Happy Rest Day Everyone

I'm posting a ton of pictures from my trip on my MySpace account. A million billion to be exact. Lots from the Kettlebell Cert, some from the Barbell cert, a few of me in Vegas and lots of me in Nature rock climbing and with leaves and stuff like that in Seattle. I'm wearing a Crossfit sweatshirt or t-shirt in every picture.

I'll put up a link for anyone who whats to check em out.

so with the snatches, you're supposed to drop the weight at the end right? But what do u do if its against the weight room policy (i.e. bally's). Im questioning because I hurt my wrist real bad trying to let it down easy today. To me it seems impossible with out dropping.

Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6r3x7vsNeo&NR=1

Yes, seriously that is exactly what I thought about when reading that article.

Wow, what an awesome interview on the business side of CF. Good job Coach.

DK

M/49/164
Canada's on our side with crossfit, nice plug.
REST DAY WILL BE ENJOYED.

Crossfit - The Search for Excellence. Well put.

>>

Let's see 'em!

MC

Very well done. Makes me believe I can do the same thing in life - focus on excellence and the results will come. I like that last thing Greg said - markets are unknowable, but they reward excellence. And everybody knows excellence when they see it.

absolutely fantastic interview! hats off to you coach. so proud to be involved in a tiny tiny part of your vision. the commitment to excellence is evident here every day.

Most important question:

So what was the dude's FGB score?

Canadian are way ahead of us on the path to enlightenment.

Great interview. Focus on excellence, exactly what makes Crossfit so great. Thanks for everything, Coach, you're a one of a kind.

I can only see the first 5 seconds of the video. How can I fix it?

mikeman-
there were some comments yesterday about snatch alternatives. the 'no dropping rule' sucks with olympic lifts but i have found that if you at least look like you know what you are doing, you can get away with anything. then again, you could simply walk over to the staff at your gym, TELL them what you will be doing, then let them know you are done afterwards. and if they say no, do it anyway because never in my entire life have i ever seen a gym revoke a person's membership for anything other than not paying.

Both videos were fantastic.

Rock on!

m/55/200

Are there age categories for the crossfit games?

mikeman

from one B gym guy to another, think us globo gymers just have to suck it up a bit more than the weight droppers. i've done both and bumper plates sure feel good to drop (also give a nice bounce on the deadlifts too). i guess don't let it down easy and just let the bar slam against your thighs. that be my met method. thigh bruising seems better than hurting your wrists.

Allison, post away.

I've never quite figured out why Americans always like to add the 'Canada' to statements like, "We're here in Toronto, Canada." What other Toronto is there? I've never once in my life said, "Man, it sure would be cool to go to Santa Cruz, America..."

I'm not trying to start anything here, I've just always wondered about that.

http://www.myspace.com/allison_magara

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=114571636

There are about 6 Crossfit albums. The last 4 are the most recent. I had the time of my life on the west coast last week. Check out the proof that I was in nature.

Dear Crossfit friends, I have a question for you all:

I'm in a discussion elsewhere on the benefits of Crossfit (with someone who has never done crossfit obviously). This individual refuses to believe that a training regime such as CF can have any increase in your max 1 rep weight when training specifically for this is hardly ever performed as part of our daily practices. For example, we don't do close to 1 rep max bench presses, weighted pullups, squats etc. regularly (that is, every week). Still, we get rather amazing results, and I'd like some examples from you guys, if you have any.

Therefore, I'd love it if you could back me up with statements such as "I haven't done heavy bench presses more than x times this year, and still my 1 rep max has increased with xx%".

Alternatively, if some of you guys could point to research that has been done showing that a CF approach to training has great benefit for maximum strength as well, that would be great!

Sorry, but AEI is a neocon institute that can't be trusted by truly Patriotic Americans.

Did I read that right? The Russians are selling nuclear technology to their greatest threat in order to force the US/Israel to respond and therfore discredit the US in the eyes of the international community?

A little history for perspective. The Iranian nuclear program was started by the US in the 50's during the Eisenhower administration after the CIA sponsored coup brought the US friendly but tyrannical Shah to power. It was then supported and promoted by the Nixon and Ford (Cheney as chief of staff and Rumsfeld as sec def) administrations. They didn't need to go to the Russians(Soviets)until after the 1979 counter revolution bringing the Mullahs to power.

hey guys i was just woundering is there any where in New Zealand that do crossfit. i'm moving from australia to NZ and want to join one.

Addey-
You know I was skeptical about how my lifts would respond to starting crossfit but after a few months of it I can say I am impressed. I came into the program strong, but with some weak areas in the shoulders. Crossfit balanced me out. My bench, for example pre crossfit was around 330-340 depending on what kind of day I was having. That was roughly Jan 07. In July 07 I did some flat barbell bench presses, 7 sets 1 rep around 310. After taking close to 2 months of with R and R and travel around Iraq, I could bench 320. Not bad for having done bench roughly 3 times in nearly a year. My shoulder press has improved slowly and my deadlift and olympic lifts are much better. The plus side is that on top of the strength, I can also run! As far as proof goes about regards to frequency of training... Even most bodybuilders take a few months off to get out of the gym and recover. They still make gains, steroids or no steroids. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. If your freind is skeptical, have him try it. It will answer all the "what are we going to do for chest?" questions.

@ #22

Don't forget, after the Shah was installed the Israelis and the US installed the SAVAK, the Iranian secret-police that assassinated, tortured, and terrorized anyone who dissented with the puppet-government controlled by foreigners.

And my Crossfit community:

What's up with getting two articles in a row from Neo-Conservatives on rest day? Don't you know who these guys are or what Neo-Conservatism is?

Okay. The article from today is from this Neo-Con Michael Ledeen read what he wrote in this book:

http://tinyurl.com/2yybqw

That's just scary!

The previous rest-day article was from the Weekly Standard, a Willaim Kristol editorial?! Don't you know who his father was?

