Post time to comments. 530pm class getting their ninja jump-rope skillz on--watch out, there's some serious vertical going on!
Well, you all have asked for the 2011 CrossFit Games shirts--and now you can get them, but for a short time only! Remember, we are doing a pre-order of these bad boys, so you have to get your order into MindBodyOnline via the Verve Gear link on the lefthand side of the website--by TUESDAY, July 5th. These are the same American Apparel shirts/sizes we currently have, in case you are wondering about fit. Women have the additional option of ordering tanks, which will be Bella brand. Or of course, you gentlemen wanting the "sun's out, guns out" could also order tanks, more of the "schmedium" fit for you!
You can also order the white drip tee or tank without the Games taglines on the back, just simply email us after you put your order in, and we'll make a note. Otherwise, show your support for our three AMAZING competitors--Matt Chan, Cherie Chan, and Master's Athlete Jim Duwve. They are all too humble and thus protested singing their praises, but the fact remains that each of them is incredibly disciplined and has worked very hard to earn their spots to compete on the world stage this month in L.A. We couldn't be more proud to send such worthy, well-rounded, and gosh darn fun to be around athletes to represent CrossFit Verve.
Swimming Workshop and WOD reminder--This Sunday, fun-day July 3rd and next Sunday, July 10th. We'll be practicing skills and drills around the basics of the freestyle stroke, including body roll and recovery, breathing techniques, and the flutter kick. Classes will be held at 8am, 9am and 10am and will run around an hour including a CrossFit swimming-based WOD. Cost is $10 per member, $20/non-member and class size will be limited each session. Sign up on MindBody before they fill up!
A note on hydration, By K-Star the mobility mad man.
-Life is Full of Assumed Risk
I was lucky enough to head out into the great outdoors this week. Hopefully, you too have had opportunities this summer to find yourselves engaged in some outdoor sport or venture. On this particular day I was headed out on a climb in Eldorado canyon, with an old climbing partner. I feel extremely lucky that I can do this on a whim, it is miraculous really considering it’s been over three years since I’ve climbed with any consistency, but this post is not about that.
It’s about assumed risk. I’m using this example, because you would think it is obvious the risk involved with climbing a mountain, using ropes, harnesses, gear and heading upwards where any uncaught fall would be fatal, right? Nevertheless, I believe that we have created a society where we forget we have some assumed risk in all the happenings we engage in.
Take this headline for instance;
Man Burned at Burning Man
On June 30, the California Court of Appeal held that a man who was burned by the huge bonfire that ends the Burning Man festival each year could not sue the festival organizers. Anthony Beninati admitted he had intentionally walked into the fire, and that he had previously known fire was hot. But he argued, basically, that the organizers were negligent because they should not have let him approach the fire so closely.
Shocking I know, but it illustrates a point that we all have come to “assume”, no matter what we do, ALL risk has been mitigated. Regardless of the nature of the activity, or our desire to still do the activity.
I thought about this assumed risk multiple times while we were climbing that day. The climb was easy (much easier then the climbs the two of us had done in the past) and relatively short, it took us two hours to climb ~600 feet and longer to get down. Even so, the risk involved can not be denied and little reminders appeared throughout the day that this was in-fact risky.
My partner waited about thirty feet to place a piece of gear on the second pitch, I felt my safety knot slip and stopped while climbing to cinch it up, we didn’t exactly know the decent route, we did know that our rope was too short for the traditional rappel, the rope got stuck behind a boulder knotted under a flake 600 feet up(at which point I informed my partner that the only way out was to cut the rope), we only had 30oz of water at noon on a climb that was taking a few hours and so on.
The risks were apparent and sometimes glaring. But would we have chosen to remove all risk? We could have; my partner could have placed more gear, lowering the risk of a dangerous fall, but if he had done that, he would also have been decreasing our speed and efficiently (possibly leading to not only a longer climb but potential thunder storms in the late afternoon). We could have google earthed the decent route, but where is the adventure in that? We had both been on that rock before and assumed we’d figure it out once there. We could have brought more water, climbing would have been harder and slower. I could have tied a longer safety knot, but then it might have been too long and got caught up in the gear and on my harness. You get the point.
We can’t mitigate ALL risk without other consequences, some of those consequences directly related to our health and or the desire results. I could choose never to deadlift, or never to deadlift any significant weight, but what are the consequences and are those even riskier? A weak back and the real potential to herniating a disk while doing something as dangerous as bending over, not having the capacity to recover and now having a chronic back injury? I could choose never to climb, bike or drive a car.
You see the trick to mitigating risk is not by eliminating that which is risky, because it we eliminate all that is risky we eliminate not only fun, but all that is athleticism. Instead, mitigating risk is about making smart choices and knowing when risk is necessary to achieve the desired result. Believing in oneself, knowing ones limitation, understanding ones capacity, if you know this about yourself you will know when a risk is truly a risk. If you can be honest with yourself about this, you will not only have less risk, but more fun and guaranteed better results.
There is a 40 minute time cap on this workout so scale appropriately to get the work completed.
Post time to comments.
Discussing shoulder and hip roll prior to the swimming WOD.
Tonight, Wednesday at 7:30pm we're hosting another "Nutrition Lecture" at Verve. Whether you're new to Zone/Paleo eating or have lost steam (and results), this is a great opportunity to get dialed in for these bikini body months ahead of us.
