love the blauer vids

Torn Meniscus... looks like I'm going to have to change things up while rehabing... what a crappy week.

Yeah! I can do this WOD as rx'd!

One More Time - I Hate Thin Pull-up Bars and Chalkless Gyms!

Love the Blauer videos though. Tony is the Greg Glassman of self-defense. A genius.

How was the birthday Ali?

Needing the rest day went 4 Days on. Just got my Pillars of Power. Can't wait for the next heavy Squat Day

Victor Davis Hanson. Sorry, I won't even link over to that chickenhawk's post. He really enjoys war....as long as someone other than he or his children do the fighting.

just five more days to start my training my shoulder feels better i can't hardly wait

wow...i dont know if i have an opinion to share on this specific article...

i can say this...to Crossfit, Glassman and the other founders and curators: you have helped shape me as a person, day after day, since i found this website about three years ago...

i love the rest day articles, you have helped to bring me to a great point in my life to challenge my own intellect, understanding, beliefs and perceptions about the world that i live in...

there is so much about fitness that is selfish and yet through Crossfit i have become awakened to my fellow man and some beliefs about which im not sure i would have learned anywhere else.

i am grateful.

#5 Lau - It sucked. Thanks for asking.
Thank goodness I'm not a freak for celebrations and holidays or I would have been really disappointed. :)

Just kidding, sort of. Life is good. I was reminded of that after yesterdays post.

I really don't have anything to complain about.. Except Thin Pull-Up Bars and Chalkless Gyms! Minor in the grand scheme of things, but it is really under my skin.

I had to REST today. It was miserable. Tomorrow I'm doing those 9 miles! (don't worry I do CrossFit too ;))

First of all, I completely agree the the goal of finding and killing the terrorist networks that are using Pakistan as a safehaven.

Nevertheless, I wonder if India would be effective at this task.

India's inability to defend its own city from attack, and incompetence at responding to that attack, suggests otherwise.

Terrorists are easy to kill, but hard to find. India no doubt has the military capacity to destroy the terrorists in Pakistan, the question is whether it will know where to find them, or even who to look for.

America's difficult experiences in insurgency in Afghanistan today and Iraq 2003-2007 shows how far superior conventional forces can face extreme difficulty in counter-insurgencies against far smaller and conventionally weaker forces. India should be careful not to repeat the same mistakes that the U.S. has made in the execution of these wars.

Stronger conventional forces suffer at the hands of weaker insurgents largely because of information access inferiority. The stronger force doesn't have the information it needs to effectively attack the insurgents. It doesn't know when they are going to attack. Meanwhile, the insurgents know the terrain and the local population much better. They know the American soldiers' ROE's, transport routes, and tactics. They often know where the American's are going to be before they arrive, enabling them to ambush them or plant IED's on their roads.

You cannot destroy an organization without substantial access to information about its members, financing, the location of its members and facilities, etc. I suspect that India lacks this information in Pakistan, as does the U.S.

The U.S. has shown that it has the ability via the Predator drones to blow up targets in Pakistan. What it lacks is information. If we knew where Osama, or Zawahiri, etc. were, we could most likely kill them. But we don't know.

The question we should be asking ourselves is this: How do we access the information necessary to effectively attack our terrorist enemies?

For more ideas along these lines: http://insurgentconsciousness.typepad.com/insurgent_consciousness/2008/11/information-acc.html

Perhaps a rest day is a good chance to check out a new WOD tracking program I built... its called WOD Club at http://www.wodclub.com and is more than just a simple tracking program. Its also a great tool for you to challenge your buddies and see how you stack up against everybody else on crossfit workouts.

Anyhow go take a look and let me know what you think of it.

I am new to crossfit, and I am enjoying it a lot. Any tips?

6'3/m/28/210

Deadlifts
235 x 3
285 x 3
335 x 3
385 x 1
405 x 1 (PR) Closing quickly on 2.5 times bodyweight

320 x 12

Then a horrible rendition of Freddy’s revenge. As Rx’d the sun went down and the sand ran out of the back up timer.

Tony,

Makes perfect sense. I've learned some other stuff, but where I think you excel is in making the techniques realistic in training, and dynamic. I'm sure I'll show up there at some point.

Article: ultimately, we need to understand there are a lot of Muslims out there who want to kill
Americans, Europeans, and particularly Jews, simply for existing as non-Muslims.

At the same time, I think there are relatively pro-Western (at least, anti-radical) elements of Pakistan, within and outside the intelligence services, who are somewhat sympathetic to our efforts to end the influence of people and groups who blow up civilians--Muslim and otherwise--to attain aims that are Islamic in name only.

Surely at some point, and in some place, we can make the case that Islam is not intended to be a psychotic death cult. Surely it is intended, like Christianity and Judaism, to facilitate justice and mercy in those who fall under its influence. As a great religion, surely those who advocate it will at some point say enough is enough. Israel exists. The Palestinians will never reclaim their homes in Israel. Their forebears 60 years ago made the wrong decision.

There is no need, currently, to reject Pakistan as an ally. If we ally with India, are we then expecting them to invade Pakistan? Surely this is a foolish idea. Both nations are nuclear, and they have in any event been at war for many decades.

Gradualism should be the order of the day. What, ultimately, are we to understand as the nature of Islam? Are its adherents bloodthirsty, murderous savages? Or are they a cultivated, morally sophisticated social order fully on par with the best of the West?