Wow! I'm sorry, but I don't care what political dynamic you come from or believe, but there is nothing American about William Kristol or his Neo-Conservative ideals!

Any questions?
The Power of Nightmares:
Part I
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=881321004838285177&q=the+power+of+nightmares&total=372&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Part II
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4602171665328041876&q=the+power+of+nightmares&total=372&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3
Part III
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2081592330319789254&q=the+power+of+nightmares&total=372&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4

Coach, Lauren and to the whole CF Staff,

Superb interview by BBN and congratulations are in order as it is well deserved.

All of you should be very proud of the revolutionary business model you have created. And I didn't fully realize it until I saw the video interview. Business is going to "explode" for CrossFit, and it could not have happened to a better group of folks, who love what they do, and deliver it so well.

Applause, applause, applause!

Great interview Coach. Shock and awe at Harvard Bidness School!

Welcome to CFHQ rest days, derdy. I guess you haven't been here long, or have you not been paying attention? That's just how it is, better get used to it.

You're about to get tag-teamed by Hari's one-line questions and Barry's 10 page answers. Enjoy! ;-)

I'm so proud to be a CrossFitter. Greg leads the way in business & fitness! Thank you.

EXCELLENT interview Coach. Proud to be an affiliate!

Heinekens, in Canada? Is that even legal?

I hope the BNN broadcast gets posted. The MBA in me is eager to hear more about this business odyssey. From all I've read so far, it's a really cool story.

Have been running on mental treadmill all morning, puzzling out the one question that just eats away at my life:

WHY AM I NOT BRAVE ENOUGH TO QUIT LAWYERING AND JUST OPEN UP A CROSSFIT GYM?

money. cabbage.

I'm struggling. I've worked all of my life to get here, just got an upper level federal service lawyer job, and now I dream of not having it.

apparently, i am not very brave.

Can the interview with Coach be seen anywere?

Vince (#32), click the "Training Day" link.

#28, Ewen, writes to #25, Derdy,

"You're about to get tag-teamed by Hari's one-line questions and Barry's 10 page answers."

Is that how you would describe (10/30) #19, #33, #177, #181?

18 / F
PRT this morning... kicked my @$$. It was cold. :-(
Which isn't an excuse...
But 79 pushups, 84 situps (2 min) and 11:57 for the run. (my worst PRT run time ever). Can't really blame anything, except that I haven't adjusted to it getting cold and a bit of congestion this week. (those are BS excuses though). Whatever, something to improve on for next semester. I want to MAX at least the strength portion! (85 pushups, 101 situps) I am able to max situps if I sacrifice pushups, but I don't want to do that on the actual test (even though in the overall score situps matter the most). ARGH!

The CF Journal article on "being alive" is great! Going to my school I sometimes forget that obesity is the American epidemic for which there really is no excuse. Why should a pack of cows keep you from finding your way? (that is RIDICULOUS!)
Who needs endless TV when you can hit the gym, push some weight and see stars? Or why grimace at some show when you can take off running and push yourself till you want to fall over and your lungs burn?
What good are new years resolutions of staying in shape if you never act on it?!

How will you ever know what you're capable of if you never push your limits?
Yup, dedication to strength training and CrossFit has made me a believer in the complete value of fitness - physically & mentally. Now just making my brain push my body harder...so I can get an A on the PRT next semester. Let's beast this- 3,2,1 GO!

Hari #35

""You're about to get tag-teamed by Hari's one-line questions and Barry's 10 page answers." "

"Is that how you would describe (10/30) #19, #33, #177, #181?"

And the previous sentence was Hari's first one line question. And so it begins. :-)

spider chick

we worked extremely hard and, at least in my case, spent a lot of money getting our law degrees. hard to walk away from that commitment. opening a new business like a gym would be intimidating because you might not have a revenue stream for a while. i wouldn't beat yourself up too much. every lawyer i know goes through times when they wish they were doing something else. maybe you could be a trainer on the side and build up a client base before you dumped your day job pumped a bunch of money into a gym. i'm sure people would latch on to you enthusiasm like crazy.

derdy (#25): Welcome to rest day.

Did you know that The Weekly Standard is owned by News Corporation which is run by Rupert Murdoch? He's really scary. Boo!

Try TinyURL.com for your mega long URLs. If they get long enough they break the formatting on the page.

I have a question about lympedema and exercise. Can anyone provide guidance?

My wife has been an exerciser/weight trainer (not crossfitter) for some time. She recently has been diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (very small outside the duct 1.4 mm). She actually had two surgeries. The first was just a lumpectomy (when they thought the cancer was non invasive) the second was to take out additional margin and a sentinel node biopsy after the original biopsy of the original "lump" showed the cancer outside the duct. The second surgery also included partial lymph node extraction. In total 4 clumps of nodes that turned out to be actually 9 nodes were extracted.

Here is the thing. Even though her doctor had said she can do anything she feels like doing, people have been telling her to be very, very careful not to injure her arm. One person even told her that weight lifting caused his wife to get lymphedema. So she is actually scared to exercise.

Comments?

Spider Chick #32

Agreed, being a lawyer can sure suck at times. The longer I work as a lawyer, the more I consider doing other things. (Dream job: Build guitars all day, play gigs all night.) Where there's a will, there's a way.

I know nothing about starting a CF affiliate, but compared to a lot of businesses, I would imagine the initial outlay is pretty tame. Is there anyone in your area who can form a partnership with you? You can have some partners who kick in money, others who contribute sweat, and others who do a bit of both.

It's possible if you want to do it. Plan the work, work the plan.

Is there a link where I can watch the entire BNN interview?

CaptainVictory,
If you're surprised that Heineken is available in Canada you should give yourself a treat and come visit your neighbour to the north and see what else we've got. Possibly in the spring, we wouldn't want you to catch cold.

