Thank goodness. I am gassed.

Just back from the Level I Cert. in Indy. Kudos to IndyShield for being a great host and having an AWESOME facility.
Crossfit : Priceless
Cert I Instructors : PRICELESS
Learned a helluva lot and Intensity will never be the same. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge that will no doubt make me better. Hope to get it going with others and passing it on.

Just got home from level one cert in Indy. What a weekend, one of the best weekends ever! All the coaches were amazing. I was always unsure of doing a cert at first, but now that i have finished i am dying to go back! Tons of great information. Andy and the rest of the coaches were awesome. Looking forward to my next cert. Well worth it. Never been happier to be a crossfitter!!!

At first glance, I like that save the children thing. Know why? Because, (so far as I know), I'm not giving them money with a gun pointed at my head. Cough, cough, taxes, cough...

They also appear to get most of their money to their causes, rather than themselves. Cough, cough, united way, cough...

Good for them.

6 wods in 5 days, I am ready for a rest day. I am sore all over and imagine will be even more so tomorrow. I love crossfit!!!

Done with the Crossfit cert in indy. And it was at our gym. I want to thank all of the coaches you guys and girls are AWESOME. Andy is a great speaker and all the coaches show such a great attitude and passion for what they do. I look forward to them coming back we would host them anytime. I want to thank every one of them and thank all the great folks that were there with us. You are truly some of the smartest people i have had the pleasure to be around. Thank You all from the INDYSHIELD staff

Looks like im ganna try the G.O.M.A.D over the winter ,lets see what happens !

I was wondering if anyone could answer this for me...I've started doing cross fit about 4 months or so ago and am really getting into into it. I am not new to lifting, i'm an ex college football player. I am really interested to do the sectionals next year for the games. I hear about people training two days a week...Is that something i need to really look into and besides the WOD what other workout would i need to do

GOMAD...WOW! Just thinking about that made me use the can. I'm glad its a rest day!

Maggie- you are AWESOME! Love the spanish video!

Thank you so much for the rest day. I hope my hips and abs heal quickly.

OPSEC...dump that second photo, or at least dump the name...

E-

Two days of suck and one of the best weekends ever. Great facility put together by IndyShield Xfit. Andy was a phenomenal speaker gifted by the combination of expertise and the ability to teach. The coaching staff provided not only the ability to demonstrate each movement but the skill to spend time with each attendee to correct form. Good interaction with the group, many of which came loaded with exercise backgrounds but still learned.

The blending of lecture with movement kept the class engaged and I think most would have stayed longer. Clearly, Coach has carefully vetted his staff to make sure each cert got some of the top instructors in the country.

Sunday, outdoor soccer 2 hrs

For the Birthday- FGB Tabata Style
WB, 12#: 12*13*12*12*12*12*12*12
SDLHP,65#: 7*10*9*7*6*6*7*9
BJ, 24": 6*8*7*7*8*8*8*7
PP, 65#: 14*11*8*8*9*7*7*7
Burpees:6*5*5*5*5*5*5*7

Low= 36, Total= 331

Now off for some zzzz's ;)
Erin

If you're going to do the GOMAD diet, I recommend 1) partially clabbering your milk to reduce the lactose, which reduces the glycemic index and also makes it more tolerable/digestible and reduces flatulence.

and 2) a good quality raw milk from a breed with A2 casein protein (Jersey or Gurnsey).

You can clabber the milk by stirring in a tablespoon of any good quality cultured product such as kefir grains, kefir, or yogurt, into a quart mason jar, then place out in a warm area 75-90 degrees F overnight to 24 hours. It is ready at the first sign of thickening. Then simply move to fridge and it will keep for weeks whereas your raw milk will start to turn on the second week after milking depending on the temperature of your fridge and how cool it was kept before you received your delivery.

Recently had the opportunity to see the other side of relief and development agencies/corporations on a trip to Africa...interesting and disturbing. With regard to Save the Children, I take issue with any R&D agency funded by donations headed by a guy who makes 350k+/year (source www.charitynavigator)

Just as we all should be generous to those less fortunate we should be vigilent stewards of our resources in order to bring the most help to the most people.

On an unrelated note-I really enjoy the outstanding video coming out on the main site

Is that Miko Salo in the Rogue shirt in the third pic down? He won the CF Games and didn't even have a Level 1 cert.

Watch out, world. Khalipa vs. Salo vs. 2010 Dark Horse should be the most intense competition to date. I can hardly wait!

