Team CrossFit Oakdale has been working so hard and having a ton of fun in the CrossFit Games Open!  After 4 WODs, capsule we are in 59th place out of nearly 100 gyms that entered in Northern California.  I have to admit, pilule we got smashed in WOD 12.1; 7 minutes of burpees (we finished 84th in this suckfest).  We’ve been fighting back every week and moving up in the standings.  The leader board displays the Top 60 teams in the region, and we made the front page for the first time!  Gyms are scored based on the top scores of 3 men and 3 women, so it’s a true team effort.  We have gotten better as this thing progressed and have identified some weaknesses, like high rep burpees and high rep wall ball shots.  Does that mean more of this stuff?  Not necessarily, it’s great to know what you...Read more

  8:30am Kids Class 9am Free Bring a Friend – Wall Ball Shots and some sort of pulling. The weather forecast does not look great for tomorrow, buy more about so it may be a bit close quarters at this time. 10am Advanced – WOD 12.4 11am Potluck! Happy St. Patty’s Days! The Games WODs have been taking a little longer then an hour to run through, so this may start a little later.Read more

The Go Nowhere Generation from the New York Times.  Depending on your views, salve many of us are a part of the generation described (I’m either Generation X or Y, price not that I care about these distinctions).  Some of the stories described bear a striking resemblance to people I am close to.  Side note:  I wanted to define, more about in my mind, the different generations.  I spent a few minutes looking at generations (The Greatest, Silent, Baby Boomers, X, Y, Millennials, and more.  Kind of interesting stuff.)   What is a “Cluster”? A Cluster is a Squat Clean into a Thruster.  The Cluster is in my top 3 favorite CrossFit movements.  It taxes the central nervous system, moves weight (bar, dumb bell, medicine ball) fast over a long distance, and requires great midline stability (core tension).  You may power clean, front squat, then thrusters.  BUT…I want you to...Read more

* I wrote this this morning before 12.4 was posted…with Muscle-Ups.   The muscle up is one of the coolest skills to learn in CrossFit.  The ability to pull yourself up and over an obstacle is functional and primal.  It is also one of the most difficult gymnastic skills for CrossFitters to learn and master.  The muscle up is accurately described as the biggest pull-up you’ve ever pulled, search and the deepest dip you’ve ever done.   I want to start integrating muscle ups into our regular training, # buy but that doesn’t mean you have to have them to complete the WOD.  The transition, pulling from the chest into a dip position (an essential component of the MU) can be taught to anyone.  We have many ladies that have, or are close to developing, a full, kipping pull-up.  What about the dip?  For many, the dip will require real...Read more

CrossFit has been around for a few years now.  In the greater community, this we have seen experts come and go.  Some have been great additions to the fold, others didn’t add as much.  Sometimes these departures led to drama.  CrossFit HQ has never really addressed any of the criticism surrounding events or decisions.  There are blogs and site dedicated to ripping CrossFit, and more specifically CrossFit HQ.  I’m not going to post these sites: you can find ’em if you want to.  While I don’t always agree with CrossFit HQ, you’re not going to find me bashing CrossFit HQ. If you’re interested, I came across “Pukie” on Facebook.  You can “like” Pukie if you want to.  “Pukie” takes shots at people criticizing CrossFit, HQ, workouts, whatever.  “Pukie” is funny, mean, and pretty perceptive.  It seems like “Pukie” is someone very close to the CrossFit HQ inner circle. Pukie is...Read more