Murph-day Updates

9a all smiles...a run in the snow, then getting at it hard!






Have a safe New Year's Eve.
Fri. Jan 1, 9a:
Nancy (5 rds, 400m, 15 OH Squats)
Michael (3 rds, 800m, 50Back Ext, 50GHS)

Sat. Jan 2, 8a: Combined Class
Eva: Hero/Girl Week Finale

Murph

"Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open..."
"This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy... At one point he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in."

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run
(Partition the reps as needed)

Updates

'at der righ' der is the bottom of Wall Ball...very well done EE! If you aren't getting there, then you officially have a New Year's goal.

New Year's Holiday Schedule

Thursday, December 31, Murph 5:30a, 9a, 5:30p
Friday, January 1, Michael & Nancy: 9a
Saturday, January 2, Hero/Girl Week Finale!: Eva 8a

Who's doing Murph when?

Kelly Wednesday Form

Kelly: 5 rds
400m
30 Box Jump
30 Wall Ball

Wondertwin powers activate: Form of….a circle.
A circle? Yes, but not just any circle – an Enso: A single brushstroke to create a circle that is at once complete and endless; full and empty; perfect and imperfect; moving and stagnant. Nothing in the enso exists separately from the whole – everything is part of something bigger...more than the sum of the parts. Kind of like the participants in a CF circuit!


At the most basic level, the mere presence of each one of us adds to the dynamic atmosphere of the whole CF experience. At the next level, the positive contribution of each person giving their best effort has an immense impact on the class – the ‘takeaway’ if you will. Ultimately, it’s what we get from each other, though, that is most significant and puts CK's CF experience in a class all by itself. And THAT is why those who ‘get it’ keep circling back and back and back for more. Are you getting it?

"Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A word of optimism and hope. And 'you can do it' when things are tough.”

You hear it from the CF regulars..."let's go" "pick it up" "you got it" "dig" "keep moving" during the circuit...and at the end "nice push" "well done" "great job". Advanced or Beginner....when working rightly at CF you're exhausted, nauseous, and delirious...and it's that quick, positive mental pick-me-up that makes the difference between getting a few more reps and pausing.

As Hero/Girl Week circles around, we're all beyond recovery, beyond soreness, pain, discomfort, ache-i-ness, and fatigue. So, we ALL need a little more of this positiveness. Send around some cooperative selflessness – the desire to make yourself better, and as important, to make others better, too. As you go around the circle or as you're circling through your rounds, remember, if you are THERE, you are an integral part of IT…give to get and it will be returned to you!

(enso by Daisy Janie)

Mr. Joshua Tuesday Attitude

SO1 Joshua Thomas Harris, 36, drowned during combat operations, August 30th 2008 in Afghanistan. He is survived by his parents Dr. Sam and Evelyn Harris, his brother Ranchor and twin sister Kiki.

5 rds.
400m
30 GHSit Up
15 Deadlift





Day 4...4 to go. Keep your head up; stay loose.
"Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty."

D-day

Way to go! Challenge Award goes to everyone today...the 5:30am crew that blew out Daniel less than 24 hours after Hansen....and to the 4pm crew who blew out Daniel as a warm-up for 530p Corps Fitness class. Also, big props to all who are trying to "pull their own weight." The unassisted efforts, the mastery of the kip are impressive....very well done! Big pull-up day...now 2 days off from pull-ups until Murph & Eva.

CF Circuit (3 and back)

Dynamic V, Lumberjacks, Side Step Dot Drill, Butterfly B&T, BC Push Up, Punches, Scissor Lunge JJ, Push Up Plank, Thrusts

Daniel Day

Dedicated to Army Sgt 1st Class Daniel Crabtree who was killed in Al Kut, Iraq on Thursday June 8th 2006.

