CrossFit Benchmark WOD - "Filthy Fifty" [wmv][mov]
Chipper For Time:
Compare to Feb 2013 Strength Focus - Back Squat - 5-5-5
Welcome to Dominique, visiting us from CF Fury (Phx) and Patrick, visiting us from CF Neptune (Tucson)!
April 2013 CrossFit Flagstaff Newsletter is hot off the presses!
Check out Ms. April, get some cooking tips from Lindsay, and learn more about your deadlift!
It's all right here!
CrossFit Benchmark WOD "Helen"
3 Rounds For Time:
Compare to December 2011 Make up 12/11
"Yeah, but I scaled."
I hate hearing
this - its usually at the end of a WOD, when someone just crumpled to
the floor, dead last by minutes, breathing hard while classmates go up
to congratulate.
"Dude, that was awesome, way to fight through", "You did SO good!", "That was amazing, great job today", "Good job finishing, way to not give up!"
"Yeah, but I scaled"
As if scaling is something to be ashamed of, as if scaling is for the weak and the untrained.
As if scaling means you didn't do the workout - or your workout was less worthy because you scaled.
It isn't.
We are all in a constant state of scaling - even the elite of the elite, even the few who make it to the finals at The CrossFit Games
Double unders are scaled triple unders, MU are scaled weighted MU, 15' rope climbs are scaled 20' climbs.
Sure, they aren't called for in the WODs today, but what about tomorrow?
Scaling is how you get from where you are now to your future kickass self.
Scaling is how you stay safe and healthy.
Scaling is how you finish the workouts and feel obliterated after,
using a band instead of just staring at the bar for 10 min willing
yourself to get a pullup.
Scaling is how you improve your technique and learn to lift heavier.
Scaling, is not, however, something to be ashamed of or something that you can use to write off your WOD as a poor performance.
So next time you are crumpled on the floor gasping for air, be proud that you choose the right scale for you.
Be proud that you killed the WOD, and that the WOD killed you. -Journalmenu.com
CrossFit WOD
For Load:
Strength Focus: Shoulder Press
5-5-5
"If PAIN is WEAKNESS leaving the body, then DRIVE is LAZINESS leaving the soul." - Rick Murphy
I am not calling anyone weak or lazy... but there has been a lot of PAIN and DRIVE present in the gym recently! Keep up the strong work crew!
2013/2014 Season Comp Squad Program Guidelines
The Comp Squad program is designed to be additional training for athletes that are serious about competing in CrossFit competition any level. The program is ineffective if the athlete is not consistently completing the CFF WOD as a base, so please do not "cherry-pick" the CFF WOD, or use the Comp Squad training as an alternative to the CFF WOD. The expectation is that you attend Comp Squad for its intent: guidance from a coach on approach to competition mindset, self-talk, and mental toughness, competitive inspiration, team/athlete building, and additional necessary training. Then, complete the WOD during any class-time hour that works for you, continuing to be part of and an inspiration to the community you belong to.
If your goal is to be on Comp Squad, you should be diligently hitting the CFF WODs consistently and with purpose toward each. Focus most workouts as a training session to work on a weakness that workout provides for you (i.e.: more consecutive pullups, unbroken sets of lifts, grip strength, rebound box jumps, gaming work:rest ratios, smoother technique on wall ball, etc), hit your strengths hard so you're also having fun. Attend Strength Focus and Nuts and Bolts classes and work on the skills of the movements you need more time and attention to detail on.
Ignoring the necessary skill work and just hitting everything as heavy and as fast as possible shows lack of commitment to your goal. What is your true goal and are your behaviors matching that goal?
If you are completing the CFF WOD consistently, you should incorporate the Comp Squad training into your training to the extent that you are able to handle, and then ramp up over time until you are consistently completing the additional training. We are programming the maximum work that we think our athletes should be doing, not the minimum. Jumping in "Cold Turkey" and trying to hit every additional session is a sure-fire pathway to injury and/or over-training. Adding one additional session per week at a time and allowing your body to catchup before adding another is a good strategy for long-term success. You should monitor your recovery and back off if your CFF WOD performance starts to decline. Remember, there is no way to "fast-track" your progress, but you certainly can "slow-track" it by over-reaching before you are ready.
