You are hereOctober 2007
October 2007
The Wonders of the GHD
The glute-ham raise enables an athlete to work the entire length of the spine and both the knee- and hip-extension functions of the hamstrings. This is not possible with the back-extension benches found in most gyms. The design of the glute-ham developer allows an athlete to strengthen the erectors especially in the middle portion, which, in most sports, is exposed to high forces. Another plus for the glute-ham raise is that it is one of the most important exercises for preventing back and knee injuries, especially to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
From CFHQ on Back Extensions:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_GHD.wmv
From CFHQ on Ab Work:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_GHDSitupElements.mov
Post your early impressions of the first GHD progression (30 hip extensions) to comments:
Halloween At CFO!
We will be awarding the CFO athlete with the most outrageous WOD costume (worn for the entire WOD) a surprise gift certificate (not CF related)! Mike has already upped the ante by promising to come dressed as a famous female Crossfitter! We will also award the most creative Halloween inspired WOD creation from a CFO member! Post your Spooky WOD to comments.
CrossFit & Firefighting
The recently graduated recruit class of the Berkeley Fire Department with some random dude
With fire department personnel from Oakland Fire and Berkeley Fire training at CFO, it's become fairly obvious, from a training standpoint, that CrossFit and firefighting go hand in hand, primarily due to the the constantly varied training stimulus that CrossFit offers. And it's been fun to watch a number of firefighters make some serious progress while training at CFO.
And now CrossFit HQ has agreed to allow us, along with the Oakland Fire Department, to host a certification seminar at the Oakland Fire Tower November 24-25. Talk about a validation of CrossFit for firefighters.
Check out the main site calendar for more information about the seminar that's going to be hosted at the Oakland Fire Tower:
Holiday Party December 1!
We're going to be holding our CFO holiday party at Luka's Tap Room & Lounge on Saturday, December 1 (the same day as our Community Day Workout).
We plan on getting the eating, drinking, and pool-playing started at 6pm. As always, friends and family are welcome.
Mark the date and time on your calendar!
(And don't miss out: Nicole's going to be doing 15 burpees for every game of pool she loses!)
***Reminder***
Don't forget to come in costume on Halloween this Wednesday! I've already heard about some interesting costume ideas and will have camera in hand throughout the day. Don't miss your chance to be memorialized on our blog.
In addition, we'll be holding an alternative, Halloween-themed workout you don't want to miss.
Good Luck Oysters!
Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, six dedicated and tough CrossFitters are heading to Crissy Field to embark on an 8-hour urban race adventure. Mike, Sam, Connie, Evelyn, Jeralee and Max, good luck--kick some a** and have fun! Props for making it this far!
2:30 p.m. Post Race Celebration and Awards Ceremony Starts at Crissy Field (Presidio in San Francisco)
Post your good luck wishes to comments.
CFO Membership + Dogtown Grappling Classes= UberFitness
James Maiz, Instructor and Owner of Dogtown Grappling
James Maiz has trained in the US and Brazil with various masters of martial arts, including Carlson Gracie, Carley Gracie, Rinaldo Santos, Amal Easton, Matt Thornton, Tom Oberhue, Chris Haueter, Bitta de Lima and others. He medaled twice in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu US Open, where he submitted an opponent weighing 100lbs heavier in open weight competition. He coached and cornered a mixed martial artist to a win in Gladiator Challenge, and 4 students to gold and silver medals in a single submission grappling competition. He developed a takedown and restraint system specifically for health care workers in dangerous situations, and has taught policemen, prison guards, paramedics, emergency room nurses, school teachers, and many others since 2004 at the Krav Maga school in San Francisco and at seminars throughout California.
Dogtown Grappling and CrossFit Oakland are offering a combination membership for $200/month for the next three months (November-January). That membership includes unlimited CF classes and grappling classes upstairs at CFO with James Maiz two times per week.
ADULTS: Tue & Thu 5-6pm Upstairs at CFO
for more information on grappling:dogtown.grappling.club@gmail.com
What is submission grappling?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submission_wrestling
Also *************************** Remember that beginning November 1st, we will not longer have a 7a.m. class!!!!!
Last chance to post your Halloween WOD ideas to comments!
Happy Birthday, Tim!
Tim under the bar during the bench press in Linda
Fellow CFO athlete and trainer Tim Rickards turned 42 last Thursday, October 11.
Post birthday wishes for Tim to comments!
Congratulations!
Miles (L) and Lena (R)
We're happy to report that Tim and his wife, Natalie, delivered two beautiful babies yesterday evening at 6pm. According to Tim, the two kids and their mom are doing just fine.
Post congratulations to the Rickards family in comments!
Michael Does Murph
Mike Perry (aka Psycho Michael) , exemplar of intensity.
