Tabata Deadlifts

Yay!

Do as many reps of Deadlifts as possible in 20sec on: 10 sec off for 8 rounds. Your score is the total number of reps. Use weight anywhere from 55lbs- 225lbs.

Sprint Day

Hey, today should be a good day to have Chad teach some technique stuff that he learned last week. See him in the picture on the left hand side.


SWOD:
Power Clean 5 of 3
Dead Hang Pull-ups 3 sets of max reps

WOD:
10x 40yd Sprints

rest 30-45sec between sprints

post fastest times to comments

Squat/ Sprint/ Burpees

SWOD:
Bench Press 3 of 5

WOD:
30 Back Squats- BW
Sprint around field
30 Burpees

Run or Row

Run: RPE of 15 for 30 minutes... Do Not Exceed 15 RPE for the first half of this effort. If you feel good, increase RPE as to how you see fit... Just never go below 15 RPE.

C2: RPE of 15 for 20 minutes... Do Not Exceed 15 RPE for the first half of this effort. If you feel good, increase RPE as to how you see fit... Just never go below 15 RPE

If you missed a WOD earlier this week, also do:
"The Volkswagon"
21-15-9
BW Bench Press
Pull-ups

Snatch and BoxJump

Squat 3 of 5

Press 3 of 5

5 rounds for time of:

6 Power Snatch 135 lbs
10 Box Jumps 24" box

Post times to comments.

Congratulations!

Picture courtesy of CrossFit Endurance

Congratulations to Chad (sans mohawk above) for getting completing both CrossFit Football and CrossFit Run and Endurance certifications the past two weekends. He will be bringing back a wealth of knowledge to our gym.

You really have to appreciate the sacrifices he was willing to make bearing the conditions in SoCal for a week ;)

Chad, hoped you had a good time and can't wait to see what you learned out there.

Trevor

Video courtesy of CrossFit Rockwall

9AM
"Trevor"
As a team of 4 complete:
300 Pull-ups
400 Push-ups
500 Sit-ups
600 Squats

We will be accepting donations to buy cooling vests for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. What better way to recognize Memorial Day?

Remember, evening classes are canceled so you can cheat on the Zone and enjoy your BBQs.

Safety First

Safety First

by Chad Cilli

As Crossfit grows, we are met with a growing opposition which insists that Crossfit is inherently dangerous. First off, what isn’t dangerous? You could get hit by a car running down the side of the road or on your bike, you could drown swimming laps, people have suffered from rhabdomyolysis following marathons, Ironmans, and spinning classes, you could subluxate your radial head walking your dog. Should we do nothing? In my opinion, doing nothing has to be the most dangerous thing to do. As obesity continues to rise in this country, I expect to see more insulin induced disease and a further decline in our overall health as a nation.

What makes Crossfit dangerous? The most common attack is the high rep “technical” movements. This would be a good argument if you looked on youtube or facebook for a bit. Many “Crossfitters” butcher these lifts in pursuit of so-called “scores.” To those of us who actually understand the stimulus, these “Crossfitters” are idiots.

“What about rhabdo?!” What about it? The best defense against rhabdo is Crossfit. The next best defense against rhabdo is smart programming. There are alot of bad coaches and even more unknowing athletes who are willing to blindly follow any workout thrown at them. Often, we forget how easy it is to break people. It is better to err on the side of too light than too heavy. Great attention must be given to considering each individual’s ability and level of conditioning.

I could go on, but I think you’re getting the point. So, what do we do? As Crossfit certified trainers and coaches, and as Crossfit athletes, it is OUR responsibility to make the program safe and show others that we know what we are doing. Let’s start with the ego jerks. A clean, snatch, deadlift, etc, performed correctly is safe at post max weights. This means that if you’re max deadlift is 300 and you try to lift 500, nothing will happen. No injury, no tearing muscles, no broken bones, nada. Done improperly... that’s another story. How do we fix this? Two ways: either get a lighter weight or go slower. Let’s say for instance you’re doing Isabel. It starts well, but after a few you start having to press to lock out instead of landing locked out. It would be nice to say that you did it as prescribed, but... this is a perfect example of a situation where you need to drop the weight. Regardless of whether or not pressing to lockout is immediately dangerous to you, pressing to lock out is improper for the movement and thus unacceptable. Another example, I recently witnessed a workout where athletes’ form completely broke down. The workout had sets of heavy deadlifts. Each progressive set, backs were more rounded than before, and the once smooth deadlifts suddenly became jerky and labored. In this situation, a judgement has to be made. Either the weight should be dropped because it is too heavy to maintain good form, or the athlete should be instructed to slow down and perform each rep strictly. One of the things I have learned is that unless you’re doing a sub 2 Fran, nobody cares whether or not you’re doing it with 95 or 75 pounds, and no one is impressed by a sloppy performance no matter how fast you did it. I am much more impressed by someone doing Fran slowly, deliberately, and correctly than I am by someone doing Fran quickly, uncontrolled, and improperly. I know that I’m not the only person who feels this way, you would be amazed how many affiliates do not have a leader board and instead simply post that day’s scores. Something specific I would like to share; while at Crossfit Invictus in San Diego, I heard CJ Martin say, “Who is going to win this one?” before a workout. A few athletes said “I am.” CJ replied, “No one’s going to win. I want to see you do it right.” I instantly felt comfortable and happy to be there.