Spider Chick, I don't believe we have ever talked, but I might suggest you doing some Personal Training out of that web you have. That way you can try both head to head.

In my case I don't really want to run a business, rather teach and have a cool gym besides CCT. So I have purposefully kept it small.

From Chaos come Clarity....

Nik #41

Actually, I used to live in the Great White North. I was in Toronto, in the Don Mills area. I learned to place ice hockey there. I played left wing (which is ironic if you knew my politics) and was the team's alternate captain (yes, even Americans can play hockey once in a while).

It's been a long time, but I still remember it fondly (eh).

Cheers,

--Rob

Here's the BNN video clip:

http://broadband.bnn.ca/?vid=21430

It's about 7:00 long, and focuses mainly on the business of CF (I haven't watched the CF video of the interview, so I don't know how much overlap that there is).

AL

Michael Ledeen's article pushes a very serious subject that many of our compadres on the left seem to convieniently forget. Everyone is angling.

When Russia, Germany, and Francesay they did not want to clear out Saddam's regime, they did so out of SELF interest. $$$

Nothing new there. Yet, as admirable as the left finds that, America should not do this or we would be empirialists.

Perhaps Hari does not need to pose more than a question.

I would note that I am "all in" on this one.

This one also smells like a one that will bring out J.G.

From Chaos come Clarity...

Allan #44

Wow, thanks for the link. In the immortal words of Jeff Spicoli, "Awesome!"

Thanks scott and ken! My buddy was doing them just fine and so was I but I kept having trouble bringing the weight down. But then on the 9th lift I hurt my wrist pretty bad. It seemed like I pulled my hand out its socket. Im prolly out for awhile...
Next time? Im dropping the damn thing

what a great interview coach glassman!!! spells out the crossfit philosophy and what this community is all about! just outstanding!!

m/33/176 182 days since CF, Columbus Ohio

6 months

#32, Spider Chick,

Money is like carbs. It's really hard to cut back. At least when we eat too much, the undesirable results are outwardly obvious. But when we pursue money and status at the expense of our happiness, people tell us we're successful.

Coach,

The beauty in your thinking--and this is something I strive for myself--is your constant effort at simplification without reduction. What matters, and what doesn't matter? How can we do more of the first, and less or none of the latter?

There is as well a clearly implied moral clarity in privileging the outcomes you are generating in others, over monetary gain for yourself and your family. You appeared to almost be feeling a need to justify that, in that busineess oriented interview, in claiming that an IPO would limit growth.

I don't buy it. You don't want your baby to be raised by strangers, and I wholly admire and support you in that sentiment.

M/22/6'1"185

A Saturday Fight Gone Bad
Rd. 1 112
Rd. 2 118
Rd. 3 118
Total: 348
At least I'm consistant
Haven't had a chance to see the interview or read the article. I'll do it when I'm done guttering, snow season's coming

I have a problem with part of the basic thesis of the argument:

“Direct attack is not your way; you prefer cunning. You'd rather have someone else do your dirty work for you. Someone like Israel, or better yet, the United States. And best of all would be to get the Americans to do it in such a way that the whole world condemns them for it.”

The author assumes that Putin values seeing the US denounced as much as he values eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat, but is pursuing a strategy that may result in neither. Looking at this from a game-theory perspective, there are four possible outcomes, which the author seems to believe Putin values from best to worst as follows:

Iranian Nuke Program Destroyed and US Denounced
Iranian Nuke Program Destroyed and US Not Denounced
Iranian Nuke Program Survives and US Denounced
Iranian Nuke Program Survives and US Not Denounced

Standard strategy dictates that when the stakes are high, pursuing only the top objective is risky, because if you fail you end up in the worst possible situation. Thus I see the author as offering little more than conjecture.

I agree with Joey (#46) that everyone is acting out of their own self interest (combined with their own limitations). It is not clear to me whether Putin is acting in a manner he perceives as best for Russia or best for Putin, or whether he even distinguishes a difference.

At least with Bush, I am confident that he places US interests over his own. Whether he has made the best moves is, of course, a matter for debate. But I am doubtful that all but the most partisan would argue that Bush places his own interests above those of the country.

I worry that our next president may not place the country above himself or herself, and if Putin is counting on the US knocking out Iranian nukes, he should be worried too.

Darn I can't watch the video with Coach. I think it's because I have a mac. Let me know if there is another way I can see it.

I'm subscribing to the journal when I'm finished writing this post.

I'm going for round 2 with the Zone today. I lasted 5 minutes the last time. I'm going to start by shopping for Zone friendly foods and then just eyeball it for a few days. After a few days I'll get more exact with the measuring.
I eat WAY too much. I hope that getting rid of a few pounds will get me closer to that MU and a few more pull-ups.
Wish me luck... again

AllisonNYC - last pic under trips? guess crossfit pays in more ways than one.

Never thought I'd see the day when I ran a 5k of my own volition, but that day has arrived.

25:42, one of my better times, and I could probably have shaved another couple minutes if I wanted to push it. But, I didn't.

Followed with bench press 5*5.

Allison, I'm sure you get the monthly CFJ. I'd suggest following Coach and just measure from the beginning. (Video on this in the CFJ).

#52 Barry-

Thanks for pointing this out. We're doing a bunch of "lean" stuff at work right now to eliminate waste. Only do what matters to the customer or what you have to do for regulatory reasons. It gives us a powerful stick to wield against the small-minded people who just want to create unnecessary bureaucracy so they can justify their continued employment. Seeing Crossfit in this light helps tie things together for me. Thanks for the epiphany.