We will introduce you to the Zone and Paleolithic eating and discuss the foundations of a sound long term nutritional program. We will discuss timing and frequency of meals, sizing and portioning of meals specific to you (your body measurements, your activity level, and your goals). We'll also build a day's worth of meals and discuss how to make the most of every meal. Don't forget a notepad, a pen and an open mind!
Our nutrition lecture is free to all, so bring a friend, family, lover, or neighbor.
Swimming WOD reminder, this Sunday:
Swimming WOD's are so fun! This Sunday, three classes will be held at Berkely Pool (the outdoor pool). We will cover basic swimming technique including the pull, shoulder roll, breathing, and kicking. We will cement these techniques into your brain by running you through various drills that will help improve your swimming. Afterwards, we'll do a typical CrossFit WOD that will include, you guessed it, a swimming component.
Class size is limited, so sign up today on MBO to reserve yourself a spot. Cost is $10 per participant, which goes to the rental of the pool. You do not need to be a Verve athletes to join, just sign-up online.
15 Toes To Bar 30 Dumbell Hang Power Cleans 40# (25#) 3 Rope Climbs
Post time to comments. Zink setting the pace
I have been raving about the paleo diet to the guys at the firehouse. It has been received very well by my crew and other crews. Some of the guys have seen significant difference in how they look and feel! One of the firefighters made a recipe that I thought would be great for our fuel page.
Carne Asada Firehouse style 12oz of flank steak (12P)
Marinade: 2 lemons juiced 2 limes juiced 2 oranges juiced 4 cloves of garlic chopped 4 chipotle peppers chopped 1 Tbl of chili powder 1 Tbl of paprika 1 Tbl of pepper 1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped 1/2cup of olive oil
Veggies: 2 Bell peppers (4C) 1 Onions (2C)
Sides: A box of Organic spring salad mix 6oz = 1C Salsa 1/2cup = 1C Avocados 1Tbl = 1F
Add the steak to the marinade ensuring all of the meat gets covered and let it marinate for 2 hours.
Slice the veggies and season with the a little bit of the same spices used in the marinade and set aside. Pre-heat the grill to high place the steak on the grill and cook for 8 minutes on each side. Saute the veggies with some olive oil. Take the meat off the grill and place on the cutting board. Be warned, the steak will be a little juicy--let it rest 5 min to redistribute--YUM. Cut the steak against the grain to make it more tender. Make a bed of spring mix salad and place 3oz of steak, 1cup of veggies over the salad. Finish your Carbs with salsa and your fats with 3Tbl of avocado. Disfrutar! (Enjoy!)
Compare to May 14th, 2010 Post total load (all six) to comments. Team Verve showing their grrr face! Leah, Jorge, Amanda, Em, Greg, Jeff, Rich, and Mas. Honorary Ververs: Jen and Cody Gauer, Nate, and Peter.
This weekend, Verve athletes demonstrated again how awesome the CrossFit community is. Several Verve athletes and honorary Verve athletes came together to do the Tough Mudder. It was a 10 mile race up Beaver Creek Mountain with 25 obstacles. Some of the obstacles challenged your physical capacity, while others challenged you mentally. It was an adventure race that emphasized camaraderie, rather than getting the fastest time.
There were definitely examples of camaraderie shown this weekend. To our head cheerleader Amanda R, who never stopped encouraging all of us and the people that she passed--A job well done. To our water barrel saviors, Jeff, Rich, Nate, and Peter, who helped a women get her hair untangled from the barrel where she was only able to keep her mouth and nose above the 35 degree water. Needless to say, she was grateful. To our honorary Verve athlete Cody, who was not only the pace setter, but helped a young lady across the water after she had been clenching to the barrel for quite some time and starting to have signs of hypothermia. Jorge and Leah overcame the monkey bars of death together. Em and Greg conquered a grueling uphill portion of the race even after their blue smurf stain. And as a group, we finished the race with Verve chant before entering the live wire field of 10,000 volts. It was awesome!
All in all, the Verve team started together and ended together. A big thank you to Jen and Cody Gauer who flew in from Alaska to join us. What is up next for team Verve?
The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals.Tabata score is the least number of reps performed in any of the eight intervals. Unit for the row is "calories".
Post reps to comments.
Robyn Courtney and Sara at the 2011 SouthWest Regional.
Spectator t'shirts for the 2011 CrossFit Games are now on pre-sale. The shirts will be identical to what the atheltes wore at the regionals.
Shirt/Tank: White Front: Black drip V Back: "ChanFan" (squared) Cost: $25 for T's, $20 for the tanks
These must be ordered now, as we will only print what is pre-ordered. Order now on MBO. We will have them on-sale for one week only.
21 - 15 - 9 rep rounds for time of: Clean, 135#/95# Ring dips
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Flip, a bright addition to the family, getting his mobility done!
People often know what they want, but not what they need. - By CrossFit Lisbeth
They want a hot body, but they need discipline — in the gym and in the kitchen.
They want a bodyweight-plus snatch, but they need someone to help them get strong and to teach them how to really pull themselves under the bar.
They want a great-paying job, but they need to figure out what talent they have that is worth that money.
