Coming Soon: the Competitor's Class

We will soon run a "Competitor's Class" every Saturday at 12pm at CrossFit SLU. This class will be open to members of both FCF and SLU.

Open to everyone, the purpose of this class is to learn how to "game" your workouts, feel what it's like to have a personal judge/ rep counter, and develop the capacity to train at a competitive CrossFit level. Plus the more I can pit Team Foundation CrossFit vs Team CrossFit SLU, the better!

This class will be challenging, but not impossible. More and more of the "competitive exercise" events have categories for Firebreathers, Scaled, Masters, and Team. We'll cover each of these, depending on the needs of those in attendance. This will also allow us a time to work on goats weaknesses that creep up on you.

It will be helpful to have your journal and PRs on hand to help develop a better game plan. Contact Andrew for more info.

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WOD

every minute on the minute for 12 minutes:
2 power cleans

then

for time:
30 shoulder-to-overhead, 80/50kg

Every time the bar is put on the ground, perform 30 box jumps at 24/20". Post results to whiteboard!

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Dominic Lacasse - Standing on a Human Flag (via Colin B)



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Hang Squat Clean Thrusters!

Jeff P

How do you set your grip for overhead movements while racking it on the shoulder?

Full grip around the bar or no?

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WOD

hang clean 10x2

then

every minute on the minute for 15 minutes:
3 clean pulls
6 hang clean thrusters

Use one manageable weight for both the clean pull and hang clean thrusters. If you are caught by the top of the minute, finish out your reps and wait until the beginning of the next minute. Post results to comments!

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Week 3 Wrap Up:



What do you think CrossFit Games Open 12.4 will be? I'm wishing for some double unders and muscle-ups! Hopefully there are no cleans (;

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Max Effort Clean & Jerk

extend, drop, create space, stand

A great rack position can be determined by the flexibility of your forearms. Specifically the bottom, which can determine your wrist extension.

Get on that wrist prep!

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WOD

for max weight:
clean & jerk 1RM

Perform a full squat clean followed by a jerk (push, split, splot, squat) overhead. Post load to comments!

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Be efficient! Be fast!

Had to repost this because it demonstrate beautiful power... and gets you pumped!

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Six Months Pregnant

And still ripping the shit out of workouts remaining active!

Shelley's first time using 20kg!

Our fitness is one that is broad, inclusive and infinitely scalable. We can modify our constantly varied, functional movements performed at a relatively high intensity.

See also:

• https://www.againfaster.com/en/blog/2012/02/17/pregnant/
• crossfitmom.com

What excuses do you hear about?

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WOD

7 rounds for max weight.

The "SHANKLE COMPLEX"

1 clean pull
2 hang clean pulls
1 hang clean
2 (split) jerks

To have the set be considered successful, you must complete the six movements without setting the bar on the ground. Warmup the movements of the complex before hitting 7 pretty heavy rounds. Post loads used to comments!

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What do you think CGO 12.2 will be?

The CrossFit Games Update: Open Week 1

I think it'll be a couplet of a relatively light weightlifting movement and a bodyweight movement.

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A Hundred and Twenty-Six

"Mark Beast"

How many burpees did you complete in CGO 12.1?

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WOD

squat clean 1RM

front squat 1RM

then

15-12-9 reps for time:
chest-to-bar pullups
handstand pushups

*Start each round with a 100m run. If you cannot perform a hspu, modify to a dive-bomber pushup. Post results to comments!

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Games Athletes Update - Foundation Athletics

All participating CGO athletes- please read the SLU blog!

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Go Jo Go!

from Jeff:

Jo took another step down the path to the London Olympics this summer by adding two more National Championship titles to her 2012 collection over the weekend. She prevailed in both the 20KPoints Race and 10K Scratch Race at the National Track Championships in Invercargill, New Zealand. Jo won the National Omnium title earlier in the season bringing her total to 3 national titles. The points race is 80 laps of the 250 meter track with the riders sprinting every 10 laps for points – 1st four places scoring 5, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. If a rider gains a lap it is worth 20 points. Highest point total at the end wins. The scratch race is a straight up 40 lap race – first one across the line wins.

