Being physically fit and strong for everyday life is a must have.  In caveman days you had to be strong to hunt for your food and fight off saber-toothed tigers, and avoid stampeding buffalo.  These days you’ve got to be fit to survive modern day idiots that are willing to kill you just to save 30% on a Xbox.  Check out this video from a Target store on the morning of Black Friday. Particularly entertaining points to watch:

0:10 notice Refrigerator Perry emerging from the left side as he uses his hips to knock down at least 2 people, possibly including his wife.  He appears to have recovered a fumble and is well on his way to making it all the way to the end zone when he gets called back for a penalty.  He then returns to shout some encouraging words to his wife, and then check his watch to see how many seconds after 4am it is.  He appears noticeably stressed by the possibility that his itinerary is no longer going as planned, and he may not be able to make it to Circuit City by 5am to re-in act this exact episode.

0:25 notice the guy emerging from the crowd holding a yellow umbrella, although he was nearly killed, he makes sure to fix his hair before making a b-line for the hardware section where the cordless drill he has been dreaming of for the past 6 months, is $29 off!

0:28 guy in the white hat on the right side risks going back into the crowd to retrieve one of his shoes.  This guy clearly understands the importance of being quick and agile to score the best deals, so once he gets his shoe on, he is off and running.

0:29 notice the guy on the ground in the yellow rain jacket who has been letting out the blood curdling screams

0:40 guy wearing Buffalo Sabres pullover emerges from crowd by keeping his hands over his head to reduce his drag factor, a quick swim move between two ladies and then pay dirt!  This guy is definitely a pro, he stays focused and never takes his eyes off the prize!

0:44 notice yellow rain jacket guy make it to his feet, take one look back at the crowd, then proceed on to finding his wife one of those super nice cake mixers which she’ll use one time, and never again.  Clearly worth nearly being killed for.

0:50 The Acadamey Award winner for most dramatic actor emerges wearing a brown leather bomber jacket, fashionably high on his torso.  After a quick look back to confirm the level of congestion at the door is still at a dangerously high level, thus very few competing shoppers will be coming through, Chris Farley unzips his jacket and rests his head on a half wall while he contemplates whether saving $45 on a rocking recliner is worth losing his life over.  The noise from the crowd rises as he looks to see more patrons getting through.  Contemplation over, you bet your ass this is worth $45!

0:58 notice Refrigerator Perry again, listen as he calls to his companion and asks, “you alright?”, “Is everything alright?” , and before there is even time for a response he turns and continues on his mission for the end zone

1:15 a jovial youth, clearly excited about celebrating the holidays with his family and the thought of purchasing his grandmother a new dining room set, shouts a yule-tide greeting as he sprints past the camera

1:19 in possibly the greatest act of holiday spirit, or even humanity, the lady with the hooded jacket throws an elbow with speed rivaling the best UFC athletes, hoping to land on any patron that may threaten her chances of purchasing the 6 motor massage cushion.

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Monday’s WOD:

A.) Back Squat
2-2-2-2-2
3 Sets Max Effort Pullups

B.) 400m Row
20 Pushups (release at bottom)
806m Run
15 Burpee Box Jumps

results:

Nik – overhead squat with dowel – age 9

JB and I have been working with young kids for many years now, first at Velocity Sports Performance, now at CrossFit Sweat Shop.  We’ve seen the benefits strength training has a youth, whether they are involved in athletics or not.  Unfortunately, many people still think strength training is unsafe for kids, or that it stunts their growth.  Here’s an excerpt from a New York Times article:

Back in the 1970s, researchers in Japan studied child laborers and discovered that, among their many misfortunes, the juvenile workers tended to be abnormally short. Physical labor, the researchers concluded, with its hours of lifting and moving heavy weights, had stunted the children’s growth. Somewhat improbably, from that scientific finding and other similar reports, as well as from anecdotes and accreting myth, many people came to believe “that children and adolescents should not” practice weight training, said Avery Faigenbaum, a professor of exercise science at the College of New Jersey. That idea retains a sturdy hold in the popular imagination. As a recent position paper on the topic of children and resistance training points out, many parents, coaches and pediatricians remain convinced that weight training by children will “result in short stature, epiphyseal plate” — or growth plate — “damage, lack of strength increases due to a lack of testosterone and a variety of safety issues.”

“We are urban dwellers stuck in hunter-gatherer bodies,” said Lyle Micheli, M.D., the director of sports medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston and professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard University, as well as a co-author, with Dr. Faigenbaum, of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s 2009 position paper about children and resistance training. “That’s true for children as well as adults. There was a time when children ‘weight trained’ by carrying milk pails and helping around the farm. Now few children, even young athletes, get sufficient activity” to fully strengthen their muscles, tendons and other tissues. “If a kid sits in class or in front of a screen for hours and then you throw them out onto the soccer field or basketball court, they don’t have the tissue strength to withstand the forces involved in their sports. That can contribute to injury.”

Read full article here.

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Friday’s WOD:

“Cindy, to Deads, and back to Cindy”

As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

7 minutes for sets of 5 rep deadlift:
Score SUM of 3 heaviest sets

As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

*clock is constantly running, no rest between each portion of workout

results:

Big thanks to MJ for coordinating the event and producing the video!


Happy 50th birthday to Rob K!  As a birthday present to himself, Rob did 3 tough Sweat Shop days in a row!  Rob, and the other masters at the Sweat Shop, are proof positive that age is little more than a state of mind!

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Wednesday’s WOD:

7 Squat Cleans (165#/105#)
15 Burpees

7 Squat Cleans
5 Muscle Ups

7 Squat Cleans
20 Box Jumps

7 Squat Cleans
2 Rope Clims
15 Burpees

results:

Empty rings….. Looking for a pupil..

Still can’t quite get the muscle up? Still can’t find a rhythm for double unders? For kipping pull-ups? We’ve all been here before in coming up short of mastering an exercise. For some exercises, it can be annoying enough to where you feel being “content” with not being able to perform them. As obvious as it sounds, the only solution to get over the hump of any deficiency is PRACTICE. If you wish to get better at something, it stands to reason that practicing will help build your proficiency in that something. But what type of practice? At times, we focus strictly on verbal cues and “secret” techniques to make an exercise “click”. This can severely limit us. You can’t talk your way through muscle ups, or butterfly kipping. When what you’re trying to master is physical, you must physically perform the movement for it to “click”.  Practicing the COMPLETE movement is also important. Too many times we bail midway through a movement because we “think” we are doing it wrong or “think” we can’t do it. By performing the complete exercises consistently , you will have a better feel for what mistakes you are making while doing the movement, therefore, allowing your body to adapt.

Feel free to work on these exercises before the class. If you show up early and/or finish the warm-up early, don’t hesitate to ask Nabil and I which exercises you feel you need help on.

This is the beauty of CrossFit, the desire to perform things well. But with this, comes a process. A fun process. Even the best athletes need something to work on.  Start learning to enjoy it, because it should never end.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

90 seconds: Row for Calories
90 seconds: Bench Press for REPS
90 seconds: Double Unders for REPS

* 2-minute rest between rounds*
* Calories count double*

results:

Here’s an excerpt from an excellent article by Andrew Weil M.D. on why plants are much better than pharmaceuticals.  It also exemplifies the often misguided Western approach of taking things for face-value and over-simplifying, for the sake of productivity, and thus, profitability.

For four decades, I’ve been skeptical of a prevailing belief in Western medicine: when a plant shows bioactivity in humans, we must attribute that effect to a single, predominant compound in the plant. We label that the “active principle,” isolate it, synthesize it, and make a pharmaceutical out of it. Then, typically, we forget about the plant. We don’t study any of the other compounds in it or their complex interactions.

Read full article here.

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Monday’s WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Thruster
Pullup
KB Swing

results:

From left:  Al, Brandon, Helen, JB, Matt, Jessica, Patrick, Nabil, Nathan

Congrats to everyone that competed in the throwdown at CrossFit Burn this past Saturday.  Especially big props go out to Brandon, Jessica and Patrick, for whom this was their first ever CrossFit competition!  Also big thanks to Jamie Lee of CrossFit Burn, for hosting a fun event with lots of great prizes.  Pictures from the event can be seen here, with more to come.

PLEASE NOTE this week’s holiday schedule below, (all other days are regular schedule)

11/25   Thursday  9am
11/26   Friday       9am & 10am
11/27   Saturday   CLOSED

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Saturday’s WOD:

5 Sets

As many rounds as possible in 3 minutes:

4 Power Cleans (155#/115#)
8 Pushups (release at bottom)
12 Air Squats

1 minute rest between sets
*resume each round where you left off previous

results:

Pushing through Thursday’s tough kettlebell workout.  Nima is never one to be down on himself, he just keeps working hard, and thus, keeps improving!

