CrossFitLA - CrossFit Workouts of the Day

Living for Today

2013-05-24T05:42:56+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

How are you LIVING? Do you spend your day bouncing between things you'd really rather not be doing? Does your stressful job occupy most of your life and take you away from the things you'd really rather be doing?

Just in case you forgot, here's a reminder... THIS IS IT. LIFE IS HAPPENING NOW, and just like that, it's gone, over, done, 'poof'. You don't get a Mulligan or do-over. It's now or never... and in spite of how it might feel, you do get a choice - yes, it's actually all a matter of choice.

Do yourself a favor - take 20 minutes of 'me time' to watch this video about a young man named Zach, who's story can't help but touch, move and inspire. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 10 (odd/even)
1 Back Squat (90-92.5% 1RM)
HR Pushups - max effort single set

B) 4x4 min rds. 4:2 (4min work: 2min rest)
Perform each movement for 1 min
Rest 2 minutes at the end of each round
1) Arch Rock/Hold
2) DU
3) Hollow Rock/Hold
4) DB Sq. Cl. - AHAP

AND COMING MONDAY

MEMORIAL DAY "MURPH"
CFLA members sign up for heat times HERE

For Time:
1 mile run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Squats
1 mile run

Beginning scaling: 1/2 mile run, 10 rounds of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats, 1/2 mile run
Intermediate scaling: 1 mile run, 15 rounds of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats, 1 mile run
Advanced scaling: 1 mile run, 20 rounds of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats, 1 mile run
RX = Straight through

Favorite Non-Health Food

2013-05-23T03:30:41+00:00

Written by michael stanwyck

There's that one thing that you're gonna eat no matter what, "diet" be damned. And it's WORTH it! You've got the basics worked out and this is your indulgence. It's the think you'll never give up.

For me it's probably pizza, specifically the Empire State from N.Y. & C. in Santa Monica. But...since I'm going to Chicago in a couple of weeks I'll probably experiment a little more while I'm there.

What's yours?

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT (CAP)
COMPETITION
3 rds for time:
10 Clean 165/110
20 Chest to Bar pullups
30 Wall Ball

AND COMING FRIDAY (NO CAP)
PRACTICE
A) EMOM 10 (alternate movements each min.):
1 Back Squat @ 90-92.5% of 1
HR Pushups - max effort single set
B) 4x4 min rds. 4:2 (4min work: 2min rest)
Perform each movement for 1 min
Rest 2 minutes at the end of each round
1) Arch Rock/Hold
2) DU
3) Hollow Rock/Hold
4) DB Sq. Cl. - AHAP

Bayocean, Oregon

2013-05-22T03:27:57+00:00

Written by Becca Borawski

Last month Winslow, his dad, and I drove out to the coast for the afternoon. Winslow told us about a place called Bayocean where he wanted to take us. We'd looked for it on previous trips and missed it, but this time we found the tiny sign and drove out onto the Bayocean spit.

Bayocean is known as "the town that fell into the sea." At the start of the 20th Century it was a resort town, a bit like Avalon on Catalina, I imagine. It was named because the Tillamook Bay is on one side of the spit and the Pacific Ocean on the other. It was quite technologically advanced for its time, with a power plant and a telephone system. It even had a giant indoor natatorium with a wave machine.

Bayocean became a popular tourist destination, despite the fact it was a three-day steamboat trip from Portland. As the little town grew more popular, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to help out. The final leg of the boat trip from Portland to Bayocean, across the Tillamook Bay, was rough and the engineers proposed building two jetties to reduce the waves.

The residents of Bayocean couldn't afford two jetties, so instead of following the advice of the engineers they raised enough money to have a single jetty constructed.

And the single jetty changed the behavior of the waters in such a way that the beaches, and then the town itself were eroded and disappeared into the sea.

What does this have to do with you? It's a lesson that different isn't always better. That newer isn't always better. That if an expert gives you advice, changing it to fit your own preconceptions isn't always ideal. Sometimes listening is better. Sometimes simpler is better. And sometimes what you've got is working just fine.

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
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 7 (no drop, increase wt.):
1 Power Snatch
1 Hang Squat Snatch
1 Overhead Squat
B) For Reps - 4 sets on :90 of:
5 Overhead Squat (@ 65% of top EMOM wt.)
Max Chin ups
C) For Distance and Reps:
5 rounds on 3 of:
1 min row
1 min ring dips

AND COMING THURSDAY
COMPETITION

3 rounds for time:
10 Clean 165/110
20 Chest to Bar
30 Wall Ball

Courageous Action Takers Only

2013-05-21T02:42:08+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

We've all experienced at one point or another in our life the huge gap between having a good idea, and taking action that leads to results. Take the food you eat for example. It's probably safe to say that all of us at one time or another have had the idea to 'EAT MORE VEGETABLES'. Right? Be honest... unless you're a vegan, there is a very high probability that you're not eating 'enough' veggies.

Now, it's one thing to have the idea. It's quite another to set an intention and take action. That is exactly what a group of researchers studied and published in the British Journal of Health Psychology. They studied the likelihood of people to take action (working out) and get results based on three different groups - a control group, a motivated group and a motivated group that was intentional about creating an action plan (to read more about the study click here)

You know what they found? The people in the group that set the intention and created an action plan were 3x more likely to follow through and be in action!

So, do you wanna eat more vegetables? Do you REALLY want to eat more vegetables (and this works for ANYTHING you want to accomplish)? Try filling in the blanks in this sentence...

'Next week I'm going to eat ____ meals on ____ different days that are composed of at least _____% vegetables'.

And if this sentence doesn't work for you - write one that does... for anything you want to accomplish. Lets hear your sentences in comments (CAUTION, this really will work, so if you don't really want to be in action, don't write a sentence!)

Sometimes you feel like a nut!

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) For time:
400m run
B) BS (Back Squat) in 10 min:
3,3,3 - 90-92.5% of 1RM by 3rd set
C) EMOM 8:
3x PJ (Push Jerk) - From Rack, increase wt. ok
D) AMRAP 4:
5 strict pullups
10 butterfly situps (no abmat)
E) For time:
400m run

AND COMING WEDNESDAY (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 7 (no drop, increase wt.):
1 Power Snatch
1 H. Squat Snatch
1 OHS
B) For Reps - 4 sets on :90 of:
5 OHS (@ 65% of top EMOM wt.)
Max Chin ups
C) For Distance and Reps:
5 rounds on 3 of:
1 min row
1 min ring dips

Winning the Game

2013-05-20T05:51:36+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

Quick question (please answer in comments): If your health and fitness were a game, would you be winning? If yes, fantastic! If not, why not?

Cameron

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
COMPETITION

A) Individual comp for best costume.
-voted on by class
- winner gets choice of drink of choice: coconut water, smart water, etc.
B) Team Chipper.
Teams of 4 - 2 people working at a time:
DL 20,000 lbs (beg 14,000)
300 butterfly abmat situps (beg 200)
Hang Squat Clean and Jerk 6,000 lbs (***beg 4,000)
100 TTB (beg v-up)
2 mi run (beg 2K total)

AND COMING TUESDAY (CAP)
PRACTICE
A) For time:
400m run
B) BS (Back Squat) in 10 min:
3,3,3 - 90-92.5% of 1RM by 3rd set
C) EMOM 8:
3x PJ (Push Jerk) - From Rack, increase wt. ok
D) AMRAP 4:
5 strict pullups
10 butterfly situps (no abmat)
E) For time:
400m run

Slip Slidin’ Away

2013-05-17T05:09:29+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

You're slipping. Yup... you're currently slip-sliding down an invisible and imperceptibly gentile slope toward your eventual and unavoidable demise. Awesome way to start Friday - huh? Well there is SOME good news in all of this... although you can't avoid being on the slope and sliding, you can control the steepness of the slope, and hence the speed at which you're slipping.

You see, every choice you make every single day of your life has an impact... the more obvious ones like how many hours of sleep you get each night, the quantity and quality of the food you eat, the frequency and intensity of your exercise, and the amount of sugar you consume. And then the not-so-obvious ones like the way you handle the stress of your job; the intensity, speed and pressure you put on yourself to succeed and 'win' at life; the height of your high heels and the amount you wear them (and your posture at your desk), the quantity and quality of the 'me time' that you give yourself (or don't give yourself), the frequency and quality of your conversations with your mom and dad, the amount of kindness, love and joy you feel and express in your everyday life. And that list can go on and on and on...

Now - all of these things have an impact of the steepness of your slope. The real question is, do you REALLY want to know which have the most? And once you do, are you willing to do something about it? Or would you prefer to just continue sliding without looking or knowing since it's slow enough that you don't really notice each day anyway? Here's the thing - at some point you WILL know, when you get far enough down that slope - and it probably won't be nice and gentile (nope, life will probably give you a smack if you're looking the other way).

The choice is yours, and whether you knew it or not, you're making it every day. What's it gonna be?

Carolyn showing us how it's done!

FRIDAY (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 10:
alternating movements:
3 Clean below knee (no drop) @ 70% of 1RM
:30 max dips (ring, bar, or box)
B) :45:30:15:30:45 of:
Hollow rocks
Arch rocks
C) 4 rounds for reps (:90:90) of:
:30 max pushups
:60 max du’s
:90 seconds rest

AND COMING MONDAY (NO CAP)
COMPETITION

A) Individual comp for best costume.
-voted on by class
- winner gets choice of drink of choice: coconut water, smart water, etc.
B) Team Chipper.
Teams of 4 - 2 people working at a time:
DL 20,000 lbs (beg 14,000)
300 butterfly abmat situps (beg 200)
Hang Squat Clean and Jerk 6,000 lbs (***beg 4,000)
100 TTB (beg v-up)
2 mi run (beg 2K total)

Done Deal

2013-05-16T03:30:58+00:00

Written by michael stanwyck

What if the future was a done deal? Not written by an outside force that you have no control over, but written by you?

As I see it, there are pretty much two ways to look at tomorrow. It's either completely random and shaped by influences beyond your control or you say how it's going to be and do the things that someone would do if that's what the future already looked like.

It's kind of like being on a roller coaster. Once you're on you don't wonder where the tracks are going to take you. Sometimes it looks like you're headed back the way you came, sometimes you're upside down, sometimes fast and out of control feeling, and sometimes really...really...really...slow. But that it's going to be a wild ride, that you're going to get out of it what you came for, and that you're going to end up at the station in one piece, electrified, thrilled, and excited isn't in doubt.

What if the tomorrow was like that? What if you knew where you were going to end up and started doing the things that took you there. Like the roller coaster simply unfolds from the end of the ride to where you are and was built to thrill you, freak you you, put your stomach in your throat, and make you scream, the road to tomorrow might be built the same way. A road already carved by your say-so through the wildness and vastness of time and space.

And when you are heading in all sorts of unexpected directions -- upside down, back from the direction you came in, plummeting towards the ground -- you will know that this is what it looked like to get there. Of all the things ever screamed on a roller coaster, I don't think anyone's ever screamed "It's going the wrong way!" Everyone there knows that this is what it looks like to have a great freakin' time. If you doubted it, you'd definitely wish for an emergency stop button or an ejector seat. How often you do that on your personal roller coasters? Start ready to have a great time and then scream "It's going the wrong way!" and pull the rip-cord.

Now here's the thing. That roller coaster thing is just a metaphor. It's not actually true. I could just as easily have created a metaphor of billiard balls, clicking and clacking off of each other, paths predestined from the moment they started moving, that could have been just as convincing. The question here is, given that neither are true (or BOTH are true), which one would give you not just the tomorrow you want, but the today you want as well?

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) In 15 min - Deadlift 3x5 @ 87.5%
B) AMRAP 5:
5 Overhead Squat @ 77.5% 1RM Sq. Sn.
10 Toes to Bar
C) 5 rounds for reps and distance:
:30 strict chin ups
:30 rest
:60 row
:60 rest

AND COMING FRIDAY (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 10:
alternating movements:
3 Clean below knee (no drop) @ 70% of 1RM
:30 max dips (ring, bar, or box)
B) :45:30:15:30:45 of:
Hollow rocks
Arch rocks
C) 4 rounds for reps (:90:90) of:
:30 max pushups
:60 max du’s
:90 seconds rest

I Put Cream In My Coffee

2013-05-15T02:55:20+00:00

Written by Becca Borawski

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in rules and trends. You dive headlong into paleo and you get all super strict. Or you do crazy things like put butter in your coffee. (Seriously, people, you're killin' me with the Instagrams.) And you do these things, and maybe you feel some benefit from it, but really you're caught up in rules and concepts. And I'm not making you wrong for doing that. I'm saying we're all human, and sometimes we get excited, and it's okay to take a step back and ask yourself, "Why AM I doing that?" and "IS this useful to me?"

And maybe the answer is "yes" and you keep going exactly how you're going. But also know it's not "wrong" for someone to eat rice sometimes. And it's not wrong to put cream in your coffee. And, in fact, you can even do those things and be healthy. And you can do these things and still be "cool."

Each body is different. Literally, each human body works differently. And each human brain works differently. So to imagine that we all have to eat the same way or we all have to respond the same way to a food, supplement, or stimulus, is kinda crazy. So it's okay to not follow the "rules" of paleo and it's okay to drink your coffee however the heck you want to drink your coffee. These ideas are just starting points from which to experiment. Maybe for your body and your sport you need it a little different. And maybe for your emotional well-being you need cream in your coffee. Or maybe you actually really like the butter!

