Monday, July 21st
Squat - Work up to a new 3RM
Afterward, 3 rounds:
Sumo deadlift high pull, 75lbs (50lbs women), max reps in 1 min.
Double-unders, 1 min. (The sub for double-unders is...double-unders! But if you really can't do them, box jumps are okay)
Rest 1 min.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Yesterday the CF Affiliate Blog linked to our Mission Statement. In the words of Johnny Rotten, "We mean it, maaaaaan."
Feel Better for Ten Bucks (T-nation.com, let those with delicate sensibilities beware)
"The limits of the human body have yet to be discovered":
(via CrossFit Central Santa Cruz)
Tabata Something Else
Saturday 087019
"Tabata Something Else"
Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.
Post total reps from all 32 intervals to comments.
You are Not a (Wo)Man, You are Dynamite!
Friday, July 18th
Power Snatch 3-3-3-3-3-3-3
Afterward:
3 rounds:
Max rep dumbbell thrusters, 1 min.
Max rep sit-ups, 1 min.
Rest, 1 min.
(Teams of two. Team with top combined score does not have to do 25 remedial push-ups apres workout.)
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Fatigue is All in the Mind (poweringmuscles.com via crossfitnyc.com)
The Diaphragm Plunger (CrossFitSF again via CrossFitNYC [Sorry to bite your rhymes, Allison B., but what can I say? You come up with the good stuff.])
Ecce Homo, pg. 90, "Why I am a Destiny" (The Nietzsche Channel)
Push It
Thursday, July 17th
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
15 Push-ups
12 Ring dips
115 pound Push-press, 9 reps
Man, I can hear the gnashing teeth already--I'd bet that ring dips are our athletes' least favorite exercise. Here, enjoy the old-skool stylings of Salt 'n Pepa, and try not to think about it:
Post time to comments. And while you're at it, post your other least favorite exercises (so we know what to program extra often).
Core of Molten Iron
Wednesday, July 16th
"Leviathan"
For time:
10 barbell roll-outs
2 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
4 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
6 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
8 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
10 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
12 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
14 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
16 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
18 burpees
10 barbell roll-outs
20 burpees
Compare to 080424. Post time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Math is hard, but the Zone is easy:
The Third Place
Tuesday, July 15th
Overhead complex 1-1-1-1-1
Set up a bar with approx. 65% of your front press 1RM. (Percentage calculator here.) Without putting the bar down, press it five times, push press it five times, and push jerk it five times. Putting the bar down before completion is a foul; the athlete must bellow "SORRY!", then pick up the bar and continue.*
Afterward, "Sprint Cindy". Ten rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats for time.**
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Valuable: Starting Strength Wiki
Eat This!
Three Simple Steps to Enter the Zone (via CrossFit Santa Cruz Central)
Batman Does CrossFit (Scientific American)
Well, sort of.
What's a realistic training regimen (for Batman)?Perhaps you've noticed that cardboard box taking up valuable sitting space on the bench next to the fridge. Perhaps not. Either way, that's the PVCF Book Exchange. If you've got a book you think someone else might enjoy, bring it in, drop it in the box, and fish around for something new for yourself. I know a bunch of you are voracious readers--what titles are in your beach bag this summer? Post recommendations to comments.
I didn't give a training manual in my book, but he'd want to do specialized weight training to build up an ability to work at a really high rate for maybe 30 seconds to a minute (the maximum time period associated with his fights). One of the early comics shows him holding an enormous weight over his head. That's not the right kind of adaptation toward punching and kicking. He's got to make sure he's doing all the skill training at the same time so that he's actually using the (physical) adaptations he's slowly gaining. In conventional martial arts, when people take weapons training, you're doing a kind of power-strength training.
*Kidding!
**20lbs weight vest encouraged. Not kidding. Read more...
Karen
Monday, July 14th
Deadlift 5-5-5-3-3-3
then "Karen"
150 wall balls for time (men 20lbs, women 14lbs)
Post loads and time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Chess Boxing, "The Biathlon of the 21st Century" (Time.com)
Insulin and Sugar (The IF Life)
You have heard “insulin” discussed here many times, I’ve said that sugar is your #1 enemy in Fat Loss 101, and I have also said that the biggest health factor that contributes to most all degenerative diseases as being insulin resistance. But really…it’s quite simple to just take control, and that is what we need to do (as we do have full control and responsibility for everything we put in our mouths). Looking at the Standard Food Pyramid above that has been taught to everyone (esp kids) as the healthy way to eat….is it any wonder our rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer and other diseases are skyrocketing?
Sugar comes in many forms: the high fructose corn syrup in your Snapple (and in about 10,000 other items the typical American consumes), that loaf of Wonder Bread (did you know that white bread has a glycemic index rating of 100? It basically turns to sugar as soon as you swallow it), that bowl of fettuccine, even that cold delicious Budweiser (or six) you enjoyed this weekend. Guys, it's simple: eat less sugar, be less fat. Pick your favorite sugary, starchy food, the one you can't imagine living without. Post it to the comments page, and make a public vow to give it up for the month of August. Read more...
