Today’s WOD:

In 15 minutes work to a heavy set of 5 deadlifts

rest 5 minutes

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

5 Power Cleans (135/95)
10 m Broad Jumps (length of 5 stall mats)
20 Double Unders
10 m Bear Crawls

Optional:

2 minute L-sit*
*start the timer when in position and stop it once your feet hit the ground. Continue until you reach 2 minutes.

What About Vegetarians?
An interesting take on PR’s from Coach B:”Hitting a PR” with Coach Mike Burgener - video [wmv] [mov]

Today’s WOD:

Spend 15 minutes on your rope climbing technique

then

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

10 Kb SDHP (53/35)

10 Kb swings (53/35)

20 m bear crawl

20 m frog jumps

Optional:

3x Max slosh pipe sit

Today is the last day to test for the August skill challenge of the month: max pull-ups in one minute! Go forth and conquer, and get a prize while you’re at it!

FGB 6 is fast approaching. Get signed up by clicking on the link to the right and get into the fight! All skill levels are invited to participate.

From Mark’s Daily Apple:  Violence: An Introduction to a Primal Instinct 

Mesh does his best serial killer impersonation!

Today’s WOD:

4 Rounds – 1 minute per station, Fight Gone Bad Style

1. Dumbell Thrusters (35/25)

2. Burpees

3. Box Jumps (20/16)

4. Row for Calories

5. Rest

Fight Gone Bad is coming up fast, so today’s WOD is a bit of a glimpse/reminder as to what you will be seeing.

Optional

3 x Max Static Pull-Up Hold

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Robb Wolf and Mark Sisson are two of the biggest names in the paleolithic community.  Both have written excellent books (The Primal Blueprint and The Paleo Solution) and host websites (robbwolf.com and marksdailyapple.com), which are great resources for those interested in or new to the paleolithic approach to diet and lifestyle.  Recently Robb Wolf did a quick Q&A for Sisson’s website.  Its an interesting read and answers a bunch of questions regarding how a paleolithic approach can benefit you.

Guest Post: Robb Wolf Answers Your Paleo Diet Question

If this is new to you check out the sites listed or chat up one of the coaches as to how it may help you reach your goals.

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Also if you looking for a quick tear jerker, check out this article

At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy Seal killed in Afghanistan

Shanna is your "Takin' it to the Cave" Paleo Challenge Champ!

Today’s WOD:

Row 1000m

50 Double-Unders

40 Box Jumps

30 Wall Balls

20 Burpees

10 OH Walking Lunges (45/25)

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First off, a big congrats to everyone who took part in our ARCFit “Takin’ it to the Cave” Paleo Challenge. Most of you dove head first into this challenge and really gave it your all.  The ARCFit Challenges page on the FB was constantly jumping with new recipes, admissions of cheating, and all things Paleo.  Also a thank you to GyGy, T, Elijah, Steve and everyone else who helped out with the Challenge!

Although there were many, many great performances over the 6 weeks, we decided to limit the winner’s to the top-3.

No men cracked the winner’s circle due in large part for their failure to maintain their journal.  This was a key component to the competition along with weight/inches lost and WOD improvement.  Typical of a man, only a few turned in their journals and, in the eyes of the judges, they were decidedly lacking in any detail.  Sorry boys, your organizational skills kept you out of the money.  With that being said, here are your top-3:

1. Shanna Banana- First off lets talk about her incredible journal.  Shanna had great illustrations, highlighted her cheats, logged every meal and snack, and made the judges laugh with her comments and to do lists.  Her total weight loss was 4 pounds.  For those of you that know Shanna, she is already a lean, mean, fighting machine, so dropping 4 pounds from her 121.6 lb frame was no easy task.  Shanna also PR’d on her 5K run and smoked Dirty Larry in the process (which she artistically sketched out for the judges enjoyment).  Her cash prize is  $320.00. Can anyone say Happy Hour?

2. Kelly Thornburg- Her total weight loss was an amazing 15.8 pounds, plus she lost a total of 10 inches.  Kelly also went from 12 scaled rounds of Cindy to 15 scaled rounds!!  A 3 round improvement in 6 weeks is no joke!  Congrats to Kelly takes home $200.00.  The beer fridge should be re-stocked real soon!

3.  Asian Mel- Mel lost 5.8 pounds off her tiny frame along with a total of 5 inches while keeping a very descriptive journal.  She too improved her “Cindy” score by 3 rounds!  Mel was also extremely active on the Challenge page, posting several recipes for others to sample.  Asian Mel takes home $100.00 for her solid effort.  That beer fridge is going to be overflowing!!

