Can someone tell me whether the sub for muscle-ups is 4 pull ups and 4 regular dips or 4 ring dips? Thanks.

You guys were inspiring...and Jon looks great in a dress!

No rest for me, doubling up runs with the back squats. Then I can rest.

Bagging on the media...gotta love it.

26 yom 6'2" 155#

Did this early today just forgot to post.
Back Squat: 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 215, 215

Post workout: 32 pullups

#1 I believe if you're subbing ring MUs it's 4 PU and 4 ring dips and if you're subbing bar MUs it's 4 PU and 4 bar dips. If you have access to rings I would use those. I have never tried a ring MU and I can't do a bar MU so I just do my MU subs with PU and bar dips. I hope someone else has better info on this but I thought I would add my 2 cents!!

Yeah, I love the bagging on the media...there needs to be more of it. I'm wondering why the vast majority of journalists aren't on strike with the Hollywood writers. They both have been engaging in unoriginal, uncreative, biased fiction that slanders the military, the U.S., and all Americans in order to advance their own agenda. The NRO had a recent satirical article on the Hollywood strike that would equally apply to most of the media.

Is there a guy in the video wearing a skirt? As a kilt still has a regular shirt to it.

The media makes money from sensationalism. If they lost money on it they wouldn't do it. When money and fame come in, integrity and commonsense often go out.

Ah, so we finally got to see this dude in a dress that we've been hearing about.

Hilarioius vid. No rest for me either. Gonna do Pat's workout and then 150 wallballs. This is amazing, for a while there I was spending all my time catching up on workouts, and now I'm on track, plus adding a few. Lovin' CrossFit, livin' the dream.

#6 jdubapotheose, yeah i agree, and some of the first article i totally agree with.
"I'm not sure it's always good to grow up surrounded by stability, immersed in affluence, and having had it drummed into you that you are entitled to be a member of the next leadership class. To have this background in the modern era is to come from a ghetto, the luckiest ghetto in the world, a golden ghetto beyond whose walls it can be hard to see. There's much to be said for suffering, for being on the outside or the bottom, for having to have fought yourself up and through. It can leave you grounded. It can give you real knowledge not only of the world and of other men but of yourself. In some ways it can leave you less cynical. (Not everything comes down to money.) And in some ways it leaves you just cynical enough."

I have a thought about this...about maturity and growing up.

100-80 years ago men/women were mature and making 'adult'decisions by the time they were 10-13

50 years ago they were 15-16

20 years ago 18

and now 23+, that's how long it takes, we are told it's 'o.k.' to be imature, to get back to our childhood...we are STIL IN THAT CHILDHOOD, grow up, some people need to grow up.

Take for example that soldier, who i am proud of for continueing to serve in Iraq, why did he write that loathsome piece? For childish attention, he like so many of his and MY generation need to grow up.....A LOT.

Age:19
Weight:165
Name:Trevor Thompson

Umm...Is the short haired 'lady' a
'Cross(fit) Dresser?'
P.S. Thank you camera person for staying to the side.

Not that Jon looks any better, but I'm glad Anthony and Jody didn't lose this one.
Children watch these videos and Anthony in a dress could scar them permanently.

Lookin' good Jon!!!!!

looks like a nice workout... don't think the dress would be too comfortable though!

hitting up 'nasty girls' tomorrow, been slacking off for far too long.

Lookin good Jon! Go EC!

been a while. . .

Noonan: accurate observation, i think, but i'm not sure the golden ghettos are a result of stability, affluence, and the (resultant) sense of entitlement. surely a society rich and stable will encourage and ensure, to the best of its ability, that its progeny is at least as rich and stable. these characteristics themselves do not turn prosperous cities into gilded cages. so what does? sloth, to offer my first impression. an effect of wealth and stability that she overlooks.

Yon: yes, i like Yon; and have been schooled first-hand by the Rule of Second Chances (IAW FM 3-666 "Fundamentals of SNAFU"). Poignant, straightforward, and well-written.

Steyn: not nearly as straightforward as Yon, and therefore feels . . . slimey. would probably have a good point if he weren't trying to slip in extreneous, ineffectual. . . propaganda?

M/49/164
Did my own combo today, 3rds
20 handstand pushups
50 hyperextions
50 situps
50 wall balls 14lbs
30minutes
45min spinn class
spent.
REST ON WED

Media is like fitness. One needs broad, general and inclusive sources.

Thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. I am not the religous type, but whatever it was Shoe pulled thru the first 24 hrs and has a brighter prognosis. He will not be sent to Germany until he is alittle more stable. They think he might make a full recovery minus quite a few pieces of OEM. Thanks all.
Semper Fi
Chris

Hey I am brand new to crossfit and I wanted to know on a day like today should I only have done the back squats and nothing else, afterwards I didn't feel like I got my heart rate up so I did some cardio, is this good/bad? Should I do only what the WOD is? Also is there a specific crossfit warm-up to do?

Is that dude wearing a dress? What is this cross fit or cross dress?

#18

You can do some more stuff, but believe me after say 2 weeks of the 3(on)-1(off) schedual you'll understand that those of us that add stuff to the workouts (not including the Crossfit Warm-up) do so cautiously and for reasons that tend to go with goals i.e. bike riding siwmming for triathletes, or skill practice for skill sports, extra calisthenics for military guys.

Chris

great news! keep us posted. help me out with the acronyms. OEM?

Hi all,

I am into my third/fourth CF week but, am starting to get very bored training alone.

Any ideas on CF in Australia? I live on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Are there any Aussies reading these posts that can help me out?!

no rest today;
Pull-ups
push-ups
sit-ups
wall-ball
25 reps each for 10 min,then did some sprints

CrossFit is great but my jeans don't fit anymore. My legs are getting too big!

Great job by everyone in the vid.

Just a question to throw out there: What is a true "knee to elbow"? I aways figured it should be from a free hang, but what about kipping? We kip when we do pull-ups, so why not kip when we do K2E's?

I always control the lowering of the legs back down to the hang. If I don't, my body gets swinging all over the place.

Just like HSPU's, I look to you all for the final definitive answer on what is "rx'd"!

good job everyone

cool to see Anthony and Jody in a video!

#17 Chris

Good news and my prayers are still with him.

Chris # 17 -- good to hear that he's looking better, hope he pulls through as well as can be expected.

Ken #21, my guess is OEM is slang for Original Equipment from the Manufacturer (i.e. stuff he was born with).

my name has my stats now yay.
so i finished this about an hr and a half ago but i got food so here goes:

wu: run 1 mile
stretch
a few leg drills

400m x 4rds for time:
1:20
1:44
1:53
1:45

total w/rests-12:45
almost puked on every sprint, it was bad.

back squats:
60lbs x3
65lbs x1
75lbs x1
85lbs x1
95lbs x2
105lbs x2

hurts so good

M/23 210/6'4"

squat snatch singles: 65 kg
kipping pull-up ladder: 12 min., 11 unbroken

Great statement here: "Fantasy is a by-product of security..."

#4
Typical of the left whenever their position is questioned. Instead of addressing the issues discussed with genuine facts or intelligent reasoning they just change the subject. DT you simply let us know you were amused by us folks who question what certain media outlets pass off as truth. Why don't you explain to us why and how the STB b.s. was lapped up so eagerly by The New Republic without any real fact checking.

LTC George Glaze! Wow! It seems like yesterday that it was CPT Glaze. Now that I think about it it was 1994 when I was his RTO. LTC Glaze is a great soldier and leader. I often credit him with motivating me to stay in the Army and going on to serve with the 3rd Ranger Battalion and the 1st Special Forces Group. I was a disgruntled mechanized infantryman (rode around in Bradley Fighting Vehicles) stationed at Ft Riley, Kansas who was about to leave the Army for good. CPT Glaze arrived and showed me what being an infantryman was all about. His professionalism, his work ethic, and his compassion for his Joes really made an impression on me.

