN

…I will post Saturday team WOD to comments today