They want to be in love, but first, they need to be someone that people feel totally, phenomenally, exceedingly compelled to love. (And not in a “Oh, that poor thing” way. You don’t want to be the lost kitten on a rainy night. That stuff never lasts. Be the “Holy hell, I can’t wait to see her again” gal. Yeah, that’s a lot hotter.)
It’s really hard to know what you need. Often, you need helpers to guide you through what you need in order that you may get what you want. In CrossFit, sometimes it’s the coaches who are those helpers. And, sometimes, it’s other CrossFitters.
So how about you? Do you know what you want? And, perhaps more importantly, do you know what you need?
Post loads to comments. Welcome Ben! Glad to have you back.
There is nothing better than a fine cut of salmon cooked to perfection. Well, for some of us. Salmon is a great source of Omega 3’s for your paleo way of life. Here is a recipe that I made that will think you just came from the coast.
18oz of Salmon filet 12P 2 lemons, sliced 1 onion, sliced 2 cloves of garlic minced Fresh dill 3Tbs and 1tsp Olive oil 12F 48 spears of asparagus 4C
Pre-heat the grill to medium and set the oven to 350F. Cut the filet into four 4.5oz pieces and place on a sheet of aluminum foil each. Place slices of lemons, onions, dill, and garlic evenly over the four filets. Then cover the filets with the aluminum foil and set aside.
Place the asparagus on a cookie sheet and coat with olive oil and season it with pepper and Savory spice shop’s Colorado Plateau Citrus Pepper. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes.
While the asparagus is cooking place the filets of salmon on the grill and cook for 10 minutes. Open the foil wrap and the salmon is flaky with a fork. This will make four filets at 3P, 1C, 3F. Add some steam fresh veggies to fulfill your carbs. Yummy!!
HOT FUN IN THE SUMMER TIME. It's that time for swimming WOD's, yay...
Swimming Workshop and Workout Hosted by CrossFit Verve at Berkley Pool 5031 W. 46th Ave. July 3rd & 10th, August 6th Cost: $10
This workshop is designed to improve your basic swimming technique through a series of skills and drills. Our goal is to provide you with a skill set to build upon in future swimming WOD's by discussing the basics of the freestyle stroke, including body roll and recovery, breathing techniques, and the flutter kick. Classes will be held at 8am, 9am and 10am and will run around an hour including a CrossFit swimming-based WOD. Cost is $10 per member and class size will be limited each session.
If you are unable to swim, are afraid of the water, or have not swam in years, we'd be glad to work with you during a one-on-one personal training session - but unfortunately, this event is not the time. For this class, we assume that you are able to swim 25 yards (one lap) without stopping. All aboard?
Sign up on MindBody Online.
Our next FREE Nutrition Workshop will be held Wednesday June 29th at 7:30pm. All are welcome and encouraged to come. You'll be armed with new information that will increase your work capacity across broad time and modal domains (i.e. fitness). Come on in and bring a friend!
Spend a full day at CrossFit Verve with Coach Carl Paoli of Gymnastics WOD and learn how to apply basic gymnastics, acrobatic and freestyle movement to your CrossFit training program. If you want to increase your agility, mobility, and the versatility in your CrossFit WODs, then this is the perfect seminar for you! This is an 8-hour seminar session, with a half hour lunch break.
Learning Process This seminar will be organized to deliver both lectures and practical sessions. Not only will you learn learn the foundational theories, but you will also get a chance to visualize and apply these concepts through active demonstrations. You will learn new skills from this seminar that are scalable and progressive, and Coach Carl will demonstrate these skills with safe, simple and easy-to-follow progressions that can be applied by anyone at any given level.
Takeaways You will be taught a wide variety of movements and techniques, including these and others: strength and conditioning, hand balancing, rings, bar, basic rolls and tumbling, freestyle movement, and trampolining.
About Coach Carl Carl Paoli is the owner and founder of Naka Athletics, based in San Francisco, CA. Naka is a company designed and created to specialize in Action Sports coaching. Naka focuses on helping freestyle athletes excel in everything from core basics to expert movements.As a former competitive elite gymnast, Carl Paoli leverages his knowledge, experience, and expertise to invigorate the world of Action Sports coaching and athletic development around the world.
30 Hang squat cleans, 95#/65# 30 Push-ups Run 800m
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Ryan, CrossFit Athlete, during Fight Gone Bad.
What is a CrossFit Athlete?
We all watched or played sports growing up. We were inspired by athletes that seemed larger than life. They seemed to defy gravity, have no pain, and perform without practice. Now that we're older and wiser, we know that to be a world class athlete takes more than top notch performance on game day.
An athlete is a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength. By definition, CrossFitters are all athletes, which is what makes our program so damn rewarding. Now that we have grown up and understand what it takes to be a world class athlete, we can find satisfaction by getting a taste of their world through training like them. By competing against ourselves and our peers on a daily basis and exposing ourselves to a myriad of exercises, we become athletes.
But what sport do we play? What exactly are we training for? We are preparing ourselves to be ready for anything. If a friend asks you to go climbing, you're ready. If you need to help out a stranger in an emergency situation, you're ready. If you need to carry your kid, a 50# bag of dog food, and close the car door, you're ready. You're an athlete and your arena is life. Be your best... because every day is game day!
Post time to comments Emily, Patrick M., and Patrick Y. getting their Cabo Wabo WOD on.