This is the question that the Pakistanis need to answer, and whatever American diplomats may be involved, they should brook no BS. Clarity is needed.

Y'know, Barry, I'm with you on this one. Well put.

I did "McFlurry" in honor of Miguel Flores who I never met. I read the kind words written by his family and friends and it motivated me. RIP Miguel and to his family and friends I wish you all the best.
400 meter run 21 135 lb cleans and 21 pull ups
400 meter run 15 thrusters 40 lb dumbells 15 pull ups
400 meter run 9 135 lb cleans 9 pull ups 400 meter run 16:38 kicked my butt

kind of new to crossfit just wondering. When doing heavy lifts I.E squats, deadlifts the cleans and the snatch do I wear a weight belt?
or go without it? I heard that it takes away from the lifts. someone please help...thanks!

#20 and 21

At first glance I thought it was Tony with a wig on....

Thought it was some extra oomph added into realistic training by REALLY getting into the part...

Rest day today, tomorrow Clean and Jerk...

Hanson's concise assessment of the way Pakistan chooses to play its hand and the US policy response to that play is, sadly, pretty much spot on. Unfortunately I don't see any better alternatives. Isolate Pakistan so that its problems can't seriously harm US interests? Isolating any country is difficult if not impossible in a globalized world where people and things can traverse multiple borders in the space of hours. Eliminate or reduce US aid to Pakistan? It's possible that Pakistan will manage to keep its nukes locked up anyway but that is a very risky gamble. Hunt terrorists on Pakistani soil by any means and with or without permission? Hunting trips, while certain to bag some prey, won't get all or even most targets and will certainly be costly in terms of lives, Pakistani sentiment towards the US, international sentiment towards the US, and further destabilization of an unstable region. Embark on a full invasion, occupation, and nation building exercise in some or part of Pakistan? Not even an optimist could argue that the US currently has the resources and motivation for such a venture. Outsource an invasion to India? I can't think of a single way that a renewed and potentially nuclear Indian-Pakistani war would yield a positive net result for the US. So the US can't isolate, can't forget about, can't selectively strike, can't full-out invade, and can't outsource the invasion of an unstable, dangerous place. What to do? I guess sometimes we just have to dance...

m/35/218ish/5'11

WOD
Not as Rx'd
2:05 mi run
20 min

but i guess I kinda am resting...only 1 workout today...woohoo

#13 Mike
this is a great idea bro i was gonna make something like it but i have to think of something else now hmmmm

#17 Barry
very well said , i couldn't agree more

BRILLIANT ! Out source the problem to India.
SEMPER FI
Dan

Thank the heavens for rest days. :o)

#7 NotJustHere

Many on the left think they can "stick their head in the sand", cover their ears and say "lalalalala" or rationalize/reason with delusional psychotics and the world will just "evolve" into a garden of euphoric harmony. Guess what cuz? They hate you!! Not because of what you say, what you look like, but because you exist!! They hate your essence, the concept of you, and nothing will change that.

I don't know what your political convictions are from your post, but have my suspicions. Pakistan is hugely critical, more so than Iran. Why? They are already nuclear! If their gov't destabilizes further and poverty worsens there, they will have nothing to lose by wiping Israel and the US off the map, and will if given the cahnce.

So, read the article and at least debate it, its at least good for the neurosynaptic connections to challenge them from their usual rhetoric.

#4 Allison thin bars are better than really thick bars that turn on you. I had my kids doing pullups at church Sunday as we got our coats unracked and told them to do a pullup off the hangup bar, which was thick for their hands and rolled as they pulled up. They were really complaining.

#14

I recommend you read all the FAQ and watch many of the videos to get a fell for the exercises. Might want to visit a XFIT gym and get an intro to XFIT. Many will provide a week intro to XFIT to learn the moves. Just some random thoughts

Great video. I find it really impressive the way Blauer comes up with effective techniques starting from the emotional reflexive response to a situation. Given that we can't all train enough to change our reflexive response it's a great system for the non-pro.

As for the article, unfortunately it strikes me as just more blather from the warmongers. No suggestion of a solution, just complaints about the status quo. The author didn't even have the guts to come out and say what I understood him to be insinuating - that the US needs to move into Pakistan's frontier and clean it up ourselves (I don't really believe his call for outsourcing the problem to India - it seems pretty tongue-in-cheek).

It may well come to that, but until we have the intelligence to move selectively and decisivly it would be counterproductive. As we gain that intelligence I believe it is already being done, as the predator strikes demonstrate. The "us vs them" Judeo-Christian West vs. Islamic East mentality won't get us anywhere in the meantime.

I don't know if anyone has seen Outside's latest but check out their "Top 12 Fitness Mistakes":

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200812/fitness-mistakes-1.html

The solution to mistake #2 states "If you're an endurance biker, you need to convert some fast-twitch muscles to slow-twitch, so be sure to do the occasional weekend tour in which you ride all day at a leisurely tempo." I thought that was physiologically impossible!

There is a quick mention of CrossFit in #11. At least we get some credit...

Always love the videos from Tony B. When we went over to Blauer Tactical to visit a couple friends, Tony and Mrs. Tony couldn't have been warmer and friendlier! Great people, great facility, great trainers over there and look forward to going over again....considering it is only 4 1/2 miles from my house.

