Thursday

WOD:
"Gator"
8 Rounds for Time
5 Front Squats 185/135
26 Ring Push-Ups

What is CrossFit by CrossFit Overload

The largest 3D street art in the world!  When I saw this I thought it was a photoshopped deal, not so.

Wednesday

The new On-Ramp starts this Thursday!  Get signed-up now for a month of smart training that will build good fitness habits for the new year!

LIFT
Bench 5x5

WOD
400 m run
5 Deadlift

One thing we do here is work on running technique.  Yes, there is a right way to run, just like there is a right way to deadlift.  Notice how light Jessica is on her feet.  You can't get hurt in the air!

Do you see a physique you like here?  We can't help you look like the woman on the left, but we can help you look like the woman on the right.  They both have about the same amount of bodyfat, but the effect is much different.  The first look is made through starvation and excess cardio, the second through weightlifting, intervals, sprinting, and eating meat, bacon, and vegetables.  More here.

An interview with Gary Taubes, groundbreaking author of "Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It" in the CrossFit Journal.

Tuesday

LIFT:
Snatch 8 x 2

WOD:
Death by Pull-up and HSPU

With a continuously running clock, do one pull-up and one handstand
push-up the first minute, two pull-ups and two handstand push-ups the
second minute, three pull-ups and three handstand push-ups the third
minute… continuing as long as you are able. When you cannot complete the
required number of reps for either exercise, continue only with the other
as long as you are able.

Use as many sets in any order each minute as needed.

Post number of minutes successfully completed for each exercise to
comments. Their sum is your score.

Laurie Galassi 32 (15 HSPU + 17 Pull-up), Jesse Bazarnick 32 (13 HSPU + 19
Pull-up).

 A valiant effort, but not quite, this time.

Monday

Overhead Squat
3-3-3-3-3

Then:
 AMRAP 10
20 Wall Ball Shots
20 KB Swings

"Barbells"

Saturday and Sunday

Visitors are welcome, you will be using dumbbells and medicine balls.

"Santora"


Three rounds for reps of:

155 pound Squat cleans, 1 minute
20' Shuttle sprints (20' forward + 20' backwards = 1 rep), 1 minute
245 pound Deadlifts, 1 minute
Burpees, 1 minute
155 pound Jerks, 1 minute
Rest 1 minute

This looks like hero WOD gone bad!  
 

U.S. Army Sergeant Jason A. Santora, of Farmingville, New York, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based out of Fort Benning, Georgia, died in Logar province, Afghanistan on April 23, 2010, from wounds sustained during a firefight with insurgents. He is survived by his parents Gary and Theresa, and sister Gina.

A couple of deadlift PRs in the evening class!

Sunday's class will be at 5 pm for open lifting and 6 pm sharp for the WOD, as usual.

Black Friday

Lift:
Dead Lift 5-5-5-3-3-3

WOD:
4 Rounds for Time
Row 500 Meters
Rest 3 minutes


Beautiful clean and jerks Wednesday! It was fun to work on our skills and go heavy. We went over the importance of the hook grip and the transition from the clean rack to the jerk rack.

Watch Carissa Gump hit an American record for the clean and jerk with 120 kg. Here is Casey Burgener's clean and jerk.  These videos are short and easy to watch.  If you get addicted to them like me, this link brings up a long list of nice cleans.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

One class only today - 9 am.

Practice your rope climb - get fast.  With the right leg clamp, you can slide right down that rope quite fast with minimal effort.  If you miss this skill this week, ask me to work with you during warm-up at your next class. Watch these elite CrossFit men and and women tackle the rope climb with clean & jerk WOD.   VP

WOD
10 HSPU
20 Wallball   20/14
30 Toes to Bar
40 Power Cleans   135/95
50 Burpees
60 SDHP   75/53

Toes to Bar

Wall ball - only 20!

Wednesday

Lift: Clean & Jerk
WOD:
10 - 1 Power Clean
1 - 10 Burpees

You guys are back on dairy?

Tuesday

We will have only one class on Thanksgiving, at 9am.

LIFT 
Front Squat

WOD
21-15-9
Kettlebell Thruster Right
Kettlebell Thruster Left
Pull-up

Attack of Quadzilla!

Paleo Challenge People:  Make sure to get your benchmark WOD done and your bodyfat measured.  Also, send me after photos, or let me take some.  You may do a benchmark in class instead of the official WOD if you need to.

We are trying out a new system to track your WOD scores called SocialWOD.  Check it out here.   You can have it email you when a new WOD is posted, it usually take at least 12 hours.  This is a new service; they are working on new features to let you add in your scaling and weights.  Please give me feedback on it.  We can give them some ideas.  If you like it we will keep it! 

