Yes, the gym is closed today and “not a creature is stirring” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be! Take a few minutes aside today to either stretch or foam roll your problem areas. If you dread every time you see the partner hamstring stretch, maybe — just maybe — you should hit those up today. Aside from helping you in the gym, it will also help alleviate some of the stress you’re likely experiencing due to shopping, crowds, traffic, parking, dealing with relatives… or all the above!

I will leave you with a simple egg nog recipe I made a few years ago through trial and error, based on Broguiere’s brand egg nog.

• 3 cups whole milk (preferably raw)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 whole eggs (omega-3 if you got ‘em)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff, not some HFCS goop)
• ~1 tsp vanilla
• Nutmeg to taste
• Optional (but highly encouraged!): Dark rum

Throw everything into a blender until well mixed. The egg whites should form a frothy “head”. Pour into serving glasses and sprinkle an extra touch of nutmeg on top. Make sure you have a designated driver and enjoy!

WOD 12.25.13

Egg Nog 3-3-3

AM WRAP Presents

Cash Out: Fruitcake Toss

Ilya demonstrating his mobility

During the weightlifting seminar last week, Ilya Ilyin, one of the world’s best lifters today, answered a question about resting after a major competition like the Olympics or World’s.  He said he takes a break from weightlifting, but he’s never “not an athlete.”  He still makes time to row, swim, run, and play sports.  While he was specifically talking in the context of a professional athlete’s training, I feel this mindset applies to everyone in our gym.

At Intrepid, everyone who comes in and dedicates themselves to the pursuit of health and wellness is an athlete.  Notice I didn’t just say fitness.  To me, wellness encompasses fitness, strength, proper nutrition, recovery, and a balanced lifestyle.  Whether you are at the gym, work, home, or vacation, you should be on the road towards wellness.

Does this mean you need to be eating 100% clean, working out an hour, mobilizing/stretching 30 minutes, and sleeping 9 hours each day?   (Somewhere, Marcus is nodding emphatically)   I think very few people other than professional athletes are able to adopt that lifestyle without burning out.  But you should keep your eye on the finish line and run towards it, even if it’s not a beeline.

Start by consciously doing 3 things daily that will make you a better athlete.  Each thing can be small at first, such as: eat breakfast, roll one body part, omit bread/ pasta/sugar from dinner, or come to the gym.  Then graduate them to larger things: eat clean (all meals), roll 15 minutes after CrossFit class, or going to bed by 10pm.  Even if you find yourself on a more circuitous path towards wellness, still do three things daily.  Live like an athlete and your results both in the gym and outside will reflect it.

REST DAY 12.24.13

Do three things that will better your health and wellness.

Mark’s Daily Apple wrote a post back in July regarding the 8 key health challenges we face as we age. In no particular order the 8 health challenges are:

1). Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome- Biggest cause of preventable death, because it can be linked to other major causes of death (cancer, diabetes, heart disease).  Some simple ways to prevent obesity are to eat clean (remove the refined foods) and to exercise.

2). Arthritis- Eating clean and weight training exercises help with this challenge.

3). Osteoporosis and Falls- Caused by being overweight, sedentary, and spending majority of the time indoors can lead to osteoporosis. A fracture in older age can lead to falls.

4). Cancer- A very scary word and thought, but besides diet and exercise, being proactive in medical screenings can also add to the fight of beating cancer.

5). Cardiovascular Disease- Eating well, keeping it light in the sodium department, and not smoking are the ways to keep the percentage down of getting a cardiovascular disease.

6). Vision and Hearing Loss- Adding produce to your diet can go a very long way. Results have shown that having at least 6 servings of vegetables a day can produce eyes and ears with a protective antioxidant.

7). Teeth- Don’t just brush twice a day. Make sure to floss!

8). Mental Health: Memory and Emotional Well-Being- Exercise is a must. Also be sure to find a spiritual or emotional outlet (pray), think young, work on those close friendships, hug or kiss someone (touch is important), and love someone who is dependent on you.

As we get a little older it becomes more and more important how well we take care of ourselves. A little extra care of our minds and bodies can go a very long way.

WOD 12.21.2013

Partner WOD-

Buy in with 6 Rope Climbs, then complete

• 20 Synchronized Burpees
• Run 400m with a Med Ball
• 30 Overhead Lunges (45/25)
• Run 240m with a Sandbag
• 40 Synchronized Sit Ups
• Run 100m

*One Med Ball/Sandbag per team

Is this you during the holidays?