50 Pull Ups
Run 400m
21 Thrusters
Run 800m
21 Thrusters
Run 400m
50 Pull Ups


Did you know that CF offers everything you need to get faster. Exercises and activities to increase stride length and rate...high knee, butt kick, skipping, sprinting, lunging, jumping...see other ideas here. Of course, results only come from performing each to the correct range of motion and at the correct intensity.

And if you don't like any of those suggestions for getting faster, then just rely on the old maxim, "There's only one way to run faster, and that's to....run faster!"

Hansen Day

Hansen: Marine Staff Sgt Daniel Hansen died February 14th in Farah Providence, Afghanistan when an IED he was working on detonated. Daniel is survived by his mother Sheryll, his father Delbert, his younger sister Katie, and his twin brother Matthew (also a Marine).





5 Rds:
30 Swings, 30 Burpees, 30 GHSit Ups

Tomorrow:
Daniel:
50 PullUps
400
21 Thrusters
800
21 Thrusters
400
50 Pull Ups

Saturday Hero/Girl Week Kickoff

"Danny": AMRAP 20 min.
30 Box Jumps
20 Push Press
30 Pull Ups
(Oakland SWAT Sergeant Daniel Sakai, age 35, was killed on March 21, 2009 in the line of duty along with fellow officers Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Mark Dunakin, and Officer John Hege. Daniel is survived by wife Jenni and daughter Jojiye. From CrossFit main site)

Hard core group showed up to brave a very intense 20 min at 7am! Nice push!




CF Class:
Neg PU, Lunge, Sumo Squat
Rope Heave, Russian Twist, JM Row
Step Up, WallBallBurpee, Dips
Curl/Press, Sandbag Squat, Honeymooner
(10x Mtn Climber, Lying JJ, B-buster, Flutter Kick after each)

Let's rally a big group tomorrow for Hansen 9am:
5 rds
30 Swings
30 Burpees
30 GHSitUp

Christmas Eve 2009

Looking good everyone...42...way to make it happen!
Box Drill
30-20-10
B&T Jump, Combo Crunch
Air Squat, Bound, 8Ct
Jingle Jangle, Low crawl


Happy Holidays!
Hero Week starts Saturday (7am before classes OR 10am after classes)
Danny
AMRAP 20min:
30 Box Jump
20 Push Press
30 Pull Ups

Thursday Updates:

a) 9am today: Combined Christmas Eve Class
b) 12/25, Fri., Christmas Day: Gym closed
c) 12/26, Sat., resume normal class schedule
d) 12/26 Hero Week begins! Every effort was made to offer Hero/Girl workouts at convenient times without disrupting CF classes.




This is a wonderful opportunity to test yourself. You've been conditioning hard at CF all year...blow it out! How many rounds of pull-ups before you go assisted? How many pushups off of your knees? How many burpees before a pause? Make it a run not a jog on the 800s & mile? Remember, make every rep count....and only count good reps!

Good luck to those crazies trying to get all 8!

Wednesday Form: Hammies

3 muscles of the Hamstrings -- connecting from hip to knee. Responsible for hip extension and knee flexion.

Also responsible for back pain? Most people believe that tight hamstrings cause low back pain. Tight muscles pull disproportionately on the hips, reducing lumbar curve causing pressure and tightness in the back....makes sense.

But others believe that tight hamstrings are caused by a weak back. A weak back causes a compensatory shift of load to the hamstrings, hence the hamstrings become shortened and tight (outcome).



In either scenario, the concepts are imbalance and inflexibility. Stay loose and balanced. Hamstrings are a front-back-balance muscle group...they will be overpowered by hip flexors and abs if we work the front side too hard and ignore the backside.
See the CrossFit hamstring assessment here...short, sweet, and to the point.

Tuesday Attitude: This is only a test.

"Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test." -William James (father of modern psychology)

Last Attitude before Hero Week.



PS. 5:30 BW: Lordie, lordie...BW Sportie!

