Photo courtesy of CrossFit.com

Preliminary information has just been released about the 2010 NorCal Sectionals.  They will be held on March 6-7, 2010.  This is the first step for any athletes that want to compete in the Regionals and eventually the CrossFit Games.  Also just announced is that the cash prize for 1st place male and female at the CrossFit Games is $25,000 each!  The NorCal Sectionals will be held at our neighboring CrossFit Oakland, and if owner and head trainer Mike Minium is programming any of the workouts, you can expect some really creative and challenging workouts to come your way! 

Many of you have already been training hard for quite some time now.  The next step for most of you is to dial in your nutrition, and lifestyle habits (going out and drinking, getting little sleep) in order to get the most benefit out of your training sessions.

For details and updates, check the CrossFit Games site.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

10 Wall Balls
10 Summo Deadlift High Pull
10 Burpees
10 Medball Cleans

results:

Just some of the medals we’ve collected so far at the Sweat Shop

Quick reminder that I’m still accepting any medals that you may have laying around the house from races you’ve run in the past, or from your college athletic days.  The medals are donated to a great organization called Medals4Mettle.  They are given to childern and adults who’ve overcome great adversity in regards to health problems, as well as other life changing obstacles.  So dig through your closet and find those medals that have been hiding for years.  If it’s blue ribbons that have been awarded for winning a Spelling Bee, keep them for yourself…with the ever so prevalant use of spell checker, proper spelling is a priceless comodity that far outweights athletic endeavors.  Be proud about your academic achievements…..now get in the gym and move some weight!

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Tuesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 18 minutes:

7 Deadlifts
7 Box Jumps
7 Pullups
7 Burpees

results:

The only thing more ridiculous than training on a bosu ball, is having them attached to the bottom of your shoes.  The last thing you need, or want, is a rounded and unstable surface attached to the bottom of your foot.  The ad claims the shoes work your legs and glutes 11-28% more than regular shoes while walking.  Walking isn’t going to “tone” your legs, so an 11-28% increase of nothing, is nothing.  Aside from it’s ineffectivness as a leg “workout”, shoes should mimic as closely as possible to walking in bare feet, a round and unstable surface on the bottom of your shoe can have detrimental effects on your gait and foot-strike.  Flat or flabby butt?  Get in the gym, do some squats.  Problem solved.

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Monday’s WOD:

A.) Squat Clean
5-5-3-2-1-1

B.) 30 Front Squats @ 75% Max Load A.)
*each time you have to drop the bar you must perform 10 burpees before resuming the Front Squats

results:

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the CrossFit Sweat Shop 5K Plus this past Saturday.  Big thanks to Tom Campitelli for coming out and taking pics! Check out the highlight video here.

Here is the race format:

1K Run
Pullups
Pushups
Squats

REPEATED for 4 Rounds

Finish with 1K Run

Women performed 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 20 squats, while the men performed 8 pullups, 16 pushups, and 32 squats during each round.

Winners of each division recieved a $60 cash prize! 

Women Under 40 – Carrie Nash (also OVERALL winner)
Men Under 40 – Don Barks
Women 40 & up – Jennifer Behm
Men 40 & up – Charlie Hadsell

Complete Results:

Women:

Carrie Nash – CrossFit Excel – 24:48
Journey Meadows – CrossFit Oakland – 25:25
Nicole Barnes – Novato – 26:24
Carolyn Scalia – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 27:40
Lydia Encinas – CrossFit Oakland – 29:04
Jennifer Behm – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 29:19
Candace Hamilton – CrossFit Oakland – 31:07

Men:

Don Barks – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 25:39
Brandon Banks – CrossFit Oakland – 25:47
Myles Lewis – CrossFit Avalanche – 25:47
Charlie Hadsell – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 27:05
John Moffat – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 27:53
Raphael Dozzi – CrossFit East Bay – 28:00
Robert Parrish – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 28:03
Freddy Peralta – CrossFit Oakland – 29:01
David Sally – CrossFit Oakland – 30:05
Doug Scalia – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 30:12
Jim Dick – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 31:21
Christian Amsberry – Walnut Creek – 31:36
Mike Banks – CrossFit Sweat Shop – 33:28
Brian Hersh – Martinez – 33:39
Andrew Ambro – Castro Valley – 36:10

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Friday’s WOD:

10 Thrusters
25 KB Swings

9 Thrusters
25 Situps

8 Thrusters
2 Rope Ascents or 20 Ring Rows

7 Thrusters
25 Box Jumps

6 Thrusters
403m Run

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

A.) Front Squats
5-5-5-5-5

B.) 21-15-9
Wall Balls
Knees to Elbow
Box Jumps

results:

