October 17, 2008 in General Blog Posts by admin

Hanging around the gym

Rachael, wall ball

Wall ball is a grinder of a movement that simultaneously requires strength, speed, power, coordination, and endurance.  It is also a movement that seems to find its origin and application solely within the crossfit community. Here are some of the elements needed for proper technique.

*The movement begins with the ball held closely to the chest with the elbows in.  

*What follows is a deep squat (all the finer points of a good body weight squat apply)

*Acending from the squat throw the ball with both hands towards a target 8-10ft high.  The power is expressed perfectly from legs/hip outward toward the arms. 

*Once the ball returns absorb it closely to your body and as fuidly as possible, repeat

Scaleability can be done by simply reducing the weight of the ball as well as reducing or eliminating the squat.  For those unable to squat, a push press version is more that sufficient and requires many of the same physical adaptions.

Shawn completing “Kelly”

(Here) is Crossfit O.G Brendon G. completing the crossfit workout “Karen”.  Checkout his first set…Did I mention he is a beast?

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Kellie, Deadlift

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”-Mark Rippitoe 

For some more of Rip’s hilarious and educating thoughts on lifting click (here) Note: Mostly work and family safe…a few zingers here and there, its Rip!!!  

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Scott is rifling through these workouts, getting stronger and moving better overall.  Next up is twenty extra yards off the tee.

October 16, 2008 in humor, member news by admin

Yeah, for our traveling Crossfiter!!!

Recently our very own Jay W. traveled to the bay area on business and was lucky enough to squeeze in a workout at crossfit unlimited in milpitas, ca.  Just knowing that crossfit unlimited was the home gym of Jason Khalipa, the 2008 Crossfit games champion, is a good indication that these folks don’t mess around!  Now, I don’t know the Unlimited guys, so it was kinda strange when an email arrived today.  Turns out they snapped a few pictures of Jay and wanted to let me in on their training methods.  See for yourself.

Seriously though, Jay had a killer workout and got to witness first hand the graciousness that typifies the now 700 plus crossfit affiliates from around the world.

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Araceli and Areley make’n the rope climb look easy!

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October 9, 2008 in humor, member news by admin

No wii for me!!!

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Rob and Angel have shown incredible commitment, encouragement, and hard work since joining our little gym of fitness fanatics.  

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Like any good pet owner I give my dog treats such as pig ears, bones etc.  Well, this afternoon right before my first afternoon session I raced to the pet store in order to get a dog collar for Bently so he could be tethered at the shop without fear of escape.  As I was leaving the pet store I decided to grab a “chew toy” so that the little one could chew away and hopefully not growl at those arriving for their workout.  The plan worked like a charm, however, as an anonymous family (they workout at Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm) arrived for their session I was informed that the doggy treat that Bently was so thoroughly enjoying was infact a bulls penis.  A quick google search and I found (this blog) which apparently has been a hot spot for those inquiring about the origins of there pet’s treats.  

Anyway here is one of my favorite comments from the Cranky Ol’ Ladies blog: “I wonder why the limited offering of pizzles at Trader Joe’s. Where’s pig pizzle? How about horse pizzle? Or lamb? I wonder if they taste different? Um, no, I don’t.”

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When the application of functionality and scalability are explored it is quickly apparent that some of the most functional of movements are also some of the most difficult to perform.  Body control movements such as pull-ups, push-ups, and dips are as functional as it gets.  They also require little “special” equipment and are fundamental to movement.  Their fundamental nature is further evident when a new trainee vocalizes their desire to do a “real” push-up or pull-up.  Enter bands.  

The bands we currently use are sold by jumstretch Inc.   These bands offer anywhere from 5-200lbs of resistance and are an indispensable aid for pull-ups, dips, and muscle-ups.  However, these bands and others like them are also extremely useful for push-ups, L-sits, levers, handstands, and planche training. If the aim is body control and progressive resistance bands can be utilized in one capacity or another. 

October 1, 2008 in The facility, member news by admin

We’re the best!!!

Guess my bribery, begging and pleading finally paid off! L10XF has officially (we knew all along!!!) been named the best gym in Oroville by the Chico News & Review.  Well, to be fair it was a tie between us and the Oroville Sports Club. However, since they have been open a decade, and we have been open a mere 4 months, I am going to say a tie sure feels like a win.  A HUGE Thanks goes out to everyone who voted…I hear there were even some people in Florida who punched a ballot for us.

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Kinsey has been on an absolute tear over the last month.  She has been consistently putting in solid efforts and not coincidentally has also been working on cutting out the crap carbs from her diet.  That along with being a solid student is no easy task. So next time you seen Kinsey laying down in front of the fan after a hard workout, congratulate her on her progress and on her new 177lb max deadlift!!!

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In celebration of our big win I had a weak moment (see below).  Next time I will make sure there are no electronic devices around.  Anyone else down for a paleo eating challenge? What if I throw in some prizes? No, not Cake!