Are there enough gigabytes...

on this blog to post exactly how that workout went??? Doubtful, so let's just summarize.
Box JJ, ACP, Med Twist
Lunge, Dynamic V,
Lunge Press, Neg Chin Ups, Bicycle Crunch
Beck's Burpee, Jack Webbs, Plank Knee
(Transitions: Low crawl, Star Jump, Parkour Bear Crawl, High Knee....lots of Transitions)


BTW, this pic isn't of the quality that you're used to expecting (?)...but check out Capt. Awesome! That IS awesome...resting or helping CK keep an eye on things?!!:)

Monday "Did you know...?" Exercise doesn't matter.

“All movement is not progress, just as all motion is not forward.”
What? But this is Corps FITNESS. Of course, exercise matters for maintaining good muscle tone, bone density, and heart health. Exercise is good for our sense of accomplishment and goal-achievement, working out satisfies our social need to be part of a group, learning and mastering new exercises is good for our brain...and sometimes it’s a relief just to go to the gym and go ape-sh&t for an hour. Sure, exercise in many ways matters.

But, it does not matter in weight loss and weight management. Really, at all. Why? Because people exercise because they can’t manage their eating (I workout to eat all I want). Or people use eating as a reward for a hard day’s workout (Ok, I ran 6 miles, I deserve dessert!). Much research points to exercise not mattering. And exercise actually leads to an “even steven” position; in many cases, it leads to weight gain. For more on this “compensation” idea, read here.

The battle for our body...the composition we want, the look we want, the weight we want isn’t won in the 1-2 hours/day we workout. It’s won ALL the other hours of the day – the 22-23 hours we’re NOT working out. Sure, work out and stay moving...but stay intensely disciplined the rest of the day...Remember (yes, a New Year’s Resolution is a-comin’)...we can have excuses or results, not both.

“Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.” –Alfred Montapert

Sunday CF-ing...

Well, another year and "Ba Gua Steve's 12 Days of Christmas Workout" satisfies all! Sorry for the short notice....let's try to re-run it in January so everyone can join in the fun.

At'll fetch ya 'round!

Constant Motion Day (30/45 sec)
KB Leg Raise, Alligator PU, 1-leg DL, Lunge Press, Divebomber, Bbar Crunch, Squat Front Raise, Hip Ext, ACS, Chirpee, Pistol
(Steps in the middle)

What a pretty holiday tree...upon closer inspection...oh, it's the 12 Days Workout (don't click on it if you want to be surprised).

Tomorrow, 12/20, 9AM Sunday Special: 12 Days Workout.



What is Hero Week (for the new folks)? Hero Week started only last year when some CFers got the idea to stack some of the challenging CrossFit Hero workouts back-to-back the week between Christmas and New Year. Why?
1) To honor the heroes
2) To put our conditioning to the test
3) To ring in the New Year in style (totally "resolactive")
4) To get together and hang out!

This year includes 8 Workouts from Dec. 26-Jan. 2. Hero Week doesn't disrupt normal Corps Fitness class schedule. In fact, nothing changes...unless you are trying to complete all 8...then you'll be extra sore and have blisters.

In order to complete all 8, you only have to make a few special trips outside of your regular class routine...but that's life. So come on out and join in the fun. Look at the schedule and try to make as many workouts as you can!

Post to comments...are you planning on getting all 8?

Put your right foot in...

Take your left foot out...Unilateral KB Day.
TGU, Mirror Swing, Windmill, Snatch (R/L)
BW: Med Slides, OHS, Side Hurdle, Jump P/U

Holiday Schedule:

Thursday Dec. 24: 9AM Combined Class (all other classes canceled)

Friday Dec. 25: Closed



Click here for Hero Week Schedule!

Thursday Updates

a) Friday KB: Kettle Krazy

b) ViVA & the Groove Dawgs raised $565 for IM ABLE. Visit IM ABLE to see what's new!

c) Look for any upcoming Holiday Schedule changes...check here and read signs at the gym! That includes the Hero Week schedule!

d) The votes are in: "EVA" will end Hero Week! We'll have to brainstorm some recognition for those who complete all the workouts. Pukie Patches are out. We were sure that Livewrong's explosive diarrhea during "Badger" counted...honest mistake.

