LogsItAll Rankings

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Robin gets over the Bar!




Robin has been coming in early and staying late to work on her pull-up...

She hit a tough circuit today and smack dab in the middle of it she got her first chin-up!

Congrat's Robin!

Hard earned and well deserved!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

CrossFit Affiliate Primal Fitness in Washington DC featured on Fox

Our CrossFit Friends over at Primal Fitness in Washington DC were featured on the local Fox Station this morning!

New members to the Muscle-up Club

Chriss poured a lot of heart, energy, and quality coaching into todays Muscle-up instruction...
Thanks a ton Chriss!
We are now a more skilled team thanks to you brother!

We all walked with a better understanding of how to Muscle-up; a few even walked away with some personal records...

Chris - First Muscle-up!
Melanie - First Muscle-up!
Elizabeth - First Muscle-up!
Mike - 5 Consecutive Muscle-ups!
Danny - 5 Consecutive extended MU's!
Joel - 11 Consecutive MU's!

A few really close attempts and some greater understanding by all who participated!

My thoughts are to have a follow up Skill day in a couple of weeks where we work both the Handstand and Muscle-up!

Video of Chris, Elizabeth, and Joel!


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

23.33, "Wall Alarm", "Hard Flop", "Ryan", "Callus"

Kara hit "Cindy" and finished with 50 pullups today!



An amazing day of output and Quality movement!

Chriss set a new class record and did it with Amazing Range of Motion Standards...
He was Poetry in Motion while hitting 23.33 rounds!

Lots of big numbers and huge efforts across the board...
So very impressive!

Everyone who hit Cindy stepped UP one level, Congrats!

Our "Wall Alarm", "Hard Flop", "Ryan", and "Callus" Crew hit it Hard also!

###

We started the session with some overhead strength work:
Strict Press x 3 top sets x 10reps

Then a 4 workout shuffle
PICK ONE
20 minute time limit

“Ryan”
5 Overhead Dumbbell Lunge
10 Burpees
15 KB Swings
20 Squats

“Cindy”
5 Chins
10 Pushups
15 Squats

“Callus”
10 Pushups
15 Situps
20 Jumping Slamball

“Hard Flop”
5 Rounds/20 minute:
5 Get-ups
10 Pushups
15 Jumping Slamball

“Wall Alarm”
5 Rounds/20 minute:
30 WallBall – 20 Box Jump – 10 Burpees




Monday, January 28, 2008

3 workout shuffle: "Sunnydale", "Schlitz", "Teeter"

Che is dialing in!
A 1:58 500 meter row!
A much improved overhead position of support!


WOD Members Choice:

1. "Sunnydale"
21,18,15,12,9,6,3
W=55lbs - M=75lbs
For Time
Front Squats - SDLHP - Chins

2. "Schlitz"
5 Rounds for time:
30 Wall Ball
30 Jumping Slamball
30 Situps

3. "Teeter"
500 Meter row
10 Overhead Dumbbell Lunge (each arm)
30 CrossFit Kettlebell Swings

Mike, Jack, and Chriss went for a PR 500 Meter Row:
137.3
137.3
and
136!

The Poisoning of America for profit!

Skip Chase from CrossFit Mt Baker writes an eye opening article about Sugar in our Food.

Skip pulls no punches, read it!

Callus Care Tips

Callous Care Tips:

Buy a Callus shaver – Not a stone or a file or some other product…get a callous shaver! Make sure you shave ONLY after a shower. The calluses need to be soft. If you shave calluses while dry it will cut too deep and you’ll have as big a problem as if it tore. BE SURE to shave 24 hours before a workout. You can get away with 12 hours if the next day is NOT a high volume chin/deadlift /KB workout…I have found my hands feel too soft if I shave right before a workout. I like to shave once a week.

Tears usually happen near the end of a high volume workout when you are sweating a lot. Keep drying your hands and using chalk liberally.

If you tear; go home and clean it thoroughly. Cut away excess callus and expose to air…it needs to dry out a bit at first….BUT not too dry…generally after 24 hours you’ll need to start applying ointment so it does not dry and crack (more problems). Bacitracin and Neosporin work well. Be careful of hydrogen peroxide use; you can use it once to clean after soap but after that it will dry the wound too quickly and lead to cracking.

