Run 2400 meters

150 Burpees

With your partner, come up with a game plan to tackle this WOD!

Machine Mike and Mesh talk a little strategy.

I was talking to one of our athletes the other day about the importance of game planning workouts.  Although CrossFit workouts are intended to be lung burning, muscle churning affairs, blasted through as fast as possible, it’s still a good idea to have a plan in place before you here 3, 2, 1…

First off, set up your area.  Precious seconds can be saved if you set up your equipment in a logical order that allows for smooth transitions and little lost time.  Obviously, with a crowded gym of people this is not always feasible, but do the best you can without being a major pain in the butt to others.  Every second counts right?  Secondly, look at what the workout calls for and figure out your strengths and weaknesses.  Very few of us can blast through a WOD without stopping a few times to suck in some air and give our muscles a chance to rest.  So think ahead of time as to when you might want to take that quick rest or how you might break up a high rep exercise to keep yourself from going into full muscle fatigue.  Lastly, don’t be afraid to alter your plan mid-WOD. Sometimes you grab that barbell and it feels twice as heavy as it usually does-time to adjust that rep scheme.  Or conversely, you finish that 800 m run and aren’t winded at all-time to get on that pull-up bar and start going!

One of the tricks I like to use when I know I’m going to have to break up a set during a WOD is to take the number required, lets just say 10 deadlifts at 315 lbs, and get more than half the first time I pick up the bar.  In this case it would be 6 or more.  That way, no matter how brutal those first 6 reps were, I know that I only have 4 to go.  Because if I only get 5 the first time I picked up the bar and they all sucked, I know I’ve got to do it all over again to finish.  I like to think of it as going downhill.  Just a little something that helps me deal with the mental aspect of our workouts.

What do you do to mentally prepare before a workout?  Do you game plan every WOD or fly by the seat of your pants?  Post thoughts to comments.-CN

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Get your friends and family down to the box today at 11:00 am for our free intro class.  The new On-Ramp session starts Monday, August 2nd!

Don’t forget that today at 9:45 am, Julie M. brings her magical powers of relaxation to the box.  If you haven’t attended one of her Yoga classes yet than you’re missing out.  So get in there and make a little “chill” time for yourself.

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Another On-Ramp session is starting this Monday, August 2nd.  Tell your friends and family to come to Saturday’s free intro class at 11:00 am to give ARCFit a try.  That way if they like it they can start fresh on Monday instead of waiting for the next On-Ramp session in September. Good plan I’d say…

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Kat wanted me to remind everyone that American River CrossFit is on Facebook.  She posts lots of new pictures of you guys/gals everyday that you can wow your friends and co-workers with.

Snatch, 30 reps (135/95)

A nice short one today after all of that running.  Scale accordingly and don’t sacrifice sound technique for speed.  As Chad likes to say, the magic is in the movements.  Once you’ve finished, take time to recover and then work on a weakness.  Feel free to hit up one of the coaches for advice/help/a spot/phsycological counseling/or to learn the inner workings of the Costco photo department.  That’s what we’re here for!  Take the last 10-15 minutes of class to stretch and foam roll.

Here is what you have to look forward to today:  WOD Demo with Miranda, Chris and Mary – video [wmv] [mov]

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Sorry for the lack of photos and uninspired posts the last few days but Comcast has been killing me lately!  For whatever reason at about 10:00 pm, we lose all internet, television and phone service.  This is not ideal, considering my work schedule prevents me from posting until later in the evening.  Isn’t it interesting that the nightly fireworks show at the State Fair start’s at 10:00 pm?  Coincidence?…I think not!  Hopefully the problem gets resolved soon, thanks for bearing with us.  I’m open to any suggestions from the techno-geeks out there…

So instead you get something from my archives, not entirely relevant to getting stronger but damn funny nonetheless!  http://www.break.com/index/major_drug_bust.html

One of the hardest questions to answer in less than 5 minutes is “What is CrossFit?”  Here is a pretty cool video from CrossFit Overload that goes a long way toward answering that question in a short period of time.  Share this video with your non-CrossFitting friends to give them an idea of what we do.

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E got to do "Roy" for her 31st birthday! Thanks for being understanding Randy...

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Pair up and complete the following:

Run 800 m

100 Wall Balls

100 Overhead Squat (95/65)

2000 m row

Run 800 m

*The run must be done together.  Complete the other exercises/row in any manner you wish with you and your partner working at the same time.  3, 2, 1…at least it’s not Ant’s WOD!

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Remember it’s free intro Saturday, so bring some one new down to get a WOD in and check out the ultra groovy vibe at ARCFit!

Thank you Kat for having the camera rolling and catching Machine Mike giving the ring HSPU a try.  Judging from the amount of people who did that workout RX’d the other day, I think we all found a “skill” that we should be practicing more often.  Hey Mike, don’t forget to thank Mesh for that great spot!-CN

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As promised, the winner of the first ever ARCFit Athlete of the Month award gets to program a workout as part of his/her extensive prize package.  This month’s winner, Anthony “Beavis” Villareal, came up with this beauty for everyone to enjoy.  Remember, don’t curse Chad or I after this one, it’s “Beavis” with a capital “B” (for brutal!).