Sweat Shop members often ask things like, “why am I unable to do chest to bar pullups?”, “why are handstand pushups so tough?”, “I suck at double unders, I’ll never get one.”, “I’m just not any good at overhead squats!”  What most people don’t realize is that these things take a ton of practice, LOTS of frequency and in the case of chest to bar pullups, handstand pushups, and muscle ups, a great deal of strength, none of which magically just happens after one week, one month, or even longer depending on the exercise. If it were easy, everyone would be doing CrossFit.  And if it were easy, you wouldn’t like doing it because it would not be nearly as rewarding.

Below is the post from Shoreline CrossFit:

I see it happen on almost a daily basis.  It tends to be especially on days when there are handstand push-ups, double-unders, muscle-ups, or pistols in a WOD.  People who can do the movement, but haven’t yet mastered it, begin to do something that is very destructive.  Athletes begin the process of self abuse.  They say they, “suck,” that they’re being “[babies]” (we’ll keep it PG on the blog), that they’ll “never” master the movement…they say that they “don’t know what [their] problem is.”

This is all self-abuse and it is very destructive to your development as an athlete.  I suppose we forget how it felt to learn to roll-over (naturally), crawl, walk, use a fork to eat, be potty trained or ride a bike without training wheels; but I’d venture to say that it didn’t happen overnight.  If you have children in your lives, watch them master these life skills.  I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t allow them to beat themselves up if they missed their mouths with the fork, or stumbled into the coffee table, so why are you so hard on yourself?

Mark M. posted a comment to our blog today that just about read my mind.  He talked about his habit of scaling weights and movements to maximize power and then he said something poignant:

“Remember, just being at this box puts you above just about everybody else.”

• What percentage of society do you think tries to master a new sport in adulthood?
• What percentage of society do you think practices gymnastics, power lifting, and olympic lifting on a weekly basis?
• What percentage of society do you think voluntarily challenges themselves daily?
• What percentage of society do you think does something that scares them daily?

I think the answers are obvious.  Be proud of yourself for walking through our doors on a daily basis.

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Legitness of the Week

Deadlift PR’s
Nima 270×2
Donna C. 165×2
Michelle 145×2
Katherine 135×2
Nathan 338×2
Ellie 195×2
Bill 225×2
Joe W. 315×2
Nik 355×2
Criselda 100×2
Jin 295×2

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Friday’s WOD:

Alternating TABATA

Ring Dips
Box Jumps

Pullups
Burpees

results:

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Thursday’s WOD:

403m Run
25 Box Jumps
25 KB Swings
20ea. Single Arm KB Squat
20 Pullups
20 Single Arm KB Walking Lunges

403m Run
15 Box Jumps
15 KB Swings
10ea. Single Arm KB Squat
10 Pullups
10 Single Arm KB Walking Lunge

403m Run

results:

Nabil resting after a gruesome set of “side-planks” while on the velvet grassy knoll of Maui.

As the holiday season comes near, many of you will be traveling to visit family and friends. Personally, it is my favorite time of the year because I get to catch up with old buddies and family I haven’t seen all year. Unfortunately, this “reunion” comes with some not-so-healthy diet and exercise habits. First comes the turkey and pie coma followed by a December of “cocktail” parties, all the while, being too sluggish to exercise. We all know the repercussions for these choices and we all know how horrible it feels when we do our first workout after returning from vacation.

Don’t make “travel” as an excuse to avoid exercise. There are plenty of workouts you can do with little or no equipment. Check out this 22-page list of TRAVEL WODS compiled by Shane Skowron, that you can do while on your travels. Having this list with you will definitely help ease the stress of trying to think of which workout to do without having do design one. Even better, get a couple of your friends and family members to one of these WODS during vacation. It will make it much more exciting! Plus, you just might persuade a family member to start exercising more!

You can download the Travel WODS here.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

A.) Deadlift (pause at bottom)
2-2-2-2-2

B.) 2 rounds for time:
15 Handstand Pushups
30 Knees to Elbows
60 Double Unders

** Perform 3 burpees for every break on any set**

results:

Ryan & Tammy during one of their many vacations

Definitely the Sweat Shop member most likely to be encouraging fellow members during a workout, Tammy is often times heard giving words of encouragement louder than myself or JB!  Whether it’s during a workout, or just after she finishes, Tammy is almost always right there cheering on each and every one of the final finishers.

