Archives

June 2009

Got Strength?

Tuesday

WOD:

Back Squat

1-1-1-1-1-1-1

The crease of your hip must reach below parallel and you must stand up completely in order for the rep to count.

Post loads and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

A wonderful explanation of “Hip Drive” in the back squat by Coach Rippetoe.  If you don’t watch this, you’re missing out on some good info that good help you out big time today!

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This Week: How Fit Are You?

What are the markers of true fitness, and why do CrossFit to begin with.  If you are doing it because you want to beat everyone in the gym, you may be doing it for the wrong reasons.  CrossFit principles are steeped in the idea that you train to be more fit, to meet the demands of life, the unknown…

To be truly fit, is to not just be fast in the workouts, but to be well rounded.  You may not win at everything.  You may just be in the top 5 to 10% in every workout.   If you are really strong on the heavy days, but fail miserably on the running/body weight exercise days, then you are not a well rounded CrossFit athlete.  We want our folks to be proficient in all of the ten general physical skills: Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Accuracy, Agility, and Balance.  He or she who is blended best across all ten, is the fittest.  If you show extreme proficiency in one, you will have deficiency in all of the others.

Start trying to focus on the weaker of the ten for yourself.  We program to train you for the unknown, not just to win and make it in to the “Top 5″.  Our programming is designed to give you a dose of all ten on a regular basis, not just a couple here and there.

“They have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.” Psalm 73:4-5

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Carolina CrossFit will close on Friday, July 3rd at 1:00pm, and re-open with normal business hours on Monday, July 6th at 6:00am.  We hope that you have a safe and relaxing Fourth of July!

One Rep At A Time

open-hip

Monday

WOD:

“Angie”

100 Pull Ups

100 Push Ups

100 Sit Ups

100 Squats

You must complete all 100 of each exercise before moving on to the next.

Post time and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

open-hip

Now that’s an open hip! 

Oddly enough, this photo of Brian A. was taken the last time “Angie” came up.  Brian completed Angie with the fastest time of the day and some of the most flawless legit range of motion on Pull Ups, Push Ups, Sit Ups, and Squats that I have seen in the gym.  Do you have what it takes to match that?  Remember, on the Pull ups, the chin must clear the bar.  On the Push Ups, chest and thighs must touch the deck and the elbows must lock out.  On the Sit Ups, your shoulders must touch the ground each time, and you must sit all the way up.  And last, for the Squats, the crease of your hip must go below the knee (below parallel), and you must open the hip and straighten the legs at the top.  Some degradation of form is necessary when you ramp up intensity, but always remember…RANGE OF MOTION IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

This Week: How Fit Are You?

A lot of times, people assume they are fit if they look thin or have some good muscle tone.  This week we are going to talk about what it actually means to be fit.  Being fit is not gauged by how good you look in a swim suit.  It includes a number of factors.  We need to take into account what’s going on inside the body as well.  We will look at food, workouts, and lifestyle in this week of posts.  Stay tuned….

“They have no struggles, their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.” Psalm 73:4-5

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Carolina CrossFit will close on Friday, July 3rd at 1:00pm and re-open with normal hours on Monday, July 6th at 6:00am.  We hope that you have a safe and relaxing Fourth of July!

Try Something New

ladies-row-cropped

Saturday

WOD:

21-15-9 for time of:

Thrusters

Row 500 Meters

Rx’d Thruster Weight for Men/115lbs & Women/75lbs

Post time and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

ladies-row

Some tough chicks from the 8:oo am class!

This Week: Warm Up

At the conclusion of warm up week, try something new.  No, seriously…try to throw a new exercise into your warm up.  You can throw in something that you struggle with, like ring dips, handstand push ups, double unders, etc… and keep it in there until you don’t struggle with it anymore.  You can also throw in something that you can do pretty well, but does not come up often to switch it up a bit.  As a coach, I prefer that you go with option number one, but if you have an exercise that you like to do, but it never comes up in workouts, throw it in too!

Also, don’t forget that Saturdays at CCF are always “Bring a Friend for Free” days.  If you have someone that you know would benefit from CrossFit, get em’ in to the gym.  Saturdays are nice and laid back.  No class times, just open gym, so they can take their time getting to know the gym, the warm up, the coaches, and the other members!

