CrossFitLA - CrossFit Workouts of the Day

Looking at the numbers

2012-05-17T00:58:17+00:00

Written by michael stanwyck

Some numbers I love. I will geek out for hours over mathematically trying to quantify workouts or movements. Some numbers I can't stand. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of money, but I'm the kind of guy who used to not want to open his bank statement because I just didn't want to know. Guess what that led to -- a situation I definitely didn't want to know about. Then I was gifted a book called The Soul of Money by a good friend of mine. It was a total re-evaluation of my relationship not only with money but with why I was the way I was about money. Said simply, it was all a question of "enough," or what the book calls "sufficiency."

What did I have to do to have the experience of enough? I couldn't necessarily just make more money appear (maybe even that is another conversation), but maybe simply being willing to look at the numbers might be a start. So I did. And guess what I found out. Things weren't nearly as dire as I had imagined. What was once "too little" was now "plenty." I had created a situation of insufficiency in my head that wasn't actually there. With just about the exact same amount of money and a shift in "being" I now have enough to take a vacation every year, several great weekend getaways, at least one really nice big night out each month, paying off some embarrassingly large debt in a couple of years rather than something like 13 at the minimum payments, putting some away into an operating savings account, and saving enough to move! This all came from altering the experience and not the amount of money.

Why does my personal financial situation matter? For two reasons. One is because numbers are that important. If you can see it, you can measure it. If you can measure it you can move it. Your money, your health, your relationships, your career, whatever. Statistics are the key to real, measurable results. The second, and more important in my opinion, is that you may find that just being willing to change the experience will completely alter what you have. You may think that one day when you HAVE something (like money, time, a fulfilling job, etc), you will DO something (like save, take a vacation, whatever), and then BE something (HAPPY!). What if it simply worked the other way around? EXPERIENCE first (BE HAPPY!), then DO what a happy person does and then HAVE the life a happy person has. Could it be that simple?

Today's Workout (NO CAP)
Overhead Squat
Find 15 rep max
- Gold standard is BODY WEIGHT!

...and coming Friday (CAP)
AMRAP 18
6 Deadhang Pull-ups
OH Walking Lunges, across and back (45/25)
6 Reverse Burpees
OH Walking Lunges, across and back (45/25)
6 Push-ups
OH Walking Lunges, across and back (45/25)

Battling the Inner Toddler

2012-05-16T02:11:59+00:00

Written by Becca Borawski

Whenever I go on a "restrictive" eating plan, I have a bit of a freak out period. I suddenly want to eat all sorts of things I never eat anyway. For example, recently I endeavored to try out intermittent fasting. I eat from 12-8pm each day, but not outside of those hours. The first couple of days when it hit noon I ate everything in site. I wanted ice cream. I wanted crackers. I wanted a candy bar. I never eat these things, but it was like my mind thought I was never going to see ANY food ever again. After a couple days that subsided, and as everyone around me predicted, I settled a bit into this whole IF thing.

But that's when the "inner toddler" took residence. This is the part of me that wants what it wants simply because it can't have it. What I've come to realize, though, is that the inner toddler isn't real. I mean, the cravings and feelings are there, but they're not based in actual needs of my body. Unlike the first few days where I think my body genuinely thought I might starve it, I feel as though my body has adjusted, but some emotional part of me hasn't. So the inner toddler is desperately hungry from when I wake up until 11:59am every day. It causes hunger pains and cranky thoughts. It causes me to look at the clock every five minutes for hours on end. And then, suddenly at 12:00pm...I'm not hungry anymore.

This is the true hallmark of the inner toddler and what caused it to deflate it's power over me. It wants what it wants when it can't have it - and doesn't when it can. Once 12:00pm strikes I forget I'm hungry. At 12:45pm I look at the clock and think, "Crap, I better start eating!" The great part about it, though, is now I KNOW it's not real. It's just emotions and things that don't have a real effect. I can say hi to the inner toddler, give it a little hug, and move on with my productive ways.

I'm really not sure what's happening here.

Wednesday's Workout (no CAP)
800m Run
400 Single unders
400m Run
200 Single unders
200m Run
100 Single unders

...and coming Thursday (no CAP)
Find your 15 rep max overhead squat
(Gold standard is bodyweight)

Obliged or Committed?

2012-05-15T03:40:13+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

When you make a commitment to do something, do you feel obliged to do it? Do you feel like you HAVE to do it or do you have freedom around it? I started thinking about it and wondered, what's the difference between the two, commitment and obligation.

Here's the definition of obliged from dictionary.com: "to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service: I'm much obliged for the ride."
And here's the definition of committed: "to pledge or engage oneself: an athlete who commits to the highest standards."