Mike joined CFO from Boston not long ago. The day he walked in he warmed up with muscle-ups and a smile and we knew we were in for a treat! Since then he has impressed us with his performance and perspective on training CF. Mike is fierce, and also happens to be a damn good (read: master) hair colorist at Elevations Salon in the City.
Keep it up Mike, you're an inspiration to us all!
Elevations Salon link:
http://www.elevationsalon.com/color.html
Post your Michael related musings to comments.
A Little Bit of Friendly Competition is a Good Thing
Loren and Lau after competing against each other in today's 10k row
CFO newcomers Loren (left in picture above) and Lau (right in picture above, name pronounced "low") have brought a fun sense of competition to CFO, in addition to a good deal of game, since joining CFO a little over a month ago.
And if you ever catch the two of them in class together, it's a site to behold as the two of them try to one-up each other in the trash-talking department and the workout.
So while we're on the subject, post any good CF-related trash-talking lines you have to comments.
Love Your Back Clinic--October 13th 1pm to 3pm
Love Your Back Clinic for CrossFitters
Saturday, October 13 from 1pm to 3pm
$40.00
This seminar is designed to target specific areas that will integrate a healthy back into your training, your life, and get you on the road to be free of pain. No prior yoga experience is necessary, and is appropriate if you are disc injured. You will learn:
• Techniques to unwind screaming muscles.
• Poses to increase flexibility.
Kathleen Finnerty is a 1000-hour certified Yoga Instructor, specializing in yoga for athletes and sports injury rehabilitation. She is a level 2 CrossFit Trainer, and head fitness instructor for Krav Maga San Francisco.
Post to comments if you want to sign-up for the clinic.
*******ALSO***********OYSTER RACERS PREPARE YOURSELVES--THE BIG DAY IS SUNDAY! DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER AT REI IN SF ON SATURDAY!!! THREE CFO TEAMS COMPETING!
Bye Bye 7a.m. class!
Come November 1st, we will no longer be offering a 7a.m. group class and we wanted to give plenty of time to the two or three occasional attendees who may need to re-think their early morning!
Also, we are curious to know how many of you would be interested in a yoga class offered two times per week from 8p.m. to 9p.m.. Post your opinions, needs, and general wants and ya-yas to comments.
Get Strong!
We had the honor and privilege of attending a Barbell Seminar with Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore at CrossFit HQ over the weekend and have emerged as better trainers and athletes as a result. We have a new bag of tricks to share with all of you, and some very practical programming to help everyone get stronger!
A must read for strength athletes:
"Starting Strength(2nd Edition):Basic Barbell Training"
http://www.startingstrength.com/
Why strength? Post your musings and philosophies to comments.
More Birthday Wishes
James and Shira after James had just finished Fran
Within the last week James and Shira turned 45 and 25, respectively.
Post birthday wishes to these two CFO superstars in comments.
Leverage
Some random dude pressing the bar overhead
Which position will result in a better press overhead? Why?
Post your thoughts to comments.
Master the Basic Push-Up and then...
Mastery of the basic, entry level, push-up is a prerequisite. The standard for perfection disqualifies nearly everyone! A perfect push-up is a slow and deep with a body that is absolutely straight and taut.
Here is a progression that will keep most of us busy for a lifetime!
10 Push-up Milestones and Challenges (March 2003 CFJ)
1. 50 Honest Basic Push-ups
2. Ten Handstand Push-Ups
3. 100 Honest Basic Push-Ups
4. Fifteen Handstand Push-ups
5. Tabata Interval Basic Push-ups with 20 reps in each of the 8 intervals
6. One Handstand Push-up w/o use of wall
7. Ten Handstand Push-ups w/o use of wall
8. Fifteen Handstand Push-ups w/o use of wall
9. Twenty Handsatnd Push-ups w/o use of wall
10. One Handstand Push-up w/o use of wall on fingertips
...You Tube can be so mindlessly addicting...
Post your thoughts on the lowly push-up to comments.
Real Women Wear Gold Fronts!
Eva T at last weekends Basic Barbell Seminar
Eva T promises to don her front at CFO's soiree this weekend.
"Pennies For Pounds"--CFO Open House and Lifting Party, October 6th 4p.m to ?
The fun (at least in CrossFit terms) begins at 4p.m. with a CFT competition--word has it that CF'ers from around the bay are going to show up to do some lifting. If your planning to CFT, please know what weights you will be going for in all three lifts for all three attempts. Platforms will be organized accordingly.
At 6p.m. the actual party begins...food, friends, music, and fun! This is an open house and everyone is welcome!!!
