Sleep is one of the most important aspects of health, yet at the same time, it is the most neglected. Check out this Sleep Infograph on some ways to improve your sleeping habits.
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Monday’s WOD:
4 Rounds
10 Front Squats (165#/105#)
20 Toes-to-bar
40 Double Unders
Kasi at last year’s FemmeFit.
Barefoot running and minimalist shoes have gained a ton of popularity over the years. It’s probably gained the most notoriety with the boom of CrossFit. The good part of this is that more people (I hope) are actually thinking about what they put on or don’t put on their feet for exercise. The bad part, however, is that the power of a fad can consumes us and makes it tempting to buy stuff because it either looks cool or simply because others are doing it. Here is a great post from CrossFit South Bay on how your anatomy and running style should determine your shoe of choice.
From the post:
There are 3 general types of landing during running…rearfoot, midfoot and forefoot. Research has supported that rearfoot, or striking the ground with your heel first, puts a lot of stress on your joints. Especially your knees. Rearfoot running also forces the muscles around the front of your shin bone to work really hard to slow down your foot as it hits the ground….possibly leading to injuries such as shin splints. Running where you hit the ground with your midfoot or forefoot first has been proven to decrease the above mentioned injuries. Hence the creation of the minimalist and barefoot shoes because these shoes are meant to help you transition into more of a midfoot/forefoot running form. The shorter, quicker strides that come with barefoot running styles such as Pose have also been shown to decrease the forces from the ground into your body. Which sounds like a great thing to me.
So what’s the debate??
The problem is that foot injuries are arising with people who switch to the new and improved way of running by changing their form, shoe and/or both. The most common injuries seen include damage to the achilles tendon and stress fractures to the foot. So why are these injuries occurring? A lot of it is because people aren’t allowing their bodies to transition into the new type of running with new shoes. So the body is over loaded with new stresses to areas of the body that may not be ready to handle the change so quickly. The US military will be coming out with a general guideline for changing your running form (which I plan to share with you as soon as it comes out), so keep an eye out for that.
Read pull post here.
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Sunday’s WOD:
50 toes-to-bar then
3 mile run
results
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Saturday’s WOD:
8:30 & 9:30
403 m Run
30 Wall Balls
30 Box Jumps
30 Push-ups
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20 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
20 Single Arm Kettlebell Squats
20 Knees-to-elbows
——————–
15 Single Arm Kettlebell Walking Lunges
15 Pull-ups
15 Burpees
403 m Run
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Perform the following at any point during workout:
(2) 15 ft Rope Climbs (1) 200m Double Medball Carry
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10:30
A.) Clean
1-1-1-1-1
B.) 4 Rounds
Here’s to the coolest and most fit couple I know! Some beloved Sweat Shopper’s couldn’t resist a shout out!
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Legitness of the Week
Thruster x 1 PR’s
Rikus 240
Patrick 240
Helen 135
Carolyn 100
Push Press x 3 PR’s
Donna C. 115
Nina 85
GARTH 120
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A.) Push Press
3-3-3
B.)
5 Rounds
5 Deadlift 275/185
10 Burpees
compare 11/8/11
results:
A.) Overhead Squat
3-3-3
B.) 2 Squat Snatches on the minute for 15 minutes
Although he has has world-class speed, Joe absolutely despises workouts with sprinting and running.
Many people associate sprinters as those who only run track and field or are in sports that require shorts bursts. Many people who don’t play these sports or never engage in activities at a high intensity think sprinting is unnecessary. During CrossFit, we are always sprinting! A sprint doesn’t just need to be a 100m dash or 50 m swim sprint, you can sprint in several different ways. Think about those last 15 burpees you do to finish a WOD, or going unbroken on a set of box jumps. Believe it or not, if you do CrossFit, you sprint! Here’s a great post from Mark Sisson’s blog, on why all methods of sprinting are essential to your training. Props to Patrick on the find.
From the article:
Last week, I covered a glaring deficit in the lives of most modern people: the lack of walking. And it’s not just the “normal” people who aren’t walking enough; two thirds of those readers who took the poll get fewer than five hours of slow easy movementeach week. Since everyone walks at least a few hundred steps a day, people are generally aware – among even the general population – that people just don’t walk anymore. They might not think that’s a true problem, but they’re definitely aware of it. Today, I want to discuss another glaring (in my eyes) deficit in our modern lives: the lack of sprinting.