Ant’s WOD- “Teacher’s Pet”

2 rounds for time

30 squats

30 box jumps

30 sit-ups

30 KB swings

30 burpees

30 deadlifts 135/95lbs

30 pull-ups

*2nd round-20 reps of each

3 Cleans (205/135)

4 Ring Handstand Push-Ups

Partner stretch and foam roll

Highlights from the 2010 CrossFit Games, by CrossFit Again Faster – video [wmv] [mov]

Carli works her pistols with some assistance from a squat stand.

Balance-The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.

Coordination-The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.

Balance and coordination are two of the 10 recognized general physical skills.  These two skills were up front and center yesterday with the addition of pistols to the WOD. Rarely is the one-legged squat programmed in our workouts but man do they suck!  Most of you (Sonic and Hoff are excused from this conversation) needed to use a support to complete the movement.

Stretching and foam rolling before and after workouts is very important but don’t forget to take a little time to work on a weakness, or three.  Even 5 minutes of practice a few days a week on a skill that is difficult for you can pay huge dividends in the long run.  You know better than anyone about your weaknesses and only you can make the effort to improve upon them.

What skill(s) do you need to practice more and which exercises/movements would you like to see come up more often during programming?  Rope climbs, ring work, handstands, etc.  Post your thoughts to comments.

Here is the complete list, you are only as fit as you are competent in each one:

The 10 General Physical Skills

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance – The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.

2. Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.

3. Strength – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.

4. Flexibility – the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.

5. Power – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.

6. Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.

7. Coordination

8. Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.

9. Balance

10. Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

Brandon H. ponders the next few minutes of his life.

Nothing like starting 3 weeks of CrossFit.com programming immediately after the 2010 CrossFit Games end!  ”Double Helen”, sure why not!  Remember peeps that scaling is always an option and should be used when appropriate.  We had a couple of DNF’s yesterday that might have been avoided with proper scaling measures. Here comes more fun…

AMRAP in 7 minutes:

7 Deadlifts (315/205)

20 m sprint

14 one-legged squats

21 double-unders

20 m sprint

Rest 5 minutes

Practice your L-sits or handstand holds

Partner stretch and foam roll

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Our Friday morning Yoga class with Julie M. has been a big hit.  Some of you are asking about an evening class so we wanted to see what the interest level was.  As it stands now, it would most likely be on Friday nights.  Post your thoughts to comments or shoot me an email if your interested.

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Going mainstream: The 2010 CrossFit Games Adidas commercial – video [wmv] [mov]

Some of the winner's from this year's CrossFit Games

First of all, congrats to everyone who followed the last 3-week program we just completed.  We saw a lot of PR’s from everyone and most of you pushed yourselves further than what you normally do in the box.  Real proud of everyone!  The next 3 weeks I decided to change it up a bit and follow the CF Main Site WODs.  The main site follows a 3 on, 1 off routine.  Meaning 3 days of training and 1 day of rest.  Rest days will be random throughout this program and some of these days will fall during the work week and weekend.  Not to worry because when the mainsite calls for a rest day, I have programmed these rest days as “Skill Session” days.  You’re to come in and test on various movements at a prescribed weight, also endurance, agility, and more.  We’re obviously closed on Sunday’s so if a rest day falls on that day then treat it as a rest day.  Also, the main site WODs are hellish and hard but scaleable.  So if you look at the WOD and decide not to come in because it’s hard, then your cheating yourself.  If your going to cheat yourself then you might as well make it worthwhile by eating all the crap food you absolutely love and ruin the hard work you put in.  Wah wah wah…get in the box and push your fitness even further and make more PR’s.  After the 3 weeks of main site wods we are going to test in lifts and benchmark wods.  3-2-1… Aloha!

Fresh from the 2010 CrossFit Games, it’s “Helen” on steroids:

Run 1200 meters

63 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood

36 pull-ups

Run 800 meters

42 Kettlebell swings

24 pull-ups

Run 400 meters

21 Kettlebell swings

12 pull-ups

Graham Holmberg 16:59 (men’s champion), Annie Thorisdottir 17:53 (women’s runner-up).

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If you missed the action this weekend, check out the archive footage of the 2010 CrossFit Games.  There were some amazing athletes showing off their ability to excel in the realm of the unknowing and unknowable.  I recommend watching it before coming in to the box for a little extra inspiration!-CN

Ankles, knees and hips are all in full extension as "Dubie" goes for a clean max.

In Teams of 4 complete the following:

100 Power Cleans (135/95)

100 Box Jumps (24″/20″)

100 Pull-Ups

100 SDLHP (95/65)

100 Burpees

At the same time: Row a 4 k

Complete the prescribed number of reps for the first exercise before moving on to the next. Only one person can be working at a time (not including the rower).  3, 2, 1…hurry up it’s hot out here!

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The free intro class is on today at 11:00 am!  Bring your friends/family in for a good time and some good sweat.

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CrossFit Games 2010 has begun.  Go here to follow all of the action The 2010 Games free webcast starts live at 10am PDT July 16th on live.crossfit.com.