Questions fielded from Casey Polk!
Questions still out there to be answered from Alec Hanson and Aaron Varcasio.
BOOM!
Still trying to find a good name for the “show”. Open to your awesome ideas, and thinking of them, myself. Remember, it probably won’t always be in a car, and definitely won’t always happen during the morning rush.
As our good friend, Winnie the Pooh, says:
Think, think, think... (of a good name for the show)
Today was the first day of: FREE CROSSFIT WEEK at CrossFit Lakewood, and it was a HUGE success!!!
I’ll let you guys see what our group warm-up looked like. Good thing the gym wall was knocked down and doubled in size, or we wouldn’t have had room to hold everyone!
During the Strength Portion of the workout, Coach Chrissy and I took all of the “Newbies” through an extended warm-up where we talked a little bit more about CrossFit in detail. There were some very good questions, so hopefully we answered them for you guys!
The workout today was inspired in structure by the Classic CrossFit Workout “Fight Gone Bad.” We had 5 different stations, each of which lasted one minute. There was no rest time in between stations, and then after all 5, there was one a minute rest. Athletes go through all 5 stations a total of three times. I hope that makes sense.
Workout of the Day:
Strength
85% of Deadlift – 1 Rep every minute for 10 minutes
WOD
3 Rounds for Time
5 Stations, 1 Minute each, 1 minute rest after all 5 Stations
Wall Ball / Burpee / Sit-Up / Air Squat / Box Jump
Check out some video we took from a PACKED HOUSE last night!
3, 2, 1… GO!!!
The front row of Box Jumpers are some of our veterans, while the newer folks crush the workout behind them!
Over halfway through the workout
Maybe the best 10 seconds of the workout… the last 10!
Athletes, feel free to post your results in the Comments Section. This week I will likely not be able to note scores for everyone.
Thank you so much to everyone who brought friends to the gym last night. We’ve got 3 more days this week of Free CrossFit, so PLEASE keep it up! Bring your friends, once they love it, have them bring their friends for the rest of the week! See you all tonight at 6pm!!!
The name Sunday Funday has officially spread, so… WELCOME TO SUNDAY FUNDAY!
We hadn’t been using barbells much on Sundays, so I decided that we’d change that this week. The workout tonight included some short-distance rowing to really get our heart rate up, and then three other movements. We did Squat Jumps to simulate exploding up from the bottom of a squat, then we did Push Press so simulate getting a weight off of our shoulders, to locked out overhead powerfully. The final movement combined all of those movements; it was the Slam Ball Toss. You’ll see in the videos what exactly that is, but let me just tell you it’s harder than it looks.
Check out Alon and Andy rowing their 250m distance during this round. For guys who are very new to rowing, especially at high intensity levels, these guys are CRUSHING it. Well done!
Workout of the Day:
3 Rounds for Time
15 Push Press / 15 Squat Jumps / 250m Row / 15 Slam Ball Throws
Athlete Results:
Andy (45# Push Press / 30# Slam Ball)- 21:28
Casey (35# Push Presss / 40# Slam Ball)- 21:48
Wes (75# Push Press / 50# Slam Ball)- 22:40
Alon (45# Push Press / 30# Slam Ball)- 24:17
Jamie (75# Push Press / 50# Slam Ball)- 25:12
Krystle (15# Push Press / 20# Slam Ball)- 26:17
I never thought I would be posting videos like this on my “CrossFit Blog”, but this makes me really happy. A few weeks ago I posted a proposal video from the CrossFit Dallas Central Crew, and now I am posting one a little bit closer to home.
Just yesterday, actually, I posted my thoughts on Teachers, and mentioned my good friend Broderick Turner. (Which is probably why I feel so compelled to share this with you guys today!) This morning Broderick let me know that he had proposed to his girlfriend. Check out the awesome way he chose to do it, too. This is the Broderick I know and love. 🙂
She said yes, by the way.
CONGRATS, BRODERICK!!!!!!
