Remember, we have just the 10:00 am class today and we are closed on Sunday.  

And here are some photos from Day 1 at the CrossFit Games.  Get down here to Carson to see the action for yourself.  

The women climbing the rope before their clean and jerks.

Five time CrossFit Games competitor Chris Spealler getting the weight, 185#, overhead for three reps.

And if you’re looking to get a CrossFit WOD in on your own, here are two workouts:

WOD 1

For time, complete 4 rounds of:

-Run 400 meters, or around your large block, or around the park, but a distance of about 400 meters

-50 air squats

WOD 2

Start a stop watch then perform:

1 burpee in minute 1, rest the remainder of the minute

2 jumping lunges in minute 2, rest the remainder of the minute

3 burpees in minute 3, rest the remainder of the minute

4 jumping lunges in minute 4, rest the remainder of the minute

Keep going in this ladder until you can’t complete the required reps in the minute.

The 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games are here!  Get down to the Home Depot Center to watch all the action.  Or if you’re stuck at work, you can watch a live feed here.  

Remember, no evening classes today, 12:30 pm will be the last class.  And Saturday we will have the 10:00 am class only.   We are closed on Sunday.

Thursday’s Skill:

Power clean:

3 – 2 – 2 – 1

Elements Skill

Tabata row for calories

Workout of the Day (WOD)

For time, complete 21 – 15 – 9 reps of:

Front squats (95#/65# for women)

Toes to bar

Push presses (95#/65# for women)

Elements WOD

15 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

5 sumo deadlift high pulls

7 goblet squats

9 kettlebell swings

Run to the short corner

Post times and rounds to comments

Doesn’t everyone start their morning off with some hanging on the pull-up bar.

Jenn, Luke, and Marianoel spending the lunch hour working out.

We are just one day away from the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games!  CrossFit HQ has already announced the first event, a workout that will involve an ocean swim, running through soft sand, chest to bar pull-ups, and hand release push-ups, pretty damn gnarly.  

Again, try to make it out to the games for at least one of the days.

Remember we are modifying our class schedule for the CrossFit Games weekend:

Friday:

5:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 7:30 pm classes are cancelled.  

Saturday:

11:00 am and 12:00 pm open gym classes are cancelled.  10:00 am class is a still on.

Sunday:

Closed

Wednesday’s Skill:

Deadlift 5 – 5 – 5

Workout of the Day (WOD)

5 rounds of:

2 minute AMRAP of partner wall ball burpees.  

2 minutes rest between rounds

Partners will stand shoulder to shoulder.  One person will do a wall ball shot to his/her partner and then immediately perform a burpee.  The person receiving the medicine ball will perform a wall ball shot back to the partner and also performa  burpee.  One rep is both athletes performing a wall ball burpee.

Post total reps to comments

Kevin looking strong on his deadlifts.

Kevin and Fred got the teamwork thing going during the WOD.

The Elements crew were getting up and getting down on this burner of a workout.  

Continuing the post from yesterday, here are some top women competitors to watch at this year’s CrossFit Games.

6th place at the 2009 CrossFit Games, 6th place at the 2010 CrossFit Games, Christy Phillips is a perennial powerhouse.  She struggled a bit on the first day of her Regional Qualifier but battled back to secure a spot to the big show for her third straight year. 

Julie Foucher from HyperFit USA in Michigan finished 5th at last year’s Games and hasn’t lost any momentum going into 2011.  She placed 5th in the worldwide Open Competition and set a world record time for her team on one of the Regional workouts.

Becca Voigt is another Games veteran, having competed in the 2009 Games and then placed 7th in 2010.  She trains with a wicked fit group of ladies at Valley CrossFit and recently took first place at the Southern California Regional competition. 

Annie Thorisdottir, aka Iceland Annie, is a straight up badass.  Strong, fast, great lungs, she straight up gets the work done.  She finished 11th in 2009 after CrossFitting for only a couple of months.  After last year’s second place finish, many are looking at her to take the grand prize this year. 

The defending champ, aka Fittest Woman on the Planet, Kris Clever dominated last year’s competition.  Long runs, hundreds of pull-ups, heavy weight, technical gymnastics, rope climbs, she did it all.  Experts are hard pressed to find weaknesses in her game and the biggest surprise will be if she doesn’t place on the podium. 

