The CrossFit Games season is here!  CFO will be hitting our full, click educated effort on Saturday morning.  Saturday will also be a free bring a friend workout.  Please come out and cheer on Team CrossFit Oakdale as we try to do more burpees than any team in the world.  I said before that we would do the Opens WOD as a gym, and CrossFit HQ has made it pretty easy for the whole world to play.  There is still time to sign up on the CrossFit Games page.   CrossFit has started the event with a simple movement to test work capacity.  No equipment is required and it’s very easy to judge.  It’s not “sexy” or complex, but extremely effective.  So far, over 55,000 people have signed up for the Open, and I would imagine the collective jaws fell to the floor when burpees, and just burpees, came out...Read more

Fitness is…by Blair Morrison.  Blair is a NorCal boy and Games athlete.  Blair was 5th last year and 7th in 2009.  He also went to Princeton, cheapest and appears to be one of the more cerebral athletes in the CrossFit, or any athletic, community.   [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AWdpfbhCPI&w=420&h=315] Jeff Martone, the CrossFit Kettlebell Instructor, explains the beginning of the Turkish Get Up.   Workout of the Day   Strength/Skill Turkish Get Up Work of 3’s on each side.  Keep it light.   Metcon AMRAP 15 12 Hang Power Cleans 95/65 Walking Lunge 12 Kettlebell Swings 53/35 Walking LungeRead more

I went to college at a strange place, erectile The Citadel, a state military college in South Carolina.  For all 4 years, but mainly in the first year (known as plebe/knob year) you are given a series of tasks meant to overwhelm you, and force you to keep your composure and make decisions.  It’s basically a 4 year leadership lab, as the ability to stay cool and composed is essential to nearly any task, especially leading men and women.  From day one, upperclassmen would shout commands to get you worked up.  This concept was applied to every aspect of life: academics, physical fitness, personal appearance, you name it.  When you stared screwing stuff up, whether it was tying you shoes, pouring a drink or marching, an upperclassman would scream “DON’T SPAZ!”  I wouldn’t be surprised if a teach told me not to “spaz” when I was there.   While “Don’t...Read more

MobilityWOD. With Opens upon us, website like this it’s a good idea to do what Kelly Starrett calls “organizing” you body. That means doing mobility drills on upcoming movements, # approved recovering sore tissue and working problem areas. In the recovering sore tissue department: a group of us attacked out legs on Saturday, leaving us in a hobbled state. To get back to full mobility, foam rolling is in order, but K-Star shows, sometimes a partner can help. I go in spurts on the MobWOD page, but I anticipate using it a lot in the coming weeks. We’ll share mobility ideas, if you see something cool that works for you, bring it to the gym! Getting Ready for the Opens – Emmaline Goes After Ring Dips and 85# Cleans (almost her body weight) Workout of the Day Strength Front Squat 3-3-3 Use 2-3 sets to warm up. Work as partners...Read more

“Shoe game” that is!  I’ve been doing CrossFit for a few years now, and I have owned nearly every type of shoe that might be conducive to CrossFit.  Aside from my original running shoes, I initially bought some old school, flat bottom Saucony’s. I bought Alison a pair of Inov-8 shoes for Christmas at On The Run in McHenry Village.  I have been aware of Inov-8’s since 2009, and I don’t know why, but I never picked up a pair.  Maybe I didn’t like the color (they were all bright blue).  Later, I didn’t buy Inov-8’s based on some durability reviews.  I was also concerned they appeared overly “narrow” in the toe box. I thought long and hard about my new pair of shoes (It was between the Inov-8, New Balance Minimus or the Reebok CrossFit shoe) and I gotta say, I was way off all this time!  I don’t...Read more