I have a different take on your interpretation of Coach's assertion that an IPO would limit growth. While I think there may be an element of "I'm not giving our community to those jackals!", I think it's more practical than that.
Without putting words in Coach's mouth, here's how it played out in my mind the second he said it: "Well, all the MBAs and PhD's and highly educated people in the world haven't been able to come up with anything as effective as Crossfit, and the big appeal is that it's cheap, effective, and decentralized, so we're onto something really special here. An IPO would mean a Board of Directors, and it would mean shareholder accountability, and that would mean short sighted, for-profit-only thinking. That would screw up the formula royally, and limit growth by making the program more expensive or less effective. We want to do neither, and are growing just fine thank you very much, so an IPO is the last thing we need right now."

Either way, I applaud the sentiment. I can't imagine how sad it would be to see CrossFIT sell out and go all corporate and Body for LIFE on us. *shudder*

CrossFit has a soul. The beers in the hands of the gentlemen in the counter-interview spell that out to the uninitiated.

I keep thinking about that Seinfeld episode:

JERRY: (sits next to Sidra on the couch) So, where were we?
SIDRA: I was just leaving.
JERRY: Right, you were leaving.
SIDRA: I can't believe you sent a woman into the sauna to do that!
JERRY: That was an accident!
SIDRA: I think you're both mentally ill. (leaves, then opens the door again.) ......... And by the way...they're real, and they're spectacular.

Off to shovel some dirt on rest day!!! :)

Spider Chick - Go for it. My wife and I started a magazine with no money. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge. What really decided it for us was that we didn't want to be in our nineties or more (the long life is where we hope CF will help) and saying, "Gee, we really should have started that magazine. I think we could have made it a success. Why didn't we do it 50 years ago"? We didn't want to have those kinds of regrets. We would rather have tried it and failed than not to have tried at all. You can always recover from failure but there is no recovery from not trying.

No wonder Canadians seem more laid back: Heineken post-workout

Hi everyone. I'm sorry some of you can't see the video from the Crossfit site, but try going to the source at www.bnn.ca. About three-quarters of the way down the middle column, you'll find the video and you should be able to watch it from there. I have a Mac too, AllisonNYC, and I have no problem so it should be working for you. Try the BNN site.

When we aired the piece for the first time Friday, there was an instant response from a few people of the "I'm still sweating..." or "CrossFit looks amazing..." variety.

Many thanks, again, to Coach and Lauren for letting us talk about the business during a very busy CrossFit business day. Eva T basically spearheaded the whole thing from the CrossFit end, making sure Coach got on the plane and didn't swear his way through the interview. Thanks Eva.

It was great to meet Nicole, Tony and the rest of the CrossFit team, and John at CrossFit Toronto was a terrific host.

Oh, and as for my pathetic FGB score, I reckon my scoring partner missed dozens of reps, somehow. He must have. At least I hope so. I really really do.

More better faster

Hey Spider Chick - if you want to open that gym in Chicago and you're looking for a partner, let me know. I just started work at a law firm here, and I totally understand what you're going through.

28/f/107

playing catch up

Friday:

Isabel

55# snatches 5:30 (1 min better then last time and 10lbs heavier!)

Front squats:

95-95-105-105-95

front squats always hurt my vastis medialis (sp?) so went light and i feel ok today!

pre: CFWUx2
post: 2x40 feet handstand walks

Saturday:

Diane

135lbs deadlift
HSPU against wall top of head to floor

5:59 (keep getting progressivly slower! augh)

my shoulder are sore from isabel and i think from the handstand walks which made HSPU BRUTAL!

now back to moving...AMRAP in 5 hours of moving boxes.

40/m/178 or thereabouts

did "Isabel" today to catch up...

My snatch technique is not great. I know I was not dropping aggressively enough under the bar. On the few times that I DID, it was amazing how smooth and fluid the movement was, and how much less effort.

Last time 105# in 7:28
Today: 110# in 7:13

Re: Canada....Isn't that just USA "lite"?
Haha...don't get bent Canadians, just kidding, you guys have some great hockey and MMA fighters, and .....and.....scenery...

#40 ud7man,
My girlfriend and I participate in a "Cancer WellFit" program here in Denver. We work with cancer patients and take them through structured, 10-week exercise programs focused primarily on stretching, mind-body exercises and resistance training. Here is some information related to your wife's particular situation that may prove helpful. It is taken directly from the manual written by the creators of this program. For more information, you can visit www.cancerwellfit.com (w/f safe). Certainly, I would trust her physician first and foremost and for someone to claim that exercise, specifically resistance training, caused lymphedema seems counterintuitive.

Here are some excerpts:
Lumpectomy: There are no known limitations or contraindications related to exercise. Depending upon the type of surgery your exercise participant has had will possibly determine the types of exercise you will avoid at the onset. With a woman who has had breast cancer the first and foremost activity which one should begin with is ROM of the affected side. Once this ROM has been almost completely reestablished one should begin light weight training or callisthenic activities. Advancement in weight training is very individualized and must be assessed on a regular basis. When returning to weighted activity, the participant should try working through their entire range of motion with light resistance (weights). Resistive bands may be used at the onset if one is worried about potential complications.

Lymphedema: Since exercise (weight training) causes muscular contraction – it is a wonderful means of using the body’s own mechanical system (muscles) to help minimize and often avoid lymphedema (swelling) complications. The recommended exercise protocol includes: tennis ball squeezes, forearm curls, ROM work for the shoulder girdle, tai chi/qi gong/yoga, light resistance training and aerobic crosstraining. It is recommended that ballistic and isometric movements are avoided.

A highly recommended form of exercise is rebounding (bouncing on a trampoline).

Hope that is helpful. Please let me know if I can provide anything further and best wishes to you and your family.

Re: Dropping Weights/not dropping weights

I don't have bumper plates either, and it adds to the difficulty to not be able to drop the weight, particularly on the snatch, since you have a wide grip while the weight is overhead.

Did someone say "just drop it on your thighs?" wow...really? 135# from overhead to your thighs? sounds painful. Here's what I do:

When I finish the lift I just do a slight upward thrust and bring my hands to a narrower grip then I just lower it back to the ground. It is definitely more time consuming and tedious, but it works fine for me, and I have all iron weight, and I have had no problem doing it that way. Might be worth a try...

