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Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, May 10, 2013
Have you ever woken up in the morning and said to yourself, "Self, today is a great day to be joyful!!"? If you were joyful, what would it look like? How would you be acting? Check this out - the synonyms for for joyful: lighthearted, effervescent, blithesome, buoyant, elated, cheerful, festive, sunny. Sounds like 'happy' on steroids.
Are you willing to put down the weight of the world long enough to experience joy? If so, I've got a challenge for you. Between today and Monday, keep a JOY journal. Count the ways and times you are joyful... see what sort of number you can rack up. And then see what sort of weekend you have. BE Joyful... and let us know about it in comments.
CFLA All Women's Class, Tue & Thu at 9am
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT (NO CAP)
COMPETITION
2 rounds for time of:
8 Front Squat (no rack) (185/120)
400m run
8 Front Squat
500m row
AND COMING MONDAY (NO CAP)
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
4 sets of 4 - 100 m Franklin hill sprints on :90
- 3 mins between sets
Posted by michael stanwyck :
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Over the last couple of years Andy and I have been developing the Whole Life Challenge and we have had some extraordinary people on our team. People who are talented, passionate, generous, hard working and fun. We could not have done what we have done without them. Literally, it wouldn't exist at all.
We're always talking to people about the challenge and every now and then we run into someone who is talented, passionate, generous, hard working and fun and we'll both think "THAT person should be on our team!" It's not necessarily based on their experience, their success rate, or their resume (although, those things are important too), it's based on who we want to play with -- people who are bought into what we are creating, have creative vision that adds something that wasn't there, and wants to have fun while they work.
It makes me think how much it matters who is on your team anywhere -- in how you manage your health, in building your career, in having an inspiring personal life. It doesn't matter if a person has experience, knowledge, expertise, or know-how if they don't align with your vision, aren't excited by what you're excited by, or if they're no fun! It doesn't make them bad people, just not someone for your team in that area. And when you look at it, you can have teams anywhere for just about anything! Your workout buddies, your spouse or significant other, your colleagues at work are all potential teammates!
Where do you have teams in your life? Who's on them? Where could you use a little team to take things to the next level?
THURSDAY'S WORKOUT (NO CAP)
PRACTICE
A) Back Squat 3x5 @ 85-87.5% (same wt. across)
B) Core Stability:
6 rounds of:
:30 hollow rock
:30 arch rock
:30 rest
C) 10 min double under skill/mobility work
D) 5 rds for reps (:90:90) of:
:30 RKB ahap
:30 Pushup (adv as possible)
:30 DU
AND COMING FRIDAY (NO CAP)
COMPETITION
2 rounds for time of:
8 Front Squat (no rack) 185/120
400m run
8 Front Squat
500m row
Posted by Becca Borawski :
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
I recently made a commitment to myself to be out of my pajamas by 10am every day. Yeah, rough life, I know. So, here's the deal - I used to have to go to an office in downtown Portland every day for work. Then I only had to go in three days per week, and worked at home for two. Then it was two at the office and three at home. And recently that evolved even further into me working full-time from home. It's pretty sweet.
But here's the thing. There was something "official" about putting on real clothes, packing my lunch, and going to the office. It felt like, "This is when and where we do work." So I'm creating some guidelines for my work environment at home, too. I have a separate space in the house and I have hours set for myself. And I realized recently that what I wear also plays into how I feel. I feel more productive if I'm not in my PJs all day. It changes my mental perspective. So now I have a commitment to be in "real" clothes by 10am. I usually start work between 7-8am, so on my first break I get dressed. If it's a day I'm going to the gym, I put on my gym clothes. If it's a rest day then I put on regular street clothes. But I get myself cleaned up as if I were going to walk out the door into the world at any moment.
I think our gym clothes are the same way. I know when I was at CFLA I had certain shoes, socks, and even headbands for different types of workouts. When I had that gear on, I felt official, like I could DO this. And if something was off with my clothes, well, it got me mentally off, too.
What about you? Do you have a "uniform" that puts you in the mindset of your workout?
Becca Borawski served as Program Director at CFLA for seven years and is now part of the extended coaching family. She is the managing editor for Breaking Muscle, a website designed for real athletes and real coaches. She lives in Portland, Oregon and is most likely preparing a paleo meal at this very moment.
WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT (CAP)
PRACTICE
A) EMOM 7
3 Power Clean @ 72.5% 1RM (same wt across)
2 OHS
B) 3x Max reps no kip dips :30:90 (30 sec work: 30 sec rest)
C) 5 rds for reps and distance:
:30 strict pullups
:30 rest
:60 Row
:60 rest
AND COMING THURSDAY (NO CAP)
PRACTICE
A) Back Squat 3x5 @ 85-87.5% (same wt. across)
B) Core Stability:
6 rounds of:
:30 Hollow rock
:30 Arch rock
:30 Rest
C) 10 min double under skill/mobility work
D) 5 rounds for reps (:90:90) of:
:30 Russian kbell swings (as heavy as possible)
:30 Pushup (advanced as possible)
:30 Double unders
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Read the following story the other day. Reminded me of the key to building a strong and connected community - being of service to others through kindness and understanding. It's the foundation the way CFLA's community has grown organically, and is how I see all of you treating others. All of you inspire me - your generosity, kindness, and willingness to go the extra mile for others. You are the leaders of the world, the people that others both need and want more of in their lives. Thank you of being who you are for me and for the rest of the world. This story is you. I thought it was worth posting here in it's entirety.
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.
Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?
The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.
She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,
Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.
She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.
Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.
Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.
She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.
To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.
And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.
And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,
With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.
Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.
They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.
Not everything is lost.
Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.”
Ahh... so THAT'S what it means to do a partner workout?!
Tuesday's Workout
COMPETITION
“Daniel”
50 pullups
400 m run
21 Thrusters #95/65
800 m run
21 Thrusters
400 m run
50 pullups
And coming Wednesday (CAP)
PRACTICE
A) EMOM 7
3 Power Clean @ 72.5% 1RM (same wt across)
2 OHS
B) 3x Max reps no kip dips :30:90 (30 sec work: 30 sec rest)
C) 5 rds for reps and distance:
:30 strict pullups
:30 rest
:60 Row
:60 rest
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Monday, May 06, 2013
I was reading an article about the Stanford strength and conditioning coach, Shannon Turley. Since taking over the strength and conditioning program, Stanford went from going 1-11 in 2006 with a football program that was literally going nowhere, to winning the Rose bowl in the 2012-13 season. A lot went into making a change like this happen, but one of the most significant came in how Coach Turley helped shift the players shift from an 'outcome focus' to a 'process focus'. What's the difference, you may ask...
Outcome focus means your attention and focus is fixed on the outcome - the win or loss of a game for a football team, and for the rest of us, things like whether you get that job, lose the weight, achieve the goal. Most of the things that must happen for an outcome to be 'successful' are things that on a day-to-day basis are outside of your control. Not so with process focus. When you're focused on the process, you are focused, like a laser beam, on the things that you can have a DIRECT impact on each and every day - like what time you get up in the morning, what you eat for breakfast, what clothes you wear (are you dressed for success), and your mental attitude in practice (or your CrossFit class). Process focus brings an incredibly empowering shift to your life - allowing you to focus in on doing things each day related to your process with impeccable integrity - with zero regard for the outcome (something over which you have no real control anyway). It's not easy and requires discipline, confidence, and a little bit of faith, but the payoff, as was the case at Stanford, can be huge.
How might you shift from an outcome focus to process focused and how might this improve your attitude and daily life?
Get some, Jaqui!
PRACTICE
3 cycles for max reps and time (:60:120) of:
a) Back Squat (BW 2/3BW)
b) Seated DB Press (40% of 1RM Barbell Press)
c) 200m run for time
d) Sit to stands
e) Strict Chin ups
And coming Tuesday (NO CAP)
COMPETITION
“Daniel”
50 pullups
400 m run
21 Thrusters #95/65
800 m run
21 Thrusters
400 m run
50 pullups
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, May 03, 2013
Now I've done it. I've officially registered for the LA Triathlon on October 13, 2013! And by doing so,I've set in motion the direction and purpose of my fitness and training for the next 6 months.
I decided that to really get my attention, I had to make it hard enough that I felt like I needed to train for it. So I selected the Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run). And although I have a background in ultra endurance events, it's been a really long time since I've done one and even longer (25 years) since my one and only triathlon.
So... the title of this blog post is "How to add purpose to YOUR fitness training..." What is an event that YOU could sign up for, a trip you could take, a club you could join, a date you could book, that would have you organize your life around you 'making it'?
Want to join me in the LA Tri in October?
Pooja goes for it on the rower!
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT (NO CAP)
NEW CYCLE TESTING WEEK
Body Weight "Fight Gone Bad”
A. Strict Pullups
B. Double unders
C. Squat
D. Hand-release pushups
E. Sit to stand
Workout consists of 3, 5 minute rounds. In each round, the athlete performs
each movement for 1 minute, accumulating as many reps as possible, before
moving to the next station. After completing all 5 stations, there is a 1 minute
rest before starting the next round.
You may begin at any station in the workout, but take note! You will want to
start at the same station when you repeat the test. It matters!
AND COMING MONDAY (NO CAP)
PRACTICE
3 cycles for max reps and time (:60:120) of:
a) Back Squat (BW 2/3BW)
b) Seated DB Press (40% of 1RM Barbell Press)
c) 200m run for time
d) Sit to stands
e) Strict Chin ups