At first glance, this might seem ludicrous. Sprinting? Sure, it’s a cool thing to do, and it’s good for us, but do you really expect everyone to line up at a track and sprint all out for 100 meters? Besides, is sprinting really essential, the way walking is essential? Because let’s face it: running at top speed for 10 to 15 seconds is an unrealistic expectation for most people, especially older folks. Many people just aren’t physically able to do it.
Sprinting isn’t just running really, really fast, though. When I say sprinting, I’m simply talking about intense movement at the highest speed you can safely muster. Sprinting can be running, obviously, or it can be on a bike (and in fact, many of the sprinting studies use cycling). It can even be aqua sprinting, or running in a pool. Some people push the prowler, a weight sled loaded with hundreds of pounds, as their sprinting. They aren’t moving very fast, but they’re trying to – and that’s the key. Are you moving at the fastest, safest possible speed, given your physical limitations and the demands of the environment (weights attached to you, grade of the hill you’re ascending, your bum knee, etc.)? If yes – even if that manifests as an exhausting uphill walk – then you are sprinting.
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Wednesday’s WOD:
4 Rounds
10 Hang Squat Cleans
2 Rope Climbs
20 Box Jumps
Steph imitating her Dad’s famous “tender” pose.
When you do CrossFit, being sore is inevitable. However, most of the time we can prevent or reduce the extent of soreness or injury by staying religious to a couple of things. Here are some tips:
1.) Pre-WOD Mobility
Simple stretches and running around before the workout is great, but to prevent some stiffness, you really need to get to the specific tissues around the joints that are being moved around the most (shoulders, hips, knees, ankles). Although we now incorporate mobility during the class, it’s a plus if you can get on your rollers or LAX balls at home or show up 5 minutes early to class. Watch this video for some easy pre-WOD shoulder mobility exercises.
2.) Get off the ground after your workout
Is Chief Banks the only smart one at the Sweat Shop? Although he is a genetic cyborg and a freakishly strong physical specimen, you are all capable of joining him in his post-WOD cool downs. Watch this video by Kelly Starrett for an explanation on why laying down after the WOD is a huge mistake.
3.) Ice Bath
Yes, they suck but it can do wonders for reducing soreness the next day. The best time to take an ice bath is sometime after your workout. When you workout hard, your muscles tear and are actually “injured” in a way. The typical response to injury is inflammation and the best way to reduce inflammation is icing. Furthermore once finished, the body sends a rapid signal to reheat the tissue, and sends nutrient rich blood for repair. The ice bath only needs to be about 10-15 minutes.
4.) Tissue Work
Deep tissue and active release therapy are all great ways to get out the knots when you are sore. Check out some of the Sweat Shop’s connections:
Paynton and Paynton Chiropractic
Interaction Sports Rehab
5.) Eat your anti-inflammatory foods
Besides fish, out check out others here.
6.) Don’t take so much time off
The worst thing you can do after a hard workout is just sit on the couch and wait out your soreness. Soreness can last for several days and simply waiting until you are no longer sore at all to train will just make you sore again and the cycle will continue for an extended time. Furthermore, if you simply don’t workout for a long time, it is probably not a good idea to partake in a high-rep metabolic conditioning workout until you are back in shape. Let us know when you have taken some time off that we don’t know about!
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Legitness of the Week
Front Squat x 1 PR’s
Mike B. 205
Charlie 205
Donna C. 155
Lones 155
Rene 175
Sean 255
J.B. 265
Helen 180 (Sweat Shop Record)
Patrick ties the Sweat Shop “Fight Gone Bad” record with 369 reps!
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“Fight Gone Bad”
3 Rounds
Complete as many reps as possible in one minute for each exercise:
Row (calories)
Wall Balls
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (75#/55#)
Box Jumps
Push Press (75#/55#)
5 Rounds
15 Back Squats
20 KB Swings (53#/35#)
Max Reps Pullups
-Rest 3 minutes between rounds-
Here’s a great video by Kelly Starrett describing how much flexibility we really need. In his explanation, he goes over how the “textbook” norms values of R.O.M are directly correlated to optimal R.O.M in movements that we do everyday at the Sweat Shop (i.e. squatting and pressing). Funny how these textbook values are not just meant for athletes or people who exercise, but are for everyone.
*Rene’s Endurance/Tough Mudder class is at 2pm on Sunday at the Sweat Shop*
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Legitness of the Week
Dana gets a bar muscle up!
Nina goes beast mode on Friday’s rope climb workout!