Just did the Sydney Cert. What a weekend. I have feedback and it's all good. All the trainers were really helpful and approachable and there is a real sense of community. I learned more about technique than I ever did doing my certs to become a personal trainer and I also learned that I do not photograph so well after Fran! Thanks for a great weekend guys

"I was wondering if anyone could answer this for me...I've started doing cross fit about 4 months or so ago and am really getting into into it. I am not new to lifting, i'm an ex college football player. I am really interested to do the sectionals next year for the games. I hear about people training two days a week...Is that something i need to really look into and besides the WOD what other workout would i need to do"

Comment #8 - Posted by: Ryan

Ryan,

On top of doing some intense variation of the WOD (Workout of the Day), I would look at what you are weak or lacking in, and attack those weaknesses as hard as possible in order to build a complete package. Furthermore, I would invest some extra time in getting very strong in the 3 crossfit total lifts (BS, SP, and DL) and very technically proficient with the olympic lifts (Snatch and Clean&Jerk). The top tier Crossfit Games contenders have all been much stronger than average and are very well balanced in the 10 aspects of fitness.

rest day is gonna be nice, still... very much looking forward to tuesdays wod, cant wait to find out what it is

Finally home from Level 1 cert in Indy. Thanks Andy, EC, Joe, Stephan,and both Joe's for all your help. Thanks Indy Shield for a nice facility.

I thought the cert was excellent. Andy is a great speaker and an asset to CrossFit. I think he should get a raise;)

One thing that could be better is the shirt goven out to the participants. Hey beggers can't be choosers but a leftover CrossFit Games shirt was a poor choice I thought. I would rather see a level 1 cert CrossFit shirt be handed out. I think all of us would be proud to wear it at the boxes and at gyms. It shows that we are coaches and that we have completed the level 1. Just my 2 cents.

Great job guys.

Finally home from Level 1 cert in Indy. Thanks Andy, EC, Joe, Stephan,and both Joe's for all your help. Thanks Indy Shield for a nice facility.

I thought the cert was excellent. Andy is a great speaker and an asset to CrossFit. I think he should get a raise;)

One thing that could be better is the shirt given out to the participants. Hey beggers can't be choosers but a leftover CrossFit Games shirt was a poor choice I thought. I would rather see a level 1 cert CrossFit shirt be handed out. I think all of us would be proud to wear it at the boxes and at gyms. It shows that we are coaches and that we have completed the level 1. Just my 2 cents.

Great job guys.

Should be "GORMAD" for a gallon of raw milk a day.

***FRAT***

Have you ever wondered how effective is the Paleo way of eating? Or how many seconds is it possible to shave from your favorite benchmark merely by eating better?

I have come to the conclusion that there is only way to evaluate this and all challenges in the Crossfit world:

PERFORMANCE.

Enter the FRAT October Paleo Challenge.

We will measure several metrics of performance on the first 3 days. I will program 3 WODs for both before and after the one month of Paleo style nutrition. This is the only way to truly measure any Crossfit challenge and answer the question: "How much more fit are you now than you were before?"

This challenge is free for anyone who wants to join, and has the great benefit of being it's own support group.

Details here: http://crossfiteclipse.typepad.com/the-frat-paleo-challenge/

***FRAT OUT!***

"Something else I'm getting tired of in this country is all this stupid talk
I have to listen to about children. That's all you hear about anymore,
children: 'Help the children, save the children, protect the children.' You
know what I say? F*** the children!"
~George Carlin

Finished my first week of Crossfit and this rest day is well needed i couldn't even hold a water bottle after today. What a great feeling.

HERM, absolutely brilliant that you're doing this again -- excellent. I strongly recommend everyone join in on the FRAT October Paleo Challenge.

* * *
I've become a connoisseur of CFHQ videos of training the foundational movements, and I noticed something in Maggie Dabe's Sobre La Cabeza video that I can't find in any others --

"en el plano frontal!"

When Boz teaches the OHS, he'll refer to the middle of the foot and the 'midline'. I'm pretty sure Maggie is the only person I've seen use the frontal plane as the cue for the bar path in the OHS. (I've heard several non-CFHQ trainers use the frontal plane, though.) Anyway, I LOVE hearing Maggie speak Spanish because her diction is so crystal clear.

What's that word Maggie is using for dropping the shoulders (I think)? Doblar? Huh?

"sentadillas sobre la cabeza"???? WTF?
That would translate into something like "on top of your head squats", or maybe "upside-down squats"
srsly, crossfit needs some native translators, or just do like most ppl in mexico or brasil, and keep using the english names for everything.

