Tuesday 030930

Row 1000 meters
Thruster 85 x 21
15 Pull-ups

Row 750 meters
Thruster 85 x 18
12 Pull-ups

Row 500 meters
Thruster 85 x 15
9 Pull-ups

Rest 2 minutes between each round. Time each round seperately and post times to comments.

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Kurtis Bowler's gym. You should see this guy run down the street with the water heater on his back!

Monday 030929

Rest Day

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"Young Zack" demonstrates the rest after 6 a.m. workout.

Sunday 030928

Run 5K

Post time to comments.

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Blake Glassman, age 14. Over the next five years Blake will continue to do CrossFit, grow a foot, pick up 75 pounds and thereafter be accused of having great genetics.

Saturday 030927

"Barbara"

Five rounds, each for time of:
20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Rest precisely three minutes between each round. Post time for each of five rounds to comments.

On July 13, 2003 we introduced the prototype "Barbara." This earlier version allowed five minutes rest between sets. Go back to 030713 and note any improvements today in spite of the reduced rest.

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CrossFit's Brent Edwards has got to be the fittest mortgage broker on earth. Any challenges?

Friday 030926

Deadlift 3RM load maximum number of sets in twenty minutes.

Using the max load from any set on 030827 where available, how many triples can you complete in twenty minutes?

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Phil Mancini of San Jose Police Department's MERGE Team at "Best of the West" SWAT Competition.

Thursday 030925

Rest Day

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Patrick and Stacey Johnston have taken the CrossFit message home. The Johnston-TeVelde family holds three generations of CrossFitters.

Wednesday 030924

Complete 5 rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
Overhead Squat 95 X 21

Squat to 10 in. box. Compare results to 030623 and post time to comments.

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Only a CrossFitter would want to add instability to the rope climb. CrossFit North's rope is mounted to a trolley that rolls freely on a track. This adds an axis of instability to an already challenging movement. The difference is dramatic. We'd like to see the rope attached to a second trolley and rail that is attached perpendicularly to the first rail. This second axis of instability would open up an entire plane of movement that would need to be controlled to climb efficiently.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

-Charles Darwin (1809-1882, British Naturalist)

Tuesday

Five rounds for time:
Rope climb, 3 ascents
15 Ring dips

One ascent equals thirty feet of rope climb. Post time to comments.

TJ, Phil and the rest of the "0600 JAXSO Crew" from CrossFit East send their congratulations to Greg Amundson. (Don't they look like fun?)

Monday 030922

"Gwen"

Clean & Jerk 15-12-9 reps

Touch and go at floor only. Even a re-grip off the floor is a foul. No dumping. Use same load for each set. Rest as needed between sets. The assigned name is new but this lady has made regular appearances (030525,030630,030801, and 030902). Report load and any advances to comments.

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Kurtis Bowler and his homemade stone were both big hits with our crew at the CrossFit Challenge. Kurtis used Jason Keen's recipe for making rocks.

Sunday 030921

Rest Day

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The United States Air Force has decided that our Greg Amundson has the right stuff to join their elite Special Forces - the "PJ's" or Pararescue Jumpers. These brave men whose motto is "that others may live" provide emergency and life saving services to airmen, soldiers, and civilians in both peacetime and combat.

Greg Amundson is a young man of immense character, boundless energy, and keen wits. His stellar performances and gentle manner have endeared him to the entire CrossFit family.

Congratulations, Greg!!

Saturday 030920

Five rounds for time of:
30 Jump rope double-unders
30 Sit-ups
30 Squats

If you can't double under cut your losses at 2 minutes of jumping rope furiously. Sit-ups can be done on glute-ham developer (GHD), Roman Chair, Ab Mat, or as Knees-to-elbows on pull-up bar. Post time and needed modifications to comments.

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Matt Mast, CrossFit's running coach and athlete extraordinaire, takes "Team 6" (the 6 A.M. crew) through some agility/running skills and drills. Matt Mast (5'6" 160 lbs.) with a 200+ lb Clean & Jerk and 300+ bench press is our kind of runner. We'd lost Matt to U.C. Davis for four years but Team 6 is talking about sending him back for graduate work - in anything, anywhere.

Friday 030919

"Diane"

21-15-9 reps of:
Deadlift 225
Handstand push-ups

This is 3 rounds; the first at 21 reps, the second at 15, and the third at 9 reps. Compare your time to August 5, 2003 when we did a "mini-Diane" at 15-12-9 reps. It's expected that you'll need to partition the sets, e.g., Deadlift 7-7-7 & Handstand push-up 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 as a first round. Interval management - work/rest timing to optimize time - is an essential skill.

