LogsItAll Rankings
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Quick Video of some action
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
1:13 PM
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comments
Labels: CrossFit in Alexandria, Rawhide, Sandbags
12 workout shuffle
Today was another classic workout; it was great to see you all work together in small groups pushing hard side-by-side. There was amazing energy in the room! It was a nice opportunity for me to program in some unique movements for you to tackle. I have such confidence in your movement and ability; our evolution as a team has been outstanding!
1. “Rawhide”
50 rope whips - 25 Kettlebell Swings
6 rounds or 10 minutes M=55lb, W=35lb
2. “Sandbag Clean and Jerk”
30 reps or 10 minutes M=80lb, W=50lb
2b. “Jumping Deck squat Slamball”
50 reps or 10 minutes
3. Row 2,000 meters
4. “Karen”
150 Wallball shots: For time or 10 minutes
W=12lb, M=15lb
5. “Core Strength”
L-sit Chinup x 4 - Hand Stand Pushup x 4 (10 rounds or 10 minutes)
(scaled version is 4 deadhands and 10 second Handstand hold)
5b. “Correlating”
Knees to Elbow x 5 -Hindu Pushup x 10 (10 minutes)
(scaled sub 20 situps for Knees to Elbow)
5c. “6 degrees”
One arm squat thrust x 5 - Situps x 20 (10 minutes)
6. “Push-Squat”: Descending Ladder
Push Press x 10 – Rock bottom squat jump x 20 (double the push press)
Push Press x 9 - Rock bottom squat jump x 18 (double the push press)
And so on…Can you complete it in 10 minutes?
W=65lb, M=95lb (Scale weights to your level)
6b. “Pull-Squat”: Ascending Ladder
Snatch x 1 – Rock bottom squat jump x 2 (double the Snatch)
Snatch x 2 – Rock bottom squat jump x 4 (double the Snatch)
And so on…How high can you go in 10 minutes?
W=65lb, M=95lb (Scale weights to your level)
7. “Chindy”
10 Chinups -15 Pushups - 20 Squats (10 minutes; can you do 5+ rounds?)
7b. “Plyo to the People” [Ascending ladder]
Plyo Pushup x 1 – Jumping Lunge x 2 (double the pushup)
Plyo Pushup x 2 – Jumping Lunge x 4 (double the pushup)
And so on…how many rounds in 10 minutes?
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
11:34 AM
10
comments
Labels: Chindy, CrossFit in Alexandria, Karen, Rawhide, Sandbags
Friday, January 11, 2008
Creating vertical elevation
The hips, knees, and feet whip forward and UP...
Note the position
This movement is still free and easy because you have pre-loaded the Kip by creating momentum in a horizontal plane
The torso now moves back and up thanks to the hip, knee, and foot whip
You now have momentum in the vertical plane
Pull the elbows down and take advantage of momentum
Timing is critical
Pull those elbows down hard and pull your fists to your chest to get your chin over the bar


And Leg Drive
Warmup:
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
9:39 AM
9
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sumo Deadlift

More In-Action Photo'sWe spent some time learning how to safely and effectively lift a heavy to moderately heavy load off the ground!
Beside the functional NEED of this movement it's also a Killer for the:
Core/Mid-line stabilization (6-pack abs)
Posterior chain (Glutes, Hamstrings, Back)
Overall (relative) Strength
Efficiency of movement
And so much more!
Great work, we will continue...
It was a mix-mash today as we worked on similar movements in each class but everyone got a little different programming depending on needs.
Everyone worked the Deadlift
Others got a little:
Turkish Get-ups
Kettlebell Swings
Chinups
Squats
Jumping Lunges
Pushups
Tabata Situps
I would like to encourage our New members to start coming in on their preferred time slots and of course to come in more often.
We are a Training Hall for Elite fitness; everyday is different, everyday is aimed to help push your current fitness level while keeping an eye on long term development.
A Huge thanks to Andrea, Adrienne, Chriss, and Danny for their continued help in Coaching the Tues-Thurs 0600 Team. Their commitment to our program and our progress is a testimony to the dedicated team we have here at CrossFit Old Town Alexandria!
An extra mention goes out to Georgia who hit a Personal record of 9 chins, and to Robin who was within inches of her first official chinup...she will get it in the next few sessions!
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:17 AM
4
comments
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Video: weighted chins, "Danny Box Jumps", Wallball shots
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
11:13 AM
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Labels: Video
Pullup, handstand, L-sit practice; Team Training
Melanie's listed in the dictionary under Determination
Danny Flies through bodyweight movements
The 0600 Men kick-it-in during the final minutes
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
9:38 AM
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Rowing
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
11:16 AM
5
comments
Labels: CrossFit in Alexandria, Rowing
Monday, January 7, 2008
In Action Muscle up Video
A Previously published Coaching Tip: The Muscle Up
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
4:20 PM
7
comments
Labels: Coaching, CrossFit in Alexandria, Muscle up
Kipping pullups, Sandbags and Muscle-ups

