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November 30, 2006
X=N(N+1)/2
Today we give thanks to Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a brilliant mathematician.
Gauss was born in Brunswick, in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (now part of Lower Saxony, Germany), as the only son of uneducated lower-class parents. According to legend, his gifts became very apparent at the age of three when he corrected, in his head, an error his father had made on paper while calculating finances.
[A] famous story, and one that has evolved in the telling, has it that in primary school his teacher, J.G. Büttner tried to occupy pupils by making them add up the integers from 1 to 100. The young Gauss produced the correct answer within seconds by a flash of mathematical insight, to the astonishment of all. Gauss had realized that pairwise addition of terms from opposite ends of the list yielded identical intermediate sums: 1 + 100 = 101, 2 + 99 = 101, 3 + 98 = 101, and so on, for a total sum of 50 × 101 = 5050 (see arithmetic series and summation). (For more information, see [1] for discussion of original Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen source.)
Now what, you may be asking yourself, does this have to do with crossfit?
Well, when a workout such as "Linda" with 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps comes up, it gives you an easy way to calculate the number of reps in the workout. Using the example of Linda, X=10(10+1)/2, so X=55. This works for any such scheme.
Thanks to Sam L. for bringing this to our attention.
Posted by Max Lewin at 7:47 AM | Comments (4)
November 29, 2006
A Holiday Tradition: Pizza and Beer!
That's right: nothing says Merry Christmas quite like a few slices of pizza washed down with a pitcher or two of beer.
Seriously, though, we're excited to announce that we'll be holding our holiday get-together at Lanesplitter Pizza & Pub in the Temescal (4799 Telegraph Ave) on Friday, December 15.
The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. As always with these types of events, family and friends are most welcome.
So mark it down on your calendar--it's only a couple of weeks away!
Mapquest Directions to Lanesplitter Pizza & Pub
Posted by Mike Minium at 8:53 PM | Comments (4)
November 28, 2006
New Toys @ CFO! Thanks Mom!
We have some new toys at CFO, four shiny new Dynamax Medicine Balls! These are great tools, and since we now have a variety of weights (10,14&20) some of you for whom the 20 lb ball was prohibitive will be able to experiment with them now.
We will have to repeat Fight Gone Bad in the near future as the 14 lb Dynamax is the "ladies" weight for wall ball.
In addition we now have five depth gauges for full squats/ "Nasty Girls".
Feel free to thank my Mom (Dr. Tekla Lewin) in the comments section for gifting these to us.
Posted by Max Lewin at 4:04 PM | Comments (9)
November 25, 2006
Nicole Carroll @ CFO
We had a celebrity visit this last Sunday: co-star of one of the greatest videos ever made, "Nasty Girls", and one of the world's top CrossFiters, Nicole Carroll. Here she is doing "Helen" with a 1.5 pood kettlebell at a bodyweight of maybe 115. Burly.
I don't know what that guy in the picture is looking at, any guesses?
Posted by Max Lewin at 5:24 PM | Comments (2)
November 24, 2006
Thanksgiving/IPD workout @ CFO in PRO
Today was our Thanksgiving/IPD workout at CFO. And with apologies to Coach Glassman who we dearly love, not all CrossFit affiliates are Neocons. We here in the PRO lean towards the left for the most part. OK we know IPD is really Columbus Day, but we are just making a point here!
The true story of Thanksgiving
By Richard B. Williams Nov. 1, 2000
One day in 1605, a young Patuxet Indian boy named Tisquantum and his dog were out hunting Owhen they spotted a large English merchant ship off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. Tisquantum, who later became known as Squanto, had no idea that life as he knew it was about to change forever.
His role in helping the Pilgrims to survive the harsh New England winter and celebrate the "first" Thanksgiving has been much storied as a legend of happy endings, with the English and the Indians coming together at the same table in racial harmony. Few people, however, know the story of Squanto's sad life and the demise of his tribe as a result of its generosity. Each year, as the nation sits down to a meal that is celebrated by all cultures and races - the day we know as Thanksgiving - the story of Squanto and the fate of the Patuxet tribe is a footnote in history that deserves re-examination.
The day that Capt. George Weymouth anchored off the coast of Massachusetts, he and his sailors captured Squanto and four other tribesmen and took them back to England as slaves because Weymouth thought his financial backers "might like to see" some Indians. Squanto was taken to live with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, owner of the Plymouth Company. Gorges quickly saw Squanto's value to his company's exploits in the new world and taught his young charge to speak English so that his captains could negotiate trade deals with the Indians.
