Josh and I did our first crossfit workout back east in MA with is kid brother—Fight Gone Bad.  Pretty painful but at least we did not vomit as others did.  I wasn’t so sure about the crossfit thing after that.  Josh on the other hand started doing his own workouts following WODs online at his school’s gym.  Poor sucker that did it with him.  It took me longer to come around but I’m glad I did.

Happy Birthday to you, Josh.  We love you–signed Tami, Alex, and little Joshua (future Intrepids)

Come down to Laguna Hills High School in Orange County this Saturday to cheer on Josh, Brian, Jake, Michael H., and Holley during the Next Level Invitational CrossFit competition. Location is 25401 Paseo de Valencia, Laguna Hills, CA 92653. The events will run most of the day so if you make it down, wear your shirt and look for the Intrepid camp site.

Then 2 rounds of 1 minute stations:
Ball Slams
Double Unders
Row for Calories
Hang Power Snatches
Tire Flips

Cash Out:
Farmer’s Walks

Stephanie on a blue band May 2010. Last night she did a 10# weighted pull up for a set of 2!

I posted about pull up progressions a while back based on an article from T-Nation which detailed a series of movements ranging from barbell rows to ring rows to pull ups and weighted pull ups.   Yesterday, 70′s Big honed in on specific progressionsto get from no chin up (palms facing you) to one or more pull ups (palms facing away).  These are excellent progressions and can be done even if you don’t have bands to assist with pull ups.

Instead, he focuses on using negatives in his progressions (Be controlled and deliberate during your negatives and don’t just drop to the bottom).  It’s important to also include  band-less progressions so you can increase your grip strength.  The bands often support enough of your weight that when you try to hang from the bar on your own, your grip goes out before you can even attempt the pull up!   Check out his progressions below:

• No chin-up, weak: Use some sort of body rows (ring, barbell).
• No chin-up, not so weak: Use negatives.
• No chin-up, weak in top half (lockout): Use “Double Negatives” for the top range of motion. What’s a Double Negative? »
• No chin-up, weak in bottom half (getting started): Use Double Negatives for bottom ROM.Tell me how »
• Chin-up! Yay! But only one?: Maintain frequency method, but with full ROM (more in later sections).
• Regular chin-ups, no pull-up: Start hitting doubles on chins for a week, then triples. Then start on pull-ups.
• Chin-ups are pretty solid, but no pull-up: Alternate between workouts that focus on chin-ups (see previous point) and pull-ups. Find out where you are on this list on the pull-up and start there. If you can’t lock it out, then work the top ROM. If you can’t get out of the bottom, then work that ROM. If it’s no dice either way, use negatives.

Note that you’ll occasionally (i.e. once every 7 to 10 days) attempt a dead hang chin or pull-up. If you show progress, then shift to the next point.

Read more about developing a pull up here.

We’ve had the opportunity to witness many many athletes go from banded pull ups to strict pull ups.  Yesterday Sri busted out his first two strict pull ups after just one month here (started with blue/red)!  This last month many Intrepids got their first pull ups and chin ups.  Below is Michelle’s pull up story:

8/5/10  Green (1^st workout after foundations)

9/20/10 Blue/Purple

11/2/10 Blue

12/10/10 Red

5/2/11  Purple

Got my first unassisted pull up towards the end of the W30 challenge (around 5/3/11)

5/24/11 NO BANDS!!

If you transitioned from banded to strict pull ups here, post your story to comments!!

WOD 01.31.12

Back Squat 3×5 or Wendler

Partner WOD:
AMRAP 9:
7 Thrusters
7 Burpees
170m Run

Partner A completes 7 Thrusters while Partner B completes 7 Burpees. Partners then switch movements and go on the run together. When both partners return, Partner A then starts with 7 Burpees while Partner B starts with 7 Thrusters.

With those on the Whole 30 challenge having less than a week to go, I’ll be giving some tips on how the best way to experiment with foods that were off-limits for the last month. One of the most popular items people were sad to lose is dairy. Here is a wrap-up I wrote last year that summarizes what the best choices are.

On the Paleo diet, dairy is typically to be avoided. However, if you’ve eliminated it for 30 days and choose to reintroduce it to experiment and see how you handle it, what’s the best way to go about it?