The way I see it now, the difference lies in the reason behind taking the action... because both will deliver actions. The person who feels obliged, feels that way because he/she has already been the recipient of some act of kindness and feels like they have to repay the act or person. Obligation, to me, means I am doing something because I should, it's the right thing to do, I'm supposed to do it, and I need to repay something or someone who has done something for me. Commitment, on the other hand, comes out of nothing. With a commitment, there is nothing that I have to do, should do, or am supposed to do, nothing that needs to have happend because it is "right", because the only person responsible for whatever it is I've committed to is me. There is total freedom with commitment... prison with obligation.

So here's the million dollar question... how do you turn your obligations into commitments, to rid yourself of the necessity of doing something because you're supposed to? Another question - do your commitments FEEL more like obligations? If so, why? I wish I had all the answers, I really do. I feel like I have a clear distinction between the two, but I'd love to hear your thoughts and your answers. Please post in comments.

Keith, getting some window shopping in during his WOD, wonders if his wife, Angie, would like that black leather studded collar for their new dog.

Tuesday's Workout (CAP)
For time:
42 Wall ball (20/14)
21 Pull-ups
30 Wall ball
15 Pull-ups
18 Wall ball
9 Pull-ups

...and coming Wednesday (NO CAP)
For time:
800m Run
400 Single unders
400m Run
200 Single unders
200m Run
100 Single unders

Inspiration Everywhere

2012-05-14T03:35:55+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

I was totally inspired this weekend by the performances of the athletes at Regionals. Really, the level of greatness was completely off the charts! And Team CLFA - finishing in 14th place - a finer group of athletes and human beings couldn't be found anywhere!

As I drove home from Regionals after an incredibly intense final heat in the individual women's competition, I started thinking, 'What's the difference between inspired performance in an athletic competition and inspired performance in life?" Just because you're not "firebreather" status and competing at the Regionals, it doesn't mean you're not inspiring. Inspired performances happen all around us, all the time, every day... it's just that usually there's no one looking, no crowd of spectators or people standing on their feet, cheering. Think about some of the things in your life you're passionate about... can you recall something you've done recently in one of those areas that you would consider a "moment of greatness", or an inspiring performance that woud have had them (you) on their (your) feet cheering? Things like closing a deal, getting hired for a new job, getting a raise at work, hearing someone say "yes" when they usually say no, seeing your child do what they're supposed to do when they think you're not looking, sticking to your diet, helping someone else get through a rough day, being given responsibility for managing an event or group of people for the first time, having an event come off incredibly well, having a day during which you feel nothing but gratitude and love, sharing your deep personal struggles even though doing so feels like it's going to kill you, making the time to say thank you, telling someone else how much you love them. Anyway, you get the idea.

Inspiration and inspiring performances are everywhere... and if you look long enough, you'll find that you've got 'em too, right in front of your face... in fact, they're happening all the time, it's just that you're not in the habit of stopping to see them. So take the time now. You don't have to be competing at the CrossFit Games to be inspiring. You are, simply because you're you.

Monday's Workout (NO CAP)
Spend 20 minutes on agility drills
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For time:
1000m Row
50 Box jumps(24/20)
25 Pull ups

...and coming Tuesday (CAP)
For time:
42 Wall ball (20/14)
21 Pull-ups
30 Wall ball
15 Pull-ups
18 Wall ball
9 Pull-ups

REGIONALS!

2012-05-11T00:37:16+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

Here we go! Today's the first day of the CrossFit Games, Southern California Regionals. The stakes are high for our team. We qualified for Regionals in 28th place. In order to advance to the Games, we must finish in the Top 3. THIS is exactly what our team has been training so hard for, and you'll be hard pressed to find a team that represents teamwork and community more that Team CFLA. Lets go gang - this really is GO TIME!

If you'd like to join us out in Pomona, tickets are $25 either online or at the door... and this buys you access for the entire weekend. We hope to see you out there - and if you do join us, make sure you're sporting your TEAM CFLA Jersey (look for the "sea of blue"). Hope to see you out there!

We will be posting updates right here on our blog in real time - you can check back here to see how we're doing. If you're a Twitterer, some feeds you may want to follow: @cflawholelife, @crossfitla, @andypetranek, @gelbotronics. If you're going to be there and want to share your Twitter address, please do so in comments.

... and in case you were wondering, here's the weekend schedule.

