Smashby's Training Blog

Today was an important day for me as a coach. While CrossFit has many workouts dedicated to our servicemen who have given the Ultimate Sacrifice to protect our freedoms, until tonight, all of the soldiers were just names to me. With tonight’s Hero Workout, “Jack”, it hit a little bit closer to home. Some of my friends in the Seattle area (CrossFit SnoRidge) actually knew this Hero in person, so I was honored to have my athletes complete this WOD last night.

Here is an excerpt with a little background on Jack from the CrossFit website:
“Army Staff Sgt. Jack M. Martin III, 26, of Bethany, Oklahoma, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Wash., died September 29th, 2009, in Jolo Island, Philippines, from the detonation of an improvised explosive device. Martin is survived by his wife Ashley Martin, his parents Jack and Cheryl Martin, and siblings Abe, Mandi, Amber and Abi.” (http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/007130.html)

Workout of the Day:
“Jack” ~ As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 Minutes of:
10 Push Press / 10 Kettlebell Swings / 10 Box Jumps

Any time you’re doing a 20-minute workout, as hard as you can, it’s going to be a challenge, but the group tonight did an awesome job of maintaining proper form through fatigue! In the picture above you can see Ashley jumping up to the box. She actually decided mid-workout that she wanted to increase the height of where she was jumping. What a statement for her to make the workout even more difficult!

Athlete Results:

Ashley (15# Bar / 8kg Kettlebell) – 8 rounds + 4 Push Press

Clayton (75# Bar / 16kg Kettlebell) – 7 rounds + 5 Push Press

Kristin (35# Bar / 12kg Kettlebell) – 7 rounds + 10 Push Press + 10 Swings + 5 Box Jumps

Caro (45# Bar / 12kg Kettlebell) – 6 rounds + 10 Push Press + 10 Swings + 3 Box Jumps

Thank you guys so much for pushing through this workout today. I know our friends in Washington appreciate knowing that people around the world are honoring their close friend for everything he did for us. Rest in Peace, Jack.

Workout of the Day:
5 Rounds for time of-
100m Sprint / 15 Wall Balls / 20 Knuckles to Toes / 25 Jumping Jacks

Before we got into the WOD, we did some drill/strength work.  First was some running drills outside to try and work on that speed.  Carolyn is still making that ankle stronger, yet still held a great running speed. Then, we went back inside and did some deadlifts.

Today was the first day that we really spent some time on a Barbell Lift and some strength work before the main WOD, and I think it went well.  Deadlifts are a lot of fun when done right, and all of the athletes looked great.  With practice, these get a lot easier and more comfortable!

After that, it was time to hit the main workout.  Carolyn was first out of the gate, and held that position for the entire workout.  Kristin, as usual, did an awesome job of finishing strong, and ALMOST reeling her in at the end, but Carolyn held on and finished the workout first.

Clayton also did an awesome job, breaking down the sets into more manageable numbers when it was necessary.  I know I’ve said this before, but when he gets tired, he holds form beautifully. That is something to really be proud of, so great job tonight!

Athlete Results:
Carolyn (10# Med Ball)- 13:09
Kristin (10# Med Ball)- 13:11
Clayton (14# Med Ball)- 17:48

It was an awesome night at CrossFit Lakewood!

There were seven people that showed up to my third class in the new gym, and it was so much fun! Three of the athletes were first-time CrossFitters, three were returning regulars, and last but not least was Kristin. What an awesome group!

Workout of the Day:
Run 400m / 20 reps / Run 300m / 15 reps / Run 200m / 10 reps / Run 100m / 5 reps

The way this works is after running the distance listed, athletes complete the number of reps of the following exercises, in this order:
Squat Jumps / Push-Ups / Overhead Squats (w/ pvc) / Wall Sit Shoulder Press (w/ pvc) / Box Jumps / Burpees

Nothing about this workout was easy, but the way that everyone pushed and encouraged each other the entire time was inspiring. I hope to see all of you guys again!

Athlete Results:
Kristin – 25:30
Darcy – 29:08
Ashley B – 29:08
Clayton – 29:13
Karla – 29:24
Andy – 29:43
Johnny – 32:08

I’ve never done this before, but I think tonight’s workout deserves a “Moment of the Night”. As you can see on the video below, even at the end of a nearly 30-minute workout, Clayton’s form on his push-ups was absolutely perfect. For a second-time CrossFitter, I’d say the future is bright with this one! Great job to you, and to everyone else tonight!

Workout of the Day:
7 Rounds for time of-
7 Deadlifts (45#) / 10 Hand-Release Push-Ups

This workout is a modification of the workout posted on the CrossFit site from today, and I thought it was a good one.  Since yesterday’s workout was such a crusher, I decided to have today’s be much lighter and faster, with some technique and core-specific work thrown in.  Keeping your workouts constantly varied is key for the most effective all-around fitness in my opinion!

Some of you may have been wondering what a “hand-release push-up” is, so I took a video of Kristin doing them during the last round of her workout.  It just means that when your chest is against the ground, you literally remove your hands from the floor.  I saw them for the first time during this summer’s CrossFit Games.