I can definitely see LTC Glaze giving a young soldier, who made a mistake, like Scott Thomas Beauchamp an honest second chance.

pathetic once again...can't seem to get going with the squats..never have.
225-245-275-305x1-225x3

Lookin' good Anthony, Jodi, EC and Jon! CrossFit Fredericton kicked ass!! Although the Beantown crew is pretty freakin' strong, too. Good work all of you.

AL

The levels CF stoops to, to get a discussion about 'cross-dressing' on a rest day. ;)

That WOD demo looks like it destroys your core.

Any ideas for rest day activities? How about supplementation(I sound like a broken record w/ this question)?

I think I am going to do some oly practicing

Love that article. I did my year in Iraq, and my lovely bride was at home reading similar stories written about guys lighting up schoolkids and running down stray dogs. People who want to hear that stuff have no problem believing that there is no actual rank structure or oversight, finding it more entertaining to believe that soldiers/sailors/marines/airmen are a bunch of autonomous loose cannons.
On the flip side, all I and my buddies did was wake up every day and resolve that we weren't going to get killed that day; we didn't have any sense that we were protecting the freedoms of anyone. The guys out there putting it all on the line rarely get the information necessary to understand the larger mission, and it's not surprising if it all snowballs and somebody DOES snap and do some crazy stuff.
It's all an unfortunate situation of people not fully understanding the position others are being placed in, and that goes in every direction, not just from the media to the soldiers.
I just wish it all would end so everybody could come home and have a beer together.

Nice WOD video ... Jon, looking good enough for the CrossFit calendar!!

that video was great.. perfect start to my day!

GREAT VIDEO!

It was awesome seeing all you in Toronto. Great job on the video. No one likes Knees to elbows!!

Thanks, now I've got Aerosmiths "dude looks like a lady" running through my head.

Still catching up, about a week behind on WODs.

2 crossfit beauties (EC and Jodi) on the video today and the only comments are about the guy in the dress - it was pretty funny!

#1 4 pullups and 4 regular (bar dips)

#18 In the FAQ section, 1.8 "official" crossfit warmup

3 rounds of 10-15 reps of
Samson Stretch (do the Samson Stretch once each round for 15-30 seconds)
Overhead Squat with broomstick
Sit-up
Back-extension
Pull-up
Dip
Note that for a workout that's dip or pullup-centric, you might want to do something else in the warmup.

#38 Funny comment! If Jon is added to the calender, it might deter my purchase (and probably other guys, too)!

Baghdad Diaries? I just returned from Iraq a month ago. It doesn't happen the way that soldier was decribing. Morbid humor is a fact--making jokes about getting hit with IEDs and finding dead bodies is a fact--it helps us deal with it. And there are stray dogs everywhere, some of which get killed and run over (that happens in America, too).
But some people feel the need to look tough, and to impress their friends back home. They imbellish the truth and try to make it sound like some sort of Vietnam war movie with a low budget.

I was wondering if anyone can answer this question. I started crossfit about 3 months ago after doing about 3 years of weight training. I really enjoy doing crossfit and my WOD times have improved a lot since i started . However, ever since i started doing crossfit my lower back has been extremely sore almost everyday. I realize that i have been doing lifts im not used to, i.e. deadlift, cleans, jerks, ect. I know my form is not great but I doubt i should be hurting this much. if anything, i figured after 3 months my lower back would be much stronger and feel great. anybody have any advice? should i just start lowering the weight and working on form, or should i take a break from those lifts all together? By the way, 25 yrs old, 6'4", 225

What do you mean? I *love* knees to elbows!

Here is a question.....

If the workout calls for a dress, is it not as Rx'd if you dont wear it.

Are we going to start seeing workouts with dress, skirt or halter top for men?

I mean we do wear a weat vest!

Hmmmmmmm.

#45, B: Sounds like you're due for a 12th week hiatus. And yes, lack of good form when coupled with your strength may have caused a low back strain. After your layoff, scale the loads back and focus on good form. Get yourself a copy of Starting Strength, get to a CF or Oly lifting cert. Good luck.

#45 I agree fully with John Wopat....Scale the weight until you can do the prescribed number of reps and sets with good form. Basically it is super important to create a good foundation to your olympics lifts rather than injure yourself.

My brother messed up his back bad...I think it was from doing stuff in Afganistan and what-not...he says it was deadlifts. Obviously everyone wants to try to push the envelope but is it worth injuring yourself, possibly, for the rest of your life??

WU:
10 weighted dips(50lbs)
3 weighted chin-ups (50lbs)

Run 10K 43:58

CD: 10 L-sit chin-ups
10 dips

Freddy C.

I had the same thought re: knees to elbows. I do them from a dead hang without letting my feet touch the ground or a box or anything, and avoid any swinging.
I've never tried to kip them, but that's probably just because K2E happens to be something I'm good at so I haven't felt the need to modify it. I might just try it though and see what it feels like.
By the way Freddy, I always look to your times and performances as a benchmark for me to shoot for, since I'm 40 and weigh about 180. I have the utmost respect for the work ethic and athleticism of MMA fighters. I can't recall a single workout where I was able to surpass you dammit. Great work.

Since it's a rest day thought I would share the workout that me and my MMA team (Auburn Free Style Fight) are doing on Sundays at my house. It's long and it's hard, and some people say it's more of a gym jones type workout but I say isn't gym jones crossfit anyway? To me it fills like doing three WODS at once and I defiantly have my least favorite exercises (such as the sled pull and the tire flips). Last Sunday a couple of the guys meet my pal pukie for the first time... any feed back welcome. I've been meaning to film it but so far all I've done is taken some pics.

MOMO-RUSS WORKOUT
For time: somtimes... Average time is around 38min not counting the jog

400 warm-up jog

Area 1
50 Walking lunge steps
100yrd pood 1 1/2 kb (55ibs) farmers walk
100yrd sled pull
100yrd 75ibs sandbag
50yrd power wheel walk (Lifelines power wheel attaches to your feet walk on hands)

Area 2
50 Sledge hammers hit (I like to alternate every hit, but however)
25 tire flips
50 tire jumps, in and out of the tire (so two jumps per flip)

Area 3
20 Pull-ups
20 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows

Mixers
35 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
30 Sit-ups
30 push-ups (on the parletts)
20 Hang squat cleans, 95pds
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball (usally use a partner to throw back an forth)
50 shot Breadbasket drill on the tire plus 5 hard shots at the end

3 Rope climb ascents

400 cool down jog

After a little breather we'll do some MMA drills....

Anyone catch the ESPN segment on Parkour this morning? The guy had a Primal Fitness t-shirt on. It was a great segment and I got a kick out of the lady who tried to argue that it was not a sport.

Today's reading brilliantly exposes main stream media's biases and its wish to turn our troops into My Lai murderers. And it's not only print media; check out "In the Valley of Elah" for some real propaganda. On second thought, don't subsidize the lies. I was, however, struck by the Iraq vet's post earlier, just wishing that it would be over and we all could have a beer together. Look, as noble as we believe ourselves to be and as decent as our troops are, we're still a foreign occupier. I don't expect that we'll just march off to the airport and disappear (we're still in Germany 62 years later), but at some point we need to get our guys off the streets and let the Iraqis run their own show. I can't think of a political benchmark that would enable a military drawdown (Malaki re-elected!), but it does seem that the surge has been successful if I can believe what I've read so perhaps the Administration can use that as a basis for restructuring our committment on the ground. Let's not forget the real bad guys are still in the Afgan/Pakistan border region and it looks increasingly like Pakistan may slide into chaotic civil war, making Iraq appear to be a job best left half finished so the US can respond to hotter and nastier problems.