Friday
10:00am - Team Workout 1
1:36pm - Team Workout 2

Saturday
9:00am - Team Workout 3
12:06pm - Team Workout 4

Sunday
8:00am - Team Workout 5 (women)
9:44am - Team Workout 5 (men)
12:15pm - Team Workout 6

ps - we will have a NORMAL class schedule at CFLA all weekend.

Friday's Workout (CAP)
3 Rounds:
3 min max reps Clean and Jerks (155/105)
Rest 1 min
3 min max reps Double Unders
Rest 2 min
- Two scores - total number of C & J's and Double Unders

... and coming Monday (NO CAP)
Spend 20 minutes on agility drills
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For Time:
1000m Row
50 Box jumps(24/20)
25 Pull ups

Who I am

2012-05-10T00:57:13+00:00

Written by michael stanwyck

I went out to grab dinner the other night at one of my favorite joints, The Counter. Great burgers, sweet potato fries, sometimes even a delicious shake. I ran into someone I knew who was with someone I didn't know. When I was introduced as a CrossFit guy, this new acquaintance asked (surprisedly) "What are YOU doing HERE?!" I'm sure he was half joking, but it made me think of the struggle we all face with what we think we are supposed to do, and what people think is required to be "fit."

I thought back over my weekend and Saturday afternoon lazing in the afternoon sun sitting on the trunk of my car in the parking lot of Wally's Cheese Box eating grilled cheese sandwiches, a bag of delicious chocolate sandwich cookies sitting next to me, waiting to be enjoyed. Do I want to be healthy? Would I give that up?

Then it hit me. What I'm concerned about is optimal health and fitness for ME. And what does "optimal" mean? It means incorporating who I am, what I want, what's important to me, what's not, what I'm willing to give up, what I'm not willing to give up and what I want it all to look like into my choices and actions. The grilled cheese sandwich and the chocolate sandwich cookies aren't the "bad" parts of my life that I have to balance out by engaging in the "good" parts of my life, like going to the gym and denying myself other pleasures. ALL of those things are a part of my life. None of them are "bad" and none of them are "good." I just look at who I am, what I want, what's important to me, what's not, what I'm willing to give up, what I'm not willing to give up and what I want it all to look like and know if I'm keeping it balance or not.

I'm never going to want to give up celebrating, drinking wine, or eating greasy, fried foods and baked delicious things. Where it would break down for me would be in only considering THOSE parts and not the health, vitality and longevity that I want to have to enjoy those things. Giving up my health and vitality would be as big of a let down for me as giving up my baked delicious things. So who I am, what I want, what's important to me, what's not, what I'm willing to give up, what I'm not willing to give up and what I want it all to look like keeps it all in check. It's freedom from the good/bad distinction. I don't have to struggle with what I should and shouldn't do. I don't even have to refer to should or shouldn't, bad or good. I refer to who I am, what I want, what's important to me, what's not, what I'm willing to give up, what I'm not willing to give up and what I want it all to look like. I don't have to struggle with "I can" or "I can't." That doesn't mean I do everything that comes to mind, it just means that I can be empowered by taking actions that fulfill on what, at the end, I wanted it all to look like.

Thursday's Workout (no CAP)
AMRAP 30
200m Run
15 Box Jumps (20”)
12 Sit ups
9 KB snatches - alternating arm (24/16)
6 Pull ups

...and coming Friday (CAP)
3 Rounds:
3 min max Clean and Jerks (155/105)
Rest 1 min
3 min max Double unders
Rest 2 min

Two scores -- Number of Clean & Jerks and number of Double unders

The War of Art

2012-05-09T02:20:51+00:00

Written by Becca Borawski

Periodically, back when I was working at CrossFit LA, a wonderful thing would happen. I would walk in to my office and discover I had been gifted with a book. A few of you students, you know who you are, would come across titles you thought I would enjoy and would share them with me. Somehow you all had fantastic ability to choose books I would enjoy, by the way.

One of these books I only recently read, which was War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, given to me by the one and only Tom P. A few weeks ago while my boyfriend and I were enjoying an Internet-less, TV-less, phone-service-less weekend near Crater Lake, I read the entirety of War of Art in one day. It's actually a very easy read, so that's no feat, but it was seriously compelling and I wished I had read it sooner. But, books, like people, I think come to us when the time is right.

While the word "art" is in the title of the book, it is really for anyone wishing to start anything, to express anything, to become anything. I could probably write a thousand blogs out of this book, but I'd like to just share this passage for now:

It may be that the human race is not ready for freedom. The air of liberty may be too rarefied for us to breathe. Certainly I wouldn't be writing this book, on this subject, if living with freedom were easy. The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.

Who is your master? Who is the master of your health, your food, and your well-being? Is it YOU?