How do you feel after a CrossFit workout?  Sure, immediately after the workout everyone is exhausted.  But 5 minutes later, do you feel like Pumpkin Girl pictured above?  Energized, excited, accomplished?  Or do you feel like Wolverine?  Dizzy, light-headed, sick to your stomach?  If your nutrition consists primarily of fast food, processed foods, sugary items, non-perishables, and/or the type of stuff you would expect to find in Wolverine’s treat bag, or you make a habit out of skipping meals, not eating breakfast right after waking up, or going more than 4 hours without eating, you’re probably not making matters any better for yourself.  Many people who eat poorly never realize how much it affects their performance because quite simply, they don’t perform.  Walking from your desk to the copier several times during the day, or perhaps increasing to a quick jog as you cross the street, by no means constitutes performing.  Even most workouts that people do, 20-30 minutes of cardio along with some resistance training, doesn’t really challenge the body, and thus, is ineffective for improving our health, fitness, and body composition.  A CrossFit workout can appropriately challenge any fitness level, and will frequently have you performing at or near your capacity.  By putting poor quality fuel into our bodies, we will severely limit the performance and longevity of these high performance machines.

Post to comments your thoughts.  What’s the worst you’ve felt after a workout?  Do you feel it was nutrition related or just a product of intensity?

**REMINDER**  Due to CrossFit Sweat Shop hosting the 5K Plus, there will be only ONE regular class this Saturday morning.  It will be held at 8:30am.  NO 9:00am or 10:00am class will be held this Saturday.

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Thursday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 18 minutes:

6 Dumbbell Burpee/Clean/Thruster
9 Pullups
12 KB Swings

results:

This month we are going to start something called, Challenge of the Month.  (big thanks to the guys at Diablo CrossFit for this idea)  Aside from our daily workouts, there will be a different challenge each month that everyone is encouraged to participate in.  The challenges will be relatively short, and can be performed as many times as you’d like during the given month.  To make things even more interesting, we’ll have a board to keep track of everyone’s results.  At the end of 6 months, the winners will recieve half off one month membership dues!

Divisions:

There will be 4 divisions.  Men under 40, Women under 40, Men 40 & up, Women 40 & up

Monthly Scoring:

1st place - 3 points
2nd place - 2 points
3rd place – 1 point

Person in each division with the most points at the end of 6 months is the winner.

December Challenge of the Month:  Most consecutive double unders

Start practicing.

**REMINDER**  Due to CrossFit Sweat Shop hosting the 5K Plus, there will be only ONE regular class this Saturday morning.  It will be held at 8:30am.  NO 9:00am or 10:00am class will be held this Saturday.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

“Tabata Something Else”

20 seconds of work, followed by
10 seconds of rest

Perform as many reps as possible.  8 sets of EACH exercise before moving on to the next exercise.

Pullups
Pushups
Situps
Squats

results:

Here’s a great meal that I personally eat 3-4 times per week.  Since I eat breakfast at 5am (yogurt, fruit, and nuts), and a really small snack at 8am, this is usually my next meal around 10:00am.

Omelet:

3 Jumbo Eggs (makes sure you get cage free and organic)
a couple of spoons of black beans
a couple of spoons of sun dried tomatoes
1 cup of chopped frozen spinach

Side:

1 cup of strawberries
1/4 cup of blackberries
1/3 cup of blueberries

Approximately:

Protein 24 grams
Carbs 32 grams
Fat 18 grams

Whether you make this yourself, or you’re having breakfast out, opt for fruit instead of toast or a bagel.  Enjoy!

**REMINDER**  Due to CrossFit Sweat Shop hosting the 5K Plus, there will be only ONE regular class this Saturday morning.  It will be held at 8:30am.  NO 9:00am or 10:00am class will be held this Saturday.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) Overhead Squats
5-5-3-3-3

B.) 20 Hang Squat Snatch
25 Pushups
35m Walking Lunge
403m Run

Score: Max Load A, divided by Time B

results:

CrossFit Sweat Shop in Walnut Creek will be hosting a 5K Plus this Saturday, December 5th at 9:30am (athlete briefing) 9:45am (race start). 

**PLEASE NOTE**  There will be only ONE regular class this Saturday morning.  It will be held at 8:30am.  NO 9:00am or 10:00am class will be held this Saturday.

Here are the details:

 Divisions: