WOD 10/31/2013

15-12-9 for time of:

135# Thruster
45# Weighted pull-up

WOD 10/30/2013

AMRAP 15 minutes of:

 135 pound Push Press- 7 reps
 135 pound Overhead Squat- 10 reps
 15 GHD sit-ups

WOD 10/29/2013

Complete AMRAP in 15 minutes of:

15 Chest to bar pull-ups
30 second Ring L-sit hold

WOD 10/27/2013

AMRAP in 15 minutes of:

Row 250 meters
25 push-ups

WOD 10/25/2013

"Walsh"

Four Rounds for time of:
22 Burpee pull-ups
185 pound back squat, 22 reps
Run 200 meters with a 45 pound plate overhead

WOD 10/24/2013

Snatch 3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

Building on the snatch balances from a couple days ago... these will be full squat snatches today.

10/23/2013

7 minute AMRAP
Burpees

Then after a short rest:

"Karen"
150 Wallball shots- 20lb ball to 10 foot target

WOD 10/22/2013

Snatch Balance 3-3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1

Today we start incorporating squats into our programming.  Squatting builds into everything we do.  For 3 weeks we will focus on improving our squat technique and building our strength.

After warm-up, do 3 sets of 5 Squats.

WOD 10/21/2013

"Eva"

5 rounds for time of:

Run 800 M
30 Kettle bell Swings- 2 pood (70 pounds)
30 pull-ups

Scaling options:  Scale to 3 rounds (5 rounds will likely take over 45 minutes to complete workout). Substitute runs with 1000 Meter rows.  Kettle bell swings should be on the heavy side.

Uncertainty

I wrote this article a couple days into the government shutdown but never put it out there because I didn’t feel confident sharing it at the time.  I have come to realize that the effects of uncertainty and managing the unknown elements of our lives affects everyone in many ways.  Whether your uncertainty comes from a major life change (starting a new job, going off to college, or as a result of some disaster or tragedy), or from some pending event, either real or imagined (like attending an important meeting, participating in a sports event, attending Kokora or boot camp), the same stress reactions can take place.

The Wildland Fire Leadership program (www.fireleadership.gov) happened to post an article about this very topic on their facebook page yesterday.  It explains how the brain reacts to this type of stress and create challenges returning to normal routines.  I decided to share this article and my own thoughts because I don't believe in coincidents (I wouldn’t have felt obligated to finish this writing and share it if it wasn’t for this article being posted on Facebook.  It would of just sat in my pile of many unfinished and unshared stories.) 

     Post-Shutdown Recovery: 3 Ways to Get Your Brain Back on Track

Here is what I wrote about the topic of uncertainty...

Uncertainty is an incredibly powerful environmental condition that leads to so many negative emotions and stress reactions (not sure if its actually considered an "environmental” condition but either way has significant effect on our decision making).  Being a Government employee, I am feeling the uncertainty that goes along with being furloughed, it brings up emotions of anxiety, anger, mistrust, envy, and fear (to name a few).  There has also been a lot of uncertainty when it comes to opening our CrossFit gym (just compounding the stress and anxiety in my life at this time).

What causes uncertainty? What are its effects? How can we deal with uncertainty to actually make us stronger?

Uncertainty is caused when we lack information about the past or future.  It often results from expectations, of either something happening a certain way or by someone acting in some way or another.  Lack of clear and honest communication seems to be a big part of what leads to uncertainty.  Misinformation or ignorance (the opposite of Awareness) seems to feed uncertainty.

The effects, and how we handle uncertainty, is where this “condition” can become devastating.  This isn’t just an individual issue.   Uncertainty destroys morale.  A team or group loses motivation, trust, cohesion, and confidence.  I’ve seen this happen over and over in my profession of wildland fire fighting, whether we are talking about a hotshot crew, Incident Management Team, organization, or our Nation as a whole.  Communication breaks down, trust disappears, division occurs, and the team crumbles.  When I was a hotshot, I worked for a squad boss who never told us what was going on.  We would be driving to some unknown location, some unknown fire, with no clue what to expect.  It was because of this type of leadership that the crew experienced so many problems, people were disgruntled, there was lack of unity, and all sorts of interpersonal conflicts.  I also experienced this in my previous job.  My supervisor never provided clear direction or expectations.  I witnessed how this prevented a program from flourishing, limited creativity and innovation, and again, destroyed moral, motivation, trust, and everything required for a cohesive team.  An entire forestry program fell apart because of poor leadership and a climate of uncertainty.

Do you suppose that the collective uncertainty, created as a result of the economic recession and current political climate, has in some way created, or heighten, the harshly divide Nation and World we live in today?  Think about it... I won’t get too political here, but uncertainty and fear are very powerful motivating factors and seem to be a significant contributing factor.     

How does this all relate to CrossFit?  CrossFit, has taught me to be more present, or "in the moment" so to speak.  If you dwell on what is expected or get down on yourself for poor performance you can easily talk yourself out of even trying.  CrossFit builds mental toughness and self awareness.  In the middle of a killer workout we can not focus on finishing, you must take things one repetition at a time, breath, and focus on attaining small goals.  It is through attainment of these small goals that we build confidence, know where we need to improve, and learn not to dwell on our many failures.  

