Super Star

Jonji, Amy and Cara

Olympic style weightlifting is fun. For some great olympic coverage check out nbcolympics.com Both the snatch and the clean and jerk are part of our programming, and take focused practice to learn. But sometimes we need to shut the mind up and just do. Next time you need to split jerk just think...."SUPER STAR".

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Burpee Challange: 34 Burpees today.
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There will be no class this Sunday 10am- 8-17

Mr B

Jon considers the compromise

"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..." Coach Kstar

Kelly has a very well worded post about the dreaded front squat. Read the rest here.
Post thoughts to Comments.

Workout:

Run 400 meters
135 pound back squat, 30 reps
Run 400 meters
135 pound back squat, 20 reps
Run 400 meters
135 pound back squat 10 reps
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Burpee Challange: 33 Burpees today.

Straighten Up

Allison holding her mid line

Maintaining a stable mid line while performing functional movements is a theme we repeat daily. The GHD sit up is a tests of our ability to prevent a perturbance of 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.

MID LINE STABILITY-GET SOME.

-H

Workout:
6 rounds for time of:

400 meter Run
25 Hip Extension
25 GHD Sit Ups
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Burpee Challange: 32 Burpees!!!

One Among Many

Cindy among the many

Our extended family is growing. We are all very excited to welcome a new little Starrett into the world. Caroline, a.ka. "The Hammer," joined the CrossFit community on August 2nd. It seems with every additional CrossFitter out there our community becomes more united and greatly more meaningful. Here at CFSC we have adopted the SFCF rule on how to treat new athletes at our gym. The rule is this: If you walk into the gym and don't know everyone, it is your responsibility to introduce yourself and welcome them. If you happen to forget such niceties, we will remind you with 10 burpees. Congratulations to Kelly, Juliette and Georgia!

Workout: Relay

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
A: Box Jump
B: Jumping Pull Up
A: Kettlebell swing
B: Burpee
A: Push Up
B: Lunge

Only one athlete works at a time. Partner A does 21 Box jumps, then Partner B does 21 Jumping Pull ups, then Partner A does 21 Kettlebell swings..

When Partner B finishes the lunges, that athlete proceeds immediately to 18 Box jumps and becomes Partner A. The new Partner B then does 18 jumping pull ups...
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Burpee Challange: 31 Burpees!!! That will total 496 completed burpees!!!
Post your thoughts about the challange to comments.

Flexibility

Stretching together

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!!!

As the Human Envelope once said, "I'm bringin' flexi back."

-H

Workout:
Run 800 meters
45 plate squats, 21 reps
1 minute Handstand hold; no wall
Run 400 meters
41 Walking lunges
2 minutes Handstand hold; no wall

STRETCH...STRETCH...STRETCH
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Burpee Challenge: 30 Burpees

Rx'd

Leif as Rx'd

The workouts posted on CrossFit.com are for elite athletes. Simply being able to complete these workouts as prescribed is a goal in itself. What does that mean for the athlete that, for example, can't deadlift 225 pounds? Do we say, "No Diane for you". No, we scale the load. When we modify the load/reps or assist with bodyweight we preserve the stimulus of the workout while maintaining the ability to do the WODs. By scaling the loads/reps/time, we can slowly and continuously increase our fitness until we are able to do the WOD as prescribed. Believe it or not, there was a time when Leif could not complete the WODs as prescribed. He is a testament to the efficacy of CrossFit.

-H

Workout:

Run farther than you ever have before.

Post distances to comments.

Burpee Challange: 29 Burpees!

Busy Body

Brian

Brian is a busy man. He kite surfs, does Jujitsu with Garth, CrossFits 3-5 days a week, and holds down a job. Hard working individuals seem to gravitate and stick with CrossFit. While dare I say lazy people never do. There is something that connects us, the willingness to work hard. The type of person who realizes that you can't get something for nothing. Anything in life worth having takes hard work and perseverance. Bravo to Brian for keeping it all together.

-H

Workout:
Snatch
1-1-1-1-1-1

Burpee Challenge: 28 Burpees

The Game is On

Lucas and Jacob, friends and teammates, benefiting from
some friendly competition

One of the most admirable things about the CFSC 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?

Workout:
400 meter run
50 Box jumps
40 Double unders
30 Pushups
20 Kettlebell swings
10 Pull ups
400 meter run
10 Pull ups
20 Kettlebell swings
30 Push ups
40 Double unders
50 Box jumps
400 meter run

Burpee Challenge: 27 Burpees

Graduate School

Scott reaching for full extension.

If the deadlift is kindergarten and the sumo deadlift high pull is grammar school, the clean is post graduate work at Harvard. The complexities of "mastering" the clean are too numerous to mention. One extremely important part of a great clean is keeping the arms straight, as Scott demonstrates in the photo above. As Coach Burgener often says, "when the arms bend the power ends." The bar has gotten a little bit away from Scott, which is not ideal. Considering, however, that he is in the middle of a 15 rep "tap and go" clean and jerk workout at 135lbs, he is doing a nice job of maintaining integrity while pushing intensity.

-H

Each of us have things to work on in regards to the clean. What are you working on?

Workout:
5-10-15-20-25-30 Deadlift 3/4 bodyweight
30-25-20-15-10-5 Push up
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Burpee Challenge: 26 burpees today

Committed

Kara proving her commitment at 6:00am

The alarm goes off.. it's 5am...CrossFit... must go...

We often tell athletes that it is not about the absolute weight you lift, rather, it is the commitment to showing up, maintaining integrity in range of motion and doing your best. Some of our most committed, Sarah, Joyce, Deb, and Michele, just to name a few, often come to the 6am class. While some of us are just rolling out of bed or, if we're lucky, still sleeping, they are determined and ready to work. That being said, no matter what time of day, a CrossFit workout, if done with proper intensity, is never easy to complete. Why are we committed to an endeavor that will never get easier, and will continuously humble us with it's difficulty?
-H

Workout: Team workout

Three rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
60 Pistols
40 Handstand Push ups

Rules: Teams of three. All exercises are to be assisted. Partition as needed.
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Burpee Challenge: 25 burpees today. 325 to buy-in. Today is the last day to buy in.
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"We are practicing not weightlifting but commitment. Commitment spawns success. Only by redoubling our efforts do we best succeed. Expecting success to motivate our efforts is the loser's gambit."- Greg Glassman