Look at our new merch!

For your holiday gift giving (or gift getting!) pleasure:

Click to embiggen!

Vintage Green Zip Hoody - $50

Dark Heather Grey Zip Hoody - $50

Grey Thermal - $25 

Plum Tee (Adult cut shown. Ladies cut available) - $20 

Vintage Green tee (Adult cut only.) - $20

Get yours!

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WOD

a. deadlift 5x5

b. "bottom's up" kettlebell presses

How'd you go about your five sets? Set any new personal records? How much more different is the "bottom's up" position than what you're used to?

Post load and experiences to comments!

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It's the last push to get Concept 2 to raise $30,000 for charity. We want thank our team for all of the hard work put forth during this challenge. Come see Andrew or Tony this week for your free pair of tickets (and popcorn) to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo at The Cinerama downtown, as well as a 2-for-1 admission ticket to Banya 5!

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Concept 2 Charity Challenge 2011 Details

Here's the skinny on the Concept2 Winter Rowing Charity Challenge we posted about yesterday.

via Concept2:

Sandi, Bex

How to Participate

1. You must have an Online Logbook at concept2.com (it's FREE!) and all of your meters must be entered into your Online Logbook. If you don't already have one, visit the Online Logbook home page, click Register under New User and follow the directions.
2. Under the Profile tab, enter your current mailing address. This is to ensure we have your correct mailing address for mailing your pin (see below for how to qualify).
3. After you row, record your meters in your Online Logbook. The Online Logbook automatically calculates your meters during the challenge.
4. Visit the Challenges page in your Online Logbook. When you've reached your goal, the Challenges page of the Online Logbook automatically recognizes your achievement and displays instructions for claiming your rewards.

Dave

Incentives and Rewards

The incentives and rewards available depend on which goal you achieve. Here's how it works.

200k, 50k Kids, and Adaptive

Participants who complete 200,000 meters, kids who complete 50,000 meters, and adaptive athletes who complete at least 50,000 meters are entitled to the following incentives and rewards:

• A free downloadable certificate of achievement
• A free downloadable heat transfer for making your own Holiday Challenge-wear
• A free Holiday Challenge pin: Pins are sent automatically to the address on file in your Online Logbook. Please ensure you have entered a valid address in order to receive your pin.
• Access to the Holiday Challenge shop through our third-party fulfillment vendor

100k Finishers

Participants who complete 100,000 meters are entitled to the following incentives and rewards:

• A free downloadable certificate of achievement
• A free downloadable heat transfer for making your own Holiday Challenge-wear
• Access to the Holiday Challenge shop through our third-party fulfillment vendor

Preparing for the Holiday Challenge

If completing 200,000 meters in a month is a new challenge for you, here are a few ideas to help prepare before the challenge begins:

• If you haven't tried it before, don't be intimidated! Each year we hear from folks who have never completed any long distances before and have completed the challenge.
• Gradually build your workout time. Try adding an extra 1000 meters per day, especially if you don't usually complete 7000 meters at a time.
• If you don't usually workout every day, try rowing for several days in a row. The workouts can be short, but see how it feels to row more often.
• Be sure to keep some stretching in your routine or add it if you haven't been doing it regularly.
• Think about when you will fit your extra Holiday Challenge rowing into your schedule. If it requires that you workout at a different time of day, you should try it out ahead of time. For example, if you don't usually workout first thing in the morning, keep in mind that it may take you longer to warm up at that time of day, and you should not expect to be able to row as hard and as fast as usual right away.
• Will you miss any workouts due to travel or other commitments? If so, plan ahead, so that you can make up the missed meters. For example, you may want to row twice a day on some of the weekends.
• Be sensible! Many people have commented that the Holiday Challenge pushed them to row more than they ever thought they could, and it felt great! On the other hand, it is not wise to make a sudden jump in rowing time and distance so keep this in mind. You can build your daily meters gradually, even during the challenge itself.

Any questions? Let Andrew or Andy know!

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WOD

"LYNNE"

5 rounds for max reps:

bench press, BW

pullups

Compare to 20JUN2011. Post reps to comments!

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Read Got 'Em Coach

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Winter Rowing Challenge

from Andy:

Concept2 is running a new Charity Challenge this Winter. For every 1K rowed between November 24th and December 24th, Concept2 will donate $0.02 to one of three charities (minimum of $100,000).