Freddy Camacho at CrossFit One World is one of CrossFit’s original firebreathers! With his trademark tattoo sleeves, awesome personality and incredible shoulder strength, he can be picked out by most of us from a mile away.
After this week’s CrossFit Games Open Workout #2, there were some scores posted that literally blew minds away. I mean, people were absolutely floored. I don’t need to get into the little details of the workout since I’ve already posted what it was on my blog, and since Freddy covers it in the post, but he wrote EXACTLY the same thing that I’ve talked to most of you about in person over the last 5 days.
I am very curious as to what you guys think about this. Just like him, I’m not saying people are lying and that it’s impossible to score these numbers. What I AM saying, is that to do so is just short of super human work capacity and that I just want to see one of these performances and marvel at it’s greatness.
Here’s the full post, but I’ll paste a good chunk of it below, highlighting some of the points I’ve discussed with some of you. (Guys, he even tested the “Air Round” I said someone should do!)
Great stuff, Freddy! Let me know what you guys think, too.
*****From The Post – “SUPERHUMAN????” by Freddy Camacho*****
“At the time of this writing, there are six people (3 men/3 women) claiming 600+ reps for Workout #2 of the CrossFit Games Open. The workout is as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of 9 deadlifts (M:155#/W:100#)/12 push-ups with a hand raise at bottom/15 box jumps (M:24″/W:20″). Yes, you read that right…. 600 or more reps! For the purpose of this post, I will use an even 600 reps. To achieve 600 reps, a person would have to perform 16 rounds + 9 deadlifts + 12 push-ups + 3 box jumps…in 15 minutes!!!”
“Time for some math (YAY)!!! There are 900 seconds in 15 minutes. 900 seconds divided by 600 reps is 1.5 seconds per rep. At 1.5 seconds per rep, in order to complete 600 reps you would have to finish a round every 54 seconds without any rest or transition time.”
“Let’s say the transition time is on the low side at 34 seconds. That means the total seconds that you are actually completing 600 reps shrinks down to 1.4 seconds per rep. You are now completing a round every 50.4 seconds without any rest.”
“I did an “air round”: A simulated straight leg deadlift with no bar or stick, push-ups without raising my hands, and standing jumps with no box or tuck (about an 8″-10″ jump). I made sure I hit full range of motion on the “air deadlift” and the push-up. It took me 40 seconds to complete the round. That means to achieve 600 reps, I would only have 10.4 seconds of rest time, or what I call “wiggle room”, per round to maintain pace. And remember, that is with no weight, no hand raise, and no box.”
BOOOOOOOOOM!!
Alec, I now know how awesome you feel in the morning when you record a successful Drive Time with Alec on the way to work. It’s like before you even walk in the door to “the job”, you’ve knocked something off of the punch list for “the passion” (CrossFit). It feels pretty nice.
So, the next installment of Drive Time with Smashby was completed today, and I’m very interested to hear what you guys have to say about it. Not sure why I couldn’t remember the last question Alec asked, but I’ll get it next time.
Any other discussion topics? Let me hear ’em!!
The Affiliate Team results are in after the second week of the 2011 CrossFit Games Open.*
Out of 68 Total Teams in our Region, Team CrossFit Lakewood is ranked 37th place! The way that the Team Competition works, is the top 30 teams from each Region make it on to the next round of competitions, which is called Regionals.
Currently, we’re only 13 points and 7 places away from 30th place, so that’s WELL within reach with 4 weeks still left to go!! Great job, everyone!
*The Website has had quite a a few issues so far, so any of this information MAY be incorrect, but as of now that’s what it shows.
*****CFLW MOMENT OF PRIDE*****
Our very own Megan Pendergraft is currently ranked 35th place in our Region after week #2. Yeah, Megan!!
A lot of people are losing their minds over the display issues that are occurring on the 2011 CrossFit Games Website (definitely not me, though…. I’m cool… not waiting at all… seriously…). In response to the high volume of concerns/complaints/comments, they have just released the following statement on the Games Website:
“Don’t worry if your submitted results aren’t showing on the Leaderboard.
