Team,
Just wanted to give you guys a head’s up as to why two of the last results posts don’t have videos on them yet.
I recently purchased a new Hard Drive to store all of our training videos, so that is taking a while to move things onto the new drives before I start editing again. I usually record 30-40 video segments per week, and that’s what I use to put together our full movies.
Thanks for your patience, they’ll be up soon!
Walking in the door today, I knew it was going to be one of those workouts where people are laid out on the ground afterwards. Squat Cleans are one of the most full-body movements out there, and can be very taxing. At the prescribed weights for today (135 and 95 pounds), that is no easy task for a workout with “As many rounds as possible” in the name!
Workout of the Day:
As many rounds as possible in 15 min of-
5 Squat Cleans (135lb/95lb) / 10 Ball Slams (50lb/30lb) / 15 Sit-ups (Ab-Mat)
Tonight was a big night for the athletes in the gym, as far as I was concerned. I know I mentioned in a recent post about how great form was looking lately, but today mid-workout I was blown away. You can see in the video the form folks were using. It’s one thing to do a Squat Clean when you’re rested, but to do them (and do them right) when you’re fatigued was AWESOME to see!
Athlete Results:
Jamie (85lb Squat Clean / 50lb Slam Ball)- 4 Rounds + 8 Ball Slams
Who’s ready for a new series of posts on the blog?!?!?
Calm down… you’re going to hurt yourself. I know, though… I’m excited, too!!
As most of you know, I LOVE visiting other CrossFit gyms and training with other athletes. So the new series of posts will be called “Smashby Drops In”.
The first stop was CrossFit Lodo here in Denver, CO. Grayson Strange, one of their trainers is an awesome dude, and we had a blast. Next time, Georgia (the other trainer) will join us, too!
Enjoy the video, and let me know what you think of this series!
Today’s workout was simple. Quick and dirty. Get in, WOD, get out. You get the drill.
After some stretching/mobility work and warming up with the deadlift, we got right to the workout.
Workout of the Day:
3 Rounds for time-
10 Deadlifts (275#/185#) / 50 Double-Unders (150 Single Jumps)
I feel like the form across the board on this workout was more solid for every single person than I’ve seen in a while. We spent a bit more time going over technique before/during/after the workout than usual, and I think it’s really starting to pay off. Great job, team!
Video of the group to come soon, but for now, here’s me doing it!
**WOD NOTE**
My grip was shot for final round! I could barely hang onto the jump rope. Next time, the deads will be unbroken, too!
Athlete Results:
Jamie (135# / 150 Single Jumps)- 9:01
Many of you know that Lisbeth Darsh has one of my favorite CrossFit Blogs out there at CrossFit Lisbeth.com.
Her posts are generally shorter, but from the heart and effective. The one today made me stop and think more than usual, and I wanted to share it with you guys. Click here for the direct link to her blog, or just check it out below.
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Pay Attention
Good times tell you nothing. Adversity reveals.
Think about it — in CrossFit and life. Think about your last PR in the gym: what do you remember?
It felt great! Awesome! I’m so strong/fast/quick/tough/etc.
How about your last failure?
Confusion, hurt, and maybe: I wasn’t quick with my elbows. I didn’t jump with the bar. I shouldn’t have stopped so much during those pull-ups. Got to fix my feet.
Which experience taught you more?
Don’t fear the tough times. Let them come. Life must unfold. Be smart, bear down, and ride it out. And learn so you can do better next time.
Full house again tonight! I know the gym gets crowded, but I LOVE having this many people in class at once. The energy is through the roof, and even mid-workout the support is loud and nonstop. Thank you guys for that! Added bonus tonight, Coach Orion joined in for the workout, too!
For strength, we spent time working on a 5-rep max for the Overhead Squat. Check out CrossFit Rockwall’s awesome post on the Overhead Squat. It’s great to hear your coaches say certain things to drive home some points, but sometimes watching someone else say it helps drive the point home even more!
Today’s workout came to us from the CrossFit Main Site back on January 25th, and was a good one! A simple couplet (two movement workout) with one not-so-simple exercise (the Muscle-Up). For those of you who are not familiar with what a Muscle-Up is, it’s a movement that CrossFitters generally perform on the gymnastics rings. The athlete starts at a dead hang with arms fully locked out, goes into a pull-up, and the shoots their shoulders forwards on top of the rings, before finally performing a dip above them. Here’s an example of Ricky and Joe, two of CrossFit Omaha’s monsters, performing 100 of these things for time. It’s super cool to watch these awesome athletes!
If an athlete doesn’t have this complex movement, the sub will generally be pull-ups and dips separately until strength is developed to put the together! You end up doing more reps, but it should definitely make you stronger!
Workout of the Day:
3 Rounds for time of-
12 Muscle Ups / 75 Air Squats
Athlete Results:
5×5 Overhead Squat
Jamie- 100lbs x 5
WOD
Jamie (25 3-Banded Pull-Ups / 25 Box Dips / 25 Air Squats)- 19:33
Moment of Awesomeness? This post is more like… Moment of Panic!!