So if five of us row 100K that's $500 to charity. If 20 of us row 100K that's $2000. You get the idea! 

Pretty cool stuff... and a good way to row off all that holiday food!

What do y'all think? Let's get it going!

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WOD

for time:
21 deadlifts, 100/65kg
42 wall ball push press, 20/14#
15 deadlifts, 100/65kg
30 wall ball push press, 20/14#
9 deadlifts, 100/65kg
18 wall ball push press, 20/14#

Compare and contrast to 18JAN2011. Post time to comments!

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Check out this video on a short CrossFit workout on show The Doctors.

Good exposure or bad exposure?

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MC5

Mini-Challenge #5 - all are welcome to donate. PaleoRx participants get a $10 discount on next month's dues!

donations accepted in the gym!

PaleoRx Mini-Challenge #5: Clean Out the Cupboard!
–Due by Saturday, June 18–

We are nearing the end of our PaleoRx Challenge and hope that you have learned how to fuel your body properly by eating real food. As our Challenge draws to an end, we hope that you will carry over some of those good habits as part of your new lifestyle. One of the things that may help you along the path, is to remove the temptations that may provoke your cravings. 

For this week’s mini-challenge, we are asking you to collect those foods sitting in your cupboards that do not fit your new lifestyle, and remove them OR donate them to those in need. That’s right, we’re talking about those non-Paleo items that have been taunting you for the past several weeks! Also, please consider cutting back on some Paleo items that you’ve grown an unhealthy addiction to, e.g. excessive amounts of coconut butter and almond butter!

(NOTE: By getting rid of temptations, we mean stuff that actually belongs to you, not others in your household.)

We’re not asking you to rid yourself of all non-Paleo items. Examples might be chips, cookies, pasta, mac&cheese, pancake mix, cereals, canned soups, peanut butter, hot chocolate, etc. We all have special circumstances, so we’re simply asking you to give consideration to what you have in your cupboards and pantry.

PaleoRx participants will receive a $10 discount towards next month’s CrossFit dues. (This will not be judged based on quantity of food items removed.)

How to participate:

• Search through your food storage areas for items that are non-Paleo. Yes, check all those hiding places!
• Consider whether or not you can part with it.
• Collect the items together and take a photo. (see Garrett’s post)
• Tell us how you feel about it.
• Throw out perishable items, but also consider donating the rest to the local food bank. (We will start a food collection bin at the gym, benefitting Food Bank @ St. Mary’s.)

Already have a Paleo kitchen? Let us know if you’ve committed to it and take a photo of your “clean” cupboard. It will count toward the mini-challenge.

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WOD

"NANCY"

5 rounds for time:
400m run
15 overhead squats, 45/30kg

compare to 25AUG2010.

Post results to comments!

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Guess what we're going to learn this weekend?



Learning straight from the source itself- Dr. Romanov!

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Benchmark Week

Today is DAY 1 of the Paleo Rx Challenge. A couple of things you need to do sooner than later:

• Register.
• State your goals. Everywhere (here in comments, PaleoRx site, your blogs, facebook, etc. The more places people can see and hold you accountable, the better.)
• Workout. Everyday this week is going to be a benchmark that will need to be repeated in 6 weeks.
• Take your BEFORE pictures.
• Clean out your fridge and pantry of the junk sh!t.
• Get PUMPED!

Tomorrow's intensive is hand balancing- proficiency in handstands, handstand pushups and levers!

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WOD

"GRACE"

for time:
30 clean & jerks, 60/45kg

compare to 25FEB2011 or 03DEC2010.

Post results to comments.

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Paleo Rx Mini-Challenge #1: The saddest looking BEFORE picture.
(due date: Saturday by 2pm)

2010

First off, It is required that you take some BEFORE pictures, but it is not required that you share them. You can take these at the gym or at home. Then send them to challenge@foundationcrossfit.com

We need three pictures from each person:

1. one full-body front
2. one full-body profile (side view)
3. one full-body behind.

Dudes in shorts only. Ladies in bras and shorts only.

The contest this week is simple. Who can have the saddest facial expression in their BEFORE photo? (We will only post cropped photos of winners, from the chest up.)

Get to snappin'!