Today I also did something for the first time… I did the “Pre-Test / Re-Test”.  This is where I will have the athletes perform some task (usually a max effort of some sort) prior to the workout.  Then, without their knowledge, I will have them re-test and complete the same task following the day’s main workout.  Why will I do this?  The easy answer is that I am trying to prepare athletes for the “Unknown and the Unknowable”.  There may be times in life where you need to give 100% of your effort, and then be asked to it again.  Since life will not always give you fair warning as to when this will happen, I won’t always do it either.  While this won’t happen often, don’t be surprised if you encounter this sometime.

Athlete Results:

Kristin – Main Workout – 7:50

 Today’s “Pre-Test / Re-Test” – 500 Meter Row

Pre-workout result – 2:03

Post-workout result – 2:06

Great job today, Kristin!

Tonight was the first workout in the new gym at CrossFit Lakewood and I could not have been happier!

Kristin showed up, and definitely got her moneysworth with this one, because it was not an easy workout at all.

Workout of the Day:

5 Rounds for time of-

200 Meter Run / 20 Wall Ball Tosses (10#) / 15 Ball Slams (30#) / 10 Push Press (45#)

Now I be very easily amused (and I am), but one of my favorite parts of the new gym is that we have a “real” clock on the wall that we can use for our workouts, not just my iPod.  Listen how excited Kristin gets when she hears that it *beeps* the “3, 2, 1…” too.  Yeah, celebrate the little things in life, people!

The other new toys the gym purchased last week were Slam Balls.  So I added those into this workout, too. 

I know I’m getting video-happy these days, but for me, they’re the most fun way to share how the class went with everyone.  Also, on this particular day, even with a super-long workout, the form was perfect.  As a coach, I love seeing that!

On the Wall-Balls, I look for the quick pace from rep to rep in order to maintain the efficiency of the movement.  With the range of motion, she goes into a full squat before standing up full and hitting the target with the ball.  On the Push Press, the clean to get the bar up looks great, and the hip drive to throw the bar overhead with the lockout looks awesome!  I think these two videos each deserve a BOOM!  So… BOOM… and BOOM! (one for each video… you know?)

Athlete Results:

Kristin- 31:11

Today was Bring Your Friend to the Gym Day!

Tonight was amazing. That’s all I’m going to say to start. Amazing! The group that came was so enthusiastic, the workout was really fun, and the result was incredible! Enough of my rambling, let’s get to the details.

Workout of the Day:
TEAM WORKOUT
-One Person Rows for 2:00-
While they row, the other person/people on the team complete reps of the following exercises in order for the entire 2 minutes
Sit-Ups
Push-Ups
Squat Jumps
Wall Balls
Single Jumps

The goal for this workout – In a 20 minute time period, have your team complete the farthest distance possible of ROWING.

So while one person is rowing as fast as they can for two minutes, the other person on the team (or people in the case of one team) are doing as many reps as they want of the exercise they’re on. The only thing that matters at the end, though… how far did your team row!?

Since we had 7 people in class tonight, we had two teams of two, and one team of three. While that meant that they had to row less times than the other two teams, it also meant that they were completing other exercises for twice as long before moving back to the rowers (meaning they were potentially more tired for their rowing portions?).

Andy and Clayton were two first-timers to my class tonight, and they did an incredible job! Josh and Hannah came back again, and it was so great to see them. Sarah and Timbers, my regular athletes, put on a clinic on rowing form, and that was awesome to see. Last and certainly not least, Ashley BOOOOOMer came to class again. She’s starting to make herself a regular at the gym. We would LOVE to see her more often!

At the end of this 20 minute workout, I never could have imagined the results being what they were!! The first guess I had was that the group with three rowers would have been ahead by a landslide because they all would have been less fatigued. What ended up happening, though, is that they pushed themselves so hard during the other stops that they were even more tired when they were at the rower.

The other two teams had one first-timer to CIA each, so I thought maybe their rowing would not have been as effective. Andy and Clayton did an amazing job of holding form and pulling some big numbers during their turns, though!

At the end of the workout, there is no one that could have predicted THIS outcome!!!

I am so proud of all of you guys. Thanks for making tonight’s class so much fun!

Labor Day was Monday, so a lot of people took the day off from working out. I was looking to make up for that time spent out of the gym by making the Wednesday night workout a good one!

The athlete needed to complete ALL of the exercises below as fast as possible, but there was a catch! The tasks to complete were:

500m Row / 400m Run / 100 Bicycles (ab ex.) / 30 Overhead Squats / 30 Knees to Elbows / 30 Push-Ups / 30 Thrusters / 30 Knuckles to Toes / 30 Burpees / 3 Laps up the stairs and around the punching bag holding to Kettlebells

Yeah, they had to do all of that! Here’s what the catch was, though. Tonight we had CrossFit newcomers Nichole and “The Ashleys” come back for another class!!! They’re still very new at this, so I let them pick any three exercises they wanted to skip to shorten the length of the workout for them.
Since Sarah, Dave and Kristin are all regulars, they were only able to skip one of the exercises. But they got to pick whichever one they wanted.  The best part for me, was that every single person (except for Kristin!) chose to skip the burpees.  Probably because they’re too easy, huh?