Jo in NZ

Jo now heads to London for World Cup #4 next weekend and the opportunity to ride on the Olympic track for the first time. The World Championships are early April in Melbourne, Australia and the New Zealand Olympic Cycling team will be named after that event.

Check out the backyard CF training! Also notice the bricks missing from the house as a result of all the earthquakes in Christchurch.

Communique #81
Event 29 - WE Women 20km Points Final:

Rank - Rider - Points

1. Jo KIESANOWSKI 27
2. Rushlee BUCHANAN 16
3. Sequoia COOPER 13
4. Gemma DUDLEY 9
5. Elizabeth STEEL 8

Communique #116
Event 46 - WE Women 10km Scratch Final

Rank - Rider

1. Jo KIESANOWSKI
2. Kathryn JONES
3. Gemma DUDLEY
4. Rushlee BUCHANAN
5. Sequoia COOPER

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WOD

power clean 3x3RM

then

10-to-1 reps for time:

[kettlebell movement]

burpees

Warmup to your 3RM power clean. Complete three sets at working weight. For the second part, choose a kettlebell movement you enjoy! Some examples might include swings, cleans, snatches, presses, push presses, floor presses, TGU, situps, windmills, etc.

Post results to comments!

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Our Very Own Elvis

It's that time of year again!

Nate will be performing again this Saturday the 14th at the EMP Museum. Come one, come all for a wickedly fun time.

www.seattleinvitations.com

The Elvi

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WOD

1RM clean

then

"Death By Clean"

With a continuously running clock do one pull-ups the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute, etc... continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

You may use a squat or power clean. Post maximum load and number of minutes completed to comments!

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Your moment of Zen. Nate's performance last year:

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Sitting Up

The standard for our situp is that you begin with five points of contact on the ground with knees up: head, shoulders, butt, and both heels. The movement ends when your chest physically touches your thighs.

Ryan M, Adi, Carolyn

Another version is to let the knees fall out into the butterfly stretch. The end of the movement becomes moving the torso beyond vertical, or touching the hands in front of the feet.

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WOD

high hang clean 5x20

then

10 rounds for time:
10 kettlebell swings
10 ab-mat situps

Post weights used and time to comments!

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Does a prescribed weight for workouts make you work harder? ex:

"GRACE"

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

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"Break the bar"

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WOD

hang power clean 7 x 2

high-bar back squat 7 x 2

Post loads to comments!

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Check Yourself, Fo' You Wreck Yourself - LIVXFIT

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Caleb Ward's 203kg Clean & Jerk (2010)

1. strong setup: check.
2. "Slow then GO!" clean: check.
3. high elbows: check.
4. active shoulders: check.
5. celebratory smile: check.

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WOD

3 rounds for time:
30 squat cleans, 45/30kg
5 muscle-ups

Full extension of arms in muscle-up NOT required. Post results to comments!

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Zach Wahls Speaks About Family, or Two Lesbians Raised a Baby and This Is What They Got



"Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa."

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Out of the hole

Julie H coming out of the squat

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WOD

squat clean & jerk 1RM

Post best load to comments!

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The Once and Future Way to Run - The New York Times.

Written by Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run

Our policy is that when running, the basic concept is that running is about hitting the pose, falling, then pulling your foot back into Pose. Very simple, very difficult to make habit.

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Unreal Speed and Accuracy

(video via Adi the Beastmaster)

This is a training video of Pyrros Dimas, a World Champion Olympic Weightlifter (who's won 3 Gold Medals) out of Greece, doing what he does best.

See how he opens completely before getting under the bar? Notice the speed at which he drops under the bar in his jerk?

He's Superman with a barbell.

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WOD

3RM clean & jerk

The clean is a full squat clean. You may split or push jerk- whichever you prefer.

Post loads to comments!