Great comments from Coach, Marty and John.
The pursuit of excellence breeds excellence.

What's up with the Affiliate Blog?

Allison: There is a piece of software called Flip4Mac that will allow your Mac to play Windows Media like the BBN video. You can get it from Microsoft here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx

The "freedom" scholar at the American Enterprise Institute! Now that's some funny stuff...Love the always terrifying, 'they're out breeding us!' argument as well.

nadia

AMRAP?

Coach,

Great interview. I totally agree that if you provide excellence in service and or product, the growth and money will come. The trick is not to go bankrupt while going through a period of growth(new location, expansion, more equipment). Grow too fast and quality slips and you lose market share and backslide, grow too slow and you stagnate.

Also,one thing I have learned in 4 yrs or running our own business is to never "bad mouth" your competitors, even when you learn that they are "dissing" your business and your character. What I have found this occurs when your competitors are losing market share to you.

Just Smile and wave and keep on keepin' on

Coach-
Great interview! I can't say it enough, thanks for everything.
I will read the article later when I have more time.

Tim Hamilton-
That is what I do to lower the weight down too, although I am not pushing the same amounts!

Kate

I love that they're drinkin' beers after the workout... love our Canadian brothers! Crossfitters are hard core!

Seriously though, great interview guys!

Ken C-

AMRAP (as many reps/rounds as possible) :-)

Greg / Tony,

Excellent work on the interviews. Keep it up.

Tim Hamilton

Re: Canada

And lots of Oil.

Ask Gaucoin. He's right in the middle of it.

Decided to do some apft improvement so hopefully I can hit a 300 apft without having to walk (I have a heart problem or something another undergoing testing still, I max it with the walk)so I can add more promotion points.

Warmup:
stretches
Burpees 2x10
knee to elbows 2x10

Decided to do: 5 times
Run 400 meters
25 pullups
25 pushups
25 situps
25 squats

cooldown:
lunges-3x15
stretches

This is the sweatiest I have been in a while did it outside with my headphones on.

I workout hard due to the fact that if they can't find what's wrong with me besides the heart stuff with my carotid they will likely accuse me of malingering or something knowing them. So for myself I continue to exercise and pt myself. Hopefully the doctors can figure out exactly what is wrong and fix it (Besides my carotid stuff 20-30% stenosis) but that don't explain my in ability to properly breath or my right arm numbness or shaking at times.

#40 - ud7man
My wife had breast cancer, a lumpectomy, lymph nodes removed, chemo and radiotherapy and watching her go through all that sucked enormously. Now she gets mild lymphedema at times.
Despite that, she trains, which is a new thing for her, unlike your wife's situation. Not Crossfit, yet :-), and wears a compression sleeve while she does. My theory and that of her trainer is that overall training is helping her. She doesn't seem to get lymphedema when she's doing day to day activities any more, only when she trains and forgets to wear her sleeve.
dmarsh is in a much better position to advise on it than I am, but having heard all the horror stories, and seen my wife train, get cuts, knocks and have all manner of things that aren't supposed to happen to that arm, I'd say get a couple of good support sleeves (they stretch a little and get sweaty) and get on with life. Just monitor what happens.
Getting those sleeves on used to be a two person wrestling match and I belted her in the face a couple of times when my grip slipped. I wasn't popular, but we laughed about it.
Email me if I can help at all.

#23 - lee klein,
We don't have an affiliate here in New Zealand yet. I think about it all the time, see whiney explanation below.
I train at home in Papakura, South Auckland, there is a guy training at a commercial gym on the North Shore of Auckland and two training at a commercial gym in Christchurch. Where are you moving to and when? I can get in touch with the people I know of and see if they'd welcome company, email me if you want to discuss it.
If there are any others training in NZ, I'd be interested in hearing from you. I seem to be accidentally building an informal register that could be useful in situations like this.

Lots of numbers - AllisonNYC,
Great photos, great interview, great sense of humour. You're quite the lady of the moment. :-)

And #32 - Spiderchick,
I have a similar problem. At the moment I'm paid relatively well to do a job I'm good at in the IT industry and frequently need to work odd hours to get things done. I haven't been able to figure out a way to make running an affiliate work with that.
When it comes down to it, I'm just scared too.

AllisonNYC,

You would be surprised how much you can eat on the "Zone". I have been doing it pretty strict for about 4 months, lost 15 lbs. I am a bit bored right now, I eat the same stuff over and over. This boredum can cause me to eat stuff I should not, like "mike and ike" candies, "laughie taffy" or "peanut m&m's". However, I dont find myself going for the burgers, pizza or french fries. I guess a bit of sugar here and there is better then the bad fats from the fried food. What I crave is cheap sugar candies. Be strict during the week, and have a nice dinner out (or two) on the weekends. Good luck.

nadia

thanks for the new acronym. great job on the snatches and whatever a vastis medialis is, hope yours is ok.

Wow, i watched about five minutes of the power of nightmares and was shocked. The reason international terrorism remains a nightmare and not a reality for most Americans is because we do a decent job of keeping it off our soil.

As a US Marine fortunate enough to spend time both in Afghanistan and Iraq, I've had ample time to immerse myself in the cultures of two types of Arab folk, mainly the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, and Sunni-Arab Iraqis. Through my interactions with these people, I've heard many times how disappointed they are with American lifestyles. What they know of America they've heard and seen through movies, radical news networks such as Al-Jazeera, As-Sahab, and more. The typical Iraqi views a typical American as vulgar, selfish, vain, and immoral. On the other side of things, Americans probably view the typical Arab as a possible terrorist, violent, dirty, and disrespectful of women. In all cases, with friends I have made in my travels, we have proven each other to be wrong. I dispel the myth of the vulgar, self-centered American by genuinely being interested in helping them be more stable and safe. And they in turn show hospitality and respect us as guests in their homes, even when we are uninvited.

The problem I see is the prior establishment of these personas by the international community upon one another, and the lack of exposure of the common people to the culture of other peoples.

So I guess in some parts I concur with the statements about the problem of neoconservatism, although I readily admit that it is a new concept to me and I am unfamiliar with their views, and in some parts I must disagree with the idea that they have cultured a state of fear based on "a fantasy" of terrorism. It's very real, just a little bit less of a threat to the common American.

I always try to stay out of political conversations as it is my job to enforce policy, not make it, but the opening of that piece perturbed me. There are some interesting facts to be gleaned from it, however the narrator seems to project his own ideas and opinions in a manner that suggests they are anything but fact. I also have a bit of a pet peeve about speaking from anything but first-hand knowledge. I liken it to a virgin teaching a sex-ed class. Doesn't make sense, does it?

BTW, great to see some Mac users out there. My powerbook made it through two combat deployments, and outlasted all other laptops that anyone brought with them.

CrossFit is now course material in the Combat Conditioning Specialist Course, and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor Course. Way to go, Coach.

Great interview, really nice to see some well-produced mainstream coverage of what's going on here. This is important stuff. Good work on that guys. Coach, I'll be using this quote "Markets are unknowable; though they do reward excellence, and excellence is obvious to everyone." ~ Coach Glassman, BNN News Interview

Gold.

Out of cycle again, did a harder version of something from four months ago in about the same time.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
60kg cleans (from the ground, full squat)
incline parallette pushups (feet at about 5')
ring pullups

27:40, + pain (arms, interior elbows, and surprisingly, some in my quads)

And Hari, comment #51 - well said

Interesting article, but the author seems to forget that the US supplied weapons to the mujahadeen in Afghanistan and a little incident called the Iran-Contra Affair, so our hands aren't exactly clean in this situation either.

As a person without strong political leanings I rather enjoy the rest day articles. While I sometimes do not agree, I find them interesting food for thought. Keep them coming.

As for this article, it may as well be called "Offensive Information Warfare 101: Low technology attacks against your opponents decision making process". This is neither new nor news IMHO but it does provide a nice example of what all governments are doing.

//Rich

PS. Anyone that has an interest in Russia's high tech IW capabilities should take a look at the Cyber Attack on Estonia. Google will turn up some nice public information.

some musings for today:

Why we gotta be all negative about international politics all the time? Maybe Putin's thinking:
"Gee, my population is aging & shrinking. We have all these wacky muslim neighbours that used to be soviets. The Americans sure seem to hate them. We're quite different culturally, but what the heck. What's wrong with a little cultural diversity? Why can't we all get along? To heck with destroying regimes, I'm gonna help them out. Peace love dope. Now off to bomb more Chechnyans."

Isabel yesterday: first lifetime snatch ever, only used 65# and had to dump the bar twice! Ha. Simple on paper, impossible in life. Crossfit strikes again.

Working all day tomorrow, so decided to use today for a little "Nancy".

Previous best was 20:28 scaled with 55lb OHS.

Today-- 18 minutes flat with 75lb OHS.

Feeling good. Next time as rx'd.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Playing 'catch up'.... really just slacked off for a couple days

Today: with running clock, do 1 pull up in first minute, 2 in second, etc.
Got to 13, and they were all negatives at that point. Could have done more if I could have kipped, but I'm at home and the bar is mounted in a door frame of an old farm house - kipping might take a wall out, or maybe the house.
Then did 100 double unders for time - 2:00!
arms are good and dead.
Flying back to Kingston tomorrow... wonder what security would think if I started climbing around Pearson Airport :)

As for problems with Iran, I call it job security! j/k

Saturday AM Class

A strength + Running Day
3-3-3 Power Cleans
Run 1600M
3-3-3 Push Press

Puppies run 800M, and if you have not had privates, use dumbells for the lifts. No other modifications allowed.

I did 65/85/105 on the Power Cleans and 85-85-95-100 on Push Press.

PR's in both those lifts.

#20 Addey

As a testament to the way CF works, here are my PRs from my only 3 1RM deadlifts:

4/9/07 - 225 lb
7/26/07 - 280 lb
9/30/07 - 295 lb

I'm a 138lb, 20yo male.

Day 22 IR

Run 5K

25:29 (PR by 2 min.)

I STILL hate running...

Isabel
55#
5:22

Comment #84 - k9thatbites

"I guess a bit of sugar here and there is better then the bad fats from the fried food."

The zone explains that sugar is worse for you than even fried foods. Fat is not bad....sugar is. It's better to eat those burgers (sans bun)than eating a handful of M&M's. Fat is insulin neutral, whereas sugar is well...sugar.

Just my two worth.

Very interesting article on Putin. Playing "Risk" for real with global consequences. At times like this, I've admired the Russians ability to NOT have freedom of the press and to have to run everything through an incompetent Congressional body. But then I shake myself awake and realize that for all of our warts, we are the last best hope on the planet! I just hope Isreal takes out the Iranian reactor in the next 12 months.

26 yom 6'2" 155#

95# 50x hang power clean with push press
50x pullups

13:42

To play the BNN interview on a Mac try downloading this plug-in
http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv_download.htm I have a mac and the video worked fine for me.

CaptainVictory, sorry I doubted you. You're still invited to visit anytime,
Nik

See below for an article that honors Murph. Written by a friend who paraphrased Steve Martin from "The Jerk" when he said of himself "I'm on the internet, I'm somebody now!" Jeremy Clark, a law student at Villanova and formerly a fellow Infantryman, has gotten it right! Enjoy.

http://www.firstthings.com/

Oh, and for today:

20 x Overhead squats @ 95#
20 x Glute-ham developers (GHD)
20 x Hang cleans @95#
20 x Knees to elbows (KTE)
20 x Push press @ 95#
20 x GHDs
20 x Front squats @ 95#
20 x KTE
20 x (2-count) Russian twists @ 25#
100 x 1-arm KB swings @ 53# KB (50 each arm)

28/m/210

24:40

Nik #98

Thanks for the invite. I must say I was honestly surprised to see Heinekens in the video, vice Molsons or Labatts.

I see from your sig line that you're 28, which is funny because you weren't born when I lived in Toronto. Would I be out of line to say "Welcome to Canada"? :-)

All the best,

--Rob

This article just brings to light how complex this situation is, but it's only this complex because of one thing: moral relativism. People fail to believe that there is right, and there is wrong. And on top of that, even if they do believe there is right and wrong, they believe that if we pander to the wrong side, they'll do good acts and leave us alone. Unfortunately, they also don't believe that God told us "You will know a tree by the fruit that it bears. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit".

And so when someone like Ronald Reagan or George Bush steps up to the plate and says "We win, they lose", everyone freaks out and calls him a warmonger. Then they call him an evil man (all of a sudden they believe in good and evil again...)

It's plainly obvious to everyone, people are going to take advantage of our political situation. And so when the appeasers (mostly on the left, but the right has its fair share as well) start spouting their mouths off with their "we should just leave them alone" bit, the rest of the world says "hm... we can get rid of these fundamentalist fanataics, AND not have to pay a price for it" And so they do.

Fortunately however, we've got good friends and allies like England and Australia who say "right is right", and stand beside us in doing the right thing. They knew they'd pay a price for it, but they did it anyhow.

30/M/185

Deadlifts
405x5
Singles at 425, 455, 475
All done on thickbar

Practiced Pistols and HSPU

Worked the snatch today at the house with the bumpers and pendlay bar. Hitting an 80s party tonight bc I missed Halloween. I'm going as richard simmons (thx CF). Tomorrow linking up with CCTJOEY in Louisville get in a workout.

For those talking about the "Zone"...I have been on it for about 2 weeks and I often find myself struggling to put down all the food. Granted I am a 5 block guy (23 total blocks daily). I'm not looking to lose weight or anything, just trying to eat more healthily.
Cheers

Did 'Isabel' from yesterday (just couldn't with achin' back friday)
5@15#bar, 5@25#, 5@30, 5@35,5#45
13:14min
Left side is very week, these are hard.

Hey peeps- Thanks for the advice on the Zone.

Olympic Lifting Practice today at Lost Battallion-

Worked on my snatch- only got up to about 70# but was working on technique. Got better the heavier the weight got but walked away with a bruise on my hip. I was told to put sponges in my pants. hahaha

Lots of clean and jerks at 103. I didn't know I was using so much. I thought it was like 88. They're coming along. Still not perfect but I like working on them.

I'm having a problem--
My Olympic Lifting Coach is insisting that I do high bar squats and doesn't want me deadlifting. This doesn't make sense to me especially after the barbell cert. I really only go there because I wanted extra help with the C&J and the snatch but feel bad not doing what he tells me. I tried to explain why I should do it our way but he said I'm wrong. Is there anyway I can convince him that I should keep doing the low bar squat or should I just do HB while I'm there and LB while Crossfitting?

I don't want to unlearn everything Rip taught me.

HELP

I think he's as stubborn as I am.

"Forging elite fitness" + Heineken= oxymoron Maybe a post workout glass of H2O? Maybe a protein shake? Maybe some Veggies and eggs? Just my thoughts.

Canada will always be #1!
That said it ceases to amaze me that considering our pop. is around 30 million, The US is around 300 million and yet there is so much open, seemingly untouched land down there! I love travelling through the states! If i had the coin I'd take a trip a month to see it all. My ex and I went to Seattle recently and toured the state....amazing. I Will return. Pikes market place was Top Drwaer!

oh
WOD
Went up stairs a couple of times...a bit of ab work getting off the couch... eating a lot..as usual
time: still goin
25 6'5" 250

Just closed on my first home-haven't worked out in two days and I couldn't stand it anymore. I did my first tabata workout (3rd week of CF).

Tabata This-Hotel Room Edition:
pushups: 6
squats: 13
situps: 10

Score: 29

I'll do this again in a month or two and see what happens.

AllisonNYC-

You're paying him right? Tell him to shove it and send him to crossfit.com

re # 105: Allison, a lot of people have that issue in all sports. My experience is with speedskating, where my primary coach (besides the club coach) is Susan Ellis, the 2002 Olympic short track coach. Sometimes (rarely actually, she's pretty good) someone will do something different from what she teaches, and they'll explain it to her on why they do it that way and why it works for them, and she'll say "ok".

Now, she teaches a lot of things that are different from other "common wisdom" sources. People drive or fly in from all across the country to come to her clinics, and then they have to go back to their home club with their main coach. She tells people that you've got to know why you're doing things a certain way, and be able to listen to your coach's side when he/she disagrees, and then rationally explain why you want to do it differently. Most of the time a coach will listen and say "ok", but sometimes a coach will be hardheaded and not listen even if you say "No dude, the sky is blue". If that's the case, you've got to decide to go along with your coach's way, or just say "ok coach, I'll work on it" and continue doing it your way.

Rush... there isn't more untouched land in the States than in Canada. It just seems like that because the people in Canada are much more clumped than in the States. Wander off the beaten path slightly in Canada and there's plenty of wilderness.

Allison,

as #113 said, many coaches have many different takes on how to do things. but...what's your coach's reason as to why you shouldn't deadlift? eliminating such a great lift would be a mistake. from what i can tell, you're interested in broad/general fitness, not specializing in any particular lift. make that known to him/her, if you haven't do so already.

Nik
I definitely have! Coast to coast and as far north as the road goes!

@ #28 Ewin

Yes, I'm new here and adamentally paying attention! I'm looking forward to lively discussion and I'm sure there will be an abdundance of that!

