Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Hill Runs
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Deadlifts then Burpees
He's just warming upphoto courtesy of CrossFit EastBay
Deadlift (DL) 2 Reps on the minute every minute for 10 minutes @ 85% of 1RM
Immediately following DL's 30 burpees for time
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Combat Fitness
image from http://www.lancers.org.au
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"Fran" & Goodbye
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
DeadLift/ Dips/ K2E
4 ROUNDS FOR TIME:
9 REPS 225# DEADLIFT
15 RING DIPS
21 KNEES TO ELBOWS
Post times to comments
Monday, September 28, 2009
Row/ Burpess/ DeadLift
3 ROUNDS FOR TOTAL TIME:
500M ROW
15 BURPEES
15 DEADLIFT 225/155
REST 3 MIN BETWEEN ROUNDS
I won't be there tonight, but the gym will still be open. Shoot me an email if you have any questions. threeriverscrossfit@gmail.com
Friday, September 25, 2009
Cancelled Class and Big Event Sat.
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View Larger Map
Thursday, September 24, 2009
DeadLift/ Snatch Pull
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Double Unders/ Push Press/ Air Squat
Stupid G20
I won't be able to make it up tonight or tomorrow night because of the G-20. The gym will still be open however so, I will post the WODs and you can do them on your own.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
OH Push/ Pull Ladders
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Row/ Muscle-ups/ Snatch
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
"Annie"
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Rowing Sprints
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Overhead Squat/ Bench Press/ Weighted Pull-ups
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
9/11
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Burpee Ladder
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Squats & HSPU
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
"Filthy Fifty"
Filthy Fifty from ThreeRivers CrossFit on Vimeo.
50 Box jump
50 Jumping Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings
50 Walking Lunges
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press
50 Back extensions
50 Sit-ups
50 Burpees
50 Double unders
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Modified "Daniel"
Dedicated to Army Sgt 1st Class Daniel Crabtree who was killed in Al Kut, Iraq on Thursday June 8th 2006.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Weightlifting Webcast
Rodger DeGarmo Memorial/World Team Secondary Qualifier WEB CAST
USA Weightlifting is pleased to announce that the Rodger DeGarmo Memorial/WT2Q will be web cast this weekend (August 29 & 30). This web cast is made possible by the USOC. To access the feed for this event, please visit the following link: http://events.usoc.org/weightlifting.
Please note that if the feed cuts off during or after a session, refresh your screen to continue viewing. We hope you will be able to tune in to this exciting event!
Unsupervised time
If you'd rather wait for a coach, I'll be there at 6PM.
Good Luck!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
5k for Jill
"J.T."
In honor of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Taylor, 30, of Little Creek, VA,who was killed in Afghanistan June 2005Photo Courtesy of CrossFit.com21-15-9Hand Stand Push-upsRing-DipsPush-ups
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thrusters & Fun
photo courtesy of CFNC
Then:
3rnds:
10x inverted burpees
25x double unders
Monday, August 24, 2009
Homework 8/24-29
Your homework this week isn't academic. Go to www.fgb4.org and sign up for the event Sat. Sept 26th. Then email all your friends and family and ask for their support. I've got some nice prizes all ready and plan on this being an even bigger success than last year.
Snatch Practice
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Row & Jumps
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Class Cancelled Saturday
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Adjusted Hours
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Hip Extensions/ Push Press/ Run
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Pull-ups & Box Jumps
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
2k row
Erin Cafaro, US Row Team gold medalist, San Francisco CrossFitImage courtesy of CrossFit Endurance2k Row for time.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Back Squats and pull-ups+ double unders
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Heavy Row& Thrusters
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
This week's homework
The Primal Blueprint Health Challenge from Mark Sisson on Vimeo.
It's doing the right thing for a month with a supportive community and there's a chance to win prizes. This isn't a competitive event. It's about taking that first step (or second because if you are doing CrossFit you all ready have taken the first step at the very least.) towards a healthier happier primal life.