And Eva T's front brings up another reminder:
Jim Schmitz's Olympic Lifting Clinic tomorrow, October 4th at 7p.m. $100
CFT RULES:
http://www.crossfit.com/journal/2006/11/the_crossfit_total_by_mark_rip.html
***IMPORTANT***
The 7pm group class is cancelled Thursday night in order to accommodate the Olympic Lifting Clinic with Jim Schmitz.
Please post intentions to participate in CFT to comments.
Kettlebell Seminar December 8
We're pleased to announce that we'll be holding a kettlebell seminar on Saturday, December 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Certified Russian Kettlebell instructors Gregg Althen and Kerry Kriener-Althen from Core Fitness Training will be teaching the seminar.
In this seminar you'll see how to utilize kettlebells for strength, endurance, and/or explosiveness by learning how to perform swings, cleans, front squats, presses, and snatches with proper technique.
The cost of the seminar is $50. To register, contact us at 510-595-9348 or info@crossfitoakland.com.
Another Olympic Lifting Clinic w/ Jim Schmitz
Joe, Max, Jim Schmitz, Daniel, Sleepy, and James before this evening's Olympic weightlifting clinic
***Reminder***
Don't miss our CFO Oyster Race Fundraiser and Party this Saturday, Oct 6!
The party begins at 6pm; the CrossFit Total competition begins at 4pm.
Golden West Open November 4th--Who's In?
The Golden West Open is right around the corner--so far, the only CFO athlete competing is Franklin (Masters Division). We (Mike and Nicole) are both USAW Club Coaches and will be available the day of the event to coach of any CFO member who is interested in competing for the first time.
WHEN:
Sunday, November 4, 2007
WHERE:
Focused Individual Training (FIT)
600 Rancho Shopping Center
Los Altos, CA 94022
ELIGIBITY:
Open to all USAW Members.
YOU MUST BRING YOUR USAW CARD OR A PRINTOUT OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP.
You can register or renew at the Meet through the USAW (you must have a credit card).
RULES:
USA Weightlifting rules apply.
You must compete in a 1-piece lifting suit.
ENTRY FEE:
$40, $20 for under 20 yrs old (late $50 and $30)
Spectators Free
Post your intentions to wear a singlet to comments.
Beauty
If I were feeling a little more lawless, I’d gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I’d throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as Kate Moss’ stick-thin image was reduced to carbon. I’d add copies of Shape and Runner’s World until the flames reached toward the heavens, and then I’d crank call the editorial desk at Muscle and Fitness until they stopped publishing pictures of women on steroids.
I’d get the master tapes of America’s Next Top Model and dub over them with “Nasty Girlsâ€, broadcasting the results on every television station in America. I’d skywrite “CrossFit.com†across the Boston skyline, and gently admonish the hoards of long distance runners trotting along the Charles River—with a bullhorn.
I’d take every woman with mass media-induced ideals of beauty, and I’d show them what it really means to be beautiful.
Beautiful women are strong and powerful. They are athletes, capable of every feat under the sun. They have muscles, borne of hard work and sweat. They gauge their self-worth through accomplishments, not by the numbers on the bathroom scale. They understand that muscle weighs more than fat, and they love the fact that designer jeans don’t fit over their well-developed quads.
They know that high repetitions using light weights is a path to mediocrity, and “toning†is a complete and utter myth. They refuse to succumb to the marketers that prey on insecurity, leaving the pre-packaged diet dinners and fat-burning pills on the shelf to pass their expiration date.
Beautiful women train with intensity. They derive self-image from the quality of their work and their ability to excel, and they wouldn’t be caught dead with a vinyl pink dumbbell. They move iron, they do pull-ups, they jump, sprint, punch, and kick, and they use the elliptical machine—as a place to hang their jump rope.
They spend their weekends in sport, climbing walls, winning races, and running rivers. They laugh as they sprint circles around the unschooled, turning the image-obsessed into benchwarmers. Beautiful women don’t care if they’re soaked in sweat and covered in dirt, if their nails are chipped or their hair out of place. They care only about quality of life.
Beautiful women are happy, healthy, and strong, and they’re right there beside me, tossing conventional beauty on the ever-growing flames of what used to be.
Be beautiful.
Jon Gilson --AgainFaster/CrossFit Boston
5 Block Burger
A great Sunday night dinner
I took this photo right before dinner last night. As you can see, it was stuffed so full that I couldn't keep the onions and mushrooms from overflowing.
The contents:
* 6 ounces of ground buffalo from Prather Ranch
* 1 oz cheese
* 2 slices of Alvarado Street bread
* 1/2 cup mushrooms
* 1/4 onion
* A couple handfuls of mustard greens
* 2 slices of tomatoes
* 1/2 avocado
* A smattering of salt, pepper, and mustard
All of it together amounted to 5 blocks of protein, carbs, and fat.