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Need some motivation and accountability with your nutrition? This isn't a true challenge (a la Look Good Naked or PaleoRx), but it's fun to have some people with similar goals ESPECIALLY before the holidays.

per the official Facebook page:

Hey Ya'll! 

Welcome to the most Informal Nutrition Challenge! Since the holidays are just around the corner Aimee P, Lillian, and Sheena decided to put a group together to go through a challenge to build smarter eating habits. There will be no points or prizes and logging your daily intake will be OPTIONAL. If you decide to log your food, feel free to write it in this group page. It has helped a lot of people in the past, especially with accountability. 

There are a number of people who have experience with eating clean, including The Paleo (and/or Primal) Diet, who will be participating so if you have ANY questions at all -- please don't hesitate to ask Lillian, Sheena, and Aimee P.

Here are a few simple "guidelines" to the challenge:

• Eat lean meats, seafood, vegetables, some fruit, + nuts & seeds

• Work out

• Avoid processed foods, sugar, grains, and/or dairy

• Get enough rest/sleep

• Have fun!

We'll also be providing more information as we go along (hence the "Informal") and will also be sharing our favorite recipes. Hope this will help those who have been meaning to eating more clean to see improvements in workouts, improvements in energy levels, and improvement with how clothes fit!

Check out the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/227215044005274/

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New CrossFit.com Map Feature

Did anyone else discover this badass feature CrossFit.com has?

http://map.crossfit.com/

All of the CF Affiliates of the world listed on a googlemap!

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WOD

power clean 3RM x 5 sets

then

using 80% of your 3RM power clean:
tabata front squats

Post barbell loads and tabata score to comments!

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So we're back to posting the WOD at the end of the day. Did anyone notice how we posted earlier last week?

Which do you prefer?

Discuss.

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1 in 26,000

The 2011 CrossFit Games are going to be on ESPN2! It's seems like only yesterday we were on ESPN 8: The Ocho.

We're moving on up!

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WOD

10-to-1 for time:
split clean, 60/45kg

End each round with a 100m run.

Post time to comments or BTWB.

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For those who attend the LIFTING class on a regular basis, are you feeling a difference with your lifts? Did the skills in the last two classes change the way you clean a barbell?

Check out this rad video with Kendrick Farris and see if you can spot the "scoop" aka "double knee bend" aka "down & up", etc:

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Cuban Press

We use the cuban press as a shoulder (rotator cuff) strengthener.

It can be used with a barbell...

David E and Dave T

change plates...

Annie and Renee

and dumbbells...

Todd and Danny

The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles:

1. Supraspinatus - a stabilizer and assistant to lifting your arm away from your body (pouring a beer into pint glass)
2. Infraspinatus - a stabilizer and one of the strongest external rotators (snatch, clean, cuban press, starting a lawn mower)
3. Teres Minor - a stabilizer and assistant to your Infraspinatus (helps start lawn mowers even more!)
4. Subscapularis - a stabilizer and assistant to pulling your body up (pullups, rope climbs)

Get familiar. We could go into full detail, but the basics are fine for our application. We'll be showing you better ways to mobilize and strengthen this area in the upcoming weeks.

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WOD

for max loads:
1RM squat clean

then

4 rounds for form:
20 senders (over-the-box jumps), 20/12"
100m tire drag, 40/20kg
max handstand

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For C. Meter!



You may or may not see this in a skill session in the next couple of days...

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Rate These Racks!

Rack positions, that is.

An ideal rack means high elbows. 

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WOD

1RM clean

(It may be power or squat clean.)

compare to 20JAN2010 or 29DEC2010. Post results to comments!

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Mrs. M shared this walnut pesto recipe from Everyday Paleo during the 30-Day Journaling Challenge.  It is so easy to make, versatile and stores really well.  You can try freezing it in ice cubes and use a couple at a time as a stir fry topping, over chicken or in a pseudo pasta dish with spaghetti squash.