Items for your travels: - toothbrush - check - deodorant - check - jump rope - check...wait what???
The summer is upon us and our travels may take us away from CrossFit Verve. Just because you are traveling doesn' t mean you have to miss out on your daily WOD. You just need a positive attitude and a place to get your WOD on. If you need them, we have a list of travel WOD's to send with you. A jump rope takes very little space in your luggage, but makes a huge difference. Who couldn't use some double-under practice? Travel WOD's are only limited by your imagination.
So go out into this world and have some fun! What's your favorite WOD you've done on vacation or when traveling for work so far?
Ever wonder where all the Verve athletes get their tattoos from? Shakey Josh!
The Clothes Make the CrossFitter
Like most communities, CrossFitters seem to follow general trends in athletic wear. The demands seem to be simple, but hard to fulfill: functional, doesn't restrict full range of motion, and looks presentable. It's not a surprise that when an athlete discovers an article of clothing that meets these requirements, word spreads and the whole gym then is sporting the new gear.
Lady CrossFitters have discovered Lululemon pants and shorts. Despite being slightly more expensive than other options, they meet the requirements set forth above. They also have a way of allowing the ladies to look feminine even while box squatting with a safety squat bar and chains.
The fellas have always been fond of board shorts, maybe because of CrossFit's roots in Santa Cruz, CA. But over the years, we've refined our search and have found board shorts like the O'neill Superfreaks - stretchy, stylish, breathable, and fairly inexpensive (since the ladies are spending all the $$$ on Lulu).
Of course, CrossFit affiliate shirts make up the vast majority of the shirts being worn in the gym and the shoes worn in the gym range from flats to Chuck Taylors. Do you have a favorite type of clothing that you can't workout without?
We get the question "What about _______?" all the time. You can fill in any random food name in the blank and I guarantee we've been asked the question. Whether its coffee, green tea, beef jerky, agave nectar, diet soda, or carrots - we've always answered this question with a question: well, how's your diet aside from ________?
You see, too often people are worried about the silly details before they address the big picture items that affect their diet waaaay more than ________. For instance, did you have breakfast today? How many meals did you have yesterday? Did you eat all three macronutrients at each meal? Shit... do you know what a macronutrient is?!? The simple things are what make or break your diet.
Of course, we give in and answer the question "What about ________?". Usually we'll preface any answer we offer with "What about _________?" Afterwards, we describe the concept of the sliding scale. I'll use the example of diet soda. When we're asked if drinking diet soda is a good idea, we'll offer the idea that on a sliding scale of a perfect diet to a lousy diet, a diet soda might fit somewhere near the middle-to-bottom (closer to lousy). But, if the individual currently drinks 4 liters of Mountain Dew (not diet) a day, we would say that on the sliding scale... it's a step in the right direction.
Now, if a finely tuned paleo/zoner asked the same question, we'd mention that on the sliding scale this would be a lot worse than drinking water, black coffee, tea, or flavored water (lime in a glass). Catch my drift? Will a diet soda give a paleo/zoner diabetes and land him/her in a nursing home? Probably not... but, it's a place to improve the diet, health and performance.
So start with and refine the basics, from there we can work on the what about_______?'s
Did you know that your skeleton is brand new every ten years? It's true, bone is living tissue and is continually going through a remodeling process. Just like when our home becomes old and we remodel the kitchen, when our bones become old the body replaces it with new bone. This process is called remodeling. In this process there are two big players; osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoclasts remove bone or are more commonly thought of as the vehicle that steals calcium from the bones, to use where it is needed in the body. Osteoblasts deposit new bone or take absorbed calcium and deposit it to form new bone. A bone remains dense when osteoclasts are removing bone from the inside and osteoblasts are depositing bone on the outside at a balanced rate.
One big factor in keeping this system in balance is stress. Remodeling and the formation of additional bone can modify the strength of bone in direct response to the amount of stress that is applied to it. Stress to the bone increases osteoblast activity in the bone tissue. A removal of stress decreases osteoblast activity. Stress is defined as load bearing. Does it feel heavy, if yes then you might be able to call it stress. This is why swimming is not in the top running for sports for your grandma should pick up.
Calcium and Bone Health
In the US calcium intakes are one of the highest in the world. However, the US also has one of the highest rates of bone de-mineralization (osteoporosis or muted osteoblast activity, increased osteoclast activity). Bone mineral content is dependent on not just on calcium intake (where we focus our attention), but on a net calcium balance (intake - excretion).
Excretion is initiated by MANY factors, however they are mostly diet and exercise related. Calcium needs to maintain a base level in the blood. If you go below the base level you die. No joke! This is probably why the human body was designed with one big calcium storage (the skeleton) to keep these levels in balance. You see calcium is not only used to make bone, but it initiates muscle contraction (this includes the heart), blood clotting and the release of neurotransmitters. It's pretty darn important, imagine ANY of those functions being blocked. No calcium in the blood, muscles stop contracting, heart stops, you die, nuf said.