First of all, you want to stick to grass-fed sources. Since the ranchers who bother to allow their cows to graze are typically quite ecologically conscious, this will likely ensure you are not adding in hormones, high amounts of omega-6 and possibly gluten or other contaminants endemic to the grain-chowing cows trapped in feedlots. (Note: your mileage may vary. Just like there are grass-fed, but not grass-finished sources of beef, dairy can be as sketchy. It pays to do your research.)

Secondly, you should go first with dairy fat sources. Ghee (clarified butter) has the vast majority of milk solids removed, leaving behind the benefits of the nutrients in the fat. Heavy cream and (unclarified) butter can often also be tolerated well by most people. Raw cream would be preferred, but is quite costly and often hard to find.

Last of all would be fermented dairy, such as yogurt and kefir. Due to the fermentation, the lactose (milk sugars) is removed. Again, these should be the full-fat versions of these items. Hopefully once you have started to walk the Paleo path, you have realized that dietary fat is not the demon the misguided food pyramid would have you think it is. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing someone eat something good like Fage yogurt, but they go with the non-fat version. *le sigh* Stephan over at Whole Health Source had a great post on this:

The fat is where the vitamins A, K2, E and D are. The fat is where the medium-chain triglycerides, butyric acid and omega-3 fatty acids are. The fat is where the conjugated linoleic acid is.

With dairy, milk is the gray area. If you are trying to put on size, it can be a powerful ally. Again, you definitely want to stick to pastured milk and you really want the raw variety (non-pasteurized). Why? There are beneficial enzymes present in the milk that get destroyed during the high temperatures of the pasteurization process. One of these is lactase, which is necessary for the digestion of lactose.

Of course, if you are trying to lose fat, the powerful insulin response that milk provides is not your friend. Insulin is the great storage hormone and you want to keep this under control when fat loss is your goal.

Due to the insulin spike from sugars along with that of dairy, it should be plainly obvious that ice cream is one of the biggest whammies. Use with extreme caution as this can run you off the rails in a hurry.

Hopefully this along with Ruth’s post about making better choices can guide you as you shed the strictness of the 30 day challenge.

WOD 01.30.12

Bench Press 3×5
Clean 3-3-3
Weighted Pull Up 2-2-2

REST DAY 01.29.2012

Every journey has a beginning, everyone has their own baggage they have to deal with along the way, and everyone starts their journey at a different point.  Take it one day at a time, set goals, and keep chipping away.  Before you know it, you’ll look back in your notebooks and realize how far you’ve come and at the same time how much lies ahead.  It’s a cool, yet humbling, feeling and it opens your eyes to what hard work, a positive attitude, and perseverance can accomplish.

WOD 1.28.12

Strength Plus Magazine posted this great article by Charles Poloquin, “8 Stupid Myths About Squatting,” which debunks conventional wisdom in a well articulated way. Below is a summary of his article:

Myth #1: Squats widen the hips.

When the gluteus maximus (one of the prime movers in the squat) develops, it grows back (not out). If squats did widen the hips, Olympic lifters, who devote as much as 25 percent of their training volume to squats, would be built like mailboxes.

Myth #2: Squats are bad for the knees.

Not only are squats not bad for the knees, every legitimate research study on this subject has shown that squats improve knee stability and therefore help reduce the risk of injuries. Providing you don‘t relax or bounce in the bottom position of the squat, you‘ve got nothing to worry about. In other words, don‘t relax at the bottom of the squat and allow your connective tissue to stretch out like a piece of saltwater taffy.

Myth #3. There’s only one way to squat.

Whether you switch from doing squats with the barbell on the clavicles to having it on the traps you‘ll force adaptation and growth. The front, back, high-bar, low-bar, goblet, or Zerscher squat all have their place and purpose in making you stronger.

Myth #4. You should squat till you puke.

Strength movements are not metcons. Do not treat them as such.

Myth #5. Smith machine squats are safer than regular squats.

The Smith machine squat is very hard on the patellar ligament and the anterior cruciate ligament, both of which act as stabilizers for the knees. With a Smith machine, the bar is on a track, and this increased stability decreases the requirement of the body‘s neutralizer and stabilizer muscle functions. Therefore, the strength developed on such machines has minimal carryover to a three-dimensionally, unstable environment such as occurs during the free-standing squat. This is an especially important fact to those who use weight training to improve sports performance.

Myth #6. Squats are bad for the back.

