CrossFit Games 2009 Individual Competition

Tomorrow the individual competitors will challenge themselves and each other to see who's the fittest person on Earth.

The competition, courtesy the official CrossFit Games 2009 site:

General Rules
1. The movement standards are typical HQ unless otherwise stated.
2. Each athlete will be ranked according to their time or score relative to the other athletes for that workout. Their final score for the workout will be equal to their rank.
3. The overall ranking going into each event will determine the reverse starting order for that event. For example, the athletes that win the first event will get to go last in the second event, while the athletes that come in last in the first event must go first in the second. The athletes in the lead (those with the lowest running total) after two events get to go last in the third event. And so forth.
4. After the second event, the bottom ten men and the bottom ten women (those with the most points) will be eliminated from the competition.
5. After the fourth event, the remaining bottom ten men and ten women will be eliminated from the competition. At this point, there will be approximately 55 athletes competing in Saturday's final event (for each men and women).
6. After the fifth event, the 16 men and 16 women with the lowest total points will be invited to compete on Sunday. If by chance there is a tie for 16th place, the athlete with the best single placement in any of the five events will be awarded the invite.

The first five workouts (out of eight total):

1. A 7.1k road & trail run with some nasty elevation.
2. A deadlift race. Starting at a weight of 315lbs for men, 185lbs for women, increase in 10lbs increments until you fail or someone catches you.
3. A sandbag (70lbs men/35lbs women) 170m sprint with a 100' elevation gain.
4. 500m row, Hammer a 4' stake (3' ladies) into the ground, 500m row.
5. A wallball/snatch couplet.

Check the official Games site for details. After some eliminations, the remaining competitors will have the chance at 3 more workouts on Sunday.

Good luck to Jenny Olson, Charity Vale, Kallista Pappas, Jason Neago and Jordan Holland who are representing Seattle and the Northwest! Did we send some winners? Uh huh.

Responsibility to self

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend. Enjoy it with fam and friends, brats and beer, fireworks and plenty of sleep? Good because it's time to get back into it!

Get prepared to use your upper body this week. You should see some cosmetic changes to the gym and I promise I'll get those other rings back up for use. We'll be building parallettes throughout the week, so bring some cash moneys if you want a set of your own! Also, I should be getting some more kettlebells.

Keep hitting it hard guys, you're making me beyond proud to be your trainer.

ps

If you haven't taken your "after" pictures, get ready to take them now!

pps

It's Day 6 so you owe 6 squats and 6 pushups!

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Original Facebook post here.

"A Little Motivation?"

So I just watched this video on the Crossfit Journal called "The Road to the 09 Games" about Heather Keenan, a future Crossfit Games athlete (I was under the impression that she wasn't going to compete this year). Anyway, she was talking about her motivation and one thing that she said was, "Every time I go to eat something, it's like...is that' gonna get me closer to the games? Or like, every time I'm in a workout and I'm like feeling tired, like I'm taking a break I'm like, 'Alright, is Tanya [a fellow competitor who placed in front of her in the East Coast challenge, and won 2nd overall at the 08 games] taking a break right now?' ... It's like, grab your fucking bar and get it up, you know?"

I thought I'd just post this up to urge all of us to really think about our goals. What are we doing this for? I know many of us have set goals with Dru, but are these goals just cause he asked us to create them, or because we want to get better in one aspect in our lives. Now think, what are you doing to get closer to that goal? Is that last cookie, brownie, cupcake, or bite of rice gonna get you closer to what you want to achieve? If your goal is obesity, cardiovascular disease, weak and brittle bones, muscle flaccidity due to too much adipose tissue, respiratory depression, diabetes, psychological disorders such as depression, and renal failure, then congratulations, you have taken one step towards that goal. Sound harsh? Sure is. But hey, that last bite didn't get you closer to a long life of good health. And while that one bite, or cookie, or whatever poor nutritious food will probably not kill you (I hope and pray for), it's a step in the wrong direction, even though it may be a minuscule step.

Is that break you are taking mid-WOD because you are tired? Or because you cannot physically lift that weight? (Remember, if you can laugh or talk, then you can get another rep in...) Are we taking a water break because of dehydration, or because you want an excuse to take a quick break?