Yummy!
Post your favorite food or recipe to comments.
CFT at CFO
Participants from CFO's first CrossFit Total competition
Thanks to all who participated in the CFT and everyone else who came to the party tonight. It was a blast and we'll do it again soon.
Until next time...
CFO Storage Space Available!
CrossFit Oakland has been the lucky temporary depository for a glute ham developer and a whole bunch of rubber bumpers thanks to Laurent (fondly known as Lau). We thank Lau for thinking of us and putting the equipment to good use instead of letting it sit around and collect dust!
Post your suggestions for a CFO-wide holiday party and gathering spot to comments!
CFO's First CrossFit Total Meet
Steven, a new CFO member showed up last night kicked some serious a** at our first CrossFit Total Meet. His CrossFit Total score was 1000.5#'s (combined poundage for backsquat, shoulder press, and deadlift)!
Post props to comments!
'Nother Birthday!
Jason and Tina before getting their Tabata Something Else fix
Besides wishing Tina a very happy 30th birthday, we wanted to take a moment to spotlight Tina and Jason.
Those of you who come at 6am during weekdays or the Saturday 9am class on a regular basis will agree that Tina and Jason are exemplars of consistency, hard work, and a great attitude. Not only are they seeing some great results from the 3-on/1-off workout schedule combined with solid Zone eating, but they're an absolute pleasure to train. Nicole and I are just bummed that they'll be moving to London in January 2008! But we wish them the best (we're just a little jealous, that's all).
Keep up the strong work, Jason and Tina (and happy 30th, Tina)!
And here's a link to Jason's (aka "Jay") blog: http://jaysfitnesstravels.blogspot.com/
Post birthday wishes to Tina in comments.
Additions & Changes
Franklin and some other dude put some sweat equity into CFO earlier this afternoon...
And voila...a new ring set-up and a new climbing rope!
Next up: Bachar Ladder (thanks to Lau for the ladder, by the way)
Free Community Day Workout!! December 1st at 11 a.m.!!!
CFO's Last Community Day Workout in the Park
We are having a Community Day Workout, December 1st at 11a.m. at CFO! This is an opportunity for anyone who has been curious and wants to give a WOD a try for FREE . We welcome all levels and abilities, the workout will incorporate fundamental CF moves and promises to be fun!
Jeff Has Come a Long Way
***Attention***
Because today's WOD, Linda, is such a bear to administer and can be tough in a group environment, we'll be opening up the gym at 3:00 p.m. today for anyone to come and do the workout, so that everyone can get their date with Linda in.
Jeff before a group workout with the 7pm crew
Jeff, who has become a 7pm regular, has been making some great gains in fitness as of late and is long overdue for a little bit of the spotlight to be thrown his way.
Jeff first started training with us in March of this year and since then has lost a net total of 10 lbs (a combination of losing some fat and gaining some muscle).
But it's on the gym floor where Jeff has made a huge mark. When he first came to CFO, he couldn't do a number of the moves that are part and parcel of our program.
Below is a list of some of the things he wasn't able to do but now does regularly.
* Pull-Ups
* Overhead Squats
* Back Squats (to full depth)
* Cleans
* Snatches
Jeff has also been setting PRs just about every time he does a lift these days, too. Just last week he set a back squat PR, managing to squat a weight for three reps that he used to only be able to do singles with. He's had the same sort of thing happen to him for shoulder presses and push presses.
The biggest area of improvement for Jeff, though, has got to be in the area of form, technique, and fluidity. This is something that can't really be measured, only observed. His movement patterns were choppy and segmented when he first came to us. But now he's performing even our more complex moves (e.g., cleans) with good form a degree of fluidity that simply wasn't there before.
It's all come about through consistency and lots of practice by Jeff.
My hat's off to Jeff for attaining the results he's gotten so far, but also for the effort he's put in along the way.
Keep up the strong work!
Starting Strength Second Edition
Perfect coffee table reading
My copy of the second edition of Starting Strength (which now includes the subtitle Basic Barbell Training) arrived yesterday afternoon. I finished reading it this morning. The book's authors, Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, have once again outdone themselves and come up with the best book I've read on the 5 basic barbell lifts: the back squat, deadlift, shoulder press, bench press, and power clean.
Rip and Lon have added significant material (in the form of prose and pictures) to the already thorough first edition of the book. In particular, they added an entire section on valuable assistance exercises for the 5 lifts (pull-ups are one of them!).
If you're even mildly interested in training for strength (and therefore health), do yourself a favor and pick up a copy for yourself.
And more importantly, don't neglect your barbell training! Your life just might depend on it (read the book to find out what I'm talking about).
