Rest Day

Rest Day
or
CFSS

“George”

SDHP 21,18,15,12,9,6,3

Burpees 3,6,9,12,15,18,21

Push press 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 reps

Dave Lipson 265lbs.

A friend recently asked me a crossfit related question and I wasn’t quite sure how to answer it, so I’m hoping you guys will help me out: How do you define Strong?

Seven rounds for time of:
5 Handstand push-ups
185 pound Deadlift, 10 reps
10 Chest to bar pull-ups
20 Double-unders

Austin Malleolo 7:51, Kevin Montoya 8:58, Rich Fronning Jr. 9:14, Travis Holley 9:42, Rob Orlando 10:19, Laurie Galassi 10:36 (125lbs), Kristan Clever 10:40 (135lbs), Chris Gosler 12:15, Danielle Edmundson 13:08 (125lbs), Rebecca Voigt 13:29 (135lbs), Elyse Umeda 14:08 (125lbs),Heather Bergeron 14:09 (135lbs)

Rest Day

or

CFSS

Hang Power Clean 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

Friday Schedule:

9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The gym is closed!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our wonderful Crossfit family!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
30 second Handstand hold
30 second Squat hold
30 second L-sit hold
30 second Chin over bar hold

OR

“THE NATE”

Laurie Galassi 7 rounds + 22sec squat, Danielle Edmundson 7 + 19sec squat, Kevin Montoya 6 rounds + 10sec L-sit, Kristan Clever 6 rounds (freestanding HS), Jason Ackerman 6 rounds, Austin Malleolo 5 rounds + 22sec chin-over, Rebecca Voigt 5 rounds + squat (freestanding HS), Heather Bergeron 5 rounds + 10sec squat, Katie Hogan 5 rounds + HS, Mel Ockerby4 rounds + 15sec chin-over (freestanding HS).

Thanksgiving Schedule:

Wednesday, 24th, AM classes only.

Thursday, 25th CLOSED.

Friday, 26th, 9 a.m. 10 AM and 4:30 p.m.

Hang power snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

Dave Lipson 215lbs, James Hobart 163lbs, Austin Malleolo 163lbs, Lindsey Valenzuela 140lbs, Katie Hogan 137lbs, Kristan Clever 135lbs, Rebecca Voigt 117lbs, Michelle Kinney 115lbs.

I want everyone to check out Every Day Paleo today. Vilas told me about this website at Urban Pl8 and what he said on my facebook wall sums it up quite nicely: “The author is a crossfit trainer and a mom of 3; her argument is that ‘I’m (as) busy as anyone else and yet I am able to eat paleo, eat healthy, (and) cook up meals that don’t require a lot of time’. So if she can do it, we really have no excuses :p”. Quite true ,Vilas, quite true.

Here at the Siegel homestead we’ll be having a Paleo/Primal/Gluten Free option in addition to the traditional Thanksgiving fare. For instance we’ll be making an paleo apple and sausage stuffing as well as our usual cornbread stuffing. Chipotle sweet potatoes rather than mashed potatoes and both an apple pie and a primal pumpkin flan. Are you adapting your recipes at Thanksgiving to paleo, or giving the day a pass?

*recipes by request.

Rest Day

or

“Nicole”

Thanksgiving Schedule:

Wednesday, 24th, AM classes only.

Thursday, 25th CLOSED.

Friday, 26th, 9 a.m. 10 AM and 4:30 p.m.

Todays thoughts come to us from Crossfit East Sacramento and talks predominately about the core to extremity violation. The article does a really great job explaining what C2e violations are and how to avoid them. If you have questions throw ‘em in comments and we’ll do our best to answer.

Is it possible to have too much muscle?  Well not really unless you have used performance enhancers or have a genetic abnormality.  However I want to discuss the effects of your previous fitness regimens and their effects on performing functional movements with efficiency.

First lets take a look at our two participants here.  Matt Marabito on the left has an extensive traditional fitness background.  He was a trainer in the past and is steeped in the traditional Arnold Schwarzenegger/Joe Wieder single joint body building movements and overload principals.  Matt has developed great contractile strength, meaning that his major muscle groups can produce tons of force.  He is also mentally tough and physically conditioned from his years spent in the gym.

Next we have Bryan Wheeler, who came to us with little to no fitness background.  Bryan came in with next to no strength in the major muscle groups and conditioning so poor that he would get sick from just doing a few squats.  He probably lost his lunch about his first 10 workouts here.  Lucky for Brian he was blessed with natural flexibility and mobility.  This has been a saving grace for him in terms of having been able to progress quickly.