Monday

WOD:
CrossFit Games Event 10


For time:

20 calorie Row
30 Wallball Shots, 20 pound ball
20 Toes to bar
30 Box jumps, 24” box
20 Sumo-deadlit high-pull, 108 pound kettlebell
30 Burpees
20 Shoulder to overhead, 135 pounds
120 foot Sled pull, sled plus 165 pounds

We have a nice chipper lined up for Thursday, 11/24, Thanksgiving at 9 am.  I'm refusing to spend one more year at the little kids' table, so just about when everyone else is eating I'll be rowing a half-marathon.  Let me know if you want in.

Mobile is the new strong which was the new skinny.  Simi shows she has it all covered at the MBS Turkey Challenge.

Weekend

Saturday

a benchmark WOD
Filthy Fifty or Murph

If you need a different benchmark WOD redone to compare times from before the Paleo Challenge, let me know.

Sunday
An hour of lifting at 5 pm.  This class is open to all members; you will have an hour to work on your barbell lifts and your accessory work like pull-ups, ring rows, or glute-hams.

WOD at 6 pm sharp.  This class is 30 minutes.

 Clayton and Tut

Josh L

Friday

WOD:
L-Sit for Time
Handstand Walk for Distance
Chest to Bar Pull-Up for Weight
1 rm Snatch

Audrey got 32 feet on her hands this morning, Jennifer got a chest to bar pull-up, Andrew snatched 175, and James sounded the depths of the bottomless coffee cup.  What do the rest of you have?

My oldest daughter and me about ten years ago.  She is in Spain now with a school group!

Remember to come after class at 6:30 pm Friday for the Paleo Party!  There will be refreshments to share (bring something to share if you can) and we will announce the winners of the Paleo Challenge, based on number of meals posted to comments.  Please send in your photos and get your BF measured.  We will be doing benchmarks this Saturday - Murph or Filthy Fifty - let me know which one you need to do.  If you didn't get at least one "after" benchmark WOD in this week, you may do one during class next week.

Thank you for participating in this challenge, either officially or unofficially.  It has been a learning experience for me to guide so many people through this journey.  It has been interesting to hear your many reactions to improving your lifestyle - what you are willing to change or not, and what effect it has on you.  Thank you for letting me help out!

Please post to comments or our FaceBook page if you noticed any change in your body or your mind!

Thursday

WOD:
5 Muscle Ups
10 Dead Lifts 245/165
15 GHD Sit-Ups

Sprint 50 Yards

5 Muscle Ups
10 Dead Lifts 245/165
15 GHD Sit-Ups

Sprint 100 Yards

5 Muscle Ups
10 Dead Lifts 245/165
15 GHD Sit-Ups

Sprint 150 Yards

5 Muscle Ups
10 Dead Lifts 245/165
15 GHD Sit-Ups

Sprint 200 Yards

Kettle bells, plyo box, squat rack, GHD, and a beautiful C2 model "C" erg.  Five things taken two at a time - how many couplets can we come up with here?  We're spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports. JD

Everybody come to the Paleo Party on Friday after the WOD!  We will share yummy food and give out the prizes from the Paleo Challenge.  This is a green party, so bring your own utensils and plates (although we will have some to share.)  This is a good time to talk with the participants and see if they saw, felt, or performed any differently.  Several people have told me that they felt SO much better and were faster with less suffering during the WOD.  One person in particular, told me his shoulder was hurting again recently - it turns out he went on a dessert gluten/sugar bender.  And Jennifer Piggot got her first real pull-up ever this month!

This is a good time to get your bodyfat measured again, and take new photos!

On Thanksgiving we will have only one class, 9 am.  VP

Wednesday

LIFT
trainer's choice

WOD
1 Rope Climb
5 Clean and Jerk 145/115
1 Rope Climb
4 Clean and Jerk
1 Rope Climb
3 Clean and Jerk
1 Rope Climb
2 Clean and Jerk
1 Rope Climb
1 Clean and Jerk

Congratulations to Clarissa!  She pulled a 200 pound deadlift today!

Simi is competing at MBS CrossFit in Broomfield this weekend.  It's always exciting to watch a live CrossFit event.  The crowd is fun to watch - all beautiful sexy-fit CrossFitters.  AND it's free to get in.  Details on the WODs and location here.  I'll be going right after the Saturday WOD - come with me and cheer Simi on!  VP

Tuesday

Everyone is invited to the "We Survived Paleo" Party on this Friday evening after the WOD.  Bring some Paleo food or  adult beverages to share.  Eating Paleo for a month wasn't really that hard now, was it?