If the load is too much under any partitioning scheme, reduce it. If you need help with the handstand push-up, take it in any manner you can get it. If the handstand push-up (HSPU) is clearly beyond your current capacity, substitute a standing dumbbell shoulder press (hip and leg free). Though a less functional press, the standing shoulder press is a closer simulation to the HSPU than the more functional push-press or jerk. The point is that there's a manageable substitution for this workout for everyone that preserves both its mechanical and metabolic characteristics - this will be "your Diane."

Post time and any needed modifications to comments.

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Kurt Bowler brought his tire (and homemade stone) to CrossFit North for the CrossFit Challenge in Seattle last weekend and our crews were like kids at the petting zoo lining up for a piece of that thing. Tire flipping is wildly functional, hard as hell, and loads of fun. Here are three good links, ordered from less to more detailed, on the essentials of tire flipping:

Bootcamp Fitness
Ontario Strongman
Manitoba Association of Strength Athletics

Thursday 030918

For time:
Run 1 mile
50 Kettlebell swings
40 Pull-ups
30 Kettlebell swings
20 Pull-ups
10 Kettlebell swings
Run 1 mile

Use 1½ pood Kettlebell or 50 pound dumbbell. Post time to comments.

Nick Nibler of CrossFit North became the most recent member of the Muscle-up Club this weekend after the CrossFit Challenge. Any of you living or visiting in the Pacific northwest would be well advised to make a trip to CrossFit North in Seattle to meet Nick ( Marine turned cop) and his partner Dave Werner (former SEAL). Their expertise, facility, and nurturing manner are the finest expression of the CrossFit ideal.

Take a moment to explore the relationship between cancer and sugar. Throw the words "cancer" and "sugar" into Google and study the results. Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1931 (and a second Nobel Prize 1944) for his work demonstrating that cancer cells arise from normal cells by shifting from an aerobic metabolism to an anaerobic fermentation metabolism fueled by a voracious appetite for sugar. It is our suspicion that hyperinsulinism will ultimately be shown to be a two-headed hydra with cancer and atherosclerotic disease being two resultant diseases states accelerated by if not arising from a chronic and acute elevation of blood sugar. The evidence for this is fairly compelling yet largely ignored.

Wednesday 030917

Rest Day

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CrossFit North hosted the first CrossFit Challenge Saturday, September 13th 2003. The timed event was three rounds of a 400-meter run, 21 reps of 1½ pood Kettlebell swing, and 12 pull-ups. Greg Amundson took first place with a time of 8:36.

Rankings:

Name------Age-----Time

Greg ------25-------8:36
Mickey----38-------9:50
Neil--------21------11:00
Blake------14------12:01
Lloyd------31------12:01
Dave----- 42------12:22
Shane-----17------12:26
Brian------40------13:06
Nick-------49------13:11
John-------17------13:18
Lisa--------39------13:20
Carrie-----34------14:14
Kevin------50------14:36
Bet--------50------15:20
Kurt-------31------19:31

"Bodybuilding is to weight training as masturbation is to sex."

-Tom "Fireman Tom" Corrigan

Tom Corrigan has designed a series of Kettlebell workouts for firefighters. He can be contacted at torrigan4@earthlink.net.

Tuesday 030916

For time:
Row 1K
Thruster 75 X 50 (75 lbs & 50 reps)
Row 1K

Post time to comments.

Practice: From handstand lower to rock bottom and press back up to handstand. Keep body as tight as you can.

Monday 030915

How many rounds can you complete in 20 minutes?
Bench press 135X12
12 Pull-ups

Post time to comments.

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Practice: Handstand Against Wall

Flirt with balance point by pushing heels against wall gently causing the handstand to "float out" then drift back to wall repeatedly. Keep body tight.

Sunday 030914

Back Squat 5-3-2-1-2-3-5 reps

Rest as needed between sets. Post loads to comments.

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Practice: Straddle Press to Handstand Against Wall

Stand on bars and lean shoulders forward until neck and upper back touch wall, straddle wide and roll your back then hips to the wall. Bring feet together to handstand position after head, neck, back, and hips are on wall.

Saturday 030913

Rest Day

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John Frankl and Robb Wolf previewing the newly finished CrossFit Chico/NorCal BJJ building. What a team!

Friday 030912

"Elizabeth"

21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips

Post time to comments

Practice: Tuck Planche

Curl into a little ball and hold as high and as long as you can.

Thursday 030911

Four rounds for time of:
30 Wall-ball shots
30 Sit-ups
Run 400 meters

Wall-ball with 20-pound ball. Post time to comments.

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Practice: L-Sit

Keep legs straight and above parallel as long as possible.

Wednesday 030910

Seven round for time of:
Deadlift 225 X 10
Rope Climb double-up

Double up is two ascents with only a touch and go in between. Post time to comments.

Practice: Tuck Sit

Hold knees as tightly against the chest as you can and hold as long as possible. Don't let hips fall behind hands.