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Registration is LIVE

We're just putting the finishing touches on the Nutrition Challenge!

If you plan to participate in the challenge that starts this coming Monday, REGISTER HERE NOW. And think about the Goals you would like to achieve in the next six weeks. We will be asking for detailed Goals!

For starters, here are some of the basic details.

Prior to the challenge:

• Register online. $30 enables eligibility to win prizes throughout the challenge, as well as getting your very own limited-edition Paleo RX t-shirt!
• Take a "Before" picture. You can do this on your own or at the box. It will only be seen by you and by judges.
• Participate in some benchmark WODs at the beginning and end of the challenge to gauge improvement.

During the challenge:

• EAT REAL FOOD!
• Log your daily food intake and scores.
• Motivate each other to eat better, go farther, push harder, laugh, smile, etc.
• Win prizes for eating according to our guidelines, and winning our weekly mini-challenges!

At the conclusion of the challenge:

• Take an "After" picture and compare it to the "Before"- see and feel the difference.
• Repeat the benchmark workouts.
• Feel awesome that you made it and accomplished much.
• Have your rad body ready just in time for the summer solstice on June 17th

Questions, comments and concerns about the challenge? Email challenge@foundationcrossfit.com!

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WOD

"OOPS."

for time:
10 chest-to-bar pullup
20 wall climbs
3 laps around the block
40 knees-to-elbows
50 jumping pullups
60 lunges
7 hills
80 lunges
90 box jumps, 24/18"
100 squats

SupeRx = 10 muscle-ups and 20 wall climb handstand pushups.

Post results to comments.

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Navy SEALs Hardcore Workout - The Daily Beast

The workout methodology described within sounds eerily familiar, no? We train for life, not fads.

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Bye Bri!

One of our most dedicated is athletes is leaving us! Fortunately she's joining the military to kick ass and protect our country. She'll be MP and keeping people in line.

her favorite

Safe journeys Bri!

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WOD

Bri's Farewell

for time:
100m run
10 pullups
10 goblet squats, 16/12kg
200m run
20 side-to-side pushups
20 pullups
20 goblet squats, 16/12kg
300m run
30 jumping lunges
30 side-to-side pushups
30 pullups
30 goblet squats, 16/12kg
400m run
40 squat clean wall ball, 20/14#
40 jumping lunges
40 side-to-side pushups
40 pullups
40 goblet squats, 16/12kg

Lots of pullups this week. Play with grip (overhand, underhand, alternate/mixed grips) and widths.

today's results.

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Jack Lalanne VOD: Sugarholics



Are you a sugarholic?

A new year, a new challenge

We are starting a 30-Day Journaling Challenge to better help you reach your health and fitness goals.

The intention of this challenge is to become more aware of what you put in your mouth on a daily basis. As a gym, we generally promote a “Paleo”-type diet – but the intention of this challenge is not to see how paleo you can eat. We want you, the athletes, to be aware of how you fuel yourself.

Keeping a food log is the best way to really know what and how you eat. If you have a specific goal, like snacking less or eating less sugar or eating breakfast everyday – logging your food intake can help you achieve those goals.

We will be providing general information, tips/tricks and recipes to help you in your journey to healthy eating. Information posted will mostly reflect paleo philosophies and will come from fellow gym members who eat paleo.

This is a great way for you to start experimenting with a different way of eating – to be able to see what other people eat at the gym and to talk and communicate about food and food choices. The best part? There is no cost to participate and all you have to do is state some nutrition-related goals and record what you eat for 30 days!

You an submit your daily food journals to journal@foundationcrossfit.com and they will appear on the blog within 24 hours.

Sign up at http://journal.foundationcrossfit.com/wp-register.php using the email address you will be sending from. Only emails from this address will be accepted.

This coming Wednesday, the first day of the Challenge (January 26, 2011), please state your goals for this challenge. On subsequent days, please state what you ate throughout the day or submit a photo of a meal or meals. Examples of goals would be:

• Eat less
• Eat more
• Snack less
• Eat less sugar
• Eat no sugar
• Drink less alcohol
• Eat out less
• Eat more fresh foods
• Try eating more paleo meals
• ... and so many more!

So get started! Sign up now!