More details and discussion to follow...
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
9:50 AM
5
comments
Labels: CrossFit in Alexandria, Kipping Pullup, Muscle up, Sandbags
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Barbell Snatch, Overhead squat

Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
7:03 PM
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Labels: Barbell snatch, CrossFit in Alexandria, Overhead squat
Friday, January 4, 2008
Strengthening the Chain, Skill, Benchmarks, Records

Leslie worked her skill by jumping into our handstand pushup couplet. After, she pushed her strength and comfort level with some heavy barbell thrusters. Awesome!

Betsy is new team member but quickly got into a groove with high rep Wallball for time

Gar put up a 2k row within 4 seconds of the class record then moved on to some Handstand Work! How cool is that?

Danny scaled up and took on "Bull Fit" at 57% body weight!

Stacey is flat out FIT!
She had a record day;
5:55 "Bull Fit" at 65lb
8:38 2k row

Andrea helped coach the handstand at 0600 then put on an impressive handstand couplet performance at 0645!

Wes is now our best 2,000 meter rower!
He had James mark to shoot for and topped it by 2 seconds!
Wes has had the guts of a champion since day one in our program...today was a true crowning moment and a testimony to his fortitude.

1. L-sit
Members Choice
1b. "Karen" For Time: 150 Wall Ball
2. For time: 2,000 meter row
3. 10 minutes AMRAP:
TGUx1, DB snatch x 2 (Left hand) TGUx1, DB snatch x 2 (Right hand)
TGUx2, DB snatch x 4 (Left hand) TGUx2, DB snatch x 4 (Right hand)
TGUx3, DB snatch x 6 (Left hand) TGUx2, DB snatch x 6 (Right hand)….
4. 10 minutes AMRAP: Handstand pushup x 5, squat x 25
4b. 10 min: Handstand HOLD x 10 sec, sq x 25
4c. 10 min: Hindu Pushups x 5, squat x 25
5. 10 minutes AMRAP: Burpees x 5, Situps x 20
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:04 AM
6
comments
Labels: 10 minute workouts, 2000 meter row, Bull Fit, CrossFit in Alexandria, Karen
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Our National Standard
0645
0730
Hard exercise and Zone eating works. Functional movements performed at high intensity coupled with detailed tracking of nutritional intake will take you further in 4-weeks than a lifetime of "exercising and eating healthy".
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:22 AM
5
comments
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Strong Women!
Mastering the kip and adding strength will be what continues to push us to new levels. I have some programming in mind to continue our progress. For our 10+ chinup women grip has become an issue, again something we will work on this year to continue to fuel our performance.
Our list of men with 20+ pullups came oh so close to adding a few names, I look forward to adding these new names on the board real soon!
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
Warmup:
Medicine Ball Squat Cleans x 50 sec
Cal's x 50 sec
3 rounds
Short Circuit:
Medicine ball squat clean thruster and Slam!
AMRAP in 3 minutes
Test:
Max Chins
Max Pushups
2 rounds
Strength, Power, Skill:
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
6 Rounds x 10 reps
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:27 AM
2
comments
Saturday, December 29, 2007
A Rock Solid Team