It’s crunch time.  There are just 5 days left till Christmas.  5!  Are you stressing?  I’m sure most of you would agree that the Holiday season can be quite stressful.  Parties, buying presents, traveling, extra traffic, family gatherings, all can add unwanted stress.  It’s also when most people fall off the wagon and give in to their sugar temptations, indulge in excess amounts of alcohol, and munch on the processed, easy to grab snacks rather than eat a healthy, wholesome meal.  However, all those empty calories are sure to add up and will only add to your stress levels, not to mention make you sluggish while you try to complete your laundry list of tasks to get done.

Here are a few tips from an article I read on PsychologyToday.com to help minimize your holiday stress:

- Get moving. Perhaps one of the best ways to overcome stress during the holidays or any other time is to exercise regularly. Research shows that physical activity not boosts your fitness and energy levels but can also elevate your moods. In addition, exercise has been found to reduce anger, tension, fatigue and confusion. Despite the many demands on your time, this is not the season to stop exercising.

- Go for real foods mostly. Inevitably, at this time of year, you’ll be tempted with sugary, empty-calorie “treats” just about wherever you go. But to be your most energetic, focused and happy self, it’s best to eat foods that grow on trees or on the ground (vegetables and fruits) and to choose healthy fats (such as olive oil and flax seeds), lean protein (such as fish and organic chicken), nuts and seeds.

- Prepare “Nice To Do For Me” and “Need to Do For You” lists. Writing down all that you have to do during the holidays will help you realize how do-able your tasks are. Be realistic as to what you put on your lists. Then start tackling one item from each list in turn. For example, after buying gifts for your mom or significant other, take time to work out, too. By alternating between lists, you won’t feel deprived, because you’re being good to yourself.

These are just a few suggestions, the rest can be read here.  It should be noted that not all of the tips are ideal, particularly the one that condones taking “polite portions” of comfort foods.  You are an adult.  You really should know how to politely and firmly decline something you don’t want by now.

WOD 12.20.2013

Push Press 3 x 3

5 rounds, 9min cap

• 5 Push Jerks (75%-ish of push press weight; no racks, no split jerks)
• 10 Pull ups
• 30 Air squats

Happy Birthday Sonia! You’ve made so many gains this year, can’t wait to see what the next year holds!

Here’s a post from Sonia’s husband, David.

The holiday season is here and many of us will be travelling, visiting friends and family and away from the gym. I had a few people ask me about doing workouts while they’re on the road, so I thought I’d offer a few resources. One great option is to find a CrossFit gym to drop into where ever you are staying. The community aspect of CrossFit is one of the things that makes it so great, so don’t be shy about dropping in for a workout. While there’s no place like home, sometimes it’s fun to get exposure to the culture of other boxes.

If you can’t make it into a box, you’re mostly limited to body weight and endurance type movements. There are tons of travel wod websites available with different different versions of the same movements. If you have a pull up bar available to you, your options open up quite a bit. Also, if there is a spare dumbbell around you can use it to add a little weight to some of those body weight movements. The one thing I suggest you bring with you is your jump rope. If you are still perfecting your dubs, this is a great time to work on them and incorporate them into all of your workouts (just make sure you’re rolling your feet and calves). Below are a few of my go-to workouts on the road:

- 100 burpees for time (I usually break this up with a run every 20 burpees or maybe 10-20 sit-ups every 20 burpees depending on the weather)

- “Annie” 50-40-30-20-10 dubs, sit ups

- Tabata anything, usually I do air squats (rest on the bottom of the squat if you really want to feel the burn  )

I like to incorporate movements that aren’t done as often, such as tuck jumps, jumping jacks or broad jumps (better yet, burpee broad jumps), this helps me get out of the burpee, sit up, push up, squat routines I can get into while I’m travelling. Another pointer is to be set on the workout before you get started and commit to it. If you’re doing the WOD in a hotel or at your house, usually no one is there to hold you accountable. So if you decide to do 8 rounds of 10 push ups 10 sit ups 10 squats, then commit to all 8 rounds and try to avoid being tempted to call it good after round 5.

Here are some links to some Travel WOD ideas, apparently there are even some travel wod apps out there:

http://reebokcrossfitone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Travel-WODs.pdf

http://www.thetravelingwod.com/p/traveling-wods.html

http://www.crossfitsteelecreek.com/about/the-workouts/100-travel-workouts/

http://www.travelwodsapp.com/

Happy Travel WODing!

The Intrepid family just got bigger! Congratulations to James and his wife Evelyn on the arrival of their baby girl Caelyn and congratulations to Jeanne and her husband Clement on the arrival of their baby boy Walden, who will go by Wallie (or Jeanne’s little “Wall Ball”)!

Caelyn

Walden

WOD 12.19.13

Skills Day

Vasily coaching Sean

This week, Sean and I are fortunate enough to attend a weightlifting seminar at Waxman’s Gym taught by Dmitry Klokov, Ilya Ilyin, Vasily Polovnikov, and Zygmunt Smalcerz. If you are new to weightlifting, you may not be familiar with these amazing lifters, but in other countries, their names would be as popular as our most lauded NFL or NBA players. Each of them have won medals on the national and world levels and some have set Olympic records.