#45 B

Ditto on the previous 2 replies. I might add that being 6'4" makes it especially important for you to have solid technique before moving up in weight. I used to train a guy that was tall and kinda thin, and we always had to focus on his alignment, chest up, weight on heels, knees tracking over toes, and not caving in, etc...
You also have to identify the source of pain, and whether you feel it's muscle soreness or injury related. If it's as severe as it sounds, taking one week off and then going back at it is not going to help at all. I would scale back the weight AND the range of motion, AND the volume, ie reps/sets if you have to. Take care of yourself and be cautious.

Speaking of Dostoevsky, "the Brothers Karamazov" is worth the investment. a murder mystery plot, an exploration of virtues, dramatic love triangles, religion and existentialism (whatever that is...)

at the beginning, the Russian names may seem a bit hard to follow, but that's gone after 50 pages. Since it's a mystery, I'd recommend skipping any introduction.

A couple people have commented on being tall and having to work extra hard on technique. I am 6'2 have always found the real straight forward lifts like bench and squat difficult, but oly lifts have come much easier. Anyone else on the same page?

good effort in keeping the dress from ripping to shreds on the DLs....nice bet

Chris,
glad to hear he will make a recovery. The "minus a few pieces OEM" quote...is that referring to him or his AC?

The Rest Day articles..

In reading Noonan's article I find the most significance in her closing. When the media does not throw the "BS flag" when they see something fishy, and they do not do so because it meets an aim or objective we have all lost a little something.
"1984" seemed a real possibility in 1984, but who woulda thought that the watchdog would become (or at least try to) Big Brother.

"And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"

Yon:
Second chances certainly do need to be passed on. I'll give the kid some credit for wanting to "make it right". I will not, however, excuse him for his actions.

Using Noonan's logic on "the rising generation of professionals" applied to 'us working class folk' it is easy for me to see how easily and willingly a soldier, Beauchamp, betrayed his brothers-in-arms. It is not just the elite that have "viewed more life than they lived". Beauchamp, though an adult citizen serving abroad in the GWOT, probably saw this as his escape from the "groundhog day" of an extended deployment to Iraq. He did not consider the gravity of his actions until it blew up in his face.

Noonan's article can examine how easily the New Republic used his betrayal for their own purposes, but it is Yon's that is more poignant. Beauchamp did his part in creating a circus, but his second chance gives him an opportunity to regain the trust and respect of those around him....considering his circumstance that is probably a huge life experience.

Mark Steyn:
I disagree....I actually think we all should compare everything in life to Deliverance....as long as I don't have to be 'Bobby'.

-J

those are three of the best looking girls i have ever seen!

B (#46),
not knowing, but you probably gave yourself the answer "my form is not the best"...Id look there.

...."Starting Strength"...an excellent resource. You would be doing yourself a favor by getting it.

M/22/6'1"/185

Barbell Complex today:
3 rounds
10 reps each exercise
135#

Sumo DL Hi-Pull
Snatch
Overhead Squat
Good Morning
Thruster
RDL
Bent Over Row

13:22

Maybe I should've just taken the day off

28/f/107

still catching up:

back squats:

135-145-155-155(f)-155(f)-150-145

pre: 100 single unders: 0:41 + mod CFWUx2
post: HSPU practice

about 10lbs off PR. Just couldn't get it together. one of my fellow trainers wanted to 'watch me squat' aka check my form, came over and said i was going 3-4 inches past parallel. she means well but went on and on about how it is bad for your knees and will overwork your calves. I try to explain why we squat below parallel but i think some people just will never get it, and i guess that's ok- to each their own. I'm just happy to know im actually getting low enough.

Chris #19- fantastic news!

nice video today. I too would like to hear more thoughts on kipping KTE.

Re: Beauchamp
Sweet fact checking New Republic...not.
Glad the kid's BC gave him an opportunity to experience what he was writing about first hand. I would like to see another blog written by Beauchamp after seeing what Baghdad is actually like...

Re: My broke ass
Time for a break for me...popped a hammy this morning. Did a mile warm up before sprints this morning (below 30 F). Apparently not enough. Gonna nurse it for a few days.
Cheers

#27/Freddy C, glad you asked. I looked at the guy that was putting his feet down in between reps - that makes KTE much easier, but I wondered if it would be legit in the CF Games?

Paul

thanks for the advice, ill probably take a couple weeks off from certain exercises and evenutally just lower the weight and work on form

What do you do on rest days?

Been doing crossfit about 1 month now. I notice that I tend to feel most energetic on rest days, and really want to work out. But when I give into that temptation, then I'm fried before the start of the next cycle.

I was wondering what some of the more experienced people do on the off days: Practice form? Light calesthenics? Watch Family Guy reruns and munch cheezits?

As Prescribed

275
285
300
315
325
335 (failed)
275

First time I've ever tried for 1 rep max on squat. I'm looking forward to see how I improve

The ladies look great in this photo - but I'm not so sure about the one in the dress.

Maybe if he wore a darker one, something that matched his colors better...

Did anyone get a glimpse at Jon's panties during his K2E's? =P

Hi all,

Is anyone aware of someone in the Boston area that is proficient in the Combat Swimmer Stroke? Thanks for your time.

Best,

J

Jon, EC, and Jodi: what can I say, it was an honor to train with three beautiful ladies!

Hey Tim, thanks for the compliment! I'll be looking for your times from now on.

Don't you wish we had discovered Crossfit when we were in our 20's? All those wasted years in 24 Hour Fitness. My hats off to the guys and gals posting times who are in their 50's and 60's. So inspirational!

Somebody posted a navy seals edition of crossfit yesterday. I dont see any difference only that they do 6 days a week straight and take sunday off. Is that the only difference?

M-33-5'8"-185

Back Squat Rxd 135x5 (warm up)
245,245,245,295,300,335 First time past 300

I've been doing crossfit for about 2.5months. I come from a background of weight lifting/body building. My core strength and stamina have greatly increased with cross-fit. This is by far the best fitness program out there.

I read the comments everyday and enjoy the political comments, especially when they go directly against my gun carrying, sheep dog supporting, pro United States of America, God fearing beliefs. It gets me fired up for a good workout.

God bless the USA, our soldiers, police, firemen and other warriors that make our way of life possible.

41yo/f/162#
swam 2500 52:23
Julie P~Congrats on your induction into the ski/snowboarders hall of fame and into the CFSM(Cross Fit soccer moms)

Day 3 of my lost bet:

400 meter sled (tire) pull w/ 45 lbs. 6:50

Brutal

#58 Leslie - Being 6'3, I hear where you're coming from. I find the squat fairly difficult. May have something to do with my tight hamstrings. I sometimes place smaller weights under my heels when doing squatting exercises.

In Vancouver, we have always done kipping Knees to Elbows for the same justifications as the Kipping pullups. The rule we go by are feet hanging off the ground to knees touching the elbows to body fully outstretched. The key to connecting “kipping” knees to elbows efficiently is rather than doing a full incurve/outcurve, push your hands into the bar to create that distance behind the bar and then come down straight underneath the bar (keeping your back straight and never letting it curve in front of the bar) using your core strength to immediately press your hands back into the bar to go right into the next one, kind of hard to explain but this way you do not have to re-set the kip at the bottom of each set and can just rack them off.

Kind of a cool workout though. How were the weights for the deadlifts determined?

