CrossFit Santa Cruz

Happy Mother's Day!

How many of you would love to see your Mom in the gym CrossFitting? So far at CrossFit Santa Cruz, Danielle and Hollis' Mother, Carol, and Leif and Olin's Mother, Sarah are our regular CrossFitter Moms. And, they are wonderful to workout with! Happy Mother's Day to all of you CrossFit Moms!

Eva T of CrossFit Santa Cruz Central and Adrian of San Francisco CrossFit overhead squat.

Jolie of CrossFit One World and Eva T team up during thier lunch time workout on Saturday.

The team workout that the trainers of this weekend's CrossFit Level 1 Certification did during their lunch break was the following:

3 rounds of:
40 overhead squats (men use 95 pounds, women use 75 pounds)
50 pull-ups
60 box jumps
70 double unders
400 meter run

These are the total reps to be completed by each team of two.

There are two people per team. Only one team member can work at the same time except for on the run when both team members run together. Each run and set of movements needs to be completed before the team can move on to the next set of movements. Team members can alternate jumps on the same box during the box jump segment. The reps can otherwise be split up in any way desired between team members.

Open, Close, Push, Pull

Peter doing ring dips (push).

Duffy kettlebell swinging (pull and open).

When structuring workouts in CrossFit, we often organize the movements into four different categories; pushing movements, pulling movements, opening movements and closing movements. We usually try to provide a balance of these movements within each workout because there is little benefit to doing only one type of movement, such as all pulling movements, like rowing, rope climbs and pull-ups in the same workout. You will notice that many of the classic WODs such as Fran (thruster - push, pull-up - pull) or Cindy (pull-up - pull, push-up - push, squat - open) have a good balance of movements. That being said, don't limit yourself to workouts that are all perfectly balanced! Next time you make up your own WOD, think about the types of movements you are incorporating.

Workout:

400 m run
21 Ring Dip
21 Kettlebell Swing (men use 24kgs, ladies use 16kgs)
400 m run
15 Ring Dips
15 Kettlebell Swings
400 m run
9 Ring Dips
9 Kettlebell Swings

Everyone Must Deadlift

Branden and Patrick do "Diane" during the 7pm class yesterday.

Connor does "Christine" during the 5pm class.

It is important to deadlift every once in a while whether it's done within a storm, such as Diane or Christine, or as a one rep max effort. When properly executed, the deadlift can help heal back injuries, stretch out the hamstrings and of course, build strength. Deadlifting is fundamental to living both healthy and fit lives.

Workout:
7 rounds of:
7 deadlifts (men use 225 pounds, women use 180 pounds)
Run 400 meters

Kippin' Handstand

Hollis helps Sean learn to stabilize himself away from the wall and on his head before he teaches him the kipping handstand.

Workout:

Static handstand hold (against a wall if needed) for 2 minutes. If you fall, kick right back up and continue to hold.

Run 800 meters
Static handstand hold for 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Static handstand hold for 2 minutes

Here to Climb

Adrian of San Francisco CrossFit, walked into our gym yesterday with Patrick and stated that he would love to do some rope climbs as he doesn't often have access to ropes during a workout. So, I gave them and the 6pm class a workout that Greg A came up with while guest teaching a class at CrossFit OKC. He further perfected it at CrossFit Marina last year when we stopped by to workout with the Serranos. So, you all should be happy to know that many have suffered through this one!

Workout:
5 rounds of:
2 minutes max Wall Balls (men use 20 pounds, women use 14 pounds)
2 minutes max Rope Climbs (our ropes are about 20 feet high)
2 minutes rest

Peter and Amy keeping up a good pace on the wall balls.

Patrick and Adrian recovering.

Adrian, Brian, Andrew, Patrick, Gilly, Amy and Peter (left to right). Way to hang tough, everyone, through a really demanding workout!

Early Risers

How early do you get up to CrossFit? These ladies are dedicated to the 6AM class. There is something to be said for rolling out of bed, into the car and heading to the gym before you even have time to wake up. Before you know it, you are halfway through your workout and it's way too late to turn back! But, after it's over, there's nothing better than knowing that that part of your day is behind you. I guess the question is, does it make you more tired or give you more energy to get up and workout so early?

Sarah and Hiranya work hard at rope climb modifications.

Carie wall balling

Hardcore!

Workout:

"Karen"
150 Wall Balls for time

Hanging Out

Adrian Bozman of San Francisco CrossFit hangs half way up the rope without using his hands or feet! How does he do that?

Workout:

Run a 5k

Rest as needed to recover from the run. Then, do 10 rope climbs, starting on the minute, for 10 minutes. After each climb, use the remainder of each minute to rest. Try using no feet and starting at a seated position at the bottom of the rope.

Working Hard

Jacob and Ben of the Men's UCSC Water Polo Team gettin' some!

Workout:

How many rounds in 20 minutes of:
10 thrusters (men use 65 pounds, women use 45 pounds)
5 pull-ups (or 10 jumping pull-ups)
10 kettlebell swings (men use 24 kgs, women use 16 kgs)

Hard Work Pays Off

Chelsea doing Wednesday's WOD.

Chelsea has been working on her kipping pull-ups and it's starting to pay off! She did as many kippers as she could each round and then switched to jumping pull-ups. This is the best way to learn how to kip. Just keep practicing them and know that your times may decrease while you are learning how to kip. But, eventually your times will increase as you get stronger and more efficient with the kipping pull-up. It's Chelsea's week because she also began stringing together her double unders! Good job Chelsea, way to work hard!

Workout:

100 pull-ups for time

Assistance

Handstand push-ups (HSPU) are very difficult to master! And, the full range of motion is very hard to train while building up the strength, midline stability and balance to do them. Patrick of CrossFit Virginia Beach recently introduced us to a way of using long rubber bands to assist in the HSPU. They provide the perfect amount of resistance for learning this movement.

Connor in the "up" position, with his arms fully locked out.

Sean in the "down" position, with his arms bent and his head touching the floor.

Workout:

"J.T."
21-15-9
Handstand Push-Ups
Ring Dips
Push-Ups

Watch Annie Sakamoto of CrossFit Santa Cruz Central do J.T. wmv, mov