The Super Bowl was yesterday, so that meant the year’s biggest commercials being broadcast for the world to see.
Well, with what should have been an opportunity to relax, laugh and forget about life’s problems for a few hours, one commercial in particular left me incredibly uneasy. Is Kim Kardashian trying to single-handedly ruin the fitness industry?! I mean, could this commercial lead to millions of people around the world saying goodbye to CrossFit Gyms and hello to Skechers for their obviously truthful advertising? Why would I want to CrossFit for a few hours per week to get in the best shape of my life, when all I need to do is wear amazing shoes?
What do you guys think? Are we… is CrossFit in trouble forever?!?! Post your thoughts to the comments section.
It was a pre-Super Bowl Workout today! Since the big game started at 4:30 local time, we wanted to make sure people had the chance to get home and get ready to watch. That meant having an early morning Sunday workout!
Mel, who joined the CrossFit Lakewood (CFLW) Family last week, came in for a skills class and then stayed for the workout at 10:00am. Two hours of CrossFit to start a Sunday… not bad!
The workout was a doozie, but the most impressive part was that Melissa and Jamie both came out in what was at least 4-6 inches of snow overnight. Many roads were not plowed, and we were the first three sets of tracks in CFLW parking lot! Thank you guys for coming out, but most importantly, glad you were both safe!
Workout of the Day:
4 rounds for time of-
15 Ball Tosses / 15 Kettlebell Swings / 15 Double-Unders / 15 Burpees Jumps (over Ab-Mat)
Congrats to Jamie for doing another workout with Double-Unders! He’s officially moved out of needing to scale for that movement!
Athlete results:
Melissa (30lb Ball / 8kg Kettlebell / 50 Single Jumps)- 23:13
Jamie (50lb Ball / 16kg Kettlebell)- 29:27
Clayton gave me a call today to ask me something about improving his grip strength, and whether or not he should buy a product to help. Grip strength is required for many movements in our type of training whether it’s to hold onto a barbell, pull-up bar, kettlebell, etc. the list goes on… My answer was that I didn’t think he needed to spend money on a specific item, and that there were other (cheaper) ways to improve grip strength.
This conversation made me think of a great series of posts here that I’m going to name: “CrossFit WOD Tips” These posts are going to include suggestions or ideas on how to improve different skill sets that will translate into more effective WODs (or Workouts of the Day).
Thanks for starting us off with the first topic, Clayton!
The video below comes from the “Baseball Performance” YouTube channel, and demonstrates a great circuit of movements anyone can do by simply working with rice. Many athletes from baseball players, to rock climbers, to martial artists use rice as a method to strengthen their grips, and it translates into more effective and more stabilized movements in almost any athletic endeavor! Enjoy.
LifeAsRx, (which means Life as Prescribed) in my opinion, is the premier site out there for CrossFit clothing (with funny and awesome t-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories), but they also have an awesome blog on the website!
A story they shared last week is going to be pasted in it’s entirety below, but check the main blog site of theirs for other great articles. The story is about the perseverance of the human spirit, and how fitness (and LifeAsRx the company) has helped many people bounce back from addictions to turn their lives around.
Jonathan Okinaga (the author) writes:
I just want to thank everyone at LifeAsRX, I realize that you’re a Crossfit clothing company but you’ve impacted lives. Yes, I said lives. Your banner is in my gym and its a daily reminder for my crew to be legit and live life right.
I hope you like the story as much as I do.
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Story time. Gotta love you crossfit athletes
January 25th, 2011
Close to fours years ago I returned from rehab close to 5’7, 210lbs with a body fat percentage that basically said I was morbidly obese. I was out of shape, barely breathing after walking up a set of stairs and couldn’t even do a single pullup. My first Crossfit workout left me gasping for air and wanting more. Now Im 160lbs, single digit body fat and can do things that I never thought possible.
My journey has taken me from a drug addict to public speaker/author who runs sober living homes utilizing my walk with God, the “program” and Crossfit to help others battling alcoholism/addiction. When I first came across LifeAsRX, I thought it was a cool looking product line that my friends who were associated with CFO were hyping. The more I scanned the shirts, hats & slogans…I fell in love.
For those of us in addiction, we HAVE to Live Life As Prescribed. One shortcut, a single moment of not doing things right, wanting to give up, etc. could ultimately lead to death. It is a sad reminder I see all the time. Every day I tell my crew that each day sober is their PR. Strive for excellence and do things to the best of their abilities.
Over the last year I build a garage gym that has seen dozens of newly sober men and women get a taste of what Crossfit is about. We don’t quit, push past the pain and always finish what we start. When they are literally flat on their backs barely breathing I tell them “Thats just like your recovery. You may want to quit but if you listen to your coach (sponsor) and trust what they are saying…you’ll succeed.”
I just want to thank everyone at LifeAsRX, I realize that you’re a Crossfit clothing company but you’ve impacted lives. Yes, I said lives. Your banner is in my gym and its a daily reminder for my crew to be legit and live life right. I also give away shirts, hats, stickers and sweaters as a reward for those I come across that are living life as prescribed. Thank you.
Jonathan Okinaga
Smashby's Training Blog 