R/M/S

Betcha we'll have a lot of people making up workouts today... hope the Halloween debauchery didn't land anyone in jail, naked in Mexico, or with an unspecified bacterial infection.
79 pushups, por favor? Ole! :)
Jason, this is NOT what I intended for the wall ball workout!

WOD October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!! :)
We are SO doing a costume-mandatory Halloween Throwdown next year. I only wish I had seen the idea earlier. Don't worry- I have 365 days to plan for 2009...
If you show up in costume today and agree to be photographed and possibly filmed at Steve's discretion (while working out of course), I will be personally indebted to your greatness and will either a) name a workout after you or b) give you a pass on the last 10 days of the pushup club. Not sure about wearing a costume? Check out this guy in all of his awesome-ness.
Enough already. Here's the WOD:
5 rounds for time:
7 push jerks (weight is your choice)
15 pullups
25 abmat situps
Nice one huh? Don't forget the 78 pushups- icing on the cake!
While you're at it, check out this article on fitness regimen fatigue from Jason. Not that you could ever get bored with Crossfit! http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/fitness-training/fatigue.html

WOD October 30, 2008

"Death by Wallball"
With a continuously running clock, do 1 wallball the first minute, two wallballs the second minute, three wallballs the third minute, and so on, continuing for as long as you are able. This is gonna be a good one!!!
Side note = "Death by..." is a good way to practice whatever skill you are working on during skill days- because it makes it a little more interesting than just saying, "I'm gonna do 50 ring dips today." You can have death by pretty much anything, though I wouldn't recommend "Death by Burpee," because it might actually kill you. Not sure. Maybe we'll have to try it out and see. Gotta buy a few more buckets first.
War pushups!!!!! 77 and going strong!
This pic is cute, so I stole it from Mustafa- it's Mike getting in the zone while Alan tapes his hands on Saturday night before his fight.

R/M/S

Rest/Makeup/Skills
+76 pushups. Yeah, yeah- I know- I said it was 76 yesterday- what can I say, I was in vacation mode when I was writing the blog!
Here's a great article on muscle-up technique, complete with pics! http://www.powerathletesmag.com/pages/muscleup.htm Since I'm bringing 3 more sets of rings tomorrow, you'll all have a chance to practice :)

WOD October 28, 2008

Shoulder Press
3-3-3-3-3
+76 pushups :)
Remember to move your head around the bar, not the bar around your head. Know what I mean? The bar travels vertically straight as you pull your neck back (so you don't give yourself a nose job).
So here's the busdriver story:
I'm riding the bus along 5th avenue, heading downtown to do a little shopping with my mom at Saks. Apparently, a cab has pulled over in the "buses only" lane, and is blocking our bus from passing. The busdriver (who bears a strong resemblance to Sug Knight, minus the 3 carat diamond studs in his ears) honks the horn; the cabbie wittily replies with an all-American gesture (you know the one). The busdriver opens the door and yells out "I KNOW you wouldn't be doing that if I was not on this bus!" The cabbie moved his car. Quickly.
Betcha the busdriver can't do Murph though.

WOD October 27, 2008

"Christine"
3 rounds for time:
500 m row or 400 m run
12 Deadlifts (Rx'd is body weight, but of course, scale this as needed!)
21 box jumps (Rx'd is 21" box, but see above)
Strict Christine is rowing, but we have only one rower, so you'll have to fight amongst yourselves. Personally I think using the 400 m run instead is nothing to sneeze at!
+75 pushups! Yes- three fourths of the way there!
Here's a question I get quite frequently: "What's wrong with you?" But here's one I get almost as often that is more pertinent to Crossfit: "How do I know if I'm doing too much or not enough weight during these dual or triple modality days? Should I be going for a faster time with less weight, or a slower time with more weight?" Alas, there is no perfect answer. At extremes, the answer is evident- if you finish this workout in four minutes, you should probably do more weight. If you finish it in four hundred minutes, you need to do less! My best answer is, sometimes you should be going for time and other times for weight- but try to reconcile yourself with this beforehand. Once you are at a fast time with relatively good weight, start working towards the rx. Or, if you can do the rx, but slowly (within reason), work it! But don't get down on yourself if you see your time as slower than everyone else's. During any given workout, you should feel challenged- so if you're still zooming through in round three, you need to adjust something next time- higher box maybe? Or heavier deadlift. Note that I said challenged, not demoralized. Although Crossfit is humbling, don't work against yourself by assigning yourself to an impossible weight or time.
The fighters, in case you are wondering, did awesome! Be sure to congratulate Mike, Steve, Brandon, Ranier, and Greg when you see them. Their dedication and commitment is automatic inspiration to all of us.
Well, I've got a funny NYC busdriver story, but I've written so much- I'll save it for tomorrow. Cliffhanger!
Hey Jimmy- not sure if you're checking the blog while you're laid up, but if so, let us know how you are! This pic is kind of scary, no? Good for Halloween...