Name: Tammy

Age: 35

Occupation: Oncology/Respiratory Nurse

Q.  How long have you been doing CrossFit?
A.  1 year & 1 month

Q.  What were you doing for exercise before CrossFit?
A.  I worked out at Fitness 19 doing 45 minutes of elliptical/treadmill cardio 2x/week.  I also had a personal trainer on the side.  In fact, he is the one who first suggested CrossFit to me prior to him leaving California moving back home to Georgia.  He thought I would love it, and he was right.

Q.  How did you begin training at CrossFit Sweat Shop?
A.  Ceej!  CJ and I work together, and I remember him coming to work SORE, telling me about these crazy workouts he had just started doing.  I used to like to find out what muscle was sore on him and then punch him there!  Needless to say, when I joined the Sweat Shop and felt his pain, I stopped doing that   I have thanked him quite a few times for bringing me to the Sweat Shop, and cursed him once for it while completing the last mile of Murph.

Q.  What has been the most significant benefit/change since you’ve been doing CrossFit?
A.  The most significant and hardest change by far was my diet.  I didn’t realize how much crap I ate!  It was all processed foods, if you could even call it food.  The most appropriate word would probably be “chemicals”.  I now eat a lot more organic vegetables, and fruit, grass-fed beef, and free-range chicken and eggs.  But I still struggle with nutrition.  And some months are better than others.  I am a work in progress.

Q.  What is your favorite exercise or workout?
A.  I love Squat and Power Cleans.  I don’t necessarily love how they make me feel during a WOD, but I love the technique, and the movement itself.  I like pullups, probably becasue its the first time EVER in my life that I can do them, and I like rowing.  It’s safe to say I’ll never come in first after a 403m run, but I have a damn good chance at it on a 500m row.  I don’t know if I have a favorite WOD.  They all hurt so much its hard to say…

Q.  What is your least favorite exercise or workout?
A.  In order:  Burpees, more than two 403m runs in any WOD, pushups, and thrusters.  I also pray that I miss “Barbara” for the rest of my CrossFit life!

Q.  What is your favorite healthy meal/snack?
A.  Sauteed zucchini and yellow squash or brussel sprouts with grilled shrimp.  I could also live on tuna sashimi.

Q.  What is your favorite cheat meal/snack?
A.  Bread and butter, and desserts.

Q.  What do you enjoy most about training at CrossFit Sweat Shop?
A.  I love the people.  I love that on a day where I feel weak as hell, or during the 2nd round of a 5 round WOD I’m not certain I’m going to live through, fellow Sweat Shoppers take the time to cheer me on.  You are all so amazing and I am inspired by your accomplishments every day.  I am truly delighted when you all succeed a goal, just as much as when it’s me succeeding.  I love the high I get after 90% of the WOD’s.  I love being a strong woman, it carries over into my day-to day life.

Q.  Now that you’ve been doing CrossFit, what’s one thing you could never see yourself doing again?  (workout, nutrition, lifestyle, etc.)
A.  I will never eat Cool Whip again.  Amen.

Q.  What is your proudest achievement?
A.  The ability to do a single unassisted pullup.  Even though I can do more than one now, that first one was monumental… it’s the little things that are the most amazing.  I was also pretty damn proud of taking over the Sweat Sho[p squat clean record…sorry Helen, but to take it from someone I consider “bad-ass” was a proud moment.

Q.  What is your most sought after goal?
A.  To complete a WOD containing pullups, and see “Rx’d” after my name and time!

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) Snatch
2-2-2-2-2

B.) 7 minutes to complete:
800m Run
25 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)
Double Unders for REPS

results:

Don – CrossFit Pleasanton & Jamie – CrossFit Burn

CrossFit Burn will be hosting a throwdown this Saturday at 11am to kick off their grand opening party.  This is a great opportunity for people new to competitions to go and do a workout in a different setting with different people.  J.B., Helen, Nathan and myself will be competing, and we hope many other Sweat Shop members will join us to compete as well!  Regular Saturday class schedule at the Sweat Shop, J.B. and others will however be leaving the Shop promptly after the 10am class is done to make the short drive to CrossFit Burn.

Check out their site for more info and directions.