Everyone will have their own advice; I can only tell you what I have seen work 100% of the time…proper prior planning!

In Strength,
Jerry

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Kipping Pullup

Two Great Videos to help Master the Kip:


Cara's first Pullup and some Tug-of-War





Tug-of-War could perhaps be the toughest 30 seconds of exercise available!

Grip, Core, Arm, and Leg Strength...

A good "Finisher" after high volume Chins and weighted squat jumps!


The exclamation on another amazing week of training here in Old Town Alexandria was...
Cara's first Pullup!

She worked HARD for this...Congrat's Cara!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Lunge to Handstand

Video: Andrea Coaches the Lunge to Handstand





Video: More coaching AND Handstand Pushup Modifications


Andrea kicked-butt coaching the Lunge to Handstand and everyone kicked-butt in learning it!

A great day for skill training CrossFit Old Town Style...

I'm excited to see our continued progression with the handstand as our core strength and conditioning goes through the roof!

In our continuation of Skill Training we will cover the Muscle-up this Wednesday!

Chriss has put together a great learning progression for us...

I think we'll see a whole lot of Team Members join the Muscle-up Club!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Jack takes a quick break before finishing off his birthday workout!

"Jack is 30!"

For time
(30 minute time limit)
30 reps each

Chins
Kettlebell Swings
Squats

Jumping Slamball
Pushups
Situps

Knees-2-Elbow
Kettlebell Swings
Squats

Jumping Lunge (each leg)
Pushups
Situps

Burpees
Kettlebell Swings
Squats

Dumbbell Thrusters
Pushups
Situps

Happy Birthday buddy, all 3 classes suffered...
I mean celebrated!

4 got through it under 30 minutes, a nasty one!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

CrossFit: "Karen", 2K row, Muscle-ups...

We concluded 2-days of Benchmarks and some Fun!

We hit 2 circuits each day, the first was either a benchmark 2,000 meter row or "Karen"
The second was members choice; there was a smorgasboard of Workouts posted. Some were simple but brutal, others took more skill and strength. It was fun to offer so much variety and to see what you picked.

Leslie smoked through "Karen" at 6:38!

Pat speed through a 2K row in only 7:14!

Our Muscle-up club even put up a benchmark workout
30 Muscle-ups for Time!
Chriss 5:26
Joel 10:52
Danny 12:14

Monday, January 21, 2008

CROSSFIT CERT IN ALEXANDRIA, VA

This will sell out today!

Meet the Spartans a 300 parody workout


Meet The Spartans Movie Trailer:

There is a new movie due out this week, it's a parody on 300 called “Meet the Spartans”

I was inspired by Vinnie to look into this movie after he mentioned it in class…

Well, I dug deeper and found that similar to 300 the actors in this movie also went through a rigorous training regime to get in top shape. Much of the training is double top secret and hush-hush. I called my connections and manged to get a hold of their Rite of Passage Workout.

The rest of their training was also top notch and perhaps I'll reveal it later in a special report.

Apparently it's a new style of training called SloshFit
Here in the "Blue Room" we put it to the test:


"Meet the Spartans"
For time:
Floor Wipers 0
Pullups 25
Pushups 50
Push Press x 75 (55lb=W, 75lb=M)
Squats x 100
SDLHP x 75 (55lb=W, 75lb=M)
Pushups 50
Pullups 25
Floor Wipers 0

Yep, no irritating Floor Wipers...and apparently to prove their superiority they went to 400


Critics are saying it’s possibly the worst movie ever made…

Some might say the same about the workout!

Prescribed:
24:53 Joel (Faster than King Leonidas himself)
25:59 Andrea (Stronger than Queen Gorgo!)
30:00 Danny
31:00 Vinnie
31:50 Karen
38:11 Katie
52:53 Keturah

Scaled:
27:51 Pat
29:05 Katie H
30:58 Noelle
34:43 James
35:04 Elise
37:10 Aaron
38:44 Vivek
41:27 Cara
43:20 Kara
45:33 Robin
47:34 Che
49:00 Andrea T

A fun day of Training, enjoy the Holiday!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Team Work in Old Town Alexandria, CrossFit Style

One person can create a spark of inspiration to light a fire…
How high the fire burns depends on the Team…
We got us a bonfire here in Old Town!