Now to the programming. High reps of GHD situps, pullups, burpees, deadlifts, etc, are a loaded gun. There is no reason for a first time Crossfitter or even a regular novice to be performing these movements in high rep schemes. In fact, I don’t think I would even let a new athlete attempt a Hero WOD. This is just plain logic and common sense. Injured athletes make for poor referrals. Furthermore, it is unwise to “overprogram” WODs. Some coaches have developed a very sensitive and tuned sense for programming. If you are aware that you tend to overprogram, accept it, pick someone else’s programming to follow, and move on. My personal recommendation is Maximilian Mormont’s programming at www.maxfitusa.com. Some coaches tend to overprogram the bodyweight WODs and movements. This is unlikely to injure athletes, but leaves them deficient at strength movements and heavy WODs. Other coaches overprogram making WODs too heavy and for too long. These coaches injure athletes and add to the image of Crossfit being dangerous. The heavier it is, the shorter it should be. If you frequently see your athletes grabbing their backs, stretching their backs, or complaining of back pain, you are overprogramming, failing to scale appropriately, or you are not coaching the movements properly. Regardless, it’s your bust, fix it. Along with proper programming for the WOD, a warm up and cool down should be performed for before and after each workout. The warm up must raise the body temperature, stimulate the nervous system, and prepare our bodies for physical activity. The cool down should be just that. We should static stretch to tell our bodies to relax and release tension on our muscles. We can also use this time to increase flexibility and foam roll to stimulate recovery.

Finally, I will address safety in the gym. In my travels, as limited as they have been, I have been to about a dozen Crossfit affiliates. I have seen many good things and a few bad. First off, everywhere I’ve been has been adequately spacious. Large open floors allow for equipment and athletes to move safely and freely without fear of collision. Rubber floors are also a must. Not because they soften falls, but because you’re less likely to slip on them. All equipment should be sturdy and secure. The Ironmind racks appear to be the best I’ve seen so far. No fluff, no frills, just good solid steel racks. The GHD needs to be stable and positioned far enough away from activity that no one is in danger of colliding with the athlete using it. The Sorinex models are only slightly more expensive than other brands, but they are far superior in construction. The safest gym layouts have had almost “stations” for each athlete to train at. These stations ensure that athletes have ample room to complete the workout without fear of colliding with another athlete or equipment.

Another thing I noticed was that nearly every gym has taped their pullup bars to ensure a safe and secure grip. The few that did not have tape had a texture on the bar that was rough and held the chalk very well. As many of you know or witnessed, I had a recent experience slipping off a pullup bar. Thankfully I suffered no serious injuries, but another few inches over and I doubt I would be writing this. This carries over into all of the equipment. Everything should be as “non-slip” as we can make it whether it’s pullup bars, kettlebells, rings, or the floor. This is a no-brainer, but just like in the home, most accidents come from slips and falls.

As I stated earlier, it is OUR responsibility to make Crossfit safe. Any idiot can throw a bunch of weights around till they’re tired, our duty as coaches and athletes is do it properly every time. There is no substitute for proper form. Through these simple, and quite obvious, changes and steps we can ensure the safety of ourselves as athletes and of those we coach.

Survival of the Fittest Challenge

The Pittsburgh JCC is hosting a fitness challenge Sunday from 9-noon. This is coming a little last minute, but I had the chance to let most of you know all ready.

Details:
7 events:

1. Push-ups: Max reps
2. Pull-ups: Max reps (dead hang/ no kipping)
3. Sit-ups: Max reps in 1minute
4. Body Fat % (I know this has nothing to do with fitness, but what the hell, we'll play their little game)
5. 1mile Expresso Bike ride: max speed
6. 5minute row- Max distance in 5minutes on level 16 (which tells me it isn't a C2)
7. Bench Press- Max reps with 70% BW
   

Cost: $30

Directions

If you plan on showing up, wear your 3RCF T-shirt.