Then again, none of the athletes know what the events will be going into the Games.  So really, almost anything can happen.  It’s going to be pretty epic.

Tuesday’s Skill:

3 sets of max thrusters in 1 minute.  Use your Fran weight, 3 minutes rest between sets.

Elements Skill

Back squat

5 – 3 – 1

Workout of the Day (WOD):

‘Helen’

3 rounds for time of:

400 meter run

21 kettlebell swings (53#/35# for women)

12 pull-ups

Post time to comments

We are 3 days away from the 2011 CrossFit Games taking place at the Home Depot Center from July 29 to July 31.  The top men and women will walk away with a cool $250,000 and the title of “The World’s Fittest.”  

Here are some top individual men to watch this weekend:

Rich Froning Jr, aka The Tin Man, aka The Best Looking Dude in CrossFit according to Dave Lipson.  Rich was very poised to win the 2010 CrossFit Games going into the final event.  But he was unable to climb a 20 foot rope, and Rich had to settle for second place.  

His training this year is mind boggling, averaging 6 workouts a day.  Many people are predicting 2011 to be his year.

Mikko Salo, aka The Cyborg.  This laconic CrossFitter from Finland never lies on his back after workouts because it’s a sign of surrendering.  He won the CrossFit Games in 2009 and placed a very respectable 5th last year, even though he says that was the worst CrossFit weekend of his life.  

He’s worked on his weakness, double-unders, and has arguably more focus than anyone else on winning the title again.

Chris Spealler is the only person to compete in all 5 CrossFit Games as an individual competitor.  Last year he made it onto the podium, placing 3rd, but he’s still hungry for that top title.  He’s packed on some mass this year, he’s now up to 145 pounds, and has a coach to address his biggest weakness, strength.  He’s technical and super efficient in his movements, but some still question whether someone his size will ever be able to take the number 1 spot.  

Austin Malleolo is the man in the white compression gear.  He made a name for himself at last year’s games coming out of nowhere to take 6th place. He’s young, disciplined, and has been having a hell of a year so far.  The kid brings the intensity and loves to compete.

Graham Holmberg won the 2010 CrossFit Games but is the Rodney Dangerfield of the sport.  He doesn’t seem to get the same respect as Mikko, Rich, or Spealler.  But don’t underestimate him.  He’s the defending champ and certainly has a strong motor.  He hasn’t been phased by the disrepect from some and his training to be the first repeat champion.   

I will post about the top women contenders are tomorrow.

Skill:

3 sets of max:

Supine ring rows

Ring dips

Workout of the Day (WOD):

10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

30 double-unders

15 power snatches (75#/53#)

Elements WOD:

12 minute AMRAP of:

40 single-unders

10 dumbbell power snatches, right arm

10 dumbbell power snatches, left arm

Post rounds to comments

Morgan repping out the power snatches like it’s cool, which it is.  

Are you excited for the 2011 CrossFit Games?  

The Games run this Friday through Sunday, and I encourage everyone at the gym to try to attend at least one day.  This is your opportunity to see CrossFitters just like you, compete at an elite level of competition.  

People from all over the country and even the world are coming to southern California to attend the Games.  Tickets are on sale here.  Trust me, you don’t want to miss this.  CrossFit is on the cusp of becoming a legitimate sport, and the Games are going to be a terrific spectator experience. 

Because of the Games, our class schedule this weekend will be as follows:

Friday 5:30 pm (Open gym), 6:30 pm, and 7:30 pm classes are cancelled.  

Saturday 11:00 am and 12:00 pm (Open gym) classes are cancelled.  

Sunday 10:00 am class is cancelled.

Instead of coming to the gym to get your CrossFit fix, come to the Games and workout there.  Missing a day of training won’t hurt you, and I will also post WODs that you can do at home over the weekend if you still want to WOD it up.

Checkout the pictures from the weekend:

Kevin and Chris getting through 30 clean and jerks for time with the WOD Grace.

Big turnout for D1′s Birthday WOD, a brutal combination of front squats, burpee pull-ups, push presses, and running.  

And check out Dan getting up on the rings with muscle-ups during the Nasty Girls WOD.

Why do you do CrossFit?  