@ #54 Hari

Hello, nice to have your aquaintence!

I would not speculate on the thought process of a man that is determined to reshape the Middle East and on killing as many Arabs, Persians, and Muslims as possible in the process. Ledeen is a nutcase. Let him go fight his own war against the Muslims. He is has anti-American values, American values being that which our founders exhibited and encouraged! He is a forthing at the mouth, rabid-Neo-Conservative. Why worry about what thoughts or words he puts in Putin's head? Why are we analyzing a nutcases editorial as if it were the edict of God passed on high? He is an Adolf Hitler of our time; promoting Democracy through militarism and conquest! What a joke this man is! Didn't the Nazis profess a greater race and peace through world conquest?!

Given this, I will not address your speculations and analysis of his thoughts on Putin: it's a waste of time!

I agree with your comment that individual nation-states are acting w/i their own self-interest, but does that justify our own? hardly not! As I've pointed out in previous posts, the CIA murdering, torturing and terrorizing civilian populations for a corporation are the exact opposite of what our founders and Constitution stand for!

Part II coming up... I think I may get cut off

continued with Hari @ #54

Ah, Bush. The best subject of all. Which one should I start with. His father? Himself? Or, how about his grandaddy who was prosecuted under the Trading with the Enemy Act for doing business with Nazi Germany! Ouch!

Yes, so George Bush doesn't put America's interests above his own! I got a great laugh from that as you might imagine (or not)!

So, how was it in America's best intersest to pass the Patriot Act; the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which got rid of habeus corpus and allows the government to imprison us forever on our Presidents word; signed America onto the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (aka the North American Union) an extension of NAFTA (effe you Bill Clinton); outing Valerie Plame, a CIA Agent, which is a federal offense; passing the John Warner Defense National Authorization Act, which allows the President to federalize the National Guard over governer's objections; how about National Directive 51 in which if the President declares an emergency arising from something as insignificant as an overseas event, he declare that the Congress and judiciary don't matter?!!!

All these things and MORE! It's not only George Bush, but it's the Presidents following him! This is a change in policy, in government, in the rule of law and most Americans are so afraid of the Osama boogeyman hiding under their bed that they have no idea that our own government has been eroding the freedoms our founders gave their life for! Wake up America!

#117, #118, Derdy,

Between these two posts and #177 on 10/30, you've clearly outlined your thinking and done so a great personal risk. I realize that the CIA may be planning to capture, torture, and imprison you for the rest of your life, if they haven't gotten you already. But I'm confident from #177 on 10/30 that you will survive:

"I've stacked up on my gold and silver long ago as well as my MRE's, ammo and bug out kit and locations."

You've really opened my eyes. Good lucky, Derdy. Please check in from time to time, when you think it's safe.

Derdy,

I'm curious. The purpose of the Rest Day Discusions are, ideally, to say intelligent things we have not said before. Through the help of the input of others, to think new thoughts, and generate new sytheses.

In your own self estimate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you think your rant added to this discussion? 1 is you subtracted from it considerably, 10 is you added to it considerably.

I will add a following question: in what respect is your ability to utter such verbiage not a prima facie falsification of your comparison of Bush with Hitler? Please just let me know if you are unable to understand the question. I can use smaller words.

Strong -man and Wise-man, this is Chaos 1

Understand you are TIC. Chaos 1 'Tally' target... In from The Chaos Compound in approximately 2+ hours. Continue suppression of DIMPI. Will use your impacts as the mark. I'll be FAC-A. Expect combined/sequential with myself and Rocket-man when he checks on. Remain this freq.

Ordinance: The Truth
Playtime remaining: 36h
Abort Code: N/A this mission

Chaos 1 will cordinate with KingPin for additional fast movers. Will be off the net for coordination and additional tasking.

Derdy, lets break it down

Prescott Bush- Please provide documentation he was prosecuted under the Enemy Act for helping Nazi Germany.

POTUS.

Please provide the name of the person who 'outed' Valarie Plame and what federal law was broken.

Could you please define a Neo-Conservative?

Please Explain how the Military Commissions Act of 2006 got rid of Habius Corpus.

How did POTUS pass the Patriot Act?

John Warner Defense National Authorization Act...you can thank Louisianna and state Govenors for this one becuase of Katrina. They wanted the Feds to take charge..so the feds are taking charge.

National Directive 51...The president has always been able to declare a National Emergency..The Congress still has to fund it. This just declares that an event that happens overseas can now be included and that the DEPT of Homeland Security has the primary role of defining scope and level of response.

How do you feel about Ron Paul?

50-Squats
21-Pull-ups
21-Bench Dips
21-Hang Power Cleans (65lb)
3 Rounds

23:04

I wanted to say something about the article. I think Ledeen's tone was just a bit too conspiratorial, and I think he's giving the Russians a bit too much credit. I think they need money, and Iran is paying them. They had a credit issue a while back, but as near as I've followed it, I think they have it worked out.

Putin has no strong reason to assume that we will take out the Iranians. I could see us bombing them, possibly, but not invading. He may be hoping that if they get nukes, they use them on Israel and the US first. That would be plausible too, and would explain the kissing up.

Overall, I think his scenario is much too nuanced to fit a nation built on vodka. Putin is not dumb, but even in the Cold War I think all the smart stuff came out of East Germany.

Did Jackie in 8:50 today.

M/25/5'8"/160

Made up a work out today. Way harder than I though it would be.

run down, up driveway- 100 yds 70 degree incline
45 pullups
driveway
45 burpees- pushup, jump up touch 10 ft rim
driveway
45 squats holding 2 cindr blocks
driveway
30 pullups
driveway
30 burpees
driveway
30 squats
driveway
15 pullups
driveway
15 burpees
driveway
15squats
driveway

Tookd me 38 minutes. justin- 44 min, shain- 48 min