Ben Sappey has been CrossFitting with us for just over two months (give or take). About a week and a half ago, he came into the gym for a Sunday Funday class, having injured his thumb that day doing some skiing and Breckenridge. It turns out that the injury was more severe than he thought.
He broke it.
This was a bummer to hear, because most of the time a broken thumb means time away from CrossFit, but not with Ben. He has been coming in regularly, and I’ve just been making adjustments to the workouts that Ben can accommodate with his injury. Why? Because CrossFit is “Universally Scalable.” He came in the first few days with a splint, then the next few with a cast (which he broke in the first few days of having). So today was Ben’s first day with this NEW cast. Watch the videos below, and you’ll see why this latest cast is a little different than most! Ben, you are awesome 🙂
The 2011 CrossFit Games Open found so many athletes competing in their first-ever CrossFit Competition! And whether you’ll admit it or not, you had an AMAZING time!
Good news, the next Colorado Event is here!!! The 2011 Colorado Open will be on August 27th and 28th at Front Range CrossFit. I am pasting their blog announcement below so you can read about the event.
EVERY EVENT WILL BE SCALEABLE, so there are no excuses for why you all shouldn’t sign up. This is also the next chance for us, as CrossFit Lakewood, to show up in huge numbers to a CrossFit event and have a great time together! Click on the Title Link below, follow it to the Front Range CrossFit website, and REGISTER!!!
We are holding the 2011 Colorado Open on August 27th and 28th. Individual entries will be $85 per athlete. There are 180 individual spots.
Last year, we started with 125 individual spots. Due to the demand, we then upped it to 150 and then again to 180. That number, 180 athletes, is how many spots we will have again this year. We cannot increase that number without cutting down the number of workouts per athlete. Cutting the volume down is not something that we are willing to do. I believe doing that many workouts in one weekend is a big part of the challange of the event.
So please do not procrastinate this year. If this is an event that you really want to do, please register early.
Any CrossFitter can register as an individual, be scored as an individual, and compete for the individual title. That CrossFitter can be a member of an Affiliate, workout in their garage, at 24-Hour Fitness, etc. There will be a total of 5 workouts over the 2 days. For those of you that competed at the 2010 Colorado Open, the individual competition will be very similar to last year’s Open.
The individual workouts will be able to be scaled for anyone’s ability level.
These are the MAX weights we will use for the listed exercises. We may use lighter weights.
I had a question asked by Rachel about Mental Toughness during workouts, and how to improve that part of your performance. I asked if she meant toughness in life, and she specified that she meant from 3, 2, 1, GO until the workout is over.
How do people “shut off” their brain and push through the pain? I’m very curious to how people approach this topic, so I’m really hoping to get some discussions going in the comments.
How do you get mentally tougher during your workouts?
So it turns out Sunday Funday workouts are so fun, I take more videos during those classes. The warm-up, the workout and the post-workout fun, everything!
The movements today were simple: Run. Jump. Throw. Push. That’s what’s so cool about CrossFit, the simplest movements can still produce incredible results when paired with intensity!
First things first… as the weather is starting to get nicer outside, we’re going to get better at running. To me, running is one of the most fundamental human skills to have, and being a more proficient runner can produce a lot of power and increase endurance significantly! What? You want to do some sprinting drills? Ok.
Men, go!
Now the women!
Relay time!
Now that the legs are warmed up, let’s get the arms warmed up, too!
Workout of the Day:
4 Rounds for Time
400m Run / 15 Squat Jumps / 15 Ball Slams / 15 Push-Ups (Hand Release)
I said Thumbs Up if you’re having fun…. not too many thumbs?! 🙂
First run done, now let’s do some squat jumps.
What about Ball Slams? It was the first time some people had done these, yet people were still catching them on the bounce. THAT is impressive!
Towards the end of the workout fatigue starts to set in. Great finish though, everyone!
So my friends at CrossFit LoDo have something they call “Dessert”. When the main workout is done, sometimes there will be some “Extra Fun” to be had. I TRIED to have the Sunday Funday say “We Love Dessert” when the fun started…. as you can see, we need to work on our performance! 🙂 Either way, CF LoDo, that’s for you guys!
What WAS this dessert, you ask? It was a max plank-hold!
Tight Cores!
The person who was able to hold themselves in a plank position the longest won a pretty sweet prize…. to pick one of the three movements that will be featured in NEXT WEEK’S Sunday Funday Workout. Quite the honor, I know! And the winner is…..
Since Andy won, the movement he chose: REST
Everyone laughed, but that’s fine! So, as part of the workout for next week, there will be “mandatory rest” worked into it. Congrats on the win, Andy!
The best Sunday Funday crew in the world continues to grow… 11 strong this week!!!
BOOM! 11 Strong for Sunday Funday!
Results for those of you interested:
Feel free to leave any Workout notes in the Comments section!
We’ve talked about the song requests for Sunday Funday for the last few weeks, and there have been quite a few suggestions!
Tonight in class I asked that more people (who actually attend Sunday Funday) get involved in making suggestions of THREE SONGS of their choice. I will start to compile your requests into the EPIC SUNDAY FUNDAY MIX!!
Go ahead and leave a comment with your three songs if you haven’t yet!
(Kip, you’ve reached your quota of recommendations for Round 1!)
After Chrissy lead the group through an awesome warm-up, I wanted to get some heart rates up just a little bit. Below you can see the two CRASH AND BURN sprints I had them do. The goal was to literally run as fast as you could, rest about 30 seconds, then do it again. Great job, everyone!
Will is Fast.
Strength portion for today was Front Squats, and form all around the gym looks incredible. So cool! Once those were done, it was time to hit the Workout of the Day!
Workout of the Day:
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below
3 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
6 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
9 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
12 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
15 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
18 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
21 Barbell Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg) / 21 Chest to bar Pull-ups…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc.
Jamie did his FIRST EVER Workout with ALL unassisted pull-ups last week. This was a HUGE accomplishment for anyone (GREAT JOB, JAMIE!). But then what does he do today? He did the ENTIRE workout… with full CHEST TO BAR Pull-Ups. AMAZING!
It was a big day for Alon, too. Not only is he getting stronger by the day, but he had his first “Post-WOD Destruction” picture taken of him when the workout was done.
Maybe that’s a bit more intense of an opener than what you wanted to read on my “Fitness Blog” this Monday morning, but I’m serious. You may be the most important person in the universe (in your own mind), but even with that, it’s important to know your place. In the office. At the store. In the gym.
My friend Megan shared this article with me today that really hit home. While I was born in New York, I spent a majority of my life in Pittsburgh, PA, and this writing made me stop and think about a quality of the ‘Burgh that I appreciate more and more with each passing year.
Personally, I feel there is something to be said for a firm handshake and some good of eye contact (and dare I say a smile on occasion) to even a complete stranger, yet it’s pretty easy to not get much of that “out in the world.” The manners, or lack thereof, that we are faced with sometimes makes me wonder where some people out there learned how to treat their fellow human. Now let me qualify this… this is all coming from the guy, who at nearly 27 years of age, still calls his friends’ parents “Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so”, but c’mon.
Remember The Gold Rule? Do unto others as you would have others do unto you? Treat people the way you’d like to be treated? To rephrase and quote Will Ferrell imitating Harry Carey, “It’s a simple concept… A child could understand it.”
Megan said something when sharing the article with me, and as we enter the last full week of this month, I couldn’t agree with her more: “This article will fit in well for the rest of Accountability April.”
Take a minute to read the article below, and give yourself a minute or 10 to reflect a little bit.
(And know your place. Seriously.)
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