RE: Beauchamp

Assuiming that his diaries were falsified, exaggerated, etc... I don't think that anyone of imortance will be found to defend his actions. There is nothing there to reasonably defend.

I caution, though, against extrapolating what amounts to an insignificant incident that received very little attention into a broad behavioral pattern in the new media.

This story received very little exposure simply because it was so fantastic. The major media outlets tend to dismiss these types of stories on those grounds alone. Truthfully, this story circulated mainly between the New Republic and critics of the article... In my mind this sais nothing more about mainstream media outlets than that they are not as likely to be duped as some would assume.

Zach

Big Saaarge_26m_6'0_190;

Beachamp knows why the sky is blue so theres no need to get haughty about making him see what the city life is about because he's been there since last october. knowing the facts IS important though...

# 27 Freddy c

There was a video awhile back on the WOD page showing KtE variations, what is acceptable and what is not. I looked all over for it and then found it is the new demo on the exercises page. If you haven't looked there in a while check it out, I think it gives a good idea of what a legit KtE is.

Thanks a bunch Vince. Usually I go the FAQ's to answer all my questions. I can't open the file on this laptop, but I will check it later today at home.

Kelly- do you think you can film your kip K2E and post it on youtube or something so I can check it out?

Dude, you've got to lay off the betting!

Great video, and great job everyone at CF Toronto! Am going to give this WOD a try tomorrow since today is a rest day.

Maybe it is harder than it looks, but I am not afraid of this one, well, not yet anyway. I don't have a problem with k2e, although I don't love doing them, and a 315 deadlift is certainly a challenge, but only 5 is very doable.

I don't know. I underestimated a WOD long ago and learned a valuable lesson. Or did I? lol!

We'll find out tomorrow I guess!

Hope all is well everywhere with everyone!!

~J~

~Train Hard or Stay the F$#@ Home!~

#74

The Navyseals.com WOD takes into consideration the needs of teh community they serve, i.e. they have swimming as a mainstay of their workouts, long distance running, calisthenics, and Military PT type workouts; whereas Crossfit uses anything and everything to get to the heart of working out and GPP.

Crossfit is awesome. I have set new PR in everything, have gained 6lbs, and my waist has gone down a waist size. When we did our physical for the tact team last month the rest of the guys were asking what I have been doing cause I totally blew em away on the pull ups.

Just wanted to comment that I did 1.5 Pull ups with 91lbs of weight attached today. Also was able to get 15 pull ups with 36lbs! That combined with KB swings and dead lifts I am tanked but excited about my max being achieved today.

6'4''/210/30/M

While that well-written article by the very unfortunately named Peggy Noonan was born of the best intentions, it was, unfortunately, uninformed. I have just finished a fourteen month stint in Iraq, ranging all three corners of the Sunni Triangle, or better known as "The Triangle of Death." I am an airborne infantryman, and I have been in more than my share of firefights. My point, after too much self-justification: everything that you can possibly imagine soldiers doing, no matter how macabre, has probably happened.

Playing catch with a zip-loc bag full of the remains of a thwarted suicide car bomber, making kids fight over an MRE (food); the list could go on.

Just know that while it is terribly fashionable to be anti-conservative (and therefore anti-war) these days, not everything you here is a lie.

Tabata:
KB swings 30lb
Push Press 40lb
Lunges 40lb
Sit ups

Did not eat yet today. Shakey to say the least now.

Thanks Coach, great piece to get my head going this AM. I like all three of those writers quite a lot.

I wish I could pass along my impressions of the young Soldiers I met/worked with in Iraq last year. They are kids, like I was, like you were, who must have done some stuff that will make them cringe with regret at some point in their lives. But their desire to get it right, to meet the standards of professionalism they were tasked to meet, to overcome the challenges to morale - they were an inspiration. From the guys we 'hooahh'ed' going into the chow hall every day, to the E-3s and E-4s I just made time to visit with when possible - they were great Americans. We don't know how great we have it when it comes to that generation of kids. I hope mine grow up to be as good.

Steyn's is the most thought provoking for me - does economics trump all or is culture the monolith that shapes the interactions of the immigrants to the natives? I think that's an issue he posited. He takes the current fragmentation of Brit society as the ‘case closed’ evidence that immigration is incompatible with retention of cultural values – but fails to note there are structural reasons why those immigrants have yet to integrate with their adopted homelands.

Friedman posited that the socialized state made open borders untenable due to the obvious conflict of the citizens supporting for the less productive uneducated immigrants taking more from the state than they were providing in productivity gains.

A missing element in all the debates about immigration is – why do immigrants now behave differently than (US) immigrants in the past? Presumably, the immigrants of past generations could perceive that integration into the existing culture would result in personal benefit. That begs the question – what have we done to the playing field that results in immigrants thinking it is no longer in their interest to integrate? Why does assimilation and integration not appear to be a winning strategy? Are the immigrants different culturally than in the past, or are the ‘rules’ of the game different now, or both?

I'm for open borders, but no social entitlements to non-citizens (full disclosure - I'm for no social entitlements to anyone, for many reasons, far too much to summarize here).

A missing element is a salient system of incentives powerful enough to make immigrants want to meet the standards for citizenship, not just show up, make money, send that money elsewhere, and leave until the next season. Or worse still, show up, move into an area of like-speaking immigrants, not learn the language, not adopt the cultural norms, and then form a political coalition to make our nation adapt to them – including their distain for the rule of law – as many perceive the current US situation to be.

Always the question to me is how to find the third answer – the one that benefits the citizenry AND the immigrants, both of whom need each other.

There is one group that will just have to take their lumps – that’s the Americans who have grown up with the opportunities this nation offers but can’t provide more productivity (output per dollar of employment cost) than an immigrant. The current system of rules undermines this group by requiring that we pay them minimum wage, FICA, etc, whereas the illegal can work for cash. If that advantage of not playing by the rules were removed – screw ‘em if they can’t hack it.

I can almost never write well enough not to open another can of worms – but that last paragraph also begs for more dialogue at the national level. How much is the current fuss about immigration directly tied to unintended consequences of the welfare state, and other rotten govt interventions (such as the minimum wage)? I think ‘quite a lot.’

Nice workout!

I feel bad for the dress. . . =)

Dual Testimonial
Part 1
Took a PT test yesterday and continued to improve directly due to Crossfit. Maxed pushups and situps with the highest number of reps I have ever done in 18 years in the Army and ran the fastest I have run since I was 27 years old.
Part 2
I am integrating Crossfit into my battalion PT program. We conducted the "Chad Grinder" in CFJ on Friday as a squad PT competition. The battalion completely came alive. The competitors gave it their all and each of the seven companies cheered their squads on. This event exceeded my expectations for both PT and for strengthening the chain of command. Based on the success of the event, my company commanders are starting to get it.

Thanks Crossfit!!!

Pat-
I tried your workout from yesterday's video. Did it this morning but had to scale back to 95#. I have a refreshed respect now, went back and watched the video again and really appreciated it a lot more this time. Great workout! Gonna do it again next chance I get, but with 115.

Appoloswabbie-
Sir, dittos to your comment that minimum wage is a rotten govt intervention. There's no real competition for minimum wage jobs, they're easy to get and it takes away any incentive for doing your job well. (If you get fired from Wendy's you walk down the street and get the same job at McDonalds) The lack of motivation and incentive is directly reflected by poor customer service (often). An employer should be allowed to pay whatever he wants. If the pay isn't good enough, he will go out of business because he won't have employees. If the pay is too high, he will go out of business because he's operating in the red. It's up to the individual employer to find that balance, not the govt.

no problem Freddy c

and yeah, how I wish I'd have been doing something like this in my younger days too. Been CF'ing for one year now and turning 41 on Saturday. Hoping for an absolutely ferocious WOD to celebrate with. Bring it coach!