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Monday’s WOD:

“Birthday Nate”

5 Rounds

7 Power Cleans
7 Thrusters (115#)
7 KB Swings (70#)
7 Pullups (C2B)
7 Toes to Bar

results:

Shaun (CrossFit Lifeworx) & Chad (Rocklin CrossFit) battled their way through a total of 8 Frans to earn the title 2010 Fran Off Champs, along with the $2000 cash prize (paid entirely in $1 bills).  Awesome work gentlemen!

Also big thanks to MJ for organizing the event, CB, Lau, D-Sal, and Freddy for judging, Melissa, Stacy, and Paul for photo and video, and everyone that came out to support the athletes.  I’m already looking forward to next year!

Check out Melissa’s photo’s here.
Check out Paul (CrossFit Pleasanton) photo’s here.

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Saturday’s WOD:

A.) As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes:

10 Push Press
10 KB Swings
10 Box Jumps

B.) Max Effort 403m Run or 500m Row

results:

These two guys will both be competing in the Fran Off on Saturday.

**PLEASE NOTE**  8AM CLASS ONLY THIS SATURDAY DUE TO FRAN OFF

Fran Off Athlete Profiles

Name: Larry Pastor
Gym: CrossFit Silicon Valley
Years CrossFitting: 2
Stats: Favorite cheat meal, Zachary’s Pizza in Berkeley (plan on going straight there after Fran Off)
Plan to buy friends drinks at Zachary’s with prize money.

Name: Jamie Lee
Gym: CrossFit Burn
Years CrossFitting: 1.5
Stats: Grace 1:30

Name: Dusty Sulon
Gym: CrossFit San Ramon
Years CrossFitting: 2
Stats: Snatch 209
“Takes me at least 1 hour to warm up for Fran!”

Name: Nathan Brammeier
Gym: CrossFit Adventure
Years CrossFitting: 1.5
Stats: Thruster 200×1
Recently opened CrossFit Adventure

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Legitness of the Week

Deadlift PR’s
Chris G. 391×3
Jessica 210×3
Valerie 120×3
Boie 373×1
Steve 250×3
Jim D. 285×3
Joe W. 300×3
Cheryl 155×3
Bill 219×3

Joe W.  MUSCLE UP!!!
Jessica 14:26 “Nancy”  – Sweat Shop Record

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Friday’s WOD:

“Nancy”

5 Rounds
403m Run
15 Overhead Squats (95#/65#)

results:

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Thursday’s WOD:

A.) Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3

B.) 4 Rounds
2 minutes each:
15 Pushups (men release hands at bottom)
200m Run
Air Squats for REPS

results:

Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar. You see these energy drinks everywhere. Grocery stores, gyms, gas stations, and even school vending machines all have them. Unfortunately, these drinks are quickly getting in the hands of teenagers at an alarming rate. A recent study found that 31% of teenagers in the U.S. drink energy drinks. This is 4 million more kids than 3 years ago. Not that ANY of you “smart” and “health conscious” Sweat Shoppers actually drink this kind of stuff, many people  simply don’t realize what is actually inside these potent “energy grenades”. Check out some of these nutrition facts on the popular energy drinks:

Sugar and Caffeine content in 1 bottle:

Red Bull: 27g sugar/80mg caffeine
Full Throttle: 52g sugar/ 144mg caffeine
Monster: 54g sugar/160mg caffeine
Rockstar: 60g sugar/160mg caffeine
Monster XXL: 81g sugar/240mg caffeine!!!

These crazy high numbers don’t even include the other stimulants in the drinks that interact with caffeine. Stay away from these drinks and especially keep your kids away from them.

Still not convinced?? Check out this video on ESPN’s E:60 of the dangers of energy drinks in sports.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

3 Rounds

3 Minutes: Row for calories
2 Minutes: Box jump for REPS
1 Minute: Power Clean for REPS

“Rest” 4 Minutes (200m must be completed during this time).

results:

The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat.

Read full article here.

**PLEASE NOTE**  Due to CrossFit Sweat Shop hosting the Fran Off  this Saturday Nov. 13th, there will be only one class at 8:00am

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Tuesday’s WOD:

“Filthy Fifty”
50 Reps of each exercise:

Box Jumps
KB Swings
Jumping Pullups
Walking Lunges
Knees to Elbow
Push Press
Back Extension
Wall Ball
Burpees
Double Unders

results: