Strength. Conditioning. Community.: February 2008

YOU are an ATHLETE...

...even if you don't know it yet. So why not train like one? The functional requirements of Olympians, grandmas, and everyone in between differ only in degree, not in kind: everyone should be able to run, or jump, or pick something heavy up off the ground and put it overhead. To that end, CROSSFIT combines weightlifting, basic gymnastics, and high-intensity interval training into short, constantly-varied workouts that will transform both how people perceive you and how you perceive yourself.

Though capable of crushing the fittest of the fit, CROSSFIT is completely scalable, so that anyone, regardless of ability, can jump right in. It's simply a blast. More importantly, it works.

YOU ARE AN ATHLETE--but don't take our word for it. Let us help you find out for yourself.

The Dreaded "Three Bars of Death"

Until the advent of "Eva," Linda was the most feared of the CrossFit ladies. She still packs a tremendous wallop. Given space and equipment limitations (plenty of bars, just one bench), we'll probably be modifying this one:

"Linda"

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight
Bench press: body weight
Clean: 3/4 body weight

Set up three bars and storm through for time. Post time to comments.

The first time I saw Linda posted, I thought, "There is just no #&^%&#* way!" But there is a way, of course: scaling. Everybody can do this workout, even if it's just with a length of PVC pipe. Don't be intimidated--just get your butt in here.

March 1, 2008

Saturday 080301

"Angie"

For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats

Post time to comments.

The Cure for Exhaustion? More Exercise

March Already?

Almost! And with the arrival of the new month comes a new schedule. We'll be offering WOD sessions three times a day, along with Starting Strength-style weight lifting classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Also, a brand new Core Curriculum class starts Monday, March 4th. If you've been doing CrossFit on your own, studying the videos for tips because you're not sure you're performing the movements correctly, or subbing exercises because you don't have necessary equipment, now's your chance to learn solid technique in a dedicated CF-environment. And don't forget, we're still doing free intro classes every Saturday, so you can try us out a few times, and really be sure that PVCF is right for you.

See our Schedule and Fees page for all the details.

A Handstand A Day

Meet Emily. She came to us when we first opened our doors just a few weeks ago and couldn't do handstands or push-ups. You wouldn't know it now; she's made great progress and getting stronger every day! Apologies for the spotty images though (we're working on it); and we swear, Emily's not a patch loving pirate...uh, right Emily?

The Devil in Corn Syrup

Great article on T-Nation about the evils of refined sugar:

The general public typically associates fructose with fruit. And while that's an accurate association since fructose makes up a portion of the carbohydrates in fruit, most of our daily fructose consumption comes from non-fruit sources.

Indeed, a majority of our fructose intake isn't from fresh fruit, but from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sucrose, both of which are found in soft drinks, processed foods, sweets, and damn near everything in a bag, box, or plastic container.
Read more...

Want to drop some body fat? Put that Snapple down now.

"Leon"

28-14-7 reps for time of:

Lunge Walk
Burpee Pull-Ups
Knees-To-Elbows

Oh, and do it all wearing a 20lbs weighted vest. Post your time to comments.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEON!

Eva

Everyone's favorite CrossFitting Olympian, Eva Twardokens, got her own "benchmark" workout today:

"Eva"
Five rounds for time:
800m run
2 pood (72lbs) kettlebell swing, 30 reps
30 pull-ups

We subbed an 800m C2 row for the run. Otherwise as rx'd. My time: 38:24. Sandy rowed, swung a 1.5 pood (55lbs!) kettlebell, and did ring rows, for 42:34. I made it to 130 pull-ups before losing a callus, and then I lost another just a couple reps later.

Simon and Leon, this one has your names on it for tomorrow...

Shameless Self-Promotion

I've got a story in the new children's fantasy anthology, Magic in the Mirrorstone. It also features work from Cecil Castellucci, Gregory Frost, and the Happy Valley's own Holly Black (author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, now a "major motion picture," as they say, playing at the big theater on Route 9 in Hadley). If you know any kids who're devoted readers (or some kids you wish were), why not pick up a copy? It's chock-full of entertainment--plus, I get a six-cent royalty per copy sold! Huzzah!

