Let's give a warm welcome to Carlos Gibson, our newest athlete. Carlos completed his final intro session with your truly this morning. He'll be joining the morning crew for a thrice-weekly dose of CrossFit.
Welcome aboard!!
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Advice for Starters
Guys,
We have several new people starting in the box over the next week. Think back to when you started.. What would you recommend to a beginner? Post to comments. I will eventually link to this post via our Starters blog. Thanks!
Left: Zach instructing a class
Welcome, Tara!
Let's give a warm welcome to Tara Chambers, our newest member. Tara completed her 3-session PT course with Dan and will be starting in the evenings this week. Welcome aboard, Tara!!
WOD 7.27.2009
"Helen"
Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups
Post time to comments.
WOD 7.24.2009
'Filthy Fifties'
For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders
Post time to comments. 60 minute cap. Consider scaling the reps if you're new (30 is a good place to start).
Introducing...
...CFDV's newest instructor, Colleen O'Connor! Colleen is a longtime client and a stalwart in our gym. She has a master's degree in physical therapy and will be completing her CrossFit Level One certification later this year. Please wish Colleen a warm welcome and give her lots of love and support.
Left: Colleen at the CrossFit Games Mid-Atlantic Qualifier, where she placed 7th (barely missing the CrossFit Games).
Happy Trails, Bill!
Bill Tirado has decided to leave CFDV to pursue other interests. Today was his last day as an instructor. I want to personally thank Bill for everything that he did for our gym, our members, and me. Bill, you'll be sorely missed and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Oh, and we'll be pissed if you don't stop in from time-to-time!! Everyone please leave your parting messages in the comments section.
Thanks, Bill!
Fundraiser for Alice Martin Jennings
Guys,
Here's a note from Ally regarding a fundraiser that she's running for her Aunt (Mary and Liz's sister, too). Please click on the link for more info or to help/contribute. Thanks!
Hey Everyone,
As you may have heard by now, I am organizing a fundraiser in memory of my aunt, Alice Martin - Jennings, with tremendous help and support from my family.
As you may have heard by now, I am organizing a fundraiser in memory of my aunt, Alice Martin - Jennings, with tremendous help and support from my family.
Please see the attached link for details and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
http://www.firstgiving.com/
http://www.firstgiving.com/
Please send this page on to anyone who might like to donate/attend
as I am sure there are people I am missing, especially some of my
aunt's friends!
Many Thanks,
Alice Kelly
WOD 7.16.2009
'Pullup Fiasco'
Ten rounds for time of:
3 Weighted Pull-ups, 45 pounds
5 Strict Pull-ups
7 Kipping Pull-up
For weighted pull-ups place a 45 pound dumbbell between the legs above crossed ankles and jettison the dumbbell after third rep and continue with strict pull-ups and then the kipping pull-ups. Coming off the bar or going to ground constitutes termination of a set.
Post time and number of sets to completion.
Left: Jenn Devine Kennard
Chalk Etiquette
Nobody says it better than the guys at CrossFit Montclair:
Congratulations, Tanya!
Tanya Wagner, 2009 CrossFit Games Champ and all around cool lady. Tanya and Josh run CrossFit Apex in Harleysville, which holds the coolest group of CrossFitters you're likely to find (except for at CFDV, of course.. :) ). What an achievement!!
Today's Class
Great job today, everyone! Here's the group shot:
HeatherBars
Guys,
Rich and I are thinking about placing an order for some HeatherBars. HeatherBars are made with all-natural ingredients and and portioned to be exactly 4 Zone blocks. I tried these at a recent CrossFit cert and they're really tasty. If you'd like to try some, please indicate in comments and note how many you want. We'll place an order next Monday and will divy them according to the comments.
Thanks!
Left: Heather Keenan
Books in Review: Practical Programming
Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore's Practical Programming for Strength Training is the definitive guide on how to design programs for the weight room. My criticism of Starting Strength was that it did not offer any set programs, now that I have read both books I understand that they are companion pieces; Starting Strength teaches an athlete how to lift, while Practical Programming teaches an athlete how to put exercises into effective programs.
Practical Programming begins with an explanation of how little is actually known about strength and conditioning. Few western universities offer courses in strength and conditioning and little practical research has been done in the last 50 years. In fact, many training techniques are based on translations of Soviet texts. The authors emphasize the point that the best coaches are the ones who have learned via practical experience from training all kinds of athletes.
The book next introduces Hans Selye's theory of General Adaptation Syndrome, which states that to affect progress, training must disrupt homeostasis to cause supercompensation (an improvement over where the body was before). It is important that the training does not disrupt homeostasis to the point that supercompensation cannot occur and the body actually slides backwards into a state of overtraining. Athletes are categorized into four categories: novice, intermediate, advanced, and elite. The level of athlete is determined by the volume, intensity, and complexity of training needed to disrupt homeostasis and cause supercompensation.