Let’s be honest, CrossFit is not the only good fitness program out there.  I personally think it’s the best, but it also requires much more time, patience, humility, hard work, and commitment compared to other fitness routines.  

I do CrossFit because I want to be fit and healthy.  Being physically capable was a very important part of my life when I was a Marine; it could have potentially meant the difference between mission success or failure.  But being fit is only part of my motivation for doing CrossFit.  I also do CrossFit because it’s hard and challenges me as an athlete.  

Before CrossFit, a good workout for me was getting sweaty.  Calories burned and time in the gym were the numbers that mattered.  Now I train with a purpose.  CrossFit has flat out told me what my strengths and weaknesses are, and it forced me to set goals if I wanted to get better.  Heavy breathing and sweating at the end of  a workout are no longer the point.  Now I ask myself if I got a little better or worse each day I train.  

So, why do you do CrossFit?  Have your reasons changed since you started?  Post to the comments.

Thursday’s Workout of the Day (WOD):

‘Sissy Test’

For time, complete the following:

20, 19, 18, 17…down to 1 of kettlebell swings (35#/26# for women)

coupled with:

1, 2, 3, 4…up to 20 of burpees

This is a volume workout for sure.  210 kettlebell swings paired with 210 burpees.  Outstanding job to everyone that did his WOD yesterday.  It took a lot of mental stamina to continuously pick yourself up off the floor to finish the burpees.  

Fred, Morgan, Chris and Amanda starting their day off with a little 30 minute workout.

The CrossFit Games are only 8 days away.  What is it going to take to win? No one quite knows, but two top performers aren’t taking any chances in their training.

Skill:

Push Jerk: 3 – 3 – 3

Press: 3 – 3 – 3

Workout of the Day (WOD):

For time, complete 21 – 15 – 9 of:

Overhead squats (95#/65# for women)

Box jumps (24″/20″)

Ring dips

Elements WOD:

For time, complete 21 – 15 – 9 of:

Dumbbell thrusters

Box jumps

Medicine ball sit-ups

Post times to comments

D1 and Vargas.

Mark showing great intensity and focus on his overhead work.

Christian, Delaney, and Ryan with some strong overhead squats.

Cory warming-up Urbanie, Todd, and Dan

2008 CrossFit Games Champion Jason Khalipa getting ready for the Games at the end of this month.  

Skill:

In 2:30, run 400 meters, then max double-unders in the remainder of the time. Rest 1 minute and repeat for 3 total sets.

Run 400 meters x 3 with 1 minute rest.

WOD:

10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

7 kettlebell/dumbbell power snatches 

7 one arm overhead lunges

7 kettlebell/dumbbell power snatches

7 other arm overhead lunges

Run to the short corner (~100 meters)

Elements WOD:

10 minute AMRAP of:

14 kettlebell swings

14 overhead lunges

Run to the short corner (~100 meters)

Post rounds to comments

Fred and Morgan moving fast on their snatches.

Diego and Anthony warming up with slam balls.

Caption contest.

That’s right, Tuesday now has a 5:30 pm class.  You can find our whole schedule here as well.

Do you consider CrossFit a sport?  There are now regularly occurring CrossFit competitions, the biggest being the Reebok CrossFit Games at the end of this month. 

Top CrossFit athletes have sponsors, training seasons, their own t-shirts, but can exercise be a sport?  Do you treat CrossFit as a sport or do you consider it more of a fitness program in the traditional sense?  Post your thoughts to the comments.

Monday’s Skill:

Pause Front Squats (holding at the bottom of the squat)

5 reps with a 1 second pause

4 reps with a 2 second pause

3 reps with a 3 second pause

2 reps with a 4 second pause

1 rep with a 5 second pause

Try to move up in weight for each set

Workout of the Day (WOD):

1/2 Chelsea

On the minute for 15 minutes, complete:

5 pull-ups

10 push-ups

15 squats

Scale reps up or down

12:30pm CrossFitters getting their pull-ups down.

The push-up, making CrossFit workouts miserable since 2001. 

Reviewing the finer points of the front squat.  “The more uncomfortable it feels, the closer the front squat is to being correct.”  Said Coach Bryce.

Delaney staying active in the bottom position of her squat.

Mateo showing excellent form with the elbows up and the bar on his fingertips.

It wouldn’t be a day of CrossFitting without pull-ups.