In 1614, Squanto was brought back to America to act as a guide and interpreter to assist in the mapping of the New England coast, but was kidnapped along with 27 other Indians and taken to Malaga, Spain, to be sold as slaves for about $25 a piece. When local priests learned of the fate of the Indians, they took them from the slave traders, Christianized them and eventually sent them back to America in 1618.
But his return home was short-lived. Squanto was recognized by one of Gorges' captains, was captured a third time and sent back to England as Gorges' slave. He was later sent back to New England with Thomas Dermer to finish mapping the coast, after which he was promised his freedom. In 1619, however, upon returning to his homeland, Squanto learned that his entire tribe had been wiped out by smallpox contracted from the Europeans two years before. He was the last surviving member of his tribe.
In November 1620, the Pilgrims made their now-famous voyage to the coast of Plymouth, which had previously been the center of Patuxet culture. The next year, on March 22, 1621, Squanto was sent to negotiate a peace treaty between the Wampanoag Confederation of tribes and the Pilgrims. We also know that Squanto's skills as a fisherman and farmer were crucial to the survival of the Pilgrims that first year - contributions which changed history.
But in November 1622, Squanto himself would also succumb to smallpox during a trading expedition to the Massachusetts Indians. The Patuxet, like so many other tribes, had become extinct. The lesson of Squanto and the Pilgrims is not one of bitter remembrance, but rather a celebration of the generosity of Indian people. Under the guidance of Squanto, the Pilgrims followed a longstanding Indian tradition of offering thanks. Although we celebrate Thanksgiving as an "American" holiday, its beginnings are Native to the core.
Feasts of gratitude and giving thanks have been a part of Indian culture for thousands of years. In Lakota culture, it's called a Wopila; in Navajo, it's Hozhoni; in Cherokee, it's Selu i-tse-i; and in Ho Chunk it's Wicawas warocu sto waroc. Each tribe, each Indian nation, has its own form of Thanksgiving. But for Indian culture, Thanksgiving doesn't end when the dishes are put away. It is something we celebrate all year long - at the birth of a baby, a safe journey, a new home.
So when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this year, remember Squanto and the great sacrifices made by him and his tribe to a people they didn't know. That is the legacy of the Indian people of New England - one that we can all enjoy.
Richard B. Williams (Lakota) is the executive director of the American Indian College Fund, a historian, educator and the founder of the Upward Bound Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder Pedant 00:31, 2004 Nov 25 (UTC)
Posted by Max Lewin at 7:43 PM
November 23, 2006
"Blood On the Rope" @ CFO
CrossFit Oakland
Wednesday 061122
For time:
225 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
Rope climb, 5 ascents
225 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
Rope climb, 4 ascents
225 pound Deadlift, 9 reps
Rope climb, 3 ascents
225 pound Deadlift, 6 reps
Rope climb, 2 ascents
225 pound Deadlift, 3 reps
Rope climb, 1 ascent
Athletes who completed all 15 climbs:
Mike
As Rx'd
21:33
Max
As RX'd
25:06
James
185#
15:40
Candace
155#
15:07
Chad
155#
36:42
Charles
135#
27:15
Nicole O.
115#
27:00
Annie
95#
36:42
And if you think we are hardcore check this guy out!
Posted by Max Lewin at 6:44 PM | Comments (11)
November 22, 2006
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
MIKE MINIUM, BLEEDING, BUT CONTENTEDLY BASKING IN THE POST-WOD AFTERGLOW
On the eve of Thanksgiving we would like express our deepest appreciation to Coach Glassman for the generosity that he extends to the CrossFit community on a daily basis.
We express our gratitude;
...for the fat-flensing, muscle-developing, uber-fitness we are achieving
...for the new topography of the hands
...for the giddy laughter induced daily by the WOD
...AND MOSTLY for helping us to create an amazing community of people who we have the good fortune of enjoying daily!
THANKSGIVINGDAYTHANKSGIVINGDAYTHANKSGIVINGDAYTHANKSGIVINGDAYTHANKSGIVI
Join us for a FREE Community/TurkeyDay workout tomorrow (3300 Broadway) at 10a.m.