No one starts a weight training program without some goals in mind. Goals may include: hypertrophy, speed, power, or strength. Regardless of goals, gains are best made by multi-joint exercises that heavily tax the body's large muscle groups. The authors point out that athletes in most competitive sports need power (the ability to move loads quickly) more than any of the other goals. In order to achieve ideal performance for different sports, a coach must understand what metabolic pathway the athlete is competing in (phosphagen, glycolytic, or oxidative), and try to match said pathways to the strength and conditioning program. For example, a 100m sprinter is going to benefit from doing sets of an exercise that last 10-15 seconds, rather than a continuous circuit of exercises lasting 20 minutes.
The book sets out definitions for the basics of weight training: reps, sets, volume and intensity. The book's definition of intensity is specific to strength training and contrasts with the traditional Crossfit definition of intensity. Crossfit's definition of intensity is: intensity is equal to power (force times distance over time). Practical Programming's definition of intensity is: "the amount of weight lifted, or the average amount of weight lifted in a workout, or a group of workouts, in relation to 1RM" (Kilgore and Rippetoe 55). The average amount of weight lifted would be found by dividing total volume by total reps. Volume is the sum of the weight times reps for each set. By these methods, the book sets forward precise ways to measure the effect of a workout in terms of total volume and intensity.
The meat of the book describes training programs for athletes at 3 of the four levels of training: the novice, the intermediate, the advanced athlete. The elite athlete is admittedly outside of the purview of the book, as elite athletes are at the point in their training where they are on top of their game and their training has become highly specialized. Many willing to dedicate years of consistent hard work to their training can achieve an advanced level, but few will realize the elite level.
For the novice, progress is easy. Novice athletes will recover and make progress from workout to workout. All kinds of training will improve their fitness, but it should be noted that all kinds of training should not be done. It is important that the coach still coaches intelligently, recognizing that they should be setting the novice up for future success. A novice's program is built on basic exercises (squat, deadlift, press, bench press, and chin-ups/pullups) on a 3 times a week schedule. As the novice advances, a program can start adding more variance (front squat instead of back squats, powercleans instead of deadlifts).
An intermediate athlete progresses in terms of weeks of training. More work and complexity must be programmed to ensure the athlete continues to progress. At this level, exercises will start to become more sport specific, with more assistance exercises added. Athletes may program exercises into any one of the following methods: Texas method, speed sets, a split routine, or the Starr model.
An advanced athlete progresses in terms of months of training. At this point, training has become very sport specific and is built around competitions. Athletes must use different cylic training programs to peak at the correct time before a competition. Methods for an advanced athlete include: the Pyramid Model, the Two Steps Forward, One Step Back Model, the Building Blocks Model, and the the Hormonal Fluctuation Model.
The book concludes with a brilliant chapter on "special populations," which society seems to define as anyone who is not a healthy man less than 35 years old. The authors start with women, about whom they point out: "women are not a special population. They are half (more, actually) of the population" (Kilgore and Rippetoe 243). While there are differences in hormones and muscle distribution, women need the same kind of training that men do, as we share the same basic physiology. The authors point out that one notable difference between women and men in the weight room is that women can lift larger percentages of their 1RMs that men can.
You are never too old or too young to benefit from some kind of load bearing exercise, as the authors point out in the remaining section on "special populations." Practical Programming prints a series of helpful guidelines for safely training children. Aging takes its toll on the body, but one can maintain youth and even exceed the strength levels of their youth by lifting weights. A major consideration for athletes over 35 is their declined capacity for recovery following a strenuous workout; careful thought must be given to the proper use of periodization to maximize older athletes' performance.
WOD 7.6.2009
Mornin':
6 rounds for time of:
6 Front Squats 135 lbs
6 Burpee Box Jumps 20"
Evenin':
Meet at the Ridley Creek State Park for a 10k run. We will congregate at campground #17 near the exercise court. Run starts at 6:10!
Left: Kieran Kelly running shuttles during a recent team workout.
WOD 7.5.2009
"Eva"
Five rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps
30 Pull-ups
Post time to comments.
Bob...
...is a Bad MF'er..!
WOD 7.3.2009 and 7.4.2009
The next two days will be the same workout(s) each day. Here are the two workouts:
A) CrossFit Total
B) 50-foot Shuttle Runs for a minute, 7 max effort rounds - score best and worst rounds (number of line touches)
Our intention is that everyone do CFT. If you know you're going to make it both days however, we'll probably ask you to do shuttle runs on Friday and then CFT on Saturday. This way we spread people out and minimize 'le cluster' (that's French for 'the cluster') on the squat racks.
REMEMBER: 10:00 workout both days (no 18:00).
WOD 7.1.2009
"Nicole"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Run 400 meters
Max rep Pull-ups
Post number of pull-ups completed for each round to comments.
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