Athlete Results:

Ashley Guy -18:32

Ashley Boomer – 16:54

Nichole Potter – 14:30

Sarah – 14:45

Kristin – 15:43

Dave – 18:15

You guys did a great job, and I hope to see you all again soon!

Saturday morning rolled around, and this time we had 4 people come to class!

Kristin and Carolyn were the “regulars”, but Carolyn had two friends visiting from out of town.  I was super impressed to see them actually come to class, but even more impressed at how well they did!  Arielle and Katie did an amazing job learning and performing the movements with proper form!  Here’s a shirt video of some of the burpees.  It was a beautiful day for CrossFit!

We did some pretty crazy workouts (3 total workouts in the hour-long session), but everyone did an amazing job!

Workout of the Day- (6:30pm Class)

100 Single Jumps

30 Wall Balls

80 Single Jumps

25 Wall Balls

60 Single Jumps

20 Wall Balls

40 Single Jumps

15 Wall Balls

20 Single Jumps

10 Wall Balls

Athlete Results:

Sarah (8lb Med Ball)- 8:08

Dave (10lb Med Ball)- 13:12

What a night it was tonight.  It seems I have identified one of Sarah’s best exercises… the single jump!  She is amazing at jumping rope, light on her toes, and keeps her hands super close to her body.  It’s great when you can walk by someone jumping rope, quickly, and can barely hear them!

Dave used a med ball that weighed a few more pounds, and even when he got tired, his range of motion was perfect on every single rep.  The best part of the workout for Dave, was when he got tired doing wall balls, he rested standing up against the wall!  Most people want to rest sitting down when they get tired, but that can lead to your lower back tightening up even faster.  Well done, sir!

Workout of the Day- (7pm Class)

3 Rounds of:

400m Run

15 Overhead Squats with PVC Pipe

10 Wall Balls

5 Burpees

Athlete Results:

Carolyn (12lb ball)- 10:47

Nichole (10lb ball)- 16:24

Ashley (8lb ball)- 16:26

Tonight we had two newcomers to CIA CrossFit, Nichole and Ashley!  After a few minutes of a basic overview of my style of training, we were off for a brief warm-up, and then the workout.  Ashley had never done CrossFit before, but Nichole was familiar with the training, so that made it a lot easier.

Carolyn, who forgot her ankle brace, decided she still wanted to run, do squats, and burpees.  Crazy if you ask me, but she crushed the workout.  I guess through her rehab and CrossFit, her broken foot a few months ago is turning into a mega-foot!  I’ll let her comment and see what she thinks!

Either way, the group did an amazing job, and we can’t wait to see Nichole and Ashley again!

Cash-Out Exercise:

60 seconds – As many single jumps as possible

Sarah- 120

Carolyn- 167

(I bet done at the same time, you two would have each completed even more!)

Workout of the Day:

Run 800 meters

30 Push-Ups

Run 400 meters

30 Burpees

Run 150 meters

30 KB Swings

Sprint 25 meters

30 Jumping Jacks

Sprint 25 meters

Athlete Results:

Sarah- 14:43

Bari- 17:05

Jan- 17:07

Dave- 18:58

That was the workout that my 6:30 class completed.  My favorite quote from this class was Sarah saying, “Wow, Tom… Thanks so much for putting the burpees right after the push-ups!”  I sense a bit of sarcasm, but she did an amazing job of grouping the 30 reps into smaller, more manageable sets, and sticking to the numbers she picked!  When she finished, she stayed around and cheered everone else on, too.  That is the teamwork that I love to see you guys show every day.  Thank you for making this place feel more like a family than a gym!

We cut the burpee reps in half for Jan and Bari, but they really made up for it by pushing each other through the runs.  It was very cool to see Bari come back and pass her mom on that last round of jumping jacks.  She proved that she will never give up!  Dave powered through the burpees like a champion and looked like the 400 and 800 meter runs are starting to look even easier.  It’s really fun to see that kind of progress, too.

Workout of the Day:

5 Rounds of-

10 Deadlifts

10 Ring Push-Ups

10 Sit-ups

After a warm-up for my 7:00pm class, we spent about 10 minutes working on form on Carolyn’s deadlifts since she had only done them with my once before.  By the end, her form looked great, and we ended up using a weight heavier than she had ever done before!  First was FORM, then CONSISTENCY, then INTENSITY!  She had the first two, so we upped the ante a bit.

If you haven’t tried ring push-ups, you should.  They are such a challenging movement, requiring strength, coordination, stability, and more!  For a first time, she also maintained great form with these.  The sit-ups were done with a plate held overhead while the athlete lays on their back.  They reach up and towards their knees in order to complete one rep.

Athlete Results:

Carolyn (85lb Deadlift, rings at waist height, 10lb plate)- 10:46