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Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, Feb 19, 2010
Thinking about going sugar-free? Ever wonder what the impact would be on your health, fitness and/or performance? Well so did Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns - so much so that he decided to give it a shot. According to his article from Men's Journal "Living Sugar Free", though it was a challenge, he immediately felt better, performed better, and stayed healthier.
Do yourself a favor and give it a shot... I'm sure you'll get kudos from our Sweet Cheeks and other people in the know. Reduce or eliminate the refined sugar in your diet - you'll feel much better that you did!
Rest time.
Today's Workout
For time:
10 Box Jumps (32/24)
20 Burpees
30 Hand-to-Hand Kettlebell Swings (24/16)
40 AbMat Sit-ups
50 Jumping Slamballs
40 AbMat Sit-ups
30 Hand-to-Hand Kettlebell Swings
20 Burpees
10 Box Jumps
Posted by michael stanwyck :
Thursday, Feb 18, 2010
Many of you may have noticed a new practice around here of "checking in" when some of your fellow gym members are out and about. What's actually going on is that we're playing an online game called foursquare where you compete with your friends for points by getting out and doing things, especially new things, around town. It's definitely goofy to say the least, but it becomes fun to see what people are up to, as well as earn virtual badges for the mundane as well as seemingly random actions. The pièce de résistance is earning mayorships by being the person who checks in the most at one particular location. Up until now Andy has been the mayor of CrossFit Los Angeles (no brainer, right?), but as of today his mayorship is up for grabs for all members. So jump in, play along with your fellow CrossFitters. It's available on your mobile phone. Who's gonna be the next mayor of CrossFit Los Angeles?
Tag...you're it!
Today's Workout
3x
400m Run
5 Muscle-ups
15 Wall Ball (20/14)
*Rx+ - Scale up to an 11’ target for advanced athletes
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010
The question asked in this article "Bare or in Shoes?" Is it the "right" question? Here's what I'm talking about...
Barefoot running forces you to land on (strike the ground with) the ball of your foot. Why? Because it takes advantage of your body's naturally built-in shock absorbing system of the foot. When you wear running shoes, most people shift their running stride (unbeknownst to them) to start landing in their heel - which is a very unnatural place to strike the ground since it contains no natural shock absorption. But here's the thing... you don't HAVE to run barefoot to quit heel striking. Does running barefoot help you feel it and do it, absolutely. But there are risks to barefoot running that might not be worth taking (including toe, foot, ankle injuries, toe stubbing, and getting cut on your feet).
I think the question should be, "Forefoot or Heel Strike?" Answer this question (forefoot, of course), then learn the proper running mechanics,the essence of Pose Running (utilizing gravity and your body's naturally occurring shock absorbing systems to propel yourself forward in a run), and then practice. This can be done in ANY shoe. As you get better at striking the ground in the ball of your foot, you may naturally gravitate to thinner-soled running shoes, or maybe even Vibram Five Fingers.
By the way - we've done a lot of Pose Running training here - how is YOUR practice going?
Mike, Thomas, are you guys forefoot striking?
Today's Workout
Snatch 1-1-1-1-1
Rest
Complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
1 Rope Climb
4 Pistols
8 Burpees
Posted by Becca Borawski :
Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010
Have you ever wished there were just a simple, cut and dried set of rules you could follow to simplify eating? Well, guess what - now there is. The new book from Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, is called Food Rules and is just that - a set of rules to follow for good healthy eating. For those of you looking for straightforward guidelines, this is a great book to get you started. For those of you who've already consumed tons of nutrition books, consider this -- I bought three copies of Food Rules the other day so I could send them out to family members. I find friends and family can get easily overwhelmed with different news reports, different doctors, and opinions coming at them left and right. Food Rules spells it out nice and easy by answering three questions -- 1. What should I eat? 2. What kind of food should I eat? and 3. How should I eat?
Check it out and pick one up for a family member - it's a quick read that could change someone's quality of life.
And while you're at it - remember to join us this Friday night at 7:30pm for a showing of the movie "Food, Inc."!
5k Run, For Time
- Click Here to see a map of the course we're running.
- And if you're thinking to yourself, "Eh, I can do this on my own," you're probably right. But it's DIFFERENT when you do it here... at home, it won't be as intense, you won't be as focused, nor will you have a group to hold you accountable to doing your best. So get over yourself, and get in here to run today with your fellow CrossFitters!
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Monday, Feb 15, 2010
I want to start this off by saying that I've never been a believer that there is such a thing as a quick fix, for pretty much anything...
Saturday morning, I completed the WOD (which included deadlifts), and felt a little "tweak" in my upper back (nothing major). I went on with my day and didn't think much more about it. On Sunday morning (yesterday), I was dancing around the living room with my 3-yr-old, and all of a sudden, zoink - my back went into total spasm. I could hardly move or breathe. I spent time both icing and heating as well as stretching, but nothing really helped. Though I wasn't laid up on my back, and was able to move around, though slowly, I was miserable - shooting pain could come at any moment, from almost anything.
Cut to a bit earlier in the day, I had given Julia her Valentine's Day gift - an acupressure mat called a Yantra Mat. It contains 210 "flowers" on it and each one has 42 little "spikes" on it, for a total of 8,820 points that stick into your body when you lay on it. According to reviews and the website, it is a lot like lying on a bed of nails, and they claim that it brings stress relief, relaxation, and healing to anyone that uses it. When I bought it, I though it would be great for Julia for some stress relief, but as far as any real specific health or pain relief benefits, doubtful.
Well, by mid-afternoon on Valentines Day, I was desperate... decided that I'd try anything to feel better - including laying on a bed of nails - what a coincidence, I just happened to have one, Julia's Yantra Mat. I broke it out and laid down, gingerly. The first two minutes were intense and painful, but as I continued to lie on it (on my bare skin), I the pain from the spikes in my back subsided (some), enough that I could endure. I stayed on it for 20 minutes, and much to my surprise, when I got up, I was about 80% better! I was shocked, as was Julia. I did it again later in the evening and again, noticed improvement.
I can't say necessarily that it will help you if you have back, neck or shoulder pain, but for $70, it's worth a shot. I'm going to get another one to keep at the gym, so if you're interested in trying it out, let me know.
Katie - looking surprised at getting this overhead!
Today's Workout
3 Rounds, each for time and distance
10 Hang Squat Cleans (155/105)
2 minutes of Rowing (meters)
- Rest exactly 2 minutes between rounds.
- Score - both time and distance in meters for each round
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, Feb 12, 2010
The easiest way to see great results with CrossFit is to simply show up... over and over and over again. And to do this, you have to actually be present. Here are some of the words that could be substituted for the phrase "show up": appear, be conspicuous, be visible, blow in, come, get, get in, make an appearance, put in appearance, reach, show, stand out, turn up.
Are you making an appearance, even when you don't feel like it? Blowing in even when you know it's going to be hard? Being conspicuous in your presence at the gym? Turning up, even after we've given you up for lost? If you're not, we invite you to show up - get started again fresh, as if it was your first day all over again!
And if you haven't been posting a comment ("showing up" on-line), today is YOUR day... post a comment about anything. Let's hear your "voice". An open invitation from me to you to let us all know you're there.
Brent motors through his sit ups.
Today's Workout
“Kelly”
5 Rounds for time of:
400m Run
30 Box Jumps (24”)
30 Wall Balls (20/14)