Wed. Beginners

Expect to workout hard.
Expect to meet some great folks.
Expect alot of hollerin' and movin'.
And.
Expect to see Van & Jax!

Wednesday Form: Snatch

A great find from Tanner. Especially good for watching how the body moves and how the weight moves in relation to the body...the program that draws the lines is very cool in showing the "miss." (watch at least into the 3rd minute).

Tuesday Attitude: Wishy-washy

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." -Larry Elder

Field Trip

Shaping up to be one of those weeks. Be sure to have your permission slips signed...every day -- field trip to the Anaerobic Threshold!

Wide Grip P/U, Ring Row, Close Grip P/U, Pikes, Swings, Push Press
Step Ups, Double Unders, Step Over, 8Ct., Box Jump, Dynamic V
(Star Jump, Bear Crawl across sides)

Monday "Did you know...?" Lean and Green

A fit person on a fit planet. Check out the provoking ideas at this guide.
There's alot of overlap between being leaner and being greener. A solid example is the Paleo diet.
Here's a summary. You can see more at Robb Wolf's CrossFit (he's a Paleo guru and the site has some cool recipes on the daily blog) or at his website.

Either way...Eat less, Eat better, Move more!

All of the lean meat, fish, seafood, eggs you can eat
All of the non starchy vegetables you can eat
Plenty of fruit
Moderate healthy fats
Moderate nuts and seeds
No grains or cereals at all
No legumes
No dairy products (eggs are meat)
No processed foods – make it yourself!
No sugars. Agave, organic honey, molasses, pure spun golden sunshine….it doesn’t matter. They are all equally bad for you.
No artificial sweeteners. These are not food! Creepy laboratory products with sketchy safety records, artificial sweeteners have been shown to produce an insulin response.

MEAT:
Grass fed beef
USDA certified organic meat
Wild fish
Locally raised animals
Eggs are good. Eggs from birds allowed to forage and run around are better.
Buffalo, elk, venison and other types of wild game are excellent choices if you can get them.

VEGETABLES:
Experiment with sautéing, roasting and grilling your veggies. Try different recipes and different ethnic foods. Learn to use herbs and spices. This stuff should taste good!
Peppers, squashes, eggplant, garlic, leeks, onions broccoli, cauliflower, avocado, carrots, green, cabbage, celery, kale, dandelion (yes! dandelion) spinach, tomatoes, radish, parsnips, mushrooms….
Avoid starchy vegetable – potatoes, etc. If you must eat starch (it happens) try yams and sweet potatoes.
Avoid legumes. Peanuts, beans, peas, lentils and soybeans should be avoided.

FRUIT:
A paleo diet allows and encourages lots of fruit consumption. There are a few issues with fruit consumption though. We need to consider how the fruit was grown as well as the type of fruit to evaluate nutritional value. We also need to consider pesticide exposure.
Scavenge the local farmers market for fresh local seasonal fruit. Organic is best.
Try to avoid fruit from far away. Flying in kiwis from New Zealand is not really helping our health.
Avoid GMO (genetically modified organism) fruit. Period.
A little fruit juice occasionally can be okay but, fruit juice is really candy.
Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly to minimize pesticides.
Some fruits like bananas have a high glycemic load and should be avoided if you are trying to loose fat.
Berries! Eat lots of berries!

NUTS & SEEDS:
Filling and nutritious. Nuts and seeds are packed with protein, fatty acids, enzymes, antioxidants and lots of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium and magnesium. It is possible to screw up your fat profile with nuts though. Lots of nuts have an unacceptably high omega 6 / omega 3 ratio. Here are the best choices:
Walnuts
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Nuts in moderation are very healthy but overeating them can stall weight loss. Cashews especially are delicious but surprisingly high in carbohydrate and contain too much omega 6.
Peanuts are not nuts.