None of it is wrong. And to experiment, to go to extremes and come back and refine, is actually fantastic. But make sure you come back to YOU. Your choices should reflect what's best for YOUR body and YOUR mind, rules and trends be damned.

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
COMPETITION

“CrossFit Total”
In 45 minutes, exactly 15 min per lift:
1RM Deadlift
1RM Press
1RM Back Squat

AND COMING THURSDAY
PRACTICE

A) In 15 min - Deadlift 3x5 @ 87.5%
B) AMRAP 5:
5 Overhead Squat @ 77.5% 1RM Squat Snatch
10 Toes-to-Bar
C) 5 rounds for reps and distance:
:30 strict chin ups
:30 rest
:60 row
:60 rest

Rest Day for a CrossFitter

2013-05-14T04:34:43+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

So, have you tried it yet? You know, the article you saw on Facebook last week from the NY Times about a 'magical and perfect' 7-minute workout (this one here). I wonder of the MILLIONS of readers of this article, how many people actually gave the 7-minute workout a whirl? Were you like everyone else that looked at it for a second decided you knew better, and moved on? After all, you do CrossFit, right?

Well, I tried it. And here's what I thought... it was great! For a 3-5x/week CrossFitter, it will feel like a good warm-up - and I think on a day you're taking as an easy or rest day, if you want something quick and complete - this is great (maybe sub burpees for jumping jacks). But I know that for MANY people out there, it will feel like a good workout. It moves well through the body (hits everything except pulling - which without a pull-up bar or barbell is almost impossible to do), is as intense as you make it (since each movement is a 30" max effort.)

Go ahead... give it a shot. And let me know what you think... AFTER you try it.

Clearly that barbell WILL move if I just think about it enough.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 8 @ ~ 77.5% of 1RM Sq. Sn
2 PP
2 Snatch Balance
B) 10 minutes Dip position/skill work
C) Max rep dips (adv kip): 1:1
:60
:45
:30
:15
D) For time and reps:
At start of clock:
400 run for time
At 5:00: 2 Min max reps strict pullups
At 10:00: 400 run for time

AND COMING WEDNESDAY (CAP)
COMPETITION
“Crossfit Total” In 45 minutes, exactly 15 min per lift.
1RM DL
1RM Press
1RM Back Squat

Can You Give Yourself Some Mom Love?

2013-05-13T04:20:52+00:00

Written by Andy Petranek

What sort of post-workout state do you find yourself in usually? I mean when you finish a WOD in which you've given a good, hard effort, you've sweated a bunch, you feel wiped out, and (or but) the time you posted on the board is somewhere in the middle of the pack. What is that little voice inside your head telling you? That you did a great job? You're awesome? You're unstoppable? You're making great progress? You are amazing? Or do you find it telling you that you: could have gone harder; should have used more weight; wimped out in the last round; should be practicing your double unders more; should be able to run faster; should have finished with a better time or more points?

Which set of little voices sound more familiar to you? If you're anything like most driven people, it's probably the second set - the more negative statements about what you 'could' and 'should' have done.

Now here's what might sound like a funny question... which set of little voice statements sound more like what you Mom (or your ideal Mom) might say to you (when you were a little kid)? You know, that person in your life that really doesn't care about the results you got, just that you had a good time, you were totally safe doing it, and in who's mind you can do nothing wrong, and in who's arms you feel totally safe.

Here's why I'm asking... I know that I spend plenty of time reminding myself of all the ways I don't quite measure up. I haven't up until now spent nearly as much time acknowledging my efforts, my greatness, my progress (you know, the way Mom would regardless of how well I really do). I'm writing to both acknowledge this, and to suggest that if you're anything like me, spending some time giving yourself some "Mom love" might actually feel good, nurturing, taken care of, and who knows, could lead to some pretty different results in the gym and in your life.

Try it on and let me know what you think.

Hey Leo: 6am misses you (can you tell?). Get well soon!

MONDAY'S WORKOUT (NO CAP)
MENTAL TOUGHNESS

4 sets of 4 - 100 m Franklin hill sprints on :90
- 3 mins between sets

AND COMING TUESDAY (CAP)
PRACTICE

A) EMOM 8 @ ~ 77.5% of 1RM Sq. Sn
2 PP
2 Snatch Balance
B) 10 minutes Dip position/skill work
C) Max rep dips (adv kip): 1:1
:60
:45
:30
:15
D) For time and reps:
At start of clock:
400 run for time
At 5:00: 2 Min max reps strict pullups
At 10:00: 400 run for time