REST + 73

A lazy Sunday with only 73 pushups required. Upon reflection, I realized that there are many people who may live an entire lifetime without doing 73 pushups. And a much greater number who will never do 5,050.
Brief update on the fighters- everybody made weight. The fights start tonight (Saturday) at 7.
Speaking of fitness and fighting, it's also a UFC night. I used to dislike Anderson Silva- I would grudgingly admit that he's good, but I didn't like him because he reminded me of the Williams Sisters in tennis- too good. He removed the fun from watching because you knew he was going to mop the floor with his opponent- like Venus and Serena in tennis (unless they played each other). But after watching the UFC All Access on him, he seems like a very cool guy who lives life to the fullest. And he is a hard worker- training relentlessly for hours at a time- talk about fit! He seems to throw himself fully into whatever he is doing- which is something to aspire to. So even though I like Patrick Cote, I'm rooting for Anderson. There are a lot of other good fights on the card tonight too. No matter what your opinions on the brutality of the sport, you have to agree that these guys (well, except for Butterbean) are elite athletes.
Here's a pic of Mike at his last grappling tournament- I wanted to post it in honor of his fight tonight (Saturday night). I don't have a pic of Steve; otherwise it would be up too!

Skills, Rest, or Makeup... and GOOD LUCK FIGHTERS!!!!

Time to either take it easy, make up what you've missed, or work on those areas that need improving. If you notice, we moved the rings so now it's much easier to practice ring dips & muscle ups (yeah!). I'll also be bringing in 3 more sets of rings next week.
Good luck to all the fighers on their fights tonight!!! Especially Steve and Mike- two of the greatest Crossfit Coaches in the universe! Do your best. We're all behind you!
Don't forget those pushups guys. It'd be a shame to start messing up now... we're so close!
I'm in NY for a couple of days. Check it out- this is Crossfit NYC's logo and site. I tried to find a cool pic of the outside of their place, but this was the best I could do.

WOD October 24, 2008

Run, Forrest, Run!
4 rounds:
Sprint 400 m.
Rest as long as you need to between rounds.
If you don't want to run, you can always row 500 m instead. The rowing conversion is 400m run = 500m row; 800m run = 1000m row. Don't think that you're getting off easy, either. Rowing is serious business. A rowing machine can help you strengthen the core of the body, where a great deal of our functional strength lies. By placing resistance on the upper body, a rowing machine can seriously increase the functional strength of the forearms, the shoulders and the chest (and Crossfit is all about functional strength!). Of course, a rowing machine aids in developing leg strength too. Rowing is not for pansies who don't feel like running- it's not *easier* to row.
71 pushups. That's einundsiebzig, for our German friends (if my ability to spell in German is still spot on).
In this case, Mike, you're wrong. Yesterday was not easy!

Stay Healthy

Just a little reminder for everyone out there to be good to yourself. Check out this article on 51 ways to do just that. http://www.arthritis.org/joints-weight.php

WOD October 23, 2008

This one doesn't have a name, but I'm sure you'll think of some colorful ideas while you're doing it...
For Time:
10 rounds
12 pullups
12 burpees
Double up on the pullups if you are doing jumpers or assisted with one of the thick bands. Seriously.
70 pushups! Can you believe how time has flown? 100 will be here before you know it! Make sure you write down your size for the T-shirt.
In this pic, Deanna demonstrates dips (nice depth!) and Lily demonstrates... sitting. What's up with that?