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WOD

"FILTHY FIFTY"

50 reps each, for time:

box jump, 24/20"

jumping pullup

kettlebell swing, 16/12kg

walking lunge

knees-to-elbows

push press, 20/15kg

back extension

wall ball shots, 20/14#

burpees

double unders

results here. compare to 24NOV2010 or 08SEP2010.

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Use ze hips and keep them mobile!

Cooling Down

It looks like the sun should be back the rest of this week - but us Seattleheads already know not to believe in the weather wo/man. We'll take as much sunshine as we can as well as the heat aka 70 degrees [so put away that gray sweater for now Garit ;) ] . Here are a few cool down treats to enjoy while making the best out of the rest of the summer.

Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss Ice Cream


Well folks to keep this simple, it really does taste like a coconut bliss. Ingredients: organic coconut milk (Organic Coconut, Water, Guar Gum), organic agave syrup, organic dried coconut, organic coconut extract, organic fair trade vanilla extract. Check out the different flavors they have on their website, linked above. I have found many reviews on this ice cream and everyone loves it- including your trainers and ABC News:

5 Sweet and Savory Primal Shakes

Bust out your Magic Bullet(s) to make these in 10 seconds! Click the link to go to Mark's Daily Apple for the recipes to these mouth-watering shakes that won't make you feel bad!

Coconut Avocado

Blueberry Kale

Chocolate Almond

I had another recipe for an orange sorbet but realized there is a generous amount of sugar in it, which is obviously okay to have sometimes. These will do for now! The box is continuing to grow and grow. Do any of you new readers (and old) have anything you'd like to see MORE of on the Tasty Tuesday blogs? Any recipes to share? Post em to comments!

I have had great pleasure getting to meet and chat with some of you and I have been asked when the next Summer Bodies/Look Good Naked Challenge is going to happen. Please leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are on this. Older folk: is it too early to throw another one and/or would you participate again? Newer folk: if this is something you'd be interested in, when would be an ideal time for it to start?

We'll start from there. Feel free to ask your trainers, Andrew and Adam, or myself and Margaret for questions on the past fresh food challenges FCF as held. :)

February Paleo Challenge!

Hey Folks -

Margaret here. Sheena and I are going to be heading up the February Paleo Challenge for those of you who are interested. And you should all be interested. Cause it's gonna be awesome!

What is paleo? Paleo is the trendy diet name for eating real, whole foods that humans have been eating for 20,000 years. What are those foods? Meat and eggs (grass-fed and pastured preferably!), vegetables (non-starchy), fruit, seeds and nuts. As simple as that. True paleo diets are not concerned with the AMOUNT of food that you are eating but the QUALITY of food.

What is this paleo challenge all about? It's about taking your fitness, health and general well being to the next level. Where ever that may be for you. We want you to set realistic (but still challenging!) diet goals for yourself and stick with them for a month. Maybe the first step is just eating whole foods - cutting out processed foods and cooking with real ingredients. Have you considered cutting out grains? How about sugar? How about grains AND sugar? Have you already done both of those things and are looking to try to do strict paleo and cut out dairy, alcohol and starchy veggies too? Maybe you were at 80% paleo and you want to try 100% paleo for a month. Maybe you were at 50% paleo and want to try 80% paleo. Where ever you are - figure out a way to make this challenge an actual challenge for you!
Want to learn more about Paleo (and Paleo-modifications)?  Check out this post.  What Kind of Paleo are You?  Or check out Sheena's post with the "Paleo in a Nutshell movie."


What to do - How to start - and best of all - How to win!

1.  Set a goal for yourself. Make it a challenge - but make sure it's something attainable for you. Send Sheena and me an email to let us know what that goal is. It would also help if you gave us a brief idea of where you are starting from - What is your current diet like? (Margaret: margaret.kloster@gmail.com, Sheena: sjcamagong@gmail.com)
2. Pay up! If you want to be in the running for a prize at the end then give us (or Andrew) $20 the next time you are at the box.
3. Say Cheese! Take a before picture (optional). A great time to do this would be at the Grand Opening party (you're coming, right??) 
4. Document that shit. Start eating healthy and document it! We started a members blog for us all to document what we are eating on a daily basis. I posted a sample blog post. Check it out - it's so simple. If you want to participate we will add you as a contributor to the blog - you just need a gmail account. This will allow us to be able to see how well you are doing in keeping with your goals and will help with the judging. Just attach a label of your initials to everyone of your blog posts so we can track you - We will help keep you accountable! Here is the url for the members block - bookmark it - http://fcfpaleo.blogspot.com/  If you want your food log to be more private - you can keep your own blog or paper diary and share it with just the judges.  Whatever you are most comfortable with!
5. Ask for support and support each other. Have questions? Shoot us an email. Need tips on how to get past the sugar blues? Let us know! Did you just make something really awesome for dinner that was easy and paleo? Snap a picture and send us the recipe. We'll share it on the blog.
6. Stick to it! It's only 28 days! If you set an appropriate goal for yourself and stick with it then you have a real shot of winning - but really - everyone wins, right?? :)