Read more at Robb Wolf.com.

If you're into it, you can even buy the diet in a 'kit'.

This might help through the never-ending-holiday-eating season. Keep you eye on your goal...don't make your weight-loss or conditioning plan harder than they have to be as we head toward a new year.

PS. Thanks to the dietary caveman Tanner for forwarding the Paleo material.

CF Toys for Tots Workout

4 rds: 3DB Clean, 6 Pushup, 9 Squat (3min.)
3 rds: 3 KTE, 6 Crunch, 9 Plank Walk (3min.)

Then just some horsing around. Seemed like the usual Sunday CFer suspects....great job, and thanks for showing up!

I think we put everything away...hey, does anyone remember moving the stool off the black mats?

Saturday Silly-ness

A gabby group and a "30 seconds starts now" on Frog Leg Crunches?! Just silly!
Hang Run, Crossover Abs, Frog Legs, Leg Raises
(Bicycle Crunch Hold)
Squat Jump, Good Morning, Wall Ball, Skater
(Hot Seat)
Curl, DB Punch, PlyoPU, Walkabout
(Tunnel of Pain Hold)

Some Friday love...

for the early-rising, hard-working AM CFers! They confirmed it, officially, Little Sheets is just as demented at 5AM!

Snatch, Lunge: 40 Sandbag Step Ups
Decline PU, High Pull: 100' Beck's Burpee
KB SitUp, KB Gladiator Press: 50 Swing

PS. Sunday Special, 9am, Toys for Tots Workout

Never...ever...

speak of what just happened!
30-20-10
Burpee, Lunge, KB Crunch
30Air Squat
20P/U Knee Lift
10B&T Broad Jump
3 Suicide, 2 Star Jumps (50'), 1 Bear Crawl Box Drill

Thursday Updates

Tired of that old, stuffy Update Icon? This'll grab your attention!

1) IM ABLE/ViVA Fundraiser: 12/11, 10pm
2) Toys for Tots @ CF: Ends 12/13 (look for Sunday Special Workout with the Marines)
3) Friday KB: KB Burner
4) Hero Week Dec. 26-Jan. 2

Wednesday Form: Make it a Double.

Buddy Lee teaching the Double Under
(Watch it here at CrossFit.com)
"It's all in the wrist."

PS. Thanks to the delightful Karate Steve for the form suggestion.

Tuesday Attitude: Here comes trouble.

"The happy and efficient people in this world are those who accept trouble as a normal detail of human life and resolve to capitalize it when it comes along."
-H Bertram Lewis

WOD
20 Deadlifts
Run 400m
20 KB swings
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 Pullups
Run 400m
20 Box jumps
Run 400m
20 DB Squat Cleans
Run 400m

Ready...6 on a side...break!

6 on a side...Run a lap...Straight across...Shoelace...hut, hut!
That play ran smooth as silk! Great focus everyone...except for the little warm-up fumble:)

LSit, Pike, Leg Raise, VTwist, Hello Dolly, Honeymooner
B&T Jump, 8Ct, Handwalk, Side Hurdle, B-buster, JMRow
Air Squat, Scissor Lunge, Locomotive, Box Jump, Step Up, Lunge

Monday "Did you know...?" Hydration Revisited

A previous post on hydration seemed to generate alot of interest. You may have been impressed with Karate Steve's wee little poem..."With hydration your pee is truly the key." If that tinkled your curiousity bells and whet your thirst to know more, then You'reIn for a treat.

Is Urine the New Water?

PS. ViVA/IMABLE Event: Friday night, Dec. 11, 10pm-1am.
PPs. Special thanks to the lovely Dan-Oh for researching this "Did you know" topic.

Thank you, Capt. Awesome...

Can we have another?!

Suicide warm up: $11
30/20 rep pit drill: $24
PushUp/Bear Crawl box drill: $37
Poser Circuit: $82
CA walking in at 8:40 for the Beginner class: Priceless!