20 Minutes of Practice

Chins:
L-Sit
Weighted
Dead Hang
Kip Work
Top Half
Negatives
and
Handstands - Wall Squat - L-Sit

WOD
2 Teams
Captain Mike - Captain Jack
Round One
12 minutes
Slamball
Burpee
Bullwhip
Jumping Dip

Round two
12 minutes
Wallball
Jumping Lunge
Kettlebell Swing
Jumping Rope Pullup

Output
Dead Tie
4-4
Tie Breaker= average total points per person
Jack's Team=22.1
Mike's Team 22.3
It was THAT close!

Another Fun day of Training!

Remember Only One Class on Monday for the Holiday
0730

Friday, January 18, 2008

Sumo Deadlift

Video of our Sumo Deadlift


It was great to see everyone make adjustments during the course of the Sumo Deadlift workout today. Efficiency of movement, muscular tension, and proper body mechanics are critical here. Even though I only captured a few of you on Video, be sure to study it so you can spot cues and body position. I gave enough feedback in class today that you should be able to see yourself in the video example.


The Deadlift is one of those Black Box movements that has a high carryover to everything else we do. The better you get at the deadlift the fitter you become (unless of course you miss ALL of our other workouts!). I have been putting an emphasis on strength and efficiency this winter; improvement in these areas is whats going to help take many of you to the next level. Your hard work in these areas was evident in the some of the strong "Fran" times posted earlier this week.


Another key to our continued success has been our dedication to The Zone!

Everyone in class is improving their fitness level, some are improving at a faster rate, and they are our Zoners. The majority of our team is now zoning, if you need help getting started ASK! Remember we now have a Forum, there already is some great information posted there and there are plenty of people who are willing to help you and share in their experience.


As inspiration I'll tell you what Chriss has done in only 3 weeks in The Zone:
Dropped 5 pounds and 3.4% bodyfat!
Chriss is already one of our top athletes; he is going to go through the roof this year!
###

WOD:
Sumo Deadlift x 10 reps x 6 rounds
Work heavier each round if form is dead-on

Tabata:
Squat
Push Press OR Push up
Situp

Some notable T-Squat numbers were Leslie's 21, Steven's 20, and Elise's 20!


Thursday, January 17, 2008

Day 2 of Epic Pain: "Chindy" "Back Splash" "Keep Keel" "Crucible" "Sidney"

Jumping Chins
Pull those fists to your chest and get your chin above the bar/rings
Anna keeps the standard on rep #20
Pushup Standards are even across the board
Men, Women, Veteran, Beginner
Awesome Work Keturah!
Karen "Kept Keel" and added 150 Kettlebell Swings to the Workout!
Andrea smoked through 12 rounds of "Chindy"
120 Chinups!
180 Chest to Deck Pushups
240 Butt-to-Calves Squats
Check the Slideshow for more...

Chriss was in Full Sprint Mode Today!
22:05 on "Keep Keel"
Sometimes Ya gotta jump that WallBall to hit the Proper Height!
Elise took on "Crucible"
Vinnie is a Pushup Machine and hits Range of Motion every single Rep!

Another Great Day here at The Challenge!

We concluded our 2-day Smorgasbord...
Awesome effort...


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Epic Pain: "Boot the Bull" "Keep the Keel" "Crucible" "Back Splash" "Rightous" "Sidney" "Washboard"

In only his 5th Workout here at CrossFit Old Town Alexandria Aaron left one of the biggest pools of sweat Ive ever seen!
He hit "Keep Keel"
I think we'll keep Aaron around!
Welcome to the Team brother...
Speaking of Keepers...
In only his 3rd workout here at The Challenge Devon took on "Crucible"
Awesome!
Steven is our 0600 Psycho
He took on and destroyed the Epic Pain workout called
"Back Splash"

Melanie demonstrates the Standard for Knees-2-Elbow
Anything with less range of motion is scaling
If you can't hit this ROM yet, that's OK...but strive for Melanie's Standard
She hit 50 this way while crushing the workout called
"Washboard"
Cara hit some really impressive triple extensions during
"Boot the Bull"
Jack is one of our best squatters and top athletes
A Squat barrier inhibits the proper range of motion for a really good squatter
Not everyone can hit this rock solid Thruster position (yet)...that is OK...we will keep working on it
To master the squat consider ditching the barrier and going Butt-to-Calves
Joel during "Sydney"
The workout demands Strength and Power...



Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Fran and Muscle-ups: Including a new class record!




We hit our benchmark workout "Fran" today!
I also prepared a special workout for our Muscle-up club!
Incredible overall effort that saw a lot of personal records and a new class record for the women!

Team 0600 really stepped up
The vets led the charge and our new members followed suit
This was a first Fran effort for many of us
Katie became the 4th women to ever attempt Fran with pro weights
Laura and Robin stepped up in thruster weight
Chris went Pro and put up a sub-9 Fran
Kara went with full chins!
All of our New members put forth a huge effort and logged in a benchmark number today!



Team 0645 saw THREE women hit pro level weights!
Adrienne hit a new class record at 7:09!
Andrea hit the 2nd fastest time in class history at 7:50!
Karen took a huge leap and hit a Pro 9:54!




Chip pushed pro weights
Che bumped up a level to Pack

At 0730 Elise gave full chins a ride and bumped up to pack level!


The Muscle-up Club hit a special workout instead of Fran

"Muscling Fran"
*5 rounds for time*
95lb Thrusters x 9
Muscle-ups x 6
These guys are STRONG!




These guys are STRONG!

Chriss 10:22!
Vinnie 14:09
Joel 16+
Danny 14:39 3 rounds at 75lb Thruster

Monday, January 14, 2008

57 inch box jump

It's always fun to play!
Check out these 57" Box jumps by Danny and Chriss

Overhead Squats and Vivek Muscle-ups!



In my opinion the Overhead Squat (OHS) is the CrossFit Squat! Mid-line and shoulder stabilization is critical in our OHS work. Any minor deficiencies in our air squat is magnified with the bar overhead. Time spent perfecting the OHS is well worth it; your efficiency of movement and self realization of how the body becomes one unit in this lift will sky-rocket your overall progress. Effort spent striving to improve your 10 rep max in the OHS will pay dividends in your core strength and conditioning. Remember, we do have fractional plates; if your Rate of Perceived form is at least a 9 be sure to challenge your top-end number during your next effort...when I start seeing fractional outputs I know you are pushing!

Vivek and I had a conversation about taking some time tomorrow to really dial in on getting him his first muscle-up...he took matter into his own hands and got some practice in after our 0600 class resulting in his first muscle-up! Awesome work Vivek! We captured it on Video along with some of our OHS work...

Warmup: Snatch grip Highpull/Power Snatch x 3 sets

Workout: OHS x 10 reps x 6 rounds

Metabolic Conditioning: 10 rounds or 15 minutes

10 Big Box Jumps

10 Jumping Slamball

10 Kettlebell Highpull

Flickr Slideshow

Final Output

10 Months of work

There is so much to blog about today that I'll break it up in different posts throughout the day.


Our Overhead squat work, the 57 inch box jumps, and Viveks first muscle-up!

I'll start though with a thank you to Rob G for his commitment and hard work here at CrossFit Old Town Alexandria, today was his last day with us...

Rob was one of the first to join our program almost 10 months ago and because of his continuted dedication he walks with measurable results. You will be missed brother!

Rob exits our program with a personal record of 29 pullups...he told me to burn this old photo, but I gotta do it buddy...here is Rob last April hitting chinups with a band;

And today...

Jerry,
My last day will be this Monday @ the 0600 class. Thank you for the last 11 months of coaching, it has truly been the best workout program I have ever been involved in. I am 35 now, and I am in better shape than I was at 22, when I was prepping for Ranger School. When I started, I beleive there were only six or seven of us in the 0600 (may have been the only class?), and it is amazing to see how much you have grown this program - a true testament to your professionalism. My wife and I will be doing the Bullfit Program in MD, but I hope to sneak down when my job and family allows.
Thanks again.
Rob G.