Myself, along with several of my friends from CrossFit Oakland, have just signed up for the Alcatraz Swim on August 29, 2009.  We figured it would be a good challenge, and a great way to diversify our training. 

If you’ve ever thought about doing it I would highly recommend it!  The start of the race is nuts!  The racers load onto a ferry in SF and they take you out just off the shore of Alcatraz, then they blow the horn and everyone starts jumping off the ferry like mad!  It’s as if the boat is sinking and everyone is jumping for their lives!  Swimming in the Bay is pretty surreal, looking at the city and the Golden Gate Bridge from in the water is an amazing feeling!

If you are interested, check out this link for more info.  The swim is about 1.25 miles.  None of us have been doing any swimming lately, so even those that aren’t strong swimmers still have plenty of time to train.  If you would like to do it you need to register very soon, these events always sell out months in advance.  Lauren, I’m expecting you to join us!

Post your thoughts to the comments section.

Friday’s WOD:

“Tabata Something Else”

Pullups
Pushups
Situps
Squats

20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest (1 set)
Perform 8 sets of pullups, then 8 sets of pushups, etc.
Score TOTAL reps for entire workout.

results:

 

Saturday’s WOD:

Family Style Team Workout:
Teams 3 must complete the following:

(1500) meter Row
(400) KB Swings
(9) Overhead Walking Lunges for 30 meters
(12) DB Aligator Walk
(9) 403 meter runs

family style: team members partition reps however they decide, exercises can be done in any order.

Due to some intensive pre-game strategy, Mike, Mark, and Criselda pulled off a narrow victory!

How many times have you said, “my goal is to lose 10 pounds.” ?  Were you successful?  The problem with asthetic based goals is, they don’t work.  One of the main reasons is that it isn’t absolute.  Even a goal such as “losing 10 pounds” can easily get blurred if you are doing any resistance training and you happen to gain some muscle.  Also, having a 10 pound weight loss as your goal isn’t that strong of a motivator when you are tempted with junk food items or you are on the last round of a grueling workout and you want to slow down, or even quit (see Wednesday’s WOD).  Performance based goals, on the other hand, are absolute, they can be performed, documented, and repeated.  Others can validate these goals as they see you perform them.  They are unequivocally superior to asthetic based goals!  At this point you may agree that performance goals are great, but you are still thinking, “…I don’t care if I can do 30 pullups, run a 6 minute mile, and deadlift 2x my body weight…. I WANT TO HAVE A SEXY SIX PACK!!”  The key here is to set performance goals, train for them, and train hard.  By doing so you will, without a doubt, achieve the body you desire.  Try it, the cool thing is it’s pretty damn fun along the way… you’ll be doing things your friends find impossible and probably even things you previously thought impossible. 

I’ll be happy to help anyone brainstorm a couple of short and long term performance based goals.

The race for the first muscle up at the Sweat Shop is pretty close.  There are at least 3 guys that are really close to getting their first MU.  To add a little fuel to the fire I’m going award one free month to the first male and female to achieve a muscle up.  Males must go from a elbow locked and wrist turned out position.

Post to the comments section a couple of your performance based goals.  I’ll start…

Thursday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

403 meter run
12 Ring Dips
15 Situps
12 Ring Rows (or Pullups)
15 Box Jumps

This Saturday, CrossFit San Francisco is hosting an Affiliate Throwdown.  Basically it’s a small competition for local CrossFit gyms and their members.  The hosting gym designs the workout and the format (this one is a team format consisting of 4-6 team members and I imagine will have something to do with lifting and carrying heavy stuff).  Let me know if you are interested in going, to compete, or just to watch.  I’ll be leaving from the Sweat Shop right after the Saturday morning class.

The Throwdown takes place Saturday May 9th at 11am.

