Damn glad I'm not that focus mitt...

O' tis a far, far better thing that I do now...
Thank goodness for this rest day!

Remind me to never be on the receiving end of one of Eddie's punches.

Well said, Coach.

I held the mitts and pads for Eddie and it was an honor. He hits like a truck but you would be hard pressed to find a nicer individual. We are all fortunate to have him and his kind protecting us and our loved ones.

im officially recruiting all CrossFit swimmers to do (rather than just think about) Tim Morrison's excellent workouts from the most recent Journal (36). please report to the Workout of the Day section of the Message Board.

Coach, great quote.

finally, a huge shout out to John Hackelman (if hes still hanging around here). i saw one of the UFC Unleashed episodes last night, and they gave him major credit for Chuck Liddell's success. the strike coach of the guy who knocks everyone out...youre the man, John!

Attended the grand opening of CrossFit Portland (OR.) today with three of my buds.

Just wanted to say thanks to the entire PDX crew for putting on a great event! It was full of energetic, unpretentious people who were helpful, fun and genuine.

We got to meet and spend time with Greg, Lauren and Jason, all of whom had our rapt attention as we discussed the CrossFit movement and its philosophies! We were especially awed by their passion for helping others who strive to get better than they were the day before. Their passion for sport, fitness and the health of humankind is obvious!

Thank you for an awesome experience and we look forward to participating in many more CrossFit events.

hey y'all. can someone tell me what's the beef with the sit-ups-are- bad-for- you,- do- crunches?
why are they bad, and if so why do youse do 'em in the WODs?

To answer that question you need only to read the may 2003 issue of cfj. It is explained that sit ups especially glute ham sit ups which i do almost exclusively are actually much much better than crunches for working your overall core (from the thigh just above the knee to just under your chest) which is the most important section of your body and on which all of the movements in the crossfit regimen almost focus on exclusively. An interesting side note is mentioned in the issue as well. When the military replaced the sit up with crunch in their training, a dramatic increase in overall run times were noticed. The core is of total importance in everything thing we do and if it is not trained athletic ability wanes. Im not talkin swiss balls here. The crossfit regimen of basic gymnastics, explosive lifts, and all that jazz is perfect for developing core as well as overall strength. Simply pay attention and notice the next time you do a pull up, dip, or push up how your abs and lower back contract to help you complete the movement. Get it now?

Regarding Greg's quote, what is "trumps thinking"?

Anyone know who won the UFC match between Horn and Liddell last night?

FrankF...

"doing trumps thinking": actually performing is better than sitting around theorizing endlessly. In other words...limit the amount of navel-gazing you do.

Lidell knocked Horn down four times and ended up winning by TKO.

That's one of the most profound things I've read in a while. This applies to every aspect in life: Stop reading books and trying to gain more information without testing these things in the field.

Eddie was looking mean on this day, but he has the ability to be graceful too, as I noted at the gymnastics seminar the next day. Pretty cool.

i have read almost all of the cfjs and i think it has helped me greatly in my pursuit and performance of crossfit.

reading is good...doing is good....let not one or the other consume all your energies....find balance in all things....from life to handstands

We had our first lesson with the Olypic weightlifting coach; so good to get some formal traning on those moves.

Today me and my wife did abs:

5 sets of:
15 sec. Samson stretch (x2 sides)
45 sec. sidebend dumbell (x2 sides)
60 sec. of leg lifts
60 sec. of sit-ups

20 min. of abs and approx. 500 reps

Thanks Steve72

Jeff M.,
Still waiting for you to call when you're done at Disneyland.
Oh, wait. That was supposed to be on Thursday.
I saw that comment 2 days ago. Dan will see me in Vegas because it's Vegas. How could I not go?

Soccer season has started and with it, my free time has again dwindled. Here's to rest day, warriors!

You could always not go but then you would have to bear the rath of my stupendous core-strength.

-D.

We at Ruthless Trainig Concepts/Crossfit Virginia would like to thank World Gym Manassas, The Potomac News, and the competitors themselves for a superb job at yesterdays Extreme Fitness Challenge. We raised $1000 for the American Cancer Society and introduced Crossfit to the D.C. area public. I will get pictures out as soon as I go through all of them to get the best.
Dino
Crossfit Virginia

I wish I had known..how did I miss that? I live in Orange, which is less than an hour from Manassas, about an hour and a half from DC. Shoot me an email, or I will shoot you one, I'd love to swing by sometime!

Took yesterday off; however, I did the workout that was prescribed on Saturday on Sunday. First time trying handstand pushups, it was very taxing. Great workout though. Total Time: 30:15:43

95# sandbag mile carry (80% bodyweight) - 15:48. Shuffle jogged the entire distance, never stopping or adjusting load. I need to actually jog part of the distance to make the time....the weight wasn't bad and my breathing was easy. I'll pick up the pace the next time.

Damn, Kelly! You are a machine. Good work.

Strong photo Eddie!!!

I was gone for a few days at MT and didn't have a chance to hit the regular WOD's. When I am on the road, I experiment with some bodyweight exercises that require no equipment. These are fun if you are short on time and space:

Tabata Squat x 4 minutes of HSPU. Your score is TBSQT x HSPU. On Friday my score was 21 x 50 for a grand total of 2050. (This is a spin of Coach's TBSQT x 4 minutes of muscle up's - also a great WOD.)

The second workout is: For Time - 21,15,9 reps of L/R single leg squat followed by L/R one arm push-up. My score was 9:05.

Tomorrow I will get back on track with the regular WOD's. I will start the morning off by honoring "Murph".

Greg Amundson

Great quote! Is that an original, or did you get that from someone else? I am new to the program and will be starting today! The quote was fitting because I read a lot about fitness, but fail to act...today I will start my new life as a man of action. Hopefully this website (and my crossfit buddy) will make sure I stick to it! Any advice for a newbie?

Just started last week and have been looking for something like this. Don't care for gyms. Just been surfing to keep in shape but no time lately so this is a good thing. Feel sore and tired but it's good.

I want to thank everyone who came out to the CrossFit Portland grand opening! I had a great time meeting other Crossfitters from around the area. As Joe has mentioned above, the CrossFit family really is something special, and much more than a training program.

Special thanks to Coach and Lauren for making the trip up and making all of this possible. I really also appreciate the support of everyone else from outside of the area that made the journey up or down I-5 to support us. You guys are great.

Now, after a day of recovery - time to get back at it!!

Scott Hagnas
CrossFit Portland

Joe,

Sir, it was a pleasure meeting you and your fellow LEO buddies from Virginia. I'm glad I was able to make it up there and grateful that I was able to spend some time talking with you guys. I am sincerely grateful every time I get to meet another member of the CrossFit community as it is all of you who continue to make this community one of the most cherished aspects of my life. I'm a little bummed though about one thing; we were going to go over the dynamics of the kipping pull-up with you guys before you left, but didn't get past the muscle-up. Next time. :) Remember, send Lauren an e-mail with your sizes and mailing addresses and I'll get em out asap!

Scott,

You have a truly wonderful core of CrossFiters there in Portland and they are most certainly in good hands. I'm so glad I was able to make it up there for the grand opening. You have a great setup at your facility and I fell in love with Portland. I will definitely be back up there to see you all!

Jason "J-Dog" Highbarger

Jason-

Thanks for the kind words. You are welcome here anytime!

Scott Hagnas

Joe,

I can't believe I did that! I meant to write Washington, not Virginia! My bad. Those shirts will go out this week.

Jason "J-Dog" Highbarger