Hey Herm,

many thanks for posting that - I've been thinking about trialling pure Paleo for a month.

I'm in

Level I Cert in Indy rocked. Thanks to Indy Shield for hosting. Great weekend. Great instructors. All my questions were answered and learned a wealth of knowledge. Level I Cert is a must for all who CrossFit.

Congrats to all those who got certified! i see the Champ Mikko Salo got Certified! congrats to all my peoples in CrossFit North Ireland! Hugs to Jonny and helzy!

Ian, where's your Spanish from? 99% of what I hear in the US is illiterate, grunting sh*t. Maggie speaks like lectures I've heard of scholarly spaniards or venezuelans like Gabriel Calzada, Jose Pinera, or Yon Goicoechea.

Please -- we all share a profound commitment to health and respect for efficacy in preventative medicine.

Please help SENS Foundation win. The contest ends today at midnight, we have been neck-and-neck for 1st place, and winning will get us desperately needed publicity and visibility. Just go to the link below and vote for us.

http://3banana.com/m/0JQ/-kDPA_iEv7i

SENS Foundation was founded to develop, promote and ensure widespread access to regenerative medicine solutions to the disabilities and diseases of aging. We focus on the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) identified by our Chief Science Officer, Dr Aubrey de Grey, and we combine direct research efforts with education, affiliation and outreach programs.

All day today, we've been just fractionally ahead of the competing cause in 3banana's "Share to Win" challenge. We still are... but really fractionally, just half a dozen votes, despite having added several hundred votes today. There are still nearly three hours to go - voting ends at midnight Pacific time. Thus: everyone who sees this in time: please, if you haven't already done so, take the few seconds necessary to register your support for SENS at this page:

http://3banana.com/m/0JQ/-kDPA_iEv7i

The more we are supported, the more we will be communicating to major donors the legitimacy and popularity of the crusade against aging. Please don't delay. Thanks so much

#24 - im IN!!! Performanced-based challenges are AWESOME!!! During the August Paleo challenge I took over a minute off my "Dumbell Fran" with 30 days of strict Paleo. Was that enought to convince me to keep going? Hell ya!

Long live the gallon of milk a day diet.

I was going to start the Paleo diet on Oct. 1st anyway, so this challenge should be fun and great motivation.

Just wanna say a big thanks to all the coaches @ the level 1 cert in northern Irland, it was a great weekend and you guys and gals toatlly blew me away with your instruction. Plus would like to say that i enjoyed meeting all the crossfitters from around the globe. I had the pleasure of doing a work-out along side Mikko and, dam that boy can move, europe is gonna produce some amazing crossfitters in 2010.
Again a big thanks to everyone.

I would like to thank Johnny and Helen from Elite 400 Crossfit Northern Ireland for hosting the Level 1 Cert this weekend. It is not often Crossfitters in the UK or Europe get the opportunity to attend Level 1's, as they are normally held in the US.
Also, thank you again to the Trainers for a great weekend I feel I now have a deeper understanding of the basic movements and would recommend a Level 1 to everyone. I woke up this morning and instead of wondering what todays WOD was gong to be I was wondering what - varied range of functional movements we will be doing at high intensity!!
Thanks again everyone and I would seriously consider doing the level 1 again.

Hey Cash,
I speak Mexican Spanish. I was born and raised in Chiapas, southern Mexico, and Spanish is my native tongue. My parents are American, so i also have a good sense of English. I agree, the woman in the video speaks very well for a non-native (only a few mistakes).
My point was about the mistranslation of "overhead squats" into "sentadillas sobre la cabeza" which just sounds silly. I am sure the woman in the video did not translate the term herself, and I am in no way criticizing her very considerable mastery of the language.
I still think it would be better to just say "esquats" as many ppl do in Mexico, and "overhed esquats", "esprints", "ded-lif", etc.
Did you know that in boxing a jab is a "jab", or "Yab" and a hook is a "hook" in Chinese, Thai or Portuguese?

We travelled over to Elite 400 for my fiancee's Level 1, the certs just get better and better, great to catch up with old friends and make new ones too-big thanks to Smut and Helzy for being the perfect hosts.

Thanks to all the coaches and everyone who put on the cert in Belfast this weekend.

For those of you, like me, who have no intentions of ever going into training I would still reccommend it as the amounts of little tips I've picked up were unbelieveable and money well spent. I'll definitely be doing another one...

