Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Getting Deep!!!

Since attending the Level 1 Cert my quads have been pretty dang sore...they didn't supply chairs, because they required that we sit in the squat position the whole day while trying to both balance and take notes! That was actually a little bit of a lie, but they did have us on more than one occasion practice our squat for for long durations...and it helped. Lets try to cover the importance of safe but adequate squat tech and depth.

A common cause of injuries associated with squatting is failure to maintain proper tension as you descend into and rise out of the hole. I see people at my current big box all the time squatting half ass and if the 1person out of 100 does get the desired depth, they are extremely loose. This is probably because they were told to go as low as humanly possible but forgot to burn in their brain the importance of tension throughout.

Try this: With no weight, relax into as deep a bodyweight squat as you are able; use a pvc like a barbell back squat. While in the bottom position, shift gravity to your heels, tighten up your upper back and abs, rotate the legs out at the hip by shoving the knees outward and engage the glutes and hamstrings. If you do this correctly, you should involuntarily rise out of your deepest position by an inch or two. This is the depth you should strive for with your squats, and no deeper to help avoid being to loose and "Butt Wink"

Notice how tension has spread the load, shifting stress away from the lumbar, knees, and ankles to the hips, hamstrings, and the entire posterior chain. If you don't get the desired depth you well never get the benefits of hamstrings at all either.

If you're having trouble with this on you own, be sure to grab someone that can either help you or set up a camera and record you ROM to review yourself.

04/27 Tuesday (MY Birthday) WOD

Strength
Bench Press 5x5x5
Weighted Dips 8x8x8

WOD
7 Rounds
7 Squat Cleans (95#)
7 Push Press (95#)
7 Burpees

Burpees
22

Monday, April 26, 2010

Rest Day

A bit off schedule, but needed an Active Rest Day after the long weekend.

WOD
2K Row at slow and easy pace, work on form and breathing pattern

Burpees
21

Level 1 Cert Down!!!


I finally, after much anticipation (procrastinated like a year) completed the Level 1 Cert in Saint Paul, MN this past weekend. An abolute phenomenal weeked spent with amamzing people whether athletes or trainers.

This would not have been possible without the rad HQ staff that was there to facilitate our learing/training. Todd, EC, Rudy, Dennis, Joe, and Robb were amazing to work with for those two days and I hope they know how much inspiration they are to each and every person who attended. Their presence, approachability, and uncanny knowledge on the subject matter helped each of us through the weekend to become 100% better/faster/stronger as athletes/trainers/humans!
As I strive towards the dream of opening an affiliate very soon, I can only aspire to one day posses a portion of the knowledge that each trainer brought to the table. I can’t thank them enough for all that they do!!!

***If you're even cinsidering going to the Level 1 Cert, do so ASAP!!! This won't just help you dramitcally as an Athlete but as an overall human being during your lifespan.

Level 1 Weekedend WOD's:

04/24 Saturday WOD

Tabata Squats

Team WOD (4-Person)
200 Thrusters (#95)
200 Pushups

04/25 Sunday WOD

Team WOD (5 Person)
12 min for total Reps
Med Ball Cleans
AbMat Situps
Pullups
Run

I was super bummed that we didn't have the space to perform "Fran" over the weekend though!

Almost forgot...

Burpees
19 Sat
20 Sun

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Rest Day

Burpees
17

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hump Day

04/21 Wednesday WOD

Strength
OverHead Squat 5x5x3x3x1

WOD
3 Rounds
200m Run + 400m Run + 600m Run
*Rest the exact time it takes to complete each run before continuing to the next

Finisher
150 Double Unders (had to break in the the rope)

Burpees
16

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Coming along...

It's amazing how little things can make a big difference and that was quite evident when we got some stuff today! We got some speed ropes and lock-jaw collars from Rogue and then we also made 6 PVC training bars...Plyo Boxes are next on my agenda! Slowly but surely we're putting together the artillery!!!

04/20 Tuesday WOD

Strength
Shoulder Press 5x5x5
Power Clean 5x5x5
Weighted Pullups 8x8x8

WOD
"Jackie"
1000m Row
50 Thrusters @ 45lbs
30 Pullups

Burpees
15

Monday, April 19, 2010

Rest Day

Burpees
14

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What in the "Helen"!?