Rest, Make-up, or Skills

Got skills? Sure you do. Mad skills! LOL. But we all have stuff we need to work on. Remember, skill day isn't just about working at a technique that you haven't perfected yet. It can also be about working on an area of your body that needs help- like maybe you aren't so good at running... need to develop that cardio capacity. So use today to run. Maybe those shoulders need some help- so do some presses. You can perfect your technique while you're at it. It's tempting to come in and do something you like or are already good at. For me, it's situps. They're my favorite- I'd be happy to do the GHD machine all day long. My nemesis? Back squat. I always want to tip forward. So what do I do on skill day? The squats, of course, until they become my friend, and I move onto a new challenge! What are you going to work on?
Hey Greg- hope all those dips got your arms in shape for Saturday... good luck!

WOD October 21, 2008

"Kelly"
5 rounds for time:
400 m run
30 box jumps- remember, open up those hip flexors, or it doesn't count...
30 wall balls
-And no, Chris, since you just did baby Kelly tonight, you don't have to do big girl Kelly on Tuesday! :) Steve will come up with something, I'm sure.
Here's a thought- why not do a little stretching after this b*tch of a workout? Good areas to hit would be your hip flexors and quads.
+68 pushups. In my ongoing quest to keep the blog interesting, here are some facts about 1968. Upon review, it doesn't seem it was man's finest moment, as the following things happened: My Lai massacre; Martin Luther King Jr is shot; the musical Hair opened on Broadway (perhaps not as serious an affront as the previous two items, but still an affront in the area of entertainment); a young Saddam Hussein becomes Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, laying the foundation for a notorious career and dozens of statues to be erected in his honor; and the White Album is released by the Beatles (SO not cool). On a positive note, Gary Coleman was born.
Check out Aaron, Pullup Master of the Universe! Cool shirt.

WOD October 20, 2008

Blackjack (in honor of the fighters' trip to vegas this weekend- good luck Mike!)
20 pushups
1 situp (abmat)
19 pushups
2 situps
(you get the idea- all the way 'til...)
1 pushup
20 situps
For time, of course.
And yes, guys, these pushups count toward the 67 requirement for today (you'll wind up doing 210 pushups and 210 situps).
A word, if I may, about times... We clearly have class times, yes? Please plan to attend at those times; it's not an open gym. You don't show up for Krav one hour late, right? Same goes for Crossfit, though admittedly we are more flexible as the workouts are shorter, and we know that sometimes people are jamming up to Cherry from a previous class. We try to be cool; just don't abuse it- nothing makes us more uncomfortable than having to tell you that you are too late to workout.
We love you, I love you. Any rules we set are set for your own good. (Isn't that what Mom used to say?) Speaking of Moms, what's cuter than this pic?

Rest, already, you maniacs!!

A mere 66 pushups is all that is required of you this fine day. Looks like you guys all did awesome yesterday! I was able to see it thanks to Steve's uncannily skilled production capabilities- check out the Football Follies video. It is so good! Steve is putting a video up per week- so be sure to check them out. Want to do it the long way? All you've got to do is go to Youtube and search "Crossfit360."
You guys must be hungry after that workout. Anybody like fried chicken? Me too- here's a good low-fat recipe for a baked version. Yes, it's from Martha Stewart- pipe down! So she's a felon. She knows her way around a kitchen. I've made this before, with a few modifications- use white meat chicken and low fat buttermilk to make it even lower in fat, I used whole wheat bread crumbs because I don't have the patience to crush up corn flakes, and finally, I have no idea what Old Bay spice is, so I went without it. This is good stuff!
Thanks Mustafa for teaching me how to put links in my text!
I thought this might make you guys smile- it's from a blog run by an IRR soldier in the Army who is serving in Iraq. While you're resting today, remember how good we have it!