Dietary calcium excretion from bone is dependent on acid/base balance. All foods upon digestion ultimately must report to the kidney as either acid or base. When the diet yields a net acid load, the acid must be buffered by the alkaline stores of base in the body. Calcium salts in the bones represent the largest store of alkaline base in the body and are depleted and eliminated in the urine when the diet produces a net acid load. The highest acid-producing foods are hard cheeses, cereal grains, salted foods, soda (diet included), meats, and legumes, where as the only alkaline, base-producing foods are fruits and vegetables. Because the average American diet is overloaded with grains, cheeses, salted processed foods, soda and fatty meats at the expense of fruits and vegetables, it produces a net acid load and promotes bone de-mineralization. By replacing hard cheeses, cereal grains, and processed foods with plenty of green vegetables and fruits, the body comes back into acid/base balance which brings us also back into calcium balance. Diets containing high acidity contribute to the development of osteoporosis and renal stones, loss of muscle mass, and age-related renal insufficiency due to the body's use of calcium to buffer pH.
What promots calcium intake and bone density? Eat your veggies and lift weights.
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five minute round from which a one minute break is allowed before repeating. The stations are:
Wall ball, 20# (15#)
Sumo deadlift high pull, 75# (55#)
Box jumps, 20"
Push press, 75# (55#)
Row (calories)
The clock does not stop or reset between exercises. On the call of "rotate", the athletes immediately move to the next station for a good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower, where a point is given for each calorie.
Post total reps to comments.
Thank you for making the CrossFit community what it is this weekend. It was such a blast seeing so many of you outside of our Verve home, some people even in real clothes, and we loved how you all took the time to come watch the competition, volunteer or judge, or even just send good mojo from afar. The all around camraderie and love for each other means more than words can say, and for that--THANK YOU!
Team CrossFit Verve finished the weekend in 5th place in the Southwest Region. Their strong efforts were just not enough to go to California this time around--but we wish the top 3 teams the best of luck as they go represent our very competitive region. We couldn't be more proud of the team, as they worked to total exhaustion time after time.
Beth had a stellar weekend, and finished in 7th place overall in the Southwest Region. She not only finished WOD #1 faster than anyone else in the world, but had huge PR's on the Deadlift/Box Jump WOD and "Amanda." We are so happy that she's found her home at Verve this year and will soon add a spouse!
Our friend Cherie. She last competed in the CrossFit Games in 2008. Over the past several years, tremendous battles have kept her from the road to the Games, but she kept cheering on and training Matt for his great moments. All the while, she carried on quietly biding her time regaining her strength and sharpening her mental fortitude. Well, this weekend was a time for her to shine and the Games to see the consistent strength and discipline that we all know her for, along with her goofiness and love of FUN. Cherie's performances were nothing short of inspiring, her dancing before WOD's quirky, and her moments bright and contagious to everyone around. She finished the weekend in 2nd place overall, earning a well-deserved spot to the Home Depot Center and the big show! We know that she will carry that strength to California and share it on an even bigger stage. Watch out world--there's a new Chan to watch out for!
Obviously, with a husband and wife dynamic duo en route to the CrossFit Games, there's lots to be said. With that, we are taking nominations for new slogans for shirts......so post and vote to comments. Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun.
Absolutely inspiring performances all day long from Team Verve and Cherie and Beth individually. We couldn't be more proud of each and every one of the Verve athletes that have competed, volunteered, and cheered from near or afar.
Team CrossFit Verve is one of the top 10 teams to move on into the final day tomorrow, placing a strong 5th at the end of Day 2. They fought adversity in both workouts today to grit it out and get the job done.
Come see Emmalee and Matt complete "Amanda" WOD #5 at 9:25am. Zac, Sara, Zink and Lev will tear it up in the Chipper WOD #6 at 12:05pm.
Beth and Cherie continue to put on a show of strength and finesse, and get to continue the fun tomorrow as well. Beth finishes Day 2 in 9th place, and our fearless leader Cherie has been the model of consistent domination, going into tomorrow maintaining 1st place again.
"Amanda" WOD Beth in Heat #1 at 10:00am Cherie in Heat #2 at 10:20am
Chipper WOD Beth in Heat #1 at 12:40pm Cherie in Heat #2 at 2:00pm
Come on out and join the Verve crew to celebrate the final day of FUN. What an amazing opportunity to have the CrossFit Games Southwest Regional in our very own backyard, inviting the top athletes from 5 states to showcase their talents. We'll party it up after the last event, so take advantage of a rest day and come on out and enjoy best part of CrossFit--our community!
Post time to comments......and if you'd like to meet up with some other Ververs at Commons Park, post to comments. Merrily they row along, row along--here's to recovery!
WHATTA DAY! Verve represented at the CrossFit Games Southwest Regional today in a BIG way. Our region was stacked competitively, but Verve fought out the Row/HSPU/Row WOD fast and decisively, finishing all the HSPU in less than 1 rotation, landing them with the 3rd fastest time in the Southwest Region, a mere 1 second behind Ute CrossFit and CrossFit Fury who tied for second. The afternoon brought the Thruster WOD, leaving Emmalee and Matt ready to show their strengths. Emmalee made 150# look easy, and Matt thrustered 275# for the highest single thruster in the Southwest Region. Team CrossFit Verve is tied for 1st place after day 1.
Our fearless ladies made their presence known also. Beth and Cherie went 1 and 2 in the Run/HSPU/Row WOD, pushing each other the whole way. In fact, Beth managed the fastest time in the world thus far for any man or woman! When it came to the late afternoon Thruster WOD, Cherie PR'd at 150#, and Beth had a 15#PR at 140#. At the end of day 1, Cherie is in 1st place, and Beth in 3rd.