There were many more of you who came very close to winning (Misty Jean, Karen H., Cecil and Boston just to name a few) and we appreciate the dedication you put into this challenge.  We are curious to see who will stick to the Paleo Diet and who has already reverted back to their old ways?  Which of you are doing a partial Paleo?  Who felt like the diet did not work for them and why?  Basically let’s have a big blog-style debrief of this Challenge.  Comments and critiques are always welcome.

Unfortunately, some loser was on a family vacation with the gym’s camera during the last week of the Challenge and therefore the “after” pictures are MIA.  Sorry about that folks!  Until we take it to the cave again, keep eating those grass fed buffalo burgers!

Brock, Elaine and Janet focus on their balls.

Today’s WOD:

Bench Press

5-5-5-5-5

rest 5 minutes

5 Rounds for time:

10 plyo push-ups

10 jumping lunges

run 200 m

Time to put those three new flat benches to work today with some bench press.  Although not a “functional” movement in the way that the squat or deadlift are, the bench press still has its place in an effective strength and conditioning program. Especially for the novice lifter, bench pressing can build upper body strength without having to learn a series of complicated movements to achieve it.  Improved upper body strength means better push-ups, ring dips, pull-ups, etc.

Safety is paramount when bench pressing.  Make sure to always utilize a spotter when training this movement. Also, your thumbs will ALWAYS be wrapped around the bar when lifting.  No exceptions.  Watch these videos from strength guru Mark Rippetoe so you too can develop a nice pair of “chesticles” (thought you’d like that ladies).

Mark Rippetoe: Intro to the Bench Press Pt. 1

Mark Rippetoe: Intro to the Bench Press Pt. 2

Week two is in the books for the ARCFit “Takin’ it to the Cave” Paleo challenge. Being a dad of two young kids, I started thinking about the obstacles we have faced while introducing paleo nutrition into their diet. Unfortunately, the “P” word didn’t enter my vocabulary until a few years ago, long past the time that my kiddos developed a keen appreciation for sugary snacks, grains and dairy.

Breakfast and lunch meals seem to be the toughest to control with food “trades” going on at school. Kat has dinner dialed in, and they get their fill of meats and vegetables. Like with anything else, I’ve outlined the pros and cons of their nutritional choices and how they affect their performance in the classroom, on the field, and in the world as a whole.

I was curios how some of you with children who are new to the Paleo diet are handling mealtime around the old homestead. Cooking two separate meals? Modifying meals? All paleo, all the time? What are some of the difficulties you’ve encountered when dealing with the rug rats and the paleo diet?

Whole9 addresses this topic here: The Kiddo Manifesto

Quiet.  Unassuming.  Reserved.  Three words that describe Josh H. when he’s inside the box.  But here are three more that are just as applicable: Determined.  Focused.  Gritty.  This guy never takes a night off when he comes in to train.  It doesn’t matter what he is facing in that particular WOD, he’s going to finish.  Period.  End of story.  Josh shows up consistently and goes about his business in a workmanlike manner.  And all of that dedication is paying off with new PR’s coming on a regular basis.

How hard does Josh train?  Recently he and the pukie bucket got to know each other better.  I think my favorite part of watching Josh hit the WODs is the almost inevitable grab-the-stomach-I’m-about-to-hurl-look!  Fortunately, it’s pretty rare these days for Josh to lose his lunch. But it does show just how hard this guy pushes himself.

I’ve been holding onto this video that I shot of Josh for a while now, just waiting for the right time to unleash it on America. Here he is finishing up round 7 of 8 of tabata bottom-to-bottom squats. For those who don’t know, instead of a true 10 second “rest”, you are required to spend your 10 seconds in the bottom of an air squat. Josh loved it, although he appeared to be drinking before the WOD (he wasn’t). I also love all of the support that his sister Sonic gives him as he struggles to walk again. Great stuff!

Congrats to Josh H. on being the ARCFit AOTM for May.  I must admit, I’m a bit frightened of the WOD he’s going to come up with (especially after unveiling this video)!

Congrats are also in order for the winners of our April Skill challenge for the longest standing broad jump.  Misty took top honors for the women with a leap of 89″, while Justin launched himself 111″ to grab the top spot among the men.  Keep an eye out for your prize package on the front desk.

The new month also means we need a new skill challenge.  For May, we are going with the fastest mile time.  Pretty self explanatory right? Line up at the roll-up door and run to the handicap access in front of Denny’s, then run back to the roll-up door.  Fastest time wins.  Remember to watch out for cars!!!

The “Takin’ it to the Cave” 6-week Paleo challenge kicks off today.  You will compare the results of today’s WOD to the results recorded 6 weeks from now.  Dig in, stay committed, use the new Facebook “challenges” page, and get after some meat and veggies.  Help each other over the next several weeks and the results will be awesome!  Best of luck to everyone!!