Power and Speed
Saturday 080712
4 rounds of:
10 Sledge Hammer Swings on Monster Tire (Thanks again, Brian!)
100m Dash
Clean 100 lb sandbag (50 lbs for women) to shoulder and jog back to the starting line
50 Squats
Jump rope until your next turn
Extra! Extra!!:
Hey, we made the news afterall! Firefighters Fight Heart Disease with CrossFit
Almost Famous
Friday, July 11th
"Almost Famous"
Three rounds for time:
5 squat clean and press, 95lbs (women: 65lbs)
10 pull-ups
15 kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood (women: 1 pood)
20 double-unders (if you can't do DUs, box jumps)
Post time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Casting Out Demons (CrossFitSF via CrossFitNYC)
...most of us have some version of an excuse that we pull out during our most difficult efforts. And, we may be the only ones that ever actually hear it. Try to recognize yourself doing it, stop, and write it on the board. Poof, the crutch is gone and ego is laid to waste.
What's your favorite excuse? Post that to comments too. Read more...
We've Escaped This Long Enough
Thursday 080710
Run 10 K
This WOD has come up a few times since we opened in February, and each time, whether it was raining on that particular day, or it was posted on the only day we're closed (Sunday), there was a justifiable reason not to do it. But now we're out of excuses. It's a perfect day for a long run--cool, dry, and sunny (for the UV-averse, the tall trees bracketing the Manhan Trail provide ample shade). So many people dread running, but running in groups ain't nothing but a good time. So get in here! We recommend arriving to the earlier classes to avoid the freaks that come out at night. And, by freaks, we mean those nasty little skeeters and other blood-sucking arthropoda.
Post time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Top Ten Modern Life Survival Skills (Lifehacker.com)
Why Aren't We Going to the Gym? (The Onion)
And Now for Something Completely Different
Wednesday, July 9th
Turkish Get-ups
1/1-1/1-1/1-1/1-1/1
For those of you who've done TGUs before, these will be barbell get-ups, single reps left and right, working up to a one-rep max. A very interesting test of strength, coordination and balance. N00bs will learn the movement sans weight, then start with the 5lbs dumbbells and work from there. Afterward: five minutes of burpees, 30 secs, planks, 30 sec. Sounds easy, right? We'll see :)
Here's Chris "Speal" Spealer, all 135lbs of him, proving once again why he's the man:
Post loads and time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
And you thought we were kidding about those notebooks: Kaiser Permanente study finds keeping a food diary doubles diet weight loss (via CrossFit Virtuosity)
The Nose That Never Knows (Slate.com)
The Case Against Cardio (Mark's Daily Apple)
Being the type A that I am, I read Ken Cooper’s seminal 1968 book Aerobics and celebrated the idea that you got to award yourself “points” for time spent at a high heart rate. The more points, the healthier your cardiovascular system would become. Based on that notion, I should have been one of the healthiest people on the planet.Read more...
Unfortunately, I wasn’t - and that same mindset has kept millions of other health-conscious, nirvana-seeking exercisers stuck in a similar rut for almost 40 years. It’s time to get your head out of the sand and take advantage of your true DNA destiny, folks!
Benchmark Au Go Go
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
"Angie"
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
Post time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
And you thought "Grace" was hard? 14 year-old Kallista Pappas c+j's her body weight 30 times at the CF Games (crossfit.com)
Controlled Burn (Again Faster)
Overdoing the Sauce (Modern Forager)
For those of you dreading this WOD because of torn-up hands:
How To Make a Tape Grip (mspt47.com)
Also: Dealing With Rips
If you have to continue your workout, place a clean bandage over it, and use some sports tape to secure it. Tip: To keep the tape from rolling and bunching together, wrap the tape around your hand in a vertical fashion. In other words, go from your wrist to the base of a finger to cover the rip, wrap around the back of the finger, and back down to the wrist, again covering the rip. Continue once or twice around the wrist to secure the tape.Read more...
Amazing!
Monday, July 7th
Congratulations to Caity Matter of Rogue Fitness and Jason Khalipa of CrossFit Unlimited, gold medal winners in this year's CrossFit Games. We were glued to games.crossfit.com all weekend, hitting the refresh button until our fingers were raw. If it was this exciting from 3000 miles away, I can't imagine how fun it must've been to witness the competition first hand. Next year maybe we'll field a team. East Coast represent!
Today's workout is
"Grace"
For time:
30 clean and jerk, 135lbs (95lbs for women)
Traditionally, "Grace" is an overhead, anyhow workout. Squat cleans, power cleans, push presses, push jerks, and split jerks are all okay. Post time to comments (and load if you're scaling). This one's going up on the big board, so work hard and fast, but work safe. We'll be hammering you even more than usual on form today, and strictly enforcing pause and reset if your technique comes off the rails.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Make Better Choices Now (CrossFit Virtuosity)
Worst. Sign. Ever. (via Eric Cressey)
Thursday 080703
REMINDER: Please make note that we'll be closed Friday, July 4th but back in action regular hours on Saturday. It'll be 'Pick A Hero' day at Pioneer Valley CrossFit...so get to employing a strategy and come get some! No mistakes about it, these WOD's are fierce, so don't worry if you don't think you'll be able to complete them as rx'd; we'll scale and sub the exercises as necessary. We'd like to pay tribute in our own humble way to the brave soldiers who have risked their lives in the line of duty. Have a fun and safe 4th!
Thursday 080703
3 rounds for time:
45lbs Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, 50 reps
Five sets of 5 Push-ups, 10 Sit-ups, 15 Squats
Post time to comments.
135lbs of Death
Wednesday 080702
One of the hardest workouts we've seen in ages. Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
135 pound Hang power clean, 12 reps
135 pound Front Squat, 9 reps
135 pound Push Jerk, 6 reps
Post time to comments.
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps
Post loads to comments.
Read more...Deadlift
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3-3
Afterwards, a little...
21-15-9 reps of:
Kettlebell Swings 1.5 Pood
Wall Ball 20 lbs
Push-ups
Post loads and time to comments.
Jump, Clean, Dip, Jump
Saturday 062808
For time:
45 Double-unders
135 pound Squat clean, 45 reps
45 Ring Dips
45 Double-unders
Post time to comments.
*This one's for Fluffy
(Helen + Fran) x 2 = Hella Fran? Fran Halen?
Friday, June 27th, 2008
3 rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
1.5 pood Kettlebell swing, 21 reps
95 pound Thruster, 21 reps
21 Pull-ups
Post time to comments.
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
CrossFit: The Workout Sweeping the Fleet (NavyTimes.com)
Firefighter Fran
As we continue to slay at the benchmark WODS on national HQ rest days, tomorrow we'll be tackling, and ever so fiercely, one of the favorites (and most feared!)...
For time:
"Fran"
21-15-9 reps of:
Thrusters 95lbs
Pull-ups
Firefighters, bring your gear. Non-firefighters, thank your lucky stars. Here's a little inspiration from CrossFit Norcal:
Post loads and time to comments.
Brian Kazak, Granby firefighter 
Jon Davine, Northampton firefighter
Andy Pelis, Northampton firefighter
Jon, Andy, Brian rocked their first Firefighter Fran. Good times!
News, Articles, Links, Etc.
Waistlines Expand Into Workplace Issue (NYTimes.com)
Fight Gone Bad
Wednesday 080625
"Fight Gone Bad"
Three rounds of:
Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)
Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)
Row (Calories)
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Add your points and post them to comments.
Gregory Norman a.k.a. Norman (too many Greg's to keep up with!) came to get his CrossFit on for the very first time this morning. Swear to gosh almighty, we didn't kill him! But he did just get through his first 'Baby Cindy' and entitled to a little floor hugging afterwards. Great job today, Norman, and welcome aboard! Read more...
Tuesday, June 24
Snatch 3-3-3-3-3 reps
No max efforts for you, oly-lift n00b. And after that,
Four rounds for time
10 medball clean/wallball/burpee
20 sit-ups
Post loads and time to comments. Now study, study, study:
Now that right there is a nice triple extension. Notice how close to the body these expert lifters keep the bar--it should ruffle your t-shirt as it comes up. Notice also how they receive the bar well behind their heads, but still perfectly in the frontal plane.
News, Articles, Links, etc.
CrossFit attracts individuals that chase high performance, and they are unapologetic in their quest. What you see in Boxes across the country is not just workout junkies looking for their fix. That dedication to the highest performance standards sets the environment for what CrossFit is all about. You see people checking their limitations and doubts at the door, and maybe leaving them for good. Usually with sweat on a floor, sometimes as a score on a whiteboard, maybe with blood from their hands.If you don't check the comments page every day, you should start. Really. At PVCF we do our level best to follow HQ's workouts. That means you can compare your results with those of people all over the country...all over the world. Your CF affiliation doesn't end with our little box. CrossFit is truly an international community. Be a part of it! Read more...
CrossFit gives them an arena in which to test themselves and compete. Its a petri dish for the alpha males, type A's, perfectionists, leaders, high performers, rain makers and fire breathers. They call each other out, and they keep score.
I've looked from a lot of different angles, and what makes CrossFit unique is that it gives individuals a method of changing their own limitations. Those individuals form one hell of a community. You wont see someone shrugging off limitations with a rubber band shoulder press, or swiss ball. But you'll see it on that last round of Cindy, or on that big snatch today.
If you havent visited your local affiliate yet, you dont know what you're missing.
You have a FASTER FRAN TIME in your CrossFit affiliate's box.
You have a HEAVIER DEADLIFT in your CrossFit affiliate's box.
You have a pack of hungry, competitive athletes looking for a new rival at your CrossFit affiliate's box.
Do yourself a favor and get in there. Your performance is waiting for you. A little down payment of humility will payoff in huge breakthroughs and enter you into the company of people that get the most out of life.
"There's no escaping here!"
Monday 080623
Rain or shine:
Run 5 K
Post time to comments.
Edit: Of course, if it's absolutely pouring, like right now, we'll do something else. But don't let a little rain keep you from getting your WOD on!
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