CrossFit claims to be a “Functional Fitness” program. That statement leads to a lot of people asking, “What does functional mean?” Today, we’ll talk about ONE of those movements, and why it’s functional. Today’s movement is squatting. To me, squatting is one of the most fundamental human movements!
Sit down. How do you get up the most efficiently? Squat. Pick anything up off of the ground, what’s the safest way to stand with it? Likely, some form of squat. In this short video from the CrossFitHQ YouTube channel, the squat is discussed at length, including how and why you should do the movement properly. I hope you guys find this as helpful as I did!
p.s.- Yes, the “Doublemint” is my favorite part of any CrossFit video… ever. Nicole and Annie are my sirens. 🙂
Today is going to be called “Feel Good Friday”. Yep, sure is.
The video I am about to share with you guys was created by the crew at Again Faster Equipment. Instead of trying to explain the video on my own, let me paste their summary of it from the YouTube page where this video can be found:
“Filmed in August of 2011 in San Antonio, Texas, at Alamo CrossFit, the first ever Again Faster Adaptive Athlete Summit featured some of CrossFit’s best coaches as they came together with a group of adaptive athletes for two days of gymnastics, olympic lifting and mobility work. Coaches Jeff Tucker, Jay Leydon, Austin Malleolo and James Hobart joined with Olympians Chad Vaughn and Kendrick Farris to put the guys through skill sessions and CrossFit workouts, proving–if it even needed to be proven–that CrossFit is for everybody.
The weekend culminated in six athletes being named to the Again Faster Competition Team, captained by Kyle Maynard, with the goal of further showing the world what is possible when you stop looking for excuses and start to adapt.”
The reason I am calling this “Feel Good Friday” is because listening to these guys talk, it continually proves to me that the human spirit can overcome ANY obstacle… if it WANTS to do so. We all have a choice. Every minute. Of every day. In every interaction and situation. It’s that simple. Why would (and why DO) we choose to be negative or pessimistic about things when having a positive outlook could help us achieve things we never even thought possible? Ok, off of my soap box. The point… try to give yourself one single day where you approach EVERYTHING with an optimistic attitude.
Just one day. See what happens? I’m curious to hear if anyone tries.
Most CrossFit nerds, like me, know who Rob Orlando is (aside from the owner of Hybrid Athletics). For those of you don’t… he is awesome.
One of my favorite Rob O. moments came during the 2010 Northeast Regional Qualifier when he clean and jerked 300lbs three times… in 40 seconds.
(Video courtesy of the CrossFitHQ YouTube channel. Video by Again Faster.)
Then, a few weeks ago, he shared this gem (also shared through the CrossFitHQ channel).
Wow.
So I’m talking to my buddy Zach, and he shoots me a text saying, “I saw a guy do grace with 300# on crossfit.com. I think I am going to try it today.” He was referring to Rob’s video. How matter-of-fact is that? Yeeeaaah…. I think I’ll pick up 300lbs off of the ground and put it over my head 30 times today. No big deal?
So, he did. And here it is! It took him 18:04. Yes, I’m serious.
A buddy of mine from work shared this video with me, and I absolutely LOVE it.
If I had the money, the time, or the guts, I would ABSOLUTELY do this! (Yep. Three excuses. That’s when you KNOW it’s high on the “Bucket” list. It sounds TOO fun and life changing to even consider doing right now.)
CrossFit, as a fitness program and a sport, continues to create a buzz! This time, a CrossFit competition is held between NBA Stars Jameer Nelson and Jason Terry. The two compete in a CF Event, while each of them have a celebrity partner. One is comedian Bill Bellamy, while the other is rapper Jadakiss. Nothing like a friendly little wager to add a little fun to the NBA season for these two guys. Good stuff!
Here’s the official “Video Description” from the page:
“Jason Terry and Jadakiss team up against Jameer Nelson and Bill Bellamy for the Crossfit FaceOFF. Comedian Anthony Anderson lends his commentary as the event’s emcee. If Jason Terry loses, he must put his superstitions aside, playing a game without his signature headband and socks. If Jameer Nelson loses, he must wear Jason Terry’s sweaty socks and headband when the Mavericks play the Magic!”
It feels like it’s been a while since I got to visit a new gym, but when I stopped to think about it, it was only last December that I dropped in to a few spots out of town. To me, it’s so fun to see and visit different gyms!
Last week I went to the booming metropolis of Indianapolis, Indiana. The purpose was to cheer on my Alma Mater as they competed in the NCAA Division III Swimming Nationals (ok, swimming AND diving). There were some mind-blowing swims, but that wasn’t the only competition going on at the time. The 2012 CrossFit Games Open still had 3 days left!
I attempted Workout 12.5 once on Wednesday, but after doing some research learned that I had done worse than when I did it last year as WOD 11.6. I did not feel good about doing worse a full year later, so I decided to give it another go! After searching for the best CF Gym in Indy, there was a clear favorite… CrossFit NapTown was the clear winner, so that’s where I was going to get in my final WOD of the Open.
CrossFit NapTown!
Not only was the gym awesome, but the coaches were incredibly nice (letting me do the workout in the middle of one of their classes, while one of the owners judged me), and the members were incredibly supportive before, during, AND after I was done with the workout. Stand-up people there, thank you guys so much for the encouragement!
Part of their awesome space. Thanks again, guys!
The best news of all, is that even with a late night the night before (c’mon, it was a mini college reunion for me!), I still improved my score to end the Open on a high note. CrossFit NapTown = Awesome!
Alright, everyone… the final workout has been released! It just happens to be the same workout that ended the Open last year. Interesting, huh?
My advice and strategy video is featured below. GOOD LUCK!!
I had to give it a go last night because I leave for the airport in a few minutes for a weekend trip, so here is that attempt. I checked my score from last year after I had completed it, and I actually got two MORE reps last year…. not exactly the improvement year-over-year I was looking for, BUT I don’t think I paced myself properly last night. Here’s to hoping I get around to trying it again, and can get a few more reps if I do!
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