Crossfit & Beer 4 Presents: Football Follies

Yep- time for the big monthly workout- hope you all make it to Cherry at 10 am. Sadly, I won't be there- I've got to present at a convention for my "other life," but I wish you guys lots of fun. Can't divulge the details, of course, but I will say this: it is a team workout, and you should wear clothes supporting your favorite football team- sudden death to be decided by who has the best outfit.
So, Mustafa sent me this pic the other day- apparently he did the Ali the Incredible workout sans medicine ball, so he used a large bag of rice??? This is a shot that he sent me of the "rice casualty"- apparently it's not a good idea to throw bags of rice around. Word to the wise. Is it just me or does this pic kind of have a third world vibe to it? And where did you get a large sack of rice? The bags I see at the supermarket are always so small...
65 pushups, please. Thank you sir, may I have another?!

WOD October 17, 2008

Heavy day- time to check on how we're all progressing...
Crossfit Total
1 Back Squat
1 Shoulder Press
1 Deadlift
This is your max weight for each of these exercises- remember that you may wind up doing more than one of each- e.g. if you suffer from low self-esteem, you'll underestimate how much weight you can do, then realize it's too light when you do the rep and have to do another to see what your real max weight is. Also, you'll want to do some warm up movements at lighter weights.
64 pushups gang. As I'm running out of ways to keep the blog entertaining, I googled the number 64. Turns out, March 5 is the 64th day of the year, and is historically quite an eventful date. On March 5 (during a variety of years) the following things happened: John Belushi overdosed, Martha Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice, Joseph Stalin died, and an abortive Fenian uprising against English rule took place in Ireland. That last one was for Jason A.
Check out this completely weird photo that Robert sent me awhile back. So, that's Erik's back to the camera...but it also looks like that's Erik staring back at you, hanging from the rafters with kind of a weird look on his face. I don't know what's more disturbing- that, or the legs that look like they are protruding from him.

WOD October 16, 2008

"Ali the Incredible"- from Crossfit San Diego
5 rounds for time:
15 burpee/wall ball
15 situps (GHD or abmat)
Perform the burpee/wall ball by first kicking into a plank with your hands on the ball, then descend until your chest touches the ball, jump your feet back to the ball and clean and toss it above the 10 foot target. If you can't do the burpee/wall ball, you can do the burpee portion with your hands on the ground, then pick up the ball and do the wall ball.
So, where will you all be on Saturday at 10 am? Oh right. I know. You'll be at the Cherry gym doing the monthly football-themed shredder. And drinkin' some beer- just like any weekend involving football.
Please don't forget- give us your T-shirt sizes for the pushup club T-shirts! There is a sheet at both Cherry and in Tustin- we just need your name and size.
Nice job Sarah! Way to pull that head through! :)

Rest/Make-up/Skills

Make up day, guys- or time to practice on those problem areas. A good one to focus on for today- if you're out of ideas- is the GHD situp. It seems that most people struggle with the idea of keeping knees bent as they go back, and straightening/locking out legs as they come back up. This allows you to use the large band of muscle in your quads to help propel you up. Speaking of improvement/problem areas/etc. check out this great resource from Jason A. on goal-setting. http://www.mindtools.com/goaleffc.html
Don't forget your 62 pushups! Speaking of pushups- check out our third pushup pic- complements of Mustafa! I believe that's on a tram, yes?

WOD October 14, 2008

350 squats for time.
+61 pushups.
Hey, 350 is better than 500. The idea here, though, is to actually do proper squats (not top-halves or bottom-halves). Since the number is lower, your form should be better.
Check out http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/fashion/thursdaystyles/22Fitness.html for a 2005 article about Crossfit- they call us a cult LOL!!! Wait a sec... we do engage in ritualistic, torturous behavior. Hey. It's a great article, albeit a bit slanted, but it's funny and it gives a little about the history of Crossfit and its development.
Looking forward to seeing everybody at the gym! Nice job Jason!!!