Children are welcome!!!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 2:13 PM | Comments (5)
November 21, 2006
Filthy 4-0 @ CFO
Thanks to all who attended my filthy 40 B-day workout and various party opportunities. We should make Cesar a habit!
We invite you to submit your own birthday workouts for all to partake in. It is fine to stack the deck in your favor, but you must come up with something everyone can do, or provide subs: Leo, no 20K runs, Shira no 100 backflips for time, Candace, no rugby games... oh wait actually that sounds fun, just so long as I can have you and Franklin on my team...
-Max
Thanksgiving Schedule
We'll be running an abbreviated schedule this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday:
Thursday 11/23/06: 10:00 a.m.
Friday 11/24/06: 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m.
Please note that Thursday's workout is our community workout and is free to all comers. Don't be shy: bring friends, family, or anyone else you know that may want to work up a sweat before feasting on the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie (mmmmmm...yummy).
Posted by Max Lewin at 5:40 PM | Comments (1)
November 20, 2006
CFO Athlete Spotlight: Annie Vought
Annie after earning a CFO t-shirt for climbing our 15-ft rope for the first time.
CFO Athlete Spotlight
Today's post is the first in a series of posts we'd like to do, which we've named the CFO Athlete Spotlight. The purpose of our spotlight is for us to share a little bit of info with you about a particular CrossFitter so that you can get to know the members of our community.
Annie Vought started training with us a couple of months ago and has made fast progress by focusing on the fundamental movements of CrossFit (or mechanics, if you prefer), then slowly adding volume to establish consistency. But that's just about Annie's training...
We're continually impressed, and even humbled, by the people who walk through our doors to train with us. CrossFit has an interesting way of selecting individuals with talents in diverse disciplines (far outside of athletics). Annie is no different in that respect.
In addition to being an ever-improving CrossFitter, Annie is an artist. Her medium is paper, and she creates paper-cutout pieces (sorry, Annie, if I'm bludgeoning the description of what you do!). Rather than have me fumble through with clumsy words describing what she does, go see her work yourself:
It's not uncommon for Annie to spend upwards of 150 hours working on a single piece. Now that's commitment! With discipline like that, it's no surprise that Annie's made such progress with her training at CFO.
Keep up the great work, Annie, at CFO and away from CFO!
Thanksgiving Schedule
We'll be running an abbreviated schedule this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday:
Thursday 11/23/06: 10:00 a.m.
Friday 11/24/06: 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m.
Please note that Thursday's workout is our community workout and is free to all comers. Don't be shy: bring friends, family, or anyone else you know that may want to work up a sweat before feasting on the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie (mmmmmm...yummy).
Posted by Mike Minium at 4:42 PM | Comments (2)
November 19, 2006
Start With Good Form--The Rest Will Follow
Oh snaps! We are on the top page of CrossFit.com.
Yeah Baby! We are on the top page of the CrossFit Community Blog, too!
James, endearingly referred to by his admirers as "The Assassin," executing dips with excellent form.
James's approach to the WODs has followed our recommended protocol. First mechanics, then consistency followed by intensity. Taken in this order you will see both strength and times increase at an astonishing rate...just watch James next time you're in: seeing is believing!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 9:30 PM | Comments (3)
November 17, 2006
Max's Filthy Forty B-Day Workout and Tabata Drinking
All CrossFit members and friends of CrossFit are invited to my birthday workout and celebration.
Workout @ 9 AM Saturday November 18, 2006.
Part "1"
"Filthy Forty"
Run 40 meters 10 times (400 M)
40 Double-Unders
40 V-ups
40 Burpees
40 Tuck Jumps
40 Push-ups
40 Kangies
40 High Jumps
40 Double-Unders
40 meters 10 times (400 M)
Part "B"
Meet at my Apt @ 3:30 for paleo snacks and red wine, or byob. 81 Glen Ave APT 101 (.5 mile from from CFO, off of Piedmont 1 block from Gaylord's/Starbucks).
Third Half
Meet at Cesar's @ 5:00 for drinks and tapas (.1 mile from my apt @ Piedmont and Glen across from Peet's).
Posted by Max Lewin at 1:41 PM | Comments (3)
November 16, 2006
CFO Women Take on Cindy
This video is a great example of scaling a workout so that each athlete is working at his or her peak capacity. In this case, the only substitution is for Nicole: she does extremely deep ring rows (which are not easy) instead of kipping pull-ups.