Tuesday 030909

Rest Day

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Matt Mast's "L" Pull-up.

"Learning the Basics" by the late great J.V. Askem.

Monday 030908

Run 5K

Post time to comments with comparison to the August 14th 5K where applicable.

Stew Smith former Navy SEAL continues in the tradition of the amazing Jack LaLanne with simple, largely equipment free workouts that can be done by almost anyone regardless of experience. Stew's workouts are great for the road or with large numbers of athletes where equipment is unavailable.

Sunday 030907

"Chelsea"

Set up before a clock, and every minute, on the minute, perform 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats.

Can you continue for thirty minutes? Twenty? How about 10? Post results to comments.

We last saw this workout August 3rd, and it will be making repeated, irregular, appearances in the "Workout of the Day." This and other "benchmark" workouts will be readily distinguished from other Workouts of the Day by their being given, in each instance, a female name. This is "Chelsea." The benchmark series - there will be many - will serve to measure your performance and improvements.

If on last tackling "Chelsea" you went the full thirty minutes, try this time 6 pull-ups, 11 push-ups, and 16 squats, and if successful, add one rep to each exercise each time "Chelsea" appears.

Your September, 2003 CrossFit Journal details the benchmark workout concept and introduces the first six "girls:" Angie, Barbara, Chelsea, Diane, Elizabeth, and Fran.

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On the left lousy overhead alignment and lousy haircut. On the right good overhead alignment and good haircut!

When pressing and jerking the terminal position leaves the arms perpendicular to the ground and in alignment with the torso, hip, and knees. Too often the arms remain 10-15 degrees short of perpendicular. If pulling the arms to perpendicular forces additional lumbar extension you have a shoulder flexibility issue. Resolving this issue standing with a barbell will assist the enormously challenging task of performing a perfectly aligned (straight) handstand.

Saturday 030906

Snatch 15-12-9 reps

This is three sets with any rest needed between sets. Touch and go at ground only. Post load and bodyweight to comments.

"The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain, PhD, is the hallmark work on Paleolithic nutrition and its ramifications and implications for the health of modern man.

Paleodiet.com is a wellspring of outstanding nutritional information.

Friday 030905

Rest Day

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The indomitable Kelly Moore working out in the tradition best exemplified by Brooks Kubik's Dinosaur Training. Sadly Kubik's Newsletter, The Dino Files, is no longer published - the last issue came out the month before we launched the CrossFit Journal. The loss of this newsletter is a heart felt blow to the tight knit world of effective training.

Thursday 030904

For time:
Squat 5 intervals of 20 seconds on 10 off,
Run 400 meters,
Squat 4 intervals of 20 seconds on 10 off,
Run 400 meters,
Squat 3 intervals of 20 seconds on 10 off,
Run 400 meters,
Squat 2 intervals of 20 seconds on 10 off,
Run 400 meters,
Squat 1 interval of 20 seconds.

Post time to completion and lowest number of squats in any interval to comments. E.G. 11:30 & 20

Consider variations of the above workout that would keep the total volume constant (1600 meters and 15 squat intervals) and their likely impact on your time and reps.

If this workout were denoted 5-400-4-400-3-400-2-400-1 other workouts of equal volume might include: 5-800-5-800-5 and 800-15-800 to name two of a myriad of possibilities.

Brad Hirakawa hanging out with his buddy Pukie

Wednesday 030903

How many muscle-ups can you do in twenty minutes?

Post reps to comments.

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Julia Atkins, 4, our youngest CrossFitter, in a beautiful L sit!

The L sit requires a powerful ab contraction to stabilize the midsection. How many minutes does it take you to accumulate 7 minutes in the L sit?

Tuesday 030902

Clean & Jerk 15-12-9 reps

Use same load for all three sets. Rest as needed between efforts. Post load to comments.

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Dan John set an American record last weekend at the USA Track and Field Weight Pentathlon Championships at Colorado State University. (The photo is from an entirely different event!)

Monday 030901

Rest Day

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Eva Twardokens' L Sit on homemade parallettes featured in this month's CrossFit Journal.

Many of our athletes, if not most, are fully involved and committed to a sport. For these athletes the WOD (Workout of the Day) and their sport training and practice consume every bit of energy they may have available for physical activity. These athletes' plates are full.

Other CrossFitters are not committed to any particular sport and have the exciting option of more casual exploration of multiple sports and additional practice of drills and skills designed and selected to improve neurological fitness (balance, agility, accuracy, and balance). Many of these athletes are soldiers, cops, and firefighters and for them fitness is their sport. These individuals include our best athletes.

With precisely these athletes in mind we will be increasingly posting alongside the WOD (Workout of the Day) skill development tips, drills, and skills for the parallettes and rings. Don't be left behind; make some parallettes (and buy some rings!).