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20 minute clock:
800m Run
then,
As many rounds as possible of:
20 Air Squats
10 KB Swings
5 Burpees
1 Rope Climb
“The BK Broiler”
403m Run
20 Wall Balls
30 Toes to bar
20 Wall Balls
30 Double Unders
20 Wall Balls
30 Box Jumps
20 Wall Balls
30 Overhead walking lunge with plate
Complete (2) 70m Sled pushes before finishing
Endurance Class Sunday 2pm at the Sweat Shop
For those who have not been around the Sweat Shop long enough to know him, Chris has been one of the most devoted and consistent Sweat Shoppers since Nabil opened up shop 3 years ago. Chris always sets attainable goals, never makes excuses, and even with some tough-to-swallow advice, is still super coachable! There have been several occasions in the past where I’ve heard Chris joke about how he would “never” get a muscle up no matter how much he tried. To see him get one yesterday was truly amazing! I’m sure I speak for all of the Sweat Shop coaches that it is moments like this, that we LOVE our job! Seeing all the hard work you put in pay off and seeing the smile on your face when you accomplish something you never thought you could before is why we do what we do.
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Legitness of the Week
Deadlift x3 PR’s
Jason F. 195#
Melia 145
Nina 185
Scott J. 195
Weighted Push Up PR’s
Melia 20
Scott J. 59
Chris G. gets his first muscle up!
Rob K. goes beast mode on Hero WOD “White” doing 15 rope climbs with ease!
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As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:
2 Muscle Ups or (6 Pullups/6 Ring Dips)
4 Handstand Pushups
8 Overhead Squats (115#/85#)
A.) Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3
Weighted Pushup
2-2-2-2
B.)
35m Overhead Walking Lunge (45#/25#)
403m Run
35m Overhead Walking Lunge
15 Burpees
Vegan protein bars, Hero WODs, picking on newbie Sweat Shoppers, J.D. loves it all!
A third Saturday Hero WOD in a row? You betcha! Those of you coming in tomorrow at 8:30 and 9:30 be prepared for another doosie! Also, on Sunday, Rene is holding an Endurance/Tough Mudder class at the Sweat Shop at 2pm! Lastly, me (J.B.) and a couple of buddies will be hitting up Diablo Rock at 4pm on Sunday for some rock climbing. Feel free to come join in on all the fun! No experience is necessary! Have a great weekend!
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Legitness of the Week
Squat Clean PR’s
Admir 175
Jason F. 125
Sean 215
Cameron 215
Mike 145
Nina 115
Matt 215
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A.) 15 Minutes to reach 1 RM Squat Clean
B.) 12 Minute Ladder:
1 Squat Clean to Overhead (115#/75#)
1 Burpee
2 Squat Clean to Overhead
2 Burpees
etc.
A.) Front Squat
7-7-7
B.) “Elizabeth”
21-15-9
Clean (135#/95#)
Ring Dip
Watching all you Sweat Shoppers compete in the Open this year was super exciting. I’m sure many of you are ready to relax and take a break from competing. Rightfully deserved! For those who may have missed out on the Open or those still wanting to compete, there are several NorCal events coming up. And for all of you taking a break, don’t forget the fun you can have spectating! The list above are some local events that are sure to be worth taking a stab at either competing in or just catching the competition action. As CrossFit has become more popular, many of the local CrossFit events have become more and more fun to attend. Even better, they are more fun to attend with the awesome, fun, and sometimes wild and crazy Sweat Shop community. I know several of you have already purchased hotels carpool for the CrossFit Games, so if any of you are interested in tagging along or want to arrange plans for the trip to any of these, let us know in the comments section.
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Legitness of the Week
- Justin goes beast mode on Tuesday’s Bench Press workout!
- After surgery for 2 fused vertebrae and 10 months without competiting, Bill Schultz gets first place in his first time trial cycling race.
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Friday’s WOD:
A.) Front Squat
5-5-5-5-5
B.) 3 Rounds
10 Power Cleans (135#/95#)
10 Pullups
10 Burpees
results
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Thursday’s WOD:
*Endurance class w/ Rene 2pm Sunday at the Sweat Shop*
In the past couple weeks, we’ve had several Sweat Shoppers take the short trip to the Saint Mary’s Kinesiology Lab to get a full body fat analysis. Don’t forget that we offer body fat testing to all of our members. Keeping tabs on your body composition is another measure to keep you motivated through your training. Although performance based goals are our priority here at the Sweat Shop, knowing your body composition will give you a more detailed look inside the changes your body makes during your training such as changes in muscle mass, body fat percentage, and fat distribution. Many of you have expressed interest at the gym, so if you want to confirm a time to come in, let me know in the comments section or e-mail me at (james@crossfitsweatshop.com). The testing costs $20 dollars and will be ongoing during the year.