Today’s WOD:

“Cindy”

AMRAP in 20 minutes

5 pull-ups

10 push-ups

15 squats

-Or for those not taking part in the challenge-

In light of the news that the baddest military in the world eliminated the number one menace to society, do hero WOD “Murph”

Run 1 mile

100 Pull-Ups

200 Push-Ups

300 Squats

Run 1 mile

Only one week left to order ARCFit merchandise.  Click on the link in the “Updates” section and get to shopping!  Mother’s Day is just around the corner…

As of last night, Team ARCFit was in 22nd place in the CrossFit Open Sectional Qualifier.  The top-30 teams advance to the Regionals in Santa Clara on June 3-5th.  There have been some problems inputting scores and our top numbers are not in yet, hopefully we will hold on and advance to the next round.  When I know the final-final I will let everyone else know.

So get in here tonight.  Rumor has it the new “Reebok True Grit” gas grill is going to be fired up for you to throw some meat on (B.Y.O.M.).  If you can’t make the meeting, please get a hold of Gy or send me an email and we’ll make sure we get you weighed and measured.  Buy in for the challenge which begins Monday is only $20!  Hope to see you all this evening.

Paleo in a Nutshell Part 1: Food

Robb Wolf | The Paleo Solution

The Paleo Diet

Today’s WOD:

“Filthy Fifty”

50 Box Jumps

50 Jumping Pull Ups

50 KB swings (35)

50 Walking Lunges

50 Knees to Elbows

50 Push Press (45 lb)

50 Back Extensions

50 Wall Balls

50 Burpees

50 Double Unders

For Time!

What exactly is Jesse doing to J.P's bell? Never mind...

Today’s WOD:

Shoulder Press

3-3-3-3-3

*Establish a new 3 rm for the push press

Rest 5 minutes

5 Rounds for Time of:

30 Box Jumps (24/20)

30 Sit-Ups

CrossFit Open WOD #4 is due to be released this evening. Unfortunately, the Games site is back to having problems and a lot of you are not showing up on the leaderboard as you should. Please resubmit your scores and I will verify them AGAIN! Hopefully, that will take care of the problem. Currently, Team ARCFit is in 24th and in the running to qualify but we need a few big weeks to move further away from that cut line.

On that note, we will not be doing a Saturday WOD test day at the box because a bunch of us will be up the mountain competing at the 2011 Fittest of the Sierras in South Lake Tahoe. Plan on getting WOD #4 done before Saturday for those of you not competing. For those who are competing in Tahoe, the first event of the day will be WOD #4, but you might want to hit it earlier in the week (altitude anyone?).

Big congrats to Vanessa K. who got her first kipping pull-up yesterday! Way to go V, “Angie” here you come!!

**REMINDER** There will be no 7:00 pm class this evening, sorry for the inconvenience.

Blueberries a fat-fighter? Not so fast.

Run 5/10 k

If you’re in town, then I expect all of you to be flying your ARCFit colors at the 17th Annual Run to Feed the Hungry.  Snap some pics for me if you make it out there and post your time to comments.

Gy, Payton and Bethy at last year's RTFTH

Depending on how frisky you’re feeling, take off on a run to prepare yourself for what lies ahead…a large bird with all of the fixings.  Don’t worry if you’re doing the Paleo thing, there are lots of options for making a caveman friendly feast today as well.  Check out Paleo Thanksgiving from Crossfit Dad’s Blog for recipes on mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie, among others.

Enjoy the time with your family and friends today.  We here at ARCFit are thankful to have such hard working, dedicated, fun, inspiring, and friendly athletes that choose to come and train at our box and make our gym the rockin’ place that it is today!  3, 2, 1…go easy on that pumpkin pie

4 rounds for time

Run 400 meters

15 Bottom out Burpees

30 Sit-ups

Bodies everywhere.

A couple of things to remember as our class sizes grow.  The first is to make sure you know everyone you’re training with (you know the burpee penalty for that!).  The second is to prepare your workout station/area/zone/etc. prior to the call of “3, 2, 1…go”.  It’s not the time to start figuring out what box you are using or what pull-up station you’re on after the clock has started.  Make sure that this is done ahead of time.

With that being said, be respectful of others.  As they say, sh*t happens.  If someone grabs your barbell by mistake due to a lack of oxygen getting to the brain, don’t freak out.  The top time for the day does not qualify you for the next Olympic Games.  Do your best to roll with the situation and deal with the event after the fact.  Your coaches will do their best to ensure that everyone has adequate space to move and equipment to utilize.  Don’t fret, you will get an ass whooping workout no matter what!  Thanks for your flexibility and understanding. Remember, we are all here for the same reason-to get healthy, fit and strong.  So let’s do it together.  Peace and love, peace and love…  CN

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An interesting read to say the least.  Check out the professor’s idea of eating healthy before starting this experiment: Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds