You are hereMay 2007
May 2007
The Deadlift
Defending The Deadlift: An Interview with Coach and Powerlifter Eric Cressey :
What are the unique benefits of deadlifting?
First, I’d say that (along with box squats) it’s the single-most effective movement for training the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, adductor magnus, and lumbar erectors). The posterior chain is of paramount importance to high-level performance; watch the best sprinters run, and you’ll see that they seem to just “floatâ€â€”and it’s because they’re running with their hamstrings and glutes. In contrast, watch a guy who runs with his quads, and you’ll see that his hips are bouncing up and down; there’s a lot of wasted movement. The glutes and hamstrings are all fast-twitch fibers with a lot of strength, speed, and size potential—potential you’ll never realize without deadlift variations.
Second, strengthening the posterior chain with closed-chain movements like deadlifts also reduces injury risk. Weak hamstrings are a serious risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, patellofemoral pain, and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower back. Conversely, leg curls simply won’t get the job done, as they don’t require co-contraction of the glutes and hamstrings, are open-chain, and occur in a fixed line of motion. Our body is far smarter than some piece of selectorized equipment.
Third, deadlifts enable a lifter to train hip and knee extension together without learning the full Olympic lifts, which have a big learning curve.
Fourth, deadlifts enable a lifter to use more loading, thus ensuring that more motor units and, in turn, muscle fibers will be recruited all over the body. The more fibers you recruit, the greater your stimulus for growth. And, if you’re looking to shed body fat, the post-exercise oxygen debt will be larger from recruiting more muscle mass, meaning that your metabolic rate will be really jacked up for longer after the end of your training session.
Fifth, you can train deadlifts several different ways. Light weights (~30% 1RM) with high velocities develop speed-strength, mid-range loading (45-70% 1RM) develop strength-speed, and circa-maximal weights enhance maximal strength. Pulls at 90% can have tremendous benefits in terms of both power and maximal strength development.
Sixth, deadlifts are quite possibly the best exercise for enhancing rate of force development (RFD)—also known as explosive strength. This refers to how quickly you can develop tension in a muscle, and is obviously of tremendous importance to athletic success. Movements that are initiated from a dead-stop are superior methods of enhancing RFD; box squats and Anderson squats are great as well. Olympic lifts can be tricky in this regard, as the first pull is actually somewhat slow compared to what you’ll see in a speed deadlift; Olympic lifters are more interested in setting themselves up for the second pull.
Seventh, as noted earlier, deadlifts have a better functional carryover to real world performance than leg curls, glute-blasters, and all the other silly machines out there.
Eighth, deadlifts are unparalleled in their ability to wallop loads of muscle mass on your upper back. The better my pull has gotten, the bigger my upper back has grown—and by accident! It’s actually gotten to the point that I’ve had to bump up a weight class because my upper back, hamstrings, and glutes have grown so much from pulling that I have been forced to do so!
Ninth, deadlifts train supporting grip like nothing else. If you can’t grip it, you can’t deadlift it.
Tenth, believe it or not, deadlifts can be a tremendously valuable corrective training exercise if coached correctly. I’ve used them in the correction of IT [iliotibial] band friction syndrome, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, groin pain, and a host of other torso and lower extremity problems. The secret rests with the proper execution of the exercise.
A Rather Long Analysis of the Deadlift by Mark Rippetoe:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:_BJcbOrK0-0J:www.crossfit.com/journal/library/51-2006_AnalysisofDeadlift.pdf+anatomy+of+a+deadlift+crossfit&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Mike M. Post-Cert
Mike, Apres-cert, some years ago.
T-Shirt Slogan Voting
OK, so we've decided to kick it to the membership. Cast your vote for the best CFO t-shirt slogan. The one with the most votes will be our new slogan (and the person who came up with the slogan will get a free t-shirt). And of course, because we don't wanna deny any last-minute epiphanies that come to you, write-in votes are legitimate.
Vote away, people!
See the link below for the full list of slogans.
Welcome Jolie Gentry-CrossFit Oakland Trainer!
We would like to welcome CF Trainer, Jolie Gentry to CFO. Besides being an amazing CF athlete, Jolie is also a certified Pilates Instructor, ACE Certified Trainer, and a SWAT Fitness Specialist (Jolie is also a SWAT Team member). Jolie also teaches CF at: http://www.crossfitoneworld.typepad.com/
****Please note that we will be running a weekend schedule on Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day)*****
AND
Last chance to sign up for our Nutrition Seminar being held Saturday, May 26th from 12 to 2p.m. R.S.V.P. at info@crossfitoakland.com
What did you think of the new Skills Day/Active Rest Day at CFO? Be honest, we love the feedback!
OK, Yeah, Sure, But How Much Can He Snatch??
Amazing feats of balance,strength and coordination.
Yet Another T-Shirt Voting Post
It's been a while since we discussed this topic.
We've narrowed it down to six finalists, based on your votes:
Namaste, M@therf*cker
The cure for the common workout
Prepare for the Apocalypse
There's fit. Then there's Crossfit.
No mirrors. No machines. No egos.
We will Clean, Jerk and Snatch your Ass!
Please vote for your favorite slogan (one and only one slogan). Also, if you'd like to order a t-shirt, include your t-shirt size and the style you'd like to order (e.g., standard t-shirt, girly t, etc.).
Also please keep in mind that although we love the Namaste, M'fer slogan, it's probably not the most publishable of slogans.
***Reminder 1***
The FUEL Seminar is tomorrow from 12 to 2!
***Reminder 2***
We'll be running our weekend schedule on Memorial Day (Monday, May 28) and running classes at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. only.
Posers
Nicole, Mike, Melissa, Tim, Brian, Jeralee and Vanessa at the Pose Clinic
Dr. Romanov on running faster
We will be having a FREE Pose Clinic at Piedmont High Track in June. Sign up on the whiteboard if you want to participate!
Today's WOD:
CrossFit Total. Post your CFT to comments.
How are you using your horsepower? Part 1
Both of these films demonstrate application of raw horsepower to sport, the point is that one is more functional than the other. So as all of you work through all these max weight WODs please note at CrossFit we are more interested in functional applications of strength not demonstrations of maximal attainable strength with a loss of functionality.
Today’s WOD
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Deadlift
Post your loads to comments
Feel free to post which application of horsepower you think is more functional.
Burpees for a Cause
CrossFit Oakland recently partnered with Krav Maga Gym in San Francisco to raise money for Home Away From Homelessness. At CFO alone, we were able to raise ~$500, due to the efforts of those doing the burpees and to those who donated.
The workout was max number of burpees in 30 minutes.
Well done and thanks to everyone who contributed!
Epigenetics and Physical Activity
The double helix
Epigenetics, which roughly translates to "in addition to changes in genetic sequence," is a relatively new field of study (it was actually first bounced around over a century ago but has only recently picked up steam in terms of scientific research) that suggests that certain genetic signals, or switches, can be turned up or down based on lifestyle behaviors.
From an article titled "Code 2" by Anne Mcilroy:
"Scientists are still deciphering what has been described as the second genetic code. They know, Dr. Szyf said, that a number of chemicals in our bodies act like dimming switches and determine whether every gene in each cell produces a lot of a particular protein, very little or none of it."
You may be wondering, if you're still awake after reading the first part of this entry, what this has to do with anything related to your fitness goals.
Well here's the kicker, again from "Code 2":
"As for our modern lifestyles, exercise is good, but not just for burning calories. It may reprogram our genes, Dr. Szyf said.
"Fat may do more than add extra body weight and clog arteries; it may also switch a number of genes on and off that in the past were helpful in preparing humans for a long winter without much food.
"Epigenetics may revolutionize medicine, said Dr. Szyf, and it also could change the way we think about daily decisions like whether or not to order fries with a meal, or to go for a walk or to stay in front of the television. You aren't eating and exercising for yourself, but for your lineage."
So what does this mean? Besides being a radical change in the way traditional science has viewed the role of nature vs. nurture, this means that you control, to a certain extent, how strong the "good" signals are going to be and how much you can dim the "bad" signals (at least those where physical activity--CrossFit--plays a role in amplifying or dimming the switches).
And not only does it affect you, but it can potentially affect your children and their children (science has a little ways to go, proof-wise, with this, though).