Still rolling through the benchmarks and i'd been looking forward to doing this WOD again as it's almost been a year since last experiancing it.

For those unaware of what "Helen" feels like, i love this remark (not sure where i first heard it)..."You've never experiance Cardio untill you've met "Helen"!!! Give it a try, enjoy!

04/18 Sunday WOD

Strength
Deadlift 1x1x1x1x1

WOD
"Helen"
3 Rounds
400m Run
21 KB Swings (1.5pood)
12 Pullups

Burpees
13

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Muscling Through the Weekend

I hadn't put mysleft through a WOD that included Muscle Ups in some time and since Eric's have been coming along great, i thought "Why not"? The problem here is, whenever i put together a new WOD i simply think to myself..."What will wreck me today?"...and they always do!!!

04/17 Saturday WOD

Strength
Muscle Up Progressions

WOD
4 Rounds
3 Muscle Ups
20 Box Jumps
100m Sprint
20 Burpees

Burpees
12

Friday, April 16, 2010

Spring Fever!!!


You can see it in peoples eyes and in their swaggers, you can even smell it in the air...Spring is in Full affect! I've been looking forward to Spring for sometime now for one main reason related directly to CrossFit...PARK WORKOUTS!!!

I'm planning to start Park WOD's in about two weeks which will be free for anyone wanting to come and experiance CrossFit. These workouts will be a great way to introduce people to CrossFit and enjoy the outdoors at the same time. I will have more information to come as we are still looking for the perfect location. Stay tuned and check back often to see where we're going to be!

04/16 Friday WOD

Strength
Squat 5x5x5
Deadlift 1x1x1x1x1

WOD
"Cindy"
AMRAP 20mins
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

Burpees
11

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Day 10 of the 100-Day Challenge!

04/15 Thursday REST

Burpees
10

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Saved by Grace!

04/14 Wednesday WOD

Strength
Bench Press 5x5x5
Weighted Dips 8x8x8

WOD
"Grace"
30 Clean & Jerks 135lbs

Burpees
9

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tuesday Endurance!

04/13 Tuesday WOD

16oom Run
3min Rest
1200m Run
2min Res
800m Run
1min Rest
400m Run

*Shoot for your 5k pace and if using a Treadmil set the incline at 2%

Burpees
8

Monday, April 12, 2010

To Bail or Not To Bail?

With "Grace" on my schedule for Wednesday, i've begun asking myself the question about bailing on loads above my head. When is the appropriate time to bail...what's the proper way to bail...how do you know when it's okay to control it down...and how can you control it down without hurting yourself...these are very important things to consider during any lift that requires us to take a load overhead. I did some searching and came accross an amazing artile that Boz wrote a while back, check it out as it answers all of these question straight forward for us.

Ahhh, summer. The warm weather, the long days, the balmy mornings! With the nice weather upon us, attendance has been great! It is fantastic to see so many of you out busting-ass tirelessly, but with the crowd comes an increased demand for spacial-awareness during workouts.

Let's talk bailing out. Specifically from dynamic, overhead lifts. Now we're never squeamish about letting-rip from a missed lift or a potentially bad mechanic, but those two situations are really the only times when an all-out, kitchen-sink bail is necessary.

Bailing is there as an option to keep you SAFE! Safety is always paramount, but alas, most bails are done not out of self-preservation, but out of lazy-ness. We understand that you just held back coughing up a lung for that final push-press, but unless injury looms, control that descent, then rack your weights nicely! Not only is this easier on the equipment, but it eliminates the chances of your errant dumbell/barbell from rolling over into somebody else's personal-space, thereby eliminating the one thing (safety) that bailing promotes.

Think before you bail!

Let's take a look at the bail-out glossary. This glossary purposely omits the "I'm-gonna-Die" injury prevention bail (which is simply get the hell out of the way) because it typically does not need to be taught:

The "Standard", or "I-think-I-need-a-breath-or-two-to-continue"

Key points: Controlled, non-ballistic descent. Barbell is stopped on ground, not rolling towards your partner. Unless you are about to hurt yourself, 99% of all lifts should end like this in a met-con situation.