The article talks about uncertainty and how self awareness is a huge part of buffering the negative effects.  CrossFit  has become an important part of my life and a routine that builds self awareness and allows me to manage the uncertainty in my life.   A strong united team or community also helps.  The support we find from each other as a community has a powerfully positive effect. Keeping you going, keeping you motivated, holding each other accountable, ultimately filling you with positive thoughts and energy to push forward.   

I hope this helps encourage someone to better deal with the uncertainty in their own lives.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to those in your community, share your concerns, and try not to dwell on the things that are out of our control.  Trust your instincts and live with gratitude, not fear. 

WOD 10/18/2013

Overhead Squat 1-1-1-1-1
Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1
Back squat 1-1-1-1-1

The idea is to try to increase the load over the 15 sets.

WOD for 10/17/2013

For time:

225 pound Deadlift, 21 reps

Handstand walk 21 meters

225 pound Deadlift, 15 reps

Handstand walk 15 meters

225 pound Deadlift, 9 reps

Handstand walk 9 meters


Scaling options:  Deadlift should be about 50% of your one rep max.

Handstand walks can be substituted with wall walk-ups or forward bend walk out to push-up.

WOD 10/16/2013

Endurance WOD:

10 rounds each for time:
100 Meter sprints or Row 250 M
Resting 90 seconds between each round

Then:
Bench Press 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
Resting exactly 60 seconds between each set

WOD 10/15/2013

"Cindy"

20 Minute AMRAP

5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

WOD 10/14/2013

"Test 3"

Tabata squats
As many Muscle ups in 4 minutes

If you don't have muscle ups, substitute 4 pull-ups and 4 dips for each.

WOD 10/13/2013

Hang power clean 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

WOD 10/12/2013

Rest Day

WOD 10/11/2013

Six rounds for time of:

Run 400M
25 Pull-ups

I attached a pretty good article from a blog I happened to come across this morning.  This applies to all the political back and forth going on in our Country these days.  Very challenging to apply this idea to that kind of argument but worth the effort.  

http://www.whole9life.com/2013/09/nothing-personal/

WOD 10/10/2013

"Dragon"

For time:

Run 5K
4 minutes to find 4 rep max dead lift
Run 5K
4 minutes to find 4 rep max push jerk

We usually don't like to scale hero WODs, however, for time sake, another option is:

Mini "Dragon"

For time:
Run 1 mile
4 minutes to find 4 rep max dead lift
Run 1 mile
4 minutes to find 4 rep max push jerk

Please remember the intent behind these Hero workouts.  Remember the sacrifice and pain the families carry with them.  Dig a little deeper when you feel like slowing down of giving up. Thoughts and prayers to all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.

WOD 10/9/2013

Five Rounds for time of:

5 Hanging ring extensions (right arm + left arm equals 1 rep)
5 Forward rolls
5 Backward rolls
45 pound Sots press, 10 reps

WOD 10/8/2013

"DT"

5 Rounds for time of:

155# Dead lift- 12 reps
155# Hang power clean- 9 reps
155# Push jerk- 6 reps

WOD 10/7/2013

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Work up to your one rep max.  Remember to keep your elbows high, chest up, and stay tight to maintain a good solid stabile mid-line.  (If you have a problem with rounding of the back or come forward with the chest too much, consider doing box front squats.)

WOD 10/5/2013

6 rounds for time of:

     Run 400 meters
     25 Burpees

Set up under a target that is one foot above your reach for the burpees. Jump and touch the target for each burpee rep.

WOD 10/4/2013

For time, 21-18-15-12-9-6 and 3 rep rounds of:

Walking lunge steps

95 pound Barbell thruster

Pull-ups

Knees to elbows

WOD 10/3/2013

Complete as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:

Handstand walk 10 yards
15 foot L-rope climbs, 1 ascent
10 One-legged overhead squats, PVC pipe

Scaling options:

Handstand walks: Depending on your level either do 10-20 second handstand holds, 2 wall walk-ups to  a handstand, forward bend walk-out to push-up and back up to forward bend (3 times), or hold push-up plank position (15 seconds)

L-sit rope climbs:  Substitute L-sit climbs with regular legless rope climbs, regular rope climbs, from laying on the floor to standing and back down (3-5 times).  No rope- be creative.

One legged squats:  These will be impossible if you don't have good mobility.  Do regular one-legged squats using something to hold onto for balance.  If you have knee issues don't even try these, do regular OHS's.

WOD 10/2/2013

Rest Day (Or at least it was supposed to be)

Some folks decided to go rogue with their workouts (Shanti and Appolonia) and went ahead and did a 5K run yesterday after doing the dead lift WOD.  That threw me for a loop creating a little more chaos in my already chaotic life.  So with that, today we encourage you to either work on skills, do some yoga, do a work out you missed, play a sport, or go out for a nice 5K run.  Make it an active rest day.

Also, for those interested, the CrossFit Games will be on ESPN starting this evening.

WOD 10/1/2013

Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3 reps