On another note, Jeannie and I are heading to DC for the weekend for Buck Grant's Pro MMA fight at "Battle at the Nations Capital". We've been working with Buck for a while now, and are looking forward to watching him stomp the sissy biatch!

Also looking forward to getting a workout in with Quint at PRIMAL FITNESS on Sunday morning at 8:00am. Hoping to also get a workout in at CROSSFIT FAIRFAX and CROSSFIT ALEXNADRIA before we head out (trying to do both on saturday..). So I am raising a flag here...Clovis, SC, or any of you other fire breathers, we would love to get our struggle on with you when we come up. Let me know if anyone is interested...would love to see some old faces and meet some new family members!

~J~

"Accept the Challenge, Train Hard and Push Through "IT"!"

Did "McFlurry" today. Great workout, just hate the reason for having it.

400m run, 21: 135 Power Clean, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run, 15: 135 PC, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run, 9: 135 PC, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run.

31:04

God is Good, All the Time.

#19 pepe
If you think you need a belt, wear one. If you think you don't, don't. Most CrossFitters I know do not wear belts. Check out this link for comments on belts.
http://journal.crossfit.com/2008/11/overhead-is-rising.tpl

Hey,

First off, I absolutely love crossfit. It keeps me in amazing shape and is a lot of fun too. Anyone who asks me at the gym, "what are you doing?" get quite an ear full.

I just thought I'd make one recommendation to the website.

What if the "commments" section could be broken into a few different sections such as ....

questions about the WOD
times recorded
MISC.

I do not work out at a CF gym and often need clarification on the workout or subs. Also, I like to see how I did compared to others. Sometimes there will be 500+ comments and I have to sift through tons of posts to find some info.

Just a suggestion,
1LT

You know, thinking about it, 60 years is a REALLY long time for a "refugee crisis" to continue. What level of incompetence prevents the permanent reconfiguration that is needed to end the bloodshed?

Pondering it, it is as if a city--pick any city, Chicago is the one that comes easiest to my mind--were taken over by gangsters, who insisted they were the only protections against the predations of some other neighboring city. In "protecting" Chicago, these gangsters kept attacking the neighboring city, which not unreasonably did what it could to defend itself.

What would happen, though, if they didn't have that enemy upon which to focus the hatred of those they controlled. Would those people not realize in short order that the gangsters were living high on the hog, stealing their money, and living according to their own laws, and that the endless war with their supposed enemy did nothing more or less than permit their continued access to power.

Ultimately, if we are to break this endless stalemate, we need to develop a very clear eyed understanding of just who BENEFITS from the status quo. It isn't Israel, and it isn't the Palestinian people.

And to this should be added: even if Iran gets a nuke, and uses it on Israel, does that somehow net the Palestinian people--who are supposedly the focus of concern--anything? Do they THEN get to move back to a radioactive wasteland? Are they THEN going to somehow be in a superior military or--laugh laugh--moral position?

We proceed best, I think, by assuming that the people who perpetuate this ridiculous abuse of the refugees from the 1948 War do so with full consciousness of what they are doing, and that they are not unintelligent.

They are, in short, evil. Evil people can be dealt with, but it is necessary first to diagnose the malady.

M/19/165lbs

Did Miguel's Workout

34:00

I love Tony Blauer's videos. The principals he teaches are just so commnon sense and applicable for personal defense. Basically, slow down and react properly and you'll be fine. When my wife gets home, we're going to watch this one together so she can practice.

Thanks Mr. Blauer and coach for sharing!

can anybody tell me where can i get a pdf of "enter the zone" because i really need to get it fast

also i wanna ask if eating right is the point because i eat right -atleast i think so- :

i don't eat bread or rice or any refined carbs my carb intake comes from low GI fruits and veggies

i eat about 50 % protien / 30-40 % carbs / 10-20% fats (some days lesser carbs and more fats and sometimes the other way around)

i don't eat any kind of fats that was heated (no cooking oil / water - no roasted nuts )

i mostly eat grilled meats and for the fat intake i eat nuts and fats from diary

everyday i must have oats -1st thing on my day-

eat max of 3 whole eggs and the rest is only whites

don't eat any carbs @ night , and i eat fibers from veggies all day

and the most important thing is that i understand my body needs

also i have a cheat meal from time to time mine(this time was today i just eat diff. foods no pizza no sweets)

tell me if i am good or i need to improve or i need to read about the zone

I could not agree more with #17, Mr Cooper, when he says a lot of Muslims want to kill westerners simply for NOT being Muslim. To me, a lot means more than 50%.

As a self described and unapolgetic neo-con, I believe Muslims pose the greatest clear and present danger to civilized society. For some at CNN and those on the Left, just refuse to see the clarity of the threat of counries such as Pakistan.

President Buzh is too right, "Your with us or against us."

#17

50% of all Muslims want to kill Westerners? Since there are 1 billion to 1.9 billion Muslims out there, we are in big trouble!

...And what about the Muslims who live in Western societies? Are they going to committ suicide to carry out their evil plans?

Congrats on being a self described neo-con! The past 8 years have been more than enough evidence exemplifying that awful strategy.

my apologies, I was responding to #39, not 17

#34 Gus

Great suggestion, but if you'll check out the Message Board I think that might satisfy your request.

also did 'mcflurry'
400m run
21 45# hang power clean (working on form, ready for 55#)
21 45# ast pull ups
400m run
15 25# db thrusters
15 ast pull ups
400m run
9 45# hpc
9 ast pull ups
400m run

17:17

f/39/154/5'7"

Did McFlurry today and it shredded me up like nothing I have done to date on crossfit. I didn't personally know Miguel but the posts suggested he would have rocked this workout, he must have been a machine.