Apolloswabbie - that is a big can of worms now opened. I agree that social entitlements just end up weakening and destroying the morale of those who are supposed to benefit. Entitlement itself is a bad concept - we only deserve that which we can work and sacrifice for ourselves. Have you ever met a trust fund kid you really liked and respected? I haven't.

On the immigrant issue: What are the 'structural reasons' that are impeding immigrants integration into brit. society you refer to? I want to understand what you mean completely, and I am biting my tongue while I await explanation.

lisaq - Thanks! It was a great honor and I am now going to Crossfit myself into better athleticism than I ever had before. I was just a baby athlete before. Crossfit will make it all real now.

Loved the Noonan editorial. kids today learn how to go fishing by the 5 disc box set, and the rocket rod fishing rod (launches the lure out automatically). We are laughable.

OOORAH!
Apolloswabbie

Sounds like that soldier in the article was immature and likely has some personal problems going on at home.

Nevertheless, "some things" he claims are true are obviously exxagerated. The basic point, from three years of experience in Iraq, is that servicemembers sometimes do things in Iraq they'd never ever want to be caught on film doing, or have their mother see.

I have seen first hand what some soldiers believe they can get away with. Haditha and Abu Ghraib were horrible and unreal, but also extreme. However, as many servicemembers who go outside the wire can attest, we see things fellow servicemembers do that pinch our "moral compass."

I personally had to restrain soldiers from doing who knows what to a man whose home was near an car bob explsion that hit our 4 humvee convoy, but was not involved with the blast... I have had to DEMAND a company commander take an 8 year old girl who was wounded by a shotgun blast during a early morning raid despite his initial protestations she was a combat casualty and not our responsibility.

Fact: Servicemembers are not immune to making poor moral decisions just because we wear the red,white and blue flag on our shoulders

FACT: We have by far and away the best training in the world and provide the most humane treatment to people we encounter in a combat zone

FACT: Every day servicemebers ride that "moral compass" of ethics, some ride it better than others.

Not really a rest day for me, as I had PT mandated (but not enforced, so I guess it's just me wanting to improve.... right!?!?)

I did some skills & drills today:
50 dips,
50 pull-ups,
50 (total) supported pistols (holding onto squat rack),
25 kipping HSPU's (head going down onto a folded up gymnastics mat, so about 6-8 inches of support…. I would love to be able to get it down to ground level, but that will be a long time coming),
and 50 burpees.

Work the weaknesses, and the strengths will follow (I hope).

AL

Comment #46 - Posted by B

I bet your hips and hamstrings are tight. Surprisingly, this can effect your lower back. Extra care there, I found this alleviated some of my stiff lower back pain.

I also use to use the squat rack with a top shelf setting for the oly bar. I would use this stand for assisted HSPU. I found myself pushing to much and doing this awkward cheat by pulling too much with the ankles. Very sloppy HSPU... This aggravated my lower back as well.

30 yom, 5'10", 178#

Did the Back Squats today...can't wait to improve!

115, 135, 155, 165, 185, 185, 195(failed)

Did the "two minute defense" WOD today coming off of shoulder rest. Tried to start at the big boy weight of 135, and got the first set of 5 rounds done in 6:05, but had to drop down on the second set of 5 rounds to 95 lbs in 7:12 for a total time (with 2 minute rest) of 13:17 total. I am wiped out, that was a GREAT WOD.

Hub, thanks:

"An employer should be allowed to pay whatever he wants. If the pay isn't good enough, he will go out of business because he won't have employees. If the pay is too high, he will go out of business because he's operating in the red. It's up to the individual employer to find that balance, not the govt."

I've never seen it put any clearer than that. Paul

nadia keep rockin it! you'll get that poundage back and then some in no time i'm sure. great time on your "Nasty Girls" btw :-D

Behind, Nasty Girls with 4 pulls, 4 dips for each MU: 17:51.

400's tonight, Squats with tomorrow's WOD.

Freddy,

I'll see if there is someone in the gym tonight to tape and I'll send you the link!

5 rounds of 1 clean, 3 hang squat cleans, 2 split jerks, 200ft sprint
2 min. rest
Repeat

10:11

Whats with all the beer, is it ok to drank and workout?

Apolloswabbie wrote: "That begs the question – what have we done to the playing field that results in immigrants thinking it is no longer in their interest to integrate? Why does assimilation and integration not appear to be a winning strategy? Are the immigrants different culturally than in the past, or are the ‘rules’ of the game different now, or both?"

I think it is a good question(s) to ask. We may never know all the answers unless someone from the inside (one of the immigrants) offers to shed some light on the subject. All I can add is my viewpoint from living along-side some of these immigrants while growing up. The government here in Minnesota has bent over backwards to allow the Hmongs and the Somalis (the two most prominent immigrations to my section of the Twin Cities in the last 30 years) to get by without learning English. If I remember correctly, Minnesota has to have every government document it puts out published in 7 different languages. They also provide and force many service industries to provide interpretors. And that is just the language barrier. There is also the government housing projects and the government services that are targeted at this population only. And then you have the government types openly stating that the immigrants need to preserve their culture for the sake of diversity. My take on it is that the government makes it very easy for them to get by without having to work hard to do anything, especially assimilate into the culture here. I think if you go back far enough, there just weren't any government programs that took care of these special minorities and the immigrants had to make it on their own or they wouldn't make it.

Though given enough time, the 2nd or 3rd generation seems to start to become a much bigger part of the productive society. I know the Hmongs, having come here in the late 70's and 80's now are a big part of the community and it is the relative new-comer Somalis that seem out of place.

My .02
I hope I didn't drift too far away from the point...

"Complete equality isn't compatible with democracy, but it is with totalitarianism. After all the only way to ensure the equality of the slothful, the inept and the immoral is to suppress everyone else” – Iain Benson

“A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away” – Barry Goldwater

Hub I agree your statement about minimum wage.

One of the problems is there are now generations of people that believe it is the government's responsibility to provide every aspect of a person's life ie: food, housing, clothes, medical, and so on. There are plenty of politicians willing to promise these things. I'm not against society helping a person when they're down but when it becomes a way of life for a person to be taken care of by sucking off of the government it has to stop. Sink or swim.

In regards to immigration- I fully support LEGAL immigration to this great country of opportunity. I do not support Illegal immigration. Most illegal immigrants come for one thing, to make money to send it back to their home country. I don’t blame the Illegals for doing so, if put in their shoes I might do the same. I do blame our government for allowing it to so easily happen. As a nation, we have borders and established rules for entry into this country. Try illegally crossing into some other country and see what happens. A lot of people say Americans won’t do the jobs illegals do. Do away with welfare and entitlements for the able-bodied US citizens and you would have a very large willing or not so willing work force. Sink or swim.

Did squats from yesterday:
55-65-75-85-95-105-115 (pr by 35#)all in #
Worked on pull-ups, did many unassisted with major jumping so I don't know if I'm doing any good?

Did squats from yesterday:
55-65-75-85-95-105-115 (pr by 35#)all in #
Worked on pull-ups, did many unassisted with major jumping so I don't know if I'm doing any good?

#96/Bornusa: well put, good perspective, thanks.

Comment #94 - Posted by Julie Parisien:
On the immigrant issue: What are the 'structural reasons' that are impeding immigrants integration into brit. society you refer to? I want to understand what you mean completely, and I am biting my tongue while I await explanation.

I hate when people actually read what I write!