May Comp Squad Training Times:
Comp Squad specific: 1:00 - 3:ish p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturdays 11:00 - 1:00, and Sundays 9:00 - Noon, and all Constructive Freeform and Make-Up gym times.
Morning and evening Strength Focus class times are also open to Comp Squad through May to monitor interest in what times of day are most attended. If you need to attend the early or late Strength Focus classes instead of the 1:00-3:00 Comp Squad time, a trainer can be available for an additional 30 min. if needed (5:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. M-W-F), just let us know that is the time that works for you.
If you are participating in the CFF Comp Squad training program, you are required to post your training and WOD results, sleep, nutrition, and thoughts to comments and be accountable for the work you are accomplishing toward your goals. If you don't post to comments, the trainers will assume that you rested that day.
May 2013 - Season Kickoff Challenge:To kick off the new season of training for competition, we will be initiating a challenge as ofMay 1st. Because the cornerstone of all human movement is the basic Squat, and because everything gets easier when your Squat is better, the kick-off is the 21-Day Squat Challenge. Please read the article that inspired this challenge, here.
As it states in the article, every participating athlete will choose to tackle a daily maximal load on either Front or Back Squat, or both. For some of us, the Box Squat will also be included and combined as needed for each individual athletes' needs. What you focus on depends on your goals and weaknesses.Varying the volume of "back-off " sets depending on the individual's recovery and the WOD planned for that day will also allow for individual goals to be targeted. (2x2 for days when you feel crappy vs. 3 sets of 5 heavy reps for good days).Anyone who has been consistently participating in the group classes at CrossFit Flagstaff for at least 6 months is welcome to join Comp Squad and participate in this challenge! Talk to a trainer about how to best implement this training to help you reach your goal of competing at the next competition you're interested in!
For TIme:
Strength Focus:
Compare to October 2012 October 2011 October 2010
We had some special visitors come by the gym for a WOD today. Easton, Loren, David, Shawn, Drew and Chris from the Easton Corbin Band joined us for a WOD. Thanks for coming by!
CrossFit Benchmark WOD - "Jackie"
For Time:
Compare to: January 2012 October 2010
Jackie, Greg Amundson ...[wmv]
Jackie, Greg A. vs L1 trainers [wmv][mov]
Today was Melissa's first class, welcome! Thanks for visiting from Delta CrossFit Alex, and Kelly from Hermitage CrossFit!
There was a great competitive atmosphere at the gym today during every class. A lot of heart, determination, and digging deep to push beyond your own expectations. PR's left and right. However, the stand off of the day to watch was during the 5:00 class between David Watts and Justin Madden! Justin takes the number 2 spot on the board with 6:18 and David edged out Mike Ray's record for the 3rd spot at 6:48!
Rest up every one..."Grace" is coming up on Friday! Who's going to get a spot on the leaderboard?
For Load:
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Increase load with each rep, for a 1RM.
Overhead Squat Basics [wmv][mov]
Overhead Squat Elements [wmv][mov]
Overhead Squatting Safely [wmv][mov]
Setting up the Overhead Squat, Lisa Ray [wmv][mov]
Overhead Squats (Mark Rosen) [wmv][mov]
Girls Go Overhead (Nicole & Jamie) [wmv][mov]
Compare to March 2010
Waiter carry and squat relays helped us warm up for our heavy Overhead Squats.
Benchmark WOD - "Gwen"
15 - 12- 9 rep rounds (not for time):
Clean and Jerk (max load)
Touch and go at floor only. Even a re-grip off the floor is a foul. No dumping. Use same load for each set. Rest as needed between sets. If your weight is too heavy and miss an unbroken set, drop the weight and do-over unbroken.
Compare to October 2012 April 2012
Strength Focus: Bench Press
Work Up to a Heavy Single
Flat back, elbows up!
This past week I have started going to my box regularly again, which has felt awesome and sore at the same time… the only thing is I have had to scale the weights of every lift I have done so far. So, that has been a tad bit, well a lot bit, frustrating…
I tend to scale the weights back in my lifts, some not all, because there are two things I keep in mind why I scale or modify: virtuosity and meeting the movement standards safely. That last word, safely, means everything in CrossFit as lifts should be done safely, with minimal harm potential and with all the various lifts or pulls being executed in succession.