Many of us have been hitting it hard core for months now. I've seen improvements in EVERYONE. But we need to extend our discipline from the box to our day-to-day lives. Look at it this way, even if we work out 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, that is still less than 3% of the week. What does that mean? 97% of our week is spent NOT working out. So we all need to find a way to make sure that we can best maximize that 3% of hard work. We all can improve, and I can be the most guilty when it comes to messing up. Find your own goal, and decide, if that bite of food will get you closer to that goal. If not, then change it. And then grab your fucking bar and get it up.

- Andrew Valle

We call this "the slight edge", "greasing the groove" or "the tipping point". The little things do account for the big things later, so don't use excuses for shortcomings. Keep it going strong for every little thing you do and I guarantee that you'll reach your goals, break your limits and be happy because isn't that what we all want to accomplish?

Another Birthday WOD

Happy Birthday Sheena and Adrian D.!

You have all been showing your dedication to health and fitness and I love it. Some of you are even doing two-a-day workouts since adding the 6 am class. To those few- YOU ARE CRAZY! Stop working out because you're making me look bad.

This weekend is the fourth of July so what are your plans? If you're free from 12pm to about 3:30pm you should join our team for the 2009 Wallingford Street Scramble. It's a 90 minute scavenger hunt across Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. Here are last year's results. Come talk to me or Elizabeth if you want to join in.

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Congratulations to all those who completed the first month of the BEACH BODY BURPEE BONANZA. July calls for a refresher: Day 1 = 1 squat and 1 pushup. Tomorrow will see 2 squats + 2 pushups. Continue on until August.

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Article of the Day:

"Miss Manners" - CrossFit West Santa Cruz

CrossFit boxes as a rule are not that big on formality. Shirts? On or off, go for it. Cussing? My delicate sensibilities can handle it. Grunts, groans, screaming? Hey, whatever gets you through the WOD. Blood, sweat, tears? As long as it’s not the 70s band, yeah, no worries. Short shorts, long shorts? Whatever floats your boat, man (no thongs, sorry Golden). Chalk? My life is covered in it. Make fun of Golden or Cliff? Knock yerself out (see line above). Not formal tends to be an understatement at CF West.

However, ahem, there are a few points of etiquette that should be covered. Good sportsmanship, support, and respect. That’s it. That is what we demand at CF West. Well, that and blood, sweat, and tears…but you can keep your firstborn. Seriously folks, all three points go hand in hand and are pretty much a no brainer.

CONTINUE READING ...

EARLY BIRDS

We now have a 6am class scheduled Monday through Thursday, so let's review our schedule:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday:

• 6am
• 9am
• 12pm
• 5:30pm
• 6:30pm

Fridays are "open gym" schedules. Talk to me during the week for details.

YOU MUST RSVP FOR THE CLASS YOU PLAN TO ATTEND AT LEAST 4 HOURS IN ADVANCE. CALL, TEXT OR EMAIL ANDREW.

Triple Extension

It's the body position that most Olympic Lifters and CrossFitters must strike when performing the clean and the snatch. It is defined as full extension of the ankles, knees and hips plus a HUGE shrug of the shoulders. The driving force behind the elevation and upward momentum of the bar (or dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, keg, small animals and children, etc). Jump and land, my friends. Jump and land.

Yesterday's 6:30pm class pictured above KILLED IT yesterday. Beautiful (if immature) hang power snatches. There's a bit of arm pull that's happening, but it's because y'all don't trust yourselves and are jumping aggresively enough. It's okay though. You'll get better. We'll all get better!

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Today's 6am class was a hit. It will be added to the schedule now! Thank Heidi when you see her.

The boss is back in Seattle!

just for the weekend. And guess what?! We're going to keep going with the $125/unlimited classes special for the month of July as well. Lucky you.

WE WILL HAVE A CLASS FRIDAY MORNING @ 6am for you early birds. I'll add the class if the demand is really there.

I want to congratulate each and every one of you who's been so dedicated to building this gym up as well as building your strength and conditioning. Back squats, front squats, overhead squats, push presses, hang power snatches, ring rows- you do it all. Shannon, Max, Paolo, Andrew V. and, of course, we can't forget Winnie. You guys are (unfortunately) becoming the face of the gym..