Walnut Pesto Sauce

4 oz fresh basil (3 ½ cups)

1 cup walnut halves and pieces

6 garlic cloves

1 cup olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

Juice from ½ a lemon

In a food processor, blender or magic bullet, add the walnuts, garlic, sea salt, and olive oil.  Process until smooth.  Add the basil and lemon juice and process again until smooth.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

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Late pass

I was meaning to post this up for a while now.

Anders (behind Eduardo and Nate) came to visit Foundation CrossFit from Denmark! His box is CrossFit Butcher's Lab. Funny name, right? Well he told me that it was an actually butcher factory before they moved in. I guess our place wasn't THAT bad of a cleanup compared to theirs.

Still..

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WOD

Power clean 2-2-2
Clean pulls 5-5-5

Tabata situps
one minute rest
Tabata toes-to-bar

Use the Burgener Warm-up: Scoop, Elbows High & Outside, Muscle Clean, Clean Landing, Hang Power Clean to prepare for the movement. Don't sacrifice proper mechanics for weight. Form is critical.

Clean pulls are to be done with the same weight as your power cleans.

P-Chain!

How are your pulling movements?

I think I've been neglecting your 'other' pulling motions since we've been in this newer box. Running a business is grueling (but awesome , fufilling and rewarding as well!) and I haven't been paying attention to the programming as much as I should. What I'm saying is expect more from classes. I call them 'finishers' (for those who have been with me since the beginning). We're going to address where we need improvement as a gym and we're going to get stronger. Go faster.

We'll start with our posterior chain.

The posterior chain is a muscle group created by the calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, upper back and shoulders. They allow of extension of the body as well as pulling items closer to the body, or the body pulling towards an external object. They also provide much needed stabilization- "Pinch the Penny" saves a lot of your exercises from deteriorating, right?

Within the next month you might see more stiff-legged deadlifts, zercher squats, arch-hollow snaps, kettlebell movement, romanian deadlifts, windmills, rack pulls/clean pulls/snatch pulls, etc. Oh the possibilities (=

The following is video of a 44 year old woman doing a buttload of (quasi-strict) pullups.

Regardless of form, the video is still amazing. There is no doubt she's strong.

Inspired, anyone?

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WOD

Squat Clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Use the Burgener Warm-Up beforehand. Hang Power Cleans if you're not confident with your squat, or if you have less than a few hours experience "under the bar".

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QOD

The whole history of progress of human liberty

Shows that all concessions

Yet made to her august claims

Have been born of earnest struggle.

If there is no struggle

There is no progress.

Those who profess to favor freedom,

And yet deprecate agitation,

Are men [and women] who want crops

Without plowing up the ground,

They want rain

Without thunder and lightning.

They want the ocean

Without the awful roar of its waters.

This struggle may be a moral one;

Or it may be a physical one;

Or it may be both moral and physical;

But it must be a struggle.

...

Frederick Douglass, 1857

Bye bye two-thousand and nine.

Schedule for New Years

December 31st:

• 9am
• 12pm
• 5:30pm
• 6:30pm

January 1st:

• 5:30pm
• 6:30pm

January 2nd:

• 11am
• 12pm FCF Holiday Party

RSVP to andrew@foundationcrossfit.com, text or call!

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WOD

10 rds for time:
10 pullups
10 burpees

We're now engaged in an everlasting monthly WOD battle with some other affiliates. Lynnwood CrossFit, CrossFit Advantage, Stoneway CrossFit, Outer Edge CrossFit, and SnoRidge CrossFit are some of the gyms in this cool little competition. Winner gets to pants the losers!

LET'S NOT GET PANTS'ED!

(Actually, there will be NO pantsing. Is that even a word?)

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AOD

Sage Burgener (daughter of Mike Burgener, coach and creator of the Burgener Warm-Up) started a blog not too long ago. It's about oly lifts. I suggest you take a peek at it.

Yesterday we worked on 1RM squat cleans and some were very frustrated with getting under the bar. Olympics lifts are very technical. It will become difficult with heavier weights.

From Sage:

You best get unda that bar nukka

Oh herow.. today I would like to talk to you about one of the most difficult concepts of the olympic movements: pulling yourself under the bar.