Firstly, I have had to have a long journey with my mind battling my heart over the thought that scaling a weight equates to weakness or, “You aren’t strong.” When I first started doing the WODs at my current affiliate (box), CrossFit Flagstaff, we used to put FORM on the board when we thought the weights weren’t up to par with what we mentally thought they should be. That in itself was damaging and our owner, Lisa Ray began erasing the word form from the board as she said, “You did the best you could do and putting form on the board leaves you with the thought you are weak or that you didn’t give it your all. When in fact you did.”
Secondly, scaling or modifying does not mean you didn’t give it your all. It just means you are in your head not the beast your heart views you as, one thing I have seen and felt in my WODs is the constant battle between the heart (the fire) and the mind (the fear) when doing a lift be it something heavier than you are used to or be it a more complex movement in a traditional WOD. When I just have a strength day where I am finding a 1RM or just trying to find a litmus for future lifts, I go heavy… when I am doing a lift in fast succession or volume in a traditional CrossFit style WOD, I assess the lift being done, if I can do the Rx’d weight safely and still turn around the reps on the board and the virtuosity of the movement as a whole. If I can do it, I do as Rx’d, if not I scale the weight down to a place where standards are being met safely. I still will hit the WOD hard and do the movement at a weight that is heavy for me but not too heavy where I fail on form and am getting injured.
During the Open this year, even though I didn’t register. I still participated. The lifts were heavy but being I wasn’t being judged per se, I still went virtuously heavy on them. I wasn’t thinking, “Okay, I have to do the rx’d, and that is a heavy weight I haven’t lifted before.” I was thinking, “Okay, do what you know you can do but make sure it is heavy, this WOD isn’t supposed to feel like a walk in the park. It is supposed to suck, it is making you stronger.” When I approached the WODs in that manner, it freed me to hit them hard and gave me the intensity I needed, it also took the mindset of failure out of the equation and the WODs were fun instead of frightening.
The thing is by scaling now, I am setting myself up for stronger and solid Rx’d lifts in the future. It is investing in staying injury free so I can consistently build strength and WOD. I know it sucks not seeing Rx’d next to my times or my reps on the whiteboard more days than not, but it is part of the journey in fitness. I was injured before I came to CFF so that is always in the back of my mind when doing a lift as something I don’t ever want to feel again.
I did Fight Gone Bad this past Tuesday, sure I could have done the Rx’d but I would have struggled with reps and wouldn’t have nearly racked up the rep numbers but I stuck with virtuosity instead of ego. Ultimately, it comes down to ego. I have a philosophy for that, “Ego gets you injured. Turn it off. Especially, when lifting heavy things above your head. As both your head and your ego will get crushed as it undoubtedly will fall.”
The end result, leaves you on your knees or on your back… sweating.
2010 CrossFit Games Team WOD #1:
Team of 4 completes 2 rounds for time of:
70 Thrusters -155 lb. M/105 lb. W
50 chest-to-bar Pullups
100m Buddy Carry (switch partners at end of 50m)
Coach Burgener - June 29-301 teammate working at a time, break reps up as teammates wish.
Compare to August 2010
CrossFit Hero WOD - "Murph"
For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pullups
200 Pushups
300 Squats
1 mile Run
Partition the pullups, pushups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a 20 lb. weight vest, wear it.
Compare to Dec. 2012 Nov. 2012 May 2012 January 2012
To all those who serve our country and fight for our freedoms.
THANK YOU.
In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it "Body Armor". From here on it will be referred to as "Murph" in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.
Here is Michael Murphy's heroic story. Honor every hero WOD with your very deepest effort, without complaint, but with thanks for what they died for.
Thanks to John Urkuski for telling the Story of Lt. Michael Murphy today at the 4pm class and helping us to remember WHY we do the HERO WOD's.
“As Rx’d.” You know what it means. “As prescribed,” per CrossFit Kinnick, “means that we completed the workout as written, with no scaling or modifications, with full range of motion (ROM).” They go on to add:
Perform your movements according to the standards and earn your prescribed status 100%. Let there never be any question that you played a good, clean game.[M]arking a workout performance “as Rx’d” is something special. It means something. It means that you are a pretty solid athlete. It means you did all of the prescribed reps, with no substitutions or scaling. If you substitute an exercise, or scale the workout somehow, it is NOT “as Rx’d”. It also means that you demonstrated solid form throughout the effort.