Run/ Dips/ Pistols
5rnds:image courtesy of Drills & Skills.comCheck out how awesome his depth is
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
"Death by Pull-up"
Make sure you clean up your calluses.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"Reverse Push/Pull Jackie"
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
"Rowing Nicole"
AMRepsAP in 20min:
Sunday, July 26, 2009
This Week's Schedule
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Class Cancelled
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Front Squats Double Unders & PUll-ups
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Row& Thrusters
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
DeadLift/ Burpees & Run
Saturday, July 18, 2009
"Lynne"
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
"Shorter Harder Annie"
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jerk Practice
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Analyzing the Thruster
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Farmer's Walk & Muscle-ups
image courtesy of CrossFit Affliction
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Cleans Row& Burpee
image from the MidAtlantic Qualifiers courtesy of Havoc Fitness
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Muscle-ups
Monday, July 6, 2009
"Heavy Fran"
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Earn Your Leisure
Yesterday, I had a conversation with Lorenzo who relayed his frustrations with getting his family to understand CrossFit. They call it "progressive suicide". They think it's too hard and thus dangerous, and like many people, they think "fit" is looking emaciated rather than being able to actually do things. Why do we bother squatting and deadlifting if all girls care about is six pack abs and bulging biceps? Why do we lay it all out in a WOD, when the rest of the fitness world tells us that we can achieve fitness with just 20 minutes of walking 3 days a week? There seems to be this idea that as humans continue to evolve, we don't need high intensity exercise and that we will adapt to modern activity demands, or lack thereof.
I argue that following this line of thinking is the real "progressive suicide". There was a great article by Paul M. Ribisl, Ph.D. in the ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal from March/ April 2004. In this article he points out some important things to consider. First, the vast majority of our current genome was established during the Paleolithic Era (50,000-10,000 B.C.) This was a time when man had to hunt and forage for food and lived an active lifestyle of "feast and famine". This lead to the survival of our ancestors with the "Thrifty Gene", which allowed for the caveman to efficiently use energy both when it was available and when it wasn't. This same gene has been passed on to us today except we are in a period of "feast and rest" which our "thrifty gene" seems to be punishing us for. We have not adapted well to the diet of the Neolithic Era. In the days of the hunter/ gatherer, man used 1,000Calories/ day in physical activity and ate an average of 3,000Calories/ day for a 3:1 intake to expenditure rate. Today we eat 2,100Calories/ day and only expend 300Calories/ day in physical activity. This gives a 7:1 ratio and explains why obesity is on the rise.
The advancements of the Neolithic Era were an amazing achievement in their time and allowed for a greater abundance of food in less competitive environment. This created the conditions for society to grow and develop and as our farming practices got better, the human population increased. But, the development of agriculture was still physically demanding, and the roles of society still demanded physical labor for the vast majority of people.
The downside of this increased abundance is that in these quantities, we weren't meant to be eating grains, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners. Our genetic code isn't evolutionarily programmed for that. Combine that with the wonders of modern medicine in cholesterol medication, insulin, blood pressure meds, triple bypass surgery, etc. and we have gone against
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Run/ KettleBell Swings/ Pull-ups
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Big Box Jump
image courtesy of CF West Santa Cruz
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Clean Practice
Image courtesy of TheSpec.com
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Frankenstein Squats
ScareCrows
Tall Muscle Clean
ScareCrow Cean
Tall Clean
Hang Clean
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Shoulder Press/ Pull-ups/ Double Unders
image courtesy of St Pete CrossFit
Shoulder Press 3 of 5
Weighted Pull-up for 1rep max
Double Unders for max reps
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Adrenal Fatigue: The Naturopathic Boogey Man
Considering these symptoms and causes, it's clear that absolutely everyone is at risk of developing adrenal fatigue. For those of you with experience in pathology, you know that this is not possible. Conditions with symptoms that overlap and apply to everyone smack of fear mongering. Adrenal fatigue reminds me of a book I read by Dr. Sarno, The Mindbody Prescription. In it, Dr. Sarno discusses the many psychosomatic "diseases" that have progressed over the years. It used to be that everyone had ulcers, then migraines, all children had ADD, back pain, tension myositis syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, and I feel that adrenal fatigue is simply the next ailment that everyone has. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying here, if you have these symptoms, clearly something is not functioning optimally, but the diagnosis of adrenal fatigue is a blanket diagnosis with no actual medical basis. Further, just because something is psychosomatic doesn't mean you aren't actually experiencing the symptoms, but there must be an underlying condition. I believe in the power of the mind, but I believe that symptoms are the manifestation of underlying physiological disturbances.
