November 2009

POSE Technique Running Clinics at CrossFit San Ramon

Next Clinic Date: 11/14/09  1:00-5:00pm
Space Fills Fast
$ 75 for current members
$95 for non-members 

PURPOSE: Learn to run faster, more efficiently and without injury.

METHOD: By learning proper movement patterns in the classroom and thru drills, you will develop an understanding of the forces involved in running and how to create momentum with the least amount of effort and lowest impact forces.

Clinics are limited to 12 participants.

Skill development and video analysis will allow participants to feel and see what needs to be done to vastly improve running efficiency.

Participants will learn what body positions and movement patterns to look for in other runners. This will further help to imprint correct movement and improve individual performance.

CLINIC BREAKDOWN

Section 1: VIDEO SESSION AND DRILLS
We will start the day off with some joint mobility exercises followed by a short video session, to capture your starting point.
Next we will work on a few drills to emphasize the basic movements before returning to the gym.

Section 2: POSE THEORY AND PHYSICS IN RUNNING
Learn the how and why of proper running mechanics, common deviations from the standard and how they affect efficiency, speed and injury.

Section 3: VIDEO ANALYSIS #1
A brief breakdown of each participants running technique prior to learning POSE.

Section 4: DRILLS AND VIDEO SESSION
Running drills including group instruction and individual direction.  Video all participants.

Section 5: VIDEO ANALYSIS #2 
An analysis of technique and what to work on.

Question and answer session.

To register sign-up here.

How's your running?  Post to comments.

Christine at full extension during her wall ball shot

I can't remember where I came across this article on women and heavy lifting, but I think it's a good one and thought I'd share it here.  We hear a lot of concerns from women when they first come to train with us regarding lifting heavy weight and bulking up.  Almost without exception, the concerns are completely unfounded.

Read the article, from Elite Fitness Systems, in its entirety here:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/female_athletes.htm

In the meantime, just remember:  it's all right to be strong!

Most of us avoid regular sodas due to their high sugar and calorie content, but did you know that diet sodas may be even worse for you?  This is because diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame, which has been linked to neurological damage.  Since aspartame’s approval in 1981, an estimated 80 percent of consumer product complaints fielded by the FDA are aspartame-related. Some of the most common symptoms being reported are headaches, depression, mental confusion, balance problems and seizures.   

Not only is this stuff making us sick, it's making us fatter too.  Diet soda drinkers may be surprised to find out that while their drink has 0 calories, they are just as likely to gain weight as those who drink regular pop.  This according to a University of Texas Health Services center study: "US Study links Diet Pop to Weight Gain".  This is because your body responds to aspartame, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, exactly as it does to sugar.  In other words, the sweet taste of diet soda elicits an insulin response which causes the body to store fat.  

Today people are so concerned about calories that they eat artificial sweeteners without realizing the dangers that they may cause. Protect your body and your health and try these natural sweeteners instead:  raw honey/agave, stevia, xilitol or maple syrup. 

For more information on Aspartame:

1.  Mary Nash Stoddard founded the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network (1987)
Her website: http://www.aspartamesafety.com/

2. Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, written by neurologist and researcher Russell Blaylock, lays out the harm aspartame can have on the nervous system.  His website: http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/

3. "Sweet Misery" is a must-see documentary that reveals the serious dangers of using aspartame. 

Stacy at the San Rafael Podium

This Saturday, November 14th, Stacy Marple will be leading her annual CFO ride for ANYONE (distance and route will be determined the day of) who is interested in going. The ride will start with a warm-up ride up Tunnel Road (with alternate routes to get there for novices), after which time, Stacy will figure out the route everyone is up for. The ride will be at least one hour, but not longer than three.

Meet at CFO at 9:30 for a bike check (she's also a mechanic), she'll have some coffee and plans to head out by 10a.m.!

Feel free to show up  on any type of bike! Commuter bikes welcome, fixed gears accepted!

 Should be a good time--let us know if you plan on riding by posting to comments

Participants from last month's Community Day workout

We're holding another free Community Day workout on Saturday, November 28, beginning at 11am.  Just as before, everyone is welcome, regardless of current fitness level.  Tell friends and family, and better yet, bring 'em!

We'll be putting together a team workout once again, and no matter where you are in terms of your fitness, you'll be able to do it.  So no excuses...just show up!

The most therapeutic mobile storage in the world.

Don't let the packaging fool you, the storage unit above houses one of the best physical therapists around and is a resource that every Bay Area Crossfitter should know about! Kelly Starrett, owner and long-time CrossFit Coach is the man with the magic that has helped countless athletes manage and overcome injury and dysfunction.  Be an integrated athlete, know Kelly Starrett of CFSF!