The full text of "Code 2" is reprinted below, and here's the link to the article, along with a few more:
http://www.organic-center.org/science.healthy.php?action=view&report_id=68
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/114-3/focus.html
https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/0/b360905554fdb7d985256ec5006a7755?OpenDocument
Park Workout Tomorrow, Saturday 5-12-07
Please join us this Saturday at 9 and 10 AM for a workout in the park. We will be across from Gold's Gym, 600 Grand Ave, Oakland CA, at the pull-up bars pictured above.
Joe's Girls
Christal, Patricia, Melanie, Jenny, JoAnne, Joe, Robyn, Aminta, Rita, Sharon, Monique and Andrea
Joe is our hero! Not only has he weathered the estrogen influx like a champ, but he also pushes himself to such intensity that it can't help but rub off on all of the troopers in the 6AM class! Just one example of this below:
****REMINDER****
We will be running a weekend schedule tomorrow--Memorial Day--
9 and 10 am only
Also, if you are planning on taking the Gymnastics Seminar with Roger Harrell on Sat, June 2nd--11 to 2, please R.S.V.P to:info@crossfitoakland.com. The cost of the seminar is $75.
F.U.E.L Seminar May 26th!
CrossFit Oakland will be offering a F.U.E.L seminar (Feeding You Energy For Life) on Saturday, May 26th from 12 to 2:00p.m.. Lunch will be provided!
The costs are as follows:
$60.00 for CFO Members and Affiliate Members
$75.00 for non-CFO Members
Please RSVP no later than May 21st to reserve a space
You can also sign up on the white board at CFO
We will be offering information on changing body composition (both weight gain and loss) and the appropriate micronutrient and macronutrient ratios to facilitate increased athletic performance.
There will be no “diet†or faddish ideas discussed: we will provide you with sensible, balanced and scientifically sound concepts for lifetime fitness and health. However, as you might expect from CrossFit, there will be some ideas that fly in the face of conventional wisdom, and are light-years ahead of conventional thinking about food.
Some of the topics we will cover:
Strategies for healthy eating in the real world
Foraging in the urban jungle
How to eat “in the Zoneâ€
Fat is not the enemy
Real World Eats
The real deal on carbs
Real women eat real food
Top Fuel eating for serious athletes
Adult Beverages 101
Paleo/Zone (the ultimate fuel for athletes)
Hormonal effects of food
Disease prevention with food
RSVP here: info@crossfitoakland.com
How is Your Midline Stabilization?
It is probably clear to most of you who did today’s WOD why midline stabilization is an important element of the overhead squat. Actually midline stabilization is essential to most core to extremity, multi joint, functional movements CrossFit exploits to produce some of the most profound workout experiences. The key to midline stabilization is understanding how to use your muscles and connective tissue to hold your spine, hips and head inline irrespective of your body orientation, standing, squatting, pulling or pushing. The clip above illustrates how midline stabilization allows these athletes to support and control significant weight overhead while completing an overhead squat to finish the snatch.
Post your favorite overhead squat issue to comments
Franklin Gets Certified
Franklin and Greg Glassman at Golden, CO
Franklin got his Level 1 certification this past weekend in Golden, CO. Way to go, Big Papa!
Today's WOD:
15-12-9 reps:
155-lb Hang power cleans
Muscle-ups
Post your workout results and congratulatory remarks for Franklin in Comments.
Final Call: Gymnastics Clinic June 2
This is the final call for the Gymnastics Clinic with Roger Harrell that we're hosting at CFO this Saturday, June 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We'll be covering tumbling and acrobatics, hand balancing, and ring work over the 3-hour period.
The cost of the clinic is $75. We need a final count by the end of day on Wednesday, May 30. You can confirm your spot by posting to Comments on this entry, by sending an email to info@crossfitoakland.com, or by calling us at (510) 595-9348.
General Physical Preparedness
"Optimal physical competency is a compromise, a balancing act; a compromise between not only conflicting but perfectly antagonistic skills. The manner in which you resolve this conflict defines the quality of your fitness and is the art of exercise prescription."
--Coach Greg Glassman, Co-Founder, CrossFit
"Unfortunately, many of today's athletes ignore the importance of GPP. This problem runs rampant across the sporting world, not just with combat athletes. In essence, all athletes can benefit from improved GPP.
"After all, if you were able to work harder and more frequently, you would realize improvements in all aspects of training, not just strength and conditioning, but also skill work. Have you ever worked through a vigorous strength or conditioning routine, and then felt 'flat' during the following day's sparring session? Improved GPP would enable you to quickly recover from the previous day's workout. You would enter the ring feeling fresh for the sparring session."
--Ross Enamait, from his book Infinite Intensity
[Ed Note: Ross is referring to combat athletes in his quote, but the applicability to all athletes is evident.]
"Develop the capacity of a novice 800-meter track athlete, gymnast, and weightlifter and you’ll be fitter than any world-class runner, gymnast, or weightlifter."
--From CrossFit Journal #2, "What is Fitness?"
The Bottom Line on GPP
There's often a great deal of confusion surrounding general physical preparedness (GPP) in general, and CrossFit's brand of GPP in particular. This post is an attempt to stimulate conversation over what GPP is, and hopefully in the process, clear up any misunderstandings over what we do and how we train our athletes.
When defining a word or concept, it's often useful and highly instructive to discuss what something is not before jumping into what it is.
GPP is not training for a set of skills germane only to a particular sport or physical activity. We'd no sooner adopt the training program of a marathon runner than we would a sumo wrestler (both have relatively narrow, highly specific needs for their sport of choice), assuming GPP is the goal of the training program, as it is here at CrossFit Oakland. GPP is not about putting your eggs in one basket and focusing on a single aspect of training, or a single general physical skill such as endurance, stamina, or strength.
GPP, and specifically CrossFit's brand of GPP, is about, quite simply, increasing an athlete's work capacity across broad time and modal domains (thanks to Coach Glassman for coining this phrase). This means that one can do well in any endeavor, whether it's of long duration, short duration, high power, or low power (although what's the point of being good at low-powered activities--they're so boring!), and whether it involves one's own body, external objects (e.g., barbells, dumbbells, and throwing implements), or any combination of these two modalities.
Problems occur, though, when athletes and coaches try and fuse GPP with sport practice. What happens is that both aspects of training suffer. This type of fusion usually results in ill-conceived concepts such as practicing the swing of a (tennis) forehand while using the cable pulley machine. Not only is the use of the cable pulley a colossal waste of the athlete's time, adding little if anything to his off-court strength-and-conditioning base, the carryover to actually hitting a forehand on the tennis court is nonexistent, and can even cause the tennis player's forehand skill to erode.
(As an aside, the reason the scenario above doesn't work for the tennis player is because swinging a tennis racket weighing between 12- and 14-ounces and swinging a cable pulley, which offers significantly more resistance than a tennis racket, cause different neuro-muscular firing patterns; thus there's no carryover and it can actually be detrimental to the development of a forehand.)
It's far better to keep GPP and sport practice separate. Use the GPP program to allow the athlete to become supremely conditioned and, at the same time, free the athlete up to devote more time to practicing his or her sport.
Post to Comments any thoughts you have on the purpose and benefits of GPP training.
***Gymnastics Clinic Postponed***
We've canceled the Gymnastics Clinic that was scheduled this Saturday, June 2. We're looking to reschedule the clinic for some time in mid- to late June but we need at least 10 participants to make it happen. Stay tuned for a future post or two on the new date and time for the clinic.
A New Crossfitter-Brian Green
Brian Green
Look out for this guy! Brian has been training at CFO for a little over two months and is making huge gains...he is steadily making progress and we expect that as the fire in his belly grows he'll be tearing things up! You can find him most mornings at 9a.m.
Life Academy-Part 1- The Girls
The Extreme Fitness Challenge is a post session program developed by Candace Hamilton and Preston Thomas for the Life Academy of Health and Bioscience (http://www.smallschoolsfoundation.org/life).
Over a three-week period, student athletes are running, biking Angel island, kayaking, playing basketball, volleyball, and softball and competing in the Life Academy Triathalon (June 9). As a part of the athletes General Physical Preparedness, they are learning the fundamentals of CrossFit and working with CFO to develop individual training plans to help them achieve their fitness and nutrition goals.
CrossFit Oakland is honored to be a part of such an amazing program, and we encourage anyone who is interested in planning, teaching, or helping out in any way for next year's program to contact Candace.
Stay tuned for Part II- The Boys Plyometric Energy Jumps!
Skill Development & Testing
Aaron the kipping demon
We've decided to change things up a bit for the workouts that are national site rest days. We're devoting these days to skill development and testing.
We want to spend a lot more time developing skills such as handstands, cleans, snatches, etc., as well as circling back and refining the fundamental movements that form the foundation of CrossFit (squat, shoulder press, push press, deadlift, etc.).
We'll also use these rest days as an opportunity to test you against our Skill Level Assessment Guidelines.
Finally, these days will be punctuated by a brief, intense workout lasting around 10 minutes in length. We're really looking to pump up the intensity and use this final workout as a finisher.
We'll be rolling out this new concept with the very next national site rest day, Saturday, May 19.
Post to Comments the skills you'd like to develop or further refine.
Can You Do This?
Kathleen demonstrating some nice flexibility and balance while performing the feet-together, hands-together version of the overhead squat.
Today's WOD:
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 Reps
Post loads to Comments.
Gymnastics Seminar with Roger Harrell
Adult Gymnastics: Why We Should All Do It
by Roger Harrell
"Most people over 25 believe that they are too old to start gymnastics. Many people believe that 15 is too old to start gymnastics. This is a ridiculous notion. 15, or 25 might be too late to start gymnastics if the intent is to become an Olympic competitor, but it is never too late to gain the benefits from practicing this sport. Gymnastics will improve performance in any other sport, as well as improving overall fitness and functional strength to a level that most people never attain."
Roger Harrell of CrossFit Marin will be conducting a Gymnastics Clinic at CFO on June 2, 2007 from 11 to 2 p.m. The cost will be $75/ person. Please post to comments if you want to reserve a spot.
Drills and Skills Articles:
http://www.drillsandskills.com/articles/
An interview with gymnastics coach Roger Harrell on gymnastics' contribution to generalized fitness:
http://www.crossfitlive.com/
Todays WOD:
Push press 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 reps
Post weights to comments.
Having Fun With Wheelbarrows & Piggyback Rides
Tamara showing how it's done by doing a wheelbarrow walk and then lugging around Lucas for a piggyback ride.
Just an FYI...tomorrow's skill work will revolve around the following four exercises:
Hang Snatches
Pistols
Handstands
L-Holds
Frank's First Rope Climb!
Last chance to sign up for Saturday's (5/5) POSE Clinic being held at CFO from 9 to noon. The clinic is $75.00 for CFO members. Let Mike or Nicole know if you want to get on the list...
Also, for all of you participating the Burpees for A Cause Fundraiser (benefiting Home Away from Homelessness's Summer Rafting Trip), we will be meeting at CFO at 5:30 p.m.--as many burpees as you can do in 30 minutes!
Today's WOD:
3 Rounds:
400 m Run
12 DB Snatches Each Arm
15 Box Jumps
1 Rope Climb
Post times to comments.
Today's amazing bonus video that has nothing to do with CrossFit:
The Face of Intensity Part lll
Tom of CrossFit Oakland and the OFD works out at FireFight Gone Bad.
Please check out the CrossFit national site for information on tomorrow's workout, specifically the Overhead Squat.
Caption Contest
Lucas, Jonathan, and Scott at the CFO Grand Opening Party.
We managed to get our hands on this photo of Lucas, Jonathan, and Scott hamming it up in front of the camera.
Let's see who can come up with the best caption for the photo.
Today's WOD:
How many rounds in 20 minutes?
65-lb thruster, 15 reps
21 jumping pull-ups
Post number of rounds completed to Comments.
Caffeine Fueled Yaziv!
Today's WOD:
"Nancy"
Five rounds for time of:
400 meter run
95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps
Post time and observations to comments.
Who Am I?
Post guesses as to who these "CrossFitty" hands belong to.
Saturday 070505
Power Snatch 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 reps
Sunday 070506
Complete as many rounds as you can in twenty minutes of:
135 pound barbell Thruster, 7 reps
Weighted pull-up, 50 lbs, 7 reps
Congratulations to Kandace
Kandace after today's WOD of pull-ups, dips, and squats
CrossFit Oakland athlete Kandace Martin is extremely busy these days. Not only did she just graduate from UC Berkeley at the tender age of 21, she's already been accepted into Berkeley's Ph.D. school-psychology program (set to begin in the Fall of 2007). On top of that, she's getting married on June 30.
Congratulations on everything, Kandace!