In addition to this test, we also offer a free nutritional analysis on your daily food intake. If you have trouble selecting healthier foods or are unsure of which ones to cut out, keep a dietary log and hand it to Nabil or I to look over. We’d be more than happy to help you out.
Legitness of the Week
- Jeff and Katie get engaged!
- After accidentally taking a wrong turn at the top of Kirkwood, Nabil and J.B. successfully traverse the backside of “Sisters Cliff” while carrying their equipment, drop back in, and make it down in one piece.
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Friday’s WOD:
As many rounds as possible in 15 minute of:
7 KB Squats
10 Pushups with release
10 KB Swings (53#/35#)
*Complete 5 rope climbs and (5) 70 meter sled pushes (70#/45#) before time expires.
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Thursday’s WOD:
“CrossFit Games Open 12.5″
As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes following rep scheme below:
3 Barbell Thrusters
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
6 Barbell Thrusters
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
9 Barbell Thrusters
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Etc. until the 7 minutes is up.
Aaron C. breaking in his first ever Prather Ranch Beef Burger.
Now that many of you have probably started hammering away at your new 40lb Prather Ranch Beef box, I thought it would be appropriate to post about some of the benefits of grass-fed beef. Beyond the superior “deliciousness” of grass-fed beef when compared to grain-fed, there are several heath advantages to eating grassy beef. Check out this post from CrossFit Vancouver:
1. Protein advantage:
Pasture/grass/range fed beef – 77% protein by total energy
USDA Choice (+) beef – 48% protein by total energy
USDA Choice (0) beef – 40% protein by total energy
low price tag ground beef – 20% protein by total energy
2. Omega 3 advantage – 3/6/9 ratio – this means a lot – plays a gigantic role in the treatment of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and other inflammatory and auto-immune diseases and cancer.
3. Saturated Fat- in GrassFed -1/3 to 1/10th that of the feedlot crap depending on cut.
4. ALA & CLA content – great reducer of systemic inflammation – compare grass-fed 39mg/100g ALA to 12mg/100g ALA of grain fed. CLA is a proven cancer fighter and lean muscle-building tool.
5. Slaughtering- Feedlot cows are slaughtered in 24months or less, happy cows on pasture take 4 years before they meet their maker.
6. Triacylglycerol- Feedlot Meat has excessive triacylglycerol accumulation. Commercial feedlots confine cattle and feed them high-starch grain diets which absolutely need to be hopped up on hormones and antibiotics just to get to slaughter. It’s the meat at the supermarket that is half the cost of grassfed and finished beef.
7. Vitamin E – 4 times higher in pastured meat, Riboflavin – up to 10x. Vitamin A and E are essential nutrients known for their antioxidant properties.
Check more out at http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Page.bok?template=beef.html
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Friday’s WOD:
3 Rounds
9 Front Squats 155#/105#
15 Push-ups
1 15 ft Rope Climb
*immediately followed by
5 Rounds
5 Deadlifts 275#/185#
8 Burpees
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Thursday’s WOD:
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
7 DB Squat Clean to Overhead 45#/25#
9 Box Jumps
15 Situps
*When the clock hits 10:00, perform 25 pullups*
Kurt and Sarah’s son, Colton, already has some good fitness genes.
Check out this article from Time that summarizes a study that showed how exercise positively alters our DNA. We’ve known for some time that exercise can reduce the “aging” of DNA, but this study was interesting in showing how acutely our our cells “turn on” genes that allow our muscles to adapt to exercise. Thanks to Bill G-R for the heads up on the article.
From the Article:
Exercise does a lot of good things — it burns calories, helps keep your weight in check and lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Now add one more thing to the list: physical activity can change your DNA. Unlike the aberrations and genetic mutations caused by carcinogens and toxins, exercise-induced alterations to DNA are more like tune-ups, helping muscles to work better and more efficiently. What’s more, these changes occur even after a single 20-minute workout.