Wednesday's Workout (no CAP)
Overhead Squats 5-5-5-5-5
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5 rounds:
30 Mountain climbers
20 Bicycles
10 Jumping Lunges

...and coming Thursday (no CAP)
Complete as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of:
200m Run
15 Box Jumps (20”)
12 Sit ups
9 KB snatches (alt arm)
6 Pull ups

Lunch Hour - The Movie

2012-05-08T03:49:58+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

When I first watched Jamie Oliver battling to change school lunch programs a couple years ago, I was absolutely shocked at what I saw. The lack of nutrition, the level of indifference, the incredibly poor food choices parents make for their kids, and the "food" kids were getting fed at school was so bad that at times it made me sick. Kids all over this country are being taught that food doesn't matter, that choices don't make a difference, that fast food and junk food is OK. And who is teaching them? All the adults and parents who make poor choices themselves, who don't take the time to shop for vegetables, who don't cook dinner at home, and who send their kids to school with lunches filled with sugar and processed foods. They're also being taught that it doesn't matter from the school lunch programs, who's food quality, prep, and presentation is appalling.

Jamie was at the start of a revolution, and people like CFLA's Todd Spradlin are helping to build the momentum. Todd produced a documentary called "Lunch Hour" which just won the Impact Award at the Awareness Film Festival in LA. Below is the trailer. Please share this with your friends and family, especially if they have kids. If you're a CrossFit Affiliate owner, please share this with your community. Spread the word on Facebook, like Lunch Hour's Facebook Page. Building awareness, then creating action. Come on people, we can do it!

Tuesday's Workout (NO CAP)
Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
60 sec Handstand Hold
30 Squats
300m Run

... and coming Wednesday (NO CAP)
Overhead Squats 5-5-5-5-5
----------------------------------
5 rounds:
30 Mountain climbers
20 Bicycles
10 Jumping Lunges

Farmer’s Markets around Los Angeles

2012-05-07T02:57:20+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

With my raised consciousness from juicing, I've been starting to care more about the micronutrient content in the raw vegetables that I get out of my fridge. Up until now, I never really found the need to go to a farmer's market - we never ate enough vegetables to make it worth while going there. But now, I'm going through veggies like crazy... and I really want ones that have come straight from the farm - higher quality, less time from harvest to my juice glass and better taste! Last week I went to the farmer's market on Saturday at Virginia Park (corner of Pico & Cloverfield) and picked up some really fresh, really awesome veggies. And that got me thinking... when, where and what are some of the other farmer's markets that I could be going to over the course of the week?

With a little help from Google, I found this awesome resource from the L.A. Times - Farmer's Markets - Los Angeles. It's an interactive map in which you can click on an area and see all the farmer's markets, OR you can select a day of the week to see where all the farmer's markets are on that day only. Check it out, and set a bookmark... oh, and then don't forget to GO. So worth the effort!

"Welch, envious of the pink and purple shoes Eric is wearing, knowing how well it would match his outfit, waits for his opportunity..."

Monday's Workout (CAP)
30-20-10
Overhead Squats (115/75)
Push ups
Pull-ups

...and coming Tuesday (no CAP)
Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
60s Handstand hold
30 Squats
300m Run

It’s GO TIME!

2012-05-04T02:42:54+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

With a week left before Regionals, it's time for our team to ease back from training and rest up for the main event - next weekend in Pomona (for details, click here). Team CFLA is going in again as a major underdog, qualifying as the 28th of 30 teams from the Open. Lets see what sort of finish we can muster up this year! Big shouts out to our A team - Shirley, Lacie, Annita, Lindsey, Logan, Danny, Zach; and B Team - Hacker, Will, Ricky, Matilla, Jonesy, Lamar, Niki, Scott, Kevin B, Sam, Stanwyck, Lauren, Anne, Munoz, Danette, Steve W, Nina, Welch, Keith, Courtney, Angie, Tomas, Julia, and anyone else I might have left out that has helped us get where we are today. As you can tell, it really does "take a village". And last but not least, a big shout out to Kenny Kane - Team CFLA's coach... who's helpin' to keep this whole thing together. No matter how you guys do next weekend, we're all proud of you... especially in the way you represent CFLA!

Regionals are NEXT weekend... This video should put EVERYONE in the mood. It's GO TIME!

Big shout out to Travis Gates for the awesome video!

Friday's Workout
“Jackie”
For time:
1000 m row
50 thrusters (45)
30 Pull-ups

... and coming Monday
30-20-10 rep rounds for time of:
Overhead Squats (115/75)
Push ups
Pull ups