Now once I get the feeling back into my posterior chain I can't wait to go activate it;)

Help! At round 3 of yesterday's Thrusters section, lost focus and feet were not in correct position - instead of each foot splayed out at 45 degrees, my right foot was straight ahead (90 degs). You guessed it: Tweak! Sharp pain on outside lower portion of knee. Immediately stopped training, elevated and iced. Talk about bad form!

I am a solo Crossfitter way the heck out here in Indonesia - very little support other than what is on CF and the web. Any advice out there? I am not stopping CF but I sure as heck am not going to only do just Pull-Ups and upperbody aspects of the WOD's until 100% again...

Help! I am thinking of just working my way back up, light weights (when squatting etc), with biking and light weights training to try and strengthen the ligaments again... ideas? comments (other than "Way to go Noob..." :-)

Ian, thanks, I appreciate the response. I've heard squats translated as sentadillas before (I have brothers and sisters whose mother is from Mexico City), and I've wondered how to say the rest. In my ignorance, I felt relieved when all the terms were translated so simply -- "sobre la cabesa!" -- exactly what I would have guessed from lack of knowing a better word. I'm not at all surprised the English terms are more popular.

Another point in your favor: assume your audience is smart. You're teaching them new material including new vocab, and if they take Overhead Squats home with them, they're going to get better results searching on those terms for further study/resources, than 'sentadillas sobre la cabesa'.

I've had the pleasure of working with non-English speakers in about 12 countries. My wife included; she's now earning her medical license in a language she couldn't speak and had never heard just 4 years ago. In the process of learning English, she's discovered that about 40-60 words which she thought were, naturally, native Russian words, were actually English words borrowed into Russian. I didn't know about the 'jab' / 'yab' and 'hook', but I've seen the pattern countless times in Hebrew, Russian, Korean and Arabic; eg, in Russian, a t-shirt is a "footbolka".

And yeah, I'd be a bit annoyed if Coach got needlessly translated as "Sifu" or some such.

Kyle, the rehab prescription will depend in part on how severe the symptoms are after a couple days' rest. The pain may be gone tomorrow or the next day, never to return.

Assuming, after ice and 24 hours rest, you feel minor twinges in the knee but no severe pain when you lift the foot and move the knee through a full range of motion, you can rehab it with gently paced but perfect-form air squats.

I am NOT a physical therapist and you shouldn't regard my advice as anything but the hard-earned experience of a twenty-year athlete. Try the message boards, Steven Low is very generous with responses.

#17 - yes it is Mikko. Thanks to all the HQ gang who travelled over to share with us at the weekend.

Thanks to all the participants and please know that our door is open for you to come and visit anytime.

Sevan & Carey, it was just an extra bonus to have you guys here too!

M 32/72/205

7

lots o room for improvement

Just had an amazing Level 1 Cert @ Northern Ireland thanks to Jonny and Helzy for being great hosts, massive thanks to all the trainers I learned so much and really appreciate all the help especially from Lisa, Mike, Rob, Pat and Courtney fantastic experience and to top it off knocked 2 mins of my Fran PB - Magic!!

Did the Level I cert at Indy Shield CrossFit as well. Agree with all the previous comments: excellent coaching staff, great introduction to the CrossFit principles and methodology. Would also agree that the t-shirt was lame and will probably never see the light of day again. In the big picture it did not take away from the excellence and value of the cert. Plus I bought an Indy Shield shirt which rocks. Special thanks to Indy Shield CrossFit for hosting.

The girl in the video (Maggie) is originally from Ecuador. Spanish is her first language. Everyone can now relax.

m/20/6'1"/200
zone begins today..feel pretty stuffed

AWWWW!!! feel so good that its a REST DAY!!!!

I needed it...that last WOD blasted me..started Paleo yesterday feeling good about it..

RAT DOWN!!1 till next time

The Raw milk dealio is significant. Raw (grassfed) milk has some protease inhibitors (enzymes that block the breakdown of certain proteins) that enhance the expression of a number of different growth factors: IGF's 1-3, EGF, Insulin, and it down regulates IGF-3 binding protein. All the aforementioned items are growth promoters, the removal of IGF3-binding protein is likely the most important in the muscle building sense. Regular milk also has this effect, but somewhat less potent.

I'd use dairy as a tool however there are tradeoff's that are important to consider.

