June 27, 2008 in habits of highly effective athletes by admin

Cultivating Camaraderie

My experience has shown that camaraderie and competition grow in equal part. Often the participants who have deep friendships also possess a high desire to perform well towards a common goal. For us this common goal is our definition of fitness . We strive to embody our ideal fitness via the workout of the day (WOD); and it is during these workouts that the true measure of our competition and camaraderie are seen.   Interestingly enough the brand of competition that exist within crossfit’s group fitness model seldom lends itself to fear of failure, back stabbing or cheating.  In fact, the opposite is true! Individuals will gain confidence knowing members of the group have progressed to more difficult movements, dropped time off a workout, or set a PR (personal record) on a particular movement.  In such instances the individuals who have developed a high degree of competition are many times the first to cheer on their well performing classmate…words of encouragement are given, high fives are exchanged and fitness is transformed from a neurotic aesthetic pursuit into a form of play that enriches, inspires and guides every aspect of our lives.

June 27, 2008 in first workout by admin

Say hello to…

Pam and Clark. They are two workouts into their level 10 CrossFit experience and are picking up the fundamentals at an incredible pace. Way to go!!!

P.S a big congrats to Shawn for getting a PR on the deadlift this morning. There was just enough mental preparation (his part) and bad math (my part) for him to put up a solid 309lbs…I love it when a plan comes together!

June 22, 2008 in Nutrition by admin

Crossfit nutrition seminar

Saturday I had the special privilege of attending the dry run of crossfit’s nutritional certification.  Robb Wolf’s passion and knowledge on the topic of nutrition is phenomenal. The day was packed with lecture on paleo/zone eating, as well as some simple and tasty meal preparation.  

June 19, 2008 in first workout, humor by admin

Jump shrugs=Fun

Recently the Oroville girls basketball team has been stopping by for some strength and conditioning work in preparation for their upcoming season.  The girls are super fun, encouraging, and hardworking…in other words perfect crossfiters!!!

Loosing your lunch during a workout is one thing, but loosing your shorts? That is another story.  This picture is proof that stopping by to “just visit” is not an option.  

June 14, 2008 in first workout by admin

Another CrossFit Addict

After just a few workouts Jay is already hooked.    

Kristen shows us what real ab work looks like! Notice the absence of any large plastic balls in differing colors.

June 12, 2008 in workout by admin

The ladies…and Erik

Thought I would give the 6pm class a little love for destroying the tuesday WOD.  If there are any ambitious folks out who want a fun fanny kick’n workout try this…5 rounds for time of…5 knee’s to elbows, 10 pushups, 20 Dumbell Push press, 40 sit-ups.

Congrats to Erik on his new ride.  You can’t beat a supper clean datsun or 25 mpg!

June 11, 2008 in Featured Blog Posts, Level 10 Key Concept by admin

Developing the push up

Developing the push up in clients has been a continual process that has more often than not included frustration and avoidance. In the past I seldom included push ups  in actual workouts, and instead focused on the knee push up in hopes that clients would be able to progress to full push ups.  Sadly the progression never developed and I was left finding a new way.  My next experiment was to have clients hold the top position of the full push up and eccentrically lower their body to the floor.  Once they reached to bottom position I had them drop their knees and perform knee push ups.  This worked significantly better than knee push ups alone.  The eccentric lowering of the body helped develop midline stability, as well as strength and confidence to try the more difficult full push up.  However, again, this method was hard to implement into any actual timed workouts due to the fact that the progression depended upon an eccentric component.

Recently I have again adjusted my approach and started implementing bands.  Currently I use the blue spri bands that not long ago were collecting dust in the corner of the gym.  I simply wrapped the band handles around the uprights of a power rack.  The rack also allows for vertical adjustment that can either increase or decrease the tension. The results have been significantly better than any previous attempts.  The bands also work perfectly for individuals who hit complete muscle failure on workouts that call for large amounts of push ups, as well as for warm ups.  It is now standard for clients to attempt full push ups next to the rack; moving only to the rack when their full push ups becomes to difficult.  The only flaw in this system has been the crossbar that connects the two towers of the squat rack.  The bar is elevated which makes placing your hands above or below cumbersome.  The sacrifice has been to place ones hands on the bar itself.  This move has seemed to satisfy most everyone, however, it left me searching for another way to tweak the approach.

The answer has come in the form of speedrail fittings.  If your are not familiar with this product they are amazing! I used these fittings to assemble our pull up bar system-they are top notch.  With this in mind I searched their catalog and found a number of different ways to implement my idea.  I ended up buying a fitting that secured to the upright of the pull-up bar station.  The new system works wonders not only for pull ups, push ups, and dips, but also for advanced gymnastics elements.

June 8, 2008 in humor, mma by admin

Must see T.V

I found this video while reading an interview with the ref, mma fighter Shonie Carter. In the interview with MMAjunkie.com Carter said, “It was actually kind of amusing to me because one fighter’s father was trying to tell me his son was OK to continue (fighting),” Carter added “I was like, ‘Your son just got knocked out, and his opponent just got knocked out. It’s over.’”

June 6, 2008 in workout by admin

Dia Dos L sit

Today has been the day of the L sit. Both our 8am class and the 6pm class gave it their all on this brutal test of midline stabilization. Below (left) Amy shows one way to progress to the full “L”, While Skylar and Taylor show us the “L sit” and the “L tuck”. Great work everyone!

Note: We are adding new group class times every week, and are starting to implement our Level 1, 2, and 3 curriculum. You can see what classes we have running by looking here.

June 5, 2008 in first workout by admin

The set up

Claudia has been so fun to work with, and has shown great progress each and every workout. Here she shows off her "set up" for the deadlift. Way to go, Claudia!!!