For those of you keeping score at home, Nicole got 13 rounds in, Shira got 14 rounds.
Great work, ladies!
Posted by Mike Minium at 4:42 PM | Comments (4)
November 15, 2006
FireFight Gone Bad
Here is video of CrossFit Oakland training the Oakland Fire Department Lateral Recruit Class of 2006. We call this "FireFight Gone Bad", with apologies to BJ Penn.
While this workout was designed to match time domain for UFC bouts it is an excellent training and conditioning tool for first responders. When done with intensity this workout builds toughness, pain tolerance and the ability to respond well under pressure. These are all attributes that first responders can benefit from strengthening.
Post scores and times to comments.
Posted by Max Lewin at 6:59 PM
November 13, 2006
Full Extension at the Top
In the picture above, Charles is doing a beautiful job of fully extending the shoulders in the lockout position of a push press.
This position is the correct finishing position for the shoulder press, push press, and push jerk.
It's critical to athletic development, to attaining true shoulder flexibility, and to being able to press and hold large loads overhead. It's also the position one needs to get into in order to hold a proper handstand.
Nice work, Charles!
Posted by Mike Minium at 3:35 PM | Comments (11)
November 12, 2006
An Egg Yolk and a T-Shirt
Throwing you a curveball today...let's see how finely tuned your trainer identification skills are.
We'll give a free CrossFit Oakland t-shirt to the first person to correctly guess which of the three CFO trainers (Max, Nicole, or Mike) is so finicky about eating his or her eggs that the whole yolk is consumed in one piece (just as in the picture above) so that the egg yolk doesn't run over the plate.
Only 1 guess per person. And those persons with prior knowledge are excluded (you know who you are).
And while you're putting your detective skills to work, check out this video clip of Andy Bolton setting the deadlift world record of 1,003 lbs (455 kg).
Posted by Mike Minium at 12:10 PM | Comments (8)
November 11, 2006
Deep Into the Painstorm
Enough said. Chad working through Painstorm at CrossFit Oakland.
As many rounds in 20 minutes with a 70# bar:
5 Deadlifts
5 Hang Power Cleans
5 Front squats
5 Push Presses
5 Back Squats
Posted by Max Lewin at 10:35 PM | Comments (2)
November 10, 2006
CFO & Oakland Fire Department, Part 1
Firefighter Charles Lightfoot and Maximus Lewin
We had the honor and privilege to deliver a CrossFit presentation and train the lateral recruits at the Oakland Fire Academy and Training Center today.
We'll be running a series of photos and video over the next few days, documenting our experience there and sharing the presentation we gave. Stay tuned!
On a totally unrelated note, be sure to check out the Community Blog (formerly known as the Affiliate Blog) over at CrossFit.com. Birthday Boy Max Lewin managed to get top billing.
Posted by Mike Minium at 7:51 PM
November 8, 2006
Holiday Get-Together on December 15
Mark your calendars now!
Yes, that's right, we're throwing out Zone-like eating for one day during the holiday season.
We're planning on having a CrossFit Oakland holiday cheat meal on Friday, December 15.
We're leaving the choice of locale to you, though, true to our open-source, community-driven philosophy.
Please vote for your choice of restaurant in the Comments section.
Cesar, anyone?
Posted by Mike Minium at 2:57 PM | Comments (5)
November 5, 2006
Fight Gone Bad at CFO
Attention, CrossFitters: There's a beautifully written analysis of the deadlift by Mark Rippetoe in this month's CrossFit Journal. The article has been made free to all and is available HERE.
Do yourself a favor and read it!
Fight Gone Bad is a classic CrossFit benchmark workout. Originally designed by Coach Glassman for BJ "The Prodigy" Penn, Bazilian JuJitsu practitioner and UFC champion. Fight Gone Bad simulates the intense mixed-modal stress endured in a UFC bout as well as the five minutes on, one minute off protocol.
Post most recent score to comments.
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 2:56 PM | Comments (1)
November 4, 2006
Bionic Charles
Charles gets his first bar muscle-up! Very nice, I like!
Posted by Max Lewin at 11:05 PM | Comments (3)
November 1, 2006
Skeleton Crew at CFO
Chad, Mike and I did the "Skeleton Crew" Concept 2 challenge: 31,000 meters on the rower in four days.
Warning! The next person we hear say "What about cardio?" will be rowing 10K!
Posted by Max Lewin at 5:38 PM | Comments (6)