If you can't start on February 1st (I know this is short notice) - no problem! Jump in whenever you can - but still try to go for 28 days. We will pick winners when everyone is done with their 28 days.

So let's do it!  We've already got a few people on board.  Andrew V. said he's up for it.  Cedric is going big or going home.  AB is even gonna do it!Sheena and I are going strict paleo - no grains, sugar, dairy, processed crap or alcohol! (Except I'm going to allow myself to eat whatever the hell I want to on Super Bowl Sunday!), Additionally I'm cutting out coffee. We are going big, but we really want to encourage you to do ANYthing that is going to get you closer to being the healthiest person you can be!


The prizes will depend on how many people participate and buy in, but we'd like to be able to have a couple prizes, maybe with different categories etc. so everyone has a chance to win, no matter what your specific goal is.  We plan on having gift certificates to health food stores, restaurants and fish oil supplements for winners! We will keep you posted on the judging part as we see who is participating and what people's goals are. The more people that buy in - the better the prizes will be!

Come on people. February is the shortest month of the year! No excuses!  Links to get you started and motivated!
Shopping at costco and wondering what to pick up? Check out what's in Cavegirl's shopping cart.

Feeling like experimenting? Check out Girl Gone Primal's recipe index

Have a craving to eat out - but are nervous about sticking with your diet goals? Check out What's In What You Eat? It's specific to Seattle!



If you want more info - please please email us. There's loads of info out there and we can help!

A Challenge.

THERE WILL BE NO WORKOUT SATURDAY. Andrew and Tony will be at CrossFit Bellevue for a seminar by CrossFit founder Great Glassman.

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Today marks the beginning of the STAY RIGHT THROUGH WINTER CHALLENGE, known hereafter as SRTWC.

Why are we doing this?

We are all going through this because

1. It's fun!
2. It keeps us accountable for our own progress.
3. It will allow us to stay healthy through the holiday season.
4. Whoever does "best" in each category will win our new upcoming merchandise!

Think of this as 'warm-up week'- everything actually starts next Monday. Time to prepare by gathering as much information as possible to get us mentally and physically engaged 100%. We will share more as the week goes on.

We will have three groups for the SRTWC: weight loss, weight gain, and performance. You will classify which category you fall into and will follow guidelines throughout SRTWC. These include workouts, nutrition, recovery, supplementing and other practices. Everyone will have to take before pictures. Everyone will keep a log- either the comp books in the gym and/or online in a blog format (example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.) Everyone will commit to exercising at least 4x/week, regardless if that's at FCF or elsewhere. Everyone will succeed.

And as always, please let Andrew know if you have any questions, concerns or comments.

(DAY -7)

WOD

for time:

100 squats

100 push presses, 20kg/15kg

75 squats

75 push presses, 20kg/15kg

50 squats

50 push presses, 20kg/15kg

25 squats

25 push presses, 20kg/15kg

AOD

"Community and Camaraderie Are the Foundations of 21st Century Business"

by Andrew Kortina

Have you ever been on a "diet" before? Which one(s)? Did they work? What was the easy part, if any? The hard part? Would you recommend it to someone?

This morning I had the privilege of meeting Greg Glassman after a Crossfit Q&A session at Brooklyn Barbell Club.  The thing I admire most about Glassman and the Crossfit organization is a set of strong first principles combined backed by empirical arguments.  Today, Glassman laid a few core Crossfit tenets:

Crossfit is constantly varied high intensity functional movement.

Functional movements are categorically unique in their ability to express power.

Power across broad time and modal domains is fitness.