Before we go any further I want to define the “Core To Extremity Violation.”  Functional movements, when performed correctly, use the strongest body parts first and move outward to the weaker parts of the body in sequence.  In other words, when you perform a clean or a jerk, you want to use every inch of your hip (core) range of motion before you begin to move your arms (extremities.)  When the extremities move before the core finishes, you put a weak link in the kinetic movement chain and the speed/power of the movement is limited to the weaker part of the body.  When the movement is coordinated in the correct order, the body is able to express the full potential of the strongest body parts.  If you begin to pull your arms on the clean before you finish hip extension you have committed a core to extremity violation.  The same is true for the push press if you begin to press the bar overhead before your hips finish extension.  These violations are punishable by burpees without need for a fair trial.

The problem with muscle men like Matt, is that they have trained their bodies to perform slow controlled, non-functional movements while isolating parts of their bodies.  The movements typically performed in traditional body building training do not require coordination of multiple body parts together.  Matt’s body is convinced that his arms are stronger than his hips, and even though he knows we want him to finish jumping before he starts to pull on the bar, it is going to be a very difficult process for him to master.  The same problem is evident when trying to teach Matt the kipping pull up.  As a guy who can do many strict pull ups, he goes straight to muscle strength in his upper body vs using the momentum and explosiveness of the hips.  As he goes through a high rep clean or pull up workout, he will wear out his arms prematurely and need to rest.  This in-efficiency in his movement will lead to a slower time and lowered work capacity.  The good thing about Matt, is that once he overcomes this coordination problem and learns to apply the force he can produce in effecient movement patters, he is going to be a fucking monster.

Brian on the other hand has never learned to use his arms to produce high amounts of force.  He has been very easy to convince to use his hips when lifting and performing pull ups.  If you look at the first two shots taken during yesterday’s Foundation WOD you can see Matt with those huge meat hangers forcefully pulling on the bar before he has reached hip extension.  Brian on the other hand is perfectly starting to pull on the bar just after his hips have opened.  Same idea if you look at the push presses.  Matt has started to push the bar up before his hips can finish driving it up, and Brian is beautifully starting his press just at the instant of hip extension.

Also you will notice that in the pictures Brian’s bar is really blurry, and Matt’s bar is pretty clear.  That is because Brian’s bar is moving with much more speed and power.  The key to all functional movement, not just Olympic lifts is to use your body, or your core to do the work.  Your ass is much more powerful than your arms.

“Blake”

“Blake“

Four rounds for time of:
100 foot Walking lunge with 45lb plate held overhead
30 Box jump, 24 inch box
20 Wallball shots, 20 pound ball
10 Handstand push-ups

Mikko Salo 10:39, Austin Malleolo 14:55, Ken Gall 15:20, Kevin Montoya15:26, Daniel Tyminski 15:04, Michael Giardina 17:35, Kristan Clever16:55 (35lb plate, 24″ box, 16lb ball), Heather Bergeron 21:38 (35lb plate, 24″ box, 14lb ball), Rebecca Voigt 21:56 (35lb plate, 24″ box, 16lb ball).

U.S. Navy Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician David Blake McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Georgia, assigned to Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Support Activity in Norfolk, Virginia, was killed September 21, 2010, in a helicopter crash during combat operations in the Zabul province of Afghanistan. McLendon is survived by his wife Kate McLendon, his parents David and Mary-Ann McLendon, his brother Chris McLendon, and his sister Kelly Lockman.

It’s that time of week again,PR Saturday! Post up your accomplishments this week, however minor!

Sunday’s class will be at 10.

“Nancy”

5 rounds for time of:
400 meter run
95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps

Austin Malleolo 10:16, Dave Leys 11:05, Karianne Dickson 11:50 (65lbs), Kevin Montoya 13:20

I’ve talked to a few people who have come back to crossfit after a significant amount of time off (between a month and a year). The main thing I’ve heard is the bemoaning of the loss of ability. “I used to be able to do these” “I could do more pushups” , etc.  It’s important to realize that after you take time off you will probably not be able to do everything you did before hand. The strength and conditioning you have now are not permanent.  Metabolic conditioning decrease after about 3 days, strength decrease after about 3 weeks and skills go away after 3 months or so.

Coming back after time off is incredibly hard because you are in effect starting over,  and that may be one of the hardest places to start from in Crossfit. A former crossfitter will have the knowledge of all the movements but not the ability to do them. This inability can be very very frustrating. When I came back to crossfit after knee surgery I found it very helpful to think of my old PR’s and times as exactly that: old. This gave me the chance to  work within the ability I had and not constantly look back to where I used to be.