Couldn't do 21 reps with 185 lbs, used 135 lbs. Otherwise as required

400m run, 21: 135 Power Clean, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run, 15: 135 PC, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run, 9: 135 PC, 50 db Thrusters, pull-ups
400m run

33:58

M/52/175
Day 19 - Pushup challenge

Yeah! I am caught up.
yesterdays wod Annie
50-40-30-20-10
double unders
situps
I am working on double unders
100 single bounce + a few double unders
50 sit ups
100 single bounce +5 double unders
40 sits
100 single bounce +5-6 double unders strung a few
30 sits
20 double unders one at a time strung one
20 sits
11 double unders strung a few together
22 min ( spent time messing with rope)

made up wod yesterday from day before
Clean and jerk 1111111
165/165/175/175/185F/185F/180F/180F/175/180F/180 (finally)/180F/180 whoo hoo not a fluke
180 is my PR from last time and still is

#12 cfogc is absolutely correct. This is a problem of international criminal networks, not a clash of civilizations (a theory that has been discredited). India could easily wipe out the terrorist forces arrayed against it, if they could find and identify them. This is a problem of intelligence, which is as central to countering jihadi violence as oil terrorism in Nigeria and narco-terrorism in Latin America. The Mumbai attacks, because of the difficulties of a hostage situation, urban combat, etc., would have been exponentially easier to preempt and prevent than to diffuse, had India just had better information access.

#39: There are two points that I think need to be clear. One is that there are a lot of Muslims who teach and practice hate. Two is that Islam is a religion that, like most religions, is noble in aspiration and sentiment. Chivalry as a tradition most likely has Islamic roots. We can appeal to what is best in Muslims, what is most valuable and worthy in their own traditions.

Blowing non-combatant, Muslim women and children into small pieces is not a part of that tradition. There is nothing worthy or noble in that. Mohammad was quite clear on that point, if I understand the tradition correctly. He wanted to conquer the world, and that impulse motivated Islamic imperialism for many hundreds of years.

But he never, to my knowledge, offered even a shred of justification for the sorts of tactics that Islamic thugs are using today.

Ultimately, the cultural seachange we need to see in the Islamic world is not submission to our Western tradition. They can take what they want, and keep what they want. True cultural diversity is valuable on many levels.

Rather, what we need to see is the possibility of negotiation; of flexibility and compromise in the interest of peace. Muslim radicals are currently forcing us to fight them. This is not in the interest of anyone except those who thrive on and profit from death and chaos. Al Queda does in fact seem to consist mainly in the weak minded led by sociopathic opportunists.

I have said this often, but the best strategy we could ever adopt in the long term is to appeal to the nobler side of people, to what is best and good in Islam. This may sound overly idealistic. I am not saying we will not continue to need to kill people.

Yet I am saying that there is no reason we cannot help the Muslims themselves rediscover what is best in their own faith. There has been death and murder in Islam since what, the 3rd Caliph? The 2nd?

The seeds are there for something better than anything that has yet been seen on Earth. We need to water and tend to these seeds, to the extent we can. Nourishing what is good in people is always a good tactic and strategy. In the long run, that's all that really matters.

Male/26yrs/6'0"/170lbs

Rest Day WOD

***Pain Storm***

For Time
Hang Clean, Front Squat, Push Press
10-8-6-4-2-4-6-8-10 (in a Linda style progression)

Weight:
10's 135lbs
8's 145lbs
6's 155lbs
4's 165lbs
2's 175lbs

10 Push-ups every time you let go of the bar or the weight touches the floor. Even when you change your weights.

27:48

And it sucked.

We've been meaning to thank BMack and Carl for another great CrossFit cert. The Running and Endurance Cert in Plano the first weekend in December was outstanding. The drills were easy to learn and the improvement in running efficiency for everyone in attendance was astounding. Can't wait until our next cert!!!

Barry #49,

As usual, there's not much that I disagree with in your comments but I do think that you're looking at the issue a bit too narrowly... or perhaps too much from a single point of view. While there is a lot of clarity to be found by examining the problem as a religious/cultural issue, there are also insights to be gained by examining it as a political problem. Your "Cui bono" line of reasoning comes close to this but somehow it just doesn't seem that your heart is in it. I'd like to see what conclusions you come to by truly considering Islamist terrorism as a purely political problem with a political solution. The conclusions I come to in either case are are remarkably similar to each other.

As food for thought on the specific issue of India and Pakistan:
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20081208_next_steps_indo_pakistani_crisis

"Annie"

13:28

Pakistan presents a very difficult problem. It is a failed nuclear jihadi state.

Overt embrace and support of jihad was state policy until Richard Armitage scared the crap out of Musharraf after 9/11. Before that time, Pak leadership overtly subscribed to jihadism - consider the writings of Hamid Gul or the policies of Zia al Huq or Benazir Bhutto, the phenomenal expansion of the madrassas, etc, etc. They did this out of doctrinal belief in Islam and as a defense against India.

Post 9/11, they changed from overt support to overt opposition and covert support by insubordinates (?) in ISI and the military. The elements supporting jihad persisted in supporting jihad do so for the same reasons - doctrinal belief in Islam and defense against India.