Structural as in - the relative difficulty of movement upward/sideways etc in the environmnet of the UK - which contrasts with the situation in the US in which movement within the quintiles of wealth is dramaticly different year to year.

But with no time left to write, I cannot defend that assertion/assumption. No need to bite your tongue, tell me/us how you see it.

Paul

Getting away from the issues surrounding immigration, I'm glad that someone created a forum for the issues that Noonan commented on.

The Pax Americana our country experiences in most of the major cities and areas around educational institutions creates a highly educated and powerful class of people that have little experience with the most basic of human challenges. Some see the disparity between the super-rich and the poor as the largest obstacle to the American Dream. I see the gap between the young men/women that serve the country in one capacity or another and those that command power and influence in America as the most disturbing social dynamic.

Our Army has been reduced to airing commercials encouraging parents to remain open-minded about their childrens' curiosity about military service. I can't even count the number of times I have had a parent tell me how they appreciate my military service, but discourage their own children from considering national service. We can't have it both ways.

Consider what the secondary and terciary effects of a national service requirement to serve the country in the capacity of a combat soldier, inner-city school teacher, or pro-bono home builder in our poor rural areas. Add to the last two that the individual must live like those they help.

I'm no martyr. After I finish my military service, I want to make lots of money and snowboard in the mountains every weekend of the winter. However, I will never forget the utter joy I feel taking a hot shower or sitting in a air conditioned house on a hot day.

I don't think this is a debate between whether we should have a sink or swim mentality towards the citizens (and non-citizens) of our country. We are an empathetic population and the suffering of humans bothers us, even if it is from lack of a American work ethic. We'll never dispatch with our social welfare nets and regulations on the capitalist market. I think this is a debate about whether our children (who make up the popuation of our young soldiers) are growing up in a society where they learn from hard experience or where they live in a bubble of video games and media sensory overload.

A disjointed but honest list of thoughts.

#79 Kelly,

The deadlift weight was determined by Tony B. asking, "What's your 5 rep max?", and me giving a very dumb answer!

That workout is much harder than it looks in a neurological sense. It was all I could do to hold onto the bar during round five, especially when I was trying to keep Bainbridge from looking up my dress!

Best,

Jon

#79, Kelly: Santa Cruz has the same WOD posted today w/ 225# dl, a manageable load for mortals. Nice work, Jon, Anthony, EC, and Jodi.

m/55/200

Caught up on squats today:

135,225,315,365,405,455 1 rep to parallel or below

Back in the 70's we had a young naval officer stand before congress and speak of the atrocities committed by my peers in Vietnam. Sounds like more of the same here, except this young man chose to stay with his unit and face the fire. Not an easy choice by a long shot. I hope he has learned this lesson and kudos to his commander.

Jon actually pulls off that dress pretty well. After getting a good look at Bainbridge, I'm not sure I'd want to see him in a dress, if they could find one that would fit him...

Because no one has seen fit to say it so far, I think Jody is hot. :)

...and how many times has a dumb answer to a simple question got all of us in trouble?

"If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

2 Thessalonians 3:10

Comment #111 - Posted by M
"Consider what the secondary and terciary effects of a national service requirement to serve the country in the capacity of a combat soldier, inner-city school teacher, or pro-bono home builder in our poor rural areas. Add to the last two that the individual must live like those they help."

I cannot help but comment on the implication that it would improve inner-city schools to have them led by slave labor (the non-politically correct term for national service).

National service means “we the politically powerful (older with money) impose our will by virtue of the coercive power of the government to compel those without power (the young) to do what we won’t get done by our own means, in order to give them an appreciation for their citizenship.” This is wrong to me on many levels – constitutionally there’s zero justification for subjugation of those who’s rights were given by their Creator (Jefferson’s words). The purpose of the govt was to defend those individual rights, not offend them.

The logic of denial of freedom so that these young folk can learn to respect what they have does not make sense to me – in fact, it brings my freedom loving blood to the boiling point.

I’m completely opposed to the current system of a coercive govt monopoly on public education, but it follows like night follows day that when a govt intervention fails (compulsory taxation to pay for compulsory – and in my view inadequate – govt education), that failure becomes the justification for additional govt intervention in the lives of purportedly free men/women. This is the inevitable path of socialism – and it has been repeatedly proven that freedom provides a far better outcome for arranging human interaction.

Again – the proposition as stated is we need to force young people to become teachers so we can improve inner city schools; surely there are others that recognize the implication that the present school system is a miserable failure, and piling on more govt intervention won’t solve such a mess.

Likewise – who will volunteer to live in one of the proposed inner city homes built by slave labor? And how in the world will be pay for such a monstrous, inefficient beast anyway? How could we live without the freely chosen and productive activities many of these young people would do on their own in pursuit of their own best interests were their basic rights to freedom not being deprived?

M, pls don’t take this as the personal attack it must sound like – I very much appreciate the tenor of your post, but take issue, obviously, with the concept of ‘national service’ - not that my opinion should be of overly great concern to you or anyone.

Paul

Thanks Jon, the reason for my question was because the guy weight sounded a bit excessive, the 225 posted by Santa Cruz sounds much more reasonable-and I could imagine it is a crazy hard workout from a neurological sense doing deadlifts that heavy.

Great job!

# 46

Structure can certainly determine function. Is any wonder why more and more top level athletes seek chiropractic care? If you haven't been getting adjusted seek out a chiropractor. Get a referral from a friend to make sure you find the right one. It could be as simple as that...

#116 Jon - oh pleeeeeease ... if you didn't want me looking you would have turned the other way. We all know you loved to show off those legs!

#119 Trip - hahaha, she's damn hot! :)

#122 Kelly - don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a workout, but we could have bumped it up to double body weight (365) without too much trouble. Famous last words?

#121 Simple answer....leftists want Socialism EVEN THOUGH it has been proven over and over that it doesn't work. PERIOD

Paul, good post. It wasn't a personal attack, but instead an intelligent and legitimate protest.

Let me refine a bit and still appeal to your sense of freedom from government intervention. I wasn't quite sure whether you were concerned with the gap that I wrote about. If you aren't, then we have another issue entirely.

First, the ideas about the soldier, teacher, and builder are three of many options anyone could choose. I chose those three because they would come face to face with the challenges and poverty that exists in just this country.

Don't make the national service compulsory. Instead, make it a prerequisite for political positions at the federal level. If that is still too invasive, make it laced with compensatory incentives such as college education money or make a prerequisite for any federal aid. Maybe we should give tax breaks to academic institutions that require the service of their prospective students. These are just some ideas rolling off of my head. Someone with more time could probably do a better job.

I respect your position about letting "market inefficencies" correct themselves and reducing the involvment of government in our lives because of the inherent inefficencies. Now I could go out on a limb and say that after my father taught in a school fraught with gang violence and high drop-out rates, I am convinced that slave labor might actually improve the incredibly inefficent system we've created with our teachers. Slave labor might be an improvement over the socialist, unionized system we have now. However, I'm 50% joking.

Philosophically, I disagree that: "Freedom provides a far better outcome for arranging human interaction." I love freedom, but I don't think that a government influencing and arranging human interaction (to a limited degree, of course) is necessarily a bad thing. The common American experience is essential to the solidarity of a society. We did a hard look at the "American Experience" after 9/11, trying to figure out who we were and the characteristics of our society. Man naturally forms communities and societies that develop norms and the institutions that man creates tend to enforce those norms. The enforcement of norms naturally arranges human interaction to some degree.

So what do you think? Off to the gym to do an experimental clean and box-jump workout.

