Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

REST DAY

Hey if you want to leave us a comment click on the title and leave us your thoughts!!

“Top Five performers” 

Things you can do on your rest days are. Hydrate, stretch and eat! Many people think you need to workout everyday. Not true your body cannot handle the stress and training. You need to give your body time to heal and repair. It is best to train three days and rest. you may feel that you can train hard for five days and rest two days on the weekend. You can for only for a couple of weeks and then your body will begin to breakdown and injuries will become your future.  Don’t worry others are not getting better while you are resting.  These are one of the many mind games you will face. So take a day and enjoy your accomplishments and rest!

“I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”- Psalm 16:8

Stephanie Roberts hits her “PR” of 255lb.  

Run 400 meters
135 pound back squat, 30 reps
Run 400 meters
135 pound Front squat, 20 reps
Run 400 meters
135 pound Overhead squat 10 reps

Yesterdays “Top Five Performers”

How important is the bar position in the Back, Front, and Overhead squat. Ask the young man that was in the Olympics who had the misfourtune of blowing out his elbow while attempting a heavy snatch! 

“Elementry School” Back Squat- you want the bar to be posititioned below the trap and on top of the rear delt.  There is a perfect groove where the bar fits. It can be a little uncomfortable for firstimers since the bar sits right on top of the scapula.

“Middle School” Front Squat- If the bar is in front of the body, position of the bar becomes more important. You are working against gravity trying to maintain a perfect lumbar curve of the spine. A strong mid-line will come in handy. The bar is placed on the front of your body. Placed a top of the shoulders and held in place by your hands and your elbows up! This will help balance the bar as you ascend to the bottom of the Squat.

“Graduate School” Overhead Squat- This is the hardest lift of them all! Everything has to be in line in order it to work. The bar is placed overhead,  shoulders should be used as stabilizers. You should be able to see the ear in this position. The trunk has to be rigid and the hips need to able to perform the squat without being hindered by stiffness. Throughout the squat, the bar will stay in a stright line over the base of the foot!

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”- Philippians 1:21

 Front squatting is brutally hard. Moving the barbell placement from the spine of the scapula as in the back squat, to the front rack position and away from the athlete’s center of gravity effectively generates an additive crushing rotational force to an already demanding hip and leg extension movement. Moving loads further and further away from the spine forces the athlete to resist trunk flexion while simultaneously maintaining a rigid spine-pelvis relationship. Herein lies the beauty of this greatly hated squat variation. 

M0nday 080818

“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.

or 

Three rounds, 15-12- and 9 reps, for time of:
135 pound Thruster
Muscle-ups

How hungry are you?

This diagram covers your hunger four hours after you have eaten a meal. There are some great cues to follow depending upon how you are feeling. The Zone is not an exact science and should be adjusted to fit each individual. To recap the above:
Extent of Hunger 4 hours after Meal-
1. None= correct ratio of protein, carb and fat- keep doing what your doing!
2. Poor Mental Focus= Too much carb relative to protein- decrease carbs at next meal.
3. Hungry with Good Mental Focus= Too much protein in relation to carbs- increase carbs at next meal.

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”- 2 Corinthians 7:1

Aaron Dupree one of our best pull-up machines posting a great time RX’d 25:20!

Top  Times Rx’d

Brian M.  24:30 

Aaron D. 25:20

Justin H. 25:45

Will S. 25:51

WOD

For time:
50 Pull-ups
50 Ring Dips
40 Pull-ups
40 Ring Dips
30 Pull-ups
30 Ring Dips
20 Pull-ups
20 Ring Dips
10 Pull-ups
10 Ring Dips

Note: You must come all the way down on the Ring dips and all the way up for it to count! 

Note:Your clavicle must be as high as the bar on the pull-ups for it to count! No reaching with the chin!!

One of the often neglected aspects of our training is flexibility. Sure, working toward getting complete range of motion, over time, will lead to greater range of motion. The rate of return on that, however, is not ideal. Taking the time to stretch and working on flexibility will pay off with increased range of motion, much like learning the kip will help increase your pull ups. So the next time class ends early…stretch. The next time two glasses of wine make you want to…stretch. Or the next time you find yourself with a little extra time… do yourself a favor and STRETCH!!!

“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”- Romans 14:8

Three rounds for time of:
50 Jump rope, double unders
50 Hip Extensions
50 GHD Sit-ups

 John Monroe 6:am rocking out 150 !

Maintaining a stable mid line while performing functional movements is a theme we repeat daily. The GHD sit up is one of the best tests of the ability to maintain the mid line. During the GHD sit up there is absolutely no “crunching” or “sitting up” involved. The core is held in perfect, isometric contraction while the quads pull the hip, and in turn the torso, upright. When we ask our athletes to “fire the leg”, we are trying to get them to activate the quads. The quads have a purchase on both the hip and leg that allow for a safe, powerful movement. In contrast when the leg does not extend, and the quads do not fire, the psoas will often grab hold of the low spine in an attempt to upright the body. This puts sheer on the low spine that is usually accompanied with a sore back and sometimes trips to the chiropractor’s office. First exposures to the GHD should be taken slowly and carefully. Only then increasing the dose.

“[To the Church in Laodicea] “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”- Revelation 3:14,20

 Rest Day!

One area of our fitness that is sometimes scary to work on is our strength. To get strong we must lift heavy. There is no way around it. No amount of 15 pound dumbbell thrusters and 400 meter runs is going to do it. Lifting heavy weights is potentially dangerous and should be treated with respect, but with proper mechanics lifting is relatively safe, and more importantly essential in getting strong.

The mechanics we teach at CCF are taken from Mark Rippetoe. He is our strength guy. He is a respected coach in our community and many others. CFHQ posted that he recently relinquished his CSCS certification for cause (pdf) He is however continuing his support of CrossFit and is coaching a cert at CFSCC.

Certification or not? What makes a good coach?

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”- Ephesians 2:10  

“CrossFit Total”

Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

One of the most admirable things about the CCF community
is the support and encouragement we give to each other.
Whether its cheering someone on as they get their first
kipping pull-up, congratulating a new PR by posting online or
an unitelligible grunt or labored smile as we pass one other
during a 400 meter run. Within and among this support lies
the space for friendly competition. During a workout, we may
find ourselves pushing hard to keep up with/pass someone
or to maintain a lead and finish the workout first. The person
we cheered on earlier in the class for getting their first muscle up
suddenly becomes our main focus of competition… the person
we want to beat. Sometimes that person is someone else…
sometimes it is ourselves.

Competition can be a very motivating factor in boosting
intensity during workouts.

What do you think? Does competition motivate you?