Some of your very last reps might not have been absolutely perfect and beautiful, but 97% of them should be. It means that your ROM was complete on EVERY rep. In order to do a WOD as Rx’d, you must redo reps that were not complete. I know its hard to go all the way down to floor on each push-up, especially towards the end of a workout. But if you don’t, you didn’t do it Rx’d, period.
Remember that CrossFit is the sport of fitness, and sports have rules and standards. Triangle CrossFit summarizes it well:
[J]ust like the sport of basketball, baseball, etc., there are standards associated with the game. A strike is a strike. The ball through the hoop, not the ball hitting the backboard, gets you two points.
Perform your movements according to the standards and earn your prescribed status 100%. Let there never be any question that you played a good, clean game.
Certainly you should care about the rules and integrity of the sport as practiced in your box. But you also put your health and longevity as an athlete in jeopardy if you push too hard to a do a workout Rx’d when you should not, as CrossFit Hollywood explains:
[M]ost injuries are caused by your own overtension and technique faults rep after rep after rep. It likely wasn’t the 1RM bench press attempt that tweaked your shoulder, it was the months prior of lifting with poor form. And looking back, you probably know it.
Like that rough bumpy part of the road that wakes you up before you drive off the highway, most injuries will give you warning signs before the final straw. Learn to pay attention to those signs and heed them.… [T]he “Rx” weight is kind of misnamed. It is merely a suggestion. The prescription for a workout is whatever is suitable for you on that given day at that given time. It’s not imperative that you thrustered 135 pounds a week ago. Maybe last night you didn’t get much sleep. Or maybe you’ve been in your car all day and your hips are tight. Or any other reason you may not be operating at 100% today. If a 95-pound bar is your Rx TODAY, so be it.
Is it worth sitting on the sidelines for two months while your shoulder heals from bursitis because you wanted a star next to your name on the whiteboard? Do you think you’ll get any less of a workout if you scale down to ensure proper form and protect a nagging joint?
Read our article on “Scaling with a Purpose” for more on this topic.
So what is the solution? Freddy Camacho of CrossFit One World has come up with an updated scoring system for their whiteboard results to reflect the middle ground between “scaled” and “Rx’d”:
[T]he “Rx” weight is kind of misnamed. It is merely a suggestion. The prescription for a workout is whatever is suitable for you on that given day at that given time.[W]e still see people miss lots of reps and the first thing they say when we write their result on the whiteboard is “I did it as RX!”
I don’t really make a big deal about it. I came from a bodybuilding background. I relate people thinking that they do workouts “as RX’d” to those guys who were spotting me on a bench press and telling me, “It’s all you!!!” We tend to turn a blind eye to the truth so we don’t discourage valiant efforts. I love it when peeps work their ass off and get excited about accomplishing something they didn’t think they could do. BUT…….
THE KING HAS NO CLOTHES!!! Let’s call a spade a spade, but encourage hard work. We write “RX” next to performances that meet the criteria for RX’d. We don’t write anything next to a performance that is scaled. I propose a third measurement. I used it the other night when a person doing the 150 push-up/shuttle run workout had more than a few reps that were definitely not legit. When he told me his time, I wrote “A LIL’ JANKY.” He was cool with it, and we both laughed.
Over the long term, by reserving the term “Rx” for truly Rx-worthy efforts, you will hold yourself to a higher standard and you will see the best gains.“ALJ”- You used the RX’d weight, and you did the required amount of reps, but in all honestly, it wasn’t quite RX’d. Good work. You need to work harder and get stronger. Your result was ALJ, but you will work harder and do it RX’d next time.
A lil’ janky. Love it.
Over the long term, by reserving the term “Rx” for truly Rx-worthy efforts, you will hold yourself to a higher standard and you will see the best gains. But enjoy the journey and start celebrating your progress along the way from scaled to Rx’d by using Freddy‘s intermediate designation of “ALJ” on the whiteboard in your box!
Heavy Days and Fight Gone Bad!
Julie showed some serious toughness today when she racked her shin on a missed box jump, and then still proceeded to finish the workout with a bloody, cut shin! Sheesh!!!
CrossFit Benchmark WOD
The CrossFit Total
Back Squat, 1 rep max
Shoulder Press, 1 rep max
Deadlift, 1 rep max
3 attempts at each movement once warmed up.
Add together best lift of each movement for your CF Total.
