WOD 8/1/2012

Hopefully a nicer day than we've been having recently, but even if not, it's time to rock and roll. :)

Standard warmup(statics, run, calisthenics)

Squat therapy at the concession stand

Workout(for time):
A rep scheme of 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 of
Pushups
Squats
Leg Raises

Post time to comments.

WOD 7/30/2012

Time for something different.

After warmups(the usual drill),

4 Rounds For Time:
50m Walking Lunges
20 Pushups

Post time to comments.

SUNDAY CHALLENGE

Sorry this is late, guys. I was up reeeeeally late and hit the pillow as soon as I got home. Here's your challenge, Get Inverted!

Accumulate 5 minutes in a handstand.

For maximum safety, do this against a wall. Face the wall, and place your hands about 4-6 inches from the wall at slightly wider than shoulder width. Start with one foot in front of the other, and kick up. If you try a bunch of times and it doesn't work, scale to a headstand, but put a folded up towel underneath your head.

Good luck!

If you can already do this, here's some instruction on how to do it without the wall :)

NUTRITION CHALLENGE - EXPLAINING THIS TO OTHERS

Based on our conversation post-wod this morning, I thought I'd give some advice on talking to family members who, with the best intentions in the world, think you're crazy. So here's your challenge:

Talk to Mom & Dad about nutrition.

The approach we're taking here is contrarian. Pro-fat, anti-grain/starch, it sounds crazy to people who've been talked at for years about 'low-fat' diets and 'healthy whole grains.' That last bit is an oxymoron, but we'll get to that in a bit.

One thing to remember is that your folks want you to eat well and be healthy. They're not telling you to eat stuff because they think it will make you sick, but because they think it's the right thing to do.

What I'm going to do here is offer some resources, and a video for you to watch with family. I know, it sounds like a great family get-together, watching a video about why people get fat. Just do it. :)

Here are some links:

What to eat
Do I really need to avoid grains?
Seriously? But I thought they were good for me!
Well, OK, but at least I should keep fat low, right?
(head explodes)
Dang, what am I supposed to do now?(part1)(part2)
What should my shopping list look like?

You probably hate me after all of that, but give it a shot. Think of it as an experiment, and give it 30 days. Post your thoughts(and thoughts of any familial units) to comments.

Here's that video:

WOD 7/26/2012

You guys know the drill by now, but here goes:

Static warmups
400m group jog
3 Rounds
10 Squats
10 Pushups
10 Leg Raises
10 Walking Lunges

Workout:
3 Rounds for Time:
400m Run
20 Pushups
30 Squats

Just like our first wod, but with a little extra love :)

Post time to comments.

HOME WOD 7/25/2012

Hey guys, my car's in the shop until wednesday afternoon, so this is a home workout. In case that hasn't sunk in,

HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD HOME WOD

And, by the way, do this one at home.

Warmups with static holds(you know the ones) and dynamic warmup:
3 Rounds of
10 Squats
10 Pushups
10 Leg Raises
10 Walking Lunges

Workout:
In 15 minutes, do ascending rounds of:
Pushup
Walking Lunge

Start with 1 of each, then 2, then 3, etc. until time runs out. Always alternate legs on the lunges.

Post rounds completed to comments.

WOD 7/23/2012

So, you'd think I'd give pressing a rest after a 100 pushup challenge.

Nope :)

Warmups:
Holds
400m Jog
3 Rounds of:
10 squats
10 pushups
10 leg raises
10 walking lunges

Workout:
Tabata Bodyweight
8 rounds(each) of 20 seconds work, followed by 10 seconds rest, of:
Pushups
Leg Raises
Squats
Unanchored Situps

Your score is your worst round for each exercise.

Post score to comments.

Make sure you watch this one all the way to the end. :)

SUNDAY CHALLENGE

Back to basics this week:

Do sets of 5 of your hardest pushup, with at least 15-30 minutes rest in between sets, all day. Your goal is 100 reps.

Post reps completed to comments.

NUTRITION CHALLENGE

Time to cook, or learn how. You have your choice of 3 very easy to prepare meals. If you'd like, do all 3. :)

BREAKFAST:
3 Eggs, scrambled, with chopped onions and peppers for extra flavor. Include our favorite food, BACON, if you wish :)

Slice up some avocado, and have some berries or a piece of fruit on the side(not fruit juice, an actual piece of fruit).

LUNCH:
HAYOOOOGE Chicken Salad:
Get one of those bags of greens from the market, and, after rinsing, dump the whole thing into a big mixing bowl. Chop up some green and red peppers, onions, apple, maybe some radish, I don't know, get creative. Remember, no potato or starches, and no grains.

Grill or broil a couple chicken breasts(if you don't know how, ask the cook in the family), and chop them up into the bowl.

For a dressing, use something oil-based, like olive oil and vinegar, or something like that. Check the label, if it includes sugar in the ingredients use something else.

If you've made a big enough salad, you might be able to eat from this bowl for a couple days.

DINNER:
Dealer's choice, either beef or fish.
Grill or broil up some beef or fish, and serve with the steamed green vegetable of your choice. When steaming, try to serve the veggies when they're 'glowing' green, not when they've started to lose their color. They'll be A) crunchier, and B) tastier.

If you're in the mood for dessert, have some berries.

As with the breakfast challenge a few weeks ago, pay attention to how long it takes you to get hungry after a meal.

Post experience to comments. Good luck!

This one's for Jessie :)

WOD 7/20/2012

OK, folks, you knew they were coming, so quit yer whinin'.

Burpees :)

Warmups:
Static holds
400m Group Jog
3 Rounds of
10 Squats
10 Pushups
10 Leg Raises
10 Walking Lunges

Workout(for time):
In teams of 2, complete 100 Burpees. Each partner must do 50, and only 1 person is working at any time.

Post time(and team members) to comments.

WOD 7/18/2012

Welcome back to all of our globe-trotting compatriots! Now get your butts to the track. :)

Warmup:
400m group jog
3 Rounds of:
10 Squats
10 Pushups
10 Leg Raises
10 Walking Lunges

Skill work: Frog Stand

Workout(for time):
200m Run
30 Walking Lunges
30 Pushups
200m Run
25 Walking Lunges
25 Pushups
200m Run
20 Walking Lunges
20 Pushups
200m Run
15 Walking Lunges
15 Pushups
200m Run
10 Walking Lunges
10 Pushups
200m Run
5 Walking Lunges
5 Pushups

Post time to comments.

For the next few days I'll be posting videos of this year's CrossFit Games champions, Annie Thorisdottir and Rich Froning. First, Froning:



And now, Iceland Annie. Must be nice to be the daughter of a god. I've sent a marriage proposal, but I haven't heard back yet.

WOD 7/16/2012

Getting this one up pretty late(as in barely before the wod). Sorry about that. Here we go:

Warmups: Static holds + 3 rounds of 10 reps of squat, pushup, leg raise, walking lunge.

Workout:

AMRAP 15

100m run

5 Pushups

10 Unanchored Situps

15 Squats

At least I'm not making you do this:

SUNDAY CHALLENGE

OK folks, this one requires a pullup bar, or something like it. If you don't have a doorway chinup bar, get one. They're not terribly expensive, and they're a great way to train pullups.

Your challenge today is graded for ability.
Stage 1: Hang for 60 seconds. Engage the your lats(upper back) and pull your shoulders down, and hang from the bar for a total of 60 seconds, in as many sets as needed. If you can do this in one set, rest a few minutes and then do

Stage 2: Pullup Hang for 30 seconds. Same thing, but hanging from the top position of the Pullup(palms facing away). Again, take as many sets as needed to get to 30 seconds. If you can do this in one set, rest a few minutes and do

Stage 3: Pullup negatives x 5. Start at the top of the pullup and lower yourself for a count of 10. Rest AT LEAST 60 seconds between reps. If this is easy, then do

Stage 4: Sets of 5 pullups all day. Rest at least 20-30 minutes between sets. See how many you can do in a day.

Post experience to comments.

NUTRITION CHALLENGE

So far, in our nutrition challenges, we've focused on things to avoid. Avoid sugar(sorry cola drinkers), avoid grains(sorry pretty much everybody). This time I'm going to challenge you to include something. To paraphrase your grandmother:

Eat your freaking vegetables.


Today's challenge is to have a vegetable(or more than one) with every meal. I'm a big fan of eggs and broccoli for breakfast. Sounds weird, but it's really good. Have a huge salad with meat and avocado(or some other fat source) for lunch. Have some chicken(grilled or broiled) with olive oil and grilled veggies for dinner. These are only examples. Talk to your folks and figure out a plan.

Remember, we're going for high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate meals. Eat as much as you want, just avoid grains and sugar. Also, for now, no potatoes if you want to lose weight.

Post your meals to comments.

This video is a headful, so you might want to watch it several times.

WOD 7/13/2012

Here's a scaled version of a classic CrossFit workout. A video of the real thing is below.

Warmups: Static holds(including frog stand), followed by
3 Rounds of 10 reps each of:
10 Squats
10 Pushups
10 Straight Leg Raises
10 Walking Lunges
(this is not for time)

Workout(for time):
4 Rounds of
400m Run
25 Squats

Post time to comments.

Here's a little Chris Spealler for you. :)

HOME WOD 7/11/2012

Remember, no workout at the track today, unless you call some friends to do it together. Do this one at home.

Warmup with 60 seconds each of:
Plank
Reverse Plank
Hollow Position
Superman

5 minutes of squat therapy against a wall.

Workout(for time):
20 squats
Max reps Pushups
20 Walking Lunges
Max Reps Pushups
20 Straight Leg Raises
Max Reps Pushups

For the walking lunge, the knee of the trailing leg must touch(touch, not hit) the ground.

Post time and number of pushups completed for each set to comments.

Coach Rip shows the application of the squat to actually lifting an external load. Pardon the occasional four-letter word.

MID-WEEK NUTRITION CHALLENGE

First a note, there will be no workout at the track on Wednesday. I will post a home workout, and ask you to post result as per usual, but there's no need to go to the track unless you want to get some folks together and do it as a group.