Play That Funky Music

Yessum, there's 73 feet of snow out there (as Brett put it). Yessum, tomorrow is Saturday. Yessum, it's cold and wet and, sometimes, well, just unbearable to pull yourself out of bed under these conditions, but alas, PVCF will be open as scheduled. For those of you who missed today's 'Fight Gone Bad', we really hope you can make it out tomorrow!

As for tunes, we encourage you to bring in your collection of rockin' jams! (Data disks of mp3s or USB memory sticks.) Otherwise, you'll just have to suffer our select favorites endlessly or until your ears bleed. And, god bless, may that NEVER happen.

Gallery

Eat Your Eggs

From the Conditioning Research blog:

"Those eggs look delicious!

Here is a study that came out today which, while confirming the health benefits of a low carbohydrate diet also indicates that such diets benefit from the inclusion of eggs."

Read more...

Paul Newman's commentary:

Once again, thanks to CrossFitNYC for the heads up.

Only While Supplies Last

HUGE thanks to those who've signed up to be PVCF Founding members. At this point, there are only a couple of Founder memberships ($750 for a year of unlimited training--that's 50% off!) left, and we won't be offering them after this month. Don't let this deal get away! See our Schedule and Fees page for details.

Fight Gone Bad

Today, as the climax of Metcon Week, we're doing Fight Gone Bad. From Lynne Pitts' CrossFit FAQ:

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We've used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are:

1. Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
3. Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)
4. Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
5. Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Everybody get that? It's five minutes of non-stop effort, followed by a one minute rest, followed by two more rounds of the same. Check out this video from the 2006 Sonz Jupiter cert:

There it is. Don't forget to post your score to comments.

Six Things Mike Boyle Really Dislikes

"I was going to call this article '6 Things I Hate,' then I realized I'd be a hypocrite. I tell my seven-year-old daughter all the time that hate is a strong word and it should be used with caution. Hence the new title.

Dislike #1: People who make excuses for their high squats
Many people say they squat to "parallel," but they aren't even close! This may qualify as preaching to the choir, but it still needs to be said.

I spoke with Eric Cressey the other day and he said, "Everyone who reads Testosterone Nation knows that you should squat deep." If that's the case, why do we still see so many high school and college athletes half-squatting using huge poundages? Are our readers not out there training and coaching these kids and themselves?"
Read more...

I'm on a roll! Now I only need to find "My Top Five..." and "Four Reasons You Might Be..." and "Three Most Likely Causes of..." and "X or Y, What's Your Pick?" etc and etc. Be warned: this is T-Nation, and those with delicate sensibilities will almost certainly find something that offends. But Boyle is a smart guy, and his rants can be pretty informative, especially when he's talking about squat depth and why chin-ups are better than pull-ups.

Seven Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable

"#1. We don't have enough annoying strangers in our lives.

That's not sarcasm. Annoyance is something you build up a tolerance to, like alcohol or a bad smell. The more we're able to edit the annoyance out of our lives, the less we're able to handle it.
The problem is we've built an awesome, sprawling web of technology meant purely to let us avoid annoying people..." Read more

A hilarious, HIGHLY PROFANE (consider yourself duly warned) essay. Got this from CrossFit NYC's site--that danged Keith W., I don't know how he does it. Every day he's got five or six great, informative articles to pass along. I'll try to meet the standard he sets...but mostly I'll probably just magpie the links. Thanks, Keith!

Frantastic!

There I go with the puns again. Those of you coming to class tonight will be taking on "Fran," one of the infamous girls of CrossFit. As prescribed, Fran is 21-15-9 reps of 95lbs barbell thrusters and pull-ups. (For women, it's 65lbs). Don't worry, we won't ask you to do this as rx'd. Not tonight, anyways :)

Check out two CF heavyweights, Annie Sakamoto and Greg Amundson, kicking the crap out of this workout:

It's okay to be scared now. That's just your common sense talking. Make sure you get in here anyways!

Also: not that we're encouraging comparisons or anything, but this morning, Carolyn J. knocked this out in an impressive 10:05--as rx'd! The bar has been set high. Post your time to comments.

T-Shirts

It's past time for us to come out with PVCF t-shirts. Now, you guys will be the ones wearing them (we hope), so we figure you ought to have a say in what's going to be emblazoned across your chests. Here's what we have for front-of-the-shirt slogans (the back'll sport the PVCF logo)--sound off in comments, let us know what you like, and what you absolutely hate.

Fast. Furious. Functional.
If it doesn't make you stronger, it'll probably kill you.
Yes grunting.
I got my ass beat by a girl. (On the back: Cindy. Helen. Fran. Linda. Come meet the girls at...)
"Know how sublime a thing it is to suffer and be strong" - H.W. Longfellow
...how many pull-ups?!
Tabata this
It's getting ugly in here
One love. One bucket.
Anything else is routine
"Friends will come and go, but two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds" - Rollins
Would rather die than quit
Get your WOD on
"Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you" - Ovid
wods with muscle
"Never, never, never quit!" - Winston Churchill

T-shirts will be white print on navy, 50/50 blend, probably American Apparel. We want to make shirts you want to wear. You guys are our best advertisements!

How Sublime a Thing

THE NIGHT is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky.

There is no light in earth or heaven	5
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.

Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?	10
Oh no! from that blue tent above
A hero's armor gleams.

And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,	15
The shield of that red star.

O star of strength! I see thee stand
And smile upon my pain;
Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand,
And I am strong again.	20

Within my breast there is no light
But the cold light of stars;
I give the first watch of the night
To the red planet Mars.

The star of the unconquered will,	25
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,
And calm, and self-possessed.

And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art,
That readest this brief psalm,	30
As one by one thy hopes depart,
Be resolute and calm.

Oh, fear not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know erelong,
Know how sublime a thing it is	35
To suffer and be strong.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Light of Stars"

"I've Seen the Word 'Metcon' Thrown Around a Lot Here, Please Tell Me What It Means."

It's Week Three of our Core Curriculum class series. Gentlemen (and women [and womyn, this is the Happy Valley after all]), welcome to Metcon Conditioning.

"Metcon" is short for "metabolic conditioning," which is "... the CrossFit methodology for improvement of the [body's energy] systems through a variety of functional exercises executed at high intensity." (Here's a link to a cogent discussion of the topic on the CrossFit messageboards.) Metabolism is the sum of the anabolic (building up) and catabolic (breaking down) chemical processes by which the body turns food and oxygen into usable energy. Basically, your muscle fibers have a small amount stored of a molecule called ATP (adenosinetriphosphate); when called into action (say, lifting a weight a single time), various complicated processes break down the ATP for energy. If more action is called for, there are still more complicated systems in place to replenish this very necessary molecule, either sans oxygen (anaerobically), or in chemical processes that "burn" oxygen. Your body can handle this at a certain rate, and then it gets overwhelmed and fatigue sets in. However, you can train your body to produce ATP more quickly...hence, the conditioning. What we've all been taught to think of as "cardio" uses one of the body's energy systems, the oxidative, at a relatively slow and steady rate.

CrossFit trains that, sometimes, with long, monostrucural efforts, like the 5k row from two days ago. But more often, we'll give you tasks to perform that involve short bursts of intense activity followed by rest (sometimes the rest is built into the prescribed workout, and sometimes it's as-needed, like when you break up an assigned 100 pull-ups into sets of ten). The better you get at these, the faster you can do them, or the more you can get done in a certain length of time, the better conditioned your metabolism is. Get it?

Today's WOD kick things off with a bang. Following the work of one Izumi Tabata, we're going to do

Tabata Something Else
Do eight intervals of twenty seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest of the following exercises:

Pull-ups
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Squats

Your score is your combined total of reps from all exercises. Post your score to comments.

As prescribed, you're to move from one exercise to the next with no rest. As a practical matter, if necessary we'll institute a one-to-two minute rest between exercises.

Check out Rob Miller from CrossFit Central Santa Cruz busting out a score of 350:

This video and many, many more can be found on the CrossFit Exercises and Demos page.

Press It. Push It. Jerk It.

Tonight we're learning all about the three main overhead lifts. (The more exotic Sotts press we'll leave for another day.) The guaranteed good times at the end of class: a reprise of yesterday's workout, Feel The Love:

"Feel the Love"
Five rounds for time:
10 Push press
10 Box jump
10 Sumo DL High Pull

Post your loads and time to comments.

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

Well, can you? If by "love" you mean 75 deadlifts and 75 push-ups, then yes, I'd dare say some of you were feeling the love. Happy Valentine's Day!

7 PM Class WOD: "It's Getting Ugly in Here"
For time:
25 Deadlifts
5 Push-ups
20 Deadlifts
10 Push-ups
15 Deadlifts
15 Push-ups
10 Deadlifts
20 Push-ups
5 Deadlifts
25 Push-ups

Credit goes to Carolyn J. for naming the workout...No doubt! That just might make it onto a t-shirt. Then, we had a small crew that had all kinds of fancy weekend plans which meant they'd be missing class Friday and Saturday, so we did a preemptive make-up at 8PM. Sandy named this one

"Feel the Love"
Five rounds for time:
10 Push press
10 Box jump
10 Sumo DL High Pull

Whichever workout you did, post time and loads to comments, k?

Fake Sugar Could Make You Fat

From the Wired Magazine Science Blog:

Artificial sweeteners don't have any calories, but they might make you fatter than real sugar.
In a study recently published by Purdue University psychologists in Behavioral Neuroscience, rats given saccharin-sweetened yogurt actually ate more and gained more weight than rats given regularly-sugared yogurt.
Read more...

Oh, man. Goodbye, Splenda, I hardly knew ye.

Core Curriculum Day 5

Fantastic efforts from everyone today. You all astonish me with your ability to soak up and apply new information. We've got some firebreathers-in-the-making!

Today's workout:

"What a Bright, Bright, Sun-Shiny Day"
For time:
5 deadlifts
5 pushups
5 deadlifts
10 pushups
5 deadlifts
15 pushups
5 deadlifts
20 pushups
5 deadlifts
25 pushups

Post load and time to comments.

Randy

Randy Simmons, 51, a 27 year LAPD veteran and SWAT team member was killed February 6 in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Simmons' wife and two children.

"Randy"

75 pound Power snatch, 75 reps for time.

Post time to comments.

SNOW DAY

Go back to bed. Due to today's early morning ice storm, we're canceling our 8AM class. This is all supposed to melt off this afternoon, so come tonight, ready to rock.

WOD Classes

You may have noticed that we've added a few slots on the schedule specifically for WODs. For now, ATTENDANCE IS BY INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY. To be considered, be ready to demonstrate technical mastery of the required movements. If you've never done a particular exercise, the day the WOD requires it is not the day to learn it. Please be sure to email us if you'd like to do the WOD; we won't necessarily be there unless we've got RSVPs.

Today's WOD is (yet another) Hero Workout. For those unfamiliar, CrossFit Hero WODs memorialize CrossFit-associated soldiers, Marines, and SF operators who've been killed in the line of duty. Usually they are real-humdingers, to say the least. They should be done as prescribed, if at all possible. No matter how hard it is, think of the brave, unfortunate man the WOD is named for, and push even harder.

"Nate"

Chief Petty Officer Nate Hardy was killed Sunday February 4th during combat operations in Iraq. Nate is survived by his wife, Mindi, and his infant son Parker.

We're asking the CrossFit community to make donations to the "Nate Hardy Memorial Fund" in care of the Navy Federal Credit Union, Building 200, FTC Dam Neck, Virginia Beach, VA, 23461.

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:

2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings (one pood = approx. 35lbs)

Post rounds completed to comments.

For those coming to the 6 and 7PM Core Curriculum classes, we'll be reprising yesterday's squat fest. Come and get some!