Double Unders, Lsit/Pike, JumpP/U, Alternating Side Step/Med Ball, Push Up/Hold, B&T Jump, Modified Plank/Plank, Bear Crawl/Sprint, Air Squat/Hot Seat, Push Press/Hold

November M.O.M (Motivator of the Month)

Eric Esterbrook
Every month this award could be given to a lot of people for a number of different reasons. Getting more pushups off your knees, smoking the time it would usually take to run a 400, getting through a whole month without making a mistake. Whatever the reason, the people of CF definitely make their mark and it is difficult to narrow it down to just one. This month it was a bit easier. Eric came to me back in April and when he first started I understood what his limitations were and why he wanted to do some one on one. In his initial testing he could not do one full sit up and after 5 off the knee pushups he had to go to his knees to finish the remainder. This was not helped by his weight and the issue he had with eating the wrong things. I asked him the first day what he had eaten the night before and his answer was all you can eat wings...around 48! Since then he has made notable strides and has eventually come to the point where his diet isn't in question. He decided to make the change and the changes he has made have been monumental.

(LEFT: 35lbs heavier)

He could not do one pull up without the band assistance but two weeks ago he blasted

through a 4 round workout with 10 rep pull ups in the mix without the bands! He started off thinking he could do about three and when he showed me that he got the "kipping" down I wouldn't let him go back to the bands. I watched him rep them out for 4 rounds and was so pumped when I saw the disbelief on his face that he just finished 40 pull ups! This is what I want everyone on some level to experience in and out of CF and to experience things they never thought possible. Please help me congratulate Eric Esterbrook for motivating me and serving as an example of work=results! Great job!!!

Act your age

New study to show relationship between strenous exercise and aging.
"Ulrich Laufs, the study's co-author, who is a researcher at Saarland University in Germany, said one of the key findings was that lifelong exercise was associated with a significant prevention of telomere shortening." Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes thought to be heavily involved in aging and age-related disease.

PS. The CF women are reminding us that last year ONLY CF Women received the Pukie Patch for fully completing Hero Week. Uh-oh!

PSS. Eva pulled ahead in the voting...which means we may have to hear MikeL yell "bring the salt" for the next 3 weeks.

2 minute (in theory) Drill

Dip/PU, Squat/Gd Mrng, JJ2BT: Quick Step
Bicycle Crunch, Pike, Dynamic V: Plank
Side Lunge, Bench Lunge, Deadlift: Step Up
Jump PullUp, 8 Ct, DB Punch: Bar Pass

Thursday Updates and Guess Who?

1) Setting a very dangerous precedent here! Whose CF legs? Guess the exercise for extra points!
2) Friday KB: KB Khaos!
3) December 11, 10pm: IMABLE Benefit Dance at ViVA Bistro. $10 ticket. Music by the Groove Dawgs. Tix available at gym or the door.
4) Toys for Tots at CF: Bring in a new, unwrapped gift. Ends Dec. 13th. Dan-Oh..."new"!


5) Hero (& Girl) Week 2009! It's back...check out what folks said about Hero Week last year:
"All I wanted for Christmas was Rhabdo...thanks CF!"
"Really enjoyed the extra workouts."
"What day is Hero Week?"
"Brutal, but awesome."
"You bastards, even my blisters have blisters!"

Last year, CFers completed 5 Hero Workouts in 6 days, ending with Murph. This year, it's badder...we're adding some of the Girls to the mix!!

For these CrossFit workouts click here. Mark your calendars for Dec. 26-Jan. 2 (specific schedule posted later in Dec.)

Wednesday Form: What's the big diff?

Photo of Push Jerk from CrossFit North Fort Collins.

Shoulder Press, Push Press, Push-Jerk...what's the difference in the 3 exercises, and what's the importance in that difference?

Watch the video here at CrossFit. Post comments.