As long as you squat with the proper form, the center mass of the barbell will not be far away from the center of gravity, and this in itself will help prevent injury.

Myth #7. Squats make athletes slower.

Squat performance can be directly related to success in track and field sprinting events, as well as in many other sports. Great examples of the relationship between squatting and athletic performance are the successes of bobsledder Ian Danney, who has become one of the most successful strength coaches for professional football players. Danney has front squatted 418 pounds for 2 reps at a bodyweight of 185 pounds. Other impressive athletes I‘ve seen are skier Kate Pace, who back squats 264 pounds for 3 reps at a bodyweight of 150 pounds; and alpine skier Michelle McKendry-Ruthven, who squatted 66 reps in 60 seconds with 70 percent of her bodyweight.

Myth #8. Squats can damage the heart.

Squats will temporarily raise blood pressure, but the heart adapts to the stress in a positive fashion by making the left ventricle grow larger. Interestingly, studies have shown leg press performance on a 45-degree angle will increase the blood pressure three times more than the squat will. Obviously, if you suffer from cardiovascular disease or if it runs in your family, you should consult an experienced sports medicine practitioner before engaging in a serious squat program.

WOD 01.27.12

Back Squat 3×5 or Wendler

5 Rounds:
7 Handstand Push Ups
14 Pistols
35 Double Unders

Last night, Mike caught me eating a sweet potato post-workout and asked if I did anything to “spice” it up. I sadly admitted that it was just baked in the oven until it caramelized but was otherwise plain. He then asked if I ever tried putting them on the grill, which reminded me of this recipe. You see, I haven’t had the chance to make these in a while since I can’t have a grill at my current apartment building, but they are quite tasty.

Spiced Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of sweet potatoes, washed and peeled
• 1 teaspoon course sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a large pot, then bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly resistant when pierced with a sharp small knife, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well. When cool, slice potatoes lengthwise.

Mix together salt and spice; coat potatoes in oil. Sprinkle spice mixture on sweet potatoes, coating thoroughly.

Grill potatoes on a lightly oiled grill rack over medium heat, until grill marks appear and potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

While it’s pretty easy to cut these in thick slices, I also sometimes prefer to cut them again lengthwise to make fat “steak fries” out of them. If you’re fortunate enough to have a grill, give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2571

WOD 01.26.12

Skills Day

• Lack of sleep increases inflammatory markers in your body, and chronically high inflammation has been linked to autoimmune disease, impaired metabolism and diabetes, and some types of cancer.  Also, lack of sleep weakens the immune system making you more susceptible to illness.
• Through hormonal interactions, lack of sleep can lead to the body feeling hungry more often and craving more carbohydrates oftentimes leading to poorer food choices.
• Sleep improves your recovery from training and improves strength building via secretions of growth hormone and testosterone that only occurs during your slumber.
• Sleep deprivation of 1-2 nights leads to a noticeable deterioration in psychomotor performance, meaning you know that you’re not up to part after not sleeping well after a night or two.  However, when compared to a milder sleep deprivation (only 6 hrs/night), over a sustained period of time, the decrease in motor performance is similar but the athlete’s perception is significantly reduced.  This means they do not recognize their performance is lackluster and less than thriving.
• Our lifts and workouts have a huge neurological component to them and if your central nervous sysem not only from yesterday’s workout but also your lack of sleep, you’re setting yourself up for a rough day at the gym.  It has been shown that athletes perform better on skill based movements after getting “extra”, likely due to the recovery their CNS gets.

Now that many of you have made it a priority to eat better this past month, start moving sleep up towards the top and do yourself a favor.  Not only for the benefits highlighted in Dallas’ article, but also for the improved quality of life.  If you’re looking for another way to help yourself reach your goals, it doesn’t get much easier than improving your sleep habits.  Other Intrepid articles to peruse on sleep are:  Enter Sandman, Siesta Anyone?, When Red Lights are a Good Thing, Jet Lag, Battling the Z-Monster, & Perchance to Dream.

By popular demand we have opened a Friday 7pm Group Class. It’s available now to sign up so get your weekend started on the right track with a great workout!