Fitness measured across lifespan is health.

Affiliates are a distribution system for the above.

All of these are simple but broad declarations, but instead of relying on dogma, age, experience, or any sort of certificate as a reason Crossfitters should accept these tenets, Glassman always points to results and data derived from experimentation as the grounds for these core principles. “Study data, pay close attention to method, and ignore narrative” when reporting back new findings, he instructs affiliates.

 Read the rest of the article by clicking the link above.

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Challenges update

Today is Day 31 of the Beach Body Burpee Bonanza Challenge. Are you caught up to do 31 burpees or do you have to buy in for 496?

With the end of this month, we have September to look forward to and this next challenge will not be an exercise challenge. For this coming month I challenge you to eat healthier and build better habits outside of the gym.

September will be the Nutrition & Habit Challenge!

What we'll ask of you:

• eat on the Paleo diet or Zone diet with a minimum of 5x/week
• CrossFit a minimum of 3x/week (at the gym or on your own). If you're on an unlimited membership, you're not getting your value if you're not here as often as possible.
• Cut sugar. Sugar also includes large amounts of bread, rice, pasta, grains, etc.
• Take fish oil supplements daily. See our buddies at Healeo.
• If you are consuming more than 3 alcoholic beverages a week, bring it below 3. If you want to do more, cut out alcohol completely.
• Reset your circadium rhythm and GET ON A SLEEPING SCHEDULE! It's difficult but sleep is very important.
• START A NUTRITION & WORKOUT BLOG! Examples are in the WOD Blog on the right. If you have a gmail account, you have a Blogger account. Other free blogging services: Wordpress, Typepad, Twitter, etc. Get one. If you want it private, make sure I can see it.
• Be good to yourself.

Got it? Good. Let's get it going again!

The Beach Body Burpee Bonanza

Were you on this board? More importantly, did you have 31 marks next to your name?

No worries! It's DAY 5 of the Beach Body Burpee Bonanza and for the month of August, we're back to burpees. No more excuses in not being able to workout (;

Day 5 = 5 burpees. Buy-in = 15. Most of you should be buying in.

Six Weeks

UPDATED!

Starting April 20th a bunch of folk with FCF are going on a 6-week "Get Right For Summer" exercise and nutrition challenge. Want to lose weight? Gain? "Tighten up"? Get that all right here. If you're an athlete, we can break plateaus and get you better in your sport. If you're not an athlete, want to become one? It's approximately 30 days of work, with some breaks in between. You can do this with us, with your friends or by yourself. Who's in?


The guidelines:

• Participants must log info into a journal either on paper or online - Blogger, the FCF log on the CrossFit Message Boards, the wall for this event, etc. giving Andrew access so he can check up on it (c) Beyonce.
• Participants must exercise (workout) 4-6 times a week. CrossFit workouts. If you have no prior experience make sure you attend one of the four meetings (see below)
• Participants must eat well (Zone and/or Paleo) 4-6 times a week. You will be given tools to understand these nutritional guidelines/plans.
• Participants must limit sugar, alcohol, grain intake to weekends only. Weekends = Saturday and Sunday. WE SEE YOU! This is Facebook, after all. And y'all share too much.
• Participants must start with a "Before" picture and some other info, that will not be shared with anyone. "After" pictures will be taken June 1st. This information will be shared with and ONLY WITH your permission.
• You must "signup" with Andrew to be recognized as a participant. Participants who stay on throughout the entire challenge will be able to take advantage of special offers for our new location in Capitol Hill.
• If you are participating "with us" you will have access to classes with certified CrossFit trainers. Being able to have eyes on you when you workout makes the biggest difference.
• You can still participate on your own. Follow our blog http://foundationcrossfit.com/ for the WOD (workout of the day) along with some instruction, either in picture or video form.

the future location

To sign up, please leave a comment here with your name and then send an email with the subject line "GET RIGHT FOR SUMMER" to andrew@foundationcrossfit.com.


We'll have four meetings for the challengers:

1. Saturday the 18th - 12pm, location TBD
2. Sunday the 19th - 3pm, location TBD
3. Monday the 20th - north end of Greenlake, 6pm
4. Tuesday the 21st - north end of Greenlake, 6pm

If you cannot make any of these, make arrangements with Andrew to get the information.

Summer's coming ...