If you have submitted and/or validated results for Workout 11.2, don’t worry if they are not showing on the Leaderboard. The Leaderboard still needs work, but our database has collected all of these submissions and validations. There is no need yet to email your results to our support staff.
Our IT team is fixing the Leaderboard and it will be functional soon. When the Leaderboard is fixed, it will reflect the most recent submissions and validations for Workout 11.2.
If you are having other problems with the site, please email support@crossfitgames.com.”
In my opinion, good teachers have the ability to influence kids in a way no one else can. They have a different impact than parents, siblings or friends, and can spark intellectual curiosity to an extent that in some ways cannot be matched outside of their “classroom” setting. I have always been truly inspired by good teachers. I can list the names of a few of mine over the course of my 16 years of schooling that I know I will never forget.
This is one of the reasons I am so proud of my very good friend, Broderick Turner. Broderick, (who used to introduce himself in business meetings to Senior Vice Presidents as “Broderick, like Mathew Broderick… only black”) is a math teacher at Grady High School in Atlanta, Georgia, and has found a way of connecting with his students unlike any other teacher I have seen. This type of stuff makes me strive to want to be more like him as a teacher and a coach. I’m really proud of him and what he’s doing.
Some of you may be wondering: “How does any of this even remotely relate to CrossFit?”
First of all, to me, being a CrossFit Coach is much more than just helping people learn about how to do a squat. It’s about explaining the “WHY’s” to your athletes, showing people the benefits of efficient movement not only in the gym, but outside as well, and then sitting back and marveling as you see their lives change for the better through the knowledge you’ve helped them learn. We are more than just “trainers”. Each one of us has the title, each one of us should have the skills, but most importantly, each one of us absolutely has the obligation and responsibility to be teachers in our gyms.
Here’s a video of how Broderick took a potentially boring task (teaching the Quadratic Formula to his 9th and 10th graders), and related it to his students. He didn’t sacrifice the integrity of the subject matter, he didn’t settle for below “standard”, but he did break the subject matter down in a way that probably got the attention of his kids a lot more than standing at a chalk board and preaching in a monotone voice.
Mr. Turner, great job on keeping your teaching “Constantly Varied” and very “Functional”!! There are a lot of CrossFitters out there who will appreciate your efforts and creativity, and I can only hope that more teachers out there take this kind of pride and passion in their work. With that, our educational system is going to grow and change in ways that are nothing but positive!
*****The video had an error while he uploaded it onto YouTube! When we get a complete version, I’ll post it on here. But this will still give you an idea of what he’s doing!*****
Right now we’re 1/3 of the way into the 2011 CrossFit Games Open. While we were all crushing WOD #2 yesterday, though, I realized something.
To my knowledge (I could be wrong), we have never gotten together as a CrossFit Lakewood Competition Team to discuss how we tick. Each one of us, individually. What I mean by that is sharing with one another some pretty important things that we need/want/would like to have before, during and after our “Sectionals” workouts:
How do you like to warm up?
By yourself, in a group, alone and silent, social and talkative
How do you like to be judged during a workout?
Every rep counted out loud, leave me alone I count for myself, yell out every five reps
What kind of encouragement do you like during a workout?
Loud and proud, drill sergeant orders, quiet and encouraging, in your face cheering, people telling you how many reps to do, leave you alone
How do you like to be treated immediately following a workout?
High fives all around, group hug, give me a few minutes on the ground to recover, leave me alone until I remember where I am again
These questions may seem sort of trivial to some people, but to others, the workout environment can have a serious impact on one’s performance.
Do me a favor please, guys and gals. Take just a few seconds and reply in the Comments Section of this post and share your personal preference. That way, when next Saturday rolls around, we’ll all know how to best approach one another to create the best environment for our team!
Smashby's Training Blog 