As we wind down the New Year it's a great time to again recognize and celebrate what an amazing team we have. Watching you work hard to push your own personal limits all while encouraging and inspiring those around you has been the greatest satisfaction as a coach.
###
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
1:33 PM
1 comments
Friday, December 28, 2007
Happy Holidays!
I packed the family up and headed to upstate NY for Christmas right after our Friday workout. Andrea took charge and led a couple of great classes! The 12 days of Christmas workout was a smashing success; lots of great feedback this morning in class. Awesome job Andrea! Thanks for opening the doors and providing the opportunity for some quality Holiday training sessions.
While in NY I managed to sneak in a couple of workouts and have to share my story...
My wife and I have been together for 15 years. Right before we were 'official' and still just 'friends' she asked me to write up a workout routine she could do at her Mom's house. I wrote it up and of course there were chinups involved but also no chin-up bar in her Mom's basement...so I rigged one up for her.
Flash forward 15 years; when we go to visit family we stay at her Mom's house. When visiting I usually get an outdoor workout in or make a trip to the local gym, but time was really short AND my Mother-in-law had just redone her basement...it was shiny clean and super organized so I snuck down early one morning for a quick sweat...to my surprise guess what was still mounted? That Chin-up bar!
Now, I have no idea how my wife used to get chinups in on that thing...it was super-thin and made of what seemed to be aluminum or perhaps a slightly stronger metal, but man did it have serious bend to it when I grabbed a hold...throw into the mix that it was hung between 2 rafters with barely enough space for my head, I knew this could be an adventure...what would happen first; a fall and land on my tailbone after the bar snaps mid-pullup or a quick blow to the head from the danger close rafter above?
I decided to play it smart...I padded the concrete floor with anything soft I could find and abandoned my usual kipping pullup for a slow and smooth L-sit pullup. I figured this would put less pressure on the bar and make the "rafter drive-by" less deadly.
This was hard for me to do, I love the kip, it's so powerful...and despite being told by others my entire life; "Jerry, you can't power through everything"...well, I still disagree.
In my opinion Power is everything. The most powerful athletes generally rule supreme. Sure strength is good...and speed, well speed is a killer so it's great to have it also. But most overly strong athletes need more speed and most speed athletes need more strength...POWER is that perfect blend. As an undersized athlete I realized this at an early age...there is nothing better than having an opponent size you up, under estimate your abilities, and watch them quickly experience their mistake.
But I digress...
So yes, for safety on this Holiday workout I opted away from the powerful kip and went with some slow strength; I coupled the L-sit chins with Handstand pushups, 5 reps each for 10 rounds. It was fun! Especially since I rarely do these 2 movements and felt strong despite.
Ah, lessons everywhere...all I know is I'm glad I've built so many chinup bars!
###
###It was great to see so many of you out for this Friday workout!
Remember, we have 2 more workouts this year:
Saturday at 0900 and Monday at 0900
We are off on Tuesday and Back on schedule on Wednesday
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
12:02 PM
1 comments
Thursday, December 20, 2007
1,000 meter row and Tenbatta's
We hit some great benchmarks yesterday in class, 3 in particular that will bear repeating;
1,000 meter row, 5 Minute Kettlebell Swing test, and Tabata Barbell Push Press with a fixed load. I posted the top 5 performances from our CrossFit home-team on the record board.
I enjoy seeing your effort in the midst of a tough circuit and then continuing to coach you to even greater performance output. I enjoy seeing the camaraderie, intensity, teamwork, sport, and strategy in our group workouts. I enjoy seeing individuals break personal records and others set class records. Leaning a new skill, making a movement more efficient, performance, effort, determination, commitment, the guts to; "lay it all on the line, all the time", inspires me and inspires us all to continue to evolve.
I have seen our fiercest competitors and "Fire breathers" be awed and humbled by the heart of a raw beginner. We all have our own unique background, our own unique goals, our own strengths...be inspired, very inspired:
1,000 meter Row:
1. 4:07 Melanie - 3:30 Jack
2. 4:10 Elise - 3:39 Pat
3. 4:22 Katie - 3:40 Lef
4. 4:25 Cara - 3:42 Mike
5. 4:29 Karen - 3:49 Steven
5 Min Kettlebell Swing (45lb and 70lb):
1. 111 Stacey - 130 Mike
2. 107 Melanie - 120 Pat
3. 97 Elizabeth - 103 Chriss
4. 87 Elise - 87 Jack
5. 83 Cara - 79 Joel
Tabata Barbell Push Press (55lb and 75lb)
1. 11 Stacey - 10 Joel/Vin/Chriss/Mike
2. 6 Che - 8 Jack
3. 6 Elizabeth - 7 Steven
4. 5 Karen/Katie/Melanie -6 Chip, Pat
5. 3 Sarah - 5 Danny
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:46 AM
3
comments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Working some Skill = Training
Today was a classic example of a style of workout I'll occasionally throw into the mix this year. The main focus of the workout was some skill work with the Sumo Deadlift High Pull.
We worked in the 10 rep range for 6 rounds.
We increased the load if the rate of perceived form (RPF) was 8 or above (scale of 1-10).
However, once the Rate of perceived effort (RPE) hits an 8 your RPF needs to be a 10 in order to go heavier.
Does this make sense?
We will perform this style of workout with some more barbell lifts;
Overhead Squat
Front Squat
Press
Push Press
Thruster
Deadlift
and more...
Why the Sumo Deadlift Highpull with a barbell?
It accurately encourages the vertical extension of the hips and bar path that we need in our other barbell lifts.
It also:
Improves posterior chain and core strength (hamstrings, glutes, low back, and ABs)
Improves efficiency of movement
Works speed-strength, strength, strength-endurance
Can be a nasty little movement to improve your conditioning
I saw some of you make the needed corrections to make this a more efficient movement.
Many of you struggled with hip position in the initial pull and worked this out during the course of training. I saw others of you "muscle" the weight and then figure out how once the bar clears your knees you need to really kick it in and viciously extend (against the ground and with your hips).
My coaching cues in the course of our classic nasty circuits are always in line with what we emphasised today but sometimes we need to slow down and really dial in.
I was really happy with the way it went, awesome effort!
Of course we also got in some metabolic conditioning with un-weighted General Physical Preparedness (GPP). During the course of those circuits we also worked grip strength, core strength, shoulder and core stabilization, speed, re-action strength, and CHIN-UP form.
This brings me to...
McCall got hers today and then got 4 in a row!
I'll leave you with a email I received yesterday, I think it fits in with the title of todays post.
"I told myself by 30 I’d be in the best shape of my life, and w/o the last 9 months of CrossFit I’m not so sure this would have come to fruition. On Jan 24 I turn 30 and although I can’t say with 100% certainly that I’m in the best physical shape of my life, it’s pretty damn close!!! I guess my hesitation has to do w/ the fact that I am confident that another year, 2 years, 3 years, etc of CrossFit training will only lead me to new levels I never thought imaginable! Great stuff!"
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
2:01 PM
2
comments
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sledgehammer Slamball - Frogger Box Jump
It 2008 I’m going with 3 classes a day, (0600, 0645, and 0730), 5-days a week.
This gives each and everyone of you the opportunity to hit a class in your normal time slot 5-days a week!
There will be no specialized barbell class, and no membership increase.
One price membership and an all access pass.
But what about the most popular time slot at 0600?
WE will ADD an additional workout at 0600!
We will add some fixed pullup bars (yes FIXED pullup bars, can you believe it?!) in the “Ring Room” and host 2 workouts at 0600, one in each room.
To start, this additional workout will be added on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only.
If this goes as well as expected we will soon do this on all 5 mornings at 0600.
So at 0600 there will be a class coached by Andrea and one coached by me.
Andrea has played a huge role in the development of our new team members and now she is stepping up to make an even greater impact on our team. She has a great eye for movement, communicates well, and has passion for all things CrossFit! I look forward to watching make her own unique stamp here at the Challenge.
From Coach Andrea to Coach Rick where we celebrate our first born CrossFit Affiliate!
Inspired by his progress with us here in Alexandria and with his assignment at Walter Reed over, Rick went back home to San Antonio, Texas and Started his own affiliate; Alamo CrossFit
His opening day workout brought in 13 people...be sure to post a comment on his message board, he'll be psyched to hear from you. He sent this in an email;
"Wanted to add an extra thanks to all I learned from you, CF Challenge, and being on the east coast. I truly believe Jerry that I trained with and learned from the best in the CrossFit business."
Keep in touch senor.
~Rick
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
10:16 AM
1 comments
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Secret Code
Friday's Regular Workout was a true test.
Everyone decided they wanted to work their least favorite movements in high Volume.
Some say; "Your only as strong as your weakest link."
IF you are fit and had a test day, what would least like to see come up as 60 reps?
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
1:15 AM
2
comments
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Muscle ups!
I put together a special workout for our "Muscle up club". It was a nice opportunity to work this skill in a "doable" workout. Expect to see these special workouts pop up every couple of weeks in 2008, (and to get more difficult!). We have a solid core group that can perform multiple muscle-ups. I expect big things out of this crew; they are highly skilled athletes! (and very inspiring) I'll keep those rings hung in our 2nd room, lets keep at those progressions I've taught and see even more of you muscle-up!

Joel hit his first 3 rounds with no breaks, he cruised through sets of 5 reps consecutively. Even more impressive was the fact that he did this WITHOUT the false grip! Do you know how strong you have to be in order to do this? It caught up with him on round 4, a quick coaching tip and a whole lotta strength got him through this workout in 21:36
WOD:
20 Box Jumps 26"
10 SDLHP 95lb
5 Muscle-ups
*5rounds for time*
Posted by
Jerry Hill
at
12:45 PM
2
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