WOD October 13, 2008

Seven rounds for time:
21 reps shoulder press (75#M; 55#W)
21 back extensions (or supermans)
+60 pushups! Yes- we're in the 6's!!!
So, to give you an update on the fishing... I caught 2 very tiny baby hammerhead sharks (could've been the same one twice)- they are really cute, Alan caught a 3-4 ft baby nurse shark, we also caught some sort of unidentified fish that looked like it was a cross between an eel and a barracuda (had bad teeth), collectively we caught 5 ocean catfish, and, at one point, my uncle had something very, very large on the line (based on the type of line he had and the amount of drag on it, he estimates that it was at least 200 lbs)- it pulled the line with maximum drag as if it was pulling a bag of cotton balls, yanking the fishing pole out of its station in the sand. All of this, mind you, we caught while fishing off of the beach! So Stefan and Robert- don't surf in the Atlantic!!!

Rest or Makeup day....

You know the deal... you can either kill your self with one of this week's workouts, or practice something you think needs work.
The weekend its also a great chance to be outside: bike, run, kayak, swim... we are actually going fishing at sunrise... a sport for some...
Don't forget the pushups!
See you next week.

Alan

WOD October 10, 2008

Do your shoulders hurt? What about your triceps? Well, now you're back's gonna hurt... (though not from injury, of course)
Deadlift
5-5-5-5-5
+57 pushups- the train keeps a-rollin.
I also wanted to give you fair warning about the October Shredder Workout- it'll be on October 18 at 10 am at Cherry. All are welcome- and yes, that means you too, Tustin!!! It'll be a team workout, because we all seem to get a lot out of those, and since it's football season, there will be a football theme. However, please note that there will be no actual football game, nor will we be sitting around watching a football game on TV. Think about it like Crossfit's interpretation of football...
Ah, the old days of Crossfit on Willow. I barely recognized Jason Alexander in this picture 'cause he's got a shirt on. Just kidding J! :) Don't hurt me!

WOD October 9, 2008

...Get out the chalk and the gloves ...and your intestinal fortitude...
"Ryan"
5 Rounds for time:
7 muscle-ups
21 burpees
Can't do a muscle up? No worries. Substitute 3 pullups and 3 dips for every one muscle up. This means you're doing 21 pullups and 21 dips each round. Talk about an incentive to be able to do muscle ups... But hey- pullups and dips are the best way to get there.
We're at 56 pushups today, my friends. Tell you what. If you complete this bear, you get a pass on the pushups. This offer is good for today ONLY- no making it up on Saturday and trying to miss out on the 58 pushups (man, some people will do anything to get out of as many pushups as they can!) Why am I doing this? Because this is a benevolent dictatorship.... :)
Check out Deanna the Crossfit360 Superstar! Did you see her thruster time yesterday? Nice job! And she makes it look so effortless...

Rest or Make up one you missed or...work on those dips!

Regular dips (on the dip stand, not the tire), ring dips, hey, why not a muscle-up? I hear some of you think you're "too good" for skills day...what's up with that, people?!!! I didn't know anyone besides Jason was perfect (at Crossfit)... Seriously, guys- I put the countdown clock to the Games up, because I want us to get a solid team for next year. This means we've got to be A+++ on our form. Plus, you'll be able to lift more and do things more quickly if you've got solid technique. Still feelin' big for your britches? Check out this video- http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitGames_Dutch08PullupsStds.wmv -- it's the pullup standard for the 2008 games, and that's his chest hitting the bar every time, guys...I think we could ALL use a little improvement. The format for the games this year was three workouts on Saturday (Fran, 5 rounds of 5 Deadlifts (275#M; 185#W)/10 burpees, and a 5K hill run), and one workout on Sunday (30 Squat Clean and Jerks (155#M; 100#W). You ready?
Check out this pic, emailed to me by Josh, of the Tustin crew representing! This is photographic evidence that they are continuing to tear up the WODs even though we don't have specific class times at the moment. Awesome job guys! Now, if we could only get you to post your times...