We know from Armitage's example what works to bring about a change in the behavior of the government - threaten it with annihilation. Pakistan's embrace of jihad, instead of securing the Pak state, is now an existential threat because it risks the full wrath of India and of the United States. It is my impression that that threat is being urgently made by the US and India as we speak, and that the Pak civilian leadership is attempting as best it can to appease that threat by appearing to be doing something serious without actually doing anything serious. They can only do things within the confines of what is politically possible in Pak, where substantial numbers of jihad lovers celebrate the slaughter of any infidel.

Since the support of jihad threatens the existence of the Pak state, the only remaining rationale for supporting jihad is religious belief. I suppose we'll find out how devout they really are.

They have us over a barrel because of the logistical supply routes into Afghanistan, and if we put 20k more troops there, Pak's leverage over us grows even stronger. And as tensions with India increase, their commitment to patrolling their Afghan border diminishes.

This is a very, very difficult situation.

Smoked today. When the combination of Parkour and starting my 5x5 routine(am) with crossfit (pm)...I need a rest!

When I die though...!

#49, dare I say, your soundling like a Liberal in that post?

Let me shed my ne-con persona for a moment.. Just one moment tho.

Your comment, " Al Queda does in fact seem to consist mainly in the weak minded led by sociopathic opportunists," is rubbish.

AQ is not only run by the profundly sane, but by incredible businesspeople and professioanls - as similar to that as a narcotrafficking or transnational crime syndicates. In the end, all AQ simply is - organized crime run by pros.

In my over 3 years in Iraq - of which a large amount was interrogating terrorists/insurgents from AQ, Ansar Al-Islam, Jaysh Al-Islmai, 1920 Revolutionary Brigade, Jaysh Al-Mahdi, etc, the one commonality they ALL had was they were profoundly SANE and not fantatics.

I'm clearly being facetious when I say 50% of Muslims are a clear and present danger. Such ridicule is reserved for the real neo-cons who frequent the CF board on Rest Days - its just too easy to mock them, such a large target.

Defeating AQ and extremism is certainly noble, just not reality - same as if CF dared state the CF WOD prevents aging. The WOD may reduce the effects of aging, but it sure wont stop it. Same as it is for Sunni/Shia extremism. Not only do i support killing, maiming, and Jack Bauering extremist ass, I know that it wont stop (or even reduce) extremism without other effective measures.

It will not go away - but we can conduct actions (kinetic and nonkintic) which reduce the effectiveness of extremists to act, recruit, train, and grow. Unfortunately, the past 8 years has done little to reduce extremism throughout the world, but only fanned the flames.

If we did the WOD only to decrease our work capacity, would we keep doin it? uhh, no. Wait, maybe the hardcore neo-cons would say yes.

Whilst it makes me feel good to wave the flag, sing Old Glory's fine tune, and talk tough - and sometimes act tough - it is just one small part of a much larger solution.

The problem is we like to demonize extremists as 'weak minded' or as 'fanatics'. Let us recongize they are literally anything but such words - but those words certainly make us feel better about our own position.

Only when I learned to respect their positions, empathize to their struggle, genuinely ask and yearn for their explanations of their perceived injustices (which I did not mock or laugh at despite my own disagreements), seek knowledge of their beliefs to a deeper level, did I ever obtain the information I needed to save lives.

All it takes is to come on this message board on Rest Days to see why we are at a standstill at best on making progress with Islamic extremists.

Some people say, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." On a similar note, "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity."

We have lived 8 years of insanity in our approach to extremists. I really dont know if the next 4 years will be different in our approach to extremists, but from my 4 years of experience working this part of the world, its time to stop the insanity. I'm certainly ready for to give change and a new approach a chance. Over 4,000 brave troops deserve it.

Whoa, I sound like a Liberal. Better put my Neo-con cape back on and summon the Chenney Gods of lore..

Now for you p**y Liberals, do the WOD, quit whining, stop asking the government to do the WOD for you and watch some FOX as you do Fran!

Fell down my stairs Monday night. Foot slipped and I was going fairly fast, and carrying a vacuum, so it was quite the fall. Have a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my bum, hurt elbow, shoulder, back, wrist, and well, feel like I was in a train wreck ;) So Tuesday took my usual rest day, walking only, but was eager to hit the gym today even though I am still pretty sore.

Joshua
5 rounds:
400m run
30 sit ups
15 DL at 160#
= 27:06, PR

Erin

Rest Day

5 rounds For Time:

- (3) foot box jump, 20 reps
- Ring dips(3 rounds), Ring push ups (2 rounds), 15 reps
- Knees to elbows, 10 reps

18:30

#56 - SheepDawwg:

Some clarification - Didn't the COIN strategy implemented by Petreaus "stop the insanity?" Or, what do you mean by that? What would the new approach be?

Also, re: fanning the flames, opinion polling in the Islamic world has shown substantially reduced popularity for AQ, bin laden, etc. since you and your brothers in arms have pinned a strategic defeat on them in Iraq as compared to the immediate aftermath of 9/11. That may be a different question than Islamic extremism standing alone. Islamic doctrine, the true source of Islamic extremism, is the same as it ever was, and cannot be changed by anything we do or fail to do. We can influence whether they act on it though - jihad as a career choice is less attractive than it used to be because of US policy, and AQ's desperation tactics when placed under extreme pressure by us alienate the population on whose hospitality they depend.