(That was a joke.)

But really, let's spread the word around Cap Hill. They NEED to know what CrossFit is. They NEED to be in here working with us.

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Article of the Day:

"FUTURE SELVES"

by Patrick Cummings

I was leaning against the windows of the Walgreens, waiting for the 66 bus to come and bring me to the gym. Evening rush hour was slowing everything down. A young guy was pacing the sidewalk nearby, asking every second or third person if they might donate money to save the children, or the whales, or the trees.

She was a quarter of the way across the street before I saw her. When she stepped off the curb, I’m sure she had the light. But now, as she pushed her walker, the light was changing and a stream of cars could do nothing but watch and wait. Part of me wanted to go over, pick up the old lady and carry her the rest of the way. Every step was progress, but barely.

I admired her persistence, sad that it took her five full minutes to cross the street. I thought it wasn’t as sad as if she couldn’t make it at all, and I thought about a conversation I’d had recently.

I was sitting beneath the judge’s tent at the Northeast Qualifiers, in a beach chair real low to the pavement. A hundred yards away, barbells and bumper plates crashed to the ground. I could hear the pull-up bars shake under the momentum of kips. Rafael lowered himself into the seat next to me.

I don’t remember how we got to talking about it, but eventually he mentioned his father. He said there was no way his father could get in and out of a chair like the ones we were in. He said, “I love my father, but I don’t want to end up like him.”

READ MORE ...

Why yes it does.

FRONT:

BACK:

By popular vote, this will be the new slogan on the back of our first batch of t-shirts. We will be selling two versions -- one with and one without the slogan on the back.

GET YOURS!

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Good work learning the new stuff being thrown at you. You are all an amazing bunch!

The crew of the "Happy Motherf*ckin' 24th!" WOD

Attack Cardio!

Attack Cardio with Vinnie Jones from Vinnie Jones

This Saturday!

Mr. 1st Place NW Qualifier 2009 is asking Foundation CrossFit if anyone wants to get in on this special fundraising workout on Saturday down at Rainier CrossFit. Let's not be lame. If you don't want to participate in the WOD at least leave a donation at the gym that I can drop off!

When: 20 June 2009

Time: 10 am

Where: Rainier Crossfit (5403 Milwaukee Avenue East, Suite B Puyallup, WA 98372)

Workout:

In teams of 4:

Run 400m

400 shoulder to press (65# women, 95# men)

Run 400m

800 squats

Run 400m

8 rope climbs (2 ladder climbs will equal 1 rope climb)

Run 400m

Each team will be given 2 "jerry" cans that they will carry throughout the workout. A maximum of 2 teams members can do a exercise at a time and the team can not move on to the next exercise until all the repetitions are completed. The "jerry" cans must also not touch the ground at any time during the workout. A 8 burpee penalty will be assessed to each team member each time the "jerry" can touches the ground. Burpees will be done at the end of the workout before "time" is called.

Cost: $8 per person ($32 per team) - all proceeds go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (http://www.specialops.org/)

You all want to make our presence more known, right? This is one we can! We have an amazing CrossFit community here in Washington because we all support each other and help one another out. Let's show Cali that we don't f*ck around.

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We're still taking pre-orders for shirts at the gym. Bring payment in asap to make sure you get one from the first shipment!

• $18 (tax included) for a black tee with our logo on the front.
• $23 (tax included) for a black tee with out logo on the front and a quote on the back.
• $15 for getting our logo printed on your own article of clothing.

We're also selling jerky at the gym now. $2.50 gets you 1.5oz of low-fat protein.

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17 burpees today! Buy-in is at 153. Daaaaang.

I've also decided that we will only use the day of the month (ie: June 29th = 29, July 14th = 14, August 3rd = 3) for our burpee count and the buy-ins reset each month. Make sense? I hope so- I've had a lot of coffee this morning...

Want one?

FREE for everyone who signs up on our 3-month introductory package! You may also purchase them individually at the gym.

3-MONTH INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL:

GET YOURS!