Unbeknownst to some, Cherie and Beth are wildcats.
This weekend, athletes for Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico will be converging on Aurora Colorado to see who is the fittest man, woman, and team in the Southwest region. Some might say that we are obsessed, I will agree. We are obsessed with being fit, obsessed with nutrition, and obsessed with using our functional fitness to show who is the fittest. Over 30,000 athletes competed in theCrossFit Open. 2,040 men and women will compete in the individual and an additional 2,040 athletes will compete in the team competition. From the regional competitions, only 43 men, women, and teams will get their tickets punched for a trip to the World Games in July. Good luck to all of the athletes that will be competing this weekend, we wish you the best.
Come and cheer on all of the spectacular fitness feats that will be demonstrated this weekend at Aurora Public Schools stadium at 1250 Chambers Rd. As an alternative, for those of you stuck at work, you can follow the scores live on the Southwest Leaderboard.
Complete sixteen intervals of 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest where the first 4 intervals are row (calories), the second 4 intervals are jumping lunges, the third 4 intervals are AbMat sit-ups, and the final 4 intervals are kettlebell snatch (24kg/16kg).
Your score is the sum of the lowest number of completed reps for each exercise.
Post score to comments.
Katie Malone, prepping for the big day with some sumo deadlift high pulls.
This weekend CrossFit Verve will be closed for business, as we'll all be down in Aurora competing or cheering at the Southwest Regional. However, we will post workouts that can be done at home, in a park, or in your very own back yard. We made this decision because we'd like each of you Ververs and Vervettes out supporting your fellow athletes that have made it to Regionals. Below is the schedule:
Friday
Workout 1 10:30-11:10 : Team Heat 1 11:10-11:50 : Team Heat 2 11:50-12:30 : Team Heat 3 12:30-12:50 : Break 12:50-1:10 : Women Heat 1 1:10-1:30 : Women Heat 2 1:30-1:50 : Break 1:50-2:10 : Men Heat 1 2:10-2:30 : Men Heat 2 2:30-2:50 : Men Heat 3 2:50-3:10 : Men Heat 4 3:10-3:30 : Break
Workout 2 3:30-4:00 : Team Women 4:00-4:40 : Ind. Women 4:40-5:00 : Break 5:00-5:30 : Team Men 5:30-6:10 : Ind. Men
Saturday
Workout 3 9:00-9:25 : Team Heat 1 9:25-9:50 : Team Heat 2 9:50-10:15 : Team Heat 3 10:15-10:30 : Break 10:30-10:45 : Women Heat 1 10:45-11:00 : Women Heat 2 11:00-11:15 : Break 11:15-11:30 : Men Heat 1 11:30-11:45 : Men Heat 2 11:45-12:00 : Men Heat 3 12:00-12:15 : Men Heat 4 12:15-12:35 : Break
Workout 4 12:35-1:15 : Team Heat 1 1:15-1:55 : Team Heat 2 1:55-2:35 : Team Heat 3 2:35-2:50 : Break 2:50-3:20 : Women Heat 1 3:20-3:50 : Women Heat 2 3:50-4:05 : Break 4:05-4:35 : Men Heat 1 4:35-5:05 : Men Heat 2 5:05-5:35 : Men Heat 3 5:35-6:05 Men Heat 4
Sunday
Workout 5 9:00-9:25 : Team Heat 1 9:25-9:50 : Team Heat 2 9:50-10:00 : Break 10:00-10:20 : Women Heat 1 10:20-10:40 : Women Heat 2 10:40-10:50 : Break 10:50-11:10 : Men Heat 1 11:10-11:30 : Men Heat 2 11:30-11:40 : Break
Workout 6 11:40-12:05 : Team Heat 1 12:05-12:30 : Team Heat 2 12:30-12:40 : Break 12:40-1:05 : Women Heat 1 1:05-1:20 : Break 1:20-1:45 : Men Heat 1 1:45-2:00 : Break 2:00-2:25 : Women Heat 2 2:25-2:40 : Break 2:40-3:05 : Men Heat 2
We are unsure of which heats our athletes will be in, but we'll keep you up to date. Your team will be wearing the "V-Drip" shirt at the competition, in case you'd like to wear the same. Temp tattoos will be provided of course. The address to the facility is:
Lara doing a little deload bench work... next wave starts after regionals.
Recently, I read a write-up about one of Mikko Salo's workouts during his championship push at the CrossFit Games in Aromas, CA. The entry was written by Chuck Carswell, CrossFit HQ Trainer and resident badass. In it Chuck refers to trip that many CrossFitters take where they leave the pain and suffering behind and focus on the task at hand.
Reading this sent shivers up my spine, as this feeling is one that only those who have gone on this trip can describe or relate to. It takes a while to get to this place, as it requires consistantly accurate mechanics and technique, as well as a grasp on the concept of pacing. This is the journey of intensity.
From time to time when a WOD is posted, fear overcomes you. Not because it looks incredibly difficult ("Badger") or involved a movement or a load that is difficult for you. Rather, the WOD is right up your alley - you can kill this one. You're comfortable with the movements, the load, and the reps... it's begging you to throw everything you've got at it. You await the words "3-2-1 GO!" and begin your journey. At first it takes a second to get settled into the moment, but once you're there it's on.
