There will be NO barbell strength training today. Instead, # sale we will be doing a gnarly barbell WOD.  It would make a weightlifting purist blush.  Or puke.  Get comfortable with the awkward movement of a burpee on the barbell. Whenever I decide to do “Smoking Gun”, this song is in my head until I finish the WOD.  Do you love psychadelic guitar freak out country rock as much as I do?  Any My Morning Jacket fans out there? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51DD_wdXXm8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]     “Smoking Gun”  7RFT at 155#/100# 4 Burpee Deadlifts 3 Burpee Power Cleans 2 Burpee Squat Cleans 1 Burpee Squat Clean & JerkRead more

Below is my favorite CrossFit video of all time.  James FitzGerald won the first CrossFit Games in 2007.  The sport, buy if you could call it that, was not what we would recognize today.  You can see from James’ movement that we have come along way in a short time.  Kettlebell swings got smoother and faster, no butterfly kip, and James was dodging parked cars to go faster.  The Home Depot Center this ain’t.   But that doesn’t make this any less important.  James is a different guy.  He was a driving force for CrossFitter’s to start thinking of the “sport” of CrossFit.  He is extremely cerebral.  He was one of the first guys to train multiple times a day, really break down workouts, and put true thought into how to get better.  After winning the first Games, James, who is an absolute metcon warrior, focused on improving his Olympic...Read more

Thigh-Popping Success on a Bike Lies in the Quads from the New York Times. How Many Olympic Runners Dope from the New Yorker   Workout of the Day Strength Back Squat 5 sets of 2, # sale add 10# from last week (remember, view we started with 65% of 3RM).  Rest 60 seconds between sets.  We have 4 racks, doctor so work together if needed. Metcon Perform the maximum reps of the following movements: Wallball Shots Ring Pushups Toes to Bar This is not a timed event.  For each movement, you may warm it up, but once you decide to go, get as many reps as you can without stopping.  Wallball Shots are terminated by any stopping.  Ring pushups are terminated by a knee touch or loss of core stability.  Toes to Bar are terminated by coming off the bar.Read more

In the words of Andy Stumpf, about it “You don’t drink coffee?!?! And you call yourself a CrossFitter?!” [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjz2urBYHnA?rel=0&w=560&h=315] I drink coffee.  Lots of it.  For the most part, I drink it black, although I like heavy cream from time to time.  I prefer my own coffee to anything store bought (but I like Peets – even in Raley’s – over Starbucks). I feel like my home coffee game is pretty strong.  For years, I brewed in a coffee pot with a mesh, non-paper filter.  My pot was a metal carafe, as I don’t like the taste of coffee in the glass carafe as it sits on that hot plate. Alison and I recently had out coffee game upgraded.  I picked up a Chemex Coffee maker, which uses a paper filter and gravity to make an excellent cup of coffee.  You will need a teapot, or a electric kettle,...Read more

Over the weekend, health a handful of the older members of Team CFO (myself included) took on the Masters qualifier WOD for the Proanox “Diamond of the Tough.”  It was a 2 parter, the first part being a 3RM Back Squat.  Part 2 was the classic triplet of “Cindy.”   I haven’t done “Cindy” (AMRAP 20: 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats) in 4 years.  Like I said before, I used to do it once a month, and I felt like I “moved on.”  I was wrong, I haven’t moved on.  The workout was challenging, fun, and left a mark.  The beauty is, in CrossFit, you never really move on.  If you keep getting better, you can do more work, and it just gets harder.   Before Regionals, another competitive CrossFitter referred to the original named WODs as the “easy” workouts.  I looked at him like he was crazy.  Fran...Read more