Know Squat

What is it about blogs (maybe it's just CrossFit blogs in particular) that inspires the rampant, indiscriminate use of puns in post titles?

A pun does not commonly justify a blow in return. But if a blow were given for such cause, and death ensued, the jury would be judges both of the facts and of the pun, and might, if the latter were of an aggravated character, return a verdict of justifiable homicide. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, 1852

Yeah, yeah. Okay, so today we kick off our PVCF Core Curriculum week 2: The Slow Lifts. In the morning class, Brett got his rack together, and Carolyn learned why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Kudos to both for showing up on such a cold, cold morning.

There's quite a bit of technical info we have to impart tonight, and quite a few drills to do before the real work begins; make sure you're on time so you can get in a full warm-up. Here's the workout:

Know Squat
Five rounds (not for time! recover fully before getting under the bar):
Back squat: 5 reps (increase weight each round)
Max rep pull-ups (or ring rows)

Post load and reps to comments.

Muchas Gracias

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who came out for our free opening week. Our first three Core Curriculum classes covered the basics of bodyweight exercise, and it seemed like everyone got a little taste of shock-and-awe, CrossFit-style, as we ran them through a half-Cindy and a brutalizing burpee-fest. But there's so much more to learn, and we hope you'll join us as we cover, in the next three weeks, the proper form and mechanics for the slow lifts (the deadlift, the front and back squat, the overhead and bench press), the Olympic lifts (the clean and jerk, the snatch), proper use of kettlebells, Dynamax balls, and the C2 rower, strategies for maximizing your scores on some of CF's most blistering metcon workouts...the list goes on and on. $125 buys you a month of instruction that will change the way you train forever. Go to our Schedules and Fees page to sign up now. While you're at it, consider purchasing one of our "Founder" memberships--only a few spots remain!

I Love the Smell of Burpees in the Morning

Kudos to Megan and Brett for making it out to our first 8AM class. It takes pluck and fortitude to do CrossFit so early in the day. So what was their reward? Burpees. Lots and lots of burpees. And they kicked ass! Brett finished the morning WOD in 8:02, Megan in 11:46. So I started thinking, "Hmmm, maybe that was a little too easy." I mean, we really need to cap bodyweight exercise week with something special, right? So here's what you're looking forward to, evening PVCF-ers. Enjoy :)

Everybody's Working for the Weekend
21-15-9 reps for time:
walking lunge
abmat sit-ups
handstand push-ups (sub as necessary)
burpees

Post time to comments.

Handy HTML Calendar Now Available

See our Schedule and Fees page.

Mission Accomplished!

For a CrossFit facility, one measure of success might be sending your clients home in such a metabolically-deranged haze that they forget their shoes:

Somebody's got some squishy socks on right now. It's pouring outside, and I bet those Timberlands would've been a lot more comfortable sloshing through puddles than a meshy pair of running shoes.

So yeah, Day 2 of our Core Curriculum Bodyweight Exercise Week seemed like a smashing success. We had many repeats from Monday, a few new faces showed up (Hey Matt!), everybody (including me) learned a trick or two, and fun was had by all when we prescribed a two-heat, ten-minute Cindy (that's as many rounds of 5 pull-ups, ten pushups, and 15 squats you can do in ten minutes). Just a little taste of the good times to come, my friends. Just you wait 'til Friday rolls around...you're gonna have a new favorite exercise, and it's spelled b-u-r-p-e-e-s. See you then!

P.S. Hey, if you did tonight's half-Cindy and can remember your score, how about posting it to comments? We've got some firebreathers-in-the-making...let's see the evidence.

Read more...

The People Have Spoken...

...and they're saying, We don't want morning classes. Who can blame them? Getting up early sucks. So no more morning classes (except for the one we're doing tomorrow at 7:30AM--ed.). At least until you, the people, change your minds and decide you really really want them. Then, if you want to train at the crack of dawn, we'll train at the crack of dawn. Just let us know. As much as we share your distaste for the morning hours, we're committed to our clients' needs.