CrossFit SF is located at:

610 Old Mason Street (it’s in the parking lot, literally, behind the Sports Basement)

for more details check out their website and/or their blog

Wednesday’s WOD: (a real suck fest)

10 KB Swings
30 Pullups
10 Hang Squat Cleans
30 Wall Balls

20 KB Swings
20 Pullups
20 Hang Squat Cleans
20 Wall Balls

30 KB Swings
10 Pullups
30 Hang Squat Cleans
10 Wall Balls

results:

Aaron, who trains in the 5:30pm class, was recently in a serious car accident.  After working about 70 hours in a matter of 4 days, Aaron fell asleep at the wheel while on his way to an event he was to cater.  He woke up when his car smashed into another car.  His car was totalled, and even caught on fire just after impact.  Aaron however walked away with just a few bruises and scrapes.  Some may attribute the seat belt for keeping Aaron safe, I believe the 100 thrusters he did a few days prior had more to do with it!  And as a testament to Aaron’s insane work ethic, he continued on to prepare and deliver the food for the event he was catering later that day!  More info coming soon on Aaron’s catering business which specializes in sushi.

As a side note, while Aaron takes a few days off to let his body rest, the pullup record of 32 (set by Aaron) is up for grabs!

One of the Sweat Shop pictures was featured on the main CrossFit Affiliate site today.  Check out Rob, Lones, and Mike B. swinging some KB’s atop a parking structure in Walnut Creek!

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-affiliates/2009/05/wednesday_090506_1.html

Tuesday’s WOD:

Back Squat
5-5-5-5-5

Push Press
5-5-5-5-5

Not too long ago, when gas prices were well above $4.00 a gallon, the environment was the only topic in the media.  Everything was about “going green”.  Every story on the news and in the papers was about new inventions to save the environment, and all the negative effects of global warming.  It got so bad, the term “green is the new black” was born.  Fortunately no one cares about the polar ice caps anymore, for we have a new topic that the media is shoving down our throats.  Sure the economy has taken a huge hit, and we should be informed, but once again, the media is a master at overkill.  And while this economic situation will force many to re-evaluate, and prioritize their budget (which isn’t a bad thing to do periodically), many people are making decisions that may prove to be more costly in the future.  Fast food, which offers what appears to be inexpensive dining options, are dramatically more profitable year-to-date compared to last year, despite the economic situation.  Unfortunately the long term healthcare cost of a poor diet, far outweigh the money that is saved today by purchasing a 99 cent hamburger.  Similar is fitness.  The monthly cost of a gym membership, and all of the long term health benefits it brings, as well as the potential money saved in healthcare down the road, far outweighs the cost of a membership.

Worry not, although the economy is still a big topic in the media, it looks like we may get a little relief, temporary as it may be, from Swine Flu!

Monday’s WOD:

20 Dead Lifts
403 meter run
10 Weighted Pushups
20 Pushups
20 Pullups
25 KB Swings
20 DB Thrusters
10 Burpee into Knees to Elbow
70 meters walking lunges
403 meter run

Results:

I would like to give a huge thanks to Tom Matousek of Pied Piper Designs in Walnut Creek for doing an awesome job painting the Sweat Shop logo on our wall!

Tom was super considerate and even came in the early morning and late evening hours to do the painting as to not interrupt our classes.  Check out his website for all the painting and other artistic services he offers.

http://www.piedpiperdesigns.com/

This weekend i will be competing in the Nor Cal Qualifiers for the 2009 CrossFit Games.  The Saturday morning class will be taught by one of my former coaches from Velocity Sports Performance.  Aside from his experience as a Performance Coach at Velocity, Ben has an indepth background in training and competing himself in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts under Ken Shamrock.

CrossFit Games site

Nor Cal Qualifiers site

Thursday’s WOD:

1200m Row
12 DB Clean and Jerks
24 Jumping Ring Dips
12 KB Swings 

800m Row
18 DB Clean and Jerks
18 Jumping Ring Dips
18 KB Swings 

400m Row
24 DB Clean and Jerks
12 Jumping Ring Dips
24 KB Swings 

results:
(note: Cameron’s row distances were 1500,1000, and 500 meters, after he completed the workout I determined this row distance to be too long… nice work though Cameron!)

Friday’s WOD:

“Fight Gone Bad!”

Score maximum number of reps completed

Constantly running clock, 1 minute at each station, 3 rounds w/ 1 minute rest b/t each round

Wall Ball
Summo Dead Lift High Pull
Box Jumps
Push Press
Row (for calories)