You are here2006 / August
August
Tabata Protocol For CrossFit Showers
We at CrossFit Oakland would like to suggest all CrossFitters start their day with a Tabata protocol shower. 20 seconds of hot water followed by 10 seconds of very cold, repeated 8 times. It's not as crazy as it sounds! The cold water will drive the blood to the internal organs as the body moves to protect them from the cold. Blood will then rush to the extremities as the body works to move the excess heat out of the body via the skin. A great morning circulation booster!
Seriously the Tabata Protocol produces stunning results. Check out the below article from cbass.com the amazing website of Clarence Bass, author of "Ripped For Life".
Tabata Protocol Produces PR Rowing from 500- to 10,000-Meters
Can less really be more?
You've been working out for a long time, right? By now you probably know, or have read how doing brief, relatively few hard workouts can make you faster, stronger and healthier than doing a bunch of medium-high intensity workouts all the time. Ever wonder what would happen if you took that concept to the extreme, say by reducing your training time to a mere 90 minutes per week? Over 3 years ago, that's exactly what I did and this is an account of what happened. (Thanks Clarence for your invitation to share this story with your readers.)
It all started when I read articles 10 and 11 on this website (cbass.com) regarding Dr. Tabata's studies. If you haven't read them, please do. I think you'll be surprised by what you find. In brief, the studies show how after six weeks of training, Dr Tabata's test subjects made huge gains in both their aerobic and anaerobic capacity on a ridiculously short training regimen. The training consisted of 8, very hard, 20-second intervals with 10 seconds of rest between each interval. The test subjects gained fitness so quickly that, as Dr. Tabata put it, "The rate of increase in V02max is one of the highest ever reported."
Rest of article is here.
Yoga For Crossfitters Trikonasana -Triangle Pose
As we all know by now, CrossFit focuses on all ten elements of optimal physical fitness, one of which is flexibility. In our rush to have ever-more intense workouts, we may skimp on flexiblity work. At CrossFit Oakland we have noticed most people come to us with hamstring, hip and shoulder flexibliity issues and we will be offering a few basic yoga exercises you can add to your routine. Five minutes a day should help your flexibility and improve your olympic lifting, as well as your general fitness.
Click here for the first article
Keith of CrossFit NYC is working on an excellent article called "An Argument For Yoga" which we hope to link to when it is done.
WOD 8.26.06
2 Rounds for time:
Rope Climb 3 ascents
21 1.5 pood Kettlebell Swings
21 Stiff Legged Deadlifts
21 Double-Unders
Sam 15:44
Max 19:22
Nicole:
Sub 21 Jumping pull-ups
1 pood Kettlebell swing
55 lb SLDL
Time: 13:05
Sharon
Sub 9 kipping pull-ups
35 lb db swings
45 lb SLDL
Time: 13:14
Melissa
Sub 21 .5 pood Sumo Dealift High-pull
.5 pood swings
20 lb dynamax SLDL
21 abmat sit-ups
Time: 16:34
Franklin Performs 95 lb Turkish Get-Up
Here is another Turkish Get-Up, this time with muy macho 95 lb barbell. The most impressive part was not captured on film: Franklin has enough upper body strength that instead of switching hands slowly at the top, he just throws it from one hand to the other. Yikes! Don't try that at home kids.
We Start Them Young!
Niko Okumu, age 2 1/2, works on his first Handstand.
Jacque's First Rope Climb!
Jacque makes it to the top of a fifteen foot rope! Good work.
8.22.06 WOD
Deadlift 3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1
Sam and Max top out at 360: 400 in sight!
Mike Demonstrates Clapping Pull-Ups
You are probably familiar with the clapping push-up. A lesser-known ballistic exercise is the clapping pull-up. Here Mike is shown doing a "clap-up".
Upper Left: beginning position
Upper Right: explosive pull-up and letting go of the bar while still moving upwards.
Lower Left: The clap
Lower Right: Re-grabbing the bar.
Max Struggles With Turkish Get-Up
Here is another CrossFit favorite: The Turkish Get-Up. This is more often done with a kettlebell or dumbell. Using a barbell makes it much more challenging. The movement starts lying flat on the floor and moves through the "Get-Up" portion (pictured)and tops out standing with the barbell overhead. The barbell is then switched to the other hand while still fully extended overhead and the sequence is reversed. This is some serious core training!
To see a truly impressive example of this exercise click HERE (CrossFit .com) and click on Turkish Get-Up about 2/3 of the way down the page.
8/19/06 WOD
For time:
21 Squat Cleans
42 Back Extensions
15 Squat Cleans
30 Back Extensions
9 Squat Cleans
18 Back Extensions
Nicole Performs Squat Clean -Grrrrrr!
Sharon Performing Overhead Squats
Sharon demonstrates a nice overhead squat with good shoulder flexibility and fairly decent hip/hamstring flexiblity.
Overhead Squats Build [A Scary] Kind of Strength
For an athlete, it turns your body into “one piece.†Unfortunately, for the past few years, misguided athletes have been taught to do upper body one day, lower body another. Or worse, front of the thighs one day and back of the thighs another. One day soon, people will be asked to train the muscles that pull the left thigh in, then rest that overfatigued muscle for the next 21 days. Wait, you’re right. It is already happening.
-Dan John
8/8/06 WOD
Working on form today
3 rounds:
10 opposite arm touchdowns
10 side bridge snatches
10 swiss ball push-ups
20 db squats
8/7/06 WOD
2 rounds using 1/4 bw dumbbells:
Lunge 100m, right arm overhead, left leg leading
Run 300m
Lunge 100m, left arm overhead, right leg leading
Run 300m
Lunge 100m, both arms overhead, alternating legs
Run 300m
8/4/06 WOD
Run 5k