“We have in fact two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practice, and one which we practice but do not preach.” ~Bertrand Russell

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Get It Right

Friday

WOD:

Deadlift

3-3-2-2-1

Post loads and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

Coach Glassman speaking on the deadlift

Video Courtesy of CrossFit HQ

This Week: Warm Up

Sometimes the best warm up is practice of the movement itself.  Today, since we are deadlifting, I encourage all of you to grab a PVC pipe and work on your technique.  We see a lot of ugly lifts.  Everyone can use more practice.  The deadlift is one of our fundamental CrossFit movements, and you will never master it with weight if you cannot get the proper technique down with no weight.

Grab a trainer today and work on technique, technique, technique.  You do not have to hit a new PR everytime a lift day comes up.  Sometimes it’s best to back up and look at how you are performing a movement and make sure you are doing it correctly.

“We have in fact two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practice, and one which we practice but do not preach.” ~Bertrand Russell

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Ups And Downs

Wednesday

WOD:

4 Rounds for time of:

25 Burpees

50 Double Unders

Post time and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

So, this is motivation for Spigner & Garris to practice and start a jump rope team.  2010 Worlds?

This Week: Warm Up

We see so many of you neglect the jump rope in our gym.  Using the jump rope for your warm up is a great way to get more familiar with the movement, improve coordination, practice your double unders, and get nice and warm.

Today, even though double unders are in the workout, grab a jump rope and incorporate it into your warm up.  You can just do singles, or work on double unders.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.” ~ Proverbs 13:12

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Lunge It Out

Tuesday

WOD:

5 Rounds for Time of:

30 Overhead Walking Lunges (15 with Left arm/15 with Right arm)

400 Meter Run

Rx’d Weight for Men/24kg & Women/16kg

Post time and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

Greg Amundson, an OC (original CrossFitter) showing us his version of the CrossFit Warm Up.

Video courtesy of CrossFit HQ as posted on YouTube

This Week: Warm Up

Just because it’s hot outside and you’re all sweaty as soon as you walk through our door, does not mean you are “warmed up”.  We see so many injuries as a result of a poor warm up.

The CrossFit Warm Up is a great place to start.  At CCF, we use it to warm up our members, but also to gauge where our new folks are with their skill level.  The CrossFit warm up can be very telling.  For instance, as trainers, we are able to see where you are with pull ups, dips, and sit ups.

Take the time to warm up everyday.  Take the time to learn the CrossFit warm up well.  If you have a question about any of the exercises, please find a trainer and have them watch you roll through the movements.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.” ~Proverbs 13:12

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Warm Up

6am-crew

Monday

WOD:

Split Jerk

1-1-1-1-1-1-1

You must jerk from the front rack position.  You cannot jerk from behind the head.  You must stand up with each rep at the completion of the lift.  If you cannot stand the weight up, the lift does not count.

Post loads and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

6am-crew

Some of our 6 am crew

This Week: Warm Up

The warm up is so important for CrossFit.  Often times, people neglect the warm up for fear of “getting tired” before the actual workout of the day.  After all, as the famous CrossFit line says, “Your Workout is Our Warm-up.”  This can feel so true to new folks walking through the door.  Going through the CrossFit warm up can be tough for new folks.  After all, it is 2 rounds, 10 reps each of Pull Ups, Dips, GHD Sit Ups, Back Extensions, 30 second Samson Stretch Hold, etc… 

This week, we will cover things outside of the “warm up box”.  Sometimes, incorporating the row into your warm up can really help get the blood flowing.  This is true, especially if you are a little sore.  A good rule is to try to row at minimum, 1000 meters.  I recommend breaking it in to 2/500 meter rows.  These are not timed, just simply a warm up for the workout of the day.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life.” ~Proverbs 13:12

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Yay For Saturdays!

930-ladies

Saturday

WOD:

21-15-9 For Time of:

Squat Cleans

Burpees

Pull Ups

Rx’d Weight on the Squat Cleans is Men/135lbs & Women/95lbs

Post time and thoughts to comments by clicking on the title of this post.

930-ladies

Gail & Michelle working on pull ups in the 9:30 class!

This Week: Practice Makes Perfect

Bringing out Practice week to a close, today, practice the dreaded “Handstand Push Up”.  If you are pretty solid with the handstand push ups, work on your muscle up.  We see a lot of folks struggle with the strength and capacity, sometimes even the fear of going inverted, so today, really work on holding a nice solid handstand.  Once you get comfortable, dry to lower yourself for the push up.  If necessary, stack a few ab mats under your head for a little added support.

“You grow up the day you have your first real laugh – at yourself.” ~Ethel Barrymore

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