Compare to Dec 3, 2012/Make Up
Nuts and Bolts - Snatch skill work
Love heavy days at CrossFt Flagstaff!
3 rounds of:
In this workout you move from each of the 5 stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a 5-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", you must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Add your total points from all 3 rounds for a total score.
Compare to Sept. 2011 Make up day Sept 2011 June 2011 Make up day June 2011
CrossFit WOD
Clean and Jerk
1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Strength Focus: Bench Press
Work up to a heavy set of 3
"The Olympic lifts are hard for me. I don't seem to ever get better at them."
This was a common comment yesterday and one we hear from many people CrossFit-wide. Yes, they are challenging. They are complex and they take time to understand and then coordinate. I often tell people, the Oly-lifts are like playing the piano. You wouldn't expect to be able to sit down at a piano and play Beethoven, would you? You have to play Chopsticks with your pointer fingers first, then you gradually start putting 2 hands together and playing Twinkle Twinkle LIttle Star, then speeding up the tempo of your ability to play more complex music. Mistakes and frustration are part of the process. It doesn't even sound like what it's supposed to at first. It's a journey of skills, technique, increasing the intensity of the speed at which you can play...and down the road...voila - you get to play a beautiful piece in front of people that actually sounds like music.
Don't despair. Keep practicing the positions of the lifts and the drills we take you through. You're connecting the dots. The movements get smoother, the weights will go up, the movement will start to feel less like you're having a seizure and more like you're actually accomplishing a functional task.
Here are a few tips to be aware of that will make you better at Olympic Lifting.
Tips courtesy Tabata Times
1. Be More Patient - There is little point in yanking (technical term) the bar off the floor, only to end up in a compromised position for the second pull. The sole purpose of the first pull is to set you up for the rest of the lift. Take a little more time off the floor to make sure you are prepared.
2. Delay the Pull ("pockets" position)- Take a look at a frame-by-frame video analysis of any top-level weightlifter. See how high up the thighs the bar is before he or she starts the second pull. Now take a look at where you start your second pull. See my point?
3.. Finish Your Pull - I'm happy you are in a hurry to get under the bar. But just like a bad George Michael song, "You've got to get up to get down." (If that reference doesn't mean anything to you, then ask your Mum/Dad/British friends). Give that bar enough upward momentum and you will have more time than you realize to get your ass down there.
4. Keep It Close - That bar should remain close to you throughout the lift. It should make contact with your thighs and brush up your top. If those feelings are alien to you, you need to ensure the bar is closer to your body.
5. More Hips - This is pretty much the only cue I was given for my first eighteen months as a lifter, and for good reason. This is the fundamental premise of Olympic weightlifting. Hit full extension of the hips, and everything else will flow (literally).
6. Keep Control of the Bar - For many beginner lifters there is a point after you have reached full extension where "the magic happens" and you somehow end up underneath the bar. The reality is there is no point in the lift where the bar is out of your control. If you feel like there is, you probably need to be pulling down under the bar at that point.
7. Squat More - Yes, you. Do more front squats. Do them heavier and more times per week. Do I really need to list the benefits? Okay, then: increased leg strength, better body position under the bar, increased confidence in getting under the bar, and simply being able to get up from those lifts that currently pin you to the floor.
8. Consistency of Technique - Once you have these points down, get them consistent. Why do you think weightlifting competitions for young lifters award points for technique? It is first and foremost in the timeline. After that comes consistency of technique - being able to be hit the correct marks the majority of the time. Only then should intensity be a focal point.
Why Deep Squats Are Good for You
The ability to successfully perform a deep squat is a fairly good indicator of one’s overall fitness level and movement quality. Is it the end all, be all? Absolutely not, but it ranks right up there.
Squatting, for all practical purposes, is a complex movement that requires stability of the trunk and mobility of the extremities through constantly changing tension and position.
Upcoming refinement and renovations to look for:
21-15-9 rep rounds:
Elizabeth (as Rx'd) (Annie and Greg) [wmv][mov]
Compare to Dec 2012 Jan 2012
Strength Focus - Back Squat, Heavy 3 rep
Lots of visitors today! Aaron from CF Reebok 306 (Canada), Derek from CF CDA (ID), and Issac, Colby, Eric, and Gilbert are the owners of Duke City CF (NM)! Great to have all of you!