Matt

we are going to eugene oregon over the thanksgiving holiday and were wondering if anyone knows a good place to cf there since there are no affiliates up there thanks

we are going to eugene oregon over the thanksgiving holiday and were wondering if anyone knows a good place to cf there since there are no affiliates up there thanks

#73 - freddy c
"Don't you wish we had discovered Crossfit when we were in our 20's? All those wasted years in 24 Hour Fitness."

At 43, and with a long list of damaged joints as a result of training "incorrectly"?
A resounding YES!

Didn't rest today. Did a workout i found on the Santa Cruz Website. It was a pretty good one.

10 sets for time
5 Hang Squat Snatches - 75 Pounds
7 Pull Ups
10 Thrusters - 75 Pounds

Time of 21:40.

make-up for yesterday

29/m/190

BS
10x135,5x185,2x225,245,255,265,275,285,290(PR)
form started to go at 290 so didn't continue up

followed with PU,dips,HSPU to failure

28/f/107

Did 'the pat' wod from the recent video

5 rounds for time, rest 2 min and repeate of:

1 power clean
3 hang squat cleans
2 jerks
Sub 50 single unders for 200ft sprint

Round 1: 85# 7:49
Round 2: 80# 6:09

Total:14:58

Pre: mod cfwux2 + double under practice + burgener wu
Post: 2x25 ghd sit-ups

This workout was hard! Those hsc's fried my grip

I'm sorry that I didn't read the rest of the posts before launching into this post but I strikes me that we should bring back "bullying" on the playground. Instead of outlawing and suspending bullies as the educational elite are trying to do, we should encourage bullying and bullies on the playgrounds and in our schools. This appears to be the only way to correct this silly notion that evil people will stop being evil if you just talk to them nicely! If you've had your lunch money taken from you when you were a 2nd grader, you probably know that hitting back first was usually the only defense or deterrent you had at making a bully stop taking your lunch money.
Our liberal "Stop the war at all cost" friends just have not been mugged enough yet and we should insure that a new generation doesn't grow up without this novel learning experience. The Muslim Jihadists must be stopped by force and fortunately, we have the finest soldiers and Marines in the world that are more than capable of making these bullies run away like little girls. Let's just hope that our military doesn't get tired of protecting our rear ends for low money and less appreciation! Then we'll have to make the bullies leave us alone by ourselves!

Tabata KB swings and KTE

16Kg

Swings: 83
KTE: 54

Total: 137

My grip is shot. Of of my many weaknesses

Got some rest for the most part. Did a light workout to work on form of HSPUs and OHS.

CFWU
500m row - 134.2 (the C2 was worn down)

HSPU (with wall as support)
5, 3, 2

OHS (paused at bottom for 5 sec to teach start teaching muscles proper form)
45/10, 45/10, 45/10

Ready for tomorrow!

National Strategy includes many different facets beyond the use of military forces. It also includes Diplomatic, Economic, Informational, and Psycological among others. Part of our National Defense Strategy (google it) is countering ideological support for terrorism. Let me state for the record: I don't care if you hate Bush. That's fine, you are entitled to your opinion and positions. However, if you hate Bush so much that you suffer from BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) and are willing to undermine the war effort for political reasons than you are not a Patriot. You are the exact opposite and no friend of mine.

Those who make up "news" and promote it are serving the enemies propaganda efforts and are in fact supporting the enemy. Don't confuse this with dissent. It is not legitimate dissent, it is treason. Scott Beauchamp, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, Jesse MacBeth, etc. are the worst kind of liars. Like cops, journalists are entrusted with a certain degree of 'public trust' that used car salesmen are afforded. Like bad cops, they have betrayed our trust. But beyonds that, in a time of war, their offenses amount to much more.

The real shame of it is that these outlets, the schemers, and their apologists ... there is apparently nothing that will embarrass them anymore. They are unembarrassable. Even, and especially, when they're caught with their hand in the cookie jar. From intentionally trying to throw an election (RatherGate) by creating phony documents to Newsweek's Koran-in-the-toilet to this New Republic scandal (the latest of many), there is no acceptance or admission of guilt, no shame, and only indignation. These are the same outlets that bury stories that don't promote their agenda on page 26 but will run Abu Ghraib on the front page 31 days in a row. ... But don't call them unpatriotic.

in a nod to Jeff Glassman, and after viewing today's WOD video, I posit the theory that..

1). the fitter & hotter a guy gets, the more he looks like Greg Amundson.

Or,

2). if guys start shaving their heads & wearing big baggy swim trunks, their muscles grow & their fitness performance improves.

This is a great scientific question of world-wide importance. I volunteer to investigate further with several hairlss, shirtless, sweaty scientific experiments.

Hmm. Apparently all of this boxing & packing up my stuff for my move to DC has had some unanticipated side effects?

Anyhow, struggled out a Cindy in the basement. pretty lame. 19 rounds, 5 pullups, 10 pushups & 4 squats. I didn't even break 20. I hate it when I don't even show up.

Boy, I'm just full of confessions tonight. Better stop here.

daggum! What was I thinking?! No rest. BRING ON THE PAIN, BABY!

3 rounds of 10 each (with swiss ball + 20#s):
flyes (shoulders on the ball, feet together, toes up)
pushups (hands on the ball)

2 rounds of 12 each with swiss ball:
-Shoulders on ground, heels on ball, hips in the air. Roll the ball in to work the hams.
-Lunges with 50#s
-Back down with shoulders on the ground. SINGLE LEG ROLL-INS.

2 rounds of 15 each:
-crunches on swiss ball (feet together, toes up, ball in lower-arch of back for full extension.)
-with 15#s gripped with feet, seated on the edge of a bench, pull knees to chest.

[I HIT THE PUKE-O-METER LEVEL 9 RIGHT ABOUT HERE.]

2 rounds of 12 each with swiss ball with 20#:
Seated Shoulder presses (feet together, toes up)
Squats (on the round side of a half swiss ball.)

It was puke-tastic.

P.S. 28:37

Did Painstorm XXX today (WOD at BTB Fitness) for the first time (http://blog.btbfitness.com/2007/11/painstorm-xxx.html), scaled down from the rx'ed 45lb dumbbells to 30. That was more than enough. 31:21 for a final time.

Here's the workout:

5 weighted pull-ups, 3 ManMakers
10 pressing snatch balance, 3 MMs
15 box step ups, 3 MMs
20 power snatch, 3 MMs
25 OH walking lunge, 3 MMs
30 Swings, 3 MMs
25 OH walking lunge, 3 MMs
20 power snatch, 3 MMs
15 box step ups, 3 MMs
10 pressing snatch balance, 3 MMs
5 weighted pull-ups

Manmakers with both dumbbells, rest with one dumbbell. Up using one arm (except for the pullups and swing), down using the other arm.

#58 Leslie Ap
#78 Kwood
I was the same sorta way. I think my biggest problem when I used to do regular weight training was that I didn't take leg wo's and dl's serious enough. By being able to perform all the oly lifts with good form has improved all my lifts. I used to be able to power clean a heck of a lot more than squat clean and I'm finally starting to get closer to par. I used to think my dead lift was messed cause I didn't have the same form as my old CF partner. I turn my shins and knees into hamburger and still lean more forward.. Then I saw that vid on here months ago, that made it all make sense. Everyone's diff and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Thats all I know.
25 6'5" 245

Allison, were you going for a max of each?

Practiced cleans then did the workout from today's video.

5 rounds:
5 Deadlifts @315
12 Knees to Elbows
6:59

On a happy note I checked my weight afterwards, down to 180 from 192 when I started in March.

I went as hard as I could every round except the last 2. I cut off 1 swing and 1 KTE because I needed the time to rest. The 10 seconds felt like no time because I had to change stations and write down my score.