Best regards, and all respect for serving.

calf rockn from yesterdays WOD

lovn double unders

#50
PAIN STORM ! !

looks insanely awsome, gonna give it a shot tommorrow ! !

gonna keep McFlurry on the list of WOD2DO as well

you guys rock !

getsome !

Did continuous clock pull-ups today followed by a 1 mile TT.
new PR on pull-ups
13rnds + 9 = 91 total

7:05 mile

#12~CFOGC that is an excellent follow-on url: http://insurgentconsciousness.typepad.com/insurgent_consciousness/human_network_operations/

more to mull over ... its amazing reviewing the PBS interviews from 2004-2007 on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran to follow the thread. These are not new issues.

Training in a culture of vengeance and hate:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/pakistan/madrassas.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/showdown/etc/script.html

In the 70's I read William F. Buckley's reaction to a vitriolic diatribe by an auto mechanic in Pakistan concerning America. He was sadden for the mechanic, but angry to the point of action for the cleric who lied to the mechanic. May we act wisely.

In an interview on the PBS Show 'Now', journalist Tariq Ali spoke of a culture of vengeance that must be addressed carefully: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/448/index.html

I do not paint Muslims as murders, just like I don't paint Irish as IRA killers. Its not religious ... its cultural ... with madrassas teaching children to hate.

I suggest we follow the money, grow beards & speak local, dry up the resources & hold accountable the teachers of hate and murder, and learn from our mistakes with other tribes on their land.

Annie Rx'd

badly broken up du's
sit ups- unbroken, unanchored, hands on head

12:19

yesterday: 400 lunges-unbroken
around 13 min on concrete
last pr:10 min on grass
hspu practice.

will do McFlurry for Miguel on Sat. for sure

lol if someone tries to choke you like that you're either acting in a movie or fighting a retard. either way you don't need to know self defense.

5 rounds of

185 lb bench press 10 reps
20 pushups

Followed by 5 rounds of

165 lb lat pulldowns 10 reps
10 pullups

Pushups felt like I had 100 lb weights on my back,
ditto w/ the pullups

M 5'11/175

All the SFCF classes today are doing McFlurry, but in the 'first' version before it alternated. Seeing the final rx'd version now makes it sound easy as pie (or a McFlurry).

21, 15, 9 each of Power Cleans (185#), Dumbell Thrusters (50#/hand), and pullups with the 400m at the beginning, end, and between each rep change.

29:19

RIP.

Yay, in a cast to immobilize my foot with the accessory navicular. 4 weeks of modifying wherever I can, and no good cardio.

Annie rough for a 2nd ever work out, but I made it through!!!
1x WU
50 Single Unders don't have the hang time??
50 s/u
40single
40s/u
30single
30s/u (started to fail a bit towards the end was doing military sit up hands behind head, but turned into military crunch haha)
20
20
10
10
50singles
25 s/u 15:40 and was close to looking like the cartoon clown hurling on the t-shirt!!!
THIS PROGRAM IS AWESOME!!! I need a workout partner though to push each other

Notjustherefortheworkouts #7,

The "chickenhawk"term and sentiment is stupid. It means that the only people with a "legitimate" say are those who are either in the fight, soldiers, or ex-soldiers, and those who oppose the use of soldiers for any purpose. This is so contrary to the Nations principle's (go ahead and ask, What principles?) and potentially and theoretically destructive of the military's civilian base of support. In fact it is a term so favored by the left, I believe, for exactly the reason that it undermines the military and its supporters together in one fell swoop.

Think, then post.

Did yesterday's WOD (Annie) tuck jumps on a mini-tramp and unanchored sit ups. 12:48

#34 Gus

Hey Gus when I want to find something in the comments like Freddy C. comments I use the Edit-Find on this page at the top of the IE window. Works great for searching through hundreds of posts!

It sounds like India knows how to aggressively handle business (http://jmw.typepad.com/political_warfare/2008/12/way-to-go-india.html), but that doesn't necessarily mean the headache that has been developing with Pakistan (specifically the AfPak region) is only their problem. A lot, probably in the high millions, of people stand to benefit from efforts to reign in that current hot spot, so I see no reason why that yoke shouldn't lie on many nation's shoulders to take care of it. I am not one of the Americans grouped into Hanson's suggestion of "outsourc[ing] the problem" is the course to take, but instead suggest more direct action and worry less about "getting caught on tape."

Did "The Chief" today as rx'd:

20 rounds

Yesterday did Josh as rx'd:

12:29

Rest tomorrow-don't want to, but have to!

m/33/225

Aaron,

Can we conclude from one aggressive and effective interrogation that India is effective at counterterrorism?

Furthermore, is the terrorism problem in Pakistan a result of a lack of direct action or a result of a lack of information? A multinational military effort in Pakistan would broadcast its moves well ahead of time. The high value targets would be able to escape well ahead of time.

A terrorist sanctuary is primarily the result of the U.S.'s lack of information access, not geography. The U.S. has the material ability to destroy nearly any target in any part of the world, if it has actionable intelligence.

If Al Qaeda Central loses the tribal areas militarily, there are many other places it can go. The Ferghana Valley in Central Asia, Somalia, and Lebanon are just a few options. On the other hand, if Al Qaeda lost its ability to securely communicate and transfer money, it would be much more difficult for it to operate, anywhere.

Our priority should be eliminating Al Qaeda's ability to execute large-scale terrorist attacks, not on controlling territory. Controlling territory is only one element in preventing large-scale attacks.

Had to take two days off this week so I hit it hard today:

5 rounds for time of:
5 Deadlift (275#)
15 Pullups
10 HSPU
run 312 metres

24:04

29/f/115

been sick, still sick made up annie

annie

7:15

CFB WOD from MOnday

50,40,30,20,10

55lb KBS
20lb Wall Ball
24" Box Jump

27:36

Still have two WOD's to fit in to catch back up with the schedule.

Semper Fidelis and God Bless

Gave Freddy's Revenge a shot today. Sucky sucky! Completely burnt out my shoulders.

Used 135#. Mainly used push jerks, and ended with split jerks. Should have done splits all along.

11:28

Tried 30 Muscle-ups for time.

Got up to 18 at 5:54 until i ripped some wrist skin from the false grip. Any tips that would help with that?

AM:

Pullups
20/16/12/8/4/1
Pushups
40/32/24/16/8/2
Situps
80/64/48/32/16/4 Time: 21:30

PM:

Played hockey for 90 mins at the U of Ottawa.

#79 John D
I tape up before MUs. I put a band around the wrist angled up to the part of the palm that will be taking the brunt of the false grip.

1500m row (5:58)
5 rounds of:
5 pull-ups
5 dips
10 incline sit-ups
20 push-ups
30 squats
then repeat 1500m row (6:55)
for time - 34:10

CrossFit-lite for a newbie

didnt feel like totally resting today

100 situps and 100 pushups

22-m-210#

I do 5 days on/ 2 off, instead of 3 on 1 off, so I did Sun. WOD.

4 rounds. Pukie was knocking at my door, but I didnt see him today.

57/M/195
Did Monday's P&J 7x1 see results on Monday's comments. But, briefly, Ya Hoo PR at 160 lbs.

I am trying to introduce someone, who is not a fan of exercise at ALL, to Crossfit. She is willing to give it a shot, so I am jumping at the opportunity to help. Does anyone have any recommendations/resources for me to start her on the program properly? I have been doing Crossfit for approx. 6 mos., so I am fairly familiar with the design and variety of WODs. I am guessing that I should get an idea of her capabilities of each movement in each WOD and scale for her to complete them in a reasonable amount of time.

Any help would be most appreciated.

:)

Annie as rx'd
7:00 flat.... that was awesome, think I can break 6:30 next time.

Had to do the "McFlurry" yesterday so did Annie today.

Posted by: Clinton - 22m/205

Clinton, use Brand X's scaled WODs until she's up to speed. Also, use the CF warm up to teach her some basic movement. Get her to an affiliate for some expert instruction. Make her a DVD/memory stick/IPOD upload of several of the basic movements being instructed. Don't let her start too hard - but hard enough that she'll feel challenged. Good luck. Paul

worked on my power cleans tonight. I exaggerated the slow deadlift and the shrug. They felt ok, I think Im going to stop into a CF gym one of these days and have someone who knows show me how to do it 100% right.

"Blowing non-combatant, Muslim women and children into small pieces is not a part of that tradition. There is nothing worthy or noble in that."
--This is a spot on point, and is in fact what cost OBL his legendary status in the Muslim world, one of his many affronts to Islam, not the least of which was losing freedom of action in Afghanistan after the US kicked the Taliban out of there.

I think Barry and Sheep are talking past another as regards whether the folks Sheep was interrogating were weak minded sociopaths and/or whether AQ itself is led by those types - they could both be right in their respective observations. That is, UBL or the others could be weak minded sociopaths, and they folks sheep interrogated could not be so - and Barry's point is there are techniques in addition to kinetic attack that can be used to slice the one from the other.

Patreus' COIN strategy in Iraq centered around defending the Iraqis from the extremists, while also attacking/holding extremist stronholds, and pursuing them when they ran. It was a success due to battlespace dominance. We don't have the advantages at the Afghan/Paki border to practice the same scale/scope of COIN there ... and unfortunately, our own dogged 'drugs are evil' ideology allows the extremists to separate us from the Afghans (who lost their traditional means to feed their families and now depend on drug sales) quite effectively. Paul

Did a wide variety of exercises-
First, 2.15 miles with Payne in 16:15 for 7:35/mi.
Then did 100/80/60/40/20 jumprope to sort of do previous day's WOD.

Then, from CrossFit BHM:
40 Push press, 45# Olympic bar or scale as needed
10 Medicine ball cleans, 20# or scale as needed
30 Push press
20 Medicine ball cleans
20 Push press
30 Medicine ball cleans
10 Push press
40 Medicine ball cleans

As Rx'd except used 45# Olympic bar instead of medicine ball - 28:30.

M/25/160

Appoloswabbie,

Your point re: counter-narcotics policy harming the U.S.'s COIN strategy in Afghanistan is a good one.

Vanda Felbab-Brown is one of the few who gets that:
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/688/afghanistan.html?breadcrumb=%2Fexperts%2F853%2Fvanda_felbabbrown%3Fgroupby%3D3%26page%3D1%26hide%3D1%26id%3D853%26back_url%3D%252Fexperts%252F%26%3Bback_text%3DBack%2Bto%2Blist%2Bof%2Bexperts

I hope the link works.