Briefly, an opinion on why adrenal fatigue is an unlikely, if not impossible, condition. For thousands and thousands of years of human evolution, humans as a species existed like wild animals fleeing from predators, chasing prey, surviving extremes of cold and heat, fighting with other tribes, and fighting for survival on a daily basis. The idea that adrenal glands incapable of keeping up with daily high stress situations would have survived natural selection is absurd. Surely ancestors who did not have the capacity to produce adequate amounts of cortisol, aldosterone, and adrenaline would have been eliminated by the demands of survival long before civilization began to offer a slightly less dangerous life. Even still, let's imagine that some of those genes survived the paleolithic era, it would be hard to argue that the demands of daily life today are anywhere near the capacity of our adrenals. I would believe that our young men fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are under a daily level of stress that could exceed their bodies' ability to produce stress hormones, but I do not believe that even the most overtrained athletes are anywhere near that stress level.
So, if it's not adrenal fatigue, what is it? Well, if you are in fact suffering from "adrenal insufficiency," then you likely have something more quantifiable like Addison's disease, Schmidt's syndrome, polyendocrine deficiency syndrome, tuberculosis, or amyloidosis. Most common in 30-50 year olds, it can be a life threatening disease. Inadequate production of the adrenal hormones causes weight loss, fatigue, body aches, low blood pressure, and hair loss. It can be diagnosed through blood tests and treated by taking hormones that mimic the hormones normally produced by the adrenals. Because of this hormonal deficiency, it is necessary for persons suffering from any of these conditions to carry an injectable form of cortisol with them and an identification card to alert emergency personnel to inject cortisol if they are found injured.
If you are not suffering from a chemical deficiency, but you are suffering from the symptoms of "adrenal fatigue," you are likely suffering from what was previously accepted as overtraining. Realize that once you reach a level of overtraining, it is absolutely miserable and can take up to 3 months to recover from. We can only push our bodies so far before we surpass our ability to recover and progress. If we push this threshold for too long, it can take weeks and even months before we return to a level where our capacity for recovery matches our level of training again, but it is necessary that we take this time off if we are to improve and progress as athletes.
As always, if you suspect that you may have some form of adrenal dysfunction or other condition, you should see your health care professional, and don't be afraid to ask for your doctor to order tests. It is your health, a good doctor will respect your concerns.
The Experience Is In the Coaching
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been paying great attention to how other Crossfits and other gyms operate. It will come as no surprise that the primary focus of “globo-gyms” is simple, make money and don’t get sued. Not even safety, but simply don’t let people get injured in a manner where they could blame the facility. This is why there are machines everywhere, joint dysfunctions, movement dysfunctions, and fat people. I’m not criticizing them because they are fat, I’m only pointing out that their fitness program is failing to provide them with results.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what about Crossfits? What is the primary focus of a Crossfit? First off, Crossfit is not a gym. The gym is simply a tool that Crossfit utilizes. You could build a gym in your garage just as easily, but a lifting platform, Olympic barbell set, and a pullup bar doesn’t make it a Crossfit. What is it that you, the athlete (or “client” as globo-gyms call you), are coming to Crossfit for? The answer is coaching. If you are looking for a gym, you can shop around for one with a spa, find one with a pool, look for something that Rocky Balboa would be proud of, or create your own in a basement or garage. If you’re looking for instruction and coaching, there is no equal to Crossfit.
This instruction is what makes Crossfit so special. It is an understanding of the movements both from experience and knowledge. The environment is conducive to developing great coaching. Anyone can study and get their CSCS, NASM, ACE, etc. Those certifications say nothing about the individual’s ability to coach or correct movement though. I’ve seen coaches with Master’s degrees and PhDs who can’t recognize or correct improper lumbar extension on a shoulder press or sacral flexion on a back squat. The certification, degree, or knowledge amounts to very little without the ability to apply it. The goal is to not only to perform the workout, but to perform it correctly. Simply completing the range of motion is not enough.