Chuck described this trip as "the one to the dark, cold but liberating place where ANYTHING other than the task at hand just doesn't matter." Celebrate this moment and cherish it - you've made it!
400m Run 21 Kettlebell swings, 24kg (16kg) 12 Handstand pushups
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Inspirational video about injury.
Injuries are part of being human. Some are preventable, some are not. They are less then fun, I'd even call them un-fun and sometimes even scary. After watching the above video some may say, well if Zach had never tried to lift that much weight he'd never had gotten hurt in the first place. He also would not have won a U.S. National Championship. That's an easy enough rational for Zach, but what about us? We aren't on track to win any Championships, we just want to be as fit and healthy as we can be.
I'm here to tell you that you are going to have injury set backs regardless of your elite fitness level. ALL people do. What is different is what shape the body is in before the set back, how well people listen to their body to nip things before they get worse, how quickly they heal and what they do in the process. Fitness (specifically, I mean increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains) is your hedge against decrepitude. Decrepitude is the logical path of an organism, humans included.
If you want to age gracefully, you have to run fast, push and pull your body weight around and lift heavy shit. That's just the way it goes. You know the saying, if you don't use it you lose it, period!
So what do you do if you have a tweak, injury, are pregnant or have in-flexibilities? First talk to your coaches, they will scale you so that you can still workout without injuring yourself further. Shoot an e-mail to Joylyn and Cherie at info@crossfitverve.com explaining the injury. If you really want to take the bull by its horns your going to need to set up a personal training to go over a rehab plan. You'd be surprised about how an hour of talking about you and how to get you better can help propel your healing. The bottom line is... TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE in your healing process.
We all have choices and though it lives in the un-fun category, re-habing yourself takes a TON of patience, time, pain and dedication. No one is going to do it for you and you won't get better without addressing the problem.
Let's revisit the above video. On 2/25/2010, Zach snapped both of his wrists on a 352# clean, told by his surgeon he would NEVER lift over 100# overhead again. His wrists just wouldn't be able to do it. Two weeks later he was back in the gym. Not using his wrists, but squatting, keeping the rest of his body strong. Six months later rehab on his wrists started. All the while he had been continuing to "workout", absent the use of his hands. Eight months later he defied the Doctors predictions and reached 110# overhead. One year later he was cleaning the same weight he snapped his wrists with. One year and one month later he qualified for the U.S. Nationals. That year becoming the U.S. National Champ. Finally after a series of personal records he put 423# overhead almost 2 years after the injury. Now I ask you is Zach special? Did he have any magic healing pills? He had one thing for sure, he had a hedge built up. But, he possessed something that we all can tap into; the will to work hard, smartly and painfully to an end that is far better then the place we may find ourselves in now.
No matter what life may throw our way. It's always a choice to build the hedge back up. Take responsibility for your outcome and keep heading back in after a defeat or injury, keep pushing and who knows you might just heal faster and stronger then you were before.
We love reading other blogs, as it fuels ideas and helps us reflect on the training we are providing. Here is a snippet found onCrossFit Invictus. Thanks guys for a great post.
Fundamentals – Steps Back, Leaps Forward Written by Mike Hom
Often times, we become overly involved in forward progress without regard to periodic re-evaluation. This happens with both experienced and inexperienced athletes. As an example, you may be decent enough at the air squat, which then allows you to be decent enough at the front and overhead squats, which results in you being decent enough at the clean or snatch. What invariably follows is decent enough progress until you hit a very tangible ceiling – the plateau, so to speak. The basic thought process is to examine how to create quick forward progress (to maintain momentum, of course) which, for most people, is the ability to move more weight. And, often times, the easiest conclusion to come to is to suck it up and try to increase the weight with your “decent enough” form.
Unfortunately, this is not the best approach to make progress.
Virtuosity is a subject we coaches like to hit on, repeatedly, from every angle. It gives us a base motivation to be better at something. That constant improvement is what keeps us coming back. Let’s go back to the example above: Everything about our overall performance is “decent enough.” It’s alright. It ain’t anything to write home about.
We DO NOT want good enough.
We want to be the best at what we do. We aspire not for a 10 on a scale of 1-10. We want to aim for 11. The question is, how do we get to 11 when we’re at a 3, 5 or 7? How can we make those leaps of progress? Sometimes we have to do what is hardest.
We have to take steps back.
Aside from being a coach, I try to maintain some modicum of athleticism. I have to be very honest with myself about where I stand with regards to my performance overall and with each discrete movement and exercise. I am good at some. I am OK at others. I am terrible at many. I can elect to only chase my strengths. That’s great for my ego. But to become more well-rounded – to become fitter by any standard – I have to buck up and work on the stuff I am simply not good at. It also means that I have to work on all of the constituent exercises that may lead to more complex movements – regardless of whether I am good at them or not.
Going back to the original example in the first paragraph, if I am only decent enough at the clean, I will work on not just my front squat, but my air squat! Why? Because it is principally the fundamental exercise. If I cannot improve my ability to brace as hard as possible, squeeze my glutes, suck my ribs down and keep my spine and hip wedded for integrated movement without load, it would be a good guess (not necessarily a law, though) that having a load across my collarbone and shoulders will not assist in the matter.