Using the biopsied samples, researchers compared the activity in a series of muscle-related genes before and after exercise. More genes were turned on in the cells taken after the exercise and the participants’ DNA showed less methylation, a molecular process in which chemicals called methyl groups settle on the DNA and limit the cell’s ability to access, or switch on, certain genes. By controlling how much methylation goes on in certain cells at specific times, the body regulates which genes in the DNA are activated — that’s what differentiates the development of an an eye cell, for example, from that of a liver cell.
Methylation also helps to prime muscle cells for a bout of exercise, getting them to pump out the right enzymes and nutrients the muscle needs to get energy and burn calories while you’re pounding the pavement during that mile-long jog. “We are trying to get at the early messages that the muscle is [receiving in order] to say, ‘Something is happening here, we need to coordinate so we can get more enzymes and more machinery on board so we can cope with the demands of this exercise,’” says Zierath.
Legitness of the Week
- Criselda and Boie hit their first handstand hold on the wall!
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Friday’s WOD:
A.) Push Press
3-3-3-3-3
B.) Weighted Pullup
2-2-2-2-2
C.)
400m Row
400m Run
15 Burpees
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Thursday’s WOD:
2012 CrossFit Open WOD 12.3
As many rounds as possible in 18 minutes of:
15 Box jumps
12 Push Press 115#/75#
9 Toes-to-bar
Fitness to Admir is running through mud, electric wires, swimming in ice, and hanging on monkey bars.
I found this really inspiring post last night on CrossFit Anywhere’s blog. The post is written by elite CrossFitter Blair Morrison, on what fitness should be to everyone; a choice. Although I am not a top CrossFit athlete, I was able to see eye to eye on almost all of his points.
From the post:
Fitness is…
Choice.
It doesn’t happen by accident.
This concept is important to grasp in a number of ways.
First, everything is a choice. Life is volitional, thus every bit of its foundation is also so. Every second, in every circumstance, you are making choices that will affect your life and your fitness. The genetic canvas is always the same—no series of choices, made or unmade, will alter that essence. But the physical particulars that you see, weigh, and measure are the result of a lifetime of definite choices. Framing things this way is both extremely empowering and a bit scary. It means that the physical you is not pre-determined, that you have a measure of control over the way you interact with the world around you and the way in which you’re going to age. It also means that you are ultimately responsible for the course your life takes, that you have the ability to screw things up, and often will.
Second, every choice has value and they are all accumulating. The previous affects the present, the present will determine the future. Take a 50-year old man (call him individual A) that has adult onset diabetes, hypertension, and a history of joint problems. Not so uncommon these days. Rewind his life and remove every piece of candy, bread, and processed sugar he ever ate. Add nothing else, take nothing else away, and imagine the impact that would have on his current state of health.
Finally, it’s not necessarily the choice we make that’s important as much as the reason we make it. For example, the decision to eat cake because it’s your kid’s birthday party isn’t going to make a difference in your body’s ability to process sugar. Eating cake because you can’t control your craving for chocolate eventually will. Skipping a workout because your body is depleted isn’t going to keep you from hitting PRs. Skipping a workout because you’re too lazy to get up in the morning eventually will.
Read full post here.
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Legitness of the Week
- Bill goes double day on Thursday!
- Jen B. reps out her first ever chest to bar pullups on Friday’s WOD!
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Friday’s WOD:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Thruster
Pullups
KB Swings
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Thursday’s WOD:
A.) Back Squat
5-4-3-2-1
B.) 12-9-6
Pushups
Box Jumps
DB Thruster 45#/30#
results:
Jason during last year’s Open.
For all those competing in the CrossFit Games Open, remember that you must submit your score online. Once you submit your score, we will confirm it and you will then be placed in the rankings. Submit your scores here. Last year, there were some difficulties with those who waited until the last minute and some scores didn’t get counted. You have until Sunday! If you are unable to make it into the Sweat Shop for the workouts, you may either get validated by another nearby gym or you can make a video and submit it. Here are the video instructions. Congrats to all those who have already completed the first workout. Seven minutes of burpees can’t be fun!
**Don’t forget that there will be an open gym session this Sunday at 11:15am. No set workout, no one coaching, just get in a workout if you like**
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Legitness of the Week
- Christian goes beast mode on Thursday’s WOD!
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Friday’s WOD:
A.) 2 Squat Cleans on the minute for 15 minutes
B.) 21-15-9
Ground to Overhead (95#/65#)
Ring Dips
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Thursday’s WOD:
5 Rounds
15 Wall Balls
12 Pullups
10 Burpees
200m Run
CrossFit Sweat Shop Walnut Creek, CA
