Sunday CFers at Fitzy's: Happy Halloween

Always fun on race day with CFers.
Superhero competition: What bad luck for the person in the Batman costume...only to be standing next to the real Wolverine!

It's been a while...

Since we had a good ol' "30 seconds starts now" workout. VP's face says it all!
1) JMRow, Ball Pike, Hammer Row, Burpee (1 min Double Under/Jump Rope)
2) BT Scissor Lunge, Good Mrng, Air Squat, Decline PU (1 min MB Jingle Jangle)
3) Rope Heave, Superman, Side Plank, Hip Ext (1 min Suicide)

Wow.

Ok, the Grinder was tough...but that's not the Wow.
Yes, Brad returned...but that's not the Wow.
Sure, Dan-Oh swept the sand...nope, not the Wow.

46 Burpees, 3-count,consecutive, no pause...and SD was counting...BTW, he's 46 yrs old, too. That was somethin' else. Wow.

Grinder:
25 Heaves, 25 KTE, 25 Box Jump, 15 Tire Flip, 25 OHKB Swings
(Alt. 4 MB Suicides/4 lap Farmer's Carry after each set)

Thursday Updates

1) Sign up for the Call-To-Action by Oct. 28th. Male, Female, Coed...Advanced and Basic teams welcome!

2) Oct. 31: 10am Fitzy's Run (Happy Hollow Playground...click here for event info.)

Big, Big Beginner Company

Wednesday Form: Agile...

Speed: acceleration; time to max acceleration
Quickness: moving rapidly in response to a stimulus
Agility: rapid, controlled, accurate quickness.

Like a cat on hot bricks...ALL aspects of athleticism.

Note: Sign up for the Call-To-Action by Oct. 28th. Male, Female, Coed...Advanced and Basic teams welcome!

Tuesday Attitude: It's the little things.

"Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily." -J. Schiller


Note: Sign up for the Call-To-Action by Oct. 28th. Male, Female, Coed...Advanced and Basic teams welcome!

CF Call-To-Action Challenge II

Click here for information page and registration form.

Monday "Did you know...?" Rootin' tootin'

lose the gluten.
Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, & barley...thus in cereals, breads, and even in other products (gluten can be used as a thickener for example in soups).
Gluten damages the lining of the small intestine in people with Celiac Disease. However it may be that even non-Celiac sufferers can feel similar symptoms from eating gluten. More here.

In general, trying to isolate food sensitivities is a good idea (whether it's gluten or whatever). Such isolation diets can help maximize your intake of nutrients and may help figure out why you feel physically or psychologically funky. Take a systematic approach. Read here about Uncovering Food Sensitivities.

Of course, never confuse this with professional advice, and always consult a nutritionist or physician on such matters.

CF Halloween Party 3

Good lookin' crew early in the evening. Recap:
JJ & Ktri went totally retro.
Jax & DJ took the chase quarters vegan elimination round.
[sadly] Team Gretch kept it together against Team Dan-Oh.
Boys dominated flipcup.
CF Halloween Party 4 theme..."Bring back the Fog"?!

Saturday Steamer

Warm Up AMRAP 10 minutes
(50' Dot Drill, 10 PU, 15 Air Squat, 50' BC, 10 PU, 15 Air Squat)

4-corners (1 min each exercise; BC/Lunge Transition)
1) Alt SS, 8Ct. 2) KB Windmill, B&TJump 3) MB Squat Jump, DB Press 4) DB Swing/TriExt, Squat Front Raise

OC
400m run
150' Low Crawl, Knee Crawl, Bear Crawl
100' Broad Jump
3 Suicides
20 AC Presses
300' Farmer Carry
400m run

30-20-10 sec/2x

Front Squat/Hip Ext.
Bicycle Crunch/Wtd. Sit Up
Burpee/Front-Side Raise
Good Morning/MB Skater
Curl/AC Press

Thursday Updates: Questions

Raisinette, Jelly Bean, or Wood Tick?
Where's Karate been?
Anyone coming to the Halloween Party? (Bringing something? Take a piece of the skeleton off the board by the front desk to indicate what you'll bring. Beverages provided unless you have a distinct preference in drink, then it's BYO.)


Sat. Oct 23, 6:30pm, Halloween Party
Sun. Oct 31, 10am, Fitzy's Run (we have a pretty good group of CFers so far, let's show up in force).

Wednesday Form: Proper Hopper

Pic 1&2, Pic 3&4...SideSquat...Hop.
Nice work last night keeping hips aligned, deep drop, big push.
Also, going lighter on the WB allowed for more controlled descent. Just right!

Tuesday Attitude: A present. For you.

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

-Steve Prefontaine

(see posters at justrunners.com)

Monday Mania

1a: B&T Box Jump, 3ComboCr/3Lsit, MB P/U
1b: Wtd Good Morning, 3 Star Jump/3JJ, BC/Low Crawl
2a: KB OH Lunge, Hang Run, KB Curls
2b: 3 Thrust/3 Mtn Climbers, Leg Raise Honeymooner, Bag Punch
(Rd 1: 1 min Adv/45 sec Beg.); Rd 2: 45 sec Adv/30 sec Beg.)

Still Motivating

(A few of the candidates along with Gretchen and Major Dave Hart (R)

I had the pleasure and honor of being invited to Notre Dame this weekend by my former Drill Instructor, Major Hart, to speak to some of his future Marine Officers. Most will be Infantry officers and most likely will see action in Afghanistan. The time being around them took me back a bit and reminded me why I chose to be a Marine and the motivation that comes with the job. They are getting their initial training from Major Hart, who is by far the most professional and hardcore Marine I've known and the candidates in his charge will be ready both in mind and spirit for whatever is presented to them in their career.

CrossFit this morning was a workout one of the motivated young candidates came up with and since it was a workout they just did I thought to share it with our group.

4 Rounds

400m run

10 kettlebell swings

20 pushups

30 squats

40 situps

50 knee 2 elbows

Hot grinder, anyone?

Weight loss celebration Sunday Special.
Warm Up: 20 JJ, 20 PU, 20 Squat, 20 Gd Mrng, 20 Combo Cr, 20 Lying JJ, 20 Back Ext, 20 Mtn Climbers, 20 Dips, 8 B&T, 8 Bicycle Crunch (Total 196 reps...1 rep for every lb lost by the Boys & Girls Team).

Grinder: 5 person team
Pull Up, Box Jump (25 reps), Swing, Burpee, Push Press -- Run 400m after each round.

Round 2: same exercises 40 sec work/20 sec rest.

Cool Down: Bloody's, pumpkin pie, homemade CC cookies, Livewrong Chorizo Egg Casserole, Mary Janes (the candy), and Caramel creams.

Combined Cooperation

Good thing we like one another...when we're packed this tight. Thanks for making it work...a little bit of everything workout!
Locomotive, 8ct, Dips, Sandbag Lunge, T2B, ModPlank, MB Slides, ACSquat, Toe Tap, PU PlankKnee, JJ/Scissor Lunge, Arm Hauler

Sorry, no Skills work...Abs, stretch and out of time.
Sunday Special 9AM...whatever favorites we didn't do today...expect tomorrow.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...like a V.

Board A:
1: Iron cross, Hearts, Fr/Side Raise
2: Mnky Squat, Squat Jump, Air Squat
3: Bbar Crunch, Lsit, Combo Cr
Board B:
4: Neg ChinUp, KTE, JumpPU
5: Thrusts, B&T, Burpee
6: Quick Step, MB JingleJangle, JingleJangle

Overheard at CF:
"That's a f*%#ed up board." (And I don't think they were talking about A).

Thursday Updates

1) Saturday Oct. 16: 8AM Combined Class only.

2) Sunday Oct. 17: 9AM Sunday Special (Weight Challenge celebration...bring your own casserole). Everyone welcome.

3) Saturday Oct. 23: 6:30PM-? Halloween Party. (High School Graduation Year costume theme)

4) Sunday Oct. 31: 10AM Fitzy's Run

Tuesday Attitude: Bully for you.

October is Bullying Prevention month. Since there is little in the way of accountability for bullies (and/or critique of the types of dysfunctional homes that bullies/cyberbullies come from), prevention must take the best and only defense: raising strong, moral, willful, assertive children.

Tell your kids it is okay to fight. -Jeff Martin
We have been told for years that fighting is morally and ethically wrong. That it is never the answer. This belief has threatened our country’s security and now we see the effects it can have on our children. Fighting is not wrong in the cause of self defense. It is not wrong for our nation to proactively protect itself nor is it wrong on a personal level to respond with physical force when threatened.

When I was young and in school a little boy hit me in front of the teacher. He was reprimanded and sent to detention. On the way out of school he told me he was going to do it again the next day. When I told my parents about the incident, they told me if he tried to hit me again, I was to hit him. Actually, they said hit him hard enough that he will never want to hit you again. I did and he didn’t.

A couple of years ago my wife went to pick up one of our boys at preschool. She found him hiding under a desk. When she asked him why he was hiding he said he was hiding from one of the other boys who had choked him several times that day. When my wife approached the teacher she was told that the boy "was having trouble at home and just acting out.” While I sympathize with the child who was having trouble at home, this was somehow supposed to excuse him attacking my son. That night we taught our son a simple Krav Maga self defense technique. He in turn shared his new knowledge with his teacher. His teacher made it very clear to him that under no circumstances was he to defend himself. He was to get her attention instead ( with a child’s hands wrapped around his throat) and she would take care of the problem. We of course
relieved him of that notion.

Think of the different lessons these two stories teach. In the first, my parents taught me not only that I had a right to defend myself but that the responsibility for my safety rested with me.
In the second, the opposite lesson was taught. My son was told his safety was someone else’s responsibility and under no circumstances was he to defend himself. If you have been
taught the first lesson, you react instantly to someone threatening your safety. If you have learned the second, you look for an authority figure to help you when threatened. If there is no authority figure to stop the attack you waste valuable time deciding what to do and how to react. We are complicit in the victimization of children by predators if we are teaching children to
look for an elusive authority figure for help.

A few months ago, we watched in shock, the video of poor Carly Bruscha simply allowing someone she doesn’t know to walk up, grab her arm and pull her away. She looks confused
and frightened on the video. It takes only an instant for her abductor to move her out of the cameras eye. What a different video we might be seeing if at the instant she was touched by
the man she launched into him biting, kicking and using everything she had to keep him away from her. I heard a retired FBI agent say, that they knew of no case where a child who was
fighting back was killed in the course of an abduction. The reverse is not true. If abducted the outcome is almost universally bad.

But to demand that children discard their moral right to protect themselves is
a lesson that should not be taught in any school or in our society. Children
need to know it is morally and ethically right to fight and defend themselves the
instant they are physically threatened. On a news program this morning, they
ended the story by saying there is “evidence the little girl fought her attacker
to the end." The problem is she didn't fight in the beginning.

Building good character goes hand in hand with a belief in the right to self defense. Your children must know when and where to apply the defensive skills you teach them. That responsibility falls squarely on your shoulders and on theirs. If you build good character, then self defense will be exactly that—defense. It will be a reaction to an act of violation, and every child has the
right to defend himself if violated. Our children need to be given permission to fight. Yes, they ALSO need to be taught good judgment so they know when fighting might be wrong.
(crossfit kids newsletter .pdf, issue 1, december 05)

Rev-in' that 3-5-7

3-5-7 reps (3 min pods/2 rds)
1) DiveBomber, StarJump, Plankwalk
2) Burpee, KB Swing, KBComboCr.
3) DBClean, BoxJump, Wtd.SitUp
4) KTE, JumpPU, FrontSquat

Monday "Did you know...?" About Fitzy's Run

Sunday, October 31, 10am

Happy Hollow Playground Wyomissing

Great race, entertainment, and inspiration.

See brochures at the gym, click here for more info, or here to register.

Anyone interested in rallying a CF group to run, post to comments.

Thursday Updates: Boo!

1) Saturday October 16: 8AM Combined Class Only (no 9AM class).

2) Sunday October 17: 9AM Sunday Special Weight Loss Challenge Finale (open to everyone, but we'll recognize the biggest CF losers, team winner, and maybe enjoy solid foods for the first time in weeks after the workout)

3) Saturday October 23: 3rd Annual CF Halloween Party. Costume Theme: Year of High School Graduation. (6:30pm-?)

Wednesday Form: Of a compliment

"These people aren't human...that workout is bananas!"

That's great...it does seem a bit crazy, but...Bananas?! This new fella showed up for evening class. The structure of class was a usual CF circuit. As a first-timer he did well to keep the pace. Afterward, that was his description. It was nice to hear. More often people are so ego-driven they go on about themselves and why they couldn't finish the class or how they usually train or blah blah, rather than have the courtesy to compliment the accomplishments and motivation CFers.

It's easy to take for granted what we do (the sheer number of exercises we do well) and the intensity at which we do it (a heart rate that other people who "workout" could never touch). The people at class were just human...not specialized competitors or paid athletes...merely everyday folks who don't think twice about pushing the physical limits. Show up, blow it out, go back to regular lives. Pretty nice compliment

Tuesday Attitude: Try.

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." - Napoleon Hill

Helton

"U.S. Air Force Security Forces 1st Lt. Joseph D. Helton, 24, of Monroe, GA, assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, was killed September 8th, 2009, while on a mission near Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Helton is survived by his mother, Jiffy Helton."

3 rds.
800m, 30 DB Cleans, 30 Burpees
(End: Core 3 rds 30 KTE, 30 Combo Crunch, 100' Crabwalk)

Did you know...the month formerly known as?

November.

It's that time of year.

It's MOVEMBER!

Circlin' OC style

Circle 1: SideBC/PU, Squat Jump, Plankwalk, 8ct, Span, Wtd Lunge
Circle 2: Box Drill, Hi/Lo Crawl, Burpee, MBSlide, Squat Fr Raise, Leg Raise
(30 sec rd, OC rd...2x)

Warm Up: Hill Suicide