Yesterday, they took us through the progression for teaching the snatch and how to customize it for various body compositions. 6 lifters were kind enough to be the guinea pigs. They were coached and corrected, and at times, poked and prodded! Sean was one of these lifters as you can see in the above photo!

They ended the day with corrective exercises for various weaknesses. Often times during the day one of the coaches would comment that the lifter understands what is being asked of them but cannot do it right because they either lacked strength in their back, legs, or shoulders. Luckily, the system they are teaching prescribes specific accessory lifts fix these weaknesses.

Today we’ll be reviewing the Clean and Jerk and tomorrow we’ll finish with a more in depth look at programming.   It’s been amazing hearing these world class lifters teach the lifts.  The technique and ideal form is the same across the board, but there are nuances stemming from their body compositions, training background, and styles.  We’re very excited to bring this type of program to our barbell club as well as our CrossFit classes.

Our 8pm classes will be suspended through the holidays but will return January 6th. Holiday hours will be posted tomorrow.

WOD 12.17.13

Deadlift 1×5

Row 2000m

Rest 1 Minute

Then 3 Rounds:
30 Double Unders
15 Ball Slams

In the last couple of weeks there has been a usual amount of sport films on TV.  It is not a bad thing because it just so happens that I love most sport movies, especially the training montages. I don’t know if it was 80’s/90’s week, but there were some classics on. The film series, Rocky (except Rocky V), happens to have my favorite training scenes. Everybody loves Rocky III and IV when Rocky gets ready to fight Mr. T and Ivan Drago. You can be sure that I watched both movies when they played last week. Some other good ones that were on were Blood Sport and Kickboxer. Jean-Claude Van Damme had some bad a$$ training going on. I even caught Daniel Larusso getting ready to take on the Cobra Kai. What I noticed about the majority of these movies was that I was getting super motivated during the training scenes. After each scene I had the urge to go to Intrepid and attempt PRs on every movement we do. So needless to say after the marathon of awesome sport flicks I browsed the web to find the “Greatest Movie Training Montages Ever”.

In the link below there are 10 scenes that get the adrenaline pumping. Men’s Fitness provides the list.

http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/entertainment/worlds-10-greatest-movie-training-montages-ever

I also found a site that was inspired by the 2012 Summer Olympic and this site got in the action with a list of “10 of Film’s Greatest Training Montages”. There were some movies on there that I haven’t seen and feel shouldn’t have made the list.

http://flavorwire.com/313000/10-of-films-greatest-training-montages/view-all/

 Motivation is a funny thing because it can come from anywhere and everywhere. Is there a particular movie out there that gets you pumped up and makes you want to hit the gym that moment? Go ahead and post to comments if you would like to share.

WOD 12.14.2013

Run 1 Mile,

then Rest 4 Mins, then complete:

• 15 Back Squats (225/155) or 60% of 1 Rep Max
• 30 Toes 2 Bar
• 30 Pistols
• 60 Sit-ups

It’s that time of year again when we leave the comforts of our home boxes and head home for the holidays.  As I’ve spoken with some of you throughout the week, you’ll be traveling around the nation to celebrate Christmas festivities with your families from Florida to Washington, NorCal to Austin, DC to San Diego.  Some of you may also try to get a WOD in at some point over the Christmas break.  With so many CrossFit gyms opening up around the world, you might even be lucky enough to have one close to you.  You’re even luckier if the programming isn’t focused on breaking you but that’s a whole other topic of discussion.  For those of you opting to do a WOD on your own, whether at home, in a hotel gym, or at some other fitness club, this is where the fun begins.  When you’re here at Intrepid, you don’t think twice about doing thrusters, or box jumps, or burpees.  Yet, if you were to do these same movements outside of the box, you might get some quizzical stares.

The CF Journal had a recent Thanksgiving post that detailed comical situations that CrossFitters had endured over the holidays from being quizzed about their dietary habits to being asked to slice the turkey because the electric knife broke.  I could easily identify with many of the stories in the post just on a day to day basis since I travel for work.  I’ve had co-workers (usually my male pilots) try to engage me in a arm wrestling match, ask me to flex, do a double take when they see how many plates I have in front of me at breakfast.  At times, it can be funny and at others it’s just downright annoying.  With my family, it’s also the same.  While my younger cousins admire my strength, my aunts will tell me to be careful because the weights are too heavy and I can get hurt.  It’s cute.  Kinda.