I'm sorry this is my first post to comments on the main CF site but I'm a little shocked by the promotion of drinking a gallon-of-milk-a-day... Besides how awful the thought of that digestive assault makes my stomach quiver and sphincter pucker, casein (milk protein) is a pretty sketchy source of protein (ala China Study), I think this small paragraph on its entry in wikipedia should make health-conscious individuals think about how much dairy they consume: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein#Cancer

I completed the Level 1 certificate in Northern Ireland this weekend.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, even though i had read most of the content in the journal over the last twelve months.
The lecturing is university standard and the biggest compliment i can give the coaches is to say they are as good as coach Burgeners staff(natalie, Sage, Casey)
The time keeping was perfect, which isnt easy to achieve with such a large group. Regular breaks and appropriate activity levels kept my concentrations levels high throughout the weekend.
I feel coach Tucker could improve his gymnastics cert if he followed a similar system with regular breaks.
i feel proud to be associated with such a professional, kmowledgeable group as crossfit.
Thank you.

Completed the level 1 in Indy this weekend... Andy and the crew made this an amazing and incredibly educational weekend. The time flew by and my muscles are still feeling the effects today. I absolutely cannot wait to apply all the little things I learned and start training clients. Thank you CFHQ!

SS GOMAD CFSB - all hitting pretty strong recently.

Any stats/numbers for people that want to lose a large amount of body fat, but need to build that base of strength as well? The same chicken or egg question all over the forums, internet tubes near and far...just wondering about actual data.

Crossfit Eastside is the truth. I live and run a box is the Seattle area and Eastside is where I wish I could have started my training when I first got into Crossfit. The Coaches there are the best around when it comes to lifting big weight in my mind. You wanna learn to squat you go to Eastside. I did a scaled down version of GOMAD after doing a cert there and put 30lbs on my squat and 45 on my deadlift. Can't say enough good things about them.

http://www.wlwt.com/video/21113330/index.html

(Link SFW)

I wonder if we could get this posted on the main front page???

Received my purchases today, for the colder weather that is coming (long sleeved t-shirt and hooded sweatshirt). They look great. Thank you

Went throught the level 1 cert in Indy, it is amazing to find out you dont know as much as you thought you did. There was alot of great info given. Andy and the rest of the staff were funny,passionate and smart.I was already drinking the coolaid but im pumped even more. CROSSFIT PEOPLE ROCK!

made up "Angie" Sunday, 9/27

kipping pull ups
chest to deck push ups
anchored abmat sit ups
squats to parallel

TIME: 12:27 not a PR

Made up 5 thrusters/7hang power cleans/10 SDHP today.

Used 70#

11 rounds + 1 thruster PR

As a Paleo-Zone proponent for 3+ yr, I really dont get the GOMAD. Unless one has a sport specific issue, like football, where weight augments performance, why just add lbs. With the increase in insulin resistance induced by milk, I would think unless you're 15yo with a raging metabolism, much of that weight is body fat. Also, the adverse GI effects and potential precipitation of autoimmunity would far outweigh the proposed increase in lbs and strength. To make this a legit discussion, let some of these folks document their weight and strength gains as well as body composition. This is NOT an evolution in our nutrition, but hey, if you want to gain weight, I'm sure you can on GOMAD, just depends on your goals and long term health concerns.

Incidentally, I have added 15lb of lean mass in a yr by tinkering with the protein and fat blocks while maintaining a Paleo quality diet, using Robb Wolf's recommendations and the MEBB program.

Did the level 1 cert in Belfast this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. You think you have the techiques down until you go to one of these certs! Thanks to the crossfit staff for a great and fun weekend

Jim W (#16), I disagree. I followed the link you gave and looked up this charity. Their one-year program expenditure (money spent helping kids) was about $424 million. That was almost 92% of total expenses, a high ratio for this kind of organization.

If their Director is effective, why shouldn't he or she get paid MORE than $350K/year? You said it's about bringing the most help to the most people. What if they could bring in an even better Director for $1 million/year, who increases the $ raised to help kids to, say $650 million? Wouldn't that justify paying him/her more?

I can't see any downside to this. If someone can produce results, why shouldn't he/she get compensated accordingly? Should they fire the $350K person and hire someone willing to work for half the salary who raises $100 million/year less?

Back from my first Level 1 cert...thanks to CF Northern Ireland for hosting...what a fantastic experience...the trainers (Lisa and Mike Ray, Pat B, Mads, Courtney and last but not least Rob Miller) were exceptional. I learned so much in a short period of time and I'm already planning my next one. I can't stress enough the level of professionalism of the trainers. Everything was first rate and related in ways that we were able to get it. On top of all of that i got my first muscle-up and then managed to get 6 more. Thanks to Mike for helping me with that. What a joy to be a part of such a great community.

By the way...Mikko is a beast and one of the most humble guys I've ever met.