LIFT
trainer's choice


WOD
Master's WOD #
5 Rounds for Time
10 Deadlifts
10 Kettlebell thruster (explanation and standard here)
150 sprint

The leftover chicken bones, turned into solid deliciousness and a calcium/glucosamine supplement.   This is reduced stock, which I turned into a sauce.

Some direction from the Mike Burgenger on the jerk grip verses the clean grip.  You must transition between the two during a clean and jerk.  During the thruster, you either transition (quickly!) or make some compromise in one or both.  If your front squat is collapsing chest forward, keep those elbows up until the last minute.  If the upper portion of the lift is the limiting factor, then drive up with your elbows down and your hands around the bar.  Just make sure that your elbows do not come near your knees, for that contact at high speeds and with weight on the bar can lead to injury.

More about the clean rack position from CrossFit Chicago.

Monday

WOD:
12-9-6
Clean & Jerk 135/95
Muscle Up

If it were a power clean, it would say "power clean."  I strongly object to the "squat clean" construction.  Suffice it to say that for this work out, you're either catching your clean in a parallel or deeper squat, or you're power cleaning then doing a front squat.

We have enough MU progressions to keep everyone happy.

This time I'll tell the truth.  Sometimes I look through our growing photo archives, and I click on something trying to enlarge it but it uploads.  It's usually easier for me to caption my way out of it than to edit.  What I remember here was that it was June 2010, the Waldens were involved, and some sort of mercy rule - perhaps a 30 minute cut-off - was invoked.

Darla has labored quietly and ceaselessly for months now, squatting three times a week when her schedule allows.  She's had no consistent training partners and variable coaching since our schedules rarely allow it.  Saturday she went 3/3 on the squat, and 1/1 on the bench when we decided to pass the second and third attempts to save energy for an American record dead lift attempt.  She missed the opening dead lift, regrouped to smash it on the second attempt, and had a back-wrenching, gut-busting attempt at the record.  The bar broke off the floor and went to mid-shin where neither her strength nor my will could make it go any further.

You probably won't see or hear Darla again until March when she becomes our first American record holder.

Friday

LIFT

Press

WOD

3 x 800 m

2 minutes rest in between

It should be a beautiful day to run.  A great day to work on your running technique and perhaps, just maybe, stop heel striking.  Some targeted mobility work will help, too.

Remember the pistols? Watch this guy.


We are nearing the end of our Paleo challenge.  We are doing some of the benchmark WODs already, make sure you come in and get them done so you can see and feel if there has been any change.  It's time to start posting again - how have you all been doing?  Even if you have fallen off the wagon, you are one meal away from being back on track.  I haven't had a piece of chocolate candy since the start and that hasn't killed me; if this chocoholic can do it, you can too!

We are not dieting, this is just a strategy to determine the optimal human diet for you.  We wouldn't feed the lion in the zoo a cereal-based diet; lions eat meat.  Feed yourself a species-appropriate diet.  Enough with the processed, nutrient-poor, additive-laced junk-in-a-box.  Just eat some real food!

And say hello to the people in the On-Ramp class.  They too, are learning to follow a suitable, real-food, human diet.


Speaking of real food, we have many good choices for humanely-raised, grass-fed, pastured beef.  Grass -fed beef is much better for you (for instance it has a much better Omega 3 to 6 ratio) and is also far more sustainable and ethical than factory feed-lot beef.  Darla has been working at Sunrise Ranch all summer; they have permaculture-style grass-fed meat in small or large quantities and Darla can deliver to the gym.    If you have a chest freezer you have more options as you can order a quarter of a cow and you can get the best deal - sometimes less than supermarket beef!     Ali has bought 400 pounds of grass-fed beef from Natural Homestead Beef; they sell by the quarter or half beef.    I've gotten bacon and a whole hog from them.   Chelsea has gotten some pastured lamb from a ranch in Wyoming which also sells bulk grass-fed beef at a great price; they will bring it down to Fort Collins for you.   

We have some freezer space in our fridge to store a small quantity of meat, I may just get some and sell it piece-meal.  Also, several of us could work together to get a whole beef and split it for the best price. VP

05:30 and 07:30 classes have a rendezvous with "Jackie." Happy Veteran's Day - JD formerly USN

Thursday

Did I ever show you that x-ray of my dislocated finger? It's entirely my fault I'm at work and forgot to do the blog.  After you try this, you'll understand why I can't forget that tomorrow's WOD is:

"Jackie"
1000m Row
45 Thrusters 45/35
30 Pull-Ups
JD

Please pace yourself on the row - this is not your rower-winning sprint!  You must go on to the thrusters and pull-ups without throwing up - that wastes valuable time.