The point is you may encounter a bit of questioning about CrossFit, your diet, maybe even your bruises and/or calloused hands.  Take a stab at explaining it to them.  Some may already have it in their heads, that CrossFit is a cult but some will have an open mind.  And to those that just stand there astounded, mouth agape, brows furrowed, just shrug and smile.

WOD 12.13.2013

Press 3 x 5

AMRAP 9

• 4 Pullovers (sub 8 chin ups)
• 12 Ball slams
• 24 Double Unders

Intrepids ready to brave the cold at last December’s Spartan Race in Malibu

I recently discovered that Lululemon has a blog (as long as I’ve been an addict, I’m surprised it took me this long to find it). After this recent cold spell and after spending a day competing in the cold air up at CrossFit Fast, a recent Lulu blog post on lip balms for the winter months caught my eye. One of Lululemon’s bloggers tested out 10 common lip balms and put them to the test. She came up with a rating system and posted her top 5. She based her ratings on 5 topics, packaging, texture, longevity, scent and hydration. She then rated these topics 1 – 10, with 1 being “you’re better off not wearing it at all” and 10  being “change nothing about this balm.” Her top 5 are listed below, you can find the ratings and additional comments on the blog post. I added some comments below and included any environmental working group rating I could find on the product. If you’re unfamiliar with the EWG ratings, see Ruth’s post here.

1. Alba Lip Balm in Pineapple Quench

- This she gave a 6.2 and the EWG rating was a 2 (low)

2. Burt’s Bees – Classic Beeswax Lip balm

- She gave this a 7.8 rating and has an EWG rating of 1 (lowest)

3. Hurraw Balm in Vanilla Bean

- This got a 6.7 rating and did not have a rating on the EWG website

4. Avene Cold Cream Lip Balm

- This received the highest rating at 8.2, but has an EWG rating of 6 (high end of moderate)

5. Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Moisturizing Stick

- She gave this a 7.6 and has an EWG rating of 4 (moderate)

My personal preference is the Burt’s Bees, it has never let me down and I love the cooling feeling when you apply it. What’s your preference for keeping your lips moist during the cold spells?

WOD 12.12.13

Mobility:

Foot, soleus, peroneus

Skills:

Pistol, Jump rope

Happy Birthday, Randy!!

If exchanging holiday gifts is a tradition for your family, this time of year can be stressful for you. Lifters are a strange bunch and we all have our tools to help us lift safely, effectively, and efficiently.  These also become a part of our lifting ritual and superstition.  Whether you are an Intrepid lifter (or CrossFitter), or if you were casually sent to this post by one, we have a few gift ideas for you:

Weightlifting Shoes

• In a nutshell, VS Athletics ($65-80) are local, offer a discounted rate, and are a great entry level shoe that will last you years.
• Reebok CrossFit Weightlifting shoes ($150) are light and comfortable.  These are perfect for the average CrossFitter who can use these for lifting as well as many conditioning workouts (metcons).
• Ristos ($130-200+) are handmade, heavy, and traditional looking weightlifting shoes.  Available in custom or ready made colors, these are great for someone who is passionate about weightlifting.

Knee Sleeves, Wrist Wraps, and Straps

• Marcus did a great post about knee sleeves here.   I wear them all the time when I lift, especially in this colder weather.
• Wrist wraps come in different styles and levels of support.  Rogue wraps ($12-18) are on the heavier end of the support spectrum and are fast and easy to put on.  On the lighter side, PR Wraps ($30), Gym Rat ($20), and Rogue ($25) all make a similar style with different designs to choose from.   I find these take a bit longer to put on, but once they’re on, easy to tighten or loosen as needed.
• Lifting straps are great for weightlifters and power lifters.  They’re simply a tool to allow you to save your grip as well as to focus on a particular portion of the lift without worrying about gripping the bar.  They range from the economical Harbinger ($6), to the Spuds speed lifting straps ($14), to the Werksan speed straps ($15).

Belts

•  Powerlifters often use a thicker belt ($50-150) which is tougher to break in, but incredibly supportive.  Rogue and Elite FTS are good sources.
• SetWear Smart Belt ($50) has the BOA system used in snowboarding boots for quick tightening.
• Harbinger makes a variety of nylon belts with differing thicknesses.  At the gym, we stock the 4″ nylon belt ($20).  They also have a slightly padded version in pink!  You can pick these up at your local Big 5 Sporting Goods.

If you need more ideas, check out our 2012, 2011, and 2010 lists.

WOD 12.10.13

Back Squat 3×5

8 Minutes to obtain a heavy Power Clean

Rest 1 Minute

Then with a partner, AMRAP 15:
5 Hang Power Cleans (70% of heavy PC)
3 Front Squats
1 Shoulder to Overhead

Start with an empty barbell. During AMRAP, one partner works while other rests. Post total rounds. WOD courtesy of CrossFit NOLA