Anthony

Signed up for my Level 1 Cert!!

February 13th - 14th
Rainier CrossFit
Pullayup, WA

WOO HOO!

I think it's kind of humorous that the vast and overwhelming majority of people who want to gain muscle mass are young fellers. Give it time, guys...in a few years and every few years after, Father Time will give you all the "mass gain" you want...and more ;^)

BTW: I have yet to hear ONE soul admit that weight gain brought about by (supposebly) doing CrossFit and starting a new diet regimen is anything BUT muscle. There have been a few medical studies conducted through the years that have discovered people normally overestimate their activity and underestimate their food intake, which can explain one of the main reasons why America is turning into the land of chunky monkeys (or, in the military, Large Sarges). If we're going to effectively combat our obesity epidemic, it's going to start with, as Gordon Ramsay would say, "being honest with ourselves."

On the other hand, eating is one of our few remaining freedoms that we can exercise (no pun intended) with impunity. If someone lights up a cigarette in a restaurant, they'll receive sharp glares from everyone in it. However, if a person goes to a buffet and in a short amount of time piles up ten empty plates, nobody says a thing...and they shouldn't. Very few places outside the U.S. consider sweats to be appropriate dining attire ;^) I think our weight issues are mostly about personal choices, but with choice comes accountability...and the latter is mighty hard to come by nowadays anywhere.

Yup I went to the hospital today and officially have rhabdo. Add another stupid crossfit newbie to the stats. :(

I'm pretty sure it was the 150 GHD situps on Friday.

Attended the level one cert in crossfit northern ireland this weekend. Just want to say thanks to helzy and johnny for hosting the weekend brilliantly and to all the coaches - mike, lisa, rob, pat, courtney and mads for top class coaching and enthusiasm all weekend.

As has been said before, the lecturing was top notch and breaking it up with technique sessions and regular breaks definately kept everyone focused.

Great meeting old faces from previous certs and new faces as well.

Definately keeping an eye out for the rumoured robb wolf cert in europe next year....?! Anyone else heard anything that could back that up??

Want to give a shout-out and say thanks to Todd, Adrian and Nadia for their outstanding execution of the Level 1 certification at Fort Lewis. My form is much tighter, my knowledge base regarding fitness has expanded exponentially, and I am now able to spot problem areas with my cohorts. Who knew that the equation "PVC pipe = pain" ever existed? I do now! Thanks again for the great instruction!
kelly

I completed the Level I certification over 24-25 SEP 09 at Ft Lewis, WA. The Course was phenomenal and chalked full of great material for not only improving your own form and knowledge but also in how to accurately and efficiently teach it to others who are entering the Crossfit community. I myself am fairly new to Crossfit and was blown away by all the tips my instructors provided me and the class with on form, instruction fundamentals, nutrition and workout creation and scaling. It also reconfirmed previous information and technique I was taught. I couldn't agree more that with my instructor's opinions that this program is directly geared towards the military. All instruction was very professional, taught in a progressive format building off the previous lesson plans. The instructors were exceptionally knowledgeable on all the material and more than willing to field any questions we had on the spot. A very appreciative thanks to Todd, Adrian and Natalie, you guys rocked it!

Easy run and swim, 3x10 pullups, 3x5 bench 135-185-195.

Yesterday: 1.5 hr row, not on machine but in the single out on the water. Beautiful flat water on Lake Granby, watched the sun come up over the Continental Divide, a big osprey was fishing in the same water I was rowing ... wow, it has really been too long.

Strong Lil Pony - I just wanted to thank you for being so open and sharing your experience with rhabdo, particularly what you think got you there.

I, too, am in the category of what I like to think of as a 'serial scaler' because I can't do 95% of these WODs as Rx'd. Usually I feel okay about that since I was never an athlete (until now, wink!) and my nickname used to be "Olive Oyle," but sometimes I forget that the WOD as Rx'd is for people who are way more fit than I...and male. I forget that the whole 3 on/1 off with all those loads/time, etc is for the (185lb male, according to the FAQs) human firebreather not the 31-year-old 5'6" 120 pounder who sits on her behind most of the day.

So this weekend I did Angie and, OMG, I did 60 honest pushups, which is a huge PR for me and pales in comparison to the kick-a** capacity of most of the folks who post, but I still felt so freaking awesome about myself! And it occured to me for the 1 zillionth time that I am so much happier when I compare myself to ME, not to other people (why does that lesson have to be re-learned, like, every other day?).