Last Saturday's WOD was a Hero WOD , this Saturday's may be too.  Everyday is Veterans day in CrossFit.  However, please take a few minutes of silence tomorrow to honor our service members and their sacrifices. Life goes on as usual  for most people, but they have been fighting our wars overseas for us.  VP

Wednesday

LIFT
Deadlift

Weighted Dip
3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

WOD
AMRAP 12
5 dumbbell power snatch right
5 dumbbell power snatch left
10 box jumps

It's a busy day.  Your warm-up should be fast and focused!

The kids got to flip kid-sized tires Tuesday.  They did a great job!

Bbrrrr its cold out there.  Some great Halloween costumes in this article.

Tuesday

LIFT

WOD
Helen
Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (1 pood for women)
12 Pull-ups

This is a benchmark WOD.  See if you have gotten any faster since last time!

How to get a better rack.

Practice how you play.

Monday

Lift: Overhead Squat
WOD:
3 Rounds for Time
30 Wall Ball Shots 20/14
30 Snatches 75/45

These are not power snatches, got it?

One year ago today, somebody was doing something.  This year people are still doing things.

This week we have one of my least favorite girls, Helen, and one of my favorites, Jackie.  If you haven't done these, you should.  If you have done these, you should do them again and see if you've improved.

Weekend

Saturday at 9 am
A hero WOD in honor of   U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Zachary Dinsmore from Berthoud, Colorado  who was injured fighting for our country.  Please come and show your support.



Sunday at 6 pm stat
a girl WOD with James
This is a half-hour express class.  You may also come for the 5 pm Lifting class to get some time under the bar.

Awesome Alex - 4 more weeks

I was reminded a couple of days ago how the combination of a grain-free, vegetable-oil-free, sugar-free Paleo diet and the sensible application of CrossFit acts like a magic pill to restore health and fertility.
"You will get pregnant on this s***!"  - Robb Wolf
Gluten sensitivity and fertility

Once you have gotten pregnant, CrossFit Mom is a good site to read.  And you can catch our Awesome Alex here, she also has a bunch of good links.

Friday

"Manion"
Seven, yes seven, rounds for time
400 m run
29 back squats with 135/95

First Lieutenant Travis Manion, 26, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, assigned to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Pendleton, California, was killed by sniper fire on April 29, 2007 while fighting against an enemy ambush in Anbar Province, Iraq. He is survived by his father, Colonel Tom Manion, mother Janet Manion, and sister Ryan Borek.

Not for another week!
This good raw grass-fed milk (notice the layer of fat on top) is something I miss during a month of strict Paleo.  My skin seems better without it (or maybe that was all the chocolate!); I'll see if adding it back in goes well.

Two armed snatch!

The big story on gluten intolerance.   Hmmm, the proteins and the gluten are in the bran...

Why gluten-free is just a start.

The Wheat Belly book looks like a good one. That's one I should get for the gym. Is it beer belly, pasta belly, or just general grain belly?

I love this book title, and the recipes look so good.  Fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, and mashed... cauliflower anyone?

Please write a review for Google maps - this would help out the gym!  VP

Thursday

Lift: Snatch Balance
WOD:
3 Rounds for Time
10 Overhead Squats 135/95
50 Double Unders
Music: Loud
Attitude: Killer

Sometimes a picture is worth four words: Normal Early Morning Awesomeness.

I'm remembering again that shovelling hundreds of pounds of wet snow at 5 am is not my favorite work out.  I'm also remembering that cookies on the ess curves of Delaware Avenue at 4:50 am are perfectly Paleo.  Are there really "not morning" people, or is that just some excuse to avoid some high-quality insanity?  There is no burpee penalty for arriving late to the 5:30 am class, but if you're not there by 6, I'm not helping you forge your Paleo food log.

Yeah, someday I'm going to stay up past noon and see how the other half lives.

Wednesday

WOD:
Colorado Masters Open WOD #1
1000 meter row
75 wall ball shots 20/16
500 meter row
30 pull-ups


15 minute cut-off

As you blast through this and wonder what's wrong with the old people, remember we had to hit a six inch target.  I probably did 100 wall balls to get 75 counted.  Maybe the hand-eye coordination is quick to go, or maybe I need bifocals.

One year ago today, I apparently got new Chucks, probably for the NASA powerlifting meet.  This year my current Chucks are probably good enough to make it to the December USAPL meet.

We have another huge and motivated on-ramp group.  Come in and get acquainted.

Tuesday

WOD
"Barbara"
5 Rounds each for Time
20 Pull-Ups
30 Push-Ups
40 Sit-Ups
50 Squats
Rest 3 minutes between rounds

Wouldn't it suck if you had to do box jumps leashed to someone faster than you?