She argues that insurgents gain popularity and support, just as much as money, from their role in the drug trade. The Coalition forces and Afghan government are trying to ruin the Afghan farmers' livelihood, while the Taliban protects and regulates it. Crop eradication thus severely harms intelligence-gathering (and thus special operations capacity) and the hearts and minds strategy as well. Its hard to get people to talk to you when you are destroying their crops.

Given this point, what should U.S. policy be with regards to the drug trade? Should we focus on interdiction and creating economic alternatives rather than on eradication? Should we just ignore the drugs entirely?

Tony Blauer rocks. It makes so much more sense!

I convinced my roommate to help me tie my tie and BAM... Bauer elbow to chin!

I can't just learn this stuff and not do it...

did 4 rds
8 burpees
8 275# dl
8 115# sp
8 35# pu
16 back ext.

20:39

may regret not resting on my rest day after today

re: #92 cfogc

This effort by TAMU is being done in Iraq and Afghanistan as we speak by TAMU staff and students:

http://agprogram.tamu.edu/lifescapes/

#52: To the extent Islamic radicalism is a purely political problem, it is a problem created by and for those who aspire to political power. Hatred can be used for many purposes, but first and foremost is corralling and directing the weak minded in a direction you the would-be tyrant choose.

Lenin and Stalin chose class traitors. Hitler chose those who weakened the race. Radical Islamists choose anyone who is different from their very narrow vision of what Allah wants from his jihadist troops.

It is the same dynamic.

How do you weaken this? First, you understand that the leaders of these movements cannot be negotiated with, but some of their followers can. And you understand that those who become their followers are the result of long term, planned indoctrination.

The Hitler Youth, the Bolsheviks, and the Khmer Rouge--all of them--were creations of evil minds. Once gone, always gone.

But as salespeople--cultural salespeople--we have so much to offer. We offer wealth and the freedom for Islamic nations to live under laws of their own choosing. We don't care about Sharia, provided they are not teaching hate. And is hate really an Islamic value? There is ambivalence in the Koran and Hadith with respect to Jews, but the ultimate, clear reality, is they too are "People of the Book".

As a diplomat, I personally would ask men with whom I dealt in Pakistan: what do you think Islam is? What do you think it should be? Do you think these terrorists--who line up and murder tourists, and people who have nothing to do with any war--are good people? Is this justice? Is this the purpose for which the Koran was revealed to Mohammed, so small children could be shot in the head with high powered rifles? Was that it?

One hopes the answer is no. If all that is necessary for evil to prevail is the silence of the good, then perhaps the starting point is pointing out that evil is out and about in the mist, and that indifference is not an option.

I have said this before, but I truly think the State Dept. and CIA should employ competent, sincere Islamic theologians to go out and talk with everyone who will listen to them.

This would include, particularly, the Saudi supporters of Wahhabist Madrassas. We need to corner them, and ask them if they support the murder of children. Do they? Is this their policy? Are they proud of supporting the murder of 13 year old girls?

They have--or should have, as self proclaimed pious Muslims--some sense of shame. If we play on this, not only is this pragmatic, we are in my own sincere belief helping them become better humans, and better Muslims. Hatred has blinded them from their own faith.

And if death is their faith, we need to do all we can to help them meet it quickly. We haven't even started digging in our toolbag, and hopefully we never will need to.

Barry,

What you say is true. But when it only takes a network of a few dozen men to execute very large scale terrorist attacks, the war of ideas is really only a small part of counter-terror strategy. It is an admirable goal, but one that is entirely insufficient for the goal of preventing future 9/11's and Mumbais.

Even if 99% of the Muslims in the world were non-violent classical liberals, enough terrorists would remain in that 1 percent to make the world a living hell.

The essential problem here is non-state actor super-empowerment. Small groups of angry men can now do more damage than ever before, and we have not yet developed an adequate adaptation to this reality. Islam in the modern era has not become noticeably more jihad-prone as compared to the rest of its history. What is new is that technology has enabled the minority of extremists to cause extreme damage on a global scale, and to recruit and spread propaganda as well.

Many of our most dangerous enemies are non-state networks, yet our national security institutions remain primarily designed to deal with nation-state threats.

Cfogc,

This is no doubt true, but I remember reading a book by Benjamin Netanyahu following 9/11, where he pointed out that while yes, non-state supported groups are our main enemy, that they too require some form of safe haven. They have to have a place where they can relax, train, and plan. This was Afghanistan. Now it is northern Pakistan, Iran, and likely Lebanon.

Any movement to control small groups of radicals involves preventing their ability to control their environment. Between human intelligence, and our overwhelming Signal Intelligence capacity, it is very hard to swim like fish in any major nation. This means the big stuff gets planned where we can't reach.

Yet we share with Pakistan a desire to extend what could be termed civilization to the mountain ranges of Northern Pakistan. Pakistan may never renounce their claim to Kashmir, but this is not our problem. Where our interests are in agreement is that we both want to prevent the overthrow of the Pakistani government by radicals spreading death and destruction out of Waziristan.

I have said before, and will say again that what I understood John McCain to have proposed with respect to Pakistan was an excellent idea. He argued for, if I heard correctly, a counterinsurgency analogous to what we did in Iraq, with Pakistani troops leading the way. Muslims interacting with Muslims in ways designed to bring them into the fold of a modern secular state.

These are problems that can be addressed with sound thinking. Nothing is certain in this world, but that includes the necessity of defeat. We can win this thing, and do it in a way where everyone but the murderers win. I truly believe this.