13 year old Ethan gets ready for his upcoming rugby season by hitting a new PR on his Deadlift, 5 solid reps at 215lbs!  Awesome job, Ethan.

Here is another kid I first saw back in 2007 while he was competing in the first ever CrossFit Games…at the age of 15!  Apparently he has now been doing CrossFit for about 6 years, and is hitting some pretty big numbers.    Here is a video of 18 year old Connor Martin nailing an overhead squat of 250lbs.  Pretty sick!

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Friday’s WOD:

6 Clean & Jerks
250m Row

6 Clean & Jerks
2 Rope Ascents

6 Clean & Jerks
25 KB Swings

6 Clean & Jerks
25 Box Jumps

6 Clean & Jerks
403m Run

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

A.) Thruster
1-1-1-1-1

B.) 21 Thrusters
15 Knees to Elbow

15 Thrusters
12 Knees to Elbow

9 Thrusters
9 Knees to Elbow

results:

 Name: Criselda Thorne

Age: 27

Q.  How long have you been doing CrossFit?
A.  7 months

Q.  How did you get into CrossFit?
A.  My husband Aaron introduced me to CrossFit.  I wanted to make a major lifestyle change and that meant eating healthier and exercising more.  I was bored of the regular thing I would do at the gym and would lose my motivation to exercise.  Crossfit seemed to be a better fit for me.  I really like the supportive environment and the diverse workouts.

Q.  What has been the most significant benefit/change since you’ve been doing CrossFit?
A.  My energy, strength, fitness level and confidence have increased.  I eat healthier and I have a better awareness of properly balanced meals.

Q.  What is your favorite exercise?
A.  Though I still need to improve, I enjoy squat cleans and deadlifts.  Box jumps are fun too!

Q.  What is your least favorite exercise?
A.  Thrusters, wall balls, rowing, summo deadlifts high pulls.

Q.  What is your favorite healthy meal?
A.  Green beans tossed in salt, pepper and butter with a grilled ribeye steak.

Q.  What is your favorite cheat meal/snack?
A.  Cheat meal - pasta and pizza
     Snack - ice cream, chocolate and cookies (I love Oreos)

Q.  Now that you’ve been doing CrossFit, what’s one thing you could never see yourself doing again?  (workout, nutrition, lifestyle, etc.)
A.  Bosu Ball workouts, plus I will never look at corn the same way.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

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

B.)
10 Hang Squat Cleans
20 Knees to Elbow
30 Box Jumps
40 KB Swings

results:

Last Friday, Bernie from the Biggest Loser stopped by CrossFit Sweat Shop in Walnut Creek.  This was his first ever CrossFit workout, and he totally slayed it!!  5 Rounds of 400m row, immediately followed by a 403m run.  A pretty grueling workout for anyone, but Bernie turned in some awesome times for each round.  Excellent work Bernie, you truly are an inspiration!

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Monday’s WOD:

“Fatback Cindy”

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

3 Back Squats
5 Pullups
10 Pushups

results:

*Big props to Jennifer.  With just one day of rest from the Masters Event, she came in and did this workout and did ALL the pullups unnassisted.  That’s a total of 60 pullups.  Nice work Jennifer!

Does your periodontist do deadlifts?  If not, you should find a new one.  Eric Tsai, a periodontist here in Walnut Creek, says CrossFit has helped him to sustain longer during extended surgical procedures.  I know if I were undergoing a long surgery, I would much rather have a doctor that can run 1 mile then do 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and then run another mile, all in one hour’s time…. rather than some doc that goes on the elliptical for 20 minutes 3x/week.  That’s just one more thing to add to the list of benefits from CrossFit… making your daily work easier.

Good luck to all the masters that will be competing in Saturday’s event at the Sweat Shop!

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Thursday’s WOD:

400m Row
403m Run
15 Overhead Squats
15 Pullups
10 Ring Dips
15 Burpees
15 Knees to Elbow
15 KB Swings
15ea. Walking Lunge
15 Pullups
403m Run

results:

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) “Tabata Something Else”

As many reps as possible
20 seconds of work
10 seconds of rest
8 Sets of each movement before moving on to the next

Pullups
Pushups
Situps
Squats

B.) (1) 500m Row

results:

In the short time that Denise has been training at CrossFit Sweat Shop, she has:

• Learned the kipping pullup & can string together several unassisted pullups
• Climbed the rope to the top
• Deadlifted her body weight
• Become quite proficient in the Squat Clean & Push Jerk, despite only working on them a couple of times
• Pushes the intensity of the class each time she trains

Great job Denise!

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Monday’s WOD:

“Barbara”

20 Pullups
30 Pushups
40 Situps
50 Squats

REST 3 minutes, REPEAT for 5 rounds

results:

 Alex, calm and relaxed at the top of a Kettlebell Swing.

Alex’s strength is pretty impressive.  His technique is even more remarkable (front squats, back squats, overhead squats, cleans, and snatches), his background in track and field is evident.  And his ability to move such large loads with such efficiency is a product of his excellent form, concentration, and his focused, yet relaxed state.  Alex has been doing CrossFit for less than 2 months and in addition to the big strength numbers he’s putting up, he’s even gotten pretty good at his kipping pullups!  Next up, muscle ups and sub 403m runs! 

Strong work Alex!

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Wednesday’s WOD:

A.)
Back Squats
5-5-5-5-5

B.)
400m Row
20 Burpees
15 Box Jumps

score = Max Load A, divided by time B

results:

Don, John M. (Moff), and Aaron.  These are the male competitors that will be competing for Team Sweat Shop this weekend at the CrossFit Games.  Wish them luck!

Normal class schedule on Friday.  Ben, good friend and former Velocity Sports Performance coach, will be teaching classes on Friday.  In regards to the workouts… be prepared for anything!

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Tuesday’s WOD:

Row 300m

then 4 Rounds:

12 Thrusters
12 Knees to Elbow
12 KB Swings
10 Ring Rows or 4 Muscle Ups

finish w/ (1) 403 meter run

results:

Due to it’s complexity and initial difficulty, Lucinda despised the clean and jerk, now she gets after it with the intensity of a 20 year-old.

A study published in Science Daily shows that women who engage in regular vigorous activity greatly reduce their risk for developing breast cancer.

Normal-weight women who carry out lots of vigorous exercise are approximately 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don’t exercise vigorously. A study of more than thirty thousand postmenopausal American women has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease – even in women who are not overweight. 

Read full article here

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Tuesday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

8 Back Squats
300 meter Row
15 Box Jumps
20 Pushups

results:

Doing CrossFit is tough.  Doing CrossFit while pregnant, even tougher.  Katherine is not only doing CrossFit while currently 5 months pregnant, but she’s even improving on repeat workouts, despite the weight gain!  Above is a picture of Katherine during today’s workout, which was no mommy & me workout done in the park.  Aside from a boat load of pushups, situps and step ups, the workout also consisted of 100 thrusters and a half a mile of running (which Katherine ran, not walked!).  All this and Katherine improved upon her time on the same workout from 6 weeks ago.

I’m super impressed!  Awesome work Katherine, keep it up.

Post props to Katherine in the comment section.

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Friday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

10 Deadlifts
15 Box Jumps
10 Pullups
15 Wall Balls

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

Team Workout

First teams of 4 and 5 people carry (2) Dynamx Balls (14 and 20lbs.) for a one mile run.  Upon returning to the Sweat Shop, each person completes

4 Rounds

10 Pullups
10 Box Jumps
15 Pullups
35 Meters Burpee & Broad Jump (my apologies