Pony, I really appreciated your willingness to talk about your experience of the psychological element of Crossfitting because I find that to be my real 'goat,' so to speak (and because I'm a shrink and that's what I think about all the time anyway). I am learning that I am capable of things I never thought I was, thanks to Crossfit.

To all women of Crossfit (especially those who post regularly and share your CF experience - Pony, Fit Mom, Cookie, Scrat, In8girl, AllisonNYC, Laura DeMarco...can't name them all!), thank you for inspiring me to be better than I ever thought I could be!

I am sore as heck!! Hopefully one rest day will suffice. If not oh well back at it tomorrow!!

QUESTION

I was looking at the CFSB and there is a set of reps that read "15=>20", what does this mean.
Thanx in advance

The October Paleo Challenge would be more fun if it was set up like CrossFit, where you eat large quantities for time, "Joey Chestnut"-style.

Fitmom that is a great performance on Angie!

Devin, more info appreciated, like did you ever do GHDs before in warmup, did you read rhabdo info, injury board -- any more info would be great.

***FRAT***

GOMAD week 3 started this morning...it's tougher than I thought and I'm only drinking about 3/4 of a gallon per day. Back squats, back squats and more back squats...

Herm, as soon as my six weeks of squats and milk are over, I'm right back on the Paleo train...I'll catch up!

***FRAT OUT***

First, a big thanks to Crossfit Northern Ireland for hosting this weekends Level 1 Cert. Secondly, thanks to the wonderful CF trainers Lisa, Mike, Pat "The Manimal" Barber, Courtney, Mads, and Rob Miller. These individual are the epitomie of what Crossfit is all about. I feel we as a community hold Crossfit to a very high standard and the trainers this weekend superseded that level of excellence. The lectures were great and the instruction was even better. Thanks to Sevan and Carey as well for making the trip and keeping thing interesting. Along with completing my Level 1 Cert. I also got to meet the 2009 Crossfit Games Champ Miko Salo. Amazing is the only word to discribe what I saw when he did Fran this weekend right next to me. What a great guy and a humble guy as well. One of my favorite parts was meeting all these new people from all over. Crossfitters are more like family and you'll never know that feeling unless you get inside a box or go to a Cert and experience it first hand. Looking forward to see all of you in the future. I like to give a big thanks to Tony who I traveled with to the Cert.

First, a big thanks to Crossfit Northern Ireland for hosting this weekends Level 1 Cert. Secondly, thanks to the wonderful CF trainers Lisa, Mike, Pat "The Manimal" Barber, Courtney, Mads, and Rob Miller. These individual are the epitomie of what Crossfit is all about. I feel we as a community hold Crossfit to a very high standard and the trainers this weekend superseded that level of excellence. The lectures were great and the instruction was even better. Thanks to Sevan and Carey as well for making the trip and keeping thing interesting. Along with completing my Level 1 Cert. I also got to meet the 2009 Crossfit Games Champ Miko Salo. Amazing is the only word to discribe what I saw when he did Fran this weekend right next to me. What a great guy and a humble guy as well. One of my favorite parts was meeting all these new people from all over. Crossfitters are more like family and you'll never know that feeling unless you get inside a box or go to a Cert and experience it first hand. Looking forward to see all of you in the future. I like to give a big thanks to Tony who I traveled with to the Cert.

#44 Cash Reynolds - Thanks so much for taking the time to weigh in mate - much appreciated. No twinging or pain today, through full range of motion so will just be doing Air squats As Rx'd! Hopefully I pulled the pin on the thrusters before much more damage... Cheers and thanks again Cash.
KL

-Just completed the Level 1 cert this weekend in Indy......I enjoyed Crossfit before, but the cert brought it all home that "Crossfit is a lifestyle". Crossfit is seeping into my blood and I will soon get that KIP!:)
The trainers were phenomenal and the program, put together by Crossfit and provided at Indyshield, was very well-run.

Loved the level 1 cert at Indy Shield, it was like a really long two days at a pain filled version of disney land, although exhausted and sore I didnt want it to end. Since I am from Indy Shield, I wont rave on and on how awesome the facilities were, even though they were. Thank you to all the crossfit staff (even the freakishly tall ones, wink wink!) and to my own co-workers for allowing for this awesome challenge with all their hard work.

I also agree with the other commentary and if I could add anything to the cert, I would ask for crossfit shirts and merchandise from to be available at the cert.

I also made Angie today, but didn't kill it like FitMom.

As Rx'd 15:46 is a PR. Been missing wod's and have several that I need to make up. Kids, work, life. Gets pretty hard sometimes to find that sliver of day to hit it.

"GOMAD"
Sorry I'm a couple of days behind watching this

Has anyone thought of or looked at the hormonal implications of that much dairy being introduced into your diet. The production of insulin must be astronomical. I would be curious to see what a person's markers for insulin production would be before/after. Not sure that increased insulin and an rapidly increased growth is the safest thing to induce in the body??
Just a thought

Jake B

A big shout out to all the folks that helped put on the cert in Sydney over the weekend. The best and most valuable certification that I have attended in my 10 years of working in the industry. Thanks heaps. Of particular note was the awesome work from the international contingent, all the Yanks and the Ninja.

See you all for round two in six or seven months.

rest day, well needed but jumped (heavy) rope for 40 minutes this morning anyway.

Across the board excellence... from a great host in IndyShield to awesome coaches. What is there to say... Thank You, it was very much appriciated.

M/63/196-
AM- 1.7 mile jog/walk 23:14 (fast as neighbor could go)
1 rope climb- 17 ft
3 muscle-ups (start w/toes on ground)
PM-2 hours of Karate, first hour techniques interspersed with:
4 rounds each of
Pushups (incline/ decline using two levels of park table - 10 reps
Inverted crawl (50 ft)
Park table stepups 1- reps
Parkour Rabbit jumps- 50 feet

just completed level 1 cert in sydney 26th/27th sept...best wedding anniversary pressie EVER!!!! The trainers were all fantastic (Jolie you are a gun) with an immense wealth of knowledge and so willing to share....thankyou to crossfit effects for hosting, and I recommend the cert to anyone with a passion for crossfit...:)

Huge thanks for the phenomenal effort that was put into the cert in Sydney over this past weekend.

The enthusiasm, passion and dedication of all the coaches was palpable and infectious- further fuelling my aspirations of becoming a CF coach myself...

Great job guys!

24/m/170/5'10"

Make-up for yesterday

as rx'd

10 rds...by the skin of my teeth

what a weekend in northern ireland!!!! great place, super gym and awesome hosts and coaches!!!! got to see miko killing fran, pat do single arm pull ups and the fastest butterfly pull ups possible, a weekend to remember thats a fact!!!!!!

Just returned for the N. Ireland Cert. Great event, the instruction was very professional and the venue was good. One aspect that could be improved is the amount of training equipment. There was not enough bars, plates and med balls for training. Given the cost of the course and the effort expended for attendance, the proper amounts of the correct equipment should be available.

This video really turned me off... just thought I would post my honest initial reaction. I don't intend for it to be mean:

Everyone interviewed in that GOMAD video seemed to be overweight with double-chins. Hummmm.... is that really the solution to achieving a healthy bodyweight, optimum performance, and health/happiness? Doesn't seem like it to me.

Thank you for the incredible training at the Indy cert this past weekend. IndyShield and the Crossfit trainers coordinated a flawless weekend. Crossfit passion is second to none!

Beltless Deadlifts:

295x1
305x1
315x1
335x1
345x1 - Triple Bodyweight! Hard and slow, but solid. That was it for me today.
295x1 - Barely made it....the 345 took it out of me.

Rested about 20 minutes.

Helen:

3 rounds
400 meter runs
21 35# American KB swings
12 kipping chin over bar pullups

9:31

I'm working on some other stuff and don't have time to say more, but I did want to comment that Conservatism and charity go hand in glove.

The question is not one of compassion, but location: who offers needed services for those who fall by the wayside? Is it the Federal Government, States, local communities, or privately run charities?

The foundational Conservative position is that the more local the service, the more targeted it can be. Generic relief produces generic people.

We want good people, not generic people. As I have argued before, I can accept States providing social service, but we need the Federal Government out of it entirely. Completely. No services at all. Social Security: gone. Medicare/Medicaid: gone.

In their place we need to create equivalent programs that are as local and controllable by individuals as our ingenuity can devise.

For now, this looks like as good a charity as any, and likely better than most. There is much suffering in this world, and all of us can make large differences with small deeds over time.

If you haven't given any money to anybody for anything in a long time, this might be the time, place, and cause.

Thanks to all the trainers from overseas and here back in OZ for a fantastic informative and intense two day certification here in Sydney. Thanks to Steve for his great BOX and all the participants who were great to be amongst for the two days. Special Hello to Kevin from Singapore and Chris from USA who got me through my first Fran workout in 8mins 37 secs. Fantastic Buzz.
Lynne Fitzharris Crossfit Penrith Australia.

Whoa! For a nice and looking bing all day for this and i finally think it is here!