May 10, 2008
Tamara Does Firefighter Fran
Because Fran isn't hard enough, Tamara decided to do Firefighter Fran, fully equipped with gear, oxygen tank, and mask.
Words can't really do her workout justice. Just watch the video.
Post props to Tami in comments.
Posted by Mike Minium at 11:09 PM | Comments (17)
May 9, 2008
Flexibility Class Starts Tomorrow!!!!!
Dawn Miller will begin teaching the Flexibility Class tomorrow morning at 11a.m.! She will be focusing on shoulder, hamstrings and hip flexibility. There will be a $7 drop-in fee for all CFO members taking the class. This class is designed to help restore, discover and enhance range of motion.
From Roger Harrell:
"Flexibility is not something that automatically comes with strength training. On the contrary, strength training without stretching can lead to dramatic reduction in flexibility. In many cases, when taken to the extreme, such a lack of flexibility will result in loss of "normal" function, not to mention loss of high-performance function so important to athletes.
Making significant increases in flexibility will bring marked improvement in performance."
This entire article is available in the CrossFit Store:http://www.crossfit.com/journal/2007/11/stretching_and_flexibility_by.html
Post your (in)-flexibility issues to comments
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 8:41 PM | Comments (16)
May 8, 2008
2008 NorCal Open
I wanted to give a quick shout out to the local weightlifting scene and give some publicity to the upcoming NorCal Open being held at FIT Barbell Club in Los Altos.
This one-day competition takes place on Sunday, May 25 and gets started at 10am. For the full schedule, please check out the website.
For any of you aspiring weightlifters out there, the registration deadline is May 18.
And while we're on the topic of Olympic weightlifting, post to comments which of the Olympic lifts is more useful and why. So which is it, snatch or clean-and-jerk?
Posted by Mike Minium at 8:48 PM | Comments (12)
May 7, 2008
CFO Ladies Party!
Another Party! This time hosted by Vee for the ladies of CrossFit Oakland! Friday, May 9th at 7p.m. (details at CFO on events board). Please bring a Zoney appetizer to share. If you know some ladies who are curious about CF, this is a good opportunity to introduce them to the awesome women who do CrossFit.
Excellent resource for women:
Stumptuous.com http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 4:44 PM | Comments (11)
May 6, 2008
OPT vs. Bionic
A little CrossFit entertainment for you tonight (a la YouTube)...
A few CFOers have been telling me about this WOD challenge between OPT (2007 CrossFit Games champion) and another CrossFitter out of Florida, Bionic.
So far three of their WODs have been posted to YouTube. The video above is of Bionic doing the first WOD challenge, and I've included links to the remaining challenges below.
Who knows, perhaps one of these will show up on a rest day very soon...
Here are the WODs and the results of both athletes.
WOD Challenge 1
5 Rounds for time:
7 Pull-ups
7 95# thursters
7 Ring dips
7 Burpees
OPT: 5:37
Bionic: 6:12
WOD Challenge 2
25-20-15-10-5 reps for time:
Pull-ups
20# Wall ball shots
Double-unders
OPT: 5:49
Bionic: 7:40
OPT's Performance in WOD 2
Bionic's Performance in WOD 2
WOD Challenge 3
Tabata Squat (Low Score) x Number of Muscle-Ups in 4 Minutes
OPT: 21 x 23 = 483
Bionic: 26 x 24 = 624
OPT's Performance in WOD Challenge 3
Bionic's Performance in WOD Challenge 3
Which of the three WODs do you like best? Worst? How do you think you'd fare on each of them? Any takers out there?
Post your thoughts to comments.
Posted by Mike Minium at 9:06 PM | Comments (25)
May 5, 2008
Breathing!
Natalie Wolfolk (my hero)
An excellent article from Performance Menu:
Breathing
Greg Everett
April 1 2008
Breath control is critical for increasing and maintaining the structural integrity of the spine while under heavy loads. The supporting musculature is alone inadequate—in order to adequately stabilize the spine, the abdominal and thoracic cavities must be pressurized.
The torso has only a single supporting structure—the spine—on one side, and this structure articulates in all directions, requiring additional support to maintain rigidity. The remaining circumference is comprised of muscle walls, which are able only to pull, not push up to support a load. Fortunately the torso is filled with a collection of organs that are only slightly compressible and a fairly large container whose internal pressure we can easily control—the lungs.
By filling the lungs with air, we can maximize the volume of the torso. By then activating the surrounding musculature, we can increase the internal pressure. These two things in concert allow us to maximize the rigidity of the torso, which will both improve performance and the safety of the spine. In essence this creates a broad, stable base from which the spine can be tied in tightly to prevent folding in any direction.
The athlete will need to draw in as much air as possible, forcing the abdomen to expand to ensure the lungs are able to fill completely; filling the lungs partially by only allowing the chest to lift and expand is not adequate. Once this breath is taken, the athlete will clamp down the glottis—the muscle in the throat that seals off the trachea—to contain the air. The lifter will then tighten down the abdominal and back musculature to increase the internal pressure and reduce the potential for flexion or extension of the torso.
It’s critical the athlete not “hollow”, or suck in the abdominals as many have been taught to do or will believe is correct. If the abdominals are drawn in, the base of support is reduced in width, and this is obviously not beneficial. We want the muscles activated tightly while keeping the torso as wide and deep as possible, allowing us a broad foundation to support the load. It may help athletes having difficultly with this activation to think of pushing the abs down.
The chest should not be lifted any more than may occur naturally with the deep inhalation. This artificial lifting of the ribs will create elevation than can’t be supported well, and will predispose the upper back to rounding forward under heavy loading, which can lead to the breakdown of the entire system. By keeping the chest neutral and filling in the space below it, we can keep the torso compact and tight vertically, minimizing opportunity for unwanted movement.
Pressurization should be maintained throughout as much of the movement as possible. There will be times, however, such as during the recovery of a clean, that the pressure becomes too great and the lifter will feel dizzy and even near unconsciousness. If this occurs repeatedly, the athlete should begin releasing a small amount of air during the highest-pressure moment of the lift through a hissing or similar action. Acting just as a relief valve in a high-pressure system, this tightly controlled release will reduce the pressure just enough to prevent the dizziness, but maintain enough to keep the torso strong.
During the explosive second pulls of the snatch and clean, and even sometimes during the drive of the jerk, some lifters will audibly expel a small amount of air, most commonly involuntarily. If this happens naturally, there’s no need for it to be discouraged as long as it’s a minimal amount of air. The loss of pressure will not be dramatic, and forcing the athlete to avoid the practice—if involuntary—will only hurt his or her performance. That said, the habit doesn’t need be encouraged if it doesn’t occur naturally.
Post thoughts on the article and impressions of Natalie's lifts to comments.
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 7:43 PM | Comments (16)
May 4, 2008
Stay Tuned for More CrossFit Road Adventures
A picture of Connie, CFO's resident archaeologist and athlete/trainer, at a dig site
Connie's at it again; she's been called away for another archaeological project, this time in Arizona.
Stay tuned to her blog for updates on how she's managing to get her CrossFit on while on the road. In addition, there's a chance she could make a trip to CrossFit Southwest while she's there.
In the meantime, send well wishes to Connie in comments, along with any suggestions for road workouts.
Posted by Mike Minium at 11:04 PM | Comments (31)
May 3, 2008
IRONMAN
Stark's response to intensity and distress was IRONMAN, what's yours? Post your WOD induced super-hero strategies to comments along with movie review if you've seen it!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 10:58 PM | Comments (14)
May 2, 2008
Starting Strength Training Template
Gonzales performing deadlifts at the Basic Barbell Certification in Santa Cruz last fall
This is the first of what may be many entries on the implementation of Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength programming template for strength training.
In this first entry, I'm providing a sample warm-up progression that Rip outlines in his book (along with Lon Kilgore) Starting Strength.
Warm-up sets are critical, not only because they warm your muscles up for the coming work sets, but because they are an opportunity for you to grease the groove and create the correct motor recruitment patterns for a given lift. This neurological aspect of weightlifting is just as important to warm up as the muscles performing the lift.
Each of the warm-up sets below is for a specific work-set weight for each of the five basic barbell lifts (e.g., 225# for back squat). In this template, three work sets of five reps are performed for the back squat, the bench press, and the shoulder press. The deadlift is performed for one work set of five reps. The power clean, on the other hand, is done for five work sets of three reps.
In all cases, the weight is held constant for all work sets. In other words, you don't increase the weight from one work set to another (of course, in this template, this isn't an issue for deadlift since it's only done for one work set).
So even though you may not be doing work sets at the poundages in the example below, you can still take away from this the general approach to use in determining your warm-up progression.
So without further ado, here is a sample warm-up progression for all five of the basic barbell lifts. This is directly from Starting Strength.
[Quick note on notation: You'll see three sets of numbers separated by slashes below. This refers to poundage/reps/sets. So for example, if you see 45/5/2, that means you'll be doing forty-five pounds for two sets of five reps.]
Back Squat
Warm-Up Sets
45/5/2
95/5/1
135/3/1
185/2/1
Work Sets
225/5/3
Bench Press
Warm-Up Sets
45/5/2
85/5/1
125/3/1
155/2/1
Work Sets
175/5/3
Deadlift
Warm-Up Sets
135/5/2
185/5/1
225/3/1
275/2/1
Work Sets
315/5/1
Shoulder Press
Warm-Up Sets
45/5/2
75/5/1
95/3/1
115/2/1
Work Sets
135/5/3
Power Clean
Warm-Up Sets
45/3/2
75/3/1
95/3/1
115/2/1
Work Sets
135/3/5
So that does it for structuring your workout.
In my next entry, I'll throw out some options (because there are many) on how to integrate this program within CrossFit, as well as explain how the five lifts are worked in conjunction with one another.
Post any questions about this template to comments.
Posted by Mike Minium at 11:16 PM | Comments (15)
May 1, 2008
Optimal health requires sleep!
In Support of Shut-Eye (from Alive.com)
When we sleep, our cells regenerate. The skin eliminates waste and the body circulates nutrients and hormones. There’s a reason Grandma recommended bed rest for a cold: that’s when the body’s immunity strengthens, infection-fighters form and strength is conserved to battle unwanted invaders.
A good night’s rest promotes faster recovery from injury and illness, increases brain function and reduces stress. A study last January in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirmed that too little sleep might raise the risk of heart disease. Of about 72,000 nurses, those with five or less hours a night were 39 per cent more likely to develop heart disease than eight-hour sleepers. Similarly, nurses getting six hours nightly were 18 per cent more likely to develop blocked arteries.
Lack of sleep causes irritability and inability to concentrate. Sleeplessness is also a major contributor to absenteeism, work inefficiency and car accidents. This is because many of us have disturbed sleep patterns or don’t get enough. Yet our bodies were biologically built to rest. read more:http://www.alive.com/1373a4a2.php?text_page=2
HARVARD DIVSION OF SLEEP MEDICINE:
http://sleep.med.harvard.edu/
How many hours a night of shut-eye do you get? What are your experiences with performance and sleep deprivation? What are your pre-bed rituals (easy there Nabil and Daniel)? Post to comments.
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 6:40 PM | Comments (36)