From CFSF website:

At San Francisco CrosSFit, we provide performance-based physical therapy. Our progressive therapeutic approach uniquely utilizes Crossfit-based strength and conditioning rehabilitation and cutting-edge Australian-based manual therapy to achieve superior athletic and functional outcomes. Our patients and athletes recover more quickly, enjoy greater fitness, and are empowered to manage and avoid future orthopedic injury and dysfunction.

Because we are performance based, many world-class athletes and coaches utilize our physical therapy services to resolving nagging training limitations like limited joint range of motion and soft tissue dysfunction.

We have an established history of working with national Olympic Lifting champions to improve their shoulder range of motion on the way to setting national records, MMA fighters to improve the effectiveness of their hip position in guard, elite ballet dancers to improve the quality of their point, and Olympic champion rowers to improve their mid-line stabilization. We believe that elite athletic performance and sound orthopedic function are one and the same. 

Food for thought:  "Best Fit"- the ideal bio-mechanical and orthopedic position from which maximal force can be produced and sustained.  

Praises to Kelly in comments along along with a word or two about your most nagging body gremlin.

Papa Brad after his 9:44 PR in Helen today

We haven't done an athlete profile in a long time, and since Papa Brad set a PR in Helen today (and also notched a best performance of the day to boot), who better to profile?

Brad started CrossFitting roughly two years ago, quickly becoming a 9am mainstay.  He has since worked hard at all aspects of his fitness, striking the right balance of strength and metabolic conditioning.

Here are a few of his numbers:

Back Squat:  305
Shoulder Press:  160
Deadlift:  390
Clean:  235
Fran:  5:01
Helen:  9:44
21:16 Filthy Fifty
6 Consecutive Muscle-Ups

Keep up the strong work, Brad!

Taken from Reuters: "Modern Man a Wimp Anthropologists Say"

"If you're reading this then you -- or the male you have bought it for -- are the worst man in history...No ifs, no buts -- the worst man, period...As a class we are in fact the sorriest cohort of masculine Homo sapiens to ever walk the planet." 

Post thoughts to comments. 

Find the full article here.

Also, tomorrow is a  good opportunity to put your primal imperative for strenuous exercise to work with Stacy Marple and a ride in the hills.  The group will head out around 10a.m.!  Bonus points if you come back with road kill for lunch!

Our very own CFO peloton

A big thank-you to Stacy for leading some fellow CFOers through the Oakland hills on a bicycle ride earlier this morning.  From all accounts, it sounds as if everyone who participated had a blast.  And apparently Hung earned MVP status with his single-speed derring-do up Skyline Blvd.

TomC's photos of the bike ride:  http://tomcampitelli.zenfolio.com/p773266117

Mikey has done it again!  Not only is he a programing genius, he's also a very talented chocolatier!  That's right, when he's not on the gym floor, coach Mike is busy creating delectable chocolate treats from scratch!  Here's the recipe for his latest batch of heavenly treats:

Ingredients:   
(Dairy/Gluten/Sugar-free)
4oz (1 bar) 100% unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup almonds or walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1-2 tablespoons raw honey

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat coconut oil and cocoa until completely melted.  On low heat, stir in honey, nuts and and coconut.  Turn off heat and stir ingredients well.  Place wax paper onto a cookie sheet and pour a thin layer of mixture onto the cookie sheet.  Cover with wax paper and place in freezer for about an hour to harden.  Cut into small squares with a sharp knife before serving.

Let's think of a fabulous name for Mikey's decadent concoction.  Leave a comment with a name that you think best fits this paleo dessert. 

Check out Taco Bell's new GREEN menu!

October 30th was the tenth and final day of the veggie challenge.  Over a week ago we challenged you to eat a serving of vegetables at each meal for 10 consecutive days.  Mike and Bad Brad kindly volunteered to do 5 burpees for each person who successfully completed the challenge.  Hopefully most of you guys were able to stick it out until the end.  So lets hear it, how many burpees are these two going to have to do? 

What did you guys think of the challenge?  What kind of "food" challenges would you guys like to see in the future?

Steve and Brad discussing the kipping pull-up.

Here is an interesting article from Precision Nutrition all about breakfast.  Do you eat breakfast everyday?  If so, what are you favorite dishes?  Share in comments

The CFO Founders

Many of you may have heard about this; some of you probably haven't, though.

Nicole and Franklin (along with their two boys) will be moving to Copenhagen shortly after the new year.  And the impact of their move will be felt even sooner here at CFO.  Nicole will finish up with her role as trainer and CFO business operations impresario at the end of this month.

This means that our holiday party, which will be happening on December 3, will be an opportunity to send off these two in style.

I'm going to miss them dearly, but I take solace in knowing that the two of them will still be involved in CFO (albeit from afar) and that their stay in Copenhagen will not be forever (~three years).

Let's wish them well in comments, but let's also not confine our well-wishes to comments.  Talk to them in person, and come thank them for everything they've built here at CFO at the holiday party.