Now, on to the fun. :)

Today's challenge:

Go a whole day without grains of any kind.

You read that right. Here are the foods to avoid:
Bread
Rice
Pasta
Corn
Starchy foods like potatoes and yams

Grains are super dense in carbohydrate, and produce an insulin spike which tells your body to store energy as fat. Have you ever wondered why 'low-fat' diets have two main effects, a) you're hungry all the time, and b) the weight is so dang hard to lose? TOO MANY CARBOHYDRATES!!!!!!!!

If I could have put that in flashing letters with arrows pointing to it, I would have. Eat protein and fat, ditch the processed carbs, and lose weight.

Post your experience to comments.

WOD 7/9/2012

So, since folks missed out on the fun on Friday, we're going to repeat the wod on Monday. Here it is, for your enjoyment. :)


Warmup: Static holds(plank, reverse plank, hollow position, superman) 60 seconds each.

Frog Stand: 3 attempts.

Workout: 5 rounds, max reps in a minute of:
Squats
Pushups
Situps
Rest

Note: Each round is four minutes long. 1 minute of squats, 1 minute of pushups, etc.


Post total reps for each exercise to comments.


Can you tell me why Nicole does the squats in this video so much more easily than Glover? 95# is over 75% of Nicole's weight, but less than 50% of Glover's. What's the difference?

SUNDAY CHALLENGE

OK folks, second challenge of the summer.

This one is a flexibility challenge. Last week I had you work up to 100 pushups in a day, this week we're going to work on achilles tendon flexibility. Here's Kelly Starrett to tell you more :)




You might want to watch this video several times, since Kelly throws a lot of information into the video. Also, if you're interested in mobility/flexibility, he has a website called mobilitywod.com. Start from the last page, and work your way forward. So, you have your goal:

10 minutes in the "Old World" Squat position(use a timer).

It does not have to be continuous, so if the position is uncomfortable, come out of it, shake out your legs, then squat back down. If balance is a problem(like it was for me) find something to hold on to.

Have fun, and post your experience to comments.

NUTRITION CHALLENGE #2

This one's going to be harder, folks. Here's the challenge:

Go a whole day without drinking a soda. Not even diet.

From the first nutrition challenge, we noted that to control weight, we need to control carbohydrate intake, not fat. For most adult men, anything above 150g of carbohydrate is too much, and for women the number is more like 120g. How many grams are in a single 20oz bottle of soda?

65 grams. For ONE BOTTLE.

If you're overweight, just eliminating soda can make an enormous difference. Add the elimination of other processed sugars, and you'll start to see your weight coming down to normal levels over time. And, given that our workouts are done exclusively with bodyweight exercises, that will mean that your performance will spike as well.

So there you go. One day without soda. If you can make that, try a second, and a third, and so forth.

But start with today. Good luck!

WOD 7/6/2012

OK slackers :)

I know this post is late(as in really late) but you can always assume the workout is ON unless I post about a cancellation here. So yes, I was at the track at 9, but I was very lonely.

However, this doesn't mean you can't do a workout at home. Here it is:

Warmup: Static holds(plank, reverse plank, hollow position, superman) 60 seconds each. You're musicians, right? Set your metronome to 60 bpm and count to keep time.

Frog Stand: 3 attempts.

Workout: 5 rounds, max reps in a minute of:
Squats
Pushups
Situps
Rest

Post total reps for each exercise to comments.

If you have a pullup bar at home, practice your pullups.

Since you guys were wondering about Fran:

HOOVERBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To celebrate the 4th of July we'll be celebrating the 31st president of these United States, Herbert Hoover, who was told by his physician that he needed to lose weight. His doctor then created the game of Hooverball, and every day before the start of business, the Hoover cabinet would go onto the White House lawn and play until it was time to get down to business.

We'll meet at 9am at Trailside Park in Herndon, go over the rules, and have some fun!

WOD 7/2/2012

It's going to be another hot one, so drink water before coming, and bring water with you.

Warmups with static holds, 400m warmup jog.

Skill work: Frog Stand

Workout:
AMRAP 10(as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes)
5 Pushups
10 Situps
15 Squats

Post rounds completed(including incomplete round) to comments

SUNDAY CHALLENGE

Welcome to your first Sunday Challenge of the summer.

The Sunday challenge is where I ask you to do skill work, or perhaps complete some ridiculous number of reps of some movement. For this one, I'm asking both. This week's challenge is:

Complete up to 100 pushups.

You have all day to complete the challenge. This is NOT timed. I want you to focus on form, and here are the standards:
1) Arms begin at full extension
2) Chest and hips touch the ground at the same time
3) Reps may be done from the full plank position, or from the knees

Remember, this is skill work, NOT A TEST. I'm not interested in how studly you are, I want you working on your form. So, my advice is to do about half as many as you think you can do in one set, then rest up to an hour, then do it again, and repeat several times throughout the day. For the fitness geeks out there, we're starting to train muscle fiber recruitment, not contractile potential. If you don't know what that means, forget I said it. :)

Post number of reps completed to comments.