Generally what happens is we tend to get a great shrug and we reach full extension, and then from there, we disconnect ourselves from the bar and we try to "drop" to get under it. If you think that you may be doing this, stop IMMEDIATELY or you may as well put yourself on Santa's naughty list and expect zero Christmas presents this year. (Except maybe from your aunt Tibby who will always love you no matter what you do in your lifetime.)

So in the picture above, you see me in the "elbows high and outside" position that we teach you in the Burgener Warm-up. Keep in mind that we are teaching you that movement to drill into your brain that you are keeping the bar close. you are actually never in that position in an actual snatch and clean and jerk.

Let's play a little game for those of you who learn better by actually doing rather than just reading. Stand up for me, get up on your toes, shrug,raise your elbows high and outside. That is the position we put you in for the Burgener Warm up. Now, get up on your toes, shrug, raise your elbows high and outside, and now bend your knees. That is the actual position that you will be in when snatching or cleaning (after you have fully extended with that shrug) because this signifies that you are pulling your body underneath the weight.

You just never want to shrug and then feel like "omg i have no idea where that bar is in space right now so I'm just gonna 'drop it like its hot' and try to get underneath it as quickly as possible". If you get in the habit of doing this with light weight, when you get to heavy weight (lets say 200 kg because that is what you all are capable of doing), the bar WILL beat you down EVERYTIME. Lets face it, gravity/reality sucks..

So, in conclusion, you are pulling that bar off the ground and then you start your VICIOUS shrug and that bar is traveling upwards weightlessly with TONS of momentum on it. Now, you ask yourself, "Am I going to just drop under this mofo? or am I gonna remember what Sassy Sage's blog said and start pulling myself down (with those elbows high and outside because we dont want it to be out in front of us) and finish with a GREAT turnover?".........make the right choice.. we all have to live with the consequences of our actions..

Before you leave, go ahead and look at that video of my brother Beau. For me, I would have liked to see him shrug a little harder at the top, but, nevertheless, his pull under and turnover were so aggressive that it made up for his lack of shrug. (the only reason it did was because that was light weight for him. If he puts more weight on, he could NOT get away with a shrug like that).

Remember, its ok to ask questions. I dont expect ya'll to get this stuff by just reading it.

ps... just went to Lady Gaga's concert and magically became a better person. She's THAT good

keep it sassy

Party This Saturday!

This weekend is the FCF Holiday Party!

a couple of folk from the Halloween party

Come by for some good times- we'll have a table for the potluck, footage from the 2009 CrossFit games, a White Elephant Gift Exchange, and bunch of fun. We'll start after the 11am workout. And no you don't have to workout to attend. See you there!

RSVP to andrew@foundationcrossfit.com

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WOD

squat clean 1-1-1-1-1

FINISHER

amrap in 60 sec:
"monkey opens coconut" (blue band on lower bar)


Monkey Opens Coconut from Nancy Meenen on Vimeo.


Notes from Coach Dave:

The movement looks exactly like it sounds. Reach to full height with both arms overhead and quickly drive both hands all the way to the floor. Violent images of smashing a coconut on a rock help get this right. Working yourself into an angry fit REALLY helps.

Resistance to the movement comes from rigging a jump-stretch band to a pull-up bar. Reach up and grasp the band at full extension. Because the elastic band provides a non-linear resistance, it is better to link 2 or 3 bands together and find a higher anchor. In the video we are using 2 bands and a 10 foot high bar.

The point of this movement is to contract the entire front of your body at once. This is quite similar to chopping, sledge-hammering or slam-ball. The difference in using a band for resistance is that we get a very substantial eccentric component. You WILL be surprised by control problems as you stand back up. Have fun!

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QOD:

Do you actively recover on your rest days?

stretching or resting?

An off day isn't supposed to be you sitting on your butt all day. Stretching (dynamic, static, PNF) needs to happen, especially to work out those tight and troubling spots. Have you purchased your own lacrosse ball yet?