CrossFit Santa Cruz

Preparations

Patrick "the Manimal" Barber getting ready.

As many of you know this coming weekend is the 3rd annual
CrossFit games.

The gym will be closed Friday July 10th through Sunday July 12th in support of our competing athletes and the broader CrossFit community.

We hope you are planning on joining us in Aromas, it is guaranteed to be a sporting event like no other.

Our affiliate team will kick things off on Friday, Patrick will begin the individual competition on Saturday (along with our new friend Taz) and Sunday is the finals for both the team and individual events.

The  CrossFit games are a festival of fitness so it is time to start planning ahead if you have not already.

Do you have your spectator ticket, transportation and parking arrangements and a NEW FAN-CLUB T-SHIRT?

If not; Get it together people.

As soon as we have any updates on specific times of workouts we will post them, until then, get exited about a great weekend.

Monday's Workout:

225 lb Deadlift 30 reps

800 meter run

225 lb Deadlift 20 reps

1,000 meter row

225 lb Deadlift 15 reps

800 meter run

*women use 155 lbs

CrossFit Games Participants:

1,000 meter row for time

Tapering

Peter Markel demonstrating a proper jump at the end of the burpee

In general and especially with athletes competing in sporting events, athletes and coaches need to be careful not to over train.

Long distance runners don't run marathons before a race and Olympic weight lifters don't go for world records the night before the competition. Instead athletes and coaches will initiate a practice called tapering before the competitive event.

Tapering involves reduction in an athlete's workout demands in order to allow his or her body to recover. It does not usually mean a complete break from training, but it does mean a less intensive regimen.

Different types sports require different length tapering periods. Sports that requite strength and endurance usually taper for more time than sports that require speed and agility. For a CrossFit competition an athlete needs all ten general physical skills to be on tap and ready to go. Tapering the unknown and unknowable is it’s own beast all together.

At the elite level of athletic competition, such as the CrossFit games, the difference between first and second place can literally be a matter of properly timed tapering.

Our programing for the last month has been geared towards the CrossFit Games competition and this week you will see our athletes finish tapering.

Today's Workout:

Five rounds for time of
50 double under's
5 muscle ups

Holiday Weekend

The gym at the beginning of the day.

Classes are running as usual this weekend

Happy Fourth of July. Be safe and enjoy your freedom.

Workout:
Rest Day

Community Support

Kelly Starrett; "Training the Injured Athlete"

At CFSC we have had the privilege of hosting Kelly Starrett who taught us better movement, mobility and body maintenance. He emphasized the need to have proper mechanics before we can add load or reps as the only way to prevent injury and, over time, increase performance. We learned the concepts of best orthopedic function, proper mechanics and injury prevention. Ever since his first visit, our gym culture has changed.  It is normal to see all of the athletes spread out on the floor at the end of class, stretching, releasing and rolling to maintain a fit and injury-free body.  We are extremely thankful for Kelly and all of his knowledge and expertise.  

Unfortunately, Anna McCarthy, a journalist at SF Weekly has written an article on San Francisco CrossFit and Kelly Starrett that is poorly researched and inaccurate. Please go to SF Weekly, read the article and post your thoughts in the comments section.  Her irresponsible journalism should not go unchecked.  

Workout:

 Snatch 135 pound, 15 reps

Not for time.  Work Technique

Don't Eat This At Home Kids!!

30 days worth of backpacking food

As I pack my food for my month-long backpacking trip in Oregon I can't ignore the numerous and blatant nutrition violations.  I sacrifice the fresh for the packaged and the heavy for the light - all in the name of less weight and fewer complications on the trail.  Any food that is fresh or includes even a small bit of water is out.  Chocolate covered things, like zone and balance bars, melt into a mass of goo quickly - those are out too.  I also don't like to be bothered with too much prep, so fancy backpacking recipes aren't on my list either.  I stick to the processed, carb heavy basics as seen in this picture.  Its only a month, and its the price I pay to see the beautiful places of the wilderness that you can't reach in a car. 

Looking at all of this food (and dreading its consumption) renews, with gusto, my appreciation for living in Santa Cruz, a place where local, organic produce is readily available.  Where I can visit farmers markets twice a week, purchase delicious things at several organically minded grocery stores, and dine at a plethora of nutritionally conscious restaurants... Ah Santa Cruz... we are so fortunate. 

-Heather Mac

Workout:
5 rounds of
9 Back Squat
9 Ring Dip
You choose the weight.  Workout must be completed in under 5 minutes.  Post load and time to comments. 
You may sub back squat for front squat or overhead squat.  Same rules apply. 

Nausea

Congratulations to Jesse "Baz" on winning his division in the Corona Open this past weekend.  Good Luck in Manhattan Beach!

EXERCISE INDUCED NAUSEA AND VOMITING

-Mary Boudreau Conover BSNed with a contribution from Lon Kilgore Ph.D

"For over a decade at CrossFit, hurling has been unofficially viewed as somewhat of a badge of honor with a pet name, photos, and T-shirts to commemorate the event.  However, vomiting is at least an abuse to sensitive esophageal lining highly intolerant of acid baths and possibly, when a frequent event, causing inflammatory damage to that important sphincter separating the stomach from the esophagus.² Damage of the lower esophageal sphincter muscle lead to reflux and consistent irritation of the esophagus leads to at least inflammation and at worst esophageal ulcers."

...Read the complete article in Conover's Corner

Workout:
Pick your poison:
Christine:
3 round for time of:
Row 500 meters
12 Body weight deadlifts
20 inch box jumps, 21 reps

or

For time:
Row 500
30 Burpees
165 pounds from shoulders to overhead anyhow, 10 reps

The Inner Beauty

Tyler

The other day I experienced a few setbacks at work.  Nothing major, just a kink or two to get in the way of a smooth path towards our goals.  I felt a little deflated and needed some inspiration, so I googled "setbacks + quotations," and found, among others, the following quotation...

"I think exercise tests us in so many ways, our skills, our hearts, our ability to bounce back after setbacks. This is the inner beauty of sports and competition, and it can serve us all well as adult athletes."  Peggy Flemming

I thought of all of the CrossFit workouts (and there are many) during which I really felt like I might fail (not make the lift, not complete the reps or not even finish) and somehow still found the mental and physical fortitude to push through the pain, doubt and fear to succeed.  Sometimes the success came right away, and sometimes after many weeks of training and practice.  Without a doubt, my skill, heart and ability to bounce back continue to grow and improve as I train.  This has truly been a life lesson.  CrossFit has taught me that there is often more inside of me than I am aware of, that I can achieve more than I expect with extra effort, determination and perseverance, and in some ways, that anything is possible.  This is the inner beauty of CrossFit and it follows me everywhere.  It reminds me that not only am I stronger in my muscles, but I am also stronger in my heart - the kind that pumps my blood and the kind that pumps my resolve.   

-Heather Mac

Workout:

Rest Day

Growth

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.”
-Bruce Lee

Yesterdays Workout:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes of:
115 Pound Barbell Bear Complex, 7 reps
25 Pull ups

One repetition of the Bear Complex is:  Clean, Front Squat, Push Press, Back Squat, Push Jerk

Today's Workout: "Michael"

3 rounds for time of:

800 meter run

50 Hip extensions

50 glute ham sit ups