Usually I pick a # and stick to it for tabata squats and stuff. But this time we were just counting total reps so I did it differently.

It was a B!tch. Almost had to use one of those CrossfitNYC Barf Bags. BLEH

#139 suttree - What are ManMakers??

for some reason I just overlooked the "tabata"

5 Rounds:
20X Pull-ups
20X Ring Dips
25 Box Jumps@ 24"
1min Jump Rope

SWIM: 1000 yards

#144 - mikemyer

Here's the manmaker I do:

http://www.gymjones.com/schedule.php?date=20051123

I think there are a few different versions (I've seen one that does two lunges at the end, for example).

1) Start from dumbbells held overhead.

2) Lower dumbbells down to the ground, kick feet out behind you (i do a wider stance with the feet for the next moves).

3) Do a push up, hands still on the dumbbells. Once you've risen from the push up,

4) do a row first with one arm, next with the other (still holding the dumbbells).

5) Jump the feet forward, and do a clean (or power clean), and then, depending on which you do, a thruster or a pushpress or push jerk to the starting position.

I'd suggest doing them with light weights at first. If you do a google search you'll probably find a few WODs that use manmakers...

Hope that helps.

5 Rounds Each:
20X Pull-ups
20X Ring Dips
25X Box Jump @ 24"
1min Jump Rope

SWIM: 1000 yards

Back Squats
205
225
245
275
295
305 (failed)
300 (failed)

So close to going 300. For sparta ah! lol

28/m/185

turned yardwork into a CF workout by loading a total of 8 cubic yards of mulch into a wheelbarrow and sprinting said wheelbarrow to assorted flower beds anywhere from 10 to 50 yards away. then sprint back. took approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. yard looks good.

Spider Chick,

"2). if guys start shaving their heads & wearing big baggy swim trunks, their muscles grow & their fitness performance improves."

Guess I'll start wearing baggy swim trunks and stop doing the zone ;)

Had yet another friend over to "the dungeon" as I've taken to calling it (not accurate at all, it's a beautiful log-beam garage). Introduced him to CrossFit via Fran. He was really focused on technique, and showed the best form of any of my friends I've worked with yet. But didn't quite get the reps&rounds idea (my bad) so did a fair bit of extra work counted as round one, before we clarified. I did heavy thrusters, for fun.

Fran:
Andrew @ 40kg thrusters, 21:40 (extra work)
Mike @ 60 kg thrusters, 16:25

Very impressed. Andrew got a good start on cleans, and developed a very decent kettlebell swing in just a few sets post-workout. (Yeah, skill after intensity, he was so excited about functional movement he wanted to keep going)

Took a day off on Monday because of the heavy load I had on Sunday. Decided to do either the 2-Minute Defense WOD that Pat did two days ago or the "Settlement" Wod from todays video. Got to the gym and found a partner to do the "2-minute Defense" WOD.

2-minute Defense (as demo'ed very well by Pat)

2 sets of 5 rounds of:
1 power clean
3 hang squat cleans
2 jerks
200 feet sprint

All lifts at 135#
The 2 sets are interrupted by a 2:00 breather.

Ryan S (29 yo/m/159#)10:16 as Rx

Beth(~32yo/F/~120)11:23 scaled to 65 for first two round, then 55

This is an excellent WOD. Glad I did it!

Loved the rest day articles, Coach, thanks. I got something out of this. I'm gonna ramble...

This line gave me a glimpse of a different perspective "Life is not a movie, especially when your enemies don't watch the same movies, and don't buy into the same tired narratives"

I don't think much in terms of enemies. I pay much more attention to my immediate concerns, ideas, and goals. But the combination of these articles brought to mind a cold, hard reality to which I give little thought. It opened a window - culminating with that last bit quoted above - to view yet another view of the world wildly different than mine. Simply, it really emphasized to me cultural differences, larger in scope than the aspects of individual humanity I spend more of my attention on.

At the same time, I can see value in the whole range of perspectives, and unifying themes beyond cultural differences.

Thinking aloud, but I wanted to share that...

Matt/#126,

Thanks for a thoughtful reply. I'm sure we could both vent loud and long about what the teachers' union has done to teachers, students and taxpayers. I feel for what your dad must have dealt with to pursue his career. I wish public servants like him had a better environment in which to ply their trade.

My own brainstorms for improvement of schools run towards privatization, vouchers, anything that allows schools to compete for students, and students/parents to compete for schools. I think there may always have to be some role for the govt in education - who's going to educate those who are both poverty stricken and who's behaviors/aptitudes make their presence detract from the educations of those who they are in class with? - but whereas now, the mood is to throw govt solutions at every problem, I'm hoping for the day when freedom loving Americans will demand the least possible govt intervention in those few cases when it is genuinely necessary.

"I wasn't quite sure whether you were concerned with the gap that I wrote about. If you aren't, then we have another issue entirely."
--I surmise the gap you wrote about is of greater concern to you than to me, and agree that issue is an entirely different beast.

If you get a moment, I'd like to hear how that experimental workout went via email. Paul

Thinking out loud, as well, to add my small spice of ideas to the bouillabaise of thoughts here...

All 3 are good articles, well-written, for a variety of reasons. In order, Noonan has touched on something that I read about in Thomas Ricks' "Making the Corps" - it looks at the disconnect between Marines returning from bootcamp and the civil society they have just come from. A very good read. We are becoming a virtual society, where cuts and bruises and prowess on the playground are now secondary to high score on XBox 360's Guitar Hero. Who needs guitar lessons (for real) and all of the hard work, blistered fingers, and knowledge about chords and flats and sharps, when you can have the adulation and screaming from just mashing buttons? (And for the record, I'm not simply contrarian or down on this generation, I've played the game, too).

Michael Yon is providing a fantastic public service with his reporting and writing. I don't know if he's won a Pulitzer, but he deserves one. That's a great follow-up that I don't think the MSM would have done.

The last article was not quite as "on" as the other two, but has some very interesting points. One thing I would correct, however, is that the bad guys DO watch our movies, in order to learn about our culture, and they know Vietnam is still a stinging blow and that it can be played upon. Look at the statements AQ leadership when we were getting ready to go into Afghanistan. They've watched Oliver Stone, as well, and they know there is still a large and rabid, self-loathing super-minority that can be counted upon to oppose anything and everything this country does and stands for.

Bingo, thanks for your thoughts, as always.
Jeff Glassman - simply amazing, sir. I am proud to say we were both Naval Aviators - and that's where the similarities end.
M and ASwab - interesting exchange, thank you.

Spider Chick - Good luck with the move and new job.

Practiced cleans then did the workout from today's video.

5 rounds:
5 Deadlifts @315
12 Knees to Elbows
6:59

On a happy note I checked my weight afterwards, down to 180 from 192 when I started in March.

Practiced cleans then did the workout from today's video.

5 rounds:
5 Deadlifts @315
12 Knees to Elbows
6:59

On a happy note I checked my weight afterwards, down to 180 from 192 when I started in March.

3 x cfwu

Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3

225, 225, 245, 275, 275

as rxd deadlifts 5 sets of 3
3-4 minute rests in between sets

warmup 45/135/245

3x315
3x335
3x335
3x335
3x335

Jeremy #159

OMG I did the same workout yesterday (the one on the video) and performed it in 6:59. What a coincidence!

Jon,
Allow me to affirm the fact that you are a man. Wearing a dress is just weird.
What is with our culture's growing obsession with men wearing women's clothing?
It has been a while since I've done cross-fit, but I'll be back. Meanwhile, y'all are inspiring me - except for the men wearing dresses.