If you are working from a rack, substitute the barbell in the rack for the ground position. If working with dumbells, nothing really changes.

Grade: A+

The "Turn and Burn"

Key Points: Lifter is not in control. Often accompanied by running in a workout. Lifter does not even see barbell/dumbell hit the ground (or other person/rack/child etc). Bad things happen in group classes with this bail. Don't be that guy/girl/dick. One word describes this bail. Capital L azy-ness!

Grade:F

The "Max Effort"

Key Points: Space is created between object lifted and lifers vital structures (head/face/brain etc). Done after a successful max Clean and Jerk, Snatch or other O-lift where the load is not safe to lower slowly. Also applies for certain o-lift oriented met-cons. Grace comes to mind. Actually improves time, as you are not chasing you bar around after multiple bounces. Lifter follows bar to the ground (watch for the re-bounce) and is sure the bar does not roll-off into the blue.

Grade: A

The "Skin the Cat" or "Nose-Job"

Key Points: Although not as evident in the pictures, this bail happens at full speed. Note the close proximity of bar-to-face. Unless you are really pulling for some emergency surgery, this is not a good option. Get some space between your body and the bar!

Grade: F

Special Bonus:

"Too-Damn-Heavy", back squat edition.

Key points: Drop arms straight down by sides. Step/jump forward. Make sure you communicate with your spotter/people spectating and let your intentions be known, should the lift go sour, BEFORE starting. Ideally, you are never working ridiculously outside of your comfort-zone, even when attempting a PR and a spotter can help you grind-it-out. This is really a last ditch maneuver when flying solo, or there are no experienced spotters around (inexperienced spotters can be as dangerous as not knowing how to bail). There you have it. Control is good. Dental work costs a lot of money (ask Aneel) and it's especially pricey if you're paying for someone else's. Stay safe, if you know what I mean.


04/12 Monday WOD

Strength
Power Clean 5x5x5
Weighted Pullups 8x8x8

WOD
"Barbara"
5 Rounds
20 Pullups
30 Pushups
40 Situps
50 Squats
Rest exactly 3mins between each round. Score by subtracting 12mins of rest from total time to complete the 5 Rounds.

Burpees
7

Burpee Challenge Week 1 in the books!

I've almost forgot my burpees 2 different days already, but if you've done the same don't you worry because it'll be eternally burned into your brain in no time at all!

Only 5,022 burpees left!!! Keep it up!

04/11 Sunday WOD

"Fran"plex (Part Fran, part Complex and after doing it wished i would have never dreamt it up)
15-12-9
115lb Clusters*
C2B Pullups

*Cluster - Clean or Squat Clean/Thruster, bar must touch deck each rep.

Burpees
6

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Burpee Challenge @ 70 People and Counting!

Congrats to everyone that has decided to take part in the burpee Challenge!!!

04/09 Friday WOD

Strength
Shoulder Press 5x5x5

WOD
"Elizabeth"
21-15-9
Cleans 135#
Ring Dips

Burpees
4

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Rest Day

Another tough week going, much needed rest!

14 Months at it and Still Get Stoked about Every CrossFit Workout i do!

Well that might be a touch of a fib, as there are a few of the WOD's that i can go without seeing for some time! Otherwise everyday w/ CrossFit is a great day and it's days like yesterday that keep me rolling! My "Angie" time was not a PR yesterday (16:55), but i've been working on the strength side of things a bit more lately and PR'd my Deadlift by 40lbs!

I haven't posted my CrossFit testimonial on the blog yet, so i figured today would be a good day. Check it out below!

Living but not LIVING!!!

Sure I’ve done tons of Circuit classes in my day as most of us probably have, but any Joe Cool can look like he’s busting his ass (Yah I’m talking to you!!) in one of these classes and still come out after an hour like nothing even happened. This was fine for a while because I was doing triathlons, road races and many other sports to push my performance and keep me what I thought was “Fit”. After doing the same things for almost two years, it was finally becoming apparent just how mundane my workouts had become and I needed something that would shake me up and spit me out!

Sweat Storm

I’m not sure about the rest of you kids, but Crossfit had been in the back of my mind since Muscle & Fitness had a feature article “Sweat Storm” in their May 2008 issue. After reading the article and doing a some internet investigating, I determined that this was just the shit I was looking for…but where on earth the nearest CrossFit…South Dakota is was like 1 or only 2 states to not have a local, let alone any Affiliate gym and my dreams of taking part were quickly shattered.

Annie Putting the Beat Down!

It was October 10th 2008 when I was introduced to Annie “Mrs. CrossFit Sioux Falls” Mello who was a last minute sub on our team of runners going to Omaha for a relay race. As I got to know Annie a bit on the way down to Omaha, it came to my attention that she didn’t actually do much long distance running. I thought this was a touch strange since the race we were heading to was and 86 mile relay race and the rest of us had be running anywhere from 50-120 miles a month at this point. To my surprise I came to find out that her core workouts were all CrossFit and I was amped to see how that translated to the race. I’m not kidding when I say that by the end of this grueling 86 race Annie made all of the males including myself look like we had been pulling plows along during our runs. “This is B.S.”(sorry Annie) I thought to myself and Enough was Enough!

Awakening

Less than a week later I found my self in a garage with Chris “Mr. CrossFit Sioux Falls” Mello doing my first ever ring pull-ups, pistol squats and handstand pushups, wow what an amazing workout! Wait…What the hell that was only the warm up!? Next Chris explained that the actual workout would consist of 20 Kettle Ball Swings (#35), 30 Push ups, 40 Sit ups, and 50 Double Jumps (having little jump roping ability, I opted for 200 singles)…then he continues to tell us we will have the pleasure of doing 3 rounds of this crap, it’ll be timed, and we should try to shoot for negative splits (each round should be faster than the previous)…what kind of pipe-dream did he just come up with?. I wasn’t doubting finishing the workout and it ended up taking me 18mins, but I truly felt that I couldn’t do another rep, let alone catch my breath so I could tell him how bad that sucked! But I’ll be damned if I didn’t want it even more now! Unfortunately my body was telling me otherwise. 8 months of putting my body through training and races all came crashing down on me as I battled 3 different injuries the following 3 months.

Now’s the Time

Finally, injury free, I was able to do my actual Baseline workout on February 19th. Talk about the toughest 00:04:50 I’ve experience to date! This little workout takes every ounce of wind you think you have in your sail right out and kicks your butt faster than you can say “ I think I’m pretty FIT”. The itch was back and it desperately needed to be ripped into! That night I immediately signed up for the 3 sessions a week plan and haven’t looked back sense!

I’ve put my body through more things in the last 3 months at CrossFit than I ever had just banging weights around at other gyms or running on some stupid ass treadmill. From the gold standard pushups, pull-ups, and sit-ups to all of the Olympic lifts, sprints, and Muscle Ups, we do it all as hard and as fast as we can push our bodies! I do it because I will feel it tomorrow and I will know that I’ve made a positive change in my body and the way I look at being “FIT”. CrossFit has opened my eyes in a number ways, not just about my fitness potential but so much more! Whether life, love, family or my career, CrossFit has shown me that I can and should in fact push the envelope…give it all I’ve got…kick, scream, yell, and fight to the end! In life all that’s certain is “the end”…so I’m gonna kick ass and take names all the way there! I dare you to come fight the battle with me!!!

CrossFit’s Lovely’s

My last thought about CrossFit to date has to do with a few special ladies who’ve had a direct impact on my fitness by kicking my ass every time and even kicking me while I’m down. I hope they don’t mind me throwing their names out! “KAREN”, “KELLY”, “ANGIE”, and “FRAN” I just want you to know although I don’t typically hit girls, the next time I see any of you around I’m gonna put the beat down like no other. This is not a threat but a fair warning for what is to come, you’ve been warned!

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,

-Garrett R. Strating

04/07 Wednesday WOD

Strength
Back Squat 5x5x5
Deadlift 1x1x1x1x1

WOD
"Angie"
100 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Day 1 of 100 - Bring the Burpees!


I know it's last minute, but there also couldn't be a better time for this challenge. 100 Days from this Friday the CrossFit Games 2010 kicks off!!! I'm planning to go to these very games and rave to everyone possible about the amazing results i experiance, who's coming with me!!!???

Starting today April 6th all participants do one burpee, adding a burpee each day until reaching 100 burpees on the 100th day! All burpees will be done to CrossFit Games standard.
If a participant wishes to join the challenge after Aug 19th they may buy-in, do the total burpees for that day as well as all of the burpees missed since the beginning of the Challenge. Burpees done in a regular workout can count towards that days total but excess burpees cannot be
carried over to the next day. The burpee challenge will be on the honor system, there will be no official forum other than your word.

CrossFit Games Burpee Form Standard:
Each rep of the burpee will only count when full range of motion is achieved. The bottom limit is when your chest and thighs touch the ground. The top limit is when your hands clap overhead with your feet off the ground and your hips and legs fully extended. There is no height requirement on the jump, but the clap must occur while airborne. The clap is considered overhead when the arm crosses the plane of the ear (when viewed from the side). If the timing is missed, you may repeat the jump to complete the rep.
This will be a tough Challenge and 100 days a considerable amount of time to commit, so lets get motivated and hold eachother accountable...before you know it, we'll all be able to say we completed the "100-Day Burpee Challenge"!!!!

A great thread about the challenge: http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=44867

3-2-1-GO!!!

04/06 Tuesday WOD

Strength
Overhead Squat 5x5x5x5x5

WOD
4 Rounds
Row 1 Minute Max Effort
15 Burpees

Burpees = 1

Monday, April 5, 2010

Let the "Benchmarks" begin!

Since i'm finally going to my Level 1 Cert at the end of this month i thought it was only right to also set a precident for April of doing a bunch of "Benchmark" Wod's. I decided to to it for 2 reasons:

1.) Find out how far i've come since doing some in the past
2.) With a clean slate, set a new Bar to compare future Wod's

Some new motivation is always needed and by giving myself a new floor to start from, i expect to propel forward in any number of directions. Note the benchmarks are not to be done often and really measure your CrossFit capacity on many different levels any given day.

For further reading about the purpose of the "Benchmarks" and how they are implemented into our programming, please check out the Journal article @: www.crossfit.com/journal/library/13_03_Benchmark_Workouts.pdf

Tomorrow we also begin 100-Day Burpee challenge!

04/06 Monday WOD

Strength
Bench 5x5x5
Weighted Dips 8x8x8

WOD
"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Situps

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Fresh Start in April!!!

Two big focusses starting this week:

1.) Dedicating April as "Benchmark" month...going to do minimum of 3 benchmark WOD's per week.

2.) Starting 100-Day Burpee Challenge 04/6 (more info to follow).

Going to be a wicked month and start the spring/summer season off with a bang!!!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

CrossFit Endurance and the Upcoming Race Season


Spring is finaly on the books and Summer ia hopefully quickly approaching so many of us are beginnig to work towards endurance goals of all sorts including Triathlons, Marathon's, 1/2 Marathon's, 10k's or 5k's. Lucky for us, CrossFit has a sister site called CrossFit Endurance (http://www.crossfitendurance.com/) that is training designed specifically for multi sport and endurance athletes. I have tossed many of my old training habits out the window and have vowed to follow CFE for my endurance training this coming season. Below i have posted some basic info from their website and encourage you all to visit them for more!

What is CrossFit Endurance?

CrossFit Endurance was developed on two fronts, 1. To allow CrossFit Athletes to still CrossFit and compete in endurance sports and bring a standard to running. 2. it gives a unique opportunity for endurance athletes to learn another significant way to effectively train for any event they wish to compete in. It also provides a unique opportunity for them to have a life outside of training. Something most endurance programs will not allow for with the sheer volume demand of these programs.

It brings to light the reality of LSD/Oxidative training and why it is ineffective and extremely unhealthy. It gives you the ability to understand training endurance athletes and how to make strength and conditioning a major part of the program and not a supplement.

03/31 Wednesday WOD

Max Effort 500m Row

rest & then
WOD
2000m Row
400m Run
1500m Row
400m Run
1000m Row
400m Run
500m Row
400m Run
03/30 Tuesday WOD

Strength
Push Press 5x5x5

WOD
7 Rounds
3 Front Squat (185lbs)
7 L-Pullups

Finisher
TABATA
Situps
Squats
Pushups