WOD 1.25.12

Snatch: Work up to a Heavy Double

AMRAP 4:
8 Wall Ball Shots
10 Sit Ups

Rest 2 Minutes

AMRAP 4:
5 Power Cleans
10 Toes to Bar

Anna's daily work on wall ball shots

I’ve gotten a few questions lately about how to set goals for personal performance gain. People want to know what to pick, how high to reach, and how soon they should check it off their list. The beauty (and bane) of CrossFit is that there are so many damn movements to learn, much less master, it can feel overwhelming no matter how long you’ve been at it. CrossFit pulls from many specialties: gymnastics, olympic weightlifting, power lifting, kettlebells, strongman, rowing, running, and now even swimming. Add that to the necessary regimen you need to recover and adapt to rigorous training: recovery, mobility, rest, and nutrition.

Even if you can make it your full-time job to master all of the movements, it would take a lifetime to do it. We often see a bit of A.D.D. when it comes to athletes and goal setting. For example, an athlete sets out to work on double unders only to see someone in class working on snatches. The next shiny thing catches his eyes, he drops the rope, and wanders over to work on snatches instead. Focus on your goal, attain it, and then move on.

A few tips when setting goals:

1. If you don’t set a goal, you’ll never reach it: don’t get overwhelmed by all the things you want to be better at.  Commit to your goals.  Work on them.
2. Pick ONE skill you want to improve: Certain movements are skill based and require repetition to learn such as double unders, handstands, rope climbs, and muscle ups.
3. Also, set one short term goal:  This goal can be the same OR different from the skill you want to improve.  The difference is that there is a time limit to achieving it.  Pick one thing you want to do by the end of the month.  100 push ups in a row, a sub-1:30 time on a 500m row, 15 strict pull ups, push ups off-knees, better shoulder mobility,  etc.  Work on them at home, before/after class, and on Skills Days.
4. Then, set one long term goal:  This goal is something you give yourself 6 months to a year to achieve.  It can be a sub 40 minute 10k, a strict pull up, a 2x bodyweight deadlift, body weight snatch, 300# clean, a triathlon, etc.  With this goal, you still have to check in and assess the status of your progress at least once each month.  Work on it when you can.  Focus on improving any form, weakness, or mobility issues that may stand  in your way of the goal.

Every athlete’s goals will be different, so sit down, write down a list of things you suck at.  Write down a list of things you’re good at.  Be honest and realistic.   Prioritize the list and get to work.  Grab a coach or seasoned athlete whenever you get a chance and get some tips.  Be persistent.

Other posts on goal setting:  Jack of All Trades

WOD 01.24.12

Deadlift 1×5 or Wendler

800m Run
21 Push Ups
21 Box Jumps
400m Run
15 Push Ups
15 Box Jumps
200m Run
9 Push Ups
9 Box Jumps

FGB IV

Pictured above is from Mike’s first workout with us at CrossFit Intrepid, back when we were teaching classes at Rec Park. As one of our most OG members, he has been exposed to our Paleo-leaning nutrition advice since day one and yet has been pretty steadfast in choosing to ignore it. I was surprised that he and Stephanie chose to participate in the Whole30 challenge this time around, but have been impressed with his progress. Mike shared with me some of the things he has learned along the way and I figured I would also link to past posts where we covered similar ideas.

Despite my amateur move early on in the Whole 30 that disqualified me, this challenge has definitely helped re-engineer the simple things I once perceived as time consuming, inconvenient and not a good use of my time.

That being said, my perspective has changed so much since the start:

I now notice the difference in the quality of black coffee (The Other Black Gold)
I spend more time in the kitchen than on my computer
I have a system when grocery shopping (Prioritizing the Grocery List)
I know the layout of Trader Joes, Whole Foods and my local grocery store
I’m aware of what I eat (Thought for Food)
I can cook a decent dish
I’ve fine tuned my multitasking skills in the kitchen
I’ve maximized the economy of my ingredients in different dishes (The Food Matrix: Paleo for Dummies)
I need to finish my backyard so I can recreate my garden (Green Thumbs)
It really doesn’t take long to prep and cook a decent meal (Simplify Your Cooking)
I now understand why Steph buys all the kitchen accessories that I once thought were useless (My New Best Friend: the Food Processor)
I am honing in on my food planning each week
I’m saving money (Nutritional Q&A 3)

For those of you on the current challenge or have played along in the past, what have you learned?

WOD 01.23.12

Press 3×5

3 Rounds:
12 Overhead Squats
12 Pull Ups