Hopefully, we'll see some of you there.

"The Woje"

SSgt Mark A. Wojciechowski

SSgt Wojciechowski was killed while conducting combat operations against anti-Iraqi forces in the Al Anbar Province in Iraq on April 30, 2009. He was 25 years old.

Wojo was a close friend of my sister Ann and was one of Swiss' housemates. Out thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends who are sharing his loss. This Memorial Day, Wojo will hold a special place in all of our hearts.

"The Woje"
AMRAP in 20 minutes:
10 rock ring (or gymnastics ring) pull-ups
10 burpee box jumps
5 clapping push-ups

Deadlift/ Ring Dips/ K2E

SWOD:
Power Clean 5 of 3

WOD:
10rnds:
3 DeadLifts (275/185)
6 Ring Dips
9 Knees to Elbows

Endurance WOD: (to be done either 3+ hours before or after the WOD)
Run 1:1 work:rest
5min, 4min, 3min, 2min, 1min

Post results to comments

Memorial Day

Memorial Day kind of snuck up on me this year. We will cancel our evening class and hold a team event at 9AM.

We will be taking donations to benefit the Trevor Win'E Memorial Fund which buys cooling vests for men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"Trevor"

As a team of 4:

300 pull-ups

400 push-ups

500 sit-ups

600 air squats

Post to comments if you plan on participating. If each member on the team of 4 donates $50, it will be enough to buy 1 cooling vest to get sent overseas.

AMRAP & Sprint

Picture of Annie Sakamoto rocking out the KB swing from CF Rockwall

SWOD:
Squat 3 of 5
Bench 3 of 5

WOD
AMRAP in 12min:
10KB swings (2/1.5pood)
40yd sprint

8x200

Run: 8 x 200m @ 90% of best avg. Rest 1 min between intervals

7,7,7x7

SWOD:

Deadlift 5 RM (add 10 lbs from last 5 RM) *use proper warm up sets working up to 5 RM
Strict Pull Ups 3 x max reps (3 mins rest)

WOD:

7 rounds for time of:

7 Overhead Squats 135 lbs
7 Box Jumps 24" box
7 Clapping Push Ups

Post times to comments.

"7 Minutes Left, Down by 6”

Do you recognize anyone in this picture from the 1st ever CF Football cert?

Perform for time:

Thrusters at 135 lbs for 1 minute 
Rest 1 minute
Pull Ups for 1 minute
Rest 1 minute
Row for Calories 1 minute
Rest 1 minute
Burpees for 1 minute

*Keep Score by Total Number of Reps Per Round

Post total score to comments.

On your own:

30:20 x 8 rounds, 30 seconds on 20 seconds off, all out effort! 

Post longest and shortest distances to comments

How to Measure Fitness

When starting CrossFit, we talk about quantifying and measuring fitness in order to assess your progress. The most obvious way that we do that is with the clock. But is that really the best way to measure your progress? When starting off, it probably isn't.



If your squats on your first Fundamentals WOD looked like the picture on top, and 3 weeks later, they looked like Stephanie from CrossFit Invictus below that, but you times were slower; would you be disappointed? You shouldn't be. Yet, I've seen CrossFitters hard on themselves for a slower time, or less reps, when they've moved up on the scaling ladder.

Remember, the clock is just a method we use to quantify fitness, but it isn't our only way. Fitness is 1. Competency in all 10 General Physical Skills, 2. Increased ability to perform tasks, and 3. Competency in all 3 energy pathways. So, for a novice, time is nothing more than a motivational tool. Range of Motion, weight, quality of movement, and exercise selection are the real measures you should be focusing on in your log books.

Our coaches at ThreeRivers CrossFit scale by intensity (which is really self scaling by the mental & physical limitations of the athlete), weight (to be kept within the limits of an athlete's ability to maintain safe form), volume (sets, reps, duration), ROM (pushing the limits of an athlete's flexibility and strength), and finally exercise selection (the athlete's ability to perform the Rx'd exercise).

So what does that mean? Let's take a look at a novice doing "Diane" (21-15-9 reps of 225lbs DeadLift and Hand Stand Push-ups). This athlete may be so deconditioned that the safest way to introduce him to "Diane" is 15-12-9 reps of PVC pipe deadlift and Pike Pushups to 3" above the ground. I've scaled the exercise selection, the ROM, the volume, the weight, and while I will encourage the athlete to push himself hard, I will put a much greater emphasis on proper movements rather than intensity.