Easy Reading

We all know that you are busy people, or at least that is what you want us to think. Either way we here at Crossfit360 are going to make life a little easier on all of you. We will start posting articles throughout the week that we think you would find interesting dealing with training, nutrition or anything else that we think could help you out along the way. Check this one out, sometimes we all just need to take a deep breath. http://www.military.com/military-fitness/workouts/breathing-during-exercise

WOD October 7, 2008

50 thrusters for time! Yeah baby! Rx'd = 55#W, 75#M. +54 pushups. Let's go get 'em tigers!!! Remember, nothing convinces your instructors of your effort like projectile vomiting! Now here's something REALLY COOL: Steve set up a youtube channel for us, and a few of you are already famous- he taped Annie last week. Yes, Mustafa, you are in it... If you'd like to check it out, the web address is www.youtube.com/user/Crossfit360. We plan on putting up a video per week. Also guys, if you have any cool sayings for the pushup club T-shirts, please either email me or enter them into the comments. If you see one you like, let me know that too. A few possible ones are "Your workout is our warmup," "Release the pansiness," "How many pushups can YOU do?" "Your gym sucks," and "No, it doesn't ever get any easier." But hey- I'm totally open to suggestion. Thing is though, if you've got an idea, pass it on as we'll be ordering the T-shirts soon. I'll be bringing a sheet to Cherry tomorrow night on which I'd like you to put down your T-shirt size. Remember- no size means we guess...
Check out Kevin, demo-ing a thruster for us during the Group Fran workout.

WOD October 6, 2008

10 rounds for time:
Run 200 m
10 situps (no GHD today- it'll slow you down too much)
Hate running? You can row 300 m instead.
53 pushups, Crossfitters! So, who's gonna finish strong & proud, with no missing reps??? Although we're "halfway" done, the second half of this road is a little rockier...

October 4, 2008 Rest/Skills/Makeup

...or get to know the new guy in town, The Rower. He seems friendly at first, but like an abusive boyfriend turns on you at a certain point. After the abuse, fortunately, there is a Honeymoon Period (when you are finished).
What's better than 50 pushups? 51!
Make the most of these days gang. Several people got their kips for the first time on Wednesday, which was AWESOME! These days are your chance to work a little one on one with the instructors, set goals for yourself, and improve the weak points in your game.
I also wanted to suggest that you guys check out this link: http://www2.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/medicine/images/Creighton_FIRST/s_Stages_of_Change_Theory.pdf. It's a mile long, so you might want to cut and paste. It's a great synopsis of the Stages of Change theory, created by Prochaska and DiClemente at URI (my alma matter:) Check it out and identify where you fall. You can think about it not only in terms of fitness, but all areas of your life; professional, relationships, health, happiness. If you think you land in precontemplation, or one of the other early stages, think about why, and what you can do to shift toward action.
Check out the FGB crew! I know we're looking in different directions, but it was madness! The paparazzi were everywhere!!!

WOD October 3, 2008

So I seriously considered having us do Crossfit Century tomorrow (1 pullup and 1 ounce of beer every minute for 100 minutes), but I...don't think that's such a good idea seeing as how are class times are 9 and 11 am. Instead...
"Twenty is Plenty"
20 box jumps
20 pull-ups
20 kettlebell swings
20 lunge steps
20 knees to elbows
20 push press
20 back extensions
20 wall balls
20 burpees
20 double unders
+50 pushups! Hey, it's a landmark day kids. Halfway done!!!
Is it just me, or does Jason look as if he's going to burst into tears?

WOD October 2, 2008

Shoulder Press
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
+49 pushups
Don't skip the heavy days, gang. Even though sometimes you might not feel like you've exerted yourself as hard, and therefore feel like you need to do something else, trust me, it's not necessary. If you're really lifting your max weight, you are exerting those muscles to the same degree that you're pushing your lungs with the cardiovascular exercises. Fortunately, with our new format if you miss a lifting day, now you'll have a chance to make it up.
Check out the Moose- hamming it up for the camera (as always) after FGB. We love you too buddy! Thanks Kim for all the great pics, and thanks Tatiana for taking them!