If chasing excellence leads to success, then chasing virtuosity leads to progress. Some could say they are the same, but I say they are similar with differences. Excellence is a state of superiority in some given quality – to go above and beyond. Virtuosity is having great skill in the practice of something – anything. You want to chase virtuosity in your movement to continually nurture the seed of progress. You want to use that progress to help you chase excellence in order to go above and beyond what you think you can do, and consequently, experience success.
Pat is disappointed when you don't show up for a class you signed up for.
"Well, I'm not that coordinated yet."
I said those words when doing the rope climbs last week, and Cherie suggested to try them with my opposite leg. I laughed and tried and failed and laughed, and said those words. But I've been thinking about them all week. That one little word sums up alot about what I love about CrossFit, what got me hooked in the first place, and what keeps me coming back.
When I started CrossFit, I had a whole list of things I couldn't do: I couldn't do a pullup, pushups were often from my knees, I hated running, I couldn't do ring dips, the list goes on...
But CrossFit doesn't care what you can't do, it's more concerned about what you CAN do. Being scalable for everyone focuses on starting with what you CAN do, and then taking you on a journey to accomplish even more, YET. Every day at Verve is another opportunity to try something new, to push yourself a little bit further, to pick up a little more weight, to get one more rep, to be just a little bit faster, and every day is a chance to make yourself just a little bit better.
Granted, somedays may not be great, but sometimes the victory is in trying. And somedays, it's a fun surprise to see what you can do when you just give it a shot! Each day that we enter Verve, it's like a playground of sorts. I had never tried to climb a rope before CrossFit, I had never thought about walking on my hands, or jumping backwards onto a box... but I'm thankful I have a wonderful home at Verve that not only provides me a safe spot to try, great instruction on technique, and encouragement and acceptance no matter if I'm successful or fail.
Sure, I still have a list of things that I "am working on doing." Because I know that it's just a matter of time. Muscle-ups, mastering double-unders, handstand walking, swimming without drowning, to name a few. I know it's just a matter of time for me to conquer another fear, or try something new, who knows what I can do yet tomorrow? And speaking of that, I can't wait to see what you can do yet!
Box jump, 24"/20" Power snatch, 75#/55# Chest-to-bar pull-ups
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Sit back, relax, and stretch those sore muscles post workout.
Learn Something When You Least Expect It
I search for new information about subjects I'm interested in. This search takes me to seminars, books, videos, articles, blogs.... you name it. Yet sometimes the information I seek approaches me from very unexpected sources. When this occurs, it's usually a bit humbling and exciting.
For example, once a week I go to a gymnastics class that is specifically directed towards adults. The skills are pretty basic, but very useful and a lot of fun in a very laid back atmosphere. Yet, often I prod for more information about how to perform movements more efficiently I come up empty handed.
Well today was a completely different story. I warmed up with the group and the trainer spent time with each of us practicing floor movements like front/back rolls, forward/backward handstand walks, cartwheels, roundoffs, and so on. Then we broke out to work on specific skills. I was wanting to perform a back roll to support and my trainer suggested learning a dislocate first. Long story short, I couldn't get the timing right..... until a 7 year old boy made a few suggestions, which he went ahead and demo'd with ease. He gave me a target to aim for as I opened my hips, made a change to my grip, and asked me to rotate my arms faster.
Within minutes, my dislocate improved greatly (after spending nearly 45 minutes working on it). My point is, if I hadn't been willing to listen and learn from a 7 year old boy, I probably wouldn't have left the gym feeling very satisfied. Be open to suggestions and learn from someone you least expect to carry the information you seek. There are subject matter experts everywhere in life and they peek their heads out when you least expect it. Thanks kid - you made my day!
Sub the rope climbs with legs or with ground to standing plank pulls at 5:1.
Post rounds to comments.
Boom goes the dynamite.
The CrossFit Games Regional Competition are fast approaching and the event host needs volunteers:
They are looking for a few good men and women to help them run the event. They are especially short on the Thursday set-up shift and the Sunday evening tear-down shift. Every volunteer gets free admission and a behind the scenes look at a world class event. If you are willing to help out, please contact [email protected]. Thank you.
You've gotta walk before you can run.
CrossFit is all about intensity right? No, I'm not talking about the yelling, screaming, dumping weights from overhead, chalking you face, tearing your shirt off and pound on your chest sort of intensity. I'm talking about measurable intensity - also known as power output. The more intensity we're able to pour into a WOD, the more we'll adapt and benefit from it. But....
Yes, there's a but. Two things must be in place before introducing the concept of intensity - sound mechanics and consistency of those mechanics. We drill this into every athlete's head as they finish their foundations, but once you get sucked into the vortex of a group WOD, sometimes logic and common sense go out the window. Unfortunately, that's how people get hurt.
By taking the time to learn, practice, and perfect your mechanics on each movement, you're setting yourself up for success. By being able to complete mechanically sound movement consistently well, time and time again - you've opened yourself up to the world of intensity. What is your achilles heel? Are you ready to work on it until it becomes a strength rather than a weakness?
Housekeeping Note: We have moved the stereo equipment out of the office. Please Please Please DO NOT LEAVE anything on the shelves under the cork boards. We have a beautiful bench cubby for all your wonderful things. I don't care if you are Mahatma Gandhi, this means you too. We thank you and our rave-tastic system thanks you!