So, when this athlete comes back to "Diane" and uses 135# DeadLift and Band Assisted Hand Stand Pushups with full ROM, do I care if his time is slower? Not at all. He has increased his work capacity and fitness so much just by being able to perform those movements that he could take an hour and a half and I'd be happy with his progress. Only when he is doing the WOD as Rx'd does the clock become anything more than a motivational tool.

Which leaves me with one last point. I love the use of the clock in CrossFit. I love the competitive nature it encourages. I love the effectiveness it gives in measuring progress once you are doing the WODs as Rx'd. But, that effectiveness is only valid if you are maintaining a standard of quality. If you are shorting your reps, if you cut your ROM, if you don't give every movement your best effort towards perfection, that little number on your stop watch tells you nothing. To be honest, I don't really care if you are a clock whore. If I catch you, I'll laugh at your lame efforts and mark it under "modifications" on the white board. But really, I'll just be sad for you because you are missing the true intent and spirit of CrossFit.

So, keep pushing hard, and keep chasing PRs, but also do it with an awareness of what those numbers really mean, and keep the integrity to have it mean something.

Train Hard, Have Fun!
John

DeadLift/ Power Lunges/ Pull-ups

15, 10, 5
Heavy DeadLift
Power Lunges
Pull-ups

Post times to comments

Sprints

Power Clean 5x3 (PR last set of 3)
Chin Ups 3 x max (rest 3 mins)

8x 40m sprints
30sec rest between sprints

Post weights, reps, and fastest/ slowest times to comments

Endurance work:
Either 1 mile hill run w/ 20lbs vest
or 1500m row with damper between 8 and 10.

Power snatch/ Bench/ BoxJump

Strenght WOD- 3 of 5 Back Squat

WOD-

21, 15, 9

Power Snatch 135 lbs
Bench Press 185 lbs
Box Jump 24" box

Post times to comments.

Rest/ Make up Day

Use today to make up a WOD missed from the past two days, or if you were a good little boy or girl and didn't miss a workout; take today for a well deserved rest.

DeadLift 1 set of your 5 rep max.

For time:
20 Thrusters (135/95)
2 Suicides
15 Thrusters
4 Suicides
10 Thrusters
8 Suicides
5 Thrusters
10 Suicides

Post weights and times to comments

Squat/ Press/ Pull-ups

Big Kids do Pull-ups

3+ Hours before the WOD run/row/bike/swim for 20 minutes cover as much distance as possible.

WOD
Squat 3x5 (add 5 lbs from last workout)
Press 3x5 (add 5 lbs from last workout)

Then for time:
100 Pull Ups Post weights and times to comments

"Hansen"

Image courtesy of CrossFit HQ

Marine Staff Sgt Daniel Hansen died February 14th in Farah Providence, Afghanistan when an IED he was working on detonated. Daniel is survived by his mother Sheryll, his father Delbert, his younger sister Katie, and his twin brother Matthew (also a Marine).

"Hansen"

Five rounds for time of:
2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps
30 Burpees
30 Glute-ham sit-ups

Post time to comments.

CFFB Total

CF Football Total

Power Clean 1 Rep
Squat 1 Rep
Bench 1 Rep
Deadlift 1 Rep

*Perform a singal maximal effort for the lifts listed above. 
*After warm-ups, 3 attempts are allowed.
*Total must be done in the specified order.
*Combine all 4 lifts to create CF Football Total

Post total to comments.

Snatch & Row

Ryan of Panther CrossFit at the Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers

4 rounds for time:

15 Power Snatches 95lbs 

250 Meter Row 

Post times to comments.

Running for Performance Enhancement & Injury Prevention

We will be hosting a running clinic on Saturday May 30th from 11AM-4PM. Cost is $40/ person

*Make running easier and more enjoyable!

*Learn injury prevention and rehab methods

*Get personalized video analysis of your stride

*Learn drills to improve your running technique

*Learn to run like this

This clinic is for runners of all abilities from sprinters, to marathoners, from Plympic hopefuls, to complete novices.

Send an email to threeriverscrossfit@gmail.com to get registered. 

Hand Stand Pushups

3 sets of max reps

Then run or row:

4x5 min intervals w/3min recovery between rounds.

Hold maximal distance possible on each of the 5 min rounds.

Foul if you get slower or lose distance on each round.

Foul = 2 min Isometric Squat hold.

Post scores to comments.

 

Tuesday 090505 "Cinco de Mayo"

5rnds:

5 DeadLifts

5 Squat Cleans

5 Front Squats

5 Push Press

5 Back Squats

(95/65lbs)

Post times to comments