This reflects back on trainers above all. I believe Nicki Violetti posed the question first, if you are not providing coaching, then what are you providing? As a coach/trainer, whatever you chose to call yourself, it is your job to provide the best level of instruction and attention you are capable of. This means guiding your athletes through class from beginning to end providing feedback, both reinforcement and correction. Proper instruction requires 100% of your attention. Anything less than that is a failure to provide your athletes with appropriate coaching. Without it, small deviations in form such as an anteriorly rotated pelvis will manifest into conditions such as facet syndrome or SI joint dysfunction. It is not enough to just recognize the big things like a spine in flexion while deadlifting, the over extension is just as serious and actually more likely to cause injury. A failure to recognize these faults is as much a failure to coach as providing no instruction at all. Perfection is non-negotiable.
Simply because it’s still fresh in my mind, I refer back to my recent “Tour de Crossfit.” At some Crossfits, I saw coaches who prescribed the workout, gave instruction during the workout, and nothing more. At other Crossfits, I saw coaches who were more like cheerleaders than coaches, providing plenty of verbal motivation but relatively no useful instruction. But, at the best Crossfits, I saw coaches who from the time class started, their only focus was the athletes. They weren’t working out, they weren’t carrying on conversations, they weren’t cheerleading, they weren’t warming up for their workout, or distracted with anything. They were there to do one thing, coach. They led the athletes through the warm up, they instructed them on proper form and technique for the workout, and they provided both constructive criticism and positive reinforcement.
A great example of this professionalism is my friend, Sage Burgener. I attended as many of Sage’s weightlifting classes as I could get to. Each class, it was clear that she was there for her athletes. Class started with a warm up, where she not only instructed us on the progression, but also provided feedback on form and technique. Then she would begin the workout where she provided constant attention and instruction to the athletes. Her carefully trained eye quickly picked up every deviation in form, and she provided instant correction. While working with Sage, I learned to correct the second and third pull of my clean, and because of her instruction, I PR'd on my front squat while there, and I recently PR’d on my snatch upon my return home. The athletes who train with her regularly are very lucky to have such a focused and knowledgeable coach. Her positive attitude and genuine encouragement drove me to push hard, but her attention and instruction maintained my form and technique. Each time I worked with her, I improved as an athlete. I think that all coaches should follow an example like Sage and strive to conduct their classes in the same manner.
I also had the pleasure of training with Ben Oliver at Crossfit Coronado. Ben’s coaching is what I have based many of my recent changes on. Ben began class with movement prep which he led us through from movement to movement. He then explained the workout and took time to determine appropriate modifications for each athlete. I settled on a 1.5 pood kettlebell and a 30” box, however, a 2 pood kettlebell and a 36” box was available for those with the courage. During the workout, Ben moved among the athletes providing feedback and instruction. Because of Ben’s attention and knowledge, I was able to correct my form on my handstand pushups which allowed me to perform them pain free. His enthusiasm was contagious, and it was evident that everyone enjoyed training with him. Afterwards, Ben instructed everyone to cool down with some stretching and foam rolling. It was a great environment, one of the friendliest groups of people I’ve met, and an awesome coach to work with.
I relate these experiences because this is what makes Crossfit so unique. I could’ve bought a day pass to a YMCA and done some lame workout by myself, but at a Crossfit, the coaching you receive makes the workout. The same workout at any other place just woudn’t have been the same experience.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Jerk it up
photo courtesy of www.dynamic-eleiko.com
4x Push Jerk lower the bar, Split Jerk
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Snatch Practice
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fight Gone Bad 4
We will be hosting FGBIV Sat, September 26th. Last year, our little gym raised $3,000 to support The Wounded Warrior Project and Athletes for a Cure and the CrossFit community as a whole raised over $500,000.
You can find more information at www.FGB4.org Sign up under the ThreeRivers CrossFit team. There will be divisions for all levels from beginners to elite CrossFitters. If you can't participate, please make a donation to support these two great causes.