July 2007 Archives

Another great video from Coach.
Video: MOV or WMV

Jim and Mary came out in the rain and completed Linda!

Here's another great clip from coach about the physical adaptations induced by CrossFit workouts. Video: MOV - WMV

We will not be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday July 25.

Brady, Mary, Brett, Jim
Mary has a nice full extension before dropping into the catch position (see her toes)
Jim has strong, "active" shoulders in the final standing position.

Mary with a kettlebell and Joe with a kipping pull-up. Both completed "Helen" today.

Excellent information from Coach.
Video link: WMV or MOV

Secret Fitness Tip: we use bark chips to count rounds.

Mary completed the full 20 rounds today!

Aaron will be attending the CrossFit PowerLifting Certification at CrossFit San Diego on August 11-12. Powerlifting consists of three events: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.

The hotel room has 2 beds, so if anyone would like to come along you are welcome. While most of the CrossFit certifications have sold out, this powerlifiting seminar still has a few spots left.

Mary, Jim, and Brett completed Diane today, putting forth good effort. Here is Jim and Mary doing press and deadlift. Notice how Mary keeps her back nice and straight while at the bottom of the lift.

Check out this video clip from Coach Glassman, founder of CrossFit.

Jim and Brett are doing presses with legs elevated to increase strength as they work towards handstand pushups. Jim did assisted HSPU's and Brett was able to do unassisted HSPU's. Benches will be ordered this evening so that we can work in the bench press too.

Jim, Brett, Brady, Joe & Mary working through box jumps and double unders

Mary - Brett - Brady
Mary has solid form but can go just a bit lower to improve.
Brett has excellent form, especially considering this is his first day at CrossFit!
Brady can put up more weight but needs to work on going down to parallel.

Good information.

Rest days are important. Take one when you feel tired.

People new to CrossFit can easily overtrain. The environment is new and highly motivating, everyone is seeing results, and there is a natural tendency to think more work = more results. That's just not the case. Today for example, was the third day in a row of three challenging workouts. Most of us felt exhausted. If you feel exhausted when you wake up tomorrow morning, you should take a rest day even if CrossFit doesn't prescribe one.

Learning when to take a rest day has always been a challenge for me. I like to push myself. What happens if I don't rest? Joints that usually aren't sore will start to be sore, I feel generally exhausted, it is hard to wake up, and if I push through all that I usually get a cold or a sore throat.

Your body grows and adapts when you are resting, not working out. Let your body do its thing. Eat, sleep, and rest well.

Jim, Mary, and Brady finished Cindy this morning. Jim has been coming only three days per week for one month and has already lost an inch off his waist. Great work!

I've been doing CrossFit for 9 months now and the only thing I dislike about the program are the never ending blisters and peeling skin on my palms from doing pullups. They have started bleeding on me several times. Don't get me wrong, CrossFit is serous about fitness, but it isn't so "hardcore" that any of us should be expected to bleed regularly. I think I have found a solution, or at least a large improvement. The image above shows the grips I ordered from newgrip.com. They are a soft neoprene feeling material. I've only used them once but was very impressed by that blister-free workout. One month from now I'll let you know if I still think they were worth the $25. If anyone else has experience with these, please share.
-Aaron

Today was rowing, pull-ups, and push jerks. Here we see Jim rowing as Mary works on the push jerks.

In this image we see Brady learning deadlift. His starting position can be improved by lowering his butt and raising his chest. This will give him more power from his legs and put less strain on the back. See this great intro video on deadlift form.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is a holiday and we will be meeting at 8:00am instead of 6:30am.

Brady, Mary, Firefighter Joe, and Law Student Joe showed up this morning. Law Student Joe put forth an incredible effort, beat the trainer with a time